TCB: Rails and Dreams

Stranger in the Dark
Berry Pony

I swished my sadly abbreviated tail. Another box to unpack, another row of shelves to restock. Another workday at Barnyard Bargins.

After falling into Froggy Bottom Bog - twice - being chased by an angry, fire-breathing dragon and being told to spend the night in the barn, I was feeling a bit pessimistic about ever getting my railroad funded, let alone built. I lost my saddlebags with my financial information - thrown aside in an attempt to mislead my big, bad, nasty, draconian pursuer. And with the saddlebags, I even lost Brandon Ford's address back on Earth. I could not write to him and ask him to send me more issues like the Wall Street Journal and Investor's Business Daily.

I pulled the box off the loading trolley and dumped it on the floor. Reaching around to my side, I used my mouth to grab the knife and open the box. Another box to unpack, another row of shelves.

Early this morning, Bottlecap had taken me in hand. We went down to Ponyville to the Day Spa where the blue earth pony announced we had a emergency. Aloe and Lotus took me inside to soak the rest of my swamp stench away. Then they shampooed my mane clean and tsk-tsking about the loss of most my tail hair, trimmed the remains of the tail into a neat brush. "Zhez tail, eet vill grow back, but eet vill take time," Lotus assured me.

Bottlecap was waiting in the lobby. She looked up as I came in.

"You know," I said to her as we left the Day Spa, "a pony could grow accustomed to this."

"Cherry Shine," Bottlecap said, turning to face me, a serious look on her face. "This wandering, this exploring. It's got to stop. You have been a very lucky mare up to this point. I happened to run into Windstorm and Written Dreams in the market yesterday. They knew nothing about your going out. You went out on your own. Equestria is a very dangerous place, nothing like Earth at all. Promise me that you will stop running off into the Everfree Forest."

"Err..."

"You could have run into gryphons or manticores or..." She sighed. "Promise me or leave our farm and home and find a new place."

"I.. I promise. No more exploring. Really. Honestly."

"I will hold you to your promise," Bottlecap said. She turned to walk back to the farm. "Baritone and I'll see you tonight."

That was this morning. I had arrived late at Barnyard Bargins and made my excuses to Filthy Rich. He looked at me and my shaving brush tail and told me to start unpacking boxes.

"Cherry, would you come up here?"

I put down the box I was working with and trotted up the aisles to the front of the store. At the cash register, I found Filthy Rich and two humans. Both were dressed in nice business suits. The younger man wore a pair of Rayban sunglasses. The older man had on a pair of expensive wireframe glasses. With his round face and large moustache, he reminded me of a jovial walrus.

"Cherry, would you get these gentleco- err, gentlemen, a pair of bottles of chocolate milk from the back?" Filthy Rich asked. "And a pair of boxes of dried apple slices?"

I nodded and went off to fetch the articles. When I came back, Filthy Rich was saying that it was shame they had to return to Canterlot - tomorrow was the annual Running of Leaves.

"Many of the local ponies partake in the race which is said to help the trees shed their leaves," Filthy Rich continued. "The race course runs all around Ponyville and the valley and the finish line is in the park."

"Interesting," The older human said. "And does the running cause the leaves to fall?"

"The trees along the length of the race course loose their leaves. It might be ponies running that does it. I don't know - I let the unicorns like Cherry here explain that."

The older human turned to me. "And how do you explain it?"

"Err... I'm fairly new to Ponyville," I answered. "This will be my first Running of the Leaves. I'd have to see it first."

The younger man lowered his sunglasses. "Pardon miss?" he asked. "Your tail? Why is it so... short? All the other horses' tails I've seen have been sweeping and long."

"Ah," I began, waving my little shaving brush of a tail. "Ah... I am given to understand that everypony will be wearing their tails much shorter next season. It'll be the rage in the coming year..."

Filthy Rich gave me a long look but didn't say anything.

The cash register dinged, the bits were exchanged and the humans walked out. Filthy Rich watched them go. "Those two humans are in business, scouting out new markets. At the moment, they were just traveling around and visiting places." He thought for a moment. "At least, we're getting used to humans being around," he added.

"You're doing well," I said. "Pretty soon, you won't need me to deal with humans any-." I quickly realized what I what was saying and closed my mouth.

Filthy Rich was lost in his own thoughts and didn't appear to have heard.

"Filthy Rich?"

"Err, right. Finish up restocking those shelves, then you can go have your lunch."

