The Everfree Forest. Home to many strange, and dangerous creatures, as well as being the place from which the Battleship Express emerged from the first time. Now 4 years later, those same tracks were still in place, though they were still just as abandoned now as they were when we first arrived.

At this same time, a pack of Timberwolves was roaming near the tracks. They seemed to be hunting for food, when all of a sudden, a strange breeze suddenly came blowing by. The wolves looked up, but there was nothing close by. An instant later though, from seemingly out of nowhere, a HUGE orange and red blur appeared! 3 of the Timberwolves were killed when the machine that was making the blur collided with them, but the impacts barely even phased it. The Wabash Cannonball had just arrived in Equestria!

All of those aboard her were still unconscious, but the train was moving at a very high speed, which without the aide of Humans was close to 70mph! The train tore through anything in its path before exiting the forest, however, instead of heading through Ponyville like we had done, a switch was set differently, and the Wabash Cannonball was diverted off to the East, taking the long way around Ponyville before heading through it. Many heard what sounded like a train, and when they looked up, they saw a HUGE red and orange engine with a black boiler pulling a long string of red and orange cars behind it. The train was moving VERY fast, and there didn't seem to be anypony driving it!

"Whoa! Who's train is that?"

"I don't know! But whatever it is, it's a train unlike anything that I've ever seen before!"

"There doesn't seem to be anypony driving it either!"

Several of them then went to report the mysterious train that was seemingly running without a crew.

Meanwhile, the train was getting close to Ponyville. The danger here came from the engine's crew being out cold, and nobody at the controls. There was also nobody to blow the whistle to warn those close to the tracks! This was about to prove fatal, as up ahead of the train was a railroad crossing, but this one had gates that opened to allow foot traffic to pass, and then closed again to let trains pass. These gates worked for the 4-way crossing, and at the time the gates were closed to the train tracks! Ponies screamed, and tried to get out the train's way, but not all of them were fast enough! Luckily, nopony was killed, but a number were injured as the train blasted through the gates, sending debris everywhere!

"WHO'S RESPONSIBLE FOR THAT TRAIN?!?!?!?!" The station master at Ponyville screamed.

Everypony shook their heads though, as none of them had ever seen that train before.

"I'm calling this in! Runaway trains are VERY dangerous!"

However, while all of the drama at the now destroyed railroad crossing was happening, the train continued on its way through Ponyville. Suddenly though, it was switched onto another track, and there ahead of it was Iron Glory! Iron Glory was stopped at a freight depot on the outskirts of Ponyville when the crew suddenly saw the huge train barreling towards them!

"OH SHIT!!!!!"

"TRAIN!!!!"

They all began to scramble clear, but luckily a switch-man switched the tracks ahead of Iron Glory just in time! The massive train passed them without incident.

The crew all looked at it as it passed. "Good night Irene! What in Celestia's name was that?!"

Iron Glory's engineer, Daryl Meers, looked perplexed. "I could have SWORN that that was the Wabash Cannonball, aka Southern Pacific Daylight 4449!"

"But that can't be Daryl; it's still back on Earth!"

"Well then what was THAT?!?! How many trains can you think of that were painted like that?!"

None of them had any answers to that at all. However, they too quickly reported the incident to railway dispatch.

At the office of the Equestrian Railway Dispatch, a large number of reports began to come in of a large orange and red, seemingly unmanned train that was out on the main line close to Ponyville. They were able to pinpoint the train's location, and they tried to contact it, but received only static as a reply.

"Why won't they answer?"

"Several possible reasons. The first is that they don't have a radio. The second is that they're unconscious. The 3rd reason is that they're all dead, and the last possibility is that the train is indeed unmanned."

The lead dispatcher then turned to his staff. "So what do we do here Ponies? We HAVE to stop that train before somepony gets killed!"

"Yes but how?! That things going even FASTER than the Battleship Express was when it arrived here, and THAT train was manned!"

The lead dispatcher thought for a second. "And do we have any other trains in that area?"

Those close to the map screens checked them. "Sir, it seems that all of the trains close by have gotten off the main line until the train passes. They should be safe."

"Ok, that's good. Now then what we need is a Pegasus, or a team of them, to catch up to the train, get into the cab, and stop it!"

"Right! I'll get in touch with Wonderbolt Academy right now. If ANYPONY could catch up to that train, THEY could!"

The dispatchers then began to contact the Wonderbolts, however, what they failed to see was the red dot representing a train moving closer and closer to the unknown train on the same track! If something wasn't done soon, a head on collision would occur!

Up at the Wonderbolt Academy, Spitfire got the call.

"Wonderbolt Academy, Captain Spitfire speaking."

"Captain Spitfire, this is Gear Bolt. I'm a dispatcher at the Equestrian Railway Dispatch Office, and we have a bit of a situation going on."

Spitfire looked worried. "What......kind of a situation?"

"Well Captain, it looks like history's repeating itself. Once again, we have an unknown train running the loop around Ponyville. This time though, the train is smaller than the Battleship Express, as well as painted red and orange."

"And why hasn't it been stopped yet?"

"Because this train is going MUCH faster than the Battleship Express was! It's REALLY booking it, and we haven't been able to catch up to it yet!"

Spitfire swung into action. "Right! And where is the train now?"

"It's running the loop around Ponyville, and it just passed Mile Marker 52. You HAVE to stop it before it derails and kills somepony!"

"Right! We're on it!" Spitfire then grabbed her radio, and sounded the alarm. "Attention all Wonderbolts, attention all Wonderbolts! We've got a bit of a situation on the railroad again!"

"What's going on Spitfire?" Soarin asked.

