--

The train wheels click and clatter as the train speeds through the night along the tracks to it's various destinations and stops, the occasional light illuminating the train car's wide seating specifically designed for ponies, as it passes the dirt and occasionally cobblestone laden roadway intersecting the tracks.

A train conductor pony methodically enters the car through a connecting doorway from another car, taking the opportunity to reach into his coat pocket and pull out a gilded pocket watch into his hoof, silently reading the time which is well into the night schedule-- and ahead of time for once, to his liking. Placing the watch back into his pocket, the train pony slowly steps to Daniel, which is slumped in the wide seat and on his side, taking up the majority of it due to his natural size, compared to ponies. The wide booth seating like a makeshift bed.

Politely, the conductor taps Daniel's leg as he lies in a deep sleep. Unaware he is asleep, he speaks aloud.

"Ticket, please." The conductor waits a moment, before realizing Dan is asleep, blowing air through his nostrils nonchalantly. This is a common occurrence on late-night shifts and train rides, but duty comes first in his line of work over letting ponies sleep, the train company taking steps to increase accuracy on quotas for ticket-handlers.

He places a hoof on his leg again, shaking gently and speaking louder, repeating the same request without a pause.

"Ticket please."

The conductor hears a low murmur come from the large bundled mass that is Danny, and steps backwards. Dan, rolling over and sitting up groggy with his vision out of focus, stretches and suddenly winces with pain-- having slept on his arm accidentally and it going numb. Despite this, the feeling of sensation comes back with spite, feeling like needles and a tight net is enclosing around his arm.

'Ow! Damn.' Dan thinks to himself briefly and shakes his arm gently, before being prodded on his leg again, turning to see a pony in a train uniform and hat with large mutton chops for a beard.

"Uh, sorry, did you want something?" Dan asks, half asleep and unaware of the situation at hand. The train pony pays no heed, simply requesting a ticket for a third time.

"Ticket please, sir." The train pony doesn't change his expression, simply holding out his hoof. Dan immediately comes to terms with the context of this exchange, patting his pants pocket and worming his fingers into one. Feeling a piece of paper, he grasps and pulls it out between his fingers, it is indeed the ticket. Dan half smiles, embarrassingly having been woke up for sleeping in a train seat, something that has not occurred for a long time.

"Aha, sorry. It's--" Dan pauses, his smile fading to realization, his eyebrows tensing up as he remembers why he's here in the first place. He coughs to clear his throat, trying to save face and dismiss the probable social faux pas.

"I'm sorry, I'm up now, it's been a long day, and--" Dan stops muttering to the pony, who has already taken the ticket and pulled a tag off the side of it, handing it back in his lap with a piece of information said with it.

"No need to say anything sir, your business is your own. I only need to clip the ticket." The pony nods his head impartially, stepping aside from his booth seat and makes his way to the adjacent doorway, leaving into another train car down the line.

"....." Dan sits silently, as he hears the train car doors close when the pony leaves, slumping his head into his hands and trying not to think about his ordeal. He fails as reality continues to cave in, trying instead to think about what to do at whatever new life he feels compelled to make for himself, separate from his friends. He sighs, deprecating himself repeatedly in his head.

'God damn stupid, dumb, idiot, stupid, stupid...'

This continues for a time, before the call of sleep begins to wane on his body again, forcing him to lie to his side, huddling closely to himself until he falls unconscious with bitterness flooded into his mind regarding his own actions.

--

"Danny!"

Pinkie cries out.

"Danny!!"

Pinkie cries out again, running through the dark streets of Ponyville, the odd streetlight lighting the way as various miscellaneous ponies look to her with confusion and concern over the amount of noise. Twilight spots house lights flicker on in many houses throughout the town and neighborhoods, ponies woken up by all the noise.

"Dan! COME OUT HERE YOU JERK!!" Another voice yells out loud, with clear spite and anger fueling the audacity and volume, Rainbow flying with a much higher speed and coverage compared to Pinkie, making rapid and sudden turns above the rooftops and around corners in search for Daniel with drive to confront and ultimately punish him.

Twilight bolts after Rainbow, attempting to keep up with stressed breath and lungs gasping for air, finally getting within range to effectively use her magic, Rainbow coming to a sudden and jarring halt as her wings are magically grasped along with the rest of her body. She violently struggles, looking down to Twilight with confused anger, continuing to attempt to wriggle free, flailing repeatedly with her wings tucked in.

"YOU'RE NOT STOPPING ME!! When I get my hooves on him, I'll, I'll-- !!" Rainbow continues to struggle, as Twilight dually wrestles to keep her in place, yelling back at Rainbow Dash as she starts to peak free of the magic hold.

