Of Mares and Machines

by Razalon The Lizardman


Chapter 2

Mavis opened her eyes to find herself in a very strange place. All around her were strange wooden objects that looked vaguely like ‘chairs’ which people used for resting their legs, richly decorated with lots of smaller colourful objects resting on them. Casting her eyes over, she realized she was resting on one of these objects; it felt soft and comfortable under her new fur coat.

A cold shudder went through her as she remembered what had happened to her. The thought of being away from Sodor was scary enough on its own, but having legs instead of wheels was even scarier. If she had legs, that meant she’d have to learn how to walk! She couldn’t walk; she’d just keep falling over! And she was expected to work on a farm!?

Mavis was snapped from her panic when she involuntarily gasped for air. Twilight’s words about breathing resurfaced, and she began inhaling and exhaling at a rhythmic pace. Eventually, the action became automatic, and she was able to calm down. Mavis’ heart sank. Everything was so wrong and strange and she didn’t have any friends in this strange place. Even more, she had no idea how to move in her new body.

A few minutes passed before Mavis decided to take another look at her new surroundings. Beyond all the chairs she saw a large window against one wall letting in bright sunlight, which meant not a lot of time had passed while she was asleep. She tried to cast her eyes a little to the left, but the way she was positioned made it impossible to see very far. Mavis let out a huff before a thought struck her: Could she move herself the same way she learned to breathe?

Mavis closed her eyes, trying to understand the control she must have had over her face. That same instinct seemed to be silent at first, but like a fog detonator under her wheels, it struck hard and suddenly. She tried tilting herself forward, and it worked, pressing her face further into the strange material that covered the chair she rested on. She pulled herself up, and it worked like a charm. A big grin split her mouth as she turned every which way, taking in the sights around her. There wasn’t much to see from her point of view aside from a door set into the wall to her right, but the added feeling of control over her new body made Mavis very happy.

A part of her body involuntarily twitched a few minutes later when she heard the echoes of steps in the distance. They got closer and closer with each passing second, and Mavis was scared that something bad was coming her way. The steps stopped outside the door before it swung open. All of Mavis’ fear disappeared when Twilight, Applejack, and a third pony entered the room.

The newcomer instantly grabbed Mavis’ attention. Unlike Twilight and Applejack, this new one was about as tall as any of the humans back on Sodor. Their coat was snow white and they wore regalia, indicating they were a ruler of some kind, similar to the Queen. Like Twilight, this pony had both wings and a horn, but she looked even more important. Just the sight of her was awe-inspiring, very much unlike anything Mavis had ever seen on Sodor; she really was in another world.

“Oh, you’re awake,” Twilight said upon noticing her. “Good.” The three of them took seats in three of the chairs around the room, facing Mavis, who couldn’t stop staring at the larger pony. “Are you feeling okay? Nothing hurts?” she asked softly.

Mavis managed to tear her eyes away from the larger pony. “Uh, yes, I’m feeling fine,” she said.

“Hope you’re feelin’ energized, Mavis,” Applejack said, wearing an apologetic smile, “‘cause ya ain’t gonna have time to rest for the rest of the day.”

“Why?” Mavis asked.

“It will take some time to properly adjust to your new body,” the third pony spoke up at last. Her voice was female and had a soothing quality that helped put Mavis at ease. “But let’s not worry about that quite yet.” She placed a hoof on her front. “My name is Princess Celestia, diarch of the nation of Equestria alongside my sister, Princess Luna.” She gestured toward Mavis. “I understand that you are Mavis, a diesel engine working at the Ffarquhar Quarry Company on the Island of Sodor, correct?”

“Yes,” Mavis confirmed.

“Sir Topham Hatt has told me you keep busy with your job and are very reliable.”

Mavis beamed. “Of course I am!”

“I also understand you sometimes express difficulties about the working conditions of the quarry?”

Mavis sighed. “Sometimes it’s hard to work when the track layouts are so confusing. Also, Toby can be a real fusspot.”

“One of your friends, I presume?” Celestia asked.

Mavis huffed. “He acts like my manager more than my friend. He thinks because he’s older he can order me around telling me how to do my job.”

Celestia giggled, which annoyed Mavis. “You might get along very well with my sister.”

Applejack spoke up. “Well, I’ll do my best to be fair and considerate when you’re workin’ for me.”

Mavis smiled.

“But that’s a matter for later,” Celestia said. “There’s a lot we have to cover before you can leave for Ponyville with my student and her friend, not the least of which teaching you to control your new body.”

