private Pony Mystery Theater: Exit Trixie, Stage Right.

[Arcanel 3,041]

Vim's laughter and his posterior reassurance was all Arcanel had needed before to get his mind in a less guilty state as he asked Nurse Redheart if Springer was okay. He still felt slightly guilty, but he felt better. He had also seen how Springer was looking around the train, as if trying to put together what had happened to him. *The poor guy has been through a lot. I too would be looking around trying to figure out what in the wide wide world of Equestria happened to myself.* He had thought, concerned about what Springer would do. He had also realized that Vim and Springer were at least somewhat close, if anything, by the way Vim looked completely concerned about his crew mate, although he did figure that Vim worried a lot about his crew anyway. He then heard a couple of voices that broke the silence in the room after he asked his question.

 

 

"Well, I think that he is, but there is really only one way to know for certain..." Dawn's cheerful voice interrupted. "Of course there is!"

 

The voices had belonged to Nurse Redheart and Dawn. And while he wasn't slightly sure of what they heard, the way Dawn almost cheered, he was positive the little mare had an idea of what to do... but he also felt slightly scared of what she was about to try, even though she had made clear she knew how to help ponies.

 

 

"Springer! How many hooves am I holding up!"

 

As he heard the words leave Dawn's mouth, the eyebrows of Arcanel were trying to rise as high as physically possible. *Um... that was NOT what I thought she had in mind... um... oh dear...* if his face wasn't enough, he looked at the one the white nurse had, which sure enough, was even worse than his, which he somewhat understood as Dawn was more or less her student, as he guessed. The whole surprise phrase made Springer stumble however, and almost fell if it weren't for Dawn's quick response. And as much as Dawn's sorry made him want to chuckle, he restrained himself.

 

Then came Springer's response at last. And his response was as he expected. *(Sigh)... who in the world put him in a box? I wonder again... how did he get in there?* he pondered, the health of Springer the main concern in his mind, although he found the question that asked for bread slightly amusing, even though he didn't want to admit it.

 

 

Vim cleared his throat. "Sorry Springer, no bread here, and I should probably tell you. You know, I've got a temporary assistant conductor stepping in to..." Springer spoke, completing Vim's sentence,  "to ensure adequate and competent service throughout the remainder of the journey.

 

The way the green stallion completed Vim's sentence made the mailpony realize, that Springer knew every rule of train management, word by word, forward and backwards. And as he rejected going to the hospital in order to help the new temporal assistant conductor showed that he was diligent, and was going to be diligent until Tartarus froze over. *Wow... no wonder Vim was so concerned. That whole situation was completely out of the ordinary for somepony like Springer...* he figured, slightly awed by Springer's strong sense of duty. However, he was worried about Springer's health more than anything... although he figured that convincing him to stay out was something that was going to be as hard as making Fast Post take a break. In other words, almost impossible. Before any other thoughts entered his mind however, Springer had spoke again.

 

 

"Ummm... Well... If you have a spare medical pony, then maybe they could accompany the train. You see... My current state is a problem. Normally, a train should have at least one doctor or nurse onboard. However, due to my own basic medical training, we were able to avoid that requirement..."

 

"I'm currently in need of some medical assistance, myself, so it makes no sense to count me as an onboard physician. Is there some what that you might be able to provide this train with a pony with the proper qualifications?"

 

After the green pegasus spoke, Arcanel released a sigh. *Well, that's one thing out of the way. The guy is willing to recognize he needs some help to help others. I can just hope that Nurse Redheard DOES have somepony to go out and be with Springer. Otherwise...* he didn't finish the thought, because he knew it would mean Vim would probably check out Springer from the train, even if it meant dragging the pony out of it. Afterwards, he heard the nurse speak out.

 

 

"I'm sorry Springer, but I don't think that we have any available. I could return to check, though."

 

*Well, horseapples.* Was all the white pegasus could think after hearing the female pony say the words he didn't want to hear, and most importantly, that Springer probably didn't want to hear either. *Now what? I'd be completely glad to go and offer myself as the helper, but I have next to no idea in medical knowledge...(Sigh)* he wondered, starting to think what would happen to Springer now. He almost failed to realize that the same pony he was thinking about had gone to talk to him.

 

 

I am curious though... I know that these two ponies are medics, but... If you excuse my questions, who are you? And... Ummm... What part did you play in this?

 

Arcanel jumped a bit from hearing Springer's voice, but quickly recovered and answered. "Oh! Sorry about that. Anyway, forgive me for not introducing myself mister Springer. My name is Arcanel, I am a mailpony from Vanhoover and I joined the train to Los Pegasus... well... very recently. Long story short, mister Vim agreed to let me deliver a letter that is to be received by a pony in, precisely, Los Pegasus. I would do it myself, but the trip from Vanhoover to Ponyvillle, due to a letter to be delivered here, left me tired enough to avoid making the trip to Los Pegasus today, as the letter needs to be delivered this day, and a distraction in my calculations left me with not enough food and water to make a safe trip back. As for how I was involved in all this... well... right when I got in the train, you- ... um... mister Springer, can I ask you a question? Do you remember what happened to you before you woke up now?" the mailpony carefully asked. He first figured that Springer was a pony that would need a good explanation to how a random pony who was not originally in the train got in, so even though he knew he was still probably weak, he made his best effort to make it nice and short, but explaining enough for Springer to understand. And second, he realized that Springer might not know he was trapped into a box and then did a lot of stuff, that he probably didn't even dream of doing ever. So he felt to be cautious and ask first before telling him everything and possibly cause Springer a huge confusion, which might be a bad thing for his health after all this. He just hoped he wouldn't ask much about it.

Edited January 27, 2013 by ~Fruity Arcanel~

[Alex Night 870]

@,

 

 

 

 

 

"Alex Night huh, pretty cool name," After a small pause, she continued "Hold on.....you say you work with Rainbow Dash?!? Rainbow Dash!!?! Oh my gosh!! R-Rainbow Dash is like....my idol! I really admire her coolness and...and her speed! Gee I never knew that I would meet somepony on this train who actually works with Rainbow Dash herself!! Oh my gosh....I-I envy you!" She then proceeded to shake his hoof.

 

 

 

 

 

When he apologized for for talking too much, she just giggled and told him "It's no big deal to me since I have gotten used to it, a lot of my friends in Manehattan are pretty talkative, oh yeah that's right I'm originally from there but I currently reside in Ponyville and yeah, I managed to get into this train ride because I won it, um..Mayor Mare held a raffle at Ponyville and there were three prizes, I won the grand prize and it turned out to be you know...this."

 

She paused again before moving on to another subject "Ah yes, it actually makes me feel better to meet another pegasus like you, it worried me that I was the only one in this train that is a passenger, I'm sure we can be good friends," 

 

Alex was looking on as the new Pegasus started gushing over on the idea of him being able to work alongside with Rainbow Dash on the Ponyville Weather Patrol.  Alex couldn't help but chuckle a bit at her excitement.  It seemed apparent to Alex that she must be a fan of Rainbow Dash along with other young fillies, led by the indisputable biggest fan known as Scootaloo.  Unfortunately, he wasn't able to explore this further with her when she was distracted by another pony asking for her attention as well as his.

 

 

"Oh, um...it'd be a great idea to listen to him, let's talk later okay?" She told Alex before turning to Lapis

 

Alex was a little confused about this new development, but he nodded to her.  "Yeah, let's see what all the fuss is about now..."  Alex said to her before joining with the others about the conversation.

 

 

"If you could all just tell me your names, then we can move on." he stated simply.

 

Alex looked around at the group speaking with one another.  He learned that the young Earth Pony filly was named 'Key', but she didn't state it much further.  He later learned that the young green Earth Pony colt was named Electrobolt, whom he recognized as this year's Video Game Champion.  "Hmmmm, I really should speak to him about setting up a match sometime."  Alex thought to himself, wondering if he would be up for a few games of Guitar Hero with him sometime.  He then learned that the dark coated Unicorn was named Magicon, but he didn't recognize him at all.

 

He stepped forward a bit to have everypony be able to see him.  "I'm Alex Night, Ponyville Weather Patrol.  Nice to meet you all."  Alex said friendly to the group around him before stepping back a bit.

 

 

"What I'm about to tell you may change how you view this train and our journey to Los Pegasus. It's nothing too alarming, let me assure you, but you all must become aware of what has been going on. Try not to be alarmed, but I have reason to believe Trixie or perhaps another pony has brought aboard something that could very well be dangerous. Last night, some very peculiar things occurred, not just what had happened at the magic show." he intoned without looking at anyone in particular.

 

Alex arched an eyebrow at the pony named Lapis Lazuli when he mentioned the part.  "You mean besides the fact that we have an absolutely crazy unicorn with a superiority complex that is making everypony's skin crawl?  Yeah, I'm sure we figured as much."  Alex stated matter-of-factly to Lapis.

 

 

"What you have all just read is a story Dusky told me last night. Actually, it's not so much a story as an account of ancient events. You see, Dusky lost a book, a special book I'd think. Trixie had borrowed it from him, and has yet to return it. The story was written in the margins of that book, and Dusky's knowledge of it is his claim to its ownership. I say we should go find it for him if it's not too much trouble." Lapis announced.

 

Alex accepted the notes that were passed around the group.  Alex looked at them curiously, wondering why they were reading a story.  "I'm sorry, but what does this have to do with Trixie?"  Alex asked himself quietly as he passed the notes on to the next pony.

 

At this point, Alex heard that the young blue filly known as Key was a thief and that she had stolen something from somepony named Dusky.  Electrobolt spoke up to try and defend her saying that Trixie was the one who stole something similar from Key, his sister.  Alex couldn't see the relation, but he was never good at being able to tell things like that.

 

 

Afterwards Flow felt like she wanted to defend Electrobolt and the filly, so she spoke her opinion on the matter out "Err...I don't really know who's right, but accusing somepony without proof is just absurd, so what if this little filly is a thief? Is there any proof that she stole his book?"

 

 

Alex heard Flow spoke up about her opinion on the situation and decided to voice his as well.  "She's right.  So far, the proof is in the pudding and I don't know much about her or this Dusky, but I for one don't trust Trixie in the slightest.  I've seen that look in her eyes back on that stage last night."  Alex stated his opinion before stepping back.

 

He then listened to this new pony named Ambrosia speak up and while she was right about the fact that Lapis was just giving out the information, it could very well be as baseless as Key's.  He then saw that Ambrosia was acting strangely, trying to read off what was on the notepad before she fainted.  "Oh Horse apples, what happened to her?"  Alex thought to himself as he wondered what could have happened to her.  "Quick, anypony here a doctor?"  Alex asked quickly around the group.

[Key Gear 6,663]

"Oh! Sorry about that. Anyway, forgive me for not introducing myself mister Springer. My name is Arcanel, I am a mailpony from Vanhoover and I joined the train to Los Pegasus... well... very recently. Long story short, mister Vim agreed to let me deliver a letter that is to be received by a pony in, precisely, Los Pegasus. I would do it myself, but the trip from Vanhoover to Ponyvillle, due to a letter to be delivered here, left me tired enough to avoid making the trip to Los Pegasus today, as the letter needs to be delivered this day, and a distraction in my calculations left me with not enough food and water to make a safe trip back. As for how I was involved in all this... well... right when I got in the train, you- ... um... mister Springer, can I ask you a question? Do you remember what happened to you before you woke up now?"

 

 

From his position resting on the floor, Springer listened to Arcanel with an expression of calm interest. He nodded when Arcanel spoke about the mistake in his calculations. Springer was the one that generally acquired the supplies for each train trip, and he was familiar with how things could get out of hoof when planning long-range trips. He'd only made the mistake of miscalculating supplies for a train ride once, and that was a considerable amount of time ago. Still, he could identify with Arcanel's situation.

 

He was also familiar with the particular supply dangers involved with long range flights. Springer knew that, unlike a train, a pegasus had narrow limits on the supplies that they could carry for a journey. Despite being a relatively weak flyer, Springer had been called on, several times, to deliver emergency messages or seek help for a train that was in distress. Not having much experience in preparing for such journeys, he was always just a bit overwhelmed when he needed to make them. He respected Arcanel's skill.

 

At Arcanel's last question, Springer raised an eyebrow. "Ummmm.... Arcanel, I can't remember what happened before I woke up just now, and..." Springer stopped for a moment, and his soft red eyes glimmered, contemplating. "I'm not so certain that I would like to know. I would rather just move forward, with one hoof in front of the other. The past casts long shadows anyway, actions that take place in just seconds can echo for many years into the future. So, to me, there's no value in exploring the past because it is, really, already with us in the present."

 

Springer cleared his throat, and then rose to his hooves again, this time, more steadily than he had the first time. "Arcanel, you mentioned food and water, and... It made me think. I am certain that some of my present weakness is probably due to my hunger... I'm not sure how long I wasn't myself, but... I am sure that I am starving, and starvation is not good. Perhaps you would like to join me in venturing to the dining car? If you didn't have enough food and water to get back, then I'm certain that you haven't had enough this morning."

 

Slowly but with a certain steadiness, Springer placed one hoof in front of the other. Regardless of whether or not anypony joined him, Springer was going to get something to eat. So as to not appear discourteous, Springer spoke while he was on his way out. "Nurse Redheart, whenever you have finished checking on the possibility of providing me with some assistance, please let me know. I will be in the dining car. Eating." Springer continued on his way. Silent and contemplative, he continued.

 

It took quite some time, but eventually he reached the dining car. Upon entering the dining car, Springer blinked as he took in the sight of Ambrosia's form lying on the floor, unconscious, much as he himself had been earlier in the day. Springer's eyes narrowed as he silently took stock of the passengers nearby. From what he could see, they seemed to be just as surprised as he was to see Ambrosia fallen. Feeling suddenly terrible about his own weakness, he decided to watch the scene for a few moments to determine what was happening. 

 

---

As Springer spoke, Vim watched, and he found himself seeing his assistant conductor in a different light. From the beginning, when he had first met Springer, Vim judged his assistant conductor to be efficient but somewhat lacking in competence, sometimes. Vim had always assumed that Springer had a rather easy journey through the rail system because of his cutie mark - a conductor's hat. He had learned to trust Springer, but he still always thought that the pegasus lacked the grit necessary to pull through in the event of a true emergency, when everypony counted on him to be a leader.

 

However, here Springer was, in his weakened state, concentrating on walking himself to the dining car without assistance. Just moments before, he had stumbled piteously, but now the pegasus moved resolutely forward. Out of the corner of his eye, Vim could see one of the medical ponies, Dawn, step forward to help, but Nurse Redheart held out a hoof to interrupt. Vim nodded. Springer would need to find his footing on his own, it was the best way. In many ways, it was the only way. As Vim thought about this, his thoughts reflected on what Springer had said about the past.

 

Vim was never really one for philosophical statements for their own sake, but there was something about what Springer had said. The past truly did cast long shadows. For just a brief moment, one of those shadows fell on Vim as he found himself drawn into reflection. A voice spoke, interrupting his reverie. "Vim, I would like to talk to you about something. Do you have a few moments?" As if he was a pony waking from a dream, Vim slowly turned his head to regard the speaker. Nurse Redheart, eyeing the conductor curiously, stood there with her associate. 

 

In his mind, Vim blamed the brief daydream on his age, another byproduct of his eventual decline. Gathering his focus, he grinned and spoke. "Do I have a few moments for the ponies that brought my assistant conductor back to normal? Of course, I do!" Nurse Redheart smiled in response to his sudden cheerfulness, but she spoke seriously. "Vim, I spoke with Dawn, and... She told me that the reason for Springer's condition was that a pony on this train, a bad pony, put some type of spell on him. I think..." Before Nurse Redheart could continue, Vim spoke a single word. "Trixie." Redheart was confused. "Trixie?"

 

Vim nodded. "I've only had one bad pony on this train, and it was her. You know, I think that she's the one responsible for everything strange that's been happening on this journey." Redheart glanced over at Dawn, but Dawn's face was an unreadable smile. She looked back at Vim and made what was, to her, a commonsense suggestion. "Well... Why not just use your authority as a conductor to put her off the train?" Vim laughed. "There's no need for that. Trixie's already gone. My interim assistant conductor, Electrobolt, checked the entire train and she was nowhere to be found! Bolt's a real sharp colt, I'm sure he was thorough."

 

Redheart's face reflected her concern. If Trixie wasn't on the train, then that would mean that she had ventured into Ponyville. If she had done that though, then Redheart was certain that something would have come up that morning in Ponyville. The showmare's last visit to Ponyville had been a disaster of epic proportions. If she showed up again, word would have spread through the small town extremely quickly, but Redheart had heard nothing. It seemed that the only thing that made sense was for Trixie to have never left the train.

