/vx/ - Videogames and Paranormal

>>155359
"Yeah... A lot of those here..."

>>155361
“I… well, I haven’t really been able to have much fun. You know, working, taking care of my lovely foals Mustard and Veneer.”

>>155363
“Yes, she’s a lovely little flower in bloom. She’s graduated school and is living with us, working as a telephone operator. She likes the adventure and having fun, too.”

>>155365
"Yes, she does. Graduated last year. And she did so after moving schools, too. Got a nice job. Now she just needs an engagement and a new house." She cannot stop herself from looking back even further, towards the orange filly, with a scolding look.

"My little Mustard seed is on his way to graduate soon as well."

Neat

>>155366
"Well, it's important to marry young, but it might take some time, there just ain't-aren't-as many stallions around. And houses...that can be difficult too, I can't imagine there being much construction these days." She gives a cautious smile.

"I'm sure they'll both make you proud."

>>155367
"Oh, she's around stallions. Aren't you, Veneer?" She looks back to her daughter, and her smile slips. Then she looks back to Amber

"Well...." Now she looks forward "No, houses are not easy. They are not easy at all. Rent has gone up just like everything else... But it would be good for her to move out, I think, if she had somewhere good to move to."

She doesn't respond to the "proud" remark, as she looks forward

>>155368
"Well, it's hard finding the right stallion. Luna knows I'm so lucky to have found Mustard before another filly did...and there's nothing wrong with living with family and supportin' each other, especially in tough times." She realizes she's debating Mustard's mother, which is probably a bad idea, but these sort of expectations just aren't fair.

>>155369
"If only every filly were as lucky as you" She says, looking back again to Veneer

"Yes, there is nothing wrong at all with supporting the family you live with. Nothing wrong at all."
This time, her gaze is directed towards Mustard Trim, who looks away

>>155370
Amber remains quiet. Clearly she isn't helping matters.

>>155371
The family proceeds along quietly, walking probably at least half a mile.

>>155372
"It's a beautiful, sunny day," she tentatively says.

>>155373
>>155372
>>155371
Is Amber content to walk behind Mustard, between him and Veneer?

>>155378
Yes, she likes the view.

giggity

>>155379
After walking, they arrive at what is presumably the cathedral, near a park by the river. It's a massive rectangular building in the neoclassical style with a dome and doric columns. It looks more like a pagan temple than a conventional cathedral.

>>155381
Silence from Daylight. Silence from Mustard Trim. But Veneer:

“Bonnet La True. She designed many other government buildings in Fillydelphia and Canterlot as well.”

>>155063
"Well, it is busy day. I am not sure we have time for anything else, unless there is something quick you can think of."

>>155384
“Uh… um… okay…” he lowers his ears

>>155383
Forgot I put ranks into architecture
Amber tries to remember the significance of Bonnet La True.
[1d20+2 = (2+2) = 4]

>>155386
Bonnet La True is… probably not a pirate? Amber doesn’t recall, or at least not off the top of her head

>>155388
Veneer:
"That's alright"

The family reaches the large wooden door, and Mustard Trim stays to keep it open for the females.

Going inside, there are a large number of ponies, but also a large number of empty seats. The ceiling is incredibly high and vaulted. A bit lower, but maybe longer, than what Amber recalls from Saint Eligius. It seems that services have already started

>>155389
"Thank you," she says to Mustard with a warm smile.

Amber personally prefers St. Eligius, and was thinking that was where they were headed despite the difference, but this is still incredibly grand. She follows Dahlia a bit hurriedly. We're late! she realizes with horror.

>>155390
Saint Eligius is further North

Since arriving at his house, Mustard Trim has been almost like a stranger, having almost no interaction with Amber, and certainly less than his mother has had with either he or Amber. But the smile he returns to Amber makes it clear he doesn't really want to be a stranger. He wears a black vest that he must have put on while inside.

Daylight Dahlia trots quickly, ahead of the group. She clearly understands that they are indeed late. Evidently she doesn't have a preferred spot, at least not one that is still available, because she stops, looks around, and finds a row. Asking an older couple to stand in order to get into the row, she goes in, then Veneer, then Mustard Trim, and then Amber at the very end.

There is music, including flute playing. It's an old tune from earlier Equestria that Amber is certainly familiar with.

>>155391
Amber nods in appreciation to the older couple. Her ears perk up when she hears the tune as do her spirits. What is better to illustrate the beauty of Harmony than music, which by its nature incorporates harmony?

>>155385
"Soon I will have day where you and I can spend whole day together, do not worry."

