[IC] Equestrian Radio Show's Adventure Variety Hour: Explorers of STOMP

CoffeeHorse · Jul 4, 2022

"Oh, hello Maple. Wow, this is a lot of ponies." Melon Hide got a rental ball from the counter then walked over to the group. Shortly after, Rhapsody arrived with her ever colorful socks. She was soon followed by Wingston Blues who had bulging saddlebags. Both got their rentals and joined the group. "It seems Amber is running late. No worries, this is just for fun so I'll just roll for her turns until she arrives. Is everypony ready?"

His chocolate gone, Snowy nods. "I find myself in much the same boat."

Maple smiled at Mr. Hide, "You think so?" suddenly Maple wondered if Mr. Hide knew about the typical size the tour groups had been in Manehatten.

Static hated making wagers he had no chance of winning. And given that he'd never bowled in his life and it looked like Maple had, he knew this wasn't a wager he could possibly win.

Still, Maple did look dissapointed when he said he didn't want to make a side wager. Dang these friendships were gonna kill him! He leaned over to Maple.

"So...you, me...what are the stakes?"

"Mr. Signal, this is just for fun... Your team is going to get crushed... it wouldn't be fair to take advantage of the situation, it would almost be like I was cheating..." Maple winked at Static and then gave him a quick hug.

"But I thought you wanted...but you...I...that is...wha?" Static shakes his head. On the one hoof, he was glad. He really didn't feel like making a wager he knew he couldn't win. But on the other hoof, "sometimes I really just don't get these ponies!"

"If you want to Mr. Signal.. that's fine and all...I mean I did ask already if tonight had prizes, but I wasn't expecting you to be so eager. I'd really rather you got some practice in with your own ball first." Maple looks around Static and gives Snowy an unsubtle wink.

"I'm not saying I want to. I mean...I'd have zero chance at winning this wager. I know I'd have zero chance at winning. It's just...before you seemed so dissapointed...and...well...I... Static sighs. "Sweet Luna just get me through this night!" Static looks behind to Snowy. "Umm...how badly do you think I pissed him off? I really was just trying to help."

This whole reigning in the grumps thing sure was a pain in the rumps! Pfft! 'Rumps!' Maple really had gotten to him!

Maple put her hooves over her ears... "We're in a public place Mr. Signal... while I could tell you exactly how he feels about it, since he's right there..it might be best to get it straight from the horse's mouth."

Misty swallows the last of her tasty treat and waves eagerly to her boss. "Oh, hey! Wingston!"

CoffeeHorse · Jul 4, 2022

O_O "I think that's a new record Misty, I'll have to let Miss Sweets know... she had me beat buy a whole minute... but you WOW..." Maple's jaw dropped and even as wide as that looked it was obviously way to small to fit an entire cocoRocka in at once.

Maple grinned from ear to ear as Misty called out to her friend from work. Spending as much time as she had on the ground -Maple had had very little contact with weather Pegasuses... until she met Miss Monsoon that is.

"I hope you're not too full, Misty. I brought something for everypony." Wingston Blues opened up her saddlebags to reveal a multitude of small, flat cookies. There was a lumpy texture like oatmeal cookies and they had several bright blue specks of something in them. Meanwhile, Steel Flint addressed the other question. "The object of the game is to roll the bowling ball and knock down all of the pins in a lane. This is done with two chances per set before the pins are reset and it moves to the next pony. I think it varies per league but I've seen it done with one from each team going in order, then eventually the second from each team going. Multiple lanes allows this to go faster. There's various bits of more specific terminology but those are the basics. Maplejack, could you please demonstrate?"

Spoiler

"Oh, would you happen to need something to put those in?" Misty says, offering her hat bowl to Wingston.

She listens carefully to Steel Flint's explanation of the rules.

"Many thanks. Haven't had a chance to make these in a while. The Keep's gardeners can grow things for special projects." Wingston Blues poured the cookies into the bowl.

"They look tasty! What's in them?" Misty asks.

"The recipe starts out as an oatmeal cookie but then I add a few seasonings and then the special ingredient--rainberries. It gives the cookies a unique taste without being overwhelmingly sweet. It's difficult to describe but think what it would be like to taste the smell that comes after a light rain. Cooked right, the rainberries have the feeling of raisins instead of being like gelatin."

torn between snacks and bowling Maple makes a mental note of where the hat bowl is placed and takes her ball over to the lane Steel Flint motioned towards

"No Pressure." she mumbles as she lines up her shot.

Spoiler

Letting loose the Ball, Maple closes her eyes....

For her first roll, Maplejack knocked over only a few of the pins. However, she soundly knocked down the rest of the pins on her next pass. Perhaps this small mare will crush the competition when the league begins in earnest! Steel Flint swiftly scribbled some things on her papers. "Well done, Maple. The rest of you can get in some practice swings."

"Way to go Maple! Kinda glad we didn't make that bet.

Static takes his rental ball and tries to show what he's got.
Spoiler

Unfortunately, he doesn't have much. Still, he was able to knock some of the pins down. He was mostly grateful he didn't have a gutter ball.

Definetly glad we didn't make that bet. Still, first time and all, I guess I can be happy with that.

Maple's eyes opened after letting go of her ball the second time... only after the familiar sound of falling pins.

fluttering her wings rapidly with happiness the entire time Static was taking his turn... Maple only set back down again to go over and introduce herself to the cookies and the Pegasus who made them.

"Hello cookies, may name is Maple...."
"oh um Sorry -Hello Miss Wingston... these cookies look delicious, btw... How long have you known Miss Monsoon?"

<_<

CoffeeHorse · Jul 4, 2022

Snowy picked his ball up off the ground and carefully made his way forward. He figured he could take two steps on three legs while swinging the fourth, which he hoped would be enough to get the ball going. He was still considering whether or not to cheat. The primary reason not to was that Dusty would never forgive him. But this was a practice match, and there was no reason to make the decision now. Maybe he was good enough at bowling that he didn't need to...

Spoiler

...Then again, perhaps not.

Rhapsody steps up to the lane with her, of course, rainbow colored bowling ball. She closes her purple eyes as she takes a deep breath to focus on the lane infront of her, opening them again and looking at the pins keeping herself trained on them like they were a threat. Even if this was practice, it didn't mean it shouldn't be taken seriously. Of course her socked forehooves aren't accounted for at first...

Spoiler

Misty picks up her rental ball, getting a feel for the ball's weight. She watches the other ponies as they roll their balls down the lanes. After a few moments, she decides to go ahead and give it a shot!

Spoiler

She watches her first roll end up in the gutter. Oh well. Maybe the next throw would make up for it!

Spoiler

Nope!

"Okay Mr. Hide, I think that means you're next..." Maple smiles as she hustles him off down to the lane so she can talk to Miss Monsoon about her form, without looking like she's playing for the other team.

"I've only known Misty for the month or so she's been in town. Still, she's been a great help and certainly a mood lifter." Meanwhile, Melon Hide struggled with the ball. Eventually getting into position, he rolled a gutter ball. Twice. He sighed and sat back down. Chain better chimed in, "So, how was everypony else's day? Mine was mostly good. My only complaint, wasn't even that big of a deal really."

