Post by Storm Scout on Dec 4, 2014 0:57:51 GMT
(OoC: Heh, these posts just got longer and longer. Okay, I'll reply here and then we can suspend this thread, for the Griffin Kingdom.)
"Well... it sounds easier than I thought for a unicorn to find a way to come to Cloudsdale, then. If you're sure you want to visit, well, there is quite a lot of interesting and unique things to discover in Cloudsdale. It's somewhat similar to Canterlot in a few ways, and very different in many more. It's... one of Equestria's most competitive cities, I'd think... but that's not to say that it feels like a combative place..." Silvie seemed embarrassed about Sunshine saying she spent a lot of time in libraries. Perhaps Silvie was worried about the same sort of things as Storm - she might not have wanted to be seen as an egghead... but to tell the truth books were power. To be able to power-read through tons of books quickly was to be able to learn about the world quickly. Think of what ponies were saying about Equestria's newest princess, for example...
"Huh... yeah, I've heard that legend... thanks Silvie. I hadn't thought of it like that. I may not know exactly what my cutie mark means, but you're right, I see it must be something special." What could a jewelled stiletto mean though? Lethal beauty? Precision? Ruthlessness? Or perhaps even betrayal?
Silvie had talked about her father and grandmother. "Hm... I'm sure you will become as skilled as Goldie. It sounds like you're quite talented already."
He had to stop himself from facehoofing as his insinuation had appeared to sail right above Ink Well's detection. Maybe Storm hadn't laid on the implication heavily enough. Although he realised now that if either Ink Well or Sunshine had realised that he had been indirectly criticising their loose lips regarding Silvie's secrets, he might've regretted it...
"Huh... uh? Because I'm... still a bachelor?" No, Storm certainly had no idea what that was supposed to mean. Apparently it had been his turn to fail at perception now.
Okay, Silvie said she planned to wait for adventure to come to her. In hindsight Storm decided he had sounded pretty cheesy saying that stuff about going on an adventure, anyway. Dinner was soon finished... and there was pudding next, a rare treat in regards to Storm's usual eating habits. Up until now he hadn't had a reliable source of money, after all. Storm pretty much had a bit of everything that was offered. He declined on Ink Well's question on further drinks, though. Hot beverages could be quite filling, in his experience.
The Canterlot Academy of Magic's extension program caught Storm's attention particularly. "Huh. I might drop by and have a look, sometime..." He was fully aware that he wouldn't be able to formally attend though. No unicorn horn, unfortunately, which he imagined would be quite a barrier to working for any sort of credit in magic spells. Silvie said she was going to be teaching in the program too, so Storm responded to her nervousness telling her "I think you'll do a great job, Silvie."
They soon left the restaurant and entered the majestic night. Indeed, it could be described as regal - in a way, it was, literally so. "Alright." Storm would certainly ride in the carriage with them, if Sunshine had requested him to. He was interested in whatever other conversation they might've had on the carriage ride anyway.
"Hm?" A telescope? "No... if I ever examine the stars it's usually while flying. They don't look any closer from up there... but when you get to a certain altitude there's nothing separating you from the night sky." Oh yeah, that was definitely something a non-pegasus visiting Cloudsdale needed to see - the sheer sense of scale you felt when you could look up and see nothing but the night. It felt a little like you could just start to fall up there. "Not meaning to dismiss the use of a telescope, though... magnification is cool too, I bet."
The carriage's route showed Storm much of Canterlot that he might not have seen otherwise. It was a very varied place, ever changing as you turned the next corner. And there was "Market Square", Storm noted; this was near where Silvie lived. Silvie explained to the driver that the entrance was actually around, at the end of the block. "Heh... woah." Her family seemed to be really rich; not only did they own this block, the estate itself looked to be constructed and furnished with great expense too. Silvie explained some of the architecture and the family's history with the estate, and eventually they reached the entrance of the place.
Unsurprisingly, Silvie had a different goodbye for Storm than she did for Sunshine and Ink Well. "Well... you're welcome, Silvie. It was nice to meet you too." Uh... "Okay. I'll visit sometime, then." Silvie had correctly guessed that Storm had a taste for fine crafting, particularly concerning swords. He waved goodbye back to the mare as she left.
Sunshine asked what Storm had thought of Silvie. "Uh... she seemed nice..." He looked out at the estate as they left it behind. "You were clearly trying to match us together, so you have my thanks for making the effort to introduce us... but..." The estate was so beautiful. It seemed lovely on the outside... however, it also seemed to hide much of itself, and it left Storm wondering with slight trepidation on whatever could lie deeper within its halls, locked away. "... well, I just get the feeling there's a lot about her that I don't know." The estate had disappeared, eaten up by the edge of the carriage's window. Storm looked back to Sunshine, who was sitting next to him now. "I'm sure you've figured out by now that this romance stuff isn't exactly my field of expertise."
