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2400 Miles Remain7,019 words
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1900 Miles Remain3,412 words
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500 Miles Remain3,822 words

1900 Miles Remain

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500 MILES TRAVELLED

1900 MILES REMAIN

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“Sooooo, mister . . . Erm . . .”

“Wranglem, miss! But you can call me Irwin!” the hardy stallion said with a cross of his front hooves, reminiscent of something Applejack might do.

“Well, erm . . . Mister Wranglem . . . I mean Irwin, you said you are very fond of animals?” Rarity asked awkwardly. The foreign pony had an aura about him that made Rarity uncomfortable when she tried to converse with him.

Irwin laughed a hearty laugh. “That I am, Sheila! That I am!”

“Well, yes, I’m sure you’re amazing with them. Um, if you wouldn’t mind, would you be a dear and talk to my friend Fluttershy? She likes animals, too, but she seems a bit out of it today. I was wondering if you could help her feel better by talking about something she loves.”

Irwin pushed his safari hat up. “Sure thing! Which one is Fluttershy again?”

“Thank you so much. She’s the yellow pegasus. She should be in there. I really appreciate this, she hasn’t been herself.” Rarity pointed with a forehoof to the cabin where the meek pegasus was tucked away. Promptly trotting into the cabin and closing the door behind him, Rarity gave a sigh of relief. She had been prying at Fluttershy ever since the train had set off. It worried her to no end. They were the best of friends! What could possibly have gotten in between them?

After a few long minutes, Rarity heard Fluttershy shriek, “Y-y-you MONSTER!” The white unicorn jumped as Fluttershy burst through the cabin door, crying slightly and carrying the same mysterious box under one wing. She ran right past Rarity, knocking her over as though she wasn’t there at all. Getting up and dusting herself off, she peered into the cabin to find Irwin, on his butt and scratching his head while wearing a dumbfounded expression.

Rarity stared wide-eyed at the earth pony. “WHAT IN THE NAME OF CELESTIA’S MANE DID YOU DO!?!?” she shouted.

“I don’t know! I was just goin’ on about all my experiences with animals. All of sudden, she gave me a bug-eyed look as though I had turned into a tarantula, called me a monster, snatched a little box and bolted! I thought you said she was a wrangler!”

Rarity’s eye twitched. “No,” she said, “I said that she was fond of animals! She’s a caretaker! She doesn’t capture or kill anything!” She pointed an accusatory hoof at Irwin. “No wonder she screamed like that! You just made her problem worse for all I know!” She stomped over, slapped the earth pony, and promptly stormed out of Fluttershy’s cabin.

Rubbing his face where Rarity had slapped him, Irwin slumped over and sighed. “Why can’t I go one day without a mare slapping me?” he asked himself.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rarity stormed across two train cars in absolute fury. That savage brute! she thought, I knew Horstralian ponies were more barbaric than Equestrians, but to think that he’s a wrangler! I thought those things were just storybook characters! She sighed and calmed down as she reached the cabin she and Applejack were sharing. Perhaps if I just relax. Take out that book I was reading. Yes, I can feel the anger escaping my body already. Just need to calm down and . . .

Her thoughts were interrupted as she entered her cabin to find the place to be in a state of utter disarray. Applejack was frantically dismantling it further, ripping off bed sheets, emptying drawers, and tearing through both her luggage and Rarity’s. The white unicorn’s calmed state from a second ago seemed a million miles away now.

“APPLEJACK!” Rarity screamed in high-pitched shock, “WHAT REASON DO YOU HAVE FOR MAKING THIS PERFECTLY TIDY ROOM OF OURS AN ABSOLUTE PIGSTY!?!?”

Applejack mumbled something Rarity couldn’t make out. “Come again?” she asked, calming down a little once more.

“MY HAT!” Applejack yelled in panic, stopping the destruction for the first time since Rarity had entered the room. Rarity jumped and gave a slight squeak. “I can’t find it anywhere! My hat has gone missin’ Rarity! IT’S BEEN STOLEN!” Applejack went back to aimlessly taking apart the cabin.

“Well, how do you know you didn’t just misplace it? You shouldn’t jump to conclusions like that, Applejack.”

“’Cause, Rarity! I’ve been asleep for the past hour! I put it on the nightstand right there before takin’ my nap, and when I woke up, it wasn’t there!” Applejack pointed to the ravaged piece of furniture. If Applejack hadn’t mentioned it was a nightstand, Rarity wouldn’t have known what it was.

“Well, maybe if you calm down, you could . . .” Rarity started to say before Applejack cut her off.

“That hat is an Apple family heirloom!” the orange mare growled, “I ain’t sure what you Belles know about heirlooms, but us Apples take them very seriously! This hat belonged to my pa, and before that his pa, and before that his pa, and so on and so forth as far as the family tree goes!” Applejack leaned in closer, and japed Rarity with every word of her next statement. “That. Hat. Means. My. Life. To. Me.”

“Well, maybe we should alert the others,” Rarity suggested, “More eyes looking for it will definitely help you find it sooner.”

“I can’t leave the cabin! What if the thief comes back and swipes somethin’ else?”

