/vx/ - Videogames and Paranormal

>>130451
"Silver Sword. I am pony who cleared undead from quarry and catacombs."

He steps aside to show Mala.

"This is my partner, Mala. I heard bodies leftover from when I cleared this place were going to be recovered, and I came to offer assistance."

>>130453
"Did you not have this 'hangover' thing haunting you?"

>>130455
"Well yes, that's why I need alcohol. To help my hangover."

>>130454
Peer Review looks over at Mala, who raises his head and his diamond shaped ears
"I see"

Then Peer Review looks back to Silver
"We were hired to do an archaeological evaluation of this site before it was dug up for construction, per city ordinance. There are indeed equine remains here that must be interred as well. Tell me, you cleared this site?"

>>130456
"Oh," he pauses, blinking once in mild puzzlement before sniffing slightly "alright then."
Having said that, he turns to Blanche. "That will be all, unless there is more you have to offer."

>>130456
"As far as my knowledge goes. Is there issue?"

>>130457
She blinks
"Well, if you want an appetizer, or anything else"

White Sands adds:
"Coffee. Get me coffee."

>>130458
"No, just... that explains the destruction..."

The green unicorn is walking over. Silver can see that the table below Peer Review has a sketch of what is presumably the below ground facility, and the cloth has on it items like a rusted sword and a hat. The green unicorn must find Mala interesting, because he looks towards him, and Mala looks back

>>130459
Iron ponders the offer for a moment before nodding. "Add what she ordered for me as well," he answers "that will be all."

>>130460
She nods, and walks away

>>130461
Seeing Blanche leave, Iron turns to Sands. "So alcohol and coffee make you recover from the ailment that is 'hangover'?" he asks

>>130459
Silver rubs the back of his neck.

"Ahm...inside structure or outside?"

>>130462
"It helps" She says, placing her hoof to her head again

>>130463
He moves his head back, and his ears twitch. He seems to relax

>>130463
"Well... Yes. Underground, mostly."

>>130464
Iron's ear flicker as he tilts his head. "I see," he mumbles before his ears straighten in a flash "oh, I did not hear you order some food before."

>>130464
"Oh! Good! Not destruction I mean, that I was not cause of internal damage. It was likely caused when they started quarrying operation."

>>130465
She moves a hoof around
"Oh, no matter. I will eat from some of yours."
Then she widens her eyes, and looks to Iron
"May I have some of yours?"

>>130466
"Um hmm" He nods skeptically
"Did you gleam any information about what went on here?"

>>130467
Iron nods. "Sure," he answers gladly, blinking once in mild confusion "you do not really have to ask, considering how long I have not seen you eat since back at Hoebuck."

>>130468
She holds her pastern up, and angles her hoof down.
"Oh, I'm fine"

>>130467
"Plenty. While I do not know exact purpose of this place before it was buried, in 8th century it was rediscovered by Joseph Curwhinny, who owned farmhouse near here. He used it to conduct necromatic experiments on its denizens, zebra slaves, and others in attempt to discover how to bring his wife and foals back from dead, after they had all died of plague."

>>130469
"Is it a unicorn thing to have little need to eat food because of horn stuff?" he proceeds to ask, now becoming curious at how nonchalant Sands is currently being "or is it more about keeping under a weight threshold?"

>>130471
"Oh no, I just had food after you went to sleep yesterday"
She waves again

>>130470
"Hmmm... The record from this region is that there was a dispute over customs in which Joseph Curwhinny was killed. High Chair believes this incident to have been an example of a bourgeois lead attempt at revolution against the old order. That is preposterous of course, as Joseph Curwhinny was a member of the bourgeois class, and I think it was something closer to a peasant rebellion, or even a proto-proletariat rebellion. The crux of the question is of course who the violence was directed against... There are more zombies than I expected..."

>>130472
"Oh," Iron utters before nodding assertively "right." He softly rubs his foreleg a little as he looks to the side "I got a bit worried you were not eating for some reason, but that makes sense."

>>130473
"Don't be silly" She closes her eyes, and again waves her hoof dismissively
"So... what is this? Zebra food?"

>>130474
Iron nods "Igborncs-made, if what I heard recently is accurate. No idea what makes a food that, but it tastes real nice."

>>130475
"Right..." She seems skeptical

Blanche comes back, and gives White Sands what looks like a beer, and a cup of coffee

White Sands takes a sip of the beer

>>130476
Iron tilts his head. "What do you usually eat?" he asks as he waits on his food.

>>130477
"Not Zebra ethnic food, I can tell you that"
She takes a sip of the coffee, and then uses both hooves to hold the coffee

>>130478
"Do you have many bad experiences with eating foreign foods?"

