Life of the Whistle

by SteamingWhistle382

Eventful 24 hours

Steaming and Jacky soon reached the small group of houses on the eastern side of the town, that had been extra made for wealthy holiday makers who wanted to experience a 'real' Wild West weekend, which was now used to accommodate the princesses and the VIPs (Jacky and her family stayed in the railways own hotel, as to not put any further pressure on the towns budget than the wedding already did). They quickly walked past the large mansions, till they reached the largest of them, which was used by the princesses. Said monarchs were just about to go and take a look at what caused the gunshots they had heard from downtown, when their guards took a defensive position in front of them, aiming with their rifles at whatever threat was heading for them.

"Put them down! We are friends!" Shouted a well known voice, as the guards relaxed, and Steaming passed through them to the princesses.

"Whistle Steaming, Junction Spike, what an unexpected surprise. What brought the two of you up here?" Asked Luna.

"Sorry to disturb the two of you right now, but there had been a surprise attack on the station by the natives." Explained Steaming.

"Oh dear, that are dreadful news. We will send our guards down there right away." Said Luna.

"No need for that ma'am. We already fended them off. But we caught one of them as prisoner. He said the reason for their attack was to find the two of you, and to speak with you. We asked him what he wanted to talk about, but he said that he would only talk about it with you." Finished Steaming his explanation.

"I see. Well then, we have to reschedule our overview of the wedding preparations then. I'm sure Twilight will be alright if we let her work on her own a bit more." Said Celestia finally.

"Are you sure dear sister? You know what happened the last time..." Whispered Luna nervously.

"Well, I don't think she will do something like that again." She whispered back, before she turned to the two teenagers again.

"Where is that native right now?" Asked the princess.

"He is in the station masters office." Said Steaming, but couldn't even blink fast enough, as both he and Jacky, as well as Celestia and Luna were engulfed in a golden light, before disappearing from the mansions grounds.

"Uh, should we go after them as well?" Asked one of the guards.

"Of course we should!" Shouted another one, as the others all scrambled after the shout of their superior.

They reappeared outside of the station masters office, seeing that door was wide open, and that the native man was just putting the workman who stood guard outside of the room into said room, arms and legs tied up, with a cloth covering his mouth. He jumped a bit when the people appeared in the room, but quickly recovered and stood firmly in front of the princesses.

"It is good to finally have the chance to talk to you." Said the man, his firm look still on his face.

"We were told of what you had to do to finally have a chance to speak with us. We didn't want that all those losses would go in vain." Explained Luna.

"My tribe had more losses than you could imagine. We are cursed by a group of bandits, who continually attack us. We have lost many men through their hands, and women were robbed from our villages, never to be seen again. At first we thought they were part of your guards, they always attacked at night, and we never saw their clothes. But one night, they had set a tent on fire and we could see them." Explained the man.

"That is terrible! We only started to build in this region because of the alliance between the natives and us. That some people are deliberately trying to destroy this alliance is, is!" Started Luna.

"Disgraceful, disgusting and despicable!" Spat Steaming.

"Exactly!" Agreed Luna, thankful that Steaming had found the fitting words.

"I'm so sorry for your losses, Mr.?" Said Jacky, still not knowing the name of the native warrior.

"My name is Red Rock, strongest warrior of the buffalo tribe." Said the man.

"Didn't Twilight and her friends ran into a group of warriors of the buffalo tribe down in Appleoosa?" Pondered Luna out loud.

"Our tribe is very far reaching. We have family in all parts of the south of the land. Will you help us to stop these bandits?" Asked Rock.

"We will help you, I will ask the commanding officer of the guards here in Dodge Junction to go along with you and hunt these bandits down!" Exclaimed Luna with determination in her eyes.

"Thank you, but I will not go without the engineer." Said Red Rock, crossing his arms.

"Huh? Why?" Asked Jacky.

"He was the only man who ever beat me in a fight. And any man who can beat me has my respect, and my loyalty to him. I will follow him into fight, and I am sure that with his help, we will defeat the bandits." Said Red.

"Hm... alright. I will accept the offer. But you must promise me, that once we defeated the bandits, that you and your tribe will leave the railway alone. No attacks, no derailments, no blockades. Alright?" Asked Steaming, offering his hand.

The native man shook the hand, his facing cracking into a small smile.

"You have my word engineer." Said Red Rock, placing his hand over his heart.

"We have to be quick then. Let's get to the guards post right away, we don't have all day, and I've got an date at 6 tomorrow afternoon." Said Steaming, not noticing that Jacky's face went bright red, while the princesses exchanged a knowing smile.

"Don't rush too much youngster. Me and the rest of the group are already here." Came a gruff, old voice, as a elderly man, looking like he was in his mid 50s, dressed in full guards cavalry outfit, walked into the room, his beard as grey as his hair, with an cavalry hat on his head and an Coltchester rifle on his shoulder.

"Ah, Lieutenant Raton Pass! Good to see you again!" Beamed Luna.

"A pleasure to see you again, your Highnesses." Said Raton politely, as he turned to the native.

"I heard what you lot were talking about. The attack on Dodge Junction, the one where you surrounded the city for five days solid, you thought that we were those bandits, right?" Asked Raton.

"Haugh." Said the man, nodding his head, as Raton sighted.

"The town lost many good men over those days. I heard you lost many as well? Men and women alike?" Asked the Lieutenant again.

The native man only nodded this time.

"Then I will help you to send those rotten pieces of no good wimps to Tartarus!" Said Pass with an thundering voice, surprising the women in the room with his vocabulary.

"I forgot that he was also the man with the most curses in the guard." Whispered Luna to herself.

"Thank you Raton. Now, let us be quick, the longer we stand here, the more time these bandits have to cause even more havoc to Red Rock and his village." Said Steaming, as Raton only nodded, and the three men quickly moved outside of the room, leaving the women behind, who only looked at each other in confusion.

"I didn't thought that Raton would be so willing to help a native." Muttered Luna.

"He might be a rock, but he has a soft core. Especially if innocent people are involved." Smiled Celestia, as she noticed that Jacky had left as well.

"Seems like our duty here is done. How about we check on Twilight and make sure that she doesn't cause havoc with her organization fever?" Suggested the sun princess.

"Good idea. I hope the poor workmen who help there aren't tired out too much already." Sighted Luna, as the two of them disappeared in two flashes of gold and midnight blue.

When Jacky walked outside of the station building, she saw how a small group of six further guards, all wearing not matching kind of clothes, the only thing making them look like real guards were their cavalry hats. The group, consisting of four men and two women, were sitting on their horses, while Steaming, Red Rock and Raton Pass stood next to an brown stallion.

