Fallout Equestria: Brotherhood

CHAPTER 23: HOOVES OF STEEL AND IRON

This is my mech, there are many like it but this one is mine.

Nothing was left but the smoldering, decimated ruins of Arkcannon. Legion soldiers carried the corpses of both their dead, and the Arkcannon rebels. Dead legion soldiers though, would be stripped of their armor before being cast into a large pile of burning corpses. The dead townsfolk were lined up side by side in the middle of the road, laying down with their fore hooves put at their side. Across from the townsfolk were fallen higher ranking legion officers.

One of the dead officers laying upon the ground was Cyrus. His body was separated further away from all the other officers, as during the battle one night ago he had betray the legion for his own self gain. His ignominy would be shown even in death by being separated by the very troops he once commanded.

Vladimir stood over Cyrus. Glancing down at him in disappointment. Yet, a hint of regret stirred around in his stomach, and he wasn't sure why. All he could say though while looking at the traitor captain was, "Pity. You had done such an outstanding job along the border."

While he was speaking to Cyrus, his newly promoted Captain Covert had trotted up to him. Without looking to Covert Vladimir, he continued to stare down at the corpse of the traitor. "Did you find anything useful?" Vladimir asked.

Covert shook his head, "Unfortunately not, m'lord. The town's residents managed to take just about everything with them."

"What about the tunnel? Surely we must have found something from that."

"I'm afraid not, the whole tunnel collapsed. So for all we know it could loop around, and come out somewhere completely different."

Vladimir let out a frustrated sigh, "Very well. However, did we discover who the supposed guardians were? I would very much like to know how they passed our perimeter.”

"We found nothing on them, sir. Even if they did die here, many of the bodies we found inside the buildings were burned to an unrecoverable state.”

"This is all rather disappointing," Vladimir muttered while scanning the destroyed town around them, "this place could have been so helpful in giving supplies to Iron Hammer. It pains me to think of all the lost potential this town had."

"Yes, m'lord, it was truly a sad loss for us. Though, what are we to do now? The bodies are almost disposed of, and now that the townsfolk are gone Arkcannon doesn't need us anymore."

"Heh," Vladimir chuckled once, "send the soldiers back to the Dark mines with me. Those that don't come with me send them back to the border. I've heard that Big Lot got lazy while leading the border troops. I would very much like to see how you perform as a commanding officer at the border. You've shown rather excellent skills as a leader, I am curious to see how you perform."

The Captain's face was in awestruck shock, "You mean it, sir? Am I going to be a commanding officer on the border?"

"Yes," Vladimir said in a low dull expression before making his way to the Arkcannon gate, "while you're up there, make sure that idiot Big Lot doesn't slack off too much. The next thing we need are Steel Rangers, or Red Eye's forces coming into our land."

Covert gave Vladimir a stiff salute while moving next to him, "I won't let you down, sir."

Vladimir stopped at the gate and looked down at Covert with a rather devilish smile, "I hope you can live up to those words. Cyrus’ fate was most unfortunate, I would hate to see a fate similar to his repeat itself. Now, wouldn’t that be unfortunate?"

Covert shook his head and gulped, "Yes sir, it would sir."

"Good, I expect good things from you now that you've been able to show me your true potential."

"Yes m'lord," Covert said with a graceful bow, "but before I go, is there anything else I can do for you?"

Vladimir thought for a moment, and whilst rubbing his chin he said, "Yes, actually. You could order an iron wagon to take me to the Crossroads station. I've been meaning to visit the Dark Mines for some time now. I've heard that their coming close to finishing project Iron Hammer, and I wish to personally see how it is coming along."

The newly promoted captain saluted his emperor once more, "Yes sir, it shall be done. Is there anything else I may do for you?"

"No," Vladimir said with a dismissing wave of his hoof, "just make sure that all I have asked is done."

"Very good sir, I'll let the station and the iron wagon know of your orders." The captain said with a bow before trotting off to complete the task given to him.

Vladimir watched as the captain went down the street of the ruined town. While he continued to gaze at the ruins, he felt that same twinge of regret fester inside him. As if he had cared for the town in some way, that even though he meant to use the town for his own gain, seeing it in its current state made him feel... Sad. The crimson unicorn didn't know why, but the feeling was still present.

"I've got to get to Iron Hammer. Hopefully, this feeling will go when I leave this forsaken place..." He whispered to himself before taking a quick swig of wine from the flask he had.

Outside the stable, Adam and Neo sat with their backs turned to the now shut entrance of stable 47. After what had happened to Peptide left them with a feeling of mournful emptiness. It was, unnerving.

Neo had the oak music box in front of him in his hooves, peering at the details of the box. Adam looked down at the small musical box, and thought to themselves mournfully. The likelihood that Little Red, wherever he might be, being alive was slim. They themselves were threatened the very moment they stepped out into the world, and they could only imagine what a kid younger than both of them would have to endure. Odds were that he was most likely dead, and they both knew that.

"What are we going to do with it?" Adam asked.

Neo sighed heavily, "Keep it, I guess. It's the least we can do."

Picking up the box with both hooves Neo put it back inside his saddlebag. "It just feel so wrong... Keeping this box makes me feel like I’m robbing an old tomb."

Just as the box went into his bag, the hinge keeping it closed unlatched itself causing it to open. Out of the box came a letter that landed on the powder like dirt.The letter was made with old stained parchment and sealed by a dried red wax seal.

The letter landed in front of Adam face up, with the words “To Little Red” written on it. Neo blinked at the letter on the ground, before taking the box and resting it next to him. His brother picked it up, and inspected it curiously.

Both of them had stood up, gazing at the mysterious letter that had come from the box. “Brother, what do you think it is?” Adam asked his brother, holding the letter with one hoof.

“A letter, but it could be anything. Photos, a note, or something else.” Neo said picking up a hoof to take a look at the contents of the letter

His hoof was just about to touch the letter when suddenly, he paused. Adam cocked his head to the side, “Are you going to look at it?”

Neo retracted his hoof, and picked up the music box next to him. “No. I don’t think it’s right.”

Adam nodded in agreeance, “You’re right.” He replied putting the letter in the box and patting it gently.

“It would be disrespectful.” Adam added.

Once more Neo put the box back into his bag, this time making sure the latch was properly locked. “We should go. The sooner we go, the sooner we can leave Peptide to rest.”

Adam took one final look at the massive steel structure before joining his brother, “Not only that, but we’ve got a long walk ahead of us.”

“That we do. And hopefully, we could find a better place to sleep this time.”

“And maybe there’ll be actual beds.”

“Maybe Adam... Maybe.” Neo responded hopefully, with his robotic foreleg around his brother’s shoulder. And together, they walked down the damp dark cave. Their Pipbuck lights glowing against the moist, grey walls.

Damp and cool was the outside air. A calming breeze blew gently across the ruins of the old roadside town. Both brothers had managed to make their way outside of the entertainment hall and back out into the street. Looking down at their Pipbucks, they found their position and followed the marker Cool Blue had said would take them to Silvermane up north. Before they left the roadside town though, they went into some of the empty buildings to check for supplies.

In each building, they found a little something. Sometimes it was just a few bullets, and sometimes it was just a single can of food. While it wasn't much, it was something. And that was all that mattered to them.

Fortunately, they had enough supplies to last a few days, and with some luck and a little careful rationing, they wouldn't run out before getting to their destination. But rather than staying in the small town all day, they had decided to continue heading north towards Silvermane.

As they went across the barren landscape covered in grim, shriveled up trees, Neo would check the map periodically. By the way things had looked, Silvermane wasn't too far away. And as the day went on, the very thought of Silvermane being so close was rejuvenating, as the hard rugged ground slowly wore their hooves down.

In the distance they could see a long mountain range stretched across in a straight line along the horizon. One or two of the peaks from the mountainous range would scrape the surface of the clouds above. Though, just barely it was still awing to see such massive, and powerful things in the distance.

After a few hours of wandering, they found an old dirt road that seemed to head northward. They figured, since it was going in the general direction they were going in, it was only fitting to follow it. It would not only save them time, but neither of them would have to continuously look down at their Pipbucks to see if they were still going the right way.

A little ways up the road was a hill, and after trudging up that hill they came to a stop. And, for a moment, they both decided to rest themselves. Neo and Adam both panted loudly before taking small sips from their canteens.

They were resting on their haunches while enjoying the quietness, and cooling breeze the day had given them. Neo brought his Pipbuck close to his face and checked the map.

"Adam, it looks like we're getting there. But I'm not sure how much longer it will be until we actually get there." Neo said before resting his hoof down.

"Well, it can't be that far away, can it?"

"Nah," His brother replied shaking his head, "there's no way it can be farther than another day or so."

"Good," The blue coated colt sighed, "then it shouldn't be long now."

"Yep, we're almost there, and hopefully all this will be over before-"

But, just before Neo could finish his sentence, an odd noise had caught their attention. The sound itself was a whistle echoing in the distance. While it was unclear as to where the noise was coming from, both of them knew it wasn't an average whistle. No, this whistle was much more... Distinct.

No sooner had the last whistle been heard that yet another distinct whistle was howling somewhere in the distance. In an attempt to find the sources of the sounds, both brothers frantically started scanning the area around them for the source of the noise.

"Where is that coming from?" Adam asked standing up, and searching around them.

"More importantly," Neo added, "what's making that noise?"

Once more, the distant whistle howled, only this time it was much closer. With curiosity furiously tugging at them, they decided to look around the hill. As Neo trotted over to the other side of the hill, off in the distance he could see a few small structures gathered around what seemed like a large black train.

Neo squinted his eyes in an attempt to get a better view of the black object in the distance. And while he did, one more whistle went off. "Adam, I think that noise is coming from a train."

Adam froze upon hearing his brother's sentence. "A... A train?" Adam stuttered remaining frozen in place.

"Yeah," Neo said raising a hoof over his brow squinting harder at the distant object, "it's not too far away either. I think if we walked over there we could-"

Though, while in mid-sentence he was interrupted by Adam who stormed over to his side said exclaiming, "Where?!"

