Wave held close to Tom as she looked over his shoulder, down at the back of his hooves and the peek of fur that she could see with every step. "How are you holding up? I know I've been a little pushy about that, but you're walking pretty well now."

Eric began to open his mouth to reply, but then shut up when Wave spoke up, letting her have her way in the conversation, thinking to himself instead.

Tom glanced to Eric for a moment before answering Wave. “Much warmer now, the awkwardness of walking on hooves is almost completely gone. Just don’t ask me to run anytime soon, I don’t want to be eating snow,” he paused, thinking for a few moments on the hooves and fur. “And, it’s okay, I guess? I mean, it’s a lot better than catching frostbite and having my toes fall off, and like I said, it is a bit exciting. A whole world based on magic and fantasy, now if only we could get somewhere where it wasn’t trying to kill us, yeah?” he finished up before looking to Eric again.

Wave nodded at Tom's words, but craned around, joining him in looking at Eric. She didn't say anything, but her gaze left little ambiguity in the fact that she was also waiting for his answer.

Glancing back, Eric slowed up a bit to let them walk by his side, before answering. “It’s… it’s more than a little crazy, but it’s great. I mean, I’ve basically left everything familiar behind. I used to be a software engineer… that’s like, a thing that doesn’t exist here. Can’t exist, essentially. I’m going to have to find something new to be. It’s kind of tempting to just, you know, be a wizard now. Or a warlock, or whatever the hell I am, but at the same time. Well, I don’t trust it… and know I shouldn’t. The thing that gave me this power claims it’s mine to use as I will, and that’s seemingly proven true so far. But it’s also made quite clear that it’s a damn malevolent force, and hates ponies, and isn’t too keen on the idea of friends either. So even when things are going great a part of my mind just figures it’s giving me more and more rope to hang myself with.”

“Yeah, seeing things that don’t exist on Earth… it’s tempting to just throw yourself at it. I guess that, uh, I already have, really, sorta like you in a different way,” he mumbled a bit, rubbing at Wave’s back with a hand, sheepishly grinning as she glanced down to his furred feet and hooves. “And honestly? I find it thrilling, just thinking about what else might be out there… What I might become and be able to accomplish. I hadn’t even finished college, really. Just, I’d rather be seeing things from safety. Food, water, shelter, all that important stuff figured out, rather than following train tracks in the hopes of stumbling into a city.”

The ground rumbled under hoof and foot before the distant toot of a horn blew out across the icy wastes. A train was rolling along those tracks, powering along through the wild lands between cities along the rail that guided its efforts. There were windows on the side of the train, where ponies likely rode it, perhaps to see those who wandered the waste without such comforts.

Wave looked up at the noise, an ear going up with her attention. "What is that?" She held closer to Tom, though it was more out of a desire to be close to someone than any actual fear.

“It’s our ride,” Eric said, moving a few feet off to the side and waving to see if the conductor would be so kind as to stop. “I find myself wondering if my teleportation preserves relative motion or can adjust to the target frame of reference… something I had expected to be solely relevant to roleplaying games before today.”

Tom grinned, looking at the train approaching them. “It’s a train, which means ponies, which means cities!” he gleefully explained before looking to Eric. “You can teleport?” he curiously asked, although there was a bit of concern in that question as well. “We need to get on the train, either way, and we’ve got the bits to pay for it too! Even if they are old.”

“Ideally, they stop to let us on, before we try several simultaneous dark magic experiments to get on,” Eric said. “Either way, we’ll pay our fare, and hopefully become customers of their dining car as well.”

Alas, whoever was driving the train didn't see them. Whether by wilful choice to not stop, or simply looking for obstacles on the track and nothing else, the train showed no sign of slowing as it approached the group with a growing thunder.

“They’re not slowing down any, and that’s just a bit too fast to jump onto. We are getting on that damn train though, one way or another…” Tom trailed off, thinking about the food and potential showers and bed that could sometimes be found on passenger trains, smiling at the thoughts.

“Brace yourselves,” Eric called before grabbing them both and calling on his power to try to teleport all three into the very front of one of the passenger cars, on the platform outside the door.

"Brace ourselves for--" Wave didn't get to finish before they became little more than a bit of shadow. Accuracy with a power that wasn't well controlled or practiced against something moving so fast, perhaps not as precise as desired. They appeared in the food car, crashing down on a table that had once been full of someone's lunch. Several ponies shrieked and scrambled to their hooves, gawking at the ruined remains of their food.

Other eyes turned curiously, wondering what the sudden noise was.

Come Poppy! Eric mentally ordered, even as he groaned at the inevitable complication the wolf’s arrival would add. He didn’t intend to leave his pet behind.

Tom fought the nausea that surged at the impromptu teleport through the shadows, or becoming shadows? He wasn’t entirely certain, but he knew he didn’t want to experience that again. “Ow… why do I have to keep finding myself on my back?” he muttered, blinking his eyes and looking at Wave before groaning. “And you always seem to end up on top of me.” Waving an arm, he let out an annoyed groan, looking around and perking up a bit. “Hey… it worked!”

With a dark pulse, Poppy appeared beside them with an excited bark.