I joined Pine Shavings and another earth pony mare, Dusty Lily, heading out to lunch. The day was warm, dry and clear. The pegasi were collecting the clouds and herding them over to the Everfree Forest. The sun was drying out the race course from the storm last night.

"Pine Shavings? I was wondering if I could bum a few bits off you for lunch today," I asked as we walked through Ponyville.

Dusty Lily looked inquiring at me.

"Can I ask, why?" Pine Shavings asked. "Don't you bring your own lunch?"

"I wondered why you asked to join us today," the beige pony said.

"And sit on the loading dock in Receiving and eat by yourself," added Pine Shavings.

"I... I kinda was rushed out of the house this morning. I didn't get time to make my lunch like I do everyday."

"Surely, you must have some bits in your saddlebags? Oh, in your rush to get outa the house, you forgot your bags too?"

"It's a long story but I'm too hungry to tell it now," I answered.

"So if I bribe you with hay fries and a milkshake, you'll tell the whole story? Okay, but I'm going to hold you to tell us everything."

"Everything," added Dusty Lily, her eyes glittering. "I was afraid you would turn out to be one of those solitary newfoals, friendless and a loner. You just needed a little push." She tossed her head. "Maybe you'll join us more often? That loading dock in Receiving is cold and hard."

We turned the corner and found ourselves at one of Ponyville's many outdoor cafes. Pine Shavings found us a table under the trees, ordered for the three of us and waited until I had wolfed down my food.

I told my story, simply and without leaving out anything - except the reason that I approached the dragon in the first place. Pine Shavings listened without comment while Dusty Lily ooh'd and ah'd at times.

When I finished, Pine Shaving stared at me for a moment. "That was a very dangerous and foolish thing you did," he finally said.

I sighed. "I know. And I won't do it again. I'm done with exploring and wandering."

"Cherry Shine, are you going to run in the Running of Leaves tomorrow?" asked Dusty Lily, changing the subject. "Pine Shavings and I have registered already and gotten our hip numbers and everything."

"I'd thought I'd come and watch. Filthy Rich is giving us the day off, right?"

Dusty Lily nodded. "He's running too. Got the hip number '1'. In return, the Running of the Leaves has to put up a big banner advertising Barnyard Bargins. He's a good businesspony."

The day of the Running of the Leaves Race was bright and chilly. All the trees were colored red, gold and yellow. The sky was clear - pegasi had kept the clouds from drifting in from the Everfree Forest. As I trotted down to the starting area, ponies greeted me and each other. Stretching over the start line was a banner. On one side, it read 'Running of the Leaves' - on the other side, 'Barnyard Bargins for the Best Bargins'. Milling around the starting line was a crowd of ponies, each preparing for the race to come.

Bon-bon was out there, warming up, trotting in place and stretching out her front legs. Next to her, Pine Shavings and Dusty Lily were watching. Rainbow Dash, leader of the local weather team, was coaching a group of pegasi with shouts and cheers. In the watching crowd, I spotted Lyra bouncing up and down. I decided to join her.

"'morning," I said to the mint green unicorn as I stopped next to her.

Lyra stopped bouncing and grinned at me. "Hi, Cherry. Come to watch?"

"Yes!" I paused to look over the field of racers. "Lyra, there aren't that many unicorns in the race."

"That's because a few years ago, Twilight Sparkle, a known nerd and egghead, came in fifth by using a few common racing tricks. You know - confidence, pacing and common sense. Ever since, the earth ponies and the pegasi have made it their goal to beat - if not each other - Twilight Sparkle and the other unicorns. The Running of the Leaves may be a race for fun but you know that races for fun can be the most vicious competition of all."

"And how does Twilight Sparkle finish these days?"

"After coming last a few times, she watches the race instead. She's over there,... oh, Princess Celestia has come to watch the race as well."

I looked across the race course where Lyra was pointing. Moving among the lesser ponies like a ocean liner moves through lesser craft was a tall, regal pony with a blinding white coat and a green-bluish and pinkish mane. She bore the horn of a unicorn and the wings of a pegasus. As she moved, the ponies around her bowed or kneeled in respect.

A trumpeter played Boots and Saddles. Ponies lined up on the starting line. The bell rang raucously and the racers were off. Floating in the air, a pony was giving us the race action from a balloon, letting us know what was happening. Leaves swirled from trees as the racers disappeared from sight. I could follow the race by watching the balloon floating over the runners in the distance.

