//------------------------------//
// The morning before the wedding 
// Story: Life of the Whistle 
// by SteamingWhistle382 
//------------------------------//

The two railwaymen from Dodge Junction woke up early the next morning, at first slightly confused about the lack of the sound of steam locomotives moving about, and yard workers shouting orders about, till they remembered their run and what happened at the station last night. They quickly washed themselves and ate breakfast in the hotels restaurant, with Steaming ranting about what an insult they tried to sell as tea, before making their way to the station. In front of one of the great gates that let to the platforms, the two men parted ways.

"And you are sure that Westing will be alright with me staying here for another day?" Asked Steaming.

"Of course! After all, he can't tell you off for spending your day off work here. Just make sure you get back sooner or later! I don't think he'll take it too kind if you miss your morning shift tomorrow, like you did three weeks ago!" Chuckled Emerald, as his friend shivered.

"Don't remind me. Last time I was ordered to clean out every drainpipe on the station roof, and you know how scared I am of falling from high places like that!" Grumbled the engineer, as the call rang through the station.

"The 6:30 local train to Dodge Junction will depart shortly from platform 16. Last chance for getting aboard."

"Well, good luck on your date Romeo." Winked Emerald, as he passed something over to the engineer.

Steaming looked at the object, and noticed that it was a small box of bullets for his revolver.

"Just to be sure that no one makes any wrong moves on you or Jacky." Explained Emerald.

"You know I usually grab for my other weapon before I touch my gun." Grinned Steaming as he clenched his fists for a brief second.

"Hehe, yeah yeah, Celestia forgives, we don't." Smirked Emerald, before the two of them burst end out laughing.

"I see you tomorrow bro." Said Emerald, still laughing as he walked to the platform.

"Well, seeing that Jacky didn't told me when she would come here, I guess the best thing to do would be sitting here and wait till she arrives." Muttered the railwayman to himself as he walked to an nearby bench, and sat down on it.

'BOOOOOOOORING!'

Steaming was getting rather impatient. He wasn't somebody who could wait too long, and he was quick to show it. His head was quickly glancing from the station clock, to the main entrance and over the people who came and went through it, hoping to see the metallic black haired girl he was waiting for. But till now, he didn't have any luck with that. His fingers were hammering on the bench, and his foot was rapidly hammering on the floor.

'Come on Jacky! I don't like being in such a crowd.' Thought the engineer. He was usually with his friends and colleagues, in their own, small groups where everyone knew everyone, and would talk openly to each other. But here, he was on his own, drowned in an ocean of people whom he didn't know, and probably knew he wouldn't want to know. He can't remember how he had coped with it when he was younger, but he knew he would be happy once he was back home where it would only be him, Emerald and the occasional yard worker who would walk over to them and have a little chat. He was so deep in though, that didn't notice a girl in a blue dress, sitting down next to him.

"Good morning Steaming!" Said Jacky joyfully, making said engineer jump from his place on the bench and falling straight onto the ground.

"Ouch!" He groaned, as he picked himself up.

"Oops, sorry. I didn't wanted to surprise you." Jacky said.

"No no, it's alright. I should've noticed you. How come I didn't see you come in through the main entry?"

"Easy. I used the side entry." Grinned Jacky, as Steaming face palmed.

"Of course. Stupid me!" Grumbled the man, as Jacky giggled.

"So, are you ready?" Asked Jacky.

"Lead the way, my lady." Said the engineer, trying to form a Canterlot accent and failing miserably, as the girl in front of him chuckled with an slight blush.

"Well, if you ask so nicely." She smiled, and started to lead the engineer outside the station, and through the busy street of the nations Capitol.

They walked for roughly an hour, before they stopped at an building, that stood in a row with many similar ones. The only thing that made the building stand out from the rest was a small sign that hung above the door, with what looked like a carousel on it, with the word 'boutique' in fancy writing beneath it. Jacky pulled the man inside, and the sight of many colourful dresses and suits greeted the two, along with the sound of an bell ringing.

"Hello! Ms. Belle! Are you here?!" Jacky called through the store, as some scuffling could be heard from the back of the shop. A few seconds later, a girl in their age came from the back, a pair of red glasses on the bridge of her nose, with purple hair, white blouse and purple trousers, with shoes of the same colour. She smiled brightly when she saw Jacky.

"Junction darling!" She exclaimed, and walked over to the girl, pulling her into an hug.

"Hello Rarity! It's good to see you again!" Smiled Jacky, as she returned the hug.

"And who might this gentleman in your company be?" She asked.

"My name is Steaming Whistle ma'am." Steaming said, lifting his hat.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Whistle. My name is Rarity Belle, and this is my family's boutique." Introduced the girl herself, before turning back to Jacky.

"It is a good timing that you came here, I finished the dress, and wanted you to try it on." Said Rarity, as Jacky beamed brightly.

