Blazing Run through the Animal Kingdom

Chapter 2: The Pre-Show Show

Three ponies and a dog sit in shackles in one of the passenger cars on the train, stationed in a booth with bars set up. Two canine guards stood watch in this now free of normal passengers train car.

“Wait, so we're getting charged with theft?” Chance asked as he leaned against the bars, peering out to the guards in front and behind him.

The guard said nothing which only agitated the Papillion more. Trixie had a bemused look on her face whilst Spry stared out the window with no emotion, watching the small desert turn into a more savannah-like landscape. Chibi is rambling on about going to jail and never going to be able to eat anything he liked except that nasty prison food.

Chance growled. “We just beat up-”

“-a bunch of 'bandits', says the lot that put on a costume to be 'heroes'. You just have to wait until the King enters and states his sentence.” one of the guards spoke out.

Chance shook his head and slammed his forehead against one of the bars several times before sighing. He leaned over, placing his head on Spry's shoulder who promptly shoved him off. Trixie remained in her typical stance, opting to not give the guards the amusement of a free show.

A few seconds passed, than a minute. Then a few minutes. Soon, the doors to the passenger car opened. The father Papillion walked in and examined the ceiling for a second, taking note of the quick and cheap job done to close up the hole. He is a short Papillion, only coming up to the average pony's eyes. He wore an elegant blue coat with intricate patterns and the pants he's wearing follows suit. He wears a black boots with yellow buckles and unlike the rest of his clothes, they are thick and padded as if to withstand freezing temperatures. On his back rests a ceremonial sword. His face showed no anger but he did show confusion. This is the first time Chance or Chibi really studied him, Spy didn't care and Trixie merely saw herself as too mighty to warrant the attention of just anybody.

“I understand the need to detain for questioning, but are the shackles and prison bars really necessary?” Chance asked as he turned towards the Papillion father. “And I have a question. Namely, who are you? You are loaded with money and you look all fancy.”

The Papillion father put on a smile of sincere honesty and he let out a few chuckles. “I figured a papillion such as yourself would know. Are you not from Great Caulk?” the Papillion father asked.

His voice is a lighter voice with some deepness to it. He sounded almost like could be a choir boy but. Chance shook his head. Spry and Chibi finally turned to face the Papillion father and Trixie merely opened an eye.

“Ah, that explains it.” the Papillion father said. He sat in the booth across from the booth-turned-cell and looked at the guards. “Could you open the bars please? And remove the shackles?” he asked as he got comfy in the booth.

The guards nodded. “Yes sir.” the spun around and knelt to the ground. Their faces now visible, they are Papillions too. After kneeling down, they both pulled out two slabs of paper and placed them at the corners of the three-wall cells and pulled out pencils. They drew a circle on it and wrote in an alphabet not native to Equestria. The bars lit up before starting to flake, the flakes flying towards the paper. This managed to snag the attention of the Great and Powerful Trixie who looked on with delight at the tactic.

“Before you continue, Trixie must ask; what did your guards just do?” Trixie asked in her failing attempt to conceal her eager curiosity.

The Papillion father chuckled. Spry looked over to see the bars are gone and the Papillion guards starting to undo the shackles on the others. She merely held her fore hooves up and waited for the guards to put one of their claws into the keyhole on her shackles before they came loose and were removed. She rubbed her ankles and leaned back. The guards never picked up the papers which seemingly sealed the bars away.

“Sealing Spell. We canines don't have any magic like in Equestria but with help from the Giraffes and their spells, we've managed to create synthetic magic that requires a special paper and knowledge of spell codes. The one the guards just used seals the exact mass and shape of one bar and the rest follow suit as it is one big object. It's hard to explain right now, but that's the basics.” the Papillion father said.

Trixie nodded in delight. The thought she could learn this and take it back to Equestria with her sounded like it could do wonders for her show... but first, she'd have to think of a new tall tale to tell. Her Ursa Major tale really went down the drain last time. She grit her teeth at the thought and shook her head as she stared back at the father. Chance rubbed the fur on his chin, liking the idea of “Sealing Paper”. Chibi wanted to study the science behind it more. Another task for when they arrived in Great Caulk.

“Anyways, I am Arby, the King of the Land of Snow in Great Caulk.” the Papillion father replied.

Chance widened his eyes and leaned forward. “So, you're the king? That means that what the bandits tried to take is nothing and why...” he paused. “Huhn, I guess seeing us dressed up like thieves doesn't really give us a pardon.” he slammed his face against the table in the booth.

Chibi sighed and did the same. Spry averted her gaze, deciding to enjoy outside scenery once more. Trixie turned herself so her hind legs dangled out of the booth and rested her right elbow on the table, leaning her head against her hoof.

“So, Trixie has saved royalty. This is a nice little addition to the dazzling tales of the Great and Powerful Trixie.” she said while fantasizing about the attention and wealth she'll gain from this task. She promptly killed that fantasy when she snapped back to reality. “... but you're arresting us under the pretence of theft?” Trixie's smile faded and Chance raised his head and leaned forward, Chibi and Spry lost in their own little worlds.

“Nothing like that, it is just our standard to question all suspicious parties until the fiasco is sorted out and I'd say we got what we needed, but I would like to know more about you lot before placing you in the clear.” Arby said as he sat up straight. “My wife and son heard the awful commotion those crooks and you created atop the train and simply want to be able to enjoy the rest of the train ride without fear you will explode us with magic.” he looked at the guards and waved a paw at them. The two guards nodded and knelt down, picking up the two pieces of sealing paper and walked into the car Arby came out of.

Chance nodded his head. “Alright. Ask us questions because quite frankly, none of us are able to simply talk about ourselves in general otherwise we'd be here all night.” Chance said before being nudged under the table by Trixie.

Chance looked over at the showmare while Spry and Chibi turned towards the canine king. Trixie almost glared at Chance.

“Speak for yourself my little puppy, Trixie is far capable of speaking about herself.” Trixie said before looking back towards the King. “Trixie is also too good to be going first. Speak, my enthusiastic assistants!” Trixie almost shouted.

Chance, Spry, and Chibi all sighed simultaneously. Chance cleared his throat and sat in a way so he is facing the king.