>>130479
"No, it just seems sort of lower class, you know?"

>>130472
"That I figured out, as well, thanks to letters I found on militia ponies and Curwhinny's own notes. He fell in love with mare, Wood Hill, who was betrothed with prominent sailor named Whipperwhill. He broke off their engagement and married Wood Hill, even having foal with her. Whipperwhill's anger, combined with one of Curwhinny's friends, Cinnamon Corn, betraying knowledge to him that Curwhinny had been performing necromancy and had supposedly achieved lichdom, caused him to raise milita to attack catacombs. Curwhinny was sealed away, but his experiments were released and none of attacking militia ponies survived. Wood Hill and her foal with Curwhinny escaped, however. I still have many of notes and letters that document this, if you are interested."

>>130480
Iron tilts his head as an ear droops. "Eating certain foods are signs of somepony being of lower class?" he asks in mild disbelief.

>>130481
"Well, that's quite a story. I suspect the Tall Sails shipping company will not want this story to get out, all the more reason why we will. Yes, I would like to see these notes and letters"

>>130482
She moves her head back a little
"Well, I had just sort of thought of it that way."

>>130483
He tilts his head to the other side, drooping the opposite ear instead. "How did you reach that conclusion?" he asks, plainly curious.

>>130484
"Well... Zebras are mostly poorer, and the recent immigrants are the poorest of the zebras. The more closely connected to the Zebrican cultures, the poorer."

>>130485
"Zebras are usually poor?" Iron asks once more, surprised as his minds goes back to the painting Obere had made with all the fancy sights he drew. "...did you ever get to visit Zebrica?"

>>130486
She turns her head
"No..."

>>130487
"Do you know anypony that has gone to Zebrica that told you this?"

>>130483
Silver nods, and gives him all of the notes and letters he had acquired looking through the catacombs...minus those he had given to the Black Hooves previously, but he doesn't mention that. He particularly points out the letter Curwhinny left behind to Wood Hill when Whipperwhill attacked, the correspondance between Whipperwhill and Cinnamon Corn, the account of the 8th century plague, and Curwhinny's own retelling of the events that lead up to him marrying and having a foal with Wood Hill in his final letter to Cinnamon Corn.

>>130488
"I mean... I mean the immigrants, especially in Manehattan. I have met some ponies who have gone to Zebrica. They tell me many things."

>>130489
Peer Review looks down at the letters, and then looks over to the other stallion
"Mr. Loans, come over here. Look at these."
He starts moving the letters with his own yellow magic

>>130490
"...how peculiar," Iron surmises as he pokes his chin "perhaps the ones you asked did not really have the best experience there."
One second passes before his ears straighten up in realization, blushing lightly as he meekly shrinks into his seat "Wait, I did not make you uncomfortable by asking all these zebra-related questions, did I?"

>>130491
"... No?"

>>130492
"Oh," Iron replies as he relaxed his posture. "I figured I asking a lot of questions you did not know how to answer."

>>130493
"I just haven't been asked those questions before" She answers

>>130490
Silver is actually interested in hearing what they will talk about, so he stays to listen.

>>130494
"Does nopony you have ever met ask you about that?" Iron mutters aloud as his ears droop lightly "...do you not have others that may be curious enough as to ask them?"

>>130496
"Well, I've only been offered Zebra food like... twice, before. Once I didn't say anything, and the other time they didn't say anything when I said it was lower class"

>>130497
"Ooh," Iron can't help but coo in wonder "What were your first impressions when you tasted it?"

>>130495
Peer Review says to Mr. Loans,
"This pony says that he found these letters down stairs. He says they prove that Curwhinny was a Necromancer, and that there was a dispute over a mare."

The Unicorn repsonds
"I know, I heard him"

Peer Review:
"Then help to check the dates and put these in order. If these are real, they could cause controversy. And that would help to boost the publicity."

>>130498
"Well, it was from Colthage. Some of it was just rice, and there was this jelly like substance I don't remember the name of. That tasted sweet, it was alright."

>>130499
"I see," Iron replies, nodding "so who invited you to eat zebra food in the first place?"

Sorry I'm late
Amber uses the toilet (which presumably was designed with quadrupeds in mind, and hopefully is not too dirty) washes her hooves and face in the sink, perhaps struggling to figure out how it turns on. She goes into the "kitchen," unlatches her saddlebags and pulls out a parcel wrapped in waxy paper. Unwrapping it reveals some brown bread, cheese, and a couple of tomatoes. What kind of cheese would be common for the area?