"That's great! I'll try it on straight away." Said the girl happily, as she rushed off to where Rarity had come from.

"You make dresses as well?" Asked Steaming.

"Why yes! I help my parents running the boutique after school, but I also design and create my own dresses as well! I dream of owning my own boutique someday." Explained the young seamstress with a dreamy smile.

"That sounds like a pretty nice dream. I dream of becoming the best engineer of the railway. The railway gave me everything, a job, a home, a future,... I simply want to repay them for everything they did for me." Explained the young engineer.

"I heard about that. Jacky tends to speak a lot about you, and what you went through. It must've been quite hard, growing up in a railway station without anybody to help you." Said the purple haired girl with a concerned look.

"It wasn't that hard. I had my best friend Emerald with me all the time, and the men and women from the yards and the station cafe taught us everything we needed to know for the future. They taught us how to read, write, simple mathematics, how to work and behave around railway vehicles, the art of shooting from the ground and from a moving train-"

"Wait! You can shoot? With a gun?" Asked Rarity, stunned.

"Yes, the rails around Dodge Junction aren't the safest, and the only way to move around down there without getting a third eye down there is to carry one of these around with you all the time." Chuckled Steaming, showing his holstered handgun.

"Oh my, that doesn't sound like a very safe way for a child to grow up." Said Rarity.

"Oh, the open rails weren't safe, that's for sure. But we didn't go out much, we usually stayed at the station, or went about in the yards. That's where we also found our current home. When we went on one of our yard exploration runs, we found an clapped out passenger coach from the early days of the line down to Dodge. We started repairing it bit by bit, and now it's body is completely repaired. But to get it back on its wheels again, will take quite some time." Explained Steaming, as Jacky came back into the room.

"It's perfect Rarity! Thank you so much!" Beamed Jacky.

"It's quite alright dear. Always happy to help. Say, are you going to the Royal wedding with your parents as well?" Asked the young seamstress.

"I'm going there with Steaming in their place. They are stuck down in Manehatten, something to do with the railway as it seems." Said Jacky.

"I see. And what will you be wearing Steaming?" Asked the seamstress, turning to the engineer.

"Your seeing it." Replied the engineer casually, only noticing the pleading look on Jackys face after saying it.

"WHAT?!" Asked Rarity in shock.

"I don't have anything else to wear here besides my uniform." Said the young man with an nervous chuckle, not knowing why the purple haired girl in front of him was making such a fuss about it.

"That will never do! This will be the most important event of the whole year! You can't walk in there wearing your working clothes! You would be a laughing stock!" Exclaimed the seamstress.

"Huh, see if I care. Let them laugh if it makes them feel important. They know they are above me, and if they really get on my nerves, I'll show them what an annoyed engineer really can do!" Smirked Steaming, but Rarity shook her head.

"Well, you might not care, but I do! I know how to fix this! I'll make you a suit!" She smiled in delight, snapping her fingers.

"Wait, what?" Asked the engineer perplexed, as he was dragged into the back of the store, as Jacky sighted.

"I knew this would happen." She sighted.

Steaming was pulled to an small, empty space near the very back of the shop, where a table with an chair in front of it stood. Rarity quickly grabbed a measuring tape, and turned to the engineer.

"Would you be so kind to undo your shirt please?" Asked Rarity.

"Whoa! Hold it right there lady! First, I think this goes way beyond it for the first time we're meeting each other, second, I don't even have any money on me to pay you for the suit! And lastly, I don't even want a suit!" Exclaimed the engineer, as Raritys cheeks turned a light shade of red because of the first remark.

"I need you to take off your shirt so that I can take your measures silly! And don't worry about the payment! Let's call it a gift for you, from me." Smiled the purple haired girl kindly.

"Wow, that's very generous of you." Said the engineer, genuinely surprised.

"That's one of my specialities darling." Smiled Rarity.

"But that still doesn't change the fact that I don't want a suit. My clothes are just fine!" Continued the engineer.

"Well, too bad, because you don't have any saying in it. I will make you a suit, if you like it or not." Said Rarity with an determined smile.

"Just agree to it Steaming. She won't back down until you say yes." Said Jacky, who came up to the two.

"Okay, but be quick okay?" Sighted the young man, as Raritys face lit up.

After around 15 minutes, Rarity had all the information she needed.

"Um, one small question: would it be possible if you could add a little pocket inside it where I could store my revolver? I'd be much more relaxed if I can carry it around me whenever I can." Asked Steaming with an embarrassed chuckle.

"I think that should be possible. But I am afraid you will need to give your gun to the Royal guards at the entry to the castle anyways." Said Jacky.

"Hehe, of course." Chuckled Steaming, as Rarity shooed them out of the building.

"And now I need some time to make the suit. It should be ready in a few hours. I see you two later." She said, and closed the stores door behind her.

"Well... That was something... Different." Said Steaming.

