Somewhere in Equestria
Date: Uncertain
Time: Uncertain

With a blinding flash, and the ear-piercing crack of a shockwave, a tear in Space and Time ripped the fabric of Reality open between Equestria and Earth as the 4014 came roaring through as fast as the reactor could push her. A secondary shockwave shot out alongside the train from the OKBM detonation, uprooting trees next to the portal, and debarking many more for a few miles all around, sending the local wildlife scrambling for dear life. Unlike the main shockwave from the blast, which circumnavigated the globe (Earth) three times over, the small portion that got through the portal would soon be heard as far away as the western coastline of the Undiscovered West region, as well as the rest of the Equestrian continent, but with no damaging effects.

Michelle had the misfortune of riding out this rapid series of events within the 4014’s cab, and because of this, was thrown from one side of it to the other, but thankfully was unharmed. She was quick to jump back to her feet, but then she accidentally stumbled forward and just barely managed to catch herself on the Engineer’s console, just shy of smashing the vital computers that operated the engine’s fusion reactor, thanks to Serina for bringing the entire train to an emergency crash-stop without warning.

“F@#kin’ hell.” She muttered. “At least I’m ok, and didn’t smash anything vital.”

With a gentle push, Michelle then lifted herself off of the console, and with a single thought process, she summoned her nanites to reconstruct her helmet in order to gain remote access to open the roof access hatch of the 4014’s cab. A small jump was more than enough for her to pop halfway through the hatch, and catch onto the left side handrails on the cab’s roof to pull herself all the way out in one swift motion. Michelle kept low to the roof with the large steam cloud rolling just inches over her head before slowly climbing down the right side of the reactor’s sarcophagus, and then safely jetted off to the front end of the engine. It would not take her more than a few seconds to reach the front, and the nano-repair system that coated the engine’s exterior was already hard at work, slowly reversing the heavy damage inflicted to the front end of the engine. Unfortunately though, even with the nano-repair system, the S.T.P was completely engulfed in flames, and Alice lay motionless on the deck of the leading truck. Michelle quickly scanned her friend’s vitals whilst ejecting the hadron compressor that contained the anomaly that allowed the train to escape to this world.

“Serina, can you hear me? I need damage control drones to the front of the engine. The S.T.P is on fire! Over?” Michelle radioed the AI.

“As clear as day, Emerald One. Bumblebees are already en-route. Victoria will be making her way forward as well to recover the STP’s hadron compressor as soon as we can pull into the next siding on this line.”

“Ok, I’ll be waiting, Michelle out.”

The Emerald Angel then cut off her comms as she finished her diagnostic scan on Alice’s vitals. To her dismay, Alice's vital signs were negative. Her friend was gone, having given her life to ensure the survival of "4-8-8-4", 844, and their crews.

"I'm sorry, Alice." Michelle whispered, tears forming in her eyes. "I'm so....s-so sorry that you had to go out like this. I'll never forget you, or what you did for all of us here today. May we meet again in Heaven one day."

Michelle then gently placed her fingers over Alice's eyes, and gently closed them all the way. She then stood there silently looking at Alice's body, uncertain of what to do, but then the sudden and rapidly approaching sounds of drones caught the super-soldier's attention as a group of five insectoid-like machines appeared around her.

Living up to their name, the Bumblebees were a new addition to the war train’s autonomous division as a robust workforce in helping maintain and conduct emergency repairs and damage control while the train was in motion, thanks to the new assembly and workshop observation railcar that Victoria relocated to, and had since been put to good use since leaving Santa Rosa. Two of the drones that were outfitted for firefighting equipment buzzed towards the inflamed S.T.P. Using a combination of foam and carbon dioxide formulas, the small but strong fire that was slowly consuming the housing of the S.T.P was quickly extinguished in a matter of seconds before it caused too much irreparable damage. As soon as the fire was completely extinguished, the firefighting drones turned tail, and took off back to their standby stations to top up on their assigned fire extinguisher formulas. Then, once they were gone, the other three drones, two of which were outfitted for conducting emergency repairs while the train was in motion, cleaned off the foam covering the large headlamp that was used to house the projector, and proceeded to demount it from its foundation to take to the workshop car. The last one was a First Aid drone that was dispatched to render medical assistance to the Girls, but was shooed away with Michelle transferring her scans to the drone to confirm that Alice was now deceased, and she was ok.

Looking back forward of the train, Michelle could see that the tracks continued on endlessly, and though the trees did seem to thin out near where the tracks went up a small hill maybe 3 miles in front of “4-8-8-4”, there were no signs of Equine civilization to be seen.

“Blast. Where on Equus did we end up?” She asked no one in particular.

Michelle then summoned a small ball of the suit’s freely available nanites, and used them to assemble a micro unmanned aerial vehicle measuring at 10 x 2.5 centimeters that is comically small enough to fit into one hand, weighing just about 18 grams with the batteries included. With a gentle overhead throw, the drone started up via motion-activation, and took flight with Michelle wirelessly controlling it with a digital data-link. The drone accelerated to its top speed of 200 knots (370.4kph/230.1mph), and followed the tracks a good distance until Michelle spotted a vacant rail siding leading off the right side of the mainline inside of a large patch of forest near what seemed to be a desert. A quick scan of measurement showed that the siding was of suitable length to just fit the 4014 and its consist without blocking the mainline, and the surrounding trees would provide the perfect cover until they could figure out what to do next.

“Serina, Ryan, I spotted a siding that we can pull into about 20 clicks down the line. It's large enough to fit our train, and it's surrounded by a large patch of forest, which would provide us good cover while we figured out what to do next. Should I throw the switch?” Michelle radios the AI and Ryan.

“Good find, Michelle!” Ryan responded straight away. “Go throw the switch, and lead us in. We need to stop and collect ourselves from what has occurred, and plan our next steps from there.”

“Okay, taking flight.” Michelle then fired up her thrusters, and quickly took flight towards the siding to throw the switch.

The Emerald Angel was quick to cover the distance, but once Victoria had recovered the Hadron compressor, it would take at least another five minutes for the train to catch up before slowing down to pull into the siding. Another two minutes passed by, and the train eventually crawled to a stop with just ten feet on both ends of the siding to spare, and the whole train was now well-hidden among the trees. The 4014’s steam turbines idled down, and the crew quickly disembarked to start checking over everything on the train for signs of transdimensional and radiological damage. Ryan exited his observation car with a leap, and broke into a sprint for the locomotive with Rex in tow, while Victoria’s next of kin were already on the Schnabel Car checking over Lady Liberty.

Ryan eventually made it to the locomotive completely short of breath to find Michelle carrying Alice's body back towards the cab where a stretcher-rover was waiting. The rover is simply an automated tracked vehicle with a patient stretcher mounted on top of its flatbed, with four robotic arms programmed to provide first aid to said patient. Michelle gently lowered the body of the Alien android onto the stretcher, and the rover rumbled away with Alice back to the hospital car, where her body would be placed in cryogenic storage for the time being. The Emerald Angel and the Acting-Railway Admiral exchanged a brief hug in relief that they were okay.

“I’m so glad that you’re ok, Sis.” Ryan said as he hugged Michelle. When we went through the portal just as the OKBM hit, I thought that you were doomed.”

Michelle sighed. “Honestly, I was scared of that too, Little Brother, but thankfully, that didn’t happen. I’m ok, you’re ok, Rex is ok, the train is ok, most of our crew are ok, and we’re safely in Equestria, or somewhere near it. But.....eh......” She gestured to where the S.T.P used to be mounted, and the area around it, still blackened with fire. “The S.T.P is most definitely NOT ok!”

Ryan scratched his head. “Hopefully the damage isn’t too bad. Vic’s looking at it right now, and she’s the best that we’ve got, so I’m sure that we’ll be on our way back home in no time!”

However, a loud scream, followed by the sounds of Victoria yelling and cursing about how messed up the S.T.P was from the workshop railcar caused Ryan’s smile to quickly vanish.

“.....Or we could be stuck here for a while. But in all seriousness, where the heck did we end up? I know that we’re at least on Equus, and are at least near Equestria, but we need to find out where we are, what the date is, and what time it is, and soon!”

Michelle wholly agreed with her younger brother.

As time went on, the crew of the "4-8-8-4" continued with their checks of the entire train, plus 844, and made any necessary repairs, while the embarked robots worked hard to clean the train of any radioactive contaminants. During this whole process, Ryan was continuously moving up and down the length of the train, overseeing everything as best he could.

"Talk to me, Victoria. How badly is the S.T.P messed up?" He asked when he reached the workshop car that Victoria and her kids lived in, which used to belong to him, and Captain Hood before him before it was replaced by Ryan's current Skytop Lounge Car.

She gave him an exacerbated look. "To put it bluntly, this thing's absolutely f@#ked! The containment chamber for the Anomaly is safe, as is the Anomaly within, but everything else is ruined! We'll have to find Princess Twilight, and see if she can help us rebuild it, because we're not going anywhere until she can!"

