Raven Rawne

Alright. Like I said, I'll try both and see which ends up better.

@Dark Horse I have completed your request. I have experimented a bit with pencil mid tones and while not all of it made it through the digitisation, I am curious of your thoughts on the piece.

It may be hard to pull off the X well enough for Tempest to look good as the farther away one, but, we'll see how it goes.

@VoltWrecker it can be done, however, I need to know whether the two characters are supposed to be looking at each other, back to back or perhaps making sort of an X shape with your OC on "top"? Side views are actually easier than 3/4 so I'm totally fine with that.

@BlueBook any hints on what you're looking for in that drawing? I like to make pieces that tell something about the portrayed characters so, any particular pose, clothing and the like?

Glad you like it, since I tried to draw this one several times and it didn't look right until this last time. Now it looks like a prelude to a royal portrait that would hang somewhere in her palace. Shame I didn't have a clue how to add the dress in a meaningful way to it though.

@Califorum I've completed your request, here it is:

@Nightmare Season @Dark Horse

Natural Order got back to the inn, and decided to try and settle on some kind of barter with the owner to clear out her wagon from things that wouldn't be needed on the trip. After taking stock of what was for sale, she shook hooves but, it was a bad deal to be honest. Still, better than letting all these baskets, crates and other assorted stuff to rot in the gutters. Wastefullness didn't sit well with her. The mare spent the rest of the evening, well into the night, in her wagon, double checking everything as she jotted notes on what she had and what was needed, as well as repackaging to make more room for her employers luggage. If she weren't so tired, she would probably consult her books on flora and fauna if they had anything useful on Everfree - most didn't but, she recalled there were some patchy mentionings. Even though she rarely ventured into it, it was usually for an hour or three, no longer. As her tiredness grew, Natural Order retreated to her room for the night.

She woke up, as per usual, with the Sun. After all these years, she seemed to grow accustomed to wake once it was bright enough. Unaware and, honestly, not caring what hour it was, the mint adventurer readied herself and vacated the room, then had to wait for some breakfast in the common room, mindful not to disturb the drunkards who couldn't go home on their own. Since she already paid, and dearly, for her stay, it was time to leave.

It took some trial and error, usually error corrected by asking the passerby for directions, but Natural Order navigated the streets of Canterlot and finally reached the train station. It was eight thirty on an impressive clock on the facade, and she found a spot to park her wagon where she could be seen. The mare seemed out of place, wearing black hoofboots, brown pants, and a green jacket that clearly saw some abuse but, looked clean and well kept. She sat on the steps and smoled a pipe as she tried to ix the feather on her hat, but couldn't get it to her satisfaction. And so she awaited the unicorns she met just the other night, ready to go where most ponies wouldn't, even for a hefty pay...

@Nightmare Season

It's okay, figured out as much. That,  or you're busy. Either way you'd post when you're ready.

I can try, yeah. Expressions are kinda hard for me. And you mean the bandana on his neck or some other accessory?

@Califorum

You have any reference on her? Mainly the hair, since you left it out in the desctiption. Really, anything to show how you want her to look.

@Dark Horse

Sure! I am certain I can produce something according to your request.

I tried automatic on a brand new VW Touran with all the gadgetry it could possibly have but, it felt so weird and... wrong even! Honesty, manual is the only way to go for me and I love changing gears in my Lancia Lybra. It just adds to the already fabulous experience of driving her.

Okay, so, I don't draw humans "yet", but I could give a pony a shot. So, partial body I presume? Any particular pose or background?

So I was looking for stuff to draw and thought, "hey, you had that request shop stuff, and it was pretty good for getting you to draw on a semi regular basis". And here it is, finally reopened. Due to yet another style shift I am not making full bodies for now, but I will, eventually, once I get a grip on them again.

@Nightmare Season

The train trip was calm an uneventful, which counted as a good thing these days for the mint adventurer. Although, being confined to another box for a period of time didn't sit too well with her. Not to mention, now that she couldn't really roam around, Naural Order had a good look on just how distressed Peony seemed over returning to Canterlot and, quite frankly, it was contagious. Tven staring out the window at Equestrian wildlands and fields the train cut through didn't do much help to lift the mood... Natural Order was seriously starting to worry what awaits them on the end station, mostly for her employer's sake - she could probably walk away from it empty hooved and live as she did but, promises are promises!

