The Elements of Pure Energy

by The Collective

Chapter 4: On the Road to Canterlot

“All aboard!” the train conductor yelled. The group of 12 ponies walked single-file through the doors of the Ponyville Express and found their seats. Celestia had given them a first class coach all to themselves. The band of ponies sat in the cabin rows facing each other. The Elements of Harmony sat on the the left side of the cabin, the new ponies sat on the right. The ride to canterlot was more than half of a day, so there was plenty of time to talk.

Nick could see quite plainly that Twilight Sparkle was the leader of her team. She was able to command her friends to do what needed to be done, she carried herself well, and she always had a plan. Nick wasn’t sure how he was becoming his team’s leader though. Somehow the others looked to him when there were things to be done. Granted, Nick had experience in leadership, but he didn’t expect it to come so quickly. Nick saw this train ride as a good opportunity to ask Twilight for some leadership tips. He quietly began making a list of questions as the train continued down the track.

The train rumbled down the track noisily as each pony retreated into their own minds. The quiet was bothering Scipio. Or, rather, the lack of conversation was. The train was quite loud. To alleviate the burden of the train, and to make sure he didn’t start talking to himself, Scipio decided to start up a conversation.

“So this one time, I was playing airsoft. And it was awesome. There were twelve of us pinned down at Whiskey Outpost by two hundred ragheads. No, I’m not exaggerating. It was twelve versus two hundred. But we had a base and they didn’t. So, anyways, my team and I are just sittin’ there pwning some idiots when a tornado grenade comes arching over the wall. Then I caught it. No joke. I. CAUGHT. A. BUCKING. GRENADE.”

“Uhh Skippy, what’s a grenade?”

“Don’t interrupt! I wasn’t even at the good part!” He took a huge breath, then stopped. “Wait!” Scipio looked at the pink mare in confusement, “You don’t know what a grenade is?”

“Nope! Is it candy? I love candy! If it’s candy I want to catch one too!”

Scipio’s hoof met his face at novel speeds.

“No, in real life its something that explodes and kills lots of people. In airsoft it just sprays people with bb’s so they are eliminated.”

“Oh yeah! I forgot to ask, what is airsoft?”

“I didn’t explain it to you? Oh sweet Celestia... Jon, please?”

“I have your back, Skip. Pinkie, airsoft is considered by many to be a backyard game. However, to the more intense players like Skip, it is more than a game. It is a military simulation. Essentially, teams dress up in army uniforms and use realistic bb-guns to simulate real guns. If you get hit by a bb, you are ‘dead.’ This means that you are out for the rest of the match.”

“Why would you want to pretend to kill people? That’s just silly!”

“Humans are much more... violent... than ponies. Killing and warfare is much more day-to-day and glory on the battlefield is a good thing. Throughout history, -”

Scipio put a hoof to his mouth and made a gagging noise. “Ewww, history.”

“And what is wrong with history, Scipio?” a female voice interjected. Scipio looked over and saw Twilight with a flustered expression. However, before he could answer, Rainbow Dash spoke up.

“Nothing’s wrong with it... for eggheads. But if you’re normal, it’s boring.”

Felix chuckled. He couldn’t help agreeing with every word that came out of Rainbow Dash’s mouth. “So, when’s dinner? Or lunch? I haven’t eaten in like... 2 whole hours!” he groaned.

Rarity, who was sitting right next to him, nudged him reprovingly. “Be patient, Felix!” she said, “You’re being rude!”

“Lighten up, Rarity, the big man’s gotta eat!” yelled Gabriel as he flung his arms into the air. He nodded towards Felix as if to say, ‘you’re welcome’.

“We’ve been on this train a few times, we should be gettin’ some grub pretty quick here,” responded Applejack.

“Well...” Started a rather quiet voice, “I was getting kind of hungry...food right now would be nice...if that didn’t bother anyone,” Rufus looked over at Fluttershy and nodded in agreement.

“Yeah, when I used to take care of animals, they would always be picky about when and where they wanted their food,” he continued.

“Animals? You take care of them too?” Fluttershy’s eyes lit up as a smile suddenly beamed across her face.

“Yeah, I mostly take care of snakes but I really like animals,” Rufus found that he could easily identify with the yellow pegasus, who now began conversing with Rufus.

Nick had very mixed feelings about this whole discourse; his team was very different. Sure, it was nice to see them all act so jovially, but he couldn’t help but worry about whether the team could hold together in times of trouble.

