private Pony Mystery Theater: Act II, Exit Trixie, Stage Right.

[Alex Night 870]

Alex looked towards Vim the conductor as he spoke.  It seemed apparent to Alex that he really didn't recognize him.  "Hmmmm... Given the fact that he has to look after so many passengers, I suppose that it makes sense that he wouldn't recognize me at first."  Alex thought to himself as he listened to the conductor's instructions.  "Ummmm, I think my room was room 14."  Alex said to Vim, awaiting his reply.  He wondered if his room was still available...

[Ice Storm 1,020]

~~Ice Storm~~

 

Ice Storm gave a gentle nod and a smile when the conductor handed her the two tickets before telling her that her room was going to be room number four while the pegasi's was going to be room number two and was going to be right next to hers. That was a good thing because, even though she wasn't all that familiar with the other mare, she was always one to meet others if they seem like ponies that she could socially approach without being disappointed. At this point though several other ponies had gathered around, which both made her happy and a bit uncomfortable at the same time. She didn't know anypony here, and for that, she knew that this could be a long ride depending on what the others were like.

 

She then made her way over to where The dark cyan pegasus was standing and waited for her to finish talking with the other mare. Once she had, and the other mare proceeded onto the train, she tapped her on the shoulder. "Excuse me, but I couldn't help but notice the look of despair a moment ago when you were looking through your bit-purse, and well... I had plenty of bits to spare so...," she told her handing her the ticket and the key to the room. The other mare seemed ecstatic, and gave her a quick hug before rapidly giving thanks, and dashing into the train. Ice followed behind her onto the train and looked at the green earth pony. "So you're the one taking us to our rooms? Mine is room number four," she inquired more for verification than anything else as she stepped up into the train.

 

~~Wind Dancer~~

 

At the moment, Wind Dancer felt like a burden. She seemed to be in everypony's way, and she did not like this at all. The other mare just simply stated that she should have been watching where she was going, but truth be told Wind still felt like it was her fault. She shouldn't have even been around the train to begin with. Regardless of where it was going, she wouldn't have had the bits for it, and if it was a train in need of repair, then she should have just left and put her performance on somewhere else. There were plenty of other places in Ponyville that she could dance if she wanted to. It sounded like she was about to say something else but she was cut off by the conductor and proceeded to board the train. This in turn also left her a bit down.

 

With in a couple moments though the ice unicorn came over to her and told her that she noticed her reaction when she was looking at her bit-purse and handed her a ticket, stating that she had plenty of extra bits to spare. Wind's eyes lit up and she nearly tackled the mare in a hug. "Oh thank you!Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" she told the other mare happily. "I will not forget something like this, and I promise I'll be a faithful customer from now on!" she stated before taking the ticket and the key before rushing into the train. "Let's see, looks like key number two... Likely means room two," she thought out loud as she scanned the car. Ice followed her in as well, stating that the green stallion was supposed to be showing them to their rooms. "Oh, yes, Please? I'm in room two," she announced, her excitement over-flowing.

[Starshine 16,333]

Dusky looked a bit surprised when Summerfall explained about the nature of her position and her mission. The mare couldn't help but to feel intrigued. Was the engineer expecting something else? She had no idea. She hoped that she didn't inadvertently insulted him, or worse, reminding him of something terrible that might had happened to him in the past. She wanted to inquire him about it, but she stopped herself from doing so. It's none of your business, she inwardly said to herself, if it's something he would like to talk about, he would do so already.

 

The stallion seemed to took a while to recollect his thought. Summerfall didn't rush him. She knew by first-hand experience that any kind of professions that required somepony to memorize a lot of something have some peculiar effects on one's mind. For all she knew Dusky might be a bit tired after inspecting the train's engine. She waited patiently for a while. She was absentmindedly blowing an errant strand of mane out of her face when Dusky finally spoke.

 

 

Dusky spoke pleasantly and sincerely. "Forgive my delayed response, Summerfall, I was distracted by a sudden thought. It happens to me sometimes, I believe, as a product of my profession. I must thank you for answering my questions. It is always a pleasure to meet a career-minded pony, similar to myself. Though, I daresay that you have find enjoyment in your task. Your summary of Harvest Union nearly entices me to visit one of these locations myself, and I rarely acquire my own food supplies. On the train, that's the cook's job, perhaps the assistant conductors. When I'm not on the train, I confess that I allow my parent to do most of the food-gathering, these days. Perhaps, I've been missing something of an experience?"

 

Summerfall's face grew brighter. She didn't mind the question, not at all. In fact, she was happy that her brief presentation might gave the company another costumer. It was a very good thing. Any costumer addition, no matter how small, should be appreciated as they were the one who make the company's growth possible.

 

 

"Hmmm... I would like to make mention of something, though. Earlier, you noted that your situation, perhaps, didn't meet the criteria of being an emergency journey for business purposes. As you say, nopony's life is being jeopardized, and, really, based on what little I know, it's doubtful that, given the nature of the problem, even a delay of a day would make much difference in the problem that you are being sent to resolve. With that said... If you wouldn't mind, I would like to present you with the personal gift of a ticket to this train. Speak with the conductor, mention that you heard this from me, and he will assign you a ticket and room key. Hmmm... Consider it a favor from a friend."

 

"But..." Summerfall was about to turn down the offer, but it seemed that Dusky's decision was already set in stone. Sure, it was undoubtedly nice to have a free ticket, but it definitely felt like cheating. She didn't need the discount, not in the slightest, but she would be lying if Dusky didn't hit the nail when he mentioned that a delay, even if it's just a day, could easily decide whether the branch would survive until the next Hearth's Warming Eve or not. Summerfall silently made a mental note to repay Dusky when she arrived at her destination and to offer any future passengers that might need any help to buy a ticket a helping hoof. If they ever made themselves and their motives known to her, that is. "Thank you very much for your generosity, Dusky. It is much appreciated. And, if you need some kind of assistance in the future, just tell me and I will do it within my capabilities to help you. That's the least I can do." She said, a content smile on her face.

 

"Oh, and yes, if at any point in the future you decided to visit one of our stores, please do buy whatever you want! I personally made sure that our prices match with the market's standard. If the branch turns out doesn't have any of it that you might need in stock, just notify the manager and he or she will make sure that in the next day, the store will have a crate full of it. Of course, as long as it's not illegal and doesn't have flesh." It took her a while to fully realize what did she just say. Summerfall chuckled at her disastrous attempt at joke, but she did sincerely mean all of it. Keep everypony satisfied, as they would come back for more.

 

It struck her as odd when Dusky instructed her to talk straight to the conductor about the free ticket, it was as if he had been giving free ticket to the train for a while, and the conductor would be expecting it. She was a bit worried that the conductor might disagree with the engineer regarding the ticket's status. Summerfall was about to ask Dusky on the conductor's whereabouts when a filly approached them. She was a purple unicorn with cutie mark that seemed to be a quill. If she guessed right, the filly would be around 15 years old. Her burgundy mane looked a bit ruffled, Summerfall briefly pondered if the filly had just chased something around the station. The presence of a butterfly and what she said to Dusky seemed to confirm that it was indeed the case.

 

 

Asteria approached the dark stallion. "Say, Dusky, um... if I'm not interrupting anything... Well, It's just, I don't want you to hurt that butterfly by accident." ... "So, what is it you're up to? Is this a potential passenger?"

 

Dusky replied to the filly, introducing the mare to her while so. Summerfall took it as a chance to spoke a small "pleased to meet you" to the filly. Dusky continued on with an explanation of that beauty of purpose, on how the seemingly fragile and helpless butterfly had a big role in the ecosystem. She never thought Dusky would be the philosophical type, but looking back at his questions to her, it seemed to be quite obvious. While she didn't particularly like the part where Dusky mentioned how butterflies wouldn't continue to persist past the point at which they are useful, she didn't say anything. It would be rude to interject in his conversation with the filly. Summerfall's eyes followed the butterfly as it fluttered away. Dusky then asked the filly a question.

 

Maybe I will stay with them for a bit longer, Summerfall thought to herself. She had to admit that she was a bit curious on how the filly would answer the engineer's question.

[Bari 7,023]

Asteria watched as the grey stallion turned to face her. The mysterious quality in his voice was actually reassuring to her. It seemed as though her fears had no logical cause. She laughed silently to herself. Dusky would never kill a butterfly unless there was some purpose in doing so.

 

When Dusky introduced the mare, Asteria turned backwards briefly and gave her curt nod and a hello. She faced Dusky again and listened quietly to the older stallion. His words to her painted such lovely pictures. Ones that delighted her imagination. She knew very well the nature of a butterfly, and that it did its job like most of the animals. But to Asteria, it was one of the most beautiful. And Dusky was very knowledgeable. Something to keep in mind if ever a question Lapis couldn't answer came up.

 

And the way he spoke of power captivated the little filly. His words seemed alive with vague desire. Or, more likely, it was a product of Asteria's overactive imagination. Her mother had hoped she'd outgrow it, even if just a little. Her mother was actually very supportive, and most likely saw a writer in her daughter, but it was a bad idea to let flights of fancy consume one's attention. In truth, unlike Lapis, she could actually pay attention while daydreaming. He was always thinking of maybe a thousand things, which sometimes made him miss a key point. That was another reason she took notes for him.

 

As Dusky continued, Asteria became aware of his affinity for machines. Power and machines. Not too strange a combination, but still not something normal for ponies. When the questions came, Asteria blushed again. She didn't really have a reason for it. She just thought Dusky might have swatted it by accident, but since he never does anything by accident, the point was moot. But it was a justified curiosity. Collecting herself, she replied in a way that was one half embarrassed, one half cheery. "Well, perhaps it is a pretty looking thing. And I'd hate for something to die needlessly. Um, maybe it was an automatic response? Normally, ponies swat at things that pester them. And I don't know anything about power. It's not something I think about. And so, it was merely a misunderstanding. Since you don't do anything by accident, and you didn't harm it, then I can see no reason to worry, right?"

 

---

 

The light in Magicon's eyes seemed to brighten considerably the instant Lapis had asked him to deal with the paper. Lapis thought it must have been the mare. Perhaps she was bad company? Magicon had a few eccentricities, so he probably didn't like a few personality archetypes. Quite understandable though. And certainly how Magicon glanced back at Dawn made it all the more clearer. In that moment, Lapis realized Dawn had a few cats around her. He hadn't seen any before now excluding the mysterious blue kitten that had gone missing. Lapis liked cats. They were clever animals that took care of themselves for the most part. He thought to ask Dawn about them, but he put it aside. He was busy, so there was no time for fun.

 

He followed Magicon into the dining car, eagerly awaiting the results. Magicon gave the paper a once over, much the same as Lapis had back when he had found it. And the red unicorn came to the same conclusion as he had. It was blank. But he assured Lapis he knew what to do. "Ah, good. I'm glad you can do the job, Magicon." he replied amiably.

 

He watched with bated breath, hoping in his heart it wasn't just a piece of trash. But soon, words revealed themselves, as though they had been there all this time. Which they must have been since it was unlikely for Magicon to waste time with a silly trick. The expression on the unicorn's face spoke curiosity, confusion, and vague hints of cluelessness. Clearly lost, the stallion gave Lapis the paper.

 

Lapis stared at it, reading through it at least thrice. The tale was very vaguely similar to an old fairy tale he had heard in his travels. But the setting was all wrong, of course. Northern wastes? That made no sense. There was nothing much found up north besides lost civilizations. Maybe the hero was a field researcher like himself? Then it came to him. Another thing about this story was familiar. The hoof writing. Why did it seem so familiar? Springer, that was it. Everywhere in Springer's room, there had been labels. The efficient pony was also somewhat of an organized one, something Lapis could respect. But why in the name of knowledge would he hide a story he wrote in his model train? It was likely the story embarrassed him, which was reason enough to hide it. Also, since his memories were still a bit fuzzy, maybe he had forgotten he had hidden it?

 

Something about that theory nagged at him though. It had not been too normal yesterday, so anything was possible. At the very least, he should show Springer what had been found. "Magicon, if you do not mind, I'd like for you to go with me back to Springer's room." he said taking the note and rolling it back up. "And perhaps you'd like to get away from miss Dawn?" he whispered with a slight smirk. He took the paper back into his mouth, still as gentle with it as before, and trotted back the way he came. On his way there, he saw that Arcanel had not made it all the way to the parlour car. Removing the paper long enough to tell the white stallion, "We've found something. I'm going to show Springer what the paper says. You are quite welcome to come." Taking the paper back up, he finished his return journey, knocking briefly on the door. Not exactly wanting to wait for a reply, he carefully opened the door. "Springer, I hope it is alright to come in. The paper does say something after all." he told the green pegasus with contained enthusiasm. With a practised move, the paper was within Springer's reach to read.

Edited April 4, 2013 by Bari

[Electrobolt 2,069]

After Electrobolt had finished talking, he must have come in at the perfect time or something. Because apparently, Vim had just sold some tickets already and wanted him to take two ponies to their rooms. But when the conductor directly addressed Electrobolt and mentioned that he brought his sister, he was stumped. Although he kept a calm and level face, he was completely confused on the inside. *How did he know that Key was my sister??? I never told him that before... We never even had the chance to talk until this morning, but even then...*

He was shaken out of his thoughts as he then saw Vim walk off to meet another pony, a sandy-brown earth pony as he offered her a ticket to board the train. After the two spoke to each other, bits were exchanged for a train ticket and a room key as Vim suggested for him to take the sandy-brown pony to her room, which was room 12, while he would take care of the other two. But what was Alex's story...? Why was he waiting outside of the train? Just then, however, the pegasus and the unicorn each spoke up, saying their rooms were rooms 2 and 4.

Chuckling, he called out to Vim. "Thanks for the offer, sir, but I can handle this myself. I feel that this way, it'd be more efficient." With a nod, he returned his attention to the three ponies waiting to see their rooms. "This way, please," he spoke up before walking through the baggage car and into the first passenger car. Upon entering the passenger car, he stopped as he looked to the first door on the right. Looking over to the pegasus, he then said, "Here's your room, miss. Room two." After that, he then looked over to the icy-blue unicorn and said, pointing a hoof to the second door on the right, "And there's room four, your room."

 

After seeing the two ponies enter their rooms, Electrobolt looked back to the earth pony with a smile as he said, "Your room is a little further, so let's get moving, ok?" After that, he then started to walk out of the first passenger car, going through the second one and then entering into the third passenger car. As soon as the sandy-brown earth pony entered the car, he faced her. "Room twelve, right? That's right over there, next to my room!" He then pointed to the door, with the number "12" on it. Once he was done, he returned his attention to the mare in front of him. A small bit of curiosity in his mind, he couldn't help but ask, "Oh, if I may ask, ma'am... What brings you aboard the Los Pegasus Express?"

[King 5,625]

Dawn continued to write in his journal as he awaited the return of Asteria and Ambrosia. He wrote about the experiences that he'd had so far while being in Ponyville, and his upcoming trip on the train. Dawn loved these quiet moments when he could write his thoughts down on paper for his sister to read when he returned...if he decided to return. Dawn soon became aware of a pony trotting up to him.

 

"Hello Dawn, I'm back! Did you have any trouble with the list?"

 

Dawn closed his journal and placed it back in his saddlebag beside the supplies he was carrying while he responded. "No not really, the shop keeper seemed rather happy to fill the order and have it delivered to the train"

 

Dawn listened in as Ambrosia explained that the little filly Asteria must have wandered off back to the train. Dawn didn't remember seeing her return and a small pang of guilt came unto him. He was usually alot more responsible when it came to younger ponies and he felt as if he should have been watching out for Asteria, even though he didn't quite know her yet.

 

 

"Actually, I can understand that... I used to wander off all of the time when I was a filly, but I'd largely grown out of it by the time that I reached Asteria's age. My parents would always worry, but I was always fine at the end of the day."