She retrieves her knife and washes it in the sink, which hopefully is also not too dirty. About a third of the bread and cheese is cut off into thin slices and one of the tomatoes is cut in half. These she eats slowly, savoring the flavor of each bite. When Amber is finally finished she carefully wraps the remainder of the food, including the tomato half, in the paper and puts it into a cupboard if she has one. She washes the knife and decides to test the taste of the water from the faucet.

>>130500
"A stallion in Manehattan. Met him when I was a waiter in a different restaurant."

>>130502
"Ah," Iron muses as he scratches his chin "why did he do it?"

>>130501
The toilet and the sink have at least been cleaned since the room was last occupied. She does indeed have a cupboard. Probably Cheddar? Something cheap. The water has a slight metallic taste, but is otherwise passable

>>130503
"Oh, I think he though he was being avant garde or whatever in suggesting the food from Colthage. You never can tell for sure with Stallions, though."

>>130499
You said Tall Sails...that is shipping company Curwhinny left behind to his family, yes?"

>>130504
Iron pouts lightly, humming softly. "Did you get the chance to reconnect with the ones you knew?"

>>130504
She smiles to herself. It's not that bad, as soon as I pay off this loan things will be looking bright.
Amber fills her canteen and packs it, her coin purse, her key, and her knife beneath her burlap cloak as she puts it on. She's still wearing her green headscarf, of course. Amber leaves her apartment, making sure to lock it behind her, and exits the building.

>>130505
Peer Review turns his face to Silver, and he has a small smile
"Of a sort, yes. Tall Sails was the name of Curwhinny's colt. He renamed the company after himself to disassociate it with his father, and it's had the name ever since."

>>130506
"Here in Baltimare.... I tried to find a couple. One wasn't there, the other, I just talked to him."

>>130507
And so she is back on the street

>>130508
"Oh," Iron mutters as his hoof keeps on scratching his foreleg "it does not seem you had that many others to rely on before you got... you know."

>>130508
Amber asks around what's in the local neighborhood. Gather information: [1d20+2 = 12]

>>130510
Factories, tenements, and a few shops. One firestation. There can be more, the further out you go.

>>130509
"Not here... I have a message to get out though"

>>130511
"Did you have a chance to look into concerte options while I fell asleep yesterday?"

>>130512
"I looked, but it seems some leads have gone cold"

>>130511
Amber trots north and looks around as she proceeds. Are there any restaurants in the area?

>>130513
"So we are most likely to look for options again today?"

>>130514
Yes, one. A diner

>>130515
She tilts her head
"I'm not sure we are on the same page. 'Concrete options'?"

>>130516
"A place or pony to go and send the message you wanted today," Iron clarifies "what was your side of the leaf?"

>>130516
She trots toward the diner and looks in when she's close enough. I might not be able to eat there today but I hope they don't mind if I look around.

>>130517
"Uh..." She looks at him strangely

"I can try again"

>>130518
In side, there is a counter with a glass, and a large stallion with a large beard

>>130519
Amber trots up to the stallion. "Hello, mister. I'm new to these parts, but…may I see a menu?"

>>130519
Iron, in turn, tilts his head to look at her. "Worst scenario we go do some favors, I suppose," he answers as he blinks softly, looking at Sands in mild confusion. "...you do remember you told me about that message you wanted to send your mother, right?"

>>130520
He points a hoof up
“Look right there on the board.”

Behind him is a black chalkboard with a number of food items, most sand which written down

>>130521
She smiles awkwardly
“Yes... I remember”

>>130522
Iron can't help but let out a chuckle at Sands' awkward smile, averting his gaze. "I was not too blunt there, was I?" he asks once more.

>>130522
She nods, "Thank you," and walks out.

>>130523
“No...”

>>130525
Iron shakes his head. "L-let us start from the beginning again," he replies with a hopeful tone "what did you interpert as a 'concrete option'?"

>>130524
“Well okay then.” He says, and Amber walks out

>>130526
“I just didn’t know what you meant.” She answers

>>130527
Amber asks around where the closest library is. Gather information: [1d20+2 = 8]

>>130529
Somewhere o’er in west town, just north of center. Neat where she was before, actually

>>130528
"We both know that at this point," Iron replies with an amused smile before shaking his head and letting out a sigh "now, I do want to help you out with that message sending. Is there anything I can contribute in order to reach that objective faster?"

>>130531
“I don’t... think so? Unless you have contacts in Equestrian Union”

>>130530
Amber goes west then, eager to get back to where she knows ponies are a little more friendly. Along the way, though, she tries to get a feel for the neighborhood: how the different creatures talk, what storefront businesses there tend to be, the sort of cutie marks the ponies wear, and glances down those ubiquitous narrow alleyways.

