Forgotten People

Chapter 4 – Journey to Canterlot

“Are we there yet?” Hamish asked Twilight.

“No.” she replied. The four animals were on the train to Canterlot. It had set off about an hour ago, and Hamish was already starting to get bored. Alec was sitting in a different seat with Rainbow Dash at the back of the carriage playing on his iPod Touch which had been in his pocket when he arrived in Equestria. Dash found it very interesting.

“We don’t have those things in Ponyville, but it looks so cool!” she said with a grin.

“It’s called an iPod.” Alec replied, “It can play games, play music and videos and let you text friends and call people. It’s a shame you don’t have them here.” Alec said. Unfortunately he hadn’t got an Apple Charger with him, so he’d have to conserve the battery of it. It was on 99% left.

“It’s probably for the best that we don’t have them here.” Dash replied with a chuckle, “It’s such a tiny screen for a big hoof anyway!” They both laughed for a little while. Twilight looked back at them both; Alec was showing Rainbow a 15-minute video of humans failing.

“Your friend Alec seems to be settling in with us and is starting to make friends with Rainbow Dash. Why haven’t you settled in yet Hamish?” Hamish sighed and turned to the purple unicorn.

“It’s not the same as my world. I like it here, but…it’s just…different.”

“Well, I’m sure you’ll feel better about being here soon.” Hamish smiled for once that day.

“I just have two questions for you Twilight, considering you’re the smarter one.” Twilight blushed, while Dash frowned as she overheard what he said. “That thing you activated that brought us here, can you re-activate it? You know, when we’re ready to leave?”

“I’m sorry Hamish, but that may not be for a while. I really wrecked my horn performing that spell and I’m still a bit shaky from it. It may take a few weeks, maybe even months before I’m ready to do that again, OK?” Hamish nodded in understanding.

“Secondly: Are we there yet?” Twilight groaned and trotted to the dining car of the train.

***

Twilight was asleep in one of the dormitories of the train as was Hamish in a different one. Rainbow Dash was at the Dining Car eating a quick snack and Alec was sitting in a window seat of the carriage gazing outside. It was about 10:30pm and the train wouldn’t arrive at Canterlot until 9:00am the next day. He couldn’t believe what had happened that day. Being somehow transported to Equestria almost seemed unreal, and still here he was. He was looking at the stars, looking for constellations in the sky. He found Orion, which was remarkable for being in a totally different universe.

“I can’t believe this has happened to me and Hamish! This almost seems like a dream…” he pinched himself to make sure he wasn’t dreaming. He wasn’t. This was all real. It felt just like the time he visited New York. It was magical at the time, but was almost unreal when he returned home. The door to the carriage opened and Rainbow Dash appeared with a can of drink.

“Shouldn’t you be asleep? It is 10:30pm.” She asked. Alec smirked.

“I could ask you the same thing.” Dash giggled. “What’s that?” Alec asked, pointing to the can in her hoof.

“This? Oh, it’s Strawberry Soda. It’s full of caffeine and it’s what I drink when I practice.” Alec knew what Dash was practicing for, but remembering what he told Hamish earlier, he played dumb.

“Practicing? For what?” he lied.

“I guess because you’re a newbie, I can explain. My dream is to become a Wonderbolt. They are a team of elite fliers who perform tricks and are real good at flying. I’ve tried to get in to their team and I think they’re starting to like me. I did save their lives once, you know.”

“No way?” Alec lied again. He remembered that episode, 'Sonic Rainboom'.

“Yeah, they were all knocked out and I saved them from falling to their doom with a Sonic Rainboom!”

“A ‘Sonic Rainboom’? Alec said, “That sounds neat. I’m assuming it’s when a rainbow and a sonic boom happen at the same time?” Dash nodded. She sat next to Alec and looked out of the window with him.

“It’s a nice night, isn’t it?” Dash said to him.

“Yeah, not a cloud in the sky. Is the weather different here?”

“Yeah, we Pegasi control it. I’m main weather manager.” Alec was pleased.

“Wow, that must be a big responsibility.” He looked at the red can. “Can I try a sip of that?” Dash looked at the can. It was unopened, and he seemed nice enough.

“Sure.” She said, giving it to the human. He cracked it open and took a sip. The sugar immediately got to his system and he shivered.

“Whoa, that’s strong.” He said, giving the can back to Dash. She laughed at the human’s intolerance to the drink.

“Yeah, nobody is perfect with it at first, but you’ll grow into it.” Alec smiled and wiped the red residue from his face. He turned away from the window and got up.

“I’m going to sleep now. I’m normally up around seven-ish.” He said with a yawn walking to an empty dorm. Dash smiled at him again.

“OK, see you in the morning.” Dash said happily. Alec nodded as he walked into his dorm and closed the door for a good night’s sleep.

***

At around 7:00am, the smell of breakfast wafted into the carriage. The Dining Car was open again and was serving eggs and pancakes. Before Alec even got a chance to get out of his dorm, Hamish smacked into him rushing out of his dorm to be first in line to get some. As Alec picked himself up, the two equines both trotted out.

“Well, someone’s eager to eat.” Twilight said with a smile. “Let’s get some food. It’s about two hours before we reach Canterlot.” The other three all walked to the Dining Car and got in line for some food. They saw Hamish sitting at a table pouring vast amounts of maple syrup onto his pancakes. When they had finally got their breakfast, they sat next to him. Hamish still looked sleepy, but when he smelt pancakes, he was up in a flash.

“You okay Hamish? You still look tired.” Dash said to him. Hamish shook his head to keep him staying awake.

“I kept randomly waking up last night, so I didn’t get much sleep.” Alec suddenly gritted his teeth and said nothing. He knew that when Hamish didn’t get enough sleep, his aggression rose dramatically if anyone ticked him off. But then he had an idea.

“Hold on Hamish, I know just the thing that’ll keep you awake.” He said with a grin. He got up and ordered a can of Strawberry Soda from the till. He came back with it and cracked it open and passed it to Hamish. “Trust me; it’s really high in caffeine.” Hamish, with a concerned look, took a sip of it. Within seconds his eyes perked awake and his pupils got wider.

“Whoa, that’s strong.” He said, taking another sip. Alec laughed.

““Yeah, nobody is perfect with it at first, but you’ll grow into it.” Dash suddenly remembered that she said that to him the other night ago and gave him a soft elbow in the arm while smiling. “But anyway, what will we do if the princess says we will stage the Olympics in Ponyville?” the others had completely forgotten about that.

“If we can, then we need to think of some events that we could do. But remember, ponies are different to humans, so some events will be cut from the programme.” Hamish certainly hoped they didn’t cut shooting, which was precisely the one Alec didn’t want Hamish to take part in.

“We’ll discuss it all when we get to Canterlot, it’ll be private and much easier there. I just hope the princess will respect who we are.” Alec said hopefully. The others agreed with him. They all looked at the time. 8:30am. They’d been lining up for so long that they hadn’t noticed the time. Canterlot came into view through the cliffs. Within half an hour they’d arrive.