"You must excuse her, she means well, but she can't except no for an answer." Said Jacky with an embarrassed laugh.

"Don't worry, already went through it in Dodge in an similar incident. So, where to now?" Asked Steaming.

"Well, I had expected that we'd stay at Raritys place a bit longer till lunch time, so I don't really know where to now. Do you have any suggestions?" Asked the girl.

"Hm, well, there is one place I would like to visit again, just to make sure it still stands." Muttered Steaming thoughtfully, trying to form the route in his head.

"Do you know the route there?" Asked Jacky, as she saw how the engineer tried hard to think of the route.

"Once I'm at the main market, I should be able to figure it out." Murmured the young man, as he looked around, seeing a sign on which 'this way to market ->' stood.

"Well, that's convenient." Said Steaming and started to walk in the direction of the arrow.

They soon reached the market and Steaming led from there. They walked further and further, past factories and workshops, till they reached an very poor area of the city, where many buildings were either in disrepair or completely closed off from the public. Jacky never went to this part of the city, but Steaming wasn't scared. He grew up here after all. Jacky walked closer to the engineer, and grabbed his hand with her own. Steaming looked shortly to their interlocked hands, but then looked back onto the way ahead, slightly red in the face. They kept walking till they reached an small, closed down factory, with an crumbled old chimney, and an slightly collapsed roof.

"Well you don't say! That bloody thing is still standing!" Laughed Steaming as he started to walk towards the old, nailed shut door.

"This is where you wanted to go?" Asked Jacky.

"Why yes. This was mine and Emeralds old hideout. It also was our home for when the old man at the orphanage had enough of us." Chuckled Steaming.

"How could you live here? I mean, it is completely wrecked!" Exclaimed Jacky.

"Easy. We didn't used the whole building. We only used one or two rooms. The parts that had the most damage were sealed off, so that we couldn't go there, even if we wanted to!" Grinned the young man, as they stood in front of the closed off building.

"It doesn't look like we can go in there." Said the girl next to him.

"Oh, looks don't always show off the reality." Chuckled Steaming, as he pressed against the upper part of one board, which moved to the action. Steaming pulled the board up, so that it stood in an 90 degree angle to the door.

"We know our ways into the buildings of the city. Well, at least into the buildings in this part of the town." Chuckled the young man, as he squeezed himself through the gap.

"Ugh! I think I grew a bit too much." Winced the boy, as he rubbed his front and back, which had scrapped against the other boards.

"Well, the inside looks just as I had imagined it." Said Jacky, looking around.

The inside of the building was just as battered up as the outside. Debris and broken machine parts littered the floors, with a few cleaned up spaces that were probably used as walking paths by Steaming and Emerald. At one side of the room were a few rotten wooden boxes, placed around an larger, just as rotten box, which Jacky guessed were used as a table and chairs. Two clapped out, dirty and disused mattresses layer in two corners of the room, with some old clothes on and around them. Steaming walked to an old, partly collapsed shelf, where something rectangular rested, dirt, dust and soot covering it and making the recognition nearly impossible.

"What is that?" Asked Jacky.

Steaming picked the object up, opening it, and showing Jacky a old drawing.

"That was something Emerald and I did when we were bored: we made drawings. Sometimes of us, sometimes of the people we met, and sometimes of what we wanted to do in the future." Chuckled Steaming, as he sat down on one of the old boxes, looking through the drawings, showing Jacky badly made drawings of himself and Emerald, scary looking pictures with the title 'old man' and 'loudmouthed old bastard', and pictures of the two of them, fighting against monsters in a foreign place.

"Hehe, you two had quite big dreams." Chuckled Jacky, as she saw the last picture.

"Yeah, back then, we didn't really knew what the future had in store for us, so we thought of anything. But two things the two of us always came back to were gunslingers, and engine drivers." Chuckled the engineer, as he showed her a drawing of the two of them, showing them on board of an moving locomotive, with both of them wielding, what looked like Coltchester rifles, fighting against persuading people.

"Whys that?" Asked Jacky.

"Well, the engine driver things is pretty easy to explain. Both Emerald and I started working at an factory when we were 7 years old, and into the factory went rails. Every day, we would see the locomotives steam in and out of the factory, bringing in empty trucks and taking away full ones. We loved the sights and sounds of the engines as they rattled about, and wanted to go with them, away from the orphanage, away from Canterlot, just... going somewhere else." Explained Steaming, thinking back to the time he worked in the factories.

"And why did you want to become a gunslinger? That isn't a job that most people would usually chose."

