It Is Not Over Yet
Thudddd!
Outside, the ponies of Steamfall gasped.
Windburst spun from where he was questioning a large group of workers. His beak hung agape.
A column of loose debris flew from the three-story boiler chamber, followed by a hot burst of steam that screamed sky-high.
The streets and pavement of the compound still shook from the inexplicable explosion. Raptr and Sarda fell to their haunches. Keris held Kayman steady while Starstorm flapped her wings to hover in mid-air.
"What now?!" Sarda exclaimed.
Keris stood up tall, shouting, "Commander!!!"
The Lieutenant's hollering voice barely made its way through a collapsed mess of steel and pipework. Towards the center of the room, a pile of debris slowly shifted, accompanied by a muffled groan.
A few paces towards the north end of the building...
"Grnnngh..." Rainbow Dash crawled out from underneath a criss-crossing pair of steel beams. "What I wouldn't give to be back in a kingdom that runs off mana again..."
"Rainbow Dash!" Rarity gasped.
"What?" And just as Rainbow blinked, there was a loud crumbling noise. A wall of gray light washed over her frazzled features. She blinked towards a gaping hole blown through the north end of the building.
"Look, Dashie!" Pinkie Pie pointed. "An exit!"
"You can say that again!" With a stupid grin, Rainbow hopped up to her hooves and scampered over debris. "Pizz Fah Whizz!"
Pinkie blinked. "What?"
"Better take advantage of the distraction while everyone's freaked out over the explosion." Rainbow reached the hole, shuddering from the cold air. "Fluttershy, how's the cat bird?"
"She's... uh... stable," Fluttershy said.
"Really?" Twilight wheezed.
"Stable enough." Fluttershy's sharp-eyed gaze darted to Rainbow Dash. "Go! Run!"
"Running—" Rainbow Dash leapt out of the steaming building in a blur.
"Rrrrrgh!" Keris and Starstorm struggled with the heavy metal doors at the front of the building.
Sarda had to step aside to make room for Windburst's landing.
Fwooosh! "Was the Commander in there?!" he asked.
"I'm afraid so..." Keris grunted.
"Then what are you waiting for?!" Windburst snarled. "Open the door! Let's get her out!"
"It's... bolted from the inside!" Starstorm panted, glancing at the others. "Did we bring any explosive charges?"
"Not a good idea," Sarda said. "You heard how big that explosion was. You wanna bring the entire building down on your boss?"
"The stallion's right." Keris gestured. "Windburst. Raptr. Circle the building. Look for an alternative entrance."
"Aye!" Swooosh!
"Don't need to tell me t-twice!" Fwoosh!
"Lieutenant," Starstorm spoke in the wind of the two Sergeants' exit. "The Rainbow Rogue was in there too, right? So who do you think caused the explosion?"
Keris had no words. He just panted and sweated...
Fw-Fw-Fwish! Windburst and Raptr flew around the building in opposite directions.
Consortium workers from all departments rushed through the streets of Steamfall, converging on the scene. A privately owned group of firefighters drew a wagon full of water tanks and fire extinguishers. The air was full of panicked shouts and commands.
Meanwhile...
A single figure pressed herself against the wall, staying icy still while the rest of Steamfall surged towards the northeast sector.
"We really woke the sleeping dragon with this one, Rainbow," Twilight remarked.
Rainbow nodded, gulping. "Then let's not stick around for breakfast." She looked at Rarity. "How far to the railyard?"
"Three blocks due northwest—" The unicorn's eyes bugged. "Rainbow, darling, you can't still be thinking that—"
"Of course I'm still thinking that!" Rainbow took a deep breath and then broke out into a gallop. With the street emptied of Consortium workers, she galloped—unimpeded—towards the converging railways. "The Desperadoes gave us a free ticket, and I intend to capitalize! At least now we have a distraction!"
"Yeah, but..." Pinkie Pie gulped. "But for how long?"
A pile of debris stirred.
"Mrmmfff..."
The pile of debris shifted.
"Grffff...!"
At last, the debris exploded upwards with a flash of silver.
"Raaaaaaugh!" Seraphimus waded waist-deep in dust and detritus. She was not smiling. One claw at a time, she pulled herself out of the mess, crawling into the light.
Two shadows converged at the northwest exit of the building. Windburst and Raptr threaded their way in, flinching as chunks of broken catwalk fell past them, filling the wasted boiler chamber with even more echoes.
"Commander!" Raptr's voice cracked as he looked around.
"Commander Seraphimus?! Where are you?!" Windburst wheezed. "Give us a sign!"
"For Verlaxion's sake, stop shouting!" Seraphimus stammered, pulling herself forward. "This whole pl-place could come crumbling down!"
