Chapters The asynchronous chug of the Appaloosa 4-4-0 steamer was thick in the cool night air as it hissed to itself in the siding, parked away from the double tracks that led away from Appaloosa’s one and only train station.
Once the needles went still and he saw everything was good, Ashpan finally took a moment to relax as he set the brakes. The first since he started his shift.
It had been busy day.
The long shift was always the toughest, in the engineer's mind. He had rumbled in a few minutes ago after a long haul from Manehattan, some kind of goods delivery that his tired mind could really dredge up any facts about. A haul that took at least 14 hours of nonstop work on his part, even with the support crew. Now, he was alone. Having shunted the locomotive off the mainline, the support crew had long since left, with drowsy and dull ‘Good nights’ being thrown in his direction before they were gone.
Where a bed was.
Where his bed was.
He checked the clock that was kept in the cab. 8:30 p.m. The other coalpony and driver weren’t going to be here until 9 o clock. Might as well nod off.
So, with one more shovel of coal into the fire to warm up the firebox a little more and a heavy head, he leaned up against the side of cab and closed his eyes…
“Wooo-ee! Nice to see yer back, Ashpan!”
…and immediately flopped out and onto the ground with a yelp.
"Braeburn." He growled, glaring at the tan earth pony.
"You okay?" Braeburn asked, his voice several degrees over the cheery limit Ashpan had just now set.
"I'm fine." The engineer picked himself up and dusted himself off with a hoof and grumbled in annoyance. Now he was going to have to take that bath, maybe just fall asleep in the tub. "What are you doing out here?"
"Well, ah came tuh see my best friend." Braeburn responded with a wink. "Thought yuh could use the company."
Ashpan rolled his eyes. "Well, I was just about to get some shut-eye before you showed up."
"Ah'm sorry. Didn't mean to wake yuh none."
"Yeah, right." With an annoyed snort, Ashpan pulled himself back into the cab. "Thought you were busy at the farm."
Braeburn gave him a confused look. "Yuh do know that it's night time, right?"
The engineer responded with a flat look of his own. "I mean, shouldn't you be in bed right now? Applebucking season is still going, right?"
The tan earth pony rolled his eyes and chuckled. "Nope, the buffalo decided to help us this year. Cleared all 75 acres today. I got the rest of the season free."
"I thought the buffalo were staying away from the crops?"
"Well, we worked out an agr-"
Whatever else Braeburn was about to say was cut off as a red Pegasus with a stopwatch cutie mark winged down out of the sky, landing right next to the locomotive. "In Time? What are you...?" Ashpan faded as he noticed the urgency, almost fear in her eyes. Not to mention her panting as if she had just tried to take on the Wonderbolts on in a race. Now the white earth pony had worked this line for years, In Time even longer as a conductor, and this was the first time he had ever seen the 20 year veteran shaken up.
"We've got an unmanned train on the mainline."
His stomach dropped from his barrel. Empty locomotives were a rare occurrence but serious occurrence that could cause untold amounts of bits in damage, especially if they derailed. The next question meant the difference between panicking or preparing for a disaster. "Coaster or under power?"
"T-hat's just I-I-I-it." In Time took a shakey breath that steadied her voice considerably. "Rail Authority doesn't know."
"Doesn't know?" Okay, just those two words coming from In Time was both terrifying and confusing. Even Braeburn seemed to pale a bit. "It's a steam engine, either it's under power or not."
"Yeah, Ma'm," Braeburn agreed. "That don't rightly make sense."
"You think I don't know that?" In Time hissed in exasperation. "All I know is that Signal Control got a telegram to halt all opposing traffic on the mainline. When I pressed for details all they said was that it was coming our way."
Ashpan frowned, with a quick look up the line the signals were indeed red. "What about air protocol?" He knew that asking such a thing was obvious, if a train was without a driver the very first thing that would be attempted would be to have a Pegasus with engineering experience fly and land in the cab and hit the brakes.
"Like I said, no details. Just that we should see it any..." The Pegasus stopped short and it took less than a second for Ashpan to realize why.
He felt it before he saw it, a vibration that came up through his locomotive, right into his cab and through his hooves. In unison he saw both Braeburn and In Time turn their gazes to the double tracks that were next to the siding. He followed their line of sight up the tracks.
A set of lights pierced through the darkness and as the lights got closer, the vibration got more violent to the point he had to clench his jaw for fear of the vibration rattling his teeth loose. A rumble began to shake the stones under the tracks and Ashpan asked himself what in Celestia's name was coming.
His question was answered less than a second later. By Celestia, it was huge. To simply call what he was seeing just a locomotive would have been like calling his teeth just necessary for chewing. An understatement at best. It was bigger than any locomotive he had ever seen before in it's life, a huge grey/black giant of a machine with every single driving wheel chugging violently.
He could feel each rotation of it's wheels pound his eardrums and vibrate through every single joint. Each chug was an impact to the ground, each puff of smoke from it's stack was blacker than the night sky, as it roared past the siding and the station right after it. Even his locomotive rocked with the violent power that was being transmitted through the rails
Soon, far too soon, even it's coaches had passed, light glowing from their windows like fire in the distance.
Then it was silent. In Time was the first to speak, knocking Ashpan from his shock. She rounded on Braeburn. "You!"
The shellshocked earth pony jumped, not even noticing that his hat had been blown clean off. "M-uh...Me?!"
"Yes. You. Get to the signal house and tell them to throw the switch for siding number five!" She barked. "Hurry!!"
Braeburn hesitated for as long as it took for In Time to aim a sharp glare at him before he galloped off.
Ashpan watched, shocked as the pegasus then climbed into his cab, grabbed the shovel, opened the firebox, and began to dump coal into the still glowing hot embers. "What are you doing?"
In Time did stop shoveling coal to answer. "I'm about to kick your flank off this steamer if you don't get it moving right now."
Ashpan was familiar with that tone. Having worked with the Pegasus for years he knew when she was serious, there was that unwavering determination and a complete righteousness that she ingrained in her voice at certain times. This was one of those times. He knew what she planned to do. Her unspoken plan.
Run that monster down.
There was a metallic clink and Ashpan looked out of the cab. The points connecting the siding to the mainline had changed. Looks like Braeburn came through.
Without a moment of hesitation, he threw the regulator in full forward and slowly pushed the throttle. Slowly the locomotive began to move on to the mainline.
"Why are we going after that train?" Ashpan began, opening the throttle up a little more as the small steamer began to pick up speed. "Shouldn't we, you know, keep the track clear?"
In Time put one last shovel of coal in the firebox before shutting it. "Because we might have a chance to stop that...monster before it derails." She checked the gauges before turning to face him. "If we catch it before the incline."
Ashpan thought for a moment as the locomotive rumbled around them. Indeed there was an incline, that most trains were slow to climb but that...thing wasn't just train. "Do you really think a 4% grade will slow it down enough?"
