[MLP] Roleplaying is Magic IC: The Broken Road.

[Ravian]

Soot's hoof hit her face in annoyance at the reappearance of the guard. "You again?, what the hay is going on?!" she shouted angrily, she pointed out the window "What in Tartarus was that thing?" she was scared but was trying to hide it with anger at the situation itself. Right now she was afraid she would freeze up if she didn't keep some sort of emotion on display.

[BlasTech]

"We get away by losing it in the dark. The guard hissed at the flare wielding Dive Bomb."

He winced at cork's question. "I don't know ..."

[DC 20 heart check. He doesn't want to tell you."

[Balmas]

Dive Bomb nodded, his brow furrowing in annoyance as he pinched the flare out with his two front hooves, wincing a bit at the heat. "You're the one who cast the darkness spell in the waiting room," he said, making clear that it was a statement, and not a question. "Why?"

[TheAmishPirate]

"Sir." Crown Cork put on his voice of authority, the voice he used when other ponies just wouldn't listen to him. Or thought the prissy stallion wasn't worth taking seriously. And then he promptly did something no person of authority would do unless their life was on the line.

He begged.

"Sir, you have armor. You have magic. Your allies have wings. You all have training. We," he gestured to the four of them, "We have the clothes on our backs and the personals in our luggage. We have nothing. If you cannot help us, then...then all we can do is huddle under our beds and pray for mercy." He bowed his head, tears springing unbidden to his eyes. "Please, sir. Is there truly nothing you can do for us? Is there nowhere we can go?"

Spoiler

Show

This is Cork talking, he'd blow the bank on this roll. 1 xp for a +5 bonus, spending 1 WP for a +8 bonus, Charismatic means two rolls. LET'S DO THIS.

First Roll: (1d20+16)[26]
Second Roll: (1d20+16)[19]

On his final plea, the young colt's voice cracked with true, genuine emotion. These ponies were under his care, and he would sniff them out a safer harbor for this storm.

[One Tin Soldier]

Grease rolled her eyes in the dark at Crown Cork's melodrama.

"At the very least, could you tell us what's going on? Is the train under attack? Is that why it's going so fast?" A stern note entered her voice. "We have a right to know how much danger we're in."

Spoiler

Show

Heart roll, if it matters: Heart 3
nat 20 +3 = 23
Yay, my first crit!

[BlasTech]

Dive Bomb nodded, his brow furrowing in annoyance as he pinched the flare out with his two front hooves, wincing a bit at the heat. "You're the one who cast the darkness spell in the waiting room," he said, making clear that it was a statement, and not a question. "Why?"

"I didn't cast any darkness spell." replied the guard, seemingly confused.

"Sir." Crown Cork put on his voice of authority, the voice he used when other ponies just wouldn't listen to him. Or thought the prissy stallion wasn't worth taking seriously. And then he promptly did something no person of authority would do unless their life was on the line.

He begged.

"Sir, you have armor. You have magic. Your allies have wings. You all have training. We," he gestured to the four of them, "We have the clothes on our backs and the personals in our luggage. We have nothing. If you cannot help us, then...then all we can do is huddle under our beds and pray for mercy." He bowed his head, tears springing unbidden to his eyes. "Please, sir. Is there truly nothing you can do for us? Is there nowhere we can go?"

Spoiler

Show

This is Cork talking, he'd blow the bank on this roll. 1 xp for a +5 bonus, spending 1 WP for a +8 bonus, Charismatic means two rolls. LET'S DO THIS.

First Roll: [roll0]
Second Roll: [roll1]

On his final plea, the young colt's voice cracked with true, genuine emotion. These ponies were under his care, and he would sniff them out a safer harbor for this storm.

The guard paused, conflict written across his features. It was odd seeing such a worried expression on the face of a pony who had, earlier that day, been solely concerned that his tofu dogs were distributed evenly.

But with all the commotion going on outside, he could only spend a few seconds waging his internal battle.

"Look" he replied "I don't know if we have anywhere safer, but stick with me then okay? Just ... please don't say anything to the other guys ..."

Soot's hoof hit her face in annoyance at the reappearance of the guard. "You again?, what the hay is going on?!" she shouted angrily, she pointed out the window "What in Tartarus was that thing?" she was scared but was trying to hide it with anger at the situation itself. Right now she was afraid she would freeze up if she didn't keep some sort of emotion on display.

Grease rolled her eyes in the dark at Crown Cork's melodrama.

"At the very least, could you tell us what's going on? Is the train under attack? Is that why it's going so fast?" A stern note entered her voice. "We have a right to know how much danger we're in."

Spoiler

Show

Heart roll, if it matters: Heart 3
nat 20 +3 = 23
Yay, my first crit!

"I don't know okay??" he replied, his voice genuinely upset. "Nopony tells me a thing! For all I know, it could be an elder manticore, a dragon, a world snake or even a balro-oooooohhh dear ..."

