//------------------------------// // Calm days in Dodge Junction... or not // Story: Life of the Whistle // by SteamingWhistle382 //------------------------------// When Steaming arrived at the station, he went straight to the old coach he called his home. It was well past midnight, and the yards were quiet and empty. He opened the door, and went straight through the corridor he and Emerald build in the middle of the coach to an door labeled 'Steaming "Trinity" Whistle - engineer and gunslinger' in what looked like the writing of an preschooler. Steaming pushed the door open, walked swiftly inside and landed face first in his bed. "Tough day Trinity?" Asked a voice from the door. "You don't even know half of it Bambie." Groaned Steaming as Emerald chuckled lightly, walking into the room. "So, how was your date with your princess?" Smirked Emerald. "There wasn't one. A surprise attack which involved the injuring of the groom got in the way." Huffed Steaming. "Okay... You've got me interested. Tell me everything." Urged Emerald, as his lifelong friend sighted, and started his tale. "Man, you really had quite an adventure today! Too bad your date with Jacky got cancelled as well..." Said Emerald, as he inspected the old book (or what was left of it) that he got from Steaming. "First, it wasn't a date, second, ...yeah." Huffed Steaming. "But fancy you forgetting your hat like that. It's so precious to you, I never thought you'd forget it! Ah well, maybe next time your up there you'll find it. Night bro." Said Emerald with an smug smile. "Yeah, next time... Night." Said Steaming, as Emerald sighted and left the room. The next morning started with a few surprises for the two railway men. As soon as they got out of their coach, they were greeted by the sight of workmen, bustling about with paint pots and tools, rushing forwards and backwards, fixing this part of the canopy, or repairing that wall of the tool shed. Along with the work done outside around the yards and station, they could see that the work inside the workshops had nearly tripled, with a few engines already outside, waiting for their final inspection before returning to work. Just then, they saw a fellow engineer, called Wooden Brake, running up to them. "Morning Brake, what's the rush? And why are the yards so busy? Did they find diamonds in the coal mines again?" Asked Emerald. "I don't know, all I know is that Westing's ordering every man available to bring the station and yards into top condition, and dispatch called every engineer on duty to him." "Alright, what are we waiting for then?" Asked Steaming. "Wait! He also said that you guys should go straight to Westing House first!" "Huh? What did you do now?" Asked Steaming with a frown, looking at Emerald. "Don't look at me! I'm innocent this time!" "Ugh, we don't have time for this! Come on, let's get it behind us." Sighted Steaming, as the two of them went to Westing's office. "Come in!" Called Westing, as somebody knocked on his door. "Ah! Steaming, Emerald, come in, I've been expecting you." Smiled the road supervisor. "Oh dear, if he's that happy, he must've thought of something brutal for us as an comeuppance already." Whispered Steaming. "Now Steaming, I've heard you had quite the adventure yesterday in Canterlot, is that right?" "Um, yes sir." Said the engineer meekly. "And you left quite the impression on both the princess, as well as her studying group, 'Harmony', was it?" "I believe I did sir." Chuckled the man. "I'm sorry to interrupt you sir, but why did you call us up here?" Butted Emerald in. "I was coming to that Emerald." Chuckled the supervisor, and pulled out the telegram. "Here, read." Smiled the an, and handed the letter to the two men. Once they had finished, they looked at their boss in surprise. "And that's no joke?" Asked the two simultaneously. "Not at all! That's why the yards are so busy right now. We need to make sure that we show, that the Equestrian National Railway is the most reliable, as well as the most endurable railway around! That's why we need every engineer, every engine, every truck and every coach that we have in our section operational and on the road. You two will have to help as well!" "How?" "Simple. Iron Spike has agreed to sent down a string of freshly rebuild 2-8-0 'Shire horse' class tender engines, amongst others, to replace some of the older 'Ponystone' class 4-4-0s. You will be working as the crew for one of them, on the local goods up to Ponyville and back, as well as running your usual trains to and from the coal mines. We need as many crews out there, 'cause as soon as the news of the wedding being held here in Dodge hits the public, our trains will the packed to the brim." Explained Westing. "Sounds pretty logical. When will the new engines arrive?" Asked Emerald. "In around an hour, maybe two. We are already stretched as it is with the increasing coal traffic, and as such, we are double tracking the main line up to Ponyville. With any luck, we should have finished it within this week, so they might get delayed on the run down here." "Alright, better make ourselves