 

Dawn lowered his head slightly as he remembered his own journeys as a young colt back in his home town. The many times he wandered off into the fields and explored the area's around Coltsville. This was all before he started his little apprenticeship, before he was more focused, back in the times when he was truly happy and certainly before guilt stained him.

 

 

Ambrosia turned and started trotting to return to the train. She sought to satisfy her curiosity about the pegasus pony in the meantime. "Dawn, I bet you've been to a lot of fun places, and have a few stories to tell. For me, I didn't really do too much until after I became a railway cook. Before that, I just spent all of my time in Baltimare area and in my hometown. What about you? Have you ever been to Los Pegasus before?"

 

Dawn followed Ambrosia closely as he listened to her speak. His thoughts kept returning to his home before he realised Ambrosia had asked him a question, something about him and Los Pegasus.

 

"Uh..no...I've never been to Los Pegasus before. Most of my trips take me into more rural area's, out of the way and generally quiet. This is the first time I actually decided to go somewhere more...populated and busy." Dawn said slightly showing a worried face before he quickly banished it, replacing it with a slight smile.

 

" I come from a rather small town called Coltsville. We never really get visitors there...so it can get rather boring and quiet, that's why I started taking these trips. When I'm not traveling, I'm a team captain for the Coltsville weather team, it's all I ever really wanted to do." Dawn felt himself opening up more to the mare with whom he was to be traveling with soon.

 

"But how about you, I know that you must have had some interesting adventures, even on a train" Smiled Dawn as he searched for a way to avoid the topic of his home...

[Dave (RayFriedh) 246]

Maple jumped a little. The pegasus from just a a little while ago had rushed over to a mare next to her, and almost knocked the icy blue unicorn down with her in an embrace. Under normal circumstances, she would have been amused at the gesture these two friends were sharing, but she had just tried to escape an awkward situation-

 

Damn it, Maple. Just keep it cool. She's is not going to remember. Don't let one little detail ruin the whole trip!

 

The assistant conductor was inviting them inside the train. With a nod, she waited for the other mares to board first, and followed them inside. As they walked inside the cars, the conductor pointed out their rooms to them. Maple made a mental note to herself that the two mare's rooms were numbers two and four. She might go over to meet them. Making friends was a hobby she particularly liked to practice- even if it would be a strange encounter.

 

As soon as the sandy-brown earth pony entered the car, he faced her. "Room twelve, right? That's right over there, next to my room!" He then pointed to the door, with the number "12" on it. Once he was done, he returned his attention to the mare in front of him. A small bit of curiosity in his mind, he couldn't help but ask, "Oh, if I may ask, ma'am... What brings you aboard the Los Pegasus Express?"

Nodding at the colt's gesture toward the door, with a number 12 emblazoned on the frame in some sort of metal, she trotted a little ahead of him, and was about to open the door, when she heard the colt's question. She turned her gaze over to him, and offered him a friendly smile. "Well, you wouldn't believe me if I told you.", she started. "But...I guess there's no way around it. It's just the spirit of adventure." Stifling a laugh, she continued, "You know, I've written quite a few novels about adventures and legends and all that stuff...but I've never really had anything much more exciting happen in my life than this... I'm not even interested in the gambling, I'm just...going! I don't know what I'll do there.", she finished, hoping her answer was enough to satisfy his curiosity.

 

"Hey, thank you...uh, Electrobolt?" she said, trying to remember what the stallion outside had called him.

 

"Thank you for helping me inside. I'm Maple."

[Flow 1,624]

As Flow munched on her sandwich, she reflected upon the events that happened yesterday "So far, my days on this train aren't what I expected, and I was insulted by that Dusky...more like that know-it-all, he has no idea how how horrifying my experience was...wait, since he hasn't shown...any sympathy....uh..might have he planned this? No...that's just too absurd to think of, but his attitude has really gotten on my nerves, sigh...I just hope that this day would be much better than yesterday,"

 

 

His eyes caught Flow eating a daisy sandwich while watching the passengers boarding. Vim waved a hoof at cream-colored pegasus, hoping that she would catch the gesture and come over.

 

After finishing her sandwich, Flow looked around to see the conductor waving his hoof at her, "Ah, Mr.Conductor! He's actually one of the only two employees that are alright, I guess he wants me to come over to him." she thought before she waved back, "I guess I should, he's a good pony to talk to,"

 

And with that she came over to him, "Hello there...um..Mr.Conductor sir! How's things today?" She asked.

Edited July 18, 2013 by Flow

[Arcanel 3,041]

 

"Yes, Arcanel, I do believe you are correct. See here, I know of a unicorn aboard the train, one of whom you know as well. We shall ask Magicon for his help." Lapis stated matter-of-factly. "Farewell for now Springer. I do hope you have a good rest."

 

"I think that this is an optimum course of action. Farewell Lapis, Arcanel..." Feeling rather tired after the conversation with Arcanel, he added. "I actually think that the efficient thing to do now would be for me to get some rest... Perhaps with a considerable nap, I might be able to join you outside of this place..."

 

As Springer finished speaking, Arcanel agreed with the idea Lapis proposed, and saw the earth pony leave the room. *Well, that's that. All we need is that, hopefully, Magicon will be able to get something from the paper.* He thought, deciding it was a good course of action. "See you later Mr. Springer. Thank you again, and please, rest well." He told the green pegasus, silently praying that Springer would be able to get a well deserved rest, and then went to leave the room and close the door as he saw the assistant conductor go to take a nap.

 

As he went to follow Lapis, he started speaking to himself once more. "Ahhhhh... Dear Celestial Moon... I don't think I've ever felt so many emotions released since... oh... right... when I found out my parents were gone... darnit..." He stopped speaking, feeling disappointed at himself for bringing bad memories again.

 

"Seriously... I need to STOP going back to bad things every time I talk to myself. It's going to be my doom." He sighed, knowing that most of the times, it was one of his rather undesired traits. "Regardless, I can't feel exactly bad now... or at least not now. I'm supposed to be helping Mr. Springer now aren't I?" He reminded himself, his confidence returning and now taking a faster pace while walking. "Wait a moment... isn't that...?" Were the words that escaped the mailpony's grasp. as he saw two familiar ponies walking in the opposite direction he was walking, just as he finished talking with himself. *Lapis and Magicon? Wow... did they find something that quickly?... Or was I too slow...?* he pondered, not knowing if there was something new they found so quickly, or his "chats" had made him too slow to be at the moment of meeting, again.

 

 

"We've found something. I'm going to show Springer what the paper says. You are quite welcome to come."

 

Had been the words that entered Arcanel's ears, who replied with a small "Ok." as he saw the two leave for Springer's room. While he was happy that Magicon had been able to find something that led them closer to find out about the whole situation, another thought entered his mind. *Wait a minute... Springer's supposed to be sleeping now... oh no.. I'd rather he at least rested a little, I can't have him almost faint on us again!* he suddenly shouted in his mind, now unsure if showing Springer any recent findings would be good for the pony's health. "Wait please!" he shouted as he quickly started going back the way he came, and into Springer's room.

 

As he headed in and saw the two ponies, Arcanel acted quickly. "Um, first things first hi, Mr. Magicon." He said, giving a small smile and wave to the crimson unicorn, then quickly turning to the greyish-blue pony. "Now... Mr. Lapis, are you sure that bothering Mr. Springer is the best thing for him no-" Before the white pegasus could finish, he saw that the paper was already at Springer's reach. *Oh dear...* he thought, unsure of what the Springer would do now. "Um... what does the paper say?" Arcanel said, going along with the finding until the pony in bed spoke himself. 

[Key Gear 6,663]

 

(OOC: Putting my music links in spoilers breaks the posts, so I am going to just put them in the posts, instead.)

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=684rBDc9gE8

 

His eyes were closed, but he couldn't sleep. It was impossible to do so, because his thoughts were still churning in his head, repeating the day's events in a never-ending sequence of futility. He was quite certain that there was something that was missing, something simple that he had overlooked. His eyes opened with a slight fluttering motion and glanced around the room, nothing but shadows, stillness. It took a few moments for his eyes to adjust to the strange darkness. A sudden wave of red light washed over the room and dissipated, just as quickly. His eyes adjusted suddenly.

 

The effect was uncanny. He was in a dark room, lit only by the light of a few small candles. It wasn't on the train, there were no windows. Instead, there was just a single desk, and on that desk there was just a single thing - a book. It was large, unwieldy. It was also closed, facing away from him so that only the spine was visible. It was worn with intense age, but it was still tinted by a forceful red hue. There was at least one other pony in the room, but only their unmoving shadow was visible to him.

 

Slowly, he began to perceive a sound. At first, he believed that his ears were behaving inefficiently, but soon, he perceived that the sound seemed like speech of some type. The rhythmic noise of words taking shape was unmistakable. Indeed, the traces of some type of emotion were plainly present. However, the sound was guttural, far deeper than that which any pony could make. If a dragon could talk, he imagined that this was how they would sound. It was a language, but it was not one that he had ever heard before. For what seemed like hours, the voice spoke in its strange language.

 

Then, there was silence, but it was as unnatural as the voice. The silence seemed to be a deafening roar of nothingness, a void. Soon, his ears began to pulsate violently with the force of the silence. Shortly afterwards, his entire being began to feel pressured. It was as though the very essence of the room was tearing him apart. The book opened. The room darkened. He felt a sting of pain, like an ant bite. He hated ant bites. The sting became a pulsating force. Weakened, he collapsed and his vision was overcome by darkness. 

 

Something faint, like the laughter of a small foal, could be heard. It sounded so close by and so familiar, that he thought, briefly, that perhaps he, himself, was the source of the sound. The laugh was halting, hesitant, awkward; however, it flowed freely. It sounded much like a Springer from an earlier age. Perhaps it was him? But, he dismissed the thought. How could he be the source of a sound when he could hardly move, much less talk? His thoughts became more abstract. He could feel himself fading away. 

 

"Springer, I hope it is alright to come in. The paper does say something after all." he told the green pegasus with contained enthusiasm. With a practised move, the paper was within Springer's reach to read.

 

It had all been a dream. With a jump, Springer was awake, and his eyes whisked across the room towards the noise that had awakened him. Blinking, he recognized Lapis, but he didn't recognize the paper that the earth pony held. Just as he was about to ask for information about the paper, it was in front of his eyes. He blinked with confusion. Of course, he could immediately see that the document was written in his own hoofwriting. The precision was unique to him. 

 

He shook his head to wake himself, fully, from his earlier stupor. It was obvious now. This was the paper that had, just a few moments before, been blank. Lapis and the others had succeeded in uncovering its secrets. But... It was written in his own hoofwriting? What kind of freakish secret was this? Cautiously, but with urgency, Springer took the paper from Lapis and began to read it aloud for the purpose of ensuring that all were aware of its contents. It was the efficient thing to do.

 

It was a short story, barely taking up half of the page. It began, strangely, with no introduction. It described a place, cold and distant, dark. It was a lonely path on a mountainside, where all but the shadows feared to tread. An adventurer of some type made their way down from this path, avoiding the darkest shadows, cloaked in the twilight. The journey was slow, tedious, but the knowledge of their purpose kept them moving forward, despite the difficulty. This purpose, the only thing that gave them meaning, became an obsession, but the exact nature of this purpose was not described, only that it existed.

 

Springer looked up from the paper. The story had ended, and he was tremendously confused. "I... I don't believe that I understand the significance of this. It seems to be, at best, incomplete. At worst, I would say that the story itself was completely meaningless. Instead, I think that this was perhaps some drivel designed to draw attention to the fact that this document was written in my hoofwriting. Well. I didn't write this. The story is inefficient. It conveys no information of any value, whatsoever. It's just a small part of a much longer story, something that..."

 

He looked around the room and, for just a moment, his vision was strangely hazy. The effect subsided, and he looked around the room, again, fully aware of the brief vision that he had seen earlier. His eyes widened. The incomprehensible voice that he had heard in his dream... Suddenly, he felt so strongly that the words on the page were the words that the voice had spoken to him, but... It still had no meaning. To the ponies watching him, all that they saw was a Springer that was becoming progressively more confused, reading and rereading the written words, lost.

 

Finally, after a few more moments had passed, he put the paper down. After shaking his head sorrowfully, Springer began, calmly. "Confusion is inefficient, so perhaps we can work together to understand this problem." He looked around at the ponies present, before continuing. "I didn't write this, but it is in my hoofwriting." After a shrug to indicate his lack of concern with the hoofwriting similarity, he continued. 

 

"I would never write something so inefficient, incomplete, without a beginning or an end. Everything that I have ever written always followed the same structure. Beginning, middle, end. You start with a description of the problem or context. Next, you walk through the content necessary to understand the situation. For the end, you describe the solution or resolution. There is no need for anything else."

 

"This story. It is the opposite of how I would do things. It reads like a page that was torn from a book, in the middle of a story, but if that was the case, then wouldn't the words go all of the way down the page? If it was the last page in a story, then I would be able to understand; however, if it was the last page, then why is there no conclusion here. Then, there is... There is something else entirely, something concerning to me."

 

He then described the dream that he had just had in as much detail as he could recall. Finishing his recollection, he added, hesitantly. "The dream, it doesn't concern me by itself, because a dream is all that it was. It wouldn't be efficient to place much faith in it... Ummm... But... These words on this page. The voice in my dream was speaking them, I believe. Even though I didn't understand the language in the dream, perhaps... If the dream was a memory? Perhaps, in my dream, the words were obscured to prevent me from recognizing them? I don't know... Are there any other theories? Ideas? I... Don't know what this means..."

 

 

(OOC: Maybe it's the last page of a chapter? Maybe the book was loosely bound? Maybe the pages were somehow separated? Springer isn't all-knowing, he may very well be wrong. Or, perhaps, this page is nothing more than a distraction designed to weaken Springer for some purpose? Who knows. Or... Is it some guidance from a friend, pointing him in the right direction? Who knows. Could be anything.)

 

 

---

 

Chuckling, he called out to Vim. "Thanks for the offer, sir, but I can handle this myself. I feel that this way, it'd be more efficient." With a nod, he returned his attention to the three ponies waiting to see their rooms. "This way, please," he spoke up

 

At the mention of efficiency, Vim did a quick double-take, and he watched Electrobolt carefully. However, on seeing Electrobolt address the passengers and then politely escort them into the train, his expression relaxed. There was no reason to fear, in fact, the younger pony had done nothing different than what he, himself, would have done in the same circumstances. Vim nodded with approval and gave a quiet chuckle. 

 

The exchange had concerned him only because it had reminded him of his first day working with Springer. The overly eager, young assistant conductor had been obsessed with efficiency. Rather than letting Vim escort passengers to the nearest cars, he had insisted on doing so himself, but his brusque demeanor had rubbed many of the passengers the wrong way. After the incident, Vim had to carefully explain that being courteous, while time consuming, had benefits that exceeded its cost in "efficiency". It had been like arguing with a golem.

 

Alex looked towards Vim the conductor as he spoke.  It seemed apparent to Alex that he really didn't recognize him.  "Hmmmm... Given the fact that he has to look after so many passengers, I suppose that it makes sense that he wouldn't recognize me at first."  Alex thought to himself as he listened to the conductor's instructions.  "Ummmm, I think my room was room 14."  Alex said to Vim, awaiting his reply.  He wondered if his room was still available...

 

"Room 14?" Vim repeated. He remembered clearly now. On the previous day, when the first group of passengers had been boarding, there had been a pegasus that boarded the train while he was distracted by an emotional white unicorn. The entire sequence of events had gone by so quickly that Vim didn't have the chance to introduce himself to the pegasus until later in the day when they had both spoken to Clarity, the upset passenger. Now, Room 14 had been reassigned. 

