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Chars Personal train car.

Serenity began to stir as her mind came into a focus. She kept her eyes closed and sighed quietly in her warm comfort... Her mind wandered back to the events prior. She giggled at how strange that creature looked. and how her deputy had a mental short circuit whilst being in his presence. she made a mental note to train him to look past a creatures exterior. 'I'll have to work on that with him...' . Her mind trailed over the creature telling her the problem his people were currently facing with things going missing and buildings being broken into, and how the princesses recommended her services for the job. she couldn't suppress a small squee of joy at that fact. She then moved onto how she collapsed onto the train platform but she was just so warm and she found a great deal of comfort in lying down on what must of been a bed by the feel of it. 'Wait a minute... Warm? Bed? Wasn't i on a train platform at 4AM in the morning?'

...

Her eyes fly open and she sits upright. Her notion of being back home and in her own bed, promptly shattered. The quilt over her was warm, soft and comfortable. But its dark blue coloring with its white snowflake patterns were far less colorful than the quilt on her own bed.

She looked around and took stock of her surroundings. What ever room the good sheriff had found herself in it was cordoned off by a black curtain, Giving the small enclosed space that she occupied a generous amount of darkness and oddly enough soundproofing. 'How thick is that curtain?...'. looking to her left. Serenity found her magic inhibiting cuffs on a bedside table. They block the magic of those who earn the right to wear them, and even if the creature didn't have or use magic they were still thick enough to ensure that they wouldn't be able to break out of them. She released a held breath.

After a few more moment she quietly sighed and climbed off to the side. As she slid down off the side of the bed her eyes shot open wide in horror at the fact that she couldn't feel the floor beneath her hooves. Before she could let out a surprised yelp, her felt one of her hooves lightly brush against the wooden floor boards. Looking over her shoulder, Serenity sighed as
she released her death grip on the bed sheets, and slid the remaining embarrassingly short distance to the floor quietly. 'One hoof before the other...'. Her left hind hoof was first to meet the warm embrace of the wooden floor. Followed shortly thereafter by her right, After balancing on her hind hooves for a moment she quietly set her fore hooves down on the lacquered floor and snuck over the the bedside table. Taking her cuffs in her mouth she realized that somepony had removed her saddle bags.

Cursing her foul luck as of late, Serenity gently placed the cuffs against the floor. Every little sound she made caused her a great deal of mental strife as she snuck her way to the curtain. Her cringe ended once she arrived to the curtain, A Painfully long distance of two feet, when your every step is punctuated by the clack of a hoof against the wooden floorboards. She'd been quiet... But anypony who'd been listening for the sounds of her escape would have still caught on at a moments notice.

Lifting an ear, Serenity listened for the voices in the thrall of conversation in the same room she'd found herself in. The delicate and acute muscles twitching slightly in excitement at hearing the sounds of ceramic cups being placed on some sort of surface, And the voices of the strange creature form the station and her deputy having what seemed like a casual conversation.

Lifting her left fore hoof she slowly pushed the curtain open to that it had a barely perceptible gap between it and its sister. Squinting she looked around the new space she'd uncovered for herself. The narrow gap in the curtains didn't betray much of the next room, but what it did, Shocked her to no end...

The delightful conversation about good Equestrian vacation spots Char was having with Just Wind, Was swiftly cut off the curtain surrounding his bed being ripped open, And a dirt and dust brown mare practically leaping across the train cars interior towards the now very confused Char.

Upon seeing the silvery cuffs in her mouth char ducked low whilst simultaneously reaching behind himself with his hands. Expertly dodging the cuffs and catching the Earth pony mare, Preventing her form flying through the closed window. The Sheriff. Having dealt with a crazed Griffon that the humans would like akin to the insanity of Hannibal lecter. Managed to somehow right herself into a position where she could slap the cuffs onto one of chars wrists.