Ryan sighed. "That's really bad. Well, you and your kids keep doing what you can with it, Vic, and as soon as the train's been cleared of any and all issues, and we actually know where on Equus we are, we can get moving on our way to Ponyville to find Princess Twilight, and have her take a look at it."

"Roger that, Captain." Victoria replied, sighing with frustration.

Ryan was about to move on to continue his rounds up and down the train, but then he began to stagger a bit. He managed to catch himself, but it was soon clear to him that the adrenaline from this harrowing ordeal was wearing off, and this, coupled with his own fatigue, and another incoming autistic burnout indicated that he needed to rest.

"Hey, are you alright, Ry?" Michelle asked, quickly running up to her little brother to make sure he was ok.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine, Mickey." He fibbed.

"Hmm, no, I don't think you are. You're burning out again, aren't you?" She asked, seeing right through her brother's little white lie.

"Ok, fine, I am. But I don't have time to worry about that now. We need to get the train cleared to depart again, get to Ponyville, and find Princess Twilight so that she can fix our S.T.P, so that we can go home."

"Ryan, you need to rest a bit. These burnouts of yours, while caused by your mild Autism, are no joke. You're going to hurt yourself."

"And you're not doing much better, are you, Mickey?" He asked suddenly, turning to her. "The adrenaline from our brush with death wore off a while ago, and you've just been wandering around aimlessly, half-asleep. Don't think I didn't see that."

"What.....ok, maybe that did happen. But still, you need to sleep Ryan. I can't sleep if I'm worrying about you."

"And I can't sleep until the work here is done. This would be so much easier if Fred and Steve were out of the infirmary, since they could oversee some of this, but Dr Kirov won't clear them for another day or two."

Ryan was so exhausted that it completely slipped his mind that Serina could oversee this task just fine while he rested, but then again, Michelle didn't think of it either, as she was also too tired. As the two of them continued to argue with the other about which one of them needed sleep more, and who should sleep first, Serina herself tried to interject, but neither of them were listening to her.

"Ugh, fine then. You two wanna argue like bratty kids who're still up long past their nap-time, I'll bring in someone who'll treat you like bratty kids who're still up long past their nap-time." Serina then quickly contacted Jeep, Ryan's Mister Handy butler and therapist, and quickly informed him of the situation.

"What?! They're both outside arguing like that, in full view of their own men, completely oblivious to it because of how tired they are, yet they refuse to sleep?! Right then! I'll take care of this in short order!"

Jeep then quickly left his charging dock inside of Ryan's Skytop Lounge Car, floated over to the car's door, opened it, and quickly made his way outside, where he floated over to where Ryan and Michelle were, followed closely by Rex, Ryan's faithful German Shepherd, as he wanted to know what was going on.

".......I'm telling you, Mickey, you need to sleep. I'll come join you when I'm done here."

"No, Ryan, I won't. Not until you come sleep too."

"I can't sleep until the work's done!"

"Well I won't sleep either then!"

"Yes, you both will be sleeping, and in short order!" A robotic voice to their right called out in a stereotypical British accent.

Both Ryan and Michelle turned to look, and to their surprise, they saw Jeep floating towards them, the annoyance quite clear in the Mister Handy's voice. They also saw Rex following close behind him.

"Huh? Jeep? What're you doing here?" Ryan asked in surprise.

"I came here because I was ordered to by Miss Serina. And I must say, I was VERY shocked and appalled when I heard what you two were doing. Arguing in full view of your crew?! Not resting when you're supposed to?! Behaving like bratty children?! I'm appalled with both of you! Is this how your adoptive-father raised you?"

Both Ryan and Michelle looked away in embarrassment. If their adoptive father, Texas native Buck Wesley, could see them now, he would be very disappointed in them.

"No, no it wasn't." Michelle replied sheepishly.

"He raised us a lot better than this." Ryan agreed, equally sheepish.

"Then I would highly suggest that the two of you get at least 2 hours of sleep, right now, as that's the time that Miss Serina assured me that it would take to get the train ready to move again."

Ryan's eyes widened a bit in realization. "Serina.......wait. Oh, of course! She can oversee the operation while I rest!"

"Yes, I most certainly can!" The AI piped up from Ryan's watch. "I was trying to remind you of this fact, but you were too busy arguing with Michelle to listen. Now both of you go and do what Jeep says, and get some sleep! I'll wake you up in about 2 hours or so when the work's all done."

Both Ryan and Michelle agreed, and they slowly made their way back to the Skytop Lounge Car, followed closely by Rex and Jeep. Ryan thanked Jeep for intervening on the little argument.

"That's why you're my therapist, in addition to my butler, Jeep; you're always so quick to get to the root of any problem I have."

"You're welcome, Sir. It's my duty as your butler and therapist to serve you after all."

The 4 of them then entered the Skytop Lounge Car, and while Jeep returned to his charging dock, Michelle went into her room to sleep, while Ryan and Rex went to his. Ryan then lay down on his bed, while Rex curled up on the rug next to his bed.

"Goodnight, Rex." Ryan murmured sleepily.

Rex yipped softly in response, and then both he and Ryan went to sleep.

About 2 hours later, just as she promised, Serina began to play alarm-clock sounds over the speakers in Ryan's observation car to wake both him and Michelle up.

"Urgh......has it been 2 hours already, Serina?" Ryan asked sleepily as he opened his eyes again. He definitely felt better than he had before, though he still didn't feel quite 100% yet.

"Yes, I'm afraid it has, Acting Rail-Admiral."

Ryan sighed. "Well, since we're in Equestria again, cut off from the Unified States, I don't see any harm in just being 'Captain Ryan' again." He said as he sat up, and swung his legs over the side of his bed.

"I don't see why not." Michelle called as she walked out of her room, the nanites beginning to form up into her Emerald Angel Battle-Armor again, though sans her helmet.

"Oh, it's nice to see that you've both been resting comfortably." Jeep called from the Skytop Lounge Car's kitchen. "I took the liberty of making you both protein shakes, as well as a quick snack to help you get back to feeling your best."

"Oh, thank you, Jeep." Ryan said as he walked over to the kitchen's counter, and sat down on one of the bar stools, while Rex sat nearby, chewing a bone that Ryan had given him. Michelle wasn't able to sit while wearing her armor, so she removed it so she could.

As they sat drinking their shakes, and eating the snack that Jeep had prepared for them, Ryan turned to Michelle. "So how'd you sleep, Sis?" He asked.

"I slept ok, but I had a really weird dream. What about you?"

Ryan gave her a surprised look. "The same, actually. I slept for the whole 2 hours, but I had a really weird dream too."

"What was it about?" Michelle asked as she sipped her shake.

Ryan paused for a moment. "It was really strange. I dreamed that I was alone, and walking through a forest. I was wearing my usual Railway Captain's attire, and carrying my trusty S&W Model 29 .44 Magnum revolver, but the sun didn't seem to be shining, although it was light in the forest, and while the wind was blowing a bit, there weren't any birds, or any animal noises to be heard at all. However, I then felt like I wasn't alone, and I looked around, but I soon heard the sounds of someone calling for help. They sounded close, and they sounded female, and I ran towards the sounds, and I came to a spot where the trees seemed to clear out, and that's where I saw her."

"Saw who?" Michelle asked, clearly intrigued.

"A girl. She was older than me, maybe in her early 20's, with blonde hair, and she was wearing blue clothes, but they were torn and ratty, and they, and her face and hands, were smeared with dirt, grime, and even blood. The girl looked like she'd been through hell, and she was crying out that she was lost, and I tried to call out to her, but no sounds came out. She then turned and saw me, and her face denoted surprise, and she opened her mouth, but before she could say anything, the dream ended, and I woke up. It was really bizarre, Mickey."

Michelle cocked her head. "Yeah, that was really bizarre, Ry. Do you have any idea who the girl was?"

Ryan shook his head. "No, but then again, I didn't see her as clearly as I would have liked, but that's a dream for you; you never know what you'll experience, or how you'll see things."

"Yeah, that's definitely true. And my dream was just as strange as yours was."

"What was it about, Sis?" Ryan asked.

"Well, I was walking through a grassy field. The sky was overcast, and foggy, and just like your dream, there were no animal noises, but there also wasn't a breeze either. I also wasn't wearing my armor, just my green jumpsuit I wear sometimes. Just as I reached the end of the field, I came to the foot of a grassy hill, with some rocks about halfway up. However, before I could really do anything else, I suddenly heard the sound of movement, and from over the top of the hill, a wolf appeared. It moved with an unnatural grace, and came to a stop about halfway down the hill, and stood looking at me. I saw that the wolf had jet-black fur, blue eyes, a scar over its left eye, various other scars on its body, and to my surprise, it had large black feathery wings on its back as well, like those of an eagle, and based on its size, I think the wolf was a male. He just stood there staring at me, his wings partially unfurled, as if he was contemplating using them. He seemed to be almost beckoning to me to come join him up on the hill, but just as I began to step forwards, the dream ended."

"Huh." Ryan said once Michelle had finished. "Somehow your dream didn't seem quite as weird as mine. It was still unusual though."

