Angel Bunny was sick. He was coughing something dreadful and he wasn't his usual self.
"There there, Angel," Fluttershy soothed, "it will all be over within a week."
Angel had Carrot Flu, but fortunately a very, very mild version of it. It usually caused coughing and a sore throat and while it wasn't too dangerous, it certainly wasn't pleasant. Unfortunately for Fluttershy, Angel did not seem to want to have a week in which he was constantly coughing and had a sore throat; he kept stamping his foot, trying to direct Fluttershy's attention to a leaflet which lay on the ground.
"Don't stress yourself," said Fluttershy, "you just need to relax."
Angel screamed internally. He jumped up toward the leaflet and shook it around.
"You want me to read this?" Fluttershy asked; Angel nodded his head in response.
Fluttershy read the leaflet, if only to humour Angel, she already knew about Carrot Flu, andd knew that while there was a cure, it was only necessary for the most extreme cases of Carrot Flu.
"Silly Angel," said Fluttershy lightheartedly, "the Neighagra Flower is only for critters who are very sick with Carrot Flu."
Angel shook his head, snatched the leaflet, and waved it in front of her face.
"Angel," said Fluttershy, more firmly, "You do not need the Neighagra Flower. You will heal in a week. Understand?"
Angel did understand that he didn't need the flower, but he did want it. He shook the leaflet around, and gestured wildly to the other creatures which shared Fluttershy's cottage, as if trying to express that it'd be important if she had some reserve, in case of a major outbreak of Carrot Flu.
Fluttershy sighed. She understood what Angel was trying to say, and she was running low on Neighagra Flower. This may have been the perfect time to pick some up. She could calm Angel down, and some backup in case another critter got Carrot Flu from Angel.
"Fine," she relented, "I could use some more Neighagra Flower anyway."
Angel sat back, happy that some relief was on its way.
"But I'm only giving it to you if your symptoms get worse," she warned, "and behave yourself!"
She walked out the room, ready to pack up her things, and prepare for the journey ahead.
Fluttershy was preparing a saddle bag. She'd put in some bits for the train ticket, some jars for the Neighagra Flower, a shovel to harvest the Neighgara Flower, as well as a book to read on the journey. The book was titled Fifteen Ways To Care For A Toucan and was written by her friend, Dr Fauna. After making sure she had everything in her saddle bag, she left for Ponyville station.
The train pulled in after an incredibly long wait. Recent budget cuts caused by the appearance of some curse in Seaward Shoals meant that the Friendship Express had less services per hour, and had cut services to certain destinations. Fortunately, the service to Neighagra remained, although some intermediate stops had been cut.
Fluttershy took her seat by the window and took out her book. The intermediate stop problem wasn't difficult for her; she only needed to get off at the final destination. In fact, this way, she could sit back, relax, and enjoy her book.
"Toucans are beautiful, magestic creatures," read Fluttershy in her head, "but taking care of one is incredibly difficult. Toucans are notorious for being-"
The train's whistle blew, a deafening sound that seemed designed to be heard from caves far below the train station. Fluttershy sighed as she scanned the book for her place. She found it and continued to read as the train shunted forward.
Out the corner of her eye, she could see a unicorn rushing up to the train as it pulled away, before, rather alarmingly, blasting the platform in ange with their magic. She peered out the window, book forgotten, as the unicorn aimed another blast of magic at the ground, before Applejack and Twilight came rushing over, rope and magic ready, to subdue them.
Fluttershy shook her head and went back to reading silently, "Toucans are notorious-"
"Ticket?!" barked the ticket inspector, with a great deal of insolence.
The sudden, sharp burst made Fluttershy jump and she scrambled for her ticket.
"Hurry up missy!" he grumbled, "I do not have all day!"
Fluttershy submitted her ticket, "Here you go."
"Well that's not right is it?"
"What do you mean?" replied Fluttershy, shrinking back.
"This ticket is for Neighagra Falls. This train is going to Dodge City. Completely wrong direction."
"Oh then should I get off at the next stop?" asked Fluttershy, putting her ticket back in her saddlebag.
"There is no next station. The next station is Dodge City. You're going to have to go back to Ponyville and take the service to Griffonstone."
