The Silverdale Saga (No Jump-in Please)

[Morning Glory]

Smothered under the foreleg of the boasting stallion, Coppershine said nothing, unable to find her feet. Instead she hung in Goldenglow's grasp for a while, stunned and confused. She then seemed to come to her senses and shook her head frantically and groaned, quietly whispering "Oh no, oh no no no!"

Her hooves flailed as she tried to escape. In a last ditch effort, she popped out of her coat, leaving Goldenglow holding nothing but the damp fabric. At last landing her hind feet on the floor, she desperately shoved his body away from hers and beat a hasty retreat over to Dusty and Silverspark.

Catching her breath, she spoke. "Sparky! What is he doing here?" Her eyes then looked down to Tinkertoy. The old stallion had been gently placed on the floor by the silver colt.  Lowering herself to the ground, she pulled the blanket around him more firmly. She knew Tinker was becoming frail in his old age. Her ears perked at the words of the pegasus mare. "Mr.Tinker, you've got a magic spell to repel the cold?"

As her hoof brushed his foreleg  securing the blanket, she jumped. Tinker's fur was freezing cold. "Where's the kettle? You need a warm drink..."

[Morning Glory]

GM:

Silverspark looked to Dusty as Goldenglow went swanning about the Inn, clutching Coppershine. There was nothing he found particularly funny about Goldenglow. And poor Copper...

At last she was free. As she approached he spoke. "Sorry! I didn't invite him! I said I was going out to look for folk and he insisted on coming along."

Looking up, Silverspark raised his voice. "Everypony! Mayor Ironhoof has declared a state of emergency. Everyone is to gather at Town Hall. There we have provisions, blankets, and plenty of firewood. Gather what you need and Tinkertoy will make sure we arrive safely. He can block the snow and wind, but not so much the cold. Everypony should bundle up" He gestured to the weary old stallion, who nodded blearily.

He looked to Coppershine. "We could also use some of the supplies here. More blankets and as much food as we can carry. Oh! And candles! If you grab the blankets, I'll talk to Lacey about any stores she has here." He then headed into the kitchen.

------

Meanwhile, Goldenglow had become distracted by his reflection in the now darkened window. It was no surprise- an ornate mirror emblazoned his flank as a cutie-mark. As Silverspark spoke, he rolled his eyes. He hated when Silverspark paraded around, telling everypony what to do. He never understood why they even listened.

Noticing the soup sitting at what had been Dusty and Coppershine's table, he glanced around, then eagerly gulped down the bowl. Licking his lips, he nabbed up the last of the bread as well. Very pleased with himself, he then set his sights back on Sweet Dreams, since Coppershine was hanging around near Silver.

He approached with a swagger that could rival a rooster any day. "So, oh fairest of fillies, what are you doing all alone in Silverdale?" He gestured to her wings. "You must be far from home. Are you lost?"

[The Wandering Magus]

Juniper looked worriedly at all the ponies in the tavern, especially at her husband and old Tinker.  The old stallion was already freezing, and Feather was running a fever not half an hour ago.  Still, she went to Coppershine and asked, "Is there some way I can help with things?  Boiling water, getting supplies?  I'm afraid to leave Feather alone, though..."

Feather said nothing, though he shrank back when Goldenglow charged through the door and flooded the place with cold air.  He wrapped the blanket around himself and clutched the hot water-bottle to his chest, shivering a little.  He wondered if he would need a few more bottles of that potion Silver had given him.  If he didn't get more blankets before going out in that blizzard, it was a near certainty he would be seriously ill and might even faint ((can't say die here )) before getting to the Town Hall.

[Link]

Getting straight to business at Silverspark's words, Silver Flask stood up, fastened his cloak, and loaded his saddle bags with the fresh brews. Taking note of Dusty and Feather, he handed each of them a flask, and tosses a ground-up herb into it, gently feeding some to Dusty to help him regain his senses.

"There's plenty more where that came from, don't hesitate to call me if you're feeling chills or faint on the way, no point in taking risks in this weather. I added an extra sample of Quickburn to the potion to give it some 'oomph'. It should keep you warm on the way to the Town Hall."

