Of Mares and Machines

by Razalon The Lizardman

Chapter 11

A small flicker of awareness came back to Mavis. Everything was dark and silent and her body had no feeling. The instincts that gave her control over herself were still present, but her attempts to activate them failed. She used what little brainpower she had to try to remember what happened. Her memories were a jumbled mess; trying to piece together what happened proved both difficult and time-consuming.

Slowly but surely, her last memories reorganized themselves in her mind. Fluttershy’s cottage. The chicken feather. The Everfree. Encountering the creature that turned her to stone.

That was it! Mavis had been turned to stone! So this was what that was like, was it? She couldn’t see or hear or speak, but she could still think, at least. She remembered being a good distance into the Everfree when she was turned. She hadn’t told anyone where she was going, which meant no one knew where she was and might never find her. Panic gripped her upon this realization. She tried again to exert some degree of control over her body but to no avail. She really was stuck where she was. Was she going to be swallowed up by a monster for lunch? Did monsters like stone ponies? Where did that creature that turned her run off to? She didn’t know, which was somehow the worst part of this.

Over and over she repeated to herself how much of a silly, troublesome engine she was. If she was never found, that meant she would never go back home and work in the quarry again. Then another thought struck her: If she was found, she would be in a lot of trouble. She’d been scolded very harshly the first time she went into the Everfree and didn’t encounter any real danger. This time she had, which meant Applejack and Fluttershy would be straight up cross if they found her. Then they would tell the Fat Controller and that would definitely be enough to get her locked up in the shed forever, or worse, turned to scrap. She would’ve cried if she wasn’t turned to stone.

That thought repeated over and over in Mavis’ head many times. Mavis was sadder than she’d ever been before. She’d made so many mistakes in such a short stretch of time that she was beginning to wonder if she was, in fact, a bad diesel? Thinking that only made her sadder. She wished more than anything now that she could undo her mistakes, somehow. But it was too late to do anything now. She was in trouble no matter what happened, but even if she was going to get into trouble upon being found, she’d rather be found than be stuck as a stone statue forever.

The idea of refusing to return to Sodor resurfaced, but she was quick to drop it. Even alongside the fact that she knew very little about Equestria, a part of her knew the Fat Controller would be even more cross with her for running away and that was something she didn’t want to see. She briefly wondered how likely it was that she could continue working at Sweet Apple Acres, but the Fat Controller had specified that she wouldn’t be here for more than a week and he always got his way. She would just have to plead and beg not to be turned to scrap at the very least since her chances of working in the quarry again were gone by now.

Eventually, she put these thoughts out of her mind and started wondering about other things. Without any of her senses, she had no way of knowing how much time was passing, but she knew it was a very long time once she started growing bored. Being a pony was an entirely new, strange experience, but being a stone statue was even stranger. She wondered what it would be like to be one for always and always. If it meant being bored forever than that was a fate worse than scrap in her eyes. Not having a chance to be useful was every engine’s greatest fear.

Then a point came where the boredom became unbearable. Another strange sensation came over Mavis. But unlike the others which appeared and slowly but surely built up over a short stretch of time, this one came all at once in a flash, like lightning. Her mind was washed of everything except the burning desire to be set free from her stone imprisonment. Over and over, she internally screamed to be set free. She no longer cared about her predicament or what her punishment would be if she was found; all she cared about was being in control of her body again. Instinctively, she tried moving her limbs and face, fighting against the magic through sheer force of will.

Then, to her shock and amazement, feeling came back to her face! The magic receded from her eyes first, but the darkness remained, though she could see faint shapes around her, illuminated by a glowing light somewhere behind her. Next came her mouth, but when she tried to breathe she found herself unable to do so. She cast her gaze down to see that the magic was slipping away down her chest. After a few moments, a rush of air filled her mouth, allowing her to breathe again. She drew in several quick breaths before her breathing returned to a normal, steady rhythm. She felt the magic slip away from her forehooves and recede along her back. She moved her forelegs around a bit, getting feeling back into them before her hind legs were freed and she did the same with them. Her tail was the last part of her to be free from the creature’s magic. She trotted in place for a moment, making sure everything was in order before crying with joy.

