Over the next couple days, the line to the yard was left dormant. Smokey had said it was due to the old trestle being unsafe, Applebloom and her friends were insisting it was because of the ghost train. 13 had been locked up in the shed for its own safety, staying hidden for the immediate time until attention went away from the line.
Smokey was in the station at Ponyville, signing some papers for grants and possible revenue opportunities for the line…and sending letters out to a few scrap yards, railroads and museums for equipment and spare parts for 13. Applejack trotted up to the old station, knocking on the open door. “Smokey? Mind if I come in?”.
Smokey looked up from his paperwork and sat down his pen. “Sure! What can I do for ya?” He asked as the orange earth Pony walked in.
“I had meant to come here sooner, but I’ve been busy. Anyways, mah sistah and her friends came bustin home the other night, sayin’ they saw a ghost train runnin’ in the Everfree,” Applejack explained as she sat at the desk.
“A ghost train?” Smokey asked as he leaned in. “They might have seen us, we had the 109 out with a repair train and testing the rails.”
“That’s the thang...she said it was a steam train...and it disappeared halfway across a bridge,” Applejack continued, looking Smokey in the eyes.
“Really? Huh...we ain’t seen or heard nuthin’ like that out here,” Smokey replied as he looked to the map. “We heard the line was haunted by a ghost train, but we didn’t think it would have appeared behind us.”
“That is strange...since y’all started workin on this line, every so often I can hear a train whistle in the Everfree as well, and that night, I saw smoke,” Applejack went on as she looked to the map. “What’s at the other end of the line?”
“An old loggin’ camp and a few buildings, the place is like a ghost town,” Smokey said as he held up an old photograph of the Everfree yard when it was still populated.
Applejack nodded slowly “Huh...Granny Smith said that back in the day, when they abandoned the line out that way, one of the old steam engines disappeared.”
“Really...” Smokey responded, before grinning. “Maybe I should start calling the passenger train The Ghost Train Of The Everfree.’” Smokey chuckled.
Applejack laughed as well. “Best let you get back to work, let me know when yer next train is, me and my friends would love to ride.”
“Will do” Smokey said as Applejack left the station, immediately letting out the breath he had been holding the whole time. “This is just..” He sighed as he looked to an old photograph of 13 pulling a passenger train. “I need to do something before this whole thing comes crashing down”.
Applejack trotted her way to a field overlooking Ponyville to where her friends were having a picnic.
“Applejack! There you are, we were getting worried, darling, what took you so long?” Rarity asked as she looked at the orange Earth Pony.
“Sorry y’all, I needed to stop in at the old station and talk with Smokey about somethin,” Applejack explained as she sat nearby.
“Oh? What about?” Twilight asked curiously.
“Somethin’ happened to Applebloom and her friends the other night and I wanted to see if Smokey could help explain it,” Applejack elaborated as she picked up an apple and bit into it.
“What happened? Is she ok?” Fluttershy asked worriedly.
“She and her friends are ok, just scared out of their wits, they all came running from the forest screaming they saw a ghost steam train on one of the bridges,” Applejack responded. “Smokey said he and a few others were doing some late night repairs to the rails, but somethin’s up,” she continued.
“What are you thinking? That Smokey somehow has a steam engine?” Rainbow dash laughed “Of course! He just pulled a whole locomotive out of his pocket!”
“They also said the train disappeared halfway across the bridge, and now Smokey’s canceled runs, It’s just strange,” Applejack observed, puzzled.
“That is scary,” Fluttershy added. “I sometimes hear what sounds like a train from my cottage, I have for years… I always assumed it was some animal howling in the forest.”
“There must be a logical explanation,” Twilight said as she levitated a tea cup. “I’ve never heard of a proven ghost train, they are just legends”.
“Then what could it be?” Rainbow dash asked curiously.
“I think Smokey May know more than he’s letting on,'' Twilight concluded as she looked down to the station to see Smokey, Crosby, Brass and Steam talking.
“Maybe we should come clean and go ahead with the permits,” Steam suggested as the four conversed.
“I don’t know…maybe…but if we go askin’ for permits, we need to hide 13, because they will want to see it, and they might come with torches,” Smokey said worried. “Applejack’s onto us, we need to get on the ball before things go sour”.
“Well…maybe not to that extreme, but 13 would definitely be in danger… If anything, it would be taken to be put on display,” Crosby said, wanting to bring Smokey down to earth.
“Exactly, we can’t keep 13 a secret much longer, it’s not easy to hide an entire locomotive,” Brass said as he looked around.
“There’s my warehouse,” Steam Cylinder suggested as he looked to Smokey. “As you know, my company also builds boilers, we have a warehouse with rail access, and it’s just big enough for 13.”
