My Little Fortress: Duskfields.

Chapters

Prologue, Arrival and Preperation.
Journals #1
Progress
Journals #2 & Scene #1
Armour, Migrants and Tragedy.
Journals #3
Scenes #2
Scenes #3
Scenes #4
Trenches, Parasprites, and chicken kicking
Journals #4
Scenes #5
Thievery, Demons, and Mystery.
Journals #5
Scenes #6
Scenes #7
Party Time!
Mystery, Sweat and Blood, Thievery.
Scenes #8
Scenes #9
Journals #6
Housing, Babies, and Gore
Journals #7
Scenes #10 Therapy Edition
Credits

Prologue, Arrival and Preperation.

It had been three years since Virtue had last set hoof in Coupledye. She'd visited once not long after Glaive and his family moved away. It had been over fifteen years since she'd seen her family then. Seeing them again after so long had been a bit bittersweet, but mostly sweet. After all, how did one explain not visiting even once in such a long time? Letters were one thing, but nothing like hugging your family and speaking to them face to face. She'd enjoyed her last stay in Coupledye. Seeing Glaive's old family home and spending some more casual time with his family was nice. Her parents immediately fell in love with their grandfoals, and Temperance hadn't changed a bit. That much was a bit surprising though. Even at thirty four years old, he was still single and continuing the dead end administration job he held. But despite all of that, she'd enjoyed her last stay. She figured she'd come back sometime soon.

She didn't expect it to be this soon though, and she really wished she was enjoying this stay more.

After receiving the letter from the winter caravan, she immediately set out to return to Coupledye. A letter from Temperance, saying that he'd applied for and been accepted for the leading position for an expedition off into the wilderness to set up a few farms to help feed Coupledye. She couldn't believe it at first. After all of the letters she sent home about the things that had happened here? And he still wanted to do this?

That was two months ago. Now, she was sitting in his living room, trying one last time to convince him that it was a terrible idea and he could be killed. Did he not remember what happened to Brook? Or Barley? Or, heaven forbid, what happened to Arbalest, Wool and Stiletto? Apparently not. None of her pleading seemed to be making any headway.

Temperance sat across from her, filing through some of the paperwork she'd brought back from Dawnpick to give him an idea of just what he'd be getting into. All of the management, the logistics, sorting out social problems, doling out justice even, all of that would soon be dumped onto him and nopony else could do it for him. At least not for a long time. He seemed all the more excited for it. "Well, early on it looks simple enough." He raised a hoof to his chin. "It really takes this long to get shelter put up?"

"Yes, it does. Or it can anyway." Virtue was flipping through her diary, reliving the early months of Dawnpick. "Bring as many skilled hooves as you can. You want to get protection up as soon as you possibly can."

Temperance rolled his eyes. "Or the badger ponies will eat me. I know, I know, you've said it thirty times since you got here." He pushed the papers aside. "I'll be careful, I promise. I've got all of your expertise to learn from."

Virtue paused on the page where she recorded Brook's death, and shut the diary. She didn't want to read that again right now. "I know, but this isn't a game. The badger ponies aren't going to play fair." She sighed. "They're going to come when you least expect it. At night. From the darkness. They'll hide in the trees. And they seem to know no fear, from what I've seen. They charged our trapped gate, heedless of the ones that died right in front of them."

"Then I'll bring a couple of soldiers with me. From the sounds of things Halberd did a great job. And I've met Glaive, he seemed to think they weren't very tough."

"And do you recall the time that badger pony almost got me? If Halberd hadn't been there he would have. Temp, you're not a soldier. You can bring all you want, but if they're not around..."

"I know, I know..." Temperance insisted, rolling his eyes again. "Virtue, I'm not a five year old foal. I know how to be careful!" He started fiddling with the papers again. "Look, can we change the subject? How much food and water did you bring?"

Fine. If he was going to go through with this foal's errand despite her warnings, she couldn't stop him. "I... uh, I don't remember. Hold on..." She started rifling through her own stack of papers before letting out a small yawn.

Temperance soon followed with his own, and rubbed his eyes. "You know, it's getting late. Harvest went to bed two hours ago. Why don't we pick this up tomorrow morning?" He stood and stretched. "You want anything before bed?"

Virtue stood and faced him. "Just one thing." With that, she pulled her little brother into a tight hug. "Just be safe. Please, for me."

"Hey, we're just going to bed," he teased. When she gave him a disapproving frown, he said, "Sorry, no more joking. But it's not like you're not going to see me again."

At least she had a few more days to spend with him. She made a tiny smile. "Right. Come on, let's get some sleep."

It's been five years since the events of Dawnpick came to a close. A few things have happened since then in that little mining town, but this is a story about another group of ponies. This is the story of the Fellowship of Hope, a group of ten brave ponies who heeded the call of the king and queen of Coupledye.

The populations of Coupledye and its attendant lands have grown considerably over the past decades, and resources are starting to be spread a bit thin. Twenty years ago Virtue Cookales led an expedition to seek out new sources of rich minerals to fuel the economy. But ponies do not live on steel alone.

This is the story of Virtue's younger brother Temperance Scribebakes, and his expedition to fulfill a more basic need. Coupledye needs more food, and new farming communities are being established throughout the land. Temperance volunteered for the most distant and challenging of the new sites, eager to prove himself to the royalty and everypony in Coupledye.

Temperance and his band have traveled for three months to reach the rolling plains that they were promised, and in celebration of arriving he has christened the lands Duskfields. Will he succeed and bring more honor to the family and himself?

Or is he doomed in ways he cannot begin to imagine?

From right to left, Smoothblock, Case Study (on the rock), Flamberge, Maize, Temperance, Crosshair, Wood Chips (way in the back), Cream Puff (on the ground), Holly and Veneer (way in the back) settle in after a long journey and prepare to put in the hard labor to build Duskfields up strong. This is their story. Hopefully, it won't be a short one…

Temperance's Journal, 1st Granite, 269

We're here. It's not as impressive to look at as I expected, but we're here all the same. After three months of slogging our way here, we've made it. At least it's warm. Trudging through snow the whole way here wouldn't have been very fun at all.

There's so much work to be done. I've talked with Virtue a dozen dozen times about how she started things out in Dawnpick. I've heard every last little detail. She even let me read some of her diary to see what decisions she made, and which were mistakes. I think I know how to proceed. It's going to be a huge amount of work, but I'm ready. I'm not scared to put in some effort. And I know the others aren't either.

Which is good, because I've already got work laid out for most of them, and there's plenty of lugging stuff around for the rest. The land's fairly level, thank goodness, but there's still a bit of earth moving to be done so I've asked Smoothblock to look into it. That ought to give her something to do to get her out of my mane for a little while. Holly too. I don't think the two are getting along too well, which is somewhat understandable. I'll get Holly to start knocking some of these trees down to let her vent a bit, and to get us something for Veneer and Wood Chips to start working with.

As for me and the others, there's a lot of unloading to do.

I'll probably keep reciting all of Virtue's warnings in my head as we unload everything. That keeps coming back to me whenever I don't have anything else to occupy my mind. She begged me not to come. Begged me. I know she means well, but I'm a thirty five year old stallion. I can handle myself.

Anyway, I did some debating and I think I'm going to name this place Duskfields. It's kind of a small nod to her and Dawnpick, even if she didn't like the idea of me coming out here. Maybe she'll get a kick out of the name when she gets my letter. But more to the point, it's getting dusky, and the name just stuck with me. Far off to the north, I can see what looks like a small dust storm sweeping the land. I didn't expect that out here, but it's a minor inconvenience. We'll weather a dust storm with no problem.

Journals #1

Cream Puff's Diary Prologue 1

Yes! I've been selected to join an expedition, finally! I had to keep lowering my expectations, and looks like I got stuck with one going a long ways off, but I am finally out of here! No more cooking with old or preserved stuff! We'll get to grow our food, and I can give ponies fresh meals! I can't wait!

Prologue 2

Are we seriously headed someplace called "The Hills of Worry"? Maybe I shouldn't have lowered my standards quite so much.

Granite 1, 269

Well, we're finally here, so I guess I'll stop procrastinating and actually write regularly in this thing. Temperance seems pretty excited, but this place gives me the creeps. Still, the soil looks good, even if some of the plants in it look unsettling. I hope the seeds we brought will grow well. I wonder if anypony can get seeds from the native plants. Maybe they're tasty. I doubt it, but you never know.

Crosshair's Diary Prologue 1

Hello Diary! Today was the bestest day ever! There was an expedition going out to settle a farming colony or something and they wanted somepony to go and make sure that the wild critters there are at bay and keep everypony safe, I applied and they accepted! Finally I'll be out of this old boring job and finally get a chance to BE somepony! So I brought you to keep note of all the exciting experiences I'll get from day one onwards! Oh I so do hope they'll have crossbows for me to use! It's going to be so great and there's going to be so much to do, I'm sure of!

Crosshair's Diary Prologue 2

Diary, I know you can't answer me this, but.. Why does anypony would even wants to go to someone that's named "The Hills of Worry?" that name already got me worried.. But I'm sure we'll be fine! I mean, what's the worst thing that can happen?

Omigosh Cream Puff is in this expedition too! I LOVE her food and she's such a great friend! Well! I guess the travel won't be so boring afterall! We'll talk about /everything/! maybe gossip about the stallions in our expeditions, take about what we're going to do, her new recipes, I thought I couldn't get more excited, well I'm wrong! This is going to be the best expedition ever!

Granite 1, 269

Hauling. So much Hauling. I thought I'm here to keep ponies safe and shoot critters! But I guess I can't complain, even the boss's hauling.. Although he's a Unicorn and I don't think his back gets hurt or his wings gets strained from hauling logs and rocks from places to places.. But then again, I probably shouldn't try flying with a boulder on my back..

SmoothBlock's notes, entry one: Well here I am on my way with a group of settlers going to found a farming village. Probably not my best idea, but I was drunk. We got a leader named Temperance... more swamp whiskey for me I guess! A militant named Flamberge, he has a curvy sword, and that's all I got to say about that. CaseStudy, more like FlankStudy. CrossHair, food on target. CreamPuff, too easy. Holly, has an axe, likes to wave it around and polish it. Veneer, I think he might be a fruit vendor. Maize, who I hope knows how to grow pigtails! WoodChips, who I really should warn about CaseStudy. Ha-Ha! I got a million of 'em.

Entry two: Was out drinking today when the boss comes up and tells me to level the hills around here. I can do that, no problem, Just remember to work from the top down. Now I thought I should dig on the cellars for stores first, maybe a furniture store for our beds, hint hint! sleeping outside in the rain sucks! Oh well, time for a fine cigar.

Maize's thoughts, Prologue

I've found a chance to get out of the city! Farming colonies are being made all across the land, and I get to be part of the most distant one! Hopefully there won't be that many others with us.

Maize's thoughts, Granite 1, 269

9 other ponies. Could have been better, but it could have been worse, too. I've so far been able to avoid getting anyone talking to me. A quick flash of my horrid smile turns them right back around! Thank you, father, were it not for your beatings, I might actually have to socialize! As for the other ponies, from what I can tell they're mostly working on giving me a plot of land to do my work. Hopefully I won't be expected to do anything until they finish, I'd hate to accidentally bump into someone.

Case Study's Journal, 1st Granite, 269

If there's anything good to say about travelling, it's that you get plenty of exercise. It definitely helps supplement the jogging that I would have normally done during that time. Of course, even the physically active need their rest and I'm not exception; I'm going to look forward to getting a full night's sleep. A fatigued doctor makes mistakes and mistakes cost lives. I'm not predicting that my services will be needed in the imminent future, but one can never be too cautious when exploring uncharted territory. There are any number of things that could cause harm here, be it wild animals, poisonous plants or even construction accidents. Hopefully, no one will make any stupid decisions. Especially this early in the game. Nonetheless, I find myself stunned time and time again at the injuries I've witnessed in the past that others have sustained doing fool-hardy things.

The land looks fine and we have plenty of supplies, but I know that the future can often hold unwholesome surprises. Nevertheless, I won't worry myself with that. At least not for now. My main concern now is the blend of fellow ponies that have traveled here with me. Our leader, Mr. Temperance, seems level-headed and intelligent. I hear tell that his older sister was a successful expedition leader herself. In short, I trust him. Most of the others seem to be minding their own business.

One ruffian I'm trying to stay clear of is this corpulent unicorn mare named Ms. Smooth Block who seems to love the ill-advised pleasures of smoking and alcohol. Her voice is so unnaturally deep that I cringe when thinking about what damage her habits must have done to her lungs. Her personality is rather grating as well. I suppose I can't say that I'm surprised, seeing as any sizable group must have individuals with incompatible interests and habits. That's enough rambling from me for one day. I should get ready for some shut-eye.

Progress

Temperance's Journal - 2nd Granite, 269

Today marks the first real day of work. While we've been sorting through the goods and figuring out what goes where, there's not a whole lot most of us can do at the moment. Smoothblock is still working away at flattening some of the hill off to the west, but Holly has the real work cut out for her. There are just tons of trees around, and until most of them are cut down we don't really have anywhere to set up shop.

We managed to find a little space for a carpenter's shop and a craftshop at least. As soon as ponily possible, Veneer and Wood Chips will have some wood getting cut into planks to help set up some shelter.

In the mean time, the rest of us are taking a little while to familiarize ourselves with the area and pick some of the local plants.

While sorting through the things in the wagon, something unexpected caught my eye.

A small bin of steel bars. There was a note attached to it too:

Temperance,

I couldn't stop you from going on this expedition, but even still there was a little something I felt I could do to help you out. I know your request for some iron couldn't be filled in time for you to bring any with you, so I'm going to give you something even better.

In this crate are eight bars of some of the best steel we've produced in Dawnpick. I know you won't be wearing any armor, but maybe you'll find a good use for it. I'm going to personally see to it that more iron and steel is sent your way. We're swimming in it here, and you need it a lot more than we do.

Sorry, I'd have brought more but it was all I could carry with me!

Love,

Sis

I didn't really feel homesick at any point on the way out here until I read that, but I have to say, even though I've only seen Virtue a few times in a decade and a half, I'm already missing her.

There's a lot of work to be done though, maybe that'll get my mind off of it.

7th Granite, 269

It's taking every bit as long as Virtue said it would to get things rolling around here, and we've just now set up the sawmill. That should speed up future construction work a dozen fold at least. While they were at it, I had Wood Chips and Veneer throw together a few pieces of furniture for the upcoming communal dorm. I also had them make a few armor stands.

There's no great place to put them yet, so we set them up out of the way. I could tell Flamberge and Crosshair were getting antsy, and this is a way for them to vent some of their energy in a productive way. They've both been training for most of the day, and I can tell they're happier now.

19th Granite, 269

Well, I knew it was going to take a while, but poor Holly just can't seem to cut the trees down fast enough. She's got a small corner cleared out at least, and for now that's enough room to put down a small patch of farm land and start building some temporary shelter. I hate to be selfish, but the first thing is going to be somewhere for me to lay out the books so I can actually try to manage this place.

As room opens up we'll start building some housing immediately. We've barely scratched the surface of what needs to be built. Homes for ten ponies, someplace to eat, a proper place for the soldiers to train and keep their things in, somewhere for Case Study to treat injured or sick ponies, a barn or warehouse...

I'm really starting to appreciate how much planning Virtue had to put into Dawnpick now!

13th Slate, 269

Things are coming along more slowly than I could have ever imagined. My new office is finally mostly complete, although the finishing touches have been on hold for weeks now as we divert attention to getting housing set up.

On the way out of my office today, I noticed Maize sleeping in the fields by herself. I'm thinking perhaps I should speak with her at some point. She seems to be avoiding the rest of us, and I wonder if she's a bit homesick or depressed. We don't have anywhere to really sleep yet, but the fields are one of the last places I'd pick.

We're working on getting a place to sleep though. We've all been sleeping on the floor in here in shifts, but having some actual bedswould be nice. Soon. Very soon.

17th Felsite, 269

Things are really shaping up. It took every bit as long as Virtue said it would, but we've got room for everypony to sleep inside now!

I really should commend Veneer and Wood Chips for the work they've put in. The work they've done so far is superb. There's only a few rooms ready so far, so a lot more to go, but we'll get there. We were promised a caravan from Coupledye by winter, and I'm hoping to have this place looking like a real farm in some fashion by then. I know they won't let me down.

We also got some space set up for the animals we brought with us. The sheep have been moved to a little pasture set aside to the south, and some nest boxes for the chickens were placed up near the fields. A few eggs for breakfast every once in a while sounds nice.

1st Hematite, 269

Today marks the first day of summer, and I must say we've come a long way already. At this rate we'll have individual rooms for everypony in no time, but I think I may take a detour on that to start work on a dining room of some sort. Cream Puff has been working in our makeshift kitchen for a while now, but it would be much better for everypony if we had all of that inside of course.

Space is starting to become a premium already though, and I've asked Holly and Smoothblock to get to work on clearing some space out for us. That's going to take a while, so we might as well start now.

Well, it's late, so I think I'm heading to bed after getting something to drink. I really must say that freshly made tomato juice tastes somuch better than the stuff we got back in Coupledye.

I think I'm going to like it here.

Journals #2 & Scene #1

Commander Flamberge Field Journal Entry #1

I have been assigned to an expeditionary force to form a new settlement in The Hills of Worry. I have heard several tall tails tales about dark and sinister magic in these hills. I am not overly concerned, though all stories have a ring of truth, we will be on our guard. The leader of the expedition is a stallion named Temperance, he is apparently the younger brother of Duchess Virtue of Dawnpick, wherever that is.

This is my first command position, though I don't have any proper soldiers with me and am chronically under-supplied, I have my sword, two helmets, and two peytrals, and that is it. My superiors have tasked me to recruit, train, and equip a militia for the area from these pioneers, and whatever material we can scrounge up. It won't be easy.

Commander Flamberge Field Journal 1st Granite, 269

We have finally arrived at our new home. Though it doesn't look it yet. The trees and undergrowth are thick enough to choke a dragon. The miner, Smoothblock, I think her name was, has started flattening the hills. Such strength, while not uncommon among earth ponies, is still staggering. The rest of the party took to clearing the trees and shrubbery. Seems some of the local plants may be edible, though they don't look that tasty. Still anything's better than the magically dehydrated rations they fed us in the army.

Temperance has decided to call this place, Duskfields. The name I suppose, fits a farming town in The Hills of Worry.

Commander Flamberge Field Journal 2nd Granite, 269

It has come to my attention that we have been gifted several bars of steel, by Lady Virtue. I believe these should be used to produce a surplus of weapons so that everypony here can have something to defend themselves with, in the case of bandits or wild animals. I will recommend spear tips be forged to Temperance, as soon as we can spare time to set up a forge.

Commander Flamberge Field Journal 7th Granite, 269

A spot has been cleared and set aside for me to practice, I am most appreciative. I have also found my first recruit, a beautiful young pegasus mare named Crosshair. She is a decent shot with a crossbow, though her experience with hoof to hoof combat is a bit more limited. I'll have to see if I can fix that. She does however show promise. We shall see what she can do, she may be able to help instruct other recruits to shoot the bow better than I could as well.

Commander Flamberge Field Journal 17th Felsite, 269

We finally all have a bed to sleep in and a roof over our heads, the dorms are cramped but beat the hell out of sleeping in the dirt. Veener and Woodchips have done a splendid job. Still no sign of trouble, but Crosshair and I have been spending our time patrolling and training. She is a talented young mare, I could not have done better for a first recruit.

Crosshair's Diary, 2nd Granite, 269

I couldn't help but notice that we're gifted by several bars of what must be the shiniest steel bars I've ever seen in my life. Apparently it's from our leader's sister, Duchess Virtue of Dawnpick, I think I've heard of her from somewhere, probably in the news or something like that. I'm sure if she made it to Duchess and made it into the news, then she probably done something to deserve it. Here's hoping that it's in the blood line! I wouldn't mind if one day Temperance becomes Duke Temperance! That'd be neat.

Crosshair's Diary, 7th Granite, 269

I guess they noticed how we were getting antsy and bored to our bones and set up a place to practice! It's not much, quite literally just a flat ground to play in. But I appreciate that! Flat ground's in the trend nowadays. Also apparently I've been recruited by our awesome Militia Commander Flamberge! He made me a captain, It's so awesome! He's even got a very, Very big sword with him too! I'm not really much for close hoof-to-hoof combat myself, but I think I'd like to get taught by him about that.

Crosshair's Diary, 17th Felsite, 269

Today's the day we finally slept properly! Well, not entirely so, but, We have roofs over our heads now! I missed that. And you can only sleep on clouds for so long, and when you got something flying up and bit you right in the flanks, suddenly sleeping on clouds isn't so very nice anymore. But I guess I'll just drag one down to the dorms and sleep there, should be good.

Everything's finally taking shape and I can't be happier with my position here, I thought they'd make me be some sort of just another guard amongst the other dozen or something but I've been made Captain! When you thought life couldn't get any better, it put a surprise on the silver plate for you. Here's hoping that won't change any time soon!

Me and the Commander have been spending quite a lot of time together, training and patrolling to make sure nothing bad's going to pop up and eat our ponies. I can't help but to notice that every once in a while he would tell me to sit on a cloud with him to 'guard' the area and be a lookout, something about training my patience and focus or something like that I don't know. It's pretty awesome! And I don't know if it's just me, but the Commander's been talking oddly around me lately. I mean, normally he'd use that strong authoritative barks or that deep statement that didn't leave any room for doubts, but he seems to be speaking softer around me. Not that it's bad or anything, just something to note down.

~Maize's thoughts~ 2nd Granite, 269

I got to check out some of the local plants today. Not that I need to, of course, I'm certain that our commander was bright enough to pack radishes, and radishes are all we could ever need. Even so, they say variety is the spice of life, and I'm not one to disagree with a nugget of wisdom like that, so I found a nice secluded area and started picking. Maybe someday I might find a new kind of radish!

7th Granite

The two soldiers of our group now have their own practicing area set away from the rest of us. I can't say I'm not a little jealous, but at the same time I'm thankful that there's that much less chance I'll end up bumping into someone. Father always said I was too clumsy.

19th Granite

Finally, a farm plot! It's a bit close to everyone else, but as long as I just ignore them and do my work everything should work out fine. Now, where are those seeds?

17th Felsite

They've got 'communal dorms' they're setting up. The beds look nice, I suppose, but there's far too many people around to sleep. Besides, nothing beats the familiar comfort of plowed field to sleep in. Father said I'd best get used to sleeping outside, and he was so right! Thanks again, Father, you always knew best!

Oh, and they made a home for the animals. Good thing, since if they'd gotten into my radishes, we probably wouldn't have animals any more.

Cream Puff's Diary

Granite 2

I can't believe I forgot to mention Crosshair! She made the trip out here bearable, I would have been bored out of my skull without her! It's nice to have a good friend like her here. Not much has happened otherwise, though Temperance found a crate of steel ingots which are apparently from his sister. Commander Flamberge thinks they should be used for weapons or maybe armor, which makes sense, I guess. But hopefully we can spare some for a new chef's knife and some other utensils and cooking equipment.

Granite 7

Crosshair and Flamberge have been training together, which is nice, I suppose. Crosshair has a lot of energy, and Flamberge thinks she'll make a good soldier. She's quite a shot with a crossbow, but I don't know how she'll do in melee. Still, she's excited and happy, so it'll probably work out.

Granite 19

The first field has been tilled! I can't wait until we have some crops to harvest. I tried talking with Maize, but she doesn't seem to really like other ponies. Well, too bad for her. We're both going to be responsible for feeding the others, so we're going to see a lot of each other!

Granite 21

I've been talking with the livestock. Well, the sheep, mostly. I can't understand a word the camel speaks, and the yak just nods or shakes his head. At least, I think he's a he. He's pretty hairy and hasn't said anything, so it's hard to tell. I could ask him, but that's a bit rude. The sheep, though, are fairly talkative. I wish we had a few cows, though. I mean, sure, you can milk a sheep, but you can't really make cream or butter from it! How am I supposed to make my namesake without cream?!

Felsite 17

Buildings are going up at a pretty good clip. At this rate, I'll soon have a real kitchen to work in, instead of the improvised one I have now.

SmoothBlock's Journal - 2nd Granite, 269

Well, lot of hills for me to turn into fields, at least it's work. It looks like we will need to clear some trees to make any buildings at all, Holly got right to it. Please let the first thing we build be a still, I want to see if I can turn these plants and berries into booze.

SmoothBlock's Journal - 7th Granite, 269

A week and still pounding hills, really we are going to need a sand pit and clay pit, even if we live in nice wood homes. The guards have a place to practice. Talked to Veneer, turns out he's a carpenter, not a fruit salesmen. He asked me to lunch, I said yes and now he's all jitters around me... I think my voice scared him.

SmoothBlock's Journal - 19th Granite, 269

Hah, a real field is up! Now Maize can grow us some booze fuel! Why she always smiling at me when I try to talk to her? The silence just gets so awkward that I walk away. Next time she does that I'm going to just tell "Oh boopy, you have a lovely smile!" maybe that will break the ice she carries around with her.

SmoothBlock's Journal - Granite 21st, 269

Saw Cream Puff talking to the live stock today, I forgot we could do that.... So I went to ask the sheep when they will be ready to be sheared, need wool to make bags to hold sand.

SmoothBlock's Journal - Felsite 17th, 269

This many hills is a lot for one pony. Got lodgings now, I hope I don't drunk'nly stumble into anypony ells's bed. That hospital is going to need a well.

~Maize's Thoughts~ 1st Hematite, 269

Miss... Smoothblock, I think her name was, tried to talk to me again. I tried smiling at her, but... she told me my smile was pretty. I guess I should have been happy that someone thought well about me, but... I was so shocked that someone... well, anyway, I ended up just walking off, lying in my little bed in the field, and crying. Everypony was watching me, and it made me cry even harder. When I finished, it was already getting dark, so I just laid there and drifted off. I don't think I've ever cried that long... well, not since Mama and Father were gone... I just hope I didn't get Miss Smoothblock in trouble or anything.

At least there's individual rooms getting done now, so maybe I'll just be able to hide in mine once it's done. Or... I guess I'll have to try socializing. Maybe with that Cream Puff, just to start, just to get used to it...

Father, why can't you come back and beat some sense into me like you always did?

Holly’s Journal

The writing is spidery and messy, the diary it's written in little more than a collection of torn, unkempt pages. The author hasn't bothered dating the entries.

Entry 1

Too many trees, not enough tree-cutters. Really gets boring after a while. We should have brought more than one axe.

Entry 2

How many trees does a forest need to be a forest, anyway? I guess only the world-spirits know.

Entry 3

Temperance keeps changing his mind about how much space we need. It's beginning to bug me. Gotta get up and make the clearing even bigger today.

Entry 4

I wonder if this wood chopping is anything like actually fighting something with an axe. A moving sort of something. Probably not.

Entry 5

Still need more wood. Or space, or something. Either way, need to cut down more trees. May the spirits understand our need for them.

Entry 6

A crude depiction of several trees is drawn here. The image has been scribbled over.

Entry 7

This place is nothing like what they said it'd be like. Maybe they should try cutting down trees for twelve hours every day and get back to me.

Entry 8

The original entry here has been rendered illegible by excessive scribbling.

No, actually today isn't a day off. My bad.

Entry 9

This entry consists mostly of a short prayer.

I need to ask about getting a small shrine or something built.

Entry 10

This page has had ink spilled all over it. The original entry is unreadable.

Entry 11

Three moons since we came here now. Forest is considerably smaller as a result, but we've not taken more than we needed. That is good.

Case Study's Journal - 2nd Granite, 269

No sense in being a one-trick pony when so much needs to be done. I've asked Mr. Temperance what I can do to help get the ball rolling around here. He has assigned me to search for useful and edible herbs that may be found in the surrounding countryside. I'm not a botanist, but fortunately my collection of books will likely contain some information of value. I'm hoping I can locate some medicinal plants that will come in handy when treating injuries (and my headaches, as I'm running low on my personal remedy...).

17th Felsite, 269

Despite the cramped and somewhat stressful conditions, there haven't been any arguments or violent confrontations. I'm thankful for that, as I can't stand yelling or any other loud sounds. I'd still appreciate not having to sleep in such close proximity to everypony; I need my personal space. I'll exercise some patience in the mean time. A lot has been accomplished overall and I have been impressed with how disciplined everypony has been about getting work done. Ms. Holly and Ms. Block have a lot on their shoulders and have somehow managed to perform their jobs with minimal help from others. I find it almost a paradox that Ms. Block has proven capable of such vigorous physical labor. In the meantime, Ms. Puff has seen to it that we have all been sufficiently fed. I suppose the plants I've been gathering have been satisfactory.

and

Flamberge, in his armor such as it was, surveys the area from the sky, it was little more than a flat piece of ground, with a couple armor and weapon stands, a short distance away from camp, but that made it more than sufficient. Today was to be his proper day as Commander, he had found one pony among the others with some idea of how to use a weapon and had recruited them, her name was Crosshair and she seemed very enthusiastic about the opportunity. He was looking forward to this.

Crosshair showed up right on time with her trusty crossbow and a quiver of wooden bolts, It might not look much, but she have prided herself with it. Beaming happily to the fact that she have an actual training grounds and /something/ to do besides hauling boulders and logs now! She’s in such a good mood that she’s even humming a little catchy tune that only ponies seems to be able to produce.

"Morning recruit," says Flamberge as he lands near Crosshair, "First thing, first, we need to get you suited up in your armor. There is a helmet and a peytral on the stand, get dressed then we can begin."

“Yes commander!” Crosshair happily chirped as she trots over to the armor stand and dressed up as ordered, she was quick to put on her gear, probably have had experienced with it somewhere. Her tail flicked from sides to sides in excitement of a proper training day! She’s just bursting with energy and happiness.

Flamberge remains professional and resists watching the mare's tail as she flicked it about while putting on the bronze armor, but only just.

When she is finished he clears his throat and says, "Yes, um, well because it is only the two of us, I plan to do this a bit differently than a normal boot camp. First, I need to know, what kind of experience you have? You said you are familiar with the crossbow, yes?"

Crosshair nodded proudly. “Yup! I like to think I’m a pretty good shot, and I have some experience with wearing armor, nothing too big though. I needed to fly afterall!” She answered happily as she beams an invasive happiness at her commander.

Flamberge smiles, but raises an eyebrow, “Experience with wearing armor? Were you in army, or...”

“The guards.” She chirped. “There weren’t really much to do though, just boring patrols and more boring patrols and even more boring patrols.” She said, waving a hoof at how boring it was.

"I see. A bit of background on myself is in order I expect. I am a member of the Coupledye Military, and was just promoted to Commander recently. Before that I served as a swordspony in the airborne infantry. I don't have much experience with a crossbow, but I will help in what ways I can. I'll see about getting us an archery range set up in the future, but for now, I'd still like to see what you got. We'll use this tree," he gestures to one at the edge of the cleared area, away from the campsite, "we'll consider that knot on the left hoof side there, to be the bulls-eye."

Flamberge marks a line in the earth, "See if you can hit it, reliably, from here, if you can we'll move the line back some more, and so on until you can't."

Crosshair spends her time doing just as told, shooting at her target with careful patience that didn’t look like she had it in her at all, being so energetic and such. But she managed it, and happily did as her commander told her to. It was one of the bestest days for her since she arrived here.

Flamberge watched Crosshair for a time, but having little in the way of constructive criticism to add, she was already a better shot than him, he eventually went a short distance away, took out his long and curving sword and began to work on some individual drills.

As they both trained, Crosshair found herself looking at his way every once in awhile. She did not know why, but it felt good to do so, felt safe. And made her train with increasing vigor. It was good, so she didn’t question it.

As the sun began to set Flamberge decided to call it a day. The two ponies were completely drenched in sweat from all the exercise on the warm spring day. As Crosshair took off her helmet she flipped her mane backwards, Flamberge caught himself staring, she was an incredibly beautiful mare, and had great potential as a soldier. When he thought she had noticed him staring he cleared his throat, and said, though blushing, "Um, Crosshair, you have experience as a guard, and are well above average for a recruit... I have a lot of work ahead of me, building our militia, and I would like to be able to count on your help, thus I am making you our first militia captain."

That made the young mare gasp deeply as her eyes widen up to the size of plates, she let out an adorable squee but quickly catch herself and returned to beaming brightly with wide smiling grin. “Thank you, Commander!” She chirped. Beaming with nearly uncontainable glee.

Flamberge continues, "I realize that the title is rather meaningless at the moment, as we are the only two soldiers here, but we will have more settlers arriving in a few months, and I'll have my hooves full and will need your assistance, dealing with...a lot of things, if you are willing."

Crosshair nodded at that, still bristling with happiness and excitement, even a whole day of work couldn’t keep her energy down “Anything you need me to do, Commander!”

Flamberge smiles, “Good to hear it Captain, we will meet here tomorrow after breakfast to go and patrol the area, until then, dismissed.” The Commander salutes his new captain and then goes back to placing his gear on the rack.

The pegasus mare saluted her Commander and return the armors to it’s rightful place before fluttering away to get a well-earned washing and rest afterwards. Even being a ball of energy she is, rest still a popular pass-time to her. She gave her commander a last look before finally flying away out of his view.

Armour, Migrants and Tragedy.

Temperance's Journal - 2nd Hematite, 269

I've been spending a little time trying to get to know everypony out here a little better, and I think I'm making some headway. I started out by watching the soldiers train a bit today, and I must say that while I haven't heard them say too much when off duty, I think they're becoming quite good friends

I also heard that Flamberge has made Crosshair a captain of the upcoming militia. It's good to know that they're taking this seriously, but I can't help but wonder if he's getting a bit ahead of himself? We haven't seen much in the way of wildlife out here, much less anything hostile. I suppose if we do, they'll be ready at least.

Other than that, everypony seems to be in good spirits. I think I've been working poor Holly too hard, so I'm going to give her a little time off to recover. The carpenters could probably use some too, considering how they've been working pretty much nonstop since we got out here.

Maize worries me though. She seems to prefer spending as much time as she can away from us, and while she smiles I wonder if there's something going on inside she's not telling us. I hate to be too nosy, but I don't want anypony to be needlessly unhappy out here. I think I am going to speak with her in the morning to see if anything's troubling her.

3rd Hematite, 269

Well, that didn't get me too far. I tried talking with Maize, but she just seems evasive and nervous. I felt like I was pushing too hard, and she seemed eager to get back to work so I left her alone. Maybe I'll try talking with the others and see if they can get anything out of her.

13th Hematite, 269

There hasn't been a whole lot going on lately, aside from the first wheat harvest. That's exciting, since it means we're actuallya farm now. Cream Puff spent a while this afternoon milling some of it into flour and trying to figure out what to do with it. We've also got some eggs from the hens ready to use, so I'm sure she'll think of something tasty.

The other interesting bit is Flamberge coming to me asking if we could put some of that steel to use making more equipment for the militia. I can scarcely call what we have a militia, but without much else to use it for I gave him the go ahead. He set up a small forge with the anvil we brought with us, and set to work on something or other.

15th Malachite, 269

Well, I knew the day was coming, but I didn't realize it would be this soon. Early this morning we had a small caravan of ponies arrive, having set out from Coupledye to join us out here. We can definitely use some extra hooves to help out, but we've got to feed and house them, and that was challenging enough for just ten of us. Well, we'll manage. Here's the list of new arrivals:

A unicorn mare named Serenity, who is apparently a psychiatrist,

A unicorn stallion named Praetorian, who is skilled with a spear,

A pegasus stallion named Redhat, who is also skilled with a spear,

An earth pony stallion named Lathe, who is a carpenter,

An earth pony mare named Morning Dew, who is a farmer

A pegasus stallion named Millstone, who is a miller and presser

A pegasus stallion named Steel Rivet, who is an armorer and married to:

A pegasus mare named Heartfelt, who is a milker, shearer and general animal caretaker, and their son:

A pegasus colt named Cumulus.

I think they were all a bit surprised to find that there wasn't really anywhere for them to stay or eat yet, but we're working on that hard. At least Lathe should be a huge help to Veneer and Wood Chips, and will help get things put together faster.

1st Galena, 269

The new ponies are fitting in nicely, thank goodness. Housing is still coming together slowly, but it is coming together. Speaking of which, this place is a bit of a haphazard mess, now that I've taken a little while to really notice it. The housing is the start of the first real organization, but it's going to be a long, slow process.

Setting up the archery range for Crosshair was the first real indication that we've got to start moving stuff around soon. It won't happen tomorrow, but sooner than later.

At least productivity isn't suffering too badly. Flamberge and Steel Rivet put that steel to good use and produced a few pieces of armor and two spears to round out the militia's equipment a bit. I know they've got to feel a bit safer now, and as a result so do I. At least that hasn't been tested yet.

Now that we've got Heartfelt to help out with the livestock, we've also got some yarn and milk too. It's not much, but it's a start! I'm sure Cream Puff is looking forward to putting that milk to use. The yarn we'll probably need to make some bags with, since we're having a time keeping up with mill production.

Food stocks are looking good though. Cream Puff has produced a lot of very fine tasting food. I especially like the egg sandwiches she makes most mornings.

I do have to wonder about one particular sandwich I saw somepony eating though. I've never tried tomato juice with peanut butter... and I'm not sure I'm going to try it any time soon either.

15th Galena, 259

I took a little while to speak with Flamberge today to see how he and the other troops are holding up. He filled me in on how he's set things up, which is what amounts to two “companies”. First company is ponies armed with melee weapons, and second company are marksponies. As he admitted, it's a bit overkill when you've got just 4 militia ponies, but the structure will hold over for when we get more in the future. So far it's just him, Praetorian and Redhat in first company, and just lonely Crosshair in second company. I don't have plans to upsize the militia much in the immediate future, but it's good to know he's on top of things at least.

Oh, and I must say, he was looking quite commanding in the armor Steel Rivet made out of some of the steel. The spears he made are quite nice too.

I'm sure Smoothblock would love to be digging up some more iron for us to smelt, but her experimenting earlier proved that the land is saturated with water just below the surface. We won't be digging down very far any time soon, so we'll be relying on what we get from the caravans for now. Which is absolutely nothing so far, of course.

20th Galena, 269

Holly hasn't had too much to do recently, so I've had her, Case Study and Smoothblock picking a few of the local plants again. They haven't turned up a whole lot, unfortunately, but Holly did manage to turn up a few sunflowers today.

The sunflowers themselves aren't all that useful, but we'll be able to squeeze some oil out of their seeds if we ever need them. I've never cared for the seeds myself, but I know a lot of ponies like to eat them.

While I was updating the stocks on our food supplies, I noticed that the little bit of fermented fruit juices we had lying around are gone, and only freshly squeezed stuff is left. That's good, I don't want to see ponies getting drunk. I don't want to have to deal with that...

I grabbed a snack while I was there though, and Cream Puff's cooking nearly floored me this time. I don't think I've everhad such an amazing sandwich!

4th Limestone, 269

The writing on this page is unsteady.

I haven't been this frightened in a very, very long time. Maybe never.

Today, the badger ponies came.

Well, it was just one. And that's all it took.

Morning Dew was out in the fields tending to the plants, when it ambushed her. She tried to run for her life, but it stabbed her in the legs several times, and she collapsed from the pain.

Flameberge and Crosshair were close by, thank the gods, so they immediately leaped upon the badger pony and started attacking it. I don't mind admitting I was scared out of my mind at this point, so I ran back with everypony else who wasn't involved and watched from a distance. Flamberge and Crosshair struck it over and over again with their hooves and weapons, but the fight lasted for ages…

Flamberge seemed like a stallion possessed as he crushed the life from the beast pony. I'm glad I wasn't there to get a close look, and I left it to him to sort out the corpse...

I was more interested in getting Morning Dew to Dr. Case Study immediately. I hurried off to go check on her, praying she was still alive. Maize beat me to it though, and she rushed the poor stricken mare back to the temporary dorms where Case Study set to work on her. She was alive.

That's her in the top bed. I don't imagine the others will be sleeping too well with her right there, but whatcha gonna do?

I checked with him afterward, and he said the wounds were serious but not life threatening. She should recover, but it's going to take some time, and we don't have proper facilities for it. Thank the gods Case Study can work with what we have.

[img]]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/74348879/Duskfields/19.png[/img]

This is pretty terrifying. Virtue wasn't kidding. She told me about the badger ponies... and now I know personally. I hope Morning Dew is going to be alright. She has to be. And we have to make sure this never happens again.

I have a lot of thinking to do...

Journals #3

Redhat's journal

11th Hematite, 269

Annnnnd here I am, walking and walking and walking and occasionally flying my way to a little spot in the middle nowhere. The annoying stallion over in the capital (who convinced me this wasn't going to be a trip to my own demise) promised me this would be an opportunity at a better existence in society, a new chance at life and to go on an adventure! Well... I suppose he'd make a half decent salesstallion... the ever so "exciting" adventure has just been me and another 8 ponies walking and walking and walking and occasionally flying for miles on end, not to mention the little foal spends half his time being annoying and asking "Are we there yet?" I've had to sleep in the dirt every day, and we don't even get up at an appropriated time. What kind of pony wants to wake before the sun is even done rising? If I could head back to the nice inn at the capital, I would... also it seems our food is starting to run out. Maybe if we're lucky whoever is running this caravan will actually be competent enough at navigation to get us to our destination before we're locked in mortal combat over who eats who. Well... at least that would be "exciting".

15th Malachite, 269

We finally made it! My best outfit may be ruined from sleeping in the dirt one too many times on the way here, and I've gone two days without breakfast or dinner, but we're here! There are only a few buildings up, though it seems things are getting done in a timely fashion around these parts, though that doesn't detract from being stuck sleeping in these bloody community dorms.... if I have to sleep in a bed next to another sweaty stallion who smells of rotten tomatoes I will seriously pull out my own mane;At least things could be worse I suppose. a bed is nicer than the dirt, and my old best set of clothes could attest to that.

As for the management in this place, the big word going about is that he's related to some baroness, or thane or grand poobah in some spot off in the middle of nowhere that's slightly more "established" than this random assortment of wooden shacks. Apparently his only credential for being in charge of protecting the lives of others is that his sister is qualified in the running a town. I swear if could have talked to the stallion who convinced me coming out here was a fine idea I'd have slapped him across the face.

1st Galena, 269

So houses are finally being erected, but seeing how I wasn't exactly among the first "pioneers" to come to this spot in the middle of nowhere, I'm close to the bottom of a relatively long waiting list. Well, at least I was among the third wave of ponies ready to throw their lives away, as more are expected to show, so I guess I could be in a less desirable spot on the list. Also i'd like to note whoever invented the tomato juice and peanut-butter sandwich is brilliant. whoever was daring enough to put these two together on a sandwich and serve them is a genius of the highest caliber. not to mention it tastes perfect (to my surprise).

28th Galena, 269

I think I'll try to join the militia. anything would be better than staying outside all day moving about logs to the stockpiles. I've spent some time working with a spear before, so I expect my assistance will be desirable in the militia. Also i heard stabbing things was a good way to release stress.

4th Limestone, 269

Gods, today I watched a pony get stabbed, possibly crippled, another pony lose all his equinity in a primal rage and then another pony beaten into a pile of bloody red mush. I've looked at my last few past entries, and I knew this wasn't going to a walk in the park, but I hadn't expected this. I thought moving away from the big city for a change would finally put an end on the amount of senseless violence, but then again no "adventure", as that salesstallion called it, would be complete without a good bit of bloodshed. Seeing something kill in cold blood... it makes me grow sick of the world around me. I feel out of place almost. and for somepony to gain such bloodlust at the sight of an enemy... the act of killing is something should do with a certain amount of formality and a great bit of reason as to how you justify the act of bringing about the end of another being's mortal existence. Though, too often something like this happens, some idiot walks into a village and tries to rush up to some pony and remove it's legs, only to be pummeled into a mush by a half pony half berserker. The amount of chaos in this world is in this world is simply disgusting.

~Maize's thoughts~ 3rd Hematite, 269

Temperance talked with me some today. I'm starting to wish I had done more than just brush off his questions, but... I don't know anymore. Father was always right... but now I'm not so sure. Next time somebody talks to me, I'll try saying something, and maybe it'll all work out.

13th Hematite

Our first crops are now harvested! It's only wheat, but it's better than naught at all, and it gave me something to do. I had to work closely with Cream Puff, but it wasn't really uncomfortable like I thought it would be. I even tried talking a little bit.

15th Malachite

More ponies. It's going to be very cramped in the dorm, and house-building seems to be slow going. Looks like I'll be sleeping in the dirt that much longer. I'll have to tell Temperance that he can put me back in line for a room so someone else can have a bed to sleep in.

1st Galena

Cream Puff is a really good cook. I wish Father had let me cook, if all cooking is half this good it would have been so much better than having to eat grass and wild garlic all day. Maybe if I talk to Cream Puff enough, she'll teach me.

4th Limestone

Nopony said anything about badger ponies...

One of the new ponies, a farmer like me, was working in the fields when it came... I wanted to stop it... I wanted to leap in and take it so that poor pony didn't have to get hurt... but I couldn't. The military ponies- I mean, the first ones, the Commander and the markspony, stopped it, though. They destroyed it. I'm thankful we have such powerful warriors to protect us. I rushed out to the mare and snatched her up, brought her to the first bed I could get to. Her back legs were torn to shreds... that monster... I hope it suffered as much as Father...

Father…

Woodchip's Journal

The handwriting here is somewhat neat, but blocky and rather hastly-written

Entry 1: So I am going to the Hills of Worry. Apparently some duchess's cousin or whatever has decided to survive a few weeks up there, and theres a good chance the place might actualy survive.

For the record, my name is Wood Chips. I chip wood. Realy well, apparently, considering ponies think that I do it for bits.

Entry 2: So, it's been a week with my fellow settlers. I only knew Venee out of all of them, good colt with a good head on him, but at the very least the ponies here are toleratable. Mostly. Holly is our little tree-cutter, and she hardly looks like one. Case Study is a odd one, same with Temperance, our little duchessesdaughter cousin. Those two look like they could snap at any moment. Flamberge and Crosshair, surprise surprise, are not married, but going by how that rapscallion looks at her in flight it's only a matter of time. I personaly dislike Holly, however. She's annoying, frankly.

But let me tell you about Smoothblock.

She's short, fat, smokes, and drinks. She's everything I should not see in a mare, probably. If that's so, why am I....

Entry 3: Well, I keep getting told I am doing a good job with making beds. Hardly. Stop, Temperance. Stop. I am doing my job. If anything, Holly is working too slow.

Also, I need to talk to Flamberge. Crosshair looks like a nice lass, and in a place like these friends are a dime a dozen.

Entry 4: More bloody praise by the local duchess brother.

Also, Maize has issues. Scary little bugger. Started bawling after little miss F&L complimented her. Bah, daddy issues are a dime a dozen in places like this.

Also, considering everypony was doing it, I chatted with our Yak today. Funny bugger, at that, but lonely. Also, our camel has a brother down south who lives with the zebras. Who knew?

Entry 5: So we have a bunch of new ponies.

Also, Flamberge went nutso on a monster who was mauling on of them. Saved the mares life. Blast it all, I am getting the stallion a drink if it's the last thing I do!

Cream Puff's Diary

Hematite 5

It's one of those boring, in-between times, Diary. It feels like I've put something impressive in the oven and have to wait for it, understand? Crosshair and Flamberge are getting on like a house on fire, which is good. Flamberge seems like a rather stable stallion, I think Crosshair could use somepony like that in her life. I really should get to know him, too. Another friend is always good.

Speaking of new friends, I keep talking to Maize, and I think I might be finally getting to her. She doesn't just smile and nod any more, at least. She told me the wheat harvest should be ready in about a week, which had me very excited. Wheat means Flour! With milk and eggs, I can actually get some real cooking done, instead of just sandwiches.

Hematite 13

Yes, we have wheat! I've been working on milling into flour and daydreaming about everything I can make with it! I hate to admit it, but sandwiches are probably going to continue to be a staple in our diets, but at least it'll be on fresh bread from now on. I wonder if we have any syrup hidden around here. It'd be nice to surprise everypony with some pancakes for breakfast.

Malachite 15

Migrants! A bunch of them, too: eight new faces to feed and meet. I haven't introduced myself yet, but two of them carry themselves a lot like Flamberge, so they're probably soldiers like him. Seems weird to me that we'd get more martial ponies around here, though. Despite my initial misgivings about the area, Duskfields is pretty serene. Still, better safe than sorry, I suppose.

Galena 20

Made egg sammiches for everypony for breakfast today, and they came out perfect! Even better, Holly came back with a sunflower head in the afternoon. I like to eat the seeds toasted, but they can also be pressed for cooking oil. Hopefully Maize can get us a crop of them going soon.

Limestone 4

And here I thought we had managed to escape the badgerponies. Poor Morning Dew was jumped by one today, and it cut up her legs pretty bad. Crosshair and Flamberge were on him pretty quickly, though, and probably saved her life! Even more surprising, they had hardly dealt with the brute before Maize rushed up and carried her fellow farmer to a bed for rest and care by Case Study. He says infection is her biggest danger right now, though it'll probably be a bit before she can walk.

I really should commend Maize when I see her next. It was really brave to grab Dew like that. Everypony was too stunned to do anything, but she just knew there was a pony in danger.

Ad Amici 1.1

Praetorian to Dapper Blade, commander of the guard, and all of my former comrades, may the blessings of the gods be upon you.

I give thanks to Amug and Nokzam, for they have protected me and this group through this travel to Duskfields, the newest part of the Meandering Gloss. I thank them too for your comradeship through my service with the guard, both at home and abroad.

I had thought that my leaving would trouble you greatly, for there seemed no reason for me to leave the city - indeed, with Star Treasure, the weight would seem to be on staying there - but so I did. I write this letter, therefore, to explain my reasons.

My reasons for leaving are two. Firstly, I have always felt a call to serve where I can help ponies the most. At home, though, the chance of my defending a pony with spear and shield are limited.

My second reason is a private affair, and I would ask that you keep it to yourself. Star Treasure - the mare I loved - has been taking up with another stallion. It was my fault, I suppose. I was always too busy with work. To whatever happiness she can find, I leave her.

Enough of that, however. There are far more pressing needs. On my trip here, I witnessed an attack on a Rainbow caravan by badger ponies, which gave me an example. The badgers were well motivated, skilled, and equipped. The Rainbows took close formations to shield themselves from the badger crossbows, but when they did, other badgers were upon them in a rush, striking some down and scattering the others. When they extended their formation to avoid this, they would be struck by the bolts.

To this end, I suggest a new strategy be devised - in a similar situation, our heavy troops would be as helpless. Light skirmishers integrated into the ranks could prove a useful supplement.

To my replacement, in particular, I can recommend the inn on Quaint Dove Street, as the innkeeper is a veteran. Tell him that Praetorian can vouch for you.

Dapper, tell Silver Boulder I've arrived when you see him next.

May Babin give us his gifts in plenty.

Ad Amici 1.2

Praetorian to Lightning Tumble, professional flier. If you are well, I am glad.

I had thought, given our mutual regard and the friendship that existed between us, that I was not likely to be harmed and held up to ridicule for your sake, nor my own lover seduced by you. If her own noble rank was not a sufficient protection for her, then either my own loyalty to Coupledye or the friendship that existed between us ought to have been sufficient to stop it.

As it is I see that she has been predated on and I abandoned by the last pony in the world who ought to have done so. I am accordingly in sorrow and wearing mourning dress, while actually in travel to my next assignment. And seeing that your conduct in this affair has neither been reasonable nor in accordance with the milder methods of old times, you must not be surprised if you live to repent it. I did not expect to find you so fickle towards me and mine.

For myself, meanwhile, neither my sorrow nor ill-treatment by any individual shall withdraw me from the service of the state.

Ad Amici 1.3

Praetorian to Munifex, his brother. May all the blessings of Nokzam be with you.

It is good to write to you, for I am now at my destination. This camp here is disorganised in the extreme. It is somewhat strange to be assigned to a group of civilians, rather than the soldiers I am used to dealing with. They've been out here six months nearly, and they haven't even got a full wall built. Not even dorms, so at least I've been able to sleep under the stars again.

There are two other soldiers here, as well as the other militarily-inclined pony I was assigned here with. Their names are Flamberge and Crosshair. Crosshair's a pegasus mare, uses a crossbow. Flamberge is a pegasus stallion, uses a sword. That makes four military ponies for fifteen civilians. We could certainly use some more militia ponies. A full maniple would be nice, but I suppose we can't have everything.

The important civilian here is Temperance. He is the leader of this group, and seems to be tolerably well-suited to that role. Aside from that, they're the typical civilian stock.

Pass my greetings onto father and mother.

May the blessing of the Gods be upon you.

Written by my own hoof, this 15th of Malachite 269.

Ad Amici 1.4

Praetorian to Dapper Blade, commander of the guard, may the gods bless and keep you this day.

Truly Babin has blessed me, for at last I have been properly assigned to my new squad. I have been given command of this small unit, consisting of myself and the military pony who traveled with me. Of course we have no full squads, but perhaps this will change with time.

It seems there are about nineteen ponies here. We have four soldiers to fifteen civilians. Our first priority is, of course, to get a wall up. If we can get one of those up, we have a better chance of holding off an attack. I have made this suggestion to the militia leader here, a sensible pegasus pony named Flamberge. Hopefully it will be done.

Much still awaits being done. We do not have beds for everypony to sleep in, and armour is still rare. This place is chaotic. We have little organisation, and things are being done haphazardly. But if we can build a wall, then we might have a chance at getting this place suitable for living in.

Tell Silver Boulder that I will write him soon, and congratulate him on his finding a mare.

Written by my own hoof, this 15th of Galena.

Nokzam be with you all.

Ad Amici 1.5

Praetorian to Silver Boulder, architect and mason, may Gasis' blessing be with you this day.

