Hidden Eye. Private Investigator

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3

Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

I awoke to a rather pungent odor wafting over my bed. Exactly what the odor was or where it had come from eluded me as I was still half-asleep. Attempting to ignore the offending smell by burying my face in my pillow with hopes of giving sleep a second attempt proved unsuccessful. After what felt like at least a half of an hour of attempting to ignore the smell, I finally accepted the fact that despite my protest, I was going to be dragged into full consciousness.

I had enough of my senses with me to determine that this mildly nauseating aroma was emanating from the heating vent on the ceiling at the other side of the room and smelled like a combination of well-over-ripe banana, week old fish with just a hint of lavender to keep things bearable. Thinking back, those three items comprised all of the odoriferous materials I had deposited into my wastebasket last night in preparation for trash pickup today, which I sincerely hoped that I had not slept through. Prior to being deposited in the trash, the bananas and fish had resided on my counter and in the refrigerator respectively. The scent of lavender came from the interior of an aerosol can, the majority of the contents of which had been emptied into the trash in a feeble attempt to mask the smell of rotting foods. In retrospect, it may not have been the best idea to place the trash can next to the heater intake vent, but it was the first actually cold night I had spent since I moved into my office, so I was willing to give myself a bit of leeway on that. I made a mental note to find a new place for my trash can.

My long journey to full sensory alertness was completed when I heard the ever familiar sound of a hollow wooden container being thumped repeatedly against a metal surface. In response to this sound, I quickly got out of bed. Perhaps a bit too quickly as shortly thereafter I once again found myself lying down. This time however, I was on the floor, not the bed, and indeed this episode was not a result of sleepiness, but rather a complete loss of motor coordination; a direct result of a lack of blood flow to the brain. I was not overly pleased with myself or my shiny new headache at that particular moment. On the plus side, I learned that the stars that I am so-often told accompany mild head injuries can be quite beautiful once the ringing in the ears stops.

“Take two…” I thought to myself. I got back up on my hooves, slowly this time. Stars fading. Solid footing established. I made a mad dash for the kitchen where I succeeded in removing the over-filled trash bag from the can without spilling any on myself or the floor. From there it was out the door grabbing my coat along the way. Surprisingly successfully given my track record so far today, I propelled myself down from the third floor via exterior staircase. Fortunately for my sinuses I was able to get the trash to the side of the street by the time the garbage wagon passed by. It was only 7:30 and today's forecast was already mixed.

I was slowly trotting back up the stairs when a bright flash of light accompanied by a loud pop emanating from behind me caught my attention. Over my shoulder I saw a beautiful snow-white mare standing behind me. Protruding from her fashionably styled dark purple mane was a horn which was emitting a rapidly fading glow. In my career has been my experience that mysterious mares, however beautiful they may be, suddenly appearing at the base of your stairs usually spells trouble. Trouble was not exactly what I wanted to have for breakfast this morning.

“Mr. Eye? Hidden Eye? The detective? Is that you?” she said to me in a panicked tone.

I studied her for a moment before responding, “Private Investigator, not detective and, no. I won’t be Hidden Eye until..." A brief pause while I tried to make out the clock tower in the distance, "10:00. Right now I am Getting Breakfast, the hungry unicorn. I’ll tell Hidden Eye to expect… who are you anyway?”

“Oh my, how rude of me. Just because one is on urgent business does not mean one can simply forget her manners.” She replied, “My, my name is Rarity a-and I really must speak to you immediately Mr. Eye, i-it is extremely urgent.”

“I told you. I am Mr. Breakfast. Mr. Eye does not get here until 10:00.” I replied with a tone that would have expressed my irritation to even the most oblivious of ponies.

"A-are you sure I can't convince you to be Mr. Eye?" she retorted "You match his description perfectly you know. Light brown coat, jet black mane and tail, a-and a fedora cutie-mark on your flank."

I glared at her. That was probably not the smartest thing I had ever done. I was about to find out that she was emotionally unstable right now.

“Very well Mr. Eye, er... rather Mr. Breakfast. There is no need to be so abrasive, please let me come in. I will wait for you to finish eating. I’ll even make breakfast for you. I just can’t go back home, I can’t. It’s not safe. Somepony is out to get me. I… I… I… just don't know what to do.” She started to cry.

“Fine, fine, fine, Hidden Eye just got here, come upstairs.” I said, “I’m not completely heartless.” She threw her forelegs around my neck.

“Oh, thank you! Thank you so much Mr. Eye! I just don’t know what I would have done if you had not agreed to see me!” she exclaimed between suppressed sobs.

