//------------------------------// // Chapter 9 // Story: A New World, A Fresh Start // by drnkntst //------------------------------// Chapter 23 “Howdy there pardner! How ya doing this mornin’?” Applejack come out of a row of trees to greet Rick. “Those are some fine lookin’ duds ya got there.” “Mornin’ AJ. I’m doing great, how about you? Oh, and thanks for the compliment, Rarity does good work doesn’t she? And who’s this?” Rick knelt down to pet the brown and white dog, probably some kind of collie. “That there is Winona, she helps me around the farm. Ah’m good by the way. So, why didja want to come out here this mornin’? Was it the fence?” “Oh, I almost forgot about the fence. That’s not the reason, but I will take care of it. No, the reason I came out here was to procure our transport to Canterlot. Tell me, have you been curious about my truck?” Rick lead Applejack over to the vehicle and opened the door. His jacket caught his eye and he snatched it, no point in having them ask questions if he could avoid it. No pony should ever know where leather comes from. He grabbed a shovel from the bed of the truck. “I’ll be back, I just need to bury this real fast.” AJ didn’t really understand, but she figured there had to be a reason. Rick wandered a fare distance into the nearby woods and dug a hole. He made sure it was deep enough so the smell of blood wouldn’t attract any predators. “That should do it, time to head back.” “So, if Ah’m guessin’ right, you plan to take us to Canterlot in this thing. Am Ah right?” AJ pointed to the truck with her foreleg. “Yeah, it should be a lot faster than a train and it might be fun to give those ponies there a shock.” He grinned at the thought. “Sounds fun, those ponies tend to be pretty snobby. They even had the nerve ta insult us because we were from Ponyville. Can ya believe that?” Applejack was visibly upset, it was obvious she loved this town and wouldn’t stand for anyone insulting it. “That’s just wrong. Ponyville is a great place, everyone here is so nice. Plus, all my friends live here. Let’s take ‘em down a peg.” Rick opened the door and told AJ to climb into the cab. “Too bad we can’t take Winona with us, dogs love trucks.” With effort, Rick managed to get Applejack buckled in, it wasn’t necessary, but old habits die hard, and rolled down the windows. “Shall we pick up the others then?” They started down the road to Ponyville, Rick made sure to keep the speed low so as to not scare AJ on her first ride. She seemed to enjoy it, it was like a carriage but faster, plus the enclosed cab kept the crisp morning air from making it too cold. Rick could see the other five waiting, made all the more obvious by a bouncing pink blob and a floating blue blur. “Hey, AJ, watch this.” He honked the horn. The noise startled Applejack but it made Pinkie stop bouncing and Rainbow get into an attack position. Twilight magically held Fluttershy to keep her from running. Rarity and Pinkie were huddled in fear. “Oh yeah, I forgot only you and Twilight had seen this thing before. My bad.” He smirked at Applejack who was chuckling. “Monster! You aren’t gonna hurt my friends!” Rainbow Dash was in a dive attack coming for the truck. “Crap. Think fast, Rick.” The only thing he could think to do was honk again. It worked, she was sufficiently thrown off by the noise and crashed into a tree. Rick pulled up alongside the tree. “Well, I admit defeat, Dash. I promise I won’t attack anyone.” He was grinning, AJ was laughing from the passenger seat. Dash groaned and sagged from her perch. “You didn’t hurt yourself did you?” The other four ponies approached the truck timidly. Rick turned off the engine and climbed out of the cab, AJ followed. He reached up to help Rainbow down out of her crash site/perch. He explained there was nothing to be afraid of, he had control of the ‘monster.’ Rick even went so far as to pop the hood and show them how it worked. “This is how we’ll get to Canterlot. As long as the roads are smooth and relatively straight, we should be able to maintain thirty miles an hour, maybe faster.” They seemed impressed by this. They loaded up in the truck. Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Applejack all sat in the bed. Rick told them they had to stay seated or he would make them walk the rest of the way. Fluttershy, Rarity and Twilight all rode in the cab along with AJ’s hat. All the windows were down, except for Rarity’s, and they opened the slider so the three inside could talk with the three outside. This was going to be fun. Chapter 24 “So this is how humans get around? That must be fun.” Twilight said from the rear passenger seat. “It can be, but it’s also very dangerous at times. There are many cities where the population numbers in the millions and not all of them are careful. With how heavy these things are, the driver needs to be careful. Like anything, it takes care, practice and attention to detail.” “Um, what’s this thing?” Fluttershy asked as she reached down and picked up a brown rectangle off the floor behind Rick. She held it up for all inside the cab to see. “That is my wallet. It’s what humans use to carry their identification, money and other important things. Take a look if you want.” She rifled through it, Rick patiently identified and explained every item she pulled out. Fluttershy was about to hold up Rick’s family photo, but Twilight quickly took it from her. “Not this one, Fluttershy. You can ask about it later, but right now, he… uh, needs