Prologue
In the windy dark of a moonless night, a very tired and very soot covered pony fumbles with their front door keys. Mostly asleep from the long day and going mostly by feel, eventually the key finds it’s mark and, reaching around and flipping the light switch a soft glow from the living room light fills the doorway. The little home isn’t much, more of a “Cottage” than an actual house, but it has more than enough room for the two things they want the most, peace and quiet . Once there had been far more activity here, with the presence of multiple roommates in the form of fellow railroaders either working in the district temporarily or simply taking extended leave between assignments. Thankfully that was no longer the case, as now it was only one pony, and one light.
Tonight had been the last night of what was arguably the worst train in the division. A predawn call time with an eight hour run filled with nonstop meets and local switching, followed by another eight hours of coal mine yard duties culminating in hauling the loaded cars into town, it was a long day for anypony on the crew. The four hour “rest” in between those duties added to the insult of a long day, the crew expected to catch sleep in either the bunkhouse or their own caboose amidst the busy junction yard. It was tough, yet the pay for this five to six days a week exhaustion is what made it worth it, for some. Especially for the pony who has just gotten home, as the last two months of this ordeal had allowed them to afford to come home to this quiet house in the first place. For the first time since moving in, they could say with confidence that they had made the right decision moving out of the company housing down at the yard a few months ago. The house was only a walk or even a short Streetcar ride away from the yard, and could even boast its own garden, kitchen, bathroom, and above all distance from the never ending cacophony of a railroad in motion. The trees nearby, both wild and deliberate, created a screen so thick that when the wind was just right one could almost forget they were so close. That latter had even been put to good use in those recent early mornings, under the cover of darkness sneaking an apple or two while taking the shortcut through the Orchard. Their eyes light up and a smile appears, as they remember one of those apples taken that morning is still inside their soot and oil stained workbag.
“I think a celebratory snack is in order”, they say to themselves as the bag is heaved off their shoulder, a small cloud of coal dust rising and then slowly falling onto the wooden floor. The pony nuzzles the bag open, and without even lifting the apple out, the prize is consumed and the post exhaustion hunger is staved off a little longer. The pony sleepily takes a well deserved shower and checks the calendar one last time before bed. On the mark for tomorrow is a note written only a week ago.
NEW SCHEDULE SELECTION
9AM
DONT BE LATE ‘SET!!!
At last, after months of predawn alarm forced wake ups, 9am was going to feel more like a day off rather than a work day. Still, better safe than sorry as the alarm is spun up via mouth as a hoof awkwardly holds it in place. No time to even pull back the covers, as sleep finally envelops the pony in full before their head even hits the pillow.
Chapter 1
Signals Green
No matter how hard she tried, she just could not get back to sleep. In the tired haze that was the night before, the window curtains had been left wide open. At almost 7am sharp, she was rudely awakened by a sudden burst of light as the sun crested the mountains east of town and seemed to focus all of its power right into her face. Now here again she lay, the curtains no longer open, her body and mind practically begging to go back to sleep, yet no matter what she tried she couldn’t. Perhaps the anticipation of the day was to blame? After all, this was going to be her first time picking a schedule as a full fledged conductor! Gone were the days of being under the hoof of another pony, instead it would be her chance to shine in the company spotlight! She smiled, for while an engineer may get all the public glory, the conductor is still the one ultimately in charge. It was their names at the top of the crew lists, and their decisions that had to be made to ensure a safe and timely trip. An engineer couldn’t even get a train rolling without the conductor’s say so! It still didn’t feel real that she had even managed such a promotion, after only three years on the railroad, though the whole reason she felt so sleep deprived now had played a big part.
