In the dead of the moonlit night, around the Green Mountains, stands the what is - or was - the Toomba Forest. What was once a beautiful lush landscape was now an inferno of fire.
Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, who happened to be at the right place at the right time, were valiantly fighting the blaze. They grabbed water from a nearby river that was quickly drying up. They put out what they could, but it was no use. The fire raged on unendingly.
"I haven't seen a forest fire this large in millennia!" Celestia exclaimed.
"Neither have I," Luna replied as she blasted a pile of trees.
"Ugh. This is no use. We need help." Celestia turned to Luna. "Luna, I need you to get to Seaddle and rally as many fireponies as you can. I will evacuate the village of Sugarville."
"Sugarville!? Celestia, why did you not tell me there was a town next to this inferno?!"
"Because I was hoping we would be able to quell the 'inferno' before evacuation would be necessary! Now! I need you to get to Seaddle!"
Luna groaned as she turned away. "Honestly, sister, the things you never mention are abhorrent."
FOO! FOO! FOO!
The younger princess stopped short, confusing the elder.
"Luna? What's wrong?"
"SHH!" Luna snapped, holding her hoof up.
FOOOO! FOOOO! FOOOO!
"Sister, do you hear that?"
"Hear what?"
FOO! FOO! FOO!
"That!"
Luna turned to Celestia. "How can you not hear that?"
FOO! FOO! FOO!
"...It sounds like a whistle?"
Luna gasped as she grabbed Celestia. "Sister, when was the next train due through?"
FOOOO! FOOOO! FOOOO!
"Uh- I- Besides the excursion we stopped? Not for days!"
Luna's ears flattened as she looked at the flames.
FOO! FOO! FOO!
"It's a signal..." she whispered.
"Signal? What signal? That certainly can't be an emergency signal."
Luna scoffed. "Sister, have you never learned Morse Code?! Listen!"
FOO! FOO! FOO!
"Three short blasts," Luna said.
FOOOO! FOOOO! FOOOO!
"Three long blasts..."
FOO! FOO! FOO!
"Three short blas- Sister, there is a train in there! The engineer is blowing SOS on the whistle!" She glanced at Celestia. "I'm going in there."
Celestia grabbed Luna before she could get away. "You can't go in there! It is far too hot!"
FOO! FOO! FOO!
"I have dealt with hotter!" Luna replied. "There is a train in there that needs help!"
"Are you striped?! The only train that could possibly be in there is the Friendship Express! And that train is back in Canterlot!"
FOOOO! FOOOO! FOOOO!
"Then explain that whistle!"
"I- Uh- Wha- I can't!" The Sun Goddess stammered. "I'm not giving you permission to go in there!"
FOO! FOO! FOO!
Luna ripped her foreleg away from Celestia. "I am not asking for it!"
The princess tore into the inferno, dodging embers and blasting apart falling trees. In the distance, the whistle continued sounding its whistle. It sounded like an animal. A creature that needed help. A creature begging to be saved. To go on and live another day.
It pained Luna every time she heard it. And she kept hearing it as she frantically searched for the train tracks. Fortunately, she found them. Even more fortunately was that the tracks themselves were untouched.
Now that she knew the tracks were alright, she looked down the line where the train was coming from. Its whistle was now very highly pitched, signifying its sheer speed.
Luna stood next to the tracks, waiting for the train to pass by so she could assess the situation properly. But as she did so, the ground began to rumble. Luna stood confused as she looked at the trails. They hadn't been replaced in a very long time and were beginning to rattle. Pebbles and leaves were shaking right off, and the bolts looked as if they would pop out.
The whistle grew louder and louder. The train came closer and closer. She could hear the speed of the pistons as they worked to move the train faster and faster. The chuffing was occurring so fast it sounded like one continuous blast of steam.
The ground shook more and more, now feeling like a minor earthquake. Luna felt her heart quake as the whistle came closer, causing her to step back from the track as the headlight of the engine came around the curve.
She screamed as the engine came flying around the bend faster than anything she had ever seen. Hundreds of tons of silver steel roared by her at speeds no train should have been able to attain. On each of the nine passenger cars lay big commanding words.
