A Cozy Train, A Comfy Ride

[ShadowMage]

A frozen wind sent a flurry of early-winter snow buffeting the side of the train that hurtled down the track towards Stalliongrad. As the train car creaked and groaned against the winds rushing over the open, barren, and frosted fields of northern Equestria, Gearly pulled the woolen blanket around himself tightly, shuddering at the thought of the weather outside. Living on a secluded farm in the middle of the rolling hills south-west of Canterlot acquainted the young stallion with the discomfort of winter, but as he traveled farther and farther north, it seemed winter rushed faster and faster toward the present hour. According to overheard conversations, the frigid weather outside the passenger car was supposedly usually bitter and cold for the time of the year, but Gearly had no doubt that once the depth of winter was upon this countryside, the chills this weather would bring would likely not leave one's bones until Celestia's sun brought forth summer once more.

Giving a heavy sigh and curling up tighter under the toasty blanket, Gearly closed his eyes and thought back on his grand journey from his family's farm to the great industrial city of Stalliongrad. All the towns he passed through, all the ponies he met, and everything he saw seemed as though they were a million miles away, seemingly endless expanses of snow and frost separating himself from the oh-so-recent past. Reminiscing and marveling at how far he and his traveling companion had come. His eyes drifting shut slowly, Gearly began to doze off; the mad dash to catch the train through the frozen evening air had sapped far more of his energy than he would have guessed, and only huddling under the blanket seemed to remove the chill from his bones. Smiling peacefully as he quietly thanked Celestia for this very specific blanket, his form slumped into the couch he was nestled on as sleep over-took him.

[Gerrard]

The train rocked gently in the frigid weather, the lights flickering ever so faintly as the train a cut a swathe through the near blizzard conditions outside the cars. A strange cloaked figure silently stepped into his car, magic silently closing the sliding door as she deftly entered his sleeping quarters. The cloaked figure stepped softly into the boxed car, her hooves strangely creating no sound as she walked up and down the length of the train section. Crimson eyes peered over the few patrons who were residing in the car, their frightened expressions showing clearly to her as they tried to scurry to the safety of the train's walls. Her expression was impossible to read from beneath the shadows her cowl cast over her face, the black pelted mare seeming to ignore each shiver and flinch as she searched for a place to sit down.

Her search found an empty couch that sat parallel to Gearly's, the two pieces of furniture facing each other as if they were intended for a group of ponies. She walked up between the two pieces of furniture and a paused for a moment, a dark red aura enveloping her cloak as she carefully lowered her hood. The unicorn was a scarlet mane that was cut especially short, probably to avoid interference with her mobility, the black mare examining the situation from above the sleeping stallion. She lowered her head somewhat to create a neutral height disparity between the pair, the crowded booth requiring her to get uncomfortably close to the stallion as she prepared to speak. "Sir, is this seat reserved for anyone in particular, I would appreciate the seat if it is not claimed," she explained in an an eerie voice that was strangely monotone, her unsettling gaze inches away from his faces.

[ShadowMage]

A light groan escaped from the huddled figured as the question from the mare roused Gearly from his gentle slumber. Turning over to face the pony addressing him and still clutching the warmth of the blanket to his form, he began to wearily blink his eyes, attempting to focus on the blurry figure before him. In a sleepy, and carefully practiced Canterlot accent, Gearly mumbled out, "You're back awfully early Stor- Yeaeaagh!" Though still unfocused, his vision cleared well enough to show the pony before him was not his traveling companion; the figure, instead of a calm and quiet sky-blue mare, was instead a tall, lithe, and incredibly intimidating visage. The black-and-crimson figure was enough to make Gearly jump back in alarm, his form becoming tangled in the blanket as he tumbled to the floor of the passenger car with a loud thud.