"THAT'S ENOUGH! Everypony is upset, but you're not making anyone feel any better by blindly flying off trying to--" Twilight's magic fails to hold Rainbow, jerking herself forward and thrust unto the ground as Rainbow is subjected to the same disruption of momentum and falls to the ground without her wings extended to break the fall.

"Guh." Rainbow looks to a stunned Twilight. Clenching her teeth, she seeks the opportunity to get away from her friends, jumping back on her hinds legs, extending her wings again about to lift off. However, her action is disrupted by a rope flying onto and lassoing her torso as she kicks upward for a launch, holding her in place again as Applejack pulls her back down with all her might she can muster.

"Shtahp zhish right now, whad'dya shink you're gonna do--" Applejack gets dragged several feet as she reels Rainbow back, stopping her from flying off in blind rage in a frantic search for revenge, moving the rope from her mouth to her hooves. "I'm angry too! But you're acting no better than he did! NOW STOP TRYIN' TO FLY AWAY FROM US!!" Applejack yanks Rainbow back to the ground, Twilight assisting with another magical field as she trots beside Applejack, Rainbow continuing to struggle.

"I can't believe you guys are even trying to protect him!" Rainbow yells out in spite of them with tears building in her eyes, eventually being forced to hold still as they cautiously approach. Twilight tries her best not to yell, this situation having gone as poorly as she had thought, after explaining what Dan had done to Fluttershy before she could try to give additional context.

"That's not what we're doing, we want to find him too, but--" Twilight is interrupted mid-sentence as Rainbow weakly struggles, beginning to hurt herself trying to push past a stronger force, briefly but finally defeatedly holding still as her strength gives and she starts to wince. "--I'm not going to let you act on your impulses while like this!"

Twilight's eyes widen as she sees her friend in pain, releasing her magical hold.

"I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to--" Twilight pauses as Applejack approaches her from the side, seeing Rainbow Dash tear up with a similar angered grimace, she stands and places a hoof on her chest threateningly.

"... we're finding him, and he's going to answer for this. Promise me." Rainbow's nose twitches as she holds back a sneer, struggling to hold in her anger, Twilight attempting to compromise by placing her hoof on her foreleg supportively while Applejack unties the lasso.

"We're going to find him, for better or worse." She speaks, solemnly but vaguely, a condition Rainbow is not pleased with at all.

Regardless, she appears to comply and places her hoof back down, turning her attention to Pinkie, which is still frantically searching down the street and questioning ponies. Rainbow holds back tears, turning her head dismissively and walking toward her, Applejack walking back to Twilight and whispering to her.

"I'd be lying if I said that I didn't want him to answer for all this. He's been doin' something to them, and I suspect you know more than you were able to say before she got all worked up." She looks Twilight in the eye with a stern look.

"I'm not letting this go either, y'hear?" Applejack says threateningly but with a more controlled lower tone, following to keep an eye on Rainbow Dash, Twilight shaking in place trying to figure out what to do while stressed herself and at her limits.

'This is... this is all too much! All my friends, and Dan, and--' Twilight feels she's within the first stages of a panic attack, before she sees Pinkie sit in place with her head held low, Rainbow placing her head on hers and bringing her in for a comforting embrace.

The rage-fueled pegasus having been pushed to the side to aid her friend, Twilight coming to a realization.

"..." She silently watches them for a moment before finally trotting over and joining them in a group hug, Applejack petting Pinkie's back as they hold her, Pinkie beginning to sob.

"Why, why did he do this to her, a-and why..." Pinkie sniffles and wipes her eyes, feeling her heart stress itself with a feeling of loathing against him being contrasted with the shuddering pain of being abandoned, the two clashing emotions wreaking havoc inside. Rainbow continues to hold her close, letting her cry with someone to lean against, Rainbow looking to Twilight worryingly.

'I have to stay strong and support them, no matter how I feel.' Twilight looks determined, nodding to Rainbow in agreement that they need to find Daniel.

'For everypony's sake.'

--

The peak of morning finally rises hours later, Twilight preparing a cup of coffee in the kitchen as she paces back and forth impatiently in the main room of the library, her ears perk up as the door flies open, Rarity walking in and speaking without a doubt Twilight is still awake.

"Applejack, Rainbow and Pinkie will be staying with Fluttershy and questioning her, I pray calmly, while we look for Daniel." Rarity states, turning her eyes to Twilight with concern. "Darling, perhaps it's time you've gone to bed, if... only for a brief time, it may do you some good."

