Lazybug was watching Nyx attempting a spell outside Twilight’s castle.
“Don’t strain yourself,” he warned.
Nyx paused for a moment. “Twilight bet Starlight that I’ll be able to cast this spell by the end of the weekend. I gotta keep trying.”
“And why are we doing this outside?” asked Lazybug as Nyx’s horn lit up again. “If you do manage to cast it, it’ll probably attract a lotta attention.”
At that moment, they both spotted three ponies running towards them. Nyx extinguished her horn again.
“What? But I haven’t cast the spell yet.”
Rainbow Dash reached them first. “Hey! The Map’s calling us!”
“Now? But you three were gonna go with the Crusaders to Clopley Hill, weren’t you?” asked Lazybug.
“Yeah. I guess now we can’t,” shrugged Rainbow. “Want my ticket?”
She didn’t even wait for Lazybug to answer. She shoved the red ticket she was holding into his mouth and flew into the castle. Rarity ran up to Nyx.
“Here, you have this, darling,” she said, magicing her own ticket towards Nyx as she and Applejack ran by her and Lazybug. “Enjoy.”
Lazybug and Nyx looked at the tickets Rainbow and Rarity had unloaded on them. They were weekend passes for the Equestrian Railway Company’s 150th Anniversary Gala.
“You think we should go?” asked Lazybug. “Trains aren’t my favourite thing, but if those three wanna give their tickets away while they’re on their mission…”
Nyx spotted three more ponies running towards the castle.
“As long as they aren’t too upset about this,” she said tentatively.
“I’m gonna smack that map in the face!” Apple Bloom growled as she, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle sped towards them.
Applejack found someone to give her weekend pass to in the main chamber. Diamond Tiara was slumped in Pinkie Pie’s chair while her dad and Twilight were standing on the other side of the Cutie Map talking finance.
“Oh! There’s a mission!” squeaked Twilight excitedly as Rainbow’s, Rarity’s, and Applejack’s cutie marks removed themselves from their flanks and circled above the map.
Apple Bloom burst into the room, followed by Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. She wasn’t nearly as enthusiastic about this mission as Twilight was.
“What’s the big idea?!” she spluttered. “First you take my big sis away from me right before the Sisterhooves Social, then you try and rip us apart on Winter Wrap-Up day, and now this?!”
“Simmer down, Apple Bloom,” said Applejack sternly as hers and the other two cutie marks dipped down towards the Map. “I told ya this over and over again. When duty calls, I gotta answer. I’m sorry, but we can’t go to Clopley Hill with ya.”
“You’re needed in Clopley Hill!” Twilight cried ecstatically.
Applejack quickly turned back to the map. Sure enough, their cutie marks were orbiting the area above the miniature city of Clopley Hill.
“Are you kidding me?!” roared Rainbow Dash. “What was the point?! We were gonna go there anyway!”
Nyx and Lazybug entered the chamber.
“What’s going on?” asked Nyx.
“That map just called them to Clopley Hill,” groaned Apple Bloom. “They just gave away their passes for no reason!”
“Oh. Do you want your passes back?” asked Nyx.
“No, no,” said Rarity. “It’s very unlikely we’ll be able to enjoy the festivities when we have a friendship problem to suss out.”
“Well, looks like we’re going to the railway gala,” smiled Lazybug. “You coming too, Diamond Tiara?”
“Can I, Dad?” Diamond Tiara asked Filthy Rich.
“Oh, sure. No problem at all.”
“What’s Filthy doing here anyway?” asked Applejack.
“He just made a donation to a crisis fund I just started,” said Twilight as Filthy grimaced a little bit at the way Applejack had addressed him. “For situations like this, where we get called by the Map without warning and need to pay for accommodations for an undetermined period of time. So you three don’t need to worry about paying for another hotel room out of pocket.”
She magiced a bag of cash over to Rarity.
“Couldn’t we just set up a tax for that?” asked Rainbow.
“No.”
“What was the point?” Apple Bloom grumbled as the train ferried her and her eight companions to northern Equestria. “Why would it bother to call you there when you were going anyway?”
“We needed to be made aware that there was trouble in that town,” said Rarity.
“It’s so frustrating when our plans get ruined,” groaned Apple Bloom. “I got all excited, and for nothing.”
“It wasn’t for nothing, Apple Bloom,” coaxed Sweetie Belle. “We’re all still going together. And we got to let some others in on this.”
She indicated the seat where Lazybug, Nyx, and Diamond Tiara were looking at the railway gala brochure Applejack gave them.
“Look at this. They’re hosting two ghost walks tomorrow evening,” said Diamond Tiara, pointing to an advertisement. “One around town, and one at Caerfilly Castle.”
Lazybug was delighted, but faltered a bit when he caught the look on Nyx’s face.
“Not interested?” he asked.
“Well, maybe not in the castle one,” said Nyx.
“Oh, no big deal,” Diamond Tiara shrugged. “We can stick with the city one.”
“You three can walk around the city if you want, but I wanna go to the castle,” said Scootaloo.
“Me too,” nodded Sweetie Belle. “A castle would be a way better place to hunt for ghosts.”
Diamond Tiara shook her head. “You don’t hunt for ghosts on a ghost walk. The host just tells ghost stories while giving you a tour.”
“Oh.”
Scootaloo realised that Rainbow Dash hadn’t said or done anything during the entire train ride. She’d just been glancing out of the window slumped in her seat.
“You bored, Rainbow?” asked Scootaloo.
Rainbow jumped a bit. “Huh? Oh. Well… yeah. I don’t… I think trains are boring, alright?”
“Huh?”
“Yeah. I only agreed to come in the first place because you were so enthusiastic about it when you invited me. I’d say it’s just as well the Map called us.”
“But Rainbow, even if trains aren’t your cup of tea, it’s still a party,” said Rarity. “You get to go to platform potlucks, and socialize with railway workers at open locomotive yards.”
“Meh,” shrugged Rainbow Dash.
“I’m surprised,” said Scootaloo. “Don’t you love the speed of the steam engines?”
“I’m not too impressed,” Rainbow said. “I could get to Clopley Hill faster than this rust bucket could.”
“Wanna bet?” asked Applejack.
“Yeah, sure,” said Rainbow, looking enthusiastic for the first time since she’d boarded the train. “Five bits says I’ll get to Steeds Central before this train gets you there.”
Rainbow and Applejack hoofbumped, and Rainbow opened the window and flew out of it. Right away, she began to overtake the train as it trundled across a trestle bridge. As she flew by the locomotive, a gust of wind blew the smoke coming from the funnel into her face. She veered to the left a little bit coughing and trying to wave the smoke away. Her lost concentration sent her smashing through the window of a signalbox.
As soon as Rainbow Dash opened her eyes, she saw the mare in charge of the signalbox zooming towards a stack of boxes. She opened one and pulled out a pane of glass. Rainbow Dash could swear this signalmare had replaced the window she just broke before all of the shattered glass had hit the floor. Bemused, she glanced around the signalbox and saw several stacks of boxes, all of which had things like “signal levers” and “signal wire” written on them. Then, just as quickly as she’d replaced the window pane, the signalmare grabbed the empty box, tackled Rainbow Dash to the floor, and pinned her with the unfolded box.
“I’ll let you up if you give me a good reason for wrecking my signalbox,” the signalmare frowned.
“I didn’t wreck your signalbox,” objected Rainbow. “I only broke a win--”
The signalmare sat down hard on the box holding Rainbow down.
“Ow! OK, OK!” cried Rainbow as the weight made the glass cause her more pain. “I was racing the train to Steeds Central and it blew smoke in my face and I lost my concentration! OK?”