It was early evening and the sky was painted orange from the setting Sun as they reached Canterlot. First the slow, adorous climb of the steel beast around the mountain, followed by, supposedely, graceful arrival on the Canterlot Central train station. To the earth pony, it was just hissing steam and grumbling metal in her years, along with loud industrial noises and all the commotion of a bustling city assaulting their train car. Visibly reluctant, she rolled off the seat on her hooves, stretched her back after the long ride, and nodded silently at her employer to head out. They will have t reach the back of te train to recover the wagon, and cut through the streams of second and thord class passengers leaving the train.

As expected, the amount of ponies and other creatures - Natural could see a few griffons towering above other passengers as they left the train - was sufficient to pose an obstacle to reach the train's other end. But that wouldn't discourage the mare, as she kept Peony close on her tail. Better get going and be done with whatever awaited them in this city... Although, one thing caught her attentin as they waded through the crowd - the station seemed... decorated? Not just normally ornate as it was, with marbles and everything they could plaster to a wall that looked fancy and expensive but, decorated, with ribbons and flowers, as if expecting an important guest. A slight shiver of a possible realisation ran down her spine as natural Order glanced behind to Peony.

...except she wasn't there.

Looking around, frantically so, Natural Order couldn't see her employre no matter what. the crowd started to thin out and she was... gone! Cursing her luck and a certain stallion she wouldn't bring herself to call by name, she ran to get her wagon and hopefully, find some clues onto where Peony was. If she left the wagon on the train, it would be effectively lost to the beourocracy and so on, and she would never allow it!

Only once the small wagon was back in her owner's hooves, did she park it someplace on the side and run up to the station lobby. The ribbons and flowers were everywhere, whih made her feel sick at the sheer wasteful expense but this wasn'tthe time to ponder over it - there was a red carpet laid on the marble floor, leading to a side entrance for first class passagers so they can get to their fancy carriages as soon as possible, and it was the last straw to convice natural what exacly happened. Some wel built "security" ponies were at the doors so trying to get through them would be a lost cause, and Peony was probably "escorted" away already... With a stom of futile anger, Natural turned back for her wagon.

As she looked inside her tiny home to check everything was okay and secured, one object caught attention of the frustrated and saddenned mare. She walked inside and closed the doors, then sat on the floor beside a crate, and on top of it, was the strapped pot with the Flower. With a sigh, natural spoke up, quietly. "hey, I don't know if you're listening or not, but, seems like that bastard took Peony again. So I gotta ask, do you know a way to her house? I was there, once, but I've no idea how to reach it from here." She ran a hoof over her short mane and sighed again. "At worst I could just give you back to her, along with all her stuff..." That strange voice pierced through her head and the mare winced at the alien sensation, but, nodded silently and got up to walk where she was instructed to. As she was about to close the doors behind her, she looked back at the plant and nodded. "Thanks." She then proceeded to walk the wide streets of the capital city, until she finally reached her goal.

There it was, that awful carriage, parked by the entrance to Peony's house, err, mansion. The sheer size of the thing, and all for a single family. Natural Order parked behind the corner, out of sight, and now peered through an old looking glass to assess the situation. It was dark, but, the lights were lit inside, and she saw silhouettes in what she guessed to be a dining hall or something. Also, quite a few of well dressed, but still gruff looking stallions outside. Apparently, that delusional freak was puffing his chest about "rescuing" the daughter of the house from mortal danger of the real world outside from their little, snobby world. She listenedto the Flower as it relayed what it could gather, and then folded her looking glass and went back tothe wagon. "Welp, seems like we're outa luck tonight. I'll come tomorrow and we'll see if she's still here, then try and meet her somehow. Let's head someplace I won't be suspected as a burglar..." She reluctantly walked out of the rich disctrict and thought for a place to park her house for the night.

@Nightmare Season

With the way you portrait her "nemesis", the whole station would be decorated and he would stand on the red carpet with ridiculously large bouquet, and after a bad soap opera style welcome he would take her to her home for the big news yeah...

I think I may put it that way and keep my OC on the outskirts of the events.

