//------------------------------// // Emergency Provisions // Story: An Eye for an Eye // by Gizogin //------------------------------// An Eye for an Eye Chapter 5 In a private booth on the Friendship Express, Twilight Sparkle fumed. They were more than an hour late already, and they'd barely even set off. Even with Twilight's obsessive need to plan for every eventuality, the four ponies should have had ample time to reach the train station. They'd packed all of Twilight's and Trixie's gear—Hammer and Glimmer, not expecting to be embarking on an expedition, hadn't brought much more than their toiletries; they would be purchasing their other necessities in Hollow Shades—and were making good progress. Then, of course, Hammer had made an idle comment about not wanting to eat on the train, which Spike somehow overheard. The dragon, in a final, transparent attempt to curry Hammer's favor, had insisted on making lunch for the group. As they were finally leaving the library, Spike had taken Twilight aside to ask if she might drop a few hints about his love of gems to Hammer. The way things were going, though, the only thing Twilight was likely to drop was a ton of bricks onto his head. Twilight understood, of course, that the delay wasn't strictly Sir Hammer's fault. That didn't stop her from glaring across their booth at him, nor from muttering darkly under her breath. As the train rumbled across the landscape, the silence in the booth transitioned from uncomfortable to downright hostile. Hammer was doing his best to hide from Twilight's glare, with only limited success given the confines of the room. Glimmer, next to him, sat stoically, seemingly unfazed by her companion's discomfort. Across from her, Trixie was desperately trying to think of a way to defuse the situation. It was, in a way, her expedition; she couldn't help but feel obligated to mediate her team's conflict. Anything she could think to say, however, was likely to only make things worse. Mercifully, a knock at the booth's door came to her rescue. It slid open, revealing a stocky pegasus mare in a conductor's uniform. "Tickets, please," she announced, holding out a forehoof expectantly. Twilight finally broke off her glare, turning her attention to retrieving her ticket. Now finally freed, if only temporarily, Hammer relaxed, and pulled out his own pass from his tailcoat. "Here you are," he said, around the slip of paper in his mouth. The conductor took it, punched it, and returned it with practiced ease, and waited for the next ticket. This turned out to be Trixie's, followed by Twilight's and Glimmer's. The conductor repeated the process for all three, then, assured that everything was in order, moved down to the next booth. For the first time since they'd all boarded the train, the immense tension in the air lessened slightly. It wasn't much, but it was all Trixie needed. "Anything from the trolley, dears?" she said, raising the pitch of her voice slightly in an imitation of the conductor. It was a reference to one of the most famous book series ever written, and Trixie hoped it would help to lighten the mood. Twilight snorted. That wasn't surprising; Twilight read everything she could get her hooves on, so there was no way she'd miss a reference like that. Hammer took it a bit further than a snort, though. He put on a dejected expression, spoiled slightly by how he was obviously straining not to laugh. "No thanks; I'm all set," he said, miming pulling out a roast barley sandwich. Glimmer decided to get in on the fun as well. Dropping her voice to a more masculine tone, she announced, "We'll take the lot." Not even Twilight's grumpiness could survive that, and she burst out laughing. That set off Hammer, who'd been the closest to breaking already, and soon all four ponies were in stitches. They soon began to calm down, but then Twilight said, in a high-pitched, authoritarian tone, "Excuse me, have you seen a toad? A colt called Neighville's lost one," and they all started right up again. Finally, breathlessly, the ponies managed to bring themselves back to sanity. When silence settled again, it was cheery and companionable, rather than awkward. It was late afternoon by the time Twilight and company disembarked in Hollow Shades Station. They wasted no time in leaving the platform, trotting quickly into the main station building. As soon as they were indoors, Twilight took the lead. "Right," she announced, "does everypony know what they're doing?" "Glimmer and I will pick up the gear we need, as well as enough food to last a few days," Hammer volunteered. "Good. Remember, it's a full day's hike to the Foal Foothills, and that's if we don't run into any delays. Then we need to actually find this cave, and we only have a general idea of where it is. Five