They slowly walked through the small town, the new sights and sounds a great difference to Dodge Junction. While the buildings of Dodge were mainly wooden, with few stone buildings in between, Ponyville was completely made from stone. The style of the buildings reminded them of drawings they saw from towns in Germainy or Mare Britannia, with a rare few buildings showing that they were still in Equestria. The dirt roads of Dodge were replaced by ones made out of cobblestone, with the lack of actual sidewalks. Large trees were planted at various points along the side of the road, giving the town a green touch. They neared the towns center, where the market had been set up. Even though it wasn't that much bigger than the market in Dodge, it surely was livelier. Plenty of stands, selling fresh produces from nearby farms and orchards, was a nice change from the stands that sold the imported goods that came in with the refrigerator trains. They walked past the market, and soon reached a moderate sized building, with the words 'sugar cube corner' painted on the side above the large window.
"Hm, a bit of a cliché that name, wouldn't you say?" Asked Emerald.
"Yeah, but who cares. If they make their cupcakes as good as Journal Box said, then they can wield any name they want." Said Steaming, as Jacky lead them inside. But they were in for an surprise when they saw who was behind the counter.
"Welcome to Sugarcube- Jacky!" Shouted the cotton candy haired girl, as she jumped over the counter, and tackling the girl in a hug.
"Ugh, good to see you as well Pinkie." Said Jacky with a slight groan, the air in her lungs pushed out by Pinkies hug.
"Hi Pinkie. Didn't thought to see you here, much less that you work here." Chuckled Steaming.
"Hi Steaming! Hi Emerald!" Waved Pinkie, still not letting go of the engineer's girlfriend.
"How come you are here? When I called the castle, they said that you girls had been busy, but I didn't knew that they meant busy back home!" Asked Jacky.
"Well, Mr. and Mrs. Cake asked for my help with this super important cupcake order, and Applejack had been called in to help her sister and Granny with the apple bucking at their orchard-"
"I thought she had an older brother that helped there while she was in Canterlot?" Asked Steaming.
"He usually does, but he got a broken arm after some guys wanted to harm him and his girlfriend." Explained the pink haired girl.
"Rainbow Dash had been invited to visit the Wonderbolts base, Fluttershy is helping out with a problem with the Timberwolves in the Everfree forest, and Twilight had been called to replace Cadence while she is on her honeymoon." She continued, as Steamings face turned into a frown.
"So, can I help you with something? Or did you come in just to talk with your old aunt Pinkie?"
"Oh, yeah, we have been told that this store has the best cupcakes on this side of the country, and we wanted to check out if that was true." Explained Emerald, as Pinkies eyes lit up with glee.
"Then you won't be disappointed! Sugarcube Corners has the best sweet treats in whole Equestria!" Grinned Pinkie, as she pulled them to a small side booth where they sat down. She quickly made her way into the kitchen, reappearing a few minutes later with a row of cupcakes on her tray.
"Here you go, the bestselling cupcakes of Sugarcube Corners!" Grinned Pinkie, as she placed the tray on the table.
The two boy's eyes grew at the sight of the cupcakes.
"I can guess why. If they only taste half as good as the look, then they'll be holding up to their claim!" Praised Steaming, grabbing a blue one with lighter blue frosting, which he assumed was blueberry.
He hungrily took a bite, a low growl of pleasure grumbling from his throat, before he swallowed.
"Yep, no doubt about it, they are awesome." Grinned Steaming, getting an even bigger grin from Pinkie in reply.
"Agreed! They're definitely living up to their calling!" Smiled Emerald, after taking a bite out of an chocolate cupcake.
"Looks like you just found two new customers Pinkie." Winked Jacky.
They stayed for a long time, trying every cupcake sort they had, and chatted with Pinkie about various things. But Jacky noticed that Steaming would always try to shift the conversation in the direction of the girls of the group 'Harmony', or better said, the reason why they couldn't come to their hearing in court. After they said their good byes and paying for their food, they got outside again, walking in a seemingly random direction.
"Say Steaming, why did you ask Pinkie so many question about her and the other girls not getting to your hearing in court?" Asked Emerald.
"I thought I was the only one who noticed." Muttered Jacky, more to herself than to the boys.
"Doesn't it feel strange to you, that the girls all were called to various tasks at the same time, which prohibited them from getting to court in time?" Asked Steaming.
"Well, it's a little strange, but it could all be a big coincidence." Said Jacky.
"I've got a hard time to imagine that. How about we visit AJ and ask her and her brother about those thugs that attacked him? Maybe those thugs had the same 'motivation' as the lads back in Manehatten?" Suggested Steaming, as the first few apple trees began to appear in the not all too far distance. They walked through large orchards, until they saw a rustic, two story tall farmhouse, with a barn a bit further away from it. They walked up to the wooden door, and knocked. A few seconds later, a girl that looked like she was twelve years old, with bright red hair, in which a large red bow was nestled in, opened the door.
"Hello. What can ah do for y'all?" She asked, with an accent similar to Applejack.
"Good day little lady. We'd like to know where Applejack is. We have a few questions we'd like to ask her." Said Steaming.
"Are ya from the guards? If it's about the brawl with those thugs, ma sister wasn't involved!" She said.
"Nono, I think there is a misunderstanding here. We aren't from the Royal guards. We are friends of your sister, my name is Steaming Whistle, and this here is my lifetime friend Emerald Heart." Steaming explained, as Jacky stepped up from behind them.
"Hey AB. How are you doing?" Grinned Jacky.
"Hey Jacky! Ah didn't saw ya from behind these two! What are ya doing here?" Asked the small girl, hugging Jacky (which, if you ask Steaming, was an adorable sight, seeing that the girl only reached up to her belly).
