//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: Mystery Mash Up // by W1kk3d_Mango //------------------------------// MYSTERY MASH-UP The train’s wheels clattered as a team of strong stallions pulled it along the track. Daring Do sat in her seat staring at the scroll she had received from an anonymous “friend”. She examined the writing closely. Every letter curved, started, and ended with perfect precision. Only horn-writing could have produced this. She read it again to herself slowly. Daring Do, I realize your time is short, but a wealthy client is offering you quite the sum of money to find a very precious gem. We apologize at not being able to disclose what it would be used for or the great importance of why we must acquire it. However, the need is great! We can tell you that it is used for an event, one that happens only once every 220,000 years, and the next moment is upon us. The location of the gem is still a small mystery to us, but somepony has tracked down it’s last known location. Please take the enclosed train ticket to a small town outside Equinath. Good hunting, A friend “Short and to the point,” she said quietly to herself. She thought of Equinath, one of the northern most towns at the base of one of the tallest mountain ranges in the world. She had been close to there before, but never ventured too deep or got a decent chance to explore as much as she’d hoped. She thought back to the letter. The usual questions one might have - who the scroll was from, what the gem could be used for, how much they would pay a pony to get it - all floated into her mind. But the one that was on her mind the most was why there was so little information on such a large piece of parchment. The dictation of the letter barely took up a tenth of the space available and there was no other reason to send so much. She looked closely, checking to see if there was anything had been hidden, or perhaps some impression on the scroll itself. Another thought; why a scroll? A letter would have done just as well. And more information would have been fine, but Daring was also a keen investigator. Daring jerked forward, and her ears burned with the sound of squealing wheels as the trains velocity decreased very rapidly. She picked herself up off the floor and her face off of the seat across from her. Looking around, she saw a couple spilled tea cups and biscuit trays. There weren't very many ponies on this train ride with her. Two colts in very slick attire sat at the very front of the car Daring was in. She hadn't been able to figure out much about them; she hadn't heard either of them talking, but had heard the occasional snort of laughter. The two now lay on the ground shaking their heads and trying to rub the stars out of their eyes. In the middle, there was a mare who'd earlier been fixated with the passing scenary out the window and with a camera around her neck. The camera now lay on the ground broken, as the mare was trying to collect the pieces. She noticed a slight tear running down the pretty mare's face while slowly collecting the pieces. Daring’s keen eye had noticed quite a few smaller bags, most likely containing other lenses. But what field photographer would go into the wilderness with only one camera? She hoped the pony would have thought to bring along a back up. The mare continued to sweep up the pieces and placed them in a small plastic bag. Daring looked around to the last two passengers who sat in the row behind herself. One mare and one stallion. The stallion was gently holding the mare, which was shaking her head. He helped her back into her seat. She shook herself off fairly fast. 'Another explorer like herself,' Daring thought. A little grinding halt was sudden and surprising; but she had most likely been through worse. If the other mare was in any way like Daring herself, the stop would pale in comparison to some of her past, and hopefully future adventures. Daring got up and looked outside the window to where they had stopped. They weren't at the town yet and there was no way she could identify anything. On one side the tall mountain range was looming over the train. She imagined flying up, into the clouds. She had been on the train for nearly eight hours and her wings were itching to stretch out and swim through the air. But the fact the train stopped somewhere other than its destination was warning enough something was wrong. She had to find out what it was. She decided to stay on the cramped train just a bit longer, until she could at least find out the problem. After that, she planned to fly far and fast. Maybe she could even get to the town for help. Daring stood and walked steadily towards the front of the train. She passed the photographer who had whipped out another camera. The mare was quickly snapping pictures of the little bits of carnage of the sudden stop. Daring walked on towards the door and glanced at the two colts furiously wiping their suits trying to get the tea out of them. She opened the door in front of her, finding an entirely empty dining carriage. She saw a couple waiters who were cleaning up a few broken plates that had recently and quite unexpectedly found their way to the floor. Daring stepped over a small pile of glass and proceeded to the front of the train. She opened one door and passed through the kitchen carriage. One of the staff members, a tall, strong unicorn stood in her way, “Excuse me, passengers are not allowed up here. Please return to your seat, we will have information on why we stopped soon.” Daring wasn’t exactly looking for trouble, but her sense of adventure and curiosity was the unstoppable force that drove her. “Well how about I step outside, and just fly to the front of the train then. Either way, I’m going to see what happened. Now how about you make my trip a little easier and step aside to let me pass.“ The cook gave a snort, then stepped to the side allowing her some room to maneuver around the mess. The stallion went back to wiping up the mess and Daring walked toward the final door. It led to the lead carriage and she could hear some yelling. She opened the door, not caring about the occupants hearing her. It would just make her look ridiculous. She noticed right away that the conductor was actually in the corner of the train, knocked out. She instantly spread her wings and crouched into a pounce position ready to defend herself. She then noticed two more ponies; one stallion, and one mare. The mare was a pegasus like herself. The two seemed to be arguing but not in any sort of angry manner. The stallion seemed to be almost excited at the accident. “Now, don’t worry I’m sure I can fix it. It’ll just take a moment.” The stallion quickly said, examining everything on the dashboard in front of him. “Buttons, levers, and a train pulled by horses, this is quite remarkable.” “Are you sure? I’m really sorry,” the little pegasus said, also looking at the buttons. Both of their backs were turned to Daring. “Yes, yes. Now if you could please hand me my… Oh dear.” The stallion stopped, turned, and saw Daring staring at them, still in her pounce position. “Excuse me, but would you happen to know how these things function? I can’t tell if it is steam or equine power. Perhaps a combination of both? Ms.?” Daring stared at them and in a sharp tone exclaimed, “What happened here?!” The Pegasus pony turned around, and looked at Daring. It was hard to tell if the grey pony was looking at her, or the roof of the carriage. With a slightly embarassed flutter of her wings, the cross-eyed mare said, "I just don't know what went wrong!"