>>130532
Iron pouts softly as his ears droop. "I see," he mumbles softly. He pauses, simply waiting for the food as he has exhausted his talking options for the time being.

>>130533
Going in the direction of the Library, Amber Sunset nearly retraces her journey from an hour earlier, save she is one or two streets further northward. Though the distance traveled is not great, maybe a mile, there is a noticable difference between the East and West sides. The east side has worse smelling air, a prevalence of tenement buildings, and sporadic factories. The West side has more office buildings, nicer apartment buildings, and cleaner air. Non-ponies are more common in the East, and while Amber hasn't explored the whole city, it seems reasonable to believe that there are some areas further east and south where ponies are a minority. Even the ponies on the east side tend to seem... 'different,' many of them probably hailing from other areas of Equestria. At one point, Amber hears ponies speaking in a foreign language. Cutiemarks relating to industrial professions are more common there, as are those relating to less prestigious service jobs and even a few ponies with bottle cutie marks. Non-ponies don't have cutie marks, except for Zebra, so who even knows with them. The Westside, by contrast, is almost respectable. There are more office jobs, factory managers, and other parts of the service industry like professors and doctors. Non-ponies are fewer in number, but Hippogriffs and Griffins make up most of the non-ponies in the west side, few that there are. The city center has large government buildings, office buildings and hotels, and office buildings and hotels that have been converted into government buildings. Commerical offices are slightly off center to the west, industry is sporadic, but mostly towards the east. The city seems to be denser further south, with row houses more common that apartment buildings in the North. A few buildings are taller than 10 stories, but by and large the city seems to be dominated by low rise buildings. Green areas and parks are more common in the west. A few streets in the East side are diagonal, and break the grid pattern, but almost the entire west side obeys a grid pattern

>>130534
Blanche returns
"Okra soup and Jolof rice"
She places the two dishes down before Iron

>>130535
"Alright," Iron announces as he rubs his frogs together in anticipation, mostly to recover from the conversation with Sands "let us dig in."
Having said that, he approaches his snout towards the soup, hovering over it to test its hotness as well as sense its smell.

>>130536
Smells like Okra, but there is definitely pepper as well. It isn't particularly hot

>>130537
Iron hums softly before looking at Sands. "Want to test the soup?" he asks her

>>130538
She leans her head over, places her muzzle over the soup, and sniffs the soup. At least she seems to. Her nostrils move, but she's completely silent as she does so. He muzzle is rather thin and long, and viewing the white and pink muzzle over the soup only accentuates that.

>>130539
Iron, albeit a bit surprised at the lack of sound, remains composed, eager to see what she thinks.

>>130540
She licks it, and licks it again. Then she scrunches

>>130541
Iron tilts his head at Sands. "Hm?" he utters out, aware of her current scrunching before looking down at the soup for a lick of his own at the soup, wondering what caused her reaction.

>>130542
"It's... a bit peppery"

>>130543
With his tongue sticking out, Iron looks at the soup before going in for a lick anyways as a reminder to what pepper feels like.

>>130542
>>130544
The soup has a somewhat slimy texture to it, perhaps to be expected from Okra. There is a noticeable amount of cilantro and pepper as well.

>>130545
His eyes widen at the texture and spicy, prickly flavor. After smacking his lips slightly, Iron shrugs before starting to gulp out the soup, inviting Sands to try the rice instead.

>>130535
Amber marvels at how a change in scenery could be sudden. I must be right in the center with these grand buildings, and they probably divide the west and the east like a river does. North or south though…I don't have time today to explore both so I have to make up my mind. Is it the case that ponies in the west tend to wear more clothes, or is their style of clothing different from those in the east?

In any case, she aims to ask a pony nearby who looks to be a sophisticated native of the city about the differences between the north and the south, other than their style of buildings. "Which is more likely to have a nice library? Which has restaurants and social gatherings? How about scenery? Where do ponies like to play or listen to music? Is any place safe to go after dark?" Her words practically tumble out of her mouth in eagerness.

>>130546
She just sniffs the rice. But the Okra remains mostly good, if a bit saturated in spice

>>130547
Suits are more common in the west, and uniforms more common in the east, with a little more clothing over all in the west. The difference isn't that great, and is most noticeable as it involves non-ponies"

A stallion in a suit explains that the quality of the libraries depends mostly on how the city council treats them, with the one by the center in the best condition, and one in a southeastern neighborhood fairing the worst. There are restaurants and social gathering places in many parts of the city, and you can go where ever depending on what kind of scene is preferred, with the densest set of bars and nightclubs in strip just east of center, between the commercial districts and the bay-side neighborhoods. Some areas in the North and the West are safe at night, but in general crime has been a serious problem. The southern sections of the city are closer to the river, and so have been inhabited for longer.

