//------------------------------// // Our Mare of what? // Story: Orange and Cyan // by PaperBack //------------------------------// In the wee morning hours for their train was pulling into the Bozemane station. The conductor pony shouted into their car “BOZEMANE STATION!” startled at the suddenness of the wake up call Rarity, Fluttershy and Twilight jumped right out out of their seats. “Do you think he could have yelled any louder?” asked the lavender alicorn, getting up off the floor of the car rubbing her cheek with a hoof. “Ah’m sure he could, sugarcube,” answered Applejack, standing up from her seat and putting on her stetson hat. Once they all had gathered their saddlebags, and other things they had lying about, they headed for the door leading to the platform. The doors opened and a cool gust of fresh mountain air filled their nostrils. Stepping off onto the platform they saw hardly anypony, except the three that boarded after they exited. The conductor shouted “AAAAALLLL AAAAABBBOOARD!” and the train took off, slowly gaining speed. Once the train left the station the six friends were left in relative silence the only sound was a creek off in the distance. “Well isn’t this just a lovely place.” said Rarity brushing her mane out of her face. “Yes, and the view isn’t bad either.” Fluttershy said gently, pointing a hoof at the mountains surrounding the town. ‘Yeah,” squeaked the bouncing pink mare that was Pinkie Pie, “It feels a lot like Ponyville!” she finished walking around the station to where the rest of Bozemane came into view. The town was seated right smack up against the the bowl that the surrounding mountains made. GGGRRRROOOOOOOOWWWWWLLLLL Applejack, Rarity and Rainbow Dash turned around and looked at the bounding pink pony, inquisitive looks on their faces. Pinkie looked back at them sheepishly, “Whaaaat, I’m, hungry!” “Well then let’s find a cafe or a bakery, if they are even open at this hour.” Twilight agreed. and they walked down the stairs leading to the street and started looking for a bakery to grab a bite to eat. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ “Man, those muffins were ta die fer,” said Applejack “,Ah think they may rival yer's Pinkie.” she looked back smiling at the pink mare. “Yes I agree they were absolutely divine,” Rarity agreed “Yeah, and it was really nice of them to give us some for later.” a light yellow pegasus said lightly. “HEY, LOOK OVER THERE!,” shouted a rainbow maned pony, making Fluttershy jump and hide behind the closest pony she could find. “Uh… sugarcube ya mind lettin’ go of mah hind end.” Applejack asked Fluttershy who blushed furiously, let go and backed away. “Sorry,” she said hiding her face behind her light pink mane. Applejack gave her a soft smile, “ It’s fahne, sugarcube.” “What is it, darling?” asked Rarity Rainbow pointed a cyan hoof at a red maned, snow white pegasus, sporting a sand colored fedora with a black band wrapped around where the brim meets the rest of the hat, walking out of a cafe three blocks down the street from where the bakery they were standing in front of. Before anypony could say, or do anything a gust of wind and a streak of rainbow color fly by them right up to the pegasus. “HI, PaperBack!” she said landing just off to the side of her. PaperBack jumped in surprise at the sudden friendly greeting and turned to meet the gaze from the cyan mare next to her. “Oh… Well hi Rainbow Dash.” she said, realizing who it was that said her, “What are you--,” Before she could finish the rest of her question,the ponies Dash walked up to see who she was talking to. “Hi ya PaperBack.” Applejack said smiling at the writer pegasus. “Well isn’t this a pleasant surprise.” PaperBack said closing her eyes and smiling at them, “What are you all doing here?” “Weeelllll there`s this--ouch,” Pinkie started to say, but received a hoof to the shoulder from Twilight. “Well we heard you say you were from here, and we all wanted to spend some time together. So we thought we would take a trip here for a visit and to see you, if we ran into you.” she said happily. “Alright, why don’t y’all follow me and I’ll show you around Bozemane.” PaperBack said cheerfully, “But first I have to go and see my husband, then we’ll get started.” They all walked down the street to a tall, fat looking building. A fenced in patio taking up most of the front, and a good portion of the sidewalk. The sign out front read ‘Welcome to the Andromeda Steak House. Walking inside the first thing they all noticed was the ceiling, hoof painted to look like the Andromeda galaxy, according to PaperBack. “Honey!” she said as soon at the door closed behind her. “Yeeees,” said the disembodied voice of a stallion from further in the restaurant, then the loud metallic sound of a pan being dropped, “MOTHER OF LUNA!” he yelled “, NOPONY MOVE! PaperBack would you bring me a mop from the bar... and some burn cream. Please?” “Of course dear,” she said quickly going to a closet that was behind a beautiful polished black marble bar. Once she had the mop inhoof she walked through the set of double doors that separated the dining room and bar from the kitchen. “Thank you honey,” the stallion said “Now after all of that cleaned up, maybe you can take a few minutes to treat your burns, and meet a few of my friends from Ponyville?” she asked walking out of the kitchen to see her friends still standing near the bar “Why don’t you all take a seat, this will take just a second.” The six friends sat at a long table, able to seat fourteen, and waited for paperBack and her husband to finish cleaning the