Her time on that last assignment had really helped tip the scales in her favor, with the regular conductor going into labor not even a few days after she herself had put in for the crew! The railroad asked for other conductors to help cover while a stable replacement was arranged, and this turned out to be the secret ingredient. This was a new run for the railroad, one the other conductors didn’t really enjoy and had never done in its entirety before. As the days went on and conductors kept switching out, she found herself, as the only “regular” on the crew aside from the ponies on the engine, being more and more relied upon to get the job done. Eventually after two weeks of musical conductors the local trainmaster, a crotchety old stallion of few words named Shlick Fellowers, who some half jokingly believed had been around longer than the railroad itself, stepped in. That morning he had joined them at the crew meeting, hot coffee in hoof and mane disheveled at the early call time, and told them that they had no conductors available for the day. Rather than send the rest of the crew home however, he surprised them by saying he would act as conductor, while at the same time training somepony to take over for the rest of the assignment. She hadn’t thought much of it, past wondering who it might be that would be coming to join them, but had grown a little concerned when they rolled out of Vanhoover with no one besides her and he in the caboose. She had wanted to ask Schlick when the “Trainee” would be joining them, but every time she had a chance he seemed too busy pouring over the paperwork or dealing with something else, so she just let it go. The hours and the miles ticked by, pick up some cars here, leave some there, and while after a time they did have other ponies eventually come join them in their caboose, all had only been passengers hoping for a ride to the next town down the line. Finally after their eight hour run stopping at what felt like every little siding between here and Vanhoover, when they had reached the junction for their four hour layover, she cornered him as he got up to leave the train.
“Mr. Fellowers sir?”, she asked cautiously, “What exactly happened to that trainee you mentioned this morning? Sorry for saying so, but it seems a little odd to not have someone be here for half the run if they are supposed to be taking over. Especially when I’ve heard some conductors complain about how much there is to keep track of. All the stops, the switching, ensuring we stay clear of the other trains, and...and... ”, she trailed off as Schlick seemed to give no response in any way. Instead he looked at her sharply for a while, then looked away as he seemed in thought.
“Well, you’re right Ms. Pacesetter,” he said finally looking back at her, “that would be an odd way to train someone.” He nodded, and with that proceeded to simply push past her and head for the cafe inside the station building to relax. She stood there, dumbfounded, unsure of how to process what he said. Was there a change of plan at the last minute? Did the other pony call in sick? Or was it...no, could it? Was she the trainee all along? Her heart leapt at this possibility! But...how could that be? There was usually at least a month or two of training, lots of formalities to go through, not to mention she wasn’t even close to the most senior brakepony in the area!
‘But,’ she thought to herself, ‘I have done a little of everything over the last three years. Take tickets, handle freight, heck even had a hoof in firing the locomotive a few times.’ She tried to push all that aside, reminding herself that there were plenty others who also met the qualifications, but that nagging possibility wouldn't leave her alone. She decided to best have her lunch alone and try to relax a little while she had the caboose all to herself, but her mind just wouldn’t stop. Every bite brought on a new thought and possibility, and she became so lost in her own imagination that before she knew it, the station clock was striking out that four hours had passed. She looked out the window and could see the rest of her crew making their way back to the train. She so badly wanted to ask Schlick again, get some clarification and put her mind at ease, but as he climbed back onboard he spoke first.
“Ok Ms. Pacesetter, I am going to be honest with you, I’m not in much of a mood to do more thinking or talking for the rest of the day. I don’t know how you ponies have done this trip so often, but I’m already exhausted. You’re already pretty familiar with this run right? Why don’t you go ahead and take over conductor duties until tonight? That way I can catch some more rest and let you worry about the paperwork and switching orders. Understand?”
“Y..yessir”, Pacesetter replied, too stunned to care as he once again simply pushed past her into the caboose.
“Good, well you know where to find me if you need me.”, he said as he set the new train orders and paperwork on the desk, promptly made his way to the first open bunk, and laid out to nap, falling asleep almost instantly.
‘Oh wow oh wow oh wow oh wow is...is this really happening??’, she thought as she almost jumped with excitement. She excitedly stood there for a moment, thoughts now whirring with the force of a hurricane. So distracting was this storm that she wasn’t exactly sure on what to do next, and would’ve possibly stood there a long time if her ears hadn’t pricked up at the ticking of her pocket watch.
‘Tick tick, time. Wow has this thing always been this loud? Or has the caboose always been this quiet? Come to think of it, why is it so quiet? Shouldn’t it be noisy because the train is…’
“Oh, right!” she said to herself as she leapt out to the back platform of the caboose. She came out of the doorway with such speed that she would have gone right off the end of the train if she hadn’t caught herself on the railing!
