Sunny the Sentinel

by Sanguine Blade

Rating: everyone
Tags: Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 3342

The adventures of a quiet little locomotive doing its best.

The small town of Solaris is nestled in a place far away from the rest of Equestria. The major rail network doesn't even count it as a place on their maps. The hope of the town rests on one little locomotive that was forgotten just like them. That engine...is Sunny.

(The locomotive is based on the concept of Ivor the Engine. She cannot speak because of no face, but has the ability to get its points across.)

Published 2019-07-07 22:00:01 UTC
Last updated 2019-07-16 00:00:13 UTC

Rejection (1st Draft)

Author's Note

WARNING!: Beofre you tear this story a new one i want to tell you that this is a ROUGH DRAFT. Thus I'm posting it right now so that contructive criticism can be taken into consideration before the story is finished. Plz be considerate and give me a hand by telling me what could use tweaking.

Thank You

Rejection (1st Draft)

The Equestrian Railway was started long before the return of Princess Luna. It was nationalized in its infancy to begin connecting all the towns,cities and villages to Canterlot, the heart of the kingdom of Equestria. The system was run by the nobility who were very quick to modify the national network. Any place that they saw as "excessive" was simply left off the plans for railway expansion. Thus, several towns and villages were left to rot at the hands of the greedy nobility who saw them as not worth extorting for profit. Whilst some thought this was good that they could be left alone, most felt abandoned by their fellow ponies. This left the small town of Solaris in a bind.

It had been many years since the start of The Equestrian Railway. Bigger steam locomotives were on the rise and this left many of the old designs to be put on the scrap heap. In Wood Hoof's Scrapyard sat many locomotives. However, one had just arrived with an interesting story of its own.

The year was 989 and The Equestrian Railway had sent out invitations to all the major locomotive companies to build them a new shunter to help expand the railway. Today was the day of displaying the engines.

"Alright, time to display your locomotives to the board of the Equestrian Railway." A stallion said as the companies stood by tarped locomotives.

"First we have the Sapphire Locomotive Group" The stallion said. Up stood a mare with blue eyes and fur with a mark of a sapphire.

"Thank you. Allow me to unveil my locomotive. I call it the Gem class." She said using magic to pull away the tarp.

The engine was petite and looked very cute.

"Hmm. Small, but it does look pleasing to the eye." One judge said.

"Yes truly a good start." Another said.

"Thank you Miss Sapphire. Now for the next designer the Rich Family Corporation Locomotive Division." the judge said. Up stepped a pony with dirty gold mane and fur with the mark of a gold coin.

"Thank you. May I present the Bit Class." The stallion said removing the tarp by hoof and there it was.

The locomotive looked highly respectable and the name Rich was written on side of the tanks.

"A truly good looking locomotive" One said.

"A beautiful vehicle, but it is too great to be a mere shunting loco." said another and the judges began murmuring to each other.

"Thank you Mr. Rich. Now for our third major company Equestrian Locomotive Company or ELCO." said the diractor and up stepped a stallion with elegant dress.

"Thank you. Now may I present to you the one and only ELCO Class 2." He said using his magic to pull away the tarp and their stood the locomotive standing in all its glory.

"Gentlemen of the board this locomotive is a perfect shunter with six coupled wheels, top of the line manufacturing and a tr active effort of over 18,000 pounds." The stallion said.

"Exquisite!" One board member said.

"Powerful!" cried another.

"Truly a locomotive worth funding!" shouted a third.

"Well that seems to be it. Thank you all now the board members will-" The director was saying when suddenly a voice cried out.

"Wait!" called a voice that caught everyone's attention. Everyone turned to see a sweaty, tired, but formally dressed Earth Pony. His fur was copper with blotches of darker copper and his mark was a puff of steam with a shield. "Wait. Sorry I'm late. I was saw the locomotive competition flyer and came to present.

"Pff. You puh leze. You are a mere ragged commoner playing dress up. We are locomotive experts. What makes you think that-." The ELCO representative was about to continue ridiculing when...

"Now now no need for that." Another voice called. Standing in her regalia was none other than Celestia herself walking up from behind the locomotive.