Praise be to Nokzam above, for she has protected us. We were attacked today by a badger pony, and though one of the civilians was hurt, it didn't seem to be too bad of an injury.

It seemed that the civilian, a farmer I believe, was out in the fields tending the plants when the badger pony stabbed her in the legs. It seems the pain immobilised her - do you remember Tribune? - but Flamberge, the head militia pony here, saved her by drawing the badger pony away. Crosshair, another militia pony, joined in the fight while another civilian pony - I cannot remember her name - brought back the wounded pony. At least there's another civilian with a modicum of courage. Perhaps the ones here are not all bad after all - though I do know one (not here, at least) that if I saw again, I would gut without a second thought.

I heard of your mare. I wish you luck with this relationship, and perhaps it will turn out better than mine.

Write to Duskfields, and your letter will find me.

Written by my own hoof, this 4th of Limestone.

May Gasis' keep you and your love safe.

Commander Flamberge Field Journal 13th Hematite, 269

Finally was given permission to work with the steel bars we were given, I did what I could, but I'm no craftspony, still, nopony else even knew where to start.

Commander Flamberge Field Journal 1th Malachite, 269

New civies have arrived, fortunately the soldiers I was expecting came with them. Praetorian and Redhat, spearponies. I had a quick talk with each of them, and decided to put Praetorian in charge of the spear squad, as it's captain, as he seemed a bit more disciplined then his fellow.

Commander Flamberge Field Journal 4th Limestone,269

A honey badger pony attacked a farmer today. I can't recall anything after that until Crosshair was pulling me away from the creature's completely pulverized corpse.

I have gathered that we set upon it, and I killed it with my bare hooves, and I did not stop once it was dead, and kept striking it until she intervened.

I have made inquires and the farmer, Morning Dew, is stable. Her right legs were injured but Dr. Case Study believes she will recover as long as she doesn't get an infection. That is good to hear. Apparently miss Maize was the one to pull her away from the combat. I thought she was just a timid little mare, but I suppose there is more to her than I thought, I should commend her on her bravery when I next see her.

Journal of Dr. Serenity, Doctor of Equine Psychology, Coupledye Univ.

1stof Malachite, 269

We arrived at our destination this morning. Truth be told, when Dutchess Virtue told me of this new settlement - which I've learned has been christened 'Duskfields' - I was expecting accomodations to be quite spartan, but the sparseness of this place is still quite striking. A mere few steps in any direction, and one finds oneself entirely engulfed by untamed wilderness - admittedly quite a liberating experience for a mare who had never before set hoof outside the city's walls.

But I haven't the time to commune with nature right now. I should locate the leader of this venture - a unicorn stallion, one Temperance - and inquire about setting to work. Hard labor and isolation can cause undue stress, and it would do well to begin addressing that before it becomes a major issue.

4thof Limestone, 269

I think I will be postponing my long walks in the woods for the forseeable future.

A badger pony came out of the forest today, and assaulted one of the farmers. I didn't see the attack in progress, and thankfully the local militia was able to contain the situation before anypony else was injured. As I understand, miss Morning Dew is expected to recover quickly, thanks to our resident doctor. However, it's likely those cuts on her legs aren't the only wounds she sustained. I should see about speaking to her later.

Ad Amici 1.6

Praetorian, captain of the hastiferi stationed at Duskfields, to Dapper Blade, commander of the Guard in Coupledye, may all the gods abundantly bless you this day and always.

I thank Nokzam when I think of you, for you have done great things for me by your training and comradeship through the years. In the battle of Mareway, your actions led to my survival, and glory to the both of us.

Today I write to you for two reasons. The first is more pleasant. We had a badger pony attack at the fort. Though one civilian, a farmer, was injured, another (by the name of Maize) rescued her while the fight was still going on (another military pony, named Flamberge, my current commander, had engaged the badger pony). Maize seems to have saved the wounded pony's life, carrying her to the sawbones for treatment.

The second is a less happy one. Though I am in nominal command here, the sole pony over which I am captain is ill-disciplined, defeatist, and seems to see no difference between a soldier and a common murderer. I have no idea why he joined up, given as he appears to have no care for his fellow ponies, nor anything besides himself.

I can tell you, Dapper, that if we were serving in a full squad, I'd have had him hanged as an example to the rest. As it is, there's little I can do. He claims experience with a spear, and if this place is as dangerous as ponies say it is, I have no choice but to keep him.

To my replacement, I have another suggestion. Wine is good, but it loosens stallions' tongues. Keep it in moderation.

The blessings of the gods be upon you all.

Wood Chip's Journal

Entry 6:

Blarg,I feel lonely.

......

Well, I havent had the time to hang out with anyone. Luckaly, it seems like the fort is mostly complete, structure-wise, so that opens up a lot of free time. I suppose it's only fair that I say who I wish to see.

The new solder, Praetorian looks decent-ish. I thought at first he was a wine-guzzling twit that got sent up from the warmer southern coasts, but he's a genuine solder, along with Flamberge. Religious, too. Reminds me of my great-uncle.

Speaking of those two, I was thinking about setting up a party. I have some spare drinks with me, and it's not like we can't use a cheering up. Something for the ponies who have been here for awhile, or just important.

Guest List:

Temperance (Want to see him drunk.)

Flamberge&Crosshair (Pick out a single table for them, with something mind-altering on it.)

Case Study ( Need to know him better, probably.Never hurts to know your doctor in the mining buisness)

Holly

Smoothblock (Going to put a move on her, Swamp Whisky in tow. Ramol help me.)

Cream Puff (She looks like a fun drunk, anyway)

Veneer

Maize (Girl needs a drink in her system)

Praetorian (Again, looks like a decent fellow)

Scenes #2

Redhat started to put his gear. it had been a rather hard day of practice, and was finally about to gain the ability to retire. "So... Praetorian, when should I show up tomorrow?"

"At seven of the clock. We'll spar a bit, then go for a short march, about five hours or so, then we'll have a bit more general exercise, then have another sparring session."

"Sounds fair is suppose... when do you expect I’ll be able to leave?"

"Five o'clock, I suppose." Praetorian shrugs. "It'd really be a bit better if we had more ponies here, but I suppose we'll have to make do with what we have."

"Again, sounds fair... though more ponies would be nice."

“Well, we can't change that," says Praetorian. "Would be nice to have a wall, and a proper fort. But we don't have either of those, so we'll make do."

“Well those are on the list of things to be done, but as things stand, if a group of more than a few badger ponies would end us."

"That's as may be. But I'd ask you to stop spreading that around. We'll manage come badgers or Discordants."

"You know, the discordants are organized... they lack the brutish rage of the badgers. If they show I can promise you, as things currently stand, we'd be dead."

"I've served on the frontlines before, son. If they show, we'll give them a bloody nose."

"What if they've done the same? And, one would assume a group of them would at least have every pony in their ranks be in armor, and for the record, I am not you, son."

Praetorian sighs. "Fine. You want to despair for your life? Despair for it, then. But if they come, I intend to kill every single one of them, and I won't die alone. The Discordants aren't some invisible force, all-knowing and all-conquering. They have weaknesses. And you will only help them by going on about how we'll all die if they come."

Redhat sighed and gave him a look. "Sorry, my dear captain, just I feel if nobody is pointing out the obvious issues, they lose their sense of urgency."

"Yes, so saying that we'll all die to somepony who agrees with your ideas is the right way to go about it."

“If you're so afraid of death, then why join the military?"

"Because one with a spear is more capable at protecting himself."

"Protecting yourself? Put that out of your mind. You're here to protect the other ponies, not yourself."

"A military's job is to kill in the name of whoever hired, or forced you to join;Saying otherwise is a lie."

Praetorian slaps Redhat across the muzzle. "You are wrong. I may not have the luxury of quantity here, but I'm damned if I'll give up quality, too. You will shape up, or get out."

Redhat winced a little at the slap. "Oh... Did I offend? I'm sorry, I thought it was a guard’s job to guard and a soldier’s job to slay"

"A guard's job is to protect the civilians from themselves. A soldier's job is to protect the civilians from others."

"Then tell me, are those discordants who attack villages, and slay mares and foals soldiers?"

"No. They're barbarians."

"No, the badgers are barbarians, those creatures are just as intelligent and developed as us, just more cruel."

"Intelligence does not stop a being from being a barbarian."

"They are organized. They are as much a soldier as you are. and regardless, what if somepony who was in charge of you, a commander, a king, a duke, told you to kill somepony random in the street. No reason given. Just go and kill. Would you? A good ideal soldier would."

Praetorian glares at Redhat. "Have you got nothing inside that head of yours? Haven't you been listening to what I've been saying? They kill innocents. Ipso facto they are not soldiers. If somepony who was in charge of me told me to kill somepony for no reason, only an unstallionly pony would do so."

"Then you just defected, you committed treason and you disobeyed a direct order. good job."

"You have no understanding of military discipline, do you?"

"I've got a little lesson for you. This fort needs a moat. You're going to dig it.”

"The act of tyrants are done by stallions like you and me, who, given a spear and a shield, will do whatever they're told."

"More babbling. Go on. Get to digging."

"I will not question my captain, regardless of the order."

"Good. Get to digging. How many more times do I have to tell you this?"

"You aren't a very jolly one now are you?"

"Time's a-wasting."

Redhat starts to walk off. "God, and I thought we were getting along swimmingly"

and

Morning Dew let out a muffled cry as she shifted in the bed, feeling stabbing pain run up her legs yet again. The pain just wouldn’t go away, no matter which way she twisted or turned, and it was almost impossible to lay still. She sniffled and clenched her teeth as she flexed a knee. There was a lot of blood too, but her hooves hurt too much to bring them up to look at them. Was she going to be okay?

“Just relax now, Ms. Dew, everything is going to be quite alright,” the slender earth pony remarked calmly, “I’ve seen much worse than this”. What he hadn’t told her was that the “worse” cases he had seen were when he had access to superior medical facilities than he currently possessed. Nevertheless, Case Study felt that the could control the problem with what he had at hoof. The bleeding wasn’t as bad as it could have been; the main blood vessels in the leg remained unsevered.

Among the plants he had gathered, he had worked with some of them to produce ground-up pastes and extracts that would help to sanitize wounds and numb pain. In theory, at least. The stallion pulled the lid off of a glass jar filled with clear liquid. “Now hold as still as you can, Ms. Dew, the pain will go away soon,” he remarked before grasping a cloth to soak the fluid mixture of anaesthetic and antiseptic in. After a few seconds of wetting, he pulled it out and pressed it to the wound before wrapping the entire assembly in an outer, dry cloth. He repeated the process with the second leg. “It may take a few minutes for the hurting to completely subside, but you’ll make it.” He offered his hoof to squeeze if she felt the necessity to express her suffering until then.

Fear managed to work its way through the pain on her face as he moved to apply the bandages, and she winced and cried out as each was applied, eagerly accepting his hoof to squeeze. She was panting and breathing a hundred times a minute as he finally finishes applying the bandages, and it took several full minutes for her to begin calming down. The pain was definitely getting better, but wasn’t completely gone.

Study’s facial expression remained steely and unchanged throughout the event, but that didn’t mean he lacked sympathy. He simply felt that he could be more efficient by suppressing his emotions during medical procedures. “I’ll let that sit for a while until the bleeding stops. You’re certainly going to need stitches, but it shouldn’t require too many. I’ll do what I can to reduce the pain further in the meantime.” As he attempted to clean up the blood that had already stained the bed, Case Study tried to get Morning Dew’s mind off of her condition, “So, you’re one of the farmers here now? Was that your profession before coming to Duskfields as well?”

The mare dried some of her tears on the pillow under her head and made another small sniffle. “That-that’s right. I was pa-art of the group that arrived recently.” She blinked and thought for a moment. “I was a farmer back home too. A-a place called Glittergleam.”

“I’m certain your services will be well-appreciated here. Working the fields is both a difficult and commendable job. I believe Mr. Temperance seeks to turn farming into the main economic venue in this territory, so I’m sure you’ll have no problem keeping work,” Study answered as he grabbed a list of notes he had written about what plants and other supplies he had in his inventory, “Let me know if the pain gets any worse, and I’ll apply more anaesthetic.”

“Uh... it-it still hurts some,” she said, testing a leg for an instant before halting the motion. “D-did you say something about s-stitches earlier? Is that going to h-hurt?”

He raises his eyes from his papers, “Your wound is too deep to heal naturally, so stitches will be in order. Now, now, don’t let fear of pain bother you, as I’m currently working on making a more concentrated pain-killing formula than what I have already used.” He rubbed his sharp chin with a hoof, “I do have something that might help calm you and relieve excess stress.” Case Study reached over and grabbed a bunch of flowers with his teeth. They were violet with yellow specks across each petal. After pulling the leaves and colorful parts off, he offered a stem to Morning Dew. “Chew on this. The juices within it should help. Just try to relax and let me worry about what to do next. Don’t be startled if you start to feel a bit sleepy.”

“O-okay,” she said, accepting the stem with her mouth. She set to chewing on it immediately, eager for any sort of relief. After a few moments she imagined she could already feel it taking effect, but it had to be her imagination. “Th-thank you.”

A few minutes later, she was definitely feeling something. She just wanted to shut her eyes and forget about everything. That sounded like such a great idea that she did, and soon enough she was in a light sleep, oblivious to whatever further treatment the doctor had in store for her.

and

Cream Puff is at her improvised kitchen, working on some fresh flatbread. Her glorified campfire isn’t really built for real baking yet, but she’ll make do.

Praetorian walks over to the cook, shield and spear slung. “Excuse me, miss...uh, miss. You got any food going?”

She looks up from her pan and gives him a smile. “Cream Puff, hun. And I sure do! Mostly sammiches until I get a real kitchen, though.” She flips the breads over so they can finish cooking. “What can I get you?”

“Just plain bread will do fine, miss Cream Puff,” says the soldier, with an ever-so-slightly gruff tone to his voice.

She quirks an eye at him. “Just bread? How can I keep a soldier strong and fit with just bread? How about some eggs on it, or some tomato jam?” She starts digging through her supplies, looking like she’s not going to just take ‘bread’ for an answer.

Praetorian shakes his head. “No, just bread will do fine. It’s what we got while on the march.”

She laughs, then favors him with a smile. “Hun, you aren’t on the march right now. And I’m not leaving anypony to just bread as long as I’m running the kitchen, no matter how improvised it is. Your job is to protect us, and my job is to make sure you have the energy to do so. So.” Her smile fades from her eyes, but stays on her lips. “What can I get you?”

“Well...” Praetorian ponders. “Maybe...Maybe a bit of dried fruit as well?”

The smile returns to her eyes as she returns to her pan and removes the flatbreads from it. “You want that like a sammich, or do you like eating piecemeal?” she asks as she starts looking for whatever fruit they have.

“Uh, piecemeal,” says the soldier, hoping he got it right. Civilians and their foods. He’d never understand them.

She nods and soon returns her attention to him, a bag of dried fruit on her wing. She scoops up a few pieces of fresh bread to join the fruit, then motions for him to take a seat. “Hope you aren’t too busy to sit while you eat, Hun.”

“...No, no, I’m not too busy,” says Praetorian as he takes the seat. “Did...Did you want to talk about something?” He quirks his face at Cream Puff.

“Well, you’re new, so I don’t know you. I like to get to know ponies, makes it easier to cook for them.” She points a wing at his spear. “Been carrying that long?”

Praetorian looks where she’s pointing, and nods. “I’ve been in the military for my sixteen years, and got my diploma. That’s why I’m here now. Sort of a retirement, without the dullness that it typically brings.”

She nods and follows him, handing him his food once he’s seated. “No real plates yet, sorry. Want to use your shield?” she sits across from him, still looking friendly. “Probably why they put you in charge of that guy with the hat.”

Praetorian nods, and slides the oval shield off his back. “Redhat. He’s not the easiest of ponies to deal with, no. Still, I’ve known some ponies who were worse than he is, and we managed to get them in shape.” He shrugs, and takes a bite of the bread, chewing thoughtfully.

She chuckles. “I bet, heh. Saw him working on the ‘moat’ earlier. Sounds like he needs discipline.”

“He’ll definitely need it,” says Praetorian, “especially if we do have another badger pony come. He thinks we’re all doomed already.” The unicorn snorts. “If we had any other choice, I’d get rid of him, but we don’t.”

Puff nods and takes a bite of bread as well. “Hmm... needs just a little more salt. Anyway, I’m sure you’ll get him sorted. I’ve never heard of the badgerponies being organized enough to doom even a small settlement, but I’m not a militiamare.” she says with a wink. “I’m just a chef who wanted the space to make her own food and bring my own brand of happiness.”

“You do make good food,” says the soldier.

She gives him a warm smile in response. “Thanks! I should be, I’ve been at it long enough, heh. I can’t wait until we have room for a real kitchen. And a few cows. And more crops. There’s always something more, you know?”

“I suppose,” replies her guest. “I’m not really used to anything other than bread and the occasional fruit.”

Puff gives him an almost predatory look and grin. “I’m going to take your pallete on a journey, hun. This is no soldier’s mess, this is my kitchen. I’ll accept when you don’t like something, but you are not going to get away with just fruit and bread next time. I take my job as seriously as you take yours.” She smiles for a few moments, then blinks and facehoofs. “I can’t believe I never asked your name!”

“Praetorian, miss Cream Puff,” says the soldier with a smile beginning to form on his face.

“Praetorian, huh? Sounds like military is in your blood then. And just Cream Puff, or even Puff. I’m not real big on formality, as I’m sure you’ve noticed.” she says with another smile.

“Hmm, no, I don’t think I would have noticed if you hadn’t told me,” Praetorian says with a hint of a laugh in his voice.

Puff laughs and stands up, finishing her bread. “I think we’re going to get along just fine, Praetorian!”

“Perhaps we will. Perhaps we will.”

“Want any more bread or fruit, Hun? This’ll be your last chance to get out of here with just those to eat.”

“No, I think this’ll keep me for a short amount of time,” Praetorian says, still smiling. He stands up. “I think I’d better go, then, and savour these last few moments alone.”

She nods and waves him off with a wing. “Don’t let me keep you then. And don’t be afraid to ask for seconds if you’re hungry! Take care!”

Praetorian nods, and still smiling, leaves the pegasus to her duties.

Scenes #3

and

“We can ferment radishes, can’t we? That makes gin, doesn’t it?” SmoothBlock looked over the vegetables she had gathered and placed on the table in the “brewery”

“Gin is usually potatoes or corn, and you’re thinking beets for rum. If we had more wheat, you might be able to get some beer, though.” says Cream Puff, eying the improvised still.

“Beer, some beer would be nice. Think we could get Maize to go for it?” SmoothBlock rubbed her chin and lifted a barrel with her magical field.

“I think she’s growing more, but you’ll have to wait for harvest. by ‘more wheat’ I meant ‘any wheat that isn’t flour’. I milled all of it, I think.” Cream Puff searches her memory, wondering if she had left any besides what Maize would need to plant another crop.

SmoothBlock put her head inside the barrel, holding it over her head with both hooves as she sat on her haunch.

Cream Puff gives the mare an odd look, wondering if she should leave the still in her hooves.

“It’s so you can’t hear me cryin...” SmoothBlock popped the barrel off her head and stuck out her tongue.

Cream Puff chuckles. “Some simple juice won’t kill you, Smooth. If you’re that hard up, though... hide a barrel of whatever juice you like somewhere. It won’t be particularly strong, but in a week or so, it should do until we can get something real. And we aren’t so hard up for drinks that we’ll miss a barrel.” she says with a smile.

“Thanks Puff, you're a dear. Maybe I can try beet juice?” SmoothBlock looked over the still again. “Do I need yeast?”

She shakes her head. “Beet juice should work, but you don’t really need yeast. Just leave it open with a cloth over it for a day, then seal it back up and let nature do it’s work. Filter it, maybe distill it further, then drink.”

“Barrel, cloth, beet juice. Heh, all here. Guess I’ll get on that. Anything else you need? I really ain’t got much to do now that some pony is digging the ‘moat’ instead of me.” She levitated the lid off a barrel of beet juice.

Cream Puff thinks for a few moments. “A real kitchen would be nice, but that’s more on the carpenters than you. Any luck getting down to stone? A granite top would be nice to work on.”

“Water everywhere, just a unit down, I would need to hook up a pump to drain it. I don’t know if we got the wood to spare.” Smooth placed a pigtail cloth over the open barrel.

“I know Holly is working her flank off to fell the trees, and the carpenters are working to get it turned into buildings. Not too surprising they can’t spare the time to make a pump.”

“I’m trying to make it myself. Not going so great. Making gears out of wood is hard, I tried talking to the carpenter ponies, but they get all awkward around me. Puff, am I intimidating?”

SmoothBlock drew out a cigar and lit it with a cantrip.

“Intimidating? No, not really.” She considers leaving it at that, but she’s never been accused of being subtle. “More like... distracted. Like you wouldn’t remember details about making something complicated like a pump.”

“Oh, damn, well, gotta keep trying I guess. Not a lot of stone coming on the caravans, as in none so far, we got enough to make the well and that might be it.” Smooth took a long drag of her cigar.

Puff idly waves away the smoke with a wing, glad pegasi are able to manipulate stuff like that so easily. “I’m sure you’ll get it eventually. We’re hardly supposed to be a mining settlement, but it’d be nice to not have to import heavy stone.”

“Yeah. Hope I can at least dig us a well. Fresh water would be nice for, well, pretty much everything.” Smooth inhaled the smoke through her nostrils and smiled, holding the cigar in her magic.

“Ain’t that the truth. Think all that water you’re hitting could be funneled into a well?”

SmoothBlock rubbed her chin and rolled her eyes from side to side a few times. “Yeah, but it would be muddy, unless we put it in clean cistern, with an under current.”

“Or no current. Still water will let stuff like that sink.” She shrugs. “Either way, a well would be nice, for the hospital and my kitchen.”

“I’ll see what I can do.” She took another puff off her cigar “How did you mix tomato juice with peanut butter anyway?”

Cream Puff gives her a grin. “Trade secret!”

“Heh heh, damn things are tasty.” SmoothBlock nodded, went to the juice press and loaded it with wild tomatoes.

Puff chuckles. “You’re the second pony to tell me that. Flamberge likes them, too. They aren’t bad, but I don’t think they’ll exactly be the next food craze to sweep the nation.” she says with a smile.

“Must just be your skill then, heh ha.” SmoothBlock tapped off the ash from the tip of her cigar “Has Maize been sleeping outdoors again? I’m kind of worried about her.”

“I’m pretty sure she’s been using the dorm. She’s pretty timid, but I think she was just exhausted from... well, farming.” she says, unsure if SmoothBlock was aware the poor mare cried herself to sleep. “I still can’t believe she took poor Morning Dew to a bed.”

“I know right? Mare is a hero, really cares about us. Wish I could do something to make her feel more welcome here. Like, you know, like she belongs.” SmoothBlock tapped her cigar on her muzzle.

Puff nods. “Just need to give her time and be friendly.”

“I’ll give it a shot.” SmoothBlock pressed the tomatoes into juice. “any juice you need for cooking up anything special?”

Cream Puff thinks for a few moments, then shakes her head. “Nothing in specific. I like cooking with just about everything, and tomato juice is the only thing I’ve really had any requests for yet, heh.”

“Back to work for me then. I’ll see about that table, maybe I can pull some stone from the aquifer with my magic.” SmoothBlock stacked the barrels of tomato juice.

“I should get back to the kitchen, too. I hope your hooch goes well, take care!”

“Have a lovely day, Puff.” SmoothBlock smiled and waved.

Two long scenes to follow...Sorry about the length, though nothing that important happens in them, and if you don't care about Flamberge/Crosshair, they are entirely skip-able.

The first scene to follow takes place the day after our first scene, so the Badger Pony hasn’t arrived yet, nor has Praetorian or Redhat.

and

Flamberge stands in the training field. He has his sword in his hooves, and is cleaning the blade, while waiting for Crosshair to arrive.

Crosshair was /totally/ not napping and woke up late as she arrived hurriedly, her mane was slightly messy and unkempt and she panted as she almost crashed into the ground in front of her commander, giving him a salute, “Morning Commander!” She managed with an energetic smile.

Flamberge places a hoof to his helmeted head and shakes his head, “Good morning Captain.”

Putting his hoof back upon the ground he adds, “Get your armor on and make sure you have a full quiver, we are going out to explore the area, we need to have a better idea of the lay of the land if we are going to defend this area.”

The mare saluted sharply, and with a ‘Yes sir!’ she’s already gone to gear up, putting on her armor and helmet before returning just seconds later, geared up and ready to follow her commander away to patrol the surrounding dangerous lands of mystery and unknown.

Flamberge spreads his wings, "We are going to begin by circling the area from above, keep an eye out for any signs of large animals, and especially campsites other than ours."

He smiles, "And try and keep up." and then he takes off, Crosshair followed close by. Keeping eyes out on their surroundings, and even armored, she doesn’t show to be any less energetic.

The two ponies fly around the area for a while, making a circle a couple miles in radius around the camp. Some wild boars were spotted a ways away, but they were heading away from Duskfields and were thus left undisturbed. Nothing else out of the ordinary was seen.

"Captain!" shouts Flamberge over the sound of wind in his ears, "We are going to land down there," he gestures, "and head back on hoof."

Flamberge then makes a loop in the air and goes in for a landing at a speed a bit higher than was strictly safe. Crosshair, however, was not so used to land in a crowded forest in armor, and as she circles around to land, she crashed face-first into a tall tree at a speed faster than what she’d liked, luckily, her helmet probably saved her life from that cash as the tree suddenly stops her motion with a big thick loud ‘Thunk!’

When Flamberge hears the 'thunk' he rushes over to Crosshair, who was motionless upon the ground. "Crosshair! Are you okay! Don't try to move yet." he says, fearful she may have injured her neck.

Crosshair was seeing stars, and have the worst hangover ever. “I’m fine Commander!” She said, or at least that’s what she tried to, it actually came out more as jumbled mumbles and groans as the world just kept spinning and the ground decide to dance. All she could hear was ringing from her metal helmet crashing into the tree, as she tried to stand up, she realize that she’s absolutely covered in snails.

She freaked the fuck out.

Flamberge tries to calm the frightened mare, "Crosshair, calm yourself! You just hit your head you need to stay still," he says, oblivious to her true source of fear.

Her injuries all forgotten, she tries wildly to shake the slimy snails off of her to no anvil. “SNAILS!” She screamed at the top of her lungs, possibly scaring away woodland critters in the surrounding area as she freaked out.

Flamberge realizes the source of the mare's trouble, and springs into action. "Crosshair! Freeze and I shall get them off you!" he orders.

Crosshair stopped and froze as ordered, but her legs were quivering and trembling, her eyes looking nervously from side to side rapidly, her pupil dilated into a small dot as she held her breath, trying to hold herself together, which isn’t working out too well.

Flamberge walks over to the mare and brushes most of the critters off with a few swipes of his left wing. The few that remain he picks up by the shell with his pony mouth and tosses them aside. The last one he plucks off her in this fashion had been sliding down her left cheek.

Having removed the last of the snails he speaks again, "There that's the last of them."

Even with the last of them out, the mare still looked like she’s about to cry, her legs all stiff and limp like jelly at the same time, and it’s obvious she’s having a little trouble breathing again after being covered in snails like that.

Flamberge attempt to sooth the visibly upset mare, "Shhhh, it's okay Crosshair, they are gone, you are fine, everything's fine, there is no reason to cry. Just take a few, deep breaths."

Crosshair struggle to regain control of her breathing, and with his help, began to calm down more and more, enough to finally move her legs and wings again.

"Here." says Flamberge in as calming a tone he can manage, as he begins to hover in the air, his forehooves still touching Crosshair, "Let's go sit on a cloud where there are no sn...things around."

Still shaken, Crosshair nodded silently. She’d love to be anywhere but anywhere near the possibility of having more snails fall onto her. And clouds sounds like a mighty fine place to be.

Flamberge leads Crosshair to a small cloud above the forest and the two pegasi take a seat.

The smaller pony took her seat, tucking her legs close under herself and her wings even closer as she tries to quiver all those slimy feeling off of her. And trying not to embarasses herself further in front of her commander. “I-I’m sorry.. f-for Freaking out, Commander..” she apologized.

Flamberge nods, "Its okay, a lot of ponies have irrational fears, why, if it had been me, and the snails were replaced with rodents, I wouldn't have done much better...not that you are allowed to tell anypony else that, Captain."

That actually made her smile and calm her down a little, she giggled before quickly stifles it into a grin. Doing a little salute. “Aye aye, Commander.” but that only made her return to giggling.

Flamberge smiles and chuckles a bit with the giggling mare, "Sooo. Snails? Any idea why they bother you so?"

Crosshair shudders just at the mention of them alone. “They’re all so.. Slimy and icky and have weird eyes and-” She shudders once more. “They’re just so disgusting!”

Flamberge nods, then before he can respond notices a small snail he had missed was hanging on Crosshair's mane, in an attempt to remove it without the mare noticing, and possibly panicking again, he says, “Yes, I suppose that makes sense,” and moves a bit closer to her and reaches around her to grab the snail with his hoof and then flicking it away to plummet to a snaily death some hundreds of feet below the cloud layer.

The small mare blinked in confusion as she feel her commander touching her mane like so, blushing faintly across her face. “Commander?” She asked, unsure of what he’s doing. But not moving away.

Flamberge blushes, realizing what his actions might have been misconstrued as, and knowing how inappropriate that would be with her being his subordinate, so he moves away his hoof and moves himself away a bit as well.

"Uh, sorry, you just had, a... leaf, in you mane, it's gone though." he lies.

She smiled at that, clueless as ever. “Ah, Thank you commander!” She said sweetly. plucking another string at his heart no doubt.

"No problem," replies Flamberge, still blushing.

The two ponies spend the next hour or so sitting upon the cloud keeping watch over the surrounding area, before heading back to town, and calling it a day.

Months later.

4th Limestone, 269

Flamberge and Crosshair, are walking along the edge of the town, when they hear a mare’s scream. Flamberge and Crosshair take off into the air toward the source of the sound. When the two militia ponies arrive on the scene they find one of the new migrants under attack by a Honey Badger Pony. The farmer had numerous stab wounds along her right legs and was struggling to get away.

Flamberge lets out a mad cry and slams into the Honey Badger at full speed, Crosshair was the next to slam both of her forehooves onto the badger pony, both of them effectively tackling the honey badger to the ground where It was doomed to be beaten with violence to make a diomedian blush. Crosshair had her crossbows out and whacking at the thing over and over again when her hooves just aren’t beating it enough.

The thief quickly passes out without putting up much of a fight and then in short order lays dead on the ground. Though the enraged militia commander does not stop his assault. Several moments pass, the badger's bronze helmet had been collapsed under the onslaught, badger pony brains leaking out the visor, every bone in the creatures body had been ground to meal, it was barely identifiable as a pony creature at all any more.

At some point during the beating, Maize arrived and carried the injured pony to safety.

"Ragahh!" shouts the enraged Flamberge as he continues striking it, blind to the world around him. Crosshair panted and blinked as she came out of her battle high, finally realizing what’s going on she went wide-eyed at the sight before her in surprise. “Commander! It’s dead! You can stop now!” She tried to shout at him through his enraged shouts, having to try and pull him away from the pulp.

Flamberge does not cease his attack, not until Crosshair touches him, when he turns to her, and appears about to strike her next, his face still contorted in rage. He only barely manages to stop himself in time.

The commander sits down, breathing heavily, and sees the blood on his hooves and the mess beside him.

Crosshair had recoiled with wide eyes, startled and somewhat frightful at the thoughts that her commander looked like he almost tried to strike her down like the honey badger.

"...Crosshair...What...what happened?" asked Flamberge still shaken.

She quickly shakes away her fright, “You.. uh, went brutal on that badger pony, sir.” She answered.

"Was anypony injured...did I hurt anypony?" asks Flamberge his eyes fixed on the ground.

“Just the honey badger thief, sir.” Crosshair answered, quickly calming down from that little scare. “You didn’t hurt anypony.”

Flamberge stands up, looks at the corpse again, and says, "I...I need to get cleaned up. Excuse me." He move to walk away from the mess, toward the forest. He passes Praetorian on the way and tells him to take his squad and search the area for more Badger Ponies.

Worried about her Commander’s safety and of what he might do alone, Crosshair followed. Quickly catching up to him “Are you alright, Sir?” she asked with concern.

Flamberge stops, seems to think to himself, then says, "I... no." he continues walking.

The smaller mare followed close by. “With your permission, sir. What’s wrong?” she asked.

Flamberge looks around, there were too many civilians around, all reacting to the recent attack, “I...can’t tell you. Not here, at least, come with me.” he continues walking toward the forest.

Unconcerned of her own safety, Crosshair followed her commander with complete trust to the forest.

Flamberge leads Crosshair to a small stream in the woods, he leans down and begins to wash the blood and mud from his hooves, and does not look at the little mare, "Crosshair, you know, I've been in a number of fights over the course of my life, but... I can't remember a one of them."

That surprised her. “You.. can’t?”

He shakes his head, "No, I remember the build up sure but," Flamberge pauses, "then it all goes black, I wake up with their blood on me, and no memory of how it got there, when I go into that state, I just lose all control, I've even hurt my own best friends. I shouldn't have taken this position. I should have said no. I'm not fit to Command anypony. I thought I could control it, but I can't. I should go back to Coupledye, I should leave."

Seeing her Commander blabbering and breaking down in front of her, Crosshair couldn’t help but to walk up close to him and wrap her forelegs around his neck as she sits down, pulling him into a hug with her hooves stroking his mane softly. “No you shouldn’t.. If there’s a stallion who I can trust my life on, and knows what he’s doing, It’s you. You’re the best Commander I can ever ask for, Sir.”

Flamberge leans into Crosshair, allowing her to stroke his mane, "But Crosshair, what if next time... . The first thing I remember after blacking out, was the sight of you recoiling from me, if I hadn't stopped... I never want to frighten you like that again, and, if I had hurt you, I couldn't live with myself, Crosshair. Just being here I put everypony at risk, especially you... and the rest of the militia. I should go back to Coupledye, work in my father's blacksmith shop like he wanted."

She smiles at him reassuringly. “Commander, I’m a Markspony. I won’t be there to recoil at you the next time, Today I just have had forgotten my bolts is all.”

“So instead I attack Praetorian, or Redhat, or someother pony?” questions Flamberge.

“It won’t happen, Commander.” She said with confidence.

“It’s happened before, what makes you so sure it won’t again?” he asks.

“Because it didn’t happen this time, Commander. You stopped yourself. You can control it.” She urged on.

“Well,” begins Flamberge, “I think I was only able to stop because it was you, Crosshair.”

“Me? What makes me so special?” questions Crosshair.

“Because Crosshair, I think, I love you.” answers Flamberge looking into her eyes.

A scene from later I pieced onto here as it finishes it up.

That stunned her, It stunned her worse than crashing into that tree a while ago. She just stood there, blinking as her little pony brain tries to process what she just heard.

Flamberge realizes it was a mistake to blurt that out, she was his subordinate gods damn it,there are lines that shouldn't be crossed. He tries to pull away from her while says, "I...I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that..."

Crosshair blinked and shake her confusion out of her when she feel him pulling away from her “Oh!.. um, it’s.. It’s alright, Commander. Really! I’m just.. r-really surprised..” She said, rubbing the back of her neck with a wing as she feel a burning blush coming up. “I just never thought... w-well.. I mean, I don’t think a mare like me could...”

Flamberge now confused and already blushing with embaressment asks, "What do you mean? A mare like you could what?"

“W-well sir, I just.. don’t think that anypony would.. um.. love, a mare like me..” She said out with folded ears.

"Captain, what would ever make you think that?” asks Flamberge, “You are a strong, clever, and beautiful young mare, anypony's dream come true. I can't believe you didn't have all the young stallions fighting over you back home."

That made the poor mare blushes even further. “Well.. I’m too eager, brash, does things without thinking first and a little dumb according to other ponies..” she said, lowering her head slightly.

Flamberge smiles, "Well, it may be true, that you act a little over eager sometimes, and it wouldn't hurt you to learn to think before you leap sometimes, but I find those qualties of yours quite endearing Crosshair, and you are certainly not dumb, no matter what anypony else might have told you."

Crosshair pawed the ground softly and shyly with a hoof as she smiles up at her commander with a faint blush. “Thank you, Commander.. but.. You’re my Commander, wouldn’t you deserve somepony.. better?” she asked nervously, as if still unsure if what she heard was right.

Flamberge shakes his head, "I don't want anypony better, whatever you mean by that, I want you...but I understand if you would prefer a pony more level headed than me, or somepony smarter, or somepony with a job less likely to lead them to an early grave. But when I said I love you Crosshair, I meant it. I can't imagine better than you."

She finally smiles up some. “I’d be honored, Commander.. If.. If you don’t mind me, I’m quite.. um, inexperienced with love.. nopony really loved me before besides family..” She spoke again, embarrassed.

"Well then, we have that in common Crosshair," replies Flamberge.

“Perhaps, Commander, perhaps.”

Flamberge was confused by her usage of the word perhaps here, but thought it best not to pry, at least not right away. Flamberge moves back to be beside her, "We'll need to head back to town soon," he says, "they'll be wanting to know where we are....but let's wait a few more minutes first, okay?"

The mare smiled a happy smile at him. “Of course, Commander.”

and

Temperance was sitting in his small office, paging through his books. The new arrivals meant a lot of things had to be updated in his notes, so he was already setting to that. More beds, more housing, food rations... this was going to take a while. He frowns as he looks at the numbers. At least they had plenty to get by. Before he can continue, he is interrupted by a knock at the door.

He looks up from the stock records he was tending to. Now, who could that be? One of the newcomers? He steps over to the door and pulls it open. “Yes? Can I help you?”

On the other side of the door stands a bespectacled unicorn mare, with saddlebags across her back. “Mr. Temperance? I’d like to have a word, if you aren’t too busy.”

Temperance shakes the confused expression from his face and makes a smile. “Oh, yes, of course, come right in.” He returns to the far side of his desk and motions for her to take a seat. “What did you want to talk about?” What was this mare’s profession again? Had he even asked yet?

The mare takes her seat gratefully. “Well, I suppose I should introduce myself first.” She holds out a hoof. “Dr. Serenity, Doctor of Equine Psychology, Coupledye University.”

Temperance accepts the hoof and gives a slightly weak shake. “A pleasure to meet you Dr. Serenity.” He raises an eyebrow. “It seems you’ve already heard of me.”

Serenity nods. “Yes. I was asked to come out here by a Dutchess Virtue. She mentioned you frequently.”

At that, he’s completely unable to contain his surprise. A tiny flicker of a glower forms on his face, but he quickly contains it. “Oh, she did? That... that’s interesting.” He studies her briefly. “A doctor of psychology, you said? So... is that why she hired you?”

“Yes. She mentioned her own experiences with managing a new settlement, dealing with incompatible personalities, and the much deeper issues that seem to be so common among those who settle out here.”

That sounded like Virtue. That sounded a lot like Virtue. He nods slowly, putting the pieces together. “I see. Yes, she told me she’d had innumerable issues with that. Fortunately, we haven’t had any problems with that out here.” Not yet, anyway. Maize was worrisome though... “I’m not sure how much work you’ll have, I’m afraid.”

The doctor nods. “I understand. Still, I’d like it if you’d tell me about any odd behavior you notice. And most importantly, please let ponies know that if they have any problems, or just need to talk, I’m always available.”

“Of course,” Temperance replies with a tiny smile. He taps his hoof idly on the desk for a few moments. “Actually, doctor, there is somepony you may want to go see. One of the farmers. Maize. She seems very evasive, to the point of sleeping out in the fields instead of with the rest of us.” He considers if he should say more, and decides to add, “She is beginning to worry me a bit.”

“Thank you, sir. I’ll see about speaking to her as soon as I can. Where might I find her?”

He sighs. “She pretty much stays out in the fields permanently. She has two braids, I’m sure you’ll recognize her.” He glances down at the list of things that still needed to be built in Duskfields and said, “I, uh... imagine you’ll need someplace to really work. It’s... going to be a while before that’s possible though, I’m afraid.”

The doctor sighs. “That does make my job a bit more difficult, but I think I can manage.”

“Sorry,” he says with an apologetic expression. “If I’m not here, feel free to use my office though. It’s probably the only place remotely private out here for now.”

“I appreciate that, thank you very much. Would you mind if I kept my books in here as well?”

He shakes his head. “Oh, no, if you can find somewhere to stash them, feel free.” There was plenty of room. At least until he found a better place to get her situated.

and

Maize wanders through the rows of plants on the farm plot, checking the health and growth of each with tender care.

Cream Puff makes her way to the field, humming to herself. When she spots Maize, she waves and heads more for her than simply the field.

As she finishes looking over a slightly wilted sunflower and giving it some water, Maize looks up and spots Cream Puff. “Oh, hello,” she says softly, her weak, shy voice not always easy to hear.

Puff smiles at her and flutters over the plants, not wanting to disrupt Maize’s work. “Heya Maize! I’ve actually been looking for you. Should have expected to see you hard at work.”

“I wouldn’t say it’s hard...” Maize lets her head drop, obviously unused to being praised. “I’ve always liked growing things.”

“Just because you like it doesn’t mean it’s not hard work. You’re also really good at it, Maize. The wheat you grew was great, should keep everypony in fresh bread for a good while.” Puff wings slow circles around Maize, enjoying a bit of quiet time with the soft-spoken mare.

Maize just shrugs and looks back down at the plants, resuming her inspection. “I’ve been wanting to ask... why does everypony keep praising me for helping Morning Dew?”

“Because you reacted to help her before anypony else. And I mean actually help her, not just beat the stuffing out of the badgerpony.” She lands carefully beside Maize. “You helped her when everypony else could only stare.”

“But... that’s all I could do.” Maize’s head dips a bit. “It’s not like I was doing anything brave, like protecting her.”

Puff rolls her eyes a bit at that. “You got her to the Doc, and basically snatched her out from under that badger pony’s nose. Nopony else had the guts to get anywhere near her, but you carted her to a bed like the wind.” She gently tries to lift Maize’s gaze with a wing. “Don’t cry about what you can’t do, but be glad in what you can.”

Maize looks up at her, a bit teary-eyed, but smiling a bit as well. “I... I guess... I guess I’m just not used to being praised. Father always told me I wouldn’t ever be good for anything, and Mama didn’t really ever talk to me much. I used to think it was because she didn’t really like me, but...” She looks down and sighs. “I don’t think I should talk about this.”

Cream Puff lays a wing over her withers, hoping to reassure the mare. “It’s alright, Maize. I think they missed out, and I think you’re a good pony. Just remember you’re not alone, and you can always talk to me, ok?”

Maize sighs again and looks around at the plants. She checks out one of the sunflowers, a fast-growing one that was already noticeably taller than the ones around it. “D... do you think Morning Dew would like a sunflower by her bed? I mean, if one grows fast enough to bloom before she gets well...”

Puff smiles and nods. “I think she’d appreciate it, Maize. Even if they aren’t her favorite, it’s the thought that counts. I know I’d love one if it were me.”

Maize smiles and nods. “This one might bloom pretty soon at the rate it’s growing.” She looks around. “Oh, I also meant to ask. Are there any other plants I need to be growing?”

Puff thinks for a few moments, then shrugs. “A good variety is the most important thing. Wheat and sunflowers are great foundations for a meal, but ponies don’t live on bread alone, heh. Pretty much whatever you want to grow is fine.”

Maize nods. “Anyone ask for anything?”

“Heh, I’ve had a few requests for the tomato juice and peanutbutter sammiches, but that’s it so far.”

“I can try growing peanuts if we have any.” Maize looks around. “I think we’ve got tomatoes growing somewhere in here, too.” The mare heads down a little more until the two reach a bare crater in the field, about the size of a pony.

The significance of the barren spot almost slips past Puff, but the gears turn and she soon turns to give Maize a stern look. “Maize... you’re not still sleeping out here, are you?”

Maize notices the stern look and nearly prostrates herself. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know...” She seems rather like she’s going to cry.

Cream Puff immediately softens and hugs Maize. “Oh Hun... you don’t need to sleep out here. We have the dorms, and they’re even working on getting individual rooms up. Why don’t you want to sleep in a bed?”

“I... I do, but... the dorms are so full of ponies, it’s much more comfy out here.” Maize softens her rigid pose and snuggles a bit into Cream Puff’s hooves. “The dirt’s nice and soft in the field, and the plants smell wonderful, and the stars and firebugs are like dozens of little nightlights watching over me...”

Cream gently pats Maize’s back as she thinks for a few moments. On the one hoof, she doesn’t want Maize to think she has to sleep alone in the field. On the other, she seems to really enjoy sleeping under the stars....

Buck it, she’s still not sleeping alone if she can help it. “Hey Maize... how about a little camp-out tonight? I’ll grab a cloud and sleep out here with you.”

Maize beams, but keeps her head down a little, still submissive. “You.. you don’t have to...”

She chuckles and meets Maize’s eyes. “I want to. You made it sound nice out here, and Flamberge snores.” she says with a smile and a wink.

Maize chuckles a little. “I don’t even know what ‘snores’ is, but I guess it’s not very nice...”

“He’s a loud sleeper, heh. I’m told I snore a bit, too, but sleeping on a cloud tends to keep me quiet.”

Maize nods. “I don’t think I’d mind too much. The crickets and cicadas are pretty noisy at night, and it doesn’t bother me.” She paws at the dirt of her makeshift bed a little. “What’s a bed like?”

“How about you find out tomorrow night?” Puff suggests.

“I... I don’t know...” Maize sighs. “I don’t think I could even go in the dorm with all those ponies...”

“Is that it? I can bring a bed out here, or at least the mattress. I can almost guarantee it’s better than the ground.”

“I think that would be nice.” Maize looks at the ground. “I’ve never slept on a mattress. Father always made me sleep outside. Said I should get used to it, because I’d be sleeping there forever.”

Cream Puff puts a hoof on her withers and gives her a gentle squeeze. “Well, now you can choose if you want to sleep outside or not. It’s up to you, not him.”

“Y... yeah...” Maize nods. “I still... like it outside. But I think I might enjoy it once there’s a room built for me, too.” She looks wistfully at the sky. “I guess we’ll see.”

Puff smiles, picturing Maize curled up and sleeping peacefully in her own bed, a sunflower on the window sill. “Yeah... we’ll see.”

and

Maize, as always, tends to her fields. She doesn’t really seem to go elsewhere, except maybe to get food.

The day’s training being over, Praetorian makes his way over to the fields. The mare out there was the one he’d been meaning to congratulate on her rescue of the wounded farmer some days ago. Upon spotting the farmer, he nods to her, and says “Hello there, miss Maize.”

Maize looks up and spots the approaching soldier, her head quickly dipping back down. She says something unintelligible.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t quite catch that,” says the soldier, with a friendly tone in his voice, as he moves closer.

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Maize’s voice is only just audible now. “I said hello and asked how I could help you.”

“Oh, pardon my manners. My name is Praetorian, and I was just passing by and I thought I’d say hello to the heroine of the hour,” says the soldier, as he wonders to himself why the mare seems to be so frightened.

“Oh...” Maize blushes. “Thank you, but I don’t deserve to be called a hero.”

“You saved that wounded pony’s life. Without even having anything to protect yourself with. That’s fairly heroic,” says the soldier.

“But... heroes are supposed to be ponies who overcome their fear...” Maize lowers her head. “I was only more afraid of what would happen if I did nothing.”

Praetorian is ever-so-slightly concerned by the pony’s demeanour. “Still, you did a good deed, and without thought for reward. And did not Equinius write ‘How worthy of eternity is a national character that rewarded exploits so distinguished with honour only, and whereas it enhanced the value of its other wreaths with gold, refused to allow the rescue of a citizen to be a thing of price, thus loudly proclaiming that it is wrong even to save the life of a pony for the sake of gain’?”

Maize blushes a bit more and lowers her entire body a bit, seeming almost to be bowing in shame. “I... don’t know who that is... and I don’t really understand what all that means...”

“Hey,” says the soldier, lowering himself. “Hey. What’s wrong? Gods above, even I don’t understand what that old windbag was talking about most of the time. And you seem to be a lot more down on yourself than I am. So...what’s wrong?”

Maize looks up a little. “I... you sound so smart, and... I never really got many ponies saying good things about me before, especially not smart ponies like you. It... just feels weird when somepony so much better than me thinks good of me. I mean,” she takes a breath and a glance around, “I used to live on the street. I’ve only seen a single book in my life, and whatever was in it looked like nothing but little nonsense scribbles. All I’ve learned, I taught myself.”

“Ah, is that it? Well, miss Maize, you’re a hero, so I can trust you with this.” He looks around furtively. “I only learned to read after my first five years in the army, and that was because I needed it for the promotion. So we’ve at least got a little bit in common. And here’s a secret that took me a long time to learn. Everypony that seems better than you or I, most of that’s just confidence and practice. I’m certainly not as good as you are at farming, so you’re better than me on that, I’ve never gone into a fight without armour and a weapon, so you’re better than me on that, too, and I’ve never been that much of a hero, so you’re way ahead of me there, too.” He pauses for a bit. “And... if you want to learn how to read, I can probably give you a bit of help there, too.”

Maize smiles. “You... would? I mean, I don’t want to be a bother...”

“Hah, not much of a bother to help a certified Hero of the Kingdom,” says Praetorian with a little smile.

“I... I would like that, then.” The farm pony stands back up, though her head still hangs a little low. She never really seems to hold it too high. “When... when do I begin?”

“Well, when do you want to start?” asks the soldier. “I’ve got training to do, but other than that I’m mostly free.”

Maize looks around. “If you’ll wait just a moment, then, I want to look at these last few crops...” She bows her head again. “If you don’t mind too much...”

“‘Course I don’t mind, take as long as you need.”

and

Redhat walked up to the “kitchen” looking for some a decent meal, hoping he could get another “peanut butter and tomato juice” sandwich.

Cream Puff is just checking the stores of food, and gives the stallion an absent wave as she still has her head in a barrel. “What can I get you, Hun?” comes her muffled welcome.

The pony smiled a little and walked up to the barrel. “Well, I’d kill for another one of those delightful tomato juice sandwiches.”

Her chuckle echos in the barrel before she pulls her head out to get a look at him. “I never expected those to get so popular.” she says with a wide smile.

“Well, even they don’t, just more for me is suppose.”

She nods and sets about making the sammich for him. “So, what’s your name, Hun?”

“The name’s Redhat”

She smirks and gestures at his headwear with a wing. “Would have never guessed. So, you’re in the military, yeah?”

“Heh... yeah I’m in the militia” he said, taking a seat.

“For how long? You don’t exactly seem the type to make a career of it.”

“Just joined recently” he said, still smiling.

She finishes making the sammich and walks over to Redhat with it on her wing. “What’s it like? Praetorian seems a rather structured stallion.”

“It’s annoying.” he said, picking up the sammich. the stallion then made sure his hat was still nice and on the right spot on his head.

“Looks about like what I’d expect in the army.” she says with a shrug.

“No it’s not that. The stallion demands respect and shows me none.”

Puff gives him a bit of a flat look. “He is your commanding officer.”

“I only give respect when it is earned. I can act, and pretend like I do, but if the stallion does something to me that offends me, I will do something about it.”

Cream Puff chuckles at him. “Red, you ever think the military isn’t for you?”

“Yes, your point?” he said, giving her an odd look.

“My point is, I don’t think you can take him, and if you can get that chip off your withers, you might learn something from him.”

“Personally, I don’t plan on just dropping universal respect like that.”

“You need to give some to get some, Red. He’s had 16 years in the army, I’d say that earns him at least a bit, even if he wasn’t your boss.”

“... That doesn’t give him the right to think himself better than me”

She chuckles again. “I doubt he thinks that. He might be more skilled than you, and have a lot more experience, but I doubt he thinks he’s ‘better’ than you. I’m telling you, Red, get that chip off your shoulder sooner rather than later. Otherwise, you’ll probably be digging that moat until we have an ocean.”

Redhat sighed. “Ugh... you have a point...”

She pats him on the shoulder. “Of course I do! I’m the chef! And the one who prepares your meals is never wrong!” she says with a wink, then laughs.

Redhat laughed a little. “Yeah... thanks.”

“Any time, Red.”

Scenes #4

and

Cream Puff walks around the settlement, looking for Case Study. The stallion had missed another meal, and she is not going to have a pony going hungry on her watch! She carries a vegetable medley sammich on her wing as she searches for the stallion.

The pale blue pony in question was lying under a tree in the middle of their territory. His red eyes scanned a book about equine anatomy. There were plenty of crimson marks throughout its pages, accompanied with notes he had written in the past. Study had gotten caught up in medical literature again, focused to the point where he had practically lost all sense of time.

“Aha!” spouts Cream Puff as she spots her target, then she heads over to him to favor him with a glare. “Case Study.”

For the first few moments, her words sounded like background noise. It was only when Puff’s shadow overcast the papers before him did the earth pony become aware of her presence. An ear twitched as he raised his angular muzzle in her direction, “Yes? Can I help you, ma’am?”

“Don’t you ‘ma’am’ me, buster! You keep feeding that!” she points at his head. “Instead of feeding that!!” she gestures to the rest of him. “A doctor should know better!”

The stallion was a bit taken aback by the pegasus’ attitude, but he understood what she was trying to say. He raised an eyebrow, taking mental note of the sandwich she was carrying, “Time for a meal already? I do suppose it is later than I predicted.” Study placed the bookmark in its proper place and closed the cover, “My apologies, Ms. Puff, but I have a tendency to get ‘lost in the clouds’ when I read. Based on the nature of your opening statement, and the presence of food in your hoof, I predict that the reason you are here is self-evident?”

Sweet merciful Nirmek, can this pony talk. She gives him a flat look and holds her wing for him to take the food. “Yes.”

