the forgotten one

This was going to end badly, that was all Ratway could think about as he strolled down the winding corridors of Twilights castle, his pace his normal knobbled plod. The day had started well enough, he had awoken from the hard floor of his guest room, the luxurious bed to comfortable for his liking as he kept feeling like he was falling just before he lost consciousness, resulting in him resorting to the equally fancy saddle Arabian carpet that had lined the floor. He had been sure to mess up the bedding on the bed though lest the princess think him a fink, though it was only a matter of time before they worked out he wasn’t sleeping in it, as it wouldn’t conform to his natural musk, a slept in bed didn’t stay clean after all.

That wasn’t what was bothering him though, the day prior he had shown the good princess some of his past, and something she had seen seemed to have shaken her in a drastic manner, more than likely the frog attack affecting her more than he had realised, as she had aborted the session after his run in with a Vargeist, the whole experience clearly bothering the little dove. This combined with the message the dragon runt had given him about a weekend trip with one of the princess’s friends was scaring him, as he still hadn’t weighed in Starlight Glimmer and wasn’t partial to too many new faces, they didn’t tend to stick around from his experience.

Opening the door to the royal throne roomm the holographic map pulsing gently in the cascade of light from the tree chandelier, he didn’t have long to have his presence known.

“Ratway, good morning” came a chipper tone from the princess, her face set in a smile, as she dug into a pile of pancakes in a most un-regal fashion, waving a hoof signalling he should join her. As he walked over he noticed a white unicorn mare with a rich purple mane sitting in a chair near the princess, the 3 diamond cutiemarks on the headrest matching the ones that adorned her flank telling Ratway she was part of the princess’s inner circle, as custom furniture wasn’t cheap.

“Mornin princess” he replied out of curtesy, before carving an ass groove into a chair with a trio of balloons on the head rest, within seconds of him finding his seat the diddly dragon emerged and placed a tower of pancakes in front of him.

“Thanks” he said before the little one scuttled off, to return with his own plate, before taking a seat by the princess.

“Ratway you haven’t met Rarity yet, have you?” asked the princess, gesturing to the unicorn mare, eager to begin the introduction process.

“Naye I don’t think I ave, I would remember seeing a mare with eyes like sapphires” he replied tossing a lump of bait into the water to see if sharks started to circle, the white of Rarity’s cheeks flashing red at the unexpected compliment from this complete stranger, before returning to their normal marble white. Placing the knife and fork she had been using to eat her pancakes down with a light clink of silver, followed by her clearing her throat in an elegant cough, Rarity finally spoke.

“Are you always this this upfront in your greetings?” she replied, wiping some wayward syrup from her mouth with a frilly napkin. These few words flowing like caramel through his ears as if she had been practising in secret as to have them land perfectly, her slight accent adding more to her alluring nature.

“Only when its true love” he replied, before picking up a pancake with his hoof and shoving the whole thing into his mouth. He wasn’t lying, the mare was attractive, he had just chosen to focus on her eyes as they were a distinct deep-sea blue. This additional titbit causing a smile to tickle the edges of Rarity’s mouth.

“I think he will fit right in at the lodge” said Rarity, directing her attention towards Twilight as if answering a question that had been asked before his arrival.

“Are you sure this isn’t going to be a hassle Rarity, you mentioned this was important for your business, I don’t want to put any undue pressure on you” replied Twilight, her voice sounding sceptical, as though she felt she was forcing the white one into something.

“Nonsense darling, it’s the least I can do after what he did for you” Rarity said, her words showing a clear appreciation for his previous actions in regard to the gulper frog.

“I would also love to chat to him about fashion from his time period, I think he could give me some inspiration for one of my upcoming lines” she continued, filling them in on her secondary motivation.

“As long as your fine with it, I don’t see a problem” said Twilight now confidant in the course of action.

“Spork mentioned something about a weekend retreat, and at this point I assume I am goin with miss Rarity” interjected Ratway, wanting to find out the nature of the commitment Twilight had signed him up for without his knowledge, the whole situation reminding him of how his mam used to get him jobs without telling him until about a hour before they needed doing.

“Well darling I was going to Fancypants private lodge with a small consortium of other important designers to help him with a new uniform for his airship crew. It’s a 5 star resort so offers many things you were cruelly deprived of in the jungle, like a spa, which might I add is one oftheworst possible things that can happen to a pony…” explained Rarity, her mind becoming target fixated on the spa as she span out into a little fountain of drama, thankfully getting stopped by Twilight before she would require a therapists sofa to collapse into.

“ Rarity mentioned it over tea yesterday, and she said she had a plus one on her ticket, so I asked her if it was fine if you tagged along, as it’s a controlled environment and will let you unwind after so many years of isolation without having to worry about sensory overload” interrupted Twilight getting the topic reigned in to a concise conclusion.

“So yer saying I get to go to a 5-star resort fer free” questioned Ratway, probing for hidden snags as nothing good ever came for nothing.

“The only price is your company” replied Rarity with a friendly smile. Her interest in getting to know him sounding genuine, a trait that he wasn’t used to, as most if not all unicorns he had met wanted something from him before casually discarding him like a used chamber pot, the feeling was queer to say the least.

“That seems fair but be warned no one wants t spend a week with me” joked Ratway before rapidly ingesting a second pancake, his joke based in fact as he didn’t think Rarity yet realised that his personality tended to rub people the wrong way, mainly because of his lack of socialisation as a foal, due to his background.

“I am sure you will be fine, if you ever have any doubts just smile and nod” reassured Rarity, the mare confidant he would have little issues fitting in, based on the few sentences he had said so far, as he seemed to exude a confidence, even if he didn’t know it. Her blue eyes suddenly seeing the clock hanging on the wall its hands sitting at half 10 in the morning.

“Unfortunately I would love to continue this chat, but I need to make final arrangements with my luggage, I will see you at the train station at noon Ratway, it was a pleasure making your acquaintance” said Rarity as she suddenly became aware of the time. The mare pushing her plate away and in a regal fashion more than likely requiring years of practice, left the room at an ideal speed, not too fast and not too slow. As she walked her hips swayed sensually so that they would draw the eye of any passing stallion, the mare a pure-bred socialite through and through as if she was born to add class to any get together.

The moment she was gone, Ratway engulfed the remaining pancakes, in a similarly messy way as Twilight, before stifling a burp and turning to the alicorn.

“I am sorry about yesterday” said Ratway, as he wiped his mouth clean, with the back of his hoof.
“Sorry about what?” said Twilight raising an eyebrow, trying to play coy about the final memory of that session.

“I see you don’t want to talk about it” said Ratway begrudgingly as he let the topic slide, he had seen a few things during the mind probe from the alicorns mind and it had raised many questions, but he knew the price of that was some of his memory’s had slipped into her head, and seeing as she had gotten tilted he was dreading what they might have been, as he desperately hoped it was simply the Vargeist eating him. Mentally shrugging he knew he would cross those bridges as they came, no point worrying about something he had no control over. With these thoughts he rose to his hooves, and pushed the plate away, intent on getting ready for a few days of monging it in a hotel room.

“If you will excuse me Twilight, I ave a bag to pack” he said before he tucked his chair in and began to waddle out.

“Ratway wait” called Twilight, the words causing him to halt in his uneven tracks, his head turning to meet her gaze.

“How did you hurt yourself?” she asked, the question bugging her since she had first entered his mind, as his disability seemed to be mental as well as physical, in addition to deflect her own insecurity’s about getting eaten in an act of misdirection.

“Ask me that question when I am in the cups and then I will tell you” he said solemnly before walking out, leaving the princess and her dragon to finish their meal.

Just over an hour later he was awkwardly milling about at the train station, the small platform no different to the ones he remembered from before his isolation, the saying if it aint broke don’t fix it springing to mind. He didn’t have luggage, as he carried everything he could possibly need in a collection of pouches of various sizes that festooned his body, even so he decided to cut the weight down a little as he doubted he would need his tent, cookware and combat respirator. Now that he was thinking about it that respirator was probably past its use by date, as he made a mental note to get a new filter for it, if they still made them that is.

