Author's Note
I had to separate this chapter from the rest of The Catalyst because of the terrible effect it would have had on tags and necessary rating, and possibly the psyches of anyone reading it. Also it turned out to be fucking huge. It might end up with as many chapters as the core story
All Tickets Are One-Way
To say that building a train tunnel is grueling, dangerous work would be to make a gross understatement. A stallion had a markedly higher chance of dying in the process than he might while working active duty military, and that was even with the suicide crisis. Even tunnels that exploited natural ones still needed to be expanded, and that meant all of the usual stresses of mining: explosives, potential cave-ins, buried gas pockets, heavy equipment malfunctions, etc. All of that never left Solid State's mind as he struggled to crank in the expansion shell bolts of the timber bracing he was working on, his profuse sweating making the task even more difficult.
Each bolt took nearly an hour to crank into place. All but the last one. Half an hour into the work, Solid heard a faint cracking sound, and the task suddenly became much easier. Nervous, he shone his helmet light up and down the timber beam, but the flaw refused to reveal itself. So he checked as much of the rock as he could, and was about to start unbolting the brace entirely when he heard his boss, Galen Bellows, well, living up to his name.
"State? State! STAAAATE!" The foreman hard marched into the tunnel, his size and cigar complimenting his helmet light in making him look like an oncoming train in the darkness, and smell significantly less promising. "Celestia banishit, boy! You better have that brace up by the time I reach you, or so help me I'll have you working sewers for the next year! Manehattan sewers!"
"B-but Mis-Mister Bellows! I heard a crack! A-and the bolt is loose!" Solid State really wished that he could have mustered the conviction he felt was necessary to get his point across to the grizzled behemoth of a foreman in front of him. Problem was, he was a pony facing a grizzled behemoth, who was his foreman.
"Yah don't say..." Galen surprised Solid by actually taking a moment to search for the damage himself. Finding none, he turned on his employee, menacing him. "Boy, I'm gonna give you one last chance. You skip break and get this bracing finished by close of business tonight, and I'll forget I caught you slacking again. If not..."
"Mister Bellows, please just-" Solid reached over to demonstrate the looseness of the bolt, but the foreman just growled at him.
"Manehattan! Sewers! Boy!" Bellows shouted as he huffed his way out of the tunnel.
"Yes sir..." Solid tightened down the bolt, torqued it, and finished the bracing on time. But the uneasy feeling created by the whole affair never left him.
Five years and two further expansions later, the Canterlot Saddle Tunnel System was completed. Forty miners, including Solid State, had been lost in the process. Under pressure from the RETD for gross negligence of employee safety, Galen Bellows resigned and disappeared into reclusivity. Knowledge of the flaw discovered by State was buried with him. But the damage itself remained, and a little more accumulated with every train that thundered through the dark passage...
* * *
After putting the finishing touches on what she decided would be the last warning sign, Maud Pie looked back on her work with a combination of pride, hope, and terror. Her early forays into the pursuit of her rocktorate had taken her into the depths of the train tunnels had revealed an awful secret to her: by listening closely to the echoes of her hoofsteps in the surrounding calcium sulfate, she had been drawn to a long and deep but impossibly thin crack in one of its walls. Directing her helmet light at it, she tapped the offending wall with her right forehoof and listened carefully. The impure sounds she received in return held orders of magnitude more threat in them than the tipping of Holder's Boulder when she was little. So it was that she made it her duty to do everything she could think of to prevent any more trains from passing through the tunnel until a solution was found to the dire problem. Which at the time meant boarding up both entrances and littering the area with signs declaring the threat of cave-in.
"Oy there now, what is the meaning of this, Lass?" Maud whipped around at the sound of a gruff voice not far behind her and found herself facing... a mare, she deduced after what she felt was far too long an interval. The chin stubble, burly figure, and surly demeanor sure didn't help. "Whaddya think yer doin', blockin' off the rails and stickin' these 'ere signs allovertheplace, eh?"
"This tunnel is a severe cave-in hazard," Maud replied, dry and blunt as was characteristic of her. She met the other mare's snarl with a stony expression.
"It's a what now? Now see here, Lass. Just 'cause yer right clean on doesn't give ya the right to be makin' a mess of our tracks! Yer interfering with grown pony business, now get outta here before I batter ya and see if candy falls out!"
"You really shouldn't try that. I'm trying to prevent fatalities here." Maud protested. "Plus, you probably won't succeed. I don't eat a lot of candy."
"WHY YOU LITTLE-!"
