The Canterlot Reunion

My vision focused into view as I awakened, but I almost instinctively got a pillow and put it over my head. Unfortunately for me, the pressure almost immediately disappeared, and a voice beckoned.

“Come on, Apple Bloom, get up.” Phalanx’s voice said, and I just grumbled in response. “If you don’t want to miss the train you need to get up.”

I snapped up as he said that, “That’s today?” I exclaimed as I raced out of the room.

“I already have everything packed!” He said just as I exited the bedroom’s door, and I tripped as I practically skidded to a halt. Barely avoiding a fall, I slammed a hoof onto the ground to steady myself.

“Anythin’ else Ah should know Phalanx?” I asked, and he chuckled.

“Nah.” He answered with a smile, “Well, maybe that it’s six o’clock.”

“Shit.” I thought as I realized that I only had an hour and a half to get to the train station. “Why didn’t ya get me up earlier?” I interrogated as I started to get myself together; also known as me taking a shower, I didn’t do any of that makeup crap or the like.

“Because I think that everypony else would prefer seeing you not tired.” He replied as I got water running.

Ten minutes later, Phalanx and I were out the door, with our saddlebags in tow. “You do realize we have over an hour still.” Phalanx seemed to try to remind me.

“Then we have over an hour.” I replied as we walked towards the train platform. I knew that Applejack, Big Mac, and my father would be there when we got there, but as we walked I blinked for a second, and then Rabil was standing on the road, looking as if he was trying to tell me something. I immediately blinked again, and he disappeared, but it still left me chilled. I had been having these for weeks, where I would randomly see him for a split-second, and as soon as I blinked, he would disappear.

“You saw him again?” Phalanx asked, probably seeing my shaken face. I just nodded, and he muttered something.

“The thing that’s weird is that it feels like he’s not there with bad intentions... It’s almost like he’s trying tuh warn me.” I said, and Phalanx gave a dark look.

“I doubt that.” He said, and I remembered the letter I had written to Twilight at one point about it, and she had replied saying it was most likely symptoms of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.

But, as if to intentionally get me off my train of thought, Pinkie Pie sprang out from behind a house. “Hey Apple Bloom! Hey Phalanx Spear!” She exclaimed excitedly. “Are you excited? Because I’m excited! I’ve never been so excited, well except for that time when I first saw Twilight and I went ‘HUUU’, and that time when I thought that we were going to see Princess Celestia, but instead it was Black Snooty.”

“Yes we’re excited, Pinkie.” I said with a calm that contrasted with her hype.

“Well that’s great!” She replied, “I just can’t wait to see Dashie and Rarity and Twilight! Not mention Spike and Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle!”

“Same here, Pinkie.” I said, and as we turned the corner on the road, I nearly smashed into my father's barrel.

“Hello Apple Bloom,” My father greeted, “Phalanx Spear.” He added curtly. Those two still had some... issues with each other, though it was mainly on my father’s part. Nevertheless, Phalanx and him had agreed to not go at each other for the next week.

“Where ya goin’?” I asked, wondering why he was leaving the train platform.

“I forgot something at the farm.” He said, and I just nodded.

“Well don’ let us keep ya.” I replied, and he started off.

“I’ll see you shortly.” He bade, and as he walked away, Phalanx visibly relaxed.

“Yer gonna need tuh get used tuh him Phalanx, at one point or another.” I said, and he sighed.

“Tell that to him.” He replied, although we both knew my father just was in general a little distrusting of Phalanx.

“Hey Applejack!” I heard Pinkie shout, and I just ignored her antics, namely somehow appearing from a door on the train station platform, even though she was next to us a moment earlier.

“Howdy, Pinkie.” My older sister greeted, and Big Mac just nodded, maintaining his normal near-mute demeanor. I think the time he spoke most was, well, when Rabil was around, but I don’t want to get into something I’ve already explained.

As Pinkie started bouncing around, speaking words so fast you couldn’t understand her, Applejack looked over at me. “Howdy tuh ya too Apple Bloom and Phalanx.” She said with a warm smile.

