TCB: Rails and Dreams

Fillydelphia Story
Berry Pony

I think that Baritone and Bottlecap felt as if they had their teen-aged filly back in the house. I'd come home from working at Barnyard Bargains, ask if there was any mail or telegrams for me - and upon hearing that there was none - clatter upstairs to my room, slam the door shut and sulk.

I was eagerly awaiting a communication from Nerius. The black dragon had promised me that when the time was right, he'd send word from Switzerland on Earth. But as the last of the fall leaves drifted to the ground to be covered by the first snows of the winter, I still hadn't heard anything.

In the meantime, my mood swings and attitude were probably driving my landlords and acting foster-parents crazy.

At Barnyard Bargains, it was a quiet time. Filthy Rich kept us busy by taking inventory. After a long morning of counting sacks, I was glad to toss my apron into a corner and follow Pine Shavings and Dusty Lily out to the Shamrock Cafe for lunch.

The day was dark and gloomy with a chilly wind blowing out of the north. We decided it was too cold to enjoy dining outside so we looked for a table inside. While Pine Shavings went to find us something, Dusty Lily and I waited in the doorway.

"I'll be glad when we wrap up inventory," Dusty Lily began. "Who knew that Barnyard Bargains had such a variety of brooms and dustpans?" She sighed. "At least, when this is done, we'll get a few days off. Pine Shavings and I are going up to Canterlot for a short vacation. Do you have anything planned?"

"No."

"You should get out and see some more of Equestria. Go to Canterlot or Manehatten, live a little," Dusty Lily insisted. "All you've seen is Ponyville."

"I got us a place," Pine Shavings said, coming out of the crowded interior. He turned back inside as we followed. We weaved in between tables of ponies and waiters balancing several plates at once.

A few days off. What would I do with the time? I could visit Canterlot. But then, something that Cannonball at the station had said about Fillydelphia struck me. Equestria built their locomotives in Fillydelphia. I wanted to see what capacity was in place for building the type of locomotives that our railroad needed. I wanted to go to the Baldy-Win Machine Works in Fillydelphia.

"Here we are," Pine Shavings said, pointing a table near the windows. We took our places and Pine Shavings looked for a waiter.

I turned to the beige earth pony. "Dusty Lily, I'm going to take a trip to Fillydelphia."

"Bottlecap, Baritone, I'm going to take a trip to Fillydelphia," I said to the two hayfarmers. They stared at me as if I had just proposed to walk from Ponyville to Canterlot on a tightrope. "It's a short visit - I'm just going for the day so I'll be back the following evening."

"But, but, why?" Bottlecap asked. "I thought you were done with wanderings and explorations." The blue earth mare remembered my last few trips and how they turned out. I was still growing out my tail from my last journey.

"Fillydelphia is a modern pony community. It's not like I'm going back to the wilds of Everfree Forest," I explained. "I want to see a bit more of Equestria - and someone suggested starting with Fillydelphia."

"I don't trust Fillydelphians. They talk funny," Bottlecap muttered.

Baritone looked at his wife, then back at me. "When are you planning to go?"

"Barnyard Bargains shuts down for their winter break in a day. I was figuring the day after tomorrow?"

"You'll telegraph us that you arrived?" Bottlecap asked. "And promise me that you will be safe. I've heard tales that they'll knock you on the head and and when you wake up, you'll find yourself miles from land and forced to work on a pirate ship or be tossed overboard." She shuddered.

"Pirates? In Fillydelphia?" Baritone snorted, staring at his wife.

"Bottlecap, I will avoid going near the harbor," I promised. "I'll be safe and stay in the middle of Fillydelphia. It's only for a day, after all. What could possibly go wrong?"

"A lot can happen in a day," the blue earth pony muttered.

"How are you going to pay for the trip?" Baritone asked. "It seems like you're always short of bits."

"I've been saving," I said proudly. "Tomorrow, with my bonus from Barnyard Bargains, I'll have more than enough bits to pay for train tickets and an overnight stay in Fillydelphia."

The next day dawned bright and cold. The sun shone on a frozen landscape. Frost coated the tree branches and brown grass. Each breath I took left puffs of steam floating in the air. The ground was ice solid. I cantered along the path from the farmhouse to the railroad station, trying to warm up. I had on one of Bottlecap's scarfs but it didn't seem to help much. Before me, all of Ponyville was spread out, smoke gently rising from fireplaces and chimneys.

