“Dad, I found them!”
The flames licked at Little Macintosh flank, the smoke flowing through the air. A lightning strike had lit their house ablaze in the middle of the night, a storm unaccompanied by the usual rain.
Big Macintosh took big steps across the rotting, fire weakened floor, his weight and size a detriment to finding safe places to walk.
The terrified cries of his sisters and mother called to them both from behind a fallen flaming ceiling beam that blocked the door to the nursery.
His father bucked the beam, the strike only causing another to fall into the path. He forced his way into the criss-cross and lifted the beams, the fire singing his coat and burning into his sides.
Clementine, holding her daughter’s heads down, pushed them under Big Macintosh, Little pulling them to the other side that was only barely safer. The timbers overhead cracked, Big Macintosh pushing up harder to give his son more room to drag his sisters out into the hallway.
Flaming shards of the roof sprinkled down as Little pulled Applejack, with Apple Bloom held tightly in her hooves, out to the hallway. Within moments of pulling the girls free the ceiling groaned, a death wail that signaled danger too late as the logs and planks crashed down on his father and mother, shattering the floor and sending them both careening to the basement with a sickening crunch.
Little stared a moment, horror building in his chest, his mind too broken at seeing his mother and father lying under the rubble to move. Applejack tugged at him, Apple Bloom crying uncontrollably even though she was too young to know what was going on.
Then a weak voice called to him, barely audible in the carnage of the house breaking around him.
“Run Macintosh! Get your sisters to safety, now!”
Sucking back the knot in his throat he grabbed Applebloom in his teeth, flinging Applejack onto his back and ran for the stairs. They collapsed at his approach and his last bit of hope lay in the window at the end of the hall, the moon staring back at him through the glass.
He charged, flecks of embers burning his face as he jumped, arms shielding Applebloom, Applejack holding tightly to his neck as the glass broke against his body, shards leaving trails of bloody scratches on his flank and arms.
The ground hit him hard, Macintosh legs’ buckling but planted firmly in the dirt so he wouldn’t roll over his sisters. He opened his eyes, having shut them to avoid serious injury to his eyes, and saw that they had escaped that fiery, private hell and stood in a cool night.
There was the crowd standing and gawking, not a single one foolish enough to have tried to walk into the inferno to save them. All around was chaos as the fire brigade showed up too late, the Pegasi frantically trying to haul over the rain clouds that the lack of had allowed the fire to spread in the first place.
Ponymedics swept Macintosh and his sisters away, the nurse checking their health, the fiery glow lighting the untouched orchards with orange light. The only one injured was Macintosh but there were only a large amount of scratches, the same kind he might have gotten running through thistles. He would be fine.
Even as the nurse tried to keep him from squirming, Macintosh looked back once to see the house crashing down on itself, eliminating any hope he had that his parents could escape.
The knot in his throat grew but he would not cry, he refused. He was going to be the man his father raised…he had to be strong for his sisters…
He was not going…not going to…
With a kick from the Pegasi weather team the rain finally fell, the clouds all too late gathered over Sweet Apple Acres and dousing the flames.
No one noticed the few extra rain drops near Macintosh’ eyes.
---
The sudden shudder of the train car stopping at the end of the track woke Macintosh, his eyes shooting open. He’d never been gladder to wake up, hating that dream he thought he’d stopped having years ago. With a stretch, he looked out the window.
Outside grey clouds covered the whole sky and a light snow fell, the town covered in white.
“Must be Lands End.”
It was going to be cold but amongst all those boxes and supplies, he couldn’t find a single thing to keep warm with, resigning himself to being a little chilly.
He quietly slid off the train, passing by some station workers yelling at the train-pulling ponies.
“You lost half the cars! At what point did you not notice this…!?”
The town wasn’t much different from Ponyville, with normal looking ponies wandering around, an open air market where wares were sold and brick and mortar businesses a little further on. The only noticeable difference was the quieter grey and brown color scheme that defined the buildings.
“Now, where to get information…?”
As he swiveled his head around, wondering if they had an Inn or bar where ponies gathered to talk, he failed to notice the middle-aged bespectacled pony that plowed into him until he had already done it, a doctor’s bag falling from his mouth and instruments spilling out.
The doctor pony shook his head, looking up at Macintosh with a scowl on his face.
