Ginger Mint

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That may be true, but they'll think twice about picking off poor little fishes when they come face to face with the unified fish armada, under the command of admiral anchovy. Griffins know better than to break the peace treaty. No griffin wants to live in fear of their own indoor plumbing, wondering if they'll be next when the ultramarine aquatic commandos launch a raid up through the kitchen sink.

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Well, how else are they going to get food for all the carnivores? If I was a little fish, I'd be happy to know that at the end of my days, I could keep a griffin from going hungry.

Also: Hopefully Ember Spark doesn't find herself moving her little rump into the dungeon. Speaking of which, if anypony wants to pull Ember Spark's flank out of the fire, feel free to lend a hoof any time.

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Now it was Ember Spark's turn to be confused about strange questions. She opened her mouth to say something, but stopped herself. Katabat had asked her to consider her own words, and so she figured it would be rude not to. However, it was the Queen's words that she found herself considering at length. She was pretty sure the elderly griffin hadn't just accused her of being a liar, though the griffins were all just a little bit different, so she wasn't entirely positive.

A memory from her youth came to mind. Once upon a time, though briefly, she had been afraid of the dark. Or more precisely, afraid that one of her griffin friends would sneak up on her and pounce from the shadows. On a trip to the bakery for some cookies, her grandmother noticed her shying away from the alleyways and overhangs.

'Oh, don't you worry your pretty little head about that,' She had said, once she found out what was wrong, 'All of that is play for young griffins, they're not trying to be mean. Why, I'm certain they do that to each other too, and they're probably wondering why you've never gotten the drop on them.'

'But how come aren't griffins afraid of the dark?' She recalled saying, thinking it terribly unfair.

Her grandmother just smiled and patted her on the head, 'There there, even griffins get afraid of what can't be seen, but its all in your point of view. When you go into the alleyway, the big scary thing hiding in the dark is you.'

Later, after her first successful pounce on her griffin friend, she found that many of the scary, unfamiliar places had lost their menace. Seeing things from a different point of view became an exciting game, and it got her into plenty of trouble when she would sneak into places she wasn't supposed to go.

So there she stood, having considered her words for a moment. She still wasn't sure what was going on though, and the notion that Luna's return might have been ill news never even crossed her mind.

"Apologize I must, if offense my words provoked. The darkness that blinds I know, an ally it can be, and to judge I would not presume. But some shadows on the heart and mind there are cast, that even brave ponies, in refuge should not hide. Her way from these places, our Princess has uncovered." Something in the old griffin's icy gaze blew a gust of wind across the fire in her heart, and for a moment it flickered. She wondered if perhaps she was on the wrong track, and without any proper consideration whatsoever, she added, "But, if my word you can not believe, to the sky look when next the moon rises. For yourself see, where the Mare in the Moon is."

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I must apologize Emerath, I didn't want to cut our little conversation short, but I just couldn't let that opening go. Opportunities for that kind of earth shattering awesomeness and/or faux pas don't come often.

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To what? To where? Good Question... Ember Spark looked straight up at the vaulted ceiling as though it might contain the answer to Emerath's riddle.

With no solution forthcoming, however, Ember Spark turned back to Emerath with a sheepish look on her face. "I'm not entirely certain as to our destination, now that you mention it. Commander Gale did allude to preparations for a feasting hall, but it is also entirely possible that we might be traveling to a waiting room or some other form of intermediary chamber until the preparations are completed. Does it make a difference, with timing I mean, what sort of place you... Oooh, how do you arrive at the proper time when you don't know where you're going? That must require a great deal of talent.

Ember Spark hadn't really caught on to the fact that Emerath had been distracted earlier and so she might not have been correct about the nature of his confusion. She was just waiting expectantly for the confused unicorn to respond, and contemplating asking the guard behind her just exactly where they were going, but something from up at the front of the herd made her ear twitch and twist around to get better reception.

...Lost Sister? Could she mean Princess Luna?

The invisible lightbulb floating above Ember Spark's head blinked on and she made a little happy squeak. "Hold that thought Emerath," she put a hoof to her lips and pantomimed the sort of pose a librarian might make when a little filly is being too noisy, an expression she was very familiar with. However, when nopony else seemed to pick up on the turn of phrase, Ember Spark literally jumped at the chance to be the bearer of good news.

With a hop, skip and a jump, she bounded up to the head of the group as fast as her little hooves could carry her. She had at least enough tact not to barge on ahead of the Griffins, instead she pranced up alongside Cleverboots and leaned over as far as she could.

