2014 replies and 53 files omitted.
>>83406Hmmmm....
>>83407"You say you are from Stalliongrad, Sait Petershoof I think, but then you said you were doing work in the vicinity of Ponyville. And 18 years after that, you were attacked by bandits who originated from somewhere around the area of Ponyville"
She thinks this is a question
>>83408"I do"
>>83404"i guess."
>>83409"they why did you frown at me?"
>>83410"It seemed odd that you would give me drinks that you didn't like"
>>83411I mean, he can wake up >>83412"i like hard liquor more than fancy drinks."
>>83409"Such is life of mercenary. You go where work is, or where you think work will be. As for Ponyville job, I got tip off for work near there as I was travelling in region. I forget who gave me tip, then..." He rubs his chin in thought as he tries to figure out who gave him the original tip, but he comes up with nothing.
>>83415She smiles
"You think Storm Warning was looking for a knight in shining armor to rescue her from her life of boring maidenhood?"
>>83414"Why is that? And why do you give me the fancy drinks then?"
>>83416KEK
>>83418His rectum swallowed it. Of course it's living matter like The thing, so that just means it made its home in his ass, but still>>83413Probably
>>83419Silver gets a good laugh from this. "Her? Pfft, nah. Well, perhaps not in
that particular fashion. But it could be she made extra sure to spread word of her band's deeds as far and wide as possible, to bring in more bounty hunters after her."
>>83419I'll assume he got at least a quarter of his health back, maybe half.Iron wakes up, panting heavily. His coat is sweaty, his hindlegs feel weak, forelegs are heavy on him. He throws away the blankets that he was on, looking for any damage on his supposedly broken legs and bloodied anus, unsure if it was a dream or some sick, twisted reality he was stuck on.
>>83421"Unless she had a death wish - and it sounds like she may have - that makes little sense to me. If I were a thief in a forest, the last thing I would want is for everypony to know that there is a thief in a forest"
>>83422Nope, he is not dripping blood from his anus. He does feel like he might have a mild case of colic. There is a pain in his mid to lower intestine. Must be from the grass he ate yesterday
>>83423"Perhaps she did. All I know is that she felt unfulfilled. She had lost all feeling like she was challenged, so she tried to bring bigger challenges to her, until she would either be matched, or be beaten."
>>83424She looks at him
"That's kind of scary. Imagine if a creature with that kind of attitude took control of an entire nation, rather than just a three pony band of highway mares"
>>83423>looks up colic on web browser>find out Iron can die from colic>inb4 Iron dies from eating grass of all thingsOr, you know, the thing has nestled inside me and is waiting on Iron going to sleep again to start eating his insidesIron breathes a sigh of relief followed by a grunt, lightly rubbing his belly. He groans in mild pain. He slowly stands up from the bed and lazily walks outside of his room. He decides to explore the abbey some more, maybe hoping to see some of the rescued foals to see how they are doing so far.
>>83425"I suppose we are lucky, then, that neither of our naitons have had leader like that."
>>83427Her offended look suggests that she interpreted his statement as intended ironically. She takes a sip of her drink.
>>83426The foals seem to be released from dinner when Iron comes out, transitioning from a cafeteria to a common area. The Sisters seem sort of surprised to see him, while the foals are less afraid than they were the day before
>>83419"i didnt know if you would like it or not."
>>83427>>83425"heh i wouldn't exactly say lucky."
>>83428Iron is relieved by the receding fear the foals have on him. He is interested in that unicorn foal that was very clingy to Ash, just in case he might act dumb some more in front of him with some small teasing.
>>83429She smiles and places a hoof over Dark Star's shoulder after he makes that last comment
>>83430The small unicorn foal is not in the common area. When Iron looks around, he can find the small foal in a high chair in the dining area as a Sister tries to feed him
>>83431Iron watches intently at the scene.
>>83428He raises his hooves in innocence, and smiles awkwardly. "No, no, I did not mean it like that. For what I think of your Duke, I do not think he is like that."
>>83432A sister takes teaspoons of honey out of a jar, and seems to be feeding it to the foal
>>83433She looks at him more
"You don't seem to be willing to chose him over Chrysalis"
>>83434Huh, seems the foal is acting more civilized than he expected. Strange. He hissed and was relatively angry at Iron on his trip here, which was rather endearing for him. Iron watches some more, just to make sure he doesn't do any funny business.
>>83431Dark Star Puts his arm around her neck
>>83434"I don't suppose you are happy to call your new government your ruler either in Nimbusia."
