They all were relieved when Twilight casted a muffling spell on the door, so that they could finally take their hands off their ears again.
"Welp, Ah guess it's safe ta say we saw that one coming." Sighted AJ.
"He must've fallen really hard for her to tick off like that." Laughed Rainbow.
"Now is not the time for jokes Rainbow." Huffed Twilight.
"I wasn't joking. Even a blind guy would notice that he has a thing for her! Well, maybe except for Jacky herself that is." Retorted RD with a pout.
The argument was cut short when the door was slammed open again. Steaming walked into the room again, his eyes filled with an cold stare that wasn't directed at anyone directly, but everybody could feel that it was on them. He breathed in and out deeply, Pinkie later said she could see steam literally shoot out of his nostrils, as he stopped inside the room.
"I'm out." He hissed, and walked to the doors.
"What?" Was the collective answer.
"You heard me. See you later, and good luck fighting off the rest of these buggers. I have a girl to find." Growled the engineer, not turning to them again.
"B-but-"
"NO BUTS! My only reason being here in the first place is because Jacky needed somebody to go with her to the wedding. The only reason I was fighting here was because she was in danger! And the only reason for me to stay here, is somewhere out there, probably cab over wheels in trouble with some of those Changelings, which means I am needed anywhere but here. My princess, your ladyships, I wish you a good day!" Barked the railwayman, now finally having turned to them, his head red in anger, sparks flying out of his eyes, as he walked out of the door, slamming it shut with such a force that a picture of the princesses that hung on the other side of the wall fell to the ground, making the frame break.
"I suppose that was to be expected." Sighted Celestia.
"I just hope he doesn't hurts himself." Said Fluttershy softly.
"I'd be more worried about the leftover Changelings than about Steaming..." Muttered Rainbow, loud enough for the others to hear her, as the cracking of gunfire started to ring out from the other side of the door.
Just then, the door to the hallway opened, to make way for Shining.
"Your majesty, we are ready for the final push. They drew back to the main throne room, and the adjacent rooms and hallways. We'd like you to join the operation, overviewing it from the back." Said the captain of the Royal guards.
"Of course. Girls, will you accompany me?" She asked the girls of 'Harmony'.
"Of course." Came the collective reply.
Steaming was storming through the hallways, his gun at the ready, his look burning through the empty hall in front of him. Every now and then, a lone Changeling soldier would jump into his way, trying to block his path, but he wouldn't have any of it. Within a matter of seconds, the soldier would have a hole in his shoulder, and a stomp in the stomach, making him unable to attack anybody for a while. Sometimes though, he would have to make sure his opponent wouldn't get in his way at all anymore. He had lost track of where he was going long ago, and quite frankly, he didn't really care. All he cared for was to find Jacky, and to make sure she was alright. As for that, he didn't notice that the marks of battles got fresher and fresher the more he went down the hallway. He made a turn at a crossing, just to stop dead in his tracks, his mind stopping its work for a split second. In front of him was a group of Changeling soldiers, standing at the ready to fight against any of the Royal guards who would come at them. Their determined looks turned into confused ones when they saw the railway man standing in front of them, instead of a squad of members of the Royal guard. Steamings mind started to work again, and the anger build itself inside of him pretty quickly again, his breathing getting stronger as he pulled his face into an rage filled scowl.
"DIE YOU PRICKS!!!" Shouted the man, as he pulled his gun up, glancing through the iron sights for a split second, and quickly emptying the magazine into the row of soldiers.
He rapidly emptied the rifle, at such a pace that would make Emerald whistle in astonishment. When he tried to fire again, and heard the mere clicking of the gun, indicating the empty magazine, he stopped his rage firing, and looked at his work. In front of him, were the remains of the once 10 men strong group of soldiers. All of them had either holes in the left side of their upper torso, or in their stomach, with the ones with the holes in their lower torso region whining and moaning in pain on the ground. Steaming put his Coltchester onto his back, and pulled out his revolver, slowly walking up to the downed men. He held his gun above the one closest to him, staring him in the eye with an ice cold glare.
"Where is Jacky?" He hissed.