"Okay now, what's all this racket?" Flim interrupted the pending brawl with his sudden appearance, although he had really only trotted in while they were distracted, having been recovering from the trip with his compatriot via maintenance hoof-car by the delay. Even though he was using his magic to facilitate the effort, there was still a lot involved. "What's the matter, Baley? Have you figured out what the hold-up is? We've got customers complaining!"
"Oy Rawny! You made it! This here uppity little schlicker is what's the matter! Look at the right mess she's made! Bloody signs all over the place!"
"Baley, we've been over this, my name isn't Ronnie. It's Flim. Flim!"
"Um..." Maud tried to interject, but her quiet disposition and traditional courtesy made it difficult.
"Whatever you say, Mr. Ponce. Are you going to get this git out of the way, or are we just gonna trample her?"
"But the tunnel..."
"Now see here, Miss Baley! Whatever your grievances with this filly, I'd hardly think any of them merit running her over! Here, just look, I'll take care of it," Flim declared as he used his magic to pull all of Maud's signs from their myriad perches at once and spread them in two neat rows on either side of the rails about the train's height away from the tracks. Then he turned his attention to the offending pony. "Listen, Missy. I'm not sure what your problem with our railway is-"
"I've been trying-"
"No no! I don't want to hear it. These rails and all associated infrastructure are the product of years of hard work and sacrifice on the part of our esteemed Transportation Division, so if you have a problem with them, you'll have to take it up with the institution itself or petition the Princess directly if you think the situation is so dire. I mean really, that's what we have these systems in place for!" As he spoke he danced around Maud, at times randomly grabbing her into a mockery of a friendly hug in the manner that was typical of his and his brother's conversational theatrics.
"But-" Maud started to wonder just who she was trying to save from the dire fate promised anypony who used the tunnel in the near future.
"Good day, Miss... um..." Flim seemed to break character for a moment by being at a loss for words, having realized that he'd not even bothered with introductions.
"Maud Pie." the grey filly snapped, her opinion of unicorns and stallions burrowing for oil.
"All right then, good day, Miss Pie. Miss Baley! If you might, please. We need to hurry back, at once! I may already have to discount all of our round-trip ticket purchases to the cost of one-ways to compensate our customers for the inconvenience." In spite of his words, he was clearly reluctant to start the two-day journey back to Ponyville Station.
"Right away, Sir." Baley responded sardonically as she mounted the other side of the car. "What about the ponies that already only bought one-way tickets?"
"Don't be ridiculous, dear filly. If I cut our profits any further than is already on my mind, how would I pay the crew?"
"You've a heart of gold, Sir." Baley's sarcasm escalated yet still managed to escape Flim's notice.
"Don't I, though?" he responded as though she were noticing something glowingly obvious about him. "Let's be off now!"
"You're all going to DIE in there!" Maud called out louder than she ever thought possible, but was still ignored by the other two as they departed.
Cafe Ricassa was excited that the train was arriving today. Since her baby sister Coco was still in Manehattan with their parents, she alternately relied on the mail and her younger sister to maintain contact with her family. Obviously the latter was much preferable, because it meant also spending what brief opportunity she had to be with Moca, whose stewardess duties both kept her busy and took her all over the continent. After carefully brushing her sky-blue streaked cerulean mane so that it briefly stretched out her natural princess curls, the heather pony checked in with Winston to make sure he remembered that she was off today before heading out of the Rich family estate and toward the station.
It was not often that her employers allowed maids to wander about Ponyville unattended, so every opportunity was eagerly sought. Cafe was lucky because her relationship to Moca allowed her to take priority on the much-vaunted "train days", where the whole town celebrated the presence of the Transcontinental. That meant a slew of train-themed decorations, toys, fare, music, dances, and other things that almost made her feel envious of her little sister. But as she approached near enough the station to hear the goings-on there, she caught sight and sound of the real reason for her jealousy.
Contrary to the town proper, the train station itself was actually mostly silent. This was not abnormal since the train crew usually made quick business of ushering passengers off to their destinations or to nearby inns so that general maintenance could be performed on the experimental monstrosity. What really piqued Cafe's interest was the volumetrically one-sided argument between a violet mare with a twin azure-streaked plum mane and tail, and an amber stallion whose mane alternated ginger and fire, set off by his midnight eyes. Cafe hid herself amid some shipping crates to better snoop, since nothing got her off like marital discord.
"I don't even want to think about how many times we've been through this, Starlit," Sunspot Arc tried to growl, but it was really more of a whine. "The answer is 'No.' It was 'no', when we boarded the train at Sire Hollow, it was still 'no' every night since then and you might be surprised, but it's still 'no' now!"
