Cheerilee had decided to give Diamond another chance. As a result, she put her on an early morning passenger train to try and see how well it went.
Although Cheerilee had given Diamond another chance, the coaches hadn’t. As she rolled forward, they were already plotting to pay her out. Just ahead, a ram had broken through a fence and was standing on the track.
Diamond applied her brakes, but the coaches surged forward. “Bump her off the rails!” they screeched.
Diamond tried her hardest, but slid forward and crashed into the ram. The ram was unhurt, and quickly headed off. But Diamond was not OK.
“Ouch!” she exclaimed. The impact had dented her front bufferbeam quite badly. She limped back along the line to the shed, and was backed into one of the empty depot roads.
“It wasn’t my fault!” Diamond exclaimed, when she saw Cheerilee walk over.
“For once,” Apple Bloom snarkily replied.
“I am aware of that Diamond,” Cheerilee told her. “Unfortunately, we cannot mend you now. With Apple Bloom out for maintenance, Silver Spoon and Sweetie Belle up at the quarry, and Diamond Tiara damaged, we have no engine to work the evening train.”
“What about me, miss?” Scootaloo asked.
“Are you sure you can do it?” Cheerilee asked. “You haven’t run in years!”
“I’ll try,” the engine replied. “I don’t want to disappoint our passengers.”
Cheerilee sighed. “I guess I have no choice. But I want Ocellus to go with you just in case.”
“Yes ma’am!” Ocellus called, and climbed onto Scootaloo’s footplate.
Within a few hours they had Scootaloo’s fire burning nicely. The old engine, with a noticable effort, pulled forward out of the shed and ran forward to the station. Ocellus watched in amazement. Apart from the fact that seeing the cab controls move by themselves was a little surreal, she was astonished that this old engine was moving forward with the determination and skill of locos a fraction of her age.
The coaches were waiting, and they looked very sorry.
“Whatever were you thinking?” Scootaloo scolded them.
“It was that Diamond-” one of them began, but Scootaloo blew steam, silencing them.
“You could have hurt your passengers! And what good would that have done?”
“We’re sorry, Scootaloo,” they whimpered.
The Guard’s whistle went, and the old engine pulled away with skill, but with a noticeable grunt of pain.
Scootaloo remembered all the old stations, and where she had to stop. It was just like the old days, and she ran well. But along the way, she began to feel a dull ache in her pistons, which progressively got worse. Stopping at stations caused it to go away, but when she started running, it returned.
On the return trip from the top station, the pain built up again, even though she was rolling down a hill at first. When they came onto the flat, she opened up her regulator to get the train moving steadily.
That’s when it happened.
There was a loud bang on the left-hand side of the engine, and the cab abruptly pitched to the left. Ocellus was hurled onto the floor as Scootaloo howled in agony.
“My...cylinder’s...blown!” she gasped.
Ocellus ran around the other side. Indeed, shards of torn metal sat where a cylinder had once been. As well as this, several other parts had gone as well. “Your springs have gone as well,” she said. “We’ll have to get a bus-”
“NO!” Scootaloo interrupted. “Anything but a bus! I can finish this run.”
Ocellus frowned. “Not with all that metal in the way,” she said. Stepping down, she took out a wrench and undid several bolts, removing the offending components and easing the gear. “Are you sure you can do it with only one cylinder?”
“Yes.”
That settled the matter. Scootaloo heaved at the train best she could, but it was tough going.
At the station, a Bulleid Light Pacific was waiting. She was painted cyan, with rainbow lining, and had purple eyes. Her name was Rainbow Dash, and she sat there impatiently.
“Come on!” she exclaimed. “Where in Equestria can they be?”
There was a loud whistle, and the sound of clanking cylinders. Emerging from the treeline, was Scootaloo, damaged and looking like an APT with a jammed tilt system. She only had one cylinder, and looked utterly exhausted. But onwards she went, backing into the platform and coming to a gentle stop in the platform.
“Squirt!” Rainbow called. “You made it!”
The little engine could only smile. “Nice to see you too,” she said.
The passengers crossed over the line and boarded the mainline train. Rainbow whistled and pulled away.
Cheerilee stepped forward. “Well done Scootaloo!” she cried. “You are a true credit to the railway. I have decided, after all you 3 have done, that you shall be named. But first, you shall be repaired, and restored to your full glory!”
“Thank you Miss Cheerilee!” Scootaloo exclaimed.
The other engines missed Scootaloo whilst she was gone, but when she returned, she was gleaming with new paint and new parts, including a cab!
They held the naming ceremony at the station, with Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and a white K1 named Rarity in attendance. There was a great chorus of whistles when the nameplates were unveiled, and Pinkie had helped bring all the goods needed for a great party.
Then they had a parade down the line, all the engines pulling a grand train the full length of the railway.
Although they had achieved the goal of being named, so much was left to be done. There were new adventures to be had, and they would make their mark.