“I can move my face around,” Mavis informed them. “But I can’t move the rest of my body at all.”

“Yes, we’ll need to spend a lot of time teaching you that, among many, many other things,” Twilight said. “But first, let’s go over the names of each of your new body parts.” Twilight lifted a hoof and pointed to the spot where her face was located. “This is the ‘head’.” She then lifted her hoof towards her underside. “And this is the ‘barrel’, or ‘stomach’ to use human terminology.”

“I understand,” Mavis said.

“You should also be aware of body language,” Twilight continued. She shook her head up and down. “This is a called a ‘nod’: Use this to communicate ‘yes’.” Then she shook her head left to right. “And this is a shake: It means ‘no’. Can you do it?”

Mavis exerted her control over her head and nodded. “Yes,” she said. She then shook her head. “No.”

“Wonderful, Mavis!” Celestia complimented.

Mavis became conceited at her praise.

The next half hour was spent teaching Mavis various uses of body language as well as the names of the body parts used to enact them. As Twilight taught her the function of each body part Mavis attempted to exert control over them. Each time required little to no effort, to her amazement. Even better, she was moving all on her own! No driver needed, she could go wherever she wanted under her own power! The acts of blinking and making faces she already knew how to do, but her new ‘tongue’ apparently could be used as an insult by sticking it out. It was such a shame she couldn’t do it to Toby whenever he acted like a fusspot. The ponies discouraged her from doing this to other ponies, however.

“That should cover all the basics,” Twilight finally said. “Now we need to teach you how to walk and gallop.”

Mavis lifted her hoof up and rolled it around. She’d seen horses grazing in pastures before, but she’d never seen how they moved their legs. Humans seemed to have a basic rhythm of putting one leg in front of the other over and over, but she’d seen how the ponies moved and it didn’t look as simple. She put her legs over the side of the chair and planted them on the floor; it was made of a very hard material.

Immediately, she struggled for balance, but once again she felt a tingle envelop her entire body and straighten her. She turned her head to see Twilight’s horn was lit again.

“Don’t worry, I’ll help,” she promised. “Applejack?”

“Alrighty,” the orange mare said before standing up. “Watch closely, Mavis,” she instructed.

Mavis nodded.

Applejack first moved her back left hoof forward, followed by her front left, then her back right, and finally her front right. She repeated the action a few more times to make sure Mavis got the pattern down. Mavis watched closely, but she was having trouble committing it to memory for some reason.

“Got it?” Applejack asked once she was done.

Mavis would be lying if she said yes, so she said, “I think so.”

“I’m going to release you from my grip,” Twilight told her. “Once I do, I want you to copy the gait Applejack just showed you. Don’t worry if you fall over, I’ll catch you.”

“Okay,” Mavis said.

She felt Twilight’s magic release from her and the three of them looked at her expectantly. Mavis tried to recall the pattern— front left first, was it? She lifted her front left hoof and placed it forward, only for her entire front weight to shift with it. She let out a gasp but was saved from collapsing by Twilight’s magic.

“Back left first, Mavis,” Applejack said, frowning. “Did y’all forget that quickly or somethin’?”

Mavis growled at her

“Sorry, sorry, I ain’t tryin’ ta say that you’re dumb.”

Mavis huffed, looking away.

“Now is not the time for fighting, you two,” Celestia lightly scolded. “Now Mavis, would you tell us if something is wrong? We will help all that we can.”

Mavis returned her gaze; she couldn’t tell if the princess was being kind because she felt superior or not, and it made her suspicious. “I couldn’t remember the pattern,” she said. “That’s all.”

“Do you have a habit of forgetting things sometimes?” Celestia asked. Mavis was about to lash out when she followed up with. “Because I do too, sometimes. It comes with the territory of having a job as busy as mine.”

Mavis blinked; she wasn’t expecting her to say that. Her suspicion was melting away now. Celestia was proving herself to be trustworthy.

“Uh, no, I don’t,” she managed to say after a few seconds of awkward silence. “I can remember lots of things easily, like trucks’ arrangements and how I’m only allowed to go as far as Toby’s line, but for some reason, I couldn’t remember that pattern.”

“It may be because you’re not used to having a real brain,” Twilight suggested. “Now you have a lot more mental power to work with, but you might not be able to tap into it yet. Static visuals are easier to commit to memory than moving images, and am I correct in assuming you don’t have to memorize too many complicated motions for your job?’

Mavis shook her head. “No, I don’t.”

“That might explain it, then. It might be better if we take this in steps.” She giggled. “Pun not intended.”

