The Peregrines were starting to get used to the abrupt shifts from day to night, even if they still could not quite wrap their heads around the avowed explanation for them. Their compartment was not plunged into darkness, however. Softly glowing lamps automatically illuminated it and presumably everywhere else on the train. Blaze took a close look at theirs and determined that it was a large crystal rather than anything of an electrical nature. When he inquired later, he was informed that they were enchanted gemstones that were designed to accumulate ambient mana during daylight, and then use it to create light at night. Thankfully, there was a way to turn them off.

It was shortly after sunset that Trixie and Daring came to collect them and head to the dining car. As expected, the initial rush was well past and they had no trouble finding a table for four. With nothing better to do that evening, they enjoyed a leisurely dinner with a surprisingly wide selection of food to choose from.

Daring said, “The train service has to cater to other species as well as ponies, but aside from meat, there’s a lot of overlap in tastes. Some griffon recipes are quite good, actually. And while you may find it hard to believe, many top-class pastry chefs are griffons.”

“That does stretch the imagination,” Cirrus admitted with a giggle, picturing an eagle stalking a donut.

Eventually, conversation wound down and they headed back to their compartments. With little power left in the laptop’s battery, there was not much point in trying to do work, let alone provide entertainment, so they all decided to call it a night. Cirrus had a shower first due to having exerted herself so much that day. She emerged from the cramped bathroom feeling much cleaner and found Blaze already fast asleep. She chuckled, climbed onto the bed, and snuggled into her normal spooning position. The stallion stirred just enough to bring a foreleg over her to draw her close, and then sleep claimed the tired mare.

Light flooding the compartment quickly woke the Peregrines. Neither had thought to pull the window blind down before hitting the mattress. Blaze let Cirrus use the toilet before he had a shower. He heard a knock on the door while toweling off, and when he came out, he found Daring and Trixie waiting for him. Both mares looked and smelled freshly showered, so it was obvious that they had both risen earlier than the Peregrines. He wondered why but Trixie soon explained.

“Most passengers prefer to sleep in late either because they have nothing better to do, or they took the opportunity to stay up late drinking and… celebrating, so the dining car won’t be crowded yet. Trixie figured that you would want to make the most of the opportunity.”

Cirrus said, “I’ve got the solar panels connected to the power pack. If someone… somepony would like to hold it against the window, I’ll tape it in place. Then we can head off to the diner.”

Trixie levitated the panel into position and Cirrus did her best to ensure it stayed there with liberal use of adhesive tape, also provided by the unicorn mare. Satisfied that it was secure, the four then headed off to breakfast.

The Peregrines had not paid much attention to the landscape until then, but while waiting for their meals, they saw desert surrounded by sharp mountain ridges, and the train occasionally dived through narrow passes. It reminded Blaze of the time they had been traveling through Utah. This area lay on the northern edge of the Bone-Dry Desert as he recalled from the map, so it was not surprising that the scenery was similar.

A thought occurred to Cirrus as the rocky ground zoomed past at an incredible speed for a steam-powered train. “Trixie, you said that the locomotives need to have their fire crystals renewed after about eight hours at most, but it’s been more like twelve so far.”

It was Daring who answered though. “We stopped at a refueling station in the middle of the night. You were too fast asleep to notice.”

“I didn’t see anything on the map before the junction,” Blaze commented.

“It’s little more than a whistle-stop platform. It was only built to service the trains and sits next to one of the very few rivers in this region. That supplies the water for the boilers while a special freight train brings fresh fire crystals and takes expended ones away to be recharged. There’s another refueling stop due later this morning.”

Blaze nodded. “That makes sense. I suppose we’ll refuel again at the junction?”

“Correct,” Daring affirmed. “We should get there around five o’clock. There’s a layover there while they drop off and pick up freight and passengers, so we can get out and stretch our legs and wings.”

“Sounds good. Hey, there’s Gizelle.” The stallion waved to catch the attention of the griffon. “Mind if she joins us?”

There was no objection, although Cirrus had to move to the other side of the table with Daring and Trixie to enable the larger griffon to accept the invitation to join them, seating herself beside Blaze.

“Good morning,” Gizelle said cheerfully. “I hope I’m not disturbing your breakfast?”

“We just placed our orders a few minutes ago. I suggest you do the same,” Blaze said.

They caught the attention of the waiter and the griffoness ordered a cheese and bacon omelet. She was surprised at the lack of reaction by any of the ponies to the mention of a meat product.