"My men probably took my horse together with the horses of the other fallen men back to our village. We have to go there first." Explained Rock.

"Alright, you'll ride with me till there then. Come on, let's get my horse." Smiled Steaming, as Jacky joined them.

"You have your own horse?" Asked Jacky, surprised.

"More or less. It's actually one of the horses that transports the goods from the station to the stores and factories further in the city, but I learned how to ride a horse with him, and whenever I go and make a delivery, he's my stallion of choice." Explained Steaming, as they walked inside the stables that were next to the station.

He walked up to one of the stables, in which a black stallion with an grey mane stood. The horse trotted up to the engineer when he saw him enter.

"Yeah yeah, it's good to see you too old pal. Sorry that I was gone for so long, but the road needed me over the past few weeks. But I'm back now, and we're going on a nice long trip. How's that sound?" Asked Steaming, as the horse snorted in reply.

"Hehe, now that's what I wanted to hear! Let's get you saddled up and we're ready to run Iron Horse!" Grinned Steaming, as the girl and native man looked at him with an confused look.

"Really? 'Iron Horse'?" Asked Jacky.

"What? It's a good name! Plus, it only suits him for being a railway owned horse!" Defended Steaming his decision.

"Alright, forget it. Now, which horse will I take?" Asked Jacky.

"Um, I don't think you will need one. The hotel is right across the station square, if you remember." Said Steaming puzzled.

"What do you mean? I thought I was coming with you?!" Asked Jacky.

"Jacky, did you ever ride on a horse, in the desert, while the sun is burning down on you with around 40*C as standard temperature? I'm dreadfully sorry, but I can't risk taking you out there. This one is something not even you could go through without an bad aftermath." Sighted Steaming, as Jacky wanted to say something, but was cut off by Red Rock.

"Engineer is right. Desert too dangerous, even for woman as tough as you." Said the man his eyes burning into the girl's own.

Jacky looked between the two men, before sighting, and walking outside again. After the two men had saddled up, they moved up to where Raton waited with his group.

"You two took your time." Commented one of the men, a thin build man with fuzzy black hair, brown shoes and washed out, blue coveralls.

"Ach, shut up Nitro! We need to get a move on! Los jetzt!" Grumbled the man next to him, a tall, broad man with bald head, and grey uniform of the army of the Germain Empire.

"You must excuse Nitro and Wartburg, they got into one of their fights again." Sighted a short woman with blond hair that reached down to her neck, wearing dark green work clothes, speaking in an Stalliongrad accent.

"No problem Katyusha, it's not like these two ever stop rambling about." Sighted Steaming, as he remembered that he had yet to introduce them to their native friend.

"Oh, I forgot to introduce you to our new ally. Everyone! This is Red Rock, the strongest warrior of the buffalo tribe! Red Rock, you already know Nitroglycerin, from Pontaly, Wartburg from the Germain Empire, and Katyusha from Stalliongrad." Started Steaming, as the two men kept on bickering, before being stopped via a slap to the back of their heads from Katyusha, who just waved at the man in reply.

"And over here we have Jacque Ka-boom from Prance, Blizzard Hale from the frozen north, and Path Finder, hailing from our own, here in Dodge Junction." Introduced Steaming, pointing at a short man with mustache and dynamite sticks across his torso, a woman with ice blue hair and eyes, and an medium sized man with friendly smile and messy brown hair respectively.

"Bonjour!" Grinned Jacque.

"Nice to meet you." Said Blizzard in an monotone voice, before turning to the others again.

"Pleasure to be fighting with you." Said Path politely.

"Better keep your chat for the way, we've got some low life scumbags out and about, and by the looks of it, they've been pretty naught for quite a while now! Let's help our native friends get rid of them once and for all!" Called Raton, and started off with his horse, before the others could reply.

"What a strange group of soldiers." Said Red.

"That's true, but once you really know them, they aren't that strange anymore." Answered the railway man in front of him, as they raced after them, trying to catch up with the others.

Jacky had been rushing through the yards towards Steamings and Emeralds Coach, and once there, didn't even stop to knock before going inside.

"Hey Jacky, what are you doing here? And where is Steaming?" Asked Emerald, as Jacky strolled inside of Steamings room.

"Get yourself some comfortable clothes and get to the stables." Answered Jacky, searching through Steamings drawers, searching for some clothes that might fit her, and being successful as she pulled out a pair of brown pants and a light blue shirt.

"What? Why?" Asked the man.

"Because Steaming has gone off with Raton and some of his soldiers, and we're going with them, if they like it or not!" Grumbled Jacky, as she took off her shirt, making Emerald blush deep red, and turned on his heels, making his way towards his room.

'Damn it Trinity, in what mess did you get yourself into this time?!' Thought Emerald, as he walked inside his room.

The group of 9 rode through the desert that surrounded the city, heading south towards the Macintosh mountains. It's was shortly after lunchtime when the group noticed a few blurry objects appear on the horizon, which turned into tents shortly afterwards. They finally reached Red Rocks village. They slowly made their way past the tents along the main 'road' towards the biggest tent, which Red Rock said was the Chiefs tent. They stopped in front of it and got off their horses backs, when main of the villages inhabitants came up to them after they saw that Red Rock was with them.

"My friends! These seven have come to help us defeat the bandits who cursed our village!" Explained the warrior, as the people of the village said their thanks to the seven, and offered them to take care of their horses, and to give them something to eat. When they were eating, Red Rock called for Steaming and Raton to come to the Chiefs tent.

"You wanted to speak with us?" Asked Steaming, as they walked inside the tent.

"Haugh. This is my Chief, Desert Fox. Desert Fox, these are the Engineer and the Lieutenant." Introduced Red Rock.

"We commonly go by the names of Steaming Whistle and Raton Pass. But, mind me asking, why did you call us here?" Asked Steaming.

"It's about my son, Little Snake. He disappeared a few days ago, and we don't know where he went. We suspected that the bandits captured him, and took him to their hideout." Explained the chief in clear equestrian, surprising both Steaming and Raton.

"Why would they abduct one of you? How old is he?" Asked Steaming.

"He's 10 years old. Many of our young children were abducted by them, to work in their mines."

"Mines? What mines?" Asked Raton.

"Diamond mines. They took the younger ones to work in there, while they take older to pull the carts."

"Hm, using forced labor to mine their money up. Disgusting. Don't worry Chief Desert Fox, we will get your children back, and the other people as well!" Declared Raton, while Steaming nodded in agreement.

