Brother Against Sister

by CartsBeforeHorses


Chapter 25: Long Train Runnin'

Pound Cake soared west, high in the midday sky, keeping hidden behind as many clouds as he could without looking suspicious. He followed the path of the train tracks below. It was mostly a clear day, so an observant pony could probably look up and see him between the many gaps in the cloud cover. But hopefully they would just assume that he was an ordinary pegasus civilian just flying. After all, the Cloud Confederacy was off to the west. It would be an easy assumption to make.

He gazed down at the rolling landscape. The rock formations and canyons were breathtakingly gorgeous, with brilliant red, brown, and orange hues. The wind-swept crags oscillated like waves washing over the desert.

The teepees of the various buffalo herds and tribes were scattered around. He could see some of the children playing, and the adults out grazing in the desert grass and shrubs. It was hard for him to believe that this land was being consumed by the fires of war and hatred.

Even within Pound Cake’s young life, there had been a time when all races of hoofed beings on the continent had lived together in peace. Unicorn, pegasus, earth pony, buffalo, cow, donkey, even changeling: all had once been friends.

Was this war unavoidable? Or could we have stopped it before it happened? he wondered as the wind whipped his mane and he soared high on a thermal column.

Pound looked off in the distance, and he could see the skyscrapers of Mareicopa. It was the shining jewel of the desert, an oasis in the land of the lacking. Until a couple of years ago when the Second Kingdom had captured it, it had been one of Equestria’s largest and richest cities. Unlike the old shacks which were commonplace in Appleloosa, everypony in Mareicopa had a swimming pool, and nice homes made of brick, stucco and mortar. Only Canterlot and Manehattan rivaled its decadence.

Then Pound looked down below at the teepees of the buffalo. Every buffalo lived day to day on subsistence, doing rain dances and other incantations in vain to try to hope that the capricious weather would give them what they needed to survive. Unlike the pegasi, they couldn’t fly up to change the weather; they just had to hope their dances worked. They often didn’t. The buffalo were all nomads, moving from camp to camp to find new grazing grounds.

The buffalo must have felt great envy, gazing across the plains at the shining city which had been constructed on their tribe’s former land. Though Pound disagreed with the buffalo making war against Equestria, he could certainly see how they would have a grievance against Equestria and see the Second Kingdom as saviors. They were promised as much. But he doubted that the unicorns would give it to them.

Perhaps this war is avoidable, he thought. Perhaps all of them were. If ponies had nothing to fight over, no greed, no racism, then there would be peace. There would have to be. If the ponies in places like Mareicopa, places like Appleloosa, and places like the Cloud Confederacy and the Buffalo nation could all just live together in common, mingle with each other rather than living in their own cities, and share what they had instead of taking and hoarding, there would be peace, he thought.

But instead, leaders like President Lightning Dust in Cloudsdale, King Blueblood in the Second Kingdom, and Chief Thunderhooves in the Buffalo Nation drove their populations to secession, mistrust, and war against each other for their own selfish ends. Even Princess Twilight and Princess Celestia before her weren’t entirely perfect, because they were too weak and didn’t do enough to prevent the once-united Equestria from dissolving, thought Pound Cake.

Pound Cake’s thoughts were distracted as he heard a squealing train whistle. He gazed below him and saw a steam train on the railroad. It was the third one that he had seen all day, and it stretched for dozens and dozens of cars.

Hopefully it isn’t just another regular passenger train, he thought. Even with the war, civilian trains often commuted between Mareicopa and Dodge Junction, though the once-voluminous stream of freight and passengers had slowed to a trickle given the Second Kingdom’s restrictive pass laws and Equestria’s broad-sweeping trade embargoes against unicorn-controlled areas. Despite their leaders’ wishes, Pound guessed that most citizens of and the captured areas of the Second Kingdom still wished for peace. Maybe that wish could become a reality.

As he had done on a few occasions before during his excursion, he descended towards the earth, careful to keep his distance until he reached the ground. He landed, and then continued on hoof towards the track. Once he was at a good distance, he crouched behind a bush to obscure himself, and he retrieved the pair of binoculars from his neck. The steam locomotive was painted navy blue and had the yellow letters MDJ written on the side.

