IceStorm

~~~Aloe Blossom~~~ Aloe smiled warmly and gave Rose a nuzzle when she said that the Flower Trio had everything today, but that they were still a bit skittish around her. "They'll get over themselves eventually. At least, they will it they want the Ponyville Day spa to continue to do business with them and not just cultivate the seeds from the herbs that we by from them and grow our own," Aloe said to Rose, a hint of venom in her voice towards any who would dare mistreat her in any way. Just as soon as the words left her mouth though, she heard the kettle start hissing in the kitchen. "Oh! Be right back! Lesson one of Hearth's Warming is ready!" she said going into the kitchen and then coming back with a kettle, to jars, and two mugs. She grabbed the spoon with her socked hooves, and put a brown powdery substance into the mugs from one jar and then poured the water into it, stirring gently before opening the other jar and plopping marshmallows on the top until there was no space left for them. She then looked to the other chair as if implying Rose to sit where she had the other mug sitting.

~~~Aloe Blossom~~~ "Well," Aloe started. "I remembered earlier this week you were asking about Hearth's warming and I decided to take a night to both celebrate it a bit early and teach you about it in the process," She smiled getting up and moving up to Rose with a smile. She wrapped her hooves around her in a hug and then gave her a light peck on her cheek as well. "Be fore we start that though, did they have everything? I know that the Flower Sisters are low on herbs this time of year," she smiled. She was beside herself with happiness, especially with the other two gems not too far away in the other room with their sister. Giving them all the more reason to make sure this was the best holiday season ever.

Aloe was a bit surprised when she heard Rose approach her and asked her about Hearth's Warming and wanting to learn everything there was to know about it. At the same time though, she realized something when she did. This was likely the first time that Rose had ever experienced the holiday and cared to learn anything about it. She wasn't sure of the holiday extended back to any of the past lives that she spoke of. She knew that she had a love before after she told her everything about that. She was pretty sure that she would eventually take up her offer that she made her with that potion that she'd discovered that would grant her immortality, but that would be a ways off yet. They still had to go out and find all the reagents to make it. She smiled as she brought a couple of saddle bags to the table that her and Rose had and started setting a few books on the table. She also had a pot going on the stove for one of the absolutely required Hearth's Warming traditions. You couldn't have Hearth's Warming, or in this case, teach Hearth's Warming without cocoa! It was the rules! She continued moving everything around and getting things ready before looking up. Rose should be back any moment now after going to get some last minute supplies for the Spa. She sat at the table and waited.

Ice Storm, Wind Dancer, Nira, and Aloe will be there. Gifts can be surprise.

~~~Sugar Moonlight~~~ Sugar waited, almost a bit impatiently for her guests to arrive. She had been excited about this since she'd fist read the idea about it! This was the first time in well... forever as far as she was concerned, that ponies got to do something like this again! She knew that thought didn't make sense, but at the same time it did. The books themselves were proof that the ponies of olden days celebrated the holiday, but she'd never heard of it until now. Here they just had a week where they didn't have to work and they could just spend time with their families. Come to think of it though, there were an exceptionally large number of single ponies in Maretime Bay. Sure, there were some couples and plenty of foals around, but... Sugar shook her head. That wasn't what they needed to be thinking about right now, though she did hope that all the lonely ponies of Maretime Bay, and now the surrounding areas would come out. They could make new friends and not be lonely any more! The first of her guests to arrive, did so with a flourish that left Sugar's mouth agape a bit, and then even moreso when she heard the mare start to introduce herself. Her little party had gotten the attention from Queen Haven herself? The Pegasus Royalty!? She wasn't too surprised, given that she knew Pipp, but how cool was that! and she brought her entourage of guards with her as well! So that was already... one twothreefour... five ponies already! "Oh it's not a problem at all!" Sugar said, replying to the apology for being so early. "Actually if you ask me you're right on time! and I totally understand what you mean. When I modeled for the factory, there were so many times we'd be waiting on something simple that would delay the film shoot. We don't have to worry about that here though! When the other guests arrive feel free to mingle and get to know everypony! This was celebrated as a holiday of unity after all, so united we shall be!" Sugar said, smiling as she raised an eyebrow as she watched Sunny start walking up the street to her house. She knew that Sunny would be here. Having been the one that actually unified everypony, a holiday for it would be right up her alley. She did have to raise an eyebrow though when she saw her knock on one of the guard's flanks. She couldn't help but giggle a bit at both of their reactions, and took all of her restraint to not make a joke there. After that, there were two more ponies that started walking their direction. She recognized both of them from the boat trip! Come to think of it, everypony that's here were the same ponies that came out with them on the boat trip except for Queen Haven, and even then, she kinda counted as being there right? Pipp was there and that was an extension of royalty so did that mean that counted or no? She was actually a little confused as to how all that royalty stuff worked now, but that would be questions for later. She heard Moonage and allegro both ask if this was her house, but could tell the question was directed towards Sunny. With a smile Sugar waved at them. "Yup! you're both in the right spot! Please, come on in! Gifts go on the empty table! Snacks and Cakes are over there! I baked them myself!" she smiled, looking to Sunny. "You got a lot more than gifts there Sunny! Whatchya bring? Also no, they aren't my guards. Those guards belong to Queen Haven!"

