A Heart of Change

by SilentBelle

Chapter 3 - Tracks in the Falling Snow

The air was cool, like early spring. Not enough to warrant the falling snow, but the earth pony had decided not to dwell on that fact. She took in the scene around her, just outside the train car. She could see small mountains in all directions.

The single track was the only unnatural thing in the valley, aside from the weather of course. The ground had formed into a shallow swamp of slush, but that hadn't prevented either her or her friends from leaving the warm comforts of the train. Apple Bloom wasn't about to sit by idly, waiting in ignorance, while the train staff figured out what course of action to take.

Thankfully, the fifty-some ponies in the rest of the train cars hadn't gotten injured from the crash beyond simple bruises or small scrapes. That good fortune allowed Apple Bloom an open mind as she approached the cause of the crash.

The train engine had toppled, ousted right from the tracks. The coupling link that connected it to the rest of the train remained as a twisted metal knot. Oh boy. That's gonna be one heck of a job ta fix.

What the engine had crashed into however was something that the earth pony had never come across before. Some faint blue translucent crystals coated the train tracks. They seemed to have started right where the train had crashed. From that point and onward, each crystal was equally sized and spaced equidistant from each other. And they were only on the rails. Everything else within eyesight was completely free of the strange crystals.

It was quite peculiar. The abruptness with which the crystals started, and the way they just barely could be seen from the surrounding snowfall. Good thing that, whoever th' engineer is, acted as quick as they did. The crash would have been somethin' awful if we hit it at full speed.

There were a pair of ponies out by the crash site. An earth pony mare and a pegasus stallion, green and white respectively, and Apple Bloom could see that they were arguing. They both were wearing those purple outfits, which seemed to be even more out of place with a backdrop of falling snow.

“Huh? Crystals? And they're bonded to the metal?”

Apple Bloom turned to see Sweetie Belle rush past her, heading straight to the tracks. Ah guess they must have somethin' ta do with magic. She sloshed after her friend over the slushy ground. Scootaloo hovered alongside her, looking both pensive and displeased at the same time. Snow in summer, and crystals on the train tracks. What in the hay is happenin' 'round here. Somethin' tells me that we should'a just stayed in Ponyville. She shook her head. No sense in complainin' 'bout that. Let's see what we can do ta get outta this mess.

“-what the crystals are. Regardless, we need to find a way to uncouple the engine. Then we can use the rear engine to head back to Ponyville,” the green mare stated simply to her companion, as they examined the crystallized tracks.

Oh yeah, that's right. It's one of th' new two-way trains. They save themselves the effort of havin' ta turn the whole thing around just by includin' another engine at the back and makin' it so the pistons work in both directions. O' 'course with one engine layin' sideways on the ground, they wont be able ta budge no matter how much coal they shovel inta the furnace.

“Of course, but how can we do that? You saw the couple. It's twisted in upon itself,” the white pegasus argued back. “Sure, if we had a metal saw or a grinder we could do something. But we aren't at a workshop. We're in the middle of these darn mountains, halfway between Ponyville and the Crystal Empire!”

Apple Bloom looked at the metal coupling as she listened in on the conversation, and her mind got to work.

“Yes, I understand your frustration, but we must remain rational here. Surely there is still something we can do. We just need to come up with a way to uncouple the train. What tools do we have?”

“I'll go check,” he muttered and turned toward the toppled engine-car. “Hey! Passenger! What are you doing out here? We told everypony to stay inside until we fix this!”

“Oh, sorry 'bout that,” Apple Bloom replied honestly, but kept her focus on the coupling link. “Ah just figured we might be able ta help out in some way. With a couple as wrenched as that, Ah think y'all could use all th' help ya can get.”

“Hmm,” the pegasus said in an amused hum, then took to the air and entered the door of the toppled engine-car.

“So, you came out to help, did you?” The green earth pony walked over to face Apple Bloom.

“Yeah. Ah hate sittin' around when Ah could be helpin'. And as Ah just said, it looks like y'all could use whatever help ya can get.”