days' food, minimum." "I know," Hammer answered, with the long-suffering air of a Colt Scout with an overly protective mother. "You said so several times on the train." Twilight turned to Trixie. "What about you?" she asked. Trixie sighed inwardly. "You and Trixie will pair up," she intoned. "We will inform the local authorities of our task, and enlist any help or information they might be able to provide." "And?" "And Trixie will aid you in securing lodgings for tonight, as –" she changed her tone to an imitation of Twilight's lecturing "– 'it would not be wise to set hoof in the forest after dark without reason.'" Twilight nodded. Addressing Hammer and Glimmer, she said, "Meet outside the station before sundown. That's a little less than three hours from now. Anything we don't get done tonight, we'll have to do in the morning. Try not to let it come to that." Twilight's tone made it perfectly clear that anypony who left a task to be done in the morning would feel the purple unicorn's unbridled wrath. Hammer bowed, slightly more deeply than necessary. "I shall not fail you," he pronounced dramatically, before making an about-face and striding towards the nearest exit. "Come along, Glimmer," he called over his shoulder. Glimmer rolled her eyes, but she trotted quickly after him to catch up. Twilight watched them go, a slightly bemused expression on her face. When they were out of sight, she turned back to Trixie. "Now, did you say you'd been to Hollow Shades before?" "Well, sort of, " Trixie answered. "Trixie did a show here once, a while ago. She doesn't remember it being especially welcoming." Twilight seemed to be looking for more, so Trixie added, "It's a logging town, the way Trixie understands it. There are a lot of wooden huts in a few big clearings. That's all Trixie really knows." "Hmm. So you don't know where the mayor's office is?" "Mayor? For all Trixie knows, Hollow Shades might not even have one." Twilight groaned. They had next to nothing to go on, and little time to waste. This was rapidly becoming a disaster, but she forced herself to focus. "We just need somewhere to start," she thought aloud. "There must be an information desk or tourism bureau somewhere; Hollow Shades might not be Fillydelphia, but it isn't exactly the sticks either." "'Visitor Center'," Trixie read aloud, looking at something behind Twilight. Twilight spun around, following Trixie's gaze, and saw a desk in a far corner. A rack nearby held stacks of brochures, and a map of what was presumably Hollow Shades covered the wall behind it. "Perfect," Twilight beamed. She plowed through the crowd of milling ponies in the station, leaving Trixie to follow in her wake. "Excuse me," she said once she reached the booth. When the pony behind the desk didn't look up, she raised her voice and tried again. "Hmm?" the earth pony clerk said, finally taking notice of his customer. "Oh, hello. What can I help you with?" Trixie caught up with Twilight, breathing slightly heavily. Twilight could really move when she had a mind to, and something about the fierce confidence on her face made ponies instinctively move out of her way. Unfortunately, this ability wasn't afforded to Trixie, who'd had to push and shove to keep up. The clerk was clearly very young, just working a summer job to earn some extra bits. It wasn't a bad job by any stretch, but it was often dull and mind-numbing. The pay, at least, was decent, but as the colt looked over the determined, slightly frazzled unicorn on the other side of his desk, he couldn't help but feel that it wasn't enough. "I need to find the mayor's office," Twilight stated. "Or, if you don't have a mayor, then whoever's in charge." "Okay," the clerk said. He produced a pamphlet from under his desk, unfolding it to reveal a smaller version of the map on the wall. "Here's a map of the town; Mayor Oak's office is in the town hall, which is—" His explanation was interrupted when Twilight levitated the map out of his grasp. She studied it briefly, before folding it up and stuffing it into an already-bulging saddlebag. "Thank you," she said curtly. She knew that she was being rude, but she also knew that time was of the essence. If she neglected a few niceties in the hope of salvaging her schedule, then so be it. "Trixie, let's go." Trixie had barely caught her breath when Twilight set off again. She spared a sympathetic glance at the clerk, who was currently stammering in shock and mentally cursing his life choices, before once more chasing Twilight's streaked, deep purple tail. "I need to see him now! It's an emergency!" "I'm sorry, but nopony sees Mayor Oak without an appointment," Legal repeated evenly. "If you'd like to speak with him, there's an opening in two weeks." Legal Pad, head receptionist for