In the North, Spark has encountered a new tribe of creatures, who are eager to take him as an emissary between cultures. In the south, Iron sleeps off his wounds, with dreams of a new life for himself and a certain zebra. Silver tries to settle in those he saved from the cultists into their own lives. Fantasy play establishes herself in Baltimare, and she too, has encountered cultures unknown to her before. As they all search for normalcy, it remains to be seen just what dangers await beyond the horizon
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>>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.”
>>130605Iron 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
>>130607Iron 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?"
>>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 misunderstandingWho 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.
>>130610She 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."
>>130612Iron 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.
>>130615She 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?"
>>130612She 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"
>>130621Amber thanks the mare and leaves. She goes instead to the north where the cathedral is.
>>130622It'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."
>>130623Amber'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"
>>130625The 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.
>>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.
>>130630It'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."
>>130631She 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.
>>130633Iron 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.
>>130636Iron 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.
>>130637It sounds like something to the effect of "I can say nothing without him disagreeing"
>>130638"Hi there!" >>130639Amber blinks as she raises her head and looks around, ears swiveling.
>>130640Behind 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"
>>130639Iron 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.')
>>130642Blanche comes in with an awkward smile
"Uh... was there an agreement about payment?"
>>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
>>130644He 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."
>>130648Blanches'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"
>>130650Amber stands up and leaves the pew.
"Lead the way," she says softly.
>>130651He 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!?"
>>130650With 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.