Welcome back to the newest thread of Occupied Equestria
In Northern Equestria on the Changeling side, Spark has given refuge to a mare claiming to be stalked by a Changeling drone.
In the southeast, in Baltimare, Amber tries to slip past police in her infiltration of the Police Headquarters. Iron prepares for his next fight against griffin gangsters. Silver enjoys downtime, and Midnight checks out a local church.
>>147603“Okay… thank you… I don’t think he will like me traveling with a stallion, but…”
She does not complete her sentence
>>147604"You are already in danger. Him being upset at my presence won't effect too much. May I know what it is that we are looking for?"
>>147605“Well it’s, you know, clothing. Personal items….”
>>147607“Well… my actual apartment… is in Bluefield. I think it’s several miles from here? I’m not really sure where I am.”
>>147608"Don't worry. We are new around here as well. You are in good company."
>>147609“Okay. Good. And thank you.” She says
>>147610"I'll have to consult the doctor to see if he knows where Bluefield is."
>>147611"Okay." She says, more assured now.
The doctor is laying on his back, mouth open, still sleeping. He isn't quite "snoring" in the strict sense, but he isn't quiet either.
>>147613His eyes jump open, and he bolts up
"What? No. I didn't do anything!"
He says, startled
>>147615"Wha? Oh. Uh... Good morning."
>>147616"We may have breakfast cooking and we may need to know how to get to Bluefield. Heard of it?"
>>147617“Yes, it’s a neighborhood in the Northwest, sort of near the river. Not that far west though. Still on the east snd Whinnyapolis side of the river.”
>>147618"We will have to head over there and grab a few things for our new guest."
>>147619“New guest?” He looks up confused, though perhaps less so when his eyes move over towards Wellspring.
>>147620"We had some visitors knock on the door last night."
>>147579Iron's smile widened just a bit, dedicating one foreleg for each mare as he continued to stroke both mares' manes simultaneously and hopefully rub his short coat against the mares to his sides to add an extra bit of comfort for them.
He boldly yet carefully rested his head against Cauldron's neck with a happy smile, closing his eyes a bit just to enjoy the moment they were spending together.
>>147621"I see that... Uh, who is she and why is she here, exactly?" He answers, looking over at Wellspring
>>147622Black Cauldron emits a small grumble, while White Sands moves in and seems to purr. The latter's eyes are closed.
>>147624"Changeling patrols are chasing her."
>>147625His eyes widen, and he says the following with more than a bit of fear:
"Then why did you bring her here?! Now they may come after all of us"
>>147626"Because she was outside the house and if they found her there, they likely would have thought we were hiding her. They have no direct proof of her even being here, so we are in the clear for now."
>>147627“Uh… okay…” he says
He looks over to Wellsping
“Uh, hi. What’s your name?”
“Wellspring”
“That’s a pretty name. Mine is Faithful Oath.”
Over in the kitchen, Petal has started cooking, while Ply Press is coming down the stairs into the living room.
>>147624Iron couldn't help but stifle a little chuckle at Cauldron's grumbling, breathing contently on Cauldron's chest as he relished every second of his combined petting onslaught against the two mares currently sandwiching him in. "I like your mane," he offered the grumpy zebra mare with an innocent smile.
>>147629“Thanks.” Black Cauldron does seem to smile at this compliment, and almost laughs with a “heh.”
>>147630Mission accomplished.
Knowing Iron was clear to go for the time being, all he did was to pet and stroke both mares' heads and manes respectively, trying to both get accostumed to splitting his attention between the two plus let themselves get more physically intimate with him and eachother.
He'd continue to indulge in his real-life fantasy he's just achieved, always keeping a watchful yet serene eye on the two mares' mood and wellbeing, ready to soften them up with some lighthearted quip.
>>147628Spark waves hello to Ply Press.
>>147631White Sands seems as if she is about to fall asleep. At least, she is laying down next to Iron with her eyes closed, and if she makes any noise at all it's cat-like purring sound. She has placed a foreleg overtop of Iron, almost like he's a pillow, or Ursa bear.
Black Cauldron, by contrast, keeps her eyes open and directed at Iron, and not often smiling.