Rolling on his hooves, he glanced around looking for the white unicorn who was responsible for him, the clock rolling quickly towards the trains arrival time. Waddling back and forth like a caged animal, he eventually stopped and collapsed into a cast iron bench the sturdy seat not even creaking as his weight was applied to it. It was here he loitered, the clocks hands slowly ticking by as the pendulum swang,

15 minutes

10 minutes

5 minutes

Wondering where miss Rarity was, Ratway sat up from his reclined position on the bench and began to look around the deserted platform the only other pony being a stationmaster with exceptional sideburns, wheeling what must have been a dozen suitcases onto the platform. A moment later the honey like voice of the mare he had been waiting for filled the platform, as she emerged in an extravagant dress, the colours meshing like a stain glass window, a black and white sun hat adorning her head like she was off to see the races. The gleam of her jewellery also caught Ratway’s eye, she had about 2 years pay in metal adorning her body, golds, silvers and a diamond the size of a raccoon’s brain around her neck.

“Thank you ever so much for helping me with my bags” she said politely before producing a large ruby and sliding it into the stationmaster’s front pocket as payment. This massive tip making him know to always offer to carry anything heavy in the future as he was liable to be payed a lot more then minimum wage. With her luggage ready to be stowed rarity walked over to Ratway to join him on the bench, her elegant shoes clipping slightly on the limestone platform, the noon sun refracting the gems on her shoes with a rainbow-like glow, the light projecting in circles around her hooves.

“Sorry I am late darling, perfect takes time, and when it comes to Fancypants it has to be perfect, I hope I didn’t keep you waiting too long” she apologised, her lateness obviously related to her spectacular outfit that was befitting a princess.

“Its fine miss Rarity, I just like to be punctual” he said, not wanting to cause an unneeded issue, she was here and the train wasn’t so no issues were to be had.

“What exactly are you wearing?” she enquired, as her eyes drifted down to his body harness the leather and assorted pockets giving him a ramshackle appearance.

“Not much just my luggage” he replied, not quite understanding what she was insinuating.

“Darling..., it’s just I think it’s a bit rustic for the company were going to be in” she said trying to use a word that would spare his feelings and cause the least offence.

“What do you me…. Ooohhh” he said as he caught on to her cue and realised it was a black-tie event, and he was dressed like he was ready to siege a castle, then again he didn’t own anything business casual, so it was this or him as naked as the day he was born.

“Its fine, I took the necessary precautions” said Rarity, before her horn glowed a dazzling blue and with the unclicking of buckles Ratway’s harness was pulled away from him. An instant later a small formal collar and bow tie emerged from one of her many bags and was in a flash wrapped around his neck, a small diamond stud sitting on either collar like a military insignia. With his outfit changed like a doll, Rarity began to levitate his harness into her bag for safe keeping.

“Wait a minute miss Rarity” he said as he grabbed the body webbing and pulled a small side belt off his harness a solitary knife in a scabbard the only thing suspended from it, before allowing her to stow his items for later retrieval. Using the short length of material, he tied the scabbard to his right foreleg and returned to his seat next to Rarity, the mare looking confused as to why he had just tied a knife to his leg.

“Darling I don’t think you are going to need a knife on the train” she said sceptical of his action.

“Just a rule of mine love, never go anywhere without a knife” he replied

“Besides I might need t peel an apple” he continued, throwing a joke in there before the whistle of an approaching train told them the time to go was approaching. The metal behemoth slowly trundling to a stop a thick mist of steam flowing from its funnel like a great dragon.

What happened next was a blur, lots of hoof shakings and introductions with pony’s he immediately forgot the names of, all well dressed and a good mix of old and new money, all he knew was compared to the suits on these stallions he was underdressed like a hairless cat in winter. He just followed Rarity’s advice of smiling and nodded a lot, and so far that seemed to be working, as he let her deal with the talking as she seemed well adapted for it, her words seeming to hit the right notes every time as she manoeuvred them around the greeting carriage.

The carriage its self was formal, reminding Ratway of the royal theatre that he had snuck into once or twice during his youth, red velvet fabrics coating the floors with dark woods extensively carved serving as panelling, a large mural on the ceiling showing a pony fighting an immense sperm whale. Crystal light fittings shone up the walls slowly pulsing with magical energy giving the room the feeling of grandeur, as if the trains owner could manipulate the sun itself.

As he was letting it sink in, he somehow wandered off, losing sight of Rarity as he gawked at the roof mounted mural.

“Beautiful isn’t it” came a posh voice, the unexpected words causing Ratway to snap his head to their originator. What he found was a well-dressed unicorn stallion with a monocle, his fur the same spotless white as Rarity’s, an accompanying white unicorn mare hanging of his arm, more than likely a trophy wife, she had the looks for it to say the least.

“Aye” Ratway said casually, before immediately cursing himself, as he had basically shot a flare saying he was a massive pleb.

“it’s kind of over-whale-ming” he quickly joked hoping that it would cover for his complete lack of understanding of art, the dad joke sounding absolutely garbage as it passed his tongue as it had been the first thing he could concoct. Instead of a cold shoulder the stallion instead humoured him with a chuckle, the mare with him doing the same after a second to read the situation.

“Might I ask who you might be, I don’t recognise you from my normal guests list” asked the white stallion, his words not sounding confrontational and more a passing curiosity of who the strange pony on his train was.

“Ratway” said Ratway unsure for a moment, answering concisely in case it was some kind of trap. Before offering his hoof for the stallion to shake remembering his manners.

“And based on that question I assume yer Fancypants” he continued putting 2 and 2 together, as Fancypants took his hoof to return the shake.

“Right you are Ratway, and this is my companion Fleur-de-lis” he said introducing the mare at his side, his response not the one Ratway had expected, as instead of hubris there was an air of professional respect. Like a hawk Rarity noticed her charge had gone walk about and was now shaking hooves with the most important stallion on the train. Swooping in to the conversation, the mare moving as fast as she could without becoming uncouth quickly arriving at Ratway’s side, to bail him out of any verbal duel he might be engaged in, as even little mannerisms could be enough to start some kind of scandal.

“Miss Rarity, it is always a pleasure” greeted Fancypants, giving her a smile before readjusting his monocle and gesturing towards Ratway.

“I was just chatting with Ratway here, have you made his Acquaintance?” he enquired, the formalities of nobility elongating any conversation to a tedious degree.

“Yes, he’s my plus one” answered Rarity concisely.

“Wonderful, then we can continue this conversation over dinner, would you honour me with your presence at my table, we have much to discuss about are business partnership, and I have a feeling that your friend here has that wildcard variable, that would break the normal malaise of negotiation” said Fancypants, before he bid them a due, turned and left, fleur in tow as he went to greet the rest of his other guests.

No sooner was he out of earshot did Rarity drag Ratway to the side of the room.

“What did you say, she hissed in a low voice, her face a little red under the makeup, not with anger towards him but worry that he may have said something wrong.

“Nowt, just a crappy dad joke, onest” he said, as Rarity’s face changed from look of worry to the socialite calm she was naturally good at projecting.

“I am sure it’s nothing, you probably just amused Fancypants he doesn’t get out of the ivory tower much, so I am sure he is just interested in a different outlook on the world” rationalised Rarity, her eyes scooting in there sockets as she ran scenarios through her mind.

“Or e could just want to talk about your deal” interjected Ratway going for the more plausible solution, as he had heard something about uniforms at breakfast and assumed that related to this. Hearing this Rarity sighed as she realised she was overthinking this, the stallion outsider calmer about the situation then her, the shame of being flustered at one of her skills tasting sour in her mouth.

“I just want you to be careful, these ponys are like vultures, constantly circling to find something to backbite each other with, something you do might reflect badly on me, just try to be inconspicuous for the next few hours” she replied, her voice a mixture of compassion and conviction as she asserted her position.

