I galloped towards the train station at full speed, with about 100 mares running after me. It was evident that all of them wanted a stallion for themselves, since I heard a LOT of arguing and violent shoving occurring behind me, all the while as I was pursued. It was a struggle to keep my hat on my head, let alone escape. But a hat is a hat, and I wasn't losing this beloved thing just yet. I looked over to the train station. Just on the other side of the main platform was a smaller 'island' platform, and just after that was a small gravelly area that was full of shipping containers, and somewhere on any of those multiple junctions and rail tracks and signal box things, was my train. I knew the one, the number 769 Diesel Freightliner Express.

They genuinely couldn't have fit any more exciting words into that if they tried. Unless they added in 'Tactical Nuclear Trainhead Infantry Disposal Crusher Holocaust Unit of Grinding', which would make it fucking awesome, but that's besides the point.

I leapt over some tables, slid under a market stand, and made a wing-propelled leap down an alleyway, all of which bought me a few seconds of leading. However, that wouldn't be forever, so another wing propelled burst threw me forward about twenty metres, and put me right in front of the station. I cantered up the stairs to the platform, leapt the turnstiles, and landed on the platform. To keep momentum, I made a normal leap over the tracks, landing perfectly on the centre island, and then jumped off and began to gallop towards the cargo containers. The mares behind seemed confused as to the fact that I, the stallion they assumed was like any other except he doesn't think with his balls, was able to so easily perform such fucking Mirror's Edge shit on a train platform and evade them. However it wouldn't save me from pegasi, as the lust-crazed females could quite easily fly after me and probably outrun me, or unicorns, who were able to simply teleport inside or levitate themselves over. Earth ponies would take a few moments longer as they carefully crossed the train tracks. Thinking as quickly as I possibly could, I darted around the corner of one container and hid underneath a nearby pallet. Overhead, I could see pegasi mares beginning to argue, but couldn't hear them from my distance. Suddenly, a unicorn mare I recognised as Lyra came around the corner, followed by a turquoise mare that looked like Colgate but evidently wasn't, judging by her cutie mark of a mint leaf and a diamond.

Diamond Mint?

Maybe.

Don't care, it wasn't her face I was staring at, heheh.

Anyway, they began to look around the area, giving glares to each other. Lyra went the other way, which I intended to go, and Diamond began to approach. She seemed hell-bent, like every other mare, on finding me and sending me to the town centre. Then, as though it were scripted, a piece of aging wood blew a feather onto my nose. It didn't tickle, it went up my nostril, causing me to grunt and snort it away loudly. Diamond obviously heard this, as she immediately looked toward me with a seductive yet obviously malicious grin. She'd obviously seen me. "Hey there, little guy..." she said as sweetly as possible. "Are you lost? Come out so I can see you, Thunder, so I can take you to see your friends. You know, Fire Trail, Solar Blast, Sky Wheel, ~~Lagoloaf, Gimpy, Dumpy, Snoopy, um...~~ Doctor Whooves, Big Macintosh, Inferno Cloud..."

"Shut up, they're safe." I shot back. She glared.

"Now, now, we both know this is the law." she smirked. "What good is resisting if it's the rules to let it happen?" I thought for a moment.

"The fuck does that mean?" I asked. "Whatever. My friends are safe."

"Oh no they're not." she lied, still approaching. "We captured them as you ran from us. Come out and I can show you, and I won't even throw you in the town centre with them. Is it a deal?"

"Seems one-sided, and plus I don't trust you." I replied sharply. She was now directly in front, looking down at me with a glare. I was crouched underneath a pallet, and she was now quite a bit taller than I was. Suddenly, she smiled, and turned away.

