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>>129109Iron can't help but tilt his head even further, mouth pouting slightly as he watched the now pegasus mare.
Does it want me to seek it? he thinks before taking another cautious step.
>>129110The wings open up, part way, staring back at Iron
>>129111Iron blinks softly as the pegasus partly opens her wings before taking a step back instead.
Does it want to play a game? was his thought.
>>129112She shakes her head, and gives an expression of displeasure. Then she starts to simply walk away
>>129113Iron now gets the hint, trotting towards the pegasus, anticipating either a chase or something else.
>>129114When Iron follows her, she turns and looks to him
>>129115Iron, by this point, figures it wants to be close to him, meaning he continues his trot in order to stand as closely to the pegasus as possible.
>>129116She talks
"Oh
now you want to be around me?"
>>129117Iron tilts his head. "If you are really the pony you are disguising as, then you would know why I am hesitant," he informs the pegasus "if you are not, then why would you stick around and risk getting overpowered by somepony stronger than you?"
>>129118"You have a point" She says, closing her eyes and rolling her head to the side. Then she spreads her wings, and takes flight
>>129119Iron pouts softly. "H-hey, I did not say you had to take off," he hurriedly adds in an attempt to keep it around.
>>129120The wings collapse, ad she falls down to the ground, turning her head around
"Then what?"
>>129121Iron twiddles with the tips of his hooves, resting his body on his rump and hindlegs. "W-well, I do wish to know what it is like to... you know," he sheepishly suggests "be a changeling."
>>129122She blinks and opens her mouth
"They don't want you to know they are Changelings. Think about that. It will tell you a lot. But why do you come to me for this?"
She spreads her wings again, and jumps into the air
>>129123"W-wait!" Iron pleads "H-how would I ever find one like you? They would never simply reveal themselves to me without some sort of method to let them know they can without being threatened."
>>129124"You can start by being more respectful, nicer, and less threatening."
She says almost derisively as she flies away
>>129125Iron pouts, shaking his head and letting go of the changeling. "Like that would magically make me the equivalent of sweet fruit for flies," he mutters to himself disappointedly before waving the bug as she goes.
>>129126"Feed on love" he thinks he hears her say, as she flies away
>>129127Iron's mind stops at the words he thought he had heard.
'Feed on love', huh? he thinks to himself. Does that mean... that vial.
He scratched his head in confusion but inhales deeply, knowing this may as well be the end.
>>129128Clouds drift in over the horizon as the stars fade, one by one
>>129129In response, Iron closes his eyes, waiting for whatever will come for him.
>>129130Iron opens his eyes to see the hotel room he went to sleep in. There is one lamp on, no other lights, and it's dark outside
>>129131"Huh?" Iron lets out, blinking softly as the scenery changed before him.
>>129132A mostly dark room save for the lamp. Iron is alone in the bed
>>129133Iron sighs softly, rubbing one of his tired eyes.
(I should look for Sands,) he thinks to himself (see if she would want to go to a bar now that it is the appropriate hour.)
>>129134It's definitely night, and she isn't in the room
>>129135"Sands?" Iron tentatively asks out loud. "Are you in here?"
>>129137Iron sighs, having no idea where she could be. He groggily gets off from the bed and checks his bit pouch in case she took some money.
>>129138It does indeed look as if some bits are missing
>>129139"I guess it is time to go exploring," Iron utters out loud, stretching softly "maybe she will spot me and beckon me over."
With that, the native basically drags her semi-limp body towards the exit door, opening it.
[1d4 = 2]>>129140The hallway is somewhat lit, actually more so than the room. It is empty
>>129141"Where do I go from here..." Iron ponders aloud as he jaggedly walks out the room, closing the door behind him. "...probably a bar, but which one..."
Having said that, the native trudges on in a hazy mood.
>>129143[1d20 = 16]<I think that's how dice works.
>>129144Iron manages his way down the several levels, to the lobby. As he moves to the door, he sees her. She stumbles over towards him
"Iron?" she says
>>129145"Yes, that is me," Iron replies in a mix between amusement and tiredness. "How is your day going?"
>>129146"Oh I went out to the club and had no luck" she says, slurring her words
>>129147Iron tilts his head, scratching his foreleg with his other hoof. "You... went to the club?" he asks, confused and tired "What is that?"
