(So I decided We would start a bit earlier then I said before.)

Dark grey clouds slowly moved across the sky, towards the train station as pegasi pushed them in place. The train station was crowded with ponies, griffons, zebra, and many other of the races which inhabit Equestria. Marionette checked her bags, sorting few what little she had left after the fire. Her old wood whittling knife, which she has kept for all these years. A few puppets she manged to save from the fire, one of a changeling, and another of a alicorn. And lastly a bestiary of creatures which are well know to inhabit the land which she calls home.

Off in the distances the sounds of a train whistle blowing warning of it impeding stop. Marionette packed her things back in there bags, and watched the train roll in, slowing to a stop at the station, and given off another blow of the whistle. The old doors of the train slowly opened to let in, and out the cargo which it held. Very few left the train, mainly a few families of ponies, and the occasional buffalo, or griffon. As the last of the few stragglers went about there ways, all the inhabits of the platform begin to slowly march on, marionette included.

She would walk along the aisle of the train looking to both sides, for a seat, but too her disappointment, and the disappointment of many others, a empty seat, seemed to be but a hopeless wish. Even at the caboose of the train, every seat was filled, and even the beds which standardly stayed empty till the night, was but improvised seating arrangements for the mass amounts of travelers on the train. With no choice left, but to stand, she chosen to stand at one of the many door with a window.

The door which was now shut, had the view of the empty station platform. As the train whistle sounded again to signal the trains department, the rain began to slowly fall outside, given the view a forlorn look as the train began to move slowly, and then picked up pace with the rain. Marionette sighed, and lay on the floor the best she could, while not blocking the way for anyone wishing to move up or down the train cars.
Her journey to Canterlot had just began.

The day had almost become night as Ksirafai saw his train coming towards him. He had been wandering towards canterlot on foot along the train tracks as walking was to him a more enjoyable way to travel. Sadly walking had the issue that i took to long, and he would not waste time. On his back he whore his lute and around his hind leg he had a small bag with a few tickets and coins. His long coat had been become a dirty mess and his mask had become worn and old. But even so he stood their next to the train tracks proud and somewhat content. After taking a deep breath he watched the train roll on by until the last cart past him.
''Now'' He jumped with the speed of a timber wolf, getting himself on the train and then getting inside at the carriage furthest back. A train pony who saw this feat almost dropped his jaw as Ksirafai walked by him

''How much for a ticket''
''Ahh.....3 bits'' Ksirafai dug in his prose for 3 bits to hand over. The train pony looked at him like most ponies do
''Why do you wear that mask?'' Ksirafai looked up on him
''I got attacked by a griffin. It ripped my face so horrible that i forged this mask to hide it....Do you want see?'' The train pony backed off as Ksirafai walked in to the more public carts. Again all the seats where taken witch left him with little choice but to stand next to a window.

He turned around and looked, next to him stood another pony with a puppet on strings as her cuite mark.
''Your a performer?''

''Your a performer?''

Marionette looked to where the voice came from, laying her eyes on a masked, coat wearing pony. Well she guessed it was a pony, no real way of telling with the silly get up it had on. "N-Not really." she smiled in a half hearted way, trying to hide how awkward the situation felt. "S-So are you?" She pointed to the mask ponies lute, which stood out like a sore hoof. The rain outside the train started to hit the windows of the train harder, making a patta-pat sounds at a increasing rate.

She was shy...it had to be his assassin outfit. Most ponies did for good reason get uneasy in his presence. The mask dint make thing's better as he turned towards the window, looking outside as the water splattered on the window. He was glad he got out of the rain before it got serious. His mask got awfully tight in moist weather. He looked at the timid pony again, she was smaller then him so he had to look down.
''I make my living of playing now a days...so yea. I suppose your right miss?''

It was odd that Ksirafai once the greatest assassin pony of channellings this side of the mountains now was reduced to a simple entertainer. Perhaps it was good..after all he was getting older...removing changelings was a young colts game. He had even trouble now a days telling them apart from normal ponies. Back in his heyday he could spot a sifter from a thousand miles. Good that he knows his lute then, since his travelling expenses are now all paid by it. But that was not why he was here now was it?
''Indulge me miss...why are you going to canterlot?''

''Indulge me miss...why are you going to canterlot?''

