//------------------------------//
// The Journey North 
// Story: Disharmony's Parallel 
// by Xutiepops 
//------------------------------//

The train ride to Van Hoover was much more relaxing than the ride to Tall Tale, having actually paid for tickets this time and enjoyed a peaceful ride to the cold city. 
Sweetie Belle was amazed at the changing environments from the train window. Van Hoover was a city that spent half the year buried in snow, so she watched as lush, green grass, turned to plush snow and frozen lakes in a matter of minutes. Sadly, it still all had a dull overlay, it wasn't as nice as a harmonized Equestria seemed to be. 
Scootaloo had tried her hardest to sleep, even using Apple Blooms hind legs as makeshift pillows, thinking being close to her friend would help. It didn't as she stirred again, wrinkling her nose in distaste as she sat up, looking at an amazed Sweetie Belle with her muzzle pressed against the window. 
"Uh, Sweetie, you know you're gonna hate the snow when we have to walk through it," Scootaloo pointed out, looking next to her to see Apple Bloom's calm smile as she looked at the snow as well. 
"Yeah, yeah," Sweetie Belle said with a wave of her hoof, wide green eyes staring at the white paradise through the window. Scootaloo rolled her eyes and rested her head on her hoof as she slouched over the table. 
"How much longer? We've already been on for half an hour. Van Hoover ain't that far from Tall Tale!" Scootaloo asked, reaching into Apple Bloom's satchel for a map. Apple Bloom rolled her eyes and shoved her satchel shut, making Scootaloo withdraw her hoof. 
"Another hour, maybe half an hour, 'sides, a map can't tell ya how long a train ride takes," Apple Bloom explained, leaning back into the soft, purple cushions of the train, red carpet underneath her hooves with a polished table in front of her. She sighed in relief, it had been awhile since she actually rode on the train and not on the back platform or the cargo cart. 
"Take the distance it took from Ponyville to Tall Tale and compare it to this distance," Scootaloo stated simply, getting wide stares from both her friends. "It's gotta be something similar."
Apple Bloom smiled and reached up to ruffled Scootaloo's mane, "So you're actually smart, huh?" She chuckled to herself at the angry stare Scootaloo gave her. 
"Yeah, you've been holding out on us," Sweetie Belle smiled. Scootaloo rolled her eyes and blew her mane out of her face, reaching up to fix it as she sat back in her seat like Apple Bloom. 
"I just listened in on a few of Pound and Pumpkin Cake's math lessons," she explained. "It's kinda cool," she growled as Sweetie Belle laughed at her, tempted to kick her underneath the table.
They spent the next stretch of time waiting silently, Sweetie Belle mentally playing Blackjack with Apple Bloom, using random numbers that she'd first think of. Apple Bloom was doing the same but with Go Fish!, using whatever response came up first, 'yes' or 'no' and then a number. The two stared at each other while in thought, so much so that Scootaloo assumed they were having a staring contest. 
Scootaloo thought of all the places the Wonder Bolts performed for major pegasi events. That is, before they became pegasi exclusive under the new name 'Shadow Bolts'.
The train slowing to a stop took them out of their mental challenges as they sat up, stretching and waiting for either a whistle or an over-com voice. They got a whistle and a pony walking down the isle shouting 'Van Hoover'. They pulled on their coats and climbed off the train with the few other souls that got off with them, dropping them off in a city full of skyscrapers, fancy buildings, and ponies in parkas. 
Sweetie Belle was already shivering and sneering at Scootaloo who had stuck her tongue out in mockery. Apple Bloom didn't walk towards the snowy city as she sat down and pulled a map out of her satchel, looking over it with a focused stare. 
Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle didn't say anything as they waited for their friend's decision. After all the ponies that came off the train had well since left, Apple Bloom stood up. "We gotta head back on the train's tracks until we get to Unicorn Range. Then we go through the woods to Galloping Gorge," she explained as she moved aside the map, letting her friends walk over. 
Scootaloo raised an eyebrow, "Why can't we just go past the mountain range?"
"It'll take days and it's gonna be blizzards up there," Apple Bloom said as she explained the plan again, pointing at where'd they go. "I would've just jumped off the train later on up if I knew the mountain's stretched that far."
Sweetie Belle groaned, "It'll take days to walk to that part of the track, and days to get through the forest. We'll freeze to death that way too."
Apple Bloom looked around when she noticed a stallion standing next to a carriage in a large coat. She smiled as she picked up her map and walked over to him. "Howdy, partner," she said, he raised an eyebrow at her. 