>>130548
Iron doesn't take long finishing the acceptable dish, optimistic about Khoi's chances in the kitchen. With one last gulp, the soup's gone from his mind. "Ah~" he lets out with a grin "she will get the hang of this in no time if she got this almost right."
Having said that, he turns to Sands expectantly, wondering if she'll make him taste first instead of her.

>>130548
Amber thanks the stallion and looks for the library around the center. How long does it take her?

>>130549
She blinks, and looks at him

>>130550
Not particularly long. A few blocks

>>130551
"Are you going to try it?" he asks Sands.

>>130552
She picks her head up, and looks directly at Iron
"You first"

>>130551
She looks up at the presumably grand building and walks through its venerable doors. If the floor is stone then she may expect her hoofsteps to echo through the foyer. Is there anypony at the entrance?

>>130553
Iron tilts his head slightly before hovering his head atop the rice for a quick sniff of the rice.

>>130554
It's a two story stone building with recessed windows and no columns. The most interesting feature is a blue roof. Nevertheless, she may enter. Inside there is a stairwell to another floor, an open lobby around the entrance with railings on the second floor, a desk, and rows of books. Darker woods dominate. There is a pony behind the front desk.

>>130555
More spices, tomato, and a light steam coming off of the rice

>>130556
Seeing no obviously strange ingredient on the food, Iron neatly nips at the rice for a quick little taste.

>>130557
It's rice, of course, with a tomato flavor, as well as onions, red pepper, garlic, and more than a bit of curry. The rice itself is almost perfectly cooked, but the tomato is a bit overcooked or even burned, and the onion and pepper could have used more sauteing. The spices, once again, are heavy

>>130558
Iron hums softly as he munches on the rice, nodding along. "This one she will need a bit more practice," he surmises before going for another, bigger bite, chewing softly.

>>130556
She walks up the pony and talks in a low voice. "Hello.
May I look around?" she asks politely.

>>130560
It's a unicorn mare. You could almost say "another" unicorn after the receptionist a while ago, although this one is a little older

"Sure, sweetie. If you need any help, just ask"

>>130559
Much the same as the last set of bites. Sands looks on over

>>130561
Gulping it down with a little exhale, Iron looks at Sands. "This may prove to be a bit too strong for your taste," he admits before continuing his munching, wondering if Sands will actually go for it anyways.

>>130561
Amber smiles and nods. She enters the library proper and looks at what sections are on the first floor. How many books are there?

>>130563
If Amber is going to count books, she'll be there all day. It is, however, a reasonable assumption that this is the largest library in the metropolitan area. The first few sections seem to hold primarily non-fiction books

>>130562
She shrugs
"I trust your judgement on that"

>>130564
She certainly does not want to be there all today, she's a busy mare. She does however look to see where the history, biography, science/magic and guide sections are, particularly the one on music. She lets her eyes pass over a few titles.

>>130564
With a nod, Iron finishes off the rice as he leans back into a hopeful backrest, huffing lightly in both mild satisfaction and flavor assault on his tongue. "Seems she is at least adept," he comments "and I am pretty sure she will get the hang of these dishes in a day or two. Heavy on the details and a bit too much of something in the rice paste, but everything else seems correct."

>>130565
These topics are large enough to have their own rows. There are beginners guides, an esoteric guide to the harmony of the spheres, books on string instruments, books on music theory, and so forth

>>130566
"Well, it sounds like she better. They don't trust a kirin to do a Zebra's job, and she doesn't seem pleased to leave Zebrica to come work for Zebras."

>>130567
"I think I should have brought my bags…" she mumbles to herself. She looks for stairs up to the second level.

>>130568
The second level has more practical books, like on how to do taxes, and a children's section. At least some of the works of fiction are upstairs as well. Tables for reading are located primarily upstairs

>>130569
I wish there was a section on renting an apartment without going into debt…
She briefly browses through the fiction section to see what kind of stories are there. Does it look like more fiction books are elsewhere?

>>130570
Novels seem to be the most popular format, although there are compilations of poems and short stories as well, and a few epics. Fiction seems to span parts of both floors, and comes in all genres. In some areas across the library, numbers of books have been pulled off the shelves, but the library is mostly well stocked with domestic and even in some instances, foreign books.

>>130567
Iron nods along Sands' explanation before suddenly tilting his head towards the unicorn at the second part of her explanation. "Why would she not?" he asks as his left ear droop alongside his head tilt "Do their species have a fued between eachother or something?"

