Chapter 3: A Barrel's Pints & Papers

The sun beamed into the sky on a crisp sort of day with some clouds that were the only obstruction from an otherwise beautiful autumn morning. The train steamed over river and past tree, its handsome blue and green stripes having a charming fit to its surroundings, soon passing a speed limit signage that warranted the attention of its driver. As soon as the board was passed, the locomotive whistled twice, a festive chord resonating through the valley as it rounded the bend that overlooked the city.

Rainbow Dash jerked awake from the whistle's loudness. Rarity, Fluttershy and Spike were conversing amongst themselves at the table in-between their bench-like chairs, Pinkie Pie seemed to enjoy herself far too much playing with the spigot of a water dispenser near the front of the car and Macintosh was sitting quietly offside of the talking three, chewing a stem of timothy wheat. A voice pinged thorough out the car, awaking some of the other commuters in other seats.

"Good morning passengers, this is the Conductor speaking. We will be arriving in Fillydelphia Downtown Station in a few minutes. If you are departing here, please gather your belongings and check the areas around your seats to make sure you haven't forgotten anything. If you need assistance with your luggage, please call for a Porter. Have a pleasant day and thank you for choosing The National."

"Shake a leg..." thought Rarity. She stood and reached for her pack in the carry space above the seat, Fluttershy doing similar and grabbing her bag easily. "Confound it." Rarity said to herself, finding it difficult to move the stubborn weighty pack at the height it was. Macintosh said nothing, seeing her struggle so. He stood and pulled Rarity's pack out with ease, holding one strap carefully in his teeth.

"Thank you, Big Macintosh."

"D'ye shtill want t'carry it yershelf? Itsh pre'y heavfy." offered Macintosh. He looked slightly uncomfortable, since pony's strength was not most well demonstrated in picking things up with the mouth.

"It's quite alright, Big Macintosh, I can manage. Thank you anyways." replied Rarity.

"Alright." he said, and relinquished the pack back to Rarity's possession.

"Oomph!" thought Rarity as she received the pack on her back. Her mind questioned if the decline of Macintosh's generosity was prudent, and considered she would take him up on the offer next time he made it. Perhaps he was only trying to be retributional for his table manners at breakfast. "Pinkie Pie, get your things, we're getting off here."

"Okie dokie lokie!" said Pinkie Pie, hopping merrily to her seat and grabbing her own bags. Rainbow Dash rose, having somehow managed to fall asleep on the train without having taken her pack off.

The train came to an agonizingly slow crawl as it cautiously approached the ideal position to stop at the platform. Dash frowned at seeing the ground move so slowly just outside the window. As if it were some kind of beast calling out, all the brakes locked at once with a brief screech and made the train shudder as it stopped completely. A porter pony wearing a navy-blue cap slid the door open and stepped out, and leading the way for passengers as they disembarked.

Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Spike and Macintosh all exited as one group, clustering around the stallion for him being a large landmark. Ponies and beings crossed this way and that making the platform seem like a mess and vibrant tussle of busyness.

"Now we need to find that train..." said Rainbow Dash.

"Find a Conductor or somethin'." replied Macintosh. Dash flew up above the hustle and bustle, and spotted a friendly looking oldish stallion with a green coat and a hat that looked like a fancier version of the one the porters were wearing, that bore in shiny letters "Station-Master".

"C'mon." gestured Dash, and they followed her flight. She dropped down in front of him as Macintosh nudged his way through the crowd and the other mares followed behind.

"Good Morning." he said in a good-natured throaty voice. "Is there something I can help you with?"

"We're lookin' for a train that came by here a few hours ago." indicated Dash.

"Do you have its time block and register?" he said, starting to become focused, pulling out a clipboard.

"It was some sort of special, and it looked red." said Rarity. The stallion looked down at his paperwork and flipped through a few pages, looking rather consternated as he glanced upwards, then returning his eyes to the papers.

"Hmmm… probably a Private operator since red isn't in the RER standard livery… I don't have anything I can see here right this moment… what time was it?"

"It was'n Ponyville 'round three-thirty." said Macintosh. The stallion instantly flipped to one specific page and started moving his hoof down the list.

"…"E. Special". 6:45, 10-minute water stop is all I have," he interrupted himself with a loud yell in another direction before he continued speaking. "PORTER! -I might be able to get you some more information, if that's not enough."

"We would be most grateful." thanked Rarity. A pinkish pegasus flew up and greeted the stallion.

