Icy sighed as she looked at her cards. As it turned out, “this time” wouldn't be for a considerable while.
They'd got back to base around eight o'clock in the morning and decided what to do next – all trains were equipped with distress beacons to be pulled in case of breakdown, robbery or other emergency, so there was little danger they'd miss the Paper Prince's next move. So they'd settled down to wait.
At first, Icy was rather pleased with this, as she thought it meant she could go out and see the city. However, fortunately for her dignity, she remembered that she needed to be there when the alert sounded before suggesting this – she had no wish to come across like a ditz or a tourist, though she was technically the latter and considered the former more of a possibility than she liked to admit. So instead, she simply settled down to read some comics. If she couldn't rely on that, what could she rely on?
After about three hours, however, she had more or less exhausted all the comics she immediately had on her and didn't want to go and get more, either from her case or a shop, for fear of missing the call to action. It took great effort not to groan at every half-hour that passed with nothing happening. No matter how many times she told herself that, no, it still wouldn't have been a good idea because something could have happened and you had no way of knowing one way or the other so you were right to stay here... well, she couldn't help but consider how many trips she could have made to her room and back and how many stacks of comics roughly as tall as she was she could have theoretically transported. Not that she had that quite many, but this was only in theory.
After her normal go-to had been exhausted, she'd spent a while going over the transcript of the smuggler's story. Something still seemed wrong about it, but she was having absolutely no luck figuring out what. She'd narrowed it down to something about the description of the fight but, beyond that, she still couldn't say. It didn't help that it only took about twenty minutes of combing through a written report, sentence by sentence, before she was so utterly bored that she barely even cared about whatever was wrong any more.
She looked up at the clock on the wall. That had been about four hours ago. It was now three thirty so – she did some quick mental arithmetic – about seven-and-a-half hours in total that she'd spent waiting.
She glanced over at Dinky, sitting in the corner of the room. Her horn was faintly shimmering and there was a slight golden glow to her eyes as she looked at her book. She didn't seem to be reading it at first, as her eyes looked completely focused and unmoving. However, if you looked at her for a few minutes (as Icy's boredom had driven her to do), you'd see that they were moving, just incredibly slowly. What the tiny filly was doing was slowing down her perceptions so that the rest of the world seemed to be moving on fast forward. It apparently took next-to-no energy and let her speed through these sorts of waiting games without so much as a yawn.
Icy did not even try to suppress or hide her envy.
A nudge from Lance shook Icy from her reminiscence.
“Icy, it's your turn,” Alula said, a slight sigh slipping into her speech.
Icy shook her head and refocused on the game that had taken up the past couple of hours. She studied how everyone was doing. Truffle was in the lead this round, with Alula close behind, then Icy and Lance bringing up the rear. However, the difference between the top two and the bottom two was vast and she needed to do something to bridge the gap. After a moment, she locked eyes with Alula for a second or two before speaking.
“Alright, Princess, you want my turn, I'll give you my turn.”
“Please do,” Alula replied, deadpan.
“Fine, but you asked for this.”
“I specifically did, yes.”
“Do you have any... tens?”
“Go fish.”
Icy snorted and reached for the deck, grumbling as she did. Not so much because she'd been wrong, but because she didn't think Alula was playing right. Most of the fun of this game was being really dramatic and confrontational and saying “Go fish!” in as vindictive and spiteful a manner as possible. Not being calm and professional about it. She didn't say anything – I'll play in my way and let Alula play in hers – but it still felt wrong.
The fact that this attitude may have been the reason Alula was winning overall didn't help.
Still, it could have been worse – Corporal Ton had tried to teach them all something called “Poker” which, as far as Icy could tell, was about dealing everyone some cards, seeing whether they had certain combinations and if they did, they won. Kind of okay, she guessed, but she couldn't really see the point of it.
Lance tapped the table and pointed at Alula. He tapped the table quickly five times – asking for fives, which she gave him without comment or visible regret. A look at Icy told her his thinking – neither of them had much of a chance at winning this round, but it they kept it out of Alula's hands, it would go to Truffle. As Truffle was only third in terms of round-winning (After Alula and Lance but, sadly, ahead of Icy), this would prevent her from further cementing her lead and give everyone more of a chance of beating her.
Alula rolled her eyes as she witnessed the communication. “It's only a game.”
Icy sighed. Further proof that she didn't get it.
