A year has passed since the re-discovery and restoration of the Everfree Forest Railroad. Keen not to be outdone, Rumble, Pipsqueak, and Button Mash, alongside some new friends, find the remains of an old diesel hydraulic, and resolve to restore it to working condition.
Easier said than done...
Marking a year since the release of Railway Adventure.
That night, Apple Bloom went to bed happy and contented. They had achieved something remarkable. True, there had been many bumps in the rails, and the road hadn’t always been clear and long, but none of that mattered. They were friends, and theirs had been... a Railway Adventure.
It was now September again in Canterlot. A full year had passed since this saga had begun, and boy had it been a busy year indeed. The sun rose, much as it always had, reflecting golden beams upon the town and its inhabitants. Not only that, the daily life of the people hadn't changed too much. But boy had it been a busy year.
Only a year ago, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Cozy Glow had made a remarkable discovery up in the Everfree hills. They had uncovered the remains of a lost railway that had not been seen in nearly 60 years, and incredibly was preserved almost intact despite the years of decay and lack of maintenance. It had been then they had decided to restore an engine of the railway to full working order, but had rapidly realised they had bit off more than they could chew when they saw the engine was not in good mechanical order.
In one house in the centre of town, a young boy stood looking out of a window at the rising sun before him. This was Pip, or Pipsqueak as he was formally called, and he had been involved in that restoration one year ago. He remembered that moment, clear as day, when Apple Bloom asked him to help.
“Oh, my goodness! Sorry, I didn’t see you there!” he said, in a British accent, as he reached up a hand and helped her up.
“It was mah fault, I weren’t lookin’ were ah was goin’,” Bloom replied. “Ah was lookin’ for ya, Pip.”
Pip, or Pipsqueak to give his full name, was originally not from America. He was from Britain, and had been born in Nottingham. His family had moved here when he was 6, and as a result he had never lost his distinctive Midlands accent. “Why were you looking for me?”
“Ya see, ah need your help,” Bloom said. “Me and mah friends-”
“My friends and I,” Pip corrected.
“Thanks,” Bloom answered. “Ah still get that muddled. Still, we found an old engine in the forest.”
“That must have taken some doing!” Pip exclaimed.
“Yeah. We got it to engineerin’, but the boiler’s bust. We got somebody else workin’ on the plans, but I need your help ta make it.” Bloom immediately turned on pleading mode, boring into him with her undeniable cuteness. “Please Pip, will ya help?”
“Anything for you, Apple Bloom,” Pip replied. “Besides, I still owe you one for helping me win that election campaign last year. I hope Diamond Tiara isn’t too bitter about it.”
“She’s fine now. Besdies, Silver Spoon’s supplyin’ the steel.”
“Where'd she find steel?”
“She persuaded her folks to give some to the school.”
“That makes our job easier.” The two friends set off down the corridor, smiles on their faces.
Since then, they had worked pretty hard on getting that engine running again, and at the Fall Formal, all their hard work had paid off. They had shown to the entire school that they could repair, rebuild, and operate a steam locomotive, and that it was entirely possible for students to do it. Not surprisingly, recruitment for rebuilding the railway had skyrocketed, and they had soon had a very large team working on rebuilding the line, putting down new ballast and getting the other engines ready for service (not to mention building new coaches).
But just as they were getting ready for the grand reopening of the line in March, disaster had struck. Vandals had appeared on the line, and damaged one of the engines. Pip recalled the tense confrontation that had followed, and it had not been pretty.
Rumble stepped over. “Pip’s gone to get the crane. We’ll fish the parts up and reassemble the engine.”
Scootaloo broke from her mother’s embrace, and looked at him. “You think it’s gonna be that simple, huh?” she growled, staring at him. “Just glue it back together? It doesn’t work that way, Rumble!” She was clearly quite angry now. “How on earth are we gonna do a repair of this scale with just two weeks to reopening? Restoring it the first time was hard enough, now we’ll have to start all over again!” She collapsed into a fresh round of tears.
Rumble resolved to fix this, and hugged her himself. “Hey, easy,” he said. “We can fix this. But we can’t if we don’t pull ourselves together.”
Cozy Glow wandered over. “Who would do something like this?” she asked, as a flatbed with the remains of the engine came past.
It was heartbreaking to see, a once magnificent machine reduced to nothing but a pile of scrap metal. The frames were buckled, most of the rodding was missing, the cylinders were torn, the tank and cab had come clean off the body, there were coal stains all over the frames, and the boiler was dented and broken. It was clear to all that the engine was a total writeoff.
“No,” Cheerilee whispered. “Whoever did this, is going to pay.”
“Ya don’t need to look far.”
Cheerilee looked over to her right. Standing there, was Applejack.
“How did ya get here?” Apple Bloom asked, confused.
Applejack simply shoved her little sister out of the way and stormed over to Cozy Glow, grabbing her arm. “You are in a lotta trouble, miss,” she growled.
“What?” Cozy replied, clearly terrified.
“Ya can drop the act, Cozy Glow,” Applejack answered, her voice dripping with hate and malice. “Ah know ya did this. An’ ta think ah trusted ya. Ya clearly haven’t changed at all.”
“That’s preposterous!” Sweetie Belle cried.
“It makes perfect sense,” Applejack continued. “Ya see, she was the only one between the two stations at the time this happened. So she musta been the one to derail the engine.”
“That’s called coincidence!” Button Mash said. “So what if she was between the two stations at the time, that stretch is 6 miles long! That’s an assertion, not actual proof!”
“Ya really are dumb,” Applejack snorted. “She’s clearly guilty. People don’t change, they just pretend. She’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing!”
Apple Bloom stepped forward, went on tiptoe, and leaned directly in her sister’s face. “No, sis,” she replied. “You’re wrong.”
“Excuse me?” Applejack asked. “Have Ah got applesauce in mah ears, or did you just call me a liar?”
“Ah didn’t call ya a liar, I just said you were wrong.” Apple Bloom continued quickly. “What would Cozy gain from destroying a dream she’s worked hard on?”
“What if she were just pretendin’? What if she were simply tryin’ to make ya think she was interested, whereas all she wanted to do was cause chaos?”
“You’re basing this on a ‘what if?’ Cozy exclaimed.
“Hold everything!” called a voice.
There was Pip, with a pair of youths. Snips and Snails. “They are the ones behind this,” he said. “They derailed the engine on Sonata’s orders. Question is, what would she want with us?”
“Doesn’t matter,” Apple Bloom replied. “Call the police, and get them outta here. They are not welcome on the railway, ever.” Both of them were escorted past, and into a waiting carriage.
It had been a massive job getting that engine ready for service once again, as they had had to repair the engine almost completely, most of the parts being missing from the engine. But, with working all night and a lot of blood, sweat, tears, and some language not appropriate to repeat here, they had got the engine running once more. And opening day had gone almost perfectly, discounting the train stalling on the hill outside the top station and needing banking from Gaia Everfree to get up the slope.
In the year since, the railway had run perfectly smoothly, with tourists still coming from far and wide to see the Little Railway of the Hills (patent pending), not to mention they had received a surprise visit from the last person they expected...
It wasn’t long before the day came to an end. Stabling the engines at the works, the friends got out of the cabs and came together.
“Well, wasn’t that exciting!” Pip exclaimed.
“We not only restored an entire railway, but ran it as well!” Sweetie Belle cried.
“Not to mention emergency repairs at the last minute!” Button added.
“Excuse me?” said a voice. “Is the shed still open?”
The girls turned to face the source of the voice; an elderly man, with a white beard and hair.
“It sure is sir,” Apple Bloom replied. “An’ you are?”
“My name is Christopher Awdry,” he answered.
Their jaws fell open in an instant. “The Christopher Awdry?!” Scootaloo exclaimed.
“The one and the same,” Christopher Awdry smiled. “I would like to write a few stories about this railway. I have happy memories of working alongside my father on the Talyllyn, and have a written a few about the Corris Railway too. With your permission, I’ll write some about this one as well.”
“Ya sure can sir!” Bloom replied, with an intense sense of pride in her heart.
And now a year had passed. Other things had happened, of course, including runaway trains, music contests, sports events featuring hugely over competetive students, reincarnation, and goodness knows what else, but what mattered was this impresive achievement outshone all others. And Pip was hugely proud of that.
Not only that, he and Apple Bloom were now formally dating. They were a full year older now, and he was absolutely certain he was in love with the youngest member of the Apple family. He also knew from his friends Rumble and Button Mash that they had steady relationships with Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle respectively, but he knew for a fact that he adored his Apple Bloom.
But there was a thought in the back of his mind. Was there anything else around here that could be restored? Surely some lost railway was sitting nearby, just waiting to be found. Apple Bloom had reportedly visited an abandoned town in a nightmare she'd had once... Sunnyvale? Was that the name? Anyway, Pip concentrated. If that railway could have been hidden in plain sight, then there could well be something else hidden in the area.
"Pip!" his mother called. "It's time for school!"
"Coming mum!" Pip shouted, in his mild Midlands accent. He hadn't actually been born in the US, but was originally from Nottingham in the UK. As a result, he had never lost his trademark accent, and it defined him somewhat. He stepped outdoors into the sun, and went over to the streetcar stop to start his journey to school.
