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

[One Tin Soldier]

Grease passes Dive Bomb some bits. "Here, I'll help cover it. Young travelers aren't usually known for their bit supply."
She then turns to the gray unicorn. "If you want to pay us back somehow, I could always use some nice conversation to pass the time. It looks like we have quite a wait ahead of us. Which, incidentally, I would like to spend sitting down." With that, she starts walking toward the waiting room.

[Balmas]

The pegasus smiles gratefully at the older mare, pocketing the bits. "That sounds reasonable," he says, handing the small slip to the grey foal. Breathing out another cloud of mist, he clenches his wings tighter to himself. "I'll come in a second," he says quietly, picking up the notebook and pen again. "This architecture is incredible; I have to get a sketch, maybe a rubbing."

[Ravian]

Soot watches the two ponies help her and each other, surprised by such generosity from and between strangers. She listens to Dive Bomb and sighs "It's fine, just a tough day is all." as they walk towards the waiting room his other words register "And what do you mean kid? I'm 16, thank you very much and I certainly don't need anypony patronizing me"

"As for passing the time" she says to Grease Spot "I suppose it's not like there's anything better for us to do except chat." she pauses, secretly not very keen to talk about her frustration to some mare she met at a train station, and hopeful said mare will provide most of the conversation in the dialogue.

[BlasTech]

"Lady" said the teller, glancing up from his book. "Holiday tip, don't go advertising your age like that when you're riding on a foals ticket ... Or fork up for a full fare one."

Shrugging, he resumed his reading. "Not that I really care."

[One Tin Soldier]

In the waiting room, Grease set her suitcase down on the floor with a thump and sits down on a bench. "Ah, that's much better. Now we just need to wait until our trains get here. My name's Grease Spot, by the way." She offers a hoof, idly wondering whether something would interrupt her hoofshake again.

[TheAmishPirate]

"Oh merciful sun!"

On the other side of the terminal, Crown Cork fell to his knees, clutching his suitcase like a comfort blanket. He raised his head to the windows of crystal, but alas, no ray of sunlight met his face.

"Nothing? Not even a peek? Do the heavens themselves conspire against our family today?!" he exclaimed with a single hoof raised to the sky. Just as quickly as he'd thrown himself to the floor, he picked himself back up and raced across to the ticket window. "Sir! I must make it to Manehatten by tomorrow morning, are there any trains left that will make the journey in time?!" he asked, panting for air from his mad dash.

(Not sure if I ever posted my physical description yet. I'll do that tomorrow, too sleepy now.)

[Balmas]

At the sound of somepony wailing, Dive Bomb looks down from his position near the ornately decorated capital of a pillar. Corinthian. An interesting choice, when you take into account the rest of Canterlot's Ionian style. He moves forward and braces himself on the column, the better to capture a charcoal rubbing of a rearing knight nestled at the top. The craftsponyship is astounding. Look at this; nopony would ever see this detail up close without a pair of wings. He grins to himself as he flutters toward the ground. Lucky me.

He lands near the earth pony, looking him over somewhat curiously. "Is something wrong?"

[BlasTech]

"Oh merciful sun!"

On the other side of the terminal, Crown Cork fell to his knees, clutching his suitcase like a comfort blanket. He raised his head to the windows of crystal, but alas, no ray of sunlight met his face.

"Nothing? Not even a peek? Do the heavens themselves conspire against our family today?!" he exclaimed with a single hoof raised to the sky. Just as quickly as he'd thrown himself to the floor, he picked himself back up and raced across to the ticket window. "Sir! I must make it to Manehatten by tomorrow morning, are there any trains left that will make the journey in time?!" he asked, panting for air from his mad dash.

(Not sure if I ever posted my physical description yet. I'll do that tomorrow, too sleepy now.)

There was a startled yell, followed by a sudden flurry of paper from within the ticket booth. It was a few seconds before the teller was able to pick himself back up and respond to the newcomer's query.