The signalmare considered. “Fine. I’ll take it.”
She stood up and took the box off of Rainbow Dash, and stood up herself and brushed some glass off of herself.
“What’s your name?” asked the signalmare.
“Rainbow Dash.”
“I’m Finetooth Comb.”
She held out her hoof, and Rainbow decided to accept it. As soon as she bumped it, Finetooth grabbed her hoof.
“Listen. Don’t fool around with trains. You can’t win with this railway,” said Finetooth in a low voice. “Get it?”
“Yeah,” Rainbow faltered. “Yeah. Sorry.”
Finetooth Comb pointed to the door. “Don’t worry about leaving me with a mess. Just get out.”
When Rainbow Dash got to Steeds Central, she found the train was already there, and the guard had just called the passengers over to his brake van. She joined her friends.
“Gracious! You’re covered in glass shards. What happened?” asked Rarity, using her magic to clean Rainbow as best she could.
“I ran into a signalbox window,” groaned Rainbow Dash as Applejack held her hoof out. “OK, OK. Here.”
She gave Applejack the five bits.
“You know what was weird? The signalmare had window panes ready to go in that signalbox,” Rainbow Dash went on as Rarity continued to remove as much glass as she could manage. “She replaced that window before I even turned around. How often do ponies break her windows if she’s got stuff like that?”
“Well, how often do ponies try and race the trains?” Diamond Tiara smirked, prompting chuckles from Lazybug and Nyx.
The guard cleared his throat and everypony turned to face him.
“Good evening, everypony. My name is Jumping Bean, and I will be hosting tomorrow evening’s castle ghost walk, just so you know. However, I would like to run a few things past you before the celebrations of 150 years in operation begin. It has come to my attention that one of our passengers was flying alongside this train trying to race it.”
Rainbow Dash looked uncomfortable.
“Mares and stallions, our railway is a business, it is dangerous, it is our livelihoods, and it is… our… hobby.”
No one paid much attention to Jumping Bean’s hesitation to say those words.
“We cannot emphasize enough how foolish it is to horse around with steam locomotives, their stock, their rails, and their crews. And so I would like to do my bit to prevent potential mishaps by explaining a few rules. When you are visiting the shed yards, offices, museums, and static displays, you must avoid making loud noises, running about, and standing on the tracks. Do not bring any pets or attract any animals…”
Now it was Lazybug who looked uncomfortable.
“Do not distract the guides and staff, do not draw on anything and do not bring food and drink with you. We--”
“That’s not a rule, Jumping Bean,” came a voice from the other platform.
Everyone turned to see another stallion standing by the stationmaster’s office.
“Gala guests are allowed to have refreshments with them,” he said. “Snack tables are gonna be set up all over the place tomorrow.”
The face Jumping Bean made at this statement convinced a lot of the passengers that this guy must make an excellent ghost walk host. Then Jumping Bean relaxed his face.
“Thank you for correcting me, Trailblazer,” he said through gritted teeth. “Steed Central’s stationmaster, mares and stallions.”
Trailblazer waved to the passengers and walked slowly down the platform to go about his business.
“I apologise for that… mistake…” Jumping Bean went on sourly, “but I can assure you that the next and last rule I’ll mention certainly is a rule, as it has been for years. Our general manager wishes all of you to stay away from the works shed if you’re visiting the loco yard. HorkosWorks is where our locomotives berth, are mended, maintained, and overhauled, and have new parts cast. You can’t look anywhere around it without laying eyes on a heavy, expensive, and volatile piece of machinery. We’re very protective of that shed. Thank you for your time, and enjoy your weekend.”
And he stormed into his brake van, slamming the door behind him.
“It’s always the way, isn’t it?” Rarity said when they arrived at the hotel. “One pony causes the rest to get told off.”
“Hey!” snapped Rainbow Dash. “You know me and Applejack had a bet.”
“Yeah, well we ain’t gonna make no more bets while we’re here,” said Applejack. “We shouldn’t be causing a problem when we’re trying to find the one the Map called us here for.”
“Need a room?” said a familiar voice.
Trailblazer was standing behind the front desk.
“Aren’t you the stationmaster?” asked Apple Bloom.
“Only voluntarily,” answered Trailblazer. “I make a living as the night clerk at this hotel.”
“Really?!” burst out Sweetie Belle. “Don’t you ever sleep?”
“Occasionally,” said Trailblazer pleasantly. “I take one night off a month.”
They all looked at him as if waiting for him to grin and say “Just kidding.” But he didn’t.
“That can’t be enough,” said Rainbow Dash.
“I’ve been doing it for years, and I’m still standing,” said Trailblazer.
“More like leaning,” said Lazybug.
“You’re far from the first ponies to tell me this is no way to live,” smiled Trailblazer. “My next night off is tomorrow night. I’ll be fresh and spry on Saturday. Don’t fuss over me. Now our rooms are only equipped for six ponies maximum, so…”
“These six have a reservation,” Rarity interjected (Lazybug, Nyx, and Diamond Tiara were to take the spots Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack had originally planned to take). “These two and myself haven’t.”
Trailblazer confirmed the reservation, swaying a little, and gave the booked room key to Apple Bloom, who led the other five foals across the lobby and up the stairs. Then Trailblazer found a vacant room for three and gave the key to Rarity, who paid for it out of Twilight’s crisis fund.
“He must love working for the railway if he volunteers there during the day and works for his money during the night,” Applejack said as they headed upstairs.
As soon as they were out of sight, Trailblazer said to himself “I’d rather have my horn torn off than set hoof in that station again.”
The plan had been for all nine of them to have breakfast together in the hotel dining room the following morning. But when Apple Bloom and Diamond Tiara left their room at 7AM and got to the council members’ room, Apple Bloom hadn’t even managed to knock on their door before it was slammed in her face and squashed her against the wall. Diamond Tiara jumped as Rainbow Dash burst from the room and soared down the hall towards the lobby.
“I’ll get that jerk!” she roared as she flew out of sight.
“Rainbow! Get your head straight!” shouted Applejack, running out of the room after Rainbow Dash.
“What’s going on?” demanded Diamond Tiara as Rarity was stepping out into the hallway.
“Rainbow Dash’s money is missing,” said Rarity. “We’ve searched the room top to bottom, so now Rainbow suspects the signalmare. Mind your belongings today. There could well be thieves about.”
“OK. We’ll watch out for each other,” Diamond Tiara nodded.
“Wonderful. Have a lovely day,” said Rarity as she ran to catch up to Rainbow Dash and Applejack.
Diamond Tiara closed the door. “Come on, Apple Bloom. Looks like it’ll just be the six of us at breakfast.”
“What’s the point?” groaned Apple Bloom, still flat against the wall. “How do I know none of you will get dragged away as well?”
“Oh, don’t whine about it,” said Diamond. “No one else is on the Friendship Council. And it’s not like Lazybug’s gonna leave for some kinda pest control problem. He and Nyx only have one animal to keep in check. Come on. You don’t wanna sit around moping and miss out on some fun.”
Apple Bloom nodded, dislodged herself from the new filly-shaped hole in the wall, and accompanied Diamond Tiara to the dining room.
The door to the signalbox banged, and Finetooth Comb promptly answered it.
“Hey, you managed to find the door,” she smirked when she saw Rainbow Dash standing crossly in the doorway.
“Yeah. And now I’m gonna find my money!” Rainbow growled, storming into the signalbox.
“Uh, I cleaned this place top to bottom after you came bursting in yesterday,” said Finetooth, “and I haven’t seen any cash lying around.”
Rainbow ignored her and went on searching all over the room for her money.
Applejack entered the signalbox. “Sorry about this, Miss Finetooth.”
