When in the Dark (Private)

[CableZ]

The train soon pulled into the snowy township of Stalliongrad, by this point the night loomed over the lands and made the outside quite hard to make out. This coupled with the rather large snow storm that had been raging for a few hours in the area made things outside of the train car seem like another world away. The loud clunk of a new carriage rung out and made the train shudder slightly, soon after one of the stewards walked into the room with a smile.

"Gentlemen since you are all on this train for the full duration of this trip, you have access to the sleep cars that has just been attached to the rear end of the train. If you would like to head through there now, we have layed out beds for you." The steward nodded to them, wondering for a moment where the goat had gone before heading back out of the carriage.

Quickly packing up his things into his bag, Dread didn't waste much time in heading out of the back end of the carriage. The carriage the group were one was the last on the train, so the sleeping cars were immediately behind theirs. It was a standard sleep carriage, there were 8 beds: 4 on each side with 2 above and 2 below. Dread didn't really care which bed he was in, so he simply headed to the far back right hand bed on the lower level and started getting ready. Under each bed was a set of drawers you keep your things so Dread wasted no time in pulling on the ornamental handle and putting his bag into the drawer before hopping under the beautiful sot covers.

~~
The next day
~~

The sound of a shrill whistle stirred the dark stallion from his slumber followed by the hiss of steam flooding a train station platform. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Dread reached up to the velvet curtain that was next to his bed and peaked outside. The blinding light of the daytime sun hit him in the face and he fell back in pain, rubbing his eyes as everything went black and white for a moment. Shaking it off, he opened the curtain properly and looked outside. Just beyond the window was the station of some unknown city, Dread didn't really know what this place was so he opted to look at his map. Making sure to stay in the warmth of his covers, he leaned over the side of the bed and pulled the drawer out very slowly as to not wake the others who were still lost in the darkness of the carriage and embraced in sleep. Pulling the map from his bag with a tug, he moved back over to the curtain and opened it slightly once more to get some light. Sitting back up against the wooden wall of the beds enclosure, Dread rested the map on the covers and inspected. By his calculations and some clever guess work...and the fact it was written on a sign outside of his window, Dread figured out where they were.

'Marelin' Dread thought to himself, he would have liked to go and explore when he really though about it. Unfortunately for him however, the whistle that had stirred him from his slumber was also the one that signaled the train was now setting off. The slow chug of the trains engines and it pushed itself forward signaled the lurching of the movement to follow. Rubbing his eyes with a yawn once more, Dread folded the map back up and threw the covers off him. Hopping down gently from the soft mattress he retrieved his bag from the drawer and headed out into the seating carriage with blurry eyes. It was early morning yet, sometime past 8 o'clock. Sitting in the same seat as he had before, Dread yawned once more as a stewardess entered the car. This stewardess was different from the staff he had met the day before, they must have changed the staff during one of the stops they slept through. Seemed even the staff weren't willing to stay on this train for more than a day, reassuring.

"Good morning sir, I see your companions have not yet risen, but would you like to order some breakfast?" The mare asked with a smile

"They aren-" Dread was about to clarify but frankly he was too tired to care at the moment "Yes please" He mumbled out as he yawned once more.

After taking his order, the mare headed out and left Dread to rest his head on his hoof while his elbow rested on the table in front of him. Staring out of half lidded, Dread drew little shapes in the condensation on the window. The train was heading the short distance to Derbyshire before it would head north to Detrot, so it was getting colder and colder outside. That and it was winter, suffice to say by the time he got to Tramplevania he would need to winter gear he had packed.

[Dream Gaze]

"... I'll not be gone long."
Dream Gaze watched curiously as the goat picked up his bag and left. His reaction to the question was unexpected and for a moment the Unicorn questioned himself whether he upset him or not. He'd have to wait until later to find out he figured...

