/vx/ - Videogames and Paranormal

>>132804
Amber nods. "Charity looks to run in the family. They're phil...phil...what's the term again?"

>>132805
"Philanthropists. Or they try to be. The family has picked up charity work, especially under Strong Winds II. I think he's most concerned about the political climate. But he's helped especially to provide temporary housing for those who have lost homes to the war, or even to personal catastrophes like fires."

>>132806
"I think we're all concerned...it's just nice that ponies are looking out for each other, even now." Amber looks around the room in case there is anything else of especial interest.

>>132807
A vase whose reflectivity and patterns of colored spots look more like marble than porcelin. Another vase imitating - or perhaps actually being - an amphora of Nimbusian origin. a couple more paintings. She's still standing there in front of Amber

"At least there is some good in the current situation" she responds

>>132808
Amber trots on over to where the unusual vases are on display. "I've never seen anything quite like these!" she exclaims.

>>132809
“Oh. Yes. That one is of foreign make, I think. The other is a more modern design from a studio in Fillydelphia.”

>>132810
"I really know nothing about pottery. What other wonders are in this house?" Amber grins eagerly.

>>132811
"Well, there are a few original edition books, a special chest set, a couple suits of armor, old naval clocks... you've seen some of the paintings, and the antique grand piano already..."

>>132813
"They are back in the library, on a few higher shelves."

>>132815
She looks around, then moves into the hallway, looking out
“It’s 2:21 PM” she answers

>>132816
Amber nods, looking somewhat relieved. "Thank you. You said there are suits of armor?"

>>132817
"They have a few, mostly in halls on the second floor. They're mostly of Equestrian origin."

>>132819
“Well, I’m not as sure how many belonged to Paladins, but the sets are upstairs”

She smiles meekly. "Lead the way, then."

>>132821
She starts off, out of the room, down the hallway, and over to a staircase on the right. The landing of the staircase is marble, as are the stairs themselves; indeed the staircase doesn't seem like it would be out of place in more public building. The staircase meets a landing and turns in on itself, with a painting of a white beagle with a big red spot off to the side, and a singular vase. Going up the stairs and into the hallway, at the far end is a window, and there are a couple tables. But going further down the mostly tile-floored hallway, Amber sees the first set. It's a silver-ish colored set in a display case next to the wall, looking more or less like what she expects the armor of the Royal Guard to look like

Amber carefully trots up the glistening, cold marble stair. The painting with the dog catches her eye but she continues to follow her guide, sticking to the middle of the hall lest she bump into or disturb something. Amber slowly approaches the argent armor, taking key notice of its features and trying to remember how the armor of the Royal Guards looked when she saw them in person.

>>132823
It's a set of armor for the back, the neck, and the helmet, held up by rods. The main set is a lamallar semi-plate, held together in a way that lets the user move under it. The belly is not protected, but the back and neck are, and the helmet protects the top of the muzzle and head, if not the chin. The helmet has an opening in the back to channel the mane upwards, and the armor has holes for wings to fit through, if only barely

>>132825
She blinks
"Probably. I don't know. I've never had to wear armor before."

>>132826
The image of this prim old mare in a set of armor suddenly pops into Amber's mind and she can't help but bust out laughing. When she calms down a bit, she quickly apologizes, "I'm…I'm sorry, I just realized how silly my question must have sounded."

>>132827
Putting a mare in armor - or at least, a relatively small one like her - would be like putting a kid in a cage. Who would do that?

She smiles
“No worries”

Also, she’s supposed to be pretty young, not more than a decade older than Amber

>>132828
We've been in the house so long I've forgotten a lot of key details. I'm going to have to go back and note all this down.

"It just occurred to me we've toured this entire house and haven't been properly introduced. I'm Amber Sunset, I'm from west of here." She smiles and extends a hoof.

>>132829
She pulls her lips back in an awkward smile,
“I don’t suppose we have. My name is Wispy Withers.”
She extends a hoof

>>132830
Then they both shake hooves in the way ponies do it.
"I like that name, it just rolls off the tongue." Amber continues and asks, "How did you decide to work here and how did you get chosen? I bet a lot of ponies applied for this."

>>132831
She shakes hooves. Her shake is fairly weak, slow, and lasts a while.