"she certainly is."

"What happened?" "Had these four unicorns in purple suits walk in a few minutes before we closed and sat down for an order. I had hoped to get out early but we can't turn ponies away if we aren't closed yet."

Rhapsody's ears perked at that. "I suppose you didn't over hear anything beyond meal orders for them?"

Seeing Melon Hide's roll, snapped Maple out of her daydream of helping the long legged Pegasus with her form.

"That's a very good start Mr. Hide, you'll gett'em all next time!"

Melon Hide sighed and nodded at Maplejack's attempt to comfort him. Meanwhile, Chain Better replied with, "Yeah, they did order waffles. We don't have many waffle options but we do have our Waffle Warden special. One of them seemed grumpy the whole time but they seemed to enjoy themselves. They didn't leave a tip but they also way overpaid for the order so I guess it evens out.

Do you know them?"

CoffeeHorse · Jul 4, 2022

Static wasn't sure how to respond to the question of how everypony's day was. So much of his day was probably classified. "Mostly forgettable," he said with a grin towards Maple. Hopefully if she saw he could joke about it, she wouldn't feel so bad about it.

Melon Hide sighed and nodded at Maplejack's attempt to comfort him. Meanwhile, Chain Better replied with, "Yeah, they did order waffles. We don't have many waffle options but we do have our Waffle Warden special. One of them seemed grumpy the whole time but they seemed to enjoy themselves. They didn't leave a tip but they also way overpaid for the order so I guess it evens out.

Do you know them?"

"Unfortunately, I know of them. They're... there's something not right about them..." Rhapsody states, not wanting to fully divulge things if she didn't have to yet.

"Everyone gets to meet them but me..." Maple mumbled as she... eyed the cookie hat.

Misty overhears Chain Better's description of the four unicorns, and remembers something herself."I didn't see any unicorns in purple suits today, but I did meet a purple unicorn at the coffee shop?"

Snowy watched as his first ball flew straight...into the gutter. His second shot was not so bad, though. Now he just needed to figure out how to do that twice in a row.

As he walked back to the crowd of relaxing ponies, Snowy had to wonder: Did ponies really meet with the people they worked with after work to talk about work? He supposed Chain Better wasn't talking to his own coworkers, but it still seemed so...circular. Admittedly, he couldn't think of anything better to discuss. Rhapsody was clearly both familiar with and mistrusting of these ethereal rich unicorns, but Snowy didn't think he'd heard the slightest thing about them. The goddesses knew there were plenty of rich unicorns in the world. He kept one ear on the discussion of them as he approached Dusty, on the fringe of the gathering. "I take it that without me around to break things, today went smoothly?"

"Yep." Dusty Winds blinked. "Things went smoothly but I didn't mean to imply it was because you weren't there. Anyways, dinosaur exhibit should be reopening soon."

"Unicorn in a purple suit? Now that you mention it, Maple pointed out an ivory colored unicorn in a purple suit at the conservation speech today. I didn't really make anything of it at the time. It was kind of a big crowd." Static turns to Rhapsody in a hushed whisper. "You don't suppose they're a part of...that other...organization...we've been investigating?"

Snowy chuckles. "I know I'm not of much use as a janitor, Dusty. How much longer is my bony nemesis going to reside in the museum for?"

"It should be a permanent exhibit but since things rotate, I'd say about a month before things change."

"Unicorn in a purple suit? Now that you mention it, Maple pointed out an ivory colored unicorn in a purple suit at the conservation speech today. I didn't really make anything of it at the time. It was kind of a big crowd." Static turns to Rhapsody in a hushed whisper. "You don't suppose they're a part of...that other...organization...we've been investigating?"

Rhapsody looked to Static and keeps her voice low as she whispers in return. "There is no direct evidence that they are, but I know that two were missing when we picked up the artifact, and the two we met were VERY hush about where the other two were... and one was apparently around when your ordeal was starting... which afterwards you found that evidence that link that event with our... competition. So if they're not a part of them, then either they are in league with them, or its a very big coincidence... and I'm not one to believe in coincidences..."

CoffeeHorse · Jul 4, 2022

"Yeah, they've been waaay too active lately for me to believe anything is a coincidence," Static agreed.

"the Mayor called Misty, Static and I heroes... I hope I get to do a team-up with Black Night!" Maple's feathers reached around her face to form an impromptu mask around her eyes....

"Luna knows we could certainly use her right about now," Static agreed with Maple. "I only met her once, but yeah, it's not an experience one forgets."

"has every pony had a turn? I um, kinda wanna go again"

Maple didn't have much to add to the discussion so she quietly sidestepped over to the bowlhat of cookies

"the Mayor called Misty, Static and I heroes... I hope I get to do a team-up with Black Night!" Maple's feathers reached around her face to form an impromptu mask around her eyes....

"Luna knows we could certainly use her right about now," Static agreed with Maple. "I only met her once, but yeah, it's not an experience one forgets."

"She's around when she's really needed, but I know from my meeting with her earlier that she is aware of things. After having to deal with that treadmill thing today, she knows something bigger is going on and is looking into things on her own. I am sure we'll see her sooner or later, honestly It's probably inevitable that our paths will cross if this really is as big as it seems to be."

*Mouth full of cookies*

"THAF WOULF FF AWFUMB!"

*crumbs everywhere*

*A little less crumbs*

"Fhey aref Wondeff Mfter Night Caf!" Maple grins as she hoofs two over to him. ... suddenly realizing she is on the table, Maple hops back down to the floor and while Smiling as best she could without loosing more cookie -motions to Wingston to come get a hug.

Wingston Blues gave Maplejack a big hug using both wings. "Glad you're enjoying them. And for you Misty, glad you made a new friend. I hoped that coffee shop coupon would come in handy." "Coupon? Oh no! I completely forgot to speak with Saccharine Sweets about setting something up with the Keep. I'm so sorry, Maple." Bold Standard's coat became noticeably more dull.

"That's okay Miss Standard, no rush... I don't mind if your next special promotion is pancakes again... I'd love to actually try some this time." Maple says after her nice warm hug is over.

As everypony else was talking, Static figured he might as well follow Night Cap's lead and try again.

Spoiler

Well that was certainly better than last time. He was wondering if he could get at the rest of them.

Spoiler

Not bad. It was certainly better than his last attempt. Maybe the documents department had a chance after all.

He leans over to Night Cap with a grin. "Things are looking up, eh, Night?"

CoffeeHorse · Jul 4, 2022

"oh good Job!" Maple says as she heads over to the lane where her ball is waiting.

Spoiler

Maple looks down at her hooves in disbelief as the ball heads all over the lane rolling in and out of both gutters before finally missing every pin... As the Ball return brings the ball back...Maple's eyes finally focus and both her ball and hooves are covered with cookie crumbs.

Shlicking a bead of sweat off her forehead with a wing, Maple sighed...

