//------------------------------// // Chapter Sixteen // Story: Wishing Well // by Nobrains //------------------------------// Chapter Sixteen At this point, the time to worry was over. You were more concerned with making sure you lived to see the end of this train trip. It was just a shock to see that these things had somehow made their way onto the train. You won't be caught off guard again after this, that was for sure. You both ended up back in the dining cart, where the ponies were trying to preoccupy themselves. Apparently they were not aware of the newest passengers and were still acting with a sense of benightedness. They seemed surprised to see you both back so soon, and concern formed in their eyes as they noticed your air of anxiety. “Didn't you say you were going to be awhile?” Rainbow asked as she sat impatiently near one of the windows, not happy about the whole situation. “I didn't say that!” She hissed defensively. “You all didn't feel all that hopping the train just did?” You asked, looking at them all with a serious expression. “Oh yeah we did!” Pinkie exclaimed. “You should have seen us all! We were all hopping around and I was sure I touched the roof at least ten times and..” You were already regretting the question you had asked. “Yeah we did, but whats the big deal? Just a bumpy track we're following, right?” Rainbow suggested lazily. “They're on the train! They're going to ruin everything unless we get them off!” Twilight yelled, her mind no longer being clouded by the sudden embarrassment of past statements. “Relax, we can handle them. He did pretty good against one, didn't he?” The cyan pegasus gestured towards you, causing you to shrug insipidly and clench your shoulder as a result. Twilight hopped in front of you defensively. “He almost got killed, Dash! This is more serious than just fighting!” “I get it, sheesh.” She brought her hooves up defensively. “If those things are on here then where are they, huh?” “I don't know, but I know they're on here. Trust me.” “Don't have to say that twice.” Applejack quickly came over to the window and practically pushed Rainbow out of the way, and poking her head out of the window. “I ain't seeing any of those things out here? Reckon they could be in one of the carts?” “More than likely. They did say they were going to the carts behind the one we were in, but that could be any of these ones.” “We better get looking then, Twi.” Applejack said, heading to the back of the dining cart. “Ya'll coming or what?” “Oh, you bet I'm coming.” Rainbow answered grumpily. Moving over to join the earth pony. “Maybe I should just stay here and.. just.. be quiet.. and out the way..” Fluttershy backed up into a corner, covering her face with her pink mane. “That would be.. smart..” Rarity inched over to her slowly and attempted to dissuade her plan of action. “Darling, we all know you're a bit.. abashed, but that certainly does not mean that we won't need you in the times to come.” Fluttershy didn't answer or even move to Rarity's words. Rarity look back at you all, not sure what else to do. Everyone seemed a bit tired of the constant worry of Fluttershy deserting you all in the fear that dominated her actions so. You knew she couldn't help it, you all did, but you knew there was more in her to help you in this. Unfortunately there wasn't any time to sit here and force Fluttershy along with you. “Okay fine, but don't move. Okay?” Twilight said with finality. Fluttershy nodded frantically and kept in the corner she had secluded herself into. “What if those things come back here?” Rainbow asked, protesting the whole situation. Fluttershy's eyes dilated at the mention of such a possibility. Rainbow had hit the pressure point and all that was needed now was a bit more incentive. “They could, but I highly do-” Twilight started but you were quit to dispel her further conversing. “Shh..” She turned around looked at you. You gestured toward Fluttershy, and Twilight's eyes widened in understanding. She turned back to Rainbow and reiterated what she had been planning to say. “You're actually right, and they probably will. It would be the most likely thing to happen the way they are.” That did it. Fluttershy shot up from the ground and came darting towards you all. You were knocked off your feet as she collided into you and you swore you were seeing stars as the pegasus buried her face into your shirt. “I won't wait here! I won't wait here!” She cried out. A fury filled Twilight's eyes as she began to magically pry off the pegasus who had you in a what seemed like a locked grip. You were afraid that between the unbreakable hold that Fluttershy had you in, and the heated force behind Twilight's magic would tear you apart. “Get off of him! Right now!” Twilight growled with acerbity. Fluttershy just continued to whimper and hold on for dear life while you were on the verge of a mental breakdown in the midst of it all. “I.. I.. Help!” You managed out during it all. You were going to get whiplash if this kept up. “I got you! I got you!” Twilight said sincerely through her clenched teeth. She didn't even know she was only contributing to the problem, but jealousy had obviously overtaken any reasoning she had at the moment. You weren't sure whether to be flattered or lamenting over the situation at hand. Fluttershy finally let go and nearly went flying back due to the sheer force Twilight had been using to get her off of you. You fell back onto the ground and gasped with relief. You never thought be held by Fluttershy could be so scary. You were magicked right back up without realizing it and stood before Twilight. You could still see a spark of covetousness in the back of her eyes. You pretended not to notice and eased off over to where Rainbow and Applejack