“Hello, Mavis.”

All of Mavis’ joy was struck down in an instant at the familiar voice behind her. She wanted to keep facing forward, to not have to look behind her at what she knew she’d see, but with a defeated sigh she turned around. She was correct. The disapproving faces of Applejack, Fluttershy, Big Mac, and Twilight, illuminated from the glow of Twilight’s horn, stared back at her. Next to them stood the chicken-headed creature, looking down at the ground, ashamed.

Fluttershy turned to the creature. “I hope you’ve learned your lesson this time,” she scolded.

The creature met her gaze and nodded.

“Good. Now off you go.”

The creature scuttled away into the surrounding darkness. Fluttershy turned her gaze back to Mavis. The shame Mavis felt under the ponies’ disappointed expressions was crushing. Finally, Twilight broke the silence.

“Are you alright, Mavis?” she asked, her face softening a little.

Mavis nodded

“We can talk about everything back at the cottage,” Applejack said, her face not softening. “Celestia knows there's about a million critters that’ll want ta eat us fer dinner if they find us out here.”

The group formed a single file line with Twilight in the front and Big Mac in the far back. Fluttershy and Applejack got behind Twilight, putting Mavis directly in front of Big Mac, which was the absolute last place she wanted to be, but she wasn’t in a position to argue. They began the journey back through the Everfree with Twilight’s magic lighting the way for them. Soon they came to a point where the canopy overhead thinned out, allowing the moon’s light to shine down and help further light the way. Mavis had indeed been encased in stone for a long time.

Mavis’ stomach twisted and turned and tears streamed down her face for the entire trip. A couple of times she choked up, but no one ever reacted. That made her feel even sadder again. They reached the edge of the forest sometime later, coming onto Fluttershy’s property. The lights were on inside and Mavis could see a few creatures inside looking concerned. The group entered through the back door and gathered in the living room.

“I’ll make some hot chocolate,” Fluttershy announced and entered the kitchen.

Everyone else took seats around the living room. Mavis purposely claimed the rocking chair on the other side of the room from the couch where everyone else took their seats. She shied her gaze away from them, glancing instead at all the animals scattered around the room. The white rabbit known as Angel was looking at her with disgust, but all the others looked at her more softly. The fact that they weren’t cross with her helped ease some of Mavis’ heartache. She eventually spared a glance at everyone on the couch, finding some relief in the fact that they were all looking elsewhere. Big Mac met her gaze during that moment and Mavis quickly turned away from him, still afraid to see his disappointment.

Fluttershy came back a few minutes later carrying a tray with five mugs. She set it down on the coffee table and Twilight levitated the mugs to everyone. Mavis took hers and peered at the liquid contained within. Unlike tea, which was more of a dark purplish black color, this ‘hot chocolate’ was a lighter shade of brown not unlike Toby’s livery and had a number of little white things floating inside of it. She lapped up the white things first and chewed, finding them delicious before taking a gulp of the hot chocolate, finding it to be delicious also. She continued drinking gulp after gulp, letting the amazing taste distract her from the current situation. It was hard to believe she could be feeling so miserable and sad a few minutes ago, then suddenly feel comfortable and happy with just one satisfying drink. But she knew it couldn’t last. With one final gulp, she finished off the last of the hot chocolate and put down the mug, which was immediately enveloped in Twilight’s magic and levitated back to the others.

Mavis finally gave them her full attention. Their eyes were all on her, but not in a disapproving way. They looked plain and patient as if they were waiting for Mavis to finish her drink; it looked like they’d barely touched their own. Mavis was afraid they disapproved of her finishing off her drink before them. Yet again, her mood had turned like a turntable.

Finally, Applejack broke the silence with a sigh and said, “Look, Mavis, all we wanna know is why you were in the Everfree after we told ya not to go in there.”

“You were lucky we found you relatively close to the Everfree’s border,” Fluttershy said. “The Everfree is so big and vast that it could take days to thoroughly search it all for one pony.”

