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{Canterlot} Ticket to Anywhere (Open)


WillfulWanderer

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Morning it was, and a fine one at that, for all that it was still late winter. Canterlot, as ever, was merely iced with snow in the manner one might attractively decorate a gingerbread house- if said gingerbread house were actually a spired palace-city on a mountainside. So not very much like it, but at least in a manner reminiscent of a light touch with a spatula and vanilla icing. Far from the usual slog of snow in the less-upper-crust parts of Equestria.

However it might be, it was as fine a morning as the local aristocrats could ask for, and it was just as well for the ponies out and about in the cool but still pleasant weather. One in particular stood out at this time of morning, for several reasons. To begin with, she clearly lacked the fashion sense of the others about, leaving her mane and tail not unkempt but clearly unstyled, two large shaggy masses of deep green as one might find in the forests on the nearby mountains. Between these and the saddlebags, there was little to see of the stout pony, her size inclining one to think her a typical filly, when in fact she was nearly a mare.

That, of course, was the crux of her problem- Amethyst Pine was nearly a mare and still- still!- she bore no mark upon her flank, having somehow missed any chance to find her calling in life. Oh, any number of things this could be attributed to- her family being merely upper-middle-class in a place like Canterlot left her shy a lot of the opportunities a more typical resident of the royal city could find growing up. It could also be placed on her complete inability to be political, which closed still more doors for her. Some blame, likely, lay upon her much greater love for books than for social gatherings, even a simple dinner party often requiring every jot of her patience to get through without screaming, nevermind successfully socializing while there.

But! That was not the point.

Amethyst had no cutie mark, and was not finding her calling here- particularly not with the way high society tended to work. So, she made what seemed to her the most logical choice: to go and look somewhere else.

Oh, there had been a row. Her father was thoroughly certain that she was wrong- hadn't he worked so hard to climb the social and economic ladder? Hadn't he brought his wife and their new foal here to start becoming someone? But still, he loved his daughter, though he disagreed, and so it went.

Her mother had been more understanding, perhaps, but not understood any better. Still, that helped to ease things, and so here she was.

The shaggy-maned pony trotted up to the Canterlot train station and looked up at the board. Yes, she was going without a plan, but then, her plans always seemed to fall apart before reaching step two anyways.

"....so where do I go from here....?" Amethyst asked herself, perusing the options. Stalliongrad, Appleloosa, Hoofington.... she could even get to Germaney or Itaily if she wanted. Still.... she would probably want to start looking nearer, just to avoid going back and forth so much, right? Was there even a stop in Garden Gait?

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Steel Dagger approached the train station quietly. It was always fun to touch base back home in Canterlot, but he was eager to get back on the road. His superiors wanted him to move west. He and a few others from the Honor Guard V Order along with an REIN operative or two were being sent west to the Roughrider Ridge region. The thought was that the information they had on that more lawless stretch of Equestria was becoming outdated; new intel was needed should any problems arise out of the region. Dagger was confident the mission would go well; he was on the job after all.

The sly unicorn approached the train schedule and studied it quickly. There weren't any trains directly from Canterlot into the ridge. What's more it was hard to access. His best bet was definitely to head north up to Stalliongrad and cut over into Beakbreak City. If he instead headed south he'd have to cut across the Everfree, which wouldn't be any fun. The northbound train wasn't going to depart for a while though, which meant he had some time to kill. Realizing this, he looked around the station.

It wasn't particularly busy at that moment. Canterlot station usually bustled, but the crowd there was fairly small. Dagger skimmed through it, looking for an eye-catching mare he could spend a few minutes getting to know, but the number of stand outs was all too limited. Eventually his eyes fell on a fairly small filly staring up at the train schedule board. She was studying that thing awfully hard, and had a kind of dazed look in her eye like she wasn't entirely sure of anything. The filly looked much too young to be of advanced interest for Dagger, but he found he had a certain sympathy for the lost look in her eyes. It made him curious. Given that there didn't seem to be many others around to provoke a greater curiosity than that, he decided to say something to the filly. He walked up to her quietly.