“Tried it,” Daring said with a shrug. “Can’t say I’m a fan.”

Trixie rolled her eyes. “Daring will try anything once. Trixie is used to her foibles.”

Blaze said, “Cirrus and I have eaten bacon often, but not since we got to Equestria.”

Gizelle grinned. “I’ve never heard of a pony that liked bacon so much, let alone two.”

“That’s because we weren’t ponies back then.”

The griffon’s eyebrows rose. She looked first at Daring Do, then back to Blaze. “Will that be the inspiration for your next novel? Sweet! I’ve got to hear the tale behind that!”

Their food arrived while Blaze and Cirrus told their recent life story. When they finished, the griffoness looked up to the ceiling of the dining car while drumming her claws on the tabletop. “Absolutely fascinating! But it needs work.”

Daring looked at Trixie and blinked before bringing her gaze back to Gizelle. “Excuse me?”

“It needs more excitement! It needs more danger! You won’t be able to reach the bestseller list with Daring Do and the Lost Archeologists with the unvarnished truth. Where are the bad guys? Who tried to kidnap your charges to get them to spill the dangerous secrets of their home world where a single misstep leads to certain death?”

Cirrus smirked. “Well, I’m glad to have sparked your imagination. Are you proposing a dashing griffoness play the role of the kidnapper?”

Gizelle cawed with laughter. “As if! I got kicked out of our school play because I couldn’t remember the one line I was supposed to say: ‘I am the Prince of Chichester!’” She deflated a bit. “Still no idea if that place actually exists. Anyway, I figure any portrayal of me would go just as poorly.”

She waved a clawed hand to make her point. “What you’ve described sounds like about as exciting as it gets… for an archaeological dig. That won’t bring in any bits with a book nor get you a retainer for a theater production. What about the collapsing worldgate? Now that could ramp up the tension. Trixie yells a warning to Blaze on the other side, but the time differential makes it impossible for him to hear. All the while, the seconds tick off on Trixie’s side while minutes and hours pass on the adjacent world.”

Blaze shivered, his eyes wide and looking anywhere except at his mate. For her part, Cirrus slowly turned to regard Blaze, her eyes narrowing. “You seem awfully nervous, dear.”

“Well, of course! That was … uh … would have been terrifying.”

The pegasus mare narrowed her eyes further. “You neglected to tell Gizelle the final time differential calculation. Daring, what was it again?” When Trixie opened her mouth and took a breath, Cirrus cut her off. “I’m asking Daring Do.”

The tan pegasus said, “Ahhh… three hundred something.”

“I knew it!” Cirrus stood up and put her muzzle right next to Blaze’s. “You two did get one more measurement. And the worldgate collapsed right afterward.” She pointed a hoof. “And you chose to ignore Trixie’s attempt to talk you out of doing something so dangerous, didn’t you?”

Blaze’s eyes went wide and he stammered, lost for words.

Seeing his face, the other three at the table laughed up a storm with Trixie pounding the table. After several seconds, the unicorn wiped her eyes. “This is going directly into Trixie’s research notes.”

“Oh, how so?” asked Gizelle.

“The fastest recorded time of developing Mare’s Intuition!” This set off another round of laughter.

Blaze folded his ears back on his head. “I’m … uh … I’m sorry, dear. I’ll make it up to you.”

“Do so by not hiding the truth from me. We’re in this together, a hundred percent.” Cirrus followed this up with a kiss that lingered.

Once the audience had calmed down, Cirrus looked at Gizelle. “Well then. Now that you’ve heard all of our story…” Blaze flinched. “… let’s hear yours. How did you end up in Foaledo?”

Gizelle unconsciously extended her wings a bit. “I’ve got restless-wing syndrome. It disturbs my sleep and tires me out. I heard that ponies have a cure for that and I could get treated in Canterlot.”

Trixie asked, “Are you from Griffonstone? It seems to Trixie that you have taken the long way to Canterlot, if so.”

“Yeah, I am, but I’ve been working on the shipping routes to earn money for both traveling and for the treatment. Foaledo just happened to be the port where I ended up after my last trip to Abyssinia. That’s also why I had so much stuff to load onto the train. I’m kind of bringing all my possessions with me.”

“Does that mean that you’re planning to keep on the move after you’ve been treated, or are you planning to settle down in Equestria?” Blaze asked.

