4th Hematite, 222 (later that day)Although there was a plate of goodies sitting in front of Silver Rush, he was too busy at the moment to do anything more than take a few small bites of his alfalfa sandwich. The stallion had his muzzle buried in a metallurgy book that he had brought with him from home. The look on his face wasn’t one of avid interest so much as it was of a pony trying to solve a problem. Every now and then he’d flip a page, read for a few minutes, and then take another bite (of his supper, not the book!).
As Silver ate his meal, Fargo would walk into the meeting room/dinning room/dormitory, and went straight to one of the beds. He’d take off his helmet and mail, and leave them along with his halberd by one of the beds while still keeping his shield with him. Once he had his gear (save for his shield) left behind, he’d walk over to where the food was being served. He had a single sandwich on a plate made of wood the resembled a plank more so than a saucer. Once he had his food he looked over towards the tables, before spotting Silver Rush. He figured he might as well go ahead and take em’ up on his offer for meeting after work, so he walked over towards his table. “Hello there, friend.”
Barely glancing up from his literature, the pony acknowledged the griffon’s presence, “Oh, hey there Fargo. I didn’t hear any screams or clashing metal, so I take it that your patrol was uneventful today?” he asked in a half-joking tone.
“Eh, I guess you could say that...” he said, before taking a seat and leaving his plank-plate down on the table. “A lot happened though...” he sighed, before bringing his foreleg onto the table and resting his head on his claw. “But, such is life though eh?”
The miner lifted his head up, now curious about the change in Fargo’s voice, “Something happened? Is it something we should be concerned about? Not a security problem, I hope.”
“Oh no, was boring really aside from a little run in with Shooting Star. Also Gunther made me feel uncomfortable, and I think I made someone cry, but all in all it wasn’t that bad.” he said, before looking back towards the door. “I’m used to being stressed, so it no worry.”
The guy was new here, so the copper-eyed stallion did wonder if that had anything to do with the friction he may have generated with the others that he mentioned, “Nothing too bad, I hope. Maybe those incidents were just due misunderstandings?” He looks back at his book for a moment, “I guess I’m not one to judge since I don’t have the details. Though I am rather curious about who was crying, if you don’t mind my asking.”
I wonder if it’s who I think it is...“They were mostly misunderstandings, though the one with shooting star ended with me falling in the river and almost getting shot because she thought I was a filthy bandit, but we talked it out at least...” Good thing copper and bronze don’t rust, else he’d had to have spent a long time trying to dry off armor. “And if you’d like to know, it was Lattice Frame.” He said, before picking up his sandwich and taking a bite into it. He’d have a blank look on his face the moment he realized it didn’t have any meat in it, before starting to chew his food. “Anyways, you want me to rant about what happened, or would you rather I don’t go on a tangent?”
Oh, one of the new mares. Not who I thought it was, then. “Nah, it wouldn’t bother me. Rant away, if you want to,” the black-maned equine encouraged his guest, before taking in a spoon of beans.
“Well, I was making my last run around the town, and I saw her sitting by the mine. I felt the need to check up and see what was going on. I spoke with her for like, a few moments and she just started crying over something. I think she got emotional because me being a guard triggered it. She then started to cry like a foal all dramatic like and got down on the ground. I offered to help her up, and asked if she needed my help. She didn’t take either of my offers, and I sat there for gods know how long wanting to make sure she was alright, before finally I left.” He growled a little and looked back at the door. “I gave her advice, tried to offer some help and instead she just lays there in self pity. What am I supposed to do eh? I can’t force people to accept my help, and I can’t help her if she’s not wanting to help herself.” He paused for a moment. “And now it’s getting dark out before I could go to bed.”
The stallion looked puzzled, “...she didn’t tell you what made her upset? I haven’t talked with her much since she arrived, so I don’t know what it could be. You said something about your position causing her breakdown? Maybe she had a loved one in the guard that died recently or something?”
“Eh, hell if I know.” He said, before taking another bite out of his sandwich. “And, it’s of little matter. She doesn’t seem to want to talk about it to me, or even speak at all to me, so it’s not like I can do a thing.” He tapped his claw against the table anxiously, “I just find it annoying she can’t stand me because I’m a town guard for once in last decade. I do this because I try to help you all, and I get held up by one mare and make another cry at the very sight of me.”
“Oh, it’s because she can’t
stand you for being a guard…” the new information helps him piece things together a bit more, “Maybe she had a bad run-in with a guard where she lives. Being sent to prison unjustly? I don’t know. If she’s really got something weighing on her this much, maybe I should go try to talk to her myself.” He then takes note of Fargo’s last statement, “I’m sure those are just teething issues, everypony will get used to having you around in time.” He nods and smiles in reassurance.
“Birds, don’t teethe, but I get your point,” he said, before sighing and leaving his sandwich down on the table. “I do expect things to get better, but it still was a long day.”
The bat-pony tilts his head to the side, “Well, is there anything
good you can say about your stay here so far? I know there’s not much to see or do for fun just yet, but surely there’s something you like about Shadytrails?”
