Twilight finished writing the last line and finally pushed the paper to the center of the table. After that, she took in a deep breath, leaned back, and tapped the pen on the tabletop.
The others looked at it. In big letters, it had a relatively simple list.
1. Get into Equestria.
2. Reach the Castle of the Two Sisters.
3. Defeat Nightmare Moon.
“Alright…three steps,” she spoke up with an exhale.
“Three steps assuming Nightmare Moon exists, Nightmare Moon is the one responsible, and that Nightmare Moon is in the Castle of the Two Sisters,” Starlight pointed out.
Twilight grimaced a little. “…Right.”
“Well, if we’re brainstorming, how about we tackle the ‘deal-breaker’ right off the bat?” Dash spoke up. “How are we gonna take out Nightmare Moon when we find her?”
“I mean…she’s already keeping half the continent in endless night…controlling over half the animals…and has hundreds or thousands of big, scary, nightmare monsters on her side…” Fluttershy threw in nervously.
“Well, fortunately, that part will be the easiest,” Rarity spoke up.
The group turned to her as if she had just said her brain was made of pie. “Um, really?” Pinkie answered. “‘Cause it sounded super-duper hard to me.”
“Pish posh, darling. So long as we’re sure that this is nothing more than a woman with a Promethian Sigil, then it’s a simple matter of Twilight casting her Binding Seal on her.”
Applejack looked up. “Hey…that’s right! Ya’ told me when ya’ put it on someone they can’t use their sigil anymore! All you got ta’ do is slap her in the head with it and call it a day!”
Twilight winced. “You haven’t forgotten that I can’t do that unless I not only have a few seconds to cast it but that they stay still long enough for me to tag them with it, did you?”
The farmer sank in her seat. “Oh yeah…”
“M-M-Maybe we should think about how we’re going to get there…” Fluttershy nervously offered. “You know, because…um…no one’s ever survived going in more than a mile…”
Dash shrugged. “We could fight our way in. The six of us can take out a couple dozen Nighttouched.”
“I’m fairly certain it will be several hundred, dear,” Rarity uncomfortably answered. “I’m not sure we can do all that when we’re the only things around to attack.”
“We just need to get to this castle real quick. How far is it from the border?”
Starlight gave her a deadpan stare. “About 87 or 88 miles at the nearest point of approach, and that’s not accounting for the fact it’s in the mountains.”
Dash grimaced. “Ok…jogging is out of the question, then.”
“What we need is a transport of some sort. Something to protect us all the way there,” Rarity suggested. “Ms. Glimmer, what about that lovely Steel Lion of yours? Do you think you could persuade Double Diamond to-”
Starlight was already shaking her head. “Out of the question. If you could travel through Equestria with Steel Lions, they would have done it years ago. You saw the Steel Lions in Griffonstone. They may be able to hold up against the little ones, but they’re too slow to be able to take an assault from a lot of the large ones. Another Tantabus can just crush it under one foot. Even if it couldn’t, the country’s too rough.”
“I guess that rules out usin’ horses or a wagon too…” Applejack muttered.
“Ooo! Ooo!” Pinkie called out excitedly. “What about an airship? Just like Trottingham uses?”
Twilight shook her head. “Normal airships end up getting swarmed by aerial Nighttouched. The ones that Trottingham uses has some sort of technology that keeps them away, but only their ships have them.”
“It’d be swell if we could get our hands on some of that tech…but we won’t unless we manage to capture one of their airships,” Dash sighed. “That’s one of their most closely-guarded secrets. No one really knows how they pull it off.” Her eyes narrowed. “But after seeing Little Miss Sunshine in the flesh, I bet I can guess.”
Starlight began to look at Twilight at that. “Say…she said she went to the same academy as you. Does that mean-”
Twilight groaned as she shook her head again. “While I think the headmistress might have known a way to keep them back, she never taught me what it was. Or didn’t have the time to…”
“What about a train that was going really fast?” Fluttershy suggested.
“Oh, I’m afraid not, dear,” Rarity sighed. “You see, Equestria dominates the central part of Greater Everfree. Long before the Lunar Fall, everyone knew if they could ever take Greater Everfree in an armed conflict that they would share a border with almost every other country out there. So to keep that from happening, all railroads in Equestria were within the borders. There isn’t a single one that joins with the rail lines of a different country…much less one still not in the shadows.”
“Oh…” Fluttershy slumped shyly. “Nevermind then.”
“Well, don’t this just beat all,” Applejack snorted. “For years we’ve all been trying to stay out of that bloody night zone, and now when we need ta’ get inta’ it we can’t.”
“Actually…”
Twilight’s voice alerted the group’s attention. Her head was bowed, but her eyes were staring at the table.
“Actually…there was one train that did.”
Once again, Twilight garnered the attention of the others. She didn’t follow up right away. A look of discomfort had come over her.
“There is?” Applejack eventually asked.