 

Noticing her silence, Vim spoke, cautiously. "Nurse, is there something wrong?" Redheart took a deep breath and spoke. She wasn't looking forward to questioning Vim's judgement. While he seemed friendly enough, he also seemed quite certain in his own ability as a conductor. "I think that Trixie is still on your train, Vim. I believe that Electrobolt is thorough, and I'm not questioning his thoroughness. I just think that you should know that Trixie has a reputation here in Ponyville. If she went into town, ponies would talk, and I would have heard something. The news would have been all over town, but... It's been quiet today aside from your assistant conductor."

 

Vim shrugged, but Redheart kept talking. "There's also something else that you should consider. Trixie... She's a clever unicorn. She could be invisible or in a disguise. She could have teleported on top of or under the train. If she is on this train causing problems for you, then... You can't be certain that you can solve them, and you can't be certain that she's going to leave you all alone. Maybe... Especially considering everything that has happened, if it has been as bad as you say. Maybe you should call off the journey?"

 

Vim's face fell into an expressionless stare, his eyes glowed like burning coals. He spoke one word, "No.", and he said it with such force that both Redheart and Dawn took a few steps back, startled. He looked away for a moment, and seemed to return to normal. However, when he turned back, he didn't speak, and neither did Redheart. She had expected to have a conversation about the points that she had raised, she had not expected such an abrupt and threatening response. She was offended, shocked by his change in mood, and she was strongly considering whether or not she should go above Vim's head and speak directly to the station master.

 

@@Something Interesting, 

 

With wide eyes, Dawn looked from one pony to the other. Neither Redheart nor Vim seemed like they would be the first one to break off the conflict, and Dawn was not interested in stepping into the conflict. Off to the side of the room, her cat seemed to be oddly distracted by an empty spot away from the boxes. While nothing was visibly there, Flo seemed to be approaching the spot as though it had another box in it. The cat meowed softly and stepped closer, both confused and interested in what was apparently present.

 

---

 

He placed it on the ground and stood up, and began playing one of his favorite songs, titled Canon, a particularly beautiful peace that was normally associated with Christmas and weddings. He had other favorites, faster favorites, but he would safe the best for later.

 

 

Still feeling strangely disheveled after to his encounter with Pinkie, Dusky felt as though he couldn't get to the train fast enough. With his long stride, he made quick progress. Soon, he was just a few minutes walk away from the train. As he continued on his journey, though, he began to hear a sound... A sound that was just as unexpected as it was beautiful. It was the sound of a violin. Dusky slowed his pace so that he could enjoy the sound of the music without the need for haste.

 

He smiled broadly and allowed himself to feel the music. There was nothing quite like the order found within the beauty that was a well played classical piece. While Dusky was never quite able to play an instrument himself, he believed that skill with an instrument was one of the few proofs of strength that was inarguable. There was a certain strength to be found, indeed, within the notes as they danced across the air and permeated the atmosphere in... Ponyville?

 

The sudden realization of where he was hit Dusky like a rock. With a bemused expression he looked around and took in his surroundings with open eyes. The homes were so quaint; the ponies such simple creatures. To Dusky, Ponyville, this small town, was undeserving of the melodies that were being bestowed upon it. Cautiously, he inclined his head and listened for the source of the sound. It seemed to be coming from the station. 

 

Like a pony on a mission, Dusky strode towards the station, the sound becoming progressively more powerful as he came closer. When, finally, he had reached the station, he took a look around. Mercifully, Ponyville's station was remarkably small compared to those of larger cities. Dusky was able to locate the musician in short order. The origin of the wonderful sound was a light-blue pony with a golden mane. The tall, shadowy unicorn settled down right in front of the musician as he played.

 

The piece was now drawing to a close, but Dusky didn't mind. He simply nodded his head gently, in tune with the music, and he watched the musician intently. His dark eyes expressing curiosity, a remarkably rare expression for them. When finally, the music drew to a close, Dusky spoke. "Hello, my name is Dusky, and... This music... This music that you have played... It is beautiful. If I may ask, where did you learn to play with such divinity? And.... Hmmm... Why are you playing here? This place..." Dusky looked around the station. "This place is hardly a worthy or a fitting venue for a pony of your talents. What brings you here, of all places?"

[Something Interesting 103]

The longer Berry stayed in place, being so very quiet and still, the more tired he became. His eyes drooped, but even at his old age he felt the excitement. He learned that the strange pegasus' name was Springer, and that apparently Trixie had been aboard causing trouble on this train. "If she was causing trouble... then where is she now?" For some reason, his mind kept going back to the days when bullies would try to switch from picking on him to going after Vim. Berry imagined the scene....

 

In the dining car on either side, was Trixie, and Vim. Vim demanded that that Trixie poof away or he would throw her from the train. Trixie would laugh, and then charge up her horn for a magical blast. Vim wouldn't wait for her to attack. He begins to run towards her like a powerful unstoppable force. Trixie begins to fire not just one blast, but a barrage of mystic bolts that would surely permanently injure Vim if he was hit by even one. The room lights up everytime a blast flies past Vim. He's like a juggernaut, either leaping to the side, or flipping a table to absorb the blast. Finally he would be halfway across the dining car, Vim leaps on top of a table in front of him, and then leaps powerfully forward. He tucks in, dodging several blasts as he flips forward in mid air, uncurling himself with his right hoof raised to strike. Trixie only has time to shoot off one more blast, and she does. It strikes Vim's left shoulder, but it only appears to anger him more. Everything goes black just as Vim's hoof strikes Trixie's horn so hard that the horn breaks into many pieces, and all of the glass in the dining car shatters. 

 

Berry just smirks quietly to himself. "I should have liked to see that. Perhaps from one or two cars away. Vim can be quite a handful when enraged."

 

 

 

 

With wide eyes, Dawn looked from one pony to the other. Neither Redheart nor Vim seemed like they would be the first one to break off the conflict, and Dawn was not interested in stepping into the conflict. Off to the side of the room, her cat seemed to be oddly distracted by an empty spot away from the boxes. While nothing was visibly there, Flo seemed to be approaching the spot as though it had another box in it. The cat meowed softly and stepped closer, both confused and interested in what was apparently present.

 

 

Berry noticed the feline edging towards him. "Oh my..." His thoughts raced. He rolled his eyes, but knew that if he moved to suddenly that not only would his presence become obvious, but he'd be under scrutiny. As the cat drew ever closer, and even meowed, sweat began to form on his face. The pressure was immense. He knew he'd been spotted and there was only one solution. 

 

He suddenly turned to the cat, no longer hugging the wall. His back popped painfully, but he was in the moment and could barely feel the pain. To an outside observer, a 2D pony would peel away from the wall and turn to the cat. Slowly Berry allowed his magic to go away. The patterns on his fur fading until the illusion was gone and he was himself again. He did his best to look normal in the face of the ponies in the room. Though on the inside he knew that he needed to craft something to say. "That was perfectly normal." He thought hopefully. Despite his feeling the need to craft an excuse, nothing came out. He looked from Redheart to Vim, then shrugged with a roguish grin that didn't quite fit his droll features. The grin left his face only after a few seconds. After grinning, he finally found words which he thought were brilliant for the occasion. In his mind, he clapped himself on the back for being so clever.

 

After clearing his throat, he said clearly and concisely.

"Good evening."

Edited January 27, 2013 by Something Interesting

[Opalicious 799]

Ambrosia spoke to Water Opal and he replied, "Actually, I came for a drink, but I'm fine now. I'm suddenly very tired, I better take a nap." He thanked Ambrosia and left for his room, which he had oddly just left from. As he entered his room, he crawled into his bed, his eyes droopy. Just a few hours would be how long he would sleep, he thought to himself, but as he drifted off, things started to get strange...

 

****************

 

Voices were everywhere, but as much as he wanted to avoid them, they dragged him back in. He was sweating profusely, and the voices around him were unfamiliar. They whispered jumbled nonsense to him, but it scared him nonetheless. He was aware that he was inside a dream, he could feel himself laying in his bed, and he was semi-aware of his surroundings, yet nothing could pull him out of this strange, sensational dream. The voices became louder and more incomprehensible, and as they blasted his ear drums, they disappeared and Water Opal could feel himself flooding back to reality. He sat up, dazed, breathing hard with beads of sweat all over his face. He stood up, visibly shaken, and he stood in the same spot for several minutes, not making any sense of what he had just heard. He didn't even know what he was supposed to hear.

 

Water Opal now heard more voices, but these didn't come from inside his head, but rather from outside. He ripped his door open and glanced around, spotting a crowd of ponies in the car nearby. Looking like he was in a trance, he stumbled over to the door and pulled it open, entering the other car. He tried to quick-dry himself with a spell he knew, but he wasn't quite able to perform his spell.

 

"Quick, anypony here a doctor?" Water Opal heard somepony say in the midst of the chatter, Water Opal continued to wade his way through the car, still outside of the group. A pony lay on the ground, clearly unconscious, but Water Opal wasn't a doctor. He couldn't aid this pony, who he now recognized as the cook. Many ponies stepped forward in response, but the voices were blurred to him, and he couldn't quite understand the words spoken. Am I going insane?

Edited January 30, 2013 by Opalicious

[Marcato 2,143]

As Marcato played, he noticed one particular pony began taking interest. He was a rather dark-colored one and he seemed particularly interested in Marcato's playing. He kept playing and finished the song, taking his time to make sure it sounded like an elegant end to an elegant piece. Upon finishing he brought his violin down and came to all fours.

 

@@Key Gear

The pony before him then spoke, inquiring as to where he learned and why he was playing in Ponyville. A little surprised to be asked that right off the bat, Marcato cleared his throat. "Well I learned from a very talented stallion who plays violin in this very same town. I hold deep respect for him and his abilities in playing the instrument." Marcato told the unicorn.

 

"You see this is where I live, and also where my family has always lived. I enjoy the quiet and slow life here in contrast to the bussling cities elsewhere. I've ben trying to get to Las Pegasus for a festival lately, but I've been unable to get a ride. Business has been a little slow for me as of late..." Marcato explained. He wondered if this unicorn would turn into a possible client. He seemed very keenly interested in his talents and almost came across as amazed.

 

Marcato didn't see why, as Canon was a very easy piece compared to many other songs he had played in the past, he just took effort and time into making it sound beautifully professional... either way though whichever peaked ponies interests suited him. (Except ponystep 'course.)

Edited January 28, 2013 by Silver Marcato

[Flow 1,628]

@,

 

 

When Flow had heard Alex, she stopped and looked at him, "A-.....Alex...And I really thought no one would hear me out, when he mentioned Trixie, it made me realize that...she might be behind all this, but I hate it when ponies start pointing their hooves at each other, it just leads us nowhere." she thought.

 

Just then, she watched as Ambrosia came up and spoke out against Electrobolt's outburst

 

@@Key Gear,

"Assistant Conductor Electrobolt. As the train's cook, I have some concerns about what your 'sister' has just said." Ambrosia placed a certain emphasis on the word "sister". "She's a thief, and she admits this herself. Well, thieves steal. Now that she's been revealed, I think that we should take inventory of all of the valuables on this train to make certain that she's telling the truth when she says that she hasn't taken anything."

 

"Now, when I say 'we'... I mean myself. You see, I don't think that you realize that you have a conflict of interest here. The entire purpose of this meeting has been to discuss the strange happenings on this train. Strange happenings that the both of you have been right in the middle of. No matter how angry it made your friend, Lapis was right to point out what Dusky had told him. He made no judgement call. He simply provided the information. I think that your aggressive reaction to the information that Lapis revealed demonstrates that you aren't impartial."

Flow was astonished at her explanation "Uhh....that's a really harsh comeback with solid reasoning, she's that smart.." Soon afterwards the cream colored pegasus wore a face of shock, it was evident that Ambrosia's words had made her not want to talk anymore. All she could do now was listen to her.

"Now, sir, I'd like to address the specific points that you brought up earlier... I don't think that Lapis implied anything. He's a researcher. He doesn't imply. He just shares the information that he learns. We don't know for certain whether or not Trixie is on board this train, but just because you didn't see her doesn't mean that she's gone. I stepped off the train to get something to eat earlier, perhaps Trixie did the same. Finally, as far as your sister's claim to the book goes, I'm not convinced."

 

Smiling confidently, Ambrosia trotted over to read through the notepad herself. Before doing so, she spoke. "You see, I think that you need to realize something. Everypony needs to realize something. Key claims that she's familiar with this story because it was once read to her? Well, any of us can make that claim. You just need to read through this notepad and you have the basics of the story. Then, you can make your claim. I'd like to demonstrate... By the way... It would be dishonest for somepony to do this, but then... Thieves are not honest."

 

Her words had paralyzed Flow with shock "......O-...Okay....she's that scary....I...I'll never see her the same way again.....scary to argue with her....ugggh...."

Content with the fact that she had derailed Electrobolt's argument completely, she picked up the notepad and began to read through for her demonstration. She made it about halfway through the story when her mouth fell open, she began to feel strangely ill, and her green eyes went wide. Frantically, she read through the rest of the story as quickly as she could. When she reached the end, she looked up from notepad with wild eyes. After taking one glance around the room, she fainted.

 

The next thing she sees is her eyes growing wide "Oh....no...this doesn't look right, something's gone terribly wrong....I can tell," When Ambrosia was done reading the notes, her wild eyes had confirmed Flow's suspicion "Gasp.....No!....She she's sick!" after she took a glace around the room, she falls to the floor, horrifying Flow "A.....Ambrosia!!" Quickly she raced to her and checked her for any unusual signs, then she gave her a light breeze with her wings to cool her down, "Somepony!!....Anypony!! Get a nurse in here!!!"

Edited January 28, 2013 by Narutardedscum

[Dave247 568]

Daylight set there, completely expressionless as he watched the chatter going on around him. He saw Magicon sit down next to him but did not turn his head to respond in any way. He just wanted this meeting to hurry up and be done with...

 

He did turn his head however when he heard the door leading into the dining car slide open and Electrobolt and Key walk though it. "Good... they must of got my message..." he thought.

Electro then walked over to Magicon to thank him for comforting him earlier. Magicon gave a small nod and Day did as well as Electro then proceeded to sit in one of the empty chairs.

 

Day quickly turned to look at Key when she heard him speak to him with a rather intrigued look on her face.

 

"Hey
Daylight, how was your breakfast with Dusky? And... What's with..."

"I..." Is all he could say before she had jumped onto his table and reached out her hoof for the flower that was still around his ear.

 

As Daylight was a little on edge Key's actions made him jump out of his chair rather quickly so that he could distance himself form her and her hooves. "I'm not going to let anypony else touch this flower..." he thought.

 

Luckily, Lapis then began the meeting which distracted Key from his flower as she went and took a seat next to Electro. Daylight sighed and then sat back down himself.

It started off with them all introducing themselves. "My name is Daylight." He said, with his usual friendly smile. He was about to continue speak and announce how he was a detective, but then decided against it. "I'm not going to say it until it is absolutely needed..." he thought.

 

Lapis went on next with his opening statement. It was more or less a general warning to everyone but finished with the implication of strange things going on last night other from the show. Day knew immediately what he was referring to.

"Somepony must of told him... most likely Ambrosia as the only other two who knew about it were Key and Electro and I doubt they would have told him..." he thought. The way Lapis turned to rest his eyes on him when he had finished speaking only confirmed his suspicions.

"Dammit I need to be more careful with who I share information with next time... hopefully he doesn't do anything foolish with the knowledge that he knows now though..." He thought.

 

Lapis then pulled out some notes and gave it to Magicon to pass around he circle. Because time was sparse he only had the opportunity to glance over the notes but... while reading, he could sense a certain... profoundness to what was written. It was a story, and a very good one at that but... Day sensed there was something more... something much more hidden behind the text.

He passed it on making a note to himself to take a closer look at it again later.

 

Once everyone had read the notes Lapis went on to say that that this story was actuality more of a recollection of ancient events that was written in a book. This book, Dusky claimed to be his due to his knowledge of the story inside it and that Trixie had taken it from him and was still in possession of it.

"Hmm... wait... Trixie... on the train with some important item and the note telling us to come here... no, it can't be, can it? It's all too convenient..." Day thought, rather puzzled at this new revelation. "I must ask Lapis for his notes later to study them in detail to see if I can learn anything from it..."

 

Day looked back to Lapis who indicated that there was one more thing he wanted to say. Dusky had told him, that there was a thief aboard this train who was out to steel his book and that the thief was Key.