"Very well, mate. I really have nothing else to do for a while, let me get my notebook. It contains my equations and such after all. What exactly am i looking for? Or do you need me to design something?"
"Basics on how they function would be useful. I also have a design in mind, based on some blueprints a friend gave me. So we can start by analysing that..." The design that Dream had shared was of a small mechanical serpent. If what Jamais told him was true, then it was capable of sentient thought... was this possible in modern times or was it just something that the ancients achieved? That's what he wanted to find out. Dream Gaze and Gearshift worked until the moon rose outside and after a while Gearshift offered to continue in the morning before returning to his seat and falling asleep. Soon after the Steward came in from the newly attached sleeping cars of the train and said that the beds were all set for use. 'Well a bed is bound to be more comfortable then these chairs.' He thought to himself before picking up his things and moving himself to the back of the next car, claiming the bottom left bunk as his own. He used the provided draws to put his stuff away before making himself comfortable on top of the covers to sleep.

Next day...

Dream Gaze awoke at around 9:00am and proceeded to lazily roll out of bed to stand on the floor before shaking out his white mane and stretching out a little, hearing several bones pop in place as he did so. The Unicorn picked up his bag and returned to the car where he had been sitting the previous day. He gave a small nod of acknowledgement to the dark stallion before making himself comfortable in the same spot as yesterday. He retrieved a bottle of water he had bought the previous day and a small fruit salad that was packed for him before enjoying a short breakfast that would tide him over for most of the day. Now all there was to do was wait.

[Nimbus]

Rook allowed Augen to take the book, as long as it was returned, which he assumed, he smiled and nodded as he asked to borrow it until morning, he wasn't talking much due to his sudden realisation of how tired he was, when it was time to leave for bed left rather silently, with little more than a nod to the others, as he had not realised just how much travelling had taken out of him in the process, he fell asleep quickly into much needed rest.

The next day

Rook awoke rather early, but returned to rest for a few more hours, then awoke around the same time as Dream, not wanting to have the breakfast they had in the train, he reached for his bag and ate what he had packed in there, before leaving the carriage for some coffee, which was provided.

He acknowledged those who were awake with a nod, before taking a seat at a window and observing the surroundings, he knew he has far away from anywhere he had been before, which saw an excitement rise in his eyes. He couldn't help but wonder just how far they were from their final destination, but from the length they had travelled so far he assumed their two day journey wouldn't take too much longer. The terrain outside looked pleasant to rook, it reminded him of places near where he had come from, but the lowlands, not the mountains. He continued to look out of the windows and could see what looked like mountains in the far distance, perhaps that is where they were going, he thought to himself.

He was fully awake now, the coffee having awoken him well and he continued to admire the surroundings, wondering when the others would awake

[darktobias13]

When the stewardess had come into the car, Gearshift had already been halfway to snoozing, but the movement of the others stirred him out of his nap long enough for him to stumble into the sleeping car, half asleep the entire time. Once he collapsed on the bed, he immediately fell asleep, not even removing his goggles or scarf. As he slept, he dreamed about the design that Dream Gaze had shown him. He imagined the machine being sentient, but it was about there that the entire dream went downhill. The being somehow grew to titanic proportions and left a wide path of destruction in its wake. He slept like this all night, until near the crack of dawn, when the dreams turned more benevolent. The mechanical creation reappeared, but Gearshift became far more powerful, and was able to telekinetically pull apart the automaton. He saw a glimpse of the machine heart that ran the being, and the idea for it stuck in his head. He woke up abruptly and grabbed his notebook, flipping through the pages until he got a page that he had not even given thought to in a long time. Looking around, he realized that the others must have gotten up already. Sitting up and stretching out, he gave a wide smile as he specified the idea in his mind.