I tried to calm her and break free from her hug at the same time, the latter being far more successful than the former. I guided her up the stairs and into my office through the customer entrance as the portion of my office which I had converted into living quarters was in no state to be viewed by eyes other than my own.

“Ms. Rarity, please make yourself comfortable in this room while I go prepare myself some breakfast. You can tell me all about what is so important after I get some food in me. Can I offer you anything?” I asked her hoping she would say no; after all I wasn't sure if I even had enough food to make myself a decent breakfast.

“Just Rarity will be fine Mr. Eye.” She said, “No need to be so formal. But no, no thank you, I appreciate your offer but I am not in the mood to eat at the moment.” I had started to trot away when she said, “But… Oh please don’t judge me for it; I know it is very early. Could I trouble you for a mug of your strongest cider? I need something to calm my nerves after what happened early this morning.”

I gave her a nod and said, “I’ll see what I can do. Oh, and Rarity. Remember, my first name isn’t Mister, it’s Hidden.”
Upon entering the kitchen I poured a half consumed mug of now stale cider into the sink, gave it a quick wash and put it on the drying rack with hopes that it would be reasonably dry by the time my breakfast was ready. Nopony likes weak cider after all. I lit the stove and placed a heavy and surprisingly clean skillet above the flames in which I placed a few haybacon strips, next I put my last two pieces of bread in the oven to toast them because toasters are for ponies with disposable income.

By the time my breakfast was adequately done the mug was nearly dry. I gave it a wipe down with a dishcloth do get the last bits of water out. I had a bottle of Sweet Apple Acres high-gravity cider I was saving in my fridge for a special occasion. I figured that this was as good an occasion as any. I left the Flim-Flam Bros. bargain 12-pack for later. If my feeling about how today was going to turn out was anywhere close to correct I would need it. I shrugged as I closed the fridge, cheap cider is still cider.

I brought my breakfast, Rarity’s cider and the mug to go with it out to my office. I sat down at the table across from Rarity and poured her cider. The sound of the cider filling the mug seemed to calm her down. I took a few bites of my breakfast to give Rarity a chance to enjoy some of that cider. “So, Rarity, now that you've calmed down, tell me everything about what happened to you early this morning.” I asked between mouthfuls.

She took an almost absurdly dainty sip of cider. “Well, Mister… Pardon me, Hidden Eye. Well, it started several weeks ago actually.” she began, “I am a clothing designer you see and I was in Canterlot for the fashion expo last week. I had originally planned to enter one of my ensembles in the exposition but unfortunately I was unable to acquire a number or rare gemstones that I needed to complete it in time and far be it from me to exhibit an incomplete ensemble.”

“Rarity, could you please get to the point. I don’t have all day.” I interjected. This was a complete lie of course. I did have all day. I had more than all day. I had all week. I hadn't had a client in far too long and my savings from the last case were running out. I decided that if she had any sort of case at all that could use my services, I would take it. Celestia knows I could use the bits that would come with it.

“Of course, I do apologize; I do tend to ramble a bit do I not? Let’s see, ah yes. Well, I had not originally planned to attend the expo but I received a letter the afternoon before it began informing me that one of my usual suppliers had been able to get his hooves on the gemstones I needed to finish my latest arrangement. I bought a ticket for the next train to Canterlot. I figured that I may as well visit the exposition anyway. I left Canterlot the day after the exposition; which might I add was very lovely. So many ingenious creations! I digress. The train ride back to Ponyville takes quite a while so I did not get back home until late that night.” She stopped talking briefly to take another ludicrously dainty sip of her cider.

I had finished my breakfast by now so I got out my notepad and started taking down some of the things she was saying. I asked what happened after she got home; a question which she seemed more than glad to answer.
“Well,” she continued, “I opened the door. Being night you see, of course it was quite dark so I used my horn to cast some light on the interior of the front room. It was then that I saw that the whole house was in a complete shambles. I ran straight to my work room. You see that is where I have my gemstones in a large chest for safe keeping. I thought for sure that anypony who would break in to my home would surely want to abscond with the most valuable items that I possess. Well, much to my relief and, might I add, complete astonishment, neither the chest nor its contents had been touched by the ruffian who had forced his way into my home. Naturally I ran to the police straight away. They sent a team of investigators over with intent of ascertaining the identity of the invader. The only thing they found was a black Pegasus feather a few feet from the back exit. The police didn't make anything of it because the back door is adjacent to a street. Since nothing was missing and there was no evidence of the intruder the police went back to the station and instructed me to contact them that should anything else happen.”

