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>>152400It isn’t long at all before a taxi comes and picks the two creatures up. The older looking purple stallion driving is fairly talkative, but takes them directly to the Saint Prancis Orphanage.
>>152401I imagine Silver would oblige the driver as they travel with idle conversation. When they arrive, he pays the driver, and exits the taxi with Mala.
"Well, here we are, Mala."
>>152402The stallion tells of how he’s lived in the city for a while, how taxis were not especially common just a few short years ago, and how Cherry Hill especially has built up. He engages Mala directly, asking him if he speaks Ponish. And if Silver’s service is brought up, that’s a rabbit hole he tumbles straight down.
Saint Prancis orphanage is an unassuming two story brick building on the northwest side of town opposite Cherry Hill. The drive avoids the less savory parts of Cowtown and Eastside with a more northerly route. Mala steps out, and looks around at the plentiful foliage.
>>152403Silver heads towards the building, enters, and smiles at whatever nun is up at the front.
"Hello, I am back."
>>152404“Hello.” A nun answers. Silver doesn’t really recall her, but she seems to have an idea of who silver is. She recoils, and moves slightly behind the door frame when she she’s the large gnoll next to Silver.
>>152405"Oh, this is my friend Mala."
He pulls the hyena into a side hug, showcasing how fluffy and friendly he is, just like the Unicorn.
"I was wondering if we could see White Orchid and Mint Marine again."
>>152406Mala seems to like the hug, leaning slightly into it, and lowering his ears for a moment. Silver can feel how the main barrel of his body is much taller than it is wide, or how loose his belly is.
The Nun's eyes remain wide
"Um... White Orchid, I think is practicing for a play. Mint Marine, I am not sure about..."
>>152407"Hmm, do you know where Mint Marine would be?"
>>152408“Uh…. I suppose I can fetch the two of them for you. You can - you can step in.” She says, moving from the doorway
>>152409Silver smiles, before stepping in with his friend.
"Thank you!"
>>152410Silver, and then Mala step into the large entryway of the orphanage. There is a delay of perhaps a minute and a half before a large... well, a large something comes through the hallway on the right.
Silver sees a red dragon-serpent looking costume thing which has a paper machete head with tendrils on the long snout, plastic eyes, a yellow belly, a long back that arches up with about three cardboard(?) fins/spikes, and a long green, fabric tail. The head section seems to be proped up with something solid, while the tail seems to be stuffed with something. There are two thin arms on the costume, eaach of which is connected to a thinner rod that seems designed to facilitate movement. Inside of this fabric and paper machete monster is a familiar face, sticking out from the lower yellow neck. It's White Orchid. His legs are covered in black stockings, as are his thighs. He looks happily to Silver.
>>152411Silver feigns terror in a fairly obvious and playful way, if evidenced by the smile on his face when White Orchid comes in.
"Oh no, it is ferocious terrifying dragon! What will we do!?"
>>152412"Ha! Actually it's a freshwater serpent" the costumed colt replies
"What brings you here?"
>>152413"Oh, my mistake. It is ferocious terrifying freshwater serpent!"
He maintains the facade for a moment before breaking into smiles and laughter. He runs up and gives the colt a hug, being careful not to damage his costume.
"It is great to see you again, White Orchid. I hope I am not interrupting."
>>152414It isn't particularly easy to hug the colt, particularly because of the cardboard fins that stick out of the costume's back. White Orchid also seems a little less comfortable with male touching than Mala does (at least when the costume is on), tapping his hooves.
"No no, we were starting to practice for a play, you see..."
White Orchid turns his head, and then shoots back in place, slightly bending one of the fins, as Silver is still presumably hugging him
"Ahhh!"
His terror is a bit less feigned
>>152415Oh, right, almost forgot about his aversion to contact. Silver tilts his head at the colt and lets go of him.
"What is wrong?"
>>152416"What is that?!" he says, pointing at Mala
>>152417"Hmm?" Silver replies, looking back at Mala.
"Oh, that is my friend, Mala. He is very friendly. We rescued him on our most recent mission, and he helped to save many other people."
>>152418Mala's eyes are a little wide, and he tilts his head down,, looking to the ground
"Is it safe?"
However, this scene is interrupted by the arrival of the nun, and a familiar blue unicorn, who looks to Silver, to White Orchid, and then with concern, to Mala
>>152394Even zebra foals are cute, she muses to herself.
It's nice to see a large, happy family.However, her attention is quickly captured by the pegasus performing the impressive dive, and then by by the stallion who is impressive in another way. She can guess how a "dive" by him will turn out.
