If there's one thing ponies of Tall Tale love more than the railway, it's telling stories. Though, those are usually centered around the railway too these days.
There's a long standing joke that the reason our town became known as Tall Tale, was because everypony that lived there had some fantastical story to tell. However, it doesn't take long when hearing any story from Tall Tale, to learn of the other thing we mountain ponies held very near and dear to our hearts, traditions. Be they those of working on or running the railway, or just those of life in the Smokey Mountains, traditions both big and small are cherished by all.
Hey, that even rhymes.
Now over the years I've heard ponies who tire of always hearing about tradition say things like, “We can't always live in the past”, “Traditions don't work in the modern day”, or most hilarious, if you ask me, “Traditions are just peer pressure from dead ponies.” Now, sometimes I can see where they're coming from, times change and better or safer ways of doing things come along and shouldn't simply be ignored. But it's not as if we blindly follow traditions of old, they are updated when needed to work within the regs of modern times. Plus, having talked with many a pony, they claim that it was those same traditions, particularly ones of the railroad, that allowed the road and the town to grow into what we enjoy and celebrate today.
Personally, I feel these traditions we cherish so, are celebrations of what makes us Mountain Maniacs special, different from just about anywhere else in Equestria. Though, there are a few that I've never heard anypony ever complain about, and I was over the moon when I was finally old enough to take part in one of the most beloved traditions of the rail ponies.
The “Blackout Toast”.
Winter was always the railway's slow season, as traffic on the whole died down and what traffic was run was slowed due to the logistical nightmare that operating a railway in winter, whose main line sees over thirty feet of snow on average every season, can be. Of course, the start of winter always came earlier on the summit of The Olde Grade due to the mountain’s elevation, though Tall Tale railroaders didn't consider winter to have started proper until the line was hit by the first blackout storm.
With that first heavy snowfall, everypony who worked the line knew that while the annoyances of railroading in the hard winters of the Smokey's had officially arrived, it also meant that more home time, for most, was coming as well due to the numerous canceled and rescheduled trains. Even with the construction of the ‘Fast Hills Line’ that was much less affected by the heavy snowfall, when blackout storms hit it mostly remained open solely for any train with high enough priority to justify running in the severely degraded visibility. Because of this, it had become tradition that when the first blackout storm hit, the crews who had been called off due to the Grade closing, and eventually everypony else once they came off shift, would pile into whatever bar still had space and raise a toast to the storm.
Which translates to, much drinking by many ponies. Always a good starting point for the creation of any story.
One such starts with me standing outside the bar late at night, long after the “Toast” had begun. The blackout storm had blown in just after noon that day, and lasted long enough that the only way you could tell when the storm had actually stopped was when the falling snow had finally run its course, the deep black clouds of the storm almost seamlessly translating to the crisp darkness of that winter night. I smiled softly as I stared out at the center of Tall Tale, now coated in the fresh layer of white, from my spot just outside the door of the “Wrought Iron Tavern”.
The “Toast” was still in full swing inside, but I had more than had my fill for the night. The amount of cider and whiskey I had consumed was more than enough to leave me feeling fuzzy, and a warmth in my stomach strong enough to combat the chill in the air with little effort.
That was when I was broken from my moderately drunken musings on Tall Tale traditions by a muffled voice on the other side of the door behind me, “Stokey! Door!” Chuckling softly to myself, I turned and pulled the door open, holding it so I could let my “entourage” for the evening out into the calm of the night’s snowy embrace.
Out first came my Father, Fire Stoker Sr., who was slightly struggling to carry an, ironically, black out drunk Coal Dust on his back. Following close behind the two of them, was a pair of thestral mares, one much more drunk than the other, with the more sober one acting as a support for her inebriated friend.
My brother and the majority of my friends had gotten “unlucky” enough to be stuck on the Vanhoover side of Smokeys when the storm hit, so my Dad and Uncle Dusty had invited me out to join them and their two friends from Canterlot in the “Toast”. I hadn't heard of these two friends before, and so with curiosity fueling me, I had happily accepted. Not that I really needed many excuses to go have a fun night out with my Dad and “Uncle”.
Come to find out the two thestrals, Duskfall Eclipse and Astral Nights, were hoofplate crew members on the Canterhorn Mountain subdivision of the Canterhorn and Ohayo and had gotten to know my Dad during his trips to Canterlot for Guild of Equestrian Railwaymen meetings. It had just so happened that they had been in town visiting when the storm blew in, and having never gotten a chance to be a part of the “Toast”, and having heard about it through Dad and Dusty on many a night out in Canterlot, the two had jumped at the idea to finally take part, though with much more enthusiasm for the night coming from Duskfall than Astral.
Then, come to find out, about two hours into our time at the bar, Dusty and Eclipse, or “Clipsy” as him and Dad mostly referred to her, had a bit of a tradition of their own whenever they ended up at a bar together.
And by tradition, I mean Uncle Dusty challenging Eclipse to a drinking contest.
Which he never won.
Apparently Dusty had it in his head that one day, he'd finally beat Eclipse in this makeship “tradition”, but if his performance that night was anything to go by that wasn't going to happen any time soon. Thus how he ended up out cold being carried home on the back of my Dad.
Swinging the door closed behind them to preserve the heat inside for all those who were still enjoying the toast, I joined the other two Tall Tale stallions as the two Canterlot bats pointed themselves towards the train station.
My Dad chuckled slightly as Duskfall stumbled a bit in the snow and nearly slipped from the side of Astral, “Well, I hope the toast lived up to any expectations you two may have had of it.”
“Oh it was a wonderful time Stokes, I just wish THIS ONE, would stop taking Dusty up on his silly “challenge”.” Astral grumbled as she shuffled a bit to better support Duskfall as the drunken mare regained her hoofing.
Once she had, she let out an inebriated giggle while laying her head across the top of Astral’s, something that was very easy for her to do as she easily stood a head taller than her white and navy blue friend, “Oh come oooooon Stella! Hehehehe, it's just a bit of good natured fun.”
The two of us chuckled as Astral gave an annoyed huff and used her free wing to push Duskfall’s head back up and off of hers, “Fun, yeah sure maybe for you. Good natured? If you consider drinking one of our hosts under the table, good natured.”
It was at that perfect moment Dusty shifted on my Dad’s back, as if he was trying to walk, grumbled something incoherently, then went back to being dead to the world. Fire Stoker looked back at him, and waited for him to calm back down before speaking, “Oh don’t worry too much about him, surprisingly this isn’t the worst I’ve seen him. He’ll have a rough morning tomorrow, but some black coffee and hay fries will have him back to normal by noon. I swear his family are freaks of nature when it comes to recovery from heavy drinking.”
Having gotten Duskfall to comply with her desire of keeping her head mostly upright, Astral regarded the drunk stallion on Stokes’ back, “You sure you don’t want some help getting him home? You aren’t exactly stone cold sober yourself.”
My Dad gave another soft chuckle, “Nah, I’ll be fine. Not the first time I’ve had to carry his wasted ass back to the bunks. You look like you’ll have your wings full enough as it is dealing with that one.”
Astral shot a glare at Eclipse as she tried to sneakily lay her head across that of the smaller mare once again, “Yeah, fair point. Well it has definitely been fun Stokes, we’ll have to get out here again at some point in the near future. Though, next time, maybe we avoid the bar?”