"Sir?"

"Check with the Dispatcher for these fillies and gentlecolt?" he said, indicating the clipboard. "This one, the Special- slot 355 at 6:45."

"Yessir, right away. Excuse me, ma'ams." said the pegasus, flying away to a large box-like building that overlooked the several platforms of the large station.

"Is that all then?" said the Station Master.

"Thank you for your help." said Rarity, nodding graciously.

"My pleasure, Miss. If you'll excuse me," and the stallion moved off into the crowd. With all the bodies moving in and around, the group somewhat found comfort in standing near Macintosh, but he was beginning to feel nervous and quite uneasy with all of the pressing and noise. He chewed the wheat a little faster. Presently the pegasus porter returned with a clipboard of her own and began speedily reciting it.

"Number 355 E. Special. 6:45 arrival, 7:25 departure. No cargo or passengers departed. Water-stop, brake inspection (approved, see attached form F2), route split."

"What's that mean?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"Split' means they had shunters take the train apart, so it becomes a different registry. They might have taken the whole train off and sent it to the Classification Yard," she pointed to rows and rows of railroad cars on a large open space that sat underneath the large bridge that extended outwards from the station. "Or just a few wagons and then departed again with a smaller train. Either way I don't think we can track it. It'll be a bit of trouble to root through the schedule for this morning and find it, especially since it's still rush hour now."

"Does it 'nclude a description?" Macintosh wanted to make absolutely sure they were talking about the right train.

"Says here it was a Cornwall-Cortland J6 in a custom red livery." Their attention was piqued at the paint detail. "Don't see that many J6s these days. They're rare expensive streamliners. Most don't operate on regular service- mostly for expresses and coach lines, I've only seen them in the newspaper. 'Think the Royal Train has one or somethin' but that one would be white and gold."

"Does it say who runs or owns it?" said Dash.

".. "MBE" owns the "E. Special". …Actually I think I know who that is."

"You do?" replied Dash and Spike simultaneously.

"MBE is a company in town; they run a parlour near my house in Westlebrook called 'The Brisky Barrel'. It's a nice place, they make good ice cream."

"Thank you so much." said Fluttershy.

"Welcome!" she said merrily. A relatively distant yelp of "Porter!" in a different direction drew her attention she and flew away over the platform's bustle. Macintosh waded through the crowd until he reached the edge of the station's balcony that overlooked the Yard, peering out at it.

"Recognize any of them?" asked Rarity. Macintosh's eyes strained for details, and then locked on to one corner of the yard.

"There! Those dark ones, near that stony wall." he pointed to a trio of passenger coaches that resided alone on a section of track near a large orange crane. The tell-tale scarlet stripe could still be seen from the angle they stood at. Rainbow Dash sped off towards them and hovered nearby for a little while, looking in all of the windows and making several circles around them before flying back.

"Nopony's inside, they're just empty seats. They must be the 'split' that guy mentioned."

"Well then I guess we're off to this parlour the Porter mentioned. It's our best lead." advised Rarity.

"Good, the sooner the better!" said a voice below them. Macintosh looked down and saw that the entire time, Spike had been attentive and putting a lot of effort into trying to remain directly underneath him to avoid being stepped on by the crowds. Pinkie Pie giggled at his plight, as well as Macintosh having his head between his legs.

"Ah agree. Ah don't fare well in crowds." said Macintosh, looking back up. Still, they followed him out of the station through its large glass doors and into the city.

The sights and sounds of Fillydephia evoked a variety of emotions in the group. To Spike and Rarity, the city seemed like a mix of the small town quaintness of Ponyville plus a smattering of the expensive and historical status of Canterlot. To Rainbow Dash it looked big, grand and exciting like cities should look, as opposed to quiet little sleepy villages. Fluttershy and Macintosh silently both thought it all just appeared noisy and moving around too fast, crowds on every corner and carriages in every street. The city itself was a moderate mix of the fancy complex of the capital city, an average sort of community like their hometown, and growing successes in its population that made it slowly but surely resemble a miniature Manehattan, with a few tall buildings and larger businesses.

Although there was some kind of unspoken suggestion that Macintosh would be the one to be leading since his ability to cut through a crowd was greater than average, the first thing he did was subconsciously steer them away from the mid-morning bustling of the downtown core. On a quieter street they slowed and stopped, and Rainbow Dash had the guff to ask.

"Macintosh, do you actually know where we're going?"

