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Chapter 1: The Sun Comes Up, and So Does the Heat
Six O' Clock (6:00) in the morning, a white unicorn lay on the floor of his room, passed out. A misty fog covered the glass windows. The unicorn opened his eyes, he saw the the posts of his bed and two little tan hooves peeking out from the comforters. A white light shined through the window and onto Trebass' face. He shielded his eyes with his hooves, as he slowly got off his back. He had been sleeping on the floor since Royal Flush was resting in his own bed. The tan earth pony rustled under the covers, as the floorboards underneath Trebass creaked. The unicorn slowly made his way to the door. He looked behind him to see if Royal was still asleep, and she was.
Trebass slipped through the doorway and down the stairs into the living room. A blue pegasus was laying down on the couch, drool was leaking from his mouth, his snoring quite loud, and his brown mane rustled in a mess. A white earth pony foal was curled up on a comfortable looking sofa chair, quiet as a mouse. The white unicorn walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge.
"I'm having a strong sense of Déjà vu." He thought to himself as he took a carton of juice from the fridge, and a glass from the cupboard.
Trebass poured the juice into the glass, as the silence outside sent a chill up his spine.
He glanced at the clock above the sink, "Six (6) huh? I could have gotten a few more hours of sleep. Well, I've never been able to go back to sleep after I've already woken up."
The clock ticked for what seemed like forever, but then something made Trebass slightly jump.
*RING RING RING*
The clock had begun to ring as it struck eight (8) O' clock. Silence filled the room for about five (5) minutes, until a black and red pegasus trotted down the stairs. Alexander yawned, then stretched his arms and wings.
"Morning friend!" Alex quietly whispered.
"Good morning, I woke up rather early this morning." Trebass said as he gazed out the living room window.
The sun was just only coming over hills, and the blanket of clouds was moving away for it to shine.
"Ah, just in time for the most anticipated time of the year..." Trebass finished the last sip of his juice.
"And what time would that be?" Alex asked.
Trebass replied, "Summer time."
Four more hooves began to walk down the stairs into the living room. A blond mare yawned as she hopped off the final stair step.
"Does anypony wanna explain why I'm here?" Royal Flush asked.
Alex and Trebass decided to be honest with her, and explained the adventure that they had the night before. Trebass explained everything except for the time when he was alone with Sin Maneder.
"Inter-dimensional travel? Geez, I just woke up guys. It's really far-fetched if you ask me." Royal sipped a cup of coffee that Alex had brewed for her.
Trebass sighed, "We're sorry if it's too early in the morning. But we thought you should know."
Alex, who was standing by the sink, looked over to the mare, who was sitting at the dining table, "Yeah, that creature kidnapped you from our world to sacrifice you to the ancient god 'Ra' of the ancient civilization of Equit." The scientist attempted to make up an excuse for everypony, as he feared it would compromise the Eyeglass Project.
Trebass rolled his eyes and remained silent by the living room window. Shock had just woken up and sat next to Royal at the dining table. The white unicorn looked at the two with a rather angry look. But only Alexander noticed his hostility. Pip was still sleeping in the comfortable round chair, despite the rest of the ponies talking.
"Shouldn't we get this foal home?" Trebass asked in an angry tone.
"Yeah, so why don't you get on with it?" Shock said smugly.
Trebass' face turned a violent red, he felt like smashing anything he could find. But he calmed himself, as he nudged Pip awake. The foal rubbed his eyes, as he sat up straight with a tired look on his face. His back was turned to the window.
"Morning kiddo." Trebass ruffled the foal's mane.
Pip yawned, "Huh? Where am I?"
Trebass realized that the events of the night before might have been too much for him. Trebass attempted to make up an excuse like Alexander, "Well, you slipped and fell on your head little one! You were out for about an entire day."
Alex and Royal chuckled and giggled to themselves. Shock had a blank facial expression on his face.
"Well, I think we should get you home to your mum." Trebass sat on the head of the lounge chair, staring out the window.
The sun finally rose over the hills and into the blue sky. The rays of light shone into the living room onto the glass coffee table in the center of the room. The light reflected off of the glass and created a dance of colours around the room that lifted Trebass' spirits. It reminded him of that sunny day where he showed Royal around ponyville for the first time. He then remembered the night at the café.
"I don't think that's quite what happened. You don't have to make up excuses you know? I was conscious for most of the time mister." Pip explained.
Trebass fumbled his words, "W-what? How did you--"
"Us younger ones are often underestimated, we're ponies too dontcha' know?" Pip hopped off his chair.
"Well, I apologize in advance." Trebass said, sounding embarrassed.
Pip smiled, "No need mister! I understand why you would be concerned for me, but many thanks anyways!"
Alex stepped into the living room, walking past Shock who had his arm around Royal Flush.
"Now, I'm sure you're eager to see your mum again." Alex said, bending down to pat Pip's head.
"Actually, I'm not. I think I'd rather stay with you lot! You seem a lot more fun!" The foal jumped up and down, his tone changed from serious to cheerful.
"Uh, I really think you shou--" Alex was cut off by Trebass putting a hoof on his shoulder, and pulling him back.
Trebass stepped in front of Alex, "Well, if that's what you want... Then we'd be glad to keep you with us until you want to go back to your parents."
Pip jumped for joy, as Alex pulled Trebass back.
The black pegasus whispered, "Are you sure that's such a good idea? Your not exactly on good terms with the police right now..."
"Just go with it. Trust me on this one alright?" Trebass replied.
Alex waited a while before nodding.
"So... Now what are you all planning to do?" Pip asked.
Trebass thought for a moment, then replied, "Hmm, well it is summer break already... Perhaps a trip to the beach? It's been such a long time since I've been there! We could take a train there, it would only take about fifteen (15) minutes to reach South Hoof Beach."
"I agree, we should go to the beach!" said Alex.
"Same here, it'll be fun! I don't think Pinkie Pie will mind if I disappear for a little bit." Royal Flush said, as she trotted up behind Trebass.
"Then I guess I have to go too." Shock stood up from his chair.
"You don't HAVE to." Trebass grunted.
"Well then I WANT to." Shock Bolt returned the grunt.
Royal stomped her hoof, "Not this again! I hope you two will at least TRY to get along on this trip."
The white unicorn and the blue pegasus both turned away from each other.
Royal sighed, "Alrighty then, come along now dear. We've got to reserve some train tickets."
The tan earth pony and the white foal both trotted out of the house.
"Look pal, you're way outta line this time! What the hell was that crap at the dining table?!" Trebass shouted as soon as Royal and Pip left the house.
Alex sighed, placed his hoof on this face, then stepped back into the kitchen to make more coffee.
"Bullshit! She doesn't belong to anypony. Let alone you!" Shock replied in the same tone as Trebass.
"You sure have a funny way of showing that." Trebass huffed.
Alex spoke angrily from the kitchen, "I'm afraid I have to take Trebass' side on this one, I'm pretty sure what you just said contradicts with what you were doing with Royal at MY dining table."
It looked as if Shock was about to break the decorative vase on Alex's display cabinet. But instead he rudely marched out of the front door.
"He thinks he's all high and mighty. What a load of horse apples." Trebass trotted over to the smell of fresh coffee.
Alex handed him a cup of coffee, "I wonder what happened."
Trebass raised his eyebrow, "What do you mean?"
"When somepony is easily aggravated, it usually means that something happened in the past for that pony that causes the aggravation." Alex said as he glanced at a photo on his kitchen counter.
"Perhaps, or maybe they're just born that way." Trebass grunted.
Alex replied, "Harsh man. But I'll agree that Shock was acting strangely for a knight."
Trebass looked surprised, "A knight?"
"You didn't know? He's part of the royal guard back at Canterlot. I didn't recognize him, because he wasn't wearing his guard armour. I saw him without his helmet at one of my concerts in Canterlot though." Alex replied again.
"I still don't think he should come to the beach with us." Trebass moped.
"Well you'll have to deal with it, because Royal won't go with only one of you." Alex took a sip from his coffee mug.
"I think we should start packing now." Trebass marched up to his room.
"I wonder if those two will ever get along..." Alex said, as he enjoyed the heat of the sun inside his home.
The black pegasus sighed, "If only my home wasn't a battlefield."
Chapter 2: Five Star Forgetfulness
Royal Flush and Pip came back to Alex's house, five (5) train ticket in the mare's mouth. Trebass and Alex were both shoving towels, deflated beach balls, bottles of sunscreen, and beach mats into a small duffel bag. The mare giggled, as Pip rushed over to help the two stallions. Pip plopped his rump on top of the duffel bag. After a while, they finally packed all their beach equipment into the bag.
The white unicorn took a breather, "Finally! So we're all set? Tickets and everything?"
Royal nodded, and handed each pony their ticket. She held her own ticket in her mouth, and an extra one for Shock. Suddenly, as if summoned, Shock slowly crept through the doorway and into the living room.
"Well then, shall we get going?" Shock Bolt asked.
Trebass replied in a calm tone, "And what exactly did you do to contribute to our little trip?"
Everypony in the room stared at the blue pegasus, as if he had done something wrong. When in fact, he didn't do anything at all.
Shock paused for a moment before speaking, "It's funny you should ask that. You know The Coucher Jument ?"
"Coucher is.... Sunset right? And Jument is... Mare? Right?" Alex attempted to translate the name Shock had given them.
"Oh! Isn't it that really fancy hotel by the beach in Haywaii?" Royal cheerfully spoke up.
Shock Bolt smiled, "Correct. I reserved two (2) rooms there for a week. I have a friend up in Haywaii who works there, and he gave me a 'Friends and Family Discount'."
"So we're staying at a fancy five (5) star restaurant?!" Royal Flush squealed.
"Well I'll be, you can actually do something useful." Trebass scoffed.
Alex and the white unicorn chuckled.
"If you don't like my contribution, then I can simply cancel your reservations." Shock gave the two stallions an intimidating look.
Alex immediately covered Trebass and his own mouth with his hooves while the white unicorn waved his arms wildly around.
"Well, it says here that we can change our ticket's destination for a few bits. If everypony's willing to pay for their own, except Pip of course." Royal inspected her ticket closely.
Trebass spoke up, "Well then, we'll just change the ticket destination at the train station. I'll bring enough bits for all of us."
"I'll call a taxi. You all just sit tight alright?" Alex said, before he wandered off into another room.
Royal Flush suddenly burst out, "Oh no! I just realized! If we're staying in Haywaii for a week, then I need to pack more than just beach equipment! I need clothes and toiletries as well!"
Trebass realized the problem as well, and he also realized that it applied to him as well!
Trebass suggested a rather thorough and thought out plan, "Alright then, how about you run down to Pinkie's place. In fact, she might be worried about you. Since you've been gone for a couple nights. While you do that, I'll pack up some clothes and stuff like that for me and Pip. After that, Alex and I will take the taxi to Sugar Cube Corner and pick you up."
"Sounds like a plan. Okay, I'll see you in a bit!" Royal Flush said, as she waved goodbye to her friends and galloped out of Alex's house.
As soon as the mare left, Alex came into the room, "Well, the taxi will be here in about ten (10) minutes. Where'd Royal go?"
Trebass explained his plan once again, and the unicorn disappeared into his room upstairs. Alex followed him upstairs, but went into his own room instead. Shock Bolt was left alone in the living room of the house.
Trebass opened his closet, and found a medium sized luggage. He opened his drawers and threw a pile of clothes into the baggage. He trotted into his bathroom gathered a toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste, and placed them in a toiletry bag, then threw the bag into his luggage.
His horn glowed, and the luggage floated onto his back. He trotted down the staircase and placed his luggage near the front door. Alex followed soon after.
*HONK*
A loud noise came from outside Alex's house. Trebass rushed to the window, and a long black and yellow cart was being pulled by a muscular brown stallion. The taxi had arrived.
Trebass and Alex struggled to pull their luggages towards the taxi cab, as Shock Bolt casually strutted behind them. The taxi driver loaded their bags into the trunk of the cab. They all hopped into the cab, as the brown stallion began to push the cart with his chest.
"Could you stop by Sugar Cube Corner real quick? It's on the way to the train station anyways." Trebass asked.
The stallion spoke in a deep voice, "Uhh, alright mate. But it's gonna cost a couple extra bits."
Trebass agreed, and the four stallions were slowly making their way to Sugar Cube Corner. About ten (10) minutes passed before they reached their first destination.
Roya Flush was waiting on the steps of the very pink Sugar Cube Corner. Two pink baggages with handles on them sat beside her. Trebass hopped off the taxi and used his magic to move the luggages into the back of the cab. They earth pony and the unicorn hopped into two of the four passenger seats in the vehicle.
They rode through the sunny streets of Ponyville. The colts and fillies were playing in the park, as couples sipped cold beverages at cafés around town. The laughter of the young ponies, and sitting next to his secret crush brought a smile to his face.
Finally, after about half an hour, they finally arrived at the train station. They were fifteen (15) minutes early, and had a bit of time to kill.
While Trebass, Pip, and Royal Flush walked around the train station, they chatted with the travelling merchants that had set up stalls around the station. A large variety of toys and trinkets were laid out on the floor on mats and blankets. Royal Flush begged Trebass to buy her a cute little bird necklace that she had found.
"We haven't even left Ponyville yet, and you're already buying souvenirs?" Trebass joked.
The train's whistle finally blew. The sound echoed throughout the air. One by one, the group of ponies boarded the train. Once they entered, the breeze of the air conditioning unit was an instant relief from the beating sun's heat outside. They found their seats and sat down, as the train departed the station; as they got farther and farther away from Ponyville.
