Dark Star starts has embarked in a new venture - infiltrating cells of leftwing radicals at a local university.
>>150134"Absolutely! And, as more learn about us, it is more likely somepony, or someone, from distant land will ask us for help."
>>150135“Okay. So now we ride the train. We’re not going all the way Hoofington though, or even to Stableside. We’re getting off a little less than halfway there. At a town called Estruendo. That’s very near to where this abandoned refinery is. It’ll be a few hours until then.”
>>150137He smiles, and wags his tail
"So... who needs us today?" He asks
>>150138Iron nodded. "Estruendo, huh?" he repeated with slight amusement, relaxing a bit. "Quite ominous."
He soon removed the fine space between him and her, looking at her in the eye with a slightly predatory yet overly excited smile. "Although this room is quite auspicious despite its size," he jokingly added, hoping his hint didn't fly off into into the skies like a migrating bird.
>>150139"We will find out. What we can do is talk to those who lead different groups around city, see if they have jobs that need completed. There are also government institutions we can visit. And if all else fails, we can ask at inns, taverns, and bars to see if anyone has been sharing their sorrows or their need for assistance."
>>150140"Maybe. I don't really know, but I brought a pamphlet on the location to help us."
She smiles
"It's a good thing you like it. Unless you want to go to the lounge, the dinning car or something, we'll be here several hours."
>>150141"Sure" he says. The wind picks up, and they near the main road. There are fewer cars on the road than usual
>>150143"I suppose ponies are staying indoors in this weather."
>>150142Iron softly placed a hoof on Cauldron's cheek, taking some deep breaths to try and take off the overly excited version of himself in order to set a calmer mood. "Having you in front of me is more than enough," he replied in turn.
>>150146She smiles, tilts her head, and lids her eyes. And then her eyes widen, and she moves her head to the side to look behind Iron
>>150147Cauldron's sudden scare soon caused Iron to immediately turn his head around to see what was currently behind him.
>>150148White Sands, standing in the open doorway
White Sands:
"You're welcome, by the way"
>>150144"It kind of looks like it..."
Where precisely is Silver walking towards?
>>150150Iron breathed a sigh of relief, leaving Cauldron's personal space to give Sands a big ol' hug in turn. "I am glad to see you, too," he answered with a happy smile.
>>150151squeakyThe smaller pony is hugged
>>150152Hmmm....
It's a longer walk to get there through the city
>>150153Iron made sure Sands enjoyed his hug, quite thankful and mostly eager to also make up with the hand she's been unfortunately dealt without his immediate knowledge, before gently patting her on the back and stepping back with an elated smile. "I will not forget," he reassured the unicorn and giving her some extra hope her efforts will be rewarded in time.
>>150153Hopefully, they can find a taxi along the way.
>>150130"That among other things,yes. i'm also interested in a lot of other things."
>>150154She is patWhite Sands:
"So... what are we doing?" She asks
>>150156"What else are you interested in?" She asks
>>150157"As far as I know," Iron mused with a pensive hum "wait until we get to the town of Estruendo."
>>150158"Estruendo? How far away is that?"
>>150160"A couple of hours," Iron answered "or at least that is what I heard."
>>150161"So what, do I have to go to the coach car while you two stay here?"
>>150162"Do you?" Iron replied back, not quite sure how passenger management works in concrete jungel land, as he looked back to Cauldron with a puzzled look.
>>150163Black Cauldron scrunches
"There
is a chair here. Or an extra bunk, depending on how you want to look at it."
>>150164Iron lightly scratches the side of his head, now looking back at Sands in mild curiosity. "So are we doing another slumber party again?" he blurted out with the tiniest hint of excitement.
>>150166"Like last night," Iron continued "where all three of us slept together."
>>150167Black Cauldron scrunches.
"You can lay or sit on one bed, she can lay on another, and I can have the chair."
>>150168Iron's ear flickered at the suggestion, looking back at Cauldron with a proud smile. "I can sleep on the floor no proble," he jovially declared. "You two can have the beds."
>>150170Black Cauldron looks confused
>>150171"Oh," Iron muttered, feeling he lost the point of the conversation again "I mean I can just sit on the floor."
>>150157"Well Politics obviously,Hippology Equestrian legends im specifically interested in Pre-Celestia equestria, equestrian history, and i was thinking about getting into philosophy"
>>150172“I…. Suppose. That’s not really necessary though. We could sit together on a bed, for example.”
>>150173“Oh, wow. That sounds like a pretty nice set.” She has a wider smile
“You must be pretty smart if you’re going to study all of that.”
>>150174Iron took a second to really process what she said before the fire in his head woke up again. "Oh!" he exclaimed, "so two can take the lower bed while the third is on the one above?"
>>150175"I Dont know if i would say smart."
He chuckles
"But I Thank you for saying so."
>>150176“Uh…. Well, yes. Technically.” She says
>>150177She smiles
“Surely you must be, to learn all of that. What even is hippology?”
>>150178"Well its the study of ponies and our physiology."
He readjusts the glasses
>>150179“Oh…” she says, taking a moment.
“Uh, what do you want to know about ponies?” She asks
>>150178"Perfect," Iron confidently asserted towards Cauldron "so you and I can lay on the lower bed while Sands can rest on the top bed."
He seemed rather proud about having discovered that fact for some reason.
>>150181“But there’s not enough room for us both to lay on the-“
White Sands doesn’t waste a moment. She finds the stairs, and starts climbing them, getting on the upper bunk, and pulling down covers. With her green magic, she closes the purple curtains to cover the windows. Outside, the platform starts moving, and iron can feel a jolt that lightly pushes Cauldron over and towards him
>>150182Iron took that rather opportune moment to tenderly hold Cauldron on his forelegs with a suave smile. "Do not worry," he reassured the zebra mare "we can make it work with some ingenuity."
>>150180"Well its a very intriguing topic. im looking forward to get in depth on the differences between unicorns and earth ponies as well as pegasi."
>>150184“Huh.” She says
“What about bat ponies? Or zebras?” She asks
>>150183She smiles back to him
“Alright. Let’s make it work.”
>>150185"They will also be covered i hope."
He smiles
"That will be very interesting."
>>150186She smiles back
“What about things like that lecture tonight? Will be you be studying that too?”
>>150185With that reassurance placed, Iron stepped aside to let Cauldron take the deeper portion of the bed with a smile. "You first," he suggested with a coy smile.
>>150188Black Cauldron smiles, and moves to the door, firmly closing it. Then she lays on the bed on her back, stretching out her legs and showing her white belly, looking back to Iron with her blie eyes abs a warm smile.
>>150187"Well the speech was most definitely out of this world. i'll definitely consider it."