As the sun lowered in the sky, a waiter pony came in and handed out menus.

“The finest array of Canterlot cuisine from Canterlot itself, for the guests of her lady, Princess Celestia,” he bowed, then gave them time to decide what they wanted to eat.

Felix slowly flipped through the pages, then frowned and flipped through them again. “Uh...” he cleared his throat, “where’s the meat?”

“Yea,” nodded Scipio in agreement, “I can only find vegetarian dishes on here.”

The conversation stopped immediately. The females stared incredulously at the two who spoke.

“You- you can’t be serious, can you?” asked Rarity with eyes wide. Fluttershy squeaked quietly with ears drawn back in fear.

Scipio’s eyes ran back and forth in the train cart. His headphones roared with the crescendo of a whole orchestra of violins.

But suddenly the music stopped. A lone flute played a soft melody.

Nick quickly seized control of the situation, “Haha what a morbid joke, guys,” he said, winking. Gradually, everyone started chuckling, then they burst into laughter- each for their own reasons. Rufus wiped his brow nervously and let out a sigh.

After they received their food (without any meat, of course), the conversation turned towards everyone’s special talents. The mares explained the concept of the “cutie mark” to those who hadn’t heard it, then they explained each of theirs.

“Well, how about ya’ll?” asked Applejack. Twilight nodded vigorously. “Yes! Tell us yours! We’ll go this way around the table,” she said, pointing at Gabriel first.

“Well,” he said, looking down at his flank, “mine is a prism, so that obviously means...” he trailed off. Everyone leaned in.

“I have absolutely no idea,” he finished with a smile. Half the audience rolled their eyes, the other half chuckled.

Jonathan was sitting next to Gabriel. “Well, my turn. My ‘cutie mark’ is a pair of squinting eyes. So that probably means that my ‘special talent’ is discernation or inductive reasoning, if I’m not mistaken,” he sniffed and inspected his hoof modestly. “Your turn-” he started, but was interrupted by Pinkie.

“Ohh! Show us!” she yelled loudly, pounding her hooves on the table.

He cracked his neck and regulated his breathing. His eyes swept towards Rufus, who was sitting next to him. “Rufus... You work at a zoo, but not for the money. You enjoy taking care of animals, but a certain type more than the others. Lets see.. amphibious? Not quite. Snake most likely. What type you ask? Hard to tell, except not if you know their biomes. By the residue on your hooves I would have to guess Asian or Indian. Since you work at a zoo, most likely the Burmese Python- one of the largest snakes in the world. Very big attraction at a zoo. Now that brings about the attention of where you live- or lived rather. Difficult to tell, now that you have changed species. But, judging by the residue in your left ear and the slight accent you have, I would have to say Florida in the United States- which helps my theory of the Burmese Python, due to the fact that they also live there. Any questions?”

Everyone’s jaws were almost touching the table, except for Scipio, who was just smiling.

“No? Right. Scipio, I know you already, it would hardly be fair to repeat that on you. So we move on to Nicholas. Let’s see... slightly nearsighted, due to spending too much time on the computer. How are those wrists treating you? You know you can get carpal tunnel syndrome from too much typing. Hm, a doctor in training if I’m not mistaken, which, I’m not,” he laughed. “I take it that by your quiet calculating nature that you like to assume leadership positions, yes? May I assume that you were part of some organizations such as the Boy Scouts? You have most likely earned the Eagle Scout rank. Then, judging by the story of you fearlessly wading out into the raging waters during Felix’s episode, I take it that you like outdoor activities? Entering raging waters without trepidation doesn’t come without experience you know...” Jonathan paused and looked over at Nick, who was smiling.

“Fascinating!” exclaimed Nick in admiration, “That was very accurate...almost eerie.” Nick applauded as the other ponies murmured. Twilight had to push Rarity off of her, who had swooned and fallen on top of her.

“Moving on yet again to Felix. Lower, right wisdom tooth is impacted, which causes your clenched jaw. You hold a lot of anger in you, as apparent through the stress lines on your forehead and beneath your eyes. I’m guessing a fatherly figure has caused you this?” Felix grunted and shifted in his seat. “.. but not your birth father. You work as a.... mechanic? Assistant mechanic due to your age. But not in a car shop. In a... hmm... laboratory? Not quite. Something to that effect, though.” Felix narrowed his eyes.