@Nightmare Season

So my next post, once I type it, will bring us back to Canterlot. I guess there ar 2 possibilities: both mares get back to Peony's house and Natural stays outside,  unsure of what to expect inside,  or Peony gets swooped by her dense admirer before she even sets hoof off the train, leaving my OC in a bit of a shock and unsure how to proceed. She would decide to stay someplace or perhaps the Flower will give her a hint.

Thoughts?

@Nightmare Season

The earth pony adventurer triple checked every strap that held her little home in place, and only then did she kingly leave the hold and reach the cabin she and Peony shared. But almost immediately after unpacking and taking a look on the cabin, she vacated the premises to spend some time on the sun deck, as during their previous sea trip. They were looking at 3-4 days of sea travel on this steam ship, and even though weather was supposed to be good, there was always this random element, so far from civilisation and weather pegasi to keep an eye on things. Maybe that's why they had a few on board?

Natural order spent as much time outside as she reasonably could during the trip. Mainly because she didn't like being indoors for too long. Although this time, she got lucky - there was another pony, who seemed to share he sentiment. Bright Skies was a journalist for some nature magazine Natural never heard of, and she had a habit of keeping a bulky camera on hoof but, hey hit off as aquaintances as soon as they deided to talk, rather than avoid each other on the sun deck. The other mare was on the Griffish Isles to write an article on local birds, and they both exchanged their observations and experiences on wandering in the wild all over Equestria. Maybe that was the reason this particular trip went so fast to her. As Natural and Peony were leaving the port to find a train to Canterlot, Bright stayed in Fillydelphia. Luckily, there was one in the evening, so they didn't have to buy a hotel room. They would reach Canterlot on Sunday, another three days later. Natural wasn't shure whether to feel good because they will be over with their pursuit, or sad because Peony was basically agreeing to marry that mad stallion. Truth be told, she leaned to the latter.

Hm, yes, I would most certainly agree that painting has a place in the Future as an example od fine art, along with sculpture. Some things can't be made digitally, and the appeal of a painting is that of it's uniqueness, that only one original exist, aside from the technique and art style, of course.

As far as drawing traditionally is concerned, there seems to be a bias towards digital art both in professional firlds - oftentimes artists live across the globe from their clients, so if they like working digitally, they save lots of time compared to traditional. And in hobby art, requests and comissions also favour digital, sometimes unfairly so, like TBD mentioned. Peopleseem to think draditional artists draw like kindergarden kids, whereas digital art has a quality of it's own...

I'd definately agree on the point that, while both are valid in art vvreation, traditional feels much more... tangible. Real even. I myself dabbled in vectors with Ponyscape and later on took a turn to pen and ink and, I myself felt the difference. Mostly by ink spots on my hands but, there's something satisfying in tracing a dip pen over the page, following the sketch to make it permament. When I vectored, I didn't feel any satisfaction until I was done and saw the end product. Only concentration and occasional frustration when things didn't go smoothly.

Quite frankly, after beating Spec Ops: the Line, my interest in FPS genre, especially set in the modern world where you play as the "good guys" shooting "spooky scary terrorists" or involve any illusion of heroism has dropped to zero. It just... draws you in with that illusion,  then beats you in the head over and over, taunts you until you just want to beat it and be done with it forever.  And then,  when you've finally beaten it, the damn game laughs in your face and explains it's evil plan in a nasty deconstruction of the whole genre, followed by the inevitable conclusion.

The only way to win this game is to stop playing.

Since then,  my outlook on games have been irreversibly changed, yet I still do play, just other genres.

Here's the thought: is traditional art - drawing, and painting, mostly - facing extinction or, at most, being a very, very niche hobby in favour of digitally produced art?

Do a Google search on anything that can be drawn, anything really. Aside from clubbing baby seals maybe... So you get images, hopefully not photos but something made by a person. I bet it's moslty, if not all, digital art. Promo materials? Digital art. Posters? Digital art. Your favourite webcomic? You guessed it, digital! Anf, frankly, there are good reasons for it:

- only "material costs", after purchasing the drawing tablet and software, is electricity. Once you pay off the equipment, making art costs as much a browsing cat memes,

- it's convenient, meaning that you can warm up your hand and doodle for half an hour, close the program and do whatever else you have planned - no cleaning required.