As he lay on the floor of the car in a jumbled heap, several of the other passengers peeked into the compartment to see the commotion before disappearing once more into their own compartments. Dazed and confused, Gearly struggled against the bindings of the until-so-recently comforting blanket, still vaguely recalling some sense of urgency. A moment later, he recalled the muse of his terror and pressed himself into the corner of the couch and the wall of the room. "Wh-who are ya? What d'ya want?" Gone was the practiced and meticulous Canterlot accent, instead replaced with a thick country accent of the rolling hills outside Solstice Heights. The asked question he had only half-heard was easily forgotten as he trembled in the corner, trapped from the exit by the imposing figure.

[Gerrard]

The unicorn blinked once, the stoic expression on her face unflinching as she put together a response in her mind. "I am Asteria, another patron of this train. I asked if I may take a seat on the couch across from you. Are my terms acceptable?" she asked calmly, her voice keeping the same eerie tone as the first time she spoke. Her voice had the faintest traces of a Canterlot accent, her tone the thing that distinguished it from what most ponies there spoke with. The mare seemed oddly patient for such an intimidating looking mare, the pony repeating herself as she watched him flail about in his blanket.

Asteria cocked her head to the side as she took an extra moment to think over the accent in his words. "Sir, were you seeking to mislead me with a fake accent? From my personal experiences, relationships that are founded with deception are not particularly strong or long lasting ones. I would advise that you stick to one accent, preferably the one that natural occurs as you speak," she explained calmly, her words not seeming at all angry, although it could just be the odd way that she expressed herself. The ponies who were watching the odd situation slowly started disperse, losing interest as the mare started to seem less and less menacing.

Still though, she patiently stood above him, waiting for his permission to take a seat as she stood above him. The unicorn returned to a normal posture as she looked the cowering pony over. "Do you need assistance in escaping your bindings? Perhaps you would like if I just returned you to your prior position?" she asked calmly, the mare's crimson eyes seeming vaguely less intimidating as the initial shock passed. A calm inspection would reveal that the unicorn was surprisingly tall, the mare easily able to look him in the eyes if he were to return to his trembling hooves.

[ShadowMage]

Gearly's waves of fear abated as the mare made no move to do him harm, or even do anything that anypony could find offense with. Noting the question the unusual mare had asked, Gearly's brow raised slightly as he began to wriggle free from the binding of the blanket he'd become tangled in. Perplexed by the question, having not expecting anything anything of the sort from such a figure, Gearly nearly forgot to reply; dipping his head once in a slight nod, his reply was stammered out in the practiced accent, "Th-that's fine, acceptable...Y-yeah. Th-the seat's not taken."

As the strange mare who called herself Asteria commented upon his accent, Gearly opened his mouth to reply. Unable to find anything immediately relevant to say, instead the young leather-brown stallion redoubled his efforts to free himself from the tangled mess of the dumb fabric. As the mare asked if he needed assistance, Gearly shook his head, responding once more in the practiced accent, "Thank you, no, Miss Asteria. I should be able to manage." A few moments later, Gearly finally untangled himself and climbed back onto couch, wrapping the blanket about his form once more, looking nervously to the unexpected guest sitting across from his seating.

[Gerrard]

Her fierce crimson eyes watched his movements closely as he made furious efforts to free his frightened frame. Her keen ears perked up ever so faintly as he gave her approval to sit across from him. The faint humming of a magic aura filled her air as a crimson field of magic overcame her thick dark cloak, lifting it up carefully to reveal her long toned legs. It was easily clear that she was a marathon runner of some sort, the unicorn neatly placing her frame on the couch across from him as she decided to rest as well. Her magic deftly manipulated her coat, sliding it around her frame as the clearly heavy piece of clothing covered her as if it were a makeshift blanket, the mare shrouding her black body carefully as she rested her head on the arm rest of the couch.