“Dang it, boy, watch where you’re going! Never saw such…”
He stood, picking up his utensils here and there, grumbling about the inconsiderate youth of the day. A pair of snakes twined around a metal cudgel on his black flank, Macintosh noticing it as the older pony twisted around trying to find everything before he bent down to pick up anything.
“Oh, sorry mister, let me help ya.”
They gathered the bottles, cotton swabs and anything else lying around, the doctor noticing the cuts and scrapes on Macintosh face and body and his lack of a coat in the frigid climate.
“Ah think that’s everything.”
“Boy, don’t you have a jacket? Are you trying to get pneumonia? I’m the one that’ll have to treat you if you get sick!”
Mac shook his head, realizing just how cold it was up here now that he’d been out in it for a few minutes. The slight wind cut harder into him than any of the Ponyville blizzards he’d seen. He was already shivering subconsciously.
The doctor directed Macintosh to follow with a slight nod, taking him to a small building down one of the back alleys, a sign with a big red cross just above the door and a plaque under that read,
“We accept Barter for Services.”
Patients already waited for the doctor, a young pegasus standing next to his similarly Pegasus mother, patiently waiting for the doctor’s return. His hoof hovered over the ground, the boy wincing every few moments.
“Doctor Twin Snakes, he did it again.”
The doctor looked down at the boy, the boy staring at the giant Macintosh. He’d never seen anyone so big.
“Boy, didn’t you just get out of your cast? How many times do I have to tell you, take it slow. You have to float before you can fly.”
They went inside, the room lit by the dying embers of the fire pit in the center of the room. Twin Snakes stoked the fire a bit and had the boy sit down on a chair to take a look at the arm. He hmmed and mmm hmmed as he flexed it and poked. The mother watched, interested but not worried, as though she’d done this any number of times before. Macintosh didn’t notice her occasional glances his way.
“Doctor, is it bad this time?”
“Nah, just a green stick fracture. Big guy, hold him while I set this.”
Macintosh took hold of the boy who had already started squirming at the thought of being put back in some medical binding. Retrieving some gauze and strong sticks, Twin Snakes wrapped and taped the arm, his deft hooves moving quickly and his teeth tearing the tape and gauze.
“All done.”
The boy was up and out the door as soon as Macintosh let him go, eager to get back to whatever flight practice he had planned, despite his injury or orders otherwise. His mother called after him to stay away from the roofs but stayed behind. Strangers in town were a valuable source of entertainment…among other things.
“So, who’re you? Judging by the apple cutie mark, I’m hoping you’re Red Delicious.”
The boy’s mother looked Macintosh up and down, just short of full on leering which made him quite uncomfortable. Her wings hovered a bit from their tucked position, something Macintosh had a passing understanding of thanks to Rainbow Dash.
“Uh, no, that’s my cousin. The name’s Big Macintosh. I’m traveling, looking for someone.”
She rolled her tail under his chin, making him quite uncomfortable. Despite being the most eligible bachelor in Ponyville, he didn’t get out with the mares much. A respectable amount but not much.
“Hope it’s me, dear.”
Twin Snakes put himself between Macintosh and her advances, coughing loudly to break up the mood.
“Morning Glory, the boy hasn’t even sat down since he got here and I don’t think he’s ready to lay down either! Boys new and isn’t looking for anything you’ve got to offer.”
She clicked her tongue, irritated.
“Bring him by the bar later and let him make up his own mind. I’ll have to pay you in drinks again.”
“Good. We’ll be there.”
The door shut, Macintosh sighing in relief that such forward mares were rare.
“A bar huh? I should be able to find some information there.”
The doctor handed him a grey trench coat which he gladly put on as he was pushed outside. A shovel harness lay half buried in the nearby snow, covered in rust from the poor care it was obviously given. Twin Snakes picked it up and tried to put it on the large pony, thinking that a couple new holes might be required.
“What information are you looking for? Maybe I can get more work out of you for it. This town works on favors mostly.”
The harness was a bit small but he got into it anyway, looking at the job ahead of him.
“I’m looking for Dr. White Heart. I need to have…words with him. Strong words. He kidnapped my sister and a bunch of her friends.”
Twin Snakes laughed, his glasses almost falling off. Macintosh could see no humor in this at all, briefly imagining himself burying the old doctor’s head in a snow bank.
“Boy, you finish this and some other things and I’ll tell you all about White Heart. Take about an hour or two.”
