Dunder

The stallion's wings defluffed and his nostrils let out a soft sigh as she gave him a friendly gaze. He felt like he was talking more to an old friend than a business associate. "There are 84 ponies we are looking after who will need to be fed for about a year. So, let us say a year's worth of food for 90 ponies will suffice. A wide spread, too, so that each gets proper nutrients for working. Each bushel should feed a hard working pony for two days. So 90 ponies needing a bushel every other day...." He trailed off as the math played out in the swordpony's mind. But the thought of cider was quickly occupying his mind. The pegasus perked up and slid out of his seat onto his hooves. Ears perked and eyes wide as he followed. Wide eyes that quickly turned away as Applejack pulled out the jug, yet despite the quick reaction his wings fluffed up again and cheeks flushed red. Once and twice the stallion forced a cough to cover his face with a hoof which was quickly pulled away as the frothy gold beverage was served. "Oh!" Ears perked and eyes went wide again. The stallion brought it to his face, took a curious sniff, then a sip. After a moment, he would take another chug as he contemplated and dissected the notes therein. "Sweetish, yes. Good for drinking." His eyes looked away as he thought further upon the liquid. "Gentle, though. I could see this working well in sauce or steaming some carrots or onions as well. Perhaps add in a dash of vinegar to cut the sweetness down. Or it could pair well with something spicy! I love spicy food." The stallion chuckled and took another swig of the drink, "But, yes. We'll take some caskets of this as well. I can see this doing wonders for morale."

The stallion could feel the eyes on him a bit more. Was he coming off as strange? Weird? Nervous? He was nervous. More than anticipated on the whole trip and meeting so far, and in this meeting. "Oh, oh!" The pegasus put his wings up to his head and then let out a sigh, "R-right! That was the first part!" He would clear his throat again and sit up in his seat in a more businesspony posture. "Yes, a favorable exchange on imports. I should have said that first. Canned and fresh food we'll buy in bulk and consistently for a set amount of time as the country gets up and running." He would explain as his elbows came up on the table "Taxes will be nominal and there should be plenty of hungry mouths to feed." The stallion gave a genuine smile. "And, yes! I would love to sample some of your product! It took me some effort to not skewer an apple right off your cart as it was pulled past!" Both wings fluffed up and any signs of nervousness immediately evaporated. The stallion got off his seat and pushed it back to where initially gently.

The stallion hung on every word. His body was leaned forward and both ears were perked and facing directly at the orange mare as she spoke on her experiences. At her last line, the stallion let out an amused huff. "I know that!" The truth in his words perhaps lost on the orange ears. The pegasus was sipping the water, which turned into a chugging. A hurried chugging which sent a few beads of water down his chin and neck as she took the more professional sitting posture and brought up the business they were there to commit. Hurriedly, Dunder would wipe the coat dry and set down his glass. "Yes, yes! Happy to be here as well!" He cleared his throat, "Mutually beneficial agreement. You get first dibs on where you want some apple-or-other farms. You will get taxed but you should be making quite a few bits from the arrangement." He grinned, "Land at a discount! What pony doesn't love a good sale?"

Dunder would pour himself a drink carefully as she was set about in her mind to scrape up wherever she had seen the stallion. He met her gaze for the moment where she gave a playful smile and returned his own as he set down the jug. When they clanked the glasses together the stallion was about to commemorate with his own saying but was swiftly cut off by the mare finally recalling where the pegasus was in her mind. "Yep!" His own eyes lit up and the stallion blushed and half turned his head at the wink, "Heh, I should say I'm glad I left an impression on you! You definitely got more kisses that day than I did, I was probably just another face in the crowd." A wing came up to rub the back of his fluffy head. "And I would not have been upset had you forgotten. Being an Element of Harmony and a leader in agriculture and related industry both sounds like it would take up most of your mind!" He put both hooves to the sides of his head to punctuate his own point, "It would fill mine right up, definitely!" The stallion let out a chuckle and went back to take another sip of water. "How was it being an Element of Harmony, anyway? I've wielded some magic, but never anything that powerful."