The Mareicopa-Dodge Junction line, he thought. With an invasion force of buffalo coming from the direction of Mareicopa, that would make sense. At the speed the train was moving, it would arrive at Appleloosa at night, a perfect cover for a sneak attack .

He turned his binoculars towards the passenger cars being pulled by the locomotive. Though the windows were foggy and had bars on them, he could still make out the passengers. There were several unicorns inside, along with many buffalo. They were playing cards, chatting, and smoking, enjoying some final leisure time before the upcoming battle.

More cars passed, three of them windowless boxcars. Pound had no idea what was in them. Maybe artillery pieces, or food, or munitions. Probably a mixture of all three.

“Alright. Time to derail it,” said Pound. He flew straight up into the air, flying towards the train.

However, he heard a sound from inside of one of the boxcars. Despite the clicking and clacking of the train and the chugging of the locomotive, the sound was unmistakable, as was its source. Somepony was shouting.

“Why on earth is there anyone inside of those boxcars?” he asked himself. It made no sense.

The unicorns and buffalo were all in the passenger cars with windows. Did they run out of room? He glanced back at the passenger cars, doing a quick headcount. They definitely had room to move around comfortably in there. If the Second Kingdom was short of cars, they couldn’t just pack more into their existing passenger cars? Why did they need boxcars on this train?

He heard more shouting. He couldn’t quite tell what was being said, but it certainly wasn’t a lively game of poker.

His curiosity getting the better of him, Pound got out of the bushes, flying over to the boxcars. He wasn’t afraid of being seen anymore, now that the passenger cars with windows had passed. Unless somepony in one of the passenger cars was craning his neck, they wouldn’t see Pound. Even if someone did see him and started firing, he could certainly dodge bullets.

Keeping pace with the quickly-moving train, Pound positioned himself about a meter from the side of the boxcar, trying to make out words. The shouting continued.

“—Kill your whole family!”

Pound’s heart leapt in his chest.

“Duty… buffalo race! ...traitors right here and now!”

He heard a single gunshot, and then gasping.

Pound shook his head. There was no mistaking it. He took off higher into the air, until he was about ten meters above the train. The buffalo who Little Strongheart had said disappeared weren’t dead at all. On the contrary, they had been conscripted into the Second Kingdom army and were being forced to serve Blueblood. Any buffalo who refused was shot, and their families would be shot.

Now he realized why there were boxcars and passenger cars. The buffalo who volunteered themselves to fight got first class seating and respect from their unicorn peers. The reluctant draftees who didn’t volunteer were packed like sardines into dark boxcars under gunpoint, given no hope, no choice but to fight.

Pound glanced at the dynamite stick in his saddlebag. Could he really blow up the train in good conscience, when it contained who knew how many innocent buffalo who had no other choice but to fight? Would Little Strongheart forgive him for killing her people?

No. He had to free them.

Pound Cake rushed back down to the train, glancing at the boxcar door. He would wrench it open, take the guards by surprise, and free the captive buffalo. He put his hooves to the handle, trying to wrench the door, but couldn’t. It was locked from the inside. All he had was a stick of dynamite. He didn’t have any bolt cutters or anything else he could use to pry open the door. There was no way for him to get inside.


Robins tweeted in the trees at the apple acres outside of the town of Appleloosa. The sun had already begun its slow descent towards the western horizon. A group of stallions were positioned near the roadside, hidden among the trees, concealed by its branches.

Pound Cake rushed down the road, flying as the dust scattered after him and hung in the air. He came to a stop at the middle of the road, gazing out at the farmhouses and the trees which surrounded them.

“The coast is clear, you guys,” he shouted. “Pumpkin, where are you?”

Pumpkin Cake emerged from behind one of the tree branches, teleporting out towards the road. She frowned.

“Pound! You’re going to blow our cover if you aren’t careful,” she chided him.

He shrugged. “I said the coast was clear. Look, they’re coming by train. Your positions are totally worthless anyway. Hide by the railroad.”

She raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean? They aren’t using the regular, dirt roads?”

He shook his head. “Nope. We didn’t know for sure, but Little Strongheart and Sheriff Silverstar just had me fly a recon mission to confirm. They’re invading by railroad.”

Pumpkin nodded. “Hmm, well I guess that makes sense. Railroad is a lot quicker to transport troops than having them walk. And if they’re trying to take us by surprise, a train is the perfect cover. It’s probably disguised as a passenger train, huh?”