~~~Wind Dancer~~~ Wind Dancer was happy to hear that Cloudy was enjoying the tournament! She was apparently enjoying it enough that it was making her want to see where the local ring is in Cloudsdale! She was going to respond, but as she got ready to they charged forward once again. She watched excitedly as Pike's lance shattered against Marcus's armor and she could feel Cloudy hovering next to her, cheering on. This was bad for Pike. Without his Lance he would be a sitting duck. That briefly reminded her of the Lucky Ducky dance she did in Cloudsdale a while back and had to stop herself from quacking when she remembered. That was a fun night and she needs to do that again. Back to the action that was in front of them though, Pike now no longer had a weapon, can and the way their charges lined up, Pike would have to go through Marcus to get to the weapon rack to get another, if that was even allowed. She wasn't entirely sure of all the rules herself. Sure enough though there was a whistle and the competitors stood down. "Annnnd the winner of the first round is Marcus! Both competitors please pick and resecure your weapons and this best two of three match will begin. The second match between Wing Beat and Shock Wing with begin afterwards with a short intermission. Both contestants please proceed to the warm up area," The announcer announced. "Oh, that one should be good! Shock Wing is a part of that new military base that's in town. She's also the one that tracked us down earlier. I didn't think that she would be competing in this, my bits are on her!" Wind said. "It looks like our two combatants are ready once again! 3! 2! 1! ~~Trumpets sound~~," Wind heard, and Pike and Marcus took off at one another again.

~~~Wind Dancer~~~ Wind Dancer smiled with Sky's suggestion of walking around and seeing what was on the Marquee. He said that they should see what tickets for events are left and then head from there. He also added that he couldn't ever remember The Mareage turning away audience members, though a few shows were standing room only. "Oh, you mean like ours? At least, when I'm able to anyway," she smiled with a nuzzle. "But I agree. It's been a bit since I've been able to visit some of the venues. We should see what they have and what sounds interesting to the three of us," she smiled holding her tummy.

~~~Sugar Moonlight~~~ Things had been quite a bit different in Maretime Bay the last few months. There's been an influx of both pegasi and unicorns coming to the city, and many of them settling down. She had to admit even to herself, there were a lot of interesting stories that she'd heard over the past few months, and it was shocking how similar everything was yet how completely different as well. Like she'd found out on the boat right that Sunny had taken them on, there were so many different things that everypony had been taught about each other that she could't believe how they actually believed some of them. But that wasn't important now. What was though, was after everypony had come together again, it was Sugar's turn to give into her impulses and actually do a bit of research into Ancient Equestria. She always kinda wanted to know what it was like, and if all the stories from the past were actually true. After all, Sunny had already proven that everypony had been friends once before and had done an amazing job of single-hoofedly uniting all three races. Sugar couldn't help but wonder though just how deep everything went beyond that. At once point in her research, she'd found something. A mention of a holiday that the ponies of olden times would celebrate. It was called Hearth's Warming, and she was able to determine that it had something to do with the togetherness and the unity of ponies, but that was about all that was mentioned of it. Nothing else came close to going back even that far. There was also mentions of some weird spirit of hate thing that made the world freeze, but that just sounded positively silly. There was no way that kind of creature could exist. Unity and friendship though, that was something that she could put a hoof behind. Sugar had made fliers and she had distributed them through out the city. She briefly wondered if this was how Sunny felt all the time when she was posting all of the stickers around town, but all of that had lead up to today. The fliers invited ponies of all kinds to join this Hearth's Warming festival, and added that they should bring a surprise gift. Sugar also had a cake made for the event as well as some of her Maretime Bay famous Sugar Cookies! She was excited to share them with all of her new friends! She just hoped that ponies would actually take the fliers seriously and come. She wanted nothing more than to help celebrate the newfound unity in her city, and she actually felt a bit of panic take her over. What if no pony came? What if no pony truly cared and she'd gone through all of this effort for nothing? Sugar shook her head. No, ponies would come. She didn't know who, or how many, but she knew ponies would come. She had just finished putting the last bit of decorations around in her yard and inside her house to make it more festive, trying to match the couple of pictures that she'd found. It looked silly at first, but there was a quaint charm about it that just felt right. The way the colored lights were shining, and the way their breath's hung in the air, it was going to be a perfect evening. She had the tables set up and with it being outside, it would be open for everypony walking by to attend! Besides, depending on how many ponies actually showed up she might not be able to fit them all in her house. If this gets enough of a turn out she might have to rent a park or something next year. As it was, Sugar looked back over all of the decorations one more time. With a smile, she brought out the cake, the punch and the other snacks and arranged them on one of the tables while leaving another table blank for the guests to leave gifts on. Once everything was in place, Sugar took her place by the gate to her fence and waited for ponies to arrive.