"NO." he said with an unusual stress. Dash and Rarity were taken aback at his reaction. "..Ah'm sorry. Ah'm not used to the big city. All those folks were gettin' to me…" he explained, conflicted between an apology and meekness.

"It's alright, Macintosh. I don't like crowds much either." said Fluttershy appreciatively.

"Well we still need to find a way to get to the parlour that the Porter mentioned." said Rarity. "We should ask for directions, I've never been to Fillydelphia before."

Somehow for the whole conversation, a repeating squeaking noise had gone past their notice until the moment when Spike looked up to see Pinkie Pie jumping on top of a wooden frame that held a map of the city.

"Or use a map!" he said, and jogged over. "Thanks Pinkie."

"What for?" said she. "I was just practicing my prancing!"

They all studied the map and verified an effective route up to the part of the town called Westlebrook. They arrived after a few minutes, taking in the area. It was a calm sort of portion of the city with fancier houses and well-to-do shoppes resting on a hill that sat near the edge of the valley. Cheery cherry-coloured streetcars were pulled up and down the hill, which nicely complimented the similarly painted lamp posts, each bearing baskets of flowers.

Rarity admired the city beautification, and noted to herself that she should return some day, if only to get some inspiration from the obviously well-endowed parks policy. In all likelihood it was afforded either by having talented gardeners frequent the area, or repatriation from Canterlot ever since the parasprites the year before. Either way, she was enjoying it thoroughly.

On a street with a sharp drop on one side prevented by a hedged guardrail, they found their way to the suggested parlour. It was a rustic looking building that had three different paint schemes adorning its fixtures, one for each of the three businesses that occupied the building. The middle of them had a sign on a striped gold painted awning that read,

"The Brisky Barrel

Fine Confectionary & Juice Parlour

MBE"

"Now that we're here, maybe we should figure out what we actually want to know." said Rainbow Dash, realizing how few questions they had in regards to how much they knew.

"Well one thing we want to know for certain is if this "MBE" is actually responsible for the kidnapping." replied Rarity.

"And what or who "MBE" is." said Spike.

All six stood in silence for a moment, pondering. Rainbow Dash piped up first,

"Me and Pinkie Pie'll do some snooping around, see what we can find. Rarity, you should see if you can find out anything by talking to someponies inside."

"What about us?

"Spike, you and Macintosh should- uh…" Rainbow suddenly was exhausted for ideas.

"Try to look inconspicuous." finished Rarity. The small dragon looked up at the large red draft pony, who returned the look of curiosity at the strange command. However neither of them could think of anything better, so they elected to go with Rarity's idea and followed inside with a mutual shrug of indifference.

Inside the Brisky Barrel was a very cozy sort of room with humbly figured carved wooden chairs and tables, a series of small bronze-looking light fixtures and a well-polished counter with fixed stools in front of it. There were a few ponies enjoying lunch or other such patronage, declared by a warm sort of atmosphere and the occasional laugh.

"Somehow… I got a bad feeling about this place." said Rainbow, eying the scene.

"Looks mighty nice t'me." said Macintosh.

"I don't see what you mean, Rainbow Dash. It seems perfectly quaint for a little parlour." observed Rarity. "Alright Dash, Pinkie Pie; go look for anything you can find about 'MBE'. Big Macintosh, are you fine there?" she queried. The crimson stallion looked relatively content at standing, leaning near the doorway.

"Eeyup."

"Fluttershy, let's see what we can find."

"Okay." replied Fluttershy softly.

Pinkie followed Dash as they walked to the far end of the room, and turned into a swinger door that was rendered less visible by a nearby potted plant. Rarity and Fluttershy sat down at the counter, and presently a greenish unicorn walked up on the other side. His face bore an eyebrows-furrowed and sneer-like shape, but it was one out of natural formation and it expressed an honest sort of kind joviality. He raised an eyebrow when his eyes met Rarity's.

"Good day," his voice was polite and just as friendly as his face, but had a nasal inflection. "Welcome to the Brisky Barrel… You know, I make a point of trying to know at least the names of everypony that every pony should know, and, nmph!" he made a humoured and frustrated motion with his hoof indicating Rarity, then Fluttershy. "I recognize you two, but I can't remember the names- now don't tell me, I'll get it. It's on the tip of my tongue and front of my mind." The barista seemed just as delighted as he was jokingly annoyed at the notion, as if it were a thing that plagued him frequently.

