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#Post#: 2611--------------------------------------------------
All that is gold does not glitter...
By: Peridot Frost Date: May 10, 2014, 5:27 pm
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Peridot Frost stood outside the great doors of the Canterlot
palace, resisting the foolish impulse to walk up to one of the
guards and request an audience with the Princesses. How would
that conversation even go? I'm really grateful that you exiled
King Sombra a thousand years ago, and then helped drive him off
again when my empire reappeared, but would you mind helping me
more? Can you make my memories come back? Remind me of what my
destiny is? Locate my parents? Peridot knew she would sound
ridiculous, and besides, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza had already
tried her best with all of those things. She already regretted
taking up the time of the Crystal Empire's new ruler; she didn't
need to bother the rulers of Equestria as well. It seemed
alicorn magic couldn't solve her problems.
Peridot sighed and turned back towards the bustling streets of
Canterlot. Her coat was so dull that it was unlikely anypony
would recognize her as a resident of the Crystal Empire, at
least not from a distance. After the initial joy of using the
Crystal Heart to banish King Sombra had faded, Peridot's coat
had slowly lost its glittering shine. Whereas the all the others
seemed to gain back the memories of their lives before King
Sombra's rule, all Peridot had were vague impressions of her
childhood and occasional flashbacks to the horror of the Dark
King's reign. She couldn't even remember what special talent her
crystalline-snowflake Cutie Mark stood for.
Well, she wasn't going to get any answers standing out in front
of the castle, looking forlorn. Peridot returned to wandering up
and down the main road, searching desperately for something,
anything, to trigger her memories.
#Post#: 2700--------------------------------------------------
Re: All that is gold does not glitter...
By: Peridot Frost Date: May 16, 2014, 6:10 pm
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A set of brightly colored booths set along a side street caught
her eye. It looked like some kind of small carnival was taking
place. It seemed to be a public event to Peridot and she could
use some cheering up, so she walked up to a booth where ponies
were playing some sort of game. Peridot watched for a few
minutes and determined that the object of the game was to toss
as many horseshoes as possible onto a post, and prizes were
awarded based on how many out of five the pony managed to throw
correctly. The game seemed rather difficult, as few ponies
walked away with a prize in hoof.
"Want to give it a try?" the gray stallion running the booth
asked after noticing the green mare standing there.
"Sure, why not," Peridot said, sliding over a few bits in
exchange for five horseshoes. At the very least, it would take
her mind off of things for a while. She grabbed the horseshoes
between her teeth and trotted over to the throwing line. Once
there, she placed four of horseshoes to the side and held one in
her hoof mimicking the position she had seen the other ponies
take. Peridot concentrated on the post she was aiming at and
tossed the horseshoe forward. To her surprise, it dropped neatly
onto post. It was probably just beginners luck, but Peridot was
cheered by the small success. She threw a second horseshoe,
which joined the first around the post.
"You're pretty good at this," the stallion noted.
"I guess," Peridot said. It seemed to come naturally, although
she couldn't remember ever playing such a game before in her
life. The third and fourth horseshoes sailed over as easily as
the first two. When Peridot turned to pick up the final
horseshoe, she noticed a small crowd gathered behind her.
"I haven't seen somepony get all five before," a mare whispered.
"Do you think she can do it?" said another.
Peridot blocked the murmurings of the crowd and focused solely
on her target. She unconsciously steadied her breathing as she
aimed, then threw. The fifth horseshoe clattered around the
post.
Peridot heard somepony clapping. "That was impressive," the gray
stallion said. "First pony to get all five today. Pick a prize."
He pointed to a set of stuffed animals that were excessively
large, in Peridot's opinion.
"I'll take that one," Peridot said, pointing to a floppy white
polar bear. The stallion handed it over, and Peridot placed the
soft, furry prize across her back. "Thanks." So, she was good at
throwing horseshoes. At least Peridot knew one more thing about
herself from having travelled to Canterlot.
#Post#: 2701--------------------------------------------------
Re: All that is gold does not glitter...