“That’s a good question. I really haven’t decided yet, although there’s nothing that is drawing me back to Griffonstone. Traveling for a living has been fine with me so far, but finding a place to settle down has its attractions too.”

“Trixie understands exactly what you mean,” the unicorn replied with a nod. “Thankfully, Daring and Trixie have our wagon which allows us the best of both worlds.”

“Sounds like a heck of a wagon. Dimensionally transcendental, I bet. Not that I could afford one at the moment. I have only a talon-full of bits to spare.”

The dining car was getting crowded by that time, so the five finished their coffee and headed back to their rooms. Blaze accompanied Gizelle to her compartment to have the in-depth discussion that she had promised. After checking that the solar setup was still in place and functioning properly, Cirrus went to Daring and Trixie’s compartment where Daring taught Cirrus some more flight theory and basic weather magic instruction. Both pegasi preferred the openness of the unobstructed view through the window there rather than the claustrophobic feel of the Peregrine’s room with the solar panel blocking most of the light. That was fine with Trixie, and she borrowed their room to begin work on the next novel.

That only lasted until about midday when they all stopped for refreshments. Afterward, Daring reluctantly set to work on her official report, the part of her job she least enjoyed. Blaze resumed his magic lessons with Trixie, while Cirrus began reading a book that Trixie had loaned to her – “Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone”.

“Now arriving at Four Ways Junction! Change here for trains to Mount Aris, Klugetown, Irwind, and New Haven. This train will continue to Appleloosa, Ponyville, and Canterlot. Continuing passengers may leave the train but are reminded that it will depart again in two hours whether you are back onboard or not. Welcome to Four Ways Junction.”

The Peregrines and their friends were not the only ponies making the most of the opportunity to take a break from the confinement of the carriages and stretch their limbs. While the train had stopped for refueling earlier that day, the passengers were not allowed to disembark. Considering that it took the depot’s crew only minutes to swap the crystals and refill the water tanker, it was not surprising that the conductor did not want passengers wandering off.

Four Ways Junction township was at the crossroads of two major train routes, not to mention spur lines to mines and farms. It had grown up catering to the needs of travelers and businesses requiring the transport of goods. As such, there were numerous restaurants and hotels near the station, and there was even a recreation park directly abutting the passenger platform. Numerous ponies used it to trot or gallop around it for exercise, while pegasi and other winged species took to the air.

Cirrus brought her phone to take lots of photographs both on the ground and from the air, finding the railway town just as interesting as the more cosmopolitan Foaledo city. Blaze observed the crew of the locomotive changing with fresh ponies. There were eight of them who worked in shifts to tend to the steam engine over the lengthy haul. The stallion knew that running the complex machines was an intensive job, even after eliminating the need to stoke a fire, so it took a large crew to keep on top of it without exhausting the individuals on the twenty-two-hour journey.

None of their group took advantage of the restaurants, preferring instead to get as much exercise as possible before they had to depart on the next leg of their journey. The train left on schedule, turning north on its route up the heart of Equestria. They repeated their strategy of waiting for the dinner rush to ease before heading to the diner for their meal. They found Gizelle waiting for a small single table to free up and invited her to join them at an already available large table. As they had at breakfast, the ponies and griffoness found each other’s company enjoyable.

After the meal, Gizelle retired for the night, explaining that her condition meant that she needed to get more sleep when she could, to make up for the times she could not. Daring and Trixie piled into the Peregrine’s compartment to finally watch the last Indiana Jones movie after Cirrus had declared that the laptop was fully charged. When Trixie asked why no more sequels were made, Blaze explained with a straight face that no audience wanted to see an old actor try to recapture the antics of their youth.

Trixie and Daring returned to their compartment after that, and Blaze went straight to bed. The stallion was exhausted after spending so much time working on his magic with Trixie, and then galloping like a madpony in the park later. Cirrus elected to read another chapter of the novel before turning in for the night.

Breakfast was a near repeat of the previous day with Gizelle joining them once again. The only major difference was the scenery. The desert had been left behind and its place were two different landscapes. To the right, facing the locomotive, were towering cliffs topped with greenery. Daring informed the Peregrines that this was the western limit of the Forbidden Jungle. To the left was a different kind of low-lying forest interspersed with swamps. The rail line followed a narrow strip of land elevated above it that varied from a couple of miles wide to around a hundred yards. As it passed through one of the wider areas, a small mining town appeared along with a whistle-stop platform that served it. The train did not pause there and it was quickly left behind.