NEW YORK CENTRAL
Inside the cab of the engine, two ponies worked tirelessly, fighting to be free from this infernal wasteland. The engineer was an azure blue Pegasus Stallion with baby blue hair. Titanium yellow lines outlined his hair with the same shade of yellow making up his irises. The firemare was a magenta Pegasus mare with skye blue hair, pure white outlining said hair with gold yellow irises.
"Come on, Caitlin!" the engineer yelled. "I need more steam!"
"Connor do you see how bloody hard I'm working?!" Caitlin replied as she furiously shoveled coal into the firebox.
"You're gonna need to work harder if we want to get the heck out of here! I'm doing my best getting us as much speed as possible!"
"We've got nine passenger cars behind us! You want more speed? DITCH THEM!"
"OH NO YOU DON'T!" Connor yelled, checking the boiler pressure. "We're not leaving those cars for dead! We're already doing close to one-thirty and we're not stopping!"
Something flashed by the window, drawing Connor's mind back outside. "What the heck was that?!"
"What was what?"
Connor watched as the airborne creature raced ahead. "WOAH!" he yelled as a bright blue beam shot out of the creature's head, blasting apart a tree that was falling onto the tracks.
"Caitlin, you're not gonna believe this, but looks like we've got help!" Connor yelled as he joyfully blew the whistle.
Luna coughed and spat as she paced the giant silver machine, marveling at its beautiful bullet-nosed streamlining. She watched four small wheels lead six huge driving wheels which led four more small driving wheels that supported the massive firebox.
It was a beautiful machine with the power to match. Its rods and pistons spun at alarmingly fast speeds, threatening to snap at any moment. The boiler was marred, bruised, but was still operating at peak efficiency.
She looked to the cab and locked eyes with the engineer. He just stared at her, totally speechless at what he was seeing. She looked at the track ahead, then back at the engineer, who also looked ahead. He then looked back at Luna and smiled, nodding.
Luna smiled and returned the nod. She then flapped her wings and soared ahead, blasting magic at anything that dare threaten to so much as touch the train. She watched old wooden bridges nearly shake apart as the train rattle over them. She couldn't blame them. Even without the searing heat, the bridges were in no way designed for trains this heavy or going this fast.
Her fur was constantly singed by falling embers. She had to fight to keep them out of her eyes. One would be all it took to bring her crashing into a tree.
She flew ahead of the train to check on the approaching bridges. The first bridge was fine. But as she approached the second, she saw that it was nowhere near as lucky as the others. While the other bridges had iron frames and rivers to keep them structurally sound, this trestle was small, made entirely of wood, and was built merely to cross a ditch.
It, like the rest of the forest, was engulfed in flames, already breaking apart.
Without thinking, the princess dived into the ditch and used her magic to prop up as many points as possible. To her horror, this act snapped apart the bridge, leaving half the track airborne. Even the slowest train would never make it over this.
She looked over at the headlight of the approaching train, listening to its pumping pistons and wailing whistle. She thought about how many passengers could be on the train. How many could be mere fillies and colts. Even foals.
She looked back at the bridge and, with no regard for her own safety, dove underneath the track and used her magic to directly hold the rails. She braced herself as the ground shook from the approaching engine.
Finally, she screamed.
She screamed as the train rattled over her, stressing her magic more than anything ever before. Her horn felt like it was ready to snap. All she could do was listen to the passenger cars rattle above.
Clickety Clack, Clickety Clack, Clickety Clack, Clickety Clack, the train roared down the track.
The last car finally crossed the bridge. Luna quickly scampered from the ditch, giving herself little time to catch her breath before taking off and flying after the train.
She flew right above the cars before landing on the front of the engine, finding the best grip she could before focusing on blasting apart anything in the way. It hurt badly every time she did so, but she had to do it for the train. For the passengers. For the engineer and firemare.
She had to do it.
Connor watched as the strange mare stood on the front of his locomotive. He quivered as black smoke singed her horn.
"Jesus tap dancing CHRIST!" he yelled. "It's like that thing is TRYING to kill itself!"
"I hope it isn't. It already saved our lives once," Caitlin replied.
"It saved our lives multiple times!"
