TCB: Rails and Dreams

Discord, you idiot!
Berry Pony

Who knew that Equestria was that dangerous? They didn't mention that during the short lectures that we got at the Conversion Bureau. I knew that Discord had completely rewritten the rules of reality - including dropping Equestria off the shores of the eastern United States - but he was safely imprisoned in his statue again. But I had not expected to have to run for my life just outside of Ponyville.

In the following week, I was very careful to leave work and run home to the hay farm before the sun had finished setting. The work at Barnyard Bargins was fairly easy but after a day of using my telekinesis to shelve items, I found it tiring.

Evenings were spent talking to Baritone and Bottlecap - they were absolutely fascinated with stories about my life as a human and living in Arizona - and in reading my way through Baritone's small library. On some nights, upstairs and lying in my bed, I could hear things from the Everfree Forest prowling outside the barnyard.

Tuesday evening after work, I went to Colophon's bookstore. Baritone was kind enough to say that he'd come after my magic lessons and escort me home. I opened the door and entered the bookstore.

"Come in, child," came Colophon's voice. "We're using the back of the store."

I walked to the back of store to find Colophon and a light blue unicorn with a warm greyish mane sitting at a small table. On the table was a large teapot and three cups of tea.

"Cherry Shine, this is Written Dream," Colophon said as she poured a cup of tea. "Written wants to be a writer someday."

Written Dream, I noted with interest, did not have a cutie mark either.

"Hi," she said, inspecting me. "Very interesting colors. I like the pink."

"Hello," I replied. I walked around the table and took my seat on an empty cushion. "And thanks. I've grown quite fond of yellow and pink."

"So," Colophon stated. "Let us begin the lesson. A unicorn needs more than simple levitation - any pony can raise a teacup. A unicorn needs do it with style." She filled my tea cup to the brim. The tea steamed, bringing the scent of black tea to my nose. "Lift the tea without spilling a drop and take a sip," she ordered. "Concentrate on the teacup. Keep it steady."

I focused my magic on the teacup. It rose slowly in the air, tipped slightly, and spilled the tea on me. "Hot, hot!" I yelped as the teacup fell to the floor. The teacup shattered into a dozen pieces, covering me with hot tea.

Colophon turned her attention to Written Dreams. "While Cherry cleans up her mess, try lifting the teacup." She turned back to me and with a wave of her hoof, she indicated a dustpan and broom. "The trash is over there."

Using my magic, I swept up the broken remains. Behind me, a second crash showed that Written had also failed to levitate her teacup.

"No matter, child," Colophon said as she set out two more teacups. "Come, Cherry. Give the broom to Written and try again. I've got lots of teacups and a big teapot."

By the end of the lesson, both Written Dreams and I had been able to pour and drink gracefully from our teacups. It was starting to get late. Colophon took the empty teapot to her sink while Written stood up.

"Thank you, Colophon. I've got to run - we start awfully early in the morning and I need to there to start cooking."

"What do you do that makes you get up before the crack of dawn?" I asked.

"I'm a cook at the Shamrocks cafe. I cook for the breakfast crowd. Bye!" She trotted out the door.

I looked at Colophon. "The lesson isn't about merely drinking tea, is it?"

"Very good, child. You're learning control - handling an almost full cup of tea - and concentration - keeping the cup levitated while drinking it."

"It's a shame about all the teacups," I said.

"Oh, I don't know about that." Colophon concentrated hard and the shards of Written's last dropped teacup rose in the air. The shards assembled into their former shape, before glowing brighter and brighter. When the glow faded away, it revealed the teacup floating in the air.

I applauded by stamping my hooves on the ground.

Colophon smiled at me before tossing the cup at me. I barely was able to catch it with my magic. "I can't do that for every teacup - it takes a lot of energy to reassemble the cup. But I hope you too can do it. Someday."

There was a knocking at the door. We turned and watched Baritone come clopping in, his dog by his side. "Are you done yet?" he called out.

"Yes! One moment, Baritone." I slid the teacup safely onto the table top. Turning back to the orange unicorn, I asked, "Next Tuesday again?"