"No. I'm just hoping it does because, if it doesn't, imagine what will happen when it hits the downgrade."
"Great." Ashpan mumbled as he open the throttle wide.
Author's Note
This is just something I wrote down in about an hour or two. Don't take it too seriously. I sure didn't.
"Can this thing go any faster?"
"In case you haven't noticed this ain't the Crystal Express." Ashpan snapped as he threw on the sander. Hopefully what they used to provide grip druing icy weather could give them that little extra push. "She was build for freight not speed."
While it wasn't easy for Ashpan to keep up his duties on a less than 10 second nap, it was clear to him that the strain was even worse on the locomotive. Every chug of the four driving wheels seemed to cause an unsettling pop or hiss or rattle that he hadn't heard before tonight. It was clear to him that they were putting her under the most tenuous strain of her long service and he would be the first to admit he was worried. This engine wasn't designed for this kind of speed and if even one thing malfunctioned the result would be disastrous.
Yet in In Time's case she hadn't slowed down even for a moment. She went from shoveling coal to checking the gauges to twisting whatever lever, valve, or knob on the backhead Ash told her to in order to keep their own engine from turning into a highspeed bomb on them.
Slowly, ever so slowly, the began to gain some ground. The smoke trail was getting thicker the longer they went and soon the horizon in front of them was a little less barren every time Ashpan looked out for a glance. "Alright, we're gaining. What's the plan?"
"Shlimple." In Time slurred through the shovel in her mouth. She spit the coal coated shaft of wood out of her mouth, teeth blackened from the dust. "Simple," She repeated, leaning out of the cab to catch a glance at the monster of a train ahead. "Since we're on a adjacent track, you're going to get along side that engine's cab and I'll fly across and shut on it's brakes."
Ashpan nodded. It was a risky plan and if anyone knew this, it was In Time. A simple jump between trains was hard enough when they were not pushing...The earth pony checked the speed and felt his insides twist a little at the needle pushing against the gauge limits. "You can't! We're going 45. The wind resistance alone will throw you like a ragdoll!" He may not have been a Pegasus but he didn't have to be to know that the air pressure between two locomotives would be insane at 30 mph. They were going 15 miles faster with the air being ripped up in Celestia knows how many ways by that larger monolith of an engine. It was the reason pegasi flew in from above.
"I don't have much a choice, you and I know that that uphill grade won't last long." She said firmly. "We've got less than a mile, at most before it hits that long downgrade and Luna knows how we would stop it then."
The thought of letting In Time make leap of faith with the odds against her, left a bad taste in Ashpan's mouth. He didn't like it but he was sure the pegasus next to him liked it even less. Running a hoof through her white mane which was now thoroughly smudged with coal dust, she went back to shoveling.
The wheels squealed as their grip was pushed to the maximum as they finally caught the first passenger carriage. One by one they passed twelve carriages before they reached past the locomotive's tender almost at the exact same time both trains reached the grade.
The difference in power was immediate. The other train continued to plow on while they began to lose ground again.Other engine seemed to roar in a predatory manner, rumbling and nipping at the mere fractions of yards separated them, making the steamer's own sound like fearful whimpers in comparison.
"Ponyfeathers!" Ashpan cursed as the smaller steamer swayed and lurched with each chug from the larger locomotive. It was as if the giant was trying to blow them off the rails from sheer force alone. The sounds that had made the earth pony nervous had grown more frequent. Too frequent. "If you're going to do it, do it now!" He shouted above all the noise.
In Time nodded and spread her wings. Ashpan watched as she positioned herself carefully and his breath caught as she jumped.
For a moment, a single horrifying moment, In Time tipped awkwardly as the air caught under her wings and he was sure the next thing he would see would be her being sucked out of sight.
With a single pump of her wings, she straightened out and landed in the locomotive's cab. She turned to face him from across the space, eyes practically glowing.
We did it. She seemed to say.
However their victory was short lived.
Ashpan was nearly thrown into the backhead as a metallic agonized wail sounded, bringing all his thoughts to a standstill. For a second, he was sure they had just jumped the tracks that was until he noticed the orange glow coming from the outside. He hadn't heard In Time scream, just noise as something in the engine ripped from the inside with a loud KER-POW . He righted himself and watched as the everything on the backhead began to physically move, a number of connections were strained to the breaking point. One by one there were various twangs and pops and horrific tearing sounds, smoke billowed out the firebox. He jerked out of the way of the cloud and put his head out of the cab, towards the other locomotive, somehow the dangerously overstrained steamer still keeping pace, and saw a the pegasus' hoof stretched out towards him.
Her mouth was moving, he couldn't hear it but he could read her lips well enough. "JUMP!"
He didn't hesitate. As the orange glow got brighter he kicked off his cab platform and jumped towards her. The air whipped around him and his heart leap into his throat as he felt gravity slowly begin to drag in down.
"Got ya!" In Time shouted as their hooves came together. With a swift yank, Ashpan was pulled inside the monstrous locomotive's cab. The orange glow turned yellow and he turned around just in time to see the steamer, his steamer, burst into flame.
Cab, boiler and all.
With a painful screech the locomotive dropped out of sight.
Both he and In Time heard the derailment further down the tracks.
"I swear, I'm taking all my vactation days and sick days off when this is over." He finally said, adrenaline probably being the only reason why he was still standing right now.
"I'll be there right next to you. I hear the beaches on the southern griffon border are nice this time of year." In Time chuckled, turning to the backhead. "Okay, now how do we stop this thing?"
Ashpan turned to the controls and, not for the first time since this whole ordeal started, balked. The backhead, the cab, everything in here was huge. Most of the controls were far out of his reach as if this thing had be designed by a minotaur or something. "I don't know."
In Time leaned out of the cab. "Better figure it out fast. The peak's coming."
No way, not this soon. He looked out with her and there it was. The sudden absent sight of a horizon, just a bit of sky that was getting closer and closer.
Quickly, he ran some scenarios through his head. "Okay, we're going to have to ride this out to Ponyville junction."
"What? Are you crazy? That's a five hour trip away." In Time responded. Yeah, he probably was. "We need to stop this train and reverse it to Appaloosa."
"Look, we need to clear the mainline as soon as possible," he explained. "And I for one, don't know how to slow this thing down, I need time to figure it out. Plus we can't go back there might be wreckage on the tracks for all we know."
In Time looked ready to argue before her frown faltered and twisted into a grimace just before she brought a hoof to her face. "I hope you know what you're doing."
Ashpan looked over the wall-like backhead. "So do I."
It was morning in Ponyville. Celestia's sun was glowing brilliantly and Twilight was cooking for once, much to her assistant's delight. The purple alicorn would be the first to admit that she wasn't the best when it came to working in the kitchen. In fact, if she was absolutely honest her attempts at preparing food had resulted in some...unique experiences.