“You’re also lucky you only came across a cockatrice,” Twilight added. “Of all the monsters in the Everfree, those are one of the few that won’t eat you. If you’d come across a hydra or a cragadile, we might never have seen you again.”

The way they spoke to Mavis was surprisingly calm and gentle. It helped her feel more at ease, no longer hesitant to meet their gaze and keep it.

“Does that mean you’re not cross?” she asked, hopeful.

“That depends on yer answer, Sugarcube,” Applejack said plainly, crossing her forelegs. “If ya got a good excuse, we’ll be more understandin’. That don’t mean you ain’t still in trouble,” she finished with a little more sternness in her tone.

“And if it’s not a good excuse?”

“That should be the last thing on your mind right now, Mavis,” Twilight said sternly as well. “What matters right now is that you’re upfront and honest with us. It will only make you look worse if you try to hide stuff from us, which doesn’t help your very precarious situation.”

“Eeyup,” was all Big Mac said.

Now Mavis wasn’t sure how to feel. On the one sideplate, she was grateful they weren’t coming down harsh on her, but on the other, she was afraid they wouldn’t find her reason acceptable, which made her hesitant to tell the truth. She had nowhere to run and hide, however, and she had a feeling saying nothing would only make them actually cross with her. She looked around at all the animals in the cottage for a source of comfort, but they were all staring eagerly at her which didn’t help at all.

Mavis resigned herself to her fate. All she could do at this point was hope for the best, but she mentally prepared herself for the worst as well. She took a deep, relaxing breath and proceeded to tell her story: heading to Fluttershy’s cottage; finding the chicken feather; venturing into the Everfree in search of Fluttershy; being turned to stone by the ‘cockatrice’ and her great relief at being turned back. All the while she gave her story the ponies listened quietly, never interrupting even once. Even the animals were unusually silent, their eyes fixed on her like coupling between trucks.

By the end of her tale, Mavis was feeling much better. She saw that the ponies were mulling over her story, trying to decide whether they liked it or not. The animals seemed rather happy with her, judging by the smiles on all their faces, but she knew their opinions wouldn’t help her keep her job at Ffarquhar Quarry. She waited patiently for the ponies to decide.

“That was very noble of you, Mavis,” Twilight said, breaking the silence. “But it was also extremely reckless.” She gave Mavis a disapproving stare. “You should’ve gotten help first.”

Mavis wilted under her stare. “I thought that too,” she responded softly. “I’m sorry.”

“I agree that you should’ve gotten help first,” Fluttershy said before smiling. “But I’m grateful all the same for your concern.”

“That was mighty brave of ya, Sugarcube,” Applejack said. “Really buckin’ stupid and reckless, but brave, an’ I can admire that.”

“Eeyup,” was all Big Mac said again.

“Thank you,” Mavis said, genuinely grateful. “What about your chicken, Fluttershy? Is it safe?”

Fluttershy nodded. “It is. Luckily, I found it before anything bad happened to it.” She looked at Mavis intently. “And I was doubly lucky to have found you on my way back home. We spent all afternoon combing the area where we found you for the cockatrice, which itself was incredibly dangerous, especially at night.”

“This isn’t the first time this has happened, either,” Twilight said with a sigh.

“Really?” Mavis said, surprised.

Twilight nodded. “I was once turned to stone by a cockatrice in the Everfree, but I was frozen a bit longer than you were. According to Fluttershy, it’s the same cockatrice, even!”

Fluttershy sighed with exasperation. “I thought my words had gotten through to him the first time.”

Now Mavis’ curiosity had reached a breaking point. “Why do you live so close to the Everfree, Fluttershy?”

“Oh, the creatures in the Everfree usually don’t venture outside the forest,” Fluttershy explained. “I like this spot because it’s quiet and secluded.”

Mavis understood her reasoning, but she still thought it was rather silly.

“Getting back to the point of this conversation,” Applejack said firmly, recapturing Mavis’ attention and reminding her she was in trouble, “we’re gonna be tellin’ Sir Topham Hatt about this, but we’ll let him know you were acting outta compassion instead o’ stupidity.” She smiled softly. “I’m sure he’ll be understanding, Sugarcube.”