“Hmm? And what sort of help can you provide? You,” she began, as she glanced further down the tracks, where Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were poking at some of the crystals, “and your two friends hardly seem to be the type of help we need.”

“Oh? Y'all might just be surprised at what we can do,” she claimed with a smug grin. “We either need ta hit the couplin' with enough force ta snap it, or saw through it, if we got th' right tools. Or we could use mah friends ta help out, and get it done even quicker.”

There was a small clamor from the inside of the steam engine, the sound of metal scraping across metal. But then, in the next moment, the white pegasus returned with a securely-latched toolbox clenched between his teeth.

“Interesting. And what would you have your friends do to decouple the trains? Hmm? Buck the metal?”

“Y'all might be surprised.”

“Haha. Alright. Let's see this! It's not like you could make the situation any worse. Just try not to hurt yourselves. Customer safety is a priority, and we have a reputation to keep.”

Apple Bloom smiled and trotted over to her friends with a plan already devised.

“Are you serious?” the pegasus asked as he set down the tool box. “Well, whatever. It doesn't look like we have the right tools anyway. This could be a long day.”

Scootaloo flew many feet above and watched the light snow fluttering down to her friends as they discussed the rest of Apple Bloom's quick plan. Sweetie Belle seemed to be trying to assure the earth pony of something, but they were too far below to hear clearly.

The two had started talking about temperatures, magic, and the crystals on the tracks. But Scootaloo had gotten bored. She had interrupted by asking what part she was going to be playing. The earth pony had given her clear instructions: fly in and buck the metal coupling as hard and fast as she could, but only once Apple Bloom told her to. She wasn't too worried about what would happen. After all, this was an Apple Bloom plan, involving machinery. If there was any pony she trusted to come up with such a plan, it was her.

Although, the fact that Sweetie Belle had such a large say in the plan did worry her. It's not that I don't trust Sweetie Belle, but, it's just her ideas usually end up with me smelling of ozone and burnt feathers. She was still trying to forget that day, in which, the kindly white unicorn had decided weather magic would be the perfect topic to study, particularly the lightning clouds. She had then proceeded to convince the pegasus that dodging lighting would be a 'fantastic way to train your reflexes'. Why did I ever agree to that?

She noticed her two friends had gone further down the tracks. Apple Bloom started bucking at numerous crystals in quick succession. Pieces of them shattered off from the assault, and Sweetie Belle quickly gathered the shards with her magic. In the matter of a single minute, they managed to procure a large cloud of them. 'Cloud' being an apt term, for even as they floated there, a strange blueish haze emanated from the crystal shards.

In the next moment, she saw Sweetie Belle's horn begin glowing brightly, and the crystals in her magic aura dissipated into a mere aura of that same blueish haze, which seemed to fly right into the unicorn's horn.

Scootaloo hovered, waiting in anticipation, and eventually she heard something. A golden sizzle began to creep into her vision. Looking around, the pegasus made out its source. The coupling was starting to glow, first red, then orange, and then almost white. What is she doing?

“Scootaloo! Now!” Apple Bloom's own orange voice called in her wandering mind like a whip. Doubt pushed at her just as the earth pony's voice had. They want me to buck that? It's white-hot. She gulped but pushed the rogue thoughts from her mind.

“No! Stop!” she heard the green earth pony shout out from below. But she ignored the protest. It's Apple Bloom's plan. It'll work out. I trust my friends! Out of instinct, the pony dove as fast as she could, toward the near-molten metal. At the last moment, just before she reached it, she spun around deftly and thrust out with her hind legs in a quick snap, and braced herself for the pain that was sure to follow.

She felt her hooves strike the coupling. The metal bent and a chunk was knocked free from the force of her buck. It felt as though she had just kicked warm chocolate, rather than metal. The burning piece of the coupling landed upon the soggy ground with a sharp hiss and a cloud of steam.

In place of the burning sting she had been anticipating, Scootaloo felt something sliding across her fur, like a jolt of lightning, from her hind legs to bracelet on her fore-hoof. The bangle then began to vibrate of its own accord, and its silver metal warmed up, almost to the point where it was uncomfortable. She looked down at the bracelet and noticed the amethysts were beginning to emit a bright light.

