//------------------------------// // Crimson's Backstory // Story: A Ponyville Ghost Train // by Darth Redbeard //------------------------------// As Hope was getting the water, Crimson was walking into the forest with his trusty ax, preparing to get some wood needed for the fuel. He always enjoyed doing this as it gave him peace which allowed him to remember his wife. As he was chopping down the first tree, he began to remember their first date: from the way that he held the doors to the restaurant open for her to when she was cold and he had given her his uniform jacket to keep her warm. When her body had been torn to shreds by the rouge Griffins and eaten by them, he had gone berserk and killed all five Griffins in his rage, mutilating their bodies. Celestia intervened and knocked him out. The Griffin Empire soon used this as a tale for the younger ones to never do wrong, unless they wanted Crimson to kill them. Crimson watched as the tree fell, just as he began to shout. “Timber!” The tree hit the ground with a loud bang, the nearby critters running deep into the woods. “What was that for?” a voice asked. Crimson just ignored them and went back to cutting up more of the tree. “You could’ve killed an animal.” Crimson finally looked up to see Twilight giving him a hard look. “Look, Your Highness,” Crimson said. “We need fuel for the engine to run again and it runs on wood, hence we need to find the wood needed to get the train moving again.” Normally Crimson wouldn’t talk to royalty like that, but if he needed to get the engine moving after all these years, he needed to do what was needed. “You could’ve waited on one of us to help make sure it was cleared out first,” Twilight argued. “We have somepony that could do that.” “Maybe we should stop and sit down,” Big Mac said as he walked over. “Wait for cooler heads to prevail. In the meantime, Fluttershy, could you have some of your animal friends help get the wood we need?” “I… I can try,” Fluttershy said, her voice breaking at the attention she was getting, but she put on a brave face and went over to where some beavers were cutting up branches for their dam. “Excuse me.” The beavers stopped what they were doing to look at her. “We would appreciate it if you could help us get some wood together,” she began. “We have a tree ready, but we just need to get it into small enough pieces for us to carry it back to the engine, if it won’t be too much of a problem.” The beavers went over to the tree that Crimson had cut down and got to work, helping speed the process. “Thank you,” Crimson said as he sat down next to another tree. “Being dead for all those years takes its toll on you. I just hope this curse can end soon.” “Trains today run on oil,” Twilight stated. “It’s much more efficient than wood burners, just so you know.” “I don’t care how efficient an oil burning train is,” Crimson argued. “We didn’t have that in my time. We made do with what we could get and we did our best to make sure that there was always wood when we needed it.” “But your train will have to run on oil!” Twilight exclaimed. “It’s standard procedure. According to the law provided by Canterlot nobles, due to the fact that there were many fires started by coal and wood burners, all trains must now run on oil. No exceptions.” “Did you ever stop to think about how my engine is built?” Crimson asked, trying not to lose his patience. He was after all, in the presence of royalty, but that didn’t mean he could keep his temper in check. Especially to that one princess that seemed to think everything could be found in a book about trains. Before Twilight could respond, Fluttershy interrupted. “I don’t think this is really important,” she began, her eyes beginning to open up wide. “Our main goal is to help get this engine running again. You two need to stop this petty bickering and deal with it later.” Both Twilight and Crimson held their heads in shame, remembering that they were meant to work together, not against each other. “Sorry,” Crimson said. “I guess being dead for a long time really hasn’t helped my temper.” “I apologize as well,” Twilight mentioned. “I know that things change over time. I shouldn’t have tried to force you to change right away or got angry when you drove trains at a time when there was no oil. Would you like to start over?” “Sure,” Crimson answered. “Crimson Crown. Engineer of Ponyville Railroad Engine number 104 and former member of the Royal Guard.” “Twilight Sparkle,” Twilight said. “Princess of Friendship and current Headmare of the new School of Friendship.” “Sounds like an interesting school,” Crimson mentioned as he sat his ax on the ground next to him. “How many ponies do you have in the school?” “It’s not just ponies,” Fluttershy began. “We have many other creatures as