Life in the Fast Lane

by TheAmazingMe

Bridge Over Troubled Water Part 2

My ears flattened against my skull. The very idea that my husband might have brought the ire of a seriously unscrupulous pony down on us made my blood boil. That this was also the same unscrupulous pony who nearly derailed my writing career with a fake bribery attempt sent me into a rage I’d only experienced once before.

With a calm that frightened even myself, I spoke. “Dad, evacuate and keep an eye on the bridge. If there’s a problem, signal us.” Dad must’ve caught the look on my face because he was gone after a short hug.

I turned to the rail engineer with whom we’d been working. “Engineer, decouple the engine. I’m going to send the manticore off the other end of the bridge.”

“I have a name.” He muttered as he exited the engine room.

“Div, we're going to talk.” I said, not bothering to turn to look at him. "Genuíne nearly destroyed my career. You're a royal guard, my husband, and you have a child. If you brought her wrath down on us, there's no telling what she'll do or how far she'll go to destroy us. I need to know what happened between you and her while I was gone."

Div stood next to me and looked ahead. “I don’t know if this is the best time to talk.”

“Don’t try and change the subject. We are talking about Genuíne Article. She tried to blackmail me with a phony bribe after I wrote an article for her. Now you’ve obviously gotten a lot more involved, especially if she’s trying to kill us.” Div didn’t look at me at all during my entire rant, instead maintaining focus in front of him.

“Div, are you even listening?” I started, but he held up a hoof. "This is important!"

He turned my head without taking his eyes off of what was in front of us. The manticore's tail, left hind leg and right forepaw had gotten free. “Oh. Well, that’ll make things easier. I have to retie it to the engine anyway. Might as well take care of this now, but don't think you're off the hook, bub.” With that, I walked back out in front of the train, Div trailing after.

The manticore roared at me as I drew near. Seizing it in my magic, I spoke slowly and calmly. “I’m not here to hurt you. You’ve been hurt. I’m going to heal that shoulder and send you on your way. It’s not your fault; you were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

“Life what are you doing?” Div hissed as I got close enough to touch my horn to the manticore’s shoulder. I didn’t answer as I focused on knitting together muscle and skin. It wasn’t deep; manticore’s were very tough creatures. The creature’s growling ceased as it realized I was helping it. As I stepped away, the beast regarded me with less hostility. I'd have to remember to thank Crimson Cross for the healing lessons.

“If it was up to me, I’d let you go now. My husband, on the other hoof, isn’t thrilled with you still. So, I’m going to send you down the line, a bit. You’ll be the first manticore to travel by train.” It didn't seem as excited about the prospect, but aside from a bit of wiggling, it didn't outright attack me. Seemed to be more confused than anything else.

I loosened the remaining tethers and drew it close to the grill of the engine. Then I retied it to the engine, taking care to make sure it would be safe until it was far away from us. It looked less than thrilled, but had stopped roaring. Maybe I earned a small measure of trust.

The engineer called from the train. “The engine is decoupled.”

Div sidled up beside me. “What do you have planned?”

“I’ll show you.” I said.

Re-entering the engine, I stopped to dry off. The weather had become truly spectacular. The rain hadn’t let up and now high winds buffeted us at irregular intervals.

I formed a glowing circle on the rear of the engine. On the outer edge I marked some runes and sealed over that with another circle. Adding some finishing touches and double checking my work, I leaned back satisfied. “You learn a few tricks at the SGU. This particular circle amplifies the force exerted on an object without destroying it. Helpful not only for sending water balloons flying with minimal effort, but also for our purpose here. One kick and this engine should go down the line like an arrow from a bow. Div, if you would do the honors?”

I stepped aside as Div took his position. He lined up his rear hooves and gave the magical circle a might buck. The engine and its unwilling passenger went off like a bolt. The manticore would be far away by the time it could safely disembark.

I turned to the others and smiled. “Simple as pie, right?”

A flash of light soared above us, exploding into a shower of silvery sparks. Dad’s signal. “I think it’s high time we get off this bridge.” The engineer turned and started galloping through the empty train. I followed and Div brought up the rear.

I could feel the train shaking under hoof. There were five carriages; three passenger cars, the dining car, and the luggage in the caboose. We made it halfway through the last passenger car when the floor shuddered violently beneath us.

“Hurry!” I yelled, unnecessarily. The engineer put on an extra burst of speed and we kept up. I glanced behind me to make sure Div was there. He didn’t even look particularly perturbed, though his expression was serious.

“Eyes forward, Life!” He called out. I turned back around and galloped for all I was worth.

When we made it nearly out of the dining car, the floor dropped out from underneath us. As we struggled back to our hooves, the floor took on a distressing uphill angle. The bridge was collapsing underneath us!

“Move! Keep moving!” Div yelled.

The engineer cleared the dining car in record time. I stood, but my front right ankle protested. Taking a few test steps, I gritted my teeth and pushed through the pain. It felt sprained, but we were nearly there.