He stood up and stretched his back, feeling a bit surprised. The pony wasn’t used to others approaching him so directly, nor was it typical for them to bring him food unrequested. He accepted the edible offering, “Well, this is unexpected. I don’t recall sending for anything. This was your idea?”

She nods, softening her stance slightly as it seems the stallion might actually start eating soon. “It was. I don’t let ponies go hungry on my watch, even if they forget to eat. I brought you a mixed vegetable sammich, nice and healthy and filling.” She softens further as she talks a little about her job, her passion.

It was a nice thought, especially the healthy part. At least it wasn’t one of those questionable tomato juice and peanut butter sandwiches. He took a bite. It was rather pleasant, especially since he was hungrier than he originally believed he was. Case swallowed the piece, “That’s quite kind of you. I do appreciate your consideration. What might I owe you for your trouble?”

She smiles as he finally starts to eat. “Nothing, Case. It’s just what I do, you know? If you really want to try to pay me back, just make sure Morning Dew will be alright.” she says with a dismissive wave of her wing.

“Huh, well that’s very nice. If you won’t accept money, then I suppose I’ll just owe you a favor in the future.” He consumes a second piece of the vegetable-and-bread concoction, “As far as Ms. Dew is concerned, she has a bit of an infection. I don’t expect it will get worse, but it will prolong her recovery time. I really need something more here than simple herbs to stave off illness.”

“Well, soap is just fat and lye, right? If we can get the sunflowers grown soon enough, we’ll just need somepony to make some lye.”

“Indeed. Having that substance on hoof could really aid in my practice. A magical artifact that does the same thing would be welcomed as well...not that I’m likely to come across one.” Half the food had now disappeared down the hatch. “I suppose I’ll have to wait and see what the future holds for us in terms of medicinal resources, as we are still young on this land.”

She nods and sits next to him, enjoying the shade. “So, what were you reading? Must have been good to keep you from a meal.”

Peaking at the book out of the corners of his rhomboidal eyes, he explained, “I was near the end of chapter three of an anatomy book I had received as a gift some years ago. To be more specific, I was trying to get a better handle on the placement of blood vessels within pony legs. If any part of Ms. Dew’s flesh were to become gangrenous, it’s of the utmost importance that my cuts be precise and avoid puncturing any large veins.” The last mouthful was popped in, defying the unpleasant nature of the conversation.

She smirks at him. “Yeah, that sounds like it would be bad.”

“Assuming one did not wish to bleed to death, yes. I’m not particularly concerned at the moment. The worst that will happen to her is probably nothing more than scarring, as well as the necessity for using crutches for a short while. I wouldn’t be surprised if some hairline fractures were initially present as well.”

“I just hope she pulls through alright. I’m glad it sounds like she will. A funeral would be pretty depressing this early in our time here. Not to mention how Maize would probably react.”

Case Study knew of Maize bringing the injured mare in, but hadn’t known much of her. He tended to mind his own business until somepony else’s business became his, “The farmer...the tall one, correct? I hear she’s become something of a minor celebrity in Duskfields. Not that I know many of the details.”

Puff nods and puts on a smile. Maize might be too modest to be proud of what she did, but Puff is perfectly happy to be proud for her. “That’s her! She brought Morning Dew in to see you before the dust could even settle on that fight.”

“Interesting,” he swished his gray-white tail, “So this Ms. Maize...what do you know of her? I suppose I should take the opportunity to be as well informed as the other ponies are about this farmer.”

Puff thinks for a few moments, deciding what Maize might not want a total stranger to know. “Well, she’s timid and soft-spoken, and nice to a fault. And she’s an amazing farmer.”

“That matches my first impressions of her. I’ve seen her alone in the fields often. Not that it’s any of my business what she likes to do in her spare time.”

Puff looks at him sideways, wondering what his bedside manner is like and if poor Morning Dew is bored out of her mind. “Don’t you want to get to know the ponies who you might have to save?”

He paused for a moment, “Familiarity can be a double-edged sword, Ms. Puff. One may enjoy the cheerful company of another in pleasant times, but what of the times when that same pony is lying before you with a gaping wound that needs to be addressed with urgency? Emotions can cloud judgment. That, in turn, can lead to life-changing, nay, deadly mistakes. Knowing that one may be responsible for the termination of their friends life isn’t something I want to experience.”

Puff shrugs. “I’d expect saving a friend’s life would be quite the motivation. And losing one... well, I don’t stop using an oven just because I get burned. I’d say the positives outweigh the negatives, myself.”

“An optimistic outlook. If you can manage that worldview, then by all means enjoy it. I’m simply a realist. I know there is good and bad in this world and that either one can come at the most unexpected of times. I prefer to distance myself emotionally so that the negatives affect me less. That makes it easier to pick up the pieces and move on with life.”

Cream Puff quirks an eyebrow at him. “Having friends makes it easier. But, if you want to throw out the foal with the bath-water, that’s your business.”

“I have no problem with friends in concept, Ms. Puff. I mean to say that I am not a social butterfly, looking for new acquaintances at every turn. I feel that those who will be important in my life will reveal themselves to me when the time is right. However, I do feel that one should not rely on others too much when the only one you can count on at the end of the day is yourself.” Case looks up at the clouds in the sky, “Such seems to have done me well so far, at least.”

She chuckles at him. “Yeah? Well, ‘yourself’ almost left you hungry today.”

He rubs his temple, “If my stomach were to fail in reminding me of that, my migraines certainly would not have. Low blood sugar is one of several things that can trigger them. Not to bore you with my personal problems, though.”

She gets up and gives him a cheeky smile. “See? I got you food and kept you from having a migraine! Aren’t friends great?”

The doctor placed a hoof under his bony chin, “Yes, I suppose that’s true. For that, I thank you once more.” He looks at the position of the Sun, “I hope I haven’t kept you from any important business with my ramblings, Ms. Puff. If so, I apologize yet again.”

She shakes her head. “It’s no problem, Case. It’s what friends are for. I’ll be giving you another earful if you forget lunch again, though. Fair warning.” she says with a smile.

“I see. I’ll attempt to be more prompt next time, assuming I don’t have my hooves full with some emergency.”

She chuckles. “I suppose an emergency will get you off the hook, Doc. Don’t be a stranger, alright?”

The lankey stallion nods, “Yes, I’ll be seeing you later. I wish you good luck with your cooking.” Although he never formed a true smile throughout the encounter, Case Study did feel a tinge of happiness in that somepony had actually paid him attention.

“Thanks! Enjoy your book!” She gives him a friendly wave, then heads back towards her improvised kitchen. After all, she’d have to start preparing for dinner soon.

and

Cream Puff busies herself with cleaning her makeshift kitchen; the lunch rush is mostly over, and she expects the few stragglers to be by soon for a meal. She hums to herself as she finishes making some flatbread.

The militia commander, Flamberge, approaches the improvised kitchen, he has a beaming smile on his face, Cream Puff doesn't think she's ever seen him this happy. "Good evening Cream Puff," says the stallion, "I hope I'm not too late for some lunch."

She smiles at the stallion as he approaches. “Heya ‘Berge! You’re just in time for some fresh bread! You want a sammich, or just something piecemeal?”

“Hmm, surprise me.” says Flamberge.

She thinks for a few moments before grinning at him and setting to work. “So, having a good day, I take it?”

Flamberge nods, “Is it that obvious,” he says with a chuckle.

She chuckles and nods as she works on his food. “Well? Spill!”

Flamberge looks off to one side, “Well, I don’t know if I should. She might not want everypony to know.” he says intentionally saying too much.

Puff smirks at him. “Don’t make me threaten you with no lunch, ‘Berge!” she says with a wink.

“You wouldn’t dare!” he says in a joking tone.

“Watch me!”

Flamberge and Cream Puff lock eyes and a mental tug of war takes place before Flamberge finally consents, "Alright, alright, I'll tell you, yesterday, I...told Crosshair... that I was in love with her, and she didn't turn me down. She acted surprised, but, she likes me too."

She rolls her eyes at him as she picks up his meal, then walks over to him. “Well, duh! She loves you, too!”

Flamberge leans back a bit, “Oh, I don’t think so. She never said she did at least. Someday I hope that’s true, but I don’t think it is yet.”

She gives him a ‘you can’t be that dense’ look, but doesn’t repeat herself. “Well, you talked, so I guess you get your meal. Viola!” With a flourish, she reveals his meal: A peanut butter and tomato juice sammich with some sauteed veggies on the side.

“Tomato juice and peanut butter, my favorite, just like mother never made.” says Flamberge as he takes the food, “Thank you Cream Puff.”

She smiles, always happy to have somepony enjoy her food. “Any time, ‘Berge.” She turns to head back to her kitchen, then pauses and looks him in the eyes. “And Flamberge? Take good care of Crosshair. She’s my best friend. If you break her heart, I’ll serve you yours.”

Flamberge nods, “I promise, but don’t worry, she’s my markspony captain, and a hell of a shot, if I did, she could shoot me in the back herself no problem.”

She smiles at him, glad he understands. “Good! Speaking of, how do you think her training’s going?”

Flamberge pauses, pops one of the veggies on his plate into his mouth, chews and swallows before responding. “It’s...okay. Her target practice is good and all, but I know it isn’t the same as shooting a moving target, and I’ve show her the basics of self-defense in melee, but she is still not comfortable in the armor, and she won’t last in close range against somepony who knows what they are doing.”

“Well, melee is your job, right? You keep them away and she puts small holes in important bits of them?”

“On paper yeah,” responds Flamberge, “But it is just me, Praetorian, and that Redhat up there. Even a small group of discordian’s could overwhelm us, or just have some run past. I mean, the odds of them taking an interest in a town this size is slim, but if they do, I want all of us to be ready. If we had the metal to spare, I’d have forged a spear for everypony here by now, but we don’t have the material....I’m probably just being paranoid, forget I said anything.”

“Nah, that paranoia is probably at least partially why you’re still alive in the army, yeah? No spear for me, though. A couple quality chef’s knives would be nice, though.” she says with a chuckle.

“Heh, Well, we’ll see what we can do, if I can ever get enough spare metal to work with.” replies Flamberge.

They engage in some more small talk as Flamberge eats, then he says his farewells to return to his duties. Puff smiles at him as he goes, chuckling to herself about how dense stallions can be.

, , and

As the small caravan trundled into the place they were travelling to, Praetorian looked around, and spotting the buildings, began making his way over there. His orders had been clear. He was to meet with the current leader of the group, a Mr Temperance, and report to him. There was also another soldier or two here, but they could wait until afterwards. As he looked around the settlement, he tried to find the pony whose description he had been given.

Temperance was busying himself with the large stockpile in the center of what he liked to think was the start of the town, picking over everything and jotting down stock records. They really needed to get this mess a bit more organized, soon. He fails to notice anypony approaching him, consumed in his current task as he was.

Praetorian looked the pony up and down. “Mr Temperance?” he asked, taking out the little paired bronze tablets from his pack. The two tablets, affixed to each other by hinges, had seven seals keeping the opening shut.

Temperance looks up from his work. “Hmm? Oh,” he says, turning to face the pony. He glances at the mass of ponies slightly behind Praetorian wandering into the settlement and quickly surmises what was going on. “Ah, you... must be from Coupledye, right?” He offers a hoof. “You seem to know me already, Mr...”

“Praetorian. My diploma, Mr Temperance.” He hands over the sealed bronze tablets. “I’ve been...assigned here, sort of.”

Temperance’s eyes widen a bit as he realizes who he’s talking to. “Oh, of course,” he says, glancing inside the tablets. He wasn’t really sure what he was looking at, so he nods approvingly and returns them. “It’s a pleasure to have you out here, having another soldier will definitely help.” He hesitates. “Although you sound a bit unsure of that?”

“If there’s anything out here, I don’t see it concertedly attacking such a small and probably weathless town. Maybe large animals or an occasional desperate bandit looking for food. Other than that... Well, I might be able to help there, but a good wall will keep them out anyway,” says the soldier.

Temperance smiles and makes a small chuckle. “Yes, well, I certainly hope you’re right. I suspect that you are. Still, I know that there are some surprisingly crafty bandits that prey on these little settlements, so it doesn’t hurt to be prepared.” Hopefully Flamberge and the other soldiers wouldn’t end up becoming a glorified guard policing drunkards, but he wasn’t going to say anything of the sort. He looks around for a moment searching for somepony. “In any case, perhaps you’d like to meet commander Flamberge? You’ll be working with him a lot.”

“Yes, that would be good,” agrees Praetorian. “Shall we?”

Temperance leads Praetorian back toward the “training grounds”, which are little more than two armor stands standing in the middle of the plains. “This is where he and captain Crosshair have been training. It’s not much, I know.” Almost nothing, really. But priorities were elsewhere. “It’s a work in progress. I’m not sure where Flamberge is right now...”

At those words Flamberge and Crosshair descend from the sky, in their armor. Crosshair sets off to the armor rack, while Flamberge greets Temperance and the new pony, “Hello, Temperance, sir, we just returned from patrol, saw some more boars up north, but they were heading toward the river, not this way. Nothing else to report.”

Temperance smiles at him. “Good, good.” He gestures at Praetorian. “Commander, this is Praetorian, a new arrival in Duskfields and your new colleague.”

“Good day, commander,” says the new guy with a salute.

Flamberge returns the salute in kind. "Good day to you as well." Flamberge looks over Praetorian.

Praetorian is a brown-coated unicorn with a black mane, and wears segmented plate with a red tunic underneath. His tail is short and even.

"You look like you will do just fine. You are the soldier I was told to expect from Coupledye, yes?" questions the militia commander.

“I believe so,” says the unicorn with a nod.

"Excellent. Temperance, I have a few more questions for Praetorian. Did you have anything else you wanted to say first?" asks Flamberge.

Temperance shakes his head. “Oh, no, no, nothing else on my mind.” He looks between all of the military ponies present and takes a step back. “I’ll let you all get acquainted. If anypony needs me I’ll be counting the bags of seeds.”

"So, Praetorian. I was told you have combat experience? Is that true?" asks Flamberge.

“Yes, commander. I’ve served my sixteen years,” says the spearpony.

"Sixteen years? Very good." Flamberge wasn't sure what else to say about that, Praetorian had served longer than him and yet he was the one supposed to be in command, it felt odd to him to have seniority over a more experienced soldier.

Flamberge looks over the soldier's segmented mail. "I am glad you brought some equipment of your own, we are chronically under supplied out here."

“Well, of course,” says Praetorian. “Not much else for me to do, eh?” He smiled. “Don’t really have much of a talent outside the military. It’s good to be doing something I know again.”

Flamberge nods, “With you here, that brings us to only three soldiers, but hopefully we’ll be enough for now. Now, I’ll show you around the camp such as it is, and you can get settled, you’ll join Crosshair and I for training starting tomorrow.”

“That sounds good, commander. It’ll be good to be serving with you,” says Praetorian, following the militia commander.

and

After unpacking the last of her work materials and storing them safely in Temperance’s office, Serenity heads out into the fields, searching for her first ‘patient’.

Maize is easy enough to find. She’s lying amongst her crops, in a small bed-like mound of dirt, and staring at the clouds. She looks rather childish with her hooves hovering over her small frame.

Well, that certainly looked odd enough to be her. The doctor approaches her. “Excuse me, are you Miss Maize?”

The mare quickly, if unsteadily, rolls over to her feet and picks herself up, giving her body a quick shake to get rid of a little dust. She looks up at the new face, a little red-cheeked. “Y~yes, ma’am?”

Serenity extends a hoof. “I’m Dr. Serenity. Mr. Temperance asked me to come speak with you, if you have the time.”

“Oh...” The mare glances at the ground worriedly. “Did... did I do something wrong?”

“Oh, no, nothing like that. He just... wanted me to ask you a few things, that’s all.”

Maize nods a little and looks up again. “Oh. So... what do you want to ask me, then?”

Serenity moves to sit beside Maize. “Well, Mr. Temperance told me that you’ve been acting very... evasive. You seem to go out of your way to avoid interacting with the others.”

Maize backs away a little, her head dipping down and her eyes falling. “I’m sorry... I’ve really been trying, but it’s kind of new to me... I’m sorry...”

Serenity raises a hoof to stop her. “Nopony is upset with you about this, Maize. Just... concerned. Now, why do you avoid other ponies so much? Is there something about them that bothers you?”

“N-no... everypony here is so nice...” She offers a quick smile before looking at the ground again. “I just... I can’t really handle other ponies... I get overwhelmed...”

“So then I take it you aren’t accustomed to working alongside other ponies? What did you do before you came out here?”

“I...” Maize seems to be really conflicted. “I... lived on the street. I never really knew anything I could use in the city, so... I just looked through folks’ trash and slept on whatever soft patch of grass or dirt I could find.”

“That’s quite a hard life. You didn’t have any family to stay with?”

Maize’s eyes begin to tear up a little as they go out of focus, her head pointing solidly at the ground. “I... I don’t really want to... talk about my family...”

Serenity pauses. There was definitely something there, but if she pressed for more information Maize may shut her out. “...Okay. Let’s talk about something else, then. You said you’ve been trying to socialize with other ponies?”

Maize brushes the tears forming in her eyes away and looks up again. “Y~yeah, I have... I talk to Cream Puff, and sometimes I talk a little with other ponies...”

Serenity nods. “I’ve met miss Cream Puff, in passing. She seems like a nice enough mare. Do you two get along well?”

Maize nods. “Yeah, she’s really nice. It’s... really nice to talk with her as I tend the plants.”

“That’s very good. Having a friend like her will make improving your social skills much easier.”

Maize looks around. “Yeah... I guess so...” She tries think of something. “M-may I be... excused, please? I’d like to... check the plants, and... you know, to...” Her voice falters off.

Serenity quirks an eyebrow at this. “Well, I did have a few more questions... will you be gone long?”

“I... y-yeah... I will...” Maize is obviously uncomfortable, her hoof scraping the dirt as she avoids eye contact as best she can manage, and her head hanging extra low.

The doctor stands. “Well, in that case, I suppose we can speak more later. Could you come by Mr. Temperance’s office after you’re done?”

“Umm... okay...” Maize starts to back away. “S-see you, I guess...”

Serenity smiles. “Yes, see you.” With that, she turns to leave.

Maize doesn’t even pretend to ‘check her plants’ as Serenity departs, instead opting to plop down into her bed and cover her face. Serenity can faintly hear the sound of sobbing for a moment before the sound can no longer penetrate the air between her and the mare.

Serenity quickens her pace, heading back to the office.

and

Temperance was sitting in his office. Or well, he was sleeping in his office, propped against his table and snoring almost inaudibly. It was late in the afternoon, and his sleep schedule had been off for the past few weeks as he worked as needed and when he could. He’d only

been there a few minutes too, but that’s all it took for him to slip off into dreamland.

Without bothering to knock first, Serenity opens the door and pokes her head inside. “Mr. Temperance?”

He starts in response and snaps up. “Huh? What?” He blinks a few times. “Oh, Dr. Serenity. How can I help you?”

Serenity enters the office, finding a chair and slumping into it with a sigh. “I just had a talk with Maize.”

He runs a hoof down his face and tries to jostle himself awake. “Oh, you did? You... don’t sound too enthusiastic.”

“She’s obviously suffered some type of severe trauma, something to do with her family. I wasn’t able to get much information out of her about it, though.”

Temperance is silent for a moment, but he’s clearly troubled. “I see... that’s not what I was hoping to hear...” Not that he really knew what he wanted to hear.

Serenity sits upright. ”...I’d like to start seeing her regularly, in your office if you don’t mind. Maybe if I get to know her, earn her trust, she’ll open up to me more...”

He nods. “That sounds like a good idea. If you had a specific time for regular appointments I can work around that.” He pauses and asks in a quiet tone, “You think you can help her though?”

She raises a hoof to her forehead. “I’ve seen a lot in my line of work. Mental disorder. Loss and grief.” Serenity stares at the floor, her voice hushed. “... domestic abuse...” She looks back to Temperance. “I don’t think it’s anything I can’t handle.”

“Good. That’s... that’s good,” he replies. “I didn’t realize it was anything that serious. She was quiet on the trip out here, but seemed alright otherwise. I certainly don’t want anypony around here to suffer through something like this though.” He glances down to his desk and back up. “I understand that you’ve probably got some privacy concerns here, but... would you mind keeping me updated on her? I’d like to know she’s alright.”

“Of course. As expedition leader, you have a right to know.” Serenity allows a small smile to cross her muzzle. “It’s good that you’re so concerned for the well-being of those under you.”

Hearing that makes him smile a bit himself. Maybe he was doing things right. “Thank you. I’m sure you’ll do a good job.”

Trenches, Parasprites, and chicken kicking

Temperance's Journal - 7th Limestone, 269

Another one of those dust storms blew past this afternoon. Something is definitely strange about them. I've seen them off in the distance a few times, but this is the first time one has come this close to us. They look red. The soil around here isn't red though, so that's pretty mysterious. More mysterious is how it seems to just vanish a short way away from the camp site. I'm probably just worrying too much, but I get an odd feeling watching them. Almost as if something is telling me we shouldn't be here.

Well, the storms haven't bothered anypony yet, since they haven't even hit the camp, so I won't worry too much. I'm more concerned about the badger pony that attacked us, and the consequences of it. We finally got his remains cleaned up and moved. They drug him off a ways off where nopony in the camp can really see him, but perhaps I should have asked to have it be a bit further off. The militia can still probably see him from where they train.

14th Limestone, 269

I've been checking in on poor Morning Dew every day since she was injured, and she's slowly recovering. Her spirits seem to be improving too, which is good. I think I've seen Serenity heading over here, so she's probably been talking with her. She was very shaken up for a while, and if I'd been attacked and stabbed twice I'd probably be shaken up too. Well, I am, really, but not like she is. Next time I see Maize, I'm going to send her Morning Dew's thanks along with mine. She is a very brave pony. In fact, one of the new rooms should be done tomorrow. It's hers, and I don't think anypony would object.

I wish Case Study had a proper place to treat Morning Dew, though. He's been doing a great job with what he has, but he said that without a properly sterilized facility, one of her hooves has become infected. He doesn't seem worried, so I'm not, but it could become serious. Morning Dew didn't seem too concerned, so he may not have told her yet.

She'll be alright. Probably.

Because of this, I've had the carpenters halt working on the dorms for now and instead focus on setting up a proper hospital. It's going to be small for a long time, but anything has to be better than having nothing but the dorms to work in. I know the other ponies will appreciate it too. I'm not sure that anypony had gotten a particularly good night's sleep since Morning Dew was moved there.

That means more work for Holly clearing out room for the hospital, but I think she can appreciate the reason.

I'm more concerned about Wood Chips. I think I may have rubbed him the wrong way somehow recently. I mentioned that I was sure he and the others would get it put up quickly and in good shape, but he seemed a bit irritated. Maybe I'm working the carpenters too hard too?

22nd Limestone, 269

I'm not entirely sure what happened, but I saw Smooth Block standing off near the northern part of the camp watching Redhat dig a trench. When I asked about it, she told me that Praetorian ordered it for some reason, and that he'd be digging a defensive trench around the whole camp. It's a great idea, I admit, but that's her job, not his. When I asked about that, she just laughed and made some joke about insubordination.

Maybe I'll talk with Praetorian about it later. For now, a defensive trench sounds like a good idea, so I won't interrupt the process.

23rd Limestone, 269

Parasprites!

That's what I woke up to Holly shouting this morning. Sure enough, when I galloped outside, that's what I saw. There were so many of them, chasing the mare back from the forest…

They're halting construction of the hospital since they keep swarming the workers. We can't afford any hold ups, so I was glad to see Flamberge leading all of the soldiers in a sweep of the camp to clear or scare them all away. I... I'm pretty sure I saw Flamberge guttingthe little things with his sword. How a pony can have such precision I have no idea.

The soldiers were doing their best to drive away or kill the little things. Flamberge and Praetorian must have killed five apiece, and Redhat and Crosshair were chasing a few away from the food. It was no use though.

Flamberge killed 13, actually. Redhat got 7, Praetorian got 5, and Crosshair only got 1.

The parasprites made off with several monthsof food, but Flamberge and the other soldiers managed to kill at least twenty of them. They're gone now. I was checking our stocks and I think we'll be alright. We're going to be cutting it close until the next harvest, but we should be fine.

Poor Cream Puff was absolutely losing it over the food being ruined though. I feel bad for her, but I didn't dare try to say anything to her while she's like this.

5th Sandstone, 269

Morning Dew left the hospital today. She's still limping a bit from her wounds, as you'd expect, but she seems to be doing much better overall. She headed back out to the fields today too, although I could tell she was a bit anxious about it. I think I may move the training area out closer to the fields Maybe that will help give her some peace of mind. Me too, come to think of it.

Well, as a first project for her, now that she's back to work, was for her and Maize to set up another small farm plot for some flax. We need more thread and cloth for bags, since milling flour out of the wheat has already used up all of the bags we brought with us. We've got a bit of cloth left over we could make some bags out of, but I'm loathe to use it all up in case Case Study needs any more for wound dressing again.

Speaking of Maize, I'm growing more concerned about her. Dr. Serenity spoke with her some and she thinks that the mare has some very deep issues. I don't really know what to do about it, but I feel bad for her. I really hope the psychiatrist can help her. I've given her free reign to use my office when I'm not here to counsel her whenever she needs it.

13th Sandstone, 269

Poor Cream Puff is still pretty upset about the parasprite thing. She came and complained to me about the fact that we're letting all of the food sit out in the open, and that if we were being more careful about that we wouldn't have had to worry about the parasprites taking the food. I guess she's right, and we'll probably start working on remedying that soon.

I wish she wouldn't yell at the animals though. What did the poor chickens do to her?

If she hasn't already, I really ought to ask Serenity to talk to Cream Puff. I'm no good at that sort of thing, apparently.

Anyway, Veneer told me this afternoon that they'd finished closing in two of the hospital rooms, so that's plenty better than what Case Study had before. I'm officially calling the hospital ready for use, even though it's a farcry from being done. We've just got too much work to do to keep on it right now.

I think I'll see about drawing up some plans for a real kitchen and dining room now. But we're still so far behind on housing...

1st Timber, 269

I'm glad to say Cream Puff has finally calmed down. I think she's been talking with Serenity, and whatever she said to her must be helping. Unfortunately I think I only made it worse when I tried talking to her.

Or, maybe she's happier because we've really started on a decent place to cook and eat. It's just a few walls so far, but we're going to have a nice little tavern before too much longer. My long term goals are to make it a nice place with some sleeping room for travelers and merchants, but for now it's going to be little more than a glorified kitchen with some dining tables tossed up to give ponies a decent place to eat.

Which, oddly enough reminds me that we still have no well. I'm juggling so many things right now I can't decide what should be done next and what can wait. At least there is room for everypony to sleep inside, and we do have enough food and drink for now. So a well can wait I suppose.

While I was watching the carpenters put the walls up (Wood Chips seems to be less irritated lately, that's good), I noticed a group of strange ponies approaching from the south. More ponies from Coupledye...

An earth pony mare surgeon named Convalescence and her husband,

A pegasus stallion clothier named Patches,

A pegasus stallion carpenter named Flying Buttress and his wife,

A pegasus mare carpenter named Sand Paper (she prefers Sandy), and

A pegasus stallion plant processor named Chaff.

The doctor I'm sure will be worth her weight in gold sooner or later, but I'm mostly happy to have the carpenters to help us. The more of them there are, the faster we can get the remaining buildings put up. The clothier should be pretty useful too, since we don't have anypony to really make any new bags or clothing when ours wear out.

I spent an hour or so showing them around and introducing them to everypony. The carpenters I put to work straight away, since Veneer, Wood Chips and Lathe have been working around the clock.

And I just realized it's already autumn. Where has this year gone?

Journals #4

Limestone 7

I've seen those odd clouds around, but only at a distance when I take a nice flight to relax. Then, today, one almost blows over the settlement! Thankfully, it dissipated just outside. Still, I don't like the look of those things. The sooner I get a kitchen with a roof, the better.

The date is messy and scribbled over, but Limestone 23 can just barely be deciphered among the mess of swears directed at parasprites.

Limestone 24

Those motherbucking parasprites!! Every time I start to calm down, I catch a glimpse of one of those dead bastards and then I fly off the handle again! They ate my glorious meals! Those sammiches are for ponies, you shits!

Ok, calmed down a little again. When I saw what they were doing, I lost it. I kicked over the cooking stand and upended a few barrels before storming off towards a room. I kicked a chicken out of the way, then kicked the door down to boot before laying on the bed to seethe. I should probably go apologize to the chicken... but all I can think about is another swarm of those motherbuckers swooping down to eat all my delicious food again! I need to talk to Temperance and convince him to get the food inside somewhere!

Timber 1

So, I've been talking with Serenity. She says I have anger problems, which isn't too surprising. I'm usually a friendly mare, but when my buttons get pushed... anyway, she's rather soothing to talk to. I'm pretty sure she's been talking with Maize, too, but I didn't want to bug her about it. Well, not too much. I can understand that some things are private.

Oh, and there are some new faces around! Another doctor, a family of carpenters, a tailor, and somepony who was eying the quern and the fields. I didn't get to talk to them much, though, dinner was pretty busy and I didn't have a chance to.

~Maize's thoughts~ 7th Limestone, 269

H͕̳͖í̝̖̻̪͔͚̗s͖̺̜ ̭̦b͖̪̟͞re҉̮̮̭̩̰̝a̫̤͈̜̫̠t̷͙͚̞̯̰h̬̩̤͙̞ ̞s̺̻̪w̹͎͞e̙̘e͚̝͎p̴̩̟̫s̻͉̖̻ ̮̤̮̟͖t̜̯̦̪̮̫̰h̰̝̗͇͝ͅe̢͎̩̟͍͚͇͓ ͞l͢a̴͉͖̤͇̤nd̤̮̭

̠̟I̖̳̱ͅt̠̞̭̦͙̮͝ ̯̫̣͢c̻̩̦͈̯͖͟ͅo̱̺̪͕̼n͚̭̱͇̕s̷͔͕̺͎̼u̴̩̲̝͈͓̟̗m̵e͔͙̯̥s̰̟̮̱̫ ̞̳̭aĺ͔͖̞͇̮̹̖l̯̘ ̘̜̯̪̣̟ͅi̫̻͉̰̜͔n̼̬̭̖̪̺͘ ̷̞̮̞̭͉̘i͇t̕s̢ ̴̫̹̤͎̦͔p̟̠͕͚̖̠à̙t̳ͅh̖̟̜̯̰

͕̙͙̠A̵̤̜͕̘͖ͅn̢̹̪̻̰̪̝͎d ̰̪͙̼f̨̺̳̠̱̮r͔̩̝o̖͎m̷ ̨t̻h̡̙̪͎e̖͍ ͏͖̲̘a̹͓̻s̡̤̺̦̙̼̺̻h͏̣̤̥̝̜e̯̙̳s

Ar̮̤̗̫̠̙̳e̱͚̫̰͍̗ ̸͙͎̲b̖̭o͔̪͎̥̞͘r͙n̼̮̥̯͔ ͎͖̪̮h̰̘̝̺̱̪̖i̮̪̦̪s̸̹̠͉̳͓ ͔̜͎͚c͚̲͇̼̻͔͟h̳̱̣̬̝͟i̖͖̙̗l͈͉̫d̗͇re͔̥̲͎̙̞̹n͈̤

̥͈̩̳̤̳̯͠Her̭̝̘͍̬ͅe̼̱̞͎͍ to̰͉ sp̻̺̠͇r̤̲̞͈͖͖͜è͔͍̠a͈̟̹͟d͖̜ ̵͔͎̯̘̳̗ṱ͔͍h͖̮͙̻̱͚e҉͖̰͖̹͓ ̥̝̖̱͎̩̖w̠̫͉̗͖̪̻o͏͈͙̳ṛ̭d͙̰͓̝̥̀

̮̘̦ͅO̷f̠̦͈ ̲̞̹̬͕C̠̫͡h̬̥̹a̺̪o-

Owww, my heaaaad.....

14th Limestone

I went to see Morning Dew today. I brought the sunflower, too, she seemed to really like it. She seemed to be doing really good, but I had to tell Case Study about the little bit of brown growing on her hoof. He promised she'd be alright, and that he'd excise it immediately. That means 'cut off,' right?

Temperance also told me he'd be making the new bedroom mine. I told him he didn't have to, but he insisted, because I'm 'a hero'. I don't feel like a hero still, but I can't really say no, and it is a nice room...

23rd Limestone

Oh, how I hate parasprites. I used to have to stomp the little buggers when they came and tried to eat all my plants. These are a lot bigger than the ones back home, though, the soldiers were having to chop them up with swords.

They even stole poor Cream Puff's sandwiches! I tried to talk to her, but she was so angry and I had to go tend to the farm eventually. I hope she's okay.

5th Sandstone

Morning Dew came out to work today. I guess that means she's better, although it looks like she still can't walk perfectly. I managed to show her around the farm, at least. She gave me a hug, too, and thanked me for saving her. I... was caught by surprise and freaked out for a moment, but I was able to calm myself before anything bad happened. I even gave her a hug back! I wonder if that means I'm getting better.

13th Sandstone

Oh, Cream Puff... apparently she's been beating up on the chickens. The poor little thing got its leg broken. It reminded me a lot of when Fa-... my father had that dog...

I hope I don't have to remember it next time I talk to her...

1st Timber

Cream Puff is better now. It's nice to be able to talk to her without her yelling curses at the air. Plus, a couple more ponies showed up. It's starting to feel kind of cramped, even in my beloved field.

Entry 7:

There is a red cloud.

I know what that means. I just hope no one else does. I want this place to last. Discord-ponies are feral beasts.

Oh gods.

I need to talk to Temperance. He might not know.

"The next entry looks hastly-written and filled with scratched-out sentences and pictures"

Entry 8:

Well, where to start?

Heard that the pony who got mauled by a badgerpony has a infected hoof. Never thought I would have to build a coffin this early.

Heard Maize talking to herself. Going to talk to Case Study about it eventualy.

Temperance has been looking at me oddly. I hope he's not upset at me.

Parasprites. A lot of them.

Flamberge went crazy on them. Lots of dead 'sprites.

It's always the quieter ones. Cream Puff went nuts on a chicken.

Two new carpenters. Two pegusi. Nice folk. Going to suggest that they try and stay off the surface if they see the red clouds.

Need to start a party. This place needs a party. They make everything better.

Commander Flamberge Field Journal 7th Limestone, 269

We've had a couple of sightings of strange red dust storms, they give me a bad feelig. Whatever they are, they aren't normal weather. I considered instituting a Weather Patrol draft and having the pegasi help me blow them away, but not knowing what they are, and that they have not come towards the town yet, I have not yet done so. I'll keep my eyes open for any heading towards the town though.

Commander Flamberge Field Journal 22nd Limestone, 269

Praetorian ordered Redhat to dig the defensive trench in place of Smoothblock. I asked him about it, and he said it was a disciplinary action, for insubordination. A bit surprised to hear that, I probed deeper, but after getting the full story I believe Praetorain did well and I certainly agreed with the punishment.

Addendum: Looking over Redhat's work, I'm not really happy with it. It's a trench, sure, but the sides are too smooth. This won't do to keep anything out. Still, it isn't his job it was his punishment, and he did the majority of the work, I'll see if I can get Smoothblock to finish the job and get us a more sharp wall, at least on the inside of the trench, that should keep the animals out, though we'll need the carpenters to put together an improvised bridge for us, preferably something we can collapse quickly if needed. I'll talk to Temprence and the others.

Commander Flamberge Field Journal 22nd Limestone, 269

Parasprites attacked the town today. I gathered the militia and we tried to defend the food stores. Ponies tend to underestimate these little blighters, I assume because the small body and big eyes they find them rather cute. But those things are not cute. I've seen a swarm of them tear a full grown war trained dog to pieces in minutes. They rarely attack living things, but when they do, they are like flying, colorful, land piranha.

I killed a lot of them, the strange thing is, I can actually remember doing it. It is fuzzy, but I kept control, mostly. I know Crosshair was there by me, through the whole thing, I think she might have been worried I'd go berserk. Her being there did help I think. She only shot one of them, though that is likely because she was trying to keep an eye on me. Redhat made some jokes about her not wanting to get "bug-guts" on her. I told him to stuff it.

Commander Flamberge Field Journal 2nd Sandstone, 269.

It's been a awhile since Cream Puff's last tantrum over the lost prepared food, she has calmed down a lot since then. Today though, I noticed she didn't show up at the kitchen at all. I am going to go look for her now. I hope she is not feeling ill.

Crosshair's Diary: 7th Limestone, 269

*this entire page have been scribbled with nonsensical doodling*

Ȟͨ̃ͯͦ̋îs̯̋ ̭̙̞̔̿ͨ̑̒͘bͥ͜ͅṛ̺͍̼̬̙e̛̖̭̞͕͉̼̹ȃ͍̣̤̝͔͗̾̚t͇̜̮͓̥̣̓́͊̀h̺̫̟̗̙̭ ̗͚̜͓̈́c͓̟͎͋̿̎ͫ͘ȯ̳̥͓̟͘n͏̭̤͚̹ͅs͌ͬ̓͆űͤ̄̍̿͛҉̻̪͇̪̺̘͓ṁ͙̜̒͢e̵͓̱̦s̯̬͖͉̜̻̃ ͍̲͑ͪ̈́̍̽́a̶̞̿͗͒͊̑̑l̞̥̖̥̟̉̐͟l̻̗̠̣͚̽ͤ̚,̰̣̺̓̏͒ͅ ͈̺͖͖̟̌͂ͬ͜ṱ͎̳͈̥͍̤̏̕h͔͓͎ͫͧ̓̈́̕e̛ͥ ͇̲̣͎͎͌̇m͊̈́͋̈́ͣ̀ā̬̘̖̒͛̎ḓͤ̊͒̂͟d̗͉̘̦̩̀̈̈̒i͓̞̺͋ṉ̨̈ͯ̇̉g͎͇̤̞̠̥̓͝ ̖̣̪̜̥̦̝͐̃ͨ̄̍̎ͯr̮̤͉͂̀ͮͯ̑̂̃e̿̈́͗̐d̋̽̓̽͗̈́ͫ҉̣̙̹ ͇̞̭͕̬͙̲̈p̡͉͈̹̜̑̇̑͋̿ͧͅaī̓n̦͚ͩ̆,̪̯̱̩̀̈́̓ͤ͌ͬ̄ ̡̫̟̱̻̍͆̽̃hͫǐ́̾̾҉̰̗͎̞͔s̖̺̬͕͑̋̋̽ͤͩ̿ ̫̫̰̿ͧͣ̃̎͒̍͞c͖͓̬̩ͭͭ͑h̖̹̙͉͕́ͫͮi̠̔̈ͣ̎̋ͫl͎̤̫͕ͅd̯̘̹̩̻̃ͫ̾̅ͧ͋ͧȓ͖ͧ̂͆͐ḛ̹̰͕̭̽̃͊ͬ̈́̔͗ñ̝͓͉͓̮ͮ̾͗ͩ͊̕ ̢̞̙̯́ͅͅw̶̩̍ì̾l͍̊͂̏ͪ̚͞l̡̯͉̂ ̗͔͘â͚̻̠̤̓̾̾̾̀r̦͔̝̋̆͑͆ͧͮ́i̫̋̇̿̅̑́̚ş͇ͮ̍e̩̓ͪ̔͒ ̱̖͕f̈́̓ͬ̂̿r̹̹̘̦̰̃ͫo̬̘͎͞ͅm͎̱̗̊͐̎ ̡̻̣̤͈ͩ̐̌ͣͬt̩͇h͔̣̳̭͕ͬ͐̒̿̌ͣe̎ͥ͒̍ͬ̑̚҉̹̖̩̳̗͔ ̞͗ͭ̂̐̆ͪͨv̧̻̠͓̲͉̱ͮ̿͗ͮͦͧȯ̤̪̪̳̘̱ͮͤ͘i̛ͅd̰̠̭̤̳̖͌ͤ̔̽̀ͅ ͔̫̟̺͕̼̾̓to̺̤̒͂̓͘ ̹̑͂s̻̫̬̮̲̪̿ͭ̌̒̑́͂p̟͖̥r̴̥͕̲̯̮ͣ͑͂̽̆͗ͅea͊̈́ͪ̿҉̙d͇͓͛̒ ̛͔̩̭̜͍̹̖̐̓ͨ̽̊̓̚h̹͈̟͓͋͑ͦͨ͐͘i̥͛͒̊ͦ̋ͦ͌s͇͚̥͓͎̘̪͑̋͋̏̿ ̶̔͑͌͆̋w̬̳̗͕̺͉ͧ̐͐̍̀o͏͇r͕͕͓̗̰̭ͫ͐̀d̗̜̰̻͓̣̫ ͣͬ́̒̓o͆͊́ͦͩ͝f̲̝̞̗̫ͤ͟ ͎͎̪͛̌͒ͦͬ̈́h͔̰͍̟͈̓̍ͯ͑i͚ͮ͊̾s̝͍͕̪̝̋̐͡ ̴̺̞̩͖͓̬̟̈̇̾ͬ͒g̶͋ͭl̺͔̳̆ͧ͊̋͞õ̜̟̺͙ͤ̆ṛ̣͍͌̚͢i̶͔̥͕̗ͅo̍͑̾ȗ̱̕s̮̦̖͇̤̜ ̆ͯͦͮͯ͆̈́͏̲c͑͆͗͊ͯo̶̤͉̫̺̗̤̹ǹ̯̫̗̻̩͉̭̾ͣ͐ͣ͢s̎ͪ̊̀ͭ̅ŭ̺͕̗͕̞̘̲m̌̉̈̂ͮ̚i͔̮̮ͬ́̈͌̀n̮͖͎͙̮̘͈̉̉ͭ̕ğ̗͍̰̖̩͍͋͆ ̺c̟̦̗̜͚͙͛ͮͥͨ̑͟h̸͇ͣͧ̍ͯ̈ͣã̪͙̻̼̝̮͓̎̐ȯ̹̪̠͔̠͎ͯ̓̊̌ͭ͞ŝ͈̫̰̤̤̜ͦ́ ͉̪̒̈́ͬ͒̓ǎ̐͋n͎̼̞̺ͮ́ͭ͜ď̤͚̟͍̰͕͓̍̃̂̉͞ ̳̖̙̹͕̯̳̉ͩ̾͒̄b̢̹̬͚̆l͉̣̘̳̅͌̏o̳̤͉̻̘ͫ͊͗͆ͫo̝̮̖̝̗̱̥d̫͔̳͔ͅ.̡͉̰͎͂

Crosshair's Diary: 8th Limestone, 269

Yesterday was very weird, I can't remember writing and drawing all these.. stuff.. on the diary. I think I might need to go talk to somepony about this..

Crosshair's Diary: 12the Limestone, 269

I feel like I haven't been talking to everypony so much lately, been so busy training myself. I should go find somepony to talk to, Maybe Creampuff would enjoy it.

Crosshair's Diary: 22nd Limestone, 269

Apparently Somepony ordered Redhat to dig a trench around the fort. It's weird, I don't think it'll stop any flying things from flying over the trenches, but I guess it'll be better than nohing. This reminds me, I should get to know the other militia ponies aswell sometimes.

Crosshair's Diary: 23rd Limestone, 269

Parasprites raided out town yesterday! Ate months worth of food and made off with even more! I feel sorry for Creampuff that her sammich are stolen.. I need to go talk to her soon. Also, I've been keeping eyes on the Commander when we fought those things, Only had time to shoot one of those little bugger, Was a pretty good shot too! Those little things are hard to hit.

Crosshair's Diary: 13th Sandstone, 269

Creampuff haven't calmed down since that Parasprite attack, Today I saw her kicked a chicken and toss it out of the way with her wings! I really want to help but I don't think I can do much.. Perhaps I should wait a little longer..

Crosshair's Diary: 1st Timber, 269

Well, looks like I don't have to calm my friend up afterall, apparently she went to talk with Serenity about stuff and that calmed her down, Mare's good. I think I need to visit her sometimes, talk about that weird page of stuff I wrote a while back.. And now I can talk to Creampuff again! We're going to have /so/ much to catch up on.

[Found scratched into the wall of Wood Chip’s home after a bit too much wine.]

Cross+Berge? Crossberge!

Holly+Temp? Tempolly? Hollance?

Cross+Study? Crosstudy? Casehair?

Case+Chaff? Casechaff?

Steelhat? Maizorian?

....

Maizorian! Yes! Perfect!

....

Redlathe? Steelstone? Dewneer? Millpuff?

....

Cream Chip?

Ad Amici 1.7

Praetorian, hastifer of Duskfields, to Munifex, his brother and fellow-soldier, may Nokzam keep you strong.

Truly, to Kulet I give praise, for it so happens that I am doing her work here.

As I write this letter to you, I am also resting from a long day of instructing. First, of course, is my sole squadmate, a stallion called Redhat, whose discipline is akin to the miserliness of Aval.

The second is a special case, a young mare by the name of Maize. She's an earth pony, a little taller than Pulchra. She's not too physically gifted, and she's a bit inhibited on the social side, too, but she's a nice mare, and she tries hard. I've been teaching her a little bit of how to read and write, and it's going about as well as could be expected.

It's a different reason I want to talk to you, though. A strange sort of weather was witnessed here. A dust storm, but the dust was red, for some reason. Before you ask, the dirt and soil around here is brown, like usual. If you wouldn't mind putting the word on around our old comrades, and see if any of them know of any ponies who've witnessed this sort of thing, I would be much obliged.

Tell father that we've witnessed our first large group of animals - parasprites, naturally. We've done our best to hunt the little blighters down, and they shouldn't be bothering us again soon.

Tell our sister Pulchra that I am greatly pleased to hear of her news, and I wish her the best.

The gods' blessings be with you.

Ad Amici 1.8

Praetorian to Obsidio, victor of Mareway, husband of Graminea, and saviour of the Seventh Regiment.

May the blessings of the gods come upon you abundantly this day and every day. To Nokzam I still give thanks for you, for your breaking of the lines of the enemies surrounding us, and the safeguarding of our regiment from disaster.

Indeed I thank her for you more than even that. I thank her, for when I had served my term and was without a purpose, you called to me, and at your request, I did serve a second sixteen with your army. And when I was lost again and my love departed from me, it was you who suggested a third term, at this new outpost. Indeed, a place where my shame can be escaped from, and where I can use the only skills I ever excelled in.

While at this place, I have found a peace I never felt back in Coupledye when I was not in action or in the field. Though this place faces troubles as well, they do not seem to be as stressful as the troubles back in the city. And there are ponies here with whom I am now friends; Cream Puff, a pegasus mare, Flamberge, a pegasus stallion (and another soldier), and Maize, an earth pony mare.

And it seems that just as for your deeds were crowned with Grass, so I will be crowned with Maize, for we are entering a relationship together. Were it not for your actions, sir, I would be but another drunkard back in Coupledye, useless and a burden. But now I have a new feeling of life, a new sense of self-worth.

I thank the gods that you were there when I've needed you.

May the gods bless you this day, and every day, for your charity to all those who need.

Scenes #5

and

Cream Puff flies low and slow around Duskfields, looking for her friend. After her talk with Flamberge, she simply had to get the news from Crosshair, too! She didn’t have to worry about missing dinner, either. She had set a few cast-iron pots into the ashes for a nice casserole. If she did it right, the fire should be fully out by the time it’s done, and ponies can serve themselves if she’s a bit late. But all that is in the background of her mind. Right now, she needs to find Crosshair!

Crosshair wasn’t entirely too hard to find, she have spent the majority of the day in the training yard shooting targets but since the afternoon, she have been taking her rest on a low cloud that she pulled close to the ground. Not so far away from the farms where farmers work, another good excuse for her to keep watch and rest at the same time.

Puff picks up speed as she spots her friend, and zooms in to give her a tackle hug that rocks the cloud. “Crosshair!”

“Gah!” exclaimed the startled mare who was very much buried into the fluffy cloud by her friend. her legs waving all around for a bit before her face resurfaces from the clouds, she blinked a couple of times before beaming brightly. “Cream!” she said and returns the hug, giving her a greeting nuzzle.

Puff nuzzles her in return before finally letting her regain her hooves on the cloud. “Having a good day?” she asks, almost prancing as she looks like she already knows the answer.

“Just keep getting better!” Beamed Crosshair as she got back to her hooves only to sit back down with her legs tucked to herself. Her wings ruffled slightly to her sides. “And you?”

“Doing well, too!” she replies with a big smile, hardly able to contain herself. “Anything good in specific?” she asks, being about as subtle as she is able, so not very.

“Well, You visit and we gets to talk, That’s something great!” Crosshair giggled, being teasingly evasive.

Puff starts poking her with a hoof. “Come ooooonnn, don’t tease me like this! I know there’s more than just me! Spill it!”

Crosshair Rolled her eyes slightly to the side and giggled as she’s poked. Saying innocently “Oh what ever would that be?”

“Maybe a certain tall, dark stallion said something?” she says, still poking Crosshair.

“Oh alright, you got me.” She giggled some more. “So! How much do you know already?”

Puff points her hoof at Crosshair’s face as she smiles in victory. “Just that he confessed his love and you didn’t turn him down! Have you two kissed yet?”

That made the other mare blush. “W-what? Of course not yet! And, well, yeah, no. Not yet.” She said, laughing her awkwardness away. “It’s still kind of too soon, you know?”

“Aw, you mean he didn’t just sweep you off your hooves, kiss you, and confess his eternal love? How did he, then?” Puff seems to be hanging on her friend’s every word, wanting to know every detail, and maybe living a little vicariously through her.

“Well, It’s not /that/ pretty, really. It was after we killed that Badger pony and he had a break down about his problem that I can’t tell you what it is, I think I help made him feel better and he just confessed that it’s because he loves me. I’m not going to lie, I was stunned harder and longer than crashing into a tree.” Crosshair said, giggling.

Puff assumes Flamberge’ ‘problem’ is something simple like shakes or maybe throwing up after a fight. She can see him having those and wanting to hide them. “Did you confess right back?”

“Well.. um, not really.. I mean, He’s a great stallion! But that’s just it, he’s my Commander.. I don’t really.. you know, I wasn’t sure if it’s the best for him to fall for me.. I mean, There must be better mares out there for him, right?”

Puff pokes her in the nose. “You gotta stop thinking like that, mare! He’s already fallen head over hooves! Even if you don’t tell him, I’d be willing to bet he’d just quietly pine and suffer alone. You can’t just try to force him away!”

“I’m not! honest! I mean, he’s my commander! I can’t say no to him, right?”

“Pfft.” dismisses Puff, waving her hoof like trying to dissipate some unpleasant odor. “Sure you can, if you really don’t love him. He can’t order you to love him, after all. But it seems to me that you do.”

“Well.. He’s a great Stallion, He knows what he’s doing and is really strong and have an amazing beard!”

“So what’s the problem?” she asks with a cheeky grin as she waggles her eyebrows.

“I just don’t really believe that I’m good enough for him, you know?” Crosshair sighed softly

Puff throws her hooves up in frustration. “I’m not asking if you’re ‘good enough’...” she says, even going so far as to use her wings for the air quotes. “...I’m asking if you love him!”

Crosshair blinked. “Well... I think so? I mean, yeah! I can’t think of any reason why I wouldn’t be.”

Puff smiles in satisfaction and sits back down. “Then tell him!”

Crosshair rubs the back of her neck softly with her wings “Well.. I don’t know..” She said nervously, clearly quite shy about this subject.

Puff rolls her eyes, but finally eases back on the throttle. Apparently mares can be pretty dense about this stuff, too. “Well, I guess you don’t haveto tell him right now. Still, you really should tell him sooner rather than later.”

“Yeah.. you’re right Puff, I should. Maybe at that party that we’ve been invited to? what do you think?”

“That’s a great idea!” she replies, nodding. She’d prefer sooner, but then again, she’s not the one in love. Crosshair is.

“Anyway though! How have you been? I’m sorry I haven’t been able to visit you so much to talk and all lately. But I did see that you get to talk to a lot of ponies!”

“Oh yeah, I know just about everypony now. Probably because they can’t run from me and eat at the same time.” she says with a laugh. “I’ve missed talking with you, though. Flamberge keeps you pretty busy.”

“That he does.” Crosshair giggled. “You know, I really should visit you more often. I do miss your sammich and cookings, They’re all very delicious, especially when it’s newly prepared!”

Puff nods and gives her a playful wink. “Yes you should. And I should come track you down more often, too! It feels like we have so much to catch up on!”

Crosshair beamed brightly and give Cream Puff another hug. “Yep! It’ll be great to just relax and talk to you again, There’s just soo many things to talk about!

She nods happily and hugs Crosshair in return. “How about we take a fly and catch up then?”

With that, the two set for the sky, chattering happily as they talk about nothing in particular.

This was going to be an interesting opportunity to study something novel. Well, novel from the good doctor's point of view. The small brown bag being carried in his mouth was relatively slack and nearly empty. Case Study cleared away what space he could from the table in his crudely-constructed office and placed the sac down on top of it. Grabbing it by the bottom with his teeth, he emptied its contents into the view of daylight. It was a mashed pile of different colors, part squishy and part crunchy. The stallion had only ever heard of parasprites before the recent infestation, and now he would finally get a chance to observe them up close. Well, their pummeled remains, anyway.

In minutes past, Case had collected several of the tiny corpses from the fields. They weren't much to look at. Choosing a good starting place from the mess of compound eyes, translucent wings and gooey hemolymph wasn't going to be easy. He would have preferred whole specimens with the internal organs still intact. However, swords and pony hooves tended to be unkind to preserving such details. With tools, paper and quill in hoof, he got to work.