"Oh, just spending a bit of time away from my parents with my boyfriend here. Steaming, Emerald, this is AJs little sister Apple Bloom. Could you tell us where AJ is? We really need to speak with her." Asked Jacky.
"Nah problem. She's probably at the loading docks right row. Ya know where they are?"
"Sure! See you later Bloom!" Smiled Jacky, as she grabbed Steamings hand and started to pull him away, a broad smile on her face.
"See ya!" Waved Bloom, before she closed the door.
"Wait, since when does Jacky have a boyfriend?" Asked the girl as she was halfway through the room.
The trio walked through the orchard, Jacky leading the two railway men towards their next targeted location.
"What brought you into such a good mood all of a sudden Jacky?" Chuckled Steaming, as he saw that the smile was still on Jackys face.
"Oh, nothing in particular really." Chuckled Jacky, as the tree rows suddenly stopped rising besides them. In front of them was a wooden platform, with plenty of wooden crates, containing countless amounts of apples, stacked upon it. Next to the platform was a cart, with a brown work horse tied in front of it. Standing on the other side of the platform were numerous, small, four wheeled trucks, one of which had its slide door opened for loading of the crates. As they got closer to the open truck, they could hear angry mumbling coming from within the wooden rail vehicle.
"Stupid Mac, of course he had ta get a broken arm as soon as we'd get an order such as this one." The voice grumbled.
"Sounds like her." Mused Emerald.
"Yep. Hey Applejack!" Called Steaming, as the girl in question came out of the truck, a surprised, but happy look on her face.
"Well look who it is. What're y'all doing here?" Asked AJ with a smile.
"Well, that's a bit of a long story, part of which is why we're are here right now actually. But to make it short: I'm new resident engineer for Branchline goods trains, Emerald will be attending the Royal academy and Jacky will spent the next month here." Explained Steaming.
"Shucks, congrats to the both of ya then! Seems like ah'll be seein more of the two of ya around here then. But what do ya mean about 'why yar here'?"
"Well, we wanted to ask you a few questions about these thugs that fought against your brother, and about that order you were talking about earlier." Said Emerald.
"Well, ah'd like ta answer those questions of yars, but ah have ta finish loading these crates on board of this train. Urgent order, ya see." Explained AJ, pointing at stacks of crates that were still on the platform.
"Well, if that's all, we can help you with that!" Chuckled Steaming, as he and Emerald grabbed three of the crates each, and started to bring them into the trucks.
"Ya don't have ta do this, ah can manage!"
"Then you'll manage even better with the two of us!" Grinned Emerald.
"I think you mean three." Winked Jacky, as she grabbed two of the crates as well.
"We'll help you finish your job, then you answer our questions, deal?"
AJ looked from Steaming, to Emerald, to Jacky and then back to Steaming again.
"Ah shucks, ah sappose a have no choice in that matter in the end. But we have ta hurry, before Bell gets here." Sighted AJ, as they all helped to finish the loading. After a little while, all the crates had been loaded into the trucks, and the doors sealed off for the trip.
"Well, that's the last of them. Thanks a bunch, ya three." Smiled AJ.
"It was nothing Applejack. A bit of light training never hurts." Chuckled Steaming.
"Now all we have ta do is ta wait for Bell to arrive." Said the farm girl, just as the ringing of a Bell sounded out.
They all three looked down the tracks, just to see a strange thing come towards them. It was boxy in shape, with Windows at the sides, metal plates covering its wheels, as it slowly chuffed towards them. It stopped once the buffers connected with the ones on the trucks, which showed Steaming and Emerald that whoever was driving this... whatever it was knew what he was doing. From out of the thing jumped a man who looked like he was in his early 30s, with a brown jacket over his railway man overall, and instead of the usual, blue and white striped hat, a brown fedora was on his head.
"Hello Ms. Apple. I see you already finished loading my delivery. I doubted you'd get it finished so quickly, seeing that Big Macintosh is out of commission." Said the man politely, but with a small chuckle at the end.
"Heya Bell, ah got some help with the lot from a few friends of mine." Applejack said, pointing at the trio.
"Oh hello, I doubt I've seen you lot around here before. I'm Ringing Bell, I work the small Branchline up to Marewell." Said Bell with a smile, extending his hand.
Steaming quickly shook it.
"Greetings Bell, I'm Steaming Whistle, this is my friend Emerald Heart and this is Junction Spike, my girlfriend."
"Oh, I almost didn't recognize you Junction! It's been an awfully long while, hasn't it?"
"Yes, it has." Chuckled the girl.
"Um, pardon me asking Mr. Bell, but what is this for a kind of engine? I've never seen anything quite like it before." Asked Emerald, his eyes still on the strange locomotive.
"This, is a steam tram. It has been built with cowcatchers and sideplates, to protect people and animals from getting underneath the wheels." Explained the engineer.
"But lots of engines on the railway got cowcatchers, and they don't need such sideplates." Exclaimed Steaming.
"Yes, but our railway runs partly through the town, and along busy streets. It is the rules to have this kind of safety measures for lines such as ours." Explained Bell.
"Fascinating. I never knew of such interesting lines. But how will I be able to work on this Branchline if my engine doesn't have such sideplates?" Asked Steaming.
"Oh? Are you an engineer as well then?"
"Just been transferred up here this morning from Dodge Junction. Will be working Branchline goods trains with one of the new engines that are standing in the sheds." Explained Steaming.