"Thank you my friends. The bandits always come from the south, out of the great bison hills. We tried to attack them once, but we only suffered high losses that day." Said the chief.

"Don't worry chief Fox! We'll make them pay for what they did to you and your village, and will bring back the abducted people! I'll go and tell the others, we'll leave as soon as possible!" Said Steaming, and rushed outside of the tent, with Red Rock following him.

"Say, Chief Fox, where did you learn to speak our language that well?" Asked Raton.

"Once, long ago, three people, two men and a woman came her, to negotiate with us. They were workers of the iron horse, and wanted to make peace with us. Over the time they were here, the lone man fell in love with Cactus Flower, and after a while, he stayed with us and married her. He taught us how to speak your language, and what you were doing with the iron horse. He was captured by the bandits a long time ago" Explained the chief.

"What was his name?"

"Lucky Strike."

They saddled their horses again, and after getting some supplies from the people of the village (mostly food and water) they made their way further south, the hills continuing to grow as they rode into the direction. Red Rock was leading them, riding on a large, brown stallion. They soon reached the mountains, and started to climb into them via a small path. They had been riding throughout the day, and slowly, the sun began to disappear behind the horizon to their right. They soon reached a small plateau, where Raton made them stop.

"We're going to camp here, and continue up in the morning! Ka-Boom, you and Nitro set up the intruder alarm. We'll make shifts in guarding the camp, Wartburg, you're up first! The others, make sure that the horses are alright and that the tents are set up correctly! I will go and search for some firewood." Ordered the Lieutenant.

"Oui oui, mon general." Answered Jacque.

"Geht Klar Chef." Grumbled Wartburg.

"Roger sir." Said the rest, as they all got to work.

The darkness soon settled down around them, but they already had the fire going and the tents set up. They all sat around the warming fire, eating some of the food they got from the villagers, when Red Rock started to speak.

"Mind if I ask a question?"

"You already did, but carry on." Smirked Path Finder, as the others facepalmed.

"How come you all are together? You don't look like you are from the military, most of you."

"We're a colorful bunch, you see. Nitro was a miner in Pontaly, until he had to escape when he blew up the whole mineshaft! He was lucky nobody was in there at the time! Durning his escape, he fled to Stalliongrad, where he met Katyusha. She was working there in a factory, gave him a job, but the poor fool destroyed some of the machines there when he tried to fix them, and both of them were fired. They moved east, but lost their way, and moved blindly through a snowstorm in Foalland. It was there when they met Blizzard, who picked them up when she noticed the two of them half buried in the snow when the fainted due to exhaustion. When they explained that they were job- and homeless, she explained that they could accompany her to the next town, where a ship could bring them to the Germain Empire. They did, but when they were in the town, they were charged for being involved in the derailing of an goods train. We still don't know why the people thought they were involved with it, but they escaped them, all three of them getting on board of the ship to the Germain Empire in the last second. Once they arrived in Mareburg, they met Wartburg, who was fighting in the empire's military. He explained that he was going to fight in the war between his country and Prance, and asked them to accompany him in his train till the border, where they would be likely find work in some part of the military. They did, working supply deliveries, hospital movements and whatever not. It was also there when they met Jacque, who was a prisoner of war back then. He escaped though, and stole some dynamite out of the military camp he was held prisoner in. He was found by the others, but they were caught by some passing guards who thought they were all traitors, and told their generals what they thought was sabotage and high treason towards their land. They were going to be executed, when the Prance attacked their camp. In the hustle and bustle, they all escaped, and fled to Le Havre, where they stowed away on board of an goods steamer, which brought them over here to Equestria." Explained the Lieutenant, as they all smiled at the story, a wave of nostalgia washing over them.

"When we arrived, we were without a job, a home or a place to go. That was until we met young Path Finder here. He said that they needed workers on some railway project down here, so we signed up and started working here. After the first few native attacks, the guys from the guards noticed that we could pick up a fight; we were usually the ones who were on patrol around the railheads, and after a few times when we're fighting together, the old desert rock suggested that we come with him and try our luck in the guard. And the rest I think you can figure out for yourself." Chuckled Nitro, finishing the story.

"Interesting..." Muttered Red Rock.

"What?"

"That people who couldn't be more different would work together so well." Explained the man.

"Well, we went through so much over the time, it kind of sewed us together." Smiled Katyusha, as they her a low whistling from the rocks, on which Wartburg had set up his observation platform.

"Two riders, heading their way up here. Doesn't looks like they are after us, they're way too slow for that." Whispered the Germain man.

"Okay, we'll take them alive. They might be from the bandits, and could tell us a bit about them. Someone, put the fire out, the others, get behind those rocks and take cover. Once they pass you, get them down from the horses." Ordered Raton, as Blizzard quickly put the fire out, and the others got behind the surrounding rocks.

They waited a good five minutes, till the sound of hooves clopping on the ground was heard. A few moments later, a voice could be heard.

"They can't be far now." Said a voice, deep but calm, and strangely familiar.

"You said that for the last 15 minutes now. Are you sure this is the right way?" Asked the second person, the voice sounding much higher and more feminine, and just as familiar as the first one.

"As sure as I can ever be. You saw the smoke line didn't you? I bet it was the fire from where they set up their camp." Said the first voice again, sending shivers down the spines of the group of nine.

"So they are after us after all..." Whispered Raton.

"Well, if they searched for us, then better give them a nice 'hello', right?" Smirked Steaming, as Raton gave him a smirk of the same size, and turned to the others at the other rock, nodding to them.

The two riders slowly passed the rocks, but once they were halfway past them-

"Bring them down!" Ordered Raton, as Steaming and Wartburg pulled the two persons from their horses backs, while the others took care of the animals, making sure that they wouldn't fall down the ledge.

Steaming had an easy game with his opponent, who was more than half a head smaller than him, as well as much lighter build. The person struggled underneath him, but couldn't get out of Steamings iron grip. Wartburg had a bit more difficulties, but after getting some help from Nitro and Jacque, they managed to restrain the man via a strong rope. Nitro casted a small flame via his magic, and lit some of the petroleum lamps that they had carried with them, so that they could get a look at the small 'search party'. Once they saw who it actually was, Steaming couldn't help himself and facepalmed. Hard.

"Jacky. Emerald. WHAT IN THE NAME OF JUPITER AND 119 ARE YOU DOING HERE?!" Shouted the engineer, only to get seven hands over his mouth, successfully blocking every further shout that wanted to exit the enraged railway mans throat.

