//------------------------------// // Ch. 4: Gallivant // Story: Sin // by MemoryLane //------------------------------// Rarity and I walked out of the Library with our bags and the Medallion in tow. Rarity seemed to be idolizing the object, looking it over, even occasionally whispering to it. It unnerved me a little, but I decided not to let it bother me too much. The Medallion glowed light green in Rarity’s hooves, almost like fresh grass. "Fluttershy?" she asked unexpectedly. I immediately snapped to attention. "Yes?" "Shall we get started?" Rarity levitated the Medallion in the air again. I meekly nodded. I was not a big fan of our new adventure; in fact, I was not a big fan of adventure in the first place. To be honest, I would much rather have gone home and talked to my critters. They were probably worried sick about me. Rarity walked around for a moment, trying to get the mysterious artifact to react in some way. I could feel her frustration building as time went on, her efforts in vain. I considered holding the Medallion myself, so we could find another closer pony instead. At least I would have, if I didn’t think it would upset Rarity. She sure did seem enthralled by her shiny new replica Medallion. "Come on! Darn thing!" Rarity cried, giving the Medallion a few light taps. “Work already!” After a long time spent walking around Ponyville aimlessly—well, wasting time really, although I’d never hurt Rarity’s feelings by suggesting that—the Medallion finally reacted; it flashed brighter and faster than usual when we faced north. Rarity beamed. "Finally! It seems to be pointing to..." She tried to read the map, but ended up dumbly pointing with her hoof. "That way!" she declared, pointing at a trail that lead to the outskirts of town. "Do you know how long we're going to have to walk?" I practically felt her heart drop as I spoke the word "walk." She groaned loudly. "Walk? Well... it seems we have no choice, dear Fluttershy. The jewel only seems to point a direction, not a distance." She pointed again to the nearby trail. "We just have to keep going until we find it. Twilight said the Medallion should bring us straight to her… or him, I suppose. Oh, I do hope my hooves forgive me someday." I nodded, and we both headed down the trail. When we set off, I couldn't help noticing it was already sunset. Princess Celestia sure knew how to entertain: it was beautiful, the way the oranges and reds mixed to create something so... unique. Rarity started to talk as we walked. I simply kept quiet while she went on about various things: the journey ahead, deadlines for her work, and even how she was pondering the idea of enlisting Spike as a helper around the Boutique. I found myself nodding absently for a while. As we walked, I wondered at first why we didn't just take a train. But thinking about it later, I realized that if we did, we might just pass the pony we were looking for, and then we’d have to backtrack. The farther behind we left Ponyville, the grassier the trail became. Beyond Ponyville, the countryside seemed completely wild. The vegetation grew however it wanted, the grass looked like it had never been cut, and hills lined our vision as far as we could see. I was tempted to stop and lie down in the grass, because just looking at it made me want to take a nap in it. Everything was so green. I loved it. It was all so serene and untouched... "Fluttershy?" I snapped out of my spell at Rarity’s call. After shaking my head, I noticed that she'd trotted a good ten feet ahead of me; I'd been lagging behind. "You coming?" "Oh! Yes," I said, running to catch up. We walked on for hours, the scenery changing from a grassy prairie to a stony trail. It almost seemed like we were walking near one of the distant mountains. Golden sunlight bounced off the grass around us and the smooth rocks beneath our hooves. A short time after we hit the rocky road, the sun gave way to the moon, bringing darkness with it. Even though I’d packed flashlights, I definitely had no plans to continue through the night. I’d always disliked the dark, but at least at home I had my bedside lamp. Out here, so far from home, without my animals for company... "Um, Rarity? Can we set up camp, please? I don't think we can go on," I said, shivering at the night air’s cool touch. "Why ever not?" Rarity asked. "Fluttershy, there's nothing to be afraid of. Besides, we only have a few days to meet up in Ponyville with these—" she hesitated, wracking her brain "—strangers. We don't have any time to waste." Sure, keep telling yourself that, I silently mused. I know it’s because you just don’t want to risk getting dirty. Sure enough, I saw Rarity’s uneasy gaze at the dusty ground. "Everypony else is probably already ahead of us… I think we'll be all right," I said. Rarity took out a flashlight and hovered it in the air. “Tch. I think we'll be fine. Trust me, darling—we need to keep going. Besides, the thought that everypony