MLP: The Equestrian Engines

by SuperSamYoshi

Chapter 18: Applejack the Honesty Engine

It was the end of a busy day. The engines have been working hard. They were feeling pleased and proud with themselves, except Applejack. She was feeling ill. She had been feeling when she got to Sodor, she didn’t know what was wrong with her, but she didn’t feel as strong as she used to.

“What's the matter with you, AJ?” Sonata asked.

“My barler's grumbling,” Applejack groaned.

“Maybe it's grumbling at you,” teased Sonata.

“That there's aren't funny,” hissed Applejack, “ya just don’t care.”

But Rarity saw that Applejack was leaving a puddle of water behind. She was worried. The next morning, Sir Topham Hatt arrived at Ponyville Sheds.

“Pinkie Pie, Sonata and Applejack, I want you to collect some trucks and take them to the docks,” he told them.

“Yes sir!” cried Sonata and Pinkie. Applejack watched the engines puff away. She didn't feel well.

“Useful engines don't complayn,” Applejack muttered. She was leaving water everywhere as she chuffed towards the coaling plant. When Rarity saw this, she was more worried than ever. Then, Sonata and Pinkie overtook Applejack.

“Hurry up, AJ!” Pinkie tooted.

“Ay can’t go any fastuurr,” Applejack chuffed miserably.

“You're just being lazy,” teased Sonata. By the time Pinkie and Sonata reached the coaling plant, they had a naughty plan.

“Please sir,” said Pinkie, “Applejack wants to take more trucks.”

“She is bigger,” Added Sonata. The yard manager agreed. Meanwhile, Rarity found the Fat Controller at the docks.

“I'm worried about Applejack sir,” she said.

“What’s wrong at her?” ask the Fat Controller.

“I don’t know sir,” Rarity responded, “she’s leaving a trail of water wherever she goes.”

“Hmm, perhaps her tubes are leaking,” replied the Fat Controller, “You better check.”

By the time Applejack reached the coaling plant, Pinkie and Sonata had already left.

“Why did Pinkie and Sonata leave me so many trucks?” moaned Applejack, “they know ay'm nahwt a-feelin' whel.”

“We'll still have to take them,” Said her driver. Applejack chuffed and puffed and pulled her long line of trucks.

“You can do it, girl,” encouraged her driver as the puffed along the countryside. But it was no use. Applejack ground to a halt. Just then, Rarity arrived.

“Are you all right, darling?” Rarity asked concerned.

“Naw,” moaned Applejack, “I’m stuck.”

Applejack's fireman uncoupled the trucks. Rarity changed tracks and then hooked up to Applejack.

“Oh, thank you, Sugarcube,” wheezed Applejack. Rarity pulled Applejack all the way the docks.

“Well done, Rarity,” said the Fat Controller.

“Thank you, sir,” said Rarity.

Then he spoke to Applejack. “You were brave Applejack. You aren't well, but you still tried to pull the heavy trucks.”

Pinkie and Sonata felt ashamed.

“We’re sorry Applejack,” said Pinkie.

“We didn't think you were really sick,” added Sonata.

“Go back and collect Applejack’s trucks at once,” Said the Fat Controller sternly.

“Yes sir,” whispered Pinkie. In about two days, Applejack was mended and back at work.

“You're looking so much better, darling,” commented Rarity.

“Whel they mended my tubes,” Applejack complained, “but they didn't even look at ma brakes, ma gauges, ma squeaky wheels.”

“All in good time,” Rarity laughed.

Poor Applejack.

---

One morning, Applejack was feeling very sorry for herself. She had not long ago hard her tubes mended. But sometimes her could pull trains, and sometimes, she felt she had no strength at all.

“Ay suffuurr dreadfully, ayn' naw one cares,” she remarked.

“Rubbish, AJ!” snorted Aria, “you don’t work hard enough.”

The Fat Controller spoke to her, too. “You’re too expensive, Applejack. You had your tubes mended and new paint, too, but they’ve done you no good. If we can’t make you better, we must get another engine instead of you and send you back to Equestria.”

This made Applejack, her driver, and her fireman very sad. The Fat Controller was waiting when Applejack came to the platform of Knapford Station. He had taken off his hat and coat and put on overalls. Applejack managed to start, but her fireman was not satisfied.

“AJ is a bad steamer,” he said to the Fat Controller, “I build up his fire, but it doesn’t give enough heat.”

Applejack tried very hard, but it was no good. She didn’t have enough steam and came to a stop outside Edward’s station where Adagio was waiting.

“Oh dear,” thought Applejack, “Ay shall have ta go away. Oh, dear! oh, dear!”

All she could do was to go slowly onto a siding, and Adagio took charge of the train. The Fat Controller and fireman went on discussing Applejack’s troubles.

“What do you think is wrong, fireman?” asked the Fat Controller.

“Excuse me, sir,” he answered, “but the fact is the coal is wrong. We’ve had a poor lot lately, and today it’s worse. The other engines can manage; they have big fireboxes. AJ’s is small and can’t make the heat. With Welsh coal, she’d be a different engine.”

“It’s expensive,” said the Fat Controller, “but Applejack must have a fair chance. James shall go and fetch some.”

When the Welsh coal came, Applejack’s driver and fireman were excited.

“Now we’ll show them, AJ, old gal!” they carefully made her fire, putting large lumps of coal like a wall round the outside. Then the glowing middle part was covered with smaller lumps.