“That’s all well and good but I’m not sure what you need me for.” I said. “I certainly understand your distress, but his seems like a fairly typical burglary where the intruder did not find what he or she was looking for, for some reason or another. In such cases usually something scares the burglar away before a thorough search can be completed.”

“If that were the only thing that I experienced this week I would hardly think I would need your services as well Hidden Eye.” she said with an affronted air to her voice.

I apologized for any offense that I may have caused and invited her to continue. “Three days ago I started to get the feeling that somepony was following me whenever I left my home. I tried to convince myself that it was just nerves resulting from the break in several nights prior. After all, if a lady cannot feel safe in her own home, where can she feel safe? Try as I might I just could not shake the feeling that I was being followed. This went on until early this morning when I learned for certain that I was indeed being followed. I was sound asleep in my bed when I was woken by the sound of somepony fiddling with the lock on the back door. I snuck downstairs hoping to block the door so that should the would-be intruder unlock the door he would find access quite impossible. When I made it all the way downstairs I saw that there was a black Pegasus standing in my foyer rummaging through my belongings. Naturally I screamed. Needless to say this alerted the intruder to my presence. Instead of attempting to flee the scene as one would suspect, he came charging straight for me with an evil look in his eye. Well, I barely managed to dodge his tackle which caused him to collide very ungracefully into the side of the stairs. This gave me just a moment to get a head start. I fled out of the back door, twisting left and right through the streets of Ponyville attempting to evade my pursuer. He was a Pegasus so of course he was able to quite quickly close the gap that knocking his head into my wall had allowed me to create. Luckily for me I was able to duck into the library without him seeing me. I hid among the stacks in the library for several hours until I felt sure that he had gone. When I emerged from the stacks I saw my friend Twilight Sparkle studying away at one of her desks. She asked me what I was doing there so I told her most of the story I just told you now. Once I mentioned how... helpful the police had been, she said that somepony like you may be able to help me. You were listed in one of her directories as the closest Private Investigator to Ponyville. So I came straight here.”

I found her story a little far fetched, but then again, who was I to make conclusions without any sort of evidence. I did not believe that I was the closest Private Investigator to Ponyville. I was almost certain that there were others who were closer. Manehattan isn’t exactly nearby Ponyville by most definitions of the word. She certainly seemed to believe that she was telling the truth anyway. I didn't sense any deception from her but something didn't seem quite right. I made a note to have a word with this friend of hers who had referred her to me.

I looked at the beautiful mare sitting across the table from me for a moment and thought about her situation before offering a response. “It sounds to me that your friend… Twilight was it? ... was right. You definitely could use the services of somepony like me. Before I agree to take the case, we must discuss my fee.”

“Oh! I will pay you anything! Just help me stop this horrible man!” She exclaimed.

I responded, “Well I’m not going to charge you just anything, I am going to charge you exactly one-hundred bits a day, plus expenses and 50 bits up-front. That goes up to one-hundred-fifty bits if somepony tries to kill me.” I probably could have charged her more than my standard fee. She certainly looked like she could afford it. Those diamonds on her flank probably had something do do with it. No matter how wealthy she seemed, I could not bring myself to overcharge a mare who seemed to believe she was in so much danger. Sometimes I loathed when my sense of honor decided to show itself.

“Oh I’ll pay! I’ll pay. Whatever your fee is I’ll pay it!” She said. The fear she wore on her face when I first met her had been replaced by a glimmer of hope. I just hoped I wouldn't let her down.

“Rarity, you have just bought yourself the services of one Hidden Eye, Private Investigator. We should leave immediately. I can’t very well investigate something going on in Ponyville from my office in Manehattan can I? You head on outside, I’ll be right behind you. I just need to grab my coat and hat.”

As we walked down the stairs a torrent of questions ran through my head as so often happens at the start of a case. Why could somepony possibly want to harm her? Did they even want to harm her or did they just want to give her a good scare? That would beg the question "Why?", and it was that question that kept playing itself over and over again. "Why?" Nopony did anything without having some sort of reason for doing it. I kept pondering that as we reached the bottom of the stairs and turned left onto the street headed towards the train station.

END CHAPTER 1

Chapter 2

I intended to question Rarity about events leading up to that night with hopes of possibly establishing a motive for the intruder or perhaps some sort of identity or intended target. I had essentially nothing to work with except a vague description. That made my job very difficult, dark colored pegasi aren't exactly difficult to find; even in a town as small as Ponyville.