>>152420One of the zebra fillies runs over to the side of the pool, evidently to come to one of the zebra colts, who is inside the pool next to her. However, she comes up a little two quickly, and a hoof slips on the wet concrete. Her leg slips into the pool, then she falls, she makes a "Yip!" sound, and she falls on her side in the water. She stabilizes herself as the colt comes along to help her up.
The
Impressive does not go to the diving board, as interesting a sight as that might be. Rather, he goes to the edge of the water, dips a hoof in, looks down at the water, forms his forelegs into a diving pose, and jumps right in. If Amber ever had interest in what a meteor would look like crashing into the ocean, she surely now sees the same in miniature. He enters the water belly first. It looks uncomfortable, but the stallion doesn't seem to sense a difference, and extends one leg in front of the other swimming. Meanwhile, the young colt, so un-phased in his laps so far, is swept away by the waves, trying to thrust his head above water to get a gasp of air. The Pegasus, further away from the epicenter, swims along, using his wings to push the water behind him as he goes.
Mustard Trim makes a turn, and now circles around the right half of Amber clockwise.
>>152421Amber, as far away as she is, can't help but flinch with such a huge bellyflop. It's amusing to her, but the humorous nature of the situation is cut short by the colt's apparent distress. Still not paying attention to Mustard, she puts her forehoofs on the edge of the pool and lifts herself partways. She watches intently to see if the colt will recover or if another pony will help him.
>>152422There is a moment where the colt is overturned in the tumultuous water. After a couple seconds, he recovers, takes a breath, lingers on the surface of the water some seconds, and then returns to swimming laps. Mustard Trim takes a moment to look over at the commotion, if Amber cares to look. The large stallion continues waddling forth in the water, making a lap, and turning around. The Pegasus has already made almost two laps in that time.
>>152419"He," Silver corrects, "and yes, Mala is very friendly, I would not be friends with him otherwise."
Silver looks over to Mint Marine, and smiles.
"Hello Mint! It is good to see you again."
>>152424“Hello.” Mint Marine says. His voice is lacking in elation as he walks in, although judging from his expression, that may be from concern or confusion at the prescience of the hyena and the lake monster.
>>152423Amber breathes a sigh of relief and relaxes, and then turns back to Mustard.
"There are a lot of different ponies around. This see-ment pond is so very different from swimming in a regular pond or lake." She smirks and continues,
"Want to swim some laps?" >>152426“Uh… sure” he says, attempting a smile
>>152425"Ah. Some of foals here are holding play. Anyways, meet Mala. He is friend of mine."
>>152427She pulls herself out of the water, shaking her mane and swishing her tail to get rid of some of the water before she walks on the cement. A very good idea pops into her head, and she looks to see if there is an open spot/lane that has a diving board.
>>152428Mint Marine slowly moves closer, and more closely to Mala.
"What are you?" Mint Marine asks
"I am Kaftar." He answers
"But I suppose the term used by ponies is 'gnoll'."
>>152429It's just a little crowded, but doable. There is a free diving board to be sure
>>152430Amber grins and slowly climbs up the ladder onto the diving board. She looks down to really make sure the water is deep enough and steels herself.
>>152430"I call him 'big, friendly, and fluffy'."
>>152431Oh it’s deep enough. This is a competition swimming pool. It’s on the smaller side of competition swimming pools, but it’s built did it all the same. The real question is, is Amber built for it?
>>152432Mint Marine moves closer, and extends a hoof. Mala extends a pas, and the two shake paws/hooves.
White Orchid, however….
“Are you… sure he doesn’t eat ponies?”
Mala turns his head to White Orchid, twists his ears, and lowers his head
>>152433Confident in herself, she takes the dive. Do I roll tumble?
>>152436Amber dives into the water rather gracefully, smoothly retaining the infernos of her jump to push her into the lap.
>>152437She feels the cool air breeze past her for a minute before becoming submerged in the lukewarm water. Quickly surfacing, Amber looks to make sure she's headed in the right direction before settling into a breaststroke. If she wasn't busy regulating her breathing, she would smiling for how pleasant it is to be immersed and have a chance for exercise.
>>15243825 meters from one side to the other, and chlorinated water at 82 degrees. If ever there were a time and place for exercise in water, it’s here and now.
>>152439She lets herself loose and swims with carefree abandon, only making sure she doesn't collide with other swimmers. She realizes that she brought Mustard here and ought to spend time with him, but there will be time for talk after swimming.
>>152440Mustard seems to join in, though he stays out of her way and stays in his lane.
Avoiding collisions is sadly harder than it should be, but Amber doesn’t need to slow herself by much to get around others.
>>152433Silver nods to White Orchid.
"100% positive."
>>152442“Oh. Okay” he answers
Mint Marine almost pets Mala
>>152443Silver looks at Mint, smiles, and nods him on.
>>152445"That he is. He is great to pet and hug."
