If the time on the Ponyville clock tower was correct, it was a quarter to 11AM as we made our way to Ponyville Train Station. The ponies that were already out and about gave us a wide berth as Rose and I followed Twilight through town.
“Well, at least they aren’t running and screaming.” I remarked.
“They might at the slightest provocation though, which is why we’re rushing directly to the station.” Twilight said.
True to her word we arrived at what appeared to be a wooden shack on an elevated platform that stretched in either direction for about a hundred feet. Twilight went to speak with the pony in the shack while Rose and I examined the platform. Apart from a few benches and Ponyville event fliers posted around, it was pretty dull.
“… I’m confused.” I said to which Rose nodded.
After a few minutes watching the other ponies sitting around, we returned to Twilight who gave us each a slip of paper, “Here you go, these are your tickets. Please don’t lose them.”
“Tickets for what? I thought we were going to Canterlot?” I asked.
“Just wait, you’ll find out in about ten minutes, it might surprise you.” Twilight said with a grin.
“Uh, okay then.” I said.
“Oh there you are!” I heard someone call out. I turned to see Rarity running to greet us while holding a pair of boxes in her magic. “I’m so glad I found you, I stopped by the library but Spikey said you had left already!”
“Well it is nice seeing you again so soon, although you do look a bit tired.” Rose commented.
“Oh yes, I was up all night working on these, they just had to be perfect. Beauty sleep can wait in the face of perfection! Now, this one is for you dear Beetle, and for Rose I have a lovely summer dress that would make you look splendid!” Rarity said as she presented a box to Rose.
Rose grinned and squee’d as she opened it. I looked over her shoulder to see a light yellow fabric with a few gems sewn into it. Rarity lifted it out and fit it on Rose, basically pulling it over her head.
“Now, strike a pose darling!” Rarity encouraged.
Rose turned to the side, lifted a fore hoof, and smiled back as me. My jaw dropped at the sight, instantly forgetting to correct Rarity about my name. The way the sun struck her made it seem like Rose was literally glowing and sparking.
A hoof suddenly waving in front of my face brought me out of my trance, “Huh?” I asked and looked to see Rarity looking at me expectantly.
“I believe it’s your turn dear.” She said and opened the lid on the box for me. Inside there were several pieces of fabric I couldn’t wrap my mind around. We started with the thin white one, my forelegs went through the sleeves as it wrapped around my back comfortably and buttoned together at the front. Then the black fabric went over that one much the same way, but was longer and draped over my rear, and split at my little stub of a tail. Then a red ribbon was tied around my neck under the white part and was tied into a bow.
“There! You look smashing!” Rarity commented.
“Wow, it’s a good look for you, you pull it off well.” Rose said as she looked me over. “But what about your wings?”
True to her word, my wings were trapped. “I’m sorry about that Beetle, I’ll have to have you stop by to make the modifications for the wings, but for now you need to look your best for the princess!” Rarity exclaimed in glee.
“Wow Rarity, you really did a good job. They almost look normal now!” Twilight said.
In an instant the mood soured as we each stared at her. But where I was irritated and Rose seemed almost heartbroken, Rarity was seething with rage.
“Twilight.” She said in a steady voice that dripped of held back indignation. “One does not SAY such things about the way somepony LOOKS.”
Twilight just didn’t seem to get it, “But they look good, Beetle doesn’t look so weird and Rose doesn’t look as much like a corpse.”
Rarity turned to us, “If you dears would excuse us for a moment, I need to teach somepony some etiquette~” She said sweetly. Rarity’s horn flashed and they were gone from the platform.
I looked to see Rose was tearing up and bit and shaking, weather in sadness or rage I didn’t know. I placed a hoof on her cheek then pulled her into a hug, “Hey, it’s alright. Don’t blame Twilight, she’s just having a hard time understanding what’s going on right now. She’s already accused me of mind controlling you or something and wants Celestia to break the spell. Once she realizes you are a pony, I’m sure she’ll understand as I and the others do.”
Rose snuggled and tightened the hug, “Thanks, but you talk too much.” She pulled away and gave me a peck on the lips.
