Through Martyr's Eyes

by ShouldNotExist

Train Kept a Rollin'

-Train Kept a Rollin'-

The entire building seemed to explode with enthusiastic cheering, the floor bouncing underneath Twilight’s chair from the sheer force that the ponies put into it with their hooves. Marty mockingly cringed, lifting a hoof to poke at one of his ears with a cheeky grin on his face. Either he had enjoyed the performance as much as they had, or he was simply glad to hear a good response to the song. He bowed jokingly when the cheering didn’t stop, eventually lifting a hoof and trying to tell them to be calm.

“Whose hat is this, anyway?” Marty asked from the stage, his horn lighting up and lifting the hat from his head. The hat twitched in the air, as if he wasn’t sure exactly how it should be lifted and he had to keep changing his magical grip on it.

A loud whistle pierced the air, a hoof shooting up from the ponies near the stage. It was a lemon yellow colt, his mane a bright purple that spiked off untidily from his head. “Over here!” The colt yelled, catching Marty’s ears. The hat launched into the air, aimed in the direction of the colt’s voice. It missed by a margin just large enough for the colt to miss even though he had stretched to get it.

“So close!” Another voice called out. Marty swiped his hoof through the air, a mock scowl donning his face before it broke back down into a goofy grin.

Twilight almost didn’t register these events however, her mind reeling. She couldn’t even begin to guess why Marty would ever even look up to her, or why he would be interested in her in the first place. She had almost nothing to do with the musical community, sure, she knew a few musicians, but that hardly constituted her to have a reputation among them. And she had never involved herself in the darker aspects of chemical sciences, that is, drugs. Investigating them or dealing with them. So that was out as well.

Twilight simply couldn’t find any reason that Marty would ever have even heard of her if not in passing or by coincidence alone, and she didn’t like to believe in coincidence. Whatever reason Marty had had for telling her this, her interest had been piqued.

The world around her returned when a plate suddenly slid into her view, a neat and tidy dandelion sandwich sitting on top of it with a small portion of hay chips set to the side. She looked up to find butterfly hovering daintily over their table, the careful flapping of her wings keeping her from blowing the food she had just set down away. In the corner of her eye, she could see Cherry pouring an entire container of red syrup on top of a large portion of hay fries.

“So …” Butterfly said, eying Twilight mischievously. There was a tiny smile on her lips, like it was barely held back from her mirth. One of her eyebrows had lifted, and she could clearly see the question of what she thought in the pose of her body.

“Well … I can say that I’m surprised …” Twilight mumbled, unsure of where to look. The look that Butterfly was giving her made her face flush hot, and she looked down at her sandwich as a way to avoid it, even though she could still feel her eyes on her. “I didn’t realise that you meant that literally. That he idolised me …” She mumbled to her sandwich.

She heard Butterfly chuckle, a light and almost scratchy sound. Much less than laughter, but slightly more than a giggle. “That’s Marty for yah. I’m actually really surprised he did that, too. Normally he’s a lot more … you know, quiet about that sorta thing.” Butterfly mused, a glance at Cherry eliciting another set of chuckles from the pegasus as the tiny changeling stuffed her cheeks full of the sticky hay fries. “Oh, here he comes! I’ll go get summore napkins for yah, sweetie.” She said, darting back over to the kitchen.

Her attention drawn away from the sandwich in front of her, she was able to confirm that Marty was indeed being led back over to their table. She waited patiently as Marty took his own seat, the leading pegasus moving back to the stage to help reorganize it. Marty sat awkwardly for a moment, shuffling his hooves on the seat of his chair as the sound from the crowd devolved back down to meaningless chatter. He coughed, a vain attempt to fill the silence that had fallen between them and to try and loosen the tension that she could actually feel building.

“I have a few questions-”

“Maybe I should explain a few things-”

They paused, their words tangling in each others as they both tried to speak. The awkward silence resumed as they both waited for the other to continue.

“Maybe you should-”

“You go ahead and-”

They stopped again, both of them donning sheepish smiles. Marty managed to cough out another chuckle, one of his hooves reaching up to scratch at his forelock. “Uh- heh … Y-you start, Twilight.” He said, trying to laugh away the awkwardness of the situation.