"I wonder if our dreams could mean anything. I mean, I'm not saying that they do, I'm just saying that I wonder if they could."

Ryan shrugged. "I have no idea, Mickey."

Just then though, Serina's avatar popped up on Ryan's watch. "Good news, Captain. The crew's just finished wrapping up their examinations of the entire train, as well as conducting all the necessary repairs, and decontamination of the 4014, 844, and the rest of the train as well."

"Oh, well that's great to hear, Serina."

"And that's not all, Sir. While you were asleep, I took the liberty of sending out a few of our Eyebots to see if we could get a fix on our location, as well as the date and time, and their mission was largely successful. We are indeed in Equestria, and we're about 75 miles Northeast from Las Pegasus, with the time being about 10:20am. However, the date remains unknown at this time."

Ryan nodded his head. "Well, that's a relief to know that we are indeed in Equestria, and to know that we're in the Western part of it. Now all we need to do is get moving on our way to Ponyville, and then find Princess Twilight to see if she can help Victoria rebuild the Space-Time Projector. How soon can we get underway, Serina?"

"Well, I was hoping that we'd be able to move now, but like how it was when we arrived in Equestria the first time (which was also in a forest, though that was the Everfree Forest), the 4014's atomic boiler has excess steam pressure that built up from our run here, and needs to be released first. That should only take another few minutes, coupled with another few minutes of final checks, and then we'll be good to go."

"Ok, good. Michelle and I'll be in the car's War-Room, meeting with Paladin Victoria, and the other officers on the train, so alert me when it's all done."

"Will do, Sir."

With a simple thought process, Serina then opened the "4-8-8-4"'s blowout valves, and the excess steam was released into the hundreds of tubes surrounding the reactor, and bypassed the two steam turbines that power the locomotive's two sets of eight driving wheels, eventually making an escape up and out of the twin smokestacks as a large steam cloud rose high above the small patch of woods they were in.

A few minutes later, while the steam was still venting, Ryan and Michelle were in the "4-8-8-4"'s War-Room, chatting with the other officers on the train, and informing them of the situation, and their upcoming trip to Ponyville, when all of a sudden, a blip appeared on the War-Room's digital map, indicating that the train's radar had picked up something, and it was heading their way.

Ryan then turned to the digital map, and saw that the blip seemed to be a train, as it was moving along the railway line, but what gave him pause was the fact that it was moving towards where the "4-8-8-4" was hiding, and at a fair rate of speed too. Knowing that they were off the mainline in a siding, and that it was probably an Equestrian train, Ryan told Serina to use a drone to check it out. He didn't think it was a cause for concern, that was until the AI came back a minute or so later with concerning news.

"Captain, I don't know what that train is, but it's definitely not Equestrian. All Equestrian trains are white, and this one isn't, though the engine is a 4-4-0 locomotive." Serina then pulled up a screen showing drone footage of the incoming train. Ryan and Michelle could see that it was a green 4-4-0 American-type locomotive, pulling a train of 14 cars behind it, but what made Ryan stare was the fact that this train looked to be sporting battle-damage, and it was also heavily armed, with guns being visible on various cars throughout the train, ranging from machine guns, to heavier autocannons, to artillery guns, including at least 2 large howitzers.

"That train's definitely not Equestrian. Any idea who's train that is, Serina?" Michelle asked, more than a bit concerned.

"Not yet, Wing-Commander. I'm running through our database of trains, but I don't recall ever seeing one like this before. It could be a Rouge-Train."

Ryan tensed up when Serina said that, as did the other officers who heard it. "Rouge-Train" was the designation given by the USRWC to armed and armored trains that were used by those loyal to neither the Unified States, or the Tri-Communist Alliance. These "Railway Bandits" as they were known were usually groups of raiders, marauders, deserters, criminals, and other such scum who took advantage of the chaos of the Iron Wars to plunder, rob, and terrorize those in the Wasteland of North America. Most of the Rouge-Trains had either been destroyed, or taken back from their evil crews by this point in the war, but some feared that at least a few of these trains were still out there, and if one of these trains had found its way to Equestria under the control of Railway Bandits? That could prove to be catastrophic to the Ponies, especially since they were still recovering from the war against the Griffon Khans.

After recovering from his moment of surprise, Ryan quickly ordered the crew of the "4-8-8-4" to their battle stations, just in case the train was hostile.

"If they really are Railway Bandits, we need to be ready to neutralize the threat quickly." Ryan told the crew over the intercom.

"Roger that, Sir!"

However, soon after this, the incoming train was a few miles away from the forest, when all of a sudden, its brakes began to come on, and the train was slowing down.

"Sir, the train's slowing down!" One of the officers in the train's CIC reported. "I think they may have spotted us."

"The steam!" Ryan and Serina cried at the same time.

"They must have seen the venting steam, and now they know that we're here!" Serina then quickly began to close the engine's valves to stop venting the steam, even though it was already too late.

However, for a long few minutes, the train just sat there. Ryan could now see the number "1" visible on the engine's front on the feed, as it sat only about 25 yards away from the entrance to the forest. Just then though, a male figure emerged from what would have been the engine cab's left side, dressed in what seemed to be dirty railway worker's garb of overalls, a gray shirt, gloves, boots, and an engineer's cap, but to Ryan's unease, the man was carrying what seemed to be a pistol in his right hand, and in his left hand he was carrying what seemed to be a radio, which he was talking into as he slowly began to approach the forest, having no doubt spotted the "4-8-8-4" within, as he was looking right at it while he walked towards it. However, just as the man passed the cowcatcher of his engine, coming to a sudden stop, as if he sensed danger. Ryan then gave orders to one of the embarked Railway Marines to shoot the man.

"DARYL!!!! THERE'S A GUNMAN UP ON THE CAB'S ROOF!!!!" Another man in the mysterious green engine's cab shouted, seemingly to the man who'd been approaching the train, warning him of danger, having somehow spotted the Railway Marine up on 4014's cab roof.

Just as the Railway Marine pulled his trigger, all hell broke loose.

"Oh.........."

"Man.........."

Daryl and Fred still couldn't believe what they were seeing.

"What the hell is that, Daryl?" Fred asked.

Daryl looked as closely as he could at the mysterious train. It was sitting in the siding in the Desert Woods, but due to it being partially hidden among the trees, and the trees blocking a lot of sunlight from getting in, he wasn't able to see it very well, but its shape seemed.....familiar.

"It's big whatever it is, but does it look familiar to you, Fred?"

Fred was maybe about to respond, but then he and Daryl received a radio call from the mail cars on Iron Glory's train, asking what the holdup was.

"We're not quite sure. There's a train up ahead of us on the siding inside the Desert Woods, but yet, there's no train that's supposed to be there right now. Stay alert back there, as this could be an attempt at one of those train robberies we were warned about." Fred warned.

"Yes, Sir."

Just then though, the wind blew through the trees, allowing in enough sunlight for Daryl and Fred to be able to properly see the train, even if only briefly, and what he saw astonished him. The engine was massive, black and gray, had a huge tender, as well as a 4-8-8-4 wheel configuration. He could also see that the engine was heavily armed with various guns.

"Is that.....the Battleship Express?" Daryl asked.

"It can't be, can it? I thought it was back in Ponyville at the Old Railyard. Plus, even if it was, how did they get ahead of us so fast? And better still, why?"

"I have no idea, Fred."

Daryl then got on the radio with the Equestrian Railway Dispatch, and asked them if there was any train known to be on the siding inside the Desert Woods. A minute or so later, he was informed that no, no such train was supposed to be there. After this, Daryl then contacted the Battleship Express. He was almost certain that the guys were just pulling a practical joke of some kind, but imagine his shock when Major Don answered the radio call, and confirmed that the train was indeed still in Ponyville, and he even did a live video call with them to prove that the Battleship Express was indeed still in the Old Railyard in Ponyville.

"So....what do we do, Sir?" Daryl asked once the video call ended, and they returned to talking on the radio, his face still pale.

"One of you needs to see who's train that is, and if it's crewed or not, while the other one covers him from the cab, and everyone else on the train stays alert for any other threats."

"Yes, Sir."

Daryl then said that he was going to go take a look, and he stepped down from Iron Glory's cab, holding his radio so he could keep Fred updated, as well as his pistol just in case he ran into any trouble. Meanwhile, Fred had his own radio on his shoulder, had Iron Glory's radio receiver in his lap to talk to Major Don if anything happened, and he was also holding a rifle so he could cover Daryl.

"See anything yet, Daryl?" Fred asked once Daryl was about to clear Iron Glory's cowcatcher.

"Yeah, that thing's definitely a Big Boy locomotive. I can't quite read its number-boards from here, as they're not lit up, and I can't see the side of the cab from this angle either, so I don't know which one it is. It's also heavily armed, but its armament differs from our 4009. Its guns are in what look like casemate turrets, it has some kind of phalanx cannon on the front, and....possibly more guns on the roof. I can't quite see. It also looks like it's pulling some kind of train, but I can't see from this distance."

