The Earth Ponies

by RomanCandle

Chapter 18 - Hiding

The weather had picked up a distinct chill in the morning when the three Ponies first saw the sparkling signs of Las Pegasus rise over the horizon. The arid scrubland they had been walking on still got more than warm during the day, but it was clear that they wouldn't last much longer.

The signs were not lit - likely turned off at the first sign of daylight - but the many reflective surfaces of buildings and billboards gave the city a sparkle against the still-dark western sky. A few sparse clouds floated along the outskirts - Half Note recognized them as Pegasi homes, and cocked her head.

"Hmm, I thought there'd be more."

Tornado Bolt looked at her funny. "More what? Lights?"

Half Note shook her head. "Cloud homes - It's Las Pegasus, isn't it?"

Tornado chuckled. "Well, yeah, but it's also a tourist town. Most other Ponies couldn't get in on the action if it was all floating in the sky, could they? Those houses are probably the houses for the rich snobs who can't stand the ground or something."

Half Note shrugged. "Okay, I'll buy that. But why is it so...dry and desert like? Appleloosa didn't have enough Pegasi to manage the weather, but it sounds like they have plenty here."

Tornado shurgged back at her. "I dunno for sure. I've heard my dad mention stuff about 'prescribed droughts' or something like that. Maybe the plants here don't like as much water. Probably why there aren't any clouds that aren't making somepony's house."

Half Note scrunched her nose. "Why would anypony want to come to this place then, if it's supposed to be so dry all the time?"

Firelock looked over her shoulder at the two Ponies lagging behind her. "Games or something - my parents went on vacation here once and left me at home with a babysitter. They said I couldn't come because it was some kind of 'grownup fun'. Whatever that meant."

Tornado Bolt snorted. "It's probably boring math stuff. I hope we can get the train tickets and get out of here before we get roped into something."

The other two mares nodded and continued, finally coming across the dusty path that led to the gates. They could see the early sunlight glimmer off the train tracks that wound away from the town - but no sign of a train on it's way or at a station. The path on which they walked was beaten and old, but looked ancient. Despite being outside such a large city, there were no immediate signs of recent use - weeds were sprouting out of the packed earth, and the only bits of refuse were a few glass bottles, the labels bleached away and their contents long evaporated.

Firelock shuffled a little as she walked. "I bet most Ponies come in by train. It's a long walk from here to anywhere else. Yeah."

As the city drew nearer, small, sagging houses came into view against the base. These streets showed a great deal more use, with many bumps and potholes in the dirt road from many hooves - some of the larger potholes seemed unusually regular - sharp indentations, almost like a large hoofprint. But none of the hooves that packed the dirt to stone could be seen at the moment. The outskirts of the city were silent.

Half Note felt her coat stand on end. Something felt wrong. She wanted to say something, but one look at Tornado Bolt kept her quiet. The Pegasus' face showed that the unease was mutual. Firelock's posture had turned stiff, as well.

The Unicorn whispered as though afraid to break the silence. "I know it's morning, but it's not that early. There should be Colts and Fillies going to school, at least..."

Gradually the sagging houses and dirt road merged into larger, newer buildings and paved roads. Neon signs started to appear by doors - none of them lit or open. Signs that spelled "HOT COFFEE", "CASINO" and "STALLIONS! STALLIONS! STALLIONS!" hung dark and limp in windows, all equally foreboding as the empty streets.

Firelock, trembling slightly, picked a door at random and knocked.

There was no answer.

The sun had long since begun it's descent by the time the three found their way to the train station. Unlike the little wooden structure from Ponyville, the large, concrete building had an almost governmental feel to it. It stood out among all the other fantastically shaped buildings by it's sheer simplicity - and that there appeared to be light behind the drawn shades.

No words were needed as the trio picked up pace towards the door - Firelock arrived ahead of the others, and tugged on the double doors - they didn't budge. A glance passed between Firelock and Half Note, and they hesitated just long enough for Tornado Bolt to grunt and knock loudly on the doors.

"Hey, anypony in there? We wanna take the train!"

The Pegasus received a pair of uncomfortable looks for a few seconds before the door clicked and opened ever so slightly. A pale yellow face stuck out ever so slightly for just a moment before the door opened fully to reveal the blue mane framing the frantic eyes. The mare in the door way beckoned them in rapidly. "Quick, quick, he's not out there, is he?"

Tornado Bolt blinked. "Who?" Her question was ignored as the firghtened mare grabbed her and pulled her inside. The door was left open, and Half Note and Firelock quickly followed, only to have the door shut and locked behind them immediately. The interior was darker than the bright morning outside, and it took a moment for their eyes to adjust. A few candles burning were the first things they noticed, followed by a few haggard, frightened faces nearby. Tornado, being the first in, was the first to adjust, and the first to question.

