Derailed

by JunkerRabbit

Rating: everyone
Tags: Other, Original Character, Trixie, Spike, Comedy, Adventure, Slice of Life, Main 6, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 33944

The gang confronts another mystery aboard a train, but this time the stakes are much higher.

****SPOILERS IN THE COMMENTS!****
Pinkie Pie is on the trail again! Who would've thought that there would be another train mystery so soon after the one involving the Cakes' precious "MMM". This time, though, Pinkie and her five friends are in for more than just a regular 'whodunit'.

Including Pinkie Pie, her friends and the train staff, there were fifteen ponies aboard the train when it left the Ponyville Station. Each one carried valuable items, and these valuable items are getting stolen left and right! Can Pinkie Pie solve the perplexing case before the train reaches Canterlot?

Edited by the splendifferous Yukito!

Published 2012-07-31 09:04:02 UTC
Last updated 2013-08-24 02:45:33 UTC

2000 Miles Remain

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400 MILES TRAVELED

2000 MILES REMAIN

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The Friendship Express rolled steadily along the tracks as the first four hours had passed. Trixie had tried to get the attention of every single other passenger at least twice. Luckily, everypony saw through her facade and ignored her boasting.

Applejack had struck up a conversation with Sheen about the land he had been mapping. Applejack was interested in learning about the countryside that surrounded her hometown. It was one of the most gorgeous pieces of art she’d ever seen, despite it just being a map for reference purposes. It was obvious that Sheen had put a lot of love and care in making it. She was especially interested in the woodland that swallowed a good portion of the upper-right corner of the parchment.

"Sweet Celestia,” Applejack said with astonishment while looking at the map, “The Everfree Forest is a might bigger than I reckoned!”

“Yeah, and this only shows a little less than a third of the thing!” Said Sheen, pointing at an area about a quarter of the way into the forest, “This is the furthest I ever went in, though. It’s too wild out there, even for a dragon like me. I stopped here because there was a zebra there that turned me back. She let me stay the night, though. Can you believe that? A bloody Zebra! And this far from home! I bet she had a story to tell. Of course, she wouldn’t tell, but I can respect that . . .”

He must be talkin’ ‘bout Zecora, Applejack thought, She’s so hospitable to everypony! The orange earth pony reminisced about her memories of the kind zebra who resided in the Everfree Forest. Zecora certainly was a lot more patient than Applejack, what with her tolerance of all the racism that followed her before Twilight and Applebloom had revealed the truth to Ponyville. Applejack knew that if she were in such a situation, her pony tormentors would be bucked in the face at the first rude remark. Trailing back from her tangent, she realized that Sheen was still talking and tuned back in to the dragon’s monologue.

“. . . Can you believe that? Oatmeal, of all things! If I didn’t know better, would have thought the mare was loony!” Sheen chortled at his own joke, and Applejack stifled a laugh to make it look as though she was paying attention.

As their laughter died down a few moments later, something occurred to Applejack concerning Sheen's situation. “Say,” She thought aloud, “If you were livin’ all on your own for so long, and you’ve never come to Ponyville to make money, how did you manage to buy the train ticket?”

“Oh, the princess sent one just recently,” Said Sheen, “She seemed to know exactly when I was done. It was just a wee bit weird, to be honest, but she’s the princess. I’m sure there’s a logical explanation behind it.”

Applejack didn’t have much time to think the black dragon's explanation over. Her thoughts were cut short by Rainbow Dash’s sharp voice from the other car. “WOULD YOU LEAVE US ALL ALONE ALREADY!?” Rainbow Dash shouted angrily at somepony, “WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING ON THIS TRAIN, ANYWAYS!?”

“Trixie does not have to answer your trivial questions, you hotheaded pegasus, you!” Came Trixie’s heated response, “Trixie is a showmare of the greatest skills! She is above you! You should be grateful that you have the privilege of bearing witness to The Great and Powerful Trixie’s practice for her performance at the Rodeo!”

Applejack and Sheen exchanged curious looks and walked towards the other car each of them pressing an ear to the wall to hear the conversation better. “Why would you of all ponies want to perform at the Canterlot Rodeo?” Apple Crumble retorted, “From what little I know about you; and trust me, it’s more than I’d ever want to know about you; you look down on the ponies that compete at such an event!”

There was a short pause before Trixie responded, as though she was gathering her thoughts after being verbally assaulted by the two ponies. “This . . . Is true,” Trixie admitted, “but Trixie has been asked by Princess Celestia herself to attend, and Trixie would never disobey the word of royalty. The princess is one of the few ponies who stands above Trixie in both power and greatness!”

“Now why would Princess Celestia ask YOU to attend? I didn’t even know she knows you!” Said Spike, sounding flustered and frustrated.

"No," Trixie admitted, "the princess has not been graced with my actual presence before, but I am sure she has known of The Great and Powerful Trixie's name and many deeds."

“Trixie does not know, and Trixie does not care,” Said Trixie shortly as the car door opened and the feud's participants walked into the car where Applejack and Sheen were. Rainbow Dash saw that Applejack and Sheen were staring at her and asked, “You two could hear that, huh?” The light blue pegasus sighed as Applejack and Sheen nodded. “She drives me bonkers!" She complained as Trixie exited the car and entered a third, "I still don’t trust her, and neither should anypony else!”

Spike nodded in agreement as he tossed an uneaten muffin in his hand. “She was already super sketchy last time,” He said, “what with the bluff about the Ursa Major and everything, but she really seems to be up to something bad this time. Why else would she be carrying around so much stuff with her and refuse to show any of it to anypony?”

Sheen scratched his chin slowly. “She certainly has a lot of luggage with her," He said in agreement, "I wonder what it’s all for."

“She told me that it was all props for her big show in Canterlot,” Amethyst Star said as she and Dinky Doo trotted over from the other end of the car, overhearing the conversation the others were having, “Seems like a feather-ton of props if you ask me.”

Rainbow Dash nodded. "She did use a lot of props for the show she did in Ponyville, but I'm pretty sure she also knows at least a few shrinky-dinky, 'make-it-bigger-on-the-inside' spells, like the one she enchanted her caravan with," She argued.

Dinky eyed the muffin Spike was holding. “MUFFIN!” She cheered excitedly as she snatched the muffin in her mouth right out of Spike’s claws and wolfed it down before anypony could do anything to stop her.

“Aw, come on!” Said Spike sadly, “That was for Twilight!”

“Sorry,” Amethyst apologized, “She . . . really likes muffins.”

“Lemme guess,” Said Rainbow Dash, “Derpy’s kid?”

“Her name is Ditzy!” Amethyst defended her friend, “Derpy is just a cruel nickname that some bully made up! I won’t let you call her that, even if she isn’t here to know you said it!”

“Cruel?” Apple Crumble repeated with a bit of a chuckle, “’Derpy Hooves’ don’t sound even slightly mean to me! In fact, it's kinda endearin'."

"Do you even know the meaning of the term 'derp?'" Accused Amethyst.

"Course I do. It means somepony who's klutzy or accident-prone. That ain't a bad thing!" Apple Crumble answered, causing several others to nod their head in agreement.

"It's also derogatory slang that can be used to refer to somepony who is mentally challenged, which I can assure you Miss Doo is not!" Amethyst huffed.

"Pfff! That's just a rumor!" Rainbow Dash butted in, "Nopony actually uses that to mean retard!"

"It's just as bad as you saying 'retard!' In fact, in a way, it's -"

“DROP IT!” Boomed Sheen. Everyone instantly fell silent, looking fearfully at the black dragon, who was emanating a soft red glow and slightly heating up the car. Sheen let out a heavy sigh and forced his body to relax as he calmly said, “We were getting off track. This is a stupid thing to fight over, is it not? We’re going to be sharing these train cars for the next twenty or so hours. We might as well be friends rather than enemies. Anyways, what were you saying about the showmare’s luggage, miss?” He turned to Amethyst.

“Um . . . Oh, yeah! She said that it was all props for her act at the Rodeo,” Said Amethyst, “She really wants to go all-out, it seems.”

“Maybe she’s plotting to take over the Rodeo!” Said Rainbow Dash, “Maybe all that stuff is equipment for a big machine that will hypnotize everypony at the Rodeo into being her adoring fans!”

“Why should we be concerned with what she does?” Applejack asked, “Trixie may not be the most pleasant of ponies, but like Sheen here just said, it’s better to be friends than enemies. Besides, she hasn’t done anythin’. Shouldn’t we give her the benefit of the doubt like mature, civilized ponies?”

“Applejack’s right, you guys,” Said Spike, “We shouldn’t meddle in business right after telling her to stop meddling in ours.”

“Maybe we just need a break from each other,” Apple Crumble suggested, “If we all go back to our cabins and catch up on the shuteye we missed from gettin’ up so early, maybe we’ll be able to behave better.”

Everypony exchanged mumurs of agreement and headed off to their cabin. On the way, Applejack said to Rainbow Dash, “Hypnotize everypony? I reckon you’ve been reading a bit too much Daring Do, pardner.”

Rainbow Dash shook a hoof at Applejack as the orange earth pony trotted away and shouted, “It’s possible! You don’t know it won’t happen!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

REVIEW THE FACTS

There were thirteen ponies and two dragons on the train when it left Ponyville Station. Nopony exited or entered the train at any time, as it was in motion the entire time.

The passengers on board were:

Pinkie Pie, who was delivering and going to sell 500 cupcakes at the Canterlot Rodeo. She boarded with the cupcakes.

Twilight Sparkle, who was going to do some shopping for magic supplies not found in Ponyville and to see the Rodeo. She boarded with a book on advanced magic recipes to help her find what she needed, and two tickets to the Rodeo.

Applejack, who was going to compete in the Canterlot Rodeo. She boarded with a bushel of apples, her hat and her lucky rope.

Rainbow Dash, who was going to a book convention in Canterlot where the author of the Daring Do series was to make an appearance. She boarded with a Daring Do book for the author to sign and a costume for the convention, as well as her pet tortoise Tank.

Rarity, who had been asked to be at Canterlot during the Rodeo by Sapphire Shores so that she could be part of her new fashion line. She boarded with several outfits for the fashion line.

Fluttershy, who claimed she wanted to see the Rodeo. She boarded with a small box, whose contents are unknown, and a ticket to the Rodeo.

Spike, who was tagging along with Twilight Sparkle and Rarity. He boarded with a blueberry muffin and a field guide for rocks and minerals.

Dinky Doo, who had gotten two tickets to see the Rodeo, courtesy of her mother, Ditzy Doo. She boarded with the tickets as well as her favorite teddy bear.

Amethyst Star, who was foalsitting Dinky Doo while Ditzy stayed back to work. Amethyst had taken Dinky's extra ticket and was going to see the Rodeo with her. She boarded with a note she was instructed to send to Ditzy Doo when they got to Canterlot.

Bon Bon, who was working alongside Pinkie Pie. She boarded with a Moxipower Shake to help her stay awake during the train ride.

Sheen, a mapmaker from Canterlot who had just finished mapping out the land around Ponyville and was headed home. He boarded with his finished notes, which took several long months to complete, as well as his knapsack, whose contents are unknown.

Trixie, whose reason for boarding was unknown. She boarded with several large bags, whose contents are unknown but said to be her acting materials.

Apple Crumble, who was going to compete in the Canterlot Rodeo. She boarded with a necklace that had family heirloom.

Irwin Ranglem, an animal wrangler who was off to a swamp where an elusive species he was hunting lived. Canterlot was the closest stop to the swamp. He boarded with his equipment for catching the animal he was hunting, but he did not say what kind of animal it was.

Steamer, the engineer and owner of the Friendship Express.

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[[[A/N: This and most of the following chapters are a lot shorter than the first one, and I apologize for that. Don't worry, though, there will be a lot of chapters to look forward to!]]]

[[[Also, I would like to thank my pre-reader* Yukito. Check out his stuff!]]]*

1900 Miles Remain

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500 MILES TRAVELLED

1900 MILES REMAIN

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“Sooooo, mister . . . Erm . . .”

“Wranglem, miss! But you can call me Irwin!” the hardy stallion said with a cross of his front hooves, reminiscent of something Applejack might do.

“Well, erm . . . Mister Wranglem . . . I mean Irwin, you said you are very fond of animals?” Rarity asked awkwardly. The foreign pony had an aura about him that made Rarity uncomfortable when she tried to converse with him.

Irwin laughed a hearty laugh. “That I am, Sheila! That I am!”

“Well, yes, I’m sure you’re amazing with them. Um, if you wouldn’t mind, would you be a dear and talk to my friend Fluttershy? She likes animals, too, but she seems a bit out of it today. I was wondering if you could help her feel better by talking about something she loves.”

Irwin pushed his safari hat up. “Sure thing! Which one is Fluttershy again?”

“Thank you so much. She’s the yellow pegasus. She should be in there. I really appreciate this, she hasn’t been herself.” Rarity pointed with a forehoof to the cabin where the meek pegasus was tucked away. Promptly trotting into the cabin and closing the door behind him, Rarity gave a sigh of relief. She had been prying at Fluttershy ever since the train had set off. It worried her to no end. They were the best of friends! What could possibly have gotten in between them?

After a few long minutes, Rarity heard Fluttershy shriek, “Y-y-you MONSTER!” The white unicorn jumped as Fluttershy burst through the cabin door, crying slightly and carrying the same mysterious box under one wing. She ran right past Rarity, knocking her over as though she wasn’t there at all. Getting up and dusting herself off, she peered into the cabin to find Irwin, on his butt and scratching his head while wearing a dumbfounded expression.

Rarity stared wide-eyed at the earth pony. “WHAT IN THE NAME OF CELESTIA’S MANE DID YOU DO!?!?” she shouted.

“I don’t know! I was just goin’ on about all my experiences with animals. All of sudden, she gave me a bug-eyed look as though I had turned into a tarantula, called me a monster, snatched a little box and bolted! I thought you said she was a wrangler!”

Rarity’s eye twitched. “No,” she said, “I said that she was fond of animals! She’s a caretaker! She doesn’t capture or kill anything!” She pointed an accusatory hoof at Irwin. “No wonder she screamed like that! You just made her problem worse for all I know!” She stomped over, slapped the earth pony, and promptly stormed out of Fluttershy’s cabin.

Rubbing his face where Rarity had slapped him, Irwin slumped over and sighed. “Why can’t I go one day without a mare slapping me?” he asked himself.

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Rarity stormed across two train cars in absolute fury. That savage brute! she thought, I knew Horstralian ponies were more barbaric than Equestrians, but to think that he’s a wrangler! I thought those things were just storybook characters! She sighed and calmed down as she reached the cabin she and Applejack were sharing. Perhaps if I just relax. Take out that book I was reading. Yes, I can feel the anger escaping my body already. Just need to calm down and . . .

Her thoughts were interrupted as she entered her cabin to find the place to be in a state of utter disarray. Applejack was frantically dismantling it further, ripping off bed sheets, emptying drawers, and tearing through both her luggage and Rarity’s. The white unicorn’s calmed state from a second ago seemed a million miles away now.

“APPLEJACK!” Rarity screamed in high-pitched shock, “WHAT REASON DO YOU HAVE FOR MAKING THIS PERFECTLY TIDY ROOM OF OURS AN ABSOLUTE PIGSTY!?!?”

Applejack mumbled something Rarity couldn’t make out. “Come again?” she asked, calming down a little once more.

“MY HAT!” Applejack yelled in panic, stopping the destruction for the first time since Rarity had entered the room. Rarity jumped and gave a slight squeak. “I can’t find it anywhere! My hat has gone missin’ Rarity! IT’S BEEN STOLEN!” Applejack went back to aimlessly taking apart the cabin.

“Well, how do you know you didn’t just misplace it? You shouldn’t jump to conclusions like that, Applejack.”

“’Cause, Rarity! I’ve been asleep for the past hour! I put it on the nightstand right there before takin’ my nap, and when I woke up, it wasn’t there!” Applejack pointed to the ravaged piece of furniture. If Applejack hadn’t mentioned it was a nightstand, Rarity wouldn’t have known what it was.

“Well, maybe if you calm down, you could . . .” Rarity started to say before Applejack cut her off.

“That hat is an Apple family heirloom!” the orange mare growled, “I ain’t sure what you Belles know about heirlooms, but us Apples take them very seriously! This hat belonged to my pa, and before that his pa, and before that his pa, and so on and so forth as far as the family tree goes!” Applejack leaned in closer, and japed Rarity with every word of her next statement. “That. Hat. Means. My. Life. To. Me.”

“Well, maybe we should alert the others,” Rarity suggested, “More eyes looking for it will definitely help you find it sooner.”

“I can’t leave the cabin! What if the thief comes back and swipes somethin’ else?”

Rarity sighed in annoyance. “Well, then, I guess I can go tell everypony, so you can, erm, guard the room.” She trotted out of the room and towards the cabin Spike and Twilight were sharing. Twilight will know what to do, Rarity thought, She’s good with these kinds of problems.

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“. . . And thanks to the down of the elusive Thunderbird being charged not only with Type D elemental magic, but actual electricity as well, the enchanted rosemary incense is prevented from draining itself of magic reserves too quickly and becoming a vacuum. With the incense sustained . . .”

“Twilight!” Rarity burst into the cabin suddenly.

Spike, who had been sleeping soundly, jolted awake and shouted, “I WAS LISTENING!”

Twilight put down her copy of Advanced Magic Volume I and looked at Spike. “Wait a minute . . . You said you were interested in learning about some of these spells! Spike! Were you just using my reading as a sleeping aid!?”

Spike’s eyes shifted nervously. “Um, well, no, you see, I, um, Rarity!” he said as he pointed at the white unicorn to change the subject, “Did you want something?” The baby dragon gave a nervous laugh as Twilight scowled at him.

“Yes, actually. Sorry for interrupting your, erm, reading session, Twilight, but Applejack is in a bit of a crisis, and I figured she could use your help.”

Twilight stowed the book away with the others in her set and looked at Rarity with concern. “What kind of crisis?”

“She can’t find her hat, and she’s convinced somepony has stolen it.”

“Um . . . Is she sure she hasn’t just . . .”

“Yes,” Rarity stopped Twilight, knowing exactly what the purple unicorn was going to ask, “Yes, she’s very sure.”

Spike hopped on top of Twilight’s back and the three set off across the train car to Rarity and Applejack’s cabin. When Rarity opened the door, she was quite amazed to find Applejack still persistently searching for her hat.

“AHEM! Applejack!” Rarity shouted, grabbing the orange mare’s attention. She stopped and looked up. “I brought Twilight over. I figured she’s good at these kinds of things, like when she and Pinkie figured out who was behind eating the MMM.”

Applejack’s nerves relaxed for the first time since she had woken up. “Thanks a might, Twi. This really means a lot to me.”

Twilight looked around the room. “I can see that,” she remarked. “Alright, then. Rarity, could I borrow some paper and a quill?” Rarity nodded and magicked the items out of her bag. The aura around them changed from cyan to purple as Twilight took the paper and quill and headed out the door. “I’ll be back,” she called to Applejack and Rarity, “I just need to go collect some information.”

When she came back, she had a good amount written:

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REVIEW THE FACTS

There were thirteen ponies and two dragons on the train when it left Ponyville Station. Nopony exited or entered the train at any time, as it was in motion the entire time.

The passengers on board were:

Pinkie Pie, who was delivering and going to sell 500 cupcakes at the Canterlot Rodeo. She boarded with the cupcakes.

Twilight Sparkle, who was going to do some shopping for magic supplies not found in Ponyville and to see the Rodeo. She boarded with a book on advanced magic recipes to help her find what she needed, and two tickets to the Rodeo.

Applejack, who was going to compete in the Canterlot Rodeo. She boarded with a bushel of apples, her hat and her lucky rope.

Rainbow Dash, who was going to a book convention in Canterlot where the author of the Daring Do series was to make an appearance. She boarded with a Daring Do book for the author to sign and a costume for the convention, as well as her pet tortoise Tank.

Rarity, who had been asked to be at Canterlot during the Rodeo by Sapphire Shores so that she could be part of her new fashion line. She boarded with several outfits for the fashion line and materials for dressmaking.

Fluttershy, who claimed she wanted to see the Rodeo. She boarded with a small box, whose contents are unknown, and a ticket to the Rodeo.

Spike, who was tagging along with Twilight Sparkle and Rarity. He boarded with a blueberry muffin and a field guide for rocks and minerals.

Dinky Doo, who had gotten two tickets to see the Rodeo, courtesy of her mother, Ditzy Doo. She boarded with the tickets as well as her favorite teddy bear.

Amethyst Star, who was foalsitting Dinky Doo while Ditzy stayed back to work. Amethyst had taken Dinky's extra ticket and was going to see the Rodeo with her. She boarded with a note she was instructed to send to Ditzy Doo when they got to Canterlot.

Bon Bon, who was working alongside Pinkie Pie. She boarded with a Moxipower Shake to help her stay awake during the train ride.

Sheen, a mapmaker from Canterlot who had just finished mapping out the land around Ponyville and was headed home. He boarded with his finished notes, which took several long months to complete, as well as his knapsack, whose contents are unknown.

Trixie, whose reason for boarding was unknown. She boarded with several large bags, whose contents are unknown but said to be her acting materials.

Apple Crumble, who was going to compete in the Canterlot Rodeo. She boarded with a necklace that had family heirloom.

Irwin Ranglem, an animal wrangler who was off to a swamp where an elusive species he was hunting lived. Canterlot was the closest stop to the swamp. He boarded with his equipment for catching the animal he was hunting, but he did not say what kind of animal it was.

Steamer, the engineer and owner of the Friendship Express.

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“My, that’s a lot of information,” Rarity remarked, eyeing the scrawls on the parchment, “Are you sure we’re going to need all of this just to solve this little case?”

