It had only been 15 minutes since Drawbar left the train when he rounded a bend in the tracks and came upon a section where the trees thinned out, giving way to a clearing. There was a small shed and boarding platform, clearly meant for loading trains. Drawbar stopped, peering into the woods. There was an opening, beyond the platform, where what appeared to be a well-trodden path snaked into the woods. Drawbar turned and trotted past the platform and onto the path, following it as it took him through a modest copse of trees. There was even a creek with a quaint, wood arch bridge stretching across it, the old boards creaking under Drawbar's weight. He emerged on the other side and followed the path another short distance before the trees ended, a large hill rising up before him.
As Drawbar began to ascend the hill he looked up and paused, taking in what he saw. At the top of the hill, standing tall and imposing, was a modestly-sized manor, ringed by an wrought-iron fence with stone pillars every 20 feet. Near the manor, on the side of the hill, was the lumber mill itself. Even from here Drawbar could see the wheel of the mill spinning, presumably propelled by the rushing water of the river as it cascaded down the hill. Drawbar took a moment to appreciate the manor's classical beauty before continuing up the hill, hoping that somepony would actually be home.
The running mill is a good sign. Shows that it's actually inhabited, at least the train conductor thought to himself. It was another couple hundred yards to the manor, and as he approached Drawbar saw what looked to be a few ponies trotting around the mill. Drawbar broke into a light gallop, making a bee-line straight for the mill. He passed near the iron fence that circled the house, the wind rushing past his ears. As he neared the mill one of the ponies turned and saw him coming, and he slowed down to a trot.
"Howdy there, can we help ya'll with something?" one of the ponies, a buck, called out to Drawbar. He came up to the mill, the sound of creaking wood and rushing water filling the air around it. There was a pile of logs set up next to the mill, and the other pony there, also a buck, pulled one down from the rack with his magic and fed it onto the tray, pressing a pedal built into the floor repeatedly to move the tray and feed the log into the automated saw powered by the mill's wheel.
The young stallion that had welcomed Drawbar was an earth pony, average in his build with a cream-colored coat and flowing blonde hair, his eyes an appropriately tree-bark brown. His cutie mark was that of a two-buck saw, the simple mark adorning his well-rounded flank, which Drawbar couldn't help but look at for just a hair longer than he should have. His fetlocks were nicely shorn, covered in sawdust, and his chest had little chips of wood and bark caught in it.
"Hello there, gentlecolts. My name is Drawbar, with the Royal Rail Service. Our train has run out of coal not far from here, and we were wondering if you had any coal to spare" Drawbar explained, the two colts stopping to look at each other.
"Well stranger, I'm happy to say that we got us some coal, but I'm sorry to say we ain't got none to spare. Least, not enough to get ya'll moving to the next town, I reckon. We were running mite low and our daddy's gone off to Baltimare to deliver the chopped wood to the wholesaler. He left 'bout a couple days ago, so I reckon he'll be back here within another couple days or so" the young buck explained.
Drawbar frowned. "A couple days and I could be in Baltimare myself" he said, earning a shrug from the buck.
"What sense is there in ya running down to Baltimare and back when daddy'll be back before ya get there? Ya'll lookin' like ya need a bath anyway, so why don't ya'll take a little rest and wait for our daddy to be back? I'm Willow Whisper, by tha way. Tha little one there is ma brother, Limb Trimmer" the buck explained.
Drawbar looked behind Willow at the smaller buck behind him, and took in his features even as he watched him hoist logs onto the tray. He was shorter than Willow by about a head, and had a smaller frame overall. His ocher-colored coat a stark contrast with that of his short, light-black mane. His cutie mark was that of a mill wheel, and his amber eyes focused intently on the job at hoof, though Drawbar could tell that the buck knew he was looking at him. The smaller buck's horn ignited in a soft yellow, and one of the logs was wrapped in the same glow as he pulled it down from the rack.
"Drawbar. Please to meet you. My brother, Axle Box, is back with the train."
"Well, shoot, why don't ya'll go on back and get 'im? Get that bath ya'll clearly need. We also got us a spare room ya'll could sleep in. Well, we got several spare rooms, actually" Willow said. His brother went back to feeding logs into the mill, the thick trunks splitting in two as they traveled down the tray, being dumped into a container at the end of the mill.
"No, thank you, that'll be quite alright. We've got a shower and beds back on the train that we'll use. We'll just stay there until your father comes back. I'll have the money sorted by then, as well" Drawbar stated, prompting Willow and Trimmer to look at him quizzically.
"Money? Friend, ya ain't need to be bothering yourself none with that. T'wouldn't be right to be charging some stranded ponies to help them get on their way. We're all a hospitable bunch; Daddy won't have no trouble sparing some coal for ya'll."
Drawbar was inclined to protest, that he'd be honor-bound as a member of the Royal Rail Service to pay his debts(and because it'd be the right thing to do) but he didn't want to fight with the young stallions over what was most polite, so he simply nodded. "Thank you, you two. Our train's down south of the tracks about a quarter-mile from the little loading station you've got, so that's where we'll be. Have a nice day now, gentlecolts." With a tip of his hat Drawbar turned and headed back down the hill to head back to the train, leaving the two colts to handle the mill.
Willow Whisper stood and stared at the train pony as he left, a growing blush spreading across his face as he watched the lean, muscular stallion descend the hill. It was all he could do just to keep standing, utterly infatuated with the buck.
"WILLOW!" he heard behind him, practically yelled in his ear. Willow yelped and jumped, turning around to face his brother. "I've been saying your name for like a minute, trying to get your attention! When you're done staring at that stallion like a hungry virgin I could use your help with the logs" Limb Trimmer said, holding one end of the log he was trying to pull down from the rack.
"S-Sorry, Trimmer" Willow said, rushing to the other end of the rack and hoisting the log up and dropping it down into the tray. Even as he settled into the work with his brother, Drawbar would be the only thing he'd be able to think about for the rest of the day.