useful until then. Come on E! The guys down in the workshops will be happy to get a few more helping hands to repair those engines!" Chuckled Steaming, clapping his hands together, as the two men dashed out of the office. "They really brought some life into these here yards when they began to work here." Said Westing with and chuckle, as he got back to his paperwork again. Steaming and Emerald worked together with the workshop crew for a few hours, until they had their first coffee break. Whilst they were sitting inside the cantina, they could hear the sound of an unfamiliar whistle, coming closer towards the yards. "Sounds like work's calling us." Chuckled Emerald, as he pulled his mug of coffee to his lips. "Yeah, breaks over for us guys. Good luck getting the shunter back into service." Waved Steaming, as he placed his empty mug on the table, and started to walk off with Emerald. "Meh, nothing major, just a loose dome cover and a leaky steam valve in the cab. She'll be running around the yards by tomorrow if nothing bigger comes into the shops." Said Kettle, one of the boiler smiths from the workshops, as the two engineers disappeared through the doors. Outside, they could see the column of engines that had stopped inside the yards. Truth to Westing's word, standing in front of them were around 15 freshly rebuild tender engines, mostly 2-8-0 'shire horse' and 4-6-0 'Pegasus' class engines, but there were some 4-4-0 'larger Ponystones', 4-4-2 'Clip-Clops' and even a 2-10-0 'Big Mac' class locomotives as well. As soon as the leading engine was uncoupled, the unassigned crews got to the engines, beginning to get them ready to move. "Well well well, looks like we got ourselves some new toys." Grinned Steaming, as they got to their engine, the 'shire horse' with the number 297. "Well, let's just hope they don't have any teething troubles." Grumbled Emerald, as he looked around the cab of their loco. They quickly got to work, and by lunchtime of the next day, every engine had been planned into the timetable. The trains were running like clockwork, and everyone worked their hardest. The news of the royal wedding being held in Dodge Junction spread faster than expected, and every time a passenger train would come into the station, the platforms would be swarmed by passengers coming from all over the country to get a glance at the royal couple. The double tracking project was completed like Westing said, and was opened without ceremony, since everyone had too much to do. One morning, on the day the special guests would arrive, Steaming and Emerald were waiting in the yards with their engine. The shunting engine had been delayed by an late running branch line train, which brought trucks full of minerals and produces from the farms along the line to their goods train. "Come on Puffa! We're going to be late if we keep waiting here!" Called Steaming from his cab, as a small 0-6-0 side tank engine passed him with a small string of trucks. "Don't worry Steaming! You'll be on time, don't you worry!" Called Puffa from his engine, as he stopped the train, so that the shunter could fasten the couplings. "That's what you say..." Grumbled Steaming, as he looked back, seeing Puffa reverse his engine from the train. He quickly reversed his engine to the goods train, nearly throwing Emerald out of the cab in the process. "Watch it S! I want to stay on this thing thank you very much!" Shouted Emerald, as he grabbed the hand rail on the tender. "And I want to get this train over and done with! We've got to be back before the VIPs get here!" Replied Steaming as his engine connected with the train with an firm bump. The guard leaned out of the caboose, blew his whistle and waved the green flag. Steaming opened the regulator forcefully, making the wheels spin as the train started out of the yards. Steaming pushed both the engine and Emerald to their limits, the engine panting and wheezing as it raced through the plains, as Emerald kept shoveling and putting more water into the boiler. "Hey, Trinity! Go easy on her! You're going to break something if you keep pushing her!" Called Emerald, but Steaming didn't listen. 'Gotta be on time! Gotta be on time! Gotta be on time!' Thought the engineer, pulling the throttle fully open. They were coming up to a small town, one of the numerous wayside stops along the line, but what they couldn't know was that the switch that lead to the small shunting yard next to the station had been switched to allow shunting operations to be carried out in the yards. The signal man had thought that the goods train would be still in the section, and only saw the train when it rocketed past the signal box, thundering towards the station. "Steaming! There's a loco in our Path!" Screamed Emerald as he saw a small 0-6-0 tender engine on their track. "Dear mother of the Canterlot express! Jump Em! Jump!" Screamed Steaming, as Emerald got to the side of the cab and jumped to safety, while Steaming stayed on the engine. The crew of the small shunting engine in the yards saw the train rocketing towards them, and fled from their engine. The signal man