She grabbed Rainbow Dash by the ear and yanked her out of the building, where Rarity was waiting.
“Rainbow, you had your money at the station,” Applejack grunted. “Remember? You paid me after you lost your bet.”
Rainbow blushed a bit. “Oh. Right.”
“I told you we can’t cause a problem on top of the one the Map wants us to find,” said Applejack.
“Indeed. It would be bad to create enemies while we attempt to help the ponies in this town,” put in Rarity.
“Sorry,” said Rainbow. “But I’m so cheesed off about all my money being gone. It’s like that mission in Griffonstone… Only I haven’t been left for dead.”
“I don’t suppose you could recoup some of your loss from our crisis fund?” ventured Rarity, turning to lead the way back towards town.
“I dunno. Y’all can call this a crisis,” said Applejack, “but I think it’d be wrong to take money from that just ‘cause of carelessness.”
“Watch it, Applejack,” warned Rainbow Dash, “or you’ll be the one left for dead on this mission.”
The 150th anniversary gala guests were lined up in the loco yards along a tall wooden fence and next to a snack table. Jumping Bean stepped smartly before the crowd as one of the shed doors opened. He bore no sign of disdain at the refreshments most of the guests had with them, but no one who’d been on the evening train yesterday had forgotten his strange reaction to Trailblazer letting them all know that food and drink was allowed in the yard.
“Thank you for your attendance, mares and stallions,” Jumping Bean said. “These yards have not been open to the public for years, and your behaviour so far might well prompt the management to make this an annual thing.”
Steam began to billow from the open shed door.
“For this morning’s demonstration of the engine crews’ daily routine,” announced Jumping Bean, “I present to you our main goods engine; no 2003.”
With a bark like a dog behind a megaphone, a massive red steam engine moved slowly out into the open and stopped next to the water tower.
“And the one giving this practical demonstration… our general manager, Brass Polish.”
A tall green pegasus jumped down from 2003’s cab.
“Hey you lot,” he waved to the visitors. “Nice to see you all here. So, let me tell you about this engine. She was designed by William Stallionier, and like the rest of our locomotive fleet, runs on coal and water, and needs to be refilled regularly.”
Sweetie Belle chuckled quietly. “So a steam engine needs to be watered constantly. I’ll be darned. Lazybug’s a steam engine.”
Lazybug said nothing as he sprayed himself with his spritzing bottle. Brass Polish went into several details about 2003, such as her wheel arrangement, her tender’s fuel storage capacity, and her tonnage with and without a tender.
“Anyone have any questions before I show you how we fill the tender tank?” he asked.
Nyx raised her hoof. Lazybug and Diamond Tiara frowned. They knew Nyx wasn’t technically breaking the agreement she and Lazybug made outside the Crystal Empire because they weren’t in Cheerilee’s class at the moment.
“Yes?” Brass pointed to Nyx.
“Um, what are all those pipes for?” Nyx asked, pointing to the thin lashings of copper on the locomotive.
“Some of them are for the sanding gear, and some of them are for lubricating the joints,” answered Brass. “The sand gear is for getting better grip on the rails in wet weather. And when we oil certain points of this engine, some of it gets special treatment. This here…”
He indicated a small device on the engine’s frames above the running plate.
“Is an oil atomizer, invented by Stallionier. This is the only engine in the roster that has one. It uses steam to thin the oil out in certain areas. There’s a story here; it’s run by the same lever that expels condensed water from the cylinder drain cocks. And if you don’t put the brakes on and close the drain cocks, steam will build up in the cylinders and the engine will move off on her own, even if the regulator’s shut.”
“Rainbow definitely wouldn’t have liked this,” Scootaloo whispered to her friends.
Brass Polish assured everypony that he definitely screwed 2003’s hoofbrake down, so she wouldn’t go anywhere during the watering demonstration.
“It’s pretty straight forward,” he said. “Just open the lid, insert the water pipe, and pull the chain.”
He did the first two steps, but found the third step wasn’t getting results. No matter how hard he pulled the chain, no water came out of the pipe. Undaunted, Brass Polish flew up to the top of the water tower to look inside. He found only a few puddles of water on the bottom of the tank, along with “Give us back our sister” spray painted in large letters.
“Figures,” he groaned, and turned to face the guests. “Working on the railway is a demanding job, everypony. But some ponies really love it, and stick with it no matter how hard they have to work and how much of their time gets eaten up. There are a number of employees and volunteers on this railway whose families and friends can’t understand or cope with the nature of this business. They seem to think I’m stealing their loved ones from them, and every so often, I have to contend with acts of sabotage. That’s not the only reason ponies vandalise my property, but it’s a big one. I have to report the water tower tank has been drained. So I’m gonna take a few liberties and grab a cloud from the sky and drain the water from it into the tender tank.”
Scootaloo scratched her head as Brass took off. “Rainbow Dash said Finetooth Comb had all those window panes and spare levers. Maybe those are for whenever somepony vandalises the signalbox.”
“Wow. That signalmare must’ve thought Rainbow Dash was another vandal wanting payback for losing a friend to the railway staff,” said Apple Bloom. “Girls, I think we mighta found the problem the Map called our sisters for.”
Brass Polish descended from the sky holding a cloud, which he parked above the tender tank.
“So, any pegasi in the crowd who’d like to drain this cloud and fill the water tank?” he asked, scanning the crowd. “How about you? Wanna fly up here?”
Scootaloo’s face went a bit pink. “Oh. Uh, I can’t fly.”
Without missing a beat, Brass swooped down, and picked up Scootaloo, and flew up to 2003’s tender, perching Scootaloo on his back.
“Anything stopping you now?” he asked.
Scootaloo chuckled. “Nope.”
“Go on, then,” smiled Brass, pointing to the cloud hovering next to them. “It’s like milking a cow.”
Scootaloo grasped the cloud and gave it a squeeze. A stream of water dropped down into the open lid of the tender tank. Scootaloo and Brass were pleased, but they noticed the stream was getting wider. Scootaloo let go of the cloud, but the water flow kept increasing. Before either of them could speak, the tank was overflowing.
“How do I turn it off?” asked Scootaloo hastily as water gushed over the edges of 2003’s tender.
Brass sighed “Looks like a grabbed an arctic cloud. Sometimes they drift into town from the north. They’re not so easily controlled by pegasi. So we’ll just park the cloud above the water tower and let it drain.”
He took Scootaloo off his back and dragged the still spitting cloud away from the tender and over the water tower.
“Hey!” someone in the crowd shouted. “Who took my coffee?!”
Brass shot down rapidly and slammed his hoofs down on the ground next to 2003.
“JUMPING BEAN!” he roared.
Jumping Bean zoomed up to Brass.
“Yeah?” he yelped.
The crowd started to chatter amongst themselves. Jumping Bean’s appearance had changed drastically. His face was tense, his pupils has shrunk, his mane and tail had hairs out of place, and he was fidgeting. Brass looked back at the shed, and then glared at his guard.
“You know we have a crisis fund for relapsing after addiction therapy, right?”
Jumping Bean stammered. Brass glanced at the shed again.
“I trust that you didn’t know that,” he said. “You should have, though. You know we can’t have you drinking any coffee. You’ll never form a solid sleeping pattern if you keep downing that goo.”
He turned away from the shamefaced Jumping Bean and walked briskly into and out of the shed. When he returned, he was carrying a bag of money.
“Here,” he said, forcing it into Jumping Bean’s hoof. “Now get away from my engine and back to the clinic. We’ll keep watch over your brake van while you’re away. And don’t worry about the ghost tour tonight. I’ll get Trailblazer to take your place.”