Her mother still wouldn't let her help cook Hearth's Warming dinner, new wings or no. But after Golden Oaks destruction and the subsequent discovery of a fully stocked kitchen in the new Friendship Castle, she had taken it upon herself to learn. She could only go out for hayburgers for so long before she got sick of them. She had to learn how to cook, not only because she wanted to, but because she needed to.
And learning meant experimentation.
And experimentation meant mistakes.
A lot of mistakes.
Mistakes led to messes that lasted for days.
Ones that even Spike refused to help clean up.
This morning however was not one of those days.
Her horn glowed as cooking utensils and food flew in between appliances. Every move she made with her magic was not wasted, gliding from pan to the preservation cooler to the counter, chopping, frying and baking. So much finesse with just the right amount of direction, and she was humming a tune the whole time while she did it.
"Wow." Spike's voice came from the doorway leading into the kitchen.
Twilight didn't even skip a beat. "Spike, good to see you're up. Take a seat at the table. I'll have something done in a few."
"All that, uh, practice seems to be paying off, huh?"
"I would hope so She paused to sprinkled salt on the creation in the pan, mixed it then took a small taste from the end of the spoon. “Good,” she mumbled to herself and then reaching over the counter with her magic pulled out a pot and started to boil the carrots. "You can only mess up as many times as it takes to improve."
"Hopefully, its better than yesterdays improvement." The green dragon shuddered, adding under his breath. "I didn't think it was possible to burn gems like that."
Twilight pretended not to hear that last part, pulling down a pair of plates from the cupboard overhead. She laid a single serving on each plate and set one on Spike's side of the table before taking a seat on her side.
"You take the first bite." was the first thing out of the dragon's mouth.
"Oh, come on, Spike. It was only one time."
"Yeah and my stomach still has a restraining order on me for the abuse."
Twilight was about to say something else when several loud knocks came from down stairs. Before Twilight could even stand up something shockingly black pony flew in through the window. "Twilight! We got trouble!" She recognized the voice and slight patches of blue all at once.
"R-Rainbow?" She asked, uncertain if her eyes were playing tricks on her. She knew the pegasus normally didn't care much for her appearance but she never would be caught dead looking like this. "What happened?"
"Some metal monster just blew my cloud house apart, that's what happened!" Dash growled. "It's in the station now."
Twilight gave her friend an incredulous look. "Do you mean a train blew your house apart?"
"I would hardly call it that."
The alicorn sighed. So much for breakfast. "Spike get on my back." She then turned back to Rainbow. "Show me."
Author's Note
You know I was kinda stuck between choosing an A4 Pacific over the Big Boy but then I asked myself, which would be more terrifying going full speed down Equestria's rails. Hand's down the Big Boy.
When you truly think about it, it looks like a monster compared to most other locomotive designs. It's ugly, utilitarian, grey, and dirty. An A4 looks sleek, beautiful, luxurious, and clean.
I mean which would you rather see speeding into town with passenger carriages?
This:
When Twilight flew out the window alongside Rainbow Dash, she immediately saw the smoke before anything else.
It was hard not to. On such a beautiful day smoke stood out and this particular trail was blacker that the angriest raincloud. If her homes was hit by that...no wonder her pegasus friend was so dirty. It reminded her far too much of that dragon's smoke from so long ago. The effect it had on Ponyville as a whole was apparent. As she flew she could make out the moving colors of the townsponies slowly making their way in it's direction.
"Come on." Rainbow Dash urged. It was unneeded though. Twilight beat her wings a little bit harder the closer they got, her mind running through a list of possibilities of what Rainbow could have meant by 'Monster' . Were they going to need the Tree of Harmony? What could make smoke like that? It wasn't a dragon, was it? Was it dan-
Her mind froze when they reached the train station.
"Woah." She heard Spike breathe.
'Woah' was right. Twilght was sure her jaw came unhinged.
It was huge. Twelve long passenger carriages trailed behind giant of a locomotive that had to be three times longer than any locomotive she had ever seen. It was longer than even the station, obscenely tucked away along the platform as if it was trying to hide from the rest of the world and doing poorly at it. That was not even mentioning it's color or lack thereof. The only time she had ever seen such a monochromatic coloring scheme for anything was the engine that had broken down on the first trip to Appaloosa she had ever made with her friends and even then she was sure it got some paint job done the last time she was there.
Together with Rainbow, she swooped down to the platform, and realized it was even bigger up close. It just towered over her, a single one of it's larger wheels had to be more than half the size of a adult pony. She idly realized that only the two of them had gotten close, everypony else who congregated to the station stayed a good distance back, almost forming a perimeter. An air of nervous fear thickened, nopony making so much as a whisper. No one was panicking.
Yet.
The only sound was the locomotive's constant hissing, groaning, and other various noises. Twilight examined it closely, walking along the massive drive wheels until she came across the name and number on the locomotive's tender. "Union Pacific 4014." She read to herself. She continued, past the tender and to the first coach and saw, pinned to it's side, a banner which read:
Union Pacific 4014 "Big Boy" Inaugural Reconstructed Transcontinental Run
What did that mean?
"Landsakes, Twi." A familiar country twang called from her side. The alicorn looked to see an orange earth pony making her way through the crowd. "What kinda train is that?"
"Applejack! What are you doing here?"
"Well, Ah saw the smoke an' thought the town was on fire." She explained, before motioning to the train. "Didn't expect to see this thing here."
"Yeah, speaking of," Rainbow scratched her head with her hoof, turning to look at Twilight as if she had answers to everything. "Where did this train com fro--WHOA!"
With a sharp WOOSH , a smelly could of steam shot from it's wheels and rolled over the station, causing everyone but Twilight to jump back.
"Crud that stinks!" Rainbow Dash choked out, pinching her snout.
"Tell me about it." Spike coughed.
Applejack said nothing, only pulling off her hat and fanning away the steam.
"Sorry about that." A voice came from somewhere. No, not somewhere, from the locomotive. Twilight looked up and and noticed movement from the cab.
The head of a white earth pony, face splotched with coal dust leaned out of the cab. "Still don't know how to work it yet."
Twilight was about to ask him what exactly did he mean by that when his body began to shrug. He tipped to the side, then completely pitched forward out of the cab. She instinctively reached out with her magic to catch him only to be beaten by a red Pegasus diving out of the same cab afyer him. The mare caught him in her forelegs and with a few quick beats of her wings landed softly to the ground.
Twilight galloped over. "Is he okay?"
The mare shook her head. "Hasn't had any sleep. Been up all night trying the get his thing here. Might need a doctor."
"Best to not move him, just in case." Twilight turned to Rainbow who already had her wings spread. "Dash, I need you to get Doctor Stable from the hospital and bring him here. Oh, and get the rest of the girls while you're at it."
"On it." She said, taking off.
"Don't worry, Rainbow is the fastest here. She'll get the doctor here in no time." Twilight said to the mare before glancing at the monolith they had been occupying. "While she doing that though, I have a few questions for you."
"Really?" The question was hissed like a curse as the red pegasus frowned, obviously not in the mood.
