/vx/ - Videogames and Paranormal

>>152286
“I hope so…”

>>152287
"Do things not feel different?"

>>152288
“They do. Very much so. It’s just… I’ve heard that before…”

>>152289
"Hmm. Well, if you have any fears about this, let me know. I do not want you to worry."

>>152290
“It’s, it’s okay. I do not worry. This is better than any I’ve experienced before, I think. Even if it does not remain so well, it will still be okay.” He says

>>152291
"Then I will do my best to make it last, friend."

>>152292
Mala’s ears perk up, and he leans his head closer to Silver

>>152293
Silver hugs his hyena friend closer.

>>152294
Hyena friend is hugged

He leans onto the couch and Silver, and his ears come down. He says nothing. He's fluffy, muscular, and fat all at once, almost as large as Silver.

>>152295
He makes for a wonderful hug partner. Silver continues to hug for a minute, before releasing him with a pet.

"Alright, I have some things to clean up. I am going to look around for cleaning supplies."

>>152296
“Okay” Mala says. Paper Clipping’s just continues staring. As Mala blocks the path out between the coffee table and the couch, Silver will have to walk past Paper clipping on the other couch, and all the way around the table to get out.

>>152297
As Silver walks past Clip, he turns to face him.

"Are you sure you are okay? You know you can come to me with anything, yes?"

>>152299
"Okay" She turns her head, and then turns her eyes back to Amber with a small smile. She turns completely in, and starts yelling,

"Mustard! Mustard! There's a filly here asking for you. She says her name is Amber."

There seems to be a reply of "Coming mom," but really precisely what is spoken is hard to discern. Amber is waiting outside for quite a number of seconds.

"He's coming" she turns and answers to Amber, and there is a still longer delay. After perhaps as long as a minute in total, Amber sees the yellow form of Mustard trim exit out beside his mother, wearing a brown, presumably leather jacket that Amber could be forgiven for thinking was made of burlap, and with a smile and exited demeanor expressing genuine pleasant surprise at Amber's presence.

"Hello" he says to her. "Nice to see you. What brings you by?"

>>152298
He blinks, and shakes his head.

“It’ll be fine.” He answers

>>152300
She smiles happily. "Howdy! I just finished my chores today, and I was wonderin' if you aren't too busy to go swimmin'. I heard there's a place for that."

>>152301
"Alright. Come to me if you need anything."

Silver squeezes by him and past the couch, to start looking in closets for cleaning supplies.

>>152302
“Yeah! I’m done for the day. Uh, sure.”

>>152305
“Uh, let me get some things.”
He ducks into the house, and there’s some sort of back and forth between he and his mother that lasts several lines, that sounds like “where are you going?” and “did you do x?”

He comes back outside. If he grabbed anything, it must be in his jacket pocket.

“I’m ready” he says, walking next to Amber, and looking out past her onto the street, before again turning to her.

“So… where is this place?”

>>152303
Paper Clipping is laying on the couch, so it’s simple enough to get by him.

Now here is the question: where are the cleaning supplies?

>>152306
Amber shouts thanks to his mother before turning back to him. "Do you know where the Williams Society is? I heard it is in Westtown. We could go there."

>>152306
That is a good question. Silver is going to start with any closets in the living room and dining room.

>>152307
His mother waves back
“Be careful!”

He replies to Amber:
“Huh… I’ve heard of the Williams society, but I don’t know where their location is. I’ve been around here a while, but not that long… I think it will be fun to try.”

>>152308
And…

Success! There is a closet next to the bathroom on the wall next to the entry foyer that contains a mop and bucket, besides s few other things,

>>152309
She has to ask around about how to get there. Is it too far to get there on hoof?

>>152310
A helpful aging earth pony stallion provides an answer.

It’s approximately a mile and a half away, mostly west but slightly north.

>>152311
Not too far away at all with a good pace. Amber strikes up a conversation with Mustard on the way. "I'm sorry for keeping you up so late last night, I'm not an owl and I sure as hay didn't want to be one. You didn't get into too much trouble, did you?"

>>152312
“An owl?… No, it’s okay. My mother knew I was working late last night, so I wasn’t really expected back before ten anyways. Fortunately my mother was working day shift, so she was asleep before I was supposed to be home, and my sister was too. So… I didn’t get caught. I don’t think she’d like me going to that place last night.”

>>152314
“Yeah, heh heh. It was a little different. I sort of liked it though. It was a little, well, it was different. But I had fun… It was worth the risk.”
He smiles awkwardly.