“Really? And no one would be snooping?” Smokey asked, hopeful.
“I’d have to tell the others at the business to keep a lid on it, but I think it should work,” Steam replied with a smile.
“I can’t thank ya enough, Steam! When can we bring her in?” Smokey inquired, elated.
“Gimme a couple days to clear out the building, I’ll tell ya when to bring 109 to move the cars inside,” Steam explained as he turned to leave “Anyways, I gotta get, my lunch break ends in ten minutes, take care,” the white unicorn stated before heading back into Ponyville.
“See ya!” Smokey called before looking at the others. “So, besides the pressing matter…Applejack also mentioned that she wanted us to run a train for her and her friends, once we get 13 hidden, I’m thinking we can use this ride to help convince Twilight to allow us to operate 13”.
“That doesn’t sound like a bad plan, think it will work?” Crosby asked curiously.
“It may if you had a private car, something upscale, make a good impression…” Brass said, grinning a bit. “And I know where one is”.
“Where?” Smokey asked as Brass turned to the train station.
“Follow me, it’s about time I visit my old stomping grounds” Brass said as he continued onward.
Baltimare was a couple hours train ride from Ponyville, and still held to its heritage as the second most prominent railroad hub, second only to Canterlot’s massive shop complex. The Cathedral was the B&O’s massive fully enclosed roundhouse which for a time was the crown jewel in the Mount Clydesdale Maintenance Facility.
Closed for the last fifty-odd years, the shop complex has become a well-known railroad museum, housing the most comprehensive collection of locomotives and rollingstock in Equestria. And within what once was the Erecting Hall for assembling rebuilt locomotives, a prestigious looking passenger car sat.
“Behold, boys, the Empress!” Brass said as he presented the passenger car to the two.
Smokey whistled as he walked up to a somewhat faded dark blue observation car, ‘Empress’ painted on the side in gold, Baltimare & Ohayo painted on the top strip. “Well, Brass, how’d you get this beauty?”
“when they decommissioned the Starlight Special, they gave it to me as a retirement gift, I ain’t had nowhere for it, so I had it put in the museum here in Baltimare,” Brass explained as he climbed aboard, his eyes twinkling. “I remember blazing down the rails at a hundred miles an hour, ticket puncher in hoof…the most respected pony on the train,” he recollected with a chuckle.
“They sure kept it in good condition, the wheels and bearings look better than the ones under our coaches,” Crosby said as he wiggled his way out from under the coach.
It was then that the curator walked over, an older Pegasus mare with a yellow mane and tail with a sandy yellow coat walked over, smiling. “Hello, Mr Buttons! To what do we owe the pleasure?” she asked with a smile.
“Hello, Historica, I hope you got my message about taking the Empress off display,” Brass spoke as he climbed off the coach.
“Yes I did… Are you sure you want to pull it out of preservation? It’s historically significant,” she warned as she looked at the coach before looking back at the retired conductor.
“I know, and I am sure,” Brass replied before continuing, “you and your staff have taken care of the Empress well, but she deserves to ride the rails again,” he said as he looked at the small in comparison 2-6-2 Prairie Tank it was coupled to. “Besides, Hooffield Lumber 190 is dwarfed by it,” Brass chuckled.
Historica sighed. “I guess so… We will have to move the collection around and pull it out for you to take away,” the mare replied as she pulled out a notebook to notify the other volunteers about the collection change.
“Thanks, Historica!” Brass spoke before trotting to her. “Just imagine, Empress moving again, the country flying passed in a blur, classical music playing over the record player, the romance of the rails” the conductor described.
“It will be a nice sight I suppose,” the curator agreed as she started off to make the arrangements.
“Me and Brass will hang back and make sure the coach gets to Ponyville, you head back and get 13’s spot cleared out.” Crosby said with a smile as he continued to check the observation car.
“Sounds like a plan” Smokey said as he nodded, turning to head to the train station.
While waiting for his train to head back to Ponyville, Smokey walked over to a rack of brochures and picked up one which had a picture of a sleek bus, the title confusing him. Explore The Everfree with Equus Motorcoach Excursions!
“I didn’t think there was a road… what the Tartarus…” he said as he continued to read, the brochure wrinkling in his grasp. Equus Motorcoach Excursions is proud to announce our intentions to build a Rail Trail along the long-disused Canterlot & Everfree Railway!
Soon enough ponies will be able to travel through the Everfree in the finest up-to-date motorcoaches or hike at their leisure!
“I’m excited for this, aren’t you?” A mare said with a smile as she too had a brochure.
“Actually there’s a railway there that’s still going quite strong, we’re doing a grand opening soon” Smokey said as he turned to get on the train, growing more frustrated by the brochure and what it said.