"I-I don't know w-who your talking about." Growled the man on the ground, wheezing heavily, but not scared by the man above him.
"Wrong answer, swine." Spat the young man, pulling the trigger.
He walked to the next man, and placed the revolver against his head as well.
"Same question: where is Jacky?" Asked the engineer again.
"P-p-please, I don't know who you are talking about. Don't kill me!" Whimpered the man, coughing up blood.
"Liar." Hissed Steaming, about to pull the trigger again, when he saw something, that made him stop.
It was a shield that one of the men dropped when he was cut down by Steamings assault. It leaned in an angle against the wall, reflecting the scene in front of it, including the engineer. When the man saw his reflection in the shield, he took a step back from the man lying in front of him, the hand holding his revolver shaking slightly. His reflection showed him a nightmare, at least, for him. His face and upper torso was sprinkled in blood, his eyes were filled with hatred and disgust. He had seen this glance only once, more than 7 years ago, from the orphanage manager, his uncle. He walked slowly backwards, shaking his hand, until he hit the wall behind him, his eyes wide in fear and shock. He always tried to make himself look tough and strong, a leading figure that others could look up to, but he always hid his fear inside him, ever since the day at the orphanage. It had scared him for life, even though he would rather fall over dead before anybody would know. And now, he was looking just like his nightmare. No, he had become his own nightmare.
'This isn't me, this isn't me, this isn't me!' Thought the man to himself, shaking his head viciously.
"I can't become like him. I can't! ...I must find Jacky!" He whispered to himself, shakily pushing himself from the walls, before starting to move again, trying to forget what he just did, and what he just saw. He raced through the hallways, passing corridor interjections and countless doors, before reaching a larger junction, where many different paths and stairs lead into numerous directions.
'Hm, which way to go? Hehe, a signalman is what I need.' Grumbled the man with an dry chuckle to himself, as he looked at the ways around him.
"Let's take that one." He huffed, and started to charge down the way directly to his left.
He made his way down the hallway, until reaching a large double door. After silently pushing it open, he noticed that it was the entry to the kitchen, which had been evacuated a while ago. Noticing that nobody was inside, he slowly walked into the room. He wanted to go to the next set of doors on the other side of the large kitchen, when he was suddenly hit onto the back of his head with a blunt but heavy object, making him fall forward, into one of the plentiful tables in the kitchen, crashing onto the pots that were placed on top of it.
"Hehehe, bad choice of you to come here..." Chuckled a voice, as the engineers vision turned blurry, before completely turning black.
meanwhile, a few corridors away from Steaming...
"We are ready to breach sir! All waiting for your command!" Saluted a Lieutenant as Shining, the princess and the group 'Harmony' reached the squadron in front of the doors that lead to the throne room.
"Proceed." Ordered Shining, readying his rifle, a well kept bolt-action rifle with light blue barrel and an darker blue shaft, specially made for the captain of the guard.
Three other guards rammed their shoulders into the door, bursting it open while the men behind them covered them, their rifles at the ready. Once the doors were open,they could see that they had been expected. At all the doors leading into the room, Changeling soldiers had positioned themselves in a defensive position, their guns held at the ready as well, their eyes filled with ice cold professionalism.
"FIRE AT WILL!" Ordered Shining, as the first soldiers fired at the invaders.
But instead of hitting the enemy, the bullets stopped a few millimeters in front of them, green light cracking from the point where they stopped. The Changelings smirked as the faces of the Royal guards turned into an confused frown, before something in Shinings mind clicked.
"TAKE COVER! THEY CASTED A BARRIER!" The captain ordered, as his hands glowed in a light blue hue, as a blue barrier grew around him.
It quickly engulfed his fellow soldiers, but not quick enough, as 8 of his men fell over, a few of them crying out in pain, while others fell silent. The bullets stopped when they hit Shinings shield, and fell to the ground, as some of the medics pulled the wounded and killed back through the doors. The firing display stopped, as the Changelings broke their defensive formation, and started to charge at the guards, with swords, spears and bolts of magic. Shining put his gun onto his back, and pulled out his sword, that he had carried on his side.