The group was just finishing their coffee when the carriage abruptly lurched, throwing anything unsecured onto the passengers on the forward side of the tables. Anyone standing in the aisles either fell over or struggled to maintain their stance. The train continued to decelerate hard as everyone grabbed onto something to secure themselves. Trixie’s horn lit up and caught an elderly mare as she nearly faceplanted into the floor. Cries of pain came from those who had either hit something or were struck by flying objects. Then the braking turned into shuddering jerks accompanied by crashing noises as the train finally came to a halt.

Daring Do jumped off her seat like a shot, closely followed by Trixie. “Something’s seriously wrong. I’m going to check it out,” the pegasus stated, heading for the exit.

“Wait for us!” Blaze declared, following suit.

Cirrus looked at Gizelle and they silently nodded in agreement. All five moved into the next carriage and piled out of the exit. Cirrus noticed that none of the other ponies followed, although a couple were rendering aid.

The dining car was several carriages back from the locomotive, but they quickly saw what caused the commotion. A number of trees lay across the tracks and, despite the best efforts of the engineers, the locomotive had crashed into them and derailed. Because this had happened on a strong bend around boulders that blocked the view, there had not been sufficient warning to brake in time. With trees rigorously cleared away from the tracks, it couldn’t be an accident.

“This is an ambush!” Blaze yelled, now very worried.

“You got that right,” Daring replied, pointing toward the rear of the train.

Several swarthy bipedal figures swarmed onto the freight cars, the contents of which were their obvious target.

“What are they?” Cirrus asked.

“Diamond dogs,” Trixie replied. “Uncouth creatures who would rather steal than trade. They’re a constant nuisance to the mining townships in this area. However, Trixie has never heard of them holding up a train before.”

“Let’s show them why that’s a bad idea, Trix.” Daring shot off towards the thieves.

The unicorn mare turned toward the others. “If you are going to help, don’t stay on the ground. Diamond dogs can dig through dirt as fast as you can swim through water. Their favorite trick is to ambush you from below. Watch out for their forepaws – they are hideously strong. They are helpless off the ground, however, and deathly afraid of heights.”

“I’m in,” Blaze declared. He then yelped as Trixie levitated him on top of a carriage.

Trixie said as she joined him, “Be prepared to show Trixie how much you’ve learned.” She then galloped down the line of carriages with Blaze on her heels.

Above the unicorns, Cirrus flew after Daring without a word.

Gizelle grinned. “I’ll show ‘em how we dealt with pirates.” She followed the pegasi, flexing her talons in anticipation.

Daring was already taking on the diamond dogs. She hurtled into one hoof first, knocking it unconscious. Ignoring it for the moment, she came up behind another and hooked her forelegs under the dog’s armpits. She then flew straight up, causing the dog to freeze in fear. Daring took her captive over to the nearby swamp and dropped him before returning to the fray. The dog could sink or swim, but it was out of the picture for now.

Cirrus saw that tactic and chose a dog climbing up to the roof of a freight car as her target. While she managed to grab him, his struggles almost made her lose her grip before her flight magic kicked in and they gained altitude, fortunately making him lock up. She released the dog at the top of her arc, sending him sailing deeper into the swamp. As Cirrus angled back to the train, she decided to choose a smaller target next time. She had to remind herself that she was no longer the big, strong fighter she once was.

Gizelle’s targets weren’t so fortunate. The griffon’s victims had talon wounds, one from disabling slashes and another from deep punctures from being roughly picked up before being lifted high in the air and dropped onto the hard ground.

Among Trixie’s repertoire were several offensive spells. While she limited herself to non-fatal ones, several dogs were quickly put out of action by blasts from her horn. She had not taught those to Blaze yet, so the stallion resorted to other means. He had proven adept at levitation and its various nuances, so he concentrated on those. One dog found itself hurtling through the air, yelping in fear as it accelerated toward the swamp. Two that tried to climb up onto the carriage behind them failed to account for the pony’s keen hearing, and Blaze slammed them telekinetically together over and over again until both were unconscious. He then pushed them over the side and turned to find his next target.

Daring and Cirrus were rapidly dealing with any solitary diamond dogs that were in the open. When the thieves had grown cautious about the pegasi, the duo had changed tactics. Cirrus acted as a decoy, distracting the dog from Daring’s hoof attack from the rear. If the dog anticipated the attack and turned, Cirrus would scoop it up and carry it away. She was glad that the dogs did not use ranged weapons, although she had seen a few clubs among them. The unicorns were picking those off though.

