Locomotion gazed out of one of the library windows towards the clear blue sky, smiling softly as he watched the unmistakeable outline of a de Hoofilland Constellation weaving its way westwards through the few clouds that hung above Ponyville. Twilight sat snuggled up next to Flash with the latest Daring Do novel on the nearby sofa.
“Well,” the red-furred young railway enthusiast mused, “seems the Constellation's finally proving its worth.”
“It sure is, Loco,” agreed Flash, “and boy, am I glad we've managed to make sure of that. A few lives lost, I can understand, but over fifteen-hundred – that's just...overkill! Still,” he went on, “at least Tailstrike and McPommel got what they deserved.”
“I'll say,” put in Locomotion, a hint of anger in his voice. “Imagine killing all those passengers just to make a plane look dangerous! Heck, if I'd been the jury, I'd have taken every length to ensure they regretted their actions.”
“Precisely what the real jury did,” chuckled Twilight, recalling all the heckling and insults that had been hurled at McPommel during the trial. “Turns out the travelling public were absolutely furious with Professor McPommel, and they made no secret of it at the trial either – one pony even stood up and called him Judas before he could give his name!”
Locomotion laughed as the mental image crossed his mind. “Serves him right if you ask me! What kind of penalty did they give them, anyway?”
“Poetic justice – that was their penalty,” replied Flash simply.
“Yeah, both their personal fortunes went towards the compensation to the victims' families,” Twilight explained further. “After that, Tailstrike was banished, McPommel was given a life imprisonment, and his company was passed over to the de Hoofilland Aircraft Company free of charge. But there's more...”
“Oh yeah, what?” asked Locomotion, interested.
“You know that tip-off we received at Starswirl Airport regarding Tailstrike?”
“Yeah?”
“It turns out the call was made by McPommel's Head of Research, Waylon Withers. He told us at the trial that he had been subjected to ruthless bullying by his boss, but also that he felt he was going too far by attacking my plane, hence why he called the control tower,” Twilight clarified. “It was more than enough for de Hoofilland to take pity on him and offer him a job in their own design department.”
“Oh, well, that's good to know,” smiled Locomotion. “I reckon that's the best thing for him, after what that blackguard McPommel has put him through. I mean, who would want to work under some...maniac like him?”
“Who indeed?”
“Still, at least we can finally get back to normal – sort of,” went on Locomotion. “That fiasco with the Constellations has given way more trouble than it's worth, and I'm darn well glad it's over. The number of hours I spent away from Ponyville MPD because I was too upset to work...ugh! Don't even get me started on all that!”
Flash nodded sympathetically. “I know how you feel, Loco. I'd been losing a fair bit of sleep myself from having nearly lost Twily, and I'm still having to go for counselling over the whole thing.”
“Never mind, Flash,” soothed Twilight, nuzzling her guardspony lovingly. “At least we're back together again.”
Only then did Locomotion notice something interesting about the lavender-coated alicorn's front right hoof. “Here, Twilight, what's that on your fetlock?”
Twilight looked down. “Oh, that,” she remarked, a light blush creeping onto her cheeks. “Yeah, Flash gave me that just last week.”
“Oh, right? What, is it a late birthday present then?”
“No, it's an engagement bracelet.”
Locomotion's jaw fell open, and he gazed in awe upon the golden trinket. “No!”
“Oh, yes,” smiled Flash. “See, after the trial, we decided we couldn't make do with dating alone anymore, so I proposed to her.”
“Wow,” remarked Locomotion. “First Dash and Soarin, then Spike and Rarity, and now you, eh? Congratulations.”
“Thanks,” said Twilight, still beaming from ear to ear. “Guess we'd better start planning a wedding soon.”
Locomotion chuckled in hearty agreement. “Well, I'd better not get in the way of you making the arrangements,” he decided. “I've got a lot of engine cleaning and shunting work to catch up on at any rate. So long, you two – be sure to let us know when you do decide to get hitched.”
“Will do, Loco. See you later.”
And with a cheery smile, Locomotion trotted out of the castle feeling a lot happier about the way things were going. True, his favourite aunt and more than a thousand other airline passengers had gone, but thanks to Twilight's intuition and her and Flash's bravery, their souls could finally be laid to rest – and on top of it all, he and the rest of Ponyville had a royal wedding to look forward to. In spite of all the hardships that he and the two love-birds had been through, their lives were slowly but surely beginning to settle...
But his train of thought was quickly disturbed by the sound of a colt making a shoddy attempt at aircraft noises. Looking over his shoulder, he could see his friend Button Mash, latterly known as High Score, galloping round in circles with what looked like a very odd plane in his hoof. “Hey, High Score,” he called. “What are you up to, playing aeroplanes?”
“Who, me? No way!” scoffed Button Mash dismissively.
Locomotion cocked an eyebrow in confusion. “Aren't you? But I thought you were almost as obsessed with aircraft as with video games – and if you're not, then what's that plane thing in your hoof?”
Button Mash laughed. “Plane indeed! This is no plane!”
“Well, what else could it be, a daft brush?!”
“Nope – it's a space ship!” replied Button Mash. He then darted away, continuing to make aircraft noises as he flew his “space ship” home and leaving a baffled Locomotion standing speechless in the middle of the street.
“A...a space ship?! Cripes, now I've heard everything!”