//------------------------------// // Corgi Car // Story: Infinity Train: Bookworm // by luckyboys121 //------------------------------// As the three entered the next car they didn't know what to expect, and even they didn't see this coming as Spike suddenly wagged his tale excitedly. Stretched out before them was what appeared to be either Greece or Rome judging by the scenery and architecture, except unlike either it seemed to be solely populated by dogs playing with each other. "Woah, is this like a dog park car or something?" asked Twilight. "Who cares, this looks awesome!" said Spike as he got ready to join in on the fun. That fun was interrupted though as they suddenly heard a horn and turned to see a dog blowing into it, before they could process that they watched as all the dogs turned towards a particular direction and bowed, as from that direction came a throne being carried by four dogs and atop it a dog with a crown who began saying, "Salutations, two legged stranger, loud ball stranger, and fellow canine, and welcome to Corginia." The dog then looked towards the group as he said, "I am Atticus, king and uniter of the Cardigans and the Pembrokes." Twilight spoke up relatively quickly as the sight of a talking dog wasn't particularly shocking to her as she said, "Um, greetings sir Atticus, I'm Twilight Sparkle of Canterlot High." "And I'm Spike um... friend of Twilight," said Spike. "And I'm One One the super cool and depressed," said One One. "Greetings Twilight the scholar, Spike the faithful companion, and One One the... confusing," said Atticus as he blinked for a moment. He soon regained his composer though as he said, "Now then allow me to give you a tourginia of Corginia." It was then that they heard the horn blow again as Atticus simply chuckled and said, "Forgive my little brother, he really likes blowing that thing." They then heard it blow once again before the dog hopped down from his perch next to the horn to join the others. Soon the trio found themselves following behind Atticus's procession as he pointed a paw to various attractions saying, "Over here we have our automatic feeding machines, and there we have our sun beams for napping in, and OH here is one is one of the most popular attractions in all of Corginia BEHOLD!" He then gestured with his paws as he said, "The back scratching fields!" The trio looked out to see a large grassy field with several dogs laying on the ground as robotic arms scratched their backs. Spike jumped and wagged his tail excitedly as he said, "OH HECK YEAH! I'm definitely trying this!" Atticus simply chuckled as he said, "I'm sorry little friend, but I'm afraid that these devices are only calibrated for Corgis." Spike smiled as he said, "Oh that's not gonna be a problem, I'm part Corgi on my moms side." This resulted in several gasps from the assembled crowd, as the trio backed up a bit of shock. "What's going on?" asked Twilight in concern. Atticus stared at Spike as his jovial smile was replaced by a cold stare as he said, "According to Corginia law, any time an outside Corgi enters our land, they must compete against the king in the Trial of Leadership." "Oh that sounds fun and painful." said One One. Atticus sighed as he said, "It is, I've competed in it and won countless times, and yet each time it feels like more and more of a strain." "Woah dude, you don't have to do this you know, I don't want to take your job," said Spike. Atticus briefly grit his teeth before sighing as he said, "No, it's the way of Corginia, only the best among us may lead." He then turned and began walking as he said, "Come, we must hurry to the Corgiseum." Spike stood for a second in thought as Twilight stepped froward saying, "Wait you can't-" Atticus stepped in front of her saying, "Sorry madam, but this a matter among of Corgi's, I'm afraid you and the small round one must remain here." Twilight began to scowl at the small dog as she said, "The heck I well! There is no way I'm letting Spike do your-" Spike raised a paw interrupting her as he said, "No... I'll do it." "WHAT! But Spike!" said Twilight as she bent down to be on the same eye level as her friend. Spike simply smiled at her as he said, "It's OK, I'm sure it's not that bad... besides you've been doing all kinds of challenges to try and get us home, now it's my turn." Twilight stared in shock before sighing as she said, "Well if that's how you feel then I can't stop you." Spike nodded as he turned to follow the Corgis saying, "You and One One see if you can find the door, and I'll be back as soon as this is done," he then chuckled slightly as he said, "Who knows, maybe next time you see me I'll be the king of this place." Twilight let out her own chuckle at that as she said, "Yeah... maybe." She then watched as Spike and the others disappeared into the distance. Twilight and One One simply sat for a moment before One One cheerfully said, "Well then, off we go then." Twilight continued to look away as she simple said, "Yeah," before shaking her head as she said, "Yeah... let's start by crossing that lake, it looks pretty shallow and that island it definitely looks suspicious." As Spike tentatively followed through the entrance Atticus gestured with his paw as he said, "Behold, the Corgiseum!" Spike looked around at the large stone ring around them and the stands filled with Corgis watching them. "Pretty nice, reminds me of the Roman Coliseum." Atticus briefly cocked his head to the side as he asked, "And what pray tell is a Roman?" Spike thought for a moment before shrugging as he said, "Eh don't