“How could you possibly know these things?” he asked with a glare.

“Its quite obvious when you look at the facts given. As I stated earlier, the stress lines led me to believe you held an immense amount of anger inside you- stemming from your younger years. This could come from your parents. Mothers who walk out on their sons cause more sadness and depression than rage. Therefore that leaves your father, and when I mentioned him I knew to study your reaction. You gave me one, but not what I was looking for. If I had hit it spot on, you would have glared at me immediately. But since I was close, you became angry and uncomfortable. Now the stuff about the mechanic-”

“Enough!” Felix yelled, slamming his hooves down on the table. He flared his nostrils and some steam escaped from them. He pushed himself away from the table and made his way to the back of the cabin. As he slammed the door shut, the table cloth ignited where his hooves hit previously. Rainbow Dash and Jonathan hurriedly put out the fire.

“Good goin’, egghead,” Rainbow Dash muttered. Twilight and Nick also gave Jon a condescending gaze. He sighed heavily.

“My apologies everyone. I will make amends promptly,” he stated as he excused himself from the table.

“Well I guess you’ll never know me,” Gabriel scoffed and leaned back in his chair, hooves crossed behind his head.

Jonathan spun himself so that he faced Gabriel directly. “Please. Narcissist that enjoys the company of women by telling them horse-feathered lies. You trick your family and friends to gain social status and importance in the eyes of your peers. You are as fake as Pamela Anderson’s mammary glands and as two-faced as the change you carry in your pockets. I can read you easier than a book, sir, and you rival the Twilight series in your lack of good literature. Good night,” he bowed and made his way after Felix.

Gabriel didn’t utter a word. The only sounds in the otherwise quiet cabin were the dishes clanking together as the servants removed them and Pinkie Pie clapping her hooves together in awe.

~~~

Jonathan quietly shut the carriage door behind him and joined Felix as he stared out at the moonlight landscape around them. The train horn’s blare was lost to the wind; all that could be heard was the sound of the train’s engine chugging along the tracks. Jonathan took a deep breath, but before he could say anything, Felix spoke.

“Peaceful, isn’t it?”

Jonathan let out his pent up breath. “Yes, it is,” he smiled.

“That’s quite a trick you’ve got there, Jon. I hope you can teach me that one day. How do you do it?”

“Well, its elementar-”

“Don’t even say it.”

They both chuckled softly. Jon began to apologize. “Look, Felix, I didn’t mean to anger you, I just...”

“It’s alright,” Felix interrupted once again. “It’s just a touchy subject, you know? My father. I forgive you, by the way. No hard feelings and all that other buckery.” He groaned, “Sweet Luna I hate these new expletives. They have no where near the effect I want them to have.”

Jonathan nodded his agreement. “Quite silly indeed.”

They went back to staring at the beautiful night sky.

Felix sighed. “Wish I had a smoke...”

“I think I can supply that, actually. Here.” He handed Felix a cigarette.

“Wait, how did you know I smoked? Aww hell, don’t tell me. I faintly smell like smoke, or there are some tobacco leaves in my mane...”

“I saw you eyeing them at the train station and I decided to get them, just in case.”

“Ahh,” he laughed, “how about a light?”

“.... Ah horsefeathers....”

“I think I can supply that,” grinned Felix. He concentrated for a moment, and a small flame sprung up at the tip of his hoof. It illuminated their faces and the porch they stood on for a few moments while Felix lit the pipe. Jonathan watched in amazement. “You have to teach me how to do that,” he said. Felix tilted his head thoughtfully. “I’m pretty sure it’s my special power or something,” he explained as he placed the cigarette in his mouth.

He inhaled deeply, then rolled his shoulders and exhaled. “Ahh... much better. Not too bad for tobacco from Equine-stria.”

“I do believe it’s Equestria...”

“Whatever. Here,” he passed Jon the cigarette.

Jonathan stared at the tobacco before placing it in his mouth. He inhaled, and almost immediately started coughing.

Felix laughed boisterously and patted Jonathan on his back. “It’s alright, you’ll get it sooner or later,” he said while smiling.

“Haha, thanks,” replied Jonathan, returning the smile. “Right. I’m about to turn in. It was good chatting, Felix. Thanks for the smoke,” he patted Felix on the shoulder. The door clattered behind him, leaving Felix in solitude once again.