To say that she suddenly found herself Utterly terrified at her newest discovery was a titanic understatement. The moment she slapped that first cuff on. His magic began to back flow through the other cuff and into the lawmares hoof. She felt as if she was being struck by lightning. This creatures sheer magical strength was causing her a great amount of physical pain. She quickly snapped the last cuff on his other wrist and what happened next. Left her quivering in fear.

Char let out a pained howl that made her feel guilty beyond measure. And both the Sheriff and her Deputy went wide eyed.

Arcs of yellow magical energy zapped from Chars wrists to the cuff and back to his wrists again. The crystal in the center hoop of the chain linking the cuffs glowed a brick yellow glow that lit up the interior of the car. Arcing magic made the air in the car fill with a strong static charge. The air began to taste of ozone and the rather alarming sounds of cracking electricity filled the air. Char fell to his knees his eyes glowing yellow under his clenched eyelids.

Serenity glanced down at the crystal in the cuffs and her eyes bulged as she saw that the naturally deep purple gem was now glowing an angry red. The many runes carved into the iron bands that made up the chain and cuffs changed from electric blue in colour, to a pale white, And with one final pained howl from the stricken man the cuffs exploded into splinters, the remnants falling to the wooden floor beneath the mans clenched fists.

Char was Physically shaking... A Mixture of pain and rage fueling his body's involuntary response. He was curled tightly over his knees on the floor, the top of his head resting on the floor as he drew shaking deep breaths. Serenity gulped and was confused on how to continue. She herself was still furious about waking up in another males bed after falling unconscious. She turned to her deputy and noticed his glare of betrayal towards her. And suddenly she felt sick...

'Why do i feel like I've just made... one catastrophic cock-up?...' She thought to herself.

Both their attention was pulled to the downed man. Still curled up in a ball on the floor. His angered growl sending shivers up the sheriffs spine, But then much to her confusion. After about five seconds his growl was replaced with chuckling then lighthearted laughter.

Both Swift wind and Serenity looked to each other in different mixes of confusion and concern. Char then leaned backwards and sat on his ankles. Looking up to the roof of the train car he regained his composure, before breaking out into more giggles a few second later.

Swift wind turned back to his boss before saying with a deadpan. "Great. You fried him like an egg... Job well done Sheriff." Chars giggling became a guffaw of laughter as he slammed his fist into the floor boards, and turned to face Swift wind.

"Well done? More like Over done!" Char broke out once more in his laughter as the two lawponies were left confused. Realization suddenly dawned on their faces. And they both started giggling at the unintended pun.

Char broke his laughter, and looked at them with a look that would make a hydra bid farewell and make a hasty retreat. "I can understand why you would be angered at waking up in a random strangers bed. But trying to kill me? really? Was that really necessary! And what the hell are those?" He said pointing to the metal shards on the floor.

Serenity was going through a jarring series of confused emotions from the sudden emotional whiplash of the creature before her. But she went wide eyed once Char asked if she was trying to kill him. "Wha-? NO! I wasn't trying to kill you! Those-" She said pointing her hoof to the remnants of metal on the floor. "-Were magic inhibiting handcuffs. and you somehow managed to break them... When they should be good enough to even keep a minotauri shackled..." Serenity shook her head. "But- You! Do you always make it a habit of bedding mares?!" Serenity exclaimed with a mild fury.

Char laughed loudly and shook his head. "I see females here are just like those back home. No. I wasn't 'Bedding you'. I was being a gentleman. Your deputy was about to lay you down on the wooden bench i was sitting on prior you jumping me. But i declined him and generously offered my bed instead for you to rest on. I told him to just place you on the top sheets and pull the quilt over to keep you warm. We may be in a desert but we are still in winter, that just highlights the need to keep warm in the early hours of the morning. Whilst i do have a potbelly stove to warm my quarters. Its simply too small to make a good enough difference-" Char was cut off my Swift wind.

"Too small to make a difference? Its like... thirty degrees in here!" Char looked in confusion before smiling.

"Humans have no fur remember Swift. It was the main reason that we all ways wear clothes." The stallion looked to the floor.

"Oh, Thats right... I guess i forgot... Well then? still how hot do you Humans usually like it?"