Ordinarily, he would have told them off, but the newcomer was clearly a customer and, even worse, looked rich.

It was manners time.

“Er, thousand apologies ma’a—er sir. I mean, about the delays that is. Royal Edict and all.” He babbled, trying to regain his mental and physical footing. Glancing to the train schedule, the flustered teller made his best attempt to provide a good enough service so that he'd still have a job come the new year.

“Um, right, Manehatten was it? Uh … your best option is probably to catch the next train out and change at a place called Ponyville. It’s an overnight train, but with the connection tomorrow morning it’s the only one that will get you in Manehatten before lunchtime, sir.”

At the sound of somepony wailing, Dive Bomb looks down from his position near the ornately decorated capital of a pillar. Corinthian. An interesting choice, when you take into account the rest of Canterlot's Ionian style. He moves forward and braces himself on the column, the better to capture a charcoal rubbing of a rearing knight nestled at the top. The craftsponyship is astounding. Look at this; nopony would ever see this detail up close without a pair of wings. He grins to himself as he flutters toward the ground. Lucky me.

He lands near the earth pony, looking him over somewhat curiously. "Is something wrong?"

Having dispensed his worldly wisdom to his customer, the teller gave Dive Bomb a disapproving glare. Irritated at the constant interruptions, and also recognising the rude pegasus from earlier.

In the waiting room, Grease set her suitcase down on the floor with a thump and sits down on a bench. "Ah, that's much better. Now we just need to wait until our trains get here. My name's Grease Spot, by the way." She offers a hoof, idly wondering whether something would interrupt her hoofshake again.

The waiting room was wide, expansive, and filled with benches that faced a series of large glass windows. The immediate view outside was of the platform, where a train was being unloaded by a smattering of station staff. Beyond that, the vista provided was of the lowlands beneath Canterlot.

Only a few other ponies occupied the waiting room, an earth pony couple stood in the corner, nursing a pair of infant foals, while a charcoal grey unicorn guardspony sat along one of the window benches, reading a magazine.

On closer inspection, a couple of oddities were revealed. Namely that the two children were a pegasus and a unicorn, and that the guard's magazine was entitled "A foals guide to becomming a better policepony."

[Ravian]

Soot's ears perk again as she half-hears a familiar wailing.
"Was that..." she frowns and shakes her head "Nah couldn't be..."
She turns back towards Grease Spot "Name's Soot" she meets the offered hoof and shakes. Another pause follows as she thinks to herself before asking "So... where are you off to?"

[One Tin Soldier]

((Past tense ahoy!))

"Oh, I'm going to Ponyville to visit family," Grease said. "Though I wanted to be getting there by now. This train delay is really wrecking our holiday plans. I was looking forward to tonight. Though I'm sure you know how I feel."

[Balmas]

The corners of Dive Bomb's mouth twitched upwards a fraction. Oh, sure, NOW he's alert and attentive. When I try to buy a ticket, he ignores me and makes me repeat my request. This guy comes in here, yells a bit, and gets instant service. Is that the way you do it? His brows furrowed a bit as he absentmindedly began to hover. Yelling is discouraged, but also grants better service in some cases. Hmmm. This requires more investigation.

[Ravian]

"Yeah know what you mean" Soot sighed as she thought about the others back home. She had often been gone for a day or so, but she never liked being away from her family, and being away on Heart's Warming Day seemed like some sort of Tarteran sin in her mind. If I ever get my hooves on that son-of-a-basilisk Cork, I can't be held responsible for my actions. she thought to herself with a scowl.

[TheAmishPirate]

Cork turned to the hovering pegasus, disbelief plastered across his face. "Wrong? Of course there is something wrong! The fate of one of the greatest soda empires known to ponykind rests in my very hooves!" He raised his forehooves for effect, sticking his suitcase between the two ponies. He quickly set it back on the floor with a huff. "That was not the fate of one of the greatest soda empires known to ponykind. That was my luggage."

