Logic vs Emotion - A HiE Tale

by MetalGenocide

Chapter 13 - To Canterlot!

You stare out over the burning buildings once again. The flames once more consuming your vision. Shadows flicker and fade all around you, but you no longer reach for them. You have no energy left to fight. Accepting the inevitable outcome of this nightmare world, you just watch it burn. Over and over, this reality crumbles before you, incoherent screams echo between the roaring infernos.

“I can’t do anything anyway. I can’t save them…” You mutter, closing your eyes and resigning the world to its eventual fate.

“Help! Anypony!” A high-pitched scream jogs you free of your thoughts. You spin round and face the collapsing ruins of Sugar Cube Corner. Windows exploding from the heat, flames devouring the exterior. And something else. Something darker.

A crash from above moves your gaze upwards. One of the buildings beams had smashed through the upper wall, hanging over the edge. And holding onto it is-

“Pinkie!” You cry out. She panics, struggling to hold on. Her body grazed by the fire and covered in ash. Her mane and tail singed by the onslaught. Your eyes never leave her as your legs move towards the building. “Pinkie!”

Her head continues to face the wall which she crashed through. The flames within growing larger as they creep across the beam towards the terrified pony.

“Pinkie Pie! Let go!” You cry out to her.

“But!” She turns to try and look at you, acknowledging your presence. Her face stained with tears.

“I’ll catch you! Trust me!” You yell.

Pinkie scrunches up her eyes, pressing herself against the beam. The fire creeps closer to her, twisting and morphing. Your eyes dart over to the flames, and you see it again. A shadow hidden within the coalescing flames. Formless, but present, inching ever closer to your friend.

“PINKIE!”

Her hooves release the beam just as the shadowy flame lunges for her. Narrowly escaping, Pinkie Pie falls, straight towards your open arms.

Almost there…

An angry roar emanates from above her.

Almost there…

The beam snaps and plumets towards you.

Almost…

The whole world slows to a crawl. Pinkie Pie falling towards you, inches away. The beam closing in on her. You swing your arms closed, grasping her soft form. You hold her tight as the dreamworld fades to red and black.

====================

Standing at the Ponyville train platform, you continue roll your thoughts over in your head.

Humans get nightmares all the time. And recurring dreams are common too. They can happen for any number of reasons. But this, this felt different.

“And that shadow. That was new…” You sigh, defeated. “Maybe I should lay off the apples.”

You decide to focus on the day’s events instead. Tea with the Princess herself. And at her castle in Canterlot. You get excited at the thought, looking down at your ticket. But the excitement quickly fades, and you begin to feel a little uneasy about the trip and the idea of going somewhere new.

You take out the letter from the princess. “I hope this captain will be easily recognisable.”

A loud whistle signals the arrival of a pink locomotive, pulling several carriages of varying colours. Just like the steam engines from home, these have a metal body as well as connecting parts like the wheels. This seems odd at first, but you take note of the single track, concluding that there probably aren’t that many trains on them.

As soon as it comes to a halt, several ponies disembark. They gasp when they notice you and hastily dart to the side. You watch as the startled ponies meet up with some of the townsfolk and begin to mutter amongst each other. Ignoring the mumbles, your eyes follow track towards your destination. The distant mountain, and the spires that decorate the sky.

“All aboard for Canterlot!”

Ducking through the door, you enter one of the empty carriages, deciding to place yourself in the corner, out of the way. The seating was clearly designed for smaller passengers as you shift into a comfortable position. You turn gaze out the window as the train slowly starts to leave the station. The constant rattle of the wheels on the track gives a sense of familiarity as you look out over the alien world. If it wasn’t for the events leading up to here, you could even forget that you were in Equestria. You watch the rolling hills move by the window, spreading into forests further away. Up ahead you can make out the mountain holding the capital. It finally dawns on you just where the journey is heading, causing your palms to sweat and shake nervously.

“I hope this goes well.” You sigh, rubbing your palms on your trousers.

====================

A dark shadow falls over you as the train begins its steep ascent towards Canterlot, traversing through a series of caves and mountainside railways. Between the tunnelled sections, you catch glimpses of expansive grassland and forested areas. A large cloud formation catches your eye every so often as it hangs in the air. You could swear the formation looks like a city, complete with rainbow waterfalls.

“Maybe I’ll ask Dash about it, she’ll probably know.” You continue to gaze over the horizon.

Eventually the railway levels out and you watch as the train passes under a large stone archway. Moments later, the station platform comes into view. It is slightly larger than the one in Ponyville, crafted from grey and purple stone with large glass windows. A large clock hangs on the wall, overlooking the platform. The small crowd of ponies on the platform back away sharply as you disembark from the train. Taking a deep breath, you stretch to your full height, towering over the residents. Moving away from the door, you catch a voice over the hushed whispers.

“How am I supposed to know who I’m meeting here?”

Look in the direction of the voice, you see a large white unicorn wearing purple armour. He stands with his back to you, observing the other passengers coming off the train. You walk up behind him as he continues to talk to himself.

“ ’You’ll know him when you see him, Captain.’ The princess does love her surprises.” The unicorn sighs. “A little more information would have been nice though. I don’t even know what this stallion looks like.”

“Well for starters, I’m not technically a stallion.”

The white unicorn spins round with surprising agility. Backing away slightly, his stance alters. You see the muscles tense through his back legs, giving him the purchase to react in a single moment. He studies you closely, unsure what to make of the creature before him.

“You… what are?-”

“Human. Earth. Tea with the princess.” You interrupt him, introducing yourself with a smug grin.

