The stopover in Turves was largely uneventful. Soft Mane introduced her mother to the group and vice versa. Some concerns were had about her romantic choices in life, but well wishes were had when they moved on, riding the rail towards Yi Sheng just a scant few hours later. The group was relaxing with varying degrees of patience.
Spike glanced upwards, "What was that?"
Applejack glanced around, "What was what?"
The train shuddered powerfully a moment, making those on their hooves wobble dangerously. The floor went out from under them suddenly, falling a foot. Twilight yelped as her study session was interrupted and she ended up nose-first in her book in a manner not of her choosing. They could all feel the train rising back up. Twilight shut her book and clambered up, "What is going on?"
Rainbow raised a hoof, "I'll check!" and she dashed off, Applejack just a few steps behind her.
Spike lifted his shoulders, "May as well go with them, be right back." He easily caught up to them, feet not touching the ground, and they advanced through the car.
The next car revealed some of the problem. Shaggy bipeds with a variety of weapons were holding the ponies present hostage from a quick look. One of the hyena-headed assailants raised his long spear, "Throw all your jewels on the ground and there won't be trouble!"
Rainbow snorted, not even slowing her forward dash on sight of the trouble. She veered towards the closest invader and, with a jump, came upon the unsuspecting gnoll with her forehooves, knocking him back with the satisfying thud of bruised flesh. Applejack galloped to intercept one that appeared ready to hurt one of the passengers, throwing herself between the two. A short axe came down, glancing across her flank as if stopped purely by her fur or hide.
Spike took in the situation quickly, but spied no good way to throw lightning without catching bystanders. He opted for assisting Rainbow with hers with a flying tackle. He drove the gnoll to the ground with a reptilian roar. The others began to react to the unexpected resistance with snarls and growls. They advanced quickly, two moving in on Applejack, three on Rainbow and Spike, and two more drawing bows from their back and letting arrows fly through the confined space. Spike left the gnoll he was fighting to throw himself in front of Rainbow, allowing the arrows to shatter on his tough hide.
"Thanks, Spike," said Rainbow with a smile before she brought down a hoof on the one Spike had knocked over, beating him unconscious with a powerful blow across the brow. She lashed out a hind leg, catching an incoming gnoll in the belly. The creature said something angrily in a language none of them knew before swatting at Rainbow with its mace. Rainbow yelped in pain, her reflexive dodge not as graceful without her wings and left her in its powerful arc.
Applejack found herself surrounded, but wore a determined look. She turned to look at one of them, glaring them in the eyes, but watching the other out of the corner of her eyes. As soon as it went in for what it thought was an easy mark, she lashed. She bucked his trunk hard enough to shake loose many of the jewels he had sewn into his fur. The gnoll crashed to the ground, curled in agony. "Ya want some too?" she challenged the one she never stopped looking at. "Ah got plenty more where that came from."
One of the gnolls that had been advancing towards Spike and Dash grabbed a small pony nearby. He hefted up the filly and crossed his curved blade under the young pony's neck. "Surrender or the little one gets a new smile!" he howled at the defenders, holding the filly securely.
Rainbow pawed at the ground, "That's playing dirty..." Applejack relaxed her posture with a glare at the hostage-taker and Spike lowered his deadly claws. Rainbow glanced at her acquiescing allies and grunted, "Guys! C'mon..."
One of the other gnolls pointed at Rainbow, "Don't cause trouble. If she dies, it's your fault." They advanced, drawing rope. "Sit down. No one has to get hurt, but we will do plenty of hurting if we have to!"
The door between cars suddenly slid open as a blue snout emerged. Sonata looked towards the gnoll holding the filly and smiled charmingly at him, "Are you saving her for lunch, or are you that desperate?"
The gnoll blinked in confusion, but then it hit him. He started to giggle, then to cackle. He dropped to the floor, unable to hold the filly. Seeing opportunities, she fled in leaping bounds to her parents, curling with them.
Rainbow grinned wide as she reared up, driving a hoof dead-center in the chest of the gnoll that had been meaning to tie her up, "S'what you get, trying to cheat in a nice honest brawl."
Spike grabbed the wrist of the gnoll that was going for him. He shook his head slowly. The gnoll snarled at him and Spike squeezed, driving his claws deep into the flesh. "Bad choice," he said, eyes half-lidded, pulling the gnoll slowly to his knees, "Last chance, giving up?"
Rainbow raised a brow, "Woah, hey bud, you're looking awful serious over there."
Spike backhanded the gnoll, slicing his throat along the way with the tips of his claws and letting the creature fall to the carpet, "They were ready to hurt a little kid. I don't feel sorry for them."