‘Why are you in such a rush?!’, she thought to herself as she made her way to the side of the car. ‘You have given the highball for departure HUNDREDS of times, what makes this so different?’
‘Oh I don’t know, maybe it is because the TRAINMASTER himself has made me acting CONDUCTOR for the rest of the day?! I don’t want my very first task, which is giving a simple highball mind you, to go wrong, or be forgotten, or worse make us LATE! This may be it!’
She caught herself once again, nearly stepping right off the side of the caboose while she was busy self arguing, and leaned as far out as she could to see the locomotive. To her dismay, while she could indeed plainly see the entirety of the train, she could also plainly see that the engine crew was nowhere in sight. ‘Where are they?!,’ she wondered as she began impatiently tapping a rear hoof on the wooden platform. ‘This is it; my chance is going to fall flat before it even begins. Here I am, all ready to go, and those damn engine boneheads are sabotaging my best chance yet at finally making Conductor! Don’t they know how important this is?! Why am I seemingly the only pony on this whole train who…’
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sight of movement up in the cab of the engine. A pony in oil stained overalls climbs down, and as they do so another in a black cap appears in the fireman’s window. The first pony gets down, points back at the second pony and laughs loud enough for Pacesetter to hear it all the way at the back of the train. The second pony shakes their head in laughter too, and then leans out of the cab, looking right squarely at Pacesetter. ‘Here we go! Let’s make this a good one!’ She lifts her left front hoof high into the sky, cups her mouth with the other, and with her best Conductor’s voice belts out, “HIGHBALL!!......woOAH!”. The latter being involuntarily added, as she suddenly found herself falling and scrambling to catch herself. In her excitement, she had thrown her arm so hard it had thrown off her balance and threatened to send her tumbling right over the side! The Firepony, with a look of such concern that it could be distinguished from all the way at the back of the train, returned the arm wave and could be seen yelling over to the Engineer on the other side of the cab. A shrill double whistle blast echoed throughout the yard in reply, and the engine began to heave their train out of the siding.
“Whew”, Pacesetter said to herself as she leaned up against the back wall of the caboose to catch her breath. ‘Other than nearly having to call “Pony Overboard”, that seemed to have gone really well!’ She smiled as she thought of herself already being the “perfect” Conductor image, booming voice and all! Mr. Fellowers would surely be so proud of her…
Her eyes went wide in horror. ‘Or he is going to be furious!!!’ She wasn’t sure what side he was on when it came to Conductors being flashy and yelling out like that when it wasn’t “necessary”. After all, the rule books only specified that the arm movement was required, no vocal cues whatsoever! The thought of him disapproving of that action was sickening enough, but the old stallion had been trying to sleep!! She very sheepishly poked her head around the corner of the open door and peered inside, fearing he would be standing right there to reprimand her. Instead, she was met with a scene of the old stallion sprawled out over the bunk, hat over his eyes, and snoring so loudly she swore it was him and not the track that was shaking the caboose. ‘I guess when you have worked for the railroad as long as he has, you learn to be a pretty heavy sleeper…’ She closed the door and stayed out on the platform just long enough to get the all clear from the yard ponies. She passed their signal up to the engineer by another wave of the hoof, who responded back with an almost giddy double whistle blast. ‘I’m sure they are still laughing at me for earlier,’ she thought as she made her way back inside, face slightly red at the possible embarrassment. Stopping at the Conductor’s desk, she glanced over at Schlick, who was somehow even more sprawled out and deep in sleep than just a few minutes ago. She shook her head and let go a little laugh at the absurdity of all that had just transpired, pulled out the chair, and she sat down at the desk to begin pouring over the paperwork.
