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@@Mint Drop and @bronislav84 Lorem nodded as he listened to Sunrise's description. He smiled as she spoke abou the cool pools as they seemed like they'd be calm and relaxing. He had no problem with being in slightly hectic environments but he'd rather not be in them. "So it's a spa resort?" Lorem said with surprise. "That sounds like it'd be fun. I haven't been to one in a while." With a smile, Lorem thought about the last time he'd visited a spa. His large size but relative lack of strength made slight aches a part of everyday life the he'd grown accustomed to. Spas back home were scarce and as such, they charged a high price so he'd only been a few times. He was always better after them though as the masseuses and masseurs made delicate work of his body and removed the niggling aches.

@@bronislav84 and @Mint Drop "That sounds like it'll be fun," Lorem responded. "You won't need to pay for me either but thank you for offering." Cautiously, Lorem took his plate and glass over to the kitchen. He made sure to be careful not to knock any of the ponies near him; he'd already made a bad enough first impression by doing that to Lektra. "What sort of things are at this resort?"Lorem asked the group when he returned.

@[user=Mint Drop] and [user=bronislav84] "Manehatten's an ok place," Lorem said whilst Sunrise had paused. "It's not particularly pretty due to all the factories and the aiir's not great either. It's a nice enough place to live though." When he finished speaking, he looked at Sparky and then back on Sunrise. He did so just in time to catch the second thing she'd said. "My special talent's calligraphy. It's not quiet as interesting as Lektra here's is but I feel that calligraphy is more of an art form like a painting or tapestry than a practical skill like engineering or accountancy." Lorem paused for a moment. "What's your special talent, miss?" he asked Sunrise with a smile. "If you feel comfortable telling us that is."

@@bronislav84 and @@Mint Drop, Lorem continued eating and nodded gently with respect as he listened to Lektra's story. She'd done a very good job of making a potentially complicated idea something that could be understood by anyone. He looked at Sparky at smiled as he drank from his cup; he'd never seen anything like it and the novelty appealed to him. By the time Lektra had finished talking about Sparky, Lorem had finished his breakfast. He wiped some jam from his upper lip with a napkin, pulled his plate towards himself and stacked his glass on top. "He's certainly a curious thing," Lorem said. "It must have taken a very long time to make." After Lektra had finished talking about why she was in Invermare, Lorem spoke. "My name's Lorem Ipsum and it's a pleasure to meet all three of you. I'm from Manehatten and him for a holiday. Work's awfully hard to come by in Manehatten right now so I figured I'd go some quieter and wait for more to turn up."

@@Mint Drop and @@bronislav84, The sight of another pony turning up at the table drew Lorem's attention from the curious contraption that was roaming the table. "Good morning miss," Lorem said, his gaze occasionaly flicking back to the robot to ensure it didn't try to attack him. "I've no problem with you sitting here." With a hindleg, Lorem slowly pushed a chair out from under the table. Lorem went back to his breakfast. He took a bit off toast in his mouth and swallowed. It had certainly cooled but it wasn't awful. Hastily, he smothered the bread before continuing with breakfast.

@@bronislav84, The pony taking a seat was enough to distract him from his food. He put on a smile to welcome his new guest. "Oh, hello there," Lorem welcomed. When the mare responded, he realised she wasn't here to socialise. The smile fell from his face into a more serious frown as he took a look at the mare in front of him. "I'm sorry if I hurt your friend," Lorem replied. "The heat from the kitchen just wasn't particularly comfortable." He took a look around the room to see if he could find the pony that he'd hurt. The room was completely devoid of other guests. It was only when a beam of light hit him in the eye that Lorem realised who this mystery companion was. After blinking a few times to remove a floatng, coloured blob from his vision, Lorem focused on the source of the light. His lips formed an inquisitive "o" and his brow furrowed as he inspected the wheeled can that was idling nearby. "Might I ask what, or who, your companion is?" Lorem asked as he gave into his intrigue.