"Well, it looks like history's repeating itself guys. Once again, we've got an unmanned train running the loop around Ponyville. I just got the call from railway dispatch, and they told us that the train is smaller, and MUCH faster than the Battleship Express was! It's already almost killed a number of Ponies, so we HAVE to stop it before somepony actually gets killed!"

"And do the Humans know about it?"

Spitfire shrugged. "I would assume so, but if not, then dispatch is most likely telling them right now! I mean, I'd tell Stud, but he's out with the Big Boy right now, and given the state of things with this new train, they HAVE to keep the radio lines clear!"

All of the available Wonderbolts then swung into action. After suiting up, they flew out of the academy, and off in the direction of the new train.

"Do you see it?" Spitfire asked the others as they were flying.

"There it is!" Fleetfoot yelled over the roar of the wind. "And damn! That thing's BOOKING IT!!!! It's going even faster than the Battleship Express was! That thing's got to be doing 80mph at LEAST!"

"Well, all we have to do is catch it, get into the cab, and stop it!"

Fleetfoot was about to reply, but then, they heard another whistle off in the distance. This whistle was very deep, and when Spitfire heard it, her blood ran cold. It was the Big Boy 4009!

"THE BIG BOY!!!! IT'S ON A COLLISION COURSE WITH THIS TRAIN!!!!!!"

"WHAT?!?!?!" Fleetfoot and the others looked, and to their horror, the Big Boy was indeed coming down the tracks on a collision course with the new train! If something wasn't done in the next minute or so, there would be a HUGE accident!

Spitfire grabbed her radio, and tried to contact me in the cab of 4009, but all she got was a beeping, indicating that the radio was being used on a different frequency.

"It's no good, he's probably on the radio with dispatch! We HAVE to stop that train now! Lives are at stake!"

She and the other Wonderbolts then flew faster than they did before.

Meanwhile, on another end of the line, Alex, Todd and I had the Big Boy 4009 out on an excursion run. We were pulling 8 coaches behind us, all full of paying passengers. In the past year, we'd FINALLY gotten both the funding that we needed, as well as had 8 coaches built for excursion runs. One of them was a dome car, one was an observation car, 2 were dining cars, and the other 4 were ordinary passenger coaches. They were all painted yellow with gray roofs, and said "Union Pacific Railways" on the sides in red letters. We'd had them made to look like Union Pacific coaches, even though they were slightly smaller than that.

On the train at the time were Daring and Dash; Daring holding Midnight and Amber, and Dash holding Misty and Skyler. Don and Twilight were there too, as were Applejack and Alex jr. Fluttershy and Windy, and Pinkie and Angie. The only ones really missing from the old gang were Rarity and Andy, although this was because they were both so wrapped up in their work, as it was the Summer Season.

"So glad that we could FINALLY get these excursion trips up and running" Alex was saying, "Now Ponies can FINALLY get to see our Big Boy in action, and not from behind a museum barrier!"

I checked our speed. "Well, they have seen it in action before while it was pulling freight trains, and when it was on a maintenance run, but now they can experience it up close and personal!"

"And we can pass this experience off to our kids one day too!" Todd added.

"That's the best part of all Todd. We get to share this with our kids, and one day, maybe they'll even be the next generation of the crew for the Battleship Express!"

Alex and Todd both laughed a bit at what I was saying, but they were laughing in agreement. However, before we could really say anything else, our radio suddenly piped up.

"Big Boy 4009, Big Boy 4009, this is Railway Dispatch, do you copy?"

I grabbed the radio. "Railway Dispatch, this is Big Boy 4009, go ahead."

"BB 4009, we've gotten reports of an unmanned train in your area. The engine is bright orange with a black boiler, and pulling red and orange coaches behind it. The train has so far smashed through a crossing gate, as well as almost ramming Iron Glory!"

I was stunned. "What?! When is that train going to be stopped?!"

"That's what we're working on right now. The Wonderbolts are chasing it down, but we had to inform you about it first."

I thought for a second. "Wait, an orange engine with a black boiler, pulling a train of red and orange coaches? That sounds awfully familiar......" I paused for a second. "But wait a minute, where is the train now?"

"It just passed Mile Marker 50. Where are you boys right now?"

"We just passed Mile Marker 45. We'll be getting off at the next junction and wait for the train to pass."

"No, just stay the course. We'll switch it off at Mile Marker 48."

"Ok, copy that." I was still nervous for our safety, as well as the safety of our passengers.

While I was still talking to dispatch, Alex looked up to the sky. "Look! There's the Wonderbolts!" He pointed up to them. Todd and I both looked out of the windows of the cab, and sure enough, there they were. Led by Spitfire, they were flying off ahead of us.

"Wow, I sure hope that they can get to the train in time."

I nodded. "Yeah, no kidding Todd! However, Ol' Spitsy's leading them, so they should stand a pretty good chance. Plus, that train's gonna be switched off soon, so there shouldn't be anything to worry about."

Actually, yes there WAS something to worry about! What Dispatch didn't realize was just how fast the other train was going. By the time that they threw the switch at the next junction, the train had already passed it! It was now on a head on collision course with us, and our trains were only about 3 miles apart and closing fast!

Suddenly from over the roar of our own train, I began to hear another chugging sound as well.

"Hey, do you guys hear that?"

Todd shrugged. "Hear what?"

"I hear it." Alex finished. "It sounds like another train!"

"That's what I was thinking too. Where's that coming from?"

Alex shrugged. "I don't know. It sounds like it's coming from close by, but we're the only train out here right now."

I then looked out ahead of us again, and suddenly, to my horror, from around a bend up ahead of us came a train! It was coming right at us at a VERY high rate of speed!