"Do.....do you think this could be the long-lost Big Boy 4012?" Fred asked.

Daryl shrugged. "I dunno Fred. Maybe......." He stopped.

"What is it, Daryl?"

"I don't know for sure, but I could have sworn I just saw movement from somewhere behind the engine, up on the roofs of one of the cars. And I'm getting a really bad feeling that something's not right. I feel like we're being watched."

Fred was sweeping around with his rifle, trying to find any targets, and while he didn't see any at first, he too was getting bad vibes. Just then though, as he was sweeping his scope near the top of the mysterious engine, he caught sight of movement, just like what Daryl had seen. He looked closer, and to his horror, he saw a figure crawl up onto the engine's cab roof, move up into a kneeling position, and raise his rifle.

"Oh f@#k! DARYL!!!! THERE'S A GUNMAN UP ON THE CAB'S ROOF!!!!" He shouted, both over his radio, and to Daryl directly.

Daryl then turned just in time to see the danger, and thanks to him being a Human-Wolf hybrid, he had incredibly fast reflexes, and tried to get out of the way, but nevertheless, a bullet still hit him in his left side. He grunted in pain, staggering back a bit from the force of the impact, but the armor he was wearing underneath his overalls stopped the bullet, and Daryl immediately turned tail and ran for Iron Glory's cab, while Fred opened fire on the gunman, trying to keep Daryl covered until he could make it back to the cab. However, just as Daryl made a flying leap into the cab, one final bullet hit him in the lower left leg, and this one tore through his leg, exiting through the other side, and now Daryl was bleeding, but due to the adrenaline, he felt no pain from his leg wound.

"WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE NOW!!!" Fred yelled to him once he was inside, as he continued to shoot at the gunman.

"You don't have to tell me twice!" Daryl then seized Iron Glory's controls, and with blasts of steam, the engine and its 14 car train quickly began to reverse away from the Desert Woods, still being fired upon.

"I didn't see any smoke or steam coming from that engine when I was approaching it, so it's not under steam." Daryl muttered, still sweating bullets.

"Save for that huge cloud of white smoke or steam we saw. Maybe they had to drop their fire, or something."

"Yeah, but whatever the case, without it being under steam, there's no way it could come after us anytime soon."

Both men then breathed a sigh of relief, but their relief didn't last long, as they suddenly heard a loud, unmistakable train whistle, and when they looked towards the Desert Woods as they continued to speed away from them, to their horror, they suddenly saw the massive engine come racing out of them, still blowing its whistle, and in the light of day, they saw it in its entirety, how heavily armed it was, and the fact that it was pulling a huge train behind it, with all of the cars being heavily armed. It looked just like the Battleship Express, but it was crystal clear now that this train wasn't it, and worst still, it was hostile, as it was trying to chase them down.

"HOW THE F@#K IS THAT THING MOVING?!?!?! IT'S NOT PUTTING OFF ANY SMOKE OR STEAM!!!"

"Maybe it's being pushed by another engine, or maybe it had a diesel conversion, or maybe it's electric, I don't know, Fred!" Daryl replied, equally panicked. "But in any case, we have to warn Major Don about this! He needs to know that the train is chasing us, and how heavily armed it is!"

Fred then seized the radio, while Daryl focused on driving Iron Glory and her train at high speed in reverse.

From the moment the Railway Marine opened fire on the unknown train's engineer, everyone on the "4-8-8-4" raced to their battle stations. They could hear the sounds of bullets hitting close by the train, as well as the train itself from the unknown person in the unknown train's cab shooting back at the Railway Marine, but because of the 4014's advanced armor, the bullets were doing little more than scratching the paint. Soon though, the unknown man who was approaching the train leapt back into the cab of the unknown engine, and the Railway Marine reported his hits.

"I hit him at least twice, Sir!" He called over his radio to Ryan once he was safely back inside the train. "Once in the side, and then one more time in the leg. My first shot must have hit him in whatever armor he was wearing underneath his overalls, as he staggered back, but I saw no blood. I saw blood from the second hit to his leg though, so I know it hit him."

Just then though, the unknown train began to race away from them in reverse, and multiple weapons stations radioed back to Ryan in the Command Suite, asking him for orders.

"We have to chase that train down! We CANNOT let it get anywhere near any city, town or other settlement in Equestria, especially since we know that it's hostile! Serina, get us moving, and chase it down now!"

"Right away, Sir!" Serina then activated the automated controls in 4014's cab, and with a loud whistle, the engine quickly began to move, and pulling the rest of the "4-8-8-4" behind it quickly began to chase after the unknown train.

To the surprise of those on "4-8-8-4", the unknown train was faster than they thought it was going to be, even in reverse, and it certainly wasn't taking being chased lightly. From other cars in the train, various guns were being fired at the "4-8-8-4", including the 2 large howitzers.

"Jeez. Their firepower may be old, but it still packs a punch!" A crewman yelled when a shell impact rattled the car he was in. "We may have more advanced weapons and armor than they do, but we still need to be careful, as even amateurs can get lucky!"

Ryan meanwhile was giving orders for the weapons officers on the "4-8-8-4" to try and target the unknown train's weapons, but to not directly destroy it.

"But, Sir, why can't we just target the train and destroy it?" One of them asked.

"Only because we need answers from that train, and its crew!" Ryan called back. "We need to capture them, and find out who they are, and where they came from. Yes, they're most likely Railway Bandits, but how did they get here to Equestria? We have to know!"

"Do.....do you think that this could have anything to do with the Communists having the Hawking Gates, and trying to test them?" Michelle asked in a worried tone.

Ryan turned to her with a worried expression. "I pray to God that you're wrong, Sis, but given the circumstances, we cannot rule that out as a possibility, since not only do the Communists have the Hawking Gates, which are nearly fully operational, but they also have the information about Equestria that was in "4-8-8-4"'s data-banks that they were able to obtain during that hacking breach back in Oregon. Maybe this was a trial-test, which if true, means that maybe those aren't Railway Bandits, but are in fact Communist soldiers."

Michelle was incredibly worried about this, but before she could, a shell from one of the unknown train's howitzers suddenly impacted with the roof of the Skytop Lounge Car, but thankfully didn't penetrate. However, the impact was enough to throw both Ryan and Michelle off of their feet, and scatter a few loose items. A strike from one of "4-8-8-4"'s guns neutralized the howitzer soon after. The 4014 also tried to ram the much smaller engine, trying to rip it off the rails, but to the amazement of Serina, and the other crewmen, the little 4-4-0 bravely held its own against an engine at least 4, if not 5 times its own size, and refused to be ripped off the rails.

"Serina, report on the unknown train!" Ryan called to the AI.

"That's just it, Captain, I got nothin'!"

"What, nothing?? What'dya mean you got nothing?!" He asked in disbelief.

"Just what I said, Sir, I've got nothing! That train doesn't match any known train in our database! However its paint scheme, numbering, and lettering all match those of a locomotive that disappeared during the Battle of Vegas in WW6, almost 269 years ago!!!"

Ryan was shocked. "Wait, they match those of a locomotive that vanished 269 years ago during the 6th World War?! Which locomotive is it?!"

"It's an American 4-4-0 locomotive known as 'Iron Glory'. It was a supply train attached to a behemoth of a war-train called the 'Battleship Express', which was the flagship of the US Army's 'Railway Warfare Division', the predecessor of the Unified States Railway Warfare Corps."

"And during the Battle of Vegas during WW6, the train just vanished?"

"That's correct, Captain. When the battle went nuclear, the engine and its train were never seen or heard from again, and were presumably destroyed, alongside the Battleship Express, which was also never seen again after that battle."

Ryan's mind was racing a mile a minute. He already knew that the chances of this engine being the original Iron Glory were slim, as it seemed impossible given the amount of time that had passed. He instead speculated that this engine was simply made up to look like the original Iron Glory, perhaps as a disguise.

"Well, whatever that train is, we have to stop it now! Put some more hot lead onto their weapons!" He ordered.

"Sir, yes Sir." Serina replied.

By this point, most of the various cars of the unknown train were smoking, if not burning, though the fires were always quickly extinguished, seemingly by someone, or several someones acting as damage-control. Most of its heavy guns seemed to have been destroyed, or rendered inoperative, but a few were still firing. The "4-8-8-4" also tried to land a number of hits on the engine's boiler, but despite being able to dent the boiler, their shells were having no effect on it, and due to the close range between the 2 trains, they couldn't use any bigger missiles or bigger shells, as those could destroy both the train, and the tracks beneath it, which would quickly render "4-8-8-4" derailed from not being able to stop in time. And due to the close range between the 2 trains, the C-RAM launcher on the front of the 4014 was unable to get a lock on the unknown train either. Just then though, the unknown train raced past a sign.

"Ponyville: 50 Miles".

