Chapter the first
“All aboard!” The conductor shouted as the train blew its whistle. The conductor looked up and down the Ponyville train station. He waited patiently for the last few passengers to finish their goodbyes and board the train before he turned and waved a hoof down the line at the railroad engineer. The engineer waved back before closing his window. He blew the train whistle a few more times before he flipped a switch that closed all the doors. A checklist was briefly floated up in front of him as he flipped other, seemingly random levers and pushed a few other buttons. Before long, the train was on its way to Canterlot.
Back in the third passenger car, a small purple and green dragon sat down on a seat across from the most recent addition to the very short list of Alicorns Equestria possessed.
“So what did the princesses say they wanted to see you for?” Spike asked as he pulled out a comic and a small bag of gems he brought for the ride.
“I have no idea Spike. They didn’t say why in the letter they sent. They only said to meet them at the castle today before noon.” Twilight answered with a confused frown on her lips. One of her ears twitched when she heard Spike take a bite out of his snack.
“I just hope there isn’t some other villain attacking Equestria. It feels like you and girls have to fight a new one every few months.”
“I don’t think so Spike.” Twilight said as she lifted the flap on her saddle bag with her magic. “We’re not scheduled to have another fight with Starlight Glimmer for another few months still. And I don’t have anypony else in my schedule until then.” She pulled out a large calendar and flipped through a few pages, stopping when she came to the mentioned month. Among other things, a large red circle had been drawn on a particular date with marker. Inside that circle were two poorly drawn unicorns angrily staring at each other. “She didn’t mention what she had planned for her return, but I’m sure we can handle whatever she throws at us.”
Twilight looked up at the silence that greeted her words and found Spike staring at her with an eyebrow raised. “What? I like to keep a schedule. Even with villains. You should know that better than anypony else Spike.”
“Yeah, but…never mind.” Spike wanted to ask more, but stopped himself when he saw Twilight wasn’t really listening as she continued speaking.
“In any case it must be important if they wanted to tell us in pony.” Twilight continued as she packed away her calendar and pulled out a large book from somewhere deep inside her bag. “I wonder if it has something to do with my coronation. Maybe I did something wrong and they wanted to point it out to me and help me correct it?”
“If that were true, wouldn’t they have mentioned it already? I mean, that was before Tirek appeared and that was forever ago. We’ve seen the princesses several times since then.” He dug his claw back into his bag and pulled out another gem and crunched it loudly in his teeth.
Twilight’s ear twitched again, but chose to ignore Spikes loud chewing. “I suppose you’re right Spike. Maybe they want me to meet a foreign diplomat?”
Spike swallowed before he answered. “Maybe. But I guess we won’t know until we get there.”
Twilight let out a sigh. “You’re right…again, Spike. No point in worrying over it right now. I’m sure whatever the problem is, we can fix it and be home for dinner.” Twilight settled into the seat and opened her book to the bookmark marking her place and continued reading. Spike dug through his bag again and drew out another gem. It disappeared into his mouth with a loud crunch, causing Twilights ear to twitch once more.
Twilight couldn’t take much more. The train ride to Canterlot was only about half over and she was about to go mad. Spike’s chewing had become so loud that she couldn’t focus on what she was trying to read. After a few minutes of this, she had politely asked him to quiet down. Ha had apologized and promised to keep the noise level down. Twilight found she was only able to read a single paragraph before it started up again. Spike seeming to forget the promise he had made only seconds earlier as he intently read his comics.
She had been so relieved when he found that his small bag of treats had finally run dry. However, that relief was short lived. She felt her stomach drop again when, without looking up from his comic, Spike pulled out an even larger bag full to the brim of rubies.
Presently, Twilight was doing her best to keep her ears pinned down against her head to block out the sound. But every bite still managed to find its way into her ears.
“I’m going to go walk around a bit.” Twilight suddenly said as she jolted up from her seat, slamming her book closed as she did so. The sudden noise causing Spike to jump.
“Huh? Oh, alright.” Spike said, settling down from his recent scare. “While you’re at it, could you stop in at the dining car and pick up some more gems for me please? I’m running low.” The only answer he received was a short growl and the sound of stomping hoofs as Twilight quickly stepped out of the car and into the next one. Slamming the door shut as she did so.
Spike looked up from his comic. “Geez, what’s her problem?”