jumped towards the switch levers, and threw the one for the switch around. The goods train swayed into the yards, the brakes already screeching in an attempt to slow the speeding train down. The train had already lost a good amount of the speed it had, but was still moving too quickly to stop in time. In front of the speeding train was a small line of trucks, which had been stored till it was their turn to be loaded. With an splintering crash, the train hit the end of the wagons, reducing the rear end to splinters and ripped apart pieces of wood. The train itself, as by miracle, stayed on the rails, but the cowcatcher and the smokebox had been bent and dented. Steaming fell out of the cab, his eyes slowly moving from left to right, looking at the mess he had caused, before falling backwards against the wheels of the locomotive. The yard crew and Emerald raced up to him. "Steaming! Man, are you alright?!" Asked Emerald worriedly. "What were you two idiots thinking, rushing into the station like that?! You would've crashed into our engine, and probably harmed some of the passengers on the platform if Gantry didn't switched you into the yards!" Scolded the engineer of the yard shunter, not noticing that Steaming had collapsed due to exhaustion of the whole situation. "Listen old man! We only did what our signal said! When we came in, ours was green! Looks like your dear 'Gantry' has snoozed in on the job and forgot to cover your shunting duties!" Growled Emerald. "Listen mate, we've got our job to do, and by the pace you and your friend raced in, so do you. How 'bout you get that goods of yours back onto the net, and get going?" Growled the fireman back in return. "Sorry to burst your bubble there partner, but there are a few problems there. First, my engineer is out, second, my engine's got quite a beating, and I think it'll be too dangerous to move the gal on her own steam till she's repaired. How about you do something more productive and take that train yourself?" Suggested Emerald with an sarcastic tone. The situation was about to escalate when the sound of an unfamiliar whistle started to come from down the main line. "What now?" Grumbled the engineer, as the three men looked down the straight tracks, seeing a small black dot, which quickly became bigger, and closer. Soon, they saw what it was. With an loud rattling and roaring, a long, white train raced through the station, deep black smoke coming from the wheels, it's whistle continuing to whistle four short blasts: the emergency signal. "That's the Royal train! It's way too early!" Exclaimed the fireman of the shunting engine. "It's blowing off the emergency signal! The brakes must've run hot! It's a runaway!" Gasped the engineer, as the last coach of the train past them. They could see that someone was on the balcony of the rear coach, and saw how something flew from the train. They quickly walked up to where they saw the object land, only to see that it was a bottle with an piece of paper in it. Emerald quickly opened it and began to read it. "We're in trouble! Our brakes have failed! Warn Dodge Junction and try to stop us! Signed, Junction Spike." Read Emerald, as he stopped next to his engine. Steaming suddenly jumped from his resting place, eyes ripped open and filled with determination. "E! Uncouple the trucks! You there! Get to the switch and throw it as soon as the trucks are over it! We're going to stop that train or bust!" Exclaimed Steaming, jumping into the cab of the engine, not letting the others speak. "Steaming, that's suicide! The loco is in no condition to run! We might have a damaged cylinder, or a steam pipe has knocked itself out of place inside the boiler! We can't pull this one off, we'll run ourself right off the rails!" "Em, we are the only ones close enough to stop that train. Plus, the 'shire horses' are fast enough to keep up the pace with the Royal train. We need to try it!" Said Steaming. Emerald sighted, and turned back to shovel more coal into the firebox. Steaming gave a firm pull on the whistle, and started to reverse the engine out of the wreckage. They slowly pushed the trucks over the crossover, till the last two trucks were left. Steaming pulled the brakes, and the trucks rolled on without them over the switch. The engineer of the shunter threw the switch and the 2-8-0 quickly started to accelerate after the runaway. "Good luck!" Shouted the man at the switch. "Thanks! We'll need it..." Shouted Steaming, but keeping the final part to himself. They raced down the line, tender first, Steaming again pushing the engine to its limits. The locomotive panted and wheezed even more than before, steam escaping from some of the damaged parts at the front of the engine, but they pressed on. They had long since catched up with the smoke screen provided by both the funnel and the burning brake blocks of the engine, and slowly but surely, they got closer to the train. Steaming blew the whistle loud and long, as to warn the Royal train that they were coming. Five minutes later, and they were only a few hundred meters away from runaway train. Steaming had pulled