//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 // Story: Danger on the Tracks // by Bookpony579 //------------------------------// As the men walked through the car, Yearling appeared to be sliding down in her seat, as though she were trying to disappear. "Hey, what's wrong?" Rainbow asked when she noticed this. Yearling appeared to be thinking intensely for a moment before taking her case and sliding it under the table to Rainbow. "Look, I don't have much time ok? Just take this and do not let anyone take it, especially those guys!" As the men got approached their area, Yearling's anxiety appeared to increase. "But why-" "Please! Just do this for me! I'll meet back with you later to get it back, but until then do not open it or give it to anyone else under any circumstances!" Rainbow was surprised, to say the least, but agreed to it anyway. "O-okay..." "Thank you! I'll catch up with you later I promise!" With that, Yearling got up and left the car as fast as she could. "What was that about?" Rainbow wondered aloud. "Excuse me miss?" Rainbow looked up, startled as she realized the men had now reached her table, though thankfully they didn't seem to notice Yearling leaving. The man who spoke was the leader and he appeared to have some sort of accent. "Yes?" "Have you seen a woman with a purple cloak carrying a briefcase around here?" Rainbow felt her heart skip a beat. So they were after Yearling! But why? "Uh...nope! Haven't seen anybody like that!" She said a little too fast. "Shoot. Very well then, thank you for your time." Just before they walked away, Rainbow decided to ask him something. "Why are you looking for her anyway?" The man appeared to think for a moment before donning a mysterious smirk. "Let's just say...she's an old friend of mine who has something that belongs to me." With that, he and his goons left, leaving Rainbow along with the hidden suitcase. This is getting weirder by the minute... Once the coast was clear, Rainbow pulled out the suitcase and examined it. It was well worn leather with with secure looking key lock. The weirdest part were the initials sewn onto the case: D.D. "D.D.? Who's that? And what the heck is going on here?" Lunch time eventually came and with no sign of Yearling anywhere, Rainbow was forced to bring the case with her to lunch. "My goodness darling! Wherever did you get such a thing?" Rarity asked as Rainbow joined with the others. "You guys totally won't believe it!" Rainbow proceeded to tell them about meeting Yearling, the strange men, and Yearling forcing her to take the case. "Wait! you actually got a mission from THE A.K Yearling?!" Twilight asked, excitedly. She loved the Daring Do books almost as much as Dash did. "You bet!" "...Or maybe somebody who wanted you to think she was A.K. Yearling." Sunset suggested. Rainbow looked at her with wide eyes, "What do you mean?" "Isn't Ms. Yearling supposed to be super reclusive?" AJ asked. Twilight and Rainbow nodded. "So what would she be doing here?" "I don't know! Doing work for her next book or something?" Rainbow shrugged. "Rainbow, for all you know, she could've been somebody who just looked like A.K Yearling!" Sunset pointed out. Rainbow refused to believe it, "But then why did she give me her case?" "For all we know, she could be some of thief or smuggler and those guys were cops coming after her. When she saw them coming, she could've just decided to let you hang onto it until the heat died down. See those initials? This might not even be her case!" "Oh my..." Fluttershy gasped. "There's no way that can be true!" Rainbow looked around until her eyes widened at what she saw. "Look!" She pointed towards a table further down the dining car, where the same men were enjoying lunch. "Those are the guys I was telling you about! Do they look like cops to you?!" She whispered now, afraid of being overheard by them. "Oooh! Maybe their undercover! Just like on T.V.!" Pinkie declared, clearly not grasping the concept of 'whispering'. "Whatever the reason, somethin' fishy is goin' on here." Aj summarized, causing the others to nod in agreement. "And there's only one way to find out..." Sunset declared. "What?" Twilight asked. "We need to see what's inside that case." "But Yearling made me promise not to open it!" Rainbow said, recalling Yearlings' pleadings. "I know. But what if she's some sort of criminal hauling stolen goods? This way, we can contact the authorities as soon as possible." "But what if it is Yearling? This could be the manuscript to her next book or something!" Sunset smiled deviously at this. "Then are you going to turn down the chance to even get just a peak at the next Daring Do book?" Rainbow hesitated. That would be the most awesome thing ever! "And if it is Yearling, we can just lock it back up and she'll never know." "But how are we going to open it? We don't have the key!" Fluttershy pointed out. Sunset smirked at this, "Don't worry about that. Just leave it to me...." "....Where did you learn how to pick a lock?" Aj asked cautiously as she watched Sunset do her work. After they finished eating, they had found an empty cart and Sunset had pulled out a set of lock picks. "You'd be surprised at what you pick up in juvie." Sunset answered nonchalantly as she continued the process of violating someone's property. "Most importantly...why do you have a set of lock picks on hand?!" Rarity asked. Sunset merely shrugged at this, "You never know." "Ok then..." AJ said as she and Rarity exchanged glances, wisely deciding not to press the issue. "This feels wrong." Twilight said for the tenth time as she looked around nervously in case someone happened to come by and see what they were doing. "Sometime you have to do wrong things for the greater good." Just then the case popped open. "Got it! Now lets see what's she's hiding." "Well!? What is it!?" Rainbow asked impatiently, rushing behind Sunset to get a good look. Sunset slowly lifted the case up and the girls gasped at what they saw. There, inside a molded container foam, was a light blue crystal with a golden ring near one end. Strangely enough the crystal appeared to be encircled by vines. "What is that?" Rainbow asked in amazement. "Something you girls have no business seeing." The girls turned around sharply and standing there was Yearling herself.