“You’re sparling my fere,” complained Applejack.

“Wait and see,” said the fireman, “we’ll have a roaring fire, just when we want it.”

The fireman was right. When Applejack reached the platform, the water was boiling nicely, and she had to let off steam.

“How are you, Applejack?” called the Fat Controller.

“Peep-peep!” whistled Applejack, “Ay feel awful fine suurr.”

“Have you a good fire, driver?” called the Fat Controller again.

“Never better, sir, and plenty of steam,” he responded.

“No record breaking,” Warned the Fat Controller, “Don’t push her too hard.”

“AJ won’t need pushing, sir. I’ll have to hold her back,” said the driver as Applejack started to move out the station.

Applejack had a lovely day. She had never felt so well in her life. She wanted to go fast, but her driver wouldn’t let her.

“Steady, old gal,” he would say, “there’s plenty of time.”

They arrived early at the station. Twilight puffed in.

“Where have y'all been, lazybones?” asked Applejack, “Oh, ay can’t wait faw dawdling tank engines like y'all! goodbye!” and she steamed out of the station.

“Whoooosh!” Said Twilight to Helena, Victoria and Spike, “have you ever seen anything like it?”

Helena, Victoria and Spike agreed that they never had.

---

One winter evening, Applejack’s driver said...

“We’ll be out early tomorrow. We’ve got to take ‘The Flying Kipper’, he told her, “don’t tell Rainbow, but I think if we pull the ‘Kipper’ nicely, the Fat Controller will let us pull the Rainboom Express. The special coal they gave you is working well.”

“Yeeha!” cried Applejack, “That there will be lovely.”

All kinds of ships use the harbour at the docks. There are passenger ships, cargo ships, and fishing boats also come here. They unload their fish on the quay. Some of it goes to shops in the town, and the rest in a special train to other places far away. This is the train the railwaymen call ‘The Flying Kipper’. Applejack was ready at 5 o' clock. There was snow and frost. Men hustled and shouted, loading the vans with crates of fish. The last door banged, the guard showed his green lamp, ‘The Flying Kipper’ was ready to go.

“Come on! Come on! Don’t be silly! Don’t be silly!” puffed Applejack to the vans. The vans shuddered and groaned.

“Trock, Trick, Trock, Trick; all right, all right!”

“That is better, that is better,” puffed Applejack. Clouds of smoke and steam poured from her funnel into the cold air; and the fire’s light shone brightly.

“Hurry, hurry, hurry!” panted Applejack. They were going well, the light grew better, signal lights shone green as they passed. Then a yellow signal appeared ahead. Her driver prepared to stop, but the home signal was down.

“All clear, AJ,” he called, “away we go.”

They didn’t know the points from the main line to a siding were frozen, and the home signal should have been set at ‘Danger’. But snow had forced it down. Applejack wasn’t the only one up early, Fluttershy a goods train was waiting in the siding to let ‘The Flying Kipper’ pass, and the driver and fireman were drinking cocoa in the brake van.

“The ‘Kipper’ is due,” said the guard.

“Who cares?” Said the fireman, “this is good cocoa.”

The driver got up. “Come on, fireman, back to our engine.”

They got out just in time.

Applejack was racing down the line, by time she saw the goods train, everything happened at once. She crashed into the back of the goods train, destroying the brake van and derailing. Applejack’s driver and fireman had jumped clear before the crash, but Applejack laid dazed and surprised. Her front was badly damaged, her boiled was dented and her wheels were bent. The Fat Controller came to see her when Aria and Sunset arrived with search and rescue team.

“The signal was down, sir,” said Applejack weakly.

“Cheer up, Applejack. It wasn’t your fault,” the Fat Controller responded, “ice and snow caused the accident, and you’re not the first one to have this accident. Henry had the same happen to him many years ago. I’m sending you to Crewe, a fine place for sick engines. They’ll give you a new shape and a larger firebox. You’ll feel a different engine and won’t need special coal anymore. Won’t that be nice?”

“Yes sir,” said Applejack doubtfully. Applejack liked being at Crewe but was glad to come home. Her friends waited to see her arrive in her new shape at Ponyville station. She looked so splendid and strong that they gave her three cheers.

“Peep-Peep!” she whistled, “Thank you very much ya’ll.”

I am sorry to say that a lot of little children are often late for school, because they wait to see Applejack go by. They often see her pulling the Rainboom Express. She does it so well that Rainbow is jealous. But that’s another story.

Author's Note:

Here is AJ chapter done
if you are wondering to what her design was it was this:

to this:

the engine designs for Applejack (and the rest of the mane seven and Spike) belong to https://www.deviantart.com/artthriller94
Next up Sunset the forgiveness Engine

Comments

[Orange Glass]

“Cheer up, Henry. It wasn’t your fault,” the Fat Controller responded, “ice and snow caused the accident, and you’re not the first one to have this accident. Henry had the same happen to him many years ago. I’m sending you to Crewe, a fine place for sick engines. They’ll give you a new shape and a larger firebox. You’ll feel a different engine and won’t need special coal anymore. Won’t that be nice?”

AJ had the accident, not Henry. Plus, how can a mountain class not have a big enough fire box?

[SuperSamYoshi]

10518814
just roll with it

[Wilddog88]

10518814
It all depends on what year the engine is from. As time passes the research evolved to go from wood and water to charcoal and water to coal to dessle to electric to magnetic

[SuperSamYoshi]

10519434
Thank you