>>83436Iron is a bit embarrased. "Oh, sorry. I did not mean to be a nuisance. How is the colt you are feeding doing? He seems quite different from yesterday when he was brought back here."
>>83434"Of course I would, but that does not mean I
want to choose him. It is choice between giving up our sovereignty to foreign power we do not feel cares for us, or being slaves to creatures that feed on emotions. It is choice between two evils for us, even if one is clearly lesser."
>>83438"I left there before they let the boneheads vote" she says with a slight disgust
>>83437She smiles, as she likes this
>>83439"We think his digestive system suffered partial damage from starvation. He refuses any solid foods, but we discovered he will eat honey. I am trying to mix in vitamins"
>>83440"You know the new Marelanders are your own Equestrian kind, right? Descendants of the same three tribes, worship the same religion, speak the same language, have the same basic legal system, had entirely the same history for 500 years and a linked history for 500 years after that... They had the same sovereign until living memory. And that to you is 'foreign'? They have more in common than either does to
any eastern pony nation, or really than the Eastern pony have with each other. If The Duke is 'a foreigner,' then so is the Mi Amore dynasty the Equestrians installed as a puppet government over the crystal ponies"
>>83441Iron is not happy with this response. "Will he recover with the vitamins you are putting in the honey?"
>>83441"But do New Marelanders view themselves as Equestrians? Or do they view themselves as New Marelanders?"
>>83441"I'm glad you made it out. There is no place for ponies like us to go though. We are stuck here."
>>83442"That is what we are hoping, yes"
>>83443"From speaking to them, they have more of an identity than as simply another Equestrian dominion, to be sure
>>83444"Indeed"
>>83445"Do you believe we deserve to be stuck here?"
>>83446Snoonetdoodle is not quite touched
>>83447"What?"
>>83445Iron cocks his head. "What do you mean, hoping? If a pony eats food again, then he should be cured of any starvation, right?"
>>83448"Do you believe we should be stuck here? As in do we as defeated ponies of a nation that fought against the Duke deserve to be stuck on a land that at any moment can be consumed by the changelings?"
>>83445"500 years is long time. It is half lifespan of Equestria. In that time, they have developed their own culture, their own history. They developed their own accents to speak. They have developed their own denominations of Celestialism. They have their own flora, and fauna, that they recognize and study. They made their own businesses. They have their own holidays. They had their own laws. By time they had declared their independence, all that linked New Mareland to Equestria was that we were both nations of ponies, and that long ago, we were one. Fairly flimsy link, as you have pointed out.
"New Mareland is New Mareland. Equestria is Equestria. In end, they are just as foreign to us as we are to them. And as they would not want to be ruled by us Equestrians, we Equestrians do not want to be ruled by them."
>>83449She moves closer to Iron, as if to say this only to Iron
"When the body is deprived of food for too long, it starts to cannibalize itself, destroying its own organs for sustenance. The intestines are among those. We think that this process started on this foal, and it means that he is not taking solid foods well. That is why we are giving him honey, for the hope that he will recover"
>>83450She folds her ears back
"... I... no?"
>>83451"Then maybe the Equestrians should have left them alone, and allowed them to have their own destiny"
\r
>>83446"Help me with these political debates, Dark Star"
>>83452"I can't blame New Mareland for what happened and how they treat us now. But most of us didn't want anything to do with a war. A few may have just because Celestia said so, and of course we followed what she said. But now we are doomed to die for something we had no control of, unless the changelings can be defeated, in which case we are at the mercy of the Duke for the rest of our lives."
>>83452Iron thinks he understands. He starts to whisper. "Anything in particular that is needed to boost his recovery? There must be something to restore his body from starvation." He thinks some more. "Are the other foals that we brought back having this problem as well?"
>>83455"The other foals are not. They say that this particular foal was kept in a cage. I am trying to add vitamins to the honey, which itself is high enough in calories, and sweet enough for him to take it"
>>83454"Which is why we intend to keep back Chrysalis. Ask this guy here why he does not want to help"
>>83452"And maybe New Mareland should have recognized that we are stronger together, and put aside their differences with us to fight against Chrysalis. Maybe they should not have acted so rash, when they interfered in tricky political situation. But they did not recognize this, and they did act rash. And now, these should haves and should have nots will serve us no purpose."
>>83456"You are not keeping them back. They are holding back of their own accord, building strength while they have no enemies attacking. If they decided to attack, New Mareland would not have enough forces here to do even half of what Equestria was doing by end of war."
>>83456Right. He forgot about that. "It seems you have this under control." Iron thinks some more. "Tell me, who is the most knowledgable pony about the religion in this building? I want to ask a few questions about it."