"Well, back then, Emerald an I had a book we always read, called 'the adventures of Trinity'. It's about an lone gunslinger, who was said to be the fastest gunslinger in the world! Some even called him 'the Devils right hand', because he would bring the devil his next customer. He also had a brother, named 'Bambie', but don't think he was small just because of his name. He was a mountain of a man, and his punches were so hard, they were a weapon in their own right. We loved those stories, and wanted to be like Trinity. Well, we both know that these stories were just made up now, but back then, these stories were what gave the two of us hope, that even people like us could become famous." Explained Steaming, as he looked around the room, his eyes falling on Emeralds old mattress.

"Wait a minute, I just got an idea..." Muttered Steaming, as he got up and walked over to the mattress, lifting it up, and pulling something from underneath it.

"I knew he would keep it there. He always stores his important things under his mattress." Chuckled Steaming, as he showed Jacky an old book, with the picture of an thin, blond gunslinger with steel blue eyes, and an slightly smaller, but much thicker build man, with small eyes and beard in his face. Underneath the two men was the title Steaming just told.

"Hehe, I bet Emerald will jump in joy when he sees this old thing again." Chuckled Steaming, as he put the book into an pocket on the inside of his uniform jacket.

Steaming had just put the book away, when they heard something fall in the back of the old factory. The two teenagers looked in the direction of the sound, but couldn't see anything. Steaming slowly stood up, and sneaked in the direction of the sound.

"What are you doing Steaming?" Asked Jacky, a bit scared of the action of the engineer.

"Ssssssh, quiet Jacky! I don't like it when people wander about in my home, even if I didn't used it for 5 years." Whispered Steaming, as the two of them sneaked further into the factory. They were coming up to the end of the factory, when they could see a small group of men, with one of them arguing with another.

"You can be lucky that the building is empty! Just imagine if we were found! The guards would send us to jail in a heartbeat!" Said the man.

"We are in one of the most deserted parts of the city. The next populated building is at the end of the road. We could destroy the whole interior of the Celestia damned thing and nobody would know! We don't have to be that secretive now." Argued the man.

"We are still within city borders. We need to keep a low profile until we're at the coast. We can't risk this being caught, so close before we-"

"Well lads, sorry to tell you this, but your covers blown. Now stick 'me up, and throw any guns through the window over there." Came the voice as Steaming walked in, revolver drawn, and pointed at the men in the room.

"Who're you? Our bounty hunter?" Asked one of the men, as they threw their revolvers out of the window, and into the yard of the factory.

"Nope, just a man who was lucky enough to become an engineer for the railways."said explained Steaming, as he walked around them, wanting to led them outside.

"Jacky, go open the door up front, I keep these jailbirds here company." Said Steaming, but before Jacky could even take a step, the sound of an revolvers hammer being pulled back went through the room.

They looked to their right, seeing another member of this group, holding an old, partly rusty, revolver at the engineer.

"You know, I have an better idea: you don't go to that door, and keep me and my lads company, and if your little girlfriend is good, we let you go and the two of you will be alright. Well, at least mostly." Laughed the man evilly, as he slowly walked to Steaming, disarming him.

But just as he grabbed the revolver, Steaming swung his left hand, knocking both his and the mans gun out of the window. The man was surprised, and Steaming used his helpless situation, and punched him hard with his right fist.

"JACKY! GET THE BLAZES OUT OF HERE!" Shouted Steaming as the other 3 members of the group started charging at him.

The engineer quickly ducked under a punch, but got hit by another in the stomach. He flinched slightly, but gave a punch of his own, sending the man onto the ground, holding his stomach in pain. He made a swift move to the left, dodging another punch, letting it hit the wall that was behind him. The attacker yelped in pain, and shook his hand violently, snarling at where Steaming stood. The man in question however, had already moved behind him, kicking him hard into his butt, sending him into the wall, knocking him out cold. The other three however had more than enough of him, and went at him all at the same time. While two grabbed his arms, the third gave him several punches into his face. He was about to make another punch, when one of the rotten old boxes hit him at the head, shattering in impact. The two men restraining Steaming looked over, where Jacky stood, her eyes filled with determination, as she looked at the men with an angry look.

"Leave him alone you bullies!" She cried.

The distraction was all Steaming needed to free himself from the thugs. He yanked his arms out of their grip, jumping and landing on the feet of the two men. They jumped and shouted in pain, but the engineer wasn't quite finished yet. He quickly kicked the man to his left with his leg against the mans one, making him fall onto the factories floor, while he hit the man to his right with both hands on either side of his face, stunning him long enough to hit the man with his fist squarely on his head. The man slumped to the ground, completely knocked out, burying the other man underneath him. The last of the four men group looked from his beaten up colleagues to the man in front of him, who looked like he didn't even started to fight for real, a broad smirk on his face, as he edged ever so slowly towards him, as he walked slowly backwards, before hitting the wall behind him. His whole body shook in fright, as the engineer stood in front of him, and even though he wasn't that much bigger, he seemed to tower over him. Steaming raised his fist, tensing his muscles, and smirking widely like a mad man.

