The new set of wheels had certainly made the journey a lot quicker for Trixie and Doctor Hooves. Trixie just wished that it also made things safer. Doctor Hooves did not know how much longer the trolley would last. It seemed to be on its last legs, so to speak, and smashing into everything in its path hadn’t helped stabilize things either. All the same, he assured her that, until the trolley broke down, he had firm control of it. However, that assurance did little to explain where the mysterious murder train had come from in the first place. Neither pony had seen it on the way in and the one and only path they had been taking into the park was straight and narrow. She supposed it could have been hidden in one of the buildings somehow, but that still left the more essential question of the bunch: Who or what had sent it after them?
On the bright side, not only had worrying about her life helped to get Trixie over the loss of her sweet wizard hat relatively quickly, but the train appeared to be carrying them into a new section of the prison park. While the surprisingly long entrance path had been a sort of narrow shopping district, the path now opened up into a large courtyard. She looked up. Sure enough, miles of fake open sky stretched out in every direction. There was no indication in the building itself that they had entered a separate area, but Trixie knew there must be some sort of difference reflected behind the illusions of the place. Maybe it was just intuition, but something told her that there was a kind of tiered structure in place. Whether it was the tiers of the park or the tiers of the prison was up for debate, but neither option gave her a great deal of comfort.
As the train came to a stop, she felt even less comfort.
“Doctor? Why are we stopping?” her tremulous voice asked. Maybe the transport had let her feel safer than she realized.
In fairness, Doctor Hooves did not look a great deal more sure of the situation. “That might,” he paused as he looked around awkwardly, giving the occasional button a flick, “be the end of the line. Looks like it only runs through the main street. And wherever it came from originally. Which could be anywhere.”
“Is there any way you could send it in reverse?” Trixie asked, proud of herself for starting to get a grasp of the whole ‘detective pony junior’ thing.
“Not with the controls the way they are." Doctor Hooves groaned. “This would all be so much easier with a screwdriver.” He sounded even more depressed than when Trixie lost her hat. The way he talked about the thing, she was starting to wish he had it too. “Alright, you stay on the train. I’ll get off and see if I can find a way to rework it manually. Um, hoofually.”
Just as he made his way to step off the trolley, Trixie made a mad dive. She landed hard right in front of him, blocking off his exit. The Doctor couldn’t seem to decide if he should be surprised or amused at the act, so he looked down at her with a sort of confused smile. Honestly, it had looked like fun.
“Don’t you dare get off this thing without Trixie!” the unicorn shouted as she scrambled to her hooves. “You know as well as I, that as soon as you step off this train, it will rocket away, leaving Trixie stranded and probably kidnapped by whatever horrible thing sent it in the first place!”
Doctor Hooves blinked in sudden revelation. “You know,” he said far too slowly, “that does sound like the sort of thing that would happen to me.”
Trixie nodded triumphantly. It didn’t take unicorn magic to see that who or whatever it was that imprisoned them was working from a very specific playbook. The Great and Powerful Trixie had heckled enough rivals from their audience to know a massive troll when she sensed one.
“Off at the same time, then?” Doctor Hooves asked sympathetically.
She nodded happily and took her place by his side. This time, on the Doctor’s count of three, they stepped off the train, placing themselves safely on the paved floor. To literally everyone’s surprise, nothing happened.
“Huh.”
“Yeah.”
“Well, let’s just,” Doctor Hooves mumbled a bit, looking for any straws to grasp at, “go. Before it explodes or something.”
That was all Trixie needed to hear. In the next moment, the two ponies were calmly walking away from the trolley as quickly as possible. Safely removed from the confines of the trolley, they could better see just what the courtyard had to offer. No longer flanked by shops and buildings, everything spread out in a rounder shape. The iron fencing that must have run along behind the shops from before could now be glimpsed swooping widely around them, obscured here only by a series of tall shrubs. As they looked to the horizon, it became clear that the courtyard was more of a transition area and did not last as long as the corridor street had. Instead of continuing for illusory miles, they could actually see the great open area end abruptly as it came to three large entry ways; one to the left, one to the right, and one down the center. Each of the three entries was marked by a themed arch that visitors could pass beneath, presumably ushering those who dared investigate them into separate areas of their own.
The path on the left was flanked by two large curved trees. There was more fake foliage down this way than they had seen anywhere else in the park thus far. Singing birds and other comically happy animals were painted on the wooden arch that rested on the branches of the two trees.
