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[jaxler]

12th Sandstone, 222

Few people had seen Fargo that day. He’d only left his workstation to grab some wood, and nobody really expected a guardsman to be toiling away in a workshop. What he was doing was anyone’s guess, but it was clear that he’d not shown up for any of his duties or done anything he was supposed to. What else, he was working with much vigor, almost obsessive with what he was doing, paying no mind to the few people who did notice him.

One of the first on the scene is the town’s dutiful leader.  Isolde lands with a loud rustling of grass and trots over to the workshop.  “Fargo?  Fargo, what’s going on?”

She’d at first get no response, the griffon just continuing to work on whatever he was doing not even acknowledging Isolde in the slightest. From what could be seen though, there was a lot of sawdust and the like on the ground and around the shop, and the griffon right now was slowly whittling away at a hunk of wood.

She steps around the work table to get closer and asks, “Fargo?  Shooting Star said you were here and ignoring her.  What’s wrong?  Are you alright?”

She’d hear a small grunt as a response, but aside from that he’d keep working.

“Fargo?  Fargo!”  Isolde leans closer as she shouts his name the last time.  After getting barely any response, she waves her claw in front of his face and snaps her talons.  “Can you hear me?”

She’d hear another small groan from him, before the griffon turned around away from her and went back to working only after she put a claw in front of his face.

Isolde snaps her talons two more times, getting no response.  “What in the…”  She looks up and around to see if anyone else was still around, but any who are nearby are just shaking their heads quietly.  Clearly they’d tried this too to no avail.  “I need to go find Gunther,” she mumbles to herself.  Maybe he’d have some idea of what was wrong, even if he only knew traditional medicine as far as she knew.

He just kept working, still not responding to her as she went on about getting the doctor. He didn’t care what she did so long as he could keep working on whatever it was he was doing regardless of what she said or did.

Yet another curious individual shows up after hearing the strange happenings with the griffon. Silver Rush peers inside the workshop, confirming that Fargo is in fact present and working on… something. He squints his eyes inquisitively and approaches Isolde, “Ms. Hookbill, is there some kind of problem here? With Fargo, I mean?”

Relieved to have someone else who was responding, Isolde nods quickly.  “You could say that, but I wish I knew what, precisely.”  She raises an open palm toward Fargo.  “He’s ignoring everyone and just working on something.  I’m growing quite concerned.”

An ear twitches on the bat-pony as his gaze transfers from one griffon to the other, “Let me see if I can do something.” He then moves past Isolde and looks over Fargo’s shoulder. After studying his work for a few moments, Silver looks up at the taller of the griffons, “Hey, um, what are you making there, buddy?”

The griffon sighed, and stopped what he was doing for a moment, before turning to look at the two for just a second. His gaze first on Isolde, and then Silver. He’d then look back at his hunk of wood, trying his best not to have to speak. Perhaps he figured if he didn’t do anything to them long enough they’d leave.

Given that this was happening so soon after the caravan left, perhaps this had something to do with his behavior. At least that was Silver’s first guess, “Hey, if you’re still upset about, you know, not being able to do your job and stuff, we can talk this out. Have you decided to become a carpenter instead of a soldier? There’s nothing wrong with that. I’m sure Rosewood could give you some help with that little project of yours.” He was trying to get on a sympathetic level with the griffon.

Isolde starts to drift closer now, thinking that maybe Silver was onto something.  Why hadn’t she thought of that?

They’d hear a small groan from the griffon, before he’d put his hunk of carved wood onto the ground. He’d only had a few hours and ponies were already harassing him. “Go away.” There is a bit of spite in the griffon’s voice, but what was really unsettling is that it didn’t sound anything like Fargo.

This isn’t like the bird Silver knew. Even when he was upset, he’d normally be willing to explain why. Now he’s being single-minded and unsociable to the point of aggression. What’s with his voice? Is he getting a sore throat? The increasingly concerned pony looks to the scarlet griffon, “Do you think maybe he took a blow to the head during training? Did Ms. Star say anything about him getting hurt? This must be more than just anger issues. Something may be wrong with his mind.”

Isolde shakes her head.  “No, she said nothing like that.  I think I’m going to go find Gunther anyway.  At this point he’s the only one I can think might have a clue what to do.”

“That sounds like a good idea to me. I’ll stay here and keep an eye on him.” Even though I really can’t do anything to stop him if he tries something dangerous. He’s twice my size. The bronze-eyed stallion just stands and stares at Fargo with a tilted head, trying to figure out what kind of jam must have gotten into his gears.

“Thank you.”  Isolde gives a beat of her wings and jumps into the air.  She circles around the settlement as she lifts higher, in search of the settlement’s doctor.

Fargo stood up for a moment and looked down at the stallion. “Twice your size?” He tilted his head the same way Silver did. He definitely didn’t sound like Fargo, not one bit. “Why can’t you two leave me alone?” He just wanted to finish what he was doing and he’d be on his way.

Silver’s heart skips a beat. Did I say that or just think it? No, I definitely didn’t say that out loud! How could he know?! The miner had studied the paranormal since he was a colt, and now he peruses that section in his mental library. Psychic powers? No, it must be a coincidence. Or was it? He can’t help but test the idea by thinking some more. Let’s make a deal. I’ll leave you alone for the rest of the day if you say one word: blueberry. His heart races in anticipation of what may or may not happen next.

He just stared at him for a little while, looking him dead in the eye, before chuckling. He’d then pick up his piece of wood and the knife and began to carve away at the wood again. weather or not is was because he didn’t want to answer or because he didn’t hear was really up in the air. “Did I not spook you enough?”

A secondary shelf in Silver’s mental archive is being referred to now. The subject matter is often associated with psychic feats but is at times much more disturbing: spirit possession. It would explain the change in voice, the aberrant behavior and the mind-reading abilities. Despite his enthusiasm for the Fortean, he also tried to adopt a healthy degree of skepticism. Before he could jump to such an extreme conclusion, he’d therefore need more information, “No, actually. Spook me some more. Maybe you can even scare me off… whoever you are.” He tenses up.

“You’re a cheeky one.” He dropped his stuff down with a loud thud. “I bet you think you’re smart or something. You’re not.” He turned to look back at Silver, and looked him over, and raised his brows up and down. “You see, this is a delicate operation.” He’d then pick the wood back up again.

The pony winces as the sound echoes off the walls, “... assuming that you are a spirit, what made you pick Fargo as your vessel? Because he’s the strongest one here? Or did he have some weakness that made him vulnerable to you?”

“Heh, call me a spirit. For all you know I could be some worm that got into this guy’s ear when he was sleeping, or he could be having a really bad mid-life crisis.” He went back to working on the wood. He was very careful with his work, and was taking his time, being very slow to do anything. “Again you are not smart.”

It’s not a very friendly spirit, if that’s what it is. Alternatively, this might be a changeling. That wouldn’t make sense, though. Changelings normally go out of their way to copy the behavior of the one they imitate. Drawing attention to itself by acting like this would expose it. No, this is something else. Silver Rush doesn’t like what spirit possession could entail. He’s read what can happen during exorcisms and they can be life-changing for those present. Especially the exorcist.

“I’m not a bloody bug pony thing. If I was I’d be far more endearing.” He said, before looking back at him, before going back to work. “You’ll get your big bird back when I’m done, and I’d be getting done if you idiots would let me be. If you don’t let me finish this though, I’ll go grab his halberd and snap his mind like a twig, and you all can go play tag or something. It’s not like you’d care though.” He got a big grin on his face.

The bat-pony’s pupils dilate. That sold it. He is definitely having his mind read. A mixture of fear and anger flows through him, but he knows that there is little he can do at the moment, “Please… just finish whatever you’re making and leave him in peace… “ Silver inches closer to the door, hoping to catch Isolde and Gunther before they enter the workshop.

“Ya gonna die alone, and you won’t mind at all ya’ freak. Nobody would care too, no kids or wife, all alone.” He said, before the bat pony could get out. He was secretly hoping the pony would stay a little longer. He’d gotten his attention now, and he really wanted to have some fun...

By luck, the two griffons are approaching just a few moments after he exits.  They set down and dash toward the door, where Gunther asks, “Is he still here?”

The gray horse looks more than a little frazzled, especially due to the last thing the spirit said before he left. Looking up at the black-feathered griffon, he whimpers, “This...this is much more complicated than I thought. We’re not dealing with a medical problem here.” He was now concerned about how his explanation would be received, “I think...I think this might be supernatural- ”

“He’s a liar.” He said said loud enough for the people outside to hear, but going back to focusing on his work. His voice was still horribly off.

Silver tries to ignore the voice, “Whatever that is in there, it’s not Fargo. I don’t think we have the tools on hoof to deal with this… “

Gunther seems unconvinced.  “You’re certain he hasn’t simply had too much to drink or eaten something out here he shouldn’t have?  I must admit I haven’t exactly stumbled across any hallucinogenic plants of any sort, but I’m but a single griffon and this is a big area.”
The equine shakes his head, “Those things don’t give you hidden knowledge. He knew things about me that I never told him. Things that I thought but didn’t say! Look, I don’t know if you believe in those kinds of things or not, but I’d advise against going back in there until he is finished doing whatever it is that he’s doing.” Silver could only hope that the spirit was telling the truth when it said it would leave of its own will once the construction was completed.

Gunther crosses his arms and takes the end of his moustache between his talons.  “I believe I’d rather examine him.  Spirits and ghosts don’t concern me, but poisoning does.  Stand aside, please.”

It’s not like Silver has the authority to stop him, so he reluctantly complies and allows access. Who knows? Maybe Gunther could put his mind at ease and prove that this was something natural. Even psychic frauds can give the appearance of mind-reading, can’t they? This, however, seems unlikely to the stallion. It wasn’t like Fargo to play tricks. “Yes, doctor...but please be careful… “

“It’s part of the job,” the griffon assures him as he steps inside.  “You two, remain here, please.”  He heads further in and finds Fargo quietly working on whatever it was he was doing.  “Hmm… coordination seems fine.  Fargo, can you describe to me how you feel?  Is anything unusual today?”

“Leave me alone lover boy or I’ll ruin your life in a single sentence.” He said before looking at him. His voice was completely off as normal by now, and he didn’t even bother to try and act anymore. “I know you’re the one person here who could blow this all over. Now leave.”

Gunther twirls the end of his moustache with his talons.  “Aggressive…” he mutters to himself.  “I think you’ll appreciate that as this lovely town’s only doctor, I can’t in good conscience just walk away.  Now, I’m concerned you may have ingested something that’s causing you to feel this way.  Can you tell me if that might be the case?  Did you eat anything unusual lately?”

“Peachy griffon lady? Can ya hear me?” He didn’t stop speaking waiting for an answer. “This one’s a real creeper. He wants to take you into the woods and make ya disappear after a romantic night on the town.” He said before standing up, trying to make the smaller griffon intimidated. “Oh sorry, that wasn’t a single sentence.”

If Isolde heard him, she doesn’t respond.  Instead, Gunther folds his arms again.  “My relations with Ms. Isolde are our business alone.  Can we return to the real problem here, please?  I’m concerned that you may have been poisoned, and only by knowing what caused it can I help you.”

“What caused this is a really depressed griffon went to bed one night and woke up a brand new man after finally realizing the error in his way after seventy years working on the farm.” He said before spreading his wings to make him look bigger and inching his head closer to Gunther’s. “And also, with all do respect, my business is other people’s business.”

Gunther holds his ground, but releases his moustache to plant all four feet on the ground.  “Your business, my dear guard, is to guard this town and not sit here in this workshop and scare half of the town to death because of the way you’re behaving.”  He grumbles under his breath.  “I’m beginning to believe there’s nothing I can do for you though.”

“Good. Now go home and go back to making Isolde feel very uncomfortable every time you stare at her creepy like from across the room for fifteen minutes on end.” He said before sitting back down and picking up his hunk of wood, his knife and starting to carve again for the twentieth time. “You’re more dull than the bat pegasus thing.”

The other griffon hmphs and narrows his eyes at Fargo.  “And you, I suspect, are a griffon who cannot handle his alcohol and becomes extraordinarily unpleasant when he consumes it.  My suggestion to you is to go nowhere near any intoxicating substances or to eat any fermenting berries you find on the ground in the future.”  He turns and whips his tail in Fargo’s direction as he goes to leave.  “If writing that down on a prescription pad for you would help, by all means come see me later.”

The griffon chuckles a little, and just keeps working. “You’d best hope I don’t come see you later.” He said under his breath, before swatting the griffon’s tail away when it’s whipped near him. “I love to see ya go, but I hate to watch you walk away.”

“I’m confident you’ll be sober by then.”  Gunther continues to ignore his taunts and just heads outside to rejoin the others.

“Peachy bird lady, it’s funny ya hired a cannibal. If it were up to him lil’ Silver over there would be on the dining table and stuffed like a turkey. That along with the whole stalking you thing shoulda been a big warnin’ sign.” He was rather mad he couldn’t get the griffon to react. He’d been so annoying, he had to make him react badly somehow.

Gunther stops halfway to the door.  He slowly turns to face Fargo with one eyebrow raised.  “And by what madness, pray tell, do you claim such a thing about me?”

“Ya only acknowledged my taunt when I said that. You’ve put it in your journals. Every time the thought of you guys going hungry went through your mind you came to the only logical solution.” He said with a smile as he kept working. “And you didn’t deny it, just like every other claim I’ve made about you.”

“Preposterous.”  Gunther glares at him and spins around to leave again.  “And if you truly have been reading my journal and invading my privacy so, then I think perhaps things would have been better if you had left with that caravan, Mr. Fargo.”

“Don’t call me that.” he muttered before starting to speak up louder than Gunther was speaking. “My privacy so, then I think perhaps things would have been better if you had left with that caravan, Mr. Fargo.” He looked him right in the eye. “Ya know, everyone is good and innocent until ya see what they right down on paper when nobody is looking. I know exactly what you’ve put down Gunther, and I didn’t have to read your journal. Same goes for Isolde out there and for the Jr. ghost hunter.”

Gunther stops again.  “...I… don’t know what you’re playing at here, but in any case I don’t believe we’re going to make any progress… by… by talking.  If you want to be left alone, then that’s what I’ll do.”

“Good. Now go buck off.” He said with a little grin, before looking over at Silver. “Ya know, a better name for you would be ‘extra virgin’. Maybe you could be a cook or something.” He then looked down at his work again and started carving. Danged guy needed to go sod off too.

The dark-maned pony scratches his neck nervously, his eyes darting from Fargo to Isolde and then in the direction of his own house. He couldn’t harass this spirit any longer. It knew his secret. If he pushed further, he could end up being publicly humiliated. Defeated, Silver slinks silently off towards his house with his head held low. The equine was going to have to think long and hard about how to save his friend. His mind is swirling with worry, helplessness and anger.

Gunther ignores the rest of Fargo’s posturing and heads back outside.  Silver Rush was already gone, but Isolde was still there.  “The griffon has lost his mind,” he states, trying to sound more confident than he was.

“What?  But… how?  Why?”  Isolde fears further that it has something to do with him quitting and returning so abruptly.  Had he simply snapped?

“If I knew I might be able to help, but he’s being rather uncooperative.”  Gunther hmphs and folds his arms.  “I’m hoping that it’s temporary.  If he did get into some mushrooms or something in the woods it won’t last but some hours, but I can’t be sure that’s what happened.  I never took him for a fool who would do such a thing.”

Isolde stares into the dark, open doorway.  “Is there anything we can do?  What if it’s not temporary?”

He shrugs.  “The best we can do now is monitor him, but I wouldn’t suggest approaching him again.  He appeared to be getting quite close to violence just now.  If it persists… I don’t know.  We don’t have a lot of options.  We might have to try to hire a unicorn who’s trained to deal with situations like this and has the magic to fix it.  It’s beyond what I can fix.”

She sighs and leans against the building.  “Alright, thank you, doctor.  I’ll see if I can find Shooting Star again.  She can handle watching him.”

Gunther nods with approval.  “I’m sure you’ll keep everything under control.”  He spreads his wings and lifts off.  “I’m going to go look around and see if I can figure out what he might have gotten into…”

With Gunther flapping away, Isolde shakes her head and looks skyward for Shooting Star.  This was not what she was expecting to have happen today.  This was not something she was prepared to handle.  This was not something the town was prepared to handle…

[Personal Gamer]

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

This has been edited into an earlier post of the appropriate time frame, so if you have deja vu, that's why.

Lattice’s Diary, 5th Hermatite, 222

The main structure of the bridge is more or less done, but there’s still the need to shore up the banks – can’t have it washing away when it rains. To my dipleasure, the pony assigned to do that was me. It wasn’t terrible working on building the bridge since I wasn’t working alone, but now it’s just me. It shouldn’t be surprising since I’m the only earth pony here without a real job to do. The others are all professional construction workers or farmers.


Lattice’s Diary, 6th Hermatite, 222

Agh! How could I be so stupid? I didn’t even notice what I wrote my apology on! It was the pages about Buckington too! At least he doesn’t hold it against me like Lucky does.

Does Lucky hold it against me? She hasn’t really said anything to me for a while.


Lattice’s Diary, 7th Hermatite, 222

We’re I’m finished shoring up the banks, it looks like they’ll hold against any flash floods but I’m not sure…

Hopefully we’ll be starting on housing soon; I’m not at all comfortable sleeping with the entire town.


Lattice’s Diary, 11th Hermatite, 222

A badger attacked today, and the guards dealt with it. It took a lot more effort to killpacifyeliminate put it down on the guards’ part than I would have expected.

It’s a little selfish of me, but I really hope I don’t have to clean it up.


Lattice’s Diary, 14th Hermatite, 222

 The whole town got a treat today: Silver and Tunda put on a show earlier! It doesn’t hold a candle to the city performances, but I’d hardly expect anything of the sort here, ever. As it stands they aren’t a professional company.


