The Hearthwarming Express | North Pole Bound
All Aboard
It seemed like a good idea at the time with Hearth's Warming just the next day. Everypony would have wanted to spend Christmas day with their true families, but the Mane 6 thought it would be nice to have their own little celebration for Hearth's Warming Eve since in a way they were they're own little family Twilight stated, earning a gag from Rainbow Dash. Twilight invited them all over to the castle, some bringing their littlest relatives, for a fun day of gift giving and celebration. The idea was flawless, if not perfect, except for the one thing Twilight couldn't have possibly planned for..... a train outside the castle.
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Twilight had finally gotten Pinkie Pie out of bed and returned to her other friends she had already gathered by one of the higher windows in the castle. Each of them stood there gawking at the huge dark locomotive parked out front. The snow was coming down harshly which kept everyone's vision limited to the train and not the surrounding buildings or train tracks that would give any sign of how it was here.
"Well.... this is nice" Fluttershy stated with a smile, everypony gave her an odd look and returned back to watching the train.
Rainbow Dash nudged Twilight to get her attention and led her back behind the group a few feet.
"Hey did you wake up the Crusaders?" Rainbow asked, Twilight shook her head.
"Is there any reason to?" Twilight asked.
"Well you woke us up for a reason, plus what if it's dangerous?" Rainbow asked in return.
Twilight looked to ponder on it for a moment, "True, but you know how those girls can be. They would most likely just end up causing trouble"
"Uh Twi.... they're causin' trouble" Applejack called over her shoulder, the two ponies rushed back to the window.
There they saw the CMC fitted with scarves and little boots as they walked right up to the train. As they approached a side door flung open from the side, shining a yellow light from inside out onto the snow, temporaily causing the CMC to cover their eyes with their hooves. A brown coated stallion leaned out of the door with a conductor's hat and looked at the Fillies. His face didn't show any specific signs of emotion, he just sort of looked towards them.
The conductor pony suddenly started speaking to them, but from where they were they couldn't hear a word. The stallion motioned for the CMC to join him, they looked at each other questioningly for a few seconds before heading over and stepping up onto the small staircase the stallion dropped for them.
Before anypony could even utter a word, a rainbow blur shot over everypony's head, smashing through the window. Rainbow Dash did a quick roll in midair to shake off the glass, but immediately focused back on her target and took off towards the train. Everypony else covered themselves from the glass debris, only for Twilight to step forward and shout after her to wait.
"Of course..." Twilight grumbled to herself before turning to the other girls.
"What are you waiting for silly?" Pinkie giggled, Twilight's brain immediately perked up to figure out what she was forgetting.Twilight slapped a hoof onto her forehead before lighting her horn and teleporting everypony down beside the train. Just as they arrived they noticed the train door slam closed as Rainbow just arrived and slam into it. She punched it a few times earning her nothing but pain coursing through her now sore hooves. Rainbow noticed the others and quickly bolted over to them.
"How the hay are we getting in!?" Rainbow shouted.
Before she could receive an answer everypony heard the train start up as the chugging motion began.
"No time! everypony on that train!" Twilight shouted with a point of her hoof, everypony dashed forward for the locomotive quickly getting moving. It started up surprisingly fast as the girls quickly started to fall behind it.
Applejack, out of nowhere, pulled out a lasso and swung it onto the railings in the back. It quickly yanked the mare to the ground and began dragging her but Applejack quickly began pulling her way up the rope.
"Darling use your magic!" Rarity shouted as everyone's hooves pounded through the snow.
"Good idea!" Twilight shouted.
Suddenly a purple aura surrounded Rarity and she felt her hooves slowly leave the ground.
"Wait wha! I didn't mean-" Twilight used her magic to fling Rarity over the railing, the fashionista unceremoniously landing on her face with a slight skid. Twilight winced but kept her hooves moving as she grabbed a hold of Pinkie and did the same, this time with a "Wheeee!" from the one being flung.
Rarity had gotten back on her hooves quickly only to find herself slammed back onto the train, her face directly beneath a bright pink haunch now forcing her head down. If Rarity could even fathom how awful of a position she was she would summarize it in one word... uncouth....
"AND SIMPLY DISGUSTING!" Rarity shrieked from under Pinkie's butt, only for it to be muffled. Applejack couldn't help but chuckle as she pulled herself onto the railing finally and climbed over.
"Um Twilight..." Fluttershy timidly spoke, as Twilight turned towards the yellow pony keeping pace with her.
Twilight raised an eyebrow at her as her gaze wandered towards the extra appendages the pegasus had at her sides, and found themselves back on a sheepish grin from Fluttershy. Twilight rolled her eyes and took Fluttershy in her aura and tossed her towards the train as well.
Applejack had managed to pry Pinkie Pie from Rarity, and as Rarity sat back up, the others rapidly moved to the side, revealing another butt coming straight for her. This basically started the process all over again as Applejack sighed.
Twilight lit her horn in an attempt to teleport herself on board but her horn's magic fizzled out at the tip as Twilight started to breathe heavily. The harsh weather and the full sprint she managed to keep up was taking a lot out of her. Everypony across the railing shouted for her as the Alicorn slowly started to lag behind. They watched with worried faces as Twilight tripped over a snow pile and fell face first into snow.
