//------------------------------//
// Jigsaw Falling Into Place, Part 1 
// Story: The Iron Horse: Everything's Better With Robots! 
// by The Hat Man 
//------------------------------//

Outside the window of the train, the scenery rushed by in a blur. Rolling hills gave way to overgrown swamps and wetlands, which in turn gave way to wide open prairies and savannas. Twilight had spent the early part of the trip just staring outside until the others had convinced her to spend time with them, passing the time with idle conversations or a few games.

Vanderbull’s private train had indeed proved to be luxurious travelling. Besides the engine, there was the observation car with its broad windows, the dining car which was stocked with a supply of fresh food and premade snacks, and the sleeper car where Rainbow Dash had spent the first part of the trip and where Spike was still sleeping.

In the meantime, the girls were playing a game called Mane Star Holdem that Gadget had learned from watching Mr. Vanderbull play with his business partners.

“Okay, and here’s the river,” Gadget said, laying the card on the table.

“Shoot!” Applejack grunted. “I fold.”

“I’m out too,” Rainbow Dash grumbled, laying her cards on the table.

“Just you and me, Gadget,” Twilight said.

Gadget smiled. “Think you’ve got some good cards, eh?”

Twilight’s expression was as still as a statue.

“Oh my!” Rarity laughed. “I never suspected you of having such a perfect poker face, Twilight!”

“It helps when you’ve read Amarillo Slim’s Rules and Strategies of Poker a time or two,” Twilight replied.

She stared at Gadget, her gaze practically boring into her.

Gadget bit her lip. “Th-then I bet 5!”

“I’ll see it,” Twilight said, tossing a chip into the center pile, “and raise you ten more.”

Gadget glanced down at her cards, then back up at Twilight. One of her mechanical hands pushed her glasses up her muzzle. “Ten? Either you’ve got a great set of cards or you’re bluffing harder than any princess ever should.”

“It’ll cost you ten chips to find out which one,” Twilight said. “So?”

Gadget swallowed. “All right… I…”

The others all leaned in.

“I call!” she exclaimed, tossing in her bet. “So, what do you have?”

Twilight set down her cards. “Four of a kind,” she said, her grin widening.

“Oooh!” the others all said.

“W-what?!” Gadget cried. “Aww…”

“Sorry, Gadget,” Twilight chuckled, enveloping the chips with her magic. “But you shouldn’t--”

“--grab the chips before you’ve seen everypony’s cards?” Gadget asked, her shocked expression melting away. “I agree.” She tossed her cards on the table. “Straight Flush.”

“Huh?!” Twilight gasped. “B-but you were acting so--”

“Flustered?” Gadget asked, as she gathered up the chips. “I figured if I couldn’t crack your poker face, I’d just lull you into a false sense of security. ‘T-then I bet 5!’” She laughed at her own affected stuttering.

“Ohhh, she got you good, Twilight!” Rainbow Dash laughed.

Twilight sighed, but smiled. “Yeah, I guess she did.”

Just then, Spike burst in from the sleeper car.

“Everypony! Everypony look!” he exclaimed as he ran in.

“Oh, welcome back, Spike,” Fluttershy said. “Did you enjoy your nap?”

“Yeah, but when I woke up, I looked out the window, and… well, look for yourself!”

They all turned, and their eyes bulged at what they saw.

“Ooh, pretty!” Pinkie exclaimed, bounding over to the window. “And my favorite color, too!”

Outside the window were hundreds and hundreds of trees, their branches completely covered with bright pink blossoms. As the wind blew through them, some of  their petals dropped and took to the wind in a billowing pink storm.

“They’re gorgeous,” Rarity breathed, pressing her face to the window. “What are they?”

“Magnolia trees,” Applejack replied quietly. She smiled and laughed a little. “I’ve never seen so many of ‘em together.”

Twilight was just as awed as the rest of them, but her smile began to fade and her expression became stern.

Fluttershy was the first to notice. “Twilight? What is it?” she asked.

“We’re at the Great Magnolia Fields,” she said, “which means we’ve just crossed the border of Mustangia.”

They all turned to face her, their own expressions turning more serious.

“We’re getting close, huh?” Rainbow Dash asked. She took to the air, stretching her wings and legs with a grunt. “I can’t wait! We’ve been cooped up in this train all day, and I can’t wait to get my hooves on the ponies who took Tee!”

“Do you think there will be a lot of ponies looking for us?” Fluttershy asked, fidgeting with her hair.

“Or maybe,” Spike said, wringing his claws, “more robots?”

“Or maybe even a giant robot!” Pinkie exclaimed.

Gadget whipped her head around and seized Pinkie’s hoof. “Ooh, do you really think so?” she asked, her eyes lighting up. “Maybe a big purple bionic one that you can pilot!”

“Uh, maybe y’all shouldn’t sound so excited about it,” Applejack grumbled, rolling her eyes.

Twilight cleared her throat. When she had their attention, she continued.

“Listen, everypony,” she said, “for right now, the plan is that we’re not going to take the train directly into town. We’re going to stop the train on a passing siding to get it off the main track.”

“What the heck’s a passing siding?” Rainbow Dash asked.

Gadget perked up. “It’s a loop where trains can get off the main track and let other trains pass in one direction or the other. I read the map with Twilight and the engineer, and there’s a passing siding not far from Mustang City. We can park the train in the woods and then go into town on hoof!”

“I suppose that would be a bit less conspicuous,” Rarity said, rubbing her chin as she considered the idea. “So, you think we should simply walk into town?”

