“Twi? What are we doing out here?”
Twilight shrugged at Applejack's question. “You probably know as much as I do.” She yawned. Princess Celestia never sent for them this early. Hell, she rarely sent for them at all. Since Twilight's coronation, not much was happening anymore. A few political quarrels here and there. Nothing major.
Twilight's stomach growled. And that whole dying plants business. That was happening. “Did you bring any food?” she asked, pawing the ground.
“Fraid not.” Applejack looked down at the normally bustling city of Canterlot from the castle, and Twilight followed her gaze. She knew they were both thinking the same thing. These past few months haven't been good for anyone, not even here in what she considered the busiest city in the world. Even at this time of the day, there would be ponies yelling, children laughing, hoofsteps tapping against the cobblestones. Now, ponies didn't even want to come out. No point in it.
“Reckon this has to do with this whole famine business?”
Twilight sighed and pressed her hoof to her forehead. “No. I wasn't thinking that at all. “ She scanned Canterlot, her eyes darting back and forth from street to street. “Where are the others?”
“Twi, we got here an hour before we were supposed to meet. I'm sure they're fine.” Applejack glanced at the guard stationed at the castle door. “Can y'all let us in? We're mighty tired.”
The guard stared straight ahead when he responded. “Not until the scheduled meeting time.”
“Yeah, well, we're kinda Elements of Harmony,” Applejack said.
“I noticed.”
“And Twilight over here's a princess. Ain'tcha, Twilight?” Applejack asked. Twilight nodded, her eyes downcast. Why did she have to get up so early? Her student instinct was going to kill her one day, her mother always said. Applejack seemed to get the hang of getting up early. Good for her.
“I understand that, but unless everyone else has arrived, you have to wait.” The guard cracked a small smile.
“What was that?” Twilight's view snapped to him.
“What was what?” he asked.
“I saw that,” Applejack said, glaring at him. “You just smiled.”
“Oh?” The guard was visibly giggling.
“What's going o-”
His body started twisting and malforming. It extended in places and shrunk in others. His tail grew thinner, and one of his front hooves turned into a paw.
“Twi?” Applejack was backing off from the spectacle. “What's going on?”
Twilight rolled her eyes. “I think I know.”
After a few more seconds, the guard had morphed into a very familiar looking draconequus. “Priceless!” Discord let out a giggle.
Applejack snorted. “You.”
“Me!” Discord leaned against the castle's wall. “Come now, Applejack. There's no need for such malice. We're friends now!”
“Where are the actual guards?” Twilight asked before Applejack could retort. “You haven't... done anything to them, have you?”
“Done anything?” Discord let out a hearty laugh.“No, of course not. Celestia sent them all back home. Dreadful idea, I have to say.”
Twilight bit her lip. Sure, the Princess was nice for letting them be with their families on these dreadful days. But Celestia always had her guards with her, no matter where she was.
“This isn't right,” Twilight said. “She shouldn't have sent them home. She's not safe.”
Discord shrugged. “Why don't you tell her yourself?” He pushed open the door, and slithered in.
The two ponies followed. Like Discord said, there weren't any guards anywhere. The whole castle was silent, except for wind whistling through any open windows. There was a layer of dust over the floor. Celestia must have sent the cleaning staff home as well.
There, sitting and chatting with each other on the staircase, were the rest of the girls.
Rarity was tapping her hoof on one of the steps. “Where on earth are the others?”
“Hey, we got here an hour and a half before we supposed to. They're probably fine,” Rainbow said.
“Hey, that's what they said!” Pinkie pointed her hoof at the two ponies who had just entered.
Rainbow flew towards them with a broad smile on her face.“Hey, guys!”
“Morning, Rainbow,” Applejack extended her hoof, and Dash bumped it. “Sorry for the delay, y'all. We had a bit of a, uh, problem.” She turned to look at where Discord was, but he had already left.
“Oh, don't be. There was no rush.” Rarity looked over Applejack's shoulder at Twilight. “Twilight, dear, do you have any idea why we're here?”