Now I know what you're saying, "Hidden, she said that he has a black coat. Weren't you paying attention? There can't be that many pegasi in Ponyville with black coats." On that point you would be right. But she also said that it was dark when she saw him. So dark in fact that she couldn't make out details of his face. Now wouldn't you think that if it was that dark she wouldn't be able to determine color very well. As far as we know he could have been dark blue, brown, or any dark color for that matter. Think about it. If somepony came up to you and asked you if you were the one who had broken into somepony's house and gone through her things; would you say yes, or would you say no and then run like buck as soon as the questioner looked away? Or fly like buck in the case of our pegasus friend.

Unfortunately the questioning of Rarity was not to be as she decided to tell me stories for the duration of the walk to the train station. I wouldn't have been able to get a a word in edgewise. I tried to be patient listen to every single word that she spoke as my attention seemed to calm her down. I cannot deny that I had hopes that something she was talking about could help give me a lead on her case.

The first story she told me was a recounting of the time she met Sapphire Shores, which I must admit made me more than a little bit envious. It occurred to me that we could be dealing with a crazed fan. After all, who wouldn't be envious learning that you know somepony who had met your favorite musical act. I had my doubts that a crazed pony would break into a business and chase the proprietor through the streets just because the object of their obsession had spent several hours there many months before. You never can tell though when dealing with obsessed ponies. I learned all about just how rational fans can be the hard way when Trixie Lulamoon hired me for protection from a crazed fan who was stalking her. They are called 'fanatics' for a reason after all, but that is a story for another time.

Next it was the story of when she spent a week in the palace in Canterlot. After that she told a number of tales about her encounters with vicious creatures, a manticore, a hydra and even a dragon. I must say that my favorite story was the one when her friends encountered a patch of a plant called 'poison joke'. This recount stood out in my memory because it was the only one that did not elaborate extensively on her own role in the events. I suspect that she was with her friends when they ran into the plant but if it gave that Twilight friend of hers jellyhorn I can only imagine how embarrassing Rarity felt the effects on herself were. I decided not to try to get the information out of her.The last thing I wanted to do was offend my new client, and if I was reading this mare right, she was more easily offended than most.

During the nearly hour long walk to the station I identified many leads on which I could start pulling including some sort of convoluted plot hatched by somepony with intent of gathering information about the palace. I expected that if I did start pulling on them, they would unravel shortly thereafter as most of them seemed much too far fetched to actually be real. As ridiculous as the ideas may have seemed, they were the only ideas that I could come up with the information made available to me. I suppose I would have to start pulling on them if the conversation that I had planned with Twilight didn't yield anything.

I had become distracted by analyzing what Rarity had told me so far. I was replaying her stories in my head, searching through them for clues. My once meticulous attention to Rarity's words and devolved into a slapdash application of nods and "mhmms". My inattention was revealed when we got to the ticket window. I only noticed that Rarity had stopped talking when the ticket seller, at whom I had evidently been nodding for several minutes, presented me with with an annoyed "Ahem!" I looked up and I saw the ticket seller and Rarity staring at me. I apologized and gave them a sheepish grin.

"That'll be twenty-five bits for each of yas." said the salespony with a thick accent.

I looked at Rarity. "You don't expect a lady to pay do you?" She said with a playful pout on her face.

"I do when one ticket costs twenty-five bits. I'm not exactly made of coin ya know. Also, I believe this falls under the 'plus expenses' we talked about earlier." I replied unamused.

Her expression changed, "Well... Hmmp. I couldn't pay even if I wanted to."

"Why not?" I asked.

"It's not like I stopped to grab my saddlebag while I was chased out of my house this morning." She shot back.

"I don care who's gonna pay!" the salespony interrupted, "One of yous just pony up or get the buck out'a the way! Yous guys are delaying everypony else! " His sentiments were echoed by many of the ponies in line behind us.

None to pleased about already being out my deposit, I rummaged through the pocket of my coat to find the fare. I gave the fifty bits to the salespony and in return received two tickets and a very friendly, "Good! Now getouddahere! Train's that way. I figga I should tell ya so I can save yous the trouble of havin' to argue 'bout that too? NEXT!"