Alula sighed and opened her mouth to take her turn when a quiet blaring was heard coming from the HQ's massive aetheroscope.
“We've got a distress signal!” Sergeant Ton called over to them.
Sighing in relief, Icy got up and went with the others to see what was up. As Lance went over to poke Dinky out of her time-trance, Alula spoke up.
“Well, it looks like we'll have to end this game. And since I've won the most games, I'd say I win, wouldn't you?”
As she sped up her trotting a little in victory, Icy smiled.
Now she's getting it.
Icy gulped quietly as she began to hear the noise of the train in the distance. She looked over the railing of the bridge, down at the tracks below. She didn't want to say anything out loud, as everyone else seemed okay with the plan, but she was experiencing the beginnings of doubts.
When they'd pinned down exactly what train was sending the signal – easier since, at Dinky's suggestion, they had specifically been looking for the most upper-class and unicorn-frequented trains that were running – Icy assumed they would be teleporting on top of it.
The looks she got from Colonel Steward, Captain Gate and Alula wasn't exactly disdainful, as they were all aware that not everyone knew the ins and outs of teleportation, but they were a bit more condescending than she was entirely comfortable with.
As it turned out, it didn't work like that. For one thing, a pony being teleported kept any momentum they had – or lack of it – but was unable to see and prepare for what they would find. So, from their perspective, they would suddenly go from solid ground to rushing train without knowing how to brace themselves, so they'd be knocked either off the train or out of their senses.
However, it probably wouldn't even get that far – teleportation was a frustratingly inexact process, so accurately and reliably placing them in a specific few metres was impossible at this distance, let alone on a moving object. At best, they'd miss the train (literally) and be able to do nothing but watch it thunder past with its passengers being robbed. At worst, well, they could end up in the right place on one axis, but not on the other – in other words, in front of the train. And, well, that would make them equally ineffectual, among other things.
So, instead, they were teleported a fair distance ahead of the train, in the vicinity of a bridge over the track, and were waiting for the train to pass so they could leap on.
However, while the bridge did indeed go over the track, it wasn't exactly meant for that – the tracks ran through a small gully that the bridge ran over, so there was a drop of about four meters they'd have to survive, not including the height of the train if they missed.
Also, they were trying to leap onto a moving train. All in all, Icy thought she had good reason to be worried.
Still, there was little time to discuss it as the train came closer to the bridge and everyone prepared to jump.
“Are you sure about this?” Icy managed to get out.
“Perfectly. No reason we can't glide onto it,” Alula said, unfurling one of her newly-enlarged wings for emphasis as Lance climbed onto her back.
“Well, I dunno about no reason,” Icy replied, raising her voice a little as the noise of the train increased. “I mean, we are jumping onto a-”
“Now!”
Icy was spared both her surprise at Truffle's interruption and her wondering how one can jump onto a Now by the world turning golden and the train slowing down.
She looked up over her shoulder at Dinky.
“Oh, right! Sorry!”
Dinky smiled through her concentration. “That's okay, just don't drop me.”
Nodding, Icy hopped off the bridge's railing, unfurling her wings and going into a steep glide. This was partially to make sure Dinky's spell didn't have to be longer than necessary, but mostly because even Dinky's weight was pushing the limit for her wings' strength.
Fortunately, she landed quickly, followed immediately by Alula and Lance making a frustratingly graceful landing. Finally, Truffle, who had simply jumped off the bridge, landed on his belly and bounced up onto his hooves and into an action pose.
Overall, Icy felt somewhat inadequate in the style department.
Still, she didn't have time to dwell on that as they looked back over the train. A few cars back, there were some pure white, angular ponies moving about – something of a giveaway.
The five ran forward (or back, depending on how you looked at it) and stopped when they reached the car in question, which looked to be the first-class car. Looking down, they could see that the door to the next car had a paper chain holding it closed. As they watched, a paper pony came out of the unchained door with a bit pouch hooked around its pointy nose. It climbed the ladder next to the door without even noticing the colts and fillies watching and came onto the roof. It trotted over to a large paper bucket held by another paper pony that looked to be nearly overflowing with such pouches, as well as jewellery and loose bits. It deposited the pouch and turned back to the ladder, but paused as another one came up bearing a jewelled necklace.
Truffle cleared his throat to say something before Icy shushed him and pushed everyone back, just in time to avoid being seen by the Prince himself as he exited the cabin.