"Oh yes, child," Colophon said. "We'll see you then."

Grabbing my saddlebags and tossing them on my back, I followed Baritone out of the bookstore.

We walked through the town, crossed the railroad tracks and began our trek over the open fields. Able - or Harlan - I could never tell the mastiffs apart, ranged in front of the grey stallion. Our way was lit by the waxing crescent of the moon.

"Thank you, Baritone," I said after a while. "For coming to fetch me."

"Um," he said. "Did you learn much?"

"Yes! And I learned that I have even more to learn."

He stopped to listen to a distant sound. I stood stock still until he called Harlan over and continued walking.

"Colophon wants me to practice during the week," I said before scrambling to catch up. "Picking up cups filled with water and such. But..."

"But?"

"I wish that I had time to look over her books. The lesson started right when I got there and I had no time to do anything else until the moment you arrived. I've gone through all of your books - and while I'm real grateful, I've read about as much as I can take of farming and farm theory."

Baritone kept walking. "Why don't you try the library?" He stepped over a small rivulet of water and began to climb the final hill to his barnyard. His dog ran ahead.

I stopped in shock. "I hadn't thought of that! I'd completely forgotten about the Ponyville library. Next free day I'll - ." I glanced around, suddenly aware of being alone and how dark it was and raced to follow the grey stallion as he entered the barnyard.

My work schedule gave me one day off every six days. On the morning of my day off, I came downstairs to find Bottlecap about to set out for the farmer's market. "'morning," I said.

"What're you up to this morning," Bottlecap said as she placed her saddlebags on the kitchen table.

"Since I've gotten here, I haven't seen much of Ponyville or the surrounding countryside. I want to hit up the library in Ponyville and perhaps, wander the country south of Ponyville."

Bottlecap paused and looked at me. "Cherry, if you go hiking, go with somepony else. Promise me that you won't go alone."

Under her stern glare, I could only acquiesce. "I promise, I will."

She turned back to her saddlebags. "I'm sure that one of your unicorn friends will glad to come along. Now, go along, have fun, and don't forget about the scheduled late afternoon showers."

I trotted out the door, my saddlebags on my back and a spring in my step.

Crossing the railroad tracks, I entered Ponyville and started to search for the library. An earth pony directed me down a street toward a large tree. As I got closer, I saw that the library was in the tree itself. I trotted up to the door and opened it. Inside, I entered a room carved from the very wood of the tree itself. The walls had been shaped into bookshelves loaded with various volumes. A passage led somewhere below and a stairway cut into the side of the tree led upstairs.

"Twilight's not here," came a voice from upstairs.

"Err, I didn't come here to see Twilight. I was hoping to borrow some books."

"Oh." A small dragon descended into the chamber. He was shorter than myself with purple and green scales. "I didn't recognize your voice. You must be a newcomer to Ponyville. And a newfoal," he added, looking at my lack of a cutie mark. "You're a newcomer newfoal! I'm Twilight's assistant, Spike."

"Cherry Shine. And I'm wondering if I am allowed to borrow books from the library."

"Sure thing. You just need to fill out a library card." Spike ran out of the room, returning with a small card. Then he ran upstairs and back again with an inkpot and a quill. He handed both to me. "The rules for the library are posted over there," he said pointing out a placard.

I began to fill out my borrower's card.

"So, what kind of books are you interested in?"

"I was hoping that you had some books on dragons."

"Dragons? Why'd you want to know about dragons?"

"I'm kinda interested in everything about Equestria. Seeing as dragons are the largest living things in Equestria, I'd like to know more."

"Can't help you there," Spike said, crossing his arms. "We have nothing on dragons here. Twilight has already looked. Ponies know very little about dragons. Very little."

"But... but, you must have run into dragons now and then. Seems like the Everfree Forest is a natural to have a dragon or two."

"Well, yeah. I wandered into a green dragon's gem hoard by accident," Spike began. "I had quit my assistant's job and was... looking for new opportunities when I found myself in this cave. There was so much gold and gems. I didn't know that the owner would show up and accuse me of stealing and trespassing. I mean, we're both dragons, we're both bros, right? If Twilight and Owlowiscious hadn't shown up, I'd be a goner."

