Deuces Wild

by Iron Hooves

Chapter 5: Train Ride to Nowhere

Note from Iron Hooves: All the images that I will use in this story will be ones that I have personally drawn (the photography from rock formations were taken by me at Año Nuevo during my field research) to help create a more in depth mood and atmosphere for the piece as a whole. I hope you all enjoy it.

Chapter 5: Train Ride to Nowhere

Daylight broke through the window and Gilda began to stir from her slumber. As she went to stretch, she felt the pressure of a somewhat heavy object draped over her chest. When she opened her eyes, she found herself in Rainbow Dash's bedroom with the chromatic maned pegasi comfortably asleep and snuggling with her. Gilda felt as if her heart was about to pop out of her chest and her thoughts raced for a moment as her senses absorbed her surroundings and she let out an audible sigh of relief.

'It must have all been a dream....a weird one, but a dream none the less.' Gilda allowed herself to sink further into Rainbow Dash's cumulus bed and her eyes fell upon the mare. Gilda smiled as Dash let out a light snore and a few strains of ruby hair fell across her forehead. The griffin carefully brushed them from Dash's face and ran them with her finger behind the pegasi's ear. The sensation of Gilda subtle touch inadvertently made Dash's ear twitch and she began to slowly open her eyes as Gilda started to stroke her mane.

Dash's cerise colored eyes penetrated deep into Gilda's soul as she peered longingly up at her.

“Morning G'...how'd you sleep?” Dash smiled at Gilda and the griffin felt herself melting.

“It was alright... I had this weird dream though...” Gilda continued to play with Dash's mane and lightly rub her back.

“Oh? What happened in it?” Dash crawled closer to Gilda and started to massage her chest feathers. Gilda took a deep breath before speaking.

“Well, I dreamt that I was traveling with this unicorn that kept talking about herself in third pony...and then we were in Canterlot and I tried to get lunch but there were more unicorn jerks and then there was a magic show, but I got sucked into going up on stage and then I was invisible and then I played a prank on one of the asshole unicorns and pretended that I was Death, then the unicorn I was traveling with was invisible too, but then we weren't anymore and then there were fireworks!... And then...” Gilda tried to explain all of the details without taking a break for air, which prompted Rainbow Dash to burst out giggling.

“And then what happened?” Dash propped herself up on her forehooves now that she was emotionally invested into the story.

“...And then, I woke up right where I'm supposed to be.” Gilda placed her talon gently on Rainbow Dash's forehoof and gave it a reassuring squeeze. The two held eye contact with one another as Dash inched her way closer to her. Gilda's lips parted as Dash's made contact with them, the kiss sent an electrifying pulse streaming through the griffin's body and she moaned ever so lightly that Dash could feel the vibrations of it as their tongues met. Their kiss lingered for what seemed like an eternity until Dash pulled away from Gilda and smiled, looking deeply into the griffin’s eyes.

“You know, I'm suppose to go in for Weather Patrol today....but... I could call in sick...” Dash's face grew a mischievous grin as she traced her hoof in circles around Gilda's chest. A smile grew on the griffin’s face and Gilda began to nip at Dash’s neck. Rainbow Dash began to moan and pulled Gilda in closer to her. Gilda ran her hand from behind Dash's ear and caressed the base of her horn, which gave the griffin a tiny discharge of magic that reverberated throughout her talon....

'Wait a minute....horn?'

Gilda froze and rubbed her eyes before looking at Dash again. The rainbow maned pegasi began to slowly fade away and the room that she was in began to dissolve. Gilda forced herself awake and found herself on the floor of Charity and Bit's guest room, interlocked with Trixie's legs between hers and her talon was firmly grasping the base of the unicorn's horn. Gilda froze and started to panic when she felt Trixie subtly grinding her hips back and forth against her own. The griffin looked at the unicorn's face, her eyes remained close, but her face was heavily blushed and she was letting out small gasps of pleasure. Gilda struggled to put any distance between them, but her erect wings rubbing against the floor and shifting positions amid Trixie's grinding sent immense waves of heat and gratification through her body. Gilda felt an inferno building within herself with each passing moment and she realized that if she couldn't stop Trixie soon, she wasn't going to be able to contain herself much longer.