Trotting over to the other end of the Inn, Silver tossed his hood back over his head and prepared to follow Silverspark, before approaching the other stallion to speak to him before everyone left.

"Er, hello. I'm sure you're very busy sir, but I have some potions here that counteract the cold very well. I'm running low on herbs, but I should have enough to keep everyone safe on the way to the Town Hall. Can you please let me know if anyone seems to be more affected than normal by the cold?"

Silver nervously pawed the ground awaiting a response, seemingly shrinking under the bigger stallion's size. 

[The Wandering Magus]

Feather gratefully accepted the flask, but refrained from sipping just yet.  He had a feeling he would desperately need it very soon, and didn't want to waste it while still inside of a shelter.  There would be plenty of sipping once they got outside.

Juniper saw the gesture and gave a thankful smile to Silver before turning back to Copper.

[MasterMustang]

The mysterious stallion gets up slowly and walks to the doors.

"I volunteer to leave last just in case anypony lags behind" He says to everypony.

He stands quietly waiting...

[Link]

((Sorry if my wording was off, Master Mustang. Silver Flask was talking to Silverpsark at the time, he's not yet introduced himself to your pony. Sorry for the confusion.  ))

[Star Striker]

Well, it was good to know that they would at least be able to walk outside, even if it were still going to be a terrible cold about it. There was comfort with that, albeit there was still nervousness. The old unicorn looked tired from his endeavor, if anything.  She'd have to go back to her room if she were to go out, since knowing the cold would still be fierce even a light summer jacket would be a comfort.

Let's see... I must gather my jacket, my saddlebags if I'm to carry anything... and I guess the blanket, Stallion, lantern, muscle-- She blinked twice, shaking her head, breaking her now derailed train of thought as Goldenglow approached.  The Pegasus took in his words, and then shook her head.

"Lost?" She found herself chuckling a little.  "On, no no no. I'm not lost. On a vacation of sorts,"She nudged her head towards the windows. "Though you'd never really know I was." It made her smile a bit, though it was a somewhat disheartened one.  "Though, um, if you'll excuse me I simply must get back to my room. I've a few things to get before I go anywhere, and I don't want to dawdle." She said, and nodded her head to the brash stallion, before standing up and stepping from her chair. Luckily her room was on the first floor of the inn.

After a short walk back to her room, the Pegasus pushed open the door. The room was cold, and there was snow nearside the window, and spattered about the room. She clamped her wings at her side, shuddering slightly. "Oh, well, this is just fantastic." She chattered to herself, her jaws clicking together from the temperature. She began moving about the room somewhat rigidly, gathering her saddlebags and placing them over herself. They brought with them more cold as they fell over her. Her jacket, she could only imagine would be just as cold, but gathered it from her dresser anyway. Her final objective was to close the window to the room, if anything to keep more snow from coming in for the sake of the innkeepers. It was a bit of a struggle just dealing with the cold, let alone the windy gusts that went along with it. In the end she wasn't able to close the window all the way, leaving a slight opening that wind and snow continued to use to sneak inside. She huffed, shivering some as she backed from the window, gathering up the rooms lantern as she went. From there she quickly left the room, before slipping back into the group of ponies.

[MasterMustang]

((Sorry if my wording was off, Master Mustang. Silver Flask was talking to Silverpsark at the time, he's not yet introduced himself to your pony. Sorry for the confusion.  ))

(OH, my bad.  Forget the first part then k?)

[Morning Glory]

Coppershine looked to Juniper as she turned to head up the stairs. It was reassuring to have a helping hoof offered. "Hmm...Juniper, could you try to find as many candles as possible? I think we'll need them. There should be some around here on the ground floor- maybe in the kitchen or the pantry. You wont be too far from Feather then. Oh! While you're in the pantry, see if there's any empty sacks. I want to carry some food and firewood to Town Hall if we can." She moved to head up the stairs, then paused. "Oh and thank you."