“Pun?” Mavis asked.

“Not important, Sugarcube,” Applejack said, waving her hoof dismissively. “But Twilight’s right, we should take this in steps. Move your back left hoof forward first.”

Mavis did as instructed.

“Good,” Applejack said. “Now front left.”

Mavis followed suit.

“Now back right.”

Again, as instructed.

“And front right.”

Mavis completed the walk cycle, now a little closer to the ponies. She smiled proudly at her accomplishment. Applejack guided her through the cycle a couple more times, each try being successful. By the end of it, Mavis felt she’d committed the rhythm to memory. Twilight released her hold on Mavis and she tried it without guidance, successfully bringing her directly in front of the ponies. Her smile broadened.

“Well done, Mavis,” Celestia said with a smile.

Mavis became even more conceited.

“Now we need to teach you how to gallop,” Twilight said. “Basically, you just need to do that walk cycle, but put a lot more force into each step in order to move faster.” She grabbed Mavis with her magic again. “Try walking at first and transitioning into a gallop after a moment. That might make things easier to get a grip on.”

Mavis did as instructed. She started the walk cycle as before, walking a few laps around the room while she built her confidence. The nervous anticipation was discomforting to her, but another strange sensation compelled her to take a deep breath. She did so, exhaled, and instantly felt much better. She started putting more force into each step as instructed, picking up her speed while trying her best not to tip forward. Her hooves began pounding the hard floor. The air rushed past her as she flew around the room at Express speed. She smiled wider than she’d ever done before.

“Whoa, slow down there, girl!” Applejack said.

Mavis felt Twilight’s magic tug against her, prompting her to slow down before coming to a stop. She turned to see the ponies looking impressed.

“Glad to see yer so enthused, Mavis,” Applejack said with a coy grin.

“You took to that very quickly,” Celestia observed. “You’re very strong.”

Mavis couldn’t become any more conceited.

“The hard part is out of the way,” Twilight said. “Now all that’s left is to explain a few more things you need to know in order to blend in.” She turned her body so Mavis could see her side. “Notice the picture on my flank?”

Mavis took notice of the six-pointed purple symbol with several white objects surrounding it on Twilight’s flank. She looked at Applejack and Celestia, noticing they, too, had pictures on their flanks: a trio of apples for Applejack and the sun for Celestia. Mavis turned to look at her own flank, wondering if there would be a picture on it, but there wasn’t one. She turned back to Twilight, confused.

“They’re called cutie marks,” Twilight explained. “Basically, they appear whenever a pony discovers their purpose in life, but they can’t be fabricated, which is why your new body doesn’t have one.”

“Okay,” Mavis said after a moment of thought. “What does that mean?”

“Pretty much every adult pony has their cutie mark,” Applejack elaborated. “You’re gonna stick out like a sore hoof without one, so odds are you’ll be getting some weird stares from ponyfolk.”

Mavis didn’t like the sound of that.

“It shouldn’t be too much of a problem, though,” Twilight followed. “We've told everyone in Ponyville that you were going to be transformed into a pony. We won’t tell them you were originally a train; whether you want to tell anyone that is up to you. I wouldn’t if I were you, but we’ll leave that up to your discretion. We’ll need to tell our friends the truth, though, since we want everyone to be on the same page regarding you. Don’t worry, they’re trustworthy.”

Mavis didn’t understand every word Twilight said, but the basic meaning was clear. Anything to keep people from looking at her queerly was good with her. She nodded her understanding.

“Next up is a brief rundown of what you’ll be doin’ on my farm,” Applejack said. “It won’t be too hard, I promise, and I hope working under me won’t be as frustrating as what you seem to go through.”

Mavis smiled upon hearing that. Not having to work with confusing truck arrangements, or whatever the closest thing Applejack would have her do to it, would be amazing.

“The bulk of the work you’ll be doing is bucking apples from trees,” Applejack explained. “The rest of the work is small stuff: feeding the pigs, collecting eggs from the coop, etc. As long as you can move around and grip things you can do the work.”

Mavis didn’t know what pigs or a porch were, but the tasks didn’t sound too hard, at least, and Applejack was surely going to help her understand first before doing the work. All the sorrow she felt over losing her wheels was gone with the knowledge that she could still be useful, and even better, she would have lots of stories to tell to boast to Toby upon returning home.

“All right,” Twilight said, standing up off the chair, “that should cover all the necessary points for now. We’ll educate you as we move along, but for now, I think we’re ready to get a move on.”

“Where are we going?” Mavis asked.

