Author's note: Now there is an awful lot of dialogue in this chapter so much of it might not be cannon/fannon. Everything in here is due to change if someone tells me something isn't right so be on the look out.
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The carriage arrived a few minutes later with 2 Greek mythological entities come to life. The golden clad pegasi lowered the magical wagon to the dusty earth and unhitched themselves. They cantered up the the 2 humans leaning against the red behemoth behind them. One of them wore a western duster, a striped shirt, blue jeans and a brown stetson hat. The other was clad in the official monkey suit. the 2 pegasi pulled off there helmets and showed there brown and white faces to the 2 men.
"You fellas must be Mr. Mattson and Mr. McGoff?" asked the brown one
The western styled human lifted his hat off his face and spoke, "That would be us, but it seems you have the upper hand in this situation as I don't know your names?" he said with a wave of his hand
"Oh, sorry. I am Sonic Thunder and this is Roy." the Pegasus said flatly
"Roy? I thought ponies got creative with there names?" Richard asked
"Generally yes, but my parents weren't exactly in there right minds when they named me." said the White one with a hearty chuckle
In a gruff and commanding voice, Thunder said, "Now that the introductions are through, would you two mind stepping into the carriage now?"
"We sure wouldn't." Said Richard, jabbing his elbow into Tyler's side.
"Wha... whats happening?" stammered Tyler, waking from his short cat nap.
Richard whispered into his ear the info that he had just been told before stalking into the open wagon's passenger compartment. Tyler soon followed and the ponies hitched back up and took to the sky. They traveled over the buffalo lands to the east and soon were passing over a town that the ponies called Appleoosa. Richard had been there a few times himself to inspect the railroad for some odd reason, but he is a train man so everyone expected it.
"You know whats funny Tyler?" asked Richard, breaking the silence that had been in the air since they took off.
A slightly groggy president sat up in his seat and said, "Whats that Rich?"
With a slight chuckle the engineer beside the president started to talk about some boring topic that flew right over Tyler's head. Normally the ex-general would tell Richard to shut up and fall back to sleep, but since he kinda forced the country fellow into coming he sorta deserved it. Hour after hour passed and Rich just kept talking and talking, thinking that Tyler actually knew what was being said.
Soon one of the Pegasi spoke up and started to talk with Richard about some metallurgy thing. Supposedly the Brown Pegasus was a blacksmith for the castle, creating the ornamental armor they now wore.
"You ever smithed gold?" asked Thunder
For a moment the all knowing historian was silent, picking through his mental filing cabinets. Finally he spoke, "I cant say that I have. I have mostly done steel and iron."
Seeing that he had something over the young human smith, he cleared his voice and began, "Well gold is totally different. You have to heat it to just the right temperature or it will just melt but you can have it to cold or it will just bend. Steel is allot more robust and takes allot more hammering to get it into shape where as gold is softer and only takes a few wakes to get it right. Steel is allot tougher but at the same time more forgiving. If you hammer a gold plate to hard it gets to thin, then you have to start all over. With steel it takes more strength but doesn't spread out like gold does..."
The conversation went on and on to the point were it put Tyler to sleep. Glancing over at his sleeping partner Richard let out a good laugh, "I guess we put the president to sleep Thunder."
Taking a moment to turn his head the Pegasus confirmed the previous statement and laughed as well before he looked back to the blue sky.
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Several hours later the group found themselves hovering over what the Pegasi said was Ponyville, the home of Aaron Patterson, the savior of the entire Human race. The ponies at the head lowered the heavy carriage to the ground and soon heard a few voices coming from the tree/library.
"How you think they do that?" asked Tyler
Richard just looked at his friend with a smile and said, "Really Ty? It magic! They don't gotta explain SHIT!"
Tyler just face-palmed and waited for Aaron to join them. The minutes ticked by until the door to the tree finally swung open and smacked against the wooden frame. Dr. Patterson himself walked out while he was shouting back into the library.