down his goggles, so that he could see through the smokescreen. The engine rocked and shivered, wheezing and groaning in agony. "Come on old girl! Just a few more seconds, and you can rest!" Whispered Steaming, as the the engine strained itself further. "Open the coupler! Open the coupler!" Shouted Steaming, as they got in hearing range. "Okay!" Came a reply from the runaway train. They came closer and closer, till Steaming could see through the smokescreen, staring directly at the rear end of the Royal train. They rammed against the train, and Steaming shut the throttle. But instead of keeping the speed of the train, the runaway started to get away from them again. "Damn it! The couple closed itself again! E! Get your sooty ass over here!" Cursed Steaming, as his childhood friend walked over to him. "Keep your hand on the throttle, I'll take care of the coupler!" Said the engineer, as he jumped away from the controls, and jumped over the coal to the back of the tender. He climbed down to the coupler, kicking it forcefully, trying to open it without injuring himself. His attempts were useless however, as the coupler was stuck. He looked around, and found the hose which Emerald used to clean the tender with the water of the tender tank. He picked it up, tied it around his stomach and kneeled down, trying to free the coupler with his hands. He jerked and pulled on the coupler, till with an creaking, the coupler opened. Unfortunately for him, it opened so abruptly, that he couldn't pull his left hand from the coupler, and he crushed his hand in it. "AAAAAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHH!!!" Screamed the man, pain shooting through his body, as he nearly lost his balance. "Steaming! Are you alright?!" Asked Emerald. "Don't worry about me! Get this thing hooked up with that train! We already passed Horseshoe farm! We only have a few more minutes till we reach Dodge!" Screamed Steaming, trying to release some of the pain via his scream. The engine picked up speed again, and rammed into the train again. With an loud clanking, the couplers connected. Steaming sighted in relief, as the familiar screeching of brakes connecting with the wheels rang through the air, as the runaway finally was under control again. Suddenly, Steaming could feel a few pair of arms grabbing him, and pulling him on the balcony of the train. He landed on it with an light thud, and rolled around, only to be nearly crushed in an hug, which came from an familiar, metallic black haired girl. "You idiot! You big, old, stubborn idiot! Why do you always risk your life in such stunts?!" Cried Jacky, as she kept hugging Steaming, the engineer too shocked from the whole situation to come up with an proper reply. "Hey Jacky, Ah ain't want ta spoil yar moment, but if ya keep hoggin him like that, Twi ain't gona help his hand." Chuckled Applejack. "Oh! Right, sorry." Sniffed Jacky, as she backed away from the engineer, before a purple aura appeared around his hand, and the deformed part of his body got its normal shape back. Once the hand was back to normal, the aura disappeared again. "So, done!" Smiled Twilight. "Hey hey! Not bad! Looks like I can still compete in the shooting trials at the next town fair!" Chuckled Steaming, as he moved his hand around, noticing that the pain had gone away completely. He turned around, smiling slightly, in an attempt to reassure Jacky that he was alright, when he was suddenly slapped by the said girl, tears still running down her face, and an angry scowl was present on said face. She turned around, and quickly walked away, before Steaming had the chance to say anything. "What was that for?!" Asked Steaming perplexed. "Well Darling, you kind of had it coming." Sighted Rarity. "And pray tell why?" Grumbled Steaming. "Well, how would you feel if your childhood friend was putting his life on the line, nearly loosing his hand and falling off a moving train, and knowing you could do nothing if something really happens? She was really worried about you, you know." Explained Rarity. "I was trying to save her, and all of your lives if you have forgotten. She should know that I would never do such a thing without an reason! I thought she knew me better than this..." Retorted the engineer bitterly, as he saw outside, seeing that they had already entered the yards of Dodge Junction. "If you need me, I'll be on my engine. I have work to do." Hissed the engineer with an hurt tone, as he went out through the balcony doors, just as princess Celestia and a woman in her late 30s with midnight blue hair, wearing a dress of the same color, with stars and a sickle moon on it walked inside. "Junction just passed us when we came up here. She seemed pretty troubled. Is everything alright?" Asked the midnight blue haired woman. "No, I'm afraid not princess Luna." Sighted Twilight, as she started to explain what had happened. Steaming had already jumped back onto his locomotive, after uncoupling it from the Royal train. When he got into the cab however, he saw that Emerald was dumping the fire. "What are you doing?" Asked Steaming. "Getting this wreck