Scootaloo woke to the sound of a female voice calling out to her.
"Scootaloo! earth to Scootaloo!"
"Ug, give me a second." she said before slowly opening her eyes and saw her new father passed out in the chair across from her. She suddenly sat upright as she remembered what happened and looked down at her chest to see what happened to the blue ball like object that had entered her chest.
'what happened to me?' she thought as she looked down and saw that her fur had been replaced by dark pink scales and that her hooves had been replaced by paws with sharp claws.
"You might want to think about waking up Archy, dear." she heard again and swiveled her ears and noticed that they were more sensitive and that the sound seemed to come from behind and above her.
'But the only thing their is an engine.... What? she thought confusedly as she stared up at the locomotive.
"Well don't just stare at me, wake the poor man up" She heard distinctly come from the locomotive.
Having enough of being confused she walked awkwardly over to Archy and nudged him on the shoulder. He muttered something indistinguishable but otherwise didn't react.
" sorry for this." She muttered before smacking him hard and soundly on the cheek.
-SMACK-
"Ouch, remind me not to get on your bad side girl."She heard from the locomotive as Archy woke up and held his cheek.
"you didn't have to be so hard." he wined nursing the small bruise that was beginning to form.
"Well you weren't waking up and i only have a few more minutes before i go insane with the second voice in my head!" Scoot' replied with a bit of annoyance.
"Arrow, enough with antagonizing her." Archy spoke as he looked towards the locomotive, making Scootaloo begin to realize that the engine was actually the one talking.
"And before you ask; yes all engines besides the ones we are connected to can talk as they are living being since they eat and drink and age as well, Arrow here is not just an exception." he replied as she whirled around to ask.
"I suppose I owe you an explanation." he replied as he sat down in the chair and gestured her to do so in the other.
"Now, as part of the abilities I, and now you, possess we merged with an engine. the starting size is a 4-2-0 tank and it slowly grows with you as you age and grow unless it has been specially built like yours.
Now, when you merge with an engine you can control any part of it like you do your own body. Because of this you are liked with it on a soul level, if you were to die your engine would too. if your engine is destroyed you don't die but will be severely wounded, so take good care of it." he explained to her, emphasizing the last point.
"Most other engine when they have a fire lit in their firebox for the first time will develop personalities even as others drive them. If the bond between crew and engine gets strong enough they will be able to hear their engines talk and within a short time therein will stat being able to here the others as well. once they start hearing them they can for the rest of their lives."
As for your form, which I am sure you are confused about and scared, don't be. to switch between forms all you have to do is concentrate on that form, like a memory." he explained to her before a red flame encompassed Scootaloo before she changed back to her pony form.
"I see you already got that down." Archy replied as he pulled out his pocked watch and looked at the time.
"I also see that it is time to meet the others as well," he told her before closing his watch and standing.
"So Scoot', do you think you can drive your locomotive with your friend's coupled on to the back up to the Cat and moon?" he asked with a smile as her face lit up.
walking outside, she saw that her engine had her name for the nameplate and was already steamed up and ready to go.
"The other ability is that as long as your breathing and fine your engine has a fire and has steam pressure, to raise the pressure though you have to through more coal onto the fire." he explained as they climbed into the cab and Scoot' pulled the loco to the first signal on the main line and waited for it to turn green.
Sitting on the tender, Archy pulled out a harmonica and banjo and began playing as the signal dropped and showed green.
(Play Music)
Pulling out the throttle slightly Scoot' started off slowly. after a second she pulled it out more and picked up more speed, suddenly she yanked it up full and they shot down the line while Archy continued playing. racing over the trestle and hardly slowing as they climbed the hill and exited the cave they raced through the trees, she suddenly applied the breaks and brought the train to a stop at the platform where her friends were standing.
(End music)
"How come she get's to drive her locomotive first?" Apple bloom complained to Archy when they approached the cab of Scoot's engine.
"It was a special case, besides she still has to learn the same things you do." he replied as he exited the cab and began to teach them how to properly care for their engines.