“Gotcha, silent as a statue” agreed Ratway, as the rest of the meet and greet went off without a hitch, Ratway just standing there like Rarity’s shadow and only answering the questions that were asked of him, the main answer being simply his name as the upper-class rabble wanted to know who the outsider was. The situation making Ratway realise there was more to Rarity then just a pretty face, she seemed to know everyone, and they all seemed to know her, some of the mare’s present were even wearing her dresses, as he without asking learned she was a masterclass seamstress.

Before he knew it, the dinner bell was ringing, and the dapper group began to shuffle into the dining car. The car was the same as the first one, large, luxurious and shared the same theme in its furnishings, the mural in this cart being a bountiful field with a single filly staring out on the horizon, the look of peace bringing a smile to Ratway’s face as he hadn’t seen a wheat field in many a moon. He didn’t know where he was going so simply followed Rarity, her dresses large skirt like a peacock or a ranging pole, making her easy to follow, his eyes staying well away from her well-shaped ass, lest they peak, and he earn a slap. Soon enough she found her seat at Fancypants table, and Ratway just slipped into the chair next to her, already concerned by the fact there were about a dozen spoons laid out in front of him.

In due time everypony found their seats, and the first course was served, in this case it was a thick soup with scattered expensive herbs, that Ratway had no frame of reference for the scent, he could just tell there were parsnips involved in some capacity. To avoid embarrassment, he waited to see which spoon Rarity would use and simply mimicked her choices as he reckoned she had done this enough to have memorised the battle strategy that was tableware. As she delicately ate her soup she chatted with fancy pants, the two getting deep into conversation about clothes materials or something to that effect, the topic naturally flowing to local politics and other things that meant nothing to Ratway. Periodically Fleur would throw a comment in or a giggle if something mildly amusing was mentioned, but something about the mare was bothering him, his eyes glearing at her over the table as he suckled at his soup. She seemed to be hiding something, and he couldn’t place it, the feeling not sitting right with him, her laughs, seemed more then forced they seemed calculated, like her personality was a ruse, he just hadn’t worked out if she was gold digging or just wasn’t correctly socialized.

It was when he saw her reach for a spoon that he noticed it, the sound of magic sparkling, as the metal twisting left for a millisecond before going right, as she overrid her nature and made a conscious effort to appear right orientated. she was ex militia to some extent, a bodyguard, not a floozy as she was trying to project. He was confident in this assessment as she was doing the same thing he was doing with his hoof but in its magical form, the remnants of forced correction due to the majority of pony’s being right hoofed, as if you were to use your left hoof you would keep elbowing the pony to your flank, which was a fast way to start a fight in the mess hall, hence why he had learned to be ambidextrous. The fact this repeated its self each time she went to scoop a spoonful of soup cemented it as the logical conclusion, his observations only being interrupted when he was asked a question.

“So Ratway, what is your profession might I ask, it must be something important to be in the company of miss Rarity” asked Fancypants, his words bringing Ratway out of the rabbit hole that was his mind.

“I am a soldier, well was” he replied before fishing at the necklace concealed under his lone collar finding his tag before presenting it, the clanking of metal from the accompanying plates like a windchime, the lucky green horn still there as well, not that he ever when anywhere without it. This statement got the attention of all at the table, all waiting in silence expecting a longer explanation.

“Where did you serve?” asked Fleur breaking the silence, more than likely curious to see if she had served with him, her expressed interested adding fuel to the fire about his theory.

“Lots of places, the royal palace, Bog bottom, the Emerald isles, the pit” he said just listing off the ones that came into his head, the looks of confusion spreading onto the faces of the 3 others at the table as they tried to place the names.

“You know all t places that tourists don’t want t go to” he said ending it in a joke, as he could tell he was losing the attention of his audience, and just hoped he had given a sufficient answer.

“Any interesting story’s?” asked Rarity, prolonging Ratway’s suffering, as he loathed talking about himself, there just wasn’t much to say, and most of the stuff that could be said wasn’t suitable for civil conversation.

“yes, if you have seen so many places I am sure you have some grand tales” agreed Fancypants, a sound of agreement from Fleur forcing him into a corner as they dogpiled him for some kind of story.

Thinking for a moment, Ratway unsheathed the knife on his wrist, the blade glowing like moon beams, the cold silver shimmering as the stress marks of its forging made small rainbows on its surface. This blade would give him a generic story but based on the surprised looks that the shining blade had gained not just at his table but some of the others in the room, made him reckon it was new to them, as he began to tell it more and more eyes fixed on him, just as the second course was rolled out.

“During the first days of the Luna republic I were still a private in Celestia’s solar militia, job weren’t the best, but it kept bread on t table so it was good enough, better then killing rats with a shovel I can tell you that much” he began, looking down to see his platter unveiled, a large red lobster steaming as it was soaked in spiced butter.

“Excuse me but did you say Luna republic” interrupted Fancypants, a confused look on his face.

“Wouldn’t that make you over 1000 years old” added a stallion in Ratway’s peripheral vision.

“Yes, the mud pony is lying, if what he says is true he’s over a thousand years old” came a snooty voice from a yellow mare a table over, her voice filled with a pompous hubris only found in someone who had never worked a day in their life.

“Hes telling the truth, unless you want to question the evaluation fromPrincess Twilight Sparkle”chimed in Rarity, coming to his defence before the posh ponies torn him apart, she put special enthuses on Twilights name using the word like a sword to vanquish the squabbling. For a moment the room went quiet as everypony re-evaluated the situation, Ratway looking over to Rarity and mouthing thank you, as he had a feeling in his stones if she hadn’t intervened that would have turned nasty fast.

“Have you any proof” asked the yellow mare from earlier, this indigo maned bitch clearly going to stick with the topic like a terrier to a rat.

“The word of the princess is me proof” replied Ratway, thinking divine word must have some value.

“Words have little meaning here, how do I know it isn’t another of miss Rarity’s schemes to climb the political ladder, Suri Polomare was quite clear about what happened in Manehattan” she replied, in a way most untrustworthy, her hoof flicking her mane, the mass held together by at least a full can of hairspray, a bird’s nest sitting atop it, with diamond eggs. This name dropping showing her motivations in dogging the argument as an attempt to discredit the fashionista.

“Are you still mad about me cancelling the princess dress series before you could get one” snapped Rarity, quick to get the claws out when her honour was questioned.

“Moving on, what was life like back in the early years of Equestria?” asked Fancypants, eager to change the subject before Rarity and the other mare engaged in a verbal battle or worse.

“in wot way?” asked Ratway, wanting to narrow down what was a pretty broad subject. This opened the flood gates as a dozen or so pony’s chimed in almost simultaneously all wanting to get a slice of the living history.

“Were dragons a threat to livestock?”

“was life expectancy really only 25 years?”

“did you have running water?”
“What was Lunas night like?”

Too many ponies were asking him too many questions, as sensory overload set in, he just sat there gormlessly as they washed over him like a tide. The voices blending into one loud white noise as he couldn’t focus on one voice in particular. His daze only being interrupted by the popping of a cork as sparkling liquid was poured into a tower of glasses, the rolling fluid filling each glass before flowing in a mini waterfall into those below, the end result being a tower of filled glasses.

“May I be excused?” asked Ratway before getting up well sheathing his blade, as rarity looked at him in a confused manner. The white mare grabbing his arm and whispering in his ear.

“Where are you going” she said in a hushed breath.

“Got to take a piss” he said in a louder voice then he meant to, as in honesty he just wanted to get out of there, all this attention was making him very uncomfortable, sweat pooling on his fur. This attention wasn’t legitimate intreast he was a curio to these pony’s, a toy from a bygone age, they would discard him the moment they drew board, hell some were willing to turn on him before he had even done anything. If he could get out of the room, give it a few minutes and come back, hopefully it will have calmed down and he could go back to being incognito. he knew his place and it wasn’t here, if it had been anyone else he would have refused, but you don’t refuse a princess, least if you don’t enjoy breathing.

“You are excused it the second door on the right” said Fancypants, his expression giving away nothing as he gestured towards the front of the train, in a helpful manner directing him to the nearest latrine.