He bolted to the window, for the sounds outside had changed.

The carriage shook as a massive cry rent the once-peaceful night asunder. The bestial noise was like the scrape of iron on rock - a harsh noise, that caused many of those assembled to plug their ears.

And when that noise faded, it was replaced by one far worse ...

If anypony had ever had the misfortune to witness a wildfire, they would have recognised it for what it was - the surrounding, omnipresent roar of the flames. A sound that seemed to be everywhere at once and that only grew louder with every passing second.

The rush of wind before a gale that signified the end of the world.

"Hold on!" shouted the guard, setting himself. His horn blazed with golden magic.

Outside the carriage, the world turned yellow, then red, then a terrifying emerald green.

Standing in the center of the room, the guard staggered.

"I - I can't"

The green flame swept over them all - a bright, blinding light.

And then darkness.

**************************************

Sideways Shunt was running. He had been running for Celestia knew how long and would continue running as long as his body held out. Sweat poured down his flanks, his breathing was laboured but still he bolted along through the night. He was an engineer pony, that meant he could shovel coal, fix boilers and, occasionally, pull trains.

Even so, he'd never run as fast or as hard as this. Neither had the rest of the team, strapped in beside him. Together, the train ponies ran as if the very fires of Tartarus were behind them - for it seemed quite likely that they were.

The sky behind them brightened, but he did not look back. He felt a wave of heat growing, heard the roar of the flames, but did not look back.

He suddenly felt their speed jump, as if they were not pulling as much weight anymore.

He didn't look back until the engine reached Ponyville.

When he did, he could only sit there, silent and motionless, and offer a prayer of thanks to the Princess for seeing him safe ... and a prayer of mourning for those whom she had not.

[Balmas]

"Come on!" the grey stallion roared. "You can do a better Immaremann than that! Aim up and twist at the top! What's so hard about that?"

Nimble Bolt and his little brother shared a look; it had been a long day, waiting for their dad to show up to teach them. Thunderhead seemed determined to make up for it, for the night stars already glimmered above them. Dive Bomb smiled, admiring the vast swath of shimmering pinpricks in the celestial dome, wondering how other ponies lived not seeing this so clearly.

Nimble Bolt smiled, and then joshed his brother out of his reverie. "You heard the old man; what say you to one more go?"

Startled, the smaller pegasus looked up at his brother and smiled before racing off the cloud. He grinned as he heard his brother call at him to wait up, and pushed even harder. It didn't matter much, as they completed the maneuver at around the same time, laughing themselves silly. This devolved into an airborn game of tag as Nimble Bolt tagged his brother 'It' and flew off cackling.

Standing on the cloud beneath them, Thunderhead smiled at his sons. They were good boys, he knew, nimble and strong like pegasi should be. One day, Dive Bomb would pull his nose out of those dusty medical tomes, and realize that stunt flying was the only respectable career for a member of their family. Seven long generations of respected flyers; a niece in the Wonderbolts, just like his own father. Thunderhead winced at the memory of his own failure, many years ago. It was okay, though; he'd make it up to himself and his father when his sons made the team. He winced again as Dive Bomb tumbled rather spectacularly off a cloud and into his brother's waiting forelimbs.

"Alright, I think that's enough for one night," he called. "Let's go home." Nimble Bolt and Dive Bomb shared another look, and then identical predatory grins. Thunderhead wailed in mock surprise as he found himself the center of a pegasus sandwich. Giggling and laughing all, Thunderhead smiled tenderly as his youngest nuzzled his cheek and said, "I love you, Dad." Discord could come back, and it wouldn't matter, so long as he could hear that word with that tone. Stunt Flyer, Captain, Sir, all titles paled compared to the simple Dad.

Dive Bomb eased out of the hug and took another glance at the stars before pausing in disbelief; there were two moons in the sky. As he watched, the thin sliver of moon disappeared, its light drowned out by the sphere of blue light as it began to grow. It engulfed half the sky by now, and Dive Bomb was uncomfortably warm; he saw now that the moon was no moon, but rather a raging inferno, shooting off gigantic rings of flames. He shrieked as one of the flares came out to lick at his wings--


* * *


"It hurts..." he moaned, kicking out in his sleep. A sudden jolt of pain in his hoof caused his eyes to shoot open, and then scrunch shut again. Light. Light is bad. Light hurts. He squinted against the evil searing rays of light, and righted the end-table he'd knocked over in his sleep. Rather, he attempted to do so until he noticed that no matter what he did, it would not stand straight; the floor was uneven.

What's more, the interior of the cabin felt as if someone had set it to broil. Recipe for pegasus dinner: stuff with food, place to roast, he thought, smiling at the grim thought. Wait, hadn't he just dreamed about something like that? Fire, and heat, and... something else? He winced, shaking the thought loose before sticking his head out the window to look around.

