Key Gear

Key's paranoia was disarmed. Electrobolt's opening statement wasn't extreme, wasn't vague, and wasn't particularly dramatic. In fact, it was rather droll and conversational. Exactly what would have been expected from a normal pony. Key's thoughts of Electrobolt being a bodyguard for Trixie dissipated into the mist of her imagination just as quickly as it had appeared. Due to her narrow focus of study, Key never really had much of a chance to learn anything about Trixie. In contrast, Electrobolt seemed to have quite a bit of knowledge regarding the stage magician and experience in going to the shows. Key's ears perked up and she became very attentive to what he had to say. As Electrobolt spoke, Key thought. So he used to be a huge fan of Trixie, but then, the one time she came to his town, she messed over his friends. No wonder he doesn't think that she's classy. I wonder how many other ponies dislike Trixie. Key's face betrayed her bewilderment when she heard about Trixie's disappearance. To her, it seemed odd that a performing pony would vanish and then manage to become the star attraction at a major event. While Electrobolt was taking a drink of his punch, Key reflected further on everything that he had said. So this is why being a polite pony is important. You get so much useful information. This Trixie… Sounds like she's more than just a simple thief. For her to vanish and yet, somehow, become featured in a magic festival… She must have done something… Something pretty amazing. A disturbing realization dawned on Key. Maybe something like breaking into a mansion and taking something that didn't belong to her… Just a few moments earlier, Electrobolt's question would have caused Key to bristle with paranoia. But now, after he had shared what he knew so freely, Key interpreted the question for what it truly was, just an innocent question. She decided that she would answer the question completely truthfully, but she also made another decision. She thought back to what Daylight had said to her earlier. At the time, she had completely dodged Daylight's question with an answer that had sounded lame even to her own ears. She didn't see the point of the question. But now, sitting across the table from Electrobolt, Key realized why the detective had asked the question that he did. She really had disconnected herself from other ponies. The fact that she was so distant from other ponies was not something that she thought about very often. She never really needed to think about it. Her daily existence did not really encourage moments of self reflection. But here, on this train, her offputting nature had already rubbed the detective the wrong way and had nearly destroyed her chances of learning anything from Electrobolt. Once again, she sat, thinking. If Electrobolt wasn't so patient, then he would've probably picked up his plate and moved somewhere else, which was exactly what I had been wanting him to do… Well, that was dumb of me. If Trixie is no stranger to conflict with other ponies and whatever she stole increased her abilities enough for her to get noticed by the ponies in Los Pegasus, then I could use another ally on this train. Electrobolt… has been to Trixie's shows. Daylight's studied Trixie, but Electrobolt's seen the real pony. He'd be the perfect ally… Key realized that she was sitting in silence again. She was mortified. She was frustrated with herself for, yet again, failing to carry on anything resembling decent conversation. She stammered out an answer to his question. “Y-yeah! Yeah, I stayed at the Trottington Inn.” Key felt completely incompetent. Her dark blue eyes suddenly betrayed the exhaustion that lurked constantly beneath the surface. Key sighed deeply, and stared down at the table. As she spoke, her voice was soft, strained. “I'm sorry. I'm not a very good pony to talk to. I don't think I've had a casual conversation with another pony since before I ran away from home. And I did run away from home, when my parents disappeared. I've basically spent half of my life as a street pony. I didn't even finish school. I had absolutely nothing, I got in fights all the time, I stole stuff to survive. I… I…” She stopped and her eyes widened. She had said far more than she originally planned to. Key glanced around nervously, hoping that no other ponies had overheard what she had to say. Finally, she looked down at the table again and awaited judgment. @, “Lapis Lazuli.” Ambrosia silently mouthed the name as though she were tasting a new dish. It was a beautiful name. She studied Lapis. The earth pony seemed so austere that he reminded her of a professional food critic that had once critiqued her food, but there was something different about this earth pony. Despite his excessive formality, he seemed soft, almost huggable. She spied that Lapis's cutiemark was a book and thought to herself that it was important to never judge a book by its cover. @, The gleeful energy of the young pegasus was infectious. As Flow poured out praise for her lasagna and shook her hoof, Ambrosia's eyes sparkled with pleasure. The lasagna was her favorite dish to make, and she was always ecstatic to hear passengers praise the dish. The feeling only lasted for a few moments before she took one step back and tilted her head with an amused expression. The contrast between the rather stoic earth pony and the high-energy pegasus was so stark that Ambrosia just couldn't help herself. She smiled and laughed softly before sitting down at the table with the two ponies. “I apologize for laughing, but I just couldn't help myself. You two are so different and yet here you are sitting at the same table. You know, that's why I love these train rides, ponies of all sorts get together to go to the same place. They talk, they laugh, they share stories. I just love it!” Turning to Lapis, she spoke lightheartedly. “Nope, I've never heard of Grass Valley, but I'm from Haysead Grove. My hometown is just a tiny little village not too far from Baltimare. Most ponies haven't heard of it either, so I know what it's like to be from a small place that no one's heard of before. Frankly, I kind of like it. One thing that I've noticed about big city ponies is that folks are quick to come to some kind of expectations about how they should be. Manehattan ponies, everyone thinks they're fast. Los Pegasus ponies, everyone thinks they're flashy. Ponies from small towns… Well, folks just have to learn how you really are, don't they?” She turned to Flow. “Flow, I don't mean any offense when I say that. Of course, I realize that not all city ponies are the same, and I definitely never judge a book by its cover.” Ambrosia winked at Lapis, hoping that he would get the reference. “Anyway, you know it's a strange thing to see a pony that wants to leave a place like Manehattan to live in a rural setting. Any particular reason for why you made the decision?” Ambrosia was so wrapped up in the conversation, that she didn't notice Springer reenter the dining car and make a beeline for the dinner rolls. Springer knew that Ambrosia hated it when he hoarded the dinner rolls, so he waited for the opportune moment before silently making his return. To Springer, the dinner rolls weren't just dinner rolls, they were the true nectar of the Princesses. To say that he loved them would be a dramatic understatement. The rolls were golden brown and seemed to sparkle with butter. Springer's mouth watered like a waterfall. Hooves trembling in anticipation, he piled the rolls onto his own plate. With his devastating raid finally complete, Springer surveyed the dining car for a place to enjoy his spoils. He spotted a familiar looking lock-picking red unicorn seated by a window quietly admiring the countryside. With rolls firmly in hoof, Springer decided to use his wings to hover over and take a seat next to Magicon. Unfortunately, he forgot about his inability to ever make a good landing. Springer's hovering went well, but he plopped down next to Magicon with a dull thud. Rolls spilled everywhere. Wild panic gripped him as he whipped his head around to check on Ambrosia. She was still too deeply in conversation to notice his shenanigans. Like a dragon hoarding treasure, Springer scooped all of his rolls back onto his dish. Finally, he shoved one into his mouth. Springer's smile could have raised the moon for Luna. Still chewing his roll, Springer decided to say hello to his friend. “Hey buddy! I was thinking about how you unlocked the door earlier.” Springer showed another roll into his mouth. “That was pretty neat. Have you thought about applying to perform in the Magic Festival? Magicon, I bet you'd be great! Maybe even better than Trixie?”