>>147632He comes down the stairs, wearing Winchilla slippers.
"Good Morning."
He turns his head to Wellspring
"You brought a
mare" he says
>>147633"A surprise guest even for us."
>>147633Iron was thankful he didn't have to worry much about Sands, and he figured she wouldn't try to nab his attention after getting her on the bed with Cauldron included.
Speaking of, the native soon looked up to her with a sheepish smile, unintentionally ruffling her rough chest with his cheek to accomodate for it. "I have got to say," Iron uttered, still carrying on his petting for both mares with a satisfied smile "pillow fights really take the air out of one's body."
>>147634"Oh..." He goes over to Wellspring, and starts talking to her; questions like "What brings you here?"
Waabishki walks down the stairs slowly, looking tired.
>>147635"Is that what has happened? You're done in by a pillow fight?" Black Cauldron asks.
>>147636"It was hard to find Sands in her hiding spots," Iron relayed to the striped mare, blushing ever so slightly at her incredulity "plus your swings were no joke and I still have not fully recovered."
>>147637Black Cauldron scrunches
"So, you want to sleep now?"
>>147636Spark waves to Waabishki.
>>147638Iron couldn't help but tilt his head at the scrunching, starting to feel there was actually something wrong about... something. "I figured it would be a good activity to end the night," he uttered softly, looking up at Cauldron with a softened look, smile waning just a little bit.
>>147639She enters the room wordlessly, but she does look over to Spark, and he can see that her eyes are heavy and black. She slowly walks through the living room, past Wellspring and Ply Press, and past Makade, who watches her. She starts to enter the kitchen, where now the doctor has positioned himself (evidently preparing a drink of some sort), and she goes up to Petal, to whom she says her first words of the day:
"May I have some water?"
>>147640"Sure." She says
"This... won't be the last night. Right?"
>>147641Oh, Iron thought to himself, realizing why she was so disappointed and grumpy.
He had the time to think this through, thankfully. His heart egged him to stay just one more night to ensure all his wounds were healed before setting off for a long time while his mind reminded him he shouldn't make any promises he knew he couldn't keep.
Nonetheless, the native looked up to Cauldron with a confident smile, puffing his bandaged chest out to exhude a sense of control over his situation. "It will not," he swiftly declared. "I will make sure of it."
>>147642"Will you come back to me?" She asks, nearly sounding afraid
>>147643"I will," Iron dutifully replied, continuing to pet both mares' manes with utter devotion and fueled by Cauldron's fear of losing him. "Nothing shall stop me from being with you once again."
>>147644"Okay..." with this, she moves closer, and places a foreleg over him, then she tries to get another foreleg under him, and tries to move a hind over his lower section. She moves her muzzle over top of his muzzle, face, and a portion of his head, trying to keep him close.
>>147646"Sure" Petal says to Waabishki, and she pours water for her. Waabishki drinks, and then starts on her way back out.
>>147645Iron, of course, allowed himself to be practically held by Cauldron through facilitating her positioning, nuzzling her exposed nape when she was done. His heavy heart thumped firmly against his chest, sharing his beat wit hers as he sunk himself into her savannah. He felt himself ready to face the eventual challenge of hiring help, picking out a spot to lure the kill squads to and keeping a stock of health potions to maximize his efficiency: It was going to be long and ardurous, but he'll
do it!He'll do it for the mares he loves, no matter how much he has to sacrifice. He'll be there for them. He has to.
>>147647“Maybe we should take a few more minutes to rest.”
>>147648Black Cauldron nuzzles him from her position
>>147649Petal:
"Do what you feel you need to. Breakfast will be ready when you are ready."
>>147650Feeling her nuzzling against the top of his head, the foreleg he was previously using to simply pet her mane soon slid down a bit past her withers to give her a much needed hug to tell him that he was still with her, alive and breathing, as the fatigue started to grip onto him once again.
>>147650Spark grabs something to eat.
>>147652Unless Spark is getting cereal (possible), Petal's meal isn't
quite ready yet.
"I hope you don't mind if it's a bit heavy. I'm making a hot dish, since you'll be on your way pretty soon, and I wouldn't want you to go on an empty stomach, or get hungry anytime soon."
