1887 replies and 28 files omitted.
>>152819Silver looks a little sick at that last line.
"Blehg. Still do not like that. Did you consider story of how Equestria was founded?"
>>152820The green mare looks up and taps her muzzle in contemplation. The grey mare, however, looks seriously offended:
Grey mare:
“
We’re not putting away my serpent costume.”
The green mare:
“It’s… not a bad idea, but it’s about, well, it’s about eleven months early for Hearthswarming, and that story, like the Elements, has quite a few characters. Not a bad idea for the future, though.”
>>152821Silver chuckles at the grey mare's response.
"Well, it will be only short couple of months or so before it will be traditional time for start of Winter Wrap-Up. We have somewhat given it up since Great War, but maybe you can have play about very first Winter Wrap-Up."
>>152822The grey mare looks over to the green mare
“I’m not even sure I’ve heard of the first winter wrap up.”
She sits up,
“Well it’s partly done by machine and mass spell now, and it was done in some form long before Hearthswarming, but surely there is a story in there somewhere. Maybe the first winter clean up after Hearthswarming. It’s only really a big show in places where there are no unicorns, though. In most places they just use magic. Unless it were to take place before the Hearthswarming in the Earthpony republic….”
The green mare seems to contemplate this idea
>>152823"Hmm...I will admit I do not know where it started, either. In my native Severyana, we did not have so much 'Winter Wrap-Up' like southern ponies did. We just let snow melt in Spring and add its water to our moisture-rich soil."
>>152824Both mares move ever so slightly back, and their mouths hang open
Grey:
"But then how does the snow, well, how does it melt?"
Green:
"And how does it melt on time?"
Grey:
"What if it melts at the wrong time, and it causes the rivers to flood?"
Green:
"And what if, well, what if you need to plant, and the snow is still there? Then what do you do?"
>>152825"Well, Celestia's calm, warming Light is what helps it to melt, at least in Severyana. When Celestia's Sun starts to warm up in Spring, it melts snow and helps our farms to grow. We help it along at times when we sense there will be problem, but Severyana has picky, moist soil. It produces plenty of high-quality food, but if we mess with natural moisture too much...we end up with famines, like what happened few years ago leading up to Steel Stallion's revolution."
>>152826There is silence for an extended period of time. The grey mare breaks it:
"But like... you still have to melt the snow."
>>152827He shrugs.
"It is just how things have been done in Severyana for time immemorial, maybe since time of Equestria's Unification."
>>152828They blink
“But how do the animals know when it’s time to wake up from hibernation? And what about migration?”
>>152829Silver looks like he's about to answer, but then he freezes with a confused look on his face.
"...I never really thought of it before, and never had thought to question it as colt."
>>152830The green mare proposes
“Well….surely
somepony does it, or else it wouldn’t get done.”
>>152831"I honestly cannot argue against it."
He scratches his chin.
"Anyways, what other ideas did you have for play?"
>>152832The green mare answers
"Right now, we are simply letting them try it. It's a select few eager volunteers, with a few props, who can put on a short play for the other foals. And maybe, if it works well, they can put on the play for a church or two."
>>152833"What about large Cathedal across town?"
>>152834"Which one? The local parish?"
>>152835"...uh...maybe? There is more than one big Cathedral in city?"
>>152836“Well, yes. There is one in each parish. But the nearest one is Saint Eligius.”
>>152837"One I am thinking of is run by Father Maren."
>>152838"Well, Father Maren is at Saint Eligius. Yes, that's the one."
>>152839Silver smiles.
"Good, we are on same page. He seems like good pony."
>>152840"Yes, I've worked with him many times, since we both work with Equestrian records and literature."
>>152841"He also helped me to kill lich."
>>152842She blinks, and then smiles awkwardly
“To kill a leech? Sorry, your accent, I’m not sure I understood you.”
>>152843"Li-ich. Undead immortal necromancers who seal their souls in objects and can raise and control zombies, skeletons, and all kinds of undead."
>>152844"Oh, heh heh, you do plays yourself?"
>>152845Silver gives her a blank stare.
"Uhhhhhhhhhhh..."