Mmmmmmm.... This sounds absolutely delicious! I think I'll take two. I'll eat one right now, and I'll save the other one for after I get out of this Halloween costume… Wait… Wait a moment… Hold on a second… This costume is… Uhhh.... Not seeming very costumey. I can't feel my wings… Wait a moment?! Where in the blazes is the real me! What the hay is… Oh no… Chicken… Alien… Cool… You monster!

Don't worry, this thread is staying put right here. Besides, I need somewhere to use the occasional reaction image. Nope. I really need to make it disappear for players that are not the DM, but I was doing pretty low-level server stuff this weekend so I didn't get a chance to look into it.

You know what… That is a dang good idea… I never thought of that before I will have to have that to the list of things to research. You know, Star Weaver, you are a fountain of inspiration. And the source of a highly questionable number of things on my to-do list. XD Well, if you wait until next weekend, I'm going to try to make an actual editor for that messy code stuff. In the meantime, if you look over to the right-hand side in the RP area, you should see an add character helper. If you paste in the link to a character profile, it will put in the basic code that the character.

Yeah, I've actually been thinking about ways to improve that particular user experience. We are definitely never going to be a free-for-all image hosting site like, my personal favorite, imgur, but we will definitely continue to make the forum a more friendly environment for folks to upload and share pony images within reason.

Cheesecake is srs business. :3

… Well, it all depends on how much you want the cheesecake now as compared to how much you will enjoy the cheesecake later. So, how much do you want it? To me, if you have to ask the question, then that means that you have doubts. If you have doubts, then you should wait until later when you can truly savor your experience.

There may or may not be some interesting developments on that front later on in the future. It all depends on how things go in the labs.

You should see the full-size image. It really is quite the masterpiece. Flaret is a dang good artist. This is a good point…

Don't worry, Scoots is safely ensconced within the loving embrace of the void. He'll be fine.

Hello everypony, y'all like my Halloween getup?