"Ooh! Good news for you, I have. Luna, Princess of the Night, sister of Celestia who Princess of the Sun you know, is lost no longer. In years not long past, returned she did. From the darkness that, in all directions besets and to danger blinds, was she freed; to the darkness that, for the weary soothes and gentle dreams provides, once again she governs."

She remembered how astounded she'd been when she first heard the news of Luna's return, or Luna's existence in the first place for that matter. What pony had even heard of Nightmare Moon before, outside of the occasional nursery rhyme? These griffins seemed to know something though, and Ember Spark waited to see their reaction like a little filly waiting for the cupcakes to come out of the oven.

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Ember Spark probably knows quite a bit about griffins in Equestria anyway, probably had some as friends growing up. The problem is, nobody asked her.

It was always my intention to channel just a little bit of Pinkie Pie with Ember Spark, but seeing as how she's been up for a very long time, she's going to be a little bit extra random. At least until she starts getting to know everypony a little bit better.

Also: That is a super cute picture. (the pose reminds me a lot of Brianblackberry's art, though I guess the heads look like their own unique style. )

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Ember Spark knew the captain had told her to follow along, but the little group of ponies gathered on the foredeck were talking about something, and she just had to make sure it wasn't something important first.

Land of Storms, uhuh... Dangerous sleeping something or another, check... Ooh, food! Food is good, I know we've got to have something they'll like. Maybe salted peanuts or maybe barbecued beans will be a... fish? Nasty fish?

Her train of thought was squeaking to a halt while Pocket Change's pegasus pal moved on to talk about the weather. She couldn't help but interject, sounding the teensiest little bit hurt.

"Hey! Food fish aren't nasty, why, they're positively generous. Equestria could undoubtedly benefit from additional charitable critters the likes of that." The edge in her voice didn't take long to fade away though, and by the end of her little speech, she had one hoof resting reassuringly on Skies' shoulder, "Now, the temperature here might be several degrees below tropical, but consider for a moment the difficulties involved in getting a little fish to sign a donor card. Now that... is a challenge. Or at least, I surmise it would be. I haven't ever worked as an animal caretaker myself."

Ember Spark did feel a twinge of remorse for being so curt with the poor pegasus who was obviously already not enjoying himself, but at the same time, she had been awake for a long while and was beginning to get a little bit punchy. She might have even stayed around for an actual apology, but it was right about that moment that she realized Captain Cleverboots was already about to disembark, so she had to settle for a simple "Oh, sorry..." before she scrambled off across the mist frozen deck.

She certainly didn't want to miss out on any of the undoubtedly interesting stuff Captain Cleverboots and Commander Gale would be talking about. She smiled as she passed by the statuesque guards at the massive entryway and was comforted by the fact that they had a little bit more mirth in their expressions than the guards at Canterlot did. A little bit. Just for a moment, anyway. They weren't saying anything though, in fact, nobody was saying much of anything. The sound of hoofsteps clip-clopping upon stone echoed against the far wall before being swallowed up by the howling wind outside. If the clouds had been listening, the grand chamber might have made for an impressive concert hall.

Without anyone to listen to, she felt her mind starting to wander. The intricate engravings in the floor and on the pillars must have required a great deal of effort, but if there was any meaning to be found hidden in their esoteric imagery, it was lost on Ember Spark. She was just about to try striking up a conversation with one of the griffin guards when she noticed a spot of lichen. It was growing in a little crevice in the stone, near the gently curving spiral staircase they were about to start climbing up. She craned her neck to get a closer look while her hooves unconsciously kept moving forward.

"Oh, hello little friends. Getting along well I see? Thats great, I..." She interrupted herself when she couldn't bend her neck any farther and had to stop walking, "Ooh, I gotta go. Take care!"

She didn't, however, try to catch back up to the front of the group. Being turned around as she was, she couldn't help but see Emerath falling behind. When waving her hoof for the unicorn to hurry up didn't produce any results, she non-chalantly trotted back and fell in alongside before putting on her "getting down to business face."

"So..." she whispered, in an actual whispering tone this time, though it still echoed off the stone walls magnificently, "What do you think? Is a subsequent entrance better timing?"

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Just a little tidbit of nature knowledge to share. I did a little looking up for omnivorous birds, particularly omnivorous birds that live in northern climates. Not saying there's any relation, but who knows.

