On the day of our departure, everyone assembles at the train station. The porters are busy sorting our luggage into carts for the trip under Rarity's watchful eye.
"Careful!" The unicorn shouts when one of her large trunks shifts and almost tips the cart over. "There are some very delicate items in there. Please be gentle." One of the porters rolls his eyes and gets back to work.
Karol walks over and pats Rarity on the shoulder. "Chill out, girl. They know what they're doing." Despite the airbender's calming words, the designer bites her hoof and watches like a hawk as each piece of her luggage is pushed, lifted, or levitated into place. "Wow. Have trouble choosing what to pack, Rares?"
"Oh you have no idea! Twilight's order and timetable means I simply must bring along enough supplies to work while we travel. That means fabric, thread, needles and pins, my machine, things like that. Of course I had to balance that against my own wardrobe and what necessities I could fit." Rarity pauses to pat an errant curl back into its place in her mane. "I must look my absolute best if I'm going to represent Equestria, after all."
"Uh, of course." Karol chuckles uncomfortably as Rarity starts asking her what she packed for the trip.
My attention turns to the where Twilight and the Apple Family stand in a huddle. Twilight and AJ have their saddlebags on, and Macintosh has his own bags strapped on as well. It seems that they were able to reach some kind of compromise.
"Are you sure you want to stay, Spike?" Twilight asks her assistant. "The last time you tried to help out on the farm it didn't go very well."
"Come on Twilight, I know better than to go overboard this time. This way, Big Mac can go with you, and you can send a message to Celestia in case something goes wrong." Spike puffs himself up proudly and points at himself with a thumb. "Don't worry about a thing, Twilight, Spike's got everything covered."
Being an incorrigible old pony she is, Granny Smith seizes the opportunity to squish the baby dragon's cheeks between her hooves. "Aw, don'cha worry sonny. Applebloom an' Ah'll show ya the ropes." The little dragon blushes in embarrassment under the elderly mare's hooves.
"Braeburn will be comin' along in a few days ta help out around the farm," AJ says to Applebloom, "but you'll have ta pick up the slack without Mac an Ah there. Just don't push yerself too hard, ya hear?"
The little yellow filly nods and salutes. "Yes ma'am. Maybe Ah'll get mah apple farming' Cutie Mark while ya'll are gone!"
AJ just shares a knowing smile with the other adults present. "Well that'd be a nice surprise, wouldn't it Macintosh?"
"Eyup."
A sudden whistle in the distance draws everyone's attention to the east. "Looks like our train is here," I observe to no one in particular while shrugging on my backpack.
As everyone gathers near the edge of the platform, the Apples exchange a big goodbye hug. Twilight stands at a respectful distance, but is soon drawn in by a pair of green hooves while a yellow pair snatches Spike. After one last loving squeeze they join the rest of us.
Twilight ducks her head to whisper in her assistant's ear, "Just remember Spike, if you have any questions or trouble I'm just a letter away."
"I can handle it. You have more important things to worry about anyways." The little dragon gives his unicorn friend/big sister another, more personal hug. "Just don't wait too long between letters, okay?"
"Okay." After breaking the hug, Twilight, by virtue of being Twilight Sparkle, checks the station's big clock. "Oh, wonderful! We have enough time to meet our escort before the train leaves."
"Ah don't think marchin' a bunch'a armored ponies through the street is goin' to make us a whole lotta friends, Twi," AJ observes sardonically.
"Actually, I decided to bring along a new division of the guard as our escort," Twilight says while, with a hiss of steam, the train stops. We gather near the royal carriages that has been provided for us, elaborately decorated and no doubt luxuriously appointed. Once the train has come to a complete stop, our escort disembarks from the passenger car.
They are dressed in full body armor, the plates painted with random patches of grey and white. Any exposed fabric I can see is a dull grey as well. Instead of the standard helm that the rest of the Guard favors, these two wear full helmets with completely featureless masks built in. Combined with their ramrod posture and strong builds, the effect is more than a little intimidating. The two humans raise their clenched fists to their chests in a salute.
"Your Majesty," the broader of the two says in a gruff voice, "the Faceless Guard are at your command."