“There’s no such thing as a little case!” Pinkie shouted, jumping out from behind Twilight and scaring the four others in the room, “Every single mystery deserves our fullest effort!” She donned her deerstalker hat and blew bubbles in Rarity’s face with a pipe.

“PINKIE!” Applejack shouted, “What are you doin!? This is a serious situation!”

Pinkie Pie gave Applejack a stern look. “I am being serious! There’s a thief ahoof and we have to find them!” The pink pony turned to face Twilight. “I wanna help you, Twily. I wanna prove to you that I can do these mystery thingies just as well as you. Plus, I brushed up on solving these kinds of things! Remember all those times I borrowed those Sherlock Hooves books?”

“Pinkie,” Twilight said, “You never checked out a single one of those books. Nopony has been able to. They all just went . . .” She paused, and realization dawned on her. “. . . Missing,” she finished with a growl.

“Anyways, I’m better at these mysteries. I know all the steps. Step one! List suspects!”

“I already did that. See?” Twilight levitated the parchment over to Pinkie. Fourteen names were circled: Twilight, Spike, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Bon Bon, Trixie, Amethyst, Dinky, Apple Crumble, Sheen, Irwin and Steamer.

“Alright, so you're one step ahead of me. Step two! Look for general motives!” Pinkie snatched the quill from Twilight’s grasp. “Alright, gals, brainstorming time! What would somepony gain from stealing Applejack’s hat?”

“A nice hat?” Rarity suggested.

“Spiting Applejack?” Twilight added.

“Throw me off my game for the Rodeo?” Applejack said with a humph.

“Wait a minute . . .” Pinkie said, stopping her scrawling for a second, “What if it’s to distract somepony from something bigger?”

“Huh?” Spike scratched his head. “Pinkie,” the baby dragon said, “that’s insane. I thought you said you were being serious.”

“It’s a brainstorm Spike,” Twilight said, “Anything goes, no matter how ridiculous.”

“Plus,” Pinkie added, “when all other options have been eliminated, whatever remains no matter how improbable, is the truth.”

“You really have been studying those books, haven’t you?” Twilight smirked, “I’m going to want them back when we get to Ponyville.”

“Alright, I think we have enough motives, y’all,” Applejack said, snapping Twilight and Pinkie back to attention, “What’s step three, Pinkie?”

“Step three!” Pinkie Pie shouted without missing a beat, “Assign known motives to suspects! Using what we know, who would steal the hat for what reason?”

“For the reason of wanting the actual hat,” Twilight pondered, “I’d say Rarity.” The white unicorn scowled at Twilight. “What?” Twilight asked in defense, “You’re a clothes designer! You love clothes of all kind. Plus, there’s a rule about assumptions in detective work. Pinkie?”

“All suspects are guilty until proven innocent,” Pinkie recited, “Furthermore, nothing but the worst can be assumed in a suspect, even if the suspect is of your blood.”

“Alright, yes, I guess that’s true,” Rarity sighed, “I just don’t like being stereotyped.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll make refinements in step four Rares,” Pinkie giggled, letting out a tiny little snort of amusement. She snapped back into “serious mode” a second later. “Okay,” she said as she turned back to Applejack, Twilight and Spike, “who would take it to spite Applejack?”

“Trixie definitely,” Spike said, “I can’t really think of anypony else who bears a grudge on Applejack.”

“Rainbow Dash could’ve done it,” Applejack suggested with a raised hoof. This drew curious looks from her four friends. “I nudged her a little bit earlier on. Nothin’ too mean, just a little playful fun. I reckon this could be one of them pranks of hers as revenge. In fact,” She added, “Pinkie could be in on it too!”

“What!?” Pinkie gasped, “I soooooooo would not do that! I protest!”

“Oh, Pinkie!” Rarity sang in a mocking, smart-alec tone, “You know the rule! All suspects are guilty until proven innocent!” She batted her eyelashes at the pink earth pony, who was flabbergasted that her own words had been turned against her like that. She made an indescribable twisted face that sent Spike into laughter. Twilight glared at Spike and the dragon silenced himself, and Pinkie managed to overcome the frustration with a groan and soft mumble.

“Next motive, hurting Applejack’s chances at the Rodeo,” Twilight said, looking at the paper.

“Nopony else here aside from that mare Apple Crumble is competing, and I don’t think anypony else is friends with another competitor,” Rarity offered.

Now it was Applejack’s turn to protest. “Aw, come on, y’all! Apple Crumble’s family! Why would she use dirty tricks against her cousin in the Rodeo, especially after just meetin’ me!”

“Guilty until proven innocent, Applejack,” Twilight reminded the orange mare.

“Okay,” Pinkie announced after making some scrawls on the parchment, “I don’t think we have enough clues to mark anypony down for the distraction motive, so on to step four. Step four!” she shouted, “Gather data to find more assigned motives! Let’s head on out, girls!” The four ponies and dragon trotted out of the cabin door one by one and split up to go find more suspects. The hunt for Applejack’s hat was on.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

REVIEW THE FACTS

There were thirteen ponies and two dragons on the train when it left Ponyville Station. Nopony exited or entered the train at any time, as it was in motion the entire time.

The passengers on board were:

Pinkie Pie, who was delivering and going to sell 500 cupcakes at the Canterlot Rodeo. She boarded with the cupcakes.

Twilight Sparkle, who was going to do some shopping for magic supplies not found in Ponyville and to see the Rodeo. She boarded with a book on advanced magic recipes to help her find what she needed, and two tickets to the Rodeo.

Applejack, who was going to compete in the Canterlot Rodeo. She boarded with a bushel of apples, her hat and her lucky rope.

Rainbow Dash, who was going to a book convention in Canterlot where the author of the Daring Do series was to make an appearance. She boarded with a Daring Do book for the author to sign and a costume for the convention, as well as her pet tortoise Tank.

Rarity, who had been asked to be at Canterlot during the Rodeo by Sapphire Shores so that she could be part of her new fashion line. She boarded with several outfits for the fashion line and materials for dressmaking.

Fluttershy, who claimed she wanted to see the Rodeo. She boarded with a small box, whose contents are unknown, and a ticket to the Rodeo.

Spike, who was tagging along with Twilight Sparkle and Rarity. He boarded with a blueberry muffin and a field guide for rocks and minerals.

Dinky Doo, who had gotten two tickets to see the Rodeo, courtesy of her mother, Ditzy Doo. She boarded with the tickets as well as her favorite teddy bear.

Amethyst Star, who was foalsitting Dinky Doo while Ditzy stayed back to work. Amethyst had taken Dinky's extra ticket and was going to see the Rodeo with her. She boarded with a note she was instructed to send to Ditzy Doo when they got to Canterlot.

Bon Bon, who was working alongside Pinkie Pie. She boarded with a Moxipower Shake to help her stay awake during the train ride.

Sheen, a mapmaker from Canterlot who had just finished mapping out the land around Ponyville and was headed home. He boarded with his finished notes, which took several long months to complete, as well as his knapsack, whose contents are unknown.

Trixie, whose reason for boarding was unknown. She boarded with several large bags, whose contents are unknown but said to be her acting materials.

Apple Crumble, who was going to compete in the Canterlot Rodeo. She boarded with a necklace that had family heirloom.

Irwin Ranglem, an animal wrangler who was off to a swamp where an elusive species he was hunting lived. Canterlot was the closest stop to the swamp. He boarded with his equipment for catching the animal he was hunting, but he did not say what kind of animal it was.

Steamer, the engineer and owner of the Friendship Express.

- - - - -

One of the above passengers, save for Applejack of course, has taken Applejack’s hat. Reasons for taking it would be:

To claim the hat as their own. (Possible suspects: Rarity)

To spite Applejack. (Possible suspects: Trixie, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie)

To distract Applejack from the Rodeo. (Possible suspects: Apple Crumble)

To distract everypony from something else. (Possible suspects: )

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[[[Thanks toYukito for pre-reading.]]]

[[[Don't forget to comment! I LOVE comments!]]]

1400 Miles Remain

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1000 MILES TRAVELED

1400 MILES REMAIN

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The situation was getting more complex as the train moved at its steadfast pace, the Bogie Mountains where Canterlot resided coming into view. Applejack, Twilight Sparkle, Spike, Rarity, Apple Crumble, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash were all crammed into Rarity and Applejack’s cabin, where they were heatedly discussing the unusual problem before them.

“This thief is gettin’ outta control!” Applejack yelled as she stomped a hoof violently on the ground. The cabin shook upon contact with the powerful stomp, throwing off the rest of the ponies in the room off their balance. “We need to stop ‘em before we get to Canterlot!”

Apple Crumble looked at her cousin. “Why d’you say that?”

“Canterlot’s a big city!” Applejack elaborated, “ The moment this here train stops, the varmint might up’n try to bail! It ain’t hard to hide in a big city, after all.”

Twilight stepped in between the farmer mares. “You have to remember that we don’t know whether or not it’s one person doing all of this. After all, there are different reasons for wanting the items.”

Rainbow Dash aggressively flew up toward the ceiling. “Well I say we should get going! It’s like Applejack said: We only have until the train gets to Canterlot! That means there’s no time to waste!” She bolted out the door, but was stopped abruptly by a purple aura encasing her tail and a cyan aura that tightly shut the cabin door.

“Y’ain’t goin’ anywhere outside this room, sweets,” said Apple Crumble, “I know how you feel, but trust me, you’ll feel a hay might better if you calm down.”

“But they’re out there!” Rainbow protested loudly, “I gotta go find Tank’s flying machine!”

“In due time, Rainbow,” Rarity assured her anxious pegasus friend. “First we have to review what we know. Pinkie Pie, Twilight, I assume you have some notes from Bon Bon and Amethyst?” Twilight and Pinkie both gave a nod of confirmation. “Good, let’s pool our notes. Rainbow Dash, I promise you may leave when we’re done.”

After a bit of conversing, their notes were synchronized, and Rainbow Dash bolted out the door.

“Rainbow!” Twilight called after the pegasus with whine of annoyance. The purple mare gave a loud, hearty groan. “We have to plan this out!” she whined.

“Don’t worry, Twi,” Pinkie chirped as she bounced casually after their rainbow maned friend, “I got this.” The purple unicorn opened her mouth to protest, but Pinkie Pie was out of sight before she could say a word.

Twilight turned back to the others in the cabin. “I’m going to have to take her word for it, huh?” The others nodded, and Twilight sighed. “Oh, well,” she said, “let’s plan our next move.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Fluttershy!” Rainbow Dash shouted, Pinkie Pie now caught up with her and by her side, “Open up! It’s us, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie!”

From behind the door, the two ponies heard some panicked shuffling, and something snapping shut. After a few moments of this, Fluttershy slowly opened the door, facing her two friends with a sad, sleepy look.

“Oh,” Pinkie said quickly, “Did we wake you up? Sorry, we just need to come in.”

Fluttershy sighed, “No, it’s . . . Okay. I couldn’t imagine being able to sleep right now.”

“Well, we need to ask you some questions, is that okay?” Rainbow Dash asked. Pinkie knew for a fact that it wouldn’t matter what or how Fluttershy responded; Dashie was dead-set on getting in the cabin.

“Um . . . Sure. Is this about Tank’s machine? I’m really sorry I lost it, there was . . .” Fluttershy paused and looked down again. “. . . Something distracting me.”

Rainbow and Pinkie attempted to enter the room, but Fluttershy blocked them. “Um,” she said quickly, “Do we have to talk about this? I . . . Kind of want to be alone right now . . . You know, if that’s okay with you . . .”

“Actually,” said Rainbow Dash, “It really isn’t. Tank’s flying machine was stolen, Shy.” The timid pegasus’ ears perked in concern at this. She lifted her head slightly. Rainbow had her attention. “That’s right. And it wasn’t the only thing. Applejack’s hat and Apple Crumble’s necklace are both MIA as well.”

“So we need information, and you just might have some delicious nuggets of the stuff!” Pinkie added with gusto.

Rainbow rolled her eyes at the earth pony beside her, and looked Fluttershy in eye again. “So, can we please come in?” she beseeched. Fluttershy mulled the question over nervously, and finally, with reluctance, let her friends inside the cabin.

The cabin was exceptionally neat. The entire vicinity seemed pretty much untouched, giving an air of tautness about the room that convinced Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie to be extra careful not to screw anything up in fear of altering the slightest detail. The only two areas that seemed different were the messy bed were Fluttershy supposedly slept, and the far corner of the room, where Fluttershy’s belongings lay in a tiny heap.

Among the objects was a small box, about the length of a hoof and the width and depth of half of one. It was made of a deep, rich, well-sanded chestnut-colored wood, with a sleek, polished finish.

Pinkie zipped over to the heap and picked up the wooden box as she examined it with great intrigue. “OOOO,” she marveled, “What’s in here?” She put it up to her ear and started shaking it violently. Fluttershy was mortified by this.

“NO!” she shouted at the top of her lungs, reflexively rocketing into Pinkie and forcefully smacking the box out of the pink mare’s hooves.

“Geez,” Pinkie said with a light mumble, “what was that for?”

Fluttershy suddenly came to realization with what she had done. She blinked. “I’m . . . Very sorry, but that box . . . Means a lot to me.” She went over to where it had landed and gently picked it up. “I wouldn’t want anything to happen to . . . What was inside.”

“That’s rather suspicious,” Pinkie remarked, squinting her eyes and fully taking on her detective persona. She whipped out “Tell me, Flutters, what exactly is inside that there box?”

Fluttershy couldn’t bring herself to look into the eyes of either of her friends. “I . . . Don’t want to talk about it,” she murmured softly.

“Perhaps that box has a hat?” Pinkie inquired, “Or maybe a necklace? Or even, I don’t know . . .” The carnation mare leaned into the yellow pegasus, their snouts touching, and Pinkie’s pressing and accusatory stare penetrating Fluttershy’s delicate soul.

“. . . A flying machine?” Pinkie finished, leaving so much tension it was almost physically present. Fluttershy would have never considered a breath that smelled of cake and candy to be an intimidating thing, and yet here she was, paralyzed with terror from the sweet stench that clung to the venomous words her friend uttered. She started to tear up ever so slightly and gave a whimper.

“Lay off her, Pinks,” Rainbow Dash demanded, “Y’ain’t going to accomplish anything short of making her faint with that kind of approach.”

Without unlocking her glare, Pinkie Pie brought her pipe up to her mouth and blew some bubbles. “Perhaps,” she admitted.

“It’s alright, Fluttershy,” Rainbow said soothingly as she tried her best to comfort her fellow pegasus, just like she had done so many times before in Flight School, “we won’t talk about the box. Just sit down and answer a few questions and we’ll be out of your mane. Does that sound okay?” Fluttershy, now being cradled in Dash’s hooves, whimpered and managed to nod shakily. Rainbow Dash set her down on her bed and signaled for Pinkie to start taking notes.

“Now,” Rainbow began, “Can you tell us how you’ve been doing on this train ride so far?”

“W-well,” said Fluttershy, “I haven’t really done much. I’ve just been sitting in here . . . Thinking.”

“You never left your cabin?” Rainbow Dash asked, a bit surprised.

“Um . . . Not really.”

“You didn’t talk to anypony at all?”

“Well, that Horstralian fellow came in here and tried to talk to me, but he wasn’t the kind of pony I’d want to talk to.”

“No interactions besides that?”

“Um . . . No. Is that bad?”

Rainbow Dash hesitated to answer, unsure of what exactly to say. “Erm . . . No! Not at all!”

“Well,” Pinkie Pie remarked, reviewing her notes, “I don’t think there’s anything else we need. Unless, you know, you changed your mind about talking about that b-“

“PINKIE!” yelled Rainbow Dash in aggravation.

“What? A good detective like Sherlock Hooves leaves no stone unturned!”

“Well for the love of Celestia, MAKE AN EXCEPTION!”

Pinkie gave a harrumph as she and Rainbow Dash walked out the door, closing it behind them. Fluttershy gave a sigh and looked at the box. She picked it up and looked at it with the saddest possible face. Her eyes started to tear up, but she stopped herself from crying, managing to choke the tears straight back into her system.

No more tears, Fluttershy, she thought to herself, no more tears.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Twilight and Apple Crumble trotted towards to Pinkie Pie and Irwin Wranglem’s cabin. Twilight, feeling awkward from the thick silence between the two ponies, determined it would be best to strike up a conversation with the earth mare.

“Soooo . . . Apple Crumble!” Twilight started to say, “I still don’t know that much about you! What can you tell me about yourself?”

“Well, there ain’t that much to know. Let’s see . . . I work at my ma n’ pa’s tavern, “Grapevine Ranch” in a small town called Wickington. Ya heard of it?”

Twilight wracked her memory for something containing the name. “It rings a bell,” the unicorn said. “Where is it?”

“Just north o’ Ponyville, and a might chillier. It’s why we started makin’ candles. Well, that, and the forests around us have a whole dang lot of incenses. A good lot of ponies there are proud that they live in the ‘Candle Capitol of Equestria,’ or some dumb manure like that.” Apple Crumble laughed, and Twilight gave an amused smile.

Twilight and Apple Crumble talked for a bit longer, not making an advance on Pinkie and Irwin’s cabin, not wanting to end the friendly conversation. The topic had shifted slowly from Crumble herself, to Wickington in general. From what Apple Crumble said, Twilight gathered that it was a lot like Ponyville. It was also relatively near the Everfree Forest, northwest of it instead of southwest like Ponyville. It was surrounded by conifers that dotted the land, and was elevated on a hill.

When they finally decided that they should check on the cabin, and went up to the door, they heard a mare shouting rather loudly from inside. Twilight and Apple Crumble exchanged looks, and Apple Crumble grinned in a cowardly fashion.

“I just remembered! I need to use the little filly’s room!” the yellow earth mare said quickly. “Why don’t you get started with them in the meantime?” She bolted off before Twilight could stop her. The unicorn groaned loudly and reluctantly entered the cabin. The first thing she noticed was Irwin Wranglem, square on his flank, getting his face chewed off by a fearfully livid Bon Bon.

The second thing Twilight noticed was the boxes. The cardboard boxes that the cupcakes had been traveling in laid strewn about, some of them beaten up, but all of them empty, save for some remaining crumbs inside them. Twilight had a pretty fair idea of what had gone down in the cabin, but she tuned in to Bon Bon’s rant to try and confirm it. While taking in what the raging earth mare was shouting, Twilight noticed that she was letting her Manehattan accent slip, something she rarely ever did.

“OF ALL THE POSSIBLE FLITHY LOW LIFES THAT I HAVE TO MEET IN THIS WORLD, YOU OUTDO THEM ALL, YOU GOOD-FOR-NOTHING, HORSTRAILIAN, REDNECK, SPINELESS, GLUTTON!” Bon Bon spat with venom and hatred as she rattled off insult after insult. “I GET THAT YOU’VE NEVER SEEN THE SLIGHTEST SLIVER OF ACTUAL CIVILIZATION IN YOUR ENTIRE LIFE; THAT’S EASY ENOUGH TO GET FROM YOU’RE STUPID ACTIONS EVERY TWO MINUTES; BUT LEMME TELL YOU A LITTLE SOMETHING ABOUT THE REAL WORLD, THE WORLD YOU’RE IN RIGHT NOW: EATING 500 BUCKING CUPCAKES IN ONE SITTING THAT YOU DIDN’T PAY FOR IS NOT GOING TO GET YOU ON ANYPONY’S GOOD SIDE! YOU WOULDN’T KNOW THAT THOUGH, BECAUSE ALL YOU’VE EVER DONE IS . . .” Bon Bon blinked and, without moving her body, looked at Twilight, who gave a sheepishly awkward hello.

“WHAT!?” Bon Bon asked with a harshly shrill shout, her accent at full throttle, “WHADAYA WANT!? I AM BUSY RIGHT NOW!”

“M-m-miss Twilight . . . You’re Twilight, right? Miss Twilight . . .” Irwin stuttered with childish terror embedded in his adult eyes, “Might you help me out? I’m in a bit of a p-pickle . . .”

“DANG FLIPPIN’ RIGHT, YOU’RE IN A PICKLE, BUCKO!”

“Bon Bon, please!” Twilight shouted, “Can we do this without shouting!?”

“I AIN’T SHOUTING, YOU’RE THE ONE WHO’S SHOUTING! MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS, YOU STUCK UP . . .”

Bon Bon was unable to finish the sentence, because Twilight had decided to zip the earth mare’s mouth shut with a zipper using a magical spell she had learned while attempting to keep several secrets from her friends.

“Now Bon Bon,” said Twilight, both calmly and sternly, “In sixty seconds, I’m going to uncast that spell and let you speak again.”

“Why in Tartarus would you do that!?” Irwin asked with panic, which prompted Bon Bon to swiftly bring her forehoof up and slap him clean across the face while glaring daggers at him. “Oh, come on!” he complained whilst he rubbed the sore spot on his cheek, “It’s not even tomorrow yet!”

“Huh? What’s tomorrow?”

“Ugh, it’s nothing, Shiela.”

“. . . Alright, then. Anyways, when I uncast that spell, do you promise to go about this in a calm manner?”

Bon Bon gave a series of muffled protests, but Twilight’s stern gaze didn’t falter. “I want to solve this while listening to both sides, but I won’t let you get a word in if you don’t go about this calmly. I know you can do calm, Bon Bon.”

Bon Bon sighed grudgingly and submitted to Twilight’s offer.

“Land sakes!” Apple Crumble cheered, entering the room, “You sure are quite the talker, Twi!”

Twilight looked at Applejack’s cousin with annoyance. “Crumble! How long have you been out there waiting for me to solve this!”

Apple Crumble’s eyes shifted and her nose scrunched up, reminiscent of something Applejack would do when fibbing. “Three or four,” she responded quickly.

“Three or four seconds, or three or four minutes?”

“Maybe five.”

“Apple Crumble!” Twilight tried to get angry at her, but she couldn’t bring herself to do so, and instead burst out into a small giggle. “You are a piece of work, you know that!?”