Running through the sleeping cars until he had found his original car, he darted over to the seat that Dream was sitting at. Pulling his notebook out again, he levitated it in front of the unicorn alchemist. "Dream, i know of a possible invention to help you with this serpent. During my travels, i heard tales of half magic, half metal hearts, capable of bringing sentience to inanimate objects. While it is only a legend,many different cultures had stories on this, adding more ideas and such to it. But the main thing needed is exceedingly rare and dangerous to retrieve. Its a gem i have come to call a Star Diamond. Gems have the capacity to hold amounts of magic, but they only show this ability in locations that have grand amounts of primal magic present. A Star Diamond is a diamond that has soaked in magic like a sponge soaks up water, in massive amounts. I've only seen one, and that was a glimpse as i was running away from a bunch of Glacial Wolves. If you are up for the challenge, I've been meaning to gather a group to go deep into a primal zone to collect one of these gems to test. There are a few primal zones i have come across. The Blizzard Mountains of Stalliongrad, for one. Then there are the Sandstorms of the San Palomino Desert. But the closest one, of course, is the Everfree Forest. So what do you think? Once we get back to Ponyville, i'm going to go hunting for one of these gems. It would probably help you with your creation. So you are welcome to come along." He realized he had just blurted out alot of information at once, and looked around to the other passengers. "Oh and Goodmorning all!"

[Augen Horns]

For much of the night Augen would remain unfound, and only at some point taking to bed sometime while the rest of the group had slumbered. His head still ached from the awakening of chaotic magics that had left a subtle stain upon his mind, and the goat prayed they'd fall silent once again... A hope, he suspected, would not be fulfilled in the presence of the purple one. Still, there was no tranquility to be found in fretting. As the goat took to bed, bringing his luggage with him, he locked the heavy cases and buried them under the blankets. Outwardly they might seem normal enough, but Augen thought best not to take chances. Besides, he'd need to be returning them to his client, after his return to Ponyville.

Confident in his cautions, the goat took to bed, closing his eyes and waiting for slumber to take him. He knew not what the night would bare, and what chaos might manifest in his dreams. It mattered not. With time, his thoughts drifted into nothingness...

...

"Yes, good morning all indeed," the goat announced in response to Gearshift. It was Augen's entry, his arrival coming at the end of Gear's monologue. As before, Augen Horns kept all his luggage upon him, and additionally carried with him the book Rook had loaned him. Though he'd missed most of Gear's comment to Dream, the mention of the Everfree sparked Augen's curiosities, and he'd hoped the tinkerous pony would continue where he'd left off. The goat gave a yawn before taking an empty seat not too distant from the other travelers. "I trust all have been quite well in rest to rise," the goat asked aloud, loosening his bags before letting out a sigh of relief, the ease of weight now taken to the seat. Augen wasn't well used to the mornings, though he enjoyed them: they were a rare delight, he thought. One he'd best take a moment to enjoy before getting to research.

[CableZ]

Dread Lock proceeded to spend the next few minutes just trying to wake up and make sure he didn't fall back asleep, once his body had adjusted to the idea of no sleep he was able to get some work done. Pulling out his notes, Dread proceeded to jot a few more things down. He wasn't really doing much specific, he simply had categories which he filled out in various places. Whether they knew it or not, Dread took most of the ponies he met and jotted down their character traits and specific things they did. Basically he made profiles of each of the people he met, this made it quite easy for him when it came to writing the characters in his stories. This is a trick that Dread picked up awhile back, he was having a lot of trouble thinking on what emotions characters might have as he used in said situation as he had none. By creating a profile of others he could create real feeling characters in his story...well because they were real people.

Right now he was currently profiling Augen, and as he got to personality traits Dread raised an eyebrow. Hearing the goat talk, Dread confirmed in his head and wrote down 'Speaks gibberish'. With a slight smirk at what he wrote, he put his pen down for a moment. Dread was not the conversational type, not that he didn't want to be its just that he didn't know how to be.

As the train continued to rattle along its path, half complete on its 2 day journey across the land of Equestria. This was easily the furthest Dread had traveled in his time as an author, its was interesting. He publisher had insisted he go, she was sure that it would lead him to write the next big story. He wasn't entirely behind the idea of a 2 day train ride, but still if it would help him write better and better help him understand emotion then he would certainly try.