She then followed Sweet Dreams up to the next floor and shut the door behind them to discourage Goldenglow from following. Once there she found the linen closet and piled up folded blankets on her back. She also grabbed some twine and a container of safety pins. Jogging along the corridor, she stepped into each room, grabbing the blankets off the bed. She soon had a sizable stack. Rushing back down the stairs, she deposited her find.

"We'll need to keep warm. I think we can turn some of the blankets into makeshift cloaks with these." She help up the pins.

Glancing to the clock on the wall, she realized night was approaching. They would need lamps to see in the snow anyways. She headed over to her table and rummaged in her pack. She had a lantern and a flint and steel to light it, but it was low on oil. "The Hall could probably use some of that as well. It would be in the cellar..." She spoke out loud to herself.

"We'll need oil for lamps. I'm heading to the cellar. There might be more food down there as well. Can anypony help?"

[The Wandering Magus]

"No problem, Copper," said Juniper with a smile, then quickly got to work.  She helped Feather nearer to the kitchen to keep an eye on him, then went into the pantry looking for candles and sacks.  She found a decent supply of candles, though she was afraid it might not be enough for lasting the blizzard if it was bad.  Looking around, Juniper also patted each bag strewn around, then picked them up with her teeth and threw them over her back if they were empty.  About fifteen minutes later, she came out carrying a good number of bags and candles.

She carefully put the candles aside so they would not break, then lay the bags on the floor out of the way but easily reachable.

When she finished, she went back to tend to Feather, but looked up in case nopony else was willing to go down into the cellar.

[MasterMustang]

The stranger pony walks over to Juniper.  His face and body still hidden except for his amber eyes and long black pony-tailed mane.  He looks rather intimidating but it's just his garments.  "Do you require assistance in the celler?" he asks bluntly.  He sets his gear down on the nearest table.

[The Wandering Magus]

Juniper looked up at the stranger in surprise, then quickly recovered.  "If nopony else volunteers to try going with Copper, I think help would be greatly appreciated," she said with a smile.  "Thank you very much for your offer."

She had a small dislike for strangers like most others in town, but a combination of having a unicorn husband, growing up surrounded by strong stallions, and simply being herself made it easier for her to be at ease around ponies that others would consider intimidating.

[Chautauquan]

Dusty eventually regained his composure, and decided to engage in the business of helping out about the inn as best he could.  Being at the door, he conveniently meandered his way past the mirror, and decided to work in a little bit of his own magic... a goading, of sorts.  "Well, I reckon this feller was just getting ready to jump on that helping out.  In fact, best let he and myself take care of it.  He's strong enough for three, and I'll manage as his assistant.  Isn't that right, sir?"  If narcissism was to be engaged in, at least it could be put to use.  "After all, wouldn't want the fillies doing the heavy lifting when there's a good, strong stallion about.  That would be just plain dishonorable!"

[MasterMustang]

The stranger looks back at Dusty with a stern look in his eyes but then to the entry to the cellar.  He takes a candle and lites it so that he may see down in the cellar.  "A wise pony once told me that a honorable pony is not only noble in his actions... but modest in his words" he says as he begins down the cellar steps.  "If anypony wishes to join me they are welcome."  It is very dark, no windows.  The candle provides just enough light to investigate.  The stranger searches diligently for the lantern oil.  He comes across a stray jar of oil on a shelf but that is all he can see in plain sight.  The others must be hiding.

[Star Striker]

The pink pony deposited her collected up items onto a table in the main room where everypony had been waiting in. She decided to put on her jacket before somepony decided to move the group out. manuevering her wings to fit through prepared holes in the jacket she was ready. For, well, when it was time to go. In the mean time preparations needed to be taken, and so she like a few others opted to go down into the cellar.

"I'll come along~" The pegasus chirped as she followed after the stallion and other mare, flapping her wings a bit to better position them. "So we're just looking for oil down here, hm?" She said, as she began decending down the steps, trying her best not to bump into anypony else. It was definately dim down here, and she was lucky not to step on other ponies hooves. She looked over the shoulder of the stallion. "Is that all of it? One bottle wont last all that long." She stepped away from him squiting her eyes to see. It was times like this she wished she was a unicorn.

