The next morning came.

The elder princess had already raised the sun, and it's rays were shining brightly, covering the land in the gentle light that was so often noticed in Celestia's violet eyes, warming up the ground with the heat said to be akin to the warmth of kindness in the heart of the diarch.

So, it was around 9:30 AM.

"AOUUUGH, my HEAD!" Twilight Sparkle groaned, her hooves instantly at her forehead, kneading it fiercely... Slowly, she opened one eye. Then the other, and blinked. Above herself, she could see a dirty white ceiling. She sat up, and looked around...

She was in something like a quite small cab, sitting on an opened chair-bed. To her left was a control panel of some sort, with many levers, knobs and dials, and with two narrow, oblong windows on each sides of it, blinding light shining trough them brightly... Both behind and in front of her was a door and a window on the wall, which was seemingly covered in some dirty gray plastic wallpaper. The floor, was covered in some cheap, gray linoleum, though the color was hardly recognizable, is it was nearly black with grime, especially around the wall. To her right were two larger, square windows. Looking trough them, or more likely, trying to look trough the badly scratched glass in them, she could see a dimly lit room with a brick wall at the back - some rails, coming from under the cab, led straight to it...

Still unsure of what to think of all of this, she tried to get down from the seat... But instead, she slipped off, and fell onto the dirty floor...

Looking around, she noticed she was in a sleeping bag. Tugging it off, she opened the metal door, and stepped outside...

...Tumbling down onto the ground, as the cab was slightly higher than the ground...

"This isn't my day..." she muttered, as she got up...

Walking out into the light, she could see where she slept the night.

The nefarious jet black shunting diesel had been parked in some sort of large brick shed, with many large double doors on it, and with rails leading out from under them...

Diesel himself was at the door, partly outside the shed, snoozing quietly. The lavender pony embraced the warm rays of the sun, quietly uttering a prayer to Celestia, then turned back to the sleeping engine.

The glum look didn't left his face, even when he was sleeping, thought it softened a bit.

Twilight took a deep breath... She had a feeling she'll need all her confidence to do what what she did next.

"Wake up, Diesel!" she said, semi-loudly.

The engine snorted, then, with a hurriedly uttered "Huh-Wha...?" and rapid blinking, he woke up. Slowly but surely, he opened his eyes, and looked around, still tired. Finally, his saggy eyes fell on the purple unicorn in front of his buffers. His eyes shot wide open, eyebrows raised comically high and shaking slightly, along with his - for the moment - pin prick sized pupils, before they sank back into their original position - an indifferent, slightly scornful look.

"Oh, it's you again..." he murmured, somberly "Guess I wasn't dreaming then..."

"No, it seems you weren't..." Twilight smiled at him warmly, trying very hard to overcome the urging need to turn her back to the unfriendly machine (and race off to find a toilet) "And neither were I. So... Where are the others?" she asked, looking around...

"In the sheds, I presume..." Diesel replied, sounding disinterested and disheartened "That stick figure, Alexei, magicked a bunch of sheds for us out of thin air. We parked in while you were sleeping..."

"Wait, how can you move without a driver?" the unicorn suddenly asked.

"Good question, but I'm afraid you wouldn't understand..." the engine answered in a pompous manner. This made Twilight frown. She narrowed her eyes, and gave a gave a valiant smile.

"Try me! - she muttered.

Diesel rolled his eyes, as if metaphorically shrugging his shoulders, then began...

Twenty minutes later, he finished, and glanced down upon a... Quite unsettling sight...

Twilight, who looked bed-headed before, now seemed to look like someone who should be bedridden, eyes and ears randomly twitching, face squinted in an excruciating expression with eyes stretched open, her mane and tail a tangled mess, and she was laying on her side, gently hugging and rubbing her hair to her chest, while she pat it with one of her hooves...

The shunter looked down at her, bemused and amused, before chuckling sarcastically:

"Now I've seen everything! An anthropomorphic Post-Beatnik on crack!"

This made Twilight shot upright into a strained standing position, before she began to fidget around.

"WHAT?! No, I'm. Fine. Thanks for worrying, but... Everything is alright..." she said, near incoherently fast, before breaking into a demented giggle. Diesel stared on, before a serious expression came over his face.

"Alright. So, you're all fine?" he asked.

"Yes, yes, YES. I am." the purple pony replied, with a strained smile...

"You sure?" Diesel asked again, his eyes narrowed. He was taken aback, as the unicorn began to rapidly nod, or more like shake her head up and down violently.

"Alright." he replied, after a long while "Then go AND VISIT A BLOODY BATHROOM!"

Twilight stopped fidgeting, and gazed up at him with wandering, puppy eyes. "What?"

"What "what"? You didn't truly believe that I wouldn't notice, did you? And to think you're a mature mare..." he sighed, rhetorically "Anyways, do us all a favor, and excuse yourself while you still can..." he snapped, then grumbled to himself "The last thing I want in the morning is to have my wheels covered in horse urine."

He looked back down, only to see a slightly-offended-looking pony staring at him with an eyebrow raised.

"WHAT are ya still doing here?" he snapped, making her squirm, and try to look smaller "Go to the bloody loo!"

And Twilight, with her ears lowered and tail in between her hind legs, trotted of, then, when she thought she was enough far, raced of at Mach 4, to find the nearest restroom.

When she came back, all the other mares and engines were awake, and the engines that slept in the other sheds were waking up as well...

"Good mornin', Twahligh'!" Applejack greeted her.

"'Mornin'!" Spamcan added, as casual and devil-may-care as possible. Applejack was apparently at his buffers, examining them, and trying to rub of a bit of grime from it with her front legs...

"Ya sure ya shoul' be doin' tha'?" the dirty blue diesel asked "I mea', do ya 'NO' wha's on those buffe's?"

The orange mare's eyes went wide, before she reversed slightly, but still, she kept observing his buffers.

"Hmmm... A bit filthy, ah grant ya... Bu' still, with a bit of TLC, he'll be as spic and spam as new!"

"Mhhh!" Spamcan grumbled "I already had ma fai' sha'e o' spam, thank ya. An' th' LAST bloo'y thin' I wanna do is loo' li'e tha' posh TWA', Stu'k-Up!"

"Indeed, the LAST damned thing we'd need here is a filthy COMMON engine posing as such important high-society member as I AM." the latter named replied, not much as posh as blustering.

"What's the matter, darling?" Rarity asked, stepping out from behind the the express engine.

"They're at it again..." Applejack replied, and both mares groaned.

Old Stuck-up and Spamcan never parked beside each other in the sheds, naturally, but when they did, it was "argue-argue-argue" for hours on end!

In fact, the other engines, and the mares woke up to their distraught yell and the first wave of many swears, curses and name-calling.