Adam's eyes were wide with excitement as he peered off into the distance, "Is that a real train? Like a steam powered, rivet bolted, honest to Celestia train!?"

"Yeah?" Neo answered unsurely as he looked at his younger sibling oddly.

"Oh. My. Gosh!" Adam shouted, with his eyes fixated on the black object.

Quickly, Adam checked his Pipbuck before returning to his brother with large puppy dog like eyes. "Brother, it's in the direction we need to go... So... Can we please go see it? Please! Ever since I read about them back home when I was young, I've always dreamt of seeing one in real life!"

Neo rubbed the back of his neck uneasily, "Well... Since it is in the direction we’re heading I guess we can take a look at it. I bet that place has some supplies. We might be able to get parts for our weapons, and maybe some more water."

Adam had a grin which reached from ear to ear, "What are we doing sitting here then? Let's go! Who knows when it will leave!" Adam declared in excitement before bolting down the hill towards the settlement in the distance.

"Adam!" Neo called back to him, "Wait for me!"

Together, they both galloped towards the small group of buildings in the distance. Neo knew inside him that while Adam was smart, he still was very much a teenager. And he himself had reacted just the same to these sort of things. While his interests were much more different than his brother's, in this world they were living in just sitting back and being a kid was a rare thing, and Neo want his brother to feel that way. Even if it was just for a little while.

Steam hissed loudly from the massive metal machine. Pistons and pressure tubes lined the huge boiler tank that span nearly twenty ponies long. It was an impressive machine. Even if it was stationary, the old pre-war vehicle was truly something to behold. Both brothers stood at the machine's side gazing upward at the train. An old water tower with a tube extended out towards the top of the train poured water into the boiler tank; while what looked like the train’s operator was on the top helping the water in.

Eight wheels, connected by long pistons, and long metal pieces covered each wheel in a complex manner. Adam eyed each section of the train blissfully from where he stood. His mouth opened in awe, and eyes wide with wonder.

"It's... Amazing..." Adam whispered in total awe.

Neo didn't see the appeal of the train. But he still smiled, as just standing there letting him observe it was warming to his heart. What did catch his attention was what the train was carrying. Down the tracks right behind the train were several train cars, some of which were old wooden cattle cars, while some were worn red passenger cars.

What made the matter more interesting was that ponies were coming off of the passenger cars. However, it was only a few ponies, but the fact of the matter still remained. They were passengers, and they had rode the train.

Neo looked around them, hoping there would be somepony around who could tell them how to get on. That was, of course if the train headed north. Next to them was a train platform, one that looked as though it was used for civilians before the war. Across from that were three large wooden buildings, each of them being side by side.

The building to the far left had on top of it a large multi-colored neon sign with the words "saloon" blazed in different colors. It was just the second O in the sign that didn't seem to be completely lit, as it flickered on and off sporadically.

The middle building looked like a casino, even if it looked more like an old one story farming home. Posters with Legion propaganda and fighting ledgers with the names of tens of different ponies covered the outside walls.

Lastly, the building to the far right was a two story motel. A humble little porch stood out in the front, with ponies peacefully rocking back and forth in old rocking chairs.

Though, Neo jumped suddenly as the sound of the train's whistle blew loudly next to him. Which convinced him to ask his brother about riding the train, "Hey Adam, do you think this train heads north?"

Adam stopped his scan of the train, and faced his brother cocking his head to one side, "Huh, I'm not sure. But how cool would it be to actually ride it! I can only imagine how that would be."

"Well," Neo said looking back at the train platform, "let's see if it heads north. We just might be able to catch a ride northward."

"But how are we going to get on?"

"Come on, I've got an idea on how we might be able find out." Neo said making his way to the platform.

Adam followed next to his brother closely, while he himself was curious about what his brother was doing. And as they came up to the platform they saw a small booth, with a bored looking unicorn stallion mundanely staring out his cracked window. Next to the booth was a small bell, which Neo rang.

In an instant the booth pony suddenly snapped to attention, and upon seeing the two brothers returned to his dull expression. "Yeah? What do you want?" The stallion asked monotonously.

"Um, yeah... Hi, I was wondering if the train goes north... Does it?" Neo asked.

The stallion rolled his eyes, "Yes it does, all the way up to Maneton. Where are you two heading?"

"We're heading to Silvermane tower, sir. Will it get us close to there?" Adam asked resting his hooves on the small counter in front of the booth.

"Well, I suppose you could just take it to Maneton, and from there get up to Silvermane. The tower is directly north of Maneton after all."

"How far?" Neo asked once again.

The stallion gave them only a dull sleepy expression while he shook his head at them, "Well, it isn't far. Twenty miles, maybe..."

Neo looked down to his brother, who in return looked back up to him. "Adam, you think that will work? It should save us time. Maneton is a long way away, and if it's a straight shot from Maneton this might be the best option."

Adam thought about it for a moment and nodded in agreement. "We'll be just heading back to where we started, but at least we'll be close to Silvermane. And with the train's help, we'll get there in no time."

"Do you want to ride the train or not?" The pony insisted rudely.

Neo smiled at his brother, and turned back to booth pony. "Yeah, we're going to ride the train."

"You want tickets for just you two right?"

"Yes." Neo replied.

"Okay, five hundred caps please."

Neo's mouth hit the floor in shock, "Five hundred caps!?"

"Yeah, you got a problem with that?"

Neo pound his hooves down on the counter in front of him in anger, "Yeah I got a problem with that! That's five hundred caps! That's outrageous!"

"Is there any other way we could get on without paying that much for the tickets?" Adam asked curiously.

"Well..." The pony plainly growled. "You could always use a Legion ticket. Only members of the Legion have them. If you got one I could let both of you get on."

Neo rubbed the side of his head in pure frustration, "Do you know where we could get one?"

The grey unicorn behind the booth shrugged, "Beats me. I just know that if you get one, you and your friend-"

"Brother." Neo corrected him.

"Right... Your brother, can get on." He finished groggily.

"Are you sure there isn't some other way?" Neo insisted.

"Listen," The unicorn said leaning forward, "either you got a Legion ticket, the caps to for the tickets, or are one of the train’s staff, or you ain't getting on."

With his tired eyes, he peered at the two brothers with an inspecting gaze, "I can tell you two don't have any of the three. Seeing as that's the case, scram." He said before pulling a black curtain over the window of the booth.

"Hey!" Neo said knocking on the window furiously.

"What is it? I told you two to scram." The unicorn said peeking slightly out from the side of the curtain.

"Can you at least tell us when the train leaves?"

The booth pony was silent for a moment; then with a quick sleepy tone he said, "It leaves in a few hours. Now, scram." He said finally closing the curtain fully.

"Thanks for nothing, pal." Neo grunted.

"What are we going to do now? We can't get on the train, and there isn't much else we can do here." Adam added.

"Well, we can head to that saloon over there, maybe there's somepony who can give us some parts to help fix up our weapons. Ever since we left Arkcannon, our weapons haven't been in the best of shape."

"That's a good start. But are we going to head back north by hoof right after that?"

Neo sighed, "Probably. Looks like another pretty good walk from here."

Adam lowered his head and also let out his own sigh, "Walking... Yay..."

Though, just after Adam had sighed, they both made their way to the saloon. As the two came up to the saloon, they noticed several carts and wagons parked outside. Along with the carts were several other ponies, who lazily lean against the front wall of the saloon under the large, but rather unstable looking awning of the building.

Like most of the saloons they had been to, this one had the same flap doors that parted as both brothers entered the drinking establishment. Ponies all sat shadily at several tables, not even bothering with making eye contact with anypony else in the room. This solitary feeling that the two brothers felt was clear. So, they both thought it was wise to keep to themselves. That way, once they had got their weapons repaired or found a pony who could give them the supplies to do it themselves, they could go before trouble had started. Caused, or not by them.

A record player was at the far corner of the room, eerily playing a song neither brother had heard before. At the opposite end of the room was a dull looking unicorn bartender. Who for the most part, looked completely devoid of life.

Taking very easy, but calm hoofsteps, both brothers went over to the bar counter to speak to the bartender. While they went to the counter though, Adam had noticed something odd about all of the ponies in the room. Many of them had mechanical limbs. Whether it be on one set of legs, or just a single limb, many of them had them.

Adam could only glance at their limbs for a few seconds. For the owners of mechanical limbs would throw him nasty, or horrible looks. In response he would quickly divert his gaze, and continue walking with his brother.

Neo rested his mechanical foreleg on the counter to support him. "Hi." He said.

The bartender stopped what she was doing and looked at him mundanely, "Yeah? What do you want?"

"Geez, everypony in this town is rude." Neo thought.

Instead of frowning, Neo tried a different approach and tried to smile back at her instead. "Well, we were hoping if there is anypony in town that can help us repair our gear."

She shrugged, and wiped her nose rudely, "Here." She said pulling out an old clipboard from behind the counter.

"There's a lot of your type comin to town. These are ponies you'd be wantin’ to see." And, as if she had not even spoke to them to begin with, she sluggishly continued cleaning mugs.

Neo's smile died, as he looked at the clipboard. "Thanks." He said taking the clipboard.

Together, the two found a small little table along the side of the wall, and sat down at it with the clipboard in front of Neo. Glancing down at the old wooden clipboard, Neo read the names listed.

The names that were listed each had the building the pony resided in, and sadly, upon going through the list quickly, nopony specialized in weapons repair in the bar. Those who could lived either farther out of the settlement, or were listed as gone. One pony, named Dual Shock however, was still in town. And apparently he lived in a house just a half mile outside of the settlement.

"We might want to go see this guy on the list... His name is Dual Shock, and he only lives a half mile out." Neo said.

Adam pulled the clipboard to him, and glanced at it himself, "It also says he specializes in mechanical limb repair too."

"I know, but who knows how much that costs. I'd just be happy if we can get our weapons parts."

As they were talking though, two ponies loudly came through the saloon entrance with large saddlebags jingling noisily. Both of them had neat slicked back manes, and neat black pinstripe jackets. Almost identical in look, both unicorns came parading in with a boastful swagger.

