A near Disaster on Hearts and Hooves Day
Lyra, a mint green unicorn mare with a white and silver man, and Bon Bon, a light yellow earth pony mare with a two tone pink and blue mane, stood together on a platform in Manehattan’s Grand Central Station. They have been happily married for the past five years and were currently celebrating their anniversary by having a rail tour of Equestria.
They began their journey from their home in Ponyville and went northwest to Vanhoover where they changed from CMC services to Great Western. From there they traveled down along the west coast to Las Pegasus where they changed from GWR services to Southern. From Las Pegasus they traveled east across the San Palomino Desert to Appleloosa, then through Dodge Junction until they arrived at Baltimare. In Baltimare they changed from SR services to CNER and took a train north along the east coast through to Fillydelphia and then up to Manehattan. When they arrived in Manehattan they had to catch another train that would take them onto the last leg of their journey to Canterlot before going back home.
“Wow, it’s really busy today,” Lyra stated as she looked around on the platform they were waiting on.
“Well it is ‘Hearts and Hooves Day’.” Bon Bon nodded in agreement as she looked over at a large crowd of ponies on the opposite platform behind a temporary metal barrier. She then looked to the end of their platform to see another crowd behind the same type of barrier. “Why are there so many ponies behind those barriers?” She wondered out loud with a slight tilt of her head.
Lyra followed her gaze and as she looked at the crowd longer, she began to notice how they all seemed to have cameras but were not journalists as there were several journalists waiting on the platform with them.
“I think all those are Train Enthusiasts,” said Lyra.
“You’d be right,” A journalist pegasus mare said as she was stood close to the couple and overheard their conversation.
“What’s so special about the train we’re taking to Canterlot?” Bon Bon asked, not seeing anything important or special about the trains she’s traveled on apart from a couple of them having a Restaurant Car so her and Lyra could have something to eat on their long journey.
“Well, the locomotive that will be pulling this Manehattan to Canterlot service is one of Sir Neighgel Gresley’s new giant locomotives,” The reporter replied. “Oh, the name’s Quicksnap by the way. I write for the Canterlot Chronicle,”
“Oh nice. We sometimes read that paper from time to time,” Lyra smiled. “I’ll be sure to pick up a copy to see what have to say about this when we get home,”
Bon Bon knew the name of the CNER chief engineer as he’s been mentioned a lot in the papers and magazines along with Stanier of the CMC in the last few years. But she didn’t understand what made all their different locomotive classes different or special from each other.
“Yeah, but that didn’t answer my question though,” Bon Bon sighed.
Quicksnap opened her mouth to reply before another journalist beat her to it. “Apparently this ‘giant’ is the second of Gresley’s new P2 Class, a class specifically made for heavy passenger trains and to tackle the steep incline to Canterlot,”
Bon Bon looked at the new pony. He was unicorn stallion wearing a reporter's jacket with a name tag for the Manehattan Guzet that read as “Gooseberry”. She suspected that to be an apt nickname more than his actual name.
“Oh cool,” Lyra said with enthusiasm and began a conversation with the stallion about the specifics of this new engine.
Bon Bon sighed and tuned it out as, unlike her wife, she couldn’t care less about steam trains. As long as they got her from point A to point B she really didn’t care. Although she didn’t care, she was still partially listening. It’s an old habit she developed from her Secret Agent job since listening to ponies talk sometimes reveals crucial details that would be helpful during a mission. She learned that this particular engine had conventional valve gear, eight fairly large drive wheels, potentially one of the most powerful Gresley engines and that it was named “Earl Mareischal”.
Slightly bored of the conversation between her wife and the Manehattan reporter she reached into her saddlebag and pulled out her pocket watch. Their train was scheduled for a half past noon departure and as her eyes took in the position of her watch’s hands she read the time being two minutes to twelve.
“Our train should be here any…” She began to say before a sharp blast of a steam whistle cut her off and made her jump in fright.