Chapter 3: Arrival at Paradise
The train glided over the train tracks at the speed of an average flying pegasus. Royal, Trebass, Alex and Shock Bolt sat at a table that had benches on both sides. Royal Flush was resting her head on Trebass' shoulder. Trebass didn't notice until he had woken up in his seat. He had been asleep for three (3) hours, and the it was only about noon. Shock slept as straight as a ruler, it was as if he was simply resting his eyes. Alex had his head hanging behind his seat, a pair of sunglasses sat on his face. Pip was eating a sandwich that Alex had packed the little foal. Trebass glanced over to the mare on his shoulder, he smiled. He looked out the window, and this smile grew even larger.
Outside Trebass' window was the longest beach he had ever seen in his life. The pale coloured sand ran for miles just inches away from the beautiful sky blue ocean water. Palm trees were spread out across the beach, giving little patches of shade from the burning heat. The beach was filled with ponies relaxing and enjoying themselves in the sun.
"Wow, maybe this won't turn out to be such a drag after all." Trebass sighed in relief.
The unicorn's voice woke up the sleeping mare. She yawned, as she removed her head from Trebass' shoulder, "Oh... Good morning! Oh goodness! Look at that beach!"
Shock Bolt's eyes snapped open, and Alex swung his head forward quickly, which sent his sunglasses onto his nose.
"What? A beach!?" Shock and Alex both said at the same time.
Shock's jaw was hanging open, while Alex had an excited expression on his face.
A loud scream echoed throughout the train cart, "WOO HOO! WE'RE HERE!"
Trebass, Pip, Royal and Alex stared, eyes wide; at Shock Bolt, who had his hooves raised in the air. His cheeks turned rose red and an extremely embarrassed look slowly crept onto his face. Everypony else mimicked Trebass and his friends in staring awkwardly at the blue pegasus. Shock Bolt sat down slowly, and lowered his hooves.
An awkward silence filled the cart. But suddenly, a little laughter came from Pip. Trebass began to laugh as well, Royal and Alex did too. In fact, the only pony who wasn't sharing their humor was Shock Bolt himself.
For the entire trip, Shock sank into his seat, feeling embarrassed. As soon as the train stopped, and the conductor allowed the passengers to leave, Shock Bolt was the first to shoot out of the doorway and into the ticket puncher's booth. The knight had his ticket punched and flew quickly into the shuttle parking.
Trebass led his group through the ticket puncher's booth and waved to Shock Bolt, "Wait up! We can't all fly you know! And besides, it's not a big deal that you ruined your reputation as a knight by disrupting a train car full of--"
Shock cut off his unicorn companion, "Okay I get it alright?!"
Royal and Trebass giggled, as Pip looked completely clueless and innocent.
Pip's ears perked up, and he looked around, "Say, where's Alex? He was with us just a second ago."
Trebass looked around, he spotted Alex in a corner of the parking lot.
"Royal! Go and uh... Take Pip to Shock and ask him how we're gonna get to the Coucher Jument. " Trebass whispered as he turned Pip's head away from Alex.
Royal nodded, and led Pip towards Shock Bolt, who was speaking to somepony on his cellular phone. Trebass trotted over to Alex.
The black pegasus was speaking to an attractive Haywaiin mare, "Well aloha... 'Oe ho'okahikani?"
The mare giggled, and placed a necklace of 'Lei Flowers' around his neck.
"Nehinei, but I can speak fluently in your language you know?" The mare moved her hoof across is face, then trotted off.
Trebass popped in front of Alex with a joking look on his face, "So, seducing ponies already huh?"
"Wait, you could understand that?" Alex asked, startled.
Trebass stepped back from his pegasus friend, "I didn't need to. All that physical touch spoke translated all those fancy words you were speaking."
"Hah! Well, I do have that effect on mares... Wait, what's that?" Alexander pointed to a long black vehicle approaching them quite quickly.
The shiny chrome black vehicle was a limousine, and one of the longest that Trebass had ever seen. It came to a halt only a few inches away from the unicorn's hooves. Two buff looking stallions were pulling the limousine. A black car hood gave the stallions shade from the heat of the sun. A sturdy looking bar, that was used by the stallions to pull the limousine, was attached to both stallions. The other end of the bar was attached to a long chrome black box that sat on eight (8) wheels.
To Trebass, it just looked like a really long pony-drawn carriage. Alexander didn't seem phased by the expensive looking vehicle, as he rode in them quite often while he was in the Canterlot Orchestra. Royal Flush was squealing at the sight of the limousine as if she had met a famous popstar for the first time. Pip and Shock stood behind the giggling mare, looking around for anypony who might have been staring at them.
A window rolled down, and a red and white mane, that looked similar to a strip of bacon, popped out. Trebass wondered who would be the owner of that hideous mane. He and Alex trotted over to the rest of their group. A yellowish unicorn with a red beard and a clean shaven face with green eyes popped his head out the window and began to shake Shock Bolt's hoof vigorously.
"Well aloha friend! Welcome to Haywaii!" The yellow unicorn exclaimed.
Shock Bolt smiled, then replied, "Ah thank you friend! It's certainly been a while!"
"It has! Oh, and who is this beautiful thing with you?" The yellowish unicorn leaned towards Royal Flush.
Royal blushed, then giggled a bit before replying, "The name's Royal Flush. Nice to meetcha!"
The yellow unicorn took the mare's hoof into his own, "Well well, excuse my directness, but you have the most beau--"
Trebass quickly galloped over to his friends and interrupted the yellow unicorn's attempt at wooing Royal, "So, I'm assuming you're the 'friend' that Shock Bolt spoke of when he booked us that fancy hotel right?"
Shock Bolt finally realized that the yellow unicorn was flirting with Royal, and assisted Trebass in stopping him, "So Flim, I think we should speak in a more comfortable area. Should we take off for the hotel now?"
"A hotel?! The Coucher Jument is more than a hotel! It is paradise!" The yellow unicorn, Flim, exclaimed.
"Ah, sorry. So, shall we get going?" Shock asked again.
Flim nodded, and instructed the two stallions pulling the limousine to throw everypony's luggages in the trunk of the vehicle. One by one, each pony crawled into the chrome black limousine. The inside of the limousine was just as boring as the outside. The only part on the inside, that wasn't black, was the white wine coolers that were sticking out of the car walls. Trebass sat down on the comfortable black leather couch that ran through the entire limousine. He was amazed at the number of mini fridges and wine coolers that Flim could fit in his limousine.
Pip and Alex sat next to each other, the black pegasus made sure that the wine cooler was out of the foal's reach. Trebass, Royal, Shock and Flim sat on the couch across from Alex. Trebass and Shock created a blockade between Royal and Flim, making sure the flirty unicorn didn't make another move on the tan mare.
Finally, the limousine began to move. The two stallions pulled the vehicle with ease, and at great speed too. Pip pressed his hooves against the tinted windows. They speedily zoomed by palm trees and coconut trees. Mares in sunglasses and abnormally large hats trotted past the limousine when it came to a red light at an intersection.
Alex rolled down one of the windows and whistled at the mares. The mares giggled, waved to him, then trotted off in a seductive fashion. After about half an hour of watching gleeful ponies on the seaside, the chrome black limousine came to a stop. Trebass, Royal, Alex, Shock, and Pip all exited the vehicle.
In front of the six (6) ponies was a humongously tall white building. It looked like it was about twenty (20) floors high, and there was ten (10) balconies for each floor. Fountains began to spit up water on the side of the pathway that led into the white building. The pathway was made of a smooth white substance, but nopony could identify what it was. Beautiful rose bushes were scattered around the hotel's courtyard. Palm trees gave the pathway a nice dark shade to cool down the ponies from the hot summer day.
Trebass looked up at the hotel in awe, "So... This is--"
The yellow unicorn came up behind Trebass and slapped his hoof on the white unicorn's back, "That, my friend, is The Coucher Jument !"
Chapter 4: A Rotting Door
Everypony stepped into the lobby of the Coucher Jument. They each let out a loud sigh, as the air conditioning unit blew cool air against their face.
"Ah! Now that's refreshing init?" Royal twirled around the lobby, soaking in the cool air.
Trebass followed her into the lobby, he was amazed by the shiny white marble flooring and ceiling, "Huh? Oh sorry, what's refreshing?"
"Why, the cool air of course!" Royal poked Trebass' nose playfully.
Shock trotted by the two, and spoke to the receptionist pony. The discussed the room bookings, and the services and activities the hotel supplied. One of the activities interested Shock. The receptionist handed Shock a pamphlet for a golfing tournament that was taking place the next day. Shock considered himself a master of the sport of golf, as he played a lot before he became a knight.
"I think you should enter! You'd be great!" A tan mare jumped from behind the blue pegasus.
Shock jumped, "Ah! Well, I suppose... I'll consider it. Anyways, Flim will have our bags delivered to our rooms. So I think we should get settled in, we're on floor nineteen (19)."
"Nineteen (19)?! Just how many floors does this place have?" Royal shouted loudly.
Again, the group of ponies were attracting more attention to themselves than they would liked to have. Trebass noticed the ponies around them staring at the eccentric mare. He rushed over to Shock quickly, making sure Pip was following him. The white unicorn asked Shock which rooms they would be staying in.
Alex pulled out another piece of paper that the receptionist had given him, "Let's see here... Trebass, Alex, and I will be staying in room 3A on nineteenth (19th) floor?!" Shock began to grind his teeth, but attempted to hide his frustration.
Royal snatched the room listings from the blue pegasus, "Then I guess that means Pip and I will be in the next room! That's..... 3B on the nineteenth (19th) floor."
Trebass sighed, "Well, at least know she can read..."
Alex sighed with him, "But does she have to read at such a loud tone?"
"Hey! I can hear you, you know!" Royal gave them an annoyed look.
Trebass and Alex both attempted to speak, but then paused.
"Nah, too easy." Trebass let out a playful laugh.
Royal Flush raised her eyebrow at them, "Huh? I don't get it."
Each of them, except Royal, began to chuckle as they all headed for the elevator.
"I swear, those ponies can be really irritating sometimes." She said, as she galloped into the elevator with her friends.
They reached the nineteenth (19th) floor. As they exited the marble floored elevator, they stepped onto a warm red velvet rug, that ran for about twenty-five (25) meters down the hallway. For every five (5) or so meters, there were two (2) doorways, one on each side of the hallway.
"3A and 3B.... 3B.... 3B..." Trebass checked each room, then looked at the room listing that was hovering in front of him.
Trebass stopped at about halfway through the hallway and turned to his right, "Aha! Here it is. 3B! And 3A is should be right here--"
The white unicorn turned around, then stopped, and a confused look crept onto his face. The rest of his companions realized what had made him stop. It was the door behind them, the door directly across from 3B. The door to room 3B had a beautiful golden plate that had the number "3" and the letter "B" engraved on it. But when the unicorn turned around to face 3A, there was something extremely different about the golden plate on the door. In fact, at first glance, Trebass couldn't tell if the plate was gold. At first he thought it was an old run down wooden plank. But the plate wasn't the only thing that bothered the five (5) ponies. The door itself was quite ugly, as it was made of rotting, degraded, and corroded wood; compared to the other doors that were smooth and beautifully sanded.
"I thought this was supposed to be a five (5) star hotel! What's with his rotted to hell door?" Trebass asked angrily.
Alex pushed the rotting door in, "I'm sure it'll look better on the inside." Alex, Trebass and Shock entered the room 3A
Royal took Pip into the room labeled 3B, "Alright, we'll just get settled in. How about we meet by the pool after our bags arrive at our rooms?"
Trebass replied, "Sounds good." as he followed his friends through the corroded door.
Three (3) colts trotted into their room, through the corroded door. They each sighed with relief, they thought the room inside would match the rotted door behind them. Fortunately that was not the case. The luxurious suite walls were lined with beautifully painted pieces of art. The floor leading to the kitchen and living room was layered with beautiful white birch wood. The walls were covered in floral wallpaper, while the ceiling followed the same texture as the floor. The kitchen floor had lovely marble tiles symmetrically laid out. The living room had a soft velvet carpet that was as red as blood. A large couch sat directly across from a large flat screen television in the living room.
"That's an odd shade of red." Trebass pointed out.
A door on the other side of the living area led into the bedroom. Inside were two (2) queen sized beds.
Trebass immediately stepped back into the living area, "I'll sleep on the couch."
"Are you sure? There are two mattresses on this bed, we could just take one off." Alex asked.
Trebass nodded, and began to unpack his luggage near the couch.
"Well, I'm just grateful this room is at least decent." Shock said, as he slipped his suitcase underneath the bed on the right.
After settling in and unpacking, Trebass and Alex stepped outside into the hallway. Pip jumped out from behind the door, and onto Trebass' back.
"Haha, hey little guy. Where's Royal?" Trebass said, as he rustled the foal's mane.
Pip pointed to the doorway leading to Royal's room. Standing in the doorway, was an attractive blonde mare wearing a bikini top and bottom. Trebass and Alex's jaws hung open, their eyes widened. Pip rolled his eyes, then poked his head into room 3A.
Shock Bolt brushed past the little foal, the blue pegasus was wearing a golfing cap and carrying a bag of golf clubs on his back.
"So you're actually going golfing? That's great!" Royal cheered. She turned to Trebass and Alex, "It's great isn't it guys?"
The two colts mumbled softly, "Uh.. Y-yeah..."
Royal looked slightly confused, "I-Is something wrong? You guys are staring..."
"N-No! Uh, it's nothing really. So are we heading to the pool now?" Trebass quickly changed topic.
"Well, I don't think Shock is dressed well for the pool." Royal pointed out.
The blue pegasus stepped forward, "It's true I won't be in the pool with you guys. But the golf course is just on the other side of the pool fence."
"Can we just get to the pool already?" Alex groaned.
