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Post by ameriganastan on Dec 17, 2014 5:36:32 GMT
"No, I don't know who lives here. And I was not scared. I was being facetious to alleviate my displeasure about being lost in this wretchedly macabre domicile."
Page tended to string big words together when something spooked him. And his hair had a habit of springing up like he'd stuck his horn in a light socket.
"I don't even know how I got sidetracked here...you don't think it's Wendigos, do you? Oh, they do make things cold. I read that in the 'Massive Menagerie of Magical Monsters'. Alliteration aside, it was a dreary read..."
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Post by Atomosea on Dec 17, 2014 6:05:15 GMT
The doctor obliged, apparently barely registering Silver's offer of a hoofshake. "Thank you very much, Ma'am," he said, pulling his burden inside, "All I require is some cuprite; a hexoctahedral crystal, about the color of your-" He cleared his throat and blushed profusely. "Please forgive me, Miss Silver; I'm sure you know exactly what cuprite looks like." Digitalis opened his trunk, removing the medicine case. "About so large, if you can. Apparently in all the business of Hearth's Warming I forgot to put out an order for more, so the jar back at my store is completely empty. A piece about the size of this case would fill it, but all I actually need at the moment is a small hoof-full, so I'll take whatever you can provide." "Cuprite, huh?" Silver replied, placing a hoof to her chin. "I don't get many requests for that, but it makes for a pretty gemstone. I know I have a crate of the stuff in storage somewhere. Let me see if I can find-" "Here you go." A young, dusty-brown colored colt placed an open crate full of dark red stones on the coffee table. "That's all we got, sir." "Oh. Thank you." Silver said, a little surprised. "I didn't know you were listening." The colt grinned. "I was in the next room, silly. I was sorting through some of today's haul, so all the crates were open, too." He turned to Digitalis, his eyes twinkling with curiosity as he poked at his lab coat. "Hey doc, whatcha need this stuff for? You gonna give a shiny piece to your special somepony? I wouldn't. Cuprite's super duper fragile. You should get some diamonds or something instead." "Copper!" Silver barked, her cheeks turning red. "Why don't you leave our customer alone and go sort some more gems for me, okay?" The colt backed off from Digitalis, deflating slightly. "Okay... Sorry, sis." "My apologies, sincerely." Silver said, rooting through the crate on the table as Copper left the room. "There aren't many other ponies his age around here, so he's real friendly to everyone. How about this one?" She procured a stone with a volume approximately three-quarters that of the jar. "You can have it for ten bits." "Yes, yes, of course," Digitalis laughed, paying. He took the red gem, setting it on his trunk, and smashed it into several pieces. All but one, apparently the perfect size for his purpose, he put in the trunk to add to his stores at home. "Pardon," he said,"Do you mind if I... ?" The stallion neither finished nor waited for a response. His excitement to be completing what he already considered one of his greatest works had already triggered the almost total devotion of his attentions to his art that so often absorbed him in his workroom. He righted the showglobe and set to work. Beginning with nearly all the water he'd brought, he added an assortment of petals and leaves, magically dried and pulverized; a number of sweet-smelling liquids; several different powders, magically heated; and last but not least, the cuprite. A quick tilt of his head and the then-entirely unappealing mixture stirred itself. When it came to rest it was mostly blue, but here and there streaks of green and yellow and red faded in and out, and small flecks of silver twinkled in the light. A definite warmth surrounded the container. Once the globe was sealed again, Digitalis finally snapped out of it. "Oh! Right!" he exclaimed, suddenly realizing that he'd been working in someone else's living room, "Forgive me, Miss Silver, I..." He looked down around his hooves and the trunk. "... I don't think I've made any mess. Please, send me the bill if you notice anything's been soiled, but I really must get going. Good day!" With that, he chained the globe to the trunk and set the trunk on the sled, as before, and set off towards the outskirts of town.
