//------------------------------// // Chapter 10: This is Ponyville, Equestria // Story: The Descendants // by Gherkin //------------------------------// Make new friends, but keep the old; those are silver, these are gold. ~ Joseph Parry Outskirts of Canterlot, Equestria, 23rd May 1002 C.R. 1:23 PM Another train ride. As if the four of them hadn’t sat through enough of them over the past few days. Unfortunately, duty couldn’t afford them the luxury of settling down and relaxing in one spot, so Ezio, John, Nate and Cole were already leaving Canterlot, speeding down the mountain tracks towards the small town of Ponyville. Thankfully, the royal carriage had finally returned from whatever ‘important business’ it had been on, so the boys could at least find some luxury in the clean and royal train car. There was even a fully-stocked bar and fridge. Seeing as the ride was going to take up most of their afternoon, Nate figured he may as well crack open a beer. Or two. “So, what’s the plan once we get there?” Cole wondered as Drake sat down, a pile of food in his hooves. “The princess said to meet Twilight,” Nate slurred, a candy bar halfway into his mouth. “She’ll probably be waiting for us at the train station, or something.” He took a moment to bite down on the confectionery, savouring the sweet taste in his mouth before swallowing it. “Besides, can’t we relax for a bit when we get there? It feels like we’ve done nothing but work the past few days.” “You saw what happened to us back in Appleloosa,” Ezio protested. “We can’t afford to waste time. We need all the help we can get.” Marston, who, for the entirety of the journey, had been staring out of the window, suddenly spoke up. “I have to admit, Ezio’s right. We don’t know when those things are gonna be coming back, so we need to be ready. Besides, they’ll be plenty of time for relaxing when this is all over.” “It’ll be fine,” Nate told them, rolling his eyes. “Just one day off couldn’t hurt, right?” MacGrath furrowed his brow. “I don’t know, Drake. I mean, those things could come back at any time. We can’t waste what little of it we have.” Nathan swallowed the last of his candy bar and sat up, throwing away the wrapper. “Come on guys. Don’t you think you’re all overreacting just a little bit?” The three of them shook their head, serious looks upon each of their faces. “It’s time to start taking this seriously, Drake,” Ezio told the pegasus. “Too much is at stake here.” Drake shrugged. “Whatever. Trust me, everything will be just fine. Besides, we’ve got the Elements of Harmony backing us up, don’t we?” John nodded. “Yeah, but the princesses said that they weren’t gonna be enough.” “Hence why we’re on this mission in the first place,” Cole added. Nate sighed, and turned to look out of the window at the small town below them. It was just a speck in the distance now, but he had a feeling that they would be there sooner than they knew it. "Yeah, I guess you guys are right," he admitted. "Maybe I was being a little cocky." Ezio chuckled. "Maybe?" Drake shut him a glare. "Alright, wiseass. I was being a bit cocky." The assassin laughed again and went to say something, but paused. He looked past Drake and out of the window, noticing something on the horizon. "Ezio? You okay?" Drake turned to follow his gaze and looked out if the window, squinting to try and spot what the assassin had seen. "What is it?" "Merda," Ezio murmured, his eyes widening in terror. "Everyone down, now!" The words had no sooner left his mouth when all hell broke loose inside the carriage. All of the windows exploded in a shower of broken glass, and the metal that held the roof up screeched as the car was impacted from all sides. "And the bitch says it's dangerous to not have a gun!" Nate screamed over the deafening noise. "Shit! What the hell's going on?" Pushing himself off the floor, Cole craned his neck to get a better look at his attackers. Laying eyes on them, his fears were confirmed. "Oh crap. It's the same things from Appleloosa!" he cried out to the rest of them. "Goddamnit!" Marston shouted, crawling along the floor to cover. "I've had just about enough of you things!" "Haven't we all?" Nate shouted back, following him. "Cole! What are they up to?" MacGrath squinted. He couldn't see his attackers in the air; the sun was blinding him. "I don't know!" Another blast nearly shook the train off the rails. "I think they're just shooting at us!" "They're shooting at us with magic? Perfect!" Drake cried hysterically. "Shoot back then!" "Without a clean shot, it'd just be a waste of power!" the conduit called back, his front hooves crackling with electricity. "Is there anything in the back that can help us?" John, daring to peek his head above the ruined bar, started to scan the room as more bursts of magic rocked the train. "I think there might be some weapons to your left!" he called out to Cole. "Come and get them then!" Ezio shouted. "Hurry, I'll cover you!" He pointed his front left hoof to the sky and, noticing Marston and Drake bolting from cover, slammed his other hoof onto a button on the side of his bracer. There was a loud bang as his hidden gun went off, and a pained shriek echoed out from above. "You got one, Ezio!" Cole, who had pulled himself onto the roof of the train, told him. "There's three more of them!" Meanwhile, Nate and John had reached a small closet on the far side of the room. The