The journey to school on the streetcar had changed little in the last year, which was a cause of great relief to most people, given how much everything else had changed. Pip lived at the opposite end of town to Apple Bloom, which meant that school was their convenient meeting place. As the streetcar trundled along, the world slowly rolling by and people paying little attention to what was going on, Pip suddenly caught sight of a robber speeding down the sidewalk, with the Rainbooms pursuing him along the street to try and apprehend him. Pip laughed gently. It seemed since last September, those six (or was it those seven? He was never quite sure) had been turned from normal teenage girls into superheros. It was after they had come back from Camp Everfree that things had become especially dramatic, with those geodes that allowed them to manifest all sorts of strange powers. Pip hadn't forgotten the time Rarity had made an impromptu sunshade using those crystals she could make. On the topic of crystals, the railway had participated in the fundraising efforts to save Camp Everfree when threatened by a hostile takeover bid from Pearce and Crump building contractors. But, with the help of the railway and the Camp Everfree Alumni, the place had been saved, and was now welcoming more generations of happy campers making happy memories in the woods.
It would soon be their turn, Pip supposed. But with all the bizarre magic going on, it was hard to know what the future would bring for the town and its inhabitants. Then again, life never was easy to predict, something Pip was used to. If, for instance, you had told him when he lived in Nottingham that one day he would live in America and be dating a farm girl, he'd have said you were mad. But it was had come true, and he wouldn't want it any other way. There were even some days where he couldn't stop thinking about her.
He was jolted out of his recollection by a loud and quick application of the brakes. "Canterlot High School," said the driver over the intercom. "This is Canterlot High School. If you are alighting here, please make sure to collect all baggage and personal items before you leave the streetcar. And please... mind the gap between the streetcar and the platform."
Pip got out of his seat, picked up his backpack, and hopped off the streetcar via the side door, as it would have made little sense to exit through the window. That would have produced a lot of broken glass for no readily obvious gain. That, and he'd be in hospital, which would not only be expensive, but would waste time. And time was something he didn't like to waste.
He crossed the road after the streetcar passed, and then walked into the school building, past the now missing Wondercolt statue. Ever since Midnight Sparkle had blown it up, there had been fundraising efforts to repair and replace it. Quite why the school hadn't paid for it out of its own budget was a mystery to most people, but this matter could not be answered now. Pip wandered through the corridors and to his new locker, as the students had been rearranged when the new year began. He smiled as he saw the new freshmen rushing past him toward their classes. He remembered that very well, given it had only been a year ago. What a year that had been! A bit action packed for his liking, but then again worse had happened. He opened his locker and set the combination, dumping his bag inside.
"Hiya Pip!" a familiar voice said to his left. Pip closed the locker door, and looked over to see Apple Bloom standing there, putting her bag into her locker.
"Nice to see you again!" Pip replied, extending his hand. "How was the reunion?"
"It were great!" Apple Bloom exclaimed, her face aglow. "We got the entire family together, and we even built Cass a new carbarn. True, we'd wrecked it, which sucked somewhat, but apart from that we had a great time."
"I'm glad you enjoyed it," Pip replied, then looked at her in confusion. "Are you dressed like that for any particular reason?"
"Dressed like what?" Apple Bloom asked, seemingly equally confused.
"Like you are now," Pip replied. "I didn't think dresses were your thing."
Pip had a point. Rather than jeans and a green T-shirt, Apple Bloom was wearing a yellow short sleeved dress with a white collar, the skirt of which fell to her knees and seemed to float gently off of her hips. She also wore a white apron on top with a white bow at the back holding it in place, and a pair of black shoes with white tights.
Apple Bloom nodded. "Ah thought Ah should maybe try ta stay in touch with mah more feminine side from time ta time. Ma agreed with the idea, and besides, this was the least ridiculous thin' we could find." She then gave him a quick twirl. "What do ya think?"
"You look beautiful!" Pip replied. "And you kept your bow."
Apple Bloom blushed. "Thanks Pip," she said. "Yer such a gentleman, ya know that?"
Now it was Pip's turn for his face to go red. "Thanks in return," he answered. "You know, I was-"
Suddenly, the bell went, and Apple Bloom closed her locker in a hurry. "Shoot! Ah'm gonna miss the tardy bell! See ya at break Pip!" And she sped off down the corridor as best she could, trying not to trip up in her shoes.
Pip smiled. "Man, I love her," he said, as he collected his books and walked off.
"Oh, what's up, lover boy?" asked another student hear him.
"None of your business," Pip replied. "Besides, Apple Bloom's my girlfriend, and I make no secret of it."
"Just asking, that all," the boy replied, and he walked off. Pip looked at his planner.
"Now then," he said. "Where's this room? 26B?"
At lunch, the cafeteria was still as packed and vibrant as ever. The room sounded to vibrant conversation, and many students sat around. Watermelody was busy reciting Hamlet, Trixie was doing an impromptu magic show, and Flash Sentry was tuning his guitar. Apple Bloom gently pushed her way through the crowd with her tray and sat down with Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle.
"Hi Apple Bloom!" Sweetie Belle greeted. "Have you seen Cozy Glow anywhere?"
"Can't say Ah have," Apple Bloom replied, then stopped when she saw Scootaloo sniggering. "Hey! What's so funny?"
Scootaloo tried to speak through her snorting. "It's just the sight of you, wearing a dress! I never knew you were this girly!"
"Oh really?" Apple Bloom answered. "Well then, Ah can't wait ta see ya turn up ta school in a ballgown."
"That'll be the day," Scootaloo laughed.
"Why are we quoting Duke?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"It was a common saying before Duke," Scootaloo replied. "Buddy Holly recorded a song of that title, and it's also a quote from The Searchers. John Wayne says it at some point."
"Hmm!" Apple Bloom replied. "That's handy ta know."
Elsewhere in the room, Pip had chosen to sit with his two closest mates, other than the Crusaders, of course. Button Mash sat opposite him, his eyes currently looking down at his JoyBoy. Rumble had a soccer ball next to him, his eyes sat below a pair of aviator goggles. Those were reportedly a nod to his grandfather, who had served in Korea in the Navy Fighter Wing.
"So," Button started, his eyes looking up briefly. "What did we want to talk about?"
Pip spoke up. "Remember how last year the Crusaders discovered the Everfree Forest Railway, and we helped them get it working again?"
"Sure I do!" Rumble answered. "And I got my date out of it as well. Man, that was the best night of my life." He sighed as he recalled the first kiss he and Scootaloo had shared, almost a year ago at the 2013 Fall Formal.
"Well," Pip continued, "I've been wondering if there are other railway related discoveries to be made in this area. Other relics that are yet to be found and restored to their deserved glory."
"I think we've run out of old railways to find," Button said. "But I wonder if there is something else out there. Rumour has it there is a missing engine that worked around here long ago. Maybe we could try finding that?"
"Ah, yes!" Rumble interjected. "There's the old shed around here that hasn't been opened in ages, and is rumoured to contain an engine. Should we give that a try?"
"It's settled then!" Pip said, extending his hand. "We'll check out the shed, tomorrow evening. Sound good?"
"Yeah!" the other two called, putting their hands on Pip's and extending them up into the air. Just then, another voice spoke.
"What's going on over there?" asked Sweetie Belle.
It was now the afternoon, and the boys gathered outside in order to get ready to go. The old shed sat down near the railway lines, opposite the roundhouse where the bulk of the engines were kept, and sat generally on its own. The structure hadn't been opened in years, and Pip, Rumble, and Button were ready to go exploring.
"Now then," Pip started, looking at his friends. "Have we got everything we need?"
Button looked at his list. "One obvious problem comes to mind. How are we going to get in if the doors are shut? And not only that, aren't we technically trespassing here? I thought the shed was off limits for a reason!"
Rumble looked down. "Should we have thought of that? It really throws a spanner into the works if that is the case. At least Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle-"
"As well as Cozy Glow," Pip mentioned, pointing out the often forgotten 4th Crusader.
"At least Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle and Cozy Glow," Rumble corrected himself, then continued, "had the advantage that the shed they were looking around in was on unclaimed property that wasn't owned by anybody. This shed is property of the California Coast Railroad. How are we gonna get in without trespassing?"
Pip smiled. "You forget my father works for the California Coast Railroad, and I've already dealt with that problem. Remember the phone call I went to make? That was contacting him to open the place up for us. Not to mention we work for the Railroad too, and as such will have access permits.
Rumble facepalmed. "I'd totally forgotten about that! Shows what use I am."
"There's no need to beat yourself up about it," Button answered, putting his paperwork down and slinging his backpack onto his back. "Anybody can remember or forget something. Though I'm not sure if we find this engine, or any engine for that matter, I don't think we'll be able to run it through the school hall!"
"We'll cross that bride when we come to it, OK?" Pip replied. "Until then, shall we be on our way? I think we have an engine to potentially find."
The others didn't argue, and they headed off down the road... only for Apple Bloom to suddenly emerge from the doors behind them to see them walking off.
"Pip! Pip!" she called, but it was no use. He had already got a considerable distance away with his friends, and they were out of audio range. She sighed. "Ah sugarcubes. Ah was wonderin' if he wanted help with this whole 'findin' an engine' thin', but Ah suppose it'll have ta wait."
Scootaloo appeared behind her. "I suppose it will, Alice," she sniggered. "Found any rabbit holes lately?"
Apple Bloom looked at her with a blank expression. "What?" she asked.
"You look like Alice, from Alice in Wonderland!"
Apple Bloom turned red. "You mock me one more time about mah outfit and you'll regret it!" She then headed off for her streetcar stop.
