Gilda cautiously peeked out of the window. She scowled when she spotted the offending unicorn from the League lurking by the corner of a building just down the street. He was glaring directly at Sugarcube Corner, but he wasn't trying to come any closer. "Uh, quick question. How are we supposed to get out of here without getting spotted by that douche-nozzle?"
"That's a good question," Berry called as she joined Gilda at the window. "Normally I'd say we could take the back exit, but the League is bound to have somepony else watching the rear of the building, too."
"Wait, you mean there's more than one of them here?!" Gilda glared accusingly at the mare. "One crazy unicorn is bad enough, why didn't you tell me there might be more?"
"Because I didn't know you were going to help me?" Berry countered. "Besides, I have a way we can get past the pony out front, after that all we have to do is get to Ponyville Station without getting caught." She rubbed a hoof under her chin thoughtfully. "I guess the only problem is going to be actually getting on the train to Canterlot. We'll have to time this carefully."
Another sigh escaped Gilda's beak. "Let me guess, there's going to be more of them waiting at the station?"
"Probably," Berry admitted. "They might even try to follow us onto the train, but at least they won't try using force once we're aboard. They won't risk damaging the train or harming the passengers."
"That's lucky," Gilda muttered drily. Keenly aware that she had already agreed to help, she swallowed her complaints and turned away from the window. "Okay, so what's your plan for getting rid of the nutcase out in front?"
"Oh, that's easy." Berry smiled and looked back over her shoulder. "Hey, Pinkie?"
"Yep? Pinkie called from behind the counter.
Berry pointed through the window. "One of the ponies from the League of Cerberus is out there watching the door."
Pinkie froze in place. Her expression slowly morphed into a slightly-too-wide grin, with her eyes bulging out of their sockets in a way that was more than a little creepy. It wasn't a happy smile, it was a smile that somehow conveyed the thought that somepony was about to be in a whole world of pain, and Gilda couldn't suppress a shiver at the sight of it. She tried to look away as Pinkie stalked towards the door, but morbid fascination coupled with some deeply buried instinct forced her to watch.
When Pinkie reached the door she calmly opened it and poked her head out. The League unicorn's ears perked up when he saw the door open, but the moment he spotted Pinkie he yelped and darted away, tripping over his own hooves in his desperate rush to escape. With the unicorn gone, Pinkie turned back and gave a much more natural beaming grin to the two. "There we go, all done!"
"Thanks Pinkie!" Berry grinned and looked up at the clock on the wall, then turned back to Gilda. "Okay, the next train to Canterlot arrives in just under five minutes. Let's go!"
"Go? Hey, wait!" Gilda barely had time to react as Berry pulled the door open and darted outside. By the time Gilda managed to snap herself back to reality and follow the mare was already galloping around the corner of a nearby building, forcing the griffon to take to the air in order to catch up.
Flying as fast as she could without risking a crash, Gilda soon caught up with Berry. The mare was surprisingly fast on her hooves. Still, if the train was arriving so soon, they were going to be cutting it close. "If the train's leaving so early, do you think you can make it in time?"
"Yeah," Berry said curtly. "As long as we can avoid any of the-"
She was cut off as a crimson bolt of magic zapped out from an alleyway, missing her by inches. The two glanced back to see the League unicorn appear out of the alleyway and charge after them.
"That's not goo- whoa!" Gilda twisted in midair to avoid another bolt.
"This way!" Berry turned at breakneck speed and galloped down another alleyway, taking a zigzagging route between buildings that Gilda could barely keep up with. Unfortunately, the unicorn managed to stay on their tail, though the mad pace at least ruined his aim as he fired spells at them wildly.
Still, getting shot at wasn't something Gilda was willing to take lying down. As they rounded another corner, she deliberately knocked over a barrel resting against one of the walls. The unicorn managed to jump over it easily enough, but he stumbled as he landed, tripped over his own hooves, and ended up faceplanting a few steps after. "Ha! That's what you get!"
"Nice one!" Berry called appreciatively as she turned another corner. "Come on, the train's going to be leaving any second!"
"Seriously?! We'll never make it at this rate!" Gilda cursed under her breath, then made a snap decision. "Hold on, and try not to squirm!"
"What do you-whoa!" Berry cried out in shock as Gilda snatched her up and carried her into the air.
"Hold on tight!" With a powerful flap of her wings Gilda launched herself over the top of the buildings and banked around, making a beeline for the train station as Berry cursed and yelped below.
Gilda felt a wave of relief as she spotted the train still in the station, but then she noticed two pegasi closing in on her from either side, both wearing the same robes as the unicorn she'd left behind. "Nuts, they've got pegasi too?!"
"Fly faster!" Berry yelled. "Go straight for the train!"
"What about tickets?" Gilda asked.
"It's fine, they know me!" Berry retorted.
"Fair enough." Gilda nodded. "In that case, let's see you catch this!"
Gripping Berry tightly, Gilda pushed herself to her absolute limit and grinned as she shot past the pegasi, leaving them in the dust. She may not have been able to beat Rainbow Dash anymore, but she was still fast enough that the Wonderbolt had to at least put some effort into it, a feat that few either within or beyond Equestria could manage. A pair of food-hoarding League pegasi didn't stand a chance.
"Ha! Eat that!" Gilda kept up her pace as she angled herself directly towards the train. As she soared over the ticket booth she slowed down and lowered her altitude, dropping Berry on her hooves right outside one of the train's doors.
"Put two tickets on my tab!" Berry yelled to the attendant as she and Gilda dove onto the train. To Gilda's surprise, the attendant simply nodded and slammed the door shut behind them, sealing them safely on the train.