"Let me rephrase: It saved us from DERAILING. I was looking out the left side of the engine and got a full view of that thing using its magic to literally hold the rails up so we could cross without snapping the engine apart."
"The engine wouldn't snap apart! It's just dirt! No way that would snap apart the engine."
"Considering the fact that we might be breaking a speed record right now, I beg to differ!"
"See, THAT is what might snap the engine apart! The whole mechanism is running way faster than it should be! We've got friction bearings that could break at any second!"
"Then slow down, Sherlock!"
"I'd rather get the heck out of here as soon as possible!"
Caitlin groaned. "Alright! Fine! Less talk, more speed!"
Luna rolled her eyes as she listened to the conversation. It was pointless. They should have been focusing only on getting out of this forest. Not bickering about her well-being.
But the engineer was right. Looking at the connecting rods, they were moving at horrifically high speeds. They were moving so fast, in fact, that the locomotive was shaking violently.
"This engine cannot take this speed much longer," she coughed. "Something is going to snap. That is a given with these complex mechanisms."
She looked ahead as the train rattled around a curve.
"We need to get out of this forest. Now."
The princess, though it hurt, readied her horn and blasted apart a falling tree. She brought up a forcefield to protect herself from the debris. She then brought down the forcefield and blasted apart several large rocks.
The fight continued on. Luna wreaked havoc on anything that came near the train, Connor managed the throttle and reverser to ensure the engine moved as fast as possible, Caitlin shoveled as much coal as the firebox could hold to allow the engine to make as much power as it could, and finally, the engine itself thundered down the tracks, refusing to give up and willing to rip itself to bits if it meant getting out of here.
Finally, the four saw what they thought was salvation. Three of them smiled, happy that they would finally escaping this inferno. Their smiles dissipated, however, when they realized that they were approaching a sheer wall of fire.
Luna looked down at the engine, then at the cab where she locked eyes with the engineer. She then looked back at the wall of fire and took a deep breath in.
"Oh my god!" she heard the engineer yell. "You'd better hold onto something! There's a sharp curve ahead!"
The princess gasped as her eyes registered the sharp curve. With another breath, she leaped off of the engine and flew alongside it. Readying her magic once more, she reached out across the entire train and prayed.
The train tore into the curve with the ferocity of several hundred rhinos. Luna screamed and closed her eyes as she struggled to keep the train on the rails. She watched in horror as the consist leaned to one side, and screamed even more as the whistle began blowing as loud and hard as it could.
The very rails creaked and squealed as the train split them apart from each other. The wheels of the engine, tender, and passenger cars groaned. It was a sheer mess of groaning metal and screams.
BANG! BANG! BANGBANG!
Luna let out a cough of relief as she heard the train land back on the rails one car after the other. The relief didn't last long, however, as her horn felt like it was on fire. It hurt more than it had in a very long time.
Still listening to the engine's whistle blow, she dove for the cab.
"WE MADE IT! WE ACTUALLY MADE IT!" Connor screamed, blowing the whistle long and hard as the locomotive shot out of the wall of fire. The wheels clicked and clacked as they flew across a track switch, roaring past another passenger train parked well away from the inferno.
"Yeahhh BABY! WOO!" Connor yelled again, looking at Caitlin. He gasped as both he and Caitlin saw the blue mare laying on the floor, coughing and spitting. "Uh oh," he said, quickly jumping off of his seat and crouching next to the princess.
"Oh god... Is it alright?" Caitlin asked.
"No. It's not. It's badly singed and needs water. Uh- Go fetch water from the tender! Now!"
"On it!"
Connor watched Caitlin climb out of the cab and onto the tender with a bucket. He then reached up to shut off steam and apply the brakes, giving the Hudson a much-needed rest. He then focused on the coughing princess.
"Hey, hey, It's alright mate. I'm right here," he reassured.
Luna indignantly looked up at Connor before slowly sitting upright.
"You alright?" he asked.
"I am fine. No need to worry about me. How are you and the firemare?"
"We're fine. Listen, you need water. Caitlin is getting some for you right now."
That very moment, Caitlin came back into the cab with a full bucket of water.
"Here," she said, setting the bucket down in front of Luna.
