DIR Return Create A Forum - Home
---------------------------------------------------------
Unknown Frontier
HTML https://unknownfrontier.createaforum.com
---------------------------------------------------------
*****************************************************
DIR Return to: The Lunar Ball
*****************************************************
#Post#: 3313--------------------------------------------------
Harumph - Throne Room
By: Gleam Date: September 26, 2017, 11:38 am
---------------------------------------------------------
Ugh… People… This wasn’t really his thing anymore, all this
noise and carrying on. Gleam hadn’t planned on joining the event
and had shown up right as they were finishing the opening
ceremony, his place being off to the side where no one would
really notice him. What he’d wanted to do was stay at home and
just occupy himself with his usual pastimes, but after hearing
the princesses and all their people talk about it so much he
thought it wouldn’t be fair to just ignore things like they
weren’t even happening. It was supposed to be a “momentous”
occasion after all, the noctral guards being recognized and Luna
getting to have a moment in the spotlight so ten minutes spent
waiting for ten minutes to be over wouldn’t be the end of the
world. Just the end of someone else’s if they bothered him too
much. Least they could have done was make this a fully formal
event instead of letting everyone just do whatever with their
appearance. They were in the presence of both royalty and the
elite of the guards and some of the attendees weren’t even
dressed in anything at all. Not like him with his admittedly out
of style but still unique and properly cared for suit that he
wore with pride and care. He was dressed like this was some kind
of event being hosted by the leaders of their countries, weird
he knew. Next thing you know some of these hooligans will get
drunk and start knocking over busts and vases and he’d have to
turn them into new ones.
#Post#: 3314--------------------------------------------------
Re: Harumph - Throne Room
By: Princess Celestia Date: September 26, 2017, 11:38 am
---------------------------------------------------------
“Oh, good, you came,” Princess Celestia, having made her
entrance after Luna had taken to the throne and started her
address, was freed from her initial entanglement with ponies
trying to make sure they got noticed and found her Head
Instructor hiding away in his little corner. The tiredness
Celestia had felt upon first setting off for the Ball had all
but left her as through pleasant conversation and pride in
seeing her sister’s work pay off had done much to re-energize
the previously sleepy and overworked mare. She hadn’t had a
chance to congratulate Luna quite yet but she’d catch up with
her soon enough so long as the crowd didn’t keep them from each
other too long. They did have all night, after all.
“I was worried your ‘harumph’ had meant you’d just stick to your
books and bobbles and miss out on all the fun.”
#Post#: 3315--------------------------------------------------
Re: Harumph - Throne Room
By: Gleam Date: September 26, 2017, 11:39 am
---------------------------------------------------------
“’Fun’ is subjective, Princess,” Gleam replied with a
disinterested grunt, “I am perfectly okay with having my own
‘fun’ with my own work.” He glared at no one in particular yet
somehow at everyone all at once then shook his head when he saw
a guard daring to converse with a pony in a casual manner. A
casual manner! Just right out there in the open! You are on the
job, boy, and your job is to literally protect these people and
their leaders, not chit chat with some pretty girl in a flowery
dress!
“And I find it far more likely to achieve it without a bunch of
grubby ponies getting in the way because someone told them there
would be free food. They do know to stay very much within the
boundaries of the areas set aside for the event, correct?” Gleam
damn well better not hear about any teenagers trying to sneak
off into the castle to graffiti or try to get into the
princesses’ chambers or whatever teenagers do for fun now.
#Post#: 3316--------------------------------------------------
Re: Harumph - Throne Room
By: Princess Celestia Date: September 26, 2017, 11:39 am
---------------------------------------------------------
“They are guests, Gleam,” Celestia calmly allowed the stallions
attitude to roll right off of her as this was far from the worst
she’d seen when it came to grumps and party poopers doing there
best to ruin their own time, “Not intruders. They know where
they can go and are free to go there. You should consider doing
the same. Take a walk, relax, have a sandwich, meet somepony
new, maybe appreciate the magic cast on the ceiling and try to
figure out how Luna did it. That’s a project for you right
there, right?
