Celestia's Finest: Old World Blues

[Miltonian]

Lullaby pauses for a moment. "Check out the equipment? What do you--Oh! Those things? I don't think they ever worked. Not sure if they can be fixed anymore." She smiles. "I've been good! Sure, let me just set this down over here aaaand we're good."

She wipes her hooves off and steps up to Sniper. "Lead the way!"

---

Happy is, of course, uninjured. She comes back up with a smile on her face. "Thanks!"

She claps her hooves together. "Of course! That sounds like a wonderful idea." She begins pulling out pots, pans, and ingredients with no rhyme or reason. However, at the end of it, everything needed for a cake sits waiting for them. "Ooh, what flavor?"

--

"Well maybe I like more of a crowd," Ace says huskily. He draws back with a wink. "Sure. I can be your source of information. But yes, I'd love to step somewhere private with you."

[D.KnightSpider]

Hmm. Still, it wouldn't hurt to let Love take a look. Heh. Lt. Partial Charge, Equestrian Defense Plumber.

"Glad to hear. I think every pony is going to be a lot better off now that Wire's gone and the Dreamstealer is out of commission. There's a lot less cause for worry."

He'll go back into the hallway and retreat to a secluded spot. The fewer ears the better.

"I wanted to let you know that our plans have changed a bit. We'll be operating out of this place and using it as a base of operations for a few weeks." Pause. "Have you thought any more about your future plans?"

[DigoDragon]

"Ooh, what flavor?"

Black and White...
"Flavor... well let's do half and half if you have the ingredients for it. I don't know what flavors they would like, but I think giving them an option between two will be the safer bet." Rose is ready to help.

[Elbeyon]

Love lets out a healthy amused chuckle. "Good, follow me. I'm here to collect my yarn." Love will lead him away to a more secluded spot and activate her bug stomper to jam any foreign recording devices. "Feel free to call me Love. How'd the trip go? What seemed to be the problem?" She seems very interested in the town she knows so little about or has never been.

[Miltonian]

Love's future career in plumbing aside, Sniper has more important things to focus on, which speaks to how important they are because that is a very funny mental image.

Lullaby follows him without reservation no matter how secluded the spot. His news does not bring a smile to her face, but she slowly nods. "My only thoughts are 'wait until you're done here and then head out with you all'," she says, "I'm going to keep working here until then, of course. Can't just sit around when work needs doing. But I do want to leave."

==

"Stripes! Of course." Happy nods and begins setting aside certain ingredients. "Well! Let's get started then!"

Spoiler

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Want to have Rose make the roll or assist Happy?

==

Card Ace waves a hoof dismissively. "The locals had decided they didn't like being slaves for Wire and started up a little revolution. They'd fortified the town in preparation for an attack, but when we showed up in a tank, they tried negotiating instead. They didn't believe Wire was dead at first, but we eventually brought them around. They'll resume trade with the casino in a few days."

[DigoDragon]

Spoiler

Show

Want to have Rose make the roll or assist Happy?

Spoiler: OOC

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Assist. Rose is not a grand chef like Happy is.

[D.KnightSpider]

"I'll get you out of here." Sniper reaffirmed his word. "I might be able to get you home tomorrow if I can convince our Commander to approve the detour while we're running another errand. It should be doable. If you were hoping to follow us to Equestria, well, that's a significantly more difficult undertaking."

Lullaby seemed to be a little more subdued today. It almost gave him hope that the 'tipsy theory' was correct.

"Which ties into the signals your were sending during the party the other night. I'd like to talk about them if we could."

Spoiler: OoC Roll

Show

Perception
(3d6)[5][2][2](9) VS 13

Body Language
(3d6)[3][4][6](13) VS 14

[userpay]

Back at base now Brazen is able to relax a bit. Fortified and witch free... Least one would hope. For the moment he focuses on making sure equipment is ready and maintained.

[Elbeyon]

She asks with a tense sadness. "They were slaves? Wire." She rubs her mane and says with some worry. "What were you doing?" When she hears the rest, Love smiles and her voice becomes a little more lively at the great news. "I'm glad they stood up and are free now. They sound like quite the heroic ponies. The wastelanders even held their own and negotiated against a tank." A touch of pride tints her last comment. "I wish I could have been there. Good work. How are they doing now? This is exactly what we should be doing!"

