“So how long is the train ride to Ponyville from here?” Kristoph asked calmly looking out at at the scenery started to move by slowly.

“Probably only an hour or two, right Kidd?” Evan answered looking over his shoulder to the pegasus who was in the seat behind him.

“Should be, if everything goes right.” He replied while sketching the scenery traveling past his window. Evan looked at the cover of his sketchpad which depicted a pony with a beret on.

“Look at the trees! Their all going woosh past the window!” Lunar remarked jubilantly, animating the sound with his forelegs.

“We got here by train, I thought you would be used to it by now Lunar.” Kristoph said glancing at Lunar from the corner of his eye.

“Yeah but I'm just so excited to meet with my friend from Ponyville! I haven't seen her in soooo long!”

Before they could ask him about it they heard a banging in the cart behind them. “Must be Nuudo finishing the restraints.” Hocus said in a nonchalance way. They all still felt rather uncomfortable at the idea of keeping other ponies tied up but... they need to do this. For the brothers safety and the safety of those around them.

Pushing those thoughts from his head he glanced around at his friends. Kidd is drawing, Kristoph is watching the scenery, Lunar finds it exciting to just be on a train, Hocus brought a PonyBoy Advanced, Nuudo is watching the brothers, and Kebert is reading. He sighed, should have brought a book with me...

Kidd finished the sketch he was working on and turned his attention to Evan who was fidgeting in his seat. “What? Cant find anything to do?” He said practically reading his mind.

Evan stopped and answered, “No not really, I should have brought my chemistry set.”

“A chemistry set? Who are you Albert Hoofenstein?” Kidd aid with a chuckle.

“Hey its my cutie mark, what do you expect me to do for a living? Design dresses?” He said with a raised eyebrow.

At the Carousel Boutique...

“Achoo!” Rarity sneezed. She brought out a handkerchief from a close drawer with her magic. Once she wiped her nose she promptly put the handkerchief in the laundry to be taken care of later. “Rather out of nowhere but back to business.” She said to herself cheerfully before turning her attention back to a half finished dress on a mannequin.

On the train to Ponyville...

“That reminds me I never asked you how you got your mark did I?” Kidd asked as he scratched his cheek in thought.

“Hmm I haven't told you?” Evan asked.

“Oh man its story time! Come on Kristoph! Stories!” Lunar said as he got up and sat in front of Evan expectantly, waiting for the story.

“Eh I'm almost out of battery anyways. Can you charge it afterwords Evan?” Hocus asked as he put away his PonyBoy.

“Sure no problem, runs off of magic right?”

“Yup.”

“Ok, so you wanna know how I got my mark? I was one of the last in my class to get mine actually. I'm originally from Manehatten, and gosh I hated it there. You have to act just so, otherwise everyone will look ill upon you and your family. I could have gone to Celestia's school for gifted unicorns because of my grades, but I wanted to focus on science. Magic can be helpful and all but it wasn't what I was interested in. So instead I went to local schools to find the subject that was my favorite. I remember one day there was a job fair at my school for ponies to help figure out what they wanted to do with their lives.”

“Come on pegasi needed for Cloudsdale”s Weather Factory!” Yelled a pegasus pony behind a cloud shaped like a table.

“Openings for the Canterlot Guard! Serve Celestia and your country!” Yelled an armored guard.

“Propane and propane accessories! Come on and sell the best source of heat besides Celestia's sun!” Yelled an earth pony with a short and flat haircut.

Evan whirled around in place looking at all the banners and stands giving him options. He then turned his eyes to his blank flank and sighed. Most of the other students have found out what they want to do... And I cant find anything specific... I like science but I cant find the one subject that really is the one for me. To many options! Theoretical physics is really interesting, chemistry is cool too, and astronomy is up there too... ugh. I just cant decide...

He took one more look around the gym filled to the brim with stands before turning and leaving it all behind him. He trudged back to his favorite class still down about his mark when he plopped himself onto his seat. As he sat in silence trying to think of a solution to the problem, he didn't notice his teacher had walked up to join him. “What are you doing here Event? Aren't you supposed to be in the gym finding your job?”

Evan looked at his teacher without moving his head off of the table. “Oh, hi Mr. Centrifuge. I went over there but I cant decide what I want to do. I like science but I cant find a specific topic I like above the others. There are to many great choices...”

“Well think of getting your mark like a chemical reaction. You have a substance all you need is another substance to set it off, an aha! moment if you will.”

“You mean like an 'Event'?” Evan said with a goofy smile.

“Wow I think that actually hurt me.” Centrifuge said rubbing his chest with a hoof.

“Yeah I know, I think that hurt me just saying it.”

“Well as I was saying.” Centrifuge said, trying to get back on topic.

“If you cant find your mark in one subject of science, why not try them all? Your bound to find it that way.” He said simply.

“All of them?” Evan looked away as his mind was racing. “Yeah, if not one subject why not them all!” He pulled his head off of the table and beamed. “Thanks Mr. Centrifuge!”