Twilight nodded. “I think we’d attract too much attention if we showed up in a private train like this. Especially since it isn’t our private train.”

They all nodded.

“After that, we’ll find the Royal Guard outpost, discuss strategies, and then see where we can find the Mustang Peach farm. Maybe if we find the head of the family, Cobbler Mustang, we can get to the bottom of this mystery and find Turing Test.”

Applejack raised an eyebrow. “Ya really think this guy will just admit to buildin’ Turing Test an’ her brother, an’ plottin’ against Equestria?”

“I’m not sure that he’s necessarily guilty,” Twilight said. She sighed. “But if he is, then maybe we can catch him before this goes any further. And if he’s not guilty, then maybe he has some idea who is. Either way, we don’t have any other leads, so we might as well be direct.

“Just the same, though, I don’t want him to know we’re coming, which is why we’re sneaking into town, more or less.”

“Umm…”

They all turned to look at Gadget, who was raising a mechanical finger.

“What if they recognize you?”

They all stared back at her.

“W-well, it’s just that you’re national heroes… and Twilight’s an alicorn, so… you know, that’s hard to miss.”

They all exchanged looks.

“Ya know,” Pinkie said, tapping her chin, “she’s right. It’s kinda weird how little that comes up.”

Gadget smacked her forehead. “Look, this is easy enough to fix,” she said. She galloped out of the car and then returned with a black jacket identical to the one she was wearing. She gave it to Twilight.

“You brought another jacket?” Twilight asked.

“Having mechanical arms really wears them out, so I bring spares,” Gadget replied. “But the point is, if you wear it…”

Twilight put the jacket on and noticed what Gadget meant.

“...it covers my wings!”

“Exactly! Now at least you’re just a unicorn… nothing out of the ordinary!”

“Good thinking, Gadget,” Twilight said. “Okay, everypony, let’s get ready. The sooner we get started…”

Here she narrowed her eyes and took on a hard grin.

“...the sooner we find Turing Test.”


***


Mustangia City was less a city and more of a village, they found. They wandered in from the woods surrounding the place and strolled up the main street through town. On either side of the street were wooden buildings, including a few clothing stores, a clock shop, an antique store, a pharmacy and malt shop, a general store, the Sheriff’s office, a saloon, and many more.

The first thing they noticed was that the buildings were all painted brightly, with bold whites, reds, oranges, and blues. Several of the shops hung a strange-looking flag near their door or in their window. The flag had three broad horizontal stripes - red, white, then red again - with a blue field in the top left corner with a golden horseshoe surrounded by bits of what looked like barbed wire.

“You know,” Rarity whispered, “I thought this place might be… well, I wasn’t certain what to expect, but this village is actually rather lovely!”

“It is very colorful,” Fluttershy said. Many ponies were walking about that day and several of them waved, tipped their hats, or said hello to them when they passed. Fluttershy smiled and waved back. “And friendly, too!”

“Probably just trying to lull us into a false sense of security,” Rainbow Dash grumbled, her eyes shifting from one side of the street to another.

But Pinkie shook her head. “They sure don’t look like they’re faking it!” she said. “I still remember all those phony baloney smiles when we went to Starlight Glimmer’s village, but these smiles look A-OK to me!”

“Maybe,” Twilight said, narrowing her eyes as she looked upwards, “but it’s not the smiles that caught my attention.”

She pointed with her hoof, and it was then that they noticed that tall wooden poles were lined up behind the buildings. Strewn from them were long black wires that ran to practically every building.

Gadget’s eyes widened. “Electrical wires?” she asked aloud. “No, wait… those are--”

There was a loud ringing from one of the shops, and her head jerked up in recognition. She dashed over to the window to see what it was. She waved the others over to see what she’d spotted.

In the window, a unicorn was holding a strange conical device up to his ear as he spoke into a thing that looked like a black candlestick. He looked over at the group of them in the window and smiled at them, giving a little wave before turning his attention back to the device.

“A telephone!” Gadget exclaimed.

“A what now?” Applejack asked. “Ya mean a telegraph?”

“No,” Twilight replied, frowning as she rubbed her chin. “That’s a telephone. It’s a machine that converts sound to electrical signals and back.”

“Oh, like a record, right?”

Gadget nodded excitedly. “Right, except it does it in real time! That pony’s talking to another pony somewhere else! Wow, I knew that they were using these inside some of the bigger buildings in Manehattan, and we’re even getting them installed at Vanderbull Industries next year, but to think this whole town would be wired up like that! Incredible!”

Twilight bit her lip, deciding not to mention that she knew of a place where telephones were extremely common, wireless, and capable of much more than just letting two individuals talk to each other.

“That’s really cool, Gadget!” Spike said.

“Yeah! I could call Mom and Dad all the time with that!” Pinkie exclaimed. Then she frowned. “Wait, why haven’t I heard of these thingies before? It seems like everypony would want one!”

Gadget opened her mouth, then shut it when she saw Twilight’s expression.

“W-well, you see…” she mumbled.

Twilight sighed. “Princess Celestia issued her opinion on them after their inventor, Gray Bell, demonstrated them for her. She said that she couldn’t imagine a future where ponies would talk into scratchy-sounding tubes in rooms by themselves with ugly wires hung between buildings like cobwebs when they could express themselves better with letters.”

“Not to mention the telegraph company propaganda,” Gadget said, “that told ponies that it would make you go deaf or that other ponies could listen in on your conversations.” She scoffed, rolling her eyes. “After that, almost nopony wanted to invest in them. What a waste.”