mess he had made. They didn’t have to wait long before the squeak of door hinges grabbed their attention. Turning their heads to see who had made the doors move was PaperBack accompanied by a rusty red unicorn stallion, whose caramel colored mane,styled much like Rainbows, was kept within the confines of a black and white checkered fedora, which he had removed upon entering the dining room. A cutie mark of a skillet of some sort adorned his flank. “There now that that is done with, everypony this is my husband, Cast Iron Skillet, he own this restaurant and he also own The Milky Way Cafe in Ponyville, and several other places here in Bozemane.” said the snow pegasus as the two of them sat down at the table. “And Cast Iron these are the ponies I had the great pleasure of getting to know while I was in Ponyville writing Princess Twilights biography, that’s here there.” she said pointing a hoof at the lavender alicorn, “ and these are her friends Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash.” The Rusty unicorn nodded as they were each introduced, “ It’s great to finally meet and put faces to the ponies my wife has not stopped talking about since she’s been home.” he ended with a smile. “It’s great to meet you,too Cast Iron.” Twilight said smiling as well. “You own The Milky Way Cafe?” a bouncing pink mare asked “Yes indeed I do, Pinkie I also own the PaperBack Bakery that is across from the train station.” They all looked at each other shocked that the very pony who owned the bakery they were, in earlier this morning, and that owned the cafe in Ponyville was sitting in front of them enjoying their company. Cast Iron looked down at the table in front of him and sighed, “I just wish you had come at a better time.” “Hush dear,” Paperback said punching her him with her hoof, “that does not concern them, they will find it soon enough.” she looked back to the group of friends sitting before her. Their heads tilted to the side in confusion. Applejack was the first to break the silence that ensued after PaperBack had finished speaking, “What’s happened? has somethin’ gone missin’?” PaperBack looked at the orange farm pony and sighed, “Yes, something has. I don’t know if you are familiar with ‘Our Mare of the Rockies’?” she asked They all shook their heads, not even Twilight, knew who, or what Our Mare of the Rockies was. “Well about five years ago Our Mare of the Rockies was moved from Butte to here because Butte long ago was a mining town and the Berkeley pit, which was a copper mine years ago, finally overflowed. Washing major parts of the town away and leaving the rest unfit for ponies to live on. and so the governor had the statue to here as well as most of the residents from Butte. Now somepony had gone and stolen it. I can’t see how given that the statute is ninety feet tall and made of over four hundred tons of concrete.” PaperBack said waving a hoof to emphasise her point. “How long has it been missing?” Twilight asked PaperBack and Cast Iron looked at each other trying to recall when they had heard the news. Cast Iron was the first to speak, “ I guess she disappeared around the time PaperBack left for Ponyville. Which was what,” he looked at his snow white wife, “ about a month ago.” she nodded in agreement. “Well then girls,” said the lavender princess, “ I say we look for the statute as well.” she turned back to the adorable couple in front of them, “ Do the police police ponies have and leads of where she might be?” The couple looked at eachother, hooves to their chins in thought, “ I heard somepony say that they thought they saw the floating away toward Saddle Peak,” said the rusty colored stallion, “I’ve been all around that area, in my younger years, however I do vaguely remember there being a cave somewhere out there. I just happened to stumble upon it one day, and when I went back to try and find it again, I couldn’t.” he looked down at his hooves seaming defeated that he couldn;t be of more use to the Princess of Friendship and her friends. “I would suggest you get a map of the area before y’all head out --” PaperBack interrupted her husband, “ I would also wait until tomorrow, because it looks like the weather team is gathering a storm together. If there is one thing I know, it;s not to be caught in a Manetana storm.” “Well, if that’s the case y’all are more then welcome to stay with us, we have more then enough room for everypony, and anypony that is a friend of Paperbacks is a friend of mine.” the couple held a hoof from the other and smiled at the group of friends. “Well that’s mighty nice o’ ya.” Applejack smiled “Yeah we really appreciate your hospitality.” Twilight joined Applejack in smiling Cast Iron perked up, “How would you all like to have dinner here tonight? On me.” he said cheerfully. The six mares looked at each other, they had only been in a restaurant like this once before. They all nodded in unison. The chef pony practically jumped with joy, “ Fantastic! You will be the first princess to have eaten here, I’ve been trying to get the other princesses to come here for years. Any way Paperback why don’t you give our friends, here, a tour of the town.” PaperBack smiled at him, “Of course dear!” “And be back around six-ish.” he said as he walked back into the kitchen, and cracked his hypothetical whip at the other ponies that were back there. Turning to the group PaperBack stood and started for the door, “ We’ll stop by the house first, so y’all can drop off your saddlebags and then I’ll take you downtown.” They all stood and followed her out into the now cloudy street of Bozemane.