"Do you want to let half Equestria know that we are here?!" Hissed Wartburg with an enraged expression, as Steaming just death panned at him as they took their hands away from his mouth.

"Actually, I tried to let the whole of Equestria know, but you stopped me." Answered Steaming sarcastically, before turning back to his crush and childhood friend, getting his pocket knife out to cut open the rope.

"So, back to the elephant in the room: why in Tartarus did you two follow us? Didn't I told you that you should stay in Dodge?" Growled Steaming, his temper now at a more controllable level.

"Sorry bro, she kinda dragged me along." Said Emerald.

"You don't get rid of me so easy Steaming. You won't leave me behind that easily a second time." Said Jacky with an smug smirk.

'Whoa, never thought she could be so stubborn. Must admit though, that look and those clothes on her are quite sexy... Hold your horsepower! Focus you lovesick nitwit!' Thought Steaming to himself, shaking his head slightly and pulling out his pocket watch, before sighting.

"It's way too late to send you back right now... Okay, listen. You two will stay with us tonight, but tomorrow, you will ride with Red Rock down to the village again, and wait till we return. No buts, no excuses, got it?" Said the engineer with an stern glare.

"Fine with me." Shrugged Emerald.

Jacky stayed silent.

"I'll take that as a yes. Red Rock, can I trust you to make sure that they will reach the village safely?" Asked Steaming.

"Haugh. But are you sure you'll be alright? Eight against a whole bandit group?" Asked Red Rock.

"He's right you know. Maybe I should sta-"

"No Emerald, Red Rock! I can't and won't allow you two to take such risks. Don't worry, these seven here are the most capable fighters in these parts of Equestria, and I didn't fall and hit my head when I was smaller neither. We'll find a way to stop these bandits, and will be back, before you can say 'Cannonball Express'!" Said Steaming firmly, but with an small chuckle at his little joke.

"I trust you, engineer. I will make sure they will be safe in our village." Said the native man with a firm expression.

"Thank you my friend." Smiled Steaming, as he took another look at his watch.

"We should get some sleep. We need to get up early tomorrow, ALL of us." Said Raton behind him, as he gave a small glance towards the railway man's watch.

"Wartburg, you can get some rest now. Blizzard, you're up." Continued Raton, as they all went to their tents.

They all settled into their tents, with some of them needing to squeeze together in their tents, since neither Jacky nor Emerald had a tent with them. Unfortunately for Steaming, Emerald somehow convinced the others that he and Jacky should share a tent. Of course, Steaming tried to find an excuse for Jacky to sleep in somebody else's tent, but they were either sharing it with somebody else already, or would need to keep the spot free for the lookout post. In the end, Steaming sighted and agreed that Jacky would spend the night in his tent, but he already started to think about a way to pay Emerald back for this, one way or another. He pulled out a second blanket that he put next to his, using it as a makeshift bed for Jacky, and fell onto his own blanket, pushing his hat over his eyes. Jacky came into the tent a few moments later after she heard the soft thud of Steamings body landing on his 'bed'. She shook her head lightly as she went next to him, and laid herself down on her resting place for the night.

"Steaming?" She asked, but the man kept silent, as if he was already sleeping.

"I know you're mad at me, and don't think I wouldn't notice only because you pretend to sleep!" Grumbled Jacky, as the engineer lifted his body from the ground, turning his head towards the girl.

"I'm mad? Oh no, I'm not mad. I'm furious!" Barked the engineer, startling the girl.

"Jacky, I can't be around you all the time out here, nor can I make fully sure you are completely safe. And right now, that is my main concern. I can't help the people if I watch out for you."

"Steaming, I'm not 8 years old anymore. I can watch out for myself. You don't have to keep looking out for me all the time." Smiled Jacky softly.

"But I do."

"Why?"

"Because I promised you. Remember? I promised you that I would be there for you. I would protect you, and I don't break my promises." Answered Steaming with an sad smile.

"That's stupid." Chuckled Jacky.

"For many it is, but for me, it's a golden rule. And as engineer, I keep to my rules." Chuckled Steaming, as they both got silent once more.

They kept sitting opposite of each other, the moon shining through the thin fabric of the tent, giving the both of them a somewhat mysterious look.

'Damn it! Why does she looks so damn cute?!' Huffed Steaming in his mind, a light shade of red on his cheeks.

'Why does he looks so damn handsome?!' Jacky sighted in her thoughts.

'Why am I so damn scared of telling him/her my feelings?!' They both grumbled to themselves, as they both sighted.

"Come on, we need to get some sleep. Riding whilst sleeping is something only Trinity can pull of." Said Steaming with an small smile, as he laid himself down again, Jacky following suit. But shortly after they closed their eyes, a small breeze began to flow through the pass, and through the small camp. The others didn't mind that much, since they all had a blanket to keep themselves covered from the wind. Steaming and Jacky weren't so lucky though. They shivered as the winds ran through their tent.

"Bloody desert temperature drops..." Grumbled Steaming, trying to keep himself occupied with curses to ignore the cold.

"Don't you have another blanket?" Jacky asked.

"Yes. You are sleeping on it." Grumbled the railway man.

"Ohh..." Said Jacky in realization.

"Ugh, it's going to be a cold, long night Jacky." Huffed Steaming.

"You know we could keep each other warm if we would, you know, cuddle, or, something.. like.. that..." Said Jacky, but loosing her confidence when Steaming turned towards her with an bright blush on his face.

"Uhh... Y-yeah. W-we, could do that..." Stuttered Steaming, his blush growing even further.

They slowly scooted towards each other, and Steaming pulled an arm over the girl, as both of them were glowing bright red now. Their faces were directly in front of each other, but both of them tried to avoid making eye contact with the other, as to not make the whole situation get even more embarrassing.

'If Emerald ever finds out about this, I will never be able to live this one down! Oh god, she is just so cute! And she smells so good! Hm, either that or all the time in the yards made me react to every change from the smell of coal and oil like this... Nope, it wasn't like that in the castle, it must be her.' The engineer thought.

'Oh dear Celestia, why did he put his arm around me? Did he notice that I have feelings for him? Or does he have feelings for me? Oh dear, why did I even suggest to cuddle with him?! Of course he thinks I have feelings for him now!' Panicked Jacky in her thoughts, but stayed cool on the outside. Their eyes suddenly met each other, as they stared at each other, neither of them thinking any further, loosing themselves in each other's eyes. Unconsciously, their heads slowly moved towards each other, their eyes never loosing each other. Their heads connected, their lips only a few centimeters apart from each other, their eyes slowly closing, as they still moved towards each other.