"What can I get you?" he finished. Rarity quickly looked up at the menu behind him.

"Oh ah, I'll have an iced chocolate shake." said Rarity, most flattered and enjoying the greeting. The stallion smiled warmly through his fixed sneer, and turned to Fluttershy.

"I'll have the same, but strawberry." she said meekly.

He held up his hoof, sort of pointing and with an open mouth wanting to say something, but stopped and walked off to take the order, beaming a wide grin. It was obvious Rarity's identity was going to be both his bliss and his bother all afternoon until he figured it out. Rarity leaned closer to Fluttershy.

"He seems like the sort of fellow that might be able to get us the info we need." said Rarity, quieted slightly so as not to be overheard. Fluttershy nodded. Rarity issued continuance, "Act charming."

"Huh?"

Behind the slightly darker door into a hall, Rainbow Dash slipped quietly, followed by Pinkie Pie imitating her motions. They started down the hall, stopping with a beckon from a doorway on the side of them.

"Are you lost?" said a white unicorn in some kind of office.

"Uh, we're looking for the little fillies' room." said Dash. The mare pointed in the opposite direction down the hall that they were travelling.

"It's on the right." said she.

"Thanks." With that, Dash and Pinkie Pie turned around and headed down the hall again, stopping when they saw three doors, two on their right and one on their left. The ones on their right had their proper signage, but the one on the left was unmarked, with a deadbolt, and slightly ajar. Taking a cursory glance up and down the hall, Rainbow Dash pushed the door in slightly and ventured in, yielding a dark unlit stairs that went down to a lower floor. Rainbow went down the steps in cautious feeling, not being able to see well. Pinkie Pie continued to mimic her movements. At the bottom of the stairs the space opened up into a small furnished basement. It had a largish furnace and water heater, some filing cabinets and a simple but large wooden desk, surrounded by several chairs and a faded green bankers lamp that illuminated the space. On the desk were various papers and a folder with a cut-diamond shaped copper paper-weight resting on top. Dash and Pinkie both gazed at the papers, reading silently what they all described.

There were some kind of magical research documents (much of which they didn't understand), some mechanical instructions for window fixtures and maintenance, and then ones of great attention were spotted. A glossy photograph of Applejack and Big Macintosh from their last harvest season, and Applejack's head was circled with a black marker, and beside that some papers about the Apple family, with a few details highlighted. Underneath that was a folder of largely blank documents with a squarish paper that bore a pencil illustration of Twilight Sparkle from front and profile. Dash picked it up, the notice burning deep.

"Pinkie Pie, are you seeing this?"

"It's Twilight!"

Dash passed the illustration to Pinkie Pie and shifted another few of the papers. Although unlikely, a thought passed through her mind. Maybe finding the pictures was just a coincidence and whoever had this assembly of data was just… an obscure… …fan. Of Applejack and Twilight both. She stopped and deciding she'd seen all she needed to, upon finding a stationary that removed all her doubts. The title alone was a clear indication above all else, in conjunction with its date that read only two days before.

"ROYAL EQUESTRIA RAIL CO. LTD.

SCHEDULE & DISPATCH FORM D5

For Registration of Private traffic, Specials, etc.

Ponyville, Whitetail Wood, Everfree North/South"

"We've found the kidnappers alright." declared Dash.

Out of the kitchen door the barista was returning, using magic to hold two tall glasses aloft, and his smile seemed almost contagious.

"Oh dear- I can't be giving away our real names, what if he's part of whatever MBE is? I shouldn't tell him my name." realized Rarity.

"I bet you're one of those fashionistas out of Canterlot or something." said the barista, returning with the curvy glasses, topped off with a dollop of whipped cream. Rarity's dollop was shaped like a little flower and Fluttershy's a tiny perched hummingbird with a cherry and stem for head and beak. Fluttershy quietly examined the drink curiously as Rarity replied,

"Well, yes, something like that."

"I try to keep up with the fashion world, but it moves just as fast as food and drink, and I've gotta keep up with one a lot more than the other."

"Your whipped cream is amazing." complimented Fluttershy, quite hesitant to take a sip from the straw, not wanting to damage the little sculpture.

"Thanks. I love being creative like that, and it always gets great reactions out of ponies."

"Who runs this magnificent little shop, anyways?" casually inserted Rarity. The barista for the most imperceptible of a moment looked surprised, before his smile returned, smoothly looking left and right before leaning slightly closer to Rarity.