"TRAIN!!!!!!" I screamed.

"Where?!" Todd looked out of the window on my side, while Alex looked on his side. To our horror, there was indeed a train coming at us, and it was coming fast!

"SHIT!!!!!" I then blasted the Big Boy's whistle, trying desperately to warn the other train. I also began to slam on the brakes!

"WE'RE GONNA HIT!!!!" Todd screamed.

I looked around, but the only thing that I could see that would save us was a junction, but it only would have worked for us to be switched off the main line, and NOT the oncoming train! We were now seconds away from a MAJOR collision!

"OH GOD, SAVE US!!!!!" I braced then braced for impact.

Suddenly though, I saw a signal-pony quickly run towards the tracks, before switching us off the main line just in the nick of time! Our train went onto the side track, while the other train shot by in a blur of orange and red, just missing our back observation car by literal inches, before the Signal Pony switched the tracks back!

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!?!??!?!?!"

I was still very pale. "I don't know Alex, but I would have SWORN that that was Southern Pacific Daylight 4449, also known as the Wabash Cannonball!"

"But how?! How could they be here in Equestria?!"

I shrugged. "I don't know Todd." Once I brought the train to a full stop though, I then began to reverse it once the switch was thrown again.

"What are you doing Leopard?!"

"We're going after that train Alex! I saw that the rear knuckle was open, so all we have to do is catch it, couple up to the rear, and then race to the front! I saw the cab, and it looked to be empty!"

Todd and Alex knew that my plan was risky, but yet we HAD to stop that other train before somepony got killed! Once we were moving in reverse, and Todd was letting the passengers to the situation, I suddenly got a call over my radio.

"Stud?! STUD!!!! ARE YOU THERE?!?!??!" It was Spitfire.

I grabbed the radio. "I'm here Spitsy! We're all ok!"

"Thank Celestia Stud! I thought for SURE that you were gonna hit!"

"So did we Spits! Luckily, somepony switched us off the main line just in the nick of time!"

"Yeah, but what are you guys doing now?! Why are you going backwards after the train?!"

"Because we HAVE to stop it!"

"That's what WE'RE doing Stud! You guys have passengers! You need to back off now!"

"Negative Spits, we're not gonna back off until we can couple our last coach to the rear knuckle on their train!"

Spitfire kept trying to reason with me, but we were still going to try and couple up to it. Suddenly though, one of the other Wonderbolts looked at the train. To her surprise, there were sparks coming from the wheels!

"CAPTAIN!!! That other train may be stopping! There's sparks flying from the train's wheels!"

Spitfire looked, and sure enough, the orange and red train WAS stopping!

"STUD!!! THAT OTHER TRAIN'S STOPPING! HIT THE BRAKES NOW!!!!!"

I looked out the window, and I saw that she was right! "ON IT BABE!!!!" I then SLAMMED on the engine's brakes, while Todd worked with the controls for the brakes on the rest of the train!

Soon, we were able to bring our train to a stop maybe 10 feet behind the other train. Once we stopped, Todd went to ensure that the passengers were ok, while Alex and I quickly climbed out of the cab. As we were walking back towards the other train, Spitfire and the other Wonderbolts landed close to us.

Stud!" Spitfire ran over to me and pulled me into a hug. "Stud, are you ok?!"

I hugged her back. "Yeah Spitsy, I'm fine. We're all fine, even our passengers. Also, the other train is stopped, and hopefully will NOT be a threat anymore!"

Before Spitfire could really answer me though, Don came running back to us.

"Are you guys ok?!"

I looked at him. "Yeah Don, we're ok. Saw my whole life flash before my very eyes, but overall we're fine!"

He then looked at the other train. "Any idea who's train that is?"

I shrugged. "I don't know Don. I would SWEAR that it's the SP Daylight 4449, but I'm still not sure. Also, I thought that the train was unmanned, but then if that was the case, how did the train stop on its own?"

"I'd say either magic, or maybe there ARE guys over there, but they were unconscious until recently."

Alex and I then looked first at each other, and then back at him. "So, what do we do now? Do we go and see who's up in the train's cab?"

"Yes, but I think that we should be armed just in case. We still don't know what we're dealing with." Todd then stayed with the passengers, while Don, myself, Alex, and a few other Battalion 4009 Soldiers who responded to the disturbance began to walk over to the other train, to see what it was all about.

When we reached it, we were indeed in for a shock. Sure enough, the red and orange coaches still had the words "Southern Pacific" written on them in white letters. We also saw that some of the windows had guns sticking out of them, and farther up in the train we saw freight cars that had artillery guns on them as well.

Don looked like he was in shock. "No......it....just can't be! How can this be the Cannonball?! I could have SWORN that it was destroyed during the nuclear counterattack!"

We all kept walking, but we still didn't meet anyone. Eventually, Don, myself and Alex were close to the cab, when we suddenly heard movement, as well as coughing, and several voices talking at once.

Don still wasn't taking any chances. He readied his gun, and told the rest of us to do the same. "Hey! All of you in the cab! Throw out any weapons, and get down here with your hands up!"

All movement in the cab ceased for a moment. Then, a figure with dark hair, brown eyes, and wearing green camouflage stuck his head out, before swinging out of the cab, and landing on the ground. He was followed by what I guessed were the train's engineer and fireman, and all of them were armed too.

The leader seemed to glare at us. "Now then, who the hell are all of you, and where the hell are we?!"

Don looked like he was going to faint. "No.......NO!!!!! I-i-it can't be you!"

The leader looked closer at him. "Wait........no..........D-Don?!"

"Tim......."

