Blueblood

Mosely's chiseled expression cracked just a bit at the remark about the pictures. "My acting heyday was a bit before their time; though there were some who thought me fit for the stage... that's why I first came to Manehattan. Never did make it, but I ended up meeting a pretty little mare in the citrus trade, and found a true calling... honestly, I sometimes wonder if I oughtn't to get back into the theatrical world. Maybe just running a small little off-Broadway house..." He shook his head, wrangling his wool-gathering wits before they spoiled his look. "Well, that'll be after. Right now, we have evidence to get!" He led Applejeck straight into the meeting room and right out of her element. The accountants had already started work, clearing floor space to sort documents, chalking lines on the granite floor to sort the piles of papers, each having no less than two-abacus weilding ponies attending to it. Around a table pushed near to the wall, prominent businessponies with their lawyer retainers were sipping coffee in grim whispered conference. Two of his own lawyers buttonholed Mosely, and soon dragged him away into a discussion thick with legal and financial jargon, leaving the orange mare feeling like a sore hoof in a bowling tournament.... ~~~ Playing around with the heads of foals like that may be one of the pleasures of being grown-up, but it didn't exactly feel good to be on the receiving end of it. Giving an emphasized "Hmph!" Ambrosia sat on the floor in a cute little pouting attitude. Not so long as to make her face freeze like that (she was a good filly that heeded her mama's warnings), but to make it clear to this... 'Yoohoo' that she didn't think the joke was funny! It was enough to get Yu to trail off her own laughter, tousling the curled mane of her friend's cousin. "Aww, don't be like that, you're too cute to be angry. Laughter's the only thing that will get you through the really tough times, you know? 'Learn to swim with the laughing brook, lest you be swept away by raging waters.'" She intoned the proverb as if she was quoting some ancient abbot in a Fivefold Path monastery... which she in fact was, having spent some significant time training there. Her words brought a different association to Amby's mind, though. "Oh, like Auntie Pinkie Pie? Giggling at the ghosties?" The qilin laughed once more, affirming with a nod. "Yup! Turns out laughter is not only the best medicine, but darn good exor-cise!" "Quite so." Cara cut in, "But I do believe we should be going, if we are to make it on time? I should like to be able to introduce Yu to Applejack before the start of the rodeo."

You should be, yes! Just as a note, if you want to signal that your thread is open for anyone, put "(Open)" in the thread titles. (Private) signifies a thread for specific players only, while (ATTN) usually means bringing in specific players, but you can PM the participants if you think you'd fit in. Most OOC discussion happens on our discord server these days: https://discord.gg/hC4gJbQQ

Looks good to me! I'll update your account permissions to see the rest of the board.

ullo, friendly neighborhood admin here! Always glad to see a new face here. Since you're interested in RP, I'll start off with the standard tour of the main RP sections: If you just want to jump in right away, we have the Free for all board here: https://www.canterlot.com/forum/427-free-for-all-roleplay/ For the more longform RP on site, you'll have to fill out a character profile for either your OC's or the canon characters you want to play; that way we can ensure the power level stays within show-compatible parameters, and also gives folks a preview of what kind of characters you play and what threads you want to participate in! Gen 4 (Twilight Sparkle's Equestria) is found here: https://www.canterlot.com/forum/416-character-applications/ Gen 5 (Sunny Starscout's Equestria) is found here: https://www.canterlot.com/forum/471-character-applications/ Just as a note, Canon's are not first come first served; if you want to RP your favorite, you still can, even if someone else already has an application for them! The standard form we use for character profiles is here:

Cara looked a little askance at the heavy tattoos, as they usually indicated an unsavory sort in her mind. Still, this Yu seemed friendly enough, and she gave a bow and a little smile. "Indeed, I am Cara Orange, Moonlight's mother. You may call me Cara." She looked around at the decor, which was admittedly more sparse in its decor than the qilin's inked hide, though the one or two pieces of decor; one showing the cloudy limestone mountains of southern and western Long Guo, and the other a night view of the harbor of Long Kong, were both fine paintings in their own right. In fact, she rather suspected that the artist of either could command a spot in the high-culture galleries if they made an exhibition. "Indeed! I don't suppose we could get an introduction to the artist responsible?" Yu, after giving her friend a surprisingly hearty embrace for so seemingly slight a figure, shot a rather sheepish grin over Moonlight's shoulder, "Well, seeing as one's dead and the other an ocean away, I'll have to call you 'out of luck,' though not so much as you'll be if Zhao in the back gets Cara-ed away with any reminders of home. This place is more a refuge than a dream house for him." She didn't specify further, as saddening thoughts couldn't last in the presence of pure concentrated cute that was Ambrosia Apple! "But hey, enough of that, you wanted to see me at a rodeo?" Ambrosia nodded rapidly, her curls bouncing as she assented, "Yes! I wanna see you at a rodeo!" Yu grinned, coming up to bat for that lobbed straight line, "Well, that's good, because I am Yu, and I'm going!" Amby blinked, suddenly very confused, "Wait, no, you're not me, you're you!" "Yes, I am Yu." "And I'm me!" "Me too." "You who?" "Yes!" "Y-yes what?" "Yu Hu Mi!" "AAAAAAAHHHHH!" Anbrosia screamed the frustrated scream of all little foals when encountered intolerable silliness on the part of their elders, while Yu for her part was hanging off the table with one hoof laughing. "Your cousin did the same routine when we first met, though she kept it up for the full Hansom and Cabellero bit!" One would have thought that the Qilin had selected her own name especially for the purpose. And one would, as a point of fact, be actually correct... ~***~ Mosely sighed, "Theft might not be the worst of it; my warehouses might be used by others for the transport and storage of illicit goods! Which would explain why unsavory elements may be threatening my workers; I think the request for 'protection' money may be coming from mob extortion, though again I can prove nothing. By the end of today, I shall have proof, one way or the other!" Filled with this determination, he dismounted from the halted carriage, leading the charge with Applejack in his wake, chin carried forward like a banner of battle. Shareholders had trembled at the sight of that chin lifted in anger, for all that it had hardly charged so half a dozen times. But those occasions were legend in the business dining rooms of the uptown city...

"O-kay mama!" Applejack hardly had to ask the best filly in the world to be merely good, but Ambrosia knew already how important it was for her to ask. It was an official way of saying that she wanted her to listen to Auntie and Uncle just like she did to mama and... other mama. Cara would have complete confidence in her obedience, even if Mama was temporarily on the other side of town. As for the side of town that Moonlight was leading them to? It was a most colorful side of town, almost a town within a town. 'Little Long Guo', it was called by the locals, as immigrants from the land of qilin and longma had more or less moved in and made it a little slice of home, marking a red gate over the street of entrance with messages of welcome... which were the last bit of Equestrian writing one saw before all the signs, windows, and sandwhich-boards worn by street advertizers turned into that funny script that was picture writing that wasn't actually pictures. Coming from a small town that didn't even have a Long Guo restaurant yet, the sights, colors, and smells were so new as to be honestly overwhelming for the little filly, and she unconsciously drifted back towards the knees and practically underneath Auntie Cara. "Uhh... where is Yu?" It would take Moonlight to point out which of the many signs actually said, "Zhao Long's Diner", as there was about half a dozen to each block. And even that sign led around the corner and down a basement flight of steps into a dive, which was frankly a relief for the overstimulated little filly. Though the alley was a might grimy on the way in, the restaurant itself was spotless, showing the care that only a small proprietor with a fierce pride in their small business could show, a kind of agressive and militant tidiness. All that had to come from the one making all the chopping and frying noises in the back, however, as the only being actually in sight was a qilin of a bright scarlet coat, but lazy disposition, half asleep on top of one of the tables. "Mph, g'way, don't serve breakfast here- Oh, whoa." She lifted her head, blinking the sleep out of her eyes. "Well, Moonlight, you're up late for after sunrise. But I guess you had to accompany the little sunbeam you told me about, based off the beam in your face?" This close up, the party could see she was also tattooed, heavily, from the back of her hindleg up to the nape of her neck in an intricate design of water-dragons, flowing rivers, and pearls, all matched to the style of her cutie mark. ~~~ Meanwhile, Mosely had taken Applejack to the carriage, brow furrowed in worry as he recounted what had been troubling him in the privacy of a soundproof transport. "I wish I could say for certain what it was, precisely. It's not one thing, but rather many little things, not troubling in themselves, but all adding up to something... I just can't work out the sum. Look here," He pulled out what looked like a warehouse inventory manifest. "For the past 8 months or more, the inventory and deliveries of blood oranges and honeybells haven't synced up. Sometimes the warehouse shows fewer crates than the ships unloaded, sometimes more. Some loss is usually expected, but this is much more than we've seen in the past decade. "Also, recently, the Teamster's Union has been... restless. Making more demands. I pride myself on never having underpaid a worker, and I'm normally quite amenable to any collective bargaining, but if they're asking as much for security as their own salaries, well! Either there's a scam in the works, or some trouble brewing on the outside, but none of them will tell me what the trouble is if its not a scam, which is worrying, wouldn't you say? "And its on top of all of that where the whole kidnapping of my business partner came in with it, along with the ransom money disappearing!" The older stallion harumphed abstractedly, lost in business concerns for a while. After a bit, he spoke again. "Of course, its a funny coincidence he should get snatched like that right before an audit of the books. Might want to cover the absence of funds to the tune of millions of bits, you know? So that's what this meeting is. I'm bringing every lawyer and accountant I can trust to the hotel, and we're going to lead a general assault upon the C-Suite. I might not know what its all about, but I know funny business when I smell it, as much as blue mold on a bad orange!"