In the next car, a very frustrated princess trotted quickly down the aisle between the seats, earning worried glances from the other passengers as she muttered to herself. Words like gems, comics, castrate and hot spoon could be heard mixed in with her incoherent murmuring. The last few words causing a few stallions to scoot away from her as she passed.
Twilight quickly made her way to the dining car. She had no intention of getting Spike more gems. She doubted they had some anyway, seeing as only dragons were capable of eating them. Instead she planned on getting a nice daisy sandwich. She needed something that would take her mind off of Spike and figured that brunch would be a good way of going about that.
Upon opening the door though, she felt her eye twitch as she beheld the long line that curved around the small dining tables that took up most of the dining car. Apparently a lot of ponies wanted to eat something at that particular moment.
Her eyes followed the line up to the front, where a lime green mare seemed to be having a hard deciding what she wanted from the small menu. Her hoof pressed to her chin in thought.
Twilight let the door slide shut behind her and just stood there for a minute. She slowly closed her eyes and let her muscles relax. She took a deep breath in through her nose and held it for thirty seconds before she slowly let it out through her mouth. A calming technique she had learned back when she was Princess Celestia’s student in the castle. It had come in handy many times when an experiment was not going the way that she had wanted it to. Over the years, the powerful calming technique found its use in many other situations.
After opening her eyes, Twilight calmly walked to the back of the line that wasn’t too far away from the door she was standing in front of. She could do this, she just had to wait a few minutes to order. No big deal. She felt a small smile form on her lips. It may have been forced, but it was a smile nonetheless. Progress.
“NEXT!!” Progress which was quickly lost as the bored looking stallion taking orders shouted the word a lot louder and in a much higher tone than she thought any stallion should be capable of. Twilight felt her smile disappear faster than Rainbow Dash could fly a lap around the track that sat outside Ponyville. Her eyes tracked the lime mare as she walked away from the front of the line, food in hoof. Her gaze flicked back to the front of the line where a gray stallion stepped up to the counter to order.
Compared to the earsplitting skriek that the stallion taking orders had just belted out into the air, the gray stallion’s voice sounded more like a whisper. However, Twilight could still hear him as he very clearly said, “I’ll have a…a…uhhhhhhhhhmmmmmmm…” while his eyes wandered over the menu above the cashier.
Twilight could feel her eye twitch again. Why hadn’t he already decided? He had to have been standing in line for Celestia knows how long. He had to have at least looked at the menu. Yet Twilight could see that he looked at the board hanging from the ceiling as if he had seen if for the first time in his life.
Twilight ground her teeth together as the stallion continued to think. It was made even worse when he started talking out loud to himself. “Oh, that sounds good. But do I really want that? I would get the salad, but I don’t think I brought enough bits for that.”
Twilight sat down on the floor and raised her hooves to her face.
The next few minutes passed in a noticeable rhythm. A pony would step up to the counter, take their SWEET time to order, and after they did, a deafening screech that sounded a lot like a pre-pubescent colt trying to play the violin for the first time, would announce that the next pony standing in line had permission to approach and place their order. After which, the pattern would repeat.
Twilight quickly found that the calming method she had for herself had absolutely no power here. She found herself resorting to other methods to keep herself from transporting the line in front of her as well as the light blue unicorn behind the counter to Tartarus. Such methods included but were not limited to: stomping her hooves on the ground, grinding her teeth together, bashing her head on a nearby table, weeping quietly to herself, and ripping out hooffuls of feathers from her wings.
However, as time went on, and the line got shorter, and the worried stares from other ponies showed more concern, she found that even these methods were becoming ineffective. Twilight found herself at the very end of her rope. She would need to find some new way of calming herself. Otherwise she put every pony at risk of being accidently hurled into the sun.
Just as she was moments away from doing just that, she found that the next ear ringing shrill yell declared that it was her turn to order. Twilight was bewildered at that moment when she realized that she hadn’t really been paying attention to how short the line was in front of her. She even realized that several ponies had gotten in line behind her, and she hadn’t even noticed.
However that feeling soon passed as one of victory washed over her. The feeling was so wonderful that she considered basking in the glory that came with such a long awaited triumph. She briefly considered how her life would be different after this moment. Should she have hired a photographer to capture the moment? She felt a small twinge of sadness when she realized that none of her friends or family members were here to witness this occasion. But that feeling was quickly pushed aside. No, she would enjoy this moment, and nothing was going to spoil it.
