86 - Choo Choo
Several days later, Silver, Twilight, Spike, and Rainbow Dash boarded a train headed for Manehattan. They were given exclusive use of one of the cars and made themselves comfortable on the broad cushioned seats that were more like beds than standard train chairs.
Rainbow smiled at Spike. "So, who're you gonna try and get an autograph from?"
They began chatting animatedly about comic series, and which ones were 'totally cool' or 'lame'. Silver looked to Twilight, speaking gently. "I was hoping to discuss a little something."
Twilight perked an ear. "You've looked like you had something on your mind for a few days now. What's up?"
Silver huffed softly. "Nothing too big a deal, it's just, since you made the princess circle, we shouldn't confuse things more than they already are. I wanted to make sure we're on the same page with the herd?"
Twilight looked confused a moment before she caught up. "Oh! I see, yes. I suppose I don't need to marry into the herd if we're already bound together."
Twilight pinkened a moment and nodded. "Then we're settled." She reached out and poked Silver on the nose. "See, no need to be scared. Just talk to me. I'm a reasonable pony."
Silver nuzzled Twilight softly. "You're too good to me. Looking forward to the convention?"
Twilight smiled and chuckled. "I'm coming for Spike. Comics are not my kind of book."
Spike wandered over to them. "Hey, did you read today's paper?"
Twilight tilted her head. "I didn't get a chance to grab a copy before we left."
Spike produced one and handed it to twilight. "You two are on the cover!"
There it was, big as day. 'Princesses to Attend...' Twilight sighed softly. "I'm not sure which was worse, being unknown, or this. It wouldn't bother me as much if we didn't have enemies of late."
Spike raised a brow. "Enemies? What enemies?"
Silver tilted her head at Spike. "Didn't you see we got attacked at the coronation?"
Spike waved a claw. "I wasn't there. 'Ponies only' or something like that. I'm guessing it wasn't any big deal."
Twilight gave a little nod. "Silver and I handled the situation, with some timely assistance from Night. But they are at large." She frowned a little. "Maybe we should turn back."
Spike's expression fell, and Silver spoke up, "Twilight, we promised Spike. We can handle ourselves, can't we? Besides, we've made promises to the convention itself. If we don't show up, it'll be a huge deal. We'll make a lot of ponies very sad."
Rainbow suddenly landed in the middle of them. "Did I hear right? Somepony's gonna try and make some trouble on my watch? Don't worry, Twilight, I'll keep you safe." Rainbow nodded firmly. "You've got a pegasus for eyes in the sky. Nopony will get close to you."
Silver drew out her spell book. She flipped back and forth a moment before an idea came to her and she began scribing a new spell. It came slowly at first, but she quickly found her old groove and was smiling broadly as she worked. "I forgot how fun it is to make a spell."
Twilight scowled a little. "There you go, just doing that so casually. Show it to me when you're done."
"Aye aye." Silver crossed out the last section of the spell and went back over it, trying to juggle the variables in her head. "Maybe one more theta..." It wasn't until supper time that Silver set the book down, looking satisfied.
Twilight perked an ear at her. "So, what's that supposed to do? That took a while. You normally finish in minutes, not hours."
Silver tilted her head and nodded. "It was very complicated. Not powerful, but delicate." She rose to her hooves and stretched. "And I'm ready for some food."
Twilight pointed at Silver. "We'll get some, but you're not getting away without telling us what you've been working on all day."
Silver gestured out the window. "Remember that foal-cleaning spell we made together?"
Twilight chuckled a little. "It cleaned you, if I remember."
Silver stuck out her tongue. "Beside the point. The spell could track and identify several ponies in a crowd, and that's the part I needed. In this case, it should make any pony using actual spells glow like a christmas tree."
Spike blinked with a huh. "Christmas tree?"
"Oh, uh, Hearth's Warming tree?"
Spike gave a thumbs up. "Gotcha."
Twilight rolled a hoof as her speech started to become frantic. "What if somepony's using a perfectly harmless spell? What if we're attacked physically? What if they're far away?"
Rainbow set a hoof on Twilight's withers. "Easy there, Twi. No need to melt down. We have this under control. Just believe in me, Rainbow Danger Dash!"
It was time for food, worries or not, and they pulled the provided rope to summon service. A smiling pegasus arrived and took their orders. When she left, a letter was left in her trail. Silver plucked it up with her magic. She unfolded it and scanned over it.