While waiting for a response from the green colt, Key became dimly aware of the awkwardness of the silence. Now that she was on the receiving end of it, she realized how unusual it must have seemed earlier when she was the silent pony. Key found herself trying to recall the last time that she had spoken with a normal pony. Quickly, she combed her memories looking for some relevant experience that she could use. Over the past few months, she had spent quite a bit of time trying and failing to sell the idea of a expedition to members of the Canterlot elite. Prior to that, she had spent some time as a mechanic in Lower Manehattan fixing random things for local business ponies. Before that, she had lived on the street and talked with nopony. If she focused, she could even recall the time that she spent as a much younger filly going to pony school in Manehattan. None of it was relevant to her current situation. To the Canterlot elite, all she had been was a glorified dog and pony show. They wanted to be entertained, and Key wanted their money. Ultimately, the Canterlot elites would always be entertained, but her only prize for attending the various events and socializing pointlessly were her tickets to the Los Pegasus Express. Her experiences in Lower Manehattan hadn't really involve much conversation. She couldn't even remember her time in pony school, so that wasn't particularly helpful. Key's smile faded slightly as she realized that she had absolutely no idea what she was doing. Her smile faded again when she realized that the only reason she was even in this predicament was because the green colt had approached her first. She found herself wondering why he had bothered her instead of just sitting down at one of the empty tables and leaving her to her food. She found herself wondering why she was even bothering to smile. Of course, he was probably only being friendly and sociable, and I was being friendly and sociable when I replied. At least I thought so. I didn't have to say anything, I could've just ignored him. But being friendly and sociable is what polite ponies are supposed to do. So, that's why I'm sitting here and he's sitting there and we are both like bumps on a log in the Everfree Forest because nopony knows how to carry on a decent conver... Fortunately, her ranting thoughts were cut short before they had a chance to spill out of her mouth. The green pony cleared his throat, and this Key snapped back to reality. She chided herself for being so easily ruffled by the silence. As Electrobolt continued to talk, Key grew progressively more interested in what he had to say. His name is… Electrobolt? Well, that's sort of cool. He knows boxing? So, I was right about him knowing a thing or two about fighting. He's 15 years old. Pretty sizable pony for a… Wait… I'm 15! She tilted her head to the side as she considered this sudden revelation. This Electrobolt may be a good pony to know. After all, he *is* a brawler. Daylight may be better for trickery and quick thinking than for straight-out fighting. What if Trixie has some kind of bodyguards with her? I could use some extra backup. He would probably help me out too, after all he did come over here and bother me instead of just eating his food somewhere else. Key blinked. For the second time in the day, her own questioning had resulting in more questions coming right back at her and catching her offguard. She had no desire for any more awkward silences, so she thought fast and spoke fast, saying the first things that came to mind. “Well, I asked if you knew anything about fighting, because you're kinda big for a young colt and you look like you aren't a pushover, so I figured you might know something about fighting. I asked about your age because I just wanted to know whether I was right about you being big for a young pony or if you were actually just a bit small for your age, like me. I'm 15 too, but I'm not very big and that's not good for fighting.” Key suddenly stopped. In her mind, she suddenly realized that there was one, worrying possible reason for why Electrobolt would wander over to her to start up a conversation. If Trixie has bodyguards, then they would probably blend in with the normal passengers! Electrobolt could be one of them… She eyed Electrobolt suspiciously. She decided that she needed to find out what he thought about a certain stage magician. If all he says is good stuff, then he's probably a fraud. If all he says is bad stuff, then he's a fraud then too. Key adopted a pleasant, nonchalant expression. “So anyway, I heard that Trixie was on this train and that she's a real classy magician.” Despite herself, Key had hesitated before she described Trixie as "classy". As innocently as possible, she asked Electrobolt some questions about the stage magician. "What you think about Trixie? Have you ever been to any of her shows?” Ambrosia was cleaning dishes in the kitchen, She polished each dish until she could see her lemon colored fur and plum colored mane reflecting back at her in each one of them. While she was cleaned the dishes, she was also listening to the sounds of passengers talking and enjoying the food. One passenger in particular seemed to be reveling in the dining experience. Ambrosia's ears stood up as she heard the sound of giggling coming from the dining area. Concerned and amused, she decided to investigate. After she stepped outside of the kitchen, she could see that there were four passengers currently dining. At one table, there were two younger ponies - a green colt and the filly that she had greeted earlier. They were wrapped up in some type of friendly discussion. She carefully considered the two ponies, and she decided that they were probably not the source of the giggling. The young filly didn't really impress Ambrosia as being the giggling type, and she strongly doubted that the colt could (or would) make that kind of sound. Besides that, Ambrosia figured that the conversation was friendly but not quite friendly enough for any giggling. @, @, She turned her attention to the table by the parlor door. There, seated at the table, was a yellow-white pegasus that seemed to be savoring every bite of her meal. Seated at the same table with the pegasus was a rather intellectual looking earth pony that also seemed to be enjoying his meal. Ambrosia's purple eyes sparkled as she made her way over to the table. She loved it when ponies enjoyed her cooking and she decided that these two ponies looked friendly enough to approach. “Hello, I'm the train's cook! My name is Ambrosia. I heard the sound of somepony enjoying my food, so I figured that I would introduce myself. She smiled pleasantly as she continued. “I actually haven't been working as a cook for too long, so I'm always a little nervous when I prepare a meal. The sound of ponies enjoying the food that I cook helps me to overcome my nervousness and keep cooking.” Ambrosia laughed. She had a very cheerful sounding laugh, light and carefree. “So, how has the train ride been for you both so far? And where are y'all from originally?”

