Chapter 26 All Aboard the Fiendship Express

Orange Juice

We all waited while the train pulled into the station. With all my friends and theirs too the train car was cramped. We looked for our own individual cabins. Wonder bunked with me. I felt really weird, a strange feeling of anxiety building up in me. I hadn't ever felt like this before, and it made me uncomfortable. I could barely make eye contact with Wonder, and he noticed the change in my mood.

"You okay there, Cutie?"

"I'm…fine…" but I wasn't. I heaved a sigh as I stared out the window at the passing trees and hills. The world looked so dark and gloomy all of a sudden. What happened to all the color?

"You don't seem fine, and you know you can talk to me about anything."

I stared at him then, "Are you sure?" I bit my lip, worried he wasn't going to understand.

"I am absolutely sure," he winked and grinned at me.

His expression fell as I spoke to him, "So I guess everypony hates Prissy now…"

"We don't hate her…" his voice trailed off.

"Then why won't anypony understand that she's not evil?" I pouted.

"She's not evil, but the magic she's using is." Wonder explained. "We're all worried that she's not going to be a good pony again and that you aren't going to be able to accept that."

"But I can't accept that! What's the point of being the Prince of Friendship if I just give up on my friends?"

"She isn't your friend, OJ. Isn't she one of the mares who used you in the Stable?"

"No!" my eyes widened, "No she isn't! She's one of the only mares who were actually nice to me in the stable!" I cried out.

"Oh…" at that the train started to slow down.

"Attention passengers, there appears to be some sort of roadblock on the tracks. We're going to have to come to a stop until it can be cleared." There was a collective grumble throughout the train.

"What's going on?" I asked Wonder.

"I don't know," he slowly sat up, sticking his head out the window, trying to see what was up. "I can't see it…"

There came a knock at the door, "Open up, we've got a problem." it sounded like one of the Minute Hooves.

"I don't recognize that voice," Wonder had his voice low. I glanced between Wonder and the door, my heart racing.

"What do we do?" I whispered.

"You have a spell or two up your sleeve? Use that alicorn magic." Wonder winked, implying something else at the same time.

I giggled, "Okay!" I activated a small orb of magic on the tip of my horn. Something about it felt hot, and it only got hotter. I was going to have to learn how to control the temperature if I was ever going to control this energy better. It was so much, almost a heavy feeling on my head, like it was trying to pin me to the earth. I grunted as Wonder put a hoof on the compartment door, preparing to open it. My EFS was showing a red bar on my compass and I knew it was an enemy before the door was even open.

The door slid open and a pony wearing a black pleather jacket was waiting for us. Yeah, definitely not a Minute Hoof. "By order of the Institute of Fiendship, this cabin is now under Circle of Ash control. Hand over all weapons or be forced to—" I tossed my energy orb and he went crashing through the window behind him.

"Whoo whoo!" I whooped, making a sorta of choo choo train sound in glee.

"We're not off the bus yet," Wonder poked his head into the hallway.

"This isn't a bus!" I laughed as we entered the main hall that connected with the rest of the train. We had to check on our friends and the train still wasn't moving.

I saw Blitz poke his head out of his compartment as we approached and he asked, "What's going on? Why have we stopped?"

"The train is being ambushed by Circle of Ash synthetics." said Wonder in a huff. As though on cue the synthetic who had bombarded us previously jumped back through the window and went immediately into a tackle. He hit me and we went rolling, knocking into Blitz and Capper like bowling pins. We all toppled over each other and when we ended the synth was on top of me.

A knife was pressed to my neck, "Now you all are gonna listen here. I have orders to take the Prince of Friendship straight to the School. Make any sudden moves to stop me and I won't hesitate to slit his pretty little throat."

Everypony stopped in their tracks. Blitz had just picked himself up and had fire magic in his eyes but it slowly faded away as he realized how dire the situation truly was. "That's right," the synth begin to snicker and back away, me in his grip. He was forgetting one thing though.

I had wings! I snapped them open, shoving the synth back. I felt the knife knick me, a little sting and a sharp burn but it hadn't done any serious damage. "Now you've gone and done it!" yelled the synth.

"OJ!" Blitz shouted, lunging forward and grabbing my hoof. The synth grabbed ahold of my tail and I was pulled in two directions at once.