Daylight was at first angry at Lapis to have made such a claim. he didn't believe for a second that Key could be a thief and that Dusky had had been lying to Lapis. What really annoyed him was that Lapis had said himself though that he did not trust Dusky yet he saw no reason for Dusky to lie to him so he did not bother to question the accusation at all, leading to exactly where they were now.

 

Day looked to Key and saw that she was not taking the accusation well. He very much wanted to say something in Key's defense, but he didn't want to end up exploding at Lapis if he waen't able to control himself. Luckily, Electro stood up to say something instead.

Day approved of everything Electro had said as he was the first one to challenge Lapis's accusations but it was the very last word that he spoke that caught his attention...

 

belonged to my sister."

"Your WHAT!" Daylight exclaimed without thinking, nearly falling out of his chair. "But... how...? Why...? Huh?" he thought, trying to quickly price his thoughts back together again. Now was not the time to contemplate over this though. He would have to ask the pair about this more later. Day shifted himself around in his chair until he was comfortable before turning his attention to Key and awaited her response.

 

She first started to talk about the book, and how Dusky had lied because she too, had prior knowledge of of the story due to the story being passed down in her family. As Key said herself, her claim now held the same merit Dusky's did as it is rather flimsy evidence and on top of that either one or both of them could be lying for some unknown reason but... he had never seen a liar speak with such force before, as if they, truly believed inside what they were saying...

 

What key went on to say next, completely shocked, flabbergasted, annoyed, disappointed then deeply worried him. Never in his wildest imaginations would he had thought that key would be a thief. He was then annoyed and disappointed at key for not telling him this herself, but he couldn't really blame her considering the position she had been in. Finally, he became worried, deeply worried, because it meant what Dusky had said was true. "What else does he know? And maybe there is some truth behind his words about the story after all..." He thought. His mind was now a complete mess, being blown apart twice in less then a few minutes. he really did not know what else to think at the moment.

 

Day's head then snapped round as he hard Ambrosia speak up behind him. As she spoke... he cringed. This would not help things at all. She appeared to be using logic... but some, very strange flawed logic from what he could tell. He become worried because now both Key and Electro had even more things thrown against them.

He watched her as she started to read though the notes the others all had already read. He was intrigued by her look of shock while she was reading, and then suddenly fainting. His mind then snapped into gear as something needed to be done now.

 

"It's okay everypony! I know First Aid!!" He exclaimed as he rushed over to check on Ambrosia. "Well, kinda, but they don't need to know that and I'm pretty sure this is a simple one though..." He thought to himself. He crouched down next to her and checked for a pulse, which was still there and noticed that she was still breathing due to her chest still rising and falling.

"She looks okay. I'd say she just fainted after reading the notes." he announced to everyone.

"Good thing too really as it interrupted her rant... It should be simple enough to wake her up but... I'd rather I sort things out with Key and Electro before waking her up..." he thought. He was about to get up when he remembered he flower still around his ear and got an idea. He tried his best to quickly and inconspicuously remove the flower from his ear and tie it around one Ambrosia's ear. He hoped that anypony that was standing from after it would just appear that he was still checking her out.

Day the stood up, and spoke his recommendation as a mildly trained First Aid Pony.

"Best to wait a little while before trying to wake her up though, just to be safe. A quick shock should do the trick, like a bucket of cold water for example." he said hurriedly,

 

Day then turned to look at the notepad that contained the story he picked it up using his magic and began to go over it again more closely this time while casually edging away from where Ambrosia lay. He looked up briefly at everypony in the room. Almost everypony was here so it was the perfect time to get things done. 

"First thing's first though..." he though as he walked over to Lapis with his eyes still on the levitating notepad. It wasn't until he had reached where Lapis was standing and he began to talk did he take his eyes away from the pad.

@@Bari

"I thank you for going to the trouble to procure this information Lapis. I apologize but I'm going to need to borrow these notes for a while. I'm sure it will serve to be very useful to understanding more about the book in question that it comes from." he said professionally. Finally, the time had come to play detective.

"As you would have already figured out from what Dusky had told you I am indeed a detective, and I'm going to make it my duty to find out exactly what is going on in this train. If there's anything else you or your assistant Asteria knows that you think could be useful to my investigation then I request that you willfully tell me yourselves because rest assured I will find out one way or the other in the end, and let me tell you now that I don't like liars." He finished curtly then turned and walked away going back to reading the notepad.

 

After standing for a few moments with his attention at the notepad again, he looked up again to decide who to talk to next. He saw Magicon still sitting there but, there was nothing he needed to say to him at the moment. There were also the two Pegasus's nearby as well but he sense that they were more interested in each other then everything else that was going on. He also saw, a familiar green Pegasus that looked rather weak simply observing everything that was going on. If he recalled correctly, this was Springer, the real assistant conductor that Electro must be taking over for. There was something... different about him this time though as he looked at him but he couldn't put his hoof on what...

 

@@Key Gear, @

That only two young ponies left. He walked up to them again, looking at the notepad to hide his initial reaction. When he reached the pair he looked at them both directly with a stern glare.

He waited a few moments before he said anything because he wanted to show that he was very serious, but at the same time he didn't want to appear intimidating or scary.

 

He sighed, and relaxed his glare. His usual professional routine wouldn't work this time. Not for ponies so young and... not for friends either.

Day sat down at the table with them, put the notepad down beside him and smiled. He trusted them, both of them, and wasn't about to start disliking Key just because she was a thief. maybe he was too trusting... but he didn't really see it as he had a choice in this situation.

"Key, Electro... I see that there are secrets that you have been keeping from me for whatever reason but for this to work and us to be a team we all have to be completely open and honest to each other from now on to a certain degree. That is, anything and everything that has to do with Trixie, Dusky, and this Book." He said seriously.

 

"As for you two being brother and sister... it actually makes me glad to know that despite how surprised I was at first because it is a lot better then... the other way I thought it was..." He trailed off awkwardly.

 

"And as for you Key" He said softly as he turning to look at her directly. "It doesn't matter to me that your a thief. I can still tell that your a good pony on the inside and only do what you do to survive. I know this for a fact otherwise Electrobolt would have never called you his sister otherwise. So basically what I'm saying... your still the excat same Key Gear to me as before. Ignore what Ambrosia said, both of you," He said now looking back the the pair of them. "She wasn't being very much impartial herself which nullifies her whole augment. Just... try to stay calm when she wakes up and let me deal with it." He finished with a smile.

 

"Now... to business..." Day said going back to his usual friendly tone as he moved the notepad between the three of them. "Key, I noticed you had something very interesting to say about this story, and if it is on the book that Trixie stole, it could well be what we are looking for. I need you to tell me everything you know about this book and the story inside it."

Edited January 29, 2013 by Dave247

[Bari 7,023]

Lapis Lazuli watched each passenger carefully. The one called Alex had made some remark about Dusky at one point, but it was not of great importance to Lapis. His thoughts remained fixed on the announcement he had made. His decision to declare Key a thief was somewhat rash. But the quicker it got out into the open, the better. It might have been easier to confront the filly by herself. Unfortunately, it would have been likely she would have denied it. With all these witnesses, perhaps information could be acquired more easily.
 
Electrobolt was the first to respond. His concerns were certainly justified. Key was apparently his sister. And Lapis himself would have defended any of his own siblings or cousins, of which he had many. He cleared his throat and responded calmly. "Electrobolt, I merely wish to have the book. The contents are very important to me. Whatever is written in the margins could be of historical value. Your sister there, Key, may know something about it, which will most certainly help. I'm sorry I had to be so direct, but I hate to waste time."
 
Here he smirked a little. If Key was a thief, the book could become easier to acquire. Surely if what Dusky said was true, then it was likely Key knew more about the book than Lapis himself could just by looking through it. He had every intention of just abandoning the book after he finished it. Whoever wanted it could have it. It honestly was little to no concern to him. "My source of information, that being Dusky of course, told me Trixie was the last one known to be in possession of the book. And whether or not she is on the train, the object in question could still be on the train. And the details are not important to me. You say it belongs to your sister, yes? And Dusky claims ownership of it, as well as facts point to Trixie being a thief as well. Therefore, the ownership of the book is greatly in question. When I'm done with it, whoever wants it may have it. After that point, it really isn't my concern." Daylight had exclaimed something, clearly unaware of Electrobolt and Key's sibling attribute judging by the 'what' when Electrobolt used the word 'sister'.
 
Asteria nodded her head in agreement. It was very common for Lapis to only absorb knowledge and leave the hard copies behind. In truth, he only liked to keep notes. Whatever he couldn't store perfectly was placed on paper for further study so that it may be better absorbed later. It was an effective practice, and it definitely helped in this situation with the ownership of the book being not exactly clear.
 
As Lapis readied himself for more questions, Key chose this moment to object to what he had said. He had been expecting it, so his expression remained neutral. What he didn't expect, though, was Key's information regarding the story. He shrugged it off regardless. Any pony could make a claim. And certainly a little blue filly could do the same. She'd just read the story, so where was the evidence? "That is all well and good I suppose, but what does that prove exactly?" he asked. Key looked like she was going to answer, but then she went on to her next point in calmer manner.
 
She admitted to being a thief. In essence, it did not matter. But it definitely made Lapis's job of retrieving the book potentially easier, A thief could acquire the book for him. And as payment, the book could be her's. A simple transaction, neatly wrapped up. The knowledge within those pages could be valuable. And if not, Lapis loses nothing. Win-win as they would say. "Key, I honestly do not care that you are a thief. Well, in a sense, I do. But only because I may have something for you to do for me." he said before he was cut off by a certain lemon mare.
 

"Assistant Conductor Electrobolt. As the train's cook, I have some concerns about what your 'sister' has just said." Ambrosia placed a certain emphasis on the word "sister". "She's a thief, and she admits this herself. Well, thieves steal. Now that she's been revealed, I think that we should take inventory of all of the valuables on this train to make certain that she's telling the truth when she says that she hasn't taken anything."

 
Lapis resisted the urge to groan. Ambrosia was just doing her job. But Asteria watched in awe. Ambrosia was such a commanding pony, able to directly take on a problem. "Gee miss Ambrosia, you're pretty cool." she mostly whispered to herself. Lapis had heard her and dully signed. She was a dear little pony, but sometimes she gave too much praise to simple things. The mare continued however, unaware of the duo's conflicting emotions.
 

"Now, when I say 'we'... I mean myself. You see, I don't think that you realize that you have a conflict of interest here. The entire purpose of this meeting has been to discuss the strange happenings on this train. Strange happenings that the both of you have been right in the middle of. No matter how angry it made your friend, Lapis was right to point out what Dusky had told him. He made no judgement call. He simply provided the information. I think that your aggressive reaction to the information that Lapis revealed demonstrates that you aren't impartial."

 
 
Lapis had to agree with those statements though. She made his point a little bit clearer. He would just have to speak with Key later, perhaps in the company of her close associates. That would be for the best. It was likely the detective would disagree, most likely because of his morals. But Lapis felt that until new information was found, it was all grey. The pursuit of knowledge easily worked just as well in grey as white.
 
Ambrosia took this opportunity to read the notepad. As she read, she slowly became alarmed. Lapis looked on in curiosity. It was most unusual that she'd react as such. Certainly not her, the simple cook. And yet, here she was, fainting almost immediately. Lapis stopped himself short. That was something he certainly had not expected. All the others began to freak out. Lapis himself tried to remain calm. Asteria's eyes widened in horror. She thought the mare had died. Upon further inspection, the filly found the mare to be alive, just unconscious. She breathed a quick sigh of relief.
 
Daylight went to Ambrosia's side quickly, claiming he knew what to do. He said that cold water could revive her. Without a moments hesitation, Asteria went to get a bucket and some water. After a few minutes, she returned, ready to pour when directed. But in that time, Lapis had addressed Daylight and whatever concerns he may have had.
 

"I thank you for going to the trouble to procure this information Lapis. I apologize but I'm going to need to borrow these notes for a while. I'm sure it will serve to be very useful to understanding more about the book in question that it comes from." he said professionally. Finally, the time had come to play detective. 
 
"As you would have already figured out from what Dusky had told you I am indeed a detective, and I'm going to make it my duty to find out exactly what is going on in this train. If there's anything else you or your assistant Asteria knows that you think could be useful to my investigation then I request that you willfully tell me yourselves because rest assured I will find out one way or the other in the end, and let me tell you now that I don't like liars." He finished curtly then turned and walked away going back to reading the notepad.

 
Lapis didn't exactly like Daylight's attitude. He had been very forward with his motives and goals. They had all been there. They had heard him. He could not think of what else to say. He sighed with a grim smile. "No, I don't think I have much else to say. I'm a truthful pony mister detective. Ask me a question, and I'll try my best to answer. I believe in a free exchange of information. It allows knowledge to flow better. It is a key asset to my job. I am honest with ponies I'm interviewing, and I hope they pay the same respect to me. Of course, I'm not a 'blabber mouth', as one would say. I don't tell everyone everything. Such as if I am protecting another's interests, and it harms no one, and stalls nothing, then they're secrets will remain just that. But that is not the case here my good stallion. I've told you all that I know. If I left anything out, that is merely due to my forgetfulness. I have but one request though. At your earliest convenience, I'd love to have a chat with you and Key. If that's alright with you and the filly of course. I'd hate to put you in an uncomfortable position."
 
And with that, he allowed Daylight to walk away. He closed his eyes for a moment. If this detective was a cool headed fellow, he'd see the truth to his words. If not, then he may not get to see the book after all. But his heart told him to keep going. He may well be very close to his goal. He opened his eyes and gave Astreria the signal to dump the water. He stared down at the lemon mare and awaited her return to consciousness.

[Key Gear 6,663]

@@Something Interesting,

 

Dawn backed slowly away from the staring match between Vim and Redheart, and she refocused her attentions on her cat. The feline was doing something that was odd. Flo was a strange tabby cat sometimes, but she wasn't normally quite this strange. Dawn squinted while looking at the area that the cat was slowly inching towards. Flo was meowing softly, as though she was actually approaching a pony and trying to gets its attention.

 

Suddenly, something amazing happened. Before Dawn's eyes, a portion of the wall, in the shape of a pony seemed to shift and, with a popping sound, to move away from the rest of the wall. Dawn's eyes opened wide, but she was far too startled to exclaim. Flo, on the other hoof, looked completely unsurprised, and she purred gently as Berry Nut came into view. Dawn could feel her heart pounding like a thousand drums, she had never quite seen magic used in such a strangely imaginative fashion. Invisibility was one thing, but somehow blending with a wall in this fashion was something that was quite a bit different.

 

Staring, she turned to look at Vim and Redheart. Both of them were staring, with equally shocked expressions, at the strange visitor that was now in their presence, an older, dark blue unicorn. The visitor was grinning oddly, and Dawn was distinctly disturbed. As calmly as she could manage, so as to go unnoticed by him, she began quietly charging a shield spell. This elderly unicorn seemed unbalanced, and Dawn didn't want Nurse Redheart to be injured. Strangely, Dawn's cat watched the entire scene with tremendous disinterest. Just then, the unicorn spoke.

 

After clearing his throat, he said clearly and concisely.

"Good evening."

Vim's shock had been due to both the sudden appearance of Berry Nut and the nature of that sudden appearance. Out of the corner of his eye, he had seen the unicorn take shape against the background of the wall, and his first thought upon seeing the horn was that it was Trixie. Berry Nut's entrance had been poorly timed. Vim's immediate reaction had been the strong urge to attack whatever this strange thing was. It certainly hadn't helped matters that he was infuriated by Redheart's suggestion that he should give up. Vim never gave up, never backed down. It was a matter of principle and an intrinsic component of his nature.

 

Now that Berry had spoken, Vim's sense of calm had returned, and he took a quick glimpse around the room. He could see the very faint glow of Dawn's horn, and Nurse Redheart was still unmistakably on edge. Undoubtedly, Berry's timing had been poor for her for similar reasons that it had been to Vim. Thinking quickly, Vim realized that he needed to lighten the mood in the room quickly before, Dawn, the younger pony did anything rash. He cleared his own throat, hoarsely, and replied gruffly but in a distinctly friendly fashion. "Good afternoon, Berry."

 

Vim glanced calmly over at Redheart. The medical pony still seemed to be confused, and she was looking from Vim to Berry and then back again. Vim smiled. This would be his chance to disarm her anger at their earlier confrontation. He didn't regret his remarks, he had told her a straightforward answer and staked his position firmly. However, he did realize that he needed her willing assistance to get a pony on the train to watch over Springer for the remaining duration of the journey.

 

Vim tried to strategize, but his mind, not being built for the activity, faltered within seconds. That was when he realized something. Throughout his early years, it had always been Berry Nut's unusual thinking that got him out of awkward positions - Berry's unusual thinking and his amazing verbosity. Vim quickly sized up both Redheart and Dawn. He concluded that, yes, this was a perfect opportunity for his old friend to help him yet again. Vim spoke.