He was particularly interested in two aspects of parasprite anatomy; feeding and reproduction. Their ability to consume food items larger than themselves without increasing in size to match was of note. Reproduction was equally intriguing, as they seemed to convert edible items rapidly into offspring of equal size to themselves. Case Study was certain that magic had to be involved somewhere in both processes. The earth pony had found little reference to studies involving parasprites in the literature. Perhaps most equines had been satisfied with regarding them as pests and squishing them instead of taking a closer look?

Too bad Case had never looked too deeply into entomology, as he was having great trouble understanding anything he was looking at within the slimy viscera he was picking through. Most of the the internal bits were too damaged to make much sense of, but a few pieces survived. He drew what pictures he could of these enduring items, noting their location and to what other organs they were linked. The lack of a decent magnifying glass was frustrating him further, making his drawings rather generic and low in resolution.

His working theory, mostly just speculation at this point, was that parasprites have some kind of tissue or organs connected to their stomach that processes the majority of the food they consume into pure magic. As magic is intangible and weightless, that would explain how the small, round creatures can eat something as large as a pie or melon in one bite. That magic would then be used to hyper-accelerate the growth of eggs within the animal's body, allowing them to grow to full size in seconds or minutes. If his suspicions were true, then parasprites could represent a valuable source of knowledge regarding the anatomical relationship between organic matter and enchantments. Perhaps in the distant future, that knowledge could be used to help unfortunate unicorns which have lost their horns regrow them. It might also be used in a more general sense to quickly regrow lost limbs or tissues in the body of other injured ponies.

It was a nice dream, but probably not something to be realized within his lifetime. This was doubly true if he was stuck with specimens and equipment of such poor quality. His lack of being a unicorn or some other magical equine was likely going to hinder his progress it further still. After attempting to tease more information from the remains for another hour, Case finally gave up and discarded the crushed bodies in a waste bin before cleaning off the table. Ideally, he would like to see the internal anatomy of a still-living sprite in action. As he finished tidying up, the stallion knew that wasn't likely to happen and headed off towards the make-shift kitchen. At least he wouldn't offend Cream Puff by being late for dinner again.

and

Maize is practically invisible amongst the tall plants of the farm, especially with her head at the ground pulling up weeds.

Puff slowly glides down from the clouds, making lazy circles as she homes in on the fields and her friend. She had hated avoiding Maize for the last few days, but she just couldn’t let the timid mare see her hopping mad. But she was finally starting to feel calmer... or at least less angry.

Maize looks up at the pegasus coming down and waves as best she can before popping her head back down to rip polk salad out of the dirt.

Puff waves back at Maize, though her smile is a bit forced. She soon touches down next to her, feeling a bit awkward. “Heya Maize.”

“Hi, Puff.” Maize gives her a more genuine smile, a few bits of various weeds still draped over her lower teeth and lips.

“So, uh... how’re you doing?”

“I’m alright.” Maize chews on one of the stray leaves in her mouth. “I hear you’ve been kind of angry, though.”

Puff lowers her eyes and sighs. “Yeah...”

“Hey, don’t sweat it. The parasprites stole our food. I’d be pissed, too, if they came and ate my crops.” Maize drops her head. “I don’t know about beating up on a poor chicken, though...”

Puff winces at that and looks away. “Yeah... Serenity says I have anger problems...”

“Well... if you ever need a punching bag...” Maize offers a smile as she tries to reassure her friend.

Puff gives her a pained look. “Please don’t say that... even as a joke. I don’t want to hurt you or the chickens. I just... I go get the eggs, and... and their eyes, they remind me of... them.” Puff shudders as she tries to stomp down the anger rising again.

Maize’s gaze falls. “I’m sorry. I... don’t really know how to make a good joke.” Her hoof scratches at the ground. “I wish I could make you feel better...”

Puff gives Maize a quick hug. “Just knowing you care helps, Hun. Don’t be so hard on yourself.” The irony of telling Maize to go easy on herself is completely lost on Puff.

“Yeah... I guess...” Maize hugs her back. “Maybe you should be a little less hard on yourself, too. It’s not your fault that the parasprites came, and it’s not anypony... well, anybody, else’s for that matter.”

“Maybe... but it is my fault for acting like I have been.” A few tears threaten to fall from her eyes as she talks.

“Maybe I can help a little. With plants.” Maize opens up a pouch, revealing some old, dried out leaves. “This is coca. It’s not really anything special, it makes your mouth numb when you chew it, and it helps keep your mind off things. I grew a small farm of it for some guy once in exchange for a place to sleep, he let me take a whole bush’s harvest in exchange.” She takes a bit out and offers it to Puff.

Puff eyes a leaf, then accepts it, popping it in her mouth to chew. Her eyes quickly widen and she spits it out. “Blech! That tastes nothing like chocolate!” She starts to try to wipe the bitter taste from her tongue, then realizes she almost literally spit Maize’s gift back in her face. “Um... Sorry, Maize...”

“It’s coca, not cocoa, and it’s okay.” Maize giggles. “You have to get used to the taste. It’s worth it once you do, though, especially with a toothache.”

Puff can’t help but smile when Maize giggles. “I bet Case Study would like to get his hooves on something like that then. I think I’ll try to tough it out without, though. That might have been the worst thing I have ever done to my tongue.” She gives Maize a quick nuzzle. “Thanks for the offer, though.”

Maize nods. “Sorry I still couldn’t help you feel better... I might try growing some coca here if other ponies are interested, though.”

“Well, I am starting to feel a bit better for simply talking with you.”

Maize grins. “That’s good. Anyway, our next harvest should be ready soon. Hopefully we can do something good with all the sunflower seeds.”

Puff nods, glad to have the conversation on a more happy track. “I’m thinking of doing a nice vegetable tempura once we get some oil, though we’ll probably want to set at least a bit aside to make some soap.”

“You know, I don’t think I’ve ever actually seen soap.”

Cream Puff quirks an eye at Maize, and can’t resist giving her friend a sniff. “Well, you don’t smell like you’ve never seen it.”

“There are other ways. If all else fails, a nice stream works, and some plants can be used, too.” Maize grins. “Quite a few herbs leave a nice aroma.”

Puff nods, knowing how much she enjoys herbs like thyme and rosemary. “Still, it’ll be nice to get a real clean. I hope there’ll be enough to have a supply for the hospital and for everypony to have a good bath. I bet you’ll love it!”

“I suppose you could put the herbs in the soap... give it a nice smell and all.” Maize thinks. “Hmm... citrus? Mint... maybe some parsley?”

“ooooohhh...” Puff gets a whimsical look on her face as she imagines all the different scents that could be infused into soap. “Citrus and some kind of flower would smell wonderful in soap.”

“Rose would be good. Imagine smelling like roses...” Maize grins goofily as she closes her eyes and imagines the scent.

“Mmm...” Puff smiles as she imagines it. “We definitely need to get some soap going.”

Maize nods and spots another weed, reaching down and quickly ripping it from the dirt. “Maybe some weed poison, too...”

Puff nods, then shrugs. “Yeah, but I have no idea where we’d get something like that.”

“There’s always cat pee. If you’re really desperate.” Maize looks around. “Guess what animal we don’t have?”

Cream Puff gives her a cheeky look. “Cows.”

“Exactly.” Maize smirks right back. “Cows would be nice, though, at least for fertilizer. Maybe a caravan will have some.”

“Hopefully. It’d also be nice to get some cow’s milk. The sheep try, but I don’t think I can make cream from what they give. Should be some nice cheese, though.”

“Ever had water buffalo cheese? That’s really good.” Maize licks her lips. “It’s soft and smooth and it’s got a very gentle flavor...”

“I don’t think I have, actually.” Puff glances around, then lowers her voice. “Is our water buffalo a mare? He, or she, is a bit too hairy for me to tell, and I didn’t just want to straight out ask. It’d be a bit rude.”

Maize thinks. “...Have you tried looking between the legs? If there’s one dangly thing, it’s a stallion. If there’s udders or anything like that, it’s a mare.”

“I tried sneaking a peek, but I couldn’t tell through all the hair...”

“Well... you could always give it a closer look...”

Puff actually blushes slightly. “I think asking would be less embarrassing, for both of us.”

“Nah, just... make out like you thought it was a mare and you wanted to milk it, and hope it is...” Maize sighs. “Would still be kind of embarrassing if it wasn’t, though...”

“Heh, can you imagine the jokes if I try to milk it and find out it’s a stallion?” Puff giggles as she pictures the hilarity.

“You know, you could still milk it... it just wouldn’t be the right kind of milk.”

Puff scrunches up her face in exaggerated disgust, then dissolves into laughter.

Maize busts into laughter as well. “I wonder... what kind of cheese... that would be!”

Cream Puff gasps for air as she keeps laughing, glad for something light-hearted to lift her spirits.

Maize lies down as she tries to catch her breath. “Oh... goodness... I haven’t... laughed this... hard... in a while...”

Puff nods as she keeps giggling. “Me... me neither... Whew! Ah... thanks Maize. I needed that.” She stands back up and offers Maize a hoof as well, still chuckling.

Maize goes one further and moves to embrace Puff. “No problem. What are friends for?”

She happily hugs Maize in return, fighting back tears of happiness now. What are friends for, indeed.

and

Maize seems out-of-place as she wanders through the training area for the militia, searching for Praetorian.

Praetorian is busy moving through the drills with Redhat. Spear rattles against shield, but when he spots Maize approaching, he raises his shield and knocks the spear down into the ground. “Redhat. Go and get something to eat and drink. We will resume training soon.” Without waiting for a response, he moves over to Maize.

“Miss Maize, it’s good to see you again. Did you need something?” he asks.

“I’m sorry to bother your training,” Maize responds as she looks down and gently shies at the ground, “but I found this...” She holds up a small note. “I know it’s addressed to me, but I can’t read half the words on it.”

Praetorian gently lifts her head with a forehoof. “It’s okay. You aren’t a bother, Miss Maize,” he says. “Now let’s take a look at this note together, hmmm?”

Maize’s lips curl into a very small smile as she nods. “Alright.” She opens up the note and shows it to Praetorian, looking at it as well. “Miss Maize, you are cor... cord...”

“Remember. Separate the sounds. Cor is the first, so what’s the second?” Praetorian says.

“Di? Al... ly. Cor-di-al-ly.” Maize raises an eyebrow. “What’s ‘cordially’?”

“It’s the fancy word for ‘nicely’, or ‘politely’,” says Praetorian. “Good job. So what’s the next word?”

“In-vit-ed. Invited. To a party.” Maize’s eyes widen. “A party? Here?”

“That’s what it seems to be,” says Praetorian. “Is there anything more?”

“Seems to be directions to the party.” Maize shrugs. “I don’t think we’ll need them, unless they’re holding it in the woods for some reason.”

“Does it say who will be hosting the party?” Praetorian asks.

“Wood... Chips...” Maize looks around the small village. “That’s one of the carpenters, isn’t it?”

“Sounds like it,” Praetorian agrees.

Maize sighs. “I... don’t know. Why would somepony I hardly know invite me to a party?” She looks around again, more shiftily. “Am I the only pony who got an invitation? Is he... planning something?”

“I don’t know. If you want, I could find out for you, or come along with you, if you’d prefer,” says the soldier, “but I think if he tried to do anything to you, there’d be a lot of ponies very angry with him, and I among them.”

“Y-yeah, you’re right.” Maize seems to perk up a little. “I shouldn’t be so distrustful, anyway... it’s just, this isn’t the first time I got an invitation like this.” She shudders for a brief moment.

“Hey...” Praetorian puts a hoof on her withers. “Hey. What’s wrong?”

“Some... noble invited me to dinner, once, while I was on the street.” Maize shakes her head. “I should have known something was up. After all, I was a hobo. What would a noble want with me?” She sighs. “Thank Amug I don’t drink alcohol, turns out he put opium in the wine. He... wanted to violate me. I managed to get out before his servants could get me... I left that town fast.”

Praetorian clasps the mare in a hug. “You don’t need to worry about that anymore. I...I mean, we won’t let that happen to you. Ever.”

Maize nods and presses her head into Praetorian’s neck. “I know... thank you. For teaching me how to read, for protecting us...” She grins. “Being my friend...”

“I don’t have too many friends that I would miss the opportunity to be your friend, Maize. You are an amazing pony. I hope you know that,” says Praetorian.

“So are you.” Maize pulls back, but not before giving Praetorian a peck on the cheek. “I hope you know that.”

Praetorian freezes for a second at the kiss, but recovers as quickly as he can. “Well, I can’t argue with you there,” he says, with a little grin starting to form.

Maize smiles back. “I think you should check around for an invitation of your own. I doubt Wood Chips wouldn’t want to invite you, too.”

“I’ll give it a look,” says the stallion. “Sure wouldn’t want to miss it.” Not for the world, he thinks to himself.

and

Flamberge had not seen Cream Puff all day, it was very unusual for her not to be in her kitchen. The ponies of Duskfield had to eat leftover bread and raw veggies for dinner. Not that it bothered them much, being ponies.

Flamberge approached the private room of Cream Puff, and stops to listen at the door before knocking.

Quiet sniffles can be heard from the room beyond.

Flamberge knocks on the door gently, “Cream Puff?” he says.

A squeak of the bed and a muffled moan are his only answer.

“Cream Puff? It is Flamberge, may I come in?” he asked, growing increasingly worried about the mare.

“Go away...” comes Cream Puff’s voice, sounding absolutely miserable.

Cream Puff was clearly unwell, and this sat poorly with Flamberge, he was however, never very good at dealing with other ponies, he considers how to respond and the reasons for which she could be unwell, after a moment he says, "Cream Puff, what is wrong? Are you ill? Do you want me to fetch a doctor?"

“No... I’m fine...” she lies.

Even Flamberge can see through such a transparent lie, "Cream Puff, you don't sound fine. What is the matter? I'm your friend Puff, you can talk to me about it, whatever it is."

He can hear sniffles through the door. It sounds like Puff is trying to hold back bawling like a little filly.

"Puff. It is my job to keep all the ponies in town safe, and that includes from themselves. I am concerned for you and want to help, but if you can't talk to me, is there anypony else you want to talk to? Dr. Serenity? Crosshair? Temperance? I will drag them down here by the scruffs of their necks if it will help," says Flamberge, beginning to suspect that she won't open up for him.

“I don’t want to be a trouble!” she wails, losing it and obviously crying into something now.

Flamberge looks over the door to judge its strength and momentarily considers bucking it off it's hinges, but decides to restrain himself and says, "Cream Puff, please, I'm your friend, and I just want to help however I can, it is no trouble. If you just...unlock the door, we can just talk for a while. About whatever you want. Just please open the door."

She just babbles through her tear unintelligibly. Something about chickens?

Flamberge tries the door and finds, to his surprise and relief that it was unlocked, “Good thing I didn’t buck it,” he thinks, as he opens it and sees Cream Puff looking a mess on her bed. Her swollen eyes widen as he enters, and she turns to try to hide herself from him. All she really manages to do is let him see just how messy her mane has become, almost like she didn’t even get out of bed today.

Flamberge closes the door behind him, the small room illuminated by a pair of candles on a nightstand by the bed. Flamberge sits on the floor a few feet from the bed, he considers what to say.

Puff curls up and scoots away from Flamberge, still crying her eyes out.

Flamberge, reaches out a hoof and touches Cream Puff on the shoulder. "It's okay Puff. Whatever it is that happened, it will all be okay."

She whirls on him and wraps him in a tight hug as he pours her tears into his mane.

Flamberge returns her hug, holds her tight, and just lets her cry until she is ready to speak.

She holds him and bawls for quite some time, occasionally babbling nonsense as she tries to explain what’s wrong. She eventually cries herself out, but not after leaving Flamberge’s shoulder a soaking mess. She sniffles and finally lets him go, though she still looks rather fragile.

"There," says Flamberge, "Do you feel any better now?"

“Only a little...” she says, sniffling.

“Do...do you want to talk about what was wrong?” asks Flamberge cautiously.

She shakes her head. “No... but I think I need to...”

Flamberge nods, “Take your time, I can stay all night if need be.” He forces a smile.

“That’d... that’d be nice, ‘Berge. If you’re not busy, I mean. I just...” she chokes up again, but manages to not dissolve into tears again.

Flamberge puts a forehoof around Cream Puff again. "Just take your time."

She holds his hoof and gives it a gentle nuzzle, nodding. After a few more sniffles, she starts talking. About everything. About the parasprites, her rage, claiming a room and being too frightening to be kicked out of it, and too much trouble for Temperance and the paperwork of her just giving it up, the poor chickens, everything. She holds nothing back, and paints herself in a rather dim light, finishing with her simply not having the motivation to even get out of bed today and causing even more trouble for everypony by not getting them a fresh meal, and...

Flamberge nods and listens intently as she spills out all of her problems, when she finishes he says, "Cream Puff, you are a wonderful mare, and you have nothing to beat yourself up over. You were angry, you lost your temper, the chicken was not seriously hurt, they will forgive you. It happens. I’ve...well... and nopony blames you for taking a day off, you haven't taken one in the months we've been here. You deserve some time to yourself."

“But...” she protests weakly, still looking like she might burst into tears at any moment.

"No buts." says Flamberge forcefully, "You are taking tomorrow off work, there is enough bread and raw vegetables to go around. You are taking the day off, but you aren't going to spend it in here. Crosshair and I were going to go fly down the river tomorrow, you are coming with us."

Puff’s lip quivers at that. “But... I don’t want to interrupt you two...”

Flamberge shakes his head, "You won't be. The three of us will go and have some fun, and you'll feel better afterwards."

Her lip quivers again, but the corners of her mouth curl upward slightly in a smile. She hugs him again. “That... that sound nice. Thanks, ‘Berge...” She punctuates her happiness with a kiss on his cheek.

After the kiss Flamberge is momentarily stunned, but then returns the hug and kisses her forehead.

A moment passes "You've been in here all day right? Would you like me to bring you some water, or juice, maybe some food?"

Puff’s cheeks color slightly when he kisses her forehead, and she simply nods at his question. Her stomach takes the moment to growl, confirming that she hasn’t even left to get something to eat.

“I’ll be right back then.” says the stallion as he stands and exits the room.

Puff just curls back up on her bed as Flamberge leaves, feeling small and alone.

A knock at the door, “Cream Puff, I’m back.” says Flamberge before opening the door. He is carrying a tray of food, mostly fruit and vegetables with some leftover bread, enough for two ponies, and two full glasses of juice.

She unfolds slightly at the knock, but still looks a mess as he brings her the food. She scoots over to give him room to join her on the bed. She hadn’t realized what hungry work crying was.

He places the tray upon the bed between them. She eagerly digs in once he sets the tray down.

Flamberge helps himself to some of the food as well, but makes sure to leave plenty for Puff.

In surprisingly short order, the tray is finished off, with Puff having eaten most of it. She stretches and yawns, the combination of sad exertion and full belly making her want to sleep. “You’re... going to stay the night, right?”

Flamberge blushes, "Oh, well, if you want yes, I'd be happy to."

She nods and puts the tray on the side table to join the candles, then scoots back and lays down behind Flamberge, obviously tired. “Good...” she murmurs.

Flamberge's mind raced. What was it she expected now? She was Crosshair's best friend, surely she just wanted him to stay there, and be close by. But, should he sleep on the floor? The bed? What was the protocol for this situation? He had no idea.

"So, uh, where should I, um..." he stammers unable to put his racing thoughts into words.

She sleepily grabs him and forces him to lay down in whatever he happens to be wearing, snuggling into him like a big teddy bear. “Jus’ like this...”

Flamberge is once again stunned, but after gives in and once more holds Cream Puff tight as she falls asleep, himself following shortly behind.

and

Praetorian, with another day’s training finished, resolved to go to the kitchen, to see Cream Puff. There was something that had begun to bother him, as of late, and he thought she might be able to help.

Puff is indeed at her post, though she looks a bit more subdued than normal. She does brighten up a bit when she sees him, though.

“Ah, miss Cream Puff. It’s good to see you. I’ve been looking for you.” Praetorian approaches, and sits down. “Tell me. Most of the cooks I’ve known have gotten to know their...well, customers, clients, what-have-you, reasonably well. So...What do you think of me? And of Maize?”

She gives him an odd look, then thinks. “Well... You’re strong, diligent, and organized, but can be a bit rigid and less than receptive to new stuff. And Maize is nice to a fault, and timid, but she can really come through for a pony when they need it most. Why?”

“It’s... It’s nothing, really. Just...Just curious about how other ponies think about her and I,” said the soldier.

She eyes him, measuring him up. “And I have a horn.” she says flatly.

“I don’t know what you mean,” Praetorian protests.

“I forgot to mention you’re a terrible liar, Praetorian.” she says with a grin.

“I’m not lying. There’s nothing going on between us,” says Praetorian, still denying everything.

Puff’s eyes twinkle as he says more than he probably wanted to. “I knew it! I’ve seen you teaching her to read! You like her!”

“I... Yes, I like her, she’s a good friend. There’s nothing more than that,” says Praetorian defensively.

Puff waggles her eyebrows at him. “Not that you’ve noticed, you sly dog you.”

“What do you mean?” he asks.

“Well... OK, I haven’t actually noticed anything more going on yet, but I haven’t been looking.” she admits with a shrug.

“Good. Because there isn’t anything going on,” Praetorian says. “There’s nothing to notice. The most that happened is she kissed me. But that was as a thank you, nothing more!”

Puff lets out an ear-splitting squee! “She kissed you!? And I missed it?!”

“Ow. Not so loud. Yes, she kissed me. It wasn’t romantic or anything,” counters Praetorian.

Puff rolls her eyes at him. “Oh yes, I’m sure. The most timid pony I’ve ever met, kissing you, totally doesn’t mean anything.”

“...good, now we’re on the same page,” says the unicorn.

“Lying to yourself about her can hurt her, too, Praetorian.”

“I won’t hurt her, Cream Puff.”

“Then stop lying to yourself.”

“...I...I can’t do this.”

She gives him a gentle smile. “Sure you can. Just take it nice and slow. And be honest.”

“It’s...It’s not just that. I... I’ve just come out of a relationship. That’s why I came here. I... I’m not ready, I don’t think.”

“Well, that’s your problem. Don’t think. This is love! You have to listen to this...” she points at her chest, “...and ignore this!” she points at her head.

“I... I can’t just do that. That...That was what I did last time. And it didn’t work...” He bows his head.

“You can try a different way, but I’ve seen brains make way more mistakes in love than hearts. The risk of part of what makes it worth going for!”

“I...I don’t even know what I did wrong...”

“Well, it might not have been you, then. She must have done something serious, you don’t seem the love ‘em and leave ‘em type.”

“It...It still hurts.”

She gives him a sympathetic look. “I know it does, hun. I’m not telling you to dive right in. Just ease into it, take it slow.”

“...and what if she doesn’t even care anyway?”

Puff just barely manages to avoid rolling her eyes at the stallion. “Because Maize is an uncaring pony.” She then dials back the sarcasm a bit. “Then you’ll still have a good friend.”

“I... I suppose I can try.”

She beams at him. “That’s all anypony can really ask.”

“Still... Please, don’t tell anypony about this,” says the soldier.

“About what? All you did was ask for some lunch.” she says with a wink before setting about making him something to eat.

“Thank you.”

and

Veneer got his things together, remembering where he had seen Smoothblock last time he decided it was a good idea to ask her out. He went over to the hole that was being dug and watched as the dirt flew up and out of it. "So, Smoothblock. i was wondering if it was an appropriate idea to take you out to lunch again."

The dirt stopped being flung out of the long hole for only a moment, before Redhat looked up to veneer. “Sorry but I don’t swing that way.”

"Oh! I am-," Veneer paused for a moment as he looked at the pony in the red hat. "Who are you?"

“I’m Redhat, and by the way, you’re doing a great job hitting on somepony”

"I was not hitting on anypony. I was asking a friend out to lunch. I thought Smoothblock was digging this moat."

“Yes and she’s a mare, and you are a stallion as far as I can tell, I just two and two together.”

Veneer looked at the pony with a bit of confusion and realized how it seemed, and held back his tongue. Instead he decided to change the topic."Can you help me put two and two together?"

“sure why not, probably interesting than digging a hole all evening.”

"Actually, it involves that. Smoothblock was supposed to be digging this hole. Why are you here?"

“Cause’ I made my captain angry.”

"Oh. . . . S-should i be talking to you then?" He asked with a bit of confusion in his voice. He didn't want to violate any laws.

“No-no, it’s fine so long as it seems like I’m having a horrid time if my captain comes by.”

Veneer was left a bit dumbfounded. "Oh, ok. I am Veneer."

The pony smiled and nodded. “Well hello, my name is Redhat, glad to make your acquaintance!”

"Likewise. I guess you are one of those fancy military ponies, aren't you?"

“Well, heh, wouldn't call all of us military ponies fancy, but yes.”

"Oh? Whats it like? I thought of joining up for the militia, but. . . . ."

“Well, just piss off the guy in charge and you won’t be stuck digging a freakin moat every evening.”

"I guess it’s not any bit as exciting as it sounds then?"

“Not really, just train and beat the life out of animals and badgers.”

Veneer's face scrunched up in displeasure. He did not like the idea of needlessly killing animals, or even badgers, as much of a problem as they are. “I think I will pass. Doesn't seem like my kind of thing."

“well yeah, probably for best if you don’t like getting your hands dirty“ Suddenly a stark flew in Veneers eye as he remembered something."Smoothblock! How could I forget? Do you know where i can find her?"

“I honestly haven't the slightest clue.”

Veneer jumped and started to head off before he turned back. "I will see you around, ok?"

“Sure.”

, and

Praetorian was walking along the fields, hoping to spot Maize there, in what seemed like the only place she ever usually was.

The brown-coated mare’s head was barely visible moving through the greenery as she did her twice-daily walk to check all of the plants.

“Maize?” called Praetorian as he moved towards her. “Would you have a bit of time? I’d like to talk to you.”

Maize peeks her head out from between two stalks. “What about?”

“Perhaps we could walk and talk?”

Maize quirks an eyebrow, but steps out of the field. “Alright, I guess. Where to?”

“Just around Duskfields,” says Praetorian.

Maize nods. “You can take lead if you want. Now, what do you want to talk about?”

Praetorian starts walking. “I was talking to Miss Cream Puff just a bit earlier. I... I asked her about what she thought of some of the ponies here.”

Maize nods. “Me? Am I one of those ponies?”

“Yes. Yes, you were.” Praetorian keeps quiet for a second as they continue walking along, and then speaks again. “I... Well. To be truthful... I only asked about two ponies.”

“Me...” Maize thinks. “Hmm... who else did you ask about?”

“...Well... The other pony I asked about was...myself.” The stallion smiles a little. “Pride’s been my weakness before.”

“Ah.” Maize looks at him. “So... did you find out anything?”

“I found out something. I’ve...Perhaps I’ve been hiding it from myself.” He stops walking. “Maize... You’re a wonderful pony. I... I can’t deny it anymore. Maize... I think I’m in love with you.”

Maize stops walking, her eyes widened and jaw slack. “...Oh... I... I didn’t really expect that...”

“I...I’m sorry. If you don’t want that sort of a relationship, then perhaps we can still be friends,” says Praetorian,mentally berating himself.

“No, no... It’s okay, I...” She cracks a smile. “I just hope you know what you’re getting into. I don’t think I’m going to be a very... easy mare to love.”

“...you already are.”

“No, I mean... someone said it behind my back, I’m trying to remember... high-maintenance?” Maize looks at Praetorian, seemingly hoping she got it right.

“You’re still Maize, the mare I love. No matter what, I’ll love you,” says Praetorian. “No matter how high-maintenance you might be.”

Maize beams and wraps Praetorian in a hug. “Oh, thank you. I... didn’t really think anyone could even care about me just a few months ago. Everything’s changing so fast. Could... would you please show me the way?”

“I’ll do my best,” promises Praetorian.

“So will I.” Maize gives him a kiss on the cheek as she moves away from him. “I... can’t say I know what to do, but I’ll learn, I hope.”

High above them, a cloud with familiar eyes lets out a muffled squeal. Puff was so glad she decided to follow them!

and

As the two soldiers returned from the day’s march, they moved over to the drilling ring. Without a word, Praetorian lifted his shield and spear from the rack, tossing aside the weighty wooden replicas he’d held on the march, and gestured for Redhat to do the same.

the pony moved over the rack and traded his weapon and shield for a wooden version. “so... i guess we're going to spar?”

“Yes. We are. Are you ready?” Praetorian takes a defensive stance, readying his shield.

Redhat grinned. “oh well then by all means start the fight.”

“I am ready. Go ahead,” Praetorian says with a nod.

“I don’t like to strike first”

Just as Redhat is speaking, Praetorian rams forward with his shield boss, ramming it at Redhat’s head.

Redhat tried to dodge the attack as best he could, rolling awkwardly to the side just in time.

Quick as a flash, Praetorian’s shield, held aloft by his magic, retracts, and he turns to face Redhat again.

Redhat tried his best to block the shield with his own, before trying to hit Praetorian with his spear.

Praetorian rattles Redhat’s spear with his shield, its reinforcing metal boss knocking the spearhead away. “Try again.”

the pony threw a punch at Praetorian’s head. “Sure thing!”

Praetorian lowers his head and headbutts the hoof away. “Still going to have to do better. Who taught you to fight? A badger pony? Control your anger or you’ll never survive your first real battle.”

“you know what? your right” and then the pony’s Spear was shot out towards Praetorian’s side.

Praetorian lifts up his own spear like a quarterstaff and knocks Redhat’s out of his grip and out of the way. “For goodness sake. You’re not even trying.”

In responce, redhat slamed into Praetorian the moement he used his weapon to disarm him.

In his own response, Praetorian just sits tight behind the shield, and rams the butt of his spear into Redhat’s head.

The pony tensed at the sudden feeling the spear hitting him, before falling to the ground and holding his hooves to his head. “GHA that stings!”

“Come on. Keep at it.”

He slowly got up and attacked again, this time with his hooves and more sloppily than before.

Praetorian stifles a yawn, as he uses his shield. “Heaven’s sake, stallion. Put your back into it.”

He paused and tried to strike again, just as sloppy as before.

Praetorian sighs. “Okay, Redhat. What are you doing?”

“Fighting?”

“...You’re not doing it very well. At all.”

“Then why don’t you correct me.”

“Because you can only learn this stuff through practice, and lots of it. Flamberge and Crosshair are both competent, skilled fighters, as their experience would lead them to be.” Praetorian sighs. “And you’re the one here letting the side down on this sort of stuff. So what, exactly, combat experiencehave you had?”

“None honestly”

“...Okay. Then that means we’ll have to go back to basics,” says the older soldier with another sigh.

“Well sorry”

“It’d have been better for you to tell me before. Well. Time to get out the straw dummies.”

“Ugh...”

Thievery, Demons, and Mystery.

Temperance's Journal - 7th Timber, 269

After the little 'incident' with the parasprites, I've decided that one of our priorities should definitely be getting some better defenses put up. It won't stop more parasprites, but finishing the perimeter ditch will go a long way toward forestalling any future thieves at least. That means Holly and Smoothblock have been hard at work again, and I've noticed the mares sleeping in the hospital lately since it was close to the work site. As long as there's room left for any injured ponies, I don't see the harm.

I can't wait for the caravan to come. We've only got four ponies with weapons and any inclination on how to use them, but the moment we get more metal I'm going to have Steel Rivet and Flamberge cobble together some more gear for them. Right now Flamberge is the only pony with much of any armor at all. Praetorian and Redhat are completely without any, with only their spears between them and any foes.

Maybe we won't see anything worse than a lone badger pony.

22nd Timber, 269

Speaking of badger ponies, we had another big scare again today when one showed up just outside the northern trench. Smoothblock hasn't finished work there yet, so he was able to sneak through, and she saw it at the last moment. As she fled, it made a break for the chickens, no doubt hoping to snatch one up and run off with it.

Fortunately, the soldiers were nearby.

Poor Morning Dew was running for her life, which was about all I saw of the poor mare before Flamberge and the spear ponies put the cursed badger pony out of its misery. Nopony was hurt, thank the gods.

After it was all over I went to find Morning Dew, who was cowering out in the woods to the west. It took me a minute to calm her down, but I finally got her to relax. It was about lunch time anyway, so I convinced her to come with me to the new 'tavern' and get something to drink to help her finish leveling out and get her mind off the fact that the soldiers were disposing of the body.

There wasn't really anywhere to eat, so we just sat in the partially built back room and talked for a minute. I think she'll be alright, but I'm certainly not Dr. Serenity when it comes to these things.

2nd Moonstone, 269

I've been keeping a close eye on our stocks the entire time we've been out here, but I noticed today that one of our picks and an axe have gone missing.

Nopony has seen either, and that's put me in a bit of a foul mood. We've literally got no metal to spare out here, so losing them is a serious waste of resources. I don't know who's responsible, and I don't want to know. Instead of drilling everypony about it I just went and looked in the surrounding area myself. That didn't turn up either, of course, but it did turn up something more alarming: Smoothblock unconscious in a pile of dirt.

I forgot to take a pic of her wounds, but that's her in the small cloud of dust up in the upper left corner in the trench.

I managed to rouse her with a bit of frantic shouting, and she swore up and down she wasn't hurt. I had her go get checked out by Case Study, just in case. Don't want to take any chances, and all.

Well, after I got her checked out and confirmed she was fine, I passed word around the camp to pleasebe more careful. We can't have ponies losing things or getting hurt because they're careless.

19th Moonstone, 269

The tavern is more than halfway finished! So far it's mostly a glorified storage room and kitchen, but very, very soon we'll have some dining tables and chairs set up so ponies can eat like civilized beings again. I didn't believe Virtue when she wrote that it took this long to get the basics set up, but she was right on the mark.

Depressingly, it's already evident that we didn't set aside enough storage space. And that's just supplies for 24ponies. I'm already considering adding another level to the tavern for storage, but then where will we put the sleep space? I don't know, something else to think about.

10th Opal, 269

I was out supervising the deconstruction of some of the workshops to make room for the dining area of the tavern today, when I saw something pretty unsettling out by the fields. Maize and Morning Dew were galloping away, and it only took a quick look to see why.

We chased the giant rats around for a while as we tried to run them off. They didn't do too much damage thankfully, but it's one more reason to get the food inside as soon as possible. The seeds will need to stay out by the fields of course, so that means a barn or something to hold them... yet another thing to start building.

Well, it's late so I'm heading to bed. I had some of Cream Puff's cheese soup, and while it was fantastic, it's putting me to sleep! I think as soon as we get the dining area finished we'll need to throw a big party for everyponyto show how much I appreciate all of the hard work everypony has put in to getting this settlement put together. Maybe I'll ask Cream Puff to make some more of that soup…

6th Obsidian

We finally got the carpenter shops and sawmill moved to a more permanent location out west of the upcoming tavern. It's step one of the very, very long list of things that need to be moved around to get this place somewhat organized. One step at a time.

The floor's done in the tavern too, so as soon as we get a roof on it we can start eating inside! Just thinking about that soup m a k e s m e

Oh, sure. I go all of Dawnpick without getting one for Virtue or anypony in her family, and Temperance is the first to get it in Duskfields? And it's a possession so he doesn't get any skill? Ah, whatever. I'll have a little fun with it.

Temperance set his pen down on the table next to his journal and raised a hoof to his head. He had the worst headache, which had been growing steadily worse over the last minute. If it didn't ease off soon, he was going to have to go wake Case Study up in the hopes that the doctor had something for the pain.

Another blinding stab shot through his head, and he shut his eyes and raised both hooves to his temples. Gods above, this was nigh unbearable...

Then, the pain was gone. He cracked his eyes, but the room was nothing but a black void. In a mild panic, he stumbled away from his desk only to find that it too was gone. Around him, there was nothing but the blackness. What was going on?

“I have something to show you,” a feminine voice called from the dark. It was deep and commanding, but he couldn't see anything. It all felt so cold.

“Who-who are you? Amug?” Who else could it be? Was this a vision? Why him?

“Indeed, it is I,” the voice continued. A beautiful deep blue coated unicorn mare coalesced from the darkness before him. “Amug, daughter to Shin Paleduty and mare of the night. Now, come, young Temperance Scribebakes. I have something to show you,” she said, beckoning him on with a hoof.

Temperance stumbled into the mechanic's workshop, speaking not a word to anypony along the way. It was late, so there weren't many around anyway. A few ponies were moving things to their storage for the night, but nopony was normally in the mechanic's shop, and tonight was no different.

He plopped down in the middle of the workshop and began rifling through the tools there. “I need stone... and a gem... so says Amug...” he said to nopony. Again and again he droned on, insisting that he needed these things.

Three days went on as the stallion stood motionless in the mechanic's shop. Ponies wandered by and marveled, but were shooed away by whichever militia pony was currently stationed there to watch him.

Finally, on the night of that third day, Morning Dew approached and presented a small chunk of crudely cut green glass. “Temperance? I, um, brought you a gem, like you wanted.”

His eyes tracked down to the chunk of glass. “Gem...” He took it and placed it on the table with the chunks of stone the others had scrounged up, and set to work.

Amug smiled as she looked at the materials. “Well done, my child, you have everything I have asked you to bring. Now, watch as I show you what I promised.” The mare strode forward and waved a hoof across the vast blackness, and an image began to form.

It looked like Duskfields, or at least it did before they started building things. Wide, open hills on a dark night. There were two things moving though. A buffalo, it looked like, and something else. A twisted monster of the night. The monster flew forward and caught the fleeing buffalo and in a few swift and decisive blows, she was dead.

The image began to change, and was replaced by Duskfields. Except this time, it was ponies running away from the settlement. Temperance felt a twinge of fear roll through him as he realized what was happening. Some of the ponies were chasing the others.

Horror replaced the fear when he saw Flamberge latch onto Crosshair midflight. The small mare bucked and screamed in protest for a moment before he rammed his sword through her chest. She gasped and choked momentarily as blood poured from the wound, and he kicked the mortally wounded markspony free to crash in a broken heap on the ground.

Praetorian and Redhat were next, as each drew their spears and charged at a target. Praetorian bashed Maize to the ground with his shield, and while she was stunned and trying to get to her hooves he thrust his spear into her belly. Her pained cry was cut short as he plunged the spear into her again, and ended her suffering with a stamp of his hoof.

Redhat traded blows with Holly, but the woodcutter's skill at cutting trees was no match for a soldier and his spear. The steel tip slashed across her throat, spraying blood and sending her too tumbling to the ground.

Smoothblock pounced upon Cream Puff and pinned the smaller mare beneath her weight. With a single decisive swing of her pick, the cook's life ended as her viscera were shredded. Case Study was the next victim of the bloody pick. He was too slow to avoid the tip as it pierced the back of his head, and he fell lifeless.

Veneer and Wood Chips were taking turns landing hammering blows on each other with their hooves, both completely ignoring any subtleties such as trying to avoid the blows. At last Wood Chips struck Veneer hard enough in the head to put him down for good, but he collapsed immediately thereafter.

And finally, there he was. Standing over the bloody and motionless body of Morning Dew. He looked up to see Serenity backing away from the madness unfolding around her, and a ravenous grin formed on his blood stained face. She never even saw him coming. He leaped upon her, and pinned her to the ground with a single swift motion. She begged and pleaded for him to release her, but a wild-eyed scowl formed on his face as he placed a hoof on her throat. “I don't need my sister's help. I don't need your help,” he said, resisting all attempts to dislodge him. And then he crushed her throat.

Temperance could watch no more, and he backed away and shut his eyes. “Amug... why? Why are you showing me these terrible things?” he asked in a shaky voice. He felt sick just watching it. This wasn't what she was supposed to be like... Amug was supposed to be calm and cool, like the night.

He felt a cold hoof rest on his withers, and cracked his eyes to see that the horrible images hadn't left. Amug moved before him and knelt to eye level. “Because, dear child,” she said, shaking her head slowly, “I am not Amug.”

“What?”

The mare stepped back as a wicked, unnatural grin formed on her face. Her form shimmered and faded to be replaced with a wispy, ethereal serpentine body of towering proportions. Temperance gasped and backed away. What in creation was this?

“I am not Amug, nor Shin Paleduty, nor any other of your petty gods,” the creature hissed in a twisted but definitely female voice. A taloned finger thrust forward and pointed to a strange set of masterfully crafted gears at his hooves. “Let this be a warning to you and all of your kind.”

Temperance made a startled shout and nearly jumped from his skin as he cowered away from the monster. Instead of fleeing into the fields to get away, he found himself bumbling into a shelf covered with strange tools. What? Where was he?

He looked around and found that it was daylight again, and confused ponies were standing all around him. At his hooves were those same gears, decorated with the image of a night freak killing a buffalo. Had he actually seen that...?

There were so many ponies standing around, all staring at him in mild disbelief. What had just happened? Should he tell them what he saw? No... no... not now. Maybe never.

I've had a very, very troubling experience. I don't know how to really describe what it was, save for the fact that I was, for lack of a better word, possessed. I have no memory of what was happening here, but my mind was somewhere else... and I saw terrible, terrible things. I don't want to think about it any more than I have to.

Instead, let me just quickly jot down what happened in my absence. I was out for days.

Apparently the entire time I was in the mechanic's shop I was demanding stone and a gem, which we had none of. Well, we had some stone, but that was all being used for the furnaces and forge. Which were dismantled to get me what I needed. I'm not sure what might have happened if they hadn't done that. Maybe I'd have died of thirst waiting on it. That's a pretty terrible thought, but now we're without any way to work metal, which is pretty bad too.

The gem was another matter entirely. We've not dug up even a pebble out here, so I have to admit that the idea to get some glass to cut into a gem was a stroke of genius. I'm not sure whose idea it was, since Flamberge took momentary command of Duskfields while I was incapacitated, but Morning Dew was the one who bought and cut some glass from the caravan for me. I really need to thank everypony for what they did in my absence.

As for what I ended up making... I have no idea what we'll do with it. I kind of want to just bury it and forget about it.

Speaking of the caravan, apparently they decided to show up while I was completely insane. The outpost liaison from Coupledye decided he couldn't wait around “while I sat in a workshop,” and left in a huff yesterday. That can't be good for my reputation, but I hope they'll understand it wasn't my fault...

To help make some amends, I hurried off to do some trading with the caravan while they were still here. There wasn't much to choose from. In particular I was really hoping to get some more stone and metal from them, but they didn't bring any! Instead, I traded a little of our harvest for some juice to pad our stocks until the next harvest, and got a few pieces of armor for the militia.

It's a small start, but at least we can repurpose the stuff later by melting it down if we have to. When we get another smelter put up, anyway...

I really wish I could have talked with the liaison. There are a lot of things we need for next year.

1st Granite, 270

It's hard to believe the last year went by so fast. Duskfields has come a long way, but it has so much further to go. We've managed to avoid anything tragic so far at least, and I can be thankful of that much. Everypony seems to be in reasonably high spirits, and the future looks bright enough.

I wish I could enjoy it a bit more though. I'd really hoped to have some sort of celebration for the start of the new year, but I really haven't had the heart. After my little 'incident', I've been spending most of my time in my office. The others mean well when they ask about it, but I really don't want to think about it anymore. The worst of it's gone now, thank goodness, but sometimes I still get a small chill when I look at the ponies I saw murdered. Especially the two that I saw myself murder.

I hate to admit it, and as much as I really don't want to give in to it... I may have to talk to Dr. Serenity about it.

Maybe she can put my mind to ease.

Journals #5

~Maize's Thoughts~ 22nd Timber, 269

Another badger pony showed up, but it looks like the military was ready this time. Poor Morning Dew flipped out, though, and ran off before I could calm her. Looks like Temperance managed to calm her down, though.

10th Opal

I've seen rats. I've seen giant rats. I've never seen giant rats with red eyes and horns. They went straight for the crops, too. That or straight for me and Morning Dew... I don't know if I like it here so much any more. Between that... that mist and this, I don't think this place is safe for us.

1st Granite, 270

Something happened to Temperance. This place gets scarier and scarier. But a year has passed, and other than Morning Dew's legs, nopony has been hurt so far. I hope things get better soon, but I get the feeling they're only going to get worse.

Entry 8

Having second thoughts about the party. I literaly just finished passing them out to everypony who is invited, but I must wonder if anyone would come.

Entry 9

Smoothblock was found in a pile of dirt today, and Badger ponies are starting to become a more regular threat. From what Case Study told me, she's fine, but I can't help but wonder if our good fortunes have run out.

Entry 10

I woke up today feeling sore, and I had a mouthful of blue hairs in my mouth.

I don't know what this means. Veener did not look me in the eyes during lunch, however.

Entry 11

Temperance lost it. I have seen what he is going through once before. This place is tainted with chaos, without a doubt.

I was the first to find him, in his little workshop. I am not sure if I was right in alerting others of his condition.

I think the party can be set in the makeshift tavern, now.

22nd Timber, 269

Ugh... you'd think after badger's wouldn't be so bloody suicidal. I personally never quite understood their beloved concept of honor though terrorism. One of the damned bugger showed up today. Almost put a dagger in the Smothblock's face. At least somepony put a the abomination down before getting at anyone...

2nd Moonstone, 269

And you'd think after two of badgers showed up somepony would think to keep our stockpiles under locks. If they keep sneaking off with are garbage, let alone our valuables, they might actually think sending a raiding party would be smart... and honestly it might be.

19th Moonstone, 269

Today we finally got a tavern set up. It's a quaint little place, but spose' it serves it's purpose.

6th Obsidian

Well this is just a riot. The one stallion deemed "worthy" to make our life or death decisions for us due to his sister's accomplishment's is now in a mechanic's shop blabbering incoherent gibberish. Well, honestly I thought the poor guy wasn't the type to crack under pressure. One can only imagine what would make a nervous break down of this level to occur. At least now the local mental health professional might have more people to work with than my captain's antisocial lady friend.

8th Obsidian

A caravan showed up today. I was able to get my hooves on some of my old stuff from capital. The bastards kept my pet locked in some tight cage also. Practically ruined my day. Well, at least now I can replace my old clothes... Also I got my hat collection back in one piece! Honestly was scared it wouldn't make it here one piece.

13th Obsidian

Hmmmm... and seems Friday the thirteenth is a lucky day after all. Temp seems to have snapped out of it and made one hell of a mechanism. Well, I've heard of ponies loosing themselves in a masterwork item beyond compare before, but I assumed it was some old myth or made up hog wash. Whatever, I just hope Temp get's back to normal soon...

Scenes #6

The following takes place the morning after the last Flamberge and Cream Puff scene and thus is just before the update that was most recently posted.

, , and

The sounds of birds chirping causes Flamberge to stir from his rest. When he opens his eyes he finds the still sleeping Cream Puff snuggling up against him. "Uh-oh." he thinks seeing the compromising situation he finds himself in, and imagining what Crosshair would say, he then clumsily tries to disentangle himself from the mare and get out of her bed without waking her.

Puff slowly comes to, though much slower than Flamberge. All she knows is her cuddly warm thing is slipping away. She holds him tighter and nuzzles into him. “Five more minutes, mom...”

"Um, Cream Puff," begins Flamberge, though he ends his sentence prematurely not knowing the right words.

That doesn’t sound like Mom. Puff opens her eyes and finally remembers yesterday. She releases Flamberge like she’s been burned. “Oops! Uh... sorry, ‘Berge.”

Flamberge sits up a bit, "Its...its no problem Puff. Should...? I should go now?" he says as he climbs out of the bed, “Will you be okay now?” he adds.

She nods vigorously. “Uh, yes. I’m feeling better today, yes.” She runs a hoof through her mane, wondering how to handle the awkwardness of the situation. “Do you... still want me to come with you and Crosshair today?”

Flamberge nods, “uh, yeah, when, you are ready, meet us over by the training field.” Flamberge walks toward the door, and opens it slightly, peering outside and checking to make sure nopony would see him exiting her room before making his way outside.

“Flamberge! Meet at the kitchen instead! I’ll make breakfast!” she calls after him as he goes.

After leaving her room, Flamberge decides to seek out Crosshair, and tell her, something, he wasn’t sure what just yet, though.

Crosshair wasn’t a morning mare at all, and this early in the morning she could be seen sleeping on top of a cloud that she’s pulled low near the fields, she have claimed that it smells nice there and help her nap as well as ‘good visual and spot for a watchout’. But that’s probably more excuse for her to be there.

Flamberge finds Crosshair on her cloud. He considers what to do. Thinking back to the night before, he decided he hadn’t really done anything wrong, just comforted a mutual friend, no reason to worry Crosshair about the details. He flies up and grabs a cloud of his own and sets it near Crosshair and lays back, waiting for her to wake.

Crosshair continued to snooze adorably for a while longer, almost half a hour before she finally stirred to wake up, flicking her tail and ears as she let out a yawn and rubs her eyes. And when she opens them just to see her Commander, she instantly shot up from being startled to see him there and gave him a salute “M-Morning Commander!” she eeped.

“Morning Captain. Sleep well?” he asks smiling.

She relaxed down after seeing the smile, noticing that she’s /probably/ not in trouble and return the smile. “I did, Commander!” she chirped happily. Stretching her wings some. “A little chilly, but it’s fine.”

"Good." Flamberge kicks out his cloud obliterating it, and hovers down to the ground. "I have something to tell you Crosshair. I know I said that we were going to go 'on patrol' down to the river today, but...Cream Puff was rather down yesterday, and I have invited her to come with us, to cheer her up a bit. I hope you don't mind."

She perked up brightly at that “Mind? Oh I’m FAR from mind, Commander! I’d be GLAD to have her with us! Especially if it helps cheer her up! She’s my best friend after all!” She said, practically squeeing in glee.

Flamberge shows visible relief upon his face and says, “Good, well she said she’d make us breakfast before we leave and that we should meet her at the kitchen, are you ready to go?”

“Aye aye Commander, I’m as hungry as a horse!” She said, giggling at the Pun.

Flamberge nods, and then kicks out the cloud beneath Crosshair.

That almost dropped her to the ground, but she was quick to catch herself with her wings, taking just a second to balance herself from that. She considered scolding her Commander for doing that but thought better and kept quiet.

Flamberge and Crosshair arrive at the kitchen to find Cream Puff working up a storm. It looks like she’s trying to get a whole day’s worth of cooking done at once! She gives the two a smile and points a wing at some fresh omelettes and bread, then returns to her work. It looks like she’s almost done with making breakfast now, and is starting on a huge salad for everypony to have for lunch.

Flamberge strikes his hoof on the countertop, "Cream Puff! I thought I told you to take the day off."

She sticks her tongue out at him. “Like I’m supposed to show up for breakfast and not take orders for food? Sit down and eat! I’ll join you two before you’re even half done with your meal!”

“Fine.” says Flamberge with a glower, “but after you finish that salad, you are done for the day. Commander’s orders.”

She laughs at him good naturedly. “Alright, but only because I promised. I’m a civilian! And you’re not the boss of me!” she says with a cheeky smile.

"Gods help me Cream Puff, I will declare martial law if I need to." says the commander jokingly.

Crosshair was grinning widely as she watch Puff work, taking a seat where her breakfast have been laid for her. And she’s simply not starting yet without her friend.

“No you won't. You don’t want to go down in history as the leader of the breakfast coup, do you?” she jokes as she works. Soon, she’s done with her work, and she lays a cloth over the large salad and grabs an omelette before joining her friends. She sits next to Crosshair and gives her a friendly nuzzle. “Thanks for waiting for me.”

Crosshair giggled as she returns the happy friendly nuzzle, a little too long but not enough to make it be awkward. “No problem!”

Flamberge watches the two mares curiously, then begins to eat his food, which by this point has grown cold, "Tastes great,” he says, though it truth it would have been much better warm.

Puff takes a bite and pouts. “Aw, it’s cold...”

“Still tastes great!” Chirped Crosshair as she ate happily. Having breakfast with the two closest ponies in the fort with her was the highlight of her entire week if not month.

Flamberge remained mostly quiet through breakfast, while the mares talked, he still felt unsure about the night before, he didn't know if Cream Puff would tell Crosshair, or what she would think, but he felt disaster brewing in his bones.

Puff simply chats about nothing in particular with her friends as she enjoys breakfast. Once she finishes her meal, she leans back a bit to relax and sighs. “So, what’s the plan for today?”

“Well, I guess we all fly to the river and spend times together there just hanging around talking? Oh! Should we make it a picnic? It’ll be nice!” Crosshair suggested with a wide happy grin.

Flamberge nods, "Yeah, we can take some food and drink with us, but before we head to the river, we are going to make at least a short aerial survey of the area, need to make sure nothing is going to jump out of the woods and attack anypony while we're gone. Cream Puff you are welcome to come fly with us, if you think you can keep up." ends Flamberge with a grin.

“Colt, you are looking at a natural born endurance flier! A survey sounds like a nice warm-up!” Puff stands, eager to rise to the challenge.

Cross giggled again at that, beaming. “Well then! Let’s grab some stuff and go, shall we? I want to get there before it’s noon.”

Puff nods and goes about packing them all some of the salad, then rejoins Flamberge and Crosshair. “Alright, we have lunch.”

"Okay, all set? Crosshair got your quiver and crossbow? Good. Okay, Captain, you lead the way." says Flamberge.

“Aye aye, Commander!” Cross said with a grin and a quick salute before spreading her wings wide and takes the air, heading for the river!

Puff follows, though her acceleration isn’t near as good as Crosshair’s. She does soon catch up, though.

After a few uneventful wide circles around the area, Flamberge says, "Everything looks clear, anything we might have missed I'm sure Praetorian and Redhat can handle, Crosshair, head toward the river."

Crosshair does a mid-air salute before circling down towards the river, landing just at it’s bank a little short of the water itself as she trots to a stop. Glad that she didn’t crash into any trees again this time.

Puff glides down in lazy circles and soon lands beside her friend.

Flamberge follows behind Crosshair and breaks off when they get close to the ground, hoovers about a half foot above the shore, then allows himself to fall backwards his wings pulled in close to his side, he lands on his back, with his forehooves working as a pillow and his rear hooves resting in the cool water of the river. The water was a bit chilly, being early Timber, but it was warmer here than in the capital and Flamberge seemed comfortable anyway.

