The Only Prescription is More Pony

by F.Venka

Rails, Once Again

Something's off. But what could it be...?

"No, there's... There's a certain something that you two don't even know yet..."

Railroad and Silk shared a look as they held Hoarfrost in her place: in the state that she was, simply falling down could have quite the repercussion.

Something's missing here. If she did spend most of her life in that town hall, why does she have such positive memories? I thought that being trapped somewhere was quite the traumatic experience, and even more if the death of loved ones factor in...

"It was the middle of the summer in that place," she said, pointing her head towards the sky, as if she were talking to something or someone else. "I had gotten hold of one those of camera thingies..."

Maybe she's lying. She must have had a rough life and it just trying to convince herself of the fact that she hasn't. Denying what she knows she can't deny. Trying to erase something that has been fire-forged into the deepest nook of her subconscious.

"Umm, Hoarfrost, dear," said Rail, raising one of his hooves and patting the mare's mane. "You've told us that story four times already. We know what—"

"I'm not your deer, buddy!" she exclaimed, trying to point her hoof at the stallion but ultimately failing at it: the hoof went past at a side of his head, leaving her closer to him.

But I could be wrong. It's a possibility.

"I'm sure you're not a deer," he replied with a warm smile, wrapping a second hoof around Frost. "But don't you think you should just stop...?"

"I'm guessing she doesn't know what stopping means in this moment," said Silk, looking at the two with a rather confused gaze. "And watch the hooves. She's really... umm, kicky right now."

"Plus, you know you're not getting a part of the story and I know you two are very interested in it," she said, shuffling her hooves around a bit. Railroad let go of her and she almost fell when she took a step towards Silk. "You..." she growled as she pointed a hoof at Silk, closing her eyes. "You know I'm hiding something..."

S-she knows!? No, that can't be it. She's not lucid right now. No, she doesn't mean it in that way.

She stumbled and tripped over her own legs as she turned to face Railroad. "And you know you want to know about it, so shut it. You see, that summer was oddly peaceful and forgettable."

"Then why do you remember it...?" asked Silk, accidentally talking out loud. He proceeded to stare at the ground when he felt the mare's gaze over him. The sun had disappeared behind the horizon a long while ago, and the stars were coming into sight as the skies darkened.

"Because it was the first time I had done something like that." She directed her eyes towards the firmament, focusing a bit too much in the distant stars. She gave a step forward, losing her balance, and barely managed to keep herself on her hooves. "There are some things you just don't forget."

A silent moment was had. None of the three seemed to be living creatures: instead, they looked more like statues. Even Hoarfrost, with her tipsy stepping and frequent almost-falls, managed not to move a little.

I'm sure she knows about me doubting her. I've got to ask her about this when she gets her lucidity back. There is something she has been hiding from us. Asking her now wouldn't be the best idea... It wouldn't even be a bad idea, it would be flat-out stupid.

Not even a breeze was felt. There was nopony else around: just the three of them and the silence to keep them company.

The train should arrive any time now. I've got to rest and clear my head. I'm just overwhelmed with events and it's... It's getting to me. All these things that have been happening...

"Can you come here for a second, Frosty?" asked Railroad, sheepishly grinning at her. With that having been said, she took a pair of clumsy steps before tripping over her own hooves and landing against him with a thud. He giggled before saying whispering something to her ear. Silk didn't quite catch it.

These two... They've just met and they're already bonding... Silk looked at the night sky once again. It was far clearer than in Canterlot. Wish it was that easy for me...

The couple's whispers and giggles started to bother him a little. He gazed over at Hoarfrost, bringing a hoof to his lower jaw.

I can't bring myself to trust her. She... She came out of nowhere and has acted strange around us. Everywhere she goes, there's somepony getting killed... It's all too coincident to be just that.

The mare's ears perked up all out of a sudden. She raised her hair and stared at the distance, as far as the rails went.

I'm a tad afraid to confront her about it. I might be right, after all. That... That wouldn't be my end, but who knows how close I'd be.

He brought his hoof down, trying not to focus his eyes over his companions as Rail nuzzled Frost's cheek. She gave a step to the side, the blush on her face being clearly visible under the scarce light. Whether it was drunkenness or something else, none of the three was too sure about it.

"Here it comes," she muttered beneath her breath, slowly raising a hoof to point at a distant hill. She toppled over to a side as she focused even more on the distance, brushing her hoof around the dirt once she had fallen over. "Our train is here."

Only after a while it was that, in the distance, they could hear the sound of the train braking. A dim light appeared behind the hill Hoarfrost had pointed.

She heard that a long while before the two of us. I should be cautious with what I say around her, I might get caught.

The sound of the train got louder as its light shone over the rails, the wooden stairs of the train stop becoming more visible with every passing second.