And by now, they had a gutful of it. Especially a certain orange earth pony and an oversized marshmall--... I mean, white unicorn.

"Ah, WILL YA SHOVE A SOCK IN IT?!" Applejack snapped.

"You've been bantering since we woke up!" Rarity added "I can't imagine what you've got yourselves so worked up about, but it's about time you two come to a common ground, and, more importantly, be quiet for a moment!"

"Yeah, just what set ya up at each other?" the orange mare asked.

"Oh, i's nothin'..." Spamcan replied, sarcastically "We jus' CAN' STAN' each othe'!"

"The LAST thing BOTH OF US, I presume, wanted, is to woke up with the other by it's side!" Stuck-Up added "And indeed, the LAST thing I want to start the morning is a filthy goods engine beside me! I already fill dirty, and I'm roughly a two meters from him!"

"Actually, ya dum' twa', i's exa'ly 2 me'ers, 4 decime'ers and 8 centime'ers, plus-minus 3 milime'ers."

After a long, awed stare, Stuck-Up finally retorted:

"Well, so it is!" he replied, still baffled by the head freight engine's precision. He then turned his gaze on the two ponies in front of them "And you two are the LAST who should be complaining! You yourselves aren't the best chatting partners from what we've heard!"

The two mares just stared, before blinking.

"And just where, pray tell, did you heard THAT?" Rarity asked, suspiciously.

The two diesels blinked, before they slowly looked at each other, their gloomy looks turning into knowing, guileful smirks, as they slowly looked back down onto the now less confident ponies. Pinkie, feeling that another painful humiliation was about to come, stepped forward, and readied herself - she didn't know horseapples about the engines' relations, aside from the fact that they hated each other, AND that despite this, they were still capable to work with - or against - each other. But other than that, she had no idea how to put up a banter with them. She still had to try, even though they seemed to know many rather... Touchy subjects about them. Most of these were fanfics, or, as they put it, "rumors", but still... She shuddered at the thought. Still, she had friends to stand up for.

But in the end, she didn't needed to stand up - well, at least, not as much as she expected.

"Why..." Stuck-up began, in a low, slick baritone "You know what rumors are like..."

The two mares' eyes went wide, and they gulped.

"Yeaah..." Spamcan added, his rough voice "smoothing" to raspy "Dey tell tales 'bou' two ma'es who argue all th' time. Dey also dey do i' ou' o' "difference i' class" or sum'hin'. Bu' MANY say the'e's sum'hin' DEEPE' be'in' all dis argue... If ya catch my meanin'..." he finished, both he and Stuck-Up were staring at them with fiendish looks on their faces, their grin wide, but narrow, full of malice and mischief.

Applejack and Rarity, on the other hand, looked more than a bit embarrassed. This awkward part of the rumors were left unknown to them till then. They looked away sheepishly, eyes cast down, their face flushed in a VERY deep shade.

Rainbow Dash came to their aid. Or at least attempted to.

"And WHAT makes you think YOU guys weren't, eeerrr... "COUPLING" last night?"

For a very brief moment, a hint of surprise and hesitancy came across the two engine's face, but it left, as fast as it came. Their expressions turned serious.

"Well, for your information, you living Skittles commercial..." the express diesel began, already confusing the pegasus "...If we WOULD'VE, indeed, "coupled" last night, there WOULD HAVE BEEN specific and very obvious signs of that!" he finished, indignantly.

"Also, wha's up wi' you an' se's?" Spamcan asked in grouchy manner "We've just arrived, an' ya already began shi'in' us! How more perverse can ya ge'?!"

As the full meaning of the sentences sank in, the rainbow pegasus began to blush, which turned deeper, and deeper...

"I must say, you'd better get a tight grip on your hormones, my dear..." the posh engine added with a sardonic tone.

At that moment, Alexei teleported to the site, with a parchment in his hands.

"'Scuse me for popping in like this, do you lot have a moment... Eh?" when he finally looked up, he saw that the engines and the ponies were looking at him, but most particularly, a very dazed and surprised looking Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Applejack were staring at him with deep blushes on their cheeks, and that Old Stuck-Up and Spamcan also looked very distraught...

"Am I... Interrupting something?" he asked, bewildered.

"NO!" came the suspiciously hasty reply from the five.

"Oouuh... Kay?" the Space Lord replied, raising an eyebrow "Anyways, I have some good news... And some bad news..."

"OK then..." Bowler replied "Let's start with the bad news... It's best to over them as soon as possible."

The others muttered their agreement...

Spike came out from beside Cromwell, yawning...

"Ugh, what's happening?" he asked.

"Spike! Where have you been?" Twilight snapped, sounding more worried than angry.

"Sleeping on Mr. Bottosly, or what's his name..." he replied.

"Wow, an' ya survived?" Bert asked.

"Ya could've blown us t' kingdom come!" 'Arry growled.

"ANYWAYS!" Bowler snapped "WHAT are the BAD news?"

Alexei sighed.

"Well, it pains me to say this, but... Derek really SHOULD HAVE read the small print part. The device you guys use is actually a ONE way ticket. You can't return to your home dimension directly, you'll have to go trough EVERY timeline in the OMNIVERSE to get back, but unfortunately, you can't even do that, because the warrant of the devices expires... Right now."

And that very moment, with green electric scintillation, some small devices fell off from under the engines' front buffer plates or cabs, and continued sizzling and crackling on the ground, before they finally stopped, letting out dark gray smoke and the smell of burning plastic.

The engines let out a gasp of shock and horror, their faces distorted with a mortified expression, and similar sounds came from the sheds around them. Derek winced. He could already feel Diesel's glare on himself.

"...But thankfully, the rail generators will still work for a few weeks, which exactly the time we need..."

"The time we need... For what?" Pip asked.

"Well, I'll explain that in a moment. The good news is, her highnesses, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna would like to see the representatives of the visitors in the throne hall of the Royal Castle, at Canterlot." and with that, he looked up from the parchment, and snickered "...Right now..."

This instantly changed the engines mood. They were all very excited... But soon, a question arose.

"And who will be the representatives?" Twilight asked.

Silence fell among them. They all exchanged puzzled looks.

Then Derek asked:

"Have there been any volunteers?"

The god shook his head.

"Well, then I guess we could go, can't we?" the Class 17 asked cheerfully.

"Indeed, we can!" Stuck-Up declared "Let's get going then! And you, mares and dragon..." he said, looking down at the equestrians "You shall accompany us... For we haven't the slightest clue, where the castle is located..."

The ponies exchanged glances, then Flutterhsy pointed onto a mountain. The engines eyes slowly followed where she was pointing... Roughly at the middle, they could see the castle-like city built on an out-cropping.

Their face fell, as they looked at the distance and height...

"Well, there ARE rail tracks leading up to it..." Rarity informed them.