By: Misty Breeze Date: May 16, 2014, 7:49 pm
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When she'd left her dorm that day, she certainly hadn't been
expecting to come across some sort of carnival set up along
Canterlot's main stretch. Misty had thought she'd heard rumors
or something about something that was going to be happening
soon, but she just shrugged all of that off as her maybe not
having paid the fullest of attention and she remembered hearing
things wrong. But nope, here she was, looking around at
everything on offer with an almost child-like look of wonder.
She still had no idea what this carnival was about, but it was
certainly doing wonders for her in the excitement department.
There was so much around her, in fact, that she had no idea
where to start. Did she start with the ball toss? The strength
tester? The water gun-target-shooter-thing? Or did she go to
visit some of the attractions hidden away behind pavilion
curtains? There was also all this yummy smelling food
everywhere... But she just couldn't eat any of that. She'd
already gained a few unintentional pounds ever since she started
attending the university in Canterlot, she really didn't want to
get a few more just because of all this scrumptious...
delicious... food...
Misty snapped out of it when she realized she was drooling a
little bit, and reached a hoof up to wipe her chin clean with a
hoof before rubbing her hoof dry on her chest as she glanced
around, stiiiiill lost as to what she should do. There was just
too much to choose from. She didn't really have to choose,
however. Her attention quickly caught onto the growing crowd
nearby, causing her to 'ohohohoh, what's this?' as she padded
over to it. She meandered, squeezed, and crawled her way through
the crowd gathered until she could get a better look at what was
going on--albeit while she was underneath somepony else. Paying
no attention to the annoyance the pony she was under was
expressing, Misty just watched with excitement at the scene in
front of her, her ears catching word that three out of five
horseshoes had already been tossed onto the peg--in a row.
With her gaze mostly held on the mare tossing the horseshoes
onto the peg, Misty just watched with a slightly slacked jaw and
her mouth curved into a small "o" until the crowd's applause
shortly after brought her back to reality. Joining in, Misty
clopped her hooves together with a tight-lipped smirk on her
face for a few moments, before she scrambled out from her place
underneath the pony and towards Peridot. "Heeeeeyyyy, that was
super good! You must spend a lot of time with horseshoes! Are
you a farrier? Ooh, or maybe you're a secret superhero who uses
horseshoes as her weapon at night~?" Misty giggled, before
grinning toothily at Peridot. "M'name's Misty Breeze! How's it
going? You enjoyin' this festival for... whatever it's supposed
to be celebratin'?"
#Post#: 2705--------------------------------------------------
Re: All that is gold does not glitter...
By: Peridot Frost Date: May 16, 2014, 11:03 pm
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When Peridot turned her head forward again after adjusting the
polar bear so it wouldn't fall off her back, she came face to
face with a ball of energy in the form of a green mare. Her
excitement was rather disarming to Peridot, who hadn't carried
that many direct personal conversations since the Crystal
Empire's return. Still, she tried her best to smile back at the
beaming mare. The expression felt a little rusty to Peridot, but
also rather pleasant, so she resolved to use it more often.
"Hello, I'm Peridot Frost. Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm not
a secret superhero or anything. That was my first time throwing
horseshoes, as far as I can remember." Peridot hesitated for a
moment, and decided against telling Misty about her amnesia. She
didn't want to burden this happy mare with her troubles, and if
Peridot pretended like she didn't have any problems, maybe she
could ignore them for a while. "This carnival is nice, although
I'm not sure what the occasion is either. I just arrived in
Canterlot this morning."
Peridot's stomach grumbled, reminding her that she hadn't eaten
since before getting on the train in the morning. The air was
filled with the smell of powdered sugar and apple fritters, the
scent drifting to Peridot's nose from dozens of vendors
scattered through the streets. "Do you want to grab some food?"
Peridot asked Misty. "I'm nearly starving." Nearly everything
Peridot had eaten in the last few months had tasted new,
although she wasn't sure if that was due to her memory loss or
because Equestrian food had changed over the past thousand
years. Probably some of both. Either way, Peridot was still
figuring out what kinds of food she liked and disliked, and was
ready to try out some new meals.
