CHAPTER ELEVEN

"All aboard!"

The whistle screeched, then the train let out a puff of smoke and began to roll off down the track. Corey watched it go. It had been an interesting two days, but he'd been glad to leave the Friendship Express. For one thing, what kind of a name was the Friendship Express? And for another, he'd barely seen Laney during the entire trip.

Sure, he knew she was starved for girl time. Peaceville girls barely talked about anything but their favorite bands, boys, their clothes and hair, and stupid movies made by stupid movie stars like Cherry Grapestain. But Laney was his best friend! He missed her.

Could it be he was jealous?

Corey shook the thought off. Kon was calling him over to join the group, and he didn't want to miss a single thing.

Twilight shook out another giant map, this one of the city of Las Pegasus. "So we're here…at the train station," she said, pointing with a hoof at a small red square at the edge of the scroll. "And Zecora says the best town exit for our purposes is…here." She moved her hoof to a shiny-looking image of a fence.

"The Golden Gate! Oh, Zecora, don't tell me we're going through Applewood!" Rarity gushed, her eyes growing wide. "It's another town with a night life! Why, before I wanted to be a dressmaker, I wanted to be a movie star! All the great theaters and films in Equestria are made here…"

"Almost as good as Bridleway," Twilight agreed.

"The biggest, bestest performance district in the whole wide world!" Pinkie crowed.

"Zecora, can we have some time to explore the city before we leave? Please please pleeeease?" The white unicorn leaped forward and grabbed Zecora's forelegs, staring up at her like a starving child. Zecora smiled, but gestured to Grojband.

"That all depends, Miss Rarity. Do you want your friends to suffer or walk free?"

Rarity groaned, but got up, dusting herself off. "Well, I suppose when you put it that way…"

The ponies wound through the narrow streets, following Twilight, who had the map, and Zecora, who seemed to know the city very well. Corey walked with Kin and Kon, who stared in awe at every building they passed, albeit for very different reasons.

"Wow! Look at the structure of that one! It's a feat of technological genius! And they don't even have hands…" Kin marveled.

"I wonder if that one's a restaurant," Kon wondered.

Corey rolled his eyes and smiled. "I feel you, bro. We haven't eaten since breakfast."

"Thirty minutes ago," Laney called from in front of them.

"I know!" Kon yelled back. "It's torture!"

Rainbow Dash, who'd been walking with Applejack and Fluttershy, flew back to where Corey, Kin, and Kon were. "I need to keep an eye on you," she said, landing and giving Corey a suspicious glance. "Can't have any of you aliens sneaking off to tell the mothership, now can we?"

"Someone's been reading too many comic books," Corey whispered to the short Earth pony next to him.

"Not necessarily," Kin whispered back. "We've dealt with aliens before and they were pretty hostile."

"True."

"IS THAT WHO I THINK IT IS?"

Rarity had spotted something, and Fluttershy, Zecora, and Laney were holding her by the tail. "Don't…even think…about it!" the yellow Pegasus squeaked.

"It's Gentle Forest, the MOST up-and-coming female star in Applewood! You wouldn't let me pass up my one chance to meet her!" Rarity pleaded. "Careful with my tail!"

"We've got more important things to worry about right now!" Applejack grabbed Rarity's head and swiveled it toward Grojband. "Eye on the prize, sugar cube."

Rarity gulped as her eyes met Corey's. "Eye on the prize."

For some reason, Corey felt extremely tingly, right down to his hooves. He cocked his head, smiling at the white mare. No one moved, for another awkward second.

Then Laney appeared on Corey's right and pushed him out of Rarity's gaze with her head. "Awesome! Why don't we keep walking that way? Looks good to me," the little unicorn said cheerfully. Well – not exactly cheerfully; Corey could almost hear a touch of malice underneath that wide smile that sat on Lanes's face.

But it didn't matter, because a moment later it was gone, and they were off down the pony-filled street again. Through Applewood, Pinkie and Rainbow Dash practically had to tie Rarity up and drag her along behind them so she wouldn't run off into the maze of streets and theaters, which were tempting Corey himself. I wonder what it'd be like to get a gig at a place like this, he wondered.

Thinking of gigs made him think of Peaceville. Sure, he liked Equestria, but he was feeling a little homesick, too.

"Lanes, how do you think Kate and Allie are doing?"