"Asking about MBE? Depends on who wants to know."

Rarity was fighting the feeling that the barista was definitely quite charming, but she had to stay on task, avoiding thinking about his grin and vivacious dark blue eyes. A thought occurred.

"Well, actually I'm a photojournalist-" the ever-so-slightly interrogative inflection in the stallion's expression immediately vanished with a genuine bout of exuberance as he stamped on the floor, punctuating his exclamation.

"-Photo Finish!"

"Yyyes." she lied. "Although not the most ideal cover, it might work for now." Rarity's mind reasoned. Her reaction was slightly less than convincing with the delay in the first audible consonant, but the barista didn't seem to notice, his eyes closed and urgently enjoying the satisfaction of his memorization. Rarity took a sip from her milkshake.

"Yeah, I remember you, yeah, and you're that model that she only had for like a week or something." he said, pointing to Fluttershy. His voice was courteous enough to remain quiet so that it was still only the three of themselves he was speaking to. Fluttershy was silently recalcitrant to the recollection of her modeling career, but put on a brave face of modesty. "What are you two doing, just hanging out?"

"She retired. Prodigies never last you know," explained Rarity 'Finish'. "But we're still friends and keep in touch."

"So I see." grinned the barista. He leaned closer again. "Well if MBE is your latest journalism thing, I think I can put you in contact with a higher-up."

"Don't you know your employer?" asked Rarity.

"Actually no," said the barista, leaning back and coming to a more factual and business-like mood, quite different from his previous gentlecoltly-gossip like timbre. "I'm the manager of the Brisky Barrel, and it's owned by a fellow on the other end of town who's a manager himself. I think he might know someone in the ups of MBE though. The actual leaders of the company are pretty obscure as I understand it, and they like it that way for some strange reason. 'Guess it doesn't make a lot of sense to me since I love being sociable."

Big Macintosh was perfectly satisfied leaning adjacent a support column near the door, continuing to chew a small sprig of wheat that he managed to nip up before departing Ponyville. However he realized upon entering the parlour that it had become quite short. His continuous habit of nibbling on grass as he did was something he inherited from his parents [or something, he thought] and it never did any harm. The smell of the parlour was much akin to Sugarcube Corner, which had made him slightly hungry, and so he pulled another stem of idle wheat from a planter that sat near the column, and he placed it between his teeth, swallowing the previous nub.

Spike, intent on remaining exactly as inconspicuous as his friend, did the same with the procuring of his own sprig. Macintosh looked down at Spike, seeing him slightly annoyed with trying to place the sprig between his teeth.

"Spike, d'you even like hay?"

"Well…"

"Might as well not bother with'it."

"I'm just trying to look incom… inconspyk?..."

"Just act natural an' wait."

"But why do you do it Macintosh? You stand out like some out-of-town farmer pony."

"So? At least Ah wouldn' stand-out like some kinda lizard tryin' to be a farmer pony." said Macintosh, partly humoured by the notion. Spike felt as if he should feel slighted, but also appreciated the funniness and let it slide.

"We've gotta tell the others." said Rainbow Dash in a hushed imperative tone.

"Let's go!" replied Pinkie. They turned towards the stairs before a creak from its wooden steps made them freeze. They both dove under the desk on the opposite side, hidden from view. Dash looked out from under the gap between the desk panel and the floor, seeing a burgundy earth pony carefully walk down the steps and place a box beside one of the file cabinets. She looked back up the stairs and then looked back to the box, pondering for a second. She opened the lid of the box and pulled out a carrot, gobbling it in only three bites and closing the box as he turned towards the furnace lodged under the stairway. The mare opened the thick plate door of the hearth and began tossing several cut wedges of a log from a crate, into the blazing fire. And Pinkie Pie's tail began to twitch.

"Rainbow Dash?" she whispered.

"Not now Pinkie." Dash clamped her hooves on Pinkie Pie's mouth. The mare looked up as if a slight thing had bothered her attention, and the two fillies were quieter and stiller than ever, Pinkie's tail exempt. The mare continued to stand still as if she was listening for something. Suddenly, she lurched and sneezed loudly. She wiped her nose with her hoof and closed the door of the furnace.

"D-d-dsh?"

"Shh!" Rainbow gestured strongly with her hoof for silence, before returning to look out from under the desk. The mare seemed to be finished with her chore and turned to go back up the stairs, just before a rat fell onto her face. For an instant the mare didn't move, until her vehemence was made known.