The stallion would glance over his shoulder at the solitary table. He then looked back at the orange mare with a mixture of respect and appreciation. Wings flared out as the stallion contemplated helping regardless incase Applejack was being overly polite. But his hesitation was met with the unlatching of the cart and the resting of heavy wooden supports against the dirt. Quickly, Dunder would spin around and make his way to the table and stood there a moment as he waited for his host to finish her duties. Only after she took a seat, did he. "Oh, yes! Water sounds good." The stallion grinned and seemed to take a momentary pause as she introduced herself. "I know you're Applejack." Dunder grinned breifly and looked away while blushing, "We have met before. Do you not remember me?" He asked as he turned to look at the mare again.

It was a good day for flying, fortunate for a pegasus who zipped through the air from Ponyville proper. The stallion had followed his routine for meeting in a diplomatic capacity: wash his teeth; brush his mane, tail, and coat; wash his face. The words of his dear wife Bluebelle rung through his head the whole time as if she was there reminding him to do each step until the moment they were completed. With a final look in the mirror, the pegasus would use his wings to push every last strand of coifed mane was in place and then brush his ears forward to make sure the thin coat there was uniformly leaning the same way. The stallion grinned wide in the mirror and turned his head. The grin of a hero of Equestria. "Now, just to get a sandwich and some coffee." His gaze turned to the clock to see the meeting time was only 5 minutes away. A quick plan was hatched of two minutes eating and three minutes flying over. The house was just over the hill, right? The pegasus was taking flight a minute past the agreed meeting time. And his rushed commute had brought him to the humble home of an industrious pony. The stallion's wing pushed out a heavy cloud of dust as his legs kicked out to catch the ground first for the rest of his body which landed with a heavy thud. The pegasus glanced around. Doubts of his ability as a diplomat clouded his mind as his head swung to side and his body half turned to look toward the house to see if she was coming or perhaps milling about. But then the stallion turned back to the road to see the orange mare he was looking for. "Applejack!" The pegasus grinned as his wings shot out to his sides, but then his sensibilities regained and his wings were pulled back in. "Applejack." His tone a lot less excited and more professional now, "I, uh.... Do you want help?" He saw her pulling the cart and approached.

Dunnie also chose to get into the spirit of the crowd and her husband and son. The domestic life would probably require this sort of enthusiasm for entertainment and especially if her offspring would be inclined to buckball. Dunnie lifted a wing and held up a leg on the same side and cheered once, then again with the other wing and leg raised. And letting her excited whinneys get lost in the crowd she couldn't help bug giggle gently and wrap her wing around Blueblood and nuzzle against him and Pax who was seated atop the alabaster unicorn.

With the mention of wings, Dunnie extended her own to blanket her foal and pull Blueblood closer as he nuzzled her cheek. The pegasus let her feathers flex and gently pet Pax's face. And her own nose nuzzled up against Blueblood's neck and she held this unabashed public display of affection all while Bluey was talking to Ice Storm. She also overheard Nil's question, but chose not to answer, afterall it seemed Ice wasn't interested in answering the question either. Dunnie released her husband from her feathery grip and then turned to nuzzle her foal. "Nil!" She called out, "[Halt!]" She called out in the Sphynx language, "Er...wait, you've already stopped. [Lower!] Then!" Dunnie called out again. As much as she wanted to, she resisted the urge to steal Pax away from Bluey. "I think it's time to go get those treats, then. Show off our excellent costumes streetside, yeah?"

Dunnie seldom ever looked as uncomfortable as she did now. Despite her best efforts to put on a regal air for the procession, so carefully prepared, the pegasus held the visage of a statue. As if too scared to move lest she broke the facade and revealed the truth that she was bad at being a princess. She had experienced many Nightmare Nights, but never one of this social status. So there she stood, in one hoof holding up an ankh made of two khopesh swords attached at the hilt with bronze blades which gleamed like wayward suns. Her face was covered in a thin layer of makeup everywhere except her eyes which were highlighted by aggressive eyeliner. The mother of Pax was right next to him. Even though Blueblood had the foal on his back, Dunnie was hardly ever a wing's length away from her offspring. With the backdrop of Niilaavin's beautious display of illusory magic, and Blueblood's impression. Dunnie was getting ready to say her line that she had been reciting. But, it seems Bluey got distracted. Suddenly, all the tension in the mare's body dropped and she smiled and giggled while covering her mouth with a wing. "Bluey!" She smiled at him, "Your impression was so good it's a shame you stopped!" Dunnie looked down to the light blue Filly. He chuckled gently, "Wow, that is you Icy." What a bizzare sight, one she had never expected to see.