>>152846“Just trying to figure out your meaning” she says
“Surely you don’t mean a
real lich… is this some sort of game you two do? Or a metaphor?”
>>152847"Well, whether he was
real lich is unknown. He did experiment with raising dead long ago, was extraordinarily long lived, and group of militia who raided his lair left warnings about his lichdom. But leader of militia was also originally betrothed to mare that necromancer pony married, he was sealed in stone casket so nopony could verify if he really was lich, and when Father Maren and I broke object supposed to contain his soul it was rather...underwhelming."
>>152848Both mares look in astonishment
“I… I didn’t know he did that. You two travelled a lot back in the day?”
>>152849"Actually, it was only few days ago, here in Baltimare."
>>152850“… there are liches in Baltimare….”
>>152851Silver is quick to correct.
"
Was, there was one lich in Baltimare, but now he and his undead minions are no more. There is nothing to worry about in that regard."
>>152853If the scared nun is close enough, Silver gives her some reassuring pets.
wonders how the nun will react
>>152854Silver’s hoof simply hits the top of the coif, though the ears underneath seem to go down in reaction to the touch.
>>152873mare is pet pet petAs the coif is pressed down closer to her head, she closes her eyes, lowers her ears, and lowers her head somewhat, scrunching.
>>152899"There there, everything is alright."
>>152900"I'll... I'll have to ask him about that" She replies
>>152905Until he feels she grows tired of the pets, he continues. As a matter of fact, he starts to pet the other nun.
"You are quite nice to pet, you know?"
>>152911"This does not happen often, I take it? You seem starved for attention and contact."
>>152912This makes both of them more offended than they already are
>>152915“I’m doing just fine, thank you very much.” She answers.
>>152916What's the other nun's reaction to that whole event?
>>152917Mostly, she looks away towards the stage at the foals practicing. Until Silver starts touching her, in which even she is likewise offended.
>>152918Silver looks at the nuns.
"Did you not enjoy pets?"
>>152919The green mare readjusts her coif.
>>152920Silver tilts his head at the nun.
>>152921"I prefer not to be touched."
>>152922"Ah. My apologies."
He bows slightly to the nuns.
"Anyways, do either of you know where Sister Marery typically resides?"
>>152923The grey one answers,
"Today, she'll probably be out in the garden."
>>152924Silver looks to see what the performers are currently doing.
>>152926They are reciting lines, first repeating them by rote to memorize them, then trying to intone them correctly. The two mares sometimes speak to give directions.
>>152927Silver smiles, and says out loud, "Good luck with play, White Orchid!"
>>152928White Orchid looks over, and waves a hoof to Silver. He starts to walk towards Silver, and opens his mouth, but stops himself.
>>152929Silver, however, does not, and asks, "What is it?"
>>152796Ooh colt, Iron thinks to himself with a slight tinge of nervousness,
she might need more than just a luxury day at this rate.He soon turns to Cauldron with a neutral look. "Which way is fastest to get to our destination?" he soon inquires, just to know for sure before committing to the hill climb again.
>>152930White Orchid speaks out, interrupting a recitation by the filly:
"When will you be back?"
>>152931>Which way is fastest to get to our destination?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jh09uIN6tl0White Sands stands up, walks over to her right, and hops down a series of hoofholds in the side of partly rocky, partly muddy, and partly grass covered 15 foot drop on the hillside. She descends rapidly, at one point jumping early because the dirt slips out from under her. She arrives at the bottom, walks towards Iron, and then passes him, whipping her now frazzled and muddy long, desire-red tail at Iron. She walks behind him towards the entrance of the ruins, asking,
"Where'd you put them?" Without looking back
Black Cauldron seems a bit taken off guard by Sand's actions, but after a delay answers Iron's question
"Fastest? Uh, probably cutting across the mountainside. This river will lead right to it though."
>>152932Iron was similarly surprised at being hit by tail hairs on his face, scrunching his snout ever so slightly. "In the building, inside one of the smaller rooms," he quickly replies.
Having said that, he soon faces Cauldron with a somewhat pensive look. Sands really seems to be gunning for going down river rather than the mountain side. Has she seen a big roadblock ahead or something?
"...it may be better to go along the river," he muses neutrally once again before tentatively following the unicorn along.
