That afternoon, after school, Scootaloo was waiting in the library, playing on her phone. The rest of the day had been fairly uneventful, apart from having to drop out of soccer due to taking a ball to the head. She sometimes wondered whether she should pursue E-sports instead, as that carried a considerably reduced risk of injury, and communication was easier if you got through all the endless trolling.
After a short wait, a woman with pink skin and dark purple hair walked up behind her. She was dressed in a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up, a brown waistcoat with yellow trim, a green skirt with flowers on it, and brown boots. “Scootaloo,” she said, her voice filled with gentleness and maternal warmth, “it’s time to go now.”
“OK Mom,” Scootaloo replied.
A lot of people were surprised to learn that Scootaloo was Cheerilee’s daughter. Indeed, Cheerilee hadn't intended to be a mother, were it not for the random hand of fate. But still, she had made a pretty good job of it, even if her husband was away for long periods of time in the Air Force. Growing up without a father for the most part had been tough on Scootaloo, but she had weathered it pretty well.
The two of them walked over to the library door, and Cheerilee locked up for the evening. Although she predominantly worked in the music department, Cheerilee also had the post of librarian to help fill in for staff shortages. Upon confirming the door was locked, the mother and daughter walked outside and caught the streetcar home.
Meanwhile, Sweetie Belle and Rarity had already gotten home, the former having already logged into her computer to do some research into what Apple Bloom had been talking about. It turned out that what she had been speaking of was true. There had been a railway up there, but it was highly unusual. It was laid to 2ft 3in gauge, instead of the more normal 3ft, and used locomotives built in the UK, none of which had been sold on after the line had closed. In fact, nothing had been removed; the infrastructure had just been abandoned the day of closure and left to decay.
There was a sudden knock at the door. “Sweetie Belle, dinner’s ready!”
“Got it mom!” Sweetie Belle called back. Whatever secrets this railway held, they would have to wait until after dinner.
Apple Bloom was out on the orchard’s internal rail system, driving a petrol driven locomotive. All the family members received chores, and although Bloom was physically tougher than most, she had nowhere near the physical strength of her siblings. As a result, most of her chores were technical things, such as ensuring the washing went on or making sure the boiler hadn’t broken. Today, she was dropping off boxes at the apple trees, ready for them to be loaded. Their rail system looped around the site, stopping at each orchard, with passing loops at each station. That way, two trains could be collecting in apple boxes, and dropping off empty ones at the same time. This made the process much more efficient than in the old days, before the family bought the farm. Back then, the boxes had been moved about by tractor, which meant only one orchard could be harvested at any one time, which led to considerably slowed down collection, not to mention a lot of waiting around.
It took about 20 minutes to drop off all the boxes, after which Bloom stabled the trucks in a siding, backed the engine into the barn, and switched it off. She wandered outside into the sunlight, just to see a trio of familiar figures at the door.
The first was a man, with light yellow skin and red hair. His eyes were green, and he wore an orange polo shirt, blue jeans, and a pair of red shoes. This individual was Bright Mac, Apple Bloom’s father. He spent most of his day working in the city as a banker, which required a business suit which was, let’s say, not exactly his style. A keen musician, he had made sure all his children had learned instruments to a good standard, and they sometimes performed together as a band.
The second person was also a man, with orange skin and brown hair that was slowly turning to grey. He wore a blue shirt and jeans, as well as a pair of boots which wouldn’t have looked out of place on a cowboy. This was Grand Pear, father of Pear Butter, grandfather to Apple Bloom, and the subject of many atrocious puns on account of his name.
The 3rd individual was a woman, who couldn’t have been more different from the others. She had green skin, white hair, and yellow eyes. She wore a green work shirt (rolled up at the sleeves, as per usual in this family), a red skirt with an apron, and orange boots. She was Granny Smith, father of Bright Mac, and thus grandmother to Apple Bloom. A heavyset woman in her late 60s, she had the determination and vitality of women half her age. Originally from West Virginia, she had moved here when her son had married Pear Butter, and chosen to settle in Canterlot to be closer to Pear’s family. As a result of her husband’s passing, she and Grand Pear acted as grandparents to the Smith children, as well as useful hands around the farm.
Apple Bloom walked over to them. “Howdy, y’all!” she called.
The three of them nearly jumped, having been previously locked in conversation. “Oh, evenin’ sugarcube”, Mac said. “What ya been doin’?”
“Droppin’ off the boxes, ready for the harvest”.
“That’s always fun.” Grand had just spoken up. “Ya know, Mac, I been just thinkin’, maybe you should acquire a steam locomotive.”
“And run it off what?” Granny chimed in. “Apple sauce?”
“That isn’t a bad idea actually,” Grand replied. “The obvious challenge is where to source one from, given that they don’t just spring out of nowhere”.
‘Just you wait,’ Apple Bloom thought. “Ya could order one.”
“They build them to order?” Mac asked, looking visibly surprised.
“Yeah!” Bloom said. “There’s this group called Hunslet in that England place, they make ‘em.”
“How’s that spelt?” asked Grand.
“H-U-N-S-L-E-T,” Bloom replied, happy to have helped.
Their conversation was suddenly interrupted by Pear calling everyone for dinner. “Soup’s up, folks!”
The streetcar journey home was uneventful, to say the least. Cheerilee noticed Scootaloo wasn’t saying anything, but wasn’t too surprised. Scootaloo hadn’t been the noisiest of kids at the best of times, partly due to her disability which meant she had difficulty socialising. Still, she tried her best and made the most of every situation.
They got off at Lewis road. Cheerilee walked over to her home, and unlocked the door. Closing it behind her, she noticed Scootaloo walking into her room. She had a long expression on her face, which worried Cheerilee greatly.