"Commander!" Raptr gasped.
Both Sergeants flew towards her, giving her a helpful talon.
"The Rogue..." Seraphimus snarled, shaking the dust off her feathers. "...she d-did this..."
Windburst looked around, squinting. "Is she still in here?!"
"Mrmmfff... is life ever that fair?"
"What were you both even doing, locked away in here?" Windburst blinked.
Seraphimus frowned. "It doesn't even matter anymore."
"Commander..." Raptr stood back up, lifting a crumpled item in his grasp. He dusted off a silver bowl and handed it over to the leader. "Uhm... your h-helmet."
"... ... ..." Seraphimus gingerly grasped the horrifically broken article. She shook... she growled... and then with a flash of claws, she flung the thing to the rubble. Clank! "The Rainbow Rogue exited through that hole! We have to catch her before she leaves Steamfall!"
"Ma'am!" Raptr saluted before swiftly taking wing. Swiiish! "Yes, ma'am!"
Windburst accompanied Seraphimus as the Commander flapped her wings. "The streets outside are crowded. Everypony in Steamfall is right here now."
"Then she's likely headed to where it's not crowded." Seraphimus flung a claw. "Head northwest! Sweep the streets! Use any means necessary to neutralize our prey!"
Windburst blinked. "Ma'am?"
"Any. Means." Fwooosh! Seraphimus exited before her own growling voice could catch up with herself.
Outside, Starstorm and Keris swiveled about at the sound of slicing wingblades. They looked up and saw Seraphimus sailing sky-high with Windburst and Raptr.
"Commander!" Keris exhaled. He shuddered, suffering a brief smile. "You're in one p-piece!"
"Never mind that!" Seraphimus shouted. "The Rogue is on the run!"
"Again?" Starstorm exclaimed.
"Sergeant, come with us!" Seraphimus pointed.
"Affirmative!" Starstorm leapt off the ground. Fwooosh!
"Wait!" Keris raised his good talon. "This explosion! What—?!"
"You!" Seraphimus pointed. "Return to Braum with Mr. Sarda and the wounded stallions."
"But—"
"We need them to be somewhere safe and sound!" Commander hollered, flying off. "We'll question them later! I'm counting on you, Lieutenant!" Then, with silver streaks, the rest of the Talon flew northwest.
Keris leaned back, clenching his beak tight.
Sarda was shivering at this point. "Verlaxion's sleet..." Nevertheless, he hoisted Kayman up and over his flank. "...this is utter madness!"
Keris shuddered. "My good stallion..." He pivoted about, lifting one of the two remaining villagers. "...you don't know the half of it."
"They're taking wing!" Fluttershy exclaimed in mid glide.
"Who, exactly?" Pinkie asked. "The whole Talon?"
Fluttershy gulped. "Everyone but Keris."
"That means the gloves are off," Twilight said with a shudder. She looked aside. "Rainbow Dash—"
"I heard it." Rainbow huffed and puffed as she ran northwest. "Let's not stick around for an encore."
The buildings ended as the compound opened up to an enormous sea of gravel. Converging railroad tracks sliced through the pale floor. Most of the engines were dormant, while a few chugged east and west at a lazy pace, dragging lengthy cars full of heavy freight and filling the air with smog.
"My goodness..." Rarity shiverged. "There are so many locomotives!" She looked at Rainbow. "Which one should we even bother taking?"
"Better make a choice soon!" Twilight exclaimed. "They'll be closing in on us at any second!"
"How about a train with a helicopter blade!" Pinkie suggested.
"Trains don't fly, Pinkie," Twilight said.
"Awwwwww..." Pinkie folded her forelimbs. "It really stinks this side of the Blight!"
"Ah-HA!" Rainbow grinned sweatily. "We have a winner."
"We do?" Fluttershy craned her neck. "Where?"
Rainbow nodded her head in mid-sprint. Everypony's gaze wandered towards an engine stationed on the northernmost track, facing west along the foothills of the snowy mountains. It was a sleek, jet-black locomotive, with three matching cars attached.
"Now that is light travel!" Rarity exclaimed. "Smashing!"
"Whatever it takes to hitch a ride." Rainbow made a bee-line for the vehicle, threading her way in and around slowly chugging freights in the process. "Cross your hooves, girls..."
Meanwhile, up above...
...four silver shadows sliced the smoggy sky.
Seraphimus led the pack. Her charcoal eyes swept the buildingtops of Steamfall, then squinted at the sheen of white gravel below.
