Twilight raised a hoof to shield her waking eyes from the sunset. Beyond the sparse stray clouds, the horizon radiated red and yellow streaks, slowly roasting the wood and metal carriage she laid within. After recognizing that droning growl of the engines, exhaling their pungent oily perfumes into the sticky air, she had to fight the temptation to drop her eyelids and go back to sleep.
The sunset had changed since the start of this flight.
Her first impression was that she hadn't slept at all, merely closed her eyes and daydreamed for a second. The stiffness and cramps nibbling through her joints suggested otherwise, and a glance at her pocket-watch confirmed it. Aches aside, her body no longer felt exhausted, but her mind remained more fatigued and disoriented than before. She didn't react to the sound of hoofsteps behind her.
“Hope the 'beds' weren't too bad.” Captain Amber Skies walked down the wooden ramp from the upper deck. “Haven't flown any passengers in so long, scrapped all that furniture, hah. Needed the extra space.”
“Mmfh.” Twilight stretched her neck from side to side. This was her first time sleeping on an open-air craft. When inside a dark cabin, passengers could ignore how the heavens stopped in their rotations during transit. Of course, Twilight had peeked out the portholes many times out of curiosity, and confirming the effect existed was just as uncanny and thrilling each time. From the morning sunrise to the midday cloud patterns, she could pretend she was stopping time itself, observing the natural world to discover its secrets.
But it was another thing entirely to be constantly exposed to it, unable to look away. Now, it was instead like the sky was full of flying eyes, all stopping in their paths to observe her. She shivered and buttoned her velvet coat back on, though she felt no less naked.
“Why would you want to come this way?”
Twilight looked over at Madame Fluttershy, still curled up in the seat of the gunner's turret in her silky gown. She'd surprised Twilight that one night, dragging her along for an improvised adventure. Another reckless wager between the pegasus and her wildlife collector pals. Fluttershy didn't seem to particularly enjoy any of the traveling one way or another, she was always ambivalent whenever Twilight pointed out an important landmark.
“We're going around."
“Oh my. Around the worlds? All of them? Like in the old days?” The lines around Captain Amber Skies's face softened, and her eyes lit up with memories of long-lost passion. “Didn't realize anypony still did that anymore. Used to be all the rage when I was younger. So easy and fast, there'd even be races. But now?”
The Captain kept on babbling about the adventures of her youth, which Twilight reflexively tuned out. It had been fascinating the first few times, but she was sick of hearing every airship pilot's nostalgic story. They always followed the same general pattern, and provided no useful information relevant to the modern routes. The Captain's mouth kept flapping as she examined the machinery behind the turret, fiddling with some engine valves. Twilight took the chance to study the notes in her travel journal.
Halfway finished. They were making good time, though time wasn't much of a concern since it only marched on during their stops. Since Fluttershy avoided other ponies as much as possible, it was up to Twilight to ask locals for information and negotiate travel arrangements in each new world. Going through the light half of the ring was safe enough, but airship connections had become rare. Not from imposed restrictions, no, but simply a general lack of interest in the neighboring worlds. The rail lines had been abandoned, so Twilight had to hunt down the few individual captains still sailing the astral currents.
Twilight pressed a hoof against the entry pass that she had been issued, back in the Realm of the Phoenix's Fruit. With it, they could take a direct route into the Kingdom of Embeus, starting point of what was left of the Friendship Express. The train tracks ran directly through the dark worlds for a low cost, and then they'd be almost back home. Despite the conflicts and raids of ages past, this half of the ring was still well interconnected. She scanned over her maps, tracing over the rail path as it went through tunnels and over seas. If all goes well, this would go smoother and faster than the first half of the trek.
Though, the rumors made her jittery. Hopefully the governments would stay on good terms for just a little longer. Once this adventure was over, they could shut down the borders all they wanted.
As she stood waiting in line, Twilight looked up at the olive-green stone palace that dwarfed the city underneath. Spiral columns towered out amongst the walls textured like threads of woven fabric. It was the famous Living Cathedral, made to give the illusion of a royal giant from far away, in contrast to the sharp angles and stiff architecture of the surrounding city.
Twilight rolled her eyes and snorted as she took her turn at the guard kiosk. She dropped her documents on the counter and peered again at the empty pedestals above the buttresses. The glittering gargoyles she'd once admired in photographs were all missing. She already knew the bronze cast bells had been scrapped, but the sculptures too? It was just pitiful.
“Miss, this is not a valid entry pass.”
Twilight looked back down. What was wrong with it now? It was.... it was her folded map, and not the pass. “Hold on, it's around here somewhere.... I think.”
She combed through pockets and saddlebags and rifled through stacks of notebooks and maps. She had it on the airship, didn't she?
Twilight felt like her blood was flowing backwards. All that preparation to get safe passage into this world, and she'd gone and lost it. Dropped on the airship? Stolen by a thief?
The guard mare frowned impatiently.
Madame Fluttershy had already passed through the gate, but stopped and turned around. She gestured with a hoof at Twilight to hurry up.
She gulped and reached into her drawstring purse. “Oh, sorry about that. Here it is!” She nonchalantly slid her passport booklet back across the counter.
The guard's grey hoof brushed under the passport's cover, then paused. Her eyes flicked up to meet Twilight's gaze, yet betrayed no emotion.
Twilight's heart pounded. She tugged her cheek upward. A disarming smile couldn't hurt.
No reaction from the stone-faced mare. She tugged harder.
“Welcome to Embeus, Miss Sparkle. Have a good day.”
Twilight grabbed her belongings and hurried over to Fluttershy's side, before she released her sigh of relief. The tension loosened its grip on her ribs, though the guilt still warmed her cheeks. “I've never done that before. I wasn't sure if it would work.”
Fluttershy nodded. “It seems to be common around here. You might have to do it some more.”