He smiles at Mala now.
>>152441She keeps swimming for a good amount of time until she's somewhat tired. Then, when Mustard doesn't suspect it, she swims underneath him and pulls him underwater.
>>152446Mint Marine comes in closer, and starts rubbing the fur on Mala’s back; that portion of the land that doesn’t stop, but spans all the way down to the base of the tail.
Mala smiles back
>>152447https://youtu.be/yrEvK-tv5OIAnd Mustard Trim is pulled under the water. Never suspected a thing.
>>152448She hold him in her clutches only for a couple of seconds before releasing him and letting him resurface. She pops up a moment after with a grin on her face.
>>152448"You do like petting, right Mala?"
>>152449“Wha” he looks confused and frightened for a moment. But then when he sees Amber, he starts to laugh
“Hahaha”
Then he dives under water, snd grabs Amber’s legs, attempting to pull her under.
>>152450“I don’t know… I haven’t really been pet before.”
>>152452"Well, it feels nice, yes?"
>>152452"Hey!" she exclaims. She kicks her legs, not hard enough to cause inadvertent injury, but to get him to release her.
>>152454“A little.” He says.
White Orchid starts to move closer, a bit less afraid, and more intrigued of the new creature
>>152455Too late. She is dragged under the water, with her head and eyes completely submerged. She’s let go almost immediately, but still.
>>152456Though she has had barely any time to catch a breath, she doubles around and grabs him by the midsection, pushing him back up. When Amber's head emerges she's panting and laughing.
>>152456To help reassure the costumed colt, Silver goes towards Mala, standing by him happily.
>>152457“Ah!” He doesn’t go as far up as she goes down, with gravity and all, but he goes up enough to fall back down. He laughs as well. But he’s not content to leave it at that. Instead, he grabs her around the waist and pulls her up out of the water, before falling down while holding her.
>>152458White Orchid comes up, and extends a black stocked leg outwards, barely touching Mala. Mala makes an expression almost like he’s intimidated by the large costume
>>152460Silver pats the big, fluffy hyena on top of his head.
>>152459
"Blrblrblrb!" Amber is caught off-guard by this but after the splash she wriggles out of his hold, pushing underneath him and reappearing behind him. "Nothing personal, colt," she says, before sweeping her forelegs together to spray him with water.
>>152462For a moment he feels he has overstepped a boundary, then he is confused as to her whereabouts, and then, only then, at the last moment does he realize he has been out maneuvered
"Ahh!"
He is splashed with water, and falls into the water. But he twists his body as he does so, and with a wide sweep of his foreleg, splashes Amber in return.
>>152461He is pat, and smiles.
>>152463"See colts? Mala is very friendly. I am glad to be his friend."
>>152464And both colts start petting him, which he seems okay with
>>152465While both colts double team pet him, Silver attacks from the rear and hugs him at the same time.
>>152463This time Amber takes initiative, taking a gulp of air before diving and grabbing the colt's hind legs, pulling him along in the water.
>>152467Mala lets out a “yelp,” which startled the colts. But he is hugged, all the same.
>>152467“Ah!” Amber starts to pull him along, although his slightly larger size and buoyancy make this just a little difficult
>>152468"It is okay, colts. I am just demonstrating how good he is for hugging."
>>152468Amber tries to see how far she can drag a pony while swimming underwater.
[1d20+2 = (3+2) = 5] >>152470Not. Very. Far.
His turn
[1d20+2 = (20+2) = 22]>>152469Mint Marine in particular looks on in intrigue
“You found him?” He asks, as if for confirmation
>>152470>>152471Mustard Trim grabs her forelegs, pulls her up next to him, as if in a dance in the water, swings her around, and then twirls her, spinning her off in the water.
>>152471Silver nods.
"On our most recent mission, Mala was one of several people we rescued from group of traffickers. Mala personally chose to pick up weapon and save many people from their clutches."
>>152472She goes along with the dance, her hair twisting around her head and body as she spins in the transparent medium. She falls to the bottom and bounces off one leg back up to meet him, grabbing his hips to pull herself up.
>>152473White Orchid expresses horror. Mint Marine expresses horror, but then anger
Mint Marine:
"Did you beat those traffickers?"
Mala lowers his head
White Orchid asks
"Did you save those ponies?"
Mala answers timidly:
"Yes..."
>>152474"Woah! Heh heh"
He smiles, looking into her eyes
>>152475As he peers into her purple eyes, Amber thinks,
He's leaving himself open! Time for an attack of opportunity! She uses her left forehoof in a clothesline maneuver to dunk him on his back. She can't help but giggle.
>>152475"That he did, to both of those. Mala here is hero."
He looks right at Mala from his rear hugging position, and smiles brightly.