She made no further comment about his accent after the stallion decided to avoid her question. The mare decided that he was either unaware, or simply unwilling to explain his speech abnormality to her. Asteria nodded when he refused her offer of help, the unicorn deciding that it might be a result of his pride. Regardless, she pushed those fruitless thoughts from her mind as she decided to focus on the situation on hoof. "I apologize if my appearance is unsettling. I have no control over my coloration outside of temporary fixes that would merely deceive those unfamiliar with me. Is there a way that I can make amends for disturbing your rest, my intention was not to interrupt you," she commented calmly, her voice never seeming to change tone no matter what she was speaking about. It almost seemed as if a robot was speaking back, her responses designed to minimize potential conflict that her presence might cause.

[ShadowMage]

Gearly settled back into the couch, shifting about experimentally trying in vain to rediscover the comfortable spot and position which promised so much of the fleeting warmth he desired. With a light huff, he forsook his attempts to find the lost comfort and instead his eyes settled upon the perplexing midnight-black mare before him, watching in unmasked awe and envy of the mare's mundane unicorn talent. The form of the stallion seems to deflate ever so slightly as he sagged into the couch, pulling his fore-legs from beneath the blanket to look at the minute criss-cross pattern of scars up and down the flesh and fur. His brow furrowed ever so slightly as he tucked his legs back under the blanket, doing his best to keep his extremities as warm as possible and lost himself in thought for a brief moment.

Asteria's voice snapped him back to the present, his eyes focused on the mare laying before him as his battered left ear twitch in an effort to better hear and understand her words. A gentle and oddly genuine smile crossed his countenance as Gearly shook his head, his disheveled mane flailing about his head. "It was no trouble at all, I simply was not expecting to have such a...such an imposing figure join me in my little alcove. I was expecting a different pony, my traveling companion, to join me before somepony else. There's no reason to make amends for trying to find a seat to rest yourself." As he talked, his eyes stayed locked with the stranger, too well taught in the manners of the big city to risk being rude by not looking the mare in the eyes. He had no reason to be rude anyways, while she seemed an odd enough sort, she certainly didn't seem to mean him any harm; that much was obvious.

[Gerrard]

The tall mare pulled her long legs up to her torso, conserving her warmth as she rested beneath her weather resistant cloak. Asteria watched him struggle fruitlessly as he failed to rediscover his previous comfortable position. She seemed to have found her own, or at the very least, one that didn't disturb her too much. The mare noticed him looking over his own well worked legs, the unicorn saying nothing as he seemed lost in thought.

As he smiled, her ears perked up ever so faintly, her stoic expression remaining unchanged as she anticipated his speech. Even after being called imposing, her face remained as static as a marble statue, the odd mare having an unbelievable poker face. It was extremely hard to determine what her specific thoughts were behind what seemed like a facade of some sort. "I don't intend to be imposing, I suppose it alienates some from me. It would require a great deal of work to appear less ominous, and I must admit that it is not an effort that merits a great deal of time investment. Regardless, I would be willing to leave in the event that your friend arrives in this particular car. Is your traveling friend on this train? Perhaps I can help you two reunite before the train reaches it's destination. It might be hard to spot them when we arrive in Stalliongrad, the weather forecasted to get much more intense before it dissipates," she politely remarked, the lights suddenly flickering off for a moment before turning back on, the train shaking roughly in the wind. Her expression remained the same at the sudden change, the unicorn not in the least perturbed from the sudden aching of the train.

[ShadowMage]

Listening to her mini-monologue, Gearly's rose his form from laying upon the couch and, keeping the blanket wrapped about himself, dipped his head at several instances, demonstrating his comprehension of her situation. As his eyes drifted toward the floor, no longer locked with the mare sitting across him, his form seemed to slump and deflate ever-so-slightly as Gearly took in a deep, thoughtful breath before speaking, "You were born as you were...just as I was born as I was... And we must... Make do with the construction of our assembly. Erm...the parts of our being." As the stallion's voice came out, the words were not as clearly enunciated, nor as firm as when the grey pony had spoken previously; doubt, a modicum of bitterness, and perhaps even the slightest hint of jealousy had crept into his words, making his voice sound unfocused and tired, though not the class of fatigue that comes with a hard day's work.