"Okay, what's going on here?"

The mare who had pulled them in - a Pegasus herself - flushed and stuttered. "I'm...I'm sorry. We don't know where he is and if he was nearby we couldn't risk him finding out we were hiding in here or Celestia knows what could happen and - "

"Okay slow down, who is 'he?'" Tornado frowned, hovering.

The yellow mare gaped. "You...you don't know?" Tornado narrowed her eyes. "...T-Tirek. A giant centaur who's been eating magic straight out of Ponies. I...I assumed you were hiding from him, like we were. It's a National Emergency, how did you not know?"

Firelock stepped up. "We've, ah, been out of the loop for a while."

A nod. "I guess you were lucky, then. Tirek is a breakout from Tartarus who's been terrorizing the country. He came through here a few days ago and got nearly everypony - everypony in here was able to hide from him somehow. We spent the first few days gathering up as many victims as we could -"

Half Note gulped. "Did he...did he kill them?"

A shake of the head. "No, but you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference. With their magic drained, the Ponies he got to could hardly talk or move, even the Earth Ponies. We grabbed everyone we could find and took them here and put them on the train to the Crystal Empire." The yellow mare scuffed her hoof. "We're hoping the Crystal Heart will help somehow, or at least keep Tirek at bay until we can do something about it. As for us, well...the last train was yesterday, and we fit every pony on it we could. We think we have the city clear, so we're going there when the train gets back. We just....we just don't know if Tirek...found the train, or if he'll find us somehow."

The mare shivered, bit her lip and looked to the side for a moment, before turning back. "My name is Sun Shower, by the way."

Half Note and Firelock shared another worried glance as Tornado Bolt shrugged and replied. "Tornado, Firelock, and Half Note."

The two glared at her as Sun Shower cocked her head. "Those names sound familiar...are you from around here?"

Tornado shrugged again. "Not really. Been traveling around, doing some research. Might have heard our names come up from some academics or something."

Sun Shower made a face. "...If you say so. Anyway, you're welcome to wait for the train with us. A few ponies have opted to walk, but, well...we don't know how that's turned out."

Tornado nodded. "Sounds good to me. We'll letcha know if we leave, at least."

Sun Shower nodded in response and walked away. Firelock grabbed Tornado with a hoof and pulled her to eye-level.

"Why the buck did you just use our real names after we had aliases and those pretty-plot Buffalo names you were so fond of?" She hissed through clenched teeth.

Tornado Bolt rolled her eyes. "It's like you weren't even listening. National Emergency kind of trumps runaway foals, don't you think? Even if she did recognize us, what could she, or anypony else do with things the way they are?"

Firelock's eye twitched. "I don't know! That's the problem, featherbrain! We literally had two other names you could have used that wouldn't have had any risk with them whatsoever, and you just decide to use the most risky option!"

Half Note put a hoof on Firelock's shoulder. "You're right, we should have used other names. But there's no point in arguing about it now - changing our names will just make us stand out even more." The Earth Pony looked up at her Pegasus friend. "But in the future, let's not drop our real names without asking each other first, okay?"

Tornado Bolt crossed her forelegs and sighed. "Fine. Can we use the Buffalo names then? I like Stormwing better than Purple Haze."

A weak voice spoke up from the corner. "...Would...would you please be a bit more quiet...I...You woke me up."

The three mares turned towards the voice and saw an Earth Pony stallion lying on his side, eyes dull and grey even for the dim lighting. What's more, the blanket he was under failed to cover his blank flank.

Author's Note:

...

Comments

[WiseFireCracker]

Oh snappity snap. You know, I wonder how Half Note will try to spin that in Earth Ponies have no cool magic whatsoever, even in the face of a pony whose magic was drained from his body and can barely move anymore.

[Thought Prism]

This is quite good. Super mystical and whatnot. I demand MOAR

[ferret]

Introducing Tirek in the middle of a story about supercharging ponies with magic... I can see no way this could possibly go wrong.

[Emperor]

Well, Earth ponies being sluggish without their magic will at least be a smack in the face for Half Note. I'm a little bit surprised the unnamed Pegasus mare didn't spot the Cutie Marks on Firelock and Half Note though, which would verify their story that they were out of the loop.

Wait a minute...that means that while they were travelling, they missed out on all the Plundervine fun. I guess they completely didn't even notice when the sun and moon were hanging in the sky at the same time, though :O