else is probably ahead of us only gives us more incentive to continue." The more I thought about it, the more I reluctantly realized she was right. "Okay… if you insist." I took out a bright yellow flashlight from my own bag and clicked it on, shining it defensively out in front of me. I had a feeling it was going to be a very rough night. Luckily, Luna had blessed us with a full moon; it was much brighter out than usual, to my unrelenting internal glee. I could hear the night critters loudly chittering around me. I listened as owls and crickets spoke to their kin, either of warnings or other things. Eventually, Rarity began to tire. I could tell that she was struggling to stay awake, as she stumbled and shifted left and right on the path ahead of me, seemingly in a daze. "Are you all right, Rarity?" I asked. She looks like she could fall asleep any second now... "I'm not sure..." She stopped and rubbed her temple. "Um, would you consider taking a rest stop now?" She glared about me before giving a defeated sigh. "Oh, I suppose if we must. Just let me look for… Aha!" Her torch fell upon a large patch of heather in the grass, and she rushed over it. Setting her saddlebag on the ground, she opened it up and levitated a tightly rolled, compact foam mattress out from within. After unrolling the mattress and laying it out, a small, thin blanket popped out of its innards and fell neatly upon it. With a sigh, Rarity closed her bag and rested her head on it, using it as a pillow. She glared at the patch of dirt next to her head, but soon wrapped the blanket around herself and closed her eyes anyway. I followed her example—lying down next to her and using my saddlebag as a pillow—and faced the other way, so we were back to back. "Goodnight, Fluttershy. We're going to have to..." She yawned. "Get up… pretty early..." I smiled, even though she couldn't see it. "Yes. I have a feeling that we—" A soft snore interrupted me. I giggled with a hoof over my mouth before closing my own eyes. "Goodnight, Rarity." The soft yet mesmerizing sound of Rarity’s snores mixed in with nature’s various calls lulled me to sleep within seconds. *** "Consarn it, Rainbow! Gimme that thing!" I yelled. After Rarity and Fluttershy had been the first ones to take off, Rainbow Dash and I engaged in battle for control of our Medallion. She flew at least ten feet above me, waving the Medallion around irresponsibly. "I say we go after my color first," she said as the jewel turned a  dull gray. It almost looked like wet cement had been plastered on the jewel. "Don't do that!" I shouted. "You could break it!" "Break what?" "The Medallion, darnit!" "Oh, you mean like this?" Rainbow took the Medallion and swung it by the chain, all while doing a giddy midair dance which only annoyed me more. Even with my objections and cursing, Rainbow continued to swing her hips and dance, occasionally waving her flank in my face. I seethed and gnashed my teeth until I remembered our mission. Did it really matter who we found first? We needed all of them Sin Ponies anyway. I took a deep breath and gave in. "Fine..." "Woohoo!" After her victory cry, Rainbow draped the Medallion around her neck and returned to the ground. I'm not gonna lie: it was a dangerous action on her part, considering I wanted to wring her scrawny little neck. We both gazed down at the Medallion as Rainbow spun around, trying to make it work. When she turned away from me, it started to blink. Unlike when I had held the Medallion, the gem blinked rapidly, much faster than when I had held it. Hers must be closer. "Great!" Rainbow declared, punching the air before pausing. "Er, now what?" "Rainbow… we need to follow it..." "But… how are we going to get to wherever we're trying to get?" "We could take the train?" "But how will we know when we need to get off?" While Rainbow hovered in midair scratching her head, I brought a hoof to my face. "When it starts beepin' and flashin' like crazy!" I yelled. “Honestly, Rainbow, did you not listen to a single word Twilight said?” "Well, let's go then!" Rainbow made to dash in the opposite direction to where the Medallion pointed us, but jerked to a halt with a yelp as I clamped down hard on her tail. “Hey, what’s the big deal, AJ?” “Where th’ hay’re y’ goin’?” I said through gritted teeth, my mouth full of colors. “Y’ headin' th’ wrong way!” Rainbow scoffed at me and rolled her eyes. "Uh, duh—to the train station. I'm the only one with wings here, and I’m not going to walk the whole way there." "Ah. Right.” I spat out her tail. “Er, good idea.” We made our way towards the train station, Rainbow trying to explain to me the whole walk about how I’d "entered her bubble" when I bit down on her tail. What a load of dragon dung, I thought. Anypony who’s around you for longer than five seconds can tell you ain’t got one at all. We reached the train station after a five minute trot. As we approached the ticket booth, Rainbow glanced at