 

"Alex, your old room was reassigned I'm afraid. You know, there's a situation with one of my crew right now, and he needs to have somepony on board to look after him. Well, they needed to have a room nearby. When we checked this morning, we didn't see any passenger there, and the only other available rooms were too far away. " Noticing the approach of a cream-colored pegasus, he turned to greet Flow.

 

And with that she came over to him, "Hello there...um..Mr.Conductor sir! How's things today?" She asked.

 

"Hey Flow! Call me Vim, no need to be formal. Things are going pretty well actually. I just wanted to check and see how things were going for you, since yesterday was so crazy. And, look, speaking of crazy, I heard a little about your discussion with my engineer this morning. That won't be happening again." Vim spoke to Alex. "Hey, Alex, this is Flow, I'm not sure if you two have met already, but I'm thinking about giving you Room 6, if you want it. Then, you two would be right across the hall from each other. The way I see it, you're both athletic types, I think, so you'd have something in common to talk about."

 

---

 

"But how about you, I know that you must have had some interesting adventures, even on a train" Smiled Dawn as he searched for a way to avoid the topic of his home...

 

She completely missed the fact that Dawn was attempting to redirect the conversation. It was the type of thing that she would have normally noticed, since Ambrosia was fairly skilled at reading others. But, caught up in the moment, meeting a new passenger, and enjoying the attention, Ambrosia wasn't really focused on making a critical observation of Dawn's behavior. 

 

She thought for a few moments before replying. "Not really, no. In fact, I haven't had very many interesting adventures at all. I mean, don't get me wrong, I've had a lot of fun as a cook onboard the train. I've seen quite a few places, and I've been to a lot of towns and cities in Equestria. The problem is that I've never really had anything fantastic happen to me. I mean... I'm a cook, so that's what I do. Sometimes, I get to help out by filling in as an assistant conductor, but that's really it. Other than that, there isn't much else."

 

Ambrosia felt sorry for herself for just a moment as she reflected on this. The truth was that she'd always wandered about what it would be like to go on a grand adventure. She'd heard so many stories from Vim about some of his amazing journeys. As a railway pony, he'd had chances to make a difference, and he had always taken them. Even Springer had a few good stories. But, she'd never really had a decent story to tell, something that would amaze other ponies. Her life had been fairly boring, straightforward, except for her most recent journey. "Wait... That's not true, actually. I've had one interesting adventure! It's the train that I'm on right now, the Los Pegasus Express."

 

When a wide smile, she gave a quick summary of some of the things that had happened. "Ever since we left Canterlot, and even before then, lots of strange things had been happening. I'd certainly call it an adventure. On the night that Trixie first came aboard, there was some strange light coming out from under her door, she had a magic show that went totally wrong, there was some weird darkness in her room. Actually, I'm just a little bit sad that Trixie disappeared. If things had kept going, I bet that this would've been the most amazing adventure on a train that anypony had ever heard."

 

The station was now coming into view, and they would be at the train in just a few moments. She continued to talk. "It's too bad, really, because since you're traveling to find adventure, you are probably going to be disappointed on this train. I doubt that anything will happen now. Ah, well, you'll like Los Pegasus, anyway. It's a fast place but its not as bad as Manehattan and the ponies are a lot more welcoming than Canterlot. The music scene is great too! You like ponystep?"

 

---

 

“No, I’m finished. I’ll leave you to your food and…feline friends.” He glared at the cats as he said that. “Just watch yourself, Dawn. Ponies on this train are a bit…odd. Don’t take that word lightly. I’ll see you around.”

 

Dawn looked up from her food, just slightly, before she continued eating. She appreciated his words of warning, even if she was not sure of the spirit in which it had been offered. Still looking down at her food, she smiled pleasantly at his words.

 

Laying out the paper before Magicon, he began speaking without preamble. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything, but if it wouldn't be too much trouble, could you please look at this piece of paper with your magic? I mean, you do seem rather skilled, so it should come as no trouble for you."

 

Her eyes sparkled with intense curiosity as she looked up to see Lapis giving a blank sheet of paper to Magicon. "Look at with magic?" Dawn mouthed the phrase, trying it out as if she was tasting a new dish. Her disappointment was clearly visible when the two stallions made their way over to the dining car; she couldn't follow them there. Pouting slightly, she ate the rest of her salad before making her way from the parlor car to the caboose, her cats seemingly dissipated, disappearing into various places as she made her way to her destination.

 

---

 

But it was a justified curiosity. Collecting herself, she replied in a way that was one half embarrassed, one half cheery. "Well, perhaps it is a pretty looking thing. And I'd hate for something to die needlessly. Um, maybe it was an automatic response? Normally, ponies swat at things that pester them. And I don't know anything about power. It's not something I think about. And so, it was merely a misunderstanding. Since you don't do anything by accident, and you didn't harm it, then I can see no reason to worry, right?"

 

He waited until after she had finished speaking. Her response, so simple, so clear, was exactly what he had expected her to say. However, she had said it in such a way that it seemingly precluded further detailed, friendly conversation. Much as he had been restrained when speaking with Summerfall just a moment earlier, Dusky felt as though he had a strong reason to avoid damaging his relations with Lapis's assistant through his normally incisive reasoning process. He spoke, choosing his words carefully.

 

"Your answers are sound, Asteria, and I appreciate your reference to my mantra. With that said, I think that you should, when the opportunity presents itself, learn more about power. Particularly as a young unicorn, you should take care that you do not limit your studies in such a way that you rob yourself of knowledge that if vital for making the most of your own abilities. You see... There are certain realms of magic that are outside of the scope of individuals that do not teach themselves something about power."

 

He stopped for a moment, realizing something. "Hmmm... But, I think that I should clarify one thing. Many times, when a pony speaks of power, they mean the ability to control. To alter the world, to build and to destroy. However, that is not true power. True power, Asteria, is simply the ability to act and to take action. When I speak of power, I reference the same forces that propel this train. Power is actuation. The powerful, those that posses and understand power in abundance, they are the actuators of change in the world around us."

 

"Ah, but I digress... No, you needn't be concerned. Your reasoning is sound. Indeed, I would never accidentally harm a butterfly, much as I would never accidentally do anything. Hmmm... But... Even purposefully, I would be loathe to harm a butterfly. They are, as you say, beautiful. It would be a waste for me to destroy something such as that. I am one of the rare few ponies that do not believe in swatting at things that pester them. There's really no need to, I think. They have a purpose to serve, something that they must fulfill."

 

Looking away for a moment, seemingly studying the busy train station, Dusky spoke absently. "Speaking of which, if the two of you would excuse me, I have some final preparations to complete before the train is ready for departure." With a bow of his head to both Summerfall and Asteria, Dusky made his way towards the entrance of the train.

 

---

 

While Bolt seemed completely nonplussed by Vim's knowledge of her, Key thought it was great. The conductor just looked like one of those ponies that knew things, she was familiar with the type, and he didn't seem like what she had expected him to be. When she had caught a glance of Vim on the previous day, he'd looked like the typical, stern older pony, probably decrepit and holding on to outdated and needlessly formal ways of thinking. Now, as she observed him laughing and speaking with the passengers, she realized that he was a different type of creature entirely. 

 

As far as she was concerned, if Vim had any concerns about her, he would have brought them up right then. Instead, he'd called her "charming". She doubted that this was the case, as it wasn't a word that other ponies generally used to describe her. She did appreciate the gesture though, and she did her best to smile as charmingly as she could at Vim while the conductor asked her brother if he would escort some of the new passengers to their rooms. 

 

Chuckling, he called out to Vim. "Thanks for the offer, sir, but I can handle this myself. I feel that this way, it'd be more efficient."

 

Key could barely contain her laughter at her brother's "efficiency", and the effort of stifling an outburst brought tears to her eyes. She managed to avoid even the sound of a snicker, though, which was good. Waving at Bolt as he took some passengers by her, she then went back to observing the conductor. He was talking to Alex, the pegasus pony's room had apparently been reassigned. She continued to watch until Flow approached Vim and started talking with him as well.

 

A smile formed on her face, and she backed away from the goings on at the entrance of the train. She'd brought her lock picks with her for a purpose. It was something that she had intended to do later, but when Bolt had mentioned meeting the passengers, she had guessed that he would be distracted by his new job as assistant conductor. Now, Bolt was gone, depositing the passengers at the various points in the train. The conductor and the two pegasus ponies were distracted at the entrance. The other passengers were either out in the station or in their own rooms. Her pulse quickened.

 

The train engine was, literally, right there. Moving quickly and silently, she sidled over to the door that led into Dusky's world and cautiously tried the handle. If Dusky was there, then it would be simply enough to wave and shut the door without much further incident. If he was not there, then she would be able to take a look around and, possibly, find something that the earlier search team had overlooked. The door was unlocked; the handle moved easily. She went in, and shut the door behind her. 

 

Dusky was nowhere to be found. Instead, her eyes were greeted by a minimalist room. Over in one corner of the room was a small toolbox, it was unlocked already. Over in another corner of the room, there was a small stack of neatly arranged boxes, ordinary cardboard boxes with no locks. She blinked. Given Dusky's demeanor, she had expected to see something, anything else than what she now saw. Unless he carried everything with him, it appeared that there was absolutely nothing of interest in the room whatsoever.

 

She caught herself before she drifted into disappointment. Reasoning that the engineer was more clever than he seemed, Key guessed that perhaps there was a reason that nothing was locked. Maybe it was an attempt to convince a potential thief that there was nothing of value to be found within them. With this thought in mind, she quickly checked the toolbox first. Handling each tool with care, she emptied the box in under a minute. But, nothing was there, and none of the tools seemed out of the ordinary. 

 

She lifted the toolbox by grabbing the handle with her mouth, and then checked under and around it with her hooves. Still nothing. It was an awkward approach, but she didn't want to take the risk of making rattling noises by handling it any other way. Quickly, she put the tools back into the toolbox and moved on to the cardboard boxes. There were four of them, each roughly the same size as the toolbox. The were stacked unusually, each box alligned so that it's corners would match up with the straight sides of the box immediately below.

 

Standing on her hind hooves, Key managed to lift the first box off the top of the stack. She then took the others down as well, hoping to save time by just taking the lids off of all of them in sequence. However, when she undid the top of the first box, a remarkable amount of dust drifted up from it. She jerked her head back and rolled to the side while covering her mouth and nose. The last thing she wanted was to either be covered in dust or to suffer a coughing fit. 

 

After waiting a moment for the dust cloud to settle, she went back to look into the first box. She stepped carefully to avoid leaving hoof tracks in the dust. She needed to avoid detection. It would have been obvious, just by looking at the size of any hoofmarks, that it was her. There were only two fillies on board, and only one of them was a self-admitted thief. She couldn't afford to leave any tracks. Dusky had already openly accused her of thievery, being caught would have played directly into his hooves.

 

She looked in the first box. It was empty. Opening the second box more carefully, she saw that it, too, was empty. Becoming progressively more confused, she opened the remaining two boxes. They were also empty. Wide-eyed, Key scanned the room again. Dusky had to have someplace where he kept his possessions. It wasn't natural that the only thing in the room would be empty boxes. Unless, it was a trap. Key shuddered and started to put the boxes back into place. She stopped when, awkwardly, lifting the first one. It was far too heavy for an empty box. 

 

Carefully and awkwardly, she moved the third box out of the way of the dust on the floor and off to one side. She had remembered something, and it was something so simple that she was disappointed in herself for not thinking about it earlier. The floor of each of the boxes was probably false. In her earlier rush, though, she hadn't even tried to test the depth of the boxes. Now, using a lock pick, she reached into the box, measuring the depth of the box with its outside proportions. Sure enough, there was a difference of about three centimeters.

 

With a smirk, she used her pick to feel around the edges of the inside of the box. Soon, she had found an opening to pry the cover off. She marveled at how well the disguise had been made. The bottom of the container was a marvelously crafted optical illusion, put together by combining cardboard, fabric, and something metallic in an unusual way. If the box wasn't empty, something that made it seem unusual, then it would certainly have gone undetected, perhaps even to her. Key's smirk became a grin as she saw a book in the box, a thin black volume. 

 

She snatched the book from the box with a single, quick motion and opened it. Her hoof span through the pages and her eyes scanned for anything of value. As she did so, her mouth opened in shock. The book, the whole book, was empty. Not a word was written on a single page. Unable to believe what she was seeing, Key flipped, as fast as she could, through the entire book page by page. "Buck!" She hissed the word through teeth clenched in frustration. She had just wasted a frightening amount of time and she was increasingly aware that, with each passing moment, the tall shadowy unicorn could make his return.

 

A sinking feeling gripped her as her eye was drawn back to the box that she had just opened. Placing the book off to one side, she grabbed her pick and tried the floor of the box again. Her instincts had been right, there was yet another false floor in it. Sweating due to stress and frustration, she worked around the edges of the interior of the box yet again. Lifting this second guise, she found a framed picture of a delicate-looking green pegasus. The portrait seemed to smile mockingly at her. 

 

It was too much. Her sinking feeling became dread as her paranoia suddenly screamed out for attention. Returning to her earlier thoughts, she questioned why had the earlier search not managed to discover the boxes. The earlier search had been conducted by ponies that were quite intelligent, Springer and Lapis in particular would have been careful to investigate everything in detail. Surely, a stack of empty boxes, stacked at odd angles, would have attracted their attention immediately.

 

The boxes, she thought feverishly. The boxes had either not been in the room, or they had been filled. The room, everything in it, was a trap, and she had fallen for it, fallen completely. Shaken badly, Key sat for a moment in thought. Even if she put everything back into place, there would still be the dust to indicate that she had been present. Of course, if there were no hoof prints, then it would hardly be conclusive that she had been the one in the room. 

 

She threw her hooves in the air in frustration, and the movement brought her eyes to the roof of the train engine. "Oh." It was the only thing that she could think to say. There, arranged neatly, significantly above the floor on a hanging shelf, were enough items to neatly fill the four boxes. The shelf looked brand new, doubtlessly, the engineer had made a special trip to the local hardware store just for the sake of this scheme. It was too perfect. Key stood normally and inspected the shelf's position. It was perfectly placed to have avoided her attention.

 

She bit her lip, fiercely. Her heart rate was going insane. Any number of things could happen within the next few minutes, but at that moment, she had nothing to lose. Key took the thin, black book in her mouth, put her lock picks away, and quickly began to put everything else in the room just as it had been. Hopping nimbly to avoid dust, she stacked the odd boxes just as they had been before she entered. She dearly wanted to see what was in the other three boxes, but she wasn't willing to risk discovery in order to discover their contents.

 

With one box remaining, a sudden sound froze her with shock. It was the door handle. Somepony was opening the door and opening it without hesitation. She'd thought about the risk of discovery, but the immediateness of the noise was something that she hadn't been prepared for. The door opened and an ominous shadow suddenly poured across the room's floor. A pair of dark eyes glistened spectrally against the backdrop of fur that was darker than the night. The massive shadow entered the room swiftly and the door shut behind it.

 

While the shadow entered, Key dropped the box into position, locked onto the book with her teeth, and furiously scrambled to reach far side of the room. Her cerulean eyes blazed like sapphires, but the shadow made no further movement. Instead, as it stood still, it shrank, slowly revealing the form of a pony that Key had never seen before - a baby blue unicorn mare. The stranger spoke softly. "Can I have your book?" Still tensed, with her head lowered in a fighting position, Key shook her head slowly. The stranger looked disappointed, but she spoke again as though she was addressing an old friend.

 

"I was coming here to look for one of my cats, I think that she might have jumped out of the train when I went to the caboose. I'm sorry that I entered the way that I did. I didn't mean to scare you, but I was trying out a new spell. I learned it earlier today when I saw an old unicorn use a similar trick to remain unseen. I just changed my approach a bit because it was so bright outside." It sounded ridiculous to Key, but she said nothing as the stranger stopped and looked at her curiously. "You're not going to let go of that book, I think. That's bad, because it means that we won't be able to talk. Oh well. My name's Dawn."