"If your job is to take me to the School of Friendship then you're going about it all wrong!" I stuck my tongue out at him and he glared daggers. "Let go of my tail and we can talk!"

"How about…no?" and he pulled on my tail even harder and I winced.

"Okay, Blitz how about you try some of that fire magic on him?" I winked and Blitz cocked his head.

He whispered low so only I could hear, "You want me to let go?" I nodded.

He mouthed a count of three and suddenly I was falling backward straight onto the synth. We rolled and I snapped my wings out as far as they could go, catching them on the walls of the train and flipping myself around. I landed on top of the synth, horn glowing. Blitz had fire in his eyes again and was staring down at the synth I had in my grip.

"There's four of us and one of you." Blitz smiled smugly.

"You underestimate our forces. Synth Trotters are not few nor far between. You're all in over your heads if you think you can infiltrate the school with only 10 ponies."

"Actually, there are 13 of us and we all have magic. You synths don't appear to be as technologically advanced as good ol' me." Capper flicked at his coat cuffs giving that crooked grin he always wore.

"Don't you worry. You're up against our best Magistrate yet." My heart skipped a beat at the mention of a Magistrate.

"Prissy…" I choked out.

"Oh, dear Prissy is waiting for you." the synth began to laugh and there was a small beeping sound.

"What's that?" Blitz questioned.

"Sounds like…SHIT! Clear the train now!" Wonder shouted and we all jumped away from the synth. He was on countdown to self destruct. We scrambled to escape the train car just as it was engulfed in flames. We were thrown into the ditch. I blacked out…

Ravager Blitzfire

When I came to it was amidst the wreckage of flaming train cars. I saw OJ out of the corner of my eye, still unconscious. I saw other members of our party either climbing from their own fallen cars or picking themselves from the ditch. The Minute Hoof conductor and soldiers were nowhere to be seen. I hoped everypony had made it out alright but that was yet to be determined.

"Is everypony okay?" called the Colonel, her armor red and fire retardant. Her scarlet mane billowed in the breeze, looking like dancing flames on her head.

"I'm fine!" Pumpkin Spice popped up from nowhere.

"As am I," said Buck, walking toward us from the train. He had scorch marks on his armor, but other than that he looked just fine.

"Capper?" I called looking around for my tomfriend.

"Here," he chuckled, putting a paw on my shoulder. I sighed in relief.

"Here," came Cherry's voice.

"Me too!" Combat Zone was nearby.

"As are we," said Felia Heart, walking alongside her companion, Joyride.

"Aye, sir." he nodded.

"I'm here too if anyone cared to ask," Salem had just slowly sat up in the ditch, looking dazed but sure of himself with that half cocked grin.

"As am I, said the cat with the crescent moon smile." I looked up to see Cheshire circling around Capper. His smile did look a bit like a crescent moon.

"OJ won't wake up!" came Wonder's cry from down below. He was shaking his coltfriend, and slapping at his face a little but OJ was out for the count. My eyes widened when I saw the scene and I ran towards them.

I felt a rush of energy, and in my current state I felt lifted for some reason. I was worried sick for OJ's safety and I felt my vision change as it went from normal to a strange red hue. I looked down at OJ, his orange fur appearing more red-orange than tangerine. I felt tears well up in my eyes but I forced them back. I choked, "Is he okay?"

"I don't know…" Wonder's lip was shaking.

I put a hoof on OJ, feeling for a pulse. I was so scared it wasn't going to be there. When I realized there wasn't my whole body seized up. "Oh Faust…" a single tear rolled down my cheek. "He's…dead!"

A silence fell over everypony, a quiet so dark it was deafening. I shivered and my lower jaw shook, my teeth chattering. The tear that had rested on my chin fell and hit OJ in the face. I looked away, not wanting to stare down at him any longer. I had my hooves around him, holding him up, close to my chest when suddenly he began to move.

"Oh em Faust!" Wonder gasped, "OJ!"

"Wh-wha? Whazzit?" he spluttered.

"Oh Orange Juice!" I sighed and pulled him in for a hug. "We thought you were dead!"

"I died?" he looked between me and Wonder and then toward all our friends on the crest.

"You sure did…" Wonder cracked a small smile, and we all felt relieved. "If it hadn't been for Blitz's magic I have no idea what would've happened."

