Throughout the winter and late into the spring months, frequent tides of dust swamped the frontier village of Appleloosa. As summer approached, the sun grew brighter and warmer each day. Braeburn coughed out some afternoon dust clinging to the roof of his mouth. He shook his head, sweeping his blond mane across the humid air as he ambled through the town.
"Ehh...this heat! Ya think ah'd be used to it by now!" he snickered as droplets of sweat made their way down his brow. "...Who'm ah' tryin' ta' kid? Everypony knows that's jus' the way it goes round' here, right?" The plentiful Appleloosans working outside looked to him. Braeburn hadn't realized he had been shouting, but the happy settlers around him resounded with a hearty cheer regardless. Looking around to be met with smiling faces, all amidst new buildings popping up everywhere, Braeburn couldn't help but smile. Looking up, the cloudless day seemed like a good one for progress.
Grinning, Braeburn galloped through town, occasionally rearing up and greeting random ponies with his usual vigor. Everypony knew Braeburn, though, and responded in kind. He felt his vest scratch his lower jaw as he ran further, eying the newer, towering wood buildings like a child ogling a cool toy.
On the weathered porch of a shoddy, boarded-up house, an old codger dressed in overalls retched. He swished something around in his dry mouth before hawking a big glob of mucus into a spittoon at his hooves. Hearing the distinctive clang, Braeburn turned. The elder pony wiped his jaw and cleared his throat.
"Shee-yoot, Braeburn. Where d'you young'uns git all yer hustle from?" the old pony said against the protest of his cracking bones. Braeburn guffawed.
"Haw! Ah' think ya jus' answered yer own question, gramps!" Braeburn said, rearing up. The old pony hacked and coughed, propping his creaky front legs against the equally creaky railing of his front porch. Braeburn got back on all fours, wondering with some concern if the geezer's legs would give way before the rail.
"Idn't that jus' like'a young'un, ta' give half-flanked answers like that?" the old pony wheezed. "Why dontcha' be straight up with me, Braeburn?"
"Fine, fine! Erm..." Braeburn's eyes went blank. He looked around the town, which had only gotten more complex since last winter. He grinned, turning back to the pony. "Ah' guess...guess it's 'cause whenever a new buildin' shoots up 'round here, if feels like we went an' added a new settler! It jus' makes me giddy inside, knowin' that Appleloosa's getting' bigger an' bigger, y'know?" The old pony shot a bitter wad into his spittoon. He shook his gnarled, ancient hoof at Braeburn.
"Ehhhh, expansionism! Done drove my pappy outta business years ago! An' now," the elderly pony reached behind him, pulling out a tumbleweed and lobbing it at Braeburn's head. It flopped uselessly, not flying a single inch. He sobbed. "Ah've gone an' stuck myself in the same rut he went an' stuck himself in! My own fault, takin' up the family business...thinkin' ah' could go an' do somethin'..."
"Dontcha' be talkin' sour!" Braeburn said, going over to the tumbleweed. He nudged it with his snout, sending it bouncing into the wind. "Yer tumbleweeds add jus' the right touch ta' Appleloosa! Why, if you weren't here-"
"An' that's what's gonna take out the lil' 'rustic charm' everypony's gone an' drooled over out here!" the old pony said hatefully, ignoring Braeburn's kindness. He reached out and poked Braeburn in the snout, a surprising feat for his age. "Ya mark my words, colt. Ya mark em' right here! This town goes an' finishes that newfangled railroad, things is gonna-"
"That's right! Construction's beginnin' today!" Braeburn said. Startled at the old pony's words, he broke into a run. "Thank ya kindly fer remindin' me, pops!" Turning a corner and heading for Appleloosa Station, Braeburn missed the last bit of the stallion's rantings.
"Railroad's gonna be the end a' the town! Equestria Expansion Project...heh! My bony, crusty flank!"
Braeburn kicked up quite the dust cloud in his haste, panting to himself as he passed more Appleloosans by. In his hurry, he only managed to give them friendly winks. He didn't take notice to several ponies merely yawning big in response. Others ignored him outright, rubbing their eyes and dropping to their sides.
"Heh, heh...hope ah'm...not late!" Braeburn said. However, his big, eager grin slowly ebbed as he approached the station. His heart and pulse had been racing, but they gradually went back to normal as the chipper, dust-swept stallion ground to a disappointed halt.
The train station was in clear view, spread out wide and waiting. Numerous flat cars lugged by a great steam engine, and loaded with metal girders, had pulled in next to the platform. Braeburn saw even more filing in the closer he got to the station. Still he bit his lip, puzzled. The enormous order of building materials had been delivered right on schedule as he looked to the looming clock tower. But looking up to the platform, he saw just a single fat, brown earth pony stallion in a hard hat.
"So uh...everypony else's late today, huh?" Braeburn said. The fat stallion slouched on his side, nodding glumly. Braeburn took the response for laziness, frowning and stomping the parched earth. "Hey, you! Where's everypony else?" The big stallion on the platform stretched out, working hard to open one irritated eye.