Lattice’s Diary, 15th Hermatite, 222

Why can’t I control myself? I broke down again, this time in front of Silver! And the make matters worse, I kissed him! I don’t know why, either. It just happened!

Then, I fled! That makes it even worse, since now he might spread it around… I don’t want to be “That Mare”!


Lattice’s Diary, 16th Hermatite, 222

Ok, I apologized to Silver and it seems he doesn’t know what to make of it. It doesn’t look like he’s told anybody, either.

With that out of the way, we’re getting started on some houses! It sounded like the first party who set up the town gets priority, which makes sense. I don’t expect to enjoy working on homes for others while sleeping with the town in a communal room, though. It would be nice if we got another room to sleep in. I mean it has a log floor! LOGS!

I checked with telgin and it did indeed have a log floor. Don’t ask how that works, we’re not sure.


Lattice’s Diary, 21st Hermatite, 222

It’s been a little while, but something new finally happened: we finished the first house! It was given, fairly enough, to Rosewood. She did the most work in town’s construction, so it makes sense that she gets to use the fruits of her labor.

In other news, the militia commander resigned from his post yesterday. It looks like shooting star is going to be the candidate for replacing him, since Lucky and Fargo don’t get along.


Lattice’s Diary, 29th Hermatite, 222

All five houses we’ve set up have been completed, but Isolde insisted on sharing the communal room with us still instead of having her own house. They’ve been given to the remaining four members of the original expedition.

How has Isolde not noticed how the communal room needs a little upgrading from the hastily-built structure it is now.

I’m slowly falling into the groove of construction, and what my father taught me years ago is starting to come back. I’m glad it is, since without it I’d never get anything done.

Lattice’s Diary, 2nd Malachite, 222

Silver and Tunda had another show last night, so it looks like they’re doing them every two weeks or  monthly, perhaps. I’ll have to be sure to make them a matching pair of outfits as a gift. I wonder when their birthdays are?


Lattice’s Diary, 17th Malachite, 222

We put in some stone walkways near the houses. It seems a little bit of a waste of effort, but it only took a day and it’s much more presentable than otherwise. I’m sure we’ll be glad when it rains.

I’d probably go insane if there were nothing there because of the OCD I possibly have.


Lattice’s Diary, 29th Malachite, 222

I wish we would do something about these living conditions. If this keeps up I’ll end up sleeping outside. You can only sleep with most of the town on a log floor for so long before it gets to you!

I mean we’re working on workshops, the hospital, a tavern, and a guard barracks, which could help with the crowdedness, but I REALLY hope the tavery doubles as an inn. Most of them are just plans or ideas at most.


Lattice’s Diary, 1st Galena, 222

It looks like the shows are monthly, since there was another one today. I hope the caravan comes soon so I can start on those gifts for Silver and Tunda. They really do perform so well together.


Lattice’s Diary, 8th Galena, 222

Right now I’m one of the ponies working on the Hospital foundation. It’s a little tedious considering the terrain we’re working with and how obscenely irregular it can be. It’s something we want to get done quickly, but we can’t rush it without somepony finding themselves needing it before we’re done. It’s not my decision, though.

[Personal Gamer]

27th Galena   

Having washed up after work, Silver Rush had his mind on completing the mission that he had started yesterday: getting Tunda’s dress to Lattice Frame. After folding the red robe neatly, he draped it over one of his forelegs and left his home in search of the earth pony in question. The bat-pegasus flew high above the town to search for the signature blue hair of the mare down below. He finally spotted his quarry near the guard tower currently under construction. Descending near the stony establishment, he called out to her, “Hey! Ms. Frame! I’ve got a special delivery here!”

Lattice jumped, not expecting anyone to disturb her inspection. She looked around for a moment before glancing up as Silver landed, spotting the distinctive red dress. “Is that …?”

After touching down, the winged pony yielded a short chuckle, “I’ve got to work on my greetings with you: I can’t keep scaring you all the time!” He then stretched out the hoof over which he had lain the article of clothing, “Yep! Tunda’s dress! Ready for measuring! Didn’t even have to get it dirty.”

“It’s still a surprise, right?”

“Oh yeah, sure, still a surprise. Don’t worry about me showing it off here in public, though. She knows you’re supposed to get it. I just had to make something up as an excuse to bring it to you,” The stallion then glanced back towards his house, speaking a bit under his breath, “Though next time, I’m going to make sure to request one of the dresses that she doesn’t happen to be wearing at the time…”

Lattice, having heard that last part, couldn’t help herself. With a coy grin she prodded, “So, how’d that go for you?”

“Uh… “ Silver stalled for a second, “It… went well. Nothing happened. I mean, nothing weird. I mean, nothing at all!” He put a hoof to his forehead and mentally berated himself for letting any of that slip out in the first place. “She gave it to me without finding out my real intentions, I mean. Yeah, it went pretty smooth.”

“If you say so, Silver.” She considered teasing him more, but she figured he’d gone through enough from Tunda. “So, let’s see it and head back to get my equipment … I’ll need some place to work, though, since the communal building isn’t very large, yet alone a good place to keep a surprise.”

He sighed in relief when she let the matter go, before focusing on the task at hoof. “My house should plenty quiet and empty, if you’d like to work there. Assuming it’s big enough for you, that is. I don’t know how to make clothes, but I’ll help as much as I can.”

“A place to keep it a secret will be plenty, and it’s not like the caravan came yet to get fabric from; but I can still measure it well enough for now.” Lattice was a little concerned somepony might get the wrong idea, especially with what happened several weeks back, but she supposed that was the price of a good gift.

“So that works out alright? Do you need me to help bring anything in for you?”

“I don’t think so. Shall we get them now and start?”

Silver smiled, “Sure thing! The table I borrowed is still in my house, so you’ll have something to work on.” He turned around to walk, but then stopped after he realized that he didn’t know where he was even going, “So… where do you keep your tools anyway?”

“I keep them with my other things in the bags I took with me for the trip; with some being in a lockbox. I only packed a small kit and planned to get more when I set up a new shop. So I can only do repairs and the like until the caravan comes in.”

With all that said, the two fetched Lattice’s tools and head back to Silver’s house with the dress. The inside of his home is still quite plain. Little more than a bed, the borrowed table and chairs are present. “I’m really hoping that the caravan does get here before Tunda’s birthday. I’m counting on the chance to buy her a gift,” the stallion remarked.

“They should be here within a few weeks, especially if they’re the caravan that worked with my suppliers, which I think usually was headed north around now.”

He nodded at her reassurance, then remembering something of relevant importance, “Um, also, in order to get the dress from Tunda, I had to tell her that I wanted a copy of it made to send back for my sister to wear. When you get the time, can you make that happen? I’ll pay you, of course, and it’s not like it’s urgent or anything. Maybe we can wait until you get your workshop set up. Wouldn’t hurt to go ahead and record the materials and stitching patterns for future reference, right?”

“I’ll try, but I can’t make any promises. There’re higher priority things than getting me a shop, especially since I’m rather liking construction. Until then, let’s get started on the task at hoof.”

The miner scratched at the floor with a hoof, “Heh, alright. I guess we’ve only got to trick her until the 22nd of Limestone anyway. Sorry for the distraction.”

The mare dug around in her bag for something to write with. “This shouldn’t take too long, Silver.” With that, the mare had Silver hold various point of it down while she measured them and jotted it down, before repeating the process again.


10th Limestone

Silver Rush took in a whiff of the hot, fresh pancakes he had obtained for breakfast, admiring the deep crimson of the chopped cherries placed atop them. He started to search for a table, finding Lattice Frame sitting at one away from most of the other residents. The stallion hovered over towards the blue-maned pony and placed his tray across from her own, “Hey, you saving this spot for anypony in particular?”

“No, not really, you’re welcome to sit,” said the mare, with her own partially-consumed helping of Shortstack’s specialty. She might have been jealously eying his cherries since she’d eaten her own, though, but she could manage.

He placed his hooves on either side of his tray, tilting his head and smiling, “Can you guess why I’m happy today? Go ahead, take a guess.”

“Did you finally find iron?”

The bat-pony’s mouth narrowed, “Uh, sadly, no. If I had, you’d probably be seeing me doing cartwheels right now.” He then reacquired his joyful expression, “I got Tunda’s gift! The caravan that arrived yesterday had a really nice indigo tourmaline in my price range!”

“Shall we go fabric shopping after breakfast, then?” She knew he already went, but she needed to bring him along to make sure the fabric color worked for him, too.

He cut off a chunk of pancake and collected it with his fork, replying to her question just before devouring the morsel, “Sure thing. They had a pretty good selection from what I saw. Don’t know about the price, though. I could chip in if you need some extra money for it.”

“I brought a lot of bits with me, actually. I’ll be fine. I would be ill-prepared if I couldn’t afford enough fabric for one or two dresses when setting up a new shop.” Lattice paused, thinking about something related ‒ something personal. “Did you see the pony who was selling their fabrics, by chance?”

He swallowed his mouthful of breakfast, trying to recall the faces of those present, “I’m not really sure I can remember. The only one coming to mind is the mare that sold me the tourmaline. She was orange and had a lute for a cutie mark.”

Lattice had hoped it could’ve been one of her friends she knew ran through the region, a mare by the name of Berry Weave. “Oh … ok.” Regardless of her disappointment, she had just a little bit left of her meal, which she decided to fix right away.

After savoring another mound of cherry-flavored goodness, he elaborated, “I didn’t catch anypony’s name out there. Were you expecting somepony in particular to show up? I can keep any eye out if you give me a description.”

“Oh, not really … just hoping a friend might have been there.” The mare sighed before continuing, “I shouldn’t have gotten my hopes up, though. We can go when you finish eating breakfast.”

“Well… maybe he or she is out there? I don’t know any of them myself. Your friend could have easily slipped my sight,” He swallowed some of his milk to clear up the dryness of the flapjacks, “but like you said, we can go check when I get done. So I’ll kick it up a notch.”

It took a few minutes ‒ not that she was counting ‒ but Silver finished his breakfast and the two of them cleared the table. “Shall we go?”

“Yep! Let’s head out!” the fanged pony enthusiastically replied.

Luckily, the caravan wasn’t too far, and they reached it without incident. When they got there, they stopped at the fabric vendor, while Lattice stepped back a little to compare him to the swatches for his gift later.

“Were we still going with blue of some kind? Blue-gray? Dark gray?” Silver asked while eyeing the variety of colors and patterns present to choose from.

“Yes, still going with a blue. It wouldn’t do for her to be—ack!

Lattice’s sudden break from speaking prompted Silver to return his attention to her. He was a bit surprised to see some stranger grasping her, “Lattice! Who‒?”

The mare in question was more concerned with sudden ‒ if inexplicably familiar ‒ violation of her personal space than the perplexed miner. At least, until she heard something very familiar.

“Lattice, is it really you?!” Was that… “I was crushed when we stopped by Buckington and your shop was empty and the neighbors said the last time they saw you was when the guards came and ‒”

“Berry!” Lattice turned around the best she could to return the embrace, enjoying the simple presence of a much-missed friend.

The slit-eyed stallion just stood by and silently took it all in, deciding not to interrupt this obviously happy reunion. I guess this must be the friend she spoke of.

“What happened? Why did you leave and why are you here?”

“I-I don’t want to talk about the former … just go the other way if the heir apparent approaches you. As to the latter, i just really couldn’t stand to be there any more. I’m sorry I couldn’t leave a note, I wasn’t sure where the company could send me until I left.”

“Oh … maybe later, then? I’m sure we have lots to catch up on.” Berry Weave let her friend go so she should breathe, before saying, “So, I’m guessing you wanted to get some fabric?”

Lattice rolled her eyes and feigned surprise. “How did you know? So, same price as usual?”

Berry replied, “No, 10 bits less per bolt actually since it’s a lot earlier than usual and we’re overstocked.”

“That’s good ‒ for me, not for you. Hey, can I borrow you for a second?” She leaned in close to the vendor’s ear, whispering, “Do you think a nice Azure would work well on both him and, if you’ve seen her, the Zebra mare who was probably in the fields?”

“She wasn’t in the fields, but if you meant the beige zebra with brown stripes and the thestral? Yes, I’d think so,” she whispered back.

“Good, thats what I was thinking.” Lattice and Berry both started walking towards their respective sides of the table.

Silver Rush twitched an ear, now feeling a bit like a third wheel, “So… I guess this is who you were talking about earlier?”

“Mmhmm…” Said the mare, who was now focused more on the bolts of fabric than the stallion, as she and Berry pulled out a few bolts of fabric, totaling eight, with colors being assorted. Turning to silver, she asks, “Did you want to get anything, Silver?”

“Oh, no. I made all my necessary purchases yesterday,” he recalled, “Need any help carrying those?”

“No, I’ve got it, I usually buy much more. Though you might have to get the door since it swings out.” Turning back and paying the bits ‒ for regular price ‒ she says, “Thanks, Berry! Catch you later, I’ve got to drop these off then head to work.” With that she starts walking off, ignoring her friend when she says she overpaid, but taking joy in the smile she got once Berry realised what she did.

The cat-eyed stallion looked back at the mystery mare as he walked away, slowly turning back to face Lattice, “Well, sure seems the friendly type. How do you know her?”

“Oh, she’s an old friend. We’ve known eachother since we could talk, and we stayed in touch when we went out into the world … One of the hardest parts about leaving was that I might never see her again.” She was starting to tear up, but she forced herself to keep it together, and hoped Silver didn’t notice, and Lattice continued, “She’s a bit much with her enthusiasm, sometimes, but I wouldn’t have her any other way.”

He caught the moment of sorrow, but elected to say nothing. He already knew of her morose reason for leaving. “Yes, it is good to have a close friend. Or two.” He then dwelled on that thought for a few moments, “Do you know how long she’ll be staying with us? I’m sure it would do you some good to spend more time with her.”

“They usually stayed two or three weeks in Buckington when they came, depending on how well they were selling. I insisted that she stay with me, rather than as some random inn while they were here.” Smiling and nearly missing a step while reminiscing, she continued, “It would be nice to spend some time with her…”

Silver was pleased to see the once lonely earth pony in such a jovial mood. “You definitely should. I’ll try to stay out of your mane while you two get reacquainted.”

“Don’t worry about it, even though she might try to hug you to death, she doesn’t bite. I don’t think either of us would mind you terribly, anyway.”

A fanged grin grew across the stallion’s face, culminating in a short laugh, “Ha, well I do always like meeting new faces. As long as you two are sure I won’t be a bother, I may have to take you up on that offer.”

“I look forward to it, then.” She didn’t want to say it, but she thought the two of them would get along swimmingly. Perhaps more, even… With both parties out of things to say, and the house not a moment away, they finished in silence, though that did little to dampen the mood.

Once they get back to the house, Silver got the door for Lattice, as requested, and the fabric was left on the table. With that done, the two of them bid their temporary farewells and went to start the day's work.

[Kryptid]

22th Limestone, 222

Unbeknownst to Tunda, her home had been infiltrated while she was working in the fields on this day. A table had been brought in and a glazed, pink pound cake topped with strawberries had been placed in its center. “Is everypony here? Is everything set up? It should just be a matter of time before Tunda gets finished with the fields,” Silver Rush noted aloud, facing the other guests.

Patina stayed near to Silver Rush during the preparations, deferring to him in what one is supposed to do for a surprise party, finding the whole idea strange.

Isolde meanwhile tried to just stay out of the way as much as possible.  The houses weren’t the most spacious places to be doing this, especially with so many around.  Maybe once Tunda arrived they could move outside?

Lattice looked around the room, noting who was there. It looked like everyone who was supposed to be there was there.

Rosewood was standing on Silver’s other side. She half-tapped a hoof nervously as she waited with the others in room, hoping she would be ready for the cue. Would Tunda really like this? It had been a long while since she’d attended a surprise party, especially to one she considered a friend.

“If we’re all set, I’ll go outside and watch for Tunda. Just keep an ear out for my voice. I’ll let you know when she’s in sight,” the bat-pony of the group assured them. He took a step outside and closed the door behind him, waiting for the caramel-hued zebra to reveal herself. He already had a plan for what to say when she approached him.

Outside, Tunda returned from her daily labor. The cheerful, chocolate-colored mare moved with springy steps, glad to have worked as well as she did. Every plant was placed. Every seed settled. She even had another zebra mare to talk to these days, and what a nice thing after seeing so few of her kind. It would be a lovely harvest this season.

Daydreaming, Tunda nearly failed to notice the stallion standing on her doorstep. She slowed to greet him. With a little confusion, she said, “Not that seeing you doesn’t make me pleased, but what are you doing, standing under my eaves?”

Silver made sure that he spoke loudly enough so that those inside could hear him, “Oh, Tunda! Glad to see you made it back so soon. I saw a snake crawling around here. When I went to catch it, it slithered right under your door. Now I didn’t want to barge in uninvited, so I thought it would be better to let you know that you’ve probably got a serpent in there. Wouldn’t want to come home to a surprise like that!” Ha ha, but you ARE coming home to ANOTHER surprise… “Shall we go remove it?”

Strange for an animal like that to seek out somezebra’s house at this time of year. “It did not look poisonous, is that right? If it is, I’d rather we found somepony we could trust to fight.”

“Oh no, nothing to worry about,” Silver waved a hoof to dismiss her concerns, “It had a round pupil. No bright colors or triangle head or anything like that. Pretty small too.”

“Ah, well we’re lucky that’s the case.” the mare reached for the door. “Let us catch this wayward little snake.”

The sneaky stallion smiled as the door creaked open, the relative silence suddenly being replaced by a shout of multiple voices.

“SURPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TUNDA!”

Tunda gasped and fell back on her rump. “Thank you, everypony,” the mare said when she caught her breath, a hoof held to her chest. “I expected something small today, but one or two ponies only.”