 

Dawn quickly used her magic to clean up the dust that had spilled across the room. As her horn glowed, the dust vanished. "I'm just teleporting it outside. Nopony will notice it there; it's windy enough today." Key continued to watch warily. Dawn studied the stack of boxes and made some small adjustments to the top box, correcting Key's hasty placement. Finally, Dawn spoke again. "I don't think that you want me to use my magic to disguise us both, so we'll have to walk out normally. Or, if you trust me, I could use short range teleportation? I should warn you. The engineer is on his way, if we leave normally, he might see us."

 

Squinting hard, Key stared at the unicorn. Dawn's face betrayed no emotion except for kindness, her voice had been sincere, and she had helped to disguise the remaining signs of Key's entry. It all worked against the unicorn's favor. To Key, it all seemed surreally saccharine. She shook her head to give a negative answer. Dawn shrugged, turned, grasped the door handle, and started to open the door. Key began to cover the distance between the two of them with a frightening, catlike swiftness. 

 

Key was well aware of the opportunity being there for Dawn to simply alert the conductor and cover with her cat story. Who would be believed? The sweet mare looking for her cat or the young thief? It was a calculus that Key was not willing to risk, she'd never really been much for pure mathematics. As Dawn opened the door, Key prepared to transfer her momentum into a leap over the unicorn and a run down the hall. 

 

The agility wasn't necessary. After a quick glance towards the rushing filly, Dawn swung just wide enough for both of them and stepped out into the hall. Not stopping there, Dawn trotted in tandem with Key as the filly sped towards the first passenger car, shielding Key and the small book from the view of anypony that would happen to be watching from the entrance of the train. When she was secure in the knowledge that Key was in the next car, Dawn returned to the door to the train engine and slammed it shut with a bang. Giggling slightly, she spoke. "Ooops, I'm sorry everypony, I didn't mean to do that." The conductor peered incredulously from his position just outside of the train entrance. In the distance, a tall unicorn interrupted his conversation with a rather irritated looking stationmaster to peer in the direction of the noise. 

 

 

(OOC: Attention everypony, there is a blue filly, in a greatly disturbed state of mind, running like hell through the corridors of the train. Despite the length of this passage, not a lot of time actually passed. With that said, anypony that wants to blunder into Key is free to do so. Just hit me up in the OOC or Skype if you have any questions. BTW, Magicon. Feel free to have your character be aware of Dawn's movement from the parlor car, to Springer's area, to the caboose, around Dusky's side of the train, and back through the entrance at the front. That was fairly illusionary powerful magic combined with a fair amount of teleporting around, it would be hard for Magicon to *not* notice it, I'd imagine. (And, no, Dusky would *not* have noticed Dawn at all.)

 

 

 

However, I'll leave it up to you to determine whether or not he was able to assign the spell to her or if the nature of the detection was more ambiguous. Also, depending on how Magicon's sensitivity works, he may or may not have a valid reason to encounter a speeding blue filly making her way for Room 10... If he went to investigate? (As a side note, I'm not saying that Dawn was responsible for Springer's vision and disorientation. In fact, there may be no connection. This will have to be discerned at a later time.))

 

[King 5,625]

The problem is that I've never really had anything fantastic happen to me. I mean... I'm a cook, so that's what I do. Sometimes, I get to help out by filling in as an assistant conductor, but that's really it. Other than that, there isn't much else."

 

Dawn continued to follow Ambrosia as she spoke to him about the fact that she didn't really have adventures. He felt a little bit sorry for her, thinking that she must have missed the fact that the train itself is a huge adventure. Always moving,always seeing new places and meeting new ponies. Dawn found the idea of working on a train quite attractive, being able to travel to all these far off places and meeting new and interesting ponies along the way sounded just like what he was doing in the first place, the difference being that he had a place to stay no matter what, not to mention food.

 

He continued to listen as she spoke again.

 

"Wait... That's not true, actually. I've had one interesting adventure! It's the train that I'm on right now, the Los Pegasus Express."

 

Dawn's ear pricked up as he listened to Ambrosia recount of recent events on the Los Pegasus Express. He listened as she explained about Trixie's disappearance and strange events happening on the train. Dawn listened eagerly to all of this new information, he always had a soft spot for mystery and adventure and this sounded like quite an adventure to him.

 

He Remembered in his youth when his mother's cookies went missing from the table and he set out to find what had happened. Dawn had spent many hours looking around his house for clues until his Dad confessed to eating them all.Dawn's mother punished his father by not cooking those cookies again for about a month. Dawn chuckled as he remembered that little adventure and continued to listen to Ambrosia.

 

 

"It's too bad, really, because since you're traveling to find adventure, you are probably going to be disappointed on this train. I doubt that anything will happen now. Ah, well, you'll like Los Pegasus, anyway. It's a fast place but its not as bad as Manehattan and the ponies are a lot more welcoming than Canterlot. The music scene is great too! You like ponystep?"

 

"Oh I don't think I'll be disappointed on the train. It sounds like quite a nice place to work actually, being able to see all these new places and meet new faces. It's pretty much what Im doing right now anyways" Dawn said smiling as they approached the Train in which he was soon to be travelling. "And yeah I quite enjoy Ponystep, alot of my friends and I would listen to it when we were younger. But nowadays I enjoy music from artists like Blue Eyes, his style, while a little dated, is enjoyable and It's great to listen to when you are alone, it gets me thinking" Dawn smiled warmly as the two got closer to the Train.

 

It was quite a sight indeed, the Los Pegasus express pulled up at the train station. It seemed as if everypony was there to admire it in all it's glory and splendor. Dawn himself couldn't help but admire it aswell. Especially since he was going to be aboard it soon enough.

Edited April 8, 2013 by Dawn♥Rider

[Starshine 16,333]

"Well, perhaps it is a pretty looking thing. And I'd hate for something to die needlessly. Um, maybe it was an automatic response? Normally, ponies swat at things that pester them. And I don't know anything about power. It's not something I think about. And so, it was merely a misunderstanding. Since you don't do anything by accident, and you didn't harm it, then I can see no reason to worry, right?"

 

Summerfall couldn't stop herself from chuckling inwardly at the filly's answer. Such a simplistic view on the world, as it would be expected from somepony of her age. She felt a tad foolish to expect that maybe the filly would say something more... unexpected. Just what are you expecting? She asked to herself, which she could only answer with a small shrug. Maybe her cutie mark and her stature distracted her from her age? She certainly gave an impression of somepony who had seen much of the world. Dusky's reply was somewhat intriguing. His description on power was quite unusual, but it was not something she would disagree with. The way he spoke on how he would never harm the butterfly for it still had a purpose to fulfil somehow implied that he would hold no remorse to put an end to the butterfly if it could no longer fly. It was unfortunate, to put it lightly.

 

Enough of that, Summerfall told herself, I need to introduce myself to the conductor. As the engineer excused himself, Summerfall looked around for the Conductor's whereabout, but there was no telltale about where he was. She decided to try her luck at the train's front. She gave the filly a quick smile to excuse herself and started trotting. Faintly she could heard some ponies around her chatting to each other, eager travellers and worried merchants, all clumped together in a chaotic mess. What a lively station, she thought to herself.

 

A slam. Summerfall had to stop herself from yelping, two of her hooves skid to a halt as they involuntarily rose, almost ready to make a gallop for it if something exploded. The mare groaned as she struggled to calm herself down. She decided to keep her questions on what was happening inside the train away as she continued her path to the front. She thanked Celestia when she saw a red earth pony stallion near the train's entry who might be the conductor. "Now, to inform him about the ticket," Summerfall murmured to herself. She calmly approached the conductor, paying no mind to the two pegasi around him.

 

@@Key Gear,

 

"Excuse me, sir. I take it that you are the conductor of this train? If so, I would like to ask about the ticket to the Los Pegasus. I met your engineer, Dusky Coal, earlier, and he informed me about a free ticket that is usually reserved for an emergency. While my business to the Los Pegasus is not exactly that of a dire situation, he suggested me to ask you for the ticket." Summerfall paused for a moment before adding, "Of course, if that is okay with you. If you still need me to pay for the ticket, I can understand."

 

And now Summerfall waited. She silently hoped that she didn't inadvertently insulted the conductor by deliberately asking for a free ticket. She mentally prepared herself just in case that the conductor instead demanded that she pay twice of the usual price for her words.

Edited April 9, 2013 by Starshine

[Ice Storm 1,020]

~~Ice Storm~~

 

 

Ice Storm followed the green stallion through the baggage car with Wind Dancer right behind her as he lead the two of them to their rooms. As soon as they entered the first lodging car, Ice noticed the numbers on the door, and then heard the director tell them that this was the car that had their rooms in it and pointed them out. As she was about to go towards her room though, the latch on her saddle bag came undone and it fell off of her back, spilling some of it's contents onto the floor. Ice blushed and quickly put everything back into her sack and made sure that the latch was on tight this time. I really need to get a new one of these things... she thought to herself and made her way towards the door of her room and unlocked it.

 

When she got inside, what she saw, surprised her. She had always heard that trains were nice, but she never imagined them being this nice. The bed that was in the room was larger than her own, and it had plenty of space, and even a dresser by the bed. She trotted over and sat on the bed, and sank a decent amount into it. The bed was so soft it was like a pillow! It was more than Ice could have imagined, and it was definitely work the hundred bits. She could only hope that her new friend liked her room just as much. With a gentle sigh, she decided to not waste too much more time in her room and unpack her things. She took her overnight necessity items and placed them in the drawer right next to the bed. It would make nightly preparations for bedtime that much easier, and with a room this nice, they were preparations she would make extremely sure not to forget. The last thing she wanted to do was drench and ruin something as nice as this.

 

She decided to leave most of her bits here in the room to. There was no reason to carry a large amount around like that and it was just asking for trouble. taking one of the smaller bit purses out of the sack, she placed the others underneath her overnight protection garments. She also pulled a bit of string from her bag and tied the key around her neck so that she wouldn't lose it. the last thing she needed was to lose the access to her room. With a final nod, and a growl from her stomach, she opened her door and began to make her way towards the dining car. She could start getting to know the other passengers on the train, as soon as her tummy stopped complaining at her. 

 

~~Wind Dancer~~

 

When Wind Dancer got onto the train, and the other colt led them to their rooms, she went into inspect. What she found stunned her. The bed sheets were that of only the finest satin silk, and the curtains one of the softest laces that she'd ever seen. It quickly came to her attention that this was not a cheap train, or rather, that this train was very cheap for what it had on in. One hundred bits for a train like this was a steal. That being said though, she actually began to feel a bit bad now. Ice didn't even know her, and had done something so nice for her, yet she, at the moment, was unable to do anything in return for her. While most smaller, trivial things didn't require atonement, this wasn't small, nor trivial. Ice had spent a lot of bit to allow her access to this magnificent experience. She would have to find a way to make it up to her relatively soon.

 

After she finished inspecting her room, she made her way to the Parlor Car to see what other ponies had boarded, or were already on the train. She hoped that most of them wouldn't be too mean. the though made her quiver slightly and then look back to the scar on her wing. Well, there's always a chance for anything, she thought to herself as she stepped into the car and waited for others to enter.

Edited April 8, 2013 by Ice Storm

[Magicon 468]

Lapis wasn’t having any luck with the paper either. Magicon could see his confusion, the same that he was experiencing at trying to understand the words written on the page and what they could possibly mean. Stumped by the page Lapis suggested that they head over to Springer’s room and ask him about it. He managed to even insert a sly remark about Dawn that managed chuckled with perhaps a bit too dark of a tone.

 

Lapis led the way to Springer’s with Magicon right behind him. Springer was the center of this whole mystery and he would know better than anypony about this paper and what was the reason for its existence. They passed back through the Parlor Car Magicon noticed that Dawn had left the car and the cats had seemingly disappeared. Magicon hoped she took his advice and stayed away from this car, but he didn’t trust her to listen to him. She probably had her own agenda and had to keep to it. Though where she could’ve gone puzzled Magicon. She didn’t pass him the dining car, meaning the only way she could’ve gone was through his car and back to the caboose.  But as they passed through his car there was no sign of Dawn. Instead, Arcanel approached them and Lapis quickly explained what they had discovered and invited Arcanel to join them back to Springer’s room.

 

Arcanel seemed to be in deep thought while Lapis moved on and Magicon hoped the white pegasus would be alright. But he couldn’t dwell on him. Lapis was on a hunt and Magicon wanted to be there to see his kill. As Lapis entered Springer’s room Arcanel yelled catching both of their attentions. He greeted Magicon who nodded his head, acknowledging his presence, but hurried to Lapis to try and prevent him from waking Springer, who was apparently sleeping.

 

But it was too late as Springer quickly awoke and took the paper from Lapis. The three watched as Springer adjusted to his current surroundings and after taking a few breaths began reading it aloud. Magicon could sense that something was troubling the pony. He was short of breath, the only way one could be short of breath after sleeping was either a bad dream or some sleeping disorder. Magicon didn’t know if Springer had a disorder, but a bad dream was always likely, especially on this train which seemed to a haven for all sorts of bizarre dreams and events. He silently blamed Trixie for it.

 

As Springer finished he took a few moments to try and understand what he just read, before explaining just how confused and how bizarre this paper was. But was more interesting to Magicon was that the paper was in Springer’s own hoofwriting. He raised an eyebrow. Writing was a way of committing something to memory. It increased remembrance of something and to not remember writing down something seemed unlikely, unless it was a written a long time ago. Magicon didn’t feel that the paper was written a long time ago; in fact he felt that it was written rather recently.

 

His mind delved into the hypotheticals. Somepony could have imitated Springer’s hoofwriting and wrote it down. Or, this was evidence that Springer had been controlled by somepony and forced to write this. But either way the central question was, why write this? It made no sense. It didn’t fit in with anything, unless a relatively obscure topic. Magicon vaguely remembered Key mentioning something about a book earlier in the day and of some story that Lapis had jotted down, though he figured Lapis would be better at remembering those things than Magicon. As Magicon thought though, he did hear Springer mention something about a dream, confirming his earlier suspicions about his short breathing.

 

Magicon was about to offer his plausible ideas when he felt something flicker through his horn. He immediately put a hoof to his head and tried to understand what he felt. “What the…?” he stated as he tried to make sense of the feeling that had simultaneously appeared and disappeared in the same second. He took a breath and only began running through his knowledge of magic to figure out just what he had experienced. However, he didn’t have to dive to hard as another thought popped into his head: his spell book.

 

He looked behind him and saw the book still hover just above his cape. He smiled as he saw that the book had remained under his control and right by his side as he had walked through the train and deciphered invisible ink. Turning about the other three ponies, Magicon said, “I hate to be rude…but something’s amiss in the magical world. I felt something just now and I need to understand what that is. If you’ll excuse me.”

 

He backed out of the room, closed the door, and immediately turned his attention to his book. He knew it could only be a few possibilities as he flipped through the pages. He checked the symptoms for teleportation, the most obvious explanation of his sensations, but the symptoms didn’t match with what he felt. He then checked on rapid speed, but that was even less likely than teleportation. He then examined any powerful magic, but that was too broad to find any good explanation. He then tried invisibility and found a good match, though not any better than teleportation. It was either those two: teleportation and invisibility.

 

It had happened close by; Magicon could tell, otherwise it wouldn’t have affected him so. It had to be a unicorn…and it was then that Magicon raised his head and quickly scanned the room. She wasn’t there. The only place she could’ve gone was here and she had seemingly vanished. Dawn was not in the caboose. She had used either teleportation or invisibility to get out of the caboose and to somewhere else. The question now was, where?