ready for the shops, that's what. Look out through the window." Said Emerald, pointing at the window. Steaming looked through it, seeing that on the side of the main line, two lines of parts had formed themselves, ending at what was left of the front of the locomotive. Steam was leaking out through the broken off cylinders, the pilot was left in the middle of the line, and the pilot wheels were resting a few meters away from the loco on the tracks. "Hm, good thing she didn't broke apart out on the line." Huffed Steaming. "True that. What happened to your face?" Asked Emerald, pointing at the engineers cheek, where a red patch in the form of an hand glowed at him. "I don't want to talk about it." Steaming hissed, as he jumped from the cab, when he heard the loud rumbling of feet, pounding on the wooden platform. "Huh, if you say so lad." Said Emerald, a bit taken aback by the bitter sound of the engineers voice. Steaming walked along the platform, and saw a mass of people, crowding around the exit of the royal saloon coach, where the princesses and the group 'Harmony' had just exited from. He wanted to walk past unnoticed, but this was quickly stopped by the princesses calling him out. He sighted, and turned around to walk up to the monarch. "Yes, your majesty?" Asked the engineer. "I have heard that you and your partner were the ones who rescued our train from an probably unfortunate fate. Is that so?" She asked. "Yes ma'am. Though I kinda wrecked my loco in the process..." Chuckled the engineer with an downcast look. 'And probably more than just my loco...' Sighted the engineer in his thoughts. "Well, then this will be the second time you saved us from peril, dear Whistle. I thank you for this. Now, I would like to officially invite you to the Royal wedding. You left your suit at the castle the last time you visited us, so we brought it with us." Explained the princess, as one of her servants walked up with an small cardboard box. "I thank you for this honor, your majesty." Said the engineer with respect. "We shall expect you at the reception tomorrow evening, 6pm. I hope you will arrive on time." She chuckled. "Oh, don't worry. That shall be the day when I'll be late!" Smirked Steaming, as both the princesses and most of the greeting committee chuckled at the comment, before Steaming started to walk off again. He couldn't make more than a few steps though, when he was stopped by an hand on his shoulder. He turned around to look into the eyes of the road supervisor, Westing House. "So Steaming, care to explain why your engine is in pieces from the cylinders onwards?" Asked the man with an sickly sweet voice. "Uhhhh... Rushed job at the workshops when they rebuild her?" Said Steaming, with an unconvincing tone. "Uhu, and why did the yards at Daisy Town called me because of an speeding goods train that smashed into a truck there?" Asked the man with an stone hard glance. "Uh..." Was the only thing Steaming said, not coming up with an proper excuse now. "That's what I thought. How about we have a nice little chat about rule number 3 of the railway. You do know what it was, right?" "Trains have to keep to the permitted maximum speed in their section." Said Steaming with an sight, as both he and Westing started to walk off to the later man's office. After a lengthy talk with both Westing House and Iron Spike, which ended with Steaming getting off the hook once they found out that the signal man had indeed forgotten to pull the signal to 'danger', Steaming made his way to his home, still carrying his box. His mind was still on his problem with Jacky. 'Why can't she understand that I only tried to save her and the others?! After all the time, I thought she'd understand me. Maybe I was wrong...' Thought the engineer sadly, as he walked into his coach, and into his room. He placed the box on the bed, and pulled the lit off. When he saw the content, he was surprised to see that there was one extra piece of clothing in it. His hat was placed on top of his suit, the leather shining as if it was polished for hours, and the checked ribbon on the front shined in its golden and blue colors. He pulled the hat out in awe, nearly doubting that it was his. Underneath the hat was a small piece of paper, with his name on top. He clearly recognized the hand writing. Steaming, I'm sorry that I took your hat. I know how much it means to you, so I polished it up a bit. I hope I'll see you wearing it with the suit Rarity made for you at the wedding. Junction Spike (Jacky) Steaming sniffed slightly, a broad smile on his face, before wiping the tears out of his eyes, which were now filled with their usual confidence and determination. "I've got to find Jacky! I need to apologize to her for being such a thick head!" Muttered Steaming, as he placed his hat back on his head, and rushed through his door and out of the coach. He quickly made his way through the station and out into the busy streets of Dodge Junction. The streets were even more packed than it usually was, with many important looking people bustling about, with the native people of the city mixed in