He had only walked for a few minutes before snow began falling heavily. Quickly coming to the conclusion that going home and still making it out of town would be impossible, he decided instead to bring the showglobe with him. This time saved still did him no good. By the time he was past the last building in town, the snow was torrential, the winds cut at anything exposed, visibility was terrible, and the roads, needless to say, were invisible. With so many obstacles and a quickly shrinking chance of boarding a running train, Digitalis elected then to head for the nearby forest, in the hopes that the trees blocking the brunt of the wind and sow would offer better visibility and a chance to consider his options. On his way, he noticed a blur in the distance. As he drew nearer, the image sharpened into that of a gray mare, nearly invisible amongst the blinding whiteness with all the ice clinging to her except for her bright red flannel shirt. "Excuse me, I... Miss Chiselle? Miss Chiselle! Miss Chiselle, what are you doing out here?" |
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Post by Wilgrove on Dec 17, 2014 6:21:26 GMT
He had only walked for a few minutes before snow began falling heavily. Quickly coming to the conclusion that going home and still making it out of town would be impossible, he decided instead to bring the showglobe with him. This time saved still did him no good. By the time he was past the last building in town, the snow was torrential, the winds cut at anything exposed, visibility was terrible, and the roads, needless to say, were invisible. With so many obstacles and a quickly shrinking chance of boarding a running train, Digitalis elected then to head for the nearby forest, in the hopes that the trees blocking the brunt of the wind and sow would offer better visibility and a chance to consider his options. On his way, he noticed a blur in the distance. As he drew nearer, the image sharpened into that of a gray mare, nearly invisible amongst the blinding whiteness with all the ice clinging to her except for her bright red flannel shirt. "Excuse me, I... Miss Chiselle? Miss Chiselle! Miss Chiselle, what are you doing out here?" "Doing...my...ice...sickle....impression." Chiselle chattered through her teeth. Everything on her was heavy, her mane, her tail, her shirt and her saddlebag. A harsh wind blew ice and snow in Chiselle face, the only thing the poor mare could do was turned her head away to shield her eyes. It was at that moment that she hit something solid. She tumbled into the snow with a loud yelp. With her body violently shaking, she peered through the storm and saw a house. "Shelter...shelter! Come..umm...Doctor pony," she yelled. Using her two front hooves she felt along the walls until she felt an opened door. The poor mare slipped into the house and collapsed onto her haunches, her bag slamming down against the hardwood floor. She wrapped her hooves around her own body while her body visibly shake. Chiselle lowered her head and closed her green eyes, letting her ice covered mane conceal her face. |
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Post by Atomosea on Dec 17, 2014 6:50:16 GMT
He had only walked for a few minutes before snow began falling heavily. Quickly coming to the conclusion that going home and still making it out of town would be impossible, he decided instead to bring the showglobe with him. This time saved still did him no good. By the time he was past the last building in town, the snow was torrential, the winds cut at anything exposed, visibility was terrible, and the roads, needless to say, were invisible. With so many obstacles and a quickly shrinking chance of boarding a running train, Digitalis elected then to head for the nearby forest, in the hopes that the trees blocking the brunt of the wind and sow would offer better visibility and a chance to consider his options. On his way, he noticed a blur in the distance. As he drew nearer, the image sharpened into that of a gray mare, nearly invisible amongst the blinding whiteness with all the ice clinging to her except for her bright red flannel shirt. "Excuse me, I... Miss Chiselle? Miss Chiselle! Miss Chiselle, what are you doing out here?" "Doing...my...ice...sickle....impression." Chiselle chattered through her teeth. Everything on her was heavy, her mane, her tail, her shirt and her saddlebag. A harsh wind blew ice and snow in Chiselle face, the only thing the poor mare could do was turned her head away to shield her eyes. It was at that moment that she hit something solid. She tumbled into the snow with a loud yelp. With her body violently shaking, she peered through the storm and saw a house. "Shelter...shelter! Come..umm...Doctor pony," she yelled. Using her two front hooves she felt along the walls until she felt an opened door. The poor mare slipped into the house and collapsed onto her haunches, her bag slamming down against the hardwood floor. She wrapped her hooves around her own body while her body visibly shake. Chiselle lowered her head and closed her green eyes, letting her ice covered mane conceal her face. Digitalis complied, shutting the doors behind them and unchaining the globe from the trunk. The contents of the globe weren't extremely hot, but at the temperatures outside, it had been steaming. "Miss Chiselle, you should probably remove that shirt of yours. It's completely soaked," Digitalis said, removing his own ice-covered overcoat and hat, but of course keeping the lab coat. He took a minute to assess his surroundings. "Earth-pony-carved oak doors; well-done mahogany and maple parquet floors; cherry wainscotting; oil paintings, mostly original..." |