pegasus fortune hunter wasted no time in throwing it open, eager to find what was inside. "Spears and crossbows?" He was disappointed that there wasn't some more heavy firepower, but it was better than nothing. "You know how to use one of these?" John asked him, levitating one into his friend's hooves. "I've had a bit of experience," Drake told him as they both hunkered down behind cover, blasts of magic exploding all around them. "Just point and shoot, like any other gun. You gotta compensate for the bolt's slower travel speed, though!" "Gotcha," Marston acknowledged, levitating a weapon of his own. He stood up and, aiming squarely down the sights, fired off a shot. Even over the deafening sound of wind and twisted metal, he made out the pained cry of one of the creatures as it plummeted to its doom. "Looks like I got my eye back!" He laughed, caught up in the excitement of the situation, and crouched back down again to reload. Nate, impressed with the gunslinger's incredible aiming skills, stood up to take a shot of his own. The bolt shot into the air but, disappointingly, went wide of it's target. "Crap," he muttered to himself as one of the creatures fired a burst of energy towards him. It barely missed him as he ducked behind an overturned piece of furniture. Realizing that the four of them had enough firepower to hold them off at range, one of the creatures suddenly dived into the interior of the carriage. It made a beeline for Drake, but stopped, studying him for a split-second. Instead, it changed course and barreled towards Ezio. "Shit!" Thinking quickly, Nathan pulled a spear from the closet and threw it towards the rapidly moving monster. It impaled the creature through the wing, bringing it to a halt inches from the vulnerable assassin. Muttering a word of respect, Ezio plunged his hidden blade into the creature's neck before it could react. Noticing that all of its comrades had fallen, the final creature attempted some sort of kamikaze attack on the train, barreling towards it with its horn glowing with power. With little time to react, Marston decided to go on instinct. Time seemed to slow down for him as he stood up and fired a shot towards the rapidly descending creature. He followed the bolt as it soared through the air towards it, and smiled as it impaled it right between the eyes. The monster faltered for a second, its life rapidly draining, before giving up. Its lifeless body plummeted downwards, slamming into the side of the mountain as the train continued, its occupants mostly unharmed, to its destination. The four of them were speechless for a few moments as they regained their breath, trying to comprehend what had just happened. Finally, Cole spoke up. “What the hell was that?” They all looked at each other for a second, unsure of what to say, before Nate replied. “I guess that was the welcoming party.” *** Finally, the train ride from hell had come to an end. The battered locomotive blew its whistle, signalling its arrival into Ponyville station. The four friends wasted no time in getting out of what could have been their metal tomb and out into the fresh air. They stood on the platform for a moment, getting their bearings, before deciding to look for Twilight. Sure enough, at the other end of the platform, there she was, along with three little fillies, each clad in a dark maroon cape. “Buon pomeriggio,” Ezio called out to them as they approached. “It’s good to see you, Twilight.” He smiled, despite what he had just been through, and turned his attention to the three fillies hiding behind her, watching him with awe. “And who do we have the pleasure of meeting here?” “Hey, Ezio.” The unicorn stepped aside to reveal the fillies behind her. “This is Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo. They’ve been excited to meet you ever since Pinkie Pie happened to mention that you four were coming.” “Great, kids,” Drake murmured to himself. Cole gave him a light punch in the shoulder. “Have they?” Ezio continued, ignoring him. “Well, sorry to say, but we’re not that exciting.” "Not exciting?" The orange pegasus fully suddenly piped up. "You sure look exciting! I mean, you have a sword, and an awesome hood, and you're all muddied up and dirty. You look like you've just come out of a warzone!" Ezio looked down at himself and to his comrades, and realised that they were all messy and dirty after the train ride. "I suppose that wouldn't be too far from the truth," he muttered to himself. "Va bene, maybe we are a little exciting," he told the three girls. "And I'm sure we'll find lots of exciting things to do, but right now, Twilight and us have to get down to business." "He's right, girls," Twilight said to them. "Run along, we'll find you later." Their faces dropped. "Okay, Twilight." They started to trot off. Twilight watched them go, before turning back to the four stallions. "Geez, you guys look like you've been through Tartarus. What happened?" "Track maintenance," Drake lied quickly. "Uh, the driver braked pretty quickly, so we were thrown about a bit." Christ, is that the best you can do? Cole thought to himself. Twilight raised an eyebrow, obviously not buying Drake's excuse, but she decided not to press any further. They all had business to get down to. "Alright then. Well, now that you're here I suppose I should explain things." She turned around and started to lead them out from the