"...Name's not 'you.' It's Rafter," the pony said. His voice was deep, like rumbling boulders. Braeburn huffed, shaking out his mane.
"All right, Rafter. Now why dontcha' tell me why nopony went an' showed?" Braeburn scowled, looking to his sides. Nopony in sight, although he did see a number of misty figures on the ground, shrouded in dust. Swallowing, he looked back to Rafter. "...There was supposed ta' be a crew'a thirty-five today!" Rafter scratched his broad nose, jerking awake.
"...Huh? Aww, yeah. They uhh...they're not comin' today," Rafter said, turning over onto his belly. Braeburn choked, bug-eyed at the prospect.
"Wh-what? What in tarnation? Those lazy bums! What're they thinkin'?" Braeburn yelped, his voice hoarse with wandering dust and anger. Rafter just grunted, waving his hoof in the air.
"Heeey! Them's not...uhh...not very nice words...! They ain't lazy...umm...they're just...uhhhhhhh...sleepy," Rafter said sluggishly. Honestly, Braeburn could've done a few laps around town by the time Rafter finished his sentence. Noticing the hulking brown stallion had begun to snore, Braeburn kicked a metal beam hard. The bell-like dinging forced Rafter awake. He shifted and glared at Braeburn. "...What's the big idea?"
"Figure ah' should be askin' you that!" Braeburn said. Rafter scoffed. "Why're you and the workers bein' like this? Yer bein' paid ta' work on the Equestria Expansion Project! Remember?" Rafter blinked slowly.
"...Naw."
"Aw jeez! Knew contractin' city folk was a bad idea!" Braeburn said, itching his snout. The near-constant wind blowing through Appleloosa felt suddenly cooling. "B-but still! If'n you've got a contract, that means ya need ta' do yer job!"
"An' I s'pose you're lookin' to help too," Rafter said, shaking his head. A small grin appeared on his face as he looked Braeburn up and down, sizing him up. He laughed, his belly bobbing. "Ha! What's a lil' twig like you gonna do for the railroad, anyways? Why dontcha' just sit back, keep the yokels in line, and let the real stallions work at our own pace?"
"Ah' ain't no twig! An' Appleloosans ain't yokels," Braeburn said, his words blistering. Rafter looked undaunted as he flipped over onto his back, basking and putting his front legs behind his head. Braeburn sighed. "...Look. There's gonna be plenty a' townsfolk helpin' out with this here project, so why don't we jus' forget this lil' spat and move along? I'll go gather up the workers and get em' offa' their hind quarters! If we're gonna get this railroad extended by the enda' summer, we gotta get started...right..." Braeburn heard his speech cut off by a long yawn, coming from his own slacking mouth. He shook his head, bewildered. All of a sudden, his eyes had become heavy.
"Heh! Only thing you'd better get started on is a nap!" Rafter said, turning away from Braeburn. He had been surveying the expanse of Appleloosa mere moments earlier. "See, them's got the right idea! All a' them ponies right there!"
Braeburn shuffled around and gasped, jumping in horror. The once-bustling townsponies of Appleloosa had fallen into a slump. Some hung off their porches, while others were sprawled out on the street, curling up in the rolling dust. Braeburn staggered away from the transport cars, his movement getting progressively sloppier.
"Wh-what...what's goin' on...?" Braeburn said haltingly. Another yawn escaped him as he trudged over to the lounging pony nearest him. Reaching out, Braeburn bopped the giggling and squirming Appleloosan on the head. He didn't react to Braeburn, relaxed beyond the point of retorting. "...Wake up you...! Hey! Talk ta' me!"
"Sheesh Brae'...why ya gotta be so...ornery...?" the pony finally moaned after a long pause. "It's so nice out...you really should calm down..."
"He's always like this..." a lazing mare in a bonnet said from nearby. Her words were slurred. "Always rushin' everywhere...always rearin' up! You know that..."
"Oh yeah...heh...I do know that..."
"D'ya...d'ya know what's goin' on...?" Braeburn said, fighting back a fit of yawns. He was having difficulty standing upon his wobbly legs, and found his own sense of urgency depleting as the wind grew calmer. "Nopony's...everypony's all...ugh..."
"See...? Idn't that nice...?" the mare in the bonnet cooed, flopping onto her back. Braeburn soon found himself on the mare's level, the sun beating into his eyes. The arid wind still blew lots of loose soil around, but a mysterious, soothing warmth replaced the typical sweltering heat. Braeburn spotted a magenta tinge amidst the swirling yellow and brown, as well as something else.
"...Flowers...?" Braeburn said, his voice very stilted. A tiny, spade shaped petal waltzed in the wind above him, settling upon his snout. "...Since when've we had any flowers...out'n these parts...?" Noticing more blossoms dance into view overhead, Braeburn smiled wearily. Resigning to the tranquil atmosphere, he stretched out and moaned. Without warning or feeling, his suspicions, troubles, and energy left him. "...Eh...who cares...? Not like...it really matters right now..."