Penned IN

by Qwix

Chapter 19: Trained to Search

Half a dozen hours later, the eight of them found a cabin on the train to themselves. The terrain passed in a blur before them outside the window; only Pennaprose was witness to it, however. Pinkie, Dash, and Applejack had gotten into a game of poker while Fluttershy watched. Rarity had fallen asleep on one of the couches; according to her, she needed her beauty sleep. Twilight had taken to working on his sudoku book.

His thoughts had calmed, but they still passed as fast as the trees outside. His laptop lie open, a blank document up, but nothing coherent was coming to him. Twilight had assured him that they wouldn't get to Canterlot until early tomorrow morning, so he packed everything he owned, which was very little.

As he stared out the window, Twilight paused and looked up at the lack of key tapping. She shut the sudoku book and walked over to him.

"You seem... distracted."

He gave her a sidelong glance. "Is it that obvious?"

" I know you want to find Lyra as soon as possible, but nopony can help it," said Twilight. "What were you going to write about anyway?"

He glanced back down at the keyboard. "A few days ago, I had an idea for a book. I'm still trying to work out a few details about the antagonist's motives though. And a few other wrinkles, of course..."

"Really? Do tell, what's it about?"

She seemed eager; he hesitated, trying to put his feelings into words. "...Hm... I could say it's a mystery. I could say it's a romance, or even an adventure. I can't seem to decide on the central theme, which is what's giving me the most issues. Doesn't help I can't concentrate either..."

"Maybe you just need to let your mind drift from plots and stories for a while," suggested Twilight. "Maybe you just need a break from all the excitement. A nap maybe?"

"I slept in this morning, I don't feel sleepy at all. I don't think I could sleep in these circumstances, anyway."

Her mouth drooped a little as she sunk into thought. "Hm... how about joining the others in poker? AJ sucks at it, you wouldn't be dead last even if you tried?"

He smirked a little. "Thanks, Twilight. But not right now."

"Well, you could at least help suggest something to get your mind off of Lyra until we get to Canterlot. If you do nothing but worry until we get there and find her, you'll be an absolute wreck by the time we do."

He shut his laptop. "...Thanks for caring, Twilight."

She smiled. "You're welcome!"

The cabin door slid open and a sudden outburst of laughter drew his and Twilight's attention. At the door stood Vinyl, dressed in a full black maid's outfit and carrying a duster. Dash was shamelessly rolling on the floor in laughter, which woke Rarity up.

"Excuse me?! Can't a mare get her beauty sleep around here? What are...?" Rarity exclaimed as she ripped her sleeping mask off. She spotted Vinyl. "Oh. ...Dear me, that outfit looks good on you, Vinyl. Though I didn't take you to be the cleanly type."

Vinyl tried to cover her face with her duster. "Shut up."

Dash stopped rolling around, but was still laughing harder than ever. "D-did you loose a bet with Octavia or something?! BAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"No, I did not. I take odd jobs to help fill the spotty commission gaps for being a DJ," she said as she trotted around the cabin, dusting off various shelves. "Today I get to be the janitor on this train in exchange for a free trip to Canterlot for my next gig. And I'll ask you to stop laughing if you don't want this duster shoved eight miles up your–"

"Aside from that! Not a bad perk," interjected Twilight. "But the outfit?"

"...Uniforms for unicorns," mumbled Vinyl. "Damn sexist boss..."

"Ooh, good one," said Rarity. "I should call that my new stallion suit line that."

"'Damn Sexist Boss'? Who wants a suit from Damn Sexist Boss?" chuckled Dash. "You're gonna drive away business owners with that one, Rare..."

Both Vinyl and Rarity glared and Dash, who immediately quelled under their combined gaze. "Sorry..."

"Vinyl, since you're here..." began Twilight. "You mind if I ask you about your kidnapping yesterday? I was meaning to ask you at the award ceremony, but–"

"What's to know?" said Vinyl, who got up on the couch to see where she was dusting on the top shelves. "I was chilling at home, punched out a few changelings that tried to kidnap me, then got wasted because I felt like it. Then I woke up in the hospital with a hay-over."

"Not that," said Twilight. "What about the changelings? Did anything seem... weird when they tried to kidnap you?"

Vinyl stopped dusting, getting off the couch to wave the duster in Twilight's face. "Besides the fact they tried? One of 'em turned into a chainsaw and let the other one wield it to split my couch in half. Bastards..."

"...Interesting... Thanks, Vinyl. Pinkie, you next. I've been meaning to ask you: when did you get kidnapped and how?"

Pinkie dropped her hoof-full of cards. "Remember that huginormous order we worked on together a few days ago?"