“I was a maid at a few private homes, and went to work as a cleaning lady at the current office building of Tall Sails in downtown. I saw several of the family members while working there, and several members of the board of directors as well. One day after a meeting Wave Breaker, the son of Strong Winds, talked to me for a while. Sometime after that, they hired me on in their private residence, especially after I told them about my experience as a caretaker of a large townhouse in the riots. When they moved out of the waterfront, they trained me as a guide or curator of sorts, so I took in that role as well. It was rather natural for me, since I like history and all.”

"That was very lucky, but working similar jobs sure did help. Rather nice of them to hire you on as well. Do you think I should apply to be a maid too?" she asks curiously.

>>132833
She smiles, and moves her head down
"Heh, you can. If not with this family, then with another in Baltimare. They might like how young you are."

Amber seems perplexed by this. "I'm not sure why that would be advantageous at all, I'd think that an older mare would be better experienced and could handle responsibilities better, or at least other ponies would think so."

>>132835
She smiles
"Maybe it wouldn't be. If it's a mare leading the household, or at least who has most say in the hiring, they may want an older mare."

>>132836
Amber's confusion only grows. "Well, if you say so. Say, how much does being a maid earn?
I've already got a job as a store clerk, but I agreed without looking at all my options…not that I want to let down the kind old mare who hired me, but what happened with you sounds really nice." She balances the tip of one forehoof on the tiled floor, looking a bit nervous.

>>132837
"Well uh... I'm at 18 an hour, and sometimes more when working extra hours. But that isn't from being a maid, that's from giving guided tours and keeping the house in order. Actually working as just a maid is perhaps half of that."

>>132838
Amber knits her brow in thought for just a moment then her eyes light up in surprise. "That's still almost twice as much as my current job! Do you know who I should ask about a job, do you know anyone hiring a maid, do you know what I need to know for it, do you know how I should present myself, do you know…" Questions keep tumbling out of her mouth.

>>132839
"In your position? You can just ask a family if they are looking to hire a housekeeper with no experience."

>>132840
Frowning, she replies, "But I don't know anypony here. Even if I knocked on ponies' doors and asked, I don't know where to start."

>>132841
"You can also apply to work in an office building, or certain apartment buildings as a cleaner. I started just working for families I knew."

Amber looks slightly disappointed but nods. "I'd rather not, even in storybooks cleaners of big buildings don't get to strike a conversation. I think I'll stay with my current job for now and maybe once I get to know some other ponies I can weigh my options." She gently smiles and continues, "Thank you for the advice, Ms. Withers."

>>132843
"Well... Perhaps you'll get lucky, and run into an opportunity."

"Well, I'm glad you let me know of these opportunities. I hope you don't mind, but there's still so much of the city to see and I have time for at least one other big attraction." If Wispy Wither starts heading back to the house entrance Amber will follow.

>>132845
“Thank you for coming by. I hope you enjoyed this little bit of Baltimare history.” She says, and takes Amber towards the door.

>>132847
She gives a big grin
“You’re very welcome feel free to come back any time to see the bedrooms and other parts.”

>>132848
"Oh, I will!" Amber says with a grin and wave before heading off.
She remembers that there's a fort a ways up the coast and decides to trot over there, if she can remember the way.

>>132849
While she doesn’t know precisely where it is located, she has seen it. It’s in the harbor, a little south of the main part of the bay, on a small, low lying peninsula that juts out into the bay

>>132850
She heads in the general direction until she's in the approximate locale, then. Does anything happen on the way?

>>132851
Roll die

>>132853
I’ll describe the full experience of the walk to the fortress tomorrow. For now, it’s late.

Meep?

>>132856
Meep

>>132861
Hello

>>132853
Without having any actual idea where the fortress is located, Amber can tell that all she has to do is to walk south along the water. And do she does, passing warehouses, townhouses, shops, a large sectioned off brick building, and other assorted buildings. When the waterline becomes further away, Amber may walk down a road diagonal to her left, taking her past quaint apartments with shops on the lower level, past a school house and a clock tower. The road merged to another, and with another left turn, Amber knows she is going East, into the bay. On either side are shops, often nicer than the ones she has passed so far, before the left side is dominated by large buildings. First they are soft, white walled buildings approachable from the street, but then they are brick, and sectioned off by walls. It’s past this that Amber gets her first glimpse of what can only be a gunpowder age fortress - a large, concrete or stone fortress with large, triangular sections jutting our from a center in pattern.