"Ah, you mean 98 1801, right? I hope you know what you're up against then. Well, I doubt you'll be working on my Branchline. I have a friend called Flowing Stream, who works with me on the line. She usually works the passenger trains with her own steam tram and our guard Silver Lining." Explained the man, as he coupled the train up, and got back on board his engine.
He started the train up again, waving the four people on the loading platform good bye as he made his way back to the main station.
"Hey, what did you mean with that?!" Called Steaming, but the other engineer was already out of earshot.
"What did he mean with 'hope you know what you're up against'?" Pondered Steaming, as they started to walk back to the farmhouse.
"Hm, old Bell's always been talkin in riddles, but he's got somethin in that head of his." Said AJ.
"Maybe it's something about the loco. You know how new designs tend to be." Shrugged Emerald.
"Hmm, I think I'll take a look at the engine once we get back home..." Muttered Steaming.
They reached the farmhouse and got inside, where Applebloom was doing some homework, while a large man with orange-red hair was sitting on the couch, his right arm in a cast, sighting from boredom.
"Ah'm back!" Called Applejack.
"Hey sis!" Waved AB from her place.
The man only gave a short nod of acknowledgement.
"You're back early." An old voice said from the kitchen, as an old woman with already gray hair appeared in the doorway.
"Jacky and a few of her friends helped loading Bells train." Explained AJ as the three friends behind here walked into the house.
"Oh, hello Jacky, what brings you here today?" Asked the elderly women with a smile.
"Hello Granny Smith. My boyfriend wanted to investigate in a certain situation-"
"Oh, congratulations! Which one of these two fellas is he?"
"Good day Mrs. Smith. I'm Steaming Whistle, Jackys boyfriend." Smiled Steaming, as he pulled Jacky close to him, as if to prove that he was the real deal, something Jacky didn't objected to.
"Hm, you seem somewhat familiar. Have ya ever been around here before?" Asked Granny.
"Well, I did took some goods trains up and beyond here, but other than that, this is my first time here." Said Steaming, slightly puzzled about the situation.
"Hm, ah don't visit the main station that much, and ah'm fairly sure ah saw you somewhere before..." Murmured the elderly woman to herself.
As Jacky tied Granny Smith into a conversation, so that Steaming wouldn't be stuck in his situation, the engineer was thinking to himself where the woman could've seen him, letting his eyes wander around the room. His glance landed on an old photo of the Apple family. But what was making his eyes grew wide was the 8-year-old Applejack on it.
'Oh Hotbox. Now I know why they know me!' Gulped the engineer, as his mind focused on the day his life changed forever, all those years ago.
"Psst, Emerald."
"What's up Steaming?" Asked the man.
"Remember when we lived in the abandoned factory in Canterlot, that day our lives changed?" He whispered.
"Yeah, why?"
"Remember those apples we... 'acquired'?"
"Yeah, you were called out before you could go out Scott free. Why are you asking me that now?"
In reply, Steaming pointed subtly at the old photo.
"I think I now know the name of the girl that called me out." Whispered Steaming.
"You don't mean-!" Whispered Emerald.
"Yeah. Let's keep it quiet for now, shall we? I doubt we need to bring that up now." Whispered the engineer in reply.
"Hey, what are ya all whispering there?" Asked Apple Bloom, as she suddenly appeared between the two boys, reminding them that they still had company.
"Oh! Erm, nothing little one. A-anyways, the reason why we came here! We wanted to ask Big Mac a few questions regarding the attack on him." Said Steaming, turning to the man on the couch.
"Oh? What do ya want to know then?" Asked the large man.
"Well, we wanted to know what actually happened. Steaming here thinks that there might be a connection between your injury and some other occurrences." Explained Emerald.
"Alright, well, ah was on a date with ma girlfriend, when these thugs suddenly step in front of us. They threatened us, but they didn't want any money. We tried ta get away from them, but they chased after us. Ah told ma girlfriend ta get the guards, while ah would keep 'em occupied. As soon as they had caught up with me, they started ta fight with me. Ah held up pretty well, but they were too many. They broke ma arm, and gave me several bruises, but made a run for it as the guards came in. Ah was brought ta the hospital and they fixed me up best they could." Explained Mac.
"Anything that stood out from those men? Anything they said that could help us narrow in on a certain group of people?" Asked Steaming.
"Well, they surely didn't sound like they'd come from around here. They sounded like they came from further up north. Ah couldn't really see them that well, had too much ta do in keeping them away from me... Hey, now that Ah think about, as they were running away, ah heard one of them speak about something. Ah think they said... Up eight twenty, or something along the way." Said Mac, trying to think up the details from his memory.
"Up 8:20? Big Mac, I thank you for answering my questions. I just might figure out if this stuff is all a coincidence or something bigger." Smirked Steaming, before bidding the other members of the Apple family goodbye, and hurrying out of the house, getting slightly ahead of Emerald and Jacky who took some more time to say goodbye.
"Hey Steaming! Wait up!" Called Emerald.
"Can't. Need to get to the station quickly." Replied the engineer.
"You got a lead on those thugs then?" Asked his friend.
"Not exactly, but if I can find what train departed at 8:20 on the Up line out of the town, we can narrow down the path where those thugs went."
"But the Up line out of town leads to at least 20 further towns, and those are only the ones on the mainline to Las Pegasus!" Exclaimed Jacky.
"Might be so, but Big Mac said that the thugs sounded like they came from further up north. Means that they must've come from one of the branches heading up north; only those lead north on the Up line out of here. And that narrows it down to one or two dozen stations. Narrowed down on one line, all that's left will be six or seven stations." Explained Steaming, as they exited the large orchard, and made their way back to the station.
They soon reached the two-story stone building, entering it and walking straight to the station master.