"Well, I guess if you don't trust me, I'll leave you be..." Her flanks were not even an inch from my face as she slowly moved away, and the smell of estrus was slowly taking a hold of my mind. I quickly deactivated my wings, and started breathing through my mouth, but it did nothing: I still found the smell hopelessly enticing. Just before she had managed to coax me out, something white, black, and red leapt down suddenly, knocking her to the gravel. It put control back into my brain, causing me to get out from the pallet and draw Gentle's Ambassador, pointing it at the new arrival.

It was a white mare with a dark mane, wearing a red fingerless glove on one hoof and a black vest. She also had a familiar tattoo on her right eye; two triangles pointing from her lower mix downwards. I also noted the red trainers* on her back hooves. I immediately knew who it was. "Faith?" I sputtered.

"Atheist." she replied with a faint Asian accent. She extended a hoof, pulling me to mine. "My name is certainly Faith." She looked at me for a moment. "Hey, are you the stallion that was interested in those shipment dates of those darts?" I nodded. "Well, I suppose they would be useful now. I hear you're escaping the Estrus?"

"H-How did you know that?" I asked as we began to sneak towards the other way. Diamond Mint fucking died or some shit. Dunno. She got a face-full of gravel, though. "And shouldn't you be tying me up and taking me to the centre of town?"

"No, Estrus has not done anything to me." she replied. "It seemed to affect you, though. You were sniffing her up like a dog."

"Lost control of my brain." I replied. "But why does it matter to you if there's three-hundred males breaking the law and going against the norm?"

"My parents were killed in the November Riots." she sighed, diving ever so calmly across a small gap and making no noise. "It happened back home, and I was very young at the time. Their deaths are why I got these tattoos. It was a mass-protest against Militarisation of the city, and they opened fire. We were all breaking the law. So, now I try to get involved in any mass-law-breaking to make sure nothing like that happens again."

"Depressing." I whistled. "Are you coming with us? We're just gonna go wherever the train tracks go, and that'll probably take us up to Canterlot, then Crowme, and probably a bit further on we'll end up in Tigeria, so I guess it's a long-haul journey. As long as we can confirm you're not in Estrus and going to force any of us to the floor with your mad 'jump from a cargo container and knock to the floor' tactic."

She shrugged.

"I'll try my best." she chuckled. "This your train?" Faith gestured with a hoof to the train in front of us. It was certainly the one: Number 769 Diesel Freightliner Express.

"Certainly is." I replied with a smile. "You really saved my ass back there. I need to repay you in some way."

"Bow chicka bow-wow." Inferno called out. I turned sharply, and so did Faith. "I saw the whole thing, and your new girlfriend seems fine. Just bring her aboard, we need to get going!" I nodded, grabbing Faith by the hoof and leaping aboard the cabin. Once inside, I realised that Inferno wouldn't be driving, and that this was actually a Clan Train. Sat behind the controls was a familiar stallion with a hard-hat and goggles, and beside him was a brown stallion with one eye and a beanie. They were the very same gents that crashed the train in the caverns. That time, they seemed less excitable, speaking in what might as well have been pre-set phrases. This time, they were actually speaking.

"So that there was a fine piece a' work," chuckled the hard-hatted stallion with his Texan accent. Then, he turned to me. "That all of us? We gonna move this thing, now?" I nodded.

"Get it moving, Engie." I laughed. Grinning, he grabbed the throttle, and shoved it violently forward, all the while shouting 'Yee-Haw!' His companion fell out of the chair, asleep. The train screeched into life, beginning its rapid acceleration down the track, and in the back, hundreds if stallions leaned out of the window as the train began to turn its usual route through Town Centre, waving to the mares and throwing jeers, and also grabbing almost half of the stallions and pulling them into the first carriage, and as other stallions followed the train and ran from crazed female captors, we were able to pull on pretty much every single one into our vehicle. That left mares with nothing.

And I knew that if these two stallions driving were Demo and Engineer, we were only missing Scout...and Pyro.