"Show no mercy!" He shouted, as he lead his men into the battle.
Swords clashed, spears were jammed deep into torsos, and blood and screams filled the throne room. The fight, which started out in favor of the Changelings, had turned in favor of the guards, who had both superior weaponry, as well as superior training. As for this, the numbers of the invading soldiers quickly diminished, but the remaining soldiers wouldn't give up. They fought for their course until their final breath. It was nearly 45 minutes since they started the final battle, when the last of the Changeling soldiers were slain down by the guards. Once the battle was finally over, the princess, as well as Twilight, Rainbow, Applejack and Cadence went inside the throne room, to survey the damage, both material, as well as a human damage. They opted to leave Fluttershy, as well as Pinkie outside, till at least 90% of the dead bodies and blood stains had been cleared away, to make sure Fluttershy wouldn't get a panic attack, and to preserve Pinkies innocence.
"My gratulations, captain Armor, once more you have proven why you are the captain of the guard." Princess Celestia said as her group walked up to the two-tone blue haired man, who was resting with some of his men. The girls behind the princess didn't say a word, their faces were a mixture of white and green, as they walked through the battlefield/throne room.
"Thank you, your majesty, but this was, at the most, a training session that ended badly. Ugh, I really should have known it that those Changelings would make up a shield. I could've saved those men." Sighted the man with an downcast expression.
"You couldn't have known it. It would have happened to anyone." Said Twilight, hugging her brothers arm to comfort him, as did Cadence.
"Thank you Twily, and you too honey." Smiled Shining, and pulled them into an soft hug.
"But one thing is still troubling me." Frowned Shining, once he let go of Twilight and Cadence.
"And what would that be?" Asked the princess.
"We couldn't find Chrysalis. We thought that she had highest command of the Changeling soldiers, but she didn't fought with them in the battle." Said Shining.
"Maybe she knew she couldn't beat us, and made a run for it." Laughed Rainbow.
"I wouldn't be so sure about that." Came a unfamiliar voice.
They all turned to Shining, Twilight and Cadence, as the voice came from their direction, only to notice that nobody stood behind them. Their confused looks turned into one of shock, as Cadence suddenly pulled out a knife from her dress, and plunged it deep into the rips of her husband-to-be.
"Shining!" Screamed Twilight, as the man fell against his younger sister with an pained gasp.
"Cadence, what did you do that for?!" Shouted Rainbow.
"I can't answer you that, since I'm not Cadence." Smirked the woman, her voice sounding very different from her usual tone.
"What?!" Shouted the rest of the group 'Harmony', as the woman in front of them suddenly glowed in a poison green hue, as her appearance changed. Her eyes turned green, and her hair turned into black, with poison green streaks in it. Her dress turned into the same black and green armor that the rest of the Changelings wore, as every guard in the room directed his gun, sword, spear or magic at the woman that was standing in the middle of the room.
"Hehe, I would drop them pretty quickly if I were you." Smirked the Changeling queen, as she whistled a few tones, as the complete room began to glow green.
The others covered their eyes because of the intensity of the light. When they opened it, they wiped their eyes to make sure they weren't hallucinating things. The dead bodies and bloodstains had disappeared. In their place was the same amount of Changeling soldiers that were in the room when they first breached into it, all of them had their rifles pointed at the guards, girls and princess, smirking at them.
"Now Celest, how about we have a little talk? The last one we had ended... not quite as promising as I hoped it would." Said the woman, as Celestia glared at her.
"What happened?" Whispered Twilight, who had moved with Shining next to Celestia.
"To cut it short: it was the reason why we opted to move around in a private train, instead of simply coupling our coach to the back of a normal one." Sighted the sun princess.
"So Celestia, let's talk." Said Chrysalis with an evil grin.
"There is nothing to talk about! You will never rule over Equestria! I won't allow it, and neither will Luna!" Shouted Celestia, her voice booming around the throne room, as she used her Royal Canterlot voice.
"I thought you might say that, but I'm not here for your permission to rule, since you can't do anything about it. After all, you wouldn't want that your precious students and niece to be harmed, now would you?" Asked the woman with an sickly sweet voice, as Celestias eyes grew wide.