Silver helped the sitting zebra back to her hooves, pleased that the surprise worked, “You’re one of our original expedition group! We just had to do something special for you, right? Come on in! We’ve got presents and cake!”

Tunda wasn't one to just sit on her plot when there's cake to be had. "Thank you everypony and griffon too. This was kind of all of you to do," she said, rising and moving into her crowded home.

After she entered, the sole bat-pony waved a hoof at the cake and its single candle, “I didn’t know how old you were going to be, so I just put the one on there. I know a lot of mares don’t like telling their age anyway.” He chuckled at that, “Let’s light it up so you can make your birthday wish!”

Isolde made room for Tunda to approach the cake.  “You’re welcome.  It was the least we could do for someone who works so hard around town.”

Shortstack took the hint and used one of the lanterns present to breathe life into the centrally-placed candle. She smiled at the way the pretty little flame complimented the rose-colored bakery work situated below it. With that done, all those present gathered together in song as they recited the verse traditional for such an occasion. “Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday dear Tunda! Happy Birthday to you!”

After waiting for the song to end, Tunda took in a deep breath and blew out the candle. Nopony has to know how many should be in its place, just as she liked it.

Once the flame was extinguished, the group gave an applause to the naturally tan zebra as Shortstack went to work dividing up the edible goods, “There’s plenty for everypony, you betcha!” The stout chef sliced up the strawberry cake, giving the first serving to the birthday mare and passing around the rest until all present had a piece of their own to enjoy.

After receiving his own sample of the sweets, Silver gave the suggestion that most others present were probably already thinking, “It’s getting kind of crowded in here. Why don’t we continue this in the sunshine?”

“That sounds very pleasant,” Tunda agreed. She looked both ways at the ponies around her, smiling with good humor. “I’m feeling a little cramped at present.”

As the group strolled out into the more inviting world of the outdoors, the bat stallion added onto the farmer’s last word, “Speaking of ‘present’, Ms. Dreams and I have a little something that we put together for you.” He gave the brown unicorn a wink and smile, signalling her to retrieve the item from her saddlebags.

Patina nodded and retrieved the gift from her bag, holding out a small wrapped package with both forehooves, “Happy birthday, Tunda.”

Smiling, Tunda sat on her haunches and opened the package with her hooves and teeth. The paper tore satisfyingly, to reveal a wooden jewelry box containing a white bead necklace with a brilliant-cut indigo tourmaline in a silver setting. She could not help but take in a small breath when she saw it.

Silver grinned when he heard the quiet gasp, “I bought that gemstone from the caravan. I would have gotten the sapphire instead, but those kinds of precious jewels are a bit out of my price range.” He leaned over and wrapped a foreleg around Patina’s neck, “Ms. Dreams was kind enough create the custom backing for the gem and link it to the necklace and Rosewood made the box that it goes in. I know it’s not much, but it’s all I could think of. Well, either that or a bracelet of some kind.”

Patina nodded, "It was a somewhat unusual cut for a necklace, at least for me. I don't have much, well... hardly any really, experience in gem settings, but I hope it turned out okay... Lifetime guarantee of repair if the setting breaks, Tunda."

Despite it only being a simple jewelry box, Rosewood had made it spacey and sturdy for other such items the zebra would be bound to find, or be given, and keep, “Same from me as well on the lifetime guarantee.”

“Thank all of you so much, for all the effort you took.” The zebra mare slipped the necklace on over her head, and adjusted her mane with her hoof. “Now will somepony tell me how I look?”

Isolde smiled and nodded.  “It does look very nice on you.  I may have to see about getting something like it myself when the town starts earning some bits.”

After swallowing a bite of pink cake, Silver cocked his head to the side and framed his chin with a hoof, “Ah, the gem does compliment your eyes.” Just as I intended! I’ll also have to keep in mind what Ms. Hookbill just said, for when her own birthday comes around...

"Speaking of things that compliment your eyes, Tunda..." Lattice smiled, reaching over and grabbing a nearby bag, which she gave to to the zebra. "...I have something else that you might like."

Before she could even respond to Silver's compliment, Tunda's already being showered with more gifts. "Another present for me?" The mare asked rhetorically. "I didn't think there would be even more left for me.”

“What kind of friends would we be if we didn’t?” said Lattice. 

Opening the bag, Tunda peered inside to see a pile of folded blue fabric. Gently, she wrapped it around her hoof and drew it from the bag, holding up the garment. Before her was a lovely blue dress, and some of the best work she'd seen from Lattice yet. "Thank you, Lattice, this is beautiful." As she examined it, Tunda saw that the craftsmareship was of the highest quality. "As always your work is dutiful."

Silver already knew what it was going to be, “Ah, see! Now you’ve got the perfect look for the stage! And uh, Lattice may have had a little help with getting what she needed to make it happen…” he smirked and shot the blue-maned earth pony a knowing look under a raised brow.

“Thank you, Tunda.” The mare paused and glanced to the stallion. “It’d hardly have been a good surprise if I made it in plain sight, and Silver was kind enough to allow me to make it in his house for a few days,” explained Lattice.

The birthday zebra was getting quite a bit of attention from her guests. It seemed that all of her immediate neighbors had showed up to honor her, save one. Even then, that lone hold-out was beginning to realize that something of interest was happening in his neck of the woods. Jack couldn't help but notice all the commotion going on from his porch. As he walked toward  everyone he inspected his party favor. Hopefully no one would mind him walking in uninvited.

The winged stallion of the group flicked an ear as he heard the orange unicorn approach. Turning to face him, Silver licked frosting from his lips and gave him a welcome, “Well look who it is! I didn’t think we were going to see you at all to begin with.”

“Yeah, well, late is better than never. I hope a little party gift will forgive some.” Jack brandishes two bottles of strawberry wine from his side satchel. “What ‘we celebrating by the way?”

“Oh, dont’cha know? This here’s a birthday party for Tunda!” Shortstack answered, feeling some amusement at his lack of intel. Then she realized, “Oh dearie me! I’ll go get ya some cake, hun.” The chef put down her own plate and headed back into the house.

“Uhm, thanks. Say, where’s the birthday girl?” he looks around.

Tunda broke away from her current conversation to come over. “Here I am, and hello there, Jack.” She watched the spotted-mare walk back to her house. “Shortstack is already getting you a snack?”

“Yup. And I brought a little something too.” He hooved her his gift. “Told ya’ I could make something good out of those berries you sent over.”

Almost as quickly as she had left, Shortstack had returned. The earth pony came with a plate of cake balanced across her back, “Good thing ya like strawberry, Jack!”

“Would somepony get me a glass?” Tunda asked around, holding the bottle between her hooves. “I’d like to try this sample from Jack’s stash.”

“Just a moment,” Isolde responded.  The nearest glass was likely to be back at the shelter, so she flapped off to retrieve one, returning a minute or so later, “Here you go.”

Tunda took the glass with a gracious nod, and balanced it on her upright hoof. The zebra mare looks between the glass and the sealed bottle of wine, then back to Isolde. “If you would be so kind, this is a task best suited to your kind,” she shamelessly rhymed, holding the bottle toward her boss.

The griffoness smiled and took the bottle.  “Of course.”  Bottles of wine had an unfortunate tendency to be hard to open at the best of times, so it took a tiny struggle, but she popped the cork with a small whoosh.  Handing it back, she said, “That ought to make it a bit easier to sample.”

“Thank you, Miss Isolde.” The zebra mare held the bottle in the crook of her foreknee, and tipped a small serving into the glass, which she promptly tried. “Mmm. Now that is a flavor fresh and bold.”

Isolde smiled.  “Maybe if it’s so good Jack can start making some for the town?  Or at least show Shortstack or some others how to make it?”

“Sure can, not like it’s a special recipe or nothin’, I’m surprised you like it Boss.” Jack said with a grain of modesty, not knowing it’d have so much fan-fare.

“I’m sure there are others who would appreciate it, and not to mention it might give the tavern a bit more purpose when it’s finished,” she answered.

“If it’s not too strong, I should try a bit of it myself sometime,” Silver commented, leaning his head to the side as he examined the pale, rose-colored liquid in Tunda’s glass, “I don’t like the taste of high-proof alcohol. Besides, the idea of me not being in complete control of my actions, well, kind of disturbs me.”

Isolde chuckled.  “I can’t say I approve of everyone in town getting drunk either, but a little something to liven the mood and ease tension is welcome.”

It seemed that all things were going well with this little get-together. Shortstack’s cake was rapidly consumed and even Shadytrailers who had rarely spoken to each other managed to find topics of discussion to pass the time with. The group continued in socializing and merriment, until the inevitable darkening of the afternoon sky slowly steered party-goers away from the festivities and back towards their homes. The time for play was fun, but work waited for them in the morning.

[Kryptid]

Silver Rush’s Journal, 1st Galena, 222

Tunda and I held a second singing tonight! What’s more, Rosewood got in on the act as well. She didn’t sing, but she did read some poetry that she had written. Our show seems to be expanding! Rose deserves even more praise for constructing a proper stage for us all to perform on. She even added wheels so we can move it around as needed. I’m also impressed that she has been working on a few instruments for us. Unfortunately, we don’t have any material to make proper strings out of, so who knows when they will actually be completed...

7th Galena, 222

I proposed the idea of digging out a swimming hole for the town to Ms. Hookbill. She accepted the idea! I can’t wait to get started on it, but I’ll have to wait for Ms. Dreams to get some free time to discuss the particulars of the design.

9th Galena, 222

I’ve gotten some mixed input around Shadytrails in regards to my swimming hole idea. While some seemed to be enthusiastic, others were of the opinion that we shouldn’t be working on such a luxury when the town is still so small and there are more useful things that could be made instead. I do have to admit that I do see their point and I’d rather not turn my pet project into a point of contention. I’ve thought about this quite a bit, and after some further discussion with Ms. Hookbill, we’ve decided that a communal bathhouse would be more appropriate. I guess I’ll have to stay with the river when I want to swim.

26th Galena, 222

We had a close call today! Tunda was trying to make some space for some new fields and was using a controlled fire to accomplish that task. Well, it was supposed to be controlled. It got a bit out of hoof and almost caught the tavern in a blaze! Thankfully, it got snuffed out before anything important got burned. The smell of smoke is still lingering outside and it’s given me a headache, though. Maybe I should stay indoors for the rest of the night.

9th Limestone, 222

It turns out that Ms. Frame was right on the money. A caravan showed up today and they had quite a few items to peruse. I saw plenty of things that I would have liked to have, but I had to show some restraint given my limited resources right now. Fortunately for me, I found a gemstone that I plan to give to Tunda on her birthday. Not to mention some strings to let Rose finish her lute! Yep, today was a good day.

22nd Limestone, 222

Tunda’s birthday party was a success! We really surprised her with everypony gathered in her house and she really seemed to like the gift that Ms. Dreams and I made for her. She didn’t even suspect that her borrowed dress was actually going to be used to make her stage outfit. Lattice did quite the job on it! What’s more, Lattice was kind enough to give me a late birthday present by sewing together my own tunic for the show! I almost gave her a hug but managed to stop myself halfway. I can't really tell if she's okay with physical contact or not. Anyway, I can’t wait for Tunda and I to get up there and really thrill the crowd!

25th Limestone, 222

The bathhouse is finally finished. The masons should be given more credit for its construction than me, of course. I know I should be happier about its completion, but it just doesn’t feel as satisfying to me as a swimming hole would have been. Oh well, at least now it’ll be easier to wash up after a hard day’s work. I suppose I could always wait until next year to make a legitimate place to take a dip for fun.

27th Limestone, 222

New ponies in the house! That is, in Shadytrails. We’ve got a few newcomers but I haven’t had a chance to speak with any of them yet. Maybe tomorrow. I hope one of them is a miner. Don’t get me wrong. I do find plenty of fulfillment in my job, but being down there for hours by myself gets lonely.

11th Sandstone, 222

Last night, Fargo told me that he was going to be leaving Shadytrails. He said it had something to do with his job, but I tried to convince him to stay in spite of it. Thankfully, I found out that he had changed his mind and discovered him at the trade depot this morning! Unfortunately, he seems to be depressed because he feels that he’s getting too old to act as the protective escort he used to be. In the meantime, I’ll just keep trying to cheer him up.

14th Sandstone. 222

I have some rather morbid news today. A couple of days ago, Fargo became a victim of what appears to be spirit possession. I’ve been reading my books and notes about such cases and legends, hoping to find out exactly what we’re dealing with, what caused it and how to get rid of it. I’m really quite shaken by this experience, more so than I thought I would be. I had always wanted a personal encounter with the paranormal, just so I could finally know if it was real or not. I just wish it hadn’t come at the cost of putting a friend’s life in danger. To make matters worse, this spirit is telepathic and has knowledge of my… problem. I’m hoping dearly that it doesn’t decide to tell my friends…

15th Sandstone, 222

Finally, I have been given a ray of hope! After scouring my literature, I came upon a report that seems to parallel what Fargo has been going through. On page 43 of This Mysterious Land, I came across this section:

“As has been previously attested to, high strangeness is no foreign matter to the residents of Bridlesburg. Come the morning of 3rd Galena, 188, a second case of anomalous behavior would make itself known on a farm owned by one Mr. Bumper Crop on the southern end of the aforementioned town. The daughter of said stallion, upon discovery by the latter, had taken it upon herself to fashion some object later ascertained to be an iron wheel of grand size and out of all proportion to her own talent and learning.

Mr. Crop reported that her behavior during the construction process was by no means comparable to her normal state, adding that her focus and disdain for interruption were equally unrelatable to what he knew of her. The entranced filly took no sleep and little food during the several days that the fabrication required, finally returning to a recognizable state on the fourth day. Moreover, she gave no indication of knowledge of her aberrance nor any understanding as to the great wheel’s purpose. The farmer, being a stallion given to much superstition, took the creation as a bad omen and had it buried in a hitherto unknown location.

Such anecdotes of ‘creative trances’, if they may be called as such, are rarely reported. One must surely wonder what is in the waters of Bridlesburg!”

If Fargo is indeed in a “creative trance” like this one, then it seems that the spirit involved may indeed leave once it’s finished with it’s project. I can only hope so.

18th Sandstone, 222

To everypony’s relief, Fargo’s possession has ended! The end product is a wooden crown, but Fargo doesn’t know what it’s for nor does he even remember making it. He seems to be convinced that it’s evil, but I find myself strangely drawn to it. I really want to know if there is something special about this crown.

[Telgin]

Apologies on the delay between these two updates, but I wanted to wait for the previous scene to be posted before I posted this one.  Moving forward, I'm planning on releasing shorter updates and on a more frequent schedule.  My tentative plan is to release an update every other Friday or so, which means the next update would happen on May 29th.  I'm going to do my best to stick to that as much as I can, so plan RP accordingly.  If players want to move back to posting journals more than RP scenes then that's perfectly fine and might even make things move more smoothly.



Isolde's Journal - 9th Timber, 222

While we're working on getting the hospital constructed, I decided to give Crystal Clear the go ahead to set up some glass works on the hill behind the shelter.  We've been sorely lacking some windows to put in the homes and buildings around town, and a hospital can be dreary enough as it is without the claustrophobia of no windows to look out of.  We won't have any windows done in the next week, but if nothing else she can get started on making some glassware to possibly offer to the next caravan.  After chatting with her some, she told me that she has some experience with cutting gems and glass too, so maybe we can finally even get some of the gems that Silver Rush dug up cut into pleasing shapes to sell.


This should be reasonably efficient for now.  Two workshops, space for coal, ash, potash, pearlash and sand.

25th Timber, 222

Construction on the hospital is moving along quickly at least, since we've got some construction experience under our belts and plenty of materials to work with.  In fact, we have one patient room completely ready for use in the event of an emergency, but I want us to get a few more put together over the coming weeks before we move on to Gunther's lodging and then other projects.



Once again, I truly have to thank him for his patience in all of this.  Really, everyone has been very patient and understanding about it all.  I'm lucky to have had such diligent people out here with me.

And skilled too.  I stopped by the hospital to see how things were progressing and I noticed that the hospital beds being installed are really something special.  Rosewood and her assistants have really improved a lot in the past few months.



After the hospital has reached a satisfying state of completion we'll be moving onto the guardhouse.  I think that I'll see it through to its completion before we start on any other projects, since it will be a bit of a cornerstone of the town once it's finished.

Maybe by then I can start reconsidering my own accomodations.

2nd Opal, 222

At long, long last, the hospital is both in a usable state and has somewhere for poor Gunther to stay.  There are only two fully functional hospital rooms, but two more could be finished very rapidly if the need arose.  On top of that, literally, is Gunther's home.



The town is beginning to look frighteningly half-finished in every sense, but it's worth it to get as many people in homes of their own as fast as possible.

Regrettably, that goal is still somewhat down the growing list of priorities.  As I promised before, after the hospital was in a usable state I planned to get back to work on the guardhouse, and that's what we're doing next.  The guards have been practicing outside continuously for many months now.  It's about time that they had somewhere cool and dry to store their gear and to perform their drills.

Speaking of cool though, the weather has definitely taken a turn for the cold again lately.  Just looking at the clouds I can tell that we'll probably be getting snow again soon.  Has it really been that long since we got out here?

4th Opal, 222

That didn't last long.

We managed to get most of the guardhouse's floor laid out, but we've run out of stone blocks and stone to hew into blocks.  To that end, Silver Rush has been working hard at mining out more for the masons to convert into something usable, but in the meantime I've gone back to focusing on building more homes.  We can't just sit around on our claws and hooves when there's so much left to be done.

I've also come to be aware of some shortcomings in our basic supplies, such as bags for sand, which Crystal Clear needs to do any work at the glass furnaces.  It's a very temporary solution, but I asked Lattice Frame to set up a loom and start weaving some of the thread we acquired from the caravan into cloth.  Even bags aside, some fresh clothes wouldn't be unwelcome and we can always trade any extra.