“Hey that's what I'm here for, good luck Event.” He said with a smile.

“Call me Evan!” He called back as he raced out the door.

“So then what job did you take?” Hocus asked.

“Well... all of them. At least the ones pertaining science. So I was on an internship type basis with the local college for all the science classes. I was like an assistant teacher for all of them.” Evan answered.

“All of them? How did you manage that?” Kidd asked.

“Well they all had openings and I set up a schedule with all of them to go to one a day switching out between them. And after about a week I got my mark.” He said with a proud smile. “I had just entered into a science competition in Canterlot in my spare time. It was a contest in all subjects of science. Needless to say I entered in every subject and got in the top three for all of them. Well I would have gotten first in theoretical physics but there was somepony that made a presentation about some other ponies cat. Schrödinger was it?” Evan asked himself. “I cant remember, it was interesting though I will admit.”

“So that's when I realized I had a talent in all science not just one aspect of it. And also the moment I got this.” He said looking at his cutie mark of an atom symbol. “Ever since then I've delved into every aspect of science that I could get my hooves on. What about you guys? I haven't really asked how any of you got your marks either.”

“Oh more stories!” Lunar said pulling out a bag of popcorn.

“Then have popcorn on this train?” Kidd asked him.

“Nope!” Lunar said with a smile before putting a hoofful of the popcorn in his mouth.

Kidd simply stared disbelieving at him, “Umm...” He said to the others to which their response were shrugs. “Right... well I'll tell you guys how I got my mark.”

“Oh wait! I wanna hear his next!” Lunar interrupted, pointing his hoof at Kristoph. Kristoph looked at the hoof in his face and looked at Kidd.

“If its ok with Kidd.” He said.

“Go for it.” Kidd said trying to wave away the interruption with a hoof as if it were tangible.

“Ok well when I was a young colt I was different then who I am now.” Kristoph began. “I remember my parents were out of town and me and my brother were on our way to met them there. I was bored as I looked at out the window of the carriage. Hoping that we would somehow get to Manehatten sooner.”

“Arpeggio! When are we gonna get there?... Its so boring...” Kristoph said.

“Come on Kristoph we left just an hour ago. Its gonna be awhile till we get there.” Arpeggio said with a smile. Kristoph sighed loudly, seeing his brother like this gave him an idea. He rummaged around in the luggage for a few moments until he found what he was searching for. He pulled out a bass guitar that he brought with them. Opening the case he pulled out the instrument and plucked at the strings with a hoof. After a quick tuning he was satisfied with the sound they produced.

“Hey Kristoph.”

“Hmm?” He said in return, looking away from the window and looking at Arpeggio.

“Come over here I'm gonna teach you how to play.”

“R-really? But that's your special guitar...”

“Well that'll make it all the more special if its the one that you used to learn.” He said with an encouraging smile. “So come on then.”

Happy to comply Kristoph moved to a seat directly across from his brother, eagerly awaiting the lesson on music. “Ok first I need to teach you about chords.” He began.

Two hours later...

“Ok good, good. Your getting it, remember you'll need to be able to do these chords perfectly before we can move on to your next lesson.” Arpeggio said happily watching his little brother slightly fumble with the guitar that was far to big for him. “And if you really want to, we can go look for your own guitar. One more your size till you get bigger.”

“Ok! Don't worry Arpeggio I'll practice real hard!” Kristoph said excitedly. “Oh!” Kristoph said all of a sudden. Arpeggio followed Kristoph's gaze and saw a decently sized scratch down one side of the guitar. “I'm so sorry! Please don't be mad! I didn't mean to! My hoof slipped!” Kristoph said hurriedly as he grew frantic.

“Kristoph its ok, calm down.” Arpeggio said calmly. “It was just an accident, and besides its just a guitar.” He smiled at the confused Kristoph. “Come on keep practicing.” He encouraged.

“But... your not mad?”

“Of course not, how could I be mad at my little bro?” He said adding in a playful noogie.

“But I thought you had this signed by Dominic Lapony... and I just scratched it... you love this guitar.” Kristoph said with a frown and held the guitar out to give it back to his brother.

Arpeggio looked at the guitar in the colt's hooves and pushed it back lightly. “I wont say it again, - He chuckled – your forgiven, its just a guitar. Now go on, keep practicing your chords.”

Kristoph looked at the guitar he held and smiled. “Thanks, I'll get better for you Arpeggio!” He said with confidence. He then stuck his tongue out in concentration and brought his hoof across the strings of the instrument.

Arpeggio observed with a smile until he heard a yell from outside the carriage. He stuck his head out of a nearby window and saw a tree that had come lose nearby. Ponies nearby ran to avoid the behemoth that was tumbling to the ground... right for them.

Thinking quickly Arpeggio gathered Kristoph in his forelegs and flung him bodily out of the carriages door. As soon as he jumped to ensure his own safety the tree had reached its target. It crushed the wood and metal of the carriage like it was paper and tinfoil being stomped by a giant. Kristoph got shakily to his hooves as the world span around him.