“Yeah,” said Pound.

“Well, we’d better derail it,” said Pumpkin. “That’ll put a damper on their plans, huh?”

Pound shook his head. He grabbed the stick of dynamite from his bag. “I was already sent to derail it. I didn’t.”

Pumpkin’s eyes widened. “Why not?”

“Because,” Pound Cake sighed, “not everypony on that train is there willingly.”

Pumpkin raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean? That they were conscripted? Yeah, Little Strongheart told us that there was a draft. That happens in a war, Pound; you know that. I’m sure all of Canterlot’s young unicorn stallions can be drafted. But it’s us or them, like you said after the armory—”

Pound shook his head, interrupting her. “No, not like that. It’s different from a draft. Remember those buffalo who Little Strongheart said disappeared from her camp during the night? How a lot of them were totally peaceful?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, they were kidnapped, and put onto the train, and told that if they didn’t fight, their families would be killed. I heard one of the unicorns inside the train shoot a buffalo. I don’t know why, but I guess that he was trying to put up a fight. If I derailed the train with all those buffalo still on it, then innocents could die. The train is going like forty or fifty miles an hour. They might not survive if it derails.”

“I see,” said Pumpkin Cake.

“So I need you to come with me and help free them, Pumpkin. Then, we’ll derail the train.”

Pumpkin Cake nodded. “Alright. Let’s go.”

“Wait a minute!”

Pumpkin turned around to see one of the stallions in her squad, who was wearing a cactus disguise, walk out into the road.

“Where are y’all goin’? There’s gonna be an invasion and we need all the troops we can get!”

Pound said, “They won’t be here for a few more hours. We’ll be back by then.”

“We’re about to derail the invasion. Just hang tight,” Pumpkin added.

With that, Pound Cake picked up Pumpkin and they flew off into the afternoon sky.


Pound Cake soared through the air, the wind whipping his mane as he raced west towards the train. He carried Pumpkin in his front hooves.

Pound slowed down until he could hear himself talk.

He said, “I’m gonna take it easy for a mile or so. I’ll fly at a slower pace to catch my breath.”

“Okay,” said Pumpkin.

A few seconds later, Pound said, “I just don’t understand how this train could slip by without any Equestrian troops catching it. I mean, Appleloosa and most of the area west of it is still technically Equestrian territory. Aren’t there any other pegasi flying around besides me? Maybe some Equestrian scouts or troops?”

Pumpkin Cake glanced up at her brother.

She laughed. “Well, isn’t it obvious? Princess Twilight, all her advisors in Manehattan: they’ve abandoned us! Equestrian troops aren’t going to fight for some small desert town out in the middle of nowhere. No, they’re going to put all of their troops by the main cities, like Dodge Junction, Fillydelphia, or Tall Tale. Why would they waste their time fighting for Appleloosa?”

Pound didn’t answer the question.

“They wouldn’t,” Pumpkin answered her own question. “They wouldn’t even give us any weapons. They haven’t even sent us a single soldier. They’re too busy defending their major cities. We had to go with some do-it-yourself, ragtag militia. They’ve left us to fend for ourselves. Manehattan has no problem throwing Appleloosa to the wolves, just like they were going to blow up that barn full of unicorn children until the papers leaked it.”

“Well, what else are they supposed to do?” asked Pound Cake. “They have to protect as many ponies that they can. That means the big cities, not the small towns. Sometimes they have to make decisions for the good of the larger group at the expense of a smaller group.”

“Funny how I always somehow end up in the smaller group,” Pumpkin scoffed, frowning. “Someday, their strategy is going to backfire on them.”

Pound glanced north towards Cloudsdale. He chuckled. “I think it already has.”

Pound sped back up. Both twins remained silent for several minutes, until the train became visible over the horizon.

“Do you have your weapon loaded and ready?” Pumpkin asked her brother.

He nodded, motioning towards the assault rifle slung over his back. The stick of dynamite was in a saddlebag, along with the binoculars. Pumpkin only carried an assault rifle.

Soon, they reached the train. It sped past, merely a few hundred kilometers from Appleloosa. It would be on the town’s doorstep before nightfall.