“Thank you, Applejack,” Mavis said, relieved beyond words.

The ponies chatted for a bit longer about other things, leaving Mavis out of the conversation to think to herself. Knowing that the ponies would put in a good word for her was comforting, but would that be enough for the Fat Controller to let her work in the quarry again? She could only hope so; she would be leaving for Sodor the next day, so she had little opportunity to make any more mistakes. All the same, she resolved to be extra careful from now until next morning and only do things she was told.

She was watching a couple of mice playing in a corner of the living room when she caught Big Mac looking at her in her eye’s corner. He hadn’t contributed much to the conversation and was now separate from it completely, looking at Mavis with a soft, sincere smile. Mavis’ symptoms returned. She tore her gaze from him and back to the mice, but she could still feel his gentle gaze on her. Hadn’t she dropped her crush on him? Why was she feeling this way again all of a sudden? She hadn’t felt this way earlier during the journey through the Everfree.

Finally, the girls finished talking and got up off the couch, signaling the time to return home. Pleasantries were exchanged and the group exited through the front door, waving goodbye to Fluttershy as they crossed the bridge leading to her cottage.

Mavis was allowed to trail behind on the journey through town which she loved because it let her be alone with her thoughts without the feeling of someone watching her from behind. Big Mac and Applejack walked side by side in front of her while Twilight led the group. Ponyville was completely deserted as they passed through. The streetlamps illuminated their way through the outskirts, past the Town Hall and finally onto a small dirt path that led to a distant structure which Mavis couldn’t quite make out through the darkness until she got closer. When she could see it properly, her mouth fell open with shock.

It was a castle! But it seemed to be made of some kind of oddly coloured rocks instead of bricks. It was oddly structured, too, looking a lot more like a tree than a building. A banner depicting Twilight’s cutie mark hung from an upper level and the topmost part of the structure was shaped similarly. Obviously, this place was important.

Twilight departed from the group, walking towards the castle and waving goodbye to everyone. “See you tomorrow, Mavis! Applejack!”

The group returned the goodbye until Twilight had entered the castle, whereupon they headed back the way they came. Mavis wanted to see what the castle was like on the inside, but it was getting very late and she would need a good night’s rest before she returned home tomorrow. Maybe she’d get a chance if she ever got to visit Equestria again someday.

The three of them made their way through town and along the road leading to Sweet Apple Acres. Mavis’ thoughts wandered from topic to topic before she got to thinking about her true feelings for Big Mac again. Apple Bloom’s words from earlier in the day still confused her. Did caring for Big Mac mean she loved him in the way that led to marriage and foals? If being married and having foals meant she couldn’t work in Ffarquhar, then she definitely hoped that wasn’t the case. But what if it was the case? Would the Fat Controller approve? Or her manager? Would they make her stay in Equestria? Working on Sweet Apple Acres was nice, but nothing was better than shunting trucks and teasing Toby for being a fusspot.

She needed her questions answered before returning to Sodor.

The three of them reached the front gate to the farm in good time. Big Mac opened the gate and ushered Applejack and Mavis inside. They made it about halfway across the property before Mavis said, “Applejack?”.

“What’s up, Sugarcube?” she replied.

“Can I talk to you privately about something?”

“Of course ye can!”

Big Mac nodded his understanding and trotted off, leaving them alone. Mavis waited until he’d entered the house before speaking again.

“I need some help understanding my true feelings for your brother.”

Applejack suppressed a laugh which earned a glare from Mavis. “Sorry, sorry, Sugarcube,” she apologized, waving her off. “Sure, I’ll help ya figure all that out. Heh, I’m still feelin’ like yer surrogate mother.” Mavis still had no idea what that meant. “So, whatcha need help understandin’, exactly?”

Mavis recounted what Apple Bloom had told her earlier while Applejack listened intently. Applejack seemed to grow more annoyed as Mavis went on, which worried her at first until Applejack spoke up once she finished.