"Hey, kid," he started in a low, dry voice. "I'm willing to wager from how you're staring at that board that you have no idea where you're going. From the look in your eyes the where probably isn't the important part either." He gave a slight, self-satisfied smirk. "But it just so happens I've been to every stop listed up there. I could tell you why you should and shouldn't go to any one of them, provided you're interested."

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A steel gray colt with a mane the color of tanned leather poked his head in through one of the entrances to the station; his teal eyes darted about the room almost nervously, trying to deside something. Apparently satisfied, and assuming correctly that he'd reached his destination, the young colt slowly cantered into the main reception area, looking about for a more detailed view of his surroundings as he fidgeted nervously. He shifted his weight back and forth from left to right, raising one hoof off of the flooring and placing it back down before repeating the process one the opposite side. The noise emenating from the motions could have been called annoying by some, if the din of the crowds and trains had not muffled the sound. Others may have commented on the nearly clock-work sound, sped up to an usual speed, or perhaps that the colt looked as if he were in a hurry to begin a race. It was a nervous habit of Gearly's one he paid little mind to; his goals wouldn't become any closer by focusing on such small things as a nervous twitch or a paniced motion.

Gearly closed his eyes, letting them unfocus, took a slow, long, and impossibly deliberate breath, letting it out in a deep and relaxing sight. "Everything...will be alright...You've come this far..." He murmured to himself, reassuring that he was indeed doing the right thing. He turned his form about slightly, looking to and reaching for the simple fadded leather saddlebags drapped over his back; the bags were worn almost into oblivion, bore no cutie mark, and were clearly older than the colt which carried them. Rummaging around in the bags for several moments, he pulled forth a decently sized rusted cog with a piece of twine threaded through the hole in the center, making a rudimentary necklace. With another, more relaxed sigh, he clutched the gear to his chest in a tight hug, letting the memories flood over him before he slipped his head through the hoop of twine. With the necklace about his neck, he turned to the board of times and destinations, carefully looking over it, searching for any information that he would deem usefuly, a far more confident and secure look having replaced the nervous fidgeting from mere moments ago.

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The short filly jumped when Steel spoke up, her indigo coat standing on end momentarily thanks to her previous absorption in the schedule board.

"Guh!" She managed in her startlement, briefly prancing in place. A less phelgmatic pony might have jumped or scrambled instead- but she had at least a bit of stability on her side. Still, Amethyst was a bit leery as she tilted her head to look at the sound with her visible eye- the gray one. The mass of shaggy mane still covered her other eye, which would have made her look particularly lopsided if seen head-on.

Perhaps fortunately, Steel Dagger was on her left, putting him in a position to actually see her face. "Oh, uh. Hello." A brief bout of nervous shifting ensued, the stout filly's unmarked saddlebags almost slipping to one side for a moment and prompting her to sidle over- grazing the side of the cog-flanked colt also peering at the board with the tough canvas of the bag. She didn't seem to notice, though, looking up at the gray stallion who'd spoken to her.

"Well... I don't really need to know about everywhere right this moment.... I'll probably forget by the time I get to a lot of places.... aheh..." Her laugh was sheepish and faint, though her voice- a soft contralto- carried irrespective of its currently low volume. "But it's always better to know beforehand, right? Um.... what can you tell me about the nearest stops to here, Mr......?" And here she trailed off, not having the stallion's name to use.

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"First Lieutenant Steel Dagger, Her Majesty's Honor Guard, V Order," Dagger introduced himself with a wry smile, enjoying the smug satisfaction of using his full title.

He looked at the filly a little closer. She did look quite young, but Dagger couldn't really pin her age exactly. Blue coat, shaggy green mane all in her face so he could only see one eye. She had a unique look to her.