“Alright,” said Pumpkin Cake, eyeing the train. “Let’s land on the top of one of those boxcars. The very back one, right in front of the caboose.”

Pound nodded, and flew in closer. They landed atop the boxcar, with Pound fluttering his wings for as soft a landing as possible. They didn’t want their hooves on the top of the car to make too much noise.

Pound released Pumpkin and they both stood on the train. She took a deep breath, and her brother eyed her expectantly.

“Okay,” she said. “Here goes.”

Her horn turned blue, as did a segment of the top of the boxcar. She gulped and quickly stuck her head in through the hole, eyeing the inside of the car.

It was pitch dark except for the lights coming from the horns of one of the unicorn guards who stood in front. There were three of them, each levitating assault rifles, trained on a crowd of buffalo who were huddled together in masses. She saw metallic things on their backs, but couldn’t identify them specifically.

Suddenly, the soldier made eye contact with her. She pulled her head up and glanced at her brother, her pupils dilated.

“He saw me!”

“Oh no,” said Pound. “What do you want to do?”

They heard excited muttering in the boxcar below.

“There’s three guards standing towards the front of the car,” said Pumpkin, pointing east. “We need to take them out first. But how will we do that when he saw me—”

“I got an idea,” said Pound. “Follow me.”

He glided across the train car, landing on the front, and Pumpkin galloped after him.

“Here!” Pound shouted, pointing to the roof of the boxcar, right above where the guards stood.

Pumpkin objected. “But…”

“Just trust me!”

Pumpkin’s horn lit up, and the ceiling turned intangible. Pound Cake dropped down, and the sound of machine gunfire echoed in the boxcar. Pumpkin gritted her teeth, unable to see what was going on.

Pound Cake flew through the dark boxcar, slamming his front hooves into each of the confused guards before they could even react. He took the first two down, and he slammed into the side of a third just as he drew up his rifle. The guard fell to the floor, firing off a volley as he fell, which missed Pound but hit the side of the car.

Pumpkin Cake, fearing her brother was in trouble, galloped back to the rear of the boxcar. She jumped through the roof and landed at the rear, next to the buffalo. They glanced at her confusedly. She lit up her horn, illuminating the boxcar, and saw that Pound had taken out all of the guards, who lay unconscious on the floor.

“I heard gunfire!” she shouted.

“They were too slow,” he said, grinning. “They missed me.”

A buffalo in the crowd groaned. Pumpkin walked over to him and saw that he had been hit in the hoof.

“It was a ricochet,” the buffalo said, wincing in pain as blood spurted from it.

“We’ll get you to a doctor,” said Pumpkin Cake. Then, she turned to the rest of the buffalo.

“Listen, everybody. We’re here to rescue you.”

“Pound and Pumpkin Cake,” said one of the buffalo, named Prairiewind. The Twins recognized him from when they gave the speech to Chief Thunderhooves’ tribe. “Look what they have done to us.”

He pointed towards the mechanical, magical contraption on his back, and to the rest of the buffalo, who had the same contraptions.

“What on earth…” Pound started.

“They’re weapons,” said Prairiewind “They shoot lightning bolts. The unicorns outfitted us with them and told us that they’d kill our families if we didn’t fight Appleloosa. We are peaceful buffalo, but we didn’t want our families to die.”

“It’s okay,” said Pumpkin, shaking her head. “I can’t believe they did that. But listen, we all have to jump out of here. Pound and I are going to derail this train, and you don’t want to be on it when we do.”

Prairiewind and the rest of the buffalo nodded. Pumpkin Cake walked over to the door, turned the lock intangible, and opened the door. The boxcar filled with gusts, buffeting the buffalo and the Cakes as it turned into a virtual wind tunnel.

“That does not look safe,” said Prairiewind. “You want us to jump out?”

Pound Cake nodded. “It’s either that, or you get thrown up against the side of a metal boxcar when it derails at fifty miles an hour and rolls, and crack your skull. Your choice.”

Prairiewind raised an eyebrow. “Pumpkin Cake. Can you not use your spell on us, the one which you used just now to get in here? Perhaps, you could use it on us to remove the blow with the ground?”

She sighed, shaking her head. “I’m really sorry, you guys. I need to conserve my energy. There’s two more cars to free, and it’s hard to cast.”