And speaking of trade, I think I'm going to get Crystal Clear to start cutting some gems while she waits for the sand.  I know those will be valuable enough to trade for something whenever we get another caravan.

14th Opal, 222

At least I can say that we've got constructing the houses down to a science.  Already we've constructed another house, which I gave to Lattice Frame since she was next on the waiting list, and we're getting ready to start on three more in the next few days.



Jack Pine had to clear cut some of the trees that were in the middle of the new planned neighborhood, but that didn't take him very long at all, so we should get back on schedule very soon.

I need to check up with Silver Rush and Patina to see how the stone supply is coming.  As soon as it's available we'll be back to work on the guardhouse.

26th Opal, 222

Two more weeks and two more houses are finished.  We really have improved our construction speed considerably.  Even the snowfall that I predicted didn't slow the workers down much at all.



The new houses went to Dawn Star, Freija and Yusra, leaving only a few without homes of their own.  Myself is very much still included in that list, which I hope to remedy soon after the guardhouse is completed.

We haven't made any more progress on the guardhouse itself yet, but Silver Rush and Patina have produced quite a lot of usable material again, so the masons will begin working on it again in earnest very soon.  I'm hoping it won't take very long to complete, especially since it should be architecturally simple.

Only time will tell, of course.

24th Obsidian, 222

Construction for the guardhouse is moving along more slowly than I'd hoped for, but it is progressing.  For one thing, there are bedrooms for the guards now at the very least, which was my primary goal.



Unfortunately, it seems we've made some design mistakes and don't have as much space to work with as we initially thought.  I'm not quite sure where the miscalculations were, but it's going to be hard to expand the guardhouse in the future and there isn't much room left for sparring and demonstration areas.  I think that can be salvaged, but we may have to add a second floor for more living space in the future.  Nothing that's insurmountable, but it wasn't quite what I had in mind at first.

Oh well, it's not the end of the world.  We'll figure something out.  But first, I think I need to sit down with Patina again to figure out what we can do about it.

25th Obsidian, 222


Well now...

I was very much hoping we wouldn't see something like this again, but it appears that my hopes and desires don't have much say in reality.

Jack has always been secretive and standoffish, but that doesn't compare to how he's behaving right now.  The stallion kicked the workers out of the craftshop and is behaving distressingly like Fargo did.  He's ignoring anyone who tries to communicate with him, but even worse is what he's been drawing.

Skeletons.  Just skeletons and bones.  All over everything in the workshop.

What obscene madness is this?  Was Fargo truly possessed and has it taken up residence in Jack Pine now?  What is it going to take to get this presence to leave?

I don't know what to do right now.  I think I'm going to call a town meeting in the morning and discuss our options.

8th Granite, 223

The meeting, if it could be called that, consisted of about half of the town in the shelter and the other half standing around the workshop Jack is in watching him continue to scribble pictures of bones and skeletons all over everything.

In the end, the best we could get out of him was that he needed bones for something, else there would be unpleasant consequences.  Nobody could seem to find the bones of those badgers from so long ago, which meant we had to get some fresh bones.

Some of the ponies blanched at the idea, as I knew they would, but we do have livestock here for a reason.  The yak was male and thus didn't provide us with anything of immediate value, so we decided to slaughter him and offer his bones to Jack.  Gunther was kind enough to lend his anatomical knowledge to the task, since nobody else has any such experience.  We've got the meat on ice at the moment, but whether Shortstack will be able to do anything with it or not remains to be seen.

I'm not terribly interested in that at the moment though, as Jack set to work on something the moment we dragged the stacks of bones over to the workshop.

I'm not sure I want to know what he's going to do with them.

12th Granite, 223

While I was expecting another piece of jewelry or something like it, Jack managed to surprise me completely with his finished product:[/i]


...sure, okay.

He made a puzzle out of the bones.  A... puzzle.  Questioning him on his inspiration or what he was thinking or feeling during it all was fruitless as he either didn't remember or pretended not to.  I'm not sure I'd blame him if he was trying to hide whatever was going on in his head...

But regardless, that's gone and behind us now.  Two data points are barely a line and not enough to really extrapolate from, but I believe we'll see this again soon.

What does it mean?

What if it's me next?

I don't know, and I suppose I won't know until and unless it does happen to me, so for the moment I'm not going to worry about it.  I'm thankful that Jack is okay, and I have enough things to work on without wasting time and mental energy on matters like this.

[jaxler]

[I still got like, 1-2 scenes to do with Fargo so I can wrap up the whole possession thing and finally catch up with the rest of yall. this scene takes place starting at the scene with silver at trade depot and ends later after the last scene I did.]
+ whatever took fargo over.

Silver rose higher, “Who knows? Maybe you’ll find a way to incorporate that into your job here. Ms. Isolde may need an escort someday, you know? Anyway, I’ll think about all of that and get back to you after my shift is done. Do try to cheer up in the meantime!” With that said, the bat-winged equine left off to return to his job.

“She can afford a guard though.” He said under his breath, before looking up at the bat pony. “Do have a nice day.” He said before watching him fly away. He’d then look down to the ground and leaned back against the trade depot as he cursed under his breath.

He’d been fighting back the need to pass out for hours and the little talk with Silver was just barely keeping him up. Time was creeping by, the bird left with only his thoughts, as the warm breeze went by. The more he fought the need to close his eyes the harder it got to keep them open. His head got heavier and heavier every second.

He’d start to fluff up his feathers and just relax though, unable to fight it after so long and finally giving in. A voice in the back of his head stopped nagging at him to nod off as his head dropped down and he gave in. He was asleep instantly and everything went black.

After a few minutes or maybe hours of nothing, suddenly everything would fade back. It was still pitch black though. It was a dark night, with clouds in the sky blocking out the stars and moon, and it was raining like a hurricane had hit. Off in the distance where a few sources of light off in a woods.

Fargo had this dream far too many times. He was cold, his fur soaking wet and his feathers soaking up the cold water to the point where he was shivering even as he tried to hold as still as he could. He was covered in cuts and he was sore all over, but the thing that made it all the worse is that all around him, as far as he could see there were fallen soldiers strewn and mangled.

There were all kinds of ponies and griffons all over, each one more mutilated than the last, save for one who was just holding still, perfectly still as he waited for the victors to collect their dead and leave the rest to rot. Every moment he heard someone walk by, or saw the brightness of some sort of light go by he’d feel his heart stop.

He’d stay here for what seemed like hours, Fargo not moving an inch as he fought his need to shiver in the cold. “You’ve only been here once yet you can never get away eh?” This moment had a tendency to show itself to the big bird every once in a while and never lose it’s bite, but it always was the same. “You just ran, didn’t you? Never stopped heh.” The voice was different from anything he’d ever heard before in the dream

Fargo dare not speak, but he knew something was off. He’d dart his eyes around trying to spot the source of the sound. “The biggest, scariest griffon in the squad and you are made into this.” He just held still, scared out of his mind. “Just stay in your hole.” To the griffons back felt like a body of metal, and broken muscle, probably a griffon from his squad but he was too enthralled in trying to pass off as another dead griffon to actually move to look, or to speak out to the voice. Maybe if he kept still it would go. “You’re a joke.”

“Stop it...” he’d mutter. This wasn’t how it always went. Something was wrong.

“Oh, what’s this? Ya speak after an hour of wallowing? Here I was thinking I’d have to-”

Fargo spoke up louder. “Stop. I t.” Things were silent for a while. “Is that it? You’re still just sitting there waiting for them to leave like a coward.”

At an instant, it all went white. The bodies, the rain, the night and the clouds, was all gone and all that was left was white. With a laying back on the ground alone, still dripping wet and covered in iron chain mail, a buckler strapped to his foreleg with a crest of his homeland painted on it and a broken spear to his left.

In front of him was an equine figure contorted so that it stood on two hooves and broken wings. His whole body was covered in white chain mail with a bucket helm on his head with two arrows poking out of the visor and a bolt dug into his belly and left shoulder. His left hind leg was bent in such a way it had to be broken beyond use, and his wings were spread and torn. Strapped to his back was a broken bastard sword, with the top third of it missing, and flanking the sword was a spear both weapons made of the same white tarnished metal as his armor. Only the fur on his fore legs and the feathers on his wings was visible, both of which were grey and patchy.

Fargo just stared at the thing, trying to make sense of it. “What the hell am I looking at?”

The being just stepped forward and tilted his helmet so to seem like he was looking at Fargo. “Exactly. What the hell are you looking at?”

Fargo slowly got up from the ground, holding onto his spear. “Why are you here? What are you?”

The thing just kept looking at him. “I’m here because I’m not letting myself go away.”

Fargo frowned. “You lie.” Before the ruined pony could get out a quip, he’d yell out, and grabbed onto his chest. He’d keep yelling out, holding onto a long lance lodged into his chest with Fargo on the other end holding onto it and slowly pressing it deeper. “Eh, Get out of my head you thing.”

The creature kept holding onto the spear in it’s chest, still yelling out, but oddly it’s voice would grow feminine and and it would whimper over and over, and to fargo all he saw was something horrifying. Where there was once a pony at the end of his spear there was now a copper and black female griffon impaled on the spear.

“I wish we had more time.” Fargo was left to stare at the person he’d just hit. It was obvious he knew the person and felt horrible, it was written all over his face.

The bird would jolt awake, and look around him. He was panting and sweating and he thoughts racing. The dream he had was vivid and lucid and wouldn’t fade or have the details blur as he awoke, it was different from normal. He’d look around himself, and was confused far beyond anything he’d ever been in his life. “What is this?” It was dark out and he was in a workstation full of sawdust, far away from where he passed out just a moment ago and in his claws was something wooden. A crown. “W-what the?” He lifted it up to inspect. It was perfect, and looked like it had been made by a master, or something better, but one thing made the craft stand out beyond it's quality and craftsmanship, it had the words violet smoke carved into it.

[Kryptid]

18th Sandstone, 222

It had been a rather stressful week. There had been much confusion and concern over Fargo’s condition and what had caused it. Silver Rush in particular had wearied himself trying to find meaning in it all. Despite his desire to study the issue in more depth, he realized that he needed a rest from his research and decided to retire early. After all, a good night’s sleep always helped him think better the next day.

Regardless of the stallion’s attempt to rest, he’d hear quite a few loud knocks on his house’s front door. It was late into the night, a few hours past midnight, but it didn’t seem to matter to whoever was on the other side of the door. “Silver! I need to talk!” The voice would be very familiar and sound like a certain griffon.

The bat-pony was a deep sleeper, but the sudden outburst was enough to get him stirred up. He was only semi-lucid, not even feeling sure if he was awake or still asleep. He slowly rolled over in bed and lazily eyed the door, “...Far...Fargo? Is that you out there?”

“Yes!” He said, finally stopping knocking. On the outside Fargo was waiting, seeming a little anxious. He was very unnerved from what had happened. He was grinding his claws of his left talon at the stone path and holding something else in his other set of claws. “I need talk! Eh... Something happened.”

The stallion’s copper eyes snapped open, fully realizing just who it was on the other side of that door. Was he still possessed? If so, what was he doing here in the middle of the night? Did that being within in feel some need to harm the miner? The equine crept out of bed and retrieved the pickaxe from his leather carrying bag, slowly inching towards that door, “Are… you truly Fargo? What are you really here for?”

“Eh, What is this?” He said, seeming more confused than anything. “Tell me what happened! I just woke up a few minutes ago, what happened while I was out!” He didn’t respond to Silver because he didn’t know how to, or what happened.

Cautiously, Silver Rush cracked the door just enough to get a peek at the soldier standing under the hazy moonlight, “You… don’t remember? What’s the last thing you can recall?”

“You walking off to throw some frog in a lake and then me nodding off.” He said, looking him dead in the eye from the other side of the door. He didn’t have his halberd, or any of his armor. “Why does it matter? I was asleep this whole time, was I not?”

The door opened, revealing an pick-wielding pony who blinked curiously at the griffon before dropping his tool with a loud ping on the wooden floor, “I… you… you’re really okay now!” Before Fargo can properly react, Silver leapt out and hugged him around the neck, “I was right! It left on its own! This is wonderful news!” Realizing that he must only be further confusing his friend, the horse backed off and shook his head, “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. The filly in the book couldn’t remember what happened to her either. Sheesh, I’ve got a lot I need to tell you about!”

Fargo chuckled awkwardly when he was hugged. He took a few moments before he could think up a response. “Erm, I remember something...” He muttered before patting Silver on the back not knowing how to react to the hug. He seemed a little relieved when the pony backed off. “Please just tell me what happened, and w-what left?” He seemed genuinely worried still, even a little fearful...

Silver returned his attention to the interior of the house before letting out a sigh, “You might as well come in. This might take a while to explain.”

“Okay.” He said, “Did anyone get hurt?” He said, before walking inside of the pony’s house.

“No, you didn’t hurt anypony. Not physically, at least.” With that said, Silver sat on the edge of his bed and began to recite the events as he could best remember them: Fargo taking over the shop, reading his mind, insulting Gunther and whatever other details he was able to pull from memory.

Fargo just listened, trying to make sense of it all. He couldn’t help but doubt it’s authenticity, but he had nothing to go off of, and it lined up perfectly with what happened when he woke up. “Do they know I no control during this? What should I do?”

“Most of the others have no idea what to think of it. Dr. Gunther seems to be of the opinion that you were intoxicated. I know better, though. If I were you, I’d go talk to Ms. Hookbill first thing in the morning and explain the situation the best you can. I can come with you if you need me to. I don’t think she will hold it against you if we make sure she understands that you had no control of yourself during that time period.”

“Okay...” He’d sigh for a moment, “fuck gunther.” he muttered under his breath. “Alright, I’ll talk to her... but um... “ he then held up something he’d been hiding since he came in. “I woke up with this.” The crown looked like it was made by a master, with detail tarnishing every inch of the ornament. “

“Yeah, that… “ Silver leaned over towards the item and rubbed his chin with a hoof, “I’ve been trying to figure out why that entity would be making something like this. I’m practically dying to know if it has any special properties. We should really get a unicorn to examine it for the presence of magic.”

“Yeah...” He said, inspecting it, before running a claw over the words digged into it. “It made this?” He looked at Silver. “What did it sound like when it was going after all of you with the personal assaults?”

“That’s right. It insisted on being left alone while it was working. Whenever we tried to bother it, it would use this really bizarre, deep voice that didn’t sound anything like you in an attempt to scare us.” He then shuddered at the possibility of Fargo having retained some of the psychic knowledge of that spirit, “Are… you sure you don’t remember anything that it said during those moments? It happened to know some secrets about us that I’d rather not get out.”

“All I remember was falling asleep, having a dream and then waking up with this thing in my claws.” He said, before making a small sigh. “Tell me about these things, or at least what you know. I have an idea.”

“You mean the possession? I was only able to find one other account in my books that matched your own. Unfortunately, the object that resulted from that possession event was buried and forgotten so nopony ever discovered its function.” He squinted at the wooden crown, “But I won’t be making the same mistake with this one. I’ll do everything I can to uncover its true nature.”

“That’s doesn’t help much.” He said, before saying aloud. “Violet smoke, eh?” which was the maker’s mark carved into the crown. “You know, when I was erm... ‘possessed’ I saw something. He seemed angry, and tried to use his words as knives.” He lowered the crown and held it out to Silver.

He took it in his hooves and read the inscription for himself, “Is that so?” The pony scratched the side of his head before making a proposal, “Maybe this thing isn’t functional at all. Maybe it’s just a symbol, representing something deeper that may be connected with your vision. Could it be that the crown represents a kingdom that once existed here? Maybe the kingdom was named Violet Smoke, or perhaps that was the name of the king or queen who once ruled instead. I could easily see your vision of anger representing a war of some kind, or perhaps a civil uprising against the king or queen. Maybe even an assassination attempt. I don’t know, I’m just speculating here.”

“Do you want to hear everything?” He asked, being very doubtful of what silver was speculating at, but not wanting to be mean about it. “Maybe it could clear things up a little.”

“There’s more?” He eyed the griffon inquisitively, “Tell me everything.”

Fargo nodded slowly. “Well eh...” He said, stalling a few moments and seeming a little uncomfortable. His claws would start to anxiously dig into the wood floor before he started. “Well erm, it was a recurring dream at first, and well, something was off, really off.” He seemed a little relieved after sparing the details about the beginning. The guy seemed to like to throw insults while things went on which was out of the norm.”
“Hmm, if you experienced hostility in your dream, then perhaps that’s a major part of the puzzle itself. Could it be that the spirit is trying to scare us off? Maybe this place is an ancient burial ground and we’ve disturbed it…”

“Well. Maybe. All I know is I got lucid once the dream stopped going as normal, and I saw a ‘thing’.” He said before looking back at the crown. “He said a few more things when it showed itself.”

“...what did it look like?”

“Well, he stood on two feet like a diamond dog even though he seemed to have one leg bent like it’d been hit with a log. It was a pony, though it looked like a corpse. His fur was all patchy and grey and his wings looked like a cub went at them with scissors. Most of him was covered up mail so I couldn’t see much and he had a helm on. He had a few bolts lodged in him and in his face.” He paused for a moment. “oh, and he had spear and sword too, and his armor and fur were grey.”

“Hmm, if it was a soldier, then maybe that’s further evidence of some kind of past war being involved here. Unless his appearance was merely symbolic. Then it could just be a visual metaphor for suffering, death, aggression, or any of the negative traits that civilization as a whole possesses. The third option would be that it’s literal. That is, the being that took control of you really has that kind of appearance, at least in the spirit or dream realm, and an inherently hateful nature.”

“Perhaps. I really have no clue though. The thing that got my attention though is that he said he ‘wasn’t letting himself go away’ whatever that means, regardless though, It worries me.”