She opened her mouth to start, interrupted suddenly by a loud bout of laughter from behind Marty. She leaned out to look toward the source, a very sticky changeling who was practically falling out of her chair with laughter. She was absolutely covered in the syrup that had once drenched her hay fries, her mouth vainly held closed over a too large bite of the fries as she laughed. Marty smiled sheepishly, rolling his blank eyes and otherwise ignoring Cherry’s obvious enjoyment of the situation.

Twilight returned to her seat, glad that the awkward tension had been lifted. She let out her own giggle, shaking her head as she started. “That was … uhm … surprising.” She said, unsure of how to continue as she watched a look of confusion cross Marty’s face. “I mean, I never realized that you- … that you looked up to me.” She said, feeling her face warm despite her inner protests.

“I- I thought you knew!” Marty stuttered, his face practically turning a whole new shade of crimson that clearly shone out of his black fur. “I- I mean- …” He stopped himself, one of his hooves reaching up and supporting his head as he leaned heavily on it. “Now I feel really stupid.” He muttered with a bittersweet grin that he forced onto his features.

“Hey! No, that’s not what I meant! I mean- I thought that it was sort of … sweet,” she admitted, reaching out with a hoof and resting it gently on his shoulder. “I’m still surprised, I had no idea that I could … help somepony like that without really knowing it.” She said, watching him slowly lift his head.

“So … I guess Shiny didn’t tell you that, then?” He asked, looking toward her, his ears locking on her directly.

“Well, he told me that you said you had been inspired by somepony after you went- went to rehab …” She said, pausing slightly at the mention of his attendance of a rehabilitation facility. She wasn’t sure if he would be very comfortable with her saying that in public.

“Oh, wow! So he told you that, but not that! That is just like that-” Marty started, sitting up with a huff. He leaned back in his chair, seeming to relax. “Maybe I should explain …” He said after a moment, scratching at his forelock again. “After I went to rehab- well, I sorta lost my momentum.” He said with a sigh, his hoof returning to the plate in front of him and idly running around its edge. “I was practically on the verge of a relapse. But then I heard about you …” He trailed off, the blushing on his cheeks slowly dying to something less noticeable. “I heard about the stuff you did, and it sorta- got me thinking, you know?” He muttered, starting to seem slightly less comfortable.

“Okay, but how could I have done something to inspire you?” Twilight asked, her curiosity unsatisfied with only the partial explanation.

“You’re gonna think that I’m making fun of you.” Marty said quickly, starting to lose the resolve that would have let him continue.

“I won’t. I promise.” Twilight said, almost pleading at this point. “You can’t just start to tell me and then stop like that, come on.” She tried, leaning forward and putting a hoof on his arm again.

He paused his nervous tracing of the plate in front of him, stopping at the six o’clock position and tapping it for a moment. “Okay, but … don’t be angry with me, okay?” He said, waiting a moment for a signal for him to stop. When it didn’t come, he sighed and continued. “Pretty much anypony who followed current events knew that Princess Celestia’s student was … introverted. Some even went as far as labeling you antisocial.” He said carefully, a nervous smile creeping onto his face as he paused.

“Introverted?” Twilight muttered under breath. “Well, I guess that might be fair. I wasn’t ever doing anything but my studies then, and I usually preferred it over trying to make friends, then.” She admitted, watching Marty relax slightly at hearing that she wasn’t upset with him.

“Yeah …” He muttered, taking a deep breath and continuing. “Well, then you went off and … saved the world. And all the sudden you were this outgoing, and friendly, and just- a good pony. It was sorta inspiring to somepony who couldn’t see, and was stuck scraping the bottom. Sorta made me rethink everything, rekindled those things I had wanted to do before- Well, before this.” He finished, pointing at one of his eyes.

She paused for a second, staring intently at his eyes. They had almost seemed to glow for a moment in the strange lighting of the room, but he blinked and they returned to normal. “... I had no idea.” She muttered, blinking away her more scientific questions. “That’s- uhm-”

She stopped suddenly, the harsh sound of a chair scraping across the floor startling her before she could figure out what she wanted to say. Both of them turned to look at Cherry, who was standing up on her chair and staring open mouthed at a wall mounted clock. “Twilight! Twilight! When does train leave?!” She asked, hopping up and down, waving a hoof toward her and keeping her eyes on the clock.