“I… See.” The ponies face softens, but his stance remains unchanged.

You brandish the letter from Princess Celestia in front of him. His eyes move over it, reading the contents. Slowly, he shifts to a more neutral stance, releasing the tension in his legs.

“I should have guessed that her special guest was not a pony.” He chuckles softly. Straightening himself up, Shining Armour gives you a salute. “Captain Shining Armour. I’ll be your escort through the city today.”

“Thank you, Captain.” You salute him back, though with far less discipline. “Lead on.”

The ponies within the building hastily move out of your way as you pass through, many of them continuing to stare once you walk past. Feeling a little self-conscious, you increase your stride to be alongside your escort. Soon enough, you emerge from the train station and are greeted with the bustling life of the capital.

The sound of hoofs meeting stone rumble around you, conversations travel through the air. The familiar smell of a coffee and baked bread assaults your nose. A small breeze blows through you, bringing with it a sweet floral scent with subtle hints of lemon and mint.

A set of stairs lead down to a grey cobbled street, flanked by large stone buildings. From your increased vantage point, you can make out several cafes and shops along the street, with a collection of ponies sitting at tables or walking between shops. Gazing skywards, you see numerous ivory towers with golden spires decorating the skyline.

You let loose an impressed whistle, taking in the city’s décor.

“Welcome to Canterlot, Capital of Equestria.” Shining Armour chuckles at your reaction. “Pretty impressive, right?”

“I’ll say.” You reply, still looking around the city. “A major change from Ponyville.”

Shining Armour makes his way down the stairs. “We should get moving. It’s still a little way to the castle.”

You quickly notice how the sounds of the city fade around you as you walk behind Shining Armour, your taller form getting attention from all the ponies you pass. Those on your path move quickly out of the way, while others just stare as you pass by, occasionally leaning into each other and whispering. Their eyes linger as you pass by, making you a little uncomfortable. You catch the occasional murmurs of the ponies, commenting about the ‘strange creature’ and how ‘it looks dangerous.’

“Lot of unicorns here.” You casually observe.

“Canterlot is the centre for magical studies.” Shining Armour informs you, adjusting his position to walk by your side. “With Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns, as well as the biggest library in Equestria, it ended up becoming the location that unicorns flocked to. So, what do you do in Ponyville?”

“Right now, I work for the mayor, helping out with the towns maintenance. Fixing broken things and general upkeep.”

“Sounds like you got a lot of work then.” Shining Armour smiles.

“Not as much as I’d like. Always looking for the next distraction, you know?” You chuckle. “What about you? Being Captain of the Royal Guard must be exciting.”

“Not as exciting as it sounds.” Shining shakes his head. “Other than some petty crimes, we really don’t have much to do. Nightmare Moons return was the first real threat Equestria faced, and we were completely useless. Put our position into perspective though.”

Shining Armour frowns, clearly disappointed by what had happened.

“Hey, cheer up. I’m sure you guys did your best. You were facing what amounts to a goddess after all. How are you supposed to fight something like that?” You try your best to lighten the mood.

“Still, we should have been better prepared.” He mutters angrily to himself.

“Well, now you know. You can adjust accordingly, right?”

“Oh, I already have. Changed up the training routines completely. Does mean I’m away from my family a bit more though.” Shining sighs.

“I’m sure they understand.” You smile.

====================

As you continue to walk with Shining Armour, the sound of water gradually reaches your ears. Following the road round, the buildings eventually give way to reveal a magnificent castle situated above an open courtyard. Its dual towers, decorated with golden emblems of the sun and moon, pierce the sky. The white stone softly reflecting the light onto the surrounding area. The upper reaches are sheltered by golden tops, while the lower roofs are coloured purple and separated by a gold trim. Water flows from the mountain and under a small bridge ahead of you, acting like a moat and separating the grand building from the rest of the city.

“Wow.” You stare in awe of the structure. Shining Armour chuckles as he walks ahead, making you break into a jog to catch up.

The pathway splits ahead of you. The main path leads to a set of large stairs, climbing up to the grand entrance. The top and bottom of the stairs are flanked by several stern ponies in golden armour and helmets. The side paths turn from the cobbled stone into a light, well used dirt path that appears to lead around the castle. To your left you can see open gardens, several statues of different ponies and what looks to be an eastern style dragon, as well as a large hedge maze behind them. You also notice that several ponies are walking around, with some more of the guard ponies dotted about the area.

“The princess likes to have a more personal relationship with her citizens, so the maze gardens are open to all visitors. But we’re not going that way.” Shining Armour takes the right path, leading away from the public area. He leads you to a small tunnel in a hedge, its entrance flanked by two more guard ponies. They salute Shining Armour and give you a cautious glance as he leads you through.

The tunnel opens into a small, secluded garden surrounded by white walls. Colourful flowers decorate the edges, with a singular bird bath standing in the middle. Several tall trees cast their shadows onto the ground, offering protection from the sun’s rays. A small table stands in their shade, along with several chairs, and a tall, white pony, seated comfortably with her eyes closed. A warm smile gracing her face.

Comments

[Winter Star]

Noticed one error.

How are you supposed to fight something __ that?

Is a fragment sentence. Consider adding 'like' or more detail the end of the sentence.

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I am still enjoying the story and look forward to more.

It will be interesting to see what the dreams are all about. From the few hints it seems they may be caused by some sort of dream demon or parasite?

Also wonder how long it will take before Luna notices his dreams or he mentions them to somepony and is directed to Luna?

[MetalGenocide]

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Thank you! I'm glad you're still enjoying it. I hope future chapters won't disappoint