“Sort of…” she finally answered. “No one was supposed to know about it. Celestia had it hidden in a place in Mount Aris. She only ever used it when coming and going out of Equestria, which really only happened when she brought in new students. I only rode it twice…once when I enrolled in her academy and once when I left on…on that summer trip…”
“Can it take us all the way to the Castle of the Two Sisters?” Rarity asked.
“Hopefully not getting us eaten alive by Nighttouched while it does it?” Dash added.
“It never stopped there the two times I rode it, but it did go by it,” Twilight answered. “And it moves like a normal locomotive, which means so long as we run dark we should be going too fast and strong for any Nighttouched to stop us.”
“But…won’t that mean we have to sneak into Mount Aris to get on it?” Fluttershy spoke up nervously. “And won’t that mean we’ll have to get around any guards posted around it?”
“There won’t be any guards. Like I said, Mount Aris doesn’t know about it. No one knows about it.”
“Well, nobody knew ‘bout it eight years ago, maybe,” Applejack began to protest, “but a lot’s changed since-”
“No, they still won’t know about it. Nobody can find that station who hasn’t already been there.”
Puzzled looks came from all around the table.
“What exactly does that mean?” Starlight asked uneasily.
“Exactly what I said. Unless someone who’s already been to that station takes you there, you’ll never find it. You won’t even be able to see it or touch it.”
The stares turned from puzzled to uneasy. After a moment, Pinkie quirked her brow. “Um…am I the only person here who’s starting to think Twilight’s headmistress didn’t learn how to teach at a normal school?”
“I’m starting to get about as curious about her as I am the Light Eaters and Nightmare Moon,” Starlight added. “How is any of that even possible? More magic?”
“I have no idea. There was a lot in Equestria and especially Canterlot I never got the chance to fully understand.”
“Well…forget that for now,” Dash waved off after a moment longer. “The important thing is we got a train that can get us where we need to go, so we’re all set, right?”
Twilight kept wincing. “Not exactly… I told you that no one could find the station unless they already knew it was there or someone who did took them to it. However, the train there isn’t like a normal locomotive. To use it, you need a key. And not just any key. A very special kind of key that can only open one special lock on the train, and after it does so the key shatters.”
Dash rolled her eyes. “Greeeeeat…”
“Dagnabbit,” Applejack groaned, “so we can’t use that neither?”
An uncomfortable look came over Twilight. “I…didn’t say that. Normally Celestia carried any key on her that she wanted to use, but every once in a while she would actually invite someone outside of Equestria to use the train themselves. Every time that happened, she’d send them a key weeks in advance.”
“But how does that help us now, darling?” Rarity asked. “You said the keys shatter as soon as you use them. There’d have to still be an unused key out there.”
“There…is an unused key out there. Or there should be,” she spoke up again with some difficulty. “It’s all the way back in Hoofheim.”
“Hoofheim?” Applejack echoed back. Her look became uncomfortable. “Ya’ mean, where…uh, where…”
Twilight nodded, keeping her from finishing that. “My hometown. Honestly, I really don’t want to go back there again. When I finally decided to leave I was ready to be done with it forever, especially since I never did figure out what caused everyone there to forget I ever existed. But…” A deep breath. “This is more important. I’ll just have to deal with it.”
“Yay!” Pinkie cheered. “Road trip for the six of us!”
“I think that would be an extraordinarily bad idea,” Rarity nervously answered. “We’re all wanted in one form or another, and a group of six of us will stand out like a sore thumb.”
“Then I’ll go alone,” Twilight spoke up. “I’m the only one who knows where to find it. I’ll come back here once we have it and then we’ll make our next move.”
“That’s…also probably not a good idea,” Starlight spoke up. “You haven’t forgotten that all of you being together is kind of attracting people with Promethian Sigils in this city to you like a moth to flame, right?”
“Good point,” Applejack added. “We were ‘bout ta’ get the heck outta here ‘fore Starlight got here anyway. Maybe we should split up. Y’know…just for this.”
Dash shrugged. “Fine by me. But who goes and who stays?”
Twilight looked over the table a moment. “Hmm…I guess Rarity should probably stay behind. That will give her more time to get her affairs in order for her business.”
“Oh, thank goodness, avoided another confounded road trip…” Rarity sighed in relief, before noticing she had said that out loud. “I-I mean…if you really think that would be best, then certainly.”
“Then I’m staying behind,” Dash added. “So long as those creeps skulking around outside keep sticking their noses around here.”
Rarity looked up a bit. “Ex…excuse me?”
“I pointed it out to Fluttershy this morning. Ever since that news of the murder of Cotton Gin got out and they started grilling your rival, they’ve been hanging around out here. I think maybe it’s better I make sure they don’t try anything. Near as I can tell, we still need a second or two to bring out these Anima Viris. That’s a second or two too long for a bullet.”