>>152315
"The owner might be a bit peevish, but I don't think it's that bad of a place. Good music, good dancin' and good company, it seems alright to me."

A little ways on she continues, "You want to head there again sometime?"

>>152315
“I uh, sure. I’ll go there again. With you. I don’t know if my mom would really want me to go there, but sure. We can go after a shift, or something.” He has a toothy smile, looking over at Amber

>>152317
She tosses her head lackadaisically, grinning. "Well, I doubt she would find out, I wouldn't keep you long anyway. This town has so many things to do, might as well try them out. I can only imagine the number of places to explore."

>>152318
"Yeah, heh heh. I've been here a while now, and I've only seen so much. There's a lot out there, definitely. Even if I had spent all of that time going out to new places every night, I don't think I would have seen it all. There's a lot to do, if you really want to."

>>152321
“Yeah, there wasn’t so much to do back in Blackwater. My mother thinks the city is kind of dangerous. I don’t know. I kind of figure that life is dangerous. So I may as well make the most of it. What made you think you wanted to go swimming?”

>>152323
"Heh, well that's real nice of you. I haven't been swimming in a while. Not since before I moved, and even then it had been a while. I wouldn't really think you could swim in the winter, to be honest. Well, at least outside of the ocean. The ocean is probably warm enough. But even then, it's pretty cold for it."

>>152325
"No no. It actually stays kind of warm during the winter. Not really that warm, but warmer than the air. And the waves aren't really so bad, at least in most places. Not if you swim in an estuary, or bay."

>>152326
"That doesn't sound so bad then. Maybe I'll try that sometime."

She thinks about something for a moment. "Don't you have friends from school to loiter around with?"

>>152327
He walks along next to her, and is silent for a moment, and then a moment longer

"... Some"

>>152328
She doesn't press the issue. "It's always fine to meet new ponies. I guess I'm lucky to have amiable coworkers. Well, maybe not so much at the clothing store."

>>152329
"Oh really? What's that like?" She turns his head to her

>>152331
He looks at Amber, blinks, and smiles

"Have you tried talking to her about, well, not clothing? Or to the griffin about... well, anything?"

>>152333
"Hmmm. Griffins are like that. I still don't really know why we are letting so many over here. They don't really do friendship. But I can imagine if she misses Canterlot..."

>>152334
"Griffons are...ugly, I'll just say it. I wish their personality would make up for it but their lack of friendship is very obvious. At least they're not nasty, not like changelings." She shudders.

>>152335
Mustard Trim turns his head to Amber. Whether his right ankle fails him momentarily and he collapses to his right, or whether he physically recoils at the word and jumps back, Mustard Trim bounces a foot and a half away from Amber.

"Those creatures. I hope I never have to see one."

>>152336
The young mare nods, scowling. "You got that right." She lightens up. "Best not to think of them.
We're almost there anyway."

>>152337
"I wish it were so easy..." he says

But Amber sees the two story brick and concrete building in front of her:

The Williams Society building

>>152338
"Look! We're there!" She gleefully trots up to the entrance and looks in.

>>152339
The two little ponies go through swinging glass doors into a hallway that splits left, right, and center, with peppered black and white square tile floors. There is a desk that breaks up an otherwise white wall, with a subtly pinkish white mare behind it.

"Hello, are you members?"

>>152340
She blinks. "No ma'am, we're visitors. We were hoping that we could use your pool?" She smiles nervously.

>>152341
"Oh, well there's a small charge for non-members. But we have limited heating, towels, and a lifeguard on duty, in a temperature controlled indoor pool."

>>152343
"2 bits per pony."

>>152344
She gives four bits, asking if there's a time limit for it.

>>152345
"Well, you can stay as long as the pool remains open. Tonight that will be around 9 PM, although the heater is turned off long before then."

Mustard Trim says to Amber
"That's alright, I can pay for myself."

>>152346
"It's nuthin', I can pay for it," she replies with a smile.

>>152347
He smiles back, perhaps awkwardly

"I'll cover you on something later" He says

The mare says
"Okay, you two are good. It's down the left hall near the end. There is a concession area just before that if you want food."

>>152348
"Thank you! Have a nice day!"

She goes down the hall with Mustard, looking at the concessions and asking if he wants any food.