"You're looking for something close, eh?" Dagger started. "Well, aside from Cloudsdale, which is hard for us unicorns to access, Trottingham, to the immediate north is the closest town of any size. It's got a quaint, rich vibe to it. Big with tourists. There are places to enjoy yourself and it's rather nice to look at, but i'd say it lacks a little character." The stallion gave a nod and continued, "A little further away, you got Ponyville to the West, Hoofington to the South, Stalliongrad to the North and Itaily and Germaney to the East. Ponyville is a small but kind of strange town; isn't much to do there in my opinion, but some of the ponies are interesting. Hoofington is pretty cool; nicely sized city with a good place on the coast. Stalliongrad is a favorite of mine; no other city quite like it. About the size of Canterlot here, but absolutely nothing like it. The cold is a little hard to take though, especially this time of year. Germaney and Itaily are both quite unique, what with their own cultures and all. It can be a little hard to get used to if you never been around it, but if you're looking for something different they have a lot to offer."

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Gearly paid no heed to the pair talking beside him, continuing to search over the train schedule, trying his best to plan some sort of route to the destination. Upon the stranger's utterance of "Stalliongrad", his ears flapped once, readjusting to focus upon Steel's words. As the stallion listened to the Lieutenant describe the city of interest, he couldn't help but let a grin slowly spread across his countenance. The size of Stalliongrad would be intimidating, but certainly a destination of such size would surely have the resources he needed. Though he had already figured as such, it was reassuring to know that his journey hadn't been such a wild goose chase thus far.

Reality stuck cold and hard against the joyous bubble of excitement welling up within the gray stallion; even if he managed to get to Stalliongrad fairly easily, how would he manage to find work, schooling, supplies, or anything else? He'd surely need someone who was familiar with the town, it's shops, and the citizens that lived and worked there. He squirmed in aggravation, huffing slightly and beginning to clack his hooves against the floor in the rhythmic pattern of before. "Catch twenty-two...a-always a catch..." He mumbled, glancing sideways past the shorter of the two, one of his eyes focusing upon the guard of the such noble profession. A sudden wave of minor panic washed over Gearly as debated and argued with himself. Surely this pony would be more than capable of helping a wandering traveler to Stalliongrad, but why would someone of such impressive status help a lowly farmer's son. His thoughts shot back and forth until his rear legs folded under him suddenly folded him, his hind end plopping onto the floor with a dull thud as he contemplated possible courses of action.

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"Oh, ah. My name's Amethyst Pine, sorry I hadn't said yet." The small pony responded, ducking her head a little to the stallion of rank. Then she looked back to the schedule board, gray eye keen for departure times. "At any rate....

"I wouldn't want to go to Trottingham at all." She opined thoughtfully. "Getting away from all the fancy do's is part of why I'm heading out of Canterlot to be honest. So that's right out." Her jaw worked briefly as she took another few moments to cogitate.

"I don't think I'd want to head for Itaily or Germaney right away- a change of scenery is good, losing myself in a completely foreign place would probably be too much at once..... which also means I probably shouldn't head to Stalliongrad first. The weather sounds nice, though, it's usually too warm for me."

She glanced across the board a couple of times, then looked to Dagger, her expression inquisitive. "So... can you think of anything to recommend Hoofington or Ponyville especially? I'm looking for opportunities to try new things, you see.... I've kind of exhausted my chances at finding my special skill here in Canterlot, at least as far as high society or craftworks goes...."

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"Amethyst Pine, eh?" Dagger repeated the name, smirking. "Well, Miss Pine... Ponyville a farm town, so it's a little sparse, a little sleepy. Big change from this place though, if that's all you're after, but it's definitely a small town mentality. Not my thing really, but hey, some ponies like that kind of vibe. Hoofington on the other hand, though not quite Canterlot size, is definitely more a city. It thrives on the ocean. The whole town is built around its docks and shipyards. That may or may not sound like much fun to you, but eh, you're just a boat ride away from some beautiful tropical islands."

"You could also always make your way to Manehatten. It's located kinda between Ponyville and Hoofington, and honestly not that much further away from Canterlot. That's a busy, lively city. Big, varied. Has just about everything a pony could want," Dagger added, nodding.