"Good..." Stuck-Up replied in tired manner "This'll still take time..."

And under their breath, all muttered:

"Bugger!"

In the royal castle, the many ponies of the aristocracy were gathering. The Princesses themselves were already there. Princess Celestia had already done her rounds, having short chats with the guests, and was sitting down on her throne, when she noticed that her sister was sitting with a straight back, or more likely, a strained one. She was fidgeting with her hooves and her eyes darted around swiftly, often taking a glance out trough the windows, towards where Ponyville was.

"Is something bothering you, dear sister?" Celestia asked. Luna jumped slightly, and looked up.

"N-NO!" she replied, before noticing her sister's knowing smile "I mean... Yes..."

"Why, what is it?" the sun goddess asked again "Is it about the visitors?"

For a moment, Celestia THOUGHT she saw a STRONG hint of annoyance flashing trough her younger sibling's face.

"No..." Luna answered, her voice reflecting the small slip.

"It's about all these... Poshies... Pardon, ponies..." she continued, looking around nervously "Don't they... Don't they all know me?"

Her sister looked perplexed.

"Of course they do..." then, she suddenly realized. A wry, sad smile came over her face.

"Lulu..." she muttered "Remember... Forgive and forget... They know you're not the same mare that was Nightmare Moon..."

Upon noting the look on Celestia's face, Luna shook her head earnestly.

"It's not about that!" she replied "It's more about... What do they think of me, AS Princess Luna?" she muttered, again, taking a nervous glance around...

Celestia felt a laugh coming up...

"And wy-hy does THAT bother you?" she asked, suppressing a chuckle.

"Celly, I'm being serious!" Luna huffed "HOW can I socialize if I can't even TALK with them?" she was whisper-shouting by then. Her sister gave her a scolding smirk.

"Well, the first thing you should do is loosen up a bit!" she replied "As modern and casual they've became over the centuries, they're still not blind. They won't approach their princesses if they don't LOOK like they want to talk. And you've been sitting on the throne all this time, looking like the statue of authority. It's about time you got up from your flanks and start MEET them. Also, if you're worried about rumors or anything, I'm pretty sure that if anyone, the Upper class is SURE to be trained in them, and could distinct truth from lie."

Luna looked blank.

"There are rumors about me?" she asked, with a shaky voice...

Celestia's eyes went wide for a split second, and while she resisted a strong urge to facehoof, she gently nudged her sister to a stand.

"You find out, and tell me." she replied "You've caught up on the world quite a lot, Lulu... But it's about time you got to know what's hot. Trust me, they're more than eager to meet you, and be your friends..." she couldn't help but chuckle a bit "...As much as their posh toff status-keeping allows them... But you shouldn't turn away from them! So go on! Have fun! And please, for our ranks' sake, refrain from using the RCV!"

Luna just rolled her eyes, and looked at the crowd. They didn't seem to notice her. So, she took a deep breath...

And with a few, unsteady steps, the Princess of the Night went off to meet the people of the day. It went quite well, actually...
Later, Celestia joined her, too.

"So, how's it going?" she asked. Luna looked giddy with joy.

"Swell." she replied "They're so... Nice! So... Casual."

A pained, disturbed grimace ran trough her muzzle.

"Though I'm kinda inwardly horrified about CERTAIN topics that came up in SOME discussions." she spoke, meekly.

Looking up, she saw the disquiet face of her sister, before noticing the rising flames of anger in her eyes.

"Oh, it's nothing THAT bad!" she added quickly "It's just that... They're a bit OVERLY casual in CERTAIN topics that..." she gulped here, and leaned close to her sister "...Even Nightmare Moon would of considered a taboo."

Celestia was taken aback, before snickering, which turned into a hearty laughter.

"Anyways..." she began, once she stopped laughing "Do you know anything of the visitors? They're a bit late..."

Now, it was Luna who had to urge herself NOT to laugh aloud.

"We-hell..." she replied "My informant said that it'll MIGHT take a bit of time, as they come by rail..."

"Oouuh..." she winced "THAT'LL surely take time."

"Yeah..." Luna muttered. The problems with the rail network were a constantly recurring topic, which both they, and the courts and congresses had procrastinated the BUCK out of.

"But..." Luna added "These visitors might be just what we need!"

"Are they?" Celestia asked, quite a bit surprised.

"Indeed." her sister smiled, before it turned into a smirk "But it's best if you'll see it for your self."

"Yes. Best." Celestia replied simply "ONCE they arrive."

"Once they arrive." Luna repeated, the smirk not leaving her face.

"Wow..." Fluttershy muttered, sitting in Derek's cab "That was... Interesting..."

They've just gotten pass the Royal Guards.

Derek smiled.

"As much as it is good if you're assertive, it's far from enough. You have to be clever as well, you know." and while he couldn't see, he could tell that the yellow pegasus smiled back...

"Keep your social lessons, Derek..." Stuck-Up grunted "We still have to barge our way up to the throne room..." he glanced at Twilight. He would've glanced on Rarity, but he had given her the privilege to travel in HIS cab "You DID prepared your, err, MAGIC, Ms. Sparkle, right?" he asked.

"Why?" the lavender unicorn asked back.

"Because without any doubt, we'll HARDLY fit trough the hallways, LET ALONE the doorways..."

Twilight froze, and stared into the air in front of her, before biting her lower lip, and cringing.

"Aw hay..." she whispered to herself...

By now, Princess Celestia had grown anxious. It was way pass noon, and the visitors have yet to arrived, and the ponies were short on patience. Luna, on the other hand, or hoof, shall I say, was relaxed. A guard had just told her the news. She smiled contently, and, as she saw her sister's nervous fidgeting, he smirked.

"Just you wait..." she thought, as day and a night guard went to the doors.

She suddenly stood up.

"Mares and gentlecolts!" she announced "The visitors have arrived, and now, without further hesitation, let us greet our guests from worlds afar."

The mass cheered, as the guards slowly opened the two wings of the door...

Revealing a perky purple plot.

"What?" one of them asked, bewildered. Twilight Sparkle looked up, turned around... And froze.

There was a long, awkward pause.

Both sides were staring at each other. One in astonishment, the other... Blankly...

After what seemed like an eternity, Princess Celestia shook her head, broking the stare.

"Twilight Sparkle!" she spoke, in a no-nonsense manner "What is the meaning of this?"

The unicorn blinked, and took a step back, her face burning with shame.

"What are you doing here?" the elder princess demanded indignantly "And where are the visitors?"

The tone of her mentor's voice made her cringe, and reverse further, head hanging low.

"Now, now, dear sister..." Luna soothed her "I'm pretty sure that our royal subject, who's also YOUR faithful student, has a verified reason for her intrusion." and with that, she turned to Twilight, who, along with the rest of the guests, stood still in amazement on Luna's daring behavior.

