Dark Star fights against CRT in the school system continues along his path to ensure a future for his and his race's children. Iron conducts a salvage operation finds and recovers hidden treasure. Amber is learning how to exploit simps establishes relationships in her new town. Spark harbors multiple terrorist continues helping Wellspring and the wolf tribe. Silver acts as a step father for unwanted foals gives back to the community at the orphanage. All of this and more
>>154335“I mean that’s what she looked like she would say. Sympathy.”
He blinks, abs looks Amber in the eyes.
He looks down at his empty glass.
“She didn’t get more more tea. I should have asked her for more tea.”
>>154336"I suppose…."She slouches down and rests her head on the table, trying to discern what he really thinks.
"You still don't believe I'm a bad pony, do you? I wouldn't do anything to make you feel betrayed or hurt."
>>154337“I just… You seem so sweet. So nice. So…
innocent.”
>>154339“I don’t want you to not be that innocent little reminder of… of older times.”
>>154341“Before the War. Before Baltimare.”
>>154343“Are you a virgin?” He asks in as direct a manner as it is possible to answer that question.
>>154344Looking at him quizzically, but oddly enough not embarrassed, she answers,
"I am, I think…except I got kissed out of nowhere last night. I didn't ask for it at all, but it was that or gettin' in serious trouble." She makes a disgusted expression.
>>154345He leans in.
Alright, +0 modifier here we go!
Sense motive
[1d20+0 = 14] (for the last answer). Roll bluff if necessary
“You think?”
>>154346Though some amount of doubt can always exist, and obviously many details about that mysterious night are being left out, it doesn't seem likely she's lying or would be able to lie that convincingly.
"Well it was a romantic kind of kiss–but there were no romantic feelings at all!–and you ain't supposed to have that sort of kiss unless you intend to marry. So that might mean I ain't a virgin, I'm not sure how exactly it's counted."
>>154347He looks at her wordlessly, and eventually gives an awkward smile.
He looks down at the chowder, picks up a spoon, and places if in the chowder. His smile stops
“That would have bothered me all night. For as long as I knew you.”
>>154348She doesn't quite know how to respond.
"Oh…I guess I hadn't thought about it that much." She stares at her own bowl of slimy soup.
"Um, are you one too? A virgin. Maybe the word doesn't apply to colts…" she trails off, unsure if she's probing too much.
No, if he asks me a question I can ask the same in turn, she reasons and reassures herself.
>>154349There is something resembling a smile, though he does not make eye contact
“I’m flattered that you think the question needs to be asked.”
>>154350Now she's thoroughly befuddled.
"What do you mean by that?"
>>154351He shakes his head
“I mean, you already know the answer.”
>>154353“Well, it’s different, for a colt than a filly. Especially a filly as adorable as you.”
>>154355“Well… I mean… yeah, we’re a little young, but, it’s really hard for a colt, but it’s no effort at all for a filly.”
>>154357“I mean, well, you have to get a filly to notice you, you have to get them to like you, you have to take them to nice places and all of that stuff, and then after all of that, you still may not get a kiss.”
>>154358She mulls this over in her head.
"I suppose so…but how will a colt want a filly to notice and like him so he'll take her to nice places? What if she wants to go to those nice places but nopony will take her there, even if she notices colts?"
>>154359“Well…. I suppose she should let him know.”
>>154361He blinks
“I don’t know. I’ve never dated a colt. Or tried to.”
>>154362At first she pulls her head back with an expression amounting to "are you kidding me?" Then she bursts out laughing.
"What a ridiculous topic this all is! I never talked about this stuff with folks back home."
>>154363He gives a smile, and it’s one of the more authentic smiles he’s given in a while
“How does it feel?”
>>154364Her own smile is a little more strained.
"If you're not putting me on the spot…it's alright."
>>154365His expression is concerned.
“I mean being away from your home. Being on your own.”
>>154366She becomes more relaxed.
"I miss a warmer home, and here there are lots of strange creatures that put me on edge. But I'm able to go to many places I only read about in books, whenever and wherever I want. It's not easy looking after myself, but if life was easy it wouldn't be the same, would it?"
