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
>>154199Silver smiles at him.
"Be sure to rest and relax, then. Great War is over, you deserve it."
>>154230"Well, it uh, it hasn't... really been that easy, really."
>>154231Silver tilts his head at the veteran.
>>154232“Glad to see you’re handling it so well”
He says
>>154233"I will admit, I have had many, many years to learn how to handle things like this. Having friends and loved ones helps."
>>154234“Yeah….” He sort of trails off
>>154236“It’s not been that stable… Not every one came back. Many have moved, especially after the revolt last fall. And those who never went, don’t understand…”
>>154239"Well, it is never too late to start."
Silver extends a forehoof across the table in an offer of a hoofshake.
>>154241He looks at the hoof, and smiles. He shakes his hoof.
Frizzle’s shake is at once encompassing yet weak, and he moves his foreleg rather far up and down. He doesn’t last long in the shake before breaking it to put his hoof down, and shift weight to that leg.
>>154244"It is good to see you too, Frizzle."
>>154245He nods, and starts to move away.
>>154246Silver turns to White Orchid.
"Well, that was nice. Not every day I get to meet another veteran, much less one I knew during War."
>>154247“Who was he, exactly?” He asks
>>154248"He was soldier I trained during War, one of many."
>>154249He tilts his head
“You fought in the war… and you trained soldiers?”
>>154250Silver nods his head.
"I was Sargent in Equestrian Army."
>>154251He brightens up, and his blue eyes widen. He sits there looking at silver for several moments, before saying
“My father was in the army. He was a, uh… I don’t think he was a sergeant.”
>>154252Silver smiles at the colt.
"All Equestrian soldiers are great, no matter their rank."
>>154253He only nods, looking at awe at Silver. Then,
“I didn’t know you were a sergeant.”
>>154255"There are many things you do not know about me yet, little one."
He takes another bite of his burger.
"Maybe as we spend more time together you will learn, yes?"
>>154256“Yeah!” He says enthusiastically. His burger, half eaten, is now neglected as he continues to watch Silver.
“Uh, what else will you tell me?”
>>154257"Well, I have been across much of Equestria, from Redheart to Ponyville, Vale to Manehattan. This is first time I have been in Baltimare, however."
I can play a bit if you want; if you want to schedule a different time for my part, that's fine too.
>>154259wave wave waveAmber was last seen staring into, well, the sunset, from a seaside restaurant on the peninsula.
>>154261Kek
He replies
“Don’t know. Haven’t asked everypony.” He smiles for a moment as if that were funny,
“I went here on a family visit once, six years ago. I remembered it.”
>>154262Something seems to click.
"It must be significant to you then. I hadn't realized that, but thank you." Amber smiles gently at him.
>>154263He smiles back, albeit a little labored.
“It was. We came down here as a little trip while my dad was doing something in the city. I think it had something to do with the Union. And we had a picnic. My father joined later. I remember the wind was kind of cold and my little sister wanted a candy, but we didn’t have any and that annoyed my mom. My dad mentioned the thing about the Pirates while he was talking to my my brother. I thought it was neat.”
>>154264"Quite a leisurely trip then, and a good place for it." She reaches across the table to touch his foreleg.
"Thank you for taking me here."
>>154265He blushes, and his ears go down. He doesn’t move his forelegs, but sits there with a smile that seems almost embarrassed, but at least is genuine.
“Thank you… I… wanted to create new memories.”
The waitress comes with the drinks. Hot chocolate for Amber
>>154266"I can tell you, the first memories I'll have of Baltimare will be very nice. A bit of a rocky start, but I feel almost at home now." She thanks the waitress and takes a sip of the delicious hot beverage.
>>154267“Oh I’ll remember your first two nights as a hostess” he says. “I’ll remember them for a
very long time.”
He pauses for a moment.
“But the only thing rocky about today is the cliffs.”
>>154267>>154268He adds:
“Uh… what are you getting?”
He looks down at the menu
>>154268"I suppose they're memorable…" though she thinks to herself,
What did he mean by this?"Clam chowder sounds appealin'."
>>154270“Chowder sounds nice” he says. “I
think I’ll go with that too.”
>>154272“Well, not with clam, but creamy chowder, yes.”