I might get caught even if I'm not the one who's hiding something. Then again, it could have been a coincidence. She just got lucky, that's all. Nothing to worry about.

Railroad helped her to her back into her hooves and went up the steps with her, acting as some kind of support for whenever she lost her equilibrium, something that happened with an increasing frequency.

It's just like the last time. Only... Only with these two. Silk directed his gaze towards his two companions, absent-mindedly watching as Hoarfrost tried to tell her story for the fifth time. Hope everything goes alright. Or at least tolerably well...

"That's when the two colts messed around in the back, they were cute..."

Where will we go first? Once we're there, there won't be much to do or see...

"You know, Rail, I... I knew those little colts. I was r-really close to them... I grew up with them..."

I'm on the end of the road and I haven't gotten any kind of grasp on what happened. If I only knew a tiny bit about it, I'd be able to at least speculate on something and go from there.

The light of the train hit Silk in his eyes, making him flinch a bit. When he opened his eyes again, he saw Hoarfrost talking again, but he couldn't hear a thing: the sound of the rails being scraped had become loud enough to drown out any other sounds for a moment, before fading into silence like it hadn't been there in the first place.

After the train stopped moving, he could see Hoarfrost's head buried against Rail's chest, his hooves wrapped around her neck, almost inaudibly whispering: "Don't worry, Frosty. Everything will be fine again, just give it time."

The doors opened out of a sudden and, without a word between them, the three entered. They silently stood inside of it, watching as the doors closed and collectively sighing in relief after it started moving once again.

Only one window was present in the entire wagon, imbuing the ambient with the night sky's dim purple tinting. The rest of the train was engulfed in darkness.

"Ah, how nostalgic," said Rail, hoping to alleviate the ambient. "Feels like it was years ago since the last time I ever was in one of these. Turns out it has barely been more than a day..."

A day...? It has been the longest day of my life...

"I can't see anyone around here," he pointed out, staring at the empty hallway as he held a hoof in front of his face. "I can't see, really. I can't see a thing. Frosty, dear, could you...?"

Silk spoke up, then. His mind hadn't stopped with its monologue, and he was starting to get tired of it. "I don't think that she would be able to— to... Nevermind."

Hoarfrost, after a short lapse of forcing her magic out, managed to cast a lighting spell. The entire wagon was dimly lit, her magic aura's light blue reflecting off the walls.

She didn't even touch me and I felt threatened. I'm expecting too much from her: she's just a mare.

"That's so much better, Frost. Thank you." He looked around the place, his excited grin being visible even with the scarce light the mare's horn brought forth. "Well, this place looks rather normal for a train," he said as he inspected a wall. "Nothing's out of the ordinary. There should be somepony with us already, but I guess it's fine: we can wait. After all, we've been here only for some minutes. Say, Frost, are you feeling well?"

The mare just nodded in response, before taking a step towards the open doorway. She stood there, completely immobile, for some seconds, before turning around and asking: "Can you come with me, Rail? And make sure the filly comes along as well."

Silk rolled his eyes and Rail just chuckled. "S-sure, sure," the ex-train conductor said, "he'll be coming along—"

"She," she interrupted, holding a hoof up in the air, pointing at the ceiling. "A filly is a she. And Silky Fetlocks is a filly, so Silky Fetlocks is a she."

Ugh, I hope you pass out... "Let's get going, then," the referred stallion said, bluntly. "Lead the way."

"Don't talk back," she replied, kicking her hoof down. "Now let's go," she continued to say, tripping over herself at the first step she gave. "And if any of you comments on my cantering style, I'll fling you two off the windows."

"Oh, we sure won't..." said Silk, containing a smirk. Hoarfrost turned around and almost poked Silk's left eye with her horn when she got close to him. "Heh, I, umm, mean... We s-sure won't do that."

"That's what I thought," she said, tripping again as she went forward. "Please do remind the sober Frost to never drink again."

The trio, then, proceeded to walk down the train, finding nothing but empty hallways and beds in their path. Time and time again, Hoarfrost would slam a hoof on a random bed and shout "time to wake up!" with no indication that she would, which was something that only gave her a sore hoof in return. She stopped doing so after around the tenth bed. Silk and Rail, as they walked close to her, silently thanked no one in particular, seeing as Hoarfrost didn't answer any well to being touched without any kind of permission.

"I think there's nopony in here," said Silk, trying not to focus his eyes on anything. There wasn't anything to see, but the darkness deceived him and many a time he'd stop on his tracks to examinate a piece of nothingness that appeared to be something else. "If I'm correct, we've passed through all but two of the train's wagons. There isn't much left to see."

