In the world of Equestria, a young Rainbow Dash aims to join an elite unit of express locomotives. But a new friend with differing views may throw that out of balance...
One day, Rainbow Dash was waiting at Canterlot depot to be given her next orders. It was a gloriously sunny morning, and not a cloud was visible in the sky.
Twilight pulled up alongside her with her vans. “Morning Rainbow!” she exclaimed cheerfully. “What’s going on?”
“There was some talk of a special visitor,” the Spam Can replied, “and I was kinda wanting to see who they were.”
“Yup!” said a large red diesel, rolling past with a goods train.
Twilight looked confused. “Is that all Bic Mac ever says?”
Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Yes. Yes, it is.”
A few minutes passed, and Rainbow Dash was on her own once again. The time crept by slowly. It seemed as the clock would never move.
But then, Rainbow suddenly heard a whistle. And there, backing toward her, was an engine.
She was long, with an 8 wheeled corridor tender, and had four leading wheels, six driving wheels, and two trailing wheels. Her boiler was handsomely proportioned to her frames, and upon her smokebox sat a pair of smoke deflectors. She was painted yellow, with two-tone orange lining.
“Hi their kid,” she said, with a smile.
Rainbow’s mouth hung open in amazement. “Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!” was all she could say. “It’s Spitfire!”
“The one and only,” the other Pacific laughed. “Look, I came here to ask you something very important.”
“Not because this is a stopping point on the Wild Blue Wonder?”
“Nope,” replied the raspy-voiced engine. “We have some training slots opening up for express locomotives. If you do well out there, you may well even become a Wonderbolt.”
Rainbow could not believe what she was hearing. The Wonderbolts were simply the best express locomotives in Equestria.
“How could I say no?” Rainbow answered.
“By making different mouth movements?” Spitfire suggested. “All right, I’ll see you at Cloudsdale depot, tomorrow.”
With a loud whistle, Spitfire pulled away. “Don’t be late!”
“Yes ma’am!”
The next day, after getting her coal and water, Rainbow Dash headed north, up the mainline. Normally she only ran south, toward Appaloosa and Dodge Junction (which was inappropriately named, given the junction had closed several years ago).
It was only a short trip, but it took ages with all the goods trains cluttering up the mainline. She pulled into Cloudsdale yard and saw that camp was already underway.
There were big engines, small engines, long engines, short engines, steam engines, what looked to a petrol engine, and a handful of electrics.
The engines formed up in position, to hear the opening speech.
“Listen up!” Spitfire boomed. “I imagine that you engines think you’ve got what it takes! I imagine you think this’ll be a cakewalk!”
She paused for dramatic effect. “Well you’re wrong! If you had what it took, you’d already BE a Wonderbolt!”
She rolled into the face of a 9F, Bulk Biceps. “Do I make myself clear?!”
“Y-yes ma’am!” he stammered.
Spitfire backed up, and rolled onto the track that Rainbow Dash was positioned on. “You look like you crashed into a paint factory! You sure you’re in the right place?”
“Yes ma’am!”
Spitfire puffed in front of an engine not dissimilar to herself, painted turquoise with two-tone gold and amber lining. “I’m willing to bet you’ll flunk out!”
The other engine cockily smiled. “Try me, ma’am.”
Spitfire looked stunned. “Excuse me?”
“Try me, ma’am.”
The larger engine smirked. “We’re playing it that way, huh? All of you, get out there and do 100 laps of the circuit!”
Rainbow and the turquoise engine effortlessly outpaced the others, zooming round and round the circuit at hitherto unseen speeds.
Eventually, Spitfire called time. “Ok you lot, that’s enough. Get to the shed for debriefing!”
Rainbow came to a stop. “That was amazing! May I ask your name?”
“Lightning Dust,” the other engine replied. “I’m a V2.”
“I’ve never seen one of you before,” Dash admitted.
“That’s because we don’t normally come down here. We usually run fitted freight from the Crystal Empire to Griffonstone and return.”
The two engines, now friends, headed off to the sheds to be stabled for the night.
The next morning, a new training exercise had been built. In front of them was a large turntable.
“This is the spin-o-matic,” Spitfire explained. “The engine that recovers fastest from the spin is the winner.”
She indicated to an EM1 electric. “You! Get on the table!”