Apple Crumble followed suit, sending the two adult mare into a cute little giggle fit on the floor.

“HHMMMMWWMMMMMMMM!” Bon Bon shouted through the zipper. Getting up and uncasting the spell, Twilight apologized, swallowing the last few giggles bubbling up from within her.

“That was more than sixty seconds!” Bon Bon grumbled. Twilight just rolled her eyes.

“Alright, let’s get some data!” Apple Crumble declared.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“. . . And so after that, we all just took Miss Crumble’s advice and sacked out.” Irwin went on to explain the details of his actions on board, as they already had Bon Bon’s. “So I went to my cabin here. I had a little bit of a rough meeting with two of your friends; the yellow one and the white one, the latter of which smacked me. That ain’t really all that important, though. Anyways, I came here, and the pink Sheila . . . What was her name again?” Twilight informed him. “Yeah, that’s right. Pinkie was already in here, putting the cupcakes into a little pile. We had a nice little talk about what we each did for a living, and after a minute she started acting weird.”

“Wait,” Bon Bon interrupted, “you mean she wasn’t being weird prior?”

“No.” Irwin shook his head. “She was an intelligent lass, and she held up a nice little conversation.”

“Well, there’s our answer,” Bon Bon said matter-of-factly, “Pinkie’s a changeling.” Everypony in the room gave a chortle at the joke, save for Irwin, who was not amused.

“Very funny. May I continue?”

“Sorry. Of course.”

“So, she started saying that her left ear was hot and her right eye was tearing up, and that that means that ‘somepony just underestimated a problem,’ or something.”

“What?” Apple Crumble looked confused.

Twilight stopped writing and explained, “Pinkie Pie has this thing called Pinkie Sense. Depending on different signs she gets, she can predict the near future with ease.”

Bon Bon gave a short nod and added, “It’s also rather arbitrary at what it predicts, so just because she doesn’t predict it doesn’t mean it won’t happen.”

“Does it let her jump into the lampshade and disappear?” Irwin asked. “Because she did that. Right into the lampshade.”

“That’s just Pinkie Pie,” said Twilight with a sigh. “She’s just like that sometimeS. I’m pretty sure that’s how she got into Applejack and Rarity’s cabin earlier. You just have to go with her randomness. Go on, then.”

“Well, then I actually took that nap. When I woke up, the boxes were like this, and Sheila over here came walking in right as I was checking one of them. It must’ve looked really bad. She started tellin’ me off like there was no tomorrow, and then you lot came in here. I didn’t do it, I swear. They were like this when I woke up.”

“Horseapples!”

“Bon Bon, please!” Twilight scolded the earth pony mare, “If we don’t do this in an organized fashion, we won’t get anywhere! Anything else, Irwin?”

“Not really . . . I just don’t want you to think I would do something like this. Just because I’m Horstralian –“

“Trust me,” Twilight quickly reassured, cutting the stallion off, “I’ve learned my lesson with jumping to conclusions about somepony from somewhere else.” Her thoughts trailed to the rhyming zebra living deep in the Everfree Forest. “In that case, I think we’re done here.”

“G’night, you three.” Irwin tipped his hat. He went over to his own luggage and took out what appeared to be a science kit. Opening it, he looked at the three mares, and asked, “Now, I hate askin’ this, but could you uh . . . Leave the vicinity? I want to get some private work done while my cabinmate comes outa the lamp again, and this is secret work for the Horstralian Embassy.”

Bon Bon gave the stallion a look of powerful doubt and suspicion, but left the room regardless. “I’m watching you, cowpony,” she muttered with a final grimace, her accent coming through ever-so-slightly. Twilight muttered a quiet apology and left with Apple Crumble. The librarian knew the importance of solitude when it came to doing scientific work, top secret or otherwise. Plus, it was getting late.

“Well alright, then. Do ya think we could go get some shuteye now that we got this, or do ya think that Rainbow’ll want to do even MORE searchin’?”

Twilight sighed. “I don’t know, Apple Crumble. I’m kind of wanting to sleep right now. I’m not very good at analyzing data with a heavy head. I usually have Owlowiscious to help keep me up.” She yawned heavily.

“Owlowiscious?”

“Owl. Helps run the library at night.”

Apple Crumble gave a chuckle. “Heh. An owl running a library. That sounds right out of a foal’s storybook.” She looked over to see that her new friend was not in the mood to laugh, and gave an awkward cough as her eyes shifted away and upwards. The rest of the trip to Rarity and Applejack’s cabin was made in thick silence, the only noise coming from the unfaltering klickity-klackity of the train and the scratchy intercom music. Neither helped the discomfort.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash sat square on their rumps on either side of Fluttershy’s cabin door, their backs against the wall. Pinkie smoked her faux pipe again, her furrowed brow matching Rainbow’s. Both looked rather defeated.

“Whelp!” Rainbow Dash declared, “That sure could’ve gone smoother. And I still don’t know where Tank’s flying machine is.” She flew up and gave the carpeted floor a hard stare of aggravation. “That thing cost me a feather-ton of bits! We can’t just give up! We have to stay diligent! Come on, Pinkie!” She flew towards the car door, only to halt at the sudden sound of a familiar, stern tone.

“Oh, no you don’t!” Twilight called out sharply from the other end of the train car, “We have to go to sleep, Rainbow Dash.”

“But–“ Rainbow started, only to be wrapped in a magenta aura and hurled across the car, halting just before coming into what would have been painful contact with the wall. She hated it when Twilight did this.

“Uh-uh! I’ve heard enough unnecessary ‘buts’ today!” Twilight kept a strong telekinetic grasp on the squirmy pegasus as she trotted towards Bon Bon and Rainbow Dash’s cabin. “If Bon Bon and Apple Crumble can go to sleep with missing stuff, so can you!”

“Bons lost something, too?” Pinkie asked, bouncing up behind Twilight. The purple mare nodded and telekinetically handed Pinkie her newest batch of notes. Dash saw this as an opportunity to escape, but Twilight’s hold didn’t waver in the slightest. Pinkie dramatically gasped as she read the notes.

“SOMEPONY ATE ALL OF OUR CUPCAKES!?” She shouted. Shock turned to rage as steam literally blew out of her ears. The whites of her eyes turned yellow, and her carefree cyan irises turned red, along with her previously pink face. “THEY’VE CROSSED THE LINE!” She raved in a slightly demonic voice. Neither Twilight nor Rainbow Dash would have been even slightly surprised if Pinkie started foaming at the mouth right then and there.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Soooo . . . Apple Crumble! I still don’t know that much about you! What can you tell me about yourself?”

Applejack, Rarity and Spike watched from afar as Twilight made a poor attempt to break the ice with Apple Crumble. They couldn’t make out Crumble’s response, but her tone sounded a bit uncomfortable.

“Man, is she awkward or what?” Spike snickered once his caretaker was out of earshot.

“That’d be a big yes, I reckon,” Applejack said with a playful smile of amusement. “Though I gotta say, it’s a might adorable.”

“Agreed,” Rarity chuckled in concurrence.

“Hay, ten bits says they’ll be awkwardly silent when they come back.”

“Oh, you are on, cowgirl!” Rarity and Applejack shook hooves on it, each wearing confident grin. She was very thankful that Applejack had had the courtesy not to spit on her hoof before the shake, like she did when making bets with Rainbow Dash.

“Alrighty, then,” Spike said, “let’s head out! Time for some mystery solving! Trixie’s cabin ho!”

The dragon moved in a half-waddle, half-jog that kept him and his stubby legs from falling behind. He lead the motley team of three over to the cabin that belonged to the shady magician aboard the rocketing train. Not even one of the three were happy to be doing this, but Trixie had been a prime suspect from the very beginning.

Spike readied himself to knock, but was having trouble. He wasn’t looking forward to this, and it blatantly showed thanks to his hesitant body language.

“Spikey,” Rarity said soothingly, “none of us want to do this. It’s best if we simply . . .” she sighed, “. . . Get this over with.”

*Knock*

*Knock*

*Knock*

The scaly purple knuckles of Spike’s fist rapped upon Trixie’s cabin door. Spike, Rarity and Applejack waited.

And waited.

“Maybe she’s a heavy sleeper. Maybe you should knock again,” Applejack suggested with a small shrug.

Spike nodded and faced the cabin entrance once more. He struck the thick wood three times more.

Still no response from the other side.

Rarity leaned against the door, pressing a single white ear to it. She made a face of concentration, trying to listen for anything. Applejack and Spike followed suit.

“I don’t hear anything,” Spike remarked. “Do you guys?”

“Eenope,” muttered Applejack. Rarity simply gave a light and plain shake of the head.

“Sooooo . . . Do we give up now?” Spike asked, “Or what?”

“I reckon I got an idea of sorts,” said Applejack. The farmer sported a slightly smug smile, and her two friends backed away.

Moments later, Spike and Rarity stared at the giant hole where the door had formerly stood, and then to Applejack, rear legs still up in her applebucking stance.

Spike shrugged. “Eh,” he said, “that’ll do.” He and Applejack strolled through the giant hole. Rarity gawked for some time longer, then shook herself back into full awareness and trotted through the opening as well.

On the inside of the cabin, the three informal detectives looked high and low. They saw numerous different things scattered across the cabin. Broken, used quills with dried ink caked on their tips; unkempt sheets far off of either of the mattresses of the bunk bed, in scattered clumps and balls; used fireworks coated with a slight singe, one of them still producing a slight wisp of smoke; weathered pieces of parchment with written ideas and plans for performances, as well as a few written rants about various aspects of life. Among all these things, they failed to find the one thing they were actually in the room looking for.

“Where the hay could she have gone!?” Applejack inquired angrily with the stomp of a hoof that rattled the cabin.

Rarity looked around. “She could easily be the culprit. Hiding everything in this kind of mess would be a cinch.”

Applejack cracked her neck and gave a glare at the room in shambles before her. “Might I suggest a full-on search?”

Spike toddled over to a parchment in the corner in the room. He gripped it with his two claws, and looked at it, reading it over with a concerning glance. “Um . . . I don’t think that’s necessary. You two might want to take a look at this.” He waved it in their general direction, peaking their curiosity. They stood over the dragon’s shoulders and examined the parchment as Spike read its sloppily written message aloud.

“I know not who will read this, or if anypony will even bother picking it up, but this train and all of its passengers are in mortal danger. If this train is to reach its destination, the entirety of Equestria is doomed. There is evil aboard this train, and somepony isn’t who they say they are. They have tampered with my ability to use magic, forcing me to write this by hoof, and have taken many objects that my fellow passengers hold dear. If one of you is to read this, I beseech to you to finish what I have started. It is far too late for me. However, whatever you do, do not trust–”

The note was cut off there. A final stroke was made, but it seemed to have been interrupted midway through being made, and was thus illegible.

Looking around the cabin, it was now apparent from the urgency with which the note in Spike’s claws was written that the room’s messy state of disarray was not Trixie’s inability to keep the area clean, but that it was a sign of a struggle.

Rarity magicked the note out of Spike’s clutches with a baby blue aura and glanced over the note for herself. “This is bad,” she said, “This is very, very, without a doubt bad.” She looked up at Applejack. “We have to find Twilight.” Applejack nodded. The farmer motioned for Spike to hop on her back and the three of them sped out of the cabin, leaving its disheveled state and unnerving air in whatever little dust they were able to kick out of the relatively clean hallway carpet. Trixie’s room was left just as it had been found, save for the showmare’s vague letter of warning, which was still in Rarity’s magical grasp.

Applejack and Rarity galloped towards the front of the train, passing cabin after cabin in hopes of intercepting Twilight as soon feasibly possible. Spike struggled to stay atop Applejack. Upon passing one cabin in particular, however, something reached out of the door as it swung open abruptly. It grabbed Applejack, Spike and Rarity in one swift motion.

The inside of the cabin was unimaginably dark. Upon looking up at whatever had grabbed them, the only thing any of the three Ponyville residents could see were two bright, blood-red eyes staring back at them with evil delight.

“’Ello, again,” Sheen said with sarcastic softness, a menacing grin slowly sprouting from his pitch black face and gleaming in the dark, “How lovely of you lot to come by for a visit.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

REVIEW THE FACTS

There were thirteen ponies and two dragons on the train when it left Ponyville Station. Nopony exited or entered the train at any time, as it was in motion the entire time.

The passengers on board were:

Pinkie Pie, who was delivering and going to sell 500 cupcakes at the Canterlot Rodeo. She boarded with the cupcakes.

Twilight Sparkle, who was going to do some shopping for magic supplies not found in Ponyville and to see the Rodeo. She boarded with a book on advanced magic recipes to help her find what she needed, and two tickets to the Rodeo.

Applejack, who was going to compete in the Canterlot Rodeo. She boarded with a bushel of apples, her hat and her lucky rope.

Rainbow Dash, who was going to a book convention in Canterlot where the author of the Daring Do series was to make an appearance. She boarded with a Daring Do book for the author to sign and a costume for the convention, as well as her pet tortoise Tank.

Rarity, who had been asked to be at Canterlot during the Rodeo by Sapphire Shores so that she could be part of her new fashion line. She boarded with several outfits for the fashion line and materials for dressmaking, and her favorite diamond earrings.

Fluttershy, who claimed she wanted to see the Rodeo. She boarded with a small box, whose contents are unknown, and a ticket to the Rodeo. She cares immensely about the box, but refuses to show any of her friends what it contains.

Spike, who was tagging along with Twilight Sparkle and Rarity. He boarded with a blueberry muffin and a field guide for rocks and minerals.

Dinky Doo, who had gotten two tickets to see the Rodeo, courtesy of her mother, Ditzy Doo. She boarded with the tickets as well as her favorite teddy bear.

Amethyst Star, who was foalsitting Dinky Doo while Ditzy stayed back to work. Amethyst had taken Dinky's extra ticket and was going to see the Rodeo with her. She boarded with a note she was instructed to send to Ditzy Doo when they got to Canterlot.

Bon Bon, who was working alongside Pinkie Pie. She boarded with a Moxipower Shake to help her stay awake during the train ride.

Sheen, a mapmaker from Canterlot who had just finished mapping out the land around Ponyville and was headed home. He boarded with his finished notes, which took several long months to complete, as well as his knapsack, whose contents are unknown.

Trixie, whose reason for boarding was unknown. She boarded with several large bags, whose contents are unknown but said to be her acting materials.

Apple Crumble, who was going to compete in the Canterlot Rodeo. She boarded with a necklace that had family heirloom.

Irwin Ranglem, an animal wrangler who was off to a swamp where an elusive species he was hunting lived. Canterlot was the closest stop to the swamp. He boarded with his equipment for catching the animal he was hunting, but he did not say what kind of animal it was.

Steamer, the engineer and owner of the Friendship Express, and Bon Bon’s uncle.

- - - - -

The room accommodations were as such:

- - - - -

One of the above passengers, save for Applejack of course, has taken Applejack’s hat. Reasons for taking it would be:

To claim the hat as their own. (Possible suspects: Rarity)

To spite Applejack. (Possible suspects: Trixie, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie)

To distract Applejack from the Rodeo. (Possible suspects: Apple Crumble)

To distract everypony from something else. (Possible suspects: )

One of the above passengers, save for Apple Crumble, also took Apple Crumble’s jade necklace. Reasons for taking it would be:

To claim the necklace as their own. (Possible suspects: Sheen, Spike, Rarity, Twilight)

To spite Apple Crumble. (Possible suspects: Sheen, Trixie, Applejack)

To distract Apple Crumble from the Rodeo. (Possible Suspects: Applejack)

To distract everypony from something else. (Possible suspects: )

Also stolen were Tank’s flying contraption, and Pinkie Pie and Bon Bon’s cupcakes. However, no clear motives have been established at this time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Special thanks to Yukito for editing.

Don't forget to comment, comment, comment!

1100 Miles Remain

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1300 MILES TRAVELED

1100 MILES REMAIN

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Tossing and turning in her bed from her inability to sleep in unfamiliar places, Amethyst Star grunted in frustration and defeat in her fight to overcome her severe insomnia. She scowled at the dark landscape outside the cabin window, hoping that maybe she would make some higher being watching over her feel bad for costing her her much needed beauty sleep. Only distant thunder and lightning answered the mare, who sighed and laid back down on her stiff mattress.

It was nearing 11:15 at night; or so the clock on Amethyst’s nightstand read. She never trusted clocks that she wasn’t accustomed to using. She didn’t trust things that were new or unfamiliar to her in general. Having foalsat Dinky for so long, she was content with staying within the small filly’s innocent world. She didn’t like interacting with other ponies that much, and was easily irritable.

The sleepless unicorn drifted back in her mind to a better place, hoping to find sleep in her memories. Her thoughts landed on the events of the Sisterhooves Social from last year. Several of Dinky’s classmates were participating, and the poor little filly was without a sister with whom to compete. And so, Amethyst had volunteered to act as a surrogate sister for the competition. The thing was, Amethyst kind of thought of Dinky Hooves as the little sister she never had. The two shared quite a strong bond for a foal and her foalsitter. They even ended up winning 4th place in the Social.

Amethyst’s thoughts were disbanded from a startling flash of lightning and deafeningly strident crash of thunder. Amethyst had no idea how far up she went when she jumped, but she easily could’ve hit her head on Dinky’s bunk above her had she gone just a tiny bit higher. Upon fully regaining sense of the present once again, she gave a grumpy sigh and leaned her head down against what she was convinced was the most uncomfortable pillow in all of Equestria. The higher beings watching over her obviously didn’t feel bad one bit.

“A-a-ammy . . .?” a tiny, trembling voice dared to utter from above, “Are you s-still awake . . .?”

Amethyst sighed and answered the voice. “Yes, Dinky, I’m still awake.” In response, the small head belonging to a fretful young unicorn filly peered down from her bed above. Her eyes were full of fright.

Amethyst gave a weak but kind hearted smile. “You can’t sleep either, huh?” The foalsitter asked.

“I-I don’t like the thunder. And I thought I saw a monster outside of the window.” Dinky had now climbed completely out of bed and was looking at Amethyst with puppy eyes.

Amethyst tapped her uncomfortable mattress with a hoof. “C’mere.” Dinky hopped up and snuggled in next to Amethyst under the covers. “Don’t you worry your sweet little head, Dinky,” Amethyst assured her, “the monster can’t get us as long as we’re in this train. What did this big, mean monster look like, anyways?”

Dinky gave a scared look. “It was like a really big snake, but it looked like it was smiling, and it was really white and shiny like a ghost. And he was talking to a bunny rabbit.”

“Well, that doesn’t sound so scary, does it? In fact, that monster sounds really silly!” Amethyst said with a confident giggle that was very convincing. Part of the reason the giggle sounded so convincing because Amethyst really did partly believe that it was ridiculous to be frightened by a creature such as the one described. Furthermore, it didn’t sound like any dangerous creature she had heard of, so it was probably just the lightning playing tricks on the poor filly’s eyes.

Whatever the reason, the giggle had indeed worked, easing Dinky’s troubles away, and calming her down.

“I’m really happy you’re my foalsitter, Ammy.”

“I’m really happy I’m your foalsitter, as well, Dinky.”

“I love you, Ammy,” Dinky muttered before falling asleep snuggled up against her caretaker.

“. . . . . . . . I love you, too, Dinky,” Amethyst whispered to the snoozing filly after a moment of not knowing how to respond. She too quickly went to sleep afterwards.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS, YOU FIEND!?” Rarity shouted into the pitch-dark of the cabin while she struggled inside her upside-down rope bindings. “UNTIE ME THIS INSTANT OR I SWEAR TO THE ANCESTORS AND BEYOND, I WILL SHOW A WORLD OF MISERY!”

“Oh, cool your jets, you snappy mare.” Sheen hopped down from his bunk and moved over towards Rarity. He slapped a strap of duct tape over the seamstress’s mouth, preventing her from mouthing any further threats. He grinned. “There, much better. Can’t have you or your friends calling attention to the rest of the passengers, now can we?”

“You mean you’ve been the thief all along?” Applejack exclaimed in a hushed tone from her rope snare.

“Not at all,” Sheen said as he stretched his scaly black arms openly. “If anything, I’m the only definite good guy aboard this forsaken train!”

Spike wiggled from his own prison. “Then why do you have to trap us? We’re trying to solve this mystery, too!”

Sheen moved towards the younger dragon and glared with deep, red, acrimonious slits. “Because I know how these things work,” he growled with malice, “I’ve seen the darker corners of Equestria and the lands beyond. And I don’t make the dumb mistake you tossers keep making!”

“Yeah?” Applejack asked in the same half whisper as before, “And what ‘mistake’ might that be, pardner?”

Sheen focused his leer on Applejack.

“Trust.”

“That’s no way to solve a mystery!” Applejack snapped. “You said it yourself! We’re sharing the same tight living space! We should be friends, not enemies!”

“Aye,” the dragon said, a sharp claw pointing in the farmer’s direction, “but that was before one of you little ponies took my precious maps!”

“Somepony stole your maps?” Spike and Applejack asked, shocked.

“Oh, don’t any of you DARE play ignorant!” Sheen spat. He turned to face Rarity, who was still silenced from the duct tape. “Especially you!” He pointed an accusatory claw in Rarity’s face, who looked offended upon accusation.

“Mmmm?” she muffled.

“Yes, you. Don’t think I’m not onto your little plan! You think it was a coincidence that I just happened to mysteriously pass out right after you had visited this cabin?”

“Mhm.” The bound unicorn nodded.

Sheen gave an unamused glower. “Oh, shut up. Anyways, I thought you’d come back here to steal whatever else I had left, so I came prepared . . .” He reached under his pillow on the top bunk bed, and pulled out a pair of beautiful diamond earrings.

“. . . With a little . . . Bargaining chip.” Sheen’s evil grin spread as widely as imaginable.

