"Tooooooooot!" screamed the lumber mill whistle at 7:45 AM as a ten year old green pegasus filly was walking through the drizzle. The filly's name was Mill Whistle and her wet white and blue mane dripped with the excess water pouring down. She could hear the lumber train approaching as it's steel wheels squealed against the wet rails. It's diesels hummed and black smoke puffed out of the exhaust stacks of the sw1200s (1200 hp switching locomotives). The train whistled two longs, a short, and another long as it came onto the street.
"Mill, what are you doing out here? get in" said a familiar light blue unicorn with a blue and white mane, and a cutie mark of a train horn, "Thanks Misty" said Mill Whistle with a hint of sadness in her voice.
"What's wrong kid?" said a burly brown stallion named Heavy Hauler who had a cutie mark of a log car overloaded with logs, "I'm tired of living in the orphanage and I'm tired of this town" said Mill Whistle.
Misty felt tears forming in her eyes, she regretted the decision she made ten years ago painfully.
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Roughly 10 years and 9 months earlier.........
"Come over here" said a voice, "Who is it" said scared 15 year old Misty. It was late at night and Misty had to gallop to the drug store to get her suffering mother some medication for a bad fever. The rain poured down and the voice came again. "Come here" said the gruff voice again, "No!" screamed Misty.
Misty galloped as fast as she could. But a stallion caught up to her. She didn't remember anything except the fact she woke up in the parking lot of the lumber mill with bruises all over her. A mill worker took her to the hospital.
After a few months Misty felt kicks. She tried to keep it a secret from her mother, but the morning sickness gave it away. One day her mom said sternly to Misty, "You keep skipping school because you feel sick, you've gained weight, Misty!, tell me what's going on", Misty replied sobbing "I think....it happened....when that...stallion...chased after me!, I'm pregnant mom!". Misty's mother tried to comfort her daughter.
She said "It's ok Misty, it's not your fault" as she hugged Misty, "I know but we don't have the money for a foal!" Misty sobbed.
The foal was born right when the 8:00 AM whistle sounded in the Vanhoover hospital. When the doctor placed the foal in Misty's forelegs Misty cried. "She's beautiful" Misty said holding the green pegasus foal with blue and white tufts of mane, "I'll name her Mill Whistle".
Misty wanted to keep her foal but she didn't want to burden her mother with the expense. The lumber mill didn't pay much to the ponies that worked there. So as soon as Misty gathered enough strength she took her foal to the orphanage.
"I want you to have a better chance of having what you need, I can't provide it to you, grandma already works her flank off at the lumber mill" said Misty, after she put the foal on the doorstep she said "I won't be far away, I love you". Misty put a letter in the foal's blankets that said
Please take care of my foal. Her name is Mill Whistle. Please help her find a family that will love and take care of her.
Misty then ran off back home crying in the pouring rain. Her mom wasn't happy at the news but she knew they didn't have the money.
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Back to the Present
"It's your stop Mill" said Misty trying to fight the tear, Heavy slowed the train and Mill Whistle said "Bye!". Misty and Heavy continued on the next half mile of track to the mill.
Mill trotted to the school just as the the 8 AM whistle roared. At the saw mill Misty and Heavy ended their shift which lasted from 8 PM to 8 AM. Heavy walked to his run down house on the outskirts of town. While Misty walked to the orphanage.
"Miss Misty Whistle I am glad to inform you all the adoption papers have gone through" said Ms. Caretaker the headmistress at the orphanage, "I'm so happy, she'll be so happy!" said Misty in a cheerful tone. Ms. Caretaker's old greying mane was once orange, and her yellow body showed it's age, her cutie mark was a jar of foal food. "I gotta go home" said Misty as she yawned tired from working the night shift, "Well here are the papers and Mill's things" said Ms. Caretaker as she handed Misty a bag and an envelope.
Misty grabbed the things and trotted off to her deteriorating single story house. The house was owned by her father until he was crushed by a dead branch (called a "widowmaker" by lumber ponies) that had fallen off the tree he was under. That day Misty was only two years old so Misty didn't remember him. Her Mother then owned the house, but an accident at the saw mill claimed her life when Misty graduated high school.
Misty walked into her house which was dusty and sad looking. She stared at the pictures on the wall of her father and mother. In an old picture her father wore a hard hat and was a dark blue earth pony, her mother in another old picture was a green unicorn also with a hard hat. In another picture Heavy Hauler was drinking with her parents a good twenty-seven years ago.
A tear rolled down Misty's face after she looked at the pictures. "I love you mommy and daddy" she said muffled with sobs. She then made her way to a brown couch and fell asleep.