"No Twilight, I gotta go NOW!" he said as a little purple unicorn emerged from the doorway.
"But you still need to tell me about the civil war!" She shouted
"That can wait, my country needs my help. Cant let them down you know." Aaron said, waving a finger
"Could you at least introduce me to your friends then?" she asked politely with a smile as the 2 men walked up
"Ugh, fine! This here is Richard Mattson, the Chief Mechanic and Engineer of Lazarus and you have already met President Tyler. Rich, this is Twilight Sparkle, Ponyville's Librarian and local nutcase." He said with a chuckle
"I am not a nutcase!" growled Twilight
"Well, pleasure to meet ya Miss Sparkle." said Richard, shaking Twilight's hoof
"So your an engineer? What kind of engineer?" she asked with a grin
"Name one and I will generally tell you yes."
"Really? Interesting! I would love to know more about your profession Mr. Mattson."
"Maybe some other time. We have to be some where now. Don't we Aaron?" said Rich with a glare in Aaron's direction
"Ah... Yes! Yes we do. I'll see ya later Twi." said the Biologist as he ran towards the carriage
Twilight said good bye to her new acquaintances and retreated into her library. Crazy mare...
Seeing that the unicorn was gone, Tyler and Richard collected themselves and climbed into the small enclosed wagon and gave the Pegasi the go ahead. With a few grunts and wing beats the 2 stallions had the wheeled flying contraption in the air, on course for the white City of Canterlot.
Thunder cleared his throat, "Ok Gentlemen, it will be 8:00 PM by the time we get there so I will have one of the palace servants direct you to your rooms for the night. Any questions?"
"Ya, when do we eat?" asked Richard
"As soon as we get there." said the Pegasus gruffly
"What will be served?"
Growing frustrated by the questions the pony replied, "Do I look like a cook to you?"
"No..." the man replied flatly
"Then wait til you get to the castle and ask THEM!" growled Thunder
"Well, if its something like hay I am gonna have to pass." Rich said flatly
"Then what will you eat?" asked Aaron
"I am gonna go hunting!" The engineer shouted with a giant grin. Everyone's jaw hit the floor...
Thinking that he was joking, Tyler asked, "Oh ya? With what? Your bear hands?"
"Nope, got my Henry right here." He replied, patting his duffel bag
"You actually brought a gun here!" Tyler whispered into the young mans ears
Aaron just sat in between the 2 and looked at them in disbelief.
"Ya, I aint just gonna eat hay the whole time I am here! Plus it is gonna act as a deterrent if anything goes wrong." he said flatly as he pulled the gleaming rifle out of its case. Groping inside the bag he found a handful of shells and thumbed them into the magazine.
"Well, I guess since its already here I cant make you give it up." the president gave in, "Just don't show anyone and hunt FAR away from the castle!"
"Relax Ty, I got this covered." said Rich, waving a hand at his friend
One of the ponies looked back, "What you gu..." he cut himself off when he spotted the .44 lever action rifle. "Why do you have that?"
"I aint just gonna go around slung lead everywhere you know. Just for protection and such." the human repeated, placing the now filled Henry into his bag.
This brought on a glare from the ponies AND the president. Knowing that any argument they started with the engineer would just result with them being dragged down to his level and being beaten by his experience, neither tried. Richard was extremely immature for his age but knew more then some of the oldest personnel in Terra. It puzzled most people but sooner or later they warmed up to the oddity and excepted it.
Seeing that the moment had passed over the 3 men settled down in there seats for the long haul. One by one they slowly drifted off to sleep. Rich dreamed about, you guessed it, his plan to go north into the Iron Range while the other 2 merely slept. It was quiet for the time being with nothing but the beats of the ponies disturbing the tranquility.
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"Wake up fellas! We're here!" yelled out Roy as he unhitched himself from the now stationary carriage.
