//------------------------------//
// Chapter 3 
// Story: Hidden Eye. Private Investigator 
// by Speedball 
//------------------------------//


Chapter 3


"Conductor! Conductor!" I called out while galloping towards where elderly earth pony had been sitting when I walked past him on my way back from the dining car just a short while before. The distance to the conductor's station seemed significantly further than I remembered, but I guess everything seems farther when you're in a rush. Much to my relief, I saw the conductor poke his head into the hall. "Yes!" I thought, "He's still there!" I slid to a stop in front of him, only slightly winded.

He spoke very slowly. "Ponies don't usually run that fast on trains; what's troubling you?" with a quizzical look on his face.

"My friend, I can't find her. White unicorn with a purple mane. Name's Rarity. Have you seen her?" I asked between heavy breaths with a tone of urgency 

"Can't say that I have, sorry. I'm sure she'll turn up. She couldn't have gone far. We are on a moving train after all. Go on back to your cabin and don't worry ya head too much. I'll keep an eye out for her and I'll tell her you're looking for her if I see her." He said with a tone that made it seem as though he thought I was a little bit loco in the coco.

I gave the conductor the number of my cabin, and trotted back there. I felt mildly patronized at his unwillingness to do anything proactively useful, but it was probably best to not give him the whole story. The more ponies who found out that Rarity hired a P.I. to find out who was after her, the more likely it was that the ponies who were after her would find out if they hadn't already. I'm sure that they knew she was traveling with a companion, the nature of our relationship I hoped they were in the dark about. For that matter, how did they know where to find us. For all they knew Rarity could have teleported herself anywhere, and from what she told me it seemed the only pony who knew where Rarity was headed was that Twilight Sparkle. I was more certain now that this Twilight character had more to do with this than anypony realized.

I started my search for clues with the door. All magic leaves a trace on things that it has touched for a time, even after any enchantments have been dispelled or worn off. I fired off a series of spells at the door designed to detect recent presence of magic and what that magic was intended to do. The only thing I detected was the enchantment I made to the lock. Inspection of the door jamb yielded no signs of forced entry either which meant that either somepony had managed to both dispel then perfectly duplicate my spell or, far more likely for both practicality and feasibility reasons, the kidnapper had gained access to the room through other means. 

I searched the bed next. All I found was a very neatly arranged set of emerald green sheets which I might note, coordinated unusually nicely with the rest of the cabin. The only information they yielded was that they had not yet been disturbed, and that the pillow was still stowed in the overhead shelf.  I haven't know my client for very long but she doesn't strike me as the kind to not take advantage of all available luxuries. My magical inspection didn't detect any residual magic on the bed at all. If Rarity didn't use her magic to put the bed down how did she do it? Perhaps more importantly, what was she doing when I saw the glow of her magic through the glass of cabin window? Forgoing attempts to discern the purpose of the magic, I blasted the entire cabin hoping detect on what Rarity had targeted her magic. 

I found traces of my magic coming from the door, bed and drink bottle. From the window facing the outside of the carriage I detected a weak magical signature with a male aura, and suspended in the air in the middle of the room was a very strong magical residue with a definitively female aura. She must have been trying to defend herself from whoever tried to come in through the window. How a unicorn could manage to get a clear shot at the latch on the inside of the window of a moving train I was not clear on. It certainly would not have been possible for him to do by himself. He would have to have been suspended outside the window some how moving about the same speed as the train. A rope? Perhaps some pegasistance? A pegasus that could fly as fast as a moving train was hard enough to find, never mind one that could do that while carrying another pony.

My further attempt to investigate the purpose of the spell she had cast in the middle of the room didn't give me the information I was hoping for. I could still detect that the spell was cast, and the narrowed focus revealed that this was a reactionary spell cast out of fear, but my own burst of magic muddled the entire room. I couldn't detect what the spell was intended to do or its target. I considered the possibility of teleportation. I knew she could do it, that is how she showed up at my office. I thought it unlikely because the target of a teleportation spell is the teleported object itself and doesn't usually leave a trace in the surrounding area. A further physical inspection of the window told me that whoever it was that tried to open the window at least got the lock open, but beyond that nothing else useful. It was still shut and there were no signs of damage. If somepony did get it open, they didn't leave any signs of having done so.