The Black-capped Chickadee while small, is an omnivorous bird that can survive cold temperatures and has white and black markings. But they're even more interesting than that. They have very complex calls, one of which is a very specific warning of danger. You can actually determine how big they think a given threat is by how long they extend the warning call. They also are capable of going into a form of torpor, where their body temperature plummets in order to survive cold temperatures. Pretty neat, huh?

The Dark-eyed Junco is a little sparrow that hangs out in northern climates. They come in lots of different shades of grey and white, an amount of variety that is supposedly perplexing to those who study them. During the winter, they form flocks and will sometimes even flock together with different species of birds (like chickadees, sparrows and nuthatches.) And they tend to form distinctive hierarchies while flocking together, and will sometimes stake out a bird feeder for their group.

(Of course, eagles and owls are strictly carnivores in real life, but hey, its magic. ) Also: Working on my post now.

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I feel for ya Riverhippo, I feel for ya. Gettin' first place ain't easy, but I'm pullin' for ya. If anypony ought to get a first place ribbon sometime, its Applejack.

I've won first place exactly once in my entire life, back in 3rd grade track and field. In spite of all my efforts, the best I can usually muster is honorable mention. In contrast to that, second place is a step up.

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I suspect that Dragons would win out over Discord. Discord wasn't able to mess with Spike after all, and he's just a baby dragon.

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Sorry to make you wait, Thursday and Friday are a regular thing for me, but I will do my best to post on Wednesday and Saturday at the very least. Also, sorry I didn't have more to say, I have a feeling that the next post might be a bit more substantial though. If Ember Spark sees an opening, she might just go and show off how little tact she really has.

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Genius.

Emerath had called her a genius. It wasn't simply flattery either, as far as she could tell, he had been entirely sincere, and for a moment she felt like her smile might grow too big for he face to hold. She was even about to pump a forehoof in midair when she stepped through the doorway and onto the icy deck. Walking on ice with only three hooves, it turned out, was even harder than walking on ice normally. With a barely audible squeak, she disappeared through the doorway and slid all the way across the deck until she slammed into the bulwark.

Whoa, I guess I should be more careful. If the clouds had been more tumultuous, I could have stumbled overboard...

Her moment of introspection didn't last long though, because as soon as she had shaken the stars out from in front of her eyes, she noticed the mooring lines dangling right in front of her face. "Ooh! Just what I was looking for. Can somepony give me a hoof with these?"

Slipping her goggles back over her eyes, she tied herself back up to the safety line and got right to work directing a few deck-hooves to their places. She had intended to fly a pegasus all away around the tower in a big loop, but when the griffins started catching and tying off knots onto the tower itself, she steadied herself and waved a hoof in thanks. She even managed to keep from slipping and falling that time.

Ember Spark briefly considered climbing across the ropes to go thank the griffins in person, but she noticed Pocket Change was already talking to a group of them over on the foredeck. After a quick hoofbump and a "Thank you," to one of the sailors who had helped her secure the ship, she casually walked over to where Emerath was watching Gale and Pocket Change converse.

She leaned over conspiratorially and whispered, "Ooh, I think that crown means she's a princess, what do you think?" completely unaware of what had already been discussed, and since she was trying to whisper over the wind, it was really less of a whisper and more of a shout that anyone with two ears was likely to hear.

Genius.

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Ember Spark rubbed her goggles with the side of her foreleg, clearing away the little drops of water that had started to melt as soon as they entered the Polar Star's warmer interior. Cleverboot's spyglass clinked harmlessly against the goggle lenses a couple of times before Ember Spark realized what was going on. With a sheepish "Oops," she pushed her goggles away from her eyes and tried again, peering into the distance and getting a first hoof look at the approaching griffins.

She seemed lost in thought as she tried to get the flight of griffins in better focus. "Hmm... Yes, I have definitely seen griffins like this before. Griffins are always flying about BeakBreak, and when they're flying exceptionally fast like this, it usually means they're going somewhere exciting. You're not very likely to see anygriffin rushing to work in the morning, I can assure you of that, but on the way home or when it is time for a lunch break... Ooh! Lunch! I would wager they're hungry. No doubt this inclement climate makes gathering food more challenging. Perhaps we should offer them lunch, sharing a meal is a great way to make new friends."

Ember Spark turned around to follow Pocket Change, but as she was returning the spyglass to its original crewpony, she stopped in her tracks, transfixed by the movements at the helm. Bending close to the wheel for a better look, her head swayed ever so slightly back and fourth with each turn. She wasn't sure exactly why, but something in her heart told her that it was important, that it meant something.