[Dream Gaze]

Dream Gaze was enjoying the quiet train ride before he was forced to reel back with wide eyes as a book was thrust in front of his face. Gearshift's appearance was quite sudden and it took a moment for the Alchemist to realize that the Inventor was talking to him about his project. The stories intrigued him... this Magic/Mechanical heart sounded similar to rumours he had heard of Alchemists taking on projects such as this with varied results. Alchemically powered automatons were great and all but they were not sentient. Then there was the information that was given to him by mercenaries, the same info that inspired this project. They spoke of a mechanical serpent, ancient in origin... that actually had sentience. It even had an identity for itself. The blueprints that Dream had shown yesterday was his own interpretation of what was described to him because unfortunately none of the pieces of this ancient beast could be recovered.

The Star Diamond was where he started to see similarities... The serpent was described as having two gems in its eyes and it was only when these were broken that the mecha snake stop moving. Maybe this serpent had more of a magic/mechanical brain, instead of a heart? He'd have to experiment and find out.
"If you are up for the challenge, I've been meaning to gather a group to go deep into a primal zone to collect one of these gems to test. There are a few primal zones i have come across. The Blizzard Mountains of Stalliongrad, for one. Then there are the Sandstorms of the San Palomino Desert. But the closest one, of course, is the Everfree Forest. So what do you think? Once we get back to Ponyville, i'm going to go hunting for one of these gems. It would probably help you with your creation. So you are welcome to come along." And what a better chance to get ingredients? Dream Gaze smiled and nodded "I'm up for looking for this Diamond when we return. I've heard of Alchemists trying their own methods with bringing sentience to an object so we'll get to see what works best. I've been in and out of the Everfree more times than I care to count while collecting ingredients so let's hope we get lucky while looking for it."

"Oh and Goodmorning all!"
"Yes, good morning all indeed, I trust all have been quite well in rest to rise,"

Well Augen seemed fine after his strange disappearance yesterday... 'May have to question him about it later.' He thought to himself before he responded with a "Good morning" to those present before finishing his food and retrieving his own notes from his bag to make adjustments.

[Nimbus]

Rook noted the others seemed to be waking, and acknowledged each appropriately, his interest did peak at the talks that were going on, and he thought it appropriate to say something

"That certainly sounds interesting, I could lend my help, if you so need it, and good morning to you all, also"

He said with an open address, before putting his book on the table and looking from one to the other in the train

"I believe one of you wanted to borrow this book for some interest in what I've been reading about myths and folklore, I think it was you, (Motioning to Augen) here, have a read, so long as I get it back in one piece "

The Griffon left it within reaching distance of the goat talking and proceeded to take up his window seat, looking out of the window again at the surroundings, taking it all in, he decided to open the top part of the window slightly, as he felt it was a little too warm in the cabin, plus he liked the feeling of fresh air and the wind. He noted the dark coloured stallion sat a distance away making notes, and thought it best not to try too hard to disturb him, simply nodding in his direction to let him know he had seen him awake.

He, even though sleeping heavily felt more alert than usual, perhaps it was the coffee or his excitement, but he felt slightly more apprehensive than he had when he had first risen, but, at least to himself he felt that he was playing it down well enough, or so he thought.

The train rattled on, he couldn't help but wonder how long it would be now, perhaps it was the impatience talking but he wanted to see where it was he was going now, and the closer it got, the more apprehensive he became, if not thinking about the stories, but about the ever more dramatic landscape before him, opening up with each minute that passed.

[darktobias13]

Gearshift gave a wide grin, and looked from Rook to Dream Gaze. "Well then, I believe we have an expedition once we get back to Ponyville. We can make more concrete plans once we get back." Gearshift flipped to an empty page in his notebook, and started jotting down what a expedition would require, so that he could collect them once he got back. He walked back to his seat, and sat back, deep in thought. He was surprised to find himself a bit excited at traveling somewhere new and unknown. He also had a health dose of dread of what could possibly happen. He had been run out of a few towns, but that was when he had his lab and materials. Here he was, far from both of these things, far out of his element, aside from a few gears and scraps that lay in his bag. He brought these out and began to tinker with them. After a while, he just started to talk out loud, leaving the question in the open.