Jumping Bean sighed. “Thanks, Brass.”
The same guest whose coffee had gone missing called out again.
“Oh, come on! He drank it all!” she pointed angrily at the empty coffee pots sitting pitifully on the snack table.
“Don’t let me catch you having a sugar crash, Beanie!” Brass called to his guard as he left the yard. “I’ll leave you wherever I find you! Even if it’s on the tracks!”
Scootaloo heard splashing coming from the base of the water tower and looked down.
“Brass! Water’s coming out of the pipe!”
“Oh. I forgot about the chain,” Brass grimaced. “Excuse me a minute.”
He flew up into the tower tank. Everypony could hear banging from within it, and when Brass re-emerged, he had a large bruise on his forehead.
The Crusaders couldn’t wait for the coaling demonstration to be over so they could go and tell Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash about the problems the railway workers were having. But the three council members were nowhere to be found. They split up into three pairs, and one of them stayed at the hotel in case they came back. It was dusk when Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow arrived at the lobby, and Sweetie Belle and Diamond Tiara told them what they’d witnessed in the yard.
“Golly. You six made more headway in one hour than we did in a whole day,” remarked Applejack.
“So this town’s full of vandals and stress cases, and this guy Brass Polish’s causing it,” said Rainbow Dash.
“I don’t think he’s the cause of it, Rainbow,” said Rarity. “From what these two fillies told us, and going by Finetooth Comb and Jumping Bean’s behaviour, it sounds utterly plausible that most of the strife is caused by the nature of the job.”
“Speaking of that,” said Applejack, “did y’all say Brass wants Trailblazer to take Bean’s place hosting that castle tour tonight?”
Sweetie Belle and Diamond Tiara nodded. They looked at the front desk. The day clerk was still there.
“Trailblazer shouldn’t have to work on his only night off this month,” frowned Rainbow Dash. “Let’s go to the station and make sure he’s not actually gonna go to the castle.”
At last, she, Applejack, and Rarity were on the same page. All three of them took off, right as Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, Lazybug, and Nyx returned.
Two passenger trains was idling at Steeds Central. One was long, and was just leaving Platform 1 as Rainbow, Applejack, and Rarity arrived. The other one, which was shorter, wasn’t ready to leave yet. And standing next to the brake van was a plainly unhappy Trailblazer.
“Hey Trailblazer, we’ve heard a silly rumour,” said Rainbow Dash.
“Is it that I’m covering for Jumping Bean while he’s away at coffee addiction relapse therapy?” asked Trailblazer. “If so, it’s not a rumour.”
“Why in Tartarus would you agree to this?” asked Applejack. “This was supposed to be your only night off this month.”
Trailblazer sighed. “It’s no different than any night off that’s ever been on my calendar.”
The council members blinked.
“I’m always having to cover for some poor driver or porter,” Trailblazer nodded.
“You’ve never been able to take your monthly night off?” gaped Rarity.
“One time, I did,” Trailblazer smiled wearily. “It was the happiest night of my life… and I was asleep through most of it… right here on the platform.”
“Trailblazer, you’re gonna drop like a stone any day now if you keep this up,” warned Applejack.
“More like any second,” put in Rainbow Dash.
“This is the life I chose, ladies,” said Trailblazer obstinately. “I have a responsibility to my caffeine-addicted colleague.”
“Trailblazer, we’d must speak with your manager, Brass Polish,” Rarity insisted.
“I appreciate your concern,” said Trailblazer, “but he’s gonna be…”
“It’s not just concern, darling,” interrupted Rarity. “We have a responsibility too.”
And she told them about the mission the enchanted Map in Princess Twilight’s castle had given her, Rainbow, and Applejack.
“And there is no question that the friendship problem we are meant to rectify in this town,” she concluded, “is that the demanding and exhausting nature of life on the railway is tearing families and friends apart.”
Trailblazer nodded. “Well, in that case, Brass Polish ought to be in the works shed damping fires in a few minutes.”
“The manager does that?” asked Rainbow Dash.
“He works just as much and just has hard as his staff and volunteers,” said Trailblazer, swaying a bit.
Applejack had no confidence in Trailblazer’s abilities.
“Are ya sure ya can’t get outta relieving Jumping Bean?” she asked. “I’d hate for my little sister to come back from the castle telling me the tour guide keeled over.”
Trailblazer suddenly stood upright and rigid.
“Your sister’s coming on the ghost walk?” he asked.
“So is mine,” said Rarity.
“Well I assure you, I will not be shirking my responsibilities,” said Trailblazer firmly, “I will perform the ghost tour in Beanie’s place, and I will tell supernatural tales that will set your young sisters’ imaginations to work.”
And he blew his whistle, announced to the passengers who’d been standing behind him and the council members that it was time to board, and walked into his brake van. Rarity spotted Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo in the crowd of passengers.
“I take it Lazybug, Diamond Tiara, and Nyx have gone off to the city ghost walk?” Rarity said as she and her colleagues walked alongside the coaches.
“Yep,” nodded Sweetie Belle. “So how are you gonna help solve the city’s friendship problem?”
“For a start, we’re off to the engine shed to have a word with Brass Polish,” said Rarity.
“We could offer to keep an eye out for vandals and saboteurs, and see where it goes from there,” suggested Rainbow Dash.
“If ya can’t keep watch on your money, what makes you think you can watch out for vandals?” sniggered Applejack.
The three Friendship Council members were still bickering when they arrived at HorkosWorks shed.
“Perhaps we should have spoken to an employee and gotten him to escort us here,” ventured Rarity as Applejack knocked on one of the shed doors. “Brass Polish is sure to consider us trespassers.”
“All we gotta do is tell him we’re here on royal business,” Applejack insisted.
The door opened and out came Brass Polish.
“Hullo,” he said, eyeing Applejack. “I remember you.”
Applejack blinked. “Ya do?”
“You paid to use one of our brake vans on a trip to Appaloosa so you could transport a tree,” Brass nodded. “And a herd of buffalos pinched it.”
“Oh. Right,” Applejack shuffled her hooves.
“Scared the stuffing outta one of our guards,” Brass went on, his frown becoming more pronounced as he spoke. “The story he gave me as to why he wasn’t in the van at the time it was stolen was because he got sick of hearing you being all soppy-woppy to Wil Bwoomberg. Wasn’t too happy when I heard about this debacle, on top of the loco’s blast pipe cracking during that trip causing a ton of platelayers to drop what they were doing to haul the whole train to Appaloosa when there were no spare engines available.”
“Well… ya got your brake van back, right?” Applejack said tentatively.
Brass’s expression relaxed a bit. “Yeah. And we dealt with the thieves as well. I guess it worked out OK. So what do you want?”
“Wait. What do you mean you dealt with the thieves?” asked Applejack.
“Just got some volunteer work outta the ringleader, Little Strongheart. She’s done good work for us on the Southern Region since then,” said Brass. “So what do you want?
“You made Little Strongheart work for…?”
Brass Polish grabbed Applejack’s hat and swatting her over the head with it.
“What do you flippin’ want?” he growled.
Rainbow Das hastily told Brass that they were in town on royal business to deal with a friendship problem.
“And you think my railway has something to do with it?” asked Brass calmly. “Well, I guess you’re right. I used to consider the ponies I worked with on this railway friends. Now they’re a means to an end to me. Not happy about that.”
And he beckoned Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity inside.
The high stone walls of the Caerfilly Castle courtyard made Trailblazer’s voice echo as he told his first ghost story to his ghost walk guests.