“Trix...hey Trixie!” Gilda attempted to awaken the mare and push herself off of the unicorn.

“Mmm...Gilda....” Trixie replied in a sensuous manner and Gilda felt her wings throb. Gilda's eyes shot wide open at hearing the unicorn call out her name when they were suddenly interrupted.

The pair broke their embrace, Gilda's entire face turned crimson and Trixie’s eyes opened as she fought to catch her breath. Gilda and Trixie looked at each other but broke eye contact when they heard a voice from behind the door.

“Hey you guys, breakfast is almost ready! If you want to shower, the bathroom is down the hall.” Charity called to Trixie and Gilda from behind the door.

“We're...coming...” Trixie replied between breaths of air.

'At least you almost did....' A voice at the back of Gilda's mind mocked her. Gilda looked down at Trixie and the two felt an awkward tension around them as they both blushed furiously.

“Ummm...I call shower!” Gilda immediately jumped up and ran out of the room and through the hallway. Her erect wings hit the paintings that adorned the hall, leaving a wake of uncentered artwork as she passed. She made it to the bathroom and slammed the door closed and tried to collect herself.

'Pull yourself together, G...She’s gone.’

Gilda stepped into the tub and turned on the knobs, letting the warm water trickle down the back of her neck and began to lightly bang her head against the shower tile. She stared at the water as it cascaded from her body into a whirlpool down the drain, her sight blurring slightly. It took her several moments to realize that the water had mixing with tears that had escaped from her. She shut her eyes and took a deep breath in an attempt to regain her composure. She sighed and shook the tears from her eyes and thoughts. Gilda felt herself shiver as the water continued to fall from her still erect wings. She began to preen her right wing first, suckling the excess water from her feathers and smoothing them out. Grooming to Gilda was normally something that she found herself doing when she was stress or out of frustration, she rarely had done it to alleviate sexual tension, but was finding it inadvertently a sensual process.

She closed her eyes and her arm caressed the length of her side, eventually making its way to her thighs. Gilda imagined caressing Dash’s silky chromatic mane with her talon as the pegasus gently nipped from the base of the griffin’s wings to the side of her neck.The rhythm of Gilda’s panting began to grow louder and more sporadic as a slight moan escaped her breath. The mare’s eyes began to radiate brightly, turning from a rosy cerise to a deep amethyst reminisce of Trixie’s. Gilda gasped and was brought back to reality. Her eyes shot back open and Gilda turned the knob of the cold water all the way on and immediately tensed up as the freezing water made contact with her back.

Trixie sat still, watching the door in paralyzing embarrassment about what she had just done.
‘Why would you kiss her?? Now she’s going to leave you, just like everyone else has…’ Trixie’s heart and thoughts raced in fear as she contemplated her actions. She wasn't just confused about the events that had past since she woke up, but the way that she felt clouded her thoughts. Just by thinking about Gilda, Trixie began to feel her heart skip a beat and her breathing became rigid. She closed her eyes and took several deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself. ‘It’s okay….just relax…’

Trixie glanced at their saddlebags across the room and levitated her lavender sack at her side. She opened the clasp and decided that it would be an opportune moment to sort through her earnings from her performance the night before thinking that it might take her mind off of things. Trixie removed the book that Luna had entrusted her and carefully placed it beside her and figured that she could read more of it later during the train ride. This way, she could learn some new spells before her next show in Manehattan. She returned her focus to her saddlebag and gazed in excitement at her haul for the night. The morning sunlight that shone through the window reflected off the gold bits and the shimmer momentarily distracted her. Trixie pushed the remaining fireworks aside in Gilda's saddlebag and evenly distributed the earnings between them. When she finished counting the last two bits, she closed the clasp and sighed contently. As she inhaled, her senses overtook and her primal instincts captured a whiff of sweet maple syrup and inadvertently her stomach began to protest of her hunger. Trixie licked her muzzle and carried both saddlebags as she exited the bedroom.

