//------------------------------// // Chapter 86 // Story: Welcome to the jungle // by Hiver //------------------------------// I froze, listening to the jungle. Nope, all good, birds were still singing and chirping. That was a clear sign that nothing big was around. They didn’t seem to mind ponies, but big predators caused them to go quiet. I gave the soup/stew another stir. No recipe, but I had emptied a bunch of cans of tomatoes and about half a bag of lentils into a massive pot, together with some carrot pieces and a bunch of bell peppers, boiled it up and then added spices and salt to taste. It needed to fill ponies up, not win any awards. Suddenly there was a flash above and I glanced up just in time to see an air carriage fly past above. A purple pony appeared in a flash of teleportation in front of me. “Page!” Midnight said and trotted up, “I’m glad you’re alright. How is everypony? I figured it would be best to get some medical ponies here as soon as possible.” “I’m fine, Midnight,” I said and hugged her before letting go, “We have some injured ponies laid out inside the carriage,” I then added and pointed with my wing, “I’m fine, so Sunset and Twilight. Applejack has a concussion though.” “I have several doctors along, they’ll check on them as soon as they land,” Midnight sighed and sank down to sit, “I wanted to get them here as soon as possible, so I teleported as much of the way as I could.” Which explained the tired looking alicorn before me. “Thank you.” “Princess Midnight, you’re here earlier than we thought,” Moon Glow said as she approached. Midnight nodded to her, “I have doctors and medics along, they’re landing the carriage now.” Moon Glow nodded and motioned to a thestral. She took to the sky to guide the carriage down. Moon Glow turned to her and smiled, “Thank you, Princess.” Midnight smiled at her, “The rest will arrive before the end of the day with enough carriages for everypony,” before she turned to frown at me, “You look…” “Thanks, you’re pretty too,” I answered with a small wry smile as I stirred the stew, “This is about done, so I’m going to go pass out now if you don’t mind. Luna must be worried.” Midnight nodded, “Go sleep, I’ll organize things with Moon Glow.” I gave her a tired smile before I walked inside to see, Sunset deep asleep next to Twilight already. I made my way over to them and sank down on Twilights other side before- I opened my eyes in the dream realm, Lunas wing settling across my back and pulling me close, “I spoke to Twilight and Sunset,” she said softly, “How are you doing?” “...I’m tired, Luna,” I said as I leaned against her, closing my eyes with a sigh, “Everytime we seem to take a step forward, something happens and pushes us a dozen steps back. Ponies got hurt again. Ponies died.” “Page…” Luna said softly, “It was an accident.” “Like that matters to the ponies that died,” I answered against her coat, “...They likely saved more lives, you know. The brakes engaged a second before we hit. Even that little might have saved a lot of lives.” Luna didn’t answer, she just rested her head against the top of mine. “...And you know what’s more?” I asked quietly, ”The rail is bucked. I haven’t gotten an aerial view yet, but hundreds of meters of track are twisted and ripped up. No more trains for Nocturnis until it’s cleared up and… I don’t know how long that would take, especially in this place.” “My sister has already ordered the railway to investigate, the Solar Guard is going to provide protection for it,” Luna said, “I think we may have it repaired faster than you may think.” I shook my head, “It’s not just that, Luna,” I said and looked up at her with a sigh, “I thought about that. Nocturnis may handle a couple of months to half a year without problem. We’ll be really short on grain, but we have enough iron and tools and such to last. We have enough food. But that’s not really the problem. The problem is the future. Any train in the future has to travel slowly enough to stop in time. Going that slowly or even worse, stopping would be almost as dangerous as going at full speed and risking a collision. What pony in their right mind would drive that train?” Luna pulled me tighter, “There are solutions,” she said, “Maybe pegasus scouts could fly ahead of the train when in the forest? They could watch for fallen trees as well.” I nodded, “Maybe,” I agreed, “And… special armored train if they do have to stop. Not sure we could stop a Rexsosaurus from wrecking the train with just armor, but might be enough to keep the ponies on it safe.” “See?” Luna said with a small smile, “It’s not hopeless.” “No. Just difficult,” I admitted with a sigh, “More and more difficult.” “If there is anything critical that you need,” Luna continued, “We will send it by airship. In fact, if you need to travel in the future, it should be by airship.” I shook my head, “No.” “Why not?” “Well, for one, asking everypony else to take a train through the monster infested jungle while I take an airship sends the entirely wrong message,” I told her, “And second, airships aren't exactly safer as we have seen before. Especially during the rain period… which we’ll be hitting in three months or so.” “Oh.” “If I’d actually want to make it safe out of the jungle, I’d go by hoof,” I said with a small smile, “Fly by night, sleep in treetops during the day. It's easy enough, nothing would see me. It'll take a week just to reach the edge, but it would be safe. Fairly sure Moon Beam would tie me down if I expressed the intent to try though.” Luna nodded and sighed, “I suppose you’re right,” she admitted, “But we’re still going to send an airship if there is something you critically need.” I nodded, “Thank you,” I said, looking up at her. “We’ll figure everything out,” Luna said and gave me a small kiss, “Now rest. No dreams, just sleep.”