~~~Aloe Blossom~~~ "Without age and without ailment is nice, but it is also as you said. The ponies that I consider family to me are all equally important to me, even if I'm not as equally important to them. Just as it was hard to watch the one you loved grow old and die, I would have to do the same, not only with whats left of my family, but with every foal that we have. I would out live every pony that I would ever care about except you. No, once we have the means to make whatever this is, this would have to be extended at the very least to my sister, and our children. But honestly, I do thing that should be the extend of it. We should also make sure that we have an antidote on hand for anypony that takes the serum to well, become mortal if they feel they've been on the plane long enough," Aloe responded. "Everypony else, well... I kinda agree, they can go to tartartus for all I care. Especially if they try to hurt you or our little ones. I'll send them there myself," she stated plainly. Still, the thought of potentially having to hurt somepony was starting to sour the mood a bit. "It might take me a day or two to think and make a final decision on everything, but know this Rose. I'm not going anywhere. You're stuck with this simple mud pony for life, and maybe even beyond," she smiled before planting a kiss on her cheek. "That being said, I'm pretty sure you're double is starting to get bored over there. We should probably catch up to her," Aloe said with a smile, still holding Rose in her hooves, not really wanting to let go yet herself.

~~~Sugar Moonlight~~~ Sugar would take another bite of the apple that Moonage had brought over for her while she listened to said mare explained about how she grew up on the road. That while they didn't ever come here or go to Zephyr Heights for obvious reasons, but it did beg the question... How many other settlements were out there that suffered or had been lost through this whole process of segregation? Equestria was huge, surely there wasn't just three cities left in the entirety of Equestria. She knew that other ponies had to survive elsewhere, and maybe they were already well ahead of them on the whole getting along thing. They were probably just as confused and happy as everypony else was when the Pegasi got their flight back and the unicorns got their magic back. However, the bigger problem came if there wasn't any others out there. Were they really all that was left? If that is the case, then it makes the need to abolish the segregation even more important. She knew that the population of Maretime bay was a couple thousand at least, and she presumed that would probably be the case with the other cities as well, but in the grand scheme of things... that was nothing on a global or a natural scale of any sorts. Still though, she listened and being a traveling performer didn't sound too bad. "Huh... I wonder if there's anything like that for the modeling business. I'm going to have to keep my options open in case Canterlotgic goes under. Who knows what they are going to make now, or even if they are going to be trusted again after Sprout went completely crazy..." Sugar commented. Anti-unicorn and Anti-Pegasus devices weren't really necessary anymore, and thanks to Sprouts actions, they knew just how dangerous some of those contraptions could be. Sugar herself never wanted to hurt anypony. She was generally a pacifist by nature when it came to anything physical. Those splatapults, though mostly the tractor thing... nearly killed Sunny and that unicorn that she was with! That was definitely not what she wanted! She was very glad that they both survived cause Sugar didn't think she could live with that kind of guilt. She honestly didn't think Sprout could either once the realization of what he had done had set in. He already kind of had that look on his face when the lighthouse fell. She was a bit disappointed to hear that she couldn't shed light on what the unicorns had been taught about Earth Ponies and Pegasi, but she also understood. If she wasn't raised in the forest itself, then she wouldn't know. That just made sense. Her focus shifted though when she heard Allegro ask if Unicorns and Pegasi also went to the outskirts of their town to sabotage and destroy the homes of ponies living away from the heard or if that was just an earth pony thing. "Iiiii'm pretty sure that's just an us thing.... and definitely not a moment that we are proud of by any meants. I'm actually truly very sorry that almost everypony's first experience in Maretime Bay was a misguided attack among our own. At the very least, no pony was seriously hurt in our moment of stupidity," she said turning to Pipp. "That being said Pipp, you've been rather quiet. I would love to hear about how you grew up and what everything was like for you. I would also love to hear how you keep your wings so fluffy! They are quiet honestly the prettiest thing I've ever seen!" Sugar said with a smile.

~~~Aloe Blossom~~~ So, this was the true nature of the hurt and pain that she felt from before. She understood so much more now. She could feel Rose returning the embrace, much tighter than even she was. She heard Rose tell her that she would live forever and she didn't need to see Rose's face to know that she was crying. She could feel the tears falling onto her shoulders, and could hear the sniffing that accompanied it. It was a sound and feeling that Aloe had been quite familiar with before Rose showed up. She tightened her own hug even more. A cure for mortality was big, and that was something that Aloe herself would have to think about. However, she wasn't going to outright deny it either like her old lover though. "Rose, I love you, and I want to be with you forever and always, but immortality is something that I would have to think about. It has nothing to do with whether I want to die or not, nor does it mean that there's not enough love there. I'm sure you can feel that this is more than not the case. It's more about whether the land can sustain us, and more importantly, can our emotions sustain us. What I mean by that is, if we made this remedy, and we used it, then you and myself would be immortal, but the rest of our family wouldn't be. Not to mention, once we make this, other creatures and ponies, some with not the best of intentions will want a piece of that pie. We would have to figure out what kind of immortality it would be, because if it's only ageless immortality, then that means that we would still be subject to death via injury, or if we possess something that another wants, possibly assassination. We would also eventually outlive our friends and our family unless we made them immortal as well. Then we would have to consider the amount of resources it would take to sustain a permanently expanding race of ponies and changelings that can't die. I'm not saying no, but I am saying that I will need to heavily think on something like that," Aloe told her. She hoped that Rose understood where she was coming from. It had nothing to do with love.