"AAAAAH!" she screamed, and ran back up the stairs in a wild abandon, leaving the rat stunned and thrown, falling onto the floor and skittering away into a corner.

Rainbow Dash was surprised, but also found it hard not to laugh, in keeping their stealth. Once the two thought it safe enough, they unbunched themselves out of the desk, Pinkie Pie giggling and tail quite relaxed. Dash smiled, but it quickly faded once she had glanced back on the desk, seeing the pictures and papers.

"Hurry, let's go tell 'em." she said.

"So where does this 'higher-up' live?" asked Rarity. Fluttershy was engaged in the conversation, but also very thoroughly delighted at how delicious the milkshake was that she was drinking.

"He lives on the south end of town; the Fillydelphia City Zoo, actually." replied the barista. Fluttershy's interest was redoubled.

"A zoo?" she asked.

"Yeah. Actually things haven't been going to well for him, but I can't recall why…"

Rarity placed a few bits on the counter as she finished her milkshake.

"Well thank you very much for the delectable drink, sir,-"

"Whisp. Will Whisp." replied the barista. "An esteemed pleasure, Miss Finish."

"I'll be sure to come by here again." finished Rarity.

"Goodbye." waved Fluttershy as they exited the door, Macintosh and Spike turning to follow.

"Well?" said Spike, once they had walked to the other side of the street. Rarity was prepared to speak, but Fluttershy asked first aloud.

"Where's Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie?"

Both of them bounded out of the door, indifferent about trying to remain calm and turning into a brisk trot.

"They kidnapped them alright." Rainbow declared. "They had a bunch of papers and pictures, and a timetable for the train. Planning stuff."

"You were in a picture too, Big Macintosh." said Pinkie Pie. The red stallion's eyes looked very concerned when he heard it.

"Well it certainly wasn't the gentlecolt at the counter who did it." said Rarity. "He was very polite. I asked him about "MBE" and he told us how to get to a more superior member. He talked about it like it was some kind of business and that he was just a lower part of it."

"Where is it then?" said Rainbow Dash. Rarity replied,

"Let's take a walk to the Zoo."

Time passed, and little was changing in the relatively spacious passenger car of the 'Elements Express'. Although both Applejack and Twilight were fairly distressed, Applejack made her consternation much more visible and pronounced. Much of this concern was expressed through her considerable agitation on not being able to leave the room, continually walking around, and vocation on how she missed her hat. Twilight eventually grew partially annoyed by the diatribe, and decided to change the subject, even if a little.

"Applejack, what were you doing when they came?"

Applejack's resentment of the situation did not fade, but the strength of the tone of her voice did, in apologetic realization of how she had been carrying on and how Twilight had been largely forced to listen to it all.

"..I'm sorry Twilight. I've been hootin' and hollerin' about nothin' I can do anythin' about. It's… just…"

"I know." said Twilight, sympathetically. Words existed for the mind they shared in regards to their plight, but they both decided the words need not be said. Applejack then responded to her question.

"I was in my room. Actually, I was up early; I was awake when they came."

"You were awake?"

"Big Macintosh is sometimes up that early, and I'm a light sleeper in the fall- he does a good job at keepin' quiet in the mornin' but sometimes he still wakes me up when he gets ready for work. Anyways, I got up and started lookin' in the mirror, thinkin' about stuff me an' Rarity talked about yesterday. Stuff about appearances…" she combed her hoof through her mane, reminiscent of how she had done it so long ago that morning. "I was startin' to think about gettin' a hairbrush."

"You?" said Twilight, partly taken aback.

"I was afraid you'd say that. Somehow I don't think anypony would really like me if I changed the way I was, even if for the prettier."

"But you're the best just being yourself, Applejack."

"Someponies don't think so. 'Specially those ones who like Rarity more just for her high-falutin' dresses. They're nice an' all, but all they're for is dress-up. Whatever happened to folks likin' practical sort of things?" Applejack seemed to want to protest the very nature of the notion of aesthetics with her complaint.

"I guess most ponies just like things that look nice. Is there anything wrong with that?"

"I 'spose not, but it's not particularly convenient for anypony who just wants to get somethin' done."

"Welcome to the real world." agreed Twilight with a sigh. Somehow the topic felt tangentially related to her personal problems, if in some unsuggested way. Applejack remembered the conversation at hand.

"Anyways… so they burst in and got me with a net."