- if at first you don't succeed, click undo. Arguably the biggest advantage of digital, you can try out lots of ideas and if they don't work, you don't have to start over, just undo what you don't like and try something else. Same with correcting mistakes, you can drag and drop whle sections of your drawing, realign it on a different angle, resize even. No need to start over,

- you get the right shade every tme. In color works, you don't need to play an alchemist, mixing colors for the right shade and pray to whatever higher power you chose it works. Save the color code and use it every time you need it, even a single drop.

- less of a learning curve. Due to the above, and the layers provided by programs, you have many tools that make it much asier to produce the desired outcome, and the whole creative process looks different than that of a traditional artist. It's more... incremental. Making slight changes to see how it looks, trying different things on the go until you're safisfied.

Whereas traditional, in comparison, sems to posess a number of inherent disadvantages:

 - you need to buy everything, frompencils to markers, brushes, paints, erasers, everything. And find space to store it too,

- it's art time and you have that awesome idea! Just... gotta set up the supplies, where did I putthat marker I need so badly? Oh, it went dry, gotta go to the shop for a new one... Aaaaand I gotta clean up my working space and tools, lest I'll spend half of my salary on new ones. Traditional art has setup and cleanup time requirements, as well as material costs which aren't exactly trivial.

- you are limited by your tools, the minimal and maximal line width they can produce, as well as the color palette of your markers/paints/crayons. If you need to mix colors, it's a bit of a roulette till you learn to ace the proportions.

- if at first you don't succeed... We've all been there, the drawing is coming along nicely and then, you have an ink splatter and there's nothing to do about it. Another crumpled sheet of paper in the bin as you ready yourself to start over from the beginning.

- it matters what you draw on. Not only does paper and canvas cost, and said costs rises with every wasted piece, but also, each has unique propoerties you need to keep in mind. Some papers have a tooth, some are smooth. Others can't take in too much moisture or they start to buckle. At some point, you may need several brands for different applications.

- Digitizing. So, you've made your masterpiece and you're ready to show them, show them all mwa ha ha! Eeeexcept it's on a sheet of paper, and everything happens on the Internet. Ooops. So, you buy a scanner, and get some art program to fix whatever the scanner messed up, so your work looks just as good on the screen as it does in your hand. More costs, and another skill to learn, yaay,

- and finally, the steep learning curve. Due to material costs, time requirements of your chosen medium, different art making process than digital (less trial and error and thinking on the page), and finally, the sheer amount of sub-skills required, it takes much more time and effort to produce art hat looks equally good compared to digital.

Oh, and if you go to YT and look for art courses.... yep, most are made by digital artists and mostly useful for other digital artists.

Now, it's not a hate thread, keep in mind. More like, a preamble to a discussion, whether traditional art is still "viable" after you graduate from primary school. I myself try to learn to work traditinally, so, I may be biased but, it seems that digital mediums, due to their cost effectiveness and skill effectiveness, are taking over the hobby and professional scenes, aside from art galleries and museums (a matter of time, probably) And, if that's true, then, does traditional have any future? Aside from niche audiences who like the old ways? Is there any point in going traditional, as a person who is about to make the big decision and start their art journey?

@Nightmare Season

The mint mare's eye twitched as she heard the reply. This was getting better and better. "Of course... Now how are we supposed to reach Cantelot without them?! Swim across Celestia Ocean?! That's just grand!" - She kept ranting for a bit longer until Peony sarted to hush her, and only then did the hot headed pony realise she was making a scene. At least she looked important while she was at it. Natural Order bit her lip and muttered: "This better be a good one..." Suddenly quiet, but still furious, she followed her employer like an attack hound.

As they waolked towards a luxurious hotel, Natural couldn't help but chip in a snarky comment: "That's your plan? And how do you want to pay for a minute of stay there, hmm?" Seeing her companion was undisturbed by that comment, the earth pony huffed and followed inside, looking like a bored brat.To her merit, she remembered how to act when being introduced, and politely nodded. "Nice to meet you sir." However, keeping up the act was... pretty tough as soon as she heard how eagerly that stallion allowed them to stay under pretense of lost luggage. If she tried to pull that out in even the cheapest tavern, she would be laughed at and kicked out. Still, it was something to start from, and she lugged what Peony "bought" in the earlier shop along to the suite they were supposed to stay in

The elevator was... strange and somewhat unpleasant at first, but, beats the stairs, she figured. As the escort was busy with his own thoughts, she looked questioningly at Peony, but didn't ask a word, not wanting to let their act slip. Still, the intention was clear enough. They followed into what seemed like a little palace in it's own right. As Natural Order roamed around, appreciateing the decor, Peony talked to the bellhop. Only once she was asked about the meal, did the mint mare lok back at them. After a brief pause, she did recall one dish from the train that seemed fancy enough and actually edible, and she ordered that. Seeing that she was not needed at the moment, the mare went to inspect the rest of the suite, especially the bathroom. As soon as she was out of sight, she relaxed her posture and slapped her face to make sure she sees all that precious stuff right. Turns out, gems, gold and silk didn't disappear so, it must be true then..