[Miltonian]

Happy complains a few times about sub-standard facilities, but it sure doesn't seem to affect the outcome at all. With Rose's help, a simple but elegant cake quickly comes into existence. Happy doesn't put too much frosting on it, just enough to give it a nice coat and make it presentable. No fancy decorative flourishes, which will probably suit the zebras just fine.

--

"I understand," Lullaby says firmly, "But I'll suffer through it. I could suffer through anything now." She smiles wryly.

At his question, she looks down and bites her lip. "I'll be honest, I was a little...tipsy. And I don't remember as much of it as I like. But..." She looks up and meets his eyes. "I...know you don't like me, but...I like you. Which makes things...awkward."

--

As Brazen checks over his equipment, Seafire plops down beside him with an exhausted huff. "If anyone tells you," she says, "That Kittyhawk has skinny legs and should be easy to overpower, tell them they're a big fat liar."

--

"Heh. They sure did. Pretty sure they would have shot us if we hadn't brought it along too," Ace says with a chuckle, "They seem to be alright. They were stocked up for a siege. Now they just have to put everything back where they got it and get back to living their lives."

[Elbeyon]

Love chuckles. "Shoot you? Smooth talking Ace? Nah, I'm sure you could have won over their leader anyway." Love tapes her chin. "What were there thoughts on Equestria? Have they had any run ins with the CPI?"

[DigoDragon]

Happy complains a few times about sub-standard facilities, but it sure doesn't seem to affect the outcome at all. With Rose's help, a simple but elegant cake quickly comes into existence. Happy doesn't put too much frosting on it, just enough to give it a nice coat and make it presentable. No fancy decorative flourishes, which will probably suit the zebras just fine.

It is as Rose was wanting. Simplicity with taste. Once done, Rose will give Happy a hug. "Thank you, Happy. This looks exactly as I pictured it. Much better than if I went it alone. Mine would be.. kinda lopsided. Heh heh."

Rose helps clean up afterwards. "I'm going to deliver this to the zebras. Sniper might pass by here looking for me later. If so, tell him to text me."

[D.KnightSpider]

"I know." Sniper says. He tries to keep his words soft and gentle. "It's not that I don't like you, because I do like you as a friend, it's that we really don't know anything about each other. We've known each other for less than a day and during half of that time I was undercover and pretending to be a carefree mercenary instead of being myself, the dedicated soldier.

"If you're interested in me, then that's, well, not a bad thing. But we'd need to be friends for a lot longer to know if that interest could turn into something deeper. It very well could be that you decide you don't like what you see as those gaps are filled and become known to you. I don't want to see you get hurt like that."

So, she had been drunk. That was marginally better than the Changeling Imposter outcome.

[Miltonian]

Ace chuckles and bows. "I'm glad to hear you have such confidence in me, Love." He winks at her. "As for the town, Equestria was but a distant name of a far-off place and the CPI was merely a rumor. The only terror they knew was Wire and this casino. They could not be happier with the way things are now."

--

Happy gladly takes the hug as her payment for services rendered! "Good! If it's everything you wanted, then I did my job to perfection!" she declares, "I want to be there when they eat it! I want to see what they think of it. If that's alright, of course."

--

Lullaby sighs heavily. "I...guess that makes sense," she says, "But if you're going off on your adventure and I'm stuck here, how will we get to know each other? It's not like I want to get in a gunfight and not like you can sit around helping me do laundry."

[DigoDragon]

Happy gladly takes the hug as her payment for services rendered! "Good! If it's everything you wanted, then I did my job to perfection!" she declares, "I want to be there when they eat it! I want to see what they think of it. If that's alright, of course."

Rose texts Sniper, "Delivering appreciation cake to zebras with Happy at office."

"Sure, I think the star chef deserves praise for her work. Come, I think they're at the office." Rose will take the cake with her ponykinesis carefully, and lead the way to find the zebras.

[Elbeyon]

"You haven't disappointed me yet. You've done good work out here." All the good news about the town is doing wonders for her mood. She smiles real big. "Good! I'm glad they're happy. They might have been able to avoid the CPI, but on our trip today we ran into a group of pegasus that were downright hostile to the CPI. I don't know their full history, but they seemed partiality enticed to talk if one of the wonderbolts could win a race against them. That's a bet I'd take any day." Love smirks. "Scope will have told command, and I'll be mentioning them myself. I figured the group might be something that interests you. Anyway, I should head off. I'm on a tight schedule tonight."