His intense gaze was brought to bear on the hapless teller. "But the need is still dire! If I am in Manehatten at lunchtime, then I cannot be back in Canterlot by dinnertime, and all will be lost. Is there any other way to reach Manehatten sooner?" Cork's forehooves were planted firmly on the counter, his muzzle nearly pressing through the bars. "Money is no object. I'll pay any price it takes."

(Oh my goodness, Cork is so much fun to write for.)

[One Tin Soldier]

Grease let a sigh of her own join Soot's. "I just hope the rest of my trip is more restful than today has been. I've been working basically nonstop since the invasion." She gestured with one hoof to emphasize how busy she had been. "I really need some R&R."

[BlasTech]

"Uhh, sorry sir." the teller replied, checking the schedules and doing some quick mental math. "The best I can do is get you a cabin on the first train out once they start running again. Unless you're only making a brief stopover in Manehatten, there's no way for you to get back here before tomorrow evening."

"If it's any consolation, the trains should be running again soon. The only way to get them moving any faster would be to talk to the Princesses, I'm afraid. Terribly sorry sir." the teller finished, his brow perspiring. A rich customer like this, and worse yet an easily upset one, might just cost him his job before the day was out.

[Balmas]

Dive Bomb shook himself out of his revery, temporarily stunned. Who is this guy? Melodrama much? He shrugged a bit, comparing his sketch to the soaring buttresses of the train station. Needs a bit more... there! Better. Gently, he eased the notebook back into his saddlebags while looking curiously at the frantic colt in front of him. Not a lot I can do to help him, he mused. I could probably beat the trains there, but not carrying a full grown passenger.

He looked over the suitcase curiously as he headed towards the waiting room.

[TheAmishPirate]

Crown Cork gripped the bars, his eyes boring holes into the panicked teller's soul. "How brief is brief? How fast would I have to fly? What level of miracle must be born for me to make that train?" His voice was low and hard, deadly serious. This was no joke; if he could just figure out how to grow wings on the ride there...

[BlasTech]

"Sir? Uhh." The teller backed away from the bars slightly, looking nervous. "If you only spent an hour or so in Manehatten, you could get the express back to Canterlot in the evening. I have no idea about flying sir, not a pegasus ..."

[TheAmishPirate]

An hour to run down to the estate, well, pay a cab handsomely to run him down to the estate, grab a briefcase, then dash back to the train station? Foal's play. Cork went back down on all fours to count out the requisite bits, smiling politely at the spooked teller. "That will do wonderfully then."

As he pushed across the small pile of bits, a horrifying realization stayed his hoof. "Although, an hour is hardly enough time to save the business...and to warm the hearth of my winter's rose, however late a visit may be." He bowed his head, gritting his teeth and clutching a hoof to his chest. "But I must! For the sake of my father, I must keep us apart for a few more painful days. Sir, a round-trip express ticket to Manehatten, before my resolve wavers." With a final steeling of his heart, he pushed the bits the last remaining inches over to the teller.

[BlasTech]

"Y-Yes sir" stammered the teller, doling out the requisite ticket.

"An announcment will be made as soon as we know when trains are running again. Until then, you can wait in the waiting room over there sir."

[TheAmishPirate]

Crown Cork gave the poor teller a final, polite bow, nipping up his ticket in his teeth. "Thank you, it has been a pleasure, sir. I believe I can keep myself quite occupied in the meantime." He patted his suitcase lovingly, hearing the jostling of brushes just waiting to take a dip in some color. Perhaps he'd be getting that painting of the station much sooner than expected.

He was just trotting out to the waiting area, surveying who might be sharing this lonely evening with him, when his eyes spotted a familiar-looking filly chatting with an older mare. The colt's face lit up. "Why, Soot? Soot, is that you?" he called out, waving in her direction. What luck! Perhaps this evening wouldn't be so lonely after all.