Twilight mentally recoiled a little at the harshness of the mare's glare but quickly steeled herself, her desire for information trumping her discomfort. "I'm sorry but some questions need to be addressed while we're here and you're the only one at the moment who can answer them."
Applejack approached from the side put a hoof on her shoulder. Both the orange mare and her knew that she was probably being very insensitive right now. "Twi, this probably isn't the time fer th-"
"You're right. It isn't." The pegasus snapped. "Ashpan is out cold and you think it's the time for a questionnaire?"
"Listen, I'm sorry." Twilight apologized. "But according to my friend that thing just showed up out of nowhere and blew her cloud home out of the sky." She said, making a vague motion towards the locomotive.
While the pegasus didn't show it on her face, Twilight didn't miss the way her eyes widened at her declaration. After a moment, her sharp gaze softened a bit and she sighed. "No, I'm sorry. It's been a long night and I have coal in places I don't want it. Just..." She took in a deep breath. "Be quick, okay?"
"I will." Twilight agreed. "First, what's your name?"
"In Time. Conductor of the Appaloosa branch of CU & Baltimare rail line." The Pegasus said with a salute. "You?"
"Princess Twilight Sparkle, Bearer of the Element of Magic."
Again, it surprise didn't show on her face but in her eyes. "So, you're the one who saved the world, huh?"
"Well, I couldn't have done it without my friends." Twilight said, with an almost bashful wave. "Now to address the elephant in the room, or on the rails in this case, what kind of train is that and where did it come from?"
In Time sighed once more before sitting, turning her tired gaze towards the locomotive. "You might want to get comfortable, your majesty. This is going to be a long story."
Under most circumstances, sleep was something easy for Princess Celestia to achieve, and even easier to keep. It wasn't that she needed it in order to survive by any means. It was just one of those simple pleasures in her long life that she refused to get rid of, much like sweets and playing the innocent prank every so often. It made her feel normal, more a part of her nation's society than apart from it. For those few hours that she had her head connected with one of her many pillows she was free of the pressures of her rule, free of responsibility, free of the annoyances that the nobles houses bothered her with every day. It was those nights that provided her the calm, pleasant, and motherly constitution that she wore on a daily basis.
It was to bad last night wasn't one of them.
The night before hadn't been pleasant for her. Her rest hadn't been all that restful and she couldn't figure out why. Even reviewing the night over and over in her mind hadn't provided an answer to it. The closest she could find to one was that last night hadn't felt...right and even then the feeling was vague at best. It hadn't been a sense of dread that kept her up or anything of the like.
Whatever the reason, the fact remained that she, Celestia, Diarch of Equestria, Alicorn immortal, had not gotten any sleep last night...
...and she hadn't realized just how much her mood relied on her rests.
From almost incessant questions from her sister at breakfast if she was okay, to the way that nopony, not even her guard, could look her in the eye for longer than a few seconds, it had slowly become apparent to her that today wasn't one of her better days. A day that quickly got worse Daycourt opened. She could deal with the reasonable requests like anypony, it was only when her time was wasted by nobles complaining about something or the other that was banal and unimportant that she found her already lit short fuse for the day being snipped a little bit shorter with each pony that came.
"Hey, Celly!"
So when Discord, with no warning mind you, happened to poof next to her throne in the middle of another noble's proposal she...overreacted. Granted it put a stop to Candy Floss' boring to tears petition to demolish a school in order to build some kind of home in its place. It also shattered one of the stain glass windows closest to her throne and made even the guards at it's base jump.
"WHAT?!?!"
Discord, to his credit, didn't react to her violent Royal Canterlot Voice beyond his usual snark. "Ooooo, Catty." He said turning his paw into a tiny kitten, which immediately turn to it's owner and clawed him in the face with a loud yowl before hopping to the floor and running out the throne room.
"NO! Catty!!" The draconequus cried then heaved a sad sigh as the cat got out of sight. "I loose most that way." With a flash of his magic, a glass of water appeared in the air and began pouring over his stump. "So, I take it this is a bad time?"
Celestia allowed herself a few moments to properly compose herself. It was uncanny how he could pop up at just the wrong moment. By the time she spoke, Discord's paw had grown back in like a tree and was currently perched under his chin while his talon spun a pen in between it's fingers and...Where did the note pad come from? Oh, this was going to be a long conversation.
"Discord." She said, through a tightlipped smile. "What are you doing here?"
"Well, a little this and a little that." He said, waving his paw in the air as that was an adequate explanation.
She noticed a familiar glint in the spirit of Chaos' eyes and her tone quickly took a sharp edge. "What are you up to, Discord?"
"Moi!" Discord gasped putting 5 pairs of paws over his chest. "I'm wounded, Celestia. I've been reformed twice over and forgiven for my actions. Why would I want to risk that again?"
Celestia's flat look broadcasted exactly what she thought.
"Fine!" Discord harrumphed, snapping his fingers. A wooden door appeared along the carpet and the draconequus marched to it in much the same way a foal would defiantly go to bed. "I guess, you don't want to know what appeared in Ponyville today."
That got Celestia's attention. "Wait, what?"
"Too late." Discord cackled, snatching open the door and jumping through it. In a flash, the door disappeared, replacing the air it occupied with questions in the white alicorn's mind.
What was in Ponyville right now that would have Discord come here to...
Suddenly, there was a small pop like a fire cracker and a scroll with a recognizable wax symbol appeared at her hooves. A letter from Twilight couldn't have come at a better time.
Picking it up in her magic, she unrolled it and began to read.
Dear Princess Celestia, I know it has been awhile since my last letter and while I wish this could be about what has happened over here the last few weeks while trying to adjust to have the castle pretty much to Spike and myself, the urgency of the current situation has taken priority. This morning my breakfast was interrupted by Rainbow Dash, covered in soot by the way, telling me that a train that just rolled into town blew apart her cloudhome. She led me to the train station and there was, is a train unlike one I've ever seen in my life in the station now and it's huge. Twelve cars that look to carry passengers and a behemoth of a locomotive. If the smoke is any indication, then I believe Rainbow's statement about her house. The design of the locomotive alone is... could it have been designed by Anyway, it was driven here by two ponies, a white earth pony stallion named Ashpan, who is currently in Ponyville General after collapsing from exhaustion and a red Pegasus mare named In Time both of whom work for the Applaoosa branch of Celestial Union and Baltimare Railroad company. From the statement I collected from In Time, she was able to give me a brief description of events that led to the arrival of this train. At 9:06 last night, In Time, conductor of Appaloosa Station, received a urgent telegram from a signal box operator further up the line to halt all mainline traffic and clear the rails. According to her, when she pressed for details for why, she was told that there was an unmanned locomotive heading towards Appaloosa. She immediately made sure the lines were clear before warning Ashpan before the runaway was seen. It passed by in excess of 45 mph. The runaway train is indeed the locomotive in the station. Both, Ashpan and In Time went after it and managed to catch up. However in the process the locomotive they used derailed preventing them from simply stopping the train in the middle of nowhere. In Time, with Ashpan's instruction, helped operate the train to get it into Ponyville junction to bring it to a safe stop.