Once the ywere alone, the mint adventurere got out of her gown and laid it aside, opting to stay comfortable instead. At first, she occupied herself with getting to know the layout and decor, musing aloud how to even describe it in her letter back home. Howeve, her mind didn't stay calm for long. Somewhere around... 4, if that clock even worked right, she started pacing around, and sitting in a chair, thinking, in turns, as she tried to think of a way to get their stuff back. Natural stayed awfully quiet until the meal, even though it didn't seem like seven to her. It seemed... later but, she was never really great with exact time.

The doorbell rang and Peony excused herelf, leving her companion to grab the meal. With a long sigh, she walked towards the doors and opened them, donning up her act of upper class. thankfully the stallion didn't ask for anything and just offered the meal on a nice trolley. As he went out, Natural sat by the elegant table and waited for Peony.

"I'll try to get the wagon back. Have to if we're to leave this island at all. It will be dangerous so, stay here till I come back. Or try to get home on your own from the morning, we both know it's not guaranteed success... I just hope thay're as dumb as they write." The mint mare mused as she ate, still at odds with whatthe clock was telling her. But,since it was still early, taking a shower second didn't seem like an issue. she even shrugged as Peony told her she's going downstairs to talk with the owner some. Maybe she was making a plan B already? Natural couldn't blame her, this whole thing was risky as a stroll across Hollow Shades at night. Still, a shower proved somewhat calming, brief as the effect would be anyway. After toweling and drying out as much as possible, the mare walked out of the bathroom, and decided to take a look from he balcony for a change. And try to make heads and tailsof where exactly she was in that maze of a city...

The air was cool, not evening cool but, night cool.The streets seemed to be empty and there weren't as many lights on in the windows as she would expect. Still, the Docks, where are they? Peering out, Natural noticedthe sea, and followed the roofs with her eyes till she saw some large, bulky buildings and cranes - these must be the Docks! Good. Just as she was about o turn around, a snall detail took her attention. A clock tower, it said...

"Oh no you didn't." - she cursed aloud as her head spun back and forth between the room clock and the clock tower. It was nearly midnight! And Peony was gone too! Natural Order stomped her hoof in anger as she ran into the suite, and then out, without picking anything on the way. There was no time to dress up or pick anything remotely useful, and all plans went to Tartarus. Her rapid hoosteps cannoned thorought the corridors and she even woke up the night guard with the noise, but she just ran past and into the open street. Navigating was tricky, especially in the dark, but, she somehow made it to the right place and as she ran, she saw a bunch of goons walking away from the dock, talking. Peony wasn't with them so she ducked for cover and had to wait it out till hey were gone. already tired, more from stress than running itself, natural stormed into the dock and saw...

Peony, trying to make the old tusty wagon move. On any other dday, it would be funny to watch her try but, tonight, Natural ran towards her comapnion and made a couple circles around her, as if afraid to stop until she was sure nopony was around to knock her down. Panting, she threw the doors open and peered inside - stuff seemed intanct, and the crossbow rested proudly on it's wall mount. Only then, did she let out a long sigh and slumped her posture, then slowly walked back to Peony. "What did you even think back then? And how did you manage to get our stuff back in the first place?! They were after you!" The answer was... rather vague but, Natural decided she won't get any better anyway. So, she just strapped herself to the harness and rocked the wagon back and forth, before leaping forward to give it momentum like she usually did. "Now try and explain that wagon to mister Comfort... or why we left in the dead of night for that matter."