“My name is Chance. Plain old Chance. I had been named that due to the fact that it was by sheer chance I survived birth. My mother had been weak, and I was the runt of the group. I never got a chance to feed because my siblings would make sure to that. Soon after, my mother passed away. I had been rejected by wanting parents in an orphanage for years until I grew old enough to live on my own. Nevertheless, I sought a way to never feel left out or looked down upon. I learned how to defend myself and while I was at it, learned parkour to go along with my limber self. Not before long, I ran into these other four and after that, we formed a band. I never knew my parents but I know the tale... but that's pretty much me.” Chance said, leaning back.

Spry sighed and pushed herself onto Chance's lap and merely sat there rather than move him to Chance's discomfort.

“My name is Spry Idea. My special talent is useless. I have no friends. I'm only good at being some gymnast. My goal in life is to earn enough money to afford a casket when my time comes. My every waking moment is a painful experience of surviving each day. I was so happy when I met these other three because I almost died.” Spry said before leaning back, landing on the bench with her legs sprawled out across Chance's lap. She stared at the ceiling and sighed.

Chance sighed and leaned back in the booth, learning that fighting with Spry is a terrible idea.

Chibi cleared his throat multiple times and attempted to lock eyes with the king only to fail and stare at the ground. His confidence only comes when he knows hes done something correct. He looked in the general direction of Arby and sighed.

“My name is Chibi Masato. I'm an artist. My special talent is art, or something but I can't really colour... my greatest magical feat is manipulating very small things such as droplets of ink or grains of sand. This helps me copy drawings I make. I never was a very strong pony. I'm tall and limber which I discovered makes it easier to do front flips but I'm not very acrobatic. My, uh, goal or something is to be famous. Right now for our band, I just draw concepts for performances or advertisements... or something.” Chibi said. “That is all.” he turned and looked back out the window.

Trixie's face beamed as she ran a hoof through her mane to make sure it is straight before looking over at the monarch.

“The Great and Powerful Trixie is the greatest equine to ever live with magic unrivalled by anypony. Thousands want my attention and thousands more want to be Trixie. Trixie is the leader of this band for she is the main performer; dazzling magic tricks, epic tales of heroism and simple fireworks is no stranger to the Great and All-Powerful Tr~rixie!” Trixie said, looking up at the ceiling while holding a hoof high above her head. She brought her hoof down and tilted her head, looking at the monarch. “We are the wonderful, show-stopping entertaining performers known as 'Blue Stage'!” she said in her loudest voice possible.

The other three did not question their leader's loudness and opted to just let her do her thing. Arby raised an eyebrow and stared at Trixie with a curious face. “Never heard of you.” Arby said.

Spry snorted and attempted to hold back a large fit of laughter while Chance and Chiba sighed. Trixie's face, however, started to grow red. Anger? Embarrassment? She didn't know but it didn't last long. She sighed and looked down at her hooves before turning her eyes towards the monarch who sat, examining his paw. Chance started scratching his neck again.

“Trixie supposes she can't blame you, for we are travelling from Equestria with hopes to broaden our audience and if need be, add another true tale of adventure and heroism to our list of tall tales. From the looks of it, Blue Stage certainly has with the foiled train robbery.” Trixie said before leaning on her hoof once more.

Arby let out a chuckle. “While you're add it, you can add being arrested to your tall tales.” he said before stretching his fore legs. Trixie snorted and groaned.

“That does kinda put a damper in adding this tale to our list of heroic acts, Trix.” Chance said, still scratching his neck but only faster and harder.

“Trixie knows this, pup. Silence.” Trixie replied in slight anger. Chance chuckled and leaned back. His scratching started to speed up again and now he started scratching his side with his other hoof. Trixie started to get annoyed as the scratching is audible. “Trixie thinks you may have gotten fleas from the bandits.” she said, raising her head to lean back away from Chance.

“Well, you are essentially pardoned. I would expect performers such as yourselves to want to put on a show while doing a good duty. Fear not, my performers, for your service will not go unrewarded nor will your lack of an audience for I wish to have you perform for my family and I when we arrive in Great Caulk.” Arby said, full of enthusiasm.

The entirety of Blue Stage lit up, including the ever so excited Spry. Trixie lit up at this and immediately wanted the details down.

“Where will Trixie be performing, how big is the audience, and when?” she asked, doing her best to mask excitement.

Chance leaned closer, Spry simply stayed looking, still lying atop Chance's waist, and Chibi leaned in forward along with Chance. Arby smirked and pulled out a notepad and examined it. The silence is practically killing the entirety of Blue Stage's members as the king flipped through a notebook. Trixie and Chance noticed from the upside down pages that it is a schedule and the king is merely checking. Finally, he stopped flipping and examined the contents of the page thoroughly. He made a few hums, the silence only stopped as Chance began to scratch himself again. This time, the three ponies slowly turned their eyes to him, glaring while Chance looked at the king obliviously.

“I think you need a flea bath when we arrive in Caulk.” Chibi said before leaning on his hoof in the same fashion as Trixie. “Y'know, I totally forgot where the train stops. What's the name of the town?” Chibi asked as he decided to kill time.

Letting out a long, painful sigh, Spry looked over at Chibi and promptly slapped him across the face before lying her head back down on the seat. Chance still payed no attention to the legs sprawled across his lap. In the meanwhile, Chibi rubbed his face with the hoof he was just leaning on and shot a saddened look in Spry's direction.

“We'll be getting off in Seales Train Station and after that, I have no idea. We have to find a hotel to crash in.” Chance said as he started getting distracted as he scratched behind his ear. “Jeez, I should get some blunt object so I don't have to beat up a bunch of bandits with my paws, I mean getting fleas this fast is ridiculous.” Chance said as he furiously scratched both ears with both his front paws.

Chuckling at Chance's misery, Spry pulled herself up and retracted her hind legs, letting them dangle off the seat. Outside, the desert is no longer there replaced by a much more jungle-like landscape. The sun had started to set and the sky is turning a pinkish blue. Only an hour left in the train ride, Spry decided to rest her head on the soft wall next to the booth's seats. She had been glad this is installed on Caulkian trains as the lack of beds meant that you either stayed awake the whole ride or leaned against the wall to sleep. The addition of these soft pads allowed for a little bit of comfort for those who want to sneak a few hours of sleep during the train ride.