The others fell silent for a moment, before Rarity said, “Oh, dear. Forgive me, Twilight, but doesn’t this story sound a bit… familiar?”

“If you mean that it sounds a lot like what happened with Celestia and the invention of the farming automaton,” Twilight said, her expression turning sour, “then you’re right.”

Fluttershy glanced back at the pony speaking into the phone through the window. “Well, if that’s true,” she said, “then why do all these ponies have them?”

“Because maybe,” Twilight said, “they don’t care what Celestia thinks.”

They let that sink in before they started up the street again.

“Come on, everypony,” Twilight said. “Spike, do you have the map that shows us where to find the Royal Guard outpost?”

Spike held up the map proudly. “Got it right here, Twilight!”

“Twilight?!” a voice cried. “And is that… it is!”

They all turned and saw a yellow pony with a green mane and a pink blouse galloping over to them. They froze when they saw who it was.

“Oh!” Twilight said, laughing nervously. “It’s you, um… Miss…”

“Ms. Peachbottom!” she said, coming up and shaking Twilight’s hoof vigorously. “My golly, I never would’ve expected to see y’all come here! Ain’t that just the nicest surprise!”

They all wore forced smiles as more and more ponies on the street turned to see what the commotion was about.

“Lan’ sakes, last time I saw you was when y’all showed me around the Crystal Empire!” she went on. “An’ if that wasn’t just the nicest surprise a humble chicken farmer like myself ever did receive! Why just today, I woke up thinkin’ about it an’ wonderin’ just what the hay y’all were up to, then lo’ and behold, I come here to buy more feed for my yardbirds an’ here y’all are!”

“I-it’s very nice to see you too,” Twilight said, forcing herself to smile. “B-but you see, we--”

“Oh, but you must be just roastin’ in that jacket, Twilight!” Ms. Peachbottom went on. Then her eyes lit up. “Oh my goodness, an’ that’s right… last time I saw you, you were just an ordinary, everyday unicorn, but now, you’re a princess!”

Rainbow Dash smacked her forehead as more ponies around gasped and started gabbing excitedly. “Welp, our cover’s blown,” she grumbled. “So much for the element of surprise.”

“Twilight’s the Element of Magic, Dashie,” Pinkie said, rolling her eyes.

“No, I mean… oh, never mind!”

Ms. Peachbottom, meanwhile was still fawning over Twilight. “Now, I hate to ask, but… can I see ‘em? Your wings, I mean? Oh, I bet they are just gorgeous!”

Twilight sighed. It was too late to conceal their identities now, so, if they had to make a run for it or something, it would be better to not have the jacket weighing her down. Using her magic, she removed the jacket and spread her wings wide.

The crowd gasped and shouted in surprise.

Applejack tensed up. “Get ready, y’all…”

Then the crowd erupted into cheers.

“It’s Princess Twilight!”

“And her friends!”

“Our heroes!”

“Ooh, ooh, will you sign my hat?!”

“Is Rarity the one with the mechanical arms?”

To their mutual surprise, the ponies of Mustangia were anything but displeased to see them. Despite their suspicions of hating royalty, they appeared to be huge fans of Twilight and her friends. A few of them were likewise impressed with Gadget’s mechanical arms and asked some surprisingly knowledgeable questions about how they worked.

Amid all the chaos, a loud whistle was heard, and they all turned to see a bright green unicorn wearing gold-colored armor.

“I see you’ve met the locals, Your Highness,” he said. “Allow me to introduce myself. I’m Chief Sergeant Sea Hawk of the Royal Guard.”

The crowd quieted down at the sight of him.

Twilight stepped forward, smiling at him. “It’s good to meet you, Chief Sergeant. I’m Twilight Sparkle, and these are my friends.”

“Yes, we received the telegram from Her Majesty,” he said, giving the rest of them a brief nod. “Though Princess Celestia didn’t mention that you’d be bringing your assistant and…” he raised an eyebrow at Gadget, “...a guest?”

Gadget trotted forward. “Hello, sir!” she said, saluting with one of her mechanical hands. “I’m Gadgette F. Giroux, but you can call me Gadget!”

“She’s a friend of ours,” Twilight explained.

“Ah, I see,” he said, his expression softening. He bowed to them. “Then, in that case, if you’ll come with me to the outpost, we can discuss the matter at hoof.”

“Oooh!” Ms. Peachbottom said. “I didn’t know y’all were here for business! I thought this was just a little vay-cay!”

“I wish,” Applejack said, tipping her hat to her as they all began to follow Sea Hawk. “Let’s just say we’re here for a friendship problem an’ leave it at that.”

“Well, when that’s finished, do us a favor and stay awhile!” she replied. “I guarantee you, you don’t know hospitality until you’ve sampled Mustang hospitality!”


***


The outpost was little more than a small, two-story building on the outskirts of town. On the ground floor was the front desk, a bulletin board with wanted posters (none of which any of them recognized), a meeting room, and a lounge. The second floor, they were told, contained the individual quarters of each guardspony.

“We don’t usually get a lot of visitors or much attention,” Sea Hawk said as they entered the outpost. “Mostly we spend our time following up on tax collection, chasing down moonshiners, or searching for banned substances.”

Behind the front desk was a tall, husky yellow earth pony stallion. Leaning on the counter chatting with him was a purple pegasus mare with her helmet off.