“Uhm- at seven o’clock. Why?” Twilight asked, slightly put off by her sudden interruption. She almost couldn't help herself from smiling, Cherry was almost soaked in the syrup she had used on her food.

“It is being six forty o’clock!” Cherry said, a look of mortification flashing across her face. “It is to being take more than twenty minutes to get to station from Trumpet!” She said jumping up and pointing at the clock.

“What?!” Twilight asked, jumping up in her own seat and looking toward the clock herself. Indeed, the hands very hauntingly pointed to the six forty mark on the clock. She felt more than saw Cherry light herself with a green smoldering fire, the smell of burning sugar suddenly filling the room. She spun around in time to see a faint trail of smoke drift off of Cherry’s back before she started to speak.

“We have to leave now! If we run we catch train last second!” Cherry announced, grabbing onto Marty and dragging him out of his chair and starting toward the door at a fast clip. Twilight followed, dodging out the door as it started to close behind them.

“How did we wait this long?!” She asked as she ran, huffing as she tried to keep up with the surprisingly fast changeling. How she could be pulling Marty along at this pace she would never know, she was still surprised at all the strange turns that Cherry took.

“I think … that that might ... have been my ... fault.” Marty puffed, obviously struggling to keep up with the pace that Cherry had set. They took another sudden turn, stopping suddenly in front of a large metal door in the ground. “I might have … taken too long trying to ...talk. Cherry, where are we?” He asked, tapping on the edge of the door on the ground with a hoof and creating a dull thundering sound.

“Is door to- UNGH!” Cherry lit up the handle of the door with her green magic, pulling on it hard but doing little to move it. “Underground tunnels. Is shortcu~ut!” She grunted, trying to lift it again.

“I got it!” Twilight said, lifting open the door with her magic. It opened with a creak and slammed onto the ground loudly, revealing a ramp that lead into a pitch black tunnel. “Uh … Cherry? I don’t know about thi~IIS!” Twilight started, trailing off into a scream as Cherry pushed her down the ramp-made-slide and into the darkness.

The slide into the dark was fast, ending with her sprawled on a smooth concrete floor. The air was cold and the only light came from the door above them, and that was very little considering that the sun was going down. A moment later, Marty’s own surprised yell echoed down the ramp just before he ran into her at the base of the ramp.

“Oof! Just like old times, huh?” Marty said, rolling off her quickly.

“Not that long ago, Marty.” Twilight mumbled, she thanked the fact that Marty was a skinnier pony, for the sake of her spine. She heard him chuckle again.

The door above them creaked again, the light waning and then suddenly disappearing with another slam. There was an excited squeal followed by another thud against Twilight’s side. “Hi, Twilight.” Cherry said, standing up and shaking herself off. The only reason that she actually knew that Cherry did that because she was right next to her and felt the air move around her, it was pitch black.

“Cherry?! I can’t see anything!” She said starting to gain a feeling of claustrophobia in the dark and presumably small room.

“Oh no! What a nightmare!” Marty said in a mock spooky voice, breaking down into laughter.

“Sorry …” Twilight said quickly, feeling herself blush as she realized who she had said that to.

“Don’t worry about it.” Marty said cheerily, his laughter falling away. “Just light up a spell, why don’t you?” He suggested, Cherry instantly following suit with her own eerie green glow.

It revealed a relatively thin, but tall, tunnel that stretched off to a cross section that disappeared into darkness. It was wide enough to let two ponies walk side by side, but it would be a close fit. She quickly lit her horn with a rudimentary light spell, hers being much brighter than Cherry’s and a less disconcerting color. The walls were lined with brick arches that seemed to support the cracked and discolored concrete on the ceiling and walls, strangely, the floor remained a constant, clean color.

“Where are we?” Twilight asked, following as Cherry started down the tunnel. She wasn’t exactly comfortable following her down into the dark, but her inspection of the tunnels around them distracted her. The tunnel had a slight decline to it, leading them further down into the ground under the city.

“These tunnels were used by the construction workers during the planning and building of the city. But they cut through buildings, dodge past streets, and are otherwise a shortcut to just about anywhere in the city.” Marty said from beside her, his saddlebags bouncing with a slight jingle as they walked with a brisk pace after Cherry.

“How do you know that?” Twilight asked, examining a particularly interesting looking brick support.