Laney looked at her friend, confused. "Kate and…"

"Kate and Allie. Our adorable groupies? How do you think they're doing? They've gone concertless for about three days now." Corey shook his head. "And what about Trina and Mina and Nick? They're still somewhere in Equestria!"

"And you care about Trina because…"

"Because even though she always messes with my life, she's my sister. Because somewhere under her stupid image, Katrina is still there! And because if I were her, I'd never be able to survive all of this niceness. Never."

Laney stopped, thinking. "You have a point."

"I think the niceness has gone to my head, too. If we were at home, thoughts like this would not be crossing my mind." Corey put a hoof to his temple and gently massaged it. "Am I going insane?"

"You two! C'mon!"

They had fallen back from the group again, and Applejack was waiting by a streetlight for the pair of unicorns. "Some ponies are gonna start to wonder what in th' hay you're doin'. Now let's get a move on."

The sun was only halfway across the sky when the band of friends made it to the Golden Gate. Corey had to squint to look at it through all the glitz and sparkles; even the buildings surrounding the Gate were covered in shimmering gold.

"This is where all the really famous stars live," Rarity said. "I bet one of these mansions belongs to Gentle Forest!"

"Oh, Rarity, I wish we could stay for you! Maybe on the way back?" Fluttershy fiddled with a strap on her saddlebag.

The unicorn blinked at her. "You're telling me! I could book so many fashion orders with all of the…celebrities…"

"This is really not the best time to lose focus," Twilight said, shoving her city map back into her own bags. "Once we get out of the city, we're going to have to make good time if we're going to get out of Equestria tonight. I don't expect we'll make a stop to sleep until we get there."

"WHAT?" Rainbow Dash, Kin, and Kon all exclaimed at the same time.

"I am risking my life to take you to my home. Do you wish to turn back? We don't have to take this road," Zecora said, calmly looking at the ponies before her.

"We can't turn back now! We have to get home!" Laney cried.

"Yeah, and we're a few days behind as it is. If we don't hurry up, our week'll be over quicker 'n a seed to weeds, and Twilight'll be in even more unnecessary trouble!" Applejack planted a hoof into the dirt. "Ah don't know about y'all, but Ah'm stickin' with Twi and the band."

"Me too!" Pinkie sang joyfully.

Fluttershy nodded her head. "We owe it to them."

Corey took a deep breath. "Well, what are we waiting for? We have a zebra tribe to find!"

The dusty San Palomino desert made way into the drier and more cracked Samarea. Corey couldn't believe how large the arid landscapes were, going on for miles and miles before small oases interrupted the terrain. Sometimes there were cacti, but they weren't plentiful. Applejack said there were more of them across the Macintosh Hills. "Lots of Apple Family out there," she remarked. "'Specially in Appleloosa."

The sun was sinking fast, and soon it would be dark, but Twilight was determined to keep the group going. "It's going to get cold, so I hope you all brought something to help stay warm," she said, yanking a thick scarf out of her saddlebag.

"Silly Twilight! It's the desert. It's always warm!" Pinkie giggled, rolling in the sand.

"Actually, the desert gets freezing during the night," Rainbow Dash said, flapping imperiously into the air. "In 'Daring Do and the Search for the Raven's Eye,' Daring has to spend weeks in the desert excavating the ancient Egyponian tombs, and has to bundle up at night because temperatures drop below zero."

"Wow," Fluttershy said to Corey, in awe. "I never would have guessed."

"You're all lucky I brought so many scarves, then." Rarity yanked a number of brightly patterned fabrics out of her bags. "Take one! Sorry, boys, they're not the most masculine, but I suppose the point is to keep warm."

Corey tied a soft scarf striped in blue and green around his neck. "Eh, they're not that bad." Picking up another, he walked over to Zecora and held his foreleg up. "Need one?"

"Thank you for your generosity, but I have brought my own, you see?" Zecora showed him the thick swatches of cloth she had brought from her home, one of which she wrapped around her head. "It helps when traveling in the night, and keeps out sand and scorpion bites."

"S-scorpions?" Laney jumped, dancing about on her hooves. It seemed like she was too scared to touch the ground. "Ack! Those hurt!"

"She should know," Corey remarked, turning to Kin and Kon. "Remember when I still had Tex and Ralph? And Laney –"

"– reached into the tank and tried to hold Ralph," Kin continued.

"And she got stung in the face!" Kon finished.

"I had to wear a patch for three weeks," Laney said, still dancing over the sand. "All because Core dared me to touch one of his pet scorpions."