The electric gingerly rolled forward, and stopped.
The turntable began to spin, slowly at first, but faster and faster, until it was revolving like a spinning top!
Eventually it stopped, and the electric rolled off, her eyes rolling.
“26.3 seconds, pathetic.”
Several engines were tested, but finally Rainbow’s turn came up. The world began to revolve, speeding round and round until everything was a blur and merged into one.
“STOP!”
The table ground to a stop, and Rainbow rolled off it.
Spitfire looked stunned. “6 seconds. That a new record.”
Then Lightning Dust rolled forward. “Maximum power, if you please,” she said.
The pacific looked a little surprised. “Are you sure about that?” she asked.
“Absolutely. We V2s like to push ourselves.”
“If you’re sure about it.” Spitfire indicated to the member of depot crew.
The table began to spin once again, going so fast it seemed it would never stop!
“STOP!”
The rails clanged into position, and with barely any hesitation, Dust sped forward onto the track.
“6.5. This is a day for records!”
The next morning, the engines all went to have headboards fitted. The engines were to be hauling a passenger train together, to test teamwork. Rainbow puffed into the shed to see her name written as ‘support’, and Lighting’s as ‘lead’.
“That can’t be right!” she said.
“You have a problem, newbie?” Spitfire asked, behind her.
“It’s just that I got the better time on the spin-o-matic, ma’am.”
The larger engine sighed. “It’s not a reflection of your skills. It’s safer for the smaller engine to go out front, that’s the only reason we do it that way.”
Rainbow backed onto the train of 10 coaches. Lightning Dust backed down in front of her and was coupled onto the train.
The signal flashed green, and away they went! They roared across bridges, and thundered through tunnels. The other trains were miles behind, when Dust had an idea.
“See that line on the ledge?” she asked. “We’re gonna take it.”
“But we’re miles ahead of everybody else!” Dash protested.
“So?”
Lightning whistled 3 times, and the points shifted in front of her. Up the ledge they roared, speeding along with power and courage.
But there was a rockslide up ahead. As they rounded a bend, rocks had blocked the rails! Both engines slammed their brakes on, but it was too late.
One moment she was on the rails, the next Lightning’s front bogie was hanging over the edge.
Dash had her brakes jammed on, holding the smaller engine in place.
“We need to whistle for help!” she said. “If we both sound the alarm signal, we can get their attention!”
So, summoning what steam they had, both engines let out long, loud whistles.
The breakdown train got to them presently, and got Lightning back on the rails. Rainbow towed her back to Cloudsdale depot, but Spitfire was not pleased.
“Whilst I agree with engines pushing themselves, I do NOT approve of needless risk-takers!” she snapped.
“I’m sorry ma’am,” Lightning replied.
“That, I’m afraid, is not good enough.” Spitfire rolled forward. “You’re dismissed. Go back to the Crystal Empire, before I tow you there myself.”
Lightning uncoupled, and rolled sadly away, her whistle blowing long into the distance.
Spitfire looked at Rainbow Dash. “Congrats rookie, you passed.”
Rainbow and Spitfire puffed across the yard one fine summer morning.
“So, you’ll be meeting the others today,” Spitfire told her. “You’ll be staying in that 6-road shed over there. You’re in the 6th berth, as our 6th member.”
“Thank you, ma’am,” Rainbow replied.
The older engine whistled sharply. “Watch the signals! They’ll tell you whether an engine is approaching or not.”
A few hours later, Rainbow Dash steamed out of her berth, and onto the mainline. Suddenly, a pair of streaks shot past her!
“What the?” she exclaimed. She was so shocked that she veered off into a siding, straight across the spin-o-matic, and into a muddy ditch.
“Ouch!” she exclaimed. “I wasn’t planning on a cold bath!”
One of the two engines that had rocketed past rolled to a stop next to her. “You OK?” he asked. He was of the same size as Spitfire, but had a streamlined front end.
The other engine, who looked the same but for a different paint scheme, sneered. “Nice job, ‘Rainbow Crash’!”
Her choice of words couldn’t have been worse. When Rainbow was newly built, she’d fallen into a muddy pool as a consequence of faulty points. One of the works diesels had called her ‘crash’ as a result.