~~~

Jonathan is a valuable teammate. Nick thought, But Felix, on the other hand, is a loose cannon. I have to come up with a way to keep him stable... Nick tried to fold his hands in front of his face, as was custom to when he thought, but instead of interlocking fingers, his hooves collided and pressed against each other. Ah...yes, hooves. Regardless, Felix has quite the interest in Rainbow Dash, and luckily for him, she seems to return the interest. Nick was so focused on his thought train, that he didn’t notice everyone slowly start to stare at him. He sighed, “I suppose you want to hear about me now, correct?”

He scanned the colourful group of ponies around him.

“We gotta share! We gotta ca-” Rainbow Dash proceeded to forcefully slap her hoof over Pinkie Pie’s mouth, shutting her up.

"Go on, Nick,” Rainbow Dash smiled. Applejack silently thanked Celestia for a moment of peace.

“Well...as you can recall from Jonathan’s observations, I like to assume leadership positions. This has been a large part of my life, as I come from parents with great expectations. I don’t suppose you also have a de-facto leader, do you Twilight?” He glanced over at the purple mare who nodded in agreement.

“Well...yes, that leader usually happens to be me.” The other mares nodded in agreement. Nick smiled and lowered his hooves before continuing.

“Wonderful, I foresee us working together a lot in the future.” Twilight smiled as Nick continued. “ As for my cutie mark...a plus sign...a positive symbol... I’m positive this has something to do with my electrical abilities.” Nick waited as some snickers and groans went around the cabin. He chuckled and continued, “Bad puns aside, I find it rather odd that it isn’t a negative symbol, electrons are the negative parts of an atom after all, and electricity is free flowing electrons.” The rest of the ponies murmured: was this really the place for a science lecture? Twilight seemed a little curious, but Nick cleared his throat and continued, “Perhaps...I’m full of positive energy? I’m not sure yet. Whatever it might really be, I will do everything within my power to ensure that all goes well.” He resumed his silent and distant position as the rest of the cart began to murmur again. This was interrupted by Jonathan’s sudden re-entry. He had a pleased look on his face, and calmly trotted back to his spot.

“Rest assured,” he began, “Felix is doing all right.”