 

"You know, you two shouldn't mind Berry. Appearing and disappearing without any warning is one of the things that he does. Hey, Berry, since you're here, I've got a question for you." Vim stopped to think about how to word his question, before continuing with as neutral a tone as he could manage. "You've seen and heard all this. Would you say that I should cancel this train's journey because there's a chance that Trixie may be on board?" Vim stopped himself before adding anything else. He didn't want to appear to be guiding Berry's answer in one way or the other, and he could already see an intensely incredulous look on Nurse Redheart's face.

 

---

 

Glancing around the room at the variety of expressions on display, Key began to feel a certain sinking feeling. At that particular moment in time, the only thing that she had wanted to do was to tell the truth, so that is what she had done. Now, with an increasing feeling of tenseness, she realized that she would have to face the consequences of her choice. Key took a deep breath and prepared for anything.

 

"Err...I don't really know who's right, but accusing somepony without proof is just absurd, so what if this little filly is a thief?"

She's right. So far, the proof is in the pudding and I don't know much about her or this Dusky, but I for one don't trust Trixie in the slightest. I've seen that look in her eyes back on that stage last night."

However, the responses that she received were completely contrary to her expectations. The first passenger to speak was a cream-colored pegasus, and she spoke up in defense of Key and Electrobolt. A second pegasus spoke up almost immediately afterwards, and he also chimed in, supporting her position. Neither of the pegasus ponies seemed to be particularly offended by her revelation. Key smiled at both of them appreciatively, but it was the response by the blue earth pony that took her by surprise. Key had expected for him to pursue his point in some way, to criticize her or to somehow try to manipulate the other passengers against her.

 

"Key, I honestly do not care that you are a thief. Well, in a sense, I do. But only because I may have something for you to do for me." he said before he was cut off by a certain lemon mare.

His actual response, spoken matter-of-factly, caught her completely off guard. He didn't care that she was a thief. It wasn't what she had expected to hear at all, but there was more. While she was too cautious to read too much into the latter part of Lapis's response, it seemed as though he was perhaps in need of her assistance. Somehow, the hint seemed at once familiar and worrying. Key wondered what he would need a thief for and why her. She opened her mouth to respond, but as soon as she did so, a lemon-colored mare, the cook from the previous day spoke up energetically.

 

Turning to Electrobolt, Ambrosia addressed him professionally, as one train crew member to another.

From the moment that the cook had approached her brother, Key had known that something bad was about to happen. When Ambrosia began speaking by reciting Bolt's title, Key immediately interpreted as some type of threat against her brother's new position, and as Ambrosia went on to imply that Key might have stolen something from a passenger, Key could feel a hint of her anger, from earlier, beginning to come back. This pony, this one pony was attacking her brother, and he was not being attacked for anything that he had done, he was being attacked for what Key had said.

 

As Ambrosia continued to rattle onward, like some type of mechanical mechanism, Key glanced over at Daylight, hoping that he would not be swayed against her by the cook's words. She caught sight of him just in time to see him cringe at Ambrosia's rampage, and Key began to calm down. The lemon-colored mare was overdoing it, badly, and Key realized, looking around the room, that Ambrosia seemed to be alone in her quest. Smiling defiantly, Key crossed her hooves while listening to Ambrosia. This didn't call for anger, just patience.

 

Key reacted to nothing until Ambrosia implied that she was a liar and that she had never heard the story before. However, the accusation didn't anger Key, it saddened her, because... Sitting there, listening to Ambrosia, Key had to agree that the cook made sense with this one point. Even before Ambrosia had provided her theory, Lapis, himself, had questioned whether or not Key's claim to the book held any value worth considering. Inside, Key groaned. She really couldn't very well prove that she had known about the story before reading about it in the notes.

 

With a sigh, Key watched as Ambrosia took up the notes and started to read. She found herself wondering when, exactly, the cook would feel that her quest was finished. Key hoped, dearly, that she would not end up getting dragged to the conductor because of a single, judgmental pony. It was then that Key noticed that something seemed to be wrong. The cook's eyes looked unusual, extremely excited. Key watched with some degree of confusion as Ambrosia read through the story and then just collapsed on the floor.

 

"It's okay everypony! I know First Aid!!" He exclaimed as he rushed over to check on Ambrosia. "

Key calmly regarded the fallen pony and the sudden excitement of the ponies around her. Having previously seen ponies that were unconscious and worse, Key recognized Ambrosia's fainting spell for what it was - just a temporary problem. Even before Daylight made his prognosis, Key had already breathed a sigh of relief. While Ambrosia had been attacking her and she really was undeniably happy that the cook had been temporarily derailed, Key wasn't interested in seeing a good pony come to harm.

 

Her eyes moved from the fallen cook to Daylight. He was making his way towards Lapis, and she leaned forward to hear the exchange. She was intensely interested in seeing how Daylight would react to everything that had occurred. When the detective spoke, Key was not disappointed.

 

"I thank you for going to the trouble to procure this information Lapis. I apologize but I'm going to need to borrow these notes for a while. I'm sure it will serve to be very useful to understanding more about the book in question that it comes from." he said professionally. Finally, the time had come to play detective.

"As you would have already figured out from what Dusky had told you I am indeed a detective, and I'm going to make it my duty to find out exactly what is going on in this train. If there's anything else you or your assistant Asteria knows that you think could be useful to my investigation then I request that you willfully tell me yourselves because rest assured I will find out one way or the other in the end, and let me tell you now that I don't like liars." He finished curtly then turned and walked away going back to reading the notepad.

Key was unable to keep the smile off of her face. From the beginning of the meeting, she had been tremendously wary of Lapis's extreme bluntness and of his nature as a researcher. To her, it made him at once both transparent and opaque. Lapis was hard for her to read. Even his neutral response to her declaration that she was a thief had been something that concerned her. He seemed, to her, to be in pursuit of some objective and, at the same time, to be restraining himself from the pursuit. The dynamic, she thought, balanced out to create his apparent neutrality, and it worried her.

 

At the sight of Daylight handling Lapis without hesitation or a single sign that he was intimidated, Key felt strongly reassured. By his words, Daylight was taking command of the situation away from the researcher, and the simple fact that he didn't, at that time, choose to say anything about Key's being a thief was a positive thing, she thought. If Daylight had been swayed by the force of Lapis's accusation or by Ambrosia's argument, then, surely, this would've been the time to take action against her, instead, he choose to lecture Lapis.

 

Lapis was a pony with a strong nature, and unlike her, he was in a position to leverage his strengths unambiguously. By calling her out as a thief, and forcing her to respond, he had trapped her. Key hated to be trapped, she hated the idea of losing her freedom. She hated the idea that Lapis would be waiting, calculating to achieve whatever it was that he wanted, controlling her... She shuddered as a memory attempted to come into her mind but she pushed it away. Instead, she restored her smile. This wasn't the time for darkness, she thought, it was a time for Daylight.

 

She glanced over at Bolt, reassuringly, hoping that he realized, as she did, that Daylight was a capable protector from more than just the darkness. Daylight could also protect against ponies with strong personalities, intelligent plans, and definitive objectives. Key wouldn't need to be afraid of what Lapis and his questions could do. Daylight was more than a match for him. In her mind, Key had a silent revelation. Just like a lantern in the night, Daylight could chase away both the darkness and the shades of grey.

 

Unfortunately, her smile faded when Daylight fixed both herself and Bolt with a stern glare. Key's thoughts, at that moment, were easily summarized by what she whispered under her breath, "Uh oh." But, Daylight's glare melted as he drew nearer. With a bemused facial expression, Key took the moment to reflect on what she knew about the detective so far. At the station, where they had first met, she had immediately pegged him as a goody-two-horseshoes. She had figured that he was a good pony, but useless in a real conflict.

 

Progressively, over the course of the journey, Daylight had been proving her initial conclusion to be more and more wrong. He was, indeed, a good pony, but he wasn't weak. He had already saved her once, and she was certain that by taking command of the current situation, he had saved her again. To her, Lapis seemed both frightening and familiar. Even though she hardly knew enough about him to make a real judgement on his nature, Key felt that Lapis would gladly pick her mind apart if he could pin her down for long enough to prepare his instruments. The thought hung in her mind ominously, but... Key wasn't sure why, not entirely.

 

As Daylight took a seat at the table with them, Key was relaxed. She was certain that he was a friend. Of course, she knew that he would ask questions. However, Daylight's questions were different. Her eyes sparkled as she recalled sidestepping his questions several times in the past. Questions that could be avoided, were the only questions that Key liked answering. They weren't traps.

 

"Key, Electro... I see that there are secrets that you have been keeping from me for whatever reason but for this to work and us to be a team we all have to be completely open and honest to each other from now on to a certain degree. That is, anything and everything that has to do with Trixie, Dusky, and this Book." He said seriously.

Key nodded her head. She had no problem with honesty, but she did have a problem with being forced into it. She also had a problem with honesty within earshot of so many other ponies. She made up her mind to make certain to fill Daylight in on as much as possible, but... She wasn't certain on how much that would be... Inside, Key was relieved that Daylight hadn't brought up her admission to being a thief. She hoped that he would just ignore it, for now, maybe speaking of it later during the day.

 

"As for you two being brother and sister... it actually makes me glad to know that despite how surprised I was at first because it is a lot better then... the other way I thought it was..." He trailed off awkwardly.

She wondered what exactly Daylight meant when he mentioned "the other way that he thought it was". As Daylight trailed off awkwardly, she glanced awkwardly at Bolt as her mind wandered back to the previous evening. Remembering the whole thing, Key was, vaguely, aware of what Daylight had probably been thinking. She cleared her throat absentmindedly, hoping that the conversation moved on. She still wasn't sure what to make of the events on the previous day, some of them had been fairly strange to her.

 

"And as for you Key" He said softly as he turning to look at her directly. "It doesn't matter to me that your a thief. I can still tell that your a good pony on the inside and only do what you do to survive. I know this for a fact otherwise Electrobolt would have never called you his sister otherwise. So basically what I'm saying... your still the excat same Key Gear to me as before. Ignore what Ambrosia said, both of you," He said now looking back the the pair of them. "She wasn't being very much impartial herself which nullifies her whole augment. Just... try to stay calm when she wakes up and let me deal with it." He finished with a smile.

She blinked, and her face expressed some amount of confusion. Far from ignoring her admission, Daylight seemed to have completely forgiven and accepted her. He didn't even consider her to be deceptive for the way that she had avoided telling him the truth outright regarding her nature. Key was floored, completely. Daylight was even willing to defend her from Ambrosia's accusations. Key's expression was one of pure wonder as Daylight continued to speak. She didn't hear his words, though. She was focused on the pony, himself.

 

"Now... to business..." Day said going back to his usual friendly tone as he moved the notepad between the three of them. "Key, I noticed you had something very interesting to say about this story, and if it is on the book that Trixie stole, it could well be what we are looking for. I need you to tell me everything you know about this book and the story inside it."

Daylight's previous words still echoed around in her head like ping pong balls on a billiards table. When he stopped talking, she stared. After a few moments of awkward silence, Key, wordlessly, stood up and trotted to Daylight. Regarding him for a few moments more, her cerulean eyes were like unreadable mirrors... Finally, Key smiled and looked away. Then, with no warning, she leaped onto Daylight and locked him into a tight hug while laughing quietly. He really was a good friend. It was around this time, with a splash, that the cook awoke.

 

---

 

She was seeing it again. It was the same dream, the same vision that she had seen countless times. She was walking through a village that was completely destroyed. Once, long ago, it had been a bustling area filled with countless ponies going on about their days. She could see a playground where young ponies had once played. Now, it sat empty, motionless, grey. She could see a market that must have once been filled with countless ponies buying and selling goods. Now, it was desolate, empty, and much of it had suffered what seemed to be fire damage. More impressive than these sights, was the sound. The deafening sound of a silence that seemed supernatural.

 

What she couldn't see, anywhere, where any direct signs of the ponies that had once lived in this place and had, apparently, died there. There were no remains, anywhere. The entire area seemed, in fact, to be disturbingly clean and well kept. It was as though the remnants of the village were being preserved by some force as a memorial of some kind. Despite the scorched walls that spoke of fire, there were no ashes. Despite the crushed buildings that spoke of some mighty force, there were no broken pieces of stonework lying nearby. All of the rubble that did exist was neatly arranged in a peculiar order.

 

Ambrosia shuddered, as she always did, and she began to explore the strange, orderly devastation. As usual, she wandered into and around the many buildings. She wasn't certain what she was looking for or even if she was looking for something in particular. The only thing that she knew was that she felt the irresistible urge to do something about the sight that she saw in front of her. And, then there was her curiosity, which, as always, demanded that she explore.

 

She shuddered again. Her shuddering wasn't because of fear. Instead, it was a reaction to the temperature in this world. The world was cold, oppressively cold. A pale light filtered down from what seemed to be the sun. The light washed the world in shades of grey, like a painting that was done by a pony with no imagination. She continued to walk the empty alleys and halls. She didn't know why she was even bothering. Like her other recurring dreams, this one never seemed to change, there was never anything new.

 

The strange light, the frigid cold, the silence - all of these things had lost their power to affect her after the third time that she had experienced them. There was nothing in this world that could harm her, it was only a dream. She always knew when she was dreaming, and after a few moments, she generally no longer felt threatened by whatever it was that existed in the dream if it was a nightmare. If it was a pleasant dream, then she would enjoy herself to the fullest. She always had some measure of control when she dreamt.

 

Smiling in spite of her dark surroundings, Ambrosia decided to do something silly. She usually did at some point; she couldn't help herself. While she seemed to be a pony that was concerned only with her job and the rules that surrounded it, Ambrosia was actually a fun-loving, light-hearted pony. Other than when she was away from work, she would often find herself feeling intriguingly light-hearted in the strangest of circumstances. When others would be afraid or confused, Ambrosia would feel a drive to be oddly silly, like a pony that had drank too much cider.

 

Now, eyeing a barren patch of ground in the center of the market, Ambrosia trotted over to it, leisurely. Rolling over onto the patch of ground, Ambrosia closed her eyes and imagined a field of brilliant purple flowers. When she opened her eyes, they were there, all around her. She laughed, and her light-hearted, carefree laugh seemed to echo through the empty landscape, doing battle with the deafening sound of the silence. It was then that something unexpected happened.

 

The still air was shattered by a single, mighty gust of frigid wind. Ambrosia ducked down low to the ground, taking refuge against the wind in her small field of flowers. However, as quickly as the frigid blast had arrived, it was gone and the stillness remained. Ambrosia stood up. Never before had something like this happened in one of her dreams. She glanced around, her eyes searching for anything else that appeared to be different in some way, but there was nothing there.

 

Just then, she heard a sound. It broke through the silence like a knife through a loaf of bread. It had sounded like a single word, hissed in frustration by something far away, but she couldn't understand what the word had been. It seemed to be spoken in either a different language or a strange dialect. She heard it again, and it sounded simultaneously both closer and farther away, a harsh whisper carried over the currents of the stillness.

 

The sound now became like a harsh, whispered chant, and it was joined by another sound, a familiar sound, the sound of a dragon's wings. Ambrosia's eyes widened in shock and she was stunned into stillness. She had both seen and heard the dragon before in other dreams, but never in this one. She stopped and stared in the direction of the sound. Something was wrong, plainly. The whisper was growing progressively louder, in tune with the sound of the wings. Ambrosia decided that it was time to wakeup. She closed her eyes and concentrated, willing herself to awaken.

 

However, no matter how hard she focused, the sounds of the dream didn't leave her alone. She was still there, and she couldn't wake up. Feeling just the slightest hint of worry, Ambrosia opened her eyes again and looked up. In the distance, she could see it. A massive, black shape with wings that looked as though they could sweep the entire town away with a single motion. It seemed to be heading directly for her. This was another thing that had never happened before.

 

Typically, whenever she had seen the dragon in one of her dreams, it always seemed to be busy doing something else. It had always ignored her completely as though she didn't even exist. It never came directly towards her, and in awe of its size and power, Ambrosia had never attempted to influence it. Looking up at the monstrous form that was now approaching her, Ambrosia felt a certain tiredness. She looked down at her precious flowers, and they seemed to be withering before her very eyes.

 

At the sight of her flowers, dying, she felt a certain hopelessness began to creep on her, and she closed her eyes. This was her dream, and this world was already dead enough. Then and there, she resolved that there would be no more loss of life in this place. Willing herself fiercely to the task, she imagined the flowers again - more of them, millions of them. Neither the whispering darkness nor the approaching monster had any effect on her, and when she opened her eyes, the sounds had been silenced and she could see nothing but flowers, everywhere. She smiled, and it began to rain.