Scootaloo shrugged. "Just saying," she said, before she noticed Sweetie Belle staring at her. "What?"
It rapidly transpired that choosing to walk through town may not have been the smartest of idea due to the heat. The sun beat down upon the streets, making things very hot indeed. The streets were not air conditioned, that not being at all practical, but the streetcars were, and this made the boys feel very silly indeed.
"Why didn't we catch a streetcar?" Rumble asked. "It would have been quicker, and we wouldn't be as hot!"
"This way, we don't get detected," Pip explained. "We don't want somebody beating us to it, do we?"
"I think we'd have noticed if somebody beat us to a great big shed!" Button said. "It's not as if you can just pick a shd up with its contents and carry it somewhere else, can you?"
"Fair point," Pip sighed, "but we're commited now, and we have to see this walk out. It's not much farther anyway. Look!" and he pointed to a large building in the distance. "That's the roundhouse, which tells me that the shed we are looking for is not too far away!"
"Ah!" Button called "There it is! Over there!"
"Where?" Pip asked. "Where is it?"
"The one with the diesel shunter parked in front of it," Rumble said dryly. Before them was a single road shed with brick walls and an arched roof. Along the walls were small, tall windows, arched at the top, with a gentle curve to round off the design, and it was split into 8 individual sections to make it easier to maintain. The back wall was facing away from them, and the doors were shut. In the cab of the diesel shunter sat a man wearing the uniform of the California Coast Railroad. He had brown skin and hair, and had green eyes. He also had a gentle smile on his face as he leaned out of the cab window and sounded the horn.
"Hello Pip!" he called.
"Hi dad!" Pip called back. "So, is it in there?"
Mr Squeak shrugged. "I don't know. I wanted to wait until you three got here, so we could open her up together and take a look inside as a team. Always have the responsible adult, but give the glory to the child."
"Thanks sir," Button replied, and headed toward the shed door with his friends. They quickly pulled on the door, and with an effort, they swung the first one open.
"It's like somebody's invited us to go and take a look inside!" Pip said, before going for the other door. Again, the three friends worked together to try and get the door opened up. Again, it swung open surprisingly easily, and when they saw what was inside their jaws dropped.
"So it is true," Rumble said. Before them sat a diesel, with a squat, awkwardly angled front end that was coloured yellow. It had a headcode box mounted on the front end as well, and tall windows that were supported by a plate extending forward from the top of the roof, giving the appearance of a flat cap.
"Well, this is the engine all right," Button said. "I just wonder what it is?"
"Shall we pull it into the light?" Pip suggested. "Can we pull it out?" he called to his father.
"Got it, I'll just back the shunter up!" he called. He changed the gear lever to setting one, and moved the reverser lever to reverse (aptly enough). The Class 03 was different to most shunters used on the California Coast Railroad, as it used a manual gearbox rather than an automatic transmission. This made the speed a lot easier to regulate, but it meant drivers had to be weary with the gearbox and not damage it, as these locos lacked the synchromesh systems that most drivers took for granted. He opened the throttle, and the diesel began to back up very slowly, so slowly, in fact, it seemed to only be doing one mile an hour. The locomotive rolled back gently, and rolled into the other engine, gently coming to a stop in front of it. "Pip, hook up the couplings, will you?" he asked.
"Got it dad!" Pip called, and grabbed the link chain to connect the shunter to this other mystery diesel. There was a clunk as the chain was connected, and Pip tightened the link to ensure that the engine ran smoothly forward without any frustrating clunks. He gave a thumbs up. "Ready to move!" he called, and then stepped back from the train.
"Right away!" Mr Squeak answered, and opened the throttle. The engine roared in response, rapidly reaching an incredibly high pitched note as it pulled the other engine forward with a rattle and a jolt. The whole lot began to move, slowly at first, but gradually with more power, until the entire set was rolling forward calmly and smoothly. The engine slowly emerge from the place that had been its home for so long, until it sat there, stopped entirely, and basking in the sunlight. Those assembled gasped in amazement.
It was long, and painted red. The engine, as previously described, had rather severe front ends with yellow ends, and vertical windows. There were three windows in the sides of the engine body, allowing the engine to be seen, and engine vents to release heat, as well as exhaust pipes set into the roof for the same purpose, and to allow waste gasses to leave the combustion chamber. Each bogie (of which there were two) had six wheels, and on the side sat a single nameplate.
Western Champion.
"How did a Western get out here?" Pip asked.
"Western?" Button asked.
"British Railways Class 52," Mr Squeak said. "I remember these as a boy, in the West Country. They were powerful, fast, and made a heavenly noise from their Maybach engines."
"Well, if the Crusaders could restore a steam engine, we can restore a diesel," Rumble said.
"If you can figure out how to repair a hydraulic engine," Pip pointed out. "These things work completely differently to how the electrics we are used to work!"
"Maybe," Rumble nodded, "but I think I know somebody who does have the knowledge."
Rumble strolled along Barr Street, a relative nice cul-de-sac hidden away on the side of town. It had some pleasant homes scattered along it, lined up in that trademark inflexible rigid format used in so many American streets. The street ran down for about a mile or so, but Rumble knew exactly where he was headed. He walked about halfway down the street. He felt somewhat bad about leaving his friends next to Western Champion, which had been shunted back into its shed to protect it from the elements, but it was neccesary, as they needed some extra help with the engine.
He walked up to a house which was not too different from any of the others. Just your average, A frame American home, probably built by the Levitt company in the 1950s or something like that. He stepped down the drive, and onto the path. Sat on the ground was a rock, with an egg sat behind it. Rumble bent down to look at it, only to see it was a xenomorph egg (thankfully, there was no Facehugger in it. Rumble would rather not go the way John Hurt did). He sighed. However lived here had an odd sense of humour. He walked up to the door, and knocked on it three times, as per the instructions posted on the door.
A moment later, a woman opened the door. She had dark grey skin, and dark blue hair that was currently tied back behind her head. She also had green eyes that seemed to glow in the darkness. She was currently dressed in a blue T shirt, and grey slacks, with a pair of black boots to match. She smiled when she saw who it was. "Ah, Rumble!" she said. "Nice to see you again. It's been a while."
"Hey, Chrysalis," Rumble replied. Chrysalis worked for the local police department, and was pretty high ranking. However, today was her day off, and as school had ended for the day, Rumble knew precisely why she was at home.
"Are you wanting to see Thorax?" Chrysalis asked. Rumble was good friends with Thorax, who was Chrysalis' son, and it was fairly common for the two of them to work together on school projects.
"Ocellus too, if you wouldn't mind," Rumble added. "You see, we found something in town-"
"It wasn't a mail bag loaded with gold and diamonds, was it?" Chrysalis asked jokingly. The first time they had met, it was in March shortly after a mail train had been robbed on the California Coast Railroad. The Crusaders, as well as Rumble, Button, and Pip, had helped to recover the other mail bags, and the robbers had been arrested. That had been one hell of a day. "Because if it was, that would really throw the spanner in the works for me."
"It was something better," Rumble smiled. "It was an engine, in that old shed in town that people haven't been in years."
The woman's face brightened up almost immediately. "Well," she said, "Thorax will definitely want to hear about this. But come in, and welcome to the Hive."
Rumble stepped through the door into the house, shutting it behind him. Shortly after he had done so, a boy with black or grey skin and orange hair, as well as purple eyes, stepped forward, wearing a green shirt and jeans with a pair of trainers and red socks on his feet. "Hey Rumble!" he called.
"Hi Thorax!" Rumble replied. Rumble and Thorax had been pretty close for years, and had covered each other's backs for years. They had first become friends after Rumble had come to the defence of Thorax's sister, not to mention help him admit his feelings to Silver Spoon.
"So, what brings you here today?" Thorax asked, walking over to the drinks cabinet. "You want something to drink?"
"I'm fine, thanks," Rumble replied. "Can I see Ocellus as well?"
"Ocellus!" Chrysalis called. A moment later, a girl with blue skin and blue eyes stepped forward. She had pink hair running down her back, attached to the back of her head of course, and wore a red dress with blue shoes on her feet, combined with green socks.
"Y-yes mom?" she asked. Ocellus was very shy. No. That's an understatement. Ocellus suffered from a crippling lack of confidence, and was very poor at speaking to other people. As a result, she had often been picked on by other students for her timid nature. Thankfully, Rumble had been able to get them to back down, and of course Thorax had helped her in life. However, her quiet nature hid an incredibly perceptive and intelligent person, who didn't so much read things as memorise them word for word. Indeed, her appetite for knowledge was pretty impressive, and her grades were consistently high, just shy of those of Twilight Sparkle. Despite this, however, she was somewhat slow to make friends, although she got on well with a boy called Gallus. Her nervous complexion softened when she saw who was there. "Rumble!" she cried. "Nice of you to come and see us!"
"Nice to see you too," Rumble answered. "Hey, I was wondering if you two could help us with something."
Ocellus stepped forward, and sat down on the couch. "Sure," she said. "What's the problem?"
Thorax took a seat, and Rumble then stepped forward, putting down a set of plans. "Ever seen one of these before?" he asked.
Thorax looked confused, but Ocellus identified it immediately. "Of course!" she said. "That's a Class 52 Western!"
"Yeah," Rumble answered. "We know it's a diesel, but how does it work?" He took a quick sip of his coke, as Ocellus poured over the drawing.