Crosshair gave Puff another happy friendly nuzzle, neck-hugging her for seconds as they arrive at their destination. Smiling brightly “Glad you’re here with us today Puff!”

Flamberge opens one eye and sees Crosshair giving Cream Puff another nuzzle and hug, "Hmm, this is either a very good or very bad sign," he thinks to himself, before reclosing the eye.

Puff smiles and nods. “So am I! I’ve been feeling down the last few days, so having some time to spend with you two is really nice.”

“And that’s why you need a day off and all of the hugs!” Cross grinned

Cream Puff chuckles. “I bet ‘Berge would like a few hugs, too.” She knows this was supposed to be something for him and Cross, and she didn’t want to be too much of a third wheel, so she gives her friend a gentle shove towards Flamberge.

Flamberge continues laying there, with his eyes closed, but can’t hide his smile.

Crosshair giggled from her friend’s tease, but did went over to lay next to her Commander, close by his side, wielding a soft blush across her face with a bright smile.

When Crosshair gets within reach Flamberge wastes no time putting his foreleg around her and pulling her close.

Puff smiles at the two, though she feels a pang of... something. She sighs and starts to pace, unsure what to do. Them hugging was her idea! Why is she feeling so jealous?! Oh... jealous. Puff sighs, thinking she really needs a stallion.

Crosshair was still the blushing nervous shy mare she is when she’s under Flamberge’s foreleg, it’s fun to watch her transform from the brash Militia captain to a blushing shy mare in the matter of seconds, but it’s clear that she’s not experiencing any discomfort at all, happily leaning into Flamberge’s hug.

“So!” speaks up Puff, her wings ruffled, “How about a swim?”

“That’d be great!” Cross chirped

Flamberge releases Crosshair and sits up, "Aye, I could go for a swim." he says before he finishes standing up.

“Last one in's a rotten apple!” shouts Puff before diving in.

Flamberge follows, flying into the air, doing a backflip and then going in for a splashdown.

Crosshair was concerned for a second before realizing that she hadn’t put her armor on yet, and quickly Follows in! Not doing any fancy backflip and just go for the water to give her that extra second to reach the water just a little bit before Flamberge.

After landing, resurfacing, and seeing that he was the last one in, Flamberge spreads his wings wide and uses them to splash water towards both of the mares, playfully.

Puff dives to avoid the splash, then resurfaces, laughing. “You’re a rotten apple!”

Crosshair got a faceful of splash, but giggled as she wipes the water away, splashing back in retaliation as well, eeping.

"Maybe, but you're all wet," replies Flamberge as he uses both wings to splash at Cream Puff. All Out Attack (Determined), Deceptive Attack. Hit, -2 to defend! :p

Puff raises a wing to try to defend herself, but it can only do so much to protect her from the wave Flamberge sends at her.

The ponies continue on in this way a bit over an hour, until Flamberge goes and lays down by the shore again. "So, Puff, what did you bring us for lunch?" he asks, a bit worn out looking up to the sky.

“Salad, because I didn’t want to start a revolution.” she says, flopping onto the shore.

Crosshair flopped over as well nearby, sighing contently. “Mmnm, I do like your Salad Puff, would be nice if you brought some ale with you too though!”

“Ale?” says Flamberge, “but Crosshair, we are on duty, “patrolling by the river,” remember?” he says with a laugh.

“Exactly!” chimes in Puff. “Drink some water!”

Crosshair giggled carefreely “Mmnm, still though, would’ve been nice!”

The three friends enjoy a laugh before eating lunch together, then continue to do nothing much on purpose. Crosshair and Flamberge enjoy a few moments of closeness, but Puff can’t help but intrude on them with a game, or race, anything to try to distract them from each other, and her from her jealousy.

Soon enough, it’s sunset, and the ponies return to Duskfields proper. Flamberge and Crosshair manage to share a kiss together while Puff hastily excuses herself to her room. She grumbles a bit before laying on her bed, feeling a bit frustrated. She does feel much better than she did yesterday, at least. Now if only she could figure out why she was so jealous of her best friend!

and

As Temperance finishes penning the last line on his diary entry there is a thunderous earthquake of a crash! Brick and dust scatters haphazardly in all directions around Temperance's office.

A brown and black griffon slides to a stop along the office floor. The the stunned bird-lion took a slow glance around.

"Wha? This wasn't here last migration!"

Temperance starts and jumps up from his desk. It takes him a few seconds to realize he wasn’t being attacked, and that the thing that just crashed through the wall was not only not aggressive, but also amazingly not seriously injured by the impact. He steps forward cautiously. “My word... are you alright?”

The griffon blinks twice, and slowly gets to his claws and feet. He takes a cautious look around his body, checking his arms, legs, wings and tail. “Yeah, yeah, everything looks like it’s in the right place.” He looks at the hole, and turns back around to him. “Sorry about that. Uhhh . . . ” He combs through his tangerine head feathers and gives a nervous chuckle. “How about names? Trading names is a good way to break the ice in awkward conversations like these, isn’t it?”

He was still a bit stunned, but the pony manages to say, “Uh, I’m Temperance. Temperance Scribebakes, from Coupledye. Who are you?”

The griffon pats the dust off himself. “ Maxwell, Maxwell Yellowfeather. Frequent flyer of where all these buildings suddenly sprung up from.”

“Good to meet you Mr. Yellowfeather,” Temperance says hesitantly. “Are you sure you’re alright? We have a doctor who can look at you if you need it.”

Max looked him over cautiously. “That’s mighty generous of you, I might take you up on that if you got someone who’s versed in griffon anatomy.” He furrows his brow and looks at the mess he created. “I’m more concerned about you than me, in honesty. Look at this mess!”

Whether Case Study knew a thing or not about griffons he wasn't sure, but it couldn’t hurt to have him look. “Uh, well, don’t worry about that too much. The walls can be fixed.” He frowns and looks around. It was going to take a while to fix this mess. “How exactly did you not see the building though? Where were you headed in such a hurry?”

He grinned rather sheepishly. “I ducked down into the valley to get my windspeed up, I close my eyes a brief second, and here I am.” He scratches his chin with a claw. “I was heading over to the mountains, I carved out a little hole for myself. It’s nothing special. I’d hate to call it a ‘home’, but that’s what it would be in absence of anything else. Not much else to call home. No griffon sanctuaries for miles and miles. Nothing much at all for miles and miles. Until now. . .”

He looks at Temperance with guilt-ridden eyes.“I feel truly terrible about this hole my good pony.” He puts his claw around the good pony's shoulder. “I want to repay the damage caused, I insist! I simply won’t take a no for an answer.”

Temperance moves his mouth wordlessly for a second. “I... don’t know how you could... we don’t really use money out here...”

“how about some labor work? I’ll work it off.” Max chimed. “I can do plenty of things around here!”

Temperance eyes the hole in the wall again. They really could use another carpenter, but how would the others react? “Like what exactly? Do you know much about wood working?”

The bird scoffs. “Oh, wood working? Masonry? Fine crafts? You got it.” He grins. “ I can build the meanest bird house you’ve ever seen.”

He chuckles lightly. “Alright then, if you think you can fix this,” he says, pointing at the hole in his wall, “then I’ll give you a chance. It’s pretty late, otherwise I’d introduce you to the other carpenters.” He would probably be best served letting Flamberge know pronto as well. Just in case.

“Yep, that’s all I need.”He said coolly.Then He cocked a brow up. “ Well, a chance and a hammer. That would help too.” He let go of the odd-haired pony.

“Yes, well, I’ll see about acquainting you with everypony as soon as possible.” He frowns again. “I’m afraid I’m not sure where to let you stay though. We don’t even have enough rooms for everypony to sleep in as it stands.” The others might not be so willing to sleep with a griffon, so he neglects to mention the dorm just yet. “I’ll have to think for a moment..”

He shrugged. “ Well, for tonight, I still have my cave. Any outside perch or tower is fine, really. We’ll get to that bridge when it comes?” He looks giddy as a kid. “I’m sorry if I seem too eager and forthcoming, just I can’t tell you how nice it is to actually have something to do around this patch of dirt! It’s been quite a while since I’ve even talked to anypony!”

“Oh, well if your cave wasn’t too far away, I suppose that works. We don’t have even much in the way of perches I’m afraid, but maybe by tomorrow we can fix something up.” He cocks his head slightly. “You’ve been out here by yourself for a long time?”

“Two years, three months, 13 hours, and thirteen minutes to be precise.” Max said rather robotically. “Quite a long time.”

“I should say so.” There was probably something to that story, but it was hardly appropriate to be delving into such matters. “I imagine you’ve got a lot of experience with the surroundings then. Perhaps when we have a moment, we could discuss a, ah, few things about that.”

“Sure! He nodded. “When we have a moment, lots to do. I have to get a travel bag together, have to meet everypony.” he waves at the documents on the ponies desk, covered with dust and debris. “ You have your . . . stuff, i’m sure.”

“Um, yes, I do have a few things left to finish here,” Temperance said, glancing back at the pile of paperwork on his desk. What was he supposed to say now? “Uh... I suppose I should go let the others know about you in the meantime...”

The griffon walks to the hole he made and slides his claw down the jagged edge. He points a Temperance. “Fixed by the end of the week, you have my word.” He walks out, and pokes his head back in the office with a very serious look. “A griffons’ promise is nothing to balk at!” Once outside, he juts his wings out, and with a powerful stroke of his wings he becomes airborne. “I’ll find the cliniiic!”

Temperance watched the griffon take off, and sighed. He’d best go find Flamberge and let him know what just happened. In case anything else happened.

, , , and

Maize struts back and forth outside the light of the tavern, keeping herself as inconspicuous as possible as she tries to decide whether she wants to go in or not.

Praetorian walks up to the mare, a small smile on his face. “Hello, Maize. It’s very good to see you again. Waiting for somepony?”

Maize looks up and blushes a little. “Oh... no. I was, um... just trying to figure out whether I should join the party or not.”

“Not too keen on the large group?” asks the stallion. “I don’t blame you there. I’m not much of a people pony myself.”

Maize nods and moves toward Praetorian, wrapping a hoof around him and resting her head on his withers. “I... guess we could do something else, then.”

“Well, my dear, beautiful Maize, what would you like to do, then?” asks Praetorian, looking on Maize with a gentle smile.

Maize blushes a little more. “We... I don’t know. I guess... we could have dinner? I didn’t eat terribly well today. I was a bit worried. About the party, of course.”

“Of course, then. Dinner sounds a delightful idea,” says Praetorian. Now, how to get it...

Maize pulls away, smiling, but her smile fades a little as she realizes just where the food is. “...Oh, yeah...”

Praetorian, hesitating for a second, leans over to give Maize a kiss on the cheek. “I’ll go get something for us to eat. Is there anything you’d like?”

Maize shakes her head. “It doesn’t matter to me. All of Cream Puff’s cooking is good, and if it’s raw I’m fine with that, too.” She smiles. “I did grow it all, after all.”

“Well, then, Maize, I will be back soon,” says the soldier, as he prepares to go do some slightly unorthodox requisition.

Maize stands in her shadowy shelter outside the doorway and patiently waits for Praetorian, offering an encouraging smile.

Serenity trots past Maize’s hiding spot on the way to the tavern, hoping to slip in and grab a bite to eat without disturbing the festivities. She herself hadn’t been invited to the party, but that didn’t bother her overmuch. Hearing something behind her, she pauses, ears twitching. She turns to see the tall mare. “Hello? Oh, Maize! I didn’t see you there.”

Maize smiles gently. “That means it’s working.”

Serenity frowns slightly. “Maize, why are you hiding? Is it the party?”

Maize’s smile fades. “Yeah... I didn’t want anypony to see me because I didn’t know if I wanted to go to the party or not, and then I decided not to go because I’m going to have dinner with Praetorian, and now I don’t want Wood Chips to see me because then I’d have to tell him I was missing his party... and I don’t want to have to do that. Speaking of which... could you not mention seeing me?”

“...I suppose so. I was just ducking in for a moment to get some dinner, so I can slip out before ponies start asking questions. So, who is this Praetorian? A friend?”

Maize blushes a little. “He’s one of the militia ponies, he came from the military... and he’s a bit more than a friend.”

The doctor looks genuinely surprised. “Oh really? This is... well, unexpected, to say the least. You’ve improved quite dramatically since we first met.”

“Oh...” Maize’s smile returns. “Does that mean you don’t have to question me so much anymore?”

Serenity nods. “Not quite as much, no. Though there are still some things we need to cover. Like hiding here in the shadows, for example.”

Maize once again drops her smile. “Oh... I’m sorry.”

Serenity touches Maize’s hoof with her own. “It’s alright. You just need to grow more accustomed to being around ponies. I can help you with that.”

Maize nods. “I guess... I know Temperance wants you to help me. I... guess we should be friends, maybe? I mean... is that right?”

“Well, normally I try to keep things professional with my clients, but... in this case... yes, I think I’d like that.”

Maize’s smile returns once more. “Maybe tomorrow we could... hang out, then?”

Serenity smiles. “Yes... hang out.”

Maize just stands there, smiling, apparently waiting for something else to happen.

Serenity shuffles her hooves. “Well, I need to go pick up dinner. Have a nice date, Maize.” She turns and enters the tavern.

Maize just keeps standing there, smiling at nothing, although she occasionally shifts her posture to keep herself from becoming uncomfortable among other little tics to keep herself occupied.

As one of the few doctors in Duskfields, it was wise to try to keep a good standing with the local residents. Attending the party would be a good start, even if Case Study wasn’t close friends with any of the guests. It was a good place to start, at least. He approached the tavern, taking note of Maize’s presence outside. He cleared his throat, “Hello Ms. Maize. Would you know if the festivities are still ongoing?” Case feared that he may have been late.

“I have no idea, but I think so.” She turns her smile toward him. “Praetorian went in to sneak some food out, and he hasn’t shown back up yet, so I guess there’s still something going on.”

“That is good to hear.” He had observed that the tall pony actually looked him in the face whilst speaking to him. Apparently she was coming out of her shell. “You seem rather high-spirited this evening. I take it that things are going well with you, then?”

Maize shrugs. “I guess so. It’s a lot nicer tonight than it has been the last month or two.”

He rubs his chin, “Is that so?” The stallion hadn’t noticed anything much different about Duskfields lately. Perhaps she had discovered a new way to grow crops? Was the weather favorable for her? “What makes you say that?”

“I have a new friend and somepony who loves me.”

“Ah, well that sounds pleasant. Glad to see that you have come around as well as you have,” Case looks over into the room that was alive with conversation, “I wish you a good night, Ms. Maize. I can see that you are alone and I’d rather not be a bother if you wish to remain in such a state. I would also rather not have Ms. Puff berate me for shunning sustenance. Talk later.” With that, the blue pony began to home in on the entrance.

Maize waves at Case Study’s back and proceeds to patiently wait. She doesn’t have much longer to wait, though, as Praetorian finally escapes the party, and walks back over to her, carrying two plates of food.

“I’m sorry about the wait. Just had a few ponies try to keep me in there,” he says with a little smile.

Maize nods. “It’s okay, I understand. That’s why I didn’t want to go in.” She looks around. “Where would you like to spend our little date, then?”

“Hmm... Well, the tavern’s booked already,” he says with a little bit of humour in his voice, “so that’s my first idea out. Where would you like to spend it?”

“If you want to spend it indoors... we could use my room, or outdoors we could eat in the field.” Maize shrugs. “I don’t know where else we could go, honestly.”

“The field sounds like a nice spot. It’s a nice night tonight, as well,” says Praetorian with a little nod.

Maize smiles a bit wider. “The field it is, then. Would you like to lead, or shall I?”

“If you wouldn’t mind leading, that would be nice,” says Praetorian. Well, at least I picked the right spot, he thinks to himself.

Maize turns around and heads toward the field, happily swishing her tail back and forth as she walks.

Praetorian follows with a happy smile, continuing to carry their plates of food.

It doesn’t take long to reach the field, and Maize clears out a small area without any crops so the two can sit and eat. “I sorta miss sleeping out here, but the bed’s so much nicer. I feel much more rested now.”

“Yeah. I still miss bivouacking in the open field. Well, at least I don’t have to march the rest of the day, now, as well,” says Praetorian with a smile.

Maize nods and bows her head, starting a quick chant that Praetorian can’t quite hear.

“Maize?” asks Praetorian, a little concern in his voice. “What’s that you’re saying?”

Maize looks up. She looks just a tiny bit miffed at having been interrupted, but puts on a smile anyway. “I was just thanking Govos for our food. Do you mind it?”

“No, no. I’m sorry for interrupting you,” says the stallion, with a chastened tone.

“It’s alright.” Maize bows her head again and finishes the chant. “Now, let’s eat!”

Praetorian passes one of the plates to Maize, and takes the other. “Anything you like there?”

“Plenty.” Maize starts to eat. Voraciously. You wouldn’t have guessed she could scarf down an entire meal in less than ten minutes, but she certainly seems set to.

Praetorian hesitates for a second, then digs into his own food with all the gusto of a cat chasing down an injured baby bird, or a swarm of piranha that find a cow entering their bit of the river.

Maize finishes her meal and daintily pats away any food bits on her face with a corn husk taken from one of the plants around them. “That was delicious.”

Praetorian finishes inhaling his food, and follows Maize’s lead. “Indeed it was,” he agrees.

Maize looks around. “So, I suppose we just talk now?”

“If you want to,” says Praetorian. “I can’t say that I wouldn’t enjoy doing so.”

Maize smiles at him. “So, how’s the militia, then?”

“It’s going about as well as it could be expected,” Praetorian says, matching her smile. “Redhat’s still showing a little discipline problem, but hopefully that too will pass. How’s farming going?”

“Same as usual. Tend to the plants, talk to people...” She lets out a little sigh. “Get chased around by horrifying creatures until you and the other militia come save us...”

“Hopefully we’ll be able to stop them coming at all, soon. I’ve been talking to Flamberge, and we’re going to present Temperance with another idea,” says the stallion. “We need a wall up, and it’s best to get it now...before anything bad happens. Especially to you.”

“Especially to anypony.” Maize shudders. “I was so scared when Morning Dew got hurt... I don’t think I could bear seeing anypony else die...”

“I won’t let that happen,” promises Praetorian.

Maize offers him a small grin. “I know. I’ve always really thought militia ponies were so amazing, that they could protect us... and now I get to be close to one of the best.”

“You’re no less amazing than I am, Maize,” says Praetorian in reply. “Without you... Well, I don’t know what I’d be doing now, but it wouldn’t be good.”

“You might just be training, or enjoying the party, honestly.” Maize bows her head abashedly. “I doubt I’ve made that much of a change for you...”

Praetorian lifts her head up with a hoof. “Maize... before I came here, I was a wreck. I wouldn’t have trusted me to protect myself, let alone anypony else. Even when I did come here, I was close to falling back again. But... But with you, I... I don’t know how to explain it. But you saved me, Maize.”

Slowly, giving Maize the chance to stop him, he leans over to kiss her on the lips.

Maize hesitates, starting to pull back a little.

Praetorian pulls back as well at her hesitation. “I’m sorry.”

Maize blushes deeply and hangs her head. For a moment. She looks back up, takes Praetorian by the muzzle, and gives him a big kiss right on the lips.

Praetorian is a little shocked, but manages, somehow, not to fall over in his surprise. Probably due to her holding on to him.

Maize holds the kiss for a moment before pulling away. “I... don’t know if that was right...”

Praetorian moves forward and hugs Maize tight. “I think it was.”

Maize cracks a small smile and hugs Praetorian back as tight as her tiny legs can muster. “Thank you... I never thought anypony could love me before.”

“Maize, not loving you would be a sin,” says Praetorian. “You’re beautiful, smart, kind, and brave.”

Maize thinks about it for a moment. “I... guess I’m beautiful. I don’t think I’m that smart, but I have ponies teaching me things, so maybe I will be really smart someday. Kindness... I don’t know if I could really judge how kind I am, and... I honestly still don’t feel like I deserve to be called brave.”

“Even if you’re not sure about it, I am,” says Praetorian with a smile. “And you’re the best pony I know, Maize.”

Maize blushes, though she grins just a bit, too. “You’re just saying that...”

“I’m not, Maize. I love you too much to lie to you,” he says.

Maize’s smile grows a bit. “Thanks... anyway, uh... do you want to do anything else for our date?”

“I’m happy to just be here with you, Maize, but if there’s anything you’d like to do...?”

Maize shakes her head. “I mean... unless you want to just curl up and spend the night out here, under the stars...”

“That sounds great, Maize,” the soldier says, with a smile.

Maize reaches out and pulls the soldier close to her, lying down on the dirt and pushing the plates to the side. “I... love you, Praetorian.”

“I love you, Maize,” answers the soldier. “And how lovely it is to hear those words.”

and

SmoothBlock opened the door to Temperance's office, seething mad. She trotted briskly to his desk and put a bottle of whisky with two shot glasses beside it on to the stallion’s desk, poured two shots, drank them, and poured two more. The deep voiced unicorn breathed deeply and said “I need to talk to you, about RedHat.”

Temperance watches the display with a bit of bewilderment. “Uh, alright. What’s the matter?”

“He is completely incompetent and the most annoying colt I have ever met!” She slumped back in her chair. “And I grew up in a literal group of pricks and dirt balls.”

He frowns and shifts back in his seat too. “I’m... sorry? If he’s bothering you, I uh, guess I could talk to him?”

“No, please, just, give him another job!” SmoothBlock took a shot and poured another. “I was so pissed at him, I dropped two ponies of dirt on myself with a bad swing! and he is useless! Useless! It takes twice as long to do ANYthing I get him to do, and worse, WORST! I don’t need any help at all. He is literally a waste of my time.”

Oh, right. That’s what this was about. Temperance sighs. “Oh, I see. Yes, if Praetorian hadn’t ordered him to help dig the trench I’d definitely have him doing something else instead.” He thinks for a moment. “I don’t know what else there is to do though. I should probably talk to Praetorian.”

“Last I checked, Holly still needed help hacking the forest down. Tree’s not that different from a practice dummy.” SmoothBlock took out a pigtail cigar and fiddled with it.

“Yes... I suppose that would work instead...” He raises an eyebrow. “Do you know why Praetorian asked him to help you anyway? Was it for exercise purposes? Surely there are better things to do.”

“Punishment for talking back. That’s what I gathered from Red’s ranting. He never shuts up!” SmoothBlock dropped her cigar on his desk as she dragged her hoof across her muzzle.

He nods slowly. “Oh... right. Maybe there is something better he could be doing then. Having him help Holly might be a good idea, actually. She spends a lot of time out and away, and I worry about her being alone where the badger ponies lurk.”

“Thank you. Seriously, the next ‘accident’ may have happened to him.” SmoothBlock sighed and lit her cigar. “I don’t really mean that.” She took a long drag.

“I certainly hope not,” Temperance says, more seriously than maybe he should have. “Look, if it’s bothering you that much I’ll talk to Praetorian and have him find something else for Redhat to do.” Annoying Holly wouldn’t be a whole lot better, but maybe Praetorian would agree to just do something else entirely. “Maybe just washing the buildings or something.”

“Thanks Temperance, you’re a doll, yah really are.” She took another drag. “So, you going to drink that?” SmoothBlock pointed to the shot glass, still full of whiskey.

He raises a hoof to it. “Oh, no thanks. I, uh, don’t drink.” He gives her a diplomatic smile. Perhaps he should have mentioned that before she poured it.

“Even moderation needs moderation.” SmoothBlock winked and picked up the bottle, putting it away, before taking the empty shot-glass and doing the same. “It might help you relax a little.”

“Thanks, but I can manage just fine without it,” he says, maintaining the smile. “Anyway, I suppose I should go see Praetorian, unless there’s anything else?”

SmoothBlock sighed. “No, just, I’ll want to make some pumps later, to start on draining out a quarry. Can you tell WoodChips I’ll need some boards or something? I keep missing him.”

“Of course. I’ll tell him or Veneer next time I see them. Perhaps that’s something Praetorian would be willing to let Redhat do instead, actually.”

“Alright, well, I guess I’ll be seeing you.” SmoothBlock trotted to the door and let herself out. “Have a good day.”

“Same to you,” he says, waving her off. Now, to go sort this little mess out…

and

Temperance spent the next few minutes after his little chat with Smoothblock looking for Praetorian. The stallion was nowhere to be seen at the training grounds, nor was he in the tavern. There were only so many places to hide in Duskfields, and the last one Temperance could think of would be the fields. He starts in that direction, hoping he’d find him there and avoid a time consuming search of the woods.

Praetorian is indeed still in the fields, still curled up and asleep with Maize.

Well, this was interesting. Temperance approaches the two, unsure if he should interrupt... whatever this was. “Uh, excuse me, Praetorian?”

Praetorian slowly lifts his head up. “Temperance. What is it?”

“I’m, ah, sorry to disturb the two of you, but when you’ve got a minute there’s something I need to speak with you about. About Redhat.”

“Is it important?” he asks with a slight groan. “What’s he done this time?”

“Nothing critical. He hasn’t done anything directly, just some concerns from another citizen is all.” Temperance starts to feel very awkward now, so he says, “It can wait a little while, if you’d rather just come by my office later today.”

“Ugh. What citizen’s been complaining? Best to sort this out now.”

“Smoothblock. I probably don’t really need to say why,” he says, offering a nervous smile.

“Blast that foal. This is about that bloody moat, isn’t it?” Praetorian groans.

“That’s right. She’s having a bit of trouble working with him, and was hoping that you could find something else for him to do. She suggested having him help Holly some, perhaps.”

“No, blast it. If he’s getting to be a nuisance, he can do something to help everypony. Tell him that if he can’t dig ditches, he’ll be digging the latrines, instead.”

Temperance shrugs. “Alright, if that’s what you want. He should be mostly out of the way doing that.” He steps back. “That’s all I needed, so... I’ll leave you two.”

“Thank you,” says Praetorian as he lies back down.

and

Praetorian, still a little tired, but exhilarated after the last few nights, wanders into the tavern, a pair of plates in tow. “Cream Puff?” he calls, putting the plates down on an empty table.

She looks up from the oven and gives him a smile. “Praetorian! I was wondering where those plates went!”

“Oh, yeah. Uh, we borrowed them for a little bit, and I just remembered to return them. How are you?” asks the unicorn.

“Doing much better now we have a real kitchen! How about you?”

“I’m... ecstatic, I think, is the word,” says the unicorn with a happy smile on his face. “Do you remember the night of the party?”

Puff blushes slightly. “I know of it, but... I don’t really remember much of it.”

“Well, you might remember that neither I nor Maize were there.” Praetorian gestures to the plates. “We had a little private dinner out in the fields. And then, after that, we slept with each other. It was perfect... at least, until Temperance interrupted with another report of Redhat annoying other ponies.”

Puff blinks at him, then gives him a look that says he’d better explain before she feeds him his horn.

“...Oh, no, no, it wasn’t that. I was sleeping with her. Under the stars. Literally sleeping. We were cuddling,” explains Praetorian.

She still looks... far too neutral as she stares straight at him while running a knife over some steel to ensure it’s sharpness. “I thought you were planning on taking it slow.”

“I am,” he insists. “We didn’t do anything. Just had dinner.”

“And spent the night spooning.”

“...I suppose. It was Maize’s idea, I wasn’t sure what to do.”

She gives him a look that she usually reserves for a large vegetable she’s about to slice up, then brightens significantly and sets the knife down. “Good! Very good! You two really are an adorable couple!”

Praetorian is still a little defensive. “You...you think so?”

“I do indeed! She’s seemed so much happier and even a bit more sure of herself since you two became an item. And it sounds like I don’t need to worry about defending her honor.” She gives him a wink. “But maybe I should talk to her and defend yours.”

“...Er, yes. Maybe,” says the unicorn, more than a little nonplussed.

Cream Puff laughs, happy to have dumbfounded one of the most experienced soldiers she’s ever met. “So, want some lunch?”

“Sure...” Praetorian says, still slightly befuddled by Cream Puff’s words, before shaking it off.

Scenes #7

and

Maize trots through the fields as she does her daily check, a new bounce in her step and her head held higher than ever... even if she still holds it lower than everypony else.

Cream Puff wanders the fields as well, looking for her friend. She needs to get the story straight from Maize, and to congratulate her on getting quite the catch.

Maize hears Cream Puff disturbing the crops and turns to track her down. “Oh, hey Puff. Are you looking for me?”

She brightens as she hears her friend. “Maize! I am, indeed! I hear you and Praetorian had a good night together.”

Maize blushes a bit. “Well, yeah. We had a little... date. It was nice spending time with him. And we had some of your food as dinner, too, it was delicious!”

Puff grins at her. “He said it was your idea to have a nap together under the stars. Sounds like a successful date to me!”

“Yeah.” Maize bashfully scratches her head. “I still have no idea what I’m doing, but Praetorian seems to be enjoying it so I guess I’m doing something right.”

Puff smiles at her. “You definitely are, Maize. That stallion is head over hooves for you. I’m actually a bit jealous of you two. Having a nice relationship together.”

Maize carefully looks around. “I think, you know, if there’s a stallion for me, there must be one for you out there.” She grins. “Maybe some handsome, hard working stallion who will really love your delicious meals!”

Puff starts to say something, but her voice dies in her throat as an image flashes through her head. Wings. Dark coat. Orange and cream mane. She sits down hard as the realization hits her. Flamberge.

Maize’s smile fades. “Did... did I say something wrong?”

“Huh?” Puff looks back to her friend. “Oh, sorry. No, you’re fine, Maize. I just... thought of something that I didn’t expect.”

Maize thinks a second. “What? Find out you’re more into mares or something?”

“What? No! I’m into stallions!” She deflates a bit. “A specific stallion...”

“...Is being into mares a bad thing?” Maize blushes a little. “Uh... anyway... which stallion?”

Cream Puff rubs her temples at Maize’s first question, not wanting to get into a debate about that right now. At least she has a different question she can focus on instead. “Flamberge...”

“Oh.” Maize looks around. “Who’s that again? I’m still having trouble with names...”

Puff groans and puts her head in her hooves. “Crosshair’s coltfriend...”

“Ah.” Maize thinks. “Is that a problem, too? One of the nobles I worked for once had a mistress, and I think he wasn’t the only one.”

“Yes, it’s a problem,” she says and sighs, flopping onto the ground between the rows of plants. “And I have no idea how to solve it...”

“Is it because Flamberge isn’t a noble?” Maize starts pacing. “Since he’s commander of the militia, I think he might be a noble once this place gets big enough.”

“Ugh... having a mistress is a problem! I don’t want to be a mistress! And I don’t want to break up their relationship!” Puff flails her hooves in the air as emphasis, looking frustrated.

“That... I’m sorry I don’t know how to help you.” Maize sighs as her nose pokes at the ground by Puff’s head. “I could offer my companionship, but... I think you’ve made it pretty obvious you aren’t interested. I guess all I can do is say that maybe the somepony of your dreams, even better than Flamberge, will show up here. There are new ponies coming in all the time.”

Puff hugs Maize as best she can from this position. “Thanks, Maize, but I couldn’t break up you and Praetorian either. You two really are a great couple.”

Maize hugs her back, smiling just a bit. “Maybe someday I’ll be able to say the same about you.”

Puff sighs and rolls to her hooves. “A mare can dream.”

Maize nods. “Oh... I’ve been wanting to ask something.”

“Hmm?”

Maize blushes a bit and lowers her head a little. “Do you ever notice me acting... weird?”

Puff quirks an eyebrow at her. “Eccentric, sometimes, but nothing bad. Why?”

“Well... whenever those red clouds come by...” Maize gulps audibly. “I start to feel dizzy. That one time one got really super close, my eyes got all blurry, and when I snapped out of it the cloud was gone and it felt like the sun had moved.”

“Have you talked to anypony else about this?”

Maize looks down. “No... I know, I should, but... I don’t want to get thrown out, you know?”

Puff nods. She had heard rumors and talk about the clouds, but nopony seemed to know anything concrete about them. Or they were quiet about it. “Well, should I come find you the next time one shows up?”

“Sure... I guess...” Maize perks up a little. “At least you might be able to snap me out of it, or maybe figure out what’s happening.”

Cream Puff smiles and tries to shake the dirt from herself. “Hey, what are friends for, if not to check on each other when weirdness happens.”

Maize chuckles. “Seems friends are good for a lot of things, really.”

and

As the visions swirl and fade away, Temperance leaps back from the massive clawed hand in his face. He turns to run as fast as his legs would carry him, but instead of the open fields he hoped to flee into, he stumbles into a shelf of tools. He picks himself up from the tangled mess and looks around, completely lost in the moment. “Wh-what?”

Immediately, Serenity breaks from the crowd, moving to Temperance’s side. “Temperance! Temperance, can you hear me?”

The stallion starts visibly as she approaches. He looks to her, wide-eyed, and holds his gaze for several full seconds. She was alive! “Y-yes... yes, I can,” he says in an uneasy but clearly relieved voice.

“Come along, let’s get you out of here.” With a firm hoof, Serenity guides him out of the workshop.

He flinches as her hoof touches him, but doesn’t resist her attempts to pull him along. He avoids the gazes of the few ponies standing around, which was mostly Crosshair, who had been stationed there to watch him, and the random few who happened to be wandering nearby at the time. He thinks he sees Convalescence and Morning Dew, but in his daze and haste he’s not sure.

Serenity pulls aside a nearby pony. “Fetch a pitcher of juice and a bowl of Cream Puff’s cheese soup. Bring it to Temperance’s office, please.” Heartfelt gives her a puzzled look for a moment, but nods and trots off.

Temperance looks around nervously and clears his throat. “Is... is that where we’re going?”

“Yes. I thought it best to get you somewhere quiet.”

He nods. “Uh, right. Okay.” The office is just on the other side of the tavern, and no other ponies are around to interrupt them. As they get there, Temperance searches his saddlebag for the key. By now, he’s forgotten that he left the office unlocked, and not even completely shut.

Without waiting, Serenity simply opens the door and guides Temperance inside. He shakes his head as he sees that the door was open. He had no idea how he even got outside when... it... struck him. He follows her inside and stands awkwardly near his desk, unsure exactly what they were doing here.

Serenity stands by the door, waiting patiently for Heartfelt. “You should have a seat. I’m sure your experience was quite... draining.”

Temperance doesn’t reply, but nods and makes his way over to his seat, avoiding looking at Serenity as much as he could. A few minutes later, Heartfelt returns, balancing a pitcher of watermelon juice and a bowl of soup as asked.

Serenity gently takes both in her magic. “Thank you very much. And my thanks to Morning Dew, as well.” She sets both on the desk in front of Temperance, pouring a mug of juice for him.

Temperance eyes the mug for a moment before taking it in a shaky hoof. He quickly downs it, realizing now that he was unimaginably thirsty. How long had he been ‘out of it’? “Thank you...”

Serenity smiles slightly. “You’re very welcome. How are you feeling?”

He looks aside and takes a deep breath. “I-I don’t know. How... how long was I, uh... you know?”

She sighs. “About a week in all. You sat in that workshop for three days asking for supplies. When Morning Dew finally brought you something to work with, you started making this... strange contraption. You worked on that for a few more days.”

“A week?” he asks, with evident surprise in his voice. His eyes go wide as he looks up to her, then back down. “It only felt like a few hours...” he mutters.

“...You should eat. You haven’t eaten at all in that time.”

The food did smell amazing. He takes the bowl and sips at the soup, realizing once again just how ravenously hungry he was. It doesn’t take him long to finish the entire bowl, and he sets it aside. “Thank you... again,” he says, still looking aside.

Serenity moves to sit beside Temperance. “Temperance... what happened? What’s the last thing you remember?”

He sits silently, staring into the empty bowl in front of him. “I... I was sitting here, writing something. Then... I had an unbearable headache... then...” He raises a forehoof to his forehead. She’d never believe what happened after that.

“Then?” Serenity watches him expectantly.

He shuts his eyes, keeping his hoof against his head. “I... I’m not sure myself. It’s hazy.” He pauses. “I... thought I saw a vision of Amug. She was speaking to me, asking me to gather stone and a gem. She said she’d show me something when I did.” He slowly shakes his head again. She probably thought he was insane.

“But it wasn’t her,” he goes on. “She... she showed me something horrible. I’ll... save you the details... but... I saw everypony fighting each other. Including myself...”

“Why were you fighting? Do you remember?”

He shakes his head. “No. No, she didn’t say, and I only saw it as it was happening. Everypony looked so angry.” He recalls the wild-eyed hateful expression on his own face. “It was as if they weren’t themselves. Fighting and killing each other... and I have no idea why.”

Serenity sighs. “Well, the only thing I can tell you is that nopony here has done anything of the sort. It was all in your mind. The part involving Amug...”

He nods slowly. Just seeing her alive was proof enough of that. “Yes... Amug. As I said, it wasn’t really her. It was something else... she changed into a giant monster of some sort.” He blinks a few times, trying to visualize it. “She then told me what I’d seen was a warning. ‘For you and all of your kind’, she said.” He moves his hoof in a small circle to signify the gears he made, and adds, “And the thing I made, the image on it... that was supposed to be a reminder.”

“I...” Serenity starts. “I’m not sure what to tell you about that. Normally, I’d tell you it was nothing more than a semi-coherent product of your unconscious mind, but... I saw the device you made. The way your hooves moved with... otherworldly precision. I just... I think this is beyond my area of expertise.”

He sighs and nods. “I was afraid you would say something like that. This is well beyond my area of expertise too.” He shuts his eyes again. “I wish my mother was here. Or another priest. Maybe they would have some idea...”

“I’ve never been a particularly religious mare myself. My instinct tells me this is most likely some kind of powerful mind control magic, but from a mundane source. Do you know if any of the recent migrants are skilled magicians?”

“No... no, we haven’t had any unicorns arrive since the time you got here. I don’t think any of those who are here now would do something like this.” He makes a weak snort. “I don’t even know if such a thing is possible with magic...”

“Well,” she sighs, “Could you send for a priest from Coupledye, in case this happens again?” The very idea of trusting in such superstition left a bitter taste in Serenity’s mouth, but she saw no other real alternative.

He thinks silently for a few moments and nods. “Yes, perhaps that is for the best. I’ll send a letter with the caravan. I don’t know what else to do.” He runs his hoof through his mane and shakes his head. “Maybe I’m just losing my mind...” he says in a quiet voice.

Serenity shakes her head. “No. You don’t sound like a pony losing his mind.”

He makes a small snort again. That was something at least. He just sighs again, and says nothing, staring down into his desk. He was surprisingly not tired, which was probably just as well since he doubted he could sleep even if he was tired. This was going to be a long few days ahead.

and

There’s an ominous -thud- -thud- -thud- at the door of the clinic. The knocking sounds louder than any sound a mere pony can manage.

Examining one of his scalpels, Case Study is a bit disgruntled at the amount of rust it has garnered. It simply will not do to use such an instrument on a patient. As he thinks about obtaining a replacement, his pointed ears alert him to an immediate presence at the door. Sounds urgent. In response, he places the cutting device down on his table and calls aloud, “Yes? Please come in.”

The door creak open, and Case Study sees a huge mass of . . . what seem to be feathers trying to shove it’s way through. Finally, a griffon, a full two feet taller than him, rears his head. He puffs out his wings.

“Dang, these doors really are made for ponies, aren’t they?” the griffon says, a little claustrophobic in these spaces.

Lowering his chin as he raises an eyebrow, the pale blue stallion is perplexed by what stands before him. He had heard of no griffons being members of Duskfields. Perhaps he was part of a caravan that had recently arrived? Regardless of his origins, there must have been some reason that he was here, so Case gave a straightforward, albeit confused, response, “...may I help you, sir?”

Max looked the pony up and down, and gave a wry smile. “Hey there. Maxwell, “ He extends a claw out for a hoofshake. “Crashed through a brick wall in Temperance's office twelve minutes ago, became Duskfields latest carpenter in the last six. . . It’s been a busy day.”

“...I see, Mr. Maxwell,” Case slowly reached out to accept the greeting. He didn’t really understand, but he figured that the details would come out soon enough, “So, ramming through mortar with your body? I think I can deduce that you are here with blunt force trauma of some type?”

Max shrugs and closes his eyes. “Yeah, that would be the reason. Momma always said I had tough skin, but it never hurts ta’ double check.” He turns his head to the side and trains a single eye on the the pony. “ You do know you to treat a griffon, right? Last pony doctor I had, rooted around me clueless! ”

No, the doctor had never treated anything other than equines in his life, “Your species is not my specialty, but some aspects of physiology are universal. If you are able to move around unhindered, then I’m doubtful that you have broken any bones. Are you in any pain at all?” Case gets out of his chair and prepares for a simple examination.

The griffon shuffled his big blue eye over him up and down again. “Yeah, alright.” He says dismissively. “ I don’t know, I have a feeling about you. You know what you’re doing. “ He glances up at the ceiling. “My chest is in a little pain.” He glances back down, knowing that's a bit of a lie. “Actually, in a lotta pain.” He ugghs “ It’s just. . . first impressions . . “

“I’ll do my best, that much I can assure you. By the way, you may address me as Case Study,” the earth pony answers as he takes a first look over the griffon’s integument. No signs of blood so far as his red eyes can see. “Pain in your chest?...wait...first impressions...was that a bit of humor?”

Max chuckles “ Yeah, it was a bad attempt at it. I guess my humor bone is broken for sure, then. Strike that one of the diagnosis board!” He gets back down to business. "But seriously, It feels like I just rammed through a brick wall.”

“Oh, well, good to know,” chest pains could have been an indication of a serious injury, so a lack of such an ailment was relieving, “I believe that is self-evident, Mr. Maxwell. I don’t believe, however, that you have any serious injuries. Bruising is most likely the extent of your grievances. That will heal on its on in time. I’m giving you the pass for now.” The blue pony steps back, “If any symptoms worsen, or new ones come about, report back to me.” He paces a bit, “So, how did you come upon our settlement again? Are you a trader? Perhaps here with others?”

Max quirks a brow. “Came upon you? It’s the other way around to be honest. I fly through the valley every once and awhile on my way back to the cave. This time? A building was there.”

“...I hope you don’t mean to imply that this land is your territory. That would be a rather large mistake on our part if it is. Since you know the name of Temperance, can I assume that you have spoken with him?” Case was curious to see where this was going.

Max looks as if he’s been accused of something. “No, no, one griffon doesn't exactly constitute as a nation with borders, I can’t really do anything but help or get out of the way. . . that doesn't bother me. It’s about time something happened around here. “ He cocks his head, agitated. “ It’s just if you’re going to build something over night, some neon orange signs would be helpful! Some magic flares, perhaps?”

The doctor cleared his throat, “I’m afraid the decor of this place isn’t up to me. If you have any suggestions or complaints about the design of Duskfields, I would suggest consulting Mr. Temperance or one of the carpenters. Speaking of which, didn’t you say earlier that you were going to be joining us as a carpenter yourself?”

“Yeah. Why not? It sounds fun.” The griffon says enthusiastically. “Helping others is the the only way to truly help yourself. That’s a proverb from somewhere. If it’s not? It should be.” He laughs. “You know what i’m talking about probably more than most, Doc.”

“If you do have intentions of aiding us, then I am sure we will be grateful. Some ponies, such as Ms. Holly and Ms. Block, are often short-hoofed on help. Not that having an extra worker of the wood won’t be valuable as well.”

Max nods. “I’ll get the job done.” Max’s wings shift around, and he looks at Case study with a shrewd look. “So ,I’ve told you why I’m in the middle of nowhere. Can you return the favor? I may be overstepping here, but i’m rather curious. What is a colony of ponies doing way out here?”

“Our main objective, as I am told, is to farm the land,” Case explains, “We are on a mission from Coupledye to exploit the natural resources present here. So far, our ventures have been successful. We have had some setbacks in the form of pests and thieves, but nothing we weren’t able to overcome. My personal role here is fairly self-evident.”

“hmm . . . ‘exploit’ the land, that’s a rather severe, alarming way to phrase it.” Max looks at him quizzically. “I think you mean harvest the land?” Max hoped that was the case.

“If you wish to state it as such, yes, that would be accurate,” Case begins rubbing one of his temples, “Would you excuse me for a moment?” Trotting back over to his desk, he opens one of the drawers and pulls out a leafless, green stem. After biting a segment of it off, the equine begins chewing it. He pauses for a minute, “Migraine treatment.” He continues, “I hope I haven’t put a sour taste in your mouth with my explanation of our workings.”

“Ah, migraines. Painful little annoyances, aren’t they?” Max nods his head in a negatory. “Not at all. Temperance asked for a wall, and he’s going to get a wall.”

“That they are,” he answers between a chew, “If Mr. Temperance is putting you to work already, I imagine he must trust you. Welcome aboard our meager settlement, Mr. Maxwell.”

Max is overcome with modesty. “What can I say? I guess I just have one of those trustworthy faces.” He looks nervous though. “I just hope every pony here feels the same as you and Temperance. I can’t imagine why not, but I also cannot deny have been on a long sabbatical. If the griffons in general did something feather brained to the pegusai while i’ve been gone, well, I wouldn't be surprised.” He shrugs. “I can hope, though.”

He slowly taps his forehooves together as he sits at his desk once more, “I also would not be surprised if some of the others here don’t take to trusting you so quickly. We are quite a varied group. I doubt any such tensions will be insurmountable, however.”

“Guess I should get to winin’ hearts and minds, then.” He takes a look at his claws as he says it. “So? Clean bill of health? Bruising is minor?” He sighs. “No rectal examination necessary?”

“Ahem, no, that would not be necessary,” Case groans slightly, “You’re free to go now.”

He grins. “Right, Humor bone’s still broken.” He points at his forearm with a claw. “ Thank you for the time and consideration, Doc.” Max heads towards the door. Well, no news is good news, he assured himself. And not just with the exam. Case study didn't shut him out immediately when he asked what he was doing here, and the purpose seems relatively benign. He didn't seem to believe the griffons were causing trouble either. First time for everything, he assumed.

After the door is shut, Case puts a hoof to his grinning lips and tries to stifle a chuckle. “Rectal exam,” he thinks aloud.

and

Cream Puff keeps chuckling as she makes lunch for Praetorian, and soon presents him with a nice ratatouille and fresh bread. “Here you go, Hun!”

“Thank you, Cream Puff,” says Praetorian as he takes the food. “This looks good, as always.”

“Thanks, Praetorian. So...” she says as she sits at a chair across from him. “...how’d the date go? You two enjoy some nice snuggling under the stars?”

“Yes... it was very peaceful,” Praetorian says, smiling stupidly as he remembers that night. “She’s a beautiful mare, Cream Puff- er, not to say that you aren’t, as well.”

She chuckles and rolls her eyes at him. “Smooth as always, Tor.”

“It’s... I don’t know how to explain it, but it was entrancing, I suppose. I don’t have the words to explain it fully, but...” He shakes his head in bemusement. “You know what I’m talking about, yes?”

“Not first-hoof, but I have a good imagination.” She smiles wistfully as she pictures Tor and Maize enjoying a chaste and loving snuggle under a starry sky, and sighs. “So, what are you gonna do for the next date?”

“I... I don’t really know. Uh, what was the sigh for?” says Praetorian.

Puff ignores the question. “What do you mean you don’t know?”

“I don’t know what to do, really,” he says with a shrug. “I’m not really... well, experienced with dating. Or relationships. And you still haven’t answered my question.”

She keeps ignoring it. “Oh come on! You just need to do something romantic that she’ll enjoy! Think, stallion!”

“Uh... A candlelit dinner? I don’t know.”

“Hmm... a bit too formal for a second date. Think more relaxed.”

Praetorian waves his hooves in the air. “I don’t know! This is all of the second relationship I’ve been in. And the first one didn’t go so well, remember! And you’ve still not answered my question!”

“It’s too bad we don’t have a theater for you to take her to a play or something...”

“Come on, you’ve avoided the question. What was that sigh for?”

She rolls her eyes at him again. “It’s not important. What is important is figuring out what to do for your next date!”

“I think it’s important to you. You’re my friend, Cream Puff.”

She sighs again. “I sighed because you two are so great together, and I don’t have anypony to be with, so I have to live vicariously through you two, ok?”

Praetorian slowly, and carefully, puts the plates of food down. “Cream Puff,” he says, “you are my friend,” before wrapping her in a bear hug. “If there is anything I can do for you, you know you have merely to ask.”

She smiles and hugs him back for a few moments before pushing out of it. “I know, you big lug. So just be a good stallion for Maize, ok?”

“...Heh, I’ll try. If it wasn’t for you, though...”

“Aw, lay off it, Tor. I’m just glad to see you two happy together. So, what should you do for your second date? Maybe a sunset together?”

“That sounds like a good idea,” agrees Praetorian.

“Of course it is! I thought of it!” Puff spreads her wings in pride and poses for a few moments, then laughs at herself.

“There’s that,” agreed Praetorian. Well, time to see who of my former comrades are single…

Realize this is a journal, I am just hooking it up with the scene upcoming as they are in the same post.

22nd Timber, 269

2nd Moonstone, 269

19th Moonstone, 269

Today we finally got a tavern set up. It's a quaint little place, but spose' it serves it's purpose.

6th Obsidian

8th Obsidian

13th Obsidian

and

Temperance lets out a long, frustrated breath as he begins scouring the settlement for Redhat. If it wasn’t something about him slowing work down at the trench, it was something about a dog he had. It seemed this pony was going to be giving him a bit more work to do than the others, for whatever reason. Maybe once he found him, they’d be able to set this matter straight and he both could get back to more productive matters.

The pegasus in question was currently sitting behind the tavern with a old looking book with the symbols “свят атлас”as it’s title in his hooves. It seemed to have been quite a fine looking book, probably would have been expensive if age had not decayed it ever so slightly. Also Redhat’s dog was there as well, and currently asleep next to him. When The pegasus saw the “management” walking towards him, he rose the book ever so slightly, just to cover his face.

There were only so many places a pony could hide here, thankfully, so tracking Redhat down hadn’t taken too long. Temperance swallows his reservations and steps forward, noting the dog that he’d received the complaint about. “Excuse me, Redhat? Could you give me a minute of your time?”

He “ughed” and lowered the book. “What is it? I’ll inform you right now that if I did anything it was that way when I got there.”

Temperance rolls his eyes and shakes his head. “No, no, nothing like that. I, uh, actually needed to talk to you about your, uh, dog,” he says, nodding his head in the direction of the sleeping animal.

“And, what’s wrong with it?” He said as he flipped a page of his book, not paying Temperance much mind. His free hoof went down and petted the “dog’s” back.

“Well, to be frank, a few ponies are afraid of it. They’re telling me that it’s actually a wolf or something,” he says, looking at the creature a bit more closely. It was certainly starting to look like that little rumor might be true. “And if that’s the case, it might be dangerous.”

“I can assure you this animal won’t exactly be chasing down foals.” He kept petting it’s back. “I honestly find it offensive you’d assume my pet to be a danger to the mutual safety of this town.” A soft whimper was heard from the furry critter. “I’ll have you know I make my personal safety my highest priority.”

Temperance frowns. “I know you trust it, and I don’t think it would hurt anypony, especially you, but there are others who are concerned.” He sighs. “Where did you get it? Is it a wolf, or just a dog?’

“Why yes, she’s a wolf. Your point?” At this point the rather fluffy dog started to get up from it’s little nap on the ground and walked toward Temperance.

Temperance takes a step back at first, having never been a dog pony in the first place, but most certainly not a wolf pony. She didn’t seem too aggressive, at least. “Well, we do have a lot of livestock about and all. The chickens and sheep, especially. You know what wolves can do to animals like that.”

He rolled his eyes. “Yes, so can Cream Puff.” The wolf kept advancing and gave him a less than menacing nuzzled to his foreleg. “Hmmm... seems Bonnet likes you.” The dog had a rather fluffy white coat. It certainly was quite large too, much bigger than the local stock for sure. It’s eyes were odd as well one being blue and the other being brown.

Temperance examines the ‘dog’ for a few moments before nervously patting her with a hoof. “Yes... I suppose so. Still... she’s not a domesticated dog,” he says. There wasn’t really a great answer to this. What, was he going to force Redhat to get rid of it? “Look... based on what I’m seeing, I don’t think she’ll hurt anything. I’ll tell the others that I’ve looked into it.” He keeps looking down at Bonnet. “But, if anything does happen... you’ll be responsible, alright?” He prayed if anything did happen, it wouldn’t be something like Cumulus getting bitten...

“Trust me, Bonnet would never do that.” He looked down at the wolf again, which by now was licking playfully at Temperance. “I’d have to either give her the order or lets say... somepony kicked her for no real reason, and if somepony does kick her i’m assuming she’s got the right to self defense.”

“I certainly wouldn’t let somepony hurting her for no reason go unpunished,” Temperance says, half answering the question. “But, I’ll trust what you say for now. Don’t worry about her, as long as she doesn’t bother anypony, I’ll see to it that nopony bothers her or you about it.”

“Good, good” he closed his book. “I’d hate for this to be that big of an issue.” He then sighed and looked him in the eyes. “Also, I suppose a thank you in order for not forcing me to give up my pet.”

“You’re welcome,” Temperance replies, finally letting a small smile show. “I’d rather not cause more of a fuss than necessary. Anyway, I’ve bothered you enough, I’ll leave you two alone.”

Party Time!

Wood Chip tapped his hoof on the ground. Frankly, he was not the most patient pony.

And there should be ponies here by now.

And the door gets kicked open, “YOLO, BITCHES! I BROUGHT THE BOOZE!” Redhat was standing in the door frame with a keg of ale and a red baseball cap on backwards. “Um...” he noticed the single stallion on the other side of the room. “Well... isn’t this quite a quant sausage fest...”