"Ponies in Manehattan are so kind." I thought to myself while we were walking towards the train. We may have been causing some delay in the line but I hardly thought that we deserved that kind of response. Rarity too seemed shocked by this treatment. Encounters like this one made me wish that I was back home in Cocodrie deep in the Appleaya Delta. Not much call for private investigators in Cocodrie, that was the whole reason I moved to Manehattan in the first place. That and I was tired of ponies I didn't know looking down their snouts at me because I spoke like I was from out of town. I never thought I had much of a Appleaya accent, despite having lived there my entire life. Even so I speak differently enough from the Manehattenites to get some funny looks.

The conductor made the final boarding call almost immediately after we got our tickets so we rushed onto the train through the nearest door. We were making our way to our compartment which was a few cars down from our door of entry when Rarity asked, "Hidden, do you mind terribly if I take the window seat?

"Of course not." I replied with a chuckle, "You do know that there is a bench on both sides of the compartment. We can both have the window seat."

She replied, "Oh, silly me. Of course. What I mean is... Could you sit between me and the door. I might still be the tiniest bit... on edge because of what happened to me this morning, What with the whole... being chased around town by a home invader and all. You understand. "

"Sure thing." I said. Considering some of the things I was sure I was going to have to do later, the request of a specific seating arrangement was nothing.

The ride from Manehattan to Ponyville is a long one. The train schedule said that i was supposed to take about ten hours with three stops at the different towns in between. Evidently Rarity had requested the first class private cabin. She was a bit more cavalier with her money than I was with mine. I suppose one can be cavalier with one's money, cavalier from my perspective anyway, if one has lots of it. But anyway, we did agree on one thing; nopony deserves to be forced to spend ten hours in a coach seat.

Rarity entered the cabin first, I followed shortly thereafter. The cabin was larger than I had expected, even for what I imagined a first class cabin to be like. The decoration equally exceeded my expectations. The benches were made from forest green quilted leather. Between the benches, directly under the window was a small table made of what looked like very expensive wood, on top of which rested an equally expensive looking Tiffany Lamp. The paneling was made from burled walnut which had been polished to a near mirror finish. In the middle the wall above the benches on both sides of the cabin was a small latch which, when released, caused the panel the latch was located on to fold down revealing a bed. The latch was very small. Too small to be operated by hoof. This made me wonder how earth ponies and pegasi were supposed to access the beds. I was not able to ponder this particular mystery of the universe for too long because the train lurched into motion and threw me off balance.

Rarity had already taken her seat when the sudden lurch from the train caused me to deposit myself rather unceremoniously on the bench beside her. "Do be a bit more careful, won't you. You wouldn't want to hurt yourself or that lovely lamp over there." she said followed by a giggle.

Rarity had spend a lot of time filling me in on her case details and more importantly perhaps, attempting to convince me to take the case before we left for the train station so much so that it was already well past time for lunch, getting on late after noon even. I expressed my hunger to Rarity and I asked her if she wanted me to get her anything. "Would you be a dear and bring me back a cider?" she responded, "I am awfully tired from my little run around Ponyville this morning so I will be retiring soon. I always find a nice flute of sparkling cider before bed helps me sleep."

I responded with a nod. While I was on my way out Rarity drew the blinds and extinguished the lamp. Her voice stopped me before I had shut the door, "Oh Hidden, I am going to lock the door. Say 'Opalescence' when you get back and I will let you in. If by some chance I am already asleep, Twilight told me of your lock picking abilities already. I trust you could let yourself in."

I nodded again and shut the door. I could see a faint light-blue glow coming through the frosted glass window in the door followed by a thud. Rarity must have been using her magic to put down the bed. Her comments about my lock picking abilities made me rethink how distressed she still was about the events that had gone on this morning, she was certainly doing a good job of hiding it if she was. I decided it would be best if I put an enchantment on the door that would make it near impossible to open. I trotted towards the dining car, fairly confident in the safety of my new client.

The dining car only sold cider in bottles and the pony working the beverage section was very adamant that the cider be served in a mug and that I was not allowed to take the bottle back to my cabin for some reason I did not fully understand. I was able to convince him to part with the whole bottle and a champagne flute on the condition that I not take the bottle out of the dining car. Something about not being able to get it out of the carpet. I ordered a basket of hay fries and a sandwich which I carried to a table as near to the door as possible. I ate my lunch and ducked out of the dining car as soon as the salespony was looking away.

I was very pleased to see that my enchantment was still in place on the door. I dispelled the enchantment, knocked on the door and said "Opalescence" per Rarity's instructions. There was no response so I knocked and said the password a second time. After waiting for some time and receiving no response I pointed my horn at the key hole and fired the appropriate unlocking spell at the keyhole. The door swung open silently and my eyes fell onto an empty cabin.