"Oh, hello young ones! What can I do for you?" Asked the station master, a man with messy brown hair, brown eyes and kind smile on his face.
"I'm Steaming Whistle, I'm new permanent driver for Branchline goods services around here. But that's not why I'm here, I wanted to find out what train departed at 8:20 last Monday." Explained Steaming.
"Well then, first of all, welcome to the Ponyville MPD! Anyways, the timetable of that day is stored over there. But please but them back in their place once you're through with them. We need them for next Monday." Explained the station master, pointing at a large set of drawers.
They opened the one with the word 'Monday' on it, and pulled out the section for the time between 8pm and 9pm. The list showed every train that ran around that time, from passengers to goods trains, empty stock services and light engine movements. They finally found the train that had departed at 8:20, a small pickup goods service that went along the Branchline to Waterwell junction. The line was moderate in length, with around 5 stations before the terminal station of Waterwell. Steaming grinned when he saw that it was a goods train, and not a passenger one.
"Alright, now it's official, those cases are connected." Grinned the engineer.
"How come you're so sure about that so suddenly?" Asked Jacky.
"The 8:20 on the Up line is a pickup goods. Only railway workmen are allowed to ride on those as 'passengers'. Meaning, the thugs are railwaymen." Explained Steaming, putting the timetable back in the drawer.
"Well, that might be the case, but it still doesn't mean that the attack on Big Mac and the big order at Sugarcube Corners are connected!" Countered Jacky.
"There is, and I'll explain to you just how it is. Jacky, tell me, what was the name of the place that ordered the sweets?" Asked Steaming.
"The crowned unicorn hotel in Canterlot."
"And Emerald, remember about that place that one of the bosses owns in Canterlot?"
"Oh yeah! The hotel with the name out of the mindset of an 8-year-old girl! How could I forget that?" Laughed Emerald.
"Yep. What was its actual name again?" Asked Steaming with a raised eyebrow, and an expecting smile.
"That was the crowned... unicorn." Started Emerald, noticing halfway through it what he was saying.
"Exactly. And now for the bonus question: who owns that hotel?" Asked Steaming, turning to the other two.
"Sans Pareil Stirling!" Answered the other two in unison.
"That was the correct answer! It appears, that our dear Stirling had figured out our plan before it even got into motion. He hired the goons to take Big Mac out of commission, gave the order for the cupcakes, and probably got the other arrangements in motion to get the girls as far away from the hearing as possible!" Smirked Steaming.
"Well, obviously, that didn't work as good as Stirling would've wanted it to be." Chuckled Emerald.
"That might be true, but seeing that those blurks got henchmen even in this part of the country, I think it'll be difficult to keep Jacky hidden from their eyes. They'll be sure to inform Novelty about her whereabouts, and I don't want to know with what kind of army he'll walk up with when that happens." Grumbled Steaming, the mere thought about the man who was after his girlfriend giving him dangerous thoughts.
"Hey Steaming, have you already forgotten that I'm not that easy to take down? I'll show Novelty who he's dealing with if he gets too close to me." Smirked Jacky, as she flashed them a glance of her revolver, that was hidden inside her jacket.
"Hehehe, well, you got a point there as well. Better said, six points." Chuckled the engineer, as they slowly walked across the yards towards the railway carriage.
Once they got close enough however, they could see that something has been added to the entrance of the coach. A letter, held in place by a knife in the wooden door, was waiting for them to return.
"Well, that looks promising." Huffed Emerald sarcastically.
"Let's see who couldn't wait to write us a letter before we could send our acquaintances our new address." Frowned Steaming, as he pulled the knife out of the wood, and opened the letter.
We know Junction Spike is in Ponyville. Hand her over, and you won't be harmed. Refuse, and pay the price. Bring her to Waterwell Junction on the first morning passenger train.
"Well, that's informative. What shall we do now?" Asked Jacky with a frown.
"I'd say we'll do the usual. Ignore the letter, wait for them to get her by force and steamroll them to the ground!" Smirked Emerald.
"Now now Emerald, I think I have a better idea. We'll go along with them." Said Steaming.
"Are you nuts?! You're giving them Jacky?!" Yelled Emerald.
"Mind the tone, you don't have to yell while I'm right next to you." Chuckled the railway man.
"No, at least, not directly. We'll send Jacky down to Waterwell with the first passenger train. The first goods train however, leaves the station an hour earlier. We'll bring that train down, wait there for the passenger train to come in, then follow Jacky and whoever picks her up there to wherever they'll bring her, and once we're there, squeeze some nice information out of those blurks." He explained, while Jacky and Emerald listened intensively.
"Sounds like a mighty large risk you're taking there Steaming. Is it worth it?" Asked Emerald.
"If Jacky and I ever want to get a night's rest without needing to have one eye open, yes, it is. Only thing left now, is to ask if you are up for it Jacky." Said Steaming, turning to his girlfriend.
"Depends."
"Yes, you can take your revolver with you." Sighted Steaming.
"Alright, then let's do it!" Smiled the girl brightly.
"Seriously? All it needed was the allowance of taking your revolver with you?" Asked Emerald.
"Sure. If you lose us, at least I can get myself out of the situation without too much difficulties." Shrugged Jacky, while Emerald just sighted.
"Alright, we still need to make some preparations for tomorrow. Emerald, make sure to grab some extra bullets for our guns. While we're at it, better take our new 'toys' with us. I've got the sustained feeling that we might need them. Jacky, get some practical clothes for the journey, something easy, in which you can hide your revolver in. I'll take a look at 98 1801 and see what Bell meant with his statement." Said the engineer, as he got out of the coach, and walked off to the imported engine.