Dear Princess Silver Stars,
Sorry it took so long to get this to you. Your little excursion has drawn them out of hiding. They're moving against you, my little bird of the night. This will be your best chance to catch them, or for them to catch you. Look for a big yellow horse of a pony, or a little nerd of a unicorn with off-purple fur. They're desperate enough to attack you in public, so be on watch always.
Hugs and Kisses,
Starlight
Twilight tugged at the letter lightly with her magic. "What is that?" Silver let her have it and Twilight was soon frowning. "Why is Starlight Glimmer sending you clandestine letters?"
Silver shrugged. "I told you she promised to send one. She said she'd tell me who to look for, and here it is. She did what she promised she'd do."
Twilight sighed. "I suppose she did at that. I don't trust her." She shook her head. "But you already knew that. I couldn't convince Fluttershy not to trust Discord, I doubt I'll get through to you. I can only hope you do as well as she did."
Rainbow pointed at the letter. "So, big yellow and little purple? I'll have them pinned down in no time at all."
Twilight raised a hoof. "Don't go leaping at every yellow pony you see. Just keep an eye on them. I'm sure there's more than one large yellow pony in a city the size of Manehatten, or small purple unicorns." She raised a brow. "I would have qualified before becoming a princess."
The food arrived on brightly-polished trays. Well-cooked and tasty, conversations died down in favor of filling bellies. Spike was enjoying a plate full of emeralds and sapphires. Silver perked an ear at Spike. "So... What's it like, eating a rock like that?"
Spike shrugged softly. "Ever eat hard candy?" Silver nodded. "Like that. I crunch it up and it's like a little taste explosion. Sometimes I suck on it and let it melt instead. Either way works, but it's different."
"Like hard candy..." Silver nodded slowly with understanding. "An expensive habit. How did you ever enjoy it before Twilight became a princess?"
Spike hiked a thumb in the vague direction of Ponyville. "Well Rarity could find gems, that helped! I'd dig them up and she'd let me eat some of them. We both won! Shame she couldn't come with us to the convention."
Rainbow Dash gave a soft pfft. "She's probably working on a dress or something."
Spike raised a claw. "Actually yes. She's getting ready for the next big fashion show. She'll be in Manehattan in a month or two, funny enough. Maybe I'll go with her then." He got a dreamy look in his eyes, likely plotting out their visit far in advance.
Twilight shook her head, "I'm just glad you came along, Rainbow. I haven't been spending enough time with my old friends."
Rainbow smiled brightly. "Good to be here! Uh, Applejack would have come along, but she has to work. She said to send her best."
Twilight nodded. "I know that feeling. We'll be sure to get her a souvenir. What about Pinkie and Fluttershy?"
Spike snorted. "We want to attend the convention, not crash it. Pinkie thinks every convention is an unending party."
Twilight sighed and sank. "And she'll do whatever it takes to make sure that's true, I get it. And Fluttershy?"
Rainbow chuckled. "You really want to put Fluttershy in a room full of pushing and jostling ponies all talking eagerly about comic book heroes?"
Twilight flopped onto the bed/cushion. "Granted. Well at least my number one assistant is here, and you, Rainbow Dash." Twilight gave a smile and sat up. "We should arrive in the morning, let's get some sleep before then. We want to be fresh for what promises to be a very full weekend."
Rainbow rolled her eyes as she began to draw down the blinds on the windows. "Full of something alright. I'll be ready for it."
The car became still and quiet, and soon enough sleep came to its inhabitants. Manehattan could wait one more evening for them.
Stats
Page generated in 0.052 seconds
Total duration
950 users online
410,345 hits today, 2,561,572 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
5958202 I just saw it. Finally some actual plot progression that isn't about Silver's 'Super herd'.
~Crystalline Electrostatic~
5958212 That was a very backhanded appreciation.
5958215 Indeed it was. But it's all in good humor.
And you should call it the 'Super Herd' from now on...
~Crystalline Electrostatic~
Maybe the typos will break out in song and dance and give us a show while there. Or they maybe be performing on Bridleway.
find
5958241 Those gems should be fined... for being too fabulous!
5958252
It looks like the next chapter will be exciting. I can't wait. Keep up the good work you are doing.
Dragonfox
my question do we trust Starlight ???
I am not sure way but I have a feeling she will be ok in the long run.
Silver is laying the ground work for RD and AJ with Twilight.
sorry this post is not normal for me but I have spent the last 2 days in the sun striping a barn roof so I am a bit tired.