"You wouldn't dare..." Whispered the monarch.
"Just watch me." Smirked Chrysalis, as she made a small gesture of her hand, and the men loaded their rifles.
"Take aim!" Shouted Chrysalis, as the soldiers took aim at the girls in the room.
15 minutes earlier, in the kitchen...
"Wake up ya little pantsy." Came a voice that woke Steaming out of his unconsciousness.
The engineers eyes ripped open when he remembered what happened to him when he had entered the kitchen. He tried to move, but he couldn't. His eyes wandered to his ankles and noticed that they had been tied to an iron beam. He looked in front of him, seeing two men, one wearing glasses and an worn out slouch hat, while the other one was wearing welders goggles and an brown Stetson.
"C'mon S! We gotta get back to the others!" Urged the man with the Stetson.
"No chance mate, that blurk was the one who took down Heavy. I wana make sure he knows the consequences for that." Said the man called 'S', whiles the other one just sighted and headed to the door.
"Alright then, I tell Spy yer gona catch up later." Called the man as he disappeared through the door.
"Ya know, that wasn't nice of ya, to kick the light out of my pal, and to take him to those cells of yours." Talked S casually, while having his back turned towards the man.
"I think it was pretty fair, seeing that I beat him in our little fight." Smirked Steaming.
"Hm, maybe. But Ah don't think that ya should walk out scot-free like that." The man said, pulling out an Kukri knife, and turning around.
"Huh, and here I thought I would end my servicing life in a train wreck." Joked the engineer, but deep inside of him, he was scared out of his mind.
"Who said ya would die? At least, not right now." Shrugged the man, as he uncut the rope that kept Steaming tied to the pipe.
"What's this for then?" As an answer, another Kukri was rammed into the working plate next to the engineer.
"I'm a Sniper mate, I have standards. And one of them is, be polite. That also includes not killing ones that are helpless." Said the Sniper, as he walked a few meters away from Steaming, before turning back to him, pointing his blade at him.
"Now then mate, how about we have a little dance?"
"Why, of course. I lead." Smirked the engineer, as he pulled out the Kukri, and swung it around in his right hand a few times, before he started off.
The blades clashed together with an metallic clanging. The Sniper tried to thrust the knife into his stomach, but the engineer just dodged the thrust. He countered the blow with an swing to the man's chest, but he just blocked it with his own blade.
"What do ya know, I didn't thought ya had the spunk in ya!" Laughed the man.
"Heh, and I thought that down in Pontralia they only have Kangaroos that could give a punch!" Laughed the engineer back, and tried another swing, but was blocked by his knife again, before being hit by a fist in the stomach.
It stunned him for a second, which was all the man needed to swing his blade down at him. Steaming tried to dodge it, but was too slow, and the knife made a deep cut in his right arm.
"Ugh! That'll sting tomorrow." Cursed the railway man.
"I think that'll be the least of ya concern." Scoffed the Sniper, as he made another blow.
The pain from the cut took a bit from the engineers concentration, and the man from Pontralia took this to his advantage. Every few minutes, a new cut would be added on Steamings body. His arms and upper torso were quickly covered with deep cuts, blood smearing over his clothes. With an final, deep cut right across the engine man's chest, and a hard kick by the Sniper, Steaming fell backwards, and against one of the tables in the kitchen. He was feeling tired, and had difficulties to keep his eyes open, but he wasn't giving up. The Sniper walked up to the railway man, and stood over him, the Kukri firmly held in his right hand.
"Well mate, looks like that's the end for ya." The man said.
"Why didn't you kill me when I was tied up then? Would've been easier for you." Puffed the downed man, but the Pontralian man shook his head.
"I told ya. I'm a sniper. A professional. We have standards." Explained the Sniper, as he twisted the blade around, ready for the final thrust.
But it never came. The door was pushed open, and both men turned towards it, seeing a person in guard armor, with an helmet covering his head. He quickly pulled his rifle up, and fired at the Pontralian man without hesitation. With an pained shout, the man fell to his side, blood coming out at a large scale from his chest and mouth. The guard quickly rushed inside and stopped in front of Steaming.