Twilight shook her head. Princess Celestia hadn't had any proper conversations with her in a while now. She knew it was bratty to want to have talks with her all the time, but she couldn't help it. She lived for those moments.
“I suppose we will simply have to wait for her to call us, then.”
Pinkie groaned, and rolled over on her side. “Why won't she call us already? My flank didn't hurt this much since-”
“Not sure if y'all noticed, but we got here pretty darn early,” Applejack said. “We can't afford to be impatient. She's probably doing something all important and princess-ly.” She looked up at the staircase. “Any of y'all get greeted by anyone?”
“Nah,” Rainbow stopped flying and landed. “Where are those guards with their fancy gold armor?”
Twilight looked around. “That's what worries me. According to Discord, Princess Celestia sent them all home to be with their families.”
“Isn't that, like, a good thing?” Rainbow asked. “Celestia's an epic magical alicorn. She can take care of herself.” Her eyebrows furrowed. “Wait, when did you guys see Discord?”
“Just outside.”
“Why do you think we're late,” Applejack muttered.
“We apologize for his behavior. If it helps, he has not been the best of roommates.” Princess Luna walked down the steps, her golden boots clanking against the marble staircase. “Good morning to you all.”
Twilight smiled. “Nice to see you.” She frowned. “You're doing that third person thing again.”
“Are we- err, am I? Damn it all...” Luna shifted her weight. “I apologize. It takes time to get used to.” She walked back up, gesturing for them to follow. “Come. Princess Celestia requests your audience.”
“Finally!” Pinkie said, bouncing up and down.
“I apologize for being unclear. She requests the audience of Twilight Sparkle and Rarity. The rest must stay.”
Pinkie stopped bouncing. “Oh...”
Twilight processed the statement. Just them? Why was it just them? Wasn't it always all the girls who the Princess called upon? This was certainly irregular...
Rarity was apparently thinking the same thing. “Just us?” Rarity shuffled her hooves. “Why can't the girls come?”
“I promise Princess Celestia will explain everything,” Luna said. “Now come.”
Twilight bit her lip and looked at the four ponies who would be left behind. “Are you girls going to be all right?”
“Hell yeah! It's gonna be boring as hell, but we'll manage,” Rainbow said. “Not sure about Pinkie though...” She looked over at Pinkie, who was curled up in a tight ball, shuddering.
Rarity followed Luna up, and motioned to Twilight. “Shall we?”
Twilight nodded. “We shall.”
They followed Luna down the hallway to Celestia's throne room. It'd started raining. Lightning illuminated the hallway when it came, unsettling Twilight. She found herself wanting to make conversation.
What to talk about though? She'd never had much alone time with Rarity. Hell, she'd never had much alone time with anypony. She racked her brain, trying to think of a conversation topic.
“Weather's bad, isn't it?” Mentally, she facehoofed. Weather's bad. What a stupid way to start a conversation.
“Oh,” Rarity took a few seconds to reply. “Yes. Quite.”
A few seconds passed after the exchange. Twilight cleared her throat. Rarity coughed. They played with their manes for a bit.
“This whole famine business is bad too.”
“Yes,” Rarity said. “Yes it is.”
After a couple of minutes of agonizing silence, they arrived at the Princess' throne room. Luna walked in, the two ponies in tow. Princess Celestia sat on her throne, looking weary. Her eyes lit up when she saw them. “Good morning. I apologize for asking for you at a time like this.”
“Well to be fair,” Twilight said. “You asked for us an hour after this time.”
Celestia descended from her throne, smiling. “I knew if I asked you here at this time, you would've come even earlier. Truth is, I needed to talk with you two right now.”
Twilight smiled. “Clever.”
Rarity's eyebrow was raised. “Why us? What on earth could concern the two of us, but not the rest of the girls?” She pointed her hoof at where they came from.
Celestia drew a scroll from underneath her wing. “I received this a couple of hours ago. Make of it what you will.”
Twilight took the scroll and read aloud. “Spellbarrow. If you want this to stop, send the Elements. of Magic and Generosity.” She looked up from it. “It might not be talking about the famine."