"That's a hydraulic locomotive," Ocellus explained, as her mind started to go into overdrive. "This means it is powered by a torque converter, which is a type of fluid coupling that transfers rotating mechanical power from an engine, in this case diesel, to a rotating driven load, connecting the power source and the load together. Usually positioned between the flexplate and transmission, the Westerns had two of these to maximise tractive effort and speed."
There was the sound of a jaw dropping, as Thorax looked on in astonishment. "You can tell all of that from just looking at it?"
"Erm, yes?" Ocellus replied.
Rumble looked up. "Now that's all quite interesting, but you wouldn't mind explaining it in a way that an ordinary person would understand? I literally had no idea what you just said."
"Yes is a word used to indicate that-"
"Before that!" Rumble said. "The bit about fluid thingies."
"Oh!" Ocellus replied. "Basically, the engine is a series of cylinders that ignite fuel. These ignitions push pistons that rotate a fan mounted in an oil bath. This fan makes the wheels turn. Westerns have two of these systems." She looked up. "Why do you ask? I didn't take you for a person interested in old British diesel engines."
Rumble nodded, and took a deep breath. "You see... we found one in that old shed in town."
"REALLY?" Ocellus squeaked, jumping out of her chair. "This is incredible! if we can find one in working order, we have no end to the possibilities of rail operations in the area!"
"That's the problem," Rumble replied. "The one we found, Western Champion, looks to be in pretty poor shape. We have no idea what state the engines are in, or these toe capitulators-"
"Torque converters," Ocellus corrected.
"Or these torque converters," Rumble went on. "We wanted some extra help, and given you two are pretty brainy when it comes to engineering, I was wondering if you wanted to help out."
Thorax's eyes lit up. "Count me in, Rumble!" he said. "I owe you a lot anyway, so this will be a great opportunity to pay you back anyways."
Ocellus was also keen to get onboard. "The chance to run and restore a locomotive?" she asked. "I'd love to. There aren't enough opportunities to find locomotives in the middle of nowhere and restore them. I'm not aware of any other narrow gauge railways in this part of the world, so we're limited there. But I'd love to help in any way I can."
"Do remember you'll need adult supervision for this project," Chrysalis said. "Besides, I can help."
"Any extra pair of hands would be greatly appreciated," Rumble said.
"Oh, this is a fine pair of hands," Chrysalis smiled. "Before I met my husband at college, I used to take motorbikes to bits and reassemble them for fun on several days. Boy were those days fun," she smiled, remembering the old days. "Of course, I don't get to do that much anymore, but a chance to work on anything mechanical sounds fun."
"We've got Pip's dad onboard, if that helps," Rumble told them. "Well then, shall we head down then? The diesel won't fix itself!"
"Onwards to adventure!" Thorax called, and the four of them stepped outdoors and into the sun, towards town, with Chrysalis shutting the door behind her.
By the time that Rumble, Chrysalis, Thorax, and Ocellus had got to the shed where Western Champion was stored, they found it had already been put back inside and some panels had been removed from the engine casing. Behind the sleek metal and the windows that revealed the twin Maybach engines, a maze of pipes, cables and wires existed, alongside a mass of gears, cogs, and pistons, totalling thousands of moving parts inside the locomotive. Pip was looking closely at the engine in concern, a frown upon his face as he looked closely at it.
"It seems to be in good order," he said, finally, after several minutes of silence. "Most of the parts are there, at least according to the plans we have here. But I would still feel more comfortable with a second opinion on this machine, given I've only previously worked on steam engines and small mechanical shunters."
"You really want a second opinion?" said Button, emerging from the interior of the locomotive, his face covered in oil and his clothes greasy. "We seem to have a leak in one of the torque converters. Who could have known diesel locomotives could have been so messy?"
"If you're used to working on diesel electrics, then yes," Pip replied, stepping forward to climb onboard. "There's a lot of hydraulic fluid in these machines to keep them running."
"You don't say," Button replied, hopping out. "I can understand why BR withdrew these things; they must have driven the engineers at Swindon absolutely nuts!"
"And they lacked the heating systems needed to power Mark 2 coaches," Pip added. "I wonder how long it has been since this engine last run?"
"Who knows?" said Mr Squeak. "This loco last appears in the California Coast Railroad logbooks back in the 1980s. So, at the very least, it has acquired 30 or so years of neglect. But you'd be amazed at how dependable the 1st generation diesels can be. One preserved line pulled a Class 101 DMU out of storage a few years ago after years out of use. And the engine ran perfectly."
"In fairness," Button replied, "diesel mechanical is a lot less complex than diesel hydraulic. We've got two engines to deal with here!"
Just then, Pip noticed that Rumble had returned. "Hey Rumble!" he called. "Did you get the extra help?"
"Yep!" Rumble replied. "I hope Ocellus and her brother will be of great help."
"And me," Chrysalis added, as the family stepped into the shed. Ocellus' jaw dropped at seeing Western Champion in front of her.
"I knew these things were pretty incredible, but to actually see one in real life? This is pretty incredible!"
"It's not every day you find an old British diesel in a shed in town," Thorax laughed. "I imagine this is a dream come true for you, Celly!"
"You bet?" his sister replied. "I can't wait to look inside! Just imagine what wonders we shall find inside!"
"Now wait just a moment, young lady," Chrysalis said sternly to her daughter. "You need a responsible adult with you at all times inside that machine. And I intend to be there at all times whilst you take a look inside."
Ocellus' face fell. "OK mom," she replied. "But can we go in?"
Chrysalis sighed. "Whatever am I going to do with you?" she asked rhetorically. "Of course dear, let's go. No point in delaying any further." And so, the two of them climbed in through the access hatch in the side of the engine, and moved off to the left, walking past the core of the engine and toward the cab of the locomotive, pausing every now and then to look at a part and comment on it.
"Hmm," noted Ocellus. "Looks to be in good order."
"Looks to be?" Chrysalis said. "That's not good enough for getting this engine running again. If we want it to run, we have to ensure it is in good order."
"Noted," Ocellus said, and they stepped into the cab via the access door. Ocellus'e eyes darted through the dimly lit cab, and she switched on a torch to look about in more detail. The controls looked to be in good order, and they were all there; reverser, throttle, brake handles (both the locomotive and train brake handles), as well as the parking brake wheel. She shook her head upon seeing it, recalling a time when a student in her year had asked her if it was a steering wheel. Seriously, why would a diesel locomotive, a machine designed to run on rails, have a steering wheel? The rails determine where it goes, and having a steering wheel would thus be pointless! She dismissed the thought from her mind, and walked over to the other side of the cab, where the controls for the steam heating boiler sat.
"Steam heating boiler controls?" Chrysalis asked, looking at the control panel in confusion. "Why would a diesel engine have a boiler on board? I thought only steam engines had those!"
"In the early days," Ocellus explained, "before the introduction of electric train heating, carriages in Britain were still fitted with steam heating. As the old steam engines were being withdrawn, this meant that there was no way of heating the trains whilst the diesel was attached to it. Then somebody came up with the bright idea of fitting steam heating boilers to diesel locos. This, incidentally, is why diesel locos from this era have a dedicated fireman position, to operate the steam heating boiler. Of course, this became redundant when electric train heating came in, which partly sparked the downfall of these engines as they couldn't mount the generators needed for it, whereas the later Class 50s could. That, and ASLEF demanded it."
"ASLEF?" Chrysalis asked.
"Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen," Ocellus explained. "The main union for railway employees in Britain alongside the Union of Railway, Maritime and Transport Workers, or RMT."
Chrysalis sighed at this information. "If you're going to use acronyms, explain what they mean first. Otherwise, people will have no idea what you're talking about."
Ocellus nodded. "OK. Well, that's the cab checked out. Shall we go and check the other one?"
The rest of the inspection took a few minutes, and after those few minutes had ended, passing on into eternity, Ocellus and Chrysalis hopped out of the access hatch and onto the workshop floor.
"Well?" Pip asked. "How is it?"
"I imagine you got very excited in there," Thorax said, with a grin.
"And what is that supposed to mean?" Ocellus asked.
"Oh, nothing."
Ocellus turned to Pip. "To answer your question, the locomotive looks to be in surprisingly good shape. The controls are all there, and I couldn't see much corrosion upon initial inspection of the engines and mechanical equipment."
"And?" Rumble enquired, a look of surprise on his face.
"I'd still advise completely stripping the thing down and checking all the parts to be absolutely safe," Ocellus continued, a gleam in her eyes. "These things are pretty complicated."
"You can say that again," Button said, remembering his earlier trip inside Western Champion.
"These things are pretty complicated-"
"Not literally!" Button interrupted.
"We have a crane here, and plenty of hands to do this work," Thorax said, glancing about at the workshop and shed in which they currently stood. Or were currently standing, whichever is grammatically correct.
Mr Squeak put his hands together. "Let's get to work!" he said, with a smile.
Several weeks passed by, and work continued, parts being repaired and overhauled as work progressed. Machinery was shipped in and out as the locomotive was stripped down and fixed, with new coils, engine cylinders, fan belts, and even a replacement torque converter being fitted (that last one was especially challenging, given the manufacturer had gone out of business many decades earlier).
One evening, Apple Bloom was out walking in town. The Apple harvest was nearly over, and she was just enjoying being out in the air. Her body was dripping in sweat from the strenous work and the heat, and she wiped some of it off of her palms and onto her jeans to make her hands less slippery. She was walking past the shed when suddenly she heard a strange sound.