As Pathfinder explained the situation, Dunnie was piecing it all together in her mind. The thought of going over all this information earlier passed through her mind but left as soon as it came. There must be an unfathomable amount of snow piled atop this city, the pair would be certainly trapped if the snow collapsed. A passageway to from the lower levels to that pegasus landing could be their only lifeline, assuming it exists. As Dunnie concluded her searching for danger, she caught the other pegasus straining against the weight of a door. The pegasus rushed over and helped force the door open against the effort of its weight and past-frozen hinges. The scraping, cracking, and creaking stopped and the magenta-eyed mare tumbled forward into the streets. Meanwhile Dunnie stayed standing while observing the streets before them. That she was able to see any streets at all was a shock. This didn't feel like a city covered by that terrible icy wind's centuries of work. Dunnie stepped forward to see Pathfinder pull out a glowing crystal for illumination. "I have some magic, but I'd rather save it." The pegasus flared out a wing and grabbed the crystal by the end with the feather appendage. She held out a hoof for her companion to take and help herself back up. "This place is protected by something. We should move quickly before it realizes we're here, if it hasn't yet already." After helping the pegasus up she would start down the street. Almost jovial in the fact she could step on hard, stable ground so easily. She would go looking for anywhere not packed deep with snow, at least initially.

The pegasus was in dire need of relaxation. Afterall, weeks of preparation and travel had led to this moment and an ambush would lead to a distasteful end. Dunnie stepped back, crunching snow underhoof to get closer to her traveling companion. "I'll take you to Acroneighos later!" Then glanced back as she realized she misheard, "Oh, what?" She turned completely toward the other pegasus as her ears flicked, realizing her hearing mistake. Though, she was sure she was hearing the rest of the conversation clearly which was more worrying. "I'll tell you later just--" She cut herself off as she turned back to face the figures in the sky. A hefty hind leg raised and slammed into the ground next to where the other mare was digging. The cracks formed, and the pegasus felt the ground heave under their weight as the structure awoke. The ground left a void, which the intrepid pair plunged into. Though, Dunnie's wings flared out and gave a powerful flap which slowed her descent sharp enough to land with insubstantial force. The splashback of snow across her underside was enough to make the mare shake herself off briefly before looking at the residual hole above to see if anything was in pursuit. But Pathfinder's observation rung in her mind, if these things wanted to attack, wouldn't they have done so already? Dunnie didn't want to find out, instead she glanced around the room, "Cuddling isn't such a bad idea. We should get someplace we can warm up, probably deeper inside." The pegasus pulled her hood off her head, and her body gave another shake emphasizing the head this time. "So is this a subterranian city? Or will we find streets filled with snow and Celestia knows what else?" The ex-warrior would ask as she trotted deeper inside, checking passages, doorways, and the like for any movement or danger.

As the once-pronking pony made her remarks about the potential impact of their expedition, Dunnie cracked a slight grin and a puff of breathe came swirling out of both nostrils. As her companion checked the compass, Dunnie mulled over her words but did not respond because she had become acutely aware of how easily this explorer was distracted. Maybe it was a good trait to have in her profession, who knew what a wandering mind and eyes could lead to. Perhaps something another could miss. Hopefully not something I would miss, she thought as they began their march up a steady hill. The sturdy pony tried to keep up her pace, but the sloping ground challenged her. She kept her head low, examining the snow and making sure that she could find stable purchase for her hooves for both their sake. This focus was deep, but she kept listening to the other pony. The rhythm of examining snow, carefully placing a hoof down and scraping the dirt below to make sure the ground was stable and gritted enough to hike on. The steady pace of Dunnie's examination carried on as she formulated a response to all the explorer was talking about. "I like you better alive. So no haunting for now." Dunnie's response was flat as she carried on her work, "And an Acroneighos mare killed me once already. They won't get a se-- Hey, wha--?" Dunnie's eyes opened wide at the realization of Pathfinder's observations as they were no longer concealed by her perpetually excited tone. The pegasus lifted her head immediately as she stepped back and turned her body defensively in front of the other pony. She drew her buckler and raised it in front of her face to just peek over it as she scanned the sky and the flashes of silver and red among the clouds. What could be dancing fireflies or parasprites in any other place sent a bolt of fear down her back. "Acroneighos fields the strongest flyers, but even they couldn't withstand this cold. Unless they have something I don't know about." Dunnie commented as she kept her eyes on the lights as they continued their sporadic, innumerable paths. "If anything happens, jump to the left and then run forward. Maybe we can find cover in those ruins." And she hoped those ruins were close.