Before he could even respond, Eclipse piped up with a long whine, “Nooooooooooo, the bars here are so much fun!”
Astral huffed, “That’s enough out of you missy. Come on, we've got a train to catch. Have a good night you three!”
With another chuckle from the two of us, we gave a friendly wave as the two thestrals turned to the left and slowly started making their way towards ‘Mountain Gate’ station, while we started our own slow walk up the road straight ahead and towards the railway residential district where the bunkhouses were.
Once we had gotten out of earshot of the two mares, I turned and looked over at my Dad, “You sure you don't need any help carrying him?”
Dad gave a grunt as he hit an uneven patch of the road hidden by the snow, “Actually, yeah if you don’t mind. I just didn’t want to say so in front of Stella, she’s got enough to deal with getting Clipsy home in one piece.”
Giving a little nod, I stepped closer to him and the two of us shuffled Dusty around so that he now was spanned across both our backs, something that brought a sigh of relief from my old stallion. “Ahhh, thanks bud. I could have made it all the way there if I needed to, but I really wasn’t looking forward to it.”
I smiled over at him, “Not a problem pops. Isn’t my first time having to help carry somepony back from the bar either, you know.”
I received a smile in return and a laugh for that one, and for the next couple of minutes, we walked along in silence at our slow pace. The bunk house that Uncle Dusty lived in was a good twenty minute walk from the bar normally, but having to carry him the whole way there through the snow covered streets quickly made the both of us realize that time was easily going to be doubled tonight. It wasn't long before I needed a break from that silence, so with a glance over at him, I asked Dad, “Not worried about Mom making you sleep on the couch for spending a night out at the bar with two pretty mares?”
That got a good laugh out of him, “What, you mean Stella and Clipsy? Naaaaahhhh. Even if your Mother was the jealous type, she knows the two of them are waaaaaaaaaaaaay out of my league.”
While I had expected the first part of that response, as I knew my mom was not the jealous type due to the well known fact my Dad was the extremely loyal type, the comment about them being out of his league struck me as odd. Fire Stoker wasn’t exactly a bad looking pony for his age, and it was obvious he already had a good relationship with the two thestrals, so what would make them so out of reach if he was still single? Having a burning desire to know, I asked my next question, “Come to think of it, you never properly explained how you met those two. You just said you met them while out in Canterlot for Guild meetings and that they worked for C&O, so I’m guessing they’re members of the Guild or something?”
I was expecting many reactions from my father, but the one that was not on the list was for him to nearly break out laughing again. Now that, that really got me curious.
“What? What’s so funny?”
It took a moment for Stokes to respond as he gathered himself back up, “It’s, it’s nothing bud. Anyway, no, they’re not guild members.”
“So let me get this straight, you’re saying you just happened to stumble across two beautiful thestral mares, who just happen to work on the Canterhorn sub, presumably at night, while up in Canterlot for a Guild Assembly. Which, might I add, Uncle Dusty doesn’t always attend with you. Then, not just you, but Uncle Dusty as well, became friends with them, close enough friends that you invited them out here to hang out for three days and, at least Duskfall, was excited about being able to be a part of one of the oldest and most loved traditions we have, and they aren't part of The Guild? I’m not buying it.”
There’s a lot of things I’ll give Fire Stoker, being an amazing father, railroader, and storyteller primarily among them. But one thing he absolutely isn’t, is a pony with a good poker face when he’s been caught in a lie or half truth. The look that broke across his face when I finished speaking told me everything I needed to know, he was holding something back.
His eyes would then quickly dart around the street around us, which was completely empty, before he sighed and turned his attention back to me. “Alright, you got me. There is something very special about those two, particularly Clipsy. She specifically asked me to keep the truth a secret, outside the family at least. I haven’t told you before now because it wasn’t really anything you needed to know before tonight. Your mother is the only other pony that knows the truth about those two, not even your brother or Dusty know.”
If I thought I was curious before, that really got my ears burning and noggin roggin’. Something only Mom and Dad knew? Something Boxer and Uncle Dusty didn’t even know? This was big, bigger than big, and now I just had to know. Though, thinking about Dusty made me glance back at the drunk stallion in question, “Um, isn’t he going to find out if you tell me now?”
Stokes glanced back as well, “What? In the condition he’s in right now? I’ll be surprised if he even remembers showing up at the bar tomorrow, let alone anything we say now. Trust me, I wouldn’t even have mentioned that there was a hidden truth if I was worried about him actually hearing.”
That, made sense. And considering it made sense, I pushed to have my ever growing curiosity finally stated, “Alright, well, then are you going to tell me?”
My Dad chuckled softly, “You and your brother with wanting answers, maybe you’re too much like me for my own good. Yes, I suppose I have to now. Though, you have to promise me, that what you hear doesn’t leave your lips to anyone, even your brother. Only I’m allowed to let the truth get out, got it.”
I quickly answered with a series of nods so fast it nearly made me stumble from getting light headed.
Taking that as the best he was going to get, my Dad began his tale, “It was a little over three years after my trial, maybe two months after we had hosted the first Guild meeting up in Canterlot, and about a year after #9366 had been rebuilt and put back into proper service. The day started like any other, Dusty and I had met up early to grab a coffee down at Wood Reefer’s and had just gotten into dispatch. We were just about to make our way to Files desk to get our orders, when we were intercepted by Miss Silver Tongue…..”
The early morning serenity of the dispatch office was disturbed by the sound of laughter as the main door opened, letting in the cool early autumn air from the still dark exterior. Dusty shot me a squinty eye look as I kept laughing while the doors swung shut behind us. “What’re you laughing at? I'm right! That’s totally what's going on!”
I was finally able to get my laughter under control as I shook my head, “That has to be, one of the most ridiculous conclusions I've ever heard you cook up Dusty.”
“You said the same thing when I was trying to warn everypony about the nobles and the bullshit they were pulling. But noooooooo, Dusty’s just the crazy fire pony who drinks too much, no pony should listen to him and his crazy ideas. I'm telling you, they're….”
I was thankfully saved from Dusty going on his third reprise of his latest conspiracy theory about the expansion of the Celestial Harbor Navel Base three hours North of Vanhoover, as Miss Silver Tongue intercepted us on our way over to see Files. “Good morning Fire Stoker, Coal Dust, would you two have a moment perchance?” She asked with her trademark soft tone and smile.
I was quick to respond before Dusty could speak up again, “Good morning to you as well Miss Silver Tongue. Yes I do believe we have a few minutes before we're needed in the roundhouse, what can we do for you?”
Her smile slightly broadened, “Wonderful, I know how busy your days can be at times. You see, I had a young mare come up to me as I was coming in this morning, said she had traveled all the way from Canterlot to have a conversation with the two of you. I inquired as to what it was she wished to discuss with you which would require her coming all this way, but she insisted that she'd rather the explanation be said in your company.” Silver Tongue would explain.
That peaked both our ears, though I'm sure it was for different reasons. Knowing Dusty, he was probably thinking it was another wannabe noble who was trying to pull a fast one on us while still recovering from their last attempt. Meanwhile, I was simply curious, we had a number of visitors from the surrounding cities come to the line in the months and years since my trial exposed many a plot to undermine us and the other roads of the nation. However, as far as my memory could serve, at that point in time we never had somepony come visit the line, and specifically request to see the two of us, from so far away.
