//------------------------------// // Chapter 8: The Manehattan Crusaders // Story: Tiara in the Rough // by Locomotion //------------------------------// Back in Ponyville, Apple Bloom wasted no time organising a mass get-together with the Crusaders' Manehattan branch. Her cousin Babs Seed was surprised at first, especially when she heard about Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, but jovially agreed to the plan as long as Button Mash, her long-distance coltfriend, was allowed to come too. Arrangements took time, and were even further complicated when Sweetie-Belle insisted on taking Lickety-Split with her; but the following Saturday saw every last one of the Cutie Mark Crusaders on the express to Manehattan, along with Locomotion, Silver Spoon, Button Mash and Lickety-Split. As far as the Crusaders were concerned, Locomotion had every reason to be delighted that day – not only were they riding the Bridleway Limited, a once-in-a-lifetime experience in itself, but the engine at the head of the train was yet another member of the 484P Class he had been talking about; and on top of all that, he had the sight of “Princess Twilight Sparkle” at the National Railway Museum to look forward to. But still he wouldn't stop grumbling. “Go see Diamond Tiara, they say! She might have changed for the better, they say! Ha! Fat chance of that ever happening!” he groused the following morning, as the train rumbled along the home straight towards Pennsylhaynia Station. “Oh, give it a rest, Loco!” chided Lickety-Split. “It's been a good five months since we last saw Diamond Tiara, and for all we know, she's probably been way out of her comfort zone among that lot. I reckon there's every chance Sweetie-Belle could be right.” “You would, considering the bond you share,” said Locomotion cynically. “I seriously don't understand, though, why they had to insist on dragging me along with them. I'm lucky Max Pressure was good enough to find me a substitute in such a short timescale!” Sweetie-Belle smirked cheekily. “You don't seriously regret coming all this way to see your favourite engine, do you?” “And what about the one pulling our train?” put in Dinky innocently. “Surely you'd be happy to have a Princess Class upfront?” Locomotion rolled his eyes dramatically. “Well, yeah, I'm pleased we've got No. 484P7 'Princess Cadance', but I really don't appreciate being dragged along against my will, even if it is for you guys.” “We wouldn't have asked you to come if we didn't think you could keep Diamond Tiara under control,” observed Tootsie Flute sagely. “You've always believed in us and our cause, so it's only natural that we should believe in you.” “Tootsie, there's believing in me, and there's practically forcing things upon me because you feel like it, and Diamond Tiara is one of them. I don't care what you think I'm capable of or what chances you think we might have of changing her ways – as far as I'm concerned...” Locomotion narrowed his eyes and adopted a sloppy, gloomy, pessimistic Bitalian accent for the final part of his speech; “...it will be a great disaster!” Lickety-Split just laughed. “It's no good using Wonderbolts quotes to try and scare us into turning back, Loco – we're gonna see it through even if we have to brainwash that filly, and you're not going anywhere near that museum until we're done.” At that moment, they heard the attendant calling out the name of their station. Apple Bloom and Button Mash eagerly leaped to their hooves and darted back to their compartments to gather their luggage; but Locomotion simply grunted as he set about gathering his saddlebags. He was beginning to wonder if perhaps he should have stayed in Ponyville and missed out on seeing the new engine in the museum. As the train halted smoothly next to the platform, the party noticed a certain brown-furred Earth pony with two-tone pink mane and tail cheerfully awaiting them with four other ponies. Almost at once, Apple Bloom burst forth out of the coach and flung her arms around the filly. “Hey, Babs!” she chirped heartily. “Boy, howdy, it's been a long time since we last saw ya.” “Yeah – too long,” agreed the thick Bronx drawl of her cousin. “Only two months gone by, true, but it might as well 'ave been two centuries!” “Hi, gorgeous.” Button Mash trotted up to the two cousins, his saddlebags bursting with what Apple Bloom guessed must be his favourite video games. “You miss me?” Babs smiled warmly and pecked him on the cheek. “You bet your horseshoes I did, Button,” she said. “I can never get enough of you when you're here in Manehattan.” Button Mash blushed. “Yeah, me neither. I tell you what, I can't wait to go back to yours and start playing World of Warriors,” he went on. “You wouldn't believe how lonely it gets playing solo.” “Ah, trust me, Button, I know how it feels. So – how's tricks with youze then, Apple Bloom?” “Oh, they're brilliant!” beamed Apple Bloom. “Seems our efforts are startin' ta pay off with the whole Crusaders thing – Scoot, Rumble, Pip, Tootsie an' Tornado 'ave got theirs since we last met. But enough about the head branch,” she went on. “How's it goin' your end?” “Swimmingly, cuz!” replied Babs. “My branch only just got a new recruit yesterday, name of Annette Key. Wanna come say hello, Annette?” The filly in question, a shy