Crossing the railroad tracks north of the town, I stepped onto the station platform and walked up to the ticket window. "Hello," I called out. "I need a ticket to Fillydelphia."

The ticket window opened. "Hi, Cherry Shine," Cannonball said. "Why don't you come inside? You look frozen." The ticket window slammed shut.

Stepping inside, I found the ticket agent feeding the station's potbelly stove. Using a coal shovel in his mouth, he flicked the stove's door closed. He then put the coal shovel away, turned to me and said, "Now, what can I do for you?"

"Does it always get this chilly?" I said as I got closer to the warmth of the stove.

The grey earth pony nodded. "Always gets this way a week or two after Nightmare Night. Cold snap that's good for the apples."

The heat of the stove was wonderful. I stepped closer to bask in its warmth.

"Cherry Shine? Ticket?" Cannonball prompted.

"Oh. Ah... yes," I stammered. "Cannonball, I need a ticket to Fillydelphia. On tomorrow's train."

"Single?"

"Single? You know I still am! I've been too busy to meet any stallions yet."

The grey earth pony closed his eyes. "Newfoals..." he muttered. "Okay, let's try again." He opened his eyes. "Single ticket? That's one way to Fillydelphia. Or do you want to buy a return ticket as well?"

I moved my rump closer to the heat of the stove. "Oh. Yes. I want to travel to Fillydelphia and return."

"You'll need to change trains in Canterlot," Cannonball said. He turned to study a schedule of trains posted on the wall behind him. "Morning trains... hmm... let's see now..." He rose up and used a hoof on the station wall to steady himself. His other hoof brushed down the schedule, looking for train connections. "The Morning Express from Dodge City makes a stop here at 10:23 and gets into Canterlot around 1:00 PM... That misses the Fillydelphia train by a few hours."

"Is there an earlier train? I don't want to spend a whole day waiting in Canterlot."

"The Overnite from Los Pegasus? That stops here at 7:30ish in the morning. You can then catch the Fillydelphia train. You'll have to hurry to make your connection in Canterlot though."

I nodded. "That will do."

With Cannonball's help, I was able to schedule a return trip on the following day, again with a change of trains in Canterlot. An exchange of bits and I had my tickets for Fillydelphia. Saying goodbye to the warmth of the potbelly stove, I headed out into the cold again to tackle my next errand.

Blowing clouds of steam like a steam locomotive, I trotted across Ponyville toward the town hall. I climbed the steps to the town hall and opened the door to where I knew it would be warm. At least, warmer than outside.

"Hello," I called out to the silver-gray earth pony working in the offices. "I'd like to file this charter for my railroad company." I dropped a scroll of papers onto the counter top.

The silver-gray earth pony looked down his muzzle at me. "Do you have the filing fee?"

"Ah, yes." I reached around to my saddlebags and tossed a heavy bag of bits onto the counter. Nerius still had my original saddlebags - these were some cheap linen bags that I had picked up at Barnyard Bargains. "It's all here."

"I shall determine that," the earth pony sniffed. He opened the bag and began counting out bits. I was a bit concerned, glancing at his cutie mark and seeing that it was a snarl of red tape.

"...two hundred and forty nine, two hundred and fifty," he said, finishing up the counting. "It seems that you have the correct amount." The silver-gray pony swept up the bits and dropped them into the bag. "Very well, let us look at your paperwork."

I knew for certain that the forms had been filled out correctly. Colophon, my teacher and former instructor in Canterlot, had been rigorous about the scroll of papers, completing it as if it was a test. The legendary thoroughness of unicorns prevails again.

"It seems that you have completed the form correctly," the earth pony said grudgingly. "Let me check with my superior before approving this." He took the bag with my bits and the scroll of papers and disappeared through a back
door.

"Heya, Cherry Shine!" said a reddish brown unicorn with a white mane as she stumbled in through the town hall doors. "Cold enough for ya?"

"Hi, Quick Fix," I replied.

"Got some time to practice hoofie?" Quick Fix asked. "Spring will be here before you know it and you need to be ready for the first game."

Quick Fix was talking about hoofball, a game similar to football - or soccer as it's called in the United States. Hoofball - or hoofie, is played with seven ponies on a side, three on offense, three on defense and a goalie. For some reason, she thinks I'd be good at it.