>>152349
One colt is seen working at the concessions stand. It has Corn on the cob, hayburgers, and some other food items at approximately average prices. There is a set of stairs going upwards shortly before the concession stand, and a few rooms that branch off. But the hallway does indeed end in a wide open room. It must be as wide as the building as a whole, and the ceiling spans all the way up to the top of the second floor, with rectangular windows letting in natural sunlight, and a white wall with a couple small interior windows on the second floor of the wall on the side from which Amber enters the room. It seems to take up the entire corner of the building. There are two pools, actually. One is a very large rectangular pool with black stripes inside and multiple diving boards. This appears to be a six lane, "short-course" pool that is fairly deep at all points. There is actually a second pool, one that is slightly smaller, with a gradient of depth and a large shallow section. There are a number of ponies (and one zebra family) swimming in or occupying chairs around the pools. Some ponies perform laps, or dive in the larger pool, while a few mares and foals wade in the shallower pool, sometimes using floats.

For a moment, Amber may fear a poison gas attack has occurred. But as she hears the sound of water splashing, and foals whinnying, she knows that the strong smell of chlorine just means she's come to the right place.

>>152352
Amber wouldn't know what chlorine actually smells like, except for the off-chance that her father's old gear might have the slightest whiff of it, so she only wonders why the water smells funny. What is more surprising is the shape and construction of the pools.
"Gosh, this is a see-ment pond!" she exclaims.

>>152353
The entire room smells like pool. Rather aggressively so.

While both pools are indeed incased by cement, they are at least recessed into the ground, although this building, like most larger buildings, is raised slightly above ground level and has external steps to get in.

"Yeah, it's an indoor pool." Mustard replies, and then blinks.
"I don't think I've ever actually seen one before."

>>152354
Ah yes, the pool is made of pool.
Amber looks at a placard which presumably contains safety and courtesy rules, so as to not break anything on accident.

>>152355
It is indeed very much pool. Probably best not to get it in your eyes.

No running, no glass, and no diving in the shallower half of the shallower pool. Not responsible for loss of belongings. Lifeguard on duty.

>>152356
It's customary in a lot of pools to shower first. I'd imagine it to be more common among species that don't wear shoes.
She takes off her clothes and belongings and puts them in a locker or whichever corner seems most secure, then takes a cold shower to rinse off the mud from her hooves. After that, she goes to the shallow pool and sticks her foreleg in, as if to test the water.

>>152357
I'll admit I've never seen that. If you didn't urinate, you were doing good
There are two showers relatively near the entrance, and both lockers and chairs. Mustard Trim follows Amber.

The water is surprisingly warm. No, it's not a hot tub. Not even close. But it is subtly above room temperature, and it is much warmer than the ambient temperature outside.

>>152358
Amber grins as she pushes herself into the water, making a small splash. She calls back to Mustard, "This feels so much better than I expected. It's summer's water, that's what it is."

>>152359
"Huh?"

Mustard Trim steps in. It's no clear if he is as clean as Amber. His face lights up.
"Oh, wow. It is." He wades in a little further, then a little further.

The shock of the cooling effect of water, while there, is not so significant. The temperature is likely around 80 degrees.

>>152360
She dips her head below the surface and then pulls back up, her long mane dripping. How deep is the water exactly?
"I knew the water would be warmer than outside, but I thought it would still be cold. This is just fine, and it makes me want to stay for a while."

>>152361
"Yeah, this is pretty nice."

This pool has a maximum depth of around 5 feet, but where Amber entered is probably only around two and a half feet. She's have o walk further along to get it up to her mane
But maybe the depth needs to be rethought for ponies. The point is half of the pool is a normal adult depth, and half of the pool is shallower for children and lazy people

And I have to sleep now...

>>152309
"Ah, perfect!"

Alright, Silver just needs some soap, water, and the mop and bucket, and he can start cleaning his and Jubee's mess.

>>152364
Soap and water in the kitchen, and the mess is on the floor... Even if it is a little difficult to spot the transparent liquid.

>>152368
Hmm...better mop the entire kitchen floor, then.

>>152369
But be careful not to simply spread the mess around on a larger area of the floor...

Floor is beginning to be mopped

>>152370
It hopefully shouldn't happen, but even if it does, a spread mess is less of a noticeable problem.

mop, mop, mop, mop

>>152371
The kitchen is slowly, but eventually, cleaned.

Note that the incident took place between the bar and the dining table

>>152372
Does the incident get cleaned?

>>152374
If Silver mops it, then yes.

>>152376
Well, that he does.

>>152377
And the floor is clean. Or at least, it looks clean.