Marty hesitated for a moment, long enough for her to wonder if he had actually heard her. “My dad … he was a big history guy. Archeologist, actually.” Marty said flatly. Something was off about what he said, just the way he had had to pause before he talked.

“That’s … really nice …” She said, settling on not pressing the subject. “So why are we down here? I’m not exactly excited about walking under the city.” She said, a nervous chuckle escaping her lips before she could stop it.

“Cherry knows all the shortcuts, she has a talent for it. I swear, if she had a cutie mark, it would definitely be about navigation, or mazes, or something.” Marty whispered to her, continuing to follow the tiny changeling down the tunnel and around another bend that flattened out their descent.

“Cherry did hear that!” The changeling of the same name said, looking over her shoulder with a proud grin on her face.

Now that they had a little time, she could really appreciate how small Cherry was. She was only just larger than a filly, but small enough that she could easily have been seen as one. She could easily have been the same, or slightly larger than any of her friends’ sisters. It was almost easy to picture her as Marty’s little sister.

They walked in silence for a long time, the fast walking pace keeping her just below a trot. She could tell that Marty wasn’t exactly having an easy time keeping the pace, he must not have been used to cardiovascular activities, like running through the city to catch a late train. If her internal clock was right, they had been walking for about ten minutes.

Cherry stopped suddenly, backtracking a few steps and looking down a tunnel leading to the right. She started up it, the incline now leading up toward the surface again. Twilight led Marty up to the vaulted entrance, pausing suddenly as a strange feeling crawled up her spine. She felt Marty freeze with her, his entire body shaking alongside her own shiver.

“What was that?” Twilight asked, a note of fear creeping into her voice. She could have sworn that she had felt something breathing down her neck, but she didn’t want to turn around and grace her imagination with an actual image.

“I don’t know, I don’t want to know. I just know that this place is creeping me out, and my horn is itching about it. Let’s just keep following Cherry.” Marty said, pushing against her to try and get her moving. It worked well, Twilight instantly starting into movement.

She took off at a brisk trot, quickly catching up to the slightly confused changeling. “Why was you stopping?” She asked with a raised eye … ridge, Twilight wasn’t sure what to call it, but it wasn’t exactly an eyebrow.

“We’re fine, Cherry. But let’s get to the station, because I think we’re starting to get behind schedule.” Marty said quickly, his breathing starting to come harder at the faster pace, but he never complained about it.

It took another long walk up the ramp before they started to hear the thunder of a train over their heads. The fast pace was taxing however, even Twilight was starting to feel winded by the run, and she prided herself in keeping a regular jogging schedule. The tunnel ended abruptly with another steep ramp that ended at another metal door, this one split in two where the other was a single plate.

Twilight didn’t hesitate when the door came into view, her horn illuminating the two halves of the door and swinging it open. The larger half of the door slammed out in the direction of the ramp, the smaller half swung up with a creak and merely tinged against the ground. They scrambled up the ramp as quickly as they could, having to carefully step around the door as they ascended.

Twilight probably couldn’t have described the feeling that she got when she could finally smell open air again. The smell in the tunnel had been subtle, enough so that she didn’t even notice it until Cherry had shut the door behind them, using her own body as a wedge to close them. It had been musty, with this strange underlying level of animal-like musk. If the sight of more concrete walls, smoother and obviously meant to be seen by ponies in its cleanliness, hadn’t been so disappointing she would have jumped for joy.

That joy was crushed under a very loud, and a very foreboding sound. It was the train whistle, Ponyville’s train whistle. Signifying its departure.

“They is leaving without Twilight!” Cherry yelled, whether to the train or to them Twilight was unsure of, but it was of little concern seeing as how Cherry was right.

They ran up another crowded ramp, finding themselves on the edge of the boarding platforms for the trains. There were several long, raised concrete platforms, each labeled and separated by a large set of double tracks. The train yard was crowded, as it always was in a city like this. But it wasn’t enough to hide the colorfully decorated train leaving for Ponyville among its more industrial cousins.

“Oh no!” Twilight yelped, running full tilt toward her platform.

She practically leapt over the conveniently placed bridges near the rear of the platforms, barely registering the fact that Cherry and Marty were following closely. The train was leaving without her, she didn’t have time to worry about crowds. With a grunt she lit her horn again, a bubble shield surrounding them as they ran, practically squashing ponies as she barrelled past them.