~~~Wind Dancer~~~ Wind Dancer didn't really know how long that she had fallen asleep for, but she knew when it was time to wake up. Or rather, the foal inside of her knew when she should wake up. She was never aware of the passer-biers herself, but she was sure that being an open park, there were plenty that spied them and tried to fancy a moment with them. No doubt just as many taking pictures with them in the background, but she didn't mind that. With a few more kicks, she was brought into the forefront, and the light in the sky was now well past what it was when they came to the park. She would jester to say that it was about mid-afternoon at this point. She would start to stir and nuzzle under Sky's head as he spoke, saying that there was a future dancer in there, and that they certainly had the energy for it. "That ain't no joke, sometimes a little bit too much energy," she said with a giggle before hearing Sky's proposition. "You know, I think that is a wonderful idea. Especially since I can't perform myself right now, it would be in good taste to help support other upcoming artists by attending some of their shows. Plus it probably wouldn't hurt to stop by the Mareage and let everypony there know that I'm still alive," Wind said with a giggle. "What kind of show are you thinking tonight? Magic, music, Theater?" she inquired.

~~~Aloe Blossom~~~ Aloe would listen while remaining focused on the helm. This might have been a large lake, and not an actual ocean, but she still didn't want to lose control of the ship and have it sink while she was piloting it. She was certain that Rose would never let her hear the end of that if she did. As she listened though, she would pique an eyebrow. She would explain a past lover, and that she was pursuing a means of immortality. She felt that everypony deserved to live long, happy lives, as long as they wanted. She understood the reasoning behind her thoughts, but unfortunately, even Aloe was certain that alchemy had it's limits on what it could accomplish and she was certain that becoming ageless wasn't something along those lines. Sure, there might be potions out there that might have ways of extending ones longevity, but the way of nature was simple. At some point everything came to an end. She listened on as Rose said that while her search had started out noble, something clicked inside of her, and Aloe tied it to the line that said that she couldn't lose him. With Rose spanning multiple lives in the odd form of immortality that she did have. She was after all, living proof that at least the mind of a pony was ageless... It was of little surprise that Rose had a love before her. She had presumed that this love had originally been the cause of her pain, and she was right, but not in the sense that she was thinking. Aloe presumed from the information that she acquired from Rose, that the lover that she had, had either become sick, or injured, and it hastened her search. She told her that she eventually started doing unsavory things to try to further her own ambitions, and how she had become The Scourge of the West, Scylla The Pirate Queen. When she stopped, Aloe was a bit stunned. She wasn't expecting that at all, but still, in a sense she understood. Love and passion can drive a pony to do anything that they feel like they can do in order to protect the ones that they cared about. Aloe would fight Twilight herself if she ever found out Twilight was trying to cause harm to any of her little ones of if she went after her family at all. Princess or not, so she understood the sentiment. Granted, she wouldn't get very far, she was a measly earth pony. Rose was able to push herself further, and being ship bound probably helped with that a lot. After all, the ocean is a vast place, and with her being a changling of the sea, it would have made her even harder to find. After a few moments, Aloe spoke up. "Hey Rose? Take the wheel for a second with your magic," she instructed. She watched Rose arch an eyebrow for a second but complied, and once she was certain that Rose had a firm grasp on the wheel, she wrapped both of her front hooves around the mare s tightly as she could without choking her out. "I am so sorry that you had to go through all of that, and I'm not going to lie, I am a bit worried about you having to go through that again. I'm sure we can make potions that will extend longevity, but... you must know that eventually, I will die, where you might not. What is important, is that you remember the good, and you keep your memories with me safe. For as long as you remember who I am, I'm never truly gone," she said pulling back. "I will always be right here," she said putting a hoof on Rose's chest. "And when that time comes, and you ever need a bit of strength, look for it there, and I will guide you through the worst of storms the best that I can," Aloe said, still holding her as tight as she could.

~~~Wind Dancer~~~ More times than not, when you were in the company of a pony that you loved, words were almost never needed. That was the case right now with Wind Dancer. She curled herself under his wing, and listened to the song that he was humming, occasionally echoing and harmonizing the rhythm a bit. She felt herself relax even more and with the warmth of the sun, and the coziness that was the wing of the pony that she would commit crimes of atrocity for if needed, she felt the safest she'd ever been and she couldn't help but push in a bit more and rest her head on his hooves, falling asleep for a short nap.

~~~Aloe Blossom~~~ Aloe became a bit hesitant when the kelpie asked what Rose meant about maintaining her shape and not being assimilated by the rest of the water and fluids around her. It would make sense that he wouldn't need that, but at the same time, this was their first interaction with a creature like this. Neither her nor Rose knew what to expect. "That is of course, if something like that is even needed at all. I apologize if the question was out of place or hit something that was sensative. Not only have we never worked with Kelpie before, you're also the very first one I've ever seen, so if we say something wrong, please let us know. We do not mean to create offense or discomfort in any way, and know that if we do say anything off-putting it is not with ill intent," Aloe said, covering the business end of the interaction. "That being said, what would you like to do for your first treatment?"

