5 |
On your way back home, you decide to make a quick detour to the train station to have a look at the schedule there. With the arrival of the cooler season, you figure that a few adjustments are bound to have been made.
Crickets and grasshoppers begin to chirp their nightly autumn songs as the sky fades to a dark blue with a faint glimmer of stars above. Before long, your party makes it to the station, and steps onto its wooden platform to consult the timetable nearby.
According to the timetable, a train to Canterlot is set to depart from Hoofington every three hours, from six o'clock in the morning to nine o'clock in the evening inclusively. From the capital city, other trains then travel to every corner of Equestria.
Honourshine: "And this station doubles as an inn? Convenient."
You nod. Speaking of which, you ask Honourshine if she will be returning to the inn in Ponyville.
Honourshine: "No need; this one is closer."
You should have figured as much. Knowing your foalhood friend, she likely checked in and out every day, if only to avoid the inconvenience of having to go back later. That being the case, you decide to playfully invite her to stay at your house instead. You even offer her the best spot on your bed: the middle one!
Honourshine: "Good one, Blaze."
Well, you tried.
Moonflower: "Ooh! Ooh! How 'bout you stay with Blazer, and I go have a sleepover with Windcaller? He's one of our friends."
Honourshine: "Don't feel the need to intrude on my account."
Moonflower: "He doesn't mind! I always go to his place when Blazer's studyin' magic all night with Crystal Charm. And that way, I can tell him all 'bout where we're goin', and then he can tell everypony else!"
Honourshine: "Uh... w-well, it's your bed. I wouldn't want to take your own place from you."
Moonflower: "It's okay, we washed the sheets jus' yesterday! An' we only had fun in the wet room before takin' a bath, so we went to bed super clean, too."
Honourshine: "... That's not what I meant, but thanks for the imagery."
Moonflower: "Heeheehee...!"
You notice that while Honourshine doesn't seem interested in sharing a bed with both of you at once, she doesn't protest sharing a bed with you alone as much. It looks like yet again, it is up to you to make a decision.
Enter a comment
Then let's meet Moony here for the 6 AM train in the morning. Get to Ponyville early, so we have time to do some last-minute supplying before departure. We could even grab breakfast at the Canterlot station, if there's a wait for the train down.
If this command is picked, I hope it gets interpreted as Blazer just daydreaming about doing that instead of actually doing it; in my view it would be out of character for him to be so out of step with Honourshine, given that he knows full well Honourshine's stance on kissing her.
(Watch me have to eat my words after we roll a nat 20...)
Either way, let's spend an hour or two studying magic from Spellcasting 101, or even doing nothing in particular with Moonflower or Honourshine, then go to bed early to take the 6 AM train tomorrow.
Ah... the central hub model, similar to Ireland's rail system, which I know has suffered some criticism for making journeys between some nearby cities unnecessarily long due to having to go through Dublin. Utopia, my flank! 😛 This conveniently presents an opportunity to visit Moondancer, though.
- Take the train to Canterlot
- If there's time in the transfer to Fillydelphia, visit Moondancer in Canterlot to ask about divination
- Visit a geneticist too if possible
- Take the train to Fillydelphia
- Track down and interview Halfpipe Avenue band members
- Take our ship out to sea if it's ready
That reminds me: it's unclear if our souped up ship from 2021-04-05 is ours or Apple Basket's. When he gave it to us in 2018-11-26, was he gifting it to us or lending it to us? Regardless, it's still in Amblerta, and there's no direct port access to Hoofington. I was wondering if the ship the guild is preparing for us will be that one or a different one. (It would be very exciting if it were an airship... though perhaps we lack the technical knowledge to operate one.)