"Commander," Starstorm spoke. "A railyard. You..." Her beak clattered. "You don't suppose—"
"This pony is mad enough to try anything." Seraphimus pointed a razor sharp claw. "Check every engine!"
"Right!" Raptr dove low, followed by Windburst.
Starstorm and Seraphimus descended with thunder-inducing wing blades, ripping the smog to dark gray bits.
Schwissssh! A black mechanical door slid open along the left side of a locomotive's engine compartment. Yawning, a stallion in Consortium fatigues shuffled out, carrying an oil can. He shook the cobwebs out of his skull, trotted down the length of the engine, then began examining the dormant reserve tanks.
"Hey Farouche!" another stallion hollered from a nearby supply shack. "Do you sleep inside that thing or what?"
"It's my baby, so you bet!" Farouche managed a tired smile while oiling the exposed valves and wheels. "It'd take a Tribal War to get me out of it for good!"
"Heh! So old-fashioned, dude!"
"Say..." Farouche looked up, his muzzle scrunched. "What's with all that commotion on the other side of the complex?"
"Hell if I know. Probably a runaway manticore."
"Again?" Farouche shook his head, chuckling. "And that's why the best kind of life is one on the move.."
As he knelt to examine another piece of the engine, a sweaty mare in a disheveled uniform rushed up, panting.
"Hey... wh-where does this train go?"
"To the furthest end of Dust Prefecture," Farouche muttered, applying more oil and rubbing it with a rag. "Why? Does Dillon have a message to deliver?"
"Does it get anywhere near Wyvern Point?"
"As close as anything can get." He turned towards her with a lazy smirk. "Don't tell me we're trying to make another business deal with those freaks again."
"Eh... something like that..." Rainbow Dash pointed. "Say, you missed a spot."
"I did???" Farouche squinted just inches away from the engine's surface. "Where? I never miss a sp—"
Rainbow shoved a hoof against the back of his head.
CLANG! Farouche's skull ricocheted off the helmet. "Unnnngh..." His eyes rolled back and—FWUMP!—he collapsed cold amidst a spray of gravel.
Rainbow winced at her own hoofwork. Clearing her throat, she rushed in, then dragged his body a safe distance away from the rails.
"Oh Rainbow Dash..." Fluttershy pouted. "Did you have to?"
"Don't fret," Rainbow droned. She took her jacket off and bundled it around the stallion's unconscious body to keep him warm. "Somehow I doubt he'll swear off a life of trains just 'cuz of this." Slipping her bag back on, the mare ran up the length of the engine and leapt up into the engine compartment.
"Oooh!" Pinkie's eyes sparkled. "Sleek!"
Rainbow Dash frantically looked all around. A series of glossy metal instrument panels and levers reflected her exposed blue coat. Overhanging pipes hissed with pressurized steam, and several mana-powered crystals gave off a dull blue glow.
"Friggin' space train, swear to Luna," Rainbow muttered. She looked over her shoulder. "Rarity? Any ideas?"
"Uhm..." Rarity cleared her throat daintily. "We're inside a train."
Rainbow glared. "Rarity."
"Darling, I can only sense the construct! Not pilot it!"
"Don't worry, Rainbow," Twilight said, floating forward. "I've got this."
Rainbow groaned. "Please tell me you know more than just from reading books."
"Well... uhm..."
Rainbow facehoofed.
"Look, half of this engine is mana-powered," Twilight said, turning around. "It speaks to me, if that makes any sense."
"It had better make sense soon," Fluttershy said with a tremble. "The Talon's almost on top of us!"
"Okay, look..." Rainbow gestured. "Do you at least know how to turn it on?"
Twilight faced the instrument panels. She hovered in place, tapping her chin in thought.
"Twilighttttt..."
"Just give me a second!" Holding her breath, she then shoved her head forward, phasing her skull through the mess of metal and pipes.
Rainbow and Pinkie Pie blinked.
Twilight came back, an adorkable smile plastered across her muzzle. "Okay!" She pointed. "Pull that lever back, then turn that dial, then push the same lever forward."
"Uhhh... okay then..." Rainbow Dash cleared her throat and did as she was told. She winced from the having to shift weight towards her left side. "Here's hoping the Twilight Express takes us somewhere." She shoved the lever forward.
The pipes hissed. A loud roar came from the front of the engine, rattling the panels.
"Did... did that do anything?" Rainbow stammered.
Just as she said this, the vehicle lurched forward. With a squeal of wheels against rails, the locomotive chugged its way northwest.
"We're moving!" Rarity beamed, grasping Fluttershy's shoulders and twirling in midair. "We're moving! We're moving!"
"Yeah, this would be great if we were outrunning the Right Turtle of Verlaxion," Rainbow grumbled.