Any further conversation was interrupted by the sound of a huge growling monster quickly approaching and screeching with a roar that drowned out all sound. We both jumped and backed away from it, bumping into the pony that was in the little shack a moment ago.
“You should step back as the train pulls in.” He said casually. Looking around I saw the overall lack of panic at the noise. In fact, everypony here was putting their saddlebags on and pulling out their tickets. Rose and I stepped back and prepared our tickets as well. The stallion looked into the horizon for a moment then shouted, “The train for Canterlot is now arriving! Departure time is in five minutes! Please stand back to allow others off before boarding and watch the gap!”
The wailing monster quickly approached and pulled alongside, and it wasn’t a monster so much as a massive steam powered machine pulling several long boxes with large windows, through which we could see a lot of chairs and benches. In fact, it strongly resembled the ‘train’ in the Hairy Trotter book.
“Oh! So this is a train!” I exclaimed, “Rose, this is a cool thing that can travel really far really quickly and holds a ton of ponies! We’ll be in Canterlot in no time!”
“Oh, that does sound exciting! How does it work?” She asked.
“No idea, just that it does. Come on, let’s grab a seat.” I said and started making my way to the nearest door.
“But what about Twilight?” Rose asked.
“Well… I’m sure she’ll arrive before the train leaves. And if not I doubt we’ll need a guide to find a huge castle containing the most well-known ponies in Equestria. We could ask directions too. Plus we’re expected.” I reasoned.
Rose laughed, “That is true, I’m sure there are other trains as well. It’s doesn’t do to keep royalty waiting.”
We followed the line to a pony that was checking and clicking the tickets as we walked onboard. When it was my turn he paused as he looked my ticket over. “Oh!” He exclaimed, “Private first class? That’s the Princess’s personal car, just go all the way to the front car and show the guard your ticket.”
“Oh, thanks!” I said and stepped in. I saw a bunch of ponies shoving their luggage into compartments above and below the seats. Behind me I heard the stallion direct Rose to the same compartment I was told to go to. I turned to her, “Shall we head to our quarters, milady?”
Rose laughed again, “Yes we shall, Sir Sigma. Lead us onward!”
I hooked her foreleg around mine and lead her to the front of the car with as much posh and high class I could think of. “I say. My, my. Oh dear.” I would say at random intervals until we broke down laughing in front of a mare in golden armor.
She frowned at us, “Can I help you?”
I took a few breaths to contain my mirth before responding, “Yes, sorry, we’re supposed to give you our tickets.” Rose and I presented our tickets to the mare, who took them in her magic.
She looked them over carefully and cast some magic on them, making them glow yellow for a moment. “Yep, they are authentic, you’re free to enter. Enjoy the ride to Canterlot!” She stepped aside and opened the door to the compartment.
“Thanks!” I said as Rose and I stepped inside.
The door slid shut behind us as we looked around. There wasn’t as much clutter, it was very wide and open, and the seats were much larger and looked even softer than the other ones. There was also a fridge which upon investigation hosted a variety of drinks with price tags attached to them.
“Well I’m broke so no drinks.” I remarked.
“I should have brought some spending money, but then again it’s probably the wrong currency.” Rose said as she took a seat.
“Aren’t artifacts worth a lot though?” I asked, sitting across from her.
“Hmm… sometimes. I suspect that actual artifacts are beyond value, such as your spell book or any items belonging to important orders or was made by a well-known artist. It depends on a lot of factors.” Rose said.
“Well in that case I think getting money to help re-build the city would be easy to come by if you could part with a few things.” I said.
“All Aboard!” I heard somepony yell outside. It was yelled a few more times before the train ponies climbed on and with another shrill shriek the train started moving.
We slowly pulled away from the station, picking up speed each second. As we pulled away from the platform the train started to curve around the forest, but before the platform left my sight there was a purple flash and I saw Twilight standing alone on the platform staring at the train before the view was cut off as we entered some trees.
“… I should have waved goodbye.”
