Three Ruined Nations

Three Ruined Nations

Written by BubbleBuster

Chapter 1 - Train Journey

Twilight hastily ruffled through the legal papers scattered around her desk and pronounced herself done for the night. The whole of Ponyville was dormant now, except from her. She sighed in relaxation and she slowly managed to lift herself up from the wooden chair and put her four hooves on the floor. As a result of her tired legs, Twilight stumbled and had to work her muscles to make it to her private chambers, but managed with time. As soon as the princess got to her chambers of the castle, she almost cantered to her bed and flopped on just the way you wouldn't expect a princess to. Not like she cared at that particular moment. Twilight didn't even pull the covers over herself; she just laid on top of them.

The newly ascended alicorn drifted off into a deep sleep rather quickly after she had settled herself on top of the sheets. A trace of a smile rested on her face as she slumbered. When Twilight woke to the sound of her alarm clock the next morning, she groaned, but she suddenly remembered the trip she was having with her friends for a whole week. She broke into a beaming smile, and the thought of having to fill out boring paperwork all day long was diminished, and what replaced it was the thought of an informal visit to Canterlot with her friends, to purely rest and have fun during the week she was staying there. The six of them all had their individual reasons for going as well as their shared ones.

Twilight wanted to be with Celestia, Rarity had about enough bits to go on a shopping spree, Applejack desired to sample the food, Pinkie Pie loved the parties, Rainbow Dash wanted to watch The Wonderbolts perform (They had gotten VIP tickets beforehand), and Fluttershy liked nothing more than to watch the nature. Despite all this, the tight circle of friends all shared the want to rest and be with each other. It was around eight o' clock at the time, plenty of time to get ready for the train leaving at ten.

Spike was to stay with Mr and Mrs. Cake at Sugarcube Corner and he didn't mind. He was to assist the duo and replace Pinkie Pie for the week she was away. At that particular moment, Spike was asleep in a smaller bed next to her meant for little fillies. Twilight's scaled little assistant had begged her to stay close to her. Of course she said yes; his face was impossible to resist. But enough of ranting, let's get back to Twilight. She was looking at a mirror, decorated with crystals around the edges. A brush levitated off the table before her, and she began to brush her mane out. Every little hair, every little strand. As the princess stood, eyes drooped with fatigue, she began to run through the possibilities of what she would do in Canterlot.

The beautiful, wonderful, endless gardens of nature lay before Twilight Sparkle, and she was stood with her friends, all admiring the pure detail, while Fluttershy busied herself with telling the rest of them the species of animal and plant alike. They were all on a shopping spree, darting about and looking at clothing items, while Rarity told her friends about all the new trends and how you should go about dressing. The group at an acrobatic, amazing Wonderbolt display, Rainbow Dash telling them all of the names of the flyers. Going into the best restaurants in Canterlot and tasting all the foods, while Applejack told them the recipes. Going to the fun parties, balloons and streamers hung up around, while Pinkie Pie told them about the new dance moves. And finally, a trip to the castle, where they would all meet Princess Celestia herself.

Twilight had finished brushing her mane by now and it was quarter past eight. The princess flexed and stretched her wings wide, feathers fluttering. Now to wake up Spike, she thought. Twilight Sparkle quietly pawed at Spike's small bed, receiving an annoyed response.

"Uhh... muhh... five more minutes Twi..."

"Come on. You've got to be at Sugarcube Corner before nine."

Spike's mood immediately brightened and he jolted up in his bed, seemingly fully awake. "Oh yeah! I can't wait!"

Twilight flashed the baby dragon a playful smirk. "Well then, come on. Get out of your baby bed and start getting ready."

Spike obliged but let out an audible "Twi!" as he jumped out of bed. The princess giggled, ruffling Spike's head crest before letting him go downstairs to get ready and have breakfast, followed by herself.

Twilight let out a sigh of happiness as she made her way to the kitchen to make breakfast. She was making Spike's favourite, pancakes with syrup and sugar, and was going to let him help. She was also going to have a portion to fill herself up. No point of trying to have fun on an empty stomach. As the two made way for the kitchen, two newly-named "Twilight Guards" were standing on either side, faces stern and stoic, nevertheless inviting.

Twilight put on a harder expression as she stood before the door. "Dismissed."

One Twilight Guard chipped in, professionally not averting his gaze from the corridor in front of him. "Are you sure, Princess Sparkle? You do not usually dismiss your guard."

"Yes. I am sure. Spike and I wish to be alone," she paused for a moment, "In fact, dismiss all guards except from the ones at the doors, please. Tell Captain Firewing we wish not be disturbed for the duration of the day before we are gone."

