A Changeling can Change

by Bronyxy

4 Strangers on a Train

The approach of a strange and unfamiliar reciprocating mechanical noise accompanied by a clanging bell caught his attention and curiosity beckoned him towards its source. Suddenly, a tide of ponies spilled out of a large building with a dome on top, spreading out in all directions. He crossed over to the mysterious building and walked under a sign marked ‘Ticket Office’ to see a string of small houses on wheels fronted by a large pink mechanical dragon; he could hear it breathing and see the smoke coming from it, yet nopony around seemed in the slightest bit scared.

He stood on the platform, not able to fully rationalise what he was seeing, when a pony in a smart blue uniform paused in placing a whistle to his lips.
“Well, be quick if you’re getting aboard!” he called, “We’re on a schedule here!”

A door hung open temptingly and he made a snap decision, ascending more quickly than his trepidation would have liked, before it was slammed firmly shut behind him, sealing him in with a random selection of ponies. The room lurched suddenly and he looked around, noticing that the occupants tended to favour being seated, and headed for a spare seat with a view out of the window.

Kevin sat captivated, watching the scenery unroll past his eyes with rapt attention and barely noticed when a pink unicorn tried to start up a conversation with him.

He turned, slightly disoriented at being torn away from the moving montage the other side of the window.
“I said, it looks like this is your first train journey” she repeated, “I can see the look in your eyes.”
“Yes, this is my first time” he replied.
“There’s no need to feel embarrassed” she reassured, “Just sit back and enjoy the experience. It gets a whole lot less magical the more often you do it.”
“Thank you” he replied dismissively.

“I’ve been doing this run for a few weeks now, it’s all part of my new job now the Crystal Empire has returned.”
“I’m going to Ponyville” he interrupted.
“Not on this train you’re not” she eyed him with mild concern, “This is the non-stop service to the Crystal Empire.”
“Crystal Empire?” he queried, looking at her for confirmation, “Where’s that?”
“Oh my, you really don’t get out much, do you? The Crystal Empire is as far north as you can go, in completely the opposite direction to Ponyville” she said, before adding, “You’re having me on, surely?”

With the prospect of his admittedly rather vague initial plans now evaporating before him, he quickly ran through his options and decided that either he leave the train and change into a pegasus to fly back to the start of his journey in Canterlot, or accept the new destination as some kind of divine intervention. On reflection, he didn’t have any real information on Ponyville, only that the yellow pegasus hailed from there, and as plans went, that wasn’t the most compelling reason, so he decided that he didn’t really have much to lose by waiting to see what this journey brought.

“Surely” he repeated after a pause.
“Oh my, you’ve sure got a dry sense of humour. You really had me going for a minute there! I couldn’t believe you would have gotten onto the wrong train – imagine that!” she quipped, “I’m a tour guide, you know, name’s Gabby Tweeter. What do you do?”
“I’m a reporter for the Canterlot Chronicle and I’m called Tab Lloyd.”
“Oh, I can guess why you’re on the train. Want to tell your readers all about the Crystal Empire I’d wager. Well, you’re lucky you ran into me, this journey takes hours, so I’ve got plenty of time to give you a full run down on its history and what there is to see there today. You’re going to know all about it by the time we get there!”

He sat, taking in the well-meaning, if seemingly endless monologue from the pink unicorn, and although the content was for the best part banal, he found himself able to feast on the love she was radiating, so continued to listen placidly. His Queen had been right, ponies were eager to open up to a reporter.

By the time the train finally crossed the State Line into the frozen north, he was feeling comfortably replete, having feasted on the generosity of the pink pony’s love for hours.
“So, where are you going to see first?” Gabby asked, barely pausing from her non-stop narrative.
“Probably the Crystal Castle” he replied.
“Good idea” she agreed, “That’s just what I would have suggested. Look, I’m still free for a few hours; shall we go there together? I could give you a quick whistle-stop tour of the sights before I have to go off to my meeting, if you like.”

Her eyes seemed to beg to be allowed to continue her rambling potted history of the place. He was on a mission to learn all he could, even though his ears yearned for some peace and quiet. There was also the matter of the love she had been radiating; it had been so sweet. Quite aside from the demands of the mission, he felt the stirrings of something else; perhaps he owed it her to let her show him around?

Kevin wrestled with the previously unknown concept that he may have an emotional debt to this pony. It was an unsettling response for a changeling, but this wasn’t the first time he had felt some emotional response since having entered the pony lands. If he was going to fit in, as he had been instructed by his Queen, then he reasoned he would have to get used to these feelings.

He nodded his head in agreement earning a happy smile from Gabby. As he watched her face, it seemed somehow to light up in a pleasing way. He found himself staring just a little too long, studying the muscles in her face moving imperceptibly, but somehow she didn’t seem to mind, and he felt another surge of her sweet love wash over him.

As he watched, he noticed the dark pupils of her eyes begin to expand, but then his concentration broke suddenly as the train gave a gentle lurch and began decelerating towards its destination.

Comments

[Yoshifan30]

Oops Looks like He got on the wrong train And now hes heading for the crystal Empire and it looks like gabby ( To be honest I thought that was Gabby the Griffin but I got it wrong Because this is during the time between season 2 and 3 ) wants to show him around that's nice of her