“Something ya gotta know, Mavis, is that little filly is too young to know a darn thing about love. She didn’t know what she was talkin’ about, trust me.”

“Really?” Mavis said, more than a little surprised.

“I don’t lie,” Applejack stated matter-of-factly. Mavis felt inclined to believe her.

“So what are my true feelings for Big Mac?”

Applejack shook her head. “I ain’t you, Mavis, so I can’t say fer sure what they are, but I can tell you more about love so you might have a better understandin’. That sound alright?”

Mavis nodded.

“Alright then, let’s see…” Applejack trailed off for a few moments, gathering her thoughts. “Well, your crush on my brother is romantic love, like I said. But crushes are kinda like an apple seed and that real, true romance is like a fully grown apple tree; it takes time to develop, but only when it does does it really mean anythin’. Your feelings, from the sounds of it, are somewhere between the two, maybe a sapling if I had to guess from your personality.”

“What does that mean?” Mavis asked, confused.

“Oh, nothin’.” Applejack failed to suppress a snicker, annoying Mavis. “But like I said, it’s just a side effect of Twilight’s spell, so it’ll probably go away once we turn ya back into a diesel engine.”

That was a relief to Mavis’ ears. Now there was just one question left that needed answering.

“So how does caring about someone relate to marriage?”

Applejack sighed. “And that’s why you shouldn’t have taken Apple Bloom at her word.” Another sigh. “Caring for other people is something that all living, sapient creatures are capable of, but it’s necessary for a successful romantic relationship all the same. It’s jus’ a natural wish to see people succeed and be happy and healthy. Ain’t you ever felt that way ‘bout your friends on Sodor?”

Mavis could recall a few instances where she wanted her fellow engines to be happy and safe— the incident with Toby over the rapids came to mind again. “Yes, I have.”

“And did you ever want to marry those people you felt that way about?”

Mavis shook her head; she didn’t even know what marriage was for the longest time, even.

“There you go.” Applejack laughed. “Although, I gotta say, the thought of engines gettin’ hitched is somethin’ I’d be interested in seeing for the laughs if nothing else.”

Mavis felt a little indignant by her comment, but having gotten a better idea of what her true feelings were for Big Mac made it hard to be too annoyed. Then a thought struck her.

“Does going after Fluttershy in the Everfree mean I care about her?”

“Fluttershy said as much, didn’t she?” Applejack asked jokingly before waving Mavis off. “Yeah, runnin’ headfirst into potential danger to save somepony means you care about them. But that don’t excuse the fact that you should’a gotten help first,” she finished sternly.

Mavis nodded.

Applejack looked thoughtful for a moment before she said, “Y’know, Sir Topham Hatt cares about you a lot.”

Mavis stared blankly. “What?”

“Well, yeah, seeing how he sent you here in the first place.” At Mavis’ continued confusion, Applejack began elaborating. “It might seem like he’s punishing you just because he’s upset with you, but he’s tryin’ ta teach you and help ya grow.”

“Help me grow?” How did that make sense?

“Figuratively, I mean; he wants you to learn from yer mistakes and become a better, even more useful engine as a result. An’ that ain’t all too different from how ponies treat their foals. I got punished by my folks a whole lotta times for acting out o’ line when I was a little filly. But if they hadn’t, I wouldn’t be the mare I am today.” Her chest puffed in a show of pride.

It was surprising to Mavis, but Applejack seemed to have a point. She wouldn’t know how to be a useful engine if the Fat Controller or her manager didn’t tell her when she was being bad or doing something wrong. If that was what caring for others meant, then Mavis felt happy knowing she had many who cared for her and wanted to see her become ever more useful.

“Thank you, Applejack,” she replied. “I have all my answers.”

“Glad to hear it,” Applejack said before gesturing to the house. “Now, let’s get some shuteye. Big day tomorrow.”

Mavis nodded and fell into step behind her as they headed for the house. She finally understood her feelings for Big Mac. Crushes were nice, but the desire to see the people and engines in her life be happy and healthy and really useful flared within her. That was a goal more worth pursuing.