 

Ambrosia's eyes flew open, and she coughed. Somepony had, apparently spilled water on her face. Breathing heavily and glancing around at all of the faces surrounding her, Ambrosia found that she couldn't remember what it was that she had been doing immediately before she went unconscious. Indeed, at that very moment, she could hardly even recall the names of the ponies that were around her. Frantic green eyes looked around, attempting to identify the pony that had doused her with water. It was only a moment before her eyes found Asteria, the purple filly from earlier in the day.

 

Like puzzle pieces falling into place, Ambrosia's memory of the ponies around her began to take shape. There was one in particular, a blue stallion that she remembered was an associate of Asteria's. Lapis Lazuli, she remembered his name, it was a pretty name. She remembered another pony too, a goldenrod stallion from the previous day, Daylight. She located him in the group. She tried to remember more, but her head felt intensely foggy. She felt tired, and it took a few moments to realize that her eyes had returned to stare vacantly at Asteria.

 

Fighting the fog in her head, Ambrosia dimly recalled that she was with friends. Looking away from Asteria and glancing around with strangely distant green eyes, Ambrosia spoke, sounding distinctly confused. "Could... Could somepony explain to me what just happened... I think I... I think that I fell asleep... Because, I was dreaming... It was a strange dream too, but I've seen it before. There was a pony, some type of protector. There was a dragon, a monster... Lots of ponies got hurt. I don't like that dream very much, but I have it all of the time, and... It's almost always the same... The ending is sometimes different though..."

 

 

(OOC: Argh, nearly died typing this... I need sleep now. By the way, yeah, Key is being unfairly hard on Lapis. There's a reason for that. He, unfortunately and unintentionally, mirrored something from her past. Also, I'm not ignoring Marcato, but I need Dusky off the train for now, so I'm buying time by delaying my response. And, yes, Ambrosia likes flowers. A lot.)

 

[Magicon 468]

Everything had seemingly sprung into organized chaos with Magicon caught right in the center of it. After Electrobolt’s defense of Key everypony had seemingly something to say and voiced their opinion. Magicon quickly saw battle lines being drawn with Lapis and Asteria against the rest of the group. He didn’t like it one bit. Right when weird occurrences were happening, everypony was dividing themselves into different camps and blaming each other. Magicon didn’t know who to trust and he turned to Daylight for consultation but the unicorn was preoccupied with Key and Magicon silently agreed to let him have his time with her.

 

He looked around seeing everypony get caught in the moment until train’s cook suddenly entered and dominated conversation. The first thing Magicon noticed from her was her usage of the word sister in relation to Key and Electrobolt. Magicon’s eyes widened. How had he missed it before? He must’ve been too distracted by the meaning of Electrobolt’s defense rather than the actual words. But Ambrosia’s directness made it clear that Key and Electrobolt were somehow related. It might mean a conflict or an amplification of interest, Magicon wasn’t sure.

 

Ambrosia continued attacking Key and Magicon grit his teeth as he glanced back between her and Ambrosia. Key looked more calm than angry, but Magicon was sure that there was some anger or resentment bubbling inside of her. Ambrosia was being particularly harsh to a pony who may not deserve it. Magicon wished she would stop talking so no more damage would be done.

 

Amazingly that’s exactly what happened as Ambrosia read the note and collapsed onto the floor. Magicon, along with everypony else, rushed to her to check if she was alright. Daylight immediately inspected her and knew what to do then proceed to talk to Lapis, Key, and Electrobolt. Other ponies stayed by Ambrosia, as did Magicon. But he quickly looked back up when he heard the door to the dining car open and close.

 

His stomach instantly cringed as he saw Springer enter the car. He had seen him earlier in the baggage car with Vim and some other ponies, who Magicon didn’t recognize. But Springer looked different than when he had seen him in the past. He looked tired and slightly overworked. Something else was wrong with him too, though Magicon couldn't put a hoof as to what. He wobbled into the dining car and Magicon instantly knew something was wrong with the pony. Though he though Springer was incredibly annoying and in-your-face, he was still compassionate.

 

As much as it pained him on the inside Magicon left Ambrosia’s body and walked up to Springer, gently leaning against him and steading him from falling over. He spoke with some reservation to the pegasus.

 

“You know, Springer, I’m honestly surprised to see you. Ever since last night, I haven’t seen you. But that’s pointless now, because you’re here. But, what happened to you? You look so tired. Is there anything I can do to help?”

 

He silently regretted saying those words, but Magicon knew he had to be kind. It dawned on him that without Springer Trixie wouldn’t have been stopped. Springer had organized the show. Springe had convinced him to go. Springer had convinced Trixie to perform. Even more, he had started Magicon’s anger at Trixie, allowing him to challenge and defeat her. He shook at the thought of his duel with Trixie, not wanting to relive it again. He hopefully hoped he never would and by helping the “assistant conductor” he may not have to.

 

 

 

@@Key Gear, so yeah, you have another character to write for. Hope you don't mind. 

 

Edited January 29, 2013 by ~Lawful Magicon~

[Dave247 568]

When Daylight had finished talking he watched key closely for a response. She seemed to be... confused and distracted thinking about something because she said nothing about the book or the story. He became curious when she then got up and walked around the table to him and continued to stare at him. She showed almost no emotion as her eyes were open big and wide focusing on him. He was sure he caught her smile before she looked away, probably in embarrassment he assumed. All of a sudden, she then leapt onto Day and locked him into a tight hug. Because he was comply surprised by her actions the force of her leap made him lose balance in his chair and fall over backwards. For a brief second, Day was shocked, but it quickly changed to one of happiness and joy as he embraced Key hugging her back just as tight while letting out a loud hearty laugh.

 

He simply lay there for a few moments, with his eyes close locked in a hug with Key savoring the moment the best he could. He liked hugs a lot but rarely got to share them with somepony he was close to. If felt good to once again to... have a friend.

 

He opened his eyes and stared at the young filly with a smile. He was going to make it his duty to make sure that no matter what happened that no harm would ever come to her or or her brother. The two of needed a protector... a guardian of the light... a father...

 

Day then heard a pony coughing and the familiar voice of the cook. He turned his head while still lying on the ground and peered though the legs of the ponies that were standing all around them. It looked like Ambrosia had awoken...

 

He cringed, he should probably get up and go check on her to make sure she didn't start on another rant but... Key still had him locked in a hug and didn't seem like she was going to let go any time soon.

 

@@Key Gear

"Umm... Key?" He said quietly to her so that only she wold hear. "I'm very much enjoying this hug as I'm sure you are too but unfortunately it can't last forever and Ambrosia has just woken up sooo... do you mind releasing me so I can check on her to make sure she doesn't start on another rant?" he finished with a grin,

Edited January 29, 2013 by Dave247

[Opalicious 799]

Water Opal's eyes continued to play tricks on him, and a rapid sequence of events passed in front of him. Two ponies, though unfitting of the situation, suddenly entwined themselves in a friendly hug. So much was going on around him, and behind him, he heard sounds of Ambrosia, the cook, waking up, and he turned in her direction, overwhelmed by the amount of ponies in the room and by the events.

 

Water Opal resolved to sitting down and watching from the side, his head parts in his hooves. He felt like he was sprouting a headache out of stress, but he quickly filled a vacant, unused glass in front of him with some water of his own. He drunk the water in the glass and refilled it, this time only drinking it halfway before directing his attention to the waking cook. She began rambling on about a dream she had, something about a protector, a dragon an she commented on the alternate endings each time she had the dream.

 

@@Key Gear, 

 

Water Opal decided to stand up and become nearer to her, her drenched face looking around the crowd in confusion. Gathering as much energy as he could muster, as he was still shell shocked from the dream of his own, he asked her, "How did the dream end this time?"

Edited January 30, 2013 by Opalicious

[Electrobolt 2,069]

He cleared his throat and responded calmly. "Electrobolt, I merely wish to have the book. The contents are very important to me. Whatever is written in the margins could be of historical value. Your sister there, Key, may know something about it, which will most certainly help. I'm sorry I had to be so direct, but I hate to waste time."

 

"My source of information, that being Dusky of course, told me Trixie was the last one known to be in possession of the book. And whether or not she is on the train, the object in question could still be on the train. And the details are not important to me. You say it belongs to your sister, yes? And Dusky claims ownership of it, as well as facts point to Trixie being a thief as well. Therefore, the ownership of the book is greatly in question. When I'm done with it, whoever wants it may have it. After that point, it really isn't my concern."

 

Even though Lapis had called his sister out as a thief in public and had become rather annoyed, Electrobolt still listened to the stallion's words. As he spoke, the young colt could tell that he was rather calm, and knew what to say. Lapis then said that he was so direct because he didn't like to waste time. As the scholar pony continued to speak, Electro's expression slowly began to ease up, as Lapis made some good points. If Trixie was no longer on the train, this object would very well still be on the train.

 

It was then that Lapis had suggested that he said the book was Key's, yet added that Dusky had claimed ownership of said book. Even though he said the object was undetermined, the more Electrobolt pondered about it, the more this made sense. If it was a book that was Key Gear's, and Trixie stole it seeing that it was of importance, then most likely the book did belong to his sister. But what would Dusky want with the book, anyways...? What was his motive, or his goal? Whatever was in the book would most likely be vital.

 

She cleared her throat, and speaking more calmly this time, she continued. "And, yeah, I am a thief. I had to be. It was how I survived for a while. So what? It doesn't matter? Even if it does matter, I don't care. It's just a distraction from the truth, which is what you should all be looking for, and it isn't what Dusky's going to tell you. Look... I haven't taken anything that belongs to any of you, and I promise that I won't..." Key stopped and looked thoughtful for a moment, and when she continued, she did so with a mischievous expression in her eyes. "Well, unless you have something that doesn't belong to you. If you do, then it isn't really yours, now is it?" Key shrugged. She could hardly believe the words that had just come out of her own mouth, but she felt strangely relieved. Secrets were exhausting.

 

It was around that moment where Electrobolt had heard Daylight exclaim in shock, which in exchange caused him to chuckle silently. Thanks to Day's exclamation, Electrobolt found himself having loosened up again from when Key had been accused earlier. As he listened to Key's response to what Lapis said earlier, he stayed calm. However, upon hearing his sister admit that she was a thief, his eyes shot open wide. He had wanted to keep this hidden, but here she was, admitting it. Almost as quickly as his face showed surprise, he put on a facade, wearing a calm face. Although his face now showed himself being calm, inside, he was freaking out.

 

Looking around the room, he could see a bit of shock from some of the ponies, but a few of them didn't seem too fazed by this reveal. Thankful that they took that news alright, he closed his eyes and sighed slightly. He then listened to Lapis responding back to Key's responses, as he wasn't fazed or dissuaded by the news. In fact, it sounded like he was hoping it would be true... But why...? What would Lapis want Key for? His thoughts, however, were distracted when he heard Ambrosia speaking directly to Electrobolt.

 

 

Turning to Electrobolt, Ambrosia addressed him professionally, as one train crew member to another. "Assistant Conductor Electrobolt. As the train's cook, I have some concerns about what your 'sister' has just said." Ambrosia placed a certain emphasis on the word "sister". "She's a thief, and she admits this herself. Well, thieves steal. Now that she's been revealed, I think that we should take inventory of all of the valuables on this train to make certain that she's telling the truth when she says that she hasn't taken anything."

 

"Now, when I say 'we'... I mean myself. You see, I don't think that you realize that you have a conflict of interest here. The entire purpose of this meeting has been to discuss the strange happenings on this train. Strange happenings that the both of you have been right in the middle of. No matter how angry it made your friend, Lapis was right to point out what Dusky had told him. He made no judgement call. He simply provided the information. I think that your aggressive reaction to the information that Lapis revealed demonstrates that you aren't impartial."

 

Ambrosia continued, matter-of-factly. "Now, sir, I'd like to address the specific points that you brought up earlier... I don't think that Lapis implied anything. He's a researcher. He doesn't imply. He just shares the information that he learns. We don't know for certain whether or not Trixie is on board this train, but just because you didn't see her doesn't mean that she's gone. I stepped off the train to get something to eat earlier, perhaps Trixie did the same. Finally, as far as your sister's claim to the book goes, I'm not convinced."

 

Smiling confidently, Ambrosia trotted over to read through the notepad herself. Before doing so, she spoke. "You see, I think that you need to realize something. Everypony needs to realize something. Key claims that she's familiar with this story because it was once read to her? Well, any of us can make that claim. You just need to read through this notepad and you have the basics of the story. Then, you can make your claim. I'd like to demonstrate... By the way... It would be dishonest for somepony to do this, but then... Thieves are not honest."

 

As soon as he had heard Ambrosia speak to him title first, he knew she had some choice words to say. But just hearing her say the word 'sister' with emphasis had struck a nerve with him. Then when she stated that Key was a thief, and that they steal, he was annoyed. She then said that they would be checking the inventory of everypony's items, before saying that by 'we', she meant herself. At first, Ambrosia was alright with Electrobolt, but now... Now she had gone and done it. He wanted to say that Key didn't steal anything and that he was with her, but she continued without giving him a chance.

 

As she kept talking, going on about the points he made, he closed his eyes and sighed, trying to keep himself from showing his annoyance with the cook. She continued to pick at his points, unraveling them in her own way, before getting to the bit about the book. Although her claim that anyone could claim the book was theirs after reading the story made sense, it didn't make him feel any better about her opinions. But as soon as she began to read the book, she had a different expression on her face. As she continued reading, her face showed shock, until eventually, she passed out. Just what did she read that caused her to faint?

 

His expression quickly changed to worry, as her fainting had caused him concern. He would have called for somepony to assist, but Daylight had already gone and checked on her, saying that she's alright and just needs water splashed on her to wake her up. Shaking his head, he then watched as Daylight and Lapis began to talk, before seeing Day approaching both him and Key. He was worried that he would have to answer some questions, or have to hear Day scolding his sister for being a thief, yet what he did next surprised him in a good way.

 

"Key, Electro... I see that there are secrets that you have been keeping from me for whatever reason but for this to work and us to be a team we all have to be completely open and honest to each other from now on to a certain degree. That is, anything and everything that has to do with Trixie, Dusky, and this Book." He said seriously.

 

"As for you two being brother and sister... it actually makes me glad to know that despite how surprised I was at first because it is a lot better then... the other way I thought it was..." He trailed off awkwardly.

 

"And as for you Key" He said softly as he turning to look at her directly. "It doesn't matter to me that your a thief. I can still tell that your a good pony on the inside and only do what you do to survive. I know this for a fact otherwise Electrobolt would have never called you his sister otherwise. So basically what I'm saying... your still the excat same Key Gear to me as before. Ignore what Ambrosia said, both of you," He said now looking back the the pair of them. "She wasn't being very much impartial herself which nullifies her whole augment. Just... try to stay calm when she wakes up and let me deal with it." He finished with a smile.

 

When Daylight had glared at them, he was nervous that they had done something wrong. However, a little after, Daylight sighed and eased his glare. It was then that Daylight began to speak, saying they had to be honest with each other, to a certain degree. Anything that had to do with the book, Dusky, and Trixie would have to be shared. He nodded slowly at this, before looking back to his sister. She had nodded as well. Day then continued, saying that he was glad to know they were brother-sister, as opposed to that other option. This caused Electrobolt to look away out of embarrassment.

 

It was then that Daylight resumed, saying to Key that he didn't care that she was a thief, and that he was rather understanding about the situation. This caused a smile to form on Electrobolt's face, as he added to not pay any mind to what Ambrosia had said, saying that she wasn't exactly impartial herself. He then said to stay calm and to let him deal with it. Smiling still, the young colt nodded as he looked around the room.

 

Just then, Daylight had asked Key about the book, before seeing the filly get out of her chair and attack the detective with a hug, which in turn knocked them both over. Although he was worried after seeing that, the laughter from both Day and Key had eased his mind, as he smiled once more at the scene. As he looked around again, he could see Asteria splashing water on Ambrosia, waking her up. As he calmly looked on, he could see that the cook wasn't exactly all there. Although he was worried about her, he caught sight of another pony in the room, a green pegasus that seemed rather familiar.

 

Seeing that Key and Daylight were occupied, he got out of his chair and began to approach the pegasus before seeing Magicon approach and ask Springer if he was alright. Once he had made it up to where Springer was, he contemplated whether or not to tell the unicorn what had happened to Springer, before deciding against it. If he wanted to, Springer would tell them himself. He was, however, surprised at how quickly he had gotten on his hooves. Wanting to be sure, he himself asked, "Springer, sir, are you starting to feel better? Would you like me to assist you to a table?"