"Ugh! What time is it?" asked Aaron, rubbing sleep from his eyes
"8 o'clock." stated the white Pegasus
"Well guys, guess we should get up then right?" Muttered Tyler
"My god! I still have to go get dinner for myself don't I?" asked Richard
"I would make sure with Celestia or Luna if its OK Rich. They can be really intimidating under the right circumstances." said Aaron with a determined look in his eyes
"I suppose your right. Now where do you think she is?" questioned the engineer
"Well, seeing as its dinner time? She has to be eating about now." Said the brown pony that now stood in front of them, "Now if your follow me. We will be there in a few minutes."
They followed Thunder through the golden gates at the front of the Castle. It was truly mesmerizing, even in the twilight. The white stone that made up the walls and palace itself looked as if it was polished to the point of perfection. As they gazed at their surroundings Thunder spoke took the moment to speak with the guard at the door. Soon they were walking through the halls towards the dining room. The red rug underneath their feet seemed extremely springy for something as old as it was which made everyone in the group wonder what it was made of.
The group reached the large oak double doors at the end of the hall. Thunder knocked 3 times and the mass of wood creaked open slowly on the old hinges. He hadn't even been in the palace for 10 minutes when Richard started examining the building techniques used by the constructors 2000 years ago. Sure he had seen most of the construction long ago but now he was up close to it.
Everything looked like the castles built by the English all the years ago. "Maybe that's were they got the idea?" the engineer asked himself. Even the holes in the walls for archers were everywhere. He wondered why they hadn't taken up the rifles and pistols from the war but quickly put it out of his mind. They entered the Dining hall which was dominated by a large oak table, a squad golden clad guards and the two Princesses of old. The moment they stepped into the massive dining hall they were greeted by the regal white pony. She sat at the very end of the table, furthest from the humans. A smile on her face that told the group she was happy to see them. For what ever reason that was they couldn't guess.
"Welcome President Tyler and to you as well Aaron!" She announced, "I see you have brought a friend to our gathering?"
"Yes I have your majesty. This is Richard Mattson, our chief engineer and mechanic for our entire country." stated Tyler
"Nice to meet you your majesty" said Richard in the most polite way possible.
The sun princess just smiled and said, "The same to you Mr. Mattson."
"Ah, that was my father's name. Call me Rich." he replied, "Now forgive me for my manners. I havent been in any sorta meeting like this in a long time."
The young man took off his duster and hat before placing them on the chair. Taking his seat not a moment later with his companions followed suit.
"Its fine Mr... ah... Rich." she stammered, not used to the informal speech.
Aaron had walked over to the ever shy Luna and started a conversation with her over something about dark magic. He had been spending time with twilight, experimenting with his new found magical abilities. Soon the two had bust into laughter at a joke that no one/pony had any idea as to what was funny.
The food was served soon after and the politicials (and Richard) ate a good meal of Pancakes. They were quite good and tasted like apples for some reason. The moment Rich took a bite of the pony made breakfast food his thoughts of a venison steak washed away in a flood of flavor. Taking to moment to talk to his freind, Tyler asked Aaron about what he had been doing the past few months...
"Well, I have been studing magic with Twilight for the most part and helped Applejack on the farm the rest of the time." he said with a wave his fork, "I have to say I really do like being able to enjoy myself in life rather then be stuck in some chemical lab testing different meds and such."
"I hope to god you haven't told them about the 'tests' we preformed on monkeys and mice." whispered the president
"No! I wouldn't even think of it. They would be disgusted by me if I did so."
"Other then that you have been having a good time then?" asked Tyler
"Yep! Never been better Ty." replied Aaron with a smile
As the night dragged on the obvious awkwardness from the first few minutes vanished and soon the men and the ponies conversed amongst themselves with utter joy. Neither of the races have had a meeting like this in a long time. Aaron had introduced Richard to Luna for some odd reason but the engineer didn't complain. It sure was nice for the mechanic to get out of his shop/overseeing duties and talk with the people/ponies of the outside world.
