When I woke up again, the sun was setting outside already. Twilight was still asleep next to me but Sunset was missing. Half a dozen ponies were checking on the wounded at the other end of the carriage. Outside the light was fading fast and it was raining hard, outright pouring down.
Blinking the sleep from my eyes, I shook my head and struggled up to sit. Oh… maybe I should have found something other than hard wood to sleep on.
Stretching, I got up and walked up to Crimson Star.
“How’s everypony doing?” I asked.
She looked up and gave me a small smile, “I think everypony is going to make a full recovery, sir,” she said before she sighed, “Almost. Ivory Bee will likely lose half an ear and some will have some scars, but nothing else that should show through a coat.”
Damn.
Those engineers deserve a medal. And they will get one. I just wished it wasn’t posthumously.
“Thank you, Crimson,” I said, giving her a nod, “Good job. How’s your wing?”
She flicked her ears with a small wry smile, “Not actually broken as it turns out, so that’s good. I just landed on it awkwardly and twisted it badly. I’ll be fine, but it’ll be a moon or so until I can fly again.”
I nodded and smiled at her, “I’m sure it’ll be back to normal soon. Did you see Midnight or Sunset?”
“I believe Princess Midnight is resting in the next carriage,” Crimson said, “Lady Sunset, I’m not sure.”
“Thanks, I’ll find her,” I said and walked outside, casting a quick rain shield above myself. Everypony had clearly arrived by now, tents had been set up to keep the rain away and we had seven air carriages landed around the small clearing formed by the train crash.
Every single one we had in Nocturnis.
Guard ponies all over, some standing on guard and others resting beneath the shelter of the tents, including some exhausted looking pegasi, likely the ones that pulled the carriages.
“Sir,” Moon Glow said as she exited from beneath one of the tents, walking through the rain and into my dry bubble, “We’ll be ready to move at first light.”
I nodded while she shook the worst of the water off herself, “Makes sense. Everypony doing okay?”
Made sense to wait until sunrise to leave. While thestrals could pull an air carriage, the fact was that pegasi are just better at it, they could fly longer and faster and with a larger load.
We might have almost completely silent flight and better low speed maneuverability, but in an air race, pegasus wins.
Moon Glow nodded and smiled, “Everypony doing good. If it would just stop raining, that’d be nice, but nothing everypony isn’t well used to.”
“Anything happen while I slept? Any locals getting arsey about us being here?”
Moon Glow shrugged, “We had a couple of Tigeroids sniffing about a couple of hours ago, but we convinced them there were easier prey.”
Large quadruped lizards, well over twice the size of a pony and tiger coloured. Big teeth. Actually not too threatening compared to some things here, but more than big enough to consider a pony a nice meal.
I nodded, “Well, that’s a good sign.”
Moon Glow nodded, “Yeah, if they are around it’s unlikely any of the larger ones are around this area. Might have gotten lucky. Even so, I don’t like being on the ground like this, I have some ponies building a tent platform for the wounded, we should be able to move there in less than an hour.”
“Good thinking, Glow.”
“Not my idea, sir,” she said and smiled, “Princess Twilight told us to, but it’s a really good idea. I think we’re going to make it standard procedure.”
“Being out in the rain is better than fighting things with big teeth,” I agreed.
“And we’re not going to be rained on, Princess Midnight said that she had an idea for that,” Moon Glow said, “I think something like this spell, but bigger.”
I couldn’t pull that off, but I wouldn’t put it past Midnight or Sparks. Hell, or Sunset even.
“Good plan. Did you see where Sunset went off to?”
Moon Glow sighed and nodded, “She took half a dozen ponies to the crashed locomotive to recover the drivers.”
I sighed and nodded, looking in that direction. She would.
Buck.
“Thank you, Glow.”
“You could eat something before we move, sir,” she said, “We have gathered some fruit and we have some bread and other dry goods, but we have some cooked food ready we can’t really take with us. Almost everypony else has already eaten.”
I nodded, “I’ll be out in a moment, I’m going to get Twilight too,” I said and escorted Moon Glow back to the open sided tent to keep her out of the rain before I headed back to the upside down carriage and walked in, crossing over to the still sleeping alicorn.