"Thanks for the rescue lad, I owe you one, big time. What's your name partner?" Asked Steaming wearily, exhaustion slowly setting in because of the many fights, and the injuries.
The guard didn't said anything, but began to take the helmet off. When the headwear was off, Steaming noted with shock that it wasn't a he, but a she.
"Jacky?!" Shouted Steaming, shocked as the metallic black haired girl in front of him looked at him in concern.
"Don't move! We need to patch your injuries up!" Shouted Jacky, as the engineer grunted as he was about to move from his position.
Jacky quickly went to the kitchens first aid box, and pulled some bandages out of them. After getting Steaming out of his jacket and shirt, they started to warp the bandages around the cuts (With Jacky being relieved that she was behind the engineer to do so). When they had warped up at least most of the deeper cuts, Steaming started to talk again.
"Jacky, what are you doing out here, why are you walking around dressed like a royal guard, and when in Celestia did you learn how to shoot with a bloody rifle?!"
"First, there is no need to shout, especially since there are still some of those Changelings around. And second, my father started to teach me how to defend myself with a gun. That incident on the way down to Dodge Junction made him a bit paranoid about me, and as of that, wants me to be able to fight for myself." Explained Jacky, while taking off the rest of the armor. Steaming noted that she had changed into a pair of blue jeans and a black shirt, a red necktie, and a pair of black work shoes. From a small bag, she pulled a brown hat, which looked pretty old and torn, like it had went through pretty much already.
"But that doesn't explain why you are walking around in a guards armor, or walking around out there with those Changelings at all!" Argued the engineer, as his hat was pulled from his head, and the old brown hat was placed on him instead.
"You were going on a suicide mission with 7 soldiers as backup. I went out to try and take out as many of them as I could, so I... borrowed the armor and rifle, and started to take out any of these guys that went across my path." Explained Jacky.
"You didn't have to do that you know. I am alright, see?" Smiled the engineer, wincing slightly as one of the deeper cuts across his chest started to hurt again.
"Uhu, sure, fit as a fiddle." Said Jacky while rolling her eyes.
The two of them were silent for a few seconds, before Steaming pulled the girl in a deep embrace, holding her tightly. Jacky was confused, and slightly shocked, but returned the hug nonetheless.
"Don't you ever do that again, you hear? I was so scared that something might have happened." Whispered Steaming.
"I'm no longer the eight year old girl anymore you know. I know how to look out for myself." Chuckled Jacky.
"I know, but you are still the girl that I made the promise to always look out for her, and to keep her safe. And I am not one to break a promise." Chuckled Steaming in reply, to which the girl started to blush.
They went quiet again, when their eyes meet each other. Steamings brown eyes stared into Jackys blue ones, their bodies still close because of the hug. Both their heads slowly began to move towards each other, their eyes closing, while their hearts were hammering against their chests, pounding at the pace of an express train. Their mouths were only millimeters from each other apart, when a voice called from outside.
"Junction? Is everything alright in there? It's been awfully quiet for quite a while now." Came the familiar voice from outside the door.
Both teenagers eyes ripped open, their cheeks flaring red as they put some distance in between each other.
'Damn it!' both of them cursed in their thoughts.
"Who is out there?" Asked Steaming.
"I nearly forgot. Cadence, you can come in now! Everything is alright!" Called Jacky, as the princess walked inside.
"Huh? Weren't you with the others Cadence?" Asked Steaming, confused that she was here.
"No? The Changelings disguised themselves as my guards and took me as their hostage until Jacky took care of them. We were on our way to my aunt and her students. What made you think I was with them?"
"Because we bumped into you shortly before reaching the guards outpost on the western side of the castle! And that was probably more than two hours ago!"
"I was with the company of three of those Changelings at that time." Scowled Cadence at the memory.
"Wait. If you are here, and there is another Cadence with the princess, then that means..."
"THE PRINCESS IS IN TROUBLE!" They all shouted.
"Shit! Why did I rush off like that?! I should've stayed and helped them!" Groaned Steaming, annoyed with himself.
