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Post by Lucky Charm on Mar 22, 2015 20:30:46 GMT -5
"Drat!" Lucky exclaimed. "My brilliant plan, foiled!" He shook his hoof at the heavens for a moment, then grinned at Cloud. "Heh, I've got a lot of stories. Kind of a collector, you might say. But to actually answer your question, we're adventurers, just got back from the Griffon Kingdom. Or whatever they are now there's no actual king.
"As for myself," he went on, "I've spent most of my life on the road - set out when I was fourteen and never looked back. Oh, not that my hometown was bad or anything, just kind of small and quiet for my tastes. Wanted to see the world. So I'm definitely in the 'tourist' category, pretty much full-time." Lucky chuckled a bit, then looked to Julius for his introduction.
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Post by Julius Softpaw on Apr 1, 2015 21:44:20 GMT -5
Julius shook his head at Lucky's joke, chuckling lightly. "It is a wonder you have not been snatched up by some mare, Lucky." He then turned to face Cloud, gesturing slightly to his armor and assortment of weaponry. "Myself, I am a mercenary. I've spent my life much the same as he, save one small detail; my hometown was bad. I grew up an orphan in The Hollow, a Griffon city famed for it's poverty and crime. As soon as I could, I got out. Tried to join the Navy. I failed the mental examination. Been wandering the world since." He offered a lopsided grin and a slight bow.
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Post by Selenia on Apr 5, 2015 19:07:15 GMT -5
Cloud stifled a giggle. "Fulfilling your namesake, Charm. Hold onto that sense of humor, if there's something everypony needs after an earth-shattering tragedy like this, it's a good laugh." She sat and idly fiddled with the tip of her tail as Lucky and Julius gave their respective spiels. Getting new friends and hearing new stories was always a favorite of Cloud's. Every new pony was a chance for new opinions, new information, and new experiences. Her upbringing had cultivated that outlook, and her list of names was just growing larger and larger. "Quite the interesting troupe Javelin picked up, I'll say." She dusted herself off and gestured for the two of them to follow her to the work site.
"As for me, both my parents are in the military. Once I was old enough, I got shoved into a boarding school full of other foals in the same position, whether it was both parents on duty or just one, military benefit let the crown pay for their care and education if the parents wanted, with the asterisk of the school being like training." She sighed at the fond memories. "Sounds a little cloistering, I know, 'we'll pay to support them as long as they become soldiers and fight for our country too', but I haven't known any different, and I'm more than happy with how it came out. Javelin was in my class, we graduated together, and I've been here in Canterlot for officer training since." She shrugged, "Still a student, but you never really stop learning."
Cloud gave her two companions a minute or so of walking in silence before she continued, "So Lucky, fourteen when you decided to leave the nest, eh? I can't imagine it was an easy decision, or that your parents were too enthused about it. Have you ever gone back? I can't imagine you had no loose ends or connection to your old home." She addressed Julius as well, "And a mercenary?" Cloud allowed herself a toothy grin, she could talk shop with Julius, no doubt. "Don't worry, the military taught me well. I noticed your plates and lack of insignia and made the connection. You've gotta have some serious constitution in order to fight other pony's battles for them and come out on top each time. No doubt your hometown beat some of that grit into you. Your line of work must take you around a good bit, so, you got a 'most interesting contract' or something?"
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Post by Lucky Charm on Apr 6, 2015 19:09:33 GMT -5
Lucky waged a brief battle with a blush creeping up his face at the compliment. He was sometimes called funny, but rarely charming, at least to his face. Realizing the futility of his cause, he hid it by inclining his head in a small, mock bow. "Thank you, thank you," he said happily, "I'll be here all week. And the week after that. And probably longer. Heh, honestly, I've gotten a bit rusty at sticking around longer than a month, so this'll be a learning experience for me."
He listened intently to Cloud's own story of her education and upbringing. "I don't know that I could stand being cooped up so long," he admitted, "but it sounds like you're living a good life by you. And hey, what more could a pony ask for besides good friends, a job they like and do well, and the chance to help others doing it?"
At Cloud's question to him, Lucky grinned. "Yeah, the 'rents were not happy. I mean, it wasn't exactly a surprise - I'd been talking about it for years by then - but everypony just figured it was the kind of thing a young colt says and thinks he wants but never really does. It almost was, too. But then I was involved in an, ah, slight incident that also involved a lot of banana slugs and suddenly making myself scarce seemed like a good idea.
