Dark Star starts has embarked in a new venture - infiltrating cells of leftwing radicals at a local university.
>>149764Jubilosa
“Suspended exports? They would never do that.”
Clip
“Maybe it’s a ruse?”
Khoi
“Then why announce it?”
>>149763"Sounds good," Iron answered in tow before leaning in for another quick little kiss just to keep Cauldron on her toes.
No matter how successful it was, he'd soon walk out the bedroom door in order to approach the fluffy unicorn.
>>149766She smiles at the kiss, and probably would have accepted more. All the same, Iron finds Sands sitting at a chair, quickly turning her head to look towards Iron.
>>149767Trotting over to sit next to Sands, Iron turns to her with a smile. "This is a bit out of the blue," he prefaced his question with a sheepish smile "but what do you think of jungles?"
>>149769"The whole environment," Iron clarified.
>>149770“I’ve… never been there.” She says
>>149771"Would you like to?" Iron suggested with a barely hidden hopeful tone.
>>149765"Could be they wish to build up local government stockpile. If New Mareland were to ever send military expedition through here, they could make use of it."
>>149772She tilts her head
“
Why?”
>>149773Paper Clipping grabs onto this
“Yeah! That could be why. Local stockpiles.”
>>149774"If this is case, it makes me wonder if they are preparing for military expedition. Modern militaries need much fuel and oil to operate."
>>149774"Well..." Iron trailed off as he twiddled the tips of his hooves together "I got a job to go into a wild jungle to retrieve heavy stuff."
Surely he needn't say more than that, considering he may still have the pack animal look to him.
>>149776"Yeah. Yeah!" Paper Clipping seems reassured by this, laying on his belly with his legs tucked under him. But Khoi retorts
"Then why give only a few hours for evacuation before changing it?"
>>149777She scrunches
"Heavy stuff?"
>>149778"Yes," Iron replied with a overly dramatic nod. "Very heavy."
>>149779"Like construction, or moving, or something?"
>>149780"Moving a big bag of minerals," Iron answered in turn.
>>149781"And this involves me... how?" She asks
>>149782"Remember the wild part?" Iron answered in turn. "We might need a sizable group of ponies to ensure the moving takes place."
>>149778"Perhaps they are using cover of storm, and confusion it will cause populace. Ponies are less likely to question changes like this if they come quickly, and there is catastrophie to act as smokescreen."
>>149785Paper Clipping:
“Yes! Exactly! What do we do to prepare?”
>>149786"Well, there is not much we can do, perhaps except meeting and organizing with ponies. You will also need to build your strength up again, Clip."
>>149787“Well, I feel better now. We should organize, yes.”
>>149788"Well then, perhaps we should go to that one meeting we were told about sometime."
>>149791"You do not remember when you and I went out to city hall?"
>>149792"Well, yes, a while back."
>>149793"And you remember what that stallion said?"
>>149794"Well, yes. Something about a meeting."
>>149662“I’m willing to learn, and do what ever it takes to help everycreature.”
>>149808He nods, smiling as if pleased
“You will know. For now,
enjoy the party.” He begins to walk away, evidently moving to rejoin Mars Loaf and the scruffy stallion at the other side of the room.
>>149809Dark Star watches June walk away, then stares off into the wall and contemplates what he meant by all of that.
>>149810"You're an Earth Pony, right?"
The voice is Nadir's, and she speaks to him without him looking at her. She, however, looks at him.
"The earth ponies back at Gentle Stream weren't very kind to me, to us."
Two seconds pass, and she looks down, evidently regretting her statement.
"I don't meant that.. I mean, some were mean. What I mean is, I think I can understand what you meant about feeling different from the others in the countryside. It was different out there. Different there from here. What you said when you first arrived, I appreciate that. About how they aren't always accepting out there, and you are accepting. I like that..."
>>149812He turns his attention to Her
“I’m sorry they weren’t very kind to you ms nadir. I realize it must have been very difficult for you.”