"That makes sense I guess. I mean, they obviously put the Disenchantment Chain on my horn while I was asleep, and then tied me up." returned Twilight.

"Gutless…"

"If they used a net on you that makes it sound like they were pretty prepared for us both."

"An' Big Macintosh."

"What?" retorted Twilight.

"They carried me out of the house, and when they did, they woke Apple Bloom and threw a net around her too. 'A'course I'd been shoutin' and strugglin' tryin' to get free, then next thing I know, Macintosh comes tearin' through with the old pullin' cart and knocked a bunch of 'em sideways. I thought I'd definitely have a chance with mah big brother there, and then I see him start takin' on them kidnappers, kickin' em and throwin' em. I shouted at him to keep him goin', tellin' him that he was doin' great, but then he slumped over, and then it goes fuzzy after that." A tiny tremor of a headache perked up in Applejack, and she scratched the back of her head with her hoof. "Part of me knows that he didn't leave near where I was for a while after that, but who knows…"

"I bet he gave chase, Applejack." said Twilight with a smile. "The Apple family never gives up without a fight, that much I know." Applejack lightly chuckled in response.

"Heh, right. Macintosh was always made of sterner stuff than me…"

They stood in silence for a while, simply letting the afternoon slip by impotently. The distinct chord of the train's whistle sounded in the distance, and Twilight's ear twitched at it.

"You know…" she said, reminiscing. "…Something about that whistle sounds vaguely familiar…"

"Why's'at? It's just a train whistle."

"I've only ever been on a train a few times Applejack. Granted, that may be more than you, but there's something about this whistle that makes me think back…" the whistle sounded again. "The last time I was on a train was our trip to Appleloosa. Before that, I was only a filly still living in Canterlot with the Princess, and we took a vacation together on a train. This whistle somehow sounds like that, but I'm not sure."

Applejack raised her eyebrow at the recollection, thinking to herself that it couldn't be all that unique; a whistle was a whistle, but didn't want to dispute her memories.

"If you say so." she said, indifferently.

Suddenly the lighting changed through the windows, and what used to be a soft grayish white now became thicker amber. The two ponies felt their ears pop.

"What in the world was that?" said Applejack, rubbing the side of her head.

"What was what?"

"Ye didn't hear it?"

"Oh, that's your inner ear adjusting to pressure. It happens when- -! When you change in altitude. We must be going high up, maybe in a mountain range somewhere." Twilight looked into the window, and Applejack followed. Hooves against the glass and eyes pressed against its surface, they peered into the pane, trying to understand detail.

"All I see is a big orange wash. 'Can't make anything out a'tall." regarded Applejack.

"I think I see a big white blob, which might be the sun. Maybe it was overcast with clouds where we were travelling and now we're higher than the clouds. -And if it's the sun making that color in the sky, then it must be either in the afternoon or nearing evening. The sun sets in the west, so that means…" she regarded which window she was looking out of, relative to the rest of the train.

"I think we're headed north. At least, that's which way we're travelling right now."

"Can you figure out where we are right now?"

"Hard to say, there are a lot of mountain ranges north of Canterlot. Especially considering how fast we're going and how long we've been travelling, we might be anywhere." Twilight said this, realizing as she did so that the information while studious, was also not very useful.

"Well that's jus' peachy." replied Applejack sarcastically. She sat down again frustratedly.

"Don't worry, Applejack." echoed Twilight. "Our friends will find us."

Applejack smiled in response, but their reverie was interrupted by a clattering of the latch of the compartment door. In walked two of the same guard unicorns from before, wearing their black bowler hats. A third entered between them, carrying a silver tray with glasses of milk and two sandwiches, alongside a small bowl of vinaigrette coleslaw.

"Enjoy your supper, ladies." said the guard in a tone of voice that sounded inexperienced at being polite, with an obscured stern inflection. Using his telekinesis he placed the three plates and two glasses on a table and departed with the tray, followed by the other two unicorns, locking the door as before.

The two of them regarded the dinner. Like the lunch before, it was by no means an expensive or complicated affair, nor was it an overly simple or cheap meal. Modestly prepared and, as Twilight tasted first, quite flavourful.

"Maybe this Montclair isn't as bad as he seems, if this is the way he treats his prisoners."

"'Still not the sort of fare I wanna be gettin' used to, Twilight. I'm not gonna be bought off by a little daffodil sandwich and a comfy chair- They bound and gagged you."

"I know, but maybe for stuff like that, the worst is over?"