The Honor Guard officer smiled a little as he thought about what the filly had said. Getting away from the fancy stuff? Looking for opportunities? Not knowing where to go? Young; not even having a cutie mark yet? Dagger wouldn't be a very reliable member of The Shroud if he couldn't read between the lines and figure this one out. Here was kid striking out on her own for the first time, clearly without the support of her parents, who were probably fancy types. Dagger could sympathize. He had considered ditching Canterlot many times in his youth when his own father ticked him off. Looking back, it was a good thing he hadn't. He was pleased with where he had ended up. Not all situations were the same as his though, and it wasn't his place to project himself onto her case, especially not knowing all the details.

This set in his mind, Dagger turned his attentions to somepony else he had been starting to notice. He was a colt or young stallion of unimpressive build, not altogether noticeable save a torn ear. He had been listening in to the conversation. For his job, Dagger had eavesdropped on countless conversations, so he knew how to do it right. This kid obviously didn't. Even while talking to the young filly, he could see the stallion perk up after he had mentioned Stalliongrad the first time, and even caught him mumble something to himself. They were little things that might not have been noticed by most ponies. Steel Dagger wasn't most ponies though; he was a lieutenant in The Shroud, the Honor Guard's intelligence gathering order. Amused with his own skill, Dagger decided to speak to the younger stallion.

"And you're interested in Stalliongrad, I take it?" Dagger asked the stallion, turning his head toward him suddenly after speaking his piece to Amethyst.

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His mind lost in the not-so-grand machinations of his soon-to-be journey, Gearly hadn't immediately reacted to the officer addressing him. His torn ear swiveleld subconciously, adjusting slightly to better capture the sound. His head twitched slightly, finally realizing the questioning voice. He quickly looked about himself, looking for the pony which Steel was talking to; perhaps he could glean more information about his destination from their conversation. Seeing only the two other ponies, Gearly paused a moment, a puzzled look crossing his face a split-second. The odd expression was swiftly replaced by the bright eyes of understanding, and even more quickly with eyes filled with a mild panic.

Gearly nearly stumbled back as he stood, turning to face the other pony addressing him, losing himself, searching desperately for a response to the question which had already taken him so long to respond to. "Uh, y-yea..." He cut his sentance off mid-word with a slight wince, taking a deep breath before continuing in a much more focussed speach pattern, obviously malcontent with the unrefined words he was about to utter. "Erm... Y-Yes, I am...Interested...sir. I am..seeking to continue my education, sir..." At first, his words were nervously stammered out, but as he continued forth, a minor semblance of confidence grew within his voice. "I am an aspiring mechanic... And it came to my understanding that... Stalliongrad is at the fore-most front of technology. Unicorns in these parts...haven't much use for technology..." The last comment was half-mumbled as disappointment filled his eyes, his head slowly lowering to stare at the ground.

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Amethyst nodded to herself as Dagger spoke, taking in what he said with all the attentiveness of an eager student, despite not actually looking at him- her focus still on the departures board. Ponyville and Hoofington sounded like very different places from one another- and neither sounded quite like Canterlot. It seemed like it would be a hard decision- until the gray-pelted stallion brought up Manehatten.

"Between Ponyville and Hoofington...." the filly murmured to herself, seeking out the markers for Manehatten on the board. It sounded like the right destination. As a big city, like Canterlot, it could help her decide if she wanted to keep to larger cities or look for a place that was more rural. And, if it was that close to both Hoofington and Ponyville, then she could go to one or the other from there quite easily.

"Well, thank you Mr. Dagger." Amethyst spake as the two gray-coated stallions spoke to each other- and only then did she notice that her previous conversational partner was looking at someone on the other side of her. She had to turn almost entirely to get a glance at Gearly, thanks to her manestyle covering her right eye. "Ah... oh. Excuse me. I'll leave you two to talk, then. You've been very helpful, Mr. Dagger, I daresay I'd probably have simply chosen at random if you hadn't come along. Do be well."

That said, the small filly backed out from between the two taller ponies, and headed over to the ticket booth. Digging in her bag a moment for her bits, she put a small mouthful down on the counter. "One for the next train to Manehattan please."

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"Glad to help, kid," Dagger said to the filly with a satisfied smirk. "If you need anything else, just look me up."

The unicorn turned to the other stallion after that. He had responded awkwardly. Dagger had caught him completely off guard.