dark green Earth pony with a black and orange mane and tail, stepped forward. “Hi,” she said softly. “You must be...Apple Bloom?” “Ah sure am,” the yellow farm filly answered. “Um...honoured to meet you.” “She's a big fan of trains too, just like Loco,” explained Babs. “Only thing with her is she dunno what to do with...where is he, anyway? I thought ya said he'd be comin'.” Apple Bloom groaned and shook her head. “He'll be along in a minute, Babs – he's just bein' difficult, darn 'im!” “Oh, sure, pin it on the railway enthusiast, why not?” Babs and Apple Bloom turned back towards the carriage and saw Locomotion plodding out onto the platform at a sedate pace. Babs raised an eyebrow. “Is he alright? He seems a bit peeved, by my account,” she whispered to Apple Bloom. “Ah, don't worry about it, Babs,” chortled Apple Bloom. “Ah'm sure he's glad ta be here in Manehattan la'k the rest of us, aren't ya, Loco?” Locomotion's bored, disgruntled expression didn't change in the slightest. “Ecstatic,” he muttered in a very dry, very sarcastic tone. “Never mind him, Babs,” said Scootaloo. “He's just upset because we happened to mention the words 'Diamond Tiara' to him. Just wait till he gets to the museum – he'll be happy he came along then!” “Museum?” Annette's eyes lit up. “You mean the National Railway Museum?!” “Yeah, didn't they have a new engine paying that place a visit last time we checked?” asked one of the other Manehattan Crusaders. “I think so,” affirmed Babs. “Looked a lot bigger than most of the stuff they've got there, and I think it was named after...” “Twilight Sparkle?” interjected Button Mash. “Yeah, Loco was talking about it only last week. But anyways, you wanna lead us back to your place, Babs?” “Can't we stop by the museum on the way?” pleaded Annette, almost desperately. “Sorry, Ann – home first, Liberty Hall next, museum after,” said Babs. “Come on then, everypony, let's get goin'.” Annette was noticeably disappointed, but at least she seemed to take solace in the fact that there was another railway enthusiast in their midst. Locomotion, however, was so upset about not being allowed to visit the museum until after they had spoken to Diamond Tiara that he didn't seem to notice the younger filly. He just lagged behind the rest of the group, mumbling to himself about bribes, bullies and Cutie Mark Crusaders. The penthouse in which Babs and her family lived was on Farrier Hill, in Manehattan's Hooflyn region, an hour's walk away from the station. As the fillies and colts made their way through town, Apple Bloom told her all about Silver Spoon's messy break-up with Diamond Tiara. The chubby brown filly was by no means as shocked as the rest of the Crusaders had been, for she had seen fellow students becoming physically violent on a daily basis; but she still felt sorry for the grey-furred filly. “I know how you feel, Silver,” she mused. “I felt just as bad as you for takin' the mick outta my cousin and her friends – maybe even worse – an' all because I wanted to avoid bein' picked on too. Never realised you were like that, though. Guess it just goes to show, though – wherever there's bullying, there's a backstory behind it.” Silver Spoon nodded in reply. “Yeah, I did kinda wonder why you defected to our side so quickly,” she observed. “Still, I seem to be doing a good job of making up for it, even if I do say so myself. So, about the Manehattan branch...?” Babs chuckled heartily, and introduced Silver Spoon to the other members of the group. The first two foals to join the Manehattan branch were Perry Winkle, a playful blond Pegasus colt whose coat colour matched his name, and Groovy Tango, a music-loving electric-blue unicorn filly with a jungle-green mane and tail. The two of them had been close friends since foalhood (though Silver Spoon suspected that they too were probably more than friends by now), and saw Babs as a role model for helping and encouraging them to find their Cutie Marks, even after she had gained her own. Then there was Snowflake, a white unicorn filly with a light blue mane and tail, and the eldest of the group next to Babs. She loved exploring new places, but tended to ramble on if she was really passionate about something, and was seemingly none too keen on spiders. Annette was the youngest, and as the latest recruit to the cause, none of the others knew too much about her; but she seemed friendly enough in spite of her shyness, and while she didn't share Locomotion's encyclopaedic knowledge of trains and railways, she was just as keen as him. “Have any of you ever been to Liberty Hall?” ventured Silver Spoon. Snowflake frowned. “I had once,” she admitted gravely, “but I didn't enjoy it very much. When I heard that Babs' sister Sunflower Seed had recommended that place, I thought it might be my kind of school – but I soon found myself being tormented by the other fillies and colts, and the teachers didn't seem to care very much either.” Silver Spoon was startled. “Didn't they?” “No, unfortunately. My parents were infuriated by what I was going through, and sent me to Long Island Elementary School instead after the principal refused to accept their complaints.” “I nearly went through the same thing myself,” confided Babs. “They were okay back when my sis was attending that place, and my folks were