Chapter 12 - Young Sun

The train chugs down the tracks at a constant speed, the sounds of the engine and wheels on track becoming a comforting rhythm. For a time, Polished Silver simply keeps her eyes shut as she listens to the sounds around her trying to let them send her off to sleep. Polished Silver looks up to see you reading a book near a few cargo boxes, a lamp sitting atop one of them.

"Reading anything interesting?" Polished Silver Asks.

You jolt up in surprise and look toward the other pony you were too busy reading to remember was in the room with you. When the shock subsides, you lift the book to show her the book you got from the library. "I wanted to read up more about changelings, but this book doesn't really have a lot about them."

"So what's it say?"

"It mostly talks about how they are monsters who feed on a ponies love for the pony they imitate, instances of when they've taken over civilizations and their exile."

"They sound scary."

"Yeah, but why do they see clones so similarly? I don't feed on ponies."

Polished Silver gives this some thought. "Yeah, but if you clone enough ponies you could take over a civilization like changelings can."

"I bet ponies could do that without cloning. All you really need is a good costume."

Polished Silver chuckles at this. "Yeah I bet a Celestia costume would fool the nation."

You roll your eyes at her response. "Well, obviously you wouldn't try to be Celestia."

"I'm sorry. You have a point, but the idea of you trying to pass as Celestia just made me laugh."

You give a chuckle of your own before putting the book back into your saddle bags. "Okay, so maybe that does sound funny." You admit. As you put your book away, you feel your amulet leave your neck and turn to see it floating to Polished Silver. "Hey!" You shout as you run over to her.

"Shush, do you want us to get caught? We're stowaways, remember?"

"What are you doing with my amulet?" You quietly ask.

Polished Silver takes out her tools and begins making small sketches on your amulet. "Our talk of costumes and espionage got me thinking. If we get separated, I want a way to find you. So I'm sketching a tracking enchantment into your amulet."

She hoofs the amulet back to you and you inspect the changes. "I don't see anything." Polished Silver lights her horn and a small symbol appears on your amulet as bright as Polished Silver's magic. "Wow. that's so pretty."

As Polished Silver's horn dies down, the symbol disappears. "If the two of us get separated, I just have to use that spell and I'll be able to find you within a hundred miles, so long as you wear that amulet."

You look up at her in amazement. "An enchantment can be that powerful?"

"This is more of an intermediate enchantment, and it's only a beacon. My magic is what gives it range. I'm not exactly the worst when it comes to magic, but I'm no prodigy either." Polished Silver's expression changes to one of irritation. "Not like Sunset Shimmer."

A moment goes by before you decide to lighten the mood with a question. "So, when do you think the train stops?"

Polished Silver snaps out of her trance and looks toward the back door. "I don't know, but I hope wherever it stops, it's somewhere we can get a good night's rest." Polished Silver yawns and groans. "Even if it is, tomorrow will not be fun."

You look down at the floor. "Yeah, we probably should of tried to sleep on our way there."

Polished Silver puts a hoof on your shoulder. "I was too anxious to sleep right now anyway, and I doubt the trip will be much longer. How about we find a place to sit together and we'll eat a snack while we wait?" Polished Silver pulls a couple of apples out of her saddle bag and hoofs one to you.

The two of you walk over to a wall clear of any cargo and sit beside one another. You take a bite out of the apple and stick out your tongue as you decide apples aren't that great raw. Polished Silver rolls her eyes at your disapproving gesture. You set the apple aside and pull out a couple of chocolate bars, offering one to Polished Silver as you eat the other.

Polished Silver accepts the chocolate with a small chuckle. Her smile soon fades as she watches the flames of the lamp dance.

You eat the chocolate slowly, savoring the taste as much as you can. You open your bag back up and pull out a few more things sunset's dad left you. Two magazines, one promising advice on the latest fashion, the other a comic about a young mare who takes care of pets in a pet shop, and a smallish playset featuring two mares in a treat shop, the shop itself also being a carrying case.

You decide to open the playset and play with the dolls as they go out on the town, buying treats and talking fashion. Polished Silver takes her eyes off the flame to watch you play, taking a bite of your chocolate every now and then.

After a while of play, you begin to yawn and decide you are too tired to continue. You pack up the playset and put it back in your bag. As you put your things away you see the age potion near the bottom of your bag.

You pull out the age potion and look into it's contents, only now realizing what you may have thrust your one friend in Equestria into. You give a sigh and decide it would be better to keep the potion for later. However, before you can close the bag, the potion flies away from you and next to an irritated Polished Silver.

Polished Silver sets the potion back into your hooves. You look down at the potion, and then at Polished Silver, who gives a nod. Staring once more at the potion, you contemplate whether it would be ruder to put her through the responsibility of watching you as a younger filly, or to refuse her offer to willingly do so.

You look back at Polished Silver, her smile letting you know she is fine with whatever you choose. You uncork the potion and gulp it down and as you finish, you notice everything begin to get bigger.

