"Heeey! Old Fatguts!" Stella called to her superior.
"I told ya not ta call me-" the aged conductor said, stopping when he saw the motley crew approaching him. "Eh, wot's wiv the horses?"
"Excuse me? I am a pony, not a horse." Rarity corrected him.
After staring with a gaping mouth for a few moments, Sterling turned to Rylan. "Ya best get explainin' boy."
An hour later, Rylan finished his explanation and introductions, the occational detail had to be supplimemted by one of the others. Sterling stood tall, hands on his hips. "Well, that's good enough fer me. Nice t'meet ya, girls."
The six replied with various other pleasantries.
"You know, I'd love to study the spells you used to make the train fly," Twilight said. "It would be a major advancement for us."
"Eh, sorry, but that'll be a no," Sterling said. "Not suppose t' go showin' her off. It's pretty rare for anyone t' even see her if they're mortal."
"Oh," she said, slightly saddened by the refusal. "That's alright."
"Hey, Mr. Sterling? Will we get to ride the train?" Pinkie asked, popping out of the open back door.
"How'd ya'- no, not fer a while at any rate." Said the flabbergasted conductor, picking Pinkie up by the back and tossing her roughly out of the Starflight. "I'm really not suppose ta let anyone on if they're not a Celestrian."
"Please?" Pinkie said, in the train again.
"What the- No!" Sterling said, dragging her out again. "Listen 'ere, yer not gonna get to ride her at all if ya keep me from fixin' her up! Rylan, jus' go find out what knocked us down so it can't go doin' it again. Awright?" Rylan nodded in response. "Good. You all get goin' about yer business then."
"But Mr. FatGuts," Pinkie piped up again. "What about the creatures of the forest? They could attack you if you stay out here."
"Firs' of all, my name's Sterling, not FatGuts," he corrected the pony gently, aiming an icy glare at Stella. "An' second, i think I can hold my own against any beastie that comes my way." He flexed a muscle to emphasize his point.
"You won't get hungry? Or what if it starts to rain? What if a Dragon-" Pinkie was stopped mid-sentence when he closed a hand around her mouth. "Don' worry. I'll be fine. You all get goin'." The conductor returned to the inside of his train without another word.
"Well that was cold, even for old FatGuts," Stella said as the group continued deeper into the forest.
"He's not usually that terse, then?" Rarity asked the faery.
"He must be upset about his train," Twilight observed. "It seemed to mean a lot to him."
"Still does, by the way he talked about it." Applejack recounted.
"Well yeah," Stella said, eyes rolling. "It's his pride and rejoice."