It was at this point that Rarity utterly lost it. Upon seeing her favorite earrings in the clutches of her captor, she began flailing and thrashing in the most erratic and convulsive manner any of the others in the cabin had ever seen in their lives. She started screaming through the tape on her mouth. In her capricious spasms, she slammed into Applejack several times.

“Ow!” Applejack snapped, “Watch it, partner! You’re hittin’ me right in the – OW! Quit it! WILL ONE OF YOU TWO HELP ME SHUT HER UP!?”

Spike’s gaze shifted from side to side. “Well, you know, I would, but at the moment I’m a bit ti–“

“Finish that sentence and I swear to the Ancestors above I will injure you,” Applejack stated with a fierce gaze. Spike quickly shut up.

Sheen rolled his eyes and casually grabbed Rarity mid-flailing, which didn’t seem to help calm the unicorn down. “Now then,” the carbon colored dragon started, “We are both civilized creatures of logic, yes?” He didn’t wait for an answer from Rarity, who was glaring daggers at him. “So, putting that logic to good use, would you not agree that the best course of action would be for you to give me my maps back, and me to give you your earrings in return?”

Rarity’s muffled response was unclear, though the others imagined it was filled with all sorts of unspeakable profanity. Sheen smiled in delight at her fury, while Spike groaned. “For the last time, we don’t know where your maps went! If you’d untie us, we could help you look! You’re not doing anypony any good keeping us tied up like this!”

“I don’t take chances, kiddo.” Sheen pressed a finger into Spike’s nose. “And none of you are going anywhere!”

A second later, the train’s weight shifted, and the entire locomotive accelerated. Sheen was thrown to the back of the cabin thanks to the sudden increase in speed, and the jolt was just powerful enough to loosen Spike’s bindings enough to allow him the opportunity to break free. Slashing at the rope, he hacked himself loose and started to free Rarity and Applejack. After both mares were fully mobile, and Rarity was able to speak again, they all faced Sheen. The teenage dragon steadily stood up from his fall earlier and took a readied stance.

“Come at me, you little buggers!” roared Sheen, “I got enough fire in my lungs to roast you lot into shish kabobs!” He spat a rather lethal looking fireball at the ground to prove his point, briefly illuminating the dark room. Applejack and Rarity were taken back from this, showing fear towards the black reptile. Spike, on the other hand, remained unwavering, going so far as to even don a small smile in the face of the creature that stood at least three times taller than him.

“Fireproof scales,” Spike remarked, giving his thick chest a short rap, “We settle this mano y mano!”

Before either dragon could start fighting, however, the train’s weight shifted again, and all four cabin occupiers, tripped over themselves and each again. The train started traveling even faster now, reaching at least twice its original pace.

“The bloody hay does that engineer think he’s doin’!?” Sheen shouted, violently throwing Spike off from on top of him. The mapmaker bolted out the cabin door angrily and headed for the engine room at the front of the accelerating train. After some brief exchanging of glances, Applejack, Rarity and Spike ran off after him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pinkie Pie was not a pleasant pony to be around when she was angry. This was mostly due to the fact that not a lot of things set her off, so if something did, it usually meant that it was something significant (at least in Pinkie’s eyes).

Another reason was because Pinkie was incomparably random and volatile. Granted, she was usually an unpredictable mare to begin with, but seething rage did nothing short of amplify that.

“Duck and cover!” Rainbow Dash yelled as Pinkie donned a bright red hue started making a noise akin to a boiling tea kettle. The incensed earth pony rocketed off of the carpeted floor and began to ricochet off of the walls and ceiling. Twilight and Dash dove for the ground, doing their best to avoid contact with Pinkie.

“WHO ATE MY CUPCAKES!?” the pink mare bellowed with an ethereal and demonic undertone.

“It’s okay, Pinkie!” Rainbow shouted, trying to calm her seething friend. Needless to say, it didn’t work. Pinkie’s fury was unwavering. She continued in her blazing rampage, a noise similar to a reverberating bullet beginning to echo throughout the train car. Twilight and Rainbow Dash silently made the decision to wait Pinkie Pie out, hoping she would calm down again after she had let this out of her system. After a good length of time went by with Pinkie showing no signs of stopping, or even starting to tire, they gave up on the waiting out plan.

“What do we do, Twi!?” yelled Dash.

“We have to get back to Applejack and Rarity’s cabin and exchange notes!” Twilight yelled back with strong urgency.

“I MEANT ABOUT PINKIE, YOU DOLT!”

“If we can catch whoever did this before it’s too late,” Twilight explained with a raised voice, “we can get Pinkie Pie her cupcakes!”

“We don’t have time to spare!” Dash objected, “This entire train ride has been one big mess! I just want this thing solved in as little time as possible! No egghead analyzing!”

Suddenly, Pinkie stopped bouncing off the walls unpredictably and instead flew right to the train car door. “HEADS WILL ROLL,” she affirmed loudly, her real voice completely gone and entirely replaced by the demonic undertone. With what seemed to be an unseeable force from who knows where, the pink mare rose to her hind legs and obliterated the door before her with the motion of a push, though she never actually touched it. She tore through the passageway and through the next car’s hallway until destroying the next door down and continuing her rampage through a third car. She left a trail of burning flames and pieces of ripped carpet in her wake.

Rainbow Dash looked at the path of devastation and blinked twice. “That’s it,” she declared, “I’m telling that gosh darned engineer to stop this train before we get any closer to Canterlot.” She flew off after Pinkie Pie, leaving Twilight alone.

“Rainbow!” she griped, “Wait for me!” She galloped after her two friends as quickly as she could muster, tripping over herself several times as the train picked up speed.

When Twilight arrived at the front of the train, she was exhausted. It was far too late at night for her to be doing this kind of running. As she panted in attempt to retrieve her breath, she noticed Pinkie Pie mindlessly slamming forehoof after forehoof against the thick, gray steel door to the engine room. Rainbow Dash was trying to get a shot at the door as well, but couldn’t find any clear opening in Pinkie’s senseless beatings.

“COWARD! YOU TAKE WHAT IS NOT YOURS AND YOU HIDE BEHIND YOUR DOOR!” Pinkie Pie boomed, “OPEN IT AND RETURN WHAT YOU HAVE STOLEN, FIEND, AND PERHAPS YOU MAY SUFFER A SLIGHTLY LESS EXCRUCIATING DEMISE!” She continued wailing away on the door, but for reasons beyond Twilight, the enraged mare was unable to leave a single dent, mark or even scratch on the steel door. Twilight looked at Rainbow Dash, who returned the glance.

“I have no idea, either,” she said, still trying to get a crack at the door, “A door shouldn’t be standing after what Pinkie here has done.”

“Oi! You three!” Sheen called, charging toward them at a steady and alarming rate, and stopping just short of a nasty collision with Twilight, “What’s going on in there!?”

“We don’t know,” Rainbow responded, “we can’t seem to open it.”

Sheen cracked his knuckles. “Then allow me.” He stepped forward, about to move Pinkie Pie, who was still furiously pummeling the door, out of the way.

“Um!” Twilight interjected, “I wouldn’t do that if I were you!”

Sheen turned back to face Twilight and gave a smart aleck’s smile. “Well then,” he smirked, “it’s certainly a good thing that you aren’t me.”

As the black-as-coal dragon moved his claws toward Pinkie Pie, the earth pony wheeled around slammed a hoof into him. “NONE ARE TO INTERRUPT ME!” Pinkie roared.

Sheen flew back halfway across the train and landed square on his head. Sitting up, he rubbed his sore skull. “What gives!?” he exclaimed.

“I warned you,” said Twilight with an eye roll.

“What’s goin’ on!?” asked a panicked Applejack. Rarity and Spike followed closely behind.

“The pink one here has flipped her lid, and we can’t get into the engine room,” Sheen summarized.

“Did you try using any magic to get through the door?” Spike asked Twilight.

Twilight blinked. “Actually, no, didn’t really even get the chance to consider that.” The mare took a readying stance. “Oh, well, better late than never. Stand back everypony! This might get messy!” Her horn started to glow with its iconic magenta aura. A small whirlwind started forming around her as she scrunched her eyes shut, gritted her teeth and concentrated on performing the spell.

Only nothing happened. The spell was unable to be executed for reasons Twilight didn’t know. Instead, all the group got was a sound similar to somepony blowing a raspberry. Twilight’s horn flickered, and released a few small pink sparks, but nothing happened.

“What the–” said Twilight, a dumbfounded look of shock across her face, “Why won’t my magic work? Rarity?” She turned to her fellow unicorn friend, who attempted a more simple spell but still had the same results.

“How is that even possible!?” Rarity exclaimed, looking up at her off-white horn in shock and horror.

“YOU WILL FACE MY WRATH!” Pinkie shouted abruptly, increasing the force being applied to the cold steel door.

“Um,” asked Spike, “can we do something about her?”

Applejack stepped forward, reared her hind legs and gave Pinkie a powerful buck just as she noticed the hooves flying towards her face. The pink mare flew into the side of the train car, slumped to the ground, and moaned.

“Wowzers,” she muttered after a beat, rubbing her face with two forehooves, “That’s gonna be hurtin’ tomorrow.” She got up on all fours and looked around. “How did we get here? What did I miss?”

Everyone shared a moment of silence in total awe and shock at the sudden transition, especially after Sheen, a powerful dragon that stood at twice her height, had failed to even touch her. Finally, Applejack broke the silence with a leg cross as she spoke.

“Never underestimate the power of a good applebuckin’,” she said with pride.

All of a sudden, the cheesy music being emitted over the scratchy intercom was halted. A voice came out over the speakers, being projected and heard all throughout the rocketing train. “Jeez,” it said with snarkiness, “You Apples really are full of yourselves, aren’t ya?”

“Who the hay is that?” Rainbow Dash shouted back up towards the intercom speaker, taking her hat off so that the brim didn’t get in the way of looking at the speaker, as though she could intimidate whoever was on the other end by giving their means of communication a death glare. The other ponies (and dragons) in the train car looked at each other. None of them had a clue. The voice didn’t belong to any member aboard the train, unless Steamer had a much more feminine voice than suspected.

“Restrain yourself, little miss fangirl,” the voice warned, “I’ll get to that in good time. First, I think Ms. Pie over here deserves an explanation.” The sound of a throat being cleared was distinctly heard. Pinkie looked up at the speaker curiously. “The last thing you remember is Twilight telling you about the cupcakes, correct?”

“Oh, yeah!” said Pinkie, “Now I remember! Then I got super angry because stealing isn’t very nice.”

“Heh, yes, well, to say you got ‘super angry’ is a bit of an understatement, deary,” the voice chuckled.

“Wait,” Twilight said with a hoof raised in the air like a foal in school who had a question, “How did you know about the cupca–”

“If we could save our questions until the end class, please? That would be just swell,” said the voice, “Now, to address our cosplaying little nerd’s question . . .”

“HAY!” Rainbow shouted.

“. . . I am a mare of many, many names. Too many for me to keep track of, or even count. You, however, may call me Samantha Sham. That’s Sammy for short. I take pride in being the greatest and most skilled counterfeiter in all of Equestria, as well perhaps the most dashingly beautiful one. I have made the practice of forgery a sheer art! You give me a priceless, unique item, and I'll have a perfect replica in no time! Though, you may know me by a name more familiar to you: Apple Crumble.”

“WHAT!?” Everypony shouted in unison.

“Oh, it’s true!” Sammy said cheerily, “Just look through the window on this here door!”

Everypony crammed around the small window. Through it, they saw Apple Crumble, a microphone in her hoof as she waved with an toothy smile plastered on her face. On the floor next to her lay an unconscious Steamer.

“Hey, guys!” Sammy Sham said over the intercom system as Apple Crumble mouthed it in perfect sync.

“Im . . . Impossible,” Applejack stuttered, “Are you even–”

“Your cousin? Nah,” Sammy said without any care, “but I know that every member of your hick family is a sucker for trusting one another, so it was the easiest way to slip under. After all, would any of your friends dare question a member of your family, knowing the rather painful consequences you might dish out were you to catch wind of such accusations? I’ll answer that for you: not in a million years. You’re quite the imposing figure if I do say so myself. And I am saying so myself. But I digress. Do you know how hard it is to pull that disgusting redneck accent!? Blegh! I’ve had to do some accents before, but Ancestors above, you guys sound retarded!”

“Cut that out!” Rainbow Dash barked as she flew up to the speaker, facing it down with her tan painted coat, “Applejack sounds fine! Why are you trying so hard to make me angry, huh?”

“Oh, I’m not doing all of this just to make you angry, my fine, featherbrained friend,” Sammy replied with a chuckle of amusement. The harsh loudness of the speakers right in Dash’s face failed to faze her while she was this aggravated. “That is merely a fun little fringe benefit of my . . . escapade.”

“Then why, pray tell, you thieving scandal,” Pinkie inquired with squinting blue eyes, her deerstalker and pipe back from the nowhere they had disappeared into, “are you here, hmm?” She tapped her pipe on the steel door’s thick window and raised an eyebrow, expecting an answer from the mare that had duped her so gracefully.

“And why can’t I use my magic!?” Twilight asked, using a much harsher tone than Pinkie Pie had. The librarian stomped an angry hoof against the train car’s carpeted floor, hardly even producing a sound to match that of the train engine in the other car working overtime. The tactic had certainly proven much more useful when Applejack used it.

“And what’s with the speeding up!?” Sheen loudly demanded with outstretched arms, “I can hardly keep my footing!”

“Apapap!” Sammy said through the intercom, “Questions later, remember? I’m making an absolutely grand monologue here, and all of you are too caught up in your silly little questions to see how grand it is! In fact, I think I have a brilliant idea!” A fumbling noise was heard through the speaker, and when Sammy’s voice was heard again, it was more quiet and distant. Looking through the window, Twilight saw that she was perusing her surroundings for something while messing with the microphone in her hooves. “Now where’s the volume on this thing? Man, doesn’t this idiot keep a manual of some sorts around here? Somewhere? Anywhere?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Amethyst Star rested peacefully in her bunk bed as night struggled to fight back the first few streaks of dawn’s calming light. It was still rather dark out, so Amethyst was deep in slumber as expected, the unicorn filly she was foalsitting snoozing peacefully in her embrace. Amethyst truly wished nights like these would never end sometimes, letting her and Dinky sleep for as long as they do please.

“ATTENTION ALL PASSENGERS!” an unfamiliar voice boomed with blatantly fake friendliness through the intercom system, waking up both Amethyst and Dinky as harshly as imaginable. They both jumped into the air, landing on the hard yet carpeted ground after falling seconds later. “THE FRIENDSHIP EXPRESS IS SUCCESSFULLY MOVING FORWARD . . .”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“. . . TOWARDS CANTERLOT AS PLANNED!”

“The hay does he have to wake us up for that?” Bon Bon muttered with a yawn from the bed in her cabin, groggily trying to rub the sleep out of her eyes with a hoof. It was only her rotten luck that the moment she had gotten her mind off of the missing cupcakes that would surely cost her her dream job and dozed off that she was awoken rather rudely by somepony else.

She suddenly put her hoof down in realization, shock freezing her facial features in a nervous position. “Wait a minute . . . that isn’t Uncle Steamer . . .”

“HOWEVER, THERE’S BEEN . . .”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“. . . A SLIGHT CHANGE IN PLANS, AS WELL AS ONE IN MANAGEMENT.”

Fluttershy gave a look of concern at the loudspeaker she had been watching. She tightly clutched the mysterious wooden box in her hooves. “A . . . Slight change in plans? What does that mean? And who . . . Is that?”

“BUT BEFORE I GET INTO THAT . . .”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“. . . I’D LIKE TO REQUEST THAT ALL PASSENGERS CONGREGATE RIGHT OUTSIDE THE ENGINE ROOM IN THE FRONT OF THE TRAIN. I’LL DO SOME EXPLAINING FROM THERE. TOODLES!”

Irwin Wranglem threw his head over his pillow. “Stupid mystery mares,” he mumbled, “with their requestin’ and toodlin’.” He turned in his bed, dismissing the mysterious voice and its wake up call.

“OH, YEAH, ONE MORE THING: IF YOU DON’T COME, LIKE, Y’KNOW, RIGHT NOW, YOU WON’T BE ALIVE WHEN THE TRAIN REACHES CANTERLOT!” she squeaked way too cheerfully, giving a short, sadistic giggle. Irwin’s eyes shot open. He threw the covers off of himself and dashed out the cabin door, struggling to put his hat on as he reached full gallop. After all, despite the rather silly manner it was spoken in, the mysterious mare and her threat of death sounded all too serious.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Everypony that could was now out of their cabins and in front of the room. Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Spike, Sheen, Fluttershy, Irwin Wranglem, Amethyst Star, and little Dinky Doo were tightly packed into the small, small area and nervously chattering amongst each other about what in the name of the Ancestors above was going on.

Fluttershy, being both claustrophobic and not a fan of social interactions even in a time of panic and chaos, had silently receded to the back of the crowd, protectively cradling her peculiar wooden box under her wings’ stiff vice grip with all of her strength.

The chatter died down as it was harshly replaced by the unpleasant and loud sound of microphone feedback blasting through the scratchy intercom system over everypony’s heads.

“Alright,” Sammy Sham announced over the train’s low quality microphone after a beat had passed and the microphone feedback dissipated into a static crackle, “are we all here and accounted for?”

“Um,” Irwin asked with a raised hoof and confused look, “Weren’t there two more? The blue showoff and Miss Bouncy Braids?”

“Groovy, we’re all here,” Sammy responded.

Irwin blinked. Did she not hear him a second ago? “No, I just said that I’m pretty sure we’re missing–”

“Okey dokey needle pokey!” Sammy confirmed with delight, cutting Irwin off midsentence and leaving the poor animal wrangler with his hoof still raised and his mouth frozen forming the next words he was going to speak. He sighed, and put his hoof down gently with a sad look. Why everypony constantly felt so obligated to interrupt and ignore him wherever he went, he would never understand.

“So!” Sammy continued in a jolly voice displaying no concern, emotion or care, “Yeah, we are indeed a few short on your side, but as some of you guys already know, I am Apple Crumble!”

“You’re WHAT NOW!?” Bon Bon exclaimed loudly with a tiny slip of her accent, drawing everypony’s attention. She immediately blushed a bright strawberry red, trying her hardest in her embarrassed state to quickly and silently indicate that she did not want such attention.

“Yepperdoodles, you heard me loud and clear, Bons!" Bon Bon growled loudly at the nickname. "You all can call me Sammy, though. It’s what I prefer. So, yeah, I was the one who stole all your dandy little trinkets! That includes Little Miss Redneck’s hat, hormonal dragon boy’s maps, pink psycho’s cupcakes, and nerd-o-rama’s turtle’s flying doohickey!” She quieted down for a second, trailing off. “Or is it a thingamabob? Eh, who cares? I took ‘em all!”

“But your necklace!” said Twilight, “That was stolen, too!”

“Oh, puh LEASE tell me I didn’t actually fool anypony with that. Did I really?” Sammy let out a hearty laugh, which soon dissolved into a fit of laughter. “Man, you guys are amateurs at this mystery game! My necklace was never stolen! I hid it myself!” She continued laughing, now rather hysterically. Her joy could be sensed through the train’s microphone.

The thief cleared her throat with a cough, residue laughter still bubbling up, and continued. “Well, if you guys really are that stupid, I guess I should do some more explaining. I don’t mean to pull of the villain cliché after all this but . . . Oh wait, yes I do. This is going to be fun! But first, before I do anything else . . .”

From behind the thick steel door to the engine room, a bright, lime green glow began harshly emitting, accompanied with the sound of a highly powerful spell being conjured. Among the crowd, Twilight, Rarity, Dinky and Amethyst all dropped to their knees in pain. They all started getting splitting headaches and migraines stemming from their horns that grew more progressively agonizing as time went on and the green light grew brighter.

“Ammy!” Dinky wailed through the pain and fear, “What’s happening!? Why does my head hurt so much!?”

“I don’t know, Dinky,” Amethyst said back, trying to mask her fear and comfort the terrified foal while still remaining at a loud enough volume to get her words of sympathy across to Dinky. It wasn’t an easy task, seeing that the sound of conjuring was still growing louder. The foalsitter desperately looked at Twilight for an answer. If anypony in the crowd knew anything about what the hay was going on, it would be her. She was a capable magician. Perhaps she could help Amethyst reassure poor Dinky. However, when Twilight caught a glance of Amethyst, the two locked eyes, and Twilight gave a shake of her head and a sad look. I’m sorry, the look seemed to say, I don’t know what’s going on. I wish I could, but I can’t help you, Dinky or anypony at the moment.

After what seemed like an eternity for the four suffering and pain stricken unicorns, yet only a few lengthy moments for everypony else, the green light and noise exploded in a captivating yet menacing show of sights and sounds that blinded and deafened everypony witnessing it, especially for the four unicorns, who felt as though their bodies were about to give out from the pain they were experiencing.

When the passengers’ vision came back, all of them were staring at the exact same sight as before, save for one ever so minor detail:

A gigantic hologram of Sammy Sham, the microphone and an unconscious Steamer laying motionless at her hooves. She wore her golden necklace, the beautiful jade glowing the same lime green as before and emitting a pulsating aura. Sammy wore an evil and victorious grin.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Ah!” Sammy’s transparent emulation sighed loudly over the train’s over driven engine, stretching this way and that if only to needlessly show off and flaunt her limber flexibility, “This is much better than that crumby old microphone! Now, let’s address some questions before you ask them.” Her jade necklace glowed brighter, and the pulse’s frequency began to increase as a low humming noise filled the air. The four unicorns keeled over in pain again. After a much shorter amount of time than the last spell’s preparations, a hologram reminiscent of Twilight appeared with a poof next to Sammy’s own. It had a very dumb and dim-witted stance about it, and as it spoke, it used a voice much deeper than Twilight’s. In fact, it sounded like a voice Twilight herself might use to mock someone and paint them in an idiotic light.