“Tell you what, if we do catch anyone trying to make trouble,
I’ll let you be the first to yell at them, but only after you’ve
made a real effort to get involved and talk to some ponies,
deal?” That should do it. Celestia wore a knowing smile as she
knew the people that worked for her well. She had a feeling
Gleam wouldn’t be able to resist an opportunity to earn the
chance to freely tear into anyone that might try and cause a
ruckus.
#Post#: 3317--------------------------------------------------
Re: Harumph - Throne Room
By: Gleam Date: September 26, 2017, 11:40 am
---------------------------------------------------------
Gleam rolled his eyes as everyone was an intruder that didn’t
have legitimate business in the castle. Party or no he felt the
same, though to a lesser degree, about the Galla and all other
events that opened up the halls to ponies that could potentially
leave hoofprints on the glass. He acted like he was ignoring the
proposal from the Princess but couldn’t keep his ears from
perking in a way that gave away his interest. She would be right
in assuming he’d want to have first go on any riff raff that
decided to make a spectacle of themselves at the expense of the
Crown.
“Ugh…” Gleam groaned, looking mildly disgusted and whining over
the deal, “but that would involve… talking to them… and
listening to them go on and on and on…”
#Post#: 3318--------------------------------------------------
Re: Harumph - Throne Room
By: Princess Celestia Date: September 26, 2017, 11:40 am
---------------------------------------------------------
“Conversation often does,” Celestia reminded, “but I’m sure
you’ll survive. Hopefully they will to.” She gave him a teasing
wink and looked back up at the room, scanning it and watching
the various guests talk, leave and enter. A rolling boil of
social engagement that was rather fun to watch beneath the night
sky looking down on them through the transparent ceiling. She
allowed herself a few moments to enjoy before speaking up.
“I need to catch up with a few ponies,” she said, “there’s a
maintenance closet just down the hall. If you start to make
friends, you can ride out the panic in there.” With a small
chuckle, Celestia returned to the festivities, leaving Gleam in
his corner with a hope that he might actually have some fun.
#Post#: 3325--------------------------------------------------
Re: Harumph - Throne Room
By: Thyme Date: September 26, 2017, 9:24 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
Thyme relaxes a little once the opening ceremony has finished,
and the guests all disperse to different parts of the castle.
She didn't really pay much attention to the ceremony itself,
instead focusing on scanning the crowd, but so far has not had
any luck. It was a long shot anyway, truthfully, and she likely
won't stick around for very much longer. She'll just take a look
around the other spots and then... Wait, over there, near where
Princess Celestia had just emerged. Was that him? He looks like
he's old enough... Thyme frowns, suddenly unsure of herself.
Surely he's got more important things to worry about. Why should
he care even if they are related. Besides, the princess is right
there, and it's bad enough Thyme is even in the same room as
her, she couldn't possibly just go up there. Thyme sits around
for several minutes, uneasily watching the two converse until
Celestia moves away, leaving Gleam by himself and looking
distinctly grumpy. Thyme takes a deep breath. This might be her
only chance. She starts to make her way over, keeping to the
edge of the crowd, and soon finds herself nearing the older
pony. She supposes she ought to smile, but can't quite muster
one up. He's almost surely spotted her by now, and it's too late
to back out. "Hello." She says, schooling her face into at least
a neutral expression. "My name is Thyme. Are you Radiant Gleam?"
#Post#: 3326--------------------------------------------------
Re: Harumph - Throne Room
By: Gleam Date: September 26, 2017, 10:36 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
Maybe he could use that closet to break something once he got
tired of these people. Gleam sighed once the Princess left him
be, wondering if he could just teleport away and teleport back
later then claim he’d stayed the entire time. No, that wouldn’t
work. She’d be able to tell…
Gleam was instantly bored with the event and found minor solace
with the magic in play above them. He entertained himself by
trying to piece together the steps that would go into casting
such a spell, taking mental notes and deciding to later write
them down for his own experimentation. He doubted he’d actually
ever get around to doing anything with them but he it was
killing time at least.
Eventually his attention is pulled away by an approaching mare
in a wheelchair, her focus evidently on him as she neared and
spoke up.