Crosshair was just about to land behind Redhat to go in for the party, and stopped herself mid-flight. and landed a small distance away. Tilting her head slightly at the pony with a red hat and a keg of ale. Something about him bothered and annoyed her, and she don’t know why.. But at least he’s got Ale! Plus Flamberge did promise he’ll catch up soon. She trots up over to the door and offer Redhat a smile, “Evening, Soldier!”

Redhat turned turned around, seeing another pegasi, “Why, hello there.”

With that, Crosshair moved into the Tavern, having to nudge Redhat out of the way a little as she went in to look around, seeing that there’s not that many ponies here yet. “So.. are we early or is everyone late?”

As if on cue, Temperance cracks the door to the tavern and pokes his head in. “Ah, hello everypony, sorry that I’m a bit late. I got held up a bit.” He steps inside and gives them a small smile. “I hope I haven’t missed too much.”

Crosshair gave him a smiling salute. “Looks like you’re fine, Sir!”

He nods and returns her smile. “Yes, looks that way.”

Coming in shortly after Temperance came Flamberge, he looked around, dismayed to see the crowd was as it was, "Evening Temperance," he says as he passes him as he makes his way toward Crosshair. "Evening Captain," he says with a grin, "Cream Puff said she'd be a bit late, lots of dishes to finish up in the kitchen," he adds.

Crosshair returned the grin as she beamed brightly “Evening Commander! and yes, I’ve heard. I hope she’ll make it here in time though, wouldn’t want her to miss this out.”

Temperance nods to Flamberge as he steps past, “Evening commander.” He leaves the two soldiers to talk with each other as he finds a comfortable place to get settled inside.

Redhat walked over and left a the keg down on the table. “Well looks like ponies are finally showing...” he then noticed Temperance, “Hello there.”

Temperance smiles at Redhat. “Hello. I don’t think we’ve spoken in a while. Everything going alright?”

“Well, fine as could be I suppose,” he took a seat, “I guess I could be a lot worse, how are you holding up?”

“That’s good, I’m sure militia life is a bit rough at times.” Temperance thinks a moment on how to answer the question, and settles for, “I suppose I’m about the same. Doing well enough anyway.”

“Good good...as long as you aren’t spending a few days in a workshop making a pretty kog i’m sure you’ll be quite fine.”

Temperance rolls his eyes and makes a small chuckle. “Indeed.”

SmoothBlock trotted in, “Hey! I heard there was boozes?”

“There’s a keg over here,” said Redhat, “Pardon me for a moment, Temperance.”

SmoothBlock got herself a mug and filled it, she took a long pull of ale and then went to find a seat and light her pigtail cigar, “Ahhhh, that’s how you end the day.” She smiled and leaned back on her haunch.

Crosshair went over to the keg as well to fill a couple of mugs with ale before returning to her commander, offering him one.

Flamberge accepts the mug, “Thanks Crosshair,” he says before taking a long drink from the mug, which he follows with kissing her on the cheek.

That made the small mare giggles and blush faintly as she takes a drink from her mug as well, already enjoying the party as is as the two militia ponies chats away.

“Smothblock... you seem rather relaxed there,” said Redhat as he took a sip of ale.

“Yeah, it’s after work, I got a cigar, and an ale, life is good.” Smooth took another deep drag.

“Well, I suppose,” he shrugged. “Still, those two things can end up killing you.”

“So can a rock to the head, what’s your point?” SmoothBlock blew out a smoke-ring.

“Nothing...”

“Thrilling conversation, as alway, Red.” SmoothBlock quaffed her Ale.

“Well then...” he sighed and just started to walk off, “I can assure you I had no intention of offending somepony as high class as yourself.”

“Glad you understand our social standing.” SmoothBlock burped loudly and scratched her belly.

“I’ll be on my way then.” He walked off, and as if by chance, his tail knocked her cup of booze over. “Oh... how rude of me.”

Smooth caught the ale in her magic and finished the mug, “No problem at all, short stack.”

“Oh right, you have that glowing growth on your head...” the pony keeps walking off, “Try not to choke on that stuff.”

SmoothBlock suddenly falls on the floor and rolls around making hacking and wheezing noises.

The door to the tavern opens, slowly and quietly, as Praetorian tries to make his way in unnoticed. He surveys the room, looking for the shortest path to the most food with the least ponies.

SmoothBlock began to ham it up even more, taking massive gasping breaths, and dramatically flailing her hooves.

Redhat sneaks away as best he could, hoping somepony else would take the would be actress to the med’s office.

Praetorian, taking advantage of the distraction, finds a table, and grabs a pair of plates, picking up two supplies of appetising looking food, and tries to discretely back out of the tavern again.

Mere feet from the door, Praetorian bumps into somepony, who voices her displeasure with an annoyed squeak.

“Blo-Oh, Serenity. Excuse me, miss,” he apologises. “Just in the middle of something. Didn’t see you there.”

Serenity manages to regain her balance without falling. “N-No, it’s quite alright... Praetorian, is it?”

“Yes, that’s me,” confirms the stallion. “Have we met?”

“No, just a guess on my part. Maize and I were just talking about you.”

“Oh, really?” asks Praetorian, somewhat surprised. “...what about?”

“She mentioned that you two were in a relationship, and that you were on a date tonight. I was... well, surprised, to say the least.”

“...What do you mean, surprised?” he asks. “Is there any reason we shouldn’t be in a relationship?”

Serenity shakes her head. “No, nothing like that. It’s just surprising to see how much she’s improved since I met her.”

“Improved? What do you mean?” asks Praetorian.

Serenity sighs. “When I first met her, Maize had serious social anxiety, to the point that she would sleep out in the fields just to avoid having to speak to other ponies. She’s opened up quite a bit since then, and made a few friends.”

“I knew she was shy, but she wasn’t that shy that she’s changed, surely? Just a little depressed. She’s still the same pony she always was.”

Serenity nods. “It was enough to make Temperance concerned for her wellbeing, so he asked me to speak to her. And during our sessions, there have been... hints of other, much deeper things.”

Praetorian’s eyes narrow. “What do you mean?”

Serenity looks away. “...It’s not something I should really discuss without her consent. I’ve probably said too much already.”

“Did someone hurt her? Did something happen to her?” repeats Praetorian.

Serenity sighs. At this point, confidentiality was already out the window. “I... am not sure. Whenever the subject comes up, she becomes very agitated. There’s a lot of anguish over... something. If only she would tell me, then maybe I could help...”

Praetorian breathes deeply, then says, forcing his voice to remain calm. “If you find out somepony hurt her...I’ll make sure they never hurt her, or any other pony, ever again.”

Serenity finds the soldier’s tone just a bit... unsettling. It doesn’t sound like he’d ever do anything to hurt Maize, but still... “...I’ll see what I can learn.”

“...Dammit, no. I shouldn’t be prying anyway. Just... Just help her, dammit. You know better than me.”

“I will. I’ll be seeing her again in a few days.” Serenity glances towards a table laden with food. “Well, if you don’t mind, I think I’ll get my dinner and head back to the office.”

“Yes... And I should rejoin Maize.”

Serenity manages a smile. “Of course. Have a pleasant evening.”

“And you, Serenity.”

Case Study had now arrived as well. He wasn’t sure how to begin this affair. Perhaps it would be best if he simply waited for another pony to start a conversation with him. Alternatively, maybe he could jump into a discussion about something relevant to his interests. If nopony wished to speak with him, that was okay as well, he thought. First things first, so Case heads over to look at what selection of foods were available.

Praetorian, still turned towards Serenity as he says farewell to her, turns and just stops short of bumping into the town’s doc, who has just entered the tavern. “Evening, doc. How’s things?”

“This night? So far so good,” he acknowledged, “I can surmise that you are doing well yourself, judging by appearances at least.” He notices the two plates that the soldier is carrying, “I see the sustenance supplied to us this night is of good quality. I believe Maize made mention of you as I was coming in.”

“Ah, you spoke with Maize? She’s a beautiful and intelligent mare, though a little shy.” Praetorian smiles a little, and shrugs. “Well, I’ve never been that social myself. And yes, the food looks to be good, as it usually is. Have you had any...well, favourite meals, here at least?”

The blue pony was beginning to piece together that Praetorian and Maize were now a couple, but he didn’t feel like asking. He did not wish to cause any embarrassment in the case that they did not yet wish to acknowledge it publicly. “Yes, I have to admit that the majority of the food I’ve partaken of since my arrival has been quite satisfactory. I find the tomatoes of special note.” As long as it wasn’t in the form of juice on a sandwich, that is.

“Yes. It’s a change to the way things were on the march,” says Praetorian with a smile again on his face, “and not a bad one. Didn’t have much out there to eat except bread and a bit of dried fruit. I expect things were different where you were from, yes?”

“Hmm, I believe you could say so. In Coupledye, there was more variety than that. Although I do expect that when one is in a military position that non-perishable food items become the wiser choice to carry with you.” Case recalled having eaten dehydrated fruit before and finding it rather pleasant. “So, what do you like to do when you are not on duty?”

“Well, I can’t say I’ve ever really thought of myself as ‘off-duty’ until recently. Back with the army, there were always things to do, and when there weren’t, occasionally some of the stallions would get together and talk a little amongst ourselves, maybe roll the dice a little.” He sighs. “It was... It was sociable, but it wasn’t really the most enlightening of environments, you might say.” The smile pokes up a third time. “But with Maize... And with everypony here, really, well... it’s a change, and it’s definitely for the better.”

Now it certainly seemed that there was something going on between those two, “Ms. Maize...so you and her seem to be good friends now? I apologize if I’ve been holding you up, as I believe she said that she was waiting on you to bring her food?”

“Oh, yes. We’re... well, a little more than friends. She’s... I don’t know how to explain this, but you’re a smart pony... She’s so peaceful, that just being with her...it calms me, it makes me see the good in the world.” Another smile, rueful this time. “And after this much time serving in the military...that’s something I really need.”

He chuckled lightly, “I had suspected as much. I can certainly see how a pony in your position could appreciate a mare like her.”

“It’s... Well, you understand what I mean, at least. And she’s just so innocent, as well.”

The doctor nods, “Indeed. Now what am I doing here keeping you from your dear friend? I’m sure she’s getting hungry. Perhaps you should invite her in? I’m sure Mr. Chips must have invited her as well.”

“She’s... well, she’s not a crowd-seeking pony, to say the least. And she prefers things a little less...noisy. So, we’re having a little private dinner to ourselves. A date.”

A small smirk appeared across the earth pony’s muzzle, “I see. I can understand how that might be preferable when one is involved with another pony.”

“Indeed,” says Praetorian with a hint of humour in his voice. “Speaking of which, I’ve heard that Morning Dew has been seen talking with you a little more often since that appalling attack. Anything to that, or just helping her recover?”

He raises an eyebrow, “If there was anything more to that than mere appearances, I don’t believe that I’ve been made aware of it.” He rubs his chin, “At least I don’t think Ms. Dew has had any such intentions.”

“Ah, more likely then that I’ve been misinformed. Well, doctor, it has been pleasant talking to you, and perhaps we should do so again...but I would hate to keep Maize waiting any longer than I have to.”

“I understand fully. There are probably others I should speak with as well. Good night to you, Mr. Praetorian.”

Praetorian nods to Case Study, and continues on the epic journey to the door.

Praetorian finally makes his way out, to continue the little date.

Temperance eyes the pony sneaking out of the tavern, as well as the overly dramatic display of Smoothblock. He rolls his eyes as the initial alarm of seeing her in the floor wears off, and he moves off to find something to eat himself. Maybe Cream Puff had some of that soup around here somewhere...

Puff finally exits from the back of the tavern and into the party, grumbling a bit about all the dishes. She’s definitely going to need to get some assistants eventually. She waves at the various guests around, then heads for the drinks. She’s not usually much of a drinker, but the parasprites, her anger, depression, confusion... she’s looking forward to getting slobbering drunk.

Crosshair waved happily at her “Puff!” She called, happy and excited to see her friend, trotting over to give her a friendly nuzzle.

Puff gives her a tired smile. “Heya Cross.”

Flamberge sees Crosshair going over to meet Cream Puff, but he stays seated at their table and gestures for them to join him, before taking another sip from his mug.

Wood Chip was in the back, mostly keeping out of the main conversations going on. Not everypony was here, either, but that hardly mattered, considering he was slightly tipsy before he walked in anyway. He knocks a hoof against the bar counter to get the others attention.

Puff waves at Flamberge before turning to get a drink of her own from the bar. When Wood Chip knocks on it, she gives him a curious look as she pours something strong for herself.

“What’s his problem?” Crosshair asked curiously at Wood Chip’s hoof knock. Puff shrugs.

Temperance and Flamberge both look up, separately, at the knocking, but remain silent.

Wood Chips looks at the surprised looks he was getting, and smiled sheepishly.

“Er, everypony? I kinda organized this party, and while it’s a little late, I had a speech about why I invited you all here. But its...okay if none yall want to hear it, it’s late.”

Temperance waves a hoof at him. “No, no, go ahead,” he says with a reassuring smile.

Puff nods at him to continue. It’d be rude to show up and not listen to the pony throwing the shindig, after all.

SmoothBlock stopped her fussing about and lay on her side, propping her chin up with her forehoof.

Wood Chips chuckles, he’s not used to being the center of attention, let alone slightly tipsy.

“Well, most of the ponies here arrived here little more than a year ago to settle in this little grassy hill.”

He looked at Red Hat with some minor amusement, and hopefully others would get a laugh out of that.

“However, after spending a year working at a breakneck speed to get this little place running, I noticed that we never really stopped to talk about what we're trying to do. Now, we know we are trying to build a community like the ones we all came from out of nothing but hard work and effort, but I am under the impression that it’s not a community if a pony cannot sit around and enjoy the fruits of their labors and laugh.”

He paused slightly, taking a little breath. And a shot of whisky. Unicorn magic is great for this sort of stuff.

“And so, I wanted to let us do so. It took me a very long time to work up the nerve to invite all of you, but I am glad that everypony who arrived, and Red Hat, came. Because this little gathering is a celebration for our little fortress thriving. Besides the founders, I want to give a thanks for the military, who I do think deserve this time to wind down and relax. After all, what’s black and white and red all over?”

Realizing what he said, Wood Chip backpeddled clumsly. “It’s a badgerpony, not a zebra!”

“Zebra with a sunburn!” shouts Puff before taking a swig of her drink.

Flamberge shifts in his seat uncomfortably at the badgerpony joke and takes a deep drink from his mug emptying it.

Noticing Flamberge’s general uncomfortablness, Wood Chip slightly panics internally.

“Well, your heart was in the right place, which is more than I can say for the Badger.” SmoothBlock said, recovering her seat. “So how about some more of that whisky!” She held her mug high.

Wood Chips gives her a look that, to other observers in the room, was probably a bit too lidded to be enterly platonic.

“I actually have a little something special saved for something like this.”

Behind the counter, in a little red glow of magic, rises a tall, slim bottle. It was very old, very expensive looking, and furthermore had a great big smiley face imprinted on it’s side.

“This might be the last bottle of cloudberry wine from the town of Cheerfulgrins, my old home. More importantly, this bottle might be one of the last things from my old home left, considering it’s gone now. Long time, too.”

Wood Chips frowns, but neverless levitates a few score glasses from behind the counter and sets one in front of each of the guests seated before him. He pauses slightly, as if with guilt.

“Smells strong, I like strong things.” SmoothBlock wiggled her eyebrows.

Temperance isn’t quite sure what to do. He doesn’t drink, but he doesn’t want to look ungrateful.

“Out with the old and in with the new, as they say. A toast for our fair town?”

Woodchip takes a long look at the smily face on the bottle, perhaps too long of a look, but neverless uncorks it fully with little flourish and pours a gulp of the white-yellow brew into each of the glasses, with himself being last.

SmoothBlock picked up her glass and sampled the bouquet

Crosshair waited for everypony to have their glasses, and once they do, she wait for the cheer so that all will be downed together.

Puff lifts her glass as well.

Flamberge takes his glass, examines the liquid and then raises it as well.

Temperance sniffs the liquid and makes a nervous smile. He lifts the glass, not at all looking forward to what was about to happen.

“Cheers!” SmoothBlock raised her glass in her magic.

Wood Chip tries and fails to get a good look at everypony in the room, because his eyes stopped around the general area of Smoothblock.

“For Duskfields and it’s future!”

He takes a gulp. It tastes like honey and..something. It might have been what liquid rainbow tasted like if you removed the spicy.

It tasted like home.

This was when everypony was supposed to take a drink, right? Temperance reluctantly downs the alcohol, but finds it shockingly tolerable. It tasted very good actually... wasn’t everything alcoholic supposed to taste horrific?

SmoothBlock tossed her head back and let the honey like drink slide down her throat. She let out an “Ahh!” and smiled “tasty stuff Chips.”

Puff downs hers as well and licks her lips. “Mmm, a good year, definitely.”

Wood Chip smiles sadly. “It was the last one. For that wine, anyway.”

“It was real good, Chips.” SmoothBlock licked her lips and smiled, putting the empty glass on the end of her horn.

The toast apparently finished, Puff and Cross head to join Flamberge at his table.

“Evenin’ Puff,” says Flamberge, who is clearly more than a little tipsy, as she approaches the table, “How are t’ings?”

“Things are far too lucid for my tastes right now.” she says before taking a large swig of her drink.

Crosshair took a swig of her drink as well, placing her mug down on the table “something troubling you?”

Flamberge imagined he knew what was troubling Puff, but this was a party, she shouldn’t dwell on such things, or so he thought, “Aye Puff, just have a drink and relax, it’s a party, lets just try and have a good time, alright?”

“Lots of stuff, Cross. But, like ‘Berge said, it’s a party. I intend to drink until I am unable. And then maybe drink a bit more.” She gives the two a small smile and downs the rest of her mug.

The three spend a while longer drinking, until Crosshair got up from the table, a little more than just tipsy. “I’ll.. I’ll be right back, drank too much” she said with a little hiccup as she stumbled her way out the door.

Puff waves a wobbly wing in the general direction of Cross as she goes, feeling far too drunk to actually raise her head from the table. “She’s a lu-hic!-lucky mare, ‘Berge.”

Flamberge starts to shake his head, then stops when he almost loses his balance, “Nah, shees naht as lucky as me, tah have a filly like ‘er,.” he replies as he watches Crosshair leave, “or...or a friend like ‘ou,” he adds touching a hoof to Cream Puff’s withers.

Puff smiles a bit and takes another long drink. “She gets you all to hershelf! Tall dark and handsome ‘Berge!” She waves her mug around in emphasis, avoiding slinging booze everywhere only because it’s empty.

"You sound jealouss." states Flamberge, his hoof still not having moved from it's position on her withers, “Surely a, beauootful, mare like 'ou could have any stallion she wanted."

Puff slumps and pouts at her empty mug. “Nope...”

Flamberge shoots closer to Cream Puff and puts a foreleg around her, "'Ey, wots wrong Creamy." he asks.

“My glasssss... is empty. And nopony likes me.”

Flamberge pours his only half finished drink into Cream Puff’s glass and says, "Nah, neither... neither of those t'ings is true. I like 'ou plenty."

Puff downs her mug, not caring where the drink came from. She wobbles as she looks at the three Flamberges with their legs over her withers, and slowly homes in on the middle one. “No ya don’t...”

"If..if'n I didn' like 'ou den, why'd I stay with 'ou all night when 'ou was sad? An...an why am I here, tryin' to 'elp 'ou now?" Flamberge says, the alcohol pickling his brain even as he speaks.

Puff’s lip trembles as tears start to well up in her eyes. “Cuz you feel shorry for me!”

"Nah, Puff, I...I just want 'ou to be 'appy." says Flamberge, "You're my friend, an I don' like seeing my friends sad."

Puff looks away from him for a few moments, all three of him. After a few hicups, she turns back and grabs his head to steady herself before planting a big sloppy kiss on his lips.

Flamberge is caught totally by surprise by this, but does not pull away.

Like a cruel god playing jokes on them, Crosshair stumble her way back to the party, only to be halt right at where she is from what she’s seeing. The view of her stallion and her best friend kissing stunned her, She stood there for almost a minute, jaw dropped in disbelief as her brain slowly register what’s going on. Finally, after she decide that she’ve seen enough, she just turned the other way and Ran. Ran as fastest as she could drunkenly can.

Cream Puff’s liver finally wins it’s bid to shut down all higher functions so it can clean up this mess, and so she passes out against Flamberge.

Flamberge in his drunken stupor doesn't notice Crosshair's return and subsequent exit. Looking down at the passed out mare, he thinks hard about what to do for a moment. Then lifts her up onto his back. Goes to the bar, and gets a big glass of water, downs it, then gets another which he takes with him as he exits the tavern.

[Flamberge and Crosshair will be continued in a separate scene.]

Temperance watches as everypony around him starts to get a bit too drunk for his tastes. That was usually around the time that the fun stopped at parties, so he stands and bids everypony farewell. It was nice of Wood Chips to get everypony together, and it was nice to see everypony in good spirits, but he just couldn’t really partake very much in things with the direction they were headed. He had a lot to get done anyway...

Mystery, Sweat and Blood, Thievery.

Temperance's Journal - 4th Granite, 270

Well, today was looking to be a pretty boring day, until I had a griffonblunder his way throughthe wall of my office less than an hour ago. He wasn't hurt, thank goodness, but of course both of us were a bit shaken up.

After I talked to him a bit, he told me his name was Max and that he lives alone out here. Or, somewhere close by anyway. I tried to tell him that the damage wasn't that bad and that we could get it patched up, since there wasn't any way for him to literally repay us. He insisted that he be allowed to help make amends by fixing it himself though, which I reluctantly agreed to.

I certainly don't mind the extra help, but I know next to nothing about him, and while I hate to be distrustful, it's hard to just accept a stranger and put him to work like this. I don't think the griffons would send a spy or anything, but he could be a thief looking at an easy way in. Right now though, he's getting looked at by Case Study, although he didn't seem to be too badly hurt.

Well, in the morning I'll tell Flamberge about it. If he thinks it's too big of a security risk I'll have to break the news to our new friend I suppose.

6th Granite, 270

I had Smoothblock come to me this afternoon, complaining that Redhat wasn't doing much but slowing her down in regards to digging the ditch. He's a militia pony and not a miner of any sort, so that's not surprising, but she was pretty clear that something had to be done. So, I went to go find Praetorian to figure out what else the stallion could do. He didn't like Smoothblock's suggestion for him to help Holly cut trees, and instead said he'd get him to dig some latrines. That works for me, and if it keeps him out of Smoothblock's mane I'm fine with it.

Praetorian didn't seem too thrilled for me to interrupt him, actually. I found him and Maize curled up out in the fields sleeping, which I must admit was about the last place I expected to find him. Well, he might not have been thrilled to see me, but I was thrilled to see them. I'm no expert on these matters, but it seems pretty obvious to me that he and Maize are more than just friends. I was really worried about the mare, but knowing that she's making friends, and especially a friend like this, really eases my mind.

Speaking of Holly though, I've noticed that she seems to be spending more and more time out in the woods and away from everypony. She didn't come to Wood Chips' party either. I should probably go check up on her some time soon. I don't want her feeling like she's not part of the community. Or if anything else is wrong, I need to know. Dr. Serenity may have more business than I thought she would.

10th Granite, 270

The tavern is officially ready for use! It took forever and ever (and I'm not complaining about the effort put in by the carpenters at all), but it's finally ready.

It's still pretty sparse inside, but we're working on that. I've asked a few of the carpenters to get back to work on building housing since we're still in pretty dire need of that, but there's still a lot of furniture to put together for the tavern. We'll need a lot of tables and chairs, and that's on top of the other things I've got on my list. We're going to be needing more wood…

Speaking of the housing, I think Max is fitting in well with the others. I saw him out on the roofs helping put some planks into place. Come to think of it, he's already helped fix up the wall to my office. Maybe he's just being charitable, but he's repaid his debt. I should flag him down in the morning and let him know he's free to go whenever he's ready.

11th Granite, 270

Well, it wasn't another badger pony, but we had another thief show up today. A diamond dog this time.

Smoothblock was busy removing the access ramps left over from digging the defensive trench when it jumped her. She managed to get away, thank goodness, and Redhat charged off after it.

I'm not sure whether it's a good or bad thing, but it managed to get away before he could catch it. I doubt it would have given him that much trouble, but I'd hate to see anypony else get injured by a thief. I haven't forgotten what happened to Morning Dew. Or Brook or Barley, from Virtue's diary.

14th Granite, 270

I'm scared. I wouldn't admit it in front of everypony, but I'm actually quite frightened. Something mostunsettling happened today.

A discordant pony came.

Nopony knows how she managed it, but she managed to sneak right into the center of town, where everypony could have seen her, and all butgrabbed poor Cumulus right from under our noses. It was only by great fortune Lathe was standing nearby. His frantic shouts alerted the militia, and he managed to distract the discordant pony long enough for them to respond. Bless that stallion for his bravery.

I forgot to take a picture of her unit screen, but that gray 'p' is our little intruder. I hope the militia are quick!

Redhat was the first to respond, and he admirably charged straight into the fight with nothing but his spear. I think Praetorian may have misjudged him. He was very brave, and if he had been a bit more lucky he'd have struck her down himself. As it turned out he managed to get a decisive blow in with his spear, but her retaliatory strike crippled him too much to continue the fight.

By that point, Flamberge and Praetorian were hot on her trail, and wounded as she was she had no hope of escaping. Flamberge was able to fly over the trench she struggled to climb out of, and he caught her well before Praetorian could. The fight was horrifically brutal from what I'm told, but over mercifully quickly at least.

Just as they were finishing the fight, another of those ominous clouds was sweeping nearby. Praetorian had to drag Flamberge away, but the two escaped before they were caught in it. I still doubt there's anything to them, but they give me chills to watch now.

This changes everything. I've only ever heard stories about discordant ponies, but I never thought I'd see one. I only caught a fleeting glimpse while she lived, but even looking at her made me feel uneasy, in a way that you can't explain through just fear. It's impossible to describe, but very real. Even seeing her corpse gave me the jitters, so I promptly asked the soldiers to dispose of it somewhere that we wouldn't see it.

After all of this was over I went to check on little Cumulus and his mother, both of which were understandably shaken up. He was alright though, thank goodness, leaving only Redhat injured with easily treated wounds.

I'm going to go see him and Case Study soon. I want to make sure he's alright, and to congratulate him on his bravery.

Scenes #8

and

Praetorian and Crosshair were having a little sparring session, of sorts. Crosshair was probably using her crossbow as a hammer, and Praetorian was using his shield to block her attacks.

“You know, I really wish we could stick a knife onto my Crossbow and make it some sort of a spear.” She said as she fruitlessly hammering away with her Crossbow. Which probably didn’t do much.

“You’re a fan of spears?” he asks, raising the shield to block the attack.

“Well, More like not a fan of improvised Hammers. At least with a blade it’ll be more useful!” Crosshair grunted again as she whacked away at him, trying to find gaps and holes to whack at with her unrelenting blows, stepping forward each time.

Praetorian yields ground slowly, circling around and positioning himself as best he can to avoid being pushed into a corner. “I suppose that’s true. So how’s Flamberge going?”

“He’s doing fine and strong.” Crosshair whacked at Praetorian’s shield some more, grunting as she kept on pushing “Cream Puff kissed him during the party though, But I suppose she was drunk.”

“Oh,” Praetorian says, and is silent for a few seconds, as they continue the pattern of strike and block. “Well...I suppose it was for the better that I didn’t go to the party, then. Did he tell you, or did you find out?”

“I saw.” She said as it’s her turn to be on the defensive. “Creampuff was pretty drunk though, so I guess I couldn’t blame her. Flamberge /is/ just that amazing, I mean, look at the beard!”

Praetorian smirks. “Just the beard that you’re after, eh?” he says with a smile. “I wonder what it is Maize sees in me. Can’t be the beard, so it’s gotta be something else, hey?”

“well, there’s the discipline too, and other things I’m sure of! and Flamberge’s got much better than his beard, I can tell you that much.” She giggled.

“So then, Flamberge and you had a talk yet about little miss Cream Puff?” Praetorian asks. “I... I didn’t do that back home. And, well, that went appallingly.”

“Well, he said it was just a mistake so I suppose it’s nothing much to talk about.” Crosshair shrugged. “Besides, I don’t think Creampuff even remembers it. Better not talk about it, yeah?”

“Well, I certainly won’t go spreading it around,” he says, and a wry smile comes on his face. “I’d suggest maybe asking somepony for relationship advice, but the only pony I can think of is Cream Puff...” He lowers his face for a second. “I do feel sorry for the mare, though. She seems very...very sad.”

“Mmm.. yeah, I’m worried about her too you know? Really wish she’d find somepony..” Crosshair said with a little nod, not realizing that her friend have already found somepony. Her somepony.

“About the only ponies I can think of in this place are Temperance, and the doc. And I don’t think the doc is much interested in other ponies,” says Praetorian. “So, I suppose that leaves us one option.”

“Oh? What’s that?”

“I think we’ll have to set up a date between her and Temperance,” says Praetorian.

Crosshair giggled some more at that “Well, only if she wanted to! I don’t want to force her onto things, you know? Better for her to choose and follow her own heart, yeah?”

Praetorian laughs as well. “Well, we don’t have to force them into a relationship. Just a little date.”

“Mnm, perhaps. Perhaps. I’ll go talk to her about it though”

“Very well then,” says Praetorian, as they continue their sparring.

and

Puff was relaxing on a tuft of cloud when she heard the screams. Somehow, a discordant had managed to sneak into the center of town! Even worse, she could see one of those strange dust storms slowly rolling in on the horizon. She doesn’t doubt that the military ponies could handle the discordant, but what about Maize? What if there was more than one of those things out there? She heads for the fields as fast as her wings can carry her.

Maize appears to not notice either the cloud or the many ponies around her flipping out. However, she’s pacing uncharacteristically fast through the field, barely avoiding stomping some of her own beloved plants.

Puff swoops down to fly beside her friend, worried she might be panicked or something. “Maize! Come on, we should get somewhere safe!”

“Safe...” Maize turns her head, her eyes glazed over except for her pupils, which look as deep and black as ever, as if some nothing had replaced her very soul. Her lips are curled up into a terrifying rictus grimace. “Nowhere is safe. Not for you. Not for your friends. This is our land, and you are just another trespasser.”

“Holy buck!!” shouts Puff as she almost jumps out of her coat. Maize had said the clouds made her act funny, but this is really bad. Fear is soon replaced by anger at the thought of some otherworldly jerk trying to to take over her friend. “Hey, you leave Maize alone!”

“Leave her alone?” The seemingly possessed body turns and moves toward Puff, pressing its nose against hers. “But I am your beloved Maize. Don’t you recognize me? Did you really think the shallow, insecure little filly you thought was your friend wasn’t hiding something... wonderful?”

“You’re not wonderful, you’re a big fat jerk! And you are not Maize! She’d never talk like that, and she’d never come so close to stomping on the plants! So get out of her!”

“Get out? Get out of my body?” The thing laughs. “You know, I’m almost tempted to, if I could. Your kind’s disgusting blood has tainted it, and it’s so frail and weak now.” It leans in to try and nuzzle Puff. “But yours... it would make a much better vessel.”

Puff wings back a bit, wondering just what has gotten into Maize. “I’m, uh... kinda full of my kind’s disgusting blood.” She pauses, looking nervous. “Would you really leave her alone?”

“It does not matter, really.” The body grits its teeth. “Your dear little friend is stronger than she thinks. She dares to hold me back from His touch.” The head turns its gaze to the red cloud, looming ominously close to the town. “That lovely magic can purify even the most wretched, disgusting pigs blood into the finest, purest drips of life. And yet this stubborn mare will not let me fix her.” It snorts in disgust. “Maybe, though, you could help. End our suffering, and maybe your own. I’m certain you’d be much happier with somepony you could truly love...”

“Give him Hell, Maize! You can sit and spin, you bastard!”

The grim smile turns into an angry frown. “Then you have made your choice. There will be no mercy for you once He finally reaches me. You will see the true power of Discord!” As the red cloud begins to dissipate, Maize’s body writhes, seemingly wracked with pain. It falls to the ground, still as death.

Puff does her best to catch her friend and carefully lay her down. She gently pats her cheek to try and wake her. “Maize? Maize! Can you hear me?”

The meek mare slowly flutters open her eyes and turns them to Cream Puff. “...P-puff? What... what happened? I feel so... tired...”

She sighs in relief and smiles at Maize. “Another red cloud came around.”

“Oh...” The mare slowly rolls onto her feet and tries to stand. “I... I thought I saw F... my father, before I blacked out...”

Puff’s smile fades to a look of concern. “Can you move? I think we should probably head to your room or mine. I, uh... I think I might know what’s going on with those clouds.”

“O-okay.” The mare tests her steadiness on her legs and slowly follows Cream Puff. “What... what did you find out?”

“They are definitely not natural...” Cream Puff doesn’t say anything more until they are in the privacy of Maize’s room.

Maize opens up her door, holding it for Puff. “Go ahead in... make yourself comfy and all that.” The room is spartan, as would be expected of Maize. The only real furnishing beyond the bed and whatever objects Temperance might have seen fit to give her is a potted flower of some sort sitting under the window.

Puff nods a thanks to Maize and closes the door behind her before sitting next to the bed so Maize can sit on it if she wants. “So yeah, those clouds. They’re... apparently big puffs of Discordant magic.”

“D-discordant magic!?” Maize crawls onto the bed and lies down, looking at Puff. She tries to use her hoof to make it clear that she left plenty of space for her friend and wants her to sit on the bed, too.

Puff gives her a small smile before climbing up to lay next to her. “Yeah. I don’t really know what that all entails, but it can’t be good.” She pauses, trying to figure out how to put her next question. How do you go about asking your friend how they got possessed by something?

Maize nods. “But... why does it do this to me... am I the only pony who gets knocked out by it?”

Puff glances around, not really wanting to answer the question. “Well... kinda. You don’t just collapse when those clouds show up. Something... something tries to take you over?”

Maize looks quietly horrified as she tries to think of what could possibly be going on. “But... I... I don’t feel like there’s anything wrong... I mean, I should be able to tell if there’s something else in me... right?”

“I don’t know? You’re apparently winning, at least.”

Maize lays her head down on the pillow. “That... that’s good, I guess... but what happens when I stop winning?”

“Bad stuff? The thing wasn’t too specific.” Puff gently rubs Maize’s withers, trying to comfort her.

“You... talked to it?” Maize’s shoulders tense a bit as Puff touches them, but quickly relax under the soothing rub. “That must have been scary.”

“It was, but I was also pretty mad at it for trying to take you over. Seemed like you have a pretty good handle on it, though. All it could do was pace and talk.”

“Mmm...” Maize looks away. “...What happens when... other ponies find out? Do... do you think Temperance will kick me out... or worse?”

“I... I don’t know? I don’t think he would, though. And even if he does, I’m coming with you. You don’t leave a friend when they need your help.”

Maize looks to Puff, seeming shocked by the statement. Her face soon softens into a big smile, though, as her eyes tear up a little. “Th-thank... you... but you don’t... have to...”

Puff smiles at her in return. “But I will anyway. But I don’t think it’ll come to that, Maize. You don’t have to deal with this on your own any more.”

Maize rolls a bit and wraps her hooves around Cream Puff, giving the mare a weak squeeze and... a peck on the cheek?

Puff takes it as just a friendly gesture and smiles. “You’re gonna be alright?”

“Yeah... I think I’ll take a nap, though. I’m still really tired.” Maize looks at her friend. “You wanna nap too?”

Puff thinks for a few moments, then nods. “I’m not usually one for naps, but one sounds pretty good right about now.”

Maize nods and closes her eyes, a hoof draped over Cream Puff but a little distance between the two, as if Maize was trying to keep it from looking like they were snuggling.

Puff is far less concerned for appearances, and simply gets comfortable. She lays a wing protectively over Maize, wishing she could do more to help her friend with what was happening.

Maize, not feeling like schooling her friend on the apparent importance of appearances, simply snuggles in under the wing and lets herself drift off to sleep.

Meanwhile, back at the cave . . .

Max glides into an unassuming culvert in the side of a mountain north of Duskfields. His claws clatter on the gray stone steps of a camouflaged stairway leading into a dark, wet, and cold passage. He strides up the steps leading into his humble abode. A thick circular stone stands in front of him. The stone has five peculiar holes in the dead center. Max puts his claws in all the way to the palm and grabs the claw holes, opening it like a door knob. The stone pulses with blue magic. The carved slab of granite rolls away, as if weightless.

Inside was a grand gold and onyx hallway with flawless marble pillars. the expansive football field sized hall ends in a colossal, excessive hoard of gold and jewels that could rival the wealth of an entire county. Protruding out of the gold was the massive bones of a full grown dragon. Max yawns mundanely and stretched out over the solid gold throne protruding out of the pile. He spots a vole scratching around the onyx and ivory checkered floor. He picks the morsel up with a claw and had a relatively crunchy snack. With a gross burp, he picks up his book from the gold pile.

The leather book was black and heavy. In silver embroidering the title read ‘How to Cook Four Ponies.’ Max always found the typo ‘four’ instead of ‘for’ humorous about it. Even better, since the book was a reject every single page was blank; It made for an excellent journal. The licked the tip of his quill and prepared to write.

Dear Diary. I have fooled them all. Little did they know this unassuming Griffon would be their harbinger of their doom. Now Duskfields fate has been sealed. Nah, just kidding Diary. Could you imagine though? Anyway. Yeah. We have new neighbors. neighbors that happen to like neighing. I asked around, they are not here for the gold or aware of the cave. They want to plant potatoes outside. That puts my first fear to rest. My second fear is how do I keep it that way? I will think of something, I always do. But for now I guess all I can do is keep an eye around Duskfields and insist this place is just a hole in the ground. Third fear? The third fear is - well, It’ll be fine. I’m sure.

The job is done, the hole is repaired and and I helped out on the project to build the roof as well. The carpenters seems nice enough. Other than an odd stare, Nopony suspects anything out of the ordinary about me.

Max frowns.

Those Discordants sure like to stir up trouble. Hateful, borderline suicidal twisted parodies of the ponies. Makes no sense at all . . . I felt like I should have swooped in and helped, If only I saw what was going on .

Note: Temperance and Wood Chips want to have a talk tomorrow. Also! try some of Cream Puff’s desserts.

Max closes the book, tosses it into the obscene amount of gold behind him and nods off.

Cream Puff paces restlessly outside Serenity’s office. Her appointment is this after noon, but she’s unsure if she has anypony in there already. But she really needs to talk to her. After a few more minutes, she pounds on the door, unable to keep her patience.

Serenity opens the door. “Good afternoon,Cream Puff. You’re right on time.Please, come in.”

She hurries inside, looking a bit haggard. “Oh good, you’re here and I’m not interrupting. I just really needed to talk to somepony and I didn’t know who, then I remembered you’re supposed to know how ponies work, so you’re the best pony to talk to, and it’s really important.”

Serenity quietly takes in everything Cream Puff just rattled off, before gesturing to an empty chair. “...Why don’t you have a seat?”

Puff heeds her advice and sits down, fidgeting constantly.

“Alright...” Serenity takes a seat across from her, “Now. What did you want to talk about?”

“Flamberge! I... I love him!”

“The captain? Isn’t he already in a relationship?”

“Exactly!”

Serenity nods. “I see. So when did you start having these feelings towards him?”

“For... a while, I think. I only actually realized it a day or so ago.”

“And what is it about him that’s so...” she searches for a word. “...bewitching?”

“He’s... a good pony. And handsome. Handsome helps.” Puff blushes only a little as she talks.

Serenity stares at Cream Puff over the tops of her glasses. “Cream Puff, there are a lot of good, handsome stallions here. Temperance. Case Study. Others. There’s something else, isn’t there?”

“He’s strong, and he cares. And he can handle my crap without getting flustered.”

Serenity is silent for a moment, deep in thought. “...Are there any other stallions here you’ve had even a passing interest in?”

“Well, I’m friends with just about everypony, or at least know their names. Not too hard to meet new ponies when almost all the food comes through me. Praetorian is nice, but not my type. And I’d feel even worse about taking a stallion from Maize! Red is rash, hot-headed, stubborn, and a bit of a jerk, definitely not my type. Case Study is nice enough, but I don’t think he wants a relationship. And even if he did, I get the feeling it’d be like dating a book. Temperance isn’t bad, but he’s just so busy. I probably know him least out of all the ponies here.” She sighs. “I just don’t feel that spark with any of them that I do with Flamberge.”

“Then...” Serenity hesitates for a moment. “...what about mares?”

Puff shrugs. “Never really considered mares an option.”

“Well, it isn’t everypony’s cup of tea, but perhaps you might at least consider it, at least until some more eligible stallions come along.”

Puff just gives Serenity a slightly confused look. “...Are you coming onto me, Doc?”

“...What? No, that would be highly inappropriate.”

Puff shrugs again. “Can’t really picture myself with a mare, and I can’t picture myself with anypony as just a temporary thing while waiting for something ‘better’.”

Serenity considers this for a moment. “Why do you feel the need to enter a committed relationship right now?”

“It’s not exactly something I planned! It just... kinda hit me out of nowhere.”

Serenity is silent for a long time, deep in thought. “I... really don’t know what to tell you, other than try to find something or somepony to take your mind off him. If your feelings are that strong, this is going to be very hard for you. But you must accept that you cannot be together.”

“So, what... that’s it? Play the lonely lover from afar, letting the one you love be happy even if it means without you?” Cream Puff sighs. “Being mature sucks... and is lonely.”

Serenity smiles, placing a hoof on her shoulder. “You won’t be alone forever. I believe you’ll find somepony.”

Cream Puff doesn’t look too convinced, but manages a weak smile for her. After all, she’s supposed to be the professional, right?

“Now, if you don’t mind, there’s... something I wanted to ask of you. How much do you know about Praetorian?”

Puff quirks an eyebrow at Serenity. “A decent amount, he’s a good friend. Why?”

“Well,” Serenity begins, “I had a chance to speak to him a few nights ago. Something about him struck me as... odd, particularly when we got on the subject of Maize, but I couldn’t quite put my hoof on it. Now perhaps it’s just me being.... well, perhaps it’s just me. If it isn’t too much trouble, could you keep an eye on him, particularly when he’s with her, and tell me if you see it too?”

“See what? What were you two talking about? Because he’s always been a perfect gentlecolt where I could see.”

“I know, and it’s probably nothing. But could you please do this for me? It would ease my mind, at least.”

Puff gives her an uncertain look. “It’d help if I know what I’m looking for.”

Serenity sighs. “Just... get him on the subject of Maize, particularly her... social anxiety.”

“Social anxiety?” Puff still looks incredulous as she thinks to herself. Sure, Maize is shy, but she can hardly picture Tor getting weird about it. He’s not exactly a paragon of social interaction himself. Unless she means the why behind Maize’s shyness? Puff knows Maize has, or had, issues with her father... oh, there it is. She can see him getting pretty damn angry about that. To be honest, she gets angry when she thinks about that, too. “This wouldn’t happen to have anything to do with Maize’s past, would it?”

“...Yes, it does.”

“Her dad?”

Serenity’s ears prick up. Maize hadn’t said anything to her about her family. “...What about her father?”

Puff face hoofs. “I thought she would have told you...”

She shakes her head. “No. She says very little about her past, and nothing at all about her family. When I start to dig around those subjects, she becomes very distressed. I assumed she had some very traumatic memories... but of what?”

“I don’t know any specifics, but I know her dad treated her horribly, and her mom hardly treated her at all. Praetorian probably knows even more than I do. If you started talking about Maize’s past, I wouldn’t be surprised if he got angry. Protecting ponies is his job! How much more will he want to protect the mare he loves?”

Serenity sighs again - she seems to do that a lot these days. “...Maybe you’re right. Maybe I’m just overreacting.” Cream Puff was absolutely right, of course. She’s a bucking psychiatrist, it should’ve been perfectly obvious to her that Praetorian’s anger was normal and justified. Why would she go and blow something like this out of proportion?

Puff giggles at Serenity. “Over-thinking it, eh?”

Serenity allows herself a soft chuckle of her own, “Yes, I’m guilty of that sometimes.” She smiles at Cream Puff. “But thank you for easing my mind.”

“No problem. And, uh... thanks for your advice. Even if I was hoping to hear something else.”

“Of course, I’m always glad to help. Now I don’t mean to rush you off, but Temperance will be running us both out of here in a few minutes. This is stillhis office, after all.”

and

Serenity sits at her- well, no, Temperance’s desk, carefully transcribing her latest patient’s last session into a large, thick book.

A loud knock at the door was heard, “Hello?”

Serenity looks up. “Yes? Please come in.”

The door creaked open, and the green pony slipped in awkwardly. “um... hello..”

She closes the book, setting it aside. “Hello... Redhat, is it? Were you looking for Temperance, or did you need to speak with me?”

“you, actually.” he said, looking around for a seat.

Serenity’s horn glows, and a small hoofmade sign proclaiming ‘With patient - please come back later!’, floats up and hangs on the door, which shuts with a click. Serenity turns her gaze back to Redhat, her hooves clasped before her. “So... what did you want to tell me?”

He took a seat on the closest chair, and sighed. “Well... I had somepony inform me I should come here... what exactly do you usually help with?”

Serenity raises an eyebrow. “...I don’t usually help with anything in particular. I help ponies with a wide variety of mental and emotional issues. Did this pony say why you should see me?”

“I believe he did...” He sighed and tried to think of a way to change the topic. “So... you help with emotional problems?”

Serenity notes the stallion’s attempt to dodge the question, but decides to move on. “Yes... is that what you’re here for?”

“Well yes.”

She nods. “Alright, what is the problem, specifically?”

Redhat looked down. “I’m actually a rather depressed pony, could you fix that?”

“Well, let’s find out just what we’re dealing with first. What sorts of things make you feel depressed?”

“When I look around and I realise the only real thing that can bear by presence for more than a minute is a dog.”

Serenity nods. “I take it you have trouble getting along with others?”

“Well yes” he really started to regret coming here. “I just... they can can become so insufferable so fast...”

“In what way?”

“Just, I feel like every moment i’m they’re judging me.”

“Well, I can tell you they aren’t constantly judging you. Ponies typically form an opinion about somepony in a split second, and it takes a bit of time and effort to change.”

“Still, they deem themselves above me and... well.. I get rather jackassy around ponies too...”

Serenity nods. “Yes, I do seem to recall hearing Praetorian mention something about some comments you made off-hoof. Well, that being the case, it sounds to me like the root of your problem is poor self-control.”

“I’m assuming good self control isn’t something you can take pill for.”

She shakes her head. “No, you have to learn it yourself. Though I can certainly help you, if you need it.”

“Yeah...” the pony sighed loudly. He didn’t seem all too thrilled.

“Well, why don’t we jump right in, then?”

Over the next hour and a half, Serenity walks Redhat through a few simple mental techniques designed to help him remain calm and collected.

Scenes #9

, , and

Today was turning out to be like most other days in Duskfields: peaceful and not too exciting. Everypony was busy with their daily duties or taking a few minutes to relax or catch a bite to eat. The day was beginning to wind down a bit, and in a few hours it would be getting dark and ponies would be settling in for the night to ready themselves for the next day.

Lathe was on his way to the tavern, dragging a bundle of wooden planks behind him to put the final touches on the trim. It was an hour or two of work, and after he got done with that he’d be right where he needed to be to get something to eat and then go relax. As he rounds the corner though, something catches his eye. Something wrong.

A strange mare was creeping up behind somepony. No, a foal. Cumulus. He loosens the straps on his load and steps closer, trying to figure out who this mare was. She had a sickly green coat and a mane that looked like it would be snow white if it had been rinsed in the last month. There was adagger in her mouth!

“Help!” he screams at the top of his lungs. He didn’t know who this mare was, but she was clearly up to no good. “Help! Anypony!”

She whips her head to the side to look at him, and he feels a chill roll through him. Her blood red eyes cut through him like the weapon in her mouth as she makes a hateful scowl at him. In an instant she grabs for the colt, pouncing atop him and pinning him to the ground. She pulls a bag from beneath her cloak and tries to stuff the squirming and screaming foal inside.

Redhat was about having a nice stroll around the fort while he walked his dog. The big oversized wolfy surely wasn’t about to get to pudgy to actually help protect her master. The little pony’s pleasant’ little stroll was then suddenly stopped by a loud yell. “Oh hell...” he rolled his eyes and ran towards’ the scream. Thank god he brought his spear so he could claim he was “on patrol”.

He sees Lathe gallop by, shouting something incoherent. Just ahead, a strange green mare was holding Cumulus to the ground with a forehoof as she tried to tie him up with a rope. Her eyes track up to Redhat and she glowers at him as she continues to work with renewed haste.

“What the...” he didn’t have a clue the situation he was in, “STOP THAT RIGHT NOW!” he ran straight for the mare, his spear drawn. The dog at his side followed behind, growling loud.

The mare knocks his spear aside and finishes tying Cumulus up. “Mind your business, foal, and you may live today!” she hisses to Redhat above Cumulus’ frantic screams. She starts to slip her bag over the colt.

The pony picked his spear back up. “I said stop!” and as if on command the oversized wolf pounced forward at the mare, “Let him go, and i might do the same to you!”

She lets out a frustrated snort and kicks the wolf aside. “Die!” she shouts at Redhat, angling her dagger at his neck.

The pony dodged it ever so slightly, before throwing spear at her, “feeling’s mutual!” The wolf made a light whimper before going at her again.

Once again she bucks the wolf away, but Redhat’s spear finds purchase in her body. A horrible scream leaves her mouth as the spear embeds itself in her back, and she immediately twists away. The spear comes free from the wound, spurting blood and tearing her cloak away in the process. She shouts in rage and goes for another brutal thrust of her dagger.

He saw the dagger coming right for his face, and turned away. He only had a moment to react, within a second, he felt a pain down his side as the knife cut into his flank. An instant later a terrible pain shot through his leg as she went for another strike and hit a forehoof.

She chuckles as her weapon digs into his hoof, which she twists gleefully in the wound before withdrawing it. Growls from the wolf can be heard, as can numerous agitated pony shouts. She looks around quickly before leaning in close to Redhat. “It looks like you got lucky this time, foal.” A wicked grin forms on her face as she cocks her head. “You should have listened to the warning you got.” With that, she spits on him and turns to run. “Rejoice in the coming oblivion...”

“SAYS THE MARE WHO’S GOT A HOLE IN HER SIDE!” He started to try and get himself up, before feeling a pain shoot up his leg. “GHA.... Bonnet, stop her!”

The hole in her side was most definitely something for her to be concerned about. Her entire left flank was coated in blood by this point, and the best she can manage is a hobbling trot toward the embankments. She swears volubly as she tries to climb down and back up and out to freedom, aggravating the already serious wound.

The dog was able to close the distance between the two in almost no time flat. She then pounced onto her back, ready to take a nice bite out of the discordant’s back. The twisted pony grunts as the wolf leaps upon her, and with a snarl she tries to dislodge the wolf with a violent shake.

The wolf was able to take a decent chunk out of her back before being flung off. It took it a second to get back up before lunging in again. She manages to get the pony’s leg in her mouth this time, eliciting another pained shriek from her.

“Blasted animal!” she shouts, thrusting her dagger down at her. Despite the wounds she had received, the discordant mare’s aim was close to the mark. She was aiming for the wolf’s chest, but her blade slides into the wolf’s stomach. The mare twists the blade and draws it back in a slashing motion, trying to inflict as much damage as possible.

The wolf grip on the Pony’s leg instantly weakened, before the giant best finally collapsed with a loud whimper. Despite the hole in it’s chest, it still tried it’s best to get back up before whimpering again in pain.

The mare tests her leg with a snarl. “You’ll get yours too,” she hisses before hobbling away again. She was too badly injured to even trot now, but she could outrun the wolf at least.

The mare barely makes it to the top of the embankment of the not yet completed ditch, when like a streak of black lightning Flamberge slams into her, knocking her to the ground. The already wounded mare can put up little fight as the commander finishes her off with his sword, many seconds pass before Flamberge returns to his senses, as Praetorian pulls him away from the strange red dust cloud approaching their position.

The pony saw it all, he got up as fast as he could, which wasn’t very fast at all, before seeing the little foal quivering with a bag over his head. “ummm... are you okay?”

Cumulus was still bound up, but looks up to Redhat with a terrified expression. “I-I-I-Is she g-g-gone?” he asks in a trembling voice.

The pony sighed. “um... she’s leaving.... please tell me she didn’t hurt you?” he said before getting his spear tip and trying to cut the binds.

Cumulus whimpers softly as he cuts the rope binding his legs, and as they come free the colt jumps up and throws his hooves around Redhat’s foreleg. “N-no, I-I don’t th-think s-so.”

“Okay... well in that case.... c-could you get off that leg and promptly move to the other....” last thing a broken leg needed was a foal hugging it. “And um...” he looked over at his wolf, which was still trying to get up. “She kinda stabbed my dog...”

The foal waits a moment before complying. “S-sorry...” he says, trembling slightly. He joins Redhat in looking at the stricken wolf, but says nothing as he hugs tighter still.

“I need to go make sure she isn’t hurt to bad... um... could you hold onto this instead?” he lowered his wing to the foal.

“O-okay,” he says, transferring his grip to the wing.

Redhat sighs and moved toward the downed animal. He tensed in pain after every step. As he got closer he saw the animal had a decent stab at it’s chest. “Oh buck...” The wound was bleeding quite a lot, but it didn’t seem like she was gonna die of blood loss.

Cumulus makes a small startled noise and pulls on Redhat’s wing as he sees the wolf. He says nothing, but begins looking around frantically.

“Trust me, she won’t bite you. Hell, you might have been taken away if she didn’t jump at the mare when she did...” He winced in pain again. “A-are you sure you’re not hurt at all?”