"Oh, please," Rarity said. "What else could it be talking about?" She took the scroll and scanned it. “Hmm...” She stared at it for a few seconds. “There's something strange about this...”
Twilight and Celestia watched Rarity stare at the scroll. Her blue eyes darted from word to word. “Aha!”
Twilight looked over at it. “What is it?”
“Well, take a look.”
“I'm missing something, aren't I...”
Rarity sighed. “Look here.” She pointed at a particular part in the letter. “If you want this to stop, send the Elements. Of Magic and Generosity."
"Uh... yeah?"
"There's a period between 'Elements' and 'of''."
Twilight took the scroll. "Huh. So the original letter was 'Spellbarrow. If you want this to stop, send the Elements,' but whoever wrote this added the rest as an afterthought."
Celestia smiled. "You two make a surprisingly good team."
Rarity blushed. "Thank you." She looked at the scroll again. "Er, what exactly is 'Spellbarrow?'"
Twilight answered before Celestia could. "It's a town forty miles north from Equestria. It's sort of a hangout for people who are good with magic. I never got the chance to go, personally."
"Well, now's your chance." Celestia drew two train tickets from underneath her wing. "The train leaves in three hours. You should get there in two hours, maximum."
"Hang on, now," Rarity said. "We're going to leave right now?"
Celestia nodded. "I'm afraid so. I understand both of you have business here. Rest assured, I will personally pay for any business you may have lost."
Twilight was appalled. She would just... do that for them? "We can't possibly accept that!"
Rarity nodded. "Honestly dear, I'm the Element of Generosity. You can't make me take it, no matter how hard you try."
"I figured you would say that," Celestia smiled at the two ponies. "Consider my offer taken back."
"So what's our objective exactly?" Twilight asked. "Go to Spellbarrow, investigate, and report back to you?"
Celestia shuffled her hooves. "I honestly don't know. If you can find out the "source" of the famine, and eliminate it somehow, that would be ideal. If you can't find anything, yes, report back to me." She started walking back to her throne, stopped, then turned. "Best of luck, you two."
The duo walked back to the staircase in silence. It was a strange thought, the two of them going on some grand quest, Twilight thought. And without the rest of the girls too... How would she break this news to them...
Pinkie bounced up when she saw them come back, making Twilight feel even guiltier. "You're back!"
"You don't say," said Applejack.
"What happened?" Rainbow flew over to them.
Twilight looked at her hooves. They wouldn't like this... She looked into their expectant eyes, and just couldn't meet them. She relayed what Princess Celestia had told them.
"Oh dear," squeaked Fluttershy.
"What!" Pinkie shoved her face into Twilight's to the point where they were almost touching muzzles. "She's sending you on a super awesome mission to save Equestria and we can't go?!"
"Look, I hate it as much as you do. But the fact is, whoever wrote this letter is in control. We can't risk sending anyone else." Twilight's eyes were cast downwards. This wasn't going well at all.
Rainbow was stomping her hooves. "Oh, come on! Why the hell does this guy want just you two to go anyway?"
"We know as much as you do," Rarity said, gritting her teeth.
Applejack frowned. "Can't say we've ever done one of our adventures without the whole group going. But if that's what the letter says, then go do that."
"Thank you, Applejack." It would certainly be quite an adventure, just traveling with Rarity. Twilight was slightly apprehensive, but she managed to stifle it. They would get through this just fine. "We're not sure when we'll be back, so don't go crazy over us." She tilted her head towards Pinkie, who was hugging her hind legs and rocking back and forth.
"We're still going to go to our homes to get our things ready, so you can still walk us to the station," Rarity said. She looked towards Pinkie. "Would you like that, Pinkie Pie?"
Pinkie didn't respond.
"I will take that as a yes."
***
"An adventure, huh?" Spike was rearranging the books on the shelves. "It's weird how the others can't go with you guys."
"I wish they could." Twilight packed what food and water she had left, a couple hundred bits, and miscellaneous survival gear. "It's gonna be weird with just me and Rarity."
Spike sighed. "Two whole hours with Rarity... I could just melt." He went up a rung to arrange the books on the next shelf.