"If you did, you would be in trouble as well now, and wouldn't even know about it." Said Jacky in an comforting voice.
"Maybe, but I still could've defended her!" Grumbled the engineer.
"Now isn't really the time to argue about that. We must go and try to help as much as we can!" Urged Cadence.
"Right, right, sorry! Your right, we need to go and search them! ...Anyone got any ideas where they might be?" Asked the young man.
"Hmm, there was a pretty large group of guards in front of the main throne room. Maybe they are there?" Suggested Jacky.
"Probably. Let's go!" Called Steaming, but was stopped by Cadence.
"Wait! That might take to long!" Said the young princess, as her hands started to glow in a light pink hue, followed by the three of them glowing in the same color, before disappearing.
They reappeared behind the Thrones in the throne room, both Jacky and Steaming being a bit wobbly on their legs.
"I still need to get a feeling for this teleporting stuff." Huffed Steaming, as he looked around the throne, to see that the princess, the group 'Harmony', Shining and his guards were surrounded by a large group of Changelings, all of them having their weapons ready to fire. He also noted that Shining was bleeding heavily from where a blade was stuck into him.
"Looks like we came just in time. Jacky, how much ammo do you still have in your gun?"
"A full clip, five bullets. I still have 3 in reserve though." The engineer grumbled at this.
"I have around 9 bullets left in my gun, plus 6 in the revolver. It might just be enough. We have to be quick though. Take the ones closest to the girls, and shout to them to take cover. Anywhere is better than in the open." Explained Steaming.
"What?! You two want to fight against a 30 men strong squad? That's suicidal!" Argued Cadence.
"I had plenty of those operations already. I think I will be alright. And I will protect Jacky at all costs, and those buggers are making this whole thing pretty unsafe." Said Steaming with determination in his voice.
"Hey, don't think I can't hear you! I can protect myself, thank you very much!" Grumbled Jacky.
"I know that. I'm just worried about you, that's all. I don't want to see you die in crossfire or anything like that." Sighted the engineer, as Jacky hugged him softly.
"I know, and I really appreciate it, but you know that I can take care of myself. And the 12 soldiers would tell you that as well, if they were alive that is..." Chuckled Jacky.
"I don't want to disturb your moment here, but we should get aunt Celestia and the girls now." Said Cadence, tapping her foot as Chrysalis shouted the order to aim.
Steaming and Jacky positioned themselves at the edges of the Thrones, looking first at the invaders, and then at each other. Steaming gave a short nod, and pulled the guns up to their shoulders, to take aim.
They leaned out of their cover, and quickly took aim at the first two soldiers.
"TAKE COVER GIRLS!" Shouted Steaming, as he and Jacky started to fire at the soldiers.
The first two fell, dropping their rifles, as the others stared in shock at what had happened. The princess and the girls quickly dashed for cover, namely the two Thrones where their two friends were fighting from, whilst the other guards started to fight alongside their two saviors. Steaming and Jacky kept up fighting, but the Changelings already got their bearings back, and started to fight back. It quickly evolved into a wild gunfight, with the Changelings and guards shooting at each other from all sides. Steaming and Jacky fought hard, but Jacky only had a gun with 5 bullets in the magazine. As such, she had to reload fast and often. When she was reloading for the second time, one of the Changelings jumped at her. She was just about to hit him with the stock of her rifle, when a bullet flew through the attackers head, his eyes turning back into his head as the momentum made him fly past Jacky, and landed with a thud at the wall behind them.
"You alright?" Shouted Steaming, his revolver already back in its holster, as he went back to shooting the assaulters again.
"Yeah, thanks!" She shouted, as she pulled the bolt of the rifle back, chambering another bullet.
The Changelings, after getting a 'kind' reminder from their queen that their strategy plan wasn't working, now went over into an defensive retreat, covering their queen with their lives.
"This isn't the last you have seen of me!" Called Chrysalis, as she and the rest of her soldier turned and ran head over heels into the opposite direction.