Stepping into the room after her daughter, she spoke up. “Is everything OK, dear?”
“Yeah,” Scootaloo replied.
“You don’t sound convinced yourself,” Cheerilee responded. “Did something happen today?”
“Other than making a new friend, nothing really,” Scootaloo answered.
“A new friend? What are they called?”
“Cozy Glow.”
Cheerilee looked confused. “Not ringing a bell, I’m afraid.”
“Oh, well,” Scootaloo replied. “Mom, I’ve got something on my mind.”
“I see,” said Cheerilee. “You can tell me whenever you’re ready.”
Meanwhile, Sweetie Belle was in the basement of her house with her dad. The two of them had been working hard on a model railroad that was extremely impressive, with working industries, multiple stations, 4 track running, and a multitude of engines. Her dad had just purchased a model of a T1 4-4-4-4, and was giving it a test run on the track.
“She runs beautifully,” he smiled, as he took it off and put it back in its box.
“Well,” said Scootaloo, “you see, Apple Bloom was telling us something about a lost railroad in the Everfree hills, and that most of the infrastructure was still there. She wants to go explore there but I’m not too sure about that idea.”
Cheerilee shuddered. She remembered the last time they had gone on an ‘adventure’ like this, she had had to wash incredible quantities of mud out of Scootaloo’s clothes. “That place exists,” she said.
“What?” Scootaloo replied, perking up her ears.
“It exists all right,” Cheerilee repeated. “I was a lot like you when I was your age, and one thing I loved doing was exploring. I once followed a railway line up a slope and, sure enough, found some old workshops. I didn’t look in any of them, but nothing was fenced off.”
“Can we go there?” Scootaloo asked.
“Yes, dear, you can. Just don’t get yourself hurt or muddy. And bring a flashlight, it can get very dark in the forest.”
Meanwhile, at Sweet Apple Acres, Apple Bloom was having difficulty convincing her other family members of the railway’s existence.
“If it truly exists as you claim,” Mac remarked, “Then surely somebody’d found it by now”.
“What if nobody thought to go up there?” Bloom replied.
“Enough!” Bright Mac slammed his fist on the table. Everybody jumped at that. “Ah don’t want to hear another mention of this railroad for the rest a’ the meal. Clear?”
A chorus of mumbles confirmed this was the course of action, but Bloom was still fuming and Grand had an unusual look in his eyes.
After the meal, Bloom went back upstairs, and sat down at her desk. She was frustrated. “Why won’t they believe me?” she fumed to herself. “Ah know it’s there, ah just know it!”
There was a knock at her door. “Can I come in?” asked a voice. It was Grand.
“Sure, grandpa,” Bloom answered.
The door opened and Grand Pear sat down on Apple Bloom’s bed. “That railroad of yours,” he began.
“What about it?” Bloom answered back, then cut her tone when she realised she sounded angry.
“Hey, it’s OK,” Grand replied. “I had similar issues with mah family. Sometimes they wouldn't believe me when ah said the sun was shinin’, and there she was high in the sky!”
“Do ya believe me?” Bloom asked.
“Just as sure as mah name’s Grand Pear!” he replied. “That railroad exists alright, and ah should know. Ah saw the last train out of the station in 1959!”
“Would ya help me look for it, please?” Bloom pressed a little further.
“Mah old bones wouldn’t make it up there, let alone the return trip,” Grand answered. “But if you find anything, ah’ll park at Ponyville station and help you get anythin’ back to the farm.”
Apple Bloom woke up, much happier, the next morning. At lunch, she was discussing the plan with her friends when a familiar voice distracted her.
“Mind if we join you?”
Two girls then sat down in the empty places, the first next to Cozy Glow. She had pink skin and pink and white hair, with blue eyes that seemed to accentuate her face. She wore a pair of earrings, a black shirt with a yellow jacket, a white skirt, black leggings and yellow boots. The other girl had light grey skin, and two-tone grey hair. She had purple eyes, and wore a purple blouse, a pink skirt and purple boots. She also had a pair of blue, circle-rimmed glasses on.
These two girls were Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. They had once been absolute terrors of the school, ruling over their year with an iron fist. It was only after a student council election had gone wrong for Diamond Tiara that she had decided to change her ways, as it had become apparent that being friends with people got you a lot further than scaring them.
“Afternoon, you two!” Bloom said. “We’re just discussin’ a plan of ours to visit an old site and recover some stuff,” Bloom said.
“The old narrow-gauge line?” Silver Spoon butted in. “Daddy’s shown interest in that.”
“Ya here ta gloat?” Bloom retorted.
“I’m serious!” Silver answered. “Being the daughter of a steel baron comes with its perks, not least large quantities of metal for repairs. And I’m good with a welding torch too!”
“I can help as well,” added Diamond. “I overheard father saying that Barnyard Bargains has a surplus of paint at the moment. I’m certain I can persuade him to part with some of it for a small sum.” Bargain Buys was a local supermarket chain run by Diamond’s father Filthy Rich. As his name implied, he was fabulously wealthy, something which was readily apparent when you saw either him or his family. The same was true of his home, a vast pile with a 15in gauge railway running around it which was opened to the public on the 2nd and 4th Sundays of the month.
Bloom smiled. “Well, if that’s all-what's so funny?” she suddenly asked, catching Silver Spoon sniggering.
Silver pointed to the top of her head. “Ears,” was all she managed to get out in-between the giggles.
Bloom immediately felt up there, and sure enough, there were a pair of Wondercolt head boppers wedged in her hair. This created the illusion of her having pony ears. Bloom sighed, and lifted. They didn’t come off. She tried again. The same.
In a panic, Bloom ran her hand along the headband and found it was smeared in fast-acting superglue. She sighed in defeat. “This is embarrassing,” she sighed.