“Look alive, Buttercup, Violet Wisp!” Sea Hawk barked. “Her Highness is here!”

The mare put her helmet on, and she and the earth pony stood at attention.

“Sir, yes sir!” they both said, saluting him.

“This is Corporal Violet Wisp,” Sea Hawk said, gesturing to the pegasus mare, “and Private First Class Buttercup. Guards, this is Princess Twilight and her companions, including her assistant Spike the Dragon and Miss Gadget, who’s on loan from Cornelius Vanderbull.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Your Highness!” Violet Wisp said, her voice an energetic rasp.

“And thank you for visiting our outpost!” Buttercup chirped, his voice comparatively tiny and even childlike for how large he was.

“We’re going to review the plan with our guests,” Sea Hawk said. “Violet, go find Orange Slice. Buttercup, bring our guests some coffee.”

“Yes, sir!” they both said.

After that, Sea Hawk led them back to the meeting room, which was a round table surrounded by maps and notes and locations placed on bulletin boards all around them, as well as several tall filing cabinets.

“You have a nice outpost,” Twilight said, smiling at him. “It reminds me of the outpost my brother worked at a while back before he became Captain.”

“He must have worked very hard to get that position,” Sea Hawk said, taking off his helmet to reveal an upswept mane of bright blue hair. He smiled. “Still, you do our little outpost too much credit. There’s nothing terribly important out here, so mostly just the four of us keep an eye on things.”

“I think it’s awesome!” Rainbow Dash said, looking around eagerly. “You’re like a bunch of detectives, pursuing leads, tracking down bad guys, and bringing ‘em in!”

Sea Hawk chuckled. “I think you’ve got a romanticized version of things. Most of the time, we’re just waiting around for something to happen. This is a nice spot, but the locals… well, they don’t have a good history with the Royal Guard.”

“Why not?” Twilight asked.

Sea Hawk sighed. “It’s all friendliness and smiles until we’re knocking on a neighbor’s door, asking why they haven’t paid their taxes, or uncovering an illegal still in somepony’s barn. Then we’re just ‘The Feds,’ come to push around hard-working folks.”

This was the first anti-government talk they’d heard since they’d arrived, and they all exchanged a look at it.

All, that is, except for Gadget, whose cheeks were flushed as she stared up at the handsome sergeant.

“S-so,” she said, breaking the silence. “You must get lonely out here, if the townsponies don’t trust you.”

“Oh… very lonely,” he said, leaning down toward her as he stared deep into her eyes.

“S-sergeant Sea Hawk,” she murmured, holding out her hoof.

Then she felt a poke in her ribs and snapped out of her daydream when she saw Rarity giving her a stern look.

“H-huh?” she asked, looking around. “Oh! Um, you were saying, Sergeant Sea Hawk?”

“I, uh…” He looked down at her, raising an eyebrow. “I was saying that it’s not so bad out here. The other guards are good company.”

Rarity elbowed her. “Darling,” she whispered, “he is rather dashing, but please try to stay grounded.”

“R-right,” she whispered back, scrunching inward.

The door opened, and Buttercup entered with a carafe and several coffee cups. Behind him were Violet Wisp and another pegasus, an orange stallion.

“Reporting for duty, Sarge!” the newcomer said.

Sea Hawk narrowed his eyes.

“Er, Sergeant Sea Hawk!” he said, saluting as he corrected himself.

“Better,” Sea Hawk grunted. “Okay, let’s get down to business.”

Twilight stood. “To be brief, we’re looking for my friend Turing Test.”

“The mechanical pony,” Violet Wisp said, giving a nod. “We heard that in the report, Your Highness.”

“You can call me Twilight,” she said.

Violet looked to Sea Hawk, who gave her a nod. “Twilight, then,” she said, smiling. “And the point is that you think the Mustang Peach family built her and then stole--”

“Kidnapped.”

“--kidnapped her.”

Twilight and the others nodded.

“Oh, I don’t know about that,” Buttercup said, frowning as he poured some coffee for Gadget, who took it eagerly. “The Mustang Peaches were awfully understanding the last time we had an investigation.”

“Yeah, which wasn’t easy!” Orange Slice said, rolling his eyes. “All those stuck-up Canterlot guards practically turned the whole region upside-down looking for evidence of a conspiracy!”

“Private Slice!” Sea Hawk snapped. “They were just doing their job.”

“You’ve got to admit, though, Sarge,” Violet said, rolling her eyes, “they sure didn’t want much of our input during the investigation, even though we’re the local outpost.”

Sea Hawk made a sour face at the term ‘Sarge.’

“Look now,” Applejack said, getting to her hooves. “We ain’t here to accuse anypony or get in the middle o’ yer troubles with the Canterlot guards. We’re just here to find our friend.”

“You said it, AJ!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. “So, enough talk!” Here she pounded on the table. “I say we go pay that family a visit and make ‘em tell us what they know!”

“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight snapped. “Don’t be rude! I would like to get the Guards’ input before we go anywhere!”

Rainbow Dash grumbled, crossing her forelegs as she sulked in her seat. Applejack also sat back down, trying to calm herself.

“We understand your concern,” Sea Hawk said, “and we think we know the best course of action. We believe that you should proceed to the Mustang Peach family home on their orchard without us.”

They all stared at him.

“Um, not to be rude,” Fluttershy said, raising an eyebrow, “but are you really sure that’s such a good idea?”

“Oh, believe me,” Sea Hawk said, “you’d be better off without us there.”