“Samantha Sham!” the Twilight hologram exclaimed with a melodramatic yet sincere-seeming look of awe.

“Please,” said Sammy’s hologram with a raised hoof and turned head, refusing to acknowledge the other apparition yet, “Call me Sammy.” She spoke as though she were the most famous celebrity in Equestria, and the Twilight hologram was certainly treating her as if it were true.

“How are you using this magical spell!?” Twilight’s double asked dumbfoundedly, “You’re an earth pony!”

“Well, you see, dear Twilight, this here necklace of mine, while not a family heirloom, is rather important. Not just important to me, but to my plan.” The transparent Sammy leaned down to face the real Twilight, who was glaring at the mocking hologram that mocked her. “Tell me, Twilight,” Sammy asked, “what is your knowledge concerning the magical properties of jade?”

Not seeing where this was going, Twilight answered her, rattling off the facts like a living textbook. “Jade is an opaque mineral, found in abundance in the rainforests of Northern Zebrica, but seldom anywhere else. During the trading circles around 300 SR, around 1,800 years ago, Japony acquired a surplus of jade, where the wizards of the time began to study it greatly. After about half a century of it being around Japony, the royalty banned its use after many instances of . . .” She froze. Her eyes grew wide while her pupils inside shrank.

“. . . Leech Magic . . .” Twilight murmured.

“What was that, sugarcube?” Applejack asked.

Sammy grinned widely and leaned toward the purple unicorn. “Yes, sugarcube, why don’t you tell your little friends here all about the wonders of Leech Magic.”

Twilight turned to her friends and explained with a concerned and nervous look on her face, “Leech Magic is a type of sorcery. It’s illegal pretty much everywhere all over the world. It has to do with the stones jasper, jade, and lapis lazuli. Using an enchanted rosemary incense, you can use each of the stones to sap and use the magic of the three different pony races, taking it from other ponies around the bearer. Lapis lazuli allows the bearer to use pegasus magic, jasper allows them to use earth pony magic . . .”

“And sweet, sweet jade like this lil' beauty here lets me drink up that delectable unicorn magic!” the holographic Sammy finished. "Delicious and nutritious!"

“And that’s why we’re getting these dreadful headaches?” asked Rarity, “And why we couldn’t use magic?”

“Right on the dot!” Sammy responded cheerfully.

“But aren’t we still missing somepony, Sammy?” Twilight’s hologram asked, giving the same stupid look as she had previously. The real Twilight glared at the blatant mockery of her.

“Why, yes, Twilight!” Sammy responded with fake and overdone praise better fit for a young schoolfoal or even a dog, “I’m glad somepony brought that up!” She turned to face the crowd, dropping the mock praise but keeping the smug, conceited smile. “I can’t believe that none of you ponies noticed that!”

“Oh, come on!” Irwin called out angrily, “Can’t a guy catch a break!?”

Sammy’s hologram telekinetically flicked Irwin’s nose with her stolen magic. “Not while I’m in charge, they can’t. Anyways, addressing the concern for your missing passenger, say hi to Trixie!” While staying in the same place spatially, Sammy’s hologram started trotting. The microphone and unconscious engineer that were laying on the floor started moving in the opposite direction of Sammy’s trotting, making it clear that Sammy was moving inside the train’s engine room while remaining in the center of the hologram’s focus. All of a sudden, a bound unicorn with a powder blue coat and off-white mane came into view. She was lying on what looked like Steamer’s bed, and was tied up with ropes that looked exactly like the ones Sheen had used to imprison Spike, Rarity and Applejack not so long ago.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Everypony gasped upon the sight. Trixie was shrieking and screaming in both pain and fear despite the duct tape that was covering her mouth and muffling her voice. Despair filled the room and wrapped itself around its occupants, causing worry to flow and stir with turbulence throughout the tightly packed crowd.

Amongst everything that was happening, the Friendship Express still mechanically screamed along the tracks, leaving the long night in the past and piercing into the stagnant yet fresh light of the early dawn. They were in the Bogie Mountains now, snaking upwards through the twists, bends and countless tunnels and closing the distance between it and the presently peaceful, unsuspecting, sleeping city of Canterlot.

“You know,” Sammy spoke with a small laugh to her words, her hologram motioning towards Trixie’s, “when I boarded this lil’ old train back in Ponyville, I honestly didn’t expect a single soul to even see this coming. Needless to say, this little troublemaker took me by quite a surprise! But, I did need a sacrifice for this entire charade to work in the first place, so I got thinkin’, y’know, two birds with one stone. I’ve always been a big sucker for those ‘2 for 1’ deals, y’know?”

“Sacrifice!?” Sheen blurted out, “Just what in the name of the Ancestors do you need a bloody sacrifice for, you nutter!?”

“Oh, did I forget about that part? Silly Sammy!” she giggled, rapping her hoof on her noggin a few times, “Golly, this is kinda embarrassing, you guys! Oh, well, better late than never, y’know?” She cleared her throat. “I am part of a group of enlightened and gifted ponies, free and untainted by the lies passed down and spread through the mass majority of pony history! I know the truth about the beautiful utopia that was Discord’s reign! For I,” she paused for dramatic effect, “am a proud member of the Cult of Screwball! And you guys are going to help me awaken Discord! Won’t that be fun!?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Snips! Snails! Eyes over here!”

Snips shook his head and turned back to the history textbook in front of him. It was flipped open to a page with the large header: “The Second Discordian War.”

His best friend Snails, on the other hand, was still dopily staring at Sugarcube Corner, the bakery located across the street from them.

“SNAILS! EYES ON THE BOOK!”

Duplicating his comrade’s actions from seconds ago, Snails shook his head and turned back to his own copy of the book. “Sorry, Silver Spoon. It’s just really hard to focus when Sugarcube Corner is right there. It smells delicious . . . Mrs. Cake must be makin’ somethin’ yummy!” He licked his chops hungrily.

“Yeah, yeah,” Silver Spoon snapped while waving a dismissive hoof, “you can stuff your faces after this is done. I have to stay with you two dolts until tutoring for today is over and you’ve gotten through this lesson. So for the sake of all of us, please just try and stay focused!”

“Okay, so this is about . . . The Second Discordian War . . . What’s that?” Snips asked.

Silver sighed with despair. “You two are hopeless. The Second Discordian War was one of the biggest staples in pony history. Looking at the book, can either of you tell me who was in it?”

“Robots?” Snails guessed.

“No.”

“Aliens?”

“No.”

“Robot aliens?”

“JUST LOOK AT THE PASSAGE!”

Snails obeyed and looked at the text, and Snips followed suit. “Equestria and Japony,” Snips read aloud.

Silver Spoon nodded unenthusiastically . “Correct,” she said. “Now, what were the main causes of the war?”

“The Cult of Screwball was hiding in Japony at the time and launched a threat on Equestria, which Equestria retaliated against,” Snips relayed. He looked up. “What’s the Cult of Screwball?”

“You know about Screwball, right?”

Snips and Snails nodded. “Who doesn’t?” said Snails, “She’s the daughter of Discord! She helped the princesses defeat him! Sheesh, what do you think we are, idiots?”

Silver Spoon blinked twice and stared at the two colts, a blank, glazed-over face behind her glasses and a petite frown on her face. “You know what I’m gonna do?” She declared, “I’m not gonna answer that. I’m not even going to acknowledge that you asked it.” She tapped Snails’ book. “Now keep reading.”

Snips and Snails read the rest of the passage, taking turns and slipping up on a couple of the more complicated and lesser used words.

On the 21st of Spring, 949 C.R. (Celestia’s Reign), the Cult of Screwball launched a total of one thousand, nine hundred and forty-one Type-G magic missiles onto the Equestrian cities of Diamond Harbor, Platinopolis, and Nampal. Many smaller terrorist attacks occurred involving Screwballian extremists said to be associated with the cult lacing themselves with explosives that went off inside public buildings. Approximately 9,100 were either injured or killed collectively. After a fair amount of these attacks Princess Celestia had had enough. She sent an envoy to Japony’s government, but the government was unable to put an end to the cult’s acts of evil. Some Equestrian citizens, especially those who were harmed from the attacks, wanted to declare war with Japony, believing that they were intentionally harboring the Cult of Screwball. Independently firing a variety of magic missiles on Japony, all of Tartarus broke loose. Civil wars against the Japonese government’s attempts to stop the cult, perceived as attempts to ban the religion altogether, on top of heated conflict with Equestria caused precisely what the Cult of Screwball intended: Chaos. Though they were forced to break apart and go into hiding, the cult is likely still out there. Not much of their post-war activity is known, but news of attempted rituals to bring Discord back have been reported.

“Okay,” sighed Silver Spoon when the reading was finished, “on to the context questions.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

500 Miles Remain

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1900 MILES TRAVELED

500 MILES REMAIN

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Princess Luna sighed drearily as she trudged her worn body through the halls of Canterlot Castle. It had certainly been a long night in Lunar Court, what with, among many other dragged out topics that had been brought up, the news of gang fighting outbreaks down in Manehattan’s shady slums concerning . . . Actually, Luna hadn’t the slightest why the gangs were so suddenly overcome with the urge to spill blood. All she could remember from what the other ponies said in that impossibly boring and beyond lifeless prison that passed as a court was that it was about something over Discord, but Luna wouldn’t ever really know for sure, because she gave little attention to what had transpired in court.

Such a reason for carnage seemed so absurd to the princess of the night that she was very much convinced that she had remembered the events of the Lunar Court incorrectly, or at least hoped she did, if only for the sake of the other ponies living in the area.

The gangs were certainly not composed of ponies to be taken lightly at all – this Luna knew. Messing with them in any way could very easily result in a quick and undesirable death, as it had for countless unfortunately naive ponies in the past.

When such violent gangs had conflicts with one another, they did what any reasonable group of ponies would do: attempt to slaughter each other, as well as any unlucky passersby in the area. And as they always did with situations like this, the only worries that the Lunar Court ponies expressed were those concerning how the gang fights would affect the tax income in the area. 2 years. 2 years Luna had been putting up with these narrow minded imbeciles of the law, and she still couldn’t stand them. They couldn’t see the forest for the trees if they tried. How Celestia had managed to put up with them for seven hundred years, Luna could not fathom.

On her way to her bed chambers to lower the moon for morning and make way for the sun’s golden light as per every night after the horrors of Lunar Court, the princess of the night decided to check up on her big sister. She and Celestia hadn’t had a good chat in a while, and a good chat was something Luna really could’ve used right then and there.

She changed direction and headed towards Celestia’s bedroom, where Luna was sure she’d find the elder of the sisters snoring soundly, sleeping in at her carefree leisure instead of being up and her preparing herself for the day like she should. Perhaps something changed in the thousand years she had been away, but the last time Luna checked, princesses had a lot of responsibility to uphold, as well as a public appearance to maintain, and Celestia didn’t seem to acknowledge those things. Celestia had always been more carefree, more loose and less worrying than little Luna.

On the way there, a stallion of the Lunar Guard, still donned in his magical silver armor from a hard night’s work, passed by Luna going the opposite direction. Upon seeing the princess he served, he wheeled around on his hooves and spoke up in a gruff, Prench voice, “Um, madame?” He spoke hesitantly. “Madame, you’re going the wrong way. Your chambers are over on the west wing of the castle. You’re not lost, are you?”

Luna stopped her steady trot and turned around to face the bat pony. “It’s been two years, Chiros. I know where I’m going. I just wanted to see how my dear sister was doing before receding to my chambers for the day.”

“Eh bien, I suppose that is not against the rules,” Chiros said with a smile.

Luna gave a smirk, and trotted up to him, teasingly giving a minacious look. “And who are you to tell me what the rules are and are not, lieutenant?” she asked playfully with a snark.

“Touché, my dear princess.” Chiros gave a witty grin and bowed widely to Luna.

The two chuckled lightly.

“So where are you going, Chiros?”

“Oh, nulle part, nowhere in particular, madame,” the lieutenant sighed loudly with a hint of subtly masked exasperation, “My privates, they were giving me a rather hard time tonight. For the love of the Ancestors above, you would think they would respect a lieutenant's authority more! But non, princess, they are but rowdy teenagers. Merde au Tartare, they never listen!”

Luna gave a small laugh. “Well, you may not be the most powerful figure of authority in the Lunar Guard, but I assure you, lieutenant, you did not get where you are on mere luck. You are one of the kindest, thoughtful and generous ponies I have ever had the pleasure knowing. And that is truly saying something, for I know the Elements of Kindness and Generosity very well. After all, why else would your name literally mean ‘Helping Hand’? You’re privates are truly unaware of just how lucky they are. Just keep working at them, Chiros,” she encouraged with a smile, “One of these days – or nights, as the case may be – they will come around. I promise.

Chiros laughed weakly, worn from his long day but still trying to remain sharp and witty. “Si seulement, my princess, si seulement.” He gave another bow and went on his way.

Luna gave a weak smile at the guard fading in the distant hallway. Ah, poor Chiros, she thought, He travels all the way over here from Prance only to be pushed and tossed around, when all he wants to help and be recognized and appreciated by everypony. She gave a long exhale and continued toward Celestia’s bed chambers. I don’t suppose the feeling is unfamiliar to me.

Upon arrival at her desired destination, Luna gave a nod to each of the guards on either side of the doorway, and they each gave Luna a curt nod in return without returning eye contact or shifting body position. She opened the large double doors and entered the sun princess’s personal quarters Just as she had expected, inside the room, Celestia was sleeping the morning aw– actually, much to Luna’s surprise, Celestia was up and alert, albeit not groomed in the slightest, and reading a few pieces of parchment with a hard stare of much concern as her magic gripped them tightly and held them at her eye level.

The frown that she wore wasn’t one that fit her at all. The only frowns Celestia ever wore were either from anger, the most notorious example being any time she and Discord crossed paths, disappointment, used mostly on Philomeena in a stern and motherly way, or from sadness and emotional misery, which really only happened when she was forced to banish Luna for the sake of Equestria. No, this frown, was one of worry and unease. Neither of those emotions fit Celestia at all, and if something in a letter could unnerve Celestia, then Ancestors help them.

Luna stepped forward hesitantly and cleared her throat. She felt really awkward doing this after seeing her sister in such an atypical state. “Um . . . G-good morning, sister!” Luna spoke with a giant wave of her hoof. She tripped over her own words. “You’re up . . . Rather early! What are you reading?”

Celestia didn’t return eye contact to her little sister. “I’m allowed to get up early, Luna. I don’t always sleep in.” She paused for a split second before continuing. “I had a rather large backlist of personal letters, so I thought I’d take some time before you retired for the day to do some catch-up reading.”

Luna leaned in closer. “What’s in those letters that’s making you make that face? It’s beginning to . . . Worry me.”

The sun princess sighed deeply. “Remember those incidents of forgery a few months back?”

“. . . Yes, you could say that.” Luna remembered them all too well. Somepony out of nowhere with an amazing knack for forgery, whom to this day the royal sister knew nothing about, had starting mimicking the signatures of the two and causing mayhem. Entire factory orders had gotten messed up, and thanks to the one individual behind it all, architects, scientists and construction workers were forced to be laid off. It was still unknown why the mysterious forger had targeted those departments in general, or even why she had stopped, but certain areas in Equestria were still recovering from the mishap.

“Well, I’m pretty sure the pony behind it is back.”

“What would make you say something like that, sister?”

“These letters would.” Celestia levitated one of the letters over to Luna, who took them in her own grasp. “You know Sheen, right?”

“The Trottinghamian dragon on the board of mapmakers?”

“That would be him. Well, right now, he’s supposed to be finishing up some work he’s been doing in the South Everfree province. He just wrote to me to offer his thanks and gratitude for sending him a train ticket home and a free ticket for the Canterlot Rodeo. There’s just one problem, though.”

Luna skimmed the letter that was fancily handwritten in what looked like charcoal several times over again. “And that would be?”

Celestia stared at her little sister with a very, very hard look. “I never gave him either of those things.”

Whatever cheeriness Luna had still been trying to fake had disappeared with her sister’s last revelation. This couldn’t be good.

Seeing that she had succeeded in conveying the true gravity of what could be going on, Celestia levitated a second letter in Luna’s direction and continued, “And then there’s this one, which is even more worrying. Read who it’s from.”

Luna scanned the new letter over, slipping on a few of the words written in a very slanted handwriting. The lunar princess furrowed her brow and gave a baffled look. “‘The Great and Powerful Trixie?’ Who is that?”

Celestia merely sighed for the umpteenth time that morning. “I’ve never heard of her in my entire life. That’s not what important. Read the letter out loud.”

Straightening the worn and crumpled parchment out, Luna cleared her throat and began reading the note:

Dear Princess Celestia,

The Great and Powerful Trixie would be honored to perform at the upcoming Canterlot Rodeo. Her skills shall dazzle the crowds, and blow their minds! She also thanks you for the generous train ticket provided. It just so happened that Trixie was in the South Everfree anyway, on her countryside tour all around Equestria. But of course you knew that. After all, Trixie is rather popular, and surely word has reached Canterlot by now. Trixie shall see you in one week’s time!

Yours Truly,

–The Great and Powerful Trixie

Luna to her sister. “Did you not also send tickets for the same Rodeo to the bearers of the Elements?” she asked Celestia, who nodded in response.

Luna looked back at the two thank-you letters. “This,” she said slowly, “is troublesome.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“ALL ABOARD THE FRIENDSHIP EXPRESS!” Sammy Sham hooted wildly (and rather loudly) through her hologram, drunkenly overcome and crazed with triumph that emitted through the train’s air, “NEXT STOP: YOU’RE ALL GONNA DIE! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”

She blew the train’s whistle overenthusiastically, which really only helped to make everypony panic even more than previously.

Rainbow Dash cast her Daring Do costume aside and was attempting to find a weak spot in the wall that blocked her from wringing Sammy Sham’s sorry little throat, though her method of finding it, which was recklessly charging into the wall with neither rhyme nor reason, was proving rather fruitless thanks to the magical reinforcement Sammy had put up with her stolen spellcasting to help further barricade her. Nevertheless, Rainbow only let out a frustrated war cry and continued slamming into the barrier even harder.

Amidst it all, Spike was lost and tripped up in the utter bedlam and hysteria of everything. The baby dragon’s main priority was to stay out of the way of all trouble that was coming out of the utter madness Sammy had concocted, and to find a way out of the mob of passengers he was drowning inside of.

Which is why he was incredibly thankful, if at first startled, when a set of teeth from nowhere clamped down upon the thick green spines atop his head and yanked him out of the sea of panicked bodies, a sensation which was said to feel very similar to a pony having their hair brutally yanked. After getting over the initial pain in his spines, he looked up to see his guardian Twilight staring down at him.

“Come on, Spike!” the purple mare hissed, “We have to get moving before she notices!” Without the magical capabilities she normally had at hand, she was forced to yet again use her teeth to hoist Spike up. The baby dragon landed plumply upon Twilight’s back, and the two slowly slipped out of the car amidst the chaos. After completely entering

The train flew over the tracks and ascended up the Bogie Mountains, following the sharp turns laid out before it by the rails, which made the locomotive lurch and reel in short, jagged motions at the alarming speed it was traveling at. It wouldn’t be long before Canterlot was reached. At the newfound pace that Sammy had pushed the Friendship Express to go, it would only be a few hours before the great city was stormed and the garden attacked.

Irwin tried banging the door down with his powerful bucking for the umpteenth time, trying to come off fierce but failing to mask his stronger feelings of fear and distress. “SLOW THIS THING DOWN, YOU MENTALLY TWISTED FRUIT LOOP! WE’RE GOING TOO FAST!” Another two or three bucks.. “DOES NOPONY LISTEN TO ME!? I SAID SLOW THE TRAIN DOWN! I’M GOING TO LOSE MY LUNCH!” His words failed to catch anyone's attention.

With a burst of magic, Sammy shot the door from inside the engine room, blasting the Horstralian wrangler clear across the cabin. He knocked into Rainbow Dash while soaring through the air, and landed on top of her after the two landed. As Irwin hazily tried to regain control of his faculties, Rainbow slammed a tan painted hoof down several times from underneath the rather husky stallion, muttering something along the lines of “get off of me you fat lump” in a muffled and angry voice.

“I'm terribly sorry, Sir Wranglem,” Sammy’s hologram said haughtily, a hoof upon her chest and her chin raised upwards in an air of snootiness, “but this locomotive refuses to make unnecessary stops for anypony!”

Sammy released her haughty stance and slammed both hooves down with a crazed grin wide across her face. “We’re doin’ one eighty right now! To Canterlot! To Discord’s uprising! To chaos! Ahahahahahaha!” In response, Irwin went straight back to his futile attempts at breaking down the door.

Sammy laughed at his meek attempts. “Man!” she shouted in between her bouts of laughter, “You’re almost as stubborn as miss redneck over there! Why, if you two were bro and sis, I’d say you’d make a great couple!” She let out a repressed snicker. “Get it? Because you’re rednecks!?” She threw her head back in laughter at her own offensive and rather lame joke.

When nopony else laughed, she simply waved a dismissive hoof at them. “Bah, sticks in the mud.”

“JUST LET US OFF OF THIS STUPID TRAIN, YOU MONSTER!” Amethyst yelled.

Sammy gave a bone chilling chuckle. “Aw, you know I can’t do that, Ammy.”

Amethyst glared venomous daggers at the hologram. “Don’t you dare call me that,” she snarled with acidic hatred. The amount of animosity that Amethyst was conveying unnerved everypony in the train car. Everypony, of course, save for the one pony that all of the malice was being directed at.