here and there. Steaming quickly made his way to the grand hotel that was on the opposite side of the station square. Once inside, he went straight to the reception, where a man in green suit waited for his next customer. "Ah! Steaming! Pleasure to see you again amigo! What can I do for you?" Asked the man with an Marexican accent. "I need your help Esteban. I need to know in which room a girl named Junction Spike is. I have to speak with her!" Urged Steaming. "No problemo amigo. Let's see..." He murmured, looking into a book. "Ah yes! Junction Spike, room 329. You know where it is?" "Yeah, third floor, 29th room. Thanks for your help Esteban." "Good luck amigo!" Chuckled the Marexican man, as Steaming quickly made his way to the staircase. Steaming stood in front of the said room a few minutes later. He had a dry throat, and didn't knew if he should do this right now. But then he remembered how sad and angry Jacky looked, and knew he had to clear things up with her. He took a deep breath and knocked on the door. "Jacky? Are you in there?" He got no reply. "Jacky, I only wanted to say that I'm sorry. I didn't wanted to make you worry about me. I only did the things I did so that you and the others would be save. I can't bare the thought of something happening to you, and would even battle Tartarus head on to make sure you are safe and happy. You don't have to forgive me right now. I only wanted that you know why I did the things I did." Explained Steaming. When he still didn't get an answer, he sighted, and turned to leave for the yards again. However, he quickly stopped when he heard the sound of an doors lock opening. He turned around to see Jacky, standing in the doorway to her room, her eyes red from crying. It nearly broke the engineers heart to see his friend and crush like this. "Y-you don't have to be sorry. If someone should be sorry, it should be me. I was so stupid! You only wanted to help us, and I pushed you away and was mad at you." She sniffed. "But you had every right to be mad at me! I was so careless, and got myself more than just a mere injury out there! You don't have to apologize!" Exclaimed Steaming. "But neither do you! You were only helping us out of our trouble, and all I did in reply was giving you a slap in the face." She said, slightly sobbing, but before she could start crying, Steaming already pulled her into a strong hug. "Jacky, I battled against an Stalliongrad veteran soldier, with nothing more than a few slight bruises. What you did was, at the most, a bee sting." Smirked the engineer, as Jacky punched him on the arm in reply. "Hehe, see, that's what I'm talking about! So, all good?" Asked Steaming. "Yeah, all good." Smiled Jacky, as the engineer beamed in reply, hugging her even stronger, and lifting her slightly off her feet. "Haha! Now we're talking! Now come on! You're in my town now! Let me show you around!" Laughed Steaming, as he pulled Jacky through the hotel, towards the exit. After a lovely afternoon, which was filled with Steaming showing Jacky most of the important places in Dodge Junction, rounded off with an delicious piece of apple pie with vanilla ice cream at the stations café, Steaming brought Jacky to the final place of their trip: his current home. They slowly crossed the tracks of the yards, till they reached the old coach that stood on its lonely little siding, away from the main part of the yards. "Well, it's not as grand as the Royal train or your home in Canterlot, but it's my home." Smiled Steaming, as he lead Jacky inside, and to his room. "Welcome to my little kingdom." Grinned Steaming, as the two of them entered the makeshift room. Jacky looked around and was surprised by the design of the interior. In the right hand corner of the room was a small wooden bed, above which an baggage storage net was hug, holding all kinds of stuff that would otherwise clog up the ground. The wall with the windows was occupied by one of the old benches that used to be for the passengers, with an small coffee table in front of it. The wall opposite to the bed had a large desk with a chair in front of it, with many different pencils and brushes on it, with pieces of paper scattered all around it. Some of the pieces, as well as a large variety of the papers on the walls had drawings of locomotives and scenes from western novels on them, each of them increasing in quality and details the further she got. Finally, the wall with the door towards the corridor had many different shelfs, with some of them holding books, whilst others held tools, self made wooden toys or rare and precious pieces from Steamings history on them. "You have a really nice room." Smiled Jacky. "Thanks. Took me years to finish it, but it's pretty good now." Smiled Steaming. Jacky looked over the locomotive drawings that were along the wall, till her eyes landed on a set of drawings that stuck out from the lot. They were portraits of many of the people Steaming had encountered, there was one about Emerald, one from Westing House, a drawing of her father and one of her as well. "Did you drew all of these?" She asked. "Yeah, never