TCB: Rails and Dreams

Equestrian Railway: I start my company
Berry Pony

That evening, I lay on my bed, forelegs curled under my stomach, hind legs stretched out, studying a roll of papers. The papers that I need to charter my new company. I could hear Baritone downstairs talking with Bottlecap while sharpening the blades on his hay cutter. It had been a busy day,starting with recovering from Pinkie Pie's welcome party, continuing with finding telegraphs in use at the Ponyville station, and ending with landing a job at Filthy Rich's Barnyard Bargins.

I looked at my roll of papers, reached up with my hind leg and scratched an itch behind my ears. I did this without thinking. Shocked, I held my hind leg up and started at my hoof. Was I getting so accustomed to this pink unicorn's - now my - body? I flicked my tail in confusion. Shaking my head to clear it, I returned to the matters at hand - err, hoof.

The papers lay before me. I sighed. I wouldn't have the money to file these papers for about a month but they needed to be filled out. Alright. First line. Entity Type - check one box to indicate the type of company being formed. The choices were a business company or a professional company. Augh! What's the difference? My railroad would be a professionally run business. I decided to leave those check boxes blank for now. Okay, next line. Entity name - give the exact name of the company.

I stopped. In my mind, I could see the electric locomotives slide gently out of Ponyville station, electric motors whining as they accelerated smoothly for the steady grade up towards Canterlot. I had never considered the name emblazoned on the side of the locomotive or painted on the passenger cars.

Let's see now. 'Ponyville & Canterlot'. While that described the initial route of my railroad, it did not cover the final concept of the company. I needed something grander. I did not want to start thinking small like the founders of the Atchison and Topeka railroad who at last moment, added the name Santa Fe to their company's title. 'Ponyville North Eastern Railway?' I liked Ponyville well enough but it was no starting point like the London North Eastern Railway had in London. The LNER was absorbed in British Railways. And furthermore, the northeastern direction ignored the other half of Equestria. Suppose I used Equestria in the name... Equestrian Railway!

My horn glowed and a quill dipped into a ink bottle and scribbled 'Equestrian Railway' on the line. The next line was easy. I inked in that the business that the company was going to conduct would be to own and operate a railroad. The number and type of shares - I skipped that part for now. I quickly wrote the address of Baritone's hay farm as the place of business, added myself as the statutory agent and came to a complete stop at the list of directors.

I thought for a moment and then shrugged. I could ask somepony else for help on the items I didn't understand. Perhaps, I could see Lyra and ask her for advice. Capping the ink bottle, rolling up the papers and placing them on my small desk, I extinguished the light and went to sleep.

Morning came all too early on a farm. Baritone was busy collecting his hay cutters as I stumbled downstairs. Bottlecap was at the stove, pouring batter into a griddle cake form. "'Morning, Cherry," she said after putting the pitcher down.

"Good morning, Bottlecap, Baritone," I answered. "That looks very good."

"Just wait a little longer and they'll taste better."

Baritone had already taken his place at the head of the table. I sat on my haunches at the foot of the table. Looking at the hay farmer, I asked, "Do you think you'll get some of the hay baling done today?"

Baritone nodded. "Looks like it. The pegasi have promised us a few days of sun to finish bringing in the hay."

Bottlecap slid two warm oat griddle cakes in front of me before placing a stack of cakes before Baritone. She then put a jug of maple syrup on the table. "Eat up. Cherry, today's your first day at work."

I nodded and turned back to the hay farmer. "I would have thought it'd take a lot longer than a few days?"

He swallowed a mouthful of delicious griddle cakes. "Not really. You see, it only takes a few days to collect enough bales to fill up my barn. I could farm a lot more hay but it's a too low cost and bulky a product to ship too far."

I nodded, my mouth full of wonderful griddle cakes flavored with maple syrup.

"You've seen the little single pony carts in town? Each one of those carts can carry three or four bales at once. I can supply Ponyville well enough with those carts. But imagine how many ponies and carts I'd need to ship my hay over to Hoofington. The cost of hiring all those ponies would wipe anything I'd hope to make from selling my hay in Hoofington.

"That's enough business talk," insisted Bottlecap. "Baritone, off with you. I'll be by at lunchtime with your tinpail. Cherry, don't forget your saddlebags. You don't want to be late for your first day at work, do you?"