"Jib, my boy, that fight was our finest yet! Just listen to all that money we made! Oooh, the sound of being rich is music to my ears!"

"Here, here, brother!" Said the other stallion.

"In celebration of our success, let me treat you to a drink." Jab, offered with a gracious bow.

Jib shook his head, "Oh, no no no! But you couldn't brother of mine! Let me treat you, I insist."

Jab raised a hoof up to his chin in thought, "It seems we are in a pickle here, brother of mine."

Then, with a flick of his hoof, and a beaming smile on his face he exclaimed, "I know! With our new amount of winnings, let us both buy the other a drink! How does that sound?"

"Haha! You always know how to make the best of deals, dearest brother!" Jab laughed.

By now, there was not a single soul in the saloon not looking at the two overly exuberant stallions. Even if the looks most of the ponies in the saloon gave the two ponies were quick glances, they had the whole saloon's attention.

Adam and Neo turned to them, to see who the loud newcomers were. Just as their eyes gained a fix on them, they turned right back to themselves in a quick panic. Neo folded up the collar of his duster to better protect his face from Jib and Jab. Adam did the same, in fear for his life.

These were the two ponies they had managed to mock in front of Iron Hoof City. If for some reason they found out that they were there all hell could break loose, and neither brother wanted that.

"Brother," Adam whispered, "are those guys who I think they are?"

Neo nodded stiffly, "Yes... And they won't be happy if they find out that we're here."

"Do you think we can sneak out?"

"Maybe, but we'll have to be careful about it." Neo replied inspecting the two stallions movement.

"It looks like they're celebrating something, and if we can just calmly get to the door, we could find this repair pony and get the heck out of here."

Adam gulped nervously. "Alright. Let's try..."

Without making a noise both brothers pushed their chairs back, and crept towards the exit. Each of them tried their best to take advantage of the low lighting in the room by moving between the other tables carefully. Jib and Jab seemed overly indulged with their celebration to notice anything but their drinks, and each other. And over the loud noise of merry laughter getting out out the saloon became much more simpler than either brother would have thought.

And with their final steps past the swinging flap doors, the two managed to get out without being noticed. Sighing in relief, both of them felt the cool dry air hit their coats. "I'm glad they didn't notice us." Neo sighed, huffing softly to calm himself.

Adam nodded feeling his own heart race. "Agreed."

Neo recovered himself, and looked down at his Pipbuck. "Let's just find this Dual Shock guy and get out of here before Jib and Jab decided to come out for a stroll."

Oddly enough, the map of the whole area was loaded onto his Pipbuck. This had happened everywhere they had went, but what puzzled him was how it was even able to do so. Then again, it wasn't a huge concern so he kept such questions to himself.

Like the clipboard had said though, the place Dual Shock lived was not that far away. Not even half a mile away from where they were, which was good considering the distances they had walked before.

Both brothers jumped at the sudden sound of Jib and Jab's voices growing louder. "Brother..." Adam whispered worryingly.

"I'm with you there. Let's get to this guy, and quick." Neo replied before trotting off with his brother off to the place Dual Shock lived.

Though, just as they were on their way, one thing instantly caught Neo's eye. A pony was hanging a wooden sign outside of the arena building. The sign said in weathered white letters, "Mech dual. First to beat Iron Fist wins one of the following: 100 caps, or a two Legion tickets."

A dust cloud formed around Neo's hooves as he slid to a stop facing the sign. Adam didn't notice his brother's abrupt stop, and bumped into him head first. Pulling himself back, Adam rubbed his sore head.

"Brother! Why did you stop?"

Neo seemed dead set on that sign, for not even the collision with Adam didn't seem to bother him. "Brother?" Adam asked worryingly.

"Adam, Dual Shock may have to wait." He said without removing his glance from the sign.

"Why? What about Jib and Jab? They'll see us, and what about our weapons?"

Neo looked down at his little brother and pointed to the arena building, "That place is giving away two Legion tickets."

Adam glanced over to the arena building with an unsure look in his eyes, "Are you sure? Usually those kinds of things come with a catch or something. Don't you remember the last arena we went to?"

"We can at least try. Plus, if we get in there now, Jib and Jab will hopefully pass right by it."

"I guess we can try, but if things start to look bad, we get out of there."

Neo smiled warmly at him, "Okay, I promise."

So, with a steady gallop the both made their way to the arena building. Where hopefully they could find out more about the tickets that the sign had mentioned. With those tickets, they would easily kill days worth of walking, and it would lead them that much closer to their destination. All the while hoping Jib and Jab wouldn’t come their way.

A small bell at the corner of the arena building's door chimed invitingly as both Neo and Adam came inside. The inside was much more different than what they were expecting. In fact, it didn't even seem like an arena at all. Rather, the inside was rather small despite its outside appearance.

To their right was a counter, with a pony like the ticket pony they had encountered earlier. Strangely, he looked just as sleep deprived, and dull as the booth pony. The rest of the building was filled with small circular tables, only illuminated by small candles at their centers. Like in the saloon, a record player playing an oddly slow, and rather unnerving tune sung almost unnoticed by the few who were inside the building.

In one corner of the room was a mysterious looking earth pony mare with an enormous stetson lowered to hide her face from any who looked at her. Though, besides the few other ponies at some of the tables the entire building was quiet and empty. As if something came down and sucked the very life out of room.

It was at the end of the room that caught the brother's attention. For two large luxurious leather seats sat across from one another, with only a thick metal table as a divide between them. Around these chairs was rusty old rope posts that had strung from one another thick red rope.

Neo stepped up to the counter and placed both fore hooves upon it. "Hello?" He said to the pony at the counter.

Lazily the desk pony sighed and addressed him, "Yeah?"

"I noticed your sign outside, and I have some questions about the prizes."

The rather tired looking stallion put one foreleg on the counter and used it to support his head, "Sure, go on."

"Okay... First off, how do I sign up?"

With the hoof he wasn't using he pointed to a roster with blank spots for future contestants. Though, Neo was a little discouraged by his lack of responsiveness, but he continued to ask his questions anyway.

"How much is it to enter? If there's a fee, that is."

In a dull tone of voice he replied, "One hundred caps. If you lose, you lose it all. If others bet on you, you'll get a cut of the bidders money. If no pony bids, you just get a hundred."

"But, if I pay that just to get it back what's the point?"

"Hey, winners make their money off of the bidders and their gambles. If you don't have anypony bidding on you, that’s too bad."

The attitude the counter pony had irritated him, "Are there any bidders today willing to bid on me?"

He shrugged at Neo, "I don't know, you tell me. Ever since Jib and Jab came, they've been screwing every contestant with their friend Iron Fist. If you saw the smug fucks prancing around with a bunch of caps, you know why. Today they were up against Rocky, the best foreleg mecher this side of the north eastern province. Stupid pricks, I had seventy caps on Rocky..."

"Whoa," Neo interjected, "what's a mecher?"

The counter pony picked himself up and stared puzzled at Neo with an eyebrow raised, "Are you telling me you were about to sign up for something you didn't even know about?"

Once he had said it like that, he did realize how silly the mistake he was going to make was. "Uh..."

The pony sniffled, and chuckled briefly before returning to his mundane state. "That's rich, kid. I'd give you somethin’ for that, but the two smug assholes who just won a little bit ago are prancing around town with my cash."

"Anyway, what it is- Wait... I'm getting ahead of myself. Do you got a mech?" He asked Neo.

"A mech?" Neo replied.

"Yeah, you know a foreleg that's all techy and stuff."

Neo rolled up his right sleeve and showed the counter pony his mechanical limb, "You mean like this?"

Quickly the counter pony peered intriguingly at Neo's mechanical limb whilst rubbing the scruff of his chin. "Yeah... Yeah, that's pretty nice. Good quality too, I haven't seen one like that for awhile. Even Rocky's was all scratched and crap..."

Neo had noticed that while he was showing his foreleg to the counter pony it had caught the attention of the mare with the stetson in the corner. Only, once he turned to look at her she quickly averted her gaze from his own, and went back to minding her own business.

"I'm rather proud of it, if I don't say so myself." Adam added.

"Huh," The pony said looking at Adam, "never seen a kid build one before. Especially one this nice. You two are an odd sort. I like that."

Neo put his foreleg back down and rolled down his sleeve, "So, what is a foreleg mecher?"

With one hoof the counter pony scratched his orange shaggy mane, "Have you ever heard of foreleg wrestling?"

"Yeah."

"Well, basically it's like a more extreme version of that. Anypony who participates in foreleg wrestling with their mech is considered a foreleg mecher."

Neo smiled contently, "So I just foreleg wrestle with my foreleg then?"

"Yep."

Neo whipped his brow in relief, "Here I was thinking I was going to fight a huge monster or something again."

"Yeah, no. That's crazy." Replied the counter pony.

"But anyway, to get those prizes you saw on the sign, you're going to need to beat Iron Fist."

"That doesn't sound that bad." Neo said.

"Did you just get here?"

Neo nodded, "Yeah, we did."

"Alright, well, all you need to know is that he's one fucking tough cookie."

"Do you know where I can find him?"

"Well, he's usually with Jib and Jab. I saw him take off towards the inn while they went to the saloon. But I'm sure they're going to regroup soo-"

Just before he was done speaking the door to the building swung open, with three ponies standing in the doorway. One of the ponies was a huge grey earth pony stallion with massive muscles, and an Iron Fist as his cutie mark. Both his forelegs were massive, bulky mechanical machines, like that of a large construction machine. And at both his sides was Jib and Jab, their saddle bags full and jingling merrily.

Iron Fist took a long, loud sniff of the air, "Vat is dis? Dah Fist thinks there are newcomers." He muttered curiously.

Instantly, the two brothers and the counter pony turned their gaze to the new ponies. As soon as both Neo, and Adam's eyes saw just who it was a deep sense of panic overtook them.