"Y-Your Majesty i thought you were too busy to attend this." The board said bowing, but also nervous.

"Well, I was just walking around the city when I saw this stallion and I decided to guide him here. I trust he can still at least show his locomotive?" The Princess asked in a kind tone, but one that was secretly commanding.

"Very well Princess. We will allow him to show what he has made." The chairmare of the board said whilst the other members agreed. Celestia took a seat with them and motioned for the stallion to display his creation.

"Greetings members of the board and her Royal Highness. I am Steam Sentinel and I would like to present to you SENTINEL MARK 1." He said pulling away the tarp with his teeth. revealing his creation and jaws dropped to the floor.

This engine looked hideous to the board members. They glared at it with disapproving eyes.

"That thing is a wreck!" Said the ELCO representative while he laughed.

"To make such a thing is Disgraceful!" Jeered a board member.

"Disgusting!" Agreed another.

"Despicable!" Called a third. The stallion slumped on his haunches as everyone insulted him in front of the Princess.

"I like it." said Celestia and everyone turned to her.

"You do?" Sentinel asked. Celestia walked down to it and looked at Sentinel.

"Yes I do. To create a functioning locomotive all on your own and with the parts you had which were not many I presume?" Celestia asked.

"No. I built this from the rails up out of reused scrap metal. Every curve, corner and rivet was done by myself." Sentinel said.

"Truly you are skilled." She replied.

"Your highness we can't use that locomotive." A member said and she turned her head.

"Why not. Its small, strong and cheap to build." She said, then turned her attention. "Surely that would only benfit cost effectiveness?" Celestia asked. The board members huddled together and spoke to each other before turning back to the Princess.

"Very well your highness. We shall allow this to go forward." A member said and the meeting was adjourned shortly afterward.

"What are we going to do. we can't let that hideous thing roll on our network." A member whispered.

"Now now. We cannot accept a locomotive that doesn't exist can we?" The chairmare said.

"How are we gonna get rid of it then?" another asked.

"Relax. I spoke to ELCO before he left and he's taking care of it for us." the mare replied. Th others grinned wickedly as they left knowing exactly what this meant for that...thing.

The moon rose giving way to night and Sentinel had kept his locomotive parked in a small shed which he locked with a padlock and deadbolt system before he went to the inn for rest. That night three stallions dressed in black arrived at the shed.

"You sure this is it?" One stallion asked.

"Of course it is. No real engine would be held in this dinky shed with such simple locks." A unicorn stallion replied using his magic to pull the padlock and removing the deadbolt. The trio slowly moved into the shed and the unicorn used his magic to light up the locomotive sitting quietly in the dark.

"This thing looks horrible and is definitely what we're looking for." the third stallion said. The trio got to work lighting the fire and steaming the engine up. Once the fire burned, the trio slowly moved the engine out of the shed and it started rolling away down the line.

"HEY WHAT's THE MEANING OF THIS!" a guard called seeing the locomotive and its thieves rolling away.

"Quick we've got to get outta here!" one said and they stoke the fire to get the engine going faster. The Sentinel rolled faster down the line towards the main line. The sleeper train nearly crashed into the runaway engine as it roared down the line up to Canterlot down the mountain. The unicorn of the group teleport ed them out at the bottom of the hill as the engine steamed away into the night while the stallions chuckled waving the engine goodbye mockingly.

The day rose as the Vanhoover Flyer was rolling along the line at a brisk pace making good time when...

"STOP STOP THE ENGINE!" The fireman called as the driver slammed on the brakes. The wheels screeched along the line until it finally stopped.

"What's wrong?!" the driver asked startled and angry before looking down the line to see something on the track. The guard came up and they pointed to the blockage. As the guard walked along the line he saw the blockage was a small engine.

"It's an engine!" the guard called.

"What about the crew?!" the driver called back.

"Nowhere! This one's abandoned!" the guard shouted in reply whilst walking back. "We'll have to put her in a siding back at Vanhoover." The guard said as some onlookers from the train groaned.

"We're going to be late!" a mare called.

