Makuzui4220

The wind caught underneath Pyper Uscroll's wings and she soared higher, until her hooves touched the tops of clouds and the sun warmed her light, almost white, lavender coat against the icy wind. She stopped shivering and sighed in relief with the warmth. Her coat may be thick, with the time she had already spend exploring the badlands, but it wasn't enough to keep out the chills. Once she met with the party she would be able to take her cloak out of her saddlebags and protect herself more, but it was a foolish thing to wear when one was flying. The wind could catch it and send her off course, or tangle her wings and send her tumbling to the ground. Pyper shuddered at the thought, and chose instead to focus back on finding the exploration party. With sharp eyes she searched the rolling hills beneath her. Not to long ago she had flown over Talonpolis, so the rondevous point couldn't be to far. Flapping her winds once in a powerful stroke, Pyper began to circle the area in search of the group. Though Pyper was a very tall mare, anything that looked to the skies would think her only a hawk, so high up she was. It was the glint of armor that caught her gaze. Tilting her wings slightly she spiraled downward to get a better look. There, below, two ponies and a griffon in armor sat circled around a fire with a wagon nearby.[colour=#ee82ee] [/colour][colour=#dda0dd]'This must be the gathering.'[/colour] Pyper thought and tilted her wings further, spiraling down faster and faster and then landing at a run upon the ground; her lyre, attached to her saddlebags, bounced against the matching cutie mark on her flank. Slowing herself to a canter, she tossed her dark purple mane out of her eyes (though a particularly stubborn skyblue streak refused to get out of the way of her eyes) and approached the group with a smile.[colour=#dda0dd] "Greetings, fellow wanderers!" [/colour]

[colour=#006400]"A quarter-?"[/colour] Silt's jaw dropped. The colt had only seen his great-grandsire's collection of a dozen or so tomes, and it was difficult for him to imagine so many books. Silt would never admit it to Miss Marie, but he had never set hoof in a library before. [colour=#006400]"So, it's all open? Just shelves and books?" [/colour]Silt thought, trying to remember what his mother might have said about libraries or if she ever mentioned them. [colour=#006400]"That'll be nice, I've never been in a building like that before. Well,"[/colour] Silt's brow furrowed in concentration, as he thought back to his foalhood, [colour=#006400]"once, when I was really really small I went to Canterlot with my mum, and the entrance hall in the palace was okay for me. Is it like that, Miss Marie? The library?"[/colour] If it was, Silt thought, he was sure that he would have no problems being able to go inside.

Looking at the sheet given to him by Miss Marie, Silt noticed that there were slots open for an exam time early in the day. [colour=#006400]"Thank you again, Miss Marie."[/colour] Silt smiled at the beige mare and began to look over the pamphlet, wanting to be as ready as anypony could be before the exam finally came. Perhaps he could go to the library on campus, and study there? Silt peered over the wall at the buildings. The one with the tall windows and vast front steps looked like a likely library building.

A slight flush crept onto Silt Treble's face at Miss Marie's reaction. Hearing that he would stay in the woods really upset the counselor; it wouldn't help for Silt to inform her that he had lived outside all of his life and was more than used to hoofing it. He took the directions to Miss Marie's relations politely and said, [colour=#006400]"Thank you, Miss Marie. But please don't write to my great grandsire, he had already offered me a place to stay with my grandparents that I turned down. The farm sounds lovely though, I'll be sure to stop by there."[/colour] Silt smiled when Miss Marie told him it would be alright to walk around campus. He'd like to get to know the school better, especially if he was going to start there! Of course, that would be after he passed the entrance exam.[colour=#006400] "Unless you can tell me what my entrance exam is going to be on, I don't have any questions Miss Marie. Thank you, though."[/colour]

thanks for the idea Nico! i've decided not to give Pyper any habits, though. it doesn't seem to go to well with her personality.