>>129148"Oh yeah. They play music and dance to it. Sell alcohol. Mostly they have that damn jazz music, but it is what they play so whatever"
She is unambiguously intoxicated
>>129149Iron had to wonder what sort of thing would be there for starters, potentially linking it back to Cauldron's boombox but louder as he slowly blinks.
"What made your trip have no luck going to the club?" he proceeds to ask.
>>129150"Oh, I mean there was" She stops, and her eyes open, and stare right at Iron
"It wasn't a good night"
>>129151Iron's ears droop, pouting softly. "What happened?" he asks once again, concerned tone quite apparent.
>>129152"Oh, just... no groove, you know"
>>129153Iron tilts his head once again. "You seem to have drunk a lot of alcohol," he comments aloud to Sands "yet you did not find the groove?" The stallion promptly nuzzles the mare's neck lazily, "I am sorry I did not come along to help you out," he adds, guilt apparent on his tone "I keep feeling extremely tired and I have no idea why."
>>129154She raises a hoof, and slowly lowers it
"Oh, it happens like that. You don't always get the groove. It's luck as much as skill"
>>129155Iron sighs softly, shaking his head. "Do you not have another idea on how to make up for the bad groove?" he asks worriedly.
>>129156Her face forms a grumpier expression, and she breaks ey contact to look away
"I'll get it next time"
>>129157"I do not think they will play anything other than jazz anytime soon, Sands," Iron comments dejectedly, ears folding "but maybe there is something else we can do to cheer you up."
>>129158"That's what I'm here doing. Drinking" She says
"You can meet a lot of interesting ponies in hotels. Or ponies who think they are interesting."
She looks back to him
"What? You got something? She asks
>>129159Iron unfortunately shakes his head.
"I am basically as lost as you currently, with my sudden awakening after some perturbing dreams," he answers tiredly "I figured you had an idea on what to do to pass time."
>>129160"Oh yeah"
She waves with a hoof
"At night the picture shows stay open till maybe ten. Bars until 2, and clubs sometimes even later til 4. There can be private parties at houses and such that can last all night."
She sways a little more
"You also cuddle with the opposite sex, you know"
>>129161Iron's mouth contorts into a tired smile at the last suggestion. "I suppose there is always that," he admits knowingly "but I am not much of a bed talker, as you know."
Iron exhales softly, looking up at the ceiling. "...what would you prefer out of the options you have said?"
>>129162She closes her eyes, and then opens them slowly
"The picture shows are closed now, the clubs play jazz, no one rich has invited me to their party here, so that leaves the bar, and cuddling"
>>129163"Cuddling it is, then," Iron concludes with a tired smile, blinking slowly.
>>129164She almost jumps on him
"Why don't you carry me?"
>>129165Iron chuckles as he lays down in order for the mare to hop on. "Let us go to our room, love," he proclaims.
>>129166She essentially mounts him, finding an awkward position ontop of him that she nearly falls off of, holding onto him with her left foreleg
"So do you like, have a house?"
>>129167Iron chuckles softly as he stands up. "I am pretty sure we talked about this already," he responds amusedly "but no, I do not."
Having said that, the native starts walking a bit to see if Sands can actually stay perched or not.
>>129168She is a bit wobbly on him, but she wraps her foreleg around him, and more of less keeps balance
"Oh... Cause I've got like, no house. And no job anymore"
>>129169"Yes, I know," Iron replies as he rubs one of his eyes "but you will always have a roof and something to do with me."
Iron tentatively tries going up the stairs in a slow fashion to see if she can adapt.
>>129170She has to hold on tighter, and then wraps her hind legs around him
"And uh, do you have a job?"
>>129171"I do have ponies I can talk to in order to do jobs for them," Iron offers as a response, breathing softly "mainly shady ones. There is also my side project to start a potion selling business."
>>129171>>129172The native proceeds to start climbing the stairs in a careful fashion.
>>129173>>129172Up the stairs, up another flight, and another
"Oh I see. That's a living, hey?"
>>129174"Mhm," Iron agrees as his ascension continues before he blankly stares forwards, realizing he's drained his topics already and ensuring he doesn't fuck up in this delicate endeavor.
>>129175A silent ride upstairs, and to the room. Inside, and to the bed
>>129176Iron couldn't help but stare at the bed for a few seconds before shaking his head and hopping on it with Sands in tow to ease her descent.
>>129177She pushes herself off and rolls over onto the bed, on her back and with her hooves up in the air in a semi-curled position
>>129178Iron lets out a single chuckle at seeing her flop down to the bed, gently wrapping his hooves along her barrel as he rests his head near her shoulder.