As the train ascended the mountain, I sat on one of the many beds fitted into the disguised 'freight' carriages we had since upgraded from the Wedding infiltration. The carriage had lights, and that allowed many of us to sit and do normal things. We had the diner car, which was as it was, a 50's diner, we had the main engine, which was host to my bedroom, Ebony's room, Inferno's room, and the other ringleaders, as well as Engie and Demo. I was, at that moment, sat playing cards with Faith on her bed. She sat crosslegged opposite me, which I found painful to try. We were playing one of the most pointless games in Equestrian society, Strip Poker, since we were both wearing clothes. I was winning so far, having to only remove my hat, and Faith only had her vest remaining. She seemed quiet, but was actually rather sociable if you got to know her. I was holding a winning hand, I knew it. I had one of each house, and it was pretty much a flush as well, and I also had an Ace of spades. That shit makes you instantly win, so I threw it down.

Faith groaned. "How can you be so good at cards?" she laughed as she took her top off. I leaned forward with a Mr. Bean face.

"Magic." I replied, snorting twice. Faith rolled her eyes.

"Very funny. So, what now? I'm pretty naked." she sighed. "It's cool being a pony, because being naked in front of loads of men is suddenly not weird."

"I still feel the urge to wear at least one piece of clothing at all times." I replied, looking over her now naked body. She was very toned and curvy, and I was taking as much effort as possible to not stare at her perfect hips. "B-But, ah, still, I don't know...kn-know...um...ahah..." She was tilting her head in confusion. Then, she understood, groaned, and looked at me again.

"You seem distracted." she chuckled. "Want me to get dressed again?" A massive part of me wanted to say 'no', but then the socially awkward bloke in the corner said 'yes' and spammed votes, and that won.

"Ah...yes please." I was blushing. "I'll say this in a non-creepy way, but you have an amazing body."

"You think I haven't noticed?" she asked. "Stallions everywhere I go start flirting with me, and it never works. They promise money, power, and fame, usually they'd mean it. But yeah, money would be nice, but this isn't a job I'd get rid of so easily. It has something none of them can offer: Excitement."

"That's a good point." I nodded, retrieving my hat. "I wouldn't get rid of this job, even in the endless time I have left to live here. It's exciting, and I go places. And yes, any human that comes here is immortal. It seems like a punishment for something."

"Well, more running for me." she laughed, slipping her glove on. She then pulled out an elbow pad and put that on too. "I think we're nearly in Canterlot, and it's 12:00 at night. Hopefully we can sneak in and get some stallions, then get out, since we need as many as possible for this whole protest. Any you can think of that'll be good for this cause?"

"Doktor Schadenfreude is a definite. A Medic. Who else...?" I thought for a moment. Thunderlane raised a hoof to interject from over the carriage.

"What about the guards?" he suggested. "I'm certain none of them like being on duty during Estrus, so we get them out and we've added another few hundred to the roster. We'll also need another train to help tow all the new carriages."

"Will there be another train like this in Canterlot?" Faith asked.

"Should be. Every train yard on Equis has one, apparently. Probably not all, but probably all major cities will have one." I turned to the other stallions. "GENTLEMEN!" I called. The whole carriage went quiet, and more stallions flooded it from other carriages. "We'll be stopping in Canterlot to pick up as many stallions as possible! We need about 40 of the strongest stallions to come with us, and collect members for the cause! The rest of you will need to stay behind and guard the carriage, and help get the other stallions up to speed on this plan! Are there any questions?" No hooves raised. "Good! Those wishing to volunteer, stay here! The rest of you, get to somewhere else so I don't confuse you with somebody who gives a damn! MOVE OUT!" They did as told, talking at normal volume as the carriage remained slightly full of the number of men I needed. Faith leaned over.

"You're very good at giving orders." she whispered.

"I did Army Cadets back on Earth, what can I say?" I laughed. "Loudest drill voice that side of London." Then, I set about picking stallions to help escort new members to the train.

Author's Note

* Or sneakers, if you're a friggin' AmeriYank or whatever other countries call them Sneakers.