The news made Rarity tense up even more than before. “Oh dear… But r-r-really now, there’s no need for all that…”
“Eh, no problem,” she smirked. “Just make sure to get some more cider and we’ll be cool.”
“And I still need to watch my animals,” Fluttershy spoke up. “So I guess that leaves me out.”
“Shucks, looks like it’s back to the two of us again, Twilight,” Applejack shrugged. “Not that I mind that much. Only thing I hate more’n not bein’ able to talk to the family is bein’ stuck in a house not bein’ able to talk to ‘em…”
“Whee! I’ve never been to Hoofheim!” Pinkie cheered.
Applejack spun to her, looking a bit uncomfortable. “Uh, Pinkie, ya’ really don’t have to do all that. I know how much ya’ like bakin’ and there’s so many ingredients here…”
“Yes, and she’s running me out of house and home burning through them,” Rarity instantly replied. “She’s right, she should go with you two.”
“Three and three would be a good split, Applejack,” Twilight shrugged.
The farmer sighed. “Fine. Just…don’t do nothin’ that gets too many people lookin’ at us.”
“No problem! I’ll keep our new road trip song down to just two verses!”
“Ugh…”
“I’d like to go too, if that’s alright,” Starlight spoke up.
Twilight looked at her in a touch of puzzlement. She shrank a bit at being put on the spot, but shrugged. “I mean…well… You already know how excited I’ve gotten ever since I ran into you. Now that we’re finally to the point of putting an end to all of this craziness that’s been going on in the world, I don’t want to miss anything. I’m still interested in learning more about this magic you use. And besides…meeting you set off everything that got me to piece together all this stuff about Nightmare Moon. Who knows what else I’ll be able to find out if I hang with you longer?”
In spite of how much of a help Starlight had been to them so far, Twilight hesitated. The woman herself continued to stare at her with an almost child-like implore, like she was a kid begging her mom for a chocolate bar. After a bit, she finally exhaled.
“Well…alright. We could probably use your help anyway. With the three of us trying to go up to the northwest, we need someone who isn’t wanted to handle interactions.”
Starlight went wide-eyed, before turning a deep red. “Uh…right…who isn’t wanted…heh, you bet…”
Twilight stared at her a moment. “You mean…you’re wanted too?”
“Well, I did tell you about how I only had a work permit in Fillydelphia, right? By crossing into Manehattan to tell you guys all this, I, uh, kind of violated Griffonstone law as an unauthorized migrant without clearance to depart the country.”
“What?!”
“Oh, come on, heh-heh…” she laughed nervously. “That’s practically a misdemeanor in today’s society! Besides, uh…er…it’s not like you all aren’t guilty of the same thing at this point…except maybe Rarity…”
Twilight slapped her palm in her face. Dash groaned, Applejack swore, and Fluttershy muttered.
“But don’t worry! Not like I haven’t been border agent dodging for years!” Starlight reassured as she began to quickly push herself away from the table to excuse herself. “You all just, uh…keep these lovely materials I brought tonight for your own perusal…get yourselves ready…and I’ll head down to the station bright and early and get us the first rail headed to Hoofheim. Simple! See you all bright and early tomorrow!”
Quickly, she gathered up her non-essential effects, turned, and began to show herself out. The others looked back to one another; not so easy anymore. Finally, Applejack shrugged. “Well, we were gonna take a chance headin’ out anyway. ‘Sides, I think she’s right. Everyone’s gonna be lookin’ fer us, not someone who bailed on a work permit…”
“And luckily no one is really headed up to that part of the country these days. So maybe it’ll go smoothly,” Twilight added quietly.
“Okie-dokie!” Pinkie said as she leapt up. “You all get ready for tomorrow,” she smiled, “while I take care of the most important part… Ma’s Special Traveling Raisin Nut Bread!” In a snap, she took off for the kitchen.
“I’ll…just head to bed for now,” Fluttershy quietly added. “Just need to take care of the animals first and then…I can lie down…and try not to think about big, scary, nightmare gods...that we’re going to be fighting…very, very soon…”
“On that note, keep practicing while we’re gone,” Twilight told both her and Rarity. “We can work on our strategy more when we get back, but for now those spells have to become more second nature to you two.”
“And to think, I thought I had a lot to do for Spring Ensembles…” Rarity muttered to herself.
“Ugh…we really gotta wear this fancy frou-frou stuff?”
Rarity turned up her nose indignantly as she adjusted Applejack’s “new” hat. “I’m afraid that rustic country wardrobe you are wearing simply won’t do for Manehattan society, Applejack. You’ll stick out like a sore thumb.”
“Well, now I feel like a sore thumb…” the farmer complained as she shifted in the rather elaborate and stylish dress that Rarity had picked out for her. While wearing the waistline-clenching corsets and long, flowing skirts reinforced with flexible reeds might be the norm for most of Manehattan’s high society, Applejack had never looked more uncomfortable. “I can’t fit my hammer in this tiny bag, I can’t run in this ridiculous skirt, and I can’t even holler with this thing around my middle tryin’ ta’ crush me!”