She didn’t know if they had broken any records, but they had to hop over five other platforms before they were able to get onto Ponyville’s platform. And by then the train was already halfway out of the station and gaining speed.

I’m going to be stuck in Manehattan if I can’t catch that train! Her mind practically screamed, urging her tired legs forward as she gave chase to the retreating train. And I don’t have any bits to buy another train ticket! Her mind screeched, the revelation driving her forward. She could actually see the last train car, Applejack hopping up and down on the platform there, urging them on.

She poured on as much speed as she could, almost ignoring the fact that Marty and Cherry had kept up with her the whole time. There were still twelve of the twenty cars in the station, but she wasn’t close enough yet. She became glaringly aware of the sudden drop into unforgiving and stabbing gravel at the end of the platform, another burst of speed desperately pumping her forward.

At this point she was sure that her legs couldn’t pump any faster, the wind resistance and sheer amount of speed needed to move her legs to maintain her momentum already starting to drag her down again. She could actually hear Applejack’s wordless encouragement for her to keep going, the train car and the end of the platform growing nearer with every second. She didn’t have a chance, she was slowing, and the train was still gaining speed.

She knew that a train of the design that Ponyville used could easily reach sixty miles per hour, and she knew for fact that she couldn’t keep up with that. She wasn’t Rainbow Dash, not by any margin. But the last car was getting closer, even as she kept telling herself it couldn’t be done.

“Jump!” A voice suddenly yelled, a light impact on her back commanding her to follow the order. Before she knew it, Twilight was leaping toward the last car of the train. It was a bright pink car, a rear platform allowing passengers to stand outside during the trip.

She barely made it.

She felt herself land hard inside the railing on the train, bouncing slightly as a bump nearly tossed her off. The concrete platform whizzed by, revealing not only the unforgiving gravel she had expected, but a rusty gate that had been left open. If she hadn’t jumped when she did, she would have landed right on the rusty metal of the gate. If her legs had hit, she could have been looking forward to some nasty cuts on her legs. But if she had landed on her stomach, she might not have been able to make it to the hospital.

She shuddered at the thought, even as she clutched to the railing she found herself doubled over on. The colorful, but thankfully not sharply angled, railing pressed into her stomach. She could feel the ache from the impact under her ribs, she would be sore later.

“I gotcha!” Applejack’s voice yelled over the increasing wind. Twilight looked to see Applejack rushing forward, she jumped to the railing beside her, grabbing onto a pair of black hooves. A bue aura grabbed onto Twilight, pulling her forward the rest of the way off of the railing and into the safety of the train’s platform, and she was able to turn around and see who Applejack was helping up.

“Marty?!” Twilight yelled out, the black and silver unicorn being pulled up from over the railing in a similarly unceremonious fashion.

He landed with a grunt, Cherry clinging to his back breathlessly. He was breathing fast, trying to fill his lungs even as he had to empty it to get more air. Cherry seemed to be in a similar predicament, practically melting off of Marty’s back as she found a chance to relax. The run must have been torture for them.

“Ya’ll cut it pretty close, there.” Applejack said with a reprimand, picking up Marty and dusting him off with a hoof. “And jus’ what’n tha’ hay were ya thinkin? Jumping after the train like that?” She asked, turning to look at all three of them with a glare.

“Stop harrassing them, Applejack, and get them inside!” Rarity’s voice called from the door. There was barely enough room for two ponies to stand comfortably on the platform, yet all four of them had squeezed onto it at the moment.

Currently, Twilight was closest to the door, so she was pulled in first. The difference in sound and movement was immense, it was suddenly quiet and she didn’t have all that wind pushing her around. Applejack pulled a very exhausted looking Marty next, mostly having to drag him as his legs wobbled out under him. Cherry wobbled in after them, the door swinging closed behind her.

“Hey!” Rainbow yelled out, drawing Twilight’s attention to the front of the car. She was standing in the door leading to the other car, a frustrated look on her face. “Can’t go anywhere for two seconds without missing something awesome. What happened?” She asked accusingly, shooting an examining look at the tiny, exhausted changeling but otherwise waiting for an answer.

“Twilight near’ missed the train.” Applejack said as she led Marty to a seat carefully, he collapsed onto it without further resistance. “Looks like Marty and … uh … Cherry, followed ‘er.” Applejack explained, watching Marty flinch at a sway of the train car.