“That’s enough!” shouted Spitfire. “Dash, time to meet the team. On the left are Soarin’ and Fleetfoot. The A2 over there is Surprise, and the A1 is Misty Fly. We’ll all be taking turns on the express runs over the next few weeks. Let’s do the railway proud!
The weeks went by in a blur. More training, more errors, more of that nickname. Rainbow had absolutely no doubt it was badly affecting her performance on the rails, but she never let it show. Mind, she had to spend most of her evening clearing the yard, which was pretty bad, but it could easily be a lot worse.
Then came the big blow. Rainbow puffed into the works to have the insignia applied to her tender. Each engine’s insignia was unique, and applied to them personally.
Spitfire was already waiting there, with the new insignia on display. Rainbow’s eyes widened when she saw it.
It was a crude depiction of a Bulleid Light Pacific crashing into a stop sign. The implication was obvious.
“Why did you have to put it on the insignia?” she asked.
“Our nicknames are alluded to on our insignia,” Spitfire explained. “Isn’t that right, clipper?”
“Yes boss!” shouted Soarin’.
Rainbow honestly wondered why there was only one male Wonderbolt. Was there a shortage of them somehow?
“One more thing,” Spitfire said. “You’re taking the train tomorrow. Do a good job.”
Rainbow sat there, sad. How would she ever shake off the nickname?
Then her face broadened into a smile that rivalled the Cheshire cat.
“I’ll break the record!” she said.
Rainbow Dash awoke the next morning, to the familiar sensation of her fire being lit. When the pressure was high enough, she pulled away from the depot and into the station, coupling onto the train as she did so.
The run, for the most part, went very well. Apart from being held at a signal for a short while, everything seemed OK. But then engineering works and slow-moving goods trains caused the delays to start to pile up.
Rainbow got anxious. She began to go faster, and faster, and faster. She had to beat that clock!
Her wheels flew round and round, steam snorting from her cylinders and a deafening beat echoing from her funnel.
She soon reached one hundred miles an hour, well above the speed limit. But danger lay ahead.
On the run down from the Crystal Empire, there is a steep hill coming into Canterlot station. This hill usually needs the support of banking engines or support locomotives, as it is very steep.
Rainbow hit the hill, and applied her brakes. Only then did she realise that she was going too fast.
“Help!” she cried. “I can’t stop!”
Down the hill she went, her speed rising out of control as she reached the bottom. She clattered through the junction at incredible speed, and through the station.
“Slow down!” shouted the station-master.
“I can’t!”
Then came a sharp bend. Rainbow went into it, and she and her carriages left the rails, piling up in a muddy field next to the railway line.
Luckily, nobody was hurt.
Spitfire came down with the breakdown train. She was not happy. “Way to go, Crash,” she snorted. “You broke the speed limit repeatedly on that run. I’ve chewed engines out for less.”
Something inside the spam can snapped. “Well, maybe I wouldn’t have done it if you hadn’t constantly called me that nickname!”
“We all have embarrassing nicknames!” Spitfire exclaimed. “Why do you think Soarin’ is called Clipper? He knocked a signal down on his first day because he was out of gauge!”
“So that makes it acceptable does it?” Rainbow retorted. “I have no idea why you engines pick on me more than each other. Is it because I’m new?”
“You’re out of order!” Spitfire thundered. “I hope you’ve learned a lesson today.”
Rainbow's face fell. “I have. I’ve learned that I’ve wasted most of my life looking up to you and your little social club. I QUIT!”
And with that, she snorted past her and into the darkness, back to Canterlot depot.
Rainbow Dash went back to her old life on the Appaloosa Limited. One day, she waited for a connecting train.
“Ugh!” she said. “What is taking Rarity so long!”
Rarity snorted into the platform nearby. She was complaining for some reason.
“Well it’s simply unfair!” she said.
“What is?” Rainbow asked.
“Have you seen how Spitfire has been given two tenders?”
Rainbow Dash hadn’t. She admittedly had been avoiding Spitfire as much as she could.
“It’s positively ridiculous, that an engine like her should get one and I should not!”
Rainbow sighed. “Whatever, Rarity.” She pulled away from the station, on her way to Appaloosa.
Down in Appaloosa, she met up with Lyra and Bon Bon, a pair of USATC S160s. They looked quizzically at her.
