Salvation | Rebirth

The Solidarity March ended up as an event neither Artful nor Wild decided to attend, instead opting to get to the Crystal Empire as soon as possible as volunteers.

“This whole thing is a big, like... not advertisement, but a call to action, you know what I’m saying?” Artful said, “It’s all about bringing the attention to what’s going on. We already know about it, so there’s little point going other than to bolster the number and show that we stand with the Crystal Empire.”

“But going to help the Crystal Empire directly is better and does more,” Wild nodded.

“Yeah, exactly!”

“It shows more so-li-da-ri-ty-” Wild inwardly cursed at the somewhat tongue-twister of a word that Equestrian ‘solidarity’ was “-if we put our... tongue where mouth is?” he furrowed his brows. That was not right.

“It’s ‘put your money where your mouth is’,” Artful said, then giggled a little, “Tongues going into mouths is a different thing, you know?”

Wild blushed at the unintended message he said when he messed up the saying. It wasn’t like he had anything against any tongue and mouth time with Artful, but that just wasn’t the topic at the moment. Besides, they were walking briskly towards the Ponyville Train Station, from which they would depart straight to the Crystal Empire, picking up more volunteers along the way. They would simply not have any real time for intimacy unless they were willing to do something risky, and Wild didn’t really want that. Some small kisses would do whenever appropriate and wanted. Though, the travel time was over a day, so perhaps they would have a cabin or something similar to rest in? Or would it simply be a row of bunk beds?

When they arrived at the train station, there were surprisingly few ponies waiting there. Wild glanced at the station clock and saw that it was still seven minutes before the train would arrive, so he wondered if more people would eventually show up. But even then, he had expected quite a bit more. However, if he thought about it, the amount he could see now made sense - it wasn’t like everyone could just drop everything they had been doing and rush to the aid of the Crystal Empire. Others had their own lives, and he was rather lucky not to have any real obligations. He didn't have a job that would have otherwise regularly taken his time nor did he have any schooling to deal with, after all.

Ponyville specifically didn’t have many residents in the first place even though it was a relatively big place. Wild estimated there was maybe five thousand ponies at most, and even then it felt like it was perhaps a third to a half of that number in actuality. Ponyville was, after all, a village, not a town or a city.

Wild and Artful settled down on one of the benches to wait. Both of them were well-rested, fed and watered, and were as ready as they could be for what was to come. Wild knew there would be a lot of help needed clearing up debris that had resulted in the aftermath of some streets and buildings collapsing, plus he could move other heavy or unwieldy objects in general. Artful would join the weather control pegasi to help with maintaining the proper climate, especially in the event that the weather shield of the city failed. He would also be carrying messages back and forth, up and down. Artful still wasn’t all that athletic, so it would certainly prove to be quite a challenge.

Wild could hear the distant rumbling as the train closed in on the station. A whistle sounded, reverberating in the surroundings. Soon enough, an announcement was made, and a surprisingly sleek steam train in whites and blues arrived. While it was still a steam train - a technology that had long been obsolete in Wild’s old world - it still made do. He made a mental note to talk to Luna about trains that worked from diesel and trains that had antenna-like things on top that hooked on powered wires to power the trains. While he didn’t know anything about how trains worked, he hoped that his ideas could at least help. Though, he imagined the powered wires hanging in the air would need to have some protection against random pegasi who didn’t pay much attention when flying, both to protect the railway and also prevent entirely avoidable deaths.

As the doors to the train opened, a conductor pony began to check everyone in. Wild noticed some three small ponies trying to sneak in, but the conductor wasn’t fooled.

“Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, what are the three of you doing here?” they asked, their voice stern, “I know for a fact that you did not receive permission for this.”

“But we want to help!” one of the three said, though Wild had no idea which. Whatever the case was, all three of them were radiating disappointment at having been caught.

“It’s understandable, but you have school and family obligations,” the conductor’s tone softened a bit, but didn’t allow any real give, “And there are many other ponies who are volunteering. Now, if you want to volunteer for something, there are other options that don’t include traveling so far up north.”

“Really? Where?”

“I think it’s best you all talk with your relatives,” the conductor replied.

The conversation continued, but Wild tuned it out as he got on the train. The trip would take about a day and a half of travel, so the train was equipped with small rooms Wild didn’t know the proper names of, and there would be lunch and dinner included. One of those cabins or compartments would be where Wild and Artful would stay for the duration of the trip, and it consisted of two beds with a small table between them at the window, plus luggage storage underneath the beds. The beds themselves could be folded out when the table was folded up and out of the way, and thus one large bed would then be formed. Small, but rather cozy, and it looked somewhat luxurious too. The train, he noticed, was rather long, so even with this relatively space-inefficient configuration, there would be plenty of space for everyone.

Wild and Artful each brought a book they wanted to read as well as a set of backgammon. It wasn’t a game Wild was all that familiar with, but he was willing to learn.

As they settled down on their beds, the train lurched into motion, then started picking up speed. Artful was setting up the backgammon set while explaining the rules. First was the board, which was also a case for the set where pieces - checkers, fifteen each of white and black colors - were stored, as well as a pair of dice. The board itself was composed of twenty-four triangles, half on top and half on the bottom, and the board was separated into four parts of six each. The checkers were moved clockwise and counter-clockwise depending on which side you were playing. Wild listened intently as Artful continued his explanation, but soon enough the two of them were playing. Wild rolled a higher number, so he would go first.