It seemed that Cherry recovered first, taking a deep breath and sitting up to look around the room. “Hi!” She said enthusiastically, waving out to the other ponies in the car, which mostly consisted of Twilight’s friends at that point.

“Hi!” Pinkie jumped up, instantly jumping up to follow the greeting. “I’m Pinkie Pie! What’s your name?” She asked happily, bouncing up to the little changeling with a beaming grin.

“Cherry is Cherry!” She said happily, bouncing up and rushing toward the pink pony.

“Hi, Cherry! Oo~oh! You smell like cupcake frosting!” Pinkie said, scooping up the changeling into a tight hug.

“I guess if Pinkie thinks she’s cool, then I’m alright with her …” Rainbow said warily as the two laughed at each other. “I still don’t understand how you guys got on the train, especially these two.” She continued, shooting a questioning glance at Twilight.

“They jumped.” Applejack deadpanned, a less than amused expression on her features.

“... Jumped? … As in, onto the train?” Rainbow asked incredulously, taking a moment to process what she was just told. “That is ... so totally awesome!” Rainbow said, pumping a hoof in the air. “You guys gotta make sure I’m there next time, that sounds so cool.” Rainbow finished, chuckling and falling into her own seat.

The train car swayed as they pulled around a small turn, a groan rising in response to it from the seat where Marty had been dumped. Twilight turned to see Marty clinging to his seat, eyes screwed shut as he swayed with the train. He looked very uncomfortable.

“Ya alright there, pardner?” Applejack asked, turning an eye to him with concern.

“I think I just realized why I’m not a fan of trains …” Marty said, flinching as the car rocked. “Everything is moving, and all these noises. I can’t ever tell when the car’s gonna sway, or when it’ll-” The car suddenly bumped, a track switch as they finally started on their way out of the city.

“Do ya need a bucket?” Applejack asked reluctantly, taking a step back just in case.

“No, but-” He froze again as the train swayed. “J-just gimme a sec.” He said, trying to control his breathing.

“He’s probably got motion sickness.” Twilight said with concern, raising herself from the floor. Her legs protested the movement, still tired from her mad dash to the train. “It can only be worse in the fact that he can’t see anything. Otherwise he could just concentrate on the horizon and he’d be fine.” She muttered, walking over to him and laying a comforting hoof on his back.

“I’m fine.” He protested weakly, starting to sit up. He didn’t flinch in panic with the sways this time, but he wasn’t comfortable with them at all. “Just gonna take a sec to get my uh … train legs. I guess.” He said with a chuckle, interrupted by another bump that made him cringe. “Maybe if I just try and read, or something …” He muttered, twisting around to reach into his saddle bags.

“Don’t worry, the ride usually smooths out once we’re out of the city- Hey! Wait a second!” Twilight said, a thought suddenly springing to her. “What are you doing here?” She asked, shocking Marty out of his saddle bags with a thick book clutched in his mouth. “Shouldn’t you have stayed in Manehattan? Why did you get on the train too?” She asked, causing Marty to drop the book messily back into his saddle bags.

“I don’t see a problem, I wanted to go on a vacation anyway.” He said, surprisingly calm. “Ponyville sounds great! I can get away from the city noises, the smells. No more crowds, or bad air. As far as I’m concerned, Cherry did me a favour pushing me onto the train with you guys.” He explained, dragging the book out with his hooves and setting it in front of himself.

“A vacation-! Marty,” she dropped to a harsh whisper, anger and frustration starting to crawl in where desperation and adrenaline had been. “You don’t have a ticket! They’ll kick you off at the next stop!” She hissed, the sudden feeling of a presence behind her stopping her from continuing her rant.

She turned around to see who it was that was looming over her, and cringed at the sight. It was the train conductor, All Aboard. His large mustache wrapped around his head and connected to the base of his ears. Normally a very cheery stallion, she knew that he could make a very convincingly scary look using just his eyes and that mustache, and he was wearing it now. And then he said the two words that she had dreaded he would say.

“Tickets, please.”

Author's Note:

Pay attention to that shudder kiddies, that was no cold spot ...

I managed to strike a nerve in that writing part of my head, and scrambled together this. As always, I want to hear any and all opinions, criticisms and judgement.