Now, I've studied a little about railroad emergency operations and the first thing I learned was that if something like that happens, the company will usually have a pegasus drop in from above and bring it under control. When I asked her why this didn't happen she said she had no idea why this wasn't done. So either this was gross incompetence on the Rail Authority's part or somehow this train managed to get very far before anyone noticed it, which I doubt. Also, there is the issue of where this thing came from. It has 'Union Pacific' on it's tender along with the numbers "4014' but beyond the Union part the rest is a complete mystery. I've never heard of the other word. Maybe a name or another type of Not to mention that In Time, who is a going on twenty year veteran of the rails has never seen nor heard of this type of locomotive.
Simply put, I have no idea what I'm looking at and your help would be greatly appreciated.
Your student fellow Princess Twilight Sparkle
Celestia read the letter at least three times before she could truly understand it. A train? That's what appeared in Ponyville? No, It was more than that. It was a train that nopony had ever seen before, not even Twilight. These thoughts and many others were flying through her mind at a mile a second. If this really was the case then she had to make sure this train wasn't a danger.
"Guards." She said to get the attention of the one's at the base of her throne.
"Yes, your Majesty?"
"Prepare my carriage for a trip to Ponyville immediately." She ordered. "And send a contingent of day and night guards to bar access from a train currently in Ponyville station. By my royal decree, nopony is to be allowed near it until it is deemed safe."
"Understood, your Majesty." The guard responded and marched out of the room, stepping around Noblemare Candy Floss' unconscious body who still hadn't woken up from the shock of Celestia's outburst.
"And can someone please get this poor dear home?" Celestia added.
Author's Note
When you really think about it Big Boy Locomotives really do deserve the King of the Rails title.
Anyway, please like and comment and subcri-Actually, that's youtube, right?
Well, like and comment at least. I wanna know how I'm doing for my readers.
There is a known behavior among academics. A certain term that explains certain behaviors in the society of Equestria.
The term is “herd sense” and it has to do with the fact that ponies are, at their very core, still herd and social animals. Something that’s theorized to be an evolutionary carryover from Prehistoric ponies developing a sense of a potential yet unseen threat. In modern, Equestria though it rarely comes into resurgence considering the progress of the nation as a whole.
When everything is going right, that is.
As long as things keep going fine, ponies will cheerfully go about their day without any problems. It is only when an unknown is thrown into the mix do things quickly change. Even if a pony couldn't tell exactly what was setting off a warning in the back of their head, they would know that something, somewhere was not quite right. That a potential threat needed to be gauged.
Combine that with the gossip mill that was Ponyville and the huge column of smoke that could be seen clear from the Everfree then it was no surprise that the station was nearly all but swarmed. Pegasi hovered high above, some making seats in the clouds above the station. Earth ponies and unicorns alike pressed around the station in a semi-circle around the station, nearly making it impossible for the doctor and his nurses to get through to take Ashpan to the hospital.
In short, it had taken no time at all for the rest of the elements of harmony to gather at the station without Rainbow Dash needing to stop by their homes. The six of them were the only ones close to the giant of a locomotive, the rest of the town barely approaching the platform, even the pegasi in their hastily created cloud seats had circler border set around column of smoke coming from it's stack with one of them ever so often reaching out and swiping a hoof through the smoke.
Every one of them had a different opinion of the train and out of all them Rarity seemed to have the strongest one.
"The way Sweetie Bell was going on about it, I thought we would be facing down a dragon." She remarked with a curled lip as if she wanted nothing better to do that to give it a new coat of paint. "It certainly is ugly as one."
Twilight gave a hard cough to catch Rarity's attention before motioning to a visibly devastated Spike. The fashionista blanched and was quick to correct her words, making her way over to the baby dragon and nuzzling him. "I mean the very rude ones, Spikey-wikey. Don't worry yourself besides you're too cute."
The alicorn as well as the others have a unified sigh of relief as Spike visibly perked up. That last thing anyone wanted was Spike's little crush on the unicorn to be ruined over a misunderstanding. "Really? You think I'm cute?"
"As a button." Rarity said with a wink.
The baby dragon blushed and began to kick at nothing on the platform, mumbling under his breath.
Applejack snorted. "It ain't a looker but it certainly seems powerful. I mean, look at them wheels. Big as Princess Celestia, I'll bet."
"You're right about it being powerful, Applejack." Twilight said from behind the dictionary she had quickly gotten from the castle. For the love of...She was looking up and down the P's and this word 'Pacific' wasn't there. Paciest and Pacifist but no Pacific. With a huff of irritation as that mystery eluded her, she snapped the book shut and turned to Applejack. "If what In Time told me was correct, then this locomotive pulled that entire train uphill without loosing much speed. It isn't surprising, if anything it's completely utilitarian in design."
Rarity trotted along it's length, her critical eye taking in it's form as a whole. "Still wherever this...train came from you'd think they would go for some other color than black and grey. The whole scheme is rather drab in my opinion." She said, looking down at the rest of the train. "Thank goodness the coaches have at least some color."
"Speaking of where it came from," Rainbow Dash cut in. "You figure out where this thing came from, Twilight?"
"No. I haven't." The alicorn said with a sigh. "I'm still trying to figure out what some of the words on it's tender means."
Rainbow Dash gave her a confused look. "Really. I thought you were the biggest eggheadian this side of Equestria. Surely you of all ponies would know were this thing came from."
"Firstly, that is not even a real word." Twilight replied with a frown. "Secondly, I don't know everything. This," she motioned with a hoof at the locomotive, "is a complete unknown. Until Celestia and the Rail Authority arrive I have no clue where it came from."
Slowly, Rainbow Dash's face bloomed in excitement as she came to some kind of realization. "I know! This is a lost train like in Daring Do and The Ghost of The Railway. It's probably come from Tartarus to curse our very souls." Then she thought about what she said. "No, wait. That's bad."
At the mention of 'ghost' Fluttershy, who had been completely silent up to this point, whimpered a little and backed away from the platform slightly. "I-is that possible?"
"Of course not silly-billy." Pinkie Pie giggled from her spot next to the wheels as she tried and failed to jump up to the cab. "4014 is no ghostie, otherwise he wouldn't have brought two new ponies to Ponyville. Speaking of, I got three new parties to plan before the day is out."
"Pinkie, stop that." Twilight said as the party pony geared herself up for another try. "We don't know if it's safe or not."
The pink earth pony stopped in mid-jump, literally. She hovered in the air a split-second before landing on her hooves looking thoroughly disappointed. "Aw."
With a satisfied nod, Twilight turned to the blue pegasus. "And I don't think they have trains in the underworld."
"Aw, man." Rainbow Dash sighed. "That would have been awesome."