Peridot wondered if she could enjoy the carnival as just an
ordinary mare, having fun with Misty. The mare's cheerfulness
was practically contagious, and Peridot was feeling better than
she had been all week. The sun shone brightly down on the red,
blue, and green tents, and the street was filled with the noises
of excited ponies. As Peridot's spirits lifted, her pale green
coat began to shine again, just the tiniest bit.
#Post#: 2708--------------------------------------------------
Re: All that is gold does not glitter...
By: Misty Breeze Date: May 17, 2014, 8:07 am
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"Whaaaaaaaaat!? No way!" Misty exclaimed in surprise when
Peridot mentioned that was the first time she had ever tossed
horse shoes, her expression one of pure shock--complete with a
slack jaw and wide eyes. "You gotta be pullin' my leg, that was
amazing," she murmured after before perking her ears again when
Peridot continued, mentioning that she'd only arrived in
Canterlot that morning. Her brows raised in curiosity and looked
like she was about to ask a little bit more about that, before
she was cut off by Peridot's stomach and question of if Misty
wanted to grab anything to eat. At that, Misty anxiously glanced
over to one of the nearby food tents and pranced a bit in place
before looking back to Peridot.
"I'll totally join you, but Iunno if I'ma eat anythin'. I'm
kinda tryin' to watch my weight... Ever since I started
attendin' the university here, I've put on a few more pounds
than I had before," she said, patting her tummy with a hoof
before starting to wander through the festival a bit, hopefully
along with Peridot. "Kinda wish I could eat some of this food,
though. Carnival food is just so yummy. Like, cinnamon pretzels.
Ohhhhhh, how I wanna eat another cinnamon pretzel... I tried one
at this hot air balloon festival we had one year back in
Baltimare--I swear it was like tasting a piece of heaven. Hee
hee, I'm pretty sure that was the same festival where I won the
downhill-rolling contest~. Pretty sure I didn't get a reward for
that, though," she pouted briefly before her demeanor perked
back up when she looked back over to Peridot. For a moment, she
thought she saw the mare's coat sparkling, but passing it off as
the light playing tricks on her, she continued. "So you're new
to Canterlot! Mind if I ask what brings ya here? And how long ya
plan on stayin'?"
#Post#: 2710--------------------------------------------------
Re: All that is gold does not glitter...
By: Peridot Frost Date: May 17, 2014, 8:57 am
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Peridot grinned to herself at Misty's amazement. She wasn't one
to brag about her accomplishments, but she also wasn't so humble
that she'd pass off some praise completely. She followed Misty
down the street, weaving her way through the crowd and trying
her best not to bump into anyone with th bulky polar bear on her
back. Peridot felt a little bit bad about eating in front of
somepony trying to watch her weight, but if the carnival's food
was as good as Misty described it, she would definitely have to
try some. As Misty chattered on, Peridot joined a short line in
front of one of the food stalls selling cinnamon pretzels.
Peridot froze for a second when Misty asked about her stay in
Canterlot. "Um, well, I..." she stuttered. She'd been planning
to just avoid discussing her past, not outright lie to the mare.
Although if her mood kept improving, Misty would figure things
out, Peridot realized, noticing that her hoof was beginning to
acquire a distinct shine. But maybe she could keep up the
charade a bit longer. "I was looking for some of my relatives,"
which was technically true, if a bit misleading, "but I think
they're out of town. As for how long I'm staying, I'm not
completely sure - maybe a week?" Peridot hadn't made any
concrete plans for her travels after leaving the Crystal Empire,
but she knew that she would eventually have to stop wandering
around and get a job somewhere. A week-long vacation in
Canterlot would be fine, though, and it would give Peridot
enough time to search around the city for any clues to her past.
"What are you doing in Canterlot?" she asked Misty, hoping to
deflect further questions about herself. "You mentioned
something about a university?"
By then, Peridot had reached the front of the line, where she
could see all kinds of different foods being fried and baked and
warmed. "I'll take a cinnamon pretzel," she said, passing the
appropriate number of bits to the salespony. She received the
warm treat half wrapped in crinkly paper and practically snowing
sugar and cinnamon dust. Peridot stepped out of the way of the
line and took a bite. Immediately, her mouth was filled with a
delicious sweetness, stronger than anything she'd tasted from
the Crystal Empire. "By Celestia, that's good," Peridot told
Misty, glad she had taken the mare's recommendation. Peridot
noticed her coat sparkling more strongly, and addressed Misty to
try and prevent her from noticing the unusual brightness
surrounding her. "So, are there other fun games around here that
we could try?"