Trixie followed the aroma of buttermilk down the stairs and into the back of the store. She walked past the back room of shelves each piled high with goods from Bit's shop and from the look of it, some of the items haven't been moved in years. The stock room opened up at the back to reveal a rather large kitchen and dining room with a bay window that viewed the castle in the distance. Bit was already at the table with his coffee and reading the newspaper as Charity worked effortlessly in the kitchen to prepare breakfast.

Bit looked up from his paper at Trixie and motioned at his coffee mug and then slightly nodded his head at the mare, indicating if she would like any.

“No, thanks. If you have any herbal tea, Trixie would be most grateful.” Trixie was still half asleep as she sat down at the table. Her mane was disheveled and her appearance lacked the grooming she was accustom to. After the last few days, she was too tired to care before getting a home cooked meal inside of her stomach. After all, a mare must tend to her priorities.

Charity came from the kitchen carrying a cup with an teabag filled with Canterlot Jasmine and a kettle of boiling water. She poured the water into the cup, filling it to the brim. Trixie smiled at Charity and took a lingering whiff of the tea. The fragrance of the Jasmine filled the entirety of her spirit and she sighed contently.

“Let me know if you'd like more, dear.” Charity returned to the stove as Trixie blew on her tea in an effort to cool it down, taking small sips at a time.

“Did you both sleep well?” Charity called to Trixie from the kitchen as the pan sizzled from the pancake batter making contact with it. “I hope that we didn't keep you two from sleeping.”

Trixie gagged on her tea momentarily as memories of why both Gilda and herself refused to sleep in the bed last night.

“It is okay, we slept....decently enough. Compared to sleeping on the ground in a cave again, this was quite comfortable.” Trixie watched as Charity flipped the finished pancakes onto several plates and returned to the dining room. Charity put out a plate for Gilda at the empty seat and one for Trixie. The unicorn nodded in gratitude and immediately began to levitate her fork and bit into a large chunk of buttermilky goodness. Charity giggled at the sight and put some maple syrup and some berry preserves on the table.

Trixie looked at Bit, whom was still behind his morning edition of Equestria Daily and she noticed an article the back page titled “The Great and Powerful Has-Been” across the top.

Trixie felt a sharp pain in her chest, as if a knife had stabbed and twisted its cold steel deep inside her. She closed her eyes and did her best to bury her anger and hurt pride within herself, as she had always done after reading reviews that were less than stellar.

‘You are Trixie. You are great. You are powerful.’ The mare felt her eyes burn and she gritted her teeth on her tongue subtly to force herself not to cry. She repeated the phrase in her mind several times until she calmed herself. As she opened her eyes, her amaranthine colored irides were glazed over and she retained a deadpan expression.

'The editors at Equestria Daily wouldn't know talent if it bit them on the flank...' Trixie scoffed at the article and despite its harsh tone, her mind decided that it was more focused on her immediate griffin problem at hoof. She took a sip of her tea and took another bite of pancakes before she was interrupted by Bit.

“Can you believe some of the garbage they allow in this paper? Listen to this….”

“That’s complete garbage, I don’t care how the media portrays it, the light show in the sky last night was crafted from the bottom of somepony’s heart for the one they love.” Charity scoffed at the fear pandering story.

“What do you mean?” Trixie blushed furiously at Charity.

“I mean, you and Gilda should know how it is, being in love and such. How long have you two been together, anyways?” Charity asked suddenly as she placed a plate of pancakes down in front of Bit and she sat down at the table next to her husband. Trixie choked on her pancakes in surprise and smacked herself twice in her chest in an attempt to dislodge her breakfast.

“Charity, show some tact!” Bit looked from his newspaper and shook his head disapprovingly. Charity merely responded by approaching her husband from behind and nipped at the back of his left ear while ruffling his mane with her hoof. Bit immediately grew a fatuous grin that plastered across his face and felt as if he were about to melt into his chair. Trixie blushed and averted her gaze from the couple.

“I’m sorry, dear. I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable. I just thought you two were…” Charity tried to regain her composure, reminding herself that they had company present.

“No, we’re not….Trixie means it’s nothing like that….I don’t think…Trixie met Gilda a few days ago....she had saved Trixie's life....” Trixie stared at her plate of half eaten pancakes and silence filled the room. Bit put his paper down and Charity looked to her husband and then back to the mare. Trixie's blank expression held for several moments before she spoke again.