Royal nodded, then they all trotted into the elevator and began their descent. After a short time, they all stepped into the main lobby. Everypony walked outside into the sun again. A wave of heat hit Trebass like a warm gust of wind. They trotted onto the smooth stone path. Unfortunately, the stone was coloured black and had absorbed the heat from the sun.
"YEEEOWCH!" Trebass shouted in pain.
As everypony began to chuckle, the white unicorn joined them, trying to look less foolish than he already did. Finally, they reached a fork in the pathway. One path led to a beautiful green golf course that stretched as far as the eye could see. The other led to a quiet pool with hardly anypony swimming in it.
"Well then, this is where we part for now. I'll so you all later for dinner. You can ask the reception desk where the hotel restaurant is." Shock said, as he trotted off onto the green grass.
The rest of them waved good-bye to their friend, as they opened the gate to the pool. Immediately, Pip hopped in the pool, making a large splash that completely soaked Trebass. Trebass' smile was changed into an unamused look as the water made contact with his face. Alex and Royal stepped back, chuckling again. Trebass began to shake, and his nostrils flared. Luckily there were very few ponies to notice his rage.
"Here we go." Alex said, as he placed each of their towels on the pool deck chairs.
"Here we go? What do you mean?" Royal asked, as she placed a pair of urban sunglasses on her face and tied her mane back into a ponytail.
Alexander sat down and threw off his hoof sandals, "Well, ever since I've known him, Trebass has had sort of a.... Temper when it comes to getting wet unexpectedly."
Royal asked, "How bad of a tempe--"
*SPLASH*
A wave of water smashed onto the stony pool deck, and onto Royal and Alex.
"Does that answer your question?" Alex replied as he dried his black mane.
Royal spat up a little bit of water, "Very funny."
Trebass and Pip wrestled playfully in the pool. Trebass made sure Pip didn't get hurt, too much. The sun shone down on Royal and Alex as they bathed in the heat of the day. Pip was giggling in the hot tub as the current pushed him in circles. Trebass began to swim lap after to lap, hoping to catch Royal's attention. Sadly, she had fallen asleep underneath the rays of light that the sun that was shining down on her.
Eventually, after a few hours, the shadow of a nearby palm tree had begun to loom over the four (4) ponies. The shade signaled the day was coming to an end. One by one the hoof-full of ponies drifted away from the pool, and soon it was just Royal, Alexander, Pip, and Trebass.
Royal sat up, confused, and took the sunglasses off her face, "Huh? Who turned off the sun?"
Trebass climbed out of the pool, as a towel flew towards his face. He caught the pool towel with a levitation spell from his horn and dried his entire body. Pip wrapped himself in a single towel, as the large towel covered his tiny figure.
Alex began to pack up his belongings, "Well, we should probably get set up for dinner. I'll ask the front desk where we're going to meet Shock."
They all agreed, and headed to their rooms. Royal and Pip disappeared into their room, while Trebass entered his.
He sighed, as he threw himself onto the couch.
Chapter 6: The Familiar Scent of a Rose
After changing into his black and white tuxedo, that he had packed when Shock mentioned a formal restaurant, Trebass exited the suite. Standing outside was Pip, who was wearing a blue ruffled tuxedo, which was apparently picked out for him by Royal Flush.
The only thing Trebass could think to say was, "Poor kid."
He chuckled, but Pip did not share his humor. The little foal had an adorable pouty look on his face. The white unicorn rustled the foal's mane, just for the purpose of ruining Royal's work on it. He also made sure that the bow tie on Pip's neck was crooked, again for the main purpose of annoying Royal.
"Hey! I worked really hard on that!" An angered yet sweet voice flew past Trebass' ears.
A certain beautiful mare stood in the doorway of room 3A. She wore a beautiful crimson dress that glittered in the hallway lights. And no make-up at all, Trebass never liked mares who applied too much lipstick anyways.
"Wow, you l-look... Great." Trebass fumbled with his words at the beautiful sight.
Royal blushed, "U-Uh, Y-yeah thanks."
Again, Pip simply rolled his eyes at this 'lovey-dovey' scene. After all, that's all it was to a foal like him, 'lovey-dovey'.
"Well, it looks like Pip's about to puke. And I don't think you'd want his ensemble to get ruined." Trebass said.
Royal Flush frowned, "I can't believe you..."
Trebass chuckled, then proceeded to the elevator with his friends. They descended to the foyer, and trotted over to the reception desk.
The white unicorn asked the receptionist where the hotel restaurant was. She pointed to the a large archway on the far end of the foyer.
Trebass returned to his friends, "So it's over there. Say, where's Alex and Shock?"
"Probably inside. They said they'd meet us inside right?" Royal replied.
"Hmm, they did say that..." Trebass thought to himself.
They all headed towards the archway. About ten (10) feet away from the archway, they could hear classical music coming from inside. The marble flooring of the foyer turned into a velvet red rug the moment they stepped through the large archway. The first thing that caught Trebass' eye was the humongous chandelier that hung over the entire room. The next thing that appealed to him was the large elevated platform in the middle of the room. The platform was held up by four (4) sets of stairs, one (1) on each side. Hundreds of fancy tables were spread out around the room evenly. Each table was surrounded by about four (4) to eight (8) chairs. The tables were covered in beautiful white cloths, while the chairs matched the same velvet surface as the floor. Busy waiters and waitresses galloped back and forth between tables and the kitchen. Sitting at every table was a fancy pony sitting as straight as any ruler. Trebass felt inferior compared to the other ponies, but it didn't bother him, that much.
"Hey! I see Alex and Shock over there!" Royal pointed towards the elevated platform.
Trebass squinted, and finally noticed the two stallions waving to them. The three ponies, Pip, Royal and Trebass trotted to the base of the staircase that led to the elevated platform. There was a sign at the base of the stairs that read 'Dining In The Sky. V.I.P. Only'.
"Very Important Ponies? I guess since we did get a ride here from the owner." Trebass said, as he led Royal, by the hoof, up the stairs.
"Ah, thank you. You're quite the gentlecolt." Royal blushed, not noticing what he said about the owner of the hotel.
Pip followed behind them, and they all reunited with their friends.
"Hey! You're all dressed up Alex! I didn't see you come back to the suite..." Trebass pointed out what everypony was probably thinking.
Alex sat down at their table that overlooked the entire restaurant, "You should know more than anypony. After all, that's part of how we met in the first place."
"Wait, what happened?" Royal sounded surprised, as she sat in the seat that Trebass had pulled back for her.
Trebass pulled up a chair for Pip, "Oh yeah! I remember that. It was at one of your concerts right?"
Shock sat down on his own, "I'd like to hear this. How about over the starting drinks?"
Everypony nodded, except for Pip.
Alex waved to the waitress, "Waitress, some drinks please!"
The waitress rushed over to their table, and Trebass' heart almost stopped beating. She was an earth pony, with a light blue coat, pink eyes, a yellow rose for a cutie mark, and a black mane. She trotted up to them, glancing at Trebass.
The white unicorn's hoof shook, "N-No way..."
Royal looked at him, "Something wrong darling?"
Trebass began to think to himself, "No! Don't call me that! Or else she'll..."
The waitress spoke up, "Are you all ready to order?"
One by one, they each placed their drink orders. Pip, of course, ordered a soft drink as he was 'underage' and Royal wouldn't let him have anything else. Finally, the waitress came to Trebass.
She paused before asking for his order, "And for you?"
"U-uh... Just a water thank you. Um... Have we met before?" Trebass asked.
The waitress stared at Trebass for a long time, and he did the same to her.
"I-I.... I'm sorry. You don't really seem familiar." The waitress replied.
Trebass felt a sharp pain in his chest. He thought an arrow had legitimately pierced his heart.
"Ah, sorry, you just look like somepony I knew." Trebass apologized for the mix-up.
"Alright, I'll be right back with your drinks." The waitress said, as she trotted off. While she trotted off, she glanced over her shoulder, looking at Trebass. She moved her lips, and it looked as if she was telling him something.
Luckily, Trebass didn't have to master the art of lip-reading to know that she wanted to speak with him. She pointed her hoof towards what looked like a pub in a separate section of the restaurant.
"Uh, I'm just gonna freshen up alright? Be back in a few." Trebass said, as he stood up and followed the waitress.
Royal Flush sighed, as she rested her head on her hoof.
Alex chuckled and placed a hoof on Royal's shoulder, "Don't worry. He's not one to blindly chase mares all the time. That's my department actually."
The tan mare giggled, "I hope he's not."
Shock decided to jump into their conversation, hoping to change the subject, "So how are you all enjoying the place? Has anypony run into Flim? I haven't seen him around lately."
They all shook their head, which created an awkward silence in the air.
"Well, he does have lot of meetings today. Being a millionaire is tough I guess." Shock Bolt shrugged.
"Hm, I suppose. But he looked like the type of millionaire who would leave all the business meetings to his secretary or somepony like that." Royal said, she put her hoof to her chin.
Alex nodded, "I agree. It seems strange for an easy going pony like him to simply do nothing for the entire day. Especially since he has an entire resort at his disposal..."
The ponies grew silent, but eventually began to converse again. The cellists and violinists created beautiful music that drifted throughout the entire restaurant. The chatter of different kind of ponies was soon drowned out as Trebass followed the blue waitress into the separate section of the restaurant. Just as Trebass thought, it was indeed a cocktail pub. The smell of cigarettes and cocktails filled Trebass' nose like a gust.
The white unicorn trotted around, receiving strange glances from smoking mares around the room. He finally spied the waitress trotting into another separate room. He followed.
The room they entered was a small powder room. A smal mirror was hung above a marble sink, and and different lotions and moisturizers were scattered marble counter next to the sink. Suddenly, while Trebass was admiring the room, the waitress spoke up.
"I-Is it really you?..... Trebass?"
The white unicorn and the blue earth pony sat at the bar counter. Trebass slowly stirred his cocktail with a toothpick. The waitress next to him ran her hoof around the edge of her glass.
"So it really is you." The waitress spoke up.
Trebass waited until his cocktail settled to reply, "You have no idea how this makes me feel. But I'm also very confused, first off, how did you get here?"
The waitress replied, "I... I can't tell you right now. But I--"
Trebass stopped her in mid-sentence, "No, I want answers Aromé ."
The waitress took a sip from her wine, then finally replied, "I can't tell you, because I don't know how I got here. Mother was helping me dress, and then I found myself in what looked like a janitorial closet. I found this note tucked into the neck of my dress." She handed Trebass a folded piece of paper.
Trebass unfolded it, and began to read it aloud, "My sweet darling, something tragic has happened. Something that cannot be fixed in our time. So sadly, I must send you to another time. Do not ask how, or why I have done so, because it would only cause more distress on your side. But you must find the white stallion whom you met on the day of your father's death. He will know what to do, and if he doesn't, then all is lost. With love, Mother."
Trebass thought the ending of the note was a bit odd, and morbid.
Aromé spoke up, after Trebass had finished, "I left the closet, borrowing this waitress outfit. I've been looking for you the entire day."
"Well now you've found me. I hope your not disappointed." Trebass chuckled.
"Hmm, not at all. But, who were those ponies you were with?" She asked.
The white unicorn realized the fact that Aromé may have seen him and Royal conversing, he did not wish to hurt her feelings, "Just some friends of mine. We decided to come to this hotel on vacation, since it's summer break here after all."
"I see... Well, in a few minutes I'll be on my.... Break. Perhaps you could properly introduce me to your friends." Aromé said, as she placed her cocktail glass on the counter, and trotted away.
Trebass spun around in his stool, as he followed Aromé out of the bar. As they neared his table, Aromé separated from Trebass and she trotted off in another direction. The white unicorn couldn't help staring at her rump that was sticking out of her waitress uniform.
After a short detour, Trebass finally reunited with his friends as he sat down in the chair next to Royal Flush.
"Geez, what took you so long?! We've already ordered!" She said, with a frown on her face.
"Um, I kind of... Fell in." Trebass chuckled.
"You seem a bit dry for somepony who just 'fell' into a restroom stall." Shock Bolt said with an unamused look on his face.
"I had to... Dry off?" Trebass said with an unsure voice.
Alex chuckled before speaking, "Well we didn't order that long ago, we can call up a waiter right now."
The black pegasus signaled a waiter to their table. A white bulky, and sharply dressed, stallion trotted over to their table. Trebass ordered his entrée and main course. He handed the white waiter his menu, then the waiter left. Neither of them made eye contact.
"Say... That stallion looked kinda like..." Alex muttered to himself.
Trebass noticed his friend mumbling, "Looked like who?"
The black pegasus whispered to him, "I'll tell you later."
Trebass nodded, then took a sip of his water.
"So we never got to that story, about how you and Alex met." Royal said, leaning towards the white unicorn.
"Ah, well... It all happened during one of Alex's concerts." Trebass said.
"Did I mention I'm part of the Canterlot symphony?" Alex said in a cocky, yet jokingly, tone.
Trebass chuckled, "Yeah, I may have mentioned that once or twice. Anyways, it all started..."
Chapter 8: It All Started When...
Trebass began to tell the tale of when him and Alex first met.
**********************
The pegasus express, the fastest train in Equestria, was speedily running on the tracks leading towards the royal city of Canterlot. A large breeze blew through the window and above a white unicorn's head. He was slowly reading through the newest "Daring Do" novel until the small gust had blown the pages around.
"Blast! Whatever, it was getting boring anyways. I don't know what cousin sees in these things." The unicorn tossed the novel to the side.
A yell of pain was soon followed, "Ouch! Hey watch it pal!" A voice that sounded furious, yet calm, rang into the unicorn's ear.
The white colt quickly turned around to see who he had hit, "Oh, sorry about that."