From outside: "Huh? Farouche?! What the Hell happened to—Hey! Hey! Stop! Stop the train!"
"Uhhhh... uhhhh..." Rainbow looked all around. "Twilight, the door—"
"There's a switch above you!" Twilight pointed.
Rainbow jumped, slapping her hoof across a black diode. Schwissssh! The door shut tight, sealing the mares in dim blue darkness. The squeal of wheels was reduced to a dull hum.
"Okay..." Rainbow exhaled. "Now to make us go faster."
"Yeah..." Twilight looked all around, the tip of her horn glowing. "Working on it."
"Uhm, Twilight?" Fluttershy fidgeted in Rarity's grasp. "Maybe... w-work on it quicker?"
"Stop!" The stallion waved his forelimbs as he stood over Farouche's figure. "None of the freight are attached yet! Are you out of your mind?!"
He watched—helpless—as the engine and its three cars accelerated at a maddening pace. The rails curved north-by-northwest. A group of stallions saw it approaching a barricade. They waved for the engine to stop—but swiftly panicked. In desperation, they attempted to raise the barricade at the last second.
SMASH! The train barreled through the wooden rods and tore its way out of Steamfall, approaching the forested mountain slopes beyond.
The stallion winced. Standing above Farouche, he hollered into the air, "Somepony! Anypony! We've got a runaway train!"
Windburst's ears tickled. The Sergeant froze in mid-air.
Wings flapping, he hovered in place, scanning the industrial landscape below. At last, his eyes caught a trail of smoke and steam heading northwest. Several stallions in Consortium uniforms gathered around an abandoned station, shouting and gesturing in panic.
"...Commander!" Windburst hollered.
"...?" Seraphimus looked over.
Windburst simply had to point a single claw.
Seraphimus' eyes followed the gesture until they reflected a tiny black engine surging its way through an alpine sea.
"There she is." FWOOOSH! She dove like a bullet.
Windburst joined her side.
Not that long after, Starstorm and Raptr caught up, joining them wing-by-wing.
Rainbow's hoof wandered over a black switch on the right side of the compartment.
Schlack!
A metal window slid open, flooding the compartment with gray light.
Rainbow squinted at a blurry scene of snow-speckled fir trees whizzing by. Beyond them, the dull gray haze of a mountainface loomed.
She pressed the switch again.
Schlack!
Cast once again into dim blueness, she pivoted to face the instrument panel. "Twilight... faster."
"Rainbow, there is no switch that'll magically make the train go 'faster.'"
"I thought you said this darn thing runs on mana!"
"Some of it runs on mana! Like the instrument panels and internal operations!" Twilight turned to look at her. "But the engine?" She gestured behind her shoulder. "It's all steam! It requires the constant and manual distribution of fuel to stay heated!"
"Like what kind of fuel?" Rainbow's voice cracked.
"Uhm... ladies?" Rarity floated in. "I believe the answer we seek is one compartment behind us."
"Huh?" Rainbow Dash blinked.
Rarity calmly pointed at a thick metal door at the rear of the engine compartment.
"... ... ..." Rainbow trotted across the narrow space and slapped her hoof over a panel.
SCHWISSSH! A door slid open. Just past a black snow-guarded coupling platform, Rainbow saw an entire car filled to the brim with shelf after shelf of dredge coal. The highly flammable material rattled in their dark metal cages, glistening slightly from strips of blue manalight overhead.
"Oh... my..." Fluttershy trembled.
"So we just hijacked a giant powder keg on wheels," Rainbow Dash muttered. A blink. "Cool."
"I do believe it's enough fuel to get us across half the continent in a week," Rarity said.
"Or fart our way out of the Talon's reach in seconds," Rainbow said.
Rarity did a double-take. "Huh?"
"Rainbow, how?!" Fluttershy exclaimed.
"We're on rails!" Rarity said. "They'll track us down eventually!"
"All we have to do is find a good jumping-off point to misdirect them!" Rainbow said. "So... like... th-they'll have no choice but to chase the train instead of us!"
"And just what kind of a 'jumping-off' point are you even talking about?!" Rarity exclaimed.
"I dunno..." Rainbow fished through the bag the Desperadoes gave her, ultimately finding Luna's satchel. "You tell me!" She yanked out one of Sinrar's maps and tossed it across the engine room floor.
"Huh?" Rarity blinked. "Rainbow, what are—?"
"Look for the one and only railway track heading into Dust Prefecture!" Rainbow exclaimed. "Or at least the northernmost one!"
"How do you expect me to find something to divert the Talon with?!" Rarity barked.