“What do you mean there isn’t going to be another train?!” Twilight screamed at the stallion running the station.
“Exactly what I said, the other train broke down outside of Appleoosa and will take about a week to repair, so now there is only one train going through each of the major cities, once per day.” He said sternly.
“Yeah? Well, there’s a dangerous black magic user and a zombie onboard! You need to stop the train!” She exclaimed.
“Yea, I saw them, and they were better behaved and reasonable that you are being right now, not to mention causing massive delays across the entire nation. Do you feel no shame?” He scolded.
“But I’m needed in Canterlot!” She yelled back.
“If you need to get there so badly use that balloon I’ve seen you use and have Rainbow Dash pull you.” He replied sarcastically.
Twilight was about to retort, but her mind summoned up a weird and strange idea. She teleported off without another word, leaving the teller to close up for the day.
The train ride had quickly lost its excitement, but Rose and I managed to keep ourselves entertained. The train slowed down and we watched through the window as we pulled into Canterlot. The station was much more crowded than the one in Ponyville, with hundreds of ponies of all kinds meandering about, and more than a few were sporting very fancy outfits.
“I see now why Rarity thought it was so important to dress up.” Rose commented. “Come on, let’s go mingle!”
“I’m going to learn ‘posh’ words!” I said as we exited the train car. There was quite the hustle as the ponies leaving the train had to push through those trying to board, it was a chaotic mess! Rose and I managed to push our way through to the station proper as the train blew its whistle again and started pulling away.
“Greetings and salutations my lovelies!” I called out to the crowd. My voice went unheard. “Rude.”
Rose giggled, “Perhaps you should save it for the princess?”
“Yeah, you may be right… Well let’s get to the giant over-compensating castle looming over the rest of the city.” I said as we started making our way through the streets.
“You could say that, it’s much larger than the one I grew up in.” Rose said as she craned her head back to see the top of the spires.
I was quickly growing tired of the large amount of ponies pushing in on all sides. “Wow its super crowded… think there’s a less traveled path to the castle?” I asked.
“If the old days of a city are still similar, it would be best to avoid the back roads. Thieves and scoundrels wait in the shadows to prey on the rich and foolish. Unfortunately we’re dressed for the part.” Rose said as we passed a dark ally. I peered in as we passed; noticing both a foul stench and a pair of yellow, cat-like eyes peering out as us.
“Yea, think you’re right about that.” I said as we left the alley behind us.
We continued along the road, ponies had set up stalls all along the length of the path and were yelling out their wares and the prices. Some were selling cloth, some were selling food, and more than a few were selling souvenirs. I wanted to get something called a ‘candy apple’ because it sounded strange and exotic but neither of us had any money, so it would have to wait until another time.
We eventually arrived in a plaza overflowing with ponies and were quickly swept into the sea of movement. As we kept track of each other I also saw a few ponies in silly outfits doing tricks or playing instruments. Unfortunately the distraction caused me to accidentally bump into somepony.
“Oops, excuse me, sorry.” I said as I tried to step around them.
“Gah! Such filth dared to touch my royal self?!” I heard the pony shout out. I turned back to see a light grey unicorn in a red coat much like mine, and his face was bright red in fury to match. “I should have you thrown in the dungeons you filthy mongrel!” I suddenly found myself surrounded by very large and imposing earth ponies dressed in black with sunglasses.
I looked at him in confusion, “My apologies, I should have been paying more attention to where I was going.” I said. Ponies like apologies.
“Humph! I don’t have time to listen to your sorry excuses. Boys? Teach him a lesson.” He said as he turned around and stormed away.
The earth ponies started to close in around me, “… I’m confused, I said I was sorry?” one of them raised their hoof to strike me but I was pulled back out of the way by Rose.
“Come on, let’s get out of here.” She said. We started to run but another earth pony leaped clean over us and landed in front of Rose. To my horror I saw his hind legs coiled, ready to spring back in a devastating kick aimed at Rose.
“No! You leave her ALONE!” I yelled. A sudden rage boiled within me as my vision was filled with red. I felt something release from my horn, followed by a familiar bellowing roar.