Twilight, similarly dressed nearby, grimaced but was encouraging. “Please just try and deal with it, Applejack. We really can’t go out looking like how we normally do. Plus these big hats allow us to hide our hair and adjust the brim over part of our faces.”
“Oh, pish-posh to that, darling,” Rarity answered as she kept struggling to adjust Applejack’s outfit. “I assure you this design is so eye-catching it will be all the diversion you require.”
“Plus we can do this!” Pinkie called from nearby, in a dress of her own. Immediately, she squatted so that the hem hit the ground and began to move around, keeping her legs completely beneath the skirt. “Ooo! I’m floating! Spooooky!”
It was the following morning from Starlight’s impromptu meeting. Before the sun was even up, Sassy Saddles and Coco Pommel had both arrived and the news had been relayed to them. Since then, everyone had gotten up early to start cleaning everything up and getting ready. They left no trace of their presence in the main factory, and now Twilight, Applejack, and Pinkie had eaten and were all packed and ready to go. The others, even Rainbow Dash, had come down to see them off. All they had to do now was wait for Starlight.
As it turned out, they didn’t have to wait too long. The knock, done properly this time, rang out only soon after Rarity finished with the farmer. She moved up to the door and opened it, and Starlight, looking even more frazzled than yesterday and hastily-packed, practically stumbled inside out of breath.
“Ok…” she exhaled, “I got us a three-day rail with a six hour layover in Vanhoover to switch trains tomorrow afternoon. Sorry…best I could do. There aren’t any expresses going straight there. At least we got a sleeper car cabin just to ourselves…”
“Another five days, huh?” Dash winced.
“Oh my…I hope you’re right about less people coming around if we split up…” Fluttershy muttered.
Starlight frowned. “I think we may have bigger problems then that…”
No one liked the sound of that as they all uncomfortably looked at her. “Like what?”
She shifted her arms around to go for a newspaper. “They were delivering the morning edition at the station and I got a copy. Remember how we were all waiting to see what your ‘friend’ in Trottingham was going to do next? Well, it looks like she decided to do something…”
Unfolding the paper, she turned it around to show the group.
‘Marked’ Individual Attacks Kerosene Production Facility Last Night; Leaves 11 Dead, 37 Injured.
The group looked both shocked and uneasy to see the headline. Twilight tentatively reached forward and took the paper from Starlight, holding it up in front of her and reading it over. She only winced more at what she saw.
“It says the eyewitness reports showed someone with a ‘blazing light on their hand’ started setting off fires where they were storing the kerosene and triggered a massive explosion. A lot of workers didn’t make it out unscathed…” She winced. “Some didn’t make it out at all… They’re suspecting Trottingham but they said they can’t be sure as there were no sightings of airships in the area.”
Dash scoffed. “It was obviously her. You saw how fire-crazy she was. All the Huntsmen I’ve ever talked to say she likes burning things and leaves fire to do her dirty work.”
Twilight frowned and shook her head, putting the paper aside. “It doesn’t really matter if Manehattan finds out she was behind it or not. That wasn’t her intention.”
Starlight winced. “You figured it out too, huh?”
Rarity looked up, puzzled. “Pardon me but…figured what out?”
Twilight sighed. “It doesn’t matter if they think Sunset did it or not. If they blame us, then they’re going to know we’re in Manehattan and focus on stopping us here. If they think it was Sunset and Trottingham, then they have to know by now that Trottingham was looking for us when we went into Griffonstone even if they don’t know why. Either way…they know we’re in Manehattan.”
“And…” Starlight ruefully added, “they attacked a kerosene producer. That’s one of the fastest-growing industries in Manehattan, Lunar Fall or not. Now that they’ve roped in the business owners and it’s impacting the economy, pressure to find you six is going to be greater than ever.”
Applejack frowned. “How in the hell did that witch find out we were in Manehattan?”
Rarity looked uneasily as she stared at her back leg. “The scarring from that attack still hasn’t quite faded… They could still be tracking us using that.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Twilight answered. “All that matters is that we need to get to Hoofheim and back as quickly as we can. Our window’s just gotten a lot narrower.”
“Let’s head out and get a steam cab right away,” Starlight answered. “Luckily, this train leaves in 90 minutes. We won’t have to hang out at the station that long.”
She nodded back. “Alright.” She turned back to the others. “Just try to keep a low profile, stick with the knock, and if worse comes to worse send us a telegram. We’ll be in Vanhoover station tomorrow and Hoofheim the next day. I don’t plan on staying the night there.”
Fluttershy swallowed. “B-B-But…if they can track us…won’t they try to find us here?”
“I wouldn’t worry about that. They’ve had days to attack, but Manehattan’s too populated for them to risk it.”
“Er…Manehattan is, darling,” Rarity uneasily answered, “but what about a train bound for Hoofheim?”