Twilight was anxious. She was forgetting something, she definitely was. She double-checked, triple-checked her gear. It was all there, except for...
"Spike! Can you toss me that copy of 'Astrology and Its Relevance'?"
Spike shook his head. "You're going to be in a train with the most gorgeous pony in the Equestria, and all you can think about is reading?" He pulled out a book and inspected the cover. "Found it!" He tossed it to Twilight, and she caught it with her magic.
"Well, looks like that's everything," she said, slinging the saddlebag over her back. She looked at Spike rearranging the shelves, and felt a pang of guilt. "Are you sure you'll be okay here by yourself?"
"Totally!" He slid down the ladder to face Twilight. "I've got tons of gems." He pulled out a knapsack from a nearby shelve, and showed its contents to her. It was filled to the brim with rubies, emeralds, and other valuable gemstones.
"Where'd you get those?"
"Uh..."
"You know, it doesn't matter. You need to eat. Just... don't do that again, okay?"
Spike looked at his feet. "You got it."
She looked at him. He would be able to take care of the library, no problem. He was a capable little dragon. So why was she so nervous?
"Well, I guess this is goodbye." She started walking out of the library.
"Wait!"
She turned around.
"Good luck!"
Twilight smiled. "Same to you!"
***
The station was already bustling when the six ponies arrived. Ponies trying to get out of Ponyville, Twilight realized. Unfortunate. Twilight looked over at Pinkie, who had stopped shaking. "Are you okay now?"
"As okey-dokey-lokie as I can be!"
"What caused this change of heart, if I may ask?" asked Rarity.
"Pinkie Sense! Duh. When I hug my legs and go rock, rock, rock," -she punctuated each rock with a tilt of her head- "it means something really REALLY good's gonna happen!"
A look of realization dawned on all of them. "Oh," they said simultaneously.
Applejack looked at the wall clock. "Thirty minutes till the train arrives. What are we gonna do to pass the time?"
"Talk, I guess," said Rainbow.
The six of them chatted with each other about normal things, animals getting loose, runaway storm clouds. They laughed and talked and smiled. When the train came, Twilight didn't want to leave. But she motioned to Rarity, and they both got up to board it.
"Good luck, guys!"
"Stay safe, you hear?"
"Make sure you've got your towel!"
Rarity entered the train. Twilight looked at it for a while. She looked back at her friends, at Ponyville. Till we meet again, she thought, and boarded the train.
From the train, Rarity watched as the four ponies left the station and let out a small sigh. Here we go. Another day, another adventure to get roped into.
Twilight pulled out their tickets from her saddlebag. "Booth 14." she said.
Rarity nodded and followed Twilight down the cramped hallway. Ponies they recognized were packing their suitcases into the compartments above, and Rarity couldn't help feeling down. Was that Flitter in the corner?
"I'm sorry Miss, but your turntable just cannot fit in the luggage compartment. It has to be brought by a separate train."
"Aw, come on!"
Rarity and Twilight turned their heads. In the doorway was a train attendant arguing with a very familiar looking DJ. She was lugging a turntable behind her.
"It's gotta fit somewhere here!" Vinyl tried to push through, but was blocked.
"It won't." The attendant stomped his hoof, and Vinyl flinched. "We are truly sorry for this inconvenience. Rest assured, it will arrive at your destination safely."
Vinyl was about to retort when a refined voice sounded behind her. "Vinyl, we are delaying this train by a substantial amount. I had to part with my instrument, you will have to do likewise."
"But Octy-"
"No buts. Let the stallion take it. No harm will come to it."
Vinyl grumbled and dropped the rope she was pulling it by. She glared at the attendant, who remained stoic. "If something happens to it..."
He nodded and she pushed past. The attendant blew a whistle hanging around his neck, and two ponies came and took it away. He resumed his patrol on the train.
"'Scuse me," Vinyl muttered as she pushed past the two onlooking ponies.
Octavia stepped onboard, scanning the train. She looked at Rarity, and smiled. "Look who it is."
