I write this final entry as I sit by the windowsill in my hotel room near Manehattan center. Celebrations are still in full swing. It's over. It's all finally over.

3 years of blood, toil, tears, and sweat. The railway is finally done. Every piece of it. Even my crew didn't expect it to be over so soon.

It was just before the end of the year when we got the letter, signed by the Princess herself, to return to Canterlot. What we didn't expect was that we'd be taking our own train!

We said goodbye to the friends we had made in Dodge, including the bison, and started shoveling coal. The Patientia roared to life, and we were back in Canterlot just as the sun began to set! It was magnificent!

We were confused to learn that our information was not entirely accurate. While all the Trunklines and branch railways had been completed a little ahead of schedule, there was one last spike to be hammered. We weren't that surprised to learn that the "golden spike" was to be hammered in Canterlot, and by Celestia herself at the start of the New Year.

We got front row seats to the ceremony, and thanks for our efforts the entire way. We were all bundled up in jackets and scarves; it looked like a single, long line of wool was the only thing standing between the ruler of the nation and her subject.

And then she did something nopony would ever forget.

The crowd was beginning to count down to midnight, whispering really. Still, it was noticeable.

She silenced the crowd with a raised hoof, and then raised her hammer with her magic. The tool was polished to a gleam, and I'm pretty sure it was made of something that definitely wasn't iron. The handle was encrusted with gems for Faust's sake! Anyway, she set the golden spike in place and began to bring her hammer down, only to stop about midway through.

She gently placed the hammer aside and looked to the crowd. I still remember her speech, word for word.

"My loyal subjects. While I am greatly honored to be the one to drive the last spike, finally bringing this historical project to a close, I must speak the truth. Even with all my gifts, I do not believe myself capable of completing this project in such a way. Furthermore, I firmly believe that I do not represent the endurance the constructors of the railway utilized in the face of uncertainty, defiance, and heartbreak. It is with great pride that I ask you, the builders of the Trans-Equestrian Railroad, to select one of your own for this task. However, please make haste. We do not have much time before the start of the new year."

What followed was absolute silence. There was no wind, no hoots of owls, or murmurs from the crowd. Then it happened.

"I believe Wayward here is the best choice!" It was Jack's voice. I think that was the first time he had ever spoken to the many people.

"I believe him worthy as well!" Swan supported Jack's decision, not that I was surprised. The two practically spent all of their free time together. Why wouldn't they agree on everything?

After that, every worker, all 1000+ of them, started murmuring among themselves. I heard my name a lot. Eventually, it was a continuous chant of just "Wayward Wayward Wayward!"

I was actually overtaken with emotion, shock, and similar feelings. They were chanting for a stranger! Surely I couldn't be the one to finish the railway!

And then I heard one last voice, Rook's. He shouted for silence. I've never heard him shout so loudly. He essentially roared.

"While I may not have known Wayward for as long as my other friends, I am confident enough to call him one of my best. He is the one to finish the railway!"

I don’t know why, but Rook’s approval snapped me out of my shock. I gulped, made my way out of the crowd and to where the princess was standing. She gave me a hammer, the one I myself had used all this time, and reset the spike. I thanked her majesty, reset the spike, and waited.

It was only a matter of time before the crowd started counting down again. It was only a few ponies at first, but then the voices merged together, forming this single, booming voice.

“Ten. Nine. Eight.”

I looked over my shoulder once. My friends were right there, nodding in approval.

“Seven. Six. Five.”

I raised the hammer, making sure that I wouldn’t miss.

“Four. Three. Two.”

I could’ve sworn that Celestia herself was counting down with us.

“ONE!”

The world slowed as I brought my hammer down. It connected like two magnets, and the spike went into the wood as though it were a hot knife through butter. I normally had to hit a spike 3 times before it was in securely. I was lucky to find that my 1 swing had done the job just fine.

I looked up, and there was confetti falling everywhere. Auld Lang Syne was being sung by the entire city! I looked around. With a single swing of a dirty old hammer, I had brought Equestria into a new era. Needless to say, the resulting parties were nothing short of amazing.

I can’t say that everything I did on the railroad was peaches and cream. Sometimes, the food was awful, other times, the jokes were ridiculously bad. None of us got as much sleep as we wanted, and more than a few of us got hurt along the way. I wish more than a few things had never happened during those 2 years. Yet, looking back on it all, I wouldn’t have done anything differently.