Boredom was all the girl felt as she walked along the sidewalk. That and several other emotions like guilt. It had been nearly a week after Sunset’s defeat at the hands of princess Twilight Sparkle. She had spent most of the week cleaning up the damages to the school with some help. That help being her henchmen Snips and Snails and her new assigned friends being her past victims. Geez that all felt weird in her head.

Yes, indeed her life couldn’t be any more bizarre and to make it more bad the whole school treated her badly. Her new friends tried to fend off the other students but they couldn’t be everywhere. Sunset sighed as she continued walking; her apartment was not too far. Hard to believe a few gems and gold bits from Equestria could easily help her finances and keep her afloat for a long time. “Maybe I need a hobby,” she said to herself.

“Hey! There she is! And she’s alone!” Sunset whipped her head around and saw three boys. All of them had baseball bats and were glaring at her. “Let's get her!”

And just like that Sunset ran. She didn’t bother heading to her home because she knew they would follow and break the door. She needed to get far away and hide. She soon rounded a corner and ran inside a random door to a shop. She quickly hid behind what she assumed was a shelf. She could hear the boys coming only for them to stop. “Darn it! She got away!”

“Relax Hoops, we’ll find her next time. Let's hope she doesn’t tattle and tell Rainbow or Principal Celestia.”

Sunset Shimmer sighed in relief as she heard the boys walk away. She got up and dusted herself off. She then looked around as she asked herself where she was. She looked around and saw lots of boxes on shelves. Many of them had pictures of colorful trains on them. She even saw what looked like tracks of different types packaged and hanging on hooks. She then saw a sign on one of the walls that had the name of the store: Train Town Hobbies. “Need some help there young lady?” a voice sounded.

Sunset jumped and noticed a rather thin and elderly man with a white mustache approached her. He wore a red shirt and blue overalls and had a name tag that said Clear Signal. “You came in quite quickly. You were running like your caboose was on fire,” the man said before letting out a chuckle.

Sunset just sighed again and rolled her eyes. “No sir, I was just trying to get away from trouble. Would it be okay if I hid here for a bit?”

The old man named Clear Signal looked at her confused but shrugged. “Just don’t steal anything I had to put up with more than enough shoplifters already since opening,” he replied as he went behind a counter and opened a book that was on it. Sunset then started to look around the store. She’d seen trains of this world in books but to see miniature models of them was something else. The shop not only had trains but other miniature vehicles too as well as buildings, trees, and other small things.

In the back while looking at some prepackaged miniature vehicles, she heard a clattering sound. She looked and saw what looked like a miniature world on a table. There she saw a small steam locomotive pulling a small freight train in a circle around a small town with streets, buildings, and even tiny people. There was something about the motion of the train that caught her eye. It actually bought back memories of when she grew up in Equestria. How her mentor would sometimes take her on a trip in a train. “Found something you like?”

Sunset jumped and shrieked a bit as she whipped around and saw Clear Signal standing there. “Geez do you often sneak up on people?!”

“Strange, I get that a lot,” he said as he looked past Sunset at the display. “Couldn’t help but notice you were ogling my display.”

“Yeah,” she said before turning back to it. “Quite the artistry.”

“Yep, that comes with the hobby. This is only one of my own creations I call Tiny Train Town.”

“Hobby? This is a hobby?” Sunset asked.

“Oh yeah,” Clear Signal said. “There's nothing more fun than making a railroad empire. It's practically a world where you control.”

Those last words struck Sunset as it reminded her of the fall formal. She was a demon ready to take over the world but then shook it off. “So I can make any kind of world with this?”

“Depending on what you want. The limit is your imagination young lady. It can be a bustling big city with a subway train or maybe the wild west with an old fashioned steam train. Like I said it's up to you.”

Sunset pondered for a bit as she continued to watch the little engine making laps. “How much for this one?”

“Woah now lady it's my display but if you want this hobby I can get you started with the starter set this train came in.”

A few moments later Sunset was with Clear Signal with a large box that contained a little train set. The box had a rather detailed picture of the train with the words Southwest Freighter on it. “Is that all I need to get started?”

Clear smirked as he hit a few buttons on the cash register. “All but the bill.”

Cha-ching

“So you bought yourself a toy?” Rainbow Dash asked as she watched Sunset put some track together in an oval shape.

“They say it's not really a toy. It’s a model,” Sunset replied as she pulled an 0-8-0 steam locomotive out of the box. “I thought maybe I could use a hobby.”

“Make sense, a hobby better than world domination,” she chuckled but immediately shut up when Sunset glared at her. “Right too soon.”

After placing the train on the track and plugging the set into a wall socket. She turned the remote control on and turned the knob. Just like magic the engine began moving while making an audible chuffing noise. The two girls sat there and watched the little engine go around an oval of track. Sunset would occasionally either speed up the train or slow it down. She even pressed the whistle button. It didn’t take long for Rainbow to get bored. “Is that all it can do?”

“Maybe but the guy at the shop says it's a start,” Sunset replied.

Rainbow then hopped off the couch. “Well, have fun. If you’ll excuse me, I gotta have a word with those three idiots who thought it would be a good idea to chase you with bats.”

Sunset couldn’t help but giggle a bit. “Go easy on them.”

As Rainbow left, Sunset just continued to watch the little engine go around but it felt like something was missing. Even after pressing the whistle and bell button a few times she felt like there should be more. She didn’t think for long as she suddenly heard a vibrating sound. She turned towards a book that was glowing and vibrating like a cell phone. She powered off the train and opened up the journal.

Sunset Shimmer,

I hope this message finds you well. I know it can be difficult to adjust to. But try not to think of me giving you friends as some sort of punishment. Sure you may have tricked them into not trusting each other but I’m sure you’ll get along well with them. This world has so many strange things to see and learn from but now that you have friends maybe you can learn many more things and maybe find something that allows you to enjoy life in a creative way. If you ever have any questions or concerns please feel free to reach out to me at any time.

-Twilight Sparkle

Sunset rolled her eyes as she read the message. She then looked back at the little locomotive still on the tracks.Her mind then went back to what Clear Signal said. “Hmm… a creative way.”

Author's Note

Another side project as I suffer either writers block and other things in life.