 

Magicon took a deep breath and began concentrating his magic. If she used teleportation, he could track her, especially since it happened so recently. If she used invisibility, it would be nearly impossible to find her. She could still be invisible for all he knew. He began by trying to get a handle on her magic. Every unicorn had a unique feel to their magic and Magicon knew Dawn had one, she had used magic. He set his book aside, sat down, closed his eyes, and began focusing. He felt his own magic circulate the room, and it didn’t take too long for him to find her magical trace.

 

He didn’t care if the ponies in Springer’s room were watching him; he needed to figure this out. Dawn could not be trusted. As long as she was on this train, something was wrong and Magicon was determined to figure out exactly what. Having found her magic, he began to follow it as he tried to follow her path.

 

She had left the caboose proceeded down the opposite side of the train, seemed to make a detour somewhere near the middle of the train, and then head towards to the front of the train. Magicon couldn’t tell if she was either in the baggage car or the engine. They were just too far away. But he knew her trace ended there. He wanted to go and see what she was up to, but he felt he couldn’t just leave. Springer had to be dealt with and this mystery of the bizarre page needed to be solved.

He slowly turned around and hoped that the three of them were not staring at him with bizarre eyes from his earlier magical spell.

 

 

OOC: Springer, Arcy, and Lapis: fill free to open the door and look and see what Magicon is doing and react to it any way you see fit at any point during his spell.

 

[Alex Night 870]

Alex was nearby when Electrobolt came to join him, Vim, and the new unicorn.  He gave a small smile to the young colt.  "I see that Bolt hasn't got tired of being an assistant train conductor yet."  Alex thought to himself.

 

 

"Room 14?" Vim repeated. He remembered clearly now. On the previous day, when the first group of passengers had been boarding, there had been a pegasus that boarded the train while he was distracted by an emotional white unicorn. The entire sequence of events had gone by so quickly that Vim didn't have the chance to introduce himself to the pegasus until later in the day when they had both spoken to Clarity, the upset passenger. Now, Room 14 had been reassigned.    "Alex, your old room was reassigned I'm afraid. You know, there's a situation with one of my crew right now, and he needs to have somepony on board to look after him. Well, they needed to have a room nearby. When we checked this morning, we didn't see any passenger there, and the only other available rooms were too far away. " Noticing the approach of a cream-colored pegasus, he turned to greet Flow.

 

 

@@Key Gear,  Alex paid his attention back to Vim as he explained about how his room was no longer available because of some issue that Alex couldn't figure out.  He figured that he would find out eventually, but now he was more concerned about where he was going to stay if he was going to continue on the trip.  Just then, he noticed another familiar face come to join him.  Alex gave a small smile as he recognized the mare as Flow.  

 

 

"Hey Flow! Call me Vim, no need to be formal. Things are going pretty well actually. I just wanted to check and see how things were going for you, since yesterday was so crazy. And, look, speaking of crazy, I heard a little about your discussion with my engineer this morning. That won't be happening again." Vim spoke to Alex. "Hey, Alex, this is Flow, I'm not sure if you two have met already, but I'm thinking about giving you Room 6, if you want it. Then, you two would be right across the hall from each other. The way I see it, you're both athletic types, I think, so you'd have something in common to talk about."

 

 

He then heard Vim try to explain who she was and told him that he may assign him to Room six; right across from Flow's room.  He thought that it was very convenient actually since he found Flow to be a very good friend.  "It's no problem, Vim.  I have met Flow before and I would like to be able to take the offered room if you can do so."  Alex explained to Vim before looking towards Flow.

 

"Good to see you again, Flow.  How are you doing?"  Alex asked her cheerfully.

[Bari 7,023]

Asteria listened as a look of pure joy spread all across her face. Dusky had basically praised her for her opinion, and offered to show her what power meant. But he seemed altogether occupied with other thoughts. He dismissed himself and went to tend to other matters. Asteria watched him as he left. He was a mystery, and Asteria loved to uncover mysteries. He seemed to hold within him a secret or two. And she'd forgotten to thank the stallion for purchasing her a ticket. But that would have to wait. For now, there was Summerfall.

Before Asteria could say something though, the mare looked back at her with a well-meaning smile as she trotted off. Summerfall had her own things to tend to. The purple filly gave a weak yawn. Shopping had taken it out of her. All she wanted to do now was lay in her bed and read or write. Something to occupy her mind until Lapis needed her, or more likely, Ambrosia was ready to cook. Lapis was probably dealing whatever it was that had gone on recently. She'd given it some thought, but hadn't spent much time actually helping reveal anything.

She wasn't all that tired, so a short ranged teleport spell couldn't hurt. She was eager to get back to her room. She closed her eyes and envisioned the door to her room. Number 3, next to room 1, which was the room of Lapis Lazuli, her mentor and friend. The green aura of her magic enveloped her and in a single poof, she was before the door to her room. She breathed a sigh of relief. Asteria was going to need a little rest if she was going to help Ambrosia cook. But before she could open the door, a blue blur caught her attention from the corner of her left eye.

A very confused Asteria turned to face the incoming rush of color, thinking it was another butterfly, only to be met with a body-jarring slam. In a tangle of hooves, it became clear that this wasn't a butterfly at all. Asteria quickly pulled herself up off the ground, only to see that blue filly from earlier. Key Gear, the thief. And the only other filly aboard the train. It seemed very odd the chance to properly introduce themselves to each other never came up. Taking this opportunity, the purple filly spoke up. "Why, hello there. Fancy running into you, eh? Or, well, you ran into me. Eh heh. Um, I'm Asteria. We sort of met a few hours ago in the parlor car. And you're Key Gear, right?" She smiled warmly, hoping to make another friend. Especially if it could be a filly her own age. She had friends back home, but she rarely met ponies her age out in the world, so it was best to take advantage of this situation.

---

Lapis was at a loss. Though Springer had admitted to the similarity to his own hoofwriting, he denied having anything to do with it. That it simply wasn't "him." Which did make sense. The story screamed useless inefficiency. It still held value, though. But what? Springer's dream though. What could it mean? Lapis always had nightmares, so he considered them meaningless. Like the dream he had last night. Just another silly dream. But the book in the tale taunted him, reached out at him somehow.

Lapis lowered his head in defeat. His brain just couldn't lead him to a solution. Was it from a book? The book from the dream? He just didn't know. "Springer, I really can't see what this piece of paper means. But it looks like your own writing, and it was found in your train. Whatever it is, it must mean something. All I can think of is the end of a chapter like you said. Perhaps you write stories in your sleep?" he said, chuckling a little before giving a sad shake of the head. "I honestly can't fathom what it means."

[Electrobolt 2,069]

Upon having heard the mare's response to his question, he had to chuckle a little bit. She was really more of an adventurous type, then, not worrying about what she'd do when she arrived at her destination. Sometimes in an adventure, it's more about the journey than it is the destination. Or rather, that's what he heard before. As he was getting ready to move towards the front of the train, the mare's voice kept his hooves from moving quite yet, as she thanked him before introducing herself as Maple. With a smile and a nod, Electrobolt responded, "You're very welcome, Maple. And sometimes, it's better to just enjoy the journey rather than the destination, right?"

 

As soon as Electrobolt had finished that sentence, his ears twitched as he heard something like a loud bang having come from the front of the train. Looking towards the door that leads to passenger car two, his mind began to race, wondering what that could have been. Shaking his head, he turned back to Maple as he then told her, "Um, sorry to leave abruptly Maple, but I need to check on something real quick. It was nice meeting you, though!" With a smile, he nodded once again before starting to leave passenger car three, only to stop as he recalled that Maple had tried to remember his name earlier. Looking back in her direction, he quickly added, "And yes, my name's Electrobolt."

 

With that taken care of, he then left the third passenger car, now en route to the front of the train. Once he had gotten about halfway through the second car, however, his ears picked up yet another sound. This time, he couldn't identify what the sound could have been, but he figured it was in the very next car. Shaking his head, he thought to himself, *What a crazy day this has become...* Moving quickly, he then reached the door to passenger car one and opened it up. There, he saw the young filly, Asteria, as she was on her hooves before seeing his sister, Key Gear, on the floor. A look of confusion at this scene, he then spoke up, "Um... What just happened here...?"

[Key Gear 6,663]

"It's no problem, Vim.  I have met Flow before and I would like to be able to take the offered room if you can do so."  Alex explained to Vim before looking towards Flow.

 

"Good to see you again, Flow.  How are you doing?"  Alex asked her cheerfully.

With a pleasant smile, Vim nodded at both of the pegasus ponies. He was quite happy to see that Flow had managed to find a friend onboard the train. With all of the strange things that Flow had been subjected to, the conductor couldn't help but feel slightly guilty. This was the reason that he had assigned Alex to Room 6. He liked the idea of the two pegasus ponies perhaps developing a friendship that carried on after the train's journey was complete. He spoke to Alex, before he forgot. "Alex, I have your room key and ticket right here. Just remember to get 'em from me before you board."

 

Off to his left, he saw Dusky Coal, the engineer, striding off towards the stationmaster. Vim resisted the urge to facehoof. For whatever reason, Dusky had the longstanding habit of grilling the stationmasters on the maintenance performed on the train before departure. It didn't make a whole lot of sense to the stationmasters, because of course, the procedures were the same almost everywhere. Vim appreciated Dusky's thoroughness, but still, he had tried many times to ensure that the engineer understood the importance of maintaining good relations with the stationmasters.

 

When she was secure in the knowledge that Key was in the next car, Dawn returned to the door to the train engine and slammed it shut with a bang. Giggling slightly, she spoke. "Ooops, I'm sorry everypony, I didn't mean to do that."

The sound was jarring, but Vim wasn't startled. As a railway pony, he was already accustomed to loud, unexpected sounds. In fact, he easily recognized the sound of the door to the train engine being slammed. With a raised eyebrow and a deep frown, Vim looked over his shoulder. The door had been slammed loudly enough to be heard around the entirety of the station. When he saw Dawn, his look of incredulity grew. "Dawn? What in Hades are you doing in Dusky's place?"

 

The baby blue mare smiled and blushed slightly. "Oh gosh! I'm sorry Vim! I was looking for one of my cats, but I couldn't find her. At least, I think that I couldn't. But, I went in and there she was, making a big mess in Dusky's room. All of his nice neat stuff was knocked everywhere. She didn't mean to! She's such a nice kitty! But, you have to get to know her, first! Vim! Would you like to meet her!!!" Dawn had been moving towards Vim, while she was speaking. When she finished, her wildly sparkling eyes were just a foot away from Vim's own.

 

The conductor's answer was simple. "No, Dawn. You know, I'm watching out for passengers, now. I don't have time for cats, and honestly, I think that you should be watching my assistant conductor? Don't you think?" Crestfallen, Dawn looked down. "Right, okay. I'll clean up the mess, and then I will go to check on Springer. Is this ok, Vim?" She smiled and looked at him hopefully. Vim nodded. With a small nod of her head, Dawn opened the door to the train engine, again. This time, a small blue kitten came slinking out, looking remarkably sullen and covered in dust.

 

Vim squinted his eyes while looking at the small kitten. He couldn't figure how it had been able to make it into the train engine in the first place. If the door had been shut before Dawn opened it, then it didn't seem possible for anything to make it inside or outside the room. As crazy as it seemed, Vim was certain that Dawn had either brought the cat into the room herself or she had teleported it. Neither option made sense, and nothing that had been said explained why the door had been slammed.

 

He shrugged. She was strange, but she was a capable medical pony. He would explain the situation to Dusky, later, and let the engineer check on things himself. For just a moment, he questioned whether he should allow Dawn to clean up after her cat's misbehavior without keeping an eye on things. However, Vim decided against it. If he could trust her with the life of a crew member or passenger, then he could surely trust her to not tamper with Dusky's things. Besides, they would be on a train, and Dusky kept meticulous track of his things. There was no way to take something without him noticing.

 

"Excuse me, sir. I take it that you are the conductor of this train? If so, I would like to ask about the ticket to the Los Pegasus. I met your engineer, Dusky Coal, earlier, and he informed me about a free ticket that is usually reserved for an emergency. While my business to the Los Pegasus is not exactly that of a dire situation, he suggested me to ask you for the ticket." Summerfall paused for a moment before adding, "Of course, if that is okay with you. If you still need me to pay for the ticket, I can understand."

Immediately, he recognized the hopeful cadence of a potential passenger. However, his normal introduction, including the ticket prices and a cheery laugh, were put on hold when she mentioned Dusky. Instead, Vim listened to her in silence, surprised by Dusky offering this passenger a free ticket without first consulting with him. Not wanting to disturb or alarm the mare, he kept his thoughts off his face. He waited until she had finished speaking before responding.

 

After a hearty laugh, he smiled broadly while he answered her. "Well, of course that's ok with me! My engineer is one of my most trusted crew members. If he offers an emergency ticket, then I trust his judgement. You know, there's no need to second guess him? If you want, then you can have Room 7. It's right next door to Flow and Alex, here, so if you want to meet some fellow passengers, now's as good a chance as any." Vim gestured at the two pegasus ponies. "Just make sure that the three of you board, soonish. I really want to get this train moving on track." He laughed heartily at his own cheesy joke as he grabbed Summerfall's ticket and room key and gave them to her.

 

---

 

"Oh I don't think I'll be disappointed on the train. It sounds like quite a nice place to work actually, being able to see all these new places and meet new faces. It's pretty much what Im doing right now anyways" Dawn said smiling as they approached the Train in which he was soon to be travelling. "And yeah I quite enjoy Ponystep, alot of my friends and I would listen to it when we were younger. But nowadays I enjoy music from artists like Blue Eyes, his style, while a little dated, is enjoyable and It's great to listen to when you are alone, it gets me thinking" Dawn smiled warmly as the two got closer to the Train.

She beamed quietly when Dawn spoke about how he would most likely enjoy himself on the train. Her smile faded just slightly when Dawn mentioned that he had listened to ponystep a lot "when he was younger". As far as she was concerned, ponystep was music for every age, but she knew that some ponies reacted badly when they found out that a fully grown mare considered it to be her favorite genre.

 

She prepared for a lecture, but Dawn didn't deliver one. Instead, he simply noted that he enjoyed the music of Blue Eyes. It was a style from a bygone era, but Ambrosia didn't mind. "That's neat, actually. And... Yeah. That kind of music is much better for helping me to think my way through a hard problem than ponystep, but I think that ponystep is way better for cooking. Hey! Speaking of that, maybe you'd like to help me cook since you helped out with the shopping?"

 

Letting her mind wander somewhat, Ambrosia thought about how much she was looking forward to meeting all of the new faces that would be present. As they approached the train, she saw and ignored Dusky. He was having his normal discussion with the stationmaster before the train left the station. She hadn't said anything to Vim about it, but Dusky had missed performing this particular task when they had left Canterlot on the previous day. Judging by the stationmaster's look of irritation, Dusky was making up for lost time.

 

When she was secure in the knowledge that Key was in the next car, Dawn returned to the door to the train engine and slammed it shut with a bang.

The sound caused Ambrosia to jump a little. While they were still just a bit far from the train, the sound was still quite a bit loud and unexpected. She recognized the sound as being the hard, metallic ring of a train engine door being slammed. She didn't even need to look at Dusky to know that he was likely less than pleased by the sound. Peering in the direction of the train, Ambrosia could see that the medical pony was speaking with Vim. She had heard about the medic, but she hadn't really interacted with her much at all. Had she been the cause of the noise?

 

Vim gestured at the two pegasus ponies. "Just make sure that the three of you board, soonish. I really want to get this train moving on track." He laughed heartily at his own cheesy joke as he grabbed Summerfall's ticket and room key and gave them to her.