Mosely would have just finished his own morning routine by the time Applejack was all geared up, patting a few drops of cologne around his neck. "I say, Cousin, would you be alright if I took you along ahead of the others to the rodeo? I have the carriage waiting, and its not far from the conference center I'll be holding today's meeting in." He made the remark off-handedly enough, though he was pretty aware that Applejack would take the opportunity to ask him questions he was disinclined to answer in front of the little ones. Speaking of which, Ambrosia was just peachy right now, for lack of any apple-related colloqialism for being fine and dandy! Breakfast was at once familiarly hearty with the pancakes, and refreshingly exotic, as Cara showed how she preferred hers topped with marmalade and butter! "It's a bit of an indulgence with so many grains, but this is a happy occasion to feast with family, isn't it Amby!" "Feast with Family!" She echoed in a rousing cheer, raising her spoon in a toast before pulling another warm and delicious bite into her mouth. Mosely stopped by the breakfast table to kiss his wife goodbye, as they'd spend the day apart, sadly. "Do have fun at the rodeo!" He called out, before leading Applejack to the carriage outside. The remaining three, Cara, Moonlight, and Ambrosia, would have to call a cab after breakfast, and washing up any sticky faces. "Cabbie, take us to... what was it again, Moonlight? 'Zhao Long's Diner', or 'Long Zhao's cafe'?"

Shining Armor took a seat beside his daughter, letting Flurry take a break to vent out her frustrations. Patting a spot between her wings he knew helped pegasi relax, he commisserated in a low voice. "I know, expectation is a heavy burden. But remember, what everypony expects you to do, and the right thing for you to do, are not always the same thing. Sometimes they can be very different indeed." He chuckled as his little sister was brought up. "Well, not on fire, no. Her flare-ups usually resulted in unintentional transformations of training aids. And sometimes the trainers themselves. Your mother wasn't joking when she asked you not to turn me into a cactus!" Laughing, he got to his feet. It was just as well Flurry learned today that alicorns were allowed to be imperfect; the stress of trying to be so, trying to live up to falsely projected images, would break a pony. "Alright, let's get back to this; I know you can hold a feather well enough to write with a pen, so why don't you show me how you hold it then? We might be able to figure out what's causing you trouble."