In-between Rose and our assailant stood a tall imposing figure in the thickest armor I’ve ever seen. It stood on only two legs, but wielded in its arms was an enlarged version of the battle axe wielded by the living armors in the old castle. Wait a minute…
As I tried putting two and two together the earth pony released his kick, striking the armor solidly in the chest. It didn’t even budge as the impact rang out like a bell.
“AAARG!!” The pony cried out as his legs bucked beneath him as they absorbed the shock of the impact.
“MMRRROOOAAAAAAHH!!” The armor roared, swinging its axe into the pony’s side with a wet crunch and followed through the blow, sending the pony flying through a wall on the other side of the street. The armor turned around to face the other three earth ponies that were behind us, the weight of the armor cracking the stone under its boots.
“HM.” It grunted, axe at the ready.
The once busy and bustling plaza was now deathly silent as all eyes stared at the armor. “Monster!” Somepony screamed. Chaos erupted in an instant as ponies from the poorest stallion to the richest mare fled in sheer terror, leaving Rose, the armor, and I facing the goons.
I walked up to the one in front, “You think you can match me in power?” I chuckled, “You are not prepared.” The earth ponies finally managed to come to their senses and flee as well. “And tell your boss to lay off!”
“Wow.” Was all Rose could think to say.
“Yep.” I took her hoof in mine and we started heading toward the castle, the heavy iron boot steps of the armor smashing the road to pebbles behind us.
“Your nose is bleeding.” Rose said, stopping our walk as she grabbed a discarded strip of cloth from the ground. It was probably torn in the chaos. She dabbed it at my nose and cleaned me up, wiping around my eyes as well. “Your eyes changed a bit too, they aren’t as blue. It suits you, so no reason to cry, okay?” She kissed me tenderly on the cheek as I wiped my eyes, they really were moist.
“I don’t know what came over me… I saw you were in danger and I was just so mad and so scared, I guess my emotion took control of my power and summoned the armor.” I said as we started our walk again.
“Emotions are closely tied to magic in a variety of ways. You wanted to protect me, so your armor took a form that was built on defense. If you meant to truly kill those ponies, it would have been lighter, and more agile with a sharp blade.” Rose explained to me.
“Wow… I didn’t think of it like that.” I turned to face the armor following behind, “Thank you.” The armor stared at me blankly.
“It has a simple mind; it has no emotions or thoughts of its own.”
“Oh. I suppose there really is a lot to learn.”
There was suddenly a bright flash, “Indeed there is.” I looked around to see we were surrounded by about fifty guards in golden armor, led by a mare of impressive size, almost on par with my armor. Almost sensing my thoughts, the armor took a defensive stance near Rose.
I took a moment to look over the larger mare. She wore gold armor as well, but just on her hooves and chest. Her mane was tri-color and seemed to flow on its own while her wings and horn were quite large themselves.
“Uh… Can I help you?” I asked.
I heard a gasp next to me, I turned to see Rose staring at the mare in awe, “Oh my stars… Is it really you?” Rose stepped forward and moved her hoof in a strange motion before holding it against her chest and bowing her head, “Salutem, beatum puerum solis, sol dae aeternam.”*
The mare’s jaw dropped, “… That’s a greeting I haven’t heard in an eon… How do you know that?”
“It’s a bit of a story, but last I saw you, you confided in me your worry for your sister and I convinced you to go comfort her. Apparently it didn’t quite work out as my sister and I were trapped in the lower parts of the castle when it collapsed during the fighting. It’s a bit of a long story after that, so perhaps you would like some tea as we speak?”
“Yes… Yes I do think there is much to discuss. Luna hinted at today being rather busy but this…” She shook her head before addressing the guards, “Return to your posts, I will take them from here.”
“But your highness!” One of the ones in a different type of armor with a blue plume on the helmet objected.
“There is more going on here than any of us understand at the moment Captain. You and your men may take their leave.”
The poor sap looked conflicted, “… At once, Princess.”