"You know...I need the bits,...lots of bits." She gave a awkward laugh at the end of her reply. She turned towards the window, and watched the rain hit the window and run down it slowly. Drops collecting together into bigger, yet still small masses of water, as they picked up speed on the way to the bottom, and then off the window. The country side of equestia wasn't exactly too interesting to watch, apple trees for as far as the eye could see, and the occasional Animal, or pony can be seen passing by in a blur of motion, only detailed enough to tell what race it is.

The stormy clouds gave off a strike of lightning, and a thunder cap every once in a while, lighting the scarce amount of darkness left by the lights in the train. The densely pack train, was alive with the cacophony of the many living things inside, all talking, some softer then other, but still all blending into a mass of sound which would be unfathomable to make out words from.

As the lighting soar across the sky, a shadow crossed Ksirafai's mind.
''If you don't mind...The reason i am going there is that i was called.''

The takes a deep breath. He was indeed called, by a falcon when he was out on the country side, It was his old mission bringer if you will, a brave companion who had been his own for quite some time before it became canterlots official bringer of news. Sometimes it was good news...other times it was his own personal storm crow. He turned to the pony next to him and looked at her quite intensely
''Bad news comes from the capital, Its about our rulers...''
He paused thinking if he should tell her or not. The message said that he should find assistance towards the task given...but could he trust this pony?
''Tell me...if they needed your help would you help them?''

Marionette looked at him, and paused for a second thinking. "Well..., I think that is what everypony, is mostly doing on this train. It's public news at this point, that everyone who could assist was called...Not that I am more inclined by the bits, then just helping." She gave a very awkward type of smile, unsure how what she said sounded like to him. Her mind was a bit over whelmed by the past few days, and all that has happened in such a short time, from her home being burned down, to the news of the princesses.

The sky outside the train darken further, as night set in, and the rain didn't show any signs of stopping. The countryside had given way to city streets, and taller houses, paved roads, and bright signs lighting up advertising places within the city. From hotels, to restaurants, to you name it, the city seemed to have it all, yet the train kept moving, with no sign of stopping, the city wasn't the destination, and so as it came it went, passing by in a short amount of time, leaving to a forest, which looked more like a sea of trees.

He sighed, social iteration and him, it was like acid on exposed skin. Outside of preforming he rarely spoke with the ponies.
''-Sigh-'' He says and looks out the window again, blankly looking the thunder outside as the thunderclap smashed against the earth. It was a sceptical to his very eyes.
''Perhaps i should tell you my name...They call me Razor or in an older language Ksirafai.''
He holds out his hoof so she could shake it. If he did not wear his mask o so proudly he would have smiled in some fake attempt to make him self seem more approachable. It was about now figured out something...he was damn hungry.... and he was out of cash. He made another sigh and lumped himself in front of the window where he just tiredly looked out.
''I should have eaten before i got on.''

She slowly lifted her hoof, and shaked his. Her Stomach growled a small bit in hunger.
"Now that you mention it, I haven't eaten for a few days. Also if you don't mind me asking, which order language is that?"
She joined him looking at the window, at the forest they has been passing by, and signed a bit.
"My name is marionette, I used to work at a theater, I owned in pony ville." She yawned, and lay-ed back on the ground.

''I wish i knew, My mother told me that and she never taught me anything more. Sometimes she would curse in that tong.'' He reached for his small bag of trinkets and took a look...yea their was some bits in their. He gave her enough for her to get some food.
''Here, get yourself something to eat.''

Why? Ksirafai had never put himself first. For him that was a sin, a breaking of the codex he had followed since he was a little foal. It was about now he wondered what had happened to the sisters who he had served for so long. Petrification has happen before, but in the past such incantations have lacked the power to touch an alicorn. So some sort of potent magic had to been used...but what being in Equestria possessed such? Was this another Nightmare moon incident? Had Luna gone crazy? She was a being who could match Celestia in the magical arena but she was clearly content last time he saw her. The idea of a second uprising seemed wasteful, or just honestly pointless. Ksirafai looked troubled as the ideas floated in and out of his mind.

"Thanks." She said with a smile. She got up, and began to walk down the aisle towards a car a few lengths down. The train began to make a screeching noise, as it began to rapidly come to a halt. The lights inside the cars flickering before going out, there was a few screams, more from a few jumpy ponies. The noise of everypony talking got louder the longer the train stay dark, and didn't move.

At the far end of the train more screams where heard, and even the sounds of magic, and glass breaking. Marionette tried her best to keep walking forward, as a flood of ponies and other races came go check on what all the noise was about. Eventually clogging all the back cars, and even causing a few fights between curious ponies stepping on one another hoofs, and taking it too personal.

