Wood and Steel

by CodenameOne

4: Timber

The following day brought bright sun and warm weather again, but Drawbar could see the threat of rain on the horizon. A large front of gray clouds was steadily moving ever closer to the mill and train, and thus was on its way to Baltimare. In smaller towns the weather ponies could make up storms and rain on the fly, but for bigger cities the weather factory at Cloudsdale had to engineer the storm and send it on its way under its own power. The storm wouldn't be much of a bother to the train, but it was worth taking note of in case Willow and Trimmer's father came back and got them moving again while there was a storm out.

Inclement weather won't hamper us none Drawbar thought over his breakfast, idly watching the distant storm clouds. They'd hauled through storms before, they could do it again.

Drawbar turned his attention back to his breakfast; Prench toast with a hearty helping of syrup and confectioner's sugar, with a side of a croissant and a coffee. His brother, Axle, sat across from him, enjoying a plate of pancakes and a bagel. Axle was currently grinning, at Drawbar's expense, with a load of pancake in his mouth, making him look for all the world like a chipmunk.

"So, ya think one of the mill colts likes you?" Axle asked once he'd swallowed, making Drawbar roll his eyes. Axle hadn't cut him any slack since he'd let it slip last night that he thought Willow was at least crushing on him. Though at the time Drawbar had believed it, after mulling it over the previous night while lying in his bunk he was starting to have his doubts.

"Maybe. I don't know, really. Maybe I was just imagining things, or maybe I was misconstruing the way Willow was acting. Maybe I did scare him by asking him why he'd come out to the train alone" Drawbar replied, taking a bite of his croissant. Willow had started acting strange once it came out he purposely didn't tell his brother he was heading out to the train, and he had indicated that life on the mill was lonely, but after thinking about it Drawbar figured that perhaps Willow was just interested in talking with the train bucks and making friends with them, and had just gotten skittish after realizing his intentions may seem different from what he had claimed them to be.

Or, he really is attracted to you, and just wanted an excuse to come talk to you. Even if that were the case, you hardly know the colt and he hardly knows you, so to go gallivanting off into a relationship wouldn't make very much sense. If life really is as lonely as Willow claimed it was, he's probably just desperate for any kind of companionship outside of what he has with his father and brother Drawbar mused.

"Well, what are ya'll gonna be doing today? Just lounge around the train?" Axle asked, finishing off his pancakes. Drawbar shook his head, taking a sip of coffee. He hadn't yet told Axle about the proposed mill tour, but he figured Axle would take to it well.

"Nah, I asked Willow if he'd like to give us a tour of the mill today, and he said 'sure'. I imagine it won't take all that much time, so we'll probably be back by lunchtime. Those colts'll be busy most of the day anyway, so once the tour's over we'll probably come on back to the train" Drawbar said, a wicked grin coming to his face as a devious thought came to his mind. "You know, Axle, Willow's got a brother. He's just your type, too; small, Unicorn, cute. Maybe we'll have some kind of double matchmaking thing going on here."

Axle paused as he went to take a bite of his bagel, pulling his head back and looking at Drawbar mock warily, though even past the put-on expression Drawbar could see the faint blush and the tell of Axle's flicking ears: he was embarrassed.

"Yer very funny, Drawbar. Still, wouldn't hurt none to leave the train and take a little look around."

Drawbar smiled. "'A little look'? Like a look at Willow's little brother?" he teased, downing the last of his coffee as Axle rolled his eyes and stood up, stuffing the last of his bagel into his gullet and grabbing up the dirty dishes, depositing them into the sink as Drawbar stood to follow.

"Ya'll even know how old these bucks are? We're both nearly in our 30's and Willow barely looked 20" Axle asked.

"They're old enough, though I'm sure that'd make a good pickup line for Willow's brother. 'Howdy there, log breaker. Ya'll wouldn't happen to be old enough t' not land my rump in jail if'n we hooked up, wouldn't ya?'" Drawbar joked, mocking Axle's accent.

"How in tha name of Celestia's sweet green earth did I have tha misfortune of gettin' paired with you as my brother."

---

After a short trek down the tracks and up the hill Drawbar and Axle Box found themselves up at the mill. Axle remarked on the grandeur of the manor, like Drawbar expected, and the almost picturesque beauty of the whole area. It was like something out of a fairy tale; a quiet mill, a beautiful, old house, a serene and peaceful life. "Quite a nice place they got here" Axle commented, and Drawbar could only agree. Even with the storm clouds gathering on the horizon it was still a lovely place.