"Hey Steaming, you're up." Said Blizzard in her usual, monotone voice, not paying any attention to what was going on inside the tent, as she made her way up to her own.

Neither of them had noticed how quickly the time passed, as they quickly snapped out of it, Steaming shooting upwards, scrambling out of the tent, while both he and Jacky were glowing bright red.

'By the Manehatten Flyer, I nearly.. nearly.. I nearly kissed Jacky! Damn it Blizzard! Why did you have to finish your shift now?!' Growled the railway man with a grumble, upset that his chance went flying through the window, as he walked up to the lookout point.

Jacky had similar thoughts, cursing that she was so close at finally kissing Steaming, and sighting sadly, closing her eyes again, the cold wind now not bothering her that much anymore.

Steamings shift went past quickly, without anything happening. Steaming was happy that the wind had kept on going, since he would've otherwise fallen asleep on the spot. He passed Nitro's tent on his way back, waking him, and notifying him that he was next in line to keep a lookout for them. He slumped back towards his tent, and was relieved to see that Jacky had gotten to sleep after all. But even though she was sleeping, he saw that she was still freezing, her body shaking slightly, and her face pulled into a slight frown. The engineer sighted, and laid himself next to the girl, leaning over and pulling her close to him. Jacky immediately stopped shaking, and the frown on her face was replaced by a small smile. Steaming sighted, smiling as well.

"Sweet dreams, my lady." Murmured Steaming, as he felt Jacky cuddle against him even more than he did.

"Steaming! Steaming wake up!" Urged a voice.

"Shut up Em! Tell Westing I'm sick or something..." Muttered Steaming, before falling asleep again.

"Steaming! Come on, wake up bro! Jacky's gone!" Said Emerald with a panicked voice.

With a speed that not even Emerald knew of, Steaming raced out of the tent, his eyes darting around their campsite, worried and scared about the whereabouts of his crush.

"Her horse is missing. I guess she went further up the mountains." Said Path Finder, looking at the freshly made hoof prints that went further along the mountain trail.

Before anyone could say a thing however, Steaming was already in the saddle of his horse, giving him the Spurs as they raced after the girl.

"Well, looks like we know where we are going next. Let's catch up with him, before he's too far away!" Said Raton, quickly taking his tent apart, as the others did the same.

Iron Horse was racing up the mountain path, as they were slowly catching up to Jacky. They rounded a bent, and saw another horse further up the path. When they got close enough, they could see that it was a horse that was owned by the railway.

"You were with Jacky, huh? But where is that girl?" Huffed Steaming, as he looked around.

He couldn't see anything where she could've hide behind, and the more he looked, the more concerned he got that something might've happened to her. He honestly hoped it wasn't that case, but his hopes were crushed when he noticed something on the side of the path. He quickly picked it up, only to notice that it was the drawing of Jacky which he gave her yesterday.

"Oh dear Celestia..." Murmured Steaming, shocked. He quickly moved his arm to his back, wanting to grab his rifle, only to notice that it was missing.

"Drat! Of course, left the damn thing in the camp." Growled Steaming, as he pulled out his revolver, happy that he would always keep the gun on his belt, or at least close to his body. He quickly checked the drum, seeing that it was completely full. After checking how many bullets he had left on his belt, a grand amount of 18 bullets for his revolver, he grabbed his notebook from the inside of his pocket, ripping a page out of it, and quickly scribbling something on it. After tying Iron Horse and the other horse to a tree truck, and leaving the message in plain sight attached to the saddle, the railway man quickly made his way up the mountain path, his gun at the ready for the moment he would encounter the first of the bandits. He slowly walked along the path, but slowed down even more when he came closer to an narrow passage.

'Perfect place for a holdup. Better find a way around it...' Thought the engineer, as he moved off the trail, and around the side of the steep hills. When the hill became less steep, her started to climb up. After a few minutes, and a small parade of curses because of cutting his hands on the sharp ledges, he reached the top. Thankfully, there were no bandits whatsoever. He quickly moved further along the top of the hill, looking down the other side. The following part had a small dip, before raising back up again. The trail curved off in the dip, but he wouldn't need to follow it anymore. He found what he had searched. On the other side of the dip was a small assemble of tents and makeshift wooden houses. Behind the camp was a large cliff face, with many holes leading in and out of it. He pulled out a pair of binoculars, and looked closer at the camp. He could see many people walking or sitting around, spending their time drinking, fighting, or shooting at Celestia knows what. He scanned the houses, trying to find answers to where the abducted natives were. His eyes landed on a small hut, out of which a bandit just came, holding his hand underneath his arm, with his jacket reddening.

'Hehe, looks like they keep her in there. Too bad for you pricks, she's a fighter.' Smirked Steaming, scanning the camp further. His eyes finally fell on a small patch of high grass, that was to the right of the camp.

'Hm, must find a way to distract them...' Pondered Steaming, as he looked around. On his side of the valley, was a small wood pile, to the right of a small forest.

'Must be leftovers from these pricks. Let's see, where are my matches...' Grumbled the railway man, as he grabbed into his pocket, pulling out his matches, lifting one and throwing it down towards the log pile. He smirked when he saw a small patch of smoke rising from it, followed by a slowly growing flame. He walked quickly to the side of the hill, and climbed down on the side of the bandits camp. He slowly walked through the valley, keeping his eyes on the camp, making sure that he wouldn't be seen. Thankfully, the bandits went along with his little trick, as a small group came out of the bandits camp, heading towards the place where he made the fire. He quickly sneaked up to the high grass, and slowly marched through it, until he could see the first house rising in front of home. He went to the edge of his hiding place, and quickly made his way behind the house. Sneaking along its backside to the other side, he could her people talk inside the house.

"What do we do with the one we grabbed today? She doesn't looks like she can carry that much, and she's too big for the tunnels deeper in the mines."

"Meh, give her to the men. Let them have their fun with her. We haven't got a cutie like her in a long time."

"Hehe, alright boss." Said the first one with a sick laugh.

Steaming was frozen in panic. But that quickly left his body when he heard the door of the house close with a bang. He quickly sneaked along the tents and behind small shacks, trying to reach the house where he suspected Jacky to be in. He reached it, but his heart fell when he heard a yelp from inside it. He could only watch as Jacky was pulled out of the shack by her hair, the man sneering with an disgusting smirk.

"Come on girl, the boys want to meet you." Chuckled the man.

"To tartarus you don't!" Came the thunderous shout, as Steaming came out of his hiding place, quickly taking aim and pulling the trigger.