"What exactly is it about the unknown that cause ponies to both look forward and fear seeing what lays beyond their comfort level. I've never been without my inventions. Or have at least been close enough to get them, or summon them to me. Yet here I am, on a train, with almost all ponies i do not know. And yet," His gears stopped spinning in midair and switched direction, "I look forward to this new town. But at the same time, I'm afraid of what could potentially happen. I guess this is just me being cautious, but what exactly are some of the legends about this place? I would like just a hint of what supposedly happens," He remembered the book, and turned to Augen. "Once you are done, mate, mind if i take a look at that book?"

[Augen Horns]

Augen looked up from his bags as a book was slid onto the table in front of him, and the goat gave a smile and gratitudinous nod to the griffon. "Thank you, good sir Rook. This knowledge, if what it bears is true, could very well be a lifesaver," Augen responded. Or a collection of fairy tales to frighten children, he thought silently. Though he was still somewhat skeptical, Augen thought it best to keep that sentiment to himself. Even if he'd find the validity of the contents questionable, he was sure he'd rather enjoy giving the legends a read. Besides, after some of the stuff he had seen in Equestria, Augen wouldn't have been surprised if the Tooth Filly was real. He couldn't help but wonder what these ponies would consider superstitious.

The goat took a good look at the cover and removed a notepad from his luggage before opening to the first page. "... I hope you don't mind me taking some notes, do ya Rook," Augen asked, looking back to the griffon. Then came the voice of another one of the travelers. "Once you are done, mate, mind if I take a look at that book," asked Gearshift. Augen's ears twitched, as he was a bit surprised the question had been directed at him. "I'd have no objections," he replied, looking back at Gearshift. "But surely the judgement is more right to its proper owner than myself. What say you, good sir," Augen asked, gesturing once again to Rook.

[CableZ]

A few more hours rattled by as the sun moved past peak as mid day rolled around and moved into the afternoon, the train made steady progress and was now making the approach to its second to last stop of Detrot before it would move on to the small town that sat on the edge of the Tramplevania state line. Throughout this two day trip Dread had said enough words to only fill a 2 minute space. It seemed in his travels he had picked up 4 uninvited companions who were never intending to come in the first place, of all the bad luck and annoyances this seemed like the greatest injustice to Dread. He recalled reading up on the concept of karma the other day and wondered what terrible thing he had done to have this day pushed upon him, darn it all even if he could remember he wouldn't even know what he did wrong. Sighing slightly, Dread looked over at the goat as he talked about books and spoke in his broken vernacular.

Seemed the goat was trying to gather information, fruitless endeavor to be sure considering there was no concrete info on the land. The fairy tales and foal's stories were just that, Dread had figured out how pointless it was to really try and research this place when he went through literally every book in the Ponyville library in search of something, anything on the illusive land. He didn't mention the fact however, most ponies usually didn't believe him and wanted to see for themselves, Dread could never figure out why they thought he was lying. Regardless he simply went back to notes and jotted down a few more parts of his character profiles.

Dread did feel however that if he were to be stuck on a journey with these interlopers, that he might take some time to get to know them, in his experience ponies that like you won't leave you for dead should something bad happen. These might sound like selfish reasons to get to know somepony, Dread didn't mean to be so cold however it was just he had not set out on his journey with the intent of having friends or companions and he was worried that if they continued to follow him they might ruin his chances of learning about the lands.

[Dream Gaze]

"What exactly is it about the unknown that cause ponies to both look forward and fear seeing what lays beyond their comfort level. I've never been without my inventions. Or have at least been close enough to get them, or summon them to me. Yet here I am, on a train, with almost all ponies i do not know. And yet, I look forward to this new town. But at the same time, I'm afraid of what could potentially happen..."

