A pegasus filly goes from being an orphan to having a family and moving to a town that ain't so gloomy.
Mill Whistle is a orphan Pegasus from a logging town near Vanhoover, Equestria. Her Mom gave her up when she was just a newborn foal. This my first story hope you enjoy!
"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. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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.
Misty woke up to the 1:00 PM ending lunchtime whistle. It was still overcast but the low fog receded. Since it was still a couple hours before Mill Whistle got out of school Misty went to the Flume's Diner. "How are you doing Misty?" asked Pancake Flume, "I'm doing great because of the fact that I'm gettin' my daughter back" answered Misty. Pancake's grey face smiled and said "Well congratulations Misty, I hope being a mother goes well for ya", "Thanks Pancake" replied Misty. Pancake asked "May I take your order?", "I'll have some cider and hay fries" answered Misty.
Misty grabbed a newspaper and the headline said "Stallion Gets Crushed by Logs", Misty sighed and put the paper down. It was not uncommon for ponies to die because of the relatively deadly working conditions. "Here's you meal dear" said Pancakes as she set a blue plate of hay fries and a mug of cider on the table, "Thank you Pancakes" said the light blue unicorn as the grey earth pony walked away.
Meanwhile at Mill's School.............................
"You all did great on your end of year tests" said a red earth pony mare with a cutie mark of a wood rose named Ms. Woodrose, "You may have recess until your parents get here". The other foals rushed out of the classroom while Mill Whistle got up again slowly. "Bye Ms.Woodrose" said Mill Whistle with a noticeable hint of sadness in her voice, "You aren't leaving yet" said Woodrose. "Am I in trouble?" asked the green filly with even more sadness, "No" said Ms.Woodrose. "Sorry I'm late" said a familiar voice, a light blue unicorn walked into the schoolhouse, "Misty?" said a surprised Mill Whistle. "Hey Mills" said Misty, "Hey Misty, what are you doing here?" asked Mill. "About ten years ago when I was sixteen, I had to give up a green foal with a white and blue mane" said Misty as she started to tear up "I regretted it but I didn't have money and thought she'd have a better chance there". "But, I got her back" she said as she showed Mill Whistle the adoption papers. The room went quiet, Mill was just shocked that one of her best friends was her mom. "Mom?" slowly uttered Mill as her tone went from sadness to excitement.
"I'm your mom and I love you" said Misty, "I love you to mom!" Mill replied. Mill felt Misty's fore legs wrap around her in a warm embrace. It was 4:00 when the two left the schoolhouse. "Welcome to our house" said Misty, "It's a nice place mom" said Mill Whistle. "Can you help me pack?" asked Misty, "Why? I just got here" asked Mill. "Well, I have a marefriend in Ponyville and the railroad there pays better, her name is Sky Rail" answered Misty with a smile, "Well I've never been out of Vanhoover all my life so lets get packing!" replied Mill Whistle with a excited tone. It didn't take them long to pack the very few belongings they had. Among those belongings was a picture of Misty's mom and pa, and her dad's old axe. That Friday Misty didn't take the night shift so she could spend time with Mill. Mill slept next to her mother in the relatively bare master bedroom.
"Class, this the last day of school for this year and there is a student that is not coming back next year" said Ms. Woodrose, "Mill Whistle, say farewell to the class". "I'm moving down south to Ponyville with my mama, I don't know if I'll ever be coming back to this logging town where the trees reach into the clouds, so goodbye my fellow classmates" said Mill, "Bye Mill Whistle, I'll miss you" said a yellow earth pony colt. Mill Whistle trotted over to the little colt and hugged him. "I'll miss you to Tug Raft" said Mill Whistle. "Class is dismissed, happy summer everypony" said Ms. Woodrose, "Bye Ms. Woodrose" said some of the class while the rest of the class bolted out the door. The 1:00 PM whistle roared loud as Mill Whistle and Misty Whistle trotted to the train station with heavy saddlebags.