The mare, a princess I guess, turned back to us. “Rose… To think we would be able to speak once again. And you must be the changeling Twilight wrote about, Luna has told me a bit about your condition and thinks highly of you, although Twilight seemed worried about you in her last letter.” I shrugged, we’ll sort everything out.
She looked to the armor, “And you must be the one causing all the trouble, I expect you to explain yourself.”
“Princess, it’s not capable of speech or doing anything I don’t tell it to, it’s a creation of my magic or something.” I tried to explain to the best of my paraphrasing ability.
“… Then I trust that you can explain that as well, but it’s going to have to stay out of the castle, the workers would have a fit if it destroys the floors.” She said.
I nodded and turned to the armor, “Okay, you’re not needed anymore. Go away.” It took a step back. “Whelp, I tried.”
“Try telling it that it’s dismissed.” Rose suggested.
“Oh, that might work. Living Armor, you are dismissed!” I commanded.
The armor raised the axe above its head in a salute and let out a beastly roar, before falling to pieces that disintegrated into nothing as the light of its eyes flared and returned to my horn.
“That was neat!” I exclaimed in excitement.
“Yes, that was rather interesting. Now come along, we have much to discuss.” She said as she started to lead us to the castle. “By the way, wasn’t Twilight supposed to be escorting you?”
“Yea, she got us tickets for the train, but Rarity stopped by and gave us these neat cloths. Twilight said something insensitive to Rose and Rarity teleported her away. She wasn’t back by the time the train came so we got on thinking she would make it back but she didn’t. A the train left I think I saw her teleport to the platform, but after that I just assumed she would catch up.” I explained.
“I see, well as much as I would like to wait for her arrival to help sort things out I’m afraid I have a few questions of my own I need to ask. She can meet us in my study when she arrives, she knows where it is.”
“This isn’t Canterlot, does this look like Canterlot? No! Know why? BECAUSE THIS IS DODGE CITY, RAINBOW!”
Twilight was now in a state of absolute panic. Thanks to the station manager she had the idea to attach Rainbow to her balloon through the use of AJ’s ropes. Unfortunately she failed to mention what she was doing as she tied the rope around Rainbow while she was sleeping. As expected, Rainbow flew off as fast as possible in a blind panic to escape being tied up, dragging Twilight behind her. It wasn’t until Rainbow grew exhausted and landed did Twilight notice that they were traveling in the complete opposite direction.
“It’s not… my fault… Twilight!” Rainbow panted heavily, “You don’t just… wrangle up any pony… you see for a lift!”
Twilight wasn’t listening and was instead declining into a full on panic attack, “What do I do what do I do whatdoido!?!? The princess is expecting me and I have to watch those two because if I don’t bad things will happen that would be my fault because I wasn’t watching them and Celestia is going to be so disappointed I might not be allowed to be her student anymore!!!”
And further rambling was interrupted by Rainbow shoving a hoof in her mouth. “Get a grip Twilight! Geeze! You’re acting like it’s the end of the world. I just need to rest up then I’ll help get you to Canterlot if it’s such a big deal.”
Twilight spat out the hoof and grinned madly, “This is perfect! Why didn’t I think of it sooner!? You’re a genius Rainbow! Now quick, put the rope back on and let’s go!”
“No.” Rainbow said flatly.
“But why!?” Twilight screeched.
“First, because as awesome as I am, dragging that balloon all the way here that fast was exhausting, so I’m taking as long as I need to recover, a sprained wing means I can’t fly and if I can’t fly you’re not getting to Canterlot unless you walk there.
“Second, you need to calm the buck down; you’re causing a scene and acting like a foal that lost her candy. So we’re going to tie up the balloon and hit the pub and chill for a bit. If you don’t like it, Canterlot is a long walk that way.” She finished, pointing into the endless expanse of desert behind them.
Twilight bit her lip as she reviewed everything Rainbow told her. After a few moments she hung her head and sighed, “You’re right… I’m sorry Rainbow.”
“Hey no biggie, we all have our moments, myself excluded of course.” They shared a laugh, “Now let’s get some food and drink!” Rainbow said as she led Twilight into her first bar.