[One Tin Soldier]

A metal washer rolled across the smooth floor, as if it sought to escape through the open door. Just as it seemed about to reach freedom, its movement was halted by a hoof, connected to a deep red leg.

"Hey Grease, having trouble keeping a hold of your merchandise?" said the stallion who owned the leg, smirking in amusement. He gave the washer a kick, sending it rolling back in the direction it came.

"Thanks, Brush," Grease said, pulling herself out from under a large hunk of machinery. She caught the washer between her teeth and pulled herself back. Once it was in place and out of the way, she spoke again. "I'm almost done, just give me a minute and I'll be ready to go."

"No rush," he responded. "Well, actually we're late, so do hurry, but, well, you know what I mean."

Grease laughed while she tightened the last bolt. Brush Stroke may have been an artist with stone, but he was far from a master of words. She pulled herself out from under the mass of moving parts one last time, wiping a literal spot of grease off of her cannon. She looked out the window next to her brother, somewhat surprised to see the night sky, far more brilliant than it ever should be in the middle of a city.

"Wow, I must have lost track of time. I'll have to return this tomorrow," she said, indicating her work.

"Hey, we going yet or what?" came a loud voice from behind Brush Stroke. A pink mare elbowed her way into Grease's shop, wearing a pair of sunglasses. She looked around the shop a moment longer than necessary before spotting the denim-blue mare. "Hey, there you are! Come on, let's get this party started!"

Grease Spot looked at the mare with an arched eyebrow. "Looks like you started the party a while ago, Berry," she said. The hint of disdain in her voice made a slight whistling sound as it passed over Berry Punch's head.

"Nah, just pregaming, sis," she said. "Family dinners are no fun sober, you know?" Grease shook her head disbelievingly as she finished cleaning herself off and walked out the door with her siblings.

"Come on, Mom and Dad are waiting," Brush Stroke said, leading them out into the crystal clear night. They quickly reached the edge of Canterlot, giving a view of the glittering lights of Ponyville far below. A long, sloping path ran down the mountain in front of them, leading directly to the small town.

"Straight Shot's not joining us tonight?" she asked her brother as they began their trek down the hill.

"No, he's visiting his folks," he said. "Just family for dinner tonight."

"Yeah, just my number ones," Berry loudly agreed.

"Just family," Grease said. She looked up at Luna's sky and smiled. It had been a long time since they had a dinner that was just family. It would be a real treat.

As she looked into the sky, a single star above Ponyville grew brighter. Soon it outshone the moon, acting as a spotlight directly on her. She felt her face heat up with its light, and she began to wish she had her sister's sunglasses. It grew brighter and brighter until it seemed like the sun had risen early. Grease Spot opened her mouth to say something to her siblings.

* * * * *

"Get away," Grease said urgently, suddenly finding her eyes closed. She opened them, only for a sharp line of white light burning into them, causing her to close them in pain and rub.

Once she had regained her bearings, she realized that she was back in her cabin on the train, lying on top of the messy covers of her bed. She was glad of it too, because the car was stiflingly hot compared to the night before. The curtains covering the window were open a crack, letting through a blinding ray of light.

She rolled out of bed, rubbing her eyes tiredly once more. Her mane was a total mess, even with its manageably short length. She realized that the car was not moving at all, and that she couldn't hear the engine any more. Are we in Ponyville now? she wondered.

She pushed the curtains open, squinting in the sudden brightness as she waited for her eyes to adjust.

[Ravian]

"Scamp! Give it back!" Olive shouted at the Pegasus colt hovering several yards over her head. The offending clot stuck his tongue out at the filly below as she jumped up and down in the air trying to reach him. "Gotta catch it first Olive." Soot looked at the scene with disapproval "Scamp give Olive her ribbon back." she resumed searching through the trash can, shifting through the contents for something of use or value "Wrapper, wrapper, soda can, not even going to try and figure out what that is." she looked out on her family doing similar work elsewhere on the board walk. Nights on Coneigh island had a certain charm to them, especially after all the ponies were gone. Drizzle kept on worrying that the foals should be in bed around now but she wasn't about to say no to eager helpers on a scavenging trip, and besides, they never got to go to the carnival in the day, let them live their fantasy now. She watched Penny playing around on the carousel, jumping from one painted chariot to the next giggling. Her observation was interrupted when she felt her tail gently tugged. "Whisper?" she turned around to see the little unicorn look away shyly and mumble something incomprehensible "What is it honey?" the unicorn hesitantly drew out a little saddlebag with the bottom worn away. "Oh this is perfect Whisper, we'll be able to fix it in no time." she nuzzled the little colt, who smiled and mumbled something again, before going off towards some of the closed food stalls. She watched him go when a blue-grey Pegasus colt only a few years younger than her landed beside her. "He find something?" the colt asked "Yeah, old saddlebag, real find" Soot showed him the bag
"Nice" the Pegasus said simply, a pause followed before he added "You know that somepony's going to come looking for him eventually, right?"
Soot sighed "I know Drizzle, I just, hope he ends up in good hooves."
"I know Soot, I just hope you don't try to stop it." Drizzle took off again, Soot's gaze followed him as he flew past a particularly bright star. The star seemed to grow brighter as she watched it, slowly intensifying in light and heat until she could barely stand it. Then everything went white
-------

The sun and heat beat down on Soot as she stirred from her spot on the train. Her head pulsed with an aching pain. "Kids?" she asked in confusion as she shakily made her way to the window and peered out, trying to adjust to the light.