"Hey, you took the dare," Corey laughed, pulling another scarf over his ears.

"I think the best thing to do out here in the desert is to take buddies, so that if we get lost, we don't get lost alone," Twilight said. She had two scarves and one of Zecora's fabrics covering her muzzle. "There's going to be one odd-numbered group, but that's okay. Who wants to pair up?"

Rainbow Dash stuck her hoof up high in the air. "A Ponyville pony needs to be with each member of Grojband," she announced, voice muffled behind a red scarf, "so they can't run off or anything. I still think they could be dangerous."

"Ah don't think they're goin' to run off anywhere, but that's still a good idea, since they ain't Equestrian in th' first place," said Applejack as she placed her hat back on her head.

"So why don't you go with Kon, Pinkie Pie?" Twilight suggested. "you two seem to be close friends anyway."

"You can say that again!" Pinkie cheered, wrapping a huge hug around the robust Earth pony.

"I'll go with Fluttershy," Laney volunteered.

"And I with Corey. I have some questions I want to ask him about his hometown," Rarity said.

"Perfect! I'll go with Kin, and Zecora can walk with Rainbow Dash and Applejack. That way we're all accounted for." Twilight blinked. "Uh, is that okay with everypony?"

"Yeah, I guess so." Corey looked at Kin and Kon, who nodded their agreement. "We'd better hurry."

"This time of year, the camp is past the desert's edge. We must run fast," Zecora warned.

"That ain't gonna be a problem, if we keep our heads turned toward the goal." Applejack looked pointedly at Rarity between her scarves, then pointed a forehoof towards the southern sky. "Zecora, is there anythin' we can keep an eye out for? So we know when we're gettin' close?"

"Watch for flickering campfire light. The tribe will be celebrating on this night."

"What will they be celebrating exactly?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Tonight is the eve of the Spirit Dance, a coming of age ritual trance," the zebra explained. "Young zebras perform a dance for all, then receive their cutie marks, big and small."

"And that's different than what happens in Equestria," Corey guessed.

"We should not be lingering here. Our water is low and the night is near," Zecora said, nodding to Rainbow Dash and Applejack. "We will go ahead to prepare the way. Follow our tracks and do not stray!"

Rarity walked up to Corey and slipped another scarf over his head. He felt her breath on his shoulder as she tied the fringes together with magic. "We have a lot to talk about, darling," she said, smiling widely. "Tell me all about this Peaceville place."

Trixie concentrated, letting a thin stream of magical energy slip out of her horn and collect on the pebble in front of her. She then levitated it to eye level, held it for a moment, and set it gently back down.

"Now you try. More power this time."

The pink unicorn, Trina, closed her eyes, but almost immediately opened them again. "Ugh! This is hard. I don't think I can do it."

"You aren't trying!" Trixie stamped her hoof, leaving a circular imprint in the dirt. "Trixie has been showing you this simple spell for hours and you haven't gotten the pebble in the air once! If you don't work your heart out, it will never happen. Understand?"

Mina, who was watching from the side of the clearing, smiled widely and nodded. "You can do it, Trina!" she shouted encouragingly.

"Again. You will keep trying until the pebble reaches your eye level. And if you stop trying…" the blue mare smiled evilly. "Trixie will know."

Trixie left the otherworlders with their pebble and pushed aside a tree branch, exposing a small tarnished cage flanked by Snips and Snails. Inside was a purple and green dragon, spitting mad, his eyes burning with hatred at the mare who stood in front of him. "Trixie."

"Hello, dragonling." Trixie straightened the cage and poked Snips in the stomach. "Been keeping busy?"

"Not much to do in a cage." Spike turned away, keeping his eyes averted from the unicorns. "What do you want now? Need me to send another letter?"

"Not necessarily." Trixie spun the cage so that the dragon faced her again. "But Trixie needs to make a few adjustments to your letters' destination."

Hey, you guys!

We are so so super sorry about last week. We had the chapter, but didn't have time to get it edited, and so...

With luck we can keep the schedule up from here on out. Winter break will be very good to us.

Anyway, thanks Running, for those reviews! Our first reviews since we posted Chapter Seven, people. Even if our good friend Running is a bit behind in her reading.

We hope you enjoyed this chapter, and again, we apologize for skipping a week and never mentioning anything.

If something comes up in the future we'll let you know. Oh, and we'll definitely see you next week!