//------------------------------// // 92 - Train Shenanigans // Story: Synch // by sunnypack //------------------------------// We took the train as far as we could to get to the Saddle Arabian border. It was a long ride so nearly everypony was bored out of their minds… except Twilight who had the patience of a Zen monk and a huuuuuuge book to read. Nicodia was guarding the door stoically but I could tell she was itching to have a conversation with someone. I didn’t say anything because this had turned into a game between the two of us without either of us even saying a word. Who could stay silent the longest? I was pretty sure I’d win because I had my Synch and a Pseudo to pet and some paper and a pencil, so I had many things to do, whilst Nicodia had to stay by the door looking sullen. Well it was her fault she wanted to be a guard. You guard stuff. I stroked Pseudo with my left hand as she curled up next to me. There was a table at the end of the carriage so we had to move there so I could properly write on the parchment/paper with my pencil. I don’t know why these ponies would invent a stick-like pencil to aid them in drawing things. I mean, what if they didn’t have magic? Wouldn’t they have to use their mouth? I stared at the pencil in consternation. I borrowed the pencil from an Earth Pony guard because Twilight preferred to write in ink. I examined the top end for teeth marks but I didn’t find any. Oh well, it wasn’t as if I had much of a choice anyway. I doodled on the paper drawing a familiar symbol. Pseudo looked curiously at the paper and crawled under my left arm to rest her chin on the table. D’awwww, stop it Pseudo, you’re killing me here. “What’s that?” she asked inquisitively, giving me a doe-eyed look. I gave a stricken glance at Nicodia who just smirked and shook her head slightly. Damn, I’d lose this game if I said anything. I wrote on the paper. I’m playing a game with Nicodia. I scribbled, showing Pseudo. She gave me a quizzical expression. Oh right, they didn’t understand my written language. I quickly thought-navigated to the language translation knot and slipped the circlet on Pseudo’s head. I showed Pseudo the paper again. I chuckled at the wide-eyed surprise she had plastered all over her face when she could suddenly read my writing. “Oh, that’s amazing!” she exclaimed, pointing with her hoof to my Synch. She looked closer at my writing. “Oh I see, it’s a silent game, which can go the longest without talking”, she commented wryly. I nodded. “Nicodia’s definitely going to lose”, Pseudo observed, giving a sympathetic glance in Nicodia’s direction. Nicodia spluttered and tried to look as offended as possible without actually saying anything. I studiously ignored her as Pseudo giggled. Pseudo pointed at me. “This guy is the master of silent brooding. You should see him go for hours back at the palace”, she teased, giving me a nudge. I rolled my eyes and went back to doodling. Pseudo gazed intently at the parchment as I drew out the symbol. “Can you still tell me what that is?” she asked me sweetly. I grinned, tapping the side of my nose with a finger. This here is the Tao symbol of yin and yang. I wrote, looking at Pseudo to confirm she got it. A frown creased her muzzle as she got a vague interpretation from my Synch. “Good and Evil? Light and Dark?” she queried with a thoughtful expression. I chuckled, giving a good-natured shake of my head. Not quite. It is the symbol for opposites where one must exist without the other. There is no true ‘good’ and there is no true ‘evil’ because both are a matter of perception. There just is. I scribbled, Pseudo’s eyes tracking the writing. “Is this what you believe?” Pseudo asked me, eyes sparkling in curiosity. Hmm. Maybe or maybe not. It’s a philosophy that rings true for a very many things and I do believe that there are no absolutes when it comes to any dichotomy. Pseudo nodded, satisfied. She gazed out the window. “I’ve never really thought about those things before.” I stroked her back, not saying anything for a while. “Ugh! Why can’t you be the first one to break, Sir?!” Nicodia shouted, startling the two of us. I recovered first. “I thought you being in the royal guard would give you practice in remaining patient”, I shot back, as Nicodia fumed. She tossed her head and snorted, much like a horse, which I found amusing. “But you two were talking about something and I could only hear Princess Pseudo’s side of the conversation, it’s so vexing to have you two talk about something and I can’t say anything or even walk over there and find out!” “Why don’t you come over here and sit with us?” I offered, patting the seat next to me. Nicodia gave me a look of such longing that I had to suppress a bubble of laughter. “I have to stand here, I do have professional standards, Sir”, she muttered, shifting her hooves at the door. “Oh come on, it’ll be five minutes”, I beckoned, trying the coax the mare into having a little fun. “Oh what the Tartarus, fine!” Nicodia stomped over and flung herself into the seat next to me, peering at my drawing. “Weird, but strangely mesmerising”, she commented, looking at the symbol. “What does it mean? I only caught ‘good and evil’ and ‘light and dark’, which kind of makes sense when you look at it.” I passed her my handwritten notes and she looked at them confused. “I can’t read this”, she whined, turning the parchment this way and that, trying to make sense of my writing. I smiled and gently lifted the circlet on Pseudo’s head and placed it gingerly on Nicodia’s making care not to actually touch the pony. “I don’t know what you’ve been told about me, but it’s best if you don’t touch me”, I warned as the Synch fell into place. Nicodia gave me a questioning glance. “Eh, well I can nullify magic so it’s not good if I touch ponies who depend on magic”, I explained, feeling a little awkward. “Oh”, Nicodia said simply. “How come you can touch Princess Pseudo, Sir?” “Well it’s because Pseudo’s not connected to powerful artefacts, unlike all you ponies”, I answered, dancing around the issue. “What?!” “I can’t really say much… actually something’s been on my mind ever since I met you”, I started and Nicodia blushed. “It’s about calling you ‘Sir’, isn’t it?” she croaked, looking at her hooves. I nodded. “What’s up with that?” Nicodia tapped a hoof on the table, her tail curled up next to her left side, brushing past me weirdly. I took it as a sign of nervousness. “Habit, I suppose. When I saw you with Luna’s and Celestia’s crests I didn’t know if you went important or not so I erred on the side of caution. Luckily for me you were pretty friendly and the title kind of stuck.” “Oh, okay”, I replied, and then Nicodia spoke up again. “Actually, I never did get your name”, she began and Pseudo’s ears perked up. She looked surprised and did a double take. “I don’t know your name”, she said, in a horrified tone. I rolled my eyes. “It’s a secret. No pony knows my name”, I grumbled, giving the two a look. Pseudo and Nicodia just stared at me. “So, are you going to tell us, beca-“ “Attack on the first carriage! MOBILISE, NOW!” yelled a stallion as we felt a shudder run through the train. A screeching sound filled the air as the train ground to a halt, flinging us forward. Nicodia was quick to recover, getting onto her hooves and dashing towards the door. I scooped up my Synch that came bouncing on the floor with a sharp 'ping' I winced but didn't blame Nicodia, it was an emergency after all. “Stay here!” she ordered us, flinging the door open. She gaped at what lay on the other side. “Well, pony feathers.” Was all she could get out before getting face full of magic gas. She collapsed, unconscious. “What is going o-“ I started, and then I saw them. “Nuts.”