There was a long, loud humming noise, which went up and down in pitch every few seconds or so. It was interspersed every few minutes with a beeping sound, when suddenly a loud roar of an engine engaging caused her to jump. "What the heck was that?" she cried.
Just as suddenly as it had begun, it cut out. And then suddenly cut in again, and it began to rev at a stable volume. The noise seemed to be coming from the shed, and the doors were swung open a moment later. The engine note rose in pitch, and Apple Bloom's jaw nearly fell off when she saw the mighty diesel emerging out of the shed and into the glorious California sun. The red paintwork gleaming, the engine roaring majestically, and the note of the twin Maybach's a wondrous sound to hear, the 52 rolled forward for a short distance, and then stopped. Pip opened the cab door to shout to somebody.
"It works!" Pip shouted to Rumble. "It works perfectly!"
"Yes!" Rumble cried. "Mainline workings, here we come!"
Apple Bloom couldn't believe what she had just seen. "So, that's what he was up to," she said calmly. "If only Ah'd known, Ah'd have loved ta help."
A few days went by, during which Western Champion went through further testing and outfitting. Amongst the ley changes that needed to be applied including the restoration and fitting of the engine's Automatic Warning System, or AWS for short. This system was crucial for the engine to operate safely on the mainline, as otherwise the crew would have no awareness of incoming yellow or red signals (only the very advanced APT (Advanced Passenger Train) featured an in-cab signalling system, and this was a highly expensive system that could not be fitted to most locomotives due to the costs involved). A suitable system was found and fitted at Canterlot works, now fully equipped to handle most types of locomotives, and this was then followed by mainline trials to see how many coaches the engine could pull, and how quickly. It was found during this testing stage that the engine could pull up to 10 coaches at speeds in excess of one hundred miles an hour. Whilst a lot slower than many of the line's fastest engines, there was no real reason for passenger workings to run any faster, and as such this was considered to be satisfactory. The recovery of Western Champion has also encouraged the railroad to pull its mothballed Hymeks out of storage, as the knowledge for overhauling hydraulic engines had been rediscovered (although reworking Mekydro engines rapidly worked out to be something of a headache, given the company that made the parts had long since gone out of business). In all, it was boomtime for the railway, but the team who had restored Western Champion would soon face their greatest challenge yet.
It was September, and the date of the Canterlot Music Festival was approaching. In fact, it would be that very weekend, and many of the stars who were performing were arriving already. Most had flown into Los Angeles airport and come up by train, and the line was getting clogged with traffic shipping musicians and their entourage, music equipment, speakers, instruments, and many other things. No fewer that 40 major musicians were headlining the concert, which made it not only a very important event, but also one of high security, and the number of Private Security workers in the town for that weekend was a little unnerving to say the least. One afternoon in Sugarcube Corner, the crew of Western Champion were sat around a table sipping milkshakes. Rumble was the first to speak.
"Well," he said, "I think we can safely conclude that so far, Western Champion has been a great success." He glanced over at Pip, who was looking at the table. "Do you agree?"
Pip glanced up. "Oh! Yes, of course. Just... Apple Bloom was a bit upset we didn't ask her for help. She'd have loved to have helped us out restoring it. We're OK now, if that's what you're wondering about, but still, I'm not too sure everything's OK with the engine."
"Really?" Button asked, drinking his chocolate milkshake very slowy. Only a year ago, when Sweetie Belle had recruited him for the Everfree Forest Railroad restoration project, he had drunken his milkshake far too fast, and had got brain freeze as a result, which was extremely unpleasent and led to him causing a disturbance. "The AWS checked out fine on testing, and the throttle controls are having no problems."
"That's what they said of Gas Turbine 4, remember?" Thorax pointed out. Not long earlier, a prototype gas turbine locomotive had had technical faults and had run out of control up the mainline until being stopped by another engine. The locomotive had been pulled for modifications, and had been introduced on a trial basis. However, the locomotive still wasn't trusted by most people, not least Button Mash, as Sweetie Belle had been at the controls when it had malfunctioned.
"Oh, yeah," Button replied, looking down at the floor.
Ocellus glanced over. "A longer running in period would be good," she said. "I'm not sure we've ironed out all of the kinks in the engine yet."
"Are we in a dead end street?" asked Pip.
"What?" Rumble asked, confused.
"The Kinks were a British pop band in the 1960s through to the 1990s," Pip explained. "Dead End Street was released in 1966 as a criticism of working class life. Which is odd, as normally they celebrated working class life."
"Is this relevant?" Ocellus asked. "Because it doesn't sound like it."
"No," Button said quickly. "So, we need to do some more work on the engine."
"Correct," Pip replied. "I noticed on one of the runs that the engines were briefly out of sync. Should we install a FADEC system?"
"Possibly," Button said, taking another sip of his milkshake. "I suggest we try the engine again before we make any substancial changes. Under mainline conditions, and with a heavy load."
"Isn't FADEC the system used on Chinook helicopters?" asked Rumble.
"Full Authority Digital Engine Control," Ocellus told him. "Used for keeping engines in sync, as well as maximising fuel efficiency."
"Why am I not surprised that you know that?" Rumble asked.
Suddenly, before Ocellus could reply, Pip's phone went, and he answered it. "Hello? Mr David?" he said. "Yes? An urgent special for us?" There was a brief pause. "Of course! We'll get onto it right away! Yes, Western Champion is available and ready for service. Fantastic. See you then!" The line clicked shut, and Pip put his phone down.
"We've got a pretty big working to do!" he said.
"And that is?" Thorax asked, sitting up as he did so.
"The network is pretty blocked up with passenger trains moving the equipment and stars for the Canterlot music festival," Pip explained. "As a result, there are no other engines available. Another artist has just arrived, and Mr David has timetabled Western Champion to pull the train for an artist who has just arrived at Los Angeles International Airport to go to Canterlot!"
"Who is it?" Rumble enquired, looking very interested.
"The big one. Countess Coloratura."
San Fernando railroad station was always a busy place, but today it seemed to be busier than ever. People swarmed the platforms, which were largely being blocked off by the police, in an attempt to get a glimpse of Countess Coloratura herself. These efforts were largely futile, as the security was very good. 10 passenger coaches of MK1 design sat in the platform, and Western Champion backed slowly onto the train, the twin Maybach engines growling as it backed onto the coaches. Rumble was calling Pip back from the rear cab.
"10 cars, keep it coming back!" he called.
"Got it, 10 coaches!" Pip replied over the radio.
"5 coaches!"
"5 coaches, copy!"
"And.. impact!" The engine rolled smoothly into the coach, and stopped without so much as a nudge.
Perfect." The radio cut out. Rumble hopped out of the cab and was hooking the engine up when a man walked over to him. He had white skin and grey eyes, paired with pink hair that was all over the place. He wore a blue suit with black shoes and a red tie, as well as a white shirt, yellow waistcoat, and a pair of brown circular spectacles.
"Is this the train?" he asked, in an officious and rude voice.
"Yes, it is," Rumble replied. "This is the rostered engine."
"Why the railway thought it acceptable to put such an old, noisy and smelly machine on the Countess' train is beyond me," he said. "Oh well, I guess we can't always get the best trains, not an electric at least, sadly. At least get us there on time and smoothly, we had a pretty bad flight from San Fransisco." He then walked off, toward the lead passenger coach.
Rumble looked at Button Mash, who had just hopped out of the maintenance hatch. "That was the rudest man I have ever met," he said.
Button shrugged. "That's Svengallop," he said. "He's Coloratura's manager, ever since she signed on with Columbia Records. Bad move, in my opinion, but something's clearly working."
"I mean, who hasn't heard of her?" Rumble replied. "We'd better get going, I don't want Svengallop breathing down my neck any longer than I have to."
The signal dropped, and the entourage finished boarding, a procession of sound engineers, backup dancers, chefs, cooks, artists, and somebody else Rumble couldn't make out. He jumped in the cab and switched on the radio. "We are clear to depart, over."
"Roger that," replied Pip. "Opening her up now. Ocellus, start the air conditioning in the carriages."
"Roger that."
With a grumble and a roar, Western Champion thundered into life, the twin hydraulic engines roaring as the engine pulled away from the station with the precious cargo onboard. They flew along the line, past urban environments and through forests, over hills, and through Crystal City itself, which continued to glow like a jewel in the sun. It was really such a stunning place, but they had no time to stop. The train then paused at Halfway to refuel, and then completed the remaining 100 miles of its journey to Canterlot in record time. Once the train had stopped, crowds of people flocked onto the platform to see the new arrival. Pip, Button, Rumble and Ocellus sped down the platform to see the entourage get off the train, onto the red carpet. After the security guards got off, a blast of light and sound echoed across the platform.
A blast of light and sound came forth from the train before them, as music began to play in the background, loud, thumping, monotonous music you would expect to hear in a club or a bar that lacked any proper taste in music. Many, many people stepped out of the train, to the point it got absolutely ridiculous.
"Are you sure the carriage isn't the TARDIS?" asked Rumble.
"It might as well be, given all the people they seemed to have packed into it!" Button joked, as people piled off onto the platform. First off were a group of people in ridiculous jackets, covered in brightly coloured buttons and sequins, as if they had got lost on their way to a Glam convention. Then came large numbers of women dressed in brightly coloured jackets and pants, who looked equally silly, and formed up on the platform in a perfect line. Then appeared lots of people dressed from head to toe in black, with black baseball caps upon their heads, carrying speakers, sub-woofers, a collection of microphones, cables, canisters, fans, and many other odd devices needed for a concert in the modern age. Ocellus looked perplexed at this display, and glanced over to the others with a look of surprise.