One guard gave a quick, yet sincere nod and galloped away. The other took his time, slowly walking off, his head held high. Twilight opened the double doors into a luxury dining room, connected to a large kitchen. Twilight went into the black and white themed kitchen to find a cook she knew well inside at the cooker. The stallion had a pale yellow coat and a brown mane, with a cutie mark of a chef's hat. He also wore a chef's hat on his head. The chef gave a polite bow before speaking.

"Well, my favoured and noble princess. What food you desire, I will whip up, happy as Larry. What would you like making on this most wonderful day?" he leaned up on the polished cooker as he spoke the last sentence, proudly adjusting his hat.

Twilight liked this stallion. He was informal, polite, and fun to be with. "We won't be needing you today, Cooking Surprise. Me and Spike here are going to cook on our own today." she gave Spike a gentle nudge.

"What?" Spike said. He was confused.

"Then I shall be on my way." Cooking Surprise made his way into the long hallways of the castle.

"Um... why did you dismiss him?"

"You are going to polish up your baking skills."

Rainbow Dash yawned and stretched out her wings, her rugged mane blocking out most of her vision. The mare gave a shake of her head to clear her vision before spreading her wings wide, proudly doing a loop in the air out of bed. "And that," she said, "Is how you get out of bed the cool way."

Rainbow Dash puffed out her chest in the air and slowly retreated to the floor of her bedroom, letting all of the air in her lungs file out and then pulling it all back in. The rainbow-maned pegasus walked down the staircase of her bedroom into the large living room. She walked over to the calendar firmly placed on the wall.

"Hmm... today... we're going on holiday to Canterlot! This is gonna be awesome!"

The acrobatic pegasus went to the front of the lounge and opened the door, stepping onto the clouds that accompanied her house. She looked out into the open skies, admiring the pure blue colour it beheld. The winged pony then went in for a dive, falling downwards with her head facing the ground. She twisted through the air multiple times with no fear, and her body smoothly pulled upwards before she hit the ground. A trail of rainbow appeared behind her, following her no matter where she went. Rainbow Dash went in for a loop, but was stopped by Pinkie Pie calling her from down below.

Pinkie Pie had just enough time to go and greet Rainbow Dash when she was doing her morning flight. Ponyville's party pony stepped outside of Sugarcube Corner to greet Rainbow Dash, her lips curled into a contagious smile that everypony knew. "Hey there Dashie! Dashie! Down here!" Pinkie Pie vigorously waved to her friend. The athletic pony heard her from above, stopping all she was doing and landing in front of Pinkie. "Hey Pinkie. Whatcha up to?"

"Well," began Pinkie, her cheerful smile as bright as the sun, "I had a break so I thought I would talk to you. I sure hope Spike's a good baker so he can take my place!"

"He's as good as any," Rainbow Dah told Pinkie Pie, exhausted from her flight, "Spike'll take your place, but just while you're gone. Nopony or dragon can permanently replace you." She accompanied her claim with a confident grin followed by a nod.

"Okie dokie Lokie!"

"Anyways, I gotta get ready," she turned her head to the side to see Twilight and Spike trotting up, "They're here now. Hey Twilight!" Rainbow Dash waved.

Spike greeted the two. "Hey you two! Pinkie Pie, I am ready to bake some cakes!"

"Good, because that's why you're here! Just go inside and find Mr and Mrs Cake. They'll tell you what to do!"

Spike obliged and jogged inside. The others began talking about the holiday; how relieved they were to get away for a week. No catastrophes, no threats. Just a nice holiday. After they were all done talking, they parted ways.

With her magic, Rarity looked at each dress on the clothing rack before moving onto the next in perfect rhythm. She simply couldn't decide how, she, of all the ponies in the group, was the only one with a strong fashion sense. She was only rivalled by Fluttershy, but the fashionista figured she wasn't bothered this time. Rarity, on the other hoof, knew how to impress. A few times she thought she might have overreacted, but she discarded those thoughts as soon as they occurred to her.

"What to wear, what to wear," she began, "If I'm to look my best!" Rarity fretted as she parted dresses on one particularly large rack. A small, high voice chipped in.

"Well, sis, if you can't decide, don't wear anything. You look beautiful anyway."

Rarity cooed, "Sweetie Belle, you always have my back, you dear. I apologise for being so... arrogant." She had realised how silly she had sounded as she fretted over a little informal holiday.

"You're welcome. It's half past nine now, so you have half an hour before the train arrives."

"Okay, but I'm at least going in a hat. Is that agreed?"

"Of course sis."

Applejack was set to go. She had her bags packed full of everything she would need. She had bits to spend. Yes, she was ready. Now just to say goodbye to her family. She was currently in her barn with all of her family members. "See ya'll. Don't worry 'bout me, granny, Apple Bloom, Big Mac. Ah'm fine how ah am."

Her family members sounded their agreement before letting her go. Applejack trotted up to the entrance of Sweet Apple Acres and made her way out to the train station, waving as she went.