[colour=#ff0000]"You've GOT to teach me how to do that, Silt!" [/colour] [colour=#006400]"I can try to teach you,"[/colour] Silt told his friend Fresco as he walked with her and the other campers to the Fire Bowl,[colour=#006400] "but I'm not much of a teacher. I'll do my best though, if you really want to learn."[/colour] Upon arriving at the stage filled with older ponies the griffon from earlier, Razor, Silt sat between his new friends Fresco and Glimmer, glad for their company. The counselors! All seemed very enthusiastic about their subject, and the excitement was contagious. Silt could feel an itching under his coat to get going already, and it took a lot of self control for him to sit still. The filly's counselor, Jigsaw, was from Stalliongrad? The unicorn colt wondered briefly if she had ever met his great-great grandsire, and decided to ask her if he got a moment. And the art instructor, the pegasus Spin Art, seemed like a very fun pony. He would definitely be trying his hoof at painting or whatever it was she had planned for the week. Then, there he was again, Razor, announcing himself to the group as the survival instructor. He eyed the group sharply as he warned them not to mess with his sister, and Silt had the feeling his eyes might have stayed a moment longer on him than the others. The griffon chuckled darkly and Silt tried to make himself as small as possible between Glimmer and Fresco, although he would've been happier if he could disappear altogether under the griffon's gaze. [colour=#ee82ee]"Ugh, sometimes Razor can be a bit much,"[/colour] Glimmer said with a sigh and rubbed her head. Silt didn't really have any reply to that, Razor looked positively menacing to the young colt. Still, Silt felt reassured knowing the colt's counselor, Harrington Sleuth, would be assisting the survival instructor and would be there to prevent Silt from getting eaten (as his imagination showed that as one of the possibilities).

Silt Treble furrowed his brow while he flipped through the various pages of the pamphlet with a thin vine of ivy from his mane before gazing at the signup sheet. [colour=#006400]"Hm.. I'm sure any date will work for me as long as I know far enough ahead of time. But even if I was to do it as soon as this week, that would be okay. I can wait in Whitetail Woods until the exam day."[/colour] The wind picked up and Silt looked out again over the wall of the tower to the mountains that separated Canterlot from the woods, then down at the campus below. [colour=#006400]"Miss Marie, would it be okay if I chose to look around campus, even though I'm not an official student yet?"[/colour] The colt was unlikely to enter any of the buildings, but he didn't want to intrude on anypony if he didn't have to.

Hello Rosewind! I think my app is doing alright now. Would you mind looking it over and seeing if there might be something I should change about it?

No worries!

It's Phil's turn right now, I believe.

The air! So fresh, so sweet, Silt breathed it in greedily. And the view! The colt never had a fear of heights, and he strained against the railing to see everything he could. [colour=#006400]"It's beautiful!"[/colour] he exclaimed, thoroughly excited. He could see the pegasus' city of Cloudsdale, and a small town that he guessed was Ponyville. Neither one was a place he had been to yet and he wondered if, after he was done here, he might head that way to explore. Cloudsdale might be out of his reach, but Ponyville surely wasn't. [colour=#006400]"Astronomy classes?"[/colour] Silt wondered at the possibility of taking them. He had learned, from his mother, how to navigate based on the stars. But he felt a curiosity arise whenever he looked at the night sky and knew there was more to the shining lights that decorated the night sky. [colour=#006400]"I think I'd like that. Any outdoor class, really."[/colour] Silt was so full of questions about anything he could lays eyes on and he was sure Miss Marie could answer most of them, but he remembered what he was here for and with some difficulty tore his eyes away from the scenery to sit before Miss Marie. He smiled as he contently waited for her to continue.

Oh yes, welcome to Camp, Sir Ping! As with the two posts and the post order, I understand that sometimes people can't (or don't) post in their slot. The idea was that if people miss their post slot, they can still post (up to two times a week) out of order. But of course, it would be ideal if everyone could post in the posting order. Is that more clear?

The skin under Silt's stormcloud-purple coat itched with excitement at the though of being outside once again. [colour=#006400]"Thank you very much, Miss Marie."[/colour] Silt smiled as he happily followed her out of that small room. It was very kind of Ingrid to go out of her way to help him feel more comfortable during this meeting. 'One kind act must be met with another, Silt, such is the way of the world.' the words of Silt's great grandsire popped into the young colt's head, and he wondered at what he could do to repay Miss Marie for everything. Glancing over his shoulder at that small room he was so eager to be out of, he was able to see it correctly for the first time from the more open space of the halls. It looked... stale. It was missing something, something to brighten up the room. Silt smiled and concentrated on his magic, pausing in his walk to conjure up a small pot of daisies onto Miss Marie's desk. Silt cantered a few steps to catch up to Miss Marie, hoping she didn't notice his pause. Silt didn't know if he would return to that room, but hopefully the flowers would bring cheer to the one who would be there day by day.

I thought it was 2 posts a week, not per day, that we were trying?

The observation area, that sounded wonderful. Silt breathed a sigh of relief and opened his eyes. [colour=#008000]"Yes, I can usually calm myself down with deep breathing and imagining open spaces. And there's a plant I've found that, if I chew on it, I don't get as anxious when I'm inside. The only problem is, I don't have much of it and I haven't figured out how to grow it yet."[/colour] Going to classes indoors; Silt knew this would be something he would have to deal with. Yet the colt was still determined to master his own magic, and he would face any obstacle in his way to do so.