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Post by Quandarm on Dec 17, 2014 7:34:46 GMT
Digitalis complied, shutting the doors behind them and unchaining the globe from the trunk. The contents of the globe weren't extremely hot, but at the temperatures outside, it had been steaming. "Miss Chiselle, you should probably remove that shirt of yours. It's completely soaked," Digitalis said, removing his own ice-covered overcoat and hat, but of course keeping the lab coat. He took a minute to assess his surroundings. "Earth-pony-carved oak doors; well-done mahogany and maple parquet floors; cherry wainscotting; oil paintings, mostly original..." "... And at least 3 other occupants," Flux interrupted. Somehow Digitalis had missed the others in the entryway. "Hello Chiselle, Doctor. It's a bit cold out tonight isn't it?" |
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Post by Atomosea on Dec 17, 2014 8:08:57 GMT
Digitalis complied, shutting the doors behind them and unchaining the globe from the trunk. The contents of the globe weren't extremely hot, but at the temperatures outside, it had been steaming. "Miss Chiselle, you should probably remove that shirt of yours. It's completely soaked," Digitalis said, removing his own ice-covered overcoat and hat, but of course keeping the lab coat. He took a minute to assess his surroundings. "Earth-pony-carved oak doors; well-done mahogany and maple parquet floors; cherry wainscotting; oil paintings, mostly original..." "... And at least 3 other occupants," Flux interrupted. Somehow Digitalis had missed the others in the entryway. "Hello Chiselle, Doctor. It's a bit cold out tonight isn't it?" The doctor shrugged. "I would say 'yes', but really, I can only guess; I wore a heavy wool coat and I've had a heater trailing behind the entire way," he said, motioning to the showglobe near the door. "I imagine Miss Chiselle would be better able to answer, once the blood begins to flow freely back into her ears, face, and hooves." |
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Post by Wilgrove on Dec 17, 2014 14:58:25 GMT
"Doing...my...ice...sickle....impression." Chiselle chattered through her teeth. Everything on her was heavy, her mane, her tail, her shirt and her saddlebag. A harsh wind blew ice and snow in Chiselle face, the only thing the poor mare could do was turned her head away to shield her eyes. It was at that moment that she hit something solid. She tumbled into the snow with a loud yelp. With her body violently shaking, she peered through the storm and saw a house. "Shelter...shelter! Come..umm...Doctor pony," she yelled. Using her two front hooves she felt along the walls until she felt an opened door. The poor mare slipped into the house and collapsed onto her haunches, her bag slamming down against the hardwood floor. She wrapped her hooves around her own body while her body visibly shake. Chiselle lowered her head and closed her green eyes, letting her ice covered mane conceal her face. Digitalis complied, shutting the doors behind them and unchaining the globe from the trunk. The contents of the globe weren't extremely hot, but at the temperatures outside, it had been steaming. "Miss Chiselle, you should probably remove that shirt of yours. It's completely soaked," Digitalis said, removing his own ice-covered overcoat and hat, but of course keeping the lab coat. He took a minute to assess his surroundings. "Earth-pony-carved oak doors; well-done mahogany and maple parquet floors; cherry wainscotting; oil paintings, mostly original..." Chiselle slowly pulled off her flannel shirt and it plopped down onto the floor with a wet splat. Trying to force a smile on her face, "Y-y-you know, m-most s-s-stallion have to b-buy me dinner b-b-before I t-t-take o-off m-my c-clothes." "... And at least 3 other occupants," Flux interrupted. Somehow Digitalis had missed the others in the entryway. "Hello Chiselle, Doctor. It's a bit cold out tonight isn't it?" The doctor shrugged. "I would say 'yes', but really, I can only guess; I wore a heavy wool coat and I've had a heater trailing behind the entire way," he said, motioning to the showglobe near the door. "I imagine Miss Chiselle would be better able to answer, once the blood begins to flow freely back into her ears, face, and hooves." With a lower pitch in her voice, "f-f-fire....p-p-please." |
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Post by ameriganastan on Dec 17, 2014 16:37:19 GMT
"Let me see that thing."
Page floated her shirt above his head, the thing glowing a rather illuminating shade of red.
"Father and mother tended to travel to rather cold climates before I moved out. I'd have been a frozen ponycicle if I didn't know a few spells to warm myself up. Ugh, Stalliongrad..."
After a few moments, he tossed the thing on her head.
"There. Perfectly dry and with some residual toastyness to keep you from chattering your head off."
He slid up besides Digitalis, wiggling his eyebrows.
"You need some warming up too, handsome? I've got a few ways we could do that."