thinking of transferring me there after the bullying problems came to a head. But then they got a new principal named Abacus Cinch, and everything just started to go downhill from there – the real nice teachers got kicked out, more snobbish ones came in, and anypony what wasn't a proper posh Manehattanite, they just looked down their noses at 'em! Lucky for Sunflower that she soon graduated and started goin' to college,” she finished unhappily. “So you've been there before?” asked Sweetie-Belle. “Many times, yeah,” replied Babs, “so I know that place inside and out. Jeepers, I could probably make it from one side of the campus to the other in my sleep if those snobs didn't get in my way!” She paused, noticing that Locomotion had fallen behind and was now stuck at the red light of a pelican crossing. “C'mon, Loco – the sun ain't gonna keep shining all day, ya know! Pick up the pace, will ya?” “What do you think I've been ruddy doing, Babs?!” shouted a flustered Locomotion as the light turned green. “It's not as if I enjoy being caught up in crowds, you know!” He darted across the road, swerving left and right to avoid being knocked over by oncoming ponies. “Honestly, I don't know how you Manehattan Crusaders can keep up with the rat race.” Perry laughed cheekily. “Surely you can – from what Babs has told us, you've been here often enough!” he quipped. “How is every once in a while just to visit the NRM 'often enough'?!” spluttered Locomotion indignantly. “It's not even a complete round trip of Manehattan, let me tell you!” “Never mind, Loco,” soothed Snowflake. “It's all water under the bridge. Besides, at least you've got your own young student to keep you occupied.” She gave Annette a gentle nudge, as if prompting her to speak up. “Um...yeah...so Loco...” “Yes, Annette?” said Locomotion, trying not to sound so cross as he humoured the little green filly. “...what's your favourite engine?” asked Annette inquisitively. “Oh, that's an easy one,” replied Locomotion, proudly puffing out his chest. “As far as mainline engines are concerned, my top choice would be the City Class of the former Pennsylhaynia Railroad. Magnificent engines, they are – heck, my own uncle drives one of them so he'd know. But my all-time favourite would probably have to be the Claud Hoofington class of 4-4-0. Again, former Pennsylhaynia Railroad engines, but more sort of vintage in appearance – inside cylinders and valve gear, large driving wheels, deep splashers, smaller tenders – mind you, they did have a number of advanced features that would later be adopted by more recent locomotives – steam reversing gear, exhaust steam injectors, oil firing in the case of the first forty-one engines...well, at first anyway...” Scootaloo smirked broadly. “Now there's the Loco we know best!” she murmured as Locomotion became engrossed in yet another of his interminable monologues. Having reached their destination, the Crusaders and their friends spent the best part of the afternoon hanging out at Babs' penthouse. Her parents didn't often get visitors, but they enjoyed playing host to the hastily-arranged “convention” nonetheless, and were even good enough to put in a huge pizza order for their dinner. Silver Spoon felt a little awkward for freeloading on their hospitality, but Babs assured her that she had nothing to feel ashamed of, and so the grey filly soon made herself more at home. Locomotion and Annette, meanwhile, were getting on famously. The green filly had been rather quiet at first, but as the red-furred teenager imparted his knowledge further and further, she gradually opened up to him, and by the time they reached Babs' house, the two of them were chatting away like old friends. As the fillies and colts sat around the television enjoying their pizza, Babs began to fill them in on their plan for the following day. “Right, now tomorrow, we're gonna have to get up pretty early,” she announced. “Liberty Hall is located right the other side of Manehattan from us, so it won't be no picnic. I'll be comin' to pick youze up at about nine in the morn, so I want you all ready by then. I probably don't need to remind youze how easy it is to get lost out there, so once we're on the move, we're to stay together at all times. You with me?” “Aye!” chorused the Crusaders. “And when we get to Liberty Hall?” asked Silver Spoon. “Well, most of 'em should be elsewhere seein' as it's half-term break, but there's bound to be some still kickin' around.” Babs' eyebrows straightened as she stared out of the window. “Best to keep your wits about ya, just in case,” she advised grimly. “You never know what dirty tricks they might get up to.” Groovy Tango frowned. “Probably just as well our head branch brought Loco along, then,” she remarked. “If he's capable of taking this Diamond Tiara nuisance off her high horse like Apple Bloom says he is, you and he might be our trump card when it comes to those snobs!” “I sure as hay hope so,” agreed Perry. “I don't much like the idea of becoming posh bully bait.” Locomotion overheard them, but didn't even bother to reply. He was growing tired of the Crusaders' flippancy, and remained steadfast in his belief that their “errand of mercy” was going to end in tears no matter what they did. “Darn it, you guys,” he muttered, “you're just asking for trouble...”