The train station had few ponies in it. The worn yellow building had certainly seen better days. The floorboards creaked under the weight of baggage carts and ponies. "Canterlot bound train on track one in five minutes" announced the stationmaster. "Well we're heading to our new home" said Misty, "Where the sun shines and where it ain't so gloomy" replied Mill Whistle. A couple of worn GE P40dc's (a type of General Electric locomotive used Amtrak) brought up the train to Canterlot.
"Come on, this is our train" said Misty, "Ok" replied Mill. "All aboard!" called the conductor who was an orange stallion, "Honk, honk" went the train as the engine started revving up and the train started rolling. The orange stallion walked by Misty and Mill. "Hey, I haven't seen you since the rail academy, I forgot your name" said Misty, "Oh, Hey, ah, Misty!, long time no see, I'm Time Keeper remember" said the orange stallion with a pocket watch cutie mark. "This is my daughter Mill Whistle" said Misty, "Nice ta meet ya" said Time Keeper holding out his hoof. Mill shook it happily. As the train got closer to Canterlot the lush forests slowly turned into rocky mountains. The train would arrive in Canterlot at 9:00 AM and it was 1:00 AM. Mill stared out the window of the silver passenger car watching the trees and Luna's stars go by. Misty snored and Mill slowly drifted to sleep with the steel rails singing a lullaby. They past a Canterlot NorthWestern freight that had lots of empty lumber cars bound for Vanhoover. In a couple more hours they'd be in Canterlot. "We will be in Canterlot in half an hour" said a voice over the intercom, "Ya here that sweetie, we'll be in Ponyville in no time" said Misty, "Yay!" squealed Mill Whistle.
30 minutes later........
"We're here mommy!" yelled Mill Whistle, "Yup" replied Misty. "Bye Time Keeper" they said, "Bye girls, hope you have a good life in Ponyville!" said Time Keeper. Canterlot was filled with hustle and bustle. The tall buildings were bright and stood out unlike the gloomy building back in Vanhoover.
"Sky's train leaves in a few hours, so we'll explore before heading to Ponyville" said Misty, "Sounds fun mommy!" squealed Mill Whistle. They explored Canterlot for hours on hoof. "Mom, this city is an awesome place, but it's a little to busy" said Mill, "I know, we should start heading to the rail yard" Misty replied. By the front door of the yard office stood a green pegasus pony with a blue mane, she had a cutie mark of a GP7u locomotive. Next to her was a red pegasus pony with a dirty blonde mane and a cutie mark of an apple with a rail. When Misty saw them she galloped towards them levitating Mill Whistle so she wouldn't have to catch up. "Hey Sky, I haven't seen ya in so long!" screamed Misty, "Ah, haven't seen ya in forever to" said Sky. Misty said pointing to Mill "This is my daughter Mill Whistle", "Nice ta meet ya" said the green mare as she held out her hoof. Mill shook it and smiled. "This is Hotbox, Mill, she's mah little sister" said Sky, "Hey kid" said the red pegasus. "Hi Hotbox" said Mill. "As much as I'd like to stand here we've got a train to get to Ponyville" said Sky, "Follow me" said Hotbox. "Kid put this vest on" said Hotbox in her raspy voice as she handed Mill a reflective vest, "Thank you!" said Mill.
They then trotted to three EMD SD40-2s. The locomotives were painted grey with white lettering and red on the front and rear. It was Saturday so there was not any ponies to start the locomotives before Sky and Hotbox got there. "Mill come with me" said Hotbox as she climbed up on the third unit, "Ok" replied Mill Whistle. Hotbox led her to the cab of the unit and opened the electrical panel. She pointed to the master switch and said "Flip that", "Ok" Mill said as she flipped the switch. Hotbox then flipped several other switches. Hotbox then started to head to the middle of the sd40-2 and Mill followed her. "Do you know how to open these panels?" asked Hotbox, "Nope" answered Mill. "Pop this latch at the top and then this one at the bottom" said Hotbox as she pointed her hoof at the latches on the door, "Ok" said Mill. Mill Whistle opened the latches and swung open the door. "See that knob? turn it left for a little then turn it right until that turbo screams" said Hotbox, "Ok, I got it" said Mill Whistle. The fuel pump whined as she turned the knob left, when she turned it right the engine went "Chugga-pish, chugga-pish". It sounded like this just getting faster each time until black smoke shot out the stacks. "Congratulations" Hotbox said pointing to Mill's flank, "My cutie mark!, yay!" she screamed.
