//------------------------------// // Ch 64: Countdown // Story: Enchanted // by The Whiskey Spirit //------------------------------// The steady sound of the train as it progressed on its path was all that could be heard in their car. The few ponies that had not taken the liberty of moving to a different location were silent, feeling the atmosphere and knew better than to break the silence. Even Princess Cadence and Carina, who seemed to be actively speaking to each other, weren’t making a sound. Though Ashwyn assumed it was due to some magic on the Princess’ part, as her horn was alight with energy. A small lump in her throat made itself known as she looked up to the Alpha. She needed to talk to him, but she couldn’t. Not here. Not with all these people around. Looking out the window, she noted that the sun had descended beyond the horizon, the car being lit by light fixtures. She hoped that meant ponies would start leaving the car soon, as the beds were in a seperate one. Thankfully she didn’t have to wait long, as they seemed to hop at the chance to remove themselves from the Alpha’s presence. Even if the princess was there, it seemed they lacked the courage to face down an alien creature in a fowl mood. Ashwyn was thankful for that in the moment, but as the ponies left and the train car emptied, a feeling of dread cemented itself in her chest. This dread made itself known instantly, her mouth feeling dry all of a sudden as she glanced up towards the continually straight face of the Alpha. She was afraid. No, she was terrified. What could she possibly say to him? She didn’t know. The Alpha was hurting and she had no clue how to help him. She so desperately wished she knew what to say. What she could do to bring that smile she loved back to his face. Yet, despite the silent pleas for answers, none came to her. Her mind became consumed by the thought. Her brain working hard to try and decipher what she could possibly do for the elf that she loved. It all amounted to nothing, however. She simply did not have the experience to understand what she had to do. It was at this time that she saw movement out of the corner of her eye. Pulling her mind from her thoughts, she looked out towards the source. It happened to be Carina and the princess getting up from their seats. They both glanced at the Alpha as they passed, but Ashwyn hardly noticed, she was too busy staring at Princess Cadence. A thought clicked in her mind, one that she was surprised hadn’t come up before. Princess Cadence was the Princess of Love! She would know what to do! She just had to… leave the Alpha to go talk with her… She wasn’t particularly comfortable with that idea. She didn’t want to leave him alone. She felt like that would be even worse. She felt it in her heart. He needed her there, and despite the incessant thoughts that told her to speak with the princess, she remained at his side. She might not know what to say, but she could at least be there for him. ~-~ Chrysalis couldn’t help but smile. Today was the day. The day that everything she had been working towards would come to fruition. With a little skip to her step, the disguised changeling queen moved to the bathroom and situated herself in front of the mirror. Staring back at her was the visage of Princess Cadence. If she were to be honest with herself, her plan wouldn’t have gotten so far without the pony princess. Her naivety made her capture far easier than had been anticipated. It was clear to Chrysalis why she wasn’t in a state of rulership yet. Not to mention, once plugged into one of her feeding pods, the alicorn swiftly filled up their reserves. It was enough that Chrysalis had to take the excess into herself, leading to her large boost in magical strength. It was limited, granted, but so long as Cadence was filling the reserves in the hive, she could always get more. For now, however, what she had would be sufficient to make her plans a success. That is… unless Aldrin had failed in his task. Despite her confidence in her underling, she couldn’t help but feel uneasy. Everything was at the tipping point, and if anything were to go wrong, she might not be able to get out of this. Her control over Celestia and Luna were tentative at best. If her cover was blown, then her control over them would go with it. She had to make sure they were where they were supposed to be. She had to time her actions, and calculate every movement. Taking a deep breath, she steeled her nerves. These feelings would get her nowhere. She could not perform if she were to busy fretting over something she couldn’t control. She would carry on. If it went wrong, then… she would adapt. As she always had. One didn’t live as long as she did without learning how to escape a bad situation. She would survive, no matter what happened. ~-~ Princess Luna couldn’t help but frown as she silently stepped out of bed. She was happy to have seen Aurick’s dream once more. The issue was that she wasn’t capable of entering it, a fact that irritated her greatly. Today was the day that the attack was supposed to be, and Aurick was the only one that knew who their opponent was. She understood that she had stepped in on something private the previous night, but she needed that information. For the sake of her ponies if for nothing else. She would need to speak with him after this situation was resolved… if it was resolved. To say that she didn’t feel nervous would be a lie. Her and her sister had to deal with a situation where they knew little to nothing. It certainly didn’t help that Celestia continued her foolish desire to keep the wool of her people’s eyes. Just another person that she would have to have a long conversation with after everything was all said and done. A deep sigh escaped her as she made her way towards the bathroom, looking to take a shower and hopefully feel better for the long day ahead. She could only hope that she could handle whatever came.