Tim then smirked a bit. "So, you survived after all, did you Don? I should have known that my little brother would have pulled through!"

Don glared at his brother a bit. "Just as I should have figured that YOU didn't die in Vegas Tim! However, I HAVE to know, what's the current state of America? Did we win, or did we lose?"

Tim smiled. "Well, good news Don, we won! By November, we got the Futas out of the US mainland, with Hawaii being retaken a few weeks later. Europe was cleansed of their filth a year later, and within 2 years their last Asian garrison fell. It heavily cost us, and EVERYONE thought that you guys were dead, but overall, we won!" Tim then looked around him. "And where the heck are we?! Did we REALLY cross over some lay-lines or something?!"

Don smirked a bit. "You might wanna sit down for that one Tim, as I know that you're NOT gonna believe this one in a million years!"

Tim then sighed a bit. "Well, is there a place that we can go to compare notes, as I'm assuming that we have a LOT to talk about!"

Don nodded, although before he could, Twilight came running up to him. This was slightly difficult for her, as she was about 4 months pregnant at the time with their son!

"Don! Are you ok?!"

Don turned, and she rushed into his arms. "Yeah, I'm fine Twi. Nothing to worry about."

Twilight then noticed Tim standing close by. When she saw him, her jaw hit the ground! "Wait, MORE Humans just arrived?!"

Don nodded. "Yeah, they did Twi. I'd like you to meet my older brother, Commander Tim Curry. Tim, this is my wife, Twilight."

Tim stepped up and shook her hand. "A pleasure to meet you Twilight. And no, I'm NOT going to be freaking out! I've seen MANY stranger things than multi-colored, talking, bipedal, equine beings! Plus, we came through a portal to another universe; shouldn't this be expected?"

Twilight shrugged, and then nodded. "Yeah, I guess so. And did I hear you say Don that we have a lot to talk about?"

He nodded. "Yes, and Twilight, you should probably inform the Princesses about this, as they need to know that we now have MORE Humans here in Equestria!"

Twilight nodded, and once Tim explained a bit more about himself, his crew, and his train, Don turned back to his brother, and she had Spike take a letter.

"Dear Princess Celestia,

Just a little while ago, another train with Humans in it arrived in Equestria! The train is a lot smaller than the Battleship Express, but it's also a LOT faster! The train was once a passenger train pulled by Southern Pacific Daylight 4449. The engine is red and orange with a black boiler, and the cars are red and orange with black roofs. Said train is also a war train, commanded by Commander Tim Curry, the brother of my husband, Major Don Curry!

According to Commander Tim, this train gained infamy under the name 'Wabash Cannonball'. It was a train that first brought hurt to the Futas, and had a high kill-count. According to Don though, (and I'm more inclined to believe him!) he said that his brother and his crew practically stole their train from a railroad museum in the American State of Oregon, refitted it with weapons, and used it to fight against the Futas. However, they had no oversight, and answered to no one really. The Railway Warfare Division tried to keep a handle on them, but this was met with mixed results.

We've also learned that 'WW6' against the Futas that the Battleship Express crew fought in is now over, and has been for nearly 4 years now. By the end of 2029 the war was out of America, and less than 2 years later it was all over everywhere else. The Futas have been eradicated, and even though Las Vegas and the surrounding areas were heavily damaged, their sacrifices were not in vain.

I assume that you will be wanting to meet these new arrivals, so we're moving their train to the railway station in Ponyville. I will be eagerly awaiting your reply to this letter.

Your Faithful Student,
Twilight Sparkle"

Spike then took the letter, and after blowing his magic fire on it, he sent it on its way to Canterlot.

Up in Canterlot at the time, Celestia, Luna and a few other nobles, including Prince Blueblood, were discussing Equestrian relations with the Griffon Kingdom. While the Griffons were supposedly neutral in the war, a number of them under Colonel Bruno had been fighting with the Imperial Alliance. All of the Griffons who had turned against their nation were either executed, or were sentenced to life in a prison mine. Relations were improving, but they could still come to a standstill every now and again. At the time they were all discussing a possible trade agreement, though Blueblood was whining like always.

Just as Celestia was about to ask him to just shut up, a letter suddenly appeared before her. "Huh? What's this?" She opened the letter.

"What is it Dear Sister?" Luna asked.

Celestia's jaw hit the floor. "My word! ANOTHER train of Humans just pulled into Ponyville Station, and this train's commanded by the brother of our very own Major Don Curry!"

"WHAT?!?!?!?!" The others in the room were shocked!

"More Humans?! It was bad enough when those..........PEASANTS.........from the Battleship Express arrived, but now MORE of them?!"

Celestia gave Blueblood an angry glare. "Those 'peasants', Nephew, gave their sweat, blood, tears, and even their own lives for OUR freedom! The freedom of a nation not their own! They are NOT peasants, they are SOLDIERS!!!!"

THAT shut Blueblood up for a while!

Celestia then got to work on her reply to Twilight.

"My Dearest Twilight,

While it has come to a shock to not only myself, but also Luna, and a few other nobles who were present when the letter arrived, I can tell you now that we are VERY interested in meeting with these new arrivals! They and their train sound just about as interesting as the Battleship Express when it arrived, and I'm more than eager to meet the man who's the brother of an officer as great as your husband, Major Don. We will be arriving within the hour, so please have everyone on both sides involved with this gathered at the Ponyville Station.

Also, I am very pleased to hear that 'World War 6' against the Futas that the Battleship Express crew have been talking about is finally over, and has been for at least a little while. Maybe now Earth will finally be able to heal from its wounds. For a Planet like Earth, which has been at war for as long as it has, it deserves to be able to finally recover. We will be there soon Twilight, and we will decide for ourselves what shall be done with these new arrivals.