>>154274“Pies are good. I like pies” he adds
Also, I can't recommend enough reading Mine Were of Trouble by Peter Kemp. Not only is it a detailed and engaging account of the Spanish Civil War from the Nationalist side, but it shows a window of life in that tumultuous time and is well-written.
>>154276“Your mom would make peach cobbler?!” He sounds kind of surprised.
“The best we got was apple pie. There was a friend though who had tangerine trees. I loved to pick those, and eat them.”
>>154277Neat! I’ve read the fictional “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” and Orwell’s “Homage to Catalonia,” but nothing on the Nationalist side.
>>154280Sadly yes, most sources are from the “”””””Republican”””””” side“Yeah….” He pauses for more than a moment
“I miss strawberries”
>>154281Was babysitting, am back"When the season was right we would go out and pick wild strawberries. They are very tasty but I haven't seen any around here." She sips more of the hot chocolate.
>>154282I was helping give a mock interview to my friend’s cousin“Strawberries grow wild?!?!?””
>>154284“I’d love strawberries. You can buy them I know, but they are so expensive. Now you tell me they are free and everywhere?”
He shakes his head.
The waitress comes, and takes their orders.
>>154285"Technically, ehhhh, no."When the waitress comes, Amber states,
"Two clam chowders, please!"
>>154286She smiles.
“Two clam chowders.” She looks to Mustard. “And what will you be having?”
Mustard:
“Uh, one of those clam chowders.”
The waitress does not write down the orders, but takes metal note
>>154287"That's two for both of us. One each." She smiles awkwardly at the waitress.
She turns back to Mustard once the waitress is gone.
"It gets pretty dark during the night in the cities. What neighborhoods are good to keep away from then?"
>>154288“The closer you are to water, the worse it is. By the bay is worst. It’s also not great to be by the river. There are parts of Red Heart the police pass by, and the New Marelanders won’t go to. Cowtown isn’t all that much better. East side is marginally better than that. Then the riverside, and the city center. Colton Hill and the north aren't that bad.”
>>154289She thinks back to when she toured the coast on her first day, and is thankful all that was during the day. She scowls with concern.
"Thank you, I'll be careful to stay clear of the waterside."
>>154290“Are you here alone?” He asks
>>154292“How can you afford that?” He asks
>>154294“How’d you pay it back?” He asks
>>154295"I got some income which paid it off in full," she says, stiffly-lipped, shifting in her seat a bit uncomfortably.
>>154296He shakes his head, and blinks twice
"What?"
>>154298Mustard Trim's eyes are wide, his forelegs limp on the table, and his smile fades to a frown as he relaxes backwards in his seat, his brain working overtime to speculate as to precisely how a 17 year old female with no evident extraordinary skills or special schooling, could earn an "income" sufficiently large so as to pay off a "heavy loan" "just a few days after getting off the train," and has done all of this away from father and mother, in an economy teetering on hyperinflation. He speculates as to whether what means such a girl has to such an income, is compatible with his image of Amber as idealized in his mind.
He doesn't seem interested in much else
>>154299Clearly, she won one of those scratch-off ticket games.
"…I ain't ever had it, but I heard it's thick, creamy, and sweet. No wonder it's considered good for holidays…" she rambles on. Clearly she's worried about whether his speculation might touch on what she actually did. However, she is also oblivious to his own worry.
>>154300Thick, creamy, and sweet sources of income
If his mane caught on fire, it would not be any more apparent than his worry right now.
>>154301Oh darn, he clearly knows what I did for Dark Denizen… she thinks to herself.
After a pregnant silence she finally leans forward and asks in a whisper,
"Have you ever had to do something for somepony you really needed to get by, but while going through it you just can't back out despite second thoughts?"
>>154302He very slightly shakes his head
>>154303She folds her ears down, looking a little ashamed.
"Well, last night I had to do that, after meeting you at the club. I can't tell you exactly what I did because I was sworn to secrecy, but I promise I didn't hurt anypony." She looks around awkwardly, her neck bowed.
"I hope you don't think the worse of me for it…."
>>154304His ears fold down
"You went there to=" He licks his lips, as his mouth seems incredibly dry
"You were there to have sex for money"
>>154305Her shame is instantly replaced with confusion.
"What? No, I had that drink."
>>154306"You were drugged first?" He asked
>>154308"So you were sober for it" He says
>>154309"I had to be, otherwise I wouldn't likely be able to get away," she answers in a hushed tone.