Once, Jib and Jab had their shiny eyes on the two they knew who they were, and they smiled devilishly. "You are correct, Mr. Fist, they are newcomers... Very new indeed." Jib cooed slyly.

The three ponies stepped in, and closed the door behind them roughly with Iron Fist giving them a puzzling look. "Do you two know des two?" Iron Fist asked, scratching his head in slight confusion.

Both Jib and Jab came up next to one of the brothers, and slung their slender forelegs on their shoulders. "Why, of course we've met them before! Isn't that right, Jib old boy?"

Jib nudged Adam slightly while retaining his devious smile, "Yes, brother of mine, how could I forget these two? After all, they are the reason we got thrown out of the city."

Ah, crap... Neo thought as they continued to speak, and as they did Neo could see his brother petrified next to him. "In fact, are you two aware of what happened to us when Bloodstrider went to us after that stunt you pulled in the arena?" Jab queried.

Before either of the brothers could answer Jib responded, "Of course they don't, dearest brother! They're far too busy with other matters to care about us! But just so you boys know, ol' Bloodstrider wasn't happy with us. So he kicked us out. For what? Sending you into that godforsaken arena, with little chance of surviving. It was just all in the name of business."

"He didn't see it that way though. So now we live a life here. With Mr. Fist as our key to a new life out in the commoner's land of the Iron Hoof province." Jab finished.

Neo felt annoyed slightly by their presences. Especially the way they spoke to his brother and him. Shrugging off Jib from his shoulder, he glared negatively at them. As Jib stumbled back from the irritated stallion he regally brushed off his clean suit.

With a more somber look about him Jib went back to Iron Fist's side, "I'm sure you rather enjoy hearing about why we're here, but what puzzles us is why you two are here."

Neo was about to speak, and after seeing who Iron Fist really was the very thought of fighting a beast such as him was daunting. Though, it was the counter pony who spoke out before Neo.

"This one here was about to sign up to fight Iron Fist. In fact, we were just talking about where they could find him."

"Well," Jab cheerfully exclaimed clapping his hooves together, "you want to see if you can take on Mr. Fist, do you?"

Iron Fist stood proudly, showing off his left foreleg with a few flexes. "Dah Fist will accept any challenge, at any time! For dah Fist is always ready!"

Adam rolled his eyes at the huge pony. "That's right..." Neo answered quietly.

"If that's the case then..." Jib cooed winking to his brother, "then let us take care of the entry fee! And we'll get you two set up right now. Wouldn't want to keep Mr. Fist waiting now, would we?"

Neo saw how things were getting, and he promised Adam that if things started to look bad to leave. So, he gulped and said, "You really don't need to... Actually, we were just about to go and..."

"No, no no no, my dear boy, we insist!" Jab interjected taking both of them by the shoulder and bringing them to the counter.

"Yes, we highly insist you stay. After all, it would rude to turn down our... Generous offer." Jib sneered.

"I'm sorry, but we-" Neo was rudely interrupted by Jab, who had a small bag of caps in one hoof.

"It's decided! I'm sure you two don't want to wager anything, do you?"

Adam frowned at the two stallions. "No, we don't. We just want to-"

"I didn't think you wanted to wager anything. Wilson! One round between whitey over here, and Mr. Fist please." Jab announced, before putting the bag of caps on the counter forcefully.

"No wagers. Just the two. Winner takes the money."

Wilson, the counter pony, took the small bag of caps and quickly counted the number of caps inside the bag. "Everything seems to be in order."

"Fantastic!" Jib cheered putting a hoof Iron Fist's shoulder.

Wilson put the caps on the counter inside an old box, "Good luck fellas. And Celestia speed, kid."

"Thanks..." Neo muttered sarcastically.

All of the ponies went over to the two luxurious chairs at the end of the room. Adam was by his older brother's side, worryingly looking at him. "Brother, do you think you can do this?"

"I guess I can try. Besides, I have a feeling that if we take off, they'll get muscles over there to get us."

"Then we don't have a choice do we?"

"Yep..."

Adam looked up at the ceiling and whispered to himself, "Please keep brother safe."

Though, once more he looked at Iron Fist's huge mechanical forelegs before returning to gazing up to the ceiling, "Please keep brother really safe..."

Jib opened one of the dividing ropes for the ponies with a wide grin. "After you." He said in an overly friendly tone.

As the ponies came to the metal table, Jab pulled Iron Fist aside, "Listen, when you take on this kid don't hold back. In fact, I'd like you to... Encourage, your forelegs a little more than usual."

The muscular stallion seemed puzzled by the order Jab gave him, "But dah Fist does not understand... Dah Fist's mechs are undefeated, and dat pony is small and-"

Trying to hurry up the conversation Jab quietly interjected him, "I know that! But these two have a knack for doing things others can't. I don't know why or how, but they do. I saw that first hoof at Iron Hoof city. So, you're going to encourage your mechs to do better... Or we'll leave you the same way we found you. Is that understood?"

For a moment Iron Fist seemed troubled by Jab's words, but with a heavy sigh he answered, "Dah Fist understands..."

"Good," Jab chimed quietly taking a screwdriver from his coat, "I understand you like to play with no tricks, and until now, we didn’t need to. But to beat these two we’ll need them, plus there simply isn't any money to be found in playing fair." He said tightening a red bolt on his right mechanical foreleg.

"Now go and make us proud." Jab purred patting Iron Fist on the cheek before carefully concealing the screwdriver back inside his coat.

Neo sat down on one of the soft leather chairs. His stomach churned and twisted with nervousness, but this seemed like the only way he could get those tickets. Even if he needed just one, he could easily sell the other to help pay for even better repairs on all of their gear. That was, if he could beat Iron Fist.

Iron Fist stretched out his right foreleg, making it pop and hiss menacingly. "Are you ready, little pony?"

Deep down inside, Neo knew he wasn't, but he had to try. And while it took some effort, he tried to keep a calm look. "Yeah, I am." He replied in a somber tone.

Jib stood to the side of the table and watched eagerly at the two stallions. "It seems like both you boys are ready. So, without further interruption. Please place your mechs on the table!"

Both contestants placed their mechanical forelegs on the table, "Gentlecolts, what is your prize?" Jib asked.

Iron Fist stared at Neo as he answer, "Dah Fist requires da basic winnings."

"And you son?" Jib asked again leaning towards Neo.

Like Iron Fist, Neo kept his gaze on his opponent. "I want the two Iron Legion tickets."

"Fantastic!" Jib exclaimed, "And now that we have everything in order let's begin! Mechers, get ready!"

Neo and Iron Fist raised their right forelegs and interlocked them, with both of them leaning in close ready to go. "Get set!" Jib continued.

There was a brief pause, and while the silence was present fear, anxiety, and weakness all seemed to vanish from Neo. But that moment was short lived, as Jib said the final word before beginning their match.

"Go!"

Adam watched nervously as within a split second both stallions were now competing. The weight of Iron Fist's foreleg came just as sudden as Jib's start had. Neo could feel the pistons and gears inside his foreleg work fiercely to keep Iron Fist's hoof back. The more he seemed to fight back, the worse Iron Fist's force on his own limb seemed to be.

It was tiring, but then again, it also appeared that Iron Fist himself was growing tired. This little sign of fatigue was a glimmer of hope for him. If only he could last out a bit longer he could beat Iron Fist. Even if Neo himself didn't think he could last longer, it was his only shot at winning. And it was a shot he was willing to take.

Jib and Jab watched uncomfortably at Iron Fist's current state, and while it looked like Neo wasn't doing any better, it still troubled them. So, inconspicuously Jib nudged Iron Fist's back. At first Iron Fist didn't notice, after a few seconds though it was clear what they wanted him to do.

With vigorous force Iron Fist pushed hard against his opponent. And Neo felt it. The once great weight intensified by five. What made matters worse for him, was the noises his foreleg was making. It wheezed and hissed unnaturally, while the gears cracked and grind in an unnerving way.

With a little more force onto his foreleg he felt something pop, which was followed by a sharp pain. It was with that, that his hoof came crashing down onto the hard metal surface of the table.

With large devious grins Jib went over to Iron Fist's right foreleg and lifted it up for all to see. "And we've got ourselves a winnah!!!"

Even though Iron Fist had won, his facial expression said otherwise as it looked agitated and angry by his victory. Neo could hardly move his foreleg, and every time he did a sore feeling followed by a cringing grinding could be heard. Jib and Jab both stood at the red ropes with Iron Fist sadly walking next to them.

"Brother, are you okay?" Adam urgently asked rushing to his side.

"Yeah," Neo moaned clutching his foreleg with the other hoof, "it's hard to move it though..."

Both of the well suited ponies chuckled merrily to themselves giving Neo and Adam a gracious bow, "It was fun boys, it truly was." Jab said.

"But sadly it is time for us to depart." Jib added.

With a cheerful swing they turned towards the exit with their champion, and strode off boastfully. As they went by the counter Wilson gave them their winnings before promptly leaving the building whistling. Once they were gone, the building was once again silent. Leaving nothing but the soft sound of ponies murmuring to one another about what had just happened.

Adam returned to his brother with worry in his voice. "How hard is it to move it?"

Neo's foreleg hissed and squealed as he tried to get off the table and stand up. It was hard trying to keep his balance, but once he had found a good position to rest his foreleg he sighed.

"I can’t move it too well. But, I can't say I'm surprised. I mean with forelegs like that he must be able to move mountains."

"I disagree," Adam said pulling out some of his tools from his back, "for a moment there I knew you were going to win."

Getting low to the ground Adam went to work on his brother's foreleg, "Didn't you see him though? He beat me."

"There was something going on, I saw Jib put something in his coat after he pulled Iron Fist aside."

Neo watched as his brother went into the fine inner workings of his foreleg. "Are you saying they cheated?"

Adam nodded, "I can't say I blame you for thinking that. That's what Jib and Jab are good at."

As Adam continued to work, he felt several short, but sharp pains in his foreleg causing him to flinch, "Did you find out what was wrong?"

With a heavy sigh Adam backed away from his brother's foreleg, "That's just great..."

"What?"