"Practice? Where? Quick Fix, if you haven't noticed, everything is frozen hard."

"Oh yeah. Hmm. If I come up with someplace, I'll let you know." She bounced back out in to the cold.

The back door opened again. The silver-gray earth pony returned to the counter and laid my scroll of papers down. "All approved," he said. Then he reached underneath the counter, pulled out a large seal and stamped the front of the form. Returning the seal to its hiding place, he slid the scroll of papers in front of me. "Remember, this entitles you to do business in Ponyville. To operate across Equestria, you will need a royal charter. We do not issue those here. Thank you and have a good day."

I put the scroll of papers back into my bag, wrapped my scarf carefully around my neck and prepared to step outside into the cold. Pushing my way through the town hall doors, I found Quick Fix standing outside, telekinietically bouncing a hoofball in the air.

"I found us a place," she said. "It's perfect."

"Where?"

"Follow me," she smiled, catching and holding the ball in the air.

She led me around the town hall to a broad stairway leading to a pair of double doors. Pushing our way in, we found ourselves in a large room, two stories at least with balconies overlooking the small stage at the end.

"This is the main ballroom. We use it for the Summer Sun Celebration and other civic affairs. Cool, huh?" Quick Fix grinned. She trotted across the floor with the hoofie ball to the stage. "Close the door - you're letting all the cold in."

I closed the double doors and looked around. A pale light was coming in from the skylights high above the room. The walls were decorated with colorful banners. Quick Fix had dropped her ball and was moving two floor lamps into place in front of the stage.

"Okay. Cherry. I've set up a goal. I'm going to guard it - try and bring the ball up to me and score. If you think you can." Quick Fix's ball, pushed by telekinesis, sailed across the room at me.

Somehow, I trapped the ball, found it between my hooves and started pushing it towards Quick Fix's end of the room. When I guessed I was close enough, I kicked the hoofball towards the goal. Quick Fix quickly interposed herself, sending the ball thumping off the walls.

I recovered the ball and started another try at bypassing Quick Fix's defenses. My hooves squeaked and slid across the polished wooden floor as I drove the ball toward the goal. The ball's crashing and bouncing echoed throughout the room. Quick Fix kept up a constant chatter, encouraging me and pointing out little tricks as she stopped another wild shot at the goal.

I was galloping after yet another missed goal, trying to stop the hoofball when I heard shouting from below.

"What's going on?" an older mare was yelling. "What's all that noise?" Her voice seemed to be coming up a back stairway.

I stopped and looked at Quick Fix. She mouthed the word, "Run!" and galloped towards the door. Grabbing her hoofball with levitation, Quick Fix shot past me as I snatched up my cheap saddlebags. We got to the double doors as Mayor Mare entered the ballroom.

"If you foals are in here again, I'm going...," she shouted as we burst through the doors. The rest of her shout was cut off as the doors swung shut. We ran down the broad stairway and out into the cold.

"I don't think much of your place," I said to Quick Fix after we pulled up a half block away.

Quick Fix grinned. "We can look into using some of the farmers' barns. Those are big enough to shot goals in or practice passing. How about tomorrow?"

"Sorry, Quick Fix. I'm planning to travel to Fillydelphia tomorrow."

The reddish-brown unicorn's face fell. "Okay then. You'll contact me when you get back. When we do find another place to practice, I'll have try you as a defender. You, Cherry Shine, are hopeless as a striker. But never fear, I'll find a place for you in my team."

Next morning came all too early for me. I've always been a late riser and wanting to sleep in is something I didn't lose when I became a pony. Bottlecap pounded on my door until I responded coherently, rushed me through a quick breakfast of toast and coffee, slapped my stuffed saddlebags on my back and shoved me out the farmhouse door. I stood a moment in the cold, trying to get my thoughts together before remembering that I needed to be at the station like five minutes ago. So I took off at a gallop.

Going at a full gallop with the ground frozen and puddles iced over, I was often at the edge of falling. But I arrived at the station platform in time. The Overnite Express from Los Pegasus was already waiting, steam leaking from the cylinder cocks and a plume of greyish smoke rising from the tiny locomotive's stack. The conductor was in consultation with Cannonball and the engineer tapping on the connecting rods. I nodded to Cannonball and climbed on board.