The man fell to the ground, his right eye replaced with an hole, as Jacky wasted no time to get to Steaming. The railway man, hugged her tightly.

"Don't you ever run away like this again, do you hear?" He whispered.

"Loud and clear." Whispered the girl.

Their moment was cut short however, when they could hear the sound of loud steps, coming closer.

"They're coming, and I doubt I have enough time or bullets with me to take them all out." Frowned Steaming, eyes darting around, searching for something where they could hide in.

His eyes fell on one of the 'mineshafts'. He wasted no time, and dragged Jacky towards the hole, quickly disappearing into it, but not fast enough, since the first few bandits got a view of Jacky, before she completely disappeared from their view.

"She ran into the mines! And she killed Joe!" Shouted one of the bandits.

"That bitch will pay! Go inside, catch her and bring her back. She'll get what is coming for her." Said the leader of the bandits, as some of his men ran inside, the rest staying outside to guard the tunnel exits in case she'd run out again.

The two teenagers ran quickly through the mineshaft, until they reached a large cave. It was very large, with many people working with primitive tools, digging out the diamonds out of the hill, and loading them into small mine carts, to transport them to Celestia knows where.

"Wow, whoever these guys are, they surely didn't start recently with this shit. They even build a rail network down here!" Whistled Steaming, impressed by the size of the mine.

"Steaming, concentrate! We need to get out of here, before those guys catch up to us!" Said Jacky.

"You're right, sorry." Said Steaming, getting back to reality, and rushing down from their overview point, to the bottom of the cave. Once they were down however, they were spotted by some of the people working close by. They could easily see that they were natives, even though the cave had only a few petroleum lamps around and lit.

"Who are you? Did they capture you as well?" Asked a man, wielding a pickaxe.

"Nope, we're here to get you out. We are from Dodge Junction, Red Rock asked the princesses to help him get you out." Explained Steaming.

"Where is Red Rock then?" Asked a woman, suspicious in her voice.

"He's with the rest of the group, they will catch up soon. But we need your help, we can't fend them off ourselves, we only have one revolver right now. You need to hold them off, and in the best case, disarm them." Continued the railway man.

"Are you crazy?! They have guns! Many guns! They will kill us!" Exclaimed a man further at the back.

"They won't if we stop them first! Please, we need your help, or we won't get out of this shaft alive!" Pleaded Steaming, looking at the men and women that had grouped around him. A man in torn, old clothes, that were covered in dirt and grime, looked at the engineer intensively, before something made click in his mind.

"I will help you." He said firmly, stepping up to them, surprising many of the native people.

"Anybody else?" Asked Steaming.

"If whiteface joins you, then so will I!" Said another man, pulling his shovel up. 

"I will help you as well!" Said a woman.

"Me too!"

"I'll help!"

"We will help you, railway man." Said the man with the pickaxe, holding out his hand, as Steaming shook it.

"Thank you. Now, get to the entries and hold your tools at the ready. As soon as they get inside, hit them with full force!" Said Steaming, as he got to one of the mine carts, pushing it in front of the main entry, using it as a moveable bullet protection.

He pulled Jacky next to him, as he leaned past the cart, his gun at the ready. They could already hear the hard steps, that grew louder and louder as the bandits got closer. Steaming pulled the hammer of the gun back, closing one eye, making sure he would hit his target. The tension was thick in the cave, but it all went over the top when the first bandits came through the entries. Steaming shot. The natives swung their axes and shovels. The bandits broke down onto the ground, blood spraying out of their bodies. The bandits were surprised, but started to fight back. Some of the natives were shot, but the others quickly disarmed the bandits, either destroying their guns, or throwing them somewhere into the cave. A bloody fight resulted, with the natives fighting for their freedom. Some of the bandits got through the natives at the entries, and made their way towards Steaming and Jacky. Steaming started to take them down, but his gun quickly ran out of bullets. He pulled out six rounds and gave the gun and the bullets Jacky.

"Defend yourself! I keep them at bay!" Shouted Steaming, as he jumped up from his hiding place, charging at the bandits that were still standing.

Steaming quickly started to punch faces and kick into the stomachs, knocking them to the ground or making them curl up in pain with their hands over their stomachs. Some of them got up again and tried to hit Steaming, but he kept on hitting them, with them only brushing past him every time they tried to give him a punch. One who got behind him, tried to take him down via hitting him in the back with the grip of an axe, but Steaming just stiffened for a second, before turning around and giving him a strong right hook, lifting him from his feet, and throwing him into the mine cart. The cart moved slightly forward, giving the engineer an idea. He grabbed the next one, giving him the same punch, sending him flying into the cart as well. He grabbed the next one, repeating the action again and again, until there were no more bandits outside of the cart. He ran towards the cart, ramming against it, starting to push it forwards. However, he couldn't get it up to speed that quickly, and didn't noticed how one of the men inside the mine cart stood up, a knife in his hands. He looked up for a split second, shocked at seeing the bandit standing. His first thought was to grab his revolver, only to notice that it wasn't on his belt anymore. The man with the knife moved quickly, swinging his knife down towards the engineer, as a shot rang out, and the man tumbled onto the ground, a hole in his upper torso. Steaming looked behind him, seeing Jacky rushing towards him, starting to push the cart with him.

"Thanks for having my back." Huffed Steaming.

"No problem." Huffed Jacky in reply, the cart wearing down on her arms.

With an almighty effort of both of them, they pushed the cart away, seeing it disappear behind a curve, along the underground line.

"And now to get those buggers outside." Smirked Steaming, as he saw that the natives had successfully taken out the bandits, either knocking them out or killing them, already following Steamings lead, and throwing them into the mine carts as well.

As soon as they had loaded all of the bandits onto the carts and sent them on their way, they started to walk through the tunnels back to the exits. Steaming walked at the front, together with Jacky, as the man who joined them at first walked up to them.

"Thank you for coming to our aid." Said the man.

"No problem. If anything, we should thank you. You made them join in as well." Said Steaming, shaking the hand of the man.

"Well, I knew I could trust you. You are a railway man. And we railway men always say the truth." Smiled the man.

"Huh? You worked for the railways as well?" Asked Steaming, surprised.

"Why, yes I did. I helped calm the situation between the natives and the railways down when they laid the rails down here the first time." Grinned the man, as a wave of nostalgia hit him.

"How interesting. My name's Steaming Whistle, I work as engineer down in Dodge." Smiled Steaming, as the man stopped.

"Steaming? As in, Steaming Funnel?"

The young engineer stopped dead in his tracks at the mention of his father.