Across the now deserted race course, Princess Celestia and Twilight Sparkle were quietly talking over a table. Mrs. Cake was serving them cake from Sugar Cube Corner.

"Hello," Colophon said as she walked over with Written Dreams in tow. "Enjoying the race?"

"Yes, Miss Colophon," I replied.

Lyra had begun to bounce up and down again.

"Windstorm is running," Written Dreams said. "There's no talking to Windy at the moment - he's so competive and all. That's because Rainbow Dash has threatened to make all of the weather team swim laps in the Ponyville Reservoir if the pegasi don't finish better than the earth ponies." The light blue unicorn looked unhappy.

Lyra stopped bouncing. "And Applejack's team better repeat their win like last year or she'll make them buck acorns off of oak trees. Poor Bon-bon..."

"Hmm," Colophon interrupted. "As long as I have all of you here, why don't I introduce you to the princess?"

"What? Now?" I stammered. My ears fell. Written Dreams looked flummoxed.

"Yes, Cherry," the orange unicorn answered. "Now. The time could not be better. Everypony is off running or following the runners so we won't be interrupted. If we were up at Canterlot, you would have to deal with courtiers, major-domos and other members of the court. Now, we have an opportunity to quietly talk to the princess." Colophon adjusted the eyesglasses on her muzzle and turned to go. "Come along then," she ordered.

Written Dreams and I followed Colophon across the race course, Lyra bouncing along behind.

"Ah, are you sure this is a good idea," I asked, hurrying after her. "I'm not exactly dressed to meet the princess." In my rush to get to the race this morning, I had only given my pink coat a quick once-over. I had not thoroughly brushed my yellow mane or short wisp of a tail. "Or really ready."

Colophon headed directly for Celestia's table. "Nonsense, child. The princess is always delighted to meet her subjects." She approached the table. "Now, remember what I taught you. Manners maketh the unicorn."

"Good morning, Your Majesty," Colophon said. She bent a fore leg to bow deeply before straightening up again. Written Dreams and I bowed and remained looking at the ground.

Celestia paused, her fork floating in the air as she was about to take another bite from her decorated cake. "Ah, Miss Colophon, welcome." The fork came to rest on her plate. "It has been a while since I saw you last."

At Twilight Sparkle's confused look, the princess added, "Miss Colophon was an instructor at the School for Gifted Unicorns before retiring to the countryside."

Colophon gave Written Dreams a signal to rise. "May I be allowed to present my student, Written Dreams? Written Dreams would like to become a writer someday." Written Dream rose and smiled.

"I look forward to reading what you have written," Celestia said graciously.

"And may I present Cherry Shine, my other student?" Colophon gave me a nod to rise. "Cherry is presently working at Barnyard Bargins but she hopes to build a railroad someday. Both Cherry and Written have recently come to Equestria and are working hard at their studies."

I rose to look at the princess.

"Oh, um... really? Such big dreams for a newfoal," Celestia said. "And how far has your railroad come?"

I fidgeted and pawed the ground with my hoof. "I... we... have a few bits in the treasury... and hope... to file the company... charter soon, Your Majesty."

Princess Celestia smiled. "Well, you certainly have your work cut out for you, Cherry Shine." She looked over my head at Lyra who was standing behind us.

"Your Majesty," Colophon said. "With your leave, we will withdraw now." She backed away from the princess' table and hinted that we do the same.

Celestia nodded and then signaled Lyra to come closer. We left the two in deep conversation while we crossed the race course again.

"That was... interesting," Written Dreams said as we waited for the racers to finish. "What was the point?"

"Hush, child. You have now been introduced to the princess. It will make things alot easier the next time you meet Princess Celestia. You merely mention that you met her at the annual Running of the Leaves and then go on to discuss whatever it is that you wish to discuss with her. Trust an old unicorn's advice. You can even remind the princess that it was her old instructor that introduced you. It's called 'pull' and we unicorns are very good at that game." Colophon sniffed proudly and then looked over at the woods.

The sound of galloping indicated the first racers were closing in on the finish line. There was a explosion of falling leaves and three - four pegasi came bursting out of the woods to rush across the finish line. A pair of earth ponies followed, running hard. Then the rest of the racers came in, arriving in ones and twos.

"Windstorm is going to be impossible to live with," moaned Written Dreams. "He's going to be insufferable. Unbearable. Arrgh! I'd better go on over and see if I can help them cool down."