Inside, the passenger car was as cold as a refrigator. The stove in the corner of the passenger threw out a smidgen of heat. And as expected, all the seats close to the single source of any warmth - had been taken. I took a seat at the far end of the passenger car and looked out.

The conductor yelled, "All aboard." He stepped onto the train and doors slammed shut on the passenger cars. Smoke billowed forth as the tiny engine started to move. The platform, the station slid away as the train picked up speed. I looked away from the window and began to search my bags for a second scarf or a blanket - something to help me keep warm. Trains in Equestria had steam heat - or so I thought. I was wrong and I was cold.

The train was rolling along on the plains north of Ponyville when the conductor came through the passenger car. "Ticket, please," he asked. I rooted around in my linen bags before coming up with it. He took the ticket from me, and holding it in his mouth, ran it through a punch machine hanging from his neck before giving it back to me. "Thank you," he said before moving on.

Ponyville lies in a valley. Canterlot is on a mountain, off to the side of the valley. Our route took a long sweeping curve, climbing into the hills before entering a long series of tunnels and bridges, climbing ever higher. I could look out of my window and see our tracks, far below us. As the train climbed higher, the locomotive moved ever slower. At last, the engine finally came to a stop with huge clouds of gray-black smoke billowing into the air.

"What's wrong? Why have we stopped?" I asked of the conductor as he was passing through the cars. The other ponies in the car didn't seem concerned.

"Don't you worry none, missy," the conductor replied. "Engine just needs to make more steam 'fore goin on."

With a peep from the whistle, the tiny locomotive started moving again. There was a heart-stopping moment as the drivers lost traction and spun wildly but the engineer slammed the throttle shut. Then he opened the throttle carefully again, trying to play the friction of the drivers against the weight of the train. We crawled up the rest of the mountain, stopping twice more to let the tiny locomotive to make more steam.

At the top of the grade, the train picked up speed. I could see from my window, a second set of tracks coming in from the east - probably the line to Baltimare and Fillydelphia. The tracks ran parallel to ours before merging and becoming one line entering Canterlot.

As the train steamed into Canterlot, I glanced at my ticket. I had to catch the very next train out of the station to get to Fillydelphia. A second glance at the Canterlot station clock showed that there would be no time to grab a small lunch. The hurried breakfast of toast and coffee seemed like eons ago.

At least, I didn't have to change gates or platforms. I stepped off the Overnite Express from Los Pegasus, waited as that train left and stepped on board the Fillydelphia train as it pulled in. The locomotive whistle blew, the doors slammed shut and we left Canterlot, headed for Fillydelphia.

I stepped off of the train in Fillydelphia. The air was warmer, probably moderated by the influence of the sea. The city was larger than Ponyville with many red brick structures overlooking the sea. Looking around, I picked a nearby hotel to stay at - and hopefully, make up for my missing lunch. Trotting across the cobblestone street, I entered the Railway Inn.

A hour later, bolstered by a fine meal of hay, oats and apples, I left the hotel, looking for Broad Street - where I had been told Baldy-Win Machine Works could be found. Broad Street was easy to find - a wide road running from the docks, through the center of town all the way out into the countryside. But only by trotting up the road to Spring Street could I find
the collection of red brick buildings that made up the machine works.

I pushed open the small door in the building marked, 'Office'. Inside, I found myself in a room with a few ponies hard at work, looking over their ledgers and writing reports. On the walls were several illustrations of steam presses and printing machinery.

One of the ponies, an earth pony, finally noticed me. He set his bookkeeping aside, put down his quill and said, "Yes. How can we help you?"

"Hello. I've just come up from Ponyville. I am hoping to do business with you in the future and so, I was wondering - do you give tours of the plant?"

The brown earth pony scratched his chin in thought. "It's a bit unusual. Never had a pony interested in how we do our work. Let me see if I can get somepony to show you around."

"Thank you," I said.

He walked over to a door in the back, opened it and shouted, "Coal Fire! Get your tail in here! Customer wants to see the place!"

In a moment, a handsome ash-gray earth pony stallion with a brick-red mane and rose colored eyes stepped up to the back door.

"Show the young mare around the place," the brown earth pony ordered. Then he turned to me. "If you have any questions, please feel free to ask."

"If you would kindly step this way, Miss...," Coal Fire prompted.