“We live in Ponyville,” Applejack said. “It’s on the Equestrian Plains a few miles from the base of the Canterhorn. We and all our friends live there.”

“We can get there in about a half hour by chariot,” Twilight said, then turned to Celestia. “Is that alright, Princess?”

“Actually, Twilight,” Celestia replied, “I was thinking we should let Mavis ride on the Friendship Express.”

Twilight’s mouth twisted in confusion. “Really? Why?”

“I believe it would be a better learning experience for her,” Celestia explained. Mavis took note of the cheeky grin that split her muzzle. Her horn lit up and a small canvas bag popped into existence in front of Twilight, dropping to the floor and making her instinctively jump back. It clinked with the telltale metallic sound of money. “That should be enough for three train tickets going down and two more coming back up. Technically, Mavis is here as part of a government-officiated program, so the Crown will pay for all travel expenses.”

“Well, I guess it’d be okay,” Twilight said after a moment of silent contemplation. She turned to Mavis. “What do you think, Mavis?”

“Is the Friendship Express an engine’s name?” Mavis asked.

“It is,” Celestia said.

“It’s a queer name.”

Twilight and Applejack blanched at her response while Celestia’s lip curled up. Mavis suddenly got the feeling she’d said something bad.

“What is it?” she asked.

Celestia straightened her face. “It’s nothing, Mavis. Just use the word ‘weird’ in place of ‘queer’ while you’re here if you don’t want to get into trouble. Promise?”

Mavis didn’t understand what the problem with the word ‘queer’ was, but the last thing she wanted was to get in more trouble. “I promise,” she replied.

Twilight and Applejack came back to their senses. “I should warn you, though, Mavis,” Twilight spoke up worryingly, “that the Friendship Express isn’t like you or other trains on Sodor; it can’t talk.”

Mavis was taken aback. “Rubbish,” she said.

“Oh no, Mavis, it’s quite true,” Celestia said, her cheeky grin returning. “You’ll see for yourself very soon.”

“I hope you’ll be okay with it,” Twilight said, concerned.

“I still don’t believe it,” Mavis said stubbornly. The very idea of an engine which couldn’t talk was absurd.

“She’ll come around when she sees the train,” Celestia said, getting up out of her chair. “Now then, how about we get moving? Only so much time in the day, after all.”

Applejack smirked. “That’s your decision to make, Princess.”

“Applejack!” Twilight said, aghast.

Celestia giggled but didn’t respond. She strode over to the door and opened it with her magic. “Let us be on our way.”

Applejack and Twilight followed after her. “Come along, Mavis,” Applejack said. “Get those hooves workin’!”

Mavis fell into step behind them without a word. They made their way outside, and Mavis felt her jaw fall open when her eyes slightly tracked upwards. The ceiling above was tall. Tall as the sky. Were all buildings this enormous on the inside? Thomas’ story about crashing through the wall of a stationmaster’s house resurfaced in her mind, specifically the detail about his funnel not clearing the roof, and she quickly realized she was someplace special.

The corridor was smartly decorated, much like how things would be when the Queen came to Sodor. Light purple columns supported the structure inlaid with swirling designs and strange and colourful stained glass windows depicting queer, unfamiliar designs decorated the walls in between. The floor was lined with a strange, flat red object that felt very soft under Mavis’ hooves.

It was so strange, being inside a building made for people, nothing like her shed back in Ffarquhar. All kinds of strange sensations were assaulting her senses that she couldn’t understand. A part of her wanted to ask the ponies if that was a problem, but that idea was promptly shot down when she realized that amounted to asking for help. Help she definitely didn’t need.

Not right now, at least.

The ponies turned left down the corridor and Mavis followed silently behind. They made many turns and passed many armored guards and maids, all of whom threw surprised glances at Mavis, specifically, her flank. Mavis returned each glance with a scowl, to which they’d immediately turn their gazes forward.

Eventually, they descended a set of wide steps, coming to an intersection of red carpets leading to three different doorways. Mavis couldn’t see where the ones on either side led, but the one directly in front led outside. A pair of guards flanked the entrance on either side, who snapped a salute to the princess as the group approached. They, too, cast glances towards Mavis’ flank, but quickly fixed their expressions before she could show them her anger.

“What do you think of Canterlot Castle, Mavis?” Celestia asked, turning back to her with a smile.

“It’s different from what I’m used to,” Mavis replied honestly.

“The train station is on the other side of Canterlot,” Twilight said, also turning back to her. “Are you excited, Mavis?”

Mavis honestly didn’t know whether or not she truly was.