Rarity sighed in annoyance. “Well, then, I guess I can go tell everypony, so you can, erm, guard the room.” She trotted out of the room and towards the cabin Spike and Twilight were sharing. Twilight will know what to do, Rarity thought, She’s good with these kinds of problems.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“. . . And thanks to the down of the elusive Thunderbird being charged not only with Type D elemental magic, but actual electricity as well, the enchanted rosemary incense is prevented from draining itself of magic reserves too quickly and becoming a vacuum. With the incense sustained . . .”

“Twilight!” Rarity burst into the cabin suddenly.

Spike, who had been sleeping soundly, jolted awake and shouted, “I WAS LISTENING!”

Twilight put down her copy of Advanced Magic Volume I and looked at Spike. “Wait a minute . . . You said you were interested in learning about some of these spells! Spike! Were you just using my reading as a sleeping aid!?”

Spike’s eyes shifted nervously. “Um, well, no, you see, I, um, Rarity!” he said as he pointed at the white unicorn to change the subject, “Did you want something?” The baby dragon gave a nervous laugh as Twilight scowled at him.

“Yes, actually. Sorry for interrupting your, erm, reading session, Twilight, but Applejack is in a bit of a crisis, and I figured she could use your help.”

Twilight stowed the book away with the others in her set and looked at Rarity with concern. “What kind of crisis?”

“She can’t find her hat, and she’s convinced somepony has stolen it.”

“Um . . . Is she sure she hasn’t just . . .”

“Yes,” Rarity stopped Twilight, knowing exactly what the purple unicorn was going to ask, “Yes, she’s very sure.”

Spike hopped on top of Twilight’s back and the three set off across the train car to Rarity and Applejack’s cabin. When Rarity opened the door, she was quite amazed to find Applejack still persistently searching for her hat.

“AHEM! Applejack!” Rarity shouted, grabbing the orange mare’s attention. She stopped and looked up. “I brought Twilight over. I figured she’s good at these kinds of things, like when she and Pinkie figured out who was behind eating the MMM.”

Applejack’s nerves relaxed for the first time since she had woken up. “Thanks a might, Twi. This really means a lot to me.”

Twilight looked around the room. “I can see that,” she remarked. “Alright, then. Rarity, could I borrow some paper and a quill?” Rarity nodded and magicked the items out of her bag. The aura around them changed from cyan to purple as Twilight took the paper and quill and headed out the door. “I’ll be back,” she called to Applejack and Rarity, “I just need to go collect some information.”

When she came back, she had a good amount written:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

REVIEW THE FACTS

There were thirteen ponies and two dragons on the train when it left Ponyville Station. Nopony exited or entered the train at any time, as it was in motion the entire time.

The passengers on board were:

Pinkie Pie, who was delivering and going to sell 500 cupcakes at the Canterlot Rodeo. She boarded with the cupcakes.

Twilight Sparkle, who was going to do some shopping for magic supplies not found in Ponyville and to see the Rodeo. She boarded with a book on advanced magic recipes to help her find what she needed, and two tickets to the Rodeo.

Applejack, who was going to compete in the Canterlot Rodeo. She boarded with a bushel of apples, her hat and her lucky rope.

Rainbow Dash, who was going to a book convention in Canterlot where the author of the Daring Do series was to make an appearance. She boarded with a Daring Do book for the author to sign and a costume for the convention, as well as her pet tortoise Tank.

Rarity, who had been asked to be at Canterlot during the Rodeo by Sapphire Shores so that she could be part of her new fashion line. She boarded with several outfits for the fashion line and materials for dressmaking.

Fluttershy, who claimed she wanted to see the Rodeo. She boarded with a small box, whose contents are unknown, and a ticket to the Rodeo.

Spike, who was tagging along with Twilight Sparkle and Rarity. He boarded with a blueberry muffin and a field guide for rocks and minerals.

Dinky Doo, who had gotten two tickets to see the Rodeo, courtesy of her mother, Ditzy Doo. She boarded with the tickets as well as her favorite teddy bear.

Amethyst Star, who was foalsitting Dinky Doo while Ditzy stayed back to work. Amethyst had taken Dinky's extra ticket and was going to see the Rodeo with her. She boarded with a note she was instructed to send to Ditzy Doo when they got to Canterlot.

Bon Bon, who was working alongside Pinkie Pie. She boarded with a Moxipower Shake to help her stay awake during the train ride.

Sheen, a mapmaker from Canterlot who had just finished mapping out the land around Ponyville and was headed home. He boarded with his finished notes, which took several long months to complete, as well as his knapsack, whose contents are unknown.

Trixie, whose reason for boarding was unknown. She boarded with several large bags, whose contents are unknown but said to be her acting materials.

Apple Crumble, who was going to compete in the Canterlot Rodeo. She boarded with a necklace that had family heirloom.

Irwin Ranglem, an animal wrangler who was off to a swamp where an elusive species he was hunting lived. Canterlot was the closest stop to the swamp. He boarded with his equipment for catching the animal he was hunting, but he did not say what kind of animal it was.