After you put the empty bottle back into your bag, you feel yourself lift into the air, only to land right between Polished Silver's legs. Looking up, you see her smiling down at you, her eyes so much larger than you remember. She pulls out a brush and begins to brush your mane. You lay your head against her stomach, letting the beating of her heart sooth you as she continues brushing while the sounds of the train fade away and you soon fall asleep.

You slowly open your eyes to find yourself in a large bed. Your eyes widen and you quickly sit up and a pair of earmuffs fly off of your head and onto the bed. Looking around the room, you find yourself alone. You quietly make your way off the bed and sneak into the hallway. Hearing voices, you walk to a nearby staircase and find Polished Silver and a female pony with a black and white striped coat talking to one another while sitting at a table in a kitchen just downstairs.

Polished Silver looks up from her seat as you walk their way. "Good morning my sleepy pony." Polished Silver greets.

"Not good morning, but rather good after noon." The host states as she points to a clock that tells you it is a little past twelve. "Come sit with us, brunch will be done soon."

"Brunch?" You ask.

Polished Silver lifts you in her magic and sits you in the seat next to hers. "We had a long ride last night and ended up sleeping too long, so Arifa decided to turn our lunch into brunch."

A bell dings and Arifa takes the meal out of the oven and places three bowls of stew onto the table for the three of you. "And to make this lunch a brunch." Arifa pulls out a few donuts and places them before you and Polished Silver. "Here are some donuts to munch."

Your stomach growls as you see the food placed before you, as you go to grab a spoon to begin your meal Polished Silver raises a hoof to signal for you to wait. "Thank you for the meal." Polished Silver thanks Arifa before eating.

You process the situation for only a few seconds before turning to your host and giving her your thanks. "Thank you for the meal."

As you begin eating, Arifa smiles at what she has witnessed. "This does my heart much good. To see two sisters act as they should."

You look up from your meal with a hint of confusion. "Well act-"

"Thank you." Polished Silver interrupts. "I try to be a good big sister for her. Unfortunately, I'm not always able to live up to the task."

Arifa chuckles at her admission. "You cannot always expect to know what is best. Just do what you can and try to learn from your mess."

Polished Silver just sighs at this. "I know. But it doesn't make the mistakes I make any easier to forgive myself for."

You pause your eating to look up to Polished Silver. "I said I forgive you for that."

Polished Silver wipes your mouth with a napkin. "I'm not talking about that."

"Then what are you talking about?"

"Don't worry about it, just eat your food and let the big ponies talk."

"I am a big pony." Arifa gives a large laugh with Polished Silver joining in soon after. You respond to this by puffing your cheeks up in a pout.

After the laughter subsides, Arifa decides to ask. "Now that we have all calmed down, might I ask how you two found your way to our town?"

Polished Silver looks your way for a moment before turning her eyes back to Arifa. "Sorry, it's kind of a long story and we could use some time to collect ourselves.

You look to Polished Silver before placing your gaze onto Arifa and then back to Polished. You contemplate telling Arifa for her but decide maybe she has a reason not to.

Arifa gives a skeptical look. "I see. Then I shall let it be."

"Thank you."

After the three of you are done with your meals, Polished Silver lifts the dishes in her magic. Arifa walks herself to the kitchen sink. "Bring the dishes over here so I may clean, then take you and your sister for a bath so you may sheen.

"No." Polished Silver shakes her head in protest. "You made this lovely meal for us. The least I can do is clean some dishes."

"I am going in to town later today. Go give your sister and yourself a bath or I shall have to ask you to stay."

Polished Silver looks down at herself and over to you. "I suppose we could use a bath." Polished Silver walks up stairs with you following close behind.

Polished Silver fills the tub with warm water and steps in, plopping you in with her as she begins washing you. "Arifa seems nice." You say.

"Yes she is, but we can't make trusting strangers a habit. This was an emergency, so I didn't have a lot of choice. I'm lucky the zebra I found is the Sheriff's wife."

"What's a sheriff?"

"Ask him when you meet him. He's pretty nice too." Polished Silver spots a rubber duck and passes it to you to play with.

"This is for babies." You protest as you put it back where Polished got it.

"Sorry."

After Polished Silver washes you, you help her wash.

After your bath the two of you dry off and make your way back to your room where Arifa has laid your clothes down on the bed. You take your clothes and store them back in your bag.

Polished Silver pulls her own bag over her back and heads downstairs. "You're taking your whole bag with you?" You ask. "Are we leaving soon?"

"No." Polished Silver answers. "Well maybe. But for now I'm just selling a few things. I didn't bring money for supplies, but I did bring some things to sell." You decide to take your own saddle bag with you as well.

You and Polished Silver make your way downstairs and see Arifa waiting for you by the door with her own saddle bag on her back. "Let us leave if you are both ready. While we are in town I'd like you to stay close to me."

"That goes double for you." Polished Silver commands. "No wandering off."

You nod your head. "Yes ma'am."

Polished Silver rolls her eyes and ruffles your mane. "Don't call me ma'am. I may be older than you, but I'm not that old."

Author's Note

I had a few ideas about how to deal with the de-aging scene, but everything I could come up with either made one of the characters look like a jerk or go against future ideas. In the end, I went with a silent scene, and I think it works pretty well.