The pegasi had run all out and collapsed. That last minute sprint had completely wiped them out. The earth ponies were in better shape, slowly walking around and cooling off. Lyra could be seen with Bon-bon, talking quietly to her and offering drinks of warm water.

Rainbow Dash was flapping around, quite proud of her weather team. Applejack took her defeat quietly, offering a few words of encouragement to her farm team.

I noticed a few unicorns come cantering up to the finish line and decided to give them what help I could. Grabbing a few towels and water bottles, I approached the tired unicorns.

"Thanks," said a red-brown unicorn with a wrench cutie mark as I floated a water bottle to her. "They must have been practising hard."

"We were thoroughly outclassed this year," added a dark grey stallion with a light grey mane. "Thank you for the water," he added.

"I heard that Rainbow Dash makes the weather team run laps before flying. Every morning," said a yellow unicorn. "And Applejack has her team running around Sweet Apple Acres."

The reddish-brown unicorn took a towel off me and mopped her white mane and forelock. "Hey, you're new around here. I like that short tail - gives you a real gamin look. I'm Quick Fix."

"Cherry, Cherry Shine."

"Pleased to meet you, Cherry. Over there, ducking his head in the water pail is Comet Tail and Mister Tall Dark and Too-Slow is Graphite. We're the unicorns that run, the ones that haven't given up, the also-ran, Team Unicorn!" She smiled at me.

"I'm happy to have met you-" I started to reply when the announcer started to give the results of the race. I shook my head and pointed a hoof at the bull horn.

When the announcer had finished and the medals given out, Princess Celestia stepped up and spoke a few words - and the Running of the Leaves was done for another year.

Written Dreams was admiring the medal that Windstorm had won, Colophon was talking to a few friends. Filthy Rich, Pine Shavings and the Applejack Team were walking away after promising that they would take back first place next year. I looked around before starting to make my way back to the hayfarm. By myself.

"Hey, Cherry?" Graphite asked. "Want to join us in drowning our loss in a few glasses of cider? Team Unicorn could use some friends right now. And you look like you use a friend too."

"Sure!" I squeed. "I'd be happy to come."

In the next few weeks before Nightmare Night, the few remaining leaves on the trees were blown away by storms crashing in from the north. Puddles, ponds and rain barrels had a ring of ice every morning. Only dried stalks, dead leaves and frozen ground remained of Bottlecap's garden. Baritone was busy fixing things around the farm and preparing for the winter to come.

Every morning, clad in Baritone's old rain slicker, I galloped from the hayfarm to Barnyard Bargins, trying not to slip and fall into the many mudholes and puddles. At Barnyard Bargins, Filthy Rich had stocked up for the coming Nightmare Night with costumes, candy and party decorations. When lunchtime came around, I'd take a break from moving boxes and selling candy to join Pine Shavings, Dusty Lily and the others to go out and eat. Often, I'd still bring my own lunch. The loading dock in Receiving where I used to eat by myself was now the coldest spot in the store.

Colophon drilled Written Dreams and myself relentlessly on magic. She wanted to make sure that we had the basics of unicorn magic down before starting - as she called it - the interesting part. As homework, she would give us reading assignments in Unicorn Script. Only by understanding the script, she told us, can you hope to unlock the more advanced aspects of magic.

Between work and Miss Colophon's lessons, I made an effort to join the unicorns of Team Unicorn after work hours for talk, planning and discussions. Winter had put an end to this year's competition but they were full of plans for next spring.

"Cherry, I'd still think you should try out for striker on our Hoofball team," said Quick Fix. "You're quick and strong enough to make a good forward."

The night was cold and clear. The unicorns of Team Unicorn had gathered in the Tackroom Bar and Grill, enjoying hot cider and puffed pastries. It was the night before Nightmare Night and Quick Fix was once again recruiting me for her favorite sport, Hoofball.

I took the mug of hot cider in both hooves, breathing in the warm fumes of cider and spices. "I don't know, Quick. I never was one for sports when I was on Earth. Perhaps, that's why I became a unicorn."

Quick Fix slapped me on the back. "That was then, this is now. How will you know if you don't try. The team needs you, Cherry."

"But I'll just mess things up." I lifted the mug and drank deeply.

"You can't mess up things worse than they already are. 0-14-2 last season and I can't believe we got two ties," said somepony.

Quick Fix glared at the other unicorns before turning back to me. "You'll at least consider it?"

"All right. I'll consider trying out."

"Yay! Hoofball season starts soon after Winter Wrap Up so you don't have much time to make your decision. This next year will be different!"