"I was hardly ever in such danger like I was through that night."
>>154310"What do you mean 'get hurt' and 'get away'?"
He says sharply, loudly, almost exasperated.
>>154311Her ears fold down, as she looks unhappily off to the side slightly.
"I had to do something for ponies I didn't at all like. I didn't think it was so bad at first, but as it went on, if I refused not only would I be threatened, but I could have been imprisoned as well."
>>154312“But like….” And then in a suppressed voice “
what did they do to you?”
>>154314“What” he says flatly. Whatever answer he was expecting, it didn’t involve a combination of a game of tag and a scavenger hunt.
“But like… what did they do
to you?”
>>154315"Well, I'm uninjured, except for my pride…" she leans forward, and talks in a low voice.
"I had to kiss a stallion…actually, the stallion kissed me…to not be too suspicious. I feel disgusted by that."
>>154316Goddamn it Amber. Just lie and accuse your boyfriend of flirting with the waitress like a normal filly]Whereas in the past 30 seconds he was close to the table, almost hunched over it, he now slumps back in his seat
“Paper…….?” He trails off
“What else?”
>>154317kek"That's all, honest! It was really that one little thing, which they wanted a lot and in short order. Why are you questioning me like this? You really got your britches in a twist," she answers, the corners of her eyes glistening with tears.
>>154318Amber reclaims strategic initiative with her counter attack
“Uh…. Well I just, I was just concerned if maybe…”
>>154320“No, no no. That’s not what I meant. That’s not what I meant….”
>>154321spam reee"You said I was a low-down criminal, a mare who would do anything for money…. She covers her right eye and her lips curl as she starts to sob.
>>154323“No no no no no I don’t think that if you, I don’t!”
>>154325“No no. I didn’t say anything hurtful. I just. I don’t see how you could pay that much money with just a hostess job.”
>>154327“You didn’t…” his eyes dart away, and he says in a low tone of voice,
”Do, uh, sexual things for money?”
>>154328She looks more confused than anything.
"Do what kind of things?"
>>154329He sits there, himself nigh teary eyed
“You didn’t, uh…” he leans over the table, and for an extended period of time, seems entirely unable to think of the word he was looking for. He remains in that state, desperately searching through his mind’s dictionary, looking for that specific word. After the passage of some time, he leans even closer, evidently to speak to Amber in confidence
”Have to handle a stallion’s… you know”He makes some kind of gesture that is hard to interpret, though it isn’t clear Amber wants to understand it
>>154330Amber is still bewildered and doesn't quite know what to make out from what he's saying, wondering if he means a wallet–implying she's a pickpocket–or some other possession. However, even someone so in the dark can understand the concept of jealousy.
"I didn't touch any stallion," she says, frowning.
>>154331From Amber’s periphery, a new form enters. It’s the pink mare. She moves in in smooth, deliberate, relatively slow movements, and places a bowl of chowder before Amber. Amber can see her fairly well. Her coat is a lemonade pink, and her mane is blonde, carefully tied into two braided pony tails with small red ribbons. Her tail is much the same, nearly long enough to touch the floor. She tilts her head into Amber’s direction, and makes contact with her fuchsia eyes. She suppresses a facial expression. In a wordless movement, she leans back, and then rotates her body in a seedless motion to lean in and place another bowl of chowder before Mustard Trim. By the movement of Mustard’s eyes, she must make eye contact with him, and by the movement of her cheeks, she must have made some facial expression towards him. She then moves back, and momentarily stands besides the couple, making quick glancing looks to each of the two.
She smiles in the way a car bird surely must when it sees an animal falling and dying in the desert, or how a lioness looks at a wounded gazelle that has fallen behind the herd. She turns, and carefully trots off.
>>154332Amber neglects to thank this mare, preoccupied with thoughts regarding this uncomfortable conversation, but her eyes follow even as the waitress leaves. Whereas before she got the sense of polite, if not kind, hospitality, now there is a vague feeling of hostility.
"What kind of face did she make at you?" she asks Mustard suspiciously.
>>154334The young mare sitting across from him is at a loss for words, but her eyes soften in response. The chowder in front of her offers an enticing escape, so she tentatively tries it. Even as she does so, though, she continues to glance at Mustard with pleading indigo eyes.