//------------------------------// // Huckleberry // Story: Lonesome Whistle // by Vauclains Understudy //------------------------------// Hippo and his cargo arrived in Huckleberry at around 10 o’clock that night. M was unloaded from her flatcar and rolled back into the shed for the night. As soon as Ironside stepped down from Hippo’s cab, another engineer and his fireman hopped in. “You’re not staying?” asked Ironside. “I can’t,” replied the Decapod, “I got to be back in Silverton to catch the 9:15 freight. Work never stops for you when you’re a freight engine.” “Sorry you couldn’t catch much of a break,” said Iron. “Nah, I’m used to it. I’m built for it, honestly,” replied Hippo. “Well, thanks for all the help,” said Ironside. “No problem at all, sonny!” called Hippo as his new crew backed him down towards the wye. Iron waved goodbye to the engine and crew before turning his attention to M. It was clear that the all-day run had left Iron feeling pretty worn out as he slowly trotted into the shed. “How you feeling?” he asked as sat down on M’s pilot. “My drivers fell asleep, but I’m pretty comfortable,” she answered. “Will you be able to run tomorrow?” the engineer asked. “That’s a pretty dumb question to ask, Iron,” she replied, “I should be the one questioning you.” Ironside yawned as if on cue. “Yep, that’s a sign you need to get some rest,” M said. “Well, I did drive all the way here in one day,” he said groggily, “But I still need to make sure you’re set for tomorrow.” As he said this, however, he fell back and smacked his head against M’s smokebox. “No, no, no. You sleep. Now,” commanded M. Ironside groaned as he lay down on her pilot. “No whining. You sleep,” she said again. “I’m not whining, I’m complaining,” he murmured. “No complaining. Sleep,” said M a third time. Iron smiled and closed his eyes. “As you wish,” he said softly. Shining Armor was right on both counts. Twilight fell asleep around midnight, meaning that Armor had to both drive and stoke 1015, and the engine arrived in Silverton at around 3 in the morning. Unsurprisingly, there was no one around. Seeing that all the buildings in town were closed, Armor backed 1015 into a siding and dropped his fire. After that, he wrote a letter to Cadence instructing her to not let the girls continue their chase. They were to remain in the Crystal Empire until Twilight and he returned with Ironside. Cadence responded in agreement. After wishing her husband and sister-in-law good night, she relayed Armor’s instructions to the rest of the Mane 6. Dash, Blitz, and Sunny weren’t happy. “I know Twilight doesn’t want us risking our lives again, but it feels like we’re totally useless right now,” complained Dash. “I know what you mean, RD,” said Applejack, “It seems like we came all this way for nothing.” “It’s nothing you could’ve foreseen,” said Cadence, “There’s no reason to go around kicking yourselves for it.” “Besides, have some faith in Armor and Twilight,” added Rarity, “They’ll bring Ironside back.” “Well I for one wish that I was with them,” said Blitz. “Me too,” said Sunshine with a sigh. “Same here,” said Rainbow Dash. Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy nodded in agreement. It was very frustrating not being able to partake in the rescue mission they had been so eager to execute. They wanted to be sure that Ironside was safe and sound when they brought him back. “Armor promised that he would keep me updated on what’s happening,” said Cadence, sensing their frustration, “We’ll know right away if anything happens.” Her reassurance didn’t do much to lighten the mood. “It ain’t the same,” said AJ, “It’d be better if we were actually there in case anything did go south.” Cadence sighed. “I’m sorry, girls, but Twilight and Armor were adamant that we leave it to them.” She looked over to the bed where Spike was sleeping. “Spike was lucky to have survived that crash. The next time something like that was to happen, whoever was involved mightn’t be so lucky.” The ponies’ gazes followed hers to Spike, and they understood why the siblings were going alone. Dash trotted over and gingerly stroked Spike’s head. “And what if something does go wrong again? We won’t be there to help.” “Like Rarity said, have some faith in them,” answered Cadence, “They’ve always been looking out for each other.” As dawn broke the next morning, Ironside awoke to the sound of cars rumbling along the rails in the yard. He also heard the sounds of laughter and whooping, as if whoever was working in the yard was having a bit too much fun. Rubbing his eyes, he slid off M’s pilot and stepped outside to investigate. His drowsy state was suddenly shattered by a string of hoppers roaring past with no locomotive attached. Quickly turning his head in the direction of the cars, he caught sight of the source of the commotion. Sitting inside the lead hopper was a young black alicorn with a worn black leather jacket, red stripes on his coat, a blond mane with red highlights, a goatee, a broken horn, goggles, red metal plates on his wings, and leather boots. His broken horn glowed bright red, and as he jumped from one string of hoppers to another, Ironside noticed that the wheels of the leading car would glow the same red hue. “Out of the way, bro!” he shouted as the hoppers flew by nearly striking Ironside. “Holy shit, man, what the hell are you doing?!” exclaimed Ironside. “My job!” called the alicorn as he flew past on yet another string of cars. He then jumped off the lead boxcar and landed right in front of Ironside. “Your job is to joyride on freight trains in the rail yard?” asked the incredulous Pegasus. “No man, I’m the shunter here,” replied the alicorn. Ironside took a quick glance at what he realized was a license plate pinned to the side of the jacket. “Roadkill?” asked Iron. “At your service,” said the alicorn bowing. Iron looked Roadkill over and smirked. “An appropriate name, if you ask me.” Roadkill stood up with a very toothy grin on his face. “Oh, you don’t know the half of it, bro.” “My name’s Ironside, actually,” replied the engineer. Roadkill looked at the steel