Ink Well pointed out the repairs from the changeling-damage to Canterlot's streets. They were truly terrifying, some of the monsters out there. Still, despite the existence of creatures like Queen Chrysalis... pony society and its neighbouring peers were the most dominant populations of the world. That was something that would never change, at least. "Yes, I never saw the Canterlot changelings of course; but from what I've heard, I understand why you seem to worry about them so much, Sunshine." The thought that they could potentially infiltrate any position almost flawlessly... and the fact that they literally fed on drained love... ugh, that was properly spooky.
Ink Well went on to explain the story of Silvie being the 'Terror of Market Square'... well, Storm couldn't stop him. He supposed he was going to find out about this sooner or later. He just would've preferred to find out whenever Silvie might've been willing to tell him about it herself. "Black smoke and dragon wings... raining daggers and chasing changelings! And that was all Silvie?" That sounded awesome. Other ponies on this street could've taken up arms against the changelings, like that... but it seemed only Silvie had. This was just the sort of thing that Storm had meant; there was a lot he didn't know about that mare. Unfortunately the driver of the carriage overheard and took the news in about the worst way he could've; electing to tell everypony about Silvie. "Loose lips something ships," Storm muttered grumpily, as much to Ink Well as to the driver. "Sink."
Sunshine had talked about her panicking and injury during the changeling invasion, and Ink Well had replied rather sweetly. "Aww..." Married couples... "I imagine a situation like that must've been quite distressing. It's not every day that your city is invaded, after all. It's good that you both got through it... relatively unharmed, at least." Storm wished he could've been here during the invasion. A chance to have tested his might in real battle, defending other ponies? Yeah!
The carriage eventually stopped at Storm's place on Academy Way. "And thank you for the nice evening, Sunshine and Ink Well," he said, hugging Sunshine back. "I don't know... you were right, Silvie and I do seem to be similar... but I did feel quite uncomfortable... not because of her, but because of me, if that makes sense..." This was actually quite difficult to explain.
Then, it was up to the apartment. Storm lay about with the bloat of a stallion with a big appetite after a large meal. That had actually proven to be quite an eventful evening... it seemed that in Canterlot, dinner could often be about more than just eating together.
# # #
The next day came by and Esmeralda, Sunshine and Storm had all gone to the Rainbow Falls Trader's Exchange. After they had come back from that, the day after had been a day off work, and then along came another shipment day.
Storm had quickly become accustomed to the routine and protocol for shipment during the previous shipment day... but no doubt this day was hardly going to be a routine one...
"Well... it sounds easier than I thought for a unicorn to find a way to come to Cloudsdale, then. If you're sure you want to visit, well, there is quite a lot of interesting and unique things to discover in Cloudsdale. It's somewhat similar to Canterlot in a few ways, and very different in many more. It's... one of Equestria's most competitive cities, I'd think... but that's not to say that it feels like a combative place..." Silvie seemed embarrassed about Sunshine saying she spent a lot of time in libraries. Perhaps Silvie was worried about the same sort of things as Storm - she might not have wanted to be seen as an egghead... but to tell the truth books were power. To be able to power-read through tons of books quickly was to be able to learn about the world quickly. Think of what ponies were saying about Equestria's newest princess, for example...
"Huh... yeah, I've heard that legend... thanks Silvie. I hadn't thought of it like that. I may not know exactly what my cutie mark means, but you're right, I see it must be something special." What could a jewelled stiletto mean though? Lethal beauty? Precision? Ruthlessness? Or perhaps even betrayal?
Silvie had talked about her father and grandmother. "Hm... I'm sure you will become as skilled as Goldie. It sounds like you're quite talented already."
He had to stop himself from facehoofing as his insinuation had appeared to sail right above Ink Well's detection. Maybe Storm hadn't laid on the implication heavily enough. Although he realised now that if either Ink Well or Sunshine had realised that he had been indirectly criticising their loose lips regarding Silvie's secrets, he might've regretted it...
"Huh... uh? Because I'm... still a bachelor?" No, Storm certainly had no idea what that was supposed to mean. Apparently it had been his turn to fail at perception now.
Okay, Silvie said she planned to wait for adventure to come to her. In hindsight Storm decided he had sounded pretty cheesy saying that stuff about going on an adventure, anyway. Dinner was soon finished... and there was pudding next, a rare treat in regards to Storm's usual eating habits. Up until now he hadn't had a reliable source of money, after all. Storm pretty much had a bit of everything that was offered. He declined on Ink Well's question on further drinks, though. Hot beverages could be quite filling, in his experience.
The Canterlot Academy of Magic's extension program caught Storm's attention particularly. "Huh. I might drop by and have a look, sometime..." He was fully aware that he wouldn't be able to formally attend though. No unicorn horn, unfortunately, which he imagined would be quite a barrier to working for any sort of credit in magic spells. Silvie said she was going to be teaching in the program too, so Storm responded to her nervousness telling her "I think you'll do a great job, Silvie."