"those cookies were soo worth it though." teehehe.

Making sure to clean herself and her ball well this time Maple lines up again...

Spoiler

Much better... Maple would have to remember to avoid cookies when this got serious.

Walking back Maple passes Melon Hide, "Sorry about that Mr. Hide... but Everyone else seems to be getting better in their second rounds so good luck!" Maple gives Mr. Hide a quick hug to go with her encouraging words
Spoiler

"It should be a permanent exhibit but since things rotate, I'd say about a month before things change."

"I'll watch my step until May, then." Snowy says, standing up to bowl once more:

Spoiler
That wasn't bad, all around. Maybe he was getting the hang of this.

Spoiler
Perhaps not. He really just had no idea how to get the ball to go where he wanted it. Trudging back to Dusty's side, dissatisfied, he asks her, "Any tips on controlling the ball?"

Melon Hide cautiously eyed the lane. Rolling the ball again, he perfectly lined it up with the center but he rolled it a bit too weakly. The bowling ball knocked down nearly all the pins in the center but left some on either side. His followup roll knocked over the pins on the left side. In the neighboring lane, Dusty Winds quite calmly knocked down seven, then the remaining three pins. Replying to Snowy Skies, she said, "Figure out what works for you. Me? I just pretend it's a bar of soap."

Spoiler

"Way to go Every Pony! Mr. Hide you're getting much better already! ...Mr. Skies Wow you've sure improved on your strength... OH I KNOW...
why don't you two swap tips and see if you can't help each other."

Maple beamed, Seeing her friends all together like this was great! "now Miss Dusty, what's this about Soap?" Maple asks ...confusion plain on her face.

Static Smiles. He got the feeling sometimes Night Cap's sentiments were little more than delusions of grandeur...and maybe that was still true in this case as well. But just this once...just...this...once...he thought it a good thing to indulge it just a little.

"Yes...yes we are."

CoffeeHorse · Jul 6, 2022

Static took a few minutes to watch some of the other's bowl. He tried to check out some of the competitions strengths and weaknesses, tried to figure out what some of the techniques were that were working for others, why they worked and took a few turns himself trying to incorporate some of those techniques with varying degrees of success.

The then decided he'd put it off long enough and walked over to sit down by Rhapsody. He opened his mouth as if to speak...then quickly closed it again. It took a couple false starts before he finally said anything.

"Okay...so...we've had one day where we were at each others throats and then we have a day were we seemed to see mostly eye to eye. So, I guess I'm not sure what to make of you. But...you know...from one head strong pony who's always right to another...I think I like it better when things are civil between us. Soooooo...buy you a drink? Maybe bury the hatchet? Do...do ponies still say that? 'Bury the hatchet?' I think it's been a long time since I've heard any pony say that."

Chain Better walked over to Rhapsody. "Sorry to interrupt but I just remembered something one of those suited ponies said. One of them mentioned being at some sort of speech thing with the mayor. There was some sort of calamity? I think I heard 'rock bugs' mentioned. But she seemed happy that some museum workers stepped in to save the day. The angry one seemed angry something wasn't said sooner but the rest seemed glad to hear she was okay."

Static was rather annoyed at the interruption. He was trying to build a bridge here after all, and he had just said a couple minutes ago how there was was indeed one of those suited ponies at the conservation speech.

"Yeah, there was an attack by some cukarocka's at the conservation speech today. It turns out they were being mind controlled by some paid grunt. He's in police custody now though...so the chances of getting any more information out of him...? Eeh?"

Wingston Blues gave Maplejack a big hug using both wings. "Glad you're enjoying them. And for you Misty, glad you made a new friend. I hoped that coffee shop coupon would come in handy."

"Oh, yes! Thank you so much for that. I got a delicious cherry tart." She takes a cookie in her mouth, savoring the delicious taste of rainberries.

"Wait, that reminds me!" she exclaims after finishing the cookie. She pulls a piece of paper out of her saddlebag. "I got a coupon for a free coffee drink from the nice ponies at the cafe, but I don't drink coffee. Would anyone else like to have it?"

In the neighboring lane, Dusty Winds quite calmly knocked down seven, then the remaining three pins. Replying to Snowy Skies, she said, "Figure out what works for you. Me? I just pretend it's a bar of soap."

Spoiler

A bar of soap? Snowy could understand that. Something smooth, something that slid...he looked down at the shining floor below him. To the unblemished bowling ball, it was not unlike ice. Proper ice, nevermeltice. Frozen to solid for impurities...He lines up a shot and knocks down a solid 6 pins. While waiting for his ball to return, his ears perk up at Misty's mention of a coffee voucher, and he turns to watch pony's reactions. He could only imagine the facial expressions in response to free coffee.

Maple ducks... over the impending stampede

Plaid Paisley grinned as an idea flashed through his mind upon the mention of the coffee coupon. "Coffee, hmm? Perhaps those who are interested could have a...friendly competition...over the coupon."

Misty smiles. "That sounds like a great idea!"

Static was still hoping for a response from Rhapsody, but it didn't seem like they were going to get much talking done with all the interruptions. He sighed and regarded Rhapsody, defeated. "I guess we can talk later. I'm pretty sure neither one of us is going to turn down potentially free coffee. May the best pony win!"

CoffeeHorse · Jul 6, 2022

"Well well, it looks like me, Night Cap, and Static so far. Anypony else joining in?"

"I don't especially need any Coffee... but I really like bowling!" Maple said, holding her hoof up.

Realizing that the lanes might soon be taken, Snowy quickly retrieves his ball and makes his second toss. In his haste he only knocks down two more pins, but he's too entertained to care. "I'm keeping out of this one." He says, sounding excited nonetheless. There were so many ways this could go wrong.

"Oh that's to bad Mr. Skies." Suddenly Maple had a devious idea...

"Maybe Every pony who wants the coffee ticket can have a competition.. and every pony who doesn't can have a separate contest... tehe and then the two winners play to see who IS THE GREATEST BOWLER OF COBBLESTON!!! ...who is here tonight."

Maple cough/laughs, maybe there is to much rivalry in the air.

"I don't think I'm really up to competing right now. Since I'm here, I guess I should ask if anypony...oh, nevermind." Melon Hide meekly uttered before taking a cookie.

Static could hardly believe that Melon Hide was Maple's manager. How did anypony with no more backbone than that ever reach a managerial position? "Don't be shy. Nopony ever gets what they want without speaking up. What do you need?"

Melon Hide swallowed his cookie, then cleared his throat. "Well...I won tickets to an upcoming wrestling match. I didn't know if anypony wanted to join."

"Not counting mine, it's just four."

Static glanced over at Maple, having a decent idea who might be performing at said wrestling match. "Sure, I'm in."

"You don't need costumes Mr. Night Cap, but you can bring signs so the wrestlers know where you're sitting." Maple smiles, having a quick wonder about what his ring outfit might look like.