“Our personalities seem to differ from time to time, but Trixie believes Gilda has a good heart...we wouldn't be here right now if it wasn't for Gilda...” Trixie looked up at the couple, whom both shared an expression of utmost sympathy for the unicorn. Bit put his hoof on Charity's and gave it a reassuring pat and Charity nodded. She moved her chair from her husband's side towards Trixie and rubbed her back comfortingly.

"Trixie thinks that she...might have been too bold... She's never done anything like that...come to think of it, she's never felt like this before." Trixie glanced up at Charity and quickly looked back to her breakfast.

“Trixie...kissed Gilda while she was sleeping... Trixie awoke this morning and found that Gilda was stroking our mane. After last night, Trixie felt something within her whenever she looks at Gilda... Trixie knows it was stupid of her to do, but she just did it... and then Gilda went along with it for a bit before she freaked out and went to the bathroom...Trixie doesn't want to lose her only friend... but she doesn't understand why she feels this way either...” Trixie felt as if she had lost her appetite and nudged the plate with her hoof, pushing it away slightly.

"Does it feel like some twisting feeling in your stomach and when you see or think about her, do you feel excited and nervous? Like you have the power to do anything and helpless to do anything about at the same time?" Charity asked Trixie softly and elegantly enough to recapture the mare's attention, prompting Trixie to nod. Her eyes however, never left the sight of her pancakes. Charity noticed this and brought her hoof beneath Trixie's chin and gingerly guided the depressed unicorn's eyes to meet with her own.

“There's an energy that binds us all together. It's more powerful than any magic that any pony can describe. You can see it in a look, an action or even just a moment between one another. You might not really be able to describe the feeling, but it’s one that’s wonderful and nerve-wracking all the same.”

“But she's so...unrefined.... And we constantly bicker about the most asinine of subjects...” Trixie looked up at Charity, who shot her a cock eyed expression.

“What couple doesn't? Just because you both have strong personalities doesn't mean that you can't be together... It's all about the mutual respect of each others' boundaries and the ability to know when to give and when to take.” Charity looked Trixie in the eyes with a deep reassuring smile upon her face.

“What about that were both … or that we're so different....” Trixie's mind was consumed with a plethora of uncertainties, all of which involved the griffin in question.

“Love knows no gender, race or creed. If it is real and true, it has no boundaries. No relationship is perfect, Trixie. I mean, if I told you that ours was, I’d be lying. You’ll make some mistakes here and there and arguments are bound to happen, but you have to learn from them. When someone really loves you, they love you for who you are not what you are. They already looked past all your flaws. All they know is that they love you and that nothing would ever change that feeling.” Charity looked at Bit and she rubbed a tentative hoof on his back. The stallion peered into his wife's eyes and gave her a gentle kiss before returning his attention back to his paper. The two returned their attention to their breakfast, leaving the unicorn to her thoughts.

Gilda dried herself off and fluffed her wings several times to dispel the excess water from them, still frustrated from the unwanted wake-up call. She inspected herself and grinned as she noticed that her feathers were glowing with a healthy sheen in the light. She shut the bathroom door and the smell of fresh pancakes hit her like a sack of bricks. She inhaled the scent deeply and a smile returned to her face. Gilda walked down the stairs and followed the aroma of fresh buttermilk and coffee. As she entered the kitchen, all attention shifted to Gilda and the conversation stopped, making her feel extremely out of place. The mares became quiet and an awkward tension filled Trixie as she made eye contact with the griffin.

"Good morning, Gilda! Please help yourself!" Charity pointed her hoof to the empty seat at the table, which had a clean plate next to half a dozen freshly made pancakes. Gilda sat down immediately and had already proceeded to shovel a forkful of pancakes into her gullet. “Would you like some coffee?”

Gilda nodded excitedly at the offer and without savoring the first taste of her breakfast continued to eat another chunk of pancakes.

“So how long have you guys owned the store?” Gilda asked between mouthfuls of her breakfast.