[TheAmishPirate]

~Cork! Cork! Cork!~

An off-white, aging Earth Pony stallion waved down hordes of cheering ponies, their flashbulbs lighting up the crowd like the stars above them. "Filllies and Gentlecolts! Esteemed guests and members of the press!" The stallion's voice boomed through the mob, ringing with absolute authority. "It is with great honor, and deepest pride that I present to you," he swept his leg stage right, signaling a salvo of fireworks into the night sky. "Crown Cork! My son, and the new head of Cork Sodas!"

The curtain fell, revealing the paragon of colt-hood. His mocha coat positively flowed through his smart, black suit, like freshly-stirred coffee. His golden mane, one of the many gifts his father had given him, sparkled gracefully upon his head. His eyes burned with the fervor that promised to raise the family name to new heights.

The crowd went ballistic. Hooves met the floor in such thunderous applause it seemed the very ground would be rent asunder. A wall of cheering (which would surely have toppled a lesser pony) merely served to blow his mane back. He could not keep the crowd waiting, it was time to give them what they wanted; a proper victory speech. Motioning for silence, the rising start tapped his notes against the podium with professional poise. All spotlights were on him now. "My fellow ponies," he started in. "Long have I dreamed this day would come. A day when I would...when I would..."

The colt glanced down at his page of notes. Instead of words, there was a half-finished painting of a bottlecap. Wiping nervous sweat from his brow, the colt chuckled and shuffled his notes amid murmurs from the crowd. "A-as I was saying, a day when I-" Next page, another half-finished painting. This time, of him and his marefriend, lounging in a field. Those murmurs became louder, the spotlights growing in intensity. Crown pulled nervously at his collar. "N-now, now, i-it seems there's been...been a slight mix-up...oh dear..." He flipped through his notes; painting, painting, painting, painting, nothing but paintings! A few dissident voices grew into a chorus of boos. The colt tried to duck as the crowd started throwing rotten tomatoes on stage, only to be blinded by the every-growing spotlights. "No! Please! Let me explain!" As the light and heat overtook him, the last sight he saw was the face of his father, frowning and shaking his head in disappointment.

********************************

Despite the oppressive heat, Crown Cork awoke in a cold sweat. The young businesspony covered his eyes, shielding his pounding, aching head. "Another chance, father! Please!" he moaned as he backpedaled away from the feverish visions plaguing his mind. Only when his head thunked into a wall did the colt think to crack open an eye and take stock of his surroundings.

[BlasTech]

It took a few moments for the harsh white glare to fade - the transition from shadowed carriage to full sunlight was like the transition of a pony who had lived their life in an underground vault taking their first steps in the upper world. But as their eyes finally adjusted to the light, it revealed ...

Sand.

Lots and lots and lots of sand.

A mind-bogglingly large amount of sand. It was impossible to overstate how much sand there was - it was like all the beaches in all the countries that had ever existed had been dumped in this one location. Dune upon dune stretched away into the horizon in a strange, static ocean of gold.

A learned pony in such things might have noticed a few aspects, or absences of, that marked this as a true desert - not the arid imitations that were present in places like the Mild West. There was no vegetation; not a cactus or a shrub, or a scrap of tough longgrass. There were no prominent landmarks or significant formations nearby, no mountains, no mesas and no buttes. Just mile upon mile of sand under a clear blue sky.

It was hard to ascertain the state of the train from the inside, but someone keyed in to the movements of ley energies and magic might notice the sheer volume of magical residue surrounding the carriages. A residue that was, even now, seeping away into a nearby rock pile. The only exception to this was a knot of magic that seemed to be hovering overhead like a single, solitary cloud.

[Ravian]

Spot's eyes went wide as she looked out at the sand. She quickly looked around to find any of the others "Guys? Anypony? Where are we?" a twinge of fear in her voice.

((this may be the only post I can make till the day after tomorrow, going on a college trip))

[Balmas]

Looking at the ocean of sand before him, Dive Bomb's left eyelid began to twitch. "Magic," he muttered angrily. But what creature could possibly have enough magic to send--he checked quickly to confirm--yes, at least an entire train car rocketing away off its tracks to Luna-knows-where? The only things he could think of were the Princesses, Discord, and maybe a few select dragons. If it were a dragon, that would explain the flame too--but if it was a dragon, how come they weren't dead? A different variant of flame?