Powerwalking as fast as his legs would allow, Ratway left the carriage, giving a massive sigh as he entered the much cooler side car, this part of the train deserted as everypony had congregated in the dining car.

“Fuck” he grumbled to himself, he had made a scene, hopefully this wouldn’t hurt miss Rarity’s business venture, why had the princess agreed to this. Feeling shitty he slinked into the male bathroom, the room much brighter then the dimmed inner carriages, a large frosted glass window flooding the room with natural light, this intensity casting a black shadow on the door as Ratway entered and locked the door.

Splashing some water on his face, the cool fluid pleasant as he felt his red cheeks diminish, before turning the tap and gulping down a pint of water, the urge to piss presenting its self for real this time, as he wacked his cock out, lifting the seat and aiming, before draining the sea monster.
“What am I goin to do” he said to himself as he felt his bladder slowly drain, he would apologise to Fancypants, and miss Rarity, and everybody else, then probably hide out in the hotel room for the duration of the trip, he couldn’t make any more messes if he contained himself, right.

As he was pondering his game plan he heard the door behind him rattle as if somepony was trying to enter.

“Occupied!” he called out, the sudden noise causing his dick to flinch spattering some urine on the mahogany seat. This call usually sufficient to stop someone trying to force the door, instead the thumping seemed to intensify.

“Occupied!” he yelled in a louder voice, as he continued to piss, the thumping growing even more intense, at his second callout, a light buzzing filling corridor outside.

“Fucking occupied” he said stopping his piss, before opening the door so aggressively for a moment he thought the hinges might give, ready and willing to leather the knob who had ruined his stress piss. But Instead of a drunken or overly zealous business pony he found a hissing black changeling.

For a moment both of them just stood there in shock, Ratway at the unexpected enemy and the changeling as it had not expected someone to willingly open the door. In an instant both of their minds gear boxes found bite and the changeling lunged at him, as a black blur fangs barred. Running on instinct Ratway slammed the door shut hoping to lock the creature outside, but he was a second too slow instead trapping its head between the door and the doorframe. Not thinking about it he just kept opening and slamming the door on the hissing creatures head, the sturdy wood slowly mangling the snarling cranium, soon blood was flowing, the luminescent green soaking into the expensive carpet. After a few slams the creature tried to retreat, but Ratway was to fast and continued his assault until with a particularly powerful slam the changelings head caved in like a water melon, its right eye rupturing spraying ocular fluid into his face, before the head and accompanying body slowly slid down the space between the door and wall, coming to a rest in a slumped heap at the bottom.

Collapsing on to the toilet with a look of shock Ratway just sat there staring at the changeling he had just slain, before finding his senses and wiping the green blood from his face, ruining an expensive looking curtain in the process.

“What the fuck are changelings doing here” he panted, slowly getting to his hooves and pushing the door open. Quickly trying to remember his training in regard to these creatures, he knew one thing he needed his boomstick, and it was in miss Rarity’s luggage. Glancing cautiously left and right, he found the train car deserted as it had been when he entered. Grabbing the still twitching changeling carcass he pulled it into the bathroom, and propped it up on the seat, before slowly walking into the corridor, and pushing the toilet door closed with a light click, to hide the body.
Pausing for a second considering going back to the dining car to warn the others, but he decided against it, it would create even more of a scene, and for all he knew they were already compromised, the situation was dire if there was one bug there was bound to be more, they liked to infest like cockroaches after all.

All he had to do was take his time, these bugs were probably already confidant with the situation at hand for them to have attacked him so brazenly. With this in mind Ratway scaled the thin ladder that hung on the back of the train cart and clambered onto the roof, the gentle breeze flowing over him as the train happily chugged along, a gentle smoke rising from its stack in the clear day.

Reaching the flat roof, he just casually walked along the top of the train cars, not a pony or better yet a changeling in sight, the foul creatures more than likely rounding up the other passengers for their nefarious agenda. As he walked along, the beautiful vista flanking him on both sides, he tried to remember what the field guide had said about changelings, he knew they had magic, and could steal forms, but he couldn’t remember for the life of him if they had any other weaknesses, well other then being shot but that tends to put a damper on most things sunshine.

Reaching the baggage car quite easily, as no obstacles presented themselves, he hopped down the ladder and slowly opened the door to the car, the room dark but thankfully empty. In the dim confides of the cart he began to search for miss Rarity’s luggage, the task proving harder then he had thought as her numerous bags had ben scattered amongst the cargo hold, not staying in one pile like he had expected instead placed haphazardly in sorting racks, requiring he check every tag in order to locate her luggage.

The first bag he found was full of scarfs and a couple of sexy night gowns, the leather bag quickly discarded as he quickly found another and another, each one not containing the items he was looking for. On the seventh case he popped open he found his boomstick, the intricately carved weapon a firm and reassuring weight in his hooves, he had assumed shooting was still a popular hobby for unicorns, so he had brought it in case he had needed to shoot some clay pigeons. Unfortunately, this meant he had just packed standard ball shot, but opening the breech he found he had left an armour piercing shell in the chamber, well it could be worse as at least he could punt one of the bastereds through a magical shield.

Affixing the first part of his webbing now he just needed to find his ammo, miss Rarity seeming to have packed his stuff into more than one of her bags. Just as he started digging in another pile his search was interrupted by the sounds of a struggle, the whining of a mare loud, as she was man handled into the car. Ducking into cover just before the door swang open Ratway saw two changelings drag Fleur into the room, the mare crying and mewling weakly.

“shut it you slag” hissed one of the changelings before slapping their mare prisoner on the rump causing her to flinch in pain, her desperate moans not ceasing. Her horn desperately trying to glow, but a thick layer of green changeling gunk inhibiting its ability to project magic, leaving her helpless in their grasp.

“So who gets her?” hissed the other one, a cruel grin spreading over its evil face.

“Well I got the last mare, its only fair you get her, plus I feel you would carry her skin better once she has loosened up a little” said the first changeling, as he took a long lick of Fleurs face to sample her flavour. Before letting out a burp and a soggy rag of what looked like part of a hostess uniform landed with a splat in her face, giving her a good idea what they meant by loosening up.

Fuck, thought Ratway, this had complicated the situation somewhat, he still didn’t have his ammo, and now there were two changelings less then 10 feet away, about to have there way with a hapless mare. Placing his boomstick down without a sound he slowly unsheathed his blade and waited for the opportunity, the cruel words of the changelings continuing to play out.

“Do you mind if I fuck her as you swallow her?” asked the first changeling, his cock slipping from its sheathe in anticipation of his companion saying yes. This sentence causing Fleur to widen her eyes as she now knew she was about to be raped, as well as eaten.

“Sure Glaive, just pull out before I get to her rump, I don’t want to give you an involuntary blowjob again” said the second changeling.

“hey it only happened one time, and that mares pussy was like nirvana, shame she had to be turned to pulp to feed the brood, I was getting my money’s worth out of that one” interjected Glaive, explaining the event in more detail then Ratway required, and by the looks of it putting Fleur even more on edge. The banter casual for the changelings, but extremely worrying for the mare they were intending to turn to chyme.

Using this argument to slip on top of a pile of suitcases, Ratway used his more elevated position to observe the scene. Using his jungle training to move silently, slithering like a snake, unseen and ready to strike.

“About this plan…” started Glaive as with a kick he knocked the front legs out from under Fleur putting her rump up ready for him to assault, well simultaneously putting her in a position to make her easier to ingest for his companion.

“What about it?” asked the second changeling as he began to rub the joint of his jaw.

“Its nothing, I just think Earwhig hasn’t thought this through, there must have been 30 pony’s in the dinner cart, and there’s what 8 of us, no way we can eat and digest them all before the train arrives at the lodge” said Glaive a hint of concern on his scratchy voice.

“Well thatd because were not going to eat all of em at least not yet, most are getting podded, this prime lump of mare meat is supposedly quite influential though, as such she was right at the top of the list to get processed, her and that bitchRarity” the changeling having some kind of baggage regarding miss Rarity, that Ratway would have to wait to find out about.