While putting his tools away Adam explained, "Well whatever tension that stallion put on your foreleg really did a number on some of the rotary gears. Not to mention some of the nerve receptors are damaged."

"Can you fix it?"

With another sigh Adam looked down at his brother, "Not without the proper pieces."

Putting one hoof for his brother, Neo took his brothers hoof. Pulling back on his brother’s good foreleg Adam managed to help his brother up. And, with his metal foreleg slung around his younger brother’s shoulder, he managed to keep himself up.

Neo lowered his head, "And I'm guessing if we stay here much longer they'd do something else for a laugh. Those bastards..."

"You're probably right." A voice called from behind them.

It was hard to turn around, but along with the help from his brother, Neo managed to get himself into a good position to see who it was. "What?"

The mare with the stetson got up from her chair, and walked over to them. "Ever since those two came to town they've been cleaning a lot of us out of our money. And no money means mechers can't fix themselves. And that's bad news for me."

Both brothers blinked at the mare, "And who are you?" Neo replied.

The mare adjusted her stetson slightly, "The name is Dual Shock. I'm the town's local mech mechanic."

Adam was intrigued by her occupation. While they did hear about how she worked on repairs, it was interesting to see a pony who worked on repairing mechanical limbs.

Adam shifted his brother’s foreleg slightly before responding to her, "We've heard of you. We were hoping to pay you a visit and get our gear fixed. Oh, and you wouldn't happen to have a gearlock model 67 by any chance?"

Dual Shock came over to Adam, and leaned in closely to his older brother’s foreleg, inspecting it carefully. "When you were showing Wilson your foreleg I couldn't help but notice how nice it looked."

Neo blushed embarrassingly, "Uh... Thanks?"

"Did you make it yourself?" She asked Adam.

Adam nodded, "That's right, I did make it.. This is the second version though. I managed to build this one in Iron Hoof with vast amounts of supplies they had there."

"Hmm," She purred cheerfully with a smile, "Well, you did an awfully good job. Though, I can tell you that if you would have adjusted the pressure systems on the nerves the reactions would be stronger."

Adam used his free hoof and facehoofed himself, "Great! I knew something was off with the pressure, it was such a simple fix too!"

"To answer your question though, yes I do have a gearlock model 67. But only one."

Both Neo and Adam's faces lit up hopefully, "We're willing to pay for it. How much are you selling it for?" Neo asked.

Dual Shock tipped her stetson and grinned, "I'll do it for free, on one condition."

They both nodded at her, but it was Neo who replied. "What is it you need us to do?"

"I need you to fight Iron Fist again. And win."

Upon hearing what she wanted both of their jaws nearly hit the ground, "What?! But I couldn't beat him last time, and even with my foreleg repaired I'm not sure if I could take him on."

"Listen," She added, "they tightened the pressure on his nerve sensors. That was the reason you lost. But I believe that if I gave your arm a little... Extra, something you could beat him."

"Wouldn't that be cheating?" Adam said.

"Yes, it would be. Just hear me out first. Ever since they came to town they started waving around Legion mecher badges, claiming they were mechers for the Legion. I'm not even sure that's a real position, but the Legion soldiers that come through town seem to believe it's real. So, they've been prancing around beating every mecher that comes through town, and getting filthy rich off of them. What's worse is that without an even amount of mechers traders won't come to town, and those caravans are the only way I can get my supplies."

She sighed heavily before continuing, "My point is, business around here has died since they've been here. And we'll all starve and go broke if we don't do something. With the last of my mecher parts, and you two I believe we can beat them."

"So, what happens when we beat them?" Adam added.

"I heard you two wanted Legion tickets. Well, if you beat them you'll get your tickets. But the real prize here is their mecher badges. If you can convince them into bidding them, and you win them they'll have to leave town."

Both brothers thought about it, and after looking around the town they could see how Jib and Jab had managed to suck the life out of it. Doing this would get them closer to Silvermane, and in helping themselves they helped the town. As far as they could see, her plan seemed solid.

"What do you say? Will you help a gal out?" She asked warmly.

Neo looked at his brother, who in returned looked back at him. "We'll help you. But it's going to be hard to get me around."

"Don't worry," she said helping Adam support Neo, "once we get back to my place I'll have you fixed up as good as new."

The door to Dual Shock's home creaked loudly as they entered. Neo limped, with both his brother and Dual Shock giving him support as they held him. Upon seeing the interior of Dual Shock's home, Adam was taken completely aback by everything around him. Mechanical limbs, and metal foreleg exoskeletons hung from beams along the ceiling, and counters and tables were crowded with piles of old technology. From scrap, to old non-functioning terminals the mare had it all. Even her single bed had some sort of tools, or parts on top of it. For Adam, walking into the single room building was like walking into his own bedroom back in the stable.

"Here," Dual Shock said directing them to a chair, "we'll rest him here. I'll get my stuff together to help repair your brother's leg."

They rested Neo down on the chair with his mechanical foreleg resting on a small clearing on the table. "You've got quite a place here." Neo said looking around.

"Yeah, it's a chaos, but that's just the way I like it." Dual shock replied while searching through an old toolbox.

Adam looked up in awe at all the various blueprints, and exoskeletons she had. "I thought you said you didn't have pieces or equipment. But look at all of this! You have enough parts here to build as many limbs as you want!"

Taking a tool belt she placed several tools from the toolbox onto the belt before answering, "Look again. It may look like I've got parts to spare, but the fact of the matter is what you see is crap, scrap, or both. Hardly none of it is actual mech building equipment I can use to create or repair any finished works."

Pulling a chair up to the table, she sat down and began working on Neo's foreleg. "I'm really hoping these modifications I make to his mech really take down Iron Fist," She said opening his mechanical foreleg, "those guys really need to be taught a lesson."

"It wouldn't be the first time." Neo added.

Dual shock shot him a curious look, "Oh?"

Adam cleared a small spot on one of the counters for himself, and said, "Back in Iron Hoof, there was an arena they worked at. We were just trying to run a small errand for a friend when they pulled us aside and put us into the arena. I think it was to settle something with a group called Tiger Company, or something."

"Yeah, I've heard of that place. Never been to the arena in Iron Hoof myself, but I heard few if any really do come out alive." Dual Shock said taking the gearlock model 67 out of her belt.

"Not only that, but I can see why they would put some random pony into the arena. You do not want to piss off Tiger Company."

"Why is that?" Neo asked.

"Because," She said before pausing to take out the old damaged gearlock out of his foreleg, "they might be nice guys, but don't let their calm nature or blindness get to you. If you piss off even one of them, they'll kill you without hesitation. And you’ll be gone faster than you could blink. Period."

"What about Iron Fist? Last time we saw Jib and Jab he wasn't with them."

"What I heard was that he was some traveling show pony. He did tricks for money, like lift heavy objects and that sort of stuff. He's actually a very nice guy, a little competitive maybe, but a nice guy."

Adam recalled the way Iron Fist looked after the match Neo had with him, "He did look a bit disappointed with himself."

"I wouldn't blame him, he may beat everypony, but he's done so without any aid. Your match was the only time I've seen those weasels tweak his mechs to win."

Neo frowned at the thought of Jib and Jab, "All those bastards wanted was to see my leg break. Get a good laugh at seeing me all busted up."

Pulling a socket wrench out of her tool belt, Dual Shock started tightening a section of his foreleg forcefully, "Hey! Could you be a little more gentle? That's my foreleg you're working on."

"Well, if you two want those tickets, then I'm gonna have to be a little rough, kiddo." Dual shock grunted tightening a bolt on the inside of his foreleg.

She was right, and while it did cause him to feel an annoying dull pain in his arm he tried to ignore it. "I'm not a kid, I'm a fully grown stallion..."

"Okay... Well, I'm almost done." She muttered tiredly twisting the wrench one last time.

With a quick wipe of her brow, she closed up his foreleg. "And... there. Good as new. This one won't break for sure, and if it does you must be moving mountains or something."

Neo stood up feeling the dulled pain slowly fade away. The feeling was odd, his foreleg felt lighter, stronger, and more sensitive to his actions than before. Even with a calm canter, his leg felt new.

"Wow." Neo cooed in awe walking around with it.

Feeling the smooth and almost noise free movement made him feel like a new stallion. Dual Shock herself leaned on the side of a counter watching him test the improvements she made with a boastful grin.

"Like the way it feels?"

"Yeah, definitely." Neo smiled, still feeling the smoothness of his foreleg.

Adam chuckled a little at his brother's reaction to the improvements Dual Shock had made. It was always nice to see him happy. In the stable, little things like this made Neo as giddy as a foal during hearths warming eve. And it always made his spirits lift seeing his brother happy.

"You think you're ready to take on Iron Fist?"

Neo tested the automatic blade in his hoof, and like a dream it unsheathed itself smoothly before quickly retracting itself. "Yeah, I'm ready."

"Let's not keep them waiting then!" Dual Shock cheered trotting off towards the door.

Both brothers nodded at her, and made their way to the door. Adam could tell that the improvements she had made to Neo's foreleg would help. Though, while it was nice to see his brother happy, he couldn't help but think what would become of Jib and Jab afterwards. This was their way of life, but then again, it was because of it that the small settlement suffered. The time for the rematch was getting closer, and he needed to be there to support his brother. Even if he felt inside him that cheating was wrong.

All of the ponies in the dark musty saloon were silent, as Jib and Jab laughed exuberantly with full mugs in their hooves. Iron Fist sat quietly in between the two overjoyed stallions, who at their table continued to celebrate their victory over Adam and Neo.

Iron Fist gently rocked his full mug back and forth in thought, as the disgracing feeling of cheating still lingered inside him.

"Oh! I just can't get over it, brother of mine! I mean, I would pay double the entry fee just to see those poor saps lookup at us in defeat again!" Jib chortled.

"Why, I believe the blue one was even shaking when we finished the match!" Jib's brother added laughing.

"Shaking? Like a young filly?" Jab added.

"I dare say so, dearest brother."

