Railway stations are strange places to be stranded in late at night. Places of passing that exist outside of normal time and space. Sometimes they contain unicorns. Working as garbage collectors.
Inspired by stories written by Admiral Biscuit, especially Silver Glow's Journal and Turnpike.
Edited by CandyCanine
Now with a mini-review by PresentPerfect
Frankfurt Calling now has a sequel: Track Switch - Steel Dreams
This is pretty good, and cute at the end.
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Thank you! Glad you like.
Seriously, man, what else is there to say? I love every moment of it, and my only regret is that it isn’t longer.
Awesome story. Admiral Biscuit recommended this story
This is new. And about trains.
I like trains.
Have a favorite.
This was a really enjoyable slice of life. Very soothing.
The Admiral sent me. Absolutely Vunderbar!
This is very sweet, and a little sad on top—lovely story. In the end Penny really needed some contact. That said, was Nick's late departure time deliberate on your part, or am I being obtuse?
(Also, the Admiral sent me)
I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of this. Liked and faved. Admiral Biscuit brought me here and it was worth it.
Yeah, Nick seems like the kind of guy who would have seen Princess Celestia once on tv and then mostly forgotten about it.
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=It%27s+My+Job+Jimmy+Buffett&&view=detail&mid=9B544783767EB50EE9AA9B544783767EB50EE9AA&&FORM=VRDGAR
I love stories like these, very well done :)
I love it! It reminds me of the time I was stuck in O' Hare and made a friend. I love stories like this.
Also, with stories about aliens, there are a lot of action and adventure sci-fi, but not a lot of quiet moments like this. I treasure books like this and Silver Glow because they focus on the day to day life after first contact instead of the big, flashy stuff.
The good Admiral was right, this was entirely worth the read. I hope to see more in the future!
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This is the one thing I had hoped for I put a lot of love into it.
Thank you, and thank you for the signal boost. I had not expected this to be featured.
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Thank you all! And yes, the Admiral is best biscuit.
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I've spent a lot of time on trains, especially since my parents didn't have a car when I was a kid and flying only rarely was the better option when you live in central Europe and don't have to cross more than one border to reach your destination. I like trains. So does Nick, that's why he stays so relaxed about the chaos in the beginning. These things happen and nobody can do much about it.
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I guess he work to in Hamburg so he took the 18:24 to Karlsruhe that unexpectedly terminated 22:00 in Frankfurt instead of the station where he would have taken the connecting train home. Yes, that was deliberate.
The late departure next day? I guess the two had a nice breakfast together and his ticket would still be valid since it wasn't his own fault that he didn't reach his destination. He'd made have sure to get a note on the ticket at the service centre though, just to be on the safe side. that can take a looooong time as well. :b
But anyway, thank you!
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He would, yes. That happens when you have your own difficult life to mind and all the excitement about first contact has faded. Which would happen fairly quickly, considering the short attention span of your average citizen and the 24 hour news cycle. I considered putting Celestia's cutie mark on the bean bag, but then I thought Penny might not want to insinuate her Princess' behind to be broad and supple.
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Thank you! And yes, places entirely for the reason to have people pass through exist in a curious state of 'otherness', especially late at night or in the very early morning. Where you can make unexpected friends much easier than in the regular world at your destination.
There also aren't enough unexcited stories about aliens out there, that's true.
Another here by Admiral recommendation.
Nice little story that has so many levels to it. No wonder Admiral recommended this one. I'll have to see what else you have.
Penny reminds me of a bloke who bought a farm up our way in the late 80's. He'd made a killing in his old job but for some reason he'd quit and bought a macadamia and almond plantation block that needed some TLC. We all thought him bonkers, I mean, who'd give up a six figure job with added bonuses in '88 to struggle with a farm on fringe land? After he'd been there a couple years he'd heard I was good with odd electronics so he'd asked me to have a look at an old valve radio he'd picked up and while I was there we chatted. He explained that, like Penny, he'd had a realisation that he was surrounded by acquaintances but no true friends and was stressed to the eyeballs. He said that working hard, having friend's who'd just drop over and help when asked or who'd stop to chat as they drove past was worth more to him than anything he'd had previously and laughingly said that in his mind we were the fools for not realising how valuable a sense of community was. I realised how much that meant to him and it was a lightbulb moment for the young 18 year old me.
From the ending we see that Nick has his own moment and we have to guess if he accepts 'reality' or chooses to look for something more.
Was not sent by the Admiral (found this on FiMFiction's recommended list this morning) but nonetheless echo the sentiments - this was a most enjoyable read.
Funny enough, I was on Deutsche Bahn's website last night trying to look for tickets for an overnight sleeper from Amsterdam to Copenhagen - alas, I had outdated information and found it was discontinued four years ago.
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I completely agree as well
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Not much, regrettably. I wish I were more productive.
I work in academia and I know a few people that are slowly killing themselves with their workload. The majority manage their time and are quite passionate about their work though, but they are still way, way to busy to have any meaningful relationships with others at the institute. A research group is intense collaboration with people you have no time to get to know better than on the most superficial level. It pays quite well of course, although nobody is getting rich around here and the stress is enormous at times.
And that last paragraph? Nick has the moment you describe, but I doubt he'll do what your guy did. Dream about it? Definitively. But killing your dreams is easier than to fight reality when others depend on you.