“So where’s Fluttershy?” I asked, partially due to the harassment value of my brother, who now seemed to turn redder than he was already.

My sister gave an evil grin and leaned over to him, “Ah don’ know, where is she Mac?” She asked with amusement. It was no secret to everypony that Big Mac and Fluttershy liked each other, namely due to their awkwardness whenever they were around each other, but both of them were way too shy to admit it.

“Ah don’ know!” He stammered, and everypony except for him laughed. I decided to lay off my big brother for the mean time, and looked at Applejack.

“What’s Pa gettin’?” I asked, and Applejack shook her head.

“Beats me, he said somethin’ ‘bout Ma, but he didn’t go any further.” She said, and she looked at Phalanx. “But Ah’ll make sure tuh keep him in check fer ya Phalanx.”

“That would be very much appreciated.” Phalanx said, and in the distance we heard the train.

“Ah don’ know ‘bout the rest of y’all, but Ah’m gonna find a place tuh sleep soon as that train stops here.” I told them, and Applejack nodded.

As the train’s engine grew steadily louder, my father returned with an apple in his saddlebags. I knew immediately what it was, and so did Applejack and Big Mac. Phalanx seemed to deduce what it was, and its significance. Pinkie, thankfully, didn’t notice. The train came to a deafening roar and then stopped, and the doors hissed open.

A mix of businessponies, along with ponies who looked like they were settling down, and a few construction workers came out. Ponyville had become the so-called “investment heaven of Equestria.”, something I was both irritated and gladdened by.

As one of the businessponies walked out, they noticed us, and gave a look of disgust. “Yeah, Ah’m the countrypony, and also the reason why yer able tuh give that dumb look at us.” I muttered, and I saw Applejack trying not to go after the stuck-up stallion and give her a piece of her mind.

When no more ponies came out of the doors, I walked in and found a bed. “Hello again, Apple Bloom.” A male voice said, and for a moment I thought my worst nightmares had come true, and Rabil had somehow come back to life. As I turned around, ready to find anything usable as a makeshift weapon, I was relieved to see it was just the train conductor. He looked familiar, and I realized he was the same one I had seen nearly ten months earlier, upon my return to Ponyville.

“Hello there.” I greeted, and he nodded towards me.

“Don’t worry, I’ll let you sleep. I just thought it polite to say hello.” He replied, and walked off. I laid down on the mattress, and as soon as my head hit the pillow, I fell asleep.

My eyes fluttered open, and I was someplace dark enough it was impossible to see in. However, it was like I heard somepony else thinking.

“Where am I?” I heard the feminine voice think, “I died, I know for a fact I died.” The other pony realized they were in a coffin, and for a moment her breathing rapidly accelerated.

“Stop it,” They thought, “Running out of oxygen quicker won’t help you.”

Then, the pony and I seemed to stop as I saw a faint glow. Then, it felt like an explosion went off underneath the coffin, and the pony was slammed to the bottom.

The sound of a hinge turning occurred, and a blinding light appeared. “What’s going on?” The mare demanded, and a shadow appeared. Her eyes focused, and she saw it was a greenish-coated unicorn stallion.

“Relax,” The stallion soothed, “You’re alive.” The mare seemed to be confused by the stallion’s statement.

“I died, I remember it. I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t-” The mare protested, but the stallion nodded his head, and interrupted her.

“I know you did. You were dead, that is until I revived you.” The stallion informed her, and the mare now seemed to think this was some afterlife practical joke.

“That’s impossible! Nopony, not even Celestia can resurrect the dead!” The mare accused, and the stallion grinned.

“You are correct on that matter.” He replied, “But I am able to.” The mare decided to humor the stallion, and asked him a rhetorical question.

“Oh, so you can resurrect just anypony, on a whim?” The mare asked sarcastically, and the stallion’s expression didn’t change.

“No, in fact, I was only able to do that once. But I need you for something.” The stallion explained.

“What’s so special about me? There’s a thousand others who would be better to bring back.”