They waited for a few seconds for him to reach the top, moving much slower than they expected. Finally, he climbed up and over the ladder's top rung. He took a quick breath and then started trotting gradually over to the bucket.
However, before he could get halfway, a sudden blast of wind froze his hoof to the train's roof. He turned his head in shock.
Icy grinned as he saw the group.
“Ticket, please!”
The Paper Prince looked up in surprise. “You again?!”
Icy was a little disappointed he didn't respond to her quip, since she felt it was a definite improvement over last time, but didn't have time to dwell on it as Truffle responded to him.
“Us again, indeed, little prince. Ready to fold?”
Icy grunted a little at Truffle's much better quip before spreading her wings and gathering her energy again, ready for a fight.
The Prince, however merely scoffed. “Course not, but I ain't gonna fight you. At least,” he gave a whistle, “not myself.”
Below Icy and the group, several white forms began moving inside the carriage. They came towards the door and looked towards the ladder next to it. However, before the first one could reach for the handle, Icy flapped her wings and created a small but solid block of ice over it, freezing it shut.
She looked up and smirked at the Prince, only to see the paper pony who had been guarding his loot break the ice around his leg.
Feeling a little self-conscious, she flapped a few more times downwards, thickening the ice around the door enough to stop it being forced open for a while. She looked to her left at Alula and Truffle, who gave her a nod.
Once that was done, the five jumped to the next car – which seemed a little tricky for Dinky and Truffle, but they managed it. Conversely, Icy and Alula simply glided across and Lance...
Lance leapt, fell just short but grabbed the side of the ladder and swung himself up one-hoofed onto the roof of the car, using the momentum from his fall to jump into a small flip that let him land on his hind legs, sword in hoof. It was a bit difficult to tell due to his mask, but he didn't seem to have noticed how showy the move seemed.
Meanwhile, the Prince backed up along with the paper pony beside him.
“Nice try, but I still don't need to fight you myself.” At the back of the car, the hoof of a paper pony came up from the ladder, presumably having taken the other door out along with the rest of them. The Prince barely seemed to notice. “Don't have to fight you at all, come to think of it. Just need to get away with this.” He indicated the bucket of loot at his feet.
Icy suppressed a smile as an idea popped into her head. “Keep him talking,” She whispered as she began gathering energy once again.
Truffle nodded and smiled at the Prince. “Of course. And I'm sure the fact that you could barely hold off one of us in a straight fight, let alone all five of us, has nothing to do with your decision.”
The prince snorted. “Whatever. Still ain't gonna catch me. Subjects, keep these guys busy while I-”
“One thing you're forgetting!” Truffle interrupted before the command could be finished. He and Lance stepped forward, widening their stances and visibly preparing their defences. “We're on a train car – basically a corridor. Only takes a couple of us to block it while the rest are free to chase you when you try to fly off.”
Icy did not feel it prudent to mention how she couldn't really fly – she doubted the prince knew that.
The Prince held up a hoof as the paper ponies came up behind him. “Hmm, you got a point. If only there was somethin' I could do to keep you busy. Oh wait!” He whipped a large pair of paper shurikens out of his saddlebags. “There is! Now, if you ladies and gents'll excuse me, I'll just be takin' these and-”
As soon as he said this and started reaching for the bucket, Icy leapt up onto Truffle's back and let loose a strong stream of cold. However, it wasn't directed at the Prince but at his loot, freezing it into a thick block of ice and fastening it solidly to the train's roof. Once this was done, she half-hopped, half-fell backwards behind the front line again.
The Prince glared at her and growled. “Fine then. You wanna be clever? So do I!”
He threw both shuriken but, before Truffle and Lance could even get into position to deflect them, they seemed to go wide. They missed the group by several feet and went curving round behind them, lowering down next to the train's sides.
Dinky turned around to watch them go, her horn glowing a little in readiness, before she turned back to the Prince. “What was that?”
The Prince smirked. “Three... two... one...”
A loud noise erupted from the front of the train. Or rather, several loud noises in quick succession. First was the screeching sound like nails going right through a chalkboard or, more accurately, a metal plate. Then there was a groaning that went on just long enough to establish a struggle before it was overtaken by the sound of a bursting pipe and then a deafening hiss of escaping gas.
Dinky's eyes widened. “What was that?” she repeated, having to shout to be heard, which she did not seem proficient in.
