Approximately one hour and 45 minutes after the train had left Ponyville, Twilight Sparkle, having not moved from her seat on the train, concluded her third reading of Departure. As she slowly returned to reality, Twilight realized that she was supposed to have exited the train 45 minutes ago! Lucky for her, the train did not depart again until 1:25 PM – about one hour and 40 minutes from the current time – or else she may not have arrived at the stylistic, regal architecture of Canterlot.
Twilight's mission was simple: locate Postal Code, explain to him what the manuscript pages were, and search for the author with or without Postal Code's help. Recalling her semi-vague memories of the Canterlot Academy, she assumed that he would most likely be in the science lab, so she headed there immediately.
On the way to the science lab, three ponies vaguely familiar to Twilight approached her. One of them exclaimed: "Hey, Twilight! Haven't seen you in a long time!"
Twilight stayed only long enough to give an acknowledgement of the pony's existence. "Sorry, I don't have the time to talk right now," she said.
Twilight began to gallop off when she heard another pony whisper, "Geez, she hasn't changed a bit!" Thinking it best to not pay attention, Twilight continued on to the science lab. This certainly was not the time to get reacquainted with everypony in the academy. Besides, she had begun to worry about Spike – Celestia only knows what he could have gotten into by now.
***
Twilight found Postal Code exactly where she had expected – inside the science lab, in front of the computer. He was typing away, punching each key with a quill held firmly in his mouth. A translucent bar at the top of the monitor's screen read "Microsoft Visual Studio 2010." Twilight could not understand the jumbled characters on the screen, but the computer clearly could, as certain clusters of letters changed color following Postal Code's input.
He heard hooves colliding with the marble floor and exclaimed, "Professor, I think I've figured it out! The .cpp file is what tells the program what to do!"
Twilight, having been mistaken for Postal Code's teacher, replied, "Um...I'm not your teacher..."
Postal Code though he recognized the voice, turned around, and nearly suffered from a heart attack.
He hadn't anticipated Twilight's arrival...or her approaching him directly. He tried to mask his mixed feelings of shock and excitement, stiffening his posture, removing the hoof he had thrust into his chest. Though he tried not to stutter, he asked, "H-h-h-how d-did you know I would, um, b-be here?"
"Is that a rhetorical question?" she returned.
"Um...no, I was just...a little surprised, is all."
"Well, if memory serves me correctly, I figured you would be in the science lab, like usual."
"Oh, uh, yeah. So, um, what exactly did you come here for?"
"I looked through these papers and thought I'd inform you of what they really were. Turns out, they're just the rough draft of a novel!"
"But, why would you come all the way here just to tell me that?"
"I couldn't bear to think that the author lost these, so I traveled here to return them to him."
Postal Code's eyes widened, as if he had just realized he had made a horrible mistake.
"Um...about the author..."
"What? Did you see him?"
"Well, he actually came by the other day looking for the pages, I...kinda sent him to Ponyville to find you..."
Twilight was truly shocked – she honestly hadn't expected that to happen. Tensely, she inquired, "Did he leave already?"
"Well, he did say something about catching the next train," Postal Code replied.
"How long ago was this?"
"A few hours ago, so he may have caught the train already."
"Then I'll head back immediately. What did he look like?"
"I...can't remember. I'd know if I saw him, but..."
"Then you're going to have to come with me. We have no time to lose!"
Twilight Sparkle dashed out of the room, hoping Postal Code would keep up. He logged out of the computer, packed his backpack, and darted out of the room while trying not to let his excitement at the thought of spending time with Twilight get the better of him.
***
They had been lucky enough to catch a train to Ponyville almost immediately following their arrival at the station. Another hour and Twilight would resume her search for the author. To pass the time, Twilight once again began to read Departure.
I turned the corner, afraid of what the flashlight's beam might reveal. Suddenly, a roughly painted symbol of a torch glowed in the light. Behind it, hidden by a rock, sat a battered metal trunk.
It was there for a reason, packed with supplies: batteries, flares, ammo. Things you need to make it through the darkness of the night. Something left behind by someone who knew what I knew, and more.
Postal Code had envisioned talking with Twilight the whole time, to get to know her better. That had not happened so far, so he tried to change things.
"Um...Twilight?"
Though she struggled to do so, Twilight reluctantly tore her eyes from the manuscript. She looked up at him, and he spoke again: "Is it good?"
She stared at him blankly for a very brief moment before he amended his question. "The story, I mean."
"Oh, yes, it is very entertaining. Didn't you ever read it?"
"Well, no, but–"
"Well, do you want to?"
"Um, I'm not really–"
"Oh, come on, Postal Code, reading won't kill you!"
She levitated a page to Postal Code's seat. He lifted the page in front of his eyes and read it.
The night had been one desperate situation after another. I was exhausted and my body felt as though it had been chewed up and spat out.
The flashlight was heavy in my hand, and each pull of the trigger sent a painful shock up my arm. But I was finally out of the woods and things were looking up.
That's then I heard the chainsaw.
Suddenly, the sunlight in the train car abated almost instantly. Darkness swallowed the sun and clouds, leaving nothing but the appearance of night. Though the clock read only 3:37 PM, the sky looked as though it was hours later. Something was clearly wrong.
Ponies in the other train cars began to scream. They did not know what was going on, but it seems to be the natural instinct of living creatures to scream when lights disappear. Postal Code looked up and yelled, "What the heck is going on?!?"
Twilight remarked, "How should I know? I have no idea what could have cut the day short!"
Nightmare Moon could have caused it, but she had already been subdued, Twilight thought.
At the same speed of the train, a huge cluster of shadows traveled nearby. It changed course and collided with the train with unbelievable force, like an armor-piercing round making contact with a human's flesh. Any remaining visible light turned to blackness as both Twilight Sparkle and Postal Code fell unconscious.