For that matter, did the others survive? He looked around himself once again. Yes, there was that unicorn's head poking out the window to his left, and farther up on his right, he thought he could see a muzzle that looked like the older mare's. That left the other colt; probably still in his room.

"I can tell you where we're not," he replied to Soot, still looking around. "We're not in Ponyville, Manehattan, or remotely near train tracks." Or Canterlot, Vanhoover, Las Pegasus... the list of Equestrian cities in which they weren't went on. The general 'deserty' atmosphere suggested that they were either in the San Palomino wilderness, in the Badlands, or possibly--his heart jumped a bit in excitement and fear--outside of Equestria.

He dug in his left saddlebag, surveying the series of cardboard tubes packed in there. Second row of tubes from the top, third from the right... There we go, he thought, latching onto one of his larger fireworks and pulling it from its spot in the tube. "I'm goingfh to furvey the arhea," he said, poking his head out the window again.

He made his way out of the crooked car, and tamped the sand in place around the rocket's stem. With some coaxing, another sparkler lit the fuse, and he stepped back to watch the firework zoom up and explode in a burst of purple and gold. I hope someone saw that, he thought morosely, before extinguishing the sparkler in the sand.

Crouching and flinging himself in the air, he lost himself temporarily in the joys of flight. He leveled off at around a mile's height, letting the warm thermals of the desert lift him higher. Gliding in lazy circles, he surveyed the earth below him, marveling as always at the sheer size of the planet.

[TheAmishPirate]

Crown Cork crawled out his cabin window, landing with a light *poomf* onto the burning sand. The jarring transition had woken him up alright; he was now fully aware that this was all just a dream. Odd one too. When had he ever been in a place like this? The horizon offered no answers to the young colt, just more and more sand. He regarded his surroundings with mild interest, stopping only when a firework arced into the sky. Fasinating...a leftover from the previous scene? Bemused, the young businesspony trotted off towards the rocket's origin. This could prove to be quite the unique experience, should he remember it when he awoke, of course.

[BlasTech]

The train was laid out along the ridge of a dune like some blocky snake sunning itself. Almost all the train cars were there, including about half of the coal tender, which ended in a twisted and melted mess of metal - its load of coal spilling out on the hot sand. The train tracks, or at least a portion on which the train had been resting also seemed to have made the journey.

The cars seemed mostly intact, but none of them were still on the rails, instead lying in a variety of off-kilter positions that could only be generously described as upright. Like the caboose which, although still technically right way up, was half sunk into the sand, its rear door poking out at the sky.

A small cloud of magical miasma floated over the midpoint of the train, a broiling dark cloud of purple and green that looked like a thundercloud in desperate need of a bucking. As Cork exited the train, it seemed to drift towards him, hovering a few pony lengths in the air.

Up in the sky, Dive Bomb could see for many miles in every direction, but at first glance all he could see was more and more sand.

[Mind Check. DC 10 to spot anything, let me know your final score. Like with Soot's spell before, the higher you get the more you can see.]

[Balmas]

The world spread out below Dive Bomb like a sea of roiling gold; sand as far as the eye could see. I think we can cross Equestria off our list of present locations, as well, he thought somberly. I'd be able to see at least something if we were.

He looked around, hoping that his keen Pegasus eyesight would reveal something--anything--about where they were.

Spoiler

Show

+5 mind, rolled twice for wary.

(d20+5)[25]
(d20+5)[13]

Edit: Wooot, nat 20!

He stopped flapping for a second, locking onto some details he hadn't seen before.

[One Tin Soldier]

The events of the night before came flooding back to Grease Spot's mind as she looked out the window, taking in the sea of sand. Oh, no. Oooooh, no. What's happened now? Where am I? She felt her legs turn wobbly, causing her rump to hit the floor with a thump. Her eyes grew moist and her vision blurred. There was some kind of flame before everything went dark. We were under attack... Oh, no. Am I dead? She didn't feel dead, but then again she had never been dead before, so she wouldn't know, would she?

Grease lightly tapped her hoof against the side of her head. Stop it, you silly mare, you're not going to get anywhere by assuming that you're already dead. Get up and look for those young ponies, and that guard. She stood back up and opened the window to take a look around. Hot, dry air burst into the cabin, making it even hotter. The open window also let in the sound of conversation between Dive Bomb and Soot. As Grease looked out the window, the pegasus' firework flew into the air, followed shortly by the pegasus himself. Good idea, she thought, possibly get somepony's attention. But where did he get a firework?

Grease pulled her head back into the car, put her saddlebags back on again, and made her way out of the train car. Dive Bomb could leave via the window if he wanted to, she was going to exit through the door.