[D.KnightSpider]

Sniper's response wasn't immediate. He gave the question a moment to exist before framing a reply.

"That's, I'll be honest, a problem that would never go away. I'm always on call and always have to be ready to leave at a moment's notice. There are times and situations when I'm away from home for long stretches of time or running missions back to back. It's the life I lead and not one that I can abandon.

"The other night, you mentioned helping us in the infirmary. Our patient load has tripled and Decoy would appreciate the help. Maybe we could make that work so that we're at least in the same vacinity."

Sniper glances at his comm., but doesn't immediately reply. Soon.

[Miltonian]

Happy helps balance the cake by staying on the other side of Rose from it. She may be clumsy, but at least she knows it.

The two of them head on down to the makeshift office, or at least nearby, where the zebras have set up camp. It does resemble a camp, to be honest, with blankets forming tents and the like. At the moment, they are gathered around a heater, which takes the place of a campfire, and singing softly.

----

Ace considers her new information carefully. "Well," he says, "They could be helpful. Pegasi weather control experts make excellent makeshift artillery. I'll go talk to the Wonderbolts about starting a recruitment drive." He inclines his head to her. "Have a good night, love."

--

Lullaby's ears droop. "It'd be...difficult," she admits. Saying more might mean giving up on it entirely, and so she doesn't.

She perks up at his suggestion. "Of course!" she says, "I can go down and help out. Better than washing clothes, right?"

[Elbeyon]

Love puts some stress in her cheek. "I'd like to open communication and get us talking. It's dangerous to go at it alone with the CPI around. I'll leave you my notes later." She returns the bow. "Good night, Ace. Enjoy your evening." Love will leave him with a shoulder pat and head off to her next stop.

There are a lot of patients and doctors she wants to check up on. She heads off towards the hospital and tries to quietly poke her head through the door as not to disturb anyone. If people are awake, she'll go ahead and enter the room.

[DigoDragon]

"My friends and acolytes, chef Happy and I have baked you all an appreciation cake," Rose announces upon arrival.

She carefully puts it down somewhere to serve and... remembers she doesn't have plates and forks. Whoops. She turns to happy. "I forgot plates and forks. Silly me." Rose chuckles at herself and addresses the zebras, "Anyway, this is for everything you've for us; guarding our camps, covering our backs, and not complaining one iota about it. Seriously, you all have been a blessing for us and I'm glad our paths have crossed."

Rose is getting a little misty-eyed.

[D.KnightSpider]

"That depends on how much you dislike washing clothes." In spite of himself, Sniper smiled a bit. He sobered. "Although five minutes with Blank might change your mind. We pulled him off a CPI Gunship and he's been a... juvenile jerk ever since. Be forewarned that not all of our patients are friendly."

He'll help Lullaby get sorted with the laundry and then guide her to the infirmary.

Text message to Rose: Have to swing by the infirmary and then I'll be up.

[Miltonian]

As Ace heads off to a night of debauchery, Love heads down to the infirmary. It is, for once, quiet. Blank has fallen asleep and everyone else is satisfied to enjoy the brief calm that comes with it. Angel looks up as Love enters and smiles. She beckons her over. "He's sleeping," she says excitedly.

Not too long after, Sniper and Lullaby arrive. Lullaby hums softly to herself and smiles as she enters. "Hello everypony."

--

The zebras look up, surprised. "Is that...do we eat that?" Anaki asks.

Happy giggles. "Mm-hmm!" She turns to Rose. "Go on ahead! I can keep them entertained while we wait."

The zebras swell a little at her praise. "Thank you, teacher!" Auni says. They crowd around the cake, curiosity piqued.

--

[DigoDragon]

"I'll be right back with plates and forks!"

Rose gallops back to the bar to get utensils and plates.

[Elbeyon]

Love looks over the sleeping Blank with a warm heart. Good, Angel is still here. A return smile goes to Angel and acknowledging nod goes to anyone in the room that pays her mind. A carefully, quietly walks brings her over to Angel. The excitement made not chuckling hard. "Good evening, Angel." She looks to Blank. "He looks like he is resting well." She turns back to her. "How are you doing?" She teases, "Watch any movies?"