"Ain't a filly like yous be needin' her momma?" He asked, Apple Bloom assuming he wasn't from Van Hoover at all, but rather down south, probably more south than Appleloosa. She'd be shocked if he hadn't heard of the Apple family. 
"We just need a ride to Unicorn Range, can you manage that for us, partner?" She asked, ignoring his other statement. "I got money, so if y'all worried we 'fillies' are just gonna ditch, we ain't."
He narrowed his eyes at her, "Ain't I seen you somewhere before?"
She shrugged, the snow digging into her hooves as it lightly fell around them. She was thankful for the coats, no matter how annoying they were on the ride here, they were helping a lot now. "Probably, my family was real famous for apples," she said, hoping he'd give her a ride just to figure out who she was. "Had a few run-ins with Flim and Flam, too. Though it really wasn't me as much as my big sister."
He smirked at her, a mischevious look in his eyes. "What's an apple farmer like you doin' all the way up 'ere in Van Hoover?" He asked. 
She rolled her eyes and continued talking to him as Sweetie Belle looked over the city. She'd never been, only seen it on train rides to different places. The cities buildings stretched high, and she could only imagine how small it must've been with so much utility they could've put in those buildings. One floor could be a restaurant and the rest of the way up could be apartments. 
The snow was pretty as it fell softly onto the town, the ground covered in it and stacked up in inches. She could only imagine the winter collection her sister made on everypony, hoping to look better in front of their friends with Rarity's designs on them. 
She looked back to Apple Bloom and the stallion, her hoof on his throat as Scootaloo yelled at her to chill out. "Now, you've pissed me off, so maybe we will ditch, or maybe we'll steal your ride. I don't care, we're gettin' to Unicorn Range in that carriage," Apple Bloom threatened. He clawed at her hoof, his hind legs kicking aimlessly as his eyes filled with fear. "Take us now without a fight, and you get the rest of our bits," she said. He nodded desperately, his face turning red at the lack of oxygen. 
She took her hoof off his throat and smiled smugly at him as she skipped to the back of the carriage. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo saw the scowl on his face as they hopped into the back. Apple Bloom seemed more than comfortable as she put her hooves behind her head and hummed.  
"What happened?" Sweetie Belle asked Scootaloo. 
"He said something about the Apple family," she deadpanned and Sweetie Belle nodded, moving to the edge of the carriage. She peaked past the curtains at the city, she said goodbye with a smile and a promise she'd seriously visit after her sister and her saved Equestria. 
She sat back inside to hear Apple Bloom shouting over her shoulder in response to the stallion grumbling. "Oh can it, we got sixty bits left partner and you're getting all of 'em," she said and smiled as he sped up momentarily. 
"We really gonna give them all to him?" Scootaloo asked. 
"We can't be jerks when we're trying to restore harmony to the world," Apple Bloom said as she sat up and leaned forward, feeling the real wood beneath her hooves. "He's this far up north for a reason, and he's takin' us a long way." 
Sweetie Belle nodded as she reached into Apple Bloom's satchel and pulling out the map. "And we thought we'd have this in one take," she sighed. 
"If someone wanted to give me the map on the train, we coulda saw this," Scootaloo hung over Apple Bloom with a grin. Apple Bloom smiled back and chuckled, staring down at the map as well. 
She pointed towards the middle of Unicorn Range. "We'll try to get 'im to go here," she explained before moving her hoof into the woods. "Then, we'll try and find a cave for shelter one night. It'll probably only take a day from there." The two nodded at the agreed plan as Apple Bloom rolled up the map. 
A while later, enough for the three ponies hyped up on anxiety to fall asleep, the carriage stopped and the stallion from before climbed into the back with them, blankets over his back as he wore a sneer.
The three woke up to the stallion throwing blankets on them, he gave them an even dirtier look as he sat near the end of the carriage, one hoof hanging out. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom sat up as Sweetie Belle snuggled into her blanket with a smile, falling back to sleep. He rolled his eyes at their stare.
"How far are we?" Apple Bloom asked him casually despite his hate filled glare. She looked down at the red blanket and understood why she felt warmer. 
"Afternoon tomorrow and we'll be at the fork in the tracks. How far ya wanna go, partner?" He said the last word with intense hate that reminded her of Discord. She noticed he didn't have a blanket as she pulled hers tighter on her. 
She glared up at his green eyes darkened by the night around them, the moon shining through the front opening being the only light. "We'll take halfway into the Range if you'll take us," she explained, almost liking the recoil in shock he gave her. It was nice to see something other than despise directed at them from him.