Yours Truly,
Princess Celestia"

Celestia then sent the letter back to Twilight via her magic, and then she and Luna began to prepare for their trip to Ponyville.

While this was happening, the trains were being moved back to Ponyville Station. We had to cancel the Big Boy's excursion trip, and although we offered full refunds, very few Ponies wanted them! Instead, they thanked us for introducing them to the crew of the Wabash Cannonball!

Oh sure, the "Wabashers" as they were known, were just LOVING all of the attention! Tim was standing on a crate, and telling the Ponies gathered around him all of the tales of their adventures. For his credit, even though Tim DID stretch and bend a few details, most of what he told was accurate.

While this was happening, I found myself next to a soldier that I'd never seen before. He was tall, lanky, had blondish hair that was bleached almost white, possibly from radiation exposure, and the left side of his face was streaked with burn marks. His uniform bore the insignia of what seemed to be a Marine Colonel, and I could also tell that his left arm, and his left eye were prosthetic, and he looked to be pretty banged up.

"Wow, a Marine Colonel!"

He looked at me. "Yeah. And who the heck are you?"

"I'm a captain within Battalion 4009, and a crewmember of the Battleship Express."

He looked at me. "So is my brother. I haven't seen him in years, and we were never really on the best of terms, but he was the 2nd Engineer of the Battleship Express. Do you know Captain Leopard by any chance?"

When I looked at him, all I could do was stare in shock. I KNEW that I had no family left. My last surviving family member, my brother Dren, had been killed in WW4. Or had he...........

I looked up at him. "I AM Captain Leopard. And somehow I should have known that YOU would have survived, Dren!" I wasn't to happy to see my brother, even though I hadn't seen him in years.

"Bro........It IS YOU!!!! All these years, and you're still alive!"

"Yeah, and where have YOU been all these years?!"

He sighed. "In a coma mostly. Towards the end of WW4, I was fighting in Detroit, when the city was hit by a missile strike. I was knocked into a coma for YEARS! When I woke up, they told me that I slept through the end of WW4, and ALL of WW5, the first half of WW6, AND the Second Cold War! They told me that the Futas were in power, and we were giving them hell. I was assigned to lead a group of Marines, and as we pushed West, we all continued to hear the stories of you, your train, and your exploits. I tried to reach out to you, but due to the constant battles, I never got the chance.

Eventually, I was assigned to lead the Marines and Night Stalkers that retook the Hoover Dam from the Futas. We did so, and held the Dam, right as I heard you were heading for Las Vegas. I made a promise to find you once the Battle was over, but I never got that chance. When the bombs fell, Hoover Dam was hit, and I was one of only a handful of survivors. Hoover Dam survived, and has since been repaired, but I lost an arm, an eye, and a LOT of hair and flesh! I also heard that you were missing, presumed dead. For 4 years, I wondered what happened to you, and I kept coming out to the memorials there in Vegas with my wife Olivia, and continue to wonder. Then earlier today, we went for a ride on the Wabash Cannonball, and wound up here!

It was CRAZY Bro! One minute we were surrounded by a HUGE sand storm, and then the next we all blacked out, and when we woke up, there was a train behind us, bluish blurs above us, and other crazy things! Luckily, I was able to wake up Primary Engineer Bill Blaze, and he stopped the train before any further damage could be done. I passed out again a minute or so later, and I didn't wake up until just a few minutes ago. So how have things been for you?"

I looked up at him with a completely deadpanned look. "Well, after arriving here, we were thrust deep into the heart of the Imperial War against the Caribou and the Zebra Empires, which we fought, won, and kicked ass in! I'm also now married, have 4 kids with 2 more on the way, I still work with the Battleship Express, as well as the new Imperial War Museum, and I fill in for my wife in the Wonderbolts due to her having to take some time to care of our kids. Nothing too major. And you?" (I decided that I would NEVER let Dren know that I had 3 wives! Dash would be my wife, Daring was her cousin Feathers who also lived with us, as did Dash's old roommate and fellow Wonderbolt, Spitfire.)

He looked at me like I was crazy. "Wait, are you being serious right now Scar......Leopard.....whatever your name is?"

"It's 'Leopard' Dren, just call me Leopard. I haven't been called Scar since........eh....I don't really want to talk about that right now. And yes, I AM being serious!"

Dren then looked around. "You do NOT have a wife you liar!"

"Do too you twit!"

"Prove it!"

"2 steps ahead of you there Buddy!" A tomboyish voice from behind him laughed.

Dren turned around, and he saw a Pegasus mare about a foot and a half shorter than him with cyan fur, a rainbow-colored mane and tail, a Wonderbolt training outfit, and Dren also noticed that she had a young colt and filly in a carrying pack on her back. Said mare also had a visibly swollen belly.

"And.......who are you exactly?"

The mare smirked. "Name's Dash. Rainbow Dash! And Leopard in front of you's my husband! Happily married for 4 going on 5 years now, and we've got 2 kids with 2 more on the way!"

Dren then looked back at me. "Wait, I thought you said that you have 4 kids with 2 more on the way."

I had an answer ready. "I do, they're just with their Auntie Feathers right now. Dash has 3 year old twins Misty and Skyler, while Feathers, (or 'Daring' as she's also known), has my 2 older twins Amber and Midnight."

He nodded. "Wow, that's a lot of kids!"