Luna nodded and dipped her head into the bucket, drinking profusely.
After a second, she lifted her head, feeling refreshed. "Ahhhhh... Thank you. I needed that."
"You sure did," Connor agreed.
Luna cleared her throat. "I am Princess Luna. May I know your names?"
"My name is Connor. I'm an engineer of the New York Central," Connor stated. "This is my girlfriend, Caitlin. The firema-... firemare."
"Pleased to meet you, Princess," Caitlin greeted.
"Likewise," Luna replied. "Now. Are the passengers alright?"
Connor tilted his head. "Passenger- Oh no, we didn't have passengers, thank god."
Luna stared for a few seconds before sighing. "And here I thought I was rescuing a train full of passengers."
"Yeah, sorry. But hey, you really saved mine and Caitlin's tails out there."
"Literally!" Caitlin added.
"Ha! Yeah! Literally!" Connor laughed, shaking his tail. "You literally saved our tails!"
Luna chuckled. "Well, you two are quite welcome."
"We definitely owe our lives to you," Connor said as he brought the train to a stop. "We really do. Thank you."
"It was certainly an experience for me. I have not had to test my strength like that in a long time. It shows me that I should train more."
"Whatever you say. Now. I need to stop this train and check for damage. With the way the whole thing was rattling, I'm surprised it didn't tear itself to bits."
"Bent rods, overheated bearings, cracked piston... Yeah. Wow. We really did a number on this guy," Connor observed.
Luna nodded. "Indeed you did. In hindsight, perhaps you should not have ran the train as fast as you did."
"Yeah, I think so too. Buuut... It'll still run. Heck, I'm sure it still has at least sixty miles an hour in it."
"That's the magic of steam locomotives," Caitlin said. "If something breaks, it'll still run. Just not as well."
"Pure dead truth, that one... Sheesh. It's going to be expensive to replace all of these."
"I can provide the funds," Luna stated.
Connor and Caitlin looked at her. "What?"
Luna rubbed a hoof on the locomotive's cracked piston. "This locomotive is certainly one of the most beautiful I have seen. I have also developed a soft spot for steam locomotives as of late, and using the funds allocated to me for restoring such machines has become a splendid pastime for me."
She looked at Connor and Caitlin. "I can also already see that this particular locomotive requires some new upgrades. Specifically the addition of roller bearings."
"R-R-... Roller Bearings?" Connor asked.
Luna nodded. "Anyway. I shall go and alert my sister that I will be escorting you two and your...?"
"Hudson. New York Central Hudson Number Fifty-Four-Fifty-Four."
"Thank you. I shall alert my sister that I will be escorting you two and your Hudson back to Canterlot. Stay put and make sure the boiler pressure stays at maximum."
"Will do."
With that, with a practiced flap of her wings, Luna took off and flew into the distance. Connor chuckled.
"Well, Caitlin, you did say you wanted to work someplace that wasn't on the New York Central for a change. Will this suffice? Even if we're uh... Pegasi?"
"Absolutely."
The two began climbing back into the cab. As they did so, Connor laughed.
"Hey, maybe we can find you a P-7a if we get lucky!"
Caitlin returned the laugh as she shoveled coal into the firebox. "Oh yeah. I've always wanted to get behind the cab of one of those." She wiped her forehead. "Especially the streamlined ones."
Connor sat down on the engineer's seat and looked around at the luscious green fields that surrounded them. He looked at the length of the battle-scarred engine, noting the paint chippings, dings, dents, everything.
He sighed. "Well, Caitlin? What do we now?"
"Wait for the princess," Caitlin chuckled. "Still can't believe that with OUR LUCK, we got a princess to help."
"No, I mean, what do we do after fifty-four-fifty-four gets serviced?"
"...I dunno."
"I mean, we've been turned into ponies. We don't have any belongings with us. We're definitely not in the US anymore. All we have is the train."
"..."
"..."
"Start a new life I guess. Maybe we can claim ownership and start our own business. Heck, we could just call it New York Central if there isn't already one in this uhhh... world. Make a bunch of money."
Caitlin felt herself get grabbed by Connor, who pulled her into his embrace.
"I would like that~"
And then they kissed.