Ambrosia didn't dwell on it the noise. Instead, she intended to introduce Dawn Rider to Vim, and she hoped that the pegasus was really interested in boarding the train. Dawn Rider seemed like he would be a lot of fun to have on board. She could see Alex and Flow speaking near to where the conductor was standing. She was close enough to Vim to catch his terrible pun, and she looked apologetically at Dawn Rider before turning back towards the conductor. After waiting for Vim to finish with the passenger, she spoke to him.

 

"Hi Vim! I hope that we have an extra room on the train, because I have an extra passenger right here. Meet Dawn Rider, he helped me to do some shopping around in market, and he was looking to enjoy some good cooking!" With a wink at Vim, she indicated Dawn's presence with a wide sweep of her hoof. Enjoying the opportunity to have some fun with a new passenger, Vim deadpanned. "I'm not surprised. In fact, the food is the only reason that I became a conductor of this train. So, Dawn Rider, eh? You know, I have Room 11 available for 100 bits. I think its reasonable. You know, I was just telling these other passengers that the food is the best reason to travel."

 

With some effort, he restrained a grin before continuing. "Certainly, the food is much better than the stuff you can eat while flying. 'course, I've never flown anywhere myself, so I wouldn't really know, I guess. I do know that you can run out of supplies and it's a lot of work. Even if somepony is a good flier, like I'm guessing you are? There is something that you should know, though. See, you're the second Dawn on board this train. I hope you like cats. Soooo... Room 11? 100 bits?" Ambrosia grinned as she watched Vim talk with Dawn. The conductor was irrepressible sometimes.

 

---

 

She hadn't even bothered to shut the door to the first passenger car. She had flung it open, and built back speed as quickly as she could. Behind her, the door had shut with a noise that was, mercifully, completely drowned out by the sound of Dawn slamming the engine door. Key briefly thought about why the strange unicorn was going through such great lengths to cover for her. It didn't make any sense, seemingly.

 

There was a poof, and Key's vision filled with the sight of a purple unicorn filly about a little less than a meter away. With her eyes open wide, Key attempted to stop her mad dash by using her front hooves to break her momentum. It worked, but not nearly well enough. Too tired to think of much else to do, Key lifted her hooves off the ground before making contact and jerked herself to the side so that she could, hopefully, avoid a head-on collision with Asteria.

 

"Why, hello there. Fancy running into you, eh? Or, well, you ran into me. Eh heh. Um, I'm Asteria. We sort of met a few hours ago in the parlor car. And you're Key Gear, right?" She smiled warmly, hoping to make another friend.

She hit Asteria going at a pretty decent speed but, mercifully, not nearly hard enough to break anything or cause serious injury. Still, there was a small whirlwind of purple and blue fur for a moment as the two fillies tumbled into each other. When the dust settled, Asteria stood to her hooves and introduced herself, apparently none the worse for wear. Key didn't bother getting up, and for a moment, she didn't bother greeting Asteria. Her mind was elsewhere, because the book that she had been carrying was no longer in sight.

 

Her eyes scanned the floor wildly, looking for the book. Not seeing it anywhere around them, she turned back to speak to the other filly. "Yeah, I'm..." She stopped mid-sentence, right there, on the floor behind Asteria, was the small black volume that she had been carrying in her mouth. As soon as her eyes caught sight of it, she immediately looked back to other filly. She didn't want the unicorn to have a clue about what was behind her and levitate the book out of reach.

 

With a similar thought, she adjusted her position but stayed on the floor where she had landed. The way that the unicorn filly had appeared out of nowhere agitated Key's paranoia. Her concerns were only heightened by the fact that the book had landed behind this strange pony. What if it had been purposeful? In which case, Key was counting on the fact that spells were not instant. It would be easier to kick off into a devastating and unexpected attack from a position at an angle than just facing her opponent at a normal height.

 

She blinked, though, when she realized that she had seen the filly before. Key recognized her as Lapis's assistant. She had forgotten almost all about the quiet purple unicorn from earlier in the day. Perhaps, Key thought, this was an opportunity to make an unlikely ally. Oblivious to the few moments of awkward silence, Key spoke cheerfully. "Yeah, I'm Key Gear. Uhhh... Don't mind me, I'm rather comfortable down here. Hey, Asteria. I was carrying a book. When I collided with you, it landed behind you. You mind taking a look at it and let me know what you think? See... The pages are blank, but I still think it's important."

 

There, he saw the young filly, Asteria, as she was on her hooves before seeing his sister, Key Gear, on the floor. A look of confusion at this scene, he then spoke up, "Um... What just happened here...?"

Key breathed a silent sigh of relief. In truth, she hated dealing with unicorns, even seemingly friendly ones, when she was by herself. Key had an extremely strong dislike for being levitated in any way or otherwise moved about via magic. Her brother's presence was a relief. Not wanting to concern him, she stood to her own hooves as she answered. "Hey, bro. I..." She stopped and considered what to say.

 

She didn't want to let him know that she had taken something that was possibly not hers. "I just ran into Asteria here when I was on my way to the dining car. Err... I seriously ran into her, actually." She decided to leave out the fact that Asteria had teleported into a crash. "Hey, maybe you'd like to join us for lunch, because that's where I was going? I found a book when I was looking around the train. It's pretty tiny thing, so that's probably how you overlooked it in the search. All of the pages are blank, so I was hoping that Asteria could check it for hidden messages or something."

 

---

 

"Springer, I really can't see what this piece of paper means. But it looks like your own writing, and it was found in your train. Whatever it is, it must mean something. All I can think of is the end of a chapter like you said. Perhaps you write stories in your sleep?" he said, chuckling a little before giving a sad shake of the head. "I honestly can't fathom what it means."

He looked frightened for a moment. "Writing in my sleep? Could that really be possible?" Springer was oblivious to Lapis's attempt at humor. In the back of his mind, a memory stirred. It tingled like a sneeze before it died down, again. He sighed. Yet another missing memory.

 

Turning about the other three ponies, Magicon said, “I hate to be rude…but something’s amiss in the magical world. I felt something just now and I need to understand what that is. If you’ll excuse me.”

Springer raised an eyebrow. "Actually..." He started to speak, but Magicon had already left the room. He directed his remarks to Lapis and Arcanel, instead. "Actually, I think that... Perhaps this disturbance is connected to this very same strangeness that we just witnessed here. Perhaps someone is using magic to attempt to confuse us? I think that we should check to see what Magicon is speaking about." With those words, Springer rolled himself out of bed and onto his hooves.

 

His walk bespoke of his tiredness, but he made it to the room door and opened it just in time to see Magicon concentrating on something or another. Springer sat down and watched Magicon inquisitively, not wanting to disturb the process. When, finally, Magicon turned around, Springer spoke. "Magicon, this disturbance in the magical world... Ummm... What was it, exactly? I believe that it may be relevant to the strange sheet of paper and the other unusual circumstances at present."

 

 

 

(OOC: @@Ice Storm, Don't post yet. Give me a few moments to catch everything up to you. I need to get some ponies to the lunch area, including the cook!)

 

Edited September 15, 2013 by Luminescence

[King 5,625]

 

 

Hey! Speaking of that, maybe you'd like to help me cook since you helped out with the shopping?"

 

Dawn grinned at the idea of helping Ambrosia cook. He had always helped his mother cook in the past and had some kitchen experience from that, but he could definitely use a few more lessons from somepony who knew waht she was doing. "Of course, Id love to help, I could use some tips on how to cook actually" Dawn said , letting his grin grow wider. Hey! Speaking of that, maybe you'd like to help me cook since you helped out with the shopping?"

 

 

 

The sound caused Ambrosia to jump a little. While they were still just a bit far from the train, the sound was still quite a bit loud and unexpected. She recognized the sound as being the hard, metallic ring of a train engine door being slammed.

 

Dawn barely managed to keep his composure from the sudden noise, normally he would have jumped but talking to somepony helped to buffer the fright he normally would have recieved. He certainly didn't recognise the noise, but dismissed it as somepony working on the train.

 

 

 

"Just make sure that the three of you board, soonish. I really want to get this train moving on track." He laughed heartily at his own cheesy joke as he grabbed Summerfall's ticket and room key and gave them to her.

 

Dawn barely managed to catch the conductors cheesy joke and rolled his eye's before laughing under his breath. Dawn rarely heard cheesy jokes but he always found them funny for some unknown reason.He watched the conductor hand over something to the pony he was talking to, recognising it as a room key, and hoping that he had more rooms available.

 

 

 

"Hi Vim! I hope that we have an extra room on the train, because I have an extra passenger right here. Meet Dawn Rider, he helped me to do some shopping around in market, and he was looking to enjoy some good cooking!" With a wink at Vim, she indicated Dawn's presence with a wide sweep of her hoof. Enjoying the opportunity to have some fun with a new passenger

 

Dawn let a smile creep across his face as he chuckled at Ambrosia's way of introducing him. He was really beginning to like this pony, nopony had been able to make him laugh this much in his home town. "Hello there" Dawn said just loud enough for Vim to hear, befre listening into what he had to say...

 

 

 

"I'm not surprised. In fact, the food is the only reason that I became a conductor of this train. So, Dawn Rider, eh? You know, I have Room 11 available for 100 bits. I think its reasonable. You know, I was just telling these other passengers that the food is the best reason to travel."

 

Dawn certainly had the bits to pay for the room and was delighted at there being enough room for him to board. He himself wasn't surprised that Vim had alot to say for Ambrosia;s cooking, even though he hadn't had the chance to taste any of it...yet.

He was hoping ambrosia would have many good foods on the menu and was looking forward to the upcoming trip, even though he hadn't planned it, he was relieved to finally be seeing Los Pegasus.

 

 

 

"Certainly, the food is much better than the stuff you can eat while flying. 'course, I've never flown anywhere myself, so I wouldn't really know, I guess. I do know that you can run out of supplies and it's a lot of work. Even if somepony is a good flier, like I'm guessing you are? There is something that you should know, though. See, you're the second Dawn on board this train. I hope you like cats. Soooo... Room 11? 100 bits?"

 

Dawn listened carefully to Vim as he talked about food and flying...Dawn was certainly intrested, considering those were some of his favourite things in the world. "Of course Im a good flier, otherwise I never would have became a weather team captain" Dawn said, boasting just a little, but trying to keep it at a manageable level. "And of course, Id love to purchase a room on the train, I'm sure I will enjoy the journey very much" Dawn continued as he reached into his saddlebag and fished out one of his bit pouches, and removed just enough bits to leave 100 bits exactly within the puch and promptly handing it over to the conductor before placing the other bits back into his saddlebag.
"Can't wait to get on the road...or tracks in this case" Dawn said smiling at his refrence to Vim's utterly terrible and cheesy joke earlier.

Edited April 12, 2013 by Dawn♥Rider

[Bari 7,023]

Asteria watch curiously as Key Gear frantically scanned the ground. Had she lost something when they collided? Her eyes flashed for a second, seemingly finding what it was before looking back at Asteria. The look on her face briefly displayed fear, and Asteria felt a pang of guilt. She had simply appeared out of nowhere after all. If something like that had happened to her, Asteria would've had a heart attack. But Key schooled her expression and adjusted her place on the ground. It almost looked like she would spring up off the ground and tackle Asteria. A look of confusion crossed Asteria's face before she silently took a deep breath. It wouldn't do to jump to conclusions.

To her relief, Key suddenly relaxed just a little. It looked like she had a change of heart. And then Key spoke again in a voice that almost matched Asteria's own cheerfulness. Asteria's smile had not wavered for an instance, or at least she hoped it hadn't. The nervousness drained from her body. It looked like Key wanted to become friends with her after all. When Key mentioned the book, Asteria turned around quickly and saw a slim black tome resting on the floor.

Before she could touch it though, another voice broke in. Asteria looked in its direction to see the assistant conductor, Electrobolt. "Hey there." she said to him. As she prepared herself to answer his question, Key spoke up before her. And as Key Gear explained what had happened, all traces of tension disappeared from her face and body. It was odd though. Why had she been so tense? Did Asteria give off some sort of dangerous aura? At least Key Gear was willing to have lunch with her. But a voice in her head said she might not of if Electrobolt had not have shown up. And she'd give the book a look either way, though. Who knew what could be in it?

Even though Key hadn't actually asked her directly, nor implied that she wanted Asteria to join her for lunch, Asteria responded as though they had been questions directed at her. "I'd love to help you out with your book. I wonder what could be hidden within the pages, huh? And lunch sounds wonderful." Even though it almost seemed like Key was indifferent towards her, Asteria was as cheerful as ever. Lapis once told her you can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. At first, she thought he had literally meant real flies, but a quick explanation made it quite clear. And if she wanted this sorta scruffy looking filly as her new friend, positivity was key. She almost laughed at the pun, but stopped herself. If she sent the wrong message, it could all fall through. Caution was very important.

Now that everything was in order, it was time to get the book. She turned back to it and lifted it with her magic. Interested in seeing if what Key said was true, she flipped quickly through the pages. All of them were as blank as fresh white sheets. She levitated it right to the other filly with as bright a smile as she could manage. "Just wanted to see if it was true. Not that I didn't believe you or anything. It's just, well, who would hide a blank book? Of course, it most likely has hidden words like you said." she explained before Key could protest. A new thought struck her. Perhaps Key Gear would want to help make lunch? She'd have to wait until Ambrosia returned, and she would have to apologize to the mare for wandering off. It was rather irresponsible of her after all. But either way, if Ambrosia said yes, cooking together with Key Gear would be a fun way to build friendship.

[Electrobolt 2,069]

As Electrobolt was waiting for an answer from one of the two fillies, he looked at them both. How did this collision even happen, and why...? Just then, his sister spoke up and explained that she had run into Asteria. Quite literally, in fact. Upon hearing this, Electrobolt raised an eyebrow in curiosity. *How would she even run into somepony... And... Why would she even be running...?* After that, he heard Key Gear mention that she had found a book after asking if he'd like to join them for lunch. The mention of the book raised his curiosity even more.

 

After that, he then heard Asteria as she liked the idea of lunch, which caused him to temporarily forget about his curiosity as he gave a small smile at the filly. But then, as soon as she picked up the book and started to look in it, his curiosity then returned. Just WHERE did Key find this book...? Taking a peek in the book as Asteria was looking through it, he could see nothing but blank pages. Shaking his head, he sighed. *What use is a blank book to us...?* he thought, wondering what good an empty book would be for them. But then, Asteria's words about who would hide a blank book made him much more curious. *Good question... Who WOULD hide a blank book...?*

 

Closing his eyes, he began to wonder whether or not he should go and check in on Vim and see if he had any more things for him to do. But then, his stomach began to growl a little. *Apparently, those cookies weren't quite enough to hold me over for a good while...* he thought, thankful that the stomach growl was not that loud. *Hmm... Perhaps Vim won't mind if I take my lunch break now...* Clearing his throat, he spoke up, "Um, I think lunch sounds good to me right now..." Looking back at the book, he would worry about that at a later time. Maybe ask Key where exactly she had found it when they had the chance to be alone. Looking over to Asteria, he began to wonder about where Ambrosia could be. Wondering if she was almost back to the train, he asked the filly, "Um, Asteria, right? Do you happen to know where Ambrosia might be...?"

[Starshine 16,333]

Summerfall impassively watched the scene that was going on in front of her. Turned out it was a mare who caused that startlingly loud noise earlier. She hadn’t know Dusky for long, but she doubt the engineer would appreciate having his engine room disturbed by others. Dawn, what an interesting name for an unicorn. She was not exactly interested on other passengers’ fiasco on the train, but at least she had now learned the conductor’s name from her conversation with him.

 

 

 

After a hearty laugh, he smiled broadly while he answered her. "Well, of course that's ok with me! My engineer is one of my most trusted crew members. If he offers an emergency ticket, then I trust his judgment. You know, there's no need to second guess him? If you want, then you can have Room 7. It's right next door to Flow and Alex, here, so if you want to meet some fellow passengers, now's as good a chance as any." Vim gestured at the two pegasus ponies. "Just make sure that the three of you board, soonish. I really want to get this train moving on track." He laughed heartily at his own cheesy joke as he grabbed Summerfall's ticket and room key and gave them to her.