Some of the soldiers tried to stop them, especially their queen, with aimed shots to their legs, but weren't quite fast enough, as Chrysalis' hands glowed in a green hue, and she and her minions disappeared in a flash of green light. For the first time since lunchtime, the castle had fallen into silence. That was cut short however, when the soldiers began to cheer at their victory. Steaming sighted in relief, seeing that they had survived the attack. He turned and wanted to go to Jacky, when he was suddenly tackled by a familiar pink blur, as he was pulled to the ground by Pinkie Pie.
"WOOHOO! I knew you would come back!" She cheered, as Steaming pulled himself and her (since she was still clinging to the engineer) from the ground.
"That, was SOOOO awesome!" Cheered Rainbow Dash, pressing both her hands against her cheeks.
"Nice work there partner." Nodded Applejack.
"Thank you for saving us, um, Mr. Whistle." Whispered Fluttershy, looking at the engineer for the first time.
"Hey, just call me Steaming." Winked the engineer, as the light pink haired girl giggled with a slight blush.
"Okay, Steaming." Said Fluttershy, giving him a small smile.
"*coughing* I thank you as well, Mr. Steaming, for saving us in our peril." Said Twilight, trying to sound mature, before being pulled into a bear hug by the railway man.
"Haha! Since when are you so formal with me? We're friends, so cut the crap and keep the thanks! I don't like seeing my friends getting harmed you know!" Laughed Steaming.
"You really are a mystery, Whistle Steaming." Smiled Celestia with a slight chuckle.
"Just doing my duty ma'am. But how is Shining doing? Will he be alright?"
"I already fixed his wounds with my magic, but the exhaustion from the battle has caught up with him. He will need some time to rest, but he should be alright in the end." Explained the princess.
"That's good to hear. But I think we should wait with the wedding. After all, I don't think we can hold the reception in the reception hall, at least, not in the state it is in right now." Said the engineer.
"But you only had this day off! You wouldn't be able to attend it!" Exclaimed Jacky.
"I don't need to. I think the reception will go off smashingly now. At least the Changelings won't be a trouble now." Grinned the young man cheekily.
"Are you really sure you can't stay? After all you did for us, it would only be fair to have you at our wedding." Said Cadence from where she was sitting next to Shinings resting body.
"I'm a railway man, I have a duty to attend to, and I can't neglect it. I'm terribly sorry, but the call of duty comes first." Said the engineer with an apologetic tone.
The girls tried to convince him to stay with them for the wedding, Cadence even offered that she would give him an written absence note signed by her, but it was useless. Steaming thanked them for the offer, but made it clear that he wouldn't miss a day of work, he swore his life on it. The girls couldn't do anything, as Steaming said his goodbyes, and he and Jacky made their way down to the central station. When they reached the main gates, they were swarmed by hundreds of confused, concerned, and annoyed civilians, who demanded to know what had happened inside the castle. Some of the guards guarding the castle escorted them through the crowd, and said their goodbyes as well. The two teenagers didn't come very far though, when Rarity came up to them, asking them the same question the crowd had asked. Once they made sure nobody would listen, they explained everything.
"Goodness! Just to think what these ruffians would've done if you two hadn't interfered... It simply is disgraceful!" Gasped Rarity, as they reached the large station.
"We can be glad that nothing major happened, and that we all are safe and sound." Sighted Steaming.
"If you can call cuts all across your arms and chest 'nothing major'..." Muttered Jacky, as Steaming grabbed himself a ticket at the ticket box.
"Jacky, I told you, I had worse from worse." Said Steaming with an eye roll.
"And I told you already that I have a hard time believing you." Grumbled Jacky.
"Oh just look at you! Just like real lovers." Giggled Rarity, as both of them turned into a deep scarlet color.
"W-w-well, I need to go, that's my train up there! Rarity, it was a pleasure to meet you, and the rest of the group 'Harmony'. I really hope my trains bring me up here more often, so that I could visit you all more often in the future. Jacky, I really hope the next time we meet again won't be that far into the future." Said Steaming, trying to turn the conversation into a different direction, and hugging Jacky.
The girl returned the hug, before Steaming started to pull back. Jacky held him firmly, but before the man had time to ask, she had already leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek. The railway man's head turned deep red, as he turned on his heel, rushing off while shouting 'good bye!' Through nearly the complete station. Jacky and Rarity stood behind, with Jacky having a red face like Steaming, and Rarity a smug smile on her face.