She walked out, examining the landscape with one hoof shading her eyes. It was the most barren place she had ever seen, with the only sign of life being the chain of train cars. She saw Crown Cork climb out of the window (Really, none of them think to use the doors?), and also saw the purple cloud that seemed to start following him.

"Crown!" she called, wracking her brain to remember if she knew of something like it before, and if it was dangerous. It certainly looked threatening enough.

Spoiler

Show

Mind 5 + Magical Theory 3 to identify the cloud (if applicable, of course)
roll of 18+5+3=26

[TheAmishPirate]

Crown, blissfully unaware of the potential danger he was in, regarded her like a foal might regard some new-fangled special effects at an amusement park. "Ah, hello there!" He lazily waved with a knowing little smile on his face. "Yes, I do suppose that was some stimulating conversation last night. Not terribly surprising you're here Perhaps the other two, Soot and that pegasus, Dive Bomb? Yes, him, I wonder if they'll make an appearance too?" He looked down at the sand between his hooves, giggling like a schoolfilly as the "dream" held firm. "Oh, this is exciting. I do hope I can remember this for a painting later. Something about the landscape of dreams...maybe the ponies we meet there? And what that might say about ourselves? Yes, yes, that's a start...oh, I wonder if she can even hear me?" The colt paused and studied the dream-pony's face, looking for some spark of recognition or acknowledgement of his rambling.

[BlasTech]

The world spread out below Dive Bomb like a sea of roiling gold; sand as far as the eye could see. I think we can cross Equestria off our list of present locations, as well, he thought somberly. I'd be able to see at least something if we were.

He looked around, hoping that his keen Pegasus eyesight would reveal something--anything--about where they were.

Spoiler

Show

+5 mind, rolled twice for wary.

[roll0]
[roll1]

Edit: Wooot, nat 20!

He stopped flapping for a second, locking onto some details he hadn't seen before.

Only by taking the time to properly survey the land, was Dive Bomb able to make out anything through the glare of the sand-relfected sunlight.

Starting with the nearest landmarks, he noticed a strange triangular rock about a day's march away. Even from this distance, it looked pretty darn big and was likely the size of a four story building when viewed up close. In the mid distance, probably another day's march beyond it, lay a large chasm, gaping and dark.

[DC 20 mind check to try to identify the type of building, historical/cultural research skills may apply if you can argue the case in the OOC thread]

Turning ninety degrees to his right, he spotted an odd speckling of the ground in the mid distance. From his vantage point, it was difficult to tell if they were buildings or simply an collection of boulders - although they did look surprisingly ordered in their layout. Regardless, there didn't seem to be any signs of life in that direction. Beyond it, maybe another day's trip away, his eyes were just able to make out something that kicked his spirits up a notch; a shimmer of blue that may have been an oasis.

Another ninety degree turn revealed a second shimmer of green, a copse of vegetation that sat in the middle of a sand-swept plain. A second oasis perhaps, and maybe a day closer than the last?

However, as he looked closely, he noticed something move. It was nearby to the copse, and heading in that direction, with scales that blended nearly perfectly against the sandy background. It was only thanks to exceptionally keen senses, combined with a bit of luck, that he was even able to spot it, as the desert creature had chosen that exact moment to move across the crest of a dune. Nearly twelve feet long from snout to tail, and a good four or five feet high, it looked like a giantic, rock-skinned lizard. Even as he watched, it seemed to fade away again as it descended the far side and left his sight.

A final turn revealed nothing but sand, sand and more sand.

The events of the night before came flooding back to Grease Spot's mind as she looked out the window, taking in the sea of sand. Oh, no. Oooooh, no. What's happened now? Where am I? She felt her legs turn wobbly, causing her rump to hit the floor with a thump. Her eyes grew moist and her vision blurred. There was some kind of flame before everything went dark. We were under attack... Oh, no. Am I dead? She didn't feel dead, but then again she had never been dead before, so she wouldn't know, would she?

Grease lightly tapped her hoof against the side of her head. Stop it, you silly mare, you're not going to get anywhere by assuming that you're already dead. Get up and look for those young ponies, and that guard. She stood back up and opened the window to take a look around. Hot, dry air burst into the cabin, making it even hotter. The open window also let in the sound of conversation between Dive Bomb and Soot. As Grease looked out the window, the pegasus' firework flew into the air, followed shortly by the pegasus himself. Good idea, she thought, possibly get somepony's attention. But where did he get a firework?

Grease pulled her head back into the car, put her saddlebags back on again, and made her way out of the train car. Dive Bomb could leave via the window if he wanted to, she was going to exit through the door.

She walked out, examining the landscape with one hoof shading her eyes. It was the most barren place she had ever seen, with the only sign of life being the chain of train cars. She saw Crown Cork climb out of the window (Really, none of them think to use the doors?), and also saw the purple cloud that seemed to start following him.

