It feels like it's been SO many years since the Zebras took over, but then again, maybe it has. Time's been a bit hard to keep track of since the end, but I do my best!

Oh, how silly of me, allow me to introduce myself! Hi, my name is Ben Anderson, but my friends call me "Scar". This is due to the prominent scar over my left eye. I'm in my late 30's now, but when all of this happened, I was 26. For nearly 12 years, I was a United States Marine. I thought that I'd seen it all during my time on Earth, and maybe I had. My scar came from a miss-thrown frag grenade, and if it hadn't been for my goggles, I most likely would have lost my eye! However now, I just have the scar.

I don't talk too much about my time in the Marine Core, but this is NOT by choice. For you see, my old unit, Wolf-Pack Battalion, was HIGHLY classified, and NO ONE outside of the top US Military Brass even knew that they existed. Why is this? Well, because all of those within the battalion were a part of a top secret project. The goal of this project was to create a new breed of soldier that was bigger, faster, stronger, had greater endurance, could see farther, smell better, and take and inflict MUCH more damage than a normal soldier could. Basically, they took some of the finest US Marines in the Marine Core, turned them into werewolves, and made them a part of Wolf-Pack Battalion!

Yes, I KNOW how strange that this sounds, but PLEASE bear with me here! The enemies of America were TERRIFIED of us! Because their was no record of our existence, and we were given a pretty loose leash for our operations in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, and other such places, we were free to use a LOT of different methods to complete our missions, and we did so with ruthless efficiency! We looked like ordinary Humans, but we could turn into our werewolf forms at will. (My wolf form was all gray, with a bit of white, while my Human-self had brown hair and blue eyes). Also while we were serving in Wolf-Pack Battalion, our families had NO IDEA what we were really doing. They knew that we were US Marines, but they knew very little else. An exception to this rule was my dad, Air Force Brigadier General Stanley "Stan" Anderson. He told me that he knew about Wolf-Pack Battalion, though I was unable to ask him how he knew, and how much, as it went against policy.

I retired as a Captain after 12 years, as I felt that it was time to move on to other things. When I did so, I was taken to a lab, where I had ALL of my werewolf features removed from my body. I was now 100% Human again, and I was given all of my credentials for "Fireside Battalion" which was the front for Wolf-Pack. I now had documented proof that I had been a US Marine, and I was now free to return to civilian life. However, I was warned about the "hazards" of what happened to those who talked about something that didn't exist, and I agreed that aside from my dad Stan, I'd never tell a soul. (Even so, I couldn't talk to my dad about this for another 2 years or so. I'm not sure why, some other policy).

I went about trying to find a new job, and thankfully, one came my way pretty quickly, and it was one that I REALLY wanted!

Since I've been a railway enthusiast my ENTIRE life, I went about getting a job with the railway. Long story short, I ended up in Oregon, where I became an engineer on one of the most legendary steam engines, pulling one of the most famous trains of all time! THIS beauty right here!

Yep! SP Daylight 4449, and her train! I worked with 5 of my closest friends, who like me were also former Marines from Wolf-Pack Battalion, and life-long railway enthusiasts. 42 year old Richard "Rick" Dennis, 33 year old Erwin "Evan" Young, 30 year old Patton "Jake" Blithe, 28 year old Franklin "Frank" Sinatra, (Yes, his name really was Frank Sinatra!) and 27 year old Jon Meers. He didn't have a nickname like the rest of us, as everyone just called him Jon.

I was an engineer, while Jake and Evan were firemen, Frank and Jon were brakemen, and Rick was a conductor. We also LOOKED to be fully Humans, but thanks to our time in Wolf Pack, we weren't quite. In truth, while we no longer had any visible wolf features, we still had 20/0 (aka better than perfect) vision, very acute hearing, heightened senses, could see in almost total darkness, had perfect night vision, and were still stronger, faster, and had greater endurance than most Humans. However, we WERE former US Marines, so we were able to pass off a lot of our abilities to our time in the Core.

It was a good life, but yet little did we suspect at the time that our lives were about to get a WHOLE lot more interesting!

One day, we were out for a maintenance run with 4449 and her full train in Wyoming, and although the weather was bad, we had to get to Cheyenne, Wyoming. We decided to head up the famous Sherman Hill, but just as we reached the top, lightning struck the tracks in front of us!

"WHOA!!! SHIT!!!!" I was driving at the time, and I immediately began to put the brakes on, while I yelled back for Frank and Jon to do the same.

Suddenly, from where the lightning struck, there appeared a MASSIVE ball of white light! There was no time to stop, and soon we hit the mass of light, and were immediately gone. Gone from Earth for a LONG time to come!