Chibi looked down at the table at the various permanent marker sketches or carvings in the wooden service. The inter-com started up in the train station and in the opposite booth, Arby pulled out a pencil from one of his chest pockets and began to write in the notepad. Trixie still shut out everything but the important canine while the other three stay lost in whatever bothers them.

“~SZZT~ Attention train riders, this is your conductor speaking to say the meal is about to be served. The time is currently 6:50 and our evening meal is mashed potatoes, broccoli and apple slices with apple juice as  the drink. Those curious, the potatoes come from Baked 'Taters, the potato farm in Muskoka, the crop-town in the centre of Great Caulk along with the broccoli. The apples and apple juice come from Sweet Apple Acres, the apple farm in Ponyville located in the centre of Equestira. The temperature outside for those curious is 17 degrees Celsius, I hope you have a wonderful night. ~SZZT~”

As the announcement finished, Trixie grit her teeth. Ponyville is where she had lost her first cart... but she ran all the way from Ponyville to Manehatten where she initially ran into the other three, prompting them to start Blue Stage. She sighed, letting the memory of Ponyville fade before turning back as Arby finished writing in the notebook, putting the pen back in his pocket.

“All done. I have set you into my schedule and the theatre will be notified prior to our arrival. The time is tomorrow night at 7:00 PM, after dinner in the hotel. The place is Seales  Grand Hall, located in town square. They shall be notified too as there is no performances going on tomorrow. As king, I do have the power to fix that. Do what you will for your performances and advertise in any way you like.” he placed the notebook back in his chest pocket alongside his pencil and reached into one of his side pockets and pulled out four cards and handed them to Trixie who promptly levitated them out of his paw. “These are King Passes; they are granted to others by myself and allow you access to various facilities and resources as a favour to the king. This will permit you to examine your stage before performing.” Arby said as he stood up and shook himself off.

Trixie's eyes ogled the tickets as she magically placed them on the table for the others to pick up. They clipped onto one's fur so Chance is set; they are able to clip onto clothing so Trixie and Chibi are set... but Spry isn't. Her only choice is to clip it onto her mane, in which case she'd look dumb. She sighed as she saw the shiny gold card. Chance promptly picked it up between his claws and clipped the card onto his chest fur. Chibi magically clipped it onto his windbreaker while Trixie did the same with her cape; as carefully as possible of course. Spry looked at it and sighed, slapping her head against the table and the clip, not minding that it dug into her cheek.

“Well, I'll be off to inform my wife and son that we'll be attending a grand show tomorrow. Until next time, Blue Stage.” Arby said, saluting them.

The members of Blue Stage all saluted, Spry not trying. “See you next time, your majesty.” Trixie said with a giddy smile before stopping herself. “Trixie must not allow herself to appear flustered in front of others lest Trixie wish her image to be tarnished.” Trixie reminded herself as she leaned back.

The door to the next car opened; Arby having finally left to his family. However, the door didn't close. A few squeaks heard, sound of wheels rolling... this meant one thing to Chance.

“TH~HE ME~EA~AL!” he let out in a squeal of delight.

The canine pushing the cart covered his ears for a second, smirking as he did so. He had never seen anybody so enthusiastically exclaim their lust for the cheap meal served. He stopped the cart in front of the table while Trixie stretched her fore legs. Chibi adjusted his sitting position in order to get comfy while Spry stared off in space, wondering if she should eat or simply sleep.

“I suppose I should eat... still kinda exhausted from the whole 'defending the train' thing earlier.” Spry sighed and sat up properly and watched as the canine opened the little doors on the cart and pull out four boxes.

The service dog set them in front of the four performers and promptly closed the door. Chance spared no time in shredding the cheap box out made for storage and removed the plastic top covering his recently heated meal. It may be cheap, but food is food and after the severe beat down from earlier, this felt like his first meal in days.

“Trixie thanks the Service Puppy greatly for this meal. Trixie must also ask, where can one pony such as Trixie get an ice pack? Trixie has decided that she can no longer ignore the bruise from earlier.” she asked, removing the box as gently as possible with magic.

“I shall send someone down with the ice pack a when I return to the kitchen, ma'am.” the service dog said before closing the doors and walking over to the next car.

The entirety of Blue Stage had been surprised at how fast they managed to replace the doors. Turns out, they have temporary doors able to be set up and have “walls” able to fit any holes in walls for temporary concealing. They should have that in Equestria... nevertheless, Trixie began to enjoy what she could of the cheap meal. Having already devoured his meal along with Chance, Chibi stretched his fore legs and looked up at the overhead storage compartment. He activated his magic and the doors above slid open and shortly after, a saddlebag with an “AW” on the flaps floated out. Chibi set the bag in front of his empty disposable tray and only then decided to throw it out in the garbage slots in the wall. Chibi smirked. This train has everything... Trixie still couldn't prevent herself from getting excited.

“Performing the Royal Family...”

An hour later, the train pulled into the Seales train station, immediately swarmed with guards and a news crew. Obvious that the train staff had notified the train station of the attempted train heist.

“They have this thing in Great Caulk known as 'Horse Code”. You tap some device, makes a beeping sound, it's then sent by magic or something to the receiver in another location.” Chibi said as he looked outside, examining the crowd outside that all bear photographic equipment and notepads for recording quotes. “I don't know enough about Caulk to fully understand their tech.”

Difference being from Equestria is that the equipment looks... different. The camera is hoisted on the shoulder of one of the various dogs and is much, much longer. They have an odd device hooked to the cameraman; a stick with a black nub on the end. Chibi looked at it while Spry sighed at the thought of trying to fight through a crowd. Chance grew curious.

“Chibi, you study tech, ya know what's up with that camera man? Why's the tech so backwards here?” Chance asked as he stood over Spry, leaning against the wall peering out the window.

Chibi shook his head. “Nuh uh, not backwards. Great Caulk is different from Equestria. Equestria is advanced in magic, weather control, and Earthly duties. Great Caulk is advanced in technology. That camera he has, believe it or not, records moving pictures.” Chibi said as the group waited for the conductor to give the clear to leave.