Twilight looked at her, then at Rarity. "You know her?"
"Indeed I do," Rarity said. She stepped forward, and shook hooves with Octavia. "Odd seeing you here. I suppose you're leaving as well?"
"You know me. I go where the business goes, and right now, that's not here." She looked past Rarity's shoulder. "And Vinyl decided to go along with me. She's not handling it so well."
Rarity turned to see her idly making circles with her hoof on the plastic tray in front of her. "It would seem so. Are you two...?"
"Hmm? Oh, no. A ridiculous proposition.The real question is, what are you two doing here? And where are the other Elements?" She looked at Twilight. "Don't you have princess duties to attend to?"
She grumbled. "I wish."
Rarity decided to respond. "Princess Celestia sent us on a quest to fix this dreadful-"
Octavia waved a hoof, stopping Rarity mid-conversation."Forget I asked. If you ask me, these adventures you ponies take on never end well. Somepony always ends up getting hurt." She looked at Vinyl. "If you'll excuse me, I have an irritable DJ to take care of. It was nice to speak to you both." She went past the two and sat down next to Vinyl, who was tapping her hoof to some generic dubstep Rarity couldn't identify.
Rarity watched Octavia leave, her eyebrows narrowed. Of all trains, of all times they had to go on the same ones. And she just had to mention her "business". That was just rubbing it in her face. Was this her punishment for not tipping that waiter that one time?
"We should probably get to our seats too. Come on." She went down the hallway past the two nusicians, and Rarity followed. "How do you know her anyway?"
"She's a regular customer. Probably my main source of income." She remembered Octavia struggling to get into one of her most complicated dresses yet, and almost smiled. Then she remembered the incident. She bit her lip. She didn't want to think about the incident.
"Well, good for her." Twilight stopped, Rarity almost collided into her back. "Our seats should be here."
Twilight sat on one side of the booth, Rarity on the other. She heard the doors close. She tensed. Here we go... The train jolted, and they were off. She braced against her seat, expecting a more violent start to an adventure.
Twilight was engrossed in some astrology book. Rarity, meanwhile, was left staring out the window, daydreaming. Why didn't she bring a book? That would have been nice. Maybe Twilight brought more. No sensible pony would only bring an astrology book to keep themselves entertained.
"Twilight?"
She didn't respond.
"Twilight."
"Hmm?" Twilight looked up from her book. "Hey. Need something?"
"Did you happen to bring any more books?"
"No. Sorry."
"Oh, that's uh... that's fine." Rarity looked out the window at the landscape. They had just crossed the edge of the Everfree Forest. From there on out would be unfamiliar territory. Ponyville was fading from view. "I think I'll go stretch my legs for a bit."
"Gotcha."
Rarity slid out of the booth. What to do now? Perhaps she'd just look for somepony to talk to. There had to be a pony with some tragic story somewhere on the train. She started walking, looking at each booth for somepony interesting. There were parents with crying foals, stallions laughing and joking with each other, but mostly just bored ponies waiting to get to their destination.
"What did you leave your booth for?"
"Hmm?" Rarity turned to see a lone unicorn stallion in a booth, with a suitcase next to him. How did she miss him? "I'm sorry?"
"What did you leave your booth for?" he repeated, gesturing towards Rarity's booth. "You're bored, I'm assuming."
She sighed. "Very. How on Equestria do ponies stand these arduous train rides?"
He shrugged. "We just talk to our companions, mostly. You and Twilight don't seem to get on too well."
"We don't, do we?" She smiled, but it faded. "How do you know I'm travelling with Twilight?"
He pointed to the seat opposite him. "Sit," he said.
Something compelled her to follow his order. She slid into the booth, keeping a wary eye on the stallion.
"Miss Rarity," he leaned forward, his stare intense. "We don't have much time." He looked at his watch, and his eyes widened. "Fifty seconds, in fact. You need to go back to Ponyville and round up the rest of the Elements. It won't function with just the two of you. He doesn't realize that."
"What won't function?" Rarity was bewildered. "Who doesn't realize?"