"Yes."

"Well..." she began. "The Cakes finished the cakes a little earlier than I did my half, so they closed the store early in order to go into town and restock ingredients before everywhere else closed. They told me to hold down the fort until then, only letting the customer that ordered the stuff in."

"And the one who placed the order?" asked Twilight.

"I welcomed them in a few minutes after finishing the icing on the last batch. Then I helped them load it up into a cart they brought, but after I was done, they tranq'ed me and put me in a bag! Then I woke up in the hospital, just like Vinyl did. We played 20Q and I Spy while we waited for the doctor to clear us."

"...There. A changeling must have stayed behind to impersonate you. If you outright disappeared with no trace, it would raised an immediate panic," concluded Twilight. "Case closed, but only for my own curiosity. There's something more worrisome..."

Pennaprose was watching with interest. "What's the issue here?" he asked.

"Back in the Everfree forest, something worried me about... her name was Gosthette, right Penni?" she asked. "Changelings don't normally have the ability to transform into things like rocks. Or the ability to summon ice either. Whatever she was, it wasn't a changeling as I know them...

"We are going to have to account for that fact if we run into Gosthette again," she stated. "She said to me during our fight that Chrysalis is unstoppable to us now, though she didn't bother elaborating."

She strutted in front of the group, sitting down and letting a thin ribbon of magic weave through the air. It formed into a grid that displayed a castle.

"Last time we faced Chrysalis, we were overpowered by her changelings through sheer, superior numbers alone. It took my brother Shining Armor and Princess Cadance together to repulse her from Canterlot."

The holographic image of the castle pulsed from the center, spreading millions of little flecks of magic everywhere. "Numerous changelings were driven out of Equestria subsequently, but nopony could locate where Chrysalis herself landed. She was presumed dead, but now... it's likely she is still alive. We'll take the time spent on this train ride there mapping out battle plans and setting security questions in place."

The poker game was immediately dropped as the girls worked themselves up into a frenzy to pull out various things. Umbrellas, maps, little soldier figures (Pinkie's), a picnic lunch (also Pinkie's), a compass...

He watched them wistfully. Even as they discussed battle plans and traded questions about each other, they still laughed and had fun doing it. He smiled to himself, glad that he was the only one really worrying about it. He let out a sigh and popped open his laptop. A sudden thought led to a breakthrough to the obstacles he was having to write a motive.

---

Outside, the sun was already down, but the train did not slow. Pennaprose looked down at his scattered recorded thoughts, re-reading them. He shook his head dejectedly as he found them horridly confusing, but he felt warmer now that he had gotten it off his chest. The mere act of typing seemed to lift a weight from his chest.

The girls had already gone off to the next cabin to sleep. Moonlight was beginning to filter into the cabin, striking against the cups of cocoa that Vinyl left a while ago. All but one, his cup, was drained; it sat still slightly steaming on a table beside him.

He saved the document and opened another. His previous journal entries flashed on screen; he re-read them on a whim.

Only five days, yet so many memories already. He picked up his cup, draining it a small amount. Let's add to that.

He set the cup down, typing frantically. The glow of the screen remained the only source of light in the cabin besides the moonlight, illuminating his face. For the first time since this morning, he truly felt at peace.

He stopped as the cabin door slid open. Vinyl walked in, not wearing her maid outfit but carrying a pillow and blanket. "...Hey. Any reason you're still awake?" she asked.

"There's too much to think about lately. I couldn't sleep if I tried."

She walked over, laying down on the couch beside him. "Too much to think about? Are you sure you're not just a night owl? Or does it have something to do Lyra?"

He twitched involuntarily.

"Nailed it nine times over?" she sniggered. "I know, I know, I overheard a bunch of stuff. It's a bad habit of mine, Tavi says..."

"What do you know about Lyra?"

She smiled, waving a hoof absentmindedly. "I'm one of the few, as you said this afternoon, that got to be around her a lot. I never really stopped and considered her as a friend, but we hung out a fair amount. Since we were fillies, actually. I get her free tickets into the concerts I DJ, she gets me leads on potential gigs across Equestria."

"A joint business venture, then," he reasoned.

"A little more than that. The club life is largely underground in Canterlot, so when we hang out there, gig or not, neither of us get weird looks for once."

"Don't you?"

"Canterlot is a town full of stuffy nobles," said Vinyl. "You wouldn't catch me dead there during the daytime. But at night, all the weirdos and whackjobs come out to play. It makes the town fun." She laughed quietly. "Me and Lyra included."

"You... don't seem that weird to me. Eccentric and a rather rough speaker, but weird?"

