A meeting at the lonely apple

The train doors opened as it was about to leave, two ponies hopped on board, two mares, the first was a pink Unicorn, her slender figure moved gracefully through the carriage, blue eyes matched that of the mare beside her, who's silver-blue coat seemed to glisten in the sunlight, her chrystalline mane remained static as she moved.

The two scanned the carriage in Unison, before approaching Ivy and Lyra.

"Excuse me," the pink mare began, her voice was sweet and relaxing, Ivy glanced up "is this seat taken?" she gestured to the seat opposite them.

"No, I, I guess not," Ivy wasn't sure, if Tracer somehow managed to catch up with the train, well, she sighed.

"Sorry, thank you," she sat dThe train doors opened as it was about to leave, two ponies hopped on board, two mares, the first was a pink Unicorn, her slender figure moved gracefully through the carriage, blue eyes matched that of the mare beside her, who's silver-blue coat seemed to glisten in the sunlight, her chrystalline mane remained static as she moved.

The two scanned the carriage in Unison, before approaching Ivy and Lyra.

"Excuse me," the pink mare began, her voice was sweet and relaxing, Ivy glanced up "is this seat taken?" she gestured to the seat opposite them.

"No, I, I guess not," Ivy wasn't sure, if Tracer somehow managed to catch up with the train, well, she sighed.

"Sorry, thank you," she sat down.

The second mare approached "can I-" she paused to see Ivy nod, "thanks."

"No problem," Ivy sighed.

"What's wrong?" the pink mare leaned closer slightly.

"A, never mind," Ivy forced a smile onto her worried face and turned to Lyra, who smiled.

"What?" Lyra grinned.

"Where do we get off? We didn't plan for this," Ivy whispered.

Lyra nodded agreement, she didn't know either.

"I'm getting off at Manehattan, you're welcome to join me," the Crystal pony sprung into life.

"Uh, no thanks, I'm fine." Ivy glanced at her.

"I, also depart at Manehattan," the pink pony announced.

"That's nice, but-"

"Oh come on Ivy! We've got nothing better to do!" Lyra exclaimed.

"What? N-, oh fine, but I-"

"I'm Lyra! This is Ivy, and you?"

"Slipstream," the Pegasus answered first.

"Oh? Uh, names? I'm, Sketch," the other mare extended a hoof.

Ivy hesitantly took her hoof, Slipstream reached in to join and Lyra's giggling intensified, before Lyra herself joined in.

"What's so funny!?" Ivy turned to her friend.

"It's like the three musketeers."

"There are four of us," Sketch corrected as Ivy buried her head in her hoof.

"Actually," Slipstream butted in "there are four musketeers."

"Slipstream," Lyra smiled, "I have to say, I think we're going to get along."

"Uh, thanks."

The mares engaged in idle converse as the train rocked and shook, until they reached the Manehattan station.

Ivy sighed as she stepped off the train at Manehattan, thoughts about Tracer span in her mind, where was he? How would he find them? What was the Changeling planning? And, most importantly, could she trust him? She recognised that she had trusted him easily before, he, if he was lying, would have a disadvantage, she would not be his puppet.

"Hey! Follow me!" Slipstream snapped her out of the daze, she waved her silver blue wings in front of Ivy, her wings shimmered in the light "Sketch has gone ahead."

Ivy glanced over the crowd, sure enough, she saw the pink unicorn wading through the ponies, Lyra in tow, though her mint coat was less obvious through the crowds of blue and green ponies.

"Lyra!" Ivy shouted, before pushing violently through the crowd to a chorus of angered grunts and shouts at the hurrying mare "Lyra!"

Lyra glanced around "come on!" she called back to Ivy.

Ivy reached her and began to whisper "Lyra, we don't know these ponies."

"Really? What's the worst that could happen?" Lyra had a different idea, and made no attempt to keep quiet.

"Shh, plenty could happen, too much to list, so..."

"So?" Lyra smiled "you're too tense Ivy, not everypony's an interuniversal super demon 3000 of doom."

"But some are," Slipstream smirked as she trotted past, Lyra picked up speed, and Ivy was left behind, well, that's sad.

Ivy's words hung on her tongue, but all she could say was "inter-what? Universe? But," she paused, sighed, and trotted after Lyra "Lyra," she muttered "I hate you, and everything about you..."

"No you don't," a voice beside her said matter-of-factly.

"Tracer!"

"Uh? What?" the stallion smiled nervously.

"Oh come on, don't play dumb."

"Sorry, I-"

"Ivy," Slipstream appeared beside her.

"Yeah?"

"That's my dad."

"Oh, um, ok. Sorry." Ivy hurried off. Leaving Slipstream to explain.

"Um, ok, so," Slipstream said nervously.

"Who is that?" her father was intimidating at the best of times, never mind when he was grumpy, and that he was.

"Ivy, she's a friend."

"What were you doing on that train?" Slipstream hadn't informed him of going to Canterlot, the stallion was worried about his daughter, and about his work, and his marriage, everything stacked up quickly.

"I'm fine, I met friends in Canterlot, and brought them here, sorry."

"You know what I have to do now?"

"Uh oh. Not..." Slipstream knew all too well what he was referring to.

"I'm sorry, Slip, but she does this."

"All of them?"

"All three."

"Oh no." Slipstream knew there was one way this could end.

"Yes."

"She's not gonna, you know?"

"Of course she will, especially the pink one."

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Sketch..."

***

Tracer trotted along, stiff and pained, things like this were easy to hide, not so easy to use elegantly.

"What are you doing? I'll catch up? Ha, not likely, it's a train, oh well." he smiled in his disguise "I've done it now, I'm here, and, well, I don't know, I can't go strait there, Ivy'll be, rather confused, anyway, she's already probably confused. I tell her I'll catch up, with a train? Ivy will be either worried, or suspicious."

A pony tipped his hat to the Mare trotting across the street, Tracer shook his head, though ducked into an alley, soon after, a Stallion emerged moments later, two mares dodged past him and into the alley, he smiled at them briefly, and chuckled "mares..."

***

Ivy emerged in a busy street, she reared over the crowd, no, no Sketch "darn."

"What?" Lyra chirped.

"We lost Sketch."

"Oh, oh dear, that means we're stuck forever?"

"Well no, we could always just, like, go back."

"Girls?" Slipstream appeared beside them.

"Yeah?" Lyra chirped again.

"Where's Sketch?"

"You've got to be kidding me." Sketch peeked out of the alleyway.

"Oh, ok." Ivy sighed relief.

"Girls."

"What?" Ivy groaned.

"I, uh, need to, well, ask you something."

"What?"

"I'm sorry, but, well..."

"Get on with it!" A pony in the crowd exclaimed.

"Uh, thanks."

"Get on with it!"

(Iwantedtowriteasongbuticantdolyricsonawhimandicantthinkofanyanywaysoyeahimaginethesong.)

"They do that here to? I thought that was a Ponyville thing." Ivy muttered to a dazed slipstream.

"Umm, ok, so," Slipstream muttered.

"Get on with it!"

Slipstream shrieked and lowered herself "Ineedtoinviteyoutodinneratmyhouse."

"Uh, what?" Ivy had not heard anything discernible.

"Ivy!" Lyra however, had "Slip is inviting you to dinner."

"Wait what!"

"I'm sorry, my mother is, like this with new ponies, so sorry."

"Sounds good," Lyra just realised how hungry she was.

"I have time," Sketch smiled "from what I understand, Ivy does also."

"Well," Ivy moaned, she knew this was a lost cause, dinner was unavoidable now.

The ponies trotted away, Slipstream lead them through winding streets of Manehattan.