"Well, maybe they're all here in the first wagon and they don't even know that we're here?" Railroad replied rhetorically, his perpetual enthusiasm not vanishing for a second. "That could be it. There's no need to be so negative."

"I think I see a candle in there," Hoarfrost said, squinting to see the distant door better. "That's the only door that isn't open and there's light coming from the other side. Look at the floor over there," she said, pointing at a tiny amount of yellow light coming from beneath the door. Since she didn't stop herself from continuing her path, her back legs collided with her front legs, sending her to the floor in an instant. Her lighting spell died down for some seconds before she had to conjure all of her concentration to do it again. "I was doing so well," she groaned, rolling on the floor, ending up with her hooves pointing towards the ceiling. "Rail, stop staring, and you, Silky, come and help a filly out."

Rail gave a step back, gaining a sudden but strong interest in the ceiling. "But I can't see anything— I mean— I'm n-not staring..."

"See? You are staring," she replied, her chest inflating with pride. "Don't worry, it's normal. I'm used to that. So, Silky Fetlocks, are you going to help me?"

Silk approached her and, without even looking at where her legs were, extended a hoof over to her. "Stop calling me a filly," he said, pulling as soon as she got a decent grip on his foreleg. She ended up sitting over her haunches, at which she let go.

"I won't stop doing it until you prove me wrong," she replied in a half-mocking, half-joking manner. She leaned over her front hooves and, before a pair of fake starts, managed to stand up again. "Or at least until I'm more lucid. I feel... Not so well, really..."

The travelling stallion just took a pair of steps and, without much preamble, opened the door, revealing what was inside: a single candle was in the middle of the hallway, with a small pool of wax formed around it.

Silence followed.

"Is... Is that it? Nopony in here, nothing else than a single candle?" Rail asked, taking a look around at the wagon. It didn't seem any different than the rest of the train, save for the different in lighting.

"Seems like there isn't anything in here," Silk said, looking at the beds at the place. "And there seems there isn't anypony else, either. We're alone once again."

"Well, you two can appreciate the emptiness all you want," Hoarfrost said, entering the place, stretching her legs. "If you want anything from me, I'll be in this bed right here. But please do ask tomorrow because I'm beat right now," she said as she grabbed a random bed's sheets and tossed them over to the side before jumping in, the sheets falling over her head. "Good night."

Another silence followed after. Silk and Rail just looked at eachother, noticing how there was literally nothing else left to do but to lie down and rest.

"So... I take it that the conductor is right behind this door?" Rail mumbled beneath his breath, pointing at the only door that there was left to open.

It was then that Hoarfrost poked her head from beneath the bed sheets and said: "You should come to bed, Rail: look, it's warm and everything~! I didn't even have to be here for a while; it's just warm by itself! These things make you want to just..."

Sheesh. At least wait until I'm asleep to say things like that...

"I, um," replied Rail, blushing profusely. He turned around to face the mare, only to find something else behind her. "I don't think that you should be there, Frost..."

"Why?" she asked at the same time as she turned around, only to find a stallion, hiding behind his hooves, his eyes fixed over hers. "Oh, I see now. Good day— I mean night, mister," she said, giving a little reverence to the unexpected guest. "No, don't worry," she interrupted him when he opened his mouth to speak, putting a hoof over his mouth as she giggled. "I'm not one of those mares. But if you're interested in those, that filly over there could be of your interest." She pointed at Silk, who just hung his head low and groaned. "That's the one. She can appear to be a bit of a prude at first, but don't worry, she'll come—"

Hoarfrost felt her left forehoof being bit down and then she was just flung off the bed and landed on the bed at the other side of the hallway, her legs splayed. Railroad proceeded to profusely chuckle about the entire situation and to shrug.

"We're very sorry about that," he said, warmly smiling at the stallion. "She's... She's a little out of it right now. A thousand pardons for waking you up like that..."

That smile... I swear, it's like a weapon of mass agreeing. I wouldn't be able to debate against a colt with that kind of smile.

"What was that all about, Rail?" Frost asked, raising her voice a tad too much. She bit down on the stallion's tail and, before pulling it, said: "Don't be rough with me if you don't expect for me to be worse."

With that having been said, Railroad was rather painfully pulled backwards, his back legs bending, leaving him sitting over the bed. She wrapped her legs around him and softly bit down his neck as she pulled him back towards a corner.

"Hahaha, you— you don't need to see that!" Silk shouted before blowing the candle, letting darkness engulf the room. "Or to hear anything about it either. Sorry for this bizarre entrance, but we've had some that have been worse." He blindly stepped in the stallion's direction, hitting his head against a variety of objects before finding the bed in which he was. "You wouldn't mind if I stayed with you for a while, wouldn't you...?"

Awkward silence followed.