The enthusiasts on both platforms practically began scrambling over each other to get as close as they could to the edge of the platforms so they could get the best views as the new train began to chug its way slowly into the station.
Lyra and Bon Bon both turned to the right as the large train puffed its way towards them. The engine was a huge apple green thing, sharing the typical livery of most CNER express engines. It had a semi-streamlined body, a sloping front to both the smokebox and cab, smoke deflectors built into the sides of the smokebox, a 2-8-2 wheel configuration and the typical eight wheeled tender that would be seen with Gresley’s A1 and A3 classes. There was a name plate bolted to the side of the smoke deflectors that bore the name of the engine “Earl Mareischal” in gold etched lettering and both the red buffer beam and the side of the cab bore the engine’s running number “2002”.
“Whoa, that thing’s huge.” Lyra stated as the large green loco soon passed them.
Following the locomotive was a rake of Gresley’s beautifully made teak coaches. Stylish passenger cars with polished teak wood paneling and either a white or grey coloured roof. The first car was a brake coach followed by a couple of first class corridor coaches, a buffet car, some composite cars and ended with another brake car for third class.
As the train began to screech from the application of the brakes, the ponies on the platform that were to ride the train moved closer to be ready to climb aboard. Moments after the train came to a stop, all the doors facing the platform swung open.
An earth pony wearing a black dress jacket stepped out from the leading brake car and blew a whistle.
“ALL ABOARD!” He shouted to the crowd.
Lyra and Bon Bon quickly looked at their tickets to remind themselves of where they needed to go and began to approach one of the corridor first class cars. As they stepped into the car they found themselves in a slightly narrow corridor, the same polished wood paneling decorated the interior of the corridor with a clean blue coloured carpet on the floor. They walked up the corridor a little until they found their compartment and entered the rather spacious room. Their compartment had two large cushioned blue velvet seats on either side against the compartment’s walls, a fold away table currently erected between the seats, white painted walls and a pair of ornate lamps bolted to the walls above the seats.
“Oh this is nice!” Lyra beamed, happy with the first class accommodation.
Her wife could only nod as she climbed up onto one of the cushioned benches. She watched in amusement as Lyra climbed onto the one opposite and sat down in that weird way she often does with her back against the backrest and her hind legs dangling off the seat.
“I’m surprised you haven’t done your back in yet with how you sit on things,” she remarked with an affectionate smile.
Lyra giggled while she wiggled a bit as she got comfy on the cushioned seat. “Hmm, I know you like it,” she grinned and waggled her eyebrows.
Bon Bon flushed slightly, it was indeed something she found attractive about her quirky wife.
“Oh and by the way, I have us booked into the Golden Spire Hotel in Canterlot.” Lyra added with a wink and Bon Bon flushed brighter at the implication.
xxxxx
Brass Gauge, a dull brown unicorn stallion with a short cut darker brown mane smiled as he looked out of the driver side door of the cab and out over the crowd that had gathered on the platform.
“All this attention for our engine?” He asked his friend and colleague, Iron Stokes.
Stokes, a sandy yellow earth pony with a granite black mane, leaned out of the back open window as he too took in all ponies that weren’t reporters scrambling over each other while snapping photos of his train. He was also the driver of the engine.
“I’m not surprised these days. I mean our chief engineer is practically a celebrity,”
Gauge nodded, ever since both Gresley and Stanier were knighted by Princess Celestia the popularity of both the CNER and CMC skyrocketed.
“Remember what it was like whenever a train transported the Elements of Harmony or just a couple of them,” Stokes added after a moment of reflection.
Gauge again nodded as he could remember times the platforms were practically gridlocked because so many ponies wanted to see the celebrities that were world saviours.
The driver and firepony soon pulled themselves away from the windows as they got to work preparing this new engine for departure.
Gauge pulled on a lever above the firebox and opened the firebox doors. Inside roared the fire of the steam beast’s heart and Gauge had to take a step back from the intense heat that flowed out of the opening.
