Mission 02
Birds, trees, and grasslands whizzed by as the tracks let out out a constant rhythmic tempo. Spike lay curled up in a ball in the seat across from Twilight with the satchel they had received from Princess Celestia as a makeshift pillow under his head. Twilight was instead gazing out the window into the passing landscape as they drove by. The warm rays of the sun barely passed through the jagged mountains to the east as the sun began its cycle once again. Twilight 's mind began to wander to Celestia's earlier words In the tunnel. Questions began to form in her mind, but Twilight shook her head to drive them from her mind. She blinked her eyes a few times to calm her dry eyes, and decided that she should get some fresh air. Without any noise, she made her way out of her seat and down towards the rear cart to take her thoughts elsewhere, and to consider them with a clear mind. It seemed like forever as she traversed cart after cart, some contained delicacies that she had never seen before, others were stocked with toys, art, and even something that resembled a miniature library filled with a single row of bookshelves. By the time she had reached the rear cart, Twilight was exhausted, and collapsed upon the nearest seat she could find. With a deep breath of relief, she became relaxed and filled with the the fresh air from the passing landscape.
Now relaxed, the thought from earlier began to fill her head as she looked off in a daze towards the mountain where the city of Canterlot was built, where citizens traveled from place to place, and where Celestia sat in her study. With her mind clear, she began to enter deep thought and her eyelids became heavy, but before she could get any further, another pony entered the cart and came over to her after slamming the cart door shut with a loud bang.
"Well lookie here, if it ain't little miss Twilight Sparkle. We never did catch up back in Appleoosa did we? You disappeared before I could even properly thank you!" Said the pony whose voice could only be that of Braeburn. Once she recognized the voice she shot up in her seat like a rocket and exclaimed, "Braeburn?! What are you doing here?! Shouldn't you be back in Appleoosa leading the defense against the buffalo tribes?!" Braeburn let out a laugh and heartily replied, "Well sure I should be, but I'm on vacation right now, goin to see my cousin Applejack in Ponyville, said she got a letter from the Princess about joining some elite squad or something, and I figured I'd also help with harvesting the apples. More importantly, why are you headed to Ponyville?" It took a second for it to register in Twilight's mind, but once she did, she giggled, and said, "How ironic, As it turns out, the reason I'm going there is to meet up with my new squad that Princess Celestia assigned to me. So it would seem that your cousin and her companions would be that very same squad. You wouldn't happen to know anything about them, would you? I think it would be best if I got to know a little bit about my new squad before I meet them face to face."
"Well sure I know something about them, but I ought to warn you, they're a strange bunch of ponies.First off you've got my cousin Applejack, strong, courageous and never one to tell a lie. Next up is Rarity, a real drama queen she is, but as much as that is so, she's very generous, and an expert when it comes to armor or clothing, last time she tried to make me model a dress for her. Probably the strangest of the bunch is Pinkie Pie, a pyromanic, might not be the best combination, but she's brings up the spirits of the ponies around her, real handy in tight situations too. After her is Rainbow Dash, a pegasi from Cloudsdale, I don't think I've ever seen a faster pegasi than her. She's also the one to never let her friends down or abandon them, but a tad bit too brash if you'd ask me. Lastly, there's Fluttershy, Never met a kinder pegasi, but scared of the smallest things. Chances are that she'll be your team's medic." With that said, braeburn paused for a second to make sure he didn't leave anypony out, and then continued as he began to make his way towards the door, "Yep, that just about does it, but all this talk's making me hungry, I'm going to go grab some breakfast before we arrive. I guess, I'll be seeing you around once we're in Ponyville."
Once Braeburn left, Twilight's mind began to wander off to the letter she had received from her mentor before departing. Feeling as though she was refreshed enough, she returned to her seat to read and what her mission was. Upon returning to her seat, she saw that Spike hadn't woken up yet, and without disturbing his slumber, she carefully used her magic to slowly remove the rolled-up letter from the satchel that bore it, and began to read it.
"To my faithful student Twilight Sparkle,
By the time you're reading this letter you should either be in or approaching Ponyville, and wondering why I couldn't have just told you what I'm telling you now before you departed on your mission. If you've ever heard the saying that the walls have eyes and ears, then the pony that told you that would be correct in saying so. As far as what we've gathered, we know that an organization known as the Lunar Caravan is constructing a robotic mecha that, once finished, will have nuclear launch capabilities as well as many other weapons at its disposal. Should it be completed, it will disrupt the somewhat stable balance that was created amongst the other factions and ourselves, this will most likely lead to the downfall of all of Equestria which will leave it open for invasion. The technology they have barely surpasses that of our own, but is not a threat to be taken lightly. Even more disturbing is that their leader has magical powers that rival my own, which means that they could have been listening in on our earlier conversation. The reason I assigned you a squad was not only to improve the chance of the success of your mission, but for you to learn leadership skills and form a bond with your new teammates for future needs. Do not neglect their skills or knowledge, I can guarantee that you'll be needing both. Once you are safely in Ponyville, I'll give you the co-ordinates for your destination. Take care, and do your best during the course of this mission, once I can, I will contact you through your codec.
Sincerely,
Princess Celestia Of New Equestria"
Now with new information, Twilight began to understand the Princess' earlier words to her, But before she could take the time to contemplate what her plan for her team was, The whistle that signified the train's arrival in Ponyville sounded. Twilight gently woke up Spike and placed the letter back in the satchel to be prepared for departure. Not only would this a new chapter of Twilight's career, but also a major chapter in her live through the bonds she would form upon arriving in this new Town.
--But before she got off the train a voice shouted, "Get Over here!" and all that was heard from the train was a deep voice saying the words, "K.O."--