"Please, just listen." He looked out the booth down the hallway. Rarity followed his gaze, but couldn't see anything other than a little filly with a chocolate ice cream cone. The stallion pounded his hoof on the table, and Rarity jumped. "Out of sync," he muttered, looking at his watch.
"I'm afraid I don't-"
"Listen to me!" He hit the table again, and Rarity winced. "I don't know how, but you have to find a way to get back and get the others. If you don't, your quest will fail, and the famine will never leave." He grabbed the suitcase in his magic and stood up briskly "Oh, and there's a towel underneath the sink. Good luck." He walked away.
"Now wait just a moment!" She slipped out the booth, but he was nowhere to be seen. She bit her lip. That was certainly a very cryptic conversation. She hated cryptic. Cryptic meant you had to go and figure things out on your own, which was a great inconvenience. Then again, there was a pony on that train who very much enjoyed this type of thing.
Twilight was still reading her book when Rarity walked back to their booth. She slid into her side of the booth. "Twilight?"
"Yeah?" She didn't take her eyes off the book.
"Something very odd hap-"
"Are you a princess?" came a squeaky voice.
Twilight and Rarity turned their heads to see the filly with the ice cream standing there, staring at Twilight's wings.
She smiled, setting down her book. "I am indeed."
"Ca-... Can you give me an autograph?" The filly excitedly took out a pencil and notepad out of her little saddlebag with her free hoof, handing them to Twilight.
Twilight let out a little laugh. "Sure." She took them in her magic and signed her name on one of the pages. "Here you go!"
"Thanks!" The filly tried to take them with the hoof that still had the ice cream with it, and the scoop ended up flying into the air, and squarely on Twilight's head.
"Oh my!" Rarity dabbed at Twilight's mane with a napkin on the table. "Are you alright?"
Twilight didn't respond, her eyes staring straight ahead as streams of chocolate ran down her face.
"Twilight?"
She blinked. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just let me go to the bathroom." She staggered out of their booth on her way to the bathroom, past the filly who was staring at her hooves.
The filly tried to offer the empty wafer cone to Rarity, but she declined. "Can... can you tell her I'm sorry?"
Rarity smiled. "I'm sure she knows it was an accident."
The filly's eyes were downcast, and she trudged away. Rarity watched her go. And now she was alone. Admittedly, Twilight wasn't the chattiest of companions, but she was good at just being there. She looked at the astrology book she'd left behind. It couldn't be that bad of a read, right?
She took the book, wiping off bits of chocolate. She skimmed through it, and she realized something. It was a textbook. Twilight read textbooks on her spare time.
Rarity groaned and set it back on the table. It was hopeless.
"Are you okay?"
"As good as I'll ever-" She looked up to see Octavia standing there, her eyes wide. Rarity stiffened. "-be," she finished.
"Do you mind if I sit?"
She fixed an unblinking stare on her. "Please do."
"Thank you." Octavia sat on the seat opposite Rarity. She looked at the book on the table, raising an eyebrow. "Astrology?" She laughed nervously. "Mother would be ashamed."
"It's not mine."
"Ah. Where is Twilight?"
"The bathroom."
Octavia fidgeted under Rarity's stare. She adjusted her bowtie, and cleared her throat. "I'm sorry. For what I did."
Rarity grit her teeth. "I would imagine so."
"It wasn't like you think," Octavia pleaded. "I mean, it's not as if-"
"What is it you want?"
Octavia averted her eyes from Rarity. "For you to forgive me."
Rarity gave her a closed smile. "Don't hold your breath."
"Can you please just tell me what I can do? I'll do anything!"
"Lower your voice," Rarity said. Ponies were starting to look towards her booth, and she shuffled.
Octavia blushed. "Look, how about tickets? I can give you tickets to my next show. Front row too."
"Oh, yes. Because tickets to watch you bask in your success is exactly what will get me on the path to forgiving you. Honestly. A plus. How did you think of that one?"
Octavia buried her face into her hooves. She stayed like that for a minute before standing up. "I hope you'll be able to understand, one day." She walked back towards her booth, her head hung. Good riddance.