Harts Fire
5959017 Raise this barn, raise this barn. Applejack approves.
That "foal-cleaning" spell.
On "brightly-polished" trays.
There needs to be a closing quotation mark at the end of this sentence.
Delete the second quotation mark.
I'd change that first period to a comma.
So Twilight confirms that she's not marrying into the herd since they're already part of a "circle" of princesses. The problem with this, that I have, is how undefined all of these things are. Leaving aside how marrying into a herd seems to require little except saying "we're married" in front of a princess, we have absolutely no idea what this "circle" structure actually means. I've joked about it being the equivalent of a "civil union," but that's only because we have so little to go on. It's implied to function just like a marriage, except...er, it's called something else? The ambiguity here is fairly thick, and I suspect that's the case from an in-character standpoint as well. That, of course, is all the more reason why I think the nobles are going to bring the proverbial hammer on this pretty hard. Twilight just making something up for the convenience of her alicorn "wives," is - if nothing else - an encroachment on their legal domain.
So Starlight made good on her promise. This underlines the question of why she keeps buttering up Silver to begin with, since her job to steal Silver's cutie mark is over now. She's clearly not sincere in wanting to reform, so what's her angle with flirting with Silver? I suppose she honestly could be smitten by her, but that doesn't seem likely. She also doesn't use cutie marks herself, simply stealing them for ideological purposes (notwithstanding how she was willing to steal Silver's for payment). I can't figure out her endgame here.
Of course, we know a lot more about her than we do about this cabal that's apparently desperate to attack Silver. Nothing about them makes sense. They pay Starlight to try and steal her cutie mark for unknown reasons. They send an assassin to take a shot at all four alicorns in public in a move that they know will fail, but are so determined to "send a message" that the attack is willing to commit suicide to do it, despite it having no practical impact whatsoever except to give away their element of surprise. Now they're "desperate" - which suggests that they're operating under some sort of severe constraints that they perceive will only get worse if they keep waiting - to get Silver at the convention. So basically, it's all questions and no answers. Who are these ponies? Why is attacking Silver so important to them, to the point that they'll die for even the most ill-considered attempt to do it? Why are they "desperate" to get her now? Hopefully we'll find out soon.
Rainbow is rather cute here, trying to get closer to Twilight while still hiding her feelings. That said, I didn't like how nonchalant Night and Twilight were about Twilight not joining the herd. Night's casual "by the way, I don't really love you" statement seems honest, but at the same time seems to fly in the face of what they were all honestly trying to work towards before. Night and Twilight were previously established as having the potential to be very good friends due to their similar mindsets, and I seem to recall some very sweet words being exchanged on that four-way date they had, to say nothing of Night being rather bitter when Twilight said that she didn't want to marry them before (right when Cadance arrived in Ponyville, remember that? Fast was the only one who flat-out said she didn't care about Twilight's feelings). But now Night has no feelings for Twilight at all? I call foul...they were still growing, but they were there.
The same goes for Twilight. I can see her saying that it's fine since they're already "married," but when that inevitably falls apart when the laws are rewritten, I doubt she'll be able to avoid joining the herd proper, much to Rainbow and AJ's dismay.
Huh, coulda sworn Night was told not to attend due to her expanding proportions and sensitive condition.
5959872 Shoot! Critical failure on my part. I will have to fix that tomorrow.
5959680 Typos fixed, but Night also surgically removed from the chapter, obliterating some of your questions and likely replacing them with new ones. I'm thankful I don't make such plot goofs that often, but that was a biggun.
Night isn't there to object or agree with the Twilight's not joining the herd, for better or worse.
Why are these ponies chasing Silver & Friends in an inefficient manner instead of brutally murdering them the first time? We may find out! Or not. No one's even promised these are all the same people, but would that be better or worse?
Will Twilight and Silver regret not going through with the herd on top of the princess circle? Time will tell!
Yo, at this last scene, Twilight said that she was glad to be here with her number one assisant and her friend Rainbow Dash, but didn't mention Silver. That is so rude!
6345164 Forgive Twi.
Hmm. What if the purple and yellow ponies are the good guys coming to intercept the attack. Then while the crew is dealing with the decoys Starlight set up, the real attack can happen. It's certainly diabolical enough.
Hmm, doesn't that describe the Itinerant King & co.?
Is the magical alphabet greek?
7320187 That would explain so much.
Add a space before that “and”.
THAT’S RACIST!!!
8905577
Fixed, partially. Racism lives on.
Something about these paragraphs seem off.