“A visitor hmm? And all the way from Canterlot, this ought to be interesting. Do you happen to know where she is now?”
Miss Silver Tongue nodded, “Yes, I directed her to the small conference room by Spotlight’s office. I felt it was the best place to allow her to relax in peace and not be bombarded with questions from other crews.”
I nodded in understanding, “A wise choice Miss Silver, the two of us will go make her acquaintance then.” Miss Silver Tongue nodded in return, before trotting away back to her desk.
Once she was out of earshot, Dusty jabbed me in the side, “You've been spending too much damn time in Canterlot, you're starting to talk like the bastards.”
I just rolled my eyes and flicked him in the face with my tail as I walked past, “Oh shut the hell up. Isn't my fault I know when to talk somewhat proper. Now come on, let's go see what our latest visitor wants with us.”
He grumbled in reply, but dutifully fell in step behind me as we headed for the conference room. We had made it roughly half way there before he spoke up again, “Don't you think it's a little suspicious some random pony from Canterlot is here for a visit, and won't explain why until she meets with us?”
I groaned and rolled my eyes again, “One of these days Dusty, you're gonna have to get over that distrust of ponies from Canterlot. They aren't all like Blueblood was. Shit Princess Twilight is originally from Canterlot, and you got on fine with her!”
He grumbled in reply once more, “She gets a pass. And I don't distrust all Canterlot ponies, just those snobby fuckers from Upper Canterlot.”
I groaned loudly and rubbed a hoof between my eyes, “You're unbelievable sometimes, you know that.” I'm sure he would have had another snarky reply to that, but mercifully, the conference room came into sight.
As we made our way up to the closed door, I subtly kicked Dusty in the side of his leg, “Be on your best behavior for once would ya?”
“Fuck you, I'm always behaved.”
I shot him an unimpressed look as I reached for the door handle, “My definition of behaved, not your family's.”
With that said, I pushed the door open, “Sorry for the wait Miss, we weren't exactly expecting your visit.” I said before even really taking in the room we were entering or the mare inside, who had been busy staring out the room’s large window which overlooked the marshaling yard where a number of trains were being broken down and reassembled for the morning’s first runs.
She was definitely the type of pony Miss Silver Tongue would call a “young mare”, though she appeared to be just slightly older than me, most likely closer to Heat Temper in age. Her coat was an interesting shade of deep indigo blue, with her mane and tail primarily matching in just a slightly lighter and more purple shade, though both ended in a transition of orange to white right at their tips. Her cutie mark appeared to be a depiction of a lunar eclipse overlooking a roaring fire. It was only after noting her cutie mark that I noticed the most interesting aspect of our visitor, that being the large folded leather wings at her sides.
”A thestral? This meeting gets more and more interesting and it hasn't even properly started yet.” I thought to myself as she took note of me addressing her and turned to face us, “Oh that is quite alright, I am well in the understanding of how busy the life of a railroader can be, particularly at the start of shift.” She spoke, her Canterlot accent on full display.
I smiled and gave a small nod, “Yes indeed, but we're always happy to make time for a visitor, especially those who come from such a long way. So, to what do we owe the pleasure of your company miss…?”
She held a wing up to her cheek in slight embarrassment, “Oh, where are my manners, the name is Duskfall Eclipse, though most of my friends call me either Dusk, or as silly as it is, Clipsy.”
“Clipsy? Ha, that's a hoofplate name if I've ever heard one, for a mare with a name like yours and from Canterlot.” Dusty spoke for the first time since walking in, seeming to be more willing to trust the newcomer after getting the impression she also worked on the railway.
Dusk blushed a little behind her wing, “You are indeed correct. T’is a name my coworkers bestowed upon me not long after I worked my way onto the plate.”
“Ha! Knew it. So, hoofplate worker yourself eh? Being out of Canterlot, let me guess, Canterhorn and Ohayo?”
Dusk’s wing folded back to her side as she nodded with a wide smile, “You would indeed be correct again, I work on the Canterhorn subdivision of the C&O, though I am mainly just a substitute firemare for the local commuter services between the communities at the base of the mountain and Suncrest station at the summit, along with the odd pickup goods.”
Dusty couldn't help but do a little hoofpump, “Called iiiiiittt. Being a thestral, probably do the overnight shifts right? You know, keep away from the sun and all for the sake of your eyes?”
“In the beginning yes, though it is not impossible for us thestrals to work during daylight hours, especially if you have a unicorn friend who is good with enchantments, that can gift you something with the charm of shadows.” Duskfall replied, giving her mane a little flick to better uncover the lapis gemstone on her neck held within a small choker. “I mostly work the early afternoon to late evening shift now, those shifts align with my personal schedule much better.”
While the two of them had gone back and forth in their little conversation, I had been taking in Duskfall. There was something about her that was just itching at me from the back of my mind, but I couldn't quite place my hoof on it.
Then, in an instant, it all just clicked perfectly, and a small smirk crossed my muzzle, but I was quick to hide it before either noticed. “Well, it's very nice to make your acquaintance then Dusk, not often either of us get to talk with engine crews from your line. We hold a good deal of respect for the lot of you, considering how similar our two lines are.”
She would turn to me and give another happy nod, “Oh yes indeed, and I can say much the same with us in regards to all of you. Especially when one considers that the gradients of your mountain are steeper and much longer than those we must deal with.”
I gave a little chuckle at that, “Oh don't sell yourself and your fellow crews short, I've ridden along your sub many a time now and know it's not much for the faint of heart either.”
“Again, I could say much the same for you. That actually brings me to the reason for my, sudden visit.” She would turn to look out the window and up towards the mountain whose silhouette was just starting to appear on the horizon with the rising sun, before turning back to the two of us again, “Stories of your line had always been spoken around our sub with high regard, for reasons I have already explained. But they were more often told with the sentiment of, ‘have you heard about what they do out west’? It was not until after that, nasty court case against you from a few years ago that these tales from your line were brought to the forefront of our minds proper. Many of us met a number of you at that time, and as you can imagine, stories were shared over drinks. I had started work on the sub not long before the trial took place, and being afforded the chance of hearing some of your, ahem, tall tales, straight from your mouths was almost enchanting. Then, I believe it was two months ago, you helped hold the first Guild of Equestrian Railwaymen meeting. I of course am not in a position to attend, but thanks to an early end to my shift, and a chance encounter at my preferred ale house, I was given the privilege of meeting your grandfather, Hot Box. Getting the chance to hear from him about how this line was built, how it grew, the challenges you all faced and somehow overcame through engineering and determination was truly inspiring, and it brought me to one conclusion. I had to come here, and defeat the mountain myself, much as you all have for decades.”
That made both of our ears stand on end, and I heard Dusty groan slightly under his breath. It was blatantly obvious what Duskfall was asking to do. She wanted to run a train over The Olde Grade, and she wasn't the first guest we had gotten who asked to do such a thing.
Though, I had confirm, just to be sure, “I see. So from what it sounds like, you're here asking to crew a train over The Grade, is that correct?”