He slammed the door before the surprised Macintosh could ask any questions, a large amount of snow falling from the roof added to his workload.
Hopefully an hour lost wouldn’t matter.
---
Quill stared around the brightly lit and immaculately clean dungeon of the Canterlot palace and for the first time realized that everything in Equestria was bizarrely clean.
Spike sat a few feet away, his hang dog expression of a few days ago back.
“I’m sorry Spike.”
“Don’t…don’t worry about it. It was my choice to join you. And from what I saw, you were right. We were right to do what we did. We just need someone to listen to us.”
“And I will.”
They looked up, the sudden bright glow of the Princess of the Sun lighting the darkened room.
Quill had treated celebrities like any one else any time he interviewed one but he actually got down and bowed for the princess, his forehead touching the stone floor. Spike, having known her for much longer, spoke more casually.
“Hey Princess. You did get our letter, right?”
She nodded, her face unusually unreadable to Spike who had never seen her look so stony and serious. Even at trial as judge, she’d worn a look of barely contained rage. Spike patted Quill’s shoulder, signaling him to get up.
“Princess, are you alright?”
She shook her head. Her raiments sparkled and the light she exuded was a healthy glow but they could see dark circles under her eyes, a sure sign of the ill rest she’d been getting lately.
“I’ve just been such a yo-yo of emotion lately. Guard, open this door.”
He did as told and she entered, taking a seat on the floor in front of them. The sight of the Princess kneeling on a dungeon floor in front of two of her chained subjects was surely one of the most bizarre things Quill had ever seen, but lately he’d seen lots of bizarre things.
“Now tell me everything. Leave nothing out. You started this, didn’t you Quill?”
He began the story. Macintosh visiting him, his meeting with Iron Flank, the clues they’d uncovered, right up to having to dig up Fluttershy. Spike backed up any statements he felt needed reinforcing, wanting to be held just as accountable in the endeavor.
She nodded but asked no questions and gathered her thoughts when the account was finished. The scratching of the guard’s pencil on his sudoku puzzle was the only background noise.
“I received a report that Macintosh encountered my Elite guard in Manehattan. There was a fight but Macintosh fought them all off and probably made it to Land’s End in the Discord’s Smile mountains. Captain Iron Flank is still in pursuit…but I’m going to tell him to call it off.”
The two prisoners eyes went wide, then smiles spread over their faces, their cheeks hurting from the unused muscles getting such a work out. It was the first good news in a while.
“So you believe us!?”
“I went to the grave myself and examined the contents. The bodies were indeed homunculi and the reason our magical coroners didn’t detect the fake doubles was the high level of magic injected into their creation, something usually only possible with abnormally high natural magic power. An amount only four or five ponies across Equestria have, including myself and Twilight Sparkle. Only after being buried did it become apparent they weren’t real, probably when the spell caster loosed his reign over them.”
She stood, bowing her head to them deeply. She hadn’t had to utter this next line in several centuries.
“But yes, Macintosh is pardoned. I was wrong and I deeply apologize to you two and Macintosh as well as soon as I see him. You’re all very brave to go against a Goddess who was too emotional to be reasonable.”
She stood up, bidding the guard to come over and unlock the shackles they were wearing. Quill’s wrists hurt, vigorous rubbing getting the circulation flowing again. He hoped it would be a while before he was arrested again.
“Please follow me. I’m sure you’re hungry and I have a little work for you to do and some facts I feel you’ll need to do it.”
She led them out of the cell, up several flights of stairs to a small luncheon she’d had prepared as the informal part of the apology.
“I have to explain to you why it can’t have been Dr. White Heart.”
They sat, Spike glad to see a bowl of gems that he fell upon, realizing how hungry he was. Quill was more interested in what she had to say though did grab a couple of cookies. He loved cookies.
“Why is that?”
“Dr. White Heart is dead.”
---
“He’s what?! But I saw him!”
A few of the other patrons turned to look at the fascinatingly large newcomer, Macintosh settling down when he realized he’d upset the usually quiet pub in the late evening. The doctor sat next to him at the bar, pulling the boy back down.
“I worked with White Heart shortly after he arrived. We were around the same age, both dedicated doctors and the only people around the area with proper medical knowledge. Even though he had low magic power, he used it so efficiently, it didn’t matter. He was the best there ever was or ever will be.”
He took a long tug off the straw in the flagon before him, drinking what had to be the spit of death itself, judging by the smell.
