Mitch POV<<<<<<

"War? What kind of war?" I asked, my eyes shifting from Piper to Commando, watching them closely as they shared a glance before Commando spoke up.

"That's...a hard question to field, Kid. Especially since we're not at liberty to discuss a lot of the finer details." Commando grunted, looking to Reks for a moment before shaking his head. "Not to mention that if Reks was in good shape, I probably would've brought him back too."

This got a reaction out of the injured lutienant. Reks slowly stood to his feet as he hobbled over to Commando with the aid of his sister. Stopping a foot or two from the red armored dog, sending a glare straight into Commandos' soul.

"I'm not heading back. Not if what I think is happening is going down."

I'm sorry, what?

"Like hell you aren't, injured or not, you're still part of the force!" Commando exclaimed, putting a finger towards Reks with a growl.

"Reks, you can't be serious. we formed a pact with the Winter Tribe, and we can't go back on that." Piper said, her tone hinted with sadness as she looked over her injured brother.

Reks sent a reassuring smile Pipers way before directing his attention back to Commando.

"The chief saved my life, and for that I am grateful." Reks began as he pointed a paw at me. "But now, another has pulled me from deaths maw, and it would be wrong not to help him on his journey back home."

Commando actually snarled as he pushed his face closer to Reks.

"You're talking treason, Lutienant. I may at least understand where your coming from, but when you recover and you decide to not return, your gonna make an enemy out of yourself in the chieftains eye...meaning any aid from me or your sister will be off the table."

Piper turned Reks towards him, her eyes having lost all the joy they were full of before this topic was brought up.

"Reks...please think about what your saying. We've literally got the enemy on our doorstep, and leaving the force now of all times is only going to put you on the watch list too." With her ears splayed backward, Pipers hold on her brothers shoulders tightened. "We have a duty to -"

"No. You have a duty to the Chief." Reks interrupted as he sighed. "I've paid my dues with my excursions in the Eastern Provence, and now it's your turn to pay yours." He smiled and went to put a paw to his chest before wincing in pain. "Let me help Mitch, Piper. We'll make sure to avoid any Winter squadrons when the time comes."

Glaring at her brother, Piper shook her head and pulled him close, putting her forehead against his.

"You better be careful. The last thing I want to do is have to hunt you guys down because you guys were too lazy to be safe." She told Reks, her breath hitching slightly as Reks hugged her in return.

Commando looked at me, as if noticing how out of place I felt in all of this.

"Mind heading up a train car or two? We've got some stuff to speak about that's on a needs to know basis, and I'm sure your pegasi friends want to speak with you."

Even if a part of me wanted to stay and learn more, that part was out voiced by the majority of me that was thankful for the excuse to give the siblings some space, I slowly got up and walked my way over to the door, sliding it open and passing through with a slight hobble in my step.

A war... but I if there's a war, why didn't Blueblood or someone else in that empire mention it? Surely seeing one of the Winter tribes dogs would cause a remark or two, regardless of how high of an opinion they have.

"What do you mean, you know more about Rainbow Dash?"

Snapped out of my thoughts, I entered the next car just to be met with Zephyr Breeze and another pegasus arguing about something... loudly.

"I grew up in the same town as her, of course I'm going to know her more!" Zephyr stated smartly from a seat as he was currently attempted to style up his hair, going for a pompadour-like style this time.

"Then how come she never mentioned you while at the wonderbolts?" The other pegasus, a light blue coated mare with a yellow gold combo in her mane, retorted from the opposite side of the car before her eyes landed on me. "And I'm guessing your 'Mitch', huh. What the buck are you supposed to be?"

Caught off guard by the tack on the mare, it took me a second to respond.

"Human, and you treat everyone you just meet with that sparkling personality?" I answered, getting a snicker from Zephyr as he put down the mirror he was using to help style his mane.

"Oooooh, burn!" He giddily exclaimed before pointing at the mare and looking at me. "Mitch, meet Lightning Dust, resident pegasus and the mare who almost killed the Elements of Harmony."

"Oi! Ponies tend to forget that one of those 'Elements' caused that tornado, too!" The mare grumbled before turning her focus back to me, eyeing me up and down before frowning. "What are you supposed to be anyway?"

Starting to feel lightheaded from standing too long, I sat down next to Zephyr and leaned back into the cushiony seat.

"Well, believe it or not, I'm from another world." I told her, getting that wide-eyed reaction that was sure to become the norm with these ponies. "Signed a deal with Discord, and now I'm stuck here until I do what he wants."

"Ya know, if it wasn't for the Discord part I probably wouldn't believe you, but I've seen some of the stuff he can do so it's not that suprising in comparison to rabbits with long legs." She stated before shivering slightly, whispering "rabbits" under her breath before continuing. "But enough of that, Zephyr says you've got to go to Vanhoover, any reason why?"