“Sweetie! What the heck is with this bracelet?” she asked as she landed in the cold, slushy, valley field. Standing there, she watched as the bangle's activity slowed, then ceased, nearly as suddenly as it had started.

A grin was blooming on Sweetie Belle's face as she approached the pegasus. “Sweet, it worked!”

“What do you mean by that?!”

“Oh, just that the bracelet acted the way it was supposed to. It's my first piece. Remember? And this is the first time that I've seen it used in a practical situation,” she stated simply. “In fact, I was quite surprised you were willing to kick the metal when it was that hot, even though you didn't know the bracelet would protect you.”

“Well, I knew you two had some sort of plan,” Scootaloo admitted. “I know you both, and either of you would have let me known if it was dangerous. So, how does this thing work anyway? I mean, I know you said it was enchanted, but that's kind of vague.”

“I'm glad you asked,” she began, her proud smile punctuating the statement. “You see, there are actually four rituals at work here. The first one siphons outside, uneven, magical energy that comes into contact with you, and directs it to the bracelet. Oh, and just so you know, heat is a very basic form of magic, which is why it worked here. So, in this case, you touched something very hot, and it went right to the bracelet.

“Once the magic goes there, it activates the other two rituals, and possibly the final one, if there's enough energy. The amethysts will use the incoming magical energy to power a pretty basic light spell to discharge the magic as quickly as possible, while the silver itself will vibrate in an attempt to dispel energy even quicker. Finally, there is the last ritual, which is the most complicated one, and it emits a keen sound by using magic, but it will only work if there is enough energy to activate it. Keep in mind though, that if the bracelet absorbs too much magic in too short a time period... well, it might explode.”

“Explode?”

“Well, yeah,” the unicorn admitted with a sheepish smile, “or it could melt, I suppose. In any case, it has to be a lot of magic. I think only Twilight or the princesses would be able to feed it enough magic to cause that. Well, maybe if you decided to jump into a vat of molten metal...” Sweetie Belle cleared her throat, interrupting her own train of thought. “What I mean to say is that the bracelet will keep you safer than you would be otherwise.”

“Hmm,” she hummed as she gave the innocuous metal bangle another look. “That sounds very useful, Sweetie. I mean it. It's awesome. But why didn't you tell me all this before?”

“Well, I was curious to know how it would come into play for the first time.”

“Right...” What am I? Your involuntary test subject?

“Never do something like that again!” The words jostled the pair, and Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo turned to see Apple Bloom and the green earth pony staring each other down.

“But it worked didn't it? See, Ah told ya me an' mah friends could do it!”

“That was incredibly foolish and dangerous. Kicking white-hot metal! Were you out of your mind?”

“Now, now, Copper,” the white pegasus said from the side. “They saved us a lot of work, you shouldn't be going and biting her head off like that.”

The green mare, Copper, scowled a bit, then let out an irritated sigh. “I suppose you're right, Ash. Still, it was foolhardy.” With a visible bit of effort, the mare regained her composure. “Alright everypony, get back on the train! We're going to head back to Ponyville right away, before this snow starts piling too high on the tracks. Ash, get working on the other engine. I want this train moving. Pronto!”

“Yes, ma'am!” he replied, before scoping up the toolbox and flying over to the far end of the train.

“And you.” Copper rounded on Apple Bloom. “What's your name?”

“Apple Bloom.”

“I'll admit that you came up with a good plan. Just, next time, be more careful. Dealing with hot metals is dangerous. We had a hammer we could have used instead of your pegasus friend.”

“Sorry,” she replied curtly, “Ah'll be more careful next time.”

The green mare simply offered a nod. “Now to get back to work.” The two of them started slogging back toward the train at a hurried pace.

“So...” Scootaloo said questioningly to Sweetie Belle, “mission accomplished? Now we're heading back to Ponyville? Well, that was kind of a lame vacation.”

“Hmm. I have a feeling this is just the beginning,” Sweetie Belle replied, shooting a glance up toward the clouds.