>>147651"So you.... want to sleep now?" She asks him
>>147653"I should..." Iron uttered, sounding quite sleepy "but I know you want me to stay awake like this for a few more moments together. My heart cannot help but try to comfort you for as long as you need to."
>>147653“Thank you. You are the kindest pony I ever met.”
Spark waits for the cooking.
>>147654"That's okay. I know you need it. Just... some time. Show me loving like you did before. Like earlier."
>>147655"D'aww. Just helping out our guests."
When she is done, she presents a meal based in potato, carrots, onions, and cream of mushroom. She also provides toast with strawberry and apricot jam. For the two wolves, she again has baked salmon. To go along with this is apple juice, milk, and a few fruit like pears and strawberries.
"Sorry... we're out of coffee and sugar." She apologizes, as she prepares the table
>>147656"It is a date," Iron playfully replied, lazily kissing Cauldron's snout before going back to nuzzle her neck.
>>147657"Hehehe" She giggles and smiles, tugging on Iron's neck with both of her forelegs wrapped around him in a hug.
>>147658Iron couldn't help but chuckle along slightly, tightening his hug with Cauldron back in turn, enjoying the moment while his other hoof slowly but surely halted its constant petting and instead wrapped itself around Sands' shoulders.
Such a warm hug from both the worried zebra and the self-interested unicorn started to really lull the native into a peaceful slumber, meaning if the former wanted him awake for a bit longer, she'd have to shake him awake slightly.
>>147659It's definitely more of a lunch meal, and frankly a dinner meal, but it suffices. Cream, mushroom, potato and vegetables, besides all of the fruit, fruit juice, and fruit jam.
The doctor comes in, as does Ply Press, Petal, an observant Makade, a very tired looking Waabishki, and finally, a cautious Wellspring, who sits next to Spark at the dinner table. The table itself requires more chairs to be placed, and creatures to sit closer together.
>>147660There's a purr from White Sands, and a brief frown from Black Cauldron that is replaced with a smile when he comes closer to her. A chill air comes over Iron, like a sudden draft that has seeped its way in from the winter outside.
>>147661Spark listens to the conversations around the table.
>>147661Iron couldn't help but shiver lightly at the feeling, wondering if it had any deeper meaning that he should be wary for. "...chilly," he absentmindedly uttered, disturbed slightly from the sudden intrusion but still on the verge of passing out.
>>147662Ply Press and Petal make small talk about the meal and events around them, and then try to ask questions of Wellspring and Waabishki. When both are mostly silent and closed, they talk with the Doctor, who is more familiar with Whinnyapolis and more open.
>>147663"Need to get under the covers?" Black Cauldron asks
>>147664Iron couldn't help but pull both mares a little closer to him instead in an attempt to stave off the elements, mumbling something intelligible in turn. As far as Cauldron knew, that might've been a yes.
>>147665White Sands is a little on the cooler side, but Black Cauldron is warm. She asks him directly:
“Yes? Or a blanket?”
>>147664Spark interjects a question when the conversation stops.
“So, what should we expect in Bluefield?”
>>147666"Mhm," Iron slowly and tiredly muttered, hoping that chilly feeling could go away so he could sleep in peace. However, deep down he thought it might be telling him that trouble was approaching, considering his propensity to dislike it plus all that vision stuff that told their death.
Needless to say, the native was a little creeped out.
>>147668Black Cauldron tries to pull down the covers under Iron, and then over
>>147667Wellspring looks over to Spark
"An apartment. And maybe a drone patrolling around there. Maybe many."
>>147669“I see. Why so many there?”
>>147670"There may only be the one... but he could have friends, or whatever Changelings have. Brothers, I suppose."
>>147669Iron would shuffle a bit to help Cauldron slide the covers from under him to over him, hoping that all three ponies were neatly tucked in the cozy warmth of the bed in order to finally rid himself of those pesky chills.
>>147672Black Cauldron places herself under the covers, while White Sands, not getting up, uses her magic pull the covers over her, and even pulls some away from Black Cauldron, who loses no time in pulling them back her way.