>>155392
More music. Amber knows these songs. It’s not quite the same as home, but it’s the sand basic songs. This is maybe the strongest continuity Amber has experienced with her home thus far in her time in Baltimare. No, there is no mandolin, but a young filly sings, there is a violin, and a flute.

>>155393
“I hope so.” He says, following Silver out

[1d2 = 2]

>>155394
Absolutely lovely, she thinks. The wonderful thing about faith is that no matter where in the world you go, it will stay the same with you. Her thoughts drift. Will this be the church she'll marry Mustard Trim in? Perhaps it will be St. Eligius instead, or–she would have no objection–a simpler venue.

>>155395
Does Amber have enough family and friends to fill up the cathedral? Does Mustard have enough money to pay for the reception? Perhaps it is best that Amber not think of such things too deeply.

Mustard Trim sits next to her, though he keeps a little distance and does not try to touch her.

The little filly continues trying to sing. None of the songs are contemporary.

>>155394
Silver leaves the restaurant after saying thanks to his veteran friend, and starts for the orphanage.

"I know so. Nothing would keep me from coming back to see you."

>>155396
She forgets about all the difficulties with her to-be in-laws. This music is true joy right here.

That filly can sing much better than me.

>>155398
Sadly, her cutie mark is not in singing... it kind of shows

A beige mare with an orange coat rises up to tell the lesson.
She starts off wishing well to all, and tells a story of a town in the Unicorn mountains that was cut off from the outside world by a winter storm and a series of avalanches that closed the passes. This was maybe twenty years ago, in the before times, but after certain things were expected, like lamp oil or medicine. Though there stocks of many things, like most foods, but not everything.

For the first week or so, most ponies went along like normal, because they did not expect any real meaningful disruption. Some thought that because the town was closed off, it was cause to abdicate their responsibilities, like foals not going to school, or ponies not going to work. Then after a week, the first message came through tied to the leg of a bird: efforts at clearing the pass had failed spectacularly. There would be no clearing of the pass until spring. There would be no other messages, no going in and out, and no new shipments of supplies.

The town was devastated by the news. The town called a meeting at the hall. The ponies in the lead made suggestions of how to proceed, saying that goods should be rationed and certain services should be closed. Many, however, protested, because of how it would affect their business, or because they were afraid they wouldn't get enough, or would have to share. There was more. Some ponies were not even from the town, they were just passing through and were stuck there. Some ponies who lived in the town were stuck outside of it. And many ponies had loved ones outside of the town who they could not speak to. The inn keeper was left with visitors he had to keep, while he could not make money off of new visitors, and the same to the owner of a restaurant on the mountain.

Panic and ennui began to set in. A shop keeper secreted away all of her supplies of salt, a few stores were broken into, and even the police deputies sometimes didn't show up to work, wondering what exactly they were doing when pay could no be guaranteed. Foals did not go to school, nor were they expected to. Even the mayor was found to be hoarding biscuits.

After about a month, there was a change. Ponies started to realize that the scarce resources of the town could only be managed cooperatively. Hoards of resources secreted away were offered in common, and budgeted, while ponies made an effort to discourage secreting goods away. One of the town's few farmers, with a load of apricots that could not be taken off to market and sold, instead offered to provide his crop, and it was eaten as food in group gatherings.

Likewise, ponies began to realize that their daily activities had as much meaning when done only with the presence of the townsfolk, as when they were part of a larger nation. Not that they necessarily always received money for it, but money didn't have as much value now anyways. The sheriff's deputies realized they were needed for order, the restaurant on the mountain gave out apricot-based meals with its scenic view. The foals and teachers returned to their lessons, at least once a ration of heating oil was figured out. Those who were trapped in the town accepted their situation, and tried to help out, and enjoy the town. Those with loved ones outside of the town they could not talk to simply understood that they still cared for them, and hoped they were cared for in kind. When the snow in the pass finally melted months later, there was relief in the town, but the outside world found a town very much together and in high spirits.

>>155399
Yay, lore!

Amber's expression changes as she listens to the story. She looks slightly worried when hearing how they were completely cut off. When something bad happens and you're unable to get outside help, that's a real test of strength, but perhaps that's why this is being told.

Then when order starts to break down, she starts to grow more nervous. When ponies need each other, and they start acting more and more selfishly, then it's not just the case of a few bad apples spoiling the bunch, but a complete lack of trust that can only end badly.

But, fortunately, they changed their ways in time and struggled through it together. Isn't this what Harmony is about? she wonders. No matter if you're in a big community or a small one, doing what's right and using the talent of your cutie mark to work together will get you through any difficulty. It's a nice message.