“Wait we caught that cunt” said Glaive in a surprised tone, the only response he got was a sound of affirmation before with a creaky pop the changelings jaws unhinged, and he slowly slid his way up Fleurs muzzle. the mare going bozeyed as she stared in terror at the approaching maw, Glaive simple pressing a hoof to the back of her head holding her still, as she began to slide into his companion. In synchronisation to this Glaive began humping her rump, his cock slapping against the flesh before finding its niche and penetrating deep into her dry vagina, the muffled cries for help silenced by the gag of flesh that soon encased Fleurs entire head. Hearing this Ratway knew he had to get to miss Rarity, if he didn’t she would be leaving the train as a pile of bug guano, strewn on the tracks never to know the security of a marked grave.

“Man she’s tight” yelled Glaive, before with a moan he spent himself in less than 30 seconds of gyrating his hips, the bug not able to keep a hold of his load, Fleurs shoulders not even past the lips of his friend. The outburst earning a condescending look from his friend, who just continued to swallow.

“Hey Borer, you want to cough her up and try out this pussy” said Glaive before flicking his now lubricated dick and switching to Fleurs tight starfish. The glans pressing against the frantically winking orifice before pressing it open, the ring unable to hold back the immense bell end as it forced its way in. the scream of surprise and terror audible through the changelings chitinous exoskeleton as Fleurs other backdoor was defiled.

As the thrusting restarted, Fleurs shoulders met Borers lips, the widening of the mare’s body slowing her ingestion as her shoulder blades gently rested in the joint were his jaw connected to his skull. This didn’t last long though, as with an aggressive thrust Glaive forced the shoulders into the waiting gullet in one sudden motion, the mass of pony meat causing Borers saliva glands to fire, as Fleur must evidently be a delectable dish.

With the shoulders out of the way, Fleurs ingestion happened rapidly, each thrust of the changeling’s hips forcing her a little deeper into the slick gullet, like a nail being hammered into a wooden plank. Soon her forelegs were pinned to her side the hooves twitching weakly, ineffectual in slowing her ingestion, the manicured hoofs looking desperately for something to grasp, but finding nothing as they were enveloped in the black lips of Borer. The see-through belly of the changeling giving Ratway a good look at her desperate face, tears running down her muzzle into the pool of enzymes below, her breathing desperate as the stomach acted like a plastic bag slowly suffocating her, causing her lips to slowly turned blue, the fight leaving her just like the available air in the stomach.

With another swallow Borers lips slid to fleurs hips her cutiemarks tensing as she tried to kick, but the constant pounding from Glaive was inhibiting their effectiveness as he explored her back passage. The changeling’s eyes closed as he put his all into straightening Fleurs lower bowel, her lower gut bulging uncomfortably at his girth, the bulge pulsing to the beat of his insect heart, the sausage now rock hard as it rubbed her raw. Borers eyes were also closed as he savoured the mare meat sliding over his palette, the upper-class mare more refined then his normal fare. The changeling fantasising about what he was going to do with the lithe bulge that would soon be occupying his stomach, just because she was inside him didn’t mean he wouldn’t be able to fuck her.

This was Ratway’s opportunity to slip out, the two changelings lost in their use of the unicorn mare, there minds set on carnal pleasure, a strong distraction if there ever was one. But Ratway was conflicted, a part of him wanted to flee, leaving the mare to her fate and using her demise to slip out and save miss Rarity. The other part of him said otherwise, just like it had when he had saved his little dove, Celestia dam it, why was he a fool born with a conscious.

Ratway’s mind set, he leapt from his elevated position driving his blade straight into Glaives neck, the changeling stepping backwards as the strike took him off balance, his dick retreating from Fleurs anus, as it rapidly shrank the blood filling it pouring from his neck wound as he quickly bleed out, his face stuck in a look of surprise as he collapsed backwards onto the wooden floor. Trying to pull his knife out Ratway found the blade caught in the chitin and holding firm in the insectoid flesh. thinking fast Ratway changed his attack plan just as Borers eyes flickered opened to see why the thrusting pushing his meal into his maw had ceased, a startled look filling his green eyes before Ratway kicked him square in the chest.

The kick hit Fleur in the face, but more importantly hit Borers diaphragm causing him to hiccup and rapidly expelled the mare he had been swallowing, the skinny unicorn sliding out much faster than she had entered, her fur slick with predigestive fluids, ruining her makeup and giving her the strong smell of digestion. His opponent winded it was easy for Ratway to flip Borer on to his back and forcing a hoof down on the changeling’s neck began to put the pressure on, the coughing of Fleur filling the air along with the desperate hisses of the changeling he was strangling. The white fangs of Borer snapping at his leg trying to bite him, but soon the struggles dwindled out as with a crunch he crushed the exoskeleton imploding the changelings wind pipe.

Holding the pressure for a moment to make sure the changeling wasn’t feigning death, he then released the grip and retrieved his knife. the silver now slick with green blood, which he flicked the majority off with a rapid wrist movement before wiping the rest off on Glaives now still body. Satisfied with his cleaning job he sheathed his blade and went over to help Fleur to her hooves, the mare still coughing as her body tried to ventilate her oxygen deprived lungs.

“You alright love” he said as he slid under her right armpit, her sodden fur trying to cling to his back before she pushed him away not wanting his help.

“I am fine, I need to get to Fancypants” she answered getting to her hooves under her own power, albeit like an inebriated barfly, some sort of drug inhibiting her ability to perform motor functions.

“You sure, yer looking a little tipsy” he rebutted, seeing her struggling to walk straight, as she made her way towards the door, like a green sailor on his first day out of port.

“I am fine, I need to get to my employer, you stay put I will handle this” she snapped at him, her gratitude more than a little lacking, seeing as he had just saved her. The mare more than likely seeing him as dead weight as he lacked any magical capacity, not that it had helped her in the first place.

“ait” he said dropping the conversation as he resumed his search for ammunition, he didn’t have time to argue with an ungrateful unicorn, the mare more focused on her job then her own wellbeing. His search was quickly rewarded as he soon found another of miss Rarity’s bags, this one thankfully containing the satchel he was looking for. As he countied the shells, Fleur continued her dizzy walk to the door each step taking longer then it needed to as base on her face she was nursing a bad headache.

“By the way love, your horns still gunked, might make usin magic a tad bit difficult” he said in an informative tone, as he attached the pouch to his webbing, pointing to his forehead as if to emphasize the point. The mare pausing in the doorway before clawing at the goo that encased her horn, her clean hooves unable to dislodge the green gunk, as her horn uselessly sparkled like a cheap fire work. The mare trying this for a few moments before letting out a sigh, like she was going to do something she really didn’t want to do.

“I may need your help” she admitted, a twinge of desperation in her eyes, the unicorn shifting uncomfortably when she had to ask for assistance from the magically challenged individual in front of her.

“I wouldn’t normally ask, but the situation is dire, and you look like you can handle yourself” she said, gesturing at the two dead changelings there body’s still weakly twitching, the death not seeming to bother the white mare at all.

“Its fine love, I know me place ye don’t want a mud pony holding you back, just old still” he said as he walked over, and using his teeth slid the solid goo off like a lump of hard rock candy, Fleur shivering a little due to the sensation on her horn. The solid changeling mucus was sour, the taste slightly acidic like their personality’s, but the flavour didn’t sit long after Ratway spat the lump out, the gunk not having a discernible aftertaste.

“its not like that, it’s just Fancypant’ss protection is my prerogative, I just don’t want anyone else getting hurt, but are you sure you want to help?” she explained, her response not what he had expected at all.

“Yes, but your gonna have to follow me plan” he said as he quickly cobbled together something in his head, seeing as his game plan had just been to pick off the changelings like he had done with that shadow militia squad in the pit.

“And that is?” asked Fleur a pink eyebrow raised.

“I want you to stop t train, I will deal with t changelings in t dinning car” he said, putting it simply as he hadn’t quite got the details down yet.

