"So we're leaving tomorrow right?" Rainbow asked.
"Yep. There's no train to Manehattan until then." Twilight answered. X chuckled.
"X, we ain't gonna have ya strainin' yer legs gettin' us everywhere." Applejack gave him a slightly annoyed look. X just looked back to his book on ancient pony history.
"Right. So X, NOW do you wanna see who's a better flyer?"Rainbow asked.
"Sure." X got up and flipped the book shut, following the blue Pegasus out the door.
"So girls, How are we going to deal with a kidnapper?" Twilight asked.
"Ask very very nicely?" Fluttershy suggested.
"Fluttershy, I doubt a kidnapper is just going to say "Yes I am a kidnapper." if you ask them."Rarity mocked her just a little.
"Then what do you suggest, Rarity?" Applejack asked.
"Well, I think we should..."Rarity started.
~~~
Rainbow laughed as she flew around several clouds. From what she could tell, she was way ahead of X. She cut her laugh short when she heard a buzzing behind her. Looking over her shoulder she spotted X approaching fast. A moment later and he had passed her.
"You wanna play it that way? We'll play it THAT way!" Rainbow shot off and quickly caught up to X again.
"You ain't that bad, but let's see if you can catch up when I'm doing a sonic rainboom." Rainbow chuckled, firing off at a tremendous speed. X's hind hooves opened and rocket engines slid out, before firing him off in pursuit of his friend. Soon enough he was next to her as they approached the sound barrier.
"It's called the Sonic Rainboom for a reason. Watch!" Rainbow yelled, picking up just a little bit of speed and hitting the sound barrier, giving off her trademark rainbow-colored sonic wave. Doing the same, X managed to create his own, a copper, cog-shaped sonic wave.
"Huh. Pretty good."
~~~
When the two ponies walked back in, they were met by Twilight.
"Hello you two. How'd it go?" Twilight asked.
"He's just as fast as me! He even pulled off a Sonic Rainboom, although it was more of a gear-boom."Rainbow answered. The three of them chuckled.
"That's awesome! Anyways, we figured out a plan, read this." Twilight handed them a scroll. Unrolling it, X read the text while Rainbow observed the map.
'First, we will ask about the kidnappings and try to find out anything about the people kidnapped. If enough of them have a talent for something, like art, we will have someone like Rarity be bait until a kidnapper comes, but we will jump them and interrogate them. If there are more we will find out where and let Celestia know.' the text read. Simple enough. Celestia probably wanted him to go because he'd be good at intimidating them. His attention was caught by Twilight, and he noticed Rainbow had walked off.
"X, come here! I wanna show you something." Twilight gestured for him to come over. Following him up the stairs he noticed the lights were off. Before he could say anything the lights snapped on.
~~~
"Welcome to Ponyville!" the six mares called loudly. X was caught off guard and fell over, to the amusement of his friends. Getting up, he shook some streamers off of him and looked at his friends with a look of confusion.
"Whaa-aaa?" X muttered quietly.
"You're new to Ponyville still and not many people know you so me and the others set up a welcome party!" Pinkie explained.
"Ah, yes, you said you would. Thank you everyone." X smiled.
"Here, drink this!" Pinkie handed him a glass of lemonade.
"Oh, no. No,no,noooo..." X, Twilight and AJ all backed away.
"What's wrong? Can't he drink?" Pinkie turned to Twilight.
"Nah, makes him go all funny and red lights in his ears flash." Applejack explained.
"Yes, well, anyway, let's enjoy ourselves." X smiled.
~~~
X woke up draped over the table in Twilight's house. The heck happened last night? He wasn't drunk, he was physically incapable of becoming so, yet his memory of the previous night was fuzzy. He stood up to smell food being made downstairs and looked around to observe the room. Rainbow was sleeping on the balcony and Applejack on a bookshelf, with the books strewn all over the floor. He could hear Pinkie Pie talking outside. X woke up Applejack.
"Do you know what happened last night?" X asked.
"Nah, only there was a party. Why am I in a bookcase?" she answered, banging her head on the shelf above her. X merely shrugged. Walking downstairs, Spike was making food and Twilight was packing some bags.
"Huh?" was X's response.
"Oh, morning X, I was just packing for the trip to Manehattan." Twilight smiled.
"Ah, yes, the kidnappings. I was just wondering what happened last night. Do you want me to help?" X offered.
"If you don't mind."
"By the way, AJ and Rainbow are still upstairs."
~~~
X watched sleepily as the train approached the station. Twilight had gotten everyone to come to the station early just so they didn't miss it, but it was due two hours later. The train slowed as it grinded into the station and wheezed as it halted. The carriage doors were opened and the conductor stepped onto the platform.
"All aboard to Manehattan!" the conductor called. X stepped on and moved to the side to allow his friends on, before following them to a carriage. He sat down on one of the seats closest to the back of the carriage and stared out the window.
"My, we're ACTUALLY going to Manehattan! Why, I've heard it is such a nice place to go!" Rarity grinned at the thought.
"Yeah, but remember why we're going there. But, still, that doesn't mean we can't enjoy ourselves while we're there." Twilight tapped the letter, which she kept for some reason.
"Yes, we know Twilight, but really, loosen up a bit. It won't hurt." Fluttershy smiled at her friend.
