Blueblood

Sky actually did laugh at Water Wing's dad joke, leaning over to whisper in her ear.  "I'll try not to make too many myself, though I suppose I qualify to do so now!"  All in all, he was just a little too happy to care either way.  He had a beautiful wife now, with a happy bouncing gleaming Glimmer of a daughter, and all their friends around them to feast and celebrate!  The winds had caught his sails, and now he was flying high.

Speaking of, Scarlett had just arrived with Glimmer and her new, honorary Auntie.  Aunties, if Golden Bit wanted in alongside Candy Corn's deal!  "Sometimes you have to find who your family really is, sometimes they're already in the house before you're born.  Doesn't matter either way, family is still family."  She smiled, letting Glimmer's other grandmother take over the time-honored duty of spoiling the little filly.  "It looks like the dance is about to start, Sky.  In what order did you set this up?  I think the first dance is between you two, then Windy and Water, then me and Sky, right?"

"That's right."  Sky confirmed.  "Windy and I also did a special little song for this one too; we'll be playing it on recording while we dance, but I think it came out really sweet."  He smiled back over to her, placing his hat down at his table setting before leading her out as the guests found their seats and cleared the ground.  As the first notes began to play over the speaker, he led Wind Dancer with a wing out in front of the crowds...

Hello, hello!  It's nice to meet you too. Don't worry about operating under a handle/alias/username, most folks here do.  For example, me!  Friendly neighborhood admin Blueblood here, welcome to our little corner of the internet.

Relevant links:

If you're interested in our Discord community, link is here: https://discord.gg/4kyZsXAs

OC's and Cast Member apps for Generation 4 (Friendship is Magic) go here: https://www.canterlot.com/forum/416-character-applications/

OC's and Cast Member apps for Generation 5 (A New Generation) go here: https://www.canterlot.com/forum/471-character-applications/

Please use the standard form found here: 

PM me if you have any questions, or if you've filled out an app and want it stamped.  I'm a little booked solid on what RPs I can fit into my schedule right now, but if you want to plan things out or spitball ideas, let me know!

"Eggs scrambled with cheese..."  Gloomy rolled the phrase over in her tongue like it was some exotic dish she had never heard of before.  And truth be told, simple concept as it was, she'd never had eggs prepared like that.  "I believe those shall please."  She nodded, quite confident that Sugar would serve something tasty up.

After a few seconds, she asked,  "Is it all on the hook, or should I help you cook?"  The silence and the waiting were starting to get to her; it had been a long time since anypony had cooked breakfast for her.

"Hmm, two eggs please."  Two eggs always felt... right, to Gloomy.  She wasn't sure why, since her appetite would sometimes wax and wane, affecting how many eggs she could comfortably stomach in a meal.  She supposed there was just something aesthetically pleasing about two yolks in one's fried eggs.  Unless Sugar served them over-easy or scrambled.  "How do you usually cook them?"  She asked, curious.  "I like most ways eggs are done, except hard-boiled yolks.  It's a texture thing, same with my folks."

That... wasn't the gait she meant.  Some poetry looked better written down, but now all Gloomy could think about was Sugar opening her gait and... well.  She might need a cold shower after breakfast.  "Er, while there's coffee in my cup, why not make them all a fry up?" Rhymes, yes, rhymes were safe.  Thinking of rhythm, meter, scanning, sound...

*Oh pencilrubber, there's no getting away from this.  I'm going to have one of the world's cutest mares move into my house!*  She'd tell herself to not freak out and just enjoy it, but this was all such a novel experience.

Feng, unsurprisingly, missed the muted regret in his old foxy friend's voice, still feeling the tease from his sister.  A situation not helped by the follow up from Rongyu.  "Ai!  Uncalled for!  I do not look at all convincing or attractive in a dress!" His protests immediately undercut by his sibling.

"Speaking from experience, eh big bro?  They have to pull you from a covert job because you weren't maid to order?"  Feng was not quite able to suppress the grumpy look that confirmed that, yes, the experiment had been tried, and his boss had not been impressed with his efforts.  Yin cackled, her mood already picked up, even if her energy wasn't.  "Well, sure thing."  She nodded at Hanabi.  "You can come inside as long as you ain't come to take me away- ai!"