"Boo." Smirked the young man, as the last of the four men group collapsed onto the ground, the fright and shock finally overwhelming him.

"Hehe, that's how you do it." Chuckled Steaming, as he turned to Jacky, seeing her standing where she had been since she had thrown the box, mouth agape in shock and awe.

"How did you-?"

"Emerald and I aren't the most feared pair of rail workers in the yards, and probably the whole eastern part of the nation, for nothing. He and I fought and took down the strongest and most fearsome fighters that came into the town, and are well known in Dodge Junctions underground fighting arenas. Compared to what he and I fought against, these weaklings were a walk in the park." Grinned Steaming, as he walked to the person who was buried underneath his pal, still trying to lift him from himself.

"Hey punk, before I knock you to dreamland, how about you explain what you did, so that the guards have an proper reason for putting you behind the bars." Said Steaming with a cold voice.

"Why should I?" The man sneered.

"Maybe because I will break every of your bones otherwise?" Steaming suggested, but the man just scoffed.

"You wouldn't dare."

In a swift move, Steaming, hand stomped down of the mans arm, sending a large amount of pain through his body.

"There's more where that just come from. Way more. So, still keeping shut, or do you want to talk?" Asked the engineer, his voice even colder than before.

"Alright, alright, I talk! Just take your foot from my arm!" The man whined, as Steaming removed his foot from the arm.

"We stole an experimental new power source that we wanted to sell in Germainy." Explained the man.

"New power... What kind of new power source?"

"It's called a internal combustion engine. They already build many of those over there, but this one doesn't needs to be activated by hand. It has an electrical starter." Explained the man further.

"Huh, thanks for the info, birdbrain!" Smirked Steaming, hitting the man on the head, knocking him out as well.

"So, they wanted to sell the work of countless of hours to the land where the internal combustion engine was developed aye? Heh, they can buy as many as they want, but this thing stays right here!" Said Steaming, as he looked at an queer looking object that was inside a crate.

"Um, Steaming? Could we please go now? I don't think I want to be here any longer." Said Jacky.

"No problem. I just go grab my gun, hide their guns safely out of sight, and then we go and get out of here. We'll tell the guards that they should pick them up, once we meet some of them."

"Don't you think it's a bit dangerous, leaving them here without anyone to watch over them?"

"I thought you wanted to get out of here? And don't worry about it, they won't get up for at least an hour, maybe two if they're weak in recovering from heavy blows. I think we have more than enough time to call some guards up here." Winked Steaming, as he walked over to the window where his and the guns of the other men went through, and climbed through it, grabbing his revolver, and the ones of the thugs, before throwing the latter ones onto the roof of the building, where they could do no harm.

He went back through the window, and both he and Jacky walked back outside through the opening in the boarded up door. They slowly walked back into the direction of the main market place, Jacky still amazed about the fact that her friend just took down four fully grown

men, while Steaming just smiled slightly, looking at Jacky every once in a while, chuckling when he saw her still deep in thought about how he could take them on all on his own. After they told a group of passing guards that they saw a group of suspicious looking men hiding inside the abandoned factory (they decided that it was better if they didn't told them the real story), they made a stop in a small restaurant that was nearby, Steaming remembering it from his days in the factories, when he was brought here with Emerald by one of the older workmen who grew fond of the two. He walked in and ordered something for the two of them. After taking a seat near a window, they waited patiently for their lunch to arrive.

"Is it just me, or does this restaurant looks somewhat foreign?" Asked Jacky to the engineer.

"Quite an eye you got there. It is indeed foreign, its owner came from Germainy, and when he saw that none of the food he used to eat was sold here, he bought one of the old buildings here, refurbished it, and turned it into, what he calls a 'Schnitzelhaus' or something like that. While I don't really understand all of the stuff on the menu, what I know is, that it is really good." Explained the engineer, as the waiter came with two plates with food.

"What exactly IS this stuff?" Asked Jacky as she looked at her food in confusion.

"Well, from what the cook told me when I was younger, it's called 'Jagerschnitzel' with mashed potatoes and vegetables. I don't know what it's exactly made from, but like I said earlier, it is pretty damn good!" Smirked Steaming, as he pierced one of the small, brownish, disk like pieces of meat, cutting it in half, and started to eat.

"Still as good as in my memories." Smiled the young man, closing his eyes with an blissful expression.

Jacky cut a small piece of her mini-steak off, and put it in her mouth, starting to chew it. It had a more or less spicy taste, but on a tolerable level, with an crunchy shell around the meat inside.

"Not bad." Said the girl, after she swallowed up he piece.

"Hehe, bad liars are easy to spot for me." Smiled Steaming, as he dug into his meal.

After their dinner, and after an long round of 'who pays?', out of which they agreed to pay their own meal, Jacky said they should check up on the suit Rarity was making for Steaming. While the engineer was a bit confused, he agreed, and after a little while, the two of them were back at the boutique. They walked inside, just as they saw Rarity, coming out of the back of the shop.

