The Blessing and the Curse

by Equestria Buck Yeah

Chapter 12

The walk back to the train station was relatively quiet, given how late it was. No reason to disturb the citizens when they were most likely getting ready to turn in. The girls voiced their opinions as to what route they should take to get to the northeast, but Matt had already made his decision and had been cataloging in his mind what supplies they may need if they chose to drive up on the way back to the station.

However, Applejack suspected that something else may have been troubling him as they returned to the train. His furrowed brow and his anxious stare at nothing in particular gave it away. She really couldn't blame him for being nervous though. Dark Horse's news left her just as uneasy. It had been a while since they dealt with anything on such a massive scale and there wasn't any time where it was involving a few million individuals at once, pony or not. Screwing up even just a little could be beyond disastrous.

He and the others sat on their benches as the last whistle of the day sang. The conductor yelled 'All aboard!' and with a tiny jolt, the cars started to move and they were on their way home. At least now they could speak up a little more about what they needed to figure out.

Matt did make a good point to the Princesses – while the smoke or whatever it was may have been new, it didn't necessarily mean anything. There wasn't a picture anywhere in the folder that Dark Horse showed them, otherwise they could have made a more informed call as to what it could be.

"I just don't think it's a coincidence," Rarity spoke up. "Every single thing you've checked out, Twilight, hasn't shown any signs of the problem. Now an entire city shows up out of the blue and suddenly there's some strange disturbance overhead. Ponies and people have died because of this. We need to get up there as quickly as possible."

"I have to agree," Fluttershy added. "It's obvious things are getting more and more out of control with each passing day. There's no sense in taking our time with this."

Twilight curled her lips as she glanced out the window, admiring the first twinkling stars in the early night's sky. "Here's what I don't understand though. When that Tina person showed up, she said that she saw several smaller buildings in the distance, but there wasn't anything over those. Dark Horse didn't know what that cloud was and neither do we. It may be the source of what's happening; it may not be. We should still be thorough and investigate everything we come across, and they're simply not going to allow us to stop the train over and over again."

"Well, let's say we take the train up and we make it to Manehattan. Do we have them hit the brakes before we get into the city and hoof it into this place or do we end up catching a boat from Manehattan and take it into their harbor?" Rainbow Dash asked.

Matt snorted cynically at the question. "Yeah, I can just imagine how well that'd go. They see you guys getting off the boat and...well, I can't really predict what they'd do to tell you the truth."

"What would be the big deal? Wouldn't they be happy to hear that we were there to help?"

"Pinkie, you remember how freaked out I was, by myself, when I first came here?" The bubbly mare nodded. "Multiply that by a few million."

"That bad, huh?" Applejack asked.

"If you guys showed up back home, they'd probably think you were aliens or something. The government would probably snatch you away to some unknown facility so they can figure out what makes you tick but everyday people aren't quite so predictable. Some people would think having aliens running around would be pretty cool, others would freak the fuck out, some probably wouldn't care and others would probably think the end times were upon us or something," he explained, receiving a glare from the cowgirl.

"You really had to use the phrase 'end times' with what's been goin' on?"

"Look, I think it's safe to say everyone up there is aware of what's happened by now. You saw some of the people in those pictures – they were looking at the camera. They saw that photographer! I don't know how people are going to react which means it'd be in our best interest to get in and out of there as quickly and quietly as possible once we're there." Matt hunched over and folded his hands in front of his face. As he sighed into them, the biggest fear he had been keeping under wraps about their new mission came out. "It's just...the reason I want us to be all stealthy is because I'll feel responsible if something happens to you."

"Sugarcube, you know we can handle ourselves."

His eyes shifted to the floor. "You don't understand. These are my people. You all took care of me when I arrived but...I don't have any way to promise that the same will happen to you. I mean, what does that say about us?"

"That your people are afraid of things they don't understand," Twilight answered. "Sounds a lot like your average Equestrian if you ask me."