"What do you think, X?" Rainbow flew to the seat next to him.
"Kidnappings are serious. In Me'etar doing so would result in exile. Very few ever last long after exile." X scowled.
"It is fine to enjoy oneself but we should always keep the task in mind." X added.
"X is right. We should always look out for signs of-wait. Exile?" Applejack tapped her chin in confusion.
~~~
"You said that your home was a very isolated community. Were you exiled X?" Twilight asked.
"In a sense, yes, but my Queen can call me back whenever she feels she wants me to go back." X answered.
"But she exiled you! Why would she just call you back whenever she feels it?" Rarity asked.
"Yeah, that seems kinda...almost like she uses your kind like toys. Do you want to go back?" Twilight asked.
"I have been thinking about it, and the more I do the less I want to go back. But all Mecha-Ponies have a duty to our Queen, and we cannot deny her orders." X answered.
"What would happen if you refused? You're already exiled." Rainbow asked him.
"In a sense, I said. She told me to leave Me'etar, but she also told me to research the surface world, so she could learn about it. She would likely send soldiers to hunt me down and bring me back by force." X answered.
"That's horrible! Why would you even THINK about going back?" Rarity looked at X with horror.
"We should go back to the topic we were discussing earlier. Manehattan. Kidnappings." X suggested.
"Yeah, I think that's best."
~~~
The group stepped off the train. Manehattan. Indeed it was a nice place. But, while the six mares were admiring the scenery, X was scanning for anything of use.
"Alright gang, let's go look around."Twilight stepped forward.
"Where should we go first?" Applejack asked.
"We could go looking for a market. There are often people at a market." Rarity suggested.
"Me and X could go scan the area from above for something." Rainbow suggested.
"I have detected a city square not too far North. We should head there." X suggested, pointing down a road.
"Good idea. Still, though, Rainbow and X should go scan above." Fluttershy pointed upwards.
"Yeah, let's go, X!" Rainbow leapt into the air.
"Okay, sure." X simply shrugged before taking off.
It had been a hard day trying to find out something. The various mares and the copper stallion had been talking to almost anyone who would pay attention to them. Only a few would actually talk to them. It was getting dark, so the crew gathered at the square X had initially scouted out.
"Okay, girls. And boy. What have we got?" Twilight asked.
"Not much. One lady said a confectioner that arrived recently has stopped her work. New, but very talented, apparently."Rarity shrugged.
"Yeah, I heard the same." Applejack nodded.
"Uh, who's got something different?" Twilight raised an eyebrow.
"I have something." X blinked. There was a pause as everyone stared at him inquisitively.
"After asking six people I concluded doing so was a waste of time. I instead performed a survey and partial investigation to activity in nearby shops." He explained.
"Indeed, the confectioner has stopped activity entirely. Most nearby shops have had no change in effect. A grocers has, however, moved locations recently, and upon investigating the previous location found many signs of tunneling."
"Tunneling? What?" Rainbow cocked her head to the side.
"Indeed. Three shops have also vanished entirely, or rather, their keeper has vanished too, but with explained reasons for absence-They were invited to a 'party' of sorts. I have found three letters inviting all three to the location of the missing confectioner, all signed Madame La Vienna'." X explained.
"That wasn't the name of the confectioner, she was called Madame La Mosique! Whatever that means." Rarity looked in the direction of the building. Everyone else was staring at X at the fact he had effectively rendered everyone else's investigations for naught. Save for Rarity's.
"Well, this is certainly suspicious. Maybe bait isn't necessary at all. Shall we go now, or wait?" Twilight asked.
"Let's go tomorrow, we don't want to be caught out in the dark." Fluttershy looked around her cautiously.
"Good point. We should find a hotel or something." Rainbow nodded, yawning.
"Okay, let's move, gang." Twilight set off towards the nearest hotel.
The six mares all headed off into their three rooms. They had rented out the hotel's last three rooms, so they had two each, but X instead had to sleep out in the corridor. After an hour or so Twilight's door opened.
"X, you wanna come share my room?"
"I thought Fluttershy was using the other bed." X blinked, raising his head.
"No, she felt a little uncomfortable with some scratching noises under her floorboards so she went to share Rainbow and Applejack's." Twilight shook her head. X thought. He had dosed off for a while before, apparently she had changed rooms then. At least he'd have company.
"Of course." He smiled, standing up and following her back in. He felt a tad uncomfortable as he followed the purple mare into her room. As she flopped back into her bed, he cautiously got into his, watching Twilight to make sure she wasn't up to what he thought she was. When she rolled over and eyed him, his computer went from 'Wary' to 'Cautious'. He decided 'Cautious' didn't work so he created a sub-routine called 'Oh Lord No'. His computer immediately switched to that. He began to retreat back into his sheets.
"C'mon, X, two days ago you were fine snuggling up to me, what's the issue now?" She asked, noticing his uncomfortable look and wide, cautious eyes. After a moment of thought, he realised he had no idea what his problem was, and that he indeed had no issues with how others reacted to him. Sliding back out of his covers, his computer switched to 'Calm'. After a moment of silent staring, his bed was encased in a purple aura and slid over next to hers. Still apart, but close, before the aura vanished.
"Twilight."
"Yes?"
"Stop confusing me." His comment was met with a giggle.