But… she realizes, the Unicorn Mountains are in Changeling territory now. Are those poor ponies alright? Maybe it would have been better for them to stay sealed off…. The filly is left with a cold feeling. She looks around to see if other ponies have realized the same thing.

>>155398
>>155399
The beige mare concludes her story, and then starts talking about the modern world.

While the horrors in Manehattan were the focus of most of the past month, the last week or so has brought horrors much closer to home. A skirmish and fire on the waterfront killed twenty, and there were efforts to bring in arms that would have killed many more. A member of the trusted city government was found to have committed crimes to terrible to describe. A cult, or at least, something like it, seems to have existed right there in Baltimare, killing many.

But these horrors, terrible as they are, are but a continuation of an even greater series of horrors that have afflicted the Equestrian nation and the world over the past few years. The War killed many and severed the nation in half, and led to the loss of our Princesses, or Elements, and our Principality of a thousand years. The peace that has followed has not been a peace at all. Those on the eastern half have suffered an occupation, a low-grade civil war, the privations of war, and inflation. Those in the west have suffered even greater. For many, the war has not ended at all. Over a million of Equestria's sons remain in captivity. Few, if any payouts of pensions have been made to veterans and the families of veterans.

Daylight Dahliah, Veneer, and Mustard Trim all stand up during the discussion of POWs, as do several other families in the church.

The beige mare continues expressing great sympathy for those suffering, and mentions help the church gives. But with delicacy, she makes her next point. Equestria has been in continuing crisis since at least the return of Nightmare Moon, with the first Changeling invasion, the Storm King, Tirek and so forth. Much of the remainder of the world has been in crisis even longer. And Equestria has experienced crises in the past. The sufferings of the present - very real and perhaps greater in degree than any before - are not unique, nor are they of unprecedented quality. Many, like those in the town, have suffered before.

And then she gets to her point. The world, as a whole, is like that town, as our world is cut off from all others. Like the town, our world has scarce resources we are sometimes impelled to greedily horde, or fight over. Like the town, we are cut off from all contact with many of our loved ones. While this is most obvious in the case of family and friends of POWs and those who are cut off in foreign nations, it can apply to our loved ones who have passed on. Like the town, we have to wonder if what we do every day will receive any validation from any word other than our own, to justify that it was right and meaningful.

But, the mare explains, our world will find harmony in the same solutions. We must, like the town, realize that we will do no good with greed and war, but must share if we wish to preserve what we value. We must, like the town, accept that we are trapped on this world, and must find meaning and connections here. We must, like the town, come to terms with the fact that we may not soon speak again, or see again, those we love. We must instead take solace in the fact that we love and miss them, and that they love and miss them in kind. We must hold out hope we will meet again when we leave this world. And we must, like the town, accept that what we do might not immediately receive validation outside of this world, but instead realize that what we do matters to us, and it matters to those around us, so make sure we spend our time in productive and moral ways.

And so we learn that however bad things may be, we are all trapped here together. We may as well learn to live in Harmony.

She nods

>>155401
Amber, in a way, is glad that she does not shy away from the terrible things that have come to Equestria. While Baltimare has seemed to Amber to be a place with riches, fun and adventure, she is reminded that there is darkness, violence, and corruption lurking just under the surface, and she should quit being too naïve.

Her ears fold down and her heart aches when she sees Mustard and his family stand during the talk about POWs. Although her own family hasn't been spared by the war, mercifully she doesn't know of any members captured by the changeling menace. In her mind it is far better to die than to be captured by the changelings, for although what changelings do exactly with their victims is still largely a mystery, urban legend and rumor have made it to be too horrendous to even think about. That this family must bear with the knowledge that such things could be happening to their loved ones even at this moment makes her want to weep, and a tear does grace her cheek.

Still, the point the church-mare makes is not lost on her. She, like everypony, must struggle on and care for those around her, not withdraw in nihilism and egoism. Things will get better. They must.

>>155402
And now for a cheery song! One last song plays, before the service is over.

>>155403
She sings along heartedly with the song, happy that she has been able to go to church with other ponies she can learn to care for.

>>155404
And the service is over. Mustard Trim looks over to Amber. Daylight Dahliah seems to have started crying at some point, but composes herself, and wipes her face with a handkerchief. She is the first to stand. Veneer sits there kind of awkwardly.

>>155405
She puts a foreleg around Mustard to give him a gentle side-hug. It's not as intimate or close as a hug they've had before–this is a church, after all–but it's a gesture of warmth and reassurance. She has a small smile though her eyes betray sadness.

>>155406
Mustard himself has a sad look, but tries to smile to Amber. Dahliah tries to walk to the front.

>>155407
She gets up and starts to follow, unsure if she should do so but she reasons it can't be a bad idea.