“Bloody hell that’s hot.” he whined before he squinted his eyes as he peered into the roaring inferno while checking the coal inside. Noting a couple of spots that could do with a top up he used his magic to levitate his shovel and scooped up a shovel load from the coal chute at the front of the tender and shoved the coal load into the desired area before repeating the process. Once satisfied with the coal level he then closed the firebox doors.
“How’s our water?” Stokes asked while he looked at several other gauges.
Gauge stepped up the boiler where several gauges and knobs were above the firebox and looked at a pair of glass tubes filled with water that indicated the level of water getting to the boiler. The one on the driver’s side showed it was full but as he checked the one on his side he had to lean closer to be sure of what he was looking at. The tube on the firepony’s side seemed to be half full. He then reached up with a hoof and tapped the glass a couple of times.
“Something wrong?”
Gauge looked away to his friend upon hearing his voice but as he looked back to the water gauge, he found it was full.
He scrutinised the tube for a few moments but with no change in it he shrugged what he thought he saw earlier off. “No, water’s good,”
Stokes nodded. “I should hope so since we topped her water off before we arrived,”
“Yeah, but I don’t think the ponies manning that riverside water tower were happy about that. I mean that tower is mainly to support the smaller local traffic, not giant express trains like this,”
“This new filly is still in testing and I’d rather she have plenty of water to be safe. Besides, don’t worry about it, they have unlimited access to water for it from the river anyway,”
“Heh, true.”
Twenty minutes later the firepony and driver had completed their checks and were getting ready for a quick bite to eat before departure. Gauge laid some strips of hay-bacon upon his shovel and held it into the fire to cook while Stokes got a pair of white buns ready.
While the crew cooked their lunch the conductor approached the cab. He smirked mischievously as he noticed the driver had his back to him but the firepony did notice him and he held up a hoof to his lips in the quiet gesture. Gauge discreetly nodded while he turned his attention back to the sizzling hay-bacon. The conductor smiled as he quietly reared up and propped himself up against the open cab window right behind Stokes. He took a quiet deep breath and…
“Alright Stokey boy!” He yelled into the driver’s ear with the desired effect.
“Gah!!” Stokes cried out as he jumped clear off his seat in fright and fell to the cab floor.
Both the conductor and Gauge began laughing hard.
“You pair of assholes! I nearly shat myself,” Stokes whined as he climbed back into his seat.
“Hehe, sorry Stokey, couldn’t resist,”
“One of these days I’m gonna smack you in the snoz with a shovel.” Stokes took a moment to calm himself down. “So what’s up Tick Tock?”
The conductor smiled at the use of his nickname. “Just letting you guys know that all passengers to Canterlot have boarded and that we can depart now if you want to,”
Stokes looked to Gauge, watching him for a moment as he began placing the coal fired hay-bacon into the buns and then at his pocket watch that he kept in a pocket on his overalls. “Hmm, we’re not scheduled to leave until half past and we’re just about to have a quick bite to eat. Nah, we’ll wait until our scheduled departure time. Give any latecomers a chance to turn up before we go,”
The conductor nodded. “Righto, you boys enjoy your lunch.” And with that he left them to eat their lunches.
“Hey Gauge, got any brown sauce with you?” Stokes asked his unicorn friend.
Gauge blinked for a moment before facehooving hard with a groan. “Cock! I knew I forgot something this morning.”
xxxxx
Lyra and Bon Bon were sat together on one of the two cushioned benches in their compartment. They were wrapped up in each other’s hooves and Bon Bon had her head against Lyra’s chest with her wife’s chin resting atop her head. They watched as Equestria passed them by while the train thundered down the track.
After almost a week of riding trains, both mares could agree that there was something soothing about riding on a train. They put it down to the rhythmic clickety clack of the wheels on the rails and the gentle sway of the train from left to right. The passing scenery of the Equestrian countryside also added to the effect as well.