Silver allowed himself to yawn, rubbing an eye afterwards, “This is a lot for me to process right now. I’d probably be better at putting the pieces together tomorrow when my brain isn’t so frazzled. I’d recommend that you get some sleep as well, given how much time you spent in that workshop. I’m not even sure that you ate anything while you were in that trance. I’m surprised you aren’t exhausted.”

“I really don’t want to go to sleep after that but eh... alrighty.” He said, before looking at the crown. “Eh, care to give that back?” He wasn’t going to leave until he had it back.

He looked down at the symbol of royalty in his hooves for a moment before returning it to the griffon, “Keep that thing a safe place. I’m a bit concerned about what might happen if somepony thought it would be cool to try it on. There’s no telling what might happen to them.”

“Only one way to find out eh?” he said jokingly before starting to walk towards the door. He’d then stop for a moment to look down at the pick on the ground with a big frown on his face. “I’ll be on my way now, try not to get to worried about this.”
“I’ll try. I don’t suppose there is any reason to be overly concerned just yet.” Silver Rush climbed off of the bed and stretched, “Have a good night. I’ll get back with you tomorrow. In the meantime, try to write down as much as you can remember about your vision. That should help prevent you from forgetting any important details that could be the key to solving this mystery.”

“Very well.” He said, before opening the door. “I’ll try and put this somewhere safe too, don’t want anyone bugging with it.” he said before holding up the crown for a moment. “Anyways, G’night.”

The pony nodded wearily to Fargo before he left, putting his pick away and returning to bed. It was going to be difficult to get back to sleep after a chat like that.

[bernhari]

28th Limestone, 222

It was early in the morning and Marble Tiles was quite frustrated. After a long and tiresome walk through miles of wilderness, kobold attacks and boring travel companions, he finally got to reach his destination, only to be assigned to a communal shack in the middle of nowhere. When he was *cough* exiled *cough* to Shadytrails, he was expecting the town to be, well, constructed. Let’s say, this whole thing was quite the disappointment for the white unicorn. This morning, he had to report to the person in charge of this colony. “Slam!” He shouted. “That would have been the sound of your office door, if you had any, miss… Igraine? Irma? What was it again?”

The griffon he’s addressing has laid her quill down and is currently looking at him with slightly wide eyes.  “I… assume you’re looking for me.  Isolde Hookbill.  And you are…?”

“Marble Tiles, the Magnificent! Surely you must have heard of me.” The white unicorn sat on the first chair he found. “I realize how honored you must be to have such a renowned artist like myself gracing your little community with his presence, but please refrain from any rejoicing, yet, for I have a few complaints about how I was treated since I arrived, yesterday.”

Oh boy.  Isolde tries to keep a straight face as she searches through any memories of renowned artists.  With the ways ponies named their kids there could have been half a dozen Marble Tiles she’d heard of over the years.  “Complaints?  I’m… sorry to hear that.  What exactly do you have to complain about?”

Marble Tiles sprung on his legs and started pacing around the griffon’s office. “For starters, how come I was never made aware of the… primitive state of this town? I’m a sculptor of great fame and I require a personal workshop if you expect any work from me. Also, how come there’s still not enough housing for everyone in this town? I was forced to sleep in a shared bed.” He shivered. “With the rest of the rabble. If one of these peasant gave me louse…”

Isolde is at a loss for words at first.  What… had… wandered… into… her… town?  “I’m sorry?  Didn’t you come because of the employment offers posted around?  I may have to ask about just what was put on those…

“But, yes, we just founded this town a few months ago.  I’m sorry that it’s not to your liking yet, but these things take time.  We’re working on the housing situation right now but we have a very great many things that need to be done and not a lot of hooves and claws to go around.  The job posters were supposed to be quite clear that we were looking for masons, architects, farmers… not… sculptors.  Yet, anyway.”

Marble had never seen or heard of any of these posters before his departure. He chose not to reveal the real reason he was sent to Shadytrails and rose a magnanimous hoof toward the distraught griffon. “I’ve figured that much when I arrived but do not fear, I’m also a talented mason who built a fair share of houses and other buildings in my spare time, most of them still stand to this day.”

Isolde was going to go out on a limb and assume that meant that some had simply been demolished at some point.  “Oh, well… that’s good, because that’s definitely what we need.  I’m sorry that the conditions aren’t what you were expecting, but if you’re here to lend your hooves toward building houses then the problem will get solved that much faster.”

She folds her arms and rests her elbows on the table.  “I’m not in much of a position to require you to show any credentials, so for now I’ll just assume that you know what you’re talking about.  Have you met Patina Dreams yet?  She’s our lead architect and mason, so you’ll be working under her.”

The name didn’t sound familiar to Marble Tiles so he assumed she must’ve been some civil engineer of next to no fame, presumably from some backwater foreign nation or another. “No, unfortunately I haven’t met any of the other residents, aside from my travelling companions, but I’m sure we will create marvels together, especially with someone as talented as I to advise her.”

“I don’t doubt it.”  Isolde picks her quill back up and jots his name and some other notes down on her pad.  “Welcome to Shadytrails then.  You get to have the honor of being one of the ponies who literally builds the town.  Did you have any other questions or concerns?”

“Well I have a small concern.” He sat down on the chair, a worried look on his face. “While on the road, some ugly creature came in the night and stole a few items from our luggage. I lost one of my precious artwork to this thief. I also noticed that this settlement as no wall, and probably won’t for quite some time, so I’m rightfully anxious about my safety here. Can you assure me I don’t run the risk of getting my throat slit in the middle of the night or something while I stay in your town?”

A sore spot to be sure, but she tries to assure him nonetheless.  “Given the choices I thought a wall wasn’t exactly high priority, no.  We’re remote enough that I thought we were fairly safe from that sort of thing, but yours isn’t the first band to be attacked on the way out here.  Lucky Lands actually had her armor bearer killed on their trip, although her testimony is a bit… suspect.”

She sighs.  “I’ll just tell you what I can.  I haven’t seen anything dangerous out here yet, and neither has anyone who’s been here.  I can’t guarantee your safety.  I couldn’t do that even in Coupledye or Canyontalon, but we do have a standing guard.  It’s not a lot.  Just three ponies, a zebra and a griffon, but since we haven’t had any trouble here I guess it’s enough to deter whatever backstabbers might have been out on the trail.

“If you don’t go wandering in the woods on your own you should be perfectly safe.  If you don’t feel comfortable leaving valuable things around in the shelter here then I’d probably keep them with me for now, but you should be safe.”

While it didn’t reassure him entirely, her words made Marble more relaxed. Nobody important had been harmed yet and the town seemed unimportant enough so no evildoers cared to attack it for the time being. They also seemed to have quite a few guards given the tiny population of Shadytrails. The white unicorn sighed in relief. “I guess there’s nothing more to say. Thank you miss Ingrid. I’ll go work on those houses now if I want a roof over my head as soon as possible. Care to point me in the direction of this Fatima Drink I’m to work with?”

It takes a bit of willpower for Isolde to not call him Marble Tires or something else silly now, but she remains professional.  “Patina is probably either cutting blocks or examining the foundation site for the guardhouse.”  She stands and stretches.  “We can head that way so the two of you can get acquainted.”

The white unicorn stands and step aside. “Excellent! Lead the way, miss Isabel.” He then follow the griffon toward the construction site.

[Kryptid]

3rd Timber, 222

It was the crack of dawn and the Sun was only just barely hidden behind the crests of the distant mountains. The patchy sky was a deep purple-pink, smoothly blending to yellow-orange as it neared the horizon. Despite a few bright stars still being visible, Shadytrails was already beginning to buzz with activity. Silver Rush in particular had gotten up early with a question burning in his mind. If he was lucky, he’d be able to catch one of his neighbors before he left his house and get the information that he sought. With this as his plan, the sole bat-pony of the town trotted up to the house of his lumberjack neighbor and knocked three times on the door, “Hello? Are you still home, Mr. Pine?”

There was a shuffle behind the door and a gruff of “Depends if it’s Fargo or not.”

The bat-pegasus raised an eyebrow at the unusual statement, imagining the grimace that must be pasted across the unicorn’s face at this moment, “Um, no, it’s Silver Rush. I only need to speak with you for a moment. Is that alright?”

“Yeah, by all means. Just a sec.” The door unlocked and the unassuming flannel pony greeted him with a perfectly neutral poker face.

“Ah, thank you.” The gray pony relaxed a bit before continuing, “Seeing that we both talk with Tunda, I ended up coming across an interesting bit of information through her. Did I hear her correctly when she said that you own a guitar and know how to play it?”

“Lil’ bit.” Jack said with a humble tone. “I ain’t the best.”

The edges of Silver’s mouth curled into a slight smile, “Oh, well that’s okay. I’m still learning how to play the lute myself. The reason I asked was because I wanted to know if you’d be interested at all in becoming a background musician for Tunda and I during our duets. Or, if that doesn’t tickle your fancy, to have your own solo act?”

“Oh, I don’t know about that, I don’t think I can do what you do.” Jack said, downplaying himself.

The black-maned stallion lowered his eyebrows, “Really? That’s an awful shame. Tunda and I would have really appreciated it, not to mention all of the others who enjoy that entertainment block. Are you sure you don’t at least want to attend a practice session with us? Maybe it would change your mind.”

“It’s not you, sure I could practice with you all day long, It’s just the ‘others’ that’s the problem.” Jack groaned.” “I ... just don’t know how you do it. What if you make a fool of yourself up there? It’s a small town, it won’t go away just like nothin’.” he shook his head, racked with reservation. “See, that’s my problem.”

“I see your point. The stage isn’t for everypony, heh,” Silver scratched the back of his mane. “Whenever I start having worries like that, I just remind myself that this isn’t some professional gig that will make or break me as some kind of celebrity. It’s all about having fun. If I screw up and give the audience a good laugh, then I’ll just roll with it. As long as they are enjoying themselves, then I’m happy with what I’ve done. Having a good portion of the viewers as friends helps a lot to abate my fears as well.”

“Roll with it ... if you say so ...” Jack said, rubbing his chin scruff. “Well, you at least hear if I got remotely got something that’ll work in your act?”

“Sure, I could give your playing a listen if you’d like. I think I’d prefer to start off small anyway and build slowly over the months. The music doesn’t have to be elaborate, just sufficient to set the mood,” Silver explained, hoping that there was some appeal to his proposal.

Jack grabbed the neck of his acoustic guitar with the crux of his hoof and reclines back on his crude recliner. He takes his magic to tune up, before letting out a couple pained, discordant G chords. 

The bat-pony scraped his teeth a bit in contemplation, “Well… it’s something we can work with. With some practice I’m sure we can iron out the kinks. At least with your magic you should enjoy a greater degree of dexterity than I do with my lute. The two instruments aren’t all that dissimilar, in my opinion. We can learn from each other.”

Jack furrowed his brow as he concentrated on his instrument, and gives a frustrated  “Stop talking.” He then grunted and pointed over at his flask on his kitchen counter.

“Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt you.” After trading glances between Jack and the drink, he walked over and retrieved the requested item, “You wanted this?”

Jack grabbed his flask and gulped it dry for nine long seconds, before he got back to playing, letting out a rapid, heavy flamenco riff. “Knew somethin’ ain’t right, there we go.”

Silver’s bronze irises almost seemed to take on a brighter hue as the music flowed into his ears, “Oh, ho ho! Now that’s more like it!” He clapped his hooves in tune with the beats, “Yes! You really should be a part of the show! That’s wonderful!”

“Sing somethin’; give me a tempo.” Jack gruffed, a thin smile creeping across his face. “Since you whipped me into a playin’ mood an’ all.”

“Oh, right!” he searched his memory for an appropriate theme for the style, finally settling on an old romance song he heard as a colt, “I think I’ve got one... “ Silver took a step back and drew a deep breath, adding his tenor-range voice to the notes of the guitar, “Been thinking about you so much, baaaby! Wanna hear your healing voice when my skies have been so gray. Without you, I’d be craaazy! Need your loving touch just to get me through the day.”

Jack jammed with Silver a couple more minutes before he hit rough note. He stopped completely, scrunching up his face, and tried the chord again. On the third try he shook his head in frustration. “I, I can’t get up there Bats, sorry ... not like this.” 

The gray stallion snapped out of his lyrical trance, “Hey, it’s not such a big deal. Mistakes will happen. That’s why we practice, right?”

Jack glances away, unsure. “If you say so ... Give me some time to sleep on it, will ya? I’ll show for practice if I want to get on stage, how’s that sound?”

“That sounds fair,” Silver admitted, “I hope to see you there, but I’ll understand if it doesn’t work out. Sure would be a shame, though. I’ll let you go so you can get something for breakfast. Have a good day, Mr. Pine!” He reached out a hoof for a shake goodbye.

Jack bumped the hoof. “Yeah, take care yourself.” he said.

He accepted the simple gesture with a small nod, heading off to procure some sustenance for himself. With any luck, he’d be able to get the scruffy equine onboard. His talents would be greatly appreciated not only by Silver himself, but the rest of the attendants as well. The excitement at the prospect made the work day seem much shorter than usual for the miner, which was just as well because he had his own musical talents to work on.

Later that night, the sky grew to a deep indigo-black, the gray light of the Full Moon occasionally obscured by a ghostly veil of cloud. The gentle, cool breeze yielded a natural chorus of rustling and hisses from the surrounding forest as leaves and branches brushed past one-another. To this symphony was added yet another, albeit more artificial, series of notes. Sitting atop his house, Silver Rush plucked the strings of his lute as he attempted to sharpen the talent that he was developing for the instrument. He had been practicing for a few months now and had gotten a decent feel for what motions created what sound. The dark serenity of the atmosphere was perfect for his concentration.

For a while, he had believed that he was the only one awake at this hour. The stallion was soon proven wrong when his cat-like eyes caught the movement of an extremely large bird rising from beside the guard shack. Wait, no, that was actually a pegasus. “Guess Ms. Star is on guard duty tonight,” the gray pony muttered to himself. His gaze followed her for a few moments before being reminded of something that Tunda had mentioned to him a while back. Intrigued, the bat-pony placed his stringed instrument down and rose to his hooves. With a short leap and a thrust of his membranous wings, he was airborne.

He had known of Shooting Star’s reported talent for dancing for some time, but had hoped that she would step up and volunteer on her own to take part in the monthly Shadytrails entertainment segments. That hope had not borne fruit. Silver decided that he would take a more direct approach to the matter now. As he homed in on the blue pegasus from the air, he touched down on a nearby cloud and called out to her, “Ms. Star! How are you tonight?” The fanged horse coupled his question with a friendly wave.

Shooting Star had spotted him coming towards her, having assumed that it was one of the villagers since he started flying from the town, she smiled and gave him a wave when she saw that it was the town’s miner. “Hello Mr. Silver! I’m doing quite well tonight. What about yourself? What are you doing being up at this hour?” She questioned.

“Oh, you can just call me Silver if you want to,” the stallion clarified with a smile, “I’m doing pretty well myself. I just had the urge to practice playing my lute before heading off to bed. I thought it was too nice of a night to let that opportunity get past me.” He craned his head back as he looked up at the bright white orb of the Moon, “Anyway… when I saw you, I couldn’t help but wonder about something. I heard from one of my friends that you might know a thing or two about dancing. Is that true?”

“That’s right!” Shooting Star beamed. “I used to sing, but I wasn’t very good at it. Turns out I’m much better at dancing than I am at singing, not enough to actually get me a cutiemark about dancing of course, but I danced. And it helped with my trainings."

Silver was pleased with her enthusiasm, "That's great to hear! So that leads up to my next question. I'm sure you know about the monthly shows that Tunda, Rosewood and I have been putting on for our town. I'm working to enhance the impact of our singing and I think having a dancer on stage would be one way to do just that. Do you think you'd be interested in something like that?" He tilted his tufted ears forward in anticipation of her response.

“Hrm.” Shooting Star thought about it for a second, then shrugged. “Yeah, that could be fun. Why not?”

“Alright!” The bat-pony briefly stood on his hind legs and brought his forehooves together with a clap of satisfaction before returning to a quadrupedal stance, “If you don’t like it after giving it a shot, you can feel free to take off. This is all about having fun, so there are no obligations. We usually practice a few times every month, but we may have to rework our schedule so that it’s convenient for you and everypony else who is involved.”

A final question weighed on Silver Rush’s mind, “There was one more thing that I was wondering… “ He glanced down at the cloud he was standing upon, shuffling his hooves a bit, “I’ve been trying to think of ways to improve the quality of my personal stage performance. I know if I could dance myself, it would be a big boost for me. Not to mention, I’ve kind of always wanted to learn how to dance.” The rib-winged equine raised his eyes to meet hers, “Could you, maybe, give me some lessons? I know something like that would usually warrant payment of some kind and our bits still aren’t worth much in this town. Maybe we can make some other arrangements? A trade of some kind? It would be even better if you could teach both Tunda and I at the same time. I completely understand if it’s too much trouble, though.”

“Hey, if that means a quality show for everypony, I’m sure we’ll figure something out,” Shooting star said with a smile. “I’m not sure if I’m a good enough dancer to actually teach others, but we’ll give it a shot and see how it goes.”

The gray miner hopped off of the cloud, hovering next to the blue archer as he took her by a forehoof and gave it a gentle shake, “Thank you! That means a lot to me. I’ll quit bothering you now and let you get back to your duties.”

His energetic shakings made her smile a little more, “Not a problem! Heh, good luck with your lute practicing tonight!”

“I appreciate it! Maybe I’ll be good enough to play for the audience by the time the first of Opal comes around. Have a good shift tonight!” Having completed his inquiries, Silver Rush flapped back over towards his home. He was happy as pie to have gotten Shooting Star onboard and was now curious to see her dancing in action. What style might it be? Had she incorporated her flying ability into it as well? How easy would it be for him to replicate? Alas, he would have to wait until later before having these questions answered. For a span of half an hour before retiring, the bat-pony strummed on his lute as he contemplated the effect that Shooting Star would have on the show.