Dash laughed a bit. "Yeah, I've always wanted a bit family, and I'm gonna keep having kids until I can't do it anymore! Hopefully we'll have over 20 by the time I'm done, but that kinda remains to be seen. I mean, after all, we kinda have our hands full as it is!" She gestured to the twins on her back. "And I'm about 4 months along with these 2 little ones right here!" she then rubbed her belly to emphasize her point. "One colt, and one filly!"

"And didn't you say that you were married Dren?" I asked him.

He nodded. "Yeah, I married Olivia Newton after the war. You remember her right? And yes, she was with me on the Cannonball, though I don't know where she is right now."

"Yeah, I remember Olivia. And any kids yet?" Dren shook his head. I sighed. "Well, be careful, or you'll end up with 4 little mistakes like I did!"

He looked at me like I was crazy, and then for the first time, he seemed to notice my Bat-Pony features. "Wait a second, what the heck happened to you?! Why do you look like a Pony?!"

I laughed a bit. "Well, that happened during the Imperial War. In short, I was hit with a weapon that began to tear my genetics apart. My life was saved by Dr. Fritz, as well as a few Equestrian doctors who gave me Bat-Pony genetics to save my life. As a result, I'm now 45% Human, 50% Bat-Pony, and 5% Wolf. I also have some dark gray fur, a black mane and tail, 4 furry, highly sensitive furry bat-like ears, deep blue cat-like eyes, fangs, 2 black feathery wings that I CAN fly with, and some gray fur on my legs, with the fetlocks covering my ankles being black And yes, I still have my wolf paws and lower legs." (I decided NOT to mention that I also had a stallion's "package"!)

He looked at me like I was a lunatic. "That's just flat out weird Bro." He then turned and began to walk away, all while muttering about needing to find Olivia.

Dash walked up to me, and began to nuzzle me gently. "So, I guess that you're not quite as alone as you thought Stud. But yet, I had no idea your brother was such a douche!"

I sighed. "Dren's kinda always been like that. He never liked me very much, and although we did get along sometimes, we didn't get along well at other times at all. It's a mess, and now he's here."

She nodded. "Yeah, and can you take the twins for a while? They're getting SO heavy!"

I laughed a bit. "Sure Babe!" Dash then shifted enough for me to get the backpack carrier off her pack, and then onto my own back. Dash was right. Misty and Skyler were 3 years old now, and they WERE getting heavy! I mean sure, they could walk, and even fly a bit now, but with the crowds there at the station, and them not really wanting to walk, we decided that it was best to carry them. Daring was doing the same with Amber and Midnight, who met up with us a few minutes later, as did Spitfire.

"Yeesh, your brother's wife is a DICK Stud!" Daring told me. "She said that I was a slut for having kids without a father. I wanted to punch her in the mouth SO BADLY!"

"And your brother's not much better Stud." Spitfire added. "He SURE likes to talk a lot, and he won't shut up about how much better he is than you!"

I looked at all 3 of my wives, as well as my 4 kids. "Well, no matter what my brother and his wife said to you, NONE of it's true! Even though Dren IS my brother, and his wife Olivia IS your sister in law, we can afford to keep them at arm's length. If they want to be a part of Amber, Midnight, Misty and Skyler's lives, then they're going to have to earn that privilege first!"

My wives ALL agreed with me on this, though my kids just looked at me with confusion, as they still wasn't quite sure who I was talking about.

Meanwhile, Phil and Joseph Shepherd were walking around Ponyville. They didn't have any particular destinations in mind, as they were just looking around. However, both of them wanted to see about getting their uniforms fixed, as they were getting rather worn out.

"Excuse me", Phil asked the first Pony he could, "Do you know where we could find a clothing store around here that MIGHT do clothing repairs?"

The mare in question pointed down the street. "Pants N' Stitches would be the best place for that. Andy LOVES his clothing work, and I know that he'll fix you both right up, and at a good price too! It's just down the street, connected to the Carousel Boutique, owned by his wife, Mrs. Rarity."

Phil nodded. "Thank you." Then he and Joseph went down the street to Pants N' Stitches.

"Wow, this looks like quite the nice place Dad. I sure hope that whoever this 'Andy' fellow is, that he can help us."

"No kidding Joe. Let's go in." They both then entered Pants N' Stitches.

When they did, the bell over the door jingled, and they found themselves inside of what appeared to be a men's clothing store. There was a counter with a cash register, fitting rooms in the back, and racks of clothes. They also saw a stallion being fitted for a suit by a tailor.

"Be with you in just a minute folks!" He said without looking up, "I just need to help Panhandle here with his suit!" After working for a number of minutes more, he was finally done. "There you go. What do you think Panhandle?"

Panhandle was impressed. "Wowwee! This suit's AMAZING Andy! You do such amazing work!"

Andy nodded. "I'm glad that you like it Panhandle. It's some of my best work. I mean now that Rarity and I have little Sam and Belle to look after, we have to perfect our work so that we can pass on our legacy to them when they're old enough!"

Panhandle nodded. "How much for the suit again Andy?"

"Well, it'll be 150 bits plus tax, so I'll ring you up at the front. Just give me another second to see what these new folks want." He then walked up to the front counter.

"Yes, and what can I do for you gentlemen?"

Phil and Joseph looked over the somewhat gaunt and ragged tailor in front of them. He wore a wrinkled white button-up dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up, an undone red bowtie, dark gray dress pants with a notebook sticking out of one of the pockets, black dress shoes, a tailor's tape around his shoulders, black framed glasses, and had a pencil behind his right ear as well. They also noticed that he seemed to have the horn of a unicorn too. He also looked very familiar to Phil.

"I KNOW that I've seen you somewhere before............" It suddenly hit him. "Wait........A-Andy?! Is that you?"