The conductor stated that as per request of the guards and police, they aren't allowed to leave the train until questions are done and over with. Spry stared over at the camera after Chance explained the camera. Trixie started to get agitated; she is missing out on perfect photo opportunity.

“That's bull. What, you mean moving images, as a moment that had already happened being viewable again?” Spry asked, trying to wrap her head around the concept.

“Yeah. I don't know the details but I do know Caulk has them in masses. Viewable in theater. That's 'er', not 're'. We should check one out in the future.” Chibi said. “I'll check out a camera first chance I got. First thing though, we need to make some serious cash in Caulk. Caulk actually has two types of currencies. One for the Land of Heat, the Giraffe's and one for the Land of Snow, the Canines.” Chibi said, attempting to stop himself from the soon-to-come history lecture.

Trixie's ears perked up. Chance snorted. The temperature outside is a nice cool; the perfect temperature for lounging around outside not fearing the usual intense heat. The suns rays is more direct in Caulk than it is in Equestria.

“Two types of currencies? Trixie is confused. Why, and what are they?” Trixie asked, growing slightly curious at Caulk's alien likeness.

Chibi leaned back in his seat, opting to wait until the guards come aboard to question. Chance stopped looking outside, plopping down on his part of the bench. Spry finally sighed, having enough of staring outside. Trixie attempted to not fidget.

“The Land of Heat has Pounds, while the Land of Snow has Dollars. Caulk used to be one nation over 400 years ago. The entire nation was run by bears and named Grizzly. This was back when Caulk had its entire nation altering between seasons instead of the year long summer and winter. After a few years, the bears experienced eternal winter and summer. Those that hibernated in northern Grizzly either never woke up, the cold not going away and those that did didn't survive, some that did were able to flee the country entirely. Why? Well... those that lived in southern Grizzly faced extreme heat. Too much that, again, didn't survive or left country. By this point in time, some other races decided that this land might as well be inhabited. The canines came to the north from even further north as to not leave the land wasted. Giraffes came from the east.”

“300 years ago, the Giraffes and Canines each discovered the land in between the mountains and then, discord. They discovered each other, disliked each other, then fought, and fought, and fought over the land. Back to the original point, the Canines had Dollars and Giraffes had Pounds. After the conflict, they signed a treaty and formed the sole nation of Great Caulk. They had initially wanted to name it after their races, but decided Caulk would be better due to the shape of the country when viewed from above. They never abolished the separate currencies, and here we are.” Chibi finished up as they could hear the guards in the next car questioning the passengers from both sides.

Chance, Spry and Trixie pretty much tuned out the entire history lesson after Chibi said “400 years ago” and only caught the part about the currency. Trixie and Chance both put on their best fake smile as to not discourage their artist. Spry shattered that all.

“That was terrible. Nobody cared for your history lesson. You should be ashamed of knowing things nobody else cares about, egghead.” Spry said in her dull voice.

Chance and Trixie merely stared with disbelief before Chance sighed and Trixie snorted. Chibi looked over at Spry and a look of disappointment fell upon his face.

“Sorry...” Chibi said, turning and leaning his head in the corner, face away.

Spry looked over at Chibi; after a few seconds, she spoke up. “Are you crying? If you are, we are done, professionally.” Spry said, dragging out the word done.

“Shut up.” Chibi said, his voice cracking slightly.

Spry couldn't help but smile. She found it fun to tease Chibi, only because he is so susceptible. Chance shook his head, smile still plastered on his face regardless of his pity towards the maroon unicorn. Trixie let out a long sigh as the doors opened up on both sides of the car. Several guards walked in and stopped, noticing the rather empty car excluding the three ponies and the one dog sitting in a booth together. They nodded to the guards standing the opposite end and nodded, walking towards the booth. Blue Stage looked up and saw that these guards aren't dogs, but rather, Giraffes. Their legs slightly longer than a pony's matched only by Chibi's legs. The necks long enough that the large doorways are actually justified.

“Passenger Trixie, passenger Chance, passenger Chibi, passenger Spry. Are these your names?” one of the four guards asked.

“Yes, that is the names of Trixie and her assistants.” Trixie spoke up.

The Giraffe guard nodded. “Word on the train says that you are bandits, other word says that you fought them off. The word of King Arby supports the second notion. Is this true?” the guard asked, pulling out a notebook and balancing it on a hoof, pulling a pencil out of a pocket on the guard's uniform and holding it between his teeth.

“Yeah, we fought the bandits. The explanation for our suits is... well, we're performers and the...” Chance sighed before continuing, “Great and Powerful Trixie wanted us to look cool so we may remember this tale for the future. That got boned when we were arrested after.” Chance finished up.

The Giraffe guard finished writing and slid the pencil back in his chest pocket and did the same with his notebook. “That will be all. We will go give the clear to allow passengers off. Depart and wait for your gear to be loaded onto the platform.” the giraffe guard said before the rest of the guards walked towards the front end of the train.

“Hmph! Finally. Trixie is missing out on potential interviews.” Trixie stepped out of the booth rather quickly and spared no time in retrieving her saddlebags.

Chance stepped out and opened the above compartment and pulled out his and Spry's bags, Chance having a regular back pack like most canines. Spry grit her teeth at the kind gesture but let Chance set the bags on her back. Chibi did the same except he already pulled out his bags earlier. Spry's saddlebags are a white colour with a blue circular hoop acting as the buckle. Pressure opened, one pressed down on the piece of metal sticking through the hoop and it causes the edges to recede allowing it to open. Chibi's is a more classic style of saddlebag. Trixie went for dazzling, having a lavender saddlebag matching her cape and hat patterned with various outlines depicting some of Trixie's “tales” that she told over the years. Her buckle is opened by magically moving a small pellet through a miniature maze to press a switch on the inside. It is the most effective lock Trixie could come up with and she could do it in less than a second but for the unknowing unicorn, it took at least 20-30 seconds. Chance had a plain old back pack with zippers to open the flaps. No special design, but rather looks like it was pieced together by rags.