I finished my last bite of breakfast, licked off my plate for anything remaining, grabbed my saddlebags and trotted out the door.

At work, I placed my saddlebags in the alcove set aside for our stuff, slipped into an apron and walked up to Pine Shavings to start working. The tan earth pony introduced me to the other ponies working at Barnyard Bargins and set me to work, pulling jars of jam and jellies off the shelves for shipment to cities like Baltimare and Los Pegasus.

Several hours later, there was a knocking at the overhead loading door. Pine Shavings raised the door and a light blue pegasus stepped inside. His express wagon was standing outside, with two other pegasi hitched to it. I stared as the pegasi and the wagon were floating a meter in the air.

"Come on, Cherry. You act as if you've never seen a pegasus before. Let's get this onboard. They need to get going if they're going to keep to their schedule."

Pine Shavings began to push a stack of cartons towards the waiting wagon. I closed my eyes to clear my head and went to bring another carton.

"Newfoal, huh?" grunted the light blue pegasus. "Ain't seen one that's worth a puff of wind. My crew's all Equestrian born and it's going to stay that way."

"She's helpful," Pine Shavings remarked from the back of the wagon. "And Mr. Rich thinks enough of her to hire her."

I levitated the small carton and floated it into the express wagon.

The light blue pegasus did not say anything more as we finished loading. Pine Shavings counted the cartons one last time before allowing me to close the wagon's doors. "All set, Clear Thunder. I'll have your next shipment ready on Wednesday. Take care."

The light blue pegasus spoke to the two pegasi at the front of the express wagon and the three pegasi and the wagon took to the air.

Pine Shavings started to pull shut the loading door, stopping when he noticed me still staring at the rapidly disappearing wagon. "Does it bother you when you run into ponies like that?"

"Where I came from - I mean Earth - America, the country was settled by waves of immigrants," I said. "Each wave of immigrant was from a slightly different culture and often spoke a different language. The English complained about the Germans coming to settle among them. Then the Germans and English were unhappy that so many Irish were arriving on their shores. All three were disturbed when the Eastern European started to come. And so on. All of us newfoals will just have to learn to live with the dislike. We will get our cutie marks, we will fit in and in a few dozen years, we'll all complain about the okapi that are moving here and taking our jobs."

Pine Shavings stared at me for a moment. "Okapi?"

I used my magic and pulled on the overhead door. "Herbivore, antelope, looks like a cross between a giraffe and a zebra." The door rattled down its tracks and slammed shut.

The tan pony looked puzzled. "Giraffe?"

"Pine Shavings, does Barnyard Bargins do a lot of shipping?" I asked hoping to avoid having to look up exactly what a okapi looks like.

He took a moment to catch up with the change of topic. "Filthy Rich ships out his smaller, more expensive items. Those sell well in other ponies' stores. The larger and cheaper things aren't worth the cost of shipping with the pegasi. Now, what's a giraffe? How does it look like a okapi?"

It was late afternoon when I brought the results of our daily inventory up to Filthy Rich in his office. "You requested this as soon as we had finished it," I said as I placed the paperwork on his desk.

He began to read through the inventory while my eyes wandered around his office. A picture on the wall caught my attention so I stepped over to study it more closely.

"Like it?" Mr Rich asked. "That picture was taken by my great grandmother shortly after the railroad came to Ponyville. There's my great grandfather, Stinkin' Rich and the stand he set up to sell Zap Apple Jam."

The picture showed in sepia tones, a pony that somewhat resembled Filthy Rich, his tent, a sign advertising Zap Apple jam and a train pulling into Ponyville station nearby. The locomotive and its cars in the picture looked like the locomotive and cars today. "I like it," I finally remarked. "But look - there hasn't been change in railroad technology since the founding of Ponyville. They're using the same locomotives as then."

Filthy Rich walked around his desk and came up besides me. He examined the picture closely. "You know what? You're right."

"Mr. Rich," I said, my voice quavering, "if some pony came up with a better railroad then what we have now, would you be interested in investing in it?"

"That pony would have to make quite a case," the earth pony answered. "They would have to show that another railroad would show a profit within a few years. Perhaps. Maybe. I'd have to see their business plan. Have you heard anything?"