They both stared at each other for a moment before bursting out into uncontrollable laughter. As they enjoyed their merriment, both of them noticed the lack of enthusiasm from Iron Fist.

Punching his shoulder playfully Jib smiled at the concealed stallion. "Why, Mr. Fist old boy, whatever does seem to be the matter with you? Aren't you happy that you beat those silly kids? You do like a good challenge. So, what's the matter?"

"It vas not dah honorable vay, to break another pony’s leg cheating..." He muttered in a low, agitated tone.

Both brothers chuckled at his response, "Honorable? My boy, when you're in this business honorable is not a word you should even have in your vocabulary." Jab snickered.

"Maybe, vee should leave dis town be. Dah Fist thinks that he might be done fighting."

"Heh," Jib chuckled glaring at him, "We won't leave. This place is a goldmine! Besides, until you get beat, we own you. Or would you rather go back to struggling to find a job? Lifting carts, and working in gang controlled mines for days on end for a living. Is that what you want?"

"That's right, Mr. Fist. We've got you under contract." Jab added in a threatening tone.

Iron Fist didn't reply. But instead he thought about what it would be like if he went back to the way things were before he had met them. Was a life on the road entertaining others that bad?

Not wanting to wait another second for a response, Jib and Jab patted him on the back. "That's right. We're your friends, and as long as you're with us, you'll never have to worry about anything." Both of them said in unison.

A loud sudden boom at the entrance of the saloon caught their attention. With all eyes on the entrance, bright white light from the outside flooded the inside of the normally dark saloon. In the blinding light stood three figures. Close together, with an intimidating aura surrounding them.

Jab pushed his chair aside and stood up in puzzled awe at the three ponies at the entrance. Stepping into the building, the three ponies at the saloon's doorway came into the room. Their faces now visible with the closing of the flapping doors.

Once Jib and Jab saw their faces, the cocky grins they had before returned. "Ah, did you come back for another serving?" Jib sneered.

And wrapping his foreleg around his brother, Jab added, "And what is this? You've brought Dual Shock as well? Ha! Maybe she fixed them up with those parts she doesn't have, or maybe she wants to bet on us. After all, there's no pony within nor outside of the province that can beat Iron Fist. Isn't that right, brother of mine?"

"Well said! I say well said!" Jab laughed.

Dual Shock stomped right up to their laughing faces, fury raging in her eyes. "No thanks to you two that I've got little to no business!"

Both of the slick stallions averted their gaze from her own, and admired the silver cufflinks on their clean pinstriped coats. "Well, that may be. But you and that sad excuse of a set of brothers over there are here for a reason. After that rather dramatic entrance, you must be in here for something." Jab replied discourteously.

"The question, dearest brother of mine, is what they want." Jib added.

"We want a rematch." Neo demanded.

"A rematch?" Both of the stallions chuckled to each other in unison.

"Well, I do think that they want another serving of cold humiliation." Jab stated with a snicker.

Whilst still inspecting his cuffs Jib added, "It would seem so. Although, if you want a rematch, you'll have to pay to enter. We're not feeling as generous as we were earlier today."

"Fair enough." Neo answered.

Jib pranced over to Iron Fist, who was still seated, and smacked his back robustly, "Seeing as all that is arranged, we'll meet you at the mech building in... Oh, say, thirty minutes? Just so Mr. Fist can... Warm up, before the match."

Neo glared bitterly at Jib and Jab, who simply stared back at him with smug grins. Without saying anything back to either of them, Neo turned back to the entrance and trotted off with Dual Shock following behind him. Before Adam followed Dual Shock and his brother though, he saw Iron Fist sit grimly looking back at him.

He recalled what Dual Shock had said about Iron Fist's honor, and it was clear that ever since that match Jib and Jab's cheating had really affected him. So, like his brother, he said nothing and made his own way to the door.

The doors closed calmly once Adam had left the saloon. And with the sly brothers alone with their champion, their smug grins faded to sour frowns. "Apparently, one time wasn't enough for them." Jib growled.

"This time, we'll make sure his leg snaps in two. Then not even that stupid bitch can fix it." Jab continued.

"So," Jib said with a smile pulling out the screwdriver from his dress coat pocket, "let's make sure that's what happens."

Coming over to Iron Fist with the screwdriver in hoof, Jib took Iron Fist's right foreleg and prepared to tighten it. As he was about to begin Iron Fist pulled himself away slightly from Jib.

Jib smiled uneasily at him, "Now, now. You're ours, remember? And if we say fight, you fight. If we say win..."

Jab stepped behind Iron Fist and pushed him gently back towards his brother, "You win..." He finished.

“And if we want you to snap his leg in two.”

“You’ll do so, without question.”

"After all, m'boy," Jib cooed starting to tighten the tension bolts, "you do love challenges. And you'll beat that sad excuse for a mecher. And you will win."

The arena building creaked loudly, as the howling wind outside caused the building to shift. For the corner, where Dual Shock had sat at before, was where all three of them waited. Neo was becoming anxious waiting inside. He tapped his hoof rapidly on the old weathered table as they waited.

Looking down at his Pipbuck Neo sighed, "It's been thirty minutes... Where are they?"

"Maybe they changed their minds." Adam answered.

"I knew they were dishonest, but I never thought they'd lie about not showing up. They did seem rather enthusiastic about showing up. I even payed for the match already."

Dual Shock laid back in her chair, and put her stetson over her face, "They'll show up." She yawned.

Adam felt warm inside the building, and the inviting thought of a cool breeze compelled him to get up from his seat. With a deep sigh, he lifted up his forelegs and stretched them tiredly.

"Brother, I think I might go outside for a few minutes. Let the cool air wake me up."

Neo instantly sat up, and looked at his brother with concern, "Adam, are you sure? They haven't shown up yet, and-"

Adam gave him a reassuring smile, "I'll be fine. Besides, if they don't show up in a few minutes you can come join me."

Relaxing himself back in his chair he still kept a concerned look about him, "I trust your judgement. And if they don't show up in a few minutes, we'll leave. It'll be sad that we're going to have to walk the whole way there."

"I'll see you in a few minutes then, brother." Adam said turning himself to the door.

Neo rested his foreleg lazily on the table, "I'll stay here with Dual Sock then..."

Upon the end of his sentence Dual Shock began snoring loudly. Neo cringed slightly at the coarse noise of her snoring. "Though, if she continues snoring like this, we might as well head out sooner..."

Adam laughed briefly before making his way outside. When he was opening the door though, he could instantly tell the difference between the air inside, and the air outside. It was cool and crisp. And while the dust in the air was still present Adam grew used to it. Not only this, but inside the arena building it as like breathing heavy thick earth.

Outside, it was significantly clearer. Taking a deep refreshing breath of the air Adam sat down and glanced at the enormous black train across from them. The machine still fascinated him. Just the sheer thought of the how it worked boggled his mind.

"It is nice, ya?" A low, yet calming voice said next to him.

The mysterious voice caught him off guard, causing him to flinch in sudden panic. "What?" Adam replied seeing who had spoke to him.

And there, standing no more than a mare's length away from him was Iron Fist. Alone. "Dah train. It is nice, no?" Iron Fist asked raising an eyebrow at him.

Adam was baffled by his presence. Yet there he stood, right next to him, but neither Jib nor Jab were anywhere to be seen. "Yeah, it is nice... But, where is Jib and Jab?"

Iron Fist looked back towards the saloon and frowned, "Dey vanted to drink some victory drinks before coming. Dey'll be here soon. I came slightly early, you know to... How do I say dis? Take a break from dem."

"Are they that tough?" Adam asked sliding over for Iron Fist.

"Ya.." He sighed sadly.

Iron Fist looked puzzled at Adam's action, "Come on, sit down with me." Adam said in a friendly tone patting the spot next to him.

At first the stallion hesitated, but with careful motions he took the spot next to Adam. Who compared to him was four times smaller than himself.

"You look sad. What's the matter?" Adam asked.

Iron Fist twiddled his massive iron hooves nervously, "Vell, I like a good challenge. But ven I am forced to cheat. Bleh, it dishonors my name. As a mecher... As a performer, and as a stallion."

"I know they did something to make your forelegs stronger to beat my brother the last time. Is that what they're doing again?"

"Ya, look for yourself." Iron Fist said showing him the huge pressure tubes on his forelegs.

With his other hoof Adam tried moving them around. However as he tried the metal tubes didn't seem to move. "As hard as rocks. Dah pressure is turned up, and so I have more power."

"Have you cheated before?"

He shook his head, hanging his head low. "No... Before I fight your brother, I beat opponents with my strength, and skill. Dey are desperate to win though, and dey told me to break your brother's leg dis time."

"But you can't break his leg! He's my brother, and I've already seen it get smashed once..."

Adam looked down for a moment remembering, "And I don't want to see that happen again."

"I don't vant to break his leg though." Iron Fist added.

"Then don't, only you can choose what to do."

"Dey have my hooves tied. If I don't vin, I go back to struggling to get by."

"But are you happy now? Doing their dirty work, so that they can live happily?"

"I need to be beat to break my contract. And nopony has been able to do dat."

Adam looked up at him with a hopeful glisten in his eyes. "But are you happy now?"

"No." He sighed.

"I heard that before you were a mecher you were a heavy lifting performer. Is that true?"

"Ya, I did dat at von point. And it vas glorious."

Iron Fist stood up and remembered, back before Jib and Jab. It was as if he was back in time, even the sounds of the ponies cheering could be heard as he thought back. "Ponies clapped their hooves to see me do da impossible! To lift great carts in da air, and flip over large objects with dah greatest of ease! And dey would cheer. Oh, how dey would cheer..."

Watching him remember was enchanting, though as he finished his mood became somber once more. Sitting down with on the wooden porch he sighed, "I vas loved. Though it came at a price. Mainly I got tips from ponies, no real money. So it vas hard to get by. I did get by, but it vas hard."

"But," Adam cooed, "you were happy, right?"

Iron fist looked down at Adam and gave him a small smile. "I guess I vas... Happy."

"Then you don't have to live like this. You could go to Iron Hoof, or to some towns and perform."