A pair of black sunglasses sat upon the face of a pegasus wearing a black vest. He had been sitting only a couple feet away from the white unicorn. The stallion began to yell at the young book-hater, "What's the big deal?! Throwing around--"
He stopped, then spoke up again, "Daring Do and the Griffon's Goblet? Heh, haven't read that one yet."
The white unicorn found it amazing how a pegasus could change attitudes so quickly.
"I'm terribly sorry. It must have been that gust of wind." Trebass made up an excuse to avoid any more conflict.
"Tell you what, if you let me keep this book... I won't throw you off this train." The pegasus said with a serious tone.
A brief pause lingered in the air for a bit until the black stallion began chuckle, which quickly turned into loud laugh, "Hahaha! You should see the look on your face right now! Lighten up friend!"
Trebass let out a loud sigh, "Says the guy who threatened to throw me off a train."
The pegasus punched the unicorn lightly, "Aw, cheer up guy! Name's Alex, and I'm still keeping this." He tossed the book in the air and caught it again in his wing.
"I'm Trebass. Nice to meet you." The white unicorn introduced himself.
*WOOH WOOH*
The train's whistle sounded loudly, and it echoed through the train and probably through most of Canterlot.
"Well, maybe we'll run into each other in there." Trebass said, as he stared at the approaching white city.
Alex stood up from his seat, "Maybe. See ya around." He then trotted off, and disappeared into the crowd that was ready to disembark from the train.
Finally, the train arrived at Canterlot Station. Trebass decided to disembark himself. He gathered his bags and trotted out of the train.
He took one step outside the train. Immediately, hot gust blew against the unicorn's body. He thought it was a relief from the cold air conditioning from the train.
Trebass trotted down from the station platform, and signaled a taxi. A bulky stallion pulled a black and yellow tiled cart towards him. He loaded his luggage into the trunk of the cart, and they were on their way.
Slowly, Trebass saw the beautiful buildings and parks pass by him on the way to his hotel.
The stallion pulling the cart began to speak to Trebass, "So what brings you to the snobby corner of Equestria?" He asked.
"Here to see a concert, I won a ticket in a raffle back in Ponyville." Trebass replied.
The driver looked surprised, "That concert wouldn't happen to be the Canterlot Symphony would it?"
Trebass replied with a short, "Yes."
"Apparently one of Saxists is quite the popular with the ladies. Some actor or celebrity or something. He's probably the only musician in that orchestra that isn't a complete bore!" The driver laughed loudly.
Suddenly, the cart came to a stop, and the two stallions were in front of a run-down corner street hotel. "HOTEL" Was spelt out above the door in large glowing red letters. Trebass noticed how Canterlot was separated into two "areas". The fancy uptight rich-folk and beautiful buildings around them. And then there was the old broken down buildings, tramps and beggars were in the dark corners of every trash-ridden alleyway.
"It's a shame I know..." The taxi pony said.
Trebass raised his eyebrow, "What do you mean?"
The taxi driver replied, "Well I shouldn't be talking about this, but Canterlot didn't used to be this way."
"What happened?" Trebass asked.
"Well, there was an incorporation. An organization even, they made a vaccine that could supposedly strengthen the common pony's immune system to the point where no illness could even touch them. They offered it to anypony who could afford it." The taxi cab explained, as he unloaded all of Trebass' baggages.
Trebass took one of his luggages from the driver, and then asked, "So what? A fraction of Canterlot's most richest went bankrupt?"
The driver shook his head, "No, the opposite actually. Almost nopony took their offer. But then something happened, some kind of flu started to spread around Canterlot. The strangest part about it was that it was only in Canterlot. Nopony from Manehatten to Ponyville had showed any symptoms of this flu. Ponies finally went crawling back to that corporation, and blew all their bits on that vaccine. The ponies who couldn't afford the vaccine, spent their bits on the second best thing, common doctors. The ones who spent their bits on doctors, lost their dough, and started living on the streets."
"Harsh, so what is this 'incorporation' anyways?" Trebass asked.
The taxi driver looked around him, and lowered his voice, "Their name is Caduc--"
*BANG*
Out of nowhere, a loud shot rang from somewhere above Trebass. Then suddenly, the taxi driver fell backwards onto his own taxi cab. Screams echoed throughout the area where the crime had taken place. Trebass looked above him, where he thought the gunshot had come from. He saw something move on top of the hotel roof, but it quickly moved out of his vision.
"Sweet Celestia, w-what the hell?!" Trebass panicked, and stumbled, then fell backwards on his rump.
Soon after the incident, police ponies began to flood the area, setting up roadblocks and moving citizens out of the vicinity.
Trebass tried to disappear into the crowd, not wanting to have any more conflict than he needed. Unfortunately, a stallion from the crowd started screaming at the top of his lungs, "There he is! He's the killer! Arrest him!"
Trebass glared at at the colt, but he disappeared into the crowd before anypony could get a good look at him. As he was trying to chase after the pony who had snitched on him, he felt something blunt smash against the back of his head. He fell forward onto his face, and then blacked out.
Before he fell unconscious, the sound of chattering ponies around him faded out.
Trebass juggled a tiny rock in the air with one hoof, as he rested the back of his head on the other one. He lay in a dirty prison bed, listening to the other prisoners bang tin cups on the jail door bars. He had been knocked out earlier, it was blurry, but he could vaguely remember what happened. His cab driver had been shot in front of the hotel he was staying at. He was the suspect, and was then detained and put in a flea-ridden prison.
"So much for a nice relaxing summer break. I'm stuck in a smelly jail cell, when I should be serenaded by the Canterlot Orchestra..." Trebass moped.
The sounds of potential criminals and thieves yelling and screaming through the prison hallways.
He felt something moist on the bedsheet he was laying on, he turned on his side to see what it was, "Oh that's just f--"
Trebass was interrupted by a loud booming voice from outside his cell, "Oi! Psychopath! You gots a visitor."
Trebass hopped off his bed, puzzled, "A visitor? For me? This just keeps getting stranger and stranger." He thought to himself.
An extremely buff prison guard unlocked the prison door, and then placed handcuffs on Trebass' fore and back legs, "Move prisoner, we ain't got all day." He said with a dull, dumb voice.
Trebass complied, and began to trot through the narrow gray halls of the prison. A large number of hooves tried to grab him, but were soon swatted away by a nearby guard's nightstick.
"Whoever this visitor is, I'm glad he's here. Maybe I can convince him to bail me out of here... What am I thinking? What stranger would pity me enough to pay bail for me?" The chained up unicorn thought to himself.
"In 'ere. Hurry up!" The guard shouted.
Trebass slowly trotted into what looked like an office. The room was grey and bland. A single office table sat in the middle of the room. A stallion in a General's uniform sat on one side of the table. On the other side, a black pegasus.
The pony in the uniform began to speak, "Ah, if it isn't the psychopa--"
But the black pegasus interrupted him, "I believe we've already settled this matter General. This pony is innocent any murder incidents here in Canterlot, as there has only been two (2). And one of those two (2) incidents has been closed. Permanently."
The General replied, "Ah, my apologies chief. In any case, Mr. Trebass... You are quite the lucky colt. You see, the chief over here pulled a couple of strings. And due to an additional piece of evidence, you're hereby granted your leave from this prison."
"Uh... Granted my... Leave?" Trebass said, raising an eyebrow.
The black pegasus stood up, then removed the sunglasses from his face, "In other words, Trebass, you're free to go. Heh, kinda like Daring Do in the Griffon's Goblet eh?" He then chuckled.
Trebass eyes widened in surprise, "Y-You're the pony from the train right? But why would you bail me out?"
"Well, I guess I wanted to pay you back for this." The black pegasus tossed a book titled "Daring Do and the Griffon's Goblet
"Sorry, but I can't seem remember your name." Trebass said, embarrassingly.
"Alexander. Alex for short. And I hear you've got a ticket to my concert." The pegasus introduced himself.
Trebass stuttered, "C-Concert? So you're THE Alex?!"
"The one and only." Alex replied, with a smug look on his face.
The uniform pony cleared his throat, and then spoke up, "Well, we apologize for any inconvenience we may have cause you."
Trebass gritted his teeth with fury, but held back on releasing it on the officer pony, "It's... Fine. Really."
"To make it up to you, I've arranged for a limousine to pick you up. I have other business to attend to before the concert. Well, I'll see you from the stage." Alex said, as he placed his sunglasses on his face, then exited the room fashionably.
The guard behind him removed the chains from Trebass' legs. The unicorn stretched his limbs, and proceeded to the exit.
Before he left, the prison warden spoke up again, "Oh and Trebass? I suggest you forget everything the victim told you. For your sake."
Trebass stopped, looked over his shoulder, then continued through the exit.
Chapter 10: The Concert Hall
Trebass stepped outside the prison grounds, and took a deep breath. It was refreshing to smell fresh air, rather than the smell of smoke and mold. But the sweet sound of nothing was interrupted by a quiet motor pulling up to him. A long black limousine was parked right in front of him, outside the prison gates.
The window rolled down, and a brown colt with a driver's cap gave him a salute, "Trebass? I've got an order from the boss to escort you to his concert."
Trebass nodded, then opened, and entered the car door. The the limo immediately began to move, and they were soon on their way to The Canterlot Orchestra's concert.
The chrome limousine speedily drove through the clean white neighbourhood of Canterlot. Tall clean white buildings passed them by quickly. The pedestrians on the street were dressed up in formal dresses and suits.
"Not something you'd expect somepony to wear on the street. In the middle of a sunny day." Trebass muttered to himself.
The driver began to speak, "Well, we're in White Canterlot right now."
"White Canterlot?" Trebass asked.
"Well, most ponies don't usually know about this, not even some of the ones who live in Canterlot... But some ponies still think that this city is still under a caste system." The driver replied.
Trebass looked confused, "A caste system? What's that?"
The driver turned limousine into the next lane, "It's social stratification. In other words, our 'government' thought it would be a good idea to separate the poor from the rich. The sent anypony who couldn't pay taxes into Black Canterlot, the hidden slums in our fair city. Visitors rarely see any of Black Canterlot, since the head ponies do a fair job of hiding it."
"Princess Luna and Celestia?" Trebass asked.
"No, ponies that are even higher than the Princesses. But I shouldn't talk about that here." The driver said, as he began to decelerate his vehicle.
Trebass fidgeted in his leather carseat. Finally, they began to approach a large white dome. They drove and stopped at the base of a large set of stairs. The stairs circled all the way around the white dome in front of them, and led up into a series of small glass doors.
"Well, here we are, Canterlot Concert Hall . I believe the Canterlot Orchestra is doing a sound check right now. You could explore the hall, or listen in on them I suppose." The driver said, as he stepped out of the limousine and opened Trebass' car door.
The unicorn began thanked his escort. He looked up, a pure snow white overhanging ceiling cast a cool shade on him. He then began trot up the ivory stairs and into the glass doors.
He was immediately greeted two (2) door-ponies and a red velvet carpet floor, "Welcome to the Canterlot Concert Hall, may we see your ticket please?"
Trebass pulled a piece of paper from his coat chest pocket, "Of course, here you g--"
*BOOM*
"W-What?!" Trebass turned around quickly.
Screams rang from outside, as smoke began to rise into the air. Trebass burst through entrance doors of the concert hall. At the bottom of the ivory stairs was the wreckage of what looked like a limousine. Chunks of sharp black metal were scattered around the deformed body of a limousine. The limousine body's hood was on fire, and Trebass could see the pipes inside the hood that was blown open.
"What the hell? Another one?! This can't be a coincidence..." The unicorn muttered to himself, "The poor colt. Who could have.... Wait a minute!"
Trebass realized the connection between the explosion and the shooting near the hotel, "They both spoke to me about the division of Canterlot. And that organization..."
A crowd began to gather around the limousine, and fortunately, not around Trebass this time. Panicked chatter began to fill the area, and the authorities soon flooded in and began to control the crowd. Trebass disappeared into the flood of ponies and into the concert hall.
"It would be best if I avoided the authorities for now. I guess I'll explore the hall for now, maybe listen to the sound check. But then again, the musicians might have posponed it due to the assassination outside." Trebass thought to himself.
The red velvet carpet circled around the entire inside of the dome. Binocular eyepieces, shirts, and posters, were for sale on abandoned merchant stalls.
"The shirts a bit much. Eyepieces I can understand, but posters? Really?" Trebass said, as he kept following the red carpet around the dome.
He noticed that any entrances that led into the concert hall seats were blocked off by multiple chains.
"I don't think they could set this up that quickly. Everypony is still outside investigating that limo. Unless something happened in the concert hall before the explosion..." Trebass' train of thought went on and on until he realized he was already at the entrance of the white dome. He had traveled in a complete circle.
He turned away from the glass exit doors, and saw that one of the small hallways leading to the seating was not blocked. The chain that was supposed to attach to both walls of the hallway were now broken at the middle link.
"Huh, maybe somepony's inside?" Trebass said, as he decided to trot into the seatings.
He exited the small hallway, hundreds of rows filled with hundreds of seats were evenly distributed around the floor of the gigantic open concert hall. Trebass counted at least ten (10) opera-house styled box seats on each wall. The orchestra stage was about the size of large courtyard. The mere thought of how many ponies could sit in the theatre caused his head to hurt a little bit. The one thing that caught his eye was the magnificently large glass ceiling. The sun was shining into the concert hall.
He slowly trotted down the lit up middle aisle, as his head twisted and turned to admire the huge concert hall. He came up to foot of the stage, chairs and music stands were scattered around a small conductor's stand. A large ebony grand piano stood in the center of the actual stage. Just like the rest of the concert hall, the stage was completely empty.
*CRASH*
A loud noise came from behind the gigantic red curtain behind the stage. It startled Trebass, as he knocked over one (1) of the music stands beside him.
