Ochre_Dust

@@Unicorncob,@@Pucksterv, Tyra's snowball went wide, but even so, he ducked back to make the finishing touches while Trivy was having difficulties. His massive snowball was ready however, and he grasped it between his forehooves. While never a fast flyer, Cirrus had a penchant for lifting things with the magic of his tribe. Riding astride the snowball, he flew towards Tyra, hoping for a fair fight as Trivy was otherwise occupied. "Bombs away!" he yelled, releasing the ball and sending it on a collision course with Tyra.

@@Akari of Duskshire, Ochre smiled, blushing slightly at how happy Stormcloud seemed, before noticing the smell of fish and blueberry porridge on her breath. He bowed his head, getting his nose out of the direct stream of air. "You're very welcome, Stormcloud. Shall we find a place to stay for the night?" he asked.

@@Pucksterv,@@Unicorncob, Cirrus' memories were knocked out from their place of dominance in his mind by the wayward snowball. "Hey! Neutral territory here!" He took off flying to an alleyway for cover then began quickly tossing out a few snowballs to keep the fillies at bay. Every so often, he gathered some more snow into a ball roughly the size of his barrel, chuckling to himself as an idea formed in his mind.

@@Unicorncob,@@Pucksterv, Cirrus led the way out of the campus ground and towards the bakery, the air was still quite crisp, the coldness of the world muting its sounds even with his sensitive hearing. Memories of his past made him shiver where the cold could not. He covered for it by commenting, "Canterlot's pegasi must have outdone themselves today with making this cold snap today, no?"

@@Akari of Duskshire, "If you like it," said Ochre as he stepped forward to the gate. "Hello there," Ochre started off. "I know it's rather late to enter the city, but we've been walking for hours to get here." One of the guards came forward, looking between the two of them. "Names and reason for visiting?" "I'm Ochre Dust, and she's Stormcloud. I'm here to show her around Canterlot over the next few days as she gets settled for taking some classes. So, vacation would be the most accurate for me, and education for her," he said, inclining his head to Stormcloud. The guard looked to Stormcloud as he knocked on a door embedded in the larger gate. "Don't cause any panic, some ponies in town probably haven't seen a kirin before. I hope you find your stay enjoyable." The door opened, and the guard ushered the pair through to the other side. Ochre looked to Stormcloud with a smile on his face. "Welcome to Canterlot, m'lady."

@, Blazed, we're waiting on you/Sweetie Belle.

@@Akari of Duskshire, "A bed and breakfast is typically a pony's home that's been adjusted to have several bedrooms with en suite bathrooms for guests. They have breakfasts available in the morning as well. They tend to be nice and quiet," explained Ochre. "Of course, if you're looking to live here for half a year, it may be best to try and rent a room with a contract instead. You might have to rent a place with a few others. For the first bit though, I think a bed and breakfast might be your best bet."

@@Akari of Duskshire, That's going to be staying awhile, isn't it? Have a good one.

@@Akari of Duskshire, "It is definitely Canterlot," replied Ochre as they made their way towards the city. "Do you have a preference about what kind of place we stay at? The hotels are quite expensive. The inns can be a little noisy even late at night. The bed and breakfasts that some ponies run out of their homes are my personal favorite," he concluded.

@@Akari of Duskshire, "What? Noooo! Our dragons aren't exactly the advice-giving kind. They're big and breath fire, and tend to obsess over gems and gold. I think it's the growing up alone after they hatch that messes with them mostly. One of the princess's personal assistants is a dragon. Princess Twilight apparently raised him as a hatchling after she triggered him to finally hatch. He's got some good penmanship. Maybe he's a little presumptive, but not what I'd call aggressive." Ochre smiled as they rounded a turn in the road, and down the way Canterlot could be seen, marble and elegant purple tile swirling upwards in its distinct towers, as if it had been poured out onto the mountain, rather than built. The moon shone upon the broadside of the marble towers, giving a glow to the city that was inviting, if somewhat cold.

@@Akari of Duskshire, @, Rumours of my demise have been greatly exaggerated.

@@Akari of Duskshire, "Ghosts?" asked Ochre. "What kinds? Equestria used to have Windigos, but they haven't been seen here in thousands of years." Ochre looked out to the forested valley to the left of the path as they winded their way up the mountain to Canterlot. "Dragons we get on a rare occasion. As for demons, as I understand it gryphons have a penchant for hunting them down in Equestria before they cause too much issue."

I've been having work and family visiting, but now I am able to respond shortly.

