–—When I first saw her this was what she said—–
–—We are waiting for a summer that we never had—–
Every so often along the beaten mountain track the train would wiggle, just so, and cause Thunderlane to smack his snout against the table. Each time it startled him in the same way. His eyes shot open as the train gradually rounded a curve and shook slightly. Yawning he grumbled and mumbled to himself in the early morning light; although he could have shouted if he wanted to. The entire carriage was empty except for him and his thoughts.
He boarded the train at one o'clock and twenty minutes. That had been yesterday and even then he'd only shared the carriage with one other pony, who quickly got off at the next stop. Thunderlane had been sat alone for roughly fifteen hours, sleeping often but dreaming rarely. Dreams did not find themselves permitted within the mist of the valley, a great enchantment from aeons past that dulled more than just the sunlight.
However the gruff pegasus didn't need to dream to see a world of unimaginable beauty. Out the window of the rickety carriage a sweeping vista slowly brightened as dawn approached. Far below the mountainside rail he was observing from a great forest of pines wallowed in the mist below; their deep green and earthen hues creating a great black shroud. Above the mist the trees gradually became a paler—still earthly green nonetheless—to compliment the stone vigils high above.
Snow capped mountains were surrounded by a small buildup of cloud below their peaks, showing only their midriff to the valley as the train sped down the track. Some shrubbery grew on the side of the track but none was tall enough to obscure the view. The higher you found yourself the less likely you were to encounter lush vegetation after-all. Deeper into the valley and down at its base the forest became moist and unkempt.
Thunderlane was just thinking about the last expedition into the forest when he heard the door of the carriage open. Immediately a rush of cool mountain air, the smell of alpine trees, and the roaring sound of a steam engine pumping one thousand eight hundred hoofpower. Suddenly the noise stopped and the fresh air was all that remained as a gentle elderly stallion slowly trotted down the aisle. He stopped by Thunderlane and sat in the chair opposite him, slowly turning to face the younger buck.
"Enjoy your journey then Thunder?" he said with a raspy voice. Despite missing a few teeth the older pegasus still managed a decent smile. "Yeah, it's not as bad on the second time I guess. It's just an issue finding things to do." Thunderlane didn't turn to look as the conductor smiled at him, preferring to look into the distance for a glimpse of the town. "It's a shame you're travelling alone, I heard you were going to have a marefriend coming down with you!" He chuckled slowly but stopped when Thunderlane didn't respond, instead just sitting there silently.
"How long have you been working on the rail line, Gear?" Thunderlane watched as the train entered a tunnel bored into the side of the mountain. Darkness embraced the train carriage as the two stallions turned to look at the candle holder on the wall. Thunderlane pressed a little button at where the wall met the table, and watched as a set of gears turned to strike a flint above the candle wick. A few tries were needed to get the candle lit. Slowly a flame grew and illuminated their booth in a gentle orange glow.
Gear turned to look at Thunderlane once he was done lighting the candle—nodding slowly in approval. "Probably about a year after you left that I started up here, since I needed the extra money to hire staff on for my real job. Been working it almost six years now." The grey pegasus simply glanced over at the conductor before looking back at the candle. Silence passed between them as the howling of wind within the tunnel whistled through the carriage.
Time passed like this between them for what seemed like an eternity before the light raced towards them, smacking into the train and illuminating the carriages as they were pulled into the morning light. Thunderlane wet the tip of his left wing and used it to snuff the flame. His eyes turned to look back at the window and widened slowly.
As the train began to slow to a speed below one hundred miles per hour Thunderlane watched the town grow from within the mist. It was as if the valley was opening up to him as the curtains of dew fell apart. Slowly the Gothic spires of a converted vigil of ages past twirled out of the haze. Eroded stone mixed with the brown and pale yellow hues of wood and thatched roofs. Rapidly slowing in speed the train made a turn to keep to the edge of the mountain, curving around to the right. Soon it would turn left to continue bending around the mountain before finally pulling into the station.
For now Thunderlane simply stared at his hometown. Strange mixtures of arcane stone and new age technology towered up towards the centre of the town, and curved archaic stone staircases connected different levels of the mountainside town. It was a far off military Canterlot from years past, removed from the world and secluded in a valley. New trends never found their way here and old ways were still practised. It was the place Thunderlane used to call home.
Everypony was watching the train as it pulled towards the station; he could feel their eyes twitch. Below the rusted ceiling beams and hoisted off an old stone pillar a single sign was there to welcome Thunderlane home. Blightbury.