Making a noise of similarly offended surprise as 'Shiratsuyu' passed through her in the mist, Yin looked back over her shoulder with a shocked expression that quickly shifted into a shrewdly assessing one.  Hanabi would see the same expression mirrored in Feng, confirming if it needed to be comfirmed the family resemblance.  "So..."  She said, forcing her tone back down to feigned disinterest.  "Your superior officer?"

"My immediate subordinate, actually."

"*Snort* If she's a sub, I'm a sandwich.  Speaking of, you want me to shout down for some take out?"

"Buckets of Wingapore noodles sound great right about now."  Feng, with effort, re-established control of himself, filing away the revealed abilities of Rongyu as she returned to signal the all-clear.  "Right, come on."  With a wing, he gestured Hanabi to follow, as the four gathered around a tea table, Yin briefly excusing herself to yell down at a ground floor restaurant to start their kitchens up.

"Long Kong's finest'll be here in a few."  She said upon return, swishing a tufted tail as she looked over the party.  "Well, if you ain't here to arrest me, I gotta say I don't buy that you're here for a social visit.  Mind telling me what's up?  I won't ask for all yall's real name, I just want to know what crazy scheme my big bro dragged you all in."

Feng took a big breath.  "It's a long story..."  He tried to tell it as briefly as possible, reporting that he was on a mission from the Empress to perform a sting operation on the Triad.  Yin herself listened, deliberately impassive except for her tail, which was lashing with undisguised vigor as her eye went from Hanabi to Rongyu in turn, watching for confirmation.
"Okay... that explains why my brother is here, but not how in the name of the wish-granting stones he got you both to come along.  He might have decided to be a concubine to the powers that be,"  She winked at Rongyu as she continued their joke, "But what about you two?"

Despite the pained whimper which Amby had emitted after impact, the fall wasn't the worst pain she'd every experienced, even in her short little life.  Cute as she was from horn to hoof, not every part of her always worked as good as it later would, and stumbling and scrapes were a part of everyday life for little colts and fillies.

But there was something else about this fall that would hurt worse, something that resulted from a slight snag in the wood floor, catching a bit of the lace on her dress.  Without noticing, Applejack had just pulled her up, resulting in a-

*r-i-i-i-p*

The sound scraped across her eardrums like steel wool sandpaper, as the little filly suddenly looked down and saw it.  The tear.  In the dress.  Auntie Rarity's precious gift to her little princess, ruined forever!  "*sniff...* It's... dress... AAAAHHHHH!"  She was too little to fully articulate the pain she was feeling inside herself right now, poor thing.  Something precious being ruined, disappointing a generous Auntie, aware that leaking from the eyes and nose was the least cute thing she could do right now... all she could do was cry to her mama, and hope that somehow made it all better.

Texture... Gloomy had to admit, she hadn't really given that much thought to that particular aspect of food, though she could see how it would affect a pony sensitive to it.  And on reflection, there were many instances of food that she could recall that, while edible raw, were only really appetizing when cooked.  "Similar to how mushrooms are really dry and spongy when raw, but really nice when cooked.  I've always liked those earthy flavors... though I had so much of them growing up, that might just be because I had to grow to like them."

Taking hold of one of Sugar's coffee mugs in her magic, Gloomy took a sip, contemplatively.  "Hmm... this is good, though I can definitely feel that I'd only want one cup.  It doesn't do for a poet to get too wired up!"  The one sip had woken her facilities enough to restart her rhymes, and she smiled over to the earth pony across from her.  "Yeah, the bulk is probably going to matter more than weight.  There's only so much you can fit on your gait."

Hearing Sugar talk about packing brought home to Gloomy that... this was real, she had found a friend and was bringing her home with her.  "So this is all really happening, then..."  It was a good thing that Sugar wasn't bringing too much, since she couldn't rightly recall how much free space she had inside her treehouse.  Either way, though, it was going to be a cozy fit.  Not that she minded the prospect of living so close to her new best friend...