~~~Wind Dancer~~~ Wind Dancer smiled a bit when she saw the reaction that Cloudy had as they left the gift shop. She had to slow down a few times though as they started making their way to the jousting matches so that she didn't lose her new friend in the crowd. Here in Las Pegasus, getting lost in a crowd of ponies that you didn't know was very much a possibility for anypony, including herself. There had been several times where she and Sky had been separated by the crowds when once of them would get distracted by something, usually her, and usually looking for a way to help somepony else with something. Usually they would just shrug their shoulders and meet back at a designated point. She had several of those for such situations. However, she did not have anything set up for Cloudy, and she didn't want Cloudy's vacation to get ruined because she promised her something, only for her to get lost in the crowd and not be able to find her again. Thankfully Cloudy was able to catch up with her pretty easily and Windy was able to get the tickets paid for. She made sure to get them as close to the action as she could, and the seats that they got were right next to the ring. She had just sat down when the trumpets started blaring, and she could see the excitement building in Cloudy as they started to introduce the competitors for the first round of the event. With a wave of then flag they were off, and with a loud clank, the lances that they were wielding parried off one another as they looped around for a second go. Once they had the line on each other they charged in again, "Let'em have it Pike! Show them why you were part of the guard! Wooooo!!!" Windy yelled starting to get into it. Marcus was the crowd favorite by far, as he had a reputation here, but Pike was starting to make a name for himself as well. While she didn't follow the jousting circuts too heavily herself, it's still Las Pegasus. Ponies hear things down the grape vine all the time. She looked back over to Cloudy and gave her a cheerful smile. She can definitely say that this was the kind of day that she was planning on having, but this was way more fun than going to get lunch with Icy and the going back home. True her and Sky probably would have went out later, probably to a different show, since theirs was a matinee act today, but it would have been nothing like this. Plus today she got a new friend. One that she would hope would stay friends for a while and maybe they could do something like this when she hopefully comes back to Las Pegasus. Of course now that she's been back home and gotten over everything that happened in Cloudsdale, going to visit her on occasion wouldn't be out of the cards either. "So, what do you think? Pretty fun huh?" she asked with a smile.

~~~Sugar Moonlight~~~ Sugar watched and waited for the response on the lighthouse. She didn't want to say anything on it herself, and at first Sunny seemed to be focusing on the phone that Pipp had mentioned. If she was being honest herself, she was also interesting in this phone thing. They had something similar here in Maretime bay, but they weren't exactly portable and had lots of wires. She was shocked at how much more advanced Pegasi were and it made her wonder about the validity of the products at Canterlogic. IF the Pegasi were this advanced, then they could have things that would have dwarfed their own creations. However, if they pony kinds were friends again, maybe the ponies of Zephyr Heights would help share their technology. If that happened, then Canterlogic would be able to create so many new products, and hopefully ones that would help ponies get along rather than divide them like they did before. They should probably also start working on removing all of the negative propaganda off of the city streets. Having posters of unicorns and pegasi being evil, killing, and abducting ponies probably wasn't going to set well with most. It's possible that many would see them and find it hilarious that they thought that they could do those things, but still. It would be good to clean that up at some point. She also had to admit that she was a bit bummed out that Sunny didn't accept her offer to stay at her place, but when she told her that the hotels were literally competing to try to help her, she understood and couldn't help but giggle. "Let me guess, they are trying to pay you to stay there. Honestly they should be. We all should be. What happened isn't acceptable, and everypony in Maretime Bay should be doing everything they can to help you," Sugar said. She was a little bit worried that Sunny didn't say much to help her fears, but what she said was right. There were going to be good and bad ponies everywhere. It was like she said, they would just have to hope that the good ponies outweighed the bad. They couldn't defend themselves like the unicorn or pegasi could. A pegasus could fly toescape the danger, and a unicorn could fight back with their magic. She just didn't try to think about it too much. She was snapped out of her thoughts when the unicorn that was with them levitated an apple over to her and asked if she was hungry. Sugar smiled and she accepted the apple. "Thank you... Moonage did you say it was? My name is Sugar Moonlight, if you didn't catch it when I got aboard the boat. AS far as living here in MAretime Bay, it has it's perks. It's usually a quiet place, and fairly simple. We have a theater, we have our markets, but the focal point of the city is the Canterlogic factory. I won't go into what they made, because it's irrelevent now with the changing times. Otherwise, it can be both a blessing and a curse. Being right next to the shore is amazing and it creates for some wonderful views. Every once in a while though, the skies above the sea grow angry and we can get some really violent storms rolling through. We've had to rebuild a few buildings more than once because of it," she said taking a bit of her apple. She listened a bit more as the other earth pony started talking once again. The pony that had brought up the lighthouse to begin with. She was still shocked as to how well Sunny handled the mention of it. In fact, she was fairly certain her own reaction to it was more intense than Sunny's was. She wasn't entirely sure how to react to the first part when she heard him talking about his mum and how she said the only reason she didn't live in the sea was because of the love of her family, which she could understan, basking on rocks. Well, sitting in the sun did feelgood, and he was also right that baked goods didn't handle wet well. She was just interested more in his word choice than anything. The lack of ability to breath underwater would be a major deciding factor in not living in the ocean as far as she was concerned.She was kind of interested in hearing his singing voice when he mentioned that. Her attention was shifted though when Pipp came back above deck, and Sunny had asked her to explain her life a bit and to explain the city of Zephyr Heights. She watched anxiously before noticing a familiar look in Pipp's face. Fear. This also showed itself when she started talking. When she first started talking she sounded stammery, and very nervous. She could tell that she was trying almost too hard to avoid what could be touchy subjects. She could understand that to an extent, but they were never going to get past anything if they were just going to try to pretend that nothing happened. She watched Pipp disappear for a few moments back below deck before coming back up and apologizing. She said that after the upheaval that there was a lit of difficulty in speaking about things and hoped that they could forgive her and said that if they had any questions about her life, she would be happy to answer them. Sugar took a deep breath, and then sighed. "Okay, I can sense the elephant in the room here, and one of the things that I've learned, more so over the last couple of days than anything, but also from a friend. The first step of healing is being honest with yourself and being honest with those around you. Right now with everypony walking on eggshells," she said pointing to Pipp. "It doesn't take much to make ponies feel uncomfortable, myself included. So I say that we clear the air here and now, and just approach the topics of what we were taught about each tribe so that we can heal. The more uncomfortable everypony is, the more tense they will be, which is going to have the opposite effect that we want here. I have worked for Canterlogic for a while now, and I'm not sure where or how the rumors started, but we were always taught that unicorns were vicious beings of magic that would fry a pony to a crisp, and that pegasi would snatch ponies away, never to be heard from again. I know now that's not true, and I would venture that most earth ponies would believe the same at this point. Still though, if can approach those subjects, and I don't know, maybe find out how ridiculous some of the old rumors and speculations were... it's something that could help the races grow back together," Sugar started. "That being said, I would love to hear how you grew up and the things that you like to do. Something tells me it's not too terribly different than how we were raised," Sugar said with a hopeful, yet sheepish smile.

