Hearts of Gold

It wasn't easy for Sadri to sneak onto the train.

Royal Guards were posted everywhere, and they knew her face.

To her current disappointment, she was pretty, so it was hard to forget her.

Sadri found an unguarded boarding platform where several ponies that worked on the train as cooks and maintenance staff were loading supplies for the voyage.

Using her charm and the power of her voice that came with being a domina, she sweet-talked the ponies into letting her on the train, and that was the end of it.

Now, she was walking through the different cars, just looking for a place to sit.

It was going to be a long journey to Canterlot.

Sadri didn’t expect the ride to be comfortable, but she was relieved to find an empty seat.

She sat down, choosing to remain next to the aisle, rather than the window.

If she needed to make a quick escape, she wanted to be able to run without having to jump over anypony or push them out of her way.

As other passengers passed her by, she kept her head down, keeping her eyes glued to the floor and sinking in her chair.

Sadri hoped no pony there would make a big deal over her golden fur.

She already stood out enough as it was, having no clothes to cover herself with, but her shimmering coat of fur made her stick out like a shining star.

Other ponies around her were bundled up in their winter attire like overcoats and hats, making the golden mare more and more jealous.

Sadri had neither, making her look even less inconspicuous.

Outside, Sadri could see guards running past the train, and she sunk further in the seat.

The train’s whistle sounded, and a feeling of relief washed over the her.

The whistle meant the train would be departing soon, allowing her to put the Crystal Empire behind her for good.

To her delight, the train groaned as it lurched forward.

It began to crawl along the tracks as it pulled out of the station, leaving the platforms and city for the more open country.

Within moments, they were out of the city completely and barreling through the snowy wasteland, down south towards Equestria.

Everything was finally going her way, and Sadri began to relax a little.

Her thoughts turned forward, towards the gala and Twilight Sparkle.

She longed to see her ex-wife again, to explain to her how terrible she felt about the things she did.

The ponies were wrong about her, she felt.

They accused her and her race of feeding off of lust.

That wasn’t true at all.

The domina fed off of passion.

Sometimes, that might have included lust, but they preferred intimate passion over the animalistic behaviors associated with lust.

Without either, Sadri felt starved.

For over a year, she had been kept in isolation with no passionate connections, and as a result, she felt weak and deprived of her former strength.

She’d feel better once she was reunited with Twilight, thought.

All of that would change once she managed to explain everything to her dearest love.

There was a gentle tap on her shoulder.

Sadri jolted slightly and looked up, coming face to face with the pony she met on the street, Gypsum.

The mare scowled and narrowed her eyes at the sitting pony.

“It is you…”

***

Phasmid came to with a aching in her chest.

It didn’t feel like normal pain, but it hurt just as deeply.

The pain felt like it was coming from within her.

Then, the words finally came to her mind; grief and sorrow.

A mare, a very lovely mare, had saved her life, and Phasmid had chosen to leave her behind.

She couldn’t accept the princess of time’s offer of eternal life.

She just couldn’t bring herself to leave her old life behind.

No…

Her little changeling, Azalea, was out there somewhere, and so was Cicada.

Phasmid knew she needed to find them both.

There were quite a few things on her mind that she needed to share with Cicada…

With her full strength returned, Phasmid looked up towards the the train tracks high above, and she stretched her tattered wings.

She took a step forward, preparing to take off towards Canterlot, but there was something else on her mind too, something she needed to say to Princess Twilight.

Demise, the princess of time, had only one request when Phasmid chose to leave her, and that was to deliver a message to Twilight Sparkle.

Phasmid had no clue as to what happened between the two princesses or how they knew each other, but she felt it was the least she could do after being saved by Demise.

The changeling stretched her tattered wings and gave them a few ‘test flaps’.

Without taking a running start, she leaped into the air and began to climb.

Dodging through tree limbs and overhanging branches, Phasmid broke through the thicket and fire out of the forest, climbing higher and higher into the blue sky.

Up in the air, she took in a deep breath, savoring the feeling of the cold wind as it engulfed her body.

Then, she looked south, towards Canterlot.

Squinting her eyes, she could just barely make out the grand city on its mountainside perch.

It would be a long flight, several hours, but Phasmid felt like a new mare, reborn.

For the first time since she was hatched, she felt free of Queen Chrysalis and free of the hive.

After she spoke to Twilight Sparkle and Cicada, she would be flying to the Crystal Empire to find her filly, now known as Pyrite, and nothing would get in her way.

***

Sadri looked up at Gypsum, her eyes wide with horror.

She had been caught.

All the pony had to do was yell to alert any guards that were on the train.

Gypsum glared at the mare in gold before reaching into her saddle purse and revealing a ticket.

“That is my seat.”

Sadri’s heart was racing, but she managed to focus on the ticket, conforming that it had the same number as the seat she was currently sitting in.

“Y-Y-You… You’re not going t-t-to turn me in?”

Gypsum looked to her left, down the aisle, and to her right, up the aisle.

Then, she faced Sadri again before nudging towards the window.

“No… Now, move.”

Sadri complied, taking the window seat and allowing Gypsum to sit by the aisle.

Silence filled the void between them as the train hummed along.

The silence was eventually broken by Gypsum, who let out a frustrated sigh.

“I can’t believe this… Of all the trains, of all the cars, of all the seats, you had to be here.”

Sadri folded her hooves across her chest and fired the mare a cold look.