After a few seconds, the speakers started up again. “~SZZT~ Attention train goers, this is your conductor speaking to say that the guards have given the clear to depart the train. Please wait near the drop-off portion of the platform to receive your luggage. IF any of your luggage had been damaged in the earlier ruckus, please consult either the Seales Police, the Train Station Information Desk, or take it up with your lawyer. Thank you and have a nice day. ~SZZT~” Trixie snorted.

“Trixie figured that the train station would be so cheap which is why Trixie placed her luggage inside her saddlebags.” Trixie said, raising her head high. She activated her magic once more and levitated her hat out of the storage compartment and let it plop down on her head.

“You don't have any more luggage. This is all you got since you lost your stuff in Ponyville last year.” Spry said dully while rolling her eyes towards the ceiling, walking towards the exit to bump muzzles with Trixie.

Trixie had a red blush across her face and an angered brow, her eyes shooting instant death at the pegasus.

“Trixie thought she said the Great and Powerful Trixie did not want that mentioned EVER. AGAIN.” Trixie shouted before spinning around and storming off to one of the ends of the train car to step off.

Spry sighed and Chance shrugged. Chibi adjusted his saddlebags and shuffled out of the booth, doing a quick stretch after the long sit. Chance took a few steps only to realize that yeah, he needs to stretch also. He stood up on the tips of his paws, stretching his arms back as far as possible while curving his back. He decided that walking on his hind legs is too much effort after today and fell forward onto his front paws, standing at the average pony's height. He shook himself and quickly began to scratch behind his right ear with his right hind claws. Chibi stepped around him and followed Spry who in turn followed Trixie.

“I'll go and buy you some flea bath shampoo when we book a room. That way you don't wind up completely causing a massive flea outbreak in a city of canines and giraffes.” Chibi stopped walking to say this.

Chance smiled and stopped scratching, standing and shook himself off. “Thanks.”

Outside, the media had immediately surrounded King Arby, his guards blocking off any direct contact. All asked the same questions regarding the earlier heist, whether or not his guards quelled the threat. When the king answered, the media began to scan the leaving crowd for this “Blue Stage” group. Apparently, this Blue Stage should be easy to spot considering the type of clothing the leader wears.

Trixie, after leaving in a huffy fit following Spry's comment stepped off the train and after, Spry, Chibi and Chance followed. The news crew ran over and began bombarding questions.

“Is it true you saved the king and his family?”

“Are you vigilantes?”

“Is it true you will be performing the Seales Grand Hall?”

Trixie completely forgot why she was angry and substituted it more for the ego-boosting attention she and her assistants were seeing.

“My name is the Great and All-Powerful Trixie and I am the greatest equine who has ever lived! My enthusiastic band of performers...” she turned and stepped out of the way so the camera crew could see said enthusiastic band of performers; they all stood there awkwardly what with Chance scratching himself with all free claws, Spry looking extremely bored, almost as if suffering from some sugar crash... and Chibi is trying to hide himself behind the other two. Trixie frowned. “Well, we're a little bit tired after we took on over 60 vicious bandits by our lonesome and prevented any injuries.” Trixie said, turning her attention back to the cameras and news crew with a large smile forming. “Trixie and Blue Stage shall be performing the Seales Grand Hall tomorrow night at 7:00 PM; the king himself requested our presence.” Trixie soaked up the media attention like a sponge while her crew stood in the back awkwardly, shoving away the news crew and their questions.

After what seemed like hours, the Blue Stage members were finally able to clear through the train station and find themselves on the streets of Seales, and what a magnificent sight is is. High-rise buildings, rivalling that of Manehatten. Lights shine brightly above for the various buildings advertising things. Carriages on the road are scarce; instead, there is an odd type of transportation run without anything pulling it. Chibi examined these contraptions, trying to remember the correct names.

“That is the auto-transport carriage,” Chibi started up as he clued in. Spry and Chance grit their teeth in surprise, Spry shooting forward. “Powered by-”

Spry shoved a hoof in Chibi's mouth, the aforementioned pony shooting a look of shock at Spry. “We get it. It moves by itself. Let's just walk to the hotel.” Spry said, slowly removing her hoof from his mouth.

Chance sighed and Trixie had been too caught up in the sights to care about Chibi's almost history lesson. Trixie looked up  at the high-buildings, trying to see where the best vantage point for a fireworks advertisement would be. She trotted over to Chibi who had just recovered from his temporary disappointment while Chance and Spry watched the Auto-Carriages, or AC's for short.

“Trixie wishes to request your skill, Mr. Masato.” Trixie said in her best confident voice, her smile of glee betraying her dictator-like attitude. Chibi merely raised his head to meet Trixie's eyes through his scruff, rugged mane. “Trixie wishes to create a fireworks show in the night sky of Seales; one to captivate the entirety of the city. The fireworks show shall be our advertisement tool for attracting the audience when we play the Grand Hall.” Chibi sighed and sat his rump down, figuring he would be here for a while. Trixie payed no attention and continued. “Trixie requests your skill in drawing out preferred fireworks styles to attract attention and then a design for directing the natives to the Grand Hall tomorrow. Obviously, we do not know the native alphabet so we must improvise! This shall be done before bed time tonight, my dear assistant!” Trixie bellowed before spinning around and walking over to Spry and Chance.

Chibi sighed and levitated out a clipboard with a sheet of paper attached to it along with a pencil which he took in his mouth. Immediately, he began to draw patterns and various other gimmicks for snaring the attention of probably thousands. He slowly trotted up next to the others and looked back and forth down the street as he drew along with the others.

“Now, Trixie must ask; how do we get across?”

After a very painful hour of trotting around like mindless drones the four members of Blue Stage finally arrived at a quaint little hotel that doesn't shout “I'm a billionaire” or a hotel that shouts “I used up half my life savings to afford this and I still couldn't get a room with a kitchen”. A small hotel called “Guinness”; six stories high, two beds in the room, a bathroom and a small kitchen. It had been the perfect location to set up camp while in Seales. Located on floor 3, room B30; the large room has a perfect view. Shoving a curtain away, Trixie couldn't hide her excitement at what she saw; the lights of the lower buildings below giving a warm glow, the train station and the savannah... the glow of the lights and the moon above gave the savannah a mystifying atmosphere.

“Trixie agrees with this view.” she said, turning to face the others.