The two conductor brothers arrived at the mill proper, with nopony in sight. I was just after 8:00 AM, so Drawbar had expected the two mill brothers to be up and about, taking care of their daily chores and mill tasks, but neither Willow nor Limb Trimmer were anywhere to be found. With a shrug the two of them went down to the manor, Drawbar using the brass knocker attached to the door to pound on the thick, heavy wood of the double doors. After a minute or so the doors slowly parted, revealing Limb Trimmer.

"Oh, hello there. Daddy ain't home yet, so I'm sorry to say we still haven't any coal for you two" Trimmer said, surprising Drawbar with his dialect. It was the first time he'd heard Trimmer speak, and although he still had a bit of that country twang, his speech was far more composed than that of Willow's.

"Actually, we've come for tha mill tour. Your brother said it'd be quite alright" Axle explained, prompting Trimmer to arch a brow.

"I'm afraid this is the first I've heard of it. Willow went out an hour ago to fell the trees for today, which I found a bit odd that he'd begin the day an hour early. Come to think of it, though, he's been acting a mite odd since last night. Quiet. There ain't much to ever talk about, but he's never been quite as reserved as he is now" Trimmer stated. Drawbar and Axle exchanged looks before Drawbar spoke up.

"Well, would you mind if I went and looked for him? You can show Axle around the mill, if you don't mind."

Drawbar could feel Axle looking at him scornfully, could practically hear in his mind you sly devil, but Axle offered up no resistance, and Trimmer agreed. "Of course. Willow should be across the river. Follow me, Mr. Box."

"Just Axle, thank ya kindly. Mr. Box is ma daddy."

---

A trip around the house and a short trek across and old stone bridge found Drawbar in a vast, open field, the massive forest all around the estate a couple hundred yards away in all directions. There was no real way to tell where WIllow was exactly, so Drawbar elected to just head straight, coming up on the woods in a few minutes. Almost all the shrubs and bushes had long been cut away, leaving just the trees to stand on their own.

Venturing in, Drawbar found himself at odds with the tranquility of the forest. Having grown up in Vanhoover, and being around the latest in locomotives and other mechanized transport, the cacophony of the city had been all he'd known for most of his life. The closest thing to 'peaceful' he'd ever known was on the odd occasion he'd stay the night over in Appleloosa while waiting for the train's manifest to be filled.

By stark contrast, the only sounds in the woods were that of singing birds, or the gurgle of a nearby stream. Drawbar loved to work on steam engines, loved his job as a conductor, but even he could appreciate the beauty of nature. The peaceful stillness, the calming song of birds, the rich, earthy smells.

"TIMBER!!"

Drawbar stopped, watching as a tree up ahead wilted and tipped over, the thick oak crashing into the ground with a dull thunk and rustling of leaves. Near the fallen tree was Willow, who was already moving to trim the branches and limbs off the fallen timber. Within a few minutes he'd finished limbing the tree and was hoisting it up onto a large cart, slowly trotting back to cut down another tree. He hadn't seen Drawbar yet, so the conductor pony took a moment to just watch the process of felling trees.

Drawbar watched Willow move into position, rising up on his hindlegs and wrapping some kind of cable around the tree, near the base of the trunk. Rather than using a saw, like Drawbar expected, Willow wrapped this cable around the base of the tree several times, pulling it taut to make sure it was tight before walking back to some kind of machine he had near the cart. With the press of a button the cable began to tighten as the machine attempted to draw it back, impeded by the way Willow had wound it around the trunk. Drawbar heard a slow, cracking sound as the cable dug into the tree, a thin view of the grass beyond the tree becoming visible as the cable sawed into the tree. After only a minute there was a sharp metallic TWANG as the cable broke free, rapidly retracting into the machine and causing the tree to buckle over, beginning to fall.

"Timber!" Drawbar shouted, startling Willow. With a filly-like yelp he jumped, turning around at the sound of Drawbar's voice. He visibly relaxed at the sight of the familiar train pony, who smiled at him, but with his attention off the now-free oak he failed to notice as it slowly tilted over in his direction, beginning to fall. Willow was directly in the path of the falling tree, and by the time he'd notice it'd be too late. He began to lift a hoof to wave at Drawbar, greeting him just as Drawbar sprung into action.

"H-Howdy Dra--"

"WILLOW MOVE!" Drawbar shouted, charging forward towards the logger, whose expression immediately changed to one of shock and terror as he realized even without looking what had happened. Drawbar felt almost as if everything was in slow motion as he raced forward, Willow raising his forehooves to cover his head as he began to drop to the ground, the tree already halfway to the ground. Drawbar slammed into him hard and grabbed him, the two of them tumbling across the dirt just as the tree hit the ground, their momentum carrying them nearly 10 feet before they hit a tree, Willow shouting in pain under Drawbar as they came to a sudden stop.