“Sarge is right,” Violet Wisp agreed. “They’ve made it clear that they’re tired of us coming around, talking to their workers, disrupting their farming and their factories, and all that.”

“Aw, come on!” Orange Slice shouted. “We shouldn’t care what they think!”

“But Orange Slice,” Buttercup said, “if we push them around, they might cooperate even less, and they won’t trust anyone with us, like Princess Twilight and her friends.”

“Exactly my thinking, Buttercup,” Sea Hawk said. He turned back to Twilight. “I’ll escort you to their orchard. It’s just up the big dirt road outside of town. But once we’re there, we’ll leave you to it. If there’s trouble, then use this.”

He used his magic to levitate open a supply cabinet and bring out a small glass vial.

“This is a magical signal flare. If you need us, throw it to the ground and smash it, and it will send a bright flare into the sky that can be seen from anywhere within a dozen kilometers for twenty minutes.”

Twilight frowned. “If you really think it would be best for us to go on our own,” she said hesitantly.

“I do,” Sea Hawk said. He sighed. “Listen, I’ll be blunt… Professor Cobbler Mustang is the most powerful pony in Mustangia, and while he’s kind and patient, he has very little love for the Royal Guard or Her Majesty, Princess Celestia. But I happen to know that he holds you and your friends in high regard. If you are going to get any cooperation from him in this investigation, it would be wise to stay on his good side.”

“Unless he’s the pony responsible,” Rainbow Dash muttered.

“If he is, then we’ll deal with that when the time comes,” Twilight said. “In the meantime, Sergeant Sea Hawk, we’ll take your advice. And your signal flare,” she said, passing it to Pinkie.

“I’ll keep it nice and safe, Twilight!” Pinkie said, placing the vial into her mane and letting it sink into its depths.

“All right, let’s go!” Spike exclaimed, getting up from the table.

“Hold on,” Twilight said, holding up her hoof. “Spike, I want you to stay here. It’s like you said earlier, nopony can get a letter to Celestia quicker than you, so I want you to stay here at the outpost where it’s safe. Gadget, I want you to stay with Spike.”

“What?!” she cried. “But what if--”

“Gadget, listen,” Twilight said, cutting her off. “You’re the only one around here who can help fix Turing Test if we need to. And if something happens to you, then I’m not sure that there’s anypony else for a few hundred kilometers who could help us. Besides,” she added with a smirk, “I don’t think I could face Mr. Vanderbull if you got hurt helping us out.”

Gadget sighed. “All right,” she said quietly. “I guess Spike and I will hold down the fort.”

“Guess so,” Spike said, resting his face in his claws irritably.

“We’ll get you both set up in a spare room,” Sea Hawk said. “Princess Twilight, if you and the rest of your friends are ready, we’ll leave immediately.”


***


Sea Hawk saw them to the gateway to the orchard, and soon the six of them were making their way down the dirt road through the peach orchard. All around them, tall, verdant trees were filled with bright red and yellow fruit ripening on every branch. A warm breeze blew through the trees, rustling their leaves as the six walked under a bright blue and perfectly cloudless sky.

“Hoo-wee,” Applejack said, looking up at the trees appreciatively. “Those are some fine lookin’ peaches!”

“One would hope so,” Rarity said, “considering they were grown by a family named after them.”

“By the way,” Fluttershy said, flying up next to Twilight, “why is this place called Mustangia? Is it named after the Mustang Peach family?”

Twilight turned to smile broadly at her. “Actually, I did a little research on the subject!” she said excitedly. “The region was named for the Mustang clan, one of the most powerful clans in the region before integration into Equestria. They were wild, nomadic ponies who roamed the open plains! The explorers and traders from Equestria just named the region after them, and to this very day they call the wild, free-spirited ponies of the region ‘mustangs!’”

Fluttershy nodded. “That’s interesting,” she said, “but does that mean the Mustang Peaches are named after them?”

“I have no idea, but…” Then she paused, raising her head as her ears twitched.

There was a loud, rumbling sound coming from behind them. They looked and saw that something large was passing on the other side of the trees lining the road. As it got closer, they saw that something was sucking the peaches right off the branches. They watched, transfixed as the thing passed, barely visible between the trunks as it sped by.

“What the hay was that?!” Applejack demanded.

“Let me see!” Rainbow Dash shouted, and took to the air. She flew over the treetops and followed the thing. When she zoomed in front of it, she saw that it was some kind of four-wheeled vehicle with a funnel on top and off to the side. It was vacuuming the peaches right off the branches and into a huge cylindrical container on the back. A brown unicorn stallion in overalls and a wide-brimmed hat was driving it.

“Hey!” she yelled, waving her forelegs.

Somehow the pony heard her over the noise of the machine and looked up. He widened his eyes a moment, then smiled and brought the machine to a stop.

“Well, howdy there, Miss!” he said, getting out of the machine. “Can I help you with somethin’?”

Rainbow Dash landed just as the others caught up to them.

“Sorry to bother you, sir!” Twilight said. “But my friends and I--”

“Now hold the phone!” the stallion said, a huge grin on his face. “Why, you’re Princess Twilight! My my my, I never thought I’d see the day when a pony like you would be in a place like this!”

Twilight blushed and held up her hooves. “No, no, I’m just an ordinary pony like anypony else,” she said.

Applejack, meanwhile, was eyeing the machine with distaste, her eyes narrowed and her lips pursed.

“Guess around these parts, y’all don’t go harvestin’ yer fruit the traditional way,” she said.