Empty...That's not right... I did a double take, rechecking the number on the door to make sure I had not somehow entered another room with an enchantment on the lock. I was not so lucky.

"EMPTY‽ This room can be many things," I thought, "but empty is not one of them!" I rushed out of the room leaving the beverage intended for the now missing Miss Rarity behind.

Chapter 3

"Conductor! Conductor!" I called out while galloping towards where elderly earth pony had been sitting when I walked past him on my way back from the dining car just a short while before. The distance to the conductor's station seemed significantly further than I remembered, but I guess everything seems farther when you're in a rush. Much to my relief, I saw the conductor poke his head into the hall. "Yes!" I thought, "He's still there!" I slid to a stop in front of him, only slightly winded.

He spoke very slowly. "Ponies don't usually run that fast on trains; what's troubling you?" with a quizzical look on his face.

"My friend, I can't find her. White unicorn with a purple mane. Name's Rarity. Have you seen her?" I asked between heavy breaths with a tone of urgency

"Can't say that I have, sorry. I'm sure she'll turn up. She couldn't have gone far. We are on a moving train after all. Go on back to your cabin and don't worry ya head too much. I'll keep an eye out for her and I'll tell her you're looking for her if I see her." He said with a tone that made it seem as though he thought I was a little bit loco in the coco.

I gave the conductor the number of my cabin, and trotted back there. I felt mildly patronized at his unwillingness to do anything proactively useful, but it was probably best to not give him the whole story. The more ponies who found out that Rarity hired a P.I. to find out who was after her, the more likely it was that the ponies who were after her would find out if they hadn't already. I'm sure that they knew she was traveling with a companion, the nature of our relationship I hoped they were in the dark about. For that matter, how did they know where to find us. For all they knew Rarity could have teleported herself anywhere, and from what she told me it seemed the only pony who knew where Rarity was headed was that Twilight Sparkle. I was more certain now that this Twilight character had more to do with this than anypony realized.

I started my search for clues with the door. All magic leaves a trace on things that it has touched for a time, even after any enchantments have been dispelled or worn off. I fired off a series of spells at the door designed to detect recent presence of magic and what that magic was intended to do. The only thing I detected was the enchantment I made to the lock. Inspection of the door jamb yielded no signs of forced entry either which meant that either somepony had managed to both dispel then perfectly duplicate my spell or, far more likely for both practicality and feasibility reasons, the kidnapper had gained access to the room through other means.

I searched the bed next. All I found was a very neatly arranged set of emerald green sheets which I might note, coordinated unusually nicely with the rest of the cabin. The only information they yielded was that they had not yet been disturbed, and that the pillow was still stowed in the overhead shelf. I haven't know my client for very long but she doesn't strike me as the kind to not take advantage of all available luxuries. My magical inspection didn't detect any residual magic on the bed at all. If Rarity didn't use her magic to put the bed down how did she do it? Perhaps more importantly, what was she doing when I saw the glow of her magic through the glass of cabin window? Forgoing attempts to discern the purpose of the magic, I blasted the entire cabin hoping detect on what Rarity had targeted her magic.

I found traces of my magic coming from the door, bed and drink bottle. From the window facing the outside of the carriage I detected a weak magical signature with a male aura, and suspended in the air in the middle of the room was a very strong magical residue with a definitively female aura. She must have been trying to defend herself from whoever tried to come in through the window. How a unicorn could manage to get a clear shot at the latch on the inside of the window of a moving train I was not clear on. It certainly would not have been possible for him to do by himself. He would have to have been suspended outside the window some how moving about the same speed as the train. A rope? Perhaps some pegasistance? A pegasus that could fly as fast as a moving train was hard enough to find, never mind one that could do that while carrying another pony.

My further attempt to investigate the purpose of the spell she had cast in the middle of the room didn't give me the information I was hoping for. I could still detect that the spell was cast, and the narrowed focus revealed that this was a reactionary spell cast out of fear, but my own burst of magic muddled the entire room. I couldn't detect what the spell was intended to do or its target. I considered the possibility of teleportation. I knew she could do it, that is how she showed up at my office. I thought it unlikely because the target of a teleportation spell is the teleported object itself and doesn't usually leave a trace in the surrounding area. A further physical inspection of the window told me that whoever it was that tried to open the window at least got the lock open, but beyond that nothing else useful. It was still shut and there were no signs of damage. If somepony did get it open, they didn't leave any signs of having done so.