Sammy merely smiled in amusement at the chord she had struck, and uttered a high pitched giggle. “Oh, man, you blokes are just too easy! But in all cerealness, folks, my answer remains the same: I am simply having way too much fun with you guys to let you skedaddle on off right now, after everything I’ve done in preparation for this moment! I mean, come ON! Just look at you guys! We have the among us six Element bearers, two dragons, two corrupted souls, and you’re all running around like your flanks are ablaze! This entire train is just brimming with chaos! We’re like a big chaos missile, and we’re headed straight for the castle gardens! Now, I know I said that I despised using Applejack’s redneck accent, and that remains true, but I think this is an appropriate time to say, YEEEEEEEEEEEEHAAAAAAAAAW!”

That last remark really sent everypony into utter hysteria. Fluttershy clutched her mysterious wooden box harder than ever before, on the verge of crushing it and spilling whatever lay inside. Irwin had refused to give on bucking through Sammy’s monologue, and now lay in an exhausted heap against the wall, lightly weeping in defeat. Sheen was pounding a black fist on the door, looking through the glass with murderous rage in his eyes. He shouted countless profanities, which were accompanied by vicious flames that spewed out from his jaws and licked the door’s surface in venomous animosity.

Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Rarity were all furiously arguing about what to do next, achieving absolutely nothing with their senseless quarreling save for more noise in the already loud atmosphere. Amethyst Star was trying her hardest to shield Dinky Doo from all sides. Spike was frantically chasing Twilight around the room as Twilight shouted out things about a plan to stop Sammy Sham. From what Spike could hear, the plan was completely and utterly senseless, and the dragon thanked his lucky stars that Twilight was unable to perform a “Want it, Need it” spell at the moment.

And in the epicenter of it all was a pink, limp, little pile of a defeated Pinkie Pie, weeping to herself as her lively mane lost its volume and went straight. She withdrew herself from all the awfulness around her. Nothing had gone right. Nothing. This entire mystery and train ride in general had been nothing short of a trainwreck, both metaphorically and, in a matter of minutes, literally. Sammy Sham had succeeded, and Pinkie and her friends had failed.

And it was all her fault. She couldn’t deny it. She didn’t take it seriously enough. Try and try as hard as she may, Pinkie just couldn’t take the case seriously, and now she was paying the awful, awful price. She could try to convince her friends, her family, even herself that she could be serious, but in truth, there was always somepony yelling her name in that exasperated and frustrated Pinkie knew so dreadfully well, telling her to take things seriously.

”PINKIE!”

The voice was always there, no matter who it was coming from, and she had ignored it to prove that she truly was being serious. That voice, yelling her name, it never went away. That lingering responsibility and cruelty of reality was always there to bite her in the flank.

”PINKIE!”

That accursed voice. It never went away. Somepony was always telling her that she was doing something wrong, something that she never bothered to correct or even identify.

”PINKIE!”

Even now, in her own pool of sorrow, depression and misery, the voice wouldn’t go away. It swam around inside her head, mocking her with it’s one cruel, ever changing voice and evil one word that it repeated over and over and over to the end of time.

”PINKIE!”

. . . Wait a minute. That wasn’t a voice inside her head. She knew that voice.

Pinkie Pie picked her head up to lock eyes with her co-worker Bon Bon, who had apparently been the one shouting at her. She was firmly grasping something in her tail.

Sammy Sham, who had been in a fit of loud, sadistic laughter, turned to face Bon Bon with a quizzical gaze, and blinked vacantly. “What the– The hay’re you doing? The hay’re you holding?”

“PINKIE!” Bon Bon shouted through the din, ignoring Sammy’s question, “CATCH!” Bringing her tail back and forming a readied stance, she flung the item right in Pinkie’s direction, and Pinkie could only watch as the projectile flew closer and closer to her until–

*WHAP!*

The projectile landed squarely between Pinkie’s eyes, making a sound upon collision that sounded very, very painful to everypony. That is, it would have sounded painful if anypony other than Pinkie Pie herself had heard it over all the noise already being made. Half the ponies in the train car, in fact, hadn’t realized that Bon Bon had left and now re-entered with whatever it was Bon Bon had just hurled at her at such powerful velocity.

Pinkie Pie held out her front hooves as the object fell from its landing point (though it didn’t leave without making quite a nasty mark), and the pink mare finally got a good look at it. She immediately recognized it, but she wasn’t sure what to make of it. The black can’s vexing red and green pony silhouettes and showy silver print glared back at her in the light from the cabin. Why in the name of the Ancestors would Bon Bon want to give her her Moxipower? She couldn’t really be suggesting . . .

However, upon looking back up at her coworker’s straight face, Pinkie’s worries were all but confirmed.

Through the bedlam and mishap around her, Pinkie Pie gave Bon Bon a very distinct facial expression that said, Are you crazy? We don’t know what could happen if I drink this stuff! We could wind up in a disaster!

Bon Bon gave a responsive and equally distinct look right back that said, I’m not sure how much attention you’ve been paying to what’s going on, Pinkie, but we’re sort of already in a pretty big disaster!

Though worried, Pinkie looked around the room and had to agree that the train ride couldn’t get much worse.

Looking down at the enigmatic can of liquid again, Pinkie cracked open the top and, with great reluctance, closed her eyes as she began downing the enchanting drink inside.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Author's Note

Hey, look who's fuckin' back. Took me long enough, this chapter's been sitting in limbo for half an eternity. Sorry if you've been enjoying it, I just sorta got . . . disconnected from the fandom mid season 3. Dunno why. Just happened. But I'm back again, baby! I'm back in black! This thing (and hopefully the series) shall be completed, mark my word!

2400 Miles Remain

Derailed

By Oxiproxd9

Nopony could've possibly predicted this turn of events. Nopony would have thought anything more about this train ride other than just another train ride from Ponyville to Canterlot.

But instead, an entire adventure unfolded within the twelve cars of the train traveling almost twenty-five hundred miles to Canterlot.

It's five o' clock in the morning. Across the small, quaint town of Ponyville in southern Equestria, a hoof-full of ponies are preparing for their departure to Canterlot. Our story begins here.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was a quiet, overcast spring morning. Twilight Sparkle, being the diligent and zealous pony that she was, had instructed Owlowicious to wake her up at five o' clock sharp; not a minute off. Owlowicious was used to this obsession with punctuality his owner had. It had taken some getting used to, but after Spike and him became friends, he learned a few tips and tricks from him, as well as advice on how not to tick Twilight off (which Spike himself rarely seemed to follow).

Twilight felt the owl's talons gently nudge her awake. She awoke from her deep slumber, snatching the reins of her train of thought away from the wild dream she was having seconds ago. She got up, yawned, and arched her back. Her mane was a mess from the restless night she had spent excitedly anticipating the upcoming trip to Canterlot with her friends. After she was fully awake and out of bed, she said, "Thank you, Owlowicious. You may go to bed."

"Who," the brown owl nodded gratefully before flying off to his perch for a long awaited and much deserved sleep. Twilight giggled at the owl's fatigued-looking state. She was glad he was around to help out at night.

Twilight stretched her body out and deeply inhaled as she magicked up a hairbrush to rid her mane of the awful bedhead it had developed. She would never tire from the smell of the Ponyville Library in the mourning. The hollowed interior glowed warmly from the naturaNow it was time to wake up her daytime assistant, who lay in his basket bed in the corner of the room, covers draped tightly around him, as he snored in the corner. He wouldn't enjoy the wake-up call, that was for sure, but he had promised to come along on the train ride (a decision he soon regretted making). He and Twilight had to go to Canterlot to collect magic supplies that couldn't be found anywhere else. Twilight wasn't going alone, however. Each of her friends, by sheer coincidence, had business in Canterlot as well. This would be a fun little trip they would remember for quite a while. Twilight was sure of this. Something told her it would be so.

"Wake up, Spike!" Twilight cheerily attempted to rouse Spike from his slumber, but to no avail. The dragon merely grumbled and rolled over in his baby-blue blanket. Twilight frowned. She didn't want to have to do this, but it was obvious there was no other choice.

One cold bucket of water later, Spike was up and at 'em. It was true he didn't want to get up, but it wasn't true that he didn't want to go. In fact, he did very much. He was going to help out Rarity, who was asked by Sapphire Shores to be part of her new fashion line, after he was done with assisting Twilight in her shopping spree and watching the Canterlot Rodeo from VIP seats (courtesy of Princess Celestia).

"You know," he said as he dried himself from Twilight's wake-up call, "I still don't get why the train has to leave so early."

"Because," Explained Twilight for what seemed to her like the hundredth time, "The Friendship Express travels of a speed of about 80 miles per hour, and Canterlot is nearly 2400 miles from Ponyville! At that rate, it takes a day and a half to get there, and seeing that the Rodeo is in three days, we don't have any time to lose slacking off!" the words rolled off of her tongue as though they were being dispensed from some nerve-wracked computer. She settled down, taking a deep breath. "Got the pre-train ride checklist?"

Spike swiped the piece of parchment in question from the shelf it was lying on. "Yup!"

"Advanced Magic Volumes I - VI."

"Check!"

"Two tickets for the 7:00 Friendship Express departure to Canterlot."

"Check!"

"Two VIP tickets to the Canterlot Rodeo."

"Check!"

"The Official Guide to Precious Rocks and Minerals, for when you go off to help Rarity.

"Check!"

"Two blueberry muffins, for in case we get hungry on the train."

Spike let out a small burp. "Erm . . . Check?"

Twilight groaned. "Spike!"

"I'm sorry! I was really hungry! Besides, I saved one for you!"

Twilight sighed and then chuckled as she trotted downstairs with her companion. That's Spike for ya! she thought to herself as they walked out the front door in the direction of the train platform.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'm late, I'm late, I'm so very late! Bon Bon thought as she rushed though the misty morning Ponyville. Sugarcube Corner appeared as she rounded a corner. She and her roommate were not morning ponies. Lyra, Bon Bon's roommate, almost always slept through breakfast, and Bon Bon was no better. However, ever since she had gotten a job at Sugarcube Corner, she had had to adjust to getting up much earlier.

Today she had had to get up MUCH earlier than normal, because she and her co-worker, Pinkie Pie, were going to the Canterlot Rodeo. Mr. Cake, Bon Bon's boss, had contacted the host of the Rodeo, asking if Sugarcube Corner could assist in providing catering. Bon Bon and Pinkie were to deliver 500 cupcakes safely to the Rodeo and sell as many as possible while in Canterlot.

Bon Bon did not appreciate her co-worker's antics most of the time, namely because she already had enough craziness in her life thanks to her roommate Lyra. Pinkie Pie, despite being an extraordinary baker and confectioner, never took her job seriously, or anything in life for that matter. Pinkie Pie was the one downside to the job at Sugarcube Corner Bon Bon had taken a few months back. While she was grateful she'd shown her the ropes, she still couldn't stand the outcomes Pinkie's insane amount of hyperactivity, whether it be a song about Bon Bon's "monthiversary" for working at the shop, or an insane contraption she'd pulled out of nowhere that she'd used to launch fifty pecan pies at her rapid-fire (which was made even worse by Bon Bon's pecan allergy), or her rambling tangents that would last the entire workday, or, on the rare occasion, talking to where no one was. Bon Bon had asked once who she was talking to when she did that, and Pinkie giggled while explaining that she was talking to "the humans that were watching them." That had really freaked Bon Bon out. She thought Lyra was the only nut job obsessed with the mythical creatures known as "humans."

"GOOOOOOOOOOOD MORNING, BON BON!" Bon Bon was greeted with Pinkie's cheerful response, which sent the poor cream-colored earth. She was hanging upside-down behind the front door. Bon Bon suspected that she had been waiting there, readying herself for when her prey walked through the door.

Mrs. Cake rounded the corner, a platter of cupcakes balanced on her head. "Oh, good, you're here, Bon Bon! Glad you could make it!" She said in her endearing accent. "We're just finishing packing up. Care to pitch in?"

Bon Bon nodded. Whatever she needed to do to convince Mrs. Cake she was a responsible pony, and to make up of being late on such an important business day. "I'd love to. Where are Mr. Cake and the twins?"

"Oh, lil' Pound and Pumpkin are tucked into bed still," Pinkie Pie responded, her fluffy unkempt mane bouncing up and down with the rest of her body as she spoke, "They had a pretty wild night last night. But don't you worry about it, Bons!" Pinkie ruffled Bon Bon's mane, using the nickname Bon Bon despised ever-so much.

"What happened?" Bon Bon asked.

"They got into our refrigerator and snatched up some Moxipower, and they spent the entire night bouncing off the walls. They crashed recently and couldn't move a muscle, but Mr. Cake is checking on them, just to be sure." Mrs. Cake said as she walked with Bon Bon back into the kitchen where the rest of the cupcakes were.

"What's Moxipower?" asked Bon Bon as she lifted up a tray of cupcakes, straining to keep it balanced while moving towards the front of the store.

"It's a drink that makes you super-duper-LUPER hyper, and gives you so much energy that you just can't contain it, and it makes you go crazy!" Pinkie explained, forehooves failing in Bon Bon's face, "Well, I mean crazy like excited, like when I throw parties, but not crazy like that one time when Twilight's letter to Princess Celestia was late and got her old doll and enchanted it so that everypony -"

"I got it," Bon Bon shoved a hoof into Pinkie's mouth to prevent her from traveling down that road. She remembered the day very well, and didn't want the story told. "So, I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that Pinkie Pie drinks this stuff by the gallon."

"Actually, no," Mrs. Cake replied.

"Meffeff Kek fahbibs eth!" Pinkie muffled through Bon Bon's hoof.

"Come again?" Bon Bon took her hoof out of the pink earth pony's mouth.

"Mrs. Cake forbids it! I've never had a sip in my life! All this energy just comes naturally to me!" Pinkie smiled as she repeated her earlier statement.

"Smart choice," Bon Bon muttered under her breath, then raised her voice back to normal to ask Mrs. Cake, "Do you mind if I took one on the road? I didn't sleep well last night and I might need something to perk me up in case I start to fall asleep on the train."

"Not at all, dearie! They're over in the fridge!" Mrs. Cake nodded towards the direction of the refrigerator "There might not be any left, though. Pumpkin and Pound were veeeery thirsty, dontcha know?"

Bon Bon opened the fridge and saw a sole black can with shiny red and green silhouettes of earth ponies, unicorns and pegasi in athletic poses printed all over. It was labeled "MOXIPOWER" in big, bold, silver letters. Haha! thought Bon Bon triumphantly, Just my luck! Only one left! She nabbed it, threw it in her navy and white saddlebag and continued helping out Pinkie Pie and Mrs. Cake with loading the cupcakes into the boxes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Applejack's eyes shot open at the sound of the rooster's blaring crow. Today was the big day! She shot out of her cozy wooden bed and started galloping in place. "Yeeeee hah!" She cheered giddily.

"Whoa, there, AJ!" Said Applejack's big brother, Big Macintosh, "You don't want to go wastin' all of your energy gettin' worked up! You gotta save it for the Rodeo!"

Applejack laughed and playfully jabbed her brother's side. "I ain't gonna tire myself out warmin' up!" Applejack teased, "Just how weak do you reckon I am?"

"You got everythin' packed for the Rodeo, pickle-barrel?" Granny asked as she hobbled into Applejack's room.

"'Course, Granny! We packed everythin' yesterday, remember?" Applejack said.

Granny Smith chuckled, "I can't remember which drawer the spoons are in! How do you expect me to remember if you packed or not?" She turned to Big Macintosh. "You ready to help the Cakes, hon?"

"Eeyup,"

"Well, then," Granny Smith hollered with one forehoof raised high in the air, "What're we waitin' around for? Let's get this show on the road! To the train station!"

Applejack admired the orchard on her way towards the edge of Sweet Apple Acres and the road the Ponyville. She and Big Macintosh had kicked into overdrive in the last few weeks. They had cut it close, but thanks especially to Big Mac, enough apples were harvested for Applejack to compete in the Rodeo and leave the farm in the rest of her family's hooves.

This Rodeo would be different than last year's. She'd have her friends there for support, and she wasn't pressured to win first place anymore. She just wanted to have a good time, and a good time she would have. She had her hat, which she never left home without; her lucky rope, which she believed to be a good luck charm, especially since last year when she couldn't find it and went to the Rodeo without it; and a bushel of Sweet Apple Acres apples, because there was never a bad time for a snack.

"Why can't I go with you, just to watch?" Applebloom asked her big sister.

Applejack flashed a smile, "I told you, you're still just a little filly! I'm goin' all the way to Canterlot! That's a long way!"

Big Macintosh nodded and said, "Two thousand n' four hundred miles from Ponyville to Canterlot, two thousand n' four hundred miles from Canterlot to Ponyville."

"How'd you know that?" Applebloom asked the red earth-pony.

"I used my fancy mathematics," Big Macintosh flashed a grin at his little sister, pleased she was so amazed.

Applejack playfully jabbed her big brother. "You need to stop crunchin' numbers all the time and do a better job with your chores!" She joked. She didn't mean it. Big Mac's skills helped the farm with pricing food, paying taxes and making financial decisions. Plus, she never passed up the opportunity to make fun of her big brother. It's just what younger siblings do.

They entered Town Square. Applejack, Applebloom, and Granny Smith headed towards the train station. Big Mac walked in the opposite direction, towards the plaza, where Sugarcube Corner was.

Big Mac opened the door to the bakery to see Mrs. Cake, Pinkie Pie, and another earth pony (Big Macintosh was pretty sure her name was "Bon Bon") putting cupcakes in a rectangular box. There were already 19 boxes that were closed, wrapped and with the Sugarcube Corner logo printed on the top.

"Oh, hi, Big Mac!" Said Pinkie Pie when she saw him, "Ready for some heavy-duty cupcake carrying?"

"Eeyup!" Said Big Mac as he strapped himself into the cart that the boxes containing the cupcakes were being loaded onto. He could smell the sweet aroma of fresh-baked cupcakes and homemade icing, making his mouth water.

Mrs. Cake beamed and said, "We really appreciate this, honey. You and your family have done just so much for our business! Pinkie Pie here even made you a little special something. You can pick it up when you come back." She pointed her hoof towards the counter where an apple cake stood. The words, "Thank You Apple Family!" were written neatly with icing. Big Mac's stomach growled.

"Can't wait to eat it!" He smiled.

"Then let's get this show on the road!" Pinkie declared as they moved out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rarity awoke to Sweetie Belle's face bouncing in and out of her view.

"Today's the day! Today's the day!" Sweetie Belle cheered excitedly.

"Huh . . . Wuzzah . . .?" Rarity said groggily.

"Today's the day! You know! The day!" Sweetie Belle repeated, pushing her face into Rarity's.

"Oh, my!" Exclaimed Rarity. She pushed her sister aside. "Today? Oh, there's so many preparations that must be done! Why didn't you wake me sooner? Today's the day!" She rushed to the far end of the room where two saddlebags packed to the brim stood. One was a lime green, the other a light turquoise. Rarity hoisted the green one up with her mouth and tossed it in Sweetie Belle's direction.

"Yay! This is going to be so fun! Apple Bloom and Scootaloo and me are finally going to earn our cutie marks!" Sweetie Belle hollered. Rarity almost corrected her grammar, but decided it wasn't worth it. She wanted her little sister to have a good time. Rarity was getting better about letting these kinds of things go like a civilized pony and a mature older sister should.

Rarity was almost as excited as the young unicorn filly bouncing around her, but didn't want to show it. She had been invited to the Canterlot Rodeo to support Applejack in the competition (and to help prevent a repeat of last year's runaway Applejack incident). At first Rarity wasn't very fond of the idea, but her mood changed when she found out that she would get a VIP front row seat. She also became more excited when Sapphire Shores contacted her telling her to come to Canterlot so she could be in her fashion line. There were many rare jewels on the Canterlot countryside, and Sapphire wanted Rarity's help. Spike agreed to be Rarity's helper when he found out about this, as he too was going to Canterlot for the Rodeo. This was going to be a fun little trip.

Sweetie Belle was going to stay with the Apple family while Rarity was in Canterlot. Applebloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were going to sleep in sleeping bags in their clubhouse for a couple nights. Scootaloo only decided to join because the three almost never did anything without each other. It was quite a friendship; one Rarity was quite jealous of. She had always had trouble making good friends when she was a filly. She was always called a snob and a brat, which seemed true from Rarity's surface appearance, but wasn't at all deep down.

In fact, the first pony Rarity met that she actually considered a good friend was Fluttershy. The yellow pegasus was still Rarity's best friend, and the two always stuck out for each other. They always shared their secrets and feelings with one another (save for the incident with Photo Finish, but that was different), as well as their hobbies. After being friends for a while, Fluttershy had learned how to make a decent dress and work a sewing machine, and Rarity was able to (to a certain degree) tame Opalescence.

Almost as if on cue, Opal mewed Rarity out of her train of thought. Rarity shook her head a bit and went strait back to galloping all over the boutique, cleaning up the last bits and pieces before closing down the shop for the week. She magicked her saddlebag and luggage and ran towards the door before stopping herself.

Wait, she thought to herself, I want to look good when I arrive in Canterlot. She dropped everything and bolted up to her room. She pulled out two diamond earrings. They were expensive, but Rarity cherished them greatly. They were her favorite pair. They would definitely do.

"Come ON, Rarity!" Sweetie Belle called from downstairs, "We're gonna miss the train!"

"Coming!" Rarity called back, putting the earrings in. It was time for an adventure she would not soon forget!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Putter putter putter putter putter putter putter . . .

"Five more minutes, dude."

Putter putter putter putter THUMP putter putter putter . . .

"Come on, don't do that!"

Putter putter THUMP putter THUMP putter putter putter THUMP putter putter . . .

"ALL RIGHT FINE! I'M UP!" Rainbow Dash shot out of bed, looping around to give her tortoise companion a noogie on his shell (or at least it seemed like a noogie. there wasn't any hair on the shell).