"He should be proud that he helped save them."
>>152476Sadly, he's hasn't proven himself a very good opponent, He is dunked with a "wah!"
He submerges, stays under, and grabs Amber by her hind legs to pull her down.
>>152476He smiles, and wags his tail
"You should tell us all about it" White Orchid says
>>152478
She doesn't directly resist this time. Instead, she doubles over and grabs him by the back, twisting her body as she wrestles him underwater. Her hooves slip on his wet coat but she attempts to retain a tight hold.
>>152480He drags her down and she grabs onto him. He tries to continue like this for some seconds, but eventually pushes himself up above water, with Amber on his back
>>152479"Well...alright. I think I can tell appropriate story about how we stopped traffickers and saved those they captured."
Silver finds a good storytelling seat, sits down, and motions for Mala and the two colts to gather around.
>>152481It's an odd sight, as she is upside-down. She falls off backwards with a splash and flips upright. She pushes her mane out of her face, grinning at Mustard.
"Wrassling is fun, ain't it?"It's a small miracle they haven't been kicked out yet for horseplay.
>>152483"Yeah, a bit" he answers.
Amber can see that the lifeguard assigned to monitor the pools has struck up a conversation with a mare and hasn't seemed to notice the thrashing about in the pool. Multiple other attendees, however, have taken notice, giving the pair odd stares.
>>152485"Sure" He says, moving to the edge of the pool. The lifeguard by this point has been cajoled by a mare into taking notice of the duo, and he belatedly says "No horseplay," only after the two horses have ceased playing.
>>152482Mala sits next to him. Mint Marine prefers to stand. White Orchid would sit, except his costume doesn’t entirely allow it.
>>152486Amber pulls herself out of the water, chlorinated water dripping, shakes herself off, and walks over to an unclaimed chair where she plops herself down. She waits to see if Mustard will take a chair beside her.
>>152490If she sits next to an open chair, he indeed will. He casually sits down next to her.
>>152489Silver starts to tell them the story of how they stopped the traffickers at Hoebuck. Mala perhaps notices that as he tells it, Silver leaves out a few details. For instance, the other gnolls, his position among the group at Hoebuck before being rescued (Silver describes finding him leashed by himself), and some of the more gruesome, not appropriate for foals-kind of details and findings like the garbage chute full of bones. He also doesn't really elaborate any on the cultists they fought, mostly lumping them in with the other traffickers, and describing Boek as just a powerful spellcaster. Instead, Silver's story focuses mostly on the battles the group had, with a bit of embelishment and atmosphere to give the story an almost cinematic quality for the colts' enjoyment. He describes Mala's part in the fights as a very heroic one, jumping into the blows that were targetted towards teammates, using his growl to ward off aggressors or intimidate them into submission, wielding a sword like a heroic knight, and his immense strength to help Silver when even he himself got injured.
>>152491Not her usual posture, but comfortable enough. She looks to see how the other swimmers are doing.
>>152492Mint Marine is horrified, genuinely horrified, and unable to reply.
To White Orchid, however, he replies,
“I think I heard a radio play like that before.”
>>152493Probably a little bit better with Amber and Mustard Trim gone. A few mates and fillies casually loungue in the pool or around it, while several colts and stallions do laps, or lounge themselves.
>>152494"...is my life just radio play? That is not first time I have heard that about my adventures."
>>152497Mint Marine quivers, but does not reply.
>>152499“Y-yes?” He finally answers
Amber leans back casually and turns to Mustard beside her. She remarks, "It doesn't have the same embrace of nature that a classic pond has, but this is much more inviting in the winter. No wonder there are so many ponies here. I'm not seeing any griffons though, is it true they hate water?"
>>152500He bends down to look him in the eye, and speaks in a soft, concerned voice.
"Are you okay?"
>>152501“I don’t know. Maybe. Maybe if we stick around long enough, one will show up. The whole Williams society is really more of a pony thing though, anyways.” He blinks
“Though I’ve never seen a Griffin in the water.”
>>152502Mint Marine looks him back in the eye, shaking.
“I’m, I’m alright.”
>>152503She ponders about something.
"I don't know much about the Williams Society at all. I heard they're a charity of sorts?"Amber gets up and picks up a couple of body towels with her teeth. She throws one to Mustard and returns to her seat, draping the other around herself.
"I was sitting careless...and cold," she explains.
>>152503He smiles at him.
"You are clearly not alright. What is wrong, son?"
>>152504“Well, they are like a youth group. I think it was originally religious, or something. Now it’s sort of like a gym, or, well, a pool.”
He turns over and looks to Amber, not understanding her last words
“What do you mean?”
>>152505“Eh…” he shivers again
“It reminds me…”