Lorem entered the lunch room and took a look around. The room was moderately lit with candles and gas lamps that were scattered around the room and attatched to the walls. Thick oak tables were arranged in a uniform grid with three chairs to each one. It was still early in the morning so Lorem was able to walk towards the counters to get his breakfast. As Lorem approached the counter, he began to swelter. The fires that grilled bread, mushrooms and tomatoes in the kitchen was roaring wildly and waves off heat were escaping into the room. Quickly, Lorem took some toast, butter and a glass of orange juice from the buffet and fled to the other side of the room with an awkward half trot, half walk. After opening a window, Lorem sat at a table near the back of the hall. The cooling draft fended some of the kitchen's heat and allowed Lorem to feel more comfortable before he began to start buttering his toast.

Lorem woke from his bed and rose rather ceremoniously. He stretched his legs and cracked his spine; the bed in his hotel room was not the most comfortable. In a daze, he staggered to the bathroom and ran the sink. He splashed some water on his face and after wiping some drips from his eyes, found himself far more co-ordinated. He brushed his teeth and combed down some wild frizzes of hair for before inspecting himself in the mirror. When he felt presentable, he left the bathroom and exited his room. After locking up, he went downstairs to get breakfast.

@ and @SkyHeart (It's ok.) "I'd be happy to be your friend as well," Lorem added "You two are the first ponies I've met here and you both seem like nice ones." He wore a small smile to try and seem less intimidating. "I know I'm not exactly the coolest stallion to be seen with but..." He trailed his sentence when he reached Sky's grandma's house. It was a fairly nice house on the outside - the sort of place that Lorem himself wouldn't mind owning when he got enough cash together to move out of his small urban apartment. "This is nice place your aunty has, Miss Sky," Lorem said after turning to face Sky.

@ Violet still seemed on edge but Lorem still wanted to try and get to know her. After all, if she was going to be with Sky and Lorem, it was only fair that at least one of them kept her company along the journey. However, it was more important that Violet felt comfortable. "Miss Violet," Lorem said. "If you want me to leave you in peace, that's fine. I understand that sometimes a pony wants to be alone." He took a step to the side and gave Lorem some space to further show he was willing to leave Violet be.

@ and (especially)@SkyHeart Lorem looked back to see Violet staring at his flank. Innocently, he waved a hoof to try and snap her out of her trance. When she looked away, Lorem smirked and dropped back to walk next to her. She was being incredibly quiet and someone needed to break the ice and make her comfortable. "Hello," he said quietly so as to not startle her. "Are you doing anything after this? You seem like you could use a pal." When Lorem finished speaking, he realsiued what he said might cause some offence. "That's not to say that I don't think you could get friends," he said hastily in an attempt to correct himself. "I was just curious to see if you had anything planned." Having just met this new pony, the last thing Lorem wanted was for her to think he was insulting.

@@SkyHeart and Lorem broke into a trot to catch up with Sky. He smiled. It was odd to see a pony remember to face him when they spoke so quickly and it was a relief that at least somepony in this town was able to remember. 'It's only fair that I tell her' he thought. He made sure that he was next to Sky before addressing her. "Excuse me, Sky," he said. "If you're wondering why I need you to look at me when you talk, I don't blame you; it's odd. I need ponies to look at me because I'm deaf and if they don't look, I can't lipread what they're saying and understand them." He took a step to the side to give Sky more space. He didn't feel bad when it came to telling ponies that he was deaf and that his seeming strange request had a reason behind. He told hundreds over the years so the feeling of being abnormal had gone and passed. Lorem didn't see being deaf as a freakish problem, more of a challenge that makes life all the more satisfying. Eagerly, Lorem looked at his surroundings. The buildings were starting to become more sparse as the trio neared the edge of the city. Lush forests rolled into view over the horizon and starlings flew in a flocks of brown and black. The wind was still so grass and leaves stood undisturbed and branches dangled silently.