She nodded her head with a determined resolve, “Yes, that is exactly what I would like to do. Particularly, I wish to crew on one of your HG-10’s, your own if at all possible. Tales of their strength have always been a favorite among our crews, and I wish to learn what is true, and what has become, exaggeration over time.”
Almost before I could react, Dusty went to answer, “Now that's all well and good, but we ca-”
I subtly kicked him hard in the back shin before nudging him towards the door. “Dusty, why don't you go get our manifest and the weather report for today, I'll take care of this.”
Dusty glanced between me, and then Duskfall, before giving a shrug, “Alright, whatever.” He finished with a roll of his eyes before walking out the door to the conference room and back towards dispatch proper.
With him out of the way, I turned back to Duskfall, “You do understand what you're asking for correct? It takes months of training just to learn how to crew a train up The Grade safely, and that's not to mention the time it takes to simply familiarize yourself with operating an HG-10 before combining the two.”
“Well yes of course, I have been told as much by several ponies, but I feel it will not be such an adjustment for myself. While yes I have not yet climbed over the Smokey Mountains, I have fired many a train up the entirety of Canterhorn. Additionally, a number of our locomotives have mechanical stoker systems, ones near identical to that which the HG-10's possess to my understanding. I am well aware that the systems will most certainly have their differences, but I cannot imagine that there is such a difference to them that my previous experience would not transfer in some way.” Dusk would retort.
I would tip my head in acknowledgement of these points, “Be that as it may, I simply can't put you onto the hoofplate of a ‘10 as a firepony straight out of the gate, even with an experienced crew to be your guide.”
The way her whole body sagged when she heard that was a clear indication of her disappointment at this answer, but she didn't know I wasn't done yet. “However, there are many trains that have to make it over the mountain today. We are in the middle of our rush season and some orders are bigger than usual. While I don't know our exact schedule yet, and I just sent Dusty to retrieve our first manifest, I can imagine we are going to be running pretty much non-stop the whole day. Which means we're probably looking at two round trips on the day at minimum. I'm willing to let you ride brakemen’s seat in the cab on the first round, then, we'll see about maybe having Dusty give you a crash course on firing during the second Vanhoover turn. What happens after that, well, we'd have to wait and see how you do.”
“Excuse me, but what?!?” A voice of indignation came from behind us.
I glanced over my shoulder to find Dusty, manifest, time table, and weather report on a clipboard tucked in the crook of his right foreleg, standing in the doorway. He would then quickly move up beside me and tightly wrap his free left foreleg around my shoulders, “Pardon us for just a moment Miss Eclipse.” He'd kindly state before “subtly” dragging me from the room, much to Duskfall’s disbelief and perplexment.
Once out in the hall, backs to the conference room and our confused visitor, Dusty would lean in and harshly whisper to me, ”Exactly what the fuck do you think you're doing Stokes!?”
”What the hell has gotten into you Dusty?”
He shot me a glare, ”What’s gotten into me? The fuck’s gotten into you?! We've had like, twenty fuckin ponies come and ask us to run The Grade, and ever single one of them we've told to kick ballast. Why the hell are you suddenly so ready to let her on 66’s hoofplate?”
Rolling my eyes, I shuffled a bit out from under his foreleg, ”Would you relax. I'm well aware of what we've done before, I'm the one who made those decisions. I'm making a different one this time because I have a pretty good feeling we can trust Dusk. The Canterhorn sub is the closest thing in Equestria there is to The Grade, if she can survive on that, she has it in her to survive here. Just, trust me on this alright?”
Dusty kept his glare on me for a good few seconds, before finally letting out a groaning sigh, ”Fine, but if she gets us killed, I will personally drag your soul down to Tartarus with me.”
Smiling in my victory, I stood tall next to him, “I can accept that. Now, drop the attitude.” Holding my smile, I turned back to Duskfall, “Sorry about that Dusk, just a little friendly disagreement. If you wouldn't mind following us, we need to go get our engine ready and attached to her train, have schedules to keep and all.”
Smiling ear to ear, and giving a happy little flick of her wings at her sides, Eclipse nodded her understanding, quickly falling in beside us as we hurried our way out of dispatch and over to the roundhouse where #9366 waited for us. Once we got to our locomotive, already simmering nicely and building pressure thanks to the dedicated work of the fire lighters, I sent Dusty to do final checks as I got Duskfall situated in the cab.
The brakemen seat was a simple flip down seat on the right side of the cab typically only used during helper or snow clearing duties, but it was more commonly used in situations similar to this, where a fellow crew member needed a ride to a different section of the line.
“We'll try not to ignore you too much once we're out on the line, but we will still need to focus. So don't take it personal if we don't acknowledge you from time to time, not exactly used to having anypony else in the cab with us during a shift. I'd recommend using this first round trip to get a basic lay of the land, but keep an eye on how Dusty is working the controls once and a while. If you want any chance of actually firing later today, you'll want to understand what he's getting at when talking you through everything.”
While Dusk wasn't looking at me while I talked with her, taking in the HG-10’s cab with a sparkle of wonder in her eyes, it was obvious she was at least listening as her ears remained swiveled in my direction, “Of course, that is only natural. I must say, I am quite excited for all of this.”
“I completely understand, you only ever get to experience an HG-10 the first time once.” I replied, giving her one last smile as I took my seat, right before Dusty climbed his way into the cab and took his own.
“We're all golden, got enough pressure up for yard movement too. Best get a move on and hitch our train, our block clearance expires in twenty five minutes.” He stated as he tweaked the injector and dampener controls.
“Copy copy.”
With a small smirk on my face, I pushed the reverser bar forward, reached up and gave two short blasts on the whistle to signal we were moving forward, and cracked the regulator just slightly open. With ease and grace, #9366 hefted her impressive weight into motion and glided out of the roundhouse and through the yard beyond. I made short work of the yard move and backed us down onto our waiting train soon after, the couplers gently snapping together as the nearby car-colt slid under them and tied the air hoses together.
“Got enough heat and pressure to let me use the ‘big valve’?” I asked Dusty as I watched the car-colt work down the train, checking and releasing the set hoofbrakes. The ‘big valve’ was what we HG-10 engine crews had taken to calling a valve that both opened up the air tank check valve to full, and directed the full flow of all three Westinghorse pumps to the tank to keep pressures up and charge the airlines on all the cars of the long train much faster than the standard valve. The only drawback was it pulled all the air from the ‘Quick Burn' system and dropped the firebox temperature for the short time it was open, leading to a drastic decrease in the rate of pressure build in the boiler, and depending on the standing pressure when opened, could even cause a pressure drop.
Dusty glanced at a series of gauges, before adjusting a few controls again, “Yeah, we can get away with it, almost at 400psi now. Should be good to go once our system is charged.”
Replying with a simple nod, I opened up the ‘big valve’ and the cab was filled with the sound of high pressure air rushing through the pipes beneath our hooves and charging the tanks and pipes on all the freight cars behind us. Turning the valve off once the system had built to 70 psi, letting it build the rest of the way with the normal air flow, I leaned out the cab window and looked back towards our rear.
Reaching up to the cord, I let out two short blasts of #9366’s whistle, before pausing, and letting off another short, a whistle signal for the rear end brakepony in the caboose to check in. Glancing back it would only be a moment before I saw a distant green lamp in line with the cars of our train return the same code with flashes of green, a response showing that they were present, set, and ready.