Once he reached the sheds, he quickly made his way to his assigned engine, and controlled her completely. From pistons and rods to valves and injectors, he looked at every part he could, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. He finally climbed into the cab, looking around. It was small, which was to be expected on a tank engine, with the cab controls on the right-hand side of the loco.
"Well, nothing too weird. She's modern, but that's about it." Muttered Steaming, as his eyes fell on a small book that had been placed on a small tablet. He took it, and looked inside.
"Enginemen logbook. Let's see what the other boys wrote about her..." He muttered, turning the pages.
"Well bust me. No wonder he wished me luck!" Exclaimed the engineer.
Nearly every written page had been filled by another engineer, remarking all sorts of issues. Burst valves, leaking tubes, problem with keeping up pressure, jammed gauges in the cab... Steaming closed the book, sighting.
"Welp, looks like I just got the top price! Ah well, looks like I'll have to do the best with what I have." Said the boy, as he grabbed the coal shovel.
"Better get her steamed up, I need to make a picture of her myself to see how bad it is." He grumbled to himself, filling the firebox with coal, igniting the burning material.
Slowly, the pressure in the boiler began to rise, steam coming out of several openings in the cab.
"Well, let's hope she won't burst while we're at it!" Joked Steaming to himself, while opening the shed doors.
He got back into the cab, and slowly edged the regulator forwards. The engine heaved, and slowly rolled forwards, out of the shed. The turntable operator saw the engine moving out of the sheds, and quickly turned the turntable to the shed road.
"Where'd you want to go?" Asked the operator gruffly.
"Shunting yards." Replied Steaming.
The man nodded, and the table began to spin towards one of the tracks leading out towards the yards. Steaming slowly moved the engine off the turntable, and into the yards, always keeping the engine in check, making sure that nothing would go wrong. He slowed to an stop in the shunting yards, next to the yards signal tower, from which a bewildered looking signalman leaned out.
"What are you doing here? Your engine isn't scheduled to be here until 4:45am tomorrow morning!" Asked the man.
"Test run. Need to see if any problems can occur while out on the open line. Need to put her under real working conditions. Which line of trucks needs shunting?" Came the reply.
"Well, there are some trucks on track 12 that will make the number 3768 to Vanhoover. They still need some trucks from track 8 and 13. That's the last ones."
"Alright, will do that. Later." Said Steaming shortly, and carefully brought the engine into action again.
He quickly collected the trucks on the said tracks and brought them to the already waiting ones on track 12. Once he was finished, he slowly reversed the engine back into a siding. After grabbing an oil can, he checked the moving parts of the engine, and afterwards every external part on the locomotive.
"I can't see what would be wrong with this engine. She's in excellent condition! No damages, failures or anything of the sort!" Exclaimed Steaming, as the goods train he shunted left the yards.
A few minutes after it departed, he was cleared to go back to the sheds. Once inside the sheds, he noted the engine off duty, and handed her over to the shed crew to drop her fire. He was about to walk back to his coach, when he passed by the shed masters office.
"Steaming! A word please!" Came a voice from inside the office.
He walked inside, seeing the shed master sitting at his desk, overlooking the roaster for the next day.
"I saw you took 99 1801 out for a little run. Why did you do that?" Asked the man.
"Well, I have to make sure that the engine will run without a hitch tomorrow morning on my first run. I read the logbook, and the many problems the others had with her, and wanted to see how she'd do under real conditions. Needless to say, I'm more than confused how the others could have so many problems with the engine. She worked perfectly well with me." Explained Steaming.
"Hm, interesting... Maybe you have a lucky hand with the engine?" Mused the shed master.
"But still, you shouldn't take an engine from the sheds without notifying me beforehand. It could've easily ended in a very dangerous situation. Next time, make sure to notify both me and the signalmen within the yards about this, alright?" Continued the man, staring into the eyes of the young engine driver.
"Yes sir." Said Steaming sheepishly.
"Good. This shall be all. I will see you tomorrow morning at 3:45am. Until then, have a nice afternoon." Finished Jimmy, as Steaming quickly left the office.
He returned to his carriage, and quickly made his way to the kitchen. Emerald was preparing dinner in there, on the dining table were several small, unlabeled boxes.
"Got the ammo already? That was quick." Remarked the engineer.
"Was cheaper in the dozens. Got around 600 rounds in total for our new toys." Explained Emerald.
"Huh? Don't they fire .357 like our Coltchesters?"
"Nope. They eat .308 Coltchester. You'd be surprised how rare that type of bullet is around here! There is a surplus of 357 here though. So, we shouldn't run dry on our revolvers." Explained the self-claimed cook, as Steaming opened one of the boxes, taking out one of the bullets. It was longer than their usual bullets, broader at the back, with a cone like projectile.
"Hm, bit more weight. Let's hope they'll be worth it." Muttered Steaming.
"Just don't think too much about it. Go and call Jacky. She's in your room since she got back." Said Emerald as he got their plates out.
"You could've told me earlier that she's here." Chuckled Steaming as he walked off to his room.
He softly opened the door and walked inside of his room, his eyes quickly falling onto the slumbering form of Jacky that was on his bed. A soft smile grew on his face as he saw his girlfriend on his bed, a completely innocent expression on her face. He snuck up to his bed, leaned down to her face and softly and passionately kissed her. He smiled into the kiss as he felt a reaction from her, indicating that he successfully woke her up.
"Evening princess. I see you slept well?" He asked cheekily.
"Hmhm, but I think the waking up was even better." She purred, kissing him again.
"Oh, how I regret not telling you earlier how I feel for you. I'd have woken you up like this hundreds of times before." He muttered through the kiss.