Still, the Prince seemed to hear her as he chuckled. “That, m'lady,” he gave a sarcastic nod of the head to her, “was the sound of the brake lines being sliced open. Air pressure based – without that, well, this train's gonna have a real problem stopping. And, you know, not crashing. Really should have upgraded the brakes to a fail-safe system but, if they did, I wouldn't have chosen this one.” He shrugged and gave the group a smug look. “What, you think I didn't do my homework? A Prince's gotta be educated, you know.”
He waved his hoof forward and the paper ponies rushed the group. Fortunately, as they intended, Truffle and Lance were able to hold them off, but they did block them from being able to reach the Prince.
“Dinky,” Alula yelled as she ducked behind Icy's wings to shift a horn, “can you freeze him.”
Dinky shook her head as she focused on slowing down one of the paper ponies. “No! I can't see him to-”
“Doesn't matter,” The prince called, his voice moving to the edge of the train. “You've got bigger problems to take care of than my getaway. Ta-ta!”
His voice moved as she spoke, off the edge of the train and onto something. There was a whooshing noise and, after a second, the distant image of his paper plane flying off gave a pretty clear indication of what.
Then, as soon as he was a safe distance from the train, all the paper ponies who were stalling them suddenly whirled around and leapt off the sides of the train. Below, Icy could see several more leaping from the rear door of the carriage. All-in-all, about a dozen of them were falling, not including the ones Lance and Truffle had already taken out.
All those forces, all created by him and all disposable. That didn't make any sense as far as Icy could see, but she still couldn't explain it away.
However, she didn't have long to consider it before she heard Lance kick the roof beneath her in frustration, a slight growl escaping his mouth. Looking at him, he looked like he was honestly considering chasing him and, well, using his sword in the traditional way.
However, any such thoughts were cut off by Dinky speaking. “Um, I kinda hate to say it, but he's right.”
Alula nodded. “Right. We need to get to the front and stop this train.”
There was scarcely time to nod in agreement before they were all rushing back the way they came. Unfortunately, it took a little longer than they would have liked. When they'd been moving backwards atop the train, they'd been aided by the fact the back of the train was, essentially, moving towards them, so they could jump from car to car without much problem. Now that they were trying to move forward, with the train going away from them the moment their hooves left the surface.
Of course, Lance was able to leap across – putting his hooves over the edge, planting them against the side and launching himself towards it – but even then he only just managed to grab the edge (and pull himself up one-hoofed, of course) but the rest had a bit more trouble. Icy and Alula couldn't even glide across, since the wind would catch their wings instantly and knock them off the train entirely.
In the end, they had to settle for Truffle grabbing Dinky, Icy and a shrunken Alula and hurling them across, which Icy found as almost as uncomfortable as it was undignified. Then again, that described a surprising amount of things she'd had to do since joining the team.
Once Truffle had thrown everyone across, he leapt himself with everyone catching him. Or, rather, one of them catching him and the rest having to use every ounce of their strength to help pull him up. As it turned out, being fat wasn't just a superpower.
Fortunately, they only had to repeat this once before they had reached the front of the train. Once there, Alula turned to them.
“Right, Dinky – you go down into the car and let the engineer know what's happened...”
“Think he's probably got a fair idea already,” Truffle interrupted, barely having to raise his voice to be heard, “something about the pipes bursting and the air rushing out probably tipped him off.”
“And,” Alula began again, giving Truffle a slight glare, “see if you can do anything to slow the train down.”
Dinky gulped, her eyes widening. “The train?! I can't slow down an entire train – I can barely do it to all of us. Not that I would, but I mean, I...”
“I know,” Alula interrupted, “but if you slowed down just the engine, that might help.”
Dinky shook her head. “I don't think I could – it's still connected to stuff, not something on its own that I can-”
“Well, try!” Alula interrupted, squeezing the bridge of her nose with a hoof. “You never know, you might figure out something.”
Dinky closed her eyes tight for a second and nodded. She then opened them with an uncertain hum, ran to the ladder that went between the cars and descended out of sight.
“As for us,” Alula continued, “we need to see if we can stop this train from the outside. Any ideas?”
“For stopping an entire train?” Truffle asked, somewhat baffled and a hint of fear edging onto his voice. “Not off the top of my head – even I'm not that heavy.”
Alula sighed. “Yes, I wasn't thinking of putting something in front of it, thanks.”