Back on Iron Glory, it was near total pandemonium. The weapons on the train, including its 2 large howitzers, were seemingly having negligible, if any effect on the other train, but its weapons were having quite the effect on the much older, and weaker armored Iron Glory and its train. Multiple shells were hitting the cars, knocking out some of the guns, while other guns were damaged, and the crew in those cars were also being wounded. Luckily, the cars on the train that were carrying the mail were more heavily armored, but even that armor was being dented, if not punctured by the guns of the other train, forcing the mail clerks inside to not only be constantly dodging shrapnel, but also keeping the bags of mail inside the cars from catching fire, or being sucked out of the train. Others were also hard at work on keeping Iron Glory's other cars from catching on fire, though the smoke from them was helping mask the train ever so much.

Meanwhile, up in the cab, Daryl continued to drive, while Fred was firing an M2 Browning heavy machine gun at the front of the other locomotive, trying to puncture its boiler, or even the smokebox door, but even the heavy .50 caliber bullets were only putting minor dents in the locomotive.

"What the f@#k is that thing made of?! Vibranium?!" Fred cried. "I can't punch through it anywhere! Heck, even that C-RAM launcher, or whatever that is on the front seems to be immune! The only thing I did manage to destroy were the engine's number boards, so now we don't know what Big Boy locomotive it is!"

Daryl didn't answer, as he was currently on the radio with Major Don, informing him of the situation.

"We're freaking out beyond belief here, Major! That other train has weapons and armor unlike anything we've ever seen before! Even our heavy machine guns, artillery guns, and 2 howitzers can barely even dent it, while its guns are punching through our train!"

"Have they tried to contact you, or you them?" Major Don asked, still having a hard time believing what Daryl was telling him, despite him seeing evidence of it through a video screen at times.

"Negative, Major! Fred's tried, but we've received no response from them, and they haven't tried to contact us!"

Just then, Iron Glory began to shudder violently from another shell impact.

"OH F@#K!!! THEY'VE TAKEN OUT ONE OF OUR HOWITZERS!!!" Fred cried, looking back at the rear of the train as it went around a bend.

"We CANNOT survive hits like this much longer, Major! We need help out here now!"

"And where are you now?" Major Don asked.

"We're about 65 miles outside of Ponyville. And have all trains on our line been halted?"

"Yes, they have. I informed Equestrian Railway Dispatch of the situation, and they immediately halted all trains on your line, and cleared it all the way to Ponyville. Do you think you can make it another 65 miles?"

Before Daryl could answer though, the other train that was chasing them suddenly began to repeatedly ram Iron Glory's front, seemingly trying to rip the little 4-4-0 right off the rails. However, Iron Glory held her own, but the engine was being shaken quite violently. Eventually, a few shells from the train's remaining howitzer, and smaller artillery guns were able to get the train to back off just long enough for Iron Glory to pick up even more speed. They were racing backwards at nearly 80mph, with a train behind them, while being pursued by a much larger, much more heavily armed and armored train that was pulled by a Big Boy locomotive, but not a normal one.

"Augh! They just tried to ram us Major! I don't know if we can make it or not! Iron Glory's never taken a beating like this before! I don't know how much longer she can hold together!"

Just then, Fred looked down, and saw Daryl's left pant-leg was all bloody. "Oh shit! Daryl, your leg! You've been hit!"

"What?!" Daryl then looked down, and realized that his left leg had been hit, and upon further examination, realized that a bullet had gone through his leg. He was then able to use a mixture of medical pads, gauze and duct tape to stop the bleeding on his leg for the time being, before resuming his focus on getting Iron Glory back to Ponyville.

"Hmph. Must've happened when I made my leap into the cab just before we took off." He muttered.

Iron Glory's last remaining howitzer managed to score a hit on the last car of the unknown train, which did cause an explosion, but no one was able to tell if the shell had penetrated the car's roof before detonating or not. This was also the last shot fired by the train's last howitzer, as a few moments later, it too took a direct hit, disabling it. Iron Glory was now down to only a handful of machine guns, 2-3 light artillery guns, and a mortar launcher that was all but useless in this scenario.

"How're things doing back there?" Fred radioed back to the rest of the train. "Yes, I KNOW that the guns are largely useless now, but are all of you still alive? And more importantly, what about the mail?"

One of the postal workers answered him. "We're all still alive back here, Fred, but we've taken one hell of a beating. The Mail Cars have all been breached, and some of the mail has been damaged, including a number of crates and boxes with holes from bullets and shrapnel, but thankfully, no mail has been lost. But even once we make it back to Ponyville, this is gonna take us AGES to sort out!" Fred then heard the sounds of a fire extinguisher being used. "Agh, and I'm VERY thankful the fire extinguishers back here were given duplication spells by Twilight Sparkle so that they'll never run out of extinguishing agent!"

"I can agree with that." Fred replied.

Just then, more shells from the train that was chasing them struck Iron Glory's boiler, shaking the engine violently, though thankfully they were unable to penetrate it. However, by this point, they knew that they were only about 10 miles from Ponyville, and that help from the Battleship Express and her crew would be on top of them very soon.

A while before all of the action started, back in Ponyville, the day, August 12th, just looked like it was going to be a normal day for everyone and everypony. The Battleship Express was sitting in the Old Railyard, construction on what was going to be the Imperial War Museum was continuing at a good pace, Ponyville was quiet and peaceful as usual, and all seemed right with the world.

I was currently taking a break, and decided to finally get around to doing something that I should have done ages ago, but kept forgetting to because of how small of a task it was; finally fixing the lock on the door to my quarters on the Battleship Express. It had broken all the way back during the Battle of Phoenix, Arizona in WW6, and I'd never gotten around to fixing it, even while the Battleship Express was getting her overhaul done in Lund, Nevada just before the Battle of Vegas. I forgot about it during the Imperial War, even when Rainbow Dash snuck into my room on the day after the Battle of Ponyville, and after the Imperial War ended, I forgot about it completely, since I no longer lived on the Battleship Express. However, now that I was living on the Battleship Express again during the events of this new Timeline, today was the day it was finally going to get fixed.

I was back in the one of the BE's supply cars, talking with the quartermaster on duty, a man in his late 30's named Jerry Smith. He'd owned a hardware store before the World Wars, which made him a good fit for a quartermaster.

"Ah, Captain Leopard. It's nice to see you again, as it's been a while. What can I do for you?" He asked warmly

"Hey, Jerry, and it's nice to see you again too. And I need a new door lock for the door to my quarters. Same kind as before, a Type 2 turning-latch."

"Hmm, finally getting around to fixing it I see." He said, chuckling a bit as he looked through the various shelves behind him.

"Yeah, it's about time I finally did so." I agreed.

"Ah, here we are." He then picked one up and handed it to me.

I then filled out the paperwork for it. "Thanks, Jerry."

"Anytime, Captain."

I then returned to my room, and quickly set about fixing the lock. It didn't take very long, and once I was finished, and the door actually locked now for the first time in 2 years (or 6 years if you saw this as 2034 rather than 2030), I took the original lock, and placed it in a door in my desk as a memento. I then looked down at Aurora, who was sleeping on the rug next to my bed, smiled a bit, and then began to look at my PipBoy, completely unaware at the moment that in the Primary Command Center, Major Don was currently on the radio with Fred and Daryl, being briefed on the situation, and that in a very short span of time, my life, and the lives of everyone else on the BE were about to be changed forever once again.

As I was sitting on my bed while looking at Aurora, suddenly, from all across the train, alarms began to blare. I jumped a bit, startled by the sudden noise, which also woke up Aurora.

"Huh? What's going on, Master?" She asked, a bit worried.

"I don't know, Aurora. Maybe it's just a drill, or maybe someone set it off by accident while they were trying to fix something."

However, these notions were shattered a few moments later when I heard the sounds of running footsteps throughout the train, and Don's voice suddenly came over the intercom.

"Attention all hands on the BE! Attention all hands on the BE! This is Major Don! I just received word from Iron Glory and her crew that they're under attack, but by a force much deadlier than just simple train robbers!" He then went on to explain more from his conversation with Daryl and Fred, and how the unknown train was now chasing Iron Glory down the line, and had damaged its train and weapons quite badly.

I was stunned. Iron Glory was being attacked by another war-train, one that looked just like the Battleship Express, but had more advanced weapons? It didn't seem possible.

"But this unknown train is closing in on Ponyville fast while in hot pursuit of Iron Glory, and we have to block its path to prevent it from getting here! All hands, General Quarters! Get to your battle stations now! This is not a drill! I repeat, this is not a drill!"

In a flash, I'd jumped up from my bed, grabbed my Pip-Boy, slapped it onto my left wrist, before putting on my gray helmet, and quickly grabbing all of my guns, from my trusty M1911 (supplementing my usual Glock 9mm, which was currently being repaired), my ChesterTon M4 rifle, my combat shotgun, my Bowie knife, and of course, my trusty fire-ax, which I attached to my back. I then grabbed my famous Kitsune mask, and slid it over my face once again. I'm now once again the Captain Leopard that the Futas, Zebras, and Caribou all feared, and now whoever this new enemy was, they were going to feel my wrath as well. At this same time, Aurora was quickly getting back into her battle armor, and checking all of her weapons systems with DELCI's help.