>>154367Did Amber just answer "it's alright" to "how does it feel to date a colt?""No... no it's not." He pauses for a moment
"I don't really think my mom is going to like me being out late, or spending money. But what is she going to do?" Another pause
"I am free"
>>154369He blushes, and the question halts him for a moment. Only a moment
"More the money thing. And the being out thing. "
>>154370She giggles.
"Well, you needn't worry. I've read of what 'fast mares' are like and I'm not the type to buy a new shawl every fortnight. And I can keep you safe from bandits," she says with a playful wink.
>>154371Something in his expression implies that he was not expecting her to say these things.
"Say what now?"
>>154373"Heh" he smiles. But then he says
"Wait. You still want to go forward with things?"
>>154374"Mhm," she nods with a small smile.
"You're a good colt at heart, even if you…jump to conclusions. I like being around you, I feel you deserve more of a chance."
>>154375His ears go down, and he pulls his lips back in a very toothy smile. His eyes are wide open, and he makes eye contact for several seconds. He does not say anything, breaks eye contact, and quickly takes one, then two more spoonful's of the soup.
>>154376Amber likewise starts eating the thick and unfamiliar soup, which hopefully is still warm.
>>154377Amber has allowed it to cool a bit. The chowder has a relatively large amount of cream, and fairly large potato chunks.
Yes, there are crackers, albeit only a few.
The waitress returns, and there is a brief interaction where Mustard Trim asks for more tea.
>>154378Did they both order tea, or was it tea for Mustard, hot chocolate for Amber? I thought both got hot coco, but if both have tea in addition then Amber will ask for more too."This 'chowder' is pretty good," she says in between bites.
"I wasn't sure what to expect, but it's good and hearty, though very different from the soups I had back home."
>>154379So maybe I'm mistaken, but it's been my understanding this entire time that Mustard ordered sweat sweet tea, and Amber ordered Hot Chocolate"Thi- ith not bahd" Mustard Trim does not wait to swallow before replying.
But then he swallows, and asks
"What did you have back home?"
>>154380You're probably right. It's a minor detail not worth jotting a note down or searching back for"We had more basic vegetable soups like carrot & parsnip soup, which was certainly delicious, but we had no seafood and needed to be sparing with milk, so something like this clam chowder just wasn't possible." She takes another spoonful and relishes the taste and texture of what must be a delicacy to her.
>>154381He uses a spoon to cut the potato. For Amber, the soup is a bit more on the liquid side. The potatoes are soft, however.
"We had carrot. Onion too. I guess we had a little more cheese and cream. Store bought."
>>154382The soup is quite delightful.
"I can hardly imagine getting everything you eat and live by from a store. I'm guessin' it actually is an easier life."
>>154383"I don't really know. It's the only life I've ever lived. My dad worked at the paper mill. My mom did try to grow a few things in a garden though."
>>154385He looks up to ask the following:
“And what if something bad happens?”
>>154386She looks tight-lipped off into the air.
"We tighten our belts, try to have enough to live by, and send somepony off to contribute from elsewhere."
>>154387"That's how it is now" he nearly mumbles, looking away
"It could be like that sometimes when there were labor disputes. When there was a long strike, or some other problem."
>>154389He looks up at her
"Wow. You really were isolated, weren't you?"
>>154390She shrugs and is looking back at her soup.
"It ain't many miles away compared to someplace like Whinnyapolis, but the closest train station was far enough that we'd go there only on special trips. And it ain't exactly a proper town either, more of a hamlet or just a cluster of farms."
>>154392"I guess that's sort of like Blackwater. Well, we wouldn't really leave it, I mean. We had a grocer, about two restaurants, a Reform and a Celestialist church. You could call it a small town. There were two mills and a couple fishing docks that employed everypony."
>>154393She brightens up hearing about it, eating some more chowder.
"Mmh–that sounds like a cozy town. Everypony knows each other, but you also have a bunch of comforts. Were you also able to get new horseshoes and clothes there too?"
>>154394“Yeah. It was pretty nice. There was a small clothing store we could buy at least the colt’s clothing at. If you wanted anything special, you had to further away. We had a town farrier, so horseshoes we could get.”
>>154396His ears fall down.
“…. My mom needed a job. So we moved to Baltimare.”
>>154397She nods, taking another spoonful.