"Whoever organised this concert sure likes people wearing black!" she said to Thorax.
"It does seem a bit odd," her brother replied. "Maybe they just like black for some reason? It's not practical in this weather, that's all I can say."
Once they had all been offloaded from the carriages, Svengallop appeared from the carriage carrying a clipboard and glancing around as the thumping bass echoed around the station. "Stand back!" he demanded, to the crowds of people stood safely behind the safety rails. "Stand back! Keep your hands and feet to yourselves! That means you! Keep your hands behind the rails!" He stepped forward to the door to exit the station. "And now presenting, the lady herself; Countess Coloratura!"
Rumble, Pip, Button, Thorax and Ocellus walked forward to try and see the main star step off the train. After a moment, the lights refocused on the carriage door, and out she stepped. A woman with light grey skin and pink hair with a purple streak running through it. This was done up in a truly ridiculous ponytail, and her eyes glowed a mild turquoise. She wore a ridiculous amount of eyeliner, and a light grey veil sat over her face, bolted to the hair on her head with what looked like screwdriver bolts. She wore a purple blouse, a pink jacket with more silver buttons set into it, a short, black, see through skirt with more of the buttons upon it, black pants, and a pair of pink boots that went halfway up the bottom portion of her legs. This was Countess Coloratura, and boy did she look odd.
"Why does she make me think of Lady Gaga?" Thorax wandered, out loud. Sorry, he wondered out loud. However, him speaking seemed to attract her attention, and Coloratura looked over.
"Hello!" she said, warmly. "Are you the people who drove this train here?"
"Yes, we are," Pip said quickly. He couldn't quite believe what was going on. Countess Coloratura, one of the biggest names in contemporary music, was speaking to him. And not only was she speaking to him, she was asking him a question? This was a turn of events he couldn't ever have anticipated!
"Well, thank you," she said, with a smile. And then, she reached over and with a stamp marker, stamped the pieces of papers they happened to be holding. "Cutesies!"
After this had happened, she began to walk away, and began stamping other people's pieces of paper in the same manner, each and every time saying "Cutesies!" This was equally odd. She had taken the time to speak to them personally, and yet was only stamping pieces of paper for everybody else? This came across as strange.
"It's somewhat impersonal," Button sighed. "At least she spoke to us. I never thought that'd happen."
"It's very egalitarian," Thorax replied. "She's giving everybody exactly the same thing, thereby making everybody equal in that regard."
"Who are you, Karl Marx?" asked Ocellus.
Whilst the presentation was going on, and Coloratura was still busy stamping papers with that same autograph symbol, Svengallop walked over to them. "Can you please get that smelly diesel engine away from this platform?" he snapped. "It's old, and it's not fitting for the image that the Countess wishes to present!"
"It's an antique!" Pip protested. "Without her, you wouldn't have got here!"
"I want it moved, and that is final!" Svengallop snapped. He then walked away. "Countess why did you spend time talking to those children?"
"I take the time to talk to my fans," Coloratura replied. "Besides, they seemed nice enough, and they drove us here."
"Well, you didn't become the Countess because you speak to children, did you?" Svengallop said. He then spoke loudly. "Attention everybody!" he called. "This autograph session with Countess Coloratura is now over. We are moving to Canterlot Park for rehearsal, so you may come and watch the rehearsal process!" The entourage began to move through the station doors, and soon vanished to a series of waiting taxis and limosines, which soon rolled off into the distance.
Button looked cross. "I never was so keen on her music after he took over," he said. "There's a beauty to her older hits that you just don't get from senseless effects, smoke machines, or lasers."
"At least it helps to bring money into the local area," Rumble sighed, "as much as I dislike that guy as well. Come on, let's get Western Champion back to the depot, and then shall we go and watch the rehearsal?"
"Sounds good to me," Thorax said, as he hopped back into the rear cab of the hydraulic. Pip spooled up the engine, and the locomotive rolled away with the coaches coupled to it, ready to be put in the sidings.
At Canterlot Park, a huge stage had been built, complete with sound speakers, firework launchers, laser machines, and heaven knows what else. On stage, Coloratura was already in position, and the backing track started up, with a roar, and a booming, thundering bass that made the ground shake.
"Time for the spectacle, time for the show; The lights are bright and the colors glow."
I'm not just anybody, I think you know; The time is now, it's about to blow!"
The lights refocused to reveal a dance troup standing behind her, hopping up and down and rolling their arms in a bizarre manner.
"Razzle dazzle; Glitz and glam; Turn it all up, it's a spectacle!"
"Razzle dazzle; Glitz and glam; Turn it all up, it's a spectacle!"
Just then, as the dubstep noises echoed across the stage and the techno sound became clearer, smoke and lights drifted across the stage like an explosion in a paint factory.
"Give me more Razzle dazzle. Glitter eyes, big surprise Lights, cameras!"
Clearly tired of nonsense vocables, she then switched to the chorus again.
"Razzle dazzle, Glitz and glam, Turn it all up, it's a spectacle;=!"
Hear the applause, Here to impress; Not just a singer, I am the Countess!"
A blast of fireworks rounded the song off, and Svengallop applauded. "Magnificent! Magnificent!" he cried. "Thanks to the sparkling costumes, dazzling choreography, and brilliant vocal effects that I designed, your performance was spectacular, Countess Coloratura!"
Coloratura simply smiled. "Thank you," she said quietly. "Now, if you wouldn't mind, I'd like a short rest. That flight was a bit unpleasant, and I didn't get as much sleep on the train as I would have liked, although it was driven very well."
Suddenly, Pinkie Pie appeared from nowhere. "You can't rest just yet!" she said, with a massive grin. "You have a meet and greet to do with the younger kids from Canterlot High School, which includes the kid who drove you here!"
Svengallop rolled his eyes. "Oh, I can totally get you out of that, Countess," he sneered.
"Absolutely not!" Coloratura replied. "Meeting with children is one of the highlights of my tours, and connecting with them is important. I'll be on my way to Canterlot High School as soon as I can, miss..."
"Pinkie Pie!"
"Miss Pinkie Pie, thank you," Coloratura replied, and headed backstage in order to have a rest. Svengallop impatiently checked his watch.
"Are you the woman who is overseeing the catering here?" he asked.
"Why yes, I am!" Pinkie cried, hopping up and down in the air. "Is there anything you particularly need?"
"Not particulalrly," Svengallop replied. "I always bring my own food and drink in case whatever we find in the towns we perform in is not up to standard. But I trust you brought everything that we had on Coloratura's list of items she requested?"
"Here we are, sir!" Pinkie smiled, rolling up a cart filled with items. Svengallop peered closely.
Pip, Rumble, Button, Thorax, and Ocellus had all been watching the rehearsal, and to say they had mixed reactions would be something of an understatement to say the least. A few minutes went past them, almost unperceived by the five students sat there in the sunny day, until Thorax decided to speak up and break the silence.
"Well, that was... something," Thorax said quietly. "I'm not entirely sure what the something was, but something it certainly was."
"I can't imagine the amount of work that went into the effects and lights, not to mention the smoke!" Ocellus exclaimed, almost immediately switching into geek mode, as she was known to do periodically. "Coordinating all of those effects to go off at the right times and produce the right effect is an extremely difficult task, as anybody who arranges music can tell you. As a matter of fact, it usually requires complex computer systems that control each element and set them off at a pre-programmed time, and this-"
"Yes, thank you," Thorax interrupted. "What do any of you think? I thought the core point of the performance got a bit lost underneath all of the production. It wasn't so much watching Countess Coloratura and hearing her sing. It was closer to watching some lights and smoke machines with Countess Coloratura's voice hidden somewhere in the mess and her dancing on stage!"
"Those are not the best lyrics I have ever heard," Button admitted. "Ooh for five minutes? Or how about the profoundness-"
"Profundity?" suggested Rumble.
"Whatever," Button replied. "Or how about the profoundness of the chorus? 'Razzle dazzle; Glitz and glam; Turn it all up, it's a spectacle!'? What's that even supposed to mean?"
"I still don't like Svengallop," Pip sighed. "Did you see that at the end? He wasn't complimenting her at all. He was praising himself with all those special effects he piled on top of the performance."
"Well," Ocellus said, seemingly on the other side of the argument, "the effects are a key part of the performance. Creating all those elements is a lot of work, and Countess Coloratura's performance wouldn't exist without them."
Rumble shrugged. "Would that be a bad thing?" he asked, just as the clock began to chime. "Oh wait!" he cried. "It's time for the meet and greet with Coloratura! Let's go!"
The kids got up out of their seats, and headed off to the main pathway to the centre of town, that would take them to the school, where they would meet with the Countess herself. On the way, the chose to catch a streetcar to the school station, as this would save them going through the heat on the streets, not to mention that the streets were absolutely packed with people wanting to see the Countess make her way through the streets. It took them longer than they expected, but at long last they made their way through the doors, and arrived in the foyer, where the meet and greet was taking place. Coloratura was speaking to the assembled crowd.
"Hello everyone!" she smiled, still looking totally ridiculous in her performing outfit. "I'm holding a contest where some of you will get a chance to sing with me onstage at the concert tomorrow! Sound fun?"
Svengallop's face did very little to hide the feeling of disgust he had when he looked at the assembled items Pinkie had placed upon the cart in front of him. "Let's see," he said. "Is that water imported from the springs at Niagra Falls?" he asked.
