//------------------------------// // Chapter 2: Plane-Speaking Locomotion // Story: Constellation // by Locomotion //------------------------------// Several hundred miles away, in the town of Ponyville, Princess Twilight Sparkle was reading through a new set of books that she had just received. In the aftermath of Lord Tirek's rampage, the young alicorn had felt the destruction of the former Golden Oak Library so sorely that, following the creation of the majestic Castle of Friendship, she had devoted a great deal of her time and effort to establishing a brand new library on its ground floor. This not only made her feel more at home, but being the only part of the castle opened to the public on a daily basis, it also meant that the services and indeed the legacy of the Golden Oak Library would continue for many, many years to come. Looking back over the whole turn of events, the lavender-coated mare could only smile as she reflected on how much her life had changed since the attack. In earlier times, she had seen the old Golden Oak Library not just as a home, but also a safe haven to which she could retreat; but now that the Castle of Friendship had come into being, she could think of nowhere else she would rather live – especially since a certain member of the Royal Guard had been reassigned to her new home... “Morning, Twilight.” Breaking herself away from the book she was reading, Twilight turned towards the doorway as Locomotion, the young railway enthusiast, entered the library. “Hello there,” she greeted him. “How's tricks then, Twilight?” “They're good, thanks, Loco,” smiled Twilight. “Just this morning had a letter from Flash Sentry telling me of how the ambassador's visit went.” “Ambassador?” Locomotion paused, trying to recall what Twilight was talking about. “Oh yeah – that Yehuda El Equuis guy from Saddle Arabia. Yeah, I remember you talking about him earlier this week. He's come over here to sign an oil deal with Celestia, hasn't he?” “That's the same one.” “So what was Flash doing up there then?” “Princess Celestia had invited him personally to take command of the Royal Guard for the occasion,” explained Twilight. “According to the letter he sent me, he's also been assigned to the ambassador as a kind of unofficial bodyguard for the return journey.” “Yeah, that'd make sense, I guess,” mused Locomotion. “I mean, you did tell me, did you not, that he was going to be taking a vacation in Saddle Arabia himself?” “Correct again,” affirmed Twilight. She then paused, heaving a wistful sigh; “I just wish I could have come with him.” “I know how you feel,” sympathised Locomotion. “I'd probably feel the same way if I had a fillyfriend who was taking a break in some faraway land. But oh well, you'll have him back after two weeks, I'm sure,” he added optimistically. “Not as if he'll be gone forever, after all.” “No, I guess not,” agreed Twilight with a wry chuckle. “Anyway,” went on Locomotion, changing the subject, “have you got anything on Great Griffin War fighter planes in this literary collection of yours?” Twilight raised an amused eyebrow. “What? No train studies?” “Not today. See, we've got the Great Griffin War as part of our history studies at school and have been asked to write up various essays relating to said conflict,” explained Locomotion. “We've already looked into the Griffonian dictator Adolf Hawker and why we went to war with him, and our current assignment is military aircraft and the roles they played during the war. We'll be looking into the railways' involvement later on.” “Ah, I see. Well, I'll see what I have available.” Twilight set her book down on the desk and led Locomotion to the Military section of the library. “Right, let's see – I can offer you......'Sky Sentinels', 'Griffonian Dogfight', 'The Ultimate Guide to Equestrian Combat Aircraft'...” “Whichever is the most informative,” chuckled Locomotion. Twilight paused. “Hmm...well how about 'Griffonian Dogfight' then? That should give you all the information you'll ever need.” “Okay then. Thanks, Twilight.” With a polite nod, Locomotion accepted the book and trotted over to the reading area to start taking notes for his essay. Once out of earshot, though, he couldn't help but chuckle as he remembered the story Twilight had told him about how she and Flash had become an item. Twilight had first met Flash when he was new to the Royal Guard in the Crystal Empire, and then in two forms – firstly in his true form as a Pegasus pony, the one with which Locomotion was already familiar by now, and later, after she had pursued a power-mad and thoroughly spiteful unicorn mare named Sunset Shimmer into an alternate dimension, as one of those strange bipedal creatures that she and Lyra called humans. It was during her time in this parallel universe that the young princess had started to develop feelings for him, though whether these were for the stallion himself or for his human counterpart remained a mystery for quite some time – indeed, there were times when Twilight found herself losing a great deal of sleep over the matter. A year later, she was called up to a summit at Canterlot Castle along with her five best friends and her dragon assistant Spike. As luck would have it, her former foalsitter Princess Cadance had brought Flash along as part of her entourage, and duly noticed what was going on between them; but unfortunately, her attempt at a gentle nudge only served to confuse the younger alicorn even further, and