#Post#: 2720--------------------------------------------------
Re: All that is gold does not glitter...
By: Misty Breeze Date: May 18, 2014, 7:31 am
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Nodding along to Peridot's reasoning for why she was in
Canterlot, Misty trotted along beside the mare through the
festival, fleeting gaze darting between each object in sight
with her ears perked towards Peridot, even when the mare got in
line to order some food. Her wide, toothy grin returned to her
face when Peridot asked her in turn what Misty was doing in
Canterlot and she looked over to her as if prepared to
respond... but paused when she noticed she was already at the
front of the line and ready to give her order. Deciding not to
bother the mare for the moment, Misty kept silent until she had
received her pretzel and they had both stepped out of the way
for other ponies to get their food as well.
"Yup! I mentioned a university. I'm here 'cause I'm a student
there--I mean, I'm not really in many classes 'cause I'm mostly
there to learn how to be better at a couple things, but yeah,
that's why I'm here in Canterlot: I'm learnin' stuff on how to
be a better actor, an' tryin' to get a little bit better with my
magic while I'm at it," she said as she raised a hoof and tapped
it against the horn jutting out of her head. She then giggled
when Peridot mentioned the pretzel was good, to which Misty
responded with, "Yiss, I told you so~! It's sooooo tasty." She
then blinked when Peridot almost abruptly followed that up with
asking if there were any games around they could try, to which
she began glancing around again, still passing the probably
still mostly-faint glittering off as the light once again
playing tricks.
An excited grin spread on Misty's lips when she saw something
fun they could try together, and she started to trot towards it
as she said, "I got the perfect thing in mind. This game can get
pretty intense sometimes~." What she lead them towards was an
area set up with multiple stacks of wooden planks, each tower
comprised of multiple layers consisting of three alternated
pieces of wood. "We'll wait 'til after you finish your pretzel
before we start playin'," she said, assuming that Peridot
already knew what this game of Totally Not Jenga was. "How're
you likin' Canterlot so far? Hope you haven't run into any
stick-up-the-butt nobles yet..."
#Post#: 2722--------------------------------------------------
Re: All that is gold does not glitter...
By: Peridot Frost Date: May 18, 2014, 11:45 am
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Acting sounded like a suitable job for Misty, Peridot thought,
as she munched on the pretzel. She could probably entertain any
audience there was with her enthusiasm. Peridot followed the
unicorn over to a gaming area filled with wooden towers. She was
unfamiliar with the game, probably because she was unfamiliar
with just about everything outside of the most basic actions,
but Misty seemed to expect her to know how to play. Peridot took
the time Misty had offered to let her finish her snack to watch
a pair of fillies playing the game a little ways over and figure
out the rules. Once Peridot had seen them take a few turns, the
game seemed fairly simple - take a wooden plank from the tower
and add it to the top, but don't knock the tower down. One of
the fillies Peridot was spying on took a risky move and the
tower came crashing down, much to the amusement of her friend.
Peridot turned to the tower in front of her and began
investigating the blocks. "I'll go first," she offered,
beginning to nudge some of the wooden planks to judge how loose
they were. "Canterlot's pretty nice, from what I've seen of it
so far," she answered Misty while she was playing. It surely
wasn't as sparkly and ornate as the Crystal Empire, but Peridot
liked the elegant architecture of the city built onto the side
of a mountain. Peridot was a bit surprised at Misty's attitude
towards nobility - although it seemed to be a common one, from
what she had overheard during her travels to Canterlot. Peridot
had the vague impression that nobles had actually done somewhat
important things in the Crystal Empire a thousand years ago, but
apparently that wasn't true of present-day Canterlot. "No,
haven't met any nobles so far, although I think I can spot a few
from here." Scattered throughout the crowd were some
well-dressed ponies with their noses in the air and haughty
looks on their faces. "They don't look like they're having too
much fun."