station. "You'll each be staying with a different pony," she explained. "The princess said you are to help out with their jobs and tasks, and meet more ponies as you do so. Hopefully that way, you can forge some more friendships." "Okay," Drake muttered. "Where are we staying, then?" "Well, for a start, you'll be staying with Rainbow," the unicorn told him. "I think she specifically asked for you in particular," she added, earning an embarrassed blush from the pegasus. "We're going to meet my friends now though, so I'll let them explain." "Looks like somebody's got a fan," Marston commented, a smug grin upon his face. "Ha ha, very funny," Drake replied. "Thanks, pal." Twilight rolled her eyes. Boys were the same anywhere, she supposed. Chuckling, she led the four of them across the town square towards a restaurant, where the rest of her friends were seated. They noticed her, and waved. "Hello, girls." The unicorn greeted her friends with a bright smile. "They're here." "Hey, Coley Woley!" Pinkie Pie quite literally bounced out of her seat to say hello. "How was your trip to Appleloosa?" MacGrath gave her a small smile. "It was, uh, something, Pinks. Really something." "Well, that's just great! I bet it was fun, meeting everyone down there!" The pink mare beamed at him. "I'm sure y'all have plenty of stories to tell, don't you, fellas?" Applejack chimed in. "Ah, nothin' too interesting, I'm afraid," Marston told them modestly, taking a seat along with the rest of them. "Made some friends, including a rather... excitable stallion named Braeburn." The farm mare across from him chuckled and tipped back her hat. "I shoulda figured you'd run into my cousin. Can't help but get excited when there's new folk to show around town, can he?" So they're cousins? How did I not pick up on that sooner? "I guess not, Miss Applejack," John said, as a waiter trotted past them, levitating a plate of salad in front of each of them. "I didn't quite know what you'd want to eat," Rarity informed them. "So I took the liberty of buying us all daisy salads." "It's fine, madonna," Ezio reassured the dressmaker. "I think our diets have adjusted by now." "Perfect. Still, I hope you find Twilight's cooking just as delectable. You are staying with her for the next few days, after all." She gave her friend a playful smile. "My cooking's fine, Rarity," Twilight told her, rolling her eyes again. Swallowing a bite of his salad, Drake leaned forward. "Okay, well, while we're on the subject, who's staying with who?" "You'll be hanging with me, Nate," Rainbow Dash announced, grinning with pride. "I've already got so many awesome things planned!" "Yeah, I found that out already," Nate replied, unsure of how to react to the pegasus' excited demeanor. Everything seemed to be moving along so quickly. They were being ferried from one town to the next, with only the objective of 'make some friends' to guide them. Nathan felt like some sort of pawn in Celestia's plan, and it sure wasn't a good feeling. He was snapped out of his worried thoughts by Applejack's southern drawl. "Well, since he already told me he's a farming stallion, I reckon Mr. Marston'll be staying with me. We could always use more help down on the acres." John shrugged and looked over at her. "I guess I'll help any way I can. I gotta warn you though, I've only been doing it a few years. I ain't no expert in farming business." "Don't be so modest," the earth pony insisted. "I'm sure you'll be just fine." "So, where does that leave me?" Cole asked, tentatively forking a piece of daisy into his mouth. Surprisingly, it didn't taste too bad. Must be my new equine taste buds, he figured. Pinkie Pie looked over a flashed her typical excited grin at him, and the realization dawned. "Of course," he muttered. "It's gonna be great!" the party pony exclaimed, about to burst into one of her trademark overexcited rants. "I've got to show you around Ponyville! You can come to Sugarcube Corner, meet Mr. and Mrs. Cake, play with the foals... oh, this is gonna be so much fun!" Cole chuckled and smiled, despite the growing feeling that the next few days were going to be immensely tiring for him. "I'm sure it will be, Pinks." The ten of them finished off their meals relatively quickly, making small conversation as they did so. They didn't talk about anything too important; it was mostly just the four ex-humans asking questions about the town, and what there was to do. Soon enough, the four of them split up, going off with their respective new roommates. Finishing her salad, Twilight trotted over to Ezio. "Come on," she said to him. "Before we go back to my library, there's someone I think you should meet." "Who?" the assassin wondered, looking up at her. "His name is Orion," she explained as they started to walk away from the restaurant. "He's a personal advisor to Princess Celestia, so he should hopefully know more about what's going on. I'm not stupid, I know something attacked you on the train ride here." "Honestly, I didn't think it would be too hard to figure out." "I make sure to notice all the details," the unicorn explained, puffing out her chest with pride. "Anyway, come on, let's get moving. He's staying in a hotel on the other side of town, and I'd like to talk to him as soon as possible." "Sì, let's get going then," he agreed, trotting behind her. Maybe we'll get some answers from this stallion instead. Hopefully.