Firebox Hearts

by Mystic Mind

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Ocellus didn’t tell Spike where they were going. She said it would be a surprise regarding Smoulder, but nothing more.

From the route they flew, they were travelling over a reclaimed area of the Everfree Forest behind the school, which had been converted into a public park. He didn’t strike Smoulder as being a nature-loving type like Fluttershy, but then again, he’d been wrong about Rainbow Dash’s disdain for books, so anything could happen.

“We’re not far now,” Ocellus said, anticipating a potential question while keeping her cards close to her chest.

The first out-of-the-ordinary thing Spike noticed was a thick plume of grey smoke. Was Smoulder starting a bonfire or something? Any dragon above hatchling age knew the dangers of playing with fire, enchanted or otherwise, so he doubted she’d start one without an extremely good reason. Perhaps it was a prank from one of the school’s other dragons, or Celestia’s phoenix, Philomena, had gotten loose again?

Descending close to the tree line, a strange, rhythmic clickity-clack caught his ear, briefly growing louder before fading again – only adding to Spike’s growing confusion.

Ocellus’ expression gave away no clues. She was focused on navigating, though if he squinted, he could swear there was a subtle trace of a smirk growing across her lips. If he was the one being pranked, then she sure picked a strange way to lead him on.

“Be careful as we descend through the trees,” Ocellus said. “There might still be some lingering smoke.”

So, she had noticed the smoke, too. She didn’t sound concerned, suggesting it was something mundane in nature. Still, he decided to stick close to her, just to be on the safe side. Slowly, they dropped in altitude until they found an appropriate gap in the treeline.

Said gap was larger than expected, but it was what lay between the gap that took Spike by surprise.

Railway tracks. This explained the origin of the smoke, despite the line being much narrower than the one running through Ponyville station. What a railway was doing in this part of Ponyville, however, he had no idea.

“The station should be just up ahead,” said Ocellus, as if there was nothing out of the ordinary about a brand-new railway line popping up under Spike’s nose. Even so, she’d piqued his curiosity, so he raised no objections.

The real surprise was what awaited them around the corner.

A hundred or so metres ahead of them sat the train that made this railway its home. The carriages looked to Spike like elongated saddles bolted onto tiny wagons, though whatever they lacked in creature comforts they made up for in passenger numbers. In addition to a small gathering of ponies, all of Ocellus’ friends had come to ride – save for Smoulder, who he guessed must have been driving the locomotive.

And what a locomotive it was. Somehow, it was simultaneously big and small at the same time, carrying eight driving wheels with a four-wheeled pony truck in front and a two-wheeled one behind. It had all the trappings of a huge, transcontinental express locomotive at a fraction of one’s original size. From its copper dome to its deep crimson livery, every part that could have been polished was freshly waxed to a mirror shine – including the immaculate bronze nameplate. Sleipnir, it read.

The cab was just big enough for maybe two creatures to sit in, and true to form, Smoulder pulled herself out onto the platform and stretched her arms. Like the blue overalls and engineer’s cap she wore, her face was smudged with blotches of black soot, to say nothing of how dirty her claws had become.

It was a good thing Rarity wasn’t there. She’d probably faint at the sight of a dragon so dirty.

“Ah, Spike, you made it,” Smoulder said, wiping down her claws with a small cloth. “I heard about what happened with Rarity. So sorry you had to go through that.”

Suppressing a grimace at yet more prodding of his emotional wounds, Spike simply nodded and changed the topic. “What’s going on here? When did Ponyville get another railway?”

“You didn’t know? Twilight gave us permission to build a miniature railway here in Everfree Park. Everyone here is part of the Ponyville Miniature Railroading Club, and today’s our opening day.”

From the way Smoulder talked, she made it sound like the most obvious thing in Equestria. Perhaps Spike had helped Twilight review the necessary paperwork, but with how busy she was, this one had escaped recollection under the mountain of other papers.

However it had come to be, it had captured his imagination. What purpose was there for scaling down a steam engine like this? He supposed it would be easier to run on a smaller footprint, but this wasn’t a model railway, it was a miniature railway; similar terms, yet also very different in this context.

“Pretty cool engine, huh?” Puffing out her chest, Smoulder placed her claws on her hips. “It’s a miracle that it’s in such good condition. If you think about it, a steam locomotive is like a metal dragon. You feed the fire in its belly, and it’ll race off like no tomorrow.”

The thought of a sentient, metal dragon didn’t inspire much confidence in Spike, particularly given dragon culture’s propensity toward ‘might makes right’ attitudes. He was glad Ember was initiating that change, with Smoulder being a prime example.

“Anyway, I need to top up the lubricators before the next run out. You’re welcome to stay if you want, but I totally get it if you wanna be alone right now. No pressure.”

Spike bit his lip, quietly humming at his indecision. His instincts were already screaming at him to run and hide, far away from the public eye. But at the same time, his mind was still playing catch up with the newly revealed miniature railway.

He’d never given a second thought about travelling by train before—not least due to the amount of heavy luggage Rarity made him carry—but that always came with a purpose, getting from A to B. He was always too busy to travel for the sake of it, so he’d stuck to comic books as his primary hobby.

He thought back to Twilight’s letter. Focus on recovering, however long you need.

“I… think I’d like to stay, actually,” he said somewhat meekly. “For a while, anyway. I might not talk much. I don’t want to drag you guys down with me.”