Looking down at his large, powerful metal hooves he thought hard about what he had said. "Dese hooves were made for performing. Not meching. Could I make it in da city?"

Adam smiled at him again and patted one of his massive forelegs. "Bad things happen because we choose to not do anything about them. But when we choose to do something about these things, we can be happy that we made sure they didn't happen."

"Thank you, small pony. Your words warm dah Fist.”"

"You're welcome." Adam said rubbing the back of his neck with a smile.

"What do we have here! Hic!" A sluggish voiced called to the two.

It was Jib and Jab, forelegs slung over both their shoulders with huge goofy grins on their faces. One thing that caught Adam's eye though, was their uneasy swaying.

"Well, I do say, deasht brother of mine, that," Jab paused for a moment to burp, "Mr. Fist decided to come firsht."

As usual Jib added, "That's a good boy. Helping hish bosses by showing up... Hic! Early..."

"Well, we've had our fun... Now! Let's go and... Win this, thing..." Jab mumbled.

Adam and Iron first followed them into the arena building. All the while making sure they kept a fair distance from Jib and Jab, who swayed and stumbled jaggedly.

As soon as they had entered, Neo stood up and tapped Dual Shock on the shoulder to wake her. In a startling panic, she awoke. Just barely catching herself from before falling off her chair she shot up, and scanned the area around her.

It took her no more than a few seconds to spot Jib and Jab, stumbling, and shuffling their way over to them. Just as they had made their way to Dual Shock and Neo, they paused. Both of the drunken stallions glanced over at the ponies in the corner, and quickly directed their attention to Wilson.

"Wilson m'boy..." Jib muttered leaning against the counter, "did these ponies pay already?"

With a dull nod, he remained silent. "Excellent!" Jab exclaimed.

Jib looked at his brother, a goofy smile frozen on his face, "Dearest brother... I'm feeling lucky today... Are you?"

Jab had the exact same dumbfounded smile his brother had. "Yes indeed I am... Brother of mine... Hic!"

Lazily he twirled his head back to Wilson, "Can we still place bets?"

Like before, Wilson did not vocally reply, but instead tiredly nodded at him. "Good..." Jib purred in a drunken slur.

With a single hoof, Jib fished around clumsily in his saddlebag. The way both brothers had acted was bewildering. Even Iron Fist, who had been with them for days seemed to be completely taken back by their drunken behavior.

In an instant, Jib awed with glee as with a single hoof he pulled a rather large bag of caps out from his bag. Forcefully dropping the bag on the counter, Jib and his brother stepped back.

"Two hundred..." Jib mumbled.

The smell of alcohol on them was strong, and it lingered in Wilson's nostrils. Waving his hoof in front of his face Wilson, leaned closer to collect the caps Jib and Jab wanted to bet.

“Is that all you are going to bet?”

Adam remembered what Dual Shock has said about their badges. If he stepped in at that moment he could possibly get them to bid them.

“Say,” Adam added in a friendly tone, “those badges look nice. Maybe you could bet those too. Just a thought really.”

In their drunken state, their senses were dulled and the idea to them sounded good. They both nodded to each other, each taking the badges off of their cloths and placing them on the counter.

“These, too... They’re shiny, and valuable.”

Wilson gave the two stallions a troubled stare, as if the very sight of their behavior bothered him. “Alright... If you two are willing to bet those too...”

Using one hoof Wilson slid the badges into a box, and held the bag of caps in a hoof feeling the weight of the caps inside. As before, he did not say anything after taking the money. Rather, he motioned his head for them to continue to the mecher table to begin the round.

They bowed, hooves still slung over the other's shoulder, as they proceeded to the mecher table. "Let's get this over with." Jib grumbled.

"Ah, don't worry... Hic! Brother of mine. With their caps I'll buy us some rounds. How's about that?"

With a dumb nod Jib smiled, "Oh, you are too much..." He ended with a brief giggle.

Dual Shock lifted the crimson rope and one by one, each pony stood around the square table. Neo and Iron Fist both stared intensely at each other as they made their way to the chairs. And, without breaking eye contact, they both sat down.

Dual Shock stood at the table's side, before checking both sides quickly. Jib and Jab let go of each other and went to Iron Fist. Both brothers had took one of Iron Fist's sides. Both of them leaned their head's in closely to his own; almost to the point that Iron Fist could hear, and feel their breathing.

Jib chuckled, and whispered in his ear, "Remember..."

"We own you." Jab added giggling.

"We say you win."

"And you will." Jab finished.

And with a few gentle pats on his huge mechanical forelegs they pulled away and watched. "Are the contestants ready?" Dual Shock asked.

She first looked to Neo, who in response nodded. "Are you ready?" She asked Iron Fist.

At first he didn't notice her question, for the things that Jib and Jab had said to him rattled, festered, and bothered his mind. "Hey? Are you ready?" She tried asking him once more.

Shaking his head to clear his mind Iron Fist nodded. "Ya. Dah Fist is ready."

Dual Shock raised her hoof in the air, "Then, when I say go, you may start. Ready?"

Both Neo and Iron Fist placed their right forelegs onto the table. "Set?"

Locking them together in an upright position they both continued to concentrate on the other. Adam leaned next to his brother's ear and whispered reassuringly to him. "You can do it brother. I know you can."

Neo gulped, not giving a response. Sweat running down his brow while the tension grew. Iron Fist looked equally as nervous. Though, Neo didn't know why. After all, he was bigger, bulkier, and tougher than him. What reason was there to be nervous?

Quickly waving her hoof in the air Dual Shock shouted, "Go!"

Instantly, all thoughts evacuated his mind. It took less than a second for Iron Fist to react, and like before the sound of tightening metal, and pressured gears could be heard. What was surprising to Neo was how much easier it seemed to resist Iron Fist. It turned out that those modification Dual Shock had did to his foreleg really did help. This way, lasting longer in the match might be simple. And finally, he felt like he could win for sure.

Neo could hear his brother mutter encouraging comments to himself as the match went on. But already he could feel the strain of Iron Fist's forceful push tire him.

Iron Fist was in thought as the match went on. He could see Jib and Jab greedily rubbing their hooves from the corner of his eye. Just sneering, and hiccuping to themselves as they imagined seeing Neo's foreleg snap in half. As Iron Fist was thinking, the threats they had made earlier to him rang clearly.

"We own you."

"You'll win."

"If we say fight, you fight. I we say win, you win."

He closed his eyes and grit his teeth, feeling the threats become strength. Neo grunted loudly as his foreleg creaked noisily. Inch, by inch, Neo's foreleg moved to the right. Trying his best to retaliate Iron Fist decided to open his eyes.

The first thing he saw when he did was Adam, and the sad, worried look he had for his brother. Then suddenly, the words Adam had said to him could be heard. Those kind things he had told him out on the porch.

And the thoughts of ponies cheering for his spectacular performances flashed before him. It was in this instant that he knew what needed to be done.

So, with a relaxing sigh he let go of all power he had in his foreleg. Instantly Neo could feel the difference in pressure, and took the moment to act. Quickly, Neo put all the force he could muster into one push. Closing his eyes Neo gave it all he had, and within seconds he felt metal hit metal. Followed, by a loud bang from the table's surface.

One eye at a time, Neo carefully opened his eyes to see what had happened. Down on the table, with both of their mechanical fore hooves locked was something that surprised him. Everypony in the room watched speechless at the sight in front of them. For it was Neo's foreleg that rested on top of Iron Fist's.

At first, Dual Shock found it hard to speak. As she sat there though, sinking in what was in front of her she smiled, and in a joyous uproar she exclaimed, "That's it folks! We've got a winner!"

Neo chuckled briefly, feeling a warming sensation of contentment inside him. Adam rushed over to his brother and hugged him tightly.

"You did it, brother! You did it!" Adam shouted lifting his brother out of his chair for only a moment.

Out of his chair Neo stood there, as Adam let him go before patting his older brother on the back a few times. Like Adam, Dual Shock tipped her stetson to him with a smile, before giving him a few pats of her own.

Neo grinned, diverting his attention to Jib and Jab. Who, stared wide-eyed, and jaws hanging low from their heads. Iron Fist turned around in his, chair with one foreleg resting on the back of the chair, a mocking smirk on his face.

"B-but, how... I mean, what..." Jib and Jab muttered together.

"Heh," Dual Shock laughed stepping towards them with a cocky victorious sneer, "well boys. Looks like you're not having such a good day after. Wouldn't you say?" She finished mockingly beating her eyelashes at them.

Rage started to consume the two brothers, "Mr. Fist! Take these three out of here! Show them what happens when you mess with us!" Jab bursted in a drunken rage.

"Do it! Get them out of here!" Jib added shouting.

Everypony in the room did nothing but watch the two pant and breathe profusely in complete rage. Both were shaking with anger. Their neatly slicked back manes now frazzled and wild. Their coats, now loose and uneven.

Both now confused stallions stared back at the four ponies with contempt. "Well? Do it! We own you!" Jib desperately added.

Standing up from his chair Iron Fist cracked his neck. "Dah Fist does not take orders from you anymore. If you didn’t notice, your badges are gone."

Urgently, the two brothers patted themselves down in panic looking for the badges, only to find nothing. “But.... But...” They both stammered.

"We have a contract!" Jab screamed in desperation.

His massive forelegs hummed ferociously as he came closer to Jib and Jab. With each step he took, Jib and Jab, ears flattened, and bodies low to the ground, looked up at the massive stallion. Who, in return, looked down at them menacingly.

In an intimidating snort he grunted, "Not anymore. I lost. My contract vith you, is kaput."

Stomping his hooves on the ground, he stared deeply into their frightened eyes. "Go. Now." He growled.

Like frightened dogs they stumbled and tripped over each on their way to door, and with the alcohol still in their systems their tumbling seemed more clumsy.

"And don't come back, you bastards!" Dual Shock called to them as the two stallions slam the door behind them.

Dual Shock chuckled, "'Once ponies hear that those two are gone, life's gonna start right back up here. Just wait and see."