The mage went still. She clearly hadn’t thought about that. “I…guess we’ll, uh…cross that bridge when we find it…?” She answered with a sheepish and nervous smile.
Rarity rolled her eyes and moaned.
“Uh…Fluttershy, keep an eye on Spike for me, will you? I think he kind of stands out…”
Fortunately, the ride to the station was without incident. The streets were already busy, but the group moved fast and kept a low profile. By taking a steam cab, as expensive as it was for Starlight (who was already running low on money after the train tickets), the four managed to restrict their appearances in public and got to the station in plenty of time. Trying to look as inconspicuous as possible, which wasn’t easy with how rigid and uncomfortable Applejack looked and how Pinkie kept trying to skip in her dress, the four made it to the ticket booth mixed in with a crowd of other passengers. They tried to keep looking forward as they were called in one after the other.
Once they reached the woman at the window, she looked over their tickets to verify them, but at the end, much to their relief, smiled and nodded. “Alright.” She pushed the slips back across the counter. “Everything is in order. Please present them to the conductor when the train departs and each day of your trip, and also when you exit and enter at Vanhoover.”
Starlight smiled back as she took them. “Thank you very much.”
“Your porter will see you safely on board,” she smiled. However, she had scarcely said this when she turned and looked through a window to the side of the ticket booth and saw no one in the staging area; causing her to frown. She almost flung open the side door and ducked her head out.
“Pipsqueak! Pipsqueak, get over here!”
The sudden anger in the voice was enough to even make Pinkie look uncomfortable. Soon after, though, a rather thin and scrawny-looking boy in a porter uniform two sizes too big, panting all the way, ran up with a push cart. He ground to a halt so abruptly he nearly lost control of it, stopping it just before it could collide with the ticket booth. This fact wasn’t lost on the counter.
“S-S-Sorry, ma’am!” he quickly shouted. A bit to the surprise of the group, his accent was distinctly Trottingham. “The last load required three trips and the trunk weighed almost as much as me!”
“Nevermind that, and watch where you’re pushing next time!” she snapped back. “You scrape the paint on this booth and you’re forfeiting a day’s wage to pay for the repainting! Now get these ladies loaded up and on the train! It departs in 30 minutes and we still have a lot to load!”
“Yes ma’am!” Quickly, the boy ran over and began to take up the bags of the group one by one and load them onto the cart. Normally, the three wouldn’t have packed much, but to make their trip less conspicuous each one had enough for at least a small bag to make it look as if they planned to at least stay a while. As a result, it took the boy a bit to get them all on.
“Snap to it!” she shouted as soon as they were all on. “You be back here in four minutes or I’ll box those oversized ears of yours!”
“Yes ma’am!” he shouted back, even more frantic than before.
In no time at all, he was pushing the cart practically at a jogging gait, which was a little hard on the others trying to catch up with the elaborate dresses. Nevertheless, he was slowed down when he reached the platform and forced to unload, allowing them to catch up. Although he almost seemed to be crushed under the weight, somehow he managed to grasp all four bags together (two to hands and two under his arms) and waddle into the train car. He pushed his way past other passengers and staff and gradually led the two to their sleeper car cabin.
“Here you are, ladies!” he called out as he quickly opened the door and went inside. The four followed, finding a room with two long cushioned benches that could no doubt flip down and convert into the four sleeper room. With some struggling, he quickly pulled down the luggage rack and managed to put them all up one after the other as fast as he could.
When he was done, Starlight began to reach into her own pockets for a tip, but the boy simply tipped his hat and ran back out the door. “Thank you for riding with us! Enjoy your trip!” he practically called out behind him.
Starlight was dumbfounded a moment, before she looked to the time. “Oh…three minutes. I guess he had to get back…”
“You’d think he’d have stayed for a tip at least,” Twilight commented.
“There’s a good chance a tip wouldn’t have done him any good,” Starlight shrugged as she went for her own bag.
“Why not?”
“You heard his accent, didn’t you? Doesn’t look but a few years past eight. My guess is he got displaced in Manehattan when the Lunar Fall came down. Since he’s from Trottingham, whoever employs him can pretty much run him however they feel like. Probably includes taking his tips.”
Applejack suddenly looked up at that. She first glanced at Starlight, but then back out the way the porter had gone.
Twilight noticed. “Something wrong, Applejack?”
She stared a bit longer before finally looking away. “No…no, it ain’t nothing. Let’s just settle in and get ready for bed.”
Starlight raised her eyebrow. “Bed? It’s not even 10 in the morning.”
“The sooner we get ta’ bed, the sooner we can get outta these circus tents Rarity calls dresses…”
Fortunately, the trip went far more smoothly than Rarity’s by far. Thanks to Starlight acting as their “front man”, the actual departure went without a hitch and soon they were headed northwest and then north. After that, it was a simple matter of keeping their sleeping cabin closed except for things like routine ticket checks. In spite of Pinkie protesting when she saw the dessert cart, they didn’t even expose themselves long enough for the meals.