leading edges on the Pegasus’s wings. “Now there’s an appropriate name,” he said still smiling. There was something about Roadkill’s personality that Ironside already seemed to like. “So what brings you here to Huckleberry?” asked the alicorn. “I brought my engine here to visit her brother,” replied Iron. “Her brother?” asked Roadkill. “Yeah, 464,” answered the engineer. Roadkill’s eyes widened. He never knew that any of 464’s siblings survived the scrapper’s torch. “Stay here for just a second,” said Roadkill. He flew off toward a shed on the opposite side of the yard. A few minutes later, Huckleberry (the engine) steamed out of his stall and toward the engineer with Roadkill trotting alongside. “Does John speak the truth?” asked the K-27. “John?” asked Ironside. Roadkill waved at him. “Oh. Oh yeah, I brought 463 with me,” replied Iron smiling. He could tell that what he said had a profound impact on Huck, as the engine’s safety valve popped out of sheer joy. “Sister!!!” he screamed as he charged full steam ahead toward her shed. As if that wasn’t eye-popping enough for Iron, he then noticed that Roadkill was still standing next to him. “Whoa…wait…what? Why aren’t you on the footplate?” Roadkill pointed to his snapped horn and its red glow. “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure he doesn’t run his sister through the wall,” said Roadkill. “Sister!” called Huck again, “It’s me, 464!” M shot awake. “464! I’m in here!” she called from inside her stall. Roadkill magically opened the stall doors and lowered Huck’s speed to avoid him damaging M by running into her. As soon as the doors were opened, Huck steamed into the stall and hooked up to his sister. “It’s been so long, brother!” exclaimed M, “I missed you so much!” “I know, right?!” exclaimed her brother. “Come on, 463,” said Roadkill, “You’re not sitting in there all day.” Huck then began to drag his sister out of the shed. “Hey, hey, hey! What’re you doing?! I’m not ready yet!” exclaimed M. “Sorry, sis,” said Huck, “John’s in control right now.” “Who’s John?” asked M. Roadkill waved at her. “Well could you tell John that my drivers are a little seized up right now?” she asked indignantly. Roadkill didn’t need to be told twice (he could hear M, after all). He relinquished control of Huck and let Ironside uncouple him from M. Ironside went around oiling M’s running gear before allowing Huck to pull his sister out of her stall. Unfortunately, Huck wasn’t under the control of an actual engineer, so he pulled M out a bit too fast for her tastes. Realizing this, Roadkill reversed Huck’s valve gear, causing the drivers to spin forwards as the two engines skidded backwards. The rapid deceleration caused the engines’ couplers to compress, and M felt as if she would slam headfirst into her brother. “Sorry, sis,” Huck said again. “Don’t blame yourself,” said M in an annoyed voice, “You’re not the one in control right now.” “John, do you even know how to drive a train?” asked Ironside. “Eh, kinda,” replied Roadkill, “I was never actually assigned an engine because I just use my magic to shunt the cars around.” “Alex, please stop this guy before he wrecks us both!” shouted M. “John, maybe I should control Huck for now. M is getting pretty shaken up the way you’re driving Huck.” “You better ask his driver first,” said Roadkill. “And who’s his driver?” asked Ironside. “Trixie,” answered Roadkill. Again Ironside did a double take. “Wait, Trixie? You mean as in…” “The Great and Powerful? Yes,” answered a familiar voice. Ironside turned around to see Trixie appear from behind the shed. His jaw went completely slack the moment he saw her. Roadkill trotted up beside him and lifted his jaw back up to his head. “Well, if it isn’t the legendary royal engineer himself,” mused Trixie as she approached. Ironside blushed. “She called me legendary,” he whispered to Roadkill. “What brings you to this side of the country?” asked Trixie. Iron cleared his throat. “I, uh… I was going to ask you the same question,” he answered timidly. “Well, I had to find someplace to make a living after I got myself kicked out of Ponyville,” said Trixie. “I understand that, but…a railroad?” replied the engineer, “I thought you didn’t trust wheeled objects.” “That was until I started working in the mines at Silverton,” answered Trixie, “I asked to have the wheels taken off my mine cart as a result. Two words: bad idea.” “Throw your back out?” asked the engineer. “I was lucky not to dislocate my shoulder blades,” replied the magician. Ironside smiled; he knew her distrust of wheels wouldn’t last forever. “So what made you decide to become a locomotive driver?” he asked. “Two weeks of hauling mine carts and I’d had it,” said Trixie, sweeping her hoof across for emphasis. “I wanted to keep the job, just not the back breaking. So I trained myself to drive trains.” “Do you have a fireman?” asked Iron. Trixie shook her head. “No need,” she answered pointing to her horn. “That’s why she holds you in high regard,” said Roadkill, “You drive solo too, but you’re not a unicorn.” Trixie nodded in response. “In any case,” she continued, “You haven’t told me why you’re here.” “Did you know that your engine has a sister?” he asked, turning his head towards the K-27s. It was then that Trixie realized that there were indeed two K-27s sitting there on the spur. “Oh my,” she said incredulous, “I never knew there was another Mudhen. I thought Huckleberry was the only one left.” “Huckleberry?” asked M. “Yeah, that’s the nickname they gave me,” said her brother. “It’s better than mine,” admitted M. “Why, what’s yours?” asked Huck. “Take the first letter of our class nickname, and you got it,” his sister answered. Huck snickered. “Since you’re here, Ironside,” said Trixie, “I think it’s only proper that we give you a tour of the town.” “Wait until you see my favorite hangout spot,” said Roadkill as he, Trixie, and Ironside climbed into Huck’s cab. Trixie beckoned Iron over to her. “Trust me, it’s nowhere you want to loiter for long,” she whispered. Ironside pondered over what she said as the two engines rolled down into town.