“Well, it's a family run chain. We have stores all over Equestria and each one is run by one of my brothers or cousins. In fact, my brother, Filthy runs the 'Rich's Barnyard Bargains' in Ponyville!” Bit chimed in merrily, proud of his family's accomplishments and then resumed to eat his breakfast. Gilda and Trixie both let out a faint shutter as Bit mentioned Ponyville. The pair shot each other a glance after noticing the others' reaction and attempted to stifle their own giggling by stuffing their faces full of pancakes. Gilda washed her mouthful with a large sip of her coffee and let out an ample burp before sighed contently. The two mares looked at the griffin in befuddlement at her display of sheer shamelessness. Bit was far too distracted with his plate to pay attention to what was going on and continued to eat.

“Excuse me...” Gilda spoke with a timid smile on her face as Trixie shot her a look of embarrassment. The unicorn quickly tried to change the subject.

"So...how long have you two...?” Trixie pointed her hoof back and forth between the married couple for a moment before Charity spoke.

"15 years and counting. He may not look like it now, but Bit used to be a real stud." Charity looked at her husband, whom had a mouthful of pancakes and was chewing loudly and extremely contently. She sighed. "I just don't know what went wrong..."

"He's a romantic at heart, really. We grew up together and he's been my best friend all my life. When we finally decided to start dating, he took me to Canterlot Meadows during the Harvest Festival. We snuck off with a picnic basket full of these hoof-made sandwiches we had made together and a bottle of Apple Acres' Finest Hard Cider and watched the fireworks from the festival.” Charity’s eyes began to gleam with a youthful vigor.

"We looked into each others' eyes and I just knew she was the one, even if she wouldn't admit it." Bit chimed in upon hearing his wife reminisce of their first night together. "It was the night that started the best thing that ever happened to me."

Gilda scoffed quietly to herself when Charity mentioned Bit being her childhood friend and her thoughts momentarily returned to the cyan pegasus. Gilda quickly shook Dash from her mind and was met with a concerned glance from Trixie. Gilda avoided looking into the mare's eyes and redirected her focus on her pancakes.

"And the sex was amazing too." Charity smirked as she shuffled her flank away from the table to put the dishes in the kitchen. Gilda began to choke on her forkful of pancakes and had to forcefully swallow the last bit of it as the married couple began to nuzzle each other’s noses.

“Well, we should get going....we don't want to miss our train...” Gilda tried to compose herself and get themselves back on track from the awkward situation. It was then that Gilda realized that she had no real idea of where their destination actually was.

“Pssstt.....Hey Trix, where are we going anyways?” Gilda leaned over to the unicorn and whispered nonchalantly into her ear.

“The Great and Powerful Trixie's next act is in Manehattan. She is performing in two days; however she should be getting her accommodations secured soon.” Trixie pushed her chair from the table as Bit approached her with a small parchment in his mouth.

“Trixie, I want you to have this. I wrote down an order for my cousin's branch of 'Rich's Barnyard Bargains' for when you get to Manehattan. Just give it to him, the payment is already taken care of.” Bit handed the invoice to Trixie and her mouth dropped as she read it over.

“....This is a month's worth of food and supplies....Trixie does not know what to say....” Trixie was used to having fans give her gifts, but this felt different. The altruistic nature of the couple was something she had never experienced before. She stood there silently, words escaping her until Charity brought her in for a tight embrace.

“Then don’t say anything at all.” Charity smiled as Trixie slowly accepted the hug. Gilda stood back and smirked at the display of affection.

“Friends don’t say goodbye, we just meet again another day.” Bit chimed in, extending his hoof to the griffin. Those words penetrated Gilda straight to her bones and echoed within her. She stood staring at the stallion, momentarily stunned. As she shook his hoof, Dash returned to her plagued thoughts and she smiled awkwardly.

The mare and griffin left the couple's home in utter silence other than a simple wave. The walk to the train station was less than a few blocks from the store, but a lingering presence hung thick in the air around them, making it feel like the trip was longer than it actually was. Gilda snuck a glimpse of the unicorn out of the corner of her eye, her mind still reeling from her dream. The moment Trixie caught Gilda staring at her, the griffin immediately shot her gaze away.