The rest of the day wound up going by far smoother, with Schlick actually waking up on his own just as the train entered the yard for the coal mines. Just as he had said, he had her lead the entire switching operation, with him acting as Brakepony as she kept track of what cars were going where and how to do so. Hour after hour, car after car, the pieces of the switching puzzle slowly fell into place as the sun itself fell on the horizon. Eventually everything was where it needed to be, and a now very dirty and tired crew started their return all the way back down the mountain to Vanhoover, minus the few stops that they had left to make along the now moonlit valley. She was so exhausted mentally and physically from the day that when the train finally pulled into town, she had practically forgotten what excitement had made this day so special in the first place. All she knew was she was ready to get off this train, go home, get clean and rest up before the next time she had to do it yet again. So much so that when they handed the train over to the night switching crew, she was content to simply walk in blissful silence with Mr. Fellowers and the engine ponies into the yard offices. As they reached the locker room after signing out, the Engineer and Firepony began to rib each other over their respective performance on the trip that day, while the other two plodded on in exhausted silence to their respective lockers, which as it turned out were on the same end of the room. Pacesetter’s locker was mostly empty, save for a calendar, a clean uniform as backup, and a well defined space for her to leave her oil lantern. She put the lantern inside, shut the door, gave a half yawned, “Goodnight Mr. Fellowers.”, as she began to leave.
Schlick yawned back, “Hold on a second Ms. Pacesetter.”
She turned to face him, “Yessir?”
“You...did really well out there today. Even early this morning when I hadn’t asked, you were already stepping in and doing everything exactly as it needed to be.” He gave a slow, tired blink and a small smile. “I’m glad to see I can trust my conductors when they make a recommendation.”
“Well, uh, thank you sir,” she responded, “but what recommendation? Am I being considered for a raise?”
With a small chuckle he replied, “Well yes that is part of it. How do you feel about taking over as conductor on this run outright?”
Her eyes widened as her mind suddenly snapped back awake, “Oh! Oh well, I would love to! It’s just…”
“Yes?”
“Well, uh, pardon me for saying this, but after only one day with me you feel that I am really ready to do this?”
He paused for a second as he tiredly thought of his answer, “You know what? I do. Not once today did you ask for guidance on what needed to be done, especially after I had you act the part of conductor. I’m not saying you’re going straight to the Friendship Express, but I think taking over this run for the next month and a half will be a great place to see if you can really do this. After that, it will be time to make the new crew schedules anyway, and by then we will both know if you can do the job or not.”, he said with a well meaning half smile. “I’ll find you a new Brakepony to assist you. No offense, but I can’t exactly be down here running trains with you all the time. Oh, and before your next day make sure you come by and get your new uniform. Can’t have people thinking a train has two brakeponies and no conductor now can we?”
Pacesetter stammered out her answer as her excitement nearly boiled over, “Yes...Yessir! Thank you sir! You won’t regret this!”
His gaze cooled. “Make sure I don’t. I would much rather have somepony like yourself instead of some hotshot I have to beg for from Canterlot. Goodnight, Ms. Pacesetter.”, he said as he closed his locker and tiredly walked out of the locker room.
“Goodnight!”, she cheerfully called after him. Her walk home in the dark that night had the energy of a Manehatten musical, the exhaustion of the day being seemingly hosed away to the point she practically trotted the whole way to her front door. Once inside she squeed and hollered to such an extent that she was sure her neighbors were going to send the police to make sure everything was ok, but she didn’t care! Today had been her day and tonight was her night. Here was her chance to really make it, and she was going to prove she could do it! As far as she was concerned, all of Vanhoover could celebrate with her, she was far too wired to get much sleep tonight anyway!
The birds beginning to chirp outside the window told her what she really didn’t want to hear. There really was no hope of going back to sleep, considering she was now almost as excited and bubbly as she had been on that night weeks ago. She begrudgingly rolled herself back out of bed and made her way into the bathroom. Looking back in the mirror was the poster foal of a rough night of sleep. Her mane was a mess, and she could barely even see her own emerald eyes peering out from under her straw colored hair. That last month and a half had been brutal but, in more ways than one, had all been worth it. She’d even been given her official Conductor’s badge just the day before by Mr. Fellowers himself, though it was a far cry from the official ceremony Pacesetter always thought it required. It was a rather informal affair, little more than a passing in the hallway and a “Oh! I have something for you, here!”. But it didn't matter. She had actually earned it, and she was going forward a new mare with a new purpose. She wondered at the possibilities of the far-flung exciting assignments she might get as she brushed out her hair. Fireball Freight? Royal Mail? The Canterlot Flyer? As she put her jacket and scarf on she realized it really didn’t matter, because no matter what, she was a real Conductor now. Any train she’d be assigned would be her train, and her crew. With that last thought she smiled and headed out the front door, locking it behind her.