Coal

“But why, why do I have to go away?” I asked.

“Because, Coal, your parents want you to go,” was the reply I received. “Now, off you go. If you miss the train your parents will be furious with me.”

With those parting words, she nudged me forward through the doors onto the train that would carry me away from my home, and the life I’d grown accustomed to over they years. The doors slid shut behind me as I proceeded to my seat. As I sat down, prepared for the long voyage ahead, the intercom crackled to life, and a voice I suspected was the conductor's sprang forth; “Good morning passengers, we’ll be arriving in Manehatten in a few hours, and to all of you lucky fillies and colts on board to attend the Manehatten Academy for the Magically gifted, I would like to say congratulations.”

“Lucky.. yeah, right,” I grumbled.

The train lurched as it began to move; taking only minutes to accelerate to its top speed. I sat there in my seat, my head directed towards the window, but I was long gone; retreating to that secluded place amongst my thoughts that I’d long since become accustomed to.

“Hey, are you sleeping,” a voice asked.

I awoke suddenly, pulled from my stupor. I shifted my gaze from the window towards the origin of the voice, and found that it had originated from a scrawny-looking white and brown pegasus; who had at some point taken the seat beside mine. He faltered for a moment as I looked at him. His brown overgrown mane falling over his eyes. He shook his head quickly to clear his vision before he spoke once again: “Are you all right,” he asked, “you looked like you might’ve fallen asleep with your head at a bad angle.”

“I’m fine, thanks,” reciting the well-practiced line that I’d been using for years. Truthfully, my neck was more than a little stiff from staring out the window for who-knows-how-long. “I wasn’t sleeping.”

“Oh, alright... sorry if I bothered you then,” he replied, relaxing back into his seat.

“You didn’t, don’t worry,” I said, “you probably did just save me from a bad stiff neck actually, so thanks for that.”

“No problem, happy to help,” he said. “So, if you weren’t sleeping, what were you doing,” he asked.

I looked at him for a few moments, contemplating my answer, I returned my gaze to the window before I spoke; “I was just thinking,” I replied.

“May I ask about what,” he asked, “you didn’t even notice me walk up and sit down, did you?”

“No,” I admitted, “I was thinking about my parents, and why they’re sending me to Manehatten.”

“Oh...” he replied, falling silent; it was obvious that he wanted to know more, but was hesitant to keep questioning me.

I sighed, “My parents have never cared much for me,” I began, “They only ever bothered talking to me when there was some ulterior motive; like getting me to go to parties with them, so that they could act like the parents that they weren’t and try to impress all the other nobleponies.”

I looked over at him, wondering if I’d exaggerated his interest. His gaze was as inquisitive as ever, but there was something else lurking there now too... pity, perhaps?

I continued, “When I got old enough to know what was going, or maybe, because the other nobleponies tired of me; my parents stopped talking to me completely. They’d send a pony every now and then to check on things, and they hired a nanny to watch over me for them. Months would go by without a single sighting of them. I doubt the motive for this is any different; they’re just using me again to supplement their reputation, they don’t care about me.”

I glanced over at him. The inquisitiveness was gone from his gaze now, replaced by that other something, and suddenly I felt silly, gushing to this random pegasus about myself. Silence reigned for a few moments before I spoke up again; “Sorry, I didn’t mean to make you listen to all of my problems..”

He perked up at that, “It’s alright, I don’t mind listening.” “So, what’s your name,” he asked.

“My parents called me Grey Hoof, but I go by Coal,” I replied. “So what’s your name?”

“Another pony with a nickname, huh? My name’s Feather Flurry, but I go by Aegis these days.”

I couldn’t stop a small laugh from escaping me. I looked over at him, worried that he’d taken it as an insult. He was smiling still. A thought flitted across my mind; Maybe he hadn’t heard?

“What’s so funny?”

The smile was still there.

“I was just thinking that nickname seems a little ironic. Please don’t take this the wrong way, but you’re kinda small for a pegasus,” I said.

His smile grew wider, and I couldn’t help but feel like I’d fallen into a trap.

“Looks can be deceiving.”

I’d heard the saying many times, but there was something in the way he said it that caught my attention. I opened my mouth to speak again, but the intercom came to life before I could speak.

“Hello everyone, we’ll be arriving in Manehatten in just another ten minutes. Please, take this time to prepare to disembark.”

“I suppose that’s my que to go find my brother,” he said with a sigh, “it was fun meeting you, I really enjoyed talking with you.”

My original response now purged from my mind, I replied with a simple “you too” as he turned and trotted up the aisle, and out of the room. I really had enjoyed talking to the colt, and now I was alone with my thoughts again.

The train came to a halt a few minutes later, and as I stepped off of the train, I looked around for the pegasus colt that I’d met on the train, but found nothing of significance other than the pony my parents had hired to escort me to the Academy. I approached him and he  turned and began walking without a word. I followed, head down.

“So it begins,” I grumbled.