stopped my sideline hobby. Still have problems with drawing people, but I'm getting better." Said the engineer with an embarrassed chuckle. "I think they're pretty good." Said the girl with an warm smile. "Thanks!" Grinned Steaming, as he looked at the drawing of her. He walked up to it, and took the drawing off of it. "Here, take it. I can always do another one." Smiled the engineer, as Jacky took the drawing of her. "Thank you Steaming." Smiled Jacky. Just then, the peace and quiet was interrupted by loud shout from outside, followed by an strong jolt that went through the coach, knocking them off their balance and onto the bed, with Jacky on top of Steaming. "Urgh! Who in their right mind would go on this rickety old track?!" Groaned Steaming, as he rubbed his head, trying to soothe the pain. "Are you alright Steaming?" Asked Jacky, concerned about her friends safety. "I'll live. Um, could you get up from me?" Asked Steaming embarrassed. Jacky quickly jumped up from the young man, her cheeks flaring red as her eyes darted towards the door. Steaming followed suit and walked towards said door, walking through it and heading towards the door that lead to the outside. Once out of the coach, they saw that two trucks had rammed into their wagon, bending the frame inwards and splintering some of the wood. Two shunters raced up to them, concern written all over their faces. "Oh great Celestia, are you two alright?!" Asked the first. "The points to your sidings were faulty. When we sent the trucks down the line, we thought they would move along down to the other sidings, not into your home." Explained the other. "Don't worry Hopper, Flatbed. Nothing more than a surprise and a few things that fell over. But we need to warn the others about the faulty set of points. You two get those trucks from the wagon, I'm going to talk with the yard master about the switch." Said Steaming, as the two men walked back to their engine, and Steaming started to walk towards the small yard building that is the yard masters office. "You're quite the good leader in such situations." Smiled Jacky, as she drew level with the engineer. "Meh, those are incidents that happen every day in the yards. You don't need to be a qualified leader to coordinate your co-workers in such stuff." Shrugged Steaming. "Might be, but they trusted you. And even the most cunning and witty leaders are useless if their men don't trust him." Said Jacky, as Steaming stopped in his tracks. "Your words?" "No, Shinings. He tends to talk quite a lot about his career when he's off duty. It's like getting trained to become a commanding officer!" Laughed Jacky, as Steaming joined her. "Yeah, it's the same with Lieutenant Raton. Once he starts, he just keeps on going." Grinned Steaming, as they entered the small hut, in which a man sat behind a small desk, small glasses on his nose, which was deep inside a stack of papers. "Hey Freight! There's a problem with switch 319. It made two trucks ram into mine and Emeralds coach while being shunted." Explained Steaming, as the man called Freight looked up at him. "I'll send a maintenance crew up there to fixate the switch. Not like anything will be moved to or from that siding anytime soon..." Grumbled the man, as Steaming rolled his eyes. "If you say so Schedule. See ya." Waved Steaming, as they disappeared out of the hut again. "He seems like a friendly fellow." Said Jacky sarcastically. "He's a real sunshine. Thankfully, I don't have to put up with him that much anymore. I prefer the open road, far away from the yards right now." Smiled Steaming, as they slowly walked beside the tracks to the station. They started climbing up onto the wooden platform of the station, when from the eastern yard entry the sounds of gunshots and battlecries rang over to them. Both teenagers stopped in their tracks, Jacky being confused, while Steamings eyes narrowed. "Natives..." He hissed, and quickly started to dash away, back in the direction of his coach. "Steaming! Wait for me!" Jacky shouted, as she hurried behind him. They quickly reached the old wagon, and jumped inside, as Steaming ran to an closed off cupboard that stood in the kitchen. He opened it, pulling out two Coltchester rifles, tossing one towards Jacky. "Alright Jacky, let's show those buggers who's the boss in these here yards!" Smirked Steaming. "You actually want me to fight with you?" Asked Jacky. "Sure. I saw what you could do against those Changelings. You're more than experienced to take up a fight against some natives, who's main weapons are bows, arrows and tomahawks." Answered Steaming, as the door to the coach was opened again, and into the kitchen ran Emerald. "Was bout time you showed up." Chuckled Steaming, pulling out two sawn off shotguns, along with a bandolier for both him and Emerald. "It's a bit difficult, maneuvering through the yards whilst the others try to shoot your arse full of arrows." Replied Emerald sarcastically, as he loaded two cartridges each into his guns. "Alright then, let's give 'em hell!" Cheered Steaming, as he and his two friends raced outside. They stormed right