The constant motion -correcting one way then correcting back the other as the winds changed- began to sink into her own swaying motion, moving in time with the rocking deck. She spoke to herself, mulling the experience over in her mind. "Timing... its not a pattern, its a plethora of patterns being played on top of each other."

Her enthusiasm was a little bit muted by uncertainty. Although she had been living the constant rocking motion for the past three weeks, she had only just now stopped to truly consider it. Uncertainty didn't stop her from rushing over to Emerath's side and pushing it enthusiastically.

"You're good at timing things, right?" it was a painfully rhetorical question that everypony present knew the answer to already, "Look, look, see? Two big waves and a bunch of little ones, all at the same time. Do you think..." her train of thought hit the brakes when she looked up and saw Emerath's look of concentration, "Oh, you probably already noticed. Darn. I was sure that was important."

Ember Spark furrowed her brow and started heading back towards the hatch and the foredeck, lost in thought by the unexpected conundrum and musing to herself. "I wonder which is the appropriate course, waiting until the peak or waiting until they cancel out in the middle... Ooh! We'd better get somepony ready to tie the ship down once we stop, that is undoubtedly important."

And with that, she perked right back up and picked up her pace.

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Ember Spark's Duty, Profession and Special Talent are all sort of one and the same thing, so I hope you don't mind that I left my stats rather static. Its just the way things turned out.

I'm ok with Ember Spark mentioning things she has heard somewhere before, without making any claim on accuracy. However, you'll have to forgive me, but I'm afraid I'm not really comfortable with making up stuff in the mane RP. I've been down that road before and it doesn't lead anywhere that I care to go.

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When it comes to creativity, money is a poor motivator. The truth of the matter is that when you deal with any sort of mental work rather than physical work,

It keeps people thinking about money and not what they're supposed to be thinking about. The quality displayed by Friendship is Magic leads me to believe that, at least for the people who are actually making the product, passion and genuine interest are at the heart of their efforts.

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I must admit, this is entirely unexpected, but thank you. And you are very welcome Manestream.

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Expedition Journal: Entry 21.

I have only a few moments to compose my thoughts. A non-trivial portion of the crew -myself included in that tally- have remained awake since sometime the day prior. Although, I must admit my knowledge of astronomy is insufficient to accurately judge the passage of time -an irony that has not been lost on me- the days appear to be significantly shorter in this part of the world, and I shall endeavor to investigate the phenomenon upon my return to Equestria. I'm getting beside myself though, as I am afraid the reason for our extended period of consciousness is more pressing than the peculiar passage of time.

The weather took a turn for worse yesterday, and I will be required to ascend once again to the top of our lifting envelope to clear away ice until we vacate the storm's perimeter or find some safe harbor. The hot air ought to have melted the ice automatically, and while I can attest that the Polar Star has exceeded expectations, the conditions we are already facing have exceeded expectations as well. I do hope our circumstance changes soon, as I have had little time to advance my own studies.

Ember Spark nearly dropped her hammer when she heard Salt Spray's call, throwing herself off balance to keep it from slipping out of her momentarily agape mouth. As she lost her hoofing completely and started slipping down the side of the balloon, she briefly considered how unpleasant it would be when she ran out of slack on the safety line, but she wasn't about to lose her faithful little assistant like that.

She let out a little squeak when she came to a halt, dangling upside down over the deck. Before she bothered righting her own predicament, she carefully slipped her ice clearing implement back into her tool belt."There you go, all safe and sound."

Switching safety lines and dropping to the deck gracefully required a feat of agility that wasn't quite within her ability, and by the time she had pulled herself back on her hooves, most of the other ponies were already clamoring forward to catch sight of some distant landmark that was obscured by her frost rimmed goggles. She did, however, see Captain Cleverboots making her way towards the control deck and trotted herself up alongside. She didn't know what everypony was so excited about, but they were definitely excited and it brought a smile to her face.

"Hiya Captain, what's going on? I haven't heard anypony yell 'Tower ho' before. Is that a metaphor? it seems odd to intersect a tower with these clouds, unless maybe there is a mountain or maybe the pegasi built a tower on the clouds themselves. Did pegasi build cloud towers in the pre-classical era? Ooh! Do you suppose there might be a harbor nearby where we can set down? We may have an easier time conducting proper maintenance in less adverse conditions..."