 

Summerfall smiled brightly when Vim gave her the key and the ticket. She felt a bit guilty for doubting Dusky. Sheepishly she took the key and the ticket from Vim and put it in her saddlebag. She should have known better than being sceptical. “Thank you very much, Vim. I’m sorry I doubted you earlier.”

 

“Oh, and I’m sorry I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Summerfall, pleased to meet you.” There were other ponies approaching the conductor. Summerfall wasn’t sure if he even heard her introduction or her name, but she shrugged it off and decided that she can worry about it later. The conductor had much more important things to take care about, what with the train seemed to be on a tight schedule and all.

 

 

 

"Hi Vim! I hope that we have an extra room on the train, because I have an extra passenger right here. Meet Dawn Rider, he helped me to do some shopping around in market, and he was looking to enjoy some good cooking!" With a wink at Vim, she indicated Dawn's presence with a wide sweep of her hoof. Enjoying the opportunity to have some fun with a new passenger, Vim deadpanned. "I'm not surprised. In fact, the food is the only reason that I became a conductor of this train. So, Dawn Rider, eh? You know, I have Room 11 available for 100 bits. I think its reasonable. You know, I was just telling these other passengers that the food is the best reason to travel."

 

Another passenger? And he was a pegasus named Dawn Rider? Summerfall raised an eyebrow on the coincidence between the names. Sure, it was not the first time that she encountered two perfect strangers that shared a same name, but this was the first time for her to actually meet both of them within less than a day. It’s just a peculiar twist of fate, her mind told her, nothing special, move on. The mare silently noted the yellow mare who was presumably the train’s cook. She would have to talk to her later on whether she was familiar with the Union or not. If the opportunity raised itself, of course.

 

@, @,

 

She looked at the two pegasus near them, whom she recalled as Flow and Alex. She would have to spend two nights sleeping next to their rooms. Summerfall held back a sigh, she hoped that they won’t make any ruckus at night. She smiled curtly at them, nodding slightly and spoke, “Good day to you two. I guess we will be sharing the same passenger car. As you may have heard, my name is Summerfall. Pleased to meet you.” Smiling once more, she excused herself and climbed onto the train. It was not necessary to socialize with the pegasi, for after the train’s ride there would be a good chance that they wouldn’t meet each other until forever. She ignored the train engine and trotted straight to the passenger car through the baggage car.

 

Room number seven. Summerfall was glad that she didn’t have to trot too far. Sleeping two cars away from the exit and the train engine would mean that she would have a better chance of surviving if something attacked the train on its route, or when a group of bandits attacked. She rolled her eyes in exasperation and filed the weird thoughts away. It was not the time to worry about anything like that. With a nudge of her hindhoof she righted her saddlebag to its correct position before continuing.

 

Just before the door to the second passenger car, she came across a group of ponies that were standing in the middle of the path and talking to each other, and one of them was carrying a book. They must be some of the passengers from the previous station, Summerfall mused to herself. A green earth pony stallion with what seemed to be a conductor’s hat, and two fillies, one purple unicorn and the other a Persian blue earth pony. One of them was Asteria, the filly she met outside just a few moments ago. Did the filly teleported straight into the train after she left her?  The mare couldn’t help but to be in awe. She had met many unicorns in her life, but only less than a dozen of them were capable of teleportation, and Asteria could do it in such a young age.

 

Summerfall crooked her head slightly when she finally took a good look on the other filly. She could swear that she once saw the blue filly with slate gray mane somewhere, but unfortunately her memory failed her, and it irked her greatly. That gear cutie mark was definitely unfamiliar to her, but the thought was nagging stubbornly behind her mind, as if it was supposed to be something important. Either way, they were obstructing the way, and slinking around them was definitely not an option. She trotted closer to the three ponies before addressing them.

 

@@Bari, @@Electrobolt,

 

“Excuse me. I apologize for interrupting, but may I please pass through? I am one of the new passengers here, and I believe that my room is number seven.” She pointed a hoof to a room in the second passenger car that she assumed to be her room, judging from how they numbered the rooms in the first passenger car. She hoped that they were not discussing something important, or she would look rude to interject in their conversation.

Edited April 13, 2013 by Starshine

[Key Gear 6,663]

She should have known better than being sceptical. “Thank you very much, Vim. I’m sorry I doubted you earlier.”

 

In truth, Vim hadn't actually noticed that she had doubted him. Instead, the surprising news of Dusky's offer to her had dominated his thoughts, but he was still pleased to hear that she was happy. "You're welcome, and don't worry about it." The conductor answered her with a pleased smile, while his mind returned to the subject of Dusky. This was the second passenger that the unusual engineer had managed to put on the train without the passenger having to pay a bit. The first had been Asteria, Lapis's research assistant. 

 

 

 

“Oh, and I’m sorry I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Summerfall, pleased to meet you.” There were other ponies approaching the conductor.

 

After a moment of thought, Vim saw no connection between the mare and the filly, and he returned Summerfall's introduction. "Well, Summerfall, my name is Vim, and it's a pleasure to meet you as well." Most likely, he thought to himself, Dusky was simply feeling generous for some odd reason. He did have strange changes in mood sometimes, but it was unusual for this to happen during the day.

 

---

 

 

 

"Of course Im a good flier, otherwise I never would have became a weather team captain" Dawn said, boasting just a little, but trying to keep it at a manageable level.

 

It was the second time that Dawn had mentioned that he was a weather team captain, so Ambrosia guessed that the remark was for Vim's benefit. She glanced at him to discern his reaction. The amused flicker in Vim's dark red eyes betrayed no reaction to the information. Ambrosia wasn't surprised. Vim was typically able to greet the passengers quite cheerily regardless of his actual mood or thoughts. 

 

Quite some time ago, she had noticed that Vim's self-control went both ways. He rarely reacted to what the passengers told him in anything but a cheerful way, even if they told him something noteworthy or impressive about themselves. She was certain that Celestia, herself, could show up and Vim would treat her just like he treated everypony. She blinked, though, as she realized that he did have the habit of being more friendly towards earth ponies than others. It was well known by many that Vim had a slight bias against unicorns of all types and was generally neutral towards pegasus ponies. 

 

 

 

"And of course, Id love to purchase a room on the train, I'm sure I will enjoy the journey very much" Dawn continued as he reached into his saddlebag and fished out one of his bit pouches, and removed just enough bits to leave 100 bits exactly within the puch and promptly handing it over to the conductor before placing the other bits back into his saddlebag.

 

She grinned as Dawn Rider purchased his train ticket. For his part, the conductor responded quickly. "Sounds good! Trust me you'll love the journey. When you get back home, the weather team will hardly believe what you'll tell them. Particularly about Los Pegasus, that place is remarkable. I've been there a few times, it's a showy place, let me tell you." While talking, Vim exchanged Dawn's bits for a ticket and a room key. Other than Trixie's, room 11 had been the last room unfilled, so now, he was ready to depart.

 

While he was talking to Dawn, Ambrosia took a peak into Vim's saddlebag to see how ticket sales had gone. There were no tickets left, so the train would be full, exactly as he had told her. However, there were not enough bits to account for the tickets. It looked like two additional passengers had boarded without paying. She knew that Dawn, the unicorn, had taken a room, so that was probably one of them. However, she couldn't place the other.

 

The glance had only taken a split second. Much like she was able to instantly recognize the amount of restocking that a kitchen needed, Ambrosia was generally talented at taking an account of a variety of things extremely quickly. It was a skill that sometimes greatly surprised other ponies, particularly because she seemed to be blissfully unaware of having it. She never mentioned it to anypony, and she never manufactured situations to show it off. It was just there.

 

 

 

"Can't wait to get on the road...or tracks in this case" Dawn said smiling at his refrence to Vim's utterly terrible and cheesy joke earlier.

 

Vim's enthusiasm was boosted significantly by having gotten rid of the last train ticket. He laughed loudly at Dawn's reprise of his own bad attempt at humor from just a few moments ago. "Neither can I, Dawn. Welcome aboard!" After a nod of her head to Vim, Ambrosia breathed a sigh of relief, and then she nudged Dawn Rider towards the interior of the train before heading in, herself. She really wanted to go check on the kitchen. It was just a bit past the time that she would normally have prepared lunch of the passengers on the train.

 

She wasn't overly concerned about the delay, because a late brunch had been server earlier in the day. Still, she wasn't certain how hungry the newer passengers would be, and she was eager to start cooking. Suddenly, an overly enthusiastic voice interrupted her thoughts. "HELLO THERE!" Ambrosia squeaked with surprise and hopped backwards a bit. Right in front of her, just a few feet away, was the medical pony that she had seen earlier, apparently Dawn was finished with whatever she had been doing in the train engine. "Hiya!" She repeated her greeting while waving at Ambrosia and Dawn Rider, as if they were some distance away.

 

Ambrosia backed up a bit more opened her mouth to introduce herself, but she was quickly drowned out by the fast paced chatter that followed the second greetings. "Hi! My name's Dawn! And, I think that your name is Dawn, too! I heard everypony call you DAWN! That's so amazing! Do you know how rare it is to meet ponies that have my name!? Well, I wouldn't know. Because I haven't met any! Do you like cats! I like cats a lot! Hey! I actually have a lot of cats! Wait! You're not a Dawn like me, you have wings! I wish I had wings. I bet I could fly with magic! Are you any good at flying! I bet you are! Maybe?!" While talking, Dawn continued walking until her broadly smiling face was just about a half-foot away from Dawn Rider's.

 

Feeling more than a little horrified as the blue mare chattered wildly, Ambrosia looked around for Vim, hoping that he could rein in the overly enthusiastic pony. However, Vim was already off in the distance, speaking with Dusky about something. She had to take matters into her own hooves. Since the mare was acting like a badly behaved filly, Ambrosia decided that a parental approach would work best. Reaching out with authority, she barred Dawn's path and and gently began pushing her away from Dawn Rider while speaking in the polite but unmistakable tone of a parent irritated with their filly's behavior.

 

"Yes, that's nice, dear. I'm sure that there will be plenty of time to talk about all of this later, but we really need to be getting on our way. I'm running late on getting lunch ready, and this pony is hungry. I really don't think that Dawn Rider has time to talk with you about all of this right now, and you should probably call him Rider to prevent misunderstandings, don't you think? You wouldn't want anypony to think that you were talking to yourself." Looking confused, even as she backed up, Dawn stuttered while Ambrosia spoke. "Wait... But... I... Well, no! Rider sounds stupid. No! I won't call him that! I want to..." Ambrosia stared cooly at the unicorn until she stopped talking.

 

With a firm but pleasant smile, Ambrosia spoke approvingly to the now sulking unicorn. "That's much better. I think that you should probably wait here for Vim and Dusky before you join us for lunch. I need somepony to let them know that the meal is being prepared." Dawn rolled her eyes at Ambrosia and fell backwards into a grumpy pose with her front hooves crossed. As Ambrosia continued on the way into the next car, Dawn glared at the mare with extreme annoyance. Out of the train engine, her tabby cat, Flo, slowly meandered and sat next to her, watching Ambrosia with what seemed like the same antagonistic expression.

 

Ambrosia swept into the first passenger car as if she was on a mission, but she stopped abruptly at the site of a small group of ponies, including the passenger that she had seen earlier. "Hello everypony!" She greeting them with a grin, already recovered from her encounter with the unusual unicorn. "Anyone hungry for lunch? I'm just on my way to start cooking. Sooo, maybe you'd all like to join me in the dining car?" Without another word, assuming that the hungry would tag along with her, Ambrosia worked her way through the other ponies and carried onwards to the dining car.

 

---

 

 

 

"I'd love to help you out with your book. I wonder what could be hidden within the pages, huh? And lunch sounds wonderful." Even though it almost seemed like Key was indifferent towards her, Asteria was as cheerful as ever.

 

Asteria's cheerfulness, even in response to Key's own cheery reply, seemed oddly reminiscent of Dawn's somewhat disturbing cheerfulness from just a few moments earlier in the train engine. Key watched the unicorn filly carefully. Dawn had wanted the book, Key was certain of it, and now, Asteria had appeared directly in front of Key just a few moments later. She wondered how plausible it would be for a unicorn to be able to so dramatically change their appearance. However, she dismissed the thought when she recalled that Asteria had been with Lapis earlier in the day. Perhaps really it was a chance encounter?

 

Key had expected for Asteria to be just slightly irritated by the way that she had been invited to lunch. She had purposefully made the invitation rudely by addressing it to her brother instead of Asteria, because she had wanted to test the nature of the unicorn filly. An ally would have to be trustworthy, which meant that they would need to be able to trust her intentions even if they were not overly clear. Key was becoming used to the notion that trust was something that had to be exchanged equally. She had only learned it after boarding the train the previous day, but now, she was determined to put her knowledge into practice.

 

 

 

Now that everything was in order, it was time to get the book. She turned back to it and lifted it with her magic. Interested in seeing if what Key said was true, she flipped quickly through the pages. All of them were as blank as fresh white sheets. She levitated it right to the other filly with as bright a smile as she could manage.

 

As Asteria turned to the book, Key stood still and her smile froze into place. Key could have easily gone around Asteria and retrieved the book herself, but there had been two downsides to this approach. It would have required her to turn her back to the filly, and it would have left Asteria's nature as something of a puzzle to her. Key didn't like the thought of facing away from any pony that she was unfamiliar with, and she thought that puzzles were for solving as quickly as possible. If Bolt had been present, originally, she would have likely taken a different approach. However, now, she was happy that things had worked out in the way that they did.

 

By asking Asteria about the book, Key had reversed the situation. Now, the other filly would turn away from her. If Asteria hesitated, then Key would know that Asteria shared at least a small amount of her own aversion to this, and she would know that Asteria didn't fully trust her. In addition to this, giving Asteria the opportunity to take possession of the book was an excellent way to measure her intentions. If Asteria just took a look and passed it on, then Key's paranoia would be proven wrong. If Asteria took the book and it lingered in her possession, then Key's suspicions of her motives would be proven correct.

 

The worst possible scenario, one that Key was well aware of, was that Asteria would take the book and attempt to leave. Now, with Bolt in the doorway to the next car, running was safely out of the question. This left teleportation as an option for escape, but Key was certain that she could launch herself into Asteria and overpower her before the unicorn filly could get a spell off. As Asteria lifted the book with her magic, Key's eyes narrowed. She had failed to consider the fact that both teleportation and levitation would cause Asteria's horn to glow, making it difficult to discern if action was needed. 

 

She tensed, but her silent alarm was unnecessary. Asteria simply flipped through the sheets of the book, as if checking to confirm what Key had said. Key interpreted the action as confirmation that Asteria's cheerfulness was something of a front for a filly that was more wary than she portrayed herself as being. As Asteria returned the book with a cheerful smile, Key relaxed. She mirrored Asteria's smile with a more muted smile than the other filly, but her eyes belied her expression. They sparkled like those of a small kitten raiding a stock of catnip. Asteria had passed the last test.

 

 

 

"Just wanted to see if it was true. Not that I didn't believe you or anything. It's just, well, who would hide a blank book? Of course, it most likely has hidden words like you said." she explained before Key could protest.

 

Key was not offended. In fact, she was honestly delighted. Asteria hadn't hesitated to turn her back to Key. She hadn't spent too much time with the book in her possession. She hadn't attempted to escape with the book. Finally, she had returned it promptly and courteously. Key could care less what Asteria said. To her, it was plain that the filly would be a capable and trustworthy associate. As an added bonus, Key observed, Asteria had remained blissfully unaware of Key's own motivations.