"Oh! You are already here! How convenient! I just finished your suit!" Smiled Rarity.

"Really? My, you must've been a very busy bee then! I thought it would take much longer!" Chuckled Steaming, as he was led to the back of the boutique.

"Well, it is rather pressing after all, with the wedding celebration being this evening." Explained the young seamstress, as they reached an mannequin, on which the suit was put on. When Steaming looked at it, his jaw nearly fell of. It looked just like an original Germain railway uniform.

"Wow..." Said the engineer quietly.

"I take it you like it then?" Chuckled Rarity.

"How did you-?"

"Your hat. It has the same design as the ones from Germainy, so I took the liberty do make the suit represent the railway uniforms from Germainy. Needless to say, they are very distinguished, so you should fit in perfectly into the Royal wedding wearing this." Smiled the young woman next to him.

"Now, go and try it on! Your eyes practically scream to get into it." She continued, as Steaming shook himself awake, and quickly grabbed the suit, disappearing behind a wall, so that Rarity wouldn't see anything that she shouldn't.

After a few minutes, he appeared in her view again, and the young seamstress smiled brightly when she saw him.

"My, I must say, the suit looks stunning on you! As if you were a real member of the Germain railways!" Smiled Rarity, as the engineer blushed modestly.

"Thanks for the flowers." He said with an embarrassed blush.

"Hehe, and I guess Jacky will like seeing you in this suit even more." Giggled the young seamstress, as Steaming went bright red.

"Y-you think so?!" Asked the engineer, with an slightly higher voice.

"Oh I know so darling. But I think you shouldn't let her see it before the wedding. You know, as to not spoil the surprise." Chuckled Rarity.

"O-of course! Your right!" Stuttered Steaming, as he disappeared behind the wall to get changed again.

"Oh Jacky, if only you'd see his signs." Sighted Rarity with a slight smile.

Once he finished changing into his usual clothes, Steaming walked back out with Rarity and two cardboard boxes in his hands, one with Jackys dress, the other with his suit. They were just about to go, when a ringing rang through the room. The source of it was the phone on the counter of the store. Rarity rushed over to the counter and picked up the call.

"Yes hello, carousel boutique, Rarity Belle at the phone. ...yes. ...oh dear. ...no, I don't know who- wait! I do know someone! Don't worry, we will get it delivered on time! Goodbye!" She said, and hung up, turning to the two people who were standing at the door with confused expressions.

"Would you be so kind and do a little errand for me?"

"Okay, first, I get drawn all the way up here to Canterlot, for bringing the presents for the wedding."

"Yes, you said that 5 times already."

"Then, I have to bring the wedding dress all the way from downtown Canterlot up here to the castle."

"That, you already said 6 times."

"And then I get held up by a pair of nit witting guards, who can't even do their job right in defending themselves, much less anybody else, and molest an 15 year old teenager, because they 'suspected' her to smuggle some dangerous objects inside!"

"You forgot the part where you beat the living daylight out of them when they tried to do their job, after which you got arrested for assaulting them." Said the guard outside of his cell, who was by now more than annoyed by the engineer inside the cell.

"1. They didn't 'do their job', they molested her, like I already said, and 2. It took 5 of you wimps to take me down, and I'm only a railway engineer! If I were your captain, I would either get you back to basics so that you can at least stop a regular grown man, or throw you wimps out, and replace you with someone with more stopping power!" Smirked Steaming, as the guard outside of the cell shot him an angry glare.

"Hey Shield! Can't you make that silencing spell so that I don't need to hear this wanker anymore?!" Grumbled the guard, as another one was sitting behind a desk, writing into a book.

"With the greatest pleasure!" Grumbled the man, as his hands glowed a pale green light, as the dungeon fell into silent at last.

"Finally!" Sighted the guard from the cells, as he smiled in relief.

"Well, but you can't argue about that he has a point." Came a third voice, as a man in two tone, blue hair walked inside, on his shoulders the badges of a captain.

"C-captain Armor! We didn't expect you here!" Stuttered the one called Shield, as the two guards stood to attention.

"Usually, I wouldn't, but that was before the young lady Spike her told me that you imprisoned her companion." Said the captain with a even voice.

"With all due respect sir, he was the one who attacked two guards on duty." Said the one from the cells.

"From what lady Spike told me, they did a pretty sloppy job at it, and this Mr. Steaming here, was only defending the young lady. On top of that, you made yourself a laughing stock with that little stunt out there! It took 5 of you, Equestrias best soldiers, to take out an simple engineer with no training whatsoever, who on top of that kicked two of you out of commission! I should take his advice and put the 5 of you back to basics so that you learn how to at least defend yourself! Now, I advice you to open that door and release him at once!" Said the captain, the even tone now gone from his voice, and replaced by that of anger, as the two guards just looked down in shame.