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Thank you!
Yes, I'm still pissed at DB for discontinuing the City Night Line, I used them a lot and have fond childhood memories of them. Overnight sleepers were such an iconic thing, I doubt the savings compensate that loss. The Austrian National Railways bought the trains and run them from Hamburg and Berlin to Zurich and Vienna now, but all the trains from Copenhagen are history. Funnily enough, they were able to turn a profit from the beginning... the impossibility of which was DB's explanation for killing that piece of German railway history.
Hmm. Batpony conductor on one of those? ;)
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And another thank you as well!
I saw the name, and I figured it was going to be good. It sat on the RIL list for a few hour and then, well, it is safe to say you did not disapoint.
(I even managed to get past those annoying "you")
In to the "emergency feel good story list" it goes!
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Thank you! I didn't even realise until about two pages in that I was writing in 2nd person. It seemed the story wanted to be like that and I obliged. I very rarely even give a 2nd person story a chance, 'cause I dislike it myself. Anyway, glad you approve despite of it, that means I did it right and that makes me happy.
The Frankfurt hauptbahnhof ain’t that great.
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*Nods* What you said.
Yep, welcome to Germany, and thank you for travelling with Deutsche Bahn
The really relatable beginning aside (I'm travelling by ICE a lot and had to spend more than one night in an abandoned station just like Nick), this story was just warm fuzzy feels til the very end. Too bad a cute sassy pony to pet doesn't come with every cancelled train
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At least this time it was probably somebody at Siemens who screwed up and installed a faulty transformer. But yeah The DB service centres should at least offer the option of a cuddly pony, maybe as an alternative to a refund. Dear Deutsche Bahn, please fuck up more often in that case and take my money.
Anyway: thank you!
Crewe station between 2 am and 6 am approx on a mid winter windy snowy non waiting room open transfer between the Hollyhead and Manchester trains.
Finding out the second to last train from Scunthorpe has been replaced by a Bus, 20 minutes after said bus has gone, then getting to Doncaster to ride in comfort, only for the message to come over the tannoy as it puills into Sheffield, the next stop on the line, that due to weather, the train was canceled due to landslip at New Mills tunnel. Rail replacement bus, at night over the Pennines, watching the fireworks enveloping entire counties from the height. Staying overnight at Manchester bus station because the seats might be steel, but the place is enclosed, heated, and free.
The strangest this year has to be waiting for a late train at Preston station, deep under the canopy, looking down the length of the platform both ways, and not only seeing nothing beyond the end of the canopy due to the fog, but watching the fog slowly force its way into the station from both ends like a good quality effects budget horror movie.
Silly pony, you shouldve known applying magic to economics leads to the ultraviolet catastrophe, and it only works if you class money as the Higgs boson and field, which immediately breaks all your economic models due to renormalisation.
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You have my vote for the cuddle pony ^^
Also I know some of the maintenance techs at DB and seeing them work explains everything wrong with the trains xD
Great little story, was a fun and enjoyable read, I would love to see more similar to this if you decide to do more. Really great.
This is bonny work, Celefin. A nice wee take on ponies on earth, sweet and well-written, with just the right amount of melancholy to it as well. Kudos to yourself for writing it, and to CandyCanine for a good editing job.
I really enjoyed this! Too often human/pony stories come off overwrought or cloying. This, though, provided just enough background to be interesting without getting bogged down in its lore. The story flows calmly, even the pacing reminds me of a sleepy, late night. Very well done!
Show me the money Lobowskey......Let see where it goes >w>
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Wait a Minute....
Let me get this History straight, Penny was a Banker Before the Recess in the Europe, so.... Celefin, Her Name "Penny" will be any relation to "Bits" or since she was so close to the golden Little coins?
orig00.deviantart.net/813c/f/2014/191/e/3/mlp_vector___bits___princess_celestia_by_outlaw4rc-d5owane.png
(Also Nice Spot light you put on Fancy Pants )
Utterly wholesome.
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I lived in Wales for two years and I know that line well, although for me it always was Bangor - Manchester. And Crewe is a testament to bad station design and little to no maintenance, yes. Also, signal failures... because who needs backup systems?
Your travel descriptions should be in a book. :)
Brr. That was a glitch in spacetime.
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Thank you! and I would love to be a more productive author.
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Thank you my friend! And if there's anything I'm good at, it's melancholy.
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Then I'm happy, because that's what I was going for. I like the assumption of ponies on Earth just being something normal if not so everyday yet that the magic of the encounters is lost, so to speak. Thank you.
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Heh, that's actually a connection I didn't make myself! Nice going, dear subconscious.
My explanation was really mundane, namely that 'Pendulum' is a nice name in Equestrian but sounds unwieldy and a bit strange when translated to English (or German for that matter, 'pendel' isn't much better, really). So she went for the abbreviation of her translated name.
I think he'd be the perfect pony for the job!
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I can't parse any part of the comment you're replying to.
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Would be interesting to figure out how a batpony manages to get a position like that, since it seems the railways are trending towards fewer overnight services. (I guess being more nocturnal means less likely to fall asleep at the helm?)
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So its WAS a struck of luck!
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...stay tuned. ;)