"That depends on what other's would qualify as awesome." Rarity said.
Twilight silently agreed with the white unicorn. The thought of a soul taking...well, anything would be terrifying to say the least. However, now that she thought about it, there was something indeed off with this train, the locomotive in particular. Beside the obvious, there was an odd...feeling coming from it. She slowly got closer to the train. Maybe if she gave it a thematic resonance scan-
"HALT!" Twilight nearly jumped out of her skin at the voice. She recognized the shine of gold as a royal guard swooped in from above landing right in front of her. He was immediately followed by five more pegasus guards who spilt up their formation, two confronting the pegasi above and the other three corralling the crowd away from the station.
"What's going on here?" Twilight balked as another guard blocked her way.
"Sorry, your majesty." The first guard who had spoken addressed her." This engine is off limits under royal order of Princess Celestia." Then another Pegasus guard came in. "We please ask for you and your fellow bearers to leave the station platform."
"What?" Applejack snapped. "Now listen here. This is our town an' we..." The orange mare faded as ANOTHER six guards dropped from the sky.
"Direct us to Ponyville General, the Princess will wish to speak with this train's driver."
Ashpan woke up with the worse dry mouth of the century and an ache. Like a really bad ache. The kind of deep ache the promised pain if he so much as twitch an eyebrow the wrong way. He rolled off of his belly and onto his side and that promise came through. He groaned a little, opening his eyes. Well, he was in the hospital. No other kind of building's walls had that ugly shade of green. He licked his lips and frowned at the dryness of his cracked lips.
By Luna's moon, he needed some water. With a grunt of effort, he sat up a looked around, the other bed in the room was empty and on his side table was a glass of water. Reaching out with a hoof, he snatched up the glass and downed it in record time.
His eyes were watering from the effort of moving around this much, however, and he flopped back in the bed, feeling a little… off, over all.
That had been the longest haul in his life. He knew he must have passed out when he finally got the train to the station. That or he sleepwalked here.
He didn't know how long he stared at the ceiling but soon he began to hear voices outside the door. There was a short exchange before it opened and two ponies walked in. One a yellow unicorn with a labcoat, who had to be his doctor, and the other the familiar red color of In Time.
"Hey." He began, moving the sit up only for the unicorn's horn to give off a blue glow and push him back down.
"No moving, Mr.Pan." The doctor said. "I'm Dr. Stable and you, my friend are very lucky."
Well, that didn't sound good. "Something wrong, Doc?"
"Well besides the fact you're suffering from both exhaustion and a mild case of dehydration, nothing actually." Stable began as he picked up a clipboard in his magic. "Which wouldn't have been the story if your friend here hadn't caught you."
Ashpan looked to In Time for an explanation. "You fell out of the cab." The pegasus mare stated. "At that height and angle, you might have hurt head and hurt your neck."
Stable started to write. "An understatement if I've ever heard one. A concussion on top of a neck injury? With everything else? That would have been the perfect storm for a long stay in a brace." The doctor paused and shuddered. "If that."
Both Ashpan and In Time narrowed their eyes at him though the pegasus was the first to speak. "Your bedside manner could use some work, you know?"
Stable didn't even look affected as he returned their glares with a flat look of his own. "Sometimes it pays to be frank with the patient. Prevents most from taking unnecessary risks in the future." He clicked his pen and went back to writing. "Especially certain problem patients."
Before Ashpan could ask what the doctor meant, the unicorn put down the clipboard and pocketed his pen. "Okay then. I will schedule a few tests and have the nurse bring you some more water."
He turned and with a glow of his horn shut the door behind him as he left the room.
"So," Ashpan looked at In Time, giving her a goofy grin. "Whatcha been up to since my nap?"
The pegasus chuckled. "Well, nothing much. Just trying to comp for the fallout that came when we rumbled into the junction. Oh, and I met Princess Twilight today."
The earth pony blew a raspberry. "Yeah, right."
"Okay, I admit. I didn't so much as meet her as she gave me a short interrogation on the platform while waiting for the doctor to arrive."
Ashpan's eyes widened. She wasn't joking. "You're serious? You met THE Princess Twilight."
In Time nodded, sitting down next to his bed. "Though, now that I think about it, I wasn't dressed for the occasion." She added sarcastically. "Maybe I should've brushed my mane first."
"You think?" He said sarcastically. He laughed before getting a little more serious. "How bad was it?"
"Not as bad as I expected." The mare said, head hanging down to the floor slightly. "Got attention before we even rolled in. Gonna be even worse when Rail Authority catches wind of this mess. The Station Master alone was freaking out."
Ashpan inwardly cringed. They were accountable for so much now. "We're fired, aren't we?"
"No doubt." The pegasus nodded and began listing off infractions, her head dipping with each one she called out. "Abandoning our posts. Destruction of company property. Driver error. Conductor error. Failure to stop at dozens of signals. Failure to obey. Derailment of company locomotive. Not filling out the proper paperwork. All and all, we've given CU & Baltimare a full 127 flavors of reasons to not consider us employees of the month."
"Thought so." He huffed and began to stare at the ceiling again.
It was quiet for a few minutes before In Time broke it.
"I'm sorry."
Ashpan looked back the pegasus who still hadn't lifted her head. "What for?"
In Time lifted her head and a shocked pinned on her face. "What do you think? Getting you fired, Ash."
Her tone had taken a slightly weary undercurrent flutter and the earth pony really looked at his friend.
Ashpan felt is insides twist in a bubbling muddle of pity and guilt. His voice caught a fraction as it dawned on him. She had been up this whole time to worried about him, not about her job but his . It took him moment to get his mouth working. "Got nothing to be sorry for. I drove the train, you shoveled the coal. Nothing more to it."
"Nothing more to it?" The pegasus echoed, sounding more exasperated than anything. "I jumped into your engine."
"Only because I was the only one with a fire stoked. Would've taken hours to get another ready and we wouldn't have caught up by then."
"I could've driven it myself."
"Then who would have shoveled coal?"
"I could've."
"Then who would have kept the water up? The locomotive would have exploded."
"It did."
"True but without me it would have happened a whole lot sooner."
There was no way he was letting her put the brunt of their actions on her shoulders. He was going to counter every point she made.
"I could have gotten you killed." She practically whispered.
"You could have gotten killed." He stated flatly.
By this point, In Time was shivering, tears threating to stream from her eyes. "You're not going to let this go, are you?"
"Not until you do."
In Time took a deep breath, wiping her eyes clear. "Fine, you cretin of a coal pony."
"This coming from the terrifying timetable ticker of Appaloosa? Must be my lucky day." He turned over to his side with a satisfied smile then froze as something occurred to him. "Did she...um...was the Princess there when I-"
In Time cut him off, wide smile returning in earnest. "Yep. Saw your drunk on salt impression. Even applauded your singing skill."
"I did not sing." Ashpan snapped, crossing his forehooves across his chest. There was a pause then a slightly more desperate. "I didn't sing, did I?"