“Well, not these at least,” the stallion said. “These here peaches are gonna be used for the peach brandy. We’re mostly gonna juice ‘em up anyway, not sell ‘em or use ‘em in a pie or jam or somethin’ else. The ones we use fo’ the market and such, we buck the trees but good. Not me, though, on account of bein’ a unicorn. We leave that to the earth pony workers.”

Applejack blinked. “Oh,” she said. “I… sorry, I guess I just didn’t realize…”

“Oh, pshaw, you don’t gotta apologize none, missy!” the stallion said. “Now, how can I help you nice mares?”

“Well, sir,” Twilight said, taking a deep breath, “we’re actually looking for Professor Cobbler.”

“Then you are on the right path, Princess! The big house is just up the way!” he replied. “But tell you what… it’s much shadier and more pleasant if you walk through the trees. Just cut through right this way,” he said, raising his hoof to point the way, “an’ you will be at the Professor’s house in no time! Feel free to grab a peach or two on the way, if you like; I’m sure he won’t mind!”

He was about to go back to his work when Fluttershy cleared her throat.

“Excuse me, sir?” she asked. “I’m sorry to ask, but… you work for Professor Cobbler, right?”

“Yes, that’s right,” he said, nodding, though he raised an eyebrow at the question. “Why do you ask?”

“It’s just that,” she paused, rubbing her chin. “Well, what sort of pony is he? Is he, um… nice?”

“Nice?” the stallion repeated. Then he started to laugh. “Oh, young lady, I suppose you must not know much about him! Why, Cobbler Mustang is one of the nicest, most generous ponies I ever worked fo’!”

“Yes, it does seem that many ponies hold him in high regard,” Rarity said. “But could you perhaps give a more specific example?”

“Surely!” he said, removing his hat and placing it over his chest. “Fo’ one thing, Mr. Cobbler pays all his farmhooves ten bits more an hour than anypony in Mustangia! An’ when my wife an’ I were havin’ a baby, he gave her a whole year of maternity leave, an’ he gave me six months, with no cut in wage at all!”

They all gawked at him.

“That’s…” Rarity began, before shaking her head. “That’s--”

“That’s wonderful!” Fluttershy exclaimed. “Oh, he must be the nicest boss in all Equestria!”

“That’s what most of us say, missy!” The stallion gave them a nod before climbing back into the harvester. “I apologize, but I really must get back to work. Y’all take care now, hear?”

They all bid him goodbye and waved to him as he started the giant machine, charging it with his magic, and drove it off, continuing to harvest the peaches.

As they went on their way, Fluttershy had a little extra bounce in her step.

“This pony we’re looking for sounds very nice,” she said.

“Maybe,” Rainbow Dash said, turning in midair to hover just ahead of her, “or maybe he just acts that way so nopony will know that he’s really some evil mad scientist!”

“Oh come on now, Dashie!” Fluttershy said, pouting at her. “We need to give this pony a chance!”

“We will,” Rainbow Dash said, “but if we find out he’s the one that took Tee…” She punched one hoof into the other.

“I’d rather this didn’t devolve into violence,” Rarity said, “but I’m inclined to agree. Just thinking of what that metal brute did to Turing…”

They all fell silent, each one remembering the awful sight that had greeted them the last time they’d seen Turing Test.

“I sure hope we find Rinny,” Pinkie said, managing a smile.

“Me too, Pinkie,” Twilight said. “Me too.”

They carried on a bit further, and then Twilight stopped suddenly. So suddenly, in fact, that the others nearly ran into her.

“Twilight?” Rarity asked, stepping around her. “What is it, darling? Did you find… oh.”

They all stepped out from the trees into a clearing. Only it wasn’t merely a clearing.

It was a graveyard.

Dozens of tombstones were arranged in rows. The ones near the back of the graveyard were ancient and worn, the names slightly eroded and difficult to see. Others near the front were more polished and still bright. A black iron fence surrounded the area, and they stepped around it to go through the front gate.

“Why would there be a graveyard in a place like this?” Rarity asked, lowering her head, her ears laid flat.

“M-maybe,” Pinkie Pie said, her eyes wide and looking about fearfully, “this is where they bury anypony who gets in the way of their eeeevil plans!”

“Evil plans?” Twilight asked, looking back at her, one eyebrow raised doubtfully.

“No, no, ‘eeeevil’ plans,” she replied. “There’s a difference.”

Twilight rolled her eyes and went up to a large headstone. “Hmm. ‘Dearborn Crumble,’” she said, reading the name on it. “So, this is where the original creator of the farming automaton is buried.”

She stared at it for a moment. Then, feeling somehow compelled to, she actually lowered her head and bowed to the pony buried there.

“Uh, Twi? What are you doing?” Rainbow asked.

“It’s just…” She paused, trailing off. Then she smiled and looked up at her. “If this is the pony who built some of the automata that led to Turing Test’s creation, then I guess in some weird way we have him to thank for her.”

The others all exchanged glances, then lined up next to Twilight and likewise bowed before the tombstone.

“So that’s what this place is,” Applejack said, looking at the names of the ponies buried there. “This here’s a family graveyard. I guess the other Mustang Peaches are all buried here.”

Twilight went to another large tombstone, this one closer to the front of the graveyard. It read “Fjord Mustang,” and listed him as dying 35 years ago.

“Let’s see… ‘Beloved Industrialist and Community Leader. Husband to Savanna Flower, Brother to Sarah Bellum, and Father to Cobbler Mustang.’”