Twilight felt tears of joy spring to her eyes and a huge feeling of pride well up inside of her as she took those steps up to the register. She quickly ran her hoof over her eyes. Now was not the time for tears. Now was the time to order.
She stopped in front of the counter and looked the stallion behind the register square in the eye as she opened her mouth to say the words she had been waiting so long to say, “I’ll have a…” Twilight struggled for a moment, her mind going blank as she suddenly forgot what she had wanted to order. All those minutes of preparation and now she was blowing her opportunity. Her hoof went to her chin as she desperately tried to think of what she had come here for.
“…uhhhh…”
What was going on? This had never happened to her before. Her mind was going into overdrive as it tried to produce an answer to that question. After several error messages, she came to the only conclusion that her frazzled mind could think of at the moment. That stallion had placed a curse upon her!
At that moment her already low opinion of him plummeted. She just wanted to eat something and he had the nerve to place a curse on her? What was his deal? What had she ever done to him? She didn’t even know him!
Twilight felt a flood of anger enter her body at her hooves. Mixed in that flood, was debris composed of rationality. But they were too small to notice. The flood continued to build and gain momentum before it completely devastated the facility that housed all of her determination. Now the flood was on fire, and showed no signs of slowing down. By the end, she knew that the devastation would be unprecedented. Countless lives lost, as well as several thousand metaphorical bits worth of damage. However, she would worry about that later. For the moment she decided that she would use that flaming flood to earn her final victory. In mere moments, this stallion wouldn’t know what hit him!
“Uhmmmm…”
Twilight could do this. Her eyes flicked to the menu above the stallions head. She willed the raging flood waters and internal screams to quiet down for just a moment. As helpful as they were, they made it hard to concentrate. Oddly enough, it also managed to calm her down a little bit.
As her gaze wandered the piece of wood, she found that her mind was still having trouble. To compensate, she quietly talked out loud to herself.
“I do like parsnip soup, but that looks like a lot of soup and I’m not that hungry.” Her eyes continued to drift over the items displayed.
“Maybe a salad would be nice.”
At that moment, a dull thunk could be heard behind her as the stallion two ponies back smacked his head into the nearest table. Somewhere in the same line, a mare could be heard softly weeping to herself.
Twilight blocked out these noises and focused on the decision she still had to make. Several seconds passed by. Suddenly, in a moment of clarity, her eyes laid hold upon the one thing that she wanted to eat at that moment, and the very item she had come to order to begin with. A daisy sandwich.
Twilight smiled devilishly at the stallion. His time had come. Soon he would know true pain. Just as he had put her through.
“I’ll have a daisy sandwich please.”
“Sure thing.” The stallion wrote down her order on a small piece of paper and hoofed it back through a small window to the chef working in the kitchen. “That’ll be three bits.”
Twilight pulled out her bit bag and hoofed him the three bits. Smirking at him the whole time. She knew she had won. And she knew that he knew she had won. She could see it in his eyes. He tried to hide it behind his mask of boredom, but Twilight’s gaze pierced straight through it to find the fear hidden beneath. No curse could work on her.
A metal bell sitting in the window was rung at the same time a small brown bag was placed next to it. A voice from inside the kitchen could be heard, “Order up.”
The blue stallion quickly snagged the bag in his magic and brought it over the counter. Rays of light could be seen descending from the heavens. Choirs of angels sung in perfect harmony as the bag floated toward her. Twilight gingerly took the bag in her hooves and held it with the same care and admiration that she would hold a newborn foal.
“Thank you.” Twilight breathed out.
“You’re welcome. NEXT!!” Twilight barely heard him though as she stood, food held tightly in her magic, and turned to walk out the door that she had come in. It felt like it had been ages since she had first walked through that door into the dining car
She paused in the doorway. A sudden wave of emotion passing over her. She felt so much older now than when she had first walked through. Several emotions passed through her mind at that moment like leaves on a gentle breeze. Longing for the simple days she used to live. Sorrow for the innocence that she had lost. Anguish for the trials she had gone through. Pride for overcoming them. Anger at those that sought to cause her harm. Peace knowing that she had taken the high road. And finally, blissfulness for completing her journey. She had walked to the dining car a filly, unaware of what she was about to go through. But she had taken the challenges head and conquered them all. Now, she was a mare.