"I can't even see you, but I know what you're thinking. 'That's an awfully masculine voice for a mare,' that's what you're thinking. You shouldn't believe a drunken mare, because I'm a stallion," he said, his speech becoming blunter and blunter with every new word. "I... Umm, excuse me. My name is Silk Thread. What's yours...?"

The stallion didn't answer either. The sound of the rails was ever present in the room, but there was a certain something in the background.

"Please answer, or you'll hear things you wish you hadn't..."

The stallion sighed before speaking up. His voice sounded rather raspy, almost like he had injured his vocal cords. "I'm Sketch. I'm going to Canterlot to study its architecture."

"I see..."

"Are you sure you're a stallion...?"

Silk huffed and replied: "Do you need any proof on that matter?"

"N-no, I don't, sorry I asked," he answered, pushing himself against the wall even more.

"I probably should leave you have peace and quiet so you can rest, shouldn't I...?" Silk asked, not waiting to hear an answer before stepping down from the bed. He just heard an "uh-huh" as he put the bed sheets on his mouth and pulled.

"Yes, you probably s-should..." replied Sketch, trying to regain his calm. Needless to say, he didn't manage it in the slightest.

"Umm, you should just try to stop thinking about it," Silk said, finding another bed in which to lie. "Especially stop thinking about my gender. It's... Not supposed to be up to debate. Have a good one— I mean a good night."

"Err... Thanks... Umm, I can't remember your name. Just thanks."

"It's Silk," he replied, getting into the bed. So cold... I'll never sleep if I can't get any kind of comfort...

The two fell silent for some seconds, a nearby snoring becoming louder with every passing moment. "Ah, so that's why she said that—"

"Yes, I know, Silk is a very ambiguous name when it comes to gender, I get it."

"Sketch is pretty neutral as well."

"Yes, it is..." I bet he doesn't get this much scrutiny over his gender. Hoarfrost must be the one who's just trying her hardest to mess with me.

"Well, have a good night, Silk."

"You too. Rest well."

That was basically the most polite encounter I've had in a long time.

The sound of the rails returned to its throne as the night slowly progressed. Silence was occasionally interrupted with somepony shuffling around on bed, or Rail's snoring, but it never was too long to break the ambience. Soon enough, the sound developed a trance-like effect, and Silk managed to leave all of his thoughts behind, or at least most of them.

I hope nothing strange happens... I just want to get home and start an independent investigation. I... I want to do it, but I really don't. I know it, I just know it: there's something in there. There is a certain something in Canterlot, and we will eventually find ourselves face to face with it.

As he drifted deeper and deeper into the rails' sudden trance-like rhythm, Silk's thoughts started to lose coherence and overall clarity.

I know she did... She just feigned it, she knew what she did, and that's why she fought it... She's afraid of it as well...

After a long while of listening to the rails' repetitive song, his mind started to block it as background noise. At times, he stopped hearing things altogether.

We don't want to be seen as murderers or as something that we fear... All of us avoid that...

He was gone, then. With a hoof over his head and the other three extended out into the dark night air, he lost all sensibility, his mind numb, succumbing to the unforgivable strength of his inner subconscious' current.

---

He opened his eyes. The darkness that resided before him seemed to be growing ever stronger and darker, even when it was already dark enough not to see anything. Stretching a hoof towards the ceiling, Silk left out a yawn, before rolling to a side, falling to the floor. The sound of the bump resonated through the entire wagon and it was only then when he realized that the sound of the rails was still present. In silence, he stood up and took a look around, noticing how he couldn't see a thing. Blindly, he gave a step forward, trying to sort out his surroundings via echolocation. I have never ever done this before, he thought as he waved a hoof around, giving small steps when he was sure that there was nothing in front of him.

Thank goodness it's so dark, otherwise... I think I'd have to explain a lot of things.

After some seconds of slowly advancing, he extended his hoof further away, hitting something with it. He tried to palpate what it could be. Feels very... Umm... He continued to move his hoof around it, bringing himself closer to it. Feels very warm. Hold it, this... He gave a step back, turning his head around out of custom. "This is most probably Sketch," he muttered beneath his breath, scratching one of his forelegs. "I think I should have known."

He, then, continued with his assisted advance, giving small steps in a direction that he didn't even knew. For all he knew, he could have gone into the locomotive room perfectly. His blinded steps were insecure, and he oftentimes would retrace his steps in his mind to be sure of in which direction he was going.

Last thing I know, I'll bump into somepony again... I probably woke him up, so...

His guiding hoof suddenly found something on his way but, due to his lack of proper reflexes, he continued advancing and ended up smashing his face against the newfound object. Growling a nigh incomprehensible "damn door" beneath his breath, he ran a hoof over it, finding the handle after some seconds.