well such as dragons, seaponies, yaks, and even some griffins and changelings.” Crimson’s eyes darkened at the mention of Griffins and Changelings. Twilight noticed this and tried to help keep Crimson from exploding. “The Changelings are now ruled by somepony else so they’re no longer attacking Equestria,” she stated. “You weren’t around for the Griffin Wars so I have no idea why you seem to hate Griffons.” “Cause some Griffins killed my wife,” Crimson replied. “I know not all of them are bad, but it doesn’t take away the fact that I lost my wife to some of their more barbaric members.” “What was your wife like?” Big Mac asked. “She was very beautiful,” Crimson began. “I didn’t just fall for her for her beauty. She wasn’t afraid to get in my face and smack me upside the head if I was being stupid. When she died, I lost all control and was lucky I wasn’t charged with murder.” “When did you first move to Ponyville?” Twilight asked. “I know that the Apple and Pear families arrived first, but after that, it was many other families arriving.” “My family arrived just two years after the Apple and Pear families did,” Crimson answered. “Ponyville didn’t have much, not even a railroad. I know that the two families were wanting one, but nopony was around to drive the newer trains yet. I guess now I see why Celestia had me learn.” Ponies were busy at work, laying down the the first tracks for Ponyville. The Apple and Pear families were expanding their business and many of their produce crops were being requested all over Equestria. To help keep up with the demand, Celestia had ordered the construction of the Ponyville Railroad. This Railroad would connect to both Canterlot and Dodge Junction, which would then load the cargo onto another train and transport it elsewhere. So far, the tracks have made it to Canterlot and now they only had about fifty miles to finish up the line for Dodge Junction. Many of the workers stayed in the train that kept close to the camps, keeping away from anything that was in the Everfree. They were currently at a bend in the path that they had chosen and were now cutting down some of the trees to make room for the tight curve. Crimson was unloading more of the rails with the other workers when they heard a howl in the distance. Many of them turned to see Timberwolves coming out of the trees. Some of the workers ran while others, including Crimson, grabbed weapons and worked to hold them off. After the brief fight, the others walked out. “This is getting ridiculous,” one of them said. “We can’t go one day without them attacking us.” “The sooner we get this finished,” another one said. “The sooner we can go back home and never have to enter this forest unless anything needs repaired. Even then, hopefully it’ll be rare.” “I don’t care,” the first one replied. “I quit!” he threw down his hammer and was about to walk away when the second one spoke up. “You can’t leave,” he said. “We have a job to do and it needs to get done.” The pony kept walking away, many others also leaving. They had been attacked non stop ever since arriving in the forest and had had it. As they neared the rear of the train, the timberwolves struck again. Crimson and the ones who stayed behind ran over to help their friends, but for many, it was too late. Of the two hundred that had started this project, they were now down to one hundred and fifty. “What are we going to do?” Crimson asked. “We need to get this track done, but we can’t keep dealing with these attacks.” “We need to get some guards here to protect us,” the leader said. “Crimson, see if you can get some guards here to help us out. The sooner support arrives, the faster we can get these tracks going.” Crimson nodded and went to write his letter. He could only hope that Celestia would send more help and maybe more supplies to keep going. ‘To her Royal Highness Princess Celestia, We are in need of help. The Ponyville Railroad has hit a major delay. Timberwolves have attacked the workers and killed one fourth of our number. We are begging you, please send some guards and supplies. From Crimson Crown’ After Crimson had written his letter, he gave it to one of the unicorn workers who used a spell to send it to Celestia. The others had gone back to work, lying down the tracks for the curve as well as a sign to warn all engineers to go slow around the bend. ‘I just hope I won’t have to deal with this curve,’ Crimson thought. He hated this part of the line as it was near the old castle. The same castle that he had heard stories of ghosts haunting it and many other unnatural creatures coming forth from it to take ponies away and never be seen again. Nopony wanted to drive this part of the line, especially at night. Only under very extreme circumstances, would any of them take this