Adjusting her posture to look properly dignified, Princess Sparkle walks forward to address the speaker. "Thank you for accepting this mission on such short notice, Captain." Confused, she tilts her head to look past the two guardsmen. "Shouldn't there be more of you?"
"Our recruitment standards are very strict, ma'am." The Captain's voice is frustratingly familiar, but I can't quite place it. "The corporal here is the only applicant to pass Selection so far." The other soldier, slightly shorter and much slimmer than his commander, nods at the acknowledgment. Then the Captain turns his attention towards the rest of us. "All right ladies and gents, time to get underway. I am Captain Ironsides of the Faceless guard and this is Corporal Undertow. We are your escort and security team for this trip, which means that when it comes to your safety you will listen to what we say. Even you Princess. Corporal, help the porters get the bags stowed and secure the baggage car."
"Yes sir," Undertow salutes his officer then walks off to complete his orders. I catch a glimpse of his Duty Mark before boarding the train, a blue field with six black lines and a downward-pointing black arrow in the center.
After making sure that everyone was settled in the cars, the conductor shouts "All aboard." The train begins to pick up steam, driving us towards our destination as I settle into my seat for the long ride.
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"We'll get off tomorrow in a little town called Old Oaks, but after that we'll have to travel on hoof the rest of the way to Crystal Clear Lake." Twilight drags a hoof from the village to the lake on the map spread out on the table. "It'll take us a couple of days, but we should get there quickly enough to make a good impression."
I nod, taking in the schedule and route of our journey. Around the table the others are all paying varying amounts of attention. Mac and AJ are both sitting close to the alicorn and are memorizing the route, but Rarity is busy drafting designs on a piece of scrap paper and only halfway devoting her attention to the rest of the world. Fluttershy is apologizing to a grumpy Angel Bunny, who had to be locked in a cage for the trip. Pinkie, Rainbow, and Karol aren't even paying attention to Twilight at all, huddling together on a bench. Occasionally a whispered word or ominous giggle floats over from their little conference. Watchfully standing by at the door leading to the rest of the car is Ironsides, silent and still as any of his colleagues in the Royal Guard.
"So what's the plan once we get to the city?"
My question makes the Princess pause for thought. "Well," she begins uncertainly, "I'll try to get in touch with the city's officials once we reach the lake's shore. Then we'll try to get an idea of the state it and it's people are in. Ask for a tour, make small talk with the diplomats, look around for any damaged buildings or the like. Once we get settled into whatever quarters they provide for us then we'll discuss our findings and strategize for the rest of the visit."
"Okay," I say, beginning to frame my next question. "Do you have a goal for this diplomatic envoy of ours?"
"Best case scenario is that I manage to persuade them to join Equestria as full nationals. More realistically I want to offer them relief and aid while they adjust to this world, or at least get them to agree to an arrangement that will let the pegasi to enter the airspace again so they can manage the weather in the area again."
"On that note, I need to talk to you about a few things, ma'am." Ironsides nods towards the back of the car. Twilight shrugs and follows the guard into the next car down, leaving the rest of us to our own devices.
I spend the next hour sitting next to the window, watching the scenery fly by and trying to quiet my racing thoughts. My initial apprehension of this whole situation has not faded with time. Legend says that King Ignis's spell would only bring back those humans worthy of living in this world, but exactly what traits would the long-dead King of Humanity consider 'worthy'? My species is so infamously varied and complex. Not that the ponies aren't similarly complex, they are in a very different way. Humanity seems to be far more cynical in our worldview than the ponies. I'm thankful that Twilight chose to take the Faceless with us as an escort. Ironside's experience and training will come in handy on this trip, of that I have no doubt.
I'm drawn out of my trance by the sound of an argument behind me. Karol and company in the booth across from me are ignoring the quiet but incessant chatter, focusing on their game of cards. Behind us, taking up a whole third of the car, is Rarity's improvised workspace. Bolts of fabric are stacked on tables and benches, dressed with scattered ribbon and thread. Pincushions litter the colorful terrain like cybernetic sea urchins. In the center of the semi-organized mess is Rarity, in the midst of carefully assembling a hat. Fluttershy sits nearby, handling what looks like some tricky and delicate stitching on the hem of a completed dress.