"But Sunny darling, you can't pretend that you're not a little pent-up yourself! You needn't think of this as anything too serious," Starlit Aurora pressured her traveling companion as much as she had been the whole trip, barring the times when she was drunk enough to get really aggressive. "It's just a little mutual relief between friends! It's a long journey to Canterlot, you know, and we still have to go back once we're done reviewing the schools there for our foals!"
"That's right, our foals, who we had with our spouses who, need I remind you, are not each other! Why do you keep doing this to me? We're in town now. You could have your pick of any local stallion, or even the train crew now that they've got a bit of a break."
That last remark made even Cafe wince as she was briefly forced to consider how many perfectly viable stallions she was ignoring in favor of pursuing an inherently hopeless and possibly dangerous kink. For her part, Starlit wrinkled her otherwise dignified snout as though the thought of exploring the suggested options held the appeal of treading sewage.
"Because I don't want any of these local hicks or the greasy brutes about to lose their jobs to a glorified pressure cooker, Sunny! I wan't you! I've wanted you for a really long time, you know." Starlit insisted, her tone, posture and expression expertly taking on the guise of a more demure maiden as part of her attempt to goad out his instincts. She got more than she bargained for.
"Is that so? How long, Starlit?" Sunspot more interrogated than asked, suddenly turning to tower over and menace the mare as he seized, or was seized by, his masculinity. "Because I rather clearly remember our own high school days..."
"Sunny, wait I-" Starlit froze up as his words cut through the haze of years, forcibly returning to her what was conveniently forgotten.
Cafe dashed as quickly and quietly as she could from cover to cover as she followed the arguing couple, forgetting her meeting with Moca. This was turning out much better than she had hoped, and luckily she had the training of a maid to help keep her well-hidden while the important ponies had their drama.
"...when I asked you for a date, and to say that you 'shot me down' would be putting it extremely mildly," he continued to trample her attempts at excuse in much the same way she previously had his protests. "You made a show of socially gelding me in front of the whole school! You, and all of your insipid, wheedling little friends ganged up on me and made me out to be some kind of pervert! I was very nearly run out of town and ruined for life!"
"But I'm not the same filly I was then! I've changed! I've grown up!"
"That's just it, Starlit. We've both grown up. And that means making grown-up decisions. Like for example marrying the mare who was there for me in defiance of your little posse, and in your case, the stallion who kept you grounded when your ego threatened to draw Princess Celestia's personal ire!"
"Neither of whom are here right now! It's just us again. For pony's sake, we don't even have to go back! Those two will figure something out, and the kids already get along!"
"Starlit. You really amaze me sometimes, you know that?" Sunspot's tone, expression and body language strongly indicated that the comment was absolutely not a compliment. "Just... I'm heading toward the inn now. Please find something else to do. I don't even want to see your face for the rest of the day."
The stallion turned and stalked away from the stunned mare, although internally he was reeling from the conversation as much as she was. Fortunately for him, she didn't notice the signs that this was the case. Unfortunately for Cafe, the same didn't apply to her muffled coughs from the dust kicked up by Starlit's infuriated stamp on the dusty floorboards. Worse, she had become so enraptured in the conversation that her maid stealth failed her, and the elder mare was most certainly in a mood to illustrate the risk inherent in the younger's chosen occupation.
Not being a unicorn, Cafe couldn't grant her own wish to become truly invisible or teleport away from the approaching maelstrom of utter danger. On the other hoof, Starlit Aurora was most certainly a unicorn, and an exceptionally powerful one at that; thus her wishes were much more easily granted. Such as wishing to lift somepony of lesser station by her throat and shake her vigorously, which she did to Cafe using her starfield after finding her with a speed that only amplified the poor maid's already mounting terror. Regarding her prey with a smile much more threatening than Spoiled Rich's most withering glares, Starlit spoke in a tone that confused Cafe's instincts as to whether she should relax or try to scream.
"Well, hello there, Sweetheart. What a strange place to find a young filly in!" Starlit somehow growled and purred at once. "I bet you get to hear all kinds of juicy gossip from such a convenient vantage point!"
"Ma'am, please... I'm sorry!" Cafe managed to choke out before Starlit's field tightened even further, making it impossible to resist futilely trying to claw it away from her throat with her forehooves. "Please... please... promise... I'll... forget... everything..."