"Besides..." she spoke, purposely whispering loud enough for the crowd to hear "You shouldn't take out your anxiety on those who aren't guilty..."

And while her sister blushed madly, she took the opportunity to speak with the surprised pony in question.

"Tell me, my dear subject, what brought you here..."

Twilight, stuttering a bit, replied:

"E-Excuse m-my intrus-s-sion, your majesty... Majesties! I-I was guiding the visitors, and... Due to their physical structure..." she paused here.

"Well... Go on..." said the Sun Goddess, now in a conciliatory tone.

Twilight thought hard, trying to turn her thoughts into words. This usually happened automatically, but now, she found herself stumbling in her own thoughts.

"It's... It's best if you see them for yourselves" and with that, she walked forward, then turned towards the door.
The princesses exchanged glances, as the whispers filled the crowd.

The purple unicorns horn began to glow in a color similar to her fur, which grew into a humming aura around it.

There was a loud creak...

The door's wings began to shudder, then, much like a carpet being undusted, they began to pulse, waves coming from the middle, going towards the edges...

Suddenly, they both expanded to the side, pushing the frame, which also expanded like a rubber band. It grew wider and wider, until it was as wide as three-track rail line.

With a content smile, Twilight sat down, the light in her eyes going out, and her horn fizzling one last time.

The doors suddenly burst into an armada of bubbles, leaving a wide, gaping entrance at the end of the throne room.

The hall outside seemed unusually dark - another courtesy of the lavender unicorn's magic.

"Is th' coas' clea'?" a deep, Glaswegian voice asked, whispering.

"The coast is toast." Twilight whispered back, smiling.

"Okay. We'e all line' up ou' 'ere." the same voice replied "Giv' us ou' intro!"

"Right." Twilight muttered, before turning around, looking at her rulers with pride.

"Your majesties, mares and gentlecolts... I present you... The Other Railway!" she announced, and began to trot forward.

Behind her, bodies began to move in the shadows beyond the door... And soon, one by one, they came in, rolling across the opening left by the crowd (which grew as they saw their size), in rows of three, before stopping, a line of five engines at the front, and five other at the back, and the last three behind them all.

They were large, they were grand.

They were machines that growled deeply, and left small clouds of dirty smoke lingering behind.

Some were long and streamlined, others were short, and boxy.

They rolled forward, on wheels that fit for rails, seemingly in perfect control of their own movement.

They stopped before the princesses.

Bowler on the very left, next to him was Stuck-up, Diesel in the middle, with Spamcan beside him, and 'Arry at the right. In the second row, Bert was behind 'Arry, Derek stood behind Spamcan, Cromwell was parked behind Diesel, and Pip and Emma behind the two snooty diesels. In the last row was Steamie, the Brakefather, and BoZo.

With slight uproars, clanking, or splutter, the sound of the engines died down.

Silence fell among the crowd.

The princesses just stared at the machines in front of them.

Inanimate objects that were alive?

Trains?

It was nothing Celestia had expected, and, it was also on the very edge of her comprehension.

Luna had already knew they would be locomotives. But these looked NOTHING like the trains they had in Equestria! They were squarish and dirty, and carried a very odd smell - not that of coal, grease or smoke, but something more pungent. The crowd itself was completely speechless...

The mares jumped out from the diesels' cabs, walking up to the front, as Alexei materialized as well.

There was a long pause.

Neither sides said a word, they just stared at each other, for what seemed like hours.

The silence grew heavy.

"Well... This is awkward..." Derek muttered, finally breaking the silence. The crowd suddenly turned into a whispering herd, everybody glancing up and down at the machines before their eyes.

The princesses exchanged glances, as the mares began to fidget, feeling the awkwardness sink in further...

Finally, Diesel could take it no more...

"Oh, for the love of..." he muttered, before taking a deep breath, and:

"Greetings, your majesties! And greetings to all those who've come. Allow me to introduce myself: my name is Diesel, and these here are my... Associates... We've came to your world in peace, as the Other Railway. It is an honor to meet you!" he announced. The noise of agreement and good impression came from the crowd, before Diesel added, muttering angrily:

"There! I've cracked the ice, now lets get this bloody thing over with!"

This seemed to work. The princesses snapped out from their daze, and were quick to reply.

"Well, greetings to you, Diesel! Welcome to Equestria! I hope you'll enjoy your stay here, as long as it will be." Celestia replied kindly.

"Much obliged, your majesty. Especially, since it seems we'll be staying here for quite a while... Basically--..."

He was cut off here by Pinkie Pie, who popped out from beside him, doing her trademark, dramatic "ForEVER!".

Everyone, especially Diesel stared at her with an expression of utter disbelief. Then, shaking it off, as she sunk back from wherever she came from, the jet black shunter continued.

"Yes, forever. So, what we'd like to do is to offer our services to you."

Again, whispers filled the crowd.

The Sun Goddess raised an eyebrow.

"What sort of services do you mean?" she asked, curiously.

Diesel sighed, and rolled his eyes, before continuing, a pained expression on his face.

"PLEASE, princess! It's not that hard to tell!" he moaned. Celestia looked unimpressed.

"Still, PLEASE, explain, Diesel." she replied, mimicking the engine's groan.

Diesel sighed again, and shut his eyes for a moment, his forehead filling with wrinkles, before opening his eyes again.

"Your highness..." he began "As you've probably guessed by our appearance, we are machines, those kinds that work on the rails. In fact, we are a type of locomotives - well, most of us - who work in a certain way. We're called "diesel engines". Stuck-up!" he spoke, looking towards the express engine.

"Right." the latter replied, looking at Rarity, who've noticed this.

"Rarity, my dear..." the engine spoke softly "Please, whip out the charts."

"But of course!" the white mare replied, using her magic to levitate a large parchment sheet above the fleet. It showed the chart of a steam engine, a tender engine, to be specific.

"Now THIS..." Stuck-up continued, speaking in an object-lesson manner - Is a steam locomotive...

And the explanation went on for a good hour, the parchment displaying the three different engine types: steam, diesel and electric.

Finally, the express engine wrapped it up:

"Out of the three, steam engines are the oldest, and most durable kind. They can be over-pressurized and could carry on, even with many malfunctions and damages at the same time. Diesels are... A bit more delicate, shall I say, but on the other hand, if well maintained, they cost less money, and are more cleaner and ecologically friendly - that is, I repeat, if WELL maintained. Electric engines are, by far, the most cleanest of the three, and could be even more powerful and fast - it depends on their design. On the other hand, they're bound to their power source. The Other Railway, and the rest of the companies that are present in this world, contain all three types...