CoffeeHorse · Jul 6, 2022

Spoiler

Rhapsody looked over to Static as he fumbled over his words and tries to make a date with her or something... though before she can reply Chain finally remembers she asked something. "Huh, so they might not be involved in that event... but I still feel weary of that." She muses. The black pegasus' ears perk up at the offer of free coffee and wrestling tickets. "I suppose Maple is gonna want one of those tickets. Night Cap and Static get the other two, so I guess unless Misty or Snowy really want the last one, I wouldn't mind." She comments and then looks over to Static. "Tonight's not really the best night for one on one talks. So maybe you should find me later if you want to ask me out, though you know Anchors will probably be jealous." She grins, oh she knew it wasn't that kinda 'ask out' but she couldn't resist trying to fluster her rival before a competition for free coffee.

Static grins at Rhapsody. "Well, that's a pity. Probably for the better though. Wouldn't want to get Amber mad at both of us." Static gives an exaggerated shudder at the thought and gets ready for the competition.

Spoiler
Noting Static's shudder, Snowy produces the distinctive crackling noise of Amber's charged horn just over their shoulders as he steps back towards the crowd. "I'm not too interested in wrestling; The last ticket can go elsewhere."

Maple runs over to Snowy Skies after hearing what he said. "That's to bad Mr. Skies, I'd have liked to have seen you there in the crowd...hehe With the rest of us I mean, because I heard some new mystery heel has come in from another territory ..and I hear she's quiet the monster.... and Nopony knows who she... he or it actually is. "
Maple grins, content her subtlety wasn't lost on the Unicorn.

"Wrestling's fun! When I was a filly, I used to wrestle with the colts back home. After a while they stopped wanting to play with me though..." Misty looks slightly puzzled. She turns to Plaid Paisley. "Anyways... um, how are we going to do this?"

Static went rigid and sucked in his breath as he heard the crackle. He turned to see Amber nowhere in sight and Snowy making some offhoof comment. "I don't know what's worse," Static said to Rhapsody with a growl, "grouchy Snowy and mischievous Snowy."

Static turned to get his ball from the return. "So...who's first?"

"I think Maple already has a ticket. So Static, Night Cap, Misty, and Rhapsody it is." Melon Hide pulled out tickets for each of the four. Meanwhile, Plaid Paisley made a grandiose waving motion towards the lane. "Well, it's best if we keep competition simple. Just a single set, winner takes all!"

Snowy had no wish to see Maple get suplexed, so he was rather thankful that his request for exclusion had been accepted. He backed off and let the others approach the lane, smoothly snagging another mint wing from the table and popping it into his mouth. Mmm.

Static went rigid and sucked in his breath as he heard the crackle. He turned to see Amber nowhere in sight and Snowy making some offhoof comment. "I don't know what's worse," Static said to Rhapsody with a growl, "grouchy Snowy or mischievous Snowy."

"There's a difference?"

the allure of bowling called her Away from Snowy and over to the lanes where everyone was going to start.

Static went rigid and sucked in his breath as he heard the crackle. He turned to see Amber nowhere in sight and Snowy making some offhoof comment. "I don't know what's worse," Static said to Rhapsody with a growl, "grouchy Snowy or mischievous Snowy."

Click to expand...

"There's a difference?"

"Good point!"

Static chuckled as he picked up his ball and stepped up to the lane. "Well, if nopony else is gonna go..."

Spoiler

Well, gutter ball wasn't a good way to start! He was hoping maybe he could pick up a few pins. He certainly held out little hope for a spare.

Spoiler

"I seem to have actually gotten worse!"

"Well, considering I just had double gutter balls, I'd have to say you did good." Static said, giving Night Cap a pat on the back.

[That's okay. I can just buy coffee.]

"WAY TO BOWL MR. NIGHT CAP...sorry Mr. Signal." Maple waits to see who will go next

CoffeeHorse · Jul 11, 2022

Rhapsody steps up the the lane for her turn, taking her rainbow colored ball and once more trying to focus on the pin and tune out the rest of the world:

Spoiler

Well, it wasn't nearly as Bad as Static's attempt... She huffs and tries again.

Spoiler

Bowling was certainly not her game...

Plaid Paisley lined up his shot. While the first roll went well enough, the second roll went poorly. He initially frowned but then he chuckled and smiled in defeat. "Looks like you won, Night Cap. Again. It seems like you'll be the pony to keep an eye on in all of this."

The night went on as the Keep employees continued playing and conversating. Eventually, Steel Flint looked at the clock and said, "This looks like as good a time as any to close things out. I've got a few things to do and remember that Brisk Iron will be speaking with a few of you for something special in the morning. Bright and early, meet at the greeting stand."

Spoiler

"Congratulations! Here you go!" Misty presents the coffee voucher to the victorious hero after the competition is over.

"Congratulations, Night Cap. If you can play like that again during the competition, the Documents Department may just have a chance in spite of me"

He walks over to Rhapsody. "It was nice to see you out of work...sincerely. Tonight seemed rather civil between us. I'd love to keep that up."

He walked over to Paisley and Maple. "Hey, I think I may have said it to both of you individually, but we really should get together some time and make a 'I survived Manehatten' club or something."

After Static said his goodbyes, he went home. He was sorry Amber never made it.

He locked the door behind him, for all the good he figured it would do. The one pony that wanted to do him the most harm already proved what she thought of locks.

Still, nothing to be done about it now. He went to the kitchen and got out the ingredients for another quiche. One of the big mistakes he made last time was to blend things instead of chopping them. So this time he took Night Cap's advice and chopped it. Trying to remember back to the original quiche, he added more of what he thought was lacking, lessened a few things that were overpowering.

After it was done cooking, he put it in a container for lunch the next day. It would just have to be a surprise whether he liked it or not. For now, he needed to get some sleep.

CoffeeHorse · Jul 11, 2022

A new day dawned for the STOMP team. Going about their normal morning routines, the team headed to work and met at the front greeting desk per the prior day's instruction. Brisk Iron was ready and waiting for the team and once all had arrived, she addressed them with, "Glad everypony is here on time. Your workday is going to be fairly different than normal so if you could please follow me..." "WELL! It's been a long time since I last saw you, Brisk." "Oh no." Into the museum sauntered a blue earth pony mare with a white and mint green mane wearing shades. She was followed by a similarly colored unicorn mare who was holding a notepad and quill with her magic. The earth pony gave Brisk Iron a big hug. Brisk Iron didn't seem particularly pleased but also didn't resist. Soon, the hug was released and the loudly continued with, "When you sent your letter, I was glad I wasn't in the middle of filming. See, I was thinking that little monetary emergency was the perfect excuse to visit my favorite museum. SO! I reckon this was good a time as any to..." "It's him." The unicorn interrupted the earth pony, jaw agape in shock as she pointed at Static Signal. Static Signal himself realized that the unicorn was the same one he saved back in Manehattan months ago. "This is Static Signal. He works in the theater for this location now. Static, this is Ocean Bay, director of Magizoic Mountain film series and her younger sister Sea Bay."

Spoiler

Static fidgeted as the unicorn pointed at him. He recognized her, but never expected to see her again...particularly not as somepony Brisk Iron knew.