"Your average Equestrian doesn't want to shoot the thing right out of the gate more often than not," Matt retorted, mumbling under his breath. "Besides, let's say we get up there and, God forbid, something happens to one of you. You guys are kind of important around here. You know I'm well aware of that and you know what I'm referring to. If things get a little crazy up there..." He paused, taking a deep but nervous breath. It did little to calm his quivering lips. "I...I may have to..."

"To what?"

He went to answer but nothing came. Applejack quickly figured it out when he looked away.

"Hey! Don't go thinkin' like that! I told you we can take care of ourselves, dangit!" she scolded.

"It's not the end of the world if something happens to me," he fired back.

"It almost was the end of the world for us after you almost got killed by that cat!"

"A few million people are a little harder to deal with than some damn cat!"

"Not my point," she said as she poked his shoulder. "We could've handled the thing! The six of us went through a heck of a lot before you ever showed up! We've always looked out for each other and we've always looked out for you too! You think we'd be able to just...just shrug it off if something happened to you?"

When he smirked at the question, she turned away from him, growling in aggravation. The farm girl hadn't been so frustrated with Matt in a while though he hadn't been so stubborn in a while either. Was like arguing with a brick wall!

The train car was deathly silent as the others timidly glanced at each other, the rattling of the wheels on the track being the only thing breaking the silence. They had never seen Matt and Applejack squabble...well, ever. Granted, they tended to spend a lot of time together alone, but still.

"Matt," Twilight finally said. His angry eyes just barely shifted, but the unicorn knew she had reached him. "Why didn't you voice these concerns to the Princesses?"

He sighed and shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe I thought they wouldn't go along with my idea or something."

"But you suggested driving there to help keep us safe, right?" Fluttershy asked.

"And the fact that if something else happened to have landed on top of the train tracks on the way at some point, it'd make it that much harder for us to get there, yes."

All but Applejack – who was still annoyed with Matt – exchanged another look. "And if we decided that your way was the better way to go, would we need to bring anything for the journey?" Twilight asked for the group.

Gradually, he turned back to face the girls sitting in front of him. Maybe they were coming around? Managing to calm down a bit, he went over a mental checklist. "Well, even if we happen to not bump into anything we have to check, it still might take, like, half a day to get there. The car's meant more for driving around on concrete than grass or dirt or whatever. Plus we may stop just to use the bathroom or get out and stretch. Driving for long periods of time can suck. I'll be honest with you too, I'd prefer not to go driving around that city at night – especially not now.

"So, assume we have to spend a night sleeping in the back of the car. Probably need a sheet or something to lay on and maybe a blanket if you think you're going to be cold that night. Pillows would be good. Probably need some food and drinks. Likely need some toilet paper and a shovel."

"What would you need to bring those for?" Rainbow Dash asked, receiving a raised eyebrow for her trouble. Rarity cringed when she too figured it out. "...Oh. Right."

"Yeah, it'll be just like camping. Just, y'know, without being fun," Matt muttered. "Ummm, maybe some cards or a book if you wanted. Basic toiletries. Should be about it I think."

"There'll be enough room for all of us and the supplies?"

"Oh yeah, no problem."

"And you're sure we'd be able to sneak in and out of there relatively easy?" the bookworm continued.

"Here's how I see this going. As long as I don't draw attention to us by doing something stupid, the only time we should risk you all being seen is when we inevitably duck into a building," Matt explained.

"Why would we need to do that?"

"Celestia and Luna think that cloud thing could be a key to all this shit, right? Wouldn't be a bad idea to get to a tall rooftop so you can get a better look at the thing. Plus, if people happen to see us from a building across the street or something, maybe they won't be as scared of you as they might if you were standing right next to them." He curled his lips and added, "I just hope we don't have to climb fifty flights of stairs to do that cuz that would royally suck."

"Do you think there's any way to avoid human contact altogether?" the timid yellow pegasus squeaked.

"Ultimately? Probably not. But the less we encounter, the better."

The train went quiet once again as they weighed their options. In an odd way, the situation felt a bit familiar. Matt was alone when he arrived so many months ago. They did their best to keep his presence hidden from the public. Now, Manehattan notwithstanding, things were reversed. Though who would know better about how to approach a big – and likely terrified – city than one of their own kind?

