In Changelingia (West Equestria), Brie gains the support of a Changeling queen for his endeavors. Spark is doing his best to help an ill Wolf spiritual leader.
In Free Equestria (East Equestria), Iron is trying to intimidate a group of criminal griffin interlopers. Fantasy Play is helping to shut down an Anarchist press. Silver is helping his new household. Amber Sunset is walking through the city, and Dark Star has just finished helping the orphans.
2415 replies and 51 files omitted.
>>135700So... Amber wakes up before sunrise
>>135701Amber gradually stirs awake and lets her eyes adjust to the light. Initially hesitant to leave even what little warmth the burlap blanket offers, she gets up with a yawn and says a set of morning prayers. Still unfamiliar with the layout of the room, she resorts to turning on the light before going to wash up. She eats the very last of the bread and cheese, makes sure to refill her canteen, and brushes her teeth.
Once she puts on her dress, headscarf and cloak, she has a small internal debate on whether to bring her knife. She decides against it, reasoning that the clothing store should be plenty safe and having a knife might get her in trouble. She does pack her key and canteen though. Although Amber doesn't know precisely what time it is, she's fairly certain there's some time before the store opens, so after locking her door and setting off she proceeds at a determined trot.
>>135702Off in the distance, Amber can hear factory whistles, the greatest sigh of life in the city. But the streetlights are on, and few creatures roam on the streets, and even fewer shops have lights on. Nevertheless, a few automobiles barrel down the streets, and some early morning cafes shine with all lights on. The waning gibbous moon is setting, and few stars are visible in the sky.
>>135703Amber doesn't question how the sun and moon still rise and set with the current state of affairs, but takes in how the sights and sounds differ so much at this time of day.
Those whistles must be some sort of mechanical rooster employed here...The brisk air is refreshing.
>>135643"Ah, you hope to find something big there related to your speciality, and bring you great renown as scholar?"
>>135704Whatever else may be true about this new state of affairs, there seems to be some kind of regularity to it, and a new normalcy, however uncanny it may be.
It takes a walk of some minutes to arrive in West town. By this time, twilight seeps in, giving the black sky a bluish tint as the moon nears the horizon.
>>135706"Heh."
She smiles
"You sound like them."
Won't be able to play for a week.
>>135707"I do?"
Silver tilts his head at her.
>>135986"Oh yes. Looking for renown and prestige. Some times it seems like it's all they think about besides politics and funding. They always want to have the most widely known book or publication, the best ratings... I don't think they even think these things will exist in a year, but they act as if it is all."
>>135987"Ahhhh. Yes, I apologise, it is adventurer in me. Fame and fortune, what little has not been already plundered centuries ago, are what preserve my existence. But it does make me curious as to why you decided to come on this expedition."
>>135988She makes a frown of some kind, scrunching her mouth, and then answers.
"Well, professors - besides teach - are expected to write and to do field work. Preferably write while doing either of the above. So far, I've only done the former most. The University is getting a little on edge that I haven't published anything, besides my thesis, so they wanted me to take a semester off for sabbatical. That's what this is. The Tenochitchlan basin is in my area of expertise, so it made sense that I go. They hoped I could write about it."
>>135989"It sounds rather like, if it were your choice, you would not be here."
>>135991“Well,” she looks away, “I wouldn’t say that. There’s something... well, I can’t think of the word for it, but there’s a kind of familiarity to the jungles down south, like I belong there. It’s a feeling I don’t really get in the university. I think if this as a kind of coinciding of interests, for me to go on the expedition.”
>>135992"Like you were destined to go on this trip?"
>>135993It’s almost like her hair stands up
“It’s... almost like that.”
>>135994Silver smiles at her, seemingly unaware of her reaction.
"Well, I hope your destiny will help to change world for better."
>>135995“Well...”
She looks down at the carpet
“I meant... I meant more like it’s familiar. Like it’s a place that is more like me. Like I know it more. The villagers, the hieroglyphs... I know it better than the politics of the department. You know?”
>>135996Silver nods.
"Oh, I can understand that. It always feels better to be in your element than not."
He stretches his legs out a bit.
"So...I have asked lot about your studies. What about you? Is there anything you can tell me about you?"
>>135997Her eyes get wider, and she moves further back on top of the bed
"What about me?"
>>135998Silver gives her a look of concern, hoping he's not done something wrong.
"Well, you had interesting philosophy when we talked inside catacombs. I was wondering if I could hear more about mare behind that philosophy."
>>135999She looks down, and bats her hoof at a rise in the bed covers
“What was that? I mean what was that that I said...”
>>136000"Uh...if you are talking about just know, you asked 'what about me'. If you are talking about earlier, you talked about ponykind needing adversity to overcome in order to unite."
>>136001"Oh."
She looks up at Silver
"Yes... Well, if you look at the critical points in Pony history, like the founding of Equestria, or even the coming together of the Elements of Harmony, you see that it was sparked by an external threat, like the Windigo Crisis, or the return of Nightmare Moon. Self interest is often more powerful than the drive to courage, or friendship, or to creativity. It causes ponies to fight. But when self interest aligns with the interests of the group, and ponies are made to work together... Ponies can begin to see past self interest, and see the good in other ponies... what value they have to us and what we can do for them." She gives a light smile
>>136002"Yes, that is much like what you said earlier. Do you think changelings could have provided that proverbial light for fire under our hooves?"
>>136003She blinks, and then answers, again keeping eye contact with Silver
"I was in Baltimare, west town, when the war broke out. Did you see it? Did you feel it? There was a change in the air, like all of the bickering over working hours, the power of the monarchy, immigration, and all of the politics that have come up in the last few years started to subside, like we were all in this together. Ponies would willingly send rubber and metal into the scrap collector, buy bonds, and turn the lights off if they lived on the shore line. There were lines to volunteer. It wasn't perfect, and it didn't entirely last, but it was there."