They reached back to the stable, but, since it was basically shut forthe night, Natural just parked her wagon on the grounds and jotted a note it belonged to the mares from the royal suite,and it shoud not be disturbed. Saving up paper and charcoal to make impromptu ink has it's benefits, it seems. Sneaking pastthe sleeping guard was no issue whatsoever, and the duet finally reached their room. Natural set the clock back right and gave peony a disapproving look a she did so, before they finally decided to get some well deserved rest.

Morning was somewhat hectic - for once, Natural didn't wake at sunrise, maybe from all the stress from pervious night. Soon afet eight, there was a ring totheir door and a bellhop asked for their breakfast wishes, as well as with some clothing as promised.Natural decided to wear a much simpler outfit from said selection, a chocolate brown dress with some rose motifs on it. Still, she wondered how to compromise style with the wagon's harness... There were some questions about that random wagon that came out of nowhere but, thankfully, Peony managed to make some plausible excuse for it and paid in full before they departed to get their transport back to mainand Equestria.Natural was glad to be off from the Griffish Isles but, at the same time, wondered how exactly did they get their stuff back so easily.

For now, she had to brace for a long sea trip, and she had mixed feelings about it - being confined to it's hull, however roomy it may be, felt too limiting for her free roaming spirit.

@Nightmare Season @Dark Horse

Natural looked at the blindfolded mare as she was clearly the one with the bits in this whole deal, and her instinct proved true, obviously, as she began speaking about the fine details of their deal. Already expecting some hard bargaining, the mint mare was speechless when her offer was met and raised, even. For a moment, she eyed them both suspiciously, but finally nodded an agreement. "O-kay... That's something new. I guess we have a deal then, I never intended to stay here too long anyway."

As Peony suggested to grab the bits already, Natural couldn't really argue with her logic. That, and walking them off from here at least meant she woudn't get up so early only to see their names on the paper, under some murder article... She got up and waved at the bartender: "I;ll be back shorty, just walk these guys off to their ride." He didn't seem to bothered by the news, however. Some other patrons shifted in their seats but she shot a stern glare their way, and, seemingly, it helped in making their minds to stay put after all. That mare in a large hat was absent, although natural didn't see her leave. Strange but, nothing suspicious in a place like this.

The air outside was chilly and tasted like smoke, with only occasional lights shining outside from small windows and such. Even the Moon was obscured by clouds. Not the best conditions for a stroll through lower canterlot but, still. The trio managed to reach the carriage and Natural couldn't help but snicker and shake her head as she saw the ostentatious display of wealth. She waited as the unicorn fished out the bits and handed then out, occasionally glancing around, habitually it seemed. As the blindfolded mare pointed out the obvious, Natural Order sudenly came back to the present. "Oh? Anh, right, sorry. I'll just... okay, feel free to let it go now, I'm holding the purse." She felt the weight of those coins rest on her hoof, and hid the small pouch from prying eyes. "So, see you both tomorrow morning. I advise you pack lightly, sjust the essentials. Also, get something sturdy to wear - not necessarily Guard plate but, you know, plenty of sharp edges in Everfree. I'll make as much space in my wagon as I can and we'll stock up in Ponyville to save time and cash."

She looked at their now clients, and smiled reassuringly before leaving. "Don't worry, I'll be there. I may be at odds with the clock, but sunrise is good enough cue for me to head out. See you tmorrow then!" The mint mare waited until the piar embarked their carriage, and left to the more well off areas of the city. Turning around back to the inn, she smirked and shook her head. "This will be something to write back home... if I'll make it, that is."

@Nightmare Season @Dark Horse

Natural was looking at her company through lidded eyes, forelegs crossed over her chest as she seemed to ponder over something. Her ears reacted to Saffron's voice however, so, she was listening after all. A slight grimace crossed her muzzle as the stallion tried to cover up his little slip of toungue, and she sighed. "Riiiiight.... Then let's hope the worst we get there is a fallen tree, or we'll be fond memories soon enough."

She looked at the atlas once more, and closed it before sliding it back to Saffron."Here's my offer. 400 bits, 50 upfront for supplies and provisions. I won't risk scavenging in there for food and neither should you. I know it sounds like much, but it's Everfree, and, no offence but, you won't be much help if things go bad." She galnced at the silent mare across the table and adressed her. "Miss, like I'vesaid, I have a small wagon you could stay in for the trip, once I unload some crates and such to make more room inside... There's no use trying to sell the so, I guess I'l just try and barter them here in the inn or something... Still, that leaves with getting two cots for you, some food and maybe extra rope and such. I''ve got the rest of what I need with me anyway." She looked out the window as if expecting to see something through the dirty glass but, shook her head and got back to the conversation at hoof. "If that's fine by you, we can meet tomorow morning at the station to grab the first train to Ponyville. I would be there by... eight, I guess? Sometime after sunrise anyway."