>>132862
I hope I know how to get back...
She's pleased by the pleasant aesthetic of the waterline but the large, harsh fortress is jarring, as things of war tend to be. Nonetheless, there is history in those wars and she trots forward, determined to find an entrance.

>>132863
As Amber comes closer, she can notice a few things about the fort. The first is that the fort is located on an area of land that is lower, and closer to the water than everywhere else Amber has been. The second thing is the fortress is some sort of geometric shape, with squares jutting out from a central pentagonal (perhaps hexagonal?) shape. The shape continues outwards from the fort itself, with the land around the fort extending 50 or so feet and possessing the same shape, with concrete on the waterline. The walls of the fortress, which begin at an elevation below that of the town and only a few feet above the water, are angular, sloped stone, perhaps only 35 feet at the tallest. In the center of the fortress, Amber can see a flag flying atop a flag pole, admittedly not one she is familiar with.

>>132863
>>132865
She walks down a concrete staircase towards the fort, but there is indeed an open door. The door is iron, and not much larger than what you'd expect at a civilian institution.

"What an odd place, it looks easy to lose your bearings with all these sharp angles…" she mutters to herself.
Amber goes through the iron door and looks around as best she can.

>>132867
Entering through the door, and Amber can see that the door seems to be cut through the stone, Amber sees a square shaped building of perhaps two stories in the center. The building is the same dull grey as the remainder of the fort, with a flag pole above it, and a few windows. On each side of the geometric walls, rooms and other structures are built into it, with flat roofs on top and a series of arches hanging over the entrances. Further away on one such roof top, is a railed off section and an instrument of war that looks a little out of place. There are several ponies around.

>>132870
She trots up to the nearest pony and asks what this place is.

>>132871
The pony is a black stallion, he answers:
"Oh this is Fort Flash Prance. They just opened it back up a couple weeks ago."

>>132873
"No," he answers "I mean they are letting the public back in after it was closed for a year."

>>132875
Eh, what's been keeping me has been laziness and spending nights going out.

"Oh, uh, you can try. I'm actually here with my foals"

>>132877
"Uh, I guess look around. There are several things here, like old cannons or the weapons collection, or the old barracks"

>>132878
Amber nods, thanks the stallion and looks for the barracks.

>>132879
The building in the center, as well as rooms attached to the walls on the far side, are larger than normal

>>132880
She'll head into the closest door and see what's inside.

>>132881
A small hallway that opens to several more doors, including a display case in one and beds in another. There is an old stallion in a full green uniform, with a beige cap. He stands up straight, wrinkled and old, with a hind leg that seems to be supported with a metal splint

>>132882
He looks almost like a statue. And is his hat supposed to be mismatched? She deferentially approaches the venerable veteran and asks, "Hello, sir, do you work here?"

>>132883
He gives a curt nod and says "yes ma'am, I do"

>>132885
"A little bit about it? Ma'am, there are hundreds of years of history in these walls. This is Fort Flash Prance. A bastion or "star" fort built as Fort Flash Magnus under Governor Hoebuck to secure the outlet of the Delamare River into Horseshoe Bay, it's the location of Flash Prance's Last Stand against the Dragon Horde, and was bombarded by Griffons and Corsairs, among other history."

Amber blinks. "THIS is where the Last Stand took place? I'm sorry sir, I didn't realize." She looks around at the old masonry with a newfound reverence.

>>132887
"Mhmm" He nods. "Back in the summer of 732. May 6th. A new Firelord was crowned in down in the dragon lands. 'Quarrier' he was called, or at least that is the name survivors understood."
He moves his hoof around, over the ground. If he were over a fire, one could imagine that he were manipulating magic, to make the image appear in the flames. No such flames nor magic exists, but he moves his hooves all the same, as if to conjure forth his story into pictures.

"Now, skirmishes against dragons had gone on for centuries or longer, in the forests and swamps further south. The dragons could always be chased back to their caves and mountain tops. But 'the Quarrier'... he had it in mind to launch a crusade against ponykind. An organized horde, striking far into Pony lands. And that is what he did. They went to the Badlands first. Gathered up their forces. Then they flew out into the forests, burning cottages, villages, farm houses. In the swamps, in the grass lands above..."