Char stood up with a wobble, and made his way to the table, The sheriff moving out of his way politely. The man practically fell into the bench and slid across to the window side of his seat. " It will depend on who you ask really. i however prefer the room temperature in winter to be around twenty eight to thirty degrees. And its currently eighteen." Char said, nodding to the thermometer hanging on the wall.

Serenity felt her mind perform a back flip. 'Wait a minute... It was so hot only a moment ago! Whys it back to being cold again?'

Char sat up in his seat and reached for a bowl that was sitting in the middle of the table next to the window. He dragged it back to himself and picked up a long handled teaspoon. he eagerly plunged the spoon into the bowl and lifted it towards his mouth. The lawmare took note of the cereal and many pieces of dehydrated fruit that was heaped onto the spoon. The sweet tangy scent of various assorted berries reached her nose and helped put her at ease. 'At least he seems to be able to eat grains and fruits, that means he wont need to rely on eating meat, meaning everypony in my town wont be on the menu...'

After swallowing char heaped another spoon and held it in front of his mouth. After a pause that the lawmare failed to miss, he spoke in a thoughtful monotone as he examined the spoon of heaped cereal before him. "I don't know..."

The mare had a double take. "Excuse me?" She inquired with confusion.

Char looked to her and replied with. "I don't know how i broke out of those cuffs. Humans are supposed to be incapable of using magic. We have legends of people whom could use powers similar to magic, but those are just that, legends. The princesses themselves even scanned a large quantity of us and said that we are, As of current, 'Incapable of using magic'. Apparently our bodies are still absorbing it. According to your princesses the worlds magic is supposed to be a constant, yet my people arrive here en-masse with no exposure to magical energy at all. And that had caused an imbalance in the magical field of anywhere we spend a sufficient amount of time. Its supposedly due to our equipment and we ourselves being to dry of magical energy, that we're absorbing all the excess in our surroundings... or... Something like that anyway. As the Princess of magic described it. 'We're akin to empty buckets that have been submerged in water. The water being the worlds latent magical field. The overflow is being pulled into us because we are a magical void, And this is preventing the magical energy of the environment around us from replenishing until we have equalized with the magical energy around us.'" He said in a tone that was somewhat close to what Twilight, The princess of magic. Sounded like. Serenity had met Twilight once, and managed to get the purple pony to lend her a book on desert agriculture. It was one of Serenity's most happiest memories. Meeting one of her idols.

It was then that the mares mind stopped working for a moment. 'Wait... If his people are incapable of using magic because they've not yet reached equilibrium with the world... and he was able to make the magical canceling cuffs break...'. She turned and looked to the metal splinters on the floor. And gulped quietly. 'Then what will their magic levels be when they have reached their nominal limit?'. The thought terrified her. But she was broken from her line of thought once Char regained her attention via a light tap on the table next to her. The action making her flinch in surprise.

The mare returned to her neutral expression before turning to face Char once more. And he spoke to her with all the professionalism expected from a diplomat. " Do not worry. I don't plan on holding the events from recently against you.
I can see clearly that it was all a grand misunderstanding and it was obviously my fault for not leaving you a note or something. Now. The aircraft en-route tomorrow morning will arrive by about 1PM in the afternoon. And whilst they can land on many surfaces including sand. They prefer landing on packed surfaces or better yet paved surfaces. And on the way in the train pretty much circled this town and i found no signs of any paved surfaced or even cobblestone roads for that matter. I did notice the vast area of flat empty space next to the rail line. That would work perfectly for an airstrip. The princesses informed me that the local tribe of... Buffalo. Would be 'willing to assist in compacting the earth in the space required' what ever that meant..." Char said taking in yet another spoon of his breakfast and munching happily.

Serenity nodded and opened with. "Firstly." Char turned to acknowledge the mare next to him. His deep blue eyes meeting her emerald green ones. "I'm so sorry about how i flew off the handle like that... It was rather uncharacteristic of me... And, i know you have the permission of the princesses, but why do you need a compacted surface for your airships to land on? Don't they fly using lighter than air gasses? Can they not float?"