"Um...hi!"

Director of Magizoic Mountain film series? This may be a good connection to have. He may not want to leave the conversation with "Um...hi!"

"It's good to see you under...better circumstances."

Snowy rose from his bed and walked into the kitchen, as normal, but stopped short, staring at the bow that remained on the table, untouched since last night. What in the world was he going to do with it? After a minute and a half of further mute, unmoving contemplation, he supposed that he might try using it. He picked up the bow and pulled his cello out of the closet, relaxing into the familiar pose as he placed the bow to the strings. It was a perfectly normal weight, and he didn't notice the glimmer of the crystal until he looked down at the strings (which he did, quite often). Even more notable than the glimmer of the crystal was the shimmering or the hair. The colors seemed to pulse in time with the music.

A few songs later, his stomach reminded him that he'd forgotten all about breakfast. Using the bow had been an interesting experience. It was not altogether impractical, but it certainly would not be his bow of choice. He gently placed it next to his cello's normal bow and settled into a (slightly hastened) morning routine. Tossing the packaging into the trash (but leaving the note on the table), he hopped out the door with his viola in tow.

...

Ocean Bay? He'd certainly heard of him. He knew Ocean Bay had plenty of fans, and plenty of anti-fans: as was often the case, there were those who loved Ocean Bay, and those who loved to hate him. As is also often the case in these situations, the details of Ocean Bay's private life had factored very little into these preferences. Snowy could never bring himself to care about the state of modern cinema, so he didn't fall into either category, but he suspected that he wanted to interact with Ocean Bay as little as possible; his instincts said that the stallion was a megalomania crisis waiting to happen, if the wrong person told him no. Regardless, he was happy that it seemed Static and Brisk Iron would be taking the brunt of this greeting, so he kept to the back of the group.

"I didn't really get a chance to thank you before. But I guess it all worked out." "RIGHT! Brisk here asked a favor for two things. Repairing a broken dinosaur was obviously in my interests but having a piece of history restored was quite the opportunity. The princesses have declined starring in my movies so I figure this was the next best thing. It's great to see just who's working on this. WAIT! Wasn't there another who helped find..." "Yes, this over here is Night Cap. He currently works as a documentation secretary."

Maple stood quietly as all of this was going on... Films weren't really her thing, what Mr Signal could do with his projector though.. that was amazing... maybe if these two friends of his and Ms Iron's made movies like that she would have to maybe watch one sometime... but knew enough to not say so out loud. A smile crept across her face as these ponies names were revealed and Maple noticed both Bay's waves looked like the first letters of their respective bodies of....

"...Sea starts with an s though." the words left her mouth and as she looked down in horror to see one hoof held off pointing in the direction of the mare Static saved back in Manehatten...

Maple realized at this point that she really didn't do well in these group meetings.

Static tilted his head in mild confusion until it dawned on him. "You were the ones who restored that film we found?! Wow! I haven't gotten a chance to see it since it was restored. But I'm so grateful you were able to save it." Static steps aside so Night Cap could claim his due portion of the praise.

"We paid for restoration materials and extra film to make spare copies but I believe the museum itself did the restoration." Brisk Iron nodded in agreement.

CoffeeHorse · Jul 11, 2022

"WONDERFUL! You look like you'd make the perfect hapless civilian for a movie. It makes me wonder..." "Ahem. We have a lot to do today so we really can't continue." "Perhaps Bay and Bay would like to tour our new princess exhibit? It would tie in well to the recent discovery and would be fitting to see the thing that temporarily replaced the fossils as they were repaired." Melon Hide quietly spoke up from behind the greeting desk. Sea Bay nodded in agreement, then she and Ocean Bay followed. Brisk Iron mouthed a 'thank you' to him when Ocean Bay wasn't looking. *sigh* "She's one of the museum's biggest sponsors and often means well but she's so...her."

Static coughed awkwardly "I...hate to admit it. But...I can kinda understand getting so excited about a project that...tact...for lack of a better word...kinda gets forgotten." Static was sure Night Cap could vouch for that.

"Besides, it's not like STOMP is any stranger to eccentric ponies," he thinks to himself.

Spoiler

"She's always like that, regardless of the topic. However, no use dwelling on it. Please follow me." The team set out for a sizable walk westward, eventually reaching an area outside city limits. Flairvoyant was waiting at an empty field with a single small building in the middle of it. "Training has been vocalized as a concern for this group I believe I have a solution. Many years ago, my father discovered several underground tunnels outside the city. After inspecting them, he often let me play in them for my own exploration. Sometimes, he would hide various trinkets and such in them and in retrospect, it almost seems like he was training me without saying so out loud. In remembering this, I've decided to use these as a team building exercise in a controlled environment. The various department heads assisted in rushing to set this up last night so that they're a bit more suited for testing challenges. Let it be said that this should be relatively safe but accidents are always possible. This is your job for today. Do well and you may be able to finish work early with a full day's pay. Fail and you don't get paid today. There's other details but Flairvoyant will be handling those. Any questions before I leave?"

Thankfully everypony had been kind enough to ignore her previous outburst, and this time Maple wouldn't fail to remain silent.

Static frowned. A days work...without pay? Ooooookay! This better not get bucked up!

He said nothing.

CoffeeHorse · Jul 13, 2022

The strange stakes were - strange, but Amber scarcely registered them. Accidents are always possible. Why was that such a pleasant thought? She found herself smirking and didn't second-guess it.

"oh Hi miss Spark I saved you some candies from last night's bowling."

Snowy spares a glance at Maple as she speaks up; she had seemed rather subdued up until that moment. By Maple standards, anyways. But he wanted to shepherd along the information about the matter at hand, so he said nothing. Idly, he wondered if he might end up back in his orange obelisk room while wandering the tunnels. He wouldn't be surprised.

"Oh, very thoughtful of you, Miss Jack," said Amber, turning to Maple, still smiling faintly. Amber wasn't sure whether the candies might have involved a rule of bowling she hadn't happened to read about, but it didn't seem important to ask just now. "How did it go, the bowling, I mean to say? Were you quite successful?" she asked.

A rather strange expression came over Misty's face as she pictured the Chief Director as a young filly, exploring these underground tunnels. It was hard to picture Brisk Iron as ever being anything but a gruff, intimidating figure, so Misty ended up imagining her as... a smaller version of her current self. A Maple-sized Chief Director. Misty's cheeks bulged from the effort of trying to hold back an extremely wide grin.

"it was very fun." Maple grinned

Amber nodded to both of them. "Oh, very good," she said. "I would have hoped someone might."

Static raised an eyebrow. What the heck was going on here? The chief director was informing them of exercise they were expected to perform...under penelty of being docked a days pay...and here the others were just shooting the breeze! His eyebrows furrowed and he frowned and shook his head as he turned to Brisk Iron. "I guess that means no, ma'am." He could barely suppress a hiss through his teeth as he turned to Flairvoyent. "Should we get started then?"

