"Thanks for Inviting us to the Grand Opening ceremony at the Canterlot Muffin Museum, Princess Luna," Twilight Sparkle said as she, Pinkie Pie and Princess Luna walked on to the Friendship Express. Behind them the door silently slid shut and the train pulled away from the station.
"Oh yes oh yes oh yes! Thank you thank you thank you!" cried Pinkie Pie, literally bouncing off the walls in her excitement. "I love muffins and parties and this is a party for muffins! And there will be the Great Muffin, the largest muffin in the world! Its a muffin for parties at a party for muffins!"
"It was my pleasure, girls. As the guest of Honour I was able to acquire some free tickets. Its just a shame the other elements were too busy to attend," the Princess said with a sigh as they walked into the main carriage together. The carriage was crowded, not due to a mass of people but because part of the room was taken up by a large table upon which perched the largest muffin any of them had ever seen.
"THE GREAT MUFFIN!" Pinkie screamed in delight, causing the other ponies in the carriage to rub their ears and glare at her. She rushed over to it and began to drool. "Its so large and wonderful- I have never seen anything like it!"
"Thanks Pinkie!" Said a familiar voice, followed by a familiar cross-eyed face. Derpy Hooves came round the table from behind the large muffin. "I worked hard on making it. I put all my heart and soul and love into it!"
"I helped as well, remember?" Said a brown stallion approaching the muffin table. "I'm the Doctor, at your service"
"Doctor! Wonderful to see you again!" Princess Luna exclaimed "You haven't aged a day, have you?"
"Why, if it isn't Princess Luna. How are you my dear?" the Doctor replied, shaking her hoof.
"Princess, you know this pony?" Twilight asked "And I'm sorry, but I didn't catch your name."
"Oh, sorry, I am used to just being called the Doctor. It's Whooves, Doctor Whooves"
"Well hello there Whooves Doctor Whooves. I don't think I have ever met you before so do you know what this calls for? A 'found-a new-friend' party! Ooh, we can have streamers and balloons and cake-"
"And muffins!" interrupted Derpy, thrusting a hoof into the air, eyes rolling.
The two mares wandered off to a corner where they excitedly begin planning Doctor Whooves' 'found-a new-friend' party, although most of Derpy's suggestions revolved around muffins, whilst Twilight, Luna and the Doctor engaged in small talk. Suddenly the carriage was plunged into darkness as it passed through a tunnel.
"That's odd," said Luna, copying Twilight and lighting up her horn. "The lights should have come on." She looked around
the darkened carriage, lit solely by the blue and purple light coming from her and Twilight’s horns, making everything look eerie, like a haunted house on Nightmare Night. A piercing shriek interrupted the Princess's musing as she whipped her head round looking at Derpy and Pinkie, who were clutching each other in fear, pointing at something at the far end of the carriage. Luna's mouth dropped as she recognised what it was.
"G-g-g-ghost!" Pinkie and Derpy shrieked in fear as a pale white earth pony dressed as a train conductor approached them, moaning and groaning.
"I shall have my REVENGE!" The apparition called out.
Twilight and Luna felt their energy being sucked out, and their spells failed, plunging the room once more into darkness. All of a sudden, the train burst out of the tunnel back into the harsh daylight. Of the ghost, there was no sign.
"Princess," said Twilight shakily, getting up of the floor where she had fallen in fright. "What was that?"
Luna turned to answer the purple unicorn, but was interrupted by another shriek.
"My muffin!" Derpy wailed, pointing at a now empty table.
Luna stared. Somehow, inexplicably, the ghost had stolen the Giant Muffin. The shock of the act took a moment to sink in, before Derpy quietly burst into tears.
"My muffin!" sobbed Derpy for what felt like the 100th time. The poor pegasus had been inconsolable since the incident.
"There, there my dear, don't you worry about it," comforted the Doctor, rather poorly, along with Pinkie and Twilight. Luna looked at Derpy and felt a burning anger within her. How dare someone hurt this poor Pegasus, under her nose as well!
"THIEVES! SCOUNDRELS!" she declared in a voice loud enough to be heard across the entire train, putting one hoof upon the table "HOW DARE SOMEPONY COMMIT A CRIME UNDER MY NOSE, IN MY PRESENCE, AGAINST ONE OF MY SUBJECTS! I, PRINCESS LUNA, GODDESS OF THE NIGHT, WILL FIND THIS CRIMINAL AND BRING HIM TO JUSTICE!"
"Wait, Princess, you think it was a normal pony who did this?" asked Twilight.
"It has to be. Ghosts are not real. They are an old mare's tale," Luna said simply.
"Oh oh I know what we have to do now!" said Pinkie, thrusting a hoof into the air. "Its just like the last time there was a
mystery on the train, when we had to find the killer!"
"Uh, Pinkie, there was no killer. Your cake just got eaten, thats all," corrected Twilight, "but anyway, you were saying?"
"We have to collect clues!"
"But where do we start?" sniffed Derpy, wiping a tear out of her eyes.
"Well, a good place to start looking would be the table," suggested the Doctor.
"Of course," said Twilight, "Princess, if you could just move your hoof?"
"Certainly, Twi- oh dear, I appear to be stuck to the table." Luna looked down at her hoof and saw that it had got stuck to a
strange green goo oozing where the muffin had been. "How did we not spot that before?"
"I think we were too busy looking after Derpy, Princess. Hang on, I know a spell that should get you unstuck." Luna's hoof came free from the table with a flash of Twilight's horn.
"It's a clue it's a clue!" Pinkie exclaimed, bouncing around the table wildly. "It's ectoplasm left behind after the ghost took the muffin!"
"It's not a ghost, Pinkie. And how do you know what ectoplasm is?" Asked Twilight
"But it is our first clue," said the Doctor with a smile. "Come on, gang, lets see if can find more!"