>>130572
“I just doubt that is what she had in mind when she thought of Equestria, Homeland of the Pony race. That is all.” She answers

>>130573
"She does not strike me as one to worship ponies' hooves, considering her neutral demeanor towards the ones she has seen so far," Iron answers as he pokes his chin in thought.

>>130574
“And she shouldn’t. But she probably had different expectations.”

>>130575
"Would it make that much of a difference if her employers were ponies instead?" he asks, scritching his chin futher "Like I said, I do not think she came here just to have a pony as her employer either, and considering her seemingly lack of skills to provide, it does sound she came here for necessity rather than to thrive."

>>130576
She leans back in her booth
“I don’t know why she came here. I can only assume she cane here because she thought things would be different here than the place she left behind, and I suspect she’s already found fewer differences than she hoped for. And that is all I can say about her.”

>>130577
Iron once more changes the tilt of his head from one side to the other, still confused at Sands' conclusion. "How can you tell?"

>>13058 →
“Because she told that Zebra mare, to her face, ‘I thought there would be more ponies in Equestria,’ and because I very sincerely doubt that, when she got on that boat, her smugglers would enslave her, try to sacrifice her to some kind of griffin god or whatever it is, and that she’d have to fight griffins with a hammer here in Equestria. But really, I don’t know what she expected, I don’t know why she’s here, and I don’t really care. If she was disillusioned with ponies before she got in that boat, then good for her. But if she literally sold herself into slavery and left her family thousands of miles behind to go to a place she didn’t think was any meaningfully different from zebra cities she could have gone to for less money, less risk, and less distant from family, then I have a very low opinion of her intelligence. Either way, it isn’t really my concern, and I won’t pain myself over it. I have pain enough looking out for myself.”

>>130579
"There is a chance she was escaping some sort of persecution or war," Iron offers but soon pouts lightly "...although this land is not exactly going to be peaceful for long either, but perhaps she was practically forced to escape."

>>130580
Her expression changes from mild annoyance to curiosity
“Not going to be peaceful for long?”

>>130581
"There is a lot of fearmongering being spread around of the chinitous fellows," Iron surmises "which will inevitably cause a spark sooner or later. I have no clue when it would happen, however."

>>130582
“Yes yes, what about them?”

>>130583
"I have a feeling their endgoal is to garner enough fear to actively hunt them down and wipe them out," Iron presents tentatively "mostly because they probably are not too confident about subjugating an entire species whose main abilitiy is to blend into the crowd."

>>130584
She picks up the beer - which she has barely touched thus far, and she has already finished her coffee - and takes a sip.

“You said a couple nights ago that you wanted to meet a Changeling, but can’t. Don’t be sad. Nature gave them the talent they needed to evade their enemies.”

>>130585
"Hiding only works for so long," Iron counters with a pout "and considering this amalgamation of a jungle this is, they probably will crack said nature of theirs with enough time."

>>130586
“So you understand why Chrysalis chooses to knock down the front door.” She takes another sip of the beer. “You can hide for a long time though. Wouldn’t we all like to hide from our problems.”

>>130587
"In all honesty, attempts to hide from problems will inevitably destroy a pony," Iron replies as he averts his gaze slighlty "it grows and grows until it pops out an outcome even worse than confronting the problem."

>>130588
“Somehow... I doubt that is how you really feel.”

>>130589
"You could say it is not something I follow myself," Iron replies with a little sheepish smile before sagging his shoulders and resting his neck on the booth wall. "It is extremely scary to... open one self to others and hope that one day, I can manage to do so."

>>130590
“Well, you ran from the police last night. I know that.”
She takes another drink

>>130591
Iron can't help but wheeze softly, looking at Sands once more. "That is not even close to what I was talking about," he answers with a smile on his face.

>>130592
“Well, I don’t really know what you’re talking about”
She takes a long pause to light a cigarette
“But I did see you run away from your business partners last night, while they stuck around, and I can’t imagine you’ll be sharing in any bounties they collected.”

>>130593
"There was not any bounties that I have been told about," Iron answers with a shrug "so I figured the latter option was a better idea."

>>130594
She holds her cigarette in the frog of her left hoof
“Then why did they stay?”

>>130595
"Moral obligations, if I had to guess," Iron replies "everypony there wanted to ensure it stopped if I read the room correctly."

>>130596
“And you didn’t have any moral obligations? To make sure it stopped?” She raises an eyebrow

>>130597
"More like I was sure they would manage without me," Iron clarifies "since I am not much more than a foreign brute whose skillset is punching things, unlike the others. My part was done when the main threat was taken out."