Applejack brought her gnoll low swiftly with her powerful applebuckers and charged the two in the back with the bows, but by the time she got there, they were slumped over, sleeping. "What in tarnation?"
Sonata strode out into the room properly, looking around at the damage caused in the struggle, "Geeze, I leave you guys alone for a few minutes. Good thing I'm here!"
Spike gave a thumbs up, "Good job, Sonata. You really saved our flanks with that one."
One of the passengers, a unicorn covered in small vials, timidly asked, "Are you guards?"
Rainbow shook her head, "Nah, we're heroes. Even better! We'll have this train free and clear in no time at all." She looked to Spike, "Go get Soft and Twilight. We shouldn't be separated at a time like this."
Spike asked, "What about that Lex guy?"
Rainbow shrugged, "If you see him, great, I guess."
Spike was off in a hurry. Applejack, in the meanwhile, began picking up gnolls and tossing them out an open window. Rainbow raised a brow at this, "Uh, aren't we moving?"
Applejack shrugged softly, "S'not as fast as the Friendship Express, they'll be fine." She heaved the last gnoll overboard, then pulled the window shut, "All clear."
Rainbow advanced to where a small collection of gems lay on the floor, "Where'd these come from? These belong to anypony?"
AJ shook her head, "Nah, kicked it clean off one of them varmints."
"Horsefeathers!" exclaimed Rainbow, as she gathered up the jewels, "We shoulda taken all of them."
"Huh? didn't figure you for a jewel type, Dash," said Applejack with some confusion.
Rainbow held a jewel on the end of a hoof, "We can sell them for gold. Gold equals fixed wing."
Applejack blinked, then threw her hat on the ground, "Aw shoot. Ahm sorry Rainbow. Didn't even think of that."
Spike returned with Twilight and Soft Mane in tow. Spike flew over to Applejack's hat and plucked it up. He placed it gently on her head, "You dropped this."
Applejack snorted with a smile, "Thanks, partner. Let's get the rest of those varmints, and, uh, remember to take their jewels this time?"
Rainbow extended her remaining wing, "I don't know how much these are worth, but each one is that much closer to being whole again!"
Twilight trotted lightly into the room, looking around, "Everything looks OK in here, let's move on ahead." She tapped Applejack, Rainbow, Spike, and Soft in turn, covering each in a thin layer of magical armor that soon faded from sight. "All set."
Soft knocked on her breastplate lightly, "I didn't really need that, Twilight."
Twilight shrugged softly, "Doesn't hurt. I don't want anypony getting injured if we can avoid it."
Sonata looked towards the back, "I should get Lex." She trotted off, vanishing towards the rear of the train.
Rainbow clopped her forehooves together, "Let's get to it."
The train lurched again, then pulled forward violently a moment. Applejack made her way to a window and peeked out in both directions, "Tarnations! We lost most the train!"
Twilight advanced on the window with a befuddled expression, but soon saw that Applejack was right. The car two behind the dining car was slowing do-- it suddenly veered off the tracks, the de-coupled cars crashing into the mountain's side in a violent crash that was soon lost to sight as the rest of the train went around a bend. Twilight pulled her head back in with a frown, "I... there's nothing we can do for them. Let's keep our heads together, everypony. Come on." She pointed to the front of the train with an upraised hoof.
Applejack led the way, throwing open the door and walking out onto the short metal ramp between cars and peeked in through the window into the next car. She could see two of the gnolls ransacking a bar of some kind. She nodded back at the others, then quickly threw open the door. Bolts of force flew over her head, striking the gnoll she was galloping towards just before she planted a hoof in his belly, knocking him to the ground.
The other gnoll yipped and threw up its arms, looking unwilling to battle the squadron of dangerous-looking ponies, half-ponies, or their dragon friend. "Don't hurt, yes? Giving up, peaceful, we can be friends?"
Rainbow huffed, "Who's attacking this train!?" she shouted at the yielding gnoll.
Twilight put herself between Rainbow and the gnoll, "Now now, Dash, we should be friendly first."
"Yes, friends," agreed the gnoll.
Twilight smiled at the gnoll, "And good friends tell their friends how to stop ponies from being hurt. Who's in charge? We want to talk to them."
"With our hooves," said Rainbow in a low grumble.
The gnoll pointed to the front of the ship, "She should be there! I go now, yes? Friends."
Rainbow had a sudden thought flash in her expression, "After you give us your gems."
"I no have gems," barked the gnoll, "Not gem gnoll, just gnoll. Gem gnolls in charge. I go now?"