"Heh. Then Stalliongrad's definitely the right place for you," he said in a low voice. "Only place around that could maybe top Stalliongrad in terms of technology is Talonopolis over in Aquelia, but that's no place for ponies."

"I happen to be heading up to Stalliongrad myself," Dagger added. "I could tell you a little more on the train."

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Nova stood proud, her focus never dampening. There was a supposed disturbance in the railway, where a dragons nest was blocking the way. Of course, a nest of the beasts are not to tampered with, and as such, she and a smaller squad of Night Guards trotted out to the railway, noticing a familiar face. A Celestial Guard, she had seem him at ceremonies before. Nova was never one to let an officer shirk their duties. "Officer, you are of the Celestial of Guard, correct?" She stated clearly "We are dealing with a disturbance on the railway. Please assist us, sir." She said, with upmost respect. She had to be, really, or ponies would not be very co-operative. Wearing the enchanted Night Armor caused some..unwanted attention. But having dragon wings and cat eyes does that.

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As his eyes widened with excitement, Gearly's hopes soared to heights that would have challenged even the greatest of Equestria's fliers. Not only had his destination of Stalliongrad been on the right track all along, he would also likely have a traveling companion who knew the area, was clearly willing to share this information, and was clearly not the unfriendly sort. Perhaps he'd been foolish when he assumed he'd be making the trip by his lonesome self; he'd already spent all the but the very beginning leg of his journey in the company of somepony else. Potentially even more foolish was his first impression that strangers in the large city of Canterlot would be unfriendly or unwilling to help.

His mind lost in the ever-constant cloud of whirling thought, he barely noticed the conspicuous mare address the officer he'd been conversing with. Focusing himself back into the world, Gearly's head tilted ever-so-slightly as he listened to the simple request from this strange new...something. He wasn't entirely sure she was; she looked mostly like any other pony he'd ever seen, but the wings sprouting from her back threw him. The outfit this creature wore was also terribly unique; he'd not seen anything like it before and it made the mare look extraordinarily important. Gearly mused slightly that he was more curious about this new stranger than anything. Perhaps his meeting with Steel had softened Gearly up to the idea of meeting strangers.

The bitter taste of panic began to make itself known to Gearly once more this day. “A disturbance on the railway” was not a phrase that was appealing to the young stallion. Since the help of Dagger was needed, surely he'd lose this new fountain of knowledge and experience as a traveling companion. Worse yet, something was wrong on the rails, something that could potentially delay, or even stop, the trains from running. “Wh-what is it!? There will b-be a delay, w-won't there? I-It's nothing serious, is it!?” He blurted out before he could clasp a hoof over his mouth. He'd not meant to blurt out the questions, especially in such a manner that offered little to no respect for the strange mare; Gearly just hoped that he hadn't offended or upset the bat-winged pony in any way.

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Dagger was surprised when a mare came rushing towards her. She was dressed in the special enchanted armor of Princess Luna's personal guard unit. She approached Dagger readily and started talking about some disturbance. Dagger was a little taken aback by it all, but it did remain he was an officer.

"Well, I'm Honor Guard actually. V Order, to be specific. Don't really have much to do with Celestia directly nor have I ever really guarded anything," Dagger said with a shrug. He was surprised she knew he was military affiliated at all, given he didn't wear any sort of uniform; perhaps she had seen his face somewhere before?

"Though I guess that doesn't matter," the stallion laughed. "if there's trouble, it's till my job to do what I can to stop it."

"Lead the way," he gave a final nod, prepared to follow the mare.

He looked back at the young stallion he had been conversing with. "Hold on, kid. Hopefully this won't take long."

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Gearly blinked once, realizing he was about to be left by his lonesome self by the two other ponies. Before conferring with the rest of his mind, a small part of him came to a quick decision. He took a step towards Steel and the other pony, stammering out nervously, "I'm c-coming with you!" His eyes widened somewhat as he realized what he'd just said; he wasn't sure why he'd blurted it out a statement rather than a humble request, but it was too late to change his wording now. More importantly, if there was something wrong though, he couldn't, wouldn't, just stand about idly; he'd do whatever he could to help.

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