“How was I supposed to know, huh? I just want to get to Canterlot…”

Gypsum rolled her eyes.

“Everypony here wants to get to Canterlot, you golden fool. That city is this train’s only stop and final destination. The gala is tonight, and no pony wants to miss the party.”

Sadri’s wars began to burn, and her face turned red.

The pony beside her had gone from cold, to rude, to outright insulting.

“‘Golden fool’?!”

Gypsum wouldn’t even meet her eyes.

The mare kept her gaze fixed on the mountains outside of the windows across the aisle.

“Careful, darling. The guards might hear you if you’re too loud.”

Sadri’s ears folded back, and she shrunk visibly.

Her chest swelled with anger at the pony’s condescending tone.

She had called her ‘darling’, of all things.

Part of Sadri was beginning to seriously dislike the mare.

In the back of her mind, she considered moving to find another seat, somewhere on the train that was far away from Gypsum.

“Why don’t you just turn me in, if you hate me so much?”

Gypsum finally looked towards her, meeting her gaze.

“Believe me, I’d love nothing more than to set the guards on you and see you apprehended for whatever crime you committed, but I don’t want any trouble, and…”

She let out a long sigh.

“… it seems to follow you everywhere you go.”

Both mares looked towards the door up ahead as it opened suddenly.

A staff member of the train entered the car, slowly walking through the aisle as he checked the passenger’s tickets.

One by one, the ponies revealed their passes to the pony as he checked them off a list in the cloud of his magic.

“Tickets, please.”

With each moment that passed the pony got closer, and Sadri realized she didn’t have a ticket.

She would be found out as a stowaway, and the guards would surely catch her then.

Gypsum must have been thinking the same thing, because a sly grin crossed her lips.

Sadri figured that was what the pony wanted all along, for her to get caught by the ticket collector.

Then, something happened that Sadri could not have possibly anticipated.

Gypsum turned to face her and placed a firm hoof on the golden mare’s upper leg.

“I have an idea, but you have to play along and do exactly as I say.”

Sadri was beyond confused.

“I don’t understand you, Gypsum. Are you helping me now?”

She didn’t answer.

Instead, the pony held hoof to Sadri’s lips, cutting her off and frustrating her even more.

The staff member was almost upon them, just a few seats ahead.

Gypsum fumbled through her saddle purse, looking for her own ticket.

As the staff member approached them, she pulled the ticket out and held it up for him to see.

“Ticket, pl- Oh, thank you.”

He sounded pleased by her quick response, but his eyes then turned towards Sadri.

“Ticket, please.”

Sadri couldn’t believe she was putting her trust in Gypsum.

Before she could open her mouth to say anything, Gypsum addressed her own ticket a second time, showing the staff member the silver seal in the top, left corner of the ticket.

“Actually, sir, mine is a double, for myself and her.”

Sadri cocked her head but kept her mouth shut, only managing to nod quietly as he looked over Gypsum's ticket again.

“Madem, this seal is for married couples.”

There was doubt in the time of his voice, but Gypsum didn’t break character.

She took Sadri’s hoof in her own and pulled the golden mare in close.

“We’re engaged, actually. We were just on our way to Canterlot to visit my relations to share the good news. The nice stallion that sold us the ticket was happy for us and told me it didn’t matter that we weren’t quite yet married.”

Sadri couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

The mare was a fool to think the staff member would fall for it.

He looked at his list and the ticket, his eyes darting back and forth between them both.

Then, he scribbled something on his list and passed the ticket back to Gypsum.

“Alright, madam. You two enjoy the ride. We should be arriving at Canterlot within six hours. Feel free to enjoy the dining car.”

Just like that, he was gone, continuing his rounds as he checked everypony’s tickets.

Sadri quickly retracted her hoof from Gypsum’s grasp and eyed the ticket she held.

“What was that about?!”

She spoke in a hushed voice.

“We’re engaged?!”

Gypsum pointed towards the seal on the ticket and bared her teeth.”

“I’m the one who’s engaged, fool. At least… I was before today…”

Her hard glare softened, and her eyes fell to the floor.

Gypsum sniffled as she fought back the tears that were trying to escape her eyes.

“It doesn't matter anymore… Once I get to Canterlot, I’m going to stay there. The empire has nothing left for me.”

Sadri was still right next to Gypsum after being pulled closer during their encounter with the staff member.

She gently touched the mare’s hoof, startling her.

“Maybe you can talk to me about what happened?”

Sadri wasn’t any good at counseling heart-broken mares, but after having her own share of emotional distress, she felt sorry for Gypsum.

“Did your fiancé cheat on you?”

Gypsum sniffled as she shook her head.

“No… I cheated on him…”

Sadri was surprised by her response.

“I… I was a terrible mare… I cheated on my fiancé and when he found out, it shattered his heart.”

Her eyes were already red as the tears ran down her cheeks.

“He gave me back his ring and took everything he owned out of our house in the span of an hour. I have heard from him since… I can still remember the look in his eyes… all of that anger and sadness…”

Sadri didn’t know what to say.

She could only hold onto Gypsum’s hoof and let the mare vent.

Her tears trickled down her cheek and fell onto Sadri’s fur.

She cried softly into Sadri’s shoulder before falling asleep in her hooves.

The golden mare simply sat there, unable to move as she stroked Gypsum’s mane.

***Up Next: Sadri Arrives***