When the two others arrive, Love gives Lullaby a wave. "Hello, you two." Good. A lot of ponies are here. Love starts her mage sense countdown. What are Scope and Lullaby doing here she thinks to herself.

[D.KnightSpider]

Small talk is made on the way to the infirmary.

"Love, Angel Wings-slash-Decoy." Sniper says by way of greeting and introduction. "This is Lullaby. She gave us quite a bit of information, at great risk to herself, that helped topple Wire. She's looking for a change of employment and I figured that Decoy might want an extra set of hooves while we're here. So, ah, how's that sound?"

[Miltonian]

In short order, Rose returns with the plates, a knife, and the forks. Happy is in the middle of explaining what 'chocolate' is (not that it's doing any good since she uses descriptions like 'It's a hug for your mouth!' and other metaphors that the zebras don't get) when she trots back in. With a big grin, she says, "And now you can try it for yourself!"

--

"He fell asleep an hour ago," Angel says, "I'm watching him now since Violet had to while Rose and I were out. Seems like I got the better end of that bargain." She chuckles. "Eh, just some light reading. Haven't been here long enough to settle in for a movie."

She smiles and shakes Lullaby's hoof when introduced. "Well, I can always use more hooves. It'd be good to have somepony dedicated to assisting us. Or even just keeping Blank distracted while we deal with the others."

"I keep hearing about this 'Blank'," Lullaby says, "Is he really that bad?"

"Well..." Angel looks to Love and Sniper.

[DigoDragon]

Winded, Rose serves up slices of cake for the zebras. "Here you all go. Made with love with appreciation." She'll serve herself last, and for once she almost feels too tired to eat. Almost.

At some point Rose will rest. Right? Well, maybe. She only now notices her texts and responds, "Serving appreciation cake. at office camp."


Rose bites into the cake and slowly sits her bottom on the ground. She eats slow, which is a bit unusual for her. "How is it?" she asks everyone?"

[D.KnightSpider]

Sniper sighs. "You don't get a reputation like his for no reason. He's an angry child lashing out at the world because he's bored, sick and a prisoner of war. Love's trying to reform him but that's going to be an arduous process.

"I think he'd be a lot less of a burden of he were at least somewhat clever with his insults. But insulting a pony's physique is about as bottom-barrel as possible. Anyway," He tries to shift the topical window a bit. "How are Merry and Emerald holding up?"

[Elbeyon]

Love smiles at her and tries to rest a hoof on Angel. "Thank you so much. What you're doing for him means a lot. Violet deserves a medal or something for her harrowing work." Love chuckles. She takes an interest in her reading material. Angel was sort of reading something yesterday too. Love thought maybe the reading was because the options were limited, but she has a full entertainment system here now. Love makes some small talk to try to figure out what stuff she likes to read.

"Hello, Lullaby, it's a pleasure to finally meet you. Everyone calls me Love." She will join in the round of hoof shakes after Angel. "Thank you for the assistance you provided. If there is anything I can do for you, let me know. And, thank you again, for thinking about helping Violet and us out."

Love rubs her mane after Scope's update. "He doesn't have a lot of life experience. He is younger than he looks. I'm trying to show him something beyond what he knows. A little perspective can add nuance to a pony's' life." She looks to Lullaby. "It's a tough job. It's not for everyone." She hadn't even been here that long. Scope's question is something she is interested in as well.

[Miltonian]

‘Almost’ only counts in horseshoes and grenades, neither of which Rose is using at the moment. She’s still eating that cake.

The zebras’ first experience with real sweets is a sight to behold. Their eyes go wide, they look at it, at each other, and then keep eating in disciplined, measured bites until it is all gone. The cake is mostly consumed in the first round, given how many there are eating it, but a little is left over.

“It’s good!” Auni declares and the others echo him.

---

It seems Angel was planning on reading some historical novels about the time of Luna’s Banishment to the moon. The wars, politics, and global relations of that time.

Lullaby chuckles. “Alright, Love then. I’ll try to avoid putting it in any unfortunate phrases.” She listens to Sniper and Love’s descriptions and studies Blank with a more careful eye than before. “Well,” she says at last, “at least he’s asleep now.”

“Doing well,” Angel says, “Lullaby is sleeping as well. Emerald is listening to our music on headphones. We gave them their own ‘rooms’.” She points to the curtained-off areas. “So that they could have some shelter from Blank.”