"Such is life, but you seem to be making the best of it. I like your jacket by the way, it makes you look more bold," she says with a warm smile.
>>154398"Hehe" He smiles, clearly flattered
"I like your outfit too. It really fits you, even if it is a little warm for the weather."
>>154399What Amber is wearing is a wool dress, colored midnight blue with tiny, light blue stars scattered about and frills on the shoulders, neckline and skirt. The sleeve comes down to her knee while the hem of the dress reaches her fetlocks. It's a good couple of decades out of date and looks anachronistic on such a young mare.
"Gee, thanks. It's originally my ma's dress and she gave it to me to wear here. I prefer my summer dress but it ain't summer." She smiles playfully.
"You know during the day I work at a clothing store? It's Miss High Sewn's shoppe, west of Union Station. It ain't much, but we get a load of interesting customers coming in. The other day there was this really big ol' unicorn with a fluffy coat of hair, looked like he had been through a lot. He bought a skimpy red dress and weird expensive underwear, but not for a pony he knew–for a griffon! He was swinging around old bits like they were nuthin', buying a real fur coat too." She giggles, blushing slightly.
"Said he was some sort of adventurer and invited me to come join him sometime if I didn't mind danger."
>>154400He smiles at the dress
"Yep. Perfectly you."
The clothing store
"You mentioned it earlier."
He smiles at the talk of the unicorn buying fancy mare's clothing
Until she mentions the griffin. He pulls his lips back in disgust.
And then he lightly frowns at the last part
"Is that what you want?"
>>154401She appears to give it a bit of thought.
"Nuh-uh. Not because I'm afraid of danger, but because any old coot who's romancing griffons must've been bonked on the head one too many times," she says with a light laugh.
>>154402"Heh heh" He laughs with her, but has no immediate response
>>154403She's just about finished with the clam chowder now. It's mostly likely night as well.
"Thank you for takin' me here, even if there were some…accusations…."
>>154406He is left silent for a moment. He sets the spoon down in his bowl, making a clanking sound.
As if summoned, the pink filly appears, and asks
"Anything else I can get for you?"
>>154407Amber beams happily at the waitress, not just as an expression of her own feelings but almost in defiance of the humiliating pity this filly was communicating earlier.
"No, all's swell and right." She takes a refreshing gulp of the sweet hot chocolate, inadvertently leaving some on her white muzzle.
>>154408"Uh, I'll take the bill" he says
He looks over and giggles at the hot cholate on her nose
>>154409"Aw, thank you, Mustard."Initially bemused by his giggling, she notices the hot chocolate and tries reaching up with her tongue.
>>154410He looks over at the frankly adorable display, and has a smirk on his face. He leans over and...
lickHe licks her face in a very quick lick and run.
>>154411The yellow-orange mare blushes, initially surprised at the intimate action, but then giggles.
"Thank you~."Settling down a bit, she asks,
"Are you ready to go, or would you like to stay a few more minutes?"
>>154412"Just waiting on her to come back with the bill" he says
>>154413"Oh, of course," she says, embarrassed at not knowing how restaurants work. She doesn't say anything further, hoping he'll be the one to break the awkward silence.
>>154414"Do you want to go home?" He asks
>>154415"Mhm, unless if you'd like to go somewhere else," she says with a friendly smile.
>>154416The waitress arrives with the bill, and places it before Mustard Trim. She turns and smiles to him, and moves one of her ponytail braids. He looks up to her, and tilts his head before mouthing a word, it looks like "what?" He looks down the bill, and she moves off. He takes a moment to do math, and places several paper notes and a few coins on the table.
He turns to Amber and says "Okay"
>>154417Amber's happy mood is spoiled by the entrance of the blonde pink mare. Something roils within her as she sees this intruder subtly flirt with her date. Something about this contender, perhaps her more lithe form, or her greater emphasis on grooming as displayed by her braids, makes her concerned yet thankful that Mustard hasn't shown any interest. Nonetheless, doubts have already been sown.
Perhaps I should do my mane differently to look less plain? she thinks to herself.
Or I could make it up in a different ability.…She makes sure she leaves nothing behind before getting out of the booth and walking with Mustard to the door of the little diner. It doesn't occur to her to wait for him to open it for her, instead taking the initiative and exiting into the chilly dark night.