Fluttershy looked Zecora straight in the eyes, and said in an unusually defiant tone, "Now, take care of them. I don't want them getting hurt, Zecora!" She let out a miniscule squeak and all of her shyness returned. "I-if you want to, that is..."

"No problem Fluttershy, my dear friend. I'll take care of them till the holiday's end," the zebra looked the shy pegasus in the eyes.

"Thank you Zecora," she glanced up at the clock, "Ten to ten! I have to go now!" Fluttershy sped away from her garden at a full gallop.

" I'll see you soon, after your rest. I'll make sure that my treatment is best."

Everypony was packed and ready to go. It was five to ten, and the train would arrive in five minutes. Everypony was excited and rearing to get there; they wished there was no wait and that they could get there right at that moment. Unfortunately they couldn't do that, so they were stuck there.

"This is gonna be 20 per cent cooler than any other holiday I've had!" remarked Rainbow Dash, flying just a bit lower than the canopy.

"You said it, Dashie!" Pinkie Pie was literally bouncing in place.

Rarity was wearing a large lavender hat that flopped over the edges. "This will be simply divine!"

"And the food there. Ah just can't wait to get mahself a taste!" Applejack adjusted her Stetson as she spoke.

Fluttershy chipped in, "I just can't wait to get in the gardens. All of the birdies and the mousies and the little weeny bunnies!"

"This is going to be a holiday worth remembering," Twilight said, "If we don't face any more threats."

The group of six giggled to themselves as a pink, frilly train pulled up in the station. A stallion's head hung out of the front window, as he rang a bell, "All aboard!"

Twilight knew it was their time to go. "That's our train, girls."

They all trotted onto the train and, five minutes later, it was in full swing as they sat down and relaxed, chatting all the while. The Mane 6 enjoyed the atmosphere as the train sped past beautiful sights. They all couldn't stop speaking about all of the fun things they'd do together. They were all equally excited to get a rest that they all well deserved. Everypony had no worries, no nervousness as they dialogued on the train. Princess Celestia's Sun was bright as it reached its peak and shone all of its heat onto the land below, the large celestial body grand nevertheless inviting. Twilight's gaze drew to this important figure as she admired its beauty and its power. She was shook back into reality when Applejack began speaking to her.

"What are you excited about, Twi?"

"Well, uh..." Twilight pondered this query for a moment, "Being here with you five."

"Well, you've got to be loyal. It is my element, after all." Rainbow Dash was sitting down on a seat, a smile plastered on her face.

Everypony went quiet for a moment as they went through a mountain range. The craggy cliffs were very intimidating to the ponies. "Wooooow, big rocky cliffs! Did I ever mention that I used to live on a rock farm? But they weren't as tall-" Rarity had a hoof over Pinkie Pie's mouth and her voice became a mumble under the white hoof.

"Why yes you did, darling," Rarity redirected her gaze from Pinkie to Fluttershy, "Do you know what sort of wildlife would live in these cliffs, dear Fluttershy? I am most intrigued."

"Oh! Well it is most likely that mountain goats live here... But at the time of the Dragon Migration many would take shelter in this sort of terrain. Of course it is not breeding season and we have nothing to worry about."

"Well, then that's great! We wouldn't want to be gobbled up by a big meanie dragon!" Pinkie Pie said, bouncing up and down in her seat, "Would they even run the trains then?"

"Most likely not," responded Fluttershy, "It is far too dangerous."

Rainbow Dash flared her nostrils. "If they did, it would make for an amazing adrenaline rush!"

Twilight facehoofed. "No, Rainbow Dash. It would probably eat you alive."

"I guess..."

They all giggled, including Rainbow Dash herself, seeing the funny side of the situation.

The train was now out of the mountain range and was pulling up a hill, slowing as it went. The group of friends were slightly pulled back into their seats but soon recovered, the chatting and cheerful atmosphere returning a few seconds later. The giggles and the bellowing laughs continued, as they shared experiences and jokes with one another. The atmosphere was the best the Mane 6 had felt since before the Tirek incident. They could now put that behind them and focus on the present, if only for once.

Canterlot was close now and the towering castle looked amazing in the afternoon light. It had a sort of glimmer of its own, one that could never be beaten, no matter how hard any other castle tried. Busy crowds and exquisite shops were everywhere, only a few dark alleyways were quiet and dark. Everything else was bright and cheerful, accompanied by the beautiful blend of colours.

The train was nearing the Grand Canterlot Station now. After a couple of minutes of talking, the Mane 6 found that the train had just pulled into the station and that they were having too much fun already, they didn't know. The doors of the train were magically opened by a unicorn stallion who gave a curt bow, and the group of close friends stepped into the fresh air, all taking a deep breath and letting it out in unison.

The vacation had begun.