"My magic?" I looked around and all eyes were on me.

"You did just perform a miracle," said Ashe Erza.

"I've never seen anypony bring another from the brink of death the way you have," said Heart.

"Aye," Joy agreed.

"I can't believe I died!" Orange Juice was beside himself. He couldn't help but crack a smile at us, "Thank you for saving me," he told me.

"I would gladly do it again but let's just hope you don't go dying again any time soon." I shook my head but bared a smile.

"What now?" asked Combat Zone. "We're still miles from the School of Friendship and we have no transportation. We can't go waltzing through synth controlled territory if the synths are on the haywire."

"Haywire!" Pumpkin chortled.

"I say we hoof it." said Cherry.

"I agree," said Buck. "This mission is far too important."

"It will be a hard journey," said Erza, "should we set up a fast travel point here?" she looked over to Orange Juice who frowned.

"Why's everypony staring at me for?" he tilted his head.

"No reason," Pumpkin sang out.

"I think it may make the most sense," the Guardian nodded to Ashe. "If we need to make a quick escape this place is the closest to the edge of synth territory. We can always easily regroup here."

"Plus, the ridge is easily defendable, the train cars create a sort of barrier." I pointed out.

"Agreed," Buck nodded with a smile in my direction.

"So be it, so it is!" Ashe Erza activated magic on the tip of her horn and the huge white orb than formed the bluish-pinkish gate was centered in the middle of the ridge, near the train cars but not too close to the flames. They were dying down anyway.

You have discovered

WRECK OF THE FIENDSHIP EXPRESS

"Looks like we're taking the scenic route!" Pumpkin jumped past me and we all followed her.

"Not…so fast…" came the computerized voice of a synth. It wasn't the same synth. I imagined it was one that had attacked another cabin and he had survived the explosion. His synthetic voice must be malfunctioning however, for he didn't sound like a pony anymore, but instead like a robot. The fire had also burnt off a lot of his artificial fur to show the metal underneath.

"Is that what you look like underneath all that fur?" I whispered behind a hoof to Capper.

"I sure hope not!" Capper breathed sharply.

"State your purpose, fiend!" Erza shouted to the synth standing on top of the downed car.

"My purpose is to take the Prince of Friendship to the School. My Magistrate has deemed it so. If you attempt to resist I shall put you down." his jaw twitched, I imagined the mechanism was faulty after an explosion like that.

"What, you'll self destruct like your last compatriote?" asked Buck. "Look how that turned out."

He contemplated this, "I see your point but I do still have a mission."

"Can you see us safely across the Capital Wasteland then?" asked Ashe Erza, taking a step forward. "There is no reason we must fight."

"What is your destination?"

"We plan to travel to the School, your friend just didn't give me a chance to explain myself." said OJ.

"You attempted to resist…"

"We did no such thing!" Erza told him. "We were attacked by one of yours, not the other way around. Our only purpose is to keep the peace."

"So is ours." said the synth.

"Then why did you and your friends attack our train?" I asked him.

"To retrieve the Prince…from the evil doers." he didn't sound so sure of himself anymore.

"There are no evil doers here." said Lady Ashe. "Only friends and foe. If you are not foe, then so speak your will."

"I am…very confused…" he looked down at his hooves then hopped off the train. We all took a tentative step back but the synth didn't come any closer. "Perhaps my friend was a little rash. We were told the Prince had been kidnapped by the Circle of Ash."

"Then you were given false information, weren't you?" spoke the Guardian.

"I do not understand why my Magistrate would lie to me."

"Who's your Magistrate?" asked Orange Juice.

"Priscilla Pen-Rose." he bit his lip.

"I knew it!" OJ smiled in glee. "We have to go to the School of Friendship, we just have to!"

"What's your name anyway?" Cherry asked him.

"I am Synthetic Changeling Class No. 147. I do not have a name."

"Well number 147, we'll just have to change that, won't we?" Ashe Erza smiled. We were getting back on track and now we had an escort. I hoped that having a Synth with us would deter any further battles in the near future. While we were all well prepared for it, we certainly didn't want to fight. I was a treasure hunter, evading conflict was in my nature. The things this waste brought us too…

I wondered what made the Changeling so confused.