//------------------------------// // Chapter 2: Adventure Begins // Story: Rails Of Wonder // by Sanguine Blade //------------------------------// The wind up alarm clock on Laurie's bedside rang out. She rolled over and hit the clock to stop the twin bells. After a groan, she looked at the time and her eyes shot open. "Oh shoot! I've got to get ready for Ms. Conductor." She said quickly grabbing and throwing on her new outfit, which Kate cleaned for her the night before. Once she was all clean and ready, she grabbed her packed bag and headed to the station's Ticket Room. Kate sat at her station making sure everything was spic and span for another day's work. It was as she finished sorting her desk out, that Laurie came to the Ticket Room. Kate looked over and smiled. "Good morning Laurie. I trust you're ready for your trip?" Kate asked sweetly. "Yes I am. I am a little nervous though as this will be my first job." Laurie replied. Kate simply put a hand on Laurie's shoulder. "I know a first job can be scary. I was nervous when I started working here, but all you need is confidence and help to get you going the right direction." She replied and gave Laurie a hug. Then a car horn was heard before the two stepped out to see Ms. Conductor in a 1953 Buick Skylark with its cloth top down "Hello there Laurie. Ready to go?" Ms. Conductor asked. Laurie gave one more hug to Kate before opening the door and getting in the shotgun seat. Kate placed Laurie's bag in the back seat. "Go easy on her my friend. She might need time to adjust to your lifestyle." Kate said giving Ms. Conductor a hug. Her friend just giggled. "Don't worry Kate, she'll be fine I promise." Ms Conductor replied and started the car. With that, the two headed down the road and Laurie took a nap on the way. "Laurie. Laurie wake up. " Said a voice as Laurie fluttered her eyes slowly open. Ms. Conductor had nudged her awake and was pulling the bag out of the bag. "Where are we?" Laurie asked. "Oh we're halfway there. The rest of the trip requires a friend of mine who is up there." Ms conductor said and pointed. Laurie turned to see a cave. "We're at Lonely Mountain and my friend is in there. She carried the bag into the cave and Laurie followed hesitantly. "Ms. Conductor who lives here?" Laurie asked. "Why a friend of mine named Christine. I just know you'll love her." Ms. Conductor said with giddiness. As the cave opened up, Laurie was surprised to see a decent homestead and something truly intriguing. A locomotive 2-4-0 was sitting on tracks in the ground. "Where is Christine?" Laurie asked. "I'm Christine." said a quiet voice. Laurie looked to see the engine and walked to the front. She squawked in disbelief as the engine had a face on the smoke box door. "Calm down deary. I'm not going to bite you. Sorry for the scare." Christine said calming Laurie down. "I'm sorry I forgot to tell you. Where I work the engines talk." Ms. Conductor said. "I can take you back if that's going to be a problem. "No, no I'm fine. Just next time give me a heads up when something strange will happen." Laurie said dusting herself off. "I promise and so does Christine here." Ms Conductor replied putting a hand on Christine's boiler. Christine just smiled in agreement. " Right so we need to board Christine to get to the railway hop on." Ms. Conductor said as she steamed Christine up. After a short time, Christine had lots of steam and the trio rolled forward. Then, in the blink of an eye, a multicolored portal opened and the group traveled through. Laurie looked out into the endless greenery. "What is this?" Laurie asked in awe. "This is the Magic Railway. A place where certain magical engines travel through." Christine said as they chuffed on through the greenery and another portal suddenly opened and then they were in someplace new. "Alright Laurie welcome to Equestria. Land of magical creatures and home to the Equestrian Railway." Ms. Conductor said as they steamed through a forest and into a small yard. "Well Laurie you should get some time to take everything in follow me." she said and the two walked into the worker's hut. "Thank again Ms. conductor." Laurie said and she laid down on a mattress. "So what should I know about the engines here?" she asked. "Well at this station there are six main engines. We have Twilight, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity,Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie. There is Spike the mechanic but you should be fine with him, but he is a dragon just so you know." Ms. Conductor said. Laurie sat waiting for more details. "Well Twilight is calm usually but she can be obsessive about organizing things. Pinkie can be quite the bouncy and energetic tank engine so be careful. Rarity can be a little vain, but she is generous at taking on extra work. AJ can be stubborn so make sure to call her out on it if it happens. Fluttershy requires a lot of patience since she can be skittish around crews. As for Rainbow, She is egotistical so make sure to keep her in check." Ms. Conductor finished. "Okay I'll make sure to remember that advice." Laurie said. " If you need any help ask for me, Spike or Twilight could help. She is quite the smart engine so she is always able to help you learn the ropes." Ms. Conductor commented. Laurie pulled out a sandwich from her bag and munched on it. She just sat on her bed as the sound of whistles and workmen came from the yard outside. "Be ready for tomorrow. For tomorrow you meet the fleet so be ready." Ms. Conductor said giving Laurie a hug before leaving the building. Tomorrow would be a big day indeed for Laurie in the land of Equestria...