What really surprises me are the two apple-flanked siblings helping out with the process. Macintosh is acting as a gofer, retrieving anything that the mares need but are out of reach, holding bolts of cloth while Rarity measures and cuts, and just helping out in general. Applejack, on the other hand, is carefully running a large piece of fabric through the sewing machine with a look of complete concentration on her face.
"Ah know how to stitch a seam, Rarity." The orange earth pony says, not even glancing at the unicorn across the table from her.
Rarity, however, throws several worried glances at the farm pony acting as a seamstress. "Oh, I know AJ. I'm just… nervous about completing this order in time. If even one tiny detail is out of place it could set me back hours."
"Don't get yer tail in a twist, sugarcube. Fluttershy an' Ah are followin' yer designs to the letter." AJ lifts up the fabric in her hooves, displaying the curving seam she just finished sewing for Rarity's perusal. "See?"
Rarity hums softly in surprised approval of her friend's work. "Well done, you've certainly improved since…" She suddenly falls dead silent, pinning her ears down when she realizes what she was about to say. "Well. That whole mess. Last month."
"Oh. Er, yeah. Ah've been puttin' aside time to practice since then."
"I let her borrow some of my magazines." Fluttershy's attempt to break the awkward silence falls flat. The trio then quickly return their attention to their work, not yet ready to discuss the events that lead to Twilight gaining her wings and title.
Suddenly an armored man sits in the bench across from me. I'm sure it's the Corporal due to his slender build. He just stares at me for a few minutes. The blank mask makes the whole thing awkward almost to the point of being creepy, I can feel him staring despite the mask's complete lack of eye holes.
"Can I help you?"
My question seems to snap him out of whatever trance he was in. "Oh, sorry. I'm just very, very excited to have this chance to meet you, Lanternlight-senior."
Wow. He sounds young. He also used one of Babel's honorific suffixes. Huh.
Wait, Babel has honorific suffixes? I've been using the Chinese sifu title because I like the way it sounds. Does Babel actually have an honorific suffix for 'teacher/instructor/Master'?
I decide to save the linguistic quandary for another time and focus on the conversation. "Well, it's nice to meet you too, uh…" It is really difficult for me to remember a name without a face to link it to.
"Undertow." He bows slightly when he introduces himself. Between his mannerisms, suffix use, and accent I begin to suspect he was born and raised in a Far Eastern nation. "Let me just say that I'm a big fan of your work."
I lift an eyebrow in confusion, "And you would be referring to…?"
"Your discovery of the Thousand and One Steps Towards Wisdom! Well, more specifically your transcription of the first fifty lessons for publication. Oh, and your Beginning Bender's Manual." Oh god, I can almost feel him smiling through the mask. I can almost feel my subconscious file that sensation away as nightmare fuel for the nights ahead. "It's actually thanks to you that I qualified for Selection in the first place."
"Really?" I ask, stunned.
"Oh certainly, senior. After reading the Manual I spent weeks honing my waterbending, then curiosity lead me to the Steps Towards Wisdom. It took me forever to find a copy of the transcript in Babel. I'm still trying to learn the Equestrian scripts, Unicorn is giving me a lot of trouble. Anyways, I'm almost done with the first fifty lessons and I've got a request to access the original plates processing back in Canterlot. What lesson are you on?"
"I'm kinda stuck on 46," I reply automatically, still trying to catch up to his train of thought.
"Oo, the introduction to the chi network? It's not surprising that you would get stumped on that one. Not that I'm implying that you're stupid, it's just that that lesson is strongly rooted in Water philosophy so a firebender like you might have trouble mastering that stuff. I'm sure you'll find it very useful though. Uh, speaking of the Steps, did you know there's a rumor going around Canterlot about the restoration of the school you found them in? Apparently the Princesses are considering fixing it up and reopening it if there is enough interest from the human population."
Okay, time to jump the track and gain control of this conversation. "That's interesting. Say, you wouldn't happen to be Japanese would you?"
"Born and raised in Tokyo. Is that going to be a problem, senior?" He tilts his head to the side and I swear I hear a puppy whine from somewhere on the train. As if the contrast between his demeanor and uniform wasn't jarring enough. The culturally sensitive part of my brain smacks the rest as I realize what my question might have inferred.