~~~Aloe Blossom~~~ "Honestly, yes I did wonder about that. Quite often actually, but every time I've heard you speak of such things in the past they were always in a negative painful light, like something back then had hurt you, and hurt you badly. I never wanted to bring it up because I didn't want you to have to relive that pain any more than what you already have to. I'm sure you still have nightmares and stuff about it. I know I would if I had something lime that happen to me," Aloe said in response to Rose. "Though I am curious as to what it was you were looking for. Maybe now I can help you find whatever it was. I'n not perfect with water by any means, but that doesn't mean I can't try," she added with a smile. She definitely would notice the change in directions and would shoot a glare back at Rose when she would turn the winds into a head wind, as if to say Rally? but she would deal with it the best that she could. With the sails down, she did note that a headwind was impossible to go against, mush as Rose had told her and had brought the vessel to a stop. She would have to wait a bit before they could continue, and would do so once the winds changed direction once again.

~~~Aloe Blossom~~~ Once again Aloe had felt the ship lurch a bit when the winds that were helping propel the vessel stopped. She also nodded when she heard Rose correct her and say that they were going after a giant squid over a kraken. She further went on to say that a kraken could snap this boat in half one moment, and then swallow the two pieces in the next. She made a mental note to never come across one because it didn't sound like killing something like that was in the cards for her. She was more likely to become it's lunch, and she'd rather not have to deal with something like that. She also heard Rose tell her that sometimes steering the vessel in a straight line isn't always an option, nor is it always the best plan. She said that sometimes the winds have a will of their own, and that she wanted Aloe to try to follow the squid by sailing with the wind as much as she could. She looked at the sails and how they were blowing. She could feel them blowing towards the east at this point, so she angled the sails in that direction. She didn't want to go directly due east, as that would take her away from the squid, but if she angled the sails correctly, she could catch enough of the wind in her sails to still go towards the target, albeit at angled slightly. She knew that there woudl be a point where she would have to adjust course to try to realign herself with her target, but she would need the winds to change course first, and even then there was no guarantee that they would change in the direction that she needed them to. The smack on her flank definitely didn't go unnoticed either as she gave Rose a smirk, "I don't know if that would be too bad of a thing myself, we'll have to wait and see. Though I am curious as to what I get if I win," Aloe smiled, holding steady with the wheel.

~~~Wind Dancer~~~ Wind was happy to hear that Sky liked the idea of having the wedding in the park. He added that they would have to be careful though or it would turn into a much bigger wedding than they wanted it to. He also felt like using the park might be monopolizing it a bit. "It would kind of be, but it's not really any different than somepony using a ballroom for a wedding, or when they sell out the entire strip for a show. As far as it turning into a much larger crowd than we want, that's going to happen regardless of where we are. We're both celebrities, and that alone attracts a lot of attention. And the word is already out there," she said leaning in and giving him a kiss on his cheek. "We didn't exactly keep our proposals a secret from the world," she added with a giggled. When he mentioned that he would trust her judgement on Icy, she nodded. "I wouldn't say that I've known her longer really. She's only been in Las Pegasus for a couple years. I am curious to know what she's doing though," she said. She felt another couple of kicks and had to adjust a bit before snuggling into Sky and letting the sunlight wash over her. "That's for another time though. For now, laying here with you is perfect," she added with a smile.

~~~Aloe Blossom~~~ Aloe wasn't sure what entirely Rose meant by it would catch her, but she went with it. She listened as Rose told her that thyis was the third time that she'd been on a ketch herself. She said that she knew how to steer it because it's the basic model for a sailboat, and she talked about how a past life she only ever had eyes for her Luna's Rose. A part of her wished that she could see the vessel, but considering the words that were used, if she saw it now, it wouldn't be near as magnificent and probably on the bottom of the ocean some where. She also said something about it being called a Queen's Ketch where another changling queen had opened a brothel exchanging love for pleasure. Aloe wanted to say something, but when she thought about it, that was actually a very good idea, and wasn't entirely dissimilar to what she and her sister did for others to relieve stress in their clients when they paid for such services. Granted, they hadn't been doing that here much recently, things considered. "That's actually brilliant. It's similar to what Chrysalis did with that island. She set up a spa resort thing for couples to go. The changelings take care of the guests, and they are fed by the ambient love that is in the air around them. I'm not entirely sure why more hives aren't doing something similar to that. That seems like a much better way to get love and nourishment than trying to fight for it all the time," Aloe said. "That being said, what are the rest of the basics? I'm assuming that I have a lot more to learn because I can handle a kraken," Aloe smiled.