Looking over to see the mare stretch did much to stimulate her, it had to be said, enough to get her off the bed and stretching herself, her mind already moving from one set of dreams to another.  Ah, young infatuation... that's at least what it was, she had to know by now.  "Mmm, I do like coffee, actually, though I tend to go darker with the roasts, mostly because they don't pack as much of a punch, and I can drink two cups without being wired all that much.  Although, I tend to have less sensitivity to bitter things in taste, just like I do with sad poetry.  Mom never had to force me to eat my broccoli!"  She giggled at the memory.  "I would like to try your blonde roast, though."

Gloomy had just been about to open her mouth and suggest they get out of bed for breakfast, but once Sugar pulled her back into a snuggle, the unicorn did nothing to resist.  Long loneliness ending suddenly tended to make a mare loath to give up contact when not necessary.  She was quite happy to let Sugar nuzzle into her chest fluff, returning the gesture to the top of her head.  "Hmm... it would seem so.  That does mean we might just fall asleep again, though.  Did you have anywhere you needed to be today?"  Probably not, actually, given she'd just left her previous job at Canterlogic.

Mornings in the forest village of Bridlewood tended to be rather cold; the sun would only have just arisen, and even then its light and heat must filter through the trees.  So why did Gloomy Sonnet feel so warm, as birdsong called her from slumber with a yawn?

She blinked, looking down at an unfamiliar bed without comprehension, before catching a glimpse of a light coat and sparkling scarlet mane.  Memories of yesterday came back to her, of a long walk from Bridlewood to Maretime Bay in search of a friend... and the fact that she'd found one!  "Oh..."  She said, softly to herself, not sure of how to handle the situation, besides waiting for Sugar Moonlight to wake up.  Hopefully she would soon; Gloomy didn't remember where the tea or coffee was in this house!

While family was a topic that Queen Haven was always happy to open up to, succession was... less so.  Flick would be able to see it in her face now, since she had settled in long enough for her emotions to show.  The scrunched muzzle and pinched eyebrow were pretty unmistakable.  "Should anything... unthinkable happen to Zipp, Pipp will be prepared as best we can to fill her role.  Otherwise... desire must be subject to duty.  Both of my daughters have enjoyed the perks of royalty, but I have not let them forget that it comes with responsibilities.  Much was given, therefore much shall be asked."  Which was to say, the Queen was not wanting to broach the topic.  "I would... appreciate you not touching on the subject again.  It was... not always a peaceable subject of discussion in the family."

"I do, as a matter of fact."  Queen Haven's response was quick and without hesitation.  She even chuckled as Flick related why he felt it was a young pony's game.  "Well, then it would seem that I'm hardly aged at all, then!  Flattery like that will get you everywhere."  

Some explanation might be called for, though, and by now she was willing enough to say, "Of course, one of the primary reasons is, again, family bonding.  With one daughter as a dancer finally getting a chance to stretch her wings for real, and the other who has studied aerodynamics for years... I can hardly let them leave me behind, can I?"  She smiled, leaning forward a bit in a lower tone.  "And do you want to know something?  When I was younger filly... I dreamed their same dreams.  It's why I indulged them, you know; my firstborn and heir spending so much time in her laboratory.  It used to be mine, years ago.  Thinking that maybe, one day, she'd find a way to bring it all back... which she did, ultimately, just not in the way I expected."

There was a difficulty with "chipping away" at some ponies' personality presentations because one thought they were artificial.  Queen Haven may have worked to build how she presented herself, but that didn't necessarily mean that anything she showed wasn't her 'real' self, as it were.  She could laugh in public, and she allowed herself to do so, chuckling along to the comments of the guards tackling them.  "Perhaps I should hold a tournament for my affections, bring back the old traditions?  Though, I suppose sky jousting would be considered needlessly restrictive, so we'll have to do it on the ground."

The topic turned soon to hobbies and what a royal did in her spare time, which was a fair enough question.  "Normally, I try to carve out whatever time I have for my fillies; my parents weren't always able to be there for me, but I could see the efforts they made for the times we had.  My father, for instance, would take an hour for lunch, bolt down two sandwiches in five minutes, and spend the rest with me.  Now, I don't condone such uncouth eating habits, and when left to myself I rather do like to sample such luxuries and take my time with them.  Good food, good drinks, good massages... of course, the trouble with hobbies like that is that they take up double-time, for all the working out one has to do to maintain one's figure in the face of it!  That said, flight practice burns calories like nothing else!  One more thing to thank my daughters and her friends for."