"Yes sir..." They said in embarrassment, as they opened the cell door.

Steaming smirked at the two men, before mocking a punch, to which the two of them jerked away from him.

"Thank you for your help, Mr?"

"My name is Shining Armor, captain of the Royal guards." Said the man in front of him with a slight smile.

"Ah, I heard you are the lucky man who is going to be married by the end of the day! Congratulations for that! My name is Steaming Whistle by the way. Engineer on the Equestrian National Railway, Dodge Junction devision." Said Steaming, shaking the hand of the captain.

"Thank you, Mr. Steaming. Now, lady Spike told me that you were responsible for the current absence of two of my guards, better said, their current health situation?" Asked the captain with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, yes. Seeing them grabbing Jacky at her most private places was something I simply couldn't go by without them getting any comeuppance for it. They shouldn't be too battered up though. I didn't go full throttle on them, so they should be on full health within the next two months." Said the engineer, as they walked upstairs.

"Wait, what do you mean with 'not going full throttle on them' and 'not longer than two months'?!" Asked the captain of the Royal guards in shock.

"Well, I can't really go full throttle on my own. I can only go up to, say, 70% of my full fighting power if I'm alone. If my buddy Emerald Heart were here however, then they wouldn't be awake by now." Smirked the engineer, as Shining looked at him with an unconvinced glance.

"If you two are that good, then why didn't you two join the guards?"

"Hehe, believe it or not, but Lieutenant Pass has asked us that numerous times already!"

"You mean Lieutenant Raton Pass from Dodge Junction? The man who defended whole Dodge Junction from the natives for over 5 days with only half an platoon? The one called 'the hardest rock in the desert'?" Asked Shining, shocked.

Lieutenant Raton Pass was known two things: his famous, week long defence of Dodge Junction, and the fact that he never seemed anyone worthy of joining the guard, without proofing himself. Hearing that he would even offer a place in the guard to somebody as common as an engineer was shocking, to say the least.

"The one and only. But we are men of the rails. We work for Equestria, but not by keeping it safe, but by making sure that people and goods reach their destination safe, relaxed, and on top of that, on time!" Smirked Steaming, as he saw the face of the captain, who was trying to reach the floor with his yaw.

"Well, that is quite respectful. I bet the princesses would be impressed as well to have someone with so much dedication to the job as you are within their nation." Smiled Shining, as they reached a large hall, which was filled with tables and chairs, at one of them, sat 5 girls, one of them obviously being Jacky, talking to each other.

"Well, seems like they are waiting for us, better not keep them waiting any longer, aye?" Suggested Steaming as he started moving again.

"A very good suggestion indeed." Chuckled Shining, as the two of them moved to the table where the 5 girls sat.

The conversation of the girls was quickly ended when the two men walked up to them.

"Hello Jacky, sorry it took so long." Chuckled Steaming, as Jacky just rolled her eyes.

"You didn't need to be so hard on them you know." Grumbled the girl with a frown, but the small smile on her face was making her stern facade crumble to pieces.

"From what he told me, he went easy on them." Smiled Shining, as he was joined by one of the girls, with light pink hair, and light blue eyes.

"Is that so? Well then, I think we should thank you for not going all out on them then." Chuckled the woman, as she gave Shining a small kiss on the cheek.

"And I suspect you are princess Cadence, am I right?" Asked the engineer, while lifting his hat.

"You suspected right. My full name is princess Mi amore cadenca, but I commonly go by Cadence." Smiled the princess.

"But I see that you aren't alone. Who might you three lovely ladies be?" Asked the engineer, making a small blush appear on the girls cheeks and an small frown on Jackys face.

"W-well, my name is Twilight Sparkle, member of the Celestial studying foundation 'Harmony'." Said the girl with two tone, purple hair, with an pink streak running through it.

"Huh, never heard of that before." Shrugged Steaming.

"It's a foundation my aunt installed to teach and learn the most talented and promising children of Equestria in their own ways. As of now, we have 6 members." Explained Cadence with a smile.

"Huh, I can only see four people here, if Jacky is one of them."

"I'm not a member, but my family has long since been a supporter of the foundation. That, and the fact that I'm a good friend of Rarity, is the reason I became friends with them." Smiled Jacky.

"Well, there are three other members, two of which are outside, while the final member is at her home, helping her parents out with their boutique." Explained Twilight.

"So, how about we continue the introductions? 'Cause I don't think that Pinkie can contain herself much longer," grinned Shining, as Steaming looked at him with an confused expression, as he was suddenly tackled to the ground by a pink arrow, being knocked to the ground with force.

"Ugh! What the-?"

"HITHEREIMPINKIEPIEAREYOUGOINGTOBEANEWFRIENDOHIHOPEYOUAREGOINGTOBEANEWFRIENDIHAVESOMANYFRIENDS!" And on and on the pink haired girl, with the sky blue eyes rambled.