"Why y'all wanna go there? Ain't nothin' there!" He asked almost worriedly. "You fillies sure you right in the head?"
She chuckled to herself as Scootaloo laid back down, mumbling a thanks for the blankets, his nod being his reply. "We're kinda headin' more North, since the pony trains don't go that far up no more, we were gonna go through the woods," she explained. 
"Why can't I just take ya up the tracks?" He asked honestly, no dislike in his stare or his tone. It almost sounded like he was worried. "Why go through the woods?" He asked as he pulled his hoof into the carriage, his stare more focused on her. 
"We got things to do, things that involve not walking right into the shield that Twilight look-alike's got up," Apple Bloom cursed, the thought of their friend turned into a despicable ruler made her blood boil. She laid back down and looked up at the moon through the front opening. 
The wind roared outside as she looked up at it. Zecora was the first thought she had, but now, with how close they were to the Empire, it reminded her of Princess Luna. She'd get to see the Princesses again, and Spike, and Discord, and Starlight Glimmer. She sighed, the only memories she had of them were those menacing rulers she now had. Spike was now a tall dragon with sharp teeth and a roar that told crowds to shut up. Discord acted like an evil king that ran the weather report, based on what he felt like doing to whatever part of Equestria that day. 
But the worst ones were the Elements of Harmony look-alikes. She didn't even know what they were, Zecora said they were from a different dimension, but she didn't believe it. None of them looked or acted like her friends, yet they were her friends. 
They had her friends faces, especially Apple Jack's. She was what Equestria worshipped, she helped ponies in need, she helped failing towns. But that wasn't Apple Jack, and she knew that. That mare held a certain hate towards her, and that mare wore clothes in Flim and Flam's colors, and she was insane, like the rest of them!
She eventually fell asleep, hoping she'd wake up from this nightmare her old ten year old self. She had a nightmare about the new Twilight capturing her and her friends. 



Apple Bloom woke up to the carriage rocking, as if it was hit by something. She sat up, rubbing her head and watching Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo do the same, groaning as orange seeped in through the carriages openings. "Get out! I took ya where ya wanted to be," the stallion outside shouted before bucking the carriage again. 
"Alright! Alright! We get it," Scootaloo shouted back before shaking the blanket off of her and throwing her satchel on her back. She jumped off after Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. 
Sweetie Belle stared up at the tall trees, they were covered in snow under the orange and pink sky of the sunset. Tall, dark bark stretched up to deep green leaves topped off with bright white snow. She looked towards the forest, trying to see into it. All she saw was a few feet of dark bark before it became impossible to see. 
The snow beneath her froze her hooves as she looked behind her and saw the huge, new purple tracks stretch in either direction. 
It was an icy wonderland, but she still grimaced as she looked up at the north woods. It'd be a snowstorm up there. 
"The bits you lovely fillies so promised me?" The stallion growled with disgust at the three, raising an eyebrow. "This is where you wanted, right?"
Apple Bloom nodded as Sweetie Belle used her magic to pull a brown bag of bits out of her satchel and handing them over to the stallion, who snatched them out of her magic's grasp and scowled at them before turning the other way and starting his trot back. 
The three watched until he was out of their sight, looking to the others and sighing. Apple Bloom looked up at the forest with wide eyes. "We make it past this, and we're one step closer to the Empire," she said as she started their trek inwards. "Sweetie, make sure to light up our way," she continued as they climbed through the thick forest, trying to stick close to one another as the sun started setting. 
The forest stretched for miles on the map, so they knew they were in for at least a day. The snow seemed to stack up on the ground the further they went, the snowing also became more frequent as the forests trees got smaller and smaller, making it easier to navigate through them. 
Each of them wanted to keep walking, even if their hooves screamed at them to stop before they fell off, just so they could be closer to the Empire, closer to saving their friends. But the more fallen trees they climbed over and the more growls from whatever demon species was this far north convinced them to take refuge in a cave like planned. 
Sweetie Belle lit a spark with her magic on the many pieces of wood the three collected. The fire roared a bright green and they all sighed. It looked like Spike's fire, they could only imagine how much his abilities had grown over the years. 
"Really wish we stole those blankets from that jerk," Scootaloo shivered, holding her hooves over the warm fire. They stung at the new heat, but it was better than the freezing cold outside. She looked around the cave, stalactites hanging over head while some had frozen over near the opening, the ground also coated in a weak layer of snow. 