Brisk Iron nodded. "Very well then. I leave you in Flairvoyant's capable hooves." "Alright, let's get started. As said, this will be a sort of mini expedition to see how well you can work as a team. Everything should go fine but in case of emergencies, everypony will have one of these bracelets. It looks like it has a charm but it actually sends a short range radio signal if you rub on it. I'll get a beep on the Morse code equipment and then I'll send for help. First order of business is the teams. First up is Anchors Away, Misty Monsoon, and Snowy Skies. Next up is Rhapsody and Static Signal. Final group is Amber Spark, Night Cap, and Maplejack."

CoffeeHorse · Jul 13, 2022

Of course he'd be teamed up with Rhapsody! How could it have possibly been otherwise? But what actually did surprise him though was that the thought didn't really hold as much dread as he thought it should. Things weren't totally patched up between them...but they did manage to be civil while bowling last night. Maybe this could work out.

He took his bracelet and put it on. "Can it actually do morse code for those who know it or is it just a single signal activated once?"

"Just a one off. However, your Morse code equipment is inside."

"Awesome! So what are the mission objectives?"

Snowy quietly slides on a bracelet. Static and Rhapsody being paired together was far more direct than he had expected Brisk Iron to be about the whole situation, but he had to admit he didn't wish for anyone to be a third wheel to that duo. He was simultaneously pleased and displeased at not being paired with Amber. From a basic perspective it made sense, and he still couldn't say that he enjoyed conversing with her (lying had its limits), but their abilities complemented each other well. He really should stop hoping for it; It wasn't going to happen. Besides, Anchors and Misty were perfectly reasonable teammates.

Amber nodded quickly toward Night Cap and smiled at Maple. "Excellent," she said quietly, before turning her attention back to Flairvoyant.

Maple's little legs were to small for the bracelet ... and she'd eaten too much candy that morning for it to work as a belt...

"oooh new necklace!" she laughed when she finally found a place to wear it.

Misty attaches her bracelet. She's feeling pretty good about the team assignments. With Anchors and Snowy on her team, there's nothing they couldn't accomplish!

[Night Cap must have asked what the reward for success was.]

"Besides being a better team?" Maple's head turned to Mr. Night Cap in confusion, could there be a better reward?

"A better chance at survival the next time something more powerful than us wants to kill us?"

"Excellence is its own reward," Amber nearly trilled. "Where do we begin?"

"I've got some notes so let's see here. The end goal is a small treasure chest to make it obvious that you're there, though you do need to bring it back to verify that you got through. There's some climbing rope and med packs for gear. Then I was given some envelopes that I'm not to open until you return. Alright, time for the mission dossiers!

Amber, your team will be seeking the Lost Horseshoe of the Forgotten Princess. Legend has it that it was a family heirloom that was lost when she had to take temporary shelter in a cave. She reported there being deep chasms and treacherous perils that made it hard to return for it.

Rhapsody, your team shall be seeking the Magnetic Meteorite of Might. Crashing through the sky, its impact caused many strange changes to the earth that could be worth studying by the scientific community.

Finally, Anchors's team will be seeking the Silent Drum of Solace. Its rhythms relaxed an ancient dynasty after great banquets but it was long lost in an earthquake, followed by freak flood, followed by another earthquake. Wow, that seems unfortunate...

Anyway, supplies are in the building. Everypony ready?"

CoffeeHorse · Jul 18, 2022

"To bad only one Princess was forgotten." ... Maple mumbled before speaking up to say... "Yes I'm Ready!"

Static turned to the caves. "Well, I don't know about you guys, but if I'm going to go through the trouble of getting out of bed in the morning, I sure as Tartarus intend on getting paid for it." He spares a glance back to Rhapsody. "Shall we?"

"Having lived off the Manehatten wages I'm sure I could loose a day's pay... but that isn't really the point ...I don't think... Onward to Adventure's in teamwork!"

Maple pause to look back at her team members... "Right...mm, Amber and Night Cap." Maple tried out the words, without the reverential additions... it didn't sound wrong, but it was weird that respecting her elders and being close with her friends came at such odds for her. Maybe this 'mission' will decide that for her one way or the other.

Misty is already airborne, darting about excitedly. "I am so ready for this! Although... we need to get supplies first, right?"

Static turned to the caves. "Well, I don't know about you guys, but if I'm going to go through the trouble of getting out of bed in the morning, I sure as Tartarus intend on getting paid for it." He spares a glance back to Rhapsody. "Shall we?"

Rhapsody nods. "Sure."

Flairvoyant led the STOMP team into the building. There was a table with color coded supplies for each group. Indigo for Rhapsody's team, bubblegum pink for Anchors Away's team, and mint green for Amber Spark's team. The charms on each bracelet shifted to the team colors. There was also a big tunnel right in front of them. "This tunnel splits three ways farther in. Each of those tunnels has a color coded banner for the teams. Brisk Iron forbid me for going in any deeper, though. Your supplies also have some trail mix since she said the tunnels are large. Oh, except Anchors has some kelp and an extra water. I'll be right here so good luck everypony!"

Spoiler

Snowy shrugged his way into one of the packs with a bubblegum-pink stripe on it and set off down the corner. Hopefully Misty would follow him before she clipped an overhang.

Static took one of the indigo packs and inspected it. He looked Rhapsody over, trying to get a read on her thoughts at being teamed up with him. "Just a thought, if Ms. Iron's idea of smoothing things over between two teammates who butt heads is to put them in an isolated cave alone together...I'm half expecting her to be the type to make sure our route is full of high places and...whatever it is she knows you're afraid of."

Maple swapped her normal saddle bags ou with one of the team coloured ones... quickly transferring what she could from her larger double pack into the new one... which already had little room thanks to it's own supplies.

"Um, Flairvoyant I have to leave some things here with you, since you'll be here waiting for all of us... feel free to have some of my snacks." Maple Struggled to find a place for her camp shovel... and then she remember that these teams were the original groups they were going to use last time.

"Amber, would you like to take this again?" Maple beamed, converting the tool into its pick ax form before holding it up to her friend.

Misty gets herself "geared up" at the table, then waits for Anchors to do the same before following after Snowy.

CoffeeHorse · Jul 18, 2022

Flairvoyant nodded in response to Maplejack's comment. Meanwhile, Anchors Away slipped on her pack and continued with her team.

The most immediate thing that stood out was how poorly lit the tunnel was. Through the poor light, it could be seen that the tunnel was spacious but not massive. There was an ever present dampness like they were near the ocean but the walls were fairly dry despite this. After a distance inward, Anchors Away asked, "So Snowy, what do you like to eat?"

Spoiler

Small talk, on missions? At least it was small talk with Anchors. She was interesting; she had a lot to learn and a lot to say. He needed to keep in mind that Brisk Iron might hear everything said here, but he doubted that was why Anchors was asking. "I know exactly two recipes, poutine and stuffed peppers. You think they'd get old but they really don't. Is kelp your favorite food, or is it just convenient?"