She frowned. “So… his father’s dead.”

“Oh,” Pinkie said somberly, pointing at another nearby grave. “I found his mom, too. She died even earlier.” She sniffled. “That’s so sad…”

They looked at a few more gravestones before making their way to a large, spire-shaped gravestone with a white carved statue of a young filly sitting serenely atop it.

“Hmm?” Twilight said, stepping around it. “Who--”

“And just what do you all think you’re doin’ here?”

They all yelped and whirled around to look at the speaker. A pink earth pony mare, her face covered with deep wrinkles, stood there. Her white mane was in a frizz, and she wore an elegant dark green dress.

“Oh!” Twilight said, stepping forward. “We’re sorry, we--”

“Y’all know this here is my family’s graveyard, don’tcha?” she demanded, ignoring Twilight’s apology. “Why, you shiftless lowlifes come around here, botherin’ me an’ my nephew, stealin’ our peaches an’ trespassin’ on our farm! Y’all oughta be ashamed o’ yaselves!”

“Ma’am, please!” Applejack said, stepping forward and taking off her hat. “We’re awful sorry, we didn’t mean to trespass. We just got a little turned around after we took a shortcut one of yer workers recommended.”

“Shortcut, ya say?” the old mare asked. “Well, you best tell me what y’all want, now, and then you can just be on ya way!”

“Well, ma’am,” Twilight said, coming up next to Applejack, “my name is Twilight Sparkle, and--”

“Twilight?” The old mare blinked a few times before she peered more closely at Twilight, glancing at the wings to her sides. “Oh my goodness, if isn’t Princess Twilight herself!” Her wrinkled face was drawn up in a beaming, jovial smile. “Well, I declare, that’s a pony of a different color!”

They all breathed a sigh of relief.

“I expect you’re here to see my dear nephew, Cobbler,” she said. “Well, he’ll be home for lunch soon, an’ I insist y’all join us. Follow this here path a ways and you’ll get to the house.”

“Well,” Twilight said, rubbing the back of her neck, “we don’t want to be a both--”

“We’d be honored!” Applejack said, cutting Twilight off. “That’s very kind of you, ma’am.” She leaned over to Twilight, quietly adding, “After all… ya never want to refuse a country pony’s hospitality.”

Twilight smiled and nodded, giving Applejack a subtle wink.

“Oh, now aren’t you just the sweetest thang!” the old mare said as she seized Applejack’s hoof and shook it. “The name’s Sarah Bellum, but most everyone here just calls me Auntie.”

“Well, Ms. Bell--” Applejack stopped when she saw the old mare lean closer, “--Auntie, my name’s Applejack, an’ besides Twilight, this here’s Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, an’ Pinkie Pie. Since you’ve invited us, I guess we’ll find our way to the house, then. But, um, aren’t you comin’ too?”

Auntie held up a bouquet of flowers. “I need to leave these here flowers on a few graves. I don’t mind y’all comin’ here to visit, but this here’s a private place an’ strangers are most definitely not allowed.”

Twilight smiled and bowed. “Of course. We understand. We’ll meet up with you later, then.”

The group walked off, following the path toward the house. Twilight looked over her shoulder and saw Auntie kneeling by the large gravestone with the stone filly on top. She was placing the whole bouquet on that grave alone.


***


They followed the path as directed, curving through the trees of the orchard until they made a turn and then…

“Whoa,” Rainbow Dash breathed.

“My words exactly,” Rarity said. “Whoa.”

Though far from the biggest house they’d ever seen, the “house” was more of a mansion. It was two stories tall with massive columns that supported a veranda that went all the way around the second floor. Broad double doors stood at the entrance, and on either side were two windows, on the ground floor and the top floor. The house itself stood at the end of a long lane of red bricks bordered on either side by towering oak trees, their branches reaching across to make a canopy that shaded the path.

They made their way to the entrance, where a pair of mares dressed in matching maid’s uniforms were standing.

“Hello?” said one as they came around. “Do y’all have an appointment?”

“Well, sort of,” Twilight said. “Auntie invited us for lunch.”

“Oh, then please come in!” said the other maid. “Please make yourselves at home! The cook said lunch will be ready quite soon, and we’ll be sure to set extra places at the dinner table!”

The maids both took a door each and opened them wide.

As they entered the main hall, they were again struck by the luxury of the home.

“My my my!” Rarity cooed, her eyes lighting up at the sights around her. “That chandelier! How exquisite! And the paneling in these walls! And this carpeting… the patterns are a fine example of neoclassical style!”

“Yeah, it’s pretty swanky all right,” Rainbow Dash agreed.

“Wha… buh… ‘swanky?!’” Rarity cried, gawking at her.

Twilight had to admit that she was almost as impressed as Rarity. It wasn’t anything like the architecture or decorating style of Canterlot, but there was still an air of regality about it. She peered into the rooms on the sides of the hall as they walked inside, and each room - the dining room, the parlor, the study (which was laden with tomes that sparked her curiosity), and even a small office - were all adorned with fine wallpaper, hoof-carved wooden furniture, original painted portraits, and shelves filled with decorative plates, alabaster statuettes, or silver candlesticks.

“You are too kind,” said one of the maids. “The Master has done his best to maintain this house with all the fineries that his family has acquired over the years. He is more of a simple pony, despite his success, but he insists on keeping it as it was in his childhood.”

“And by ‘Master,’” Twilight said, glancing over at the maid, “you mean Professor Cobbler, correct?”