Prairiewind nodded. “Okay. I will be the first to jump.”

“Try to time your jump so that you don’t hit a rock or cactus,” said Pound. “Remember that you’ll be hitting whatever is directly in front of you, since you’ll still be moving the same speed as the train when you hit the ground. So don’t jump when there’s something in front of you. Also, try to roll when you hit the ground, to soften the impact.”

Pumpkin Cake glanced at her brother quizzically.

He chuckled. “Hey, I’ve had to bail a few times when I’ve been flying. You learn pretty quick.”

Prairiewind glanced out the train car, looking at what was in front of him. Then, he took a deep breath as his hooves left the ground. He jumped, hitting the ground and rolling. Pound and Pumpkin Cake glanced behind them, as the train had now passed where he had landed. He stood still for a few moments, but then they saw him stand up and wave his hoof.

“He’s okay!” Pound Cake shouted to the rest of the buffalo. They all smiled and breathed sighs of relief.

“If he can do it, so can you!” said Pumpkin Cake.

The next buffalo volunteer to jump walked up to the boxcar door, doing the same thing that Prairiewind had done. They started to line up, each taking about thirty seconds to prepare for the jump and summon up the courage before finally making the leap.

When the car had dwindled to a dozen buffalo right after another one had just jumped, however, there was machine gun fire.

“Aaaah!” the buffalo on the ground screamed. Pound poked his head out. Soldiers from the boxcar ahead of them were firing at the buffalo on the ground. One of them shouted as he saw Pound, and turned his rifle towards him just as he pulled his head back inside of the boxcar.

“They’ve found us out!” Pound shouted.

“Oh no!” Pumpkin exclaimed. “I wonder if they’ve alerted the rest of the train?”

“They have radios inside of their boxcars,” one of the remaining buffalo said. “If those unicorns are shooting at you, they have probably radioed the rest of the train as well.”

Pumpkin turned her head sideways. “Why haven’t they stopped the train yet?”

“They probably don’t expect us to get to the other cars,” said Pound. “That or they think it’s a mutiny. Who knows. But we need to act quick. You buffalo, keep jumping. Pumpkin, we’re going to take all the guards out at once, together.”

Her jaw gaped open. “Are you crazy? All at once? How?”

“Hold onto me, and use your intangibility spell on both of us, right when I tell you. Then turn it off, right when I tell you. Come on.”

Pound grabbed Pumpkin by the front hooves before she even had time to protest. He took off and started flying right towards the front wall of the boxcar.

“Now!” Pound shouted.

Without time to even think, Pumpkin turned on the spell and they sailed through the front wall of the first boxcar, and right through the back wall of the second. Pound flew straight towards the guards, who were firing out the side of the train.

Right before he was about to hit them, he yelled “Now!”

Pumpkin, hesitant to turn off her intangibility spell and leave herself and her brother exposed, did so regardless. Pound held onto his sister with a single hoof and extended the other out in front of himself, punching the three guards with his momentum, and they flew out the open door of the boxcar.

Pound hovered in the air for a moment, turning to face the captive buffalo in this car.

“Jump out the door; we’re derailing this train in ten minutes!” he shouted. “Roll into the ground, and look out for what’s in front of you since you’ll be moving fast! No time to dally, onto the next car, Pumpkin, NOW!”

Pumpkin didn’t need to be told. Just as Pound finished his brief crash course in jumping out of a moving boxcar, he had already started zooming headfirst into the wall of the second boxcar. Pumpkin turned on the spell just in time and they sailed through, their momentum carrying them forward.

This train car was still sealed, the unicorns not bothering to open up the door. However, one of the three unicorns in front had his horn lit up, so they could still see what they were doing. If he had looked, he could have seen two young ponies flying straight through the bodies of the captive buffalo fighters and towards him. By the time he blinked, it was too late.

By this point, Pumpkin had started to get the rhythm of the plan, and she and her brother resolidified as he punched the middle soldier square in the center of his mass, knocking him into his comrades like a bowling pin. They all slammed against the back door of the boxcar as Pound came to a stop. One of them levitated his assault rifle from behind him.

Pumpkin grabbed her own gun before he could react, and shot him three times in the chest. He fell back to the floor.

“Woah, good save,” said Pound Cake. “Sorry about that. I thought that I was flying fast enough to knock them out.”