"What was that?" He thought to himself, as he trotted onto the stage, and began to approach the red curtain.
He quietly snuck up to the curtain, he then quickly parted the curtain to see what was behind it...
Chapter 11: The Fleeing Flyer
Trebass tore open the curtain, and began to look around backstage.
He trotted onto the creaky floorboards, "Not even a staff member? What is going on? There's supposed to be a concert soon, and I would expect more ponies even with the incident outside..."
He walked past spare chairs and music stands. Some delicate instruments were sitting in cases on crates and boxes.
"Hello? Anypony around?" Trebass asked, but received no reply.
He continued to investigate the backstage, looking for the cause of the crash he heard earlier. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary to him, until a shining silvery object caught his attention from the corner of his eye. He turned, and something sparkled under a pile of folded chairs.
He removed chair after chair, but finally came to the sparkling object. It was a gun, a pistol specifically. The barrel of the weapon was silver, which was the reason for the sparkling. The handle was wooden, with the letters "M" and "G" engraved into it.
"I'm not even surprised anymore. It looks like this pure white city isn't as pure as everypony thinks it is. A city where guns lie around everywhere isn't what I expected when I came here." Trebass muttered to himself, as he removed the magazine of the gun.
"Looks like it's never been fired. The barrel is too clean, and the magazine is full." He had enough experience with guns to know had to identify whether or not they had been shot or not.
He stood up, turning the gun around with his horn, nothing else seemed to stick out to him. Suddenly, he turned around quickly. He saw something, or somepony, disappearing into an emergency exit door.
The metal door slammed shut, as Trebass shouted, "Hey! Come back!"
He galloped to the door, and threw it open. The stranger had disappeared from his sight. He thought that he had lost the mysterious pony completely, until he saw something small drop in front of him. He bent down, the object was metal bolt.
"A bolt?" He looked up, wondering where it had come from.
As he looked up, he saw the letters "E-X-I-T" falling down on him in large yellow neon letters. He quickly stepped back before a large emergency exit sign had completely broken upon his head.
*CRASH*
As the sign hit the ground and shattered into pieces, he saw a dark blue figure flying out the glass entrance doors that led outside.
"Tch. He got away." Trebass said frustratingly, he kicked the floor with his hoof.
He turned around, to inspect the shattered pieces of the "EXIT" sign. Pieces of glass were scattered around four broken electrical neon letters. The broken letters were flickering on and off with light, as tiny sparks flew from the frayed cables sticking out of the sign's frame.
"Now why would somepony try to smash this thing on my head?" Trebass asked himself.
He looked around the sign, and noticed a single dark blue feather, "Looks like our runaway pony is a pegasus. Well that narrows it down to about a thousand different pegasi in Canterlot! Maybe I can ask the authorities, but then again... I'm on friendly terms with the police right now." The unicorn sighed, as shoved the pegasus feather into his vest pocket. Things were not going as planned for him, not in the slightest.
He decided to clean up the mess the stranger had left him, he used a nearby broom to brush the shattered glass and pieces under a merchandise booth table. He began to trot towards the glass entrance doors leading outside, until he heard shouts coming from outside. Trebass could see red and blue lights flashing on and off on the white walls of the concert hall.
"Come out with your hooves up! We have the building surrounded!" A loud booming voice shouted from a megaphone outside.
"Argh! That pegasus must have done something in here... Or out there. I need to get out of here..." Trebass said, as he quickly turned around to find an exit.
He galloped around the dome, but found no exit leading outside. He only turned back when he heard multiple ponies bursting through entrance.
"Where do I go? There's no where--" Trebass begun, then turned to one of the hallways leading into the seatings.
He quickly emerged from the hallway and looked up, "There's my ticket out of here." He said, as he galloped onto the stage and behind the curtain.
He looked around, and a ladder caught his eye. He rushed over to it, and began to drag it to where the curtain rods attached to the wall. Trebass leaned the ladder on the wall so that the top of the ladder was touching the curtain rod. While he quickly climbed the ladder to the curtain rod.
He wasn't sure whether he was out of options, or if he was just being stupid. But he couldn't think about his motives now, he was already climbing from the giant curtain rod and onto the giant wooden pony face that was carved into the wall just above the stage.
"Funny, I've seen these around most opera stages, but I never found out what these faces were called." Trebass said to himself. He believed that talking to himself would keep him sane as he hung over fifty (50) feet off the ground.
He saw officer ponies flooding into the seatings as the tried to search for the unicorn. There was no time to waste, he saw the handle that looked like it would open a glass panel. He thought it was strange that the entire ceiling would be made of glass, except for the one small square pane that gave access to the outside. The handle was very small, and was just out of Trebass' reach. He saw the officer ponies climbing onto the stage, and without thinking, he jumped.
It was as if time had stopped for him, the handle came closer and closer, and then...
Trebass leaned back in his chair, stretching his arms back. His tuxedo was starting to press his body into an uncomfortable position. He leaned forward again, and took a sip of his ice cold water, since the suit was beginning to make him sweat a little.
"Well?!" Royal Flush shouted.
Trebass raised an eyebrow at her, "Well... What?"
Royal Flush's face turned boiling red, "Well what happened when you jumped!?"
Trebass chuckled, "Well it wouldn't be fun if I just told you now would it?"
The blue pegasus on the opposite side of the table spoke up, "I'm not a big fan of cliffhangers myself."
Alex joined in the conversation, "I'm actually curious myself. I'm guessing you made the jump anyways, because I saw you at the after-party of my concert!"
Trebass sighed, "Tch. You ruin all my fun Alex. Yeah yeah, I made the jump and went down the fire escape on the roof. I took a cab back to my hotel and took a nap. I woke up and the incidents that day were all over the newspaper. Everypony who had a ticket could either attend the concert the next day, or get a refund on their purchase. Since I was staying for another two (2) days, I decided to attend the concert."
"That's it?" Royal Flush asked.
Trebass replied, "Yup. That's it."
"So you didn't find out who set you up? Or who that mysterious corporation was?" Shock Bolt asked.
Alex and Trebass gave Shock Bolt an icy cold glare, "Nope." They both answered in synchronization.
Royal Flush shivered, "That's really creepy guys..."
Trebass chuckled, then took another sip of his water.
Alex didn't join in his friend's laughter, instead he looked at his M.A.S.T. device, "That took a good half hour."
Trebass placed his empty glass on the table, "Half an hour? It felt like two!"
The classical music floating in the air suddenly stopped. And the chatter of the indoor restaurant came to an abrupt silence.
Trebass looked around, "Was it something I said?"
"I don't think it was you..." Royal said, as she pointed at the entranceway of the restaurant.
Standing in the large archway that separated the lobby and the restaurant was Flim, the owner of the hotel and restaurant they were in.
He pointed towards Trebass, Royal, Alex, Shock, and Pip. Multiple ponies in black suits and sunglasses began to slowly drift into the restaurant.
"What's happening?" Trebass asked.
Before anypony could answer, he heard Shock Bolt standing up from his chair. He turned around, and was immediately looking down the barrel of a revolver.
Shock's wings held up the revolver as he spoke, "Sorry mate, but you know too much."
Alexander stood up faster than Shock Bolt did, holding a gun in his wing, "Wrong move 'mate'. Next time, don't keep the handle sticking out of your vest."
Trebass stood up like the rest of them, but he held up his gun with his horn's magic rather than a wing, "Why the hell are you doing this?!"
"Like I said. You know too much." Shock Bolt said, as he pulled the hammer back on the gun with his other wing.
Trebass slammed his hoof on the table, "Know too much about wha--"
*THUMP*
Trebass fell to the floor, he could hear gunshots, but they were muffled by the ringing in his ears. Somepony had clearly hit him in the back of the head with something, but he was unsure what it was. He could see the blurred figures, which he imagined were Royal, Alex and Pip, galloping away as bullets flew back and forth. He had completely lost count of the number of times he had been in this situation, but he drifted into unconsciousness before he could think about it more.
********
"Mmmph! Mmmph!" Trebass kicked furiously with his back hooves. His forehooves were tied behind his back, and he felt something wrapped around his face that prevented him from seeing anything. It felt like he was in some sort of closed space, as he felt something metal close by when he kicked his back hooves.
"Quiet in there!" Somepony shouted from afar.
The white unicorn could hear the roaring of a motor nearby.
"What is that? And where am I?!" Trebass shouted.
"I said shut it!" The same muffled voice shouted again.
Trebass remembered that he had learned some novice light magic in school, before he graduated. He concentrated, and his horn glowed purple. A tiny flame appeared from thin air, and he could finally see somethings. But there was nothing to be seen, he could see the flame through his blindfold, and his own body, but nothing else. He was completely surrounded in darkness.
"My memory is so blurry... I can't remember anything after the restaurant." He groaned to himself.
He couldn't do anything besides wait for his captors to let him out. Or kill him on the spot.
The unicorn amused himself with his tiny flame for hours it seemed. The flame blew out, as the vehicle he was in came to a stop, and he banged his head on something metal.
"Agh, I guess this is my stop..." He groaned, as a bright shining sun blinded him suddenly.
A loud booming voice shouted at him again, "Oi! Get out 'ere. Now!"
The white unicorn squinted, as he dragged himself into the light. He fell onto a hard black hot pavement. He felt a large bulky arm pick up him by the neck and onto his back-hooves.
"Walk!" A large stallion in a black suit commanded.
Trebass found himself standing in front of a gigantic white rectangular building that towered over him.
"What is this place?" Trebass asked.
"You'll find out in a minute." The stallion behind him growled.
The two trotted through the glass doors of the building. The main lobby of the building had marble flooring, and marble walls. The lobby looked very familiar to Trebass, but the bulky stallion behind him pushed him into an elevator on the far end of the lobby before he could think about it more. He thought it was strange that nopony noticed the pony with his forelegs tied behind his back.
"You mind answering some of my questions now?" Trebass asked sarcastically.
"Quiet you. You'll get yer answers when we get there." The stallion said, as he pressed a button on the elevator wall.
Trebass lost his balance, as he had been standing on his two hind-legs when the elevator began to ascend upwards. He regained his balance with his back pressed against the wall behind him. The elevator ascended, for almost ten (10) minutes it seemed.
"How high is this thing?" Trebass asked himself.
Before he could get an answer, the elevator came to a sudden stop, and he had lost his balance again. The metal doors opened, and a short corridor was outside the elevator.
"Could you untie these ropes? I don't think I can make it any further on my hind legs." Trebass requested.
The stallion grumbled and untied the ropes.
Trebass stretched his forearms, "Cheers mate." He said as he trotted out of the elevator.
The metal doors closed behind him, he looked behind him quickly. The stallion had not followed him out of the elevator. He then heard a loud snap coming from the elevator. He smiled, then turned around to continue down the corridor.
Chapter 13: Guns from the Past
Trebass trotted down the red carpeted hallway, and approached a grey metal door at the end of the hallway. His hooves felt comforted by the soft flooring, since he had been cramped into a limousine trunk. He came to the door at the end of the hall, and pushed it open. The unicorn peeked in, the first thing he noticed was a large glass window that covered the most wall on the opposite side of the room. The room was dimly lit from the light outside, and it looked like something was covering most of the window itself, but the light was able to make its way through the cover. But with the small amount of light, Trebass could see what looked like a long desk sat in front of the window, and a tall chair behind the desk. A single silhouette stood beside the tall black chair. From the figure of the silhouette, He could tell it was a pegasus. But the room was too dark to see his mane or coat colour.
He slowly took a step in, but then he stopped when he heard a voice from the other side of the room, "So you're that pony who just won't stop his snooping, I'm assuming."
Trebass stopped, and just stared at the silhouette beside the chair.
"Now now... No need to be shy my friend! Just have a seat right over there." The voice didn't seem to be coming from the silhouette, but it was definitely coming from somewhere near it.
Seeing no other option, the unicorn trotted into the room and approached the desk. He slowly put each hoof forward, as sweat dripped from his brow. He couldn't see anything else around him besides the desk, chair, and mysterious pony.
The black chair turned slowly towards around, he could see the shape of somepony sitting in it. He saw a long sharp horn on his head, and long arms stretched on the armrests of the chair, but nothing else.
"Who are you?" He asked the stranger in the chair.
The pony in the chair turned to the silhouette to on his side, "Why don't you make our friend here a drink, eh boy?"
The pony next to the chair trotted off into a darker corner of the room where Trebass lost sight of him.
"You didn't answer my question." Trebass said, slowly turning his head towards the unicorn in the chair.
The pony in the chair leaned forward, but Trebass was still unable to see the details of his face, "The name's Flam boy. Don't go forgetting it anytime soon. Got it?"
"Oh I won't..." Trebass grumbled to himself, "Wait... Flam... That sounds so..."
Suddenly, a small drinking glass was placed on the long wooden desk in front of him. Trebass looked up, his eyes widened, he became speechless.
"Y-You!" He stuttered his words.
The light from the window revealed the identity of his server. A pegasus with a midnight blue coat and a brown mane stood there, giving the white unicorn an empty glare.
"Your drink." The pegasus gestured to the glass on the desk, then disappeared back into the shadows.
Trebass gave a glare of his own towards Flam, "Now I know your name, and your game you old geezer."
"You should watch that tongue of yours kid, the shadows around you might not appreciate that kinda behaviour." Flam said, as he reached under the desk in front of him.
And there Trebass stood, and looked at the last thing he would've expected.
Darkness all around him, a long wooden desk in front of him, and a mobster unicorn in a chair, just grabbing distance away from him. Upon further inspection, Trebass noticed that some dark curtains were drawn together over the window.
He smiled, as a mysterious red glow faded in and out from behind the window. He didn't know what it was, but he had a sneaking suspicion about who placed it there.