"Richard! Will you come over here please?" called out the well dressed Dr. Patterson who sat across from the dark blue moon princess.
"I guess! What do you want now doc?" asked Rich with a chuckle. He slowly made his way towards the 2 from the far side of the room and sat down in the chair next to Aaron.
"I would like to introduce you to my ex-enemy and friend Princess Luna." replied the doctor
The western dressed human stuck out his hand with a wide grin and said, "Please to meet ya Miss Luna. I am Richard Mattson."
Luna returned the gesture and asked him what he did among the ranks of the humans.
"Well, I suppose that would take most of all night so Ill simplify it for ya." He said, furrowing his eyebrows, "Lets see, I am the main engineer and mechanic for the entire city. Meaning I fix everything that's broken weather it be the reactors and the steam turbines themselves. Its what I have wanted to do my entire life."
"Do go on Richard, I would like to know a little bit more." said the blue alicorn
"That's all there is really. Other then a new or rather ancient project that has begun to take shape, I have been lazy most of the time or building things in my work shop."
She seemed to except the answer before asking about the new project.
"Well, that's kind of why I am here actually. I need some supplies and pony power if I am to finish this." He said, scratching the back of his head.
"Still extremely vague Richard." she said with a look of 'More info please' emanating from her face.
"It has come to my attention that you ponies do have some what of a rail network for moving mainly passengers. Am I correct?" She nodded
"Well, the basis of your little engines came from ours from over 2100 years ago. Though somehow they got down sized in the process. We currently have 4 of the original versions of your locomotives shoved down deep inside the earth waiting for their chance at redemption. That's why I am here. I need laborers and rails so I can drag the railroad up north into what we used to call the Iron Range."
"I really do hope you don't mean those small mountains north west of those big bodies of water." said the now nervous pony
"And why is that Miss?" asked a confused Richard
She shook, "That's Diamond Dog territory. Great big beasts that would rather kill then give up there hoard of jewels."
The human chuckled, "Well, if we run into any trouble we will be sure to let them know we don't play games."
"Do you think you could try diplomacy first?" she asked politely
"I am sure we'll try. Tyler wouldn't let us go on otherwise."
"Well as long as you try first." she said softly, knowing what the humans were capable of went prodded with a stick.
"If anything we will just tell them about Alaska to the north. Lots of gold deposits up there along with diamonds in the upper part of what we used to call Canada." replied the engineer, "Once they know about that they will probably just pack up and take off."
"That sounds like a good idea. Would we, the kingdom that is, get a fair share of what you mine if we help?"
"Oh yes. I had planned that from the very start. You will get half of anything we get out of there. That is if anything is left up there." he said with a sigh
"There is." said Aaron
"And how would you know?" asked a confused Richard. He shifted in his seat to get into a more comfortable position.
"Mother told me." the doctor said flatly
"Well, since it has been proven true, you will get a fair share Princess." said the mechanic with a smile
Smiling at the offer before her the moon Princess gladly said, "Thank you Mr. Mattson. I will have our railroad start building towards your location in a few days. You will have to wait til then to receive your materials and labor force."
"But wont you need to OK that with the buffalo tribes?" asked the bewildered engineer
"I will talk with them about it soon. Even if we have to come down from the north around there lands you WILL get your supplies." she said, sipping from the goblet in her telekinesis.
"I have to thank you for your cooperation Miss Luna. You have been a great help to my people." said the ecstatic human with a giant smile adorning his face.
"My pleasure Mr. Mattson. It has been a pleasure but I need to go now for I have to deal with the night court." said the alicorn with disgust, before she stood and walked towards her older sister.
"Celestia, you need your rest. You should be going to bed now." she said softly to the white pony
"I know." Replied the older princess, standing from her sitting position across from Tyler she announced that she was taking her leave. With that the two regal ponies exited the room... leaving the humans with the hard apple cider. This could be bad...