Div pulled abreast of me and caught my grimace and limp. “Lean on me, Life. We’re going to make it.”

I barely registered the sensation of the train moving underneath us. The brakes protested, but their fight would be in vain. We had to get off the train to survive. The luggage car looked mostly empty, giving us room to pass through to the rear door. I blasted the rear rail inelegantly and we jumped off the end. Div and I panted as I looked behind us.

The train picked up speed behind us and I got a glimpse of the trouble we were still in. Dad's magical glow held the bridge together where we stood, but a hundred feet behind us, the bridge had collapsed. The track slanted downwards towards the collapsed section.

“Life, Div, hurry! I can’t hold this!” Dad’s voice called out over the storm. Div and I stumbled, the bridge shaking despite dad’s best efforts. I looked up, dad stood at the edge of the bridge, mom beside him lending him her magical strength. They both looked near-spent, the weight of the bridge and train must've worn them down. Open had her hooves full keeping Bruiser from running onto the bridge.

“Div! Dad! Hurry!” Bruiser cried out.

The shaking was incredible, the winds threatening to blow the bridge apart beneath us if it didn’t blow us off first. Rain had slicked the metal rails, making putting one hoof in front of the other difficult. Mom dropped in exhaustion, her horn glow winking out. There was still fifty feet of bridge to go, the uphill battle as difficult as it was nerve wracking.

“Life, we’ve got to…” Div started, then the glow illuminating and supporting the bridge went out. Dad must have collapsed as well. It was hard to see now with the glow gone. The shaking intensified and the floor dropped again. We were going to go with the bridge!

Thinking quickly, I tethered Div and I together and then the both of us to the bridge supports that remained on the side of the gorge. As the bridge collapsed under us, we started swinging towards the gorge wall. It was sheer luck that the collapsing bridge missed striking us as we fell. Div turned us so he took the brunt of the impact against the wall of the gorge. His armor could only protect him so well; I was certain I heard a sickening pop.

Div went limp beside me. Taking his head in my hooves, I could see that he’d passed out. I shook him to no avail. “Div, dammit, look at me! Div, wake up! Div!” Striking the side of his helmet, I finally got a response.

“Remind me to never travel by train again.” Div muttered in my ear.

I laughed nervously, trying not to think of the seemingly endless space below us. Screwing my eyes shut, I fought to rein in my breathing. Div rubbed my back, with detachment I noticed his hoof was bare. His hoof-guard must’ve fallen off.

“Div, I can’t hold us like this.” I admitted finally.

“Just breathe Ly, I’m sure we can think of a way out of this.” He said, pressing his forehead against mine.

“Div, we’ve got to be fifty feet from the top. I’ve used up so much magic I can barely think straight. And, I don’t know if you noticed, but there weren’t a lot of other passengers near the cliff edge.” We sank a few inches as I spoke.

“Don’t give up on me, Life. We have a son to raise. Fight!” Urgently, he pressed his lips to my forehead.

“Div, I-I love you.” My tone gave me away. Div’s eyes focused on mine.

“Life, we are going to make it. Both of us!” His eyes flashed with worry.

We sank lower. “I can’t hold us here much longer.”

“Let me go!” He cried. “Save yourself, Ly.”

“No! How could you even think I’d do that?” I argued.

The rain made it hard to tell, but his voice held the edge of tears. “Life, I can’t live without you. Please hold on.”

For the third time, we sank. Now we had to be at least a few feet lower than where we started. “Div, I can’t. I’m losing my hold as we speak.”

“Let me get out of this armor then!” He said, shucking off his remaining hoof-guards and tossing his helmet. The storm covered the noise of them falling. He tried wrestling with his breastplate, but we sank again.

“Don’t have the time, love. I’m sorry.” Inhaling, I made up my mind.

He stopped fussing with his armor and looked me in the eye. My expression didn’t seem to encourage him. “Don’t you apologize, Life, you just hold on.”

“Someone has to survive, Div. Our families can’t lose both of us.” I reasoned, turning us so that my back was against the sheer cliff.

His voice grew panicked. “I can’t lose you!”

Looking up into the sky, I sent a wish up that this would work. I had to save him. “I love you.” I reminded him.

He locked his lips on mine and clutched me close in his forehooves. A tear slid down my cheek as I gripped him in my magic. He tried to hold onto me, but my magical will overpowered his physical ability. Severing the magical tether holding him to me, I crafted the increased force glyph on the cliff behind me to propel us up in an arc with the tether I still held on the bridge support. Pushing away from the wall, I ignored his pleas and threw him magically, sending him flying to solid ground. As he disappeared from sight, I lost my hold on the support and fell.

Author's Note:

Life over?

Div takes the POV helm next chapter.

Please send corrections via PM, all other assorted and sundry down below, thank you!

Much luv.

Comments

[The Forgotten Comrade]

Well the rest of the family isn't going to be happy. Fried Genuine anyone?

[Skarsnik]

Oh shit, that... sad :(