>>147673In response to the little tug of war, Iron decided to ensure the two mares were as close to him as possible so that they could both have plenty of bedsheets to cover themselves with, giving both of them a tired nuzzle on both of their cheeks with something along the lines of no fighting, only slurred and almost undiscernible.
>>147674With the bed being fairly small and not really made to fit three ponies, moving the two mares closer together doesn't bring much resistance, given there wasn't all that much room to either side. White Sands, noiselessly accepts, and places a hoof around him, with her eyes closed and a bright smile on her face.
>>147675The creatures finish up their meal. Makade gets Waabishki talking a bit, and she finally starts to eat.
>>147676Now that hit the spot. Iron exhaled softly, now feeling the combined hugs from both Cauldron and Sands at once.
Surely the two mares would simply come together from their conjoined like for him, right?
>>147677Hard to say. Iron separates the two, and White Sands generally feigns sleep (or maybe she actually has fallen asleep. Hard to tell).
>>147678So long as the two mares were actively hugging him, Iron would have little problems with that arrangement. More likely than not, they'll find common ground due to their shared background as mob grunts. He'll simplt has to mediate their affairs and provide support whenever needed for their friendship to finally blossom.
>>147676Spark thinks about how he is going to be able to sneak to an apartment unseen.
>>147679For the moment.... not so much
>>147680And now, later in the morning, Spark is ready
>>147681Iron exhaled softly through his nostrils, slowly creaking a spying eye to confirm he was indeed being hugged by both mares right now. He didn't really have the energy to wake back up again and stop this silly quarrel.
>>147681"I don't suppose you know a good way to get over to Bluefield, Wellspring?"
>>147520Mollis and Sweet Dreams direct their respective creatures to stand in a certain location.
Mollis:
"First, dry"
She holds up a blow dryer, and attempts to dry Silver Sword
>>147685Silver tries to help direct her in how to dry just how much floof he has.
>>147686Silver's floof starts to expand and spread out as it is warmed, and Mollis seems to have a hard time with it. Meanwhile, Sweet Dreams is making nice progress on the short-furred Jubilosa
>>147704"Ah, this feels nice. You are doing just fine, Mollis."
>>147705She makes a strained smile, and continues on blow drying. Sweet Dreams, after some time, moves on from drying to brushing, while Mollis is still bogged down.
>>147708"If you need me to assist, I am more than happy to, Mollis."
>>147709“I wrought wris.” She says, with a blow dryer in her mouth, still attempting to subdue the unruly mountains of fur.
>>147710It's almost like its own little world, all of that fur and fluff. Silver could make kirins jealous.
>>147711Sweet Dreams, carefully brushing Jubilosa, takes done pity on Mollis, and gives her the other blow dryer to help her. Now, Mollis slogs on with two dryers.
>>147713Silver does wish he could help her in some capacity, feeling bad for how much work this is.
>>147714After the passage of more time still, Mollis finishes drying. The drying, however, has unleashed a forest of thick, unruly fluff. She takes out a brush, and then, deciding that brush won't suffice, takes another, larger one. She presses this into Silver's fur, and it becomes caught. She tries to pull it out, perhaps with some pain to Silver, and after finally succeeding, leaves the room. She comes back with an even bigger brush, which she just manages to comb through Silver's fur.
>>147715Silver, who hardly reacted to the pain, is sufficiently impressed by the size of the brush.
"Celestia, how many times do you have to lug
that thing out here?"
>>147716"It's for polar bears, when we get them." She answers, using both hooves and the weight of the front of her body to force it in downward strokes.
>>147717"Huh. I guess my fur is like that of polar bears, then."
>>147719"It's... ugh... You have a lot" She says, continuing with these downward movements, combing out the fur.
To her dismay, a decent amount of fur remains in the brush, and she has to stop to clean it.
Over on the other side, Sweet Dreams is combing through individual feathers.
>>147720"It is my winter coat, though I will be honest, when it is being dried and combed like this, it occurs to me that I really do have lot of fur..."
>>147721"So... much...
fluff" Mollis says to herself, trying to comb through the fur, pressing both hooves down
>>147723"I...." She seems nervous, or even scared. The brush almost is caught in the fur.
>>147724Silver gives her a kind, apologetic look.
"You have done so well already. Please, let me help."