"Actually..." Derek spoke up, catching everyone's attention "We're not as much companies as the actual engines and rolling stock themselves. We are - sort of - refugees. We've escaped from our own world because of the horrid treatment and environment we had to endure.

This statement was only partly true, of course, but was reason enough for the crowd to gasp.

"Allow me to explain." Derek added quickly "We're not the sort of refugees you think of - we aren't escaping from a war or anything -, we just simply left our world behind. I did it because I wanted to visit Equestria. My... Chums did it out of concern towards me. And everybody else beside us did it because we did it. Out of spite towards our controller."

There was a long pause.

"Ummm... Could you explain what you meant?" Luna asked.

Derek looked puzzled, then, after mentally reciting his own words, he realized that he was missing out details.

"Allow me, Derek!" Diesel called out to him with a groan - Ms. Sparkle, if you'd please! - and she levitated ANOTHER parchment, showing the silhouette images of three humans, two mans and a woman.

Diesel sneered.

"Everybody makes mistakes. But certain people are mistakes themselves! As we engines say, there are LOTS of gits in our world, but there's three we hate the most."

"Beeching!" barked BoZo.

"Thatcher!" grumbled Spamcan.

"Blair!" spluttered Bowler.

The ponies were astonished by the human faces - such beings were only a myth in Equestria.

"To sum u' ho' we fe'l 'bout 'em..." Spamcan growled, then rev his engine, faster and faster, until fire blasted out from his exhausts, burning away the parchment, leaving both the crowd, the Princesses, and the Mane Six aghast.

"Poin' is, yer Majesty." 'Arry spoke up "We want t' DO sum'hin' 'bou' ou' li'es 'ere in 'questria, so, we offe' ya wha' we can..."

"Yes, your highness." Stuck-up added "Allow US to get YOUR railway... "Back on track"..."

"Indeed." put in Derek "We may NOT been the best workforce back in our own world, but this world is far more different, and, shall I say, far more better than our old..."

"How so?" the Sun Goddess asked, curious again.

The engines all gave an exasperated sigh. Then, after a deep breath, Cromwell spoke up:

"Well, to be quite honest, your Majesty, our world, especially the part were we live and work - or more like avoid work - with each other - or, again, more likely AGAINST each other - is horrid."

"THAT'S an understatement." Bowler added "Our world is as dirty, cruel, and horribly unfair as a world could be, beyond all expectations in sense of malignity, and probably worse than what you, or every being in this country put together can imagine."

"It is filled with hatred and sorrow, littered with junk, mass famine and splodges of war." Stuck-up croaked.

"TRUST us, pri'sess, i's th' LAS' place ya wou'd wan' t' visi'..." Bert muttered.

"Yes, out ALL the bloody parallels and paradoxes, we just HAVE to have the WORST, most insufferable, soddy little..." Diesel paused "But I digress. We can give you more details about our history, later. Point is, your Majesties, the Other Railway and it's associates are at your service, willing to start over in a whole new world."

"And THAT'S exactly what we need!" the Princess of the Night put it, cheerfully. All eyes were on her.

"Equestria's rail transportation system is in a BAD need of fresh air and development." Luna continued happily "How many locomotives are there?"

"Prob'bly 'bou' an 'nti'e regio's worth." Spamcan replied "An', if my mail go' through, dere's mor' t' com'."

"Splendid!" the Moon princess replied, then glanced to the side, and froze, eyes slightly wider. Celestia noticed her astonishment, and proceeded to follow her look, only the end up with the same awestruck expression.

Every eye of the crowd slowly moved from the sight of the engines, and settled on the figure.

Alexei was in a crossfire of looks.

"Who may you be, dear visitor?" Celestia asked, her surprise audible in her voice.

"I'm Alexei. Just... Simply Alexei." the figure replied calmly "Space lord, uh, time-space continuum engineer, and, ah..." he paused here "Ah yeah, God."

"A god?" the Sun Goddess replied, even more dumbfounded.

"Yes, sister... Did I forgot to mention it?" Luna asked, suddenly worried "He's the God of... What was it?"

"Denial." the Traveler replied sharply "God of Denial."

"Aaand what does that title contain?" Celestia asked, sounding concerned as well.

"...Do I have to tell?" Alexei asked, a pained expression appearing on his face.

"If you'd be so kind as to explain..." Luna added, sounding nonchalant "We'd appreciate it..."

"...It's not nice to talk about it..." the figure replied after a short pause, rubbing one arm with the other, before looking up with a serious expression, as he began to explain.

"As the God of Denial, my job is variable. I'm immortal through incredibly long "lives" and regeneration. I'm also the "descendant" of the first time and space fabricator, created by... Well, the Creator, the one who began the Omniverse, all worlds, dimensions, timelines. My job is to take part in the many timelines, and, usually, become the necessary evil. I'm not into the "evil super villain" or "demon extraordinaire" shtick, but it's duty to take it, to provide a contrast to the goodness of a world, sort of a solid point in reality, someone who provides sobriety in the bliss of an Eden - again, that doesn't means that I'M evil. My roles are, but... But..."

He stopped.

The feeling of sorrow seeped out from his voice like how thick, crude oil flows down in the clean water of the ocean, as he continued. He spoke softly:

"I'm... Always... Alone... The family I have... The friends I make... They pass away... Cease to exist... And eventually, even I, a being who exists beyond time, forgets them... In fact, I ONLY exist. I never had a life... Oh I've done many things, I can, without doubt, say that all the work I did, and all the knowledge I harbour... Provides me with the experience WORTHY to begin my own world... Yet... I never did anything right... Even in my mortal lives...

He fell silent again.

Then, came his uproar!

He flailed out with his arms, gesticulating violently, now furious.

"WITHOUT FAIL, every attempt of mine, every time I chose to live a mortal's life, ended up in an experience that proved that my porpuse is as obscure as the Creator itself. I KNOW the Reason of Life! I can see both good and bad, darkness and light, harmony and chaos, order and liberty, YET, MY existence is ALWAYS proven pointless! For wherever I may roam, whatever time I exist in, whichever side I take, it's always the same: I find no REAL evil, but twisted souls, forced to comply the bidding of the ones most insane or certain. No REAL good, as every word of apology, every honest reply, every offer, every share, every submission, every promise, every SENSE of the word "good" is SHALLOW and FAKED! Only applied to avoid consequences one dares not to imagine, no matter how puny they are!

He continued to roar:

"Creation itself becomes tainted, while destruction is praised to no end!"

Then took a deep breath:

"SO WHAT PURPOSE DO I SERVE?! THEY ALL KNEW EVIL BEFORE I EVEN SAW THEM! THEY WERE NONE THE WISER WHEN I LEFT, BUT THEIR WORLD HAD CHANGED FOREVER, FOR THE WORSE! ALL I EVER DID WAS THROW THE FIRST STONE!!!"