"Well, we've got all the time in the world to catch up on that." Mused Jacky.
"STEAMING! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING IN THERE?! DINNER WILL GET COLD!" Called Emerald from the kitchen, reminding Steaming why he came to his room.
"Oh yeah. There was a reason why I woke you up." Said Steaming, pulling himself and Jacky into a sitting position.
"Well, let's listen to him and get going then." Smiled Jacky, as she got up from the bed, and quickly grabbed the engineers Germain hat, putting it on her own head, and skipping out of the door.
Steaming was stuck in his seat for a second, somewhat awestruck by the sight of Jacky with his hat on, before shaking his head, and quickly rushing after his girlfriend, reminding himself that he'd have get a photograph of her with that hat on for the inside of his pocket watch. After a filling dinner, all three of them retired to their beds, aka, Emerald got back to his room, and Jacky went together with Steaming into his room. They quickly fell asleep, so that they could get up bright and early to prepare for their 'mission'. At 3am, both Steamings and Emeralds alarm clocks rang, waking the two railway men up. Jacky however had her troubles with listening to the bell, and continued sleeping. Steaming tried to wake her up, but she was knocked out cold. He sighted, set the clock to 5:45 and got his clothes for the day. After going through a quick shower, he joined Emerald for breakfast. Once that was out of the way as well, he checked the clock, seeing that it was only 3:30am, he went and checked their guns once more.
"Alright, both our revolvers, 6 rounds in the chamber. We got two boxes each with 80 bullets in total. Our 455s with 5 bullets in them, two boxes a 20 rounds, makes again 80 bullets for our big toys."
"Ain't this a bit much? I know we need to be prepared, but we don't want to fight a war on our own!" Chuckled Emerald.
"Better safe than sorry. We can't run out of ammo before they do." Explained Steaming, pulling out another, smaller box out of their storage, quickly scribbling down a note for Jacky, before grabbing his rifle and revolver, his movements copied by Emerald.
They got out of the carriage, and made their way towards the engine sheds. The lights that hung above the shed row doors illuminated the turntable and tracks in front of it, while the lights from the engine crew buildings played lighthouse for the two railway men. They walked into the building, and into a large room where already two crews were sitting at a table, on it several cups full coffee.
"Morning gents. Where's the shed master?" Asked Steaming.
"In his office." Came the gruff reply.
"Thanks. You go and get yourself a cup E. I'll talk to the shed master. Take my rifle for the time being, alright?" Asked Steaming, as Emerald took the gun from the engineer.
Steaming walked to the shed masters office, knocking on the closed door, before walking inside.
"Ah, good morning young one! Ready for your first shift?" Asked Journal Box.
"Sure am boss. Can't wait to finally get to know what the line up to Waterwell Junction is like." Smiled Steaming.
"That's good to hear. Your engine is in row 16, steam her up and get her onto the outgoing line towards the yards, right up to the signal box. The signalman will tell you how to proceed." Explained the shed master.
"Will do sir. Good bye." Said Steaming, leaving the office, and returning to the mess hall where he had left Emerald.
He found him in conversation with the other crews that sat at the table from earlier.
"...and the signalman sent us right into the yards, and crashing into a row of trucks that waited there!" Explained Emerald, as the other men burst out laughing.
"Some luck you kids have! Crashing into sidings, destroying half an engine, derailing a runaway engine, and still getting promoted!" Laughed one of the older men.
"Reminds me of the old man! Remember when he thought it would be good to turn his tender into the foundation of a signal box?" Laughed another, as they all hollered with laughter.
"Or! Or the time he used one of the shunting engines to 'help' the station master in expanding his house front?!" Laughed another, as they all laughed even harder.
"Sounds like quite a 'capable' engineer. What is he driving, a shunter?" Scoffed Steaming.
"He's driving the 'Royal Guardian'." Said another.
"You don't mean the the 'Royal Guardian', right?" Asked Emerald quietly.
"The very same kid." Chuckled a fireman.
"What's the 'Royal Guardian'?" Asked Steaming.
"Only one of the rare few loco's that got the privilege to haul the 'Cannonball Express' from Las Pegasus to Manehatten. Hand-picked out of the 'Racehorse' type 4-6-0 class of engines. Especially 'Royal Guardian' has been a stroke of luck, she has been the engine that always got her trains in on time. Whenever she was in front of the train, it would reach Manehatten on the dot. It is said that she only has one crew that works on her, since no other crew can work her quite like they do." Explained Emerald.
"Yeah, that's no rumor though. She really has only one crew. Plenty have tried, but they would usually work on local services with her. And even on those, they would have trouble working on her." Explained the first driver again, as a clock rang inside the room, telling them it was already 4am.
"Oh damn, we need to hurry! Thanks for the chat gents, see you around, Emerald, let's go!" Said Steaming, rushing to the door.
"Coming Steaming!" Said Emerald, emptying his cup, and racing outside after the engineer.
"Did he just call the other one 'Steaming'?" Asked one of the drivers.
"Huh, could be a coincidence that he's called like Funnel." Shrugged the other driver, as he went back to drink his coffee.
Steaming and Emerald walked slowly through the warm night towards the open shed doors, in which the dark shadow of 98 1801 stood, silent and cold.
"Long time since we worked on a tank engine." Sighted Steaming.
"I always disliked these narrow, cramped cabs." Grumbled Emerald.
"Well, when I took her out yesterday, there was plenty of room inside the cab. She isn't a station shunter, but a branchline engine after all." Chuckled Steaming, as he walked into the shed, and lit some of the oil lamps.