“I’m gonna check on him, just in case,” said Rainbow Dash said as she made her way outside.

~~~

Felix sighed again contently. He hadn't felt this calm for a while. Something about this place, and the ponies in it. Suddenly two arms wrapped around his waist from the back. Acting on instinct, he flinched, but then relaxed as he realized it was Rainbow Dash. "Hey," she said quietly, "you feeling any better? I thought it best for you to cool off," she giggled. "Literally." He laughed along with her.

"Yes I am, thanks," he said returning her smile. He pulled her around and lifted her up, then sat her on the rail in front of him. She inhaled with fright at the sight of the quickly moving ground beneath her.

"I got you," he said reassuringly. She sniffed and embraced him.

"Don't tell any of the others, but I'm nervous about visiting the Princess. I don't know how this will turn out. I'm just.... lost." she said softly.

"Hey, don't worry about it. I'm here for now, lets just enjoy this while we can." They both grinned and hugged again. As they broke their embrace, Felix and Rainbow Dash locked eyes- there was a slight pause before Felix drew back and stifled a chuckle. The two looked up at the beautiful night sky. Felix spoke first, “You know Rainbow...” but he stopped there. She looked at Felix and noticed his sudden change in attitude and looked at him questioningly. Felix stared blankly at the ground for a few seconds before seemingly coming to life again, “It’s so weird being around you... almost everything you say, I agree with. Usually I’m more... prone-,” he said, spitting out the more educated vocabulary word as if it were garbage, “-to disagreeing with ponies. But you...”

“I know what you mean,” she said. “I love arguing with others for fun, especially stallions,” Rainbow laughed as she kicked her dangling hooves. “Tell me about yourself, the good bits. I don’t think Jonathan painted a good picture,” she snorted at the mention of Jonathan.

“Well, let’s see,” he said, trying to think of the good things, “I, uh, like Jonathan said, I do work as a mechanic, in my dad’s old position- mechanical design and innovation. But, I don’t get paid for what I do. It’s mostly like an internship...” he glanced at Rainbow Dash, who obviously had no idea what he was talking about.

“Like, engines and machine design!” he clarified, gaining an “Ahh!” from Rainbow.

“Yea, but I’m really lazy a lot of the time; everyday after I get home from school I-”

“Take a nap?” she interjected with a smile. He grinned. “How’d you guess?”

“I do the same! Except I don’t go to school anymore. I work on my own time, and take naps on clouds whenever I want!”

“You can sleep on clouds?! How is that even possible?” he asked incredulously.

“All pegasi can walk on clouds! We’re light enough to do that. Simple physics, Felix,” she winked.

He snorted. That was anything but simple physics.

“Keep going!” she said, her smile bright enough to rival the moon itself.

He grinned and continued, “But I have really sweet ideas, improving machinery to benefit mankind and such, you know, be the hero.” He chuckled as he stared at the extinguished cigarette bud on the floor. “If I make something amazing, something really revolutionary, maybe I can make enough money to get out of the situation I’m in...”

“Your, situation?” asked Dash.

“Yea, my-” he exhaled and cracked his neck. “Living with my stepfather. I can’t do it anymore. As soon as I make enough bits, I’m going to rent out an apartment and live by myself. I think I’m almost there though. This new project that I just finished- I think I found out a way to combust more natural and replenishable items to make into fuels. It’s a little more explosive than I intended, but-” he coughed and looked at Rainbow Dash, who was completely lost again.

He chuckled and apologized. “Sorry, seems like I lost you,” he said.

“No, its okay! I just didn’t take you for someone so smart!”

“Well, I like these types of things. Logical and factual. I’m not witty whatsoever,” he laughed.

“Well that’s okay. If you ask me, we have too much of that in our group,” she giggled.

His smile grew greater as he lost himself in her gaze.

“You okay, Felix? Don’t fall asleep on me!” she grabbed his shoulders and shook violently.

“Yes! I’m fine, its just that,” he scoffed at the ridiculousness of the subject, “I’m pretty sure that’s the first time I’ve ever received a compliment from a mare. I mean mare. Buck,” he coughed, struggling through the Equestrian words. “Most mares are intimidated by me. The ‘bad stallion’ factor doesn’t really work for me,” he explained.

“I like it,” she said quietly, blushing. Felix coughed and felt his face flush. What is this? I’m just talking to her and I feel like a foal! He decided to change things up.

“So what about you? I’m sure you’re a real... stallion’s mare...” he said blandly. He attempted to emphasize this with gestures, but his limbs ended up moving in circles. He decided to give up and rest them on the railing.

She sat quietly for a while before answering. “I guess you could say that! Who wouldn’t want a piece of this?” she said, winking. But she lacked conviction.

“So you’ve been with several stallions? Sorry not been with, but like...” he couldn’t think of the words to fill the void he created.

His phrase seemed to strike a chord with her.

The awkward silence that surrounded them lasted for more than two minutes.

Felix finally cleared his throat and began to apologize.

“No, it’s okay,” she whispered. “It’s just so weird being around you. I’ve never felt this way before. Even though we just met-”

“I feel like I know so much about you,” Felix finished.

“Exactly.” She turned her head skyward and stared intently at the stars above.

Felix was the first to break the silence. “So, even though I have wings, I have no idea how to use them. Do you think you can teach me? I heard you’re a darn good flyer,” he added smirking.

“Yes!” she laughed, “Of course! And it’s always been my dream to join the Wonderbolts! But now, I’m not so sure,” she ended flatly.

“Why?” Felix responded lamely.

“Well, one of the members, Soar-” she stopped herself, but tried to play it off as a cough. “One of the Wonderbolts and I are not exactly in the best situation. If I join the Wonderbolts, I want to join because I’m the best flyer, and not because of someone on the inside.”

Felix could tell there was much more to the story than she was telling. He tried to play it off as ignorance.

“Well, I’m sure they’re missing out on the best flyer in Equine-stria, err, Equestria!” he exclaimed with a goofy smile on his face.

“Yea!” she responded. She threw her arms into the air and pretended as if she were about to fall off the railing. Felix exclaimed in fright and tried to grab her, but she tipped over the side.

“Rainbow!” he yelled, but she was back on the porch in an instant, laughing.

“Wings, remember?” she asked while wiggling her back.

“Oh yeah,” he chuckled.

"Come on, lets head back in." While he stepped out of her way, she pecked him on the cheek. He stuttered as she laughed and dashed inside. His grin reached both ears as he followed her back into the cabin.

~~~

Scipio was bored again. Nick was talking everypony’s ear off about leadership positions and nothing interesting had happened.

Jon needs to do his little intuition thing again.