Amber smiled. "Oh, thank you, Miss Jack," she said, lifting the tool. The pick really could be quite useful in this environment. As the group stepped into the darkness, Amber put the tool away in her saddlebag and cast a light from her horn ahead into the murk. The damp air reminded her unpleasantly of the mansion nowhere, but - perhaps not entirely unpleasantly, as she began to wonder what mysteries might be ahead. It was only a game, she reminded herself, but she felt excited nonetheless.

Anchors Away replied with, "A little of both. Some things I can't eat but kelp works and is easy to get. And hey, Misty can eat it too."

"It's great!" Misty chimed in. "Have you ever had it in candy form? That's the best."

"You two are both really smart, have either of you heard about this forgotten princess?" Maple asks, while avoiding directly looking at the light from Amber's horn.

"You should try grilled kelp, too. Not as good as a well made quiche but mmmmm."

"okay I maybe could have worded that better.." Maple laughed, and gave Night cap a playful poke with her wingtip

CoffeeHorse · Jul 20, 2022

"I'll have to try some." Snowy says with a small smile. It wasn't a particularly genuine smile, but at least it looked believable. "Anchors, where do sea ponies live?"

Anchors Away seemed confused. "In the ocean. Well, some live upstream too. I don't think there's as many sea ponies as ponies on land but I don't know. The ocean is a really big place."

"That is an excellent point." Snowy concedes. "Followup question: How do seaponies live?"

Static scrunched his face up as Snowy continued to grill Anchors. What the ponyfeathered kind of question was that?

He couldn't wait till the pathway forked so he could get away from Anchors, Snowy and Night Cap and just be alone with the one pony who hadn't annoyed him yet today. Sweet Luna how in Equestria did that pony turn out to be Rhapsody?

Static took one of the indigo packs and inspected it. He looked Rhapsody over, trying to get a read on her thoughts at being teamed up with him. "Just a thought, if Ms. Iron's idea of smoothing things over between two teammates who butt heads is to put them in an isolated cave alone together...I'm half expecting her to be the type to make sure our route is full of high places and...whatever it is she knows you're afraid of."

"If that is the case, then you'll have a lot more to fear then heights." Rhapsody states as she walks along side her 'partner'. "Doesn't help that we are short-hoofed as well."

Anchors Away shrugged. "We just...do. I've never really thought about it. There's a few places that are sorta like cities on land, while some sea ponies travel in small groups. Work means I travel a lot but I've got a permanent address at one of the Caballuston canals.

But enough about me. What do you usually do in your spare time?"

Just as Anchors Away asked, her team arrived at the split in the tunnels. Each was marked with a bright flag in the team colors. The tunnel for Anchors Away's team veered to the left and the sound of running water could be heard farther in.

Static took one of the indigo packs and inspected it. He looked Rhapsody over, trying to get a read on her thoughts at being teamed up with him. "Just a thought, if Ms. Iron's idea of smoothing things over between two teammates who butt heads is to put them in an isolated cave alone together...I'm half expecting her to be the type to make sure our route is full of high places and...whatever it is she knows you're afraid of."

Click to expand...

"If that is the case, then you'll have a lot more to fear then heights." Rhapsody states as she walks along side her 'partner'. "Doesn't help that we are short-hoofed as well."

Static gave Rhapsody a puzzled look. "I was actually half expecting you to deny that you were afraid of anything."

Static shrugged at her next part. "I guess if any group had to be short-hoofed, at least they put the two who are built the sturdiest." Static took a deep breath. "And since Ms. Flairvoyant specifically called it 'your team', I guess that means you're in charge. I...trust that while you have the last word, you'll still be open to suggestions?"

This was nearly as bad as talking to Night Cap, only he expected more...draw out of Anchors. He thought she was quicker on the uptake than this, but he held his voice in check, keeping it at a politely informative tone. "Anchors, until this last week I had hardly gotten my hooves wet for several years. It is a small miracle that I ever learned to swim. You live underwater." He let the obvious statement hang in the air for a moment before pressing on. "Do you have, let's say, shelves? Tables? Are there waterproof books? What do you do to avoid getting swept downstream when you sleep?"

Anchors Away stopped in place. "Oh. That's...a lot more honest than I'm used to those questions being. Usually the intent of those questions is more...scientific.

Okay, so it depends on the group. For those nomadic types I mentioned, know how they prevent being swept away with the current? They don't. They just carry a few belongings and go with the flow. For cities, most are centered around underwater caves so the currents are milder. We still have less 'stuff' than some ponies on land but that's usually where shelves and things would be. Most writing is usually etched into something like a thin board. We don't have many regular books and most of those come from trading.

Cooking is usually near heat vents or lava pockets, though a lot of food is prepared raw. Quiche is a land food that I discovered and really like so I started working on my own recipe."

Misty kept walking, looking ahead throughthe tunnel to see whatever she could see.

Spoiler

CoffeeHorse · Jul 20, 2022

Amber's horn light was a decent light source in the tunnel, but it kind of made looking up hard for Maple... and since that was basically all she could do, she was forced to keep her eyes low as they moved.

Maple wasn't sure if she saw what she thought she saw while she was quickly shuffling the items from her packs and the supply pack... but what harm was there in checking? Reaching her wings into the pack Maple pulled out...
Spoiler

..Well that didn't feel like a headlamp ...

Farther ahead, Misty Monsoon saw a body of water. It seemed still, instead of flowing like a river, and quite deep. However, what she didn't see was any other tunnel openings.

Meanwhile, Maplejack fished through her pack and found a med kit. Amber Spark, Night Cap, and Maplejack soon veered to the right. The air in their tunnel slowly became dryer the deeper in they trekked.

Static took one of the indigo packs and inspected it. He looked Rhapsody over, trying to get a read on her thoughts at being teamed up with him. "Just a thought, if Ms. Iron's idea of smoothing things over between two teammates who butt heads is to put them in an isolated cave alone together...I'm half expecting her to be the type to make sure our route is full of high places and...whatever it is she knows you're afraid of."

Click to expand...

"If that is the case, then you'll have a lot more to fear then heights." Rhapsody states as she walks along side her 'partner'. "Doesn't help that we are short-hoofed as well."

Click to expand...

Static gave Rhapsody a puzzled look. "I was actually half expecting you to deny that you were afraid of anything."

Static shrugged at her next part. "I guess if any group had to be short-hoofed, at least they put the two who are built the sturdiest on that team." Static took a deep breath. "And since Ms. Flairvoyant specifically called it 'your team', I guess that means you're in charge. I...trust that while you have the last word, you'll still be open to suggestions?"

"Anyone that says they are fearless is either stupid or lying, and in some cases both." Rhapsody replies as she leads the way, have little trouble getting accustom to the darkness, thanks to her profession and her 'night job'. "If your suggestion is reasonable, I will consider it." She says with a nod.

Misty turned back towards Snowy Skies. "So, you know how to swim...?"

Snowy nods. "That all sounds fascinating." He says, honest. As they caught up to Misty, he remarks "Just how common are underwater caverns, anyways?"

"Fair enough," Static concedes. "Theatre projectionist and an astronomer, doesn't really beat having a lantern, but I'd say we both lucked out. We can both see in the dark to an extent."