"All 20 bottles, as requested," Pinkie replied, a smile on her face. This fell when she saw Svengallop's disgust.
"I told you to give them all straws," he said. "The Countess is very particular about her beverages having straws in them."
Pinkie produced a box absolutely filled with straws. "Well, you're in luck!" she exclaimed. "Because I have a box here filled with over five hundred straws that will absolutely suit her needs." She removed one that was entirely coloured white, and looked exactly the same as all of the others. "I call this one Fernando."
"No cultural appropriation!" shouted Discord, as he rolled by.
"Who was that?" asked Svengallop.
"Oh, that was Discord," Pinkie replied. "Sometimes he writes stories on Fimfiction about us, but he spends most of his time floating between dimensions. Some of us call him 'el dragonequus Espagnol'."
"Whatever," Svengallop answered, his voice betraying his complete lack of interest. "Can you show me everything else, comprendo?"
"It would actually be 'comprende'," Discord said, suddenly floating into place. "You see, the -o suffix is used to indicate the first person, or 'I'. 2nd person, or 'you', is indicated by the -e suffix. Thus, you asked 'do I understand'. Clearly, you don't, judging from the incorrect Spanish."
"Can somebody please get this nutter out of my hair?!" Svengallop demanded, as security guards removed Discord from both the manager and Pinkie. With that out of the way, Svengallop bent down and looked at the other assembled items on the list. "Floral arrangements from the Kew Botanical Gardens... Chocolate éclairs made by Gustave le Grand, in cooperation with Hotel Chocolat... A selection of crystals from the Needles Hills mine... Freshly picked cherries from Cherry Jubilee's farm separated red from yellow..." He paused for a moment. "I have no idea why she does business with that woman in Dodge City. Think of the meat contamination!" His eyes drifted over to his list, and then ticked some more items off. "Somehow," he said finally, "it seems as if the needs of the Countess have been miraculously met. That leaves my personal needs."
"What?" Pinkie asked. "You never said anything about your own personal needs!"
"I have a hard life managing one of the most famous pop stars in the world," Svengallop said vainly. Is that a word? I think it is. Irrespective of whether it is a word or not, he produced a list. "I need high quality oats for porridge, and five hundred fully peeled and cored apples."
"There's no way we can get that many apples in that time!" Pinkie protested.
"Your friend Applesauce-"
"Applejack," Pinkie corrected.
"Whatever. Your friend Flapjack lives on a farm, does she not? And do they not grow apples? And is it not harvest time?"
"They've harvested all the apples, and are shipping them off to their established customers!" Pinkie exclaimed. "I should know, I participated in the process this year!"
"Then it shouldn't be too hard to pursuade them to part with some, should it?" Svengallop said rudely, and walked away. "If you don't get those items, I will pull Coloratura from this joke of a festival. Wembly looks to be a better deal anyway."
Meanwhile, at the meet and greet, Coloratura was very popular with the kids. The Crusaders at last had their turn, and stepped forward.
"It's a pleasure to meet you-" Scootaloo started, only to notice Coloratura looking at her in surprise. "Is something the matter?"
"I know you three!" Coloratura smiled. "You're the girls who restored the Everfree Forest Railway!"
"How do ya know that?" Apple Bloom asked innocently.
"It was pretty big news throughout the state," Coloratura said kindly. "I may live a lot in different parts of the world, but I always keep an eye on what is happening in my home state. Not to mention your family's apples get all over the world. I once saw produce made with Apple family apples on sale in Tokyo."
"Where's that?" Apple Bloom asked.
"It's in Japan," Sweetie Belle explained. "It's very far away. Several hours plane flight from here, as a matter of fact."
"Oh," Apple Bloom replied, then turned as she heard the door open. "Heya Pip!" she called. "Countess Coloratura knows us!"
"Through the news, let me guess," Rumble answered. Just then, Pinkie burst in after them.
"You would not believe what has just happened?" she said, in a panic. "Svengallop checked over the list of items I had prepared in advance for Coloratura, and cleared them all, but now has demanded that we get him some things I cannot possibly source, such as oats for porridge that you cannot get in this country at short notice, and after that he wanted five hundred apples!"
"Five hundred!" Apple Bloom parroted, sounding very surprised.
"Not only did he want five hundred apples," Pinkie continued, "he wanted them, and I quote, 'fully peeled and cored'."
"That ain't even possible from Sweet Apple Acres!" Apple Bloom replied to her, visibly shocked by this turn of events. "We've already completed processin' and shippin', not ta mention made all the cider fer the year."
"Is that the Svengallop who is Coloratura's manager?" Sweetie Belle asked. "I've heard a ton of stuff about him, and none of it is good. He's really demanding."
"You can say that again," Scootaloo sighed.
"I've heard a ton of stuff-"
"NOT LITERALLY!"
"You're telling me," Pinkie sighed. "Pip, I know you helped get Coloratura here. You wouldn't mind speaking to her and ask her to bring Svengallop under control? I'm really too scared to talk to him right now."
Pip nodded, and walked over to Coloratura, who seemed to be elsewhere. "Excuse me? Countess Coloratura?"
"Yes?" she asked, looking at the boy in front of her. "How can I help you?"
"Yes?" she asked, looking at the boy in front of her. "How can I help you?"
There was a moment of silence as the singer and Pip looked back and forth between one another. Then Pip decided to speak. "Having driven you and your entourage from Los Angeles to Canterlot, I feel it neccesary to raise a matter of concern about your manager, Svengallop."
Coloratura looked at the boy calmly. "And what matter of concern is this?" she asked him, calmly, and awaiting his reply.
"Well," Pip began, "Svengallop, according to Pinkie Pie, just made a series of unreasonable demands for food and drink, including some demands that were more or less impossible given the time of year."
Coloratura sighed. "Pip, Svengallop works very hard as my manager, and he only has my best interests at heart. I don't really see there being a problem in him asking for things whilst we're on the road."
Pinkie Pie suddenly interrupted. "He threatened to pull you from the festival and book you at Wembley stadium instead! And that's really really really far away!"
"That's in Britain!" Scootaloo added. "My dad saw Coldplay there once."
"Not. Helping. Scootaloo," Apple Bloom growled.
"Whatever, Alice," Scootaloo replied, with a cold smirk on her face.
Coloratura looked truly shocked at this revelation. "WHAT?" she asked, in astonishment. "There's no way he'd do something like that! Charity means a lot to me, and doing that would completely ruin my image!"
Button sighed. "Svengallop, from what we've seen, really doesn't care about your image. He only cares about the money, and pushing away anybody that doesn't fit his viewpoint. He rudely ordered us to move Western Champion away from the train on the grounds that it was smelly!"
Coloratura, however, was not convinced. "What do you know of him?" she asked. "I've worked with him for years, and I know he only had my best interests at heart. You, on the other hand, have known him for a few minutes, and he's very stressed ensuring this all goes to plan!"
Apple Bloom glanced over to Pip. "Whatever happened ta the old Coloratura?" she asked, rhetorically, before loading a video on her phone and playing a video. "This was yer first hit, remember?"
The video showed a much younger Coloratura, without any of the outfits, makeup, or special effects, with just a guitar and microphone, singing her heart out. And the words were as follows;
"America, the land I love, A land of harmony; Our flag does wave from high above, For everyone to see!
America, a land of friends, Where people all do roam; They say true friendship never ends, America, my home!"
There was a moment of silence. "America, the land Ah love," Apple Bloom replied. "Columbia Records, 2002. Ma has the engraved version."
Coloratura was silent for a moment. Then she spoke again. "I understand that you are worried and upset, but those days are long gone. I am no longer just Coloratura, or 'Rara' as I was sometimes called in those days. I am Countess Coloratura, and you are going to need some very strong evidence to convince me that Svengallop is using me."
As she walked away, Rumble lost it. "Fine!" he shouted. "Hide behind a veil so thick you cannot see that he's manipulating you!"
Ocellus put her hand on Rumble's shoulder. "Rumble, that's enough," she said. "I think she gets it."
The team sat in Sugarcube Corner, looking utterly defeated. They had tried, and failed spectularly, to convince Coloratura that Svengallop was using her for power and fame. It seemed nothing would convince her of what was really going on.
"What are we going to do?" Button asked, sighing. "We tried speaking to her and telling her what was going on, but that didn't work."
"What is this, exposition?" Thorax asked, looking up from his milkshake. "Anyways, seeing as speaking didn't work, we're going to have to try something else."
"But what?" Button offered. "We have no hard and fast evidence of his intentions."
Ocellus then looked up. "I think I have an idea," she said.
"Really?" asked Pip. "Please, do tell us."
"Remember what she said before she walked off and Rumble lost his temper?" Ocellus asked in response.
"Must you remind me constantly of that?" Rumble sighed.
"She said that 'you are going to need some very strong evidence to convince me that Svengallop is using me'. All we need to do is get some evidence to convince her of this fact, and boom! Job done."
"Unless you happen to have an audio recording of him threatening Pinkie in your back pocket, that's not much help." Thorax looked at his sister. "Unless, we were to..."
"Exactly!" Ocellus countered. "We need to get him in a position where he reveals his true colours, and then simply record his response, either in audio or with picture, then show Coloratura."
Pip looked at Ocellus. "I'm not too sure about the legality of this plan," he said finally, "but if it helps Coloratura, it seems to be a good idea to follow through with it. Now then, who has a movie camera?"