I try to salvage this… whatever it is that is going on here. "No, no. I was just curious about your accent and…"
My salvation from awkwardness comes in the form of a roar that channels the spirit of every sergeant to command a squad ever. "Corporal Undertow, what in the raging hell are you doing chatting with a civilian while you're on duty!" Ironsides' voice rattles the panes of the car's windows and probably makes the conductor up in the engine jump three feet into the air. Rainbow Dash does jump into the air, joining the rookie Faceless in the aisle. Both are standing at attention as the Captain stalks towards his subordinate.
Ironsides stares the two down for a second, before waving the slightly embarrassed Wonderbolt cadet away. He then stands inches away from Undertow and growls, "I'm waiting for an explanation, soldier."
"Captain," the corporal salutes, "the train is secure and the baggage car is clear. I was attempting to fill the time while keeping an eye on our charges, sir."
"I hope you slept well last night, rookie, because you just earned yourself the night shift." The captain points towards the engine-side door. "Go and stand guard properly."
"Yes Captain," Undertow says, saluting. Then he bows deeply and mutters, "sorry captain," before turning around and walking through the door.
Silence reigns in the car for a few seconds before Rainbow speaks up, still standing in the aisle. "That was pretty harsh, sir."
"I expect my team to act professionally while on duty," Ironsides says evenly. Rainbow grumbles something before returning to her seat with Pinkie and Karol. The man ignores the grumpy pegasus and gestures towards Karol and I. "Lanternlight, Uplift, may I have a word with you in the sleeper car, please?"
I glance at Karol, who replies with a shrug. We get up and follow the earthbender towards the next car down. We pass Twilight on the way. She looks like she wants to say something but is cut off by Pinkie Pie loudly inviting her to sit in on the card game.
Once we move out of the car, Ironsides seems to relax. He sits down on one of the beds, heaves a big sigh, and takes his helmet off. The old soldier's dark brown, grey-streaked hair and warm brown eyes become visible. It looks like he has trimmed his mustache since the banquet. He also looks very tired.
I sit down on the opposite bed. "He's a nice kid. How'd he wind up working for you," I ask lightly.
The old soldier chuckles. "He was the only volunteer out of three to pass Selection. I see a lot of potential in him, he's smart and picks things up quick. The problem is that he's greener than spring grass and I have to train him from scratch." He leans forwards and clasps his hands together. "All joking aside, I need to tell you something. When we get to the city we have to keep our bending a secret."
Again, Karol and I share a look. "Okaay," she says while quirking an eyebrow at Ironsides, "why?"
"Two reasons," the captain holds up a finger, "the first is to keep the citizens and leaders of the city from panicking. What they just went through is enough to put anyone's hackles up. For all we know this city Returned from the middle of a war zone. It won't help our cause if our hosts know that one of us can throw fire around at will."
I nod. "Reasonable. And the second reason?"
"Operational security. These people are going to know a lot about us. They will know how many of us there are. They will know where we are staying. If they don't have us under constant surveillance from the moment we step foot on the island I'll eat my boots. We are going to need an ace up our sleeves in case the situation gets violent."
"Are you sure that's necessary?"
"No, but I'd rather take this precaution and not need it than hand valuable techniques to a potential enemy."
"Damn," Karol curses suddenly, "that means I'm going to have to walk everywhere, isn't it." When she notices our incredulous stares, the airbender huffs grumpily. "Don't give me that look. Clouds are the only way to travel."
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The rest of the trip is uneventful. I spend most of my time chatting with the others, although Undertow doesn't approach me again. I savor my evening and morning practice sessions, standing on the back porch of the caboose so I don't set the train on fire.
We spend the second night of our trip in the home of Old Oak's mayor. While hardly spacious, there were enough rooms to accommodate everyone. More importantly, the house is close to a wide field that is perfect for what is probably my last morning practice before we reach the city.
My focus this morning is shoddy, with the city so close my worries are magnified and wreck any piece of mind I may have. What I do have is the good sense not to make another attempt at the lightning technique. If I couldn't pull it off at my most peaceful, then there is no way I can do it now.