The two wives had also been engaged in idle chatter for the past five hours. Talking about anything and nothing while they enjoyed each other's company. They were also eagerly awaiting dinner that was to be served in the buffet car around six in the evening.
“I’m looking forward to dinner,” Lyra suddenly said. Her statement was quickly followed by a loud rumble from her stomach.
“I told you that little daisy salad sandwich wasn’t going to fill you up,” Bon Bon sighed with a shake of her head.
“I knew we’d be having dinner tonight on the train and didn’t want to spoil it,”
“Honey, that daisy sandwich wouldn’t have filled a foal. You should have ordered something bigger or another,”
“At those prices?! Heck no! I swear some of those Manehattan restaurants are fleecing their customers.”
The two mares then shared a giggle. Bon Bon nuzzled her wife’s cheek affectionately and let out a sigh of content.
“I believe the menu for tonight is Bitalian,” Lyra hummed while she gave her belly a rub with a hoof.
“Bitalian? Hmm, if it is I think i’ll go for some spaghetti and hayballs,”
“Hmm, good choice. I think I’ll have a lasagna,”
The two mares then looked at each other with knowing smiles. “And a garlic bread for starters.” They said in unison before devolving into a fit of giggles again.
“You know honey, this has been one of the best holidays we’ve been on so far,” Bon Bon cooed.
Lyra gave her wife a loving squeeze. “I’m happy you’ve enjoyed it so far. I took a gamble with this,”
Bon Bon nodded. “I wasn’t sure I’d enjoy a traveling holiday but I can say it's been very enjoyable.” She smiled as she looked to her wife and the two were staring into each other’s eyes. “Seeing all the different sights, the sounds and…” She leaned in closer to Lyra. “Spending it all with you.” She finished and both their lips met as the pair gave each other a love filled passionate kiss.
xxxxx
“Where’s our bloody water gone?!” Stokes shouted out in alarm.
The train was now well into its climb as it powered up the incline on its way to Canterlot. It was an hour into the dinner service by now and it put the train around a few miles out from their destination.
Everything had been going smoothly for Stokes and Gauge throughout the journey up until this point. Stokes had looked away and out to the passing scenery as the skies begun to darken and change colour with the coming sunset only to look back and find a gut wrenching issue.
Gauge jumped from the sudden outburst as he had his back to his friend while was preparing to manually shove in some coal. He whirled around and immediately spotted what Stokes was looking at. The water gauge on the driver’s side was empty.
“What the hay?” Gauge gasped and rushed up to the boiler. “Oh shit!” He cursed as he noticed that both tubes were empty.
“Hey guys, hope you’re hungry,” Soot Feather or Sooty to his friends said as he stepped into the cab from the corridor built into the side of the tender. Gresely had insisted his new engine use one of his corridor tenders and have a support crew onboard during its testing phase.
Sooty is one of the few pegasi to become a steam train driver in Equestria. He’s a light brown pegasus stallion with a grey mane and primary feathers. He is also part of the relief/support crew for the testing phase of the Earl Mareischal.
“We have a problem here,” Stokes declared.
Sooty’s cheerful attitude evaporated and was replaced with his professional demeanor when on duty. “What’s wrong?”
“Water gauges have both run dry,” Answered Gauge.
“Ok, yeah that’s bad. When did you notice the tubes were empty?”
“Literally two seconds before you came in,”
“Soot, help me with troubleshooting here, Gauge, get to the water tank and see if there’s still water in there,”
Gauge nodded as he rushed to the tender and began to climb over into the coal bunker while his pegasus colleague replaced him by the boiler. He scrambled over the coals and then climbed out of the bunker and into the back of the tender where the water intake pipe was. Tenders like this one had two means of refilling their water tanks. One method was from a scoop from underneath that could be lowered when the train was to pass over a water trough between the rails and the other from hoses, water towers and other means to get water in through the inlet on the top. He unbolted the lid to the pipe and opened it. The pipe was fairly big in diameter, big enough at least for a full grown stallion to squeeze in through.