The other three sorted through the boxes delivered from the Train Station Delivery Service, their additional luggage. They left the larger boxes unopened as they belong to Blue Stage as a whole. Trixie snorted as she cantered over to a bed and removed her saddlebags, setting them down and pushing them under with a hoof. She walked over to a closet and removed her cape along with her hat and set it in the closet.

Spry has a total of three boxes. A small one the size of a horseshoe box, one more the size of a small crate, the third the size of the pony herself. In the smallest one, the one she currently has opened up, is a few books hoofwritten by the pegasus herself. A journal, flight, flip and stunt records and finally, a story she herself had started writing as a filly. She currently examined the story book, an oddly misplaced smile on her face. Chance spotted this sorting through his first box, but ignored it.

Chance has two boxes the same size as a small nightstand. One carried various sets of special clothes; martial arts uniform, weights he can attach to his torso or legs, anything to give himself some sort of workout for an every day task. He had been busy checking to make sure his weights hadn't faced any rupture in the explosive train heist. All fine so he began putting it away, sliding it across the room against the wall with the other unopened luggage.

Chibi simply didn't touch his luggage, sitting on the edge of the bed still sketching out various things for Trixie to create fireworks out of. So far, he had settled on a large explosion as the beginning; a colourful spectrum radiating like that one explosion of colour near Cloudsdale a while back. He remembered that vividly. It screwed up a drawing he had worked on. Water under the bridge, he decided to refocus. The next firework?

“Hmm...” Chibi put a hoof on his chin, looking as everybody else settled in. He looked as Trixie walked around, mind lost in thoughts. “G and PT, how does a giant 'BS' sound for signalling Blue Stage?” Chibi asked, pondering the thought.

All other commotion stopped, each head slowly turning to him. Trixie shot Chibi a dull glare of sheer annoyance.

“BS? Wow. That is absolutely perfect. 'Hey guys, we're BS!' Yeah, that'll really snag us a proper crowd.” Spry said, rolling her eyes whilst flipping pages in her book.

This snagged a few giggles from Chance and Trixie sighed, walking over towards a downed Chibi. She sat on the edge of the bed, noticing all the detail Chibi is putting into the drawings. She frowned.

“One: Trixie thinks that a BS in the sky is total BS itself. Two: right now, Trixie wants quantity over quality. Trixie needs those sketches in time.” Trixie said, leaning on the shoulder of a sighing Chibi.

“Sorry, just a little rustic and dead from earlier today... I'll get on it Trixie.” Chibi said, trying to cover his typical disappointment.

Trixie shot up to her hooves. “Alri~ighty then, Trixie will check back in a few minutes.” she walked over to the other two and Chibi let out a long sigh, lying back on the bed and levitating the pencil from his mouth to draw with magic instead.

“Trixie believes that for our performance, Spry shall make use of her graceful talent and nimbly soar through the skies dropping hoofmade fireworks. Trixie shall execute the fireworks plans Chibi has drawn using her magic.” Spry rolled her eyes and nodded, leaning back against the edge of the large bed. Chibi merely sighed, continuing his sketching of plans while Trixie turned to Chance who sat on the edge of the bed, ruing the moment Trixie saw fit to recruit him.

“Chance, Trixie wishes you to perform onstage post-fireworks show.” Trixie said, staring at the ceiling as she visualized her genius plan mentally.

Chance cocked his head to the side, face contorted with full-blown confusion. He shook his head, only serving to provoke further need for scratching as he pondered the thought. There is silence taking over the room, Trixie slowly turning her gaze away from her mental image of the show to Chance, bearing an annoyed look on her face. Chance slowed his scratching as he and Trixie met eyes.

“Uh, what for?” Chance asked as he allowed himself to flop down on the end of the bed.

Sighing, Trixie sat down on the bed next to Chance. She made sure her hooves didn't bump into Spry who sat on the floor or Chibi who is sitting on the side of the bed, sketching away.

“We are going to recreate the train heist earlier using Trixie's great and powerful magic. It shall be a dazzling tale, one so true that it must sound fake to the audience to cause Trixie's audience to see that Trixie and her assistants are sugarcoating a true experience and see that we truly are great heroes, especially Trixie.” Trixie said, making sure her name never went unsaid for more than five seconds.

Chance groaned, slapping both front paws into his face as he regretted the entire experience. Immediately he began scratching once more.

“Trixie doesn't hear an answer from anypony or anypuppy!” Trixie spoke with an obvious expectant tone in her voice.

“Chance-y says fine.” the papillion spoke out as he rolled off the bed and proceeded to walk towards the bathroom.

“Chibi-y says that...” he paused. He set his work down on the nightstand carefully and ran over to a bag mixed amongst all the luggage. It is a brand new plastic bag full of soap, flea bath shampoo, and a flea collar. He picked it up between his teeth and followed Chance as he attempted to find some sort of back scratching tool. He plopped the bag down outside the door. “Got you some flea stuff with the King's Passes. Have fun.” Chance said before turning and trotting back to the bed.

Inside the bathroom, Chance winced at the word flea bath. Earlier, he didn't care since that was then. This is now, and sweet Celestia murder him if he has to take a bath. He fell on all fours and slowly walked up to the plastic bag of anti-flea stuff and began to sniff it, circling it a few times. Chibi returned to his drawing while Trixie mumbled to herself about great times she will have to pass time, Spry still stuck in her book. Chance started growling at the bag, letting his primal instincts kick in. This gathered stares from the others who only watched the furry beast circle and growl at the bag of flea stuff. Chibi sighed, trotting over while Trixie and Spry returned to their earlier activities.

“Let me guess...” Chibi said with a sigh.

“I hate baths.” both dog and pony said at the same time.

Chance whimpered, sitting in the centre of the bathroom. He let out a long series of drawn out growls as he scratched himself intensely. Chibi stared at the scene before growing tired.

“Get in the tub and start the bath or I'll hold you in there myself with magic and scrub you. I don't feel like fighting a damn flea war. Small moving objects is entirely different from stitches or ink.” Chibi said, tilting his horn forward in a threatening stance.

Chance stopped scratching, edging back towards the tub trying to escape the forceful unicorn. Outside, Spry and Trixie could only listen in on the chaos about to erupt in the bathroom. After a few seconds of silence, a dogs yelp sounded out and then the bag shuffled into the bathroom followed by the door closing, and then running water.