“You are the one who is needed, and I shall explain it.” The stallion said, and the mare started to have an inkling this was the real deal.

“Then who are you?” The mare asked, terrified that something had that ability.

“You may call me Herald, but I will not explain anymore than that.”

“Fine, why am I here?” The mare continued, as she tripped out of the coffin onto the grass. The stallion lent a hoof, and she silently thanked him.

“Because, as I said, I need you for something.” Herald elaborated, as he gestured for her to follow him. It appeared they were in a field, but where were the trees? She had wished to be buried in the forest. “Everything that you ever held dear is at risk, and there is somepony who would wish to prevent somepony else from stopping it.”

“How cliche.”

“It is unfortunately the case.”

I jerked up, and banged my head on the bed above. Something was wrong about that dream, it seemed too real. The only things that were more powerful than the late Celestia and her sister was the creator of the world itself, and her three brothers, one whom I had the pleasure of ending their life.

“Why would they resurrect somepony?” I thought, “What’s happening?” But I calmed myself as I remembered the last time I had been to Canterlot was after I had stopped the insane god. It was probably stress induced by the memories associated with the location. I still had nightmares every now and then about that horrible time.

“You okay Apple Bloom?” Phalanx asked, and I noticed he was reading the newspaper.

“Yeah, yeah, just a bad dream.” I said as I made a mental note to ask Twilight if that was just a bad dream caused by what I thought it to be. I noticed the train engine was blaring, and we were moving. “How long have Ah been asleep?”

“A couple of hours, just as well.” He replied, “We’re maybe twenty minutes away.” He must have noticed something in my expression, because he asked me, “What was in the dream?”

“Ah honestly don’ know, it was kinda like when Ah saw what Rabil was doin’, but it was not as... vivid.” I said, and he looked at me, “It was somepony comin’ back from the dead, and somepony else helped them up and told ‘em that they wanted ‘em fer somethin’.”

“What do you think about it?” Phalanx asked, and he knew that my gut feeling was usually pretty accurate.

“Ah think it’s just somethin’ like Twilight would say.” I answered.

“If you think so.” Phalanx said sincerely. His eyes returned to the newspaper, and then he looked a little surprised. “Huh, take a look at this Apple Bloom.” He gave me the newspaper and I looked at where his hoof was pointing.

Theft at Royal Canterlot Archives

At 2:00 a.m. this morning, a Security Officer at the Royal Canterlot Archives reported a theft. Fifteen minutes earlier, the Officer reported hearing glass breaking near the section on Ancient Equestrian History, and upon arriving, they reportedly saw a unicorn, with several books. Upon ordering the culprit to stop, the unicorn ran off, and after giving chase, the Officer lost the culprit.

“Although this crime seems petty,” The Officer in question stated, “It disturbs me and the police here. There have been zero crimes reported in the past ten months here in Canterlot, and this is a truly out-of-the-blue occurrence.”

Investigators have closed off the Ancient Equestrian History section of the Royal Canterlot Archives, but in the meantime all other parts are open to the public.

“Weird, isn’t it?” Phalanx asked, and I just nodded, and got myself out of the bed.

“Fluttershy here?” I asked, worried for some reason that she hadn’t come.

“Yes, not too many others are on the train though.” Phalanx replied.

I looked out the window, and saw the city of Canterlot growing larger and larger. “May as well, go see what the others are up to.” I said.

I walked into the next compartment, where Pinkie Pie was surprisingly sleeping in a seat. “So we’ll see ya later at the plaza?” Applejack asked, and I nodded.

“Arriving at Canterlot Station!” The conductor shouted, and Pinkie Pie bursted up.

“We’re here!” She exclaimed, and bounced over to the exit.

I smiled, I was going to see my old friends again. We had communicated through letters, but nothing beat seeing somepony face-to-face.

“See ya at the plaza Phalanx.” I said as the doors opened, and he nodded.

“I’ll be there Apple Bloom.” He said, and I walked outside, into the city of Canterlot.