"Y-you knew him?" Asked Steaming in a whisper.

"I'm Lucky Strike! Funnel, his wife and myself worked the things out for the railways! I never thought you are their son!" Laughed Lucky, as Steamings eyes grew wide. After all this time of searching for him, he finally found him.

"Do you know where they are?! My parents, I mean?" Quizzed Steaming, his excitement barely containable.

"They had sent me some letters when I was in still living in Dodge. I have them in my tent at the village. Their address should be on them." Said the man, a bit confused at the question.

They quickened their pace, as Steaming wanted to get back to the village as quickly as he could. Once they were outside, they were confused by the lack of bandits, but their confusion went away when lieutenant Pass walked up with Red Rock.

"Couldn't wait to get the party started, aye Whistle?" Asked Raton with a chuckle.

"Nope, but after they brought Jacky here, I thought I should check out if this place was suited for a lady such as herself." Smirked Steaming with an Royal accent, while Jacky blushed a deep red, pushing the engineer away.

"What did you do with the bandits?" Asked the girl, trying to move their conversation into another direction.

"Talked with them a bit, asked them questions, hanged them for kidnapping, rape and murder." Shrugged the lieutenant, making Jacky gasp.

"Relax, he's joking." Chuckled Steaming, as Jacky breathed a sight of relief.

"We found a small wagon over at their stables. We can use it to bring these people here home." Suggested Jacque, as he walked up to them.

"Good work Ka-boom. Alright then, let's get going. I'd like to have dinner in my home today." Called Raton, as they all got into motion again, Steaming walking besides Raton, as Jacky was occupied by some of the native children.

"... You were joking, right?" Whispered Steaming, a bit nervous.

"We hang their leader. The rest we sent packing, warning them to never come back, or they would follow him." Whispered the lieutenant back.

"Don't worry, we buried him a bit further away, so that the kids wouldn't see him." Continued Raton, when he saw how Steaming eyed Jacky nervously.

The railway man breathed a sight of relief as they reached the stables, where they moved Iron Horse and Raton's horse, called Mountain Rock, in front of it. Left in the stable was another horse, probably the one of the leader of the bandits.

"What do we do with him?" Asked Steaming.

"Let him free of course! He's no longer a owned horse after all." Said Raton, swinging himself onto the wagon.

Steaming went inside the stables, bringing the horse out, and patted him softly on the flank.

"Go on pal. Your free to go." Said the engineer softly, as he horse started to trot away. When it walked away, he could see the picture of a dog on its flank.

"Strange mark." Huffed Steaming, swinging himself next to Raton, whilst the natives went inside the wagon.

"Well, they called themselves the Diamond Dogs, so I'd say it fits those crazy nitwits pretty well." Said Raton, as Wartburg came up to them on his horse.

"Their all on board." Said the Germain man shortly.

"Alright then! HEYYA!" Shouted Steaming, making the horses move, as the cavalcade slowly left the bandit camp, leaving nothing more behind than a few small tents, a few rotten old houses, and a shallow grave...

They slowly made their way back, since the cart couldn't take high speeds anymore. It was well into lunchtime when they could finally see the outskirts of the buffalo tribe village. The people of the village flocked to where the wagon stopped, crying tears of joy when they finally hugged their husband, wife, child, brother, sister or whatever again. Chief Desert Fox walked up to Steaming, a small boy with messy blonde hair, and a headband with two feathers in it, following him.

"I thank you, engineer. I thank all of you, for bringing our lost children and family members back! We would like to make you members of our tribe, if you accept." Said the chief.

"Hm, why not? Would be something if I could say to a girl that I'm a member of an Indian tribe." Chuckled Wartburg, cracking a small smile, as the others just shook their head with a smile.

"We would be honored, chief Fox." Said Raton.

And so, they were all accepted into the buffalo tribe. A large buffet was made for the new members of the tribe, from which Steaming and Lucky excused themselves, making their way to Lucky's tent. Once inside, the man walked to an old chest, opening it, and pulling some old papers out.

"Here, these letters were written by your parents to me when I was still in Dodge Junction." Said Lucky, as he gave Steaming the letter.

The younger man started reading the letter, hoping to find anything useful.

Hello Lucky!

Just writing you to see if there is anything new down in Dodge Junction. Hope your relationship with that buffalo tribe girl doesn't stops you from doing your duty on the rails! Head Light and I have gotten used to take over the Cannonball Express to Manehatten now. We got one of those new 4-6-0s, number 382, she's a real beauty, and runs like a goddess! Hope you can visit us up here one of these days. I'm thinking about settling down here. We heard there is a small house, just outside the town, which is empty as of now. I had a look at it when I took a stopping passenger up to Canterlot, it isn't that far from the main line. It really looks like a good place to live. I bet Whistle will love it here. Maybe you can visit us three one of these days up here?

Your old friend and partner,

Steaming Funnel

Steaming was staring at the letter, not sure how to react to it. He finally had a lead as to where his parents were, but he couldn't help but feel a bit hurt. His parents knew where he was. They could've picked him up and brought him out of the hell that was the orphanage. But why didn't they? Why did they left him there? He was shaken out of his thoughts by Lucky, who was snapping his fingers in front of his face.

"You still there Whistle?" Asked Strike with an chuckle.

"Oh, yeah, yeah. Spaced out a bit. Thank you Lucky. I finally found a trace as to where my parents could be." Smiled Steaming gratefully.

"No problem. After all, you rescued me and the members of my- ...our tribe out of these bandits. I'll be forever in your debt." Said the former railway man.

Steaming smiled, but was called outside by Emerald, saying that they had to go. He waved his goodbye to Lucky, and walk outside again.

They all got onto their horses again, and stood ready to move.

"Once again, I thank you all for helping us." Said Desert Fox, as he and many of the village members stood next to them.

"It was our pleasure, Chief Fox. And if you shall ever have problems with those bandits again, we will help you in every way we can." Said lieutenant Raton, as they started to ride back into the direction of Dodge Junction, waving to their friends one last time.

It was shortly after 3 in the afternoon, when the group of 10 reached the outskirts of Dodge Junction. When they reached the guards post, the 7 guards of Dodge Junction parted ways from their three friends, while they kept going towards the station. Once they were there, they brought the horses to the stables, where some of the station workers took care of their horses.

"Boy oh boy, am I glad to be home!" Smiled Emerald, as he stood in front of the wooden station building of Dodge Junction.

"That makes two of us lad." Chuckled Steaming, as he took in the familiar hustle and bustle of the station square, before turning to Jacky.