[Telgin]

19th Sandstone

A freshly-washed bat-pony stepped out of the bathhouse after completing his shift in the mines. The water was cold this time of year, but he found it to be rather invigorating. Of even more benefit were the acoustics of the enclosure which had given Silver Rush the perfect excuse to practice his singing while he bathed. He only hoped that he hadn’t disturbed any of the neighbors in the process.

As he stepped out, he saw Fargo waiting outside, this time in full gear. He had the crown with him. He’d been a little annoyed by the singing as he waited, but didn’t mind it all to much. He walked over to Silver once he noticed the pony was out of the bathhouse. “You ready to figure out what is up with this thing?”

The stallion rubbed his wet face with the towel he was carrying before wrapping it around his neck, “Sure thing! So what’s first on the agenda? Test it for the presence of magic? We just need to find a unicorn volunteer for that.”

“I s’pose that could work. Who should we ask though?” He said, before hesitantly handing the crown over to Silver.

The equine examined it once more as he turned it around in his hooves, “I was planning on asking Rosewood. She specializes in magic that affects wood, plus she’s a good friend of mine. I thought it would be most appropriate. If she’s busy, we can always ask another unicorn.”

“I suppose that works. Would be funny though if it turns out this is just a normal crown though.” He said, seeming a little uncomfortable as Silver looked over the crown. “Just be careful with the thing. I don’t anyone getting hurt.”

“That all depends on its purpose. It may be no more than a hunk of wood if it was simply meant to convey a message of some kind to us,” the gray pony pointed out as he started to hover at low level, moving at a walking pace in the direction of the head carpenter’s house. “I will, of course, be taking precautions here until I find out for sure whether it’s safe or not.”

“Okay...” He said, frowning a little. “I don’t want to have my eyes off it though.” He followed Silver, not taking his eyes off the crown.

“Of course.” Silver then looked back over his shoulder at the griffon, “It’s only appropriate that you be there, too. For all we know, you yourself might be subject to some lingering aftereffects. We should have you tested for magic as well, just in case.”

“I suppose, but I really want to be around to make sure nobody gets hurt by that thing.” He gave a bang on his shield. “I feel like the halberd probably won't be needed, but aye, you never know this kind of stuff.”

The flying horse gave a nod back to the concerned soldier. Apparently, he had been paying too much attention to Fargo and not enough to his own flight path, finding himself bumping into a metal-clad figure as he rounded the corner of a building. The two fumbled to the ground as Silver lost hold of the wooden crown. “Oof! S-sorry, I really should have been looking where I was going!”

The figure let out a grunt as it hit the ground, its helmet falling off their head quite easily. “By the goddesses! Watch where you’re going next time…” They mumble as they pull themselves up along with mumbling a few other remarks that the two cannot make out.

Fargo just sighed when Silver ran into the mare. He didn’t want to be dealing with Lucky right now, and he was going to get very salty if she said anything insulting to Silver.

Silver recognized the grumpy mannerisms and deep blue hair of the offended pony. Uh oh. Of all the ponies I could have knocked over... After getting back to the air, he offered a hoof to Lucky Lands, “My sincerest apologies! Here, let me help you up…”

“She can handle it on her own, let us keep walking.” He said quickly before Lucky could speak. “Eh, please.” He didn’t want to deal with her, and he was already anxious.

Lucky looked up to the two and smirked. “Well well well. Find a lover, my good friend?” She let out a teasing snicker. “What’s that ya got here?” She asked casually, retrieving her helmet as she did so.

Fargo made a small growl when he heard the remark. He hated whenever she talked about him like that, but before he could do anything Silver kept talking. 

The stallion could appreciate a sense of humor, “Hehe, don’t be silly. We’re just friends.” He wasn’t particularly surprised that she opted to get up without his assistance, given her prideful nature. Silver grasped the fallen crown, a new thought coming to his mind as he watched the tan soldier thread her horn through her helmet.“Oh, this? It’s funny that you should ask. We were actually looking for a unicorn to perform some analyses on it.” He turned and held out the hoof towards her with the royal item balanced upon it, “Think we could get your assistance for a few minutes?”

“Do not give that to her.” He said, seeming very angry by this. He was very antsy now and seemed as if he was about to grab it away. “I don’t trust her.”

Silver lowered his eyelids at the griffon, “Fargo, I know you’ve got a beef with Ms. Lands, but I don’t see any reason why we can’t allow her to give it a looking over. Besides, the opinion of two unicorns could prove more valuable than just one.”

Lucky grinned. “I’d be glad to help. Don’t mind the gryphon.”

“Thanks!” The bat-pony said as he returned his gaze to the mare, “Think you could check this thing for magic? Even a tiny bit of magical residue would be of interest.”

“She’s going to kill us all. Just watch. She’ll put it on and start shooting lasers from her eyes or something equally horrible and stupid.”  Fargo was exaggerating, but at the same time he saw it as horribly possible.

An amber glow suddenly surrounds the crown, forcefully -not too much so however- removing it from the batpony’s grasp. “Yes, a crown an insane bird made while high on some mushrooms he found during his week excursion away from us is totally magical. Fifty coins it isn’t.” Her horn lit up. “So this may take a few minutes…”

Fargo growled again, and glared at her. “She is charismatic, like a dead trout, or a ‘special’ kid with a thousand mile long stare playing banjo.” He hated dealing with her, and couldn’t just put with the insults.

As Lucky continued her spellwork, the cat-eyed stallion frowned, “Why do you two have to hate each other so much?”

Lucky shrugs. “Eh…” Her horn’s glow brightened for a second as she thinks. “Don’t feel like speaking about it.”

“She has words that cut like a knife and I have to deal with it every day and pick up her slack on the work place. I get sick of it after so long.”

Silver snorted and rolled his eyes, “Well, let’s hold off the fighting for just a little while, okay? Please?” He could think about ways to sooth the animosity between those two later. Right now, there were more important things to do. He simply stood and watched patiently, waiting for the unicorn mare to finish her scanning.

The unicorn’s horn soon fades. “Nothing at all. You two this scared of some crown?” She sighs.

Fargo seemed a little relieved by that. “Are you sure though? I’m certain there must be something up with it.”

Unlike Fargo, Silver Rush felt a pang of disappointment at the news, “No magic… I’m still not sure we can call this thing ‘safe’ yet. Instead of actively possessing magic, maybe it only acts a siphon for it? An antennae? Or maybe it uses some paranormal force that unicorns aren’t able to detect…”

Lucky shrugged. “I’m a Unicorn and even I don’t believe this ‘possession’ stuff you’re talking about. If something’s up, then it probably doesn’t matter.” She chuckles. “Even if there was, Fargo’s not really capable of magic.” She idly examined the crown itself as she spoke.

“Yeah..” Fargo still had a bad feeling about this, but he was putting his doubts away for now. “Mind giving that crown back now?”

Lucky appeared to ignore Fargo’s last comment as she continued to look the crown over. “Interesting thing here. Personally, I’m more of a precious metals pony though, eh Silver?”

“Drop it.” He said loudly. He was even contemplating pointing his weapon at her, but found it best to just try and talk it out first. He was clearly getting mad now. “I don’t trust you.” He looked over at silver, before back at lucky. His stance and demeanor changed too, he looked far more on edge now.

The stallion raised both hooves, “Whoa… take it easy, Fargo.“ He reached out a hoof and motioned to the armored mare to return the headgear, “Maybe it would be best if we didn’t tempt fate.”

Lucky snickered at Fargo’s overly paranoid reaction. “What, you scared of a little crown? Think you’ll get a booboo off the pointy bits~?” She teased. “You’re the one acting like a foal now. Relax for once.”

Fargo made a small growl and stepped forward a little. “Give it back now, you do not want to test me.” He spread his wings to make himself look bigger than he already was. He didn’t seem too entertained with how lucky was acting.

Lucky chuckled. “Or what? The scary crown gonna steal my dreams?” The crown began to move side to side. “Oh no! It’s attacking us!” She snickered as the crown stopped moving.

“Hey, be careful with that! I don’t want to sound paranoid, but we still need to run some more tests on it, “ Silver warned.

“More tests? I’ve done this as thoroughly as possible, no way I missed something.” The crown moved upwards a bit. “What could I have possibly missed? Some spooky scary ghosts? A boogeyman?”

“For all you know, perhaps.” Fargo protested, Starting to raise his halberd, and looking over at Silver, hoping he was getting the idea. “I don’t want to do anything crazy, but I need you to hand that back over before someone gets hurt.”

The bat-pony looked at the unicorn with pleading eyes, “Ms. Lands… please… “

Lucky snickered once more. “Oh by the Goddesses, you two are hilarious.” The crown continued to move upward. “Oh nooo! It’s going to eat my braaaaain!” It soon landed on her head.

For a moment, Silver stood still as his pupil’s dilated. Who knew what would come of her putting that thing on, “M-Ms. Lands?”

The moment the crown connected with the mare’s head, nothing happened. Well, nothing immediate. She gradually started to feel weaker in her legs, and she started to hear things. Weird things. A voice that sounded like it was coming from someone speaking behind her, whispering into her ear. “Run away, they’re doing this to you.” She started to feel lightheaded too, all coming over her with more and more intensity with every passing second.

Fargo just kept standing there with his beak open, feeling his heart skip a beat, before getting his complexion back and raising up his halberd and pointing it at her. “Drop it now. I’m not going to ask again.” He held up his shield, expecting something drastic to happen.

The unicorn stood still for a moment, eyes darting around as she processed what was going on, her horn lighting up for a moment before fizzling seconds later. “I… Need to lay down… Somewhere…” She mumbled, starting to turn around.

Silver squinted at the mare, “You’re not still playing with us, are you? Ms. Lands! Answer me! Are you alright?!”

She kept feeling her strength die down even as she tried to get away. “Faster now, they’re going to hurt you if you don’t.” The sounds of Silver talking and then yelling was magnified to the point where it would start to hurt her ears.

Fargo started to advance towards her, lowering his weapon. “Are you okay? Take it off please.” something was up, and the crown seemed to be causing it.

Lucky’s ears flattened, her movement stopped for a moment. “Stop yelling…” She mumbles, putting a hoof to her head as the voice continues speaking to her.

“Fargo, get it off of her!” Is the only thing Silver could think to say at that moment.

Fargo nodded and dropped his halberd to the ground before rushing forward to try and grab the crown of her head. He was quick, and didn’t say a word, not wanting to alert her if he could avoid it. He’d grab it the moment he was next to her, and threw it a few feet away.

After taking the crown -with not as much resistance as he thought-, Lucky fell to the ground, groaning loudly. She didn’t appear to be unconscious, her occasional groan accounted for that, however she did appear to be rather uncomfortable.

Fargo stood by her, “Silver, grab the crown.” He said loudly, before trying to figure out what to do. He then made a loud sigh before leaning down to her. “Are you alright?” He’d ask quietly, looking for any response. He turned to Silver and said quietly “And go get Gunther.”

After retrieving the object in question, the flying equine volunteered to find help, “I’ll go get Dr. Gunther. Just make sure she can breathe alright.” With that said, he took off towards the shelter, hoping that Isolde would know where the town doctor was likely to be at this time of day.

Fargo kept frowning. “Does anything hurt, can you breathe alright?” He said a tiny bit louder, but still quiet enough to hopefully not hurt her ears. “Please.” He just waited, hoping the mare would give a response.

Lucky simply groaned in response, nodding slightly as her head spun at the rapid turn of events, whether it be due to the crown or not is up for debate.


A few minutes later, Silver Rush returned with two griffons gliding behind him.  Gunther landed first with a thump, followed soon by Isolde.  Even without Silver’s explanation it was clear enough who was in trouble here, so he rushed over to Lucky.  “Right, so, can anyone tell me again exactly what happened?”  He held a claw up to Lucky’s face.  “How do you feel?”

Lucky, while still feeling horrible, was able to form words that weren’t just mumbles! “Ugh… Like I just fucked a bull. With a hangover…” She said, ignoring the vulgarity in her language. “Just.. Gah… Crown thing… Ask the others…”


He turned a glance to the others.  “Yes, what’s this about the crown?  Did someone hit her in the head with it?”

Silver shook his head, “No no, this was more than just a physical accident. It changed her behavior when she put it on her head. There’s definitely something amiss about that thing. I wasn’t sure before, but now I’m certain: it needs to be kept under quarantine!”

Fargo nodded, “Yes, she put on the crown and this happened. To her.” He still was sticking close to her, and looked over to Silver. “Give me the crown now, by the way.” He felt bad that this happened to Lucky. “I shouldn’t have let her take it.”

“Keep it locked up tight,” the bat-pony admonished as he passed off the headwear. He kneeled over the fallen unicorn, turning back to look at the black griffon, “Think we should get her to a bed?”

Gunther scanned her once more and nodded.  “Yes, no point in taking risks.  Someone help me with her.”  He knelt next to her and started hefting her up.  “And while we’re at it, would someone just get rid of that crown?  If it’s going to cause this much trouble I suggest just throwing it in the river.”

Fargo nodded, and started to try and lift the mare, helping Gunther. “I’ll get to it after Lucky is safe...” He said, before making a small frown. “And Mr. Gunther, I didn’t exactly eat any berries or get drunk before making this crown.” He was still a little bitter about how Gunther thought he was high or something earlier. 

“As far as throwing the crown in the river goes, I’d recommend against it. It might cause more harm if somepony else happens to come across it,” Silver recommended, “I say keep it sealed away for now. I would almost suggest destroying it, but who knows whether that would have negative consequences in itself or not…”

Gunther grunted with effort as they raise Lucky off the ground.  To Fargo he said, “At this point I’m willing to believe just about anything.  Strange magic, fairies, I don’t know.”  To Silver Rush he added, “I’d just as soon smash it, but if you think keeping it locked away is best, by all means.”

Isolde fidgeted anxiously.  “We should keep it safe for now.  If it is dangerous then breaking it might only make things worse.”

“Eh... I’d rather take a risk and break it far away from the town. it’s best to destroy it instead of holding onto a ticking time bomb.” He said as he helped Lucky up. “If you make a job about this Lucky I’ll drop you.”

Lucky simply sighed and nodded, not wanting to speak, as either a remark would require a response and that tunnel never ends, or dealing with being dropped. She much rather preferred to stay silent as she is dragged to where they may need to go.

It wasn’t hard to find an unoccupied bed in the communal shelter. The butterscotch pony was laid down gently on the mattress, the group gathering around to observe her condition. “She doesn’t have a fever or anything, does she? How’s her pulse?” Silver inquired.

“Normal and normal, as far as I can tell,” Gunther grumbled.  “She has no obvious injuries, so at the moment all I can really do is observe her.”  And hope it wasn’t a stroke or something awful like that, but he didn’t feel the need to sour the mood with such possible diagnoses.

Lucky silently acknowledges whatever notion had been given to her. She didn’t know what, her mind was just simply wanting a rest.

Fargo just sat by, waiting to see if she was okay. “If she’s okay here, I’m going to take the crown off and try and break it.” He said, looking at the thing in his claws. “I cannot believe this thing could do this.”

The notion made Silver Rush nervous, “Fargo, if you’re really going to go through with it… I would suggest planning for mishaps. What if the spirit that possessed you before is in that crown and it takes control of you again when you destroy it? Let’s at least have a discussion about this before we do anything rash.”

“I could have someone come with me... Maybe Shooting Star.” He said, seeming a little anxious as well. “If something happens, it would be best a crossbow pony was there in case eh... I’d doubt most the guard could take down someone as big as me in hoof to claw combat.”

“Maybe… “ Silver answered shortly, turning his face back towards Lucky Lands. He didn’t have a good feeling about any of this, and he was sure that the mare on the bed knew something of importance after what she just went through. Now they would all have to wait until she was well enough to recite her experience to them.

[Kryptid]

19th Sandstone, 222

Fargo sat in a chair at the head of one of the meeting hall tables. In the center of the table was the wooden crown, standing alone. Also sitting at the table was Silver and Isolde. It’d been about an hour since Lucky was afflicted, and now the people were here to discuss what to do with the crown, and what to do if things end up going badly. “So, I think we should bust the thing.”

Scratching at the tabletop with a hoof, Silver grunted, “I see you’re intent on this. Did you have any safety guards in mind, or should I start mentioning some ideas of my own?”

“I plan on having someone with me, and heading out of town. I’ll leave my armor and weapon here and someone can come with a weapon and armor in case I get possessed while breaking it. If you have any ideas though, please share”

“Sounds like a good start, but what if the spirit recognizes that you are in a disadvantaged position and chooses to go for your escort instead?” The stallion questioned, “Alternatively, I might suggest setting up some kind of rig that can destroy the crown on its own. Set some kind of delay up for it so that everypony can clear the area long before it goes off.”

Isolde tapped her talons on her desk.  “If we’re assuming that it can possess someone like that, then what if it can tell you intend to destroy it and it tries to possess one of you beforehand?”

“I don’t know.” he said, shrugging. “We could bring three people? Me, Shooting Star and the old captain.” He made a small sigh. “Would that circumvent the issue?”

“Assuming it can’t affect more than one person at a time?  That would help, yes.”  She echoed his little sigh.  “We’re really not equipped to deal with this.”

Silver nodded at Fargo’s suggestion, “Three would be a safer bet. That way, it will be two against one if anything goes south. As far as the spirit knowing our intentions in advance, I’d say it’s too late for that. We’ve already talked about destroying the thing while in its presence. Not to mention the possibility that the spirit has already migrated out of the crown and into Ms. Lands. We need to keep close eyes on her.” He glanced down at the table, wondering if the unicorn was as well internally as she appeared externally.

“Gunther will be watching her for now at least, but I agree,” Isolde said.  “At least while she’s on duty someone will always be around her.”