>>154418Mustard attempts the race to the door, but fails. As they leave, the pink mare rushes up to the couple with an "Oh!" She approaches Mustard - whether that was her intent, or merely a happenstance because Amber was further ahead, and asks him "Would you like me to call a taxi?"
Mustard turns back, and stands in silent contemplation for a few seconds. Perhaps these are the decisive few seconds that place him behind Amber.
"Uh, not now. But thank you" He says, and walks out the door.
He rejoins Amber, cantering up to her, trying to regain the lead.
"She seemed really nice" He says
>>154420"Yeah... they probably don't...
What."
>>154422He looks right at Amber, and is silent for a few seconds. The he moves a foreleg up and goes "pfft!" with a waving motion.
"She's just being friendly" He starts to walk along the road.
"It's not like she was trying to
make out with me or anything"
He looks down, and his ears go down
>>154423"Make out? What do you mean?" she asks, evidently unaware of the urban parlance.
>>154424"I went and saw you last night at club Maurice after our shift. You left, and so I left and went home. It happened then, didn't it? With that stallion."
>>154425Despite the soup and hot chocolate, her mouth suddenly feels a bit dry.
"Um, yes…it wasn't anywhere near the club, but somewhere else. That stallion was helping me get the paper, but I had to pretend to be his marefriend." She scrunches her snout remembering that encounter.
>>154426Should have gotten another drink, like a sweat tea, AmberBut you can't really undo the past"What" He turns to her
"Is that what that was about? He wanted a girlfriend for the night or something? Like to show his parents?"
>>154428"I can't say it doesn't hurt"
Mustard Trim wears his jacket with the collar high on his neck. There is a fairly strong wind blowing in from the sea, and while wind is warmer than the still, inland air, the wind chill makes the night cold.
The sun has set completely, and Amber can see out into the ocean and the night sky. Clouds move along the horizon, but the gibbous moon gives a dim light along the grassy asphalt road and the grey and black rock cliffs. There are more stars in the night sky than can be seen in Baltimare with its street lights, automobile headlights, and chemical plant flares. Almost as many as can be seen back home. A couple lights of what must be ships can be seen moving in the distance.
"I don't want to go back" Mustard says. "I would rather walk along the road. Along these cliffs for a while."
A cloud moves in front of the moon and dims the light for a minute.
>>154429"I'm sorry…" she says slowly.
Although her dress and winter fur serve to warm her, she leans up against him as they walk along, her woolen skirt rubbing against his bare flank. They are side by side, though she is slightly shorter than him, and she takes in the sights, sounds and smells of the tranquil cliffside.
"Me too…it's about as good as the sunset was, and I can't imagine anypony I'd rather be with here."
>>154430He moves to press against her in kind, and rubs his jacket against her shoulders. The cloud moves, and the area is illuminated by the moonlight once again. He moves a little further away from the roadway, and up the hillside to walk along the grass towards brush and trees, looking over the cliffs and the sea. The air smells of saltwater, a refreshing change from the diesel fumes, chemical plant smells, and coal soot of Baltimare.
He leans his head in, and tries to rub it against the top of her head
>>154431Amber imbibes the cool, refreshing air, breathing in with her nose and exhaling audibly with her mouth. Meanwhile, she lowers her head to comfortably let his chin rest on top, with the ends of her auburn hairs dragging through the grass.
"Where are we headed?" she asks. There's no concern in her voice–this is practically paradise and her spirits are uplifted, almost giddily, by being so close to her special somepony.
>>154432He attempts to rub the bottom of his chin and neck against her mane and ears, though this is nigh impossible while still walking. He settles for a few cheek rubs.
"Headed? We're not headed anywhere at all."
>>154433She sighs with contentment.
"That sounds just fine to me."
>>154434"Want to race?" He asks excitedly
>>154435Smirking back, she answers,
"I'm up for it.""Wait," she quickly adds, fiddling with the buttons on her dress.
"Don't want to get this dirty." Though it takes an annoyingly long time with hooves and in partial darkness, she finally doffs it and puts it in a reasonably dry place, perhaps a tree branch. Mustard can get a better view of her tail and of her stocky frame, accentuated by slightly longer fur length.
"Now you're on!" she yells excitedly.