"Nothing yet, Mr. Rich."

It very late in the afternoon when I left Barnyard Bargins. Now that I had a real - and paying - job, I could start indulging myself. I ought to consider investing a few bits in myself and further my magic training. I could also waste a few bits in sugary pastries and further my stomach. Augh! I stopped in the middle of the street, unsure of what to do.

The books for sale in the display window at Colophon's bookstore made my decision. The only thing that I enjoyed more than a library was a bookstore. At home, I have - had - walls of bookshelves filled with paperback novels and hardback non-fiction books. Those books were probably all in boxes, piled in a garage somewhere. None of my nephews had any interest in reading. I shook off the sad thoughts and went trotting across Ponyville.

The bell over the door chimed merrily as I entered the store. Colophon was busy unwrapping a carton of books but she brightened as she saw me.

"Hi. What brings you back to my bookstore, child?"

I walked among the displays to the counter. "First, I want to thank you for your suggestion that I try for a job at Barnyard Bargins. That worked out very well. Second, I'd like to know if that offer to further my skill in unicorn magic was still available."

The orange unicorn adjusted her eyeglasses. "Of course, it still is."

We discussed the best times for her classes and finally agreed on meeting every Tuesday evening. It would be a beginning class along with another newfoal. I paid her for the class and returned my few remaining bits to my saddlebag. Before leaving the store, I looked around at all the books for sale. "I wonder... do you have any books on railroads or railroading?"

Colophon put her hoof up to her muzzle in thought. "Probably not. There's not much call for books on such a technical subject. Child, why are you interested in railroads?"

I considered for a moment. I had been keeping my plans close to my chest. But to carry out my plans, I would need help. Lots of help. I sighed and then laid out the paperwork for the company charter on the countertop. Taking a calming breath, I began to explain my dream of building a modern electrified railroad in Equestria. I told her about my experience - none, my resources - tiny, and my problems - huge. "And that about sums up my hopes and dreams. Do you think any less of me for having such dreams?"

Colophon smiled. "No, child. Dreams and hopes are how we unicorns create magic. If I were to crush every young unicorn's dreams with hard cruel facts - sooner or later, there would no magic left in the world. It is one of the reasons that I run this bookstore - to feed a young unicorn's imagination."

She looked at the first page of my company charter. "Equestrian Railway. You really want to bring this about? I don't know if they explained this to you at the Conversion Bureau but we unicorns can easily get obsessed with a goal. Twilight Sparkle is obsessed with check lists and getting everything right. Useful in magic where preciseness is needed. Rarity's obsession is designing the most elegant fashion. I find myself fascinated with typography. It is our obsession, our lifework. Be careful, child. Don't let your lifework control you."

She flipped over the pages of my paperwork. "But this will never do. Leave this with me and I'll see that it gets filled out properly."

"You'd... you'd that for me?"

"I would do so. This is the easy part. The real problem comes in trying to raise capital to build and run your company." The orange unicorn paused. "To undertake something as large as what you got planned, you would need a dragon's hoard worth of capital."

"A dragon's hoard? They hoard that much?"

Colophon turned to look at me. "Not much is known about dragons. If you were to go search my bookstore, you would find only about a sentence or two have written about dragons. It is agreed that they are lazy, they hoard enormous piles of gold and jewels, they are very greedy and that ponies have very little to do with them. Dragons know more about magic than any other creature alive. In the distant past, unicorns have gone to study their magic - none have ever returned. Not an option, child."

"I see," I finally responded. "Still, every journey begins with a single step, right?"

I left Colophon's bookstore. The setting sun painted the half-timber houses gold and red. The shadows of the trees were growing long in the waning sunlight. I crossed over the public area where the town hall stood and headed up the street.

"You! Yes, you with the blank flank!"

I suddenly looked up and around. From Lyra's house, a cream colored earth pony with navy and pink mane was waving vigrously at me.

"Pink unicorn with yellow mane! Come in here. Lyra needs your help."

I turned and walked up to Lyra's house. The earth pony closed the door behind me and pointed upstairs. "She's up there with a newfoal right now. She's asked me to find another newfoal and lady, you're it. Go up there and help."

"Bon-bon, did you find someone?" came Lyra's voice from upstairs.