@ and @SkyHeart Lorem took what Violet said as a compliment. "When you've been lipreading since birth," he said with a pride in his voice. "You start to become quite good at it." He smiled but stopped when he saw that the mare was still feeling nervous or anxious about something. He crouched down to he level. "There's no need to be nervous around me," he whispered. "You don't have to impress me or anything."

@ and @SkyHeart It was obvious to Lorem that he would have to prove to Violet at he wasn't as scary as he size made out. She seemed like the sort that would need reassurance. "Well," Lorem began. "Miss Violet, if I can't see your face and more importantly, your mouth. I can't understand you. I'm deaf so I have to lipread to be able to understand you in conversation. Unless you know sign language, that is but I find sign language is awkward and can limit conversation." Lorem wasn't too sure how Violet would take the news that he was deaf. She was already nervous of his abnormal size so what we she think about his abnormal hearing?

@ and @SkyHeart Lorem perked up when he saw Sky and Violet exit the library. He'd given the pair some privacy by restraining from reading what they were saying but resumed reading when they got close. This turned out to be a good idea as the moment they left the library, one of them was talking to Lorem. He looked down to see a still rather nervous Violet introducing herself. "Hello Violet," he replied quietly. "I'm Lorem. Please don't be too scared of me. And also, it may seem odd but I need you to face me when you talk otherwise I can't understand you."

@ and @SkyHeart Lorem took a sigh of relief. Usually, ponies were weirded out when he asked that they talk straight to his face but Sky had just acknowledged it. He watched as the mare went over to another pony in the library. Even from where he was standing, Lorem could see that this new mare was anxious about something. He went to go over to see if he could help but stopped at the door. His large body usually just made ponies more nervous. Also, Sky had asked to be excused so it wouldn't have felt right to follow and watch her whenever she went somewhere. Lorem chose to just wait by the door for Sky.

@@SkyHeart Seeing Sky slide of the chair made Lorem even more aware of how big he was in comparison to her. He must've been at least twice her . He stood as to the side when she began to flap her wings and easily kept up with her when she began to fly. Her reason was a kind one, possibly even so kind to the extent that what she was doing could be seen as awkward and unnecessary. Nevertheless, Lorem followed the Pegasus out the door with a smile. 'If we're going to be spending some time together, now seems as good a time to ask her.' With a sigh, Lorem began to speak. "This may seem like a very odd request but please can you look right at me when you speak? It's impossible for me to understand you otherwise."

@@SkyHeart and Lorem's attention was drawn to the mare that had just walked into the library. He could see that she had noticed Sky's stivky hooves but did nothing to help out. Lorem just smiled and looked back at Sky. The situation was under control anyway and he was sure that the mare that had just entered had something else that she needed to be doing. When Sky beagn talking to him, he smiled even more. The way that she turned to face him before talking instead of talking while looking at what she was trying to clean up wa very odd but incredibly useful. 'It's as if she knows that I have to be able to directly see somepony's mouth to understand them!' Cautiously, Lorem helped pick up some of the sheets so that they didn't all get wet. "Your aunty sounds like a kind pony," Lorem said. "Would you mind if I go with you to your aunt's? It'd be a chance for me to learn the area and I haven't got anything to do right now."

@@SkyHeart Lorem tried to work out what Sky had first said but it wasn't clear enough for him to make a proper estimate of what she'd said. When her thanks followed after, he assumed that what she'd mumbled was not that important. "It's ok," Lorem said. "It wouldn't be very good of me to have left you by yourself." He felt a bit disheartened when he saw Sky's sticky hooves. He knew that nothing he had to help her clean up. "You might want to run them under some water to get rid of the stickiness," Lorem remarked.

@@SkyHeart The book that Lorem was reading didn't grab his attention very well so he felt a small bit relieved that something more interesting had turned up with which he could help. He leapt to his hooves. "Please Miss Sky," he said. "May I help?" Before waiting for a reply, he assisted in getting the rest of the notes of the table. With both Sky and Lorem walking working together, the table was soon cleared of notes. Lorem took a few sheets of blotting paper and began to dab away the sweet tea. Although he rarely suffered problems with ink spills and broken quills, Lorem awkward carried blotting paper "just in case". Slowly but surely, patches of the tea started to be removed from the table.