“That depends,” Gleam replies, mildly surprised by the mention
of his first name considering few knew of it outside of those he
dealt with on a daily basis, “if you’re trying to get me to sign
some kind of petition you’ll find I have a very strange way of
spelling my name. I don’t do donations and I have no interest in
buying anything tonight. Bother a- Hey! Who said you could
walk!” That same guard flirting with that mare from before had
taken a few too many steps away from his post and Gleam wasn’t
pleased.
“Get back to where you belong or I’ll meld your hooves to the
ground and make you a permanent addition to the castle decor!”
Gleam wasn’t part of the guard nor the military, never
officially, but his former positions within the castle commanded
a level of respect that he used quite often to straighten up
whatever happened to be screwing up at the time. The guard
seemed to recognize this and hurried back in place, though he
didn’t take the hint to give up on the mare and continued to
talk with her whenever he thought Gleam wasn’t looking. Ponies
today! Slacking off every chance they got! Gleam grumbled
something under his breath and wondered if that particular guard
would be missed.
#Post#: 3385--------------------------------------------------
Re: Harumph - Throne Room
By: Thyme Date: October 3, 2017, 12:35 am
---------------------------------------------------------
Thyme frowns in irritation as Gleam assumes she's only here to
sell him something, and then immediately brushes her off to
harass a nearby guard who's getting a bit too casual with a
guest. She wasn't expecting him to be friendly, but he could at
least pay attention to her. "I'm not selling anything." She says
a bit more forcefully, before he can continue to berate the
guard. "I'm here to ask if you remember a mare named Sage. She
was my grandmother, her journal said you two were close." Thyme
looks around the room and shifts a little in her wheelchair,
still uncomfortable with the number of guests around. "She
mentioned that the Cortoza broke up after one of the members
went rogue. My mother was born less than a year later." Thyme
looks at Gleam seriously. She's not sure what she's expecting,
really. With his attitude so far, he seems as likely to just
brush her off as take an interest. And what then? Certainly any
sort of real bond is more than she can hope for. But he's a
connection with her family, the only real one she has other than
her old journals.
#Post#: 3478--------------------------------------------------
Re: Harumph - Throne Room
By: Gleam Date: January 6, 2018, 12:54 am
---------------------------------------------------------
Someone had done their homework. Gleam had dealt with people
claiming to be relatives of his before, prior to his
semi-retirement into a more mundane life of educational
administration at least, so he'd heard angles on this approach
in the past. To hear names being used was a little more rare
though. The Cortoza wasn't incredibly difficult to learn about.
Tricky maybe, but not impossible. They'd just faded away from
relevancy and most didn't take an interest in obscure conflicts
and independent outfits meddling in such things, but names of
the individual members was far more difficult to dig up. Even
more so, Sage hadn't been an official member, instead only a
mare they'd worked with for a time and therefore wouldn't have
been recorded by any of their members in anything but off hand
mentions to grant credit where it was due. Anyone studying their
history would have little chance to come across her at all.
Certainly a clever take on the con, Gleam admitted, respecting
the effort and thought that had gone into this particular ploy.
He listened to the mare's words and thought about them for a few
seconds further. A journal had been mentioned, one Gleam
wouldn't have known existed if it turned out to be true, but the
claim that it detailed, to some degree, a relationship between
the two left him feeling a little... unsettled. Few knew about
that as it had been kept as a little secret of sorts due to
circumstances revolving around the situation they'd been in at
the time. Only Sage, Gleam himself and... Oh.
"You tell him," Gleam began with a small rolling of his eyes
that soon turned to a darting about as if expecting a response
from the nearby plants used to decorate the hall, "That he needs
to crush anise into a stone bowl. Mix in lavender extracts. Let
it settle for three days - performing the half circles I showed
him one per day - and apply. Do not wash for two and REPEA- It's
the same as last time I spelled it out for you, Qual!" Gleam was
now speaking to someone unseen, ignoring the confused glances he
was gaining from a nearby couple.
"Decades in the making with this one, huh? I figured you'd have
managed it by now. Can't even decipher a prank, but watch out
everyone! It's our leading guy coming up with new pop rocks!
"Making up some journal..." Gleam said, quieter now and mostly
to himself but still pretty audible as he'd been kind of loud
just before, "She never kept any journal... I think I would of
noticed if she'd been recording things like that..."
*****************************************************
DIR Next Page