"All good Aurora?" I ask her.

"Yeah, all good! All weapons systems online!"

"Good! Then let's go!"

We both then raced out of my room to link up with the others on the train.

Outside of the BE, all construction work on the Imperial War Museum was brought to a screeching halt, and all workers were instructed to seek shelter immediately. All BE Crew and Battalion 4009 Soldiers outside of the train at the time were immediately recalled for active duty, while alarms in Ponyville itself were blaring, Ponies were running around in a panic, and Twilight, and the rest of the Mane 6 were trying to lead an orderly evacuation of the town with help from the Battalion 4009 Soldiers, and several detachments of the Equestrian Royal Guard, while other detachments of the Equestrian Army were quickly being deployed to set up a defensive perimeter around Ponyville itself, and put up various fortifications.

Meanwhile, over at Ryerson Air Force Base just outside of Ponyville, alarms were blaring there too. Pilots and aircrews were rushing out to their planes, helicopters, and other aircraft, while ground crews got the aircraft ready to take to the skies, and others were securing fuel, ammunition, and either bringing them out to the aircraft, or moving them to secure storage bunkers. At this same time, various Unicorns were also getting ready to put up a Magical dome-shield over the AFB to protect it from any attack as unfortunately, the base's experimental shield generator was not yet ready for deployment.

"GET THOSE PLANES AND CHOPPERS IN THE AIR NOW!!!!" Air Marshal Sky-Shield commanded. "WE HAVE TO GET OUR AIR SUPPORT UP IN THE SKY, AND READY TO DEFEND PONYVILLE, AND THE SURROUNDING AREA!!!!!"

"SIR, YES SIR!!!"

The first wave of interceptor planes and helicopters were taking off, followed closely a wave of fighters and ground attack aircraft, and then a wave of bombers took to the skies in case they were needed. Other planes were being prepped as well, while drones from the BE were sent out to follow the railroad tracks to see if they could spot Iron Glory, and the pursuing train.

Back on the BE itself, the alarms were still blaring, DELCI and the weapons crews were getting the trains weapons ready to go, while up in the cab, First Engineer Joe Dixon, First Fireman Frank Otis, First Brakeman Carl Vinson, and their 2 Engine Guardsmen were frantically trying to get the Big Boy ready to move from a cold-start. Coal was being shoved into the firebox, which had been rapidly lit, and was now being fueled by a special liquid used in emergency startup situations. It would burn extremely hot, and was used to start the fire, get it roaring, and burn hot enough to quickly start burning the coal around it, as well as turning the water into steam, while the fire itself was also being blown by huge blowers. As had been demonstrated in the past, the BE could go from standing cold to fully ready to move in less than 10 minutes in an emergency situation such as this, and that was proving true today.

"How's it looking up there, Joe?" Don asked him.

"We only need a few more minutes, Sir." Joe replied.

"Ok, but make it snappy. Time is of the essence!"

"Understood, Sir."

Don then began to check in with DELCI and Jim, as well as all of the train's weapons stations, and one by one, all of them sounded off that they were ready to go.

"Everything is all good, Boss!" DELCI informed him. "All stations report that all weapons are functional, and we're ready to kick some ass!"

"Roger that, DELCI!" Don called from the Primary Command Center (PCC).

Meanwhile in the Secondary Command Center (SCC), Aurora and I were there, as were Alex and Todd, while Fed and Andy were manning the two domed machine gun turrets on the roof of our car, both of which had just recently been fully refurbished, and returned to operational status.

"This brings back some serious Deja-Vu." Todd muttered.

"Yeah, this is just like the Battle of Vegas. The 3 of us, plus Aurora were here in the SCC, while Fred and Andy manned the guns, but they manned the guns on the car behind us, as the ones on our roof hadn't been rebuilt yet." Alex agreed.

"Let's just hope that there's no nuking involved this time." I muttered nervously. I was looking over at the console that I'd used to fire that nuclear shell in Vegas, which had been completely gutted following that incident on Don's orders, preventing it from being used again, as he didn't want anyone else firing nuclear ordnance on their own. This was why all nuking done during the Imperial War had been done from the PCC.

Alex and Todd both looked at me, and I could see in their eyes all of the memories of the Battle of Vegas, and its aftermath, which ended with the Mojave getting nuked, myself and Aurora getting thrown to the floor of the SCC, Todd hitting a wall and getting knocked out, and Alex slamming his head against the digital map as he fell, getting knocked out as well.

However, before we could say anything else, Don came over the intercom announcing that Iron Glory was less than 10 miles from Ponyville, and had been switched off onto another line, and would soon be in Ponyville via an alternate route, while the mainline was left open for us to intercept the unknown war-train. Moments later, once they had the go-ahead from Major Don, Joe blew the engine's whistle with its signature banshee-scream, and the BE quickly began to move out, followed closely by the ghostly Gun Truck, and the White Tiger tank, both of which were driving themselves, and quite eager to get a crack at a new enemy.

it only took us a few minutes to get outside of Ponyville, where we brought the BE to a halt on the mainline, maybe a mile outside of Ponyville, where the Battalion 4009 Soldiers, and some of the BE's Crew who would be fighting outside of the train quickly disembarked, and began to set up their own weapons and fortifications, as well as occupy various trenches and foxholes that had been dug near the tracks for defensive purposes. Ghost Truck and the White Tiger took up defensive positions, as did the various other armed and armored construction vehicles of Battalion 4009's Construction Brigade. Aurora and I, as well as Todd were in a foxhole on the train's left side, maybe 25 feet away from the engine. Todd was manning a machine gun, Aurora had her suit's sniper rifle ready, and I'd pulled out my M4 rifle, and was quickly sighting in its scope. All around us, everyone else was doing the same. The BE was ready for war, as were the Royal Guards, and other Equestrian soldiers tasked with defending Ponyville from whatever was coming, while the Elements of Harmony were getting everypony in Ponyville, as well as themselves to safety, and Twilight was informing Princess Celestia of the situation.

We then saw a badly damaged Iron Glory pass by, and heard it hit its brakes once it reached the other side of Ponyville.

"Well, at least they're all safe." Aurora said quietly.

I was just about to agree with her when the rails began to vibrate and hum, meaning that a train was approaching, and quickly. Then we all became aware of a loud chugging sound, and from around a bend in the distance, we all caught sight of the black silhouette of the unknown train as it came chugging closer, though it soon braked to a stop maybe a mile away from the Battleship Express, and its well-defended position. Then we all heard shouting, and what seemed to be soldiers and robots began to pour out of the other war-train, and take up defensive positions around it, just like what we had done, while drones were taking to the skies. It looked like a standoff was just beginning.

"Here we go." I muttered, looking through the scope of my rifle.

While the Battleship Express and her crew were getting ready to defend Ponyville, back out on the "4-8-8-4", Serina was making a very interesting report.

"The unknown train that we've been chasing has just been switched off the mainline that we're on, off onto a different line, Captain Ryan. We can still see it, but there's not much we can do about it, since we're getting danger-close to Ponyville itself. Though by the looks of things, that train isn't slowing down, so maybe it'll blow through Ponyville."

"Blast!" Ryan muttered. He and others on the "4-8-8-4" had been trying to raise anyone on the radio, either in Ponyville, or elsewhere to warn them of the incoming train, but strangely, they weren't getting any replies on the radio frequency that had been set aside for their use during and after the war against the Griffon Khans.

"Do you think they, or others could be jamming our signals?" Michelle asked.

Ryan shrugged. "it's possible, Mickey, however, our signals are getting through, but there's just no replies."

However, before Ryan could say anything else, the radars on the "4-8-8-4" started going crazy, and those in the CIC were reporting that the skies were full of all kinds of aircraft, ranging from drones, to interceptors, to fighters, bombers, helicopters, ground attack aircraft, and more.

"What?! How's that even possible?! Equestria doesn't have its own air force!" Ryan cried.

"I don't think that they're Equestrian, Sir." One of the radar techs reported. "Plus, these planes all seem to be a hodge-podge of planes from so many different eras. Heck, some of them even have propellers on them!"

While Ryan was trying to get more information about these aircraft, some of which were starting to circle overheard like vultures prior to being scattered by the "4-8-8-4" launching flares up at them, Michelle suddenly looked at a feed screen that was showing what was ahead of the 4014, and it gave her pause.

"Wait, what's that?" She asked.

"What's what?" Serina asked.

"That column of smoke that's coming up around that bend, near where Ponyville is." Michelle replied, pointing to it.

Serina then used a drone from the "4-8-8-4" to look around the bend, and what she saw made her (non-existent AI) heart stop. There, looming around the bend, maybe a mile outside of Ponyville, was another unknown train, but this one was much, much bigger than the first one. It seemed to be pulled by another Big Boy locomotive, and it was pulling cars of weapons behind it.

"Oh f@#k! Captain Ryan!" Serina called.

"What? What is it Serina?" Ryan asked.