Dream Gaze stopped what he was doing after hearing this. Looking down in deep thought before speaking up. "Why do we fear the unknown, yet look forward to what it brings? It's a good question Gearshift... but if I may share my opinion on this, I believe it's curiosity." Dream Gaze paused for a moment as he looked at the others briefly before he focused on Gearshift again "We can't prepare for the unknown, nor can we predict if knowing about it will be bad or good... Let's use this trip as an example. All of you please correct me if I'm wrong..." He turned to look at Augen "Augen your looking for some missing hircine in the area." He turned to the dark stallion and frowned for a moment "Dread locks here I'm a little sceptical on but I'm gonna take a wild stab in the dark and say it's work related." Next he turned to Rook. "Me and Rook seem to have similar reasons. We both are here seeking something new" Lastly he turned back to Gearshift "And you are just here by what seems to be misfortune... or fate... But regardless of reasons we have one thing in common. We're all curious of this strange unknown land at the end of this journey. All sorts of questions running through our heads. Is it safe? Is it dangerous? What is the weather like? Etc. We don't know what the answers are or if we will like the answers to our questions." He looked at each of the passengers in the train car once more. Pausing before saying "But if no one takes the chance to learn about the unknown, how can it become known? Nothing is known about this place because no one succeeded or tried to share their knowledge of Tramplevania. Fear and curiosity of the unknown have lead to assumptions, rumours and fiction from those that dare not tread outside their homes. We could answer that all important question of 'Why?'" Dream Gaze turned his head to look out the window at the scenery rushing by as he finished with one last sentence "Curiosity is dangerous, yes. But it tempts us to seek knowledge that will quell our fear of the risks or anticipation of the rewards that can come from the unknown... that's what I believe."

[Nimbus]

Rook acknowledged that it would not be an issue if others borrowed the book, he looked to the one that had asked and said

"Sure, borrow it by all means, I've had it a very long time, and would like to keep one thing of sentimental value in good condition"

He somewhat chuckled towards the end of the sentence, remembering how well his attempts to keep other books had failed, mainly due to over use, damage, or from a problem he often faced: dropping said book from a considerable height, given he could fly.

Then came a rather difficult question that had been posed to whomever, seemingly, and that was answered rather well by Dream Gaze, who had noted the likeness of their views of the unknown

"He's right, the unknown, the unexplored, the idea of a new place is what drives me, so asking why, to me never really has one answer, I can't put my finger on one reason why, I've never stuck in one place, sure, I may have a small place to live in Cloudsdale now, but I rarely use it, it acts more as an overnight stop than anything, should I be in the area. Personally I haven't experienced fear of the unknown, only the desire to know that which is unknown, the way I see it, there's a reason it is there, and for us to waste the chance to see something new because of something as trivial as fear, well that is the biggest waste of an opportunity I can think of. Perhaps that's just who I am, but I'm sure some of you can agree on some level, sure it can be dangerous, but where's the fun in finding something or somewhere totally new if there is no risk involved, at all. Curiosity is dangerous, but the danger of the unknown is what makes that curiosity so exciting."

Rook noticed in passing that the terrain was still getting ever more dramatic, and could feel the excitement building, it just looked so different from where he had been, which was the thrill for him.

"Anyhow I appear to have digressed, by all means, any of you borrow the book, read it, take notes, whatever you please, but I'm not sure what validity it will have, the accuracy I'm sure is… questionable, and actual stories that mention place names are scarce, there should be one or two among the ridiculous stories, however that may be based in some fact, however much, or little that may be remains to be seen, although, do let me know if anything jumps out at you as particularly interesting, I'm intrigued, perhaps me reading it so many times has dulled my sense of rational and irrational when it comes to those old stories "

With that he sat down, had a drink and sat quietly looking out the window, seemingly daydreaming

[darktobias13]

Gearshift smiled as he listened to the others.