Twilight, hearing a ding, ignores the suggestion and hears the pitter patter of little feet rush into the kitchen and rush back out, Spike holding a cup of piping hot coffee. Rarity shuffles her legs, raising a hoof and tensely attempts to explain away the situation at hand for him.

"Spike, we're-- I mean, we're only--" Rarity is interrupted by a highly audible sigh from Twilight, taking a careful sip from the mug she's been handed, levitating it toward her mouth and blowing on it. A small comfort, though Twilight would not be able to sleep anyhow even without it, deciding to stay up.

"He knows, Rarity. I told him." Twilight says uneasily, regretfully exposing Spike to this very adult situation that has been traumatic for them all, deciding this is unavoidable as a topic that he will eventually find out about anyway.

Spike speaks up, offering some insight, despite being equally apprehensive.

"Well, he couldn't have gone very far, right? I mean, he isn't exactly built for travel on two legs, and he kinda stands out." Blunt and to the point, Spike tries to think of it from a logical standpoint. Spike raises his hand to his chin, contemplatively, as Twilight takes another sip of the coffee after blowing on it again. Rarity abruptly walks past her and up the stairs to the second floor for some reason, Spike continuing on with his guesses.

"Maybe he took the train? That should be easy, right?" Spike smiles up to her, hoping to prompt a breakthrough and make her pick up what he's putting down, but is instead met with an agitated look. She tilts her head down, before looking surprised as Rarity levitates a blanket onto her back, turning to be met with a caring smile from her, Twilight compelled to smile too just as she was about to cave in to her own doubt.

She places her foreleg around Spike, giving him a hug unexpectedly, Spike momentarily confused but affectionately placing his arm around her neck with a softer embrace.

"Uh, so was that a good guess, or?" He chuckles lightly, unsure how to respond. Twilight replies for him, her determination and drive refilled.

"Yeah Spike, that'd be a good start." She taps her hoof on her chin. "Or maybe he took a balloon ride, or rafted down a river. Hmm." Twilight shifts her lips to one side, trying to calculate the distance between the time he's been gone, trotting on upstairs to grab a map. Levitating a bundle of paper and a map of equestria's local borders, she places them on the table in the middle of the room, rolling out and unfolding the map, muttering information she begins to piece together.

"Back when I took him to those researchers, they took several physical tests." She levitates a pencil and draws out a triangle, writing numbers down in each corner, continuing to speak informed tidbits of information out loud. "They told me he walks at an average of 1.5 meters a second, he's been gone for... about 7 hours?" Twilight hazards a guess, based solely on the last time she's seen him back in the hospital.

Turning her tongue outward from her lips, she dutifully grabs a ruler and measures many main roads, grabbing a local map and calculating distance, based on speed, against the time.

"On foot, he would have gone as far as the swamps in the Everfree Forest." Twilight tries not to think about that possibility, remembering Dan nearly got killed by timber wolves by his own description, still bearing scars across his arm. She continues to propose guesses, based on time and distance.

"He could have gone to the ruins, but I don't think he knows about them. Maybe he headed East through a path out of town to some rock ridges, or West, down the river." She rubs the side of her face, being overwhelmed. "Come to think of it, he may have been able to walk to the base of the Canterlot mountain by now if he picked up the pace, but if he wanted to go there, he'd probably just take the train..." She infers, solely based on Dan's laidback personality.

Twilight begins to calculate train arrival times based on stops, looking troubled, discovering many more variables to it.

"If he took a train, then that'll be harder, but depending on which train he took..." Twilight measures the distances again, using the equestrian map, not entirely sure which paths house railroad tracks and using estimates based on distance.

"By now he could be anywhere from West through the White Tail woods, to South in Appleloosa..." Twilight rubs the side of her cheek, trying to pick whatever one might be less time consuming for a search party, before Spike steps in to give his opinion.

"... well, I don't think he'd go too far." Spike hazards a guess, also based on Dan's personality and general attitude. Rarity however, doesn't pick up on this, asking aloud to him.

"Why do you say that, Spikey?" Rarity raises one foreleg, curiously, Spike making a similar pose to Twilight as she looks on just as curious.

"He's only been to like 3 places outside of Ponyville, right? He wouldn't know how far everything is, so... maybe he just went with whatever he could recognize as far enough? It doesn't feel like he's running away from punishment." Spike rubs his arm, knowing the similar feeling he guesses Dan might be feeling as well. "... just running away from his problems, rather than tackling them head-on." Spike shrugs, brushing off the feeling to be able to add more. "Maybe ask the train ponies around town, I figure he stands out enough for them to remember."