"I did come back, too," he continued. "About eight years later, one ear shorter and a whole lot smarter. Well, mostly smarter." He flicked the stump of his left ear, seeming perfectly unbothered. "It was good seeing everypony again. My parents. My friends. Ponies I'd barely known greeted me in the streets - it was that kind of town." His smile turned wistful and, moments later, vanished altogether, replaced by a look of soft sorrow. "It was only a small town in a big land, but Equestria feels a lot smaller without Ponyville."
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Post by Julius Softpaw on Apr 10, 2015 14:01:27 GMT -5
Julius followed closely as he listened to Cloud's tale, nodding his head silently from time to time. "A boarding school, hm? I probably would have been sent to one of those, had I managed to survive that long." He gave a quiet chuckle as the group fell into the short silence, broken only by the soft sounds of hooves on stone.
The silence was soon broken as Cloud asked her questions. After allowing Lucky to answer first, Julius returned her grin with one of his own, the scar on his beak making it seem bigger than it should be. "I was always told that I was rather adapt at getting in, and out, of trouble. I suppose that might have something to do with it." He let out another quiet chuckle. "Well, I have seen some amazing sites in my days as a traveler. I was actually planning on taking a trip to this very city after my last contract. I was not expecting it to be this bad. Geister lebendig, but it is a shame."
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Post by Cloud Atlas on Apr 15, 2015 9:58:12 GMT -5
"Ponyville, then?" Cloud responded to Lucky's story. "I visited once before, one summer. About as tight-knit as you could get when it comes to communities. Everypony's so friendly there, it's no wonder you got such a warm reception. Grudges are hard to hold in a place like that so I can only assume everyone was more happy to see you again than mad that you left in the first place." She sighed, considering the chaos of the Equestrian map at that point. What wasn't flat out destroyed was occupied by the enemy. "We'll win that place back sooner or later. Wars don't last forever, and this is our home turf. Shame for your first view of our capital to be lacking most of the famous skyline, for that matter." Her address switching to Juluis as she nodded at him. "If anything, you're earning everypony's respect and favor by helping fix this place up. Ponies aren't ones to forget kindness when its readily given."
Cloud settled back into walking in silence until they reached their destination. "And here we are. Standard cleanup grunt work it is." She gestured openly to the mess that beheld them. "The city can't run without its roads and rail lines, so clearing them is the priority. Ferrying away all the rubble is up to other groups, we just break down the piles and make stuff easier for them to get to. If you find any utility damage, give a report and I'll send it back up the chain of command. The last thing we need are things like power and clean water running shorter than they already are." And with that, she got to work.
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Post by Lucky Charm on Apr 15, 2015 15:54:45 GMT -5
Lucky nodded, quiet for several long moments. "They were glad," he said eventually, in a softer tone. "When I left they were mad at me - I nearly ruined a chunk of the harvest - and I was afraid to come back for eight years because of that. But when I did... they were happy. Old friends I hadn't seen in nearly a decade talked to me like I'd just gone on vacation. Roseluck slapped me, but I kinda deserved that. Probably should've told her I was leaving." He shook his head, clearing the cobwebs. "I like cities, and I have friends here in Canterlot. But there's not a lot of places in Equestria where a pony can be gone eight years and have half the town still remember his birthday. When we do take back the land, I just hope we can find that again."
When Cloud explained their duties he nodded along with the explanation. Seemed clear enough. Sure, this kind of work wasn't glamorous, but even Canterlot didn't actually run on glamor. Mostly it ran on infrastructure. "Just de-pile things. Simple enough." He looked around. "What about the big blockages? Should we get the hammers for that?"
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Post by Julius Softpaw on Jun 17, 2015 4:21:23 GMT -5
Julius followed silently, glancing here and there at the destruction of Canterlot around them. He shook his head. "No. Wars do not last forever, Fräulein Cloud. But you see as many as I have and you start to question if they are truly worth it." He walked on in silence after that, only speaking when Cloud spoke to him again. "I simply go where I am needed, junge Frau. And, at the moment, it seems I am needed here."
Once their job had been explained to them, Julius nodded slowly. "Verstanden. And if we find any... remains?"
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Post by Stygg Whitefeather on Oct 21, 2015 22:52:46 GMT -5
{{Admin=Closing this thread to further posts due to inactivity. If this is in error, notify me.}}
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