“Take away her gear while she’s asleep, put her somewhere where she can’t get out unless someone lets her out from the outside. I don’t want to run any risks.” Fargo seemed cold, but he didn’t want to risk anything. “Hide her sword somewhere, and don’t say where until she’s gone.”

“I would agree to doing that for at least a short time,” Silver admitted, “If she doesn’t show symptoms of infestation, however, we couldn’t really justify making her a prisoner of sorts. I would prefer supervision over an all-out lockdown on her if she seems normal.”

Isolde shook her head.  “No.  I think it’s wise to keep her off duty for a little while and watch her, but we can’t just do that permanently.”

“I agree.” Fargo said, before sighing. “Should Gunther have my halberd while he watches over though? Just in case something happens?”

The gray horse tried to alleviate such fear, “Without her weapon and armor, I think Gunther would be able to hold his own. He’s a-”

“She can do magic,” Fargo said aloud to cut off Silver. “Who knows what a spirit could do with that? I’d be scared for Gunther if I was you.” Hell, for all Fargo knew she could burn the whole town down and dig a hole into clown town. He didn’t bring that up though, he didn’t want to cause too much fear right now.

“Hmm, how about getting a unicorn to keep watch as well? Somepony who can detect any potential magical intent? It would be nice if somepony knew a shielding spell to cast on her for extra safety,” Silver speculated.

“Still, I say have Gunther have a halberd even if you get someone to watch... Isolde, do you know any ponies who could stop their job for a few days to watch Lucky?”

“Some of the new arrivals maybe.  Yusra and Crystal Clear probably wouldn’t upset things much if they spent some time watching her.  Lattice too, maybe, if she wanted.”  Isolde tapped her talons more on the table.  “I’ll leave it up to Gunther whether he wants a weapon or not, but as far as I know he’s not trained to use one.”

“Eh... using a halberd takes no real skill. just keep the pointy end at someone and and swing down with the axe if ya can’t even do that... still though my weapon is heavy and weighted like crap and is unwieldy in close places. Maybe give him a wood axe if he says yes?” He really thought having a weapon was a good idea.

“I’ve got no objections if he agrees to that,” Silver stated plainly. “Any other loose ends that need to be tied up?”

“What if something happens and we’re shot a guard?” Fargo said aloud, not bothering to candy wrap it. “We’re going to need to be prepared in case someone doesn’t walk away from this.”

Isolde shrugged with a tiny groan.  “We don’t really have any options there as it stands.  We’re at the mercy of who shows up on our doorsteps next time a caravan rolls around.  At best I can petition management and ask for more guards but we’d be looking at something like a six to nine month turnaround time if they even have anyone to send.”

“Very well.” Fargo wasn’t satisfied with that answer. “Have Shooting train someone as an auxiliary if I don’t come back. You’ll have a weapon and armor for a griffon if I’m not here, we should put it to use. Whoever it is who’s taking my place can be swapped out once a real guard shows up.”

Isolde nodded weakly.  “I can ask her about it.  Hopefully there is someone who’s willing to volunteer for that.  I’d really rather not draft someone.”

“I wouldn’t make them leave their job, just have them have it on them and be ready to do something if needed. Maybe even have the woodcutter be trained too.” He suspected the bastard probably knew how to use an axe as more than a tool, judging by his past.. “They don’t need to be full time, just ready to fight if the worst comes.”

Silver Rush had trouble imagining who would be likely to volunteer to be the next soldier, “Let’s cross that bridge when come to it. I would otherwise have suggested getting a group of three who weren’t in the guard to do the deed. In such a small town, however, the loss of any worker in any job would be significant.”

“That’s not why.” Fargo snapped at Silver for the first time in his life. “If a civilian dies it is a tragedy. If a guard dies he’s a martyr. Why do we work here if we’re not even going to risk our lives in someone else’s place, eh? Even if Shooting advocated this, I wouldn’t take the order.”

The stallion wrinkled his nose, “...it was more of a safety precaution. Having a civilian possessed would be less hazardous than a soldier. You’ve made your point, though. Either way, we don’t have many options.”

“I’ll discuss it with Shooting Star anyway,” Isolde said.  “I don’t think we need to be overly worried about it right this moment.”

“Yes, but it is best to plan for the worst, even if you do not expect it.” Fargo commented.

“That’s true,” the bat-pony acknowledged. He looked to the door, “These plans really need to be discussed with everypony involved before we set anything in stone. Speaking of Ms. Star and Mr. Kiume, do you have any idea where they are at this moment?”

Isolde said, “On patrol, probably.  Kiume is at least I believe.”

“Very well.” Fargo wasn’t worried too much with tiny details right now.

For a brief moment, the winged stallion glanced at Fargo and shook his head, failing to suppress a grin and snicker.

“What was that?” fargo turned to look over at Silver, whilst raising his eyebrow. “Did, I miss something? This is not my first language.”

“Oh, it’s just that… you and Ms. Lands always act like you want to chew each other’s throats out. Then when she’s really in danger, your true colors show through. I can tell you really do care about her. I just thought it was ironically funny,” the pony admitted.

“Eh...” He made a small frown. “I don’t let petty things stop my job. I keep people safe, I don’t care who.” He said, trying to show that he didn’t like her still.

Silver leaned back in his chair, “Sure, that’s another thing to admire about you. You know where your priorities are. Others may well have let their rival suffer with a ‘serves them right’ attitude instead of trying to help them.” Even at this moment, the bat-pony was trying to think of ways to use this knowledge to his advantage. Surely there was some way he could make peace between those two now.

“Yeah. Eh, thank you.” He said, feeling a little awkward because of the random complement.

Isolde sensed the awkwardness too, and seeking to move on, she said, “Indeed.  Anyway, unless either of you have anything else to discuss I think I should go find Shooting Star and have a chat with her.”

“Sounds good to me. I think we’ve done all we can here for the moment,” the horse stated, getting out of his chair. “I’m going to go see how Ms. Lands is doing myself.”

[jaxler]

19th Sandstone, 222

One pony, zebra and griffon were walking under the trees away from the town so they could try and dispose of the crown. It was later in the day, and it would be dark soon. Fargo had no gear on aside from a shield, while the others had whatever they felt comfortable bringing, and in fargo’s claw was an all too familiar crown made of wood. Fargo wasn’t talking much. He was on edge after everything that had happened, and he was trying not to let it show.

Shooting Star had felt like she was leading a prisoner to the firing range and she is the firing squad. Not entirely sure why, but it still feels kind of like it. After all, she doesn’t have a sword, knife, hammer or anything reasonably non-lethal and effective, all she had was her loaded Crossbow. And if anything goes wrong, she’d most likely have to use it.

Fargo felt very much the same right now, all things considered. He felt very uneasy, but this needed to be done, else something bad could happen. He kept telling himself that, at least as he walked on. “This is one hell of a week, eh?”

Kiume had been quiet up until this point, as he usually was.  The tension was enough to get even him to speak though.  “So you could say.  It wouldn’t have happened like that had I had my way.”

“Bah, of course you would. Hindsight is twenty twenty eh?” He didn’t criticism at this point. He was practically held at gunpoint right now. “Please elaborate though, what would you change eh?”

Kiume kept plodding along.  “Your plan for the crown is the best as far as I can tell.  I merely meant that a week without possessions would have been just as well…”

“Oh.” He said, before making a big frown and just continuing to walk along. “Sorry for snapping at you like that...” He was on edge after all.

The zebra shrugged.  “Don’t be tense, I took no offense.”

“Well, I’m not sure if I’m glad to not be there when it happened or not.. Not that I don’t want to go see if you’ll be okay or not, Fargo. It’s just that somepony’s got to keep watch on the town still is all.” Shooting Star mentioned.

“I understand.” Fargo rubbed the back of his head for a moment. “Look, this will probably be fine. Do not worry unless it’s going to prepare you.” He wasn’t going to be able to take his own advice here though. He was gonna have to try and break the damned thing. “I think we should be far enough away soon enough though.”

Kiume silently nodded in agreement.  This was beyond his understanding of anything natural or beyond, but worrying about it wouldn’t change what would happen and they were about as prepared as one could get given the circumstances.

“Alright, do your thing.” Shooting Star nodded to the Griffon as she unslung her loaded crossbow and flew back away a little to give some space between her and the Griffon.

Fargo nodded, and made a loud sigh, before looking around. He took a few steps, before holding up the crown. “Welp er... here goes nothing.” He gripped both ends of it with his claws and waited a few moments before starting to pull hard, trying to break it in half, or snap something off. He groaned loudly, as he did so. He put all of his might into trying to snap to the thing, but after a few seconds of this the crown still held firm.

Kiume raised an eyebrow.  “Tougher than it appears from just a look.”  He raised a leg toward it.  “Perhaps it’s worth trying a hoof?”

“No, I got this.” He said, grunting loudly as he tried even harder to snap the thing, before finally giving up before he pulled something. “This is weird.” He looked around for something. “If you hand me your sword I could try and hack at it.”

The zebra presented the weapon to him and watched carefully to see how this went…

Shooting Star was uneasy about the whole ordeal and had raised her crossbow to bear. For all she know, the spirit have already possessed Fargo when he tried to break it, and now it has disarmed Kiume and is armed with a sword!

Fargo very gently laid the crown on the ground, and backed up a little, and raised the sword. “Eh.... here goes nothing.” He said, before swinging down the blade as fast and hard as he could. It was rather apparent he didn’t have much experience with a sword by the way he was handling it. Oddly though, once the blade connected with the crown, everyone would hear a loud “clink”, as if the sword had hit a rock or something. The crown itself was untouched, but the sword had a very visible dent on it’d edge. “Um...”

“Are you sure that was made of wood?” Shooting Star asked a little loudly so they could hear her, gesturing at the crown.

“Yes, I am!” Fargo said, before bringing up the sword and inspecting the damage. “Eh... sorry Kiume...”

Kiume took the sword back and checked it himself. It didn’t look like anything a bit of time on a sharpening stone wouldn’t fix.  “Wood is what I see… but it sounds like metal to me.”

“Maybe a good bolt to the crown could work? It’s meant to punch through metal plates, after all.” Shooting Star suggested.

“I suppose.” Fargo said, before backing away from it. “I say go for it.” He got about two or three meters from the crown and waited for Shooting to fire.

The Pegasus Mare trotted over close to the crown, not wanting to miss and embarrass herself, she took aim at the thing nearly point-blank range and let loose her armor-piercing crossbow bolt!

As soon as the bolt hit the crown, the bolt was deflected instantly. It rolled around through the air until it landed on the ground. The crown hadn’t moved an inch, and the bolt’s tip was probably very deformed. “Eh... what now?” Fargo asked,noting how nothing seemed to be doing anything to the crown.

Kiume wasn’t an especially superstitious zebra, but…  “This must be sorcery… I doubt we can destroy it with any weapon possessed by us three.”


“How about we burn it? If it’s wood, it’s got to burn, right?” Shooting Star suggested again as she lament in the death of her brave and daring bolt.

“Perhaps. Anyone here have a fire starter or something?” He asked, before poking at the crown with his claw, only to note there wasn’t even a dent on the crown from where the bolt hit.

Kiume shook his head.

Shooting Star shook her head as well. “We could.. try to improvise it up? You’ve got claws, you can rub two sticks together and make fire or something, right?”

“I don’t that would work. Maybe you could grab a cloud and hit the thing with lightning? ponies do that, right?”

“Lightning doesn’t work with wood.” The Pegasus mare pointed out.

Fargo sighed. “It would not even make a fire?”

“If it struck dry grass, maybe. But lightnings are unpredictable and dangerous and we all have a much more appealing metal on ourselves than the grass.” Shooting Star said.

Kiume looked upward briefly.  “I am with Shooting Star.  If we try lighting, make sure from it we are very far.”

“Eh... alrighty.” He said, before scratching under his beak. “Eh... could fly it up real and and drop it, see if that works?”

The zebra shrugged and backed up a bit.  “It is worth a try if you are willing to fly.”

“You’ll be able to fly higher than I can. I’ll keep a look out for where the crown falls.” Shooting Star suggests.

Fargo nodded slowly. “Eh... alrighty. It’s my job to break this thing anyways.” He said, before taking the crown off the ground, and spreading his wings. He’d give a few good flaps and then be off the ground, and began to gain air as he went further and further off the ground.

Kiume kept backing away, lest he accidentally get bopped by the falling hazardous object.

Shooting star took off as well, if only to have an easier time tracking the thing when it’s dropped.

Fargo wasn’t nearly as fast at flying as the mare was, and she’d catch up to him quickly as he climbed higher and higher into the air, “You sure you want to be this close? what if something happens?”

“Then it would’ve happened when you swing a sword at it already.” The mare reasoned.

“I guess...” He said once he got as high as he was willing to go. He then held the crown out, “I’m ready to let it go.”

Kiume waved a hoof and gave a nod.

“Alright.” Shooting Star nodded and prepares to dive after it.

Fargo gave a quick nod, before dropping the crown and watching it fall down like a rock.  Predictably, it landed with a thunk and no obvious damage.

“I doubt we have anything in this town that could destroy that crown,” Kiume grumbled.

“We could throw it into a firepit later and see what happens.” Shooting Star suggests as she lands nearby the crash site. Frowning at the crown’s apparent indestructibility. “Why can’t you make it be an armor or a shield instead? a wooden indestructible armor or shield would be so handy.”

Fargo touched down next to the crown as well, following behind shooting star. “We’d have to make a pit here, I’m not bringing it near the town only to break it there.”

“If it can possess, then I doubt anyone would want it in their dress,” Kiume said to Shooting Star.

“Exactly” Fargo said, nodding at what kiume just said.

“I could go grab some flint and tinder for a fire from the town and return later? You two can dig a pit for the fire meanwhile.” The Pegasus suggested again.

“Eh, are you sure we need a pit?” he said, before looking over at kiume.

“I would not take a chance, in case the flames begin to dance,” the zebra agreed.

Fargo made a big sigh. “Eh... alrighty...” He wasn’t going to have an easy time doing this, he had claws, which weren’t too good for digging. He also didn’t wanna hit a rock in the dirt and crack a claw or something equally painful.  “Eh, how about you do the digging, i get rocks to line it?”

“Fair enough, I hope this earth isn’t too tough,” Kiume said as he stepped over.  He pawed at the ground and started hacking a hole into it slowly.

Fargo nodded, and went off looking for stones, first finding a few around the spot Kiume was digging, and then looking further from the place and taking them back.

With the two males starting to make a pitfire, Shooting Star took flight back to town to retrieve them some flint and tinder to make said fire.

“If what we have done so far did not harm the crown, then I doubt that so will either the fire in this ground.”  Kiume frowned as he finished digging.

Fargo started to place the stones he’d found, and made a small sigh. “Yes, I agree, but it is worth a try.”

Shooting Star returned soon after, with kindlings, flint and tinder to set it on fire. “Alright, let’s see if this work.” She nodded to the other two as she fill the bottom of the pit with the kindlings, lighting it on a light fire with the flint and tinder, then proceed to fill the pit up with various small branches until they get a good, nice roaring fire. Her flapping wings helps beating oxygen to feed  the fire as well.

Fargo turned his head to look over at shooting star once she returned. “Ahahaha, now we can try this.” He said, backing up so shooting star can get to work on the fire. After a little while and a bit of work from shooting, he’d come back up to the fire. “Alrighty, back away. I’m going to drop it in.”

Kiume needed no further encouragement and backed away, keeping his eyes on the crown and flame. The Pegasus mare also backed away as asked.

Fargo held the crown above the fire for a moment, before dropping it in. The moment it hit the fire, something odd happened. The fire rose up several feet, and almost burnt fargo, who immediately pulled his claws away. It only was that big for a moment though, before instantly being snuffed out in a big puff of smoke. The crown itself though, was untouched, as to be expected at this point.

So much for that.  Kiume groans.  “What now?  Shall we hide it away, or do you have another plan for today?”

Fargo shrugged. “I don’t really know...”

“Well, I’ve exhausted all ideas.” Shooting star said, shrugging.

“Eh... I dunno either.” He said, before bending down to pick up the crown. He’d then let go instantly. Everyone there could smell something akin to burnt finger nails in the air. “Damn, it’s still hot.” He was lucky he had claws, so even if it burnt it didn’t leave any real damage.

Kiume shook his head.  “This is beyond me.  If I had a say, we would hide it somewhere and flee.”

“But indestructible crown, though.” Shooting Star said.

“Shooting, it almost made lucky pass out and who knows what else to the poor mare. I’m not going to try and weaponize it.” He said, before looking over at Kiume. “And regardless of whether or not you agree shooting, it’s my property. I’m not going to throw it away though so some poor idiot can find it years from now. I’m going to hide it somewhere I can keep an eye on it.” 

“Like, ontop of your head?” The Pegasus mare suggested further.

“No.” He said, seeming annoyed. “I’m going to put in a box somewhere, I’m going to ask silver if he can dig a hole in the mine so we can hide it there. He’s going to close the hole, and only I, him, and isolde will know where it’s at.”

Kiume didn’t have any other suggestions so he just stared at the crown.  “If that is what you want, it is not an idea I will flaunt.”

“Well, it’s your Crown.” Shooting Star agrees.

“Alrighty. Anyways, I want you all to say we broke this thing here. I’m going to talk with silver and isolde in private. I don’t want them to write anything, or say anything to contradict you.”

The zebra nodded silently.  It made sense. The Pegasus agrees.

“Alrighty. I guess should get going then, unless you both have any ideas.”

“I have none, today the crown has won,” Kiume said.

“Then we are done here. Let us head back.” Fargo said coldly, before picking the crown up more cautiously this time. “I’ll talk with Isolde when we get back.”

[Kryptid]

18th Obsidian, 222

Earlier in the day, a celebration for Shadytrail’s head carpenter had been held in honor of her birthday. It was as much of a success as Tunda’s party was, though perhaps a bit better organized and less crowded due to experience gained from that earlier gathering. It was now getting late and every guest, save for one, had returned to their own home. Silver Rush had elected to stick around with his unicorn pal for a few more hours.