The exasperated groan of the train car and blinking of the lights roused Gearly, his form snapping up suddenly as though expecting to fend off some attack. When the luminescence of the lights returned, his wide eyes darted to the glowing orbs found at the apex of the car's cabin. Glaring at them for the briefest moment and mumbling something along the lines of "faulty junk", his returned his gaze to Asteria once more, intent on answering her concern. The voice that spoke was departure from the seemingly inexplicably somber tone he carried just moments prior; instead, in a more peppy and energetic voice her politely declined both of the mare's offers, "You need not leave when Stormsong returns. We were sharing this particular couch when she went off to....some...where..." Pausing for a moment to think and lowering his head to think, he tapped lightly at his chin with a hoof before speaking up once more, "I was already half-slumbering when she mentioned she was going somewhere, I cannot seemed to recall where, but I have no doubt that she will return before the night is upon us." Breaking the eye contact once more, Gearly looked out across the wind-swept fields of snow and ice, gazing at Celestia's sun disappearing behind the horizon, seemingly forsaking the frozen tundra to some terrible, frozen night.

[Gerrard]

Asteria's black ears perked up as he spoke, intent on hearing everything he had to explain or say to her. The mare listened to him as he compared her to a robot, the mare cocking her head to the side as she made sure to understand him as best she could. "That is a wise statement Sir... may I ask your name?. It is hard, to change our construction. Dwelling over the abilities of others has the tendency to create resentment towards the person you dwell over. Instead, it is wise to use your abilities as best you can. While you may not be optimal, sometimes there are advantages to being suboptimal," she vaguely explained, the unicorn looking across to the earth pony as he seemed to curse himself for being born so normal. The unicorn seemed to have contemplated such thoughts before, but what she was worried or concerned about in particular was hard to determine, at least beyond her obvious appearance.

"I see, I am glad to hear that my presence will not cause an unnecessary distraction for you and your companion. I will respect your request to not search for Lady Stormsong. It would be rude of me to assume the she was helpless. I will have faith in her abilities to return to this cabin," she explained in an understanding, if not vaguely over analytical manner. Her eyes drifted over to the windows he was examining, the mare pausing for just a moment to place some words together in her mind. "It would be in her best interest to arrive soon, the weather will be getting worse soon," she added in a solemn manner.

[ShadowMage]

As Asteria spoke, Gearly's ears strained to hear her words over a set of particularly potent, bone-chilling gusts of wind buffeting the passenger car and the resulting groans and creaks of the car's distress. His steely grey ears twitched this way and that, his battered left ear jerking oddly with each movement, trying to pick up her voice easily while remaining cuddled under the woolen blanket. Had she...asked his name? Of course! He had not introduced himself as he was consumed in a fit of surprise and panic at the moment introductions were most often exchanged. As the mare paused to let him state his name, Gearly spoke up to fill the resulting silence, his voice taking on nearly a regal demeanor, "Gearly from Packout Farms of Clyde's Dale." The tone in his voice carried a great deal of pride, though nopony could surely be able to divine the reason of pride derived from a farm-stead almost nopony had heard of. Gearly, smiling deeply and giving a gentle nod, indicating that his introduction was over, listened to the tidbits of Asteria's wisdom.

The colorless mare's words struck true with Gearly, perhaps more so than Asteria could have possibly realized. He oft considered his fascination of mechanics as much a detriment as a boon; the lack of any magical telekinesis left Gearly unable to rely on magical precision and, instead, he was forced to rely on comparatively clumsy mundane hoof-kinesis. His steady hooves and excellent hoof-eye coordination was as much an innate talent as it was a learned skill. When events were pressing, time was short, and gears and cogs whirring, it was quite easy to nick one's self on a sharp bit of steel or iron. The young stallion's reverie was broken as a particularly titanic wind heaved at the car, sending several bits of material goods and the occasional loose bit skidding across the wooden planks. A muffled crashing came from one car aft, and Gearly craned his head to stare questioningly at the door he and his companions had settled near out of convenience.