“Are you there yet Gauge?” He barely heard Stokes yell over the noise of the train.
“Yeah I’m here,” He shouted back while he used a bit of magic to amplify his voice. He knew those lessons in sound magic would have been useful.
“What do you see?”
Gauge stuck his head into the inlet. He felt a little relief fill him when he heard the water sloshing inside. At least that ruled out the water tank having run dry. He then channeled magic into his horn to illuminate the dark interior of the tank. The light from his horn revealed a water tank little more than two thirds full so there was plenty of water left. He also noticed a few leaves and twigs floating on the surface, nothing that should foul up the outlets to the boiler.
“There’s plenty of water in here mate.” Gauge yelled back as he made his way back to the cab.
Stokes and Sooty were still by the boiler when Gauge returned. The two other stallions looked totally puzzled as they checked all the numerous gauges and levers.
“I can’t see anything wrong here,” Stokes said as he tapped the water gauge in puzzlement.
“I’m gonna check the water pipes,” Sooty declared as he moved over to the folding metal plate that covered the gap between the engine and tender. The other two stallions nodded in acknowledgement as Sooty lifted the plate. Gauge used his magic to hold the plate up while the pegasus lay on his belly and reached down into the gap.
“Did you find anything out of the ordinary up there Gauge?” Stokes asked.
Gauge shook his head in the negative. “Saw some twigs and leaves but we did top up with river water afterall,”
The earth pony nodded. “That’s normal from natural water sources and so far there’s never been a report of sticks or leaves clogging up a steam engine,”
There was a pop and the sound of running water splashing against a hard surface but it didn’t sound like what the two expected or hoped to have heard. They heard it again before the pegasus pulled himself back up with his face and chest along with his overalls being soaked through.
“Good news, there was still water getting through. Bad new, pressure is really low and won’t be enough to keep that boiler happy,”
“That means something is blocking the pipes then,”
“And that’s something we can’t check while in motion either,”
“Come on guys, think, there has to be something we can do.” Stokes urged as he looked out of one of the forward facing windows and at the large, long boiler.
xxxxx
“Happy Heart and Hooves Day and Anniversary!” Lyra said with a big smile on her face as she levitated an envelope and a small wrapped up box over the dining table to her wife.
“Aww thank you,” Bon Bon smiled happily as she accepted the presented items. She opened the envelope and giggled at the overly silly design on the card and funny little scene being portrayed but blushed and smiled lovingly back at her wife upon reading the heartfelt little passage written by Lyra. She then set the anniversary card down and picked up the present. “You didn’t have get me anything you know,” She said before she gasped in shock at what lay inside the small box.
“I know, but I wanted to get you something to show how much I love you,”
Inside the box lay a silver charm bracelet with several love themed charms already attached to it. There was a silver heart with “Wife” on it, a pair of pink enamel hearts, a silver charm bearing their initials (L and S) among a couple other charms.
“This must have cost you a small fortune on top of this holiday!”
Lyra nodded but smiled all the same. “You’re worth it after all and don’t worry. I didn’t empty our joint account. All the extra overtime and those extra lyre lessons paid for this,”
Bon Bon slipped out of her seat to join her wife and to give her a big hug. “Oh but now I feel bad because I only got you a card and that lyre maintenance kit,” She said as she gestured to the kit bag beside the green mare.
Lyra smiled warmly. “And I greatly appreciate it, but the best present is being here with you.” She said as she kissed Bon Bon on the cheek. The light yellow mare blushed and returned the affection with a small kiss of her own before she relocated herself to her previous seat.
A moment later a waiter approached the table and collected their empty plates and returned them to the kitchen before returning to their table.
“Would madam and madam care to look at the dessert menu and is there anything else I can get you?”