Char clicked his fingers. chuckling as the ears of both ponies flicked in his direction at the gesture. "Well, my people have used lighter than air vehicles before, however they just... Lost their popularity once faster alternatives came along. Now we use Aeroplanes." Char lifted the fruit bowl situated on the table. Removing two apples form it and placing one in front of each pony, then he slid a notepad from underneath the bowl and placed it back in its spot. Removing a pen from one of his vests pockets. He flicked through the book to an open page and began drawing. His sketches were crude but accurate, He had drawn five images. One of an Airship, More specifically the R101 class. He drew a sketch of the fairy swordfish. One of the B17 And one of the Lancaster. His final drawing was of a Helicopter, the Mi-26TV transport helicopter.

Swift craned his neck to get a better view of chars quick sketching. Whilst Serenity was mesmerized by the way the Human before her was using the pen. Moreover, she was confused about where Chars pen was getting its ink from, There was not an ink pot in sight. Swift asked char with the curiosity of a child if those are the vehicles the humans used to fly, and char nodded with a smile.

Finally finishing his work five minutes later he clicked his pen once more, And noticed the ponies ears twitch again as their eyes locked onto his writing implement. placing it back in his pocket he thought to himself about how twitchy and cautious these creatures were, and how adorable it made them all look. "This first sketch is of one of our old Airship designs. The R101 as they were dubbed." The ponies looked at the picture and the small list of provided specifications for it.

Both ponies eyes shot wide open and Swift exclaimed what Serenity was thinking. "ITS HUGE!" With a smile char returned his notebook to his possession and spoke whilst flipping the page.

"Yes, And it was also one of the last new Airship designs to actually be built. One of the R101 class ships had a catastrophic failure when its hydrogen cells ruptured and somehow caught fire. The entire ship burn town and crashed in mere seconds and killed a lot of people. It was the final straw an a long series of airship related accidents. And practically ended airship production all together. Flipping to the next page Char place the notepad between the ponies once more. "This is the Fairy swordfish. A Modern-ish version of the 'Bi-plane'. The Bi-plane was the first class of aircraft that humans were able to fly without lighter than air gas. however they didn't become popular until stronger engines became available, The way most human aircraft work now, is there is a special engine that burns combustible fuels. Mostly liquid fuels based off of oil.-" Serenity's ears perked up at hearing chars explanation.

'Sounds A LOT like the design Axel's father made. I remember he showed me a while ago when we were courting...'

"-The burning of fuel creates mechanical energy, which is then used to spin a propeller, that in turn pulls the aircraft forward, and once it reaches a sufficient speed, the force of air pushing on the wings provides the lift necessary to lift off the ground, It's sort of like how Pegasai wings work, except without flapping.

The ponies were still taking all the information in. Char had been more than patient waiting for them to digest the sudden dump of revolutionary information.

Char clicked his fingers to snap the ponies out of their stupor. The man was finding it hard to not 'Daaww' at how cute they both looked when their ears flicked. "The only ones you have to worry about are these two." Char said and he pointed to both sketches of the b-17 and Lancaster. " All they need is a stretch of relatively flat solid and clear land to land on and take off from. As well as a flat solid road to move down to the railroads loading area so we can load the coal into their cargo containers." He crossed his arms and reclined in his seat as the two lawponies looked to a large map of the local area that one of Chars underlings had brought to the table.

Serenity placed her forehoof on the map. "This here will work. we'll have to contact the buffalo though and see if they can change their stampede route for the next two days. that should have the ground hard enough for your airships to land. best part, theres nothing to crash into to injure. And its close to the railways stockyard." she said with a smile.

"Your helping a lot of people right now. You both have my peoples thanks and dept. Now then. We were hoping that you'd come with us on the return to to the settlement, Our engineers got more than a little overzealous when they heard about the story between you and your significant other. And i'm afraid that they've gone overboard in designing your home in the settlement." Char said whilst looking to a very shocked Serenity.