The dim light of the night sky greeted him once he walked to the other side of the door. Nothing was really attention-catching or interesting about the empty wagons, but he felt like he needed to be somewhere else in that moment.

I'm right here, he thought, walking around aimlessly. Doing... Nothing.

He trotted over to a bed and laid on it, staring at the scarce that could be seen through the window. I know something's wrong with this entire situation. Hoarfrost... She's being strange. I don't even need to know her to know that. There is a certain something she is hiding from us, or at least from me. And what about Rail? I know he's also not telling us something. Or not telling me, in particular, about something. But maybe...

He grabbed his head between his forehooves, closing his eyes. "Maybe I am the one who isn't telling the complete truth. It's... It's only fair." He jumped off the bed and directed himself towards the window, almost pushing his face against the cold glass. "But I just can't tell them the truth. I don't know the truth. If I only knew what happened exactly in Canterlot, I probably wouldn't have left the city in the first place. I wouldn't have met the two and..."

He left out a sigh, reaching out for the window with a hoof. The stars look so different today. They're not as bright as before. I'm reaching the end of this pursuit for clues and I have only found two ponies that aren't looking for the same things as me. No, I... I didn't find them. They found me first. I never told them to come with me, but now I need them to stay. I need their help.

"Sketch probably doesn't know what happened there, and he's going to be met with a surprise," Silk mumbled, chuckling a little. "He won't even see it coming. Well, at least he'll have the entire city for himself when he arrives there. Perfect for him." He brought his hoof back to the floor and started to pace around as his thoughts started to accelerate.

Maybe he knows about it, and that's why he's going there now...? What he said wouldn't make much sense. If he really wanted to study the architecture of the place, he'd have to ask and consult a lot of the population of Canterlot. Silk brought a hoof to his chin, squinting to see that every door was still open. Nothing has happened in the while I was asleep. Great.

"What if he's not doing that?" he asked the air, rather loudly. "What is he knows about the entire situation and the sole and only reason he's going there is to see if he can get information about it? That would be great. But better it would be if he already knew about it. I'd love to get some pointers about all of this."

He started to walk deeper into the empty wagons, his head still not stopping to give the entire situation a better look What if he knows? Asking him about it wouldn't be the best of ideas. Maybe he doesn't know why I know about it, and that would bring some difficult to answer questions. If he doesn't know about it, he'll also ask the reason behind my knowledge of it. I could lie to him, but if it happens within Hoarfrost's earshot, I'll be screwed. She'd press me completely and Rail would be too busy being non-conflictive to do something about it. I need to stay away from her whenever it is I start to have a conversation about that kind of things. She might be hiding something from me, but she sure is eager to know about other ponies' secrets. Now, Rail... I know he believes me. I'm sure that he has accepted the fact that I know far too many things about it, even when my presentation of the topic was lackluster at best. He'd believe anything I tell him.

He stopped on his tracks, realizing that he had no idea of how far away he was from his initial position. He took a look around, noticing that the only window on the wagon had its curtains drawn. Hmm, now that's different. That, or my memory's faulty, it's one or the other. He got closer to the next wagon, seeing at there was no source of light inside of it.

It was then that he stood in silence for a moment, noticing the very faint sound of breathing right in front of him. There's someone here. I can't see anything, either, he thought as he gave a small step forward, hoping not to be seen. I wonder who is it. Maybe we missed somepony yesterday? I bet they wouldn't like to be woken up by
a complete stranger. I'm just going to continue with my path, fast and—

Out of nowhere, the door slammed shut in front of him, making him give a small leap backwards, a voiceless shout emanating from his mouth. "That wasn't supposed to happen," he said out loud, finding nothing but blackness surrounding him. I should just continue, maybe they haven't woken up just yet—

"Who goes there!?" shouted a stallion, his voice coming from above.

"N-no one! I mean— no one that could h-harm you!" Silk shouted back, pressing his tail against the tightly shut door.

Only silence followed.

Is he getting closer? Is he going anywhere? I think I should—

"I recognize your voice," the stallion said, his voice a million times more calm now. "You are that filly stallion, or something like that. Are you not him...? Him and her?"

"Yes, I am him," replied Silk grumpily. "And I take it you're Sketch."

"That would be me. Say, were you saying something?" the stallion asked, jumping down from his bed, landing right by Silk's side. "Heh, almost hit you."

"Saying what exactly...?" Silk asked back, separating himself a bit. "I don't remember saying anything."

"You were talking to yourself about somepony knowing about a certain place he's going."

"Oh, that? Umm, I—"

"That somepony would be me, am I right?"

"Can I trust you entirely?" asked Silk, sighing. I guess he asked about it. I have nothing to lose now.

"Of course you can. You can trust a stranger as well, can you...?"