Once he could hold himself steady he looked at all the debris that had once been his ride to Manehatten. The ponies pulling it had gotten away relatively unscathed as the chain they were attached to had broken free in time. Then a thought crossed the colt's mind. I don't see Arpeggio anywhere... Then as if someone had flipped a switch it finally clicked. “OH SWEET CELESTIA! ARPEGGIO!” The colt screamed at the top of his lungs before rushing to look through the strewn bits of wood and metal that lay scattered about.

His eyes were wide and pupils dilated to pinpoints as he pulled at chunks and pieces hoping that his brother was still in one piece. By now other passersby had come to investigate the crash site. Kristoph looked over his shoulder as tears built up and yelled, “Someone! Hurry get a doctor! And someone help me look for my brother!”

Some of the onlookers grew a determined face and nodded their acknowledgments and set off to do their tasks. A few ran over and started to help the colt search through the rubble and soon they could hear groans emanating from near the center of the wreckage. “Over there!” One stallion bellowed to the others. Everyone ran over to help lift up the tree enough to pull him out of was once was the roof to the carriage. Under it was a barely conscious Arpeggio.

“There he is!” Another stallion yelled as he and one other stallion grabbed Arpeggio by his forelegs and pulled him out from under the roof. Once this was done the ponies holding up the tree let out a collective grunt as they let the large piece of timber return to the ground with a mighty thud.

“We need a doctor over here!” Someone behind Kristoph yelled back to the rest of the crowd. But he paid him no mind, his focus was his brother. He could already see his whole back bruised, presumably were the roof caved in on him. His left foreleg hung limp beside him and his right ear had a tear in it. He lay on the ground motionless except his raspy breathing.

“I'm a doctor!” One mare said as she ran up beside Arpeggio. “Oh dear, all right everypony we need to get him to the clinic now!”

One hour later...

“Hey bro... how you feeling?” Kristoph asked.

“Better, my back still stings a bit but that unicorn put a spell on it and its clearing up. This sling is annoying though.” Arpeggio said with a weak smile, looking at the foreleg sling wrapped around his left leg. “ That mare doctor looks pretty good though hu?” He said trying to lighten the mood.

Kristoph gave a light laugh, “So how long are you gonna have to stay here?”

“She said about four weeks and I should be fine.”

“Well I'm staying too.”

“No your not, mom and dad are expecting us and now that I'm here so you gotta go by yourself.”

“Well then get up out of that bed and stop me.” Kristoph said with a smile, knowing he won.

Arpeggio opened his mouth to argue but found nothing coming to mind. “Fine, you win. But we should let them know what happened.”

“Already done. Oh and look! That doctor even fixed your guitar!” He said letting his smile grow all the more. “See!” He pointed a hoof to a chair next to Arpeggio's bed and sure enough there was his guitar, brand new and shiny.

“Well then what are you waiting for?”

“Hu?” Kristoph asked, confused on what he was supposed to do.

“Well let me hear those chords.”

“Oh, uh... right.” He made his way over and stopped midway. “Are... are you sure you want me to play still?”

“Yeah, if your going to stay here with me don't you think you ought to have a hobby to keep you busy?”

“I guess your right... thanks bro.” Kristoph finished with a smile as he walked to the chair beside Arpeggio. He grabbed the guitar with his hooves and began to strum it awkwardly.

“Your getting better, come on keep working at it.” Arpeggio encouraged.

“So I got my mark only a few weeks later. It was one of the happiest days of my life, both because I finally got my mark and that my brother was released from the hospital that day too. Our parents were thrilled just to have us safely there, but when they saw my mark... they freaked.” Kristoph finished his story with a rare growing smile.

“Bwaaa!” Lunar cried loudly as jets of water shot from his eyes. Lunar pulled a box of tissues from the bag of popcorn and blew into one of them loudly, some how making a horn sound with the action.

“That is a touching story Kristoph...” Evan said as he awkwardly watched Lunar bawl loudly. “Well now that we got two stories out. Who's next?” He asked everyone while looking around.

“Kidd wanted to go didn't you Kidd?” Kristoph asked still happy from the memory he retold.

“Oh right, well it all happened when I was...” Kidd began.

Author's Note

Arpeggio-----Playing the notes in a chord separately.

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Ok everyone I'm sorry that this is so late. I've had a lot to deal with lately and I've kinda of had to but this on the back burner for now. I may have to also accept defeat and postpone posting from one a week to one every two weeks. I don't want to but work takes up all my time now and now I've got to worry about saving for an apartment and fixing my car which broke down not long ago so yeah! -.-

Ugh... but hopefully now that this is out no one will be too mad... and now that I'm giving the characters a bit of background. Oh before I forget! How would you all feel about me doing holiday themed chapters? not necessarily having to do with whats going on in the story at the time, just one off's really. Just thought I should ask. Well leave a comment or PM me with your answer or your thought on this chapter! Thanks everyone!