Lyra looked over to her wife and smiled. “Got room for a dessert?”
Bon Bon thought for a moment before shrugging. “I’ll have one if you’re having one,”
Lyra then turned back to the waiter. “Yes please and could I have another white wine please?”
The waiter nodded as he placed a smaller menu down onto the table before each mare and then wrote down Lyra’s order. As the waiter left the two mares opened their menus.
“Hmm, everything looks so nice,” said Lyra.
“I don’t think I’ve ever had a Tiramisu before,” Bon Bon remarked as she eyed it on the menu.
“You haven’t?!”
Bon Bon shook her head.
“Oh Bonny you gotta try it, it’s soooooo good,”
Bon Bon scrutinised the cream and sponge cake pictured in the menu and read what was in it. “Coffee?”
Lyra nodded eagerly. “Oh you gotta try it Bonny, trust me it's so nice,”
The waiter returned and gave Lyra her wine before he looked at the mare’s expectantly.
“I’ll have a Tiramisu,” Lyra chirped.
Bon Bon looked back to the menu as she wasn’t sure what to do. Get the Tiramisu or something else? She noticed Lyra looking at her and when Lyra noticed she was looking her way she mouthed. “Trust me.” With a sigh of defeat she put the menu down.
“Make that two Tiramisus,”
“Very good madam. I’ll be back shortly with your orders.” And with that the waiter collected their dessert menus and went to fulfill their order.
A minute or two later the waiter returned with their desserts and placed one down before each mare. “Enjoy.”
“I think you’re trying to fatten me up,” Bon Bon joked as she took in the sight of the multi-layered cream and sponge cake in front of her.
“As if.” Lyra laughed as she tucked into her cake. “Though I wouldn’t mind those buns of your’s getting a bit bigger.” She mentally added which caused a faint blush to colour her cheeks.
“Because of the coffee, if I end up not liking this, I’m throwing it at you,” Bon Bon jokingly declared.
“I’ll be sure to keep my mouth open then.”
Both mare’s then snorted as they fell into a fit of giggles.
Suddenly the buffet car shuddered unexpectedly and Lyra used her magic to stop her full glass of wine from jumping off the table.
“Did you feel that?” Bon Bon asked as she looked around. Nopony else seemed to have noticed or reacted in any way.
“Hmm, feel what?”
“That odd shudder just now?”
Lyra gave her an unamused look. “Bonny, this is a train. It’s gonna jump and shudder every now and then, especially when passing over a set of points. Put Agent Sweetiedrops away and enjoy your cake,”
Bon Bon sighed and shook her head. “Sorry, old habits.” She cut a piece of her Tiramisu off with her spoon and put it into her mouth and cooed. “Hmmmm, this is nice!”
Lyra smirked. “Told ya so.”
xxxxx
Moments earlier.
“We’ve tried everything we can think of but nothing’s worked,” Stokes groaned while he dutifully watched the steam and temperature gauges, which had steadily been rising since the fault began.
“I couldn’t see anything in the water tank either.” Added Gauge. He had checked the tender again and tried to shine his horn light into the water to try and see if he could see the outlets. Unfortunately he couldn’t climb far enough inside to do so without falling in and without a maintenance crew or a ladder that wasn’t an option.
Suddenly the safety valves in front of the cab at top of the engine began to blast out steam.
“Shit! C’mon filly, just a little longer. We’re almost there.”
Gauge grabbed the lever to open the bottom of the firebox.
“What are you doing?” Sooty asked.
“I’m dropping the fire,”
“Yeah, good call Gauge. We’re out of options.” Stokes agreed.
Gauge nodded and pulled the lever. There was then a sudden clattering thud and a brief burst of flame from beneath the locomotive as the small mountain of burning coal was dropped out from beneath the firebox and onto the track. The speed of the train helped to break up and disperse the hot coals and ashes, some getting under the many wheels and getting crushed to dust. The wind generated by the movement of the train helped to rapidly cool the coals and the combination of the ballast and concrete sleepers prevented a fire risk to the track.