Fargo brought a claw up to his chin and thought for a moment. “Well, you have free food and beds, and you’ve been pleasant to talk to,” he said, before looking back towards the door anxiously. “And it feels good not to be on the road again, I’m really getting sick of it.”
After bowing his head for a brief moment, Silver stated his appreciation, “Well, thank you, been nice talking with you too, Fargo. Seems like a lot of the others are too wrapped up in their work or perhaps personal matters to approach me for conversation. I don’t let that deter me, though. I want to get to know my current roommates as well as I can. Nothing builds societal stability like strong friendships.”
“You are welcome, it is nice to sit down and talk every once in a while.” He smiled at Silver, before trying to think of a topic for them to move onto. “So, I heard this place hit some silver yes? Perhaps I’ll be get my pay after all, eh?”
His pupils dilated at the mention of his find, “Oh, yes! I hit a large cache of galena. It contains mostly lead, but there’s a little silver in it as well. Refining it and selling it will definitely bring a profit. That’s about it, though.” Silver looks back to his book. “Silver and lead don’t make for good building materials. Although I’m thrilled to have found it, I need to crack-down on looking for something stronger, like iron or copper ores. A lack of that stuff is going to hold us back.”
“I take it if you dig deeper you’ll find something eventually, yes?” he said, deciding it was his turn to listen. “And as long you have wood and basic stone, you shouldn’t need your metal for building.”
“Potentially,” the pony responds before taking a sip of blueberry juice, “If it’s there at all. The only way to know for sure is to keep digging.” He closes his book, “Stone and wood will handle most of our basic needs, but strong metals are still preferred for some applications. Making weapons and armour out of an iron or copper alloy would be much better than relying on wood or lead for the same purpose. Stone-carving tools also have to be strong and durable enough not to wear too fast. I hear that Ms. Dreams is already having concerns about these things.”
“Eh, I don’t have to worry about getting a new weapon any time soon, and as long as I have a shield I should be fine.” He said before tapping his claw against his shield. “Though it would be a shame if the thing shattered. I doubt you guys have any paint or dye, so I couldn’t exactly fancy a new one up again.”
The gray-coated stallion finished his alfalfa sandwich as he continued to listen, “I have little worry about you or the other fighters around here for the moment. Your gear should last a good while. Of course, things can break at unexpected times and there will no doubt be a need to repair or even construct weapons for the inevitable future migrants who decide to become a part of the guard.” He then shakes his head but retains a small grin, “Nope, sorry, didn’t happen to bring any paint with me! If anypony would have any, my best guess is Ms. Dreams or Rosewood.”
“Eh, what a shame. I like to paint it up like I’m some knight or something along those lines. It’s funny because I’m just some big bird in low quality second hand armor.” He smiled for a moment, before frowning a little as a thought crossed his mind. “Eh...”
“Don’t get down about it, I’m sure somepony here will start to make some ink or paint once our resources expand. Besides, looks aren’t everything. It’s your actions that matter most, right?”
“That is not what bothers me, really,” he said, before leaning back a little. He was gazing away from silver for a just a moment before looking back at him and smiling a little. “It is nothing though, really.”
“Hmm? What’s the trouble then? Does it have something to do with your armor being second-hand, maybe?” Silver raised and eyebrow in question.
“Oh no. I’m just glad I have a helmet.” He chuckled for a moment, before getting the same serious look on his face. “It’s simple really, I’m just a little concerned that I don’t have many good years left before I’m too old to do my job.”
The fanged horse leaned an elbow on the table, “You think so? Had me fooled. You seem to be in pretty good shape to me.”
He chuckled again. “Eh, and I make damned sure I am, but in five years or so, I’m not sure that’ll matter.” When he noticed him leaning the elbow on the table, he assumed Silver was getting a bit bored. “Aye, you told me I could rant.”
“I did, didn’t I?” He smirked and gathered his things, “Maybe instead of worrying about how little time you have, maybe you should use that as a reason to savor the time that you
do have…”
Fargo cut him off, “No, I’m not afraid of running out of time, I’m afraid of unemployment. If I’m too old to fight I’m too old to do the only job I’ve done all my life.”
“Oh, well.” Silver Rush taps his chin, “Have you ever given thought to becoming an instructor? New guards will need to be trained, after all. I’m sure somepony with your experience can secure a position like that.”
“Perhaps, perhaps,” he said, nodding a little at that. “Maybe that could work,” he said, before making a fake smile. “I won’t hold you up any longer, thank you for the talk, and for listening to me rant.”
“Glad to help. I’m always up for a chat if you need me. Now I think I’m going to head off to bed. I may be a bat-pony, but I still need my sleep.” He gave a salute and headed off to return his tray to Shortstack before storing his book back with his other belongings under his bed.
Fargo nodded at that, “Heh, yeah... alrighty.” He watched Silver Rush walk off . Once he was gone he sat there at the table for a little while, occasionally tapping a talon against the table, waiting for most of the people to head to bed. Once the majority of the ponies were gone, he’d head to the bed he left his gear behind to go grab his armor and weapon. Someone needed to do a night shift around here.
Author
Topic: Shadytrails (My Little Fortress) (Read 41107 times)