"Sounds like that green dragon was unfair to you, Spike."

"Yeah, he was."

"Spike, did you have any other encounters of the dragon kind?"

"Yeah. Not really. Twilight and her friends had to go evict some dragon from a cave high up in the mountains. That dragon was snoring so bad that the smoke was covering the valley. I didn't go - I had to take care of Fluttershy's annoying little friends - but Rarity tells me that the dragon was lying on a bed of gold and gems that filled the cave."

"And?"

"Fluttershy gave that dragon a good talking to - and the dragon left. Why can't she talk in the same way to her animal friends? Make them behave?"

"I guess dragons like sleeping on gems?"

Spike smiled. "And gems are good eating too. But watch out - try and take one gem away and they get all hot and bothered. And then they breathe fire."

"So, the library doesn't have any reading material on dragons. Do you have anything on Equestrian geography. Or history?"

Spike jumped up and disappeared through a door set in the wall. He returned a little later with a few hard bound volumes. "These are written in the Earth Pony script - easy to read. I've got one written in the Unicorn script - can you read Unicorn script?"

"A little," I confessed. "I'll borrow it and see if I can work my way through the text. It'll give me something to do in the evenings.

A short while later, I left the Ponyville library with several books in my saddlebags. There was a spring in my step.

My route took me past the Ponyville town hall. I was heading down the street towards the west when I passed Lyra's house. On a whim, I stopped, turned and knocked on her door.

"Hi, Cherry Shine," the mint green unicorn said as she opened the door.

"Hi. I was wondering...," I began while pawing the ground. "If you were going to... that is... if you're not too busy..."

Lyra looked confused.

"I need somepony to accompany me while hiking south of Ponyville," I blurted out, "and would you like to come?"

"Oh."

"It's a nice day and all and besides, I'm willing to talk about life as a human," I added quickly.

She hopped in the air in her excitement. "In that case, I'd be glad to accompany you."

At that moment, Bon-bon appeared behind Lyra. "I'm coming too," she said. "Somepony with a lick of sense has to keep an eye on you unicorns."

It took a moment to leave my saddlebags with the library books at the house before the three of us set off. On a small bridge made of a red stone, we crossed the small river south of Ponyville. The dirt road passed several outlying homes, a few orchards and a series of freshly cleared fields. A darker green showed where the woods ran down to the valley floor. Beyond the woods, the mountains stood in the distance. The road ran down the valley and disappeared in a forest. Our trail left the road, wandered along a river, and climbed up into a range of hills.

"I was talking to Spike at the library," I said as we walked. "and he mentioned that Fluttershy had chased off some dragon. I guess it was up somewhere in those mountains."

"That was a few years ago," Lyra mused. "I don't remember all the details but I remember that the smoke was coming from that peak." She pointed out a tall peak that stood by itself. "We were all glad that the dragon left. So, Cherry, tell me about life as a human."

Bon-bon rolled her eyes. I began to tell of growing in Arizona. I spoke of riding bareback at full gallop through fields of cactus, of riding the school bus for over an hour every school day and the way I would sit on the back bench and read. I told about hot summers and how our swamp coolers would fail to work once the humidity got too high. As I dredged up memories, our path led us past a waterfall and into the cool trees.

We stopped on a rocky outcropping to take in the view. Ponyville was a smudge of houses to our northeast while the mountains continued to be distant. Ahead, the river was dammed by a large concrete structure. The trail continued across the top of the dam and headed higher into the hills. Water ran though the spillways before pouring in a thunderous roar over the falls downstream. Arriving at the dam, Bon-bon and Lyra started across while I admired the view. Behind the dam was an immense lake. Sunlight sparkled on the surface of the lake.

Turning from the lake created by the dam, I looked downstream. At the bottom of the dam was a small building with three outlets. On top of the structure were three thin cones, surrounded by rings and topped with balls. The building was supposed to be a powerhouse for the dam but there was no wires leading away for the power.

"Lyra?" I called out.

"Yes, Cherry," Lyra said as she and Bon-bon trotted back to me.

