//------------------------------//
// Chapter 10 
// Story: When Friends are Said and Dun 
// by xenos29 
//------------------------------//

	By the time the train station crawled into view, Twilight had effectively forgotten the letter and joined her friends in their improved spirits, a task that proved to be more difficult than she first realized.
In the ponies' brief time at the archives, the station had become twice as busy; there were royal guards everywhere, loading equipment and filing onto a train that had just steamed in.  Fortunately, Twilight's mere presence proved enough to part the hustling gold sea, and eventually revealed Shining Armor, who was busy giving orders to a pair of pegasi.
“Shining Armor, have you seen Princess Celestia?” Twilight asked over the commotion.
The two pegasi flew off as Shining Armor turned to her. “Sorry, Twilight, she and Luna left over an hour ago.  Had to go back to Ponyville to reinforce the shield.  It’s holding, but I’ve been getting reports of things slipping through.”
The six of them looked at each other.  “What kind of things?” squeaked Fluttershy.
“We’re not sure,” said Shining Armor.  He levitated several scrolls in front of him.  “But all of them say they look like…seeds.  This guard says she saw a single vine force its way through the shield, then something large shot out of it and disappeared before she could follow.”  He put away the scrolls, frowning.  “I’ve only heard about four so far, so it's probably pretty difficult for Blight to send them out.”
“How long will that last?” Twilight wondered aloud.
“I wish we knew, Twilie.”  He pointed towards the clearing, which was now a forest of tents.  “Cadance is somewhere in there with a message from the Princess.  I had to hand it off to her so I wouldn’t lose it.”
“Why didn’t she just send it to me?” asked Spike.
Shining Armor shrugged.  “I have no idea, Spike.  She was in a pretty big rush.  Maybe she wasn't thinking about it.”
That didn’t sound like Princess Celestia at all.  Twilight turned to face everypony.  “Let’s check in with Cadance, then we can figure out how to get to the Crystal Empire."
"No need, Twilight.  Cadance and I figured you'd need a ride at some point.  We've got a train ready for you when you want to leave."
"You guys sure work fast," said Rainbow.
"We try," replied Shining Armor as he looked to Twilight's left.  "Hey, Alpenglow, you mind staying here?  I wanted to get your thoughts on something.”
“No problem, Captain,” he said in a surprisingly casual voice.
As Alpenglow and Shining Armor began discussing strategies for organizing the guards, Twilight led everypony into the camp.  Walking into the nearest tent, she asked the ponies inside if they had seen Cadance.  The googly-eyed pegasus nodded, and her stallion companion said the princess had come through looking for the camp's doctors.  Twilight thanked them and rejoined her friends.
“Rainbow, can you fly up and find the hospital tent?”
“Sure thing, Twilight."  Rainbow shot into the sky, scanned the area, and pointed her hoof.  “This way!” she called, taking off in the same direction.
Following Rainbow, the ponies worked their way through the drab fabric maze until they stumbled upon a tent in the middle of its own little clearing, a red cross stitched along the top of the entrance.  Past the wide, flapped door, they found Cadance talking to a distraught Nurse Redheart.
“Cadance?  Is everything alright?” asked Twilight.
From behind her mane, which hung ever so slightly knotted in front of her face, the Princess of Love gave them all a friendly smile.  “Oh, there you are, girls.  It’s nothing, we’re just having trouble tracking down all the doctors.  Ponies keep coming in asking for help at their tent, the doctors leave, and then we have nopony here to help Nurse Redheart with the patients here.”  Cadance sighed as she rubbed her eyes.
“Is anypony hurt?” asked Fluttershy.
“Nothing serious, thankfully.  Some ponies were hurt during the evacuation, but they’ll be fine.  The doctors are mainly worried about everypony living so close together.  It’d be easy for one pony to make the entire camp sick.”  Like Princess Celestia's recent forgetfulness, seeing Cadance stressed struck Twilight as strange, though certainly not surprising.
“Don’t worry, Cadance.  I’m sure you can handle it."
“Here's hoping.”  She lifted a scroll from underneath her wing.  “Princess Celestia wanted us to give you this.  She would have sent it to you, Spike, but she was exhausted from this morning and wanted to save her strength for the return to Ponyville.”
Twilight took the scroll, levitating it in the space before her.  “What does it say?”
“I don’t know.  I think it was advice in case you didn’t find anything at the archives, as well as some more information on Alpenglow and Blight.”
“We could definitely use some," said Applejack. "That pony's about as lively as a rock in a bucket of glue."