so Twilight ultimately resorted to a hastily created “Soulmate Spell” in a bid to verify whether she really did have a crush on the young guardspony. Predictably, this spell turned out to be horribly flawed, and in the end it took a great deal of counselling from Cadance to soothe her frustration and distress and persuade her to give Flash a trial run. Needless to say, Twilight was extremely shy about it at first, not just because of her uncertainty, but also out of fear for how Flash would react when he found out that her feelings for him had stemmed from some otherworldly creature who was virtually the same as him – and yet at the same time, rather confusingly, he wasn't. But much to her bewilderment, when she explained this to him at their first date, he didn't seem the least bit put off by this revelation – though it came as a shock at first, the young guardspony was surprisingly philosophical about her dilemma, especially after hearing that many of the other humans she had met were otherwise identical to everypony she knew of back in Equestria. If this other Flash Sentry was virtually the same as him, he observed, then he and Twilight were probably destined to be together. This of course set everything right, and thus began a growing relationship between princess and guardspony. It must have been quite the eye opener, Locomotion thought to himself as he studied the blueprints of a Griffonian bomber, for only a month later, Rarity had also managed to come to terms with her own feelings for Spike, and shortly after, Scootaloo and Rumble had started going out together... “Hey there, Loco!” Locomotion stifled a chuckle when he heard that voice. “And just when I was thinking about you guys too!” he grinned mirthfully, looking up at the two-tone grey Pegasus colt who was just approaching. “How's it going, Rumble?” “Not bad, thanks, Loco,” replied Rumble. “We've just come up here to see if there are any books on the Great Griffin War is all.” “Have you?” Locomotion's eyes lit up. “Well, what a coincidence! I was just reading about the same topic. You looking up fighter planes as well?” “Sure are,” affirmed Scootaloo. “Ah – well then, perhaps we could share this book I'm reading right now,” offered Locomotion. “Should have all the info we'll need.” Scootaloo and Rumble were happy to agree. Soon, the three of them were indulging in an idle chat as they jotted down the information they felt would be most relevant to their essays. As was not unusual, Locomotion wasn't above giving his two Cutie Mark Crusader friends as informative a lecture as he could without being boring should they need certain details in the aircraft or a specific chapter of the war explained to them; but otherwise, their conversation mainly consisted of small talk and their opinions on the conflict with the griffins. “You know,” observed Locomotion at one point, “it's quite incredible to think how far we've come in the world of aviation over the years.” “It sure is,” mused Rumble. “Just a couple of centuries ago, the only way you would have been able to fly was if you'd been born with wings like us Pegasi – and now look at us.” “Yeah,” chimed in Scootaloo. “Now we've got all sorts of aircraft in the sky – balloons, airships, helicopters, stealth bombers, fighter jets, seaplanes, passenger airliners...” “And to think,” chuckled Locomotion, “were it not for aircraft, the Great Griffin War could have been a totally different story. Bravo for the Supermare Spitfire and the de Hoofilland Mosquito, that's what I say. Come to think of it, Scoot,” he added, “your aunt shares her name with that first one.” “What, Aunt Spitfire?” “Yeah. Was that intentional or just coincidence?” Scootaloo paused. “According to what Dad told me, yeah, it was intentional,” she replied. “He says Grandpa was a fighter pilot in Baltimare and thought it a nice gesture to name my aunt after the planes he flew.” “And quite right too,” said Rumble feelingly. “Without the Spitfire, we'd be a Griffonian colony by now – and I really don't like the idea of living under the rule of someone like Adolf Hawker.” “Neither do I,” agreed Locomotion, scowling at the mention of the notorious griffin dictator. “Heck, it'd be pure agony having to suffer under him! As far as I'm concerned the only thing worse than having that...that...that racist, sexist, power-mad psychopath as a leader would be if Tirek succeeded Celestia and Luna on the throne!” “Did I just hear someone say 'Tirek'?!” snarled an angry voice from nowhere in particular. The three foals looked around, startled, and noticed a disgruntled Discord hovering close by. Locomotion rolled his eyes, unsure whether to feel relieved or dismayed. Even though Discord had managed to redeem himself throughout Equestria, there were still plenty who found him rather annoying at times, and the red-furred colt was no exception. “Sure did, Discord,” he grunted, “but before you ask, none of us were speaking favourably of him in any way whatsoever.” “I should certainly hope not,” scowled Discord. “Imagine tricking me into giving away everypony else's magic with the promise of eternal chaos if I complied – I should have known that he would be the one dealing it instead of me! Why, if I ever saw him again, I'd throw him into space and see how long he could last up there just so I could see him die!” “And I'd probably do a lot worse!” put in Locomotion fiercely. “Given half the chance, I'd grab him by the neck, slam him into a drystone