~~~Aloe Blossom~~~ No matter how many times it was explained to her, she was always caught off guard when Rose made one of the copy things. She told her what they were called several times as well but she couldn't remember it either. She thought about curriculum, but that was a school thing, not a copy-shapeshifty thing. Mostly is was just the sight of Two Roses next to each other that was a bit weird for her. She was starting to get more and more used to it, but she was always apprehensive about doppelgangers because of what happened when a swarm of Pinkie Pies took over Ponyville. She shuddered at the memory. That was not a fun day. They had so much cotton candy and taffy in their baths that they had to hire experts to come and de-sticky everything. About that time, she heard Rose say something about this being fun, well one of them did, and jumped into the water. There was a green flash before the other Rose said something as she felt the boat rock and pull. She had to steady her grip on the wheel to keep from losing it. When she gathered it, she heard Rose say that many ponies that sailed often mistook a giant squid for a kraken. She advised her that they latter were much bigger. She wasn't to sure that she liked the sound of that, but she did as instructed and tried to follow her. She was going to ask if Rose thought this was safe, before realizing that Rose was the one staging this, and Rose would never do anything to harm her, at least not intentionally, so if she was doing this, it had to have been deemed safe for them to be doing it. "Setting course to follow. But um... what are we supposed to do when we catch it?"

~~~Ice Storm~~~ Ice Storm listened to all of the suggestions that there were for the possibilities of a base camp. They mentioned of a clearing just past the treeline that would give them a better vantage points of exiting should they need to. They also mentioned a cave. Ice Storm initially liked the idea of the cave, but as she listened to the others speak up, they made some rather good points. Luna seemed to be on the same track as she was as well, speaking up that the cave only having one way in and one way out was both a blessing and a curse. She also noticed that Myth was starting to get more accustomed to the magic in the area and was speaking to Nira, who also gave her piece about the strategies. She added that since the clearing was inside the treeline, the canopy should keep the camp mostly covered, and that they had several ponies here trained in the mystical arts. Creating a base camp that would camouflage with the rest of the forest was well within their means. Raven also seemed to be leaning in favor of the clearing, adding that the clearing would need more watches, but it would be closer to their escpate route as well. "Then it's settled. Let us move forth and set up the base camp in the clearing. I would rather not disturb the land itself too much, so anything we gather should be items that have already fallen. I do not want to harm any of the trees or the wildlife here and give the magic of the land a reason to be angry with us. Let us take only what we need and nothing more. If need be, I can use my ice magic to give us some temporary structures that we can navigate around. Especially if we want this to be something that we can set up and fall back to later if things go array. We can also use it as a bearing point and establish landmarks and positions that can help lead us where we need to be, and then lead us back. And remember, we're in a foreign land here so be extra careful where you step and make sure to pay attention to every detail. We could easily get stuck wandering a forest here ad infinitum, and finally nopony ventures alone. Buddy systems at all times while on the island. And Myth that means an actual buddy, not an illusion," Ice Storm stated, turning to the Okami named Shironui. "Lead the way then. We will follow you to this clearing." ~~~Niradaña~~~ Nira listened to the options that had presented themselves as for the possible locations for the base camp. There was the mention of a cave with a singular entrance, though whether that was true or not was yet to be determined, and they didn't have the right kind of equipment to try to discern that on the fly and caves were naturally dangerous. One small mistake could kill everypony in the group. However, if the cave was sturdy, it would be a good fall back bunker in case something happened. "If I may, Commander. But I would also be leaning in favor of the clearing inside the treeline. With it being past the trees, the canopy overhead will protect us from most airborne threats and will also hamper their ability to spot us. The Imperial Legion would often use caves as well, but they also have a means of reinforcing the cave walls so that there isn't a collapse and ponies who's entire jobs were to navigate and map out the tunnels so we knew exactly where everything was. We don't have those kind of resources in this group, so the cave would be a liability at the moment. However, the cave would be a good fall-back point if something were to happen at the base camp," Nira stated. It was about then that Nira heard Myth speak up once more. She had told her that she was sorry, but was only vaguely aware that she had said something to her. Most probably would have taken that as a jab, but knowing a bit more about her condition now, and what it does, she knew that Myth was sincere. The magic in the lands in Neighpon was abundant and often times, chaotic. Especially when it's apparently on an island that's been housing an evil sorceress that's been feeding on souls for thousands of years. "I was asking to infer if you could see any major imbalances of magic here and if so what direction they were in. That could help guide us where we need to go," Nira repeated with a smile. The wing that Feather put over Myth made her smile widen and grow warmer as well. It was good to see such comradery between crew-mates. Something like this didn't exist in the palace, with the exception of Ishi, she didn't get along with a majority of them. And Ishi was her charge, though it remained to be seen for how much longer. She still cared for him deeply after spending so much time with him, but the desire to do more was taking it's toll on her. That was why she was out here to begin with. When the group would start to move towards the clearing, she would follow.