"Sooooo," Twilight chimed in, "what do you all think?"

-----

The sun had to pick that morning of all mornings to shine in the window as brightly as possible. If only the train could fly down the tracks as fast as they supposedly did in Japan. At least then Matt's head wouldn't have hit his pillow at nearly three in the morning. The drive was going to be just wonderful, he had no doubt.

The girls probably felt just as groggy too. Well, maybe not Applejack – she did tend to get up with the chickens. They could get all the extra sleep they wanted as long as they were all ready to go when he swung by to pick them up.

As he stopped along a preplanned route, thankfully everypony was ready to go with their saddlebags draped over their backs. Twilight brought some research material, some snacks and, most importantly, a map. Applejack brought some drinks as well as the requested shovel. Fluttershy had a book for herself and some extra food, and Pinkie and Rainbow Dash had some sweets and a few small games respectively. However, the streak came to an end when they reached Carousel Boutique.

Matt was afraid of this.

"Rarity, we're not going to a fashion show! Just grab a few necessities and let's go!" Matt hollered as they waited impatiently in the lobby. The posh mare hadn't come downstairs since she woke up and was likely doing a long but predictable list of things in the bathroom. "The sun's already been up a couple hours! We're late as it is!"

"Making myself looking proper is a necessity of mine!" she yelled back.

"Oh for God's sake, can someone talk some sense into her? Please? We gotta go!"

The speedster zipped over to the bottom of the staircase, hovering in the air. "Rarity, nopony else is going to see you! Stop getting all dolled up, for crying out loud!"

A rattle of noise erupted from upstairs, probably from the unicorn angrily slamming her make-up kit closed on the counter. "Oh, fine, fine. Need just a minute to get my things."

"Rarity!"

"They're ready to go already!" The group sighed in relief as hoofsteps started making their way down the stairs a moment later. As the dressmaker came down and rounded the corner, the single step Matt and the others took toward the door came to a screeching halt as one oversized bag after another after another followed behind her. After a good half dozen bags and suitcases, a crate almost as big as her settled down on the floor. While Fluttershy and Pinkie stared, bewildered, the others each gave the unicorn a hard glare.

"And where the hell am I supposed to put all that?" Matt asked.

"...Strap them to the roof?" A smirk was the only response she got as the young man curiously walked over to the crate and opened it up. He picked up the largest item inside and held it up for her, asking with nothing but an annoyed smirk what its purpose was. "It's my industrial strength hair dryer and I can't live without it," she whined.

"No." He unceremoniously dropped it back into its container and locked it closed. Spying the diamond-adorned saddlebag hanging from Rarity's side, he pried it open and glanced over its simple contents – a couple snacks, some bottled water and a romance novel. "What's wrong with this? This is fine."

"Wait, please, just one more thing." Not wanting to fuel any anger starting to bubble up to the surface, Rarity quickly went through her bags until she found a hair brush and slid it in beside the book.

Matt thumbed toward the door, finished with playing games. With a whimper and a pout, the lady looked over her luggage and sadly trotted ahead of the others, leaving Matt standing there wearily, shaking his head and sighing. "I swear if that girl ever hooks up with anyone, they better know how to tell her 'no' from time to time," he muttered to what he believed was himself.

"Come on now, you know how she can be sometimes," Applejack said, patting him on the back. He nearly jumped in surprise, worried that others may have heard and may not be so gracious. Fortunately, the others were far enough away, mostly out the door by now. "Matt, I...before we get goin', I wanted to say I'm sorry for what I said on the train last night. You're only tryin' to keep us safe. I just...I just want to see you safe too, y'know?"

He glanced down at her only for her to avert her gaze. With a tiny grin, he pulled the brim of her hat over her eyes and started to head out. "Come on. We need to get going."

"Heh, right."

-----

After finally getting on the road and out of Ponyville, it didn't take terribly long to find their first delay. Not even out of view of Canterlot, they stumbled upon a downed telephone pole. A quick scan revealed the same as everything else – nothing. While they encountered mostly hilly grasslands along the way, the fact that that particular SUV wasn't made for off-road driving slowed things down more than Matt would have liked.