Next was the investigation of the suspended unicorn hypothesis. How did whoever it was get a clear shot at the lock on the window. I hoped to find a ladder or access stairs to the top of the car between the carriages, but no such luck. Teleportation magic had never been something I was particularly good at, but it looked like the only way to get on top of the train. A quick peek around the side of the train showed that there we weren't very close to the tunnel through the mountains so I decided to give it a try. 

Eyes shut, deep concentration. I could feel the necessary power building in my horn as I visualized my destination. A couple of fizzes and crackles followed by a quiet ringing noise then a loud pop as I felt myself dematerialize into that weird space that you travel through when you teleport. The feeling of being completely incorporeal and an absence of a sense of time always made me question the nature of our existence. If a place like this exists, what other planes might exist and what sort of creatures live there if any? Do they know that we travel through their domain? Do they care? It was a feeling which always unsettled me and on I was quite glad to be rid of as I felt myself being pulled back into regular space.

My return to regular space was greeted with the bright light of day, the clanging sound of the train moving on the tracks, the smell of the inferno burning in the firebox that was powering its motion and the mild sense of panic I experienced during the brief time I was falling through the air before my hooves made contact with the roof of the carriage. I've never been particularly good at teleportation, especially when trying to do it to myself. No matter the target of the spell, or how hard I tried I could only perform on a line of sight basis. Since I couldn't see the top of the carriage I had to aim just above it. I shot a little higher than I intended, but all things considered, I think it went well.

I was a little disoriented and not quite sure exactly which side of the car the window was on. I trotted very gingerly to about where I thought our compartment was relative to the length of the car. There was a place where a rope could have been tied, but it didn't look very strong, and hadn't been magically reinforced. Nearby there were some reasonably fresh hoofprints in the thin layer of soot that settled on top of the train. They lead off in the opposite direction I came from, but disappeared near the edge.The prints were only going in one direction which means that somepony either flew or teleported to get up here and probably weren't on the train when it left the station, and departed the train in the same way. There wouldn't be a record of this mystery pony having purchased a ticket. Not that a ticket record would be useful anyway. This train runs all the way from Manehattan to Los Pegasus and makes several stops along the way. There must be hundreds if not thousands of ponies on this train.

Further scrutinization of the top of the train showed no signs of presence of anypony on any of the other nearby cars. Amongst the soot I did find a few small pebbles and some feathers that had become lodged in crevices in the roof, and a five bit coin. One of the feathers was a uniform black and significantly larger than the others. Large enough that it could be a small pegasus feather or just from some very large bird. I took it with me to inspect more later. As for right now, during the time I had spent on top of the train it had traveled much closer to the mountain range between Manehattan and Ponyville. Once we reached it the train would have to slow down due to the steep grade of the tracks and we would spend the better part of the next three or four hours going in and out of tunnels. I wanted to be well away from the top of the train before we got to the first tunnel. 

Very carefully I trotted back to the edge of the carriage. Still a little put off by the feeling of the interspace, I elected to hop down instead of teleport even thought I had a direct line of sight this time. I gently propelled myself over the edge of the car, allowing gravity to do most of the work. Apparently not enough though. My face made contact rather forcefully with the wall of the carriage in front of me. The headache that I though I had left in Manehattan returned. Sometimes I legitimately wonder why my head doesn't go off and find itself a new owner considering how it gets treated around here. Once the world stopped spinning I dusted myself off and saw a very startled unicorn looking at me. I could tell she wasn't suspecting to see another pony fall from the sky. After all, who would. I smiled nervously at her and quickly made my way into the car leaving her to ponder what had just happened.

Before I went back to my cabin, I made a quick stop by the food and beverage car. There was a different bartender now. He was a little more accommodating when I asked him if there was any way I could take my drink back to my car. Apparently it is allowed for first class passengers to have food and drink in their cars. Just most of them don't bother to come get it themselves because there is a button that will summon a porter to your cabin to get it for you, so the other bartender assumed I was a coach passenger. I guess spilling things all over strange ponies is worse than spilling things all over ponies you know. I happily took my drink back to my cabin without fear of being accosted. 

I was staring out the window, enjoying my drink slowly, watching the sun go down, the mountains grow closer, and rolling the cold glass across my forehead between sips while mulling over today's events when there was a knock on the door. I opened it to the face of the elderly pony I sought help from earlier. To be honest, I was surprised to see him. I thought he was just appeasing me to try to get the crazy unicorn that was bothering him to go away.

"Any news on my friend?" I asked him. 