 

The thoughts had flown through her mind in just a flicker of a moment before Key spoke happily. "Hey, no problem. I know what you mean. It doesn't make any sense. I mean... Hiding a blank book?" Key grinned. "It's kind of weird. Really weird." She kept her remarks vague and hoped that nopony would ask for more details on how she had come by the book, especially not her brother. The sound of a low rumble from his direction caused Key to look over with a bemused expression. 

 

 

 

Clearing his throat, he spoke up, "Um, I think lunch sounds good to me right now..." Looking back at the book, he would worry about that at a later time. Maybe ask Key where exactly she had found it when they had the chance to be alone. Looking over to Asteria, he began to wonder about where Ambrosia could be. Wondering if she was almost back to the train, he asked the filly, "Um, Asteria, right? Do you happen to know where Ambrosia might be...?"

 

Lunch sounded good to her. It sounded especially good, considering that it would give her a chance to put the book in front of some other ponies. She was positive that Dusky had intended for her to find the book, so she was sure that it had no intrinsic value. He wasn't a stupid pony. He would have ensured that there was nothing to point towards him for any of the odd things that had happened. However, she had taken the book despite her disappointment and panic, because she realized that no other pony would know of its uselessness except for her and Dusky.

 

Even if the book was of no intrinsic value, itself, Key had every intention of using its existence to pick out the motivations of others, and possibly, to bait Dusky into something unexpected. Making a trap for the clever engineer with his own bait was something that Key was certain she would be able to do. He was underestimating her and her brother, she just knew it. Still, the presence of Dawn, the unicorn, had been odd. It was both unexpected and unwelcome. She had been there, looking for the book, perhaps... Key needed to know more about Dawn. The unicorn's frightful entrance into the train engine had...

 

 

 

“Excuse me. I apologize for interrupting, but may I please pass through? I am one of the new passengers here, and I believe that my room is number seven.”

 

The unexpected voice cut into her thoughts. Key looked over and saw an unfamiliar face. Replying to the stranger, Key welcomed her onboard, taking the opportunity to subtly share her thoughts with Asteria. "Ummm... Hi, nice to meet you. I'm Key Gear. This is my friend, Asteria, and my brother, Electrobolt, is the assistant conductor. You weren't really interrupting anything, actually. Sorry if we're in your way."

 

 

 

"Hello everypony!" She greeting them with a grin, already recovered from her encounter with the unusual unicorn. "Anyone hungry for lunch? I'm just on my way to start cooking. Sooo, maybe you'd all like to join me in the dining car?" Without another word, assuming that the hungry would tag along with her, Ambrosia worked her way through the other ponies and carried onwards to the dining car.

 

Relief flooded over Key. Ambrosia's sudden entrance practically guaranteed that she would be able to avoid expanding on the topic of the book that she was now cradling as though it was of great value. She didn't follow the cook, immediately, though. Instead, she lingered for a few moments, reflecting on the events that had just occurred. 

 

---

 

Pleased that the last ticket had been disbursed, Vim collected his saddlebag and headed over to where Dusky was. The engineer had just finished his ritualistic torment of the stationmaster, who had skittered off with an annoyed look just a few moments before. Now, strangely, Dusky was sitting and looking up into the sky. Vim turned to see what had attracted Dusky's attention, but he couldn't see anything. When he was within hearing range, Vim cleared his throat and then spoke.

 

"Hey Dusky, I'm guessing that you've got everything ready for us to depart without any problems? I saw you taking a look at the train engine, any reason for the water leak earlier?" Dusky nodded idly but continued to sit in silence for a few moments, his dark eyes following something as it made its way across the horizon. When he spoke, it was a trancelike voice. "It's a butterfly, Vim. Remarkable, isn't it? On the surface, such a dainty creature, and yet... It is powerful. I didn't realize quite how powerful it is until just today, though. Vim, it was a filly that brought this creature to my attention..."

 

As Dusky trailed off, Vim's look of confusion was palpable. He cleared his throat, a little louder than before. "Dusky. You know, I like butterflies as much as the next pony, but I've got a job to do. I think you have one to do. So, just let me know when you want to do it, because I'll be right here." Dusky responded dreamily in the same tone that he had just used. "Ah, but Vim... My job is to clear the path for the butterfly to flourish, not to destroy it. The premature destruction of the butterfly would be a travesty against the order of nature."

 

While he had often seen others be subjected to Dusky's odd philosophy, Vim hadn't dealt with it himself since Dusky had first started working with him as a colt. Since that time, Vim's patience had degraded considerably. His red eyes flickered with an incendiary mixture of exasperation and irritation, while he struggled to come up with an appropriate response. Dusky continued. "Hmmm... I think that this may be related to the flowers that I spoke to you of. Earlier in the day, I think..." 

 

Even though he was still looking away, Dusky seemed to sense Vim's growing irritation. After a moment, he spoke in a less distant manner. "My apologies, sir. I am somewhat distracted by my earlier findings." Vim cut in and ranted gruffly; his normal self-control was shaken by his engineer's odd demeanor. "Ok. Great. That's what I wanted to hear about, and I wanted to hear about it a few minutes ago. You know, neither of us really has the time for this, right now. Dusky, I have a train to run, and you know, there's no butterflies to worry about on a train, so how about we focus on that?"

 

Dusky directed his gaze towards Vim, and Vim could see, clearly, that his eyes were lacking their normal vitality. "Actually, I deeply suspect that there may be a butterfly on the train, joining us for the journey to Los Pegasus." Vim looked away to hide his concern and confusion, voicing his discontent curtly, "Uh huh." Seemingly oblivious, Dusky continued in something that was a closer match to his usual manner of speech. 

 

For Vim's benefit, Dusky spoke simpler than he normally would have. "Actually, the train engine had ice damage, but it wasn't normal ice. This ice had resulted from magic, and I suspect that it was the direct result of the portal that had been opened during Trixie's show. I'm not particularly familiar with the exact nature of this type of magic, but... It wasn't the normal magic employed by a unicorn. I think that was something different."

 

Glancing back at Dusky, Vim spoke. "So, what you're telling me is that with no Trixie, there's no problems?" Dusky smiled at Vim's simplicity. "Correct. Assuming that Magicon doesn't make use of the spell a second time, himself. Frankly, I'm surprised that he was able to do so in the first place, because it should have only been possible if Trixie, herself, had willed it to be possible. Yet, she seemed upset..."

 

The conductor shrugged. To him, it was neither here nor there. "It was probably part of the show. You know, cheap thrills and all of that kind of stuff. Speaking of which, did ya happen to notice that sound, earlier?" Dusky, now back to his normal self, nodded. "I heard and I saw. It was Springer's nurse, Dawn, I think?" Vim replied, "Yeah." Dusky's smile broadened. "I'm unconcerned. There's absolutely nothing of interest to a medic in my area, though I can't speak for those creatures that she surrounds herself with. Is there a policy on the maximum number of cats onboard a train?"

 

The thought of taking a count of Dawn's cats hadn't seemed important to Vim. "Yeah, there's a limit, but, really, I've only seen two, myself, and I think that's all there is to it. I don't mind a couple of cats. She's watching Springer, so a few pets are fine by me so long as they don't annoy the other passengers." Dusky nodded. "That's a reasonable perspective. I do think that you should caution her against letting them run wildly throughout the train, though. Some passengers and possibly some train crew members may be allergic." Vim raised an eyebrow at Dusky's remark.

  

 

 

OOC: 

 

 

 

 

Howdy, Flow, if at all possible, I need you to write your character into the train and into the dining car. It doesn't need to be a masterpiece of a post, because I know that you are busy, but anything will go, right now. Alex is tied up until you write something. After you post, then he can follow you into the train, and I can get things moving. If you do not post, then I'll have to write Flow onto the train in my next post regardless, because we need to move.

 

 

 

 

 

Hullo Alex, follow along with Flow after they post. I know that you've been waiting for a bit, my apologies for that. : (

 

 

Edited September 15, 2013 by Luminescence

[Arcanel 3,041]

As Springer started reading aloud what was written within the paper, Arcanel started feeling more and more confused. Even more than when he was told the story about the dragon. *What the... why would somepony write just a part of a story? It just... doesn't make sense? It has a meaning, that's for sure, but I can't even figure out which one it is... Why would somepony hide this in Springer's room in the first place?* the pegasus wondered, confusion filling every part of his face as he tried to figure out the meaning of the story.

 

 

 

"I... I don't believe that I understand the significance of this. It seems to be, at best, incomplete. At worst, I would say that the story itself was completely meaningless. Instead, I think that this was perhaps some drivel designed to draw attention to the fact that this document was written in my hoofwriting. Well. I didn't write this. The story is inefficient. It conveys no information of any value, whatsoever. It's just a small part of a much longer story, something that..."

 

Suddenly, Springer's word broke the silence, and after hearing said words, Arcanel felt even more confused. *If something is written in a non-efficient way, it's not by Springer, that's for sure. I don't think he would be able to fake that, even if he wanted to. So... how in Equestria is it written in his hoofwriting if he didn't write it? Someone probably forged the hoofwriting but even still...* the mailpony pondered. The green pegasus looked more lost than anypony in the room and he looked fairly concerned about something, which worried Arcanel, but he continued speaking after he regained his gaze.

 

 

 

"Confusion is inefficient, so perhaps we can work together to understand this problem." He looked around at the ponies present, before continuing. "I didn't write this, but it is in my hoofwriting." After a shrug to indicate his lack of concern with the hoofwriting similarity, he continued.    "I would never write something so inefficient, incomplete, without a beginning or an end. Everything that I have ever written always followed the same structure. Beginning, middle, end. You start with a description of the problem or context. Next, you walk through the content necessary to understand the situation. For the end, you describe the solution or resolution. There is no need for anything else."   "This story. It is the opposite of how I would do things. It reads like a page that was torn from a book, in the middle of a story, but if that was the case, then wouldn't the words go all of the way down the page? If it was the last page in a story, then I would be able to understand; however, if it was the last page, then why is there no conclusion here. Then, there is... There is something else entirely, something concerning to me."

 

*He's right in everything he said, but... oh no... what could be concerning him now if it wasn't all of the things before?* Arcanel thought, thinking that if finding something that had your hoofwriting but wasn't yours, didn't seem to gave a clear meaning, and deducting that somepony probably forged your hoofwriting wasn't troubling enough, he worried that something worse was probably affecting Springer.

 

 

 

"The dream, it doesn't concern me by itself, because a dream is all that it was. It wouldn't be efficient to place much faith in it... Ummm... But... These words on this page. The voice in my dream was speaking them, I believe. Even though I didn't understand the language in the dream, perhaps... If the dream was a memory? Perhaps, in my dream, the words were obscured to prevent me from recognizing them? I don't know... Are there any other theories? Ideas? I... Don't know what this means..."

 

As the assistant conductor finished recollecting the dream he had and said those last words, Arcanel now felt even more worried about Springer's safety. *Oh dear Celestia... his dream looked more like something going to turn into a nightmare but... but if the dream itself is related... then something outside is affecting Springer deeper than we thought... this is not good...* he thought, his worry about Springer now increasing even more than it was before.

 

 

 

"Springer, I really can't see what this piece of paper means. But it looks like your own writing, and it was found in your train. Whatever it is, it must mean something. All I can think of is the end of a chapter like you said. Perhaps you write stories in your sleep?" he said, chuckling a little before giving a sad shake of the head. "I honestly can't fathom what it means."

 

 

"That makes two of us..." he said with a sad shake of his face as well, now his improved mood having almost disappeared and depression now setting in him as he tried to figure out the meaning of something that could be dangerous to Springer. Suddenly, Magicon broke the mood with a voice that sounded like in alert.

 

 

 

“I hate to be rude…but something’s amiss in the magical world. I felt something just now and I need to understand what that is. If you’ll excuse me.”

 

As the crimson unicorn left left the room, Arcanel now felt confusion again. *Huh... what was that? Is Magicon able to feel disturbances in the air when somepony uses magic? Wow...* he wondered in slight awe, but his thoughts were interrupted when he saw Springer getting out of bed. Arcanel reacted quickly, and went to his side and help just in case. "Please be careful Mr. Springer..." he said with a worry filled tone of voice as the green pony slowly walked towards the door.

 

He had faintly heard Springer say something that the disturbance could be related to this whole situation. And right now, Arcanel felt that the coincidence might as well be true. *There's nothing else now. And it's the lead that just suddenly happened. I hope that whatever it is, Magicon can tell us what it is.* he thought, hoping that if the disturbance had something to do with Springer's paper or the situation, it can help them solve the whole problem. As he finished the thought, they reached the door, and opened it right in time to watch Magicon start a spell.

 

Arcanel had seen plenty of unicorns in action, but after Dawn's previous feat and now this, he felt slightly awed now each time somepony did magic of this heavy concentrating style. The spell seemed to not last long and Magicon had quickly turned back to look at them.

 

 

 

"Magicon, this disturbance in the magical world... Ummm... What was it, exactly? I believe that it may be relevant to the strange sheet of paper and the other unusual circumstances at present."

 

"Um... my thoughts are the same his, to be honest. Can you tell what was all that about Mr. Magicon?" he asked, hoping that it wasn't something personal instead which would make the whole situation awkward.

[Magicon 468]

He looked up at them with slightly ashamed eyes. Magicon saw that they had watched him. Though he didn’t care too much, he still cared a little bit and it gnawed at him. He hated it when others observed magic, especially personal and secretive magic. He felt like he was some sort of scientific specimen being studied by invading scientists. Yet at the same time Magicon realized that he was grateful by their silence during his exercise of magic. They respected his concentration and allowed him to do his work. He was thankful for that. Yet because of their silence he had no knowledge of how long the three had been standing there; watching him with curious eyes, trying to understand his methods and their purpose. The curiosity was clearly evident when Springer asked about Magicon’s doings. The curiosity was shared by Arcanel who quickly followed Springer with a question.

 

 

 

"Magicon, this disturbance in the magical world... Ummm... What was it, exactly? I believe that it may be relevant to the strange sheet of paper and the other unusual circumstances at present."

 

 

 

"Um... my thoughts are the same his, to be honest. Can you tell what was all that about Mr. Magicon?" he asked, hoping that it wasn't something personal instead which would make the whole situation awkward.

 

He took a deep breath and stared at the floor for a few seconds before lifting himself up to their eye-level, smoothing out his cape as he did so. He spoke methodically and somewhat cautiously, fearful of scaring them with his suspicions about Dawn.

 

“Well…it’s difficult to explain, but I’ll do my best. Essentially, somepony just recently used a good ounce of magic near here and I was trying to figure out what the spell was and who might’ve conjured it. I have my suspicions, but I don’t want to give away anything until I gather more evidence. However, that being said, I feel like I should tell you my suspicions. My gut tells me not to, but we’ve all been working on this bizarre investigation and seen a few oddities. The more information I give you, the more we may be able to put these things together.”

 

He paused before continuing. “From what I gathered, there was only one unicorn back here recently: Dawn, the young blue filly. Lapis met me in the parlor car and Dawn was there, with her cats I might add. Lapis and then went back to the dining car to decipher the paper with the bizarre story. Lapis then decided to head back here to talk to you, Springer. On the way through the parlor car Dawn was gone and so were her cats. We met up with Arcanel soon afterwards and then went to Springer’s room. As you guys just entered the room and woke Springer I felt the magic. Whether she was further inside the caboose or near the exits that we passed is unknown to me.  But what counts is that Dawn used a good strong ounce of magic.

 

Now as for the magic, I can’t tell exactly what the spell she did, but it was either a teleportation spell or invisibility spell. Either way she ended the spell near the front of the train. If I head over there I can figure out just exactly where she ended it. But, that depends on whether or not that’s related to what we’re doing. Perhaps this is entirely pointless and Dawn just used magic freely for some purpose. But tell me, perhaps there’s something we can figure out with this paper. Anything new that you guys figured out?”