"Can't I just take the train from Dodge City to the Neighagra Falls?"
"No. There is no service from Dodge City to the Neighagra Falls. The only service to Dodge City is from Ponyville. You can take the service to Griffonstone which does stop at Neighagra."
Fluttershy could only nod in response. How could she have made such a mistake?
"And I'm going to need to fine you for your lack of a ticket for this journey. You owe 13 bits."
That was doable. Fluttershy counted out thirteen gold coins and placed them in his hoof.
"And you will need to purchase a return ticket. At 11 bits."
"Can I do that here?" asked Fluttershy, rather timidly.
"No. You will need to visit the Dodge City station ticket office," he replied, a tone of finality in his voice, "I've wasted enough time with you. Do not make the same mistake again."
He walked away to the next passenger, punching their ticket loudly and then moving on to the next, murmuring to himself as he did so.
Fluttershy looked up at the paper map which was stuck to the luggage racks. The map showed that the time for this leg would be an hour, which meant it would be two hours by the time she was back in Ponyville. Then, it showed the journey to Griffonstone at twelve hours, with stops at Canterlot, the Crystal Empire, a limited stop at Neighagra Falls, before terminating at Griffonstone.
Feeling a bit hungry, Fluttershy decided that she would purchase a snack and a drink at Dodge City, once the train arrived. She looked at her book but stopped. She wasn't in the mood to read right now.
The train pulled into Dodge City, bang on time.
Fluttershy trotted out of the train and over to a little stand selling refreshments. The stand was owned by a rather burly looking unicorn, a stallion who was making sandwiches and wrapping them in greaseproof paper. A crudely painted sign above displayed the price of each sandwich as 15 bits.
"Fifteen bits?!" repeated Fluttershy, shocked by the extortionate pricing.
The stallion dropped the sandwich to the floor, eyes narrowing.
"I mean fifteen bits?" said Fluttershy hastily, trying not to anger him, "Wow what a bargain! I might get a sandwich because it is such a bargain!"
The stallion picked up the sandwich and wrapped in paper, despite the sandwich being covered in sand and dirt and all sorts of horrid things that had been on the ground. Fluttershy resisted the urge to shudder.
She walked over, nervously, "What kinds of sandwiches are they?"
"Wolf."
"Wolf?" spluttered Fluttershy.
The stallion burst out laughing, his laugh echoing around Dodge City.
"No it's cheese."
"Oh," replied Fluttershy, "I will take that then."
She counted out fifteen bits for the stallion.
"Do you want something to drink as well?" said he, "I've got a special offer. Two for two on cherry juice, grown right here in Dodge City!"
"How much is that?" said Fluttershy cautiously.
"11 bits!"
That was the price of the fine she'd paid earlier. But she didn't want to hurt the stallion's feelings.
"I'll take uh one bottle of cherry juice, please," she said.
"Two bottles of cherry juice coming right up!" he roared, "Twenty-two bits."
"Um I said," began Fluttershy but balked when he glared at her, "Twenty-two bits it is!"
She counted out twenty-two bits to the stallion. She sighed. She wasn't anywhere near enough to her journey and already she'd spent nearly all in her purse.
"Pleasure doing business with you!" he boomed.
Fluttershy nodded politetly, then scampered off to the ticket office, where she paid eleven more bits (leaving just two gold coins left in her purse) for a journey to Ponyville.
Once she was at Ponyville, she thought, she would head over to her cottage, pick up a bit more money, then head to the Crystal Empire.
The train whistled and after making sure it was the right train, she stepped on and took her seat.
The train pulled away from Dodge City and the stallion waved to her as it gained speed. Fluttershy began chewing the sandwich, but found it too disgusting to finish. Even so, she'd spent 33 bits at his stand and was determined to make her money's worth. She'd have the first bottle of cherry juice to wash down this sandwich, and the second during her long journey to the Crystal Empire.
Yes. That seemed like a good plan.
"Welcome aboard this service to Ponyville!" said the announcer, "Customers for Griffonstone should stay on this train as there are no service to the Neighagra Falls and Griffonstone for the next week due to maintainence."
Oh no.
