When I woke up again, the sun was setting outside already. Twilight was still asleep next to me but Sunset was missing. Half a dozen ponies were checking on the wounded at the other end of the carriage. Outside the light was fading fast and it was raining hard, outright pouring down.
Blinking the sleep from my eyes, I shook my head and struggled up to sit. Oh… maybe I should have found something other than hard wood to sleep on.
Stretching, I got up and walked up to Crimson Star.
“How’s everypony doing?” I asked.
She looked up and gave me a small smile, “I think everypony is going to make a full recovery, sir,” she said before she sighed, “Almost. Ivory Bee will likely lose half an ear and some will have some scars, but nothing else that should show through a coat.”
Damn.
Those engineers deserve a medal. And they will get one. I just wished it wasn’t posthumously.
“Thank you, Crimson,” I said, giving her a nod, “Good job. How’s your wing?”
She flicked her ears with a small wry smile, “Not actually broken as it turns out, so that’s good. I just landed on it awkwardly and twisted it badly. I’ll be fine, but it’ll be a moon or so until I can fly again.”
I nodded and smiled at her, “I’m sure it’ll be back to normal soon. Did you see Midnight or Sunset?”
“I believe Princess Midnight is resting in the next carriage,” Crimson said, “Lady Sunset, I’m not sure.”
“Thanks, I’ll find her,” I said and walked outside, casting a quick rain shield above myself. Everypony had clearly arrived by now, tents had been set up to keep the rain away and we had seven air carriages landed around the small clearing formed by the train crash.
Every single one we had in Nocturnis.
Guard ponies all over, some standing on guard and others resting beneath the shelter of the tents, including some exhausted looking pegasi, likely the ones that pulled the carriages.
“Sir,” Moon Glow said as she exited from beneath one of the tents, walking through the rain and into my dry bubble, “We’ll be ready to move at first light.”
I nodded while she shook the worst of the water off herself, “Makes sense. Everypony doing okay?”
Made sense to wait until sunrise to leave. While thestrals could pull an air carriage, the fact was that pegasi are just better at it, they could fly longer and faster and with a larger load.
We might have almost completely silent flight and better low speed maneuverability, but in an air race, pegasus wins.
Moon Glow nodded and smiled, “Everypony doing good. If it would just stop raining, that’d be nice, but nothing everypony isn’t well used to.”
“Anything happen while I slept? Any locals getting arsey about us being here?”
Moon Glow shrugged, “We had a couple of Tigeroids sniffing about a couple of hours ago, but we convinced them there were easier prey.”
Large quadruped lizards, well over twice the size of a pony and tiger coloured. Big teeth. Actually not too threatening compared to some things here, but more than big enough to consider a pony a nice meal.
I nodded, “Well, that’s a good sign.”
Moon Glow nodded, “Yeah, if they are around it’s unlikely any of the larger ones are around this area. Might have gotten lucky. Even so, I don’t like being on the ground like this, I have some ponies building a tent platform for the wounded, we should be able to move there in less than an hour.”
“Good thinking, Glow.”
“Not my idea, sir,” she said and smiled, “Princess Twilight told us to, but it’s a really good idea. I think we’re going to make it standard procedure.”
“Being out in the rain is better than fighting things with big teeth,” I agreed.
“And we’re not going to be rained on, Princess Midnight said that she had an idea for that,” Moon Glow said, “I think something like this spell, but bigger.”
I couldn’t pull that off, but I wouldn’t put it past Midnight or Sparks. Hell, or Sunset even.
“Good plan. Did you see where Sunset went off to?”
Moon Glow sighed and nodded, “She took half a dozen ponies to the crashed locomotive to recover the drivers.”
I sighed and nodded, looking in that direction. She would.
Buck.
“Thank you, Glow.”
“You could eat something before we move, sir,” she said, “We have gathered some fruit and we have some bread and other dry goods, but we have some cooked food ready we can’t really take with us. Almost everypony else has already eaten.”
I nodded, “I’ll be out in a moment, I’m going to get Twilight too,” I said and escorted Moon Glow back to the open sided tent to keep her out of the rain before I headed back to the upside down carriage and walked in, crossing over to the still sleeping alicorn.
“Sparks?” I said softly as I laid down next to her, brushing my wing along her back, “It’s time to wake up, love.”
Twilight stirred and yawned, “Uhm? Page?” she mumbled, raising her head and blinking sleepily.
“It’s time to wake up, love,” I said and stroked my wing across her back, “We’re moving to the trees soon for the night where it’s safer. We need to eat first.”
Twilight shook her head slightly and yawned, “...The guard is here?”
“And Midnight,” I said, “We should get something to eat before we have to move.”
Twilight nodded and slowly climbed to her hooves before she groaned and stretched, joints cracking and she groaned, flexing a wing. I got up with her and pressed my side against hers,
“Come on, let’s see what they have cooked up.”