Time stretched as the two of them played, and Wild was getting into it. The game of backgammon wasn’t exactly impressive compared to video games he had played before, but it was still decent entertainment, especially since video games were not available and likely wouldn’t be available for a long time. Wild, if he were honest, could admit that he preferred activities where he could move. Perhaps he could call himself athletic after all, and swordsmanship was a sport with, technically, athletes. However, he didn’t think much about that. To him, having a healthy body was something he felt he needed, and a healthy body had to be strong and agile. It just so happened that perhaps Wild could see himself featured on a cover of some ‘athletic stallions’ magazine. He definitely had the looks to pull it off even if he was still somewhat convinced that his face wasn’t the greatest.

Those self-doubts, however, melted away soon when he won the game, and Artful rewarded him with a kiss. Wild blushed furiously, though he wasn’t all that sure why. The two of them had been intimate quite a number of times now, and receiving a small kiss wasn’t anything special... except, somehow, it was. Perhaps it was the entire atmosphere surrounding it or the fact that it wasn’t heavy on the intimacy side of things, but either way, it was something he cherished and treasured almost more than sex.

“I think,” Artful started to say, then a yawn interrupted him, “I think I’ll take a nap, alright?”

Wild nodded wordlessly, and the two gathered the backgammon pieces, put it all together, and stashed it away. Wild then took a more comfortable position while Artful joined him, and soon enough Artful was using his body as an improvised pillow. He wiggled around some more, sighed in contentment, and closed his eyes.

“Wake me up when it’s lunch, okay?” he murmured, and Wild let out a noise of assent. Soon enough, Artful’s breath slowed and his body relaxed further, and Wild smiled in response.

By then, the train had long been on the way, its pace nice and steady, now smoothly moving towards its next stop. From where Wild lay, he couldn’t make out more than the treetops some way away from the train, though soon Canterlot came into view as the train went into a curve. The weather was cloudy, and more clouds were gathered as weather pegasi pushed them together. Wild watched them, and as used as he was to the fact that weather had a schedule and not a forecast, seeing the weather changing manually like that never ceased to surprise him. It was still rather odd seeing clouds being moved by the pegasi, but it looked somewhat natural if he didn't think too much about it.

Some time later, the clouds finally burst with snow, sparse snowflakes slowly falling to the ground. Wild was now glad he was inside, enjoying the warmth of the interior of the train. He didn't really have to worry much about the cold on the account of his fur, but he still preferred his surroundings being nice and warm. It also annoyed him a bit when snow got all over the lower half of him when he walked, which eventually resulted in him having to dry his fur off.

One benefit of winter, though, was the fact that Artful had grown fluffy. Almost overnight, Artful became more voluminous and, Wild had to admit, quite a lot cuter too. Needless to say, he had grown to enjoy hugs even more than before. Artful was simply too soft to resist now.

Wild thought back on how much his life had changed ever since he came to this new world, where he now had his new... home, perhaps. He went from a lonely wreck to, as far as he could tell, a decently stable person overall. Not only that, but he had managed to find someone to be his partner, though he still didn’t know whether it would last beyond the next few months. He was cautiously optimistic, which did beat being pessimistic, but he wasn’t yet ready to be entirely optimistic instead of just cautiously.

Wild went from getting angry at touch, from fearing touch - or perhaps the first two things happened simultaneously - to enjoying it. He went from cringing at the thought of intimacy to craving it and actually doing it. It didn’t seem all that long when fear controlled him, but now he was, at least mostly, in control of that fear.

It was right to help the world that made him right. Even if he was still a mess, even if there were still obstacles he needed to overcome. So, it was time for him to repay, and that was exactly why he was on his way to the Crystal Empire despite the vague bad feeling about it that he had. Perhaps it wasn’t anything but a bit of paranoia or perhaps there was something to it. Whatever the case was, he would find out when he arrived at the Crystal Empire, which would be tomorrow morning at the earliest.

Wild knew that volunteer work likely would give him at least some helpful reputation that would assist him in the future once he was looking for long-term employment. While he suspected having as much magical power as he did would make finding a job, especially a well-paying one, quite a lot easier, he thought that it would be best not to assume. Things were going alright, of course, but they could always turn for the worse. Wild knew it very well. While his childhood wasn’t the best, it was still quite a lot better than what followed.

He shook those thoughts away. The past, he reminded himself, was in the past. He couldn’t change it. Even if he could travel back in time, he likely wouldn’t take the opportunity. He had to admit that he was much happier in Equestria, and that changing anything about his past for the better likely would prevent him from ever getting to Equestria again. However, he still remembered the place of his death, and perhaps if he died there again...

Whatever the case was, it would be for the best if he simply rejected any possible time travel opportunity. What he had now was going well, and he didn’t want to gamble it away for a vague possibility of a better life lived anew as a human. He already had his rebirth, and he would live with it.

Wild decided to distract himself from those thoughts by pulling out his book to read. In truth, it wasn’t his - it was on a loan from the library - but that didn’t matter to him much. He didn’t think he wanted to collect books, it would be easier to simply get them from libraries and then return them once he was done reading. This book in particular was fantasy about a world similar to Equestria but without the alicorns. It was about an alternate future stemming from something happening in the past of Equestria that resulted in seemingly random beings getting various uncommon and strong powers, and Wild definitely wondered where it would go. The title of the book was, oddly enough, Worm.

Wild readjusted his position slightly, smiled at Artful’s blissfully asleep face, then opened the book and started reading.