"You've got your cutie mark!?" Misty yelled as she rushed over, "Yup" said Mill Whistle. Mill's cutie mark was a wrench next to a rail. "Congratulations, now let's get this train to Ponyville" said Sky. They all walked to the lead locomotive and sat waiting for the dispatcher to give them the green light.
"7623 you have permission to proceed on the main over" said a voice over the radio, "Ok, 7623 headed out" replied Sky. "Honk, honk" blared the horn as the train rumbled out of the yard. Once the train started moving Sky set the throttle in the idle notch because the grade between Canterlot and Ponyville was one of the steepest railroad grades in all of Equestria at 3.5%.
"Mill, can I ask you something?" asked Sky the green pegasus with a blue mane, "Sure, what is it?" asked Mill Whistle.
"Can I marry your mother?" asked Sky
"Mom do you want to marry her?" asked Mill
"Yes" answered Misty
"I pronounce you trainmare and wife, you may kiss the bride" said Mill Whistle
Misty and Sky kissed for what seemed like an hour but it was really only a minute or two. "Stop smoochin' and do your damn jobs!" yelled Hotbox, "I'm the damn conductor and this is my Celestia damned train". "Ok, little sis' " said Sky. "Ponyville is in twenty five miles, Mill were almost home" Misty said hugging Mill, "I can't wait!" exclaimed Mill Whistle.
The landscape changed from mountains to farmland slowly but surely as they rolled on. The rocks were replaced by green hayfields, barns, houses, and dirt roads.
"Mom what will our new house be like?" asked Mill Whistle yawning
"It's a surprise but you do get your own room" answered Misty
"I can't wait to see it"
"You'll see it soon enough"
At 8:55 PM the consist pulled into the Ponyville yard. "Shut 'em down" ordered Sky, "Ok, I got it, hey kid come" responded Hotbox. "Ok" said Mill Whistle as she followed Hotbox to the 2nd locomotive, "Press the big red button that says 'Shutdown', then flip the master switch" ordered Hotbox. Under her watchful eye Mill Whistle shut down the two trailing locomotives.
It was a beautiful star filled night that night, the moon shown bright.
"Bye Hotbox" said Sky, Misty, and Mill
"Good night see ya later" replied Hotbox
Hotbox trotted to her home near Ponyville's town square.
"Now let's get you home" said Sky
"Finally" said a groggy Mill Whistle
"Get on my back" said Sky
"Ok" said Mill as she used what little energy she had to fly up onto Sky's back.
"Hold on" Sky said as she spread her wings. With a few flaps she was fifty feet in the air. Meanwhile Misty used a teleportation spell to get home. Mill Whistle slowly drifted to sleep on Sky's back. They arrived to a yellow two story farmhouse with a front porch. Sky tucked in the little green pegasus filly and kissed her on her forehead. Mill Whistle was finally at her new home. Away from that hellish logging town in Northwestern Equestria.
The next day Mill Whistle woke up in a nicely sized bedroom that was painted yellow with empty shelves and a nightstand. She had an extremely soft cloud bed. The few belongings she brought from Vancouver didn't fill the room. She thought to her self "I'm finally home, a place where ponies love me". "Breakfast is ready!" called Sky "Coming!" yelled Mill Whistle At the table there was a light green pegasus with a blue mane, a light blue unicorn with a blue and white mane, and three plates stacked with pancakes. Well it's been a journey for this little filly from logging town to farming town. Her journey has not ended but I'm sorry to end the story here.