@@SkyHeart Lorem concentrated on Sky's mouth as she spoke to try and get an understanding of what she was saying. He took a small pause after she finished talking to try and make sure he was positive over what she had said. When he felt sure, Lorem pulled up a chair and sat on it an angle so he could always see Sky. "Hello and thank you, Miss Heart," he replied with his quiet tone. "I'm Lorem. Lorem Ipsum. I'll try not to disturb you too much." Lorem softly placed a hoof on Sky's and shook it gently. Lorem cracked open his book and kept it low enough so he could see Sky's face. The book had a couple of pages on every one of the main precious gems which gave short facts like value, hardness and rarity and a larger section on the history of the gem. According to the contents, the book started with more common gems such as diamond, rubies and emeralds and worked it's way into lesser known ones like Amazonite.

Lorem stumbled out of the door to his hotel room and into the corridor outside. He'd had a good night sleep and enjoyed it so much, he found that he'd overslept. With a piece of toast still in his mouth, he crouched to make it easier to insert the key into the lock. When it went it, he twisted the key quickly and pulled it out, dropping it into his saddlebags as he went to leave the hotel. 'Argh! I overslept! I shouldn't be spending time sleeping in on a holiday! Even if the linen was snuggly soft... Taking a more socially acceptable pace as he walked down the corridors, Lorem looked around at the hotel in the daylight. The rooms were all identical in size and Lorem was told they all had identical furnishing. The walls were painted white which made the oak doors stand out. It wasn't a large hotel so Lorem quickly found himself in the lobby and then the outside of the hotel. There was a large sign outside advertising the hotel that made Lorem shake his head with pity. 'What a dull font that sign is written in. I'm sure they'd attract more customers if they used something other than a basic sans-serif. Anyway, I need to pick we're I'm going to go first. Surely there's something here.' Lorem walked down the streets and looked around at his surroundings. Baltimare seemed to be similar in size to Manehatten but had the buildings had an older, less industrial style than the ones back home. He wasn't walking for long before he came across a small library. With a smile, he went inside. Having spent a fair bit of his spare time as a child in the library back home, Lorem never passed up the chance to go in a new one when he was on holiday. Usually, libraries were calm and serene places of knowledge gaining. A pony sat hogging three tables meant that this library was a bit more chaotic. Lorem could see all manner of parts spread out across the table as he edged round to see what books were on offer. Unfortunately, there were no books on calligraphy and writing; just a few small books on "What your writing says about you". Lorem knew these were always inaccurate. After some "umming" and "ahhing", Lorem found himself a book on precious gems. He had no real interest in gems - he just wanted to spend some time in the library. He looked around for a seat. The only free one was next to a mare. @@SkyHeart Lorem walked up to the mare. "Excuse me miss," he whispered. "May I sit next to you?"

Glacier sighed with disappointment after she finished her salad. In all the time she'd been in the cafe, she knew as little about what she was looking for as when she started. 'Nothing. Nothing at all. Not even the slightest bit of information to go on. She got up and slowly dulled out of the cafe. When she hit the streets, she muttered comments about wasted time and how angry she was with anything in particular. She was sulking for sometime before she felt something odd in her head. Glacier recognised it instantly and was none to pleased about it. 'Great! Just what I needed right now. Another one of these freaking headaches. Out of anytime, right now. Looks like I have to abandon everything and find the only known herbal cure for it. Joy of joys, it's back in the Everfree. Glacier gritted her teeth and bared the pain of the headache and the negative effect that galloping had on it as she dashed out of the city and back into the forest. It would take her hours, maybe days to make the trip there and the same to come back. If she ever did. (Which she won't.) Thus ends the tale of Glacier and Baltimare