>>129179"Iron" she says, looking up
"Why won't you open your heart to me?"
>>129180Iron's ears perk up, eyes focusing on hers as he lays next to her. "What do you mean?" he asks, lightly surprised this question popped up.
>>129181Her eyes seem to go up towards the ceiling
"What I said. Why won't you open up your heart to me?"
>>129182Iron looks at Sands with a small tilt of the head to the side. "I..." he utters "I do not know what you mean by 'opening my heart', Sands."
>>129184"You know. Love me like you love that zebra. Instead you get bored with me"
>>129185"Oh," Iron lets out, awkwardly looking at the bedsheets as his ears droop "I... I suppose we have not fully explored eachother."
I thought that someone was messing with Iron again, I wasn't expecting a PSA on safe sex. Also I get the feeling Iron was supposed to be frightened by the changeling but he's lived in a jungle so big bugs don't scare him.
Worst part of it for him is the messed up sleep schedule. You just need one bad nap and that takes days to fix.
>>129186"Fully explored each other?"
She tilts her head
"You mean like anal?"
>>129187Now he'll be waking up at 1 AM every night >>129189"No," Iron replies "I do not even know what anal is. It feels..." He pouts softly, trailing off in his sentence as his ears droop once again "It feels like I still don't even know you, even after all we have been through, you know?"
>>129188Yeah, the whole physical thing, he got it covered.>>129187Oh crap. I hope this isn't going to affect things mechanically. >>129190She sighs
"It's been a long year. More than a year. In captivity...."
She turns over to him
"I'm like you in a lot of ways. I'm not from here. I'm far away from my family. I don't have a home right now, I don't have a traditional job, and most of what I do do is a bit on the, well, it's with the 'non-traditional economy.'"
>>129191"Yes," Iron answers, tone steadily declining further into regret "you already told me all about you back at Hoebuck. Even with that huge amount of information, I am still a lost lamb." Iron's vision soon snaps into the wall facing him "Is sex really all that you want with me?"
>>129192She touches him. Or at least, she seems to try to
"I want you to love me" She says
>>129193Iron sighs, now back at looking at the bedsheets. "I cannot love from sex alone," he confesses, voice starting to quiver "and so far I cannot seem to connect to you through anything." He snaps his vision to Sands. "I know it has been a single day since we met and you may have something you have yet to reveal that may spark such a thing, but... we consumated already." He takes away his hooves from her to the sides of his head. "We should know eachother from fur to heart by now."
>>129194She blinks, with her mouth partly open in concern
"What do you want to know?"
>>129195"That is the thing," Iron replies dejectedly "I do not know
what would even do it. I can only guess." He sighs, slumping his head into the pillow. "Foolish stallion that I am, making you go through my ramblings..."
>>129196"What do you want?" She asks him. "I don't mean from me. Out of life"
>>129197"I..." Iron starts "I suppose it is a mix between discovery, companionship, wealth and..." The stallion stops, glancing at Sands for a few seconds, ears drooped and self-judging look apparent in his eyes. "...validation." he spills out, ears drooped and glancing away in shame.
>>129198She nods her head
"Tell me. Who is it? Your mother?"
>>129199"...who is what?" Iron asks, a smidge of confusion inbetween his depressing mood.
>>129200"Who is it you need to validate you?" She asks
>>129201"I want to feel like I help the ponies I care about," Iron continues to confess "ponies like you, or Cauldron."
>>129202"So what is it that makes you care about a pony?" She asks
>>129203"I..." Iron stammers as he closes his eyes "I do not know. Maybe all I need to care is to... feel like I could be the one to save them out of their troubles. Maybe it is something stupid like having a particular thing they do that endears me, or maybe it is because... I know I matter to them."
>>129204She nods
"And you need these ponies to validate yourself?"
>>129205Iron nods once, having opened his eyes to stare at the ceiling.
>>129206"Now tell me. What, to you, is 'companionship'?"
>>129207Iron inhales deeply, ears drooped and gaze firmly stuck to the ceiling.
"W-well, I cannot say I know for sure," Iron replies "but being with a companion just makes me feel all... fuzzy and happy by spending time with them."
>>129208"And that isn't me, is it?"
>>129209"...n-no," Iron replies, rubbing his foreleg with his other "I am not sure why that is."