Canterlot Station was alive and full of commuting ponies running around to start their daily routines. The trials of the daily 'horse race' seemed to be embedded within Canterlot society.

'Even if you win the race, at the end of it, you're still a horse...' Gilda thought to herself and smirked. She never really understood how others could allow themselves to get caught up in petty things like status or the prospect of fame. She wondered to herself how Trixie could be so far entranced by it. 'Could you actually get so far deep into it that it blinds you from reality?' Gilda became mentally lost in the activity around her that she didn't notice Trixie had left her side and approached the ticket booth.

"The Great and Powerful Trixie requires two tickets to the next train to Manehattan." Trixie stood proudly before the ticket booth cashier. The clerk within the booth was caught off guard by the mare.

"Who?" The expression from the clerk was one of genuine confusion and was met with a look of complete disdain from the show-mare. Trixie’s face grew crimson as a slight rage began to burn within her.

“How dare you not know greatness when you see it before you! How does an entire city not know of The Great and Powerful…” Before Trixie could finish, Gilda shoved the unicorn out of the way and covered her mouth. Gilda threw the payment for both tickets on the counter and held up two of her fingers to the shocked and unwitting stallion. He printed two tickets and Gilda snatched the from him and drug Trixie to the boarding platform, leaving the stallion utterly confused about what had just transpired. When the two were a safe distance away, Gilda let go of Trixie. The unicorn’s face was still blushed and she was about to tell the griffin off, but Gilda interjected first.

"Chill out, we don’t need to get kicked off of this train..... I am NOT WALKING to Manehattan," Gilda shoved her ticket into her saddlebag and shuttered at the idea of having to cross the arid rain shadow that extended approximately fifty miles upon the leeward side of the Canterlot Mountain range. All alongside the self-absorbed cyan mare.

Trixie closed her eyes and took a deep breath to try and calm herself down. After a few moments, Trixie felt herself become relaxed. She opened her eyes and they were met with the griffin’s rich goldenrod irides, which caused Trixie’s heart to skip a beat. The train whistle interrupted the two as its doors opened in front of them. Both Gilda and Trixie entered the train car and quickly took the only remaining bench seats available. Gilda sat down at the window seat and immediately reclined back. Trixie readjusted her cape before removing her saddlebag and placed it on the floor in front of her.

"It should take us only about an hour to get to Manehattan. Trixie needs to receive her promotional fliers once we get into the city. Will you help her post them again?” Trixie looked at Gilda, who had found herself in a comfortable position with her hands behind her head and leaning back against the back of the bench.

“Yeah yeah, sure. No worries.” Gilda’s eyes remained closed in her response, which irked Trixie. She didn’t know if the griffin was really paying attention to her or not. The train slowly departed from Canterlot Station. The metal screeched as the steam pistons propelled the crank shaft to drive the wheels forward. The smoke stack expelled vicious black soot as the whistle blew.

"Woot woot!" Trixie's attention was caught by a little colt with a toy train mimicking the train’s whistle. The small earth pony held his train up to the cabin window and began to follow the horizon as they travelled forward. The delight that was evident on the colt's face was accentuated by the content expressions of his parents, whom were sitting with their forehooves around one another. Trixie smiled at the sight and looked over to Gilda, who had already fallen fast asleep across from her. Trixie's smiled faded as she rolled her eyes at the griffin and turned her gaze to the window.

The emerald forest that covered the west part of Canterlot Mountain and well past Ponyville began to dwindle the further east they headed. Vibrant greens that seemed to create a separate life on their own became dull and barren that stretched past Trixie could see. Aside from an occasional change in the horizon or a wayward cactus, it seemed as if they weren't moving at all after a while. She caught Gilda's reflection in the glare of the window and a slight smile returned to the mare's face.

Trixie glance at her saddlebag and decided to go through and try and learn a new spell for her act from the book that Luna had entrusted her with. She carefully removed the text from her bag and opened up to the chapter marked ‘Fundamentals of Magick’. Trixie rolled her eyes and sighed before beginning to read the page.

Trixie smirked as she read that line, as if it were basic knowledge. Her smugness dissolved as she continued to read.