The screeching hooves on a black-board sound penetrated Ksirafai as his mind was busy thinking...It was a distracting sound to say the least, and the horde of ponies who rushed to check it out...He was smarter however and stayed put, making himself as small as possible to let as many ponies come in front of him as possible. He saw them rush past him, big, small, bulky, tiny. They all seemed to blend together in front of him, a maelstrom of shapes and colours. But where did Marionette go? Perhaps she was in trouble?

The Train to canterlot was old, and as an old train it had several poles witch ponies could hold on too. These sat a convenient places and above the seats. So, it was quite easy for a nimble horse like Ksirafai to grab hold of one of these and climb above the rush of ponies looking for Marionette among the shapes.
''Where in great celestia's name is she?'' He quickly gets down, and proceeded to wait out the storm was it where.

Finding her way into the dining car of the train, marionette saw a few ponies inside. Mostly standing motionless facing a plate of food. Then there was the stallion at the counter. He had green fur, and a brighter green mane, with a square wide brim hat with the words. "Staff" On it. Noticing marionette looking at him, he winked, and waved her over. "Hey there good looking, fancy some delights we have to offer? Maybe some carrot cake topped with only the finest apples you can find in all of Equestria." Marionette's mouth began to water slightly as he kept going on with the different things they offered.

"I'll take it all." she replied shoving the bits into him, as she use her magic, to telekinetly move the plates onto one of the open tables. " You don't have enough for all that....But I like you the rest is on the house." Winking at her again. After putting the last of many plates down, she paused, and looked at the other ponies again. Still never moving a inch since she gotten there. "Whats with the other ponies? They are kind of weirding me out." she look at him and then pointed to a few. "Oh those, they're just great masterpiece statues that the other staff set up in here, to make it seem more lively." "But if you really care to know what I think?" He leans in closer to her ear, looking to see if anyone else was in the room. "They seem to have a adverse effect, scaring everypony that comes this way." He backs away, back behind the counter.

"But what do I know? You enjoy all that!" He grins, making a shooing motion at her with his hoofs. She shrugged, and went over to her table with food. Glancing once more at the colored statues of pony one last time before she began to eat.

As the crowed cleared, everypony going back to their own, Ksirafai was free to check around for Marionette. And sure enough she was in the dining cart haven gotten herself a nice bit of food, more then he excepted her to get with his limited bits. And what seemed even more odd then that was the fact that the dining hall was filled with ponies...creepy ponies to say the least. He however uncharacteristic happen to knock in to one of them, and as he was about to say ''sorry'' he noticed that it was a statue. Why the heck you have creepy massive statues in your dining cart he had no idea but sure, what ever floated that ponies boat.

''You seem to gotten yourself a mouth full He said jokey to his new found friend as he took a seat next to her. He looked a short wile rather forlornly at the food before turning his eyes back on her
''We be in canterlot soon, where will you go from there?''

"I know." she replied back stuffing more food into her mouth. It was a relieving feeling to have food in her belly after such a long time.
There was a occasional weird feeling, but she just accounted that towards her hunger. She gulps down another plate full, before asking. "So any idea what all the yelling was about, just a little bit ago? Giv-" She froze for a second, her legs felt heavy, and she tried to move them but to no avail. "Eh?" All the muscles in her body began to freezer in place, leaving her motion less, in a pose close to the colored statues, but with her face looking at Ksirafai.

''What?'' She just dropped off...and her face looked like she had seen a ghost, a demon even. And Ksirafai shoud know about demons, as he had face some of the worst Equestria had to offer. Changelings, Manticores and even an infamous hydra. Sometimes alone even and sometimes with some other freelancers. Few times had he not come out on top and the times he didn't he usually got away without breaking a sweat.

''Whats up?''

She just stood there looking at Ksirafai unable to move. No matter how much she tried, no matter how much she tried to force her body to move.
It just stood in place, with her head turned still looking at Ksirafai. She couldn't even talk, or blink, it was a horrible experience to say the least.
This did make her wonder, if the other statues are just ponies, all stuck like this as well.

Just starting at him was not going to solve anything, it was clearly something happing...and Ksirafai bet it had to due with these damn statues that that this cart was filled with..and one was next to him...he without turning his head lunched a hoof straight in to the belly of the nearest statue and quickly bum-rushed it pushing it to the ground in one fast assassin like motion. Pushing whatever it is at the ground he shouts
''RAAAH''