"Come on, admit it." She said.
"Admit what?"
"That you have fallen for him, and pretty hard by the look of it." Chuckled the young seamstress.
"That's stupid, and you know it!" Grumbled Jacky, her red face betraying her though.
"Junction dear, you know you shouldn't lie to your friends." Scolded Rarity playfully.
"Oh go and make out with Applejack!" Scoffed Jacky, Rarity's face went from a smug smile to a surprised look.
"You know that I and Jacqueline are just friends." Hissed Rarity, a bit too fast to sound convincing.
"If you say so..." Smirked Jacky, as she started to walk away, but not in the direction of the exit, but towards the platform.
Steaming had already boarded the small, wooden, yellow bogie coach, that was the main consist of his train. At the front of it was a small 2-6-2 tender engine with light green paint, and red stripes. He had chosen the last coach, seeing that he could see the engine from her the best, while also catching up some much needed sleep on the way. The clock struck the hour, the guard blew the whistle, and with an loud blast of the engines own whistle, the train jerked into motion, slowly moving out of the station. Steaming had his eyes on a book in his hands, it was the book he had took from his old 'home', but it looked different from before. The front of the book had been destroyed, as well as many of the pages, a deep cut running through it.
"Sorry Emerald old pal. I promise I buy you a new one, but it served a greater purpose. After all, that thing saved my life..." Chuckled Steaming to himself.
In the sword fight with the 'Sniper', the Pontralian man had made a deep cut right above his heart. He guessed that, if the book hadn't been there, he would've probably cut right through his heart.
The engineer looked away from the destroyed book, and out of the window, seeing Jacky walking along with the train, waving it away. The man stood up with a smile, and opened the window.
"Good bye Junction! See you soon!" Shouted the engineer over the sounds of the moving train.
"Good bye Steaming! Promise me you'll write?!"
"Always!" He laughed as the train left the station, waving one last time before the train disappeared out of view, and pulled his head inside, closing the window shortly afterwards.
He smiled a small smile, and after the guard passed him and checked his ticket, he closed his eyes and pulled his hat over his head. Only then did he notice that the hat was in fact the old, brown, Stetson like hat that Jacky gave him at the castle. His shock turned into a small smile once again, as he chuckled slightly.
"Now we REALLY have to see each other soon, my dear Jacky." Said the engineer to nobody in particular, as he closed his eyes once more, finally falling asleep after the long day he had.
Meanwhile, at the Telegraph office at the Dodge Junction main station...
The man at the Telegraph was busy noting down a message, which he was receiving for a few minutes now. Once the machine stopped clicking, he reread his message, his eyes nearly jumping out of their sockets. He sprinted out of the office, racing across the yards towards the sections Forman's office, where Westing was about to close in for the night.
"WESTING! WESTING! YOU'VE GOT TO READ THIS!" Shouted the man, as he nearly crashed into the startled Forman.
"What's gotten into you Clipper? It's like you got the message that the natives want to have peace." Chuckled Westing.
"No, even better!" Grinned the man, and gave the message to his superior.
To: Westing House Stop. Royal wedding rescheduled Stop. Will be held in Dodge Junction in three weeks Stop. will require assistance from the railwaymen of the Dodge Junction devision for preparation and guest transportation Stop. Request for engineers Whistle Steaming and Emerald Heart to attend wedding and work on honeymoon train of the royal couple Stop. Request done by the princesses Stop. Signed, Iron Spike, managing director Stop.
Westing stared at the piece of paper, before rereading it again. He the looked at Clipper, who looked at him with a broad grin.
"Here!" Shouted Westing, giving Clipper his coat and hat "Keep that for a while, I go and tell the Mayor! And go tell the dispatcher about what's going on! We need every engineer and every engine that can work for this! And tell him to send Steaming and Emerald to me first thing in the morning! We might've got the biggest contract since the early days of the diamond rush in the coal mines here!" Laughed Westing, as he started to run down the streets towards the town hall.