Cadance smiled again, knowingly. “I’ll admit he’s a bit on the stoic side, but try to imagine what it’s like for him, waking up  one day and finding out it's a thousand years later.  Except for Princess Celestia and Luna, Equestria is a whole new world to him.”
“She's right, girls,” said Fluttershy.  “It might be a good idea to make him feel more welcome."
Pinkie pouted.  “Now I feel even worse for not throwing him a 'Welcome to Ponyville' party!”
“Uh, Pinkie, the only game we could have played at that party was ‘Don’t Get Crushed by the Giant Vine,'" Rainbow Dash pointed out.
“It might’ve been fun!”
“I just think you should try and show him what Equestria today has to offer,” continued Cadance. “Shining Armor and I talked to him last night while you all were sleeping.  He really is an interesting pony, and I get the feeling Princess Celestia wouldn't have made him her student back then if she didn't trust him to help you all.”
Except for Twilight, everypony looked at each other, puzzled.  “How could he’ve been a student of the Princess?” asked Applejack.  “Last time I checked, he was a pegasus.”
Cadance gave another, knowing smile.  “Maybe you should ask him.  He told me he was very surprised to see two new princesses, so I’m sure he has plenty of questions, too.”
“I reckon we’ll have plenty of time to talk on the way to the Crystal Empire,” remarked Applejack.
“Glad to hear it,” Cadance said finally.  She hugged each of them goodbye.  “Good luck, girls.  In the meantime, I’m going to-”
An explosion of shouting reverberated through the tent, forcing everypony to cover their ears.  Somewhere in the high-pitched din, Twilight could have sworn she heard words.  They almost sounded like “Cutie Mark Crusaders Humanitarian Workers!”
The ponies turned around in time to see Applebloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Bell stampede into the tent, flattening Fluttershy in the process.  “HiRarityhiApplejackhiRainbowDash!” they shrieked in unison as they flew past.
“Hi, Princess Cadance!  How can we help?” Scootaloo asked eagerly.  “Also, what does 'humanitarian' mean?”
"I already told you what it means, Scootaloo!" said Sweetie Bell in a high-pitched groan.
"And now I'm asking Princess Cadance, Little Ms. Dictionary!"
"You're being a total ignoramus!"
"What's that supposed to mean?!"
“Girls...,” Rarity said patiently, “...this is no time for your fighting or your games.”
“We know...” said Applebloom, puppy-eyed, "...but we really do wanna help.”  She poked the ground with her hoof. “And if we could earn our cutie marks while doing it, then that’d be ok too, right?”
Cadance was still recovering from the fillies’ entrance.  “Well girls, I’m not sure exactly what you three specifically can do…”
“Ooh, what if we changed bandages, or helped injured ponies get around?” suggested Sweetie Bell.
“I don’t know, Sweetie Bell," said Applebloom.  "I ain’t taking any chances of earning a bed pan cutie mark."
“A what?”
Nopony could help but smile as they turned to leave.  “They’re yours now, Cadance,” Applejack teased.
The Princess of Love smiled as she rolled her eyes.  “You don’t say.  Well, girls, if you want to help me, there are some ponies I’d like you to track down…”
It was another affair for the ponies to make their way back through the camp and onto the train platform.  Once they did, they found it now empty except for Shining Armor and Alpenglow.  On the tracks next to them sat a small train, consisting simply of an engine, a freight car, and a caboose.
“You guys ready to go?” Shining Armor asked.
“Yup,” answered Applejack.
“Alpenglow and I were just talking about how we can keep Blight trapped in the shield.  I’m heading down there as soon as you guys are gone, but it looks like we can keep it going for as long as we need to.  We just need to switch everypony out as they get tired.”
"We have that in our favor, at least,” said Rarity.
“Let’s get this show on the road!” Rainbow Dash trumpeted as she strode confidently onto the train, followed by everypony else.
Shining Armor took off his helmet and hugged Twilight.  “Good luck, Twilie, and be careful."
She hugged him back.  “Thanks, you too.  We’ll be back as soon we can to help.”
“I hope so.”  He turned his head in the direction of Ponyville.  “Everything the Princess said about Blight gives me a bad feeling.  There’s no telling what he’s planning.”
"We’ll be ready.  We just have to stick together, and it’ll be alright.”
Shining Armor grinned.  “See that?  You’re getting better at being a princess every day.  Keep it up and Princess Celestia will start coming to you for advice.”  He walked off, leaving Twilight alone on the platform.
Twilight smiled, shaking her head.  She could accept the idea that she was finally getting used to the idea of being a princess, but there was no way she could carry herself like Princess Celestia did every day.
“Come on, Twilight!” called Spike from the engine.
Rainbow immediately hollered after, “Yeah, get over here before Pinkie starts trying to drive this thing!”
Twilight put one hoof on the train before she remembered Princess Celestia’s message.  She quickly pulled it from under her wing and unrolled it:

My dearest Twilight,

I’m sorry I couldn’t be there to see you off.  News from Ponyville came while you were gone.  Blight is slowly pushing back against the shield.  Luna and I believe he is testing its strength, and we must go there to ensure it does not fall.  As you no doubt already know, Blight has managed to pierce it in an attempt to spread his presence across Equestria.  Since he knows you are the Elements of Harmony, he will surely try to find you.  You must not allow him to slow you down, or to turn you and your friends against each other.

I truly hope you found some clue in the archives.  If you didn’t, then head South to the Applaoosan Mountains.  There, you will find an observatory once used by Starswirl.  It was one of his private libraries and studies, and a place he used to watch the dragons during their migration.  I am certain you will find something you can use, and Alpenglow will know the way.  We made sure that he knows as much as possible about Equestria today and how it has changed.

Finally, please take care of him for me.  He was our student once, mine and Luna’s.  Seeing him after all this time was difficult, for he has changed a great deal.  I fear that on his mission to stop Blight, something happened to make him cold and bitter.  He avoided many of our questions when we spoke with him last night, and I am certain his behavior is the result of whatever befell his friends, the other knights.  I’m sorry I can’t tell you more, but even I don’t know exactly what happened to them, and I would rather that Alpenglow offer that information himself.

Have faith, Princess Twilight, and remember all the lessons you have learned about the magic of friendship.  Whatever happens, they shall guide you through all your doubt and hardship.

Good luck, my faithful student,
Princess Celestia

Twilight rolled up the letter.  It was a bizarre feeling, knowing more than Princess Celestia, though she still took comfort from the last paragraph as confirmation of what she told Alpenglow- that no matter the obstacle, the friendship she and her friends shared would see them through.  Her confidence partially restored, she climbed aboard the train.
Everypony had already made themselves comfortable inside the caboose which, instead of individual seats, had two long ones lining the sides of the car, a small writing desk in the corner, and large bay windows.  Twilight peered through the back door and saw Alpenglow standing on the little railed platform outside.  She considered bringing him in, but decided that could wait, at least until they started moving.
A minute later, the train pulled out of the station, gradually building speed.  The moment they passed the outer walls of Canterlot, everypony in the caboose gazed out the north-facing window.  Together, they took in the familiar, but still breathtaking view of the crystal mountains.