worry about it, just something from one of Twilight's textbooks." Atticus looked forward as he said, "Ah, well the time for chit chat is over anyway. Now is the time to begin the trial." He then nodded towards to a group of Corgis to his left who all went through a nearby door and quickly came out carrying a large machine on their backs. They soon sat the machine down as Atticus said, "Behold the Machine of Temptation." Then as if on que the machine whirred to life as a squeaky toy dropped out of a slot in front of it. "As king of Corginia you would have access to our entire supply of treats, toys, scratching machines, everything... and it would be very tempting to want to take the best for yourself," he said as he looked down and panted slightly before gritting his teeth as he said, "That's why we perform this trial. We must sit here and not do anything while that machine pours out countless treats and toys, each one finer then the last leading up to the rarest item Corginia has to offer... or so the legends say." "Wait... you don't know?" asked Spike as he cocked his head in confusion. "Of course not, most crumble as soon as the first bone comes out... sometimes I even feel myself beginning to falter," Atticus then chuckled as he said, "I suppose that's the real reason I feel this test is still necessary, deep down I'm still unsure if I'm fit to rule." Spike's ears lowered at that as he said, "If you think that way, then clearly you are a good king... a bad one wouldn't doubt himself like that." Atticus smiled as he said, "Your words are very kind, but they only prove that perhaps you are fit to be a greater king then I." Spike lowered his head at that before a thought crossed him as he moved a paw forward only for Atticus to growl as he said, "Do not think to throw this competition for my shake though young Spike, to do so would devalue all we hold dear in Corginia!" Spike moved back as he simply nodded before turning his attention back to the machine as it spit out a bone. As Twilight began to walk through the water she saw it just reached the tops of her boots as she said, "Just as I thought, shallow." One One then stepped forward saying, "Yeah! Swimming time! Yeah! A chance to drown!" Twilight raised her hand back as she said, "Hold on One One, you should probably stay here so you can tell Spike where I went when he's done." "Oh, capital idea Ms. Twilight! I'm used to being left out of stuff anyway." said One One as he sat down on the ground. Twilight nodded at him as she began to cross the water. As Spike and Atticus sat watching the machine dole out more and more they where finally greeted to one last thing as it seemed to shut down. As Atticus gasped and did his best to steel himself in place, Spike simply cocked his head in confusion as he said, "Isn't that just one of the back scratchers you showed me earlier?" Atticus slowly shook his head as he said, "No dear pup, it is the fabled sweet spot scratcher, able to get just get behind the ears, that spot on your belly that makes you kick, and every other sweet spot both known and unknown to Corgi kind." As the pair watched Atticus tentatively began reaching a paw out, but before he could place it on the ground they where all startled by a sudden and loud scream. "THAT SOUNDED LIKE TWILIGHT!" cried out Spike as he instantly ran towards the door. Atticus turned towards him saying, "WAIT! BUT THE CHALLENGE ISN'T OVER!" but Spike was already gone. He briefly turned back towards the scratcher, before following him out the door as the Corgis soon followed. Twilight stared in shock as between her and the door stood one of the freakiest things she had seen on this train thus far. A series of infinite metal tendrils walked along as it removed a glowing blue orb from a slot on the ground and lifted it towards what appeared to be a pure white face of a mannequin. On instinct Twilight screamed causing the thing to be alerted to her presence as it dropped the orb and was on her in an instant as it stood mere inches away and yelled, "RETURN YOUR SEAT PASSENGER!" Twilight backed away as fear sweat began to obstruct her vision and she stammered, "I'd gladly do soon but I um... can't seem to find my seat do you think you could kindly direct me towards it?" As a response the thing had what appeared to be two small mini guns come out of the holes where its eyes should be as it simply repeated, "RETURN TO YOUR SEAT!" Not knowing what else to do, Twilight let out another scream as she ran for cover. Spike soon reached the beach as the previously shallow water now had a tide crashing against it. "ONE ONE! What happened, where's Twilight!?" cried out Spike. One One turned to him as he said, "She went to explore that island." "And why didn't you go with her!?" asked Spike as he panted, both from running there and the stress of the situation. "She told me to wait for you and left me behind," said One One. Spike panicked at that as he turned towards the water steadily rising water, but was quickly interrupted by a yell of, "WAIT!" He turned to see Atticus as he said, "You can't go in their the beast has returned and started a flood." "What beast!?" asked Spike. Atticus stared off at the island as he said, "We know not what it looks like or what it wants. But every time it comes the water rises and my people need to take shelter... and I suggest you do the same." Before they could talk further another scream resonated through the air as Spike gritted his teeth saying, "I DON'T CARE WHAT IT IS! TWILIGHT NEEDS MY HELP!" Before Atticus could say anymore Spike