[Armony]

The train shook as Stormsong made her way quietly through the cars and past the forms of other sleeping ponies, trying to make it back to her own car without disturbing anypony. Not that she could cause much more noise than the wind, which howled and buffeted the car, making her hoofing less than stellar. She had originally left her companion to sleep while she looked for some place to compose, and maybe even play, some music. Playing hadn't happened, of course, with almost everypony else being as content with sleeping their train ride away as Gearly was, but she had gotten an idea for a brand new piece. With how fast her mind had been racing before the blizzard began, she thought she might even be able to finish it and practice it, just in case she needed and encore for her show in Stalliongrad.

The blue musician pulled the door at the end of the car open and battled her way out into the tempest, moving as quickly as possible against the storm to get back inside. Once she had secured the door behind her, she heaved a sigh of relief and pressed forward into the next car full of sleeping ponies. Just one more car of sneaking and stress, and Stormsong would be able to lie down and relax while the snow and wind raged on around on the outside. [colour=#009acd]"Just a little further..."[/colour] she whispered to herself, trying to stay calm amidst the creaking and howling. [colour=#009acd]"Just a bit..."[/colour]

Right as she reached the middle of the car, something slammed against the outside of the train, flung by the force of the wind. The car lurched sideways, and even as it began to rock back onto the tracks, Stormsong's calm completely broke down. The mare screamed, instantly waking everypony in the car, although if they had looked for the cause of the noise, all they were likely to have seen was a blue and silver blur. The musician was having none of whatever had been thrown against the train car, and even though the source of her startled state was long gone, she continued to bolt through the last remaining car, slam the door behind her, and run right past the couch where Gearly was conversing with a jet black unicorn mare. She recovered just enough at the other end of the car to backpedal to the couch, and toss herself under the covers next to Gearly, shaking and pouring tears onto the train's furniture.

[Gerrard]

Asteria remained calm as the train lurched dangerously close to sliding off the tracks. It soon righted itself as it trudged onward through the snow, the mare not showing any sign of concern as she heard a loud scream from Storm. Her ears perked up as she tried to locate the source of the sound, the mare tracking the source of it as she darted through the cars of the train. The unicorn blinked as she watched the frightened mare slip back into her spot beside her friend.

"Hello stranger. Would it be appropriate for me to assume that you are Lady Stormsong? There is a substantial amount of evidence to support such an assertion," Asteria calmly remarked, her tone making her seem like a mechanical construct of some sort. The scarlet maned mare looked the new pony over as best she could, noting all the differences between her and the seemingly disgruntled earth pony. Their sudden snuggling, albeit a frightened one, seemed to indicate some sort of sincere relationship. "Huddling together for warmth, an interesting idea," she commented objectively, clearly not familiar with normal acts of friendliness. If anything was clear, it was that the black mare didn't seem to get out much.

"There is no need to cry in fear. Such an action has no bearing on the outcome of this train ride. If we crash it will happen regardless of our control. It is best to not stress yourself over what might help. There is always a chance that a meteor from space will suddenly crash down upon us, worrying about it serves no constructive purpose," she explained in what seemed like a heartless manner, the spooky looking mare wearing a completely stoic face as she finished her monologue. Before she could add anything further though, a painful creaking noise filled the air as the lights of the train blacked out, leaving the trio in an uneasy darkness. Asteria blinked her crimson eyes and glanced over to where she thought Gearly was. "It appears that the train may have lost it's source of power. Perhaps we can aid in the repair of the train in some manner. It would serve us well to attempt to find a mechanic on board the train. If we don't it may be a day before help arrives," the mare explained in her same almost dreary tone, her voice never showing any sign of anticipation.