[BlasTech]

After the teller finished dropping all of Cork's bits in the cash register, he put up a "back in five minutes" sign and took refuge beneath his desk.

[Ravian]

Soot's ears seemed to quiver as they heard the familiar voice. Her eye twitched once more before her head slowly turned towards the doorway, those in the room might well have sworn they heard a sound not unlike rusty metal grating against itself as the unicorn's neck seemed to twist like an owl.

"You..." Soot hissed as her face twisted into a portrait of hatred. The rest of her body twisted around so she fully faced the Earth Pony before leaping at the pony with a savage scream of rage.

[TheAmishPirate]

Cork slowed his waving as the filly turned about. "Soot?"

That was odd; he'd never seen her looking like that before. Was this merely a case of mistaken identity? He squinted at her and trotted closer. "Soot, is that you-"

And then the little savage leaped at him like a guided, angry swarm of bees. He held up his forelegs to shield himself, dropping his suitcase to the ground in the process, but the effort was fruitless. The two of them tumbled across the floor, Cork ending up with the angry filly perched on top of him. "Ah! Help! Police! Murder! Murder I say!" he wailed as he tried his hardest to protect his face.

[One Tin Soldier]

Grease looked up at the doorway as the colt entered, calling Soot's name. Oh, so she does know somepony in town, she thought. That's good, she almost seemed... wait, what is she...

Her confusion turned to alarm as Soot launched herself at the colt, screaming. "Whoa, whoa, hey!" she yelled, running over towards the two as they fell to the ground. She pushed her hooves into the fray, trying to remove the enraged filly before she injured somepony. As she did, a thought crossed her mind. Did I just help pay for a madmare's ticket?

(So... does this call for a contested roll?)

[Balmas]

Dive Bomb looked up from the magazine he'd been reading. Well, that's a change of pace... Discretion says that I ought to stay out of it, while morality dictates a swift intervention. As such, he thought, shifting off his bench slowly, I am required to act.

"K-kid," he called from just outside the range of the desperate melee, "can I b-be of any assistance in resol-solving this conflict?"

((Gah! Ninja'd!))

[Ravian]

Soot gazed down upon the stallion beneath her with a look of rage and loathing smeared across her face "You had me... go all the way to Canterlot... to pick up a present... for your marefriend... when you were going there in the first place!" she jamed her hoof into his nose "I'm stuck in a train station on Heart's Warming Day because you couldn't bother to pick up a gift yourself!"

Her horn glowed with a golden light as she tried to fight off Grease Spot's attempts at pulling her off "Let me go! I'm gonna give this puffed up peacock a piece of my mind!"

[Balmas]

Okay, plan A is not working. Turning to the guard in the corner, he said, "Isn't it your job to stop stuff like this? There was more than a hint of panic in his voice.

[BlasTech]

"Huh wha?" The guard replied, scratching the back of his helmet with a hoof. "Oh, yeah, I guess it is isn't it. What with me being a guard and all."

Seemingly not in any great hurry, the unicorn set down his magazine and trundled over to the two combatants.

"Uh ... please stop?"

Meanwhile, all the noise had started the two foals crying, their parents were briefly occupied with attempting to keep them quiet.

(So... does this call for a contested roll?)

[Assuming Ravian is okay with moving it out of the realm of pure RP, which I'm assuming he does given his last post ... It's be a contested body based roll to pry her off by force. Highest total wins. Go nuts! ^^

The guard pony is ready to intervene, so if you don't do the roll first, he will.]

[TheAmishPirate]

Cork bravely tried to defend himself, but striking a filly, even in retaliation, was something he just couldn't bring himself to do. Soot's quick hooves delivered a snappy jab to his muzzle, and he brought up his forelegs to stave off further hits. "Augh! I paid you handsomely for the trouble! How was I to know the accursed trains would be delayed?! Now unhand me at once!" he demanded.