“Well, at least we won’t explode now,” Gauge sighed in relief.
“I think we might just have enough steam to get us there.”
The city of Canterlot was always a sight to see. The great white city built into the side of a mountain and home to Equestrian royalty. Even at night the city gleamed in light, becoming a beacon for travelers.
The train crew began their preparations to stop the train as it neared Canterlot’s station, The Royal Equestrian Transport Hub. The large engine was gradually slowing down as its steam pressure dropped without the fire but thankfully they would make it before there wasn’t enough pressure. The crew let out a sigh of relief as the train pulled into the station and they then applied the brakes to bring it to a stop.
Moments after the train came to a complete stop the doors to the carriages opened onto the platform and a sea of ponies exited the train. The reporters that had traveled on the train from Manehattan made a beeline for the cab to begin pestering the frazzled crew about the train’s performance.
“Celestia I hate journalists!” Stokes sighed under his breath.
xxxxx
Two Days Later
Bon Bon sighed in relief as she and her wife stepped off the CMC train from Canterlot to Ponyville.
“Oh it’s good to be home,” She smiled as she took in the familiar rural surroundings.
“Ow, yeah, it’s good to be back,” Lyra winced as she hobbled along beside her wife.
“You still sore?” Bon Bon whispered as they passed a small crowd of ponies waiting on the platform.
Lyra nodded. “Five hours straight we did it, I thought my hips were gonna break…”
Bon Bon shushed her wife. “Not so loud!” She hissed.
Lyra blushed and looked around. Thankfully nopony seemed to care as they left the station. Once the pair had left the station Lyra made a beeline for the paper shop across the street. She came out a minute later with a Canterlot Chronicle newspaper floating in her yellow magic and a couple of magazines stuffed into her saddle bags.
“Holy crap!” The mint coloured mare gasped loudly as she unfolded her newspaper and read the front page headline.
“Lyra, language!” Bon Bon growled. “There are foals about.”
Lyra practically shoved the newspaper into her wife’s face.
“Holy crap!” Bon Bon exclaimed, quietly.
Lyra nodded as she joined her wife in reading the paper.
On the front page was a headline that read “A near Disaster on Hearts and Hooves Day!” and was accompanied by a photo of the train they had ridden on that day. The article that went with it described the locomotive and the experience the reporter had while on the train, praising it for the performance and the luxury. The article then went on to describe the sudden loss in water to the boiler and how the actions of the crew saved it from being much worse. It then went on to explain the cause of the fault.
“Wow really?!”
“I hope Fluttershy doesn’t read this.”
It turned out that some fish had gotten stuck in the outlet pipes. Sir Nieghgel Gresley and a maintenance crew had been in Canterlot to go over and inspect the new locomotive after its run and when the crew of the engine reported what had happened they wasted no time in examining the loco and tender. They found that mechanically there was nothing wrong and shouldn’t have suffered a blockage but they discovered that there were fish in the water when they drained the tender. The driver explained that he had the engine’s water topped up as a precaution due to the loco’s experimental status from a water tower just outside Manehattan by the river. The following day after Hearts and Hooves Day the water tower was examined and fish were found to be inside. It turned out that when the tower was filled by sucking up river water it also inadvertently sucked up some fish that in the end wound up in the tender of the Earl Mareischal.
Gresley vowed to ensure this would never happen again by installing grates or mesh boxes around the water outlets that would feed water to the boilers. He hopes the installation of these improvements will prevent a similar thing from happening again and he urged the other railway companies to do the same. Gresley also praised the actions of the engine crew as they did everything they could before the decision was made to drop the fire which ultimately saved the engine and more importantly everypony on the train.
“Wow, this’ll make a great story to tell our friends,” Lyra said in astonishment.
Bon Bon nodded in agreement as the two headed on home.