@@Akari of Duskshire, Ochre listened intently to Stormcloud described her homeland. It was pleasant, just enjoying talking about each other's lives with somepony else, even if they didn't neatly fit into the category of pony. "I've never been to a hot spring myself," said Ochre. "Whenever I was near any mountains that did have some, I was too busy to ever go to one. Are there any dangerous animals or monsters in your homeland?"

@@Akari of Duskshire, Eh, I worked with what I had. Scarves seem quite popular with ponies, so I took a guess.

Ochre blushed as Stormcloud offered her scarf at his shivering. Normally the stallion offered his cold weather wear when a mare was cold. "No thank you, I'm fine." When Stormcloud paused at his comment on the night, he noticed her blush, and look at her hoof. His ears perked at the gesture, but he decided not to question the matter, even as the following gesture of rubbing the back of her head seemed new. "Could you tell me about where you're from, Stormcloud?" he asked instead. "Is it cold? Warm? Lots of trees or is it mostly plains?"

@@Akari of Duskshire, Ochre Dust inclined his head to Stormcloud, his eyes wide. "You're ready to head out for Canterlot right now?" He looked to the sky, the sun was already setting, but then he shrugged. "I suppose we can sleep when we get there," he said, before leading the way to the main road. The scent of night-time humidity coming out of the air thickened as crickets chirped by the side of mountain road leading to Canterlot. As the elevation slowly heightened, the forest slowly shifted from deciduous trees to conifers. On occasion the surrounding plains could be seen, several rivers flowing across Equestria. Ochre shivered both from the temperature and the sight. It was good to be back in the heartland of Equestria. "The lands are beautiful, don't you think?" he asked Stormcloud.

@@Akari of Duskshire, "Well, I am in construction now, but I helped work on several bridges in the north, along with irrigation canals in the sound when I was in the army," answered Ochre. "Currently I'm helping build a new meeting hall in Ponyville. It's grown in the last few years. What jobs do you normally take?"

@@Yoshi89,@, With the toboggan in place and her two friends on board, Scootaloo took her place at the back. Her wings thrummed as she pushed the toboggan before jumping on herself. The wind was again howling as they roared down the hill at breakneck speed. At the bottom of the hill, the toboggan continued for some distance before finally grinding for a halt amidst the trees. Scootaloo looked to her flank, and her face fell as she saw it was still very much the blank orange it had been through her life. "No luck here, how about you guys?" she asked.

@@Yoshi89,@, One of you guys should respond on the RP thread.

@@Akari of Duskshire, Ochre laughed along with Stormcloud at his jest. "Come now, that can't be the first time you've heard a joke in that vein." Ochre listened intently to Stormcloud's account of her family. His ears perked at the mention of her being a student, but remained silent until she finished. "My family almost all have something to do with rock farming, even the pegasi and unicorns. It's been that way for generations. We do get members that end up leaving the farm either to do business elsewhere, or to pursue other interests. I liked construction mostly, and wanted to see the world, so I joined up with the Equestrian army's corps of engineers. I get more odd looks from ponies outside my family though. They mostly think of the army as something exclusively for fighting wars. It's good that you have your brother for support. I was an only foal growing up, but I had a lot of cousins, and we were basically all brothers and sisters, even if I had trouble remembering all their names." "So you mentioned that you're an exchange student? May I ask what you're studying in particular?"

@@Jellal Fernandes, I've been waiting for someone else to post for a while now. I need to check the RP to see if there's something Peregrine should respond to.

@@Akari of Duskshire, Ochre finished his share of the oatmeal while listening to Stormcloud before nodding. "Those are certainly interesting theories. If having a dragon ancestor is the truth, that must have been an ordeal for the ponies or dear involved." Ochre laughed, before moving to the Kitchen sink to clean his dish. "What can you tell me about the family you do know of, are they nice?"

@, "Please, Sweetie Belle," Scootaloo rolled her eyes. "It's just the biggest hill around Whitetail Wood. It's not like it's a mountain or near the Everfree. Learned my lesson last time." @@Yoshi89, Scootaloo's ears pressed against her head as the wind howled. "What?!" she shouted to Apple Bloom as she spoke, but then, given the context, she figured it was about the hill. "It's just over this one," she called. She led them to the crest, where she swept a hoof at her discovery. "Ta'da!" She declared proudly. "Welcome to the premier, most awesome and tallest tobogganing hill this side of Equestria." The hill was truly mighty, perhaps once having pretensions of being a mountain, but falling short by several degrees. It was easily four times taller than any building in Ponyville, with a steep rise that promised unparalleled speed. Fresh pristine snow draped over every inch of it, and beyond, the Whitetail Woods stood as tranquil shelter from the wind. "This is gonna be great," said Scootaloo, as she began to make her ascent to the top of the hill.