“This castle was once the home of the former rulers of the Crystal Empire after King Sombra had caused it to vanish. Princess Straightlace and Prince Resplendence lived quite contently here for several years, awaiting the undetermined return of the Empire they hadn’t managed to protect. Now Princess Straightlace had earned her wings, but never forgot her humble background. And when she and her husband were called away, she called upon a friend from her youth, Cinder Block, to sit for them while they were away from the castle. Cinder appeared keen to serve her friend, swearing on the tiara Straightlace gifted to her for the occasion that she would fulfil her request and keep the castle safe until they got back. They later returned to find that Cinder had staged a mutiny with their guards, who barred them from this castle and forced them to leave. Princess Straightlace felt betrayed and downhearted, especially when she discovered the tiara she had given to Cinder snapped in two outside in the yard. But Prince Resplendence wasn’t too bothered. He told his wife as they left the city that he had planted something on his throne when Cinder Block had made her promise to look after their home and their soldiers until they came back. What he placed on his throne… was Horkos’ emblem. Horkos was the guardian of promises, who punished those who made false vows. A small silver emblem was his window into Equestria, from which he could observe ponies making promises. He would leave the emblem if a pony he’d witnessed broke their promise, and he would take them away into his domain, where they would remain for life. Princess Straightlace dismissed her husband’s precaution at first, claiming that the emblem he’d inherited from his grandfather had a mere myth attached to it that could not help them. But when they returned with more soldiers to quell the munity, they found it empty. All the mutineers were outside waving white flags, and there was no trace of Cinder Block anywhere. None of the guards knew what happened to her, but the Prince and Princess knew. Unfortunately, they found they could not move back in. They never found Horkos’ emblem after they got back into the castle, and they considered it too risky to stay there if they unintentionally made a promise they couldn’t keep in the emblem’s presence. But even after they moved into a second new home, they became worried to make or break promises at all. Because no one knew where the emblem was. No one ever found it. It could be anywhere, making it dangerous to make false promises or break verbal contracts.”
A shiver ran through the crowd as the story came to a close.
“If you’d like to join me in the entrance hall, I’ll tell you more,” said Trailblazer, turning towards the large wooden front doors. “Of course, if you find yourself truly terrified by what I’m telling you, by all means, head back to the platform.”
He opened the doors, and most of the guests stepped forward. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo however were impeded.
“Come on,” hissed Sweetie Belle, grabbing their tails with her magic and dragging them away from the castle.
“What are you doing?” demanded Scootaloo. “The story wasn’t that scary.”
“Oh yes it was,” said Sweetie Belle, not breaking stride.
“Well if you’re scared,” frowned Apple Bloom as Sweetie Belle carried on dragging her and Scootaloo away, “why don’t you just go back to the train and let us…?”
“All three of us should go back,” insisted Sweetie Bell. “I think Trailblazer was trying to give a clue.”
“Well, you could use one,” groaned Apple Bloom.
Sweetie Belle got to the castle station platform and let go of her friends’ tails.
“I’m talking about how Brass Polish manages his workers and volunteers,” she said. “How he makes contracts. I think he has Horkos’ emblem.”
Scootaloo sighed. “I get it. HorkosWorks. Look, just because the works shed’s named after Horkos, doesn’t mean…”
“Don’t you remember what he was doing he was telling off Jumping Bean?” asked Sweetie Belle.
“Trying not to flip his lid?” Apple Bloom recalled. “And failing?”
“He kept glancing at the shed. He asked if Jumping Bean knew about one of the company rules, and he said he believed he didn’t after he looked at the shed,” Sweetie Belle reminded them. “He was worried that Horkos’ emblem would punish Jumping Bean right in front of everypony. And when he sent him away, he said he’d make sure to keep his brake van safe. He’s a guard. He must have sworn to uphold his employment contract on his van.”
Scootaloo scratched her chin. “And maybe Finetooth Comb, the signalmare, swore on her signalbox. That’s why she has all those spare windows and signal levers. So she can fix it the second it gets damaged so the emblem doesn’t get her when someone trashes it.”
“Jumping Bean did say a lot happens in that works shed. Maybe Brass does hire all his workers and volunteers in there with Horkos’ emblem lying around,” Apple Bloom was suddenly frantic. “We gotta stop our sisters from offering him help!”
Sweetie Belle covered Apple Bloom’s mouth with her hoof and looked back at Trailblazer, who was still seeing guests into the main hall of the castle.
“We can’t let Trailblazer know we’re leaving to stop his boss,” she hissed. “We gotta make like we’re scared of his story. Then he can’t come after us while there are ponies who want to stay.”
“Can he come after us if we use that?” Scootaloo pointed to a siding where a pump trolley was parked.
A notice hung on the base read “Reserved for scared punters”.
“Man, you could build an entire new fleet of engines with all these spare parts,” said Rainbow Dash, observing at all the crates of coupling rods, brake pipes, fire bars, brake cylinders, brick arches, shock absorbers, and injector taps in the shed. “And you couldn’t get a replacement when that train to Appaloosa broke down?”
“Ya can’t build a whole steam engine in one hour, Dash,” Applejack sighed.
Rarity’s horn started glowing. “Are there gemstones buried in this shed?”
“I think it’s some of our crisis funds you’re detecting,” said Brass Polish.
He walked to a row of coal bunkers covered in tarpaulins, in front of which no 2003 was idling. He uncovered one of the bunkers.
“Wowee!” exclaimed Rarity, gaping at all the jewels and bits in the bunker. “What’s all that for?”
“Damages and vandalism and stuff,” said Brass. “One in case of smashed property, one in case of train wreck, one in case of erosion wrecking permanent way, one in case someone sends a fake order to a pizza joint and some hapless delivery colt shows up with a stack of medium black olives…”
“You are one paranoid dude,” said Rainbow Dash.
“They’ve all happened several times,” insisted Brass Polish. “You can’t let up for one second. That’s the big problem me and all my employees are having. The stress of working on the railway really comes across, and so it doesn’t appeal to anyone anymore. It’s been so long since we hired somepony new.”
“What about Trailblazer?” asked Applejack. “He’s only a stationmaster voluntarily, right?”
“He’s pretty much the only real volunteer we’ve got right now. We need more hooves. But no one who sees us working wants to join us,” Brass explained. “And we haven’t time to spare to make appealing posters or brochures or anything advertising our railway and calling for help. The best we can do these days is catch out vandals and strike deals with them. That’s what we did with Strongheart. She works for us for free for about a week per month now.”
Applejack nodded stiffly.
“But we don’t always catch the vandals and protesters. It’s gone from a hobby to a chore for us. We’re all constantly working. This is no way to run a railway,” sighed Brass. “Having to practically dominate my workers’ lives to ensure the survival and well-being of my property. If we had more hooves, we’d all be able to take a lot more time off to be with our friends and family.”
2003 hissed a little.
“Uh, hold on a minute,” said Brass, stepping towards his main goods engine. “I gotta wind the grate down.”
He caught the perplexed look on Rainbow’s face.
“It means drop the fire,” he explained. “She’s pretty much still in steam.”
He jumped up onto the hoofplate and disappeared into the cab. Applejack beckoned Rainbow Dash and Rarity over to her.
“I guess this is it, gals,” she said quietly. “We should volunteer some of our time on the railway so the workers can take time off and nopony feels the need to sabotage it in protest.”
“And we should encourage others to do the same,” added Rarity.
“Then ponies will be able to enjoy working on the railway again,” agreed Rainbow Dash. “I mean, as much as someone can enjoy working on a railway. I still don’t get the appeal. But if it means fixing the problem the Map called us to tackle, I could deal with it.”
Brass Polish stepped down from the cab.
“Hey Brass, we’ll get the ball rolling to get you the volunteers you need,” said Applejack. “We’ll take some of the grunt work off your hooves.”