In the same slow voice he said, "Nope, haven't seen her. I'm just coming around to ask that you close your window and keep it closed until we reach the first stop on the other side of the tunnels. If you leave it open, the smoke from the engine can get in and nopony likes it when that happens. If you need some ventilation, there is a vent above each bed, we will be turning on the fresh air circulation soon. Just open those up."

"Ah, yes. Of course. I'll make sure to. Thanks." I said and then closed the door as he trotted on to the next cabin.

The window was closed, but I relocked it and continued staring out until the train reached the tunnel through the mountains and started to slow. Just before the train entered the first of the several tunnels there was a quiet wooshing noise as the ventilation system activated. Then it got completely black. This was a good enough time as any to get some sleep. There was a big day ahead of me tomorrow. I called for the conductor and requested that he come around an hour before we reach Ponyville. The train was due to arrive very early in the morning and I didn't trust myself to wake up in time to not miss my station.

I awoke the next morning with a start. The sort of sudden jolt awake that happens when you know you have slept too long. I bolted out of the cabin and ran towards the conductor's station. I started to ask him why he hadn't woken me up, but he preempted me. 

"You sure like running on trains don't 'ya? Don't panic, we haven't reached Ponyville yet. I may be old by my memory still works. There was a slight hangup on the way and we are running behind schedule. The Mareaheim station was having problems with its water pump so we had to shut the train off and wait for them to fix it and then wait for the boiler to heat back up once they did. You have no idea how long it takes to get one of these babies up to operating pressure once it has cooled down. Anyway, we're due in Ponyville in a little more than two hours. You still want me to come around?" His speech got faster the further into the monologue he got. 

"Not thanks." I said. "I'm not planning on going back to sleep."

I had a little breakfast and spent some time exploring the other things that first class had to offer. I was surprised to find a bathing car which had several very fancy looking stone shower stalls at one end and an equally ornate series of bathtubs at the other. The attendant informed me that my ticket got me free use of both if I wanted to. Far be it for me to not take advantage of free things. Apart from being free, a shower was probably a good idea. Being on a train for a long time gives a pony a certain odor. It's not a good idea for somepony who might have to gain... let's say... surreptitious... access to things to have a distinctive odor. It's just one more way to be detected. 

"If this is how Rarity travels, I can only imagine how she lives." I thought to myself while the warm water fell over me.

I was starting to understand why first class on this train was so expensive. Most ponies don't have houses this nice. I certainly haven't had one. 

After I had my shower I made my way to the cabin and got my few things together including the drink intended for Rarity. Through the window I could see Ponyville getting very close. If Ponyville was anything like the other small towns I've been to, the train station would be on the outskirts of the city. A squealing of metal and the hiss of steam being let off told me that I was right. The train was already coming to a stop and it still looked as though we were a fair distance away from the majority of the buildings.

I disembarked the train a short time later. Ponyville train station reminded me of the Cocodrie depot from which I left for Canterlot and my job with the Equestrian Intelligence Agency, and had not been back to since. There was a stand selling various apple products. Pies, fritters, and more importantly cider. I purchased a few bottles to drink later. The cream colored filly with a red mane who was working the stand spoke with a very thick local accent. This place was a lot more like Cocodrie than I was completely comfortable with. 

Across the road there was a taxi stand. Exactly what I was looking for. I flagged one down and got in. 

"Where ya to?" The gravely voice coming from the stallion pulling the cart asked.

I responded, "The library, if it's open yet."

"Heh." His laugh sounded almost like a cough. "That library is always open. I don't think that Twilight ever sleeps." 

We arrived at the library about 15 minutes later. I paid the cabbie his fare and tried the door. It was locked so I knocked. There were no hours of operation posted anywhere. Just a sign that read "Golden Oaks Library". Some minutes had passed and nopony had answered my knock so I tried again. 

"I'm coming. Just a moment." A muffled voice replied. 

I waited a few minutes more. I heard some shuffling, then a thud and the sound of the door latch sliding open. I was greeted by the sight of a Purple unicorn who looked like she had been awake far too long. If she was tired, she didn't do anything more than look it. 

"Hidden Eye!" a large grin spread across her face. "I'm so glad you're here. Of course you should have been here hours ago. But you're here!" Her horn started to glow and a force pulled me inside. The door slammed behind me and relocked. 


End Chapter 3


Whew. There it is. I wrote this one in one go over the course of a few hours starting around one in the morning. When one is in the zone one does not simply stop until one is done. Please let me know if you notice anything that needs fixing. 
As always suggestions are welcome.