>>152378
Hmm. Acceptable. Silver makes sure to drain the bucket in an appropriate receptacle, return it and the mop to the closet he found it, and returns to the living room where Clip and Mala are presumably still are.

>>152379
Mala must've roamed around somewhat, but he returned to a sitting position in the living room. Clipping does not appear to have gotten up, as he remains laying on the bed.

>>152380
"So...that was fun."

Silver smiles at the two, before looking at Mala.

"Did you want some breakfast? Everyone else has had some. Except for Jubee, I think..."

>>152381
"I'm okay" Mala answers, blinking

"I only need to eat once every few days."

>>152382
"Huh, I think you have said that before, actually. Are you sure? It is just weird to me, not having to eat for so long before becoming hungry."

>>152383
"If I had to eat as little in a meal as you eat, then I'd have to eat several times a say as well" He replies

>>152362
Shallow pools are five feet deep for humans because they would be neck-deep for the average person. I don't know what the equivalent for ponies would be but it would be less.
Also I'm still excited for the new HOI4 DLC (not at all typical for me, I just like designing units), don't know the release date so it'll be a while yet.

Amber scoots along in the pool as she glances at the other ponies around.

>>152384
"Hmm. I suppose that is fair."

He scratches his chin.

"So, I told you about plans for today, yes?"

>>152388
Amber slowly wades in the ~three and a half feet or so of water. There's a few smaller foals there. Perhaps the most notable set of foals is one, two, three, four zebra foals with a zebra mare. While two of the foals are older males who stay in the vicinity of their mother (or caretaker; who knows), two zebra fillies prance around the pool, prompting the mother to yell "Don't run along the edge now. It's slippery. You'll fall right in. You'll fall right in and I'm not coming to get you. Mhmmm." This is far from the first time Amber's seen zebras, and it's not even the closest she's been to one in the past three days. But it is perhaps the first time she's had the time to appreciate the subtle details of zebras, and how they differ from ponies, like the fleshy leonine tails, or the barrels that extend just a little further down and are a bit straighter near the spine. Or the slightly narrower, longer black muzzles. Or the almost repetitive combinations of grey, black, and white coats, differing from one another mostly in the pattern of the stripes. One of the older zebra colts wades into the water in the shallower section.

Two other "family" units can be seen. One is of an older mare - much older, coming along with two earth pony colts. One eats a red snow cone, while the other moves around to dive into the shallow pool. No water splashes onto Amber, but she's not far away from the scene either. Elsewhere, a mare lays on a chair, and a foal goes up next to her, evidently her own. Several more, perhaps three, foals roam free range in the pool area. One runs around the pool looking into the water at a second, while a third simply floats freely.

Adolescents are greater in number. A small herd of young mares, four in total, congregate by the edge of the shallow pool, with one stallion attempting to insert himself (unsuccessfully) into this group. One stallion and mare, it sort of looks like a couple, prepare to dive into the bigger pool. Inside the bigger pool, two adolescent stallions take laps, as does a third younger colt, though the colt surely proves himself to be an adept swimmer.

There are three adult stallions outside of the bigger pool. One exceptionally fat one with goggles and a swimsuit prepares to dive in, one red stallion with black mane gets out of the pool, and a third cloud grey pegasus jumps off the diving board, uses his wings to fly up a few more feet, does a flip, and then dives into the water, continuing to swim along one of the lanes. Another adult mare takes a sip of a drink, and watches the scene.

Mustard Trim has moved a little further along in the pool. His body below his neck is now fully submerged, and his dark brown tail floats and spread outwards in the water, as do a few of his short, mustard colored coat hairs. He swims in the water with all four legs, and makes a circular pattern around Amber, with himself to the right of Amber perhaps five or six feet away, and on the side opposite from the zebra family. His head and eyes are turned towards Amber, whom he wordlessly gazes at.

>>152391
"Yeah, I think so" Mala seems to form a smile, and his tail begins to move from side to side.

>>152394
Silver smiles at this display.

"Good. Whenever you are ready, we can go."

>>152395
Mala moves to Silver’s heel.

“I’m ready” he says

>>152396
Silver waves to Clip.

"Have good day while we are out, Clip! If you see Jubee, let her know we will be back, ues?"

>>152397
*yes?

>>152397
>>152398
“… Okay…” he says, meekly from his position under the blanket

>>152399
Silver and Mala leave the house. His first destination is the orphanage where White Orchid and Mint Marine are, and he keeps an eye out for a taxi as they slowly make their way towards it.