Why?

Cause it’s interesting, duh.

Right.

I’m bored again.

This seems to be a pattern...

It’s not my fault that everypony is boring! I mean, seriously, between Nick and Twilight I might as well be back in school...

It’s not that bad...

Yes it is.

Nope.

Yep.

Nope.

Yep.

Nuh-uh.

Uh-huh.

Nuh-uh.

Are we really doing this? Seriously? I’m arguing with myself like a three year old child...

So?

Shut up. I’m going to sleep.

Felix and Rainbow Dash had just re-entered the car when Scipio stood up and yelled, “Hey everypony! I’m going to sleep! GOOD. NIGHT.” He walked off to the sleeping car, leaving some bewildered ponies in his track. Felix and Rainbow Dash looked at each other, wondering if they had caused his outburst.

Jonathan sat, looking at Scipio walk off. He looked at the clock, “Well, it seems Scipio has a point. Look at the time. I do believe that now would be a good time to turn in.” He followed Scipio. The other ponies sat there for a little longer, looking at the clock, then saw the wisdom in Jonathan’s words. They got up as one and walked off to their respective beds. Felix kept wondering if his entry had caused Scipio’s outburst, or if it was simply bad timing. He decided he would ask Scipio first thing in the morning.

~~~

Felix woke up in a cold sweat. He knew he had a bad dream, but he couldn’t recount any of it. The more he tried to remember, the more he felt he forgot. He shivered violently and pulled the sheets closer to himself. He laid there for a few minutes, unable to get warm. He thought about sneaking to Rainbow Dash’s bunk. No, I can’t, he thought to himself. She was making moves, but he couldn’t tell what she was after. He felt so hopeless when it came to women. It made him frustrated. Getting out of bed, he paced around the room. He could tell there was something different about Rainbow Dash, or the situation between them. He thought hard- maybe he could emulate what Jonathan had showed him earlier.

Rainbow Dash... why is she attracted to me? Well, I’m not that bad looking, maybe even handsome or whatever; supposedly that transfers to this world, too. But that doesn’t seem to be all of it. There’s more to it- because I feel myself unnaturally attracted to her. What was her Element of Harmony again? Loyalty? Yea that’s it. And my special power is... fire? There’s gotta be something there... Gah! What is it?

He needed Jonathan’s intuition desperately. But he couldn’t just wake him up. He’d have to wait until tomorrow. He sighed as he realized that he had a lot of talking to do tomorrow. He got back into bed and stared at the bunk above him where Nick was sleeping. After much more thinking and several more hours, he finally fell back asleep.

~~~

Scipio’s headphones slowly brought him to consciousness. He looked at the clock. 1:00 a.m.

Perfect. These headphones are amazing. They have an alarm clock built in!

Yep. They’re pretty cool.

Go away. Nopony loves you.

Scipio rolled out of bed and headed for the dining cab. As he entered, he found Jonathan sitting at a table with a solitary lamp on it.

“Wow Scipio, you’re actually on time.”

“These headphones have a built in alarm clock!” Scipio exclaimed quietly, “Ready to get you plot whooped?”

Scipio pulled out a paper, one side of which was filled with numbers and calculations, while on the other side was a sketch of the area surrounding Lake Trasimene.

“Ok Jon. Here we have a likeness of the terrain surrounding a certain lake in Italy. You can see a large force entering an ambush by another, smaller force. What was the battle and war and what were the troop and commander dispositions? What about the outcome?”

“Pshh. Easy. Romans under Gaius Flaminius versus Carthaginians under Hannibal Barca. The Battle of Lake Trasimene took place on June the twenty-first, in two hundred B.C. Crushing defeat for the Romans, second Punic War.”

“Well look at you, you got the basic facts right. Troop numbers?”

“Romans: approximately 40,000. Carthaginians: more than 30,000.”

“Good job! What were the casualties?

“Romans: 15,000 or more lost. Carthaginians: around 3,000 lost.”

“Wrong! Hannibal only lost around 2,500. Boom!”

“Yeah well what about this, military genius?”

Jonathan pulled out his own paper. On it was sketched a crude likeness of a city on a hill being besieged by towers. Scipio assumed that said towers were fortifications of the besiegers. Another huge force was attacking the besiegers from the outside of their fortifications as the defenders in the city attacked the besiegers from the inside.