That wasn’t to say that they weren’t constantly on edge. There was reason to be tense every time they came for a stop, they had to use the lavatory, or even heard anyone walk by their door. Fortunately, most of the train ride was on rather large stretches. And although all of them slept with one proverbial eye open, fearing that something unexpected might come in the night, that first evening went by safely as well. That only left the monotony for Starlight, who kept trying to ask for more detail on their respective abilities for more “clues”. Unfortunately for her, Twilight remained tight-lipped. Not knowing how thin the walls of the train were she didn’t risk it. Instead, most of the trip was filled with Pinkie Pie relating stories from the mine her family was being impressed into working, although she claimed her sister had told her it was really a “rock farm”. She seemed to actually believe rocks grew there and needed to be herded and tended.
Everyone was up early the next day both from lack of sleep as well as a need to hurry up and get their “disguises” on. They had already finished the food they had brought with them for breakfast before the sun was up.
“Alright, the layover to switch trains is today in Vanhoover,” Applejack sighed. “What do we do?”
“Get some of their world-famous fish and chips?” Pinkie asked hopefully.
“We’ll just hang out at the station platform,” Twilight spoke up. “We want to stay away from as many people as possible.”
“Good idea,” Starlight nodded. “On these layovers, usually the passengers try to hit up the local shops or cafes as fast as they can. Nothing to do at the station but wait and watch the crews work.”
A couple hours later, the train stopped at the Vanhoover station. It was the largest station they had hit since Manehattan, but fortunately it wasn’t too populated on the north-bound lines. After getting their new engine assignment and platform, the four dismounted and headed over. Fortunately it was mostly desolate with lots of different benches to sit at; some of which were well out of the way, over by support columns, and easy to go unnoticed in. The four set up there and sat down.
They waited a bit to make sure no traffic would come by, but all they saw was some of the porters moving the luggage from the previous engine to the new one. Even the platform watchmen stayed far from their bench.
Noticing this, Twilight exhaled and looked to the others. “Alright, I think we’re in the clear. We just have to hold out for about three hours, hop the next train, and then we’ll make it.”
“No problem!” Pinkie cheered back. She gestured behind her. “That means there’s plenty of time to stop by that Gaitian shrine we passed on the way into town!”
With that, a bit to the shock of the others, she immediately hopped to her feet and began to skip down the platform. Twilight gaped before quickly rising up after her. “Wait, what? Pinkie, wait!”
“Sorry, Twilight! I’m already far behind and we really, reeeeally need prayers for this trip! Be right back!” she called behind her, before skipping onward.
“Wait, she’s not actually…” Starlight began to sputter.
“You damn Gaitian idiot!” Applejack shouted as she started to rise. “Get back here!”
Unfortunately, she was already skipping away. Applejack nearly shouted again, but wisely kept her voice down. If she caused too much of a scene, the platform personnel really would get after them. Instead, she got to her feet and began to rush after her. Twilight quickly stood up and went as well, and as soon as they both took off Starlight, grimacing at all three, rose and began to follow afterward.
Twilight and Applejack, however, couldn’t gain ground on her very quickly. Somehow it seemed she had adapted to her disguise, and in no time at all she was quickly widening her lead on them while they were struggling to even manage a jog in the skirts. It was made even worse when she darted out into one of the main thoroughfares, and soon she was vanishing behind people walking one way and the other. Twilight groaned as she nearly decided to risk tearing her dress to increase her speed after her.
Before she could, though, Starlight gave a bit of a yell of her own as she rushed forward and grabbed both her and Applejack by the shoulder. Quickly she yanked them backward. “What do you two think you’re doing?!” she whispered loudly.
“What d’ya mean?” Applejack nearly shouted back. “Tryin’ ta’ catch that damn fool ‘fore she causes a scene and gets recognized!”
“Well what do you think is going to tip people off? Her just running around or her running around and the three of us chasing her?”
Applejack opened her mouth to answer before clamping it shut again. Twilight groaned, not having a response to that.
Sighing, Starlight released them both. “We know where she’s going. I saw that old shrine when we were pulling into the station. It’s only a little bit away. I’ll go after her. The two of you…head back and try not to make this any worse.”
She immediately moved on after that, at a normal walking speed this time. Twilight and Applejack glanced to one another. The latter frowned, but in the end both turned and began to make their way back to the platform.
It only took them a short distance to get away from the more populated areas again. Twilight did notice one watchman glance their way, but on seeing them walk back he simply turned and kept moving along. Soon they were alone enough to start talking aloud again.
“There’s somethin’ not right with that one, and I ain’t just talkin’ ‘cause she’s Gaitian.”