Neither Neo nor Adam could hold back their smiles. The very thought of making the train town a better place was uplifting. Even Adam could see that Iron Fist was at peace, because now he no longer had to worry about being controlled by them. He was free of their greedy, dishonorable way of life.

However, from the corner of his eye Neo saw Wilson groggily walk towards him with a bag in his hooves, and two rectangular metal plates in his mouth.

His tired, dark eyes looked at him, "Take da ticesh."

Neo blinked at him, and took the two metal plates from his mouth. Wilson moved his jaw around for a moment before replying. "Also, take these. You not only won the entry money, but the two hundred those two bid, and those badges... Congratulations..."

The bag was heavy as he gave it to Neo. "Thanks." He grunted.

"Whatever." Wilson moaned going back to his counter.

Putting the bag and badges on the ground, Neo glanced down at tickets he had in the other hoof. Adam though, was more than eager to see them. He moved his face close to the two metal tickets his brother held with large excited eyes. Adam's excitement was so strong, that the sound of him squeeing with joy could almost be heard.

"Are we gonna?" Adam whispered looking up at his brother.

With a kind smile Neo nodded at him. Adam didn't even say a word in response. The very thought of riding an actual train was overwhelming to him.

Dual Shock chuckled at Adam, "You know, I don't think I've ever seen somepony get so excited about getting tickets before."

Adam's blue fur did nothing to hid away his embarrassed blush, "I can't help it, trains fascinate me."

Iron Fist himself let a few chortles get by, while he looked down contently at the small earth pony that had helped him earlier. Without his kind words he wouldn't have had the motivation to deny Jib and Jab.

"Vonce again, small pony, Dah Fist is grateful for your kind words."

Adam playfully nudged Iron Fist's huge forelegs. "It's no problem."

"But... Vhat vill you do vis all dah caps, and dose badges too?" He asked.

Neo put the badges inside the bag of caps, and picked them up with one hoof, looking to his brother. "Adam, what do you think we should do with all of this?"

Adam took the bag from his brother, and held it. He felt the weight of the hundreds of caps move and shift as he held it. "I think you deserve this." He said placing the bag in front of Iron Fist.

The huge stallion was taken back by the gesture, and with greatest of ease he lifted the bag from the ground. "You vant dah Fist to have dis?"

"Yeah," Adam answered, "it'll help get you started."

Iron Fist shook his head, "No, no. Dah Fist can not take dis. Your brother von it. Not me."

"We're fine as it is," Neo replied, "we've got what we wanted."

Adam stepped up the the massive stallion, and trying the best he could, Adam stood up on his hind legs to reach the bag the stallion had in his hoof. And, putting one of his hooves on the bag Adam smiled at Iron Fist.

"Like my brother said. We've got what we wanted, now you can have what you want."

"Thank you, small pony. I vill not forget dis."

Adam got back onto all fours, and stepped back. Outside of the building, the train whistle blew twice loudly. Though inside the arena building it was muffled, the sound was still audible.

The sound had made Adam and Neo look towards the door, "What does two whistles mean?" Neo asked.

"If I remember correctly, it means that it's going to depart soon." Adam answered slightly worried.

"Well?" Dual Shock added motioning her head toward the door, "you didn't just win so you could miss the train! Come on then, before it takes off!"

After she had said that, the group bolted off toward the door. Leaving Wilson alone in the arena building. And as the door slam shut, the tired pony slouched over the counter, sighing to himself. "I've really got to put a sign telling ponies to shut the door softly on that door, before more lunatic ponies come through today..."

Steam from the train hissed, and twisted in the cool air whimsically before fading away completely. All four ponies saw as Legion workers dressed in dark green chest pieces, barring the Legion's insignia prepared the train for departure. The small booth at the depot was now open, with the dull looking ticket pony drowsily humming a slow, depressing tune to himself.

Neo and his brother approached the booth enthusiastically, with one ticket ready. Neo placed both hooves on the small counter at the booth's window, laying the ticket down in front of him. It took a second for the sleepy pony to notice Neo, when he did, the first thing the booth pony did was give him a sour frown.

"Didn't I tell you to beat it?" He grumbled.

Neo pushed the ticket on the counter close to him. "Yes, but this time is different."

"Oh?" The booth pony huffed, sounding the most energetic he had all day. "How so?"

Neo pointed to the ticket on the counter. "We got a ticket."

Lazily, the pony's eyes looked down at where Neo was pointing. Like he had said, there on the the counter was a ticket. "Good. You've done something productive today. I'm glad you’re not here to waste my time again."

Neither Neo, nor Adam approved of his foul behavior, but then again soon they would both never see him ever again. Sluggishly he took the ticket, and put it under a rather odd looking machine with a drill. Once the ticket was underneath the drill, the booth pony pressed an orange button that started the machine.

With a loud metallic screech, the drill went straight through the small metal ticket, making a single hole in it. However, he had brought the drill up once more to put yet another hole in it. Before he did so he paused for a moment, and returned to Neo.

"It was two passengers right?" He asked, the drill loudly roaring.

Neo nodded back to the booth pony, who when seeing Neo's response proceeded to drill the second hole in the ticket. As soon as the second hole was done, he pressed the orange button once more, stopping the machine. And, with a lazy pace, he gave the ticket back to Neo.

Both brothers stood there for a second and looked at the holes he had made in the ticket. It puzzled Adam the most, as he had read about ponies using paper tickets, never metal.

"Will that be all?" The pony asked.

"Yeah, thanks." Neo replied calmly.

"Then beat it." The pony responded, closing the booth curtain again.

Dual Shock and Iron Fist approached them with welcoming looks. "Did he put the holes in them?" She asked.

"Yeah," Neo said turning his head back slightly to the booth, "only, he could have been less rude about it."

Dual Shock shrugged. "Eh, don't worry about him. He's an asshole to everypony."

The train's whistle blew twice, just before a pony near the passenger car called out, "Five minutes till departure! Everypony on!"

Iron Fist had turned his to the car for only a moment before speaking, "I guess dat means it is your time to go."

Neo nodded his head, "I guess this is goodbye."

Dual Shock tipped her hat at the two brothers. "It was real fun. Just know that if you guys ever need something to stop on by. I'm not going anywhere, so don't hesitate, ya hear?"

They both smiled at her, "Don't worry, we'll be sure to do so." Neo replied.

Iron Fist stepped up next smiling, "And I vont forget vat you have done today."

And, with lightning speed he engulfed Adam in his forelegs in a powerful hug. Surprisingly, Adam found it easier to breath in Iron Fist's hugs, as opposed to his brother's which usually left him breathless.

"If you need anything, small pony or older pony. Just ask dah Fist."

"I'll be sure to ask you right away if I can." Adam grunted inside his powerful hug.

Letting go of Adam, Iron Fist patted him on the shoulder sporting an embarrassed grin. Behind them, the conductor pony called out once more to the group, "Any and all passengers must be on the train! This is the last call for any passengers!"

"Looks like that's our cue." Neo said making his way to the train.

A door to the passenger train was wide open, with a small set of stairs leading up into the car. The conductor stood on the very last step waiting for the two brothers to climb on.

The conductor pony, dressed in his dark green Legion uniform blinked at the two ponies in front of him. “You two ready to get on?”

With Adam by his side, Neo held out the ticket for the conductor. Glancing down to the ticket he held, the pony inspected the holes quickly before nodding in satisfaction. “Everything seems to be in order.” He said moving up the stairs.

Once more he called out to the platform, “Last call for departure!” And after a few moments, he saw that no other ponies seemed to want to get onto the train.

So, believing his work to be done, he moved back into the car.

Standing up on the first step they stood in the entryway of the train car. On the entryway were two dull brass railings, which both brothers held on to looking back at the ponies they had met. Grabbing the brass rails tightly, they waved one last time from the passenger car.

Two loud whistles blew clearly, as the sound of steam hissing could be heard. Suddenly, the car jerked forward for but a moment before gradually moving forward. As the car had started moving slowly, both brothers watched as second by second their friends became farther and farther from them.

And they waved until the train had fully left the platform. So, halting their wave, they stepped inside the train car to take their seat. The interior of the train car was just like Adam had imagined it. Wooden ceilings with brass railings above the brown cushioned seats, were meant to hold luggage; while oak framed windows sat next to each seat in the car. Dimly lit lamps above them shook and jingled as the train continued to gain speed.

Oddly, it seemed as if there were no other passengers on the train. The whole car itself could of held twenty, or forty ponies at most. But it was just them. Though, one thing did distract him. For while everything was just as he had seen in his books, everything seemed worn, scratched, or chipped. Then again, it was to be somewhat expected.

Taking a seat near the center of the car, the two brother's looked out into of the window at the passing world. It all looked different to them. The calm rocking of car, as the objects close to them dashed by, while larger objects in the distance moved slowly by them. The feeling was calming, and it reminded them of their first time in Lucy's wagon. Because that sense of movement gave them a feeling. A feeling that they were that much closer to finding their mother.

And with the train's help. They'd come that much more closer to Silvermane. Bringing them that much closer to their goal. All they could do looking out into the world from the window was smile hopefully. Because this was it, and it wouldn't be long until their quest was at an end.

Foot Note: Level up!

New Perk: I Can Swing My Sword, Sword!: With modifications done to your mechanical foreleg, you can now do extra damage when using it in combat. +5 damage and +15% of receiving a critical hit during combat.

Would you like to level up Adam as well?

Yes-

No

Foot Note: Level up!

New Perk: What Goes Around Comes Around: When using a melee weapon, if you've missed a target with a swing you have a chance of a critical strike on the next. +15% of receiving a critical hit when you've missed a target on the first swing.

Proofread by:

Noakwolf

LyonAzakura

Killer-931

Thefullmetalbrony

(AN: I enjoyed writing this chapter. I always enjoyed writing simple chapters, because with small little moments the whole mood of a scene can make me feel something. Now, this did have something to do with the plot. As like Jib and Jab we will be seeing someone again from this chapter. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I look forward to making the next. Till next time! - Noakwolf)