It was soon clear that the band of diamond dogs were no match for the concerted efforts of the five defenders. The remaining ones abandoned their raid, diving into the ground and rapidly disappearing. The fight seemed to be over before a scream came from the nearest passenger carriage. Blaze’s ears swiveled toward the sound and he growled. He jumped off the roof, levitating himself to the door of the carriage.

Trixie’s eyebrows rose. “Trixie has not taught him self-levitation yet.” She quickly followed.

Inside the carriage, Blaze found a smaller diamond dog struggling to remove an ostentatious diamond necklace from an earth pony mare. While the pony was terrified, her earth pony strength was countering the dog’s enough to thwart his efforts to steal the jewelry.

“Leave that mare alone!” Blaze commanded.

The dog responded by showing his claws and snarling, “Stay away, pony, or this one dies.”

“I don’t think so.” A glow enveloped the dog’s arm and it snapped. The dog howled in agony even as he let go of the mare. As soon as the mare stumbled away a step, Blaze hurled the would-be thief out the nearest window. Fortunately for the dog, it was open for ventilation because air conditioning was not a thing in Equestria.

Trixie had been prepared to intervene, but instead, she watched with her jaw dropped as Blaze dispatched the dog with ruthless efficiency. This stallion was not only handsome but also very much not a helpless colt as so many males were when faced with danger. If the mare had found him attractive before, she was now hopelessly smitten. If only he wasn’t already married to a mare who struggled with her own nature and was not ready to deal with potential herdmates.

Daring came inside with a grin on her face. “I saw the dog you defenestrated, Trix. He struggled to get away, so I helped him into the swamp.”

“It wasn’t Trixie,” the mare replied, her eyes pointing toward Blaze who was checking the dog’s victim.

Daring’s eyes widened before nodding approvingly. “We’ve found a good one,” she said.

Trixie nodded. “Let’s hope we get to keep him,” she replied with a meaningful waggle of her eyebrows. Then she took a deep breath. “But now, we have a bigger problem to deal with.”

“Yeah, getting the locomotive back on the tracks won’t be easy.”

Trixie chuckled. “It might be easier than you think. The bigger problem may be any damage caused by the crash.”

“Time to check it out. Hey, Blaze! Come on – we’ve got more work to do.”

The stallion nodded, satisfied that the earth pony was okay. “Coming!”

They joined Cirrus and Gizelle who were already heading toward the steam engine. The griffoness looked smugly satisfied and licked the blood off her talons. Trixie and Daring were both impressed that neither of the Peregrines were bothered by the sight as most ponies would be. They put it down to their human heritage.

As they walked toward the derailed locomotive, Blaze said, “Dealing with those diamond dogs wasn’t too hard, so why is it that we five were the only ones to take them on?”

Daring replied, “You don’t understand the common pony. Since you’ve only dealt with Trixie and me in dangerous situations, you’ve based your assumptions on us. However, we’re outliers. My name says it all, and Trix has become inured to danger while traveling with me, not to mention spending a week in Ponyville. Most ponies are timid and fearful in the face of physical threats. They opt to run away or hide if running is not an option. Royal Guards need to have that reflex trained out of them. Even among soldiers, few would take action as you did without hesitation, instead dithering and trying to appease their opponent. And then there’s the mindset to actually deal with the threat. The average unicorn knows a light spell, how to levitate something, and perhaps a skill associated with their special talent. Trixie knows dozens of ways to combat enemies, or shield herself if preferable. You’ve already far surpassed the common unicorn.”

“In more ways than Trixie suspected,” the mare murmured, causing Daring to flick an ear in her direction.

The pegasus continued. “Cirrus showed far more fighting spirit than most pegasi. Give her some serious training and she might be as good in a scrap as me someday.”

Blaze chuckled. “Sky was never one to back down from a fight. Thankfully, she had the muscle to back up her words.”

Gizelle said, “No need to ask why I joined in. My secondary job on the ships I sailed with was to provide muscle and talons for fighting off pirates. Not the first rumble I’ve been in.”

Cirrus looked glumly at the locomotive that was canted to the left as it was partially off the rail bedding. A stretch of the ballast and ties had been torn up, and one rail was twisted aside. “This looks like a much bigger problem.”