>>152933White Sands, however, isn’t going to the river. She’s going the opposite direction of the final prize. She goes right through the open door frame of the brick wall, and into the skeleton of the ruined grinding mill.
>>152934Iron figures Sands is most likely going to finish them off or pickpocket them, he soon decides not to follow her and promptly turns towards the river instead, hoping the unicorn's assessment of that route is more worthwhile than his idea of the mountain pass. "No time to waste," he said out loud as he cautiously trotted towards what he hopes is their objective.
>>152932Silver smiles before he gives his answer
"I am not leaving yet, I just need to ask Sister Marery question and check on Mala. I will give you proper goodbye before I leave."
>>152935[1d5 = 5]Meanwhile, Black Cauldron has unfolded the map and is sitting down evidently attempting to read it, and White Sands has left line of sight.
>>152936“Okay!”
He waves
>>152937He waves back, leaves his seat, and navigates his way to the orphanage's garden.
>>152937Seeing Cauldron sit down and unfold the map to re-check it makes Iron's trot stop to look back at the zebra mare with a raised eyebrow. "Something wrong?" he asks.
>>152939She moves the map around
"Just... making sure of where we are going."
White Sands is still gone. The path by the river has dead plants, dead trees, mud, dirt, and logs, but is clearer than the river path further up stream.
>>152940Iron walks back towards Cauldron with a small raise of his eyebrow, unsure how long she needs to properly reroute herself. "Can I help in any way?" he offers in an attempt to speed things along.
>>152938Silver leaves through the walkway, then out of the back of the room, and likely has a difficult time - at first - finding the garden. Going outside he sees a big vegetable garden, but this is not the garden. He likely also sees more than one mare, but upon asking, they are not Sister Marery. Eventually, he is directed to a rose garden, where he sees a nun he can be relatively certain is Sister Marery.
>>152941"Be patient. And stop trying to split us up. We came here in a group for a reason. It's dangerous to be alone, and small distracted mares are very easy prey. Now, I
think we are here, and I
think we are supposed to be here. That's by a big bridge and a larger roadway, and an abandoned mill... Now, we can get there going over land by this way, or we can follow the river... this way. But once we get it, it's not going to be easy to get out."
She points at various places on the map, and does not look up.
>>152942"So there is no routes that would allow us to leave with the stuff?" Iron asks with a small tilt of his head.
>>152943She looks up at him to answer
"Oh there are routes. If it could be brought in, it can be brought out again. The question is how."
>>152944Iron pouts slightly, already feeling it's going to be more of a spur of the moment route taking, before exhaling lightly. "Do you think you will be alright out here?" he asks soon after. "I want to see if Sands has finished her business in there."
>>152945She looks up at him.
“Yeah, I’ll be alright I think. Just… don’t take too long, okay? And don’t go too far.” She answers
>>152946Iron simply nods at Cauldron's request before finally entering the presumed abandoned mill where he hid the bodies from the two canines in order to see if Sands was still with them.
>>152947Entering in, Iron sees nothing besides the decrepit circle of rust that was once, presumably, a machine, and debris on the floor. Iron turns the corner to see White Sands standing up, turned towards him, by the two Diamond Dogs. She looks startled, though she must have heard him enter the room.
>>152948Iron simply stands there, eyebrow raised at her sudden startled behavior before peering over at the state of the two big dogs just in case they have somehow woken up from their forced slumber.
>>152949One of them looks dazed, but is still disabled on the ground. The other one is definitely not conscious. White Sands simply wordlessly moves around Iron, probably rubbing against him in the process.
>>152950Glancing in mild puzzlement at Sands' retreating, Iron opts to instead walk over to the dazed diamond dog in question while idly scratching the side of his head with a spare hoof, curious to see what's up.
>>152951The Diamond Dog is breathing, laying on his back, and his eyes are partly open. It isn’t clear if he is at all conscious or aware, but he’s certainly not awake.
>>152952With his curiosity growing, Iron promptly pokes the dazed dog in his snout to see just how cognizant he is of his current situation.
>>152953“Ehhh…” The Diamond Dog makes a soft, vocalized sound, but he does not move. Not even his eyes move.