leapt into the water and as the crowd suddenly gasped in horror he soon floated up to the surface where he began to paddle himself forward. One One cried out, "YEAH! NOW WE CAN SWIM! and drown!" and in a way he did both as his definition of swimming was to role into the water and sink to the bottom where he continued to role along the ocean's floor. The crowd watched and began to murmur saying, "What is he doing?" "He's pushing himself forward with his paws." "In a paddling motion." "Some kind of... doggy paddle!?" "By the rulers of old," said Atticus as he stared at Spike doing the seemingly impossible and crossing the rising water. He gulped before jumping in the water after him. Once they reached the island Spike didn't even bother to shake the water off him as he ran forward and was soon greeted to the sight of Twilight cowering behind a bit of rubble as the thing shoot towards her. "HEY! LEAVE HER ALONE!" cried out Spike as he ran toward it. The thing towards him as the guns went back into eyes and it said, "Non-passenger detected, live capture required." It then lifted one of its tendrils as three claws came out of the end of it before it began reaching towards Spike. "Spike no!" cried out Twilight as she reached a pleading hand out towards them. Spike braced himself for an attack... that didn't come as suddenly the tendril glowed purple and stopped dead it its tracks. Spike turned to see Twilight's hand was also glowing purple as she suddenly had a strained looked on her face. "What the-" began Spike but was interrupted as Atticus and One One soon arrived. "Young Spike, wait for me," cried out Atticus as he ran towards them. One One however stopped rolling and looked at creature as he said, "Oh you're a creepy one you should probably be in a creepy car," as One One let a beeping noise they never heard before. The thing let out some kind of beeping noise of its own as it soon moved its tendril away from Spike as the purple glow left it. Then without warning it made its way over to the door, and simply left. The group watched in utter shock as this thing seemed to leave for no reason, Spike turned to Twilight for an explanation but soon found himself running towards her as she leaned against the rubble panting from the exertion. "Twilight are you OK!?" he asked. Twilight offered no response as she simply stared off into the distance panting. "Twilight?" asked Spike as he placed a paw on her in concern. This seemed to snap Spike to reality as she said, "Let's just keep moving," as she went over and picked up One One off the ground. "Wait but Twilight?" asked Spike. "No Spike," said Twilight as she tried to quietly make her way to the door. "We need to talk about this," said Spike. Twilight stopped in her tracks as she said, "Talk about what... how I was right and Midnight is still in me... watching waiting for the right moment." "What?" asked Spike as he did expect such a reply. Twilight turned around with a look anger on her face as he said, "YOU SAW THAT! I used magic there... which means I'm still dealing with consequences of my mistakes... I probably will have to deal with them for the rest of my life." As she talked Spike noticed that her number started moving again, only this time it appeared to be going up. Spike attempted to reassure her as he said, "But you... used magic to save me." Twilight simply turned back towards the door as she said, "Nothing good can come from a mistake... not one that big," as she gripped One One with her left hand while her right hand hung limply next to her body. Spike watched at the number finally stopped ticking at 103 and she began walking. Spike sighed as he prepared to follow only to here a call of, "WAIT!" He turned around to see Atticus had placed his crown on the ground and was now bowing before him. "Wait.. but I ran away from the challenge," said Spike in slight confusion. Atticus raised his head saying, "Yes but you would have won it anyway, I felt my resolve crumble before me the second I laid my eyes on that scratcher... but even if it didn't you have shown that you are far braver and more dependable then I could ever hope to be." Spike looked at the crown as he said, "But... I can't stay here." Atticus smiled as he said, "I know..." he then turned towards Twilight who was now simply standing in front of the door staring and waiting. "You clearly have a higher calling, but please take the crown and know that I rule Corginia in your place, and that if you need help in your calling we shall be here for you." Spike nodded as he put on the crown saying, "You know... admitting your faults like that makes you a much better leader then you think." Atticus chuckled as he said, "Please, the more words of wisdom you provide like that the more you prove that you are more fit to be a leader." Spike let out his own chuckle that quickly died down as he looked at the blank Twilight and said, "Well.. I hope to see you again soon." "As do I, especially with our land in such disarray," said Atticus as he gestured towards the still roaring ocean behind them. "OH! That reminds me," said One One as he hopped down from Twilight's grasp. He soon started pushing the orb the thing had been carrying into the slot it used to be in. Once it fell into the place the water began to settle back to the shallowness it once was as One One simply said, "There we are," and hopped back into Twilight's arm The two dogs stared for a moment in disbelief before simply nodding at each other as Spike moved over next to Twilight and without a word the three went through the door.