Yep, that is him. > http://mlpforums.com/topic/13800-i-am-the-real-bronydanceparty-and-there-is-someone-impersonating-me-wut-do/

Has no affiliation with the member known as Kestrel.

^ Is bald and is not a Scootabuddy.

I wanted to go to the show, but I was far too tired to go driving down there. My brother one though and he had a great time.

Well, the train has already left the station so it's pretty much impossible to add another character in a sensible way at this point. Don't worry though, this is merely the first mystery RP of what will, hopefully, be a series of them. The opportunity will come up again, and I will be sure that I send you a message at that time. @, As a random side note, this particular quote reminds me of every single time that I go to a buffet in real life: Yep, that's totally me…

Key stopped attacking her plate and looked up from her meal. Seated across from her was another earth pony, a colt with green fur and a blue mane. Still chewing her mouthful of food, Key slowly looked around the room. There were plenty of empty tables. She finally finished off her mouthful of food, and her large, dark blue eyes began to, guardedly, survey the green colt. As far as Key could tell, he was young, probably around her own age. His hair was… Unnaturally spiky. Key found herself wondering if this colt actually used some kind of mane-styling gel to achieve his gravity defying mane. Key's nose scrunched up as she squinted and leaned in to examine the colt's mane in greater detail. She could definitely see the faint shine that gave the stuff away. "Well, that's different." She thought. The silence was growing more and more awkward by the second. Key leaned back and decided to say something, but she couldn't think of what to say. In Manehatten, she stole from and fought with the other homeless young ponies, but she never spoke with them. Casual conversation among young ponies was definitely not something that existed on the streets. Again, she found herself studying the pony across the table from her. While Key was 15 years old, she was noticeably smaller than other fillies that were around her age. In contrast, the green colt seemed to be a little large for his age - nearly fully grown in size. He also seemed to have a rather solid build for a pony so young. To Key, he looked like he would make a fairly acceptable brawler. That earned her respect, it also gave her something to talk about. She smiled as she broke the silence. “Uhhh, hi. You wouldn't happen to know anything about fighting would you?” Something in the back of her mind reminded her of the proper way to introduce herself. “Oh yeah, and my name is Key Gear, what's yours? And, how old are you anyway?”

I tried, I really did, but those exclamation marks on the end of your name somehow broke the mention feature when I pasted things in from my text editor. You are the blank space between Legendary and Clarity (Lightening Applejack).

I know that it has been a while since this was posted, but I just read through this fan fiction not too long ago and I just have to say that it was absolutely fantastic. This fan fiction is really sort of unique in that it fills in a rather interesting gap of time that was not addressed in the actual show. I'm not going to give anything away, but I will definitely say that this is good stuff. The characters (Celestia and Discord) are very well written. The dialogue is sharp. The setting and atmosphere are suitably dramatic without becoming cheesy. It really is a shame that more folks have not noticed the quality of the writing and commented here. At only 1,400 words, this fan fiction is beautifully succinct. Great stuff often comes in small packages, and this particular small package should be required reading for everyone that is a fan of the show. @~Chaotic Discord~, thank you for posting this on the site, it was good reading!

Train is not moving yet, but I do have a few updates. Steel Forest has withdrawn from the RP because he needs to focus on another writing project that will soon consume almost all of this writing time. (He is going to be joining in the novel writing month event. That's pretty cool!) Finally, I am hoping to get the train moving tomorrow morning, but I have the whole situation with the busted door that needs to be resolved. @, I hope that you don't mind, but I will probably write a resolution to the broken door situation tomorrow morning. It is just that I have a limited amount of time to write RP posts and I was hoping to get a train rolling and have dinner served tomorrow (so that the RP can get on the fast track, yep that's a bad pun but I don't feel bad ). I can't get any of this stuff going until after I put the NPCs back on duty. Feel free to write up something before tomorrow if you want to, but don't worry about it if you aren't able to do so. @@Dave247, @@Electrobolt, @, @, @, @@Aureity, @, @, @, @, @, @@Magicon, Well, sitting around in the station has been fun, but it really is time for things to get moving. I used my powers as the DM to fast forward through a few things (and to railroad a few ponies ). It really was necessary to do this, stuff was starting to drag out and get a bit boring. Now the train is finally on its way and all passengers have been alerted that it is time for dinner! (Oh, neat, both of my posts were merged into one. Talk about confusing!)