>>130598
“Well, they certainly weren’t afraid of the police, but you were, and I can’t imagine they would have worked for the police if there wasn’t a bounty.”

>>130599
"Like I said, they probably felt inspired enough to stay there and mop up for the police as some sort of civic duty," Iron explains "considering nopony but me asked about payment."

>>130600
“Did you ask?”

>>130601
"That is what I said, yes," Iron replies with a nod "although we were never told about how deep this whole operation went save for making immigrants work absurd hours without the leaders' permission and some strange events we did not understand until now."

>>130602
“Okay... but don’t tell me you didn’t run and hide”

>>130603
"I never said I did not," Iron answers with a tilt of his head "What gave you that idea?"

>>130604
“Mister ‘confront your problems head on.’”
She drinks from the beer
“I will stick to hiding.”

>>130605
Iron tilts his head further. "...I never did tell you not to run and hide," he answers, mildly surprised "only that, long term, constant hiding will inevitably cause far more problems than facing them head on."

>>130606
"Okay, that's fine. You do your thing, Khoi does her thing, and I do mine." She takes a long drink

>>130607
Iron blinks a couple of times, flabberghasted by the drawn out discussion stemmed from a misunderstanding. "Uh," Iron utters "are you really hiding from so many things that even the idea of not hiding will never be worth pursuing?"

>>130608
"I never said that"

>>130609
"I never said hiding is a death sentence everytime, either," Iron replies with a scratch on the side of his head "but your relentless defense towards hiding and saying it is your thing implies you hide a lot from others."

>>130608
>flabberghasted by the drawn out discussion stemmed from a misunderstanding
Who could ever see this coming?
Anyway, I finished with an exam so I'm ready to go again.

Amber is quite pleased at the stock that exists. I've never seen so many books since I visited the library in Canterlot.
I could spend all day here. Nonetheless, she wrenches herself away and goes to talk with the receptionist. "Ma'am, I'm interested in exploring the northern part of town.
Is there a church around? Are there any restaurants you would recommend? How about music halls?" She asks these questions eagerly.

>>130610
She pulls back in her seat, and tilts her head away

>>130611
"Yes, there are several churches. The northern Parish Cathedral is Saint Eligius. The town opera house is nearby, but there are may restaurants and bars with live music. As for restaurants, there are several depending on what kind of food you are looking for."

>>130612
Iron exhales through his nostrils as he leans forward. "I do not mind if you have things to hide because it can get you killed," he explains "but constantly having your hidden aspects chew inside cannot be healthy for one's mind. Thanks to you last night, I realized that."

>>130613
"Whatt do you mean?" She asked

>>130614
"What I spilled last night to you was something I probably would have never even considered saying to anypony," Iron explains "only because you came forward and admitted there was something severely amiss was when I uttered all those... pathetic lines that, more likely than not, would have spooked any other pony away from me."
He sighs softly as he, in turn, leans backs once more. "It would have tore me apart if I had not done that," he admits softly.

>>130615
She frowns, and takes a draw
"Lovely"

>>130616
"Now I am here, seeing you showing the same signs I had," Iron continues "and it worries me that you might break from that same pressure into doing something drastic."

>>130617
"Well... You tell me last night that there is nothing about me to love, and you confront me and argue with me when I give an opinion on that kirin, or make a remark about Changelings."

>>130618
"That is because I want to know why you think what you think on the second two points," Iron replies "while the first one could be simply fixed by something you keep hidden that I do not know about. Even after all you have told me, I have this feeling we are still strangers to eachother. Do you not feel it, too?"

>>130612
She exclaims, "Oh, that sounds good!" before catching herself. She whispers, "Could you please give me directions to there? As for restaurants, I'd be happy with any good Old Mareland cuisine that has ponies I could meet."

>>130619
"I just don't want to argue" She says

>>130620
"Oh, you'll find a diner easily. The opera house is six blocks south and two east"

>>130621
Amber thanks the mare and leaves. She goes instead to the north where the cathedral is.

>>130622
It's not quite as large nor as ornate as the Neo-gothic cathedrals of some of the older cities further north, but it's a hell of an honorable mention. The church is many stories tall, with two large stone towers

>>130621
"I only want to get to know you," Iron responds, followed by a sigh "but I do not have a lot to go off of."

>>130623
Amber's eyes widen in amazement. She just stands on the steps for a few minutes, looking at all the reliefs, carvings, and windows in detail. When she's finished she tries to open the door and walk inside.

>>130624
"Well, I hoped you learned something in the past few minutes"

>>130625
The ceiling is high and valuated, with small kind of diamond shaped ornaments springing out from the edges. At the top is a stone carving of what must be Celestia. Below her is a frieze, which seems to depict scenes from the colonozation of Equetsria, like the proclaiming of "earth" and the meeting of the three second-in-commands in the cold cold caves under Canterlot.