There was silence for a moment (well, as much silence as there can be on top of and near the engine of a moving train) before Icy spoke. “Well, how are the brakes supposed to work?”
“Like the Prince said, air pressure – when it's released, it's pumped through the pipes and activates the brakes on each car.”
Icy nodded as she thought. “Could we find some way to repair the pipes.”
Alula's eyes went up as she thought. “Possible, not probable,” she said, her speech accelerating along with her thoughts. “Depends how much was released when pipes were cut, how much escaped and how much pressure gets put in when activated.”
“We don't know that?” Icy asked.
Alula twitched her eyebrows down but her speech didn't change tone or tempo. “No, strange, can't recall exactly PSI of specific model of train brakes, terrible oversight, please forgive. Still idea worth trying.”
“Brilliant!” Truffle said, looking at Icy expectantly. “What were you thinking of fixing it with?”
Icy opened her mouth before pausing, the sole gap in her plan suddenly becoming evident. “Ah. Was hoping you could think of that.”
Alula snorted as she facehoofed. “Not obvious?” She peeked over her hoof to see everyone looking at her expectantly.
Fortunately, they were saved from her wrath... well, her disgruntlement, at least, by Lance tapping a hoof on the ground in realization and pointing to Icy's wings. It took a moment, but she quickly realized what he meant.
“Oh, Ice! Wait, are you sure that'll be strong enough?”
“No idea, but worth trying,” Alula replied, shifting herself a horn and gently pushing Icy towards the side of the train with her magic. Taking the hint, Icy moved to the edge, only to see another flaw in the plan.
“Um, I can't really see the brake lines from here. Don't think I can get a good angle to freeze them.”
“Correct, so get new angle.”
“How?”
“Truffle, grab back legs and dangle over.”
“Wait, what?!” Icy asked, hopping suddenly away from Truffle. “Are you crazy, what if...?”
“Only choice we have!” Alula yelled. “Alternative is letting train crash!”
Icy gulped, looking at her. Her eyes darted towards Truffle and, for a moment, she saw an oddly pensive expression before it morphed into one of determination.
“Don't you worry, Icy my girl!” he said, his voice carrying his usual exuberance even while his face couldn't quite get there. “I won't be dropping you! You won't fall.”
Icy closed her eyes for a moment, but not before catching a tiny movement of his mouth. She couldn't hear anything from it and doubted she would have even without the wind but, while she was far from an expert on lip reading, it seemed to her like it might have been the movements for the word again.
Steeling herself, Icy nodded and turned towards the train's edge, both to prepare and so Truffle wouldn't suspect she'd seen his mutter. She gulped and tensed her front right hoof so much it started vibrating and beating against the roof beneath her.
She didn't have to wait long before she felt Truffle's front hooves grab her rear ones and his mouth bite her tail. Once she was sure his grip was secure, she pushed herself off the edge, resolving to get into position as quickly as possible so she wouldn't have a chance to realize what a bad idea this was.
As she descended, she saw the two halves of the pipe, one half still in position, the other half hanging down a little, far from the next ring that held the pipe in place. Icy was about to call up to ask what to do about it when a green glow enveloped the dangling half and, slowly and with great effort, pulled it up so it was flush against the remaining half.
Having no more reason to delay, Icy gave her wings an experimental flap. It made a little ice over the pipes, but also pushed her back a little. She let out a small yelp as it did, feeling Truffle's grip intensify and hearing a grunt from him. The ground was moving very fast beneath her and any slight shift in the arrangement keeping her above it was a cause for alarm. However, the moment quickly passed and she settled down again, both physically and mentally.
However, this did present her with something of a problem – any wind she made to freeze the pipes together would also push her away from them. She took a moment to think before reaching forward with one hoof and grabbing the secure side of the pipe.
Unfortunately, she knew that Alula's magic, no matter how much she shifted to increase it, wasn't as strong as the metal holding the pipe – if she tried to grab hold of the side her magic was holding and flap, there was a good chance she's just pull it away from the other half, the exact opposite of what she was trying to achieve.
“It's no good!” she called up to the others. “I need something to hold on the other side while I flap, otherwise-”
She didn't get any further before she saw a white shape swinging down beside her in her peripheral vision and heard a slam and the slight groan of metal being pierced. She looked to the side just in time to see Lance, suspended by wedging his hoof behind the railing on the side of the train's roof, flip back up without apparent difficulty. Looking down again, she saw his sword embedded in the side, well within her hoof's reach.