Slowly, their section of the shed got brighter, and soon, the engine in front of them got illuminated by the light, the deep black paint contrasting nicely to the red wheels. Both engine men got into the cab, Steaming to grab the oil can, and Emerald to start the fire. Both got into their work patterns, Steaming jumping around the rods and pistons, while Emerald build a nice fire in the firebox. Soon, steam started to escape through the funnel and cylinders, and the air pump started to work. Steaming lit the three oil lamps at the front (one on top of the smokebox and two above each buffer), making them shine into the darkness of the yards. With the final work outside of his engine done, the engineer returned to the cab.
"And?"
"Well, it is a bit more space than on a yard shunter..." Agreed Emerald.
"Good enough for me! Now let's get going! Today, we have to be on time, no matter what!" Said Steaming, cutting into Emeralds sentence, before grabbing the whistle, letting the engine shout its booming voice into the night.
His hand wandered to the regulator, slowly opening it, and driving the large tank engine out of the shed. They stopped in front of the turntable, and once it was moved into the correct position, they got onto it, getting turned onto the outgoing track towards the yards. They stopped next to a small signal box, where a man leaned out of, waiting for them.
"Huh? You got the foreigner moving? Thought it wouldn't budge no matter who's on her. Your train is on track 4, that's the second outgoing track. Just follow the signals and couple up to it once you're there. Departure time is at 5:30!" Said the man, before disappearing into his signal box again.
In front of them, the signal showed its white light, giving them a clear path. They slowly crossed through the yards, passing their train, consisting of a few covered vans, several empty flatbeds and a row of tankers, finished off with a brake van at the back. They rolled off of the main yard track onto a siding, passing a signal before stopping.
"Alright, path's clear, back her up!" Called Emerald as the signal changed to white.
They rolled backwards onto the waiting train, stopping softly, touching the buffers on the first truck. Emerald got out and coupled the engine up to the train, grabbing the goods paperwork and the timetable for the journey.
"Looks like it's a pretty easy run. Stopping a few times, dropping the covered ones first, the tankers follow afterwards, the flatbeds are for Waterwell Junction. We should be able to reach the end of the line half an hour before the passenger train reaches the station." Said Emerald as he passed the schedule to the engineer.
"Hm, a bit more than 400 tons. I bet she could haul twice..." Muttered Steaming.
"Don't overdo her on her first run Steaming! We don't want to tire her out too early on!" Laughed Emerald, as they could hear a metallic clanking from in front of them.
Steaming looked out of the cab, seeing that the signal arm has rose into the air, showing the green light. From behind him, he could hear the whistle of their guard. Turning, he saw him waving his green lantern.
"Alright! Show me what you can do 1801!" Smiled Steaming, opening the regulator softly but firmly.
The steam streamed through the pipes into the cylinders, pushing the pistons backwards, and driving the wheels. The strong exhaust bark disturbed the quiet night, as the train started out of the yards. The engine had no problem getting the train into motion, quickly getting the train up to yard limits. They soon passed the final signal box before switching onto the branchline. Once the train was completely on the branchline, Steaming opened the regulator further, getting the train up to line speed. The sun started to rise in the east, bathing them in a warm orange glow, as they steamed down the line, past drawn out fields, through large forests and through small station halts, where sleepy looking station master waved them through. They soon reached the first stop, a small station with small yards and its own shunter, an elderly 2-4-0 with dirty nameplates, on which the letters formed the name 'Gladstone'. They left the trucks for the tank engine, and continued on down the line.
"Huh, what a quaint little place." Chuckled Emerald.
"Yeah, but what kind of name is Buggleskkelly?!" Asked Steaming, as they entered a tunnel, on top of which a lonely windmill stood.
After dropping the tankers off at a small goods stop, they continued on towards the end of the line. The route got steeper the further they went, with high hills dawning in the closer distance.
"I think that this 'Waterwell Junction' is some kind of mining town. I could imagine that these hills got quite some minerals in them." Said Emerald.
"Hmhm, I think so too. Maybe that's why it's a Junction? Several small mining spurs ending there and joining up into the branchline to the mainline." Pondered Steaming, as they entered a long curve.
"But why would they need flatbeds in a mining town? Wouldn't open trucks be better for that?" Asked Emerald
As they got out of the curve, the fireman got his answer. The station of Waterwell Junction dawned in front of them. A large station with two bay platforms for passenger trains, along with a shorter platform for milk, fruit and mail trains, and to the right, a shorter through platform, which wasn't connected to their line, but to another railway, with a smaller track gauge than theirs. On the right side of the station was the goods yard, with a large array of open trucks in its sidings, some empty, some loaded to the brim with coal, iron ore, lead, granite and so on. Another track had a ramp at its end, on which the smaller tracks ran, ending at the height of their flatbeds platform. They slowly entered the yards, as a shrill whistle came from behind them. They looked, seeing a small tank engine with two pairs of cylinders at the front and back, making her a 0-4-4-0 tank engine, pulling a set of small green coaches, all of them looking like they had been built in the middle of the last century. The small train rumbled past them, slowly rolling into the platform, stopping with a slight squealing. They did the same, stopping their train in the yards, and waited for someone to come over and tell them where to get to now. They wouldn't have to wait for too long, as a shunter walked up to the large engine.
"Can't believe she made it here in one piece. The flatbeds are needed over at the loading ramp. I'll throw the switches, you just make sure to get the trucks there." Said the shunter, and walked off to the first switch.
"Well, that explains why they need those flatbeds." Huffed Emerald.
"A blooming narrow-gauge line." Chortled Steaming, as he got out of the cab to uncouple the train.