Morning Glory set a flagon in front of Macintosh, giving him a wink.
“Hard apple cider, Red. On the house.”
He thanked her, unable to say that liquor in any amount made him ill, even the relatively soft hard cider Granny Smith made for her rheumatism medicine. Twin Snakes continued.
“White Heart was banished here because he turned his wife to stone, y’know, like a cockatrice would. Flesh to Stone spells are forbidden because they leave the mind thinking inside the prison body.”
“Why did he do it?”
“His wife was sick and on the verge of death. I heard from him it was incurable, neither science nor magic had any effect.”
“How is that possible? My little sister chipped her tooth once, took a swig of magic potion and it grew back immediately.”
The doctor sighed, rolling his eyes.
“Yes, but this was a virus. Magic can’t affect anything that small. It’s the same idea behind turning lead to gold. Gold and Lead are elements at the atomic level. One can’t be made into the other and viruses are immune to magic because of their size. It’s like trying to do surgery in a dark room. You can’t even see what you’re doing at that scale.”
Twin Snakes called for another flagon, having worked up a thirst from ordering Macintosh around all day. Mac was trying to wrap his head around this crash course on the secret workings of magic. He wished Twilight were there to explain it to him.
“And medicine? What about pills and potions and stuff?”
“Equestria relies on Magic almost to the exclusion of non-magical medicine. It just wasn’t advanced enough to help.”
They were quiet, Twin Snakes staring down into his drink as some unpleasant memory weighed on his mind. Something that seemed to age him right in front of Macintosh as the weight of whatever memory deepened the lines in the doctor’s face.
“When he arrived, he told me the story. We sat right here and he told me how he traveled all over Equestria and beyond, before his banishment, learning everything he could from the Zebra Tribes, the Kirin way out East and the Griffons. None of it helped. Meanwhile his wife got weaker and weaker until there were mere days left for her.”
He took another drink, his hoof shaking. Macintosh didn’t know if it was from the liquor or whatever memories were resurfacing in his old brain but he patted the old pony on the back. He stared deeper into his cup and kept talking.
“That was when he did it. He couldn’t accept an end where his wife, the only thing in the world he loved, could be taken from him by the very thing he’d fought his whole life. I’d mentioned he had low magic power but there is one way for a unicorn to perfectly cast a spell. A Broken Horn spell.”
“And that is?”
“If a unicorn focuses enough power through their horn, they can shatter it. The effects of any spells cast at the time are inflated astronomically.”
He nodded, feeling like he had a grasp of where the story was going but with a few questions.
“Then why didn’t he try to cure her with one?”
“He did. He sold everything he had and paid off another unicorn friend of his to try. You’d think the effect would be like trying to swat a fly with a sledgehammer but it was more like putting a pencil between two sledgehammers and trying to write. Magic still can’t affect something that small, regardless of how much of it there is.”
“So what happened next?”
“I’m getting to that!”
Twin Snakes yelled at Macintosh, the patrons turning to look at the rowdy conversation again. Those without anything better to do even found themselves listening in as entertainment was scarce around town lately.
“Sorry boy, I’m sorry. I just had a lot in common with White Heart. I lost my wife too. You could say this town is filled with stories like that, those banished for loving too much. Mercy killers, those who killed to defend family, even accidental ponyslaughter. It wasn’t always proper banishment. Ponies in Equestria treat you different if they know you’ve killed someone and lots of us leave on our own.”
There were nods from around the bar, the mood dropping considerably. Even the overly flirtatious bar hostess seemed to have something on her mind now that Twin Snakes brought it up. Twin Snakes voice had caught when he’d said ‘mercy killers’, giving Macintosh an idea of why Twin Snakes was in Land’s End.
“So, he made absolutely sure to cast a sleep spell on her mind before he turned her to stone, ensuring, hopefully, that she would stay that way until he could come up with some way to cure her. Unfortunately he was found out by concerned friends and reported to the authorities. He was imprisoned, tried and banished all the way out here, told never to return to Equestria under penalty of death. His wife was placed in the Royal Equestrian Gardens under the title ‘Sleeping Mare’. White Heart showed me a picture he paid someone to take after the banishment. She looks like a real angel, curled up as though she were sleeping.”
“Couldn’t it have been reversed?”
“Sure, but she had no family who might’ve paid for it and no one else was willing to forego magic for a few years while their horn grew back.”