>>152954The stallion pokes him again, getting just a mite worried over his current status and what this could mean. What happened in here with Sands?
>>152955“You really did a number on him” Sands breaks the silence. “It must have been you, surely. I don’t believe the zebra could do that.” She looks down at the Diamond dogs with a smile. “Not one, but two. And with bare hooves.”
>>152956Iron's ears perk up at Sands' voice, causing him to promptly look back up to face her proper with a puzzled look on his face coupled with a small, proud smile. "It is what I am supposed to do best," he replies with a nod.
>>152957“And indeed you do.” She answers. “I saw how you were with that cat-thing. You kicked it right in the face.”
>>152958Iron nods again, smile losing some of its luster. "I am sure you two could have used some warning," he tentatively admits, not too proud over that.
>>152959“No.” She says, looking past him, and her smile likewise fading.
“I could see it.” She starts to move around the corner wall, back into the main room, to the hallway and out the door frame to the outside.
>>152960The native exhaled softly through his nostrils in turn, taking one last glance at the dazed dog before slowly starting to walk back out where Cauldron was with that pressing question on his mind: What happened in there?
>>152961Black Cauldron is sitting down in the same spot as before. She watches the two come out.
“What were you doing in there?” She asks, seemingly in curiosity.
“Just admiring your stallion’s hoof work. You’re so lucky, really, that he’s here to rescue you from these sticky situations.”
Black Cauldron doesn’t seem to know what to think about these words, as White Sands walks forward. Cauldron begins folding the map.
>>152962Iron's ear swivels at Sands' words, somehow feeling a little guilty over them as if it was solely his fault alone that she sounds so humble and supportive after barking at them to hurry this along a minute ago.
Regardless, they all came here for a reason, and seeing everypony is seemingly ready to continue, Iron quickly sets course for the river, as Sands had indirectly suggested.
>>152963White Sands moves ahead quickly, assuming the lead. Black Cauldron is the slowest, coming in behind Iron. She remarks, almost as if to herself.
“You didn’t have to kill the cat.”
>>152964Iron swivels his ear once again at Cauldron's comment, but he'd rather not argue about it until they were at least back on a safe place. Poor creature was suffering insurmountable amounts of diseases and wounds and he couldn't just let it bleed out. If only he had the magical stuff the shamans had back at the tribe...
>>152965“Could have kept it, and sold it.” Black Cauldron remarks further.
Iron may have no interest in arguing, but White Sands is in a rather argumentative mood. She replies,
>”Who would want to buy it?”“People buy animals like those.”
>”Why would you want one? It’s a dangerous wild animal. Unless you’re buying one to kill your neighbor’s pet rats, I don’t see the point.”“Rich creatures who like to show off, and animal lovers.”
>”Those poor rich creatures, I’m sorry they lost a pet that could terrorize the groundskeeper.”“These aren’t that dangerous. That one probably only attacked because it was very hungry.”
>”It tried to eat your coltfriend.”“Only under very bad circumstances. It’s just doing what it can to survive.”
>”And so am I by shooting it. I’m rather happy it failed to survive.”“We could have kept it and sold it.”
>”How? Would you want to carry it? Share a rail car with it? Where would you put it? In your apartment?”“I just would rather not have seen it’s skull crack.”
>”Nor would I have wanted to have seen or done so many of the things I’ve seen and done, yet here I am.”“Well, …” Black Cauldron does not complete the sentence, nor does she respond.
>>152966"It was going to die either way," Iron finally interjected, wanting to snuff out the argument once and for all in order for them to focus. "Unless you had the things to actually save it, there was no chance for it to survive."
>>152967“Maybe.” Black Cauldron cautiously adds. “I don’t know.”
>>152968Iron exhales softly before finally turning his head towards Cauldron with a softer look. "If you want to capture and sell sickly animals," he continues "then you got to be sure about your capacity to heal them enough to at least stave off death. Now let us focus back on what we came here for."
>>152969Black Cauldron scrunches and bares teeth, but otherwise shuts up. The trio continue across mud and rocky ground, past old dead trees, and occasionally newer logs that line the riverside, and require carefully moving over them.