"I'm guessing strangers are the ones you're not supposed to trust... Umm, yes, I was, actually, talking to myself about that..."

"What for?" Sketch asked, a tiny far too eager to know the answer.

"First, can I... ask you something?" Silk said, opening the door behind him. A cold breeze flowed in. Ah, it's the last wagon. How didn't I feel the breeze before?

"Sure, go on. Unless it's something that has no use, I guess you could," the stallion replied, gazing at the rails that could barely be seen under the light of the skies.

"Do you know about what happened in Canterlot?" Silk asked, looking at the stallion right in his eyes.

"Why do you want to know about it?" Sketch replied, raising an eyebrow. "Do you know?"

"I... I sure do," answered Silk, the memories of his last moments in the city playing in his head. The bloodstained papers on the floor, the drawers, that figure in the distance that he swore was staring right at him. "I do know..." Silk gave a step towards the last wagon, noticing that the door was closed. "What are they transporting here?" he asked, pointing at the wagon with a hoof.

Sketch stared at him for some seconds before, not sure of why, extending a hoof towards Silk and saying: "Get back in."

Before Silk could question the logic behind this, the metallic artifact that hooked the last wagon to the rest of the train shattered with no warning, separating it from the rest of the train. A purple afterglow vanished a fraction of a second later. Sketch was faster than his mind and, without even knowing it, was forcefully pulled back into the hallway of empty beds. He was left staring at the skies, the wagon disappearing beyond the horizon as it decelerated. "H-how did you know that would happen...?" he asked, incredulous.

"I... I didn't," replied Sketch, twice as baffled as Silk. "I just felt that it would happen. What happened? I saw some purple thing for an instant down there."

"The wagon just— hold it right there, did you see that correctly? What was that?" Silk stepped in Sketch's general direction, almost pressing his face against his.

"A p-purple thing," he replied, sheepishly, as he gave a step back and closed the door behind him, leaving darkness engulf the room once again. "It was a little shiny, too—"

"Don't say a word more," Silk replied, his voice suddenly dry and blunt. "I know what's going on exactly."

"Y-you do?" replied Sketch, both amused and confused by the events that had just unfolded right before his very eyes. "Because it just came out of nowhere. Are you sure you do...?"

"She's here," Silk replied, sighing and closing his eyes as he hung his head. A long silence was had right he said that.

"Who?" Sketch questioned, titling his head aside. "I... I don't follow."

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Silk replied before trotting off with no warning. "I've got to tell Rail and Frost about this."

"But w-wait, don't leave!" shouted the student, running behind Silk. "There is a question you haven't answered yet!"

It's happening again. I should have known better than to leave my guard down, thought Silk as the lack of lighting almost made him crash into the walls as he made his way through the wagons. She's not going to let me do this. But I do know better. Better than her.

---

A sensation of deep calm reigned over him. The long-awaited warmth of the bed became more of a tender caress the more he thought about it. His mind wasn't really processing anything, but he felt as if his very conscious was tired of working. A soft breath occasionally appeared against a side of his face, as if to make sure he didn't drift too far away from reality.

He opened his eyes to find a diminutive amount of light passing through the recently open door. His eyes traced the distance between the door and the bed in which he laid upon a few times before focusing his entire attention to his side, next to the wall, when he felt a hoof making its way up his chest. He was greeted by a pair of dreamy half-closed eyes that slowly opened in front of him, a very visible blush complementing them, even when the ambiance was lit by the nigh absent light of the night. A paused breath hit his face time and time again, and he felt that a tail was lying over his side.

"Good morning, my dearest stallion..." He felt the hoof go behind his back, together with feeling a soft kiss on his cheek.

"Umm, F-Frosty, dear," he replied nervously, profusely blushing, struggling not to stutter too much. "W-what are y-you... d-doing...? What h-have we done...?"

"Oh, nothing," she replied, chuckling beneath her breath before leaving out a long sigh and tightening the grip around his body. "Just made me the happiest mare alive, nothing else," she continued, inching her face closer to him, sticking her tongue out just a bit, giving him a short lick on his cheek.

"No, no, no— please tell me we didn't—" he said as he pulled his head back, his thoughts racing on his mind up to the point where they didn't make any sense at all. "Tell we me did NOT do that. Just—"

"Oh, but we did that," she whispered to his ear, nibbling it. "We sure did..."

He gulped and did his best at giving Hoarfrost a severe look. His nervousness went against him and, after some seconds, he was visibly trembling. He felt her laughter once again, feeling her forehooves grasp him even tighter, her constant breaching of his personal space making him push her away. He wasn't making much progress. "Frost, couldn't you just—"

"Say, it's still late at night..." she whispered, letting him go as she put her forehooves at the sides of his ribcage, standing over him. "And those two aren't around here... Why don't we just...? Well, you know..."