"Who designed and built this dam?"

Well, it appeared one day after Discord got out." Lyra said. "I guess it got left behind when Discord got returned to his statue."

"It's not well built," Bon-bon added. "We've had to repair the dam several times. The dam keeps leaking. However, we do enjoy the lake that it created."

"I wonder..." I began. I trotted to the far end and studied the slope leading down to the power house.

"Be careful," Bon-bon warned.

"I think I can get down to the power house if I cross the slope up there. Then I'll descend from the far side down to the power house. There's got to be some door or something to get in."

"Power house?" Lyra wondered.

"That structure. Creates electricity from the energy of falling water. If I'm right, there are three turbines running generators inside."

I crossed the woods at the top of the slope. On the other side, I began my descent. With each step, my hooves kicked rocks and pebbles loose. They tumbled down the slope into the rushing waters below. Step by step, I worked my way lower, descending on what might be charitably called a narrow goat trail. From time to time, my hooves would slip and I'd sit on my haunches, trying to avoid a rapid descent in the churning waters below. At the water's edge, I waved to Lyra and Bon-bon to show that I had arrived safely.

Approaching the power house, I was struck by the silence. There was no water rushing out of the penstocks, no whining of the turbines, no crackle of electricity. The only sound I could hear was was the distant roar of water over the spillways.

I made my way over to the edge of the power house. Green stagnant water slowly washed in and out of the outlet pipes. Then I walked up to the power house itself. Walking around the outside, I could see no sign that anypony had ever been here. I could not even see anyway inside. Finally, I turned around, planted my forelegs firmly and kicked at the side of the building.

It was like kicking a mountain. The pain ran from my hooves at the point of contact - through my fetlocks, up my cannons, my hocks, and my gaskins to my hips. Kicking the powerhouse was not the brightest of ideas. I sat down quickly on my haunches and willed the pain and numbness to subside.

While I waited for the feeling in my hindlegs to return, I thought about what I had learned. The powerhouse was a fake, a solid mass of stone that resembled a real powerhouse. Discord must have seen a picture of a real dam somewhere and added a powerhouse at the bottom without realizing what a powerhouse really was. There was no intake, no turbines, no generator, no penstocks, and no electricity. Just a stone mass with some doo-dads on top to make the whole thing look pretty.

"Discord!" I shouted at the top of my lungs. "You idiot!"

Standing up, I felt weak and tired. But I still had to climb all the way out out of the canyon. Slowly, I began climbing. It seemed like it took hours to make my way to the top of the slope.

"Well?," asked Lyra once I had walked back to where the two of them were waiting. "What did you find?"

I took a moment to catch my breath. "Nothing. Discord put in the powerhouse because he thought it would look nice. It's all a fake."

Lyra looked at me. Bon-bon studied the waves sparking on the lake. Finally Lyra asked, "Why are you so interested in powerhouses?"

I started to explain my dreams of constructing and running a modern electrified railroad in Equestria. I told her I hoped to use the electricity from this dam to power my locomotives. "Once I have proven the technology would work and the first stretch to Canterlot was built and running - I had hoped to use the earnings from the Ponyville - Canterlot section to build more dams, more powerhouses, more railroad. But I've been shut down right at the start. No powerhouse, no electricity, no way that my railroad will ever get off the ground." I threw myself on the ground and sobbed into my hooves. "My life is ruined! This is the worst thing ever!"

"Unicorns," Bon-bon sniffed. "They always get so involved in their obession. I know, Lyra, my love. You have your own obession. I don't know how I put up with it but I do." She looked fondly upon the mint green unicorn. "But," she continued, looking at me. "This isn't the end. You'll have to find another way. Now, pull yourself together and let's get started on our way home before it rains."

From the ground, I looked up. The blue sky was being slowly covered by pegasi ferrying in clouds from the Everfree Forest. Bon-bon stood, waiting. I wiped my eyes on my fetlocks and stood up. Under darkening skies, we trotted down the trail back to Ponyville. The wind picked up, hinting of the coming downpour as the sun disappeared behind a bank of threatening clouds.