“How will stopping the train help?” she enquired not seeing the necessity of the action.

“If t train doesn’t pass a station at a set time they will send someone to check it out, it means we can call for elp without using a radio” he explained, remembering going to callouts with his father on the pits mine train network and hoping that the same protocol still applied.

“Makes sense, but how do you intend to deal with the changelings guarding the prisoners?” she asked, clearly thinking she was better equipped to deal with the black bugs.

“That’s what this is for” said Ratway, as he tapped the boomstick in his harness, the motion causing the shells at his waist to jingle in the pouch.

“Besides I ave already killed 3 of t basterds, only 5 more to go” he said confidently, a brief look of pleasant surprise coming to Fleurs face as he revealed his kill count, as well as the intel he had acquired, Giving her hope this might actually work.

“That means 2 in t front of the train and 3 guarding the prisoners” he rationalised, as he ran the numbers through his head.

“That makes sense” she agreed as she mulled his plan over quickly.

“How will I tell you apart from the changelings if they steal your form?” she asked.

“Like this” he said before in a fluid motion unsheathed his knife and gave Fleur a shallow cut on her upper left foreleg, a small trickle of blood immediate springing from the wound as her horn illuminated as she prepared to blast him for his attack. She only paused because Ratway inflicted an identical injury to himself.

“Why the buck did you do that” she yelled, eyes filled with rage as her horn glowed threateningly.

“Changelings bleed green, means in a jiffy I can tell if its you, as they can’t mimic blood right” he quickly explained as he wasn’t in the mood to get fried. For a second the mare just glared at him spitefully, until she acknowledged the logic was sound and her horn dimmed.

“Next time you should ask before stabbing somepony” she grumbled, her hoof cupping the small wound as she flinched a little at the dull stinging of a shallow flesh wound.

“To be onest I didn’t know if you were a changeling or not, I just had to be sure” he revealed, as now he was certain his ally was as much a pony as he was.

“Once you stop t train rendezvous at t dining car, I might need yer elp” he said before opening the dividing door and climbing back onto the trains roof. His nerves were starting to hurt, this happened when he was stressed, that injury haunting him like a cruel spectre since he was a colt, his right eye growing hazy as the ocular nerve spasmed, clouding his vision.

“Not now” he grumbled, pausing for a moment and putting pressure on the eye, the force temporarily correcting the issue.

With his vision restored he forged ahead covering the flat roofed cars quickly until he was back at the latrine car that had started this train trek. Stepping lightly he slowly descended the ladder and opened the door to the car, the interior dark, but not appearing to be occupied.

Stepping inside he allowed his eyes to adjust to the dim car, his eye spasming again, requiring the same guerrilla first aid to be applied, again fixing the problem for an uncertain amount of time. Removing his hoof, he had a quick scan of the car, seeing a trail of green blood in a streak across the carpet, cumulating in a body covered with a large towel. The changelings evidently finding his attacker and having the humanity to throw a towel over him as a mark of respect, to conceal the body in a dignified manner.

Not encountering any hostiles, he made his way to the dinning car, each footfall silent as he wished to maintain the element of surprise. Coming to a stop at the door to the dining car, the door looking slow heavier then he remembered as he depressed the handle and opened a small crack in the door, so he could hear the situation within.

“now your all awake, that champagne was stronger then I realised, let me introduce myself, I am Earwhig of queen Chrysalis private guard, and you, you are food” came the commanding voice of the leader of the changelings. Peaking his eye to the crack, Ratway saw that there were 2 changelings, both not looking in his direction, so he gently applied pressure to the door so it opened a gap large enough for him to slink into the room as he crawled underneath the nearest table, so he could better assess the situation.

Earwhig didn’t notice his entry clearly enjoying the power he was currently wielding. His attention focused on the 30 or so ponies partially cocooned in a large group, as if they were huddled together for warmth, just awaiting their fates like sheep. Gunk coated the horns of the unicorn’s present, preventing them using their magic so they had just given up, that or they just lacked the stomach to fight, the drug running deep in their veins.

“Now to sort you into meat and battery’s” Earwhig said pointing at his prisoners, as his words were to determine their imminent destiny’s.

“Upper crust, battery” Earwhig said pointing to the yellow mare who had questioned Ratway’s honour earlier, as she was dragged screaming from the group and rapidly sealed in a transparent cocoon, her face filled with terror as she was encased in the green prison. A part of Ratway delighted in seeing her get her comeuppance, but he had a job to do as he couldn’t see miss Rarity from his concealed position, her lack of attendance worrying him as he might have been too late to save her.

“Leave her alone you brute!” came the voice of Rarity somewhere in the herd of pony’s, a defiance in her voice causing the changeling to stop cocooning Upper crust.
“Who said that” snarled Earwhig, his pointed teeth more then ready to punish the insolent pony who had interrupted his pony processing.

“I said it you cur” responded Rarity as Earwhig snatched her with a cloud of his green magic and levitated her in front of him, the mare weakly squirming in a futile attempt to break his grasp.

“What did you say you whore” he snapped, engaging in her name calling contest, before slapping the helpless mare across the face, and turning her to her side to inspect her cutie mark. Rarity holding back tears as she had not expected to have been hit by this overgrown thug.

“Arr, Rarity, I was hopping you would attend” he said his tone getting much more sinister as he realised who was in his grasp.

“The queen was very specific in how to deal with you, and I get that honour” he hissed, before his long tongue snaked from his maw, the serpentine pink worm probing deep into rarity’s nose causing her to flinch at the uncomfortable sensation as it explored down to her pharynx.

“Meat” he said aloud, as he gave Rarity her designation, before giving a long lick from her collar bone up her neck cumulating at the tip of her horn, Rarity closing her eye as the tongue swept over her pretty face ruining the mascara on her left eye.

“You taste divine” said Earwhig with a chuckle before giving her another lick this time flicking his tongue under her eyelid causing her to scream, as the long length of muscled flesh gave several circular licks to her sapphire eye, pulling away with a fake eyelash in tow which he casually spat to the floor.

“there is a lot of meat on your bones as well, your going to make a large turd” he said before giving her diamond emblazed rump a slap, the buttocks jiggling for a moment as the well-padded posterior settled.

Rarity opened her mouth to respond, but immediately received another slap, as if to say only I can talk, so sit down and listen like the bitch you are. The strike sending her reeling as she let out a little whimper, as she was just held there suspended by the aggressive changeling, her purple tail a few millimetres off the ground.

“What were you going to do, give me a sweet smile, and a few sugar-coated words, they won’t do you any good, princess Twilight isn’t here, its just you and me, and in a few hours, there will only be me” he said as he opened his maw exceptionally wide. so that Rarity could see the throat open up ready to receive her, the throat pulsing in anticipation for the well-shaped mare meat, eager and willing to process her into a steaming pile of greasy turds. Ratway was about to strike when he saw the changeling close his mouth, not going for the kill just yet.

“But that would be to easy, an enemy of the crown like you deserves more of a punishment, as much as I would relish your pretty smile tickling my asshole on the way out” he said dropping Rarity in a heap at his feet, as the mare desperately tried to crawl away. Every time she got a small distance away his horn glowed and dragged her straight back, her hooves digging into the carpet as she tried to resist, but only achieving the effect of ruffling the red floor covering.

“Firstly, let’s get you better dressed for such an occasion” he said before in one shake of his horn he stripped Rarity’s dress from her body, the mare covering her private parts in an act of modesty with her tail. The expensive garment fell to the floor in a pile of tattered fabric, that even with his limited fashion sense Ratway knew was a write off.

“How dare you” yelled Rarity, her face filled with rage, as she tried to spit in the face of the monster, the only thing she was capable of doing to defend herself, the changeling was to quick and easily avoided the unplanned strike.

“For that I will eat your sister, o what was her name, Sweetie belle, then after her your mother then your father” Said Earwhig with sadistic grin, letting the words sink in as he threatened Rarity’s family with a caustic future.