Pumpkin shrugged. “It happens.”

“Alright, everypo—buffalo,” said Pound Cake. “Jump out of this door. We’re derailing the train in about seven minutes or so, so you’d better jump out if you don’t want to be thrown around and knocked against the steel walls. I know that I, personally, would rather jump, but it’s your call.”

Pumpkin Cake opened the door as Pound explained the proper jumping procedure for the buffalo.

“Thank you so much for saving us, Pound and Pumpkin,” said one of the buffalo.

“If only Chief Thunderhooves had listened to your impassioned pleas for peace,” said another.

They all jumped out one by one. Once the last buffalo had landed ten minutes later, Pound Cake glanced out the door and looked ahead. From the position of the sun in the sky, and from the terrain, he judged that they were about a hundred kilometers from Appleloosa.

“Alright,” said Pound. “It’s now or never. Pumpkin Cake, let’s go derail the train.”

She nodded. “Pick me up and let’s do it.”

Pound picked her up and they flew towards the front of the train.


Trixie Lulamoon sat in the furthest-forward train car, right behind the locomotive. She levitated a copy of Popular Pony Science in her magic, turning the pages as she read about the latest scientific and magical discoveries.

“Waiter!” she called. A tan unicorn stallion with a mustache appeared. “Please give me another Manehattan Ice Tea.”

“Right away, madmoiselle,” he said in a fancy accent, and scurried along towards the wet bar.

Trixie didn’t normally accompany the military on their campaigns. After all, her official job was as the magical research minister of the Second Kingdom. Her discoveries went towards fueling the war effort, but she wasn’t part of fighting the war itself.

However, for this particular battle, she felt that she should be present. It was she who had so persuasively convinced the buffalo chief to join her side.

“Today is the dawning of a new era, Trixie Lulamoon,” said Chief Thunderhooves, who sat next to her, drinking something a bit stronger.

The waiter returned with a drink.

“A toast to our eternal friendship,” said Trixie, levitating the glass in front of her. The chief grabbed his glass with his hoof and they clinked them together.

“And a toast to both of our nations being oppressed no longer,” said Chief Thunderhooves.

Suddenly, there was an explosion right in front of them. The train shook and rattled as it swayed on the tracks.

“Eet eez going to derail! Sacre bleu!” the waiter called out. “Madmoiselle, jump out ze window!”

Chief Thunderhooves raised an eyebrow as Trixie reached over to the window, opened it, and glanced at the ground below, just as the train rocked from side to side.

It’s times like these I really wish I could teleport, she thought. She took a deep breath and jumped from the train.

“Aaaah!” Chief Thunderhooves yelled, too big to fit through the windows. The train swayed to the right, not swaying back this time, but rather falling off the tracks and onto the dirt beside it. Dirt flew into the air as the heavy cars hit the ground, sliding and detaching from one another. The train rolled twice, each time throwing ponies out the windows and around the car.

Trixie hit the ground hard, landing on her hooves, which cracked and buckled as a sharp pain shot up her right hind leg. She glanced at it. It wasn’t supposed to bend like that.

She winced in pain, gritting her teeth as she glanced at the locomotive and saw a that it was on fire, a giant hole where its smokestack once was. Trains didn’t just explode like that. Trixie glanced up in the sky.

Just above the train, about twenty meters high, she saw two ponies hooting and hollering at the disaster. One was a dark-maned, cream-coated pegasus, a rambunctious young stallion who yelped and hollered. The other was a bit more passive, simply grinning from ear to ear and only slightly celebrating.

She was a unicorn with a tangerine mane and a light saffron coat. Trixie could see her very clearly from here.

Trixie scowled. That unicorn was the one who had humiliated Trixie by escaping from Sweet Apple Acres, who had humiliated General Top brass in the Everfree with her little “ghost” stunt. She was the one who broke into the armory recently and stole many weapons. She was the one who had derailed the train just now and, by extension, derailed the planned invasion of Appleloosa.

She was the one who could walk through walls.

The twins flew back towards Appleloosa, which Trixie could just see off in the distance.

“And now I know where you live, Pumpkin Cake,” said Trixie, grinning through the pain as she climbed to her hooves to survey the wreckage of the train and the injuries of her soldiers.