We suddenly found ourselves on a track surrounded by snow, but with what seemed to be a city off in the distance. We pulled into the station there to see where we were, as we believed that we were still in Wyoming. To our shock though, we were greeted by these bipedal, multi-colored Equine-like creatures!

We were then informed that we were in the nation of Equestria, in the far northern region known as the Crystal Empire. We also got the chance to meet Princess Cadence, and Prince Shining Armor, the rulers of the Crystal Empire. They were VERY curious about us, and where we'd come from, as they'd NEVER seen creatures like us before!

It was also during this time that we learned that during our trip through the sort of "portal" caused by the lightning, we were slightly changed. Jon and Rick now had gray horns on their foreheads, Evan and Frank now had super-human strength, and Jake and I had black, feathery wings on our backs as well! We could both fly, while Jon and Rick could move objects with their Magic, as well as cast shield spells, and even use Magic to attack! We also realized that we once again had our wolf ears, wolf tails, had wolf paws for feet, and that we had.....um.....wolf genitals! We weren't sure how this happened, but we assumed that it had something to do with the portal.

Our train was changed as well. We discovered that she no longer burned oil, but had been reconfigured to burn coal again! The 4449's 2 tenders were both full of coal and water, and when we searched the rest of the train, in the baggage and mail cars, we discovered that impossibly, not only were our old Marine field uniforms in there, but so were our weapons, as well as a LOT of other guns, ammunition, and even an armored vehicle! The rest of the passenger coaches looked the same, although they now smelled like lemon furniture polish for whatever reason!

Soon, we were allowed to use out train to work on the railroad, and the Daylight became the best, and fastest train in all of Equestria! (This is debated, as some still think that the Crystal Express is faster, and we have raced before, but the results of the races are disputed).

Together, the 6 of us started the "Daylight Freight and Shipping Company". With our single train, and an old railroad freight depot at the edge of the Crystal Empire, we were in business hauling freight and Ponies all over Equestria. Everywhere from the Crystal Empire, to Canterlot, Ponyville, Las Pegasus, Van Hoover, Baltimare, Manehattan, Fillydelphia, Appaloosa, Dodge City, to even far away Trottingham. Everywhere we went, Ponies, and other creatures always cheered and waved at us, and the "Flaming Orange", as they'd nicknamed the Daylight.

We all LOVED what we did, and we all made our way around Equestria as well. And while we'd all been single before, we all even managed to find love! Rick was dating a Crystal mare named Amethyst, while Jake was with Roseluck, Jon and Derpy were together, Frank got in with Lyra, Evan was dating a Pegasus named Night Glider, and me? I was dating a Griffon! She was brash, sometimes rude, and rough around the edges, but sweet and kind underneath, and all around cool. She had a brown lion's body, large brown feathery wings, a lion's tail, an eagle's head with white feathers, yellow eyes, and purple marks around her eyes. She also had some pretty nice muscles, not to mention a sweet rack of Double-D's, and a nice ass! Her name was Gilda, and she would help out at the freight depot from time to time. Although she tried to hide it, I could tell that she was actually pretty interested in trains.

"Do you like trains Gilda?" I asked her once.

"What's it to you Dweeb?"

"Hey, I'm just asking."

She sighed. "Yeah, I think that they're kinda cool. Just like you!" She then gave me a quick peck on the cheek when nopony was looking. Gilda could actually be pretty sweet when she wanted to be, but too bad this didn't happen unless we were alone. (Gilda was also WILD in the sheets, but let's not talk about that right now!)

What matters now is that life seemed to be perfect for us. Perfect, but yet it was to end all too soon. Little did we suspect at the time just how IMPORTANT to the future our being in Equestria was going to be. Looking back on it now, I REALLY wish that we'd at least gotten a little bit of a heads up before everything hit the fan, but we didn't.

I can still remember it like it was yesterday. You can't forget a day like that. March 30th, 2024, the day EVERYTHING as we knew it changed forever. The day that THEY came to Equestria............

Author's Note

Ok People, here we go! Now that the introductions are out of the way, both new and old, the REAL action can begin! From the next chapter, until the end of the story, there WILL be action! Maybe not always outright combat, but action nonetheless!

The Zebras are (still) coming, and with them, (still) comes fear-mongering, destruction, death, sickness, pain, and above all, conquest. It's about to hit the fan! Hold on tight, because when this "Train of Fear" leaves the station once again, it still has about as many brakes as the Rape Train does, so stay tuned!

In the meantime though, comments, questions, feedback, as well as spreading the word about this (new) story are always appreciated, and I'll see you all in the New Timeline Chapter 1!

ScarFox out for now!