With a small smirk on my face, I turned my attention to the second car colt, acting as a relay due to the length of our consist for his companion still working his way down our train checking to ensure that all hoses were tied and hoofbrakes released. The lot of us were now just waiting for his final signal.
It would only be a few more minutes before I saw the swinging green lamp of the relay car-colt, showing we were all set to head out. “Car-colt’s giving us the green.”
“Got both greens on the main line signal, and the whites for our switch road.”
“Copy switch whites and the highball” With everything giving us the green, and still four minutes remaining in our block clearance, I pushed the bar forward most of the way, and notched the regular open.
The hefty bark from 66’s stack filled the yard as I pulled the slack from the couplers, watching on the windbreaker mirror for the two flashes of green from the caboose indicating the whole train was moving, which came not long after. With our road set and clear, and our train all rolling and correct, a content smile took over my face as I pulled the throttle open a little further, adjusting myself in my seat and settling in for the ride over The Olde Grade.
The run up and over The Grade, and the return run from Vanhoover after that, were exactly the type of runs we would want to show off to a visitor, without issue, clear track ahead, and ahead of schedule right at the edge of our block clearances. Duskfall has remained mostly silent the entire time, taking in the might of our ol’ mare, and the views of the coastal valley from the heights of The Grade.
I didn't watch her much during either run, but I did make sure to glance her way when we both descended, then climbed Nightmare on our return trip. I had to hold back a chuckle at her expression of both the steep ride down, experiencing the steepest class A line for the first time, and the front row seat to the show of sheer power of an HG-10 pulling the section at tonnage.
The looks from that first round trip ride never changed, no matter who the pony was.
Purely, priceless.
As we started our second Vanhoover turn, I did however notice Eclipse starting to pay more attention to what Dusty was doing as we made the climb out of Tall Tale. The ease of the two opening runs of the day must have calmed Dusty down something fierce, as we were barely halfway up before he turned and motioned for Duskfall to stand next to him, and went about teaching her how he did his job. He must have seen something in her and how quick she caught on, because, to my shock, by the time we were getting to the summit single track, Dusty relinquished his seat and let Eclipse take the controls for herself.
Her job was easy coming down the Vanhoover Slide, but even with that, she diligently kept the boiler pressure up in the normal operating range without letting the safeties lift. By the time we had come to a stop on incoming three in Vanhoover, Dusty was grinning ear to ear. “Maybe you were right Stokes, Clipsy here is a damn natural!” He called over the idling sounds of #9366.
I threw my head back with a laugh, “Nice to hear you change your tune Dusty.” I then regarded Dusk from where she sat in Dusty's normal spot, “You better take that as high praise, it normally takes weeks to get Dusty to change his mind on something!”
Dusk hid a giggle behind one of her wings while Dusty cussed me out, leaving me to laugh openly as I made our move to roundhouse one for our grease job, fuel up, and turn. While I worked on filling out the paperwork for the train we had just brought in, and the one we'd be returning home with, Dusk, Dusty, and two of the young labor fillies got the grease job taken care of as another older labor colt filled our tenders with fresh coal and water. In just fifteen minutes, we were greased, fueled, turned, and coupled up to our return train.
I fully expected Dusty to retake the firepony controls, as unlike our first Tall Tale turn where we had been given the relatively easy job of a 150 mixed train with a decent number of empties, this trip we were taking a fully loaded 175 coal train, one of the heaviest and most technical to fire trains we regularly dealt with. Yet to my surprise, Dusty let Eclipse stay at the controls. “If she can handle this kinda train out of Vanhoover, ain't nothing she can't handle” was his reasoning.
Personally, I partly believe he threw her in at the deep end like that with the typical “teach the greenhorn a lesson the hard way” mentality in mind.
But if that was the case, Clipsy sure shut him up. While she didn't keep steam up as well as Dusty would, and we went through a touch more coal than normal, she kept the pressure up more than enough for us to make the climb to the summit without issue and in good time, leaving Dusty humorously speechless and Duskfall justifiably giddy.
The run down the Tall Tale slope was even easier than that of Vanhoover, and soon enough, we were back in our home yard again. By that point it was late in the day, and the sun overhead was already starting to reach down towards the horizon line as night quickly approached. Even with that though, and our hopes to spend the night in Tall Tale, dispatch gave us one more run back to Vanhoover with a priority freight destined for the Crystal Empire to finish out our shift. We may have only been relegated to getting the train over the mountain, but even with that, it would be dark long before we made for our last stop of the night.
I offered to let Eclipse cut her day off there and leave us to run this last turn, but considering the fact she had just successfully fired a ‘10 up Nightmare, she was in no mood to give up that firepony seat yet. So our merry trio did our checks and fuel up, before striking out over The Grade one last time. We were roughly a third of the way up, with the last light of the day fading fast, when I heard Dusty yawn loudly from behind us.
“Ugh, just sitting here doing nothing is getting to me. Stokey, she should have this well in hoof, I’mma catch a few z’s if ya don't mind.”
Glancing over at Clipsy first, she didn't even show signs of having heard Dusty, too buried in her task of firing, that shine of excitement still in her eye, I would turn back to look at Dusty before replying, “Yeah she seems to be doing fine. I'll keep an eye on her, you're good to get a few winks in.”
“‘Preciate it cap’n.” He replied with a nod, before turning on his seat to lean up against the tender side, pushed his cap down over his eyes, and passed out roughly a minute later. “Silence” once again filled the cab, and I let it stay that way for a good ten minutes, just waiting.
Once I heard Dusty start to snore, signaling that he was good and properly asleep, I spoke up. “You know”, I started, speaking loud enough to be clearly heard over #9366, waiting until Clipsy looked my way to show she was paying attention, “If you really wanted to go for a cab ride, you could have just asked, Princess Luna.”
The look that broke out on “Duskfall’s” face was absolutely priceless, and I had to bite my lip to keep from breaking out laughing.
She stared at me with the widest eyes of shock I had ever seen in my life, while her mouth uselessly worked to try and form words, eventually, she was able to stutter out something, just one word, “H-h-how…” Her eyes then darted to the sleeping form of Dusty leaned back against the tender, and I caught a slight glimmer of terror hidden in her shocked eyes.
It didn't take somepony with the intellect of Princess Twilight to figure out what was going through her mind, “Don't worry, once he passes out he's dead to the world, he didn't hear a thing, and I didn't tell him either.” That seemed to put the thestral disguised alicorn at ease, and she seemed to take a second to collect herself. A few moments later, I noticed a slight indigo haze encompassing the cab of 66, and the cacophony of noise of the cab I had become well acquainted to, dissipated to practically a whisper.
It was only after that, did Luna properly speak up, “Be at ease, I have simply placed a sound dampening spell around us. I feel this is going to be a conversation better suited to an environment in which we do not have to shout in order to be heard.”
I smirked softly, it was kinda nice to be able to talk with the pony on the other side of the cab without having to yell, “Yeah, kinda figured as much, considering I can hear myself think right now.” She would nod in agreement, before a slightly awkward silence descended on us.