Twilight shrugged, "You go now, but I don't know where you plan to go? The train's still moving."
"I figure it out," and he departed towards the back, the various bottles of booze he had stashed in his dirty clothes clinking all the while.
Soft Mane found a small vial tucked in the fallen gnoll's pockets "Healing potion," she announced, offering it up to Rainbow and Applejack.
"Does it heal wings?" asked Rainbow with some hope.
Soft shook her head, "Nothing that severe, but most things short of limb removal."
Rainbow huffed, "Save it."
A door on their left burst open, revealing several snarling gnolls. Dash couldn't help but be drawn to the glittering gems dangling in their pelts. She'd have her wing back soon, and the sky would be hers again.
I'd change that to "bucked his trunk hard enough," as that has a bit more of a double entendre.
I also suspect that she shook loose the "loose" jewels she had sewn into his fur, though the use of "loose" twice is rather odd - I'd eliminate the second instance of it altogether.
That gnoll is a "hostage-taker."
"Half-lidded" just sounds better to me here.
There are two spaces between "an" and "upraised" here.
The ponies are "dangerous-looking."
5724866 Fixes applied, many thanks! Liked?
5724876 One wonders how a group of gnolls were able to board a moving train, to say nothing of how many jewels they thought passengers would be likely to have.
It's a shame to see Lex go, and apparently Sonata too, but I'm a bit biased with regards to that.
I almost went full-nerd and suggested a magazine article I found several years ago that actually had a primer on the gnollish language, based on research that the author had done using existing first-party D&D sources... but I decided that even for me, that was going too far.
Not even public transportation will keep you safe from random encounters.
Also, Dash has discovered the delights of the adventurer's prerogative. Kicking butt is all well and good, but it's taking stuff that will support you in the long run. Especially when you have an immediate goal in mind.
Still, that train decoupling... Yikes. Probably best that the party not think too hard about that until they're in a gnoll-free area. Though Sonata and Lex probably weren't on the crashed car. Or cars. Seriously, a lot of people may have just died horribly.
5724938 Eventually, maybe, the whole group will remember the looting part of combat. Equestrians never had a strong need for that step.
5724938 Wonder why it derailed? Decoupling shouldn't do that.
5725025 Maybe somepony tossed a coin on the tracks.
I could hear every adventurer's lamentations as AJ tossed those gnolls out the window. All that loot, gone...
Reading this story is making me wanna play some D&D again. Fortunately, I'm in a game group that just started up, but it's 3.5e, not Pathfinder, sadly. Love 3.5e always, but I really wanna play PF. Also, did manage to order a hardcopy of Ponyfinder, so that'll be even more fun to dig into.
I do have to say, playing a Favored Soul in a Ravenloft game based on Resident Evil is gonna be hella badass (and somewhat scary). Not gonna lie: not having Turn Undead might be a bit of an issue, but in Ravenloft, it wasn't that much of a security blanket anyways.
5725025
5725042 Don't forget this is a magically propelled train. It's not actually attached to the track, as it hovers. With no guiding force...
5725046 Thank you for patronizing me! (I giggle every time I say that)
5725062 Not a problem. I was wanting to get one at Nightmare Nights Dallas, even got a coupon, but just didn't have the cash for it at the time. At least I still have the coupon, however way-expired it is, as a souvenir.
The only sucky part is that you guys are like Jack in the Box: you don't make it until I order it. Gotta print one up from scratch. No, not Vinyl Scratch. And not Carl Sagan scratch, either (thankfully).
5724611 There is also no evidence to suggest that they had any of those things in the past. In-show references to 1000 years ago are all vague and highly stylized. Nopony living except the princesses knows what it was like then, and they don't say. The only technology we know for sure existed then is books. The lack of progress is strictly your personal head canon.
5725071 I remember handing out those coupons. Good times! Alas, the only way to get a physical book instantly is to bump into me at a con. Speaking of, I'm confirmed for BABScon and EFNW.
5725072
Incorrect. You're confusing an absence of evidence with evidence of absence. Just because there's nothing that definitively says that those technologies existed a thousand years ago does not in any way conclusively indicate that they did not. When there's no evidence one way or the other, then the rule of thumb is to go with the theory that makes the fewest assumptions; hence, don't assume that technology must have progressed at a rate comparable to contemporary Earth.
You may also have missed the part where David asked everypony to move on from this particular debate (and that I said we should all just agree to disagree, since we're not going to come to a conclusive answer).
5725076 Sadly, for the time being, I'm not capable of the travel, nor support activities needed to attend a con out of state. Hopefully you can make it to Nightmare Nights Dallas again. Or my situation changes enough to let me attend cons located in places other than just North Texas.