"I dunno!" Rainbow shrugged, rushing back into the fuel car. "About as well as I expect to accelerate this darn train!"
"Rainbow..." Twilight pointed at a wide-wide shovel. "You can start with that, maybe."
"... ... ..." Rainbow gripped the shovel in two hooves. "Guh!" She flailed from the weight of it. Taking a deep breath, she lifted the heavy thing, then shoved it deep into a cage full of dredge coal. At last, she hoisted several rocks onto the massive spade, then lifted it—trembling. She looked across the car. "Egghead?"
Twilight motioned Rainbow into the engine compartment.
Rainbow limped over the coupling platform with the shovel. She phased through Rarity and Fluttershy as they squatted on the floor, pouring over the map.
"In here!" Twilight gestured at a large metal box protruding from the engine panel.
"Twilight, it's closed."
"Hit the lever, genius."
Rainbow awkwardly balanced the shovel against the wall. Grunting, she slapped one of her rear hooves over the level. FWOOOSH! She winced from a wave of hot air and bright orange light. The train's furnace was exposed, flickering wildly.
Twilight gestured a "tipping motion" with her forelimbs.
Biting her lip, Rainbow sweated, heaved, and finally emptied the contents of her shovel into the chute.
FWOOOMB! The furnace burned hotter upon contact with the fresh supply of dredge coal.
The metal hull of the compartment groaned.
Rarity and Fluttershy looked up as they felt a shift in momentum.
"It's working!" Twilight grinned wide, examining a series of instrument panels up close. "It's working, Rainbow Dash!" She turned to blink at the pegasus. "We're accelerating!"
"Good!" Rainbow kicked the furnace chute shut. Clank! "Then all I gotta do is rinse and repeat until we're at meteorite speed and then work from there."
"Uhmmm..."
Everypony looked up.
Pinkie phased down through the engine's ceiling. Her pink mane drooped as she gazed at the others. "Here they come..."
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Now to find a good chunk of skystone and we'll have found a good replacement for the Noble Jury.
[youtube=QcVGdZXKMuY]
Ninth, of course!
Marty, it works on Steam.
What?
Can a train outrun a catbird? tune in next time on
DBZUtaanI certainly hope so. This would be a weird way to end the book.
...Seraph's mad.
The commander. She be ANGRY!
You're in deeeep shit now Keris.
So friggin' deep.
....But....
....What's the difference between a glove and a boot..?
There is a reason why trains are not often used as a getaway vehicle. But on the bright side as long as she stays inside it there is pretty much nothing the Talon can use to stop it.
Edit: should have used this earlier
She took the laast traain
Outta Stemfaaaall
Rohbredden's technology level is all over the place. Feudal, industrial, medieval, fantasy, futuristic... I'm gonna blame it on its multicultural roots.
I love how the narrator considered it a detail worth mentioning that the firefighters are privately owned.
Title drop from the story from an allegedly different author.
Congratulations on second appearance.
@Austreoh Fact Checker: Is this the first time someone other than Rainbow and friends mentions manticores this side of the blight?
Oops, that was not a good move with the boiler...
Boy this is going to get real hairy real quick
Well Skirts, now I understand the photograph of 'Old No 40'.
And Farouche gets another character.
Now let's go so fast that we melt the rails.
6906293 I bought the 30th Anniversary trilogy set of those movies. Looking forward to watching them again.
All aboard the "we pissed off the catbird commando" train.
6906736 Steamfall must be full of libertarians and voluntarians
You now, it sounds like a very big complex with a very dense net of interconnected rails. Dash is pretty lucky that the railroad switches were set up properly for them to depart and not crash or derail the train, what with the cargo wagons not set up and possibly without an okay from the dispatcher. But then again, a train chase is too fun to be shot down by such trivialities.
You know, if Rainbow had found a hiding spot on the train, the Talon would search it, then come to the conclusion it was just a diversion - especially since the train is headed west.
I wouldn't mind hopping trains as a means of transportation from now on. It might not be fast, but it sure beats boats and flying!
Oh hey! Farouche is ba--
...never mind.
I love a good old train chase.
I'm totally aboard with the idea of accelerating a locomotive to speeds that a rail would never take.
I wonder how long it will take her to tip the thing over when going around a bend at mach1..
R,
Sonder
Now you're just fucking with us.
Rest of this chapter:
But with griffons.
Y tho
Well. "MERCY" is off the table now.
6907232
You got fucked, Farouche!
8209460
Yep
Pretty much
...Seraphimus has changed. She no longer trusts Keris. She extended the capacity to see reason, and even though Rainbow had to refuse, the refusal still destroyed that capacity.
Train fight!
Man I miss the Skystone ships.