“I-I-I’m okay,” he insists, though he doesn’t loosen his grip at all. He keeps looking at the wounded wolf. “I-Is she gonna be okay?”

“probably... unless it get’s infected...” he sighed and looked down at the poor foal. “spose you could stroke her a little...” Maybe that’d make both of them feel a little better.

Cumulus looks at Redhat with a bit of reluctance before reaching out and giving the wolf a small rub on the head. “Sh-should we take her to the doctor?”

“Maybe? I don’t think this town has a vet...” kept petting the wolf a little. Bonnet gave a soft whimper and nuzzled the foal’s hoof. “Also is there anything I could do to make you feel any better?”

Cumulus nods slowly. “Do you know where my mom is? I-I really don’t want to be o-out here right now...”

“Um...” he thought for a moment, he needed to get the foal to his mother, but his dog had a stabbed gut. “She’s probably tending to the animals or in the fields.”

“C-Can you take me to her?” he asks weakly.

“N-” he looked down at his whimpering pet, then the quivering little foal. “Of course..”

Redhat eventually finds Heartfelt right where he expects her to be: out with the animals. She’s carrying two pails of fresh milk on a harness across her back, heading back toward the tavern. When Cumulus sees her, he wastes no time bolting for and latching onto her. “Mommy!”

Heartfelt is momentarily stunned, but wraps a leg around her son. “Cumulus! What’s wrong?” She looks up to Redhat with a confused expression.

“Somepony tried to abduct him...” he said, limping over to the two.

“Abduct him?” she says, sounding even more confused. She slides out from under the harness and puts another leg around Cumulus, who was beginning to cry softly into her chest. “Who would do such a thing? Does Temperance know? Have you locked them up yet?” she goes on, sounding increasingly agitated.

“I have no idea who, and I made sure my first priority was to bring him to his mother.” He seemed a little agitated as well. His dog was still in need of help.

“Thank you,” she says, continuing to cuddle the crying foal. “Do the other soldiers know? Where is the pony who did this?”

“I don’t kno-aaaaaa...” He tensed again, and lifted his broken hoof. “Okay... my wolf has a hole in it’s bloody side and I need to take care of it. Talk to my captain if you have any question.”

Heartfelt looks like she wants to ask more questions, but simply nods and helps Cumulus onto her back. “Alright. Come on, let’s go inside,” she says to him as she trots off.

He sighed and limped off, making a B-line straight for his wolf.

“I still can’t believe it...” Case Study smirked as he patted on something unseen in the drawer of his office desk, “This was a tremendously lucky find...and luckier still that I was even able to make it work...”

Then suddenly a loud knock was heard from the door, “Hello!”

Jumping a little in surprise, the sky blue pony quickly shut the drawer and locked it. After nervously clearing his throat, he calls out, “Yes? You may enter.”

The door was swung open in an instant and the pony limped in. “Okay... my hoof’s been gouged and my wolf needs medical assistance.” The pony said as he dragged in a wheelbarrow housing a his downed wolf.

Case took a quick visual assessment of the situation. Redhat was able to move around and talk. Other than the hoof injury he spoke of, any other wounds were probably minimal. The canine, however, seemed to be in much worse condition. Notable amounts of blood were present on its side and abdomen. So now it was apparent who needed to be taken care of first, “No time to lose, let’s get your pet on the table.” The two carefully take two ends of the wolf and lift her out of the transportation unit.

She wasn’t fighting much, so either this was a calm animal by nature or she was in grave condition. Stopping the bleeding was the first priority. “Grab some of those towels in the corner,” Case admonished with urgent yet calm words.

Redhat nodded and hobbled over to grab the towels, “okay okay.” once he got them, he walked over, and placed them on the table.

The doctor added pressure to the white cloth after wrapping it around the wolf’s middle. “This looks like a stab wound. What happened to her?” Hopefully this had only happened a few moments ago, as punctures of such a deep nature can quickly bleed a creature dry.

“it was only a little while ago. I caught somepony trying make away with Cumulius and she pulled a dagger on me.”

As alarming as the thought of that was, Case had to put that on the backburner of his mind and get the wolf stable. He laid an ear on the wolf’s chest, listening to her breathing. Next he took a look inside of her mouth. “Her lungs don’t sound congested, but this blood in her mouth concerns me,” he peers deeper into her throat, “I don’t seen any pooling or flowing...did she attack this...thief? I’m hoping this blood doesn’t belong to your pet.”

“Yes, she chomped it’s legs one or two times and removed a portion of meat from the basterd’s back.” He stroked the wolf a little.

“Alright,” that explained the red stains on her teeth, “If her stomach or lungs had been punctured, then she would likely be coughing up blood at this point or have trouble breathing. So far, I think the damage is limited to the skin and some deeper tissue layers. It’s possible that her intestines could be punctured as well, but I’ll need more time to discover this.” He continued to hold down the dressing as he used the other hoof to feel for broken ribs.

Redhat just waited to see if his wolf would be fine. He kept stroking her, hoping she’d be fine.

After feeling that the bleeding was under control, the earth pony opened a nearby cabinet and pulled out a jar of greenish-yellow liquid. It was something of a natural equivalent to laughing gas. “I’ll see if I can ease her stress. This herbal mixture should help take her mind off the pain.” After dousing a cotton swab with the fluid, he rubbed it onto her gums over a period of several minutes. “I may need to look at it more closely later, but she needs to regain her strength first. I think she’s stopped bleeding.” The doctor wraps her up in some blankets to keep her warm, then turns his attention to the pegasus, “Now what about that hoof of yours?”

The pony showed his hoof, which had a rather large gash in it. It was bleeding still, and didn’t looked like it was just a tad bit bent. “Here you go.”

“Let’s get that wrapped up.” It doesn’t take long to bandage it up, “How much does it hurt? It looks like it might be dislocated as well.”

The pony tensed when the medical pony touched the hoof. “It hurts really bad.” he said, “you can fix it, correct?”

“A dislocation isn’t very difficult to remedy, but the act of putting it back in place can be very painful,” Getting a fresh cotton swab, Case dips it into the liquid sedative as before. “Let me wipe this on your gums; it should shield you from a bit of the pain after a few minutes.”

Redhat “Ughed” when case study said the word ‘pain’. “Go ahead whenever...um... should I lay down first?”

“Probably, yes.” After the anaesthetic treatment had been applied for a few minutes, the stallion gave a rag to the now-prone pegasus, “You may also want to bite down on this. I’ll try to make it quick.”

“Oh bloody buckin’ gods... this gonna hurt like a bitch now ain’t it....” he took took the rag with his good hoof and shoved it into his mouth.

“It’ll just take a moment, so get ready.” Mentally prepping himself, Case felt for the best angle to twist and compress. After deciding the proper way to go, he took both hooves and quickly pushed the injured hoof back into place with an audible pop.

A loud whimper came from the prone pegasi, before spitting out the rag. “Well holy buckin’ shit that stung...”

“There, that wasn’t too difficult, now was it? Make certain that you don’t put any weight on it while it heals. I’ll need to get you a crutch unless you think you can do for now by flying instead of walking?” His red eyes then wander over to the equally red discoloration on the green pony’s pants. “Now then, is that blood from your wolf? I don’t think you mentioned any other injuries.”

“Nope. The motherbucker took a goddamned swipe at my flank... It think it’s just a tiny little cut anyway...”

The doc’s eyelids lower in disbelief, “Um, no, not with that much bleeding. I need to take a look at that as well.” He motions with his hoof for Red to show him the offending area.

“Uuughhh... are you sure ya’ ain’t just trying to feel up my behind?” it was hard to tell whether he was being sarcastic or serious.

He puts a hoof to his now-lowered forehead, “Mr. Redhat, there is a time and place for jokes, but here and now is not one of them. If you have a grievous injury, I must tend to it. Although you don’t seem to be bleeding any longer, you may still receive an infection. I cannot let that happen.”

“UUUUGggh..... it’s bloody unhealthy not to laugh... your a freakin’ doctor you should know that!” He said, before getting up off the floor. “Aaanyways, you needed to tape up a wee lil’ cut?”

Case rolls his eyes, “Tee hee,” he complies without enthusiasm, “You’re not dismissed from my office until all of your physical ailments are inspected and properly treated. Now please, your clothes? Many of us don’t wear clothes in the first place, so I don’t see why this is a problem.”

“A wise man once said, quote, ‘everything popular is wrong’.” The pony then lowered his pants. “Now buckin’ please get this over with...”

Sighing with relief that his patient relinquished the childish act, he went to take a look at the cut. It was a long gash that would definitely require stitches. “This isn’t just a cut that can be bandaged. I’m going to need...” As Case moved around to examine the wound more closely, he noticed that some certain parts normally present on a stallion were missing from Redhat. “Um, sir, forgive my prying, but were you involved in an accident of some type as a colt?”

“Why never, imma’ 100% buckin’ perfect specimen of the pony race!” he said, almost unfazed by the fact somepony was stitching up his flank.

Case had enough sense to see that the anatomy of the pony on the table corresponded more closely with that of a female than a male. It now became clear to him why the pegasus was reluctant to remove his clothes. It really wasn’t any of the doctor’s business whether he was transgender or not. The shape of Redhat’s face and the pitch of “his” voice did lend unusually well to that of a stallion, however. Perhaps he should keep this a secret? He kept silent for the rest of the treatment and released Redhat to go on his way. “I’ll keep an eye on your pet. I’ll do the best I can for her.”

“Should I wait here for that stuff you rubbed on my gummies to wear off first.... and I’d love to stay with the wolf, she’s my favorite bitch in the whole world!” she giggled a little at the pun.

“If you wish to do so, you are certainly welcome to. It may be another half-hour before you are completely sober again.”

“Uuuugh.... fine...” She got up and had a shakily trotted towards the closest chair. It didn’t take long before she fell flat on the ground, her hat falling off in the process. “Aw buck.... why the hell is this floor so damn slippery....”

Having rushed over to help, Case leaned over and hoisted Red onto his back with a hoof. “Are you hurt?” He carried her over to a couch and placed her down on it, “That’s just the drugs. Maybe you should lie down for a little while. Your pet isn’t going anywhere.” He then noticed that her face had seemed different from before, much rounder and feminine in shape. That’s curious. He retrieved her hat, noticing the strange symbols running along its interior. “Here, you dropped this.”

“Ooooh... I’lllllll take that....” she put it back on, her face looking completely normal again the exact moment it’s on. “Heh...” The hat was in a rather awkward position, and looked like it was about to fall off her head again.

“Um, I think you should be aware that I’ve noticed something peculiar here,” Case Study carefully said, “...you’re not really a stallion, are you Mr. Redhat?”

“Um.... I plead my goddamn given right to habeas corpus!” Then the hat slipped off. “Oh bollocks....” her voice sounded a lot more soft, this time.

Once again, the blue pony retrieved the fallen headwear. Trying to talk with her in this state was probably going to be fruitless, “I’m not trying to bridge any of your rights. May I ask, however, why you have chosen to conceal your true identity?” He gave the hat back to the inebriated pegasus.

“Aaaand why would I tell you.... For all you buck’n know I could just be a reeeally confused little filly or maybe I want to become a lawyer in world dominated by opposite sex! Oh oh wait... bucking hell I forgot...”

“I was merely curious,” the doctor replied after sitting in a nearby chair, “It’s within your rights to keep that a secret if you so wish to. I just hope that this doesn’t cause you any trouble in the future.” He could envisage what might occur if she was to enter into a relationship only to later reveal her true sex to this hypothetical lover.

“Can you just get me on a table... this floor is like a freakin’ slip’n’slide!” She said as she tried to get up again, only to fall over onto her bad hoof. “GHAA!”

“Please Mr...Ms...Mr. Redhat, can you stay seated?” A second time, he rescued her from her clutzy doom and laid her back down on the couch. He sighed in frustration, “Let me see your hoof...”

“Wait.. I was laying down.... buck...” she rose her hoof. “here here.”

The hoof wasn’t further injured. It was probably just the soreness, “As your doctor, I do not permit you to leave this couch until you are completely back to your senses. I would much rather not pull you from the floor a third time.”

“Yada Yada Yada...” she just whimpered and kept her head planted on the sofa cushion. “How much longer!”

“Not much more. Maybe twenty to twenty-five minutes.” This is going to seem to like an eternity, regardless.

She rolled onto her side and sighed “'Kay!” and the hat fell off again.

“Yes...just try to sleep it off...” He picked up the hat and set it on his desk. When Redhat went to leave, then Case would return it to her.

“Meh... ugh.... I’d like to consummate the fact that i’m sorry for being jack arse right now...”

“That’s fine...” Case tries to hide his annoyance as he crosses his forelegs, “Take your rest now...”

“Okay...”

, , , and

Cream Puff is where she usually is: working in the kitchen. Anypony who knows her would say she seems a bit less energetic than usual, and they’d be right. She’s still feeling a bit sulky about needing to be the mature pony instead of getting what she wants.

Into the kitchen comes Praetorian, looking a little bit too pleased with himself. “Come on, Cream Puff, we want to have you out for dinner.” His horn starts glowing, and Cream Puff feels a little tug on her.

“We? Wait, what?” She sets her knife down and tries to fight the tug.

“Come on, Cream Puff, there isn’t much time to waste. We can’t have you working in the kitchen all day when you’re unhappy like this, so come on out,” says the stallion, repeating the tug.

“But... but dinner’s in the oven!”

“Cream Puff, you never take enough time out for yourself.” He sighs. “How much longer will it take?”

Puff looks uncomfortable, but answers. “30 minutes? But the salad still needs to be composed!”

“Cream Puff! It can wait! I’m sure ponies won’t mind if they have to make their own salad today. It’ll remind them of how good they have it with you. Now come on, we don’t have much time to waste. We’ve got somepony who wants to talk with you.”

She looks confused and still uneasy, but doesn’t fight the pull any more. “Talk with me? Who?”

“Come on, you’ll like him,” says Praetorian.

Meanwhile, Temperance is sitting quietly at the north end of Duskfields, just at the defensive trench. He’s staring off into the plains that extend out as far as the eye can see. Everything was calm today. He sighs and takes a sip from a jug of juice he’d brought with him, trying to decide if he should keep sitting there or get back to work.

Crosshair landed next to him, giving him a quick salute. “Sir? You’ve got to come with me.” She said urgently.

Concern forms on his face as he stands. “What is it?” Please don’t be more discordant ponies...

“No, not discordant ponies sir. Not as bad as that, but, please. Just follow me, there’s somepony that you need to talk to.” Crosshair continued to urge him.

“Alright,” he says, still looking gravely concerned. Was anypony hurt? Or upset? He follows after her, and asks, “Who is it? What’s the matter?”

Crosshair then beamed up into a smile when he begins to follow her “It’s nothing serious, sir. But please, just follow me. You’ll see soon enough.”

He looks a little less alarmed at that. “Alright,” he says, following her quietly to wherever she decides to lead him.

Crosshair eventually lead him to the incomplete hospital shell, the place set up perfectly for the blind date. He looks around the interior, quite confused at what he finds. An ominous feeling was beginning to set in, like he should leave right now.

“It’s a Blind date, sir!” Crosshair chirped.

Temperance’s eye go wide and he stammers something incoherent at her. Who in the world could she have roped into this? Why? “I, uh... a what?” he finally splutters.

Waiting for him are Cream Puff and Praetorian, Praetorian smiling like Crosshair. “Ah, Cream Puff, your date is here.”

That feeling of needing to bolt doesn’t really abate much for Temperance as he realizes just what was going on. “Date? W-wait a second now!”

“Don’t worry, sir,” says Praetorian in a soothing tone, as he walks over to him. “Just...have a good time. You two both deserve a chance at that, if anypony does.”

Temperance locks eyes with Cream Puff briefly, wondering how she felt about all of this. Maybe he wouldn’t have to protest too much...

Cream Puff looks pretty uncertain, but also resigned to her fate. “Heya Temperance. I don’t think running is an option with these two.”

“I, uh, suppose not,” he says, clearly nervous.

She gestures at the seat across from her. “Have a seat. I don’t bite.”

He does as asked, taking a seat and tapping his forehooves together from the nerves. What were you supposed to do on these dates again? It had been close to a decade since he last tried this! “So, um, did they get you to cook too?” he says in a joking tone, hoping to lighten the mood a bit.

Puff chuckles a bit. “Not really. Tor dragged me out of the kitchen before I could do much more than get the bread in the oven. How about you? Did Cross have to drag you away from the paperwork?”

“Surprisingly, no, actually,” he says, glancing at the pegasus as she left alongside Praetorian. “I was taking a break at the time. So... I guess now is as good a time as any,” he says with a small chuckle.

Puff looks a bit surprised at that. “You take breaks?” she asks with a wink.

“Every once in a while. I try to take one every month or so,” he jokes. After a short pause he asks, “So, we haven’t really spoken much lately. How have things been?”

Puff shrugs. “Pretty good. Having a real kitchen makes life so much easier, and I’ve been able to make real food instead of sammiches all day every day, heh. I’ve even been talking with Serenity to get my anger under control, so hopefully I won’t go nuts the next time parasprites show up. How about you?”

“That’s good to hear. I’m sure you’ve found things a bit easier working in here than with what we had thrown together.” He intentionally sidesteps the anger issue. “I’ve been pretty well. Busy as always,” he says with a smile. She’d no doubt caught on long ago how much time he spent sequestered away in his office.

“You really should see about delegating some of that, Temperance. ‘All work’ and all that.”

He nods slowly and looks aside. “If we had anypony to spare, I’d love to. But, everypony is stretched pretty thin as it is,” he says with a shrug. “Twenty five of us doesn’t leave a whole lot of slack. I’m sure you’d love to have some help in the kitchen too, for that matter.”

Puff nods. “Yeah, I’m going to definitely need a sous chef or two real soon, especially if we keep growing like this.”

“Well, I don’t think we’ll have too many more show up in the immediate future. I sent a letter home with the caravan asking Coupledye to hold back a bit for now, since we’re still taking so long to get sleeping accommodations for everypony.” He chuckles. “I hardly believed it when my sister said it would take so long to build everything, but she was right.”

Puff giggles. “Still, things are going up surprisingly quickly when you consider how few ponies are here to do everything.”

“True enough, I suppose.” A brief but awkward silence falls as Temperance runs out of ideas for idle chit-chat. He hoped the food was already done... otherwise he was going to be boring poor Cream Puff to tears.

Puff has no idea what to say either, so she looks around at the decorations Crosshair and Praetorian set up.

As Temperance does the same, something finally comes to him. “The two of them seem to have gone through an awful lot of trouble for this. I bet you didn’t think you’d be here right now, did you?” He certainly didn’t. He had no idea why they were doing this either, or why they picked him anyway.

She turns back to him and chuckles. “Heh, nope! I expected to be busy serving food right about now.”

As if on cue, the door opens, and in comes a large plate, with a salad bowl on it. In it was a salad with romaine and spinach lettuce, red cabbage, green and black olives, cheddar, swiss and fresh mozzarella, cucumber and strips of red and yellow bell pepper, with a red wine vinegar and olive oil infused with basil, onion, garlic, and black pepper dressing. On the side are a few fresh greens, including celery, broccoli, cauliflower and peeled carrots served with a dip of some sort. Praetorian is carrying the plate in his magic.

Temperance’s eyes go wide as he sees and smells the food approaching. “Well, that smells amazing.”

Puff looks surprised as well. “Fire him. Kick him out of the military. I want him as my sous chef.”

Temperance chuckles and shakes his head. She’d have a time convincing Flamberge of that, although if Praetorian or Crosshair could cook like this, they certainly seemed to have taken up the wrong career.

“This isn’t really my creation. Not so much. One of my friends suggested it,” says Praetorian. “He says it’s quite good.”

“You might not have invented it, but this looks like a fairly lengthy recipe.” Puff eyes her friend. “You sure you wouldn’t rather cook?”

“It smells heavenly, so it must taste it too. Whether it was your idea or not, it couldn’t have been simple to make.” Temperance continues to examine the food, salivating at the expectation of the flavor.

Praetorian doesn’t make a reply, and instead lays the plate down between them, before making his exit.

Temperance was certainly getting hungry now. “Uh, well, shall we?” he asks, motioning for Puff to take some of the salad. You were supposed to hold doors for fillyfriends, right? What about food? Was there a priority there?

Puff can’t help but giggle at him again before she takes his plate and portions out half the salad to him. She then sees to her own plate and inhales the pleasant aroma. “Mmm... definitely going to need to pester him for this one.”

“Thank you,” Temperance says with a smile. He didn’t mean to make her serve him, but it was a bit late to stop that. He samples the salad, finding it taste every bit as delicious as it smells. After he swallows the first mouthful, he says, “Yes, I think you should. Somepony is going to have to make more of this.”

Puff takes a bite and nods. “I’m telling you: fire him. He belongs in the kitchen if he can make this.”

He chuckles again in response, but says nothing as he downs a bit more of the salad. As he takes a few pieces of carrot to dip, he says, “So, you know, it never really occurred to me that we haven’t really sat down and had a long chat. I’m not sure I ever even caught the reason you decided to join us out here at Duskfields. Or where you learned to cook.”

“I was apprenticed to Soufflé, and was ready to start my journeyponyship. An expedition seemed like the perfect opportunity. Fresh ingredients are so hard to get back in Coupledye, you know?” Puff chats between bites, looking rather comfortable.

He nods and chews on the carrots thoughtfully. “That’s for sure. Maize and Morning Dew certainly are doing a fantastic job with the crops. I’m not sure I’ve ever had better food back in Coupledye than out here.”

Puff smiles and even blushes slightly. Having ponies she knows well compliment her food is one thing, having the stallion in charge echo them is another. “Thanks, Temperance! Only thing we really need to put Duskfields on the culinary map is a few cows. Sheep’s milk is all well and good, but doesn’t make very good cream.”

“I know what you mean,” he says, slowing his eating a hair. “I wish I’d have had a chance to talk with the liaison. The caravan brought hardly a thing, and there’s quite a bit we really need out here. A few more farm animals is definitely on the list.”

“What else is on the list?” Puff looks genuinely curious as she asks. She had never really thought about what all Temperance actually does. She knows he’s a busy stallion, but never realized how many things he has to keep track of.

He shrugs and stirs his salad a bit. “Well, mostly some metal and stone. It’s been a bit embarrassing to have a few ponies with a knack for working it and none to speak of.” He takes a bite and stirs his food a bit more. “Smoothblock says that the ground is saturated with water not far down, which is great for the crops but means we can’t really dig a mine of any kind.” He shakes his head. “I never thought I’d hear it was hard to find stone.”

Puff nods. “I’ve talked with SmoothBlock about the difficulties, but I don’t know any specifics about why it’s so hard to get past all that water. She mentioned something about pumps and making walls, though. Sounds like we’d need pumps first, heh.”

“Yep, all stuff I know almost nothing about. I trust she knows what she’s talking about though. We can probably spare the ponypower to run a few pumps, but first the carpenters would have to take some time away from building more bedrooms.” He dips another carrot. “Sleeping arrangements for everypony seem a bit more important to me right now, but I would feel a lot better if the soldiers had better armor and weapons...”

“Yeah, it’d be nice to see them protected by more than hopes and prayers. Do you know if there’s any metal under the soaked soil?”

“No idea,” he answers truthfully. “We’re actually not that far from an old survey site where they considered setting up a mining outpost. Some unicorns could detect metal underground there, but I guess the aquifer discouraged them from setting up there.” He recalls the discordant pony attack and adds, “And maybe the locals.”

“Or the weather. Those clouds are bad news.”

He sighs. “They certainly look that way. I wish I knew what they were exactly. I get the feeling they’re not just dust clouds, but I’m no unicorn, so all I can do is look at them and wonder.” Watching them really gave him the creeps, but this was drifting away from pleasant dinner conversation. “But, anyway, I’ve been doing a little planning with the farmers, and they’re going to be planting a few more crops this coming year. Some pumpkins and watermelons for sure. Probably some tomatoes too.” He gives her a small smile. “Think you can work with those?”

Puff smiles in return. “Definitely! Tomatoes have a million uses, and who doesn’t like watermelon?”

Temperance makes a small laugh. “I certainly like both. I’m looking forward to seeing what you do with them. And perhaps Praetorian.” He finishes the last bit of salad on his plate. “Maybe the next time the caravan rolls through they’ll bring us seeds for some new crops too.”

“I know Maize would love that!” Puff finishes her meal and leans back slightly in contentment. “And I would, too. Variety is the spice of life, as they say.”

“Absolutely,” he echoes, sitting back himself. So... what now? He taps a forehoof against a hindleg as he thinks. Perhaps they should go for a walk or something? Not that there was really all that much to explore, especially in private.

So Praetorian comes back in to check how things are going, capisce? He comes in, maybe to have a word to Temperance, and maybe if he don’t like the response, say the same word, maybe a little louder; or maybe do a little community work. Maybe help quite a lot of old mares over quite a lot of roads, you get me? Maybe give him the gout, in the hoof!

“Are you finished, Temperance, Cream Puff?” he asks.

Puff nods at him. “Yep! That was a good meal, Tor.”

“It was, thank you very much,” Temperance adds with a smile.

“That’s good to hear. I’ll take these dishes, and leave you two alone to talk, if you wish.”

“Do you two have any other surprises for us?” Puff gives him a friendly smile as she asks. She was unsure about this at first, but it hasn’t developed into the disaster she expected.

“I am afraid not. I am sure Crosshair, at least, will want to know the result of this first date, but until you wish to tell her, I’m sure I can calm her curiosity.”

The ‘date’ was going better than Temperance had expected too, but he really had no idea what to do now. He didn’t really know Cream Puff that well, so he wasn’t sure what to talk about. He smiles and nods Praetorian off and says, “Perhaps you should do that then.”

He then looks back to Cream Puff, and after a few moments he asks, “So, we’ve established that I’m a bit too much of a workaholic, but what do you do in your down time?”

Puff shrugs. “I’m a bit of a workaholic too. Seems like I’m always in the kitchen. Still, I manage to find time to hang out with my friends. Tor, Maize, Crosshair of course, Flamberge. Should I see about adding you to that list, Temperance?”

“Well, I could certainly use somepony to drag me out of my office on occasion,” he says with a chuckle. That was more serious than he’d like to admit. “How are the four of them, by the way? I haven’t really spoken with any of them that much recently either.”

“Crosshair and Tor are doing well enough to set us up on this date, heh. Flamberge and her are doing pretty well together. Maize is still pretty shy, but she’s opening up more and more, and her and Praetorian make such a cute couple!” Puff wisely decides not to mention the effect the clouds have on Maize and Crosshair, or her longing for Flamberge.

“That’s good to hear. I was really worried about Maize, actually. I wasn’t sure if she was alright, but it’s good to know she’s opening up to a few of us at least.”

The two continue the chit chat for a while, maybe half an hour or so.. They talk a bit about how things are going, where Duskfields was headed, and a few odds and ends here and there. As time wears on, they start to run out of things to discuss, so they decide to call it a night and part ways. They kept the mood light and friendly, and as they each decide to head home, Temperance feels that’s how things would probably stay.

He appreciates the effort that Crosshair and Praetorian went through to set up the little date, and while he’s glad he had a chance to catch up with Cream Puff and looks forward to talking with her again in the future, he doesn’t think they’re too likely to have any more particularly private get togethers.

Love was a strange thing, and not something he could predict though. Who could say what would eventually happen?

and

Serenity sits at her- well, no, Temperance’s desk, carefully transcribing her latest patient’s last session into a large, thick book.

A loud knock at the door was heard, “Hello?”

Serenity looks up. “Yes? Please come in.”

The door creaked open, and the green pony slipped in awkwardly. “um... hello..”

She closes the book, setting it aside. “Hello... Redhat, is it? Were you looking for Temperance, or did you need to speak with me?”

“You, actually.” he said, looking around for a seat.

Serenity’s horn glows, and a small hoofmade sign proclaiming ‘With patient - please come back later!’, floats up and hangs on the door, which shuts with a click. Serenity turns her gaze back to Redhat, her hooves clasped before her. “So... what did you want to tell me?”

He took a seat on the closest chair, and sighed. “Well... I had somepony inform me I should come here... what exactly do you usually help with?”

Serenity raises an eyebrow. “...I don’t usually help with anything in particular. I help ponies with a wide variety of mental and emotional issues. Did this pony say why you should see me?”

“I believe he did...” He sighed and tried to think of a way to change the topic. “So... you help with emotional problems?”

Serenity notes the stallion’s attempt to dodge the question, but decides to move on. “Yes... is that what you’re here for?”

“Well yes.”

She nods. “Alright, what is the problem, specifically?”

Redhat looked down. “I’m actually a rather depressed pony, could you fix that?”

“Well, let’s find out just what we’re dealing with first. What sorts of things make you feel depressed?”

“When I look around and I realise the only real thing that can bear by presence for more than a minute is a dog.”

Serenity nods. “I take it you have trouble getting along with others?”

“Well yes” he really started to regret coming here. “I just... they can can become so insufferable so fast...”

“In what way?”

“Just, I feel like every moment i’m they’re judging me.”

“Well, I can tell you they aren’t constantly judging you. Ponies typically form an opinion about somepony in a split second, and it takes a bit of time and effort to change.”

“Still, they deem themselves above me and... well.. I get rather jackassy around ponies too...”

“I’m assuming good self control isn’t something you can take pill for.”

She shakes her head. “No, you have to learn it yourself. Though I can certainly help you, if you need it.”

“Yeah...” the pony sighed loudly. He didn’t seem all too thrilled.

“Well, why don’t we jump right in, then?”

Over the next hour and a half, Serenity walks Redhat through a few simple mental techniques designed to help him remain calm and collected.

Journals #6

~Maize's Thoughts~ 4th Granite, 270

A big griffon showed up today! I think they look cool, but they're also big and terrifying. I don't know if I'd be brave enough to talk to one, but this one smashed through Temperance's office and Temperance just talked to him like it was nothing. Everyone keeps saying I'm a hero, maybe Temperance should get some love.

6th Granite

Praetorian told me that Temperance had walked up on us while we were sleeping in the field. He seemed kind of uncomfy, so I asked if there was something wrong, but he said everything was fine. I guess he's just getting used to being in a relationship, too, maybe.

14th Granite

Something bad is coming... I can feel it.

I-is that Fa̯̜͉̖̠̘t̜̥h̦͈̩̗e̺͇r͎͚̫?..

D̲̪̬o̭ ̥̲̞̜̩y̻̘̺͈̥͉̝͡o̟̖̖͔̲̩͎͘u͈͇̹͍̤̯ ̩͉͈͕̹͘s̙̹̣̙̝m̡͓̟͈̝e̥̳͚͍̱ͅl̲̟̺̖̘͝l̨̹̞̙̤͉̮ ͎͇́i̢̥̰t͉̺͕?̖̬̟ ͏̹̱̳̰̭̩͇Th̗͚͈͈ḛ̗͍͈̥̝ ͈͚̙͕́b̫͎̙̺̣l̟̞ó̺̱̣o̧͎̤d͖͎̮̤̩̰̬?̵̪͓̠̭̩

̛̙͍̳̘̭͈̹Y͍̲̰o̫͕u̳͓̝͕̣͕͉r ͞b̼͍͙͙̟̭l̰͙o̧̳̥͙̙̹̟o̗d̷̗̝̙?̨̭̝͖

̫̭̤̜͚̗͇Y̬͞o̲̜u̫̘r̰̫͓̟̞͕͝ ̞̫͓̫̺f̗̭̰̙͙̗͕r͕̯͇̲̥͘i̩͢en̷̫͉͚̱͉̺ḓ̡̟̗͕̩̰s̨͚̭̪'͈̬̘̺̺̦ ̝͕̣̦̭̳͈b̘̲̫̣͉̝l̪o̞̝̰̠̗ó͉͙̫̳̼d҉͍̻̺?̫͓̣͚̫

͚͍̖͉͕̱Ỳo҉͚͎̟̖ṵ̲ ̧̲̺͕͕̹w̱͚̘̠̜i͍̗̥̺̖̤̱͢l͉͢l̮̘̳̬̯ ͏̹s̖̠̻̟͕̘͢m̷̲͉̰͔̥e͙̳̼̻̙̭l̷̠̖l̥̗͞ i̹͚͙̫͢t̺͖͕̗̬.͈͚̱̪̯̗͍

̦̞͡ͅI̼t̸̝͖͙̳̭͎͙ ̰̲͙a̹͝ņ̺̫̙̭d̙̥̦̹̮̞̤ ͇̗̩͎̯͟ṵ̲̜͎n̥͖̦͍̦̖ḛ̢̱̗n̦͍̺͍̭̩͙d̶̥i͉̤̗̻̬̤n̜g̻̼̣̻ ̪͓̜̺͉̬͓p̭͇̣̤̻͙a̠̫̣̫͢i̶̭͇̘̤̮nͅ ̟̟̯́w̯̳i̩͓̤̹l̜͉͉l̸ ̢͔͕̩͎b͙͇̮̖e̼̗̩͇ ̟̼̼y͖̺͙͓o͕ur ̱̖̺l̛̮̤a̰̙̙͘s͉ṭ͞ ͉̱̯̭̙̯̻m͠o̮r̼̳ta̹̤̙̻̦͝l̯̮̰͇͍̥̕ ͍̠s̖̰̥̣̝̭en̶̠̬̜s̹̖͘a͡ṭ̻̘̮̙̩̖i͉o̠n̗͎̹

̲̯͎̮A̩̞̪͚͕̣̞n̝̩ḏ̤͙ ̭͕̦̤͕̪f̯̹̳͍̼̙́e̬̥̗̙̭a͚̹r͍͍̦̟ͅ ̣w̕i͠l̝̻̺̪͇l̝͚̪̲͓̣͖ ̬b̪̱͍̗͈̟̰͜ẹ̘̦̱̝ ̭̪͜y̖̲̞̻͓ͅo̰̫̜̱̬̣̻͘ú̗̲̜͙͍͍͙r̗͚̼̬͠ l̴̲̩͎̻̗̠̫a̳̳̘̮̜̰̟s̙̙t̺͉̭̝͎ ͎̯͖͓͈̼͖́l͈͠i̳̰̼ͅv̢͈̦in͖̖̭̠̝̼̗͟g̰̪͚̣̟͇̰ ͓̞̖͖̘͍ṱ̵̲̫̲̲͖ͅh̸̪̥̳̦̤͓o̱̠̖ͅu͍̞̲̮͙͝g͚̬͙h̩̙̬̣ͅț̵̙̩.̳͇̦̞͙ͅͅ

Steel Rivets Journal

10th Granite, 270

The tavern was finished today. Good news, that. Saw a gryphon working on it, as well. Interesting. Also, Case Study came to me today, asking me to forge him some new tools. Very poor quality. Unsalvageable, I'd say. This may take some time. The headaches have been getting worse with each day.

11th Granite, 270

Most of this page is covered indecipherable runes of some sort. At the very top, underlined and circled it says: HOW DARE THEY TRY TO STEAL FROM US. DO THESE MORTALS NEVER LEARN?

14th Granite, 270

Well, something very unsettling happened today. A discordant pony came and nearly snatched up a colt named Cumulus. Fortunately, Redhat was nearby and managed to stop the Foalnapper. Unfortunately, he was wounded rather badly. Must get to work on those tools. Thieves are bad enough, but stealing children?Despicable.

Unknown to the ponies of Duskfields, that discordant pony did not travel alone. A pair of male pegasi had accompanied her on this scouting party turned raid, though one would have a hard time calling ether a Pegasus. Unwilling to put there lives on the line for there comrade in hoofs, her two companions watched her final moments from a tree well out of view of the settlement's residents.

"Smots like Feodor just got the pointy end of a nozh. "

"Ay, lotta guttiwuts had she me droog."

"Nots any now."

"Such a sham."

"Yeses, a real fictinny."

The half hidden bout of giggles they both had at this spoke volumes about how they really felt about her death.

"She almost nadit too."

"Till that molodoy got all gromky and horning."

"Such a sham."

"Yeses, a real fictinny."

More giggles, this time not hidden at all.

"By the bye, we ittying to tellytales to the bolshy Privodevat?"

"Sod me, he'll be razdraz bout this mess-down."

"Lot-a razdraz."

"Bolshy razdraz at us ifin we don't tell em."

"Right right me droog, best get ta em real skorry."

"Right right."

On there way down, one of the bat ponies found a engraving in there treeborn hiding place.

"Hey! Smot this woody me droog!"

"Ha! Privodevat not the only odin razdraz at them Rainbows!"

Translation

Travel : many days

See not-my-tribe: ponies buildings many

Lots ponies : one griffon

Earth wings horn : ponies

many : farms

lots-of food : little/treasure(ether things not valuable or few things of value)

My-tribe: steal food broken(failed)

Young/fire/sword(most likely name) : death

Hate : not-my-tribe ponies

And with that discovery they departed under the cover of rolling dust clouds, little fearing the dark magics it carried. I fact, they welcomed it. It reminded them of home.

Symbol Meanings:

The following notes were taken off-hoofedly over the course of several weeks. Wood Chips misplaced his journal.

Entry ???

The party was decent enough. Smoothblock was nice, and everyone liked the wine.

There's a griffon here. Frankly, I dislike the chimerical things, but at least this one seems friendly.

Discordiant pony. Dimond Dog attack.

Maize crazy. Talk to Temperance. Find a silver blade and a pony who is willing to use it. Might talk to griffon for assistance.

Case Study's Journal - 8th Granite, 270

I'm starting to become nervous about keeping my discovery within the community walls. It's becoming taxing to even dispose of the evidence of its existence. I'm wondering if I can get one of the carpenters to build me a second small study in the woods, as I would feel much more at ease keeping it there. The hard part is figuring out how to justify the creation of the building, as I cannot tell anypony of its true function lest I cause controversy or panic. Perhaps I can tell Mr. Temperance that it would be a nice place to perform autopsies and keep the bodies of the dead before their burial. I can argue that other ponies may feel better if corpses are kept outside of Duskfields. A containment breach in the forest may not be overly problematic, but one in the fort is absolutely unacceptable.

Housing, Babies, and Gore

Temperance's Journal - 18th Granite, 270

I've been keeping on top of things with Case Study and Redhat, who has been recovering well, thankfully. I was a bit alarmed to find out today that we've completely run out of thread, however, so Case Study couldn't finish stitching Redhat's wounds!

He said it's not a life or death matter, but the wounds won't heal properly until he can stitch them, and until then there's a serious risk of infection. Which is doubly bad, because we have no soap either! With all of the construction work going on I've been neglecting to keep up with the hospital stocks, so we're critically short on a few things. Fortunately the sheep haven't been shorn in a long time, so we can get some spun out of that in short order. The soap is another matter...

20th Granite, 270

Fortunately, we managed to get some thread from the sheep quickly enough, and Case Study cleaned and stitched up Redhat's hoof for the final time today. He's still limping around, just like poor Morning Dew after she was wounded, but he'll be alright. I'm not sure what Praetorian is going to do with him in the meantime though. He obviously can't work or train like this.

2nd Slate, 270

Today started off with a bit of a scare. We had twodiamond dog thieves show up today. The first bumbled into Cream Puff as she was bringing some milk into the tavern, at which point it decided to flee rather than steal anything. Praetorian was the closest this time, and he ran off after it to little avail. Crosshair took a few potshots at it too, but it was just too fast for either of them, and escaped unharmed.

The second was snooping around the new clothier's shop we put up in the southwest part of town.

He was to be disappointed though, since there was nothing to take. Instead, he ran into Praetorian on his way back inside, whereupon the stallion ran him off too. Once again, he chased him off, but the dog was too fast.

I hope wherever they ran back to, they tell their friends to leave us alone.

I'm really, really starting to get nervous about these thieves. The badger ponies and diamond dogs are one thing, but the discordant pony is something else altogether. If more of them come... gods help us. I feel like I should tell everypony what we may be getting ourselves into, but I don't want to start a panic.

I don't know what to do.

14th Slate, 270

The last few days have been a bit more tame, thank the gods. But, despite that, Morning Dew finally gave birth to her daughter early this morning.

I went by to see them this afternoon, but Case Study turned me away, saying that she wanted some privacy. I did gather that the unicorn filly's name was Mountain Dew, at least. I guess I can understand. The rumors started circling around the settlement a few months ago when it was obvious she was pregnant, but she's not married.

She's been pretty reclusive ever since, spending most of her time with Maize in the fields and not really speaking too much. After what I've heard of the rumors, I'd probably hide as much as I could too. Some really nasty things have been said, and I should have put a stop to it before now. I will as soon as I can though.

I may ask Dr. Serenity to speak with her too, if she's not too busy. I don't want her feeling too down about this. I can't say I condone what happened, but this sort of talking behind her back has to stop.

In tenuously related news, she and Maize finished setting up another farm plot. The fields we had already were barely able to keep up with demand, and another plot should do a lot of good. I asked Maize about it, and she told me that they're planning on planting okra, pumpkins, strawberries and watermelons in this one. I can scarcely wait, since I know Cream Puff will do some wonderful things with the fruits, and I can't remember the last time I had fried okra.

Which also reminds me that we had a voluntary apple tree pop up in the northwestern corner of town. Or, that's what Holly thinks it is anyway. I'd love to have some apples growing here, so a small orchard would be fantastic. We'll need more than one tree though.

27th Slate, 270

I knew Heartfelt couldn't have been far behind Morning Dew, as she's been showing for months too. Unlike Morning Dew, she hasn't really been hiding away, and just dismissed anything anypony said about her.

She didn't turn me away like Morning Dew did, and I managed to get a peek at the pegasus filly she named Spring Showers. Case Study rightly told me that the two were exhausted though, so I didn't stay long, but both seemed happy and healthy enough.

I'm not sure who was responsible for this foal either, and I don't need to know. I've been putting a crackdown on the rumor mill around, so there's that we don't have to worry about at least.

Fortunately, Heartfelt and her son Cumulus already had a room picked out, so she will be able to go home and relax properly.

Speaking of the rooms though, there's still a frightening amount of that to do. We've got maybe half of what we need, although the carpenters are working around the clock. Even with this many carpenters and Max helping out, it's taking forever!

9th Felsite, 270

I noticed Max has been seeming a bit down lately. He didn't seem to want to talk about it though, so I respected his wishes and left him alone. Being mixed in with ponies like this probably does present a lot of challenges I can't really appreciate. I'm tempted to pawn him off to Dr. Serenity, but I hate to do that every time I see someone upset. I guess if it continues I'll try talking with him again.

While I was in the tavern I decided I might as well check up on the stocks, and discovered something a bit alarming: we're running pretty low on drink. The last harvest was all wheat, which can be brewed into beer I think, and I think I may have to allow it. I'd rather some fruit juice was available, but we do what we must.

I've also been thinking that the huge stack of flax cloth we've got sitting around ought to be put to someuse, so I set Patches to work on it. I'm interested to see what he produces. If nothing else, it might be useful when the next caravan arrives.

11th Felsite, 270

Today was unexpected, to say the least!

Crosshair and Praetorian organized a blind date for Cream Puff and myself, and dragged the two of us over to the tavern for the little affair. I'm not really sure what to write about it, other than it was a nice gesture and it was nice to catch up with Cream Puff, but I just don't see anything really coming of it. She's nice enough and I had a good time, but I just don't think we've really got enough in common for much of a relationship to last between the two of us. She didn't say it, of course, but I think she feels similarly. Besides, we both work all day every day, so when would we find the time?

She's good friends with both Crosshair and Praetorian, so I'm sure they set it up on her behalf a lot more than mine. I guess I feel a bit flattered that they think I'm a good choice for a coltfriend, but it was probably a wasted effort. If Cream Puff is looking for somepony, I'm not sure a blind date is the best way to go about things.

Still, as I'm sitting here, I can't help but feel a bit lonely myself. I'm thirty-six years old, and not getting any younger...

Staying busy helps keep my mind off of it at least. I've got bigger things to work toward than starting a family. If I keep at it, and keep working hard, it'll pay off one day.

19th Felsite, 270

My worst fears resurfaced today as another discordant mare showed herself this afternoon.

It was Veneer who spotted this one as he was dragging some planks out to the new houses. Flamberge was the first to respond this time, after she panicked and ran out into the middle of the town. I unfortunately bore witness to the fight this time, seeing him crush the life from her, stab her through the chest and ultimately behead her with a single swipe of his sword.

I'm not sure whether to be impressed or terrified of him, quite honestly. I'll just have to make absolutely sure to never, ever make him angry... not that I had any intention to...

In either case, I'm asking all of the soldiers to patrol near the entrance for the next day or two. I don't want any more sneaking inside...

20th Felsite, 270

I've never been more scared in my life. I don't even know... I haven't yet processed everything I saw today.

I was out inspecting the aftermath of the last thief who came in through the remaining ramps, when I saw a mass of strange ponies approaching. Wearing armor and carrying weapons. I tried to scream for help, but nothing came out but a squeak. Thank the godsFlamberge saw them too.

He didn't waste a single moment.

They struck first, firing all of their crossbows at him. He dodged every bolt and let into their leader with his sword, removing most of his legs in a brutal flash of blood and bronze. I don't think I'll ever unsee that...

He even kept fighting after a bolt struck him in the leg! It's like he's a stallion possessed when fighting! Praetorian and Redhat didn't even make it to the fight before he'd slain four of the discordants, and the others were already retreating so fast they couldn't catch them.

I thought the fight was over then, but even more showed up moments later!Sevenarmed with warhammers came flying or running down the east hill toward the battle. Flamberge and Praetorian were the only two there, and Flamberge was beginning to finally slow down from the wound to his leg.

To my utter shock, when they ran into the two and saw what had happened to their comrades, they broke and scattered! Flamberge chased one down and cut it to pieces, while Praetorian downed another with several jabs to the head with his spear.

It took him a long time to finish one off though, and by then I was seeing so many dead bodies and body parts... it must have been too much. I... actually passed out and fell down into the trench. They found me on the way back inside. I wasn't hurt, thankfully.

I wish I could say the same for the others though.

I had to ask Crosshair about it, since both Flamberge and Praetorian were in the hospital. She told me that after Praetorian downed the first, a second attacked him from behind. He didn't see the attack coming, and was knocked out by a hammer blow to the head. The discordant pony hit him several more times before Redhat took him out himself.

The unicorn was badly wounded, but apparently Case Study thinks the damage isn't permanent. He has a severe concussion, but in time he should pull through. I sincerely hope so.

I got a few more details from her, and she said that all told they killed nine attacking discordant ponies. Flamberge killed an amazing six himself, while Redhat got two and Praetorian killed just that one. She didn't even make it to the fight, herself, so she must have picked it all up from Redhat. She was just getting out of bed and getting her equipment by the time the entire horrifically brutal and bloody thing was over.

I feel sick. Flamberge was wounded and tendiscordant ponies were killed over the past two days. I don't know what to think. I don't know what to do! Every time I start thinking about it I go into a mild panic!

They're not going to stop coming... they'll keep coming until we're all dead...

What do I do?

We can't leave... we just can't...

2nd Hematite, 270

The fighting just doesn't stop! Another diamond dog showed up today, picking through some of the remains of the dead discordant ponies. Crosshair was still out patrolling the entrance, no doubt anticipating more attacks, and she opened up on him the instant she saw him…

Just one more corpse to add to the piles... gods above, I don't know what's next.

If there is anything good to report, Flamberge has already recovered enough to leave the hospital. If I didn't know he'd been wounded I wouldn't suspect a thing. He went back to patrolling the entrance with Crosshair straight away.

I wish Praetorian was up and around already. Case Study and Convalescence have been watching him, but he's still barely responsive and in and out of consciousness. I wish there was something I could do to help them...

Journals #7

Wood Chip’s Journal

Entry 10

Silver Sword Find The Pony Chaos Chaos Chaos Discordants Corruption Among Us

Land Is Dead Clouds Are Red Ponies Soon Griffon Feasts Like Crow

Temperance Is Unknowing Is Not To Be Trusted. All Who Show Signs Of Chaos Must Be Treated With Death

Death Is The Ultimate Equalizer. All Are Equal In Death. Red Cloud is Herald For End.

Maize Must Have Trial By Combat. The Combatent Being A Trained Solder.

Praetorian Wounded. All Temperances Fault. Maize Must Be Seen Too While Emotionaly Compramised Pony Is Bedridden.

For Cheerfulgrins.

*~Maize's Diary~ 18th Granite, 270*

*I have a diary, now. Praetorian said that it would help me learn to write if I did it a lot, so I figured this would be a good way to do it! Things have been going well, although one of the militia ponies... Redhat, I think he's called, is having trouble with a wound on his hoof. It's been kind of calm, so I don't know if this place isquite* as scary as I imagined. Even so, I'm keeping an eye out.**

*2nd Slate*

*'Diamond dogs' came today, two of them. One of them nearly got poor Cream Puff! She's alright, though. Another one ran into Praetorian, but he just ran it off. They seem to be some of the more harmless critters out here, at least.*

*14th Slate*

*Morning Dew had a baby! She's a cutie, too. A lot of ponies are saying nasty things about her, though. I've tried telling her not to listen to them, but it doesn't seem to help too much. I'll keep trying, though.*

*27th Slate*

*Another pony had a baby, too. It seems to have boosted Morning Dew's spirits a little, at least, but not much. I'm going to keep trying to make her feel better, because it's not very fair that people say mean things about her when they don't even know what happened.*

*19th Felsite*

*Another pony that looked sort of like my father showed up. Everypony else calls them discordant ponies. Does this mean that I'm a discordant pony, or part of me is. Maybe that's why I always feel weird whenever those clouds come around.*

*20th Felsite*

**This page is marred with tears.**

*Prae▒orian. ▒hy did you h▒ve to get hurt. ▒ou didn't deserve i▒. Tho▒e nasty discorda▒t po▒ies. They'▒ *pay for t▒is. No, but, I'll be ▒ight beside y▒u whenever I ca▒. Plea▒e get bet▒er.****

****Case Study's Journal - 18th Granite, 270****

*Today was one of those rare days where I had to treat an animal. The pet of one Mr. Redhat, a wolf at that, suffered injury at the hooves of a strange intruder when it went on the offensive. The bleeding was copious and my expectations for the animal's heath dwindled with time. Ultimately, I was forced to resort to a magical cure in the form of a potion I purchased from zebras earlier. "New Dawn", I believe they called it. It seemed to work well, as the canine has stabilized and will likely recover with little more than a scar to show for it. However, I don't have an unlimited supply of the serum. I need to be very discerning when it comes to using it.*

*Mr. Redhat himself was also harmed, though not nearly so gravely. A dislocated hoof and a slashed flank were his only complaints. Frustratingly, I ran out of thread during the suturing process so I had to bind up the wound as best I could with gauze and bandages. Hopefully it won't become infected before I can finish closing it up. On an interesting side note, it turns out that Mr. Redhat is actually a *Ms. Redhat. Where she got the magical hat that disguises her appearance, or why she is hiding her actual identity in the first place is not known to me. I think I may be the only party in the fort who is privy to this knowledge.**

****20th Granite, 270****

*I managed to convince Mr. Redat (I must refer to her as a "him" consistently, lest I slip up and reveal her secret in conversation) to get his injury fully sutured today. I had plenty of thread for the process and must take measures to make sure that I do not run out again.*

****14th Slate, 270****

*I delivered a foal today, the mother of whom is Ms. Dew. Apparently she is unmarried, but I don't intend to look into such personal matters. At any rate, the child is healthy and Ms. Dew made it through successfully (although she is tired, as expected). She has named the little one Mountain Dew.*

*On an unrelated note, I believe I've found the proper method to keep my special "guest" under control. It would certainly help not having to sneak into the woods every few nights to release its byproducts without being seen.*

****27th Slate, 270****

*So soon after delivering Morning Dew, another pregnancy came to term today. This time it was Ms. Heartfelt. Things went well once again, with the newborn being a pegasus filly christened Cumulus. I'm curious as to whether the same stallion who fathered Mountain Dew is also the responsible party here. Perhaps it's not my place to judge, but I'd rather this didn't become a pattern. I may be divorced, but I support the idea of a foal having both parents present to take care of it if at all possible. A mare raising a filly by herself can be quite stressful on both the mother and child.*

****20th Felsite, 270****

*Looks like there has been more fighting with intruders. Two of our brave warriors, Mr. Flamberge and Mr. Praetorian, were both injured in battle. In a rare turn of events, I was able to bring Mr. Praetorian into the hospital myself. He is in much worse shape than Mr. Flamberge and I knew immediately that I would have to use New Dawn to save his life. His skull is actually fractured and I'm concerned that he may have brain damage as well. Even with that magical potion, it's going to take quite a while for him to recover from all of this damage.*

*Mr. Flamberge absorbed an arrow with his leg during the round of combat, but that is the only problem he seems to have suffered from. We were able to patch it up without needing magic; Dr. Convalescence has been quite helpful and has helped improve the speed and efficiency of the treatment process.*

****2nd Hematite, 270****

*In a turn of good fortune, Mr. Flamberge has recovered well enough to release today. I wish the same could be said of Mr. Praetorian; we have needed to use more and more New Dawn to keep him from falling into deeper comatose states. At this point, the brew is nearly used up. It would be nice if a zebra caravan would stop by so that I could obtain more of it (or, preferably, a stronger concoction of similar function). I would like to learn how to create this substance myself, but I'm not exactly an alchemist.*

*Steel Rivet's "Journal"*

*20th Felsite, 270*

*More intruders. Finally finished tools. I feel useless. More ponies are getting hurt and I just *sit here. Plans. But need quality metal. Not this shit the Discordians have. Two foals born recently. This is good. Also, saw griffin as getting lunch. Will talk to him later.**

Scenes #10 Therapy Edition

and

Maize sits by the bed, tears slowly streaming from her cheeks as she closes her new diary. Beside her, Praetorian lies almost completely still on the bed, bandages wrapped around him. The mare leans over to his face, but hesitates to give him a kiss, afraid of hurting him. Her mind takes a moment to consider how backwards it feels for him to be the more fragile of the two as she moves back to her seat.