They soon left the restaurant and entered the majestic night. Indeed, it could be described as regal - in a way, it was, literally so. "Alright." Storm would certainly ride in the carriage with them, if Sunshine had requested him to. He was interested in whatever other conversation they might've had on the carriage ride anyway.
"Hm?" A telescope? "No... if I ever examine the stars it's usually while flying. They don't look any closer from up there... but when you get to a certain altitude there's nothing separating you from the night sky." Oh yeah, that was definitely something a non-pegasus visiting Cloudsdale needed to see - the sheer sense of scale you felt when you could look up and see nothing but the night. It felt a little like you could just start to fall up there. "Not meaning to dismiss the use of a telescope, though... magnification is cool too, I bet."
The carriage's route showed Storm much of Canterlot that he might not have seen otherwise. It was a very varied place, ever changing as you turned the next corner. And there was "Market Square", Storm noted; this was near where Silvie lived. Silvie explained to the driver that the entrance was actually around, at the end of the block. "Heh... woah." Her family seemed to be really rich; not only did they own this block, the estate itself looked to be constructed and furnished with great expense too. Silvie explained some of the architecture and the family's history with the estate, and eventually they reached the entrance of the place.
Unsurprisingly, Silvie had a different goodbye for Storm than she did for Sunshine and Ink Well. "Well... you're welcome, Silvie. It was nice to meet you too." Uh... "Okay. I'll visit sometime, then." Silvie had correctly guessed that Storm had a taste for fine crafting, particularly concerning swords. He waved goodbye back to the mare as she left.
Sunshine asked what Storm had thought of Silvie. "Uh... she seemed nice..." He looked out at the estate as they left it behind. "You were clearly trying to match us together, so you have my thanks for making the effort to introduce us... but..." The estate was so beautiful. It seemed lovely on the outside... however, it also seemed to hide much of itself, and it left Storm wondering with slight trepidation on whatever could lie deeper within its halls, locked away. "... well, I just get the feeling there's a lot about her that I don't know." The estate had disappeared, eaten up by the edge of the carriage's window. Storm looked back to Sunshine, who was sitting next to him now. "I'm sure you've figured out by now that this romance stuff isn't exactly my field of expertise."
Ink Well pointed out the repairs from the changeling-damage to Canterlot's streets. They were truly terrifying, some of the monsters out there. Still, despite the existence of creatures like Queen Chrysalis... pony society and its neighbouring peers were the most dominant populations of the world. That was something that would never change, at least. "Yes, I never saw the Canterlot changelings of course; but from what I've heard, I understand why you seem to worry about them so much, Sunshine." The thought that they could potentially infiltrate any position almost flawlessly... and the fact that they literally fed on drained love... ugh, that was properly spooky.
Ink Well went on to explain the story of Silvie being the 'Terror of Market Square'... well, Storm couldn't stop him. He supposed he was going to find out about this sooner or later. He just would've preferred to find out whenever Silvie might've been willing to tell him about it herself. "Black smoke and dragon wings... raining daggers and chasing changelings! And that was all Silvie?" That sounded awesome. Other ponies on this street could've taken up arms against the changelings, like that... but it seemed only Silvie had. This was just the sort of thing that Storm had meant; there was a lot he didn't know about that mare. Unfortunately the driver of the carriage overheard and took the news in about the worst way he could've; electing to tell everypony about Silvie. "Loose lips something ships," Storm muttered grumpily, as much to Ink Well as to the driver. "Sink."
Sunshine had talked about her panicking and injury during the changeling invasion, and Ink Well had replied rather sweetly. "Aww..." Married couples... "I imagine a situation like that must've been quite distressing. It's not every day that your city is invaded, after all. It's good that you both got through it... relatively unharmed, at least." Storm wished he could've been here during the invasion. A chance to have tested his might in real battle, defending other ponies? Yeah!
The carriage eventually stopped at Storm's place on Academy Way. "And thank you for the nice evening, Sunshine and Ink Well," he said, hugging Sunshine back. "I don't know... you were right, Silvie and I do seem to be similar... but I did feel quite uncomfortable... not because of her, but because of me, if that makes sense..." This was actually quite difficult to explain.
Then, it was up to the apartment. Storm lay about with the bloat of a stallion with a big appetite after a large meal. That had actually proven to be quite an eventful evening... it seemed that in Canterlot, dinner could often be about more than just eating together.
# # #
The next day came by and Esmeralda, Sunshine and Storm had all gone to the Rainbow Falls Trader's Exchange. After they had come back from that, the day after had been a day off work, and then along came another shipment day.
Storm had quickly become accustomed to the routine and protocol for shipment during the previous shipment day... but no doubt this day was hardly going to be a routine one...
i was kinda excited to feel like im back in 2015