They quickly ran around their train and coupled back up to it. Once they dropped the flatbeds off at the loading ramp, they pulled their brake van into a siding along with their engine, and let their eyes wander across the yards. At the end of the yards, a small roundhouse stood, with several smaller locomotives waiting in their stalls.
"Hm, let's see... Quick count, a further two Mallets, two or three 4-4-0s, a 2-6-0 and what looks like a 0-6-0 tank. But I doubt that goes onto their mainline that much." Said Steaming.
"Just look at their rolling stock! You'd think you'd look into a photograph of the past with that much classic stock! Clerestory coaches, smoke stacks of coal ovens, five plank trucks-"
"And last but not least, Mallet compounds. Where else but on a narrow-gauge railway would you find this collection of rare railway equipment?" Smiled the engineer.
"Only a railway museum I'd guess." Chuckled Emerald, as Steamings eyes moved on towards the passenger station.
"Hm, the station is pretty much settled into the town. If he'd want, he could easily slip away into the town with her without trying too hard." Frowned Steaming.
"We would need to keep him in the station, quickly grabbing him and squeeze all the information he has out of him then?" Asked Emerald.
"Basically? Yes."
How about this then, I cover the main exit. There is only one exit through the main station building anyways, so that shouldn't be too much of a problem. That way, he is cut off, with only the other platforms and the open track, and along that, we have clear range."
"Alright, that's settled then. Let's get our guard out of harm's way first." And with that, Steaming jumped from the footplate, walking up to the brake van.
"Hey lad, how about you go and grab yourself some breakfast? We'll stay with the engine until it's time to leave again."
"Alright, have nothing better to do right now anyways. Later lads." Said the guard, walking out of the van and towards the station.
"Okay, you get into position near the main building. But make sure you don't stand out too much. We can't risk letting him know we're here. I'll stay here and keep an eye out for the train. I have clear view of the platform, so I should be able to see Jacky once she gets off the train. I'll blow the whistle once I see somebody tailing her. If he makes a run for it, I'll blast a second time. Now let's go." Said Steaming, as Emerald jumped from the footplate and onto the platform, while Steaming pulled up his rifle, pulling out the magazine, checking that it was loaded.
"Time to end this." He murmured, putting the magazine back in place with a click.
Time passed. 10 minutes. 15 minutes. 20 minutes. The platform got more and more crowded with the early morning passengers and commuters. Finally, the sounds of a working engine could be heard from down the line, getting louder until a small black 0-6-0 tank engine rounded the bend. It slowly rolled up to the platform, pulling four, eight wheeled wooden bodied coaches into the station. The doors opened, and a flood of people streamed out of the small train. Steaming quickly found Jacky in the mass, looking around slightly for her 'escort'. Steaming tailed her with his eyes, looking left and right towards the people that got too close to his girlfriend. Finally, he saw somebody, dressed in a black hood, that has been following her across the platform, getting closer and closer to her. He grabbed the whistle cord, and gave a firm tug on it, letting the whistle rang out. The person shot forwards, grabbing Jacky, and pulling her towards the station building. Steaming quickly pulled a second time, the whistle blowing loudly, as he jumped from the engine, the rifle on his back, his revolver in his hand, running up to the platform and further towards the station. Suddenly, he saw how both the black hooded person and Jacky, hurrying across the platform, away from the station building, and towards the narrow-gauge platform. Chasing after them, only a few meters behind them was Emerald, panting along the platform. The hooded one pulled Jacky into the cab of the small narrow-gauge engine, quickly closing the door before Emerald could catch up. With a strong wheeze, the small train started to move out of the station. Steaming rounded the bend at the end of the standard gauge platform, as he saw how Emerald tried to jump onto the platform of one of the coaches, only to see that somebody had already been expecting him, kicking him into the stomach, and out of the train, landing on the wooden platform with a harsh thud. Steaming hurried up even faster, but was too slow, and could only watch as the train accelerated out of the station. He raced up to Emerald, who picked himself up, not caring about the people behind and around him who were giving confused glances about what the commotion was about and why the train had left so early.
"You alright?!" Asked Steaming.
"I'll live. What about Jacky?"
"On board the train that just left." Sighted Steaming.
"Then why the hell are we still talking here?! We have to stop that thing!" Exclaimed Emerald, as he rushed towards the telegraph office, Steaming joining him a second later.
They crashed into the office, only to find the telegrapher with a knife in his back, and the telegraph destroyed.
"Damn it! They had expected us!" Growled Steaming.
"What shall we do now?" Asked Emerald.
"We can't give up! ...the sheds. Grab your gear, and hurry to those sheds we passed earlier!" Shouted Steaming, already racing out of the office.
Emerald quickly grabbed the rifle from the engine, and raced to the sheds. Once he reached it, he saw how Steaming drove one of the 4-4-0s onto the turntable, it's red paint and golden stripes showing that it was used to fast passenger runs, the name plate "Texas" standing proudly on its side.
"Come on E! We have to move!" Shouted Steaming.
"Ain't the guys from around here going to be pissed if they see that you steal one of their locos?" Asked Emerald, as he felt a hand on his shoulder.
"Those bastards killed one of us and kidnapped one of yours. We'll take care of your engine, just go and get those arses!" Said one of the local crew members, as he shove Emerald onto the engine.
The turntable was moved into position and Steaming reversed her into the yards. Before he was completely behind the signal, it already dropped for him to move. He rammed the Johnson bar forwards, opening the regulator wide and let the wheels spin wildly. After a few seconds of wild spinning, the wheels got their grip again, and with a loud cry of her whistle, the "Texas" started to charge after the stolen train.
'The hunt is on...'