In Time said nothing, only smiling as she began to find a particularly interesting bit of window to stare at.
"Come on, Time. Don't leave me hanging like this."
Nothing.
"By Celestia's mane, filly!" Ashpan shimmed to the edge of the bed to get closer to his friend. "I will give you anything, if you tell me you were just joking."
Immediately, the earth pony regretted his choice of words as an evil glint appeared in her eye. "Anything?"
"W-w-wait. I mean, anything within reason." He quickly added. In Time went back to looking at the window.
"Okay. Okay. Anything."
Their conversation paused the sound of a gasp from beyond the hospital room's door caught their attention. Then there were voices. Frantic and surprised voices. A short exchange of words In Time stood as if took go and check but whoever was on the other side of that door beat the mare to it.
Two white unicorns dressed in golden armor marched in, taking place by both sides of the door. Then she came in.
Now Ashpan had heard many stories of Princess Celestia's beauty but never really got to see it. His job never really took him to Canterlot. The closest he came was pictures in the newspaper which he just now figured out was a mere shadow of her presence. He probably would have already been bowing if it wasn't for the shock of the fact Princess Celestia was in his room.
She gave the two of them a warm smile, her mane softly flowing in an invisible breeze. "You must be Ashpan and In Time."
In Time, who just like Ashpan, had been frozen in shock quickly scrambled to bow and the white earth pony struggled to get to his hooves to do the same.
Again, just like with Doctor Stable, Princess Celestia's horn glowed and her magic gently pushed him down. "There is no need for that." She said. "This might be a business visit but that is no reason to overreach yourself."
Ashpan struggled to find something to say, his mouth opening a closing like a fish. "Um, thank you, your Majesty."
"No. I should be thanking you, both of you." Again, Celestia left him speechless as she shook her head. "I saw that train on my way into town and I shuddered to think of what damage it could have caused if it derailed at speed. You did the nation a great service by bringing it under control. Thank you, my little ponies."
In Time bowed while Ashpan nodded his head in respect. "Thank you, you majesty." They both said.
"I have a request for you two." The white alicorn began.
"Anything, your majesty." Ashpan responded.
"I have a group of experts that will be examining this locomotive and could use the help of the ponies that controlled it first hand." Again Ashpan felt awed as her motherly gaze fell on him. "When you recover, of course."
"We'd be honored." The earth pony said. In Time just simply nodded.
"Good. I thank you again for your service."
With that the solar princess turned and left and a few seconds later.
"Ah, ponyfeathers." In Time hissed.
"What?"
"I still wasn't dressed properly."
Author's Note
Hopefully I got the character of the Mane Six right. For some reason I've never been good with multiple characters.
Also, I found a picture that would be perfect of what Ashpan and company saw moments before 4014 thundered by:
Creepy, right?
It Is What It Is Or Is It?
It was no small secret that Friendship Castle was going to be a replacement for Golden Oaks Library in the coming months. In fact, Twilight had gone out of her way to let the mayor know as well as promote it in posters and by word of mouth. It also meant that books were needed to replace the ones that had been destroyed so with the help of some funding from the government treasury, what could be recovered from the castle of two sisters, and a few donations from the royal archives courtesy of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, the unoccupied rooms is the castle had become temporary storage for many, many, MANY, boxes of books.
Everywhere but the living areas and the throne room had stacks upon stacks of them filled with books and scrolls and it was in one of the many halls that Twilight was searching through newly opened boxes, her friends watching as she burned through each one at a pace that was almost painful to see. She had been that way ever since the train had been blocked off and the sudden arrival of Princess Celestia hadn't done the mare's temperament any favors. Books flew every which way as the Alicorn spoke almost nonstop, a few stopping in front of her nose for the briefest of moment before being tossed aside.
"'Inaugural' means first, right? So that banner must have meant that it was that locomotives first run but if there had been a design like that being built in Equestria, it would have, at the very least, been published in a newspaper. But it also said 'reconstruction' so it was being rebuilt? Which means it had to have been here years before it appeared in Appaloosa. No. No. No. This is far from local. It's not even domestic."
"Twilight, darling?"
"Griffon design, maybe? Colorization is similar... Uses of black and greys. Impossible! Far too large for their industry. They conserve metals and materials for other things. Minotaur? No, rail system still in its infancy. Zebra? No, there's not even a mass transit system over there. Which means that it came from....somewhere but where? I mean the design is far beyond anything ever recorded."
"Twi? Ah think ya may need tuh..."
" A 4-8-8-4 wheel configuration?!? Who even thought of that? It's almost insane! How would they even work together efficiently enough to get the most towing power out of it? It has to be articulated or balanced in some way so that the wheels don't work against each other."
"OI, Twilight!"
"And there's that energy, what was it? It felt like magic but-"
Twilight was brought up short as Spike walked up to her, with no warning, licked his claw and put it to the alicorn's horn, fizzing out her magic. The books in the air immediately dropped, some of the other's having to dodge out of the way to avoid getting clocked in the head by a book.
"Spike!" The Alicorn cried in frustration.
"Well, there wasn't any other way to get your attention."
Applejack stepped forward. "Yeah, Twi. Yuh were kinda gettin' a little bit...uh." The orange mare paused trying to find the right, more polite word.
Rainbow Dash beat her to it. "You were going coo-coo, Twilight." She then frowned at he annoyed glance Applejack sent her way. "What? we're all thinking it and Applejack was taking too long to get to the point."
Rarity put a hoof to her head and sighed. "That's called being tactful, Rainbow."
"Yeah," Applejack agreed. "Just 'cause yuh can say it don't mean yuh should."
Yeah, so what if Twilight was getting a little loco in the coco?" Pinkie Pie said, with a wide grin. "All she needed was some marshmallows to even off all the chocolate! Ooo. That AND some whipped cream. The hoofwhipped kind, not the spray stuff. Oh, and maybe some vanilla sprinkles..."
Everyone watched as Pinkie Pie faded into one of her tangents, no longer paying attention to them as the thoughts of Hot Chocolate and certain garnishing thereof ran through her head.
"Well," Twilight began, "Thanks Spike. I guess I was going a little...out there?"
The dragon crossed his arms. "A little?"
"Okay, maybe a lot." The Alicorn admitted, "but can you blame me? It's just sitting on there, huge, imposing, like a fat spider on a clean floor."
"Well, now that Princess Celestia is here, you don't have to worry." Rarity said, trotting up to her and putting a hoof on her shoulder. "She may have cordoned off the station but that hardly means it's dangerous. I'm sure that in time we'll all figure out where that thing came from and have our fears put to rest."
Twilight nodded, smiling a little. Rarity was right, she was working herself up for nothing. She would just talk to the Princess and after a short investigation they would-
Her thoughts collapsed as a royal guard appeared one of the open windows before gliding in. Before she could even greet him, the white pegasus beat her to the punch. "Princess, you and your friends are needed at the station immediately."