"I'm sure it cant be that bad. And why do you have to move? We happen to have quite a lot tying us down to this town. at times i'm the only pony keeping it from falling apart at the seams. And Axel runs the only wagon repair shop for at least a twelve hour train ride in any direction." Serenity said with no small measure of concern.

Char nodded. "I understand. But please, Just think it over-"

Char was cut off by the lawmare. "I'll have to discuss it with Axel As it stands. He has the mos to loose from moving. The family business operates and thrives in this town."

Char sat up. "Well, Assuming that we manage to somehow manage to produce fuel without any refineries. You can keep this branch of the family business open. and open a new one in the settlement. Our aircraft having nothing to do are doing our pilots no favors in terms of honing their skill. And to be honest im sure that everyone is getting a little nervous because of it. The mechanics cant maintain aircraft that never leave the hangar. Meaning they don't get paid. and if the mechanics don't get paid, they're going to find jobs in other roles, and the vehicles fall apart slowly over time. And no one wants that, because we all love to see those vehicles working. Its... Soothing." Char said looking distant.

Serenity stood and walked towards the cars exit. "Once again, i have to speak to Axel about it. I'm supposed to meet him for lunch in a few minutes anyway. Apologies about flying the coup during our meeting, but family matters come first."

Char smiled warmly. "As they should. Go. And have fun. All we need is your ok and we shall begin prepping the discussed land for the aircraft arrival."

With a nod Serenity left the train car. A 'Yep' being clearly audible. Swiftwind broke into a short sprint to end up at his boss' side. biding farewell to Char he too left. The door to Chars abode closed with a quiet click.

Char now being alone in the train car. Just slid down in his seat and after a groan that lasted for a full ten seconds just mumbled. "I HATE Diplomatic relations." He started chuckling to himself.

Serenity made good time across town as Swiftwind was living up to his name. Swift had been meaning to speak for the last two minutes across town, but he had finally mustered the courage to actually do so. "... Sheriff..."

Pinto turned her head to address her partner, whilst still maintaining her brisk pace. "Yeah Swift? What is it?" She said with a genuine smile. Swift wind paused for a moment, what he had just spent the last week trying to tell his boss had all but vanished from his mind in the duration of the smile.

"Sheriff. Go with them. I can look after the town." Serenity froze up. and the group stopped in the middle of the street.

"Swift. Are you sure? I mean, your still only a-" Swiftwind cut her off before the word 'Kid' could leave her muzzle.

"I'M Ready Ma'am." Serenity's possible counterargument was smothered under the full weight of his determined grin. The look of somepony whom owned the town. And wouldn't let anything hard it or its ponies.

After a stunned pause for a few moments Serenity just smiled warmly at her rapidly growing up deputy. "Thanks Swift. You've just lifted a huge burden from my shoulders." She said Graciously. Returning to a merry pace Swiftwind bit her fair well for the day as he departed to find something constructive to do. Turning, he headed for town center with a big idiot smile plastered over his face.

The ding of the door bell triggered Axels automatic business twitch. "Welcome to Axels Wagon Wrights. Where We have the Right to Fix yer' Broken Wagon for free if your not satisfi- Oh, Hi Honey!" The red stallion smiled as he spotted his wife entering the store. "Whats got you in a chipper mood? You been looking forward to lunch?"

With a nod of her head serenity replied. "I've also got some interesting news from up north, You may call it one of those 'Once in a life time' Opportunities.

Axel smiled. "Oh, Please Do Prey-tell." He said with a coy smile.

Author's Note

There are not enough apologies in the world for how late this chapter was. I got surprised by my relatives with a surprise vacation. Then after i returned i sat down and continued writing the chapter. Two days later mum received a phone call from Brisbane hospital that my granddad had caught a pneumonia and that combined with his asbestos left him unable to breathe. They only gave him 24 hours and we packed our bags once more and flew over to Queensland. Granddad lived up to the family stubbornness and died four days later to the completely stunned doctors shock. He held out for so long they thought he was improving. Sadly that was not the case.

RIP Granddad.