Flam noticed the smile creeping onto Trebass' face, "Hey! Wipe that grin off your mug. What're you smiling--"
*BOOM*
Shards of glass flew at Trebass, as he dove for the desk. The sharp pieces of the window landed in front of him, he pressed his back against the desk. A extremely short moment of silence filled the air, then a gunshot rang out.
*BANG*
Trebass looked up, and saw the body of a yellow unicorn jumping over him and galloping towards the exit of the room. He stood up, but before he could chase after the pony, somepony else had pushed him to the side and began to pursue the yellow unicorn.
"Hey!" Trebass shouted, as he followed the two (2) ponies.
He burst through the door that lead into the red-carpeted hallway. He saw the backside of a female minty green pegasus, with a revolver on her wing. Just ahead the mare was a pale yellow unicorn, with a bacon-like coloured mane, standing in front of the elevator door where Trebass had come from.
"There's no where left to run! And your time is up!" The mare shouted.
Flam, the yellow unicorn, panicked and forced the elevator doors open with a spell from his horn. As the doors opened, Flam almost fell into an empty elevator shaft, as the wire for the elevator had been cut and frayed.
*BANG*
Another gunshot rang out, and a bullet had bounced off of the elevator wall. The sudden gunshot caused Flam to lose his balance, and fall into the empty elevator shaft. His screams for help echoed through the metallic shaft.
Trebass' mouth hung open, his eyes wide, then he rushed towards the black mane pegasus. He tackled her to the ground, and pinned her by her forelegs.
"I NEEDED ANSWERS FROM HIM!" He shouted.
"I-I... I'm sorry Trebass!" The mare shouted.
The unicorn released his tense grip, and backed away slowly, "Deviree..."
Chapter 14: The Last Loose End
Two ponies sat across from each other in the hallway. The white unicorn Trebass sat up against the wall, his arm rested the back of his head. The green pegasus Deviree sat opposite to him in the same position.
"You know what?" Trebass asked.
Deviree looked up, "What?"
"I'm not even surprised by this anymore." The unicorn answered.
"I don't get it..." She said, as she tilted her head to the side.
Trebass sighed, and then asked, "It's complicated, but I'd like to know how you got here."
"It's a long story. A strange one too..." She said, twirling her gun on her wing.
She reached into her vest pocket, "Here." She said, as she handed Trebass a folded of piece of paper.
"Sergeant Iron Will said he was cleaning out... Braeburn's things. And he found this." She explained.
The unicorn unfolded the paper, and began to read aloud, "My sweet Deviree. If you're reading this, then the inevitable has gone and happened. I've left you, alone... And I'm sorry. But when I'm gone, you need to leave this time, immediately. Go to our old apartment in Las Pegasus and try to find our unit. If it hasn't been ruined by the Diamond Dogs, there's a cardboard box, with the words 'Storm of Hearts' on it, at the back of the cupboard above the stove. In the box you'll find a jar. Now... Don't freak out when you see what's in the jar okay? Just take it, and get to an open area, and throw it a few feet away from you. Don't question anything, just do it."
He stopped reading, folded the paper into his vest pocket, then spoke up again, "And I can already guess what happens next."
"So you know about all of that stuff? Do you know how it works?" She asked.
He answered, "Yeah, but It'd take too long to explain here. Let's get out of this building, how did you get in here? And please don't say another explosion."
"I rappelled from the roof..." She replied.
"And there's no staircase or elevators leading up to the roof. Besides, the elevator wire was 'mysteriously' cut off." He said, glaring at Deviree.
"Hey, if it wasn't for me cutting that cable, that thug stallion would have given you more trouble in Flam's office." She said, lifting herself from the floor. She stretched, and began trotting away from Trebass and into Flam's office.
Trebass followed, but then remembered that somepony was still in Flam's office. He had completely forgot about the blue pegasus who had served him a drink.
"Hey wait." He said, attempting to stop her, he ran in after the mare.
*click*
True bass stopped in his tracks.
"It seems you've forgotten about one small detail." A Pegasus with a midnight blue coat stepped from behind the open door, "Me."
"Friend of yours?" Deviree asked, her hooves raised in the air.
Trebass raised his hooves in surrender as well, "Kinda. You know me, always picking the strange ones."
"Enough crap out of the two of you. You! Pegasus, go stand by the desk. And the unicorn stays put." He commanded.
Trebass looked at Deviree, and then nodded. She complied, and slowly trotted over to the desk.
"What's the point of holding us hostage? Your boss is dead, there's no one to pay you anymore Shock." Said the unicorn.
"This isn't about the money, this is personal." Shock Bolt replied.
"Do you mind explaining what I did to get you in a bloodthirsty mood?" Trebass asked.
"Cut the smartass remarks. You remember, that day of the Canterlot Orchestra, the day that cab driver was shot in front of your hotel. I saw that with my own two eyes, I saw you kill my brother." Shock Bolt said, his wing was shaking from the weight of the gun.
Trebass' eyes shot open, "Y-Your..."
Deviree stood in front of the desk, motionless. While Shock Bolt looked as if he was going to shoot the unicorn right there on the spot.
"But I didn't kill hi--" Trebass was cut off.
"Bullshit! You may have told the others that he was assassinated by some other pony on the rooftop of your hotel, but I saw you with that gun. I saw the newspaper with the headlines 'Rogue Ponyville Unicorn Killer Escapes Prison '. Nopony ever paid your bail! After you escaped the prison, you hijacked a limousine and held the driver at gunpoint! You blew him up after you reached the Canterlot Concert Hall!" The blue pegasus blew from his nostrils before he continued.
Trebass stood there, remembering all of those acts that his shell committed. But was it really Trebass?
Shock continued, "And worst of all, you got away with it. Nopony ever found your name, and you eventually disappeared from Canterlot and everypony forgot about you. Everypony, except me. I was there in the park where you shot my brother. I was the one who called the police, and I pointed my hoof at YOU! I saw you heading into the Canterlot Concert Hall, I called the cops on you there too! I was the one who threw that exit sign at you too."
Deviree let out a deep sigh, and leaned back on the desk, "I don't know what to say..." She whispered to herself. But Trebass could hear her regardless.
"And now... After all these years... I found you. I joined up with Flim and Flam and their underground society to find you. I asked around, and the only ponies who remembered that incident was Flim and Flam." The blue pegasus' wing regained strength, and he held the gun firmly.
"So you know then." The white unicorn asked.
Shock replied, "Yes. I know that you were part of that organization that cab driver and that limousine driver were talking about. You lied to everypony, including Royal. You were founder of that group. The Caduceus Group
Chapter 15: The Mare with a Harp of Gold
"It was this body that started that group. But it wasn't me I can promise you that." Trebass said, sighing deeply.
"It doesn't matter what you say." Shock snapped, "I'll never believe you after what you did."
Trebass wondered, "Bable... Look at the mess you've gotten me into."
Shock shouted, "I stood there in the crowd. I could have killed you on the spot, but I ratted you out to the authorities. I wanted to take your name and destroy it. But nopony knew your name, some of them didn't even know your face! That made me furious, and I devoted the rest of my life to killing you. I joined the Canterlot Knights, received combat training, but it wasn't enough. I snuck my way into Underground Canterlot, and finally found a white unicorn living in Ponyville. A shady pony showed me a picture of you, and I tore it up at that moment."
Trebass thought to himself, "Who could have seen me? That's not important right now, I can't even imagine how Deviree is feeling. She must think I'm a monster..."
The mint green pegasus simply stood there, leaning on the desk behind her, staring at the ceiling. She couldn't even move, or she risked herself or Trebass getting hurt.
Shock continued, "Then came to Ponyville, and met a beautiful blonde mare with a red highlight."
Trebass' eyes widened in guilt. First his brother, and then the mare he cared about get's stolen from him. He didn't care if it was Bable or not, he knew his shell committed the act.
"She bumped into you, and I could sense something... I knew you were going to do something to her, I didn't know what. But I knew she was in danger. So I tried to take her to the darker corner of Ponyville, I took her to a bar but you were there too. I tried to escape with her from that weird world you dragged us into! We even took that machine Alex made out of that world without you! And I'm positive Alex never went back to get you." Shock shouted so loudly that the traffic outside the window, hundreds of feet below, sounded like a quiet breeze.
"He knew I could get out on my own." Trebass snarled.
"I bet he wished you would have stayed there." Shock growled back.
And at that moment, Trebass lost all control of his body. His vision began to blur, and he was seeing doubles too. Everything around him went mute, his body wobbled and shook, "NO. NO! NO! It's happening!" He thought to himself.
"I won't let you... NO!" He covered his head with his hooves, "You can't.... YOU CAN'T!" He shouted.
Suddenly, papers and books from around the office began to fly in around the three ponies in a swirling motion.
"W-What the--" Shock said, as he stumbled backwards onto his flank.
Short bursts of tiny lightning bolts flew around them, but they never made contact with anything, not the ponies nor the office. Books, papers, and all sorts of office appliances turned into a tornado in less than a minute. Deviree thought she could see somepony in the center of the tornado.
"Who's that?" She wondered, as she reached for her revolver with her wing.
Then, the blowing winds stopped, and the tornado of office devices dropped to the ground. In the center of the tornado was a white unicorn with a brown mane. A golden glimmering harp was strapped to her back.
Shock Bolt's eyes were open wide, as was his mouth, "What is this?!"
The white mare rushed to Trebass' side, "Hopefully I'm not too late!" She said, as she pulled a clay vial from her messenger bag, "Here, drink this." The mare uncorked the vial and put it to his lips.
Deviree saw how Shock was distracted, she positioned her wings and legs correctly, and then burst towards the blue pegasus. She slammed him into the wall, and he dropped the gun he was threatening everypony with. She apprehended him in handcuffs, on both legs, wings tied together with a stiff rope, and she threw him into onto the desk where she was standing.
Trebass finished the entire vial, and then gasped for air, he threw the vial to the side.
"Thanks Notelie." He said.
"Hee hee, no problem!" She giggled.
The stared at each other for a while, until... "N-NOTELIE?!"
Trebass jumped back, "W-W-What are you doing here?!"
Notelie stood up, "Well for starters, I could tell that 'he ' was coming out. So I came to help you."
Deviree turned to the two, "So who exactly are you? And what did you just put down his throat?"
The white mare turned to the pegasus, "Oh, it was just a fifth (5th) of AppleJack Daniels." She giggled.
Chapter 16: The Last Stand
"So did you really do all those things?" Deviree asked.
"Look, I know it's confusing... But this 'body' did those things. It wasn't me, I swear." Trebass frantically tried to explain the misunderstanding.
Deviree put her hoof to his lips, "Okay, I believe you."
The white mare standing awkwardly behind them interrupted, "If you two are done, I think your friend over there is using that broken glass as a backscratcher.
"Wait what?" Trebass asked, as he turned around.
The blue pegasus that was under custody was attempting to cut the ropes that tied his wings together with the sharp pieces of of glass from the broken window behind the desk. He moved his wings up and down on the shattered glass, and eventually cut through the rope.
"HEY! Don't move!" Deviree shouted, as she pulled her revolver out of it's holster.
"Sorry, but I got a train to catch." Shock Bolt said before he flew off. His wings flapped and carried his body and constricted legs up over the tall buildings adjacent to the one everypony else was in.
Deviree let out six shots, all missing, until she ran out of ammunition, "Tch. He got away."
"We have to after him!" Trebass shouted.
Notelie galloped up behind him, "I'm all out of 'Storm of Hearts' jars. Any other ideas?"
Trebass scratched his mane in thought, and then a bright idea struck him, "I got it! We'll use this!" The unicorn shouted, as he raised his hoof.
"Isn't that your M.a.s.t?" Deviree asked.
Trebass replied, "Yup! We'll use this to send a signal to Alex and he can bring us a hovercraft or something!"
The white unicorn mare spoke up, "You know your friend has wings right? And I'm sure your teleportation magic isn't that rusty."
Trebass' head dropped as he sighed, "Right. I knew that"
Deviree lept from the shattered window and dove face down into the streets of downtown Haywaii. She extended her wings to soften the landing on the cement sidewalk. Two flashes of light revealed two white unicorns meeting their mint green pegasus friend.
"We'll just borrow this cab here..." Trebass said, as he surveyed the area around him, to make sure nopony else was around to see him committing grand theft auto.
"Trebass!" Notelie shouted, "Petty theft is not very prince-like!"
Deviree chuckled, but then she asked, "Wait, prince?"
"It's a long..."
*SMASH*
"Story." Trebass finished his sentence as he jabbed his elbow into the window of the four-wheeled yellow gas-powered cab.
After Trebass unlocked the doors of the cab, Notelie hopped into the passenger seat in the front. Deviree climbed into the back seat. With the white stallion in the drivers seat noticed that some poor pony had left the keys in the ignition.
"Well, it's his fault for leaving the keys in." Trebass said sarcastically, as he twisted the key.
A loud rumbling purr came from the front of the cab.
"Where do you think he went?" Deviree asked, as she slowly reloaded six (6) bullets into her revolver.
Thoughts began to swirl around in Trebass' mind, "He might have fled back to the hotel to find Royal Flush, or perhaps he wants to get out of the city and he's taking a ship out of Haywaii... Or maybe..."
"The train? He did say something about a train to catch didn't he?" The white mare beside Trebass pointed out.
"That must be it. Nice job!" Trebass complimented her, while Deviree seemed a bit annoyed in the back of the cab.
The unicorn punched the gas pedal with his back leg, and they drove through the empty streets of downtown Haywaii. They passed the very few vehicles that stood in their way, Trebass swayed left and right to avoid any collisions. They finally emerged from the dark shadows the the tall buildings around them, as began to drive out of the downtown area and onto the black paved highway running through a barren wasteland. Bits of tumble weed and dead shrubs rolled past the yellow cab speedily.