Andy froze. "Wait......D-Dad?! Joe?!" His face lit up. "You're still here!" He then ran around the counter to hug them.

"ANDY!!!!" They hugged him back.

"I thought that you were dead!" His dad Phil told him.

"Not dead Dad, just......transported to another dimension! And somehow, I always knew that one day you'd come through that door! Now one war later, you finally did, and I now have my old clothing store back, and I have a wife, and 2 kids too!"

"Y-you.....do?"

"Yeah, let me get them for you." He then pressed a button on the intercom next to the register. "Hey Sweetheart?"

"Oh, Yes Darling?" a mare's voice asked.

"You might want to come over here to my side of the store. I've got 2 guys here that you'll probably want to meet, and you should probably bring Sam and Belle too!"

"Ok, coming Darling!"

A few minutes later, said mare walked in. She was a Unicorn with white fur, wearing a beautiful purple dress that highlighted her mane perfectly, as well as purple shoes. She was also wearing red framed glasses, and like her husband, also had a pencil behind one of her ears. Behind her, 2 small little creatures that looked like a cross between children and foals walked in. One had white fur with a red mane and tail, blue eyes, as well as a tiny orange dress, while the other had tannish fur, a dark purple mane and tail, green eyes, and was wearing blue pants with a white shirt that said "Tailor in Training!" on it. Both children also had what appeared to be Unicorn horns like their parents.

"Now then, who are these two Darling?"

"Rarity, I'd like you to meet my dad, Phil Shepherd, as well as my brother, Joe!"

Rarity brought a hand up to her mouth. She then bowed a bit. "It's an honor to meet you both. I am Mrs. Rarity."

Phil then shook her hand when offered it. "The honor is ours Mrs. Rarity. I'm just glad that you've made my son very happy!" He then looked at Sam and Belle. "And it seems like I have a granddaughter and grandson too."

Even though they were only a little more than 2 years old, with permission from their parents, they tottered up to Phil. "Who is he Daddy?" Belle asked.

"This Sweetie, is my dad Phil. He's your Grandpa. And the guy next to him is my brother Joe. He's your Uncle."

They both hugged Phil and Joe. "Wow, so you really DO still have some family after all Daddy!" Belle said happily.

Andy nodded. "Yes, yes I do Sweetie. And now you have a grandpa and an uncle in your lives as well."

During this time, Both Andy and his dad also shared to each other the stories of how they each got to Equestria, and what was probably going to happen next. Andy told them that they were welcome to stay with them, and they were both SO HAPPY to have their son/brother back, as well as to have met their daughter/sister in law, and their grandchildren/niece and nephew respectively.

Similarly, all around town, various family members were finding their lost relatives who had served on the Battleship Express.

At Fluttershy's cottage, Mary Davis, the mother of Todd Davis, found her son, as well as Fluttershy, all of their animals, little Windy Belle, and her new little sister Lilly. Todd was so shocked at seeing his mother again that he had to sit down on a couch to keep from passing out!

"Mom........I can't..........how are you even here?!"

"Well Todd, I was on the Daylight with other family members. We were visiting the memorial for the Battle of Vegas, but on the way back, we got caught in a MASSIVE sand storm, and when that cleared, we were here."

"Just like we were......" Todd murmured. "At any rate though Mom, I'm glad that you're here. You're the only family that I have left, and Fluttershy and I want you in our daughter's lives."

Mary looked down at Windy and Lilly as they sat in her lap. "Todd, nothing in the world would make me happier!"

At Sweet Apple Acres, Gwen Owens, a cousin of Alex Barkley, found herself in a war of the words with Applejack.

"Unless yer buyin' apples, git outta here!" Applejack told her.

Gwen just pushed her blonde hair out of her eyes. "Not likely Missy! I ain't goin' nowhere 'til I see Alex!"

"Well Alex told me that he DIDN'T want to see you! He said that you were nothin' but trouble, and to tell you to, and I quote, 'Piss off!'!"

Now Gwen just seemed to be angry. "Oh, so is THAT how this is gonna be then? So be it. Alex was always trying to play hardball, so I'll go, but I WILL come back soon!" She then turned to leave.

Applejack watched her until she was out of sight. "Well, THAT certainly was interestin'. Wonder what happened between them that's got them all tied up in knots? Maybe it was a feud like between us and the Pear's. Or whatever it was, I just hope that it don't come to blows between those two."

In contrast to this, Amanda Lindsey, the sister of engine guardsman Fred Wilkins, was treated to a MUCH better welcome! Fred was at the Imperial War Museum when his sister came, and as soon as he saw her, he hugged her.

"Wow, they were really telling the truth! You really are here Sis!"

"It's been too long Freddy. You were all I had left, and when I heard that you were missing after Vegas, I thought for sure that you were dead. I kept waiting for any news about the Battleship Express, but I never heard anything."

Fred sighed. "I knew that you were still alive Lindsey, but yet I knew that I was probably never going to see you again. But that's not the case now, and we're back together again!" Fred hugged his sister again.

Lindsey hugged him back, and the 2 of them then went to catch up on events from each other's lives during the 4 year gap between their last contact.

A bit later, the Princesses finally arrived at Ponyville Station, and were taken to meet the leaders of the Wabash Cannonball, as well as the train's crew.

They were taken to a meeting room on the Cannonball, where they were introduced to Commander Tim Curry, Primary Engineer Bill Blaze, Primary Fireman Thomas Wilson, and the train's chief engineer Barbara "Barb" Blaze, the wife of Bill Blaze. These 4 were in charge of the Wabash Cannonball, and the men and women who served on it.