"It can't be helped." the guard said getting back in the brake coach as the Vanhoover Flyer coupled up to the little engine and rolled backwards to Vanhoover slowly down the line.

"what are you doing back?" the Vanhoover stationmaster said confused.

"We found an engine stuck on the line." The driver replied as the small engine rolled into view of the stationmaster. The engine was small and somewhat cute in his eyes.

"Well just put it in the siding while we get another engine to pull the flyer in your place." replied the stationmaster as the spindly 4-4-0 rolled the Sentinel into the siding to be dealt with later...

Test Running

It wasn't until the next early morning that Sentinel was seen to. The Controller of the Vanhoover yard came with a crew to inspect this mystery engine that had arrived in his yard.

"Well. What's the condition?" the yardmaster asked.

"She seems in perfect order. Don't understand why someone would abandon a good locomotive." the fire mare said. They had looked for a builder's plate but found nothing.

"Well I want you to give it a trial in the coal yards. Run it through its paces and see what the limits of this loco." Said the yardmaster. The firemare started the fire and the locomotive sizzled merrily. Before anyone even touched the throttle the whistle rang out on its own making the yard master jump.

"What are you playing at!" The yardmaster shouted.

"Neither of us had even pulled the cord!" The driver snapped when the whistle went peep peep again with no one touching it.

"Must just be a loose whistle. Just check on it during work to see what happens." the yardmaster replied as the crew simply shrugged and pulled out of the yard with the Sentinel. The coal yard was filled with empty trucks ready to be shunted. The yard had only two old locos to shunt Ash and Soot

"Well let's see just how this loco can perform." The driver said moving the engine to the nearest set of freight cars and gave them a bump. The locomotive rolled along adding until the train was fit for the locomotive that was to take it away. Sentinel rolled this way and that collecting coal cars and filling them up for delivery. This continued for two more days until one day, Sentinel had finished the work while the other two locos were still trying to finish up. The yardmaster saw them come back to Vanhoover yard much earlier than expected and came to get their daily report.

"This little loco is really good. I don't understand why someone just abandoned it." The firemare said stepping off the footplate as the engine was reversed into a siding.

"Well that's good, but I talked to the controller and he refused. It is understandable since this locomotive has no known owner so we cannot simply claim it and no pony can sign it over to us. Tomorrow I need you to send it off to the scrapyard." The yardmaster said trotting away. The duo looked at the loco with disappointment.

"Well. It was fun whilst it lasted little thing." The firemare said running a hoof on the side sheet of the little mystery engine. Once they did this a feeble sounding peep came from the whistle.

"I know its probably just the last of the steam, but that sounds like a said wail." The driver said as the whistle wailed a second time before they left. That night the whistle continued to wail on and off on its own as the steam seeped out of the whistle. Her crew from the workers hut did not sleep well occasionally hearing the sad wails of the whistle like a pony crying into the night.

The next morning, the crew came to see Sentinel to the scrapyard. The engine was...different somehow. When the crew looked upon her, the shine and original beauty was covered in coal dust from its work over the past days, the steam was more wispy when fired and the whistle didn't sound once even when pulled by the crew. The ride was silent except for the wheels rolling and pistons moving.

"I still feel bad about this." the driver said.

"Me too, but we don't call the shots." The firemare replied as the engine reached the scrapyard. Wood Hoof's Scrapyard was written on a sign above the gate. Theduo disembarked the locomotive and went into the office to hand over Sentinel.

"Hi I'm Tied Wood Hoof what brings you to my scrapyard?" A stallion said from his desk.

"We are from Vanhoover and were told to drop off a locomotive." The driver said with twinges of sadness in his voice. Wood Hoof nodded in understanding.

"You don't want it scrapped do you?" Wood Hoof replied knowingly.

"Its apart of the job, but we didn't want to do it." The driver replied.

"Don't worry. I love locomotives and I promise I'll try to get it an owner before I have to scrap her." Wood Hoof said with a smile and this gave the crew a small smile.

"I hope you're successful then Mister Hoof. Now we must go." The crew said walking back to the nearest bus carriage stop as the locomotive let out one more mournful wail.