A thick forest had appeared in the distance not long after they started to get hungry. The vehicle came to a stop several yards from the first row of trees. May as well grab a bite to eat before diving headfirst into a potentially treacherous bit of land to navigate. Plus it gave the group some time to scout for any pathways the Blazer could fit through.

Matt figured it was probably best that they were facing the worst terrain right away and while the sun was high in the sky. According to Twilight's map, they could have gone directly north and eventually veered east later on but would have encountered a denser array of trees. Beyond the forest in front of them was mostly smooth sailing save for a couple tricky hills. Once they reached the beach, they could simply head north from there.

After a few hours of trudging through the woods, constantly stopping, backing up and snaking past the seemingly impassable, they finally managed to see light at the end of the leafy tunnel. The young man glanced down at the odometer – they had barely gone a hundred miles. Great. Still, he did make an accurate assumption that they may have to crash in the car at least one night.

However, not far out of the woods, they came across more chaos than they had seen yet, which meant only more delays. A few more vehicles, including a school bus, an abandoned, graffiti-riddled factory – which the group took a tour in – a toppled billboard and a small statue were among the new arrivals. Just as before, Twilight detected nothing.

Another hour into their drive, they had stumbled upon a dark Circle-K, but not an unmanned one. Not as soon as they had stepped inside were they chased out by a screaming man wielding a baseball bat and speaking what sounded like Spanish – he was hollering too loudly and too fast for Matt to be sure. He also couldn't help but notice how the man barely took his eyes off the girls and had ducked behind the counter once he was sure he had scared them off.

As they hopped back in the car, Matt glanced up at the sky. In only a couple more hours, Celestia would be putting the sun to bed and they were farther behind than he would have liked. At least the terrain had been cooperative and he could cover some more ground faster. He checked the odometer once more before getting a move on. About two hundred and eighty miles. He wondered how many extra miles he drove weaving in and out of that damned forest.

Roughly thirty minutes more passed, and he glanced to his left for a moment, taking in the lack of sights. Suddenly, the sun decided to pick then of all times to shine brightly in through the window. But something struck him as peculiar. It had been a calm, quiet day out, no clouds in the sky. The sun's rays hadn't bothered him at all. So, why now?

"Uhhh..." Applejack muttered, still sitting in the front seat. The girls looked up from their activities, curious as to what had shaken her up.

Matt too spun around to face her and followed her eyes out the windshield. What he thought had been sunlight glowed just as brightly in front of him and exploded in a flash a second later, leaving the truck suddenly barreling toward a sunglasses kiosk at fifty miles an hour. He slammed on the brakes as hard as he could, the rubber tires squealing loudly on the new tile floor below it.

"Shit!"

Comments

[lumberjack]

Ah the old "sunglasses kiosk appearing out of nowhere" bit. I like it.

So, they're hoping to interact with this cloud thing, which is looming over a recently-imported city, and they're trying to go through a city of people who've just been dumped into the middle of some unknown place, with no roads out of the city and noticeable landscape changes? They're going to see this 4x4 coming on in and say "Oh yeah sure bud, come on in, the more the merrier"? Nuh-uh, don't think so. Shenanigans will vastly increase as soon as they enter the city.

[someone else]

4427888 Shenanigans, so long as that "Sun and then flash" was not wording for a nuclear detonation.

[Arexander]

4428034
No no no, the sun and the flash were the sunglasses kiosk appearing.

Also, Spaceballs reference!

[Markuma]

This story is so fun to read! Watching it for possible cultural references is also entertaining. Also wonder what's up in Applejacks ponie mind about Matt. *grin*

[Markuma]

Pony*

[1Bit]

That Spaceballs reference though :D AWESOME!!!

[Therisinghero]

CAREFUL YOU IDIOT I SAID ACROSS HER NOSE NOT UP IT

[RomanceLover7]

He picked up the largest item inside and held it up for her, asking with nothing but an annoyed smirk what its purpose was. "It's my industrial strength hair dryer and I can't live without it," she whined.

Spaceballs… watch out!
A Spaceballs reference. Nice.