"Yep, this next year, we won't get the two ties," somepony muttered.

I put down the mug. "This will have to be my last mug. I've got to start early in the morning for the last day of Nightmare Night sales. Anypony want to escort me out to Baritone's hayfarm tonight?"

Graphite and Star Bright, a grey unicorn stallion with a bluish mane spoke up and offered to come along.

Leaving the warmth and lights of the Tackroom, we trotted through the dark streets of Ponyville and out onto the open countryside. It was cold enough that our breaths left little clouds of white mist. On the open fields and hills, a cold wind blew through our coats, chilling us to the bone. We spoke little, keeping our thoughts to ourselves. The night was quiet as well - the only sounds were the beat of our hooves on the frozen ground.

At the bottom of the hill leading up to the farmyard, I turned to my two escorts. "Thank you for bringing me out here. I can go from here."

"A pleasure, Cherry," said Star Bright. "Take care!"

"I'll race you back to Ponyville. Last one is a rotten egg!" shouted Graphite as he took off.

The two stallions turned and galloped down the road. Within moments, the sound of their hoofbeats disappeared. I turned to walk up to the farmhouse.

"Stop, little pony," said a voice. A black pony walked out of the darkness. "I would have words with you." His coat was black, his mane and tail were black and the only color was his red eyes shining out of the darkness.

"Who... who are you?" I asked as I studied the best way to run.

He gathered himself up and jumped directly in my path. As I started to leap away, I glanced at his eyes and stopped - I had become lost in his glowing red eyes.

The world around me vanished, became dark. The only light illuminated a snow filled circle about 60 feet (20m) across. I found myself standing at one edge of the circle. On the other side, there was a black dragon, immense, powerful, wonderous. He was so large, much of his massive, scaly body disappeared into the darkness.

"What do you want? Who are you?" I kept asking.

The dragon shot out a taloned hand and grabbed my head between his thumb and forefinger. I felt my memories rushing through my head as someone was playing them for his amusement. The claws of his huge hand grasped me thoroughly - I could not move. My thoughts, my dreams, my hopes - he read through them as if dumping a computer memory. And at the end of the memory dump, he merely released me, his claws opening to drop me.

"I? CALL ME NERIUS," the dragon said. "I NEEDED YOUR MEMORIES TO PLACE CONTEXT TO THE THINGS I HAVE READ."

I got back on my hooves and looked around. Snow was falling slowly onto the circle of light. "Where am I? What is this place?"

"IT IS BUT A BIT OF MY MAGIC. I HAVE MOVED US IN THIS POCKET REALM SO THAT WE CAN TALK WITHOUT BEING INTERRUPTED."

"But... you... I saw a pony. A black pony."

"IT IS BUT A FORM THAT I TAKE," Nerius said. "WITH YOUR MEMORIES, I CAN NOW TAKE ANOTHER FORM THAT YOU ARE MORE FAMILIAR WITH." His dragon form became blurry, amorphous before coalescing into the form of a distinguished man in his late 40s, a tinge of gray at his temples, wearing an expensive Savile Row suit. He resembled a elegant cross between Pierce Brosnan and Cary Grant. The man glanced at the Rolex watch at his wrist then smiled.

"Is this not what you wanted?" the man asked with a English accent. "Let me be brief. While visiting my concubine a little while ago, I came across a discarded saddlebag. Malinostra ignored it, thinking the contents worthless. She has always had a limited imagination, satisfied to rest on her gold. Stupid slut. But I found the information most valuable. To think of the enormous wealth that I could accumulate from financial markets on Earth. A market where the greediest person is rewarded, the risk taker is always protected and the governments stand ready to guard the speculator from his mistakes. This must be exploited."

The man walked across the circle. "But how do I access this Earth? Who would know more about this brave new world? I looked deeper into the saddlebags and found a letter from someone on Earth to a local pony. From the letter's address, I was easily able to track down this local pony."

The man grinned. "And now, I have you, my little pony, to thank for showing me this world. But time is money and there is much to be done." He lightly brushed falling snow off of his suit. "My next destination is Switzerland where they have the most interesting ideas about banking laws. When the time is right, Cherry Shine, I will provide your railroad with investment capital. It is only fair and fitting for providing me with such an opportunity. When the time is right, I will send for you."

The light in the circle faded and darkness overcame me. I blinked and I was standing where the black pony had surprised me. Of Nerius, I could see no sign.

In distant Ponyville, the clock tower struck. Nightmare Night had begun.