"Yeah, I did. Pink unicorn," Bon-bon answered. She turned on me and indicated that I hurry upstairs.

Upstairs, Lyra was waiting for me outside a room. From inside, a low sobbing could be heard.

"Lyra?" I asked as I reached the top of the stairs. "What's going on?"

Lyra made a sign that we should be quiet and led me to another room. "Thank Celestia, you're here. I haven't the slightest idea of how to proceed. This has never happened to me. I mean, I have read that it's happened to other Conversion Bureau representives. But they never-"

I put my hoof to her lips to get a word in. "Lyra, just tell me what's happened?"

"Around six o'clock," the mint green unicorn began, "this pegasus knocked on my door. He was calling himself some strange nonsense like Gary Davison. I guess that is his human name. He said that his ponification had been a big mistake and he wants to return to his human form and return to Earth."

I interrupted Lyra again. "Could his ponification be reversed?"

"No. Maybe. I don't know. Perhaps, the process is one way, perhaps it can be reversed. So, anyway, what do I do? I had hoped that if this pegasus talks to another newfoal, he might understand. He's in my room now, crying." Lyra looked hopefully at me.

"Wait here," I said. My heart dropped. I'm not very good at emotional scenes like the one about to happen.

Knocking softly on the door frame, I entered Lyra's room. It was a pleasant room with a canopied bed, drawers, a desk and lots of books. A large window gave a view of the fading sunlight outside. On the floor was a white pegasus with a light blue mane. His coat was disheveled and his wings ungroomed - a few white feathers littered the floor. He was still crying softly into his front hooves.

"Gary?"

His head rose and his blue eyes looked at me. "Who... are... you?"

I stepped across the room and lay down beside him. "My name is Cherry Shine and I was once a human like you."

"I will be human again," he sniffed. "I'm tired of hooves, my wings are useless and I would kill for a hamburger right now. I want to get into my jeans, put on my leather jacket and ride my Harley down 5th Street. But I betcha you have no idea of what I'm talking about. These ponies... they don't understand. No freaking one understands."

"I liked the local Mickey Dee's. I drove a white Tundra truck. I saw American Idol on television - didn't like it. So you see, I can understand your words at least. Why don't you tell me about your ponification? Where did you go? Who went with you?"

Gary was silent for a long time. Lyra looked around the door frame but I shook my head and she went away again. "I went with Jennifer Nolans," he began. "She's my girl. Or used to be. She was fascinated with the ponies. We were to be ponified together. She came out an earth pony and I got these." He fluttered his wings. "So she goes off to learn how to grow things and deal with animals and I got stuck with flying. She gets assigned to Ponyville about 3 months ago and I got Cloudsdale. Stupid Cloudsdale. Anyway, we wrote to each other every few days. Then she up and sends me this Dear John letter, saying that she's moving in with this earth stallion, we'd never be happy together and have a nice life!"

Oh boy. What do you say at a time like this? No wonder Lyra wanted to hand this over to some other pony. "One moment, Gary. I need to talk to Lyra." I stood up and walked with Lyra down to the end of the hall.

"Well?" she asked.

"Lyra, what do I tell him? Gary regrets ever becoming a pony. He only wanted to stay with his girlfriend. But things happened and the girlfriend moved on."

"What are you going to do?"

"I'll try and see what I can do. You might try getting in contact with the local hospital and see if they can help."

She nodded and left. I gathered up my courage and returned to the room.

"Gary?"

"Yeah. Still here and still stuck in this stupid body."

I settled in besides him again, my forelegs gathered underneath me. "Gary," I began. "In life, we all make mistakes. Some of those are minor, some are major and a few are life-altering. And there is that fatal mistake - which you get to make once."

"Going to get ponified for Jennifer was a fatal mistake," Gary said.

"Fatal mistakes are the only kind of mistake that you cannot regret. We all regret the choices not taken. I knew a young woman. She worked in the lab next door to me at the university. She was funny, nerdy, and interested in the same interests as me. I lost track of her when her grant ran out. One day. I was coming out of the mall when I ran into her, I regret not asking her for her phone number right there and then. I still do - or did."

"Cherry, you're a mare. What were you doing dating a woman... unless - ."

"I wasn't always a mare," I snapped.

Gary stared at me. "You... why?"