He shakes his head

"Not many ponies got away. Of course those settlers always knew they were on lands disputed with the dragons. But this... They didn't stop there. They came to the fortress monestary of Saint George outside Hayseed. That was contingent of well trained dragon slayers. Well equipped, and experienced too. But they didn't have the forces to hold it... The dragons surrounded it, and left some of their forces behind. They kept on, down the river, scorching anything in their path. They were headed straight towards Baltimare. The main contingent of the Royal Guard was aware of the threat. They went to meet the horde south of the city... They didn't know what they were getting into. But it gave the town time to go on high alert. To seek shelter, or start to. There were three forts at that time. Fort Flash Magnus, as it was called back then, was the only true fortress. Built to withstand repeated bombardment from naval cannons. What remained of the garrison took up there. Flash Prance had been just a Sargent in the garrison before then, the second in command. But the lieutenant colonel was killed in battle. So Flash Prance took command.

Fort Hoebuck, inside the town... it wasn't really built to withstand a siege. More like a customs house with strong stone walls to protect a garrison there in the event of a rebellion, than a proper fort built to withstand bombardment from the sea. Half of its structure was wood at the time. So when a hundred towns ponies and part of the garrison held up there, it didn't go well... The wooden customs house was burned down quickly. The stone walls were never pierced, but the ceiling over the courtyard was normally open, and was only hastily covered up.... that, the dragons burned through. Fort Prance... or Fort Magnus, was built on a sandbar alluvial deposit at the end of the river, surrounded by water on three sides. Every side has strong stone walls. And attacking from above was more risky because of how many cannons could be turned on the walls. So for three full weeks, Flash Prance, his garrison, and ponies from the town holed up in this fortress. In this building, in the walls, and below. Flash Prance himself took flight to fight the dragons with shield and halberd, and he directed cannons more than once, battering the dragons back, and returning slash with slash, fire with fire. At the end of second week, the flow of fresh water in the river started to lessen, and brine seeped into what water they could scrounge. Flash Prance did not worry, and instead undertook to evacuate the civilians in the storage rooms under the fort late at night, risking himself for a diversion, while civilians were taken across in rafts across the river at midnight, and later taken to the smaller Fort Keriskai at the mouth of the harbor. With fewer ponies, the water held out longer, and so Flash Prance held out longer."

He looks down, and sighs
"But it could not last. As the Dragons did with the fortress monastery of Saint George, so too did they come to realize they could do with Fort Magnus. The Quarrier would leave some of his forces at Fort Magnus, at the mouth of the Delemare, and send the reminder to attack the last pony holdouts on the peninsula and at Fort Keriskai. As the dragons came in, the ponies went east to water. Fort Magnus, and to lesser extent, even Hoebuck, slowed down and distracted the dragons long enough to let the ponies escape to the water. And so that is where they waited. Waiting for the Equestrian Navy to arrive with reinforcements from the North. Quarrier knew this, and was intent on wiping out the remaining ponies in Horseshoe Bay before rescue came.

But Flash Prance knew this too. When Quarrier left his rearguard, Flash Prance did something that would have made no sense to the dragon lord. The weak left his walls to challenge the strong. Flash Prance lead most of his garrison in a head-long attack against the dragon forces, attacking them, and forcing the Dragon Lord to focus all of his forces to stop him. Witnesses on the walls of Fort Keriskai could see the fires over the mud flats, and could hear the howls crying late into the night.

When the horde finally came to Fort Kerinskai after no short delay, the townsponies had long since secreted themselves away, and the fort held, for what attacked it was but a shadow of that dark cloud that fell upon Baltimare three weeks before. Only a few days passed before the frigates of the royal navy and the Wonderbolts vanguard came and dispersed what was left, giving chase to the remainder. They found Fort Magnus blackened and charred stone melted, but surrounded by dead dragons. And when they opened the doors to the inner most storage rooms, they found thirteen ponies, mostly servants, the craftsponies and the surgeon, but a couple members of the guard as well, still shaking, and still alive in the twenty-seventh day after the siege began. All could recount how Flash Prance had saved all of their lives that night, rushing into the fire..."

I really hope we can play again soon.

I have a free day tomorrow.

Maybe tomorrow we can play?