The crowd was silent. Never so silent before, aghast at the immense, fierce emotions that now crashed around in the throne room, thrashing around within them - shock and dread, anger, sadness, forced indifference, throe, anguish, and pure terror.

The engines remained quiet, their glances falling from the Traveler, unable to see, hear, think, or feel. Just emptiness.

The words sunk in like corpses into tar.

Princess Celestia was in a trance of some sort. While her physical body still looked focused, her astral body was trying to handle the emotions she had been flooded with. For an immortal being, she still had a soul, and, most importantly, her heart was in place.

Through the long years of her own existence, there was ONE thing she never experienced, never HAD to experience, and that was Fatelessness. Now, her mind was drowned in the vibes of sight, sense and feel the foreign deity had to deal with for so many eons.

Hunted, accursed, tortured, twisted.

She hoped that another being like she and her sister... Or Discord, for that matter, would be a good companion, someone she could relate to, who shared the same pressure and weight she had to endure - now, it seemed that Alexei was more than what she bargained for: if her, or Luna's life was difficult, the God of Denial's must have been a never ending tragedy. Worse still, she could TELL he never grew accustomed to his role, his "job" as such deity.

'Wherever I may roam', he said.

And that's all he did. Roam.

Forever.

The princess became self-aware again, the veil lifted from her mind. She knew what to do, AND she knew it sounded foalish.
But, the first thing she learned from her foalhood was indeed this exact thing.

She'd had to make this step as soon as possible.

For the good of all of them. Alexei's, especially.

Luna, on the other hand, had much more of a mortal soul - to be honest, it was HER that originally made the first contact with the mortal ponies in their foalhood, and used to be the more sociable one - while her sister was distant and snooty. What changed her was all the effort she put in her nights that seemed to have gone wasted, Nightmare Moon, and recently, Discord's return.

However, her mortal soul remained. She never felt compassion so great before. She could only stare at the figure.

Alexei's head hung low, a shadow cast over his eyes, now closed, practically invisible on his deep, dark gray skin.

A few large tears dropped, the sound echoing in the large room like the lonely chime of a silver bell.

When he spoke up, his voice sounded bereft. Tired. Ill.

"My existence is senseless and destructive. Everything I create only causes havoc, stagnation and suffering. Yet, that is what I HAVE to do, my role in my own existence is settled."

He paused his voice became to shaky to continue. He grit his teeth, then continued, hoping his whisper was inaudible.

"Sometimes... Sometimes I wish... I had never existed. For all the pain, all the death, all the deadly lesson I've left behind. I'd deserve it, not existing."

He literally uttered the last sentence:

"Death, even the worst kind, would be far too kind for me."

"'Scuse me, Mr. Alexei, but don't think like that..."

The shaky, squeaky voice broke everyone out from the depression lingering around chest level in the room.

All guests looked up, surprised.

The mares glanced back between the engines, while the Princesses proceeded to do the same, but from above.

In the back row, Steamie had decided to speak up. Still sounding sad, but determined, as he continued.

"You have traveled for long ages on end, but now, if I'm correct, you've finally arrived into a world were everything long before predicted that you simply NEVER expected to happen is coming around, and depends on US engines and THESE mares before you, if I'm citing you right. Surely, the last thing you'll need to worry about is being alone. You're a god, which means you have a role, and there's something ENORMOUS that's going to happen here, so beside your role, you'll be training us all as well. There's plenty of time for you to socialize! So, dry those tears up, mister! You're in the world of Sunshine!"

Alexei looked up, and stared at the green tank engine in utter shock, before he smiled warmly, mares and engines alike returning his smile, happy that the sorrow that gripped their very being had dispersed.

"Which reminds me..." Luna replied "Dear sister, the sun should be setting soon, and the moon shall rise. But anyway, it's a brilliant idea you've proposed, my... Dear... Engines..." the Princess of the Night had recently took up the habit of her sister, speaking motherly to her subjects. It was a rare occasion, though, like when she was showing around school foals in the royal castle. However, the proposed idea from Diesel, and Steamie's interruption of the ailing veil thrown upon them by the other deity's revelation had warmed up her heart - but not that much to get before her common sense.

Calling the machines that parked before her "little" would be an insult, she thought. Calling them ponies would be downright ridiculous.

Fortunately for her, her words were just the ones she needed to get the discussion 'back on track'.

"Well... Then we have a deal then, Princess..." Bowler added.

Celestia froze.

"Deal?" she asked.

"Yes. Deal." Cromwell added, a bit too smugly, before an odd outburst from his rear part, that sounded like a belch, blew a parchment in front of the royal sisters, carrying the heavy smell of sulfur and methane.

Lifting it up via magic, Luna quickly skimmed the contract, while her sister listened to the gas-turbine engine's words.

"In short, if you sing that contract, our mutual agreement is set, which we will fulfill from our side with honest, full-hearted hard labor, doing whatever jobs we're ordered to. Clauses are, A, the jobs cannot be humiliating or excruciating in ways that's beyond the strain and juristic recognition of a locomotive, B, we're provided with safe, seasonally heated or cooled shelter, proper maintenance and supplies, fuel..."

"These would NATURALLY be provided." Celestia replied defiantly, successfully hiding her surprise over the many needs of machines made of metal.

"...And one last thing." Cromwell added, stopping.

Luna had finished with the parchment, and placed it down beside her, also looking up.

"Which would be?" Celestia asked.

"Booze."

Not as much as the word, but the unison in which all the engines present said it had truly surprised everyone.

"Beg your pardon?" Luna asked.

"Our work is, above all routines, hard, and often frustrating in one way or another." Old Stuck-up explained.

"Indeed. Something is ALWAYS bound to go wrong." Pip put in.

"So, for all our hard work, including extra hours, we demand no money as payment, but alcohol to get our minds off the daily races." Emma added.

"And that being a bit MORE than Apple cider." BoZo yelled from the back.

"I'll take care of that!" Alexei promised, attracting everyone's attention again.

"...Right..." the Princess of the Day spoke, slightly unsure now. Then she glanced at her sister, who seemed surprisingly confident. With a reassuring smile, she handed the contract to her. Celestia had her doubts. She looked up. Sure, the machines in front of her were odd, sullen and fairly unlikely to actually mean any good...

But, they were honest enough to admit their faultiness, and the world they came from wasn't exactly a sugar-coated dreamland (neither was Equestria, but that was a matter of perspective). Not to mention that, as the grimy engine explained, there were probably enough trains to go around for AT LEAST this province, which would already be enough to stabilize rail traffic in Equestria, as the country's locomotives could be transferred into other regions... Or something...

She REALLY wasn't into bureaucracy...