Next was the investigation of the suspended unicorn hypothesis. How did whoever it was get a clear shot at the lock on the window. I hoped to find a ladder or access stairs to the top of the car between the carriages, but no such luck. Teleportation magic had never been something I was particularly good at, but it looked like the only way to get on top of the train. A quick peek around the side of the train showed that there we weren't very close to the tunnel through the mountains so I decided to give it a try.

Eyes shut, deep concentration. I could feel the necessary power building in my horn as I visualized my destination. A couple of fizzes and crackles followed by a quiet ringing noise then a loud pop as I felt myself dematerialize into that weird space that you travel through when you teleport. The feeling of being completely incorporeal and an absence of a sense of time always made me question the nature of our existence. If a place like this exists, what other planes might exist and what sort of creatures live there if any? Do they know that we travel through their domain? Do they care? It was a feeling which always unsettled me and on I was quite glad to be rid of as I felt myself being pulled back into regular space.

My return to regular space was greeted with the bright light of day, the clanging sound of the train moving on the tracks, the smell of the inferno burning in the firebox that was powering its motion and the mild sense of panic I experienced during the brief time I was falling through the air before my hooves made contact with the roof of the carriage. I've never been particularly good at teleportation, especially when trying to do it to myself. No matter the target of the spell, or how hard I tried I could only perform on a line of sight basis. Since I couldn't see the top of the carriage I had to aim just above it. I shot a little higher than I intended, but all things considered, I think it went well.

I was a little disoriented and not quite sure exactly which side of the car the window was on. I trotted very gingerly to about where I thought our compartment was relative to the length of the car. There was a place where a rope could have been tied, but it didn't look very strong, and hadn't been magically reinforced. Nearby there were some reasonably fresh hoofprints in the thin layer of soot that settled on top of the train. They lead off in the opposite direction I came from, but disappeared near the edge.The prints were only going in one direction which means that somepony either flew or teleported to get up here and probably weren't on the train when it left the station, and departed the train in the same way. There wouldn't be a record of this mystery pony having purchased a ticket. Not that a ticket record would be useful anyway. This train runs all the way from Manehattan to Los Pegasus and makes several stops along the way. There must be hundreds if not thousands of ponies on this train.

Further scrutinization of the top of the train showed no signs of presence of anypony on any of the other nearby cars. Amongst the soot I did find a few small pebbles and some feathers that had become lodged in crevices in the roof, and a five bit coin. One of the feathers was a uniform black and significantly larger than the others. Large enough that it could be a small pegasus feather or just from some very large bird. I took it with me to inspect more later. As for right now, during the time I had spent on top of the train it had traveled much closer to the mountain range between Manehattan and Ponyville. Once we reached it the train would have to slow down due to the steep grade of the tracks and we would spend the better part of the next three or four hours going in and out of tunnels. I wanted to be well away from the top of the train before we got to the first tunnel.

Very carefully I trotted back to the edge of the carriage. Still a little put off by the feeling of the interspace, I elected to hop down instead of teleport even thought I had a direct line of sight this time. I gently propelled myself over the edge of the car, allowing gravity to do most of the work. Apparently not enough though. My face made contact rather forcefully with the wall of the carriage in front of me. The headache that I though I had left in Manehattan returned. Sometimes I legitimately wonder why my head doesn't go off and find itself a new owner considering how it gets treated around here. Once the world stopped spinning I dusted myself off and saw a very startled unicorn looking at me. I could tell she wasn't suspecting to see another pony fall from the sky. After all, who would. I smiled nervously at her and quickly made my way into the car leaving her to ponder what had just happened.

Before I went back to my cabin, I made a quick stop by the food and beverage car. There was a different bartender now. He was a little more accommodating when I asked him if there was any way I could take my drink back to my car. Apparently it is allowed for first class passengers to have food and drink in their cars. Just most of them don't bother to come get it themselves because there is a button that will summon a porter to your cabin to get it for you, so the other bartender assumed I was a coach passenger. I guess spilling things all over strange ponies is worse than spilling things all over ponies you know. I happily took my drink back to my cabin without fear of being accosted.

I was staring out the window, enjoying my drink slowly, watching the sun go down, the mountains grow closer, and rolling the cold glass across my forehead between sips while mulling over today's events when there was a knock on the door. I opened it to the face of the elderly pony I sought help from earlier. To be honest, I was surprised to see him. I thought he was just appeasing me to try to get the crazy unicorn that was bothering him to go away.

"Any news on my friend?" I asked him.