Twilight smiles warmly and grasps Spike with magic, nuzzling him deeper into the side of her face, proud that he's managing to stay more controlled than they are. Spike, however, starts to feel smothered and wriggles in place in an attempt to escape this hug.

"T-Twilight, you're kinda crushing me." Spike speaks sarcastically with a sly smile, eventually coming around and patting the top of her head until she decides to let him down.

"Yeah, we should start there. Rarity, ask the girls--" Twilight is about to relay orders, but is interrupted by Spike holding his hands to his mouth, Twilight ducking thinking he's about to burp. Rarity steps back as Spike lets out a blast of brief green fire, a letter propelling itself and resting on the table. Twilight grabs the letter via magic, unfurling the scroll and reading top down, her eyes widening.

"It's from Princess Luna, she wants to talk about Dan, immediately." Twilight folds up the letter, stepping out from her blanket, turning to them both and motioning her head for them to join her.

"Let's go get the girls." She states, looking serious, Rarity looking to Spike and back to her with concern awash over her eyes.

"But, dear, Fluttershy!" Rarity doesn't get to say anymore as Twilight adds on.

"She wants everypony, and she said she might have some insight. Come on, the faster we go, the faster we can continue tracking Dan." Twilight's determination is refueled yet again, hoping to get some answers and hopefully closure, if not for her, then she hopes for everyone else.

'We just need to stay strong.. stay together.' She affirms to herself, Spike climbing onto her back to ride her, as she trots outside the library with Rarity back towards Fluttershy's cottage.

'We need to stay together...'

--

"Next stop, Laaaaaas Pegasus!" The conductor yells out through the intercom excitedly, though the rest of the train is lightly populated, what ponies must be onboard are bound to be excited for a nightly trip. Dan is briefly caught off-guard, sitting cross-armed as he was daydreaming and staring out the window blankly.

'Did he just say...' Dan wonders, unsure if he heard that right, drawing parallels to Las Vegas as he shuffles in his seat to try to spot this 'Las Pegasus'. Strangely, he sees a stop along a large field, but sees no such 'City of Sin'as he knows it, instead spotting a large collection of hot-air balloons as the train comes to a stop with a mess of what he could describe best as tourists, approach the train with a multitude of party gear, t-shirts, and themed hats. Upbeat and oddly familiar music playing outside on speakers.

"Uh huh." Dan feels mildly perturbed, before ducking his head below the window and looking upward, spotting a large silhouetted city-like mass of structures up in the clouds, lit up as bright as the moon.

'...whoa.' He tries to stay calm, but is purely in awe that such a place even exists. His attention to the apparently popular tourist destination is interrupted by ponies walking into the train car from the neighboring one with a door, filled with a loud murmur of multiple ponies talking and reminiscing. The volume however dips, as ponies take notice of him, beginning to stare at the strange creature they haven't seen before, before finally taking their seats and acting like they didn't notice him to be polite.

Expectedly, none of them approach or seat nearby Dan, as he casually glances to them and actively resists the urge to shrug or say something.

'Take a picture why don't you.' He joyfully thinks with a smirk, before his eyes flash blindingly with a light shone into them in an instant, he rubs his eyes and tries to ascertain where that came from. Apparently, somepony took that suggestion in-mind and snapped a photo, a little Pegasus filly with a camera apparatus strapped to her shoulders and a tourist cap donned on. She peaks her head over the adjacent booth seat, looking with an admiring smile before another pony's hoof is laid on her head and she's thrust back down into her seat, with a stern yet hushed whispering directed at her.

"Don't do that, that's rude! You know better." Another pegasus pony, Dan assumes could only be this child's mother, nervously smiles and gestures with her hoof back at him in a shrugging motion. "Ahaha, I'm sorry, she's so excitable and just loves to take pictures of everything."

Dan smiles back, raising his hand from his cross-armed pose, waving it with a humored remark back at them.

"Heh, nah it's fine, I'm used to it." He waves back happily to the little filly poking her head above the seat again, she waves back before sitting back down and showing the picture she took to her mother, being hushed again with volume too low for him to hear what she said. This familiar feeling of being looked at is nothing new, though the awkwardness is still present, Dan is fine with excusing it-- he feels like he'd stare too if one of these ponies were casually sitting on a subway train, way back when.

The train doors finally close, the train beginning it's steadied pace again, the sight of the apparent tourist destination moving out of view up until they ride along a ways and take a small turn, moving Las Pegasus into view again. This time, from a wide distance.