Mayor Oak, was infamous in Hollow Shades' governance for two things. First was her absolute devotion to protocol, followed by her utter unflappability. Ponies had tried everything from threatening her to pleading with her, to no avail. Nothing would get Legal to break the rules, and nothing got past her rolls of red tape. Twilight Sparkle was beginning to understand this, much to her aggravation. It didn't help that, at home in Ponyville, she had Mayor Mare's ear. There, everypony in the government knew Princess Celestia's personal student, and her aid in saving the town from disaster on a weekly basis meant that they ignored her at their peril. Here in Hollow Shades, however, she was just another pony. Another pony who couldn't get past the bastion that was Legal Pad. Still, she wasn't ready to give up yet. "Please," she said, abandoning her urgent tone in favor of a pleading one. "I have extremely important information that could prove vital for the protection of not just Hollow Shades, but all of Equestria. All I ask is five minutes with Mayor Oak." Legal Pad wasn't moved. "Nopony sees Mayor Oak without an appointment." For Trixie, this was the last straw. She couldn't take another minute of the bureaucrat's ridiculous protocol. She'd been sitting in one of the lobby's uncomfortable chairs, but now she was striding purposefully towards the desk. "Now listen here, you soulless ingrate," Trixie declared. She was using her best showmare's voice; it was powerful, attention-grabbing, and confident. "Do you have any idea who you're talking to? This mare next to Trixie is none other than Twilight Sparkle. The Twilight Sparkle. Do you understand?" "Ma'am—" Legal Pad began, but Trixie cut her off. "No, Trixie doesn't think you do understand. The Great and Powerful Trixie has traveled all of Equestria. She's seen amazing things, wonderful things, terrifying things. Not one of them comes close to Twilight Sparkle. This mare is the most powerful unicorn Trixie has ever seen. Twilight once lifted an Ursa Minor clear above several three-story buildings, carried it back to its cave, and threw in a full water tower for good measure. She didn't even break a sweat. This mare has saved the whole of Equestria—saved you—from certain destruction at least twice, and probably more. This mare has her own stained-glass windows in Canterlot Castle. This mare is Element of Magic, and the personal protege of Princess Celestia herself." Trixie leaned forward, pressing her face into Legal Pad's, her voice becoming very serious. "You know what that means? It means that if this mare tells you she has important information that needs to get to the mayor, you let her see the fucking mayor!" Trixie paused, letting her words sink in. "Are we clear?" "Nopony sees Mayor Oak without an appointment. That's the rule," Legal Pad repeated, unfazed by the mare yelling an inch from her face. Before Trixie could respond with what was sure to be a string of threats and obscenities, however, Legal's expression softened. "I'm sorry," she said, and for the first time it was with actual emotion. "Even if I could let you see him, it wouldn't do you any good. Mayor Oak is..." she paused, searching for the words. "He's a wonderful stallion, but he's not exactly stable lately. The stress is getting to him. He only has a few months left in office, so nopony thinks it's worth doing anything about." Trixie nodded in acknowledgement, though her frown stayed put. "So what do we do?" "You said you had important information?" Legal asked, looking at Twilight. When she nodded, Legal said, "If you leave it with me, I can make sure it gets to the right ponies. I can't promise it'll be quick, but it's the best I can do." "Then that's what we have," Trixie said. "Twilight?" Twilight stepped forward, and in the course of a few minutes she described the situation. Apart from the occasional point of clarification, Legal was content to listen. Finally, Twilight's story reached the present, and she finished with what she suggested the town should do. "Between the four of us," Twilight said, "we should be able to handle re-sealing the Tears. Just in case we don't, though, I'd have the town on alert, in case they need to evacuate. Princess Celestia also knows what we're doing, so she can step in if things get really bad." Legal Pad nodded, considering Twilight's proposal. "You said you don't know exactly where this cave is?" "Right," Twilight confirmed. "So you don't know how long it'll take you to find it." "Also right." "Do you know exactly what will happen if you don't manage to seal the Tears?" "Um," Twilight looked to Trixie, who merely shrugged. "Dowsing Rod was a great explorer," Trixie said apologetically, "but he wasn't much of a writer. All Trixie knows is that it'd be