The next day, Pip walked into the stage area that had been set up for the Canterlot Music Festival. Coloratura was sitting outside, looking at nobody in particular, whilst Svengallop was staring impatiently at a group of workers moving a speaker around. "Countess Coloratura?" the boy called over, hoping to get her attention.
"Yes, Pip?" she asked. "And thank you for using my full name."
"About Svengallop," Pip started.
"What about him?" Coloratura replied, visibly irritated.
"If you were to give me a chance to prove that Svengallop doesn't have your best interests at heart, would you give it to me?"
Coloratura nodded, almost in resignation. "Svengallop!" she called. "I'm considering cancelling the competition for the students at Canterlot High."
"Fantastic!" Svengallop replied. "Those contests and meetings with children serve no practical purpose, and do nothing to build your image at all. Pinkie!" he shouted. "We are making some tweaks to the show. Follow me!" He led Pinkie off to a secluded area, and then turned to her.
"Cancel the contest for the children and schedule me a spa treatment," he snapped. "Now that I don't have to oversee a rehearsal with those brats, I have time for the works! You know the drill! Deliver, or the diva ditches your dippy charity!"
Little did he realise that Ocellus had been recording the entire thing with a concealed microphone, and then almost immediately played the recording back over the speakers in the stadium.
"Cancel the contest for the children and schedule me a spa treatment. Now that I don't have to oversee a rehearsal with those brats, I have time for the works! You know the drill! Deliver, or the diva ditches your dippy charity!"
Coloratura looked horrified, as Svengallop walked back, looking totally unphased. "So that's how you've been managing things behind my back?" she asked.
"I don't see the problem," Svengallop replied. "I manage for you, make you a success, ensure you get gigs. In return, I should have some perks."
"You use my good name to get what you want!" Coloratura cried, still horrified. "Charity means so much to me. I would never cancel something like a contest for schoolchildren. You've been using my name as a bullying tactic!"
"Charity, charity, do you ever speak of anything else?" Svengallop said mockingly. "You have clearly forgotten something. You only exist because of me. If I leave, you fall apart. And the record company can send you back to that bug ridden Manhattan apartment I found you crawling in. You want to be broke and starving again?"
"You clearly don't understand the real me!" Coloratura protested.
Svengallop laughed loudly, and nastily. "The real you was created entirely by me. I control the staff, and they are hired through me." And then he smiled cruelly. "And I quit, taking all of them with me. Good luck, Countess! Watch your career fall to pieces all around you!"
Coloratura walked him and the team walk off. She then removed the veil that covered her face. "Somebody get me out of this ridiculous outfit," she said. "The show must go on, and if needed I will go on without him."
"This is gonna be a disaster!" Coloratura cried, looking at her new outfit in the mirror. "How are the effects and sound going to work? Svengallop took all the sound engineers with him, so we've got no microphones, no audio effects, nothing! And I only have an accoustic song I wrote in about an hour!" She put her head in her hands. "This is a disaster!"
"You don't need all those effects," Pip reassured her. "And as for sound and microphones, we can power them from Western Champion's engines."
"Miss Coloratura?" called a stage hand. "I don't mean to hurry you, but the concert is about to start, and you're the opening act."
Coloratura nodded grimly. "Here goes nothing," she sighed, and stepped out of her dressing room toward the limelight.
It was now the time of the concert. As Coloratura stood behind the curtain, steeling herself for what could either go beautifully or turn into a complete and total disaster, a girl stood in front of the curtain addressing the crowd. She was a 15 year old girl with lavender skin and purple eyes, she also had blue, purple and pink hair set in varying strands, currently done up in a ponytail. She had a pair of black square-framed glasses set on her nose, and was wearing turquoise socks, a pair of dark purple flats, a purple skirt, and a turquoise short sleeved shirt with a pink vest, complete with bow tie. This was Twilight Sparkle, or Sci-Twi, something of a local genius and newest member of the Rainbooms. She had had a bit of turbulent relationship with the others, given her introduction to them was nearly killing them through a poor understanding of magic. This had even led to her being overwhelmed by the energy contained in her pendant and changing into a daemon that nearly blew up reality. Thankfully, these girls had agreed to become her friends, and had supported her integration into Canterlot High. Twilight had also helped them defeat the crazed Gloriosa Daisy, who had attempted to seal off Camp Everfree from the entire world in a desperate attempt to save the camp from being redeveloped. Thankfully, they had succeeded in stopping her, and had held a special fundraising event to save the camp. Thankfully, the nearby narrow gauge line had chipped in, as the future of the line, which had been restored to working order by the Crusaders, depended on the scenic beauty of the Camp and local region, which would have been noticeably spoiled by the presence of a spa. Thank heaven that idea had been stopped- which probably wouldn’t have got planning permission anyway.
Twilight spoke up, addressing the crowd as previously stated. "Good evening everybody!" she called. "Welcome to the opening of the Canterlot Music Festival! Now, it is my great honour to introduce you to our headlining act- Countess Coloratura!"
Twilight stepped to one side, and the curtain slid open, to reveal another screen, and in front of that a grand piano, set a little way up upon a podium. The lights were focused on it, and a microphone was set up next to the keyboard, so that the singer could easily get to it. And forward stepped Countess Coloratura, and boy was she different from last time. The veil was gone, and her hair was now strands of blue, mixed in with a much lighter blue. Much of her hair collected around her shoulders, some of it pooling in curls around her left shoulder. The eyeliner was also gone, and far removed from the ridiculous ensemble of the previous day, she was now wearing a black sleeveless shirt, and a pair of black pants with a sparkle pattern laid into them, causing them to shimmer in the lights from the stage. She also wore a pair of blue shoes, and as she walked onto stage, she sat down at the piano, and adjusted the stool, in order to get the best possible position on the keys. Glancing up, she then gave a thumbs up.
Out on the railroad, Pip started Western Champion's engine, which rumbled into life with a cough and a growl. The miocrophone came to life, the diesel engine supplying more than enough power for the stage microphones and lights.
"This song may be familiar," Coloratura began to say, "as it's a new arrangement of something I used to perform in my early career. But yet, in many ways it's totally different. Kind of like me, Rara."
There was some confusion. "Who the heck is Rara?" asked a spectator, looking up at the stage. "I thought they booked Countess Coloratura!"
"They're one and the same," Button pointed out. "In her early careeer, she often performed under that name, as a contraction of Coloratura."
"Shhh!" hissed Ocellus. "She's about to start!"
Coloratura's fingers took to the keys, and she began to play. Her fingers flowed beautifully across the keys as the melody echoed forth from her mouth, stunning all. No autotune, no techno backing, and no smoke machines. Just a piano, a voice, and raw emotion.
"I'm here to show you who I am, Throw off the veil, it's finally time. There's more to me than glitz and glam, oh-whoa, And now I feel my stars align;
"For I had believed what I was sold; I did all the things that I was told; But all that has changed, and now I'm bold; 'Cause I know-"
And as the chorus began, a hidden string section began playing behind the screen, illuminated in sillhouette by floodlights.
"That I am only human! I make mistakes from time to time; But now I know the real me. And put my heart out on the line;
"And let the magic in my heart stay true Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa; And let the magic in my heart stay true Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa; Just like the magic inside of you!"
And then, her performance reached a dizzying crescendo, the emotion in her voice rolling around and catching up all listening. And if you looked carefully, in Coloratura's eyes, you could see the signs of tears. But these were not tears of sadness. They were tears of joy, and of defiance.
"And now I see those colors Right before my eyes; I hear my voice so clearly And I know that it is right!
"They thought I was weak, but I am strong; They sold me the world, but they were wrong! And now that I'm back, I still belong 'Cause I know;
"That I am only human! I make mistakes from time to time; But now I know the real me; And put my heart out on the line!
"And let the magic in my heart stay true Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa; And let the magic in my heart stay true Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa; Just like the magic inside of you..
Just like the magic inside of you!"
Coloratura concluded the song on a high note, and the cloud burst into absolute uncontrolled applause. "Thank you, everybody!" she called, a smile on her face. "When I arrived at the Canterlot Music Festival only a few days ago, I had forgotten who I really was, letting it all get buried under production, sound, and money. But then a group of students from the local high school, the crew of Western Champion, who brought me here, no doubt, reminded me what real friendship is about, and she told me that if I was true to myself, I couldn't go wrong! So I have a very special surprise for them."
Coloratura paused, as she looked out into the crowd to see Pip walking over from Western Champion to join them. It all seemed to be running like clockwork. So, sure enough, she began to speak again. "Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, Pipsqueak, Rumble, Button Mash, Thorax, and Ocellus, please come on up!"
The assembled crew of eight students stood on the stage, with proud smiles on their faces and facing whoops and cheers from those who looked on at them.
"Some of my older fans will probably recognise this one," Coloratura smiled, picking up a guitar and starting to strum. And then, as if by magic, they all began to join in. And the orchestra began to play again as well, producing a wonderful sound and rounding out the texture quite nicely.
America, the land I love, A land of harmony; Our flag does wave from high above For everyone to see!
America, a land of friends; Where people all do roam! They say true friendship never ends; America, my home!"
As they finished, the crowd went wild. The first concert of the new Coloratura had been a smash hit, and the Crusaders had gained a little bit of fame on the side, alongside Pip, Button, Rumble, Thorax, and Ocellus.
And through it all, and the very thing that had made it possible, was Western Champion.