Steamer, the engineer and owner of the Friendship Express.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“My, that’s a lot of information,” Rarity remarked, eyeing the scrawls on the parchment, “Are you sure we’re going to need all of this just to solve this little case?”

“There’s no such thing as a little case!” Pinkie shouted, jumping out from behind Twilight and scaring the four others in the room, “Every single mystery deserves our fullest effort!” She donned her deerstalker hat and blew bubbles in Rarity’s face with a pipe.

“PINKIE!” Applejack shouted, “What are you doin!? This is a serious situation!”

Pinkie Pie gave Applejack a stern look. “I am being serious! There’s a thief ahoof and we have to find them!” The pink pony turned to face Twilight. “I wanna help you, Twily. I wanna prove to you that I can do these mystery thingies just as well as you. Plus, I brushed up on solving these kinds of things! Remember all those times I borrowed those Sherlock Hooves books?”

“Pinkie,” Twilight said, “You never checked out a single one of those books. Nopony has been able to. They all just went . . .” She paused, and realization dawned on her. “. . . Missing,” she finished with a growl.

“Anyways, I’m better at these mysteries. I know all the steps. Step one! List suspects!”

“I already did that. See?” Twilight levitated the parchment over to Pinkie. Fourteen names were circled: Twilight, Spike, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Bon Bon, Trixie, Amethyst, Dinky, Apple Crumble, Sheen, Irwin and Steamer.

“Alright, so you're one step ahead of me. Step two! Look for general motives!” Pinkie snatched the quill from Twilight’s grasp. “Alright, gals, brainstorming time! What would somepony gain from stealing Applejack’s hat?”

“A nice hat?” Rarity suggested.

“Spiting Applejack?” Twilight added.

“Throw me off my game for the Rodeo?” Applejack said with a humph.

“Wait a minute . . .” Pinkie said, stopping her scrawling for a second, “What if it’s to distract somepony from something bigger?”

“Huh?” Spike scratched his head. “Pinkie,” the baby dragon said, “that’s insane. I thought you said you were being serious.”

“It’s a brainstorm Spike,” Twilight said, “Anything goes, no matter how ridiculous.”

“Plus,” Pinkie added, “when all other options have been eliminated, whatever remains no matter how improbable, is the truth.”

“You really have been studying those books, haven’t you?” Twilight smirked, “I’m going to want them back when we get to Ponyville.”

“Alright, I think we have enough motives, y’all,” Applejack said, snapping Twilight and Pinkie back to attention, “What’s step three, Pinkie?”

“Step three!” Pinkie Pie shouted without missing a beat, “Assign known motives to suspects! Using what we know, who would steal the hat for what reason?”

“For the reason of wanting the actual hat,” Twilight pondered, “I’d say Rarity.” The white unicorn scowled at Twilight. “What?” Twilight asked in defense, “You’re a clothes designer! You love clothes of all kind. Plus, there’s a rule about assumptions in detective work. Pinkie?”

“All suspects are guilty until proven innocent,” Pinkie recited, “Furthermore, nothing but the worst can be assumed in a suspect, even if the suspect is of your blood.”

“Alright, yes, I guess that’s true,” Rarity sighed, “I just don’t like being stereotyped.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll make refinements in step four Rares,” Pinkie giggled, letting out a tiny little snort of amusement. She snapped back into “serious mode” a second later. “Okay,” she said as she turned back to Applejack, Twilight and Spike, “who would take it to spite Applejack?”

“Trixie definitely,” Spike said, “I can’t really think of anypony else who bears a grudge on Applejack.”

“Rainbow Dash could’ve done it,” Applejack suggested with a raised hoof. This drew curious looks from her four friends. “I nudged her a little bit earlier on. Nothin’ too mean, just a little playful fun. I reckon this could be one of them pranks of hers as revenge. In fact,” She added, “Pinkie could be in on it too!”

“What!?” Pinkie gasped, “I soooooooo would not do that! I protest!”

“Oh, Pinkie!” Rarity sang in a mocking, smart-alec tone, “You know the rule! All suspects are guilty until proven innocent!” She batted her eyelashes at the pink earth pony, who was flabbergasted that her own words had been turned against her like that. She made an indescribable twisted face that sent Spike into laughter. Twilight glared at Spike and the dragon silenced himself, and Pinkie managed to overcome the frustration with a groan and soft mumble.

“Next motive, hurting Applejack’s chances at the Rodeo,” Twilight said, looking at the paper.

“Nopony else here aside from that mare Apple Crumble is competing, and I don’t think anypony else is friends with another competitor,” Rarity offered.

Now it was Applejack’s turn to protest. “Aw, come on, y’all! Apple Crumble’s family! Why would she use dirty tricks against her cousin in the Rodeo, especially after just meetin’ me!”

“Guilty until proven innocent, Applejack,” Twilight reminded the orange mare.

“Okay,” Pinkie announced after making some scrawls on the parchment, “I don’t think we have enough clues to mark anypony down for the distraction motive, so on to step four. Step four!” she shouted, “Gather data to find more assigned motives! Let’s head on out, girls!” The four ponies and dragon trotted out of the cabin door one by one and split up to go find more suspects. The hunt for Applejack’s hat was on.