"I always DJ with a mask on. Mostly because I worry that I'll get recognized back in Ponyville by my parents or others," said Vinyl, wearing a scowl. "They club a lot, but they tell me to avoid it. So I'm glad I got this side job as a maid on this train; it gives me an excuse to travel."

He fell silent, thinking. "...I still fail to see how that's weird. So you seek freedom in the night life?"

"I want to meet Princess Luna one day and try and persuade her to start lengthening the night a little. My parents are a pair of those stuffy nobles that are just scummy enough to club. Only Tavi and Lyra know about the truth of my situation... well, you too now. Nighttime is the only time I can live away from their expectations for me..."

She hopped off the couch, gathering the empty mugs. "Nice talking with you. I needed to get it off my chest."

He paused. "Why tell me this? I barely know you."

"...Hm. Good point. I'm not entirely sure myself, but you seem like the type that can keep a secret. And any friend of Lyra's is a friend of mine. Night."

She left as he stared after her. Another idea popped, and he quickly added it to his story notes. After he saved it once more, he closed it and read his recent journal entry.

Five days I've been here. As I sit on a train bound of a place called Canterlot, the girls already went off to sleep. All that's left here is my mug, my laptop, and the company of the moon. Though Lyra remains missing, I feel calm for the first time in a while. Twilight couldn't help with it, but maybe I just needed something to drink. Oh well.

The first train didn't leave until six, though. So there was a lot of waiting around to do at the train station. I got plenty of weird looks by the citizens, others just refused to look at me. I can tell that little impromptu speech at the stage this afternoon unsettled them. I don't know how long it'll be until I return, but I will definitely return. And Lyra will be with me; then they will have to own up to their own faults. It'll come full circle eventually.

It has to.

39% power remaining.

Pennaprose Lochflow

P.S. I dug around my files and found a folder full of music. A Nine-Inch Nails playlist, among others. I don't have a pair of headphones, so I'll have to listen to it later, when everypony isn't asleep. Also, I don't know what I'm going to do when this thing runs out of power. I haven't seen any signs of electricity usage in Ponyville, besides that fake award ceremony. And I suspect that it was powered by magic.

He shut his laptop, content. In the other cabin, a sudden snore told him that at least Pinkie was dead asleep. Vinyl had left the blanket and pillow next to him; deciding it was late enough, he stowed his laptop in the upper shelf and curled up in the blanket on the couch.

He yawned, already feeling sleepy. The moonlight blinked in and out as trees blocked the windows briefly, the train bumping steadily on the tracks, rocking him to sleep. He closed his eyes, and sleep came to grasp him in its warm clutch.

---

"Moooooooooorniiiiiiiiiiiiiing! We're here! Wakeupwakeupwakeupwakeupwakeupwakeup! Pennaproooooooose!"

He was jolted out of his gentle sleep by a blur of pink falling on him, causing the both of them to roll of the couch.

"...You could have done that a little, er... gentler, Pinkie."

"Where's the fun in that?"

He grabbed his glasses in the confusion. Pinkie had tackled him off the couch and was lying on top of him; the rest of the girls were gathering their things from the cabin.

"Sleep well, Penni?" asked Twilight, who was hovering over him. "We're in Canterlot!"

He bolted upright, sending Pinkie rolling across the cabin. "Really? Great, I'll be ready in–"

"Ten seconds flat!" Dash was hovering near the top of the cabin, bags slung to her side. "Beat that!"

He smirked, feeling playful this morning. He let his magic fill the cabin, piling everything else of the girls in the center. He put his bag over his shoulder, laptop and everything.

"Three seconds. Piece of pie."

Dash looked annoyed, descending to the floor. "...Meh, whatever."

They all laughed, exiting the train in good spirits. The castle loomed in the distance among the buildings, white with marble and cleaned to a pristine state.

"Okay, everypony! Rollcall for the rules while we're here! Dash?"

"Stick together until we get to the castle! Fluttershy?"

" Um... Remember the security questions. Rarity?"

"Don't get distracted! Even if we find something gorgeous in the shops! AJ?"

"Don't take anything the locales say at face value! They could be no good, lyin' changelings! Pinkie?"

"If we run into a fight with some changelings, keep it reeeeeeeeeal quiet so that the townsponies don't panic?"

Twilight giggled. "Exactly. Gosthette and the rest of the changelings are hidden somewhere in this town along with Lyra. Our first objective is to get to Canterlot castle so I can speak with Celestia about them and get her support in weeding the changelings out of Canterlot, if she's not already aware.

"Okay!" she exclaimed. "Let's go!"

They set off together through the town streets, the morning sun bright and welcoming. He felt excited.

Hold on a little longer...