“one big happy brown family”

“And you know what’s the best part? I will do it with your skin” he said as his body was surrounded in a green fire, that once settled revealed he had stolen Rarity’s form. To prove a point, he levitated the ruined dress to his body, and made a duck face.

There last sight being there sister or daughter swallowing them whole, they will blame you for their deaths”

“No one would even know the difference, your entire family will be nothing but fat on my hips, replaced by infiltrators to eat your friends, princess Twilight, her runt spike, the list goes one, all nothing but rapidly diminishing bulges in my belly” said Earwhig, the changeling well and truly monologuing at this point. His words seeming to be having there intended effect as tears were now rolling down Rarity’s face carrying mascara residue so that her face looked like a painted doll that had been left in the rain.

Ratway had just about had it, this basterd was degrading miss Rarity like a lump of meat, and no pony had the right to do that if he was around, she was part of princess Twilights house, so by extension her honour was his.

Taking aim with his gun he steadied the barrel for the centre mass on the changeling who was hard at work cocooning Upper crust, having returned to the task as his commander played with his food. The bug blissfully carrying out his duty unaware he was getting an early retirement, squeezing the trigger a loud bang echoing out as Ratway punched a golf ball sized hole in the changeling’s chest cavity, and a manhole sized exit wound in his back, killing him instantly.

The sudden noise causing Earwhig to spin around to the sound of the blast, as Ratway flipped the table hoping to use it as cover. The changeling changing back to his normal insectoid form as he lost the concentration to maintain the illusion of Rarity’s form.

“Who dares to have the audacity interrupt” screamed Earwhig, shooting a magical blast at the table, the magic striking a corner ripping a large chunk of wood free, the flaming wood flying across the room landing in a smoldering heap a few feet away.

“Its me Ratway, the pleb” he called from the relative safety of the overturned table, as he loaded the AP shell well muttering a prayer that he didn’t screw this up. The mention of his name causing a murmur to ripple through the group of prisoners. He had one shot and he needed to get close, otherwise he wasn’t killing this fuck.

“Seize him Splinter” ordered Earwhig, not yet realising his trooper was a blood mist and a twitching lump of rapidly cooling meat.

“Splinter” growled Earwhig, growing impatient, before turning and noticing what was left of his man.

“he aint coming, I killed him, just like the rest of yer lads” mocked Ratway hoping to tilt the changeling.

“Show your self coward!” scream Earwhig, but instead of sounding commanding he suddenly sounded scared as he had realised he wasn’t holding all the cards anymore.

“Why so you can just blast me with your magic” Ratway called back, before repositioning to the opposite side of the table where he had been sitting so that Earwhig couldn’t just blind fire him.

“Why are you so scared unicorn, don’t you have confidence in your shield spell” replied Earwhig as he levitated Rarity up and held her in front of him as a human shield, one of his hoofs wrapped over her delicate throat as she made a sound of disagreement, the changelings foul breath rustling her mane as he stared intently at the overturned table.

Grabbing a discarded glass Ratway tossed it to his left, a magical blast following the sudden movement as he used the trigger-happy changelings lack of control to get a table closer, scrambling like a duck to bread as he flipped the next table. the wooden table falling with a clank, and the sound of scattered silver as he made a new piece of cover, a follow up blast taking a chunk out of the table, just as he got behind it.

“Why don’t you strike, are you scared that you might hurt this mare” said Earwhig squeezing Rarity as to elicit a feminine scream from her.

“She is nowt to me, yer gonna need a better ostage” he lied, before tossing another glass, this time the changeling wising up and not wasting a blast on the harmless crystal. God Ratway wished he had a smoke shell right now, as he was running out of ideas on how to close the gap. The changeling growing tired of this farce and was slowly chipping the table he was hiding behind a chunk at a time, soon there wouldn’t be enough wood left to shield his squishy body.

As if an act of god, the train suddenly started to skid to a halt, the force of the sudden stop throwing everything forward, the wooden tables pushing towards the front of the train as well as the unprepared pony’s within the car, realising Fleur was stopping the train, Ratway sprang to his feet and dove behind the bar, the sturdy wooden counter offering better cover then these chestnut tables. He just had to hold out until she got here, and they could tag team this scrote.

He felt a magical blast fly past him, just skimming his back fur, the heat causing the smell of burnt fur to fill his nose, the shot off due to the jolting stop. Sliding over the smooth counter he landed badly on the glasses behind the bar, the assorted liquor glasses shattering with his weight some embedding into his flesh, thankfully he had landed on his right side, so he didn’t feel it much.

“Wait your just an earth pony isn’t you, ha ha ha, you fool” chuckled Earwhig as he projected a magical shield, the emerald dome encompassing him and Rarity. The changeling clearly lowering Ratway’s threat level to non-existent once he realised that Ratway had no magic.

“Now come out and join the rest of the meat, like a good little pony, I promise you won’t suffer” offered Earwhig, but Ratway wouldn’t capitulate, he had had plenty of times to do that in the jungle, in the war, just to curl up and die, that was his lot in life, but he had always defied destiny, and today was not going to be an exception if he got a say in it.

“I don’t need magic to break a hoof off in yer arse, and I will use me good leg, so I know you will feel it!” he threatened from behind the counter. Sure, this guy had magic but Ratway had experience and the will to win, this overgrown maggot just had magic and a strong case of antisocial behaviour disorder on his side. Glancing up at the mirror advertisment above the counter he could see the face of the changeling commander seething with rage at the insult, the mud pony having the audacity to challenge his better.

“I will give you until the count of 5 then I will ring Rarity’s neck like a pigeon, what are you going to do to stop me, hit me with that pipe your carrying” threatened Earwhig no longer playing around, as he just wanted this slight hindrance dealt with. The changeling clearly not understanding the capacities of the weapon Ratway was equipped with.

“Aint no pipe, it’s the power of Celestia in my hoofs” yelled Ratway calling his threat.

“then prove it” Earwhig said calling his bluff.

“1”

“2”

“3” on the third call he began to slowly twist Rarity’s head, as she began to mewl, realising there was the very real possibility that she might die in the next few seconds.

“4”, buck there wasn’t time, Ratway was going to have to shoot this guy without Fleurs help, there just wasn’t enough time. Buck, calming himself he preaimed with the mirror, and popping up like a ground squirrel fired, the Ap shot easily penetrating the shield and striking the changeling in the outer foreleg, over penetrating and not hitting bone rendering a minor flesh wound at best, the shot going wide as he couldn’t risk going for the head, as the possibility of hitting miss Rarity was too high. The changeling returned fire shattering the mirror, in a rain of broken glass, but to slow to hit Ratway with his blast as he had already returned to cover.

“Looks like you choked, that or your princess is losing her power with age” said Earwhig through a whence, the pain in his leg suddenly setting in, the scene still visible from Ratway’s cover as some shards of glass remained in the mirror giving him a shattered view of reality.

“5” he said as his horn began to glow intensity as he forced Rarity’s head to the side as he began to ring her, the mare screaming as her life flashed before her eyes.

“Did I” said Ratway in a simple act of bullshit, hoping it would stop Earwhig’s murderous intent.

“You did, now watch your mare friend die” Earwhig said as he prepared to shatter Rarity’s spine.

“Not from my perspective, I would say you got bout 30 minutes to live” Ratway lied, hoping this changeling was lacking in anatomical knowledge, and had a healthy level of self-preservation, or at the very least a fear of death.

“How so?” asked Earwhig, a tinge of concern exposing a soft spot, his horn dimming as he stopped his attack on Rarity, the mare panting heavily, but her eyes gleaming with hope as she realised she might not die here.

“Tell me now, or I will scorch her brain, she will be a drooling vegetable, nothing more then a warm pillow” snarled Earwhig as he demanded what Ratway had done to him. This threat suddenly restarting Rarity’s frantic struggling as one hell was replaced with another.

“I hit your mikkeller artery” he lied pulling the name out of his arse. The changeling looking at the trickling blood from his arm wound with a scared curiosity, telling Ratway he had him right where he wanted him.