Even in the almost pitch black darkness, he could feel her gaze pressing him, making him doubt himself. Why, all he needed to say was one word, and it could be done. Just one word.

"Heh, they sure were right," she muttered beneath her breath as she shuffled her back legs around, grinning. "Colts do sure get all sleepy after it..."

"Frost, don't do this, please..."

"Wait up; I'm going to lock the door so they won't bother us. Stay awake and don't move." With that having been said, she jumped down from the bed, almost falling to the floor as she landed, flicking her tail back and forth as she cantered over to the door. A sound, different from the sound of the rails, appeared in the distance, but she didn't pay much attention to it. "Well, I wouldn't blame you; with all the moving you've done..." She shot him a sultry look before directing her eyes towards the door that was right behind her. "Hey, the train conductor hasn't even appeared. I bet he's been— say, what's that?" she asked, holding a hoof to her ear. "Can you hear that?" She opened the door and stared into the seemingly never-ending darkness, staying perfectly still.

"I can't hear a thing, Frost," Rail replied, nervously trying to push away memories of an event he wasn't even aware had happened.

The two heard the sound get louder and louder and, right in the exact moment when it was too late, they realized what it was: the sound of hooves getting closer.

"I think that's Silk—"

"Rail, Frost!" Silk shouted as he stormed into the room, crashing into Frost's head, leaving her lying on the floor, gazing at the ceiling as her eyes twitched. "O-oh, my, I'm so sorry," he stammered out, grabbing his head as a shrill ringing appeared on his ears. "Is Railroad awake, Hoarfrost?"

"I'm awake," the referred stallion replied, throwing the bed sheets off of him as the mare mumbled nonsense as she tried to get herself back onto her hooves. "What's with all the noise?"

"Rail, you're not even going to believe me," Silk replied, walking towards the stallion and holding a hoof to his face.

"You say that a lot, you know," Rail pointed out, giving Hoarfrost a detailed look. "If it's not much of a bother, couldn't you just— just help her get up?"

"Sure, sure. Just let me find her."

"Over here, silly filly," she said, raising a hoof up to the air, trying to get herself on her back once again. With her face almost plastered against the floor and her legs splayed over it, she wasn't doing quite as well as she'd liked to. "Do... Do everything. Do please never crash against me like that again."

"Okay, Rail, get this," he said as he firmly grabbed the mare's extended leg and pulled her upwards, finding it relatively easy for lift her up. She stumbled quite a bit, but managed to walk back towards the bed. "Guess who is in this train with us."

"Err..." Railroad looked at the ceiling for a moment before making his way down, finding a second stallion standing at the doorway. "Him?" Rail answered, pointing at the referred stallion, not sure of where Silk was going with his question. "Is that the correct answer?"

"That's would be a big no," Silk replied, his voice a mixture of pride and dread. "Sketch here," he said as he pointed at the recently arriving stallion, "is not the one I'm referring to. Mostly because it's not a him."

"Maybe if you could just stop it with the preambles, we could follow you," Hoarfrost said, her voice becoming slurred once again as she jumped back into bed with Rail. "Just go on and say it. If you need me, I'll be here taking a long nap." She turned herself around to face the wall and left out a sigh, Rail barely hearing the sore "that's a way to kill the mood" that she mumbled seconds after, as she threw the sheets over her head.

"Railroad, Sketch, Hoarfrost..." Silk stopped to breathe for a moment, giving Rail a long stare. "I think that— no, wait, I know it. I know that Nightmare is in this train, with us, in this very exact moment." Silk looked at the ceiling for a while as the relative silence of the night took over the ambient. "I really thought you three would know what this means," he said, hanging his head.

"Umm, but we sure do," said Sketch, giving a couple of steps inside the wagon. "I'm sure all of us do. It just isn't necessary, to say it."

"And what would make you so sure about it?" Rail asked, trying his best at feigning interest. His drowsiness wasn't helping at all.

"We saw something happen," replied Sketch, still quite confused. "How he made the connection is out of my knowledge."

"That isn't relevant, you two," Silk replied, his voice turning more frantic and despaired with every passing second. "This is what is important right now: are we sure we can make it? Well, are we?" he asked, clinging to Rail's neck, occasionally stopping to take deep breaths. "Are you? Am I?"

This isn't positive. I'm losing it. I've got to just try to make myself seem believable...

"You should calm down," Rail replied quietly. "Say," he said to Sketch, "what was that something you saw?"

"Calm down?" Silk replied, giving Rail a cold stare. "No. You do not understand this situation at all, let me tell you. There is no way I could—"

"The very last wagon was separated from the rest of the train by a purple mist," Sketch recounted, playing the scene in his head. "That little hook thing just broke all out of a sudden, and it was left behind."