“And lend a hoof with repairs wherever we can,” put in Rarity.
“And catch as many vandals as we can get a hold of,” added Rainbow Dash.
“Oh, and we’ll be discrete about it all, of course,” Rarity smiled.
Brass Polish looked very pleased. “Huh. Can we consider this a verbal contract?”
“Y--”
CRASH!
The door to 2003’s road in the shed burst open, and in came a pump trolley driven by the Cutie Mark Crusaders.
“Don’t agree to anything he tells you!” cried Apple Bloom.
“What in tarnation are y’all doin?!” demanded Applejack.
“We know why everyone who works on the railway’s so stressed. Brass Polish makes everyone swear to work for him in front of that emblem.” Sweetie Belle pointed to the wall at the back of the shed.
Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash saw that amongst the splasher nameplates and express headboards decorating the back wall was a shiny emblem that looked somewhat like a pig’s head.
“It punishes anyone who makes a promise they don’t keep in front of it,” warned Scootaloo.
Rarity was the first to notice that Brass Polish had disappeared from view. “Where’s Brass?”
2003’s wheels spun furiously for a second, and then the engine jerked forward and bumped the pump trolley. From the cab, Brass threw the tarpaulin that he’d taken off the bunker over the trolley, trapping the fillies underneath it.
“Hey!” barked Rainbow Dash. “He was feeding the fire!”
She propelled herself up towards the cab.
“Yeah!” said Brass, pulling his shovel out of the firebox. “Have some!”
He flung the shovel’s contents of burning hot coal at Rainbow Dash, who dodged in time to avoid facial burns, but took a lot of damage to her right wing. Applejack and Rarity gasped as Rainbow Dash fell into an inspection pit and 2003 left the shed pushing the covered pump trolley with her.
"He's takin off with our sisters!” shouted Applejack. “Get im!”
Rainbow climbed out of the pit, but couldn’t beat her wings effectively. So she, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash ran out of the shed after the locomotive, shouting loudly “Stop that engine!” But their shouts were barely audible over 2003’s barking exhaust.
“Line should be clear for the next ten minutes,” Brass said calmly to himself. “So, get through Steeds Central and over the bridge to the blockpost, keep the foals in there, strike a deal with their sisters, bish-bash-bosh, railway’s safe. Just like all those other times some poor shmucks threatened my life.”
There were no trains in the station. Some porters were carrying mail bags for the TPO due at Platform 1 in ten minutes. And only three foals stood on Platform 2.
“What are you here for?” groaned Diamond Tiara. “If you couldn’t stand our guide’s ghost stories, what makes you think you’d want to hear their guide’s ghost stories?”
“I didn’t want to leave because I was scared of the stories,” objected Nyx. “Didn’t you see? Everypony was looking at me funny. They thought I was part of the tour or something. I should have brought my jinxed glasses.”
“Well when Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle’s train comes back from the castle, we’ll get our money’s worth,” said Lazybug.
A roaring noise filled the station as the massive red goods engine rushed into view.
“Yeesh! That thing’s loud!” Diamond Tiara held her ears.
“What’s it pushing?” wondered Lazybug.
None of them could hear the muffled yelling from beneath the tarpaulin, but Apple Bloom had managed to find a tiny hole in the tarp. Diamond Tiara, Nyx, and Lazybug gasped when they saw Apple Bloom’s hoof waving frantically.
“Quick!” Diamond barked to Lazybug. “Tilt your head!”
Lazybug did so. Diamond Tiara yanked Nyx’s tail and swung her towards Lazybug. Her horn jabbed him in the neck, and his eyes glowed all the colours of the rainbow. Diamond Tiara ducked as Nyx shot backwards and sailed screaming after 2003 as she sped out of the station.
Nyx was terrified as she soared over 2003’s tender and hit the back of Brass Polish’s head.
“Ow!” they both yelled as Brass overbalanced and nudged the regulator shut with his neck.
2003 slowed down, and the pump trolley rolled ahead of it. Brass picked the quivering Nyx up off the hoofplate, but before he could express his anger, Diamond Tiara soared into the cab and smacked him in the face with her hoof. Nyx went flying out of his grasp and out of the cab. As she landed on the lineside, a loud bang pierced her ears.
“W-what was that?!” she screamed.
Diamond Tiara had heard it too, but carried on covering Brass’ eyes with her hooves, refusing to let go as he swatted at her. Meanwhile, the trolley was slowing down. The entire time they’d been stuck under the tarp, the CMCs had been trying to bring the trolley to a stop by holding down one end of the lever. No that 2003 wasn’t pushing them, they managed to brake the trolley. 2003 rolled to a stop as well close to Finetooth’s signalbox. Brass stopped trying to pry Diamond Tiara off of his head.
“Hey, miss let’s-squash-my-eyeballs,” he grunted, “I swear I heard a detonator go off. Is there something on the bridge?”
He leaned out of the cab so Diamond Tiara could have a clear view of the bridge.
“Uh… what bridge?” she asked.
Brass swiftly flung Diamond Tiara off of his head and looked towards the gorge beyond the signalbox. Diamond was right. Most of the bridge was gone. And the trolley had stopped on the only part of it left.
Finetooth Comb rushed out onto the signalbox gantry. “What’s going on, Brass?!”
“What happened to the bridge?” Brass asked.
“Melted arctic show turned the river into a torrent, and a tree got washed away and slammed into the bridge. But don’t worry,” said Finetooth, seeing Brass shaking. “All traffic’s halted from both sides and we’ve got a crisis fund for…”
Brass pointed to the edge of the cliff. “Look what I almost just dumped into the ravine.”
Finetooth’s eyes widened when she saw what 2003 had been pushing. At that moment, the Crusaders had managed to crawl out from under the tarpaulin. They all gasped when they realised they were feet from the edge of a broken bridge, and promptly ran away from the ravine.
“There’s the engine! They stopped it!” came Lazybug’s voice.
Brass Polish and Finetooth Comb looked back towards the station, and beyond Diamond Tiara trying to cajole Nyx to stop covering her head with her hooves and open her eyes, they could see Lazybug leading Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Rarity towards 2003.
“Are these ponies saboteurs, Brass?” asked Finetooth. “Do we need to deal with them?”
“That’d be ideal, but…” Brass looked at the pump trolley. “Plainly I can’t avoid disaster no matter what precautions I take. I nearly drove us all over a cliff there!”
Finetooth hadn’t really comprehended what Brass was talking about. “If you need to get those foals to the blockpost, you could carry them over the ravine in the storm sheet. I’ll hold off…”
A rock flew by, missing both Finetooth Comb and her signalbox. She turned to see Sweetie Belle levitating several more rocks.
“If either of you come near us, we’ll smash your signalbox!” she warned.
Finetooth subsided at once.
Lazybug, Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash caught up to 2003.
“I swear I didn’t know the bridge was out,” said Brass quickly.
Rarity gasped when they saw where the trolley had stopped.
“I’ve never gone that far to keep ponies from destroying my railway,” insisted Brass.
“So you admit you’ve wrecked ponies’ lives to keep your job secure?” Applejack scowled.
“Of course he has! Look what he did to me!” Rainbow waved her burnt wing.
“Do they know?” Finetooth Comb was talking to Brass Polish, but she didn’t take her eyes off of the CMC and their rocks. “About… the conditions of my contract?”
“Yeah, they know about Horkos’ emblem. We can talk about it,” sighed Brass. “And those fillies burst into the shed and warned these three before I could conscribe them.”
“What emblem is this?” asked Nyx, who’d come around by now.