“I hope not. I still can't believe I was so careless and lost it.” Twilight lowered her bag on the rain-drenched sidewalk. The street wasn't crowded, but the ponies that passed by were keeping their distance. In a dingy cafe across the street, patrons coldly glared out at the two travelers. Squinting her eyes, she could make out a unicorn at a dimly lit table in the back of the building, who was slipping a thick cube of sugar into his mouth.
Twilight shook her head in disbelief. It was no secret how widespread that substance had become on every world, but this was the first time she'd seen it blatantly consumed in public. She uncapped her pen and opened her journal, planning to take some notes. That's when she noticed something sticking out of the pages.
Twilight's jaw hung open.
With her aura, she lifted the stamped slip of pale green paper to show to Fluttershy. It was her entry pass.
Twilight flipped around. “I'm getting my money back. I'll just show her and explain–”
“Twilight!” Fluttershy stamped her hoof down, though her eyes shifted back and forth nervously. “I really don't think that's a good idea.”
“But, I...” Twilight swallowed the rest of her words. She nodded, and reluctantly lifted her bag.
While Fluttershy drank her cup of amaranth tea, staring out at the ocean from the pavilion, Twilight was trapped in her own head.
Losing the 50 bits wasn't nearly as painful as the regret that it could've avoided. It was a waste, and Twilight hated waste.
Why didn't she check there earlier? All she had to do was look more thoroughly, not jump to conclusions. Why was her head off in the clouds at that one important moment?
“Oh. The migration might be arriving soon,” Fluttershy said as she stared into the distance behind Twilight. “I've always wanted to see that up close.”
Twilight kept double-checking their train tickets, as if they'd sprout legs and dive out of her pocket any minute now. “Why don't we take some more airships? We can skip a lot of ground that way, with fewer stops.” She didn't add that fewer stops meant fewer chances to make another fatal error, like she nearly did with the entry pass.
“Oh, I really don't think we can afford it. Besides, I'd like to see what the Express is like. It would be a nice change, don't you think?”
Twilight thought about that. It would be a change, though she didn't think of it as nice. More ponies involved, more checkpoints, more brushes with authority. How long would her luck last? She felt very small.
Fluttershy was certainly not fond of social interaction, and Twilight was approaching the limits of what she could handle. Riding a few more airships in relative solitude might be worth the price for both of them. Maybe she could still convince Fluttershy to borrow the extra money? Unless...
“Madame Fluttershy,” Twilight chose her words slowly and with heavy weight. “Please, tell me again what you're winning from this wager.”
Fluttershy held her breath. She was about to say something, but she paused. She turned her head away to avoid eye contact. She bit her lower lip, then spoke softly.
“One peacockatrice.”
Twilight slumped back in her chair. She shut her eyes and released a sigh.
Of course. There was no lump sum of bits involved; it was unlikely that Fluttershy's colleagues had much in the way of liquid assets at a time like this. No wonder Fluttershy kept dodging the topic of loans.
All those backup plans evaporated.
Twilight didn't feel like taking the train anymore. She wanted to burn the tickets right then and there. Her stomach started to twist into a knot.
Why did Fluttershy have to depend so much on her to be the sociable one? Twilight began fantasizing about running off and getting back home her own. Let Fluttershy deal with irritable guards and apathetic ponies from now on. We'll see how badly she wants to win these wagers.
But how would Twilight get back? Perhaps... go back, retrace their steps. At least it was the safe route, and one she was already familiar with.
She would need money though. The money they didn't have anymore. She... she'd come up with a solution in a later fantasy.
Twilight snapped back to reality, and realized she was alone at the table. She scanned the dimly lit beach, and saw a trail of hoofprints leading away toward the docks. Though distant, Fluttershy's colors stood out against the deep blue waves.
Twilight cantered after her companion. Without looking up, she didn't see the sky fall upon them.
What she assumed was the sound of wind rustling through the trees had sharply increased in intensity, becoming a deafening whirlwind. As it got closer, she could make out the flapping of wings. Millions of feathers, hammering against the air, cushioning the mass descent upon the beach.
Waves of birds of all shapes and colors filled the air around the ponies, each creature seeking a long-needed perch. Whatever closest branch or object they could touch, they rested their travel-weary muscles. Fluttershy lifted a hoof as dozens of smaller birds decided to rest upon her. They clung all along her mane and tail and down the back of her dress.
Some wanted to do the same to Twilight, but since she increased her pace most of the fliers found her an uninviting resting area and moved on. A few birds tried anyway, only to get swatted away by a hoof. She reached Fluttershy, covered in little travelers while watching in awe as countless more flew over her head.
“Fluttershy! It's time to go!”
Fluttershy made no sign that she had heard. She closed her eyes, and for the first time Twilight could remember on this long trip, her expression relaxed into a smile of unrestrained peace and contentment.
“We're going to miss the train!”
Twilight shivered as the swarms of birds continued flowing around her.
“Please! Let's go!”
The train had already started moving when they arrived at their seats. Of the many passenger carriages, the air in this one was chilly and smelled too strongly of soap and clover, as if something unpleasant had to masked. As they passed by other travelers, Twilight couldn't help but flinch at the sight of the ones casually swallowing their sugar cubes. At least they'd be sedated and harmless for the trip, stretched out in their booths like poseable dolls.
Twilight pulled the blinds down to hide the embers of the fading sunset. Fluttershy had her back turned, and it was unclear if she was still awake or not, quiet as she always was.
Twilight turned over to face the opposite direction, curling against the cushion to take a nap herself. She thought about all the anxiety she had endured over the road ahead, but it didn't seem as thick and constricting as it had back on the beach.
Now that they were moving forward again, she felt a jolt of optimism in her heart. The anxiety turned to excitement.