Salvation

Sentinel sat in the yard with all the other old locos. Rusted metal engines and rotting wooden wagons sitting silent. The days rolled on as every night the sounds of scrappers torches and loud banging or clanging of objects rung out. The line of engines shrank everyday. Sentinel became filthy with the rain that came often. Mr. Hoof would sometimes show people the stock he had and the lucky ones got purchased for some purposes like water carts, steam generators and even one mobile house for one lucky coach. Despite lacking steam, Sentinel would sometimes let out little noises as if steam was still in her.

The sun broke over the horizon as a small carriage let out a smartly dressed stallion with a clean coat, simple hat and tie along with shoes for his hooves. He entered the yard and Wood Hoof walked over.

"Hello. How can I help ya?" Wood hoof asked.

"I'm looking for an engine. Our town needs one since no carriage company lives within miles of the place." The stallion replied.

"Of course i can get you an engine. Why don't we have a look." Wood Hoof said showing the stallion around the locomotives. The first was a simple 2-6-0, but the stallion said it was too rusty, the second a 4-8-2, but that was too heavy for the line, an 0-6-0 which was already sold apparently and a 2-8-2 with no tender.

"I'm sorry I couldn't get you an engine." Wood Hoof said.

"I know maybe better luck will be at another scrapyard." The stallion said, but as he turned to leave a clang rang in his ears. "What was that?" he asked.

"I don't know. Let's check" Wood Hoof replied as the two walked to the back of the yard, and saw a tree branch had landed on top of the 0-4-0 he had gotten from Vanhoover.

"Looks like a tree limb just fell off." Wood Hoof said as he saw the stallion walking up to the engine.

"What can you tell me bout this one?" the stallion asked.

"I got it barley a month ago from Vanhoover. According to her records the locomotive performs great, but they didn't want it because they didn't know its owner. Poor thing was abandoned on the line." Woodhoof said.

"Can it pull passengers?" The stallion asked.

"It has plenty of power for it." Wood Hoof said. He knew many small towns couldn't afford a passenger engine so they reused freight engines for their cheap cost.

"I'll take it. Name your price." The stallion said.

"I'll part with her for 8,000 bits and as an act of kindness I'll throw in a coach for another thousand." Wood Hoof said. The two shook hooves and Sentinel was cleaned up for her new home. Two days later a flat wagon was prepared to take Sentinel to her new home along with the coach she had been bought with. Within a day the engine was at the new town and unloaded. The stallion had the engine moved to a shed and painted from her former black paint. Now she wore a livery of crimson with shiny silver buffers and the coach was painted the same. The workers even put nameplates on her that read Sunny. The workers were originally supposed to give her the name sunbeam, but the group convinced the stallion otherwise.

One day the stallion who bought her came into the shed.

"Today's the day Sunny. The ponies will be glad to see you." The stallion said as the engine was being prepared. he put a hoof on the front buffer. "I know you aren't alive, but...it sure feels like it." He said before walking away. After an hour Sunny was steamed up and rolled out of the shed as ponies stomped the ground and cheered as a stallion stood in front of her.

"Mares and Gentle colts. It has been a long time coming, but with the help of the the living descendant of our founder's kind investment in our cause, our town of Solaris finally has its railway returned. With that said I hereby open the Solaris Railway and welcome our hero Sir Solaris Ray the Third!" The mayor said as up came the stallion who had purchased Sunny.

"Thank you. When great grandfather had founded this city, he made sure that all his children loved this town as much as he did. Each of his descendants gave some kind of gift to this town to help it grow to what it has become. When my grandfather founded the original Solaris line, he hoped it would finally put us on the map. I stand before you to make that dream a reality. We shall grow and improve ourselves to show we can stand on our own hooves and its all thanks to Sunny. With that said I declare Sunny the first engine of the Solaris Railway!" Sir Ray said and the ponies cheered as Sunny whistled her own cheer. Sunny might have gone through a lot, but she was in a new home to be loved and as she pulled away with the first ride of the line. She whistled with joy away down her new home.

Author's Note

Sunny was repainted into Crimson lake like Princess Elizabeth.