Ok. Lets do this. We agreed to stay with Roman Republic era battles. The fortifications for the besiegers are definitely Roman. Hilltop city, large relief effort. Oh, its Alesia. Boom pwned.

“You insult me with such an easy one. Plus your drawing is crap. Anyways, its the Battle of Alesia, 52 B.C. Gallic Wars. 60,000 Romans under none other than Julius Ceasar. 80,000 Gauls under Vercingetorix in the city. Somewhere between 120,000 and 300,000 large Gallic relief for-”

“What in tarnation are y’all doing talkin’ history this early in the morning? And didn’t ya say you hated history, Skip?”

Jonathan and Scipio both looked up in surprise at Applejack’s intrusion. They looked at each other frantically, trying to come up with a valid excuse. Attempting to play it off as a joke, Jonathan looked at Applejack, and, while slowly moving his hoof through the air in Jedi mind trick style, said, “You didn’t see anything...”

“Ahh didn’t see anything...” Applejack mumbled, her eyes growing unfocused. Scipio and Jonathan looked at each other in amazement. Jonathan wove his hoof again,

“You will go back to bed and forget this ever happened...”

“Ahh will go back ta bed and forget this ever happened...”

Applejack exited the room in a stupor. When she had gone, Scipio and Jonathan burst into fits of quiet, barely restrained laughter.

“Oh Celestia, I can’t breathe! Man, you just went all Obi-Wan on her plot!”

“That was amazing! I did not expect that to work, it was totally in jest...”

“But still! Sweet Luna! That’s amazing!” Scipio fell out of his chair, laughing.

“Shhh! You’ll wake somepony else! Then I’ll have to ‘go all Obi-Wan’ on their plot!”

“Hahaha you said it. It sounds so much funnier coming out of your British mouth. Say ‘may the Force be with you.’”

“We’ve done this a million times. My accent is only slightly like Obi-Wan’s.”

“Say it!”

“Ugh. May the Force be with you.”

Stifling one last laugh, Scipio sat in the chair again. “Ok I’m done. As I was saying, the Gallic relief force was around...”

The two talked of history for another hour before going back to bed. Scipio went to bed amazed with Jonathan’s mind trick, while Jonathan went to bed wondering how Scipio could transition from literally rolling on the floor laughing to reciting troop numbers in less than five seconds. It was not an original mystery, however. Jonathan had been wondering about that and Scipio’s millions of other oddities for the years he had known him.

~~~

Beams of sunlight gently played upon Rufus’ face as he stirred from his sleep. Yawning, he quietly eased himself out of his bunk and exited his cabin. The train was peacefully quiet as he made his way down the corridor. Rufus wanted to grab some fresh air; early morning was his favorite time of day. He approached the last door when he heard some laughing on the other side of it, he could make out the voices...was that...Felix?

“And...but he...and I...so...engine!” and then he heard someone else laughing, it was that rainbow pony. Rufus sighed, it wasn’t like he wanted to intrude or anything, so he turned around and started to walk back. He had walked a few paces when suddenly a door opened, Rufus almost jumped back at the shock, but was relieved to see Fluttershy exit her cabin. She turned towards him, and stammered a greeting.

“O-oh! Good morning Rufus! I didn’t expect to see you up so early...” She shuffled her hooves around before smiling, “Were you enjoying the quiet of the morning?” Rufus nodded,

“Yes, it’s so peaceful in the early mornings, I like to sit outside with a hot drink and just admire the sunrise, it’s really beautiful.” Fluttershy motioned over to an empty cabin, and beckoned Rufus to follow.

“We aren’t going to get a lot of time to talk if we wait for the others to wake up, want to, you know, chat? If that’s alright with you...” She looked down at the floor before smiling and looking back at Rufus awaiting his response.

“Yes,” smiled Rufus as he followed Fluttershy into the cabin. They opened a window and to draw in the fresh air. He inhaled deeply before sitting on one of the benches. “You have a lot of interesting friends Fluttershy, they are all so different: personalities and likes and so.” He paused before continuing. “What keeps you together?”

“Well, it isn’t easy...but we get along fine because we understand each other, we all have our ups and downs, and we work to help one another.” She beamed happily and smiled at Rufus, who laughed, and slumped down in his seat.

“I hope our group can do it. We are just so different.” Rufus waved his hooves in the air, “We’ve apparently got a big mission ahead of us, but I’m afraid that we might fail...” He sighed, Fluttershy put her hoof on his shoulder

“We’ve been in rough spots before but we always pulled through, I’m sure we can all manage this.” She got up and walked to the door, “Come on, let’s grab some breakfast, the others ought to be up by now.” Rufus closed the window and followed her out smiling- he had found hope in a new friend.