“I thought you were meant to be in Cloudsdale!” Lyra exclaimed.
“I left,” Rainbow explained. “I got tired of all the teasing I got from them. They consistently used that nickname they know I hate.”
“Rainbow Crash?” Bon Bon queried.
Rainbow looked down at the rails. “Yeah.”
Lyra sighed. “What else is going on in Canterlot?”
“Well, Rarity is moaning again. She thinks she should have more tenders.”
Bon Bon laughed. “I think we know how to put her in her place.”
Later on, Rainbow Dash returned to Canterlot and spoke to Rarity.
“I’ve got some good news!” she said.
“Really, darling? Do tell.”
“I’ve found you some more tenders! Eight, to be precise!”
“Oh, lovely! I can’t wait to see them!”
Rainbow Dash suppressed a snort. “You’ll love them, I can assure you.”
That evening, the engines congregated at Canterlot to see Rarity pull through. It was something they sure would remember for years to come.
Snorting past was Rarity, coupled to eight old, rusty tenders. These were not filled with coal and water. They were filled with sticky, smelly boiler sludge!
Rainbow ran along the line one day with the sun gleaming down on the ground. It was an excellent run, and the wind whistled round her smoke deflectors as she whooshed down the track.
She arrived in Canterlot on time, and the station-master came out to greet her. “You’ve boken the record again!” she said.
Rainbow laughed. “I am the fastest!”
Just then, a pair of 4-6-0s rolled into the platform. One of them was a high-pressure locomotive, the other looked...foreign.
“Hello,” the foreign one said, in an Austrneighnian accent. “I’m Rolling Thunder, and I think your Rainbow Dash.”
“That’s me!” she replied. “Who’s the high-pressure loco?”
“I’m Short Fuse!” he said.
“Why do they call you that?” Rainbow ventured.
He blasted steam all over the place. “ANGER MANAGEMENT ISSUES!”
“Whoa, steady on!” said Thunder. “You’ll blow a pipe if you’re not careful!”
Just then a certain V2 rolled into the platform.
The station-master walked over. “Ah, Lightning Dust!” she said. “I have been informed by Celestia you are to collect a jet engine and take it to Las Pegasus airfield.”
“What’s a get engine?” asked Rolling Thunder.
Rainbow rolled her eyes. “It makes an object move forward by blowing hot air backward.”
“Just like when you blow up a balloon!” Lightning Dust puffed away.
Lightning was still a little annoyed over having lost her place in the Wonderbolts. And still, she dreamed of going faster than Rainbow Dash, even if it was just the once.
She arrived at the harbour and saw the jet engine being unloaded. It was shiny and modern, and Lightning couldn’t wait to start her journey. But Grogar the Crane was taking his time.
“Hurry up!” the impatient engine called. “This is an important load!”
Grogar did not like being bossed about by engines. His hook caught a switch on the jet engine. And the engine began to whine. It got louder, and louder!
Before anyone could say anything, the engine was rocketing Lighting along the track!
“Woohoo!” the V2 cried, as she sped along the rails.
A signalman called ahead. “Clear the line, there’s a runaway train!”
Lightning Dust had never gone so fast in her life. She flew by Soarin’, and rocketed past Spitfire! They were amazed.
Rainbow Dash was thundering along the track, and totally unaware of Lightning behind her. “I am the fastest!” she proclaimed.
Just then, Lightning Dust roared past. “RIVALS FOR LIFE!” she shouted. Rainbow could not believe what she had just seen!
But alas, the jet engine ran out of fuel, and Lightning was back under her own power. She rolled gently into Canterlot station.
Rainbow arrived a moment later. “Did you pass me back there?”
“Yes, I did!” Lightning exclaimed. “I am the fastest!”
Thunder laughed. “Rainbow may not need a jet engine, but she’s full of hot air!”
Tara Strong-Twilight Sparkle Ashleigh Ball-Rainbow Dash, Lyra Peter New-Big Mac Kelly Metzger-Spitfire Jason Thiessen-Bulk Biceps, the signalman Lightning Dust-Britt Irvin Matt Hill-Soarin' Andrea Libman-Fleetfoot Nicole Oliver-The Station-master Tabitha St. Germain-Rarity, Bon Bon Rhona Rees-Rolling Thunder Andrew McNee-Short Fuse