Okay, now was the time to panic.
Author's Note
Sorry for such a short update. I've been having the worst case of writers block.
In Celestia's opinion, Twilight had greatly understated the sheer size of the locomotive in her letter. She had been more than able to see it on the way into Ponyville and now that she was up close, she realized what a monolith of a machine this locomotive was. She had seen the inception of steam as a power source some-what was it? -20? 30? Maybe 40 years back when trains were but a novelty. Over those years she had seen many different designs to improve the railroad as needs grew and requirements changed, some of which she had personally seen brought to her court by some enterprising inventor.
None of them, however, looked like this engine before her and she felt her pride in the two ponies that brought it here swell in her chest.
"You Majesty." A voice brought her out of her thoughts as a guard marched beside her. "We have sent the messengers to CU & Baltimare headquarters and the Tri-Council R&D division back in Canterlot. We should receive replies by days end."
Celestia nodded, her eyes going back to the train. "Good work."
"Your Majesty?"
"Yes?"
She didn't miss the hesitant, almost nervous pause the guard made before he continued speaking. "Is it dangerous?"
And there was the million bit question. Her instinct was to say 'No' but over her long life she had seen many things and she was well aware that not all dangers came from sentient beings.
But... now that she thought about it...
"I don't know, private." Celestia took a step closer to the locomotive and felt the warmth of the boiler waft over her face. "But I intend to find out."
She igniter her horn and prepared a spell. The spell was an ancient one that she herself developed shortly after Nightmare Moon. Though not powerful, it was meant to detect magic and it's intent behind it. Just like words or actions, the pony's reason for saying or doing something transfers into how it could be felt. It is much like the how difference of emphasis in a sentence can change it's meaning.
I didn't steal your money .
Compared to: I didn't steal your money.
Spells are no different. When a pony casts one with malice or intent to do harm, it leaves a mark on the spell and it's residual energy. If this train was brought here for dangerous reasons, Celestia would find out.
She concentrated, forming the spell and gathering it together on the very tip of her horn before letting it fly to the locomotive.
At least, that what it had meant to do. Instead, as soon as her magic touched it, the locomotive latched onto it, linking with the tip of her horn before it began siphoning out her magic by force. The locomotive began glowing as it sucked away at her magic, energy whipping and crackling in the air between her and the engine. The white alicorn balked in surprise, having not felt something like this since... She felt her heart go cold and immediately tried to extinguish her magic.
What happened next, she couldn't put into words. The link between her horn and the machine...snapped, sling-shooting the energy back in to her horn with such force that her head snapped back like she had been punched. The locomotive's glow changed then, turning from a pure white, to an angry hot red. It began to creak, shuddering on the rails like a pony would shiver in the cold. Then it began to whistle . It started low, almost mournful before the pitch raised higher and higher, turning into an shrill wail. Celestia didn't even have time to lay her ears flat to shut out the sound before the large driving wheels began moving. Only...it wasn't right. The forward eight spun free, the running gears turning into indistinct blur as they turned faster than they had any right to. The train might have moved if it hadn't been for rear eight driving wheels grinding against the rails independent of the foreward, turning clockwise and counter clockwise at random intervals, it was probably the only thing keeping it in place.
With a heavy groan as if from the strain of what was going on, the boiler began to swell, the metal forced into unnatural and dangerous looking bulges. Celestia ducked as a bolt whirled past her ear. Rivets began popping, bolts turning into deadly projectiles as a wall of steam evacuated it's values with such violence that it blew off her crown.
"GET BACK!" She bellowed, charging off the platform and away from the station. Any guard that had been mesmerized by what was happening quickly followed the princess' example. The pegasi took to the air as the earth ponies and unicorns alike scattered in every direction. Once the station was in between her and the train, she raised a barrier over the station as an extra wall from the blast. She could just make out the sounds of glass shattering as the windows of the station blew out one by one.
Somehow, the locomotive's whistle pitch continued to raise that was painful to hear even from this distance. The chugging followed suit, growing louder and louder as the smoke and steam began to mix, the orange-red glow visible from behind the barrier.
Every sound combined into one thunderous crescendo of noise.
There was one more heavy WHOOSH of steam then...
Silence.
Celestia waited for the other horseshoe to drop.
It didn't.
Slowly and carefully, she let the barrier fall and approached the station.
The smoke and steam was thick to the point she needed to fan her wings to clear away some of it as she climbed back onto the platform. Normally, she would have use her magic to clear it but after what just happened there was no way in Tarturus she wasn't touching anything that was even residually connected to that train. Finding her crown, she picked it up in her magic and put it on her head.
As the smoke began to clear the parts of the train closest to the station were revealed. She expected to see the locomotive still there, albeit with some extensive damage. It was only when the tender appeared with nothing connected to it that her thought's completely stalled.
She didn't even have a moment to question where it was before a light breeze carried away the remaining smoke that her composure went with it.
Standing alone in the middle of the tracks, the empty space in front of the tender where the locomotive once stood was the largest stallion she had ever seen in her life.
The black colored pony had to be taller than Luna at the very least. Her eyes scanned over his heavy-set form pausing at the cutie mark on his flanks, where the numbers 4014 were stamped in bold white numbers. As the guards began to move back in, they surrounded the stallion, spears at the ready. The large pony didn't seem phased by the weapons being aimed at him at all. In fact, her hadn't so much as twitched a muscle, keeping his gaze forward, only his grey mane moved and that was because of the wind.
Celestia, hopped off the station platform and stepped in between the guards, who parted for her but didn't take their eyes off of the mystery pony and came to a stop right in front of him. Only then did she realize that he wasn't just taller than Luna, this pony was as tall as her, she didn't need to even bend her head down to look at his face.
Despite them being at eye level, however, he didn't look at her. He didn't even blink. Just stared into the space before him blankly as if seeing past her. Not even the Royal Guard were this still, it was unnerving.
The alicorn made sure her face was set with authority and spoke clearly to him. "Who are you?"
The stallion's ears swiveled towards her but beyond that there was no sign that he even heard her.
"Who are you?" She asked again, a bit more firmly this time. Her tone was one she usually reserved for difficult nobles or unruly diplomats from other nations for when she was losing her patience. One that carried the weight of the power she held and the experience she had. It's effect was visible...on her guards. There was a moment of uncomfortable shuffling of hooves from them.
But no effect on the stranger. The pony might as well have been a statue.
Celestia was reluctant to use magic on him to get his attention so she decided to poke him on the shoulder. Her touch was brief as a poke should be but in that instant she had snatched away her hoof even faster than she had meant to.
The stallion was hot. In a literal sense, the heat having warmed up her slippers in the brief contact. What was this stallion?
Reluctantly, she summoned her magic and cautiously scanned the pony.
She then took a step back, in shock. What she just felt...It wasn't possible. Without taking her eyes off the pony, she spoke to her guards. "I need the fastest flier to summon Princess Sparkle here now."