~~~

Just then Felix and Rainbow Dash opened the door to the cabin. “... but what they didn’t know was, nitrogen was part of the reaction!’” said Felix, ending a possibly bad joke. They both burst out laughing and took their spots next to each other at the table. Felix instantly dug into a breakfast roll. With her mouth in an “o” shape, Twilight gave them both a questioning look. Felix responded with a “carry on” motion as he swallowed.

The waiting staff stepped in with the drinks. “Excuse me, but could I get a glass of orange juice?” Felix asked. “One for me too!” Rainbow said.

The waiting staff returned with everyone’s drinks, except Felix’s. He stared at Rainbow Dash’s full cup of orange juice. He cleared his throat forcefully, gaining the attention of the nearest servant. “Excuse me, sir, if you wouldn’t mind, I would love a glass of orange juice to complement this fine meal,” he asked slowly, his voice dripping with sarcasm. Rainbow slapped him upside the head reprovingly. “No but really, could I get some bucking orange juice? Been waiting as long as Nightmare Moon here!” he said.

“Right away, sir!” responded the colt as he galloped towards the kitchen.

“So, what’s the plan of attack, Twilight? If I may call you Twilight, that is,” Jonathan asked from across the table.

“Yes, that’s fine Jonathan. When we reach Canterlot, we’ll see Princess Celestia and Princess Luna immediately. We’ll probably be there for several days, most likely staying for the Giving of Thanks,” All the mares in the room gasped and started talking excitedly.

Twilight turned towards the males and began explaining. “The Giving of Thanks celebration is the time of year when autumn turns to winter. We celebrate this by expressing our gratitude towards everypony around us with feasting and presents!”

“And parties!” interjected Pinkie Pie.

“Yes Pinkie, and parties,” responded Twilight.

“Sounds a lot like Thanksgiving to me,” said Gabriel.

“I’ve noticed many similarities between Earth and Equestria actually,” interrupted Jonathan. “There’s got to be several more links and such, much like what the Guardian talked to me about in the Nexus.”

The other stallions immediately dropped what they were doing and started shouting questions towards Jonathan. Nick eventually quieted them down and spoke first.

“You’re saying that you’ve met a ‘Guardian of the Nexus’ and been inside of the Nexus?” he asked Jon.

“Why yes, have you all done the same?”

The six solemnly nodded.

“Why haven’t we talked about this before?” asked Gabriel. “Pretty sure this is an important subject, guys,” he scoffed.

“Well, what was everyone’s experience like?” asked Scipio.

Everyone described the Nexus and the Guardian, all save Gabriel who sat quietly.

“What was yours like, Gabe?” asked Rufus quietly.

“Oh, same as everyone elses’, I guess. Swirly mist and big scary man,” he said nonchalantly. Jonathan stared at Gabe, attempting to discover if he was lying or telling the truth. Gabriel, noticing Jon, turned towards him and glared unblinking into his eyes.

Twilight broke the silence with a groan. “Where have I read this before? I know I have!” she said while pounding her noggin.

“Hey, its alright, we’ll ask the Princess when we reach Canterlot in a few hours, okay?” Nick said as he grabbed Twilight’s hooves from causing further harm.

The staff headed back in the room to hand out seconds and retrieve plates. One colt headed towards Felix with a glass of orange juice on a platter. “Here you are, sir, we apologize for the wait,” he said as he handed Felix the glass.

“Finally!” Felix yelled and motioned to take a sip. Suddenly a loud explosion came from the front of the train that rocked the cabin. Felix exclaimed in surprise, but was able to keep any juice from spilling.

“Ha!” he said triumphantly and moved the glass towards his mouth. Another bang rocked the cabin, and his juice spilled across his face and neck. He started breathing heavy as his eyes darkened.

“I swear I will kill whoever’s fault this-!”

An immense force ripped the train off the tracks and flipped it into the air. Dishes, ponies, and furniture went flying as everyone yelled at the same time.

A/N: Sorry this took so long to get out! We'll be better about time next time...

Comments

[asdjon]

Awsome chapter. The star wars thing was very funny, with applejack all . Cant wait for next chapter.
Oh! FIRST!