"Crown!" she called, wracking her brain to remember if she knew of something like it before, and if it was dangerous. It certainly looked threatening enough.

Spoiler

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Mind 5 + Magical Theory 3 to identify the cloud (if applicable, of course)
roll of 18+5+3=26

The cloud seemed to roil in a pattern distinctive to anyone who might have seen unicorn foals practicing their magic, or the aftermath of an exceptionally powerful spell where there may have been a concentration of residual ley energy left over in the air. Grease, learned as she was in magical theory, recognised it for a spell discharge, waiting to go off. As to whether it was dangerous or not, she couldn't say, only that the energetic cloud was likely to pop if disturbed and, in doing so, expend the last of the energy associated with whatever spell it contained.

Unstable magic given physical form, it was also fragile to any further physical disruptions.

Crown, blissfully unaware of the potential danger he was in, regarded her like a foal might regard some new-fangled special effects at an amusement park. "Ah, hello there!" He lazily waved with a knowing little smile on his face. "Yes, I do suppose that was some stimulating conversation last night. Not terribly surprising you're here Perhaps the other two, Soot and that pegasus, Dive Bomb? Yes, him, I wonder if they'll make an appearance too?" He looked down at the sand between his hooves, giggling like a schoolfilly as the "dream" held firm. "Oh, this is exciting. I do hope I can remember this for a painting later. Something about the landscape of dreams...maybe the ponies we meet there? And what that might say about ourselves? Yes, yes, that's a start...oh, I wonder if she can even hear me?" The colt paused and studied the dream-pony's face, looking for some spark of recognition or acknowledgement of his rambling.

The odd cloud drifted to a stop, directly overhead.

[One Tin Soldier]

"What are you talking about?" Grease asked, confused. The colt wasn't making much sense. "No, wait, you can tell me later. There's a cloud of residual spell energy above you, and it looks like it's following you. Just... don't let it touch you, or it will go off." She gave the cloud a wary look. She could possibly "pop" it from a distance, though she didn't want to while Crown Cork was standing directly under it when that happened. Princess knows what the thing will do, but it probably isn't anything good.

[TheAmishPirate]

"Changing the subject...I see..." Crown stroked his immaculately shaved chin as he looked at the purplish cloud above him. Reminded him of those interesting-looking clouds right around the time of that whole Discord business. A pity he never managed to get his hooves on one up-close; that would explain what one of them was doing here. The colt smirked impishly. "So if I touch this cloud, something...magical, may happen? I wonder..."

A single hoof dared to reach just beyond the level of his mane, reaching for the mystical cloud. There it froze, hovering, tempted by the violet energies. After a few tense moments, he lowered it to the ground with an airy chuckle and shake of his head. "No, no, I imagine it works much like falling off a cliff. And I'm not hardly ready to leave yet. Now then, Miss 'Grease Spot', what should I do next? Should I flee? Should I fight? Should I fly?" He laughed, airy and carefree. "Really, when imagination is the only constraint, it's a wonder why I even ask?"

(I always have a policy of "You're allowed to interrupt my characters mid-post". So if Grease Bomb does something when Cork raises his hoof, go ahead.)

[Balmas]

Dive Bomb smiled as he surveyed the landscape below, sketching the layout into his notepad. Some kind of building to the... he wanted to say the east? Usually he could have judged the direction from the sun and landmarks, but with a lack of the second and the close-to-noon proximity of the first, it was difficult. What kind of building was that anyway? Maregyptian? If they were outside of Equestria like he thought, there was little chance it would have been in one of the books at the Canterlot Library, but maybe... Hey, he could be the first person here! Think of the discoveries there!

Spoiler

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Rolling to find out what kind of building:
(d20+5)[17]

An oasis beyond the buildings, but a bit far. A closer oasis, but inhabited with a giant lizard. He shuddered at the thought; his instincts were currently engaged in a shouting match with his intellect, claiming that possible discovery of a new life form was of little use when the discoverer was currently discovering the remains of old life forms from the inside of a digestive tract.

To the north--he thought--was a giant rock. A rock? Unless that's your destiny, not very important in the grand scheme of things. If only it weren't so far away, it might be worth investigating. Who knew what was in there?

He noted the information on a new page in his notebook, labeling the train with a small sketch of a locomotive, and stowed the notepad in his bags before gliding back to the ground. Well, he would have done so, but what's the fun in that? He grinned at the sun, before pointing his nose to the ground and folding in his wings.

To the other races, falling was terrifying, an irreversible process usually ending messily and over a wide area. Not so for a pegasus; Dive Bomb twisted and somersaulted as he fell, barely resisting the urge to whoop as he did so. While he knew that he had better things to do with his life than be a stunt flyer, Dive Bomb admitted that his father had been right about one thing: it was one of the more exhilarating pursuits possible for a pony. There was no-one around to see; why not?