"Well then miss Spike, we shall meet again later on at the wedding." Said Steaming in his bad Royal accent, bowing deeply in front of Jacky, making her blush.

"D-do you have to do that?" She stuttered.

"Of course. You look cute when you're embarrassed." Smirked Steaming, trying to hide the fact that he was partly embarrassed as well, but couldn't hide the small hint of red on his cheeks, whilst Jackys own pair burned red in embarrassment.

They would've kept going, if the two of them weren't called inside the station by the station master at that moment. Steaming kissed the back of Jackys hand, before both of them walked into the station building.

"I still can't understand how you did it." Chuckled Emerald.

"What?"

"How you made one of the biggest beauties in Canterlot fall for a third class steam locomotive engineer like yourself." Answered Emerald with an Cheshire Cat grin, before behind hit in the shoulder by Steamings fist.

"Probably because I'm respectful towards others, and know when to shut my trap, opposed to other people..." Retorted Steaming with an smug smile, before entering the station masters office.

"Good thing you two are here! I just got a call from mine no.3. They said a hopper melted his bearings, and derailed up there. It's now blocking the rear half of its coal train up there. I said I would send someone with a breakdown train up there and take the rear part down here. You'll take the relief engine up, berth 23." Said  the station master hastily.

"Wow, wow, wow! We ain't even on duty today! And I have an important da-, erm, invitation that I cannot miss!" Argued Steaming.

"The next crew that would be available won't come in for another two hours, and we need those coal trucks for the outgoing trains!" Retorted the station master.

In the end, they had no choice but to comply with the order, and went out to get the engine out of berth 23. Steaming took a little detour however, going to his and Emeralds home, to pick up his suit. He would be changing in the station and go directly to the wedding, to make sure he was on time. When they saw what kind of engine it was, they groaned in disbelief.

"Who in their right mind would send a bloody 'larger Ponystone' as a relief?! Those things aren't capable of pulling goods trains anymore! They are an 1850s design for crying out loud!" Growled Emerald, as he and Steaming climbed aboard the engine.

"Let's just get this over with, shall we?" Asked Steaming, as he started to move the engine outside.

They grabbed the breakdown train and quickly brought it up to coal mine no.3. Once there, they could see the trouble. The hopper had run clean off the rails, leaning slightly to the right, with a small part of its load outside on the ground.

"Welp, looks like that one's ready for reconstruction. All we can do is to lift it off the tracks where it is and leave it there till we can bring it to the yards." Huffed Steaming, as he brought the crane into place. After 15 minutes, the crane had moved the hopper of the track, and Steaming had coupled the engine to the rest of the train, a string of 25 coal hoppers, with an caboose at the back. Steaming climbed back inside, looking at the pressure gauge and the brake gauges. He frowned a little when he saw the needle inside the brake gauge shivering up and down. He tapped the gauge a few times, before the shivering stopped.

"We need to check those brakes once we are in Dodge. The gauge is giving off some strange signals." Said Steaming, as the guard blew his whistle.

"Maybe just the vibration of the engine? The older engineers say that you have a wobbly body after riding these girls too often." Suggested Emerald, as the train started to move.

The coal mine was build halfway up a mountain, around 20 miles away from Dodge Junction. The train slowly started to go down the mountain, and Steaming closed the regulator, keeping a firm lock on the brakes. The needle of the speed gauge slowly crept into the 40s, when the engineer started to apply the brakes. However, the speed kept on rising, now going past 50.

"Steaming, the section is limited to 45. Slow us down, before wreck this thing." Said Emerald playfully, not noticing the grave situation they were in.

Steaming pulled the brakes hard on, but still, nothing happened. He blinked, looking at the brake gauges, before tapping them again, seeing that indeed nothing had changed.

"Em, I don't think we need to check the brakes in Dodge anymore. I think I found the problem." Said Steaming nervously.

"Steaming... Please say that the brakes didn't fail." Gulped Emerald, his pupils shrinking to small dots.

"Afraid so. What do you suggest?" Asked Steaming, with false calmness. He was freaking out inside.

"I'd say whistling and screaming our hearts out." Answered Emerald.

"Good idea." Said Steaming, as the two of them started to scream, Steaming pulling the whistle all the while in four short blasts, as the runaway train raced towards Dodge.

Meanwhile at the station square in Dodge Junction...

Jacky was getting more and more nervous. The wedding was beginning soon, and Steaming was nowhere to be found. She had kept a free space next to her, so that Steaming could sit next to her, but if he wouldn't come soon, he wouldn't keep his promise of being there on time. The people around here continued to talk, until the music started to play, and Cadence walked down the patch, with the girls from the group 'Harmony' as her bridesmaids.

"Hey Jacky, where's Steaming?! I thought he was a railway man who sticks to time?" Asked Rainbow with an whisper as she walked past her.

"That's what I thought as well." Whispered Jacky, more to herself than to the others.

"We have gathered here, in front of the railway station of Dodge Junction, to witness the marriage of captain Shining Armor/Sparkle and princess Mi Amore Cadenca of the Crystal Empire." Started princess Celestia, who would act as priestess.

But she couldn't continue further, as a faint, low whistling rang through the air. Followed by another, and another, and another. The whistling kept going, four short blasts, slowly coming nearer.

"What's that noise?" Came the question from within the crowd, as the whistling got louder still.

Jacky sat in her spot, unsure of what was happening, when her father suddenly jumped up next to her, his eyes ripped open in shock.

"That's the emergency signal! A train is in trouble!" He called out.

A collective gasp went through the crowd, when the station master raced out of the building, running over to them.

"Mr. Spike, sir! Signal box 7 just called through! The coal train from mine no.3 just raced past him, going way too fast! We suspect the brakes have failed!" Said the station master quickly.

"How much time until it reaches the station?!" Asked Iron quickly.

"By the sound of its whistle-" The stationmaster started, but couldn't speak further, as an ear piercing screeching rang through the station, accompanied by a loud rumbling and cracking, as from the main line, a locomotive crashed through the fence, digging it's wheels into the road as it skidded along, slowing down drastically, before coming to a complete stop on the opposite side of where Cadence and Shining were standing.

The engine hissed loudly, steam escaping from all sides, as a figure fell out of the cab, into the steam. They all stared in shock as the steam disappeared, revealing the form of Steaming Whistle, face first on the ground, with his right arm in the air, his pocket watch clutched inside, showing that it was 6pm on the dot.

"THAT'S WHAT I CALL BEING ON TIME!" Shouted Steaming, as everyone around him facepalmed.