were waiting. Twilight kept to your side, however, and gestured for the rest to follow you all into the next cart back which was, coincidentally, the one you had entered the train on. As the train continued on down the tracks towards Canterlot, you couldn't seem to find anything out of the ordinary. No sounds from the top of the cart were heard, everything was still in the same messy state it had been previously. It was almost as if the hellspawn had never really boarded the train. But the broken glass left in the control cart begged to differ. “Just perfect.” You said. “It's like we're going to be searching for them all over the place.” “We'll find them, wherever they are.” Twilight assured. “One cart at a time.” “That's kind of what I was afraid of.” You returned, walking down the cart and sidestepping booths and griping the whole time. “Can't even get a break on a moving train..” “I understand, I really do.” It seemed as if you weren't going to be anywhere less than two feet from Twilight now that you had a little brush at intimacy. You smiled nervously and just continued on with her. The back carts weren't any different. Still just booths out of alignment and shredded materials scattered over the cart in a predictable fashion. You all were becoming more aporetic by the minute as you doubled back and checked the carts over again. During all of this, you eventually felt the incline of the train beginning to ascend the mountain that Canterlot rested on. Had it really been that long? Perhaps. You couldn't tell what time it was by looking outside due to the red sky, so it was quite possible that you had been at it for as long as your ascent signified. “What are they waiting for?” Twilight asked you after a moment. That was a good question. If they were going to be so reclusive, why even bother boarding the train in the first place? You'd think they'd want to cut your trip short and keep you from arriving in the capital, but apparently that wasn't the case. They were complex creatures to say the least. “I really don't know.” You replied. “They have to be waiting until we let our guard down. But even if we stayed alert the whole time, could we really take them?” “If we're together, then anything is possible.” Twilight leaned against your side gently as you continued to go over the possible scenarios. A screeching sound was soon heard throughout the train. You were instantly reminded of the jumping and skipping the control cart had done, but this time it was way more violent and frequent. Your legs buckled and you fell to the ground on your knees, sliding gently around as the vibrations of the cart threatened to throw you to your side. The ponies were doing even worse as their legs were jointed differently than yours and even those that could fly found themselves on the ground and being juggled about upon the floor. Your heart almost stopped as you realized what was going on. You were being derailed. How many action movies did you see that had just this? You swore it was playing out just like one, and you had the sudden compulsion to get to the back of the train. “We-we need to get to the back of the train!” You yelled out, hoping they could all hear you. “You heard him! We need to get to the back!” Twilight shouted right after. She knew what was going on too, that was going to make this a bit easier. Your eyes locked and you could tell what she wanted. You outstretched your hand grabbed her hoof, pulling her over to you. The others were struggling to move over to your direction, now all on the same page. You were closing in on the next cart back when you were suddenly jerked to the side of the cart, causing everything to come falling towards you all. You held out your arms, preparing to take the gruff of a booth that had finally broken off from its place in the rows. The impact never came and you exhaled a huge breath as you saw Twilight push it out of the way just in time. Your eyes were on the way out of the cart now, and you were making great leeway with Twilight in your grasp since you could actually move across the ground on your knees efficiently. You would be worried about the others, but Rainbow Dash had managed to get off of the ground and was floating gently in the air as both Pinkie Pie and Applejack were holding her hind legs for guidance down towards your direction. Fluttershy was struggling with Rarity holding onto her while whining about how she had just messed up her mane on the last jolt the train had made. If you watching this from a different perspective, you have been laughing from just the absurdity of it all. But you couldn't, for you were in the same situation as the rest of them and you shared their sense of urgency. The train suddenly stopped its fit, indicating something had changed, but was it for the better or worse? That didn't matter now, all that did was getting to the back of the train. You didn't bother to look through the windows as you pulled Twilight back up to a stance and ran through to the next cart. You could see the back door now, a window was in its frame showing all what train had passed. One thing was wrong though, all you could see from the window as you crossed towards it was that damn red sky. Dread bubbled through your stomach now as you realized that the train had begun falling off the side of the mountain. You did not feel like you were falling yet, which meant that the train had not completely went off just yet. You grabbed the handle to the door, trying to pull it open. You were about to look out the window when you yelped from surprise at the sight of a hellspawn. He grinned with a toothy smile, completely intent on not letting you get out of the train at all. “Dammit!” You attempted to push the door open with all your might, but