A lone mare sprinted down the streets of Canterlot on her way to the train station. Her rushed departure was her own fault for deciding to spend the first half of the day in a hobby shop closer to the castle than not, but that was in the past now. She was met with glares from the citizens of the capital and an assortment of nods and half-salutes by the guards she passed. The pegasi smirked and the unicorns scowled but that was fine by her. Not like they knew much about having to hoof it as their mode of locomotion. She had to catch the 2:00 to B-
She stumbled to the ground as she bounced off of somepony’s shoulder. Keeping her momentum, she rolled back onto her hooves and turned back on her path. She called over her shoulder with an apology, “Sorry, in a hurry!”
She took a side street and crossed over to the next avenue for a straighter path to the station. She’d walked the city plenty of times in years past to know it well enough. Better than she knew to keep the time, at least. Or watch her surroundings for ponies she might run into.
Maybe Brush was right, and she was narrow-sighted. She had maybe a habit of bumming around his shop whenever she got transferred. Not her fault his line of work made it too easy to take her mind off work. Nor that everypony always wanted to strike up a match when they saw her walk in. Next time, she’d learn to say no, that she was on a schedule or something.
Of course, the schedule.
Boarding closed five minutes before departure, and she was two minutes behind. With a huff, she quickened her pace. Running down an alley, she finally spotted the station as she came out the opposite end. Nopony stood before the turnstiles and only a few guards waited behind the ticket area. As she approached, she reached back towards her saddlebags until one of the guards motioned towards the train with his pike.
“Head on in.”
With a nod and a smile she hopped over the bars and trotted into the car behind the engine. Finding one of the open booths, she removed her bags and slid into the seat. As she surveyed the cabin, she noticed that many of the booths were open.
Actually, all of the booths were open.
It may have been a year or so since her last train ride, but normally from one large city to another there would be more passengers. She tapped an attendant on the withers as they passed and asked “What time is it?”
They looked at her and answered by pulling a pocket watch out of their jacket.
It read 1:30.
Back in his store, Airbrush chuckled as he pulled the clock from the wall and turned back the time.
Pepper sat alone in her booth as she waited for the train to depart. Other ponies had slowly trickled into the car as time passed, filling the room around her. Idle chatter filled the air as she stared at the contents of her bag.
She'd tried painting on trains before. It hadn't gone well; all the bumps and turns made her smear all over the models. Basing and assembly worked well enough, but wasn't quite as nice as when she waited to do it on solid ground. It was good enough for grunt models but not the centerpieces she liked to put more effort into.
Looking at the scale of the trebuchet on the cover of the box, she knew that this would be a centerpiece.
With a sigh, she pushed the box to the side and reached deeper into the bag to retrieve the folder given to her by her work associates. It held technical details, meant to inform her of her destination before arrival. As she flipped it open and took one look at the contents, she was reminded why she spent the first half of the day in the game store. The drivel inside bored her to no end.
She placed the folder back inside the bag and pulled out the box. It wouldn't hurt to read through the directions and mull over the unit's stats on the ride, after all.
As the train lurched forward, Pepperpot's hooves scrambled to collect the various pieces of magicast scattered about her surface of the table. Shoveling them back into the box they came from, she ducked under the table to check the floor for any that may have fallen.
As she scanned the ground, her eyes noticed a pair of black and white striped legs standing in the aisle.
"Why hello there, miss hurry mare." a voice rhymed from above.
Bolting up, she smacked the back of her head on the table's edge. Though her braid blunted the impact she still rubbed the spot with a hoof and winced as she addressed the pony "I'm sorry, what'd you say?"
She blinked as she realized she was talking to a zebra.
"So strange that we should meet again so soon," the stallion said, tilting his head towards the other side of the table, "would it alright to ask if I may join you?" Pepperpots glanced around the cabin. Seeing no empty booths she nodded and the zebra sat down.
After he got comfortable and placed his forehooves on the table, she asked "Again?"
"You don't remember? You bumped into me on the way here."
She gasped and stammered out "I'm so sorry, I had the time wrong and thoug-"
"It's fine," he chuckled and waved one of his patterned hooves, "It got me a seat with someone I know so I should be thanking you."
"I'm relieved," she sighed, "I suppose a welcome is in order?"
"That won't be necessary. Do you play?"
"Pardon?" she asked before she noticed him pointing at the box on the table. As the car hit a bump, she closed the lid and swept it under the straps to her bag. "Oh, a fair bit, yes." Her cheeks reddened as she mentally checked the number of bits she'd put into the models, let alone the total for what she had shipped ahead to her new address.
"A fair Vale player, now that's a sight from what I've heard." He reached into his coat and pulled out a magazine. A brief glance showed her that it bore the title of the monthly publication for the hobby. She had stacks of them in her closet at home.
"What about yourself?" she asked as she tidied up her space.
He shrugged. "Yet to be seen. I checked it out at a new store just before I left for Canterlot. It seems pretty cool, if I can find the creatures to play with." A sly smile crossed his face as he looked to her. "I imagine that won't be a problem, will it?"
"Ha!" she grinned, "I promise I'll go easy on you." Reading more of the cover, she noticed that he was holding the introductory guide to the game. "What seems to suit your fancy?"
Placing the magazine on the table, he leaned forward as he crossed his hooves. "Can't quite tell until you play, can you?"
"To a degree, yes," she stated, "but you can probably guess from their playstyles." She reached across the table and placed a hoof over a picture of a hive queen. "Like the changelings; They can use a lot of models from any army, but to play them well takes a lot of familiarity in how those units interact."
"So a lot of reading." he surmised.
"Yeah, their players are pretty nerdy."
He raised an eyebrow, "And the other players aren't nerdy too?"
"No, they're just not as nerdy."
A few moments passed before they both let out a laugh.
She flipped a few pages and pointed to a list of groups. "So, got any questions?"
"Several," he answered.
Pepperpot smiled. Maybe this trip wouldn't be as long as she had feared.