It had not begun raining yet when we arrived at Lyra's house. I collected my saddlebags, quickly thanked Lyra and Bon-bon for the afternoon and left. The first few raindrops fell as I left Ponyville. I crossed the railroad tracks and began galloping home, hoping to avoid an impromptu shower.

Out of breath, stiff from my kick earlier, and exhausted, I stumbled onto the porch of the hayfarm as the skies opened up and the deluge began. Turning around, I admired the pegasi's handiwork. The distant forests and hills disappeared behind a veil of falling grey rain. Rain drummed on the roof, poured over the eaves and pooled in the yard. I never grow tired of rain. In Arizona's desert, you learn to appreciate and enjoy it.

"Cherry, is that you? Come inside," came Bottlecap's voice from the kitchen.

"Yes. Coming," I replied. I turned and entered the house.

That evening, I sorted through my books. Picking up the history book written in Unicorn script, I laid down on my bed, tucked my legs underneath me, reached up with my magic to adjust the light to shine on my book and made myself comfortable. A quick mental flip opened the history book to the first chapter. 'In the year 1204' I could make out but what was this symbol next to the date? Probably something to do with the keeping of years. 'King' was the next pair of symbols, followed by more gibberish. I was guessing that those symbols stood for a personal name. 'first' and more nonsense. Augh! I hadn't even started in and already, I was lost. The Unicorn script I had learned was good enough for foals and tourists - but anything more than reading 'Exit' on a door was impossible.

I closed the book and set it aside. I'd have to borrow or buy a primer on Unicorn script and use it to understand this history book. Rolling over on my bed, I thought about the day's events.

Learning that the dam would never produce power meant that I wouldn't be able to use it to power my electric locomotives. I'd have to create another industry to build dams, install generators, and hang wires from the dams to my railroad. Augh and augh again!

Lying on my back, my hooves in the air, I thought about alternatives. Diesels? Equestria didn't have much of a oil drilling industry. There was no refineries at all in the country. The lubricating oil I had seen - and reshelved on the shelves of Barnyard Bargins - all came from plant sources. So every drop of diesel oil would have to be imported at great cost from Earth. I flicked my tail in irritation. That would be really popular with the Canterlot folk.

I rolled over again, resting on my side. Steam? Coal? Equestria had a nascent coal mining industry and the existing railroad systems did use coal burning locomotives. This meant that the infrastructure for my railroad was already there. Places like Ponyville and Dodge Junction had water tanks and coaling platforms already. And furthermore, I had a large number of skilled ponies already familiar with the tasks needed to run and maintain a steam locomotive. This solution was looking better and better.

Steam locomotives first - while laying track that would support a modern railway that could be electrified later. Yes. There was one remaining problem - where to find the modern steam locomotives that I needed.

I sat up and levitated a scroll of paper over to me. I needed a check list. First, I needed to visit the Equestrian locomotive builders and see what they produced. Second... well, I could not think of a second item until I had seen the Equestrian locomotive builders. I put down my list.

Picking up a clean sheet of paper, I decided to get in contact with Brandon Ford. He had been my room mate for a short time while I was getting converted. He had decided against conversion but had left me a short note explaining why.

'Dear Brandon,' I wrote. My penmanship had greatly improved since I started working at Barnyard Bargins. For example, ponies no longer needed to come back and ask me if I had written potato soup or tomato soup.

I have finally settled in here in Equestria - found a place and a job. I am doing all right. I think you would liked it here in Ponyville. There are more mares than stallions. But you would have to give up your thumbs. I am working at the local equivalent of Wal-mart, stocking shelves. Evenings, I am still studying. No Nintendo Ultra-Wii-Supers here. I hope you are well. I am going to ask a big favor of you. I have enclosed a few bits - would you go out and buy some magazines and newspapers? I would like you to buy a few issues of Financial Times, Investors Business Daily, Wall Street Journal and the Economist for starters. Maybe two-three weeks worth and mail them back to me. If the bits aren't enough, let me know and I'll send more.

Signed, Cherry Shine.

I turned the letter over, folded it, dropped a few bits in, sealed it and put Brandon's address on. Tomorrow, I would drop it into the mail.