My Little Pony: The Next Generation

by MedicHorse

Train Ride to the Empire

My Little Pony: The Next Generation
Train Ride to the Empire

It was a rather uneventful morning as the ponies packed up for the trip they faced. The train ride from Manehattan to the Crystal Empire was by far the longest of the tour. Nopony was terribly excited for the trip there, but they knew it would be worth it when they arrived. None of them had seen Princess Cadence or Shining Armor for a long while, as they occasionally visited Ponyville.

As the crew approached the station, they couldn’t help but notice some familiar faces. “Well, hello, Quartz and Ebony. Taking the train somewhere?” Twilight asked as the changelings turned around.

“Why, yes we are,” Quartz replied with a smile. “We’re headed to the Crystal Empire for the week. It’s our summer vacation trip.”

“Well, what a coincidence,” came Applejack, “that’s our next tour stop. Care to join us for the ride?”

“We would love to.” With that, everypony, including two new changelings boarded the train headed for the Crystal Empire.

T sat in his seat and watched the countryside roll by outside the window. He loved the natural side of Equestria. Only here could he imagine true freedom. No hubbub, no ponies everywhere, just pure, real connection to the land. Annie was leaned against him with his wing wrapped around her. She couldn’t help but hum one of her new favorite songs, which had been stuck in her head since the day before.

Gold had already fallen asleep, as he had prepared himself to. He wasn’t a big fan of long hauls, and usually chose to nap in between events. Prism and Star were sitting in a booth talking about just about everything that came to mind. The guard, the Wonderbolts, the trip, even the weather. For some reason, they found themselves getting more comfortable talking to each other since the trip started. Bolt attributed this to the fact that they didn’t spend a whole lot of time together outside of school. Star felt like she had just recently seen a new side of Bolt. He could be chivalrous when the need arose, which she respected. However, she felt like respect wasn’t the right word…

Candy had miraculously managed to pull some words out of Ebony. These words cemented what she had already suspected: he was much more interesting than he let on. He had maintained a love for art since he was young, making much more intricate chalk drawings than the other young changelings on the block. His parents were very supportive of his hobby, buying him painting supplies and canvas to work with. It wasn’t until he started high school that he found his true passion.

“There’s just something so unshakeable about it,” he explained. “Once it’s finished, it’s quite hard for it to get messed up. I just love seeing old sculpture, as weathered as it is, and thinking ‘maybe someone will be inspired by my sculpts like I was by this.’”

Candy found herself nodding along, as her cutie mark was inspired by a similar sentiment. “I know what you mean,” she continued. “When you see someone smile and realize ‘that was me,’ there’s just no other feeling in the world like it.”

Ebony smiled and chuckled. It wasn’t often that someone talked to him, let alone was empathic to how he wanted to spend his life. Even rarer still was the fact that he was talking to a girl. “I just didn’t expect that someone so shy would be so excited to share art with the world.”

“Well, I didn’t expect to spend my train ride talking to a cute ma-,” he cut himself off as he realized his thought was coming out of his mouth. “Uh, um…yeah.”

“Aww,” Candy replied and blushed slightly. “That’s sweet of you to say. You aren’t exactly bad looking yourself.” The dark cheeks of Ebony’s chitin were now practically glowing red. “Tell you what,” Candy continued, “got any plans for dinner when we arrive? I’d love to hear more about your sculptures.”

Rather than risk saying something embarrassing again, he simply nodded his head. “Good. I’m gonna go hang out with Claire now. She looks lonely.” Candy walked towards Claire’s seat with even more bounce in her gait than usual.

“Hey, Claire,” Candy began and then started speaking rapidly. “Do you remember that time in Canterlot when you went on a date with that prince guy and we followed you but you didn’t notice because we were sneaky and we helped you have an awesome date and it was awesome?”

“Not as clearly as I would like,” Claire seethed, being one of the few ponies that could understand full speed Candy speak. “Please do refresh my memory.”

“Well, that’s not important,” Candy continued, ignoring Claire’s obvious glare. “I need advice because I have a date and I want it to be awesome but I’m nervous because I don’t date a lot but you had that one awesome date so help me please?”

“Well, the first and most important step is to be yourself. Trying to be interesting is much harder and often less interesting than what actually makes you tick. Secondly, do not fear a failed date. If two ponies are not compatible, they are not compatible. Nothing can be done to change that. And lastly, comb your hair. Every colt likes to feel like he is special enough to make a mare take time working on her looks.”

Candy finished writing down some notes on a pad of paper that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. “Cool, thanks!” Candy turned to walk away before adding, “And tell Prince Fluffywhatsits I say hello. He picked quite the marefriend.”

Author's Note:

Unfortunately, this may be the last chapter of the week. Tomorrow I'm shopping for a new pistol, then college as those who read my blog post already know. In less bumming news, we have broken the 900 view mark. I can't imagine what those numbers are gonna do if this hits EQD!

Comments

[Slendermare]

Woo! I'll have to wait though.

[MedicHorse]

3788379 We shall suffer together, my friend.

[Azhanzhang]

3788385
dun forget me! :D good luck writing the next chapter! I'll be waiting!

[The Princess Rarity]

I can totally picture Claire's face right now. Ay, ay, ay, these kids are perfect!

[MedicHorse]

3790591 Pure, unadulterated rage, lol

[Golden Flare]

Awesome story so far! No mistakes, that's great! I saw your blog post on pistol shopping, that gun looks cool! I wish you best of luck on your college education!

[MedicHorse]

3793022 First chapter with no typos. W00t!