really bad." "That's a no, then." Legal nodded again, then said, "So, you want me to put all of Hollow Shades on high alert for some unspecified amount of time, with no clear way to know what we're looking for, in case of some unknown disaster that, as far as we know, may or may not even exist?" Twilight shuffled uncomfortably. "Well, when you put it like that..." Legal Pad sighed. "Look, I appreciate that you're trying to help," she said, "but what you're suggesting just isn't feasible. What I can do is pass on a warning to the town guards. I'll tell them to be on the lookout for anything suspicious coming from the forest." She jotted down a quick note, then said, "That reminds me, you said you were heading to the Foal Foothills?" "That's our best guess as to the cave's location, yes," Twilight answered. "Be careful, then. The woods over there are treacherous; even our best logging teams won't go near them. Superstitious nonsense, if you ask me, but it couldn't hurt to use caution anyway." Twilight brightened considerably at this news. "Thank you," she said, "that's just what I needed to hear. We'll be on our way, then. Thanks for your help." "Don't mention it," Legal replied, already settling back into no-nonsense mode. "Good luck." Outside the town hall, Twilight and Trixie stood in silence. Twilight hadn't spoken since they'd said goodbye to Legal Pad, despite Trixie's attempts to start a conversation. Trixie hated awkward silences, almost as much as she'd hated wheels when under the Alicorn Amulet's corruption. Something was on Twilight's mind, however, and the librarian didn't seem to be in a talking mood. "So, next up is finding a place to sleep, right?" Trixie asked. Twilight remained silent, so she tried again. "Trixie thinks she saw a hotel on that one street we walked—" "Did you mean it?" Twilight interrupted, throwing Trixie for a loop. "Mean what?" "All that stuff you said to Legal Pad. Did you mean it?" Trixie thought about it. At the time, she'd really only said it to get Legal to cooperate. "Yes, Trixie did," she decided. "It's all true, isn't it?" "Is that really how you think of me?" Twilight's voice was quiet. "The way you described me, it was... terrifying. You make me sound like, I don't know, like a mythological hero." "Aren't you, though?" Trixie replied. "You've saved Equestria how many times now?" "Four, officially," Twilight answered simply. "Though one of those was actually Spike, one of them was mostly Cadence and Shining Armor, and the other two were only because I had my friends with me. I'm nothing special." Trixie snorted in derision. "Nothing special?" she repeated, as though the idea were laughable. "When you defeated Trixie when she had the Alicorn Amulet, Trixie did some research. It wasn't hard. Saving Princess Luna, defeating Discord; those were all over the news. No names, but when they talked about 'quite possibly the most powerful unicorn since Starswirl the Bearded', Trixie put two and two together." "Those news stories blew everything out of proportion," Twilight protested. "It was completely different, actually being there. Plus," she added, "they got a lot of details wrong. I'm not the Element of Magic; I represent it." From her tone, this was a bit of a sore point with her. "That's the point, though; you were there. All the rest of us have are the stories, and what they say is that you're a hero. A hundred years from now, that's how you'll be remembered." Twilight sighed. "I know. But when I remember that, it's like... Legal Pad wouldn't listen to me at all. Then you came up, told her who I was, and she helped us. That seems wrong, almost." "In fairness, she still wasn't all that helpful," Trixie joked. "Maybe you're right, though. Maybe you're not all that special." "Oh?" Twilight said, smiling. "Yeah. After all, if the Great and Powerful Trixie were in your place, she'd have beaten Discord in half the time." "Really." Twilight rolled her eyes, but she looked much cheerier than she had a few minutes ago. "Come on," she said, setting off at a trot for a nearby street. "Let's find a room for the night." The sun had sunk well below the horizon by the time Hammer and Glimmer returned to the station. "Hello," Hammer called to the waiting Twilight and Trixie. Noting their current lack of saddlebags, he added, "You found lodging, then?" "You're late," was Twilight's greeting. "And yes, we did. You have the food?" "Right here," Hammer answered, shaking his midsection to emphasize his own saddlebags' greatly increased bulk. "Glimmer talked me out of the Luna's food cake, but the rest of it should be satisfactory." "Good. The hotel's this way," Twilight said, setting off for their overnight hold. "It's an early night for us tonight; at dawn, we leave for the Seaponies' Tears."