[Key Gear 6,663]

The room was buzzing with activity as ponies talking among themselves while milling around the fallen Ambrosia. With so many capable ponies around, Springer felt certain that Ambrosia would be fine. From what he could tell, she was still breathing normally and she didn't look ill. She'd probably just fainted. It was, unfortuantely, something that she tended to do every once in a while. 

 

He thought about venturing further into the room to lend his assistance anyway, but with a single step, he found himself to be leaning, precariously off-balanced. After taking a moment, to right himself, he estimated that his own presence, in his weakened state, was just as likely to be a distraction as it was to be a help, so he just stood where he was, calmly, not far from where he had first entered. 

 

Springer's tired sapphire eyes slowly flickered across the room, studying the ponies within. Unfortunately, it was just a moment before, with an internal sigh, Springer realized that he was yet again unsteady. Suddenly, Springer felt something sturdy lean against him and help to set him upright. Glancing cautiously to his side, he took in the sight of a unicorn with fur that was a remarkable shade of red. Springer recognized Magicon from the previous day.

 

“You know, Springer, I’m honestly surprised to see you. Ever since last night, I haven’t seen you. But that’s pointless now, because you’re here. But, what happened to you? You look so tired. Is there anything I can do to help?”

 

 

Springer's own surprise could not be hidden. What Magicon had said seemed totally completely illogical to Springer. If he had been less tired, he would have spoken his thoughts out immediately. However, in his state at that moment, he felt more contemplative than verbose, so, instead, he thought and he tried to recall if, perhaps, he had some other memories of the day before, something that would match with what Magicon had just said. He didn't.

 

Now, Springer spoke, cautiously, and with consideration of the kindness that Magicon had just now shown him. "Ummm.... Magicon... I've been unwell of late, so please forgive my weakness. Somehow, I was locked away in a box in Trixie's luggage in the bagagge car... But, this happened fairly early, and I... I have no memory of meeting you last night. The last thing that I remember was asking you if you could help me unlock your room door, then... Darkness. That's all that I..."

 

Suddenly, Springer recalled something else, and he was just about to mention it when he heard a splash. Turning his head, he could see that Ambrosia had been awakened by a young filly pouring some water over her. The cook now seemed to be confused, at best. As Springer watched her confusion, he remembered how, just a few moments prior, Arcanel had asked him if he had any memory of what he had done prior to the young unicorn saving him from the brink with her magic.

 

He could recall, now, his own sense of confusion. He could also recall the darkness and the cold. With his face deeply contemplative, Springer felt the thoughts in his mind begin to spin, processing the seemingly simple revelation that his most recent memory had brought about. As he thought, his eyes focused downward, looking at the ground intensely as though they could dig trenches with their stare. 

 

When he spoke, his voice, while soft, seemed tinged with a tenseness that belied his apparent physical weakness. "Actually, Magicon... There is something that you could do that would help me tremendously. If you would, and... Actually... If you could... Umm... Could you tell me, in brief, what I did on the day prior. No matter how minor the observation, I would appreciate hearing it... But... Ummm... Please only focus on my own actions, and... Forgive the strangeness of this inquiry..." A sudden, oddly familiar voice, interrupted courteously.

 

He was, however, surprised at how quickly he had gotten on his hooves. Wanting to be sure, he himself asked, "Springer, sir, are you starting to feel better? Would you like me to assist you to a table?"

 

 

Glancing at the colt that now addressed him, Springer saw the telltale assistant conductor's hat instantly, and he smiled. "Ah... You must be Vim's interim assistant conductor. You look like you're capable of the job..." Springer smiled weakly before continuing. "Actually, and please don't be offended by this, you rather remind me of my mother. She was an earth pony, and she had a very similar color of fur and mane to your own. Hmmm.... Perhaps we are related, somehow?" Springer laughed awkwardly, like a pony laughing at his own joke in the middle of an empty building. 

 

Springer quickly coughed and spoke. "Ummm... Sorry... No, I do not require assistance to a table actually. I would, however, be interested in knowing if you have any knowledge of what I did yesterday. By asking both you and Magicon, I... I should be able to gather information... I need that right now, because... I think that there is something wrong, and... I think that an unusual book that I saw yesterday... It may have something to do with it... You see... Well... Just tell me what you know first, and then I can, perhaps, do my best to share what I know as well."

 

 

(OOC: I wanted to write for more characters, but this is the extent of my abilities at the moment. I am deathly, deathly tired, and... I honestly don't feel well. Most likely due to a lack of sleep on the previous night. Regardless, this post had to be made. All of the strands must pull together so that progress can be made. We need to get to the core of the mystery and begin to assemble the many pieces. The die is cast, now... Soon, we shall assemble the players.)

 

[Flow 1,628]

 

"It's okay everypony! I know First Aid!!" He exclaimed as he rushed over to check on Ambrosia. "Well, kinda, but they don't need to know that and I'm pretty sure this is a simple one though..." He thought to himself. He crouched down next to her and checked for a pulse, which was still there and noticed that she was still breathing due to her chest still rising and falling. "She looks okay. I'd say she just fainted after reading the notes." he announced to everyone. "Good thing too really as it interrupted her rant... It should be simple enough to wake her up but... I'd rather I sort things out with Key and Electro before waking her up..." he thought. He was about to get up when he remembered he flower still around his ear and got an idea. He tried his best to quickly and inconspicuously remove the flower from his ear and tie it around one Ambrosia's ear. He hoped that anypony that was standing from after it would just appear that he was still checking her out. Day the stood up, and spoke his recommendation as a mildly trained First Aid Pony.

 

 

Flow was happy to hear that somepony knew first-aid, and it was none other than a golden unicorn who introduced himself as Daylight earlier "Oh goody! I hope he can do something about her condition, I'm really worried because Ambrosia...well despite her views on the blue filly named Key, I care for her because she's like...one of the only ponies I like talking to,"

 

 

"Best to wait a little while before trying to wake her up though, just to be safe. A quick shock should do the trick, like a bucket of cold water for example." he said hurriedly,

 

 

"WHAT!! Douse her with a bucket of cold water!?! Really?!? Would that work??" She thought in surprise, she was appalled by his suggestion, nevertheless she saw Asteria went out of the room for a bit, coming back with with a bucket of water "Ehh!? Your really doing it!?!!"  

 

Next, Daylight thanked Lapis about what he had shared regarding the odd events happening lately inside the train, "Hmm...yeah he's right about what's going on lately in the train, but I don't believe anything about Dusky's accusations," Also she overheard that Daylight himself is a detective "A detective? Wow! I never knew that one would be on this train!" The next thing she sees is Lapis responding to Daylight before giving the signal to douse the fainted Ambrosia with cold water, and Asteria did so without hesitation.

 

In almost an instant, her eyes opened up and she was coughing for a bit, again Flow was surprised "Huh? It worked!! It worked?? Uh.....That was really smart of Daylight.....As expected of a detective.." She was very impressed at how he managed to think of a simple way to revive her, "Sigh....and I really thought she was sick,"

 

@@Key Gear,@@Dave247, 

 

She relaxed a bit before turning the other way to find Key attacking Daylight with a hug, causing him to fall to the ground, that very scene had a great reaction on Flow "K-.....Kyaaaaaa!!!....It's...It's...S-.....So cute!!!" She blurted out, forgetting the fact that there are ponies around.

[Arcanel 3,041]

While he let his words sink in Springer's mind, Arcanel carefully studied the green pony's reactions. Right now, Springer was tired, just recovered from a dangerous situation, and as far as he knows, he probably didn't remember anything of what had transpired before. *The last thing I need is for Springer to get flustered by this. It will not be good for him, and if he knows what he did, he also might not take it well.* He thought, concerned of what Springer might say. After a few moments however, Springer spoke.

 

 

At Arcanel's last question, Springer raised an eyebrow. "Ummmm.... Arcanel, I can't remember what happened before I woke up just now, and..." Springer stopped for a moment, and his soft red eyes glimmered, contemplating. "I'm not so certain that I would like to know. I would rather just move forward, with one hoof in front of the other. The past casts long shadows anyway, actions that take place in just seconds can echo for many years into the future. So, to me, there's no value in exploring the past because it is, really, already with us in the present."

 

At his words, Arcanel nodded, and agreed with a "Very well." on his side. As he had thought, Springer didn't remember anything of what had occurred. *If he had actually remembered something, he'd probably be asking what exactly he had done, which was something I would rather not do. However, the way he was so... poetic, about the past... that was something I didn't expect, but something I can definitely understand and respect. I had to do the same thing with my parents...* the mailpony contemplated, as he started remembering some memories from when he was younger.

 

Back then when he was told that his parents were gone, he refused to believe it. He just couldn't believe they were gone, out of the blue, and left him without no one, even if he was under the care of the orphanage in Vanhoover. It had made him very sad, he cried quite a lot during those days and kept on asking anyone around if they knew what had happened to them. However, he realized that there was nothing he could do. He realized that he would have to make his parents happy even if he was the only one out of the three to see it. He thought that that would have been what they would have wanted. *I'll always wonder what in the world happened to my parents... and maybe someday, I will... but... for now... I have others things to do. I have friends... I have a pony who trusts me, who relies on me... I have a home for myself, thanks to the trust they have in me... and made a name for myself... I couldn't really be asking for something else right now.* He recalled, and withheld a smile as much as he could. The days in the orphanage hadn't exactly being the most happy of his life, but right now, he couldn't really complain. *And if I ever do... heh, I should probably slap myself.* He thought in amusement.

 

However, after he finished daydreaming, he didn't realize he still had Springer in front of him, and was even surprised at seeing Springer standing up, only more steadily than before this time, to Arcanel's relief. *Oh dear... next time I go daydreaming, at least I should make sure that there's no one around me that may be talking to me.* He chasitised and mentally slapped himself for doing so. But he realized he caught himself in time for Springer to speak up once more. *Good thing I caught myself now. Otherwise, it would have been WAY too awkward for me.* Arcanel thought, and listened to the older pegasus' words.

 

 

"Arcanel, you mentioned food and water, and... It made me think. I am certain that some of my present weakness is probably due to my hunger... I'm not sure how long I wasn't myself, but... I am sure that I am starving, and starvation is not good. Perhaps you would like to join me in venturing to the dining car? If you didn't have enough food and water to get back, then I'm certain that you haven't had enough this morning."

 

The moment the words left Springer's mouth, he started walking towards the rest of the train, while telling Nurse Redheart to go look for him if she wanted to see him, as he would be eating. *Yeah well, not that anyone could blame him. And, I could really use some food and drinks myself.* The white pegasus pondered, and quickly went to follow Springer only to remember to let Vim and Nurse Redheart know that he was leaving too.

 

"Um, Mr. Vim? Ms. Redheart? Ms. Dawn? I'm going to have some food and drinks myself. I'll also watch over Springer and come running to you if anything happens, so don't worry about him. See you later!" He cheered, and then went to follow Springer, who was not very far away as he was walking very slowly. *Glad to know his hunger isn't making him being hasty haha! Although Springer doesn't seem the type of being impatient, much like Vim. Probably another reason why they're working in the train together. Patience is something necessary for being either the leader or the assistant leader Heh, reason why I'm neither. My patience is not exactly high. Never was, and I don't think it ever will.* He thought in amusement once more.

 

Truth was, his lack of patience had got him into some embarrasing situations, like the one time some years ago when he impatiently wanted to deliver something, quickly looked at the address of the letter, and immediately departed to the place. Problem was, he got the address wrong of the letter, and had to fly to the other side of Vanhoover's city to its correct receiver. Being the honest pony he was, he told Fast Post what he had done, as he was also wondering why he had taken so long to come back. Fast Post was not happy that day. *Never again... *shudder* never again...* he shuddered once more as he remembered the VERY angry sermon he received from his boss. After that, he swore to himself never to do something rash like that again, lest he wants to face the wrath of a veteran mail deliverer. And it's not a pretty one, he knew.

 

Before thinking of something else however, his mind had gone back to his parents. *I wonder... I'm a grown up pony now... it has been a long, long time though... is it possible that if I asked a detective... he or she could find out what ever happened to them?* the white pony started thinking. Arcanel normally didn't think of what had happened to his parents, as it made him sad. But his curiosity had risen ever since he started thinking of it back with Springer. And he was a very curious pony by nature, especially with something important as this was. *Maybe one day... I could ask the detectives back in Vanhoover if they could finally find out. Maybe it is simpler than I think it is, and nobody just wanted to tell me. Or even a non-local detective who might be willing to help my case... (sigh)... but.. I'll worry about that later. First things first, to get a certain belly fillled, a certain throat refreshed, and to watch a certain green pony to not faint on us again.* He decided, willing to put his parents' death aside for the moment, and as in agreement, his stomach rumbling.

 

When he regained his consciousness about his surroundings, he found he had stopped walking, and had only advanced only two cars within the train, while he looked forward and could see Springer had already stopped walking further ahead, which meant he had probably reached the kitchen. "Well, that's some good job I'm doing of taking care of him..." He said out loud, and promptly quickly trotting up where Springer was. As he reached the scene, he went on to ask Springer to if he was okay, only to take a look at the scene in front of him.

 

Right next to him, the green pegasus was talking with a crimson red unicorn stallion and a green earth pony colt, whom he recognized from the whole Springer situation as Electrobolt, both looking concerned. Further in the car, a lemon colored earth pony mare was lying in the ground, drenched for some reason and looking very tired, a light purple filly unicorn standing beside her, also looking concerned, while a watery blue unicorn did the same but looking with curiosity. To the sides, a bluish grey earth pony stallion was standing calmly watching the lemon coated mare, while at the other side, a slightly greyish blue pegasus colt was standing next to a cream colored pegasus filly, the first looking concerned looking at the same fallen mare, while the second looked almost about to freak out because of something in the middle. That something in the middle was a golden unicorn stallion was being tightly hugged by a dark blue earth pony filly, to which he could not help but let out a small "D'awwwwwww" himself, which made him cover his mouth almost instantly, and understood the cream filly. *The feel to join the hug... too much... argh... but it's probably a father/daughter moment or something like that. Although they look nothing like each other, but eh, who am I to question genetics. Plus, it would be rather weird if a random stranger suddenly hugged them... why am I thinking of this again?* he finished thinking, once more having to avoid facehoofing again because of his strange thoughts. *One of these days... anyway, let's focus on Springer. I should do that before going to eat something at least... or figuring out what in the world is going on... I'm glad I don't drink alcohol, because this is one of those days where I'd probably start drinking like a madcolt. What a day to take the train ain't it?* he asked himself, wondering what else could happen in the train trip he chose to take before shaking his head, and went to talk to Springer.

 

@@Magicon,@@Electrobolt,

 

"Oh, Mr. Springer! I decided to take your invitation for getting something to eat, as I'm hungry myself. But first, are you sure you're okay, other than tired or feeling without much energy?" the white pegasus asked, concern filling his voice, until he remembered to make himself known to the ponies who were probably talking to Springer too. "Oh, um... sorry if interrupted any of you. Completely forgot that you were probably talking to him before me. Sorry again for that. Let me present myself first. My name is Arcanel, and nice to meet you!" he cheered, being as nice as possible. *Bad idea to come off as a jerk who just interrupts ponies for his own requests. At least I should make myself presentable. And while I know that one of them is Electrobolt, it would be best if I confirm it myself, and make the situation less awkward.* Arcanel quickly thought, hoping that if he HAD interrupted them, they would not think wrong of him.

Edited January 30, 2013 by Arcanel

[Magicon 468]

As Springer spoke, Magicon could tell his exhaustion was not normal. His voice was weak and he was barely able to stand on his own hooves, requiring Magicon’s assistance. At first Magicon thought Springer might be delusional from his exhaustion, but it became clear that there was more at work than that. As Springer spoke Magicon’s eyes widened in shock and the gears in his mind snapped into action as he began listening and piecing together his own experiences with Springer’s and the facts that Springer was telling him.
 

 

"Ummm.... Magicon... I've been unwell of late, so please forgive my weakness. Somehow, I was locked away in a box in Trixie's luggage in the bagagge car... But, this happened fairly early, and I... I have no memory of meeting you last night. The last thing that I remember was asking you if you could help me unlock your room door, then... Darkness. That's all that I..."

‘Locked in Trixie’s box? Not remember meeting me last night? But, he was the reason for all of last night’s…oh my Celestia! He knows something about the book! He was involved somehow!’ Magicon thought as his expression refused to hide the shock of the realization. ‘What if Springer was the thief? What if he was caught and that was his punishment? But who caught him? What if he was an accomplice to the thief and something went wrong? A thief might do that to their assistant. More importantly, what does he know about the book?’
 