Peridot selected one of the very loose blocks and carefully
wiggled it free from the tower. She was about to place it on the
top of the stack when a vision of sinister red eyes made her
flinch. Peridot took a slow breath and tried to steady her
shaking hooves. She didn't want to have flashbacks to King
Sombra's nightmarish rule at all, but particularly didn't want
to have one now, in front of Misty. She managed to place the
block gently on the tower and fight off the irrational sense of
dread that had threatened to overcome her. "Your turn," she said
to Misty, forcing a smile and hoping that her voice wasn't
noticeably shaking.
#Post#: 2726--------------------------------------------------
Re: All that is gold does not glitter...
By: Misty Breeze Date: May 19, 2014, 9:57 am
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"A'ight," Misty agreed when Peridot said she'd go first and just
contented herself with watching quietly as Peridot tested the
planks and talked about Canterlot. Misty nodded along with the
things the mare said, then glanced over to the crowd when it was
mentioned Peridot could see a few from where they were already
so she could see for herself. Yep, from what she could tell, she
could see a couple herself. "Pfft, I doubt they'd know what fun
was even if they looked it up in the dictionary!" Misty said
with a giggle as she watched Peridot begin to pull a plank free
from the tower.
"I've only had a couple issues with them myself, so far... Like,
mostly just them giving me strange looks for being the way I am
and stuff. Nothing really too bad. Well... Except... For this
one noble who kept berating me and calling me names and saying I
was stupid. Things like that..." Misty's gaze faltered as she
said that, just in time for her to miss Peridot's flashback and
subsequent reaction. "I try my best to avoid them now, after
that. But, uh, I didn't mean to drag things down!" Misty said
with renewed vigor, her previous look of despondence immediately
being replaced by a grin. Thankfully for Peridot, Misty is what
most ponies would consider the definition of 'oblivious'.
Not really noticing any difference in the mare's voice, Misty
pushed herself up onto her hooves and approached the tower with
a hum. "What I like about Canterlot is that there's always
somethin' new to find here. Just spend a lil' bit of time
walkin' around and stickin' your snootle into places it prolly
doesn't belong..." As she said 'snootle', her hoof moved up to
tap her own snout a couple of times before moving so she could
begin pushing out one of the planks on the outside near the
bottom and stack it on the top. "'Course, I also work as a
courier so I get to walk a lot of the city nearly every day...
Anyway, where d'you live? Ponyville? Manehattan?"
#Post#: 2727--------------------------------------------------
Re: All that is gold does not glitter...
By: Peridot Frost Date: May 19, 2014, 10:40 pm
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"Sorry about, er, that," Peridot said vaguely, noticing Misty's
brief unhappy expression, but having missed what the mare had
said due to the flashback. Whatever it was, it couldn't have
bothered her too much, because she was cheerful again the next
second. Peridot nodded as Misty described Canterlot's advantages
- all the different things to try was one of the reasons she had
travelled here; she had hoped to stumble upon her special talent
in the process.
Peridot was so concerned about Misty seeing through her
half-truths and omissions that as soon as Misty asked where she
lived, Peridot assumed she had already guessed the truth and not
that it was just an innocent and reasonable question, which it
was. "I-I'm from the Crysal Empire," she said, breaking down
under completely imagined pressure. "When I told you I was
visiting relatives... I'm actually looking for my parents. I
haven't seen them since the Empire returned, and I can't even
remember them properly." Peridot stomped a hoof in frustration,
making the tower of blocks wobble, before remembering where she
was. "I'm sorry," she said miserably. "I hope you're not upset
at me hiding things from you... I just didn't want you to worry
about me."
Peridot realized, belatedly, that it had been a ridiculous idea
to try to hide her past if she wasn't willing to lie about it.
It was only natural for strangers to ask about each other's
pasts to get to know each other better, and the topic would have
come up eventually. Peridot sighed and looked a the tower, which
was swaying unsteadily after her outburst. She had even managed
to mess up the game they had been playing together. Peridot
removed a block and was able to stack it without causing the
entire tower to collapse, but it was obvious that the game
wouldn't go on for very many more turns. Peridot's coat lost the
slight shine it had gained during the events of the carnival,
returning to a lusterless pale green.
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