"Wha'? Ya serious?" Spamcan suddenly spoke up, glancing backwards at his own cab "Okay. I'll tell 'em."

There was the sound of quick, static crackling, like when you turn off an old radio, then the goods engine turned to the princesses.

"Change o' pla's, yer majesties." he said with a serious tone.

"Is there som'hing wrong?" Applejack asked "What was that, anyway?"

"My transceiver." Spamcan replied "We al' 'ave 'em, ya 'no', fo' saf'ty reasons. Anyways, Vac called. 'paren'ly, Oi mis'al'ula'ed ONE thin'."

"Aaand just WHAT may that be?" Rarity asked with a hint of alarm. Stuck-Up, who had been eavesdropping through his own radio, was quick to explain.

"It seems like..." he spoke carefully "That, APPARENTLY, many engines and rolling stock from MANY other countries around our world heard about our actions, and, conjoined in convoys, heading towards this world, willing to get out of their own lives".

"De'e ar' SUR' lo' o' bronies ou' de'e." Bert muttered, then quickly got a bash from 'Arry "OW!"

"Which means..." Derek took the word "That there will be multiple COUNTRIES worth of engines, coaches and trucks to work with!"

Alexei blinked.

"I'll begin installing the necessary equipment immediately!" he spoke loudly, as if replying to an order "The engines will arrive to well-built railway! Or shall I say, railways?" he asked, glancing at the Princesses, before he disappeared with a zap in mid-step.

The crowd, the engines, the mares, and Spike, witnessed the rare and intriguing sight of two alicorn princess deities having their mouth hung open in surprise.

"How did he know?" Luna muttered limply...

"How did he know... What?" Bowler asked. The princesses looked up, still dumbfounded.

"...That it's not only Equestria which needed an upgrade in it's transport system?"

By the next morning, things were all arranged.

Engines, passenger and freight wagons and any self-aware auxiliary equipment kept coming from planet Earth, relentlessly, without any sign of stopping.

Alexei was true to his word - the railways themselves were ready for the wave of new machines, and every country, every province was warned. He arranged the various kinds and types per individual railways - some even got to Eagleland.

Meanwhile, the Royal sisters had held what was the greatest congress in years, discussing the many options at hand - both engines and God left many plans and drafts to "economize" the newly found railways.

In all cases, it started with the withdrawal of the original fleet, and ended with the simple phrase, "Profit!".

Soon enough, everything was in moderate order, in fact, most countries had already began to operate their renewed railways.

In the Canterlot province, not far from the small, humble town of Ponyville, a marshalling yard had been pulled up.

Now most it's shed's berths were filled, it's occupants parked in the open doorways, resting as the sun slowly ascended above the horizon. Six mares sat at their buffers, watching the sunrise as long as their eyes bared the light.

As the dew slowly dried up, a conversation began between them.

"Such a lovely view." Derek commented "Better than our own sunrises, if I may say so."

"Hmph. Well, just what DO you expect from a DEITY'S sunrise, Derek?" Diesel grumbled back.

"Speaking of which, that Alex guy did a wonderful job with the rails!" Bowler added.

"Yes, they're even more comfortable than that of the rail generator's rails." Stuck-up added "I didn't thought that was possible."

"AHEM!" Diesel snapped "Again, we're talking about a GOD'S handy work! What else did you expect?!"

"I guess you enjoy it." Twilight spoke up, mirthfully. The shunter just rolled his eyes.

Doctor Whooves walked up to them.

"I have news." he spoke.

"Ou' wi'h it, doc." Spamcan replied with ease "Wha's goin' on?"

The Doctor cleared his throat.

"Under the direct orders of her majesties, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, and their recently employed Regal Adviser, locomotive number D8, number 40125, 'Sir Alaric E. Electric', number D261, 'Green Liner', number D199, number D8717, 'Paxman', Industrial units 'A' and 'B', HST units number 43200 and 43201, prototype unit GT4, remotorized vintage Class 21, number D6158, S-D prototype unit BZ, Hunslet Austerity 0-6-0ST, unnumbered locomotive, "Steamie", will be based in the Ponyville Engine Depots, to maintain local and regional freight and passenger service between Canterlot, Trottingham, Manehattan, Appleloosa, Forest Green, and any industrial and agricultural sites within the region."

The brown earth pony took a deep breath, as the others slowly comprehended the news.

"Da' mea's STEAMIE will be wor'in' wi'h us!" - Spamcan growled.

"YAY!" the latter named cheered, as the others groaned and rolled their eyes.

"Other engines located here will be number D701, number D1043, 'Western Pathfinder', number D782, number 31120, number D5720." the Doctor continued.

Twilight looked puzzled.

"Strange..." she muttered "I swear I've heard those numbers before. And also, "Western Pathfinder"? That sounds oddly familiar..."

"Of course it does!" Pinkie replied, cheerily "D701 is Rhodders, D1043, or Western Pathfinder is Matthias, D782 is Brock, 31120 is Vac..." she paused here, looking puzzled herself - But I don't know who D5720 is... I can't remember seeing his number...

"Tha's CoBo." Bert answered, before jeering "A' leas', SUM'ONE will be doin' SUM' wor' 'ere."

The other engines agreed.Spike showed up, running up to the sheds.

"Twilight! Twilight!" he cried, flailing his arm.

"Good morning, Spike!" the unicorn called out to him "Slept well?"

"I did!" he replied with a hint of annoyance "Until the Princess woke me up! Look!"

And he handed over a parchment.

"Wha's in i'?" Bert asked.

Twilight cleared her throat, and began to read:

'My dear, faithful student,

After consulting with my sister and Alexei, who's new "role" is to be my Regal Advisor, we've managed to set up the new rail system which we've christened "Equestrian Rail", in respect, and as a legacy of the engines' old workplace. Diesel and the others are now based at the Ponyville Marshalling Yard, where they will perform their new duties.

However, they're not the only ones with new tasks.

Since Equestrian Rail is now in bad need of more trained employees, I'd like to ask you and your friends, including Spike, to report to railmare duty at the local engine sheds, if possible, weekly. Doctor Whooves had taken the responsibility of being the Yard's manager, he'll be giving out your jobs, with Ditzy Doo as his assistant and secretary. Naturally, of course, new engineer-, and workpony training schools and faculties have been opened for the new engines and rolling stock - if I wrote that correctly - but until the railways reaches a satisfying number of employees, we'll have to take slightly drastic measures - thus, the railway is offering free training and payed jobs for university-age mares and colts.

Your case, however, is slightly different.

As Alexei had told you, you and your friends are NOT ONLY the Elements of Harmony, but also, the Elements of Defiance, with your faith apparently sealed to some extent. I would intervene with such fatal circumstances, but these forces are beyond me, I know nothing about them, and Alexei can't help it, either.