Rainbow Dash rocketed around the interior of her fluffy cloud house, feeling awake and alive. She had been anticipating this morning. She bolted over to the her friend and put a hoof on her forehead, as though she was saluting him. "All right, Tank," she barked at the tortoise, who was airborne thanks to a propeller device based off of the weather vanes in Ponyville, "are you ready for the Sixtieth Annual Canterlot Comicon, where Campolina Black, the very author of the Daring Do series, is going to make a special appearance?"

Tortoises are not known to be able to express excitement, but Tank nevertheless did a flip to show that he was very excited. This would be the first Canterlot Comicon Rainbow Dash would attend, and she wanted it to be perfect. She had ordered gray mane dye from Rarity, tan spray paint from Pinkie Pie (who offered it out of nowhere, pulling the can out from under a bridge. She claimed it was her Pinkie Sense, but nothing about Pinkie made sense.), and a safari outfit from Berry Punch, who went as Daring Do for Nightmare Night last year.

Rainbow Dash was forced to take Tank with her. She had tried to find a caretaker, but no one seemed to know about tortoises like Fluttershy, and she hadn't been seen in quite a while. It didn't bother Rainbow Dash that much. Tank wasn't as much a burden as much as he was a difficulty to travel with. Not many hotels in Canterlot liked having reptiles in their building. Princess Celestia had promised to allow Tank into her room each night. And so, it was decided Tank would spend the day with Rainbow Dash and the night with Princess Celestia. Dash was glad it had worked out. She couldn't wait to go to Canterlot, not only for the Comicon, where she planned to have her Daring Do book signed by Campolina Black herself, but also for the Rodeo, where her friend Applejack would compete. Princess Celestia had given front row seats, and Rainbow Dash was stoked.

"Come on! You woke me up, now you have to keep up!" Rainbow Dash challenged Tank as she bolted out the door with her stuff.

Tank caught up with her and stared into her eyes, asking a question in a language only Rainbow Dash seemed to understand. "I'll get into costume at Canterlot," Rainbow Dash replied, "That outfit is stuffy, and I want to stay out of it until the last minute. Besides, we have a train to catch!" The two picked up pace and hurtled through Ponyville's overcamorning sky.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fluttershy got up, sleep still fogging her eyes. Unlike her friends, she had woken up with no help. She was used to getting up this early, thanks to the impatience some of the animals under her care had when it came to getting breakfast.

She schlepped herself out of her bed. She felt and looked like a total mess. She hadn't gotten a very good night's sleep last night, nor had she for the past week. She had eaten very little, and had locked herself inside her cottage going long distances to avoid interacting with the outside world. She needed to go on this trip. It would be good for her to get out and do something like this. Not just for her, but for her animal companions.

A week ago, Fluttershy had sent Captain Peregrine, the falcon who had competed in the race to become Rainbow Dash's pet a while back, to Canterlot with enough bits to order one ticket to the upcoming Canterlot Rodeo. She would be too suspicious if she just left for Canterlot without an excuse. Besides, she was fairly certain none of her friends were going. Applejack said she was too busy with the orchard to help, and as far as Fluttershy knew, Applejack was the only one who wanted to enter the Rodeo. Fluttershy would just have to give an excuse as to why she needed to leave. She couldn't give this away.

The yellow Pegasus grabbed her ticket and the box she needed for the trip, and headed out her cottage door. Don't worry, my friends, Fluttershy thought, This shall not go unjustified. She shut the door and headed off towards the train station.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Amethyst Star woke up to the same scent that she woke up to ever time she slept with the Doos: Muffins. Ditzy and Dinky loved muffins, and boy, were they good at making them. Ditzy Doo was a mailmare in Ponyville, and the single mother of Dinky Doo. Because she had to work overtime so often, she often asked Amethyst to foalsit Dinky. Amethyst of course did it for very little money. Ditzy Doo was one the most warmhearted ponies that Amethyst Star knew, both as a mother and a hard worker.

About a year ago, there had been an incident involving an earth-pony named Applejack and the Canterlot Rodeo, and Ditzy was strung up in it somehow. When she told the story to Dinky, the little lavender filly expressed great interest in the Rodeo. She spent a good amount of time at Sweet Apple Acres watching the Apple Family's practices, and even tried practicing to compete in the Rodeo herself.

When Ditzy Doo realized her daughter's fascination for the Rodeo, she started working around the clock, pulling in enough money for two tickets for the upcoming Rodeo. The purchase of the tickets had put him in debt, and wasn't able to go to Canterlot. Amethyst offered to take Dinky and the extra ticket. Rodeos weren't exactly her cup of tea, but Dinky was her favorite filly to foalsit, and loved the opportunity to see Canterlot. She loved the city.

Amethyst trotted downstairs, greeted by Dinky. She was wearing her saddlebag, whose school supplies were dumped to make room for what was needed for the trip to Canterlot. Amethyst had done the same, taking out all of the junk that she had stored in her saddlebags to make room for travel supplies (she was a bit of a pack-rat and appreciated the chance to clean her messy saddlebag out).

"Hay, Dinky!" Amethyst said in an overly enthusiastic voice in spite of having just woken up, "Are you ready to go see the Rodeo?"

"Yeah!" Dinky cheered, bouncing off the floor.

"You two are going to have quite the adventure," Ditzy chuckled, poking her head around the corner from the kitchen. "Listen, Amethyst, I want to give you something," She ran back into the kitchen and came back with a bottle wrapped in parchment held under her wing. "This piece of paper," She said, "Is a note that assures you got to Canterlot safely. I still don't trust the railroad system. This bottle contains fire from the dragon down at the library. Just light the paper with the flame and it will be sent strait to me."

Amethyst magicked the bottle and parchment out from under Ditzy's wing. She stowed it away in her saddlebag, then paused as she caught a whiff of something. "Uh . . . Ditz?" she said.

Ditzy continued, "I don't want to act paranoid, but I worry for little Dinky here sometimes,"

"Ditzy."

"Then again, don't all mothers worry about their foals sometimes? It's a natural thing, I guess."

"Ditzy."

"I'm usually not one to worry. It's unhealthy. I know a lot of ponies that would benefit from worrying less."

"Like that Twilight Sparkle down at the library. She gets so worked up sometimes . . ."

"DITZY, THE MUFFINS!" Amethyst interrupted the grey pegasus before she went any more off-topic. The air was now starting to darken from the smoke.

"Oh, right!" Ditzy bolted into the kitchen to take the burning muffins out of the oven. She opened the oven, door, sending out a billow of dark grey smoke into the room, sending all three ponies into bouts of coughing. When the smoke cleared, Dinky saw that the muffin was the color of charcoal.

"Aww . . ." Dinky sighed. Ditzy looked ashamed, as though she was to take full responsibility for the accident.

"Don't worry, Dinky!" Amethyst tried to cheer the little filly up, "We can get something on the way to the train!"

"Okay!" Dinky perked right back up, following her foalsitter out the door.

Ditzy took a bite out of the muffin, making a loud crunching noise. "It's not that burnt," She said to herself.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The train station was packed. The engineer was doing one last check before he set off, so the passengers were conversing with one another on the platform. Applebloom and Sweetie Belle were excitedly talking to each other about their plans for the sleepover, and what they were going to do when Scootaloo joined them. Big Macintosh caught them on several occasions trying to sneak off in the direction of Scootaloo's house, and sat them down next to Granny Smith to listen to a story of hers. Granny never lets anypony she's telling a story to out of sight, so Big Mac felt he should be able to help with loading the cupcakes.

Spike was pacing back and forth on the platform to help stay awake. He had gotten plenty of sleep, but was still a baby dragon, and his body needed lots of rest if he wanted to do his job well. A shadow all of a sudden fell upon him. Spike looked up with his baggy eyes to see a towering teenage dragon, twice the height of most ponies.

The dragon smiled down at Spike and chuckled, "A little early for a little tyke like you, no?" His scales shown with a black shine in the morning light that made them look like obsidian, and his crimson belly looked smooth to the touch. He had a moderately think Trottinghamian accent and a deep, scruffy voice. His breath smelled like hot iron, and his smile was unnerving, but he didn't seem to mean any harm.

"Um . . ." Spike tried to respond, "I'm going to help my friend Twilight Sparkle with some shopping in Canterlot, and my friend Rarity with her fashion line," He held out his hand nervously and cautiously.

The black dragon squinted down at Spike, trying hard to remember something. "Twilight Sparkle," He said as he scratched his chin, producing a gritty, scraping sound, "Where have I heard that name before . . ." He suddenly snapped his finger in realization, producing a small spark. "I got it! She's Princess Celestia's personal student, correct?" Spike nodded. "Then that," The black dragon continued, "Would make you Spike! Am I right?"

"Yes," Said Spike, "Yes I am. And who are you?"

"Ah, did forget my introduction again? So sorry!" The dragon flexed his razor-sharp scales to show off, "My name's Sheen. I'm one of Equestria's mapmakers, from the city of Canterlot!" He gave a bow as he spoke, "Has the princess never told you about me? We're rather close," He asked Spike as he rose from his bow, once again towering over the baby dragon. "Then again," Sheen mused, "She's close with a lot of ponies. And dragons, for that matter."

"Wait," Said Spike, "If you're from Canterlot, how come you have a Trottinghamian accent? And what are you doing in Ponyville?"

"Oh, I wasn't born in Canterlot!" Explained Sheen with a short, condescending chuckle, "I was found as an egg by a scientist in Trottingham, and spent most of my childhood there. I drew mostly maps, and when Celestia dropped by on a visit one time, she saw my skills and asked if I would like a place on the board of Equestrian mapmakers, and I took it!" He smiled and sighed, reminiscing the memory of his, and then carried on. "As for being in Ponyville, I've been mapping out the countryside around the Everfree Forest. The land changes, so every once in a while, us mapmakers go out to different parts of Equestria for, say, about two years, doing nothing but studying the landscape. I have to say, this has been the most exciting trip of mine! You guys have it crazy! I'm kind of sad that my time here is up, but my mapping is complete, and I have to get it back to the castle as soon as I can, which happens to be riding this train."

Twilight walked up to the two dragons talking. "Hay, Spike! Who's your friend?" She asked her assistant.

Sheen took another bow. "Name's Sheen, m'lady! Member of the Royal Canterlot Board of Equestrian Mapmakers!" He stood back up. "You must be Twilight Sparkle, are you not?"

"Yes, how do you know my name?" Twilight asked him.

"I'm friends with the princess. She talks about you a good lot. I mean a really lot. From all that she's said, I gather you're quite the magician," Said Sheen, making Twilight blush. "You going to Canterlot for some shopping for supplies, or something?" He asked.

"Yes, but we're also going to see the Rodeo," Said Twilight, "Our friend is competing in it this year."

Spike and Twilight continued to chat with Sheen for a while. Applejack watched the three, wondering what another dragon was doing in Ponyville (she hadn't been listening to the conversation. That would be snooping).

"Quite a specimen," A voice behind Applejack remarked. Applejack jumped and turned around, coming face-to-face with a muscular, tan earth pony wearing a safari hat. His face bore an unkempt stubble, and his grey eyes seemed focused on the black-and-red dragon talking to Twilight and Spike.

"Who're you!?" Applejack demanded, still shocked by the sudden stranger's appearance, "Don't you know not to sneak up on other ponies like that!?"

"My name's Irwin Ranglem, and I'm a professional animal wrangler!" He said with a thick Horstrailian accent. He grinned and laughed, "It's my job to sneak up on things! I'm on the hunt for an elusive wild animal, and my sources tell me there's a family of 'em living in a swamp near the city of Canterlot!"

"What animal?" Applejack asked.

"Can't say," Irwin replied, lowering his front and raising his haunches as though ready to pounce, "It's classified information that only a select few knew about," Applejack rolled her eyes. "What about you, miss?" Irwin asked Applejack, not seeing the eye roll, "What're you goin' to Canterlot for? To see the Rodeo?"

"See it? Boy, I'm in the Rodeo," Said Applejack.

"Well, what's your name?"

"I'm Applejack. I'm from the Apple family."

"'Scuse me," A cream colored earth-pony called from across the platform, trotting over to Applejack and Irwin, "Did you say you're from the Apple family?"

Applejack blinked. "Uh, yeah, why?" She asked.

The mare beamed, "Well, howdy, cuz! I'm from the Apple family, too! My name's Apple Crumble. My family runs a cider tavern in a small town a ways from here. You've probably never heard of it. I'm goin' to compete in the Rodeo, as well! What a coincidence!"

Applejack smiled. "I'm Applejack. My family owns Sweet Apple Acres down the road. Glad to meet someone new! Is this your first Rodeo?" She asked Apple Crumble

Apple Crumble nodded, making her berry-colored braids bounce up and down rhythmically, reminding Applejack of Pinkie Pie's mane. She looked rather young. Her bright red hair, cream-colored coat, and slim body didn't seem very Apple-family-like, but Applejack didn't want to doubt a total stranger. The two talked for a bit, leaving Irwin on his own, and Applejack found that Apple Crumble was very knowledgeable on apples, almost more-so than Applejack herself. After a little bit of talking, she heard the familiar sound of a jet turbine.

Apple Crumble looked up and asked, "What in the hay was that?"

"That's my friend, Rainbow Dash. She's an amazing flyer. Come on, I'll introduce you to her!" Applejack and Apple Crumble walked over.

Rainbow Dash was still recovering from her abrupt confrontation with the dew-licked grass aside the train platform.

"Hay, RD!" Said Applejack, "I'd like to introduce you to my cousin, Apple Crumble! She's competin' in the Rodeo, too!"

Rainbow Dash looked up at the sky, a look of concern on her face. "Hay, Applejack. Hay, Apple Crumble," She said halfheartedly, "Say, have either of you seen a certain flying tortoise around here?"

Apple Crumble blinked. "Huh?" She asked, "Did you just say flying tortoise?"

Rainbow Dash nodded. "Yeah," She said, "His name is Tank.He has a little contraption that lets him fly, and goggles for when he does. I was just now racing him to the platform, and I kinda lost him on the way."

"Ain't that him up there?" Applejack pointed up at the sky where Tank was rocketing down. He hit the ground squarely on all four stubby little feet, completely unfazed by the abrupt landing. He turned his head to see that Rainbow Dash had beaten him to the train platform, and crossly kicked the ground in slow-motion.

"Well, shucks!" Said Apple Crumble with a half-smile, "I was told Ponyville folks were a tad quirky, but I reckon that might've been a bit of an understatement, huh?"

All three of them laughed. Suddenly, something caught Rainbow Dash's attention from the corner of her eye. "Hay, Fluttershy!" Rainbow Dash zoomed over to meet her friend, but Fluttershy didn't respond. She merely turned her head away from Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow Dash tried again, "I didn't know you were coming on this train ride! Nopony's seen hide nor hair of you this past week! Whatcha been up to?"

Fluttershy murmured a barely audible nothing and continued walking, eager to get rid of Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash was confused. Fluttershy wasn't the most social pony she knew, but she didn't act like this around her friends. Something was up, and Rainbow Dash was going to find out.

"Hay, Rarity?" Rainbow Dash flew to the train platform and gave the white unicorn a small nudge.

Rarity turned around and smiled. "Rainbow!" She said, "I didn't know you had arrived! How are you faring?"

"I just got here. And I'm fine. Listen, Fluttershy just showed up, and she's acting weird. She wouldn't tell me what was wrong, but you might be able to talk to her, being her best friend and whatnot."

"I don't see why not," Said Rarity, "I will seek the truth and report back here." She trotted off to meet Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash watched them from afar. After about a minute, Rarity trotted back to Rainbow Dash.

"Well?" Asked Rainbow Dash, "What going on with her?"

"I haven't the slightest," Said Rarity flatly, "She wouldn't budge. I don't know what gotten into her, but it must be serious for her to be acting like this. Maybe -"

Rarity was cut short by the falling of curtains around the edges of the train platform, darkening the entire area to the point where nopony could see anything.

"What the -" Came the engineers voice, "What happened? Who's doing that?"

"Ladies and gentlecolts," A voice began through a speaker. "You are select few honored to bare witness to magic of astounding feats, unlike none you have ever seen before!"

"Uh-oh," Applejack said.

"Behold! The one!"

"Wait a minute, I know that voice," Said Twilight.

"The only!"

"Is that who I think it is?" Asked Pinkie Pie.

"The great!"

"Sadly, I think that's a yes," Bon Bon said to Pinkie.

"And powerful!"

"This won't end well," Rarity said with an eye roll.

"TRIXIE!!!!!!!!"

In a puff of smoke, Trixie, standing on her back hooves appeared in the center of the platform. The lights came back on.

"Well, now that that's over, all aboard!" The engineer called from the train.

"I have a feelin' this is gonna be a lot longer of a trip than we reckoned," Applejack muttered under her breath as everypony going to Canterlot moved towards the train.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

REVIEW THE FACTS

There were thirteen ponies and two dragons on the train when it left Ponyville Station. Nopony exited or entered the train at any time, as it was in motion the entire time.

The passengers on board were:

Pinkie Pie, who was delivering and going to sell 500 cupcakes at the Canterlot Rodeo. She boarded with the cupcakes.

Twilight Sparkle, who was going to do some shopping for magic supplies not found in Ponyville and to see the Rodeo. She boarded with a book on advanced magic recipes to help her find what she needed, and two tickets to the Rodeo.

Applejack, who was going to compete in the Canterlot Rodeo. She boarded with a bushel of apples, her hat and her lucky rope.

Rainbow Dash, who was going to a book convention in Canterlot where the author of the Daring Do series was to make an appearance. She boarded with a Daring Do book for the author to sign and a costume for the convention, as well as her pet tortoise Tank.

Rarity, who had been asked to be at Canterlot during the Rodeo by Sapphire Shores so that she could be part of her new fashion line. She boarded with several outfits for the fashion line.

Fluttershy, who claimed she wanted to see the Rodeo. She boarded with a small box, whose contents are unknown, and a ticket to the Rodeo.

Spike, who was tagging along with Twilight Sparkle and Rarity. He boarded with a blueberry muffin and a field guide for rocks and minerals.

Dinky Doo, who had gotten two tickets to see the Rodeo, courtesy of her mother, Ditzy Doo. She boarded with the tickets as well as her favorite teddy bear.

Amethyst Star, who was foalsitting Dinky Doo while Ditzy stayed back to work. Amethyst had taken Dinky's extra ticket and was going to see the Rodeo with her. She boarded with a note she was instructed to send to Ditzy Doo when they got to Canterlot.

Bon Bon, who was working alongside Pinkie Pie. She boarded with a Moxipower Shake to help her stay awake during the train ride.

Sheen, a mapmaker from Canterlot who had just finished mapping out the land around Ponyville and was headed home. He boarded with his finished notes, which took several long months to complete, as well as his knapsack, whose contents are unknown.

Trixie, whose reason for boarding was unknown. She boarded with several large bags, whose contents are unknown but said to be her acting materials.

Apple Crumble, who was going to compete in the Canterlot Rodeo. She boarded with a necklace that had family heirloom.

Irwin Ranglem, an animal wrangler who was off to a swamp where an elusive species he was hunting lived. Canterlot was the closest stop to the swamp. He boarded with his equipment for catching the animal he was hunting, but he did not say what kind of animal it was.

Steamer, the engineer and owner of the Friendship Express.

1600 Miles Remain

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800 MILES TRAVELED

1600 MILES REMAIN

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Bon Bon yawned loudly as she struggled to stay in an upright position on her bed inside the cabin she was sharing with Rainbow Dash, and blinked twice. Now that her nerves were no longer on edge, and she had returned to her usual relatively calm personality, her lack of sleep from last night was starting to catch up with her. She eyed her navy and white saddlebag that sat in a slump across the cabin’s plush, carpeted floor. From inside it, the shiny aluminum of the Moxipower can beckoned her, but something inside the mare stopped her from downing the powerful energy drink. Perhaps it was her own sleepiness, wanting nothing but actual bed rest at the moment. I’ll drink it when I get up again, Bon Bon convinced herself, I’ll need it to wash the grogginess away.

She finally gave in to the urge to plop down in her bed and tuck the covers in. Almost everything in the cabin was making her eyelids heavy; the rickety vibrations from the train’s thundering down the tracks, the soft and cheerful music scratchily emanating from the intercom system, the snoring of her bunkmate Rainbow Dash. Bon Bon was at complete peace with the world. She slowly closed her eyes and . . .

“STOP RIGHT THERE CRIMINAL SCUM!”

Of course, as always for the poor earth pony, the state of bliss didn’t last even a measly second. Bon Bon’s eyes shot open to reveal a familiar pink pony wearing a deerstalker hat and blowing bubbles from a pipe sticking out of her mouth. Bon Bon gave a shrill scream and reflexively reared her hind legs, giving a powerful buck that only an earth pony’s strength could deliver. Her hooves hit Pinkie Pie square in her diaphragm and sent her upwards, crashing into the top bunk where Rainbow Dash was still sleeping peacefully. Pinkie’s contact with her bed, however, immediately woke her from her peaceful slumber, and caused her to give a shriek that would have been more fitting coming out of Rarity’s mouth. Pinkie fell to the ground, where she laid blowing bubbles from her pipe, unfazed from the kick.

When Bon Bon cleared herself and regained awareness, she gave a death glare at Pinkie, who stared back with a skeptical squint. “PINKIE PIE!” Bon Bon shouted with frustration, letting her Manehattan accent bleed through, “WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?”

“Science, Bons,” Pinkie replied flatly, “Arbitrary, speculative science!” She blew a few bubbles from her pipe. Readjusting her hat, she picked herself up off of the ground, all while still keeping her unwavering stare focused on Bon Bon.

“WHAT THE BUCK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!?”

Pinkie Pie leaned into her co-worker’s face and gave a stern glare, giving the cream-colored mare a prod with every couple words. “Save it, Maurice. We have the crime of the century in front of us and you’re one of our prime suspects! Now, where were you on the eleventy-second Schmapril!?”