“I would say you have about 30 minutes to live, course its treatable if you go to a doctors, so it looks like you got a choice to make, spend your last half hour playing with us pony’s, as you slowly bleed out or you could get it treated and we can do this later mate” said Ratway confidently, as a fear over the loss of control flooded Earwhig’s face.

“Your lying, you made that up” he snarled tossing Rarity aside like a used soda bottle.

“you going to risk it, I just have to wait, tick tock, tick tock, tick tock” mocked Ratway from his safety behind the counter, reloading a standard round into his boomstick just in case Earwhig went ballistic.

For a few seconds a look of indecisiveness covered Earwhig’s face as he kept glancing at the exit, weighing up Ratway’s words as if they had some merit.

“Bugger it, I will have my revenge on you bogtrotter, until then sleep with your eyes open, as I will gut you myself” snarled Earwhig before with a buzzing of wings he made a break for it, Ratway just staying in his surrogate foxhole and letting him leave, the look of fear on his face telling Ratway he was not coming back for a while.

Waiting a few minutes to be sure the bug wasn’t coming back, he crawled battered from behind the table, making his way straight to Rarity, the mare remaining where she had been thrown.

“Are you okay miss Rarity” asked Ratway, more concerned about her condition then the sticky feeling of drying blood coating the entirety of the right side of his body.

“Yes darling…, I am fine” she said, having been able to compose herself in the time it had taken for him to be sure Earwhig had fled, like the cockroach he was.

“Your bleeding” she said, suddenly noticing the thick red that was covering his body, the glass doing more damage then he had realised based on her reaction.

“It’s nowt, I have had worse” he said, trying to dissuade her worry, before he bit the gunk from her horn, so she could free herself. Then he remembered something, there was one changeling unaccounted for.

“No pony move” he yelled sweeping his boomstick wildly across the room so everybody knew he still meant business, as startled voices filled the air wondering what the holdup was in regards to their release.

“Darling what are you doing” said Rarity before Ratway placed the barrel under her chin, stopping her advance.

“Don’t you move miss Rarity, there is one changeling still at large, and I aint letting anypony out of my sight until I have caught it” he ordered, letting her know he wasn’t sure about her originality, before he casually lowered his gun after a rapid scan of the room.

“Well that were easy” he said aloud as he pointed the gun directly at Uppercrust, the mare trying to pull back, but the cocoon preventing her attempts to avoid the bore of the boomstick barrel sitting at her head.

“Any last words scuttler” he threatened, the mare panicking as she realised he was about to kill her.

“no please I am not a changeling, I am sure a smart pony like your self would know that” she begged, her words a lot more honey coated as she tried to save her skin.

Ratway relishing it before she realised he was playing, closing her eyes and accepting her presumed execution with some level of dignity, but Just before he pulled the trigger he swang around and shot Fleur as she sat tied up next to Fancy pants. The shell blowing her right foreleg off at the shoulder, as the crowd screamed, thick green blood spewing from the wound in a glowing tide. a second later a fire encased Fleur as she was revealed to be a changeling.

“How did you know” exclaimed Fancypants clearly curious how he had been so confidant in his shot.

“Because he already saved me” said Fleur as she finally joined them, better late than never, as she immediately set about helping Fancypants out of his encasement. The bloody mark on her foreleg telling Ratway she was the real fleur, something the changeling had neglected to mimic as he had been unaware of it. That and the huge black eye that was now shining after he had struck her in the face to eject her from a changeling’s stomach, but he wouldn’t want to take credit for damaging such a pretty picture.

“Aye, when the train stopped I knew that Fleur had done her part of the plan, so the one here had to be a cheap imitation” Ratway explained, before he seized a particularly big bit of glass with his teeth and pulled it from his flesh with a small spurt of red blood, Rarity immediately putting a napkin on the wound to stem the bleeding.

“Sorry bout your train” apologised Ratway looking at the devastated dining car, the grandeur like the ruins of Rome, a few small fires in the front of the carriage where the burning table fragments had singed the carpet. As he plucked more and more shards of glass from the right side of his body, the wounds rapidly scabbing up in the warm car.

“Sorry for what, you dealt with the situation, and you saved my gem here, it’s me who should be sorry for being such a bad host” he said taking Fleur under his arm, her airhead persona returning like nothing had happened.

“Just one question what’s a mikkeller artery, and where did you learn about changeling morphology” asked Fancypants, not realising it was a heap of bollocks he had concocted on the spot.

“Well let me explain that over a drink” said Ratway, as he hobbled over to the bar and grabbed a bottle from behind the counter, popping the cap and pouring some on his wounds before taking a swig of the yellow liquid. As he was doing this The other pony’s getting Released from their bounds like a domino chain, as he propped his tired body up against the firm counter.

“Its this brand of beer, and I made it up” he confessed as Fancypants joined him followed by Rarity, as a semblance of normality returned to the car.

“Good show” said Fancypants as the recently freed barkeep poured him a small glass of expensive whiskey. Fleur having a quaint giggle over the ruse Ratway had pulled, and Rarity just looking relived it was all over. The sound of a fire extinguisher could be heard as the small fires were choked out, and within a half hour the train was moving, on its way to the resort.

It was an overnight train journey, so in time most of the guests had gone to their sleeper cabins, leaving Ratway and Rarity alone at the bar, a large number of wet wipes having been sufficient to remove the layer of blood from his fur. Now he just looked like he had suffered a minor shrapnel injury, and he knew it was going to hurt like a bitch come morning, so until then he was happy to just chat with miss Rarity. For a while Fancypants had remained but he had retired early on account of too much excitement, and now the busy car was quiet, with just the polite conversation of two acquaintances quickly turning friends filling the still night air.

They had covered a lot of topics, family, hobbies, fables and she had taken a great interest in his pocket change when he had tried to tip the bartender, as his old coins were like nothing she had ever seen before, the intricate dragon designs really tickling her fancy, that and the solar sovereign gold coin he had been saving, the lump of gold worth a month’s pay, but her smile when she had held it in her hooves was worth more than the hooker he would have used it on.

“It’s beautiful” exclaimed Rarity, her eyes sparkling as she held the coin.

“It’s a solar sovereign miss Rarity, the highest denomination of currency that the royal mint issues” he explained, letting the unicorn hold it, as she examined it under the blue light her horn cast.

“Darling you can just call me Rarity, why are you being so formal” she responded as she continued to look at the fine details of the coin like a gold monger, her voice showing she was dissatisfied with him following standard social practices, the light liquor enough to loosen her lips enough for her to finally question it.

“Because you didn’t give me permission to call you anything else” he said, looking at her in a confused manner as if this should be second nature to her.

“Don’t be silly dear, you don’t need my permission, I am not some tyrant” said Rarity with a giggle, at the absurdity of his statement. To Ratway the giggle was sweet and innocent, and he knew he had put his chips on the right tile, the mare beside him talking to him and not at him, the feeling pleasant as he wasn’t being talked to like a dog as he had come to expect when dealing with unicorns, the experience making him re-evaluate his world view like it had when he had first encountered Princess Twilight, just something he could think about in a hot tub, but with a yawn he decided to end this pleasant evening.

“it’s getting late would you like me to escort you to yer room” offered Ratway eager to turn in, as the arms of the clock had long since rolled past midnight. As if he had reminded her of the time she let out a graceful yawn, before gladly accepting the offer, so together they walked through the train until they reached her cabin.

“Goodnight mi.. Rarity, I will see you in the morning” he said catching himself as his tired mind tried to default to formal, a natural response to avoid an unnecessary flogging for insolence.

“You too Ratway” she said before giving him a peck on the cheek, before slowly closing the door and retiring to her quarters. As he turned to leave the door creaked open onelast time for the night.

“ Darling…” she said, unsure of her words.

“Yes Rarity?” he asked.

“Thank you” she said before gently closing the door.
With Rarity safe in her room, Ratway basically collapsed into his own cabin, no longer having to keep up the strong front in the seclusion of his temporary room. his mind going dark as soon as his head hit the pillow, tomorrow they would reach the resort, then he could just relax, like the princess wanted.