But you're not alone in this task: you have your friends, and most importantly, you have your counters, the Elements of Hatred, among the Other Railway engines.

What I really ask you is to try and befriend the engines along with your friends - as your and their elements are capable, and will work together at some crucial point in time - and it's always easier to work with friends than with enemies!

In fact, this may even help you with your studies of friendship - I'm pretty sure the diesels have a worldly experience of companionship, even if not the friendly type.

Also, I'd strongly suggest it to the engines that they KEEP their side of the contract - unless, as Alexei put it, they wish to become paper weight.

And again, naturally, you DON'T. HAVE. To report. What you've learnt about railmareship, especially not weekly - because I haven't the slightest idea about rail industry. Honestly. Don't bother yourself unnecessarily.

Your faithful teacher and friend,
Princess Celestia.

After Twilight finished, the ponies and the engines exchanged surprised looks.

"Well... That settles it, then..." Derek declared calmly.

"WHAT?! RAILMARESHIP?!" Rainbow spluttered "I DON'T HAVE the time to check tickets on a platform! I need to practice! And I have my own job..." she added quickly.

"AHEM!" Applejack snapped "Ya spend most of your time snoozing somewhere! And besides, ya'll only have to do it ONCE a week. No' even EV'RY week if ya can't do it!"

"And, it would be a nice change of pace." Fluttershy added quietly.

"Not to mention that you'll LEARN something that can help you later, for example, if - Celestia forbid! - you wouldn't be able to fly anymore!"

Rainbow's eyes went wide. The Iron twins snickered.

"She's no' wrong, ya 'no'." 'Arry chuckled.

"Also, Applejack always claims that I don't REALLY do real work." Rarity put in. The others WERE surprised, and all glanced at Applejack, who nervously looked around.

"I understand what she means, though. Farming is much more... Physical than making dresses." Rarity added "But being a railmare is different! I believe both precision, routine, and sheer power is required."

"Well, that depends, but you're not wrong." Stuck-up spoke up. Rarity smiled, before casting a content smirk towards the earth pony.

"NOW I'll show you who's hard working, Applejack!"

In response, the orange pony just scratched her head under her hat.

"Gee, Rarity. There's no need for a competition, but I'm glad ya put yerself down into heavy work like this." she smiled before pondering "Also, the Docter said that the engines will help out in any industrial and AGR'CULTURAL sites in the region. And the closest one is Sweet Apple Acres! Hot-diggedy! Applebloom was right!" she cheered.

"WEE! This'll be LOADS of fun!" Pinkie cheered, bouncing around, before she was interrupted by Diesel's sneer.

"Oh-ho-ho! Now hold on! Don't think working on the railway is jolly little party, Pink! It's hard work, with lots of pressure and tediousness! Think you have to guts for it, twerp?!"

Pinkie stopped bouncing, and sat down, pondering. But soon, she rose up, nice and calm, and replied to the jet black engine as so:

"That may, Diesel, but that doesn't mean I can't enjoy it." she declared, before continuing, cheerily "A bit of maturing won't hurt, anyway."

And she trotted off towards Steamie and BoZo, quickly switching back into bouncing, eyes closed with a content smile on her face, while the others just stared at her, mouth agape.

After recovering, Diesel spoke up again:

"Guess we'll be seeing each other more then..."

"Seems so..." Spike replied "ut what are we gonna do? I mean, you're not even MADE for ponies!"

"That may be..." Stuck-Up replied thoughtfully "But that doesn't means you shouldn't try. For that, and for the good of this new railway, I shall offer MY cab as your sanctuary to study - in other words, your workplace."

The other engines were stunned.

"Gosh..." Emma muttered "That's pretty generous of you, Stuck-up..."

The express engine smiled.

"Weeell, we all have our weak moments, don't we?"

The others chuckled and agreed.

In Canterlot, the guard mount has finally finished, and Princess Luna was getting ready to rest. Before she went to get her Royal Slumber, she checked on her sister - yesternight had been very busy.

"Well, I'm off now. Day-day, Tia!" she spoke, popping her head into the bedroom. She was about to leave, when she noticed that her sister was sitting on the balcony.

And she wasn't alone!

"What are you two doing out here?" she asked, walking out towards the railing.

Alexei looked up, taking his eyes of the landscape.

"Examining our empire." he replied with a smirk.

"Oh?" Luna asked, bemused "OUR empire?"

She huffed.

"As far as I'm concerned, you're NOT co-ruling the country, NOR you are part of the Royal family." she narrowed her eyes at her sister "Isn't that RIGHT, Tiaaa?"

The elder princess chuckled.

"I don't know what you're talking about." she replied "But actually, this IS partly his empire."

"How so?" the Princess of the Night asked, curious all of a sudden.

"Well..." the figure replied with a grin "I'm in control of the railways. Head Director. You might as well call me the Flat Controller."

The Royal sister both had to stifle a snort of laughter.

"W-Why "flat"?" Luna asked, trying hard not to giggle.

"Well, there's this guy whom his engines call the "Fat Controller", cause he IS. And the the current controller of the Other Railway, back in their world, is called Sir Wyatt Fronts - but his engines call him the Thin Git, for obvious reasons."

"Is he that bad?" Celestia asked, amused. Alexei looked glum.

"That grubby weasel-of-a-man would sell his own mother for a bottle of Scotch. He's one of the biggest reasons why the engines are such miserable sods!" he muttered loudly.

"You still haven't answered my question." Luna snickered "HOW is this YOUR empire?"

Alexei smirked once more.

"Look around, and tell me what you see."

Luna proceed so.

The scenery, as usually, was beautiful, even with the added, snaky lines of the many railway tracks - in fact, there were a LOT of them, all across the landscape!

She just stared, mesmerized by the sight - only now did she noticed it: the rails had gave a completely new face to the land.
"These tracks run through the country like blood vessels." Alexei spoke softly "Soon, private companies will begin to rely on it to deliver their freight, and passengers will be drawn to it by the new equipment. All I have to do is keep it ship-shaped and orderly."

His grin grew vicious.

"The economy will be dependent on the rails, and fuel it's profit, so the railways would stay open. And the circle encloses..."

By now, both alicorns had been staring at him with concerned looks, unsure of what to say. The other deity simply turned back to the view, his eyes landing on Ponyville, so tiny in the distance, with the new yard not far from it.

Nictating his eyes, the God could even make out the engines in the shed.

"Yes." he spoke, his voice growing lighter "My little railway."

The princesses exhaled, the moment of insanity had passed.

"Yes..." Celestia agreed. "The Other Railway."

"And our dear subjects are working on it right now." Luna put in.

"Does that makes them "The Other Ponies"?" Alexei asked, jokingly.

The princesses didn't reply. They just chuckled.