Magicon’s mind filled with questions and he completely missed Springer look down in contemplation. But Springer’s tired voice paused all his inner workings so he could listen to Springer’s statement.

"Actually, Magicon... There is something that you could do that would help me tremendously. If you would, and... Actually... If you could... Umm... Could you tell me, in brief, what I did on the day prior. No matter how minor the observation, I would appreciate hearing it... But...Ummm... Please only focus on my own actions, and... Forgive the strangeness of this inquiry..."

 

Magicon raised his eyebrow in suspicion and was about to think on it when Electrobolt politely interrupted their conversation. They exchanged a few words before heading to a table. Magicon followed and as they spoke his gears kicked into action.

‘He wants a summary of what happened yesterday? Well, he was trapped in Trixie’s box since yesterday? I guess it makes sense…but then, who was the Springer I talked to last night? That Springer was very bizarre. If that Springer wasn’t this Springer, then it was somepony in disguise? They did use the word Trixie a lot…I wonder if that was Trixie. But then who was the other Trixie that was also there? Clearly there were two ponies involved. If that Springer was a fake, then the show was a setup. Was I the fool to fall for it and defeat Trixie so…’
 

Magicon’s stomach dropped as a realization came to his mind. He had completely forgotten about it and hadn’t touched it since dinner yesterday: his spell book. Though it could be a total coincidence, the idea of his spell book being stolen by somepony worried Magicon greatly. There had been no description of the missing book, but Magicon was convinced that the missing book was a spell book. He doubted any other pony would need a spell book or have an old one like him and he was suddenly very worried about it.

His room could’ve been broken into while he was dueling Trixie, the book stolen, and Magicon would’ve never noticed until the arrival at Los Pegasus when the thief was probably long gone. Magicon wanted to run out of the car and into his room to check for the book, and he was about to except Springer spoke distracting Magicon.
 

 

"Ummm... Sorry... No, I do not require assistance to a table actually. I would, however, be interested in knowing if you have any knowledge of what I did yesterday. By asking both you and Magicon, I... I should be able to gather information... I need that right now, because... I think that there is something wrong, and... I think that an unusual book that I saw yesterday... It may have something to do with it... You see... Well... Just tell me what you know first, and then I can, perhaps, do my best to share what I know as well."

Suddenly Magicon felt caught in-between a rock and a hard place as his intense desire to check on his book, but also help Springer mad it almost impossible to make a decision. Further compounding the process was the arrival of a white pegasus who introduced himself as Arcanel. Quickly glancing over him, Magicon saw his uniform and recognized him as a mailpony. But he didn’t dwell on him or even Electrobolt as the need to check on his book overwhelmed him. It was too precious, too priceless, and too important to fall into the wrong hooves. He didn’t know how anypony could know that he had one on
him, but he needed to make sure it was still on him.
 

Turning quickly back to Springer and Electrobolt, Magicon hurriedly stated, “I’ll get back to both of you in a minute. Something…err…came across my mind and I need to take care of it.” He then fled the scene dodging around ponies in the dining car as quickly as his hooves could carry him, ignoring the looks as he rushed to his room. His cape flew behind him as he dashed out of the dining car, through the parlor, and into his car. He hurried up to the door, and rushed inside, completely scarred of what he would find or not find inside his room.
 

 

[Bari 7,023]

Lapis watched as Ambrosia jolted awake. She was saying some rather odd things, and it definitely concerned him. It seemed as though she was talking about the story and how it related to the dream she had experienced while unconscious, and yet she said this wasn't the first time she'd dreamed of it. Asteria kneeled down next to Ambrosia with a concerned look in her eyes. "Ambrosia, that sounds an awful lot like what is there on the notepad. What do you think it means?" Even though they had spent a brief time together, Asteria was already somewhat attached to the lemon mare. She'd risked her job just to let Asteria stay on the train. Not many ponies would do something like that. One transgression could end up on one's records, and that was not good.

After a few moments of thinking, Asteria realized something. Ambrosia had said the dream varied at the end. That was certainly something of interest. Asteria had once read dreams were windows into the subconscious. So further examination could prove useful. Lapis might have merely dismissed it since he was prone to nightmares, and as such, gave them little to no thought. "So, uh, what do you mean by 'the ending is sometimes different though'?" she asked somewhat concerned. If her new friend was having troubles in her sleep, especially if what appeared on the paper matched her dreams, Asteria had to help in some way.

Lapis on the other hoof saw that Asteria was in command of the situation. Taking a moment to look around, he noticed Springer was near the entrance to the dining car. He grumbled silently. He had no love for Springer as Lapis considered him a nuisance. But something seemed different about the pegasus. He looked tired, and his eyes held an unfamiliar gleam, as though he weren't the same pony from before. That was enough to interest the stallion, so he drew close to see what was going on. By the time Lapis had approached, Magicon and Electrobolt had already been conversing with Springer. Not too far behind Springer was a white pegasus.

Suddenly, Magicon went off in a hurry, a look of fear in his eyes, as though he had lost something. Quite perplexed, Lapis chose to speak up. "What was all that about? And Springer, what happened to you? You look tired. Did you not go to sleep after the magic show? I'd have thought the assistant conductor would have had more sense than the engineer." He looked towards Electrobolt after addressing Springer. "What do you know about this, hm?" Lapis asked mildly. It seemed rather odd somepony like Magicon would just run off like that, and certainly Springer's condition was most unusual.

[Electrobolt 2,069]

After having asked if Springer needed any help getting to the table, Electrobolt noticed the pegasus looking at him before speaking. As he spoke, the first words to come out of his mouth was that Electrobolt was the interim assistant conductor and seemed to be capable of the job. Even though he wanted to smile at this remark, he instead kept a calm face on, as Springer continued. The next words that he spoke had slightly surprised him. *Wait... His mother was an Earth Pony... And she had a similar coat color as mine...? Well, I guess that somewhat explains how he acted towards me earlier...* he thought, before hearing Springer tease about them being related.
 

Springer quickly coughed and spoke. "Ummm... Sorry... No, I do not require assistance to a table actually. I would, however, be interested in knowing if you have any knowledge of what I did yesterday. By asking both you and Magicon, I... I should be able to gather information... I need that right now, because... I think that there is something wrong, and... I think that an unusual book that I saw yesterday... It may have something to do with it... You see... Well... Just tell me what you know first, and then I can, perhaps, do my best to share what I know as well."

 
After having made that joke, Springer then proceeded to give out an awkward laugh, to which Electrobolt chuckled awkwardly to as well. Once Springer coughed, though, he stopped as he listened to the pegasus speaking up again. This line of dialogue caused the young colt to have a slight look of confusion on his face. *He wants to know what he had done yesterday...? And there it is again... Mention of that book... What is so special about this book that Dusky wants his hooves on it anyways...?* Closing his eyes and taking a quick breath, he was about to start saying something, before hearing somepony speak up before him.
 

"Oh, Mr. Springer! I decided to take your invitation for getting something to eat, as I'm hungry myself. But first, are you sure you're okay, other than tired or feeling without much energy?" the white pegasus asked, concern filling his voice, until he remembered to make himself known to the ponies who were probably talking to Springer too. "Oh, um... sorry if interrupted any of you. Completely forgot that you were probably talking to him before me. Sorry again for that. Let me present myself first. My name is Arcanel, and nice to meet you!" he cheered, being as nice as possible. *Bad idea to come off as a jerk who just interrupts ponies for his own requests. At least I should make myself presentable. And while I know that one of them is Electrobolt, it would be best if I confirm it myself, and make the situation less awkward.* Arcanel quickly thought, hoping that if he HAD interrupted them, they would not think wrong of him.

 

Upon hearing this voice, he opened his eyes and looked behind Springer to see who the new pony was. It was then that he saw the white mailpony from before. *What was his name again...?* he thought, wishing he could recall exactly what his name was. However, it was then that the pegasus spoke up, apologizing for interrupting anything before introducing himself as Arcanel. *Ah, right... He was there when Springer popped out of the box, that's right...* Looking at Arcanel, Electrobolt responded, "Oh, um, it's alright, Arcanel. I'm sure you've already heard my name, but it's Electrobolt. Anyways..." As he was about to speak to Springer, to answer his queries, Magicon spoke up.

 

Turning quickly back to Springer and Electrobolt, Magicon hurriedly stated, “I’ll get back to both of you in a minute. Something…err…came across my mind and I need to take care of it.” He then fled the scene dodging around ponies in the dining car as quickly as his hooves could carry him, ignoring the looks as he rushed to his room. His cape flew behind him as he dashed out of the dining car, through the parlor, and into his car. He hurried up to the door, and rushed inside, completely scarred of what he would find or not find inside his room.

 
As soon as Magicon spoke, Electrobolt's attention was now directed to the unicorn. Apparently Magicon had remembered something he needed to do, before rushing off. This confused the young colt, as he watched the unicorn running off to wherever he was headed. Shaking his head, he sighed before turning back to Springer. "Um, okay then... I honestly don't know what that was about..." Clearing his throat, he tried to start again. "Anyways, about your request, I---" However, not long after beginning, he had been interrupted once again. This time, it was Lapis.
 

Suddenly, Magicon went off in a hurry, a look of fear in his eyes, as though he had lost something. Quite perplexed, Lapis chose to speak up. "What was all that about? And Springer, what happened to you? You look tired. Did you not go to sleep after the magic show? I'd have thought the assistant conductor would have had more sense than the engineer." He looked towards Electrobolt after addressing Springer. "What do you know about this, hm?" Lapis asked mildly. It seemed rather odd somepony like Magicon would just run off like that, and certainly Springer's condition was most unusual.

 
Looking over to Lapis as he was speaking, Electrobolt waited for him to finish speaking, before answering his questions. As he was speaking, Lapis had looked at him, asking what he knew about all of this. To be fair, he knew nothing about why Magicon ran off, but he did know about why Springer was like this. Clearing his throat out, he began to answer Lapis' inquiries. "Lapis, I think you should know that, about Springer... He had been locked up in one of Trixie's boxes, in the luggage car. We don't know how long he had been locked in there, though... As for Magicon... To be honest, I don't know why he was in a hurry..."

Edited February 2, 2013 by Electrobolt

[Key Gear 6,663]

For a brief second, Day was shocked, but it quickly changed to one of happiness and joy as he embraced Key hugging her back just as tight while letting out a loud hearty laugh.

 

Key laughed with Daylight. Her action was somewhat random, and she hadn't intended to knock him over. But, she didn't care. After having had nopony to really trust and nopony that trusted her for so long, she was just happy to have suddenly wandered across not one but two ponies that she could depend on. She couldn't help herself. In that moment, she just wanted to hug him, so she had done so.

 

"K-.....Kyaaaaaa!!!....It's...It's...S-.....So cute!!!" She blurted out, forgetting the fact that there are ponies around.

 

The exclamation from the cream-colored pegasus caused butterflies to rummage around in Key's stomach. She was embarrassed, and instinctively, she wanted nothing more in that moment than to release Daylight, jump back, and to pretend that nothing had happened. Her instinct was overruled by something else though, her recently rediscovered love for hugs. She didn't release Daylight from her grip. 

 

"Umm... Key?" He said quietly to her so that only she wold hear. "I'm very much enjoying this hug as I'm sure you are too but unfortunately it can't last forever and Ambrosia has just woken up sooo... do you mind releasing me so I can check on her to make sure she doesn't start on another rant?" he finished with a grin,

 

The sound of Daylight's voice interrupted Key's reverie. What he had to say was very sensible, but... She still felt driven to not let go of him, and she ignored his request for a few moments. Finally, with a sigh and a smile, she had to acknowledge that he was right. No, the hug couldn't last forever, and even if it could, she would have to let go of Daylight anyway. They both had a job to do if they were going to figure out everything that was happening on this train. 

 

She released Daylight and resisted the urge to nervously look around. Of course, everypony had seen her, but who cared? Instead, she watched Daylight, and with a start, she realized that the flower that had been wrapped around his ear was gone. At first, she thought that she had knocked it out of place when she'd collided into him, and she looked around for it on the floor. However, she quickly spotted it when she turned her head to glance at Ambrosia when the yellow mare started to talk.

 

The flower was on Ambrosia's ear, and both it and the cook were drenched. Key took a few steps closer so that she could hear what Ambrosia was saying. She fully expected to hear the cook continue with her rant, but instead... Ambrosia seemed confused, and she spoke about something that was completely different.

 

---

 

"Ambrosia, that sounds an awful lot like what is there on the notepad. What do you think it means?"

 

She shook her head in confusion. She couldn't remember the notepad that she had read from before collapsing. "Notepad? What notepad? My dream is written down somewhere?" Her voice trembled with confusion, and her eyes seemed cloudy, almost as though she was still sleeping, dreaming. 

 

Water Opal decided to stand up and become nearer to her, her drenched face looking around the crowd in confusion. Gathering as much energy as he could muster, as he was still shell shocked from the dream of his own, he asked her, "How did the dream end this time?"

 

Ambrosia looked at the blue unicorn that had made the inquiry. She was assured by a dim memory of speaking to him earlier in the day, because it meant that she was beginning to recover from the fog that seemed to be vexing her. However, her voice conveyed none of this reassurance as she answered. "It ended with... Tragedy. There was no hope, nothing but suffering, and... I was afraid... Not for myself, but for the creature in my dream... It was all alone, trapped... With no hope... Yet, it was also free... But the freedom was like a trap... Because it couldn't move..."

 

"So, uh, what do you mean by 'the ending is sometimes different though'?" she asked somewhat concerned. If her new friend was having troubles in her sleep, especially if what appeared on the paper matched her dreams, Asteria had to help in some way.

 

Struggling to take a hold of her thoughts, she looked apologetically at the purple filly. Just moments ago, she had known exactly what she meant when she said that phrase, but now, she was beginning to lose track of things. Like a pony that was waking up from a dream, as her head cleared, it became difficult for her to recall certain things. In her efforts to focus, she covered her ears with her hooves. The noise of the other passengers talking and the sudden exit of a red unicorn was distracting to her.

 

But, covering her ears seemingly did nothing for her ability to focus. Almost as soon as she had lifted her hooves to her ears, she had pulled them both away because one of them had made contact with something soggy that was certainly not an ear. Cautiously, she removed the object and looked at it. It was a purple flower, her favorite kind and her namesake. Staring at the flower, she felt her recollection return, but it wasn't the recollection of the dream that she had just been explaining. It was the memory of the dream that she had just had. She wasn't concerned with this though, because she could now think clearly enough to answer Asteria's question. 

 

"Well, the ending changes a little bit or even a lot every time I see this dream. Sometimes, the dragon, the one in the dream, it isn't saved and it just fades away. Other times, the monster is never released. Then... There are other times when, at the very end, there is just a single pony... Escaping from the Frozen North... There's other things as well. I remember one time, in particular, where... Well... It's only a dream. Nothing to be concerned with, I think." Ambrosia wrapped up her thought hurriedly; she was slowly becoming aware of how ridiculous she looked. 

 

Smiling nervously, she asked the purple filly. "Asteria... Did I... Did I faint? And... Could I see this notepad that you mentioned?"

 

---

 

"Oh, Mr. Springer! I decided to take your invitation for getting something to eat, as I'm hungry myself. But first, are you sure you're okay, other than tired or feeling without much energy?" the white pegasus asked, concern filling his voice, until he remembered to make himself known to the ponies who were probably talking to Springer too. "Oh, um... sorry if interrupted any of you. Completely forgot that you were probably talking to him before me. Sorry again for that. Let me present myself first. My name is Arcanel, and nice to meet you!" he cheered, being as nice as possible. *Bad idea to come off as a jerk who just interrupts ponies for his own requests. At least I should make myself presentable. And while I know that one of them is Electrobolt, it would be best if I confirm it myself, and make the situation less awkward.* Arcanel quickly thought, hoping that if he HAD interrupted them, they would not think wrong of him.

 

While he was still distracted by his revelation, Springer responded as politely and invitingly to Arcanel as he could have, given his current state. Smiling slightly, he replied. "It's good of you to join me, Arcanel. Umm... At the moment, yes, I do feel okay. I'm still tired, and my energy is lacking." Springer's smile faded into a vacant expression. "I should also get something to eat, I think, but... I can wait, for now." 

 

As the ponies around him talked, Springer glanced over at Ambrosia. He could see that she was still in something of a confused state, but other than this, she seemed well enough. He turned to Electrobolt again when it seemed as though the colt was ready to respond to his earlier question. Springer felt his hopes rise, he needed information in order to figure out the meaning behind the puzzle. Unfortunately, it was then that Electrobolt was interrupted by the rather unexpected departure of Magicon, who left the room as though he was being chased by some hidden fear. Springer blinked, and he was happy that he was standing on his own hooves at that point.