The path on the right had pillars shaped from glittering rainbows. Not pillars painted to look like rainbows, but what appeared to be actual rainbows. They were surprisingly pretty, even when everything else in this place seemed to twist everything pleasant into a sort of creepy caricature. Trixie wondered if they were actually pegasus made or if it was just another impressive hologram. Between the rainbows sat a fluffy cloud, only just obscuring a warm sun behind it. Beyond the entrance, the path ahead was obscured with mist, just as the left path had been with trees.
Finally, the center path was marked by two majestic stone pillars. Trixie had never seen such fine masonry before. Guessing from how ornate they were, she assumed they must have taken forever to carve by hoof. While they looked to be made of stacked segments, rather than one single piece, each segment had a slight outward curve that traveled all the way around in a completely symmetrical design. Every separation between sections was inlaid with a brilliant gold. If it hadn’t looked so sturdy, Trixie would have thought it was a filigree. Cresting the tops of the columns was an elaborate stone frieze. It depicted several ponies, posed forever proudly. They had no weapons, but the way they held themselves was not unlike how Trixie had imagined the ancient warrior ponies in some of her father’s stories. The central figure was a beautiful unicorn with a luxurious flowing mane.
These three arch ways dominated the landscape, but it was not long before Trixie and Doctor Hooves spotted a nearer spectacle. There, in the center of the rounded courtyard, was a single monolithic screen. As they came closer to it, almost mesmerized, it quickly became clear what the thing was for: It was a map.
Rather, it was a “Park Directory,” according to the words printed at the top of it. The image on the screen was a two dimensional diagram of the Ponyville Penitentiary, not unlike a directory at a real amusement park. Looking at the map, the suspicions they had about the three way path up ahead proved accurate. According to the diagram, there were multiple areas in the prison, each with their own theme and “attractions.” The screen showed not only the name of each zone, but offered a description for those curious, or cautious, enough to inquire.
Apparently, they had started out in the 'Welcome Zone.' It was described as “The first area you see when entering Ponyville Pen! This inviting recreation of a quaint city in the days of yesteryear offers all the amenities of normal society. The Welcome Zone will transition you into this revolutionary rehabilitation facility so well, you will hardly notice the difference!” Aside from the “quaint cities” she was used to not being completely deserted and there not be any “quaint” murder trolleys, Trixie had to agree.
Now, they seemed to be at 'Guidepost Central.' As they had already figured, the courtyard was the starting place for whichever route they wanted to take through the prison or, as the sign put it, “begin your adventures of individualized rehabilitation.” The path on the left led to ‘Critter Meadow,’ which was made to sound like a combination hiking trail and petting zoo. The right would take them to the ‘Skyway Flyway,’ where “even non-pegasus ponies can experience the freedom and serenity of soaring through the sunny skies.” Finally, ‘History Kingdom’ sounded like the most educational of the bunch. Neither Trixie nor the Doctor were shocked to find that each area was advertised far more like a park attraction than as a correctional venue. Of course, that only made the both of them more nervous. The more whoever it was that ran this place suggested the contrary, the more danger they were likely trying to hide.
There were, unsurprisingly, more theme areas beyond each of these first three. It looked like there were six more in total that branched out from the different exits of the initial selection, each with their own title, ranging from ‘Solitude Sanctuary’ to ‘Adventureville.’ More like ‘Solitary Confinement Station’ and ‘Place of Indiscriminate Danger or Something.’ None of those really mattered, though. It was the area at the end of the map that drew their attention: The Warden’s Castle.
Aside from the oddly sinister name, this final area had a description not so dissimilar from the rest: “If you decide to travel through a multitude of our therapeutic attractions, you can even visit the Warden! If you wish to seek out our personal counseling, come see the Warden. If you wish to appeal your rehabilitation progress, come see the Warden. Even if you just want to chat, come see the Warden. The Warden resides in Ponyville Pen twenty-four hours a day and is always here for you!”
That had to be it. It didn’t seem like much of a lead, but if they were going to get at whoever it was behind the scenes of this place, then it seemed obvious that there was one place to start looking. A shared look was all that was needed to confirm they both knew what needed to be done. Still, that didn’t stop the both of them from being chatty as all hell.
“Trixie.”
“I know, Doctor.” The Great and Powerful Trixie narrowed her eyes in a dramatic squint. “We’re off to see the Warden.”
“Aw,” he replied glumly. “I wanted to say it.”