“Huh?” Scootaloo gave her friend a glance. She had that look in her eyes, which just told the pegasus that her friend was up to something. “What are you going to do this time?”

“I have an idea, but we need to catch up to Bloom first.”

Scootaloo groaned inwardly, but it was only halfhearted. Admit it Scootaloo, you want to know what Sweetie Belle has planned.

Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo trudged back to the stationary train, only a minute or two after Apple Bloom herself had entered. And as luck would have it, she decided not to stick around for us. “C'mon, Scootaloo, Apple Bloom must have headed to our train car.”

The duo made their way through the milling crowd in the first car. Once past that bulk of ponies, the rest of the cars were nearly empty. Sweetie Belle decided to break out into a trot. Scootaloo easily matched her pace, striding alongside her.

Just as they reached their car, the unicorn was panting fairly heavily. Scootaloo on the other hoof was breathing just as easily as she had before their small trot. That's not fair, she thought to herself and shot the pegasus a look of scrutiny. It was obvious to her eyes that Scootaloo had more magic in her than either Apple Bloom or Sweetie herself. As a bonfire gave off more light than a single candle, her friend's well of inner magic dwarfed her own.

She banished the feeling of jealousy just as it began to rise. She knew that feeling was silly, irrational, and foalish, and dismissed it as such. Yet, she couldn't help but feel ashamed at how often that feeling surfaced. Almost every time she looked at any other pony, it was there, poking at her, like an itch that she couldn't relieve herself of. I have my crystals, and they'll be enough. More than enough.

“What's with that look?” Scootaloo asked. “You're not blaming me because Apple Bloom's not where she's supposed to be. Are you?”

Sweetie had nearly forgotten their objective. And sure enough, Apple Bloom was, indeed, not in their train car. “Only one place left. Unless she decided to take a bath in the slush outside, she's probably tinkering around in the engine-car.”

They made their way into the rear engine-car. It was a small thing. A room with large crates of coal and a shovel, presumable to stoke the furnace. The furnace itself was already ablaze and the two engineers were running to and fro, flipping switches and turning valves. Off to the side, Apple Bloom was standing with a notepad in one hoof, and a pencil in her mouth, working furiously, as she tried to analyze all the pipes, valves, and switches.

The noise in the room was quite substantial, filled with the sounds of boiling water and burning coal. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo entered the room unnoticed, making their way next to Apple Bloom.

The yellow mare saw them approaching, but continued her scribbling. Only once the unicorn got right next to her did she stop her writing and slip her pencil into an easily accessible pocket on her saddle. “What's up, girls?” she inquired.

“Why'd you ditch us like that?” Scootaloo asked.

“Oh, don't be silly. See, once Ah told 'em Ah was interested in how the engine worked, Copper and Ash both agreed ta let met get a good look from inside. It's really neat. I mean Ah've seen blueprints an' models an' stuff, but to see it from the inside is a whole 'nother world. Ah really get ta understand it in a way that Ah never could before.”

“That's great and all,” Sweetie Belle chimed in, “but I think there's something more important than that right now.”

“More important? What is it, Sweetie. If this is some sort of prank, Ah'm not interested.”

Sweetie Belle frowned at her friend. Why does everypony always think I'm not serious? I always tell them the truth, and yet they doubt every word. She almost felt frustrated at her friends' insistence. “Listen, Bloom. And you too, Scoots.”

“Don't call me 'Scoots'!”

Ignoring that protest, the unicorn began her spiel. “So, don't you both think that there was something very unnatural about the snow outside?”

“Well, Ah've certainly never seen nothin' like those crystals on the tracks. That was a mite weird.”

“Yeah, and the clouds weren't moving with the wind like they normally do,” Scootaloo put forth.

“Precisely. Now, do either of you know what this means?”

Both of them shook their heads. “Ah'll bet there's some reason behind it though. All stuff happens fer a reason.”

“Exactly!” Sweetie Belle agreed. “And that's what we're going to go find out.”

“Yeah!” Scootaloo nodded her agreement, then blinked. “Wait! What?”

“What in the hay are ya talkin' 'bout?”

