//------------------------------//
// Rad: Payne-Relief 
// Story: Dan Vs. The Magic of Friendship(Season 1) 
// by Barrobroadcaster 
//------------------------------//

Of course, when the train reached Appleloosa, it didn't stop. Payne had no way of switching back the throttle and with the rockets propelling them at such speed, it was too late to slow down anyway. So the train kept rocketing dangerously towards Appleloosa, but it seemed like Appleloosa was ready for it.

When the train came down the main line into town, the track suddenly shifted and the train went skyward. The rails raised and the train kept going, now circling the entire town like a theme park monorail. And then, it flipped upside down, becoming more like a rollercoaster. As was the case with most theme park rides he was dragged on, Dan did not enjoy it.

"I'm gonna throw up!" announced Dan.

"Please! Payne has already done enough of that."

"Hahaha!" Payne laughed, over the sounds of his own nausea. "Too late, you fools! We arrive at the place of your execution. Have fun!"

"What are you talking about?" Rarity demanded.

"Your judgment is here! Say hello to Mr. Wright for me!" Payne released the throttle and went flying. With her split-second reflexes, Rarity caught him in her magical grasp. Unfortunately, the sweat-soaked lawyer's sweat was too slippery for even the grips of the unicorn's magic and he slipped right through. In an instant, he disappeared to the white below. Because again, the train is upside down right now and circling the town.

The rocketing freight train rounded Appleloosa three times when the rockets suddenly cut out and the brakes cut in. Very rapidly, the train began slowing down. Finally, the world stopped spinning for Dan, Rarity and the Doctor just in time for them to realize they were upside down. And in the air. They did not have quite enough time to ponder exactly why the train had stopped in this position before they started falling.

"AAAAAUUGH!"

The freight train's cars began detaching. One by one starting from the back, they dropped to the ground with a metallic clank, beginning to form a nice, neat row.

The falling steel boxes came closer. "RARITY!"

The trio disappeared in a flash of blue just as the car above them came crashing down. They reappeared with it right in front of their faces.

"Gaah!" Dan quickly recoiled, "That was a bit... close. For me. But good job on that response time, Rarity."

"Thank you."

Before Doctor Whooves could ask where they were, a loud buzzer sounded.

"*BARRZZT* Loading complete. Beginning processing. Please stay clear of the loading bay."

The cars began moving. Dan realized they were in front of some sort of conveyor belt, a huge one. The train tracks hung in the air with the frame of the train still attached. As he watched it, the skeletal freight train frame reversed until it was gone.

"This would appear to be some sort of automated cargo port," Doctor Whooves said.

"I certainly didn't notice very much to be 'automated' in Appleloosa. When I was here last time, I mean," Rarity said. "Not that the place couldn't have remodeled."

"I hate what they've done with the place. And more than usual," Dan remarked. And then they all quickly realized, "HEY! The frozie ponies!"

"The what?"

"The ponies on ice! We gotta get 'em out of that car!" Dan rushed to the train car holding the captive ponies but there was no way in. He scratched, swatted at, even tried to bite his way through the metal hull to no avail. Fortunately, Rarity reminded him of something.

"Darling, please don't do that. I can teleport." A quick pair of flashes and they were inside the train car with the captured ice pones. "Should I write you a note in case you forget?"

"That might be helpful," Dan admitted. Yep, that's right- a reference to Episode 4 of this whacky series. Gosh, what a trip it's been. SO FAR!

"Uh, Dan, we have another problem." Over at the doorway, Doctor Whooves was busy trying to open the doors. Because they weren't opening easily.

Dan realized the problem quickly. "The cars are mashed against each other. We'll have to teleport everypony out of here and us."

Rarity wiped her brow. "That's going to take a lot of magic. I can manage two at a time."

"Do it and hurry. I don't think we want to reach wherever this thing is-" 

"*BRAZZZT*" Commencing processing."

"...going."

The car shook a moment. That was enough of a call for concern and then the floor began changing color. Followed by the walls, the ceiling, everything started changing color. Specifically, everything turned red. Bright, hot, red.

"They're heating the cars!!!"

"RARITY! GET US OUT OF HERE!" Her teleportation came just before they started cooking. When they reappeared, they were inside a large building that the conveyor belt fed into. Heating panels surrounded the train making the air hot around them, but the facility was larger than that. It had been built to process a lot of train cars very quickly.

"I see..." Whooves said. "The entire process IS automated. The train obviously delivers the captured ponies here quickly and then this facility defrosts them and keeps them contained. If we follow it, we could probably find out what they're doing with the townsfolk."

Dan frowned. "Except you just said this entire process IS automated. So whoever's in charge is not here, including their faces, which I mean to acquaint with my fists."

"We still need to find out what they're doing with the ponies. It's the only way we'll rescue them," Rarity pointed out.

"Right. So you guys go do that, I have punching to do."

"Dan."

"Yes, splitting up. That's a terrible idea," Whooves added.

Dan groaned. "Fine. But then we find Payne and whoever he's working for. I'm in desperate need for some real Payne-relief. Violent Payne-relief."

They followed the train cars through the processing facility. Or rather, they tried to; it ended just after the next room where the cars entered a long tunnel which sealed after the cars went inside it.

"Well that's a dead end."

"That wall's too solid for me to teleport through. I'm sorry... if only Twilight was here," Rarity said.

"Hey. We're gonna find her. We're gonna get them all back."

"They don't appear to want to hurt the prisoners," Doctor said. "The freezing and thawing procedures all seem to prioritize preserving the occupants. They're obviously selling the ponies but to whom and why, we don't know."

"And that is what we need to find out. Let's hit the town, see what we can find out. Rarity, we will need disguises."

Rarity smiled. "I already have a few ideas picked out."

"I should have been hanging out with you this entire time. We're making up for that as soon as we find Nicky and the others," Dan decided.

"Does that offer extend to me as well?" Whooves asked, but Dan had already turned around and left.

The trio located some work clothes- boiler suits, gloves, boots, hardhats, that a crew had apparently left behind. Combined with their winter outfits, Rarity whipped up new disguises for them. They exited the processing facility into Appleloosa, confident no one would recognize them.