knew that the force on the other end held it shut. “No!” You shouted in anger, trying to use your weight against the forces holding the door closed. “We're not going to die here!” “Look out!” You turned your head just in time to see a rainbow streak speed towards you. You left your position by the door and nearly closed your eyes as Rainbow Dash speed by with both Applejack and Pinkie Pie holding on. One was holding on for dear life and the other was screaming in joy. The door flew open by the combination of force and speed behind Rainbow's sudden burst, and you could hear the screaming of the hellspawn that had been blocking the door. You took the guess that perhaps trying to block a door against a force equivalent to a bulldozer was not great for those that wanted to remain healthy. Your chance was now, but you and Twilight both waited patiently for Fluttershy and Rarity to follow slowly after the other pegasus. You'd both feel horrible if anything happen to any of them that you could have prevented. After they had gone, you took the chance to look out and felt like your world was being turned upside down. You saw the ponies alright, but that view was quickly changing as you suddenly felt the last part of the train go off the mountain and begin its descent to its awful end. You looked to Twilight who had been watching you the whole time. “Go! I'll be right after you!” “No, you go! I'll follow you!” She shouted back. Was she really going to be like this right now? You knew how it had to be, and that was with you being the last one off. You pulled Twilight in front of the exit and proceeded to push her forward. “What are you doing?! Stop it! You're crazy! What about you?!” Every word she said was tinged with contusion which only tore at you in result. “I'll be right behind you! I promise!” With that, you gave her one more push, which forced her to leap onto the unseen mountainside where the others were. You looked back and felt gravity pulling on you violently, threatening to tear you away from your escape. You didn't linger any longer and stepped out the exit and jumped. You could see them all now, looking at you flying through the sky. The only problem was that you were already too far away. You hit cliff face right below them, trying desperately to grab and pull yourself up, but alas, it was fruitless. You grasped until you swore your fingers were bleeding and eventually lost the last fragment of your grip. Your eyes looked down at the rest of Equestria below you, still tinged in that horrible redness. If only you had gotten the chance to stop this; well you kind of did, and you blew it. You swore you could hear laughing; the laughing of those hellspawn in your mind. They had gotten what they wanted, it seemed. Whatever, it wouldn't matter anymore when you were burning in hell or stuck in purgatory or.. or.. just dead. But another voice began to drown out the hellspawn's laughter. That voice you had come to know so well in your time in this world. The voice of a unicorn you would have gladly had died for and probably were about to. You began to notice that you weren't falling, but were being pulled up ever so slowly. You held your breathe in anticipation of what was going to happen next. Now you weren't being pulled up slowly, you were yanked up and fell onto your back on what you assumed was the railroad tracks. “Get out of the way!” Twilight yelled out, you could hear the annoyed utters of both Rainbow Dash and Applejack as they must have been blocking Twilight's path to you. You were taking in air in huge gulps as the impact had knocked the breath out of you, so you could care less about them at the moment. You opened your eyes and saw Twilight looming over you. “I'm sorry about all the force, but I didn't want to dawdle with you over the side of the mountain for so long. Then she pulled you up and hugged you fiercely. “And don't ever make me do that ever again.” “I can't promise that.” You said shakily. She just laughed softly, and squeezed you. You patted her back softly and noticed all the eyes on you. You coughed palpably, and Twilight backed off of you, blushing fiercely. She must have forgotten about the others momentarily. You struggled up and found that you had new pains to accompany the one on your shoulder. You didn't look at the ponies, not yet, there was something else you had to see before focusing on them again. You moved over to the ledge and looked down over. The train was fading far below, but there something there that disturbed you. The hellspawn, all of them, stood at the back of the locomotive and looked back up at you as the train fell further and further. Jesus, they were suicidal. You stepped back and bumped into who else, but Twilight. “It's just a bit of a ways up before we get there.” She looked worried. “I don't think I need to say anything to them, they seem to understand what we're getting into.. after that.” “We're.. you're doing great. Everyone is going to be fine.” You said, your voice wispy. “You don't give yourself any credit; you were paramount in all of that.” Her face was serious and comforting all at the same time. “I couldn't have made it without you.” “Thanks.” You were already beginning to feel better with her comforting words. “I guess, we should get going, huh?” She said after a moment. “Y-yeah.” You put a hand behind your head, hoping that all of this tension would boil over as soon as you were done with these hellspawn. But for now, Canterlot was the only thing in your eyes and you all began to continue up the mountain by stepping on tracks. You never thought you'd be walking of free will towards a city like the one Canterlot was at the moment. But you knew it needed to be done. So you walked; you walked towards a city of devils.