“Look, girls, I'm worried. Rarity, Twilight, and the rest, they all went to the Crystal Empire just yesterday, and then this foul weather and crystallizing metal just starts happening. It's not a coincidence. I think we should go to the Empire and see if we can help in some way. I'm sure sis and the others could use a helpin' hoof.”

“But the train's not goin' there anymore. And we shouldn't have ta worry 'bout them. They've taken on big challenges before. Hay, they're practically heroes of the nation. If anypony can handle a problem, it's them.”

“But if they could handle it, then that weather wouldn't have happened. Think about it Bloom. If they don't need our help, then we're in the Crystal Empire and can have a vacation. If they do need our help, then we're there to help. But if we just head on back to Ponyville, then there's still a chance that they could need us, yet we'd be miles away.”

“Sweetie, we ain't heroes. We ain't wielders of the Elements of Harmony neither. This isn't some sort of adventure game that we used ta play, back when we were still searchin' fer cutie marks.”

“I know it's not!” she rebuked. “But think. If we don't go now, don't you think we might end up regretting it?”

Apple Bloom sighed, shaking her head. “Yer dead-set on this aren't ya? And how 'bout you, Scootaloo? What're ya thinkin' bout this bright idea?”

“Well,” she began, running a hoof nervously through her mane. Sweetie Belle noticed the way her wings twitched nervously, as if she were preparing to fly away at a moment's notice. “Why don't we go and check it out? I mean, if Sweetie's wrong about this whole thing, then at least we get to see the Empire. And who knows, maybe we can help out with something. Aside from that though, it's a little too early for our vacation to be over. Right?”

“Y'all realize that we'd hafta walk there? It would take us a while, not ta mention it's a mess out there.”

“Well, I can fly, so that's not a problem for me.”

“We'll manage. We've been through plenty worse. Just think of it as that time we tried getting our 'exploring' cutie marks, or when you both tried to get your 'forest ranger' cutie marks.”

“Ah seem ta recall Ah was turned ta stone and Scootaloo almost was as well. I hope it's nothin' like that this time.”

“Oh, right... well, I don't think that will happen this time, and if it does, I know a spell that can remove petrification. Besides, we're older now, and it's not like we're traveling through the Everfree where monsters lurk in every shadow. We can take care of ourselves.”

“Oh, really? Ah have a feelin' that if Ah didn't go along, then the both of ya would get lost and never be heard from again. Hay, Scootaloo doesn't even have a saddlebag, and Sweetie, ya seem ta think that packin' a bag full o' crystals an' two books'll be enough for any situation.”

Sweetie Belle looked to Scootaloo and they shared a blush. “Which is why we want you to come with us. You probably brought enough supplies to last us a few weeks if we get lost.”

Apple Bloom let out a sigh of defeat. “Alright, alright, Ah get it. And hay, Ah tried ta warn ya. But, since yer both gonna go anyway, Ah feel it's mah duty as a friend to go along with ya.”

“See, that wasn't so hard to admit, was it?”

“Just cause Ah'm goin' with ya doesn't mean Ah'm happy 'bout it.” Apple Bloom tried to hide her smile, but the unicorn noticed its influence tugging at the corner of the mare's lips.

Just at that moment, they saw Copper turn a valve. With a whistle of steam, they heard the pistons spring into action, and with a lurch, the train began moving.

“Oh hay,” Sweetie Belle said. “We should bail before this thing gets moving too fast.”

“One step ahead o' ya.” She saw Scootaloo whisk out the doorway with Apple Bloom in hot pursuit.

By the time Sweetie Belle left the compartment, Apple Bloom was already off the train, which was only starting to reach it's full speed. She glanced over the edge. Woah, that's quite the fall. And at this speed, that could be quite dangerous. Time for a new plan.

She watched her friends being left behind by the train and fished out a single crystal from her pack: a garnet. With a measure of prideful finesse, she drew out the latent energies from the red stone.

She felt the crystal turn to powder as she did so, and channeled the magic to her horn. She gave the strands of magic the proper pattern to tie the two separate realities together. It was a magic sigil that she was all too familiar with, given Twilight's rather excessive use of the ability. Sweetie Belle imagined herself standing beside her friends and not on the moving train, which was a hard thing to do, considering how the world seemed so intent on reminding her where she was.