Macintosh took a little sip of his drink, thinking it over. It wasn’t as hard as his grandmother’s cider, surprisingly.
“But you said he was dead. Did he go back?”
“Of course. Oh, he tried to stay away. He worked here for a few years, constantly working on advancing the state of non-magical medicine but he hit a road block. There was only so much he could learn by…well, experimenting without living subjects. And while there are plenty of people here, there simply weren’t as many as needed or as much variety. That and we’re like family here. You leave Equestria, this is it. Your friends are where you can find them and friends are family here.”
A shudder ran down Macintosh spine, imagining what was coming next. Another drink came down to Twin Snakes, the story obviously upsetting him as he tried to forget it even as he told it.
“He disappeared in the night, leaving me the keys to our business and minus a large medical bag and some supplies. A couple of weeks later I heard that ponies started disappearing in Canterlot. They chased this unknown figure for months, unable to catch him. It wasn’t until Iron Flank joined the guards that they even found out who he was. Ever heard of Iron Flank, boy?”
Macintosh tapped a hoof to his chest.
“He gave me these bruises.”
No one seemed to care that he’d just outed himself as a criminal, Twin Snakes not even missing a beat as he went ahead.
“He finally tracked White Heart to his secret lair in the city, a lab set up in the sewers. I don’t know how but White Heart escaped, losing his lab but taking his research with him. Iron Flank did the one thing he knew would draw him out. Celestia didn’t want to go through with it I hear, but she had other citizens to think of and signed off on it. There was an announcement that Sleeping Mare was to be demolished, no reason given. Iron Flank knew that White Heart would show himself for that. And he did.”
The doctor took a long drink, nearing the end of his story, swaying in place.
“Even with all the guards they had on hand, it was like trying to stop a monsoon with a cheap umbrella. White Heart tore into the place, throwing potions and casting what spells he could, paralyzing and incapacitating everyone that came his way.”
Twin Snakes made magical unicorn ‘pew’ noises and threw imaginary potions of his own, Macintosh moving their cups just before he tipped either of them over and putting them back when he settled down.
“I don’t know how he planned to leave with his wife’s statue and I don’t think he knew either, but he sure as hell wasn’t going to let anyone destroy it. Iron Flank finally confronted him in the gardens, the gauntlet of guards having weakened the doctor and depleted his resource of potions and strength. Iron Flank beat him far, far past what was necessary and left him in a heap in front of his wife, all his bones broken or a good many of them. The fact that it was White Heart was kept out of the papers, Celestia not wanting to worry her citizens that any pony banished could just march right back in and kill them. But I knew. When they brought his shattered body back and told us to deal with it, I knew.”
He laid his head down , tired from talking so much. Morning Glory cleared the glasses away, wiping down the counter just before the old pony’s head fell onto it. His voice got softer.
“I hauled him up to the mountains and dug his grave myself. Pushed the pine box into the hole and covered it up. It was a surprise to me when Celestia showed up as I was digging…all alone…nary a guard in sight. She’d flown all the way from Canterlot with that statue and placed it at the head of his grave, to watch over him for ever, ever…”
He finally fell asleep, the alcohol having been too much for him. Morning Glory sighed over the old man, looking up at Macintosh.
“Can you take him home?”
“Sure, ma’am. Sorry for the making him tell me such an awful story here. Seems to have hurt the mood.”
She looked around at the usual customers. They were all the same sad faces as every other day.
“Don’t worry about it. I’d be interested to know why you needed to know about him.”
Macintosh hoisted Twin Snakes onto his back, confident that no amount of jostling could wake the inebriated pony.
“My sister was kidnapped by White Heart, I’m sure of it. The one I saw and this guy sound similar and look similar. It has to be him! If it’s not then…I don’t know what to do next.”
He was about to turn and leave, probably for a night of tossing and turning when she stopped him.
“It’s probably unrelated but people have disappeared around this town for years. Mostly travelers, so no one really cared and this area isn’t exactly safe but they were all looking for White Heart’s grave. Some fool people have it in their heads that visiting it can cure illnesses and pains. Take from that what you will.”
With no other leads, taking a walk into the mountains the next morning couldn’t hurt.
“Thanks, Glory. I appreciate it.”
“You can pay me in snuggles.”
Macintosh didn’t know if she was serious or not, just smiled and thanked her, heading back to the doctor’s office home.