Starlit responded with a low, pleasant chuckle that turned Cafe's blood to shards of ice carving their way through her system. The asphyxiation certainly didn't help.
"Oh my dear, you most certainly will! Tell me," she asked demurely as she levitated a black comb and scissors from a heretofore unseen travel salon until Cafe could see them. "Have you ever heard of a 'Soul Stylist', Sweetheart?"
The cruelty of Starlit's question was capitalized by the fact that her prey could no longer speak, but the maid managed to shake her head enough to indicate she hadn't. The wealthy mare gave a gentle, motherly laugh and noticed that Cafe's reflexive struggles were too weak, so she released her throat just enough to force the poor young mare back into full consciousness.
"I guess I shouldn't be surprised, what with this worthless backwater town you live in. Well, as much as I enjoy talking about my job, I've had a long day so I'll just skip the details you're not likely to understand anyway. The short version is that we're what those fruity, worthless 'Mane Therapists' make pathetic pretenses at being. Lucky for you, you get a free demonstration! Isn't that nice?" Starlit was rewarded with another pitiful effort at a 'no' shake, and her fake smile vanished. "You're right. It's not. And neither is eavesdropping Miss... oh! I never did get your name. Oh well! It's not going to matter for much longer, anyway. Now hold still! I don't want to risk putting an eye out. That's both tacky and unprofessional. Let's see, a graduated bob should- I SAID HOLD STILL!"
* * *
A lone adolescent mare sat near the baggage hold of the Way Fairer Inn, surrounded by other ponies' luggage. She had a slate blue coat and a cerulean mane with three sky-blue streaks in it that ended in a severe inverted bob cut. The fact that she was very pretty was significantly upset by the look of pure horror her face had been frozen into. The pony looked like she had gazed into the eyes of a creature too evil to be stored in Tartarus and lost part of her soul in her desperate escape. She didn't know what she was doing there, only that she could not leave unless somepony gave her permission. But it was the middle of the night, and it was doubtful that she would see anypony until the next morning. After all, normal ponies and evil ones alike made no exceptions to sleeping when the sun was down. She was so very tired, but every time she started to fall asleep, the sight of a pair of dark amethyst eyes and the sound of a pair of scissors cutting something important would shock her awake as though out of a nightmare.
"Um, hello..." a soft masculine voice prodded from her left side, making her jump her own height to the tune of a short shriek and land facing him. She looked into a pair of eyes that were blue, yet glinted green in the pale moonlight. Briefly. It took her a minute to realize that he had one eye closed and was rubbing the corresponding ear with the appropriate forehoof.
"I WASN'T LISTENING! I DIDN'T HEAR ANYTHING!" the mare screamed at the silhouette of a stallion her own age, causing him to back up and sit down. Unlike him, she was a fully ordinary pony and couldn't see well in the dark.
"Okay... let's slow down and take a breath, maybe start this conversation over from the top?" Somber asked the frightened mare he happened across more or less outside, in the middle of the night. He thought that was rather strange of her, but decided that it was hypocritical to think that, since he had just gotten back from the Everfree Forest. Still, this event was killing his meager joy at having not only not missed the train, but also managed to secure a room without a reservation. He was starting to think that his luck tended toward extremes a bit much. "Hello! My name is Somber Star. You're pretty and cute. What's your name?"
For the mare, Somber's arrival had brought with it a Wonderbolt flight pattern of emotions. Once the initial startle wore down enough, his pleasant tone and non-threatening presence almost seduced her to sleep, wherein the eyes and shearing sound shocked her back awake, just in time to hear and process his introduction and compliment, which set her heart fluttering in a way quite different than it had been all night. But then he asked for her name, and when she opened her mouth to respond, she felt only pain and emptiness where the answer had been. A strangled sound escaped her and she shut her mouth, her eyes welling up with tears.
(Oh my Celestia, I can't do anything right with mares...) Somber thought as this unknown filly responded to his introduction as though he had just proudly announced having trampled her puppy. It seemed like literally everything he said either killed a smile or kindled the waterworks. Maybe he should take after Zecora and live in total isolation so he wouldn't have to worry about hurting anypony with his-
Somber's depression spiral was interrupted by a violent tackle and a fierce hug, the combination of which unbalanced him enough that he fell. He only just barely managed to contain his instinctive response to strike whatever had just grabbed him when he felt his left shoulder starting to soak and the shaking sensation of somepony sobbing against him.
"I DON'T KNOW!" the random insomniacal mare wailed, only partially muffled by his flesh and coat. "I DON'T KNOW MY OWN NAME!"