The hooded mare stayed locked as if she had been frozen in place from her momentary pause. She could see the snow clinging to coat and eyelashes. After a small sigh she raised each leg high to crunch over the lightly packed snow as she turned to face the other mare. The wind knocked off the hood in an instant. Two brown ears illuminated blue by the moon popped up as the hood fell. Her full mane billowed out along with the cape as the howling wind clawed through both. The removal revealed her thick and tightly wrapped coats, a glinting sword, and stuffed saddlebags hanging from leathers both of which shivered with the mare in the deep blue light. "Here." Before Pathfinder could react or protest, the brown pegasus wrapped the removed cape around her traveling companion and tightened it around her neck. "Keep the hood on." Her brown wings wrapped tightly to her body and the coming front urged her on to pull her own bedroll off her back and improvise a new cape from its cloth and bindings. "You wouldn't want me to find Old Maretonia by myself and take all the glory, would you?" She said with the slightest grin as she turned back and continued on her path. "Are you sure we are heading straight for the harbor? I would hate to miss it." Her voice was louder to compete with the incessant wind. "Check the compass."

In the cold darkness, the pair sallied forth into nature's onslaught. The moon's light cast a deep blue over the landscape where specks of white snow tore across their view like millions of meteorites. And past the barren land of their forefathers, there curved the range of mountains which stood unshaken against its hostile home. Like the spine of an impossibly large dragon sleeping against the horizon whose black and jagged scales dared any creature hooved or clawed to set upon them. A ferocious and endless sheet of clouds drifted overhead pulled along by the same piercing wind that tore itself upon that terrible mountain range. The wind dragged over the mare at the head as if to taunt her with its carelessness. If she could only spread her wings freely she could ride the current and cover ground at a pace tenfold. But instead it was the work of her legs that ploughed the path through the white blanket of snow which left two trailing voids where the moonlight could not reach. As she stopped to adjust her woolen cloak crested with fluffy faux-fur, the mare would look back enough to exposure her nose and mouth and speak loud enough to overpower the wind, "Are you sure this is the right way?" A weary pause as she turned some more, careful not to let the wind blow off her hood. "Unless the wind changes, it'll be twice as hard to double back."

Dunnie's eyes opened wide as her lips were met, but she did not close her eyes or relax into the lips. Instead, her gaze remained hard as it darted between the two ponies in front of her, almost frantically. The pegasus retreated back into the cool room where the warmth of the bed was slowly fading. A hoof skipped on the ground as she prepared to step back and cease her stalwart defense, careful not to tense her torso up too much. The weight of the past few days came bearing down like the weight of her body against the door, and cracked the mare's volition. "You didn't wake me." She responded with a soft sigh as she stepped back and expertly threw the door open just enough so that it would not swing into the wall. As she turned away from the hanging door, she offered Icy a suddenly more exhausted smile. "Thank you." a contemplate pause hung in the air. "Don't let it warm too much, you might melt." A frazzled wing pulled away from her body and pointed at the blue unicorn as the pegasus winked. Pax was there on the bed and wrapped tightly in a white blanket. His eyes were closed and mouth open just enough to let his tiny breathing continue unhindered. His coat could be described as similar to Dunnie's except a few hues lighter or similar to Blueblood's except blonder. But there was no horn on his head, much unlike his father.