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Post by Quandarm on Dec 17, 2014 17:59:20 GMT
"Let me see that thing." Page floated her shirt above his head, the thing glowing a rather illuminating shade of red. [...] He slid up besides Digitalis, wiggling his eyebrows. "You need some warming up to, handsome? I've got a few ways we could do that." "Down Bossy," Flux said, moving to within 'Page removal' range of the two ponies. "Lets figure out where we are before you start looking for a bedroom." He turned and focused his light into a beam that he sent trailing along the walls and further into the house."I have to say,I dont think I remember seeing this place on any of my walks through town,though that could just be a trick of the storm" He turned back to the others, his horn resuming its area of effect. "You folks got any ideas?" |
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Post by lessernaboo on Dec 17, 2014 19:24:41 GMT
"Hmmm." Coin thought hard for a moment. "I think I might have seen the outside of this building before. Didn't really pay attention." She looked around the room. "The furniture seems finely appointed, but dilapidated. Some kind of abandoned mansion or townhouse?"
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Post by Atomosea on Dec 17, 2014 20:08:19 GMT
Digitalis offered a laugh at Chiselle's remark in an attempt to alleviate some of her discomfort, but definite embarrassment shone through at Page's indecent proposal. He endeavored to ignore the writer, in the hopes that this would cause him to give up the chase. "W-well, ahem, I don't know much about the history of the town, but this is- or, was, I assume, definitely the home of a rich pony, probably built a hundred years ago or more, judging by the decor. Most of the hard wood in here must be either imported from across Equestria or grown by Earth ponies, and most of the paintings on the walls are either portraits or local scenery."
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Post by Wilgrove on Dec 18, 2014 0:22:21 GMT
"Let me see that thing." Page floated her shirt above his head, the thing glowing a rather illuminating shade of red. "Father and mother tended to travel to rather cold climates before I moved out. I'd have been a frozen ponycicle if I didn't know a few spells to warm myself up. Ugh, Stalliongrad..." After a few moments, he tossed the thing on her head. "There. Perfectly dry and with some residual toastyness to keep you from chattering your head off." He slid up besides Digitalis, wiggling his eyebrows. "You need some warming up too, handsome? I've got a few ways we could do that." Chiselle put on the flannel shirt and let out a sigh of happiness and content as she felt the warmness embrace her entire body. Soon the coldness left her body and all that was left was the warmth. She trotted over to Page and gave him a hug and a quick peck on the cheek, "Thank you Magical Freezer Fairy." Chiselle let go of the stallion and looked around. She's been a residence of Winter Haven for awhile now and she collected stories and urban legends on this region of Equestria. "Hmm...you guys don't think this is Copper Miner's old house, do ya?" |
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Post by Quandarm on Dec 18, 2014 0:28:33 GMT
"Hmm...you guys don't think this is Copper Miner's old house, do ya?" "Who in the hay? Who is Copper Miner? This is the first time I've heard that name." |
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Post by Wilgrove on Dec 18, 2014 0:48:05 GMT
"Hmm...you guys don't think this is Copper Miner's old house, do ya?" "Who in the hay? Who is Copper Miner? This is the first time I've heard that name." "He was the pony that help found this town, he was a miner...obviously. He was exploring the mountain range when he found a huge copper vein in this area and started a mining company. Winter Haven grew up around the company as a boom town. He was rich and successful, but soon rumors started spreading about unsafe working conditions and injuries in the mines. Some even reported death in the mines. Those rumors didn't exactly help old stallion Miner as he slowly slipped into madness. He claimed that eyes were following him, that the spirits of the miners would not let him sleep. Some ponies say he even started rigging this house with booby traps in order to keep the spirits away. No one is sure how old Copper Miner died, but on the night of his death, you could hear strange footsteps walking throughout the house, and what sounds like a pick-axe being dragged behind the invisible pony...." |
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Post by Ximea on Dec 18, 2014 1:49:50 GMT
Clay was out of the room before the others had entered very far. He remained unaware of their identities. Okay, they could be just taking shelter here, like me, he thought, but all of them at once? Coming in through multiple entrances? He moved stealthily through a dim, narrow side corridor. There was practically no light. More likely, someone's after me, and a snowstorm gave them the perfect cover. But who? I've made more than a few enemies...
As he moved, once in a while a floorboard creaked beneath him. Each time, he paused, listening for any sign that somepony else had heard it. There are those smugglers in the Buffalo territories...there are the gem thieves in Istallionbul...
At the end of the corridor was a simple wooden door. Clay pushed it open...there was a metallic scrape and a clang as the shovel on the other side of the door was pushed away and eventually fell over. Clay frowned. That...was louder than I would have liked.
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