Ember Spark didn't really give Cleverboots a chance to respond until she caught sight of a winged silhouette of a slightly darker grey against grey clouds, at which point she stopped to stare in wonder.

Could it be? Civilization in a place like this? I bet they have some interesting stories to tell...

Ember Spark's train of thought picked up steam, and although she was still walking right next to Captain Cleverboots, her words were now directed to nopony in particular. "Ooh! We should ask them for directions."

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While drama certainly makes for entertaining television, it does not make for a good role model for real life behavior. It makes me a little distraught when I see people using bad advice from relationship dramas in their own personal lives, and that unpleasant real life experience has made it impossible for me to enjoy shipping when it reaches for the popular tropes.

It is often particularly silly in the context of Friendship is Magic because the characters are relatively so well adjusted that fic authors have to break them down in order to justify a ship. I can't count how many times I've seen the formula of "X fails at something and rethinks their life, and realizes that they really wanted Y all along but just never realized it, and that Y is actually more important to them than any of their original canon desires." (cue rolling of eyes.)

If you are cool with that, I'm not here to judge. (Celestia knows I'm interested in some rather odd things myself.) Just be wary when using relationship dramas to guide your own life.

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Hmm? Ember Spark you say? Yeah, I knew the mare, I reckon I might even call her a friend. Hmmm... no. I'd be lying if I said I took to her straight away. When first I saw her, I figured her daft, barging in on the captain and riddling her with inane questions like that. No, I couldn't tell ya what the captain thought 'bout all that neither. Ol' Cleverboots kept her cool, but since she let the mare on the expedition, I'm guessing she saw something I'd missed. Now, this is just a tired old stallion's opinion, but I tell ya that mare's got heart, and she had a smile warm as any coal. As for how it all changed, well, thats a whole story now, isn't it?

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Ember Spark took a circuitous route to getting aboard the expedition, though perhaps that is not uncommon for an endeavor of this sort. It is somewhat dangerous and not particularly prestigious. She is working on a project of her own, crafting a pocket watch -an exceptionally complicated piece of craftsmareship- but before she can do that she needs to understand timekeeping better.

She heard about Emerath through the grapevine and his special talent for keeping track of time and set off to see if she could learn more about what it takes to keep time well from him. She didn't catch him at the theater, but she did hear about the journey he was about to embark upon. Letting the opportunity slip by was simply not an option, but lucky for her, Cleverboots needed skilled engineers to help maintain the ship and its steam engine.

As for ancient ruins and pre-history, she's not very interested in that at all. However, who's to say what unexpected lessons the past will be able to teach her about time.

• Ember Spark's Duties (Engineer) - 2

• Ember Spark's Profession (Inventor) - 2

• Ember Spark's Talent (Assisting Others' Special Talents) - 2

• Ember Spark's Earth Pony Magic - 2

• Ember Spark's Positive Attitude (Pure Concentrated Sunshine) - 2

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If I were looking for a realistic explanation for Rarity, my first guess would be that it is related to how our circumstances play a much bigger role on our mood and behavior than most people would like to admit. She reacts more strongly to what is happening around her than her peers, and that also fits in well with her knack for generosity, being more in tuned to things beyond herself.

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Those ones I found may be more up to date versions, I don't know. Remember, these were made by three fans consulting for Enterplay, so there's a reasonable chance that the stuff on these cards isn't going to match up with the show.

Maybe in the new Discord episode, he'll coin a sarcastic name for the Princesses that will stick? How ironic would that be?

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The collectable trading cards were mostly put together with fan input, so I'm not really sure if they can count as canon any more than Applejack's Farm Truck can.

What about demi-pony or polyquine?

Maybe what they need to do is just stop trying to mash words together and come up with a brand new one. Like Flufficus, Carisus, or I dunno Steve...

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Vote tri-pony for new dictionary word, 2013!

I guess I like pegacorn better than I like alicorn, but they both make me think of corn, Since I'm from Iowa, its not really a very pleasant mental image. Don't believe me? Here's a link to the magical statewide webcam.

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I'm a big fan of the simplicity of Rarity's cutie mark. Its not elaborate or fancy, which is perhaps at odds with her whole fashion designer kick, but somehow I find that to be strangely fitting.

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So, the release date of Guild Wars 2 is almost upon us. A bunch of my friends and I are going to be setting Henge of Denravi as our home server. If you're interested in World v world v world PvP, and don't already have a home server picked out, you could always use that one. For everything else, I'll look forward to seeing some of you there.