"I can see the train rails running over the ocean there! But it'll take us hours to get to the station if we follow the highway!" Deviree shouted over the extremely loud roaring engine.
Trebass realized that, and he noticed that the train was already leaving the station, "Looks like we're gonna take a detour!"
Notelie spoke up again, "Wait, a detour--"
*SCREECH*
Trebass had sharply turned clockwise, and had the hood of the cab facing the elevated train rail tracks about a quarter of a mile away from them. He punched the gas pedal again with his back leg, and started speedily driving down the rocky basalt wasteland.
The bumpiness of the unpaved basalt nearly made Notelie throw up, while Deviree held herself together by shutting her eyes.
They were nearing the railroad tracks, and luckily the train had been approaching the spot where Trebass had stopped the cab.
"So here's the gameplan, I'll drive beside the train. Deviree, you take Notelie onto the train and I'll follow you after." Trebass explained.
"Why don't we just--" Notelie never finished her sentence; after Trebass had, yet again, punched the gas pedal with his hoof.
The cab swayed left and right as the unicorn driving tried to align the cab parallel to the train that he was currently racing. Deviree opened the sunroof of the cab and grabbed Notelie from the front passenger seat.
"Ah! What are you doing?!" The white mare shouted.
Deviree replied with a, "Sorry sweety, big stallion's orders!" before she flew out the sun roof with the white mare in her arms.
Trebass saw the green pegasus flying onto the top of one of the train cars, while Notelie flailed her arms in a fashion that looked cute to him. They opened a hatch and then disappeared into the train car.
"Well, time to do something stupid again." The unicorn said to himself.
He pulled out a jar that contained a Storm of Hearts . His M.a.s.t. was flickering with static.
"Let's hope I'm not too rusty." He said, as his horn began to glow a bright pink.
He concentrated as hard as he could, his horn's glow gradually grew brighter and brighter. The glass jar in his hand began to crack, until it finally shattered. A swirl of grey clouds and small bolts of lightning began to chase each other around Trebass.
He began to chant, "With the power of two hearts aligned, I control even the fabric of space and time."
He glanced at the speeding train to his left. A bright white light engulfed him and blinded him momentarily. Suddenly, he found himself on the top of one of the train cars. Unfortunately, he was still in the yellow cab!
"Crap!" Was all he could shout, as he frantically tried to balance the cab on the train car. It was no use, he tried to eject himself from his seatbelt. A quiet 'click' was all it took for Trebass to know he was free. He lunged for the door handle, but the cab had already began to roll on its side.
He managed to open the door, as he fell into one of the gaps between train cars. He could see the cab falling into the blue ocean behind him.
"Well no amount of insurance can cover that damage." Trebass said to himself, as he entered the train car in front of him.
His first priority was to meet up with Deviree and Notelie. The first train cart was completely empty, which He thought was strange since it was the second cart closest to the driver's cab. He slowly trotted through eerily empty train cab and into to the next gap between cabs.
He came out from the cab doorway, as a strong wind blew across his face. He covered his face with his right hoof, and entered the next train cab. Like the previous cab, this one was eerily empty as well.
"I suppose ponies wouldn't want to leave this resort in the middle of summer." Trebass said to himself.
He proceeded halfway through the cab until he was stopped by a voice that was muffled by electrical static, "H..Hello... Tre..bass." The voice cracked.
The white unicorn stopped and shouted, "Shock Bolt! Come out and fight me like a stallion!"
The crackled intercom voice echoed through the cab again, "How about a little game instead? You see, I've got seven (7) objects that you would probably be interested in. There are three (3) on this train, two (2) in the driver's cab and one (1) at the back of the train. One (1) on the train tracks, about three (3) minutes ahead of us. One (1) is tied to the very front of the train. I'm tying the last one down on the top of cab three, which is currently the cab behind you. The last one is me, if you wish to take your revenge... Oh, and if you're wondering what each of these objects are, there's a map of the train and the tracks on the door at the end of the cab. You can only take one object, so which will you take?" The intercom voice stopped, and so did the background static.
Trebass proceeded to the end of the train, and like Shock Bolt said, there was a piece of paper taped to the window of the exit door. The unicorn inspected the crude drawing of a train riding on what looked like tracks.
"No..." Trebass said. The cutie mark of Deviree was drawn on the driver's cab section of the map.
Notelie's cutie mark was at the back of the train, and Aromé's was on the top of the train behind him. A badly drawn picture of a bomb was printed on the train tracks, and a line was drawn between the bomb and the words 'defuse ' that floated above a dark blue skull on top of the driver's cab.
He assumed that the blue skull was Shock Bolt, and that he had the means of defusing the bomb. Finally, he saw four (4) card suits on the front of the train.
"He's going to ram Royal Flush into something!" He said as he punched the door in anger.
He ran his other hoof over the Rose, Dove, Harp and Card Suit cutie marks on the piece of paper. Worst case scenarios filled his mind. He knew that somepony was going to die, and it was inevitable, but who was going to meet death, and who would live among the living?
Trebass tried to think of a solution that would save everypony, but not one crossed his mind,"Even if I defuse the bomb, it'll still derail train. But even with a large explosion, the rear cabs would probably survive. Tch, that insane psycho is gonna get the punishment he deserves. One way or another..."
(ENDING): Mercy and Sacrifice
Trebass' anger built up inside him to the point that he couldn't think about anything else but revenge. Thoughts of ridding Shock Bolt from Equestria filled his mind. He glanced at the train map again, he saw the blue skull above the driver's cab. The blue skull represented Shock Bolt, that was what Trebass imagined it to be anyways.
He pulled the exit door to the side and stepped outside. Looking down, he could see the rails zooming by. The cloudless sky blue water below him sparkled. He looked up, and the sky was as blue as the ocean. The unicorn began to climb the ladder on his right. He got to the top, and the wind immediately blew on his back. Turning to face the front of the train, he saw his rival. Shock Bolt stood firmly on top of the driver's cab.
"So you chose revenge did you?!" The blue pegasus shouted over the sound of the blowing wind.
Trebass regained his balance, and tried to resist the blowing wind on his face. His horn glowed, and a flash of light blinded Shock. The unicorn appeared in front of Shock. Trebass' punched the pegasus right between the eyes.
Falling backwards, Shock Bolt let out a shout of pain. A remote fell out of the pegasus' vest pocket and slid into the gap between train cabs.
"No!" Trebass shouted, as he galloped to and then dropped into the gap between trains.
He saw the remote shaking slowly towards the edge. Trebass grabbed it quickly, and pressed the large red button on it. The word diffused appeared on the digital screen on the remote.
The unicorn fell on his flank, and let out a deep sigh.
Suddenly, the blue pegasus lept down from the cab roof, "So you chose to save your friends over killing me?" He asked.
Trebass replied, "You're not worth killing."
"I should probably mention, the bomb is also large enough to derail the train. So I'd find a way to fix that if I were you." Shock Bolt said cockily, as he flew away from the train and over the blue ocean to the beach in the distance.
"HEY! Come back here!" Trebass shouted, but his cries were in vain.
"I guess I've only got one option left..." He said softly to himself.
The unicorn began to quickly climb up the ladder leading to the roof of the driver's cab. He galloped to the center of the cab. He raised his horn high, as it began to start glowing a light pink. He squinted his eyes shut, and concentrated.
The train was nearing the bomb, as it started to glow the same color as Trebass' horn. Shimmers of light began to float around the train. Then, a white light flashed and nearly blinded everypony within a mile of the train. When the light cleared, the train was nowhere to be found.
The mares, Royal, Deviree, Aromé, and Notelie each fell from the train and onto the train rails. Each mare, except Royal Flush, had all of their legs tied together by rope. The tan mare flew in mid-air for a second, until she landed on the train track in front of a black bomb.
Royal stood up, and regained her balance. She turned around and saw three (3) other mares on the track. She galloped towards them to help. When each mare was untied, the green pegasus offered to take each pony from the train tracks to the beach in the distance. Deviree flew back and forth, taking each mare to the sandy beach of Haywaii from the trail rails. When they were all on the beach, they asked each other what they were doing on the train.
And each of them answered the same, "A blue pegasus had either kidnapped them, or knocked them out and tied them up." Both answers were generally the same.
Deviree and Notelie mentioned that their friend Trebass had brought them to the train. Royal Flush and Aromé were surprised by this, why was Trebass escorting two other beautiful mares?
"Well I'm gonna find him. With or without the rest of you." Deviree said.
Royal Flush spoke up, "And what gives you the right to go after MY Trebass?"
"Your Trebass?!" Aromé shouted interrupting Royal.
The three (3) mares argued and quarrelled for a time, while Notelie silently stood behind them.
"I'm the only one knows where he is. But could I use these mares to my advantage?" She pondered to herself.
She looked up at a single lonely cloud in the sky, "I wonder how the council will handle a giant train entering Cutopia from nowhere..."
-Saving others from harm, at the cost of yourself
(ENDING): Gambling with Life
Trebass decided he would go to where Royal Flush's cutie mark was labeled on the map. He figured that she, of all ponies, would be in the most danger since she was assumed to be tied to the front of the train.
He exited the train cab and began to climb the ladder on his right. He peeked over the ladder and saw a dark blue pegasus standing on the train car in front of him. Shock Bolt's back was turned, fortunately.
"Can't go that way. I'll head through this cab and try getting to her along the side of the train." Trebass thought to himself.
He slowly trotted through the empty cab, directly under Shock Bolt. He emerged from the cab and started to shuffle along the left side of the train car in front of him. He looked back at the previous cab, and saw the silhouette of a pegasus moving away from him.
He turned to the front of the train, and started to shuffle along the side again. Trebass fought the blowing wind again him, but he eventually reached the very front of the driver's cab. The unicorn climbed into the small fenced off area, on front of the driver's cab.
"Hey! Help me!" A feminine voice called out.
Trebass looked around, and over the metal fence. He saw a light tan mare tied onto the plower of the train with rope.
"Royal!" He shouted.
"Trebass?!" She shouted back.
The unicorn began to untie the ropes on the fence. After he released each of the ropes, he assisted the mare into the fenced area with him.
She threw her arms over the unicorn, "Trebass! What's happening?! Why did Shock--"
"I'll explain later. Right now, we have to get off this thing!" Trebass interrupted her.
She nodded, and they both began to climb onto the roof of the driver's cab. Trebass thought he saw something moving through the front window of the driver's. But he could only focus on getting Royal Flush off the train, so he ignored it.
Finally, they reached the top of the driver's cab. Shock Bolt was nowhere to be found, which gave Trebass a feeling of relief. He turned around, the train was getting closer to the bomb.
"We have to jump!" Trebass shouted.
"No way! We're way too high!" The mare shouted, as she looked over the edge of the train.
The blue ocean below them was as clear as glass, and yet neither of them could see the bottom.
"Well then hold your breath and shut your eyes!" The unicorn shouted, before prodding her over the train.
She shouted vulgar words in a vulgar manner at him, but he paid no attention to the screams of the mare. Instead, he jumped in after her shouting "Yahoo!" on the way down.
Royal flush disappeared entered the water with a splash, and Trebass followed after. Water suddenly engulfed him, and he could see the distressed mare struggling for the surface. He swam towards her, kicking his back legs viciously. When he was close enough, he grabbed her by the arm and swam from the surface. They emerged from the water, and each gasped for air. Coughing and partially choking, they both began to swim for the shore, which was only a couple minutes worth of swimming away.
The two ponies crawled onto the sandy beach shore. They both turned around to face the train.
"I'm sorry." The unicorn whispered to himself.
Royal shrieked, as the train ran over the bomb, and the detonation derailed it into the ocean. Bits and pieces of debris landed in the water and created large waves, which became ripples by the time they reached the shore.
"A-At least there weren't any other ponies on the train... Right Trebass?" The earth pony asked.
Trebass replied, "Right. No other ponies."
(ENDING): Saving Private Deviree
"I better get Deviree out first. She's fast, and she can help me get everypony else off this train." Trebass decided that he would save Deviree first.
He tried to make his way to the driver's cab, where the pegasi's cutie mark was labeled on the map. He exited the train cab and began to climb the ladder on his right. He peeked over the ladder and saw a dark blue pegasus standing on the train car in front of him. Shock Bolt's back was turned, fortunately.
He descended on the ladder, and made his way through the cab in front of him, "Can't go on the rooftops, chances are he'll have a gun on him. It's safer this way."
Swiftly and quietly, he quickly ran into the driver's cab. Trebass turned around and closed the door behind him.
"Mmmph! Mmmph!" A muffled voice could be heard behind him.
The unicorn turned around, expecting to see somepony. Instead, he saw absolutely nothing. Trotting forward slowly, he looked around the cab. It wasn't until about halfway through the cab that he noticed the tall shaking driver's seat in front of him. He cautiously approached the driver's seat, and peeked around it.
"Mmmph! Mmmph!" A mint green pegasus struggled to loosen some ropes that tied her legs and wings together.
"Deviree!" Trebass shouted, as he assisted her in untying the ropes.
The ropes came loose, and she was free. The mare ripped the duct tape from her mouth and shouted, "CELESTIA THAT HURT!"
"Your welcome..." Trebass said, as he helped the mare to her hooves.
"Huh? Oh yeah, thanks sweety. Now let's get off this train." She said, as she picked up her revolver that was lying on the floor next to her.
"Okay sure, but first we need to get Notelie and the others." Trebass said as he proceeded to the exit.
Deviree caught up to him, "No time. The train is nearing the bomb, and we have to get out as soon as possible."
"But we can't just--" Trebass spoke, but was interrupted.