“Yes, miss,” the maid said, bowing to her. “He is a very busy pony and often eats lunch at work, but today you are in luck… he will be arriving shortly to dine with us.”

“Good,” Twilight said as she gave her a friendly smile, even though inwardly she felt her pulse quicken.

“Please, feel free to take a look around the house,” the maid said. “The Master and his auntie would love for you to be comfortable, so please make yourselves at home. Can we get you anything while you wait for lunch?”

Rainbow Dash’s stomach growled. “Ugh… an appetizer, maybe?” She sniffed the air. “Oh, wow, whatever they’re cooking, it smells good!”

Applejack sniffed the air too. “Sure does,” she said. “Say, do ya think they need any help in the kitchen?”

“I don’t know, miss,” the maid replied, “but you needn’t trouble yourself.”

“Ain’t no trouble at all!” Applejack chuckled, and trotted off towards the kitchen.

Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rarity found the staircase and bounded up the stairs to the second floor. Twilight followed them and found herself in the upper hallway. Like the lower one, it went right down the middle of the house, with all the rooms off to either side.

“Ooh, I think this leads to the outside!” Pinkie exclaimed as she bounced toward a pair of double doors. 

“I wonder what kind of animals live around this orchard,” Fluttershy wondered aloud, following her through the doors onto the veranda.

“My goodness, what a view!” Rarity exclaimed, walking out onto the veranda, placing her forehooves on the railing as she looked out.

Twilight smiled and was about to follow when she noticed that the walls here were adorned with family portraits. She glanced around and peered at each one.

Many were very old and even slightly faded or yellowed with age. The members of the family were sometimes alone, sometimes gathered in a room of the house, or outside the front, and all of them were elegantly dressed.

One in particular caught her eye: a young stallion in a tuxedo standing next to a beautiful mare in a billowing, flowing white wedding dress holding a bouquet of roses. On either side were other ponies in fancy dress. One mare standing next to the young stallion looked somehow familiar, and when she leaned closer, she realized that it was Auntie!

They all look so happy, she said to herself.

She continued up the hall, making her way to the veranda, but paused when she saw that one door, unlike all the others, was shut. The other doors were all open, showing still more elegant rooms, but not this one.

She paused, looking over her shoulder to see if anyone was around. When she was sure the coast was clear, she gently turned the knob.

It was locked.

She made a face. So far, they’ve acted like they’ve got nothing to hide. And maybe they don’t… but still…

She wasn’t normally the type to snoop, but something about this place felt off to her somehow. If they really were hiding secrets, and discovering those secrets would lead to Turing Test, then maybe, she decided, a breach in etiquette was justified.

She crouched slightly and peered through the keyhole. She couldn’t see much, but there was a bed. It was laden with blankets and a patchwork quilt and numerous white, cloudlike pillows, as well as a canopy lined with a lacy trim.

A bedroom? She frowned. That wasn’t much of a secret.

“What are you doing?”

Twilight jerked her head up and turned to see Auntie standing there, and her wrinkled face was creased even further as she glowered at her. The old mare was either far quieter than Twilight had expected, or she’d been too distracted by this locked door.

“I… I’m sorry,” Twilight said, lowering her head. “I was just curious about--”

“You are our guest,” Auntie said darkly, “and so you are welcome to make yourself comfortable. But if a door is locked, then you may assume that it is that way for a reason. I will thank you to respect our family’s privacy, young lady, Princess or not!”

Twilight bowed, her ears lying flat. “You’re right. I’m very sorry.”

“Hmph,” Auntie sniffed. Then she heaved a sigh, and her expression softened. “Well, I suppose I can forgive you. But I must ask you to come downstairs. I’d like you to meet my nephew. He’ll be along shortly.”

Twilight nodded. She followed Auntie downstairs, though she did give one last glance over her shoulder at the locked door, wondering about who its owner could be.

She went down into the main hall.

“Let me check to see how things are progressin’ in the kitchen,” Auntie said. “I’ve got a pie that I just know you’ll enjoy!”

Twilight nodded and watched as the old mare made her way to the kitchen. She heaved a sigh and glanced into the study. She was about to browse the bookshelves and take a book while she waited when she heard a sound coming from outside.

Hoofsteps. Somepony was approaching the front door, their hooves landing on the bricks. The doorknob turned, and the doors opened wide.

“Auntie Bellum?” the pony called before freezing in the doorway when he caught sight of her.

Twilight stared at the pony standing in the doorway, and he stared back at her.

The pony was a burnt orange earth pony stallion. He had large, yellow eyes with wrinkles at the sides. He was wearing a large, khaki-colored coat with many pockets and the sleeves rolled up. Around his neck was a pair of tinted goggles. He wore a top hat on his head and black rubber boots that went up to his knees.

He tipped his hat and smiled at Twilight.

“Well,” he said, his voice soft and slightly higher-pitched than Twilight would have expected, “welcome to my home.”



She blinked at him, noticing the slight drawl of his accent, and at last found her voice.

“Um… hello,” she replied. She put a hoof to her chest. “I’m Twilight Sparkle.”

“Yes, you are,” he said, chuckling as he hung his hat on a nearby hook on the wall. “I’ve been expecting you. Word travels fast in town, and I knew I wouldn’t have to wait long before you showed up at my door.”

Twilight swallowed, uncertain what to say to that.

“But I suppose that I am being rude,” he continued, keeping his calm smile. “Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Cobbler Mustang. I look forward to having you as my guest.”


To be continued…