Silt wouldn't lie to himself, the griffons made him nervous. But the one that called herself Glimmer seemed to be very nice, and Silt smiled at her when she complimented his flowers. [colour=#006400]"T-thanks."[/colour] he stuttered when she took some of the flowers from his mane and weaved them into a tiara, which she then put upon his head. [colour=#006400]"I have a special gift with plants, but sometimes when I get nervous things like this,"[/colour] he gestured to his mane, [colour=#008000]"happen."[/colour] A much bigger griffon came over, which Glimmer then named as her brother Razor. Silt stayed silent, letting the big griffon look them over and say things about them before taking off again. [colour=#ee82ee]"That's Razor. My big brother, and he is teaching the survival class. Oh you will all join right? It will be so much fun."[/colour] Glimmer gave out hugs and had puppy dog eyes plastered on her face. [colour=#008000]"I'll join."[/colour] Silt smiled and nodded. [colour=#008000]"I don't know how much he can teach me that my mum hasn't already, but it'll be fun. And you never know, I might learn something new."[/colour] [colour=#006400]'Although,'[/colour] Silt thought of the scowl the griffon had sent his way, [colour=#006400]'I don't think he likes me that much.' [/colour] Somepony named Boulder started talking about monsters, and the thought of manticores and dragons made Silt swallow hard past a lump in his throat. [colour=#008000]"I really hope we don't see anything like that here..." [/colour]Silt turned to the cynogriffon, who didn't seem to be all that bad either. [colour=#008000]"So, Fleet Paw-"[/colour] "Attention all campers! Head over to the Fire Bowl so we can start the week! You can follow the staff members that are heading right over there!" The announcement took Silt by surprise, but he became excited to think about the start of the week outside. Silt shook the last of the wildflowers from his dark green mane and looked for a staff member. The only one he had seen was Razor, but he had already flown off...

Oh wow I can't believe how bad I derped on that. I was thinking music notes and quills!

That's true. I think I might have some trouble finding the perfect mark for Pyper though...

Another question... Can the cutie mark be more of a symbolic thing, rather than a direct representation of abilities?

Thanks Rosewind~! I'm gonna switch Pyper's app to "not ready" for now. I have quite a few things I'd like to change or add. Thank you all for your help so far!

[colour=#008080]"Do you need a nurse?"[/colour] A concerned Miss Marie asked, and Silt Treble shook his head. [colour=#006400]"Thanks, but I don't think they could help much."[/colour] The colt closed his eyes and tried to picture open skies and fields. [colour=#006400]"I-I'm really claustrophobic in buildings. I grew up outside, you see, so I'm not used to feeling so-"[/colour] he took another deep breath as he said, [colour=#006400]"confined."[/colour] Silt took another deep breath and with his eyes still closed said in a calmer tone, [colour=#006400]"So, an entrance exam. That doesn't seem so bad... But I can't control my magic that well. I've done some really cool things, but they've all happened by accident when I was scared or... had a panic attack.." [/colour]he added hesitantly, not wanting Miss Marie to think that anything bad would happen.

Just a question, and then i'll go and fix some things in the app. With the cutie mark thing, I was thinking that she could create small weather changes. Like, for an example, a single cloud raining over a pony. Perhaps I should've been more specific, but the storm she called didn't effect the whole area, it was just inside the building. Is that still overpowered?

Hey Frost, I can understand your not wanting to do a posting order. (i can see why it's useful but...) so, what if we just have a posting limit? like, only twice a week for everypony? then that way nopony can overtake the forum. thoughts...?

Silt was a bit taken aback when a griffon, and a cynogriffon as well, said hello! The colt could feel his body freeze as his mind was conflicted on how it should respond. A bad memory from long ago still lingered in his mind, but Glimmer and Fleet Paw didn't seem to fit his original impression of them in that they didn't seem to want to eat him, but be friends. Silt gave them both a nervous smile and willed himself to say something so as not to be rude. Before any words could come out Glimmer took his hoof and shook it, surprising the colt so much that a burst of magic turned his mane into a bouquet of wildflowers.

Admission process? Oh dear, he wasn't going to have to take a test before he even learned to fully control his magic, was he? Silt swallowed nervously. [colour=#006400]"I-it would be really helpful if you went over it with me, Miss Marie."[/colour] All the excitement of the day, the new school and ponies and now this test... It was starting to become just a little to much for Silt. His claustrophobia was clawing at the back of his mind and the walls seemed to shrink towards him. [colour=#008000]"C-can we um,"[/colour] Silt took a deep breath to steady his shaky voice and said quickly,[colour=#008000] "I don't mean to be rude, but could we please please step outside?"[/colour]