"I must say Commander, it is very interesting to have you here, as well as to know that you and your crew are still alive following the debacle that was the Battle of Vegas."

"You may just call me 'Tim', Princess Celestia, everyone else does. And yes, it is nice to be out of the hellscape that we came from, and to be with our families again, even though some of us here don't seem to enjoy that!" He glared at Don when he said this, and Don just glared back.

"I highly doubt that that was necessary Tim. We should keep our disagreements to outside of official meetings." Don then gave Tim the finger when Celestia and Luna weren't looking.

Celestia then turned back to Tim. "So if I may ask Tim, what do you have to offer us besides your train?"

Tim sighed. "We've got weapons. One little known fact about us was that we functioned as both a war train, and a blockade runner. We would smuggle supplies to areas that needed them, though we also worked in what could be called 'specialty items', particularity the world of military aviation. We currently have 2 A-10 Thunderbolts, 2 A-10 Warthogs, 2 F-22 Raptors, 2 F-35's, spare parts for all of them, ammunition for all of them, and fuel. All of these planes have remained with our train since the end of the war, and even though they need to be reassembled, we have the tools and blueprints for that too. We also have some of the guns and ammo that the Battleship Express has, as well as a 75 man crew, and at least 40 others who were on the train when we ended up here as well. I mean, we might not be the Battleship Express, but we DO have some firepower to bring to the table!"

Neither of the Princesses knew what to make of Commander Tim, or the rest of his crew. While they had heard reports of some of the Battleship Express Crew getting along with lost family members, not all of them were. It was quite a mixed bag, and they really didn't know what to do with them for the time being.

Finally, Celestia asked, "Tim, would you be willing to allow your train to be used on our railroads as both a passenger and a freight train? We have need of another engine primarily for passenger service, though would also be able to haul freight when required. Would your engine be up for this task?"

"That would be up to Bill and Barb. They take care of the train, I'm just the guy who controls the military operations on it."

Bill looked up. "Well Princess, the truth is, Barb and I ain't quite as young as we used to be. I mean sure, we ARE only in our late 30's, but still, wars can REALLY take a toll on you! We've wanted to take a step back from everything, and provided that our train WILL be well cared for, AND well taken care of, we MIGHT be willing to allow you to use it."

"It would be used, maintained, and operated by the good crews of the Battleship Express, who also run and maintain their engine, Big Boy 4009, and Iron Glory, not to mention the slightly rough and tumble 'Battle Glory'. I know that they would take care of your train."

I then looked up. "Yes, we would Princess. Of course, we WOULD start calling it 'SP Daylight 4449', or just 'Daylight', or '4449' again, but other than that, yes, we would take just as good of care of it as we do for our own trains. I mean, even though they were forever living in the shadow of the Battleship Express, the Wabash Cannonball was nothing to sneeze at!"

"So is it settled Mr. and Mrs. Blaze? You are willing to allow us to use your train?"

"Yes, we will. However, we're gonna need time to do maintenance work, as well as remove some of the military hardware, as our train is FULL of it! Do you have a place where we can do that?"

Don nodded. "Yes, we do. There's an engine workshop and storage building behind the Imperial War Museum where we clean and maintain our own trains, and we'd be willing to let you use it for the Daylight."

"That would work very nicely Major Don. How soon can we move the train there?"

Don thought for a second. "Well, we might need to move a few things out of there, but we don't have any active projects in there right now, so once it's clear, then you can begin your work."

"Much obliged Major."

They all then talked about this for a while longer, as well as what the futures for the crew of the Wabash Cannonball would look like. Most of them were seeking employment elsewhere, and they had a LOT of practical skills that would prove very beneficial to the Equestrians. And as most of them would find, most of the train's regular crew were not as big of douche-bags as Tim, or some of the other officers. Only time would tell where this was going to go, but we were all hoping for the best, while still preparing for the worst!

And here's Chapter 24 FINALLY!!!!!!

I'm SO sorry that this took so long to write, but yet, it was a combination of factors. First of all was writer's block. I wasn't always sure what I wanted to do for this chapter, and it took time to think of ideas. Next, my Summer has NOT been what I expected AT ALL! I haven't had the time that I've wanted to sit down and write, as I have a job, and other obligations at home. I did what I could, but it wasn't always easy. Next, I also had other side-projects that I spent time on, and am still working with a bit. These take up time as well, and this slipped to the back burner for a time.

Normally I would say "I'll do better", or "This won't happen again", but I can't. The truth is, I'll get the chapters out as fast as I can, but time gaps like this may be common. Don't worry though, this story is NOT going to die, will NOT be cancelled, will NOT be on hiatus, WILL be finished, and the gaps of time will only be a month at the most! I do the best I can, but I am only Human after all!

In the meantime though, I REALLY hope that you enjoyed this chapter! So now the crew of the Wabash Cannonball have arrived in Equestria, and have begun to meet old family members of the Battleship Express crew. Some of these have gone well, while others not so much. What will happen next? How will the "Wabashers" adjust to life in Equestria? Will Dren ever find out the truth that his brother Leopard has 3 wives? And what happened to the Futas? What have they been up to all this time? Well, you know the drill, stay tuned and I'll tell you! There's less than 10 chapters remaining in "Beyond the Express" now, leading up to the MASSIVELY explosive finale, so be sure to stick around to the end!

In the meantime though, comments, feedback, questions, as well as suggestions for the future are always appreciated, and I'll see you all in Chapter 25!

ScarFox out for now!

(Also, fans of the Futas will now be told that they WILL be making their big comeback in 2-3 more chapters from now. I have NOT forgotten about them, OR King Sombra, and they will play a BIG role in the final few chapters!)