“It punishes ponies who make promises in front of it and don’t keep them,” explained Scootaloo. “That’s how he gets ponies to work with him non-stop.”
“That’s one in the eye for the Pinkie Promise,” said Diamond Tiara.
“Now that we’re free to talk about it,” said Finetooth, still keeping a fixated stare at the Sweetie Belle’s ammunition, “can any of you find a loophole? I swore on my signalbox that I’d do everything in my power to make sure no trains were endangered and no vandals got off, and I’ve been run ragged ever since.”
“Look, I’m sorry, but I needed an ironclad guarantee,” insisted Brass. “It was the only way I could actually do my job without worry.”
“You couldn’t have just taken my word for it?” groaned Finetooth.
“NO!” Brass bellowed louder than 2003’s bark. “NEVER! Never in all my life!”
The general manager paced furiously. “Everypony I’ve ever known always said they’d do everything they can, or they’d help me at some point. But no one ever stuck to it! They were always no-shows, or sick, or having family emergencies. I couldn’t trust anyone! I couldn’t rely on anyone! I couldn’t enjoy or look forward to anything for fear of someone or something ruining it! Not until I found that emblem in the castle.”
“OK, now I’m getting the picture,” Applejack nodded. “You got scared that ponies wouldn’t come through for you while you ran the railway, so…”
“Oh, this goes back way before I ran the railway,” Brass hissed, the corner of his mouth twitching.
“He was just a cleaner when he started working for the railway,” Finetooth Comb still hadn’t stopped watching Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo.”
“I’ve always had a knack for making things presentable. See my cutie mark?” Brass indicated the token on his flank that shone like gold. “My family told me all the time I had a real gift here. Something so vague that I could apply it to anything in the world.”
Diamond Tiara shuffled her hooves a bit.
“And silly me, I picked railway life. I grew up loving the railway and got into it professionally right after I left school. Then, boom! Hated it,” Brass Polish grumbled. “But I was too afraid ponies would think I couldn’t commit to my lifelong ambition that I stuck with it even though I was living in constant fear. And I had plenty of good friends on the railway who liked having me around.”
“We sure did,” said Finetooth. “That’s why we were so keen to agree to what you asked of us that night. I have to admit…”
She turned to look at Brass.
“We were essentially humouring you.”
Brass sighed. “I knew you were.”
“But it didn’t matter. I had Horkos’ magic to bind you to your promises,” Brass continued as Finetooth returned her attention to the fillies threatening her signalbox. “I could rely on you all at last. I knew no one would ever let me down and I could get on with my job… my hobby. But it wasn’t over there. I still had to deal with vandalism, even before my friends’ families started throwing up about never seeing them. Stupid teenagers spray painting engines and pulling communication cords and dropping stones on trains from bridges… but since I made Finetooth, Beanie, and TB promise to do everything they could to put a stop to sabotage, we started duffing them up. I got a promotion and got into other areas, but then I had another problem. Mechanical failures. So we started robbing ponies who protested and sabotaged our railway as well.”
“You did steal my money!” barked Rainbow Dash to Finetooth Comb.
“No I didn’t. Trailblazer did,” Finetooth groaned.
“Of course!” exclaimed Rarity. “He manages the hotel at night. He took a spare key, snuck into our room, and took your money.”
“So that’s how you afford all those spare parts and build your crisis funds,” frowned Applejack.
“Yeah, you caught me out,” sighed Brass, how hadn’t stopped wandering around while he’d been talking. “But I gotta tell you, I don’t think there’s anything you can do about it. Once you make a vow in front of Horkos’ emblem, you can’t break it. The only way you can get out of a promise Horkos’ emblem was there to witness is letting something you swore on get destroyed. And if you let that happen, Horkos’ spirit will come for you and take you away. It, uh…”
2003 was rolling forward. Finetooth Comb was looking at the Crusaders, and vice versa. Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Diamond Tiara, Lazybug, and Nyx were all watching Brass. Brass was the only one who noticed the engine inching away towards the collapsed bridge.
“Uh, it won’t let you come back after it takes you,” Brass went on, stopping where he was and looking straight at the Friendship Council members and their young friends. “You’ll never see your friends or family again if you break a promise Horkos’ spirit…”
“We get it. Everypony who works on the railway is at Horkos’ mercy,” Lazybug waved an impatient hoof.
“That’s right,” said Brass calmly. “Anyway, I never intended to become a dictator. I just couldn’t deal with constantly worrying that something bad will happen. That ponies would let me down over and over again.”
Now it was Apple Bloom who shuffled her hooves a bit. But not for long.
“The engine’s moving!” she exclaimed, pointing to 2003 as she was picking up speed.
Everypony turned to see the large red locomotive crawling away from them.
“You left the brakes off!” shouted Finetooth, jumping down from the gantry towards the engine. “The atomizer’s…!”
Sweetie Belle panicked when she saw Finetooth jumping towards her, and fired the rocks she was levitating hard at the signalbox, smashing windows, scratching the handsome paintwork, and bending gantry balusters.
“Hey!” Finetooth roared as she turned tail and headed back to repair the damage.
“Sorry,” Sweetie Belle blushed. “I thought you were coming for us.”
Brass didn’t move as 2003 reached the edge of the cliff.
“You saw that and you didn’t do anything?!” exclaimed Rarity. “Why on earth would you let…?”
Both Apple Bloom and Diamond Tiara gasped.
“He made a vow too!” cried Apple Bloom. “On that engine!”
“He wants to let 2003 get destroyed!” Diamond exclaimed.
“Really, Brass?!” Finetooth Comb cried as she replaced the signalbox windows.
“It’ll cancel out all the contracts I made with my workers,” said Brass, turning to face the station.
“We can’t let it go over!” shouted Applejack as she, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash ran to catch 2003, which was now pushing the pump trolley on the remains of the trestle bridge.
“The brake’s the screw on the right of the red lever!” Finetooth called as she replaced the balusters.
Rainbow Dash’s wing may have been damaged, but she didn’t need it to reach 2003’s cab first. She jumped up onto the hoofplate, quickly located the brake, and screwed it hard on. Just as the pump trolley was pushed off the bridge, 2003 came to a grinding halt.
“Well done, Rainbow!” congratulated Rarity.
“What were you thinking, Brass?!” exclaimed Applejack.
“I thought you lot wanted the friendship problem I caused to be resolved,” shrugged Brass.
“Not like this,” insisted Rarity. “You may have caused the problem, but we know you…”
Something beneath 2003 snapped.
“Uh, oh!” cried Rainbow.
The damaged remains of the bridge were giving way under 2003’s weight. The engine began to lean downwards towards the ravine.
“No!” gasped Rarity, her horn lighting up.
Rarity had repaired small things like tree branches and taxi wheels before, but trying to seal cracks in a collapsing bridge instantly proved a challenge.
“You can’t hold that! It weighs tons!” shouted Lazybug.
Rarity ignored him and kept her spell going as she began to sweat.
“How do I back it up, Comb?!” Rainbow called to the signalmare.
Finetooth Comb glanced at Brass Polish as she was tending to the dents in the outside walls.
“Pull the lever on the bottom right corner towards you!” she replied. “And pull of the big lever in the middle!”
But she didn’t mention that the brakes had to come off first. Rainbow followed her instructions, and when it yielded no results, she and Applejack began to panic. Especially as Rarity was now hunched over panting and moaning as her spell went on preventing the cracks in the bridge from getting bigger.
“They need help, Brass!” called Scootaloo. “You don’t have to let your engine go! There has to be another way!”
“Forget it!” snapped Brass, watching the sky over the station. “If I can’t rely on anyone in the world, if I have to spend every second of my life fretting, then I’m done.”