Twilight slowly walked back down the aisle. A hush suddenly came over the ponies sitting in the car as conversations were cut short. Every eye was glued to the purple mare. The other passengers couldn’t help but feel an overwhelming sense of respect come over each of them as she passed them by. This mare had been forced through things that no pony should ever have to suffer, yet not only did she endure them with dignity, she came out all the better because of them in the end. She was no longer a passenger like them. No. She was a conqueror.
Not a single eye was dry as she continued her slow triumphant walk. Each of the passenger cars she passed through were met with much the same mood. She commanded respect from every pony she passed, and left them feeling truly humbled and inspired. It didn’t have to be said, but Twilight knew there would be many celebrations held in her honor that night.
As she approached her seat, Twilight knew that her long journey had finally come to an end. Now, she could rest.
Spike heard a sniffle across from him. He looked up from his comic to see Twilight lying on her seat, staring at a brown paper bag in her hooves. She held it close to her body, as if she were afraid somepony would try to steal it from her. He raised an eyebrow at her. “There you are Twilight, what took you so long?”
The only answer he got was a sniffle. At that moment he realized that she had been crying. Tears stained the fur under her eyes and ran down her cheeks. His confusion doubled. In a moment he had set his comic down next to him and was on his feet to go comfort her. A single hop brought him up on the seat next to her, where he put an arm around her. “Twilight, what’s the matter? What happened?”
Silence answered him again. In that moment he realized JUST how silent it was. The voices he had been hearing from the other passengers for the last few hours had stopped altogether. As he looked up to see what was going on, he became acutely aware that every eye was looking his direction. Actually, when he looked closer, they were all looking at Twilight and what she held in her hooves. This only served to cause him even more confusion. He looked back down at the purple alicorn he held. His claws slowly scratching up and down her back to comfort her.
“Twilight.” He said in a whisper. “What happened?”
For the first time in what seemed like ages. Twilight moved. Her hooves worked their way up to the top of the bag where they slowly opened it. It just didn’t seem right to use magic at this moment. She reached inside with one hoof, and brought out the sandwich. No. Her sandwich. Carefully, as if the world’s fate was counting on this moment to go perfectly, she raised it to her shaking lips.
Spike could hear every pony in the car hold their breaths as the sandwich closed the distance. He didn’t know why, but he found himself holding his breath as well.
Finally, the sandwich reached its destination, and Twilight took a bite. All at once, every held breath was released. The tense moment finally over. One pony, a few seats over called out, “How is it?”
Twilight chewed carefully. Contemplating every single morsel that dance through her mouth. She swallowed. Slowly, her gaze followed an unseen trail before it stopped, looking the stallion who had asked the question straight in the eyes.
The stallion found himself gasping as her gaze met his. Those eyes held so much. So much experience, so much emotion that he couldn’t even begin to fathom. It left him breathless.
Her lips moved to answer him. Spike found himself suddenly holding a quill and scroll, ready to write. Knowing that the next words out of her mouth he would want to remember forever.
Every passenger leaned forward as the words left her mouth.
“I’ve had better.”
Later that evening, a light blue unicorn walked up the steps that led to his home. A quick search in his coat pocket revealed a small set of keys which he floated up to the lock on the front door. A turn of the inserted key, and a small push revealed his living room.
He stepped inside and closed the door behind. Locking it as he did so. His coat and scarf were tossed to the side and he stepped into his living room. He had been starving the whole walk home from the train station where he had gotten off work. However, he wanted to write in his journal while his thoughts and experiences from the day were still fresh.
He hopped onto his couch and settled down before he lit up his horn and floated over two books from his nearby bookshelf. One was a plain black book with no writing on the outside, his journal, while the other was a large red tome with the words, ‘Strange Spells and Curses.’ He opened the red tome to the bookmark he had placed in it earlier and read the large black words written at the top of the page. He chuckled to himself before he opened his journal and laid it on the couch next to him.
“A spell that makes a pony forget what they are going to order at a restaurant. That is a strange spell. And a rather…specific one.” His eyebrows knit together as he shook his head. “Starswirl what were you thinking?” He dipped his quill into a nearby inkwell and started to write. A small smile replacing his frown. “Oh well, at least it made work a little more interesting today.”