One of the engineers approached the group – a grizzled earth pony stallion with orange fur and a jet-black mane. “You can say that again, lass. We’re going to have to get a work gang sent down from Appleloosa to fix this mess. We’ll send off a magic missive as soon as my buddies have finished assessing the damage. Thanks for dealing with those diamond dogs, by the way. They’ve been troublemakers before, but they’ve never resorted to derailing the train until now.”

“You’re welcome, but Trixie thinks we can do more for you. First, let us get your steam engine back on an undamaged section of track.”

The engineer frowned. “Begging your pardon, ma’am, but lifting a locomotive is hard work for a team of trained ponies. What do you think you could accomplish?”

“The Great and Powerful Trixie is a graduate of Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns, and her apprentice is very gifted. Trixie guarantees you’ll be surprised at what we can accomplish.”

The stallion chuckled. “Knock yourself out, ma’am. It will be amusing watching you. I could do with a laugh after this morning’s events.”

Trixie smiled confidently and said, “Come, Blaze. We have a job to do.”

Blaze looked surprised but followed the mare. “Umm, are you sure about this?”

“Trixie has seen and assessed what you can do when motivated. You will not prove Trixie incorrect in her judgment. Now, while this locomotive may indeed surpass Trixie’s abilities alone, between us, we will be able to lift the train. First, however, we need to simplify the problem.” She turned around and called back, “Engineer – would you uncouple the carriages from the locomotive, please?”

The pony nodded. “Since you asked so politely, and because we need to do so anyway, I’ll do that.”

The carriage immediately behind the locomotive was also derailed, but only its first bogie. The engineer directed a colleague to stand by the manual brake just in case, then decoupled the carriage. Trixie’s horn lit up and the derailed section rose into the air.

“Would you big strong earth ponies please push the carriages back so Trixie can put this one down on an undamaged section?”

The surprised crew hastened to do as she asked, and it was not long before Trixie set it on the tracks once more. The engineer oversaw the earth pony applying the manual brake and then returned.

“That was impressive, lass. I’m beginning to believe that you might be right about the locomotive. Steady Steam at your service, ma’am. What do you need done next?”

“Have you finished clearing the tracks ahead of debris?”

Steady Steam looked in that direction, then nodded. “Yep. They’ve just finished.”

“Then stand clear, please.” Trixie nudged Blaze forward and they moved up beside the locomotive. “Blaze, you will concentrate on just lifting. Trixie will do all the guiding as well as her share of the lifting.”

Blaze gulped. “That’s many more tons than I’ve ever tried to lift before.”

“Let Trixie tell you a little secret about magic. Half the trick to accomplishing a spell is knowing that you can do it. Trixie knows that you are capable, so now it is up to you to believe in yourself.”

Blaze blinked, then smiled. “If you say so, O Great and Powerful Trixie.”

The mare smirked. “On three, we lift. One.” They lit their horns and drew on their magic. “Two.” They focused their levitation spells. “Three!” They cast the spells, and before the engineers’ disbelieving eyes, the multi-ton steam engine rose slowly up, lifted by the dual glows of magic. It moved forward until it was safely placed on the rails. The fierce shine of the unicorns’ horns extinguished and both heaved a sigh of relief.

“Thanks for having faith in me, Trixie,” Blaze said.

“Like Trixie said, it was faith in yourself that mattered. Next time, pay more attention to your professor.”

The stallion grinned. “You bet, Teach!”

Steady Steam approached once more. “Now I’ve seen it all. You two have saved us an immense amount of time and effort.”

“Do you need help with the rail as well?” Trixie asked.

“Nay, lass. We’ve got that covered. We’re equipped to make emergency repairs. Let the experts do their job this time.” The engineers were already pulling tools and parts from the first carriage which was not only the crew quarters but also a mobile workshop.

“Good. Now, Trixie needs a strong drink and a nap,” she said as Daring, Cirrus, and Gizelle joined them.

“I’ll pass the word that you and your companions get anything you want comped for the rest of the trip. You’ve earned it.”

“Music to Trixie’s ears,” she replied with a grin.

Daring said, “Nice timing too. We hadn’t paid the breakfast bill yet!”

There were chuckles all around as the group headed back to their carriage.

“Hey, will this get into the next book too?” Gizelle asked.

Daring replied, “Of course, and this time it will feature a griffoness guest star.”

“Awesome!” she crowed.

# # # # # # #

Author's Note

Thanks once more to Airy Words for ~~reducing me to a sobbing mess~~ editing my story and ~~shamelessly adding his own words~~ suggesting meaningful additions.