Twilight grimaced. “If this was any other situation, I might say you were just being paranoid or just say she was childish, but she doesn’t even need her Anima Viri to do some impressive feats. The Rogue role is supposed to make one nimble, agile, and even seem to tip the role of luck in their favor. It allows them to avoid attacks…not withstand them like the Warrior and Disciple.” She turned to her as they walked. “The Tantabus should have crushed her back in Grifftham City…”
“Well…she was a big help there. I just hope she doesn’t ruin it all by gettin’ us nabbed here…” She paused. “What d’ya think ‘bout Starlight Glimmer?”
“What do you mean?”
“We’re in the same boat as Rarity and Rainbow Dash and we’ve been shackin’ up pretty good for a while now, but you buy all that stuff ‘bout Nightmare Moon she was peddlin’?”
She frowned. “I wouldn’t be taking us on this trip if I didn’t. It does make sense. While I’d much rather be doing this with the entire Academy, the six of us right now seem to be the only people with Promethian Sigils we can trust to even be in the same area together.”
“So how exactly we gettin’ this key, anyway?”
Twilight was quiet, for at that moment an older couple passed by. She and Applejack used the moment to draw themselves up silently, and only when they were passed did Twilight respond.
“Do you remember what I told you about my family?”
Applejack’s face softened a little. “Yeah…”
“My older brother has a key.”
She looked surprised. “Wait…say what now? Your older brother? The one who don’t…” She trailed off, seeing Twilight getting tense just at the mention. “Just…wait, how did ya’ give him the key if he didn’t…didn’t, you know…?”
“Didn’t remember me?” Twilight answered. “Well, the truth is-”
“Hold up.”
Applejack suddenly put her hand out, slowing Twilight further and interrupting her. She was a bit puzzled, but ended up looking the same way that she did.
To one side of the platform were several of the child porters. One of them was the same one they had run into in Manehattan’s capitol. Apparently, he had commuted on the train to the next destination along with several of the others. At the moment, three of the bigger ones were surrounding him. Now that the two were quieting down they could hear them.
“Hand it over, kid.”
“No. I’m eating off this.”
“No you ain’t. You’re still in Manehattan. You think anyone here’s gonna sell you a bite to eat after hearing you talk? You don’t have enough to bribe ‘em this time.”
The Trottingham porter didn’t answer. He simply looked down at his feet.
“Hey!”
He looked back up, only to get a hard and sharp shove. Enough to push him back against one of the platform support columns.
“I told you to look at me when I’m talking to you, didn’t I ‘guvner’? You gonna hand over today’s wage or are we gonna throw you off the train halfway through this next leg?”
The kid looked back timidly. He looked down to the ground for a moment, but finally reached into his pocket. A moment later, he pulled back his hand clenched into a fist; seemingly around his money. He began to hand it out to the larger porter, who reached out to accept it.
Suddenly, he drove the fist forward and pounded him in the groin. The older boy’s eyes bulged as he grasped the region in pain, and the Trottingham boy quickly used the opportunity to try and run for it.
It was a stupid move at best. The other two porters easily caught him; one by either arm. They yanked him back and threw him against the wall rough enough to make him cry out, and then held him there. Unfortunately, his hit in the sore spot of the bigger porter wasn’t enough to disable him long—only make him angrier. He soon looked up again, glaring murderously at the kid.
“Think you’re pretty funny, you little jerk?”
He immediately punched the kid in the head hard enough to snap his head back, so that he got both an impact in the face and a second one smacking it against the brick wall. He quickly went limp, and the two kids holding him let him fall. Yet once he was on the ground, they quickly moved in and began to stomp and kick him all over. As painful as the hit had been to the wall, he was still conscious, and soon he was cringing into a ball and beginning to cry loudly.
He barely began, however, when Twilight spotted Applejack move. She turned to her, but she was already crossing the platform rapidly. “Wait!”
It was too late again. In moments, Applejack had closed half the distance. One of the boys looked up from stomping and saw her, and, as kids knew whenever they saw that look on an adult’s face, quickly turned to break for it. The others soon noticed as well and tried to do the same. Unfortunately for them, they were at an end of a platform. No doubt that had been intended to corner the Trottingham porter. They had to try and run past Applejack to get away, and no sooner did the first try to slink by than her hand went out, seized him rough enough by the arm to make him cry out, and flung him back the way he had come. She actually hit one of his companions with him and knocked them both down. As for the third one, the main instigator, he tried to run as well…but Applejack lashed out and seized him by his ear.
He yelled much louder than the others, quickly relenting when Applejack tightened her grip. He felt he’d rip his ear off otherwise. She continued to hold him and walked him back to his friends, who by now were trying to get up to run.
Without a word, she tossed that child forward roughly to the ground, and reached into the breaks in the hoop of her own skirt. On the second day, she had insisted on wearing her pants under it, and as a result it didn’t take long for her to whip out her belt. Seeing it, the children paled, knowing what was coming.
“It ain’t a switch…but it’ll do.”