I felt it best to let Luna make the first move in the conversation proper, and after adjusting two of the injector screws again, she did just that. “How, did thou know it was I behind the disguise? No pony has managed such a feat since long before my fall.”
I held a breath considering my answer, “Honestly, it was just a lot of little things that I kinda, pieced together. When we met you back in the conference room, there was just something about you I knew you weren't telling us. I don't know why, I could just feel it. Then everything kinda just, clicked. The way you talked, being from Canterlot, starting out working on the night shift before moving to late afternoon early evening because it better fit your “personal schedule” as you so put it. Like say, having to attend to your duties at the castle?”
The slight blush of embarrassment that rose along Luna’s cheeks all but confirmed I had been dead on with that suspicion, “I at least had a pretty good hunch at that point that you were, well, you, and over the course of the rest of that conversation, and what few we had during our trips today, I became pretty certain I was right.” I had mostly been focused ahead on the tracks while explaining my reasoning, having only caught Luna’s blush when I reached up to turn on the headlight as the last of the day’s light faded to dusk, ironically.
Once I had finished, I looked over to Luna, finding her apparently deep in thought as she kept an eye on the controls in front of her. Another few moments of silence passed before she responded, “Fascinating, truly. For thou to put together the truth through such minimal evidence and observation, thee would make a remarkable investigator if the cab of a locomotive was to become boring or tiresome.”
I had a good laugh at that comment, “I dunno about that, but I guess I see your point. Now, I hope you don't mind if I ask a few questions of my own? I've been growing more and more curious over the course of the day.”
She nodded her head, “T’is only fair.”
Wanting to ease the bit of tension I could still feel in the cab, I opened with the more humorous question, “Do you just force yourself not to use old Equestrian, like using thee and thou, or are you just that shocked right now it slipped out?”
She sat up a little straighter for a moment, before blushing a touch again in embarrassment, “Ah, um, the latter is correct. I have come a long way in adapting to the tendencies and verbage of the modern form of the language, but stress and anger still causes me to slip back.”
That got another laugh out of me, “Heh, yeah I figured, I can imagine trying to relearn a language you're already familiar with can be a real pain in the flank.”
A glint in the small window that looked down the boiler caught my eye, but it was only another green signal so I paid it little attention overall, “Alright, next question. Do you actually work as a substitute firepony on the Canterhorn sub? I mean it's obvious you know your way around an auto stoke system, being able to pick up how to run ol’ 66 here as quick as you did, but was that just part of a cover story for Duskfall or do you really work the line.”
For the first time since outing her, a genuine smile broke across Luna’s face, “No, t’was not part of a cover story to make Duskfall Eclipse a believable character able to earn your trust, I have been working on the subdivision close to three years now. T’will be three years at the end of next month in fact.”
That was, honestly surprising, and kinda funny.
Just the thought of one of the rulers of the nation, giving up part of her day to get dirty working on the local railroad, disguised or not, was just such a crazy thing to think about. “Well, I suppose that leads me perfectly into my final question for the moment.”
I turned to look at Luna straight on, waiting until the pause caught her attention and she did the same to me.
“Why?”
An eyebrow on her forehead rose, “Why?”
“Yeah, I mean, come on Princess, this is a pretty crazy thing to hear, and I've been literally sitting across from you the entire day. You're a ruler of the nation, yet you're telling me you go out moonlighting as a substitute firepony of all things and I just, why?” She stared back at me for a few moments, then seemed to turn her attention to something over my shoulder.
Taking note, I turned to follow her eyes and just caught a glimpse of the rising moon peeking out in a low section of the mountain before it was hidden once again. “Everything was so different when I returned from my exile, there was little left of the Equestria I once knew, so much had changed.” She started, bringing my focus back to her.
She was still looking over my shoulder to where the moon could once have been seen, before returning her eyes to the firing controls and continuing. “There was much I had to relearn, and even more I had to learn outright. One such thing that fell into the latter category was the concept of railways. Obviously we had no such thing even close in the days of old, and in the beginning, I paid them little mind. There was so much I had to come to terms with and learn, and I did not see the importance in learning much about them at the time. I was told that they were a form of transportation that allowed for a faster and easier way to move a large number of ponies and thought little of them after that.”
She then turned to look at me out of the corner of her eye, “That was until, I heard about your court case.”
It was my forehead’s turn to have an eyebrow raise on it, “Really? You had been back for a good chunk of time at that point, what was so special about my court case that made you want to look into railways?”
Small smile gracing her face, Luna replied, “A number of reasons actually. At first my attention was drawn to your case simply because of what lengths Blueblood, that insufferable, reprehensible scoundrel, was willing to go through for his own means.”
That smile on her face broadened and a little giggle slipped out, “You should have seen mine sister the night after that trial. I do not believe I have seen her so angry or curse so much since our days as young rulers of the new nation. It was refreshing to be honest with you, her mask of perfection slips so rarely, and for it to not be from my own actions was quite the sight.”
I had to hold back a laugh of my own as I just pictured Princess Celestia, somepony almost seen as the mother of all Equestria, swearing her head off like Dusty does when he's more than slightly inconvenienced, “A sight for the ages I'm sure.”
“Oh indeed, I shall not forget that night for decades to come I am certain. But, returning to the answer I was trying to give, that was the catalyst to my intrigue. But what truly turned my attention to the nation’s railways, was how so many ponies came to offer their support to you. Ponies from every corner of the land, ponies that had only heard about you from mostly negative press reports, but believed in you enough to drop everything and come to the capitol in a show of their support first hoof. It was, genuinely inspiring. I had not seen such a display of support from individuals in the same field since those days of old I still so easily remember, and I had to know more. I had to understand what it was about working for these railways that brought ponies together so. It was then, I created Duskfall Eclipse.”
Her smile then turned to the smirk of a proud prankster, “My Nightguard are quite adept at creating a pony from nothing, and when I explained to my commanders what I wished to do, they were more than happy to help. One of them just so happened to be close acquaintances with one of the general managers of the Canterhorn sub, and pulled a few strings. Two weeks later, a ‘young mare’ by the name of Duskfall Eclipse, who had no experience on the railway but was excited to learn, began firepony training on shunting locomotives in the Lower Canterhorn yard. I will not lie, I was abysmal for the first two months, there was so much more to operating one of these locomotives than I ever could have envisioned, and my fellow employees were not impressed. It seems they did not appreciate some random mare coming out of nowhere and starting at the position of firepony, when she very obviously had no experience or understanding of what she was doing.”
A breath sucked through my teeth, “Eeeehhhhhhh yeah, usually we have to work our way onto the hoofplate after years of doing more menial work for the road like, being in the shops or out on a track gang. Starting on a line and jumping straight to training on the hoofplate is extremely rare, and usually means you've skipped over somepony who's been working for years to be offered that position, and us rail ponies don't exactly take kindly to that. I hope you didn't take that as a slight or anything.”
I expected a lot of reactions from Luna, the one I absolutely did not expect, was for her to throw her head back and laugh heartily, “Absolutely not! I honestly found it incredibly refreshing! The majority of the noble houses present today that I am forced to interact with are nothing like those of days past, solely given the title because they were born into it. To be amongst ponies who detest such nepotism and actually earn their position and reputations from their own efforts was such a wonderful experience. Eventually, I understood the complexities of the firepony position and gained the trust and respect of the other ponies on the sub. By that point I had already learned what I was originally in search of, but I had become enthralled. The world of the rail pony was so fascinating to me, yet it took so long for me to understand why, though in time, it began to make sense.”