>>136004Silver responds after a couple seconds of silent contemplation.
"Да. I did feel that. Dear Tartarus, even I came out of retirement to help Equestria's army through this nation's darkest days. Had New Mareland not stabbed us in back, I feel we could have beaten changelings."
>>136005She winces
"Ugh... Yes. But it was not just that. It was maybe four or so months before things started to unravel. CAN... if you're not from here, that's the bigger of the worker's Union. Former workers Union... They took the opportunity to make more demands for higher wages. I heard the Liberals in Manehattan pushed for an elected legislature, though they weren't as organized as CAN, so that didn't go through. The defeats in Acornage and at the Shire, and the names in the newspapers, I think, shook the faith many ponies had in the Monarchy. I'm not entirely certain the Changelings would have been beat back... And of course the whole New Mareland debacle was a mess all of its own. It wouldn't have happened if it came to a head a few years before."
>>136006"Shire...I was not there when it fell, thankfully, but from what I hear changelings got pummeled badly before our ammunition ran out. It is sad we could not stay united for long, even under those condititions. Makes me almost wonder if changelings were infiltrating those groups even then to try to destabilize our homefront."
>>136007"That is the wonder. You never really could tell. It eroded trust in anyone against the war..."
She looks down, closes her eyes as she shakes her head, before looking up to Silver
"We could have won. We should have won. We would have won. But a few bad generals, a bad quartermaster general, and of course the whole 'New Mareland' debacle... That was bad decision piled upon bad decision, until the unthinkable became a present reality."
>>136050He nods, with a sad look on his face.
"There is little that can be done. I just hope we can salvage something out of all this."
>>136051She is silent for a moment
"So it seems"
>>136052Silver shakes his head clear of those dark thoughts, and smiles weakly at Pear.
"So...is there anything you could tell me about yourself personally? You seem like interesting pony, it would be nice to get to know you better."
>>136053Her eyes are once again wide, as she lies on her belly on the bed
"Uh... what do you want to know?"
>>136054Silver continues to be confused and intrigued by her strange reaction.
"To start, how did you first discover your talent for language?"
>>136055"Heh" She smiles
"When I was in Parochial school as a filly, there was an option to take a class in the classic language of Unicornia in the form used by the Church. The class was at the same time as my sections' normal lunch period, so I wasn't signed up for it. On the second day of school that semester, I put my uniform on wrong, and so the sleeve fell down, I stepped on it and tripped. Missy Cakes made fun of me for it in front of the whole cafeteria, and after that I begged to be in the classic language class so I wouldn't have to be in that lunch section any more.
Actually taking the class was challenging, and Sister Hearthsworth was a bit... 'distant,' but part of the lesson was to read the tale of Peat Veil in the original language, and it intrigued me... After that, I followed through in classical language, and later moved to the language of the Neighuatl.
I'm not actually that good at it, but it's enough to let me do other things."
>>135682Think we can pick back up tonight?
>>136058Yay!
Spark wonders what is with the doctor's strange behavior, but shakes it off.
"So, my friend isn't exactly a pony... I know it probably isn't ideal, but you are the only pony that can help me."
>>136059He stops, and turns around to Spark, as if to say something. He stops for a moment, but then turns back around, loudly inhaling as he does so.
>>136060"Might as well come along. We have come this far and it is safer by far in the woods."
>>136061He nods, exhaling with labor, and looking behind him before scurrying forward, until they are in the woods. At this point, he more or less follows Spark along to wherever Spark s taking him
>>136062Spark leads him along the path the wolves took him, to the wolf camp.
>>136063Presumably, he’d need to meet up with Waabishki and Makade first
>>136064Oh, right. So he would go to the lake then. I think they are there?
>>136065Spark walks to the lake, walking over the berms, and towards the still water.
The doctor turns around to Spark
“So... where are these creatures?”
>>136066"They should be around here. Have you ever heard of the wolf tribes?"
>>136067“The what?”
It is around this time that Waabishki comes into view, evidently from behind a berm, though she may have come from the forest. She’s clearly moved while the two ponies were not looking. Her soft padded feet make little noise when treading upon grass.
The doctor turns around, jumps back, and moves slightly behind and to the right of Spark.
“Wolves?! You didn’t tell me there would be wolves. I was expecting a Changeling, which would have been bad enough...”
Waabishki slowly walks closer to Spark and the Doctor, stopping a few feet in front of the two. She frowns at the doctor’s remarks, but seems more curious than averse to him
“This isn’t the town’s normal doctor” she says
>>136068"It isn't? Well, we are going to have to make the most out of the substitute."
Spark turns to the doctor.
"Why are you upset? I figured that this would be simple as opposed to working for things with exoskeletons."
>>136069“I...” he looks down, then turns to Spark
“Is this the patient”
Waabishki moves a leg forward
“He isn’t here. It’s the Mide Priest. Miskobag, if you’ve ever heard of him.”
The doctor sways back before turning to her and speaking
“What are his symptoms?”
“Symptoms?”
“I mean, what is wrong with him?”
“He is ill and nothing is working to cure him.”
“Guh! I mean how does the illness manifest. What are the signs. Does he have fever, vomiting...?” He turns his head at the question
“Well, he has difficulty getting up sometimes. He’s tired easily, and sometimes has pain in... the chest? He also has swelling around his chest I think.”
“How long has he been like this?”
“Since the leaves fell. Three months I think.”
He is silent for a moment, then says
“I think I need to see him to say anything definitive.”