She quickly seized one of the boys by the arm, yanked him up, threw his body down against a nearby bench, then yanked his shirt back. With ten rapid arm movements, the belt went up and down. He tried to squirm free but she twisted his arm more sharply to get him to stay put until she left ten long red streaks that would turn into bruises across his back. She tossed him aside as if he was nothing more than livestock, now crying himself, and seized the other one in spite of his attempts to get free. Without a word, she gave him the same treatment.
The third one put up the biggest fight, but she didn’t bat an eye as she wrangled him around. Soon she yanked his own shirt back. It wasn’t until she had already given the boy his ten, leaving him sobbing and howling, and began to add another five that she finally said something.
“You like makin’ people cry? How d’ya like it when I make you cry, huh?”
She practically threw him aside and finally stepped back afterward. She wheeled to the other two she had already struck, who braced themselves for more, before she pointed.
“Now get the hell outta here ‘fore I give ya’ all ten more!”
The boys cringed one more time before picking themselves up and running; a bit stiffly and sorely considering their now injured backsides.
Soon, all that was left was the boy from Trottingham. He finally looked up from the ground, a bit of blood trickling down his lips, and toward his savior. He stared at her a moment before beginning to draw himself up more.
“Th…thank y-”
“Do ya’ got clogged ears or somethin’?”
The porter recoiled on hearing her snap, and even more so when she wheeled on him soon after.
“I said get the hell outta here! All of ya’!”
He swallowed and cringed. “Y-Y-Yes, ma’am!” he stammered, before staggering to his feet. He was hurt much worse than the other porters had been, but he quickly put his head down and scurried away just as rapidly as they had. In a few moments he had vanished from sight too, with the only sign of him being there the echoes of his individual footsteps.
As the sound died down, Twilight and Applejack were both left standing there on the mostly desolate platform. Twilight glanced in the direction the porters left before looking back to Applejack, but still saw her just standing there looking where the boy had been. She had gone unusually still.
Finally, she exhaled and turned around. “Sorry… I know we’re supposed ta’ be stayin’ quiet, and look what I do.” She snorted. “I don’t even like Trottingham skunks at the best o’ times…”
Twilight didn’t answer. She hadn’t heard Applejack sound that somber in a while. She nearly said something, but it seemed the farmer knew what would come next. She slowly sighed.
“One winter a couple years back, the farm was on hard times. Worst we ever had. Thought I knew what it was like to go hungry ‘fore that…but this was somethin’ else. I never knew what it was like ta’ watch a man starve ta’ death ‘til that winter…” She shook her head. “Anyway…they kept sayin’ there was work in the big cities for folks. Even folks from other countries. Manehattan was lettin’ people put in for those work permits. We had some richer relations who suggested some of us apply and make steady money for ourselves and for back home. None of us wanted too…‘cept one: my little sis.”
She frowned, this time with a touch of anger.
“Once Apple Bloom moved out ta’ Manehattan, we started gettin’ letters from her with whatever money she earned a month later. I couldn’t care less ‘bout the money. I cared ‘bout how she was livin’. She sure as hell weren’t shacked up in no fancy house like Rarity. She was in some crummy flat sharin’ with other kids who were stuck in the same factory as her, talkin’ ‘bout how the city stank compared to home, how it was always dirty and loud, how they kept tryin’ ta’ cheat her outta her wage which barely had enough for her ta’ eat off of let alone send ta’ us, how the bigger and stronger kids would just take what they could get from the smaller ones if she didn’t hide it or find ways to run and hide, and most of all how she had ta’ learn real quick that as rough as livin’ next to Nighttouched are,” She clenched her fists angrily. “it’s a helluva lot more dangerous ta’ be livin’ as a girl in these dirty streets with dirtier men of all types…”
She clenched her teeth.
“Much as it ticked me off ta’ hear ‘bout all of it…I really wish the letters would have lasted more’n six months. At least with ma and pa, I knew when it happened and how…”
Twilight realized what that meant, much to her dread. “Applejack…”
“Eh…don’t get worked up on account of me. Part of the reason we believed in big families is we know a lot of ‘em ain’t gonna be around too long…” Although she said this casually enough, the tone of her voice showed her distinct discomfort. Definitely not the way she normally played something off. She heard her sharply inhale as her hand began to reach for her face, but she forced it down.
Her voice grew sharper soon after. “All this fancy stuff…these big railroads and factories and buildings…none of it means squat. Don’t care how big and nice they try and make this place look. It’s rotten to the core. For as great and safe as they make it out, they ain’t got no Nighttouched or Light Eaters but they don’t need ‘em. They eat their own kids alive and they get ‘em to do the same.”
Twilight looked rather uneasy, not knowing what to say in response, but Applejack shook her head soon after.
“Eh…can’t do nothin’ ‘bout it now. Shouldn’t have even brought it up…” she muttered, before motioning forward. “Let’s just head back ‘fore I cause more of a scene…”