"Cherry. Cherry Shine from Ponyville."

"...Miss Cherry Shine, and tell me what you would like to see? We offer a large variety of vertical and rolling presses. We have an apple press for pressing cider that you might be interested in."

We left the office through the back door and stepped out into a large hall. Machinery of all kinds stood quietly while a few ponies were working on one or another small projects.

"This is our finishing facility," Coal Fire said. "Here, we add the final decorative details to our presses before crating them for delivery. It's a bit slow right now but we hope to get several big orders from Manehatten in the spring."

"Pardon me, Coal Fire," I said. "I thought Baldy-Win also built locomotives."

His eyes lit up, his ears rose. "Oh yes, we do. Please, this way."

We walked past several rolling presses in the final steps of painting, through a door, stepped outside, across an narrow alley and into another hall next door. "We don't have any orders for new locomotives at the moment. But we do have several locomotives in for repairs."

He pointed at a small locomotive. "This is the 'Acorn'. She needs the bearings replaced on her side rods. We have to machine them up individually. Over here, standing on stone blocks with her wheels pulled is the 'Speedy'. She had a failure in her inside cylinders. To get at them, we needed to lift her off her wheels."

We walked on. "That's the 'Reckless'. We've had her for a while. She needs a new water tank - but we've been waiting for the railroad to find and send us a copy of her erection drawings." He sighed. "Every locomotive is different. Every one is unique."

"What's that over there," I asked, pointing at a canvas-covered shape.

Coal Fire walked over to the canvas and gripped a corner with his teeth. A flick of his neck and the canvas flew back, revealing a small locomotive with one leading axle and one driving axle. It resembled George Stephenson's Rocket from 1829.

"I see that you also do restorations for museums," I said.

"It's not for a museum," Coal Fire replied as he pulled the canvas back over the locomotive. "The 'Celestia' was pulling trains out of Fillydelphia when somepony let the water get low in her boiler. The heat of the firebox distorted and rippled the crown sheet. The railroad wants us to pull the boiler off and replace it before putting her back in service."

"I don't believe it."

"I can't believe it either. I thought that when I joined Baldy-Win Machine Works, I'd be building steam locomotives. Real steam locomotives like they did at Swindon. Instead, I'm working in a toy shop, working with toy locomotives." Coal Fire looked depressed with his ears at half mast.

"Swindon? Swindon, England, where the Great Western Railway had their shops? How do you know about that? Are you another newfoal like me?"

"Yeah. Trained as a machinist in Liverpool. I built several live steam locomotives as a hobby. My favorite was my scratch-built Castle class in 1/8 scale. That was fun but I decided to go pony to get a chance to work on real locomotives instead. But you see what I've got to work with." The ash-gray pony started to walk back towards the door.

"Coal Fire, wait," I called out. "I came to Fillydelphia to what resources Equestria had in terms of building and maintaining steam locomotives. If Equestria is ever to have a modern railway system, we'll have to build it from the ground up."

He stopped and looked at me. "What do you mean?"

"I and a small group of ponies are working on funding, building and running a modern steam - and maybe someday, electric - railroad in Equestria. Do you think you'd be interested in helping?"

"Sure, of course. Sign me up."

I reached into my cheap saddlebags and took out a pencil and paper. "How do I get in contact with you?"

Coal Fire gave me his postal address. In turn, I gave him, my address in Ponyville.

He tucked my address in his work bag. Then he looked at me again. "A new railroad in Equestria... that's going to take a lot of money. How are you going to get it funded?"

"Well, let's just say, I have a contact in Switzerland."

Tired and exhausted, I arrived back in Ponyville, late the next day. As it was evening and dangerous to be walking alone at night, Baritone met me at the platform with one of the large mastiffs.

"How'd it go?" he asked as I stepped off the passenger car. "Did you see anything interesting?"

"No, not really..." I replied. "But I think I may found another friend."

"So..." he mused as we hit the country lane toward home. "And what is this friend like?"

"He's really interested in his work," I said. "His name is Coal Fire."

"Oooohhhh," he grinned.

I turned to look at the moonlit fields we were trotting by.

At the farmhouse, Bottlecap was standing in the door, her blue coat outlined by the warm lights of the farmhouse kitchen behind her. "Welcome back. There's a letter for you, Cherry. A letter from Earth."