“Thanks!” she called up as she grabbed the blade's hilt. Tightening her grip on both it and the secure half of the pipe, she started flapping again, pulling up as much energy as she could. She kept her eyes open as she did and watched as the ice began forming over the split in the pipe. At first, it was just a bit of frost, but it quickly grew several crystal lumps that began rapidly expanding, soon crossing over to become one solid lump. She kept flapping until it was about three times the width of the pipe it was enveloping.
Once that was done, she stopped flapping, resting for a moment before she felt herself being pulled up. It was not a pleasant experience. She first felt a painful yank on her tail hairs, followed by her legs. This might have been all that was needed were it not for the fact that Truffle was not especially tall, so he couldn't lift her high enough to simply place her back on the surface of the train. Instead, he was forced to drag her legs and belly over the lip, which was not designed to be comfortable to rub yourself against. One of the rings that held the rail in place was also beneath her, forming a horrible lump that she was also dragged along.
However, as unpleasant as this was, it didn't last long. Soon, she was lying on the roof of the train once again, panting with both fatigue and mild pain.
She looked up to see Alula looking over the side, evaluating her work. “Hmm, adequate,” she said, not taking her eyes off the ice block. “Should hold up to pressure of brakes probably.”
Icy swallowed and nodded, barely noticing Lance hanging off the side again to retrieve his sword. “Okay, other side next. Just give me a moment.”
“Don't have many moments,” Alula replied as Lance swung back and trotted over to the other side. “Less moments we waste, better our chances.
“Okay, fine!” Icy tried not to whine. She thought she managed it, in spite of her and Alula's differing definitions of waste.
She and Truffle went over to the other side just as Lance came back up. Fortunately, though the whole process was no less tiring and uncomfortable, she knew what she needed to do now. Before too long, she was on the roof again, wheezing a little but having frozen both pipes together.
Alula nodded as she looked over the second fix. “Right, need to tell them-”
“DINKY! TRY THE BRAKES NOW!” Truffle bellowed, making everyone jump at his volume, despite Icy's exhaustion, Alula's focus and Lance's stoicism. Icy had heard rumours around Ponyville about something called the Royal Canterlot Voice and wondered if this might be related. Alternatively, since the owner was neither royal nor from Canterlot, it was most likely just Truffle's natural volume.
There was quiet (again, relatively speaking) for a few seconds before a screeching sound came from the wheels at the base of the train. For a brief, wonderful second, it seemed like they'd succeeded.
Then the cracking sound started to creep in on the edge of the noise. Within seconds, it rose to equal volume before there was a crash, the hiss of escaping air and the cessation of the screeching of the brakes.
“What?!” Icy gasped. “I thought you said it should...”
“I thought it would!” Alula called back, briefly lapsing into normal speech as she went over to the side.
Icy hauled herself to her hooves and followed her. “So how come... oh.”
As it turned out, the ice hadn't fully shattered. Instead, one end of the pipe had burst out of it and was now, once again, hanging below it.
“Of course, idiot!” Alula called, smacking herself in the forehead as if to make sure everyone knew who she was insulting. “Forgot to include fact that pipe is unsecured on one end – means pressure would be greater on that end, plus weight of pipe. Needed much thicker ice.
Icy gulped and flapped her wings in preparation. “Okay, no problem, I can-”
“No, too late, air pressure's gone now, probably wouldn't be enough to stop train,” Alula blurted out quickly, her eyes moving rapidly as she thought.
Icy thought as quickly as she could. “Could we... could we try freezing the wheels? Or maybe sticking Lance's sword in them.
Lance shook his head, miming a snapping sword to get across that it wasn't nearly strong enough for that. He reached for his sword to demonstrate, only for his hoof to grab at nothing. Realizing that it was still stuck in the side of the train, he turned around to go and retrieve it.
It was at that moment they all saw the post pass by the train's side and heard the massive CLANG of a sword being knocked out of a wall, most likely bent completely out of shape by the impact and definitely being sent flying away from them, the train leaving it far behind.
Lance scraped at the ground with a hoof in agitation, his intense self-control visibly strained. Icy tried briefly to lift a wing to put on his shoulder. Unfortunately, they quickly protested and she just let them hang tiredly.
She gulped. They were rapidly running out of resources.