 

"Um, okay then... I honestly don't know what that was about..." Clearing his throat, he tried to start again. "Anyways, about your request, I---" However, not long after beginning, he had been interrupted once again. This time, it was Lapis.

 

Once again, Springer waited for an answer to his earlier question. He didn't reply to Bolt's statement, because he didn't want to interrupt the flow of thoughts in the colt's mind... Unfortunately, once again, Electrobolt was interrupted. Though, this time, he was interrupted by a pony that Springer did not immediately recognize.

 

Suddenly, Magicon went off in a hurry, a look of fear in his eyes, as though he had lost something. Quite perplexed, Lapis chose to speak up. "What was all that about? And Springer, what happened to you? You look tired. Did you not go to sleep after the magic show? I'd have thought the assistant conductor would have had more sense than the engineer." He looked towards Electrobolt after addressing Springer. "What do you know about this, hm?" Lapis asked mildly. It seemed rather odd somepony like Magicon would just run off like that, and certainly Springer's condition was most unusual.

 

Springer's annoyance at the interruption was handily disguised by his own politeness, but at the mention of a magic show, Springer's tired eyes lit up like gems. He, most certainly, could recall no magic show. Not only this, but a magic show had been the one thing that he had been hoping to avoid on this train voyage. His earlier realization came bubbling to the surface of his thoughts, but then, he was distracted by the comment that he should have more sense than the engineer. 

 

The comment vexed him. Of course he had more sense than Dusky. Even in his current state, that much should be self-evident. His politeness slipped, and an unmistakeable look of irritation clouded his visage. A testy response was on the tip of his tongue before the blue earth pony looked towards Electrobolt and continued talking. While he did so, Springer took a moment to calm his initial reaction. After all, he reasoned, it was only natural that Lapis should mistake him for the pony that he saw on the day before. Even though, Springer was certain, that pony had not been him. 

 

Clearing his throat out, he began to answer Lapis' inquiries. "Lapis, I think you should know that, about Springer... He had been locked up in one of Trixie's boxes, in the luggage car. We don't know how long he had been locked in there, though... As for Magicon... To be honest, I don't know why he was in a hurry..."

 

As Electrobolt trailed off, Springer hesitated slightly before speaking. With some mild shock, he realized that he was feeling slightly better than he had even just a few moments earlier. He credited his improved feeling to his annoyance, and at the same time, he noted that he was typically a much better talker when he was too tired to worry about what he was saying. Now, he was uncertain as to whether he should speak now or wait until later. Electrobolt's trailing off had disrupted the rhythm of the conversation.

 

Belatedly, he realized that Electrobolt had mentioned the other pony by name. The name confirmed his thoughts. He had never heard of Lapis before, and it was yet another question that he wanted the answer to. His questions were piling up, and he had received no more answers. Springer shook his head and decided to speak. "I'm also not certain why Magicon ran off like that. Frankly, I thought that it was somewhat rude, if only because he prevented Electrobolt from finishing his statement to me."

 

Regarding Lapis with a polite expression, Springer continued. "As for how long I was in Trixie's luggage... My last memory is from the prior day, before departure. I did not attend any magic show, and... Umm... I don't think that I could sleep, at least, not normally. But, please, I need answers, and nopony is helping me right now. When I entered this room, I was hungry for food, but now, I'm hungry for information. I need to know... Who's idea was it to have a magic show? Trixie's? Where was I during this show? Why did Magicon just leave like that?" Springer's politeness had given way, unintentionally, to exasperation.

 

"I keep hearing ponies telling me of everything that I, supposedly did, on the previous day, but I did nothing. I'm certain that I did... Unless my memory is deceptive, and... Unless, perhaps I was doing things against my will? But... Why? How? Well, it would have to be through magic obviously... Yet, who... It... No... I need to..." Springer closed his eyes and, even through his exhaustion, stopped the spiral. "I need to take a seat, and get something to actually feed myself with. Electrobolt, I apologize for refusing your earlier offer. If you would guide me to a table, I'd be most appreciative."

 

---

 

"You see this is where I live, and also where my family has always lived. I enjoy the quiet and slow life here in contrast to the bussling cities elsewhere. I've ben trying to get to Las Pegasus for a festival lately, but I've been unable to get a ride. Business has been a little slow for me as of late..." Marcato explained. He wondered if this unicorn would turn into a possible client. He seemed very keenly interested in his talents and almost came across as amazed.

 

Dusky listened to the talented musician describe his background. He listened, and his eyes expressed his keen interest. When Marcato mentioned that he was en route to Los Pegasus for a festival, Dusky raised an eyebrow. The coincidence was astonishing. He waited until Marcato had finished speaking before inquiring further. "Los Pegasus? For a magic festival, perhaps? It's... Strangely coincidental... But, that is my current destination as well. In fact..." Dusky gestured towards the train behind them with a hoof. "This train, the train on which I am an engineer, is..."

 

His voice trailed off strangely, and for a few moments, he was silent. During the silence, his eyelids fell curiously, and he seemed as though he would fall asleep right where he stood. A flash of frustration crossed his sleepy face, and a tired voice droned on, continuing from where he had left off. "... heading towards that very location. Would you be interested in joining?" Calmly, Dusky smiled. "Hmmm... Forgive the interruption. It was not my intention to be disrespectful. I just happen to be allergic to certain types of flowers, horrible weeds... To my detriment, it seems as though they are remarkably common in this place."

 

"Regardless... You say that business has been slow, and you need transit to this festival so that you may be able to share your talents and skills in music, yes? If so, then perhaps I can help you. I can gain your admittance onboard this train, if you are interested. However, prior to doing so, I would like to hear you play something else..." Dusky's dark eyes glistened. "Play music that you think would be more fitting to a pony such as myself... Something complex, perhaps? And... Tell me, friend... What is your name?"

 

(OOC: How strange. So, I've got two train crew members that are completely out of it at the moment. Maybe they need more water? Actually, maybe I need water. Once again, I'm typing while tired. I've got to get more sleep or something.)

[Opalicious 799]

@@Key Gear,

 

Water Opal's mind had cleared a bit, and his worries of the dream he had were long gone. He looked at the notebook Ambrosia has asked for and he mentioned, "Perhaps you should rest a little first, if the notepad is what knocked you out of consciousness, it may be fatal to inspect it once more and risk falling unconscious once more."

 

He lifted the cup of water he had drunken from that morning as well as a napkin with his magic, making the glass wet then drying it with the now soggy napkin. Water droplets formed in the air before gravity took hold and they splattered into the cup. He held it down to the cook, thinking that a glass of water would help her hydrate and could even help her recall events that lead to her fainting. "Here, drink this," he told her, adding afterwards, "It's water."

 

He thought back to what she had said about tragedy and freedom being a trap. He mumbled to both the cook and himself, "I query for answers I may not be able to receive, though is it possible that the creature in your dream is yourself or somepony on the train? Or just a nightmare that happened to come by your sudden stupor?" The more he thought about it, the more he wondered if it was just a mere coincidence.

 

As he became more bewildered while staying calm nonetheless, he realized his lips had become siccative, and instead of filling a cup with water, he simply formed the water in his mouth from the beginning, swishing in back and forth and letting a little drip out of his mouth and onto his lips. "Very confusing, this case..."

[Dave247 568]

 

"K-.....Kyaaaaaa!!!....It's...It's...S-.....So cute!!!"

When Daylight heard the outcry of a nearby pony he felt embarrassed but, he was enjoying the hug too much to react to it in any way. He was sure this would have had made key react as he felt a light tenseness from her however she did not let go of him which he was glad for.

 

After he had spoken to Key, for a few moments she didn't respond, which he didn't mind as he was sure she had heard him. He closed his eyes again to make sure he would remembered the feeling he was currently having for when he needed it most.

 

When he felt key release him he opened his eyes and got up. He looked back at Key who was watching him, but then got distracted by Ambrosia when she began to talk. Day followed her so he too could be in earshot so he could hear what she had to say.

 

At first Ambrosia still seemed frazzled from her fainting. As he listened, she seemed to have had a dream, and a rather dark one at that. To make things more interesting it seemed that it was all tied with that story Lapis had written down...

 

Day then saw Ambrosia notice the now wet and soggy flower that was around her ear and took it off to look it at. He winced, gritting his teeth hoping that the flower was not now ruined due to the water.

 

 

"Asteria... Did I... Did I faint? And... Could I see this notepad that you mentioned?"

On the mention of the notepad it made him remember that he had left it on the table.

@Ambroisa

"I've got the Notepad Ambrosia as I was reading it after you fainted. I just left it on the table over there. Let me go get it for you." he said then walked back over to the table where they were sitting previously. He noticed that Electro had gotten up to help Springer and Lapis was now talking with him as well. There was also a new pony who he had not seen before standing there as well. He was a male, white Pegasus pony and judging from the symbol on his saddlebag was a mail pony. He didn't have time to find out who he was now though so he just picked up the notepad with his magic from the table and walked back over to Ambrosia while levitating it in the air.

 

@Ambroisa

"Here you go Ambrosia." he said when he had neared her as he levitated it in front of her to either read or take hold of herself.

[Electrobolt 2,069]

 

Springer shook his head and decided to speak. "I'm also not certain why Magicon ran off like that. Frankly, I thought that it was somewhat rude, if only because he prevented Electrobolt from finishing his statement to me."

 

Regarding Lapis with a polite expression, Springer continued. "As for how long I was in Trixie's luggage... My last memory is from the prior day, before departure. I did not attend any magic show, and... Umm... I don't think that I could sleep, at least, not normally. But, please, I need answers, and nopony is helping me right now. When I entered this room, I was hungry for food, but now, I'm hungry for information. I need to know... Who's idea was it to have a magic show? Trixie's? Where was I during this show? Why did Magicon just leave like that?" Springer's politeness had given way, unintentionally, to exasperation.

 

"I keep hearing ponies telling me of everything that I, supposedly did, on the previous day, but I did nothing. I'm certain that I did... Unless my memory is deceptive, and... Unless, perhaps I was doing things against my will? But... Why? How? Well, it would have to be through magic obviously... Yet, who... It... No... I need to..."

 

After Electrobolt had finished speaking to Lapis about Springer's current condition, he then heard the pegasus speaking up. He had to agree that Magicon deciding to rush off was rather rude and that he didn't know why he ran off either. That would most likely have to be a question to ask when he returns. The next thing that was said was his last memory of being conscious was yesterday, before departure. This caught his attention, because if he was out cold before they left, then perhaps that Springer from yesterday was another pony disguised as him.

 

However, suddenly Springer began to go off on a tangent of sorts, as he began to ask who's idea it was for the magic show, and why Magicon ran off like that. Although he didn't know the answer to the latter question, he definitely knew the answer for the former. But the way Springer asked these questions had worried the young colt a little. It sounded as if he was desperate for answers, and was getting worked up over all of this. As Springer continued to go off, Electrobolt was starting to show a bit of concern on his face, still looking at the pegasus. However, he calmed down after taking a breather.

 

Springer closed his eyes and, even through his exhaustion, stopped the spiral. "I need to take a seat, and get something to actually feed myself with. Electrobolt, I apologize for refusing your earlier offer. If you would guide me to a table, I'd be most appreciative."

 

Once Springer calmed down, he apologized and requested assistance to a table. Nodding quickly, Electrobolt stood next to the pegasus and helped to get him to an empty table, waiting for the pegasus to sit down before looking around. Assuming that not everypony had eaten yet, Ambrosia would have fixed something for them all to eat. Yet as he looked, he could see no food set out. "I'll be right back," spoke up Electrobolt, before walking over to where the kitchen is. As soon as he entered, he could see plenty of fixed food ready to serve.

 

As he saw what was there, his stomach growled at him again, wanting to be fed. *Ugh... Can't you wait for a minute...?* he scolded his stomach mentally as he grabbed a plate and started piling food on it. After filling the plate with food, he carried it back out before putting it in front of Springer. However, he then realized he didn't bring any utensils out with the food. So quickly, Electrobolt returned to the kitchen, looking around a bit, before noticing they were by the pile of plates. As he saw the plates, he recalled how Ambrosia had seemed to not be all there at the moment.

 

So, to do the cook a favor, Electrobolt decided to serve the food to everypony in the dining car. He first delivered the utensils to Springer, though, so he would be able to start eating his food while waiting, before going back to the kitchen and loading another plate of food. As he was going between the kitchen and the dining car, delivering plates of food and the utensils to the tables where everypony was sitting, his stomach growled some more. Ignoring this, however, he continued to work hard. After a few minutes, he was delivering the last plate and utensil batch to Springer's table, for himself. Looking at the table, he saw two other plates, Springer's and Arcanel's.

 

After setting his plate and utensils down, Electrobolt stopped to take a breather before sitting down. Looking at Springer, he said, "Um, I apologize if you were waiting for me, Springer. I thought it'd be a good idea to take care of the food for Ambrosia." After saying that, he took a small bite of his food before smiling softly. The food was delicious, he thought. *Ambrosia sure does know how to cook, doesn't she?* After finishing that bite, he cleared his throat out. "Anyways... About what you were saying earlier. As you said, and as I said, I don't know why Magicon just ran off either. But about the magic show... It wasn't Trixie idea. If my memory is correct, it was your idea..."

 

Stopping for a moment, he took in a quick breath. "I believe you and Magicon were talking with each other yesterday, before Trixie sat at the table. And after some time, you suddenly announced to everypony that Trixie was going to put on a magic show in the parlor car. After that, you then rushed off to get things set up. And... If I'm not mistaken, you were calling Magicon 'buddy'." He then remembered that Springer also questioned where he was during the show. "Now, as for the magic show, and where you were... I can't exactly say much, being that I left the show after getting shocked by Trixie... But from what I remember, you were in the audience, watching the show." After he had finished talking, his throat felt a little dry. Picking up his glass of water, he took a quick sip before setting the glass back down as he let all of this sink in for Springer.

[Magicon 468]

He stood looking at the door to his room, gazing it from top to bottom, checking to make sure if anything, even the slightest change, had occurred. He conjured a sensitivity spell which would detect traces of ponies that had been in the room and through the magic, saw only that he had been the one in the room. Still, he was nervous to enter and took a deep breath before opening the door.

 

He hesitated, one eye open as the door slid open and he peeked into his room. Nothing jumped out at him, nothing attacked him, nothing moved. Everything was calm and quiet. He slowly entered and carefully examined the room. From the floor to the ceiling, nothing was ignored by his eyes.  Nothing had moved since the morning, but it wasn’t what had happened today that worried him, it was what happened last night. He had been too exhausted to check if his room had been broken into after Trixie and he wouldn’t have checked anyway since he hadn’t known a book was stolen until just recently.

But Magicon was a careful pony, unsure of what or whom to trust and when to trust them. He carefully stepped into the room and went to his bed. The sheets were the way he had left them, untouched, and he looked under the bed to find his suitcase. He telekinetically slid it out, took a deep breath, preparing for the worst, unlocked it, and opened it.
 

A flood of relief instantly washed over Magicon as he saw his book neatly tucked away as he had put it there before dinner yesterday. He picked it up and telekinetically held it as he opened it and skimmed random pages, making sure it was actually his. When he felt satisfied Magicon let out a long sigh of relief.

His book wasn’t stolen and it wasn’t the book Dusky and Key were claiming. It was his and his alone and it was safe. But that had been too close a call for Magicon. He didn’t want to have this ordeal again and he wouldn’t. Deciding on that, he closed the book, telekinetically floated it alongside him, closed his suitcase, and left his room.

His book was safe and he would make sure it was safe by always keeping on him, at least for the duration of the train ride. Key Gear was a thief, Dusky untrustworthy, and who knows what anypony else would do if they could steal a magical spell book. He wouldn’t let it happen as long as he could. The book was safe with him and he would keep it that way.

He smiled as he hurriedly passed through the Parlor Car only to slow down to a gentile trot as he reentered the dining car, his book floating alongside him, surrounded in a magenta aurora. He slowly passed by Ambrosia and the rest of the group to join Electrobolt, Springer, the white mail pegasus, and Lapis, who had now joined the group.

 

He cleared his throat before speaking with a pleasant smile, “I’m so sorry to have run off like that. It was just that I thought this book of mine was stolen, but safely it wasn’t. But I want to keep it safe so I’m keeping it with me. Pay no attention to it. So, where were we? Springer, you wanted to know what happened yesterday, correct?”

Edited February 3, 2013 by Magicon