~~~Sugar Moonlight~~~ The apprehension was killing Sugar as she awaited Sunny's response. It had only been a couple seconds, but that could seconds felt like eternity as what felt like the weight of the world roll off of her. It would be a long while before she'd felt that she'd made up to Sunny, but hearing Sunny say that she never blamed her helped a lot. Sunny added that they were all raised to believe the lies that Canterlogic was spreading. That statement hit just a little closer to home than she woudl have liked, considering that she herself had played a role in propagating what they later found out as lies. That actually raised a major red flag for her too, almost as if she had just thought of something very important. what was Canterlogic going to do now that they didn't have to make questionable devices that may or may not actually do what they said they would do. If she was being honest, some of the items that might not be a bad thing. After all, the boots that were demonstrated in the event that Sunny crashed seemed like they were fastened to the ground. So yes, a pegasus could snatch you away, but you also couldn't move. She shook her head though. Today wasn't a day for such thoughts. These were important things that would need to be addressed, but today was about making new friends. She wasn't going to sully that by thinking about work at a time like this. When Sunny mentioned the friends that could fly around and float things, Sugar smiled. "I have to be honest here, I am still a teensy bit worried about that. Not from the ponies that you've brought here. I'll be the first to admit that I wasn't expecting to find a pegasus with wings as amazing as hers," she said pointing to Pipp's wings. "But those slight fears of the bad ones that could do the things that we are scared about, are lessened by the hope that the ponies that are generous, kind, and friendly will help protect us from the mean ones, should they ever arise," Sugar said before turning to one of the other newcomers. This pony was an Earth Pony, but at the same time Sugar never remembered seeing him before. She heard him introduce himself to Sunny as Allegro. She vaguely recognized the name. Not because she thought that she might have known the pony, but she knew that she had heard that term somewhere before, but couldn't picture where right off the top of her head. He thanked Sunny for inviting him and went on to say that he wanted to check up on everypony cause the manifest at the harbor didn't say anything about a captain about the vessel, so he wanted to make sure everything was okay. Sugar was going to say something in response, before the mention of the lighthouse stopped her dead in her tracks. She shuddered instantly as she remembered the entirety of what had happened just a few days before and how absolutely terrified that Maretime Bay had lost probably the most caring pony in the city. It was Sunny after all, that extended the first hoof of friendship to the other races, and brought them back together. That alone is a testament to how much she cared about everypony. Of course, if Sugar felt this bad from just having watched the lighthouse fall, she knew it had to be a million times worse for Sunny. Not only was that her home, but she was inside of it when it fell. That did bring up something though that Sugar did want to bring up at some point. "The... Lighthouse probably isn't a good thing to bring up right now... Though, while we're on the... touchy subject..." Sugar Started. "If you need a place to stay while the lighthouse is being rebuilt, I have an extra room. It's the least that I can do to help," she said to Sunny, still shuddering a bit from the memories of the other day. It was at that point the Pegasus spoke up and she became fixated on her. She wasn't sure what it was, but there was definitely an alluring appeal to her. Okay, she was lying, she knew exactly what it was. Those wings were so fluffy! She couldn't help but imagine what one of them might feel like wrapped around her. She quickly shook her head though at the though. She thanked them all for coming, and at the risk of saying something that would be completely off or inappropriate, Sugar kept her mouth shut. One thing that she knew though, she was very much hoping to get to know the pegasus mare more. She watched her descend below deck. She wanted to follow her down but wasn't sure if she should yet. She decided to let the mare have a bit of space for now. This was going to be a long boat ride after all, so they'd have plenty of time to talk. She was also interested in the other unicorn that was with them that had been rather silent up to this point. That wasn't a bad thing though. After all, she wasn't exactly super talkative at the moment either, so she couldn't fault her for it. It did kinda feel like everypony was walking on Eggshells though, she started trying to think of a way that she could lighten the mood. Hopefully though somepony else would beat her to that.

~~~Wind Dancer~~~ Wind Dancer smiled and nodded at the idea of finding somepony to tour with. It was true, it would be hard to find ponies that would be touring with a foal around the age of what Glimmer would be when they started, but there were all kinds of possibilities to meet others out there. A pony would never really know what they were getting into until they took that first leap. "I like that idea. Besides, as much as I would love to get out and tour and see Equestria and beyond, Las Pegasus is my home now, and I will always want to make sure that anything special that happens, happens here. In fact, I've been doing a bit of thinking, and... well... I can't really think of any other place for us to have our wedding than right here. Right under this tree where everything began. I think that would just be the perfect cherry on top, and we'll have all of our friends and family here! The moment will be absolutely amazing!" Wind Dancer smiled, noticing the sour mood from the other conversation. "I think she understands this, and I don't think we have much to worry about. She's a really nice pony, and more often than not I've seen her put many of others before herself. Plus anything that's ever happened at her casino she's been personally involved in making things right. From what I've heard from her workers on the few performances I've done there, she refuses to use lawyers for anything and handles everything like that herself. When she's in town to handle them that is. With that in mind, I can see her trying to include as few ponies as possible in things. Besides, if Princess Twilight trusts her, I do to," Wind smiled, wrapping her wing around Sky.