"... no fucking way." He leans closer to the window, spotting what he thinks is a rollercoaster track, unintentionally swearing out loud caught up in his own excitement.

'They got a freaking rollercoaster!' He thinks excitedly to himself, starting to regret not stopping to see it up close, but this thought is quickly crushed once he remembers how expensive these kind of destinations are. Something he feels is no different here than it was back in his own world.

'Probably charge 10 bucks a head... or bits?' He's unaware of the exchange rate of bits to his equivalent of money, never having bothered to compare them, just having the farmer's market back in Ponyville to compare to. Even then, it was a barter system, so his knowledge is skewed regardless.

Some time goes by through the long trip, Dan picking up he's having multiple eyes staring back at him behind his back and it becoming increasingly uncomfortable. His worry is relieved as a food cart gets rolled in by an earth pony going booth by booth, offering snacks in a multitude of varieties, from boxed crackers and two layers below the main tray showing an assortment of sweets. Unfortunately, he fails to find anything specific to his liking, most of them being sweets barring some apples displayed on top.

'They sure love their sweets.' He thinks, unzipping his bag and taking out a bundle of bits into his hand, trying to ration his money out as long as possible until his unknown faraway destination. The cart pushed to his booth, he briefly skims through the displays, deciding on an apple fritter and a bottle of apple juice. Handing over the bits, he takes a fritter and bottle in-hand with a straw, taking off a solid half of it in one bite, pony proportions being smaller. Even the bottle of juice would considered 'small', but this fits him just fine as he quickly finishes the fritter and sips the bottle after inserting the straw.

Some thoughts pass through his mind, remembering Applejack because of the apple taste swimming through his mouth, feeling uncomfortable from reminiscing about some earlier memories when he first got introduced.

She was the first to actually offer him a part-time job, helping with farm work and simply picking apples, since he was so much taller.

Rarity offering to make him clothes since he only had the clothes on his back to begin with, which were torn to shreds originally.

Dan holds one cheek full of juice, unable to swallow it.

Rainbow excited about someone to discuss daring things with.

Twilight enthusiastic to ask questions.

Fluttershy proud to see him become accustomed to the world and her friends.

Dan painfully gulps the liquid down his throat, his cheek begins to twitch, a painful mass welling in his gut as he feels like he should choke on it.

Pinkie just glad to have met someone new, paying no heed or any apprehension to meeting and becoming friends with an entirely foreign creature.

'...god damn it.'

He shudders in place briefly, struggling not to shake, closing his eyes with a frustrated grimace, placing the bottle of juice between his legs and crossing his arms; splaying his head onto the top of his booth seat with his face toward the ceiling, resisting the urge to yell. He knows this will be difficult, with no solutions being able to smooth it over, believing they must hate him by now.

Begrudgingly, he attempts to go to sleep, wishing but lamenting to wanting to stay away from them. Not being able to avoid the memories of companionship he has just left behind, suspecting they will always despise him from now on. A reality he is coming to accept, and continues to reason to himself once more before drifting to pained sleep.

'It's better this way...'

The little filly looks over the seat with a camera raised, excited to see the friendly creature wave again at her for another photo op, her expression turning from excited to disappointed as she sees his angry expression while laid back, believing she made him annoyed. Her mother lightly taps her shoulder, not having to say to stop staring, as she slides back down into her seat sadly anyway. The filly yawns, taking off the camera apparatus and her hat, lying on her stomach with her head beside her mother, closing her eyes and feeling like taking a nap. She lies down, tucking her legs and tail inward, resting her head against mother's hind leg.

Her mother pets her mane as she drifts to sleep, no doubt tired from their vacation, she smiles warmly to her daughter, admiring her resting face as she whispers to her.

"Sweet dreams honey."

Author's Note

Spike, truly the MVP of this chapter. More on that later.

This took a day or so, was actually very unsure what to title this chapter, been a long while since I had to think of one (which will also need to rhyme), along with the next closing chapter.

I feel it will be obvious, still.

Thank you again to those who have read this far, it may be painfully obvious where this is headed, but I hope you may enjoy the 'ending' as it is planned when it does come out. I have been dropping hints, from the original encounter with Luna many chapters ago, to now tidbits of hints through the most recent chapters. Either way, this story will be finished, and I can start a continuation with some freshness to add to it with a separate set of characters-- and if not, well, I finished a story at least.

Thank you again :)

Unrelated: Look at how ADORABLE this pony is, found this wonderful little piece the other night while browsing derpibooru at midnight by the artist acersii.

https://derpibooru.org/1838151