My routine finished, I turn to find the other benders near the field. Karol is leaning against one of Old Oak's namesake trees while the two Faceless stand at ease at the edge of the field. Ironsides steps forward, saying, "How about a little sparring match? I'm tired of beating the snot out of Undertow and it looks like you could use a little practice against something real."
He does have a point, and I think a change of pace would be nice. "All right Captain, challenge accepted."
Ironsides begins removing his armor. "Right. No strikes that would be illegal in a dojo; head, hands, and groin are off limits."
"No submission holds either. I would like to keep all my limbs, thank you."
Ironsides grins mischievously at that. "One point match good with you then?"
I grin right back. "Sudden death it is."
He throws his shirt off, joining me in the middle of the field. "Ready when you are, laddie."
We bow and take our stances. The wind blows across the landscape as we size each other up and plan our first moves.
I engage, jabbing a fireball at him to test his defenses then repositioning myself for the next strike. Ironsides stomps, intercepting my fireball with a clump of dirt. He then launches it at me, but I've already dodged and use the opportunity to launch a counter attack. As I run I launch the fast fireballs in rapid succession, staggering their trajectory. My opponent ducks underneath my fire and punches up and out with both fists. The ground beneath my feet heaves and I immediately jump before the ground flips over on me. Unfortunately the momentum of his strike forces me to jump backwards. He quickly takes advantage of the distance, bombarding my location with dirt and sod with his superior reach.
All he needs is one clean hit to win, so I don't give him the chance to land that hit. I roll under his assault and begin running towards him in a serpentine pattern to evade his strikes. When he kicks a rolling slab of dirt in my direction I tumble to the side and sweep an arc of flame towards his legs. He pulls up a bank of earth to deflect the attack. I seize the opportunity and go on the offensive, closing and unleashing blast after blast with a combination of kicks and punches. Overwhelmed by my onslaught, he pulls the bank up further to protect his entire body, but launches small pieces of it to counterattack and break my inertia.
Undaunted, I dodge around or blast apart the earthen projectiles. When I'm almost close enough to touch the shield I pivot, ready to throw a haymaker behind it and hopefully catch Ironsides by surprise.
Except he isn't there.
The earth suddenly swallows my left foot, trapping it in place. Behind me the earth erupts and I feel a meaty arm snake around my neck and a fist touch my right side near my kidney.
…Well crap.
"My point," Ironsides states smugly.
I put aside my pride when the soldier releases me and give him a sportsman's bow. "Your match, Ironsides." He graciously returns the bow and grips my hand to shake. That's when we hear applause from the edge of the field.
To my surprise there are four ponies standing on the townward side of the field. Twilight has a bemused expression on her face, while AJ, Rainbow, and Pinkie are stomping their hooves and cheering like sports fans at their local arena. Pinkie is even swinging around a yellow pennant with my Duty Mark.
Rainbow exuberantly takes to the air and flies up to us. "That was a pretty awesome match there, guys. You should have told me, I would have sold tickets."
"That was mighty impressive, I'll give yah that. Here." Applejack trots up and tosses me a water canteen with a flick of her tail. "Ah bet the two a yah could kick some serious keister fightin' together."
"That was intense," chatters Pinkie as she appears behind us, "you were all 'woos, fwoosh!' Then he was like 'boom, pow!'" The pink pony then proceeds to reenact our entire duel with accompanying sound effects.
Twilight joins us, talking over the pony-shaped mass of energy that is her friend. "Very exciting, but we have to get going soon. That and you made a bit of a mess."
Looking back at the sparring grounds, I find that what was once a quiet, peaceful meadow has been transformed. Rubble and small fires litter the ground and a couple of trees around the area have scorch marks or clods of dirt sticking to their trunks. Undertow works to extinguish the fires with his waterbending, sending thick clouds of water vapor into the sky.
Rainbow looks around, "Yeah, we'd better get outta here before anypony notices."
Less than an hour later, we hit the trail after leaving a politely worded apology and a small bag of bits on the mayor's desk. We follow the trail through the woods surrounding Old Oaks, two heavily loaded carts in tow. Next stop: Crystal Clear Lake.