“Sparks?” I said softly as I laid down next to her, brushing my wing along her back, “It’s time to wake up, love.”
Twilight stirred and yawned, “Uhm? Page?” she mumbled, raising her head and blinking sleepily.
“It’s time to wake up, love,” I said and stroked my wing across her back, “We’re moving to the trees soon for the night where it’s safer. We need to eat first.”
Twilight shook her head slightly and yawned, “...The guard is here?”
“And Midnight,” I said, “We should get something to eat before we have to move.”
Twilight nodded and slowly climbed to her hooves before she groaned and stretched, joints cracking and she groaned, flexing a wing. I got up with her and pressed my side against hers,
“Come on, let’s see what they have cooked up.”
Nice
Well, at least it hasn't turned out too horribly, yet.
Food I hope
11056037
If they have the magic to make forcefields to keep the rexes out, they have magic to solve underground trainline complications. It wouldn't even be the first time we saw a train tunnel. They have to go through one to take the train to Canterlot.
*Edit: Considering in the Mare do Well episode we saw what can be assumed to be a hydroelectric dam, I'm guessing they also have the technology.
AND NOW...A DRAMATIZATION OF HIVER'S WRITING PROCESS...
Hiver: Hm it sure looks like I'm setting Sunset up for something but I'm not sure what.
Statue: ...I have a suggestion...
Hiver: Oh hello Obsidian Statue of the Thestral King! I'll let you speak but the comment section is pretty confident you're going to be a time travel plot point.
Statue:...why do time travel when you can use me to twist Sunset into a worthy queen that can "protect" her subjects from the beasts. Remember this?
i.pinimg.com/originals/ea/70/c8/ea70c896941ac26e49050cae9158a8ce.gif
Hiver: Oh yeah...that never happened in my universe. Keeping talking, Statue. I might get convinced enough to do it!
11057083
FimFiction writers are often more technologically to date. That is to say, they don't jump around with much medieval tech mixed with modern tach, not unless their main character knows how to create or heralds the creation of said new non magical tech.
Case in point here, the page verse here uses a lot of magic tech, with no sign of electricity being used outside of non'lethal/lighting spells. And page isn't very tech savvy, bet there's some tech he hopes is never created.
11057083
Also, the Rexis seem to have some substantial and effective magic resistance that the shields would, at best, just slow them up a little, but won't stope them at all.
Oh. Ooh. Um. Page sent out a call for the guard and medics. Midntight brought the medic team. They have all the air carriages here, and it's a days flight to Nocturnis. How many guards or medics would have been left behind to watch over the town. Seems like a bad time to find out those rexies' wings actually work.
This two drivers sure did amazing. They probably see it coming, standed there stations still and did there duty. Sacrefice like that... That needs balls of steel.
My respect to this unnamed heros
I can almost understand why the blood curse was needed if their jungle is filled with every manor of carnivore, sometimes a pony needs an edge too
11057169
depends on the magic being used, if the barrier is purely magical in nature then yes they would slide thru it as easily as a dragon, however the barrier there arangeing for nocturnis is probly a force barrier, the exact way a force barrier works varries but the general principle is your useing magic to create a physical change in the way the world works in a localized area, in this case makeing a glass like wall thats hard as 10 inch thick steel plate...a rex would hit it and ited be like they slamed any other imovable object, anything small enough though would triger 'gates' in the wall to open for them
11057103
Verry true, you just have to look back at the storm kings invtion.
Here is a snippet from a conversation he had with Celestia back then.
So stop sleeping on your wood
Good on Sunset there, that can't have been an easy choice for her to make.
11057183
The carriages had to have room for the passengers on the way back, so I'd assume a fair few guards still in the town. Main concern for an attack would probably be that most of the medics aren't there.
Much better than usual today, only a couple of spelling/grammar jackboots:
manoeuvrability
Everypony's doing fine.
They hold out great so far, though the gard part is indeed to fix what is broken. More the rails and the Train rather than bones etc.
Pegasus seem a lot more impact resistance than other ponies, do Thestrals have the same trait?