With her point of arrival marked in her mind, the unicorn felt the world warp around her as the magic in the air and falling snow shifted. She ignored her surroundings as much as she could, just focusing on that one spot, three feet from her friends. She knew she was there, not on the moving train.

Sure enough, in the next moment she felt the change. The roaring sound of the train became distant and she felt the absence of ground beneath her. In a moment all her all her senses snapped back into place.

She fell into the new reality with a small splash, hitting the soggy, cold ground with her side. With a yelp, she struggled in the icy waters and righted herself.

“Hah, nice teleport,” Scootaloo said with a smirk.

“Ugh. I hate teleporting.” The aftereffect of vertigo descended upon her and she struggled to keep her hooves in place. It would pass in mere moments, she knew, but she still hated the feeling with a passion.

“Then why'd ya do it? Couldn't ya have just jumped off the train like Ah did?”

“It was moving too fast by that point. I figured teleporting would be the most effective way. Remind me to never do that again. It's so disorienting.” Sometimes, sensing the world around me can be really jarring, especially when I cease to exist for the smallest moment of time. I don't think I'll ever get the hang of it.

“If you were worried 'bout fallin' and getting' hurt, why not use that 'Feather' spell from yesterday?”

Sweetie Belle stared at her friend for a moment. It never occurred to me? “Oh, be quiet Apple Bloom. This is all your fault,” she responded with a slight smile, as she extracted the water from her mane and coat with her magic. “If you hadn't been checking out the engine, we could have been off that train well before it started moving again.”

“Don't try ta pin yer failed spells on me! Ah had nothin' ta do with it. Besides, shouldn't Twilight's own protege,” Sweetie Belle flinched a bit at the way she pronounced the word, “be able ta teleport 'round like it's nothin'?”

“You know I'm not her protégé! She just taught me a bit of magic, but I think she'll be the first to admit that I was no protégé. I didn't agree with half the stuff she said and I'm not about to follow in her hoof-steps either. Really, most of what we did was butt heads over different theories and reasons for using magic. We have our differences.” Quite a lot of them.

“Sorry, Ah didn't mean ta imply anythin' like that.”

“Nah, I didn't mean to snap at you either.” Sweetie Belle finished extracting the water droplets from herself, and set the resulting blob of water gently back onto the soggy ground.

“So,” Scootaloo called out from her above, she was looking back in the direction where the train had been. “You don't suppose that those ponies on the train are going to be angry that we bailed on them, do you?”

Sweetie Belle tossed a glance at Apple Bloom. “Well, shoot. I guess we can't do anything about that now.”

“Yeah, they're not gonna like that,” Apple Bloom admitted, with a sigh. “Ah can't believe Ah didn't think 'bout that before. But Sweetie's right, there ain't nothin' we can do 'bout that now.”

“I have a feeling they would have tried to stop us anyway,” the pegasus chipped in. “In any case, we should get moving. How long do you think it'll take to get there?”

“Hmm, sunset maybe?” Sweetie Belle started out first, sloshing through the cold waters alongside the track.

“Prolly just past sunset. It's an hour past noon now, and we were 'bout an hour and a half away from th' Empire. Since a train travels 'bout four times as fast as most ponies, that means we'd be there around dusk. But with the ground bein' the way it is, Ah'd be surprised if we made it there 'fore sunset.”

“At least it's not snowing too hard, and the air currents aren't that cold either. It's just odd seeing snow on such a warm day. You two sure you'll be fine walking in that slush? It's cold, isn't it?”

“Well, it ain't that bad.”

“Plus, I know some heat spells. So if we feel too cold, I can just use a crystal or two from the track and we'll be fine.”

“Just don't go burnin' my hooves off.”

“Hey, I'm good with my magic!”

“Good enough to teleport face-first into a puddle,” Scootaloo said with a snicker, while Apple Bloom let out a small chuckle.

“I'm never going to live this one down, am I?”

“'Course not. That's what friends are for.”