“Hmph! Trixie thought she said the Great and Powerful Trixie wanted those sketches done soon. By the time those two clowns finish, the entire city shall be resting, unable to see the brilliant pre-show Trixie will perform!” Trixie paced back and forth, agitated that her two assistants decided to play in the water. She scoffed at her assistants. “Hmph! Spry, you shall have the honour of entertaining Trixie for the next few minutes while the bathing occurs.” she trotted over and hopped gracefully onto the bed, pulling her legs in.

A long drawn out sigh escaped Spry's mouth. When Trixie “wanted entertainment”, it's usually better to just accept it and do whatever. She stood up and placed her book back into the open box, sliding it back to the wall. She turned and faced Trixie; the azure mare showing slight smile on her face while readily expecting Spry to do something entertaining. Spry gave Trixie an annoyed glare as per her usual demeanour. Spry spread her wings and raised her hoof.

“Fine, if it'll shut you up.” she said.

Half an hour later, the entire group sat on a single bed; Chance sat with a grumpy attitude, a flea-collar snug on his neck and his entire body smelling of lemons. His fur remains damp and his pride smashed. Chibi sat organizing the sheets with anger and annoyance splattered on his face, the plans for Trixie's pre-show show on the centre of the bed. Spry kept her annoyed attitude from earlier, having had to entertain Trixie. It was completely awful to the point of leaving a smile plastered on Trixie's face even if she is running late. Current time: 9:45 PM, yet Trixie started to not care. She bears her cape and hat once more in preparation for the show.

“Okay, sheet one is self explanatory. Sheet two, you need Spry to assist you with the fireworks lest we wind up with another accident like in Manehatten. I swear to Celestia, if that happens again, I am booking it back to Equestria before my neighbours even realize I had left.” Chibi said with an unamused attitude, Trixie and Spry both looking away with a slight blush on their cheek at the particular incident; embarrassment is the name of the emotion from what Trixie could remember. “Sheet  three, this one requires my assistance. It needs my skill in...” he paused. “Nano-magic, or something, to control the individual sparks in certain areas to avoid total sparking and/or combustion of all powder used in the firework as to not blow it u-” the members of Blue Stage starred at Chibi with death glares, having grown tired of his various almost-teacher moments, “-uuuh, y'know what? Just do what the paper tells you to, ma'am and I'll work at my own pace.” he sighed and pushed the sheets away towards Trixie before rolling off the bed.

Trixie smirked as Chibi trotted over to the window to enjoy the view. “Trixie shall allow your outburst to never be forgotten, dear assistant.” she said, levitating the papers to examine them further.

“This is fine and all, but don't we need clearance from the hotel, get zoning and stuff and y'know, have a fire crew on site just in case we do wind up blowing everything to the realms of Discord?” Spry asked with a dull tone, leaning back on the bed against her wings.

Trixie gave a cold stare towards Spry momentarily before clearing her throat, checking the papers before taking a breath.

“Trixie doesn't need rules when she has a King's pass!” she said confidently while Chance peered at her with a crazed look in his eye.

Shaking his head, Chance sighed. “There is so much wrong with that sentence that y'know what? Let's just do it and get it over with so we can go to sleep. I'm damn tired from the chaos earlier. And sore. I want to sleep it off. Hu~urry.” Chance said before rolling backwards off the bed himself, opting to just let himself hit the floor.

Trixie sighed. “Okay, fine. Let's go to the roof and start. Open up box #2 and grab the supplies for Fire-Zone. Trixie shall be upstairs when you lot are ready. To the top!” Trixie nimbly jumped off the bed and trotted to the door, exiting to leave towards the stairs.

Chance, Spry and Chibi all let out a long sigh. “See you guys in jail.”

Trixie stood on the edge of the Guinness Hotel's roof, peering down at the lower buildings in the city. Behind her stand more buildings, a few shorter, some same height, and many more taller than the one she currently stood. The wind is a nice cool breeze combating the warmth of the desert day leftover for domination over the very air. It is neither too hot or too cold to be outside and the very air is perfect for a fireworks pre-show show. The wind blew through her mane, tail and cape allowing an amazing opportunity for a photo of Trixie at her finest. The doors opened behind Trixie as her crew stepped out, all having the usual faces of gloom and doom in preparation for a potentially fatal show orchestrated by the Great and Powerful Trixie (even if Chibi did do all the planning). Spry has her wings limbered up and ready for flight along with a slim uniform having multiple small spheres stuck here and there, Chibi has his attention span to its fullest, and Chance brought the first-aid kit.

“If we aren't in jail or the hospital by tomorrow night, I'm going to severely doubt that my life isn't being watched by some invisible force who loves seeing misery caused by us.” Chance said, setting the suitcase size first-aid kit down and sitting on it, resting an elbow on his knee and his head on his paw as he waited for the chaos to begin.

“Ready?” Trixie asked.

“Se~et...” Spry said in a dull tone, preparing her wings for take off.

Chibi twitched. “G-”

A bang sounded through the city as a bright light shot out of Trixie's horn directly out, cutting off Chibi who promptly stepped back from the startling sound. It soared high up and continued to soar. Trixie's horn started to emit magic as Trixie cleared her throat.

“WATCH IN AWE AT THE MAGIC OF THE GREAT AND ALL POWERFUL TRIXIE!” she shouted out, her magic amplifying her voice.

Immediately after, the bright light above exploded in a burst of colours in a circular pattern  with various coloured spots forming an image seen from afar; a depiction of a train speeding along. Spry fluttered her wings and bent down, picking up a small ball in her teeth before taking off into the sky, the spheres on her wings brightening up creating an afterimage behind the Pegasus. She soared fast and carefully through the sparks, creating a “hole” in the roof of the depicted train; each sphere popping off her wing and bursting into the forms of several bandits.

“WHEN THE TRAIN CARRYING THE MAJESTIC KING ARBY AND HIS FAMILY HAD RUN INTO TROUBLE WITH BANDITS, ALL REMAINED POWERLESS AGAINST THE FEARSOME DOGS. HOWEVER...”