“Prae-prae...” She had thought of the nickname just yesterday, and had planned to ask Praetorian if he was okay with it this afternoon. Her mind’s eye pictured a little dinner together out in the field. The sharp contrast between it and here made her want to cry even more, but she held her tears. She had promised Case Study she wouldn’t make too much noise, since it would disturb the unconscious stallion.

A few minutes pass, empty minutes of her staring at the figure in the bed as her mind pounded out every single thing it could, finding every reason this was unfair, trying to discover every single thing Maize could have done to make sure this didn’t happen, filling to the brim with regrets and sorrows and even a bit of self-loathing, because it’s her fault, isn’t it?

No. It’s not her fault. Her father was wrong. He was always wrong. They were always wrong. They wanted her to suffer, they wanted to take everything away from her. They even wanted to take her. NO. They wouldn’t. Father wouldn’t win this time. She killed him once. She can do it again. And again and again and ag-

No, no. She doesn’t have to worry about that anymore. Praet... I mean, the other military ponies are here to protect her now. Even Praetorian will be okay soon, right? That’s what Case Study said, and he’s smart. He’s a lot smarter than her, at least. All she knows is plants. Plants are so much simpler than ponies.

Besides, she’s weak. She couldn’t hurt one of those... discordant ponies if she tried. I mean, she just got lucky that one time. Caught her father off-guard. I mean, it can’t be that hard to bash somepony’s skull open if she did it, right? Besides, he didn’t even have any armor, and those discordants are always armored.

Yeah... Just leave it to the better ponies... Everything would be okay... I mean, even if... Even if everypony died, Amug would just scoop them all up and bring them somewhere safe where they could be happy and such. Surely this place’s evil couldn’t stop Amug, the bringer of dawn and dusk. Maize smiled a little through the tears and bowed her head, saying a quick prayer before curling up in the chair. It wasn’t the most comfy spot, but Maize never really did care where she slept.

(Its a Double Feature right here! First scene is just after the party and got lost in the shuffle, I guess? Next scene is set for just after Flamberge gets out of the hospital.)

and

Flamberge exits the party, with Cream Puff unconscious on his back, and heads to Cream Puff's room. He places the water on her nightstand and then puts her on the bed, under her covers, before heading back outside.

Flamberge then returns to the party and looks around for Crosshair, not finding her he then checks his room, and then the fields where she sometimes slept. Still not finding her he looks up to the sky and sees a lone cloud had been, it seemed, pulled away from the herd and was resting directly above the spot Crosshair liked to sleep.

Flamberge with all the grace of a drunken pig, takes off into the sky toward the cloud.

When he got closer, a sad, Sad sob with cries could be heard coming from the cloud, it almost sounded scary until he recognize that it’s the sound of Crosshair. He never heard her cry before, but somehow, he just knew.

Flamberge makes his way up and lands on the edge of the cloud, "Crosshair?" he says, reaching out a hoof towards her.

The poor mare shivered when he touched her and scooted away from his touch. Crying harder.

Flamberge retracts his hoof sadly as she moves away from him, “Crosshair? Wha’...What’s wrong? Are ya hurt?” he asks concerned.

“It.. It hurts..” She whimpered out between her cries.

“What hurts?” he asks, “Do...do you need to see Case Study? I could move the cloud down to his office...”

“My.. My heart...” She sobbed. “You hurt me..”

"I...I did...I," it dawns on Flamberge what she must have seen, "Crosshair, if this is about Cream Puff, I swear it wasn't what it looks like! I...I'm sorry."

“I saw you suckle on the mouth of my best friend! Tell me what it’s supposed to look like then!” She nearly screamed at him with anger and sadness.

"I...She... she kissed me, Crosshair. I, I was just surprised, and drunk, and...and maybe I should have pushed her away sooner, but, I didn't...I didn't want to hurt you Crosshair. I love you." stammers out Flamberge trying to find the right words.

The little mare just sobs, although not crying as hard as she were now. “What about her?”

"What about her?" he asks, "Look, she was upset, she was drunk, and looked about ready to cry into her mug. I tried to cheer her up and she kissed me, and then she passed out. I'd bet a million bits she won't even remember it in the morning, and she'd have never done it sober. It was a mistake Crosshair, an innocent mistake."

Crosshair rubs her eyes with her forelegs, wiping some of her tears away. “R-Really?” she asked shakily, trying not to sobs so much anymore.

Flamberge nods and forces a smile, “Yes, really.”

She finally let out a relieved sigh, tired from all the crying, she rests her head down onto the clouds.. “I’m.. I’m sorry.. for running off to come here and cry like this..”

Flamberge shakes his head, "No, don't apologize. You did nothing wrong. I mean...if I walked in and saw another stallion kissing you...well that isn't important. Just, Crosshair, believe me when I say, you can trust me, I'd never intentionally hurt you like that."

She nodded softly, finally smiling again as she laid there on the cloud. “I trust you..” she murmurs

Flamberge slowly approaches Crosshair, “I’m glad.” he says as he lays down beside her, he reaches over slowly and when she doesn’t object embraces her, they fall asleep cuddling together under the stars.

Puff actually doesn’t mind doing dishes, oddly enough. She can just go on autopilot and think about other stuff, like what to cook tomorrow. She hums to herself as she finishes cleaning the dinner dishes.

The door to the kitchen opens, a bell rings to announce it has done so. Through the entranceway steps a slightly weary looking Commander Flamberge, he has a large, but clean bandage wrapped around his lower right foreleg, but he seems not to be overly troubled by it as he makes his way inside. He looks around and as he spies Cream Puff, his weariness seems to melt away slightly and he smiles.

Puff dries her hooves as she turns, and she gives Flamberge a happy smile as she spots him. “Flamberge! You’re up and about!”

“I am.” he says proudly as he holds up his injured leg, “It was only a scratch though, Praetorian is the real hero, but anyway, I came here to check up on you, are you alright? I’m told there were quite a lot of discordians about.”

Cream Puff waves a hoof dismissively. “Yeah, I’m fine. Thanks to you four, I don’t think any of them even got past the safety ditch moat thing.”

“They didn’t? That’s good.” replies Flamberge, as he moves up next to Cream Puff.

“So, injury aside, how are you doing?” Puff tries to be a little more detached than normal, in an effort to take Serenity’s advice.

"I'm okay," he says, "Crosshair pulled the night patrol and won't be back for a few hours, so I thought the two of us might go for a little moonlight walk, and chat about whatever comes up." This was, of course, a bold faced lie, as there was no drawing for patrols, they were all assigned by Flamberge, and he had chosen Crosshair for this one, just for this purpose.

Fortunately for him, Puff has no idea how patrols are assigned. That little voice of responsibility tells her to politely decline, but her heart is telling her to go go go! “That sounds nice, ‘Berge! A little cool walk outside instead of sitting around in the hot kitchen, and getting to spend it with a good friend.”

Flamberge rests a hoof on Cream Puff's back and says, "Do you need to finish up anything here, or are you ready to go now?"

Puff fights down the butterflies in her stomach so she can think. “I... I’m ready now.”

Flamberge nods and takes a step back, his hoof 'accidentally' brushing over her flank and tail as he does so while removing it from her. He then gestures for her to lead the way. "Ladies first."

She fights a blush as she heads out first and holds the door for him. “Where should we walk? Or maybe fly?”

Flamberge looks thoughtful then says, “Let's walk, it's easier to talk that way, less wind in our faces."

Flamberge and Cream Puff set out together near the edge of the town, Flamberge sticks very close to Cream Puff as they go.

Cream Puff is strangely quiet as they walk. She’s too busy arguing with herself to bring up any topics of conversation.

"So, Creamy," begins Flamberge, "Crosshair told me she set you up with Temperance, how did that go?"

She giggles. “It went well enough, heh. I don’t think Temperance and I are destined to be anything more than friends, though.”

Flamberge merely replies, "Good," and can not manage to hide a smile as he says it.

Puff quirks an eyebrow at him. “Good?”

"Hmm, well, Temperance is a decent stallion, but he's a bit soft, and I couldn't really see you being happy with him, not long term at least," he replies, "No, you need a better stallion, someone stronger, someone who can take care of you, protect you." He pauses before adding, "Tell me, is there anypony in town that has caught your eye?"

He doesn’t know... right? He can’t know! “Uh... n-no... not really...”

"Nopony?" he says questioningly, as they approach the trench on one side of the town.

Puff blushes and avoids his eyes. “Nope.”

As they reach the trench proper, Flamberge looks up and notices the moon just rising over a distant hill. He takes a seat by the bank.

"Why don't we sit and watch the moonrise?" he says, which though phrased as a question, Flamberge's voice had a way of making certain requests sound more like commands, to Puff's ears.

Puff can’t help but acquiesce. How can she resist spending time with somepony her heart desires so?

While they sit, Flamberge moves close to Cream Puff so that they are touching.

Puff fights a blush and butterflies as Flamberge sits close to her. He’s just being friendly... right?

He then puts one foreleg around her, pulling her close, while watching the moon.

Puff sighs softly, wishing this could be more than just a friendly get together. He’s just so... sure and strong. Crosshair is so lucky...

"Well, Creamy, whatever pony you do fall for, they will have my envy. You are a lovely mare, that any stallion would be lucky to call their own." speaks Flamberge.

She snuggles slightly into him, smiling. “Aw, thanks ‘Berge.”

"Cream Puff, do you remember the night of the party? The one after the tavern was first completed?" he asks, still holding onto her.

“No? Well, not entirely. I... hit the drink pretty hard that night.”

"I didn't think you would." he smiles, "but I don't think I'll ever forget it."

She gives him a confused look. “Why?”

Flamberge looks pensive for a moment, then says, "Perhaps it would be better to show you what you missed, then." he then leans in to kiss her.

Time almost seems to slow down for Puff as her hearthrob leans in to kiss her. She wants this... oh how she wants this! Is it really so wrong to want just a little happiness? To be loved? She leans forward slightly to meet him and kiss back.

After a long and passionate kiss, the two ponies separate a bit. "I love you Cream Puff." Flamberge says, still holding the mare.

“But... Crosshair?” Puff asks, almost breathless.

Flamberge moves away a bit and sighs, "I don't... I don't know, Puff. I...I do love Crosshair, but, I love you too, I don't want to hurt her, but...I don't want to let you fall into somepony else's hooves."

“You don’t get to have both, Flamberge.”

"And why not?" he asks, "Why would that be so wrong?"

Puff gives him a flat look. “Greed and Lust are pretty big turn-offs, ‘Berge.”

Flamberge looks almost insulted, "And why can't it be love? Why must it be greed or lust? Besides, I've seen the way Crosshair looks at you, when she thinks nopony is looking, she wants you as bad as I do, I can tell it, we could all three be happy...together. If you were willing to try. Nopony's feelings have to be hurt here Creamy."

“It’s not going to work, Flamberge. I’ve never seen anything like that work, except is cheesy stories. This is life.”

Flamberge stands up and looks over to Duskfields, his eyes glaze over as he seems to be looking past the town, "Look Cream Puff, I'm not saying it would easy, but what I'm suggesting is hardly unprecedented. Great ponies throughout history have taken multiple lovers, and how often does that lead to problems for them?" he pauses for just a moment before continuing, "One day, I will be a great pony, a king among stallions, and I want both you and Crosshair by my side when that day comes, let me give you that chance."

Puff sighs and shakes her head. “Lovers does not mean loves, Flamberge. Every last historical figure I can think of with multiple lovers was just exhibiting Lust and Greed. And the ones with multiple actual loves are always destroyed by it.”

"Then I'll be better than all of them, Cream Puff. I'll make it work." Flamberge states as easily if he were declaring he would take care of some mundane chore.

“Heh, you’re still a pony, Flamberge.”

"Maybe, but why should I let that limit me?" replies Flamberge, "Are not we ponies the pinnacle of life on this world. Is it not the fact that we can grab nature by the horns and make it obey us, that makes us ponies. That we can take a worthless stone and make this." he draws his sword and sticks it in the dirt. "Why then should we let something as petty, and flimsy as tradition hold us back, from what we want. Why shouldn’t we be together, and why do you doubt our ability to overcome any challenges we might face along the way?"

She sighs and shakes her head. “Look upon my works, ye mighty, and despair...”

Flamberge smiles, “And after all these centuries we still know his name, and his words, better than any other pony of his time.”

“For his hubris. Is that what you want to be remembered for?”

“Better than being forgotten...” Flamberge sits down.

“So you’d rather be on object lesson than simply have a happy life?” Puff takes a few steps away from him. “I’d rather simply do what I can to improve the lives of other ponies. That’s my happiness. I don’t think we would work, Flamberge...”

Flamberge doesn’t respond, his head hangs toward the ground.

Puff starts to slowly walk to her room. “I’m sorry Flamberge...”

Flamberge rolls over onto his back and curses, after he is sure Cream Puff has reached her home, he heads home as well, to wait for Crosshair to come back.

and

Serenity leans back in her seat, peering over the desk at the pegasus mare seated before her. “So. How have you been doing since we last spoke?”

Puff reclines and sighs. “Well... I’m not hung up on Flamberge any more.”

Serenity allows a small smile to brighten her face. “Well, that’s good. How did you manage to get over him?” She leans forward. “...Are you seeing somepony?”

“Well, mostly over him. And no, I’m still single. He... tried to put the moves on me, but I told him he couldn’t have me and Crosshair.” She gives a slightly bitter chuckle. “I think the term is megalomania.”

Serenity recoils slightly. “That sounds very uncharacteristic for him. Or for what I’ve seen of him, at least. What did he say, exactly?”

“He’ll be a king one day, he’s awesome enough to love me and Crosshair, he’s totally not being greedy or lustful, he’s the best pony ever, and so on. I think that’s megalomania, right?”

She nods. “It’s pretty much in line with every case I’ve ever seen, yes.” Serenity sighs heavily. “What you’re telling me is... troubling, to say the least. While you may be over Flamberge, if what you’re saying is true... he may not be over you.”

Puff waives a hoof dismissively. “I’m sure he’ll get over it eventually.”

“I wouldn’t be too sure of that. If he really does think he’s so great... he may believe he is entitled to you.”

Cream Puff starts to say something like she’d kick his flank, but he’s the Military Commander! She probably would be able to make it difficult, but she’s unsure if she could stop him if he tried to force it. “...What should I do?”

Serenity takes a large book from the shelf, opens it, and begins to write. “Well, I would try to avoid him as much as you realistically can. And if you do have to interact with him, try not to say anything that might set him off. Also...” she finishes and shuts the book, “I’d like your consent to tell all this to Temperance. I’m worried this kind of attitude might begin to influence his actions as commander. And if that happens...”

She looks uneasy, but can see Serenity’s concern. “Well, if you think it requires his attention, I guess so?”

“Thank you.” Serenity considers ending their session and going to speak to Temperance immediately, but decides responding to the matter too urgently may distress Cream Puff. Instead, she settles back down into her seat. “Now... did you have anything else you’d like to discuss?”

Puff considers asking about Maize, but figures it’s probably doctor/patient confidential stuff. “Uh... Crosshair and Praetorian set me and Temperance up on a blind date?”

This takes Serenity a bit off-guard, but she recovers quickly. “I’m assuming since you said you weren’t seeing anypony, it didn’t go quite as planned?”

Puff giggles. “It wasn’t a disaster, heh. Temperance is a good stallion, and any mare would be lucky to be with him, but I just didn’t feel that spark I’m expecting, you know? Still, it was an enjoyable meal with a friend. And I got a new recipe for salad out of the deal.”

Serenity smiles. “I’m glad you enjoyed yourself, at least. And please don’t feel discouraged by the outcome, I’m sure a fine stallion will come along and sweep you off your hooves someday.”

Puff looks uncertain. “I dunno, Serenity. It’s just starting to feel like I’m doomed to a life of spinsterhood, you know?”

“I don’t believe that at all. You have a lot of very desirable traits. You’re very sweet and affectionate towards those you care about - and of course, you care about everypony. You’re a master chef - you wouldn’t believe how easy it is to charm a stallion with good food! And it certainly doesn’t hurt that you’re... quite pleasing to the eyes.”

“I’m also loud an in-your-face, heh. I’ve scared off a lot of stallions, too.”

“You are quite... energetic, yes. But some ponies like that in a mare.”

She giggles at that. “If you say so, Serenity. So far, Flamberge is the only stallion who could stand up to my mouth, and you know how well that worked. Ah well, maybe once there’s room for more ponies, I’ll find one.”

Serenity smiles warmly. “There, you see? Be optimistic.”

and

SmoothBlock approached Serenity as she ate in the tavern. The bulky mare placed a tray of samiches on the table “Anypony sitting here?”

Serenity looked up from her large, thick textbook and plate of food. “Oh, no, you’re welcome to have a seat.”

“Thanks toots.” SmoothBlock pulled up a stool and took a bite of a tomato juice sandwich “Nice to meet you, I’m SmoothBlock. Soon to be unemployed miner.”

“Dr. Serenity. I’m pleased to meet you as well. I must ask, did you lose your job, or are you quitting?”

“Works going to run out, and we can’t seem to get through the aquifer. Doctor, I thought case was our sawbones.” Smooth pulled out a bottle of whisky and poured it into her mug. “want some?” she asked.

She held up a hoof. “Oh, no thank you. And I’m not that kind of doctor. I’m actually a psychiatrist.”

“That’s good, everypony here is crazy, Ha-ha!” Smooth took a drink “So, I bet you talk to Maize often.”

Serenity managed a smile. “Yes, actually. She and I become quite close.”

“That’s some good news. You must be good, think you can help RedHat next?” SmoothBlock chuckled and took out a cigar.

Serenity lifted her own mug of juice, taking a sip. “He and I have spoken, yes.”

“Well, the first step is admitting your a jackass and looking for help.” Smooth tapped her cigar on the table “Do you smoke?”

She shook her head. “No, I don’t.”

“It’s like I’m the only one in the fort.” SmoothBlock lit her cigar “What do you do for fun?”

“Well, I used to take walks in the woods, before the Discordians started showing up. I took up fencing back home, but I haven’t found anypony else into the sport here. Now I mostly just talk with my friends.”

“Only thing I know how to swing is a pick. I spend most of my ever expanding free time, at the ‘Brewery’.” SmoothBlock took a long drag and breathed smoke rings off to one side.

Serenity shies away from the clouds of condensed carcinogen. “Oh, you brew spirits?”

“Yup, well I try, mostly I just make swamp Whisky. I think I made tomato vodka once.” SmoothBlock rubbed her chin.

Serenity nodded. “Well, that’s a nice hobby to have.”

SmoothBlock casually chewed a sandwich before speaking again. “So, am I sane, Doc?” She smiled at Serenity.

Serenity chuckled softly. “Yes, you sound perfectly sane to me. Were you afraid that you weren’t?”

“I’m not exactly the ideal mare, you know, not so ‘Ladylike’.” SmoothBlock scratched her belly.

“Well, that’s to be expected, I suppose. You have to be quite... hardened... to survive long out on the frontier.” She grinned sheepishly. “To be honest, I wouldn’t even be out here if I hadn’t been asked.”

“Yeah. These new freaky ponies, I think we need a wall.... and another two archers.” SmoothBlock took a puff from her cigar. “Is there a type of juice you like? I make juice with Puff sometimes.”

Serenity considered this for a moment. “Well... I haven’t had pear juice in a while. If you ever get your hooves on some pears, that would be nice.”

“I’ll keep my eyes open, will soft cider be ok? I make a mean cider.” SmoothBlock grinned.

Serenity nodded. “That would be lovely.”

SmoothBlock nodded “I did notice one thing, Doc.”

“Oh? What’s that?”

The husky mare looked up and too the side. “Ponies around here don’t laugh much.” She blew out a puff of smoke.

Serenity pondered this for a minute. “You’re right. I’ve heard the odd chuckle here, but overall ponies here seem to be a solemn bunch.”

“The most laughs I heard was at WoodChip’s party, and I think it was mostly me.” SmoothBlock tapped the ash off her Cigar “Or maybe at me. It’s hard to tell.”

“Maybe it’s just the nature of a frontier town. When ponies get settled in a little better, and feel a little safer, there will be more time for merriment.”

“Could be just that. Thanks for chatting, by the way.” SmoothBlock finished her samich.

Serenity smiled. “Not a problem. I enjoy getting to know ponies.”

Then they finished their lunches and went on their way.

and

Maize looks at the floor around her chair and wonders if that much hair falling off in a week is normal or if she’s shedding or something.

Serenity pokes her head through the hospital door, scanning the main room. As she lays eyes on Maize, she enters and quietly approaches. “...I thought I’d find you here.”

Maize looks up from her dreary mental slog, taking a moment to recognize the pony before her. “Oh... hi, Serenity.” She doesn’t sound very enthusiastic... or necessarily healthy, for that matter.

Serenity sits beside Maize, watching the sleeping stallion. “So... how is he doing?”

Maize’s head droops a little. “Sometimes, he wakes up, and I get really excited, but then he just babbles until he falls back asleep. He’s... been doing it more and more often, I think... maybe. I haven’t really kept track of time.”

Serenity nods. “Case Study says he’ll recover in a few more days. He’s a good doctor, and I trust his judgement.” She looks up at Maize. “And... how are youdoing?”

Maize looks up. “I... don’t know. I’ve been eating, because of Cream Puff, and I think I’ve been getting enough sleep, maybe, and sometimes Morning Dew asks me for help in the farm and I go help her, but... I feel bad. About what happened to Praetorian. I... feel like maybe it might be my fault.”

Serenity stifles a gasp. “Maize... why would you ever think that?”

“Because...” Maize thinks about how to put her words, before just giving up. “B-because, I’m a discordant pony... and I think the others can sense me... maybe. I don’t know.” She lowers her head, literally looking up at Serenity. “But... it makes sense, doesn’t it?”

Serenity shakes her head. “No, it doesn’t. Not at all. If you’re a discordant, why are they only coming for you now? When your father hurt you, why didn’t they come to protect one of their own?”

“B-because... he was a discordant. He’s where I got it from, I think.” She thinks for a few moments. “I don’t think mama was, though... so maybe I’m just half-blood... maybe they want to kill me...” Maize seems to be surprisingly calm at this thought.

Serenity is silent for a long moment, letting that revelation sink in. Eventually, she speaks up. “...Even if that’s true... there are a lot of ponies here who would fight to protect you. Who /have/ fought to protect you.”

Maize shakes her head. “That’s not what I want. I don’t want anypony to get hurt because of me.” She shakily tries to stand, instead stumbling and falling off the chair as her sleeping legs fail her.

Serenity steps in, helping Maize to her feet with a smile. “It isn’t like you can stop us from trying. We’ll protect you... because we love you.”

“N-no... I love you all, too...” The mare starts tearing up. “I... I can run away... lead them off... so they won’t bother you... I don’t want ponies getting hurt...”

“You could...” Serenity leans against Maize. “But I know at least two ponies who would follow you.”

Maize looks at the mare snuggled against her for a moment before wrapping a hoof around her, holding her tightly. “You shouldn’t... m-maybe... I shouldn’t either...” She puts her head against Serenity. “A-after all, what happens if I’m wrong? That would be... just one less pony to help keep this place safe, I... I guess.”

Serenity doesn’t answer. She just puts her hooves around Maize and holds her silently.

Maize holds Serenity back for a few minutes before her legs start to get tired. She slowly pulls away. “Thanks... I feel a bit better now.”

“You’re always welcome, Maize. Now, how long has it been since you ate today?”

Maize looks down to her stomach, which grumbles a little. “I don’t really know, but I suppose I should eat something...”

Serenity puts a hoof on Maize’s back. “Come on, let’s go see what Cream Puff has cooked up.”

Maize nods and follows Serenity to the door, glancing back at the bed for a moment before finally stepping out.

and

Redhat sighed and looked down at the ground. Even after the fields outside town were cleared of the guts and corpses, the earth still had a faint stench of death as well as a few splatters of blood here and there. This honestly wasn’t the idea place for a pony to spend there free time, but right now the pegasus was just sitting on a stump, doing nothing in particular as his pet just sat next to him.

Serenity happened to trot by, on her way back to the office. Noticing Redhat looking forlorn on his little stump, she headed over to see what was the matter. “Redhat? Is everything alright?”

The pony “ughed” and turned around to see Serenity was there. “oh... hi...”

“Hello. I was just on my way back to work, and noticed you here. Are you feeling alright?”

“Well, I certainly certainly could be better...” he sighed, the pony honestly looked like he felt horrid.

Serenity pawed the ground nervously. “Would you... like to talk about it?”

“I ‘spose” he said, seeming rather dejected.

She came over and sat down beside him, opposite the big shaggy dog. “So, what’s gotten you in a funk?”

The dog whimpered, before moving over and giving Serenity a little nuzzle. “Hmmm... Well, can’t you smell it in the air?”

Serenity briefly rubbed Bonnet’s head, turning up her nose and sniffing the air. “Not really... wait. Something metallic, rather like copper...”

“Oh, well that’s the stench of blood.” He leaned sighed again and looked down. “which, is part of the plethora of death’s scents.”

Serenity’s pupils shrank, then she mentally bucked herself for forgetting that this was the site of the battle mere hours ago. She took a moment to regain her composure. “S-Sorry... I’ve never actually smelt blood before. Why are you out here, then?”

The pony shrugged. “because something disgusting happened here, and I personally and quite depressed about it.”

“You mean what happened to Praetorian?”

“That’s part of it but, how many ponies died today?” he gave her an odd look, and stroked his wolf a little.

It didn’t take a genius to realize he wasn’t talking about the guard. “...You’re ashamed of killing the discordants?”

“Oh never. In fact, a pony in my profession should show a certain level of decency, and respect when you take the life of another, to be ashamed of your job to be a shameful pony.” He grinned for a moment before frowning again. “but... regardless, I find the the act of murder to essentially eat away at one’s soul.”

“Then, you fear the nature of your profession may be harming your mental and emotional wellbeing?”

“Oh, well... Not exactly. I just would prefer not to be one of those idiots who convince themselves that justify the act of slaying another via nationalism, or glory, or some other means. That’s just delusion of reality.” He then sighed and looked to the ground. “and yes, I fear killing will harm my mind unless I lie to myself.”

Serenity noded, listening intently. “I see.” She looked up at Redhat. “You know, you don’t have to justify their deaths in the way that you mean in order to accept that they were necessary.”

He gave a rather disheartened look. “Oh yes. Twas necessary, now wasn’t it.” He now was sporting an angry look. “This is the world where murder is indeed a necessary part of our continued existence. We kill them they’ll kill us. It’s funny how that only makes everything worse.” He then looked down again. “I can’t tell, if this world was always this big of a hell hole, or if it’s just decaying and withering into one.”

The pegasus then got up for a moment. “but, regardless none of that matters if we all die in the end.”

“If you really believe all that... why be a soldier? Why put yourself in a position where you have to kill, again and again?”

“Because I’m fearful... I’m afraid of something a lot more frightening than a group of discordants, and a spear at my side gives me a sense of protection and honestly, if I’m not out here killing, and being conscious of how disgusting my act is, odds are you’ll just have another dumb ass with a wavy sword charging in head first, losing himself to primal rage and delusions of honor and glory, when all he’s really doing is spilling the guts on another pony, and being proud of it. It don’t see the distinction between that in a bloody serial killer. The longer I keep this job the less likely you’ll get another mindless moron who does this shit with smile from ear to ear.

Serenity had a pretty good idea who Redhat was talking about. “...I can assure you, ponies like him are thankfully quite rare.”

“No... I personally know there are a many ponies like him, conditioned by society to be brainwashed by personal visions of self worth brought about the senseless killings of others. I personally know that all the foals in my class as a child loved to play soldier, and talk about the heroic efforts of war heros in their story books. Why it’s foals like them who become the butchers of masses.”

“You misunderstand. He’s... something else entirely.”

“what makes you say that?”

“...Nothing. Anyhow, I need to head off to work.”

“Oh... well thanks for making everything better.” he was clearly being sarcastic.

Serenity stood and left in a bit too much of a hurry, considering the circumstances.

and

“...And then we made a little small talk, to take her mind off it. I didn’t want her to become too distressed. And then she left..” Serenity sighs, slumping a bit in her seat.

Temperance looks quite troubled. “I... this doesn’t... I mean, I never thought he was like that,” he says, slightly dumbstruck. “He’s really after her too, not just Crosshair? And Cream Puff thinks that he might, ah, keep pushing this?”

Serenity puts a hoof to her forehead. “She didn’t... but I do. I’ve seen this many times before, Temperance. Once a pony like that decides they want somepony...”

Temperance looks even more troubled. He’s silent for a brief period. “That... uh, worries me a bit. No... more than a bit. I’ve seen how he can get in a fight.” He looks Serenity in the eyes. “Do you think he might hurt Cream Puff?”

“...That’s a very real possibility.”

That’s what Temperance was expecting to hear, but really wished he didn’t. “Gasis preserve her,” he mutters under his breath. “Wh-what do you think we should do? I, uh, I guess I could talk to him, if you think it would make a difference.” What the hay was he going to say to the stallion though?

Serenity looks off into the distance. “I’m not so sure that’s a good idea. If you say anything to upset him... he’s the strongest soldier in town, and we have so few others...”

“Right,” Temperance sighs. “Praetorian is still in the hospital, and even if he was back on his hooves, I’m not sure he, Crosshair and Redhat together could really oppose Flamberge. If they even wanted to... I mean, these are pretty big allegations, and they seem so sudden.”

He shakes his head slowly. “Actually... have you spoken to anypony else about this? I can’t imagine why she would, but could Cream Puff be trying to mislead us about him? Maybe she’s trying to damage his reputation?”

Serenity shakes her head. “No, I haven’t mentioned it to anypony else. I was afraid of it getting back to him. But why would she want to harm his image like that?”

“I don’t know,” he answers truthfully. “If she was interested in him but things went sour... I don’t know, I thought it made as much sense as him seemingly turning on her like this. I guess you just don’t really know ponies when you think you do, sometimes...” He lets out a drawn out breath. “For what it’s worth, I believe you and her. I just wish I knew what to do about it.”

“I do agree that this may not be what it appears on the surface. Before we do anything, we need to find out what’s really going on.” Serenity sighs, “If you have any ideas that don’t involve spying on Cream Puff, I’d love to hear them.”

Temperance taps a hoof a few times on his desk as he thinks. “I certainly don’t like the idea of spying on her, but she’s going to be our best source of information. I would say that we should talk with her friends about it so that they’re aware of what’s going on, and could report strange things to us... but as you said we don’t want word of this getting around.”

He brings his hoof up to his chin and says, “At this point I don’t think there really is anything we can do. I won’t tolerate him hurting her, but I’m mostly powerless.” After a moment, he adds, “For now, I guess the best we can do is to keep a close eye on them. I’ll try to do that much at least.” And maybe when he got a chance, send a letter to Coupledye asking for more ponies who knew a thing or two about law and enforcing it.

Serenity nods. “Thank you. I really hope this isn’t as big a deal as it looks, but I’m glad somepony is doing something about it.”

“I hope so too,” he says, slumping back into his seat. “I’ll do everything I can. I just wish there was more I could do.”

Serenity stands and turns to go, but hesitates. “...And could you, uh... keep an eye on Crosshair as well? If he’s been behaving oddly, she’d be the first one to see it.”

The thought that Crosshair might factor into this too was also a bit unsettling, but Temperance nods. “I’ll do that. And of course, if you see or hear anything alarming, let me know immediately.” He hesitates himself, wondering just how much danger Serenity might be putting herself in. “...and be careful.”

, , and

Puff hums to herself as she gets ready to cook lunch, when she hears a slight tapping, repeating itself. Almost like hooves, but too quiet for a pony. Tap, tap, tap. She frowns slightly in confusion as she looks around. Is there a big bug in here somewhere?

Tap, tap, tap. It’s getting closer towards her.

Puff grabs her chef’s knife, wondering if maybe it’s a discordian, or maybe another diamond dog? “Stay back!”

There’s a little giggle as the tapping stops, and then starts again. It seems to be coming from above Cream Puff.

Giggles? Discordians don’t giggle, and neither do diamond dogs. Puff looks upward, confused.

Mountain Dew, the old new foal in the fort, is walking around on the roof above Cream Puff, apparently suspended in her magic. As she giggles, her magic fizzles away, and she drops onto Cream Puff’s face.

Puff spits the knife out as the foal falls, then takes the little pony off her face. “What do you think you’re doing, little one?”

“Ub bub ba!” says the little foal, as she tries to get back on the funny pegasus’ face.

Cream Puff giggles at the little filly. “No, my face is not a jungle-gym, Mountain Dew. Did you escape your mamma again?”

“Bub ub ba ba,” confesses the little foal. “Ba ubba ba.” She does her best to look at least somewhat contrite.

She giggles again and boops the little one’s nose. “Maybe you’d sneak off less often if I stopped feeding you sweets whenever you sneak in here.” She transfers the foal to her back as she digs through her stash of candies. It’s basically limited to toffees right now, but Puff is certain she’ll be able to make a wider variety of candies once more crops are grown. She pulls out one and gives it to the foal. “I am a bad influence, heh.”

Mountain Dew’s eyes light up at the toffee, and starts sucking on it like a sugar--coated pacifier. “Blub bluh bluh,” she says through the little sweet, drooling a little as she does so.

Puff giggles at the adorable filly, then heads off to search for Morning Dew, carrying Mountain Dew on her back. “Lets go find your momma.”

“Bluh, bluh, bluh, “ agrees Mountain Dew, and she continues to suck on her sweet.

Bundle of joy on her back, Cream Puff heads for Morning Dew’s apartment and gives it a knock. “Morning Dew? You there?”

There’s a long wait, and it doesn’t look like there’s any response.

“Huh... must be out in the fields then.” Puff shrugs and heads that way.

Morning Dew doesn’t appear to be out in the fields either. Mountain Dew says “Bluh bluh bluh,” with a slight shrug.

“Hmm...” Puff paces, wondering just where Morning Dew got to. Well... she should be showing up for lunch at least. “Think you could behave for me while I get lunch going? There’ll be more toffee in it for you if you can.”

Mountain Dew nods her head up and down rapidly. “Bluh blub blub!” she says, before going back to sucking on her lolly.

“Atta girl!” Puff hums and skips a little as she heads back for the tavern, confident she’ll see Morning Dew come in for lunch so she can return the little filly.

The filly does her best to behave through the rush of lunch, and as the crowds start to thin, there is still no sign of Morning Dew. Just as it seems like she isn’t coming, Mountain Dew perks her head up, and starts running over to a shadow near the door.

“Oop! Don’t go running off, Mountain!” She flaps after the energetic little filly, not wanting to see her lost twice in one day.

Mountain Dew appears to have found her mother, and is now hugging Morning Dew’s left foreleg tightly as the mare still tries to remain hidden. “Oh. H-hello, Cream Puff. Was Mountain Dew bothering you?” she asks, in a quiet voice.

“Na, she wasn’t a bother. How are you doing, Morning Dew?”

“Oh. I’m... okay,” says Morning Dew, without her voice getting any louder. “How are you?”

“Not bad, heh. Mountain and I tried to find you earlier today, but couldn’t. Hope you weren’t too worried.”

“Oh. Was that you knocking?” she asks.

“Yeah! Why didn’t you answer?” Puff gives her a slightly confused look. Surely she noticed her filly was missing, right?

“I...I was scared,” she says, and hangs her head. A little glow starts opening Cream Puff’s stash of toffees, and one start floating up towards Morning Dew’s mouth, as Mountain Dew tries concentrating very hard.

Puff doesn’t notice the adorable little thief getting into her stash. “Scared? Of what?”

“Of...Of the other ponies. You’ve...You’ve heard what they’ve been s-saying about me, haven’t you?” she says, sadness creeping into her voice. “I...I just-” Whatever she does just is cut off, as the toffee finds its way into her mouth.

Puff looks confused at the floating candy, then sees it was little Mountain’s doing, and smiles. “Don’t worry about what the others think, Morning. Mountain just wants to make you happy, and I’d like to see you happy, too.”

Morning Dew puts a weak smile on her face as she capitulates to eating the toffee. “Bluh bluh bluh!” says Mountain Dew.

Puff giggles and smiles. “Exactly!”

Morning Dew leans down and nuzzles her little foal, and smiles gratefully at Cream Puff. “I’m sorry for being such a bother,” she says after finally finishing the toffee.

“Heh, it’s no bother, Morning. Have you tried talking to Serenity, though? She’s actually trained for this kind of thing, you know.”

“I... I’ve said I have. But... I haven’t, really. I don’t go out of the home much anymore,” admits the mare.

“I think she could help you. And I’d be happy to watch Mountain Dew whenever you have a session.” Puff gives her a reassuring nudge and friendly smile.

“I... I feel like I’m just being selfish, though, if I do that... It was my fault...”

Puff gently starts leading her towards the office, hoping Serenity will be there and be available. “Definitely sounds like you could use a talk with Serenity, Morning. I’d be happy to listen to what’s really bothering you, but I really don’t know if I could actually help you. Just give her a chance? If she can help me with my anger, I’m sure she can help you.”

Morning Dew goes along with Puff with only a bit of reluctance. “If you say so...” Meanwhile, Mountain Dew sneaks her way to the collection of toffees…

, , and

Morning Dew was not feeling entirely happy. She had been persuaded by her friend, Cream Puff, to talk to Serenity, one of the mares in town, about her... her history. She screws her eyes shut as she begins to knock on the door. She couldn’t go back now, she’d have to go in.

From inside, Morning Dew hears a quiet gasp of surprise. “...Just a moment, please!” She hears a long, high rasp of metal on metal, then the door clicks open. “Oh, hello Morning Dew. How are you?”

“Um, I’m okay. I think. I... Cream Puff said I should talk to you,” she says, almost bowing her head in some embarrassment.

Serenity smiles. “Come on inside, make yourself comfortable.”

“Oh, thank you,” Morning Dew says and she walks in after Serenity.

Once she is assured that her patient is situated, Serenity takes her seat behind the desk. “...And how is little Mountain doing?”

“She’s doing okay. Cream Puff found her trying to sneak into the kitchen again just before she told me to come here,” replies Morning Dew.

“I’m glad to hear that. Now, I’m guessing you’re here to talk about her?”

“I... Sort of,” admits Morning Dew. “It was... was also...the other stuff involved with her. And... Well, you know.”

She nods. “I do. I’ll let you start.”

Morning Dew, put slightly on the spot, freezes up for a second, before forcing herself to be calm and speak. “I... I’m not married, as you know... And... I was pregnant. And I’ve had a foal. And... And the other ponies... I... I’ve heard them talking about me.”

“What sorts of things do they say?”

“They... They’re saying bad things.”

Serenity can guess what she means by that. “And are the things they say true?”

“...No, they aren’t,” she whispers.

“Then... what is the truth?”

“I... I loved somepony. Love him still,” she whispers. “But...I don’t know if he loves me...”

Serenity nods. “Who is he? Is he here in Duskfields?”

“Y-yes. I... I don’t want to tell you his name. Please,” said Morning Dew.

“Why? Why don’t you want ponies to know about him?”

“Because...because it wasn’t his fault. It was mine,” says Morning Dew.

Serenity raises an eyebrow. “What was your fault? The pregnancy?”

“I...Please, you can’t tell anypony this, please!” begs Morning Dew.

Serenity nods. “Everything you say here in this room is kept between us.”

“Okay...Okay.” Morning Dew breathes deeply, and tries to calm down. “I was... I was on a little date. With him. And we were having a little meal, and... And...” She stops, trying to breathe and calm down.

Serenity gets up from her seat, coming around to sit beside Morning Dew and provide whatever support she could. “...And?”

“And... And then... I... I found a little th-” Before Morning Dew can complete her word, there is a loud crack, and a little yellow ball drops onto her head. “Bub lu ba?” says the little foal, before she spots Serenity, and a great thing to swing on. She jumps up to try and grab onto Serenity’s horn.

She catches the little filly with her magic, gently setting her in Morning Dew’s hooves. That slight tingle of magic lingering in the air... surely this little foal hadn’t... “She... teleported here?”

“Is that unusual?” Morning Dew asks anxiously. Mountain Dew, meanwhile, is still on a sugar high from eating almost twice her weight in sugar. And so, she jumps up, and tries to find something else to play with. That silly unicorn is no fun. She spots the little desk, and a gleam in her eyes, she jumps up and onto the desk, and plays her new game, knocking all the paper off the desk!

Serenity tries her best to catch the papers as they fall. “Not at all. It’s a - Mountain, stop that! - a high-level spell that takes most unicorns years to master.”

“Um, is that good or bad?” asks Morning with a bit of apprehension. Mountain, having kicked off all the paper, tries to find something else to do. “Buh lubba.” She looks at the papers, and her horn glows, and the writing starts to dance up into the air, leaving the paper behind. Soon the writing is forming new things, not words but images, with two figures forming from the groups of words; Serenity and Mountain Dew. They seem to be playing games, but the images of Serenity soon become more and more unhappy, until the last which is a mere silhouette.

Serenity can only sit and gape at the otherworldly display of magical prowess. “That’s... that’s not possible...”

Morning Dew is getting more and more concerned about her baby apparently doing things that are impossible. “Not possible? What do you mean?” she asks anxiously. “There’s nothing wrong with her, right?” Mountain Dew, without any such apprehension or anxiety, lets the words fall back onto the paper in a jumble, and looks for more things to play with.

Swiftly, Serenity moves in and scoops the little filly up in her hooves. She tousles her mane for a moment before presenting her to Morning Dew. “Your daughter is... incredibly gifted.”

Morning Dew hugs her daughter tight. “You think so?” she asks Serenity. “I...She’s my first foal, I don’t really know that much...” Mountain Dew seems to be struggling to get out of Morning Dew’s hold on her.

Serenity nods. “She seems to be firmly in control of her magic, though she will of course need to be taught to use it responsibly.”

Morning Dew nods a bit, before Mountain Dew finally manages to slip out of her grip and jump onto Serenity’s face again. “Buh ubba!” Mountain Dew says as she dismisses the concept of ‘responsibility’ out of hoof.

Serenity catches the little filly as she dives at her face. She holds Mountain Dew to her chest as she tickles her lightly.

“Bluh buh ba!” cries Mountain Dew in excitement. This was even more fun than walking on the funny pegasus with the yummy things!

Serenity cannot help but giggle. “She’s a darling. even if she does like to get into mischief.” She looks up at Morning Dew. “And I’m sure, with her mother to guide her, she’ll grow into a beautiful mare some day.”

“I...I hope so,” Morning Dew says. “I hope so.”

and

SmoothBlock was in the tavern drinking. She casually sipped her drink.

The tavern doors swing open and Max shuffles through them in a very unflattering pair of khaki pants. He saddles up next to Smoothblock.

“Hey, Max.” She refilled her mug “What yah drinkin?”

He opens his mouth, then thinks about it some more. It’s been quite a while since the last time he did some ‘social drinking’. “Let me think . . . Uh, hard lemonade! that’s the one.” He gestures with his claws. “Make it a real tall glass.”

“....I have swap whisky, wheat beer, tomato vodka, or wild strawberry schnapps.” SmoothBlock tapped the barrels. “I’ll try to get some lemons from the Zebras.”

Max puts three fingers up. “Three then. Why not? I need something after what Temperance just put me through.” He shakes his head. Where has his manners gone? “But i’ll no doubt talk your ear off about that when I’m blind-drunk in due time. How about you? You’re name is?”

“SmoothBlock. I’m the miner, and sometimes brewer. I’ve seen you working on some walls around town.”

“Ha! SmoothBlock.” He rubs his chin. “You’re . . . Taller than everypony made you out to be.”

“You mean I’m not as fat as they made you think.” SmoothBlock took another drink.

Max knows a touchy topic when he sees one. He Mr Miyagi's his way out of that one. “Who needs to be rail thin anyway?” He sneered at the status quo. “You’re bucking the trend. It works for you!” Wax on, wax off.

“Heh, nice save.” She poured a mug full of Vodka for Max “So what do you do when you’re not working?”

“Ah, very, very thanks much.” He grabs the glass. “Weelll . . .” Max is genuinely surprised any pony cares. “I try to do fun things. Mix it up a little. I was going to serve Temperance and Cream Puff at their blind date yesterday! Holly mentioned it, I jumped on it, and the Praetorian shut me down hours before thing got started.” He leans back, hurt. “Do you know how hard it is to find a waiter’s bowtie in such a short amount of time? I was really looking forward to that!”

“Well damn, sounds like you put a lot of thought into that.” SmoothBlock took another drink then topped her mug up “I just drink and dig.”

Max shugs. “Eh, Actually you’re drinking with good company and digging a moat that keeps the thieves out. That’s a little more valuable than you’re giving it credit.”

“Thanks. I really hope we get more stone though, I kind of, can’t use my talent without it.” Smooth fidgeted with her mug and smiled.

He grins, closes his eyes and takes a swig. “I’m confidant Temperance will take care of it.”

“Three layers of soil before we hit the aquifer, and then we need drain it.” SmoothBlock grumbled “I’m still working on that screw, pump thing. Seeing Woodchips about it.”

“He he heh, screw pumping Woodchips, huh?” Max laughed devilishly, thinking aloud. He looked back at his mug. Did he really say that aloud?

“Hugh hugh hugh ah hah! Nice one.” Smoothblock knocked her head back as she laughed. “Thanks for the laugh Max.”

Max rubs the back of his neck. “Heh, yeah.” He changes the topic quickly. “I can’t believe Temperance is making me wear pants now? apparently nudity is frowned upon around this establishment!” Max gets modestly belligerent. “Thought you ponies were all ‘bout ‘living free’ and all that.” He gulps another pint.

SmoothBlock pores the clothed gryphon another mug full “I only wear coveralls to work. Usual I just walk about like this.” She looked at her tail. “Although, I really could use a dress.”

“whugh yuuu know I can probably hellp uuot with thhat, I can likee ‘ta think o’ me as . . . A Do’er.” Max said, thinking his words carried a lot more of wit, prose, and poignancy than rambling slurrs should.

“I think I will understand you better once I have had a glass of goat milk and sandwich. You want a sandwich, Max?” Smooth offered thinking she should slow down on the drinking just a bit.

His glass makes a loud -clank!- as he sets it down on the table. “Yeessss. I would. I should! I’ve’a been work’in up’a hunger puttin’ up logs.” He smiles wryly. “Youuu know, I’m holdin’ my liquor surprisingly well fer’ be’in sober for four years.”

“You’re still standing. Three may have a been bit much to start with.” SmoothBlock moved to the pile of egg sandwiches and took two, and two mugs of milk.

“Soo why you come here, SmoothBlock? Why you come to this humble little patch of nowhere? I’m trying to piece it together. Whhy you ponies are migratin’ here, I mean. ”

“Well, I was hoping to be the only mason in this fort. work stone, get nice big place out here. too bad I can’t find any stone. Oh well, digging the moat is good work. Yeah, mostly move here for the space and a chance to be more useful.” She drank her milk.

“Life, liberty and th’ produce of happiness . . .” Max gurgled. “How idyllic” Max grabs a sandwich. He tries to line it up with his beak as best as he can. He shoots and scores. “Mmm, Pretty good.” He says while spattering crumbs everywhere.

“Cream Puff is the best darn cook ever, making those. So convenient.” She took another bite of her own. “It was nice talking to you, Max.”

“euuehgh . . “ Max said with a mouth full of sandwich. He stops chewing for a moment. “Eugh too . . .” He gulps it down fast.. ‘Speaking of Cream Puff . . .’ Max gets up. He was late for an important cake tasting. "See you around, SmoothBlock."

Morning Dew was alone in the room with the stallion she had had a crush on since she had arrived at the fort. They were just chatting, a little, but it still almost set her heart a-thumping. The stallion was feeling something stirring inside him too. Something he hadn’t felt in many years. Morning Dew was a nice pony that he was enjoying chatting with. Pretty too, but he felt here was so much more beneath the surface. She was shy, but he felt with just a bit of prodding he could get her to open up a bit. “So, I was thinking... I’m going to be free a few nights this week. Would you like to join me for dinner one night?”

Morning Dew’s heart thumped a fair bit more. “Really? Um, yes, that would be nice. I’d love to,” she said. “Um. What night will it be?”

Inside, he was beaming. She said yes! As his heart began to slow down he said, “How about tomorrow night? You’re not too busy then, are you?”

“I shouldn’t be. My nights are usually free,” she admitted with a slight sigh.

“Great,” he said with a small smile. “How about seven tomorrow night? Same place?”

“That sounds like a good idea,” she said with a little smile.

“Alright then.” He sat for a little while, saying nothing as he thought. “Well, it’s getting pretty late. Perhaps I should be going? I’ll see you tomorrow night.” He could barely contain a grin as he spoke.

That next night, the two ponies walked back to the same room, plates perched on their backs. At some point, they had ‘accidentally’ wrapped their tails around each other’s, but neither seemed to be too ready to stop it. Morning Dew smiled happily to herself, pure enjoyment at her time with her crush. Maybe, though she didn’t think it too likely, maybe he liked her too. Oh, but he did. He was feeling a bit giddy inside, although he wouldn’t admit that to anypony. He hadn’t known her long, but something just felt right about her. Once they are inside, he finally coaxed his tail free of hers and finds an empty spot to offload his dinner. He still wore a small, slightly goofy smile as he looked over to her. “It smells great, Cream Puff really knows how to cook.”

“Doesn’t she,” said Morning Dew in agreement. “Her sandwiches are the best.” Her smile matched his when she looked at him, and a giddy rush coursed through her body.

“I can’t wait for her to have somewhere a bit better to work. I can’t imagine what she’ll cook up for us once she does.” He smoothed the sheets on the bed and transferred their meal to the centre of it. Then, with a slightly awkward attempt to prepare a spot for her to lay, he said, “Ladies first.”

Morning Dew couldn't stop a giggle as she reclines on her part of the bed. “Why, thank you, my noble knight,” she said to him with a smile. “Will you join me?”

“Of course, milady,” he said, slipping up onto the bed carefully. This was already working out very nicely, in his view.

Morning Dew giggled a little more, and sighed happily. “Well, shall we eat, then?”

“Let’s,” he agreed. They were making a pretty big deal over a few sandwiches, but it was the thought and the mood that counted. He took a bite of his sandwich, surprised to find the distinct flavour of tomato mixed in with the peanut butter. Morning Dew tried her own sandwich, and while she didn’t trust the mixture of flavours, they did seem to work. Somehow.

The sandwich was quite strange, but interesting enough that he kept eating. As he finished it, he had a little chuckle. “Well, that was certainly interesting. I think I may stick to the more conventional one in the future though.”

“Yes, I might too,” she said with another little giggle. “Well...There’s one left... Do you want to share?” she asked.

Oh, what could one more funny peanut tomato sandwich hurt? “Certainly,” he said with a smile. He took his half in his mouth, letting the slightly soggy concoction hang above the plate. Now he just had to figure out how to split it. Then Morning Dew stepped in, and took her half in her mouth with a smile, stopping his fumbling around before it even happens. When he realised what happened, he started to laugh lightly. That was certainly one way to solve the problem. A smile formed around the bread in his mouth and he pulled back gently, splitting the sandwich close to the centre. She got the slightly bigger piece, but that was perfectly fine with him.

Morning Dew happily munched away on the sandwich. This had been one of the best nights of her life. The stallion with her felt the same. He hadn’t been this excited since he arrived in Duskfields, and not for many years before that. He finished his piece of the sandwich, not really paying attention to the flavour as he stared into Morning Dew’s eyes. She was so pretty. Morning Dew stared right back, a smile on her face. She leans over to him, and hugs him tight. “Thank you for the night. I really enjoyed it.”

He gave her a firm hug too. “No, thank you. I enjoyed it too. We should definitely do this again soon.”

Credits

Telgin: Creator and player of Temperance.

KingStrongBeard: Player of Flamberge.

Kryptid: Artist and Player of Case Study and Yari

Omicega: Player of Holly

VkiNm: Player of Crosshair

Khenal: Player of Cream Puff

Zomara0292: Player of Veneer

TheBronzePickle: Player of Maize, Epaulette and Bascinett

Dsarker: Player of Praetorian, Mountain Dew, Morning Dew, Sacerdotessa, and Marble Slab

Impending Doom: Player of Serenity

Jaxler: Player of Redhat

Pokon: Player of Wood Chips

Fr0stByt3: Player of Steel Rivet

DVNO: Player of Maxwell

Amorack: Player of Convalescence, Mittens, Patches, and Elixir

Pants: Player of Bonesetter

Splint: Player of Scimitar and Pepper Flakes

L1wW: Player of Prodd

Iceblaster: Player of Lightning Runner/Quarrel, Sweet Potato, Mist, and Yam

Relus: Player of Vambrace

TALLPANZER: Player of Smoothblock

Salabasama: Player of Shim(Long live the Shim)

Permission to use Duskfields has been given by Telgin.

I do not own the My Little Pony Franchise.

All artwork is done by Kryptid. His deviantart accounts can be found here and here.

All the pony avatars:

The list of the gods in this story:

Amug – A unicorn mare associated with dusk and twilight.

Thebil Toastsdumpling – An earth pony mare associated with partying.

Aval Moralsaviors – A pegasus stallion associated with charity.

Nirmek Fencecherishs – An earth pony stallion associated with mercy.

Govos Dawnshore – A female mosquito(???) associated with plants and rain.

Gasis the Periwinkle Charms – An earth pony stallion associated with love.

Nokzam Rakedfamous – A unicorn mare associated with valor.

Babin – A pegasus stallion associated with generosity.

Laltur Stockadepure – A unicorn mare associated with law, order and lust.

Kulet Savantlens – A pegasus mare associated with scholarship.

Ramol the Wispy Style – A pegasus stallion associated with art.