[Morning Glory]

Coppershine took a few of the bags Juniper had found and nodded to her. "Perfect. I'll see what we find down there and load them up."

Copper was last down the stairs. She blinked her eyes wide, and carefully maneuvered down the stairs, her wide hooves clunking loudly on the wood. "There's a light down here somewhere..." Once she felt the stone floor underfoot she tiptoed to the near wall. Fumbling around, she found a mounted lamp and turned the dial. Slowly the lamp came to life, and the cellar was illuminated. It was still dim, but at least now they could see.

"I'm sure they have more than one bottle down here. I know the bottles are shipped in crates marked with red circles. Take a look. A whole crate would last us a good long time."

She would let the pegasus and the stallion look for oil while she gathered supplies. She strolled up and down the wooden shelves erected in the cellar to hold the goods. She found a burlap sack of potatoes and grabbed it up, slinging it over her back with a grunt. Several glass jars of peaches and tin cans of green beans were stacked in an empty crate. She also loaded several heavy logs into two of the bags Juniper had found. Knotting the openings of the bulging bags together, she was able to hang them over her broad shoulders.

[MasterMustang]

The stallion finds a crate containing the oil for the lamps; its about 3/4 full.  He grabs an empty sack and proceeds to pack as many as can carefully.  He looks back at the other ponies after he fills a second bag.  "I need an extra hoof to carry all of these" he says.  There are about 2 more sacks full of oil jars.

[Chautauquan]

Finally tiring of trying to cajole or guilt the narcissist into usefulness, Dusty shook himself from his charade and headed to the cellar as well, determined to be of what use he could.  Already the supplies were being inventoried, categorized and separated, what remained, it seemed, was to move them forward.  He entered, simply turning to Coppershine and asking for directions.  "I'll go where I'm useful, Miss Coppershine." He stood rapt, still drying, but determined enough to throw off the effects that the cold should be having upon him.  "Uh, I suppose that oil needs carrying, so I'll just head over there, if'n you don't mind."

Having heard the last part about needing an extra hoof from the stallion, he trotted over to accept a burden, whatever he could carry.  "I'm new here, so I suppose I oughtn't assume much, but I'll say this.  I agree about our actions, they are the key to becoming good, functioning members of society.  What you said was right."  He paused for a moment, before continuing, "But you said it wrong.  If you'd acted in kindness, rather than anger, calm instead of frustration, we might have another set of hooves down here, and perhaps a valuable lesson learned for the fop upstairs."  He sighed, finishing, "Again, maybe you know more than me.  I'm just here as of today.  But regardless, it wouldn't hurt to sometimes let others learn, even if it isn't as effective as doing it ourselves.  Just a thought."  Finished, he makes sure to keep his ears open, ready for a response, but busies himself with getting the supplies loaded.  It would be a long day, and if tempers were already this frayed, it wouldn't be easy.

[Star Striker]

Sweet Dreams continued to plod around the cellar, the newshed light was greatly appriciated to the pegasus, as she was mere inches from having walked into a shelf. The mare smiled sheepishly to herself as she gently lifted herself from the ground to have a better look at the shelves contents. Clearly not at strong as the earth ponies around her, Dreams merely loaded her saddlebags with cans found on the shelves. She gathered up a few tins, one for sure read applesauce, the other she figured by the logo was olives, or maybe canned grapes. Either way they were edible things. She landed when her saddle bags started to get heavier, and wandered towards the crate the others were inspecting.

"I'd love to see that big fellow down here right about now," The pegasus joked, as she walked past the two stallions and around the crate. "Surely a colt like that has quite a bit of strength to him." She removed two oil jugs and placing them into her bags, which by now were lumpy from the contents within. She shifted herself the combined weights of the items not really heavy but more or less awkward for her. "Is there anything else down here we might need, um, miss?" She asked Coppershine, as she more or less seemed to know what to look for.