Chibi stepped forward and his horn lit up with a magical aura. Each spark inside the explosion split into four different coloured sparks as the giant pattern of colours formed a proud image of Blue Stage appearing further down on the sparks. The wonders of magic; the sparks continued to burn long after normal fireworks would have given out.

“THE SHOW-STOPPING, GREAT AND ALL POWERFUL TRIXIE AND HER ASSISTANTS STEPPED IN TO SAVE THE DAY!”

The aura around Chibi's horn brightened up and the sparks burned into a violent red before bursting, whistling sounds with traces of an ominous growling in the background. Down below, Trixie noticed several civilians on the street stopped to see the fireworks; some stepped onto the tops of buildings. Trixie's horn lit up and shot out another flash of light into the sky in a series of twirls as it arched upward to the high skies. It exploded, this time, depicting a closeup of Blue Stage and the bandits in the same bang of light. Spry reached the pinnacle of her arc in the sky, starting to dive down backwards in a gentle spiral. More spheres on her body broke off as she soared through the mess of sparks, safely protected by Chibi's magic. The image of Blue Stage and the bandits died out as the spheres burst revealing another image; this one depicted the bandits and Blue Stage atop the train, about to face off. Spry did a few twirls before slowing down and gently landing without so much as a “clop” from her hooves.

“THE REST... SHALL BE REVEALED AT THE SEALES GRAND HALL TOMORROW NIGHT AT 7 PM! ALL WHO SHOW SHALL BE TREATED TO THE MYSTIFYING TALE OF THE TRAIN HEIST! COME ONE, COME ALL, COME AND WITNESS THE AMAZING MAGIC OF THE GREAT AND ALL POWERFUL, TRI~IXIE!” Trixie said, deactivating her magic.

The fireworks Spry set off died out leaving no bright flashes in the sky nor any sounds. Down below, chatter is the sound of the evening as many commented on what they just saw. Chance stared dumbfounded at the showmare.

“That's it? That's all? We spent a lot of time on something that lasted not even five minutes?” Chance said as he hung his head, trying to hide the disappointment in his voice that something didn't go wrong.

He stood up, slouching like a bear as he spun around to pick up the first-aid kit's handle and walking over to the doors, opening them with force enough to cause it to swing open entirely. He stormed downstairs to their room while Trixie, Spry and Chibi watched the dog run off.

“That was huffy. Too huffy. What, does the alpha-wimp want stuff to go bad? Figures he'd be such a masochist.” Spry said as she spat at the ground before trotting after Chance.

“Well, I honestly think this wasn't too bad. It was great for a quick, spur of the moment design, don' t you think?” Chibi asked towards the showmare who stood on the ledge, watching the citizens below with a smile pinned to her face.

“Trixie believes she got what she payed for. Trixie shall commence with the going to bed!” Trixie said, once again entering her lands of fantasy where she rules over all as the greatest equine to ever live.

Chibi sighed. “Sure, let's go.”

Chance opened the door to their room, not having bothered to lock it. Glad they didn't take long, because Chance's nerves would have never survived much longer. He walked over and tossed the first-aid kit back into one of the Blue Stage boxes before walking over to the bathroom, closing it as he entered.

Spry entered, Chibi and Trixie following shortly after. Upon entering, Trixie immediately levitated her cape and hat off her figure towards the closet which opened up with magic. She did a quick stretch, and immediately hopped onto the bed nearest the window. She shuffled under the covers, lying in the centre of the bed.

“Trixie requests that she be left alone in the bed as she needs her rest for tomorrow. Spry and the other two may fight over the other bed.” Trixie said as she let out a relaxing sigh, finding a comfortable position in the bed.

Spry stared, not making a sound and practically tore off her uniform, tossing it in the general direction of her luggage. She gently hovered to the second bed and landed on it, not under the covers. Chibi looked at it and blushed.

“I can't share a bed with a woman, not awkward but it just seems kinda rude. I'll take the chair.” he stated before looking to the chair next to the window.

Chibi set his saddlebags on the ground and removed his windbreaker, setting it gently atop the bags. He walked over to the chair just next to the window. It is a larger chair as most dogs and giraffes are larger than ponies in terms of legs and simply the way they sit. He hoped atop it, practically treating it as a bed.

“Good night you all. Rest up, Trixie cannot have her performance tomorrow hindered by tired assistants.” Trixie spoke up, activating her magic as she flicked the light switch, the room going dark.

“Good night, or something.” Chibi said with a yawn, stretching out on the large chair.

“Gnnmgg...” Spry mumbled out into the pillow her face is currently buried in.

The bathroom door opened up and Chance stepped out, shutting the light off before staring at the sight before him. Everybody had gone to sleep without him. He sighed and looked around. He did hear the part about fighting over a bed, but he didn't expect it to go this fast. He walked over to the bed, noticing Chibi had taken the chair. Spry lay sprawled out on the bed, not under the blankets but on them. Asleep? Too hard to tell but Chance sighed. He walked over to the other side of the bed and grabbed the blankets, flipping them over so they covered Spry instead. He carefully climbed onto the bed, allowing his form to take up the bed. It truly is a dog-country or... giraffe country; this bed is actually long enough for him to stretch out.

Chibi had fallen fast asleep, much easier than most nights. Trixie always fell asleep instantly unless unable to remove an embarrassing thought from her mind. Spry often fell asleep instantly regardless of her way too often naps. Chance sighed, the thought of his partners having such easy sleeping habits. He placed his head sideways on the pillow, allowing his fur to act as his natural blanket.

What he didn't know is Spry remain awake, and a smile stuck on her face at the kind gesture Chance made. Maybe chivalry isn't dead...?

Author's Note: Equestria Daily rejection actually helped me pinpoint what exactly it is that I need to work on. Thank god I submitted it, my editor is a little busy. He also isn't editing this story and nobody else is. This is actually something I want to ask of my readers (do I have any?); if you review, can you be as hard hitting as possible. Mention every little thing that is an absolute tarnish to the perfect writing performance. My writing odd? Mention it. Wording odd? Mention it. My portrayal of characters odd? Mention it. Hate everything about my fic? Mention it... as long as you state why.

Thanks, Mr. Masato/Arby Works.