"It ain't the right thing to do, he's been havin' to walk through snow the entire way here," Apple Bloom said, looking at the back of the cave. It looked deep, the stalactites and stalagmites seemingly got larger the further back they were. Her old adventurous side of her wanted to go deep within the cave and get lost only for something to happen that'd show her the way. But she had a mission to focus on, she couldn't go on adventures anymore. 
She smiled at the green fire, now reminding her of Sweetie Belle's magic than Spike's fire. She didn't remember the last adventure they went on, but she declared to make more when Equestria was restored.
"Who cares about the right thing anymore?" Scootaloo asked. "We haven't done the right thing in years, we've snuck around and basically been the black market for years."
"Honesty, kindness, laughter, generosity, loyalty, and magic," Apple Bloom replied, looking up at her friend's annoyed face as the wind howled outside the cave. "Those are the virtues we're tryin' to return to Equestria. Can't be goin' 'round goin' 'gainst them."
Scootaloo sighed. "You're right, sorry," she said as she laid down on the hard floor, her pillow being her satchel. She groaned. "We should've taken the whole stupid carriage!"
Their sleep was hardly a sleep at all when they woke up early in the morning groaning with popping joints. The fire was already out but the rising sun outside lit up part of the cave. They started out on their journey silently, too worried to anger the others due to the bad sleep, and not wanting to talk themselves. 
The trees were still tall and ominous, the ground covered in higher inches of snow as Scootaloo started to fly above it, Sweetie Belle moving the snow out of the way for Apple Bloom and her. Snow fell on their coats and covered their manes and tails, the morning sun being a somewhat nice heat source as they walked through the freezing forest. 
They all smiled when they came up to the stream of water that cut through the woods, though the river was frozen and only served as an easier walking ground for Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom. They followed the river for most of the day before dipping back into the woods, remembering the river led up to an area that had no forestry to hide within when they came up to the border. 
They were close to going back into a cave for the night before they heard a stallion yell. They looked to each other with wide eyes before they dashed quietly into the direction of the yell. 
They peaked through the woods edge, seeing the old, rustic train tracks lead up to a tall wall of magic. Sweetie Belle was amazed by the many colors of magic that meshed together to form a humongous wall. Blues, greens, yellows, all color of magic mixed together and swished around the surface area it was spread across, reacting with other ponies magics. 
"I've never seen the wall up-close like this before," she said, her friends nodding in even more amazement. She couldn't even tell what were stars, sparkles in the magic, or the roaring snow around them.
She heard the crunching of snow and used her magic to push her friends down behind the bush, crouching down herself as they watched a pony in dark armor walk past them, towards the wall of magic with unicorn guards lined up. She could only see three guards from their position, all of the ponies armors covered in the snowstorm, even the new arrival's.
"Good to see you stallions working," the pony said in a deep voice before taking off his helmet, holding it at his side as the Crusaders' eyes widened. A deep black was his coat, his hair was a wispy grey mane that moved like smoke, though it was pulled back in a very small pony tail. "Your families will surely appreciate the large amount of bits and jewels you ponies get from working here."
The three cowered in fear as the shield's magic seemed to strengthen. His armor held a certain red lightning bolt on the flank, only furthering the proof that this was the terrifying stallion they thought it was. 
Apple Bloom backed up, pulling her friends with her and running a bit into the woods, the white around them a constant reminder of the cold they were feeling. They all let out a deep breath, they didn't realize they were holding their breaths until they were away. "What do we do? I didn't think they even checked this far north!"
"Of course they do! They can't have one weak spot for ponies to just waltz through!" Sweetie Belle fought before cowering into herself. "I just didn't think they'd send him of all ponies."
"Yeah, thought he'd have a more important job than checkin' the border," Apple Bloom sulked. She stood up straight and took a deep breath. "Alright, change of plans," she said, the two looking up at her with wide eyes.
She spoke with a determined look on her face. "We wait 'till a train comes up and try and hop on without alertin' the guards, they'll have to let the wall down to let it past."
"Do cargo trains even go up this far? The tracks aren't even renovated," Scootaloo worried. 
"Sweetie Drops and Lyra said they did when they came up here one time," Apple Bloom explained before she looked back towards the edge of the forest. "Dunno where'd it go though, this track leads to the Empire."
They all took a deep breath before heading back towards the edge of the forest. They looked around for the dark stallion through the falling snow and were shocked he was nowhere to be found. They all smiled to the other, this job just got a lot easier. 