the Medallion around her neck—still faintly flashing—then turned towards me. "So, AJ, what train do we get?" "Well, how ’bout you try pointin’ it in the direction we're s’posed to go, and then find the train that takes us that way?" I proposed. Rainbow pointed the Medallion behind her again, only for it to continue beeping quietly and flashing slowly. "Well, I think that's northwest..." We stopped before the the ticket booth and looked up at the dark blue mare behind the counter. "Hi there! How may I help you both today?" she said with a smile. "Yeah, I’d like a serving of hay fries and—ouch!" I elbowed Rainbow hard in the flank, making her wince in pain. For the second time, I brought a hoof to my face. “This ain’t no time to be horsin’ around, Rainbow. We gotta get movin’.” Shaking my head, I turned back to the ticket seller. “We need two tickets to… er, somewhere northwest o’ here, I guess?” “Northwest? Any particular destination?” “Ah…” I turned to Rainbow. “D’you wanna pull out your map and see what places we gotta choose from?” “Gee, I don’t know,” she said. “That kinda hurt—” “Rainbow!” “All right, already. Gee, can’t a mare have a little fun?” She unclasped her saddlebag and pulled out her map of Equestria, narrowing her eyes. “Uh, looks like we got Tall Tale, Vanhoover, or Galloping Gorge to pick from. That’s just the major cities, though, and a big ditch. What if none of those are the right place?” “If you like, you could purchase a ticket to Vanhoover?” the ticket mare suggested. “It covers you to the end of that line, with three major and nine minor stops in between there and Ponyville if you decide to get off earlier. "Looks like that's where we're headed then!" Rainbow stated, before running over to the waiting area. I sighed and passed a hoofful of bits over. Puttin’ up with her’s gonna be fun. After about thirty minutes, the train to Vanhoover finally arrived to both of our pleasures. As the train stopped, many passengers got out, almost running Rainbow and I down before the stampede finally ended. Apparently, the conductor was also used to this, as he carefully peered his head out of the first car before actually taking a step onto the deck. "All aboard!" he shouted triumphantly. Rainbow wasted no time getting on the train, so I followed her as she disappeared inside the third car. Since a trip from Ponyville to Vanhoover would most likely take a day by train, we decided to take the car that actually had beds in it, much like when we traveled to Dodge Junction. Most of the beds were occupied by other ponies, either sleeping already or chatting amongst themselves. We eventually found a bunk-bed just as the train left the station with a loud toot of its horn. Rainbow jumped on the top bunk, which I made a point of contesting but was silently glad for. I preferred being closer to the ground anyway. As I lay down on my bed, I was delighted to find that it felt just like my own mattress back at home. I let out a sigh of content. Ahhh, at least I’ll get a good night’s sleep. "I can't wait ’til we get to Vanhoover!" Rainbow poked her head down from above, facing me upside-down. "I also can't wait to see what kind of pony we're going to meet there. Who knows? They might be a Rainbow Dash fan!" She laughed in that ‘I’m-awesome-and-I-know-it’ way of hers. "Don't count your cockatrices ’fore they’re hatched, Rainbow,” I said. “We don't even know if this pony lives in Vanhoover. They might be anywhere along this line." "Whatever. Not like it matters anyway—nopony can resist the awesomeness that is ‘The Dash!’ ” I groaned. "Just keep an eye on the Medallion and say somethin’ if the beepin’ or flashin’ speeds up.” I rolled over, stroking my pillow. Gosh, that’s mighty soft... I caught Rainbow’s nod before she vanished from sight. The tinkle of chains and metal sounded from above me. “You be careful with that Medallion, y’hear?” I said with a light kick upward. “No tellin’ how fragile it is now it’s been split three ways.” “Stop stressing, AJ. It’ll be fine.” For the next couple hours, Rainbow Dash and I just sat there and talked, mostly about nothing in particular, but also about occurring events, such as the newest Wonderbolt auditions. Well, that was mainly her actually. The shadows lengthened as the sun started to set; I found myself yawning and frequently closing my eyes as Rainbow drawled on and on. "Rainbow, I hate to say it, but I'm real tired..." Rainbow stopped in the middle of gushing over Surprise’s supposed ‘incredible versatility.’ "Aww… but I haven’t gotten to the best part of her routine yet. Seriously, she does this mad quadruple-twist and then—” "Yeah, I think I'm just gonna hit the hay," I said. I grabbed my blanket and slid under it. The bed rustled above me as I watched the mattress dip a little, Rainbow finally sinking all her weight onto it. A final tinkle sounded. “Good—” I yawned loudly “—ah, night. Seeya tomorrow mornin'." "Fine… night, AJ." “Oh, and Rainbow? You’re payin’ for the next train.” “Whatever.” I'd never be sure, but I could swear I heard Rainbow Dash snoring just seconds before I passed out myself. *** Sweet Celestia. Pinkie sure is impatient sometimes. Although Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash had already left, Pinkie and I remained in the library; there were still a few things to figure out before I felt comfortable with leaving. "Come on, Twilight!" Pinkie bounced repeatedly on the spot, eager to get going. She had taken possession of the Medallion, draped around her neck. Unsurprisingly, it had turned a bright pink. It was already beeping in her hooves. "What-cha do-in’?" Pinkie asked as she looked over my shoulder. "Trying to figure out where we should start," I said, one hoof supporting my chin. “I don’t mind you bouncing, but make sure you keep looking dead ahead, okay?” At Pinkie’s vigorous nod and trademark “Okey dokey lokey,’ I took stock of her position and then looked at the map sprawled out on the table. Pinkie is currently facing Southwest. So that means our first target is somewhere between here and— My eyes landed on the most possible location. “—Las Pegasus. Oh, boy…” "What's wrong, Twi?" Pinkie froze in midair, then zipped to my side. "Apparently, the pony were looking for could be as far away as Las Pegasus— Pinkie gasped loudly. "Yay!" She resumed bouncing, cheered, and threw confetti everywhere. "I've always wanted to go there! That's where all the movie stars and celebrities live!" "You might be excited, Pinkie, but I'm just wondering how we're going to get there and back again as fast as possible," I grumbled, swiping stray confetti from my mane. “I was toying with the possibility of a complex dual-teleportation spell to get us wherever we needed to go. But without knowing exactly what our destination looks like, it’ll be almost impossible.” "Can't you just read about it in one of your travel guides?" Pinkie inquired as she grasped a book at random from the pile on the floor, flipped it open, and pointed to a photo of what looked like the city’s main street. I shook my head. “One of these days, Pinkie, you’re going to have to show me how you do that.” She simply shrugged. “Beats me.” *** After a final double-check to make sure we had everything, we left the Library. As the door closed behind us—exchanging waves with Spike—I levitated the travel guide out before us. There was still enough sunlight to gain a good view, although the last vestiges were rapidly disappearing. “Okay, Pinkie. I need you to really concentrate here with me,” I said. When she zipped to my side, I highlighted and pointed to the picture of Main Street. “This dual-teleportation spell will only work if we are both one-hundred percent focused on our destination. It’s hard enough with two unicorns already, let alone one.” “Don’t worry, Twilight! I can already see it now.” Her daydreamy voice drew my attention. “I’m not sure I believe you—those stars covering your eyes give me doubts.” “Huh? Oh, sorry.” Pinkie shook her head and clenched her eyes shut, dissipating the five-pointers from her vision. "You ready? I might not be able to pull this off again for a while." Pinkie nodded and shook her head at the same time… somehow. I placed the book back into my saddlebag and closed my eyes, foreleg around Pinkie’s shoulder; I felt her return the gesture. I lit my horn. There was the usual outburst of power and bright flash of light, but the brief compacting sensation squeezed me far tighter than normal, with every last gasp of air crushed from my lungs. As soon as it began, it was over. I heaved, panting heavily as I felt the change in terrain beneath my hooves. I immediately heard the sound of not-so-distant beeping; the Medallion pinged constantly, at a much greater speed than it had back at the Library. The air seems… warmer here. I opened my eyes. I could hear Pinkie Pie coughing terribly to my right. When the smoke cleared, the first thing my eyes landed on was the iconic, unmistakable sign on the distant mountain face. Applewood. My heart skipped a beat as I also noticed the much smaller sign to my left, which stated in big, bold letters, Welcome to Las Pegasus: Where Dreams Come True! "You did it!" Pinkie cheered whilst laughing. "I did! I really did do it!" I laughed too. Part of me actually wanted to hop around with glee. When I saw Pinkie begin to do it anyway, I gave into the urge. I bounced and cheered to my heart’s content, uncaring of just how foalish I must have looked. When we both calmed ourselves, we looked down the road that lead into an incredibly bright and exuberant city. Even on the outskirts, I could hear all the commotion coming from within. Although the sign said Welcome, we still stood about a half-mile from the city's borders. I looked at Pinkie and gave her a slight nod, which she returned. That's when we both reared up and galloped down the strip. Las Pegasus was calling.