“Hey, don’t worry about it.” Smoulder smiled, giving him a thumbs up. “Ocellus brought you here to get away from cruddy emotions. If you ever need to talk, we’re down to listen. Otherwise, sit back and enjoy the ride.”

To that, Spike smiled a little. Though he’d never taken an interest in trains, Smoulder and Ocellus’ kindness had given him some reprieve from heartache. He mouthed a quiet ‘thank you,’ before turning to take a seat on the carriage behind him…

“Make way for Yona!”

…only to be tackle-hugged by a charging yak twice his size. He barely had the chance to question her before becoming half-buried in a thick mass of fluffy fur.

“Yona heard Spike not happy,” she proclaimed with great enthusiasm. “So Yona give Spike traditional yak comfort hug.”

“Um, Yona,” said Sandbar somewhere behind her. “I think in pony customs, you're supposed to ask first.”

“Oh,” Yona replied, blushing as she released Spike from her grip. “Sorry. Yona wanted to help, but Yona still learning. Spike not hurt?”

“I’m fine,” Spike said between gasps, spitting out loose strands of hair. “Thanks for the hug, though I don’t deserve it.”

Tilting her head, Yona’s expression dropped. “What Spike mean? All Yona’s friends deserve hugs. Spike be Yona’s friend, so Spike deserves hugs.”

Why does everyone keep calling me a friend when they barely know me? They've no idea how long I’d been pursuing this stupid crush. No, it’s all about me, the selfish little dragon who felt entitled to romance.

“All right, the engine’s oiled up and the fire’s nice and bright. All aboard who’s coming aboard!”

Smoulder’s announcement couldn’t have come sooner. If this was the way Spike’s mind was going to twist things, he needed all the distractions he could get. He chose to sit in the front carriage, just behind the engine. If he were to focus on enjoying the ride for its own sake, then he may as well see how the engine worked.

With everyone on board, Smoulder sounded the whistle and released the breaks. Hissing with the loud rush of exhaust steam, the engine lurched into life, chuffing its way out of the station. From his position, Spike couldn’t see much of the cab interior, but he did see a certain elegance in the way the piston rods moved in tandem with each other. It didn’t take long for the train to get up to speed, winding its way through the gentle curves cut cleanly into the forest.

It wasn’t that long ago when the Everfree was synonymous with danger – an untamed wilderness filled with wild magic and even wilder animals. Now, with the Tree of Harmony restored, it was no more dangerous than any other wild area - if one was properly equipped to deal with the great outdoors, of course.

Spike knew of sightseeing tours in concept. He had directed a few of them himself, guiding ponies through both Ponyville and the Crystal Empire, always preoccupied with rattling off various facts and pieces of trivia the visitors would wish to know.

This was different. He was under no obligation to make chatter here. He could just sit back and watch the world go by, indulging his eyes on the forest serenity while filling his ears with the sound of working steam.

Here and now, his toxic thoughts had vanished, granting him peace for the first time since Rarity had shot him down. He would take the smell of smoke and ash over one-sided crushes any day, even if the former did sting his eyes a little.

Though the journey was taken at a leisurely pace, it only lasted around fifteen minutes before they wound up back at the station. As if taking a breather from its hard work, the locomotive sighed via a large jet of white steam, ejecting from the rear-mounted brass valves.

Disembarking, Smoulder stretched her limbs before turning back to Spike. She said something to him, but her voice was muffled by the sound of rushing steam.

“What?” Spiked asked.

“She said… do… ride…” said Gallus, though even his shouting was patchy against the background noise.

Thus, it fell to Yona to deliver the message. All it took was one, deep inhalation for Sandbar and the others to plug their ears in advance. “SMOULDER ASK IF SPIKE ENJOYED THE RIDE?!”

It took a moment for Spike to steady himself after that earth-shaking announcement. “Actually, yeah, I did. Thanks, guys. This is one getaway I didn’t know I needed.”

“Agreed,” said Gallus. “I’m not normally a ‘sit around and do nothing’ kind of guy. But in this case, it’s a neat little exception.”

“It’s amazing how Smoulder can work a steam engine all on her own. Don’t you normally need two creatures for that?”

“You’re not wrong,” Smoulder chuckled. “If you’re talking full-sized engines, you need both an engineer and a fire creature.”

“So… dragons can do both at once?”

Smoulder shook her head. “Nah, it’s the size of the firebox that matters, and how much coal you need to fill it. Even dragons can’t keep the fire going on their own.”

Spike scratched his head, rolling back his eyes as if he were solving a difficult maths problem. “I don’t get it.”

“It’s complicated stuff,” added Silverstream. “But Smoulder can talk your head off about it if you let her.”

“We’ll let Spike decide that, shall we?” Smoulder affirmed, puffing out her chest. “I need to refill the tender with water. Wanna come with and get a little cab tour?”

Spike raised his claw to object, but caught himself mid-breath. Twilight had told him to take a break. Besides, what was the alternative? Going back to brooding in his room until she returned?

“Would I ever!” he answered, flapping his wings with enthusiastic fervour. His excitement died down, however, upon realising one important detail. “You are gonna take the coaches with you, right?”

Smoulder shook her head. “Nah. There’s another pony who wants to show off their engine, so I’ll be taking a breather.”

“But then where will I sit?”

“Oh, don’t worry about that. We’ll be going slow, so there’s room on the tender.”

Author's Note:

The locomotive featured in this chapter is based off Hercules from the Romney, Hythe and Dimchurch Railway

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[Yaakov Lubin]

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