If the outside of the train is an amateurish and clumsy attempt to blend in with the other more brightly colored and cheerful cars, with green accents and embellishments but none of the other pastels, the inside is a naked admission that the designers think nothing like their pony compatriots. The cramped and oppressed feeling starts when Spike first boards, with a ceiling that would barely accommodate Princess Celestia’s tall stature, to say nothing of a claustrophobic pegasus who wants to hover. Small windows are set low on the walls, made more to withstand the brutal attack of a maulwurf than allow ponies to gaze outside.

The one other pony aboard, a stallion a similar coat color to Applejack, looks up from his thick tome that would be right at home in Twilight’s library. He pushes his glasses, which have fallen to the tip of his snout, up, then strokes his red-orange gangly beard.

“Ah,” he says with a mixture of recognition and glee wrapped in a pleasant ball. “You must be Spike.” He coughs, amending, “I mean, the Brave and Glorious Spike.”

“That’s ‘Emperor the Brave and Glorious Spike’,” Spike corrects with a self-deprecating upswing. He flashes the stallion a smile, who misses it and his jest completely.

“My mistake,” he says as he stiffens, though doesn’t seem too put out. “Emperor the Brave and Glorious Spike.” He offers a curt nod of his head, his glasses slipping down. “My name is Sunburst, senior chronicler at the Canterlot Archives.”

“Hi, Sunburst!” Spike drags his suitcase over to the pony, grimacing as he inspects the hard-backed chairs. Sunburst has a pillow under his barrel, as well as a blanket to keep his hooves from direct contact with the chilly metal. Nonetheless, he flashes the stallion his best smile. “I was just joking about the whole ‘Emperor’ thing.”

“Oh.” Sunburst frowns to himself, pushing up his glasses. “Does that mean you aren’t the Emperor?”

“No, I’m still the Emperor.” Spike scratches at the back of his head as he sets his suitcase down. “I just meant, you don’t have to call me ‘Emperor’.”

“Oh. I see.” Sunburst stares at Spike for long seconds, attention occasionally flickering to his book, a treatise on the Crystal Empire’s unique spellcrafting capabilities. His glasses fall down when he does, having to push them back up.

“...Awkward,” Spike mutters to himself. He doesn’t see a good way to back up without being overt about avoiding further interaction, so he plops down on the opposite seat. Any further embarrassment at jumpstarting a conversation is spared when the doors open and in steps a light gray stallion.

“Come on, Totem,” he orders, flicking a short cropped black mane that matches his sunglasses. A young dark red stallion, looking like he just earned his cutie mark, staggers in behind him, encumbered by stuffed saddlebags that balloon out from his sides. The older stallion heads towards Sunburst - nopony would rather sit alone when they can join their own - and glances at the cover of the book. “What’cha got there?” His eyes light up, as do Sunburst’s when he sees the stallion take an interest. “Research, eh?”

“Oh, yes,” Sunburst says, pivoting away from Spike to face the stallion. He holds up the cover. “Advanced Applications of Synthesized Crystal. Portions are quilled by Princess Celestia herseIf, modeling not only how to fabricate the material similar to those used by the Crystal Ponies but the differences between those she made and her observations on the crystals employed by King Sombra!” Sunburst takes a self-aggrandizing sniff, his glasses already slipping down again. “I brought it from the archives for a bit of light reading!”

“Light reading, eh?” The gray stallion holds up a hoof, which Sunburst hesitates before bumping. “Name’s Withers. Don’t suppose you’re a chap looking for a bit of work? Heard there might be a lot of opportunity up in the Frozen North for those willing to search! Locating, mining, refining, all sorts!”

“Yes, indeed!” Sunburst grins, shifting in his seat excitedly. “I’ve always felt a draw to the more theoretical applications. But the chance to see, maybe even literally, the cutting edge bite deeper? Like if you take a Equestrian grow-crystal matrix and integrate components fabricated using some of Sombra’s self-replicating techniques, then…”

Spike follows along as Sunburst details the first of probably many potential theories, his long nights studying with Twilight helping immensely, and if Withers fails he does an admirable job faking it. It starts to get old quickly, though, and he’s grateful when the beleaguered colt plops down next to him.

“Life of a support, eh?” Totem unloads his saddlebags with a smirk at Spike’s suitcase. “They get all the glory, and no one notices the five a‘ya working behind the scenes. What can ya do, you know?”

“Yeah,” Spike commiserates, having done his fair share of carrying materials for Twilight and then some. He frowns, a little surprised how quickly the pony acclimated to a dragon; most stay away, especially the younger ones. “I’m Spike.”

“Really? Where?” Piercing blue eyes make a show of looking over Spike’s body, failing to find any pointy edges. “Or do they just use you to spike drinks?”

“Hey!” Spike snorts. “That only happened once! Besides, you’d have to ask Twilight. Maybe she thought my frill would be, I don’t know, spikier?” He runs a claw through his green frill. His face lights up as he realizes, “Oh, wait, I got it! These!”

Totem nods, impressed, as eight long claws splay out. “Nice.” He holds up a hoof. “Could clock a guy with one of these, but it doesn’t have quite the same buck, ya know?”

Spike retracts his claws, sitting back, satisfied. His head tilts to the side curiously. “Is your name really Totem? Like, Totem Pole?”