'However, confidence and arrogance cannot be mistaken for or replaced with one another retroactively. In order to maintain composure while casting any spell, elementary or advanced, the caster must concentrate on the type of magick they wish to perform: transformation, healing, matter manipulation, etc. While the spells are different, the matter in which they are cast remain the same.'

Trixie looked up and saw the train’s conductor standing in front of her in the aisle.

“Tickets please.” The conductor broke Trixie from her concentration and she reached into her back and showed the ticket. The conductor smiled and then looked over at Gilda, whom was still fast asleep.

“What about your friend?” The conductor asked the unicorn, reverting back to his serious tone. Trixie nudged Gilda's shoulder in an attempt to wake her up which was met with an inaudible mumble from the griffin. Trixie jabbed her elbow into Gilda’s side and the griffin shot awake.

“What the hell was that about!?” Gilda rubbed her side in anger and was met with the stare of two ponies.

“Tickets please.” Trixie mimicked the tone of the conductor and let out a smirk. Gilda rumbled as she opened her saddlebag to retrieve her ticket and instead several different fireworks fell out and rolled along the cabin floor and stopped at the conductor's hoof.

The conductor adjusted his bifocals and looked at the homemade explosive and gasped in horror.

Gilda froze and was at a loss of words as Trixie interjected between the two.

"Fear not, that is merely a stage prop for the Great and Powerful Trixie!” The showmare’s horn began to generate a bright lavender glow and the fuse of the firecrackers started to burn. Within a second, the train car lit up with colors and two sizable 'pops' that shook the structure of the cabin. Trixie stood proudly at her introduction, but her smile dropped the moment that she saw looks of sheer panic from the conductor and the train's passengers.

“It’s the al-Colta terrorists! They've come to blow up the train!” Somepony from the back of the train car yelled out and the passengers immediately broke out into a frenzied free-for-all, running around screaming at the top of their lungs.

Trixie shot a look back at Gilda, whose expression was one of complete and utter shock at how quickly things got out of hoof.

“Stop right there, criminal scum!” Two large Royal Guard members approached the pair, cornering them to their row.

Gilda frantically searched for a way to escape and though they may have been cornered, there was still a window behind them.

“Trixie, grab the bags!” Gilda shouted to the unicorn, whom instinctively levitated them with her magic and Gilda slammed the latch and the window flew open. The speed of the train created a vortex of air pressure displacement between the in and outside of the train and Gilda swallowed in nervous anticipation. Gilda grabbed Trixie and the griffin took off into the air, leaving the train and their pursuers in the distance.

At first, stabilizing herself was an issue, not only from the velocity of her take off, but the additional weight from Trixie was a major factor. She had to force herself to ascend quickly to avoid face diving into the ground at such a high speed. Gilda had flown fast before, but never from a stationary spot into an immediate acceleration. Thoughts of lessons from Junior Speedsters flashed in her head, she remembered the professor speaking of correcting flight patterns for velocity variables. It would probably be useful right now if she hadn't spent the entire lecture period talking with Dash in the back of the classroom. She was snapped from her thoughts when she felt Trixie's back against her chest. She felt a racing heart beat, but in the moment of adrenaline, she could not distinguish whether or not it was her own. Despite the severity of their certain predicament, she felt herself invigorated by it...

And in the back of her mind, she questioned whether or not it was from her company she kept as well. She knew that when she was with Dash, there were always those moments of unbridled endeavors that kept their bond intriguing. This felt different to her, but maintained a sense of nostalgic familiarity to it.

After what had seemed like several minutes of flying at top speed, Gilda felt her wings grow heavy and she began to feel herself gasp for air. She landed with more force than she had anticipated, making both the griffin and mare stumble across the dirt. Trixie coughed as the dust settled,

“We left those dweebs in the dust!” Gilda sneer as she fluffed her wings against her sides into a comfortable position as her strained muscles ached for rest. She glanced at Trixie, whom was staring at Gilda in complete silence. ‘Heh, my flying skill must have really left her speechless…. I’m not surprised….’ The griffin grinned at the mare until Trixie began to speak.

“Wait…. Where are we?” Trixie broke her gaze from Gilda and the two looked around only to find that they were nowhere near any civilization.