“Rarity, his mind’s mad up!” shouted Sweetie Belle. “Let go of the bridge before you hurt yourself!”
“I won’t!” wheezed Rarity, her horn sparking. “I won’t… let Horkos… taking anypony!”
Rainbow Dash realised she hadn’t taken the brakes off, but by the time she released them, the rails on the bridge had buckled and the engine’s wheels couldn’t negotiate the bump. Now the force of the pistons pounding back and forth caused the unstable bridge to shudder, intensifying Rarity’s burden. Applejack lassoed the rear coupling and tried in vain to pull the locomotive backwards so she could go over the bump in the rails. Rainbow would have tried to prop up the sleepers, but she knew she couldn’t fly in her state.
Nyx lit her own horn.
“What are you doing?!” exclaimed Diamond Tiara as Nyx strained with her eyes shut. “What can you do?!”
A turquoise beam of light shot up from Nyx’s horn, and a large circle with a shield in the center formed in the sky.
“You did it!” shouted Lazybug with delight.
Brass looked up at Nyx’s pony signal.
“I don’t know who you’re trying to call,” he said, “but whoever it is, they better stay outta the way. If you get in Horkos’ way when he comes for someone, he’ll take you as well.”
“Agh! Rope burn!” cried Applejack, letting go of her rope.
At last, Rarity couldn’t carry on. With a wheeze, her horn light died and she passed out with a thud on the lineside. Rainbow Dash leapt from the cab to the edge of the cliff just in time. The bridge section crumpled and fell into the ravine, taking 2003 with it. They all heard a crash, a bang, and a series of splashes. Right away, the sky above the station seemed to glow white.
“He’s coming,” shuddered Apple Bloom.
Brass eyed the glowing eagerly.
“Come get me, Horkos!” he shouted. “Get me outta here!”
Two figures emerged. The first was a shimmering outline of a stallion, which soared over the roof of Steeds Central, and shot towards Brass Polish, who was standing defiantly still. The second was a cockatrice with purple eyes, brown down, and a cream comb.
“Scavenger made it!” exclaimed Nyx.
Brass Polish looked down in surprise as Lazybug’s pet stared him down. As Horkos sped towards them, Brass was turned to stone. Scavenger ducked. Horkos swooped over him and passed right through Brass’ statue. Now Applejack and Rainbow Dash ducked as Horkos soared in their direction, spun around, and made another attempt to capture Brass. But again, he couldn’t not touch the tall statue. Diamond Tiara, Lazybug, and Nyx were now lying flat on the ground in case they got in Horkos’ way. The guardian of promises tired for a third time to claim his victim, but Brass Polish’s statue would not be moved. Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle managed to stay out of Horkos’ way, and the luminous outline hovered threateningly over them as it seemed to consider its next move. No one moved for a few seconds. Then at last, Horkos’ spirit flew away back over the station roof and towards the works shed. Scavenger and the ponies stood up, Rarity helped by Sweetie Belle. Then there was a tinkling. Everypony turned towards the signalbox to see that Finetooth Comb had punched a hole in one of the windows she’s just repaired. They all looked back at the sky over Steeds Central. They waited for several minutes. Nothing happened. Horkos’ glowing white outline did not return.
The rest of the weekend was somewhat uneventful. The staff and volunteers stuck to the schedule, but the atmosphere wasn’t as volatile as it had been on Thursday and Friday. When Sunday evening came around, after two passengers trains had left Steeds Central taking gala guests from out of town with them, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, Lazybug, Diamond Tiara, Nyx, and Scavenger were all cleaning up the decorations and snack tables from the station. They were visited by Finetooth Comb, Jumping Bean, and Trailblazer.
“Thanks for giving us a hoof, ladies,” said Jumping Bean. “I thought this gala was gonna be a total drag.”
“Oh my. I remember him being more eloquent than this,” remarked Rarity, her eyes still a little bloodshot from her ordeal by the bridge.
“He’s back on coffee now,” said Finetooth.
“Now that I don’t have to play by Polly’s rules,” grinned Jumping Bean, “I can go back on coffee and get back off it my own way.”
“You can’t beat logic,” grunted Rainbow Dash.
“Show of hooves,” said Jumping Bean. “Who’s quitting the railway tomorrow?”
He, Finetooth Comb, and Trailblazer all raised their hooves.
“Won’t the railway be shorthooved?” asked Applejack.
“Don’t care,” shrugged Jumping Bean and Finetooth.
“I thought perhaps…” said Trailblazer, “we could send out an ad calling for railway workers with a promise of higher wages. For my last act as a railway worker, I’ll be returning money to everypony I can recall we stole some from. Starting with you, Rainbow Dash. Plus a little extra for your wounds.”
He magiced a bag of money towards Rainbow Dash, whose wing was still blackened with burns.
“Thanks, TB,” smiled Rainbow.
“We never kept records of the ponies we took revenge on for obstruction or stole money from,” Trailblazer went on, “so there’s bound to be an awful lot of money left over. So with that, perhaps the railway board can pay new employees. That should attract a number of resumes.”
“You know what? I’ll give you a hoof with your little project,” Finetooth offered.
“Me too,” agreed Jumping Bean. “I haven’t gotten sick of the sight of any of you just yet.”
“That’s good to hear,” chuckled Trailblazer. “Thank you all for coming to our rescue. Brass Polish had turned our hobby into a nightmare. Speaking of which, what have you done with his statue?”
“They chartered a flatbed for their train back to Ponyville,” said Finetooth Comb. “He’ll be riding on that.”
“Our friend Princess Twilight Sparkle will keep him in her castle until we can sort out what to do with him,” smiled Rarity.
“If I were you, I’d cover him up with a sheet,” suggested Jumping Bean. “If one of his enemies sees him from the lineside, they’ll probably try to jump on the train and smash him.”
“Thanks for the tip,” said Applejack. “Oh, and we’ll find a good place to hide Horkos’ emblem so nopony makes a promise in front of it anymore.”
“Looks like that wraps everything up,” said Trailblazer. “So, friends, how about we head to the shed and sort out the crisis fund situation?”
Finetooth Comb and Jumping Bean nodded enthusiastically and joined Trailblazer as he left the station.
Applejack’s, Rainbow Dash’s, and Rarity’s cutie marks glowed.
“Huh, look at that. We’re done,” remarked Applejack.
“Hm,” breathed Rarity. “It feels like we haven’t really done anything.”
“Sure you have,” said Sweetie Belle. “You got here when everypony who works on the railway was on the verge of hating each other. Thanks to you, they can go back to their families and friends, and get jobs that aren’t so demanding. Brass Polish may be a statue, but Starlight Glimmer wasn’t reformed when your first Map mission was done, was she?”
“I wish we had an enchanted map like yours in our clubhouse,” sighed Apple Bloom. “It could show us where there are cutie mark problems anywhere in Equestria.”
There was silence for a moment as the ponies carried on cleaning up the station.
“How do you know that wasn’t a cutie mark problem?” ventured Diamond Tiara.
They all turned to look at her.
“Yeah. Brass Polish had such a non-specific cutie mark, he wasn’t sure what to do with his talents and got stubborn when his first choice wasn’t going well,” said Lazybug.
“And I didn’t see anypony working on this railway with a train cutie mark, or a whistle cutie mark,” added Nyx. “They were all different.”
Rarity nodded. “You three were the ones who found what the friendship problem in this town was.”
“You three were the ones who found out what Brass Polish was up to,” put in Applejack.
“You three were the reason Brass Polish decided he was fed up with dominating everypony’s lives,” grinned Rainbow Dash.
Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were lost in thought, but Apple Bloom just grumbled “That Map is a colossal timewaster!”