>>132906
>>132905
>>132891
Yes. I hope

>>132888
Amber listens to the old soldier evoke the spirits of the past through story, as entranced by his spell as a young filly at a campfire. Amazement builds along with concern as the recounting of the story continues, and Amber's eyes widen as if what was before her wasn't a pony but old Quarrier himself. She winces when hearing the fate of those who took shelter at Fort Hoebuck, but leans forward eagerly to hear how Flash Prance proves himself, and she twitches her ears, flaps her tail, and biting her lip as the tension of battle builds. A breath of air gets sucked in with astonishment when Flash Prance sallies forth, and after the story is concluded Amber is left breathing hurriedly, her indigo eyes glistening.

"I…I never imagined it to be so desperate. Everything resting on the withers of one pony like that, and knowing he saved of so many at the cost of himself, feels…indescribable." She sniffs. "I'm sorry sir, something's come over me, I need a moment…"

A+ story-telling

>>132906
Yes, please!

>>132932
He gives a curt nod, blinks, and remains silent for a moment, reserving that time to Amber. Then he says
"It wasn't the first time a pony was willing to run into the fire for the good of another. There's a reason this fort first bore the name of Flash Magnus. Nor was it the last. The spirit of courage inhabits the heart of every pony, to a greater or lesser extent. It only takes the right moment to set it free again, or the right inspiration from those around us. And that is why we commemorate Flash Prance here to this day. So that we may learn from his example, and his sacrifice may ennoble all of us. When he went into that fire, his heart glowed like fine steel. May ours shimmer with even a fraction of the intensity."

>>132792
Spark can hear something on the other side

>>132906
psst: >>132748

>>132933
Spark presses up against the door and listens.

>>132748
"Ready to make purchase Mala?"

>>132933
Amber mulls over these words a bit, then says, "I think I understand what you mean. We ought to celebrate such sacrifice from anypony, even if it is personally quite painful." She wears a sad yet strangely serene smile.

>>132936
He nods, a somewhat firm expression on his face
"Indeed"

>>132935
"Sure!"
Mala rushes forth, goes to the counter, and tries to purchase it with the new money, the colt at the counter seeming almost suprised by the enthusiasm

>>132934
It's hard to tell exactly what it going on, but Spark can definitely hear rushed footsteps clopping along a tile floor

>>132937
She looks curiously at the old soldier's face. "You must've seen a lot yourself."

>>132937
Silver smiles at Mala, and steps in line behind him.

>>132937
Spark tries to open the door.

>>132938
He nods.
"In my time. Skirmishes on the Changeling border, skirmishes with Yaks. I was deployed after that Stalliongrad debacle, and in the Snootdan. I was a non-commissioner officer at the time of the Wedding Incursion, and in the Storm King's invasion."

>>132939
Mala puts on the sweater, and then the pack. Both reveal how different Mala's anatomy is from a pony, with slimmer shoulders, a more arched back, a mane that doesn't stop until reaches his tail, a rib cage and barrel that's thinner but taller, and a belly that's fatter than normal, giving his barrel a slightly tear drop shaped cross section.

The colors of the sweater look garish against his coat, but the pack blends better, even if it's looser near the top. Mala looks pleased. Silver is next, and finds the total does not exceed 40 bits.

>>132940
The door, almost strangely, opens to show a hallway with a tile floor, an open door, and above all a red unicorn with brown mane looking over at Spark, rather nervously

>>132941
"Hello?"

>>132942
The unicorn steps out into the hall. From his white coat, it's clear that this pony is a physician of some kind. His eyes are wide, and he staggers as he moves out into the hall, then slightly back to the door well.

"Yes?" He says nervously

>>132943
"I was a professional solider much of my life, up to the Marehdi campaign. After that I retired. But I volunteered when the Storm King came in, and I was called to serve in the Great War. Yes, I was an Instructor."

>>132944
"I see, sir. Thank you for your service." Amber smiles demurely.

>>132945
He smiles, lightening up an otherwise firm expression
"Thank you, ma'am."

>>132944
"Are you the doctor? I was hoping you could help me."

>>132941
Silver pays for his purchase, and heads out of the store with Mala. At the cart, he turns to his friend:

"So...do you know what TV is?"

>>132948
Mala tilts his head, his left ear flopping down
"... No? Is that like a disease?"

>>132947
"... What. Help you with what?"

>>132950
"Brief? You may. Most sections are open to the public now. It's been opened as a museum, of sorts."