"LOOK!!!" She cried, directing his and Michelle's attention, as well as the attention to the rest of the officers in the "4-8-8-4"'s War Room to the screen, and when they saw what Serina's drone footage was showing, all of their jaws were on the ground in shock.

"What.......what is that?!" Sergeant 1st Class David McKnight, the leader of the "4-8-8-4"'s Embarked Armored Cavalry asked.

"It.......it looks like another Big Boy war-train!" Victoria said with equal shock.

"But......but that can't be! We're onboard '4-8-8-4', while '4-8-8-1' and '4-8-8-2' are up in Canada, and '4-8-8-3' is still back in California, and she no longer has her original battleship war-train consist!" Ryan spluttered.

"Were any other Big Boy war trains like this built?" David asked.

"That's a negative!" Serina answered. "Out of the 7 known Big Boys, 4004 and 4005 are in storage, 4006 is a designated USRWC training engine, 4014 pulls the '4-8-8-4', while 4017 pulls '4-8-8-1', 4018 pulls '4-8-8-2', and 4023 pulls '4-8-8-3'. All of these engines are accounted for!"

"And what's the number of this locomotive?" Ryan asked.

".......4009!" Serina reported once she zoomed in enough to read the locomotive's number boards. "Which is impossible, as Big Boy 4009 was scrapped several centuries ago in the 1960's! However, there was one other Big Boy with that number; the Big Boy that pulled the Battleship Express, flagship of the Railway Warfare Division, but that train went missing all the way back in 2029 during the Battle of Vegas during the 6th World War."

"Is......is it possible that the Communists could have built their own Big Boy war-train?" Victoria asked with worry.

The others looked at her with equal worry.

"That's.......a fair question, Vic." Ryan pointed out. "In all honest truth, they could have. And with the Hawking Gates being in their possession, as well as knowledge of Equestria........" He trailed off, but everyone else knew what he was thinking.

Serina then reported that next to the train were various trenches, foxholes, artillery pieces, machine guns, mortar launchers, and other weapons, all manned by various soldiers wearing blue uniforms with gray armor pieces.

"I can't say for sure, but based on the fact that this train is located outside of Ponyville, and it, and the soldiers with it are pointing their weapons towards us, coupled with the fact that the citizens of Ponyville are fleeing their homes, I think it's safe to assume that this train was in the process of taking over Ponyville, and we interrupted them, but yet, I can't see any signs of smoke, fire, or any battle damage." Serina reported, some confusion in her voice.

Ryan shook his head. "In any case, we have to act fast. As soon as we round that bend, and have that other train in our sights, I want our Railway Marines, Embarked Armored Calvary, Battle Angels, and our military robots to disembark from the train, and create our own defensive fortifications. They know that we're coming, yet haven't shot first, which means that they may want to size us up first. Well, let's give them a good show and show them that the '4-8-8-4' is NOT to be toyed with!"

Everyone else agreed, and as soon as the "4-8-8-4" rounded the bend, Serina began to put the brakes on, and once the train stopped about a mile away from the unknown war-train, all of the fighting forces began to pour out, and set up their own defensive positions, but neither side opened fire, but were watching each other closely. The intense standoff had begun.

For a while, nothing seemed to happen. Both trains, their crews, and their embarked soldiers stood at the ready, weapons pointed at the enemy, while drones and aircraft flew overhead, but no one moved. By this point in time though, Aurora, Todd and I were no longer alone in our foxhole, as Briana decided to show up. The annoying Sphinx, currently the size of a house cat was perched on my shoulders, hanging on with her claws.

"So, what's the scoop, Master?" She asked.

I roll my eyes a bit. "We're currently in a standoff with a Battleship Express-lookalike, but it has much more advanced weaponry, as well as tougher armor. The engine’s cab side numbers say that it's Big Boy 4014, but that's impossible, as Big Boy 4014 is still in the hands of the Architects of the Past, being held in a secure bunker in Pennsylvania as of 2034, 4 years in the future from now."

Briana's eyes lit up. "Ooh, a mystery! How fun!"

"Yeah, 'fun'. At least Ponyville was evacuated in case this gets ugly, and Twilight was able to inform the Princesses of the situation in case a full-scale battle breaks out. And if one does, I'll get to try out the VATS targeting feature on my PipBoy." I muttered.

"Yeah, true that. Though why haven't they opened fire yet?"

Aurora shrugged (at least as much as a wolf can shrug). "I don't know, Todd. From what I can tell, they seemed to be just as confused about this situation as we are. I can see them all looking at us through my scope, but yet they're making no moves to fire on us."

"Yeah, which is good." He then paused. Though here's a thought. Do you think that that war-train had anything to do with that massive *boom* we heard a few hours ago?"

I thought for a second. "Hmm, that's a good question, Todd. Maybe it was."

Across the battlefield, the situation was the same. The crew of the "4-8-8-4" were indeed just as confused and surprised as we were that this standoff was continuing, rather than devolving into a full-scale battle, though they could tell just as much that the tensions were running high.

"This is just bizarre, Ryan. If they really were Railway Bandits, or Communist soldiers, why haven't they opened fire on us yet?" Michelle asked Ryan over her comms from her position outside the train.

Ryan could only shrug. "I have no idea, Mickey. Unless they're trying to find weaknesses in our defenses."

"They have an AI of their own, I can tell you that much, Captain." Serina reported.

"They have an AI?" Ryan asked.

"Yeah. I tried to see if I could quietly slip into their systems, and for a brief moment I was in, but then something woke up, screamed and cursed at me, and then shoved me out. It's an older female AI, but definitely not one to be taken lightly."

Just then though, before Ryan could say anything else, the radio in the war room suddenly crackled to life.

"Attention unknown train, attention unknown train! This is Major Donald Curry of the Battleship Express, flagship war-train of the Railway Warfare Division of the United States Army. You're encroaching on the town of Ponyville. We have your train in our sights, and we demand your immediate surrender!"

Ryan and Serina looked at each other (well, at least as far as one can look at an AI's holographic avatar anyway). They knew right away that this transmission was coming from the unknown train, now identified as the "Battleship Express".

Ryan quickly grabbed the radio receiver. "This is Acting-Railway Admiral Ryan Homer of the '4-8-8-4', flagship war-train of the Unified States Railway Warfare Corps, and we demand YOUR immediate surrender! You're holding the town of Ponyville hostage, and we request that you leave immediately, or face dire consequences!"

There was silence for a few moments. "Ok, now I know that you're full of it, Buddy. First of all, it's the 'United States', not the 'Unified States'; any real American would know that. And secondly, there's no such thing as the 'Railway Warfare Corps'; it doesn't exist. Are you working with the Futa Empire?"

"There hasn't been a United States in almost 200 years." Ryan replied. "And no, we're not part of this 'Futa Empire' you speak of. However, we're well privy to your tricks, you Communist scum!"

"Communism is dead, 'Acting-Railway Admiral Ryan', if that even is your real name and rank. We should know, we helped kill it dead back in WW5."

"Oh no, it's alive and well, 'Major Donald Curry', if that's even YOUR real name and rank. And you would know, since you're working for them! Though what I want to know is, where'd you guys get your own Big Boy locomotive? Did you build it, or did you find Big Boy 4012?"

"........Did......did you just say Big Boy 4012?" Don asked, a bit shaken at suddenly hearing the name of the lost Big Boy, as was Jim next to him. This wasn't something that many Futas or their allies would be privy to.

"Yes, I said Big Boy 4012. And you didn't answer my questions, Major."

"No, ours isn't Big Boy 4012, just as yours isn't Big Boy 4014. Big Boy 4014 is currently sitting in a secured bunker in Pennsylvania, under the care of the Architects of the Past."

Now it was Ryan's turn to pause. "Wait. Did you say.......'the Architects of the Past'?" He asked, remembering what Victoria had told him about the history of the Brotherhood of Steel, and the organization that came before it.

"Yeah, you heard me correctly, Acting-Railway Admiral." Don replied.

While Don and Ryan continued to talk to each other over the radio, and growing more and more confused at what the other was saying, Serina was piloting a drone, hovering it in front of another drone, this one being piloted by DELCI. The 2 AI's were using their drones like bumper-cars, trying to knock the other out of the sky, but in one swift motion, the drones flew past each other, with Serina's drone ending up over the Battleship Express, and DELCI's drone ending up over the "4-8-8-4", and the 2 AI's making a discovery that would have a huge impact on the current situation.

"Wait, what?" Serina zoomed in her drone's camera feed, and to her surprise, on the shoulders of the soldiers manning the defenses next to the war-train, she saw unmistakable American flag patches, and further back from the lines, an American flag was flying alongside the Equestrian flag at the Ponyville train station. "They're......they're actually American?" She asked herself in surprise.

At this same time, DELCI was making her own discovery. Some of the soldiers she saw down below also had American flag patches on their uniforms, while others had patches from a few other nations on them, such as Australia and New Zealand, and the robots had American flags painted onto them. And then she saw a battle-worn American flag, a battle-worn Australian Flag, and a battle-worn New Zealand flag all hanging together on one of the cars of the other war-train. "Wait, they're American, Australian, and New Zealander?" She asked in surprise.