Hello, hello!  It's nice to meet you too. Friendly neighborhood admin Blueblood here, welcome to our little corner of the internet.

Relevant links:

If you're interested in our Discord community, link is here: https://discord.gg/4kyZsXAs

OC's and Cast Member apps for Generation 4 (Friendship is Magic) go here: https://www.canterlot.com/forum/416-character-applications/

OC's and Cast Member apps for Generation 5 (A New Generation) go here: https://www.canterlot.com/forum/471-character-applications/

Please use the standard form found here: 

PM me if you have any questions, or if you've filled out an app and want it stamped.  I'm a little booked solid on what RPs I can fit into my schedule right now, but if you want to plan things out or spitball ideas, let me know!

One thing that was common among all pony tribes was a general level of creativity.  While not all ponies decorated everything, pretty much all ponies decorated something.  Even the most spartan house would have one shelf full of notepaper journals, stories, or drawings.  For Sugar Moonlight, her creative outlet seemed to be her own body, first and foremost, with the rest of the house mostly serving to show what its owner valued.  Family, and the keepsakes thereof.

It did warm Gloomy's heart to see that, even as that selfsame muscle was made to flutter by the look the other mare was giving her.  But that active heart was warring with a tired mind, and by the time the unicorn hauled herself up on the bed beside the earth pony, she was yawning yet again, unconsciously leaning into Sugar's warmth.  "Mph... it's good home... warm... not alone..."  Still in her scarf and beret, she was half asleep, dozing while leaning against her new roommate.  Seemed the journey and the chili between them had done their work.

Taking up the giggling Glimmer and securing her between her own wings, Scarlett beamed.  "Is it too much to say that I've waited for it ever since Sky was born?  Though, given that Windy has been teaching him, I don't doubt that he'll have to slow down for me!"  Following along with Candy, she arrived with the happy couple, taking up a spot beside her own husband as everypony found their seats.  She spared a glance towards Morning Dew, just in case the other grandmother wanted a turn with the little one.

Wing over wing, Sky was leading with Wind Dancer up to the head of the table, positioned so that each incoming pony could shout a greeting on the way up.  He spoke in a low voice to Wind Dancer, "We have to have some of the best event organizers in the city by now; I was worried leading up to this day that things were going to get crazy right about now!"  He looked around, as the small group of guests they both invited were followed by members of the general public, some fans, some passers by who got interested in seeing who got hitched today.  "We'll see if the ground stays clear long enough for the dances!"  It wouldn't really be Sky and Windy's 'first dance,' given they'd performed together before, but the symbolism counted!

Gloomy gave a sweet and tired smile at the suggestion.  "Sure.  Lead the way, sparkly grey."  She giggled slightly at her silly rhyme; she must be tired if she was so easily amused.  Still, she would be happy to follow Sugar Moonlight to a place of rest.  "Although... my grandmother used to say that a bed was good for two things, and that neither of them were talking or thinking.  It took me a while to figure out what she meant by that." 

Ambrosia beamed like a pleased little princess...as long as mama and Mr. Teacher were showering her with due praise.  But eventually the conversation moved on to the rather less interesting topic of her big brother.  Still, she tried to stay still like a good little filly, but it was hard.  Her active little mind was growing more bored by the second, and her imagination was beginning to kick into gear.

This was like one of those... whatyamacallits, Galas that orange-mama would sometimes talk about.  A place where ponies grandly gallop, or something like that.  Or, apparently, stand around, talking, waiting for the most beautiful pony at the ball to appear!  Well, no prizes for guessing who that was.  Amby, dressed to the nines as she was, began to picture herself there, posing like a model to show off just how pretty she and her dress were!  And as the conversation went on, the posing grew more and more exaggerated, until she over balanced and fell on her face.  "Ooof!  Ow...."

Hello, friendly neighborhood admin here!  Welcome to our little corner of the internet.

Your intro's just fine, no worries!  If you need any onboarding help, want some introductions, or anything, feel free to PM me!