task. As the tracks were laid down and the spikes were hammered into place, a bright light began to appear from the corner of the bend. When the light went away, there stood Princess Celestia, ready to help her subjects. With her were around one hundred royal guard and much needed food and medical supplies. “I hope this will be enough to help everypony,” she said, her mouth forming a smile at the sight of happy ponies. “I hope you ponies know how proud I am at the work you’re doing. Not many ponies would undertake this task. Whatever you need, just send me a letter and I’ll provide it the best I can.” The workers nodded as Celestia teleported back to Canterlot, leaving the guards to set up around the workers, ready to protect the Equestrian citizens at all costs. “It wasn’t long after that another group of timberwolves showed up. Thanks to the guards, they were forced back and a few weeks later, we were able to complete the tracks to Dodge Junction. I ran the Ponyville/Canterlot part of the line for years until that night I ran the Dodge Junction line. I can’t believe I was done in on that curve that we had trouble with during construction.” Crimson finished. “So how did you crash?” Twilight asked. “I heard that some dark magic might have caused the accident, but I want to be sure.” “I can’t really tell you,” Crimson answered. “I know Princess Luna says that she might have caused it, but I think it was something else.” Crimson looked at the sky and saw it was getting dark. “We’d best head back. I don’t want to be around when the timberwolves attack.” The others nodded and got up as Crimson grabbed his ax. Big Mac helped gather up the wood that the beavers had helped cut into small enough pieces for everypony to carry. As they were walking back, Crimson began to sing. “From the great Celestial Sea to the wide Lunar shore. She climbs the Smoky Mountains or the hills on by the shore. She's mighty tall and handsome She's known quite well by all. She's a regular combination on the Hooterville Cannonball” As they neared the engine, they heard the sounds of battle and the howls of timberwolves. Crimson broke into a sprint, hoping he wouldn’t be too late, unlike when the beginning of the railroad or when Light was attacked. The others began to run as fast as they could, determined to save their friends. Crimson made it to the side of the engine and climbed the boiler, reaching the roof of the engine. He saw that Princess Luna was about to be attacked before he jumped down, striking the wolf. As the wolf died, Crimson looked up, eyes narrowing as anger took over. “FADA BEO AN BANPHRIONSA!’ Crimson shouted as he hacked away at the wolves with his ax. Known for his skills with the ax, Crimson lived up to his nickname of The Blue Demon. Twilight, Fluttershy, and Big Mac rushed to the scene, throwing rocks or using what they had to attack the timberwolves. Soon, the wolves backed off, determined to come back with more numbers and get the others. Crimson took a minute to get his breathing under control, finally able to process what had happened. “Good timing, dad,” Hope said. “Considering those things attacked your wife,” Crimson began. “I think we can agree of no mercy for these creatures.” “Mr. Crown.” They turned and saw Luna walking over. “Kneel.” Crimson knelt before Luna. Luna pulled out her royal sword. “For your bravery, honor, and loyalty to the Crown, for your years of service to the guard, for helping out the best you can and doing your best along with your son to help out cities when needed, I dub thee, Sir. Crimson Crown, Knight of The Order of The Moon. Rise.” Crimson rose as Luna turned to Hope. “Kneel.” Hope did the same. “For your years of service in the crown. For protecting your father and mother. For Loyalty to the crown, I now dub thee, Sir. Hope Shield, Knight of The Order of The Moon. Rise.” Hope also rose. “This is to also help protect you from Celestia’s new captain, Cold Heart,” Luna explained. “I’ll do my best to explain it more when we get back on the rails. I hope you got the wood.” “Yep,” Crimson replied. “We’re all set there.” “Alright,” Luna said. “Let’s see what else has to be done.” Everypony went back to work, hoping to make it back to Ponyville before the Timberwolves returned. ‘Whoever this Cold Heart is,’ Crimson thought. ‘I only hope that he won’t try to start trouble when we get back. Maybe Celestia will be there for us to explain what happened.’ He then remembered what Luna said about her magic from years ago causing the accident. ‘I didn’t remember feeling any magic that night, so that can only leave one thing.’ Crimson looked at the engine. “I can only hope that I’m wrong,” he said to himself. Crimson turned back to the cab, getting everything ready for the journey back to Ponyville.