Nodding my head, I lifted up the dull crystal that encased my arm and tapped it lightly.

"This baby needs an upgrade, and there's a cavern off the side of Vanhoover that holds the power to do so." I told her, watching with slight frustration as she poked my arm several times.

"Can you feel that? When I poke it?" She asked bluntly, causing Zephyr to face-hoof.

"If this is how I act around my family, I have a tartarus of an apology to say next time I see them." Zephyr muttered before looking up at me. "Mitch, did Discord ever say why he wants you to power up your core?"

Shaking my head, I looked up at the ceiling, letting my thoughts run wild.

That's actually a very good point. What was Discords endgame? I looked back on the conversation with him in that tower. And he seemed... afraid of someone. What the hell could be dangerous enough to scare someone like Discord?

"No, for whatever reason, the guy needs me for whatever he has planned." I answered as I stretched out my arms and leaned into the cushion. "Either way, it'll do good to get some rest before reaching Vanhoover. Who knows what's going to happen next?"

Following my example, Zephyr laid out on the seat next to me and tucked himself in like a dog while Lightning Dust followed suit, albeit looking quite antsy while doing so.

"This is why I hate trains... the damned things always go so slow!" She groaned as she got comfortable, ignoring the tired glare I sent her way.

Why is she here again?

"This might come off as rude and all, but why did you get on the train with us?" I asked the mare as she looked towards me with a confused expression.

"Why else? Zephyr and the rest of you guys seem to be trouble magnets, and since I've got nothing better to do right now, I figured I'd tag along and see what happens."

Great, so we quite literally have a drifter on the train... but with everything that's going on, it probably couldn't hurt to have another pony to count on

"Fair enough, just don't go causing any extra trouble for us, alright? We have enough problems as it is." I stated, getting an eye-roll infested nod from the nonchalant mare as I looked over to a sleeping Zephyr Breeze. "Damn, the dude was out quick."

"Well, you three did go toe to toe that giant wolf thing... what was that thing anyway? I've seen Timberwolves before, but never something that big or snowy." Lightning Dust asked, keeping her gaze on the peacefully sleeping pone that was next to me.

Patting the stallion on his head, I got a soft mumble in return before looking back to the mare in front of me.

"It was a winterwolf, but that one in particular is a Queen. Royal versions tend to be bigger and nastier, from what I've learned anyway." I explained, though my mind came back to what she had said before. "But what's a Timberwolf?"

The pegasi's face contorted into something similar to eating a lemon as she responded.

"Similar to those Winterwolves, only made of wood and rotting timber. They mostly live in dense forests and seem to mostly appear around the Everfree area."

"Everfree?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow as the stallion next to me snorted slightly before nodding off again.

"Yeah, it's some cursed forest near ponyville, a small town pretty far south from here." She leans in slightly, waving her hooves around like a child scaring his friends. "The place is said to house all sorts of creepy crawlies and scary monsters, and even the weather has a mind of its own."

OK, now she lost me.

"Doesn't the weather always have a kind of its own, though?" I asked, getting a laugh from the mare as she shook her head.

"What?!? Of course not!" She exclaimed loudly before wincing as Zephyr almost woke up from it. "Pegasi control the weather to allow other ponies to have good harvests or something like that."

So if they control the weather, I wonder what other natural events they have to regulate? I wondered as I looked out the window, noticing that it was currently evening again...

...Only to watch in shock as the Sun quickly went down and the moon flew up into the sky.

"Why does that keep happening?" I wondered aloud, gaining the attention of Lightning Dust as she chuckled at my suprisied expression.

"What? You don't know that the princesses control the sun and moon?" She told me, causing me to slowly look towards her with my mouth open in shock.

"They control WHAT?!?" I yelled at her, unable to stop myself thanks to the insanity of the situation.

"Mind keeping the shock and awe down a bit, Mitch? Some of us are trying to SLEEP!" Zephyr grunted out before yelling the last word, getting a wince from me as I patted his back twice.

"Sorry, Breeze. Got a bit excited there." I apologized to the pegasus, getting a hmph in return as I went back to talking with Lightning Dust.

"They control the sun and moon? How?"

The mare just shrugged. "I don't know, probably due to the fact their alicorns and all that, making them have all the power in their cores." Stretching out, the mare began to bundle up in a fashion similar to Zephyr. "Now, I'm tired as buck right now, so save any other questions ya got for the nerd sleeping next to ya tomorrow."

I then watched in absolute shock as the mare managed to conk out in seconds, starting snore a bit almost immediately after she was done talking.

"Either she's a quick sleeper, or she's fucking with me." I whispered as a door from behind me opened.

