It was just about two o'clock at Canterlot station. Spike the Dragon Tank Engine was marshaling some rolling stock for the following few trains. He headed to the station with some trucks for Sweet Apple Acres when he saw an orange and lime-colored tender engine pull in with a rake of matching coaches. The engine stopped at the platform and looked delighted to see Spike.

"Thorax, how are you doing?" the little engine asked.

"Hi, Spike," the royal changeling engine said, "I'm doing great. I've had a nice run to stretch my wheels. Plus, I was hoping I would be able to see you. How have you been?"

"Oh, same old business. I'm usually been helping Twilight and her friends with their things while also helping keep Canterlot's yard in order. Applejack should be here to pick up these trucks any minute. Can I offer you a drink while I take care of your coaches?"

"Sure." Thorax waited for all of his passengers to get off and he uncoupled from his train. Spike shunted his coaches to the side, allowing the changeling king to get a nice drink at the water tower. The said tower could dispense more beverages than just water, Thorax picked lemonade, which he could taste as his tanks filled up. He looked around the yard and could see a roundhouse where engines could go and rest.

What he also noticed was the variety of rolling stock. There were hoppers of various minerals, tankers that had multiple liquids inside, flatbeds with pipes, logs, and many other cargos, and vans filled with many other things.

"Boy, Spike, do you manage all of this?" Thorax asked.

"Sometimes," Spike admitted, "I have shunters like Ocellus help out when things are busy. Sandbar sometimes drops by and helps with deliveries to and from Ponyville."

"It sounds like you're kept pretty busy."

"You have no idea." Spike began shunting some of the coal trucks to a tipper's loading ramp to fill up the hopper and refuel more engines.

"You know, if you need help more often, I could stop by and change into a tank engine. Besides, it could allow us to hang out more."

"Yeah, I think I would actually like that. We could probably hang out on break too. I heard about some great Ogres and Oubliettes."

"Ooh, can you tell me more about that?" Thorax used his changeling magic to shift into a tank engine and helped Spike move trucks into different places. The two were starting to look forward to this idea to help out whenever the yards were overflowing with work.