Relevant links:

If you're interested in our Discord community, link is here: https://discord.gg/4kyZsXAs

OC's and Cast Member apps for Generation 4 (Friendship is Magic) go here: https://www.canterlot.com/forum/416-character-applications/

OC's and Cast Member apps for Generation 5 (A New Generation) go here: https://www.canterlot.com/forum/471-character-applications/

Please use the standard form found here: 

PM me if you have any questions, or if you've filled out an app and want it stamped.  I'm a little booked solid on what RPs I can fit into my schedule right now, but if you want to plan things out or spitball ideas, let me know!

Gloomy pondered Sugar's answer, reflecting on how even when one wasn't happy, it was hard to recognize when another was walking along the path that would lead there.  In fact, if the one happy pony was exceptional, it seemed most ponies preferred to herd around their misery rather than follow, unless something truly spectacular happened.  "I guess then that sometimes the only thing we can decide to do is something different than our sad yesterdays, and hope that the universe takes care of the rest.  I wouldn't have thought so myself, but then I found you once I did."  And here the unicorn smiled again, looking directly into her eyes unafraid.

Soon after, though, the heavy dinner began to have its effect, and she yawned.  "Whooaaooo.... it's been a long day for me, and it's bed I long to see."  The weariness of the journey here, staved off by the excitement of a new friend, was beginning to come back in like an incoming tide, swamping wakefulness in a soft fatigue.

Moonstruck from the first, many would have thought Sky Sailing would sleepwalk through his life.  But right now, in the moment where every good thing that could happen in a dream was physically real in a city park, he'd never felt so awake in his life!  "That's true!  And yet here we are in the daylight, even if it's shaded."  He let out one wing to try to find a place around Wind Dancer's dress where he could wrap it around.  "Come on, I think the rest of the ponies want to celebrate."

"You're darn right we do!"  Nor'Easter called from behind his son, which prompted Luna to announce the beginning of the reception.  That done, Sky would head with Windy over to the entrance to greet each of the guests, before the cutting of the cake.  They took their place, ready to receive congratulations from each in turn.

Scarlett, meanwhile, was torn between reveling in her joyous emotions, and watching out that little Glimmer Starlight didn't fall from her perch as her honorary Auntie drew both her and Golden Bit into a hug.  "Goodness, that was a sight!  I would never have thought the Princess would treat our son as special as, well, we think he is."  It wasn't a public acknowledgement they were used to getting for their colt.  "Ooh, the reception is starting!  I'll make sure they save a corner piece of the cake for you, miss Bit!  Oh, wait, it's round, isn't it?"

Sugar wasn't wrong in that the whole situation with the great loss and return of magic called for a poem; it called more loudly than anything else ever had to Gloomy.  Up until now, however, she had felt herself far too unequal to the task, the emotions that were to be evoked too foreign to her experience.  And yet, being here with this mare now, she could almost reach out and touch it, the words echoing in the back of her mind like a memory to vague to give exact verbiage...  "You are right.  If we are lucky, we won't have to wait long until it sees the light."  She smiled, thoughtfully, letting the inaudible words collect in the darkness of her mind, patient as an angler, not rushing to fish them out.

In the meantime, she listened to how Sugar grew up, tales of a fairly ordinary life, but one always colored by fear, as opposed to loss.  "I think, all told, I'd still rather be sad than afraid, if I had to choose.  I don't envy how you grew up."  She tilted her head as she thought about it for another second or two.  "And you know, if anything, Izzy Moonlight proves that happiness is something you can choose to be.  And if you don't choose to be happy, do you deserve to be so?"

Spoiled considered.  Her 'usual' was on the higher end of the services offered, but if this visit was on Rose, and with the return of Lotus...  "Actually, I think I will step up today's visit.  It has been a while since my last, and with the full family here, it would be a shame not to celebrate the occasion by going all out!"  She shed her outerwear to hang on the hangers in the waiting room closet.

Lotus had not lost her eye for a customer's tension after so many months away, Spoiled was glad to hear.  "On my mind?  Besides all the various cares of my new work...?"  She paused, wondering how much to share, before sighing and deciding to let the rest of the family know what Rose did already.  "Family matters.  I feel my own rather drifting apart, of late."