to concentrate.” Twilight whispered to Fluttershy and tucked it away in the saddlebag she had brought along. Fluttershy looked confused but nodded, she knew that whatever that photo showed would have to wait. “I must say, this is a simply marvelous way to travel. It’s very fast and not being on tracks would allow you to go wherever.” Rarity was saying from the front passenger seat. “I can certainly see why they would be so popular.” “Oh yeah, people love their cars. There are many different enthusiast groups and clubs. There are even many different forms of races. Plus, there are many different genres of automobiles, pick-up trucks are just one facet. I think you would actually like cars, Rarity. They can be stylized and personalized in infinite ways and… and now I’m babbling. I’m sorry.” The ponies giggled. The group rode on enjoying the scenery. They discussed several things about driving. The ponies were fascinated. The whole thing was new to them and they wanted to know as much as they could. The trip didn’t take too long. The palace was rapidly approaching. Rick was starting to get nervous. He’d never seen a princess before. The city’s beauty made Rick’s jaw drop. Never had he seen anything so majestic. The tall spires gave the appearance that the city could withstand any invasion while at the same time, nothing seemed foreboding. The whole place was decorated with blue, gold and purple with white as the main color. There were suns, stars, flowers and stripes everywhere. Absolutely awesome. Rick couldn’t wait to get there. Then he saw the guards. Rick decided that it might not be the best idea to drive through town in a loud metal monster that had three ponies in its belly and three more in its clutches. Rainbow Dash’s reaction was evidence enough for that. “Hey, girls, I know you had your hearts set on terrorizing a few stuck up ponies, but I’m starting to think causing mass panic would be a bad idea.” He heard the groans of disappointment from the back but the three inside the cab agreed with his decision. He pulled off the road and parked behind some bushes near the road. The seven then got out and proceeded to the palace. The walk through the city was pleasant. Twilight was pointing out places of interest, very proud of the city she grew up in. Rarity kept swooning over the outfits the residents were wearing. Applejack was suggesting recipes she could sell to these ‘high falutin’ ponies.’ Rainbow Dash was talking about the Wonderbolts Derby that is held here and how she wished she could see it. Pinkie Pie was nearly yelling as she darted back and forth about how all the stuck up ponies needed was a party. Fluttershy was cooing about the many critters that live in the Canterlot gardens. Rick was trying to listen to all of them, but mostly thinking “don’t mess up, don’t mess up, don’t mess up,…” Chapter 25 As they walked through the palace, Rick was constantly struck by the beauty and grandeur. He was also constantly reassured by Twilight that the guards did not, in fact, want to impale Rick, It still didn’t do much to comfort him. When they topped the stairs, Rick was once again in awe. The stain glass windows were the cause this time. “The one on the left represents Princess Celestia who rules the day. The one on the right represents Princess Luna, she rules the night.” Twilight explained the windows displaying a sunny day and a moonlit night. “That would explain the sun and moon.” The group giggled. It wasn’t that funny, it was just the tension. The huge doors to the main hall opened as the seven approached them. The hall was lined with grand white pillars and a red carpet all the way up the middle of the large room. There were flags hanging that showed suns and others showed moons. To Rick, there was something familiar about the moons, he just couldn’t put his finger on it. Then he saw the windows in this room too. They showed amazing scenes of ponies doing amazing things. Again, there was something familiar. “Twilight, the ponies in these windows, are they…?” “Us? Yes, this is us turning Nightmare Moon back into Princess Luna.” Twilight explained what events the different windows displayed. Rick was more and more impressed with each one. Especially the one showing the creature that looked like something Picasso would have come up with. Benevolent princesses controlling the cycle of the day was hard enough to swallow, but an all-powerful being that could cause a whole countryside to lapse into chaos. That was just too much. “Good day my little ponies. I’m so glad you could all make it on such short notice.” Rick quickly spun around, “wow.” This new pony was the embodiment of elegance. She was all white with pastel rainbow mane and tail, they were ethereal, just like that blue pony from before. Rick was starting to get a bad feeling, especially after he noticed the slippers, collar, three point tiara and the fact that she was a winged unicorn. The group bowed before the princess, Rick did too when he realized he was supposed to. “Of course, Princess. We knew it had to be important, we also knew you would want to meet, Rick.” Twilight was the first to stand back up and she trotted over to her teacher. “Yes, my faithful student, it is important and I did indeed wish to meet Rick. I also called all your friends here for a very important reason.” “What would that be your highness?” Applejack asked as she approached the princess. “It won’t be easy, but I need you all to say goodbye to Rick, forever.”