As the ground approached, he thrust out his wings, grinning through the pain of the sudden tension. Slowing his speed, he touched lightly to the ground next to the older mare and nudged her. "Got some information," he stated, pulling the notepad out of his saddlebags. He looked at the other colt with some degree of worry, and at the glowing purple mist with an even larger one. Is he alright, I wonder?

[One Tin Soldier]

"No!" Grease shouted as Crown Cork reached toward the cloud. She started forward, but stopped herself before she got too close. She watched him with tension in her chest as he held his hoof up — even though the cloud was still several pony-lengths above him — and then breathed a sigh of relief when he put it down again.

"Are you crazy?" she said urgently, in response to Crown's questions. "The 'constraint' here is the cloud of unstable magical energy floating above your head that will discharge the moment something disturbs it. I don't know what it will do, but my bet is that it's from whatever spell brought us here. Do you want to be flung halfway across Equestria?" She surprised herself a little as she spoke. She hadn't quite put the pieces together yet before that point, but it did seem that the train had been subjected to a teleport spell of enormous power.

At the same time, Grease Spot was slowly approaching the colt. If she couldn't talk sense into him, she might have to just drag him away.

[EDIT: I figured Grease would do something when he reached up, but I liked your dialogue afterwards too much to obviate it.]

Grease looked at the pegasus to her side. "Good. You can tell me about it after helping me talk some sense into him." She pointed at Crown Cork. "He's rambling like a madpony."

[TheAmishPirate]

The "mad" colt frowned. "Oh, I suppose it changes a bit. Understandable, of course. Alright, alright, I'll play along...even though that teleport sounds fun..."

Crown cleared his throat, rustled his mane, and put on an expression of mock panic. "Oh no! Save me, save me, my friends! What must I do to escape such a cruel fate?" He dropped to his haunches, demanding answers from the heavens above. "Am I to be forever haunted by this deadly cloud? If I do not make it," he clutched his forelegs to his chest, eyes closed to the burning skies. "Tell my father and sweetie...I love them dearly, and that I met my fate with nary a whimper!"

Inwardly, the colt was like a foal in a candy store. He only hoped he could remember and realize more of his dreams, this was good acting practice!

[Ravian]

Soot could only stare as the others went to work. She had seen some of Equestria, been to Canterlot and a few other cities, and knew Manehatten like the back of her hoof, but an ocean of scorching sand was something else. "Guys?" she whispered as the others went insane chastised one another and flew around. "Guys, where are..." They continued to appear not to notice her, Cork broke out into another bout of melodrama about his impending doom, which he seemed quite nonchalant about. Finally she found her voice. "GUYS!"

hoping she had all their attention she shouted out "Can somepony tell me what the flick just happened?!"

[Balmas]

Dive Bomb frowned at the unicorn, and offered a feeble shrug. At best, he could offer a weak guess that a dragon had flamed the train to send them here, but nothing could be said with any certainty.

He'd heard rumors that the princess kept a pet dragon to send messages, but he'd dismissed them out of hoof as preposterous fabrications; the princesses were well capable of sending their own messages, so why bother with a dragon? It simply wasn't reasonable. But surely, behind every rumor there was a kernel of truth. He smirked softly; maybe Blueblood was married to one of the changeling cabinet members instead of the prime minister.

"Is he always like this?" he wondered aloud, pondering Crown Cork's delusional appearance.

[One Tin Soldier]

"I think that we were all teleported here by whatever attacked the train," Grease Spot said, "And the remains of the spell are currently hovering over Crown Cork's head, who should really stop goofing around get back inside the train, where it's safe." She pointed a hoof at the door she came out of at the end of the car.

[BlasTech]

hoping she had all their attention she shouted out "Can somepony tell me what the flick just happened?!"

The cloud just hung there, not replying.

[TheAmishPirate]

Crown Cork gave a gasp at this new development! "But of course, The train! I shall not wither away in these wastes, not when I have so much yet to live for!" Trotting, no, prancing through the sand, the colt embarked on his arduous journey to the safety of the train's interior. He had just laid hoof on the door when a terrible thought struck him; supposing this cloud should pursue, and engulf the mare instead of him?! The young businesspony threw open the door, and turned to make his stand. "Go, Miss Grease Spot! To the train! It is me this foul, reeking cloud hunts, not you." He held his chin high, ready to take this foe head-on. "I shall be but a pace behind you! Now go! Without delay!"

Soot may be able to tell that he's hamming it up, even by his ridiculous standards.

[Balmas]

I'd say that it's dementia, except that he doesn't display any of the classical signs... He looked closely at the earth pony. Memory seems intact. Possible breakdown due to stress? Debating whether it would be quicker to board the train himself, or ensure that the colt got inside without hurting himself, he eventually settled on the former, and trotted up the metal stairs of the train.