[ShadowMage]

A sudden rush of moment and the unexpected opening and slamming of the coach door nearly startled Gearly out of his wits once more, though noticing the figure it was Stormsong took a great deal of the panic from Gearly's mind. Instead of flying back in alarm, Gearly quickly turned his attention to the shaking form beside him. Pulling the blanket from about himself and wrapping it about his close friend, he laid a comforting hoof on Stormsong's back, gently stroking it comfortingly. "Wh-what's wrong, Stormsong? Is everything alright?" Concern and worry filled the stallions voice as he tried to calm the sobbing mare.

Upon hearing Asteria's apparently cold-hearted remarks about fear, worry, and "constructive purpose", Gearly's brow hardened and the lack of sympathy for Stormsong's plight. Couldn't the blasted mare see that his friend was, at the very least, greatly distressed and that such words were no more helpful that the action she was critiquing? Opening his mouth to speak, a startled gasp came forth as the lights suddenly snapped out, plunging the interior of the coach into an eerie darkness. Gearly looked about, the the only illumination came from Luna's silver moon rising upon the horizon and the countless specks of light hanging in the early night sky leaving all but the very edge of the coach lost in fathomless darkness; had the situation not been so unnerving and dire, Gearly might have found the sight beautiful.

Gently pulling Stormsong closer, trying still to comfort her as the sudden darkness lightly startled her far more than it startled him, Gearly spoke up, looking to where, he thought, Asteria was, "I...have a basic understanding of mechanics, though I would hardly consider myself 'a mechanic.' And I would be scarcely be able to do a thing about this lighting... The coach is probably wired... I never did understand that...blasted stuff." Gearly began mumbling quietly to himself about the troublesome electricity as he continued in his efforts aimed at comforting his companion.

[Armony]

In her terribly frightened state, the comforting hoof of the musician's friend caused her to jump slightly, not instantly realizing that the touch against her back wasn't going to try hurting her. Stormsong tried to relax under the reassuring pressure on her back, but a nearby mare, she assumed the one Gearly had been talking with since her face was currently hidden, was commenting about... something. She didn't hear everything clearly, but what she was about to gather was that this other mare was talking about the train crashing, a meteor crashing on them, and serving no constructive purpose. Just from the tone, she could tell that whomever was speaking was either unaware of her emotional state, or just didn't care about it; either way, the words did nothing to bring the panicked musician back to reality.

The next thing Storm knew, the conversation she presumed had been interrupted by her little episode resumed, almost as if nothing had ever happened. After a few moments, she was able to get her sobbing under control and dried her eyes on a foreleg before opening them to the now pitch-black car. terrified as she already was, the blue mare gave a feeble meep before pushing herself further under the covers, fearing that whatever had nearly knocked the train over was going to get them in the darkness. Either that, or clumsy as she sometimes was, she'd likely trip over something or somepony if she tried to move anywhere, or run into one of the doors at the end of the car. The best, and by far safest option, in her mind, was to simply remain under the covers until things started to return to normal.

[Gerrard]

The black mare blinked in the darkness, her crimson eyes vanishing for just a moment. She looked over to where she believed the pair were, her eyes having trouble making out their forms in the limited light. "The darkness, while bothersome, can be alleviated on a temporary basis with an efficient use of magic," the black mare calmly explained. It seemed as if she were speaking of a light spell, a simple spell for most unicorns. Her horn glowed a dark red, the colour of her magic aura as the room lightly illuminated in a visible tint of red. "While manipulating your magic power into an intense light will greatly illuminate the car, a great deal of energy can be saved if you keep your magic in it's natural unaltered state," she explained calmly, her horn glowing with it's normal magical aura, the magic waiting patiently to be changed.

Asteria looked to the shivering mare, then back to Gearly, the unicorn offering him a choice for their next choice of action if they were simply going to wait around. "If we are going to wait until the train is fixed though, it may just be easier to sit in the darkness. I don't think I can perpetually channel light for much longer than an hour, even with this technique," she explained in what seemed like a modest manner, her voice still showing no pride or fear. "What would you like to do Sir Gearly? I have no preference of my own, I can appreciate light or the darkness," she added slowly for him, the mare seeming to do her best not to bias his choice.