Twilight walked back from the bathroom, muttering something under her breath. Her mane was completely wet. She pulled down her bag from the luggage compartment and started rifling through it.
"What are you doing?" asked Rarity, not looking at her.
"Getting my towel. Honestly, a bathroom without a towel, what's wrong with these ponies?"
"There should be one under the sink." Rarity was still staring at the empty seat in front of her.
Twilight raised her eyebrow. "... Right." She put the bag back in the compartment. She looked at Rarity. "Are you alright?" Rarity didn't respond. "Hey." She waved her hoof in front of her, and she blinked. "Are you okay?"
Rarity blinked and looked at her. "Err... yes. Perfectly fine, thank you." She gave a smile she was sure didn't seem convincing at all.
"Well, you looked kinda shaken up there." Twilight looked back at the bathroom. "Anyway, I'm just going to dry my mane. Be right back."
"Indeed."
Twilight left, and Rarity was left alone once again. She tried to read the astrology book again, to no avail. Maybe there was something in her bag. She had to have packed something under than perfumes and hair tonics. She brought down her bag from the compartment, and looked through it. Nothing to entertain her.
She yawned and put it back up. Maybe she should just get some sleep. It would be so easy to just doze off... No. She was a lady. It wouldn't be fitting for her to take a nap on public transportation. Maybe she should have some coffee from the refreshments car. If there was any.
Rarity stood up. She started walking down the hallways through car after car. It felt like she'd been walking for hours when she found the refreshments car. Her eyelids threatened to close. Where was the coffee? There was no one else in there, other than Vinyl, who was munching on something.
There was a coffee machine on the end of the table, with ceramic cups stacked next to it. She sighed in relief. Finally. She walked over to it, took a cup, and filled it. There was no sugar or cream anywhere, but she could manage. The cup was filled, she took a sip, and sighed. Coffee was coffee. It was still good.
"Hey, itsh you! Howsh it going?" came a muffled voice.
Rarity looked to her left to see Vinyl stuffing her mouth with pastries. "Very well, thank you," she said, smiling.
Vinyl put down the pastries, and swallowed before responding. "Oh, uh, sorry if I was, like, mean back there. Kinda having a bad day right now."
Rarity raised a hoof. "No apology needed. I'm not having the best day myself."
Vinyl scanned the table for more snacks. "What's wrong?"
"I'd rather not talk about it, if you don't mind." She paused. "How's Octavia?"
"You mean Octy?" Vinyl shrugged. "She's cool. She's been acting weird lately though. Especially since we ran into y'all. Ooh, cookies!" Vinyl had found her next target. She began demolishing the plate of cookies.
"I see."
"I guess you guys know each other?"
"Yes. It's rather complicated."
They heard an ear-piercing screech of metal. Rarity bent over and covered her ears with her hooves. "What on Equestria is that sound?"
Vinyl was still standing straight. "Huh..."
"Can't you hear that!"
"Hell yeah I can. But it's nothing compared to my new album."
The sound halted, and so did the train.
Hesitantly, Rarity took her hooves off her ears. "We've stopped..."
Vinyl was about to respond when the lights went off.
Rarity fought the urge to scream, which the ponies in the other cars clearly weren't doing. Their shrieks contested the metal screech they'd heard. It was pitch black. She couldn't see Vinyl, who was standing ten inches from her.
She heard a grunt and saw an orb of light float up from Vinyl's horn to the ceiling. It morphed from a blue light into a multicolored flashing eyesore that filled the room. "Ack!" Rarity covered her eyes.
"Sorry, sorry! It's still set to disco! Gimme a sec." Vinyl closed her eyes and the orb slowly turned back into the blue orb. It filled the room with its light.
"I have to get back to Twilight." Rarity made for the door.
"Hang on..."
Rarity turned. "What is it this time?"
Vinyl was looking out the window. "Check it out."
It was completely pitch black outside. They couldn't see a thing. The orb's light didn't even shine through the window.
Given the situation, Rarity would have likely asked what was going on, yet was unable to, due to the train's sudden and unforeseeable explosion.