She turned to look me in the eyes once more, “You rail ponies, at least in my eye, were the closest thing I could find in this confusing and complex modern day to the knights of old that I held such high respects for. Going out when called to tame beasts of flame and destruction, who were only trusted and revered once proving your skill and ability, to then join a brother and sisterhood of similar ponies who not only understand what it is you do on a deep fundamental level, but will defend and go to battle at your side the moment you need them. I was enamored, truly captivated, with this world I had stumbled upon incidentally through sheer curiosity that so few other ponies seemed to notice, and I found myself unable to leave it. For the first time in ages, though my face might have been hidden behind that of another, I was being praised not because of who I was, but what I was capable of doing. I could not simply just trot away from that. Then, the initial Railwaymen’s Guild meeting was held and I was afforded the opportunity to finally meet you for the first time in the fur. Despite the tension at the beginning of the meeting, once the majority had become comfortable around my fellow princesses and I, led in the effort by you, it was like I was back on my sub. It was in that moment I knew, I had to meet you as Duskfall and see just what it was about this line that made you into the pony that you are. You might not see it, but even among your fellow rail ponies Fire Stoker, you are something different, something special, completely unique. You may not understand it, and even after spending the entire day with you I cannot fathom what it is about this place that has made you into the incredibly heartening pony you are. I may never understand it, yet I am content with never understanding or being able to find what it is I set out in search of this day. I am appeased by merely being able to say that I was able to interact with you in such an unrestricted and genuine way, Sir Fire Stoker.”
Hearing Luna sing the praises of rail ponies and equate what we did every day to the knights of old was as humbling as it was surprising. I had never looked at it in such a way, but I wasn't about to deny it to Princess freaking Luna, though I couldn't help but notice a slight heat of embarrassment creeping into my cheeks as she sang her personal praises of myself. I never saw myself as somepony more special or more important than any other rail worker in the nation, still don't, yet here was one of the princesses of the land acting as if I did something worthy of gaining her personal endorsement.
Shocked speechless for a few moments after receiving such praise, my brain centered in on the last thing she said in that mini speech of hers, “Wait a second, Sir, Fire Stoker. Did I just get legitimately knighted?”
Luna giggled softly again, “While it may not mean what it once did, and it may be by technicality, yes. I feel if anypony I have met in the modern day is deserving of the title of Sir, dis-cluding those who are actively in direct service to the crown, it would be you, Sir Fire Stoker.”
And just like that, my brain needed a few seconds to restart, once again. Eventually, I found it within myself to respond, “Wow, I don't even know what to say.”
Luna smiled sweetly at me, “There is nought you need to say, Sir Fire Stoker. Please, simply continue to be the inspirational pony you are, and we shall be pleased.”
A small smile of understanding crossed my face, before it was duplicated on hers, and for the next few minutes, we sat in comfortable silence as #9366 climbed higher into the Smokeys. Everything she had just said needed time to finish bouncing around in my brain and fully process, to ever imagine having a conversation like that with one of the princesses of Equestria was beyond anything even my wildest dreams could have ever put together.
We were well over half the way up The Olde Grade before I spoke again, “You know, it's kinda funny, now that I think about it, that you consider us similar to the knights of old.”
Luna's ear gave a flick in my direction hearing me speak, before she glanced towards me, “Oh, why would that be?”
“It's just, one of the nicknames we've gotten over the years from ponies on the other lines. There's an old legend about the Smokey Mountains that basically says the mountains were created from large amounts of dirt covering the fallen body of an ancient dragon. That's why there are places with names like ‘Dragon Tooth River’, or the ‘Dragon Tail Range’, hell they even say that's why the name Smokey Mountains came around, because the ponies of old claimed that the heavy fogs that descend on the mountains was smoke leaking from the either sleeping or dead dragon. When we opened up The Olde Grade all those years ago, ponies who worked on the few other railways around the nation thought we had lost our minds because of how treacherous the line was, and still kinda is. Made us famous, or rather infamous in those early days real quick let me tell you. A lot of names popped up for both us, and the line itself, and for a long time most knew us simply as the “Mountain Maniacs” out west. But, as the years went on and we learned the tricks of running the line, along with some help from advancing railway technologies, stories of accidents and runaways basically faded into oblivion. The other railway ponies saw this as us “conquering” the mountain in a way, so our common nickname changed. Taking into consideration the old legends of this mountain, we became known as ‘Dragon Slayers’ or ‘Tamers’ depending on who you ask.”
Luna blinked and stared at me for a moment, before breaking down with laughter, “Oh, oh dear Mother, that is simply too perfect! When I first investigated steam locomotives I briefly had the misconception that they were metal shelled dragons you were commanding! You are in a way if one were to think about it.”
She then glanced out once again at the moon now starting to properly peak out over the passing peaks of nearby mountains, watching it for a good few moments before turning back to her controls, “I would like to hear more of these stories and legends of this place. I am aware that everywhere in Equestria has them, I am a part of many. But few ponies had ventured this far North and West before my fall, and I find them to be, different from those I am accustomed to in such a fascinating way.”
Smiling softly hearing that, I pulled the regulator open a little further before I replied, “Well, there's still the better part of two hours left before we make Vanhoover, I'm more than happy to share if you want to listen. Though, if you don't have to make the journey back to Canterlot immediately, there's a nice little out of the way watering hole me and Dusty like to frequent when up in ‘hoover. Could swing by there, have a few rounds, and swap stories for a while.”
To this day, I think the only reason I could mentally handle asking one of the princesses out to hang at a bar, was because she was wearing her disguise, kinda let me have a mental disconnect ya know?
But it seemed to be the right move as Luna's face absolutely lit up with a smile, “Oh yes most definitely, that sounds like a wonderful way to end off this night.”
Face falling slightly, she glanced back to where Dusty sat on the brakepony seat just outside her sound dampening barrier, still dead to the world and sawing logs, “Do you mind if we keep my, secret, between us? The ability to go out as Duskfall and be treated as a normal pony among friends has become something I've grown quite attached to. I would like to be able to enjoy that ability in the future should I make ventures out to these mountains a regular occurrence.”
“Of course, Clipsy, plus Dusty wouldn't be the best pony to let in on that little fact to begin with. He can be a bit of a blabber mouth down at the bar once he gets a few in him.”
A soft, yet knowing smile returned to Luna's face, “I can tell there is a story in that statement.”
I let out a hearty laugh, “Oh there are several. One of the best ones was back when we had just started running ol’ 66 here.”
For the rest of the journey, I regaled the princess with all sorts of stories from both the history of our line, and the different situation myself and my group of friends had gotten into over the years. She shared a few of her own from her short time on the Canterhorn sub, but she was more than happy to simply listen to any story I had come to mind. We pulled into Vanhoover late that night with a jovial attitude filling the cab of our engine.
As I pulled her off the train to be put to sleep in one of the Vanhoover houses, I got up and kicked Dusty awake. “Ah! Hu-huh, what? What happened? Did we blow up?”