“Wha . . .” Bon Bon stammered, shaking her head in utter confusion. Then she yelled, “PINKIE, MY NAME ISN’T MAU-“

“OBJECTION!” Pinkie Pie flung an accusatory hoof in front of Bon Bon’s face. All of sudden, the pink mare was in a sleek navy suit, her previously fluffy mane now slicked back into a spiky hairstyle. The hat and pipe from mere seconds ago were nowhere to be seen. “Your alibi clearly contradicts this evidence here!” She pulled out a stack of papers and smacked them in her empty hoof, a smug smile growing on her face.

“PIIIIIINKIIIIIE!!!” Bon Bon roared in exasperation of her co-worker’s constant and obnoxious randomness.

“Um . . .” Rainbow Dash awkwardly interjected from atop her bed, “I’m gonna go get changed into my costume. Might as well, since you two seem to have something to do. I’ll leave you to that.” The pegasus swooped down, grabbed her saddlebags, and headed out of the cabin.

Bon Bon watched the door close behind Rainbow and turned to look back at Pinkie Pie. Her mane was once again as fluffy as always. The suit was gone now, and she again wore the deerstalker hat and blew bubbles from the pipe while staring at Bon Bon observantly. To say that Pinkie was enigmatic would be the greatest understatement in the universe.

“Okay, now seriously, Pinkie . . .”

“I am being serious!” Pinkie Pie protested, “Why doesn’t anypony think I can be serious!?” She threw the potato in her hoof at the floor in frustration.

Wait . . . Bon Bon thought suddenly, Where did she get that . . . Never mind that, Bon Bon, it’s only Pinkie being Pinkie. She rubbed her temples and exhaled deeply.

“Alright, Pinkie,” she sighed reluctantly, “What do you want from me?”

“I told you! There’s a thief on board this train and I have to catch them!”

Bon Bon raised her eyebrows. “What? A thief?”

“I’ll spare you the details, Bons . . .”

“Please stop calling me that.”

“In short, Applejack’s hat has gone missing, and clues lead us to believe the Stetson has been hatnapped!”

“Hatnapped?”

“HATNAPPED!” Pinkie repeated, much louder and snappier, her shouting messing up Bon Bon’s navy mane. As her co-worker fixed her mane, Pinkie continued, starting to pace back and forth. “So I need to question everypony on this train. Anypony could be the culprit. You could be the culprit! I could be the culprit! Man, wouldn’t that be a twist?”

“So what do you want with me?” Bon Bon asked.

“Simple, I need to ask you a few questions.”

Bon Bon agreed to sit down for some questions, while Pinkie Pie took a notepad and quill out from under her hat. “Now,” Pinkie began, “What have you been doing since this train left the station?”

“Well, first, I was talking to Twilight about the steam engine. She’s really intrigued about how the thing works, and the engineer, Steamer, is my uncle. I told her a little bit about what I knew, and answered her questions using what I’d picked up from Steamer. To be honest, I don’t really know as much as it may seem. Steamer really likes his job, so he gushes about it to his friends and family. I don’t like it, but he is my uncle, and seeing that he’s the only one that knows how the thing works, it must be hard not being able to share that with anypony.”

Bon Bon sighed slightly, thinking about her uncle, then realized she had gone off on a personal tangent. She looked up at Pinkie Pie, who was viciously scribbling notes down on her pad. Bon Bon momentarily wondered how she was able to write down so much without a bottle of ink to dip the quill in, then asked the pink mare, “Sorry, I kind of went off track there, didn’t I?”

“Not to worry, Bons,” Pinkie chirped, not looking up from her writing, “Digressions make the world go round!”

“You would think that, wouldn’t you?” Bon Bon chuckled. As annoying as her co-worker was, it was quickly becoming an endearing sort of annoying.

“Okay, so what did you do after that?” Pinkie pressed.

“Well, Spike interrupted Twilight then, and I decided to head off to my cabin. I saw Trixie and Amethyst on the way, and they looked angry at each other. Curious, I followed them. When they entered their cabins, I tried to stay outside Trixie’s cabin and listen to what she said, but I didn’t catch anything explicitly suspicious, only ranting about being underappreciated. She seemed to be trying to convince herself more than anypony that she was good, but I only heard snippits. Then I came to my cabin, and then you showed up.”

“Then what happened?”

“You were there, Pinkie.”

A short silence followed, bringing time to an agonizing and awkward slow. A few moments later, the silence was broken by Pinkie muttering, “Oh, yeah.” The enigmatic earth pony scribbled down some more, then asked, “Okay, who are you voting for in the Rodeo?”

Bon Bon was a bit surprised by this question. Then again, she shouldn’t have been. Pinkie was prone to doing these things, and Bon Bon knew it. “Well,” the cream earth pony said while pondering, “I’m not actually sure. I’m not that familiar with the contestants, save for Applejack, of course, and maybe Apple Crumble. Though, from what I know, if not those two, I’d say Fetlock Pierce. The stallion’s got game. He’s almost as good Applejack! That’s about it, though. Applejack still trumps him. If it hadn’t been for Applejack freaking out last year, he wouldn’t have won so effortlessly.”

“Alright, that’ll do, pig,” Pinkie put her notepad and quill back under the deerstalker hat.

“Pinkie, I’m not a . . .”

“I know! I just always wanted to say that!” Pinkie giggled and left the cabin.

As the door closed shut with an indefinite click, the lone pony could only sit down on the floor and slowly shake her head. “I’ve seen nutty before, but this is a whole new level of nutty,” she murmured. “Oh, well. Anything for the job of my dreams.” Bon Bon paused for a second, and her eyes widening. “Oh man! Speaking of the job, I’ve gotta make sure those cupcakes made it safely into Pinkie’s cabin!” She trotted out the door, putting the thoughts of her co-worker’s endless antics into a tiny corner of her mind where they wouldn’t bug her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Miss Crumble?” Rarity hollered through the wall separating the car’s hallway from the cabin where Applejack’s cousin resided. The unicorn rapped on the door a few more times. “Miss Crumble, are you in there?”

“Who’s there!?” Apple Crumble snarled, “Go away! I don’t wanna talk to nopony!”

Rarity’s brow furrowed in concern. She could easily tell that Apple Crumble was distressed from the tone of her voice and the quick lashing out. Rarity carefully and gently opened the cabin door to a rather familiar scene.

The cabin was an utter mess. Apple Crumble’s belongings were strewn about messily as Crumble herself hurriedly and frantically dashed from one side of the room to the other, wrecking and demolishing everything with her bare hooves. Sheen was seated upon the top bunk bed with his luggage, nonchalantly chomping a chunk of garnet as he looked down at his roommate and watched her with amusement.

“Hello, there,” Rarity said to Sheen.

“’Lo,” Sheen responded back, his voice muffled from a full mouth.

“Is . . . She alright?” Rarity asked, motioning towards Apple Crumble. Sheen shrugged.

Apple Crumble looked up, venom dripping from her face, “OF COURSE I AIN’T ALRIGHT!” she barked, “DO I LOOK ALRIGHT!?”

“She lost her heirloom, and started goin’ mental,” Sheen explained as he finished the garnet and licked his claws one by one, “I really don’t care what she does to the room, as long as she keeps her little hooves off my stuff.”

Rarity blinked. “You . . . Lost your heirloom?” she asked the earth pony, “As in . . . your Apple Family heirloom?”

“Yeah, what’s it mean to you?” Apple Crumble grumbled.

“Applejack lost her family heirloom just a little while ago! Something happened to it while she was sleeping! I came in here to ask you two if you had seen it!”

Sheen gave a small laugh. “Heh, if it did end up in here, I don’t think you’ll be findin’ it anytime soon. This place is a dump.”

“Shut your face, you stinkin’ dragon! You haven’t done anything but sit up there and make snarky little comments!” Crumble gave a vicious glare and bared her teeth at the dragon.

“Well,” Rarity interjected before things between the two roommates escalated, “If you want, Crumble, you could join me and my friends in looking for the lost items. Pinkie Pie and Twilight have a little system that seems to work.”

Apple Crumble frowned. “Alright, then. If you’re sure it’ll help me find my necklace.”

Rarity gave a double take, eyes widening in astonishment. “Your heirloom is a necklace? That doesn’t seem very farmer-like.”

“That’s a bit stereotyical, don’t you think?” Sheen called from atop his bed, giving a pesky grin at the two ponies.

Rarity glowered at him. “Oh, hush, you. I was just surprised is all. Come on, then, Apple Crumble.”

“If you say so.” Apple Crumble trotted out the cabin door, shutting it behind herself.

“Heh,” Sheen chuckled to himself, “Mares. Always freakin’ out over somethin’. Why, if I had a bit for every time a mare overreacted, I’d . . .” Sheen didn’t finish his thought. He was struck by a sudden yet powerful wave of drowsiness. Struck by the potent urge to rest, the black dragon passed out immediately, snoring loudly atop his bunk bed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Rainbow?” Applejack hollered as she knocked on the pegasus’ cabin door. The door opened suddenly, but to Applejack’s surprise, it was Pinkie Pie on the other side instead of Rainbow Dash.

Pinkie’s face was glazed over and expressionless. “Dashie is not here,” Pinkie stated in a monotone and robotic voice, “Please leave a message at the beep.”

“Uh . . . Pink? You okay?”

The pink earth pony let the act drop and giggled madly. “Aren’t I always, Applejack?”

“Not really. Did you get anything on Rainbow Dash?”

“Nah, Dashie went to change into her Daring Do costume. I got some stuff on Bons, though.” Pinkie Pie closed the cabin door.

“I don’t really care about that, Bon Bon ain’t suspicious. I want to know where Rainbow Dash is.”

“I dunno. Probably in the bathroom, still. She’s gotta spray herself down, get the mane dye in, put the clothes on . . .”

“Alright, that’s good enough for me.” Applejack trotted off in the direction of the bathroom, intent on confronting the mischievous pegasus she was convinced had taken her hat.

The cabin door opened once again, Bon Bon stepping out of it and leaving the cabin empty. “Hey again, Pinkie Pie,” she said, “I was just gonna check on the cupcakes; make sure they made it into your cabin safe and sound.”

“Sure thing!” Pinkie said cheerily. She pointed a hoof towards one of the train car’s doors. “My cabin is two cars that way. I’m with Mister Wranglem.”

Once Bon Bon had set off to check on the confectionaries, Pinkie bounced back to Applejack and Rarity’s room to pool her information with the information her pals were collecting. When she opened the cabin door, she found Rarity and Apple Crumble on the bottom bunk bed, Rarity taking notes as Apple Crumble talked. They stopped and looked at the bubbly mare.

“Oh, hello, Pinkie Pie. Back so soon?” Rarity said warmly.

“My detective skills are very proficient, sweets,” Pinkie said flatly as she took the wooden pipe out of her mouth and threw it into a messy heap of Applejack’s luggage in the corner of the cabin.

“Well, that’s good.” Rarity chuckled at Pinkie’s detective charade. “Well, I’m questioning Apple Crumble right now. You can stay here until Twilight gets back if you want; perhaps take a nap.”

“Okey dokey loki!” the carnation earth pony chirped. With two bounces, she hopped across the floor and flopped into Applejack’s bed. Reaching under the covers, she pulled out a velvety indigo nightcap donned with Princess Luna’s cutie mark. Within moments, she was lightly snoring. Apple Crumble and Rarity stared blankly at her.

Apple Crumble turned to face Rarity. “You do realize she’s insane, right?”

“My, my, someone’s late to the party.” Rarity stifled a giggle. She was only joking around. She wouldn’t dream of sincerely insulting one of her friends. “Alright, then, let’s continue. Now that we have reasons why the necklace would be taken, let’s think of who would do it and why.”

"Well, for the necklace itself, I reckon Sheen and Spike are pretty good suspects. They’re dragons, and dragons love to chow down on gems.” She paused and looked at Rarity suspiciously. “Y’know, come to think of it, I reckon you would be a good suspect. You said you love gems, right?”

Oh, for the love of- thought Rarity with exasperation. “Why must everypony pigeonhole so!?” she snapped, throwing her hooves in the air, “There is more to my life than making dresses and collecting gems!” Apple Crumble flinched slightly, and Rarity let her tension drop. “I apologize,” the white unicorn quickly said with a small sigh, “I just get annoyed with the sweeping generalizations after a while, is all. I’ll put myself down. Anypony else?”

Apple Crumble furrowed her brow and tapped a hoof to her chin, looking deep in thought. “Hmmmmmm . . . It might be a stretch, but what about Twilight?”

“Why would Twilight want a necklace, darling? That mare makes Applejack look like a fashionatta. She couldn’t care less about jewelry. I should know, I’ve tried giving her a fair amount over the months.”

“I said it was a stretch, but I know that she’s goin’ to do some supply shoppin’. Now, bein’ an earth pony like myself, and a small-town one at that, I’m not really a genius when it comes to magic, but she did bring those spell books for gettin’ materials. I reckon that jade n’ brass might come in handy for a spell or two.”

Rarity was about to interject and say that Twilight would never steal, but closed it and forcefully reminded herself of Pinkie Pie and Twilight’s rule when speculating. Guilty until proven innocent, Rarity, guilty until proven innocent. I must assume only the worst in everypony. She grudgingly put her friend’s name next to her own on the notepad and continued the routine. “Alright, next motive: To spite you. Who would want to spite you?”

The earth pony didn’t even miss a beat. “Sheen,” she said with a scoff, throwing her head back and sending her red wine colored braids bouncing off-sync with her movements. She started to rant heatedly. “Definitely Sheen. That dragon is a menace. A pest. A rascal. I’ve met some people that get on my nerves, but he takes the cake, bakes another cake, and takes that one too. I wouldn’t be surprised if he took it just to be the pesky teenager he really is. I don’t care how slow them dragons age, their maturity is worse than-“

“ALRIGHTY, THEN, SHEEN GOES ONTO THE LIST,” Rarity interjected, stopping the yellow mare before she could go further off on her tangent. “Anypony else?”

“I dunno,” stated Crumble flatly with a shrug.

“What about Trixie?” Rarity suggested, “Did you set her off in any way? I know she’s rather easily set off.”

“Well, yeah, but not enough to make a rational pony go steal my necklace.”

“Trixie it is,” said Rarity, scribbling the showmare’s name on the notepad. The quick accusation elicited a faint chuckle from Apple Crumble.

“Boy, y’all really don’t seem to get along with that poor soul. What did she ever do to y’all to make her such a . . .” Apple Crumble paused, trying to remember the word. “Escapin’ . . . Goat . . .?”

“Scapegoat?” Rarity suggested. Crumble nodded. “It’s a long story, dear. Perhaps when this whole mess is over there will be time for chatting.”

“If you say so, miss.”

“Now, what about Applejack? I know from firsthand experience she is quick to point an accusatory hoof and take unnecessary actions. Why, if jumping to conclusions were an Iron Pony sport, she’d have more gold medals than all of the Wonderbolts!” Rarity chuckled at her own joke. Again, she didn’t really mean Applejack harm. Insults were simply a way she joked and bonded with ponies. Perhaps Rainbow Dash was rubbing off on her a bit too much.

“Well, I guess, but I just met her, and she is family.” Apple Crumble looked at the ceiling of the cabin. “And family is pretty gosh darn important to us Apples.”

“I’m afraid I must quote Pinkie Pie and say ‘nothing but the worst can be assumed in a suspect, even if the suspect is of your blood.’ You’re going to have to set your trust slightly to the side if you want your family’s heirlooms back.”

“Alright, I guess. You can put Applejack down. I won’t argue that Apples are stubborn to the bone.” Crumble weakly smiled a bit. It was visually difficult for her to think poorly of a newfound relative, but she desperately wanted her necklace back, so she toughed the negative feeling out.

"Okay, next question . . .” Rarity began, reigning Apple Crumble’s attention back in.

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“That will be all, Amethyst, thank you. And thank you, too, Dinky!” Twilight ruffled Dinky’s mane as the filly gave out a squeal of mock displeasure, giggling brightly as she squirmed out of Twilight’s reach. Amethyst gave a curt nod and closed the cabin door. Once it was closed, Twilight Sparkle sighed and walked away from the door, heading back to the scene of the crime. Along the way, she bumped into Applejack and Rainbow Dash, the latter of which was sporting a spot-on cosplay of Daring Do. She hovered in the air while bickering with Applejack.

“Why the hay would I want your dumb cowpony hat?” snapped Dash.

“Cause you think everythin’ thrown your way is a challenge!” Applejack shot back heatedly, “You thought my little comment about you readin’ too much Darin’ Do – which is true, by the way – was an insult beyond reason! So to get even, you took my hat!”

“No, you’re just saying I did it to cover up what you did! You knew how much Tank’s machine meant to both me and him, so you snuck under Fluttershy’s wing and snatched it!”

“You stupid, thick pegasus!” Applejack spat, her glare growing more loathing by the second, “Why in the hay would I want to take Tank’s flyin’ doo-hickey!?”

“I don’t know, you tell me! You did it after all!”

“GIRLS!!!!” Twilight thundered, catching the verbal combatants off-guard. Rainbow Dash’s wings stiffened in surprise, and she fell to the ground, her flank making a solid thunk as it hit the train’s carpeted floor. Both mares looked at the unicorn.

“What is going on!?” demanded Twilight, “What is with the shouting!?”

Applejack and Rainbow Dash each pointed a hoof at the other and simultaneously spoke.

“Rainbow’s the culprit behind the hat mystery!”

“Applejack took Tank’s flying machine!”

Twilight facehooved. These two argued too often. Now was not the right time. “Come on, you two,” the unicorn said in an “angry mother” tone, “we’re going back to the room.”

Using her magic, she dragged her friends by their tails across the train car and into the next, stopping in front of Rarity and Applejack’s cabin door and entering.

Apple Crumble and Rarity were on Rarity’s bed, while Pinkie snored contently from Applejack’s bed. The scene was odd alright, but she didn’t have time to acknowledge the bizarreness of it. Still using her magic, she flung Applejack and Rainbow Dash over herself. They landed in the middle of the room, the loud sound of them hitting the floor waking Pinkie Pie up. The pink earth pony bounded out of the bed and regained her moxie instantly, retrieving her deerstalker hat and pipe from a corner of the room.

“What’s new, Snoo?” Pinkie asked jubilantly.

“I think this case just got a hay of a lot more complicated,” Twilight said darkly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

REVIEW THE FACTS

There were thirteen ponies and two dragons on the train when it left Ponyville Station. Nopony exited or entered the train at any time, as it was in motion the entire time.

The passengers on board were:

Pinkie Pie, who was delivering and going to sell 500 cupcakes at the Canterlot Rodeo. She boarded with the cupcakes.

Twilight Sparkle, who was going to do some shopping for magic supplies not found in Ponyville and to see the Rodeo. She boarded with a book on advanced magic recipes to help her find what she needed, and two tickets to the Rodeo.

Applejack, who was going to compete in the Canterlot Rodeo. She boarded with a bushel of apples, her hat and her lucky rope.

Rainbow Dash, who was going to a book convention in Canterlot where the author of the Daring Do series was to make an appearance. She boarded with a Daring Do book for the author to sign and a costume for the convention, as well as her pet tortoise Tank.

Rarity, who had been asked to be at Canterlot during the Rodeo by Sapphire Shores so that she could be part of her new fashion line. She boarded with several outfits for the fashion line and materials for dressmaking.

Fluttershy, who claimed she wanted to see the Rodeo. She boarded with a small box, whose contents are unknown, and a ticket to the Rodeo.

Spike, who was tagging along with Twilight Sparkle and Rarity. He boarded with a blueberry muffin and a field guide for rocks and minerals.

Dinky Doo, who had gotten two tickets to see the Rodeo, courtesy of her mother, Ditzy Doo. She boarded with the tickets as well as her favorite teddy bear.

Amethyst Star, who was foalsitting Dinky Doo while Ditzy stayed back to work. Amethyst had taken Dinky's extra ticket and was going to see the Rodeo with her. She boarded with a note she was instructed to send to Ditzy Doo when they got to Canterlot.

Bon Bon, who was working alongside Pinkie Pie. She boarded with a Moxipower Shake to help her stay awake during the train ride.

Sheen, a mapmaker from Canterlot who had just finished mapping out the land around Ponyville and was headed home. He boarded with his finished notes, which took several long months to complete, as well as his knapsack, whose contents are unknown.

Trixie, whose reason for boarding was unknown. She boarded with several large bags, whose contents are unknown but said to be her acting materials.

Apple Crumble, who was going to compete in the Canterlot Rodeo. She boarded with a necklace that had family heirloom.

Irwin Ranglem, an animal wrangler who was off to a swamp where an elusive species he was hunting lived. Canterlot was the closest stop to the swamp. He boarded with his equipment for catching the animal he was hunting, but he did not say what kind of animal it was.

Steamer, the engineer and owner of the Friendship Express, and Bon Bon’s uncle.

- - - - -

The room accommodations were as such

- - - - -

One of the above passengers, save for Applejack of course, has taken Applejack’s hat. Reasons for taking it would be:

To claim the hat as their own. (Possible suspects: Rarity)

To spite Applejack. (Possible suspects: Trixie, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie)

To distract Applejack from the Rodeo. (Possible suspects: Apple Crumble)

To distract everypony from something else. (Possible suspects: )

One of the above passengers, save for Apple Crumble, also took Apple Crumble’s jade necklace. Reasons for taking it would be:

To claim the necklace as their own. (Possible suspects: Sheen, Spike, Rarity, Twilight)

To spite Apple Crumble. (Possible suspects: Sheen, Trixie, Applejack)

To distract Apple Crumble from the Rodeo. (Possible Suspects: Applejack)

To distract everypony from something else. (Possible suspects: )

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Special thanks to Yukito for editing.

A/N: Thanks for reading! As a growing writer, I'm learning from my mistakes, and am (hopefully) getting better chapter by chapter. Please comment! I love your comments!