---
Quill stared down at the sandwich in front of him, trying to understand everything about the story he’d just heard from the Princess. Spike had fallen asleep, the poor boy tuckered out from the days exertions and the meal.
“So, White Heart came back to find subjects to experiment on?”
Celestia telekinetically stirred her tea, taking a sip and floating over some sugar cubes.
“Yes. But I was a close friend of Moon Drop, his wife. She was a student at my school and, like Twilight, someone I kept close tabs on. Of course I took an interest in White Heart when they became a couple and eventually got married. I can say in all honesty, he only did the awful, twisted things he did out of love. I can’t tell you how hard it is to lose someone you’ve grown close to. I’ve been doing it for hundreds of years and it’s just as hard each and every time.”
“Princess, couldn’t you have done something?”
She shook her head. The sun was slowly dropping in the sky behind them, Luna’s distant body on the ceremonial platform being allowed to lower the sun as Celestia attended to the mess that had occurred.
“I tried but it was ineffective. Sometimes I think it was because I subconsciously wanted to fail and not have to watch her die when she was flesh and blood again. I can only hope he wasn’t lying when he said he’d put her mind to sleep beforehand.”
It was getting late, the Princess unable to stifle a decidedly un-graceful yawn. It was passed on to Quill and even to the sleeping Spike. The Princess smiled at the amusing little scene and felt a little bad for what she had to ask the writer to do.
“Quill, I need you to write your next story about Macintosh’ pardon, something my guards can show to him and convince him it’s safe to come home. Can you have it done tonight and turned in to your editor?”
“Of course, Princess. I’m sure my boss’ll be giddy to scoop the whole country.”
Princess Celestia had arranged for a Pegasus drawn carriage to take them back to Ponyville, the Princess herself carrying instead of just floating the baby dragon for Quill.
He waved goodbye to the Princess as they took flight, already forming and organizing the paper in his mind.
There was still work to be done but the finish line was in sight and he was going to run full tilt for it. He knew Macintosh was doing the same.
---
Iron Flank stared out the window of the train, the dark of midnight coloring the land pitch black as the ugly grey clouds common to the north lands blocked the moon light.
His mood could best be described as ‘totally pissed off’ and while the source of his anger was Macintosh, there was a second, less expected source.
The new orders from Princess Celestia had finally come through, popping into existence just above the sleeping Cantrip’s head and caught before they fell on her. Each of his guards sat around him in the sleeper car, save for Rain who’d been shipped back home with a shattered wing and Cherry Tapper who’d had a slight mental break down of sorts after almost dying.
He’d read each word with incredulous disbelief, his teeth clenching tighter.
“Guard Captain Iron Flank,
Certain evidence has come to light that completely exonerates Big Macintosh of all wrong doing.
Please change your mission to one of a peaceful nature and bring Macintosh back unharmed. I wish to formally apologize to him for my misinformed ruling.
-Princess Celestia.”
He took a deep breath, realizing that maybe his anger over this insult to the princess, the very idea that she had to apologize to some country hick, could cloud his judgment. After all, if every word she said was infallible, didn’t that mean that even this was correct?
Wait…she said Macintosh was guilty…now she says he’s not…if everything she says is true…dammit!
He shattered the window with a hoof, the cold wind blowing through and the crashing sound waking his remaining soldiers.
“What-! Sir, what is it!?”
He wasn’t sure who was talking. Probably Cantrip. He was lost in his own little deity paradox.
Thinking back, it was the Princess who had told him, when he was just a little colt living in a state run orphanage, that he had to control his anger. Fighting out of anger achieved nothing and only fighting to protect something you loved was truly acceptable.
And he’d wanted to become a guard to protect her.
Did that mean that anything he did in the Princess’ name was noble? As long as he wore a guard uniform, everything was fair?
“Sir!”
He snapped to attention, realizing Cantrip was yelling at him, checking his hoof for any bleeding or glass shards. Luckily the bandages from being bitten by Macintosh had prevented any further damage to that arm.
For now, he was back in the present. Earth Mover was sleeping through the commotion, Cantrip was doing her overly protective mothering thing and Meteor Storm was explaining that the little problem of the window would be paid for by Canterlot castle. He had been given an order and he was going to follow it. Bring Macintosh back.
He could see the few lights of Land’s End in the distance, the train almost upon their destination.
Yeah, he’d just follow orders.