"Yeah, i suppose my curiosity is peaked. After all its the thing that makes me wonder, hey, what happens when i connect these wires here. Sometimes it ends in a boom, sometimes wonderful things can happen. After all. You never know. Any number of conclusions can happen."

Gearshift's hooves blurred for a second as a number of metal pieces, glass lenses and such appeared out of his bag, forming into a small cube with metal edges and glass sides. In the center rested a small notch for something to be fit into. He reached into a small sidepocket within the bag, and touched it to his horn as he cast a minor enchantment. He placed it into the notch and closed off the container. With no welding materials or his forge, he had to make do with a simple sealing enchantment to hold together the creation for the while. He set it into the sun, where the gem started to soak up sunlight.

Sitting back, he reopened his notebook, and it happened to fall to a section he had on the hostile creatures he had run into on his travels. "And why dread? Afterall, i've run into Timberwolves, Glacier Hounds, Rockodiles, Sand Serpents, Sea Serpents, and have heard many a story of creatures more frightening, like the Tomb Jackal and the dreaded Changelings. Sure they scare me, but i have a bit of idea of how to escape most of them, except the changelings. I'm still working on that one. But I don't suppose that knowledge will be neccessary on this journey...I mean, we are just heading to a town. Unknown or not." Gearshifts face became serious as he thought once again of a multitude of threats that could pop up. He shuddered as one of his biggest fears popped up, before recinding. He mentally kicked himself. This place was nowhere near an ocean.

Gearshift kicked back again as the steward came around for lunch, and ordered a salad. Between bites, he looked around to the others, all of whom seemed either deep in thought, reading, or just not social. He frowned, this was no way to spend time. "So...since we seem a diverse group, anyone have any stories to share? Would be a good way to waste some time while we wait to arrive." He asked in an attempt to get the flow of talking going.

[Augen Horns]

"Sounds like y'all have hit the nail about right," Augen responded in affirmation to the analysis from the others. Steadily the goat would occasionally flip a page, jotting something down in his notebook with each turn. He was unsure as to how long it would take for him to jot down everything he felt necessary, but he was sure it'd not be too long. Of course his attention had drifted from the book, and he tried to be furtive in hopes that the change of subject in his notes would go unnoticed. Whatever that unicorn was doing, Augen felt almost certain it was an example of magitechnology. This was a concept that was of much interest to the operators in the tower, and by conjunction was of noteworth to Augen as well. Amidst the notes he had jotted from the book, Augen recorded the details of Gearshift's little display before turning to the next page of his notebook.

"Of course," he decided to add to the topic at hand, "I often feel a tinge of guilt at the prospect of bringing an enigma into revelation. Almost as though what wonder there is in the world is at a slow wane. Some day every region of this planet will be bare to the maps of every race and nation. Magics and science, someday a layman's art. Our gluttonous minds hunger for knowledge, but down the many generations yet to come, what will our descendants feel when there is little left to learn? No wonder left to indulge? We either live in ignorance, steal from the future a chance for fascination, or bottle our knowledge up until it dies with us. Personally I find that more daunting than any fear of unknown dangers. Coffee and an insalata caprese, please," he said, that last bit directed to the steward who had just taken Gearshift's order.

It wasn't long until Gearshift had asked something about stories the fellow travelers might have worth sharing. The goat grinned, thinking the question would likely turn up some interesting results. "Stories, you say? I may have some. I used to serve in the inquisition back in my homeland. I also have a few leading to and including my travels here to Equestria. But I would also be interested to hear any others, if any of you would like to have the first go-at-it?" Augen glanced around at the others. The dark pony was quiet, Augen had doubts as to whether they'd hear much from him, which made Augen all the more curious, hoping to be proven wrong. The gryphon seemed a lot different in mannerisms than the one Augen encountered the day he'd found the tower, making the goat wonder a bit more about his race. However, it was the two unicorns who peaked his curiosities the most.