"I suppose if push comes to shove, I can use my projector as a light source for 5 minute spurts. But I can only use it so much before it has to recharge. So maybe finding a light source should be our first priority? There's usually all sorts of bio-luminescent creatures that can be found in these caves."

Static tries to see if he can find any such bio-luminescent beings.

Spoiler

Rhapsody nods. "I don't really have much issue with the darkness, but if you need something, go ahead."

Spoiler

"I'm fine with it now. I'm just thinking there may be a difference between 'dark' and 'pitch black'. I'll be on the look out just in case." As he looked around he considered if now would be a good time. Things have been civil so far. Maybe this could be the start of truly turning things around.

"Rhapsody, I don't usually hold much stock in apologies. I mean, if I reeeeally mean it and the pony I offended looks like they reeeeally need it in order to get past a situation...maybe. I'm not sure our situation meets either of those criteria."

"But in any case, it's been my experience that, more often than not, apologies are usually something that just wind up being thrown back in the offerer's face anyway. So...I've come to offer none and expect none in return."

"That having been said, there are some times I think it's best to leave things in the past. While I don't think Night Cap is a bad pony or a traitor...I can definitely see where he can rub ponies the wrong way. Been a couple times lately I would've liked to whap him upside his head myself."

"So...between you and me? Peace?"

CoffeeHorse · Jul 20, 2022

Anchors Away stopped in place. "Caves can vary a lot. Some are big enough for whole ecosystems. This cave having water makes sense with Caballuston being coastal but it doesn't taste as salty as it should. I just wonder what's on the other side. The lake may be natural but the Chief Director obviously has something in mind with this."

Static Signal found a few glowing mushrooms clustered around an angled piece of metal jutting out of the wall. The metal also had a faint glow. Rhapsody could see that for almost two miles in front of her, the walls, floor, and ceiling had controrted rock sticking out from various directions--almost like a natural obstacle course. At the end was a wall with a single narrow tunnel.

Spoiler

In the distance, Night Cap could see a smashed cart. The cart itself was wooden and fairly nondescript with a large rock nearby, as if the rock was the culprit in this cart smashing.

"Do treasure hunters often not present their findings? I mean half the fun is letting other ponies know you found something right?" Maple asked Night Cap, as she put the med kit back into her pack.

"Amber, um... is there any way you can turn that down a little? I can't really see much from down here and...

Maple couldn't finish her mumble as the tunnel's warm dry air finally reached her.

*FWOOOMP*

Maple's hair nearly instantaneously went from impenetrable tangle of fluff to straight frizzy strands

Maple looks around rapidly in complete panic as Night Cap Mentions 'falling rocks' ... in her fright she steps on her own mane and crashes those scant few inches to the tunnel floor.

"Should one of us go ahead and find out what's under the water?" Misty asked.

"Yeah, let me do it."

Anchors Away dove underwater, her hind legs smoothly becoming a fin. After a few minutes, she popped back up. "Alright, it's not that far but it leads to an air pocket that has two other bodies of water that have some motion to them. One is salty and one is freshwater so I think one leads in from the ocean and one leads farther inland. This is probably the spillover. So now we gotta decide which way is the right way."

Misty looked to Snowy. "Snowy, you're pretty smart, I think? Which way would you go?"

Snowy looks at the water for a few moments, fur rustling, then shrugs. "There's not an awful lot to go on, but the ocean channel is probably how the cavern got filled up with water to begin with. If the freshwater channel leads inland, it's more likely to lead to more caves, and not deposit us in Horseshoe bay. It should involve less water, which would make it easier for Brisk Iron to reach; she had to get through here herself to leave the chest for us, right?" Less water was also good for him, he adds silently. "Anchors, you said it wasn't too far to the air pocket, right? Let's get there, then make the final decision. There might be something on the walls that my light can reveal."

"Okay! See you on the other side!" Misty said as she dropped into the water.

CoffeeHorse · Jul 20, 2022

"I wanted us to do most of the talking here so we didn't use up the air in the air pocket but you make a good point. Alright, hold on."

Anchors Away formed a big bubble in the water and placed it over Snowy Skies. She then pulled him underwater and swam to the air pocket. There was limited standing room but just enough to move around.

Taking measured, deep, breaths (and trying to ignore the clinging sensations of his thick wet coat), Snowy's horn lights up, and though he keeps it dim it does well in illuminating the tight space.

Spoiler

"I'm fine with it now. I'm just thinking there may be a difference between 'dark' and 'pitch black'. I'll be on the look out just in case." As he looked around he considered if now would be a good time. Things have been civil so far. Maybe this could be the start of truly turning things around.

"Rhapsody, I don't usually hold much stock in apologies. I mean, if I reeeeally mean it and the pony I offended looks like they reeeeally need it in order to get past a situation...maybe. I'm not sure our situation meets either of those criteria."

"But in any case, it's been my experience that, more often than not, apologies are usually something that just wind up being thrown back in the offerer's face anyway. So...I've come to offer none and expect none in return."

"That having been said, there are some times I think it's best to leave things in the past. While I don't think Night Cap is a bad pony or a traitor...I can definitely see where he can rub ponies the wrong way. Been a couple times lately I would've liked to whap him upside his head myself."

"So...between you and me? Peace?"

Static Signal found a few glowing mushrooms clustered around an angled piece of metal jutting out of the wall. The metal also had a faint glow. Rhapsody could see that for almost two miles in front of her, the walls, floor, and ceiling had controrted rock sticking out from various directions--almost like a natural obstacle course. At the end was a wall with a single narrow tunnel.

Spoiler

"If were to get through this, I suppose it has to be. yes?" Rhapsody asks "So, is this what you were wanting to address last night?" She adds as he gets a good look around. "Also, you might quickly regret skipping the gym training, unless you are have a superior athletic prowess you've been hiding from the rest of the team."

As Snowy Skies was looking around, he caught site of an old water stain in the shape of a hoofprint near the freshwater. It was small, as if it belonged to a foal.

Amber Spark, Night Cap, and Maplejack saw several other large rocks before coming to a pulley at the end of the tunnel. It descended down into the ground like a well for water. The ropes and pulley actually looked fairly new. There was also several pieces of wood setting on the ground with letters on them.

Spoiler

"It wasn't my choice to 'skip out' on the gym session. I was in a 'do it or lose my job' enforced anger management with Mr. Sands. Believe me, I think I rather would have been at the gym that night. As for this little course."

Spoiler

"Ain't no training better than the cold hard streets of Manehatten!"

[IC] Equestrian Radio Show's Adventure Variety Hour: Explorers of STOMP

*sip*

*sip*

*sip*

*sip*

*sip*

*sip*

*sip*

*sip*

*sip*

*sip*

*sip*

*sip*

*sip*

*sip*

*sip*

*sip*

*sip*

*sip*

*sip*

*sip*

sip

sip

sip

sip

sip

sip

sip

sip

sip

sip

sip

sip

sip

sip

sip

sip

sip

sip

sip

sip