Spoiled Rich awoke the very next morning at 7 in the morning, as was her custom. The sun had just appeared in the sky, and the sky itself was clear of clouds. Looking around the room, the slight darkness was typical of this time of morning, as one of the maids came in to serve her the morning coffee.
“Your coffee, ma’am,” the maid said to her, placing the cup and saucer on the bedside table.
“Thank you, Mitzy,” Spoiled replied. Spoiled may have been rather conceited, but she had the decency to learn the names of all of her servants. She and her husband employed them, after all. It was a basic act of courtesy to know who they all were and what they did.
Taking a sip of the coffee, brewed exactly as she liked it (slightly black, not too strong, and only one cube of sugar), she sat up and walked over to the chair positioned next to the window and looked out.
This room was principally occupied by herself and her husband, but there were some occasions where it was mostly her. This was when her dearest Rich was away on a business meeting, and only she, the servants, and her daughter occupied their vast pile.
Diamond herself was a most fascinating topic. Spoiled would have scoffed at the idea of being a mother, and truth be told, she couldn’t exactly recall how it had happened, given it all happened so long ago, consigned to the mountains of clutter in her brain.
Something she could certainly remember was Diamond’s arrival, however, and the unconventional approach taken to waking her husband up at the appointed hour. But the pain of birth was easily offset by the wonder of seeing her daughter’s face for the first time. That girl really resembled Spoiled’s own mother, and by logical extension herself.
Spoiled had been determined to raise Diamond as a lady, and to know her privileged position in society, something which had led to the occasional...disagreement with Rich. But no matter how many times they fell apart, they always came back together. True, Diamond and her friend Silver Spoon turning to bullying was regrettable, and not the course of action Spoiled would have recommended. Now Diamond was friends with many of the girls she had once terrorised.
Which itself brought new challenges. Whilst Spoiled didn’t object to Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Cozy Glow per se, it was the mess they occasionally made that concerned her more. Since becoming friends with them, the amount of mud trailed through the halls had increased exponentially. That would simply not do.
Spoiled finished her coffee, her nostrils greeted by the smell of burning coal and steam pouring...wait, coal? Steam? She opened the window and looked out, to see five miniature steam engines being lit up outside, steaming smoothly.
Spoiled rushed through the shower, and got dressed in a similar manner to yesterday, then rushed down the stairs, grabbing a coat as she did so. It was a miracle she didn’t trip in her heels, although for outdoors she switched her usual 4-inch heels for 2-inch. It would not do to trip up outdoors. Apart from the endless social embarrassment it would cause her, the ground was cold and slippery.
As she emerged outdoors, she saw her husband looking over the engines. “Filthy Rich!” she called. “Why have you fired up five steam engines?”
Filthy Rich and his team, most notably his daughter, stepped back and forth along the line of 5 locomotives. Although the line had 10 locos, they kept 5 at each end of the line. The 5 kept here were the oldest of the fleet.
The first of them was painted blue, with red lining and bearing the number 1 on the tender. The engine in question was an A3 Pacific, with smoke deflectors, and was named Magenta Rose. It had been a wedding present to Filthy Rich and Spoiled Milk from Dark Steel, and the engine had been named by Rich in honour of his wife.
The second locomotive was painted black, with red and white lining with the number 2. It was an LNWR George V Class, named Princess. As the name implied, it was named in honour of Diamond Tiara.
The third was painted garter blue, with golden lining, and had a streamlined ‘Bugatti’ front end, as well as the number 3. As you’ll probably be able from the description, this engine was an A4 Pacific, named City of Canterlot.
There was a fourth, an A2 Pacific. This engine was painted dark green, with the number 4. A fairly new addition to the fleet, this was its first running day.
The final engine at this end of the line was a Hughes-Fowler Crab, named Ugly. This engine had originally been acquired by for construction work, and was generally used on the freight trains.
Rich turned when he heard his wife’s voice. “Hello Spoiled!” he called. “It’s the open day, remember?”
Spoiled looked surprised, then showed a look of recognition. “Oh, so it is,” she replied.
Diamond looked up at her father. “The engines are ready to go; all we need are the engine crews,” she said.
Just then, four girls walked into the site. “Howdy ya’ll!” called Apple Bloom. Following her were Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Cozy Glow. Scootaloo was an especial relief, as she had been the subject of a miracle that had set the town gossip ablaze. She had been restored to life, despite being medically dead, and nobody understood how it had happened.
“So,” Sweetie Belle called, “what’s the work for the day?”
“Check the depot roster for details,” Filthy Rich called. “I wonder how Dark Steel and his team are getting on?”
Elsewhere, Dark Steel and his daughter were lighting the fires on their 5 engines. These were a Duchess class painted red, called Refined Steel (in honour of Dark’s father), a pair of P2 2-8-2s, configured for freight work, a single 4-8-2, based on a French design, and a Beyer-Garratt, which could be used on either passenger or freight trains.
Silver Spoon spoke up. “The fires are lit, and the engines are ready to run.”
Dark smiled. “Good girl. Nice work on keeping the pressure up.”
Silver grinned. “Thanks daddy!”
Just then, some voices called from behind them. “We’re ready for work, if you need us!”
Approaching from behind were Button Mash, Rumble, and Pipsqueak (although whether he would fit in the cab without falling out nobody knew). There was another boy approaching. He had blackish-grey skin, and blue eyes, and was wearing a grey shirt and green slacks, as well as grey trainers.
Silver’s heart melted when he appeared. This was Thorax, whom she had a crush on.
“Hello!” he called. “I heard you needed an extra driver, so I agreed to help out.”
“Thorax!” Silver cried, running over to him and taking him in a tackle hug.
“Hey, nice to see you too!” Thorax gasped.
“Silver, please refrain from strangling the guests,” Steel called.
Silver let him go. “So, did your sister come along?”
Thorax looked back. “Ocellus!” he called.
A girl suddenly emerged from behind a wall, who looked very nervous.
She had blue skin and hair, as well as blue eyes. She wore a blue dress and red shoes, and walked over slowly.
“Sorry,” Thorax said. “She’s just nervous, that’s all. Mom asked me to look after her.”
“If we may get going?” asked Button Mash. “What’s the first working today?”
“The nine o’clock from either end. The coaches are being moved into position, so all you need to do is get the engines there.”