Chapter 1: Life. What a joke.
House Earthborn
Fillydelphia
Delamare River
Ferry
Mid-Morning
Sundance sat upon the lurching ferry as it made its way across the choppy Delamare River. The stallion’s stetson pulled down towards his muzzle to shade his eyes as he hummed a few bars to himself, his gear at his right as he sat on the lurching wooden deck of the ferry, wearing nothing else but his dress leathers. The wind is beginning to howl as it blew across the river. The smell of far off rain and ozone caught in the amber yellow colt’s nose as a far off storm began to brew from the north.
The Colt heard a stamp of a hoof on the deck and peers up, foreleg tilting the hat up to catch sight of a young lanky stallion that looked down at him curiously. "That song you're hummin'. What is that?"
The Ranger blinks a bit as if he'd just caught himself, "Oh, uh. Ah you know I don't even know, it's just something I can't get outta my head." He says with a hapless shrug. "Some way outta here...." He mumbles and sighs shaking his head he gets up onto his feet as the deck swayed again as the ferry breached another small wave.
Turning his head he lifts his hat up just a pinch and looks about, the ferry was loaded with crates of all sizes and shapes, each crate stamped with a series of numbers and letters to denote what it was carrying and where it was supposed to be shipped to. Other than the crates the ferry held a number of ponies trying to make it across the river. Some looked to be locals just trying to commute, while others like the lanky pony that had interrupted him resting his eyes and head were obviously military judging by the gear. At the front of Ferry the Captain turned and peered over the crates and gives a shout, "Alright! We're about to reach the dock, grab your belongings and git! We need to unload these supplies and we can't do it with you lot mucking about!"
Sundance peers over to the others who were slowly gathering their supplies before leaning over and grabbing his saddle packs in his teeth and quickly throws it across his shoulders and double checks to make sure he had everything before heading to the front of the ship.
The ferry suddenly came to a lurching stop at the front bumped into the dock, the sound of a gangplank slamming into the decks, audible even over the chill howling winds that whipped threw his mane.
The Ferry Captain growls now as he stands atop the steerage to be clearly seen now by the passengers, "Alright now! Were at the East Side of Fillydelphia! Everybody grab your things and move! What are ya waiting for an invitation? I gotta schedule to keep!" He yells as Sundance's eyes look up onto the pier and spies a number of longshoreponies waiting to offload the nearly overburdened ferry. "Alright, No reason to get excited." Sundance says to the Captain as he passes by the old gray pony and walks towards the gangplank at the front of the vessel and walks up, the plank wobbling and creaking beneath the wait of him and his pack. Taking a look down he shivers at the lapping water nearly eight feet below and quickly makes his way up to the dock and quickly pushes past the Dockworkers still waiting to begin unloading.
It was his first time in Eastern Fillydelphia. And from what he could tell from this first look it just looked to be a muck of moving crates, wagons, wooden cranes lifting supplies from off the boats, off-loading and on-loading civilians, soldiers and workers from other workers and people walking and milling about in barely controlled chaos. Buildings showing the end of the spider web of piers and the edge of Eastern Filly rising above the madness like a series of beacons.
"There's too much confusion." He mumbles with a shake of his head as he makes his way to the end of the massive docks. He'd stuffed his orders into his saddlebags earlier that day telling him where to report, but in this scrum of ponies he'd rather wait till he got somewhere quiet before trying to dig for it.
His hoof's clacking against the wooden planks he quickly bobs and weaves through the crowd at a trot, the two gait movement creating an almost musical beat as he sought a way through. "There must be some kinda way out of here....." He complains as he quickly loses sight of the others who were with him on the docks and tries to force himself past a number of Work-Ponies before mercifully finding himself on solid earth, his hooves sinking into the wet earth and mud. Above him towered warehouses, saloons and whore houses, two and three story affairs that looked quite impressive to his bucolic eyes. The smell of wet mud, garbage, packing hay and open sewage assaulted his nose as he began to stretch his legs a bit, grateful at the now having some leg room and continued at a quick trot as he made his way to the Muster House.
As he walked onto a wide boulevard he could hear a piano begin to play from a saloon he was passing, a haunting melody. His eyes snap open in deja-vu, head twisting to stare at the entrance to the saloon, the double swinging doors were closed and the light coming from the inside was dark, shadows playing across the interior, smoke hanging in the main room like a miasma. The melody spilling forth as he hummed a few of the bars in recognition before the music abruptly snaps, like a sour note and becomes something else, he recognized the song now as the popular, 'Hooves Knocking together in Colterado'.
The sense of deju-vu quickly passing, he gives his head a rueful shake at the strange feeling that had taken him and nearly wished he could kick himself for getting shaken by a little ditty like that. Turning his eyes back to the road his flitted upon a Handsome Joy-Stallion in front of one of the Bawdy-Houses next door to the Saloon, their eyes lock together for a moment and he licked his lips and gave a smile to that handsome stud, a stirring in his loins reminding him of an aching need he hadn't had the opportunity to slack in ages.
The Joy-Stallion recognizes the look and gives a wide grin at the prospect of an Afternoons pay and company before he heard a loud nicker from his front. A familiar one at that, turning he sees the Stallion that had ordered him to Filly standing before him with a raised eyebrow. "Taking in the sights already Sundance? You were supposed to be at the Muster House an hour ago."
The Ranger turns his head back to where he'd spied the Joy-Stallion and see's that he'd left, probably after seeing the towering Earthborn Officer standing there browbeating him.
Sundance Apple hefts a sigh, “I can't get no relief."
The Stallion nods his head, "Not on the Houses time ya can't. Visit the Bawdy Houses later and get yourself a Mare."
Sundance sighs and gives a salute, "Ranger Sundance Apple reporting for Duty."
Life. What a joke.