"I don't want to go into it now. I don't regret taking the R63 potion. That was my decision."

"I thought I had screwed up," Gary mused. "But changing your gender - that's who you are... You're one seriously messed up guy - stallion - mare."

I jumped onto my hooves in anger. "And changing your very species for a petty infatuation with a girl isn't?"

Gary stood up, shaking his wings. "It was not an infatuation. I thought it was true love. I was wrong. Jennifer was just a stupid little girl who was running from her problems. I see that now." He glared at me.

"Perhaps. I should stop talking before I say something I'll regret later."

"Maybe you should," Gary said as he stalked across the room. He opened the large window.

"Wait!" I shouted.

Gary took one final look at me before launching himself into the air. Within seconds, he was gone.

A moment later Lyra showed up with a yellow earth pony in tow. "Where's Gary? What happened? Why is my window open?

"The discussion happened. It could have gone better. At the moment, Gary no longer regrets losing his girlfriend." My horn glowed and the window closed. "The problem is over. Doctor, I'm sorry that you came all the way for nothing." I looked out the window where the last glimmers of dusk was now fading into darkness. "I've got to get home. Goodbye, Lyra."

It was almost dark as I left Lyra's house. The streets of Ponyville were poorly lit with magical lanterns and light coming from windows. I made my way through the town, past the town hall and headed to the railroad station. There was no light on inside the railroad station. I crossed over the railroad tracks and headed out of town on a narrow country road leading to Baritone's hay farm.

I skirted a row of low shrubs and started across a open stretch across two freshly plowed fields. A quiet snap stopped me. I looked around, my ears swivelling to find the origin of the sound. Things were quiet. I began to walk on.

My path was illuminated only by starlight. The trees in the hallows were black on black shadows. I walked cautiously, alert for any changes in the sounds of the night. The self defense courses at the Phoenix Conversion Bureau came back to me. If I was in danger of being attacked, I should run. The best defense is not to be where the attackers are. Ponies have four legs - use them.

The quiet of the starry night was broken by the sound of something running. I gulped, broke into a canter and raced into a full gallop. I didn't look behind me - they had told us that looking behind you would only slow you down.

The chalky road glimmered dimly in the starlight. I galloped down the road, picking up and setting down my hooves as quick as I could. Something snapped at the hairs on my tail. I lowered my head, flattened my ears and ran even faster.

Down a long hill, across a shallow ford and up a slow rise, I ran. I could see the lights of Baritone's hayfarm ahead on top of the low hill. Something bumped at me from behind. I jumped and returned to running.

The two dogs at the farm had picked up my galloping. They started barking. The front door of the farmhouse opened. I continued to run. They had warned me in my self defense class - run until you are in a safe spot. Don't assume you are safe because you can see the safe spot.

Baritone turned the dogs loose. They came snarling and barking in my direction. I ran past them, up to the house, in the door and stopped in the farmhouse kitchen. My lungs were heaving, sweat ran off my chest and legs and I was taking large, ragged breaths.

"Cherry! Keep walking. Don't stop. You're safe now," Bottlecap said. "Baritone has gone with the dogs to chase the intruders off."

Under the administrations of the blue mare, I slowly walked circles while she rubbed me dry with large towels. I was reminded of trainers cooling out their racehorses after a race - it was almost the same.

"Whatever they were, the dogs chased them off," Baritone said as he entered the farmhouse. We expected you hours ago. Why are you so late?"

"Baritone," Bottlecap said. "The poor dear has had the fright of her life."

"I... had to help... Lyra... with a...newfoal..." I gasped. "It... got late."

"She should have gotten you an escort. We warned you that things come out of Everfree Forest at night. Next time, you'll get escorted, won't you?"

"Dear, Baritone and I have already eaten," Bottlecap said. "There's a bag of alfalfa pellets in the pantry and bowls are in the upper cabinet. You'll be okay now?"

I nodded.

The two hay farmers went upstairs. I took a bowl from the cabinet and poured myself a bowl of pellets. Not the most tasty of dinners but at least it isn't bermuda hay. The best human analogue I can think of diet rice cakes. Tastes about the same. Baritone has several fields of bermuda hay so I know what the stuff tastes like.

After my hasty dinner, I was glad to go upstairs to my small room. It had been a long day.