DELCI then went to report her findings to Don, while Serina did the same to Ryan.

"Wait, you saw American flag patches on their uniforms, and an American flag flying next to the Equestrian flag at the Ponyville Train Station?" Ryan asked.

"Affirmative, Sir. I could also see at least a few other American flags in and around Ponyville, and all of them flying alongside or near an Equestrian flag. If they were an invading force, they wouldn't be doing this, and nor would Ponyville not be showing any signs of battle-damage. Which is beyond strange, as it was still damaged from our war with the Griffon Khans, and being repaired, but Ponyville looks pristine now."

"That's.......that's really strange, Serina, especially the lack of any damage." Ryan replied. Serina had reported this earlier, but due to the tension of the situation at hand, Ryan hadn't thought through what Serina said about Ponyville not having any battle-damage from the war with the Griffon Khans until now. "But they really are American?"

"They seem to be, Sir. All of the audio I was picking up from the ground were of the crew speaking English, and with accents from various parts of America, and frequent use of American colloquialism."

At this same time, DELCI was reporting her findings to Don.

"So some of them had American flag patches on their uniforms, while others had patches from a few other European nations, and I saw flags from America, Australia, and New Zealand. Their entire unit seems to be composed of American, a few European, and Australian and New Zealand troops, almost like a coalition force."

Don then got on the radio, but at this same time, Ryan also got on the radio.

"Wait, you really are American??" Ryan asked.

"Wait, you're a coalition force led by American forces??" Don asked at the same time.

"Yes." Both men replied at the same time.

"How'd you know?" Ryan asked.

"Our AI told me. And how'd you know that we were American?"

"Our AI told me. And it would also seem that you're not here to conquer Equestria, and aren't holding Ponyville hostage, are you, Major?"

"No, we're not. We were only mobilized because you were chasing Iron Glory, and attacking them, and we were afraid you were here to conquer Equestria."

"Well, we're not. And wait, Iron Glory? Is that the green American 4-4-0 locomotive pulling a train we were chasing?"

"Yes, that was Iron Glory!" Don replied.

"I'm starting to get a feeling that this whole situation is a really big misunderstanding, and that neither side here is the bad guys, but they thought that the other side was bad, and acted out of a sense of protection, which was misplaced."

"I'm getting the same feeling, Acting-Railway Admiral. I'll stand my forces down if you'll stand yours down, and then we can talk face to face, and fully get up to speed with each other."

"I agree, Major. We're standing down."

"As are we."

Ryan then got on the comms, and radioed the entire crew of the "4-8-8-4", and those in defensive positions next to and above the train. "Everyone stand down, I repeat, stand down everyone! They're not the enemy, they're Americans!"

At this same time, Don was radioing everyone onboard the Battleship Express, and those in the trenches, foxholes, and other fortifications next to it. "Everyone Stand down, I repeat, everyone stand down! The other train is part of an allied coalition, and aren't the enemy!"

When we all heard that the other side was friendly, and not an enemy, everyone from both trains looked on in surprise and shock, but yet, we also felt relief. Up until just a few moments ago, we were all certain that blood on both sides was going to be spilled today, but now that everyone was standing down, that crisis seemed to be averted. We all lowered our weapons, though we remained where we were, as neither side was fully sure what to do.

However, the sounds of relieved sighs were was broken by the fluttering of wings, and then Don landed next to the front of the 4009, while a short time later, Ryan appeared at the front of the 4014.

He then looked down into the foxhole I was in at me. "Leopard, I'm going halfway to meet Acting-Railway Admiral Ryan Homer. If anyone tries anything to break the truce, shoot them."

"Eh, I really don't think that that's a good idea, Don." I say, still holding my rifle. "This could be a trap."

I was deeply concerned for Don's safety, since he was the BE's Commanding Officer, and Don seemed to sense this as well. He hesitated, as did Ryan, both of whom seemed to be thinking the same thing. Was it really wise for the commanding officers of both trains to meet halfway when they didn't fully know the true intentions of the other side? After talking it over for a few minutes via shouts, It was decided that I was going to go meet halfway, since I was the BE's 2nd Engineer, and her 3rd in command, and I was going to be meeting Knight Paladin Victoria. I was a bit surprised that I was meeting a leader of an embarked unit of soldiers, rather than one of the "4-8-8-4"'s officers, but I was informed that Victoria was acting as the train's Chief Engineer, as the regular engineers, Fred Hallows and Steven Maxwell were currently indisposed.

"Same thing that Don just said applies here." I tell Todd, Aurora, and by default, Don, and everyone else nearby. "If anyone over there tries to break the truce, and prematurely end my life-story, kindly Amazon Prime-deliver their ass straight to God!"

"You got it, Captain!" Todd said, chuckling a bit at my comment.

I then sighed a bit, said a silent prayer for protection, and then began to make the half-mile walk to the halfway point between our trains to meet Knight-Paladin Victoria, with Briana still riding on my shoulders.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, I reached the halfway point, as did Victoria, and we stopped a few feet away from each other, and just stared at each other. Or at least, Victoria stared at me a lot. I couldn't blame her too much though, as it wasn't every day one met a Human-Wolf super-soldier with wings, wearing a Kitsune mask, and the blue field uniform and gray armor of the Railway Warfare Division, who also has a winged cat-sized Sphinx riding on his shoulders. Though I did stare a bit at her black X-05 power armor, as I'd never seen anything like it before.

"Knight-Paladin Victoria?" I ask, finally breaking the silence.

"Yeah, that's me. And you must be Captain Leopard Campbell."

I nod. "Yeah, in the flesh. And on behalf of the rest of the crew of the Battleship Express, and Battalion 4009, I'd like to welcome you to Equestria, and I offer you my hand of friendship." I say, holding out my hand.

"Well, on behalf of the crew, and all others stationed onboard the '4-8-8-4', I accept your welcome, and your hand of friendship." She replied, the arm of her power armor opening up so that she could properly shake my hand. She had a very firm grip for a woman, which I noted, but didn't comment on.

"Though, if you don't mind my asking, Captain, what.......what exactly are you?"

I smirk a bit, though it's not visible beneath my mask. "To make a VERY long story short, I'm a Human-Wolf super-soldier, meaning that I'm roughly 50% Human, and 50% wolf."

Victoria shifted a bit. "I see." She replied.

"And are you really a part of the Brotherhood of Steel?" I asked her.

Now it was Victoria's turn to smirk a bit, though because of her power armor helmet, it wasn't visible either. "Yeah, I am, and a Knight-Paladin too."

"Wow, that's incredible." I say, feeling Briana shift a bit on my shoulders.

"I think that we, and the rest of our crews, have a lot to talk about."

"Oh, no disagreements there, Knight-Paladin." I replied.

Moments after this, the all-clear signal was given on both sides, and the crews of the 2 trains began to walk towards where Victoria and I were, eager to finally meet each other face to face.

Author's Note

And, that was Chapter 3. I'm so, SO sorry that this took so long to get out. I tried to work on it where I could, but I was frequently busy, plus, since this Chapter still had a lot of material in it that dated back from when "An Iowa-Class Battleship" was my co-author, I and my new co-author, "Terry the Human" had to spend many weeks going through all of the lore we had, plus re-reading what was available of "Rails of Destruction" on FIMFetch.net in order to put together a coherent Chapter. However in the end, I think it was worth it.

I really hope that you all enjoy this Chapter, as well as the Chapters that come after this for this story. Terry and I poured so much time and energy into reworking it from the ground up since Iowa's "departure" (ie, him abandoning me, and this project with literally zero warning), and it pains me to see that so far, this story hasn't been doing so well. Some of it may be due to this story having missed many previous deadlines for when it was supposed to come out, resulting in the hype-train dying a long time ago, some of it may be because you too were frustrated with Iowa for taking off, and some of it may be because he did a lot of the early writing, while I did a lot of the editing, but no more. The scene where Iron Glory's crew spoke for the first time in this story marked the end of Iowa's influence over this story, and from here on out, Terry and I are fully in control, and all of the writing will be done by us. I really hope that this story can be turned around to become successful, and those 15 Likes can further and further push back those 12 Dislikes.

So what do you all think is going to happen next? How will the crew of the Battleship Express react to meeting their counterparts on the "4-8-8-4"? How will Princess Celestia respond to the arrival of the "4-8-8-4"? What'll happen when the crew of the "4-8-8-4" realize that they're in the wrong Equestria, as the Ponies here are Anthros, rather than the "feral" Ponies they met before? And how will Twilight react to hearing about the S.T.P that her counterpart was able to create? Will she be able to help the crew of the "4-8-8-4" fix it? What are the Communists up to back on Earth? And where are the Futas during all this? Well, you know the drill, stay tuned and I'll tell you!

The Battleship Express Saga is far from over, and In the meantime though, as always, Comments, Questions, Feedback, as well as spreading the word about this story are always appreciated, and I'll see you all again in Chapter 4!

ScarFox out for now!