In the same slow voice he said, "Nope, haven't seen her. I'm just coming around to ask that you close your window and keep it closed until we reach the first stop on the other side of the tunnels. If you leave it open, the smoke from the engine can get in and nopony likes it when that happens. If you need some ventilation, there is a vent above each bed, we will be turning on the fresh air circulation soon. Just open those up."

"Ah, yes. Of course. I'll make sure to. Thanks." I said and then closed the door as he trotted on to the next cabin.

The window was closed, but I relocked it and continued staring out until the train reached the tunnel through the mountains and started to slow. Just before the train entered the first of the several tunnels there was a quiet wooshing noise as the ventilation system activated. Then it got completely black. This was a good enough time as any to get some sleep. There was a big day ahead of me tomorrow. I called for the conductor and requested that he come around an hour before we reach Ponyville. The train was due to arrive very early in the morning and I didn't trust myself to wake up in time to not miss my station.

I awoke the next morning with a start. The sort of sudden jolt awake that happens when you know you have slept too long. I bolted out of the cabin and ran towards the conductor's station. I started to ask him why he hadn't woken me up, but he preempted me.

"You sure like running on trains don't 'ya? Don't panic, we haven't reached Ponyville yet. I may be old by my memory still works. There was a slight hangup on the way and we are running behind schedule. The Mareaheim station was having problems with its water pump so we had to shut the train off and wait for them to fix it and then wait for the boiler to heat back up once they did. You have no idea how long it takes to get one of these babies up to operating pressure once it has cooled down. Anyway, we're due in Ponyville in a little more than two hours. You still want me to come around?" His speech got faster the further into the monologue he got.

"Not thanks." I said. "I'm not planning on going back to sleep."

I had a little breakfast and spent some time exploring the other things that first class had to offer. I was surprised to find a bathing car which had several very fancy looking stone shower stalls at one end and an equally ornate series of bathtubs at the other. The attendant informed me that my ticket got me free use of both if I wanted to. Far be it for me to not take advantage of free things. Apart from being free, a shower was probably a good idea. Being on a train for a long time gives a pony a certain odor. It's not a good idea for somepony who might have to gain... let's say... surreptitious... access to things to have a distinctive odor. It's just one more way to be detected.

"If this is how Rarity travels, I can only imagine how she lives." I thought to myself while the warm water fell over me.

I was starting to understand why first class on this train was so expensive. Most ponies don't have houses this nice. I certainly haven't had one.

After I had my shower I made my way to the cabin and got my few things together including the drink intended for Rarity. Through the window I could see Ponyville getting very close. If Ponyville was anything like the other small towns I've been to, the train station would be on the outskirts of the city. A squealing of metal and the hiss of steam being let off told me that I was right. The train was already coming to a stop and it still looked as though we were a fair distance away from the majority of the buildings.

I disembarked the train a short time later. Ponyville train station reminded me of the Cocodrie depot from which I left for Canterlot and my job with the Equestrian Intelligence Agency, and had not been back to since. There was a stand selling various apple products. Pies, fritters, and more importantly cider. I purchased a few bottles to drink later. The cream colored filly with a red mane who was working the stand spoke with a very thick local accent. This place was a lot more like Cocodrie than I was completely comfortable with.

Across the road there was a taxi stand. Exactly what I was looking for. I flagged one down and got in.

"Where ya to?" The gravely voice coming from the stallion pulling the cart asked.

I responded, "The library, if it's open yet."

"Heh." His laugh sounded almost like a cough. "That library is always open. I don't think that Twilight ever sleeps."

We arrived at the library about 15 minutes later. I paid the cabbie his fare and tried the door. It was locked so I knocked. There were no hours of operation posted anywhere. Just a sign that read "Golden Oaks Library". Some minutes had passed and nopony had answered my knock so I tried again.

"I'm coming. Just a moment." A muffled voice replied.

I waited a few minutes more. I heard some shuffling, then a thud and the sound of the door latch sliding open. I was greeted by the sight of a Purple unicorn who looked like she had been awake far too long. If she was tired, she didn't do anything more than look it.

"Hidden Eye!" a large grin spread across her face. "I'm so glad you're here. Of course you should have been here hours ago. But you're here!" Her horn started to glow and a force pulled me inside. The door slammed behind me and relocked.

End Chapter 3

Whew. There it is. I wrote this one in one go over the course of a few hours starting around one in the morning. When one is in the zone one does not simply stop until one is done. Please let me know if you notice anything that needs fixing.
As always suggestions are welcome.