"Wait, would they just put the shield back up if they notice us?" Sweetie Belle asked worriedly. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo thought it over before sighing and nodding. "Guess we gotta take them out, huh?" She asked with a nervous smile and sighed herself, seeing their nods out of the corner of her eye. She was happy that black stallion wasn't still there, but she was really excited to not have to fight anypony at all. 
They waited for a while before they all heard a distant train whistling. They all nodded towards the others before Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo jumped away, Apple Bloom stepping out of the forest and starting towards the guards. 
She still only saw three guards in the wide clearing once the forests ends, but many types of magic forming the wall in front of them. She assumed some ponies magic stretched farther than the ones in front of her, but she quickly had to stop thinking as they noticed the crunching snow.
"Hey! What're you doing here?" A guard asked, turning to face her with narrowed eyes. "How'd you get up here?" He asked, walking towards her, the snow crunching and grabbing the other guards attention. 	
"Uh, I walked," she said, feigning nervousness in hopes they see it as innocence. His narrowed eyes told her it wasn't as convincing. She blamed her growing body as a huge boulder floated over him. Apple Bloom smiled and dashed towards him, the rock falling down on him. He cursed out at her as she ran onto the rock, jumping off of it and running towards the other guards, the multi-colored wall getting closer and closer. 
The guards raced towards her, she crouched and slid under one as he jumped over her, crashing into the rock that crushed the other guard. She smiled as she jumped over the other one, sliding in the snow to a stop, panting as she watched her tail come centimeters away from the wall. She grinned up as the wall started fading away, the guards too distracted to keep up the spell. 
She jumped as the two guards stood up, slowly walking towards her with bared teeth. "Call Thunder Smoke," one growled to the guard under the rock. 
"No!" Sweetie Belle cried as she appeared behind them. They turned towards her with raised eyebrows, she smiled nervously and backed up into the rock, her nervous smile growing the closer they got to her. The two were shot to the side as Scootaloo jabbed her hind legs into them, pushing them onto the edge of the tracks. 
They all smiled to the others as the guards groaned, trying to get up and failed. 
"So three stallions can't handle three foals?" They heard a horrifically familiar voice. They turned to see Thunder Smoke, the black stallion from before, grinning at them. "Oh, don't worry, the captains been wanting some delinquents to play with for a while."
He laughed at their horrified faces, "Ponies really don't rebel when you have seven horrific rulers." 
The train started to roar past them as a cyan pegasus dropped down onto the crunching snow beside him, narrowed eyes on them and a grin. She raised an eyebrow at the hole in the shield, but shrugged it off. "Get 'em!" She grinned maniacally, her rainbow mane flying with the train. 
"Quick!" Sweetie Belle yelled as she ducked under a guards attempt at catching her, Thunder Smoke and Controlling flying at them. "We have to get on the train!" She used her magic to pick up balls of snow, attempting to throw them at the guards, but failed as they dodged.
"Oh no you don't!" Controlling growled as she sped past Scootaloo, her rainbow tail leaving a slight trail as she dashed at Apple Bloom. Scootaloo bit down on the familiar tail, only putting a stop on Controlling's momentum, but being taken with her. "Get off me, Scootaloo!" Controlling growled, stopping and flying upwards. Scootaloo's eyes widened at the name, but she looked down and saw the train roaring beneath them. She grinned up at the Rainbow Dash look-alike before letting go of the pegasus' tail, hitting the roof of the train with a thud!
Controlling's shock led to her being hit by one Sweetie Belle's snowballs, knocking her out of the sky.
"Good job, you two!" Apple Bloom yelled as she bucked away one of the guards, knocking him face-first in the snow. Sweetie Belle grinned as she ran towards the train, jumping off of Thunder Smoke's back and onto the caboose. 		She smiled up at Scootaloo as she dropped onto the platform as well. Thunder Smoke growled, "Whoever can get those foals gets a bonus!" All of the guards rushed towards Apple Bloom and the train with a new passion, Controlling moving next to him with a scowl as she waited for the end of the train to come up. 	
Apple Bloom dodged the guards advancements, running past Thunder Smoke and Controlling as the train's length started to end. She sped up, hoping she could make it as Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo cheered her on. 
She jumped as the caboose approached, she reached out at the safety guard, her eyes widening with happiness as she latched on. But her joy was quickly ruined as she felt a weight on her tail. She looked back and saw a dark set of armor and a scowl. 
Her grip was weakening, she couldn't hold the weight both of them on such a fast moving vehicle with this snowstorm roaring around her.