Opening the doors, she sees the inside of the Cathedral. It's tall, a minimum of 40 feet under the vaulted ceilings, with stained glass depicting an unknown saint and Princess Celestia, although a lone panel depicts all four princesses. No pony immediately greets her

>>130626
"...not really," Iron mutters disappointedly, exhaling softly.

>>130627
"And what would be enough to go off of?"

>>130628
"I do not know," he answers with another little sigh "...will every conversation we ever have end up like this?"

Amber freezes in place, mouth agape, for half a minute as her eyes pan the interior. Hesitantly, as if afraid to make a sound, she walks down the nave, stopping every few moments to look around again. Oh my princess…

>>130629
"I'll give you some advice, not that you'll take it. Just so I'm on the record, whatever that is worth. Every word spoken, ever act taken, every little thing she does... It tells you something about the person. You want to know a person, don't demand more information, make better use of the information you have. Or at least, ask more specific questions."

At this point, she looks down at her glass, to see that it is empty, and at her cigarette, to see that it is entirely consumed.

>>130630
It's nicely silent. Electric candles keep the area lit. The altar is raised and has black marble, or at least a facade of it.

>>130631
"I doubt that will work out in this case," Iron replies, further deflating into his seat before giving her a weak smile "but thank you for trying nonetheless."

>>130632
"Okay" She says

>>130631
She walks down a bit farther, looks around, and enters a pew that is about midway from the altar. She lowers herself down until her hock joints touch the floor and she puts her front hooves on the railing in front of her, then closes her eyes. I assume that's how ponies kneel Thank you for granting me a safe journey, a job, and lodging… she silently mouths.

>>130633
Iron simply lets out another defeated exhale, waiting for Blanche to end this conversation.
('Did I ever tell you what the definition of insanity is?) his mind echoes softly inside his head in his father's voice.

[1d3 = 1]
>>130635
Sands mumbles something

>>130634

>>130636
Iron blinks a couple of times, trying his hardest to hear her voice amist his own mental monolouge. ('Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting things to change.') it continues on as he rubs one of his eyes.

>>130637
It sounds like something to the effect of "I can say nothing without him disagreeing"

>>130638
"Hi there!"

>>130639
Amber blinks as she raises her head and looks around, ears swiveling.

>>130640
Behind her is a rather plump earth pony, with a white-ish coat and black and white religious garb.

"Oh. You were praying. Uh... I'll let you go then"

>>130639
Iron lightly bites his lip after hearing it, unable to properly make a rebuttal out of it. ('The first time somepony told me about it, I didn't believe it,) his father's voice continues (left her not soon after that and went on with my day.')

>>130642
Blanche comes in with an awkward smile

"Uh... was there an agreement about payment?"

>>130641
She blinks. "No, it's okay. I'm new to Baltimare and I thought I'd pay a visit."

>>130643
"O-oh," Iron replies absent-mindedly in his own little world "h-how much was it?"
('Soon enough, however, I started to see her point,') the voice carries on ('everpony was stuck in their own little routines while complaining about it everytime with their peers and in turn they nodded along.')

>>130644
"Well, it's... it would be 13 bits for the whole set, normally"
She has a very uncertain expression

>>130644
He jumps up
"Oh. Hi! Welcome to Baltimare! Nice of you to visit!"

>>130646
('That. is. crazy.') the voice whispers in his ear before dissipating into the deeper confines of his mind.
"R-right," he utters out before pulling out 18 bits from his pouch and passing it to the striped waitress "here you go."

>>130647
She smiles. "Actually I'm not visiting, I moved here from the countryside. I guess you could say I'm still getting my city-legs. Do you want to talk outside?"

>>130648
Blanches's nervousness - and she was indeed nervous - dissipates. She takes the bits
"Have a nice day!" she says

White Sands stands up

>>130649
"Oh..." He says
"Sure! We can talk outside or in a side room"

>>130650
Amber stands up and leaves the pew. "Lead the way," she says softly.

>>130651
He walks over, between the pews, and then finds a way to a door on the side.. He opens it to a small room that has a hallway to the right, tile floors, and a few windows to the side

"We are out of the Sanctuary now... so... What's your name!?"

>>130650
With a little exhale, Iron follows suit, simply standing there with a blank look on his face for a few second before turning to Blanche. "Tell the cook: For your first time, it went better than expected."
With that, he starts to walk towards the door at a slow pace in case Sands wanted to stay for a bit longer, without any clear destination in mind.