"Fine! We'll go save your other marefriends, but if we can't make it in time... We bail. You got that?" Notelie shouted furiously.
Trebass pondered for a moment, but then agreed, "Alright. We'll bail if there's not time left."
They both exited the driver's cab, and climbed a ladder leading to the roof. Unfortunately, they were not alone. The blue pegasus, Shock Bolt, stood in front of the two ponies.
"You two aren't thinking of leaving are you?" Shock asked.
Deviree pulled her revolver out with her hoof, "Put the gun down Bolt! And just walk away. Defuse the bomb while your at it too."
"Um, how about no? Your coltfriend needs to suffer, and this is the perfect way to give him that feeling!" Shock shouted.
Trebass turned around, "We gotta go! Now!" He grabbed Deviree by the hoof and jumped off the train.
"Fly!" He shouted, and she did as she was told.
She flapped as hard as she could, and when she carried him far enough... She stopped, and they both plummeted into the dark ocean water.
The sound of an explosion came from above Trebass before he was completely submerged in water. The unicorn grabbed Deviree by the legs and dragged her to the surface. he used all this strength to tow her to the shore. It took him about two (2) minutes to reach the sandy beach shore, but he finally had time to rest. By the time Deviree had awoken, the train was already gone, and so was part of the railing.
The pegasus sat up, and gathered her bearings. When she realized that the train was already gone, she turned to Trebass and asked, "Hey hun. How did you pick. I heard that psycho on the intercom, there were others weren't there?"
Trebass stared at the sky, pondering, thinking, and he finally answered, "It's because I promised him , and because I love you."
The baby blue water lapped on the sandy shores of the Haywaiin beach. Deviree leaned towards the unicorn, and gave him a light kiss on the cheek, "Ditto." She whispered, as Trebass visioned a familiar looking soldier in the sky, saluting him.
"I kept your promise. She's safe... Braeburn." He whispered to himself.
(ENDING): Pony Princess Protection Program
"Aromé... I'm coming. Just hang on alright?" He whispered to himself, as he turned around and ran to the back of the cab.
A powerful wind blew straight into his face the moment he opened the cab's back door. He ascended up the ladder, and an even stronger wind blew behind him. Nearly being blown off the ladder and to the side, he began to crawl onto the roof of the cab. Trebass saw a struggling figure at the end of the train. The figure was too far to make out, but it looked like it was tied down by ropes or something of the sort.
Trebass could already tell who was on the other side of the cab, but he wondered where the pony who placed her there was. He cautiously crawled towards the figure, making sure not to slip off the edge of the train. The figure was more visible to Trebass now, he couldn't see any horn or wings, and the blue coat was a main point of interest for him
"Aromé." He thought to himself, as he approached the figure again.
He stopped, as he heard a loud shout come from the figure, "Help! Is anypony out here?!"
The voice was like the familiar scent of a rose to Trebass, "Aromé?! It's me Trebass!" The unicorn shouted.
"Trebass! Help me!" Aromé shouted.
He crawled close enough to her, and began to untie the ropes on her legs. The ropes were tied to both her legs and the outer window handles on the side of the train. When the ropes came loose, the blue mare embraced Trebass.
"Heh, you're a sight for sore eyes." The unicorn said, as he caressed her black mane.
She looked up at him, "Would you prefer it if I had worn my maid outfit?"
"I think you're fine the way you are." The unicorn continued the flirtatious conversation.
He turned around, and realized that the train was nearing the train, "We'll have enough time for this after we get off this death train."
"Well how do you propose we do that?" Aromé asked.
Trebass pointed behind her, and she turned around. While she wasn't looking, the unicorn prodded the blue earth pony off the train. She let out a loud shriek, as she plummeted into the ocean below the train tracks.
He looked at the approaching bomb before following after Aromé.
He landed in the water, and a horrible stinging spread around his body. The stinging subsided, and he swam for the surface. He emerged from the water and looked around for the blue mare.
Before he thought of going under the water to search for her, he heard a loud shout from behind him, "Hey! H..Help!" The voice was drowned out by the water.
He turned around, and saw a black mane disappearing into the waves.
"Aromé!" He shouted, as he dove underwater to rescue the mare.
Luckily, she sank at a speed that Trebass could keep up with. He grabbed the senator's daughter by the arm and swam with her to the surface. As the two began to swim to the surface, they heard a loud boom come from above, it was the bomb. Paying no attention to the explosion, they emerged again and the two began to swim to the shore. After a few minutes of exhausting swimming, they finally reached the sandy shore. Aromé sputtered, as watered dripped from her mouth onto the sand. Trebass coughed and choked on the beach, as he peeled the seaweed off his body.
"Hey, you alright?" Trebass asked, panting.
She nodded and cleared the saliva from her mouth, "Yes. Th-Thank you."
Trebass leaned towards her, and lightly kissed her on the cheek, "Good, because he would have my head if you weren't."
"Father..." She whispered to herself.
The dripping wet mare began to cry, but the unicorn wiped the tears from her eyes with his hoof.
Trebass comforted her, "Hey now, don't cry anymore. He's always with you... And so am I."
Aromé looked up, still dripping wet, but her eyes had dried, "I know, thank you... My love." She said, as the two shared another kiss on the dry Haywaiian beach, under the hot Haywaiian sun.
"I am the prince of Cutopia. And it's my duty to protect the Cuponies. That includes my cousin." Trebass said, as he turned and galloped through the train cab.
He proceeded through train cars one after the other until he reached the door of the last train car. The unicorn tried to open the door, but his attempts were in vain as it was locked tight.
"Notelie! Notelie! Are you in there?!" Trebass shouted, while banging his hoof on the door's window.
"Cousin!" A female voice shouted, "The door is locked from the inside too!"
"Try the back door! I'll meet you there!" The unicorn shouted back.
The mare nodded through the window, and turned around towards the back of the cab. Trebass climbed up the ladder on his right, and galloped to the back of the train as well. The very end of the train had a fenced off area for ponies who might have needed fresh air. A table and four (4) chairs were set up in the fenced of area. The colt jumped down from the roof onto the floor.
A loud banging came from the door in front of him, "Hey! I think you can use one of those chairs to break the glass." A voice shouted from behind the door.
"Good idea. Stay back alright?" He said, as he picked up one of the iron chairs next to him.
He launched the chair at the window, and sure enough the glass shattered into hundreds of shards.
Trebass walked over to the broken window, and cleared the sharper edges from the pane. Once the window was safe, he helped his cousin through.
"Why couldn't you teleport out?" He asked.
To which Notelie replied, "I tried to, but I was pushed back by some magic. But it wasn't normal magic either, it was... Cupony magic, strong enough to stop any unicorn from teleporting outside it's boundaries."
Trebass pondered in his mind for a moment, before asking, "Cupony magic, do you think Shock--"
"It's a possibility. But let's not jump to conclusions just yet, for all we know he could have been fooling around with an artifact that he stumbled upon randomly." The white mare replied.
"Whatever, we'll have time to speculate once we're off this train." Trebass said, as he took Notelie by the hoof and tried to drag her to the end of the train.
"Wait!" She shouted, "What about the others? That Deviree mare, and that psycho pegasus who trapped me in here?"
"No time for them. The train's heading straight for a bomb in the rail. If we don't get out, we'll die too!" Trebass exclaimed.
Notelie rebutted, "But what if--"
Again, Trebass interrupted, "Believe me when I say if I could, I would. But I can't, so let's go!"
The mare hesitated, before answering, "Alright, I understand the circumstances... Oh hey, look what I've got." She pulled out a jar with a bolt of lightning bouncing off the walls of glass.
"I thought you used your last one getting into this world?" Trebass asked.
Notelie looked at the floor, and her tone turned depressed, "I... I did. I found this one in the train car."
"Looks like that possibility might be more than just a possibility." Said the colt unicorn.
Notelie gripped the jar, "Let's get out of here." She tossed the jar at the door behind them.
Grey smoke began to swirl around the door. Small bolts of lightning followed the swirling grey smoke, as loud booming noises echoed from inside the tornado. Soon, the whirlwind of smoke engulfed the two white unicorns as they disappeared from the back of the train.
**********************
The unicorns covered their eyes until the smoke had cleared. But when it did, the sight almost took Trebass' breath away. A colossal stone structure towered over the two ponies. The castle-like building itself had three (3) towers ascending into the sky, each tower was taller than the other. Each tower had a red pyramid-shaped roof on the top of it. Four shorter towers, that were connected by stone walls, surrounded the taller building. Other than the castle, no other forms of civilization could be seen for miles. A completely empty desolate plain of luscious green grass was all they could see. Not a tree was in sight, each blade of grass looked as if they were the same height.
"I can't believe my castle is still intact. I miss this empty barren plain of nothing." Trebass spoke.
Notelie galloped in front of him and turned around, "Welcome back to Cutopia, Prince of Cuponies."
Trebass' anger built up inside him to the point that he couldn't think about anything else but revenge. Thoughts of ridding Shock Bolt from Equestria filled his mind. He glanced at the train map again, he saw the blue skull above the driver's cab. The blue skull represented Shock Bolt, that was what Trebass imagined it to be anyways.
He pulled the exit door to the side and stepped outside. Looking down, he could see the rails zooming by. The cloudless sky blue water below him sparkled. He looked up, and the sky was as blue as the ocean. The unicorn began to climb the ladder on his right. He got to the top, and the wind immediately blew on his back. Turning to face the front of the train, he saw his rival. Shock Bolt stood firmly on top of the driver's cab.
"So you chose revenge did you?!" The blue pegasus shouted over the sound of the blowing wind.
Trebass regained his balance, and tried to resist the blowing wind on his face.
Shock Bolt spread his wings wide, and then burst towards the white unicorn. Trebass began to gallop to the rear end of the train. The blue pegasus tackled him at full speed. Trebass and Shock tumbled on and off each train cab roof, until Trebass slammed his hooves onto the roof of one of the cars. He started to crawl against the blowing wind against his face. Before he could reach the gap between train cars, he saw a blue pegasus flying against the wind on his left. With a strong flap from his wings, the pegasus flew into Trebass. The unicorn was knocked off the train. Before he fell into the blue ocean, he grabbed onto the nearby windowsill. While pulling himself up, he attempted to pry the window open. The window flew open, and Trebass climbed into the train car.
"He's got the advantage. Stupid wings..." He complained to himself.
The sounds of heavy hooves galloping on the roof of the cab car echoed through the cab. Trebass looked around the cab. Multiple rows of seats in groups of two filled the room.
"Maybe I can hide somewhere..." Trebass thought to himself, as he dove behind one row of seats.
He waited restlessly, as he knew a bomb was lying on the train tracks not far ahead of him. Then, the sound of a door sliding open was followed by a chilling window filling the room.
"Come out little unicorn... I don't bite..." An extremely insane sounding voice sent a chill up Trebass' spine.
The unicorn hid under a pair of seats. He saw four (4) midnight blue hooves stop in front of him. It was almost as if he knew where he was the whole time.
"I found you!" The voice shouted, before ducking down to face his prey.
Trebass saw the face of a psychotic maniac appear in front of him. Bloodshot wide eyes stared straight at him. Without hesitation, he rolled out from behind the seats and quickly hopped to his hooves.
Shock Bolt raised a sharp knife with his wing. Trebass jumped back to dodge the pegasus' attack. Shock brought the knife down a centimetre away from his Trebass' head. The unicorn kicked his assailant between his back legs. The pegasus jumped back in agony and let out a cry of pain.
Trebass saw this as an opening, and pushed Shock onto one of the seats behind him. The unicorn turned around, and pulled the knife in the wall behind him out. A couple of forearms reached from behind him and began to strangle him. In a panic, he jabbed the knife into whatever was behind him.
Shock let out another shout of pain, as Trebass turned around grabbed the blue pegasus by the neck. He began to repeatedly punch the pegasus furiously. When an excessive amount of blood and teeth had dropped onto the floor, Trebass dragged the injured pegasus to the open train door and threw the him into the gap between train cars.
"GO AHEAD! DO IT!" The bloodied pegasus yelled.
Time slowed down for the two, as the train neared the bomb in the rail.
Trebass bent down towards the pegasus, "I'll go down too. If it means your gone, then I can rest peacefully."
Shock spit onto the unicorn's face, "Tell me. Why am I to be punished here?! What did I do to deserve this?!"
At that moment, the pegasus noticed something about Trebass' eyes... They were black.
"So all that stuff about that Bable thing..." Shock realized, the musician Trebass was gone. Somepony, or something else was haunting the white unicorn's shell.
"That's right. Me, Bable, the real prince of Cutopia, and the head of Caduceus ." The alternate persona introduced himself.
He continued, "And I can't let any loose ends blab about Caduceus. The ponies of Canterlot forgot all about us, and that's how we would like to keep it."
"W-Wait! I won't talk! I swear!" Shock pleaded for his life, but to no avail.
"Sorry kid. Loose ends aren't productive for business." Bable said, as he brought down the knife into the chest of the blue pegasus.
Shock Bolt let out a gasp of air, before his body turned completely limp. The unicorn lightly pushed the pegasus off the train onto the tracks with his backleg. A disgusting "squirting" sound came from below Bable. He trotted over to the seat behind him and sat down. The unicorn lay back in a sleeping position and closed his eyes.
The train was speedily nearing the bomb in the tracks. Two (2) large black boxes were attached to each rail. The train rain into the boxes, and a humongous explosion blew front of the train off the rails. One (1) by one (1), each of the train cars followed the driver's cab into the dark blue ocean. The glass windows began to crack, and eventually shatter. Water filled the train cabs as they sunk to the bottom of the ocean. Nopony could even hear the sound of the train hitting the ocean floor.
-Revenge solves nothing.