Drawbar staggered as he came back up onto his hooves, momentum still wanting to carry him even after their sudden stop. He rubbed his head, his eyes squeezed shut at the pain. He'd knocked skulls with Willow as they rolled across the ground together, and it hurt like the dickens, but they were both alive. "Willow, are you alright?"

Willow let out a sound to let Drawbar know he was still alive, and Drawbar opened his eyes, the pain an intense throb but otherwise bearable. He gingerly touched the spot that hurt the most, and could feel a nice lump had already formed. "Thank Celestia you're alright. That could've been much worse. Are you hurt anywhere?" Drawbar asked, looking down at the mill colt as he lied on the ground under him, his back against the ground. He was covered in dirt--they both were--and had a few bruises, but nothing looked cut or out of place.

"I sprained ma ankle somethin' fierce when we were in that tussle, but I'm good" Willow said, wincing as he moved his hindlegs. "Ah ain't gonna be walking too good today, but that's a small price t' pay, given tha alternative. Thank you for saving ma life, Drawbar. I owe ya."

Drawbar shook his head, looking down at the younger buck, his forehooves on either side of Willow's shoulders. Willow's forehooves were drawn up and together as he lied awkwardly on his back, a heavy silence filling the air as the two bucks looked at each other. "You don't owe me a thing, Willow. I'm just glad you're OK."

Willow blushed, looking away. "S-Same to ya, Drawbar, but-- Uh, Drawbar, yer kinda...standing over me..." Willow said. Drawbar paused, thinking for a moment before he realized what Willow meant. He looked down and back between his legs, seeing the way he had Willow pinned; almost like that of a lovers' pin, with the top standing over the submissive partner.

It was Drawbar's turn to blush as he pulled back from Willow, allowing him to roll over onto his stomach and get to his hooves, brushing off the worst of the dirt. Willow looked over at the fallen tree that had nearly taken his life, and thanked Drawbar once again as they slowly trotted back over to it.

"It was no problem. It's my fault for startling you like that. If I hadn't, you would've been paying attention to the oak as it came down. Just wanted to give you a little jump and I nearly got you killed" Drawbar said, expressing a deep remorse and concern.

"And if ya hadn't been there t' save me, then that's what woulda happened, so don't you fret none" Willow assured, drawing a little closer to Drawbar as they walked. Perhaps a little too close, though Drawbar didn't mind. As a matter of fact he liked having Willow close to him; his presence was comforting.

"What are ya'll doing out here anyway?"

"I came out here to find you, to get that tour of the mill. I asked your brother where you were and he said that you went out to fell the trees" Drawbar explained as they reached the fallen oak, Willow stepping forward to strip the branches. Drawbar watched as Willow put his forehooves to each branch and pressed sharply, snapping the limbs off at their bases before hoisting the log up onto the now-full cart. He switched the cutting-cable machine off and put it up on the cart as well. Drawbar couldn't help but watch the earth buck as he lifted the heavy items with seemingly no effort. Willow wasn't as muscular and stocky as Drawbar, but the rail pony could tell he'd been doing this ever since he was old enough; his muscles had developed in all the right places to tend to the mill, and in all the right places to make him one attractive young buck. Drawbar had to almost force himself to look away, lest he start blushing too hard.

"Well, let's get on back to the mill and i'll give ya that tour I promised. Ma brother's probably been bored outta his skull, waiting for me to bring the logs back. Though maybe he ain't done stocking the logs we split yesterday, if'n he ain't come to look for me just yet" Willow said, hooking the cart to the harness he had attached to his barrel, allowing him to start pulling the heavy cart back to the mill.

"Actually," Drawbar began, "I left my brother, Axle, with him, so he's probably been showing him around your mill and, well, I bet they've been getting to know each other a bit."

"Ya left yer brother with Trimmer? Poor buck's probably already been bored t' death by Trim; prolly find his barren husk at the foot of tha hill, sawdust in his lungs" Willow joked, making Drawbar bust out laughing.

"HAHAHA, oh sweet Celestia, that there sounds like a terrible way to go. Although, maybe Axle has bored your brother to death with train talk, and we'll find his barren husk at the end of the mill, his eyes replaced with lumps of coal!"

The two bucks busted out in laughter, leaning on each other for support as they giggled their way out of the woods and into the clearing, the warm mid-morning sun greeting them as they went along their way.