After a few seconds, Alula shook her head. “No choice. Have to disconnect the other cars. Will make them come to stop without engine pulling – passengers will be safe.”
“What about the Driver?” Icy called back. “What about the ponies in the station? What about us?”
“DON'T KNOW!” Alula yelled, closing her eyes tightly as her strain broke through into her voice. After a moment, she calmed herself. “Don't know, will... will think of something,” she finished, barely even trying to convince herself.
Icy briefly considered responding before, after a second, simply closing her mouth and nodding.
Together, the group went over and descended the ladder to the area between cars. Icy was the last to descend and had to put a lot of effort into ignoring how fast the ground was moving as she got closer to it.
Once there, Truffle and Lance put their hooves around the peg holding the cars together. After a brief second of preparation, they looked at each other, nodded and pulled.
The peg barely budged.
“Huh,” Truffle said after a moment. “Guess these things are stronger than they look. Icy, Alula, going to need your help with this, maybe more.”
To Icy's side, Alula enveloped herself in a green haze, emerging as a colt about Truffle's size. Icy assumed it was for the increased strength – not that it would approach Truffle's, of course, but it would help. It could also have been to give herself plenty of padding should she need to jump off the train. Of course, she could have simply grown wings and flown off, but that might be tricky – Icy looked off to the side and considered how fast the train was moving and the resultant wind speeds. Although...
“Hold on, is it just me, or are we beginning to slow down?”
Everyone looked up from the peg that was still staying firmly in place. Looking off to the side, they saw that, indeed, the scenery was moving much slower than it had a moment ago and was still decelerating.
“You're right, Icy!” Truffle cried, falling back onto his haunch in relief. “Looks like we'll be alright after all!”
“But how?” Alula asked, looking a little annoyed that they were no longer in mortal danger. “Nothing we did... Dinky!” she said suddenly, turning and running into the train's cabin as the train finally came to a halt.
The other followed to find a room so thick with smoke they could barely see the glow of the engine. Coughing slightly, Alula shifted herself some wings and started flapping the smoke out of the room, Icy joining her a moment later.
It took thirty seconds and a lot of aching in Icy's wings, but eventually the smoke cleared enough to reveal the engineer – a large, grey-coated earth pony – and Dinky. Both were wearing air filtration masks over their muzzles, presumably put in the car for just this sort of occurrence. Of course, since they were designed for an adult head, Dinky had to hold it up with her hooves and press her face into the front of it to stop any smoke getting in.
The two looked up as the room became less obscured, Dinky's face lighting up as she saw her friends.
“Are you guys okay?” she asked, taking the mask away from her face. She gave a tiny little cough before continuing. “I saw Icy hanging from the side and I was so scared for her but I couldn't stop...”
“We're fine, Dinky!” Icy assured her, trotting over to look up at the train's engine. “Thanks to you, we're safe. So I guess you were able to slow down the engine after all.”
“Oh, no!” Dinky shook her head vehemently, as if to shake off the apparently-unearned praise. “I couldn't do that at all. Actually, I kind of sped it up.”
“But...” Alula asked, her jaw dropping for a moment. “But how did train... how did it stop?”
“Simple.” The engineer shrugged as he joined the conversation. “I just stopped feeding coal into the engine.”
There was a long, unpleasant pause.
“What?” Alula asked finally.
“Well, without coal, the engine stops moving the train and it'll come to a stop,” The engineer explained.
“So...” Alula stopped herself briefly, taking a deep breath in before continuing, “so we were never in any actual danger? We didn't have to do anything at all?”
“Now, I didn't say that!” the engineer replied, a little disturbed at this little filly getting so annoyed. “If the little lady here hadn't sped the coal's burning up, we might not have run out before we started going up the mountain. Then we'd have stopped on a hill and we'd have slid down – wouldn'ta been fun.”
“But we...” Alula indicated the group that had been on the roof, “didn't have to do anything? We lost Lance's sword, exhausted Icy's wings and nearly broke my brain... for nothing?” Even in her fury, Alula didn't shout, but the force behind her words was still considerable.
The engineer looked awkward at that. “Well, you see, er... what you tried could have worked,” He finished with a forced grin.
Alula breathed out, remaining still for a second. “Truffle, I'm very sorry about this, but you're the only thing around I can use.”
Before anyone could question what she meant by that, Alula pressed her face into Truffle's side and used his suit and flab to muffle her screams.