Turning my body to see who it was, I cracked a grin as I saw Reks come through the door frame and take a seat in the booth opposite to the one I was in.

"So, where are the others?" I asked him as I got up and took a seat in front of him, leaving the sleeping pegasi to rest.

Lord knows we all need it after that wolf fiasco.

"My sister and the Commander left the train already." Reks informed me, getting a furrowed brow in response.

"Uh...how? We're on a moving-" I began to say, before recalling what Commando had pulled out in his paw before. "That gem... I saw Bertha use something earlier back on the mountain. Did Commando use something like it?"

"Sharp eye, Comrade. They are called Teleport Stones, and as long as you've been to a place before, all you have to do is whisper its name, and they will transport you there." Reks answered, holding his side with an arm as he leaned back into his seat. "They had to leave shortly after you left the room, but Piper let me know where we stand in all of this."

Crossing my arms, I raised an eyebrow at my friend's wording.

"Where we stand? What's that supposed to mean?"

Reks' ears drooped slightly as he rubbed his eyes with a paw, the day's events getting to him as he tried to answer my question.

"When I told the others I was going to stick by you on your quest, I was in danger of abandoning the Winter Tribe, my pack." Reks took a deep breath as he collected his thoughts. "And moments ago, I made it official. I'm no longer part of the Winter Tribe.

"You WHAT?!?" I hissed, getting to my feet. "Why the hell did you leave them, Reks? There literally your family-"

Reks got to his feet at that, pointing a pawed finger in my face as he held his side with the other.

"Piper was family, the others were friends at most." He growled as he put that paw on my chest. "You saved my life, Comrade. It's the dog's way to pay life debts, and I wouldn't mind admitting that you gave me an out from a hairy situation."

Sitting back down, I tried to think alongside Reks train of thought, but couldn't fathom leaving an entire clan behind for a person he'd met almost a week ago.

"What hairy situation? The war?"

Reks nodded, looking out the window as the train began to leave the snow and enter a more grassy field.

"The war is only the tip of the iceberg, Comrade. This 'war' is nothing more than a civil dispute between the four tribes, and even then most dogs don't wish to fight their neighbors."

This was eerily starting to sound like some of the conflicts back home, and I really wasn't liking where this was going if that was the case.

"Odd guess here, but is it the chiefs who initiated the fighting?" I asked him, getting a solemn nod from my friend as I shook my head, wrapping my head around the news.

Piper and Commando are heading out to fight in this war...hopefully they can make it out alive.

Meanwhile, back at the empire<<<<<<

"I'm not sure I understand what your asking of me, Auntie."

Princess Celestia frowned slightly before returning her face to its usual neutral mask it so regularly adorns.

"I'm looking out for the safety of both you and your foal, Niece. With the winter wolf attack during the storm and the dark magic that was used I am simply worried for you."

Walking alongside her aunt as they made their way through the castle, Princess Cadence couldn't help but be confused at her aunt's motives.

"But if I remember correctly from what Luna and you told me, the dark magic user...healed one of the dogs using his magic?" Cadence shook her head, her wings folding slightly at the mention of dark magic. "I didn't even know dark magic could be used to heal others."

"It can't, or at least it shouldn't." Celestia stated before looking away for a moment, collecting her thoughts as they turned a corner. "That alone also raises my concerns. While new fields of magic are being discovered by the month, the idea of dark magic wielders being able to heal themselves or their allies does not sit well."

"Even so, you can't expect me to banish one person and his dog allies when all they have done has been beneficial for the Empire!" Cadence retorted as she stopped and walked over to a window, motioning to the city outside. "How many ponies were saved thanks to the actions of that healer and the Winter Tribe officers?" Turning back to her aunt, Cadence straightened her posture and stood tall. "There's a reason I keep the peace with those diamond dogs, Auntie. They have a mutually beneficial alliance with us, and the empire is safer for it."

Looking down at her niece for a moment, Celestia broke eye contact and turned away with a sigh.

"Very well. I trust your judgment, Cadence. I just wish you'd think of the bigger picture when making your decisions." Celestia relented before leaving her niece behind as she turned another corner, not noticing the saddened expression on her fellow princess.

"And I wish you'd trust the people you love enough to help you understand that the smaller picture is just as important, Auntie." Cadence whispered, her ears drooping as she turned and walked back the way they had come.

Author's Note

Hello everyone!

Finals are officially done, and I am home for the holidays! What does this mean for my writing schedule? Well, I have less stressful things to worry about, so it should be fine!

Tell me in the comments what yall thought of the chapter, or any Grammer issues yall see, heck, or just say hello! Comments mean more to me than likes, to be honest. And hearing yalls thoughts is always a day maker for me.

P.S: The second human listed in earlier chapters has been removed. I originally had something else planned for him, but decided that it wasn't going to work, so he's gone.