I chuckled as Clipsy shot him a sour look, “No, unfortunately we arrived in Vanhoover alive and well. Clipsy and I are gonna go hit up The Brig, you in?”
His face instantly lit up, “Oh shit weekday drinking, you better believe I'm in!” Immediately shooting up, he started climbing down the cab ladder as we slowly moved through the yard, “I'll head over and reserve us a table! Meet you guys over there!” He called before dropping down to the ballast and taking off across the yard, leaving me and Clipsy to share a small laugh as we finished the short journey over to the roundhouse.
I was genuinely impressed with my ability to continue the slow walk across Tall Tale as my brain tried to restart itself. Staring slack jawed at my Dad, I did a quick glance around to make sure there were no other ponies out on the street before I spluttered, “S-so you mean to tell me, the pony I just spent the night partying with and watched drink Uncle Dusty completely under that table, was PRINCESS FUCKING LUNA!?!”
I quickly found a cold, wet, snow covered forehoof slapped across my mouth, “What did I say about keeping this a secret?! Just go and shout it to the whole of Tall Tale why don't ya!” Fire Stoker angrily hissed at me, which I answered with a deadpan glare as I pushed his hoof away from my face.
“This part of town is either abandoned for the “Toast” or asleep at this time of night, would you relax.”
He answered with a glare of his own, “I was hoping you'd take this seriously. I wouldn't have said anything to you otherwise.”
Rolling my eyes, I motioned for us to return to walking, we were just down the road from Uncle Dusty’s dunk afterall and my back was starting to get tired. “I'm not trying to not take this seriously, but you have to understand how bewildering a story that is to hear. I mean I just spent the better part of the night drinking, joking, and swapping stories with some random mare from Canterlot you simply said was a friend, and then you go and drop the bombshell she's really one of the princesses in disguise on me? That's a lot to take in Pops.”
No sooner had that sentence left my mouth, then I was hit by an aphony.
Duskfall, was actually, Princess Luna.
Duskfall was deep midnight blue, similar Princess Luna.
Duskfall had come to town with her friend Astral Nights, and it was obvious they had known each other for a very long time with how they acted.
Almost like sisters.
Astral, was white…..
“Oh fuck is Astral Princess Celestia in disguise?!?”
Dad's angry face turned to one of confusion, “What, Astral, Celestia? Don't be ridiculous Stokey.”
“Oh, Duskfall being Princess Luna, that's completely normal. But thinking Astral is Princess Celestia, that's where you draw the ridiculous line? Seriously.”
There was a long pause, “Okay, I can see how in context that would seem like a reasonable conclusion to come to. But, anyways, no. Astral isn't Celestia in disguise. Astral is exactly who she says she is.”
Sighing slightly in relief, I thought the surprise revelations for the night were finally over. “She is, however, one of the three commanders of Luna's personal guard.”
Aaaaaaand there that went straight out the window.
Now, I was raised better than to think a mare couldn't hold her own in a position like the Royal Guard, there were plenty of firemares and shop mares who were employed by the railway who could work circles around some of the stallions doing the same jobs, hell one of them is my Mother. Life up in the Smokey Mountains tended to breed tough, strong, thick furred ponies, be they mares or stallions.
But Astral was one of the smallest full grown mares I had personally ever met, her muzzle barely came up to my shoulders. That wasn't anything against her, but I had been to Canterlot Castle for a few Guild meetings in my life, and I had seen the types of stallions and mares that were Royal Guards. To think a pony like Astral could not only hold her own against them, but did so well enough to work her way up to being a personal guard commander was just, hard to picture. Even more so when one considered the fact that the Lunar Guard was considered the tougher and more rugged branch of the three Royal Guards.
“Astral, is a commander of Princess Luna's personal guard? Not trying to stereotype or put her down, but she's tiny! How can she hold her own in a position like that?”
Once again Dad broke out in a hearty laugh, “Don't let her stature fool you, Astral is one of the toughest, strongest, and meanest mares I've ever met in my life. You could come at her when she's three sheets to the wind and you're stone sober, and she’d still put you on the ground in under thirty seconds. I'm not just saying that either, I've seen her do it out in Canterlot. Some of the bars Clipsy and her coworkers like to frequent don't have the most, respectful clientele at times. She just tags along anytime Clipsy gets away from the railway. It's not that she can't defend herself if she needed to, it's more for the peace of mind of her sister. She’s got no issue letting Clipsy be Clipsy, especially now that doing so doesn't interfere with her other responsibilities, but she just wants another pony out there watching her tail, ya know.”
When I stopped to think about it, that made perfect sense. The Princesses had personal guards for a reason after all, and while no pony, except me, mom, and Dad apparently, knew who Duskfall actually was, having one of the Princesses going out on their own was probably enough of a thought to give all the officers of the Royal Guard a heart attack.
My musings were interrupted as I heard a mumble from my Dad, “Oh thank Faust we're finally here.” Sure enough, when I looked up, I could see Uncle Dusty’s bunk house just at the end of the road.
We made the rest of the walk in silence, quickly making it inside and up to Dusty’s bunk, and soon after deposited his still unconscious self on his mess of a bed. “Should we stay here and keep any eye on him?”
Fire Stoker waved a hoof, “Nah, he'll be completely fine, I've seen him bounce back from much worse than this. Come on, it's getting late and I don't think either of us are in the mood to carry another pony home tonight.” Completely in agreement with him on that front, we made our way back out of the bunk house, and pointed out hooves towards home, which was thankfully only another ten-ish minutes away.
Once we had put a good block or so between us and the bunk, Dad spoke up again, “Now, I know I've said it enough times already tonight, but seriously, keep what I said between us. Or, I'll let Astral use you as a sparring partner for a week.”
Gulping slightly at that thought, I rapidly nodded my head, “Yup, got it, lips are sealed.”
Of course Dad, the smug bastard, found that response funny and let out a long chuckle, “Good. Besides the threat of being broken in ways you never thought possible by a mare half your size, enjoy the night out with your old stallion?”
There was really only one way I could answer that, “It's been a Toast I'll never forget.”
As the revelation of the night finally began to settle into my slightly fuzzy brain, I couldn't help but grin and cast a glance over at my Dad. I had just spent the night drinking and sharing a laugh with, albeit disguised, one of the Princesses of Equestria, who was only in our town because she had made friends with my Father, and I only knew about the truth because I was his son. A Princess who thought so highly of who my Father was and what he had accomplished simply by being himself, knighted him during the first one on one interaction the two had, in the cab of his locomotive running the railway he technically now owned no less.
Even though I was already well aware of it, and had been told such pretty much my entire life, that night had certainly reinforced something in more ways than one.
I had one hell of an interesting family, and my Dad was certainly, one of a kind.
Author's Note
Howdy all, sorry about the long wait and the delay in getting this story out, work and home unfortunately got in the way and pushed this back. I do hope it was worth the wait though. Some might have seen the little tidbit I left in a reply on the last installment of Tall Tales, this will be the last short story, before the first chapter of the official, proper, multi-chapter squeal to the story that started this all comes out. I can't give a timeline on that sadly, because I will soon be finding myself even busier at work than I am now, but that chapter will be my full writing focus going forward until I get it completed. I hope you all are as excited to see it as I am to tell the story.
Until then, this is Mason, raising a glass to the changing season.