“I am different...”
He looks at the ground for a few seconds
“It’s very difficult and isolating to be so different from your peers,very difficult. I feel, felt very unaccepted at some points in my life,”
He recalls everything that has happened in his life up until now.
>>149813"When I first saw you... you were wearing that trench coat. Thick, long, glasses, hat. It's colder, yes. Colder than it ever was back South. But it's not that cold. Not for you. You were hiding. I could see it. You felt different, so you hid a part of yourself from others. I would do the same thing. Seriously, the exact same thing. A trench coat to hide wings, a hat to hide ears. Just, you know, I didn't want to be seen. And to see you doing the same... I don't know. I saw you living through what I live through. An Equestrian earth pony from the countryside. I wouldn't have expected that."
>>149816“It seems we are pretty similar then. It is very unexpected I know, I wouldn’t have expected this is the way my life would turn out either.”
He drinks from the beer.
>>149817“Yeah…”
She looks down for a moment. The other ponies continue talking among themselves. June has his left foreleg overtop of Mars Loaf, who is content to be possessed by him, as StarCut holds his own yellow mare, and the short cut stallion holds the one unmet mare. Looking Lense says nothing, but remains somewhat nearby, attempting to be in the group.
>>149784"Because they are valuable?" Iron tentatively proposed with a sheepish smile.
>>149818“Well it’s not all bad. If it wasn’t like that then I would have never went down this road. I’m happy actually.I got to meet a friend.”
He looks at her
>>149819"How... valuable are we talking about here?" She asks
"Is this like, day laborer work here, or what is going on?"
>>149820She smiles. Whether by the alcohol intoxication, her emotional state, or some more persistent flaw in her form, her wings do not and have not remained closed for as long as Solar Night has been looking. Now, however, she spreads them a little further, raising the fingers of the midpoints of her wings upwards. The tufts at the end of her tall ears rise likewise.
"You really- you think so?"
>>149821"Highly sought after for ponies that do not conform to common concrete jungle laws," Iron finally revealed with what he thought was a modicum of subtlety. "If I recall correctly, you had experience with that kind of thing."
>>149822"What?" She shakes her head, and blinks
"You mean, on the black market?"
>>149821“I do think so. I’m thankful to have been able to have met a good friend.”
He puts his hoof on her shoulder
>>149824She smiles, and says nothing, looking up at him, lowering her head slightly but raising the middle section of her wings. The coat on her shoulders is coarse and short.
That infernal zebra music ceases, and returns to a cheerier pony mare's singing some sort of love song.
>>149825He moves his hoof
“So how long have you known everycreature here?”
He has a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach as the song comes on
>>149823"...sure," Iron uttered, not too confident in his answer. "If it works out of ponice's eyes, then it might as well be."
>>149826Dark Star has heard the song before. Not in any serious context, just playing as he’s passed by a radio.
“I… I haven’t, really known everyone. Not for very long. But I’ve known Mars Loaf for a while now. About a year. She would buy food at the same store. I helped her carry groceries one day. She was friendly. This was in the tune just before the drive, when food and work became scare. During the war. Then when it began, I saw her again. We were together, hiding together, during the last battle. I’ve met June a few times since they met. That happened last semester. Not that long ago, maybe two months. These other ponies I’ve met a few times. I’ve visited the campus a few times, and I’ve met them off campus a few times.”
>>149827“But… like how worth out while?” She tilts her head
“Is this to get away from the griffins?”
>>149828"If I understood correctly," Iron answered with a pensive look "it was worth a tidy sum without risk of griffons trying to kill us."
>>149829"I... if it gets us away from the griffins..." She looks down
"Money would be useful" She says
>>149830Iron nodded softly. "I thought about the money, too," he added as he softly leaned against Sands with a warm smile. "How else are we going to get the perfect hotel room otherwise?"