She lay there for a few seconds, thoughts of what could happen if she isn't there for her friends quickly skimming through her mind. Thankfully though that wasn't a reality she would have to experience as she was swooped off the ground by a pegasus she knew all too well just based on the coziness of her fur.
"You didn't think i'd leave you? did ya!" Rainbow called out with a grin as she held her lover by her front legs.
"Never" Twilight breathed happily as she rested in her heroes' hooves.
In no time Rainbow had gotten them to the train and the two of them settled down onto the now cramped back end of the caboose. Rainbow stepped forward and pushed open the door to the cart, everyone prepared for some sort of fight, but found nopony to be back there.
"Ah say we stick together, move up tha' train, and deal with whatever creeps are up ahead" Applejack declared, and with no better ideas everypony quickly found a spot behind her as they moved forward, Pinkie having to grab Fluttershy's hoof to pull her into this violent plan.
One by one they moved from cart to cart, each one being empty. Everypony's nervousness was building up each time they stepped through a new door, this time however that nervous feeling wasn't misplaced because voices could be heard on the other side.
Twilight stepped forward and pressed her hoof onto the door and slowly glanced back at her friends. Applejack readied her lasso, Rarity lit her horn, Fluttershy smiled awkwardly, Pinkie pulled out a wooden bat and.... everypony gave her a look.
"The bat seems like a bit much Pinkie" Twilight claimed, Pinkie frowned as she looked down at it in her hooves.
"Oh sorry" she said as she tossed the bat behind her, Rainbow Dash barely avoiding it, and then suddenly pulling out another baseball bat, but this time it was pink with party balloons stickered onto it.
"To be fair these ponies could be anyone" Rainbow added, and the others nodded. Twilight hesitantly turned back to the door, audibly gulping as she slowly applied pressure to it. As it creaked open the horrifying intense situation that was expected on the other side appeared to be more of a party. They're were at-least eight fillies in the room many of them being from Ponyville, as well as the Cutie Mark Crusaders sitting in their seats with the stallion from before looming over them. It was easier to see him now, and it was clear that he a little bit older of a pony with a brown coat and a short dark brown mane that was kept under his blue conductor hat, he had a cutie mark of a train whistle adorning his flank. He also had a little dark brown mustache as well as thinly framed glasses. Everypony seemed to be having fun as they talked and laughed.
"Your ticket please!" the stallion asked very rudely, as Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom looked nervously to Scootaloo who didn't appear to have one.
"But I just had it!" Scootaloo shouted, but the stallion's face was unmoved.
"If you don't have a ticket then-"
"Hey!" Rainbow shouted as she barged over to the conductor who turned towards the storming pegasus. Rainbow stomped right up to him and shoved her faces inches away from his, but the conductor didn't appeared fazed as he stared at the pegasus, still no sign of emotion giving way. "Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo exclaimed giddily, literally bouncing in her seat.
"I was wondering when you'd all get here" he stated calmly, Rainbow just gave him a bewildered look and looked back to her group of friends who shrugged.
"You didn't think somepony got aboard my magic train without me knowing did you?" he said, with the slightest smirk.
"Magic huh? So that's how you got into Ponyville, and I guess that's also how you ponynapped these three here!?" she shouted forcefully, the conductor grabbing his hat so it didn't blow off of his head.
"Ponynap? We did not ponynap anyone, these three here chose to come aboard with their own free will, a smart decision on their part" he stated.
"A moronic decision more like it!" Rarity shouted as her and the rest slowly came closer to the situation. Rarity marched right over to the three fillies, and gave them a harsh glare, most of it falling onto Sweetie Belle.
"Rarity we-" Sweetie Belle attempted.
"You got onto a train with strangers in the middle of the night without talking to me!' Rarity screamed, the fillies' ears flopped back as the sad looks dawned their faces.
"We only wanted to have a good Hearth's Warming..." Apple Bloom pouted as she gave Rarity her best puppy dog face.
"No! You all only wanted to go on a fun train ride!" Applejack shouted as she backed up Rarity.
"Yeah pretty much" Scootaloo nonchalantly said as her and the other's downtrodden faces went away, only to settle onto irritated ones.
"Were taking you three home" Rainbow declared, and turned towards the conductor and pressed a hoof against him as she leaned in.
"Unless you wanna stop us?" Rainbow growled, the conductor looked unamused. He slowly pushed the offending hoof away as his eyes focused onto Rainbow's.
"As much as I would love to, I cannot. This train has a magic shield around it that keeps anypony from leaving the train until it's reached it's destinati-" before the conductor finished his sentence Twilight fired a magic bolt out the window only to have it fizzle out from thin air.
The conductor loudly cleared his throat as he glared at the Alicorn, "yes as I was saying, you all cannot leave until we reach out destination"
"Um... where are we going?' Fluttershy spoke up timidly.
"The North Pole!" gleefully shouted every filly and colt on the train, startling the mares as they looked around, almost forgetting about the other children.
"Yes... as they said. The North Pole" the conductor stated, followed by a loud train whistle sounding out from the train and echoing through the mountains that now appeared outside the windows, taking the mares by surprise.
"Were not in Ponyville anymore..." Twilight said in awe.