"M-m-monsters!" The cry came from somewhere in the crowd, and it was enough to mobilize the rest. They began to scatter, fleeing the food cart and its infestation of demons.

Wave blinked softly. "Was it me?" She sat up on top of 'her' human. "We should get off this table?" Then she noticed something and grabbed a plate that still had some food on it, devouring it greedily. "Mmm, losers weepers."

Eric closed his eyes, concentrating on the feeling of fear in the ponies around him, and quickly experimenting to see if he could pull it out of them, much as he had pulled the darkness out of Poppy. “Apologize,” he suggested to Tom, concentrating too much to do so himself.

Groaning a little, he waved a hand, trying to get the pony’s attention. “Not monsters! Promise! Nothing monstery going on here, just some poor folks who got tired of being in the cold and snow!” he loudly declared, even as he started to sit up. “And… eww, is that food on my back?” he asked, looking at Wave somewhat annoyed. “Give me some, Wave. Please.”

Wave gestured at the plethora of available tables with abandoned food. "Take your pick, my dear. I won't stop you, promise."

The ponies seemed entirely uninterested in the platitudes offered, and the food cart was soon emptied of all equine life, minus what little Wave and Tom represented. Beside the soft rumble of the train against the tracks, the room became almost peaceful. Attempts to drain their fear only fed back into itself. The shadow force pulled but did not destroy the fear removed, creating a sense of menace that helped the room clear out all the faster.

Sighing, Tom looked around. Carefully, he lifted Wave off of his chest and set her aside carefully. “Then I’ll just put you down for a bit… We really need to avoid this, you know. Always landing on hard things back first. It sucks,” he joked, getting up and looking around for some food, annoyed at the feeling of some pony’s food splattered against his back and pants.

Eric sighed, looking around at the food. “That could have gone much better. Dark magic can remove darkness, but not fear, it seems. A shame, that would have been a terribly useful ability. Ah well, eat up while we can. I doubt we’ll be well supplied in the near future, but they’re unlikely to repossess what’s in our bellies.” He picked something resembling a burger, devouring it despite the obviously vegetarian nature of what he found within.

Hay burgers, as it turned out, were reasonably passable, what with all the sauces and other things they add to the burger, though the faint aftertaste of something kind of straw or grass like left the tastebuds curious and confused.

Wave pulled herself up as best she could and started looking around the abandoned room. "Could someone pass me a drink? All the cups spilled on this table."

Tom had found a burger of his own, too hungry to care about the odd aftertaste. Grabbing two glasses carefully in one hand, he walked over to the table he’d landed on. “Sturdy table… here you go, Wave. Anything else you want while I go grab some more?” he questioned before looking to Eric. “And yes, but… like you said, might as well get full while we can, I imagine ponies with magic and weapons will be pointing them at us soon. Maybe they’ll actually listen to us?”

“Hopefully long enough to accept our surrender,” Eric agreed. “And our offer to pay for the table, and the food variously destroyed.” He sampled a few other dishes, finding those resembling meat mildly disagreeable, but those resembling Earth-like fruits and salads quite pleasing. Familiarity held some value, after all, though hunger made it all quite palatable in the end. He passed a few treats to Poppy as he went, petting his wolf gently.

The door leading to the front of the train and the one leading to the back opened simultaneously as four guards in golden armor stepped in. Two were pegasi, and two were unicorns. "Stop right there!" said one. Wave dropped her cup before getting a chance to drink much, playing it on the safe side. The act of surrender confused the guards, much more used to monsters fighting it out to the last. "Um, you too!" He pointed at the others and their dog.

Mid-bite, Tom raised his hands. “Mwee,” he started, voice muffled by the food. Taking a big swallow, he coughed for a few seconds. “We surrender! Please don’t zap us or anything, ‘kay?” he asked, glancing over to Eric for a moment before looking at the four guards. “We’ll pay for tickets and the food, promise!”

“As well as the table,” Eric conceded, as he lifted one hand in surrender, the other on Poppy’s head to keep her calm. “Sit, Poppy. Stay.”

With the 'fearsome monsters of true terror' giving up at first opportunity, the guards advanced, though they were clearly confused. They pulled out manacles and easily slipped them onto Wave, though they weren't exactly the right size. They fit well enough on human arms as well. The large creature they slapped a collar on. "We'll take you to town and they can decide what to do with you. Lucky for you, Princess Cadance is known for her generosity and kindness."

Tom’s eyes brightened at the mention of a town. “A town? Awesome! It sure beats this cold stuff going on out there, thanks,” he finished, looking over to Wave and smiling. “A nice hot bath, perhaps a meal that we pay for…” Sighing, Tom looked back to the guards. “Where do you want to take us, well, here on the train? Wave over there kinda has a hard time getting around, especially with her hooves cuffed, so if we need to go anywhere, think you could remove these so I can carry her? I promise not to try anything.”

“If we could have access to a veterinarian at your earliest convenience, it would be most appreciated. Otherwise, we are content to await her merciful judgement,” Eric added.

Next Chapter: 19 - Welcome! Estimated time remaining: 3 Hours, 3 Minutes