5725105 If they give me a vendor's table, I will be back! With more loot.
Who uncoupled the train? The heroes were moving forward in the train, so they should have either seen the gap on their way, or passed someone going the other direction. Unless someone came from the back to uncouple it, in which case they just wrecked the cars while they were in them. Maybe gnolls don't know how magic mag-lev trains work?
5725110 A strong possibility, but there is a part of the train you're forgetting.
5725114 Are you saying that cars can be remotely uncoupled from the engine?
5725121 That is another possibility, but there is also the roof, that they have not been on at all. Rainbow probably would have checked it out if she wasn't currently disarmed.
5725110 I'd be surprised if gnolls of any Material Plane knew how half the magical artifacts in any world worked. If they were Eberron or Iron Kingdoms gnolls, at least they'd understand the concept of "unlatch train cars to separate" to snatch cars loaded with passengers and/or loot and not derail it. I don't immediately rememeber if the trains in Eberron were rail or mag-lev, however, so those gnolls might have an inkling. But then again, IIRC, that train is also probably more heavily guarded.
5725122 Another note, Sonata and Lex might have been in the crashing cars. I know you wouldn't waste an opportunity for drama by killing them and not even showing it, but Twilight doesn't know that. It seems like she should be more concerned about the situation. As far as she knows, dozens of people, including two she knows, just died a horrible death, and her reaction is "oh well, onwards!"
5725134 Her other option being? More people could die if she doesn't stick to her checklist(Defeat Gnolls, Regain Control of Train, Drink another cider)
5725134 I agree that Twilight's reaction was akin to a Seinfeldian "that's a shame." But on the other hoof, they were still under attack at the time (albeit in a lull), and there was nothing they could do, particularly since the train was still surging forward, away from the crashed cars. As such, there doesn't seem like much else she could have done at that point - maybe she'll reflect more on it later when the current crisis is over.
5725139 She doesn't have another option, it just seems like she decided that really quickly. On the other hand, after what she's been through in the past few months, I can see she would have become somewhat jaded and more emotionally durable. Since the train decoupled two cars back, it seems like someone would want to check on who made it out and whether the culprit is in the remaining cars or not.
5725122 Ooh, you have to make one of the non-flyers fight someone on the roof, while the train is bouncing around and they're approaching a tunnel. It's an unwritten rule of stories with trains in them.
Just kidding, do what you like. It may be a cliche, but it's such a good cliche nobody would mind.
5724900 Ooh! I'm interested! I adore Gnolls. They're one of my favorite D&D races, and they get so little love.
5725337 The article is entitled "Gnollspeak: A Gnoll Language Primer," by Daniel Collins, and can be found in issue #8 of (the now-defunct) Campaign Magazine.
Twilight shrugged softly, "Doesn't hurt. I don't want anypony getting hurt if we can avoid it."
I would recommend injured instead.
Great job so far, and now we have our defined thief, eve though she's missing a wing.
5725907 Fixed, along with another sneaky typo.
Damn the lack of Gunslingers. That would've been perfect.
5726733 Both a cleric or an oracle could, with sufficient level, get access to raise dead. Soft Mane was -far- too untrained for that.
I was pretty irate last chapter, which i apologize for, think it was partly because I was getting a bit burned out from the chapter-a-day format we got going here... but after thinking about it I still like the story, so I'll try to stay less irate from this point forward.
Anyway, this chapter was pretty good, I'm pretty disappointed in our party for the rule of loot breaching going on here, but I guess I can't blame em, those gnolls stink also, happy to see the stuff that happened in that other chapter didn't effect as much I thought, guess I assumed too quickly.
And uh not asking for spoilers here but, does the plot have a point? It seems from reading these 110 chapters it has been kinda... wandery i guess you could say.
5727477 It's kind of intended to be wandery.
5727482 I can see why from what it's based on, I hope to see a more stable plot line soon, but I guess I'll have to wait and see.
5727492 There have been many discrete arcs in the story. There was Twilight and Spike learn to be adventures, Travel to Turves, Restoral of Love, Retake the Castle, Return to Equestria, Save Equestria, Revive Twilight, Arena battles, and now... well naming it would give it away.
huh?..... it learns who would of guessed
5727507 is it called the "rainbow learns" arc, or "rainbow is so desperate that she is going to turn chaotic neutral" arc.
Still pretty sure it's Yisheng.
Awkward phrasing. Not sure how I'd rephrase it, though.
5725124 Eberron Lightning Rail was mag-lev.
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