Got to keep myself together. If I fail at doing this, I'll lose of my credibility and that would be awful. I need to hold myself... I need to stop myself from becoming a panicking mess, I need to... I need to give all of this a better look. Who knows what this new colt might have heard from me. If anything, I should keep on being secretive. It's the only sane thing to do. Everything will be fine if I manage to do at least that.

"Oh, really?" Rail asked, his voice a tad lower than usual. "That's a bit difficult to believe. Are you sure you saw that?"

Tinnitus appeared in Silk's ears once he let go of Rail, falling to the floor. The ceiling seemed to be towering over him, and the words that came out of his companion's mouths were slowly but surely becoming a distorted and jumbled mess. Focus, focus, focus. I know I can do this. His front hooves were far away. The floor felt freezing, and he was sure the room was getting darker. Hold yourself together, Silk.

"I'm afraid I have."

Don't lose the fight. Your mind is the enemy. Truth is your only true ally. Your mind will betray you. Hold yourself together, Silk.

His ability to comprehend his surroundings was fading fast. The voices present in the room became incomprehensible gibberish, and his eyes were losing coordination. Time and time again, he'd phase in and out of a trance.

Stay. Hold yourself together, Silk. You're the one who will uncover the truth. Do it for everyone out there. You're the one...

"How is Silk doing?" Rail asked, returning into his position underneath the bed sheets. "He takes these things quite seriously."

Sketch looked down at his hooves and, dryly, replied: "I think he's unconscious." He reached down to him and poked him with a hoof, finding no response. "Yup, that seems to be the answer."

"Oh, he's gone already?" Rail asked, almost managing to contain a chuckle. "He has gotten worse at managing to stay unaffected by that kind of thing, then. Well, just leave him there, he should be fine..."

"And you may leave," Hoarfrost added, standing up as she threw the sheets back. "Unless you want to join..." she said as she licked her lips, giving him a wink.

Sketch gave a couple of steps back, staring at her with a wide-eyed expression of severe embarrassment as he blushed. "N-no— I'm actually leaving..."

The night returned to be silent after Sketch left the room and closer the room behind him. The sound of Silk's breathing was almost indistinguishable over the sound of the rails.

"Well, it seems that we're alone again..." she whispered, passing a hoof at a side of his face as she leaned in, softly biting down on his neck. "Silky Fetlocks is going to be listening, too?" she pointed out, looking at the stallion that lay on the floor. "Aw, now that's something new..."

"Shouldn't we get him into bed or anything? It's really cold," Rail asked, directing his gaze towards anywhere but Hoarfrost. He was too far into his sudden drowsiness as if to try to push her away. "We should—"

She put a hoof over his mouth, slowly cracking a demented grin. "Sure, why not?" she asked no one in particular as she jumped down from the bed before grabbing one of Silk's forehooves between her teeth. With her voice temporarily strained, she pulled him over to the bed Rail was in, ending up with the three tightly packed over the soft sheets. "Better...?"

Rail couldn't take his eyes off the stallion right in front of him. His breathing started to accelerate, slowly but surely. "B-but he—"

"He will never know, dear..." she said as she put her forelegs over the center if his chest, wiggling her rump from side to side as she bit down on the bed sheets that were now thrown at a side. "But if you want him to know about it, I can always arrange something..."

---

The door burst open.

"Is any of you awake!?" asked Sketch, his voice agitated, barely coming out from behind his erratic breaths. "I think something has gone awfully wrong..."

He trotted over to the bed, mumbling something to himself, finding the three ponies lying atop of it.

Right after he could reach out to move any of them to wake them up, he heard the sound of glass shattering in the engine room.

A couple of muffled sounds followed and then, only silence.

Arming himself with bravery, he went towards the door and, after doubting himself for a long while, opened it. The cold night breeze rushed in from a broken window to his left, and he immediately noticed how there was no indication of the fact if there was a conductor to begin with or not.

He stepped closer to the broken window, careful not to step on any shards, noticing very faint droplets of blood on the floor next to the opening.

The door behind him closed with a loud clash. He jumped, startled, and rushed to the door to open it once again. It wouldn't even budge.

He turned around, sitting down as he stared at the fire. "He was right. She is here, after all."

After a long while of gazing at the flames as he heard the train slow down, he proceeded to grab the shovel on the floor and get to work.

The crackle of the firewood and the warmth of the fire were his only two companions in that moment.

"Getting to Canterlot will take me several more hours. I... Why am I doing this?"

Comments

[I Am Known As Sketchpad]

.........

welp.

On a not-actually-very-related note, Sketch (or more accurately Sketchpad) is the name of my OC.

This wasn't on purpose, was it?