The night sky was cloudless and Silver wasn’t about to let a good stargazing opportunity slip away from him. Maybe Rosewood would even appreciate it herself. The two ponies had taken to the roof of her home, each wrapped in their own blanket to keep out the winter air as they sipped mugs of hot tea. The bat-pony had brought along his lute to keep them further entertained.

The amateur musician of the group strummed off a slow, calming melody from his string instrument, pausing once in a while to point out objects of interest to his host. “You see that brilliant, white star? The one just above the tree line? That’s the planet Venus. It’s easy to pick out because it’s so much brighter than everything else. Well, except for the Moon, of course.”

Rosewood’s ears turned to the star, or rather planet, being pointed out. She’d often seen these glowing orbs from her window but never had any idea they had names. She nodded as she absorbed the information, enjoying the snippets of lute music while that lasted too. “Wow…”
She had to admit she couldn’t think of anything else to say. She waited for the next new thing to learn, stifling a yawn. She'd had fun and didn't want her current favourite birthday to end so soon, even if the lute seemed determined to have her falling asleep.

He stopped in the middle of a note, “I hope my astronomy lesson isn’t boring you. Maybe I should sing a few lines if you’d prefer that instead?”

She looked to him. "No, no, it's not botherin' me at all! Just had a busy day and don't want this to go to waste." She grinned. "Do what you want, I'll listen."

“Alright, let me see which one I should give a go,” Silver lowered his head and plucked a few random strings before going ahead with a verse, “Girl, it’s a crazy, crazy world that we’re living in. Gotta watch your step when others live for sin. The apple was poisoned, the treasure was cursed. The greed for gain, always brings out the worst… in uuussss…”

She swayed side to side gently as she listened, staring at the stars above.

The bat-pony continued with his song, “Another morning’s dawned as I travel this street. Everypony’s too busy, there’s no time to meet. Got too much dedication to their god of gold. It’s hard to help a friend when your soul’s been sold. One day soon, I hope we find the light. One that burns away the wrong, leaving only the right. Until then, we’ll keep up the good fight.”

She glanced down to the bracelet she had been given by the bat-pony, now snugly around her [wrist?]. It was a grey and orange banded marble bracelet, having been kindly carved by Crystal Clear who she had also thanked for her hard work. "That was a beautiful song. I'm sure my town would love to 'ear it."

Silver let out a quiet giggle, “Thanks, Rose. I haven’t finished writing it yet, though. Maybe it’ll be complete by next month.” Just as he finished his sentence, a shooting star (not the pegasus) passed overhead. He had seen many others since his arrival, but few were as bright and long-lasting as this one, “Oh! Did you see that? Make a wish!”

She had indeed, and shut her eyes tightly to focus on her thoughts. She thought about the friends she'd made, how proud her parents would be if they could see the work she'd helped do, and wanted only to help the town of Shadytrails she was helping build stay strong and happy.

Coincidentally, her guest had thought of, more or less, the very same mental desire. He wished for the town and its residents to be successful and prosperous. He knew that relying upon some fast-moving heavenly body to make his dreams a reality was a bit silly, but it was always fun to pretend. He took another sip from his cup, the warm vapors forming gray steam in the chilly air, “If you’ve gotten any requests, I can try and play a different song.”

She opened her eyes and looked to her friend. "I... I don't think any of the songs we grew up with we know as the same, so... You play what you like! I love to learn new songs!"

The nocturne pegasus nodded, continuing with a few more songs over the course of the next hour. He taught her a few verses so that she could sing along when she felt like it, but leaving her as a patient listener when she elected to sit one out. It truly was starting to get late, and even Silver Rush was starting to feel a yawn or two well up from within him.

She finally came across a yawn that she couldn't fight back and flexed some of her muscles before sleepily moving to rest her head on him. "That was fun, I've had a great day... Thanks."

The stallion stood up and stretched his bony wings from under his blanket, yielding a pop or two from the joints, “Yeah, I guess it’s getting close to time for some shut eye.” After draping the fabric over his back once more, he walked over and extended a hoof to help Rosewood up, “I’m glad you enjoyed yourself. That always makes it worth the effort.”

She stood, accepting the assistance, and readied to get down to the ground. "Yup, I can't wait to see what next year brings."

“Hehe, it’ll only be a few more days and we’ll see the new year,” Silver responded as the two of them descended the steps that straddled the side of the house, his lute slung over his side by a strap. “Speaking of which, might you have any New Year’s resolutions?”

Rose hesitated before nodding. "I... Well, I kinda wanna find my special somepony..."

Upon reaching the ground below, the curious stallion chewed over the unexpected response, “Oh? Had your eyes on anypony in particular? Maybe I can ask around and find out if they feel the same way about you.” He gave her a teasing, but friendly, smirk.

She narrowed her eyes at him in a brief glare but she smiled too. “No, not really. Just been curious recently if it would be fun t’do crafts with a special pony. Share talents, y’know.”

Silver put a cold hoof to his chin in thought, “Another carpenter then? If I’m not mistaken, Alpine Ash is one, but I haven’t spoken much to the guy.”

“Oh, no, i-it doesn’t have to be a carpenter, that was just me bein’ curious, I’m not that picky. I’m sure I’ll enjoy watching their talent whatever it is.”

“So job doesn’t matter then. Okay. How about other qualities? Height? Build? Coat color preference? I’m sure personality matters too, right?”

“Yeah, personality’s a big winner f’me. Umm… Not too fussed about the other qualities, but I do kinda like ‘em pretty, as long as their heart’s big.”

The blanket-clothed bat-pony raised an eyebrow, “Pretty? I thought we were talking about stallions. Do you mean you like effeminate guys? Or… do you… I don’t know... fancy mares?”

Rose directed her gaze to the hoof that remained on the ground. She’d start subconsciously chewing the other. “I… I-I don’t really know yet, to be honest…” She mumbled in a quiet voice through the hoof.

“You don’t know? Huh. Can’t think I recall meeting anypony that didn’t know whether they liked mares or stallions before,” Silver moved a couple of steps closer to her, lowering his head to match height with her own, “What’s wrong? It’s nothing to get worked up about. Have you been bullied for this before or something?”

She looked up to meet his eyes. “Is it a normal thing…? I’ve never heard of it before but I think I’ve had a crush on a mare before… I don’t really know though and I don’t know how to view it…”

“A mare liking another mare, you mean? I know it happens, but it isn’t too common. At least I don’t think it is. The few I know of have been poked fun at quite a bit… “ Silver Rush started to come to a realization, allowing his thoughts to congeal a bit, “I’m guessing that you prefer to keep this a secret, since you don’t know how others will react to it, is that right?”

Rose tensed a little and nodded, glancing around in case any other being was around. “Please…”

The stallion yielded an understanding smile, reaching his forelegs out and wrapping the purple unicorn in an embrace, “Don’t worry about that. I won’t tell anypony… “ His voice then took on a more serious tone, “but… there is something that I need to tell you. At least, want to tell you. Hope I can tell you. Do you mind if we step inside out of the cold for a minute?”

She nodded and waited for the hug to end before heading inside, holding the door open for him.

Once inside, the black-maned pony took a seat on on the edge of Rosewood’s bed, giving her plenty of room to sit down herself, “Rose, I just want to be sure of where we stand with each other before continuing. Do you trust me? To keep your secret, I mean? To be a friend to you through thick and thin? Can I trust you to that same extent? To be a vault for things I tell you which I wish to keep hidden from others?”

Rose joined him sitting on the bed and aimed her ears at him, nodding after each question. “Yeah, ‘f course I trust you. D’you trust me?”

His copper eyes slowly moved over to hers as he patted her on the shoulder, “Yeah. If I can trust anypony here, it’s you.” He sat upright and took a deep breath, “You know what it’s like to be different...in that way… from most other ponies. That’s one of the reasons I think I feel more comfortable telling you this about myself than the others.”

The stallion allowed his head to drift back such that he stared at the ceiling, which was now a shade of yellow-orange from the light of the lantern keeping the room lit, “You know how, when ponies are just beginning the process of maturing, they start wanting to be more than ‘just friends’ with each other? How all those new feelings and desires pop up? With all the kissing and cuddling and… other things I shouldn’t mention aloud?” He closed his eyes as he slumped, “That… didn’t happen for me. It never did. It still hasn’t. None of it… ” Silver grinded his teeth nervously, waiting for her reaction.

Rose tilted her head and watched him before looking to the floor. “You don’t get crushes on anyone....?”

Silver confirms her suspicion, “No, I never have. I don’t even know what it’s supposed to feel like to fall in love. I can feel love… but… it’s always the same thing. A friend-love. A family-love. There’s never anything deeper than that for me.” He turned and looked directly into the unicorn’s eyes, “When I look at you, for example, I can see and appreciate that you are a pretty mare… but the kind of feeling that your beauty rouses in me is the exact same thing I get when I look at a nicely-cut gemstone or a tawny sunset. It doesn’t make me… you know… want… certain things. It’s the same with all the mares I’ve ever seen. I have no passion in me. Nothing is ever stirred up. Am I making sense at all?”

Rose nodded slowly as she listened, not breaking eye contact with him. “I kinda think I know.. I get that when I look at a stallion. I’ve had mah friends say they look so handsome, and I can sort of see an appeal but I only feel somethin’, butterflies I’m guessin’, when I look at a pretty mare. I’m… Not sure who I can see m’self with though…”

The bat-pegasus sighed, “I guess I kind of understand that myself. I know a lot of other ponies thought that if I didn’t like mares, then I must like stallions instead. So there were quite a few of my peers that made fun of me for that. Thing is, guys never did anything for me either. Those that knew the truth about me just thought I was weirdo, I was faking it, or I was just some uptight prude. That’s why I stopped telling anypony about my… ‘condition’.”

“I never brought this up, except with my mother, because I didn’t know if it was normal and it scared me. She didn’t have an answer but didn’t seem t’have a problem with it. Didn’t have the guts t’mention it to anyone else until now…”

“So… I guess you could say we both understand each other a little better now? I mean, nothing has changed for the worst between us because of these conversations, I hope?” Silver put on a mildly worried smile.

Rose smiled and shook her head. “Nope, you’re still my best friend here! Just spices the friendship up a bit!”

He couldn’t help himself. Even though he had already hugged her once this night, he latched onto her once again. This time, he used his membranous wings to aid his forelegs with the embrace for extra emphasis,  “Thank you! Thank you so much! You don’t know how much that means to me.”

She grinned and leaned into the hug, grinning even more at the wings. She felt protected here. “You’re welcome. I feel better that I’ve got mine off my chest too, even though I don’t have an answer for that yet either.”

“We can look for answers together, then. I’d say it’s only appropriate, right?” After a few more moments of enjoying the snuggle, Silver Rush leaned back, “I’m sorry I’ve kept you up so late. I hope you’re not too sleepy in the morning because of me.”

Rose waved a hoof dismissively. “As long as everypony feels better about things, I’ll take the risk.”

The fanged horse nodded, sliding off of the bed and onto his hooves, “I guess I’d better go now. Thanks again for the talk. If you ever have anything else bothering you, don’t be afraid to come to me, got it?” He flashed a smile her way.

Her ears perked, she smiled and nodded. “Got it. You do the same too. Sweet dreams?”

Just before closing the door behind him, Silver gave her similar wishes, “Thanks, sweet dreams to you, too!”

She grinned again and yawned once he’d left. She was just happy she wasn’t finding answers alone now.

[Kryptid]

This takes place during the previous update.

22nd Limestone, 222

While everypony was starting to disperse after Tunda’s party, one of the mares still had a gift left to give, but this time it wasn’t for Tunda. Lattice knew she’d long since missed his birthday, but she’d still made him a matching tunic so that they would have something matching to wear for the shows. This in mind, she caught him as he was leaving and heading home.

“Hey, Silver, would you mind helping me with the supplies leftover from making the dress?” said the mare, with a slightly nervous smile. Please say yes; don’t question it.

The voice caused the stallion to stop. Looking over his shoulder at Lattice, he gave an agreeable expression, “Oh, of course! I wouldn’t mind lending a hoof.” Once the two equines had strolled back over to his home, Silver opened the door and stepped inside. He began to gather various pieces of fabric together when he saw the most curious of things. There was a short log, stripped of its bark and smoothed, on which appeared to be a blue tunic of similar pattern to the robe that Tunda had just been given. “Um, Lattice? Is that what I think it is?”

“Assuming you think it’s a tunic to match your partner’s new dress, then, yes, it is.”

A toothy grin expanded across Silver’s face as he approached the new item of clothing. Running a hoof over its fabric, he examined its various details with delight. “This, this is great! You actually had time to make this in addition to Tunda’s? And you managed to hide it from me too! I, I wasn’t expecting this!” The bat-pony turned around and walked back back over to the gray mare. “Thank you! Thank you so much!” He rose up on his hind legs and started reaching to hug Lattice, but after seeing her panicked look, he stopped half-way there with a look of fearful realization as he fell back to the ground. Oh. Right. Hugs are a tricky thing with her. He scratched at the floor awkwardly with a hoof, “Um, anyway, thank you.”

Am I really that bad?“You’re welcome.” Lattice tried to put her reaction behind her, and put a grin on her face. “I felt that somepony should do something nice for you two, considering what you’ve done for the rest of us, and, well, they seemed appropriate for you two.”

“It’s greatly appreciated. I think I’ll try it on right now!” After walking back over to the log, he removed the tunic from the wood and began to slide it over his head. Once he threaded his forelegs and wings through it, he straightened it up a bit, “Fits quite well. How do I look?”

“You look wonderful, Silver, it really matches your coat well. I was worried it wouldn’t work well with your wings.” A thought occurred to her, and while she had some misgivings asking, she forced them aside so she could learn more about the only stallion she was comfortable with; as a friend. “Aside from your wings, what else is different about bat ponies compared to regular pegasi?”

“Glad to know! It works just fine with my wings, thanks.” The miner tilted his head when Lattice inquired about the unique attributes of his race, “Huh, that’s interesting question. I don’t think I’ve given it all that much thought. I know we don’t have to preen like other pegasi do. There are probably more similarities than differences. Apparently, most bat ponies prefer to be nocturnal, but that’s not an instinctive thing. I’ve been diurnal my whole life.”

Silver let out a sigh, “Then there have been rumors about bat ponies floating around that have given me trouble in the past. I’m sure you’ve probably heard that we have a fondness for drinking blood. It’s complete nonsense, though. I was one of the only bat ponies back in my home town and that myth caused a few of the other foals to fear and shun me. The second one being that bat ponies are naturally suave, seductive lovers. I can still remember one time when I was a teenager and some filly I knew said that she was disappointed when she found out that I wasn’t like that. I shouldn’t make a big deal out of that, I guess, I dunno…“

Lattice almost panicked at the thought of her friend being a sex fiend, but kept her composure. “Oh. That’s uh… It’s a good thing I hadn’t heard the last rumor; there weren’t any bat ponies in Buckington.” She looked at him sympathetically, sickened even at the thought of what he had to deal with. “You don’t have to answer, but… why weren’t you with your family or other ponies from your village?”

“Hmm? I was with my family most of the time. Unless… oh, I guess you mean why I didn’t spend more time with other bat ponies?” He snickered at the assumption, “Actually, my mother is an earth pony, as are all three of my brothers. The only other bat ponies in my family are my dad and my sister Candlebright. She had to deal with pretty much the same problems I did growing up, with quite a few teenaged colts chasing after her due to the, you know, ‘carnal misconception’ I mentioned earlier. She didn’t appreciate the harassment and of course neither did I. At least she’s grown up now and knows how to deal with unwanted advances.”

“Oh, I didn’t mean to make any tribalist assumptions…” she trailed off, “but that’s terrible! Nopony should have to deal with that, especially not a growing filly…”

Silver shook his head at her apology, “It’s no problem: that’s a pretty reasonable assumption for most ponies to make. I guess when a bat pony moves to a town mostly occupied by earth ponies, you end up with family situations like mine once they get married and have foals, heh.” The cat-eyed stallion began to gather some of the leftover fabric that Lattice Frame had requested assistance with. “Well, things never crossed the line into physical assault or anything like that with Candy. It was mostly just a lot of undue attention and cheesy pickup lines, so she found it more annoying than frightening.”
 
“But still…” Lacking anything add – not that she enjoyed the topic – the mare opted to switch topics to cleaning up. “You can just pass those to me; I don’t expect a problem moving them myself.” She looked around to see what was where, reaching first for her saddlebag of tools, before strapping it on. I Might need a hoof to get everything on it, though.

“Oh, okay then. Are you sure you don’t want help with anything?”

She shook her head. “No, I think I’ve got it.” She grabbed the leftover supplies and balanced them on her saddlebags, before turning to Silver with a smile. “Well, goodnight, I guess. I had fun at the party today.”

“Yeah, so did I. Hopefully the next one won’t be too far away.” The bat pony scratched the side of his head, “Speaking of which, mind if I ask you something? When is your birthday?”

“I’d hate to tell you this, but it won’t be for quite a while. It’s on Granite 18th.”

Silver laughed a bit. “Maybe so, but at least that gives me plenty of time to think about how I’m going to properly repay you for this,” he said as he tugged on the collar of his tunic.

“I guess that’s a good thing, since we’re barely on the maps we have here.”

“True. Maybe by then we’ll have more resources at our disposal not only for gift-making but for improving the town as a whole. The latter being of greater importance, of course.” The bat pony trotted over to the door and help it open for the earth pony, “Anyway, I’ll definitely think about it. Hope you have yourself a good night!”

“You too, goodnight!” She walked out the door, careful that nothing would fall off, giving him another smile as she left. One she was a little bit away, her ears drooped, she dropped her smile, and sighed. We could definitely use some improvements to at least the housing…