inside the battle, as the natives had fought their way deep inside the station and yards. The railway men were fighting from their engines and the trucks, using them for cover, whilst the natives we're using whatever cover they could find: boxes, barrels, tool sheds, everything. Steaming and Emerald smirked, and jumped from the platform of the coach, and charged inside the attacking natives. Back to back, they shot and killed the natives, who had now noticed that they were being flanked, and tried to take out the two men. "I don't think so!" Laughed Steaming, as a native with an tomahawk tried to take a blow hat him, only for Steaming to shove the stock of the rifle into his stomach, and pulling the barrel up to his head, giving him the final blow. "Hehe, these laughing stocks are pushovers!" Laughed Emerald, pulling up his shotgun, blowing the guts of the man in front of him out, while giving the one next to him a shrapnel load into his head. "Hey Jacky! Your missing out on the fun here!" Shouted Steaming, but needed to stop his talking, as a native appeared in the corner of his eye, trying to ram an arrow in his chest. But before he could to anything, the man already dropped to the ground, a hole in the place where his heart was. "I'd rather stay here, if you don't mind!" Smirked Jacky, ejecting the empty cartridge. "Nothing against that!" Laughed Steaming, and turned around, to continue defending the station. After a further 10 minutes of fighting, the natives retreated back where they'd come from. The yards were a mess, with many dead bodies littering the ground, and a few of the smaller buildings were on fire, set ablaze by the retreating natives to stop the railway men or guards from follow them. "Good work lads! Now get your cabooses shifted, we need to get the yards cleaned up again! We have a railway to run after all!" Shouted Freight Schedule, as the yard workers started to clean up the tracks. "Good work Jacky. Didn't know you had such an good aim." Smiled Steaming. "I'm the best shot in our shooting association. I usually hit the ten on 50 meters without actually aiming." Grinned Jacky. "Well, maybe the best back in Canterlot, but down here, the crack shots are called Steaming 'Trinity' Whistle and Emerald 'Bambie' Heart." Chuckled Steaming, bragging a bit. "Care to have a trial about who's the best shout out of us three?" Asked Jacky. "You two can shoot this out under the two of you. The one of us with the better aim is 'Trinity' over here." Chuckled Emerald, as he started to walk back to his and Steamings coach, to store his weapons again. "Alright then! Let's get to the shooting range at the guards post, and test who's the best!" Grinned Steaming, as they started walking through the yards. But they weren't even halfway through them, when they noticed that a few of the yard workers were fighting against someone near one of the tool sheds. Upon closer observation, they saw that they were fighting against a large native man, who was holding the workers off with bare hands. "Steaming! Could you lend us a hand?!" Asked Hopper, as he was thrown away by the man. "Sure thing lad! Ms. Spike, if you would excuse me for around 5 minutes? Duty calls." Smirked Steaming, handing Jacky his rifle, and charged towards the man, while Jacky just chuckled with an slight shaking of her head. Like Steaming said, not five minutes later, and the large man was sitting on the ground, his hands tied behind his back, while large bruises and a small trail of blood from his mouth showing that Steaming hadn't giving him that much of an beating. The engineer in question was standing in front of the man, a small smirk on his face. "Well lad, looks like this'll be the end of your little surprise attack. Care to explain why you attacked us in the first place?" Asked the railway man, as the native in front of him looked up at him. "We heard the princesses are here. We wanted to talk to her." Said the man in a deep voice. "Talk to her? You could've simply come here and speak to her, not charge in here accompanied by a bullet hail." Said the engineer, confused. "After what you did to us, we wouldn't take any risks." Spat the man with venom in his voice. "What do you mean by that? All we did was defend our trains whenever you attacked them!" Asked the railway man again. "I won't tell you. I will only speak with the princess about it." Grumbled the large man, glaring into the eyes of Steaming. They stared into each other's eyes for a few seconds, both of them trying to read the others mind, trying to find out if the other was lying. Finally, Steaming sighted, and turned to the other workmen. "Bring him to the station. Tell the station master to lock him up in his office, and to guard both the door and the windows. I will return shortly." Ordered Steaming, as he turned to Jacky, and took back his rifle. "Change of plans Jacky, we need to go to the princesses and bring her here. Something fishy is going on, and I hate fish." Grumbled Steaming, as he started to move again, Jacky following him after a few seconds, pondering if Steaming actually meant what he just said.