“Nah, just Totem,” Totem replies as he stretches out his back. “But at least you know how to spell. Most of the others? They just go, ‘See those boxes? Tote ’em over here! Those books? Tote ‘em over there!’ That kind’o thing. Not that I mind. It’s fun, workin’ with me ‘da. Travel all ‘round the country, I does. Get to see lots of interesting folk.”

“Huh.” Spike scratches at his chin. “I’ve really only been to Canterlot and Ponyville.” He puffs his chest up, counting on his reputation to precede him. “And the Crystal Empire.”

“That’s cool!” Totem nods once, not breaking long enough for Spike to jut in.

The dragon deflates slightly at the lack of recognition. Part of him wants to point this out, that he is now Somepony Important. Yet another part is glad to have a connection, however temporary, to somepony around his age who isn’t dissuaded by his new position. Or, worse, only interested in him because of what he can offer them. He’s seen that happen far too many times in Canterlot, even as insulated as he was, when a noble treated their fellow unicorns magnanimous and their servants with disdain. He resolves not to do the same.

“It’ll be my first time.” Totem shrugs. “First time on a changeling-built train, too, but sure beats beatin’ it on hoof. The best way to travel, though? Airship. Me ‘da hates it, ‘cause he knows what happens if a pony falls off, but that ain’t ever stopped him before.”

“Oh, yeah?” Spike flicks a bit of dust off a claw. “I’ve been on a few airships myself, and I’ve never been scared!”

“Duh,” Totem deadpans. “You’ve got wings.”

Spike’s face goes briefly blank. “Oh,” he admits, a bit embarrassed at his obvious boasting.

“Not to say us earth ponies don’t have anything going for us!” Totem flexes a foreleg, Spike envious at the cord of muscle that bulges up. “Don’t know if we’d make it from all the way up in the clouds, but me ‘da says he’s heard of earth ponies who fell five stories an’ only broke a leg!”

“That happened to Big Mac!” Spike exclaims, briefly (but only briefly) drawing the attention of the two stallions. He continues, quieter, “It was around the time we moved to Ponyville. He leapt off this scaffold and broke his back leg. It was right before Applebuck season, so we all chipped in to help at the farm.”

“Longest week of his life, I bet,” Totem says with a smirk. “Ain’t done a lot of harvesting meself, growing up in Canterlot, but there’s a whole rack of ‘em I wouldn’t mind sending to the fields to feel an honest day’s work. Just to see what it’s like, the ingrates, burned out eyeballs from staring at Princess Celestia from up in their ivory towers. Closest they’ve ever been to a field is seen a picture in a book, ya know?”

“Err,” Spike stalls. He wants to defend Twilight, who spent a lot of her time in the Canterlot observatories. Except she, aside from running around the areas in Canterlot better termed gardens, gained most of her knowledge about what fields are like from books.

“Still, working chumps like us?” Totem grins, leaning back and relaxing against the hard-backed seat, seemingly impervious to the chilly metal that starts to bother Spike. “Somepony’s gotta do it.”

“Or somedragon,” Spike counters.

Totem chuckles to himself. “Yeah. Somedragon. Long as your flank isn’t draggin’, ya know?”

Spike glances at his flanks before he catches the double meaning. He flares his wings. “Not with these!”

The rest of the train ride passes quickly, the two swapping stories about their respective guardians and only occasionally testing their various strengths against each other. While Totem has him beat on brute strength, if only barely, the colt doesn’t have anything that can compete with his flame breath.

As they get close, Spike stares through the thick glass, only marginally impressed with the view from the train. It’s certainly better than when he walked to the sparkling city, but leaving on an airship sort of spoiled things for him. Especially now that he has wings and can repeat the aerial view! The incredible perspective, seeing things from a different angle - actually, an angle much like the one from the Crystal Castle itself. He points out a few of the landmarks, and Totem lights up when they mention the library. It makes Spike chuckle, thinking back to Twilight’s advice when entering a new place. ‘Always find a librarian!’

An armored guard assists Sunburst off the train, a medium blue stallion with a cutie mark of a historic guard helmet. Actually, because he’s now in the Crystal Empire, it’s not historic; it’s just the style of their helmets, with a fancy plume that sticks out twice as far as the Equestrian variety and a longer bevor covering the neck. A bit more angular, too, much like the buildings all around him, emphasizing the crystal from which they are hewn.

Totem hops off the train with a bit of a smirk, carrying his heavy load of books and other supplies. He waits while Sunburst and Withers trot off to the library, neither really noticing that he is lagging behind.

The armored guard bows low as soon as Spike leaves the train. “Greetings, Spike the Brave and Glorious,” he announces loudly. A dozen nearby crystal ponies drop what they are doing to hurry over, excitedly chattering about the new arrival. “And welcome to the Crystal Empire! Would you like an escort to the Crystal Castle?”

“Hey,” Spike says to Totem. “This might take a while. Meet you in the library later?”

“Sure thing,” Totem says with a quick nod goodbye. “Catch ya later!” He trots off after Withers and Sunburst, disappearing into the crowd.

Next Chapter: Ch. 66 - Emperor's Mastery, Part Three Estimated time remaining: 21 Hours, 28 Minutes