Abrosia, during the meal, would sometimes babble a bit, chiming in an "Uh-huh!" Whenever her mama spoke, or putting in a nice word for her family. "Unca Mac is real strong, and Auntie Bloom came home with cousins!" Cousins that were not quite ponies, but as mama said, "Apples is apples, whatever color or shape they come in!" For the most part, though, she was content to let her attention be fully wrapt with her cousin; Moonlight was glorious in Amby's eyes, and she hung on the young mare's every word... even if she understood about half of them. But having a bushy tail sounded fun! "Oooh, like Auntie Pinkie Pie! She's fun, though I can't bounce as much as she does. It makes my hoofsies hurt after a while, but I can make it all the way to bed, see?" And with pride and eagerness to show off to an adored older cousin, she managed to pronk all the way up the stairs and into bed, conveniently tuckering herself out for a good night's beauty rest. Wasn't she such a clever little filly? Meanwhile, at the table, Mosley only chuckled as he wiped his lips and got off his seat. "Well, she's always the chatty sort, but having guests puts her in... fine form, shall we say?" Meanwhile, across the city... The flash and ding of an ERC receiver pinged some 10 decibels louder than recommendeded by doctors, though the lazy sleeper didn't stir until the teleported scroll dropped onto her head. "Mrngh... " The vermilion-scaled kirin fumbled in the dark, blowing a gust of flame to light a lamp by her bunk. Even in the dim illumination, the glitter-gel ink shone, signifying the sender as good as any signature. "Heh... Up with the moonlight, as usual..." This was going to disrupt her plans for the day catastrophically, as did most things when one's plans were to do, if not absolutely nothing, as close to that as could be done in a big city. Still, even though it would cost her some lost sleep, she figured that her first real friend among the locals in this city deserved a prompt reply, so she dashed one off quick in her own inimitable style, "Thanks for the buzz on your cuz, I'll bee at our usual meeting place and make sure my boss doesn't hive a fit about my unexpected day off. He wants me to be a busy buzzy little worker, but as long as we keep the honey coming in, it'll keep my neck-tar off the chopping block. Your friend, Yu Hu Mi. P.S. You gonna talk business while bringing in a filly too cute for this world? I'll keep my heart when you get one! Save the shop talk for more grown-up ears."

"The dates may well have slipped her mind. I just hope she's not upset that she'll have to wake up early to pick up her friend!" Cara smiled indulgently, having long since given up trying to convince Moonlight to moderate language. "I'll just go ahead and see to dinner, shall I?" Getting up to leave Mosely with AJ to herd the guests down once the dinner bell rung, she made her way down to the kitchen to check on their cook's progress. Mosely peeked around the corner, spying Amby cheering at the news that she was going to meet a new friend, smiling at the sight of a young filly so eager and happy. "Absolutely charming, if I hadn't said so before... I do hope this won't be her last visit!" He nodded at his niece's assessment of the advisability of bringing family into the business. "Well, whether she takes to it or not, the experience will be valuable... I'll just wait until matters are more stable, it wouldn't be fair to introduce her during a period of upheaval." A brief sigh, and a flash of worry that seemed to age his face by 10 years were the only clue he let slip about how business was in the wake of the incident with his business partner. There was probably something more than the kidnapping going on, but wild horses would not have dragged it out of him in front of a guest. During dinner, he would make sure to keep topics to the social, touching only on business if it was solely to do with Sweet Apple Acres. AJ might not have noticed that if they hadn't just been talking about it; Ambrosia certainly didn't. She only asked about her new friend, apparently a somewhat recent arrival from... either Long Guo or Long Kong, one of the long places. She was one of the Qilin, living above a row of shops and restaurants at the edge of Longtown, one of the more colorful immigrant communities of Maenhattan, and one calculated to appeal to the aesthetic taste of Moonlight Glitter, which was probably how the two came to meet. "Well then, I don't mind a little trip down there to pick her up; we'll just have to make sure to turn in early to wake up on time to pick her up, alright?" Cara asked sweetly, knowing both Moonlight and Ambrosia would want beauty sleep time.

Truth be told, Shining did entertain the idea of using tickling as a test to Flurry's focus through distractions, but that would have to wait until he was reasonably certain that she would pass such a test. Right at the moment, her preliminary focus was... a bit lacking, to tell the truth. "Whoa there!" He quickly summoned a bubble around the flaming feather to snuff the flame before anything else caught fire. "Take a breather break, stress isn't going to help you focus." He hoofed over a cold drink with plenty of electrolytes in it, Flurry was probably going to feel surprisingly drained after the exercise. "It's not as easy as it sounds, is it?" He asked, commisserating with her. "Took me a while to get it too, but you'll be glad to have mastered this, by the time there are things... and ponies in your life you want to handle gently." Even if the little princess got nothing else out of today, that one lesson would serve her well for years... decades... maybe centuries to come. Shining liked to think he bore the weight of his legacy well enough, but there were some moments that he felt it crushing his shoulders. Cadence knew him well enough to know when those moments were coming, and they took longer and longer these days to pass.

Hey, friendly neighborhood admin here. Like the concept of your caracter here, its nice to have an artist around. Just one note: the History section is one run-on sentence, do you think you could clean it up a little before I give the stamp of approval? Thanks.

Let me know if you have any questions, then! Happy to help