wall, punch him once in the face and twice in the guts for every living being from whom he tried to steal magic, stamp on his head until I'd mashed it to a pulp and throw his sorry remains back into Tartarus!” Discord gave an approving smirk. “You know, Locomotion,” he commented, “I think I like your idea better. I'd better remember that if he ever does break out of Tartarus again.” “Better that than him taking all your power away because you helped feed his thirst for magic until he was too far gone for you to stop him yourself,” retorted Locomotion smugly. This didn't go down too well with the irritated draconequus; “Watch it, Loco,” he threatened. “I have the power to make you go against your own persona should you give me any more cheek!” “Oh, sure,” scoffed Locomotion dismissively, though with a broad smirk on his face, “corrupt me with your Chaos Magic, why don't you, and make me even more obsessed with railways than I already was.” In response, Discord assumed a smug expression, pointing his eagle talon at Locomotion and raising his lion's paw as if to make a snide comeback – but after little more than a single second of holding that stance, his paw dropped back to his side, and his jaw fell to an impossibly low level as his expression changed from smug to stunned. “H-h-h-h-h-h-how...did you do that?!” he spluttered. “I dunno,” said Locomotion innocently. “You were the one casting the spell, not me. You must have messed up somewhere – big time!” “I......had?” Discord groaned and slapped his paw to his face before transforming himself into a sheep. “Well, now I feel a little sheepish! You know what? Go ahead and have your victory, Mr Triumph Over All – see if I care,” and he promptly vanished. Locomotion watched with a triumphant grin. “One in the headlamp for the wisecracking draconequus,” he chortled. “Yeah, well, 'A' for effort and all,” said Rumble uneasily, “but isn't that a bit...brutal, what you suggested for Tirek?” The young railway enthusiast sighed ruefully. “Yeah, sorry about that, Rumble – I just...that's how much I hate Tirek and Hawker. It really ticks me off when some...idealistic brute, Equestrian or otherwise, tries to threaten the welfare of all those whom he or she thinks is beneath them. You guys may not understand this, but...when I read about a war or a disaster or a serious crime, see it in a film, hear it on the radio or through word of mouth, I...it's just so easy for me to put myself in the mindsets of whoever was affected by whatever it was that happened to them. That's what makes me feel so sorry for them...and so angry about their circumstances.” Rumble smiled kindly and gave Locomotion a reassuring pat on the back. “I know the feeling,” he sympathised. “I've often gotten rather ashamed and even mad at myself for being able to fly where others aren't – my cousin especially. But then I keep telling myself; some things aren't meant to be, and we just have to live with that.” “Well...you and me both,” Scootaloo pointed out. “Besides, as I said earlier, we don't really need wings if we want to fly nowadays,” continued Rumble. “That's what aircraft are for.” “Well, you're welcome to them,” chuckled Locomotion, “but me? I'd much prefer a good old-fashioned steam train to get me where I want to go. I mean, not that I have anything against aircraft; I like them for their technological value and all, but I just...wouldn't want to travel in one.” “Why not?” “It just sounds so...alien, the idea of being up in the sky in some giant metal tube,” admitted Locomotion unhappily. “Your chances of survival in a crash are almost non-existent too.” “What do you mean 'non-existent'?” objected Scootaloo. “Soarin says that airliners are the safest form of travel ever invented.” Locomotion shook his head in disbelief. “Have you any idea how many air disasters there have been with a total loss of life? Air Prance Flight 229 from Bearlarus in 1928; that lost an engine and crashed into a mountain – there were no survivors. Chineighse Airlines Flight 53 for Tokyoke; the main fuel tank exploded over the Golden Sea – there were no survivors. Royal Equestrian Airways Flight 781 from Maregentina; one of the first ever jet airliners, the de Hoofilland Comet 1s, broke up on its way to Miamane – there were no survivors...” “Okay, okay, we get the idea, Loco!” interrupted Rumble. “Look, if you don't want to travel on a plane, then that's fine; but you don't need to go into a rant about it.” “Yeah, Loco, cool it, why can't you!” Their red-furred friend sighed heavily. “Sorry, guys,” he apologised meekly. “I just don't trust aircraft is all – even if I so much as think about the idea of travelling on one, I keep worrying I might sign my own death warrant in the process.” “Alright, Loco, keep your mane on,” teased Scootaloo, turning her attention back to her notes. “I shouldn't worry too much, Loco,” soothed Rumble. “Okay, so perhaps you don't always have a chance of survival if ever you do get into an air crash, but Soarin's right – there's not much chance of that sort of thing ever happening.” “I should certainly hope not,” mused Locomotion; but then his face lit up again. “I wonder how Aunt Carnation Petal's doing right now.” “What about her?” asked Scootaloo, who wasn't really listening. “She's headed over to Saddle Arabia in three days' time aboard Royal Equestrian Airways Flight 759 – plans to spend a week in Abu Dhonki. Another one of those Celestial Faith missions, I'm guessing...”