"Okay, hold your horsepowers there little lady." Said the engineer, finally getting over the confusion, and putting a hand over the girls mouth, who still muffled into his hand. Twilight sighted, and gave Steaming an apologetic look.

"You must excuse Pinkie Pie, she is... rather enthusiastic, when meeting new people." She said with an embarrassed chuckle.

"That I noticed, but, no harm done. After all, a bit of excitement is what makes life, well, exciting." Chuckled the engineer, as he released his hand from Pinkie, who finally stopped talking.

"So, you're a engineer?" Asked the enthusiastic girl, as she inspected the engineer closer.

"Yes I am. Proud engineer of the Equestrian National Railway company, Dodge Junction devision, at your service." Said the engineer, almost mechanically, making a small bow in front of the women.

"He's actually as shunter, and only rarely works as an engineer as of now. But don't tell him I said that." Whispered Jacky to Shining, Twilight and Cadence, who chuckled quietly.

"Well, Fluttershy here once worked as an engineer, even just on one occasion." Grinned Pinkie, as the final girl, with pale pink hair and a light yellow dress, jumped slightly when her name was mentioned, shying away from the eyes of the engineer.

"Hello ma'am, it's a pleasure to meet you." Said the young man softly, as the girl turned back to the engineer, her eyes still filled with worry.

"Um, hello, it's nice to meet you too." She said, with a voice that was barely a whisper.

'Man, shy indeed.' Steaming thought, as the girl shied away again.

"Anyways, from what I am guessing, Rarity is a member as well, brining the round up to four. But that means that there are still 2 other members left.”

“You guessed right, as for the final two members, their names are Rainbow Dash and Applejack. Both of them have a small competition right now, but I think they should be finished in about” A crashing sound could be heard from beyond the door on the other side of the hall, followed by the door bursting open, as two girls raced into the room, one had blond hair, while the other had her hair in all colors of the rainbow. Both girls skidded along the floor, but couldn't stop in time, and crashed into both Steaming and Jacky, knocking them over, and all four of them piling up against the wall of the room.

“Now. Are you for alright?” Asked Twilight with a wince.

“A recon Am alright.” Said the blond, picking herself up.

“Sure, after all, I won.” Bragged the rainbow colored one.

“Whoa there RD! Ah won!” Argued the blond.

“No way Jack! I got back here faster!” Argued Rainbow, but their argument was cut short when they were suddenly pushed up and forwards, as Steaming lifted them off of himself and Jacky.

“Sorry for interrupting your little chat girls, but Jacky and I needed to breathe.” Said the engineer sarcastically, as he helped the girl next to him up.

“Oops, sorry ya’all, didn't noticed ya were there.” Applejack said.

“Yeah, sorry.” Rainbow added sheepishly.

“No harm done. Compared to what sometimes crashes into me in the yards, you were a soft breeze.” Chuckled the young man with an grin, think of what, or better said who, already crashed into him over the past few years, who weren't so lucky in simply getting up again.

“I take it that you can take a punch then?” Asked Dash.

“Well, I wouldn't quite say that…” Chuckled Steaming.

“He took out two of my guards while fighting off three further ones. I think it's safe to say that he can take a punch.” Laughed Shining, as the engineer went slightly red in the face.

“No way! How did you do that?!” Asked Rainbow, her eyes shining brightly.

“Just like I took down any other man that has the nerve to bad mouth my home city or the yards I’m working in. And if the guards who defend the castle here are like the ones I used as punching bags, I can only say: hope you girls know how to defend yourself, ‘cause they won't be much of an obstacle against any intruder.” Huffed Steaming, as Dashs jaw tried to reach the floor.

“Wow, you so have to show me some of your moves!” Cheered the rainbow haired girl.

“Hehe, maybe on another day.” Smiled the rail worker, as he pulled out a pocket watch from his left breast pocket, and checked the time.

“Well, I wish we could stay and chat a bit longer, I really would like to know some of Jackys friends, but time is pressing, and we need to get ready for the wedding reception.” Said the engineer, as he put the watch away again.

“You don't really have to go. I saw that you brought your clothes with you when you brought the dress up here. You can change her if you want.” Suggested Twilight.

“Hm, it would save us the trip to Jackys house and back again… What do you say?” Asked the young man the girl next to him.

“I’m okay with it.” Smiled Jacky.

“Okay, then that's how we do it.” Smiled Steaming, as he turned to Twilight.

“Good! Wait a minute, I just call for Spike.” She said, as she turned around, and called for the one called Spike.

A few seconds later, a young boy with green and purple hair hurried into the room, stopping just in front of Twilight.

“You called?” He panted.

“Could you lead Jacky and Steaming to the guest room please?” She asked.

“Of course! Follow me!” Smiled the young boy, as he lead the two out of the room