The mint mare looked at both the ponies by the table in turn, and pondered aloud: "Let's just hope this won't be my last trip... So, do we have a deal?"

@Nightmare Season

I've seen the status updates, yeah... I just thought that, since you got back to our other Rp, you might have forgotten about this one. Still, take your time, it's not a race.

@Nightmare Season

Are you planning to take your turn in forseeable future? Just gauging whether you're still in this, you know.

@Nightmare Season

The mint mare eyed her companion curiously as she was making her mind, with an occassional glance away at the passerby. However, the way she cheerfully trotted towards Celestia knew where seemed... suspicuous to the earth pony. She grumbled under her breath as she rocked he wagon back and forth before louging it forward. "I don't like it..."

urns out, her sentiment only grew in intensity as they walked deeper into the densely populated streets, the accusing posters seemingly staring out of every flat surface that could hold them. Natural Order couldn't help but feel anxious, and not just because of her usual dislike for cities. One stupid pony and everything could go to tartarus right here, right now. Luckily, whoever guided her fate, didn't plan to put such events on her path just yet - instead, Peony led the way to a very elaborately decorated dress shop. A dress shop, of all things! Still natural conceded that she shouldn't stay outside, or let Peony out of her eye for that matter so, after neatly parking her wagon and hoping it wil still be there when they come out, she sighed audibly and went inside...

The duo of mares, apparetnly wirking there, gallopping towards them and calling her employer by name was, unexpected, and alarming to say the least - Natural almost bolted out on the street, but bumped on the closing doors instead. She looked around, frantically, as the scene unfolded. Only once Peony clarified their situation, and the strangers seemed to accept her words, did she relax a little and stand straight like a grown up pony she supposedly was. "I uhh, sorry, these posters keep me on edge. Nice to mee you, both of you." Since, apparetly, Peony excused herself to browse the new collection, and the clerks didn't follow her, the mint mare was faced wit hthe talk of keeping them company, it seemed. Although nodding and ocasionally interjecting seemed enough to keep the ball rolling, these two could talk old Boarmane's ears off, and he was the most talkative pony Natural knew! But the worst was yet to come for the poor guide - as Peony asked in that innocent tone for a "wardrobe upgrade" of her companion, Natural tried to taks her way out of it in any way she knew but, to no avail. As the mares started their work, she knew it was a lost cause. and by the look of the place, losing even one button on these dresses would cost her everything she had with her, or close to ir anyway. So, without any real choice, she had to submit to the onslaught of fashion. Once she was let out of the changing room, wearing her yearly pay's worth of clothing on her back, the mare mustered an awkward smile of appreciation. Hearing how casual the clerks dismissed any payment for this haul probably made her look really shocked, though.

Natural Order went outside the shop feeling light headed and acutely aware of every seam in her outfit, moving deliberately as if afraid to leave even folding marks on it. She simply nodded at Peony's advice, not really sure how to pull that stunt off, when she stood still, frozen, staring into blank space of the street.

Gone.

As her brain finally started working again, the mare slowly looked around, not making a sound as her pupils loked like pins from the sheer shock.

Gone!

"I.. I... but..." - she stuttered, still too shocked and confused to process what she was seeing. or more importantly, what she wasn't seeing. the wagon, it was nowhere to be seen! A few nudges seemed to catch her attention at last, and Natural noticed that her companion was holding a note in front of her. Some cheap paper, with a tear on top were it was pinned to something. It said, in barely legible Equestrian, with some bad grammar:

"We have yer stuff. Come to the Dock 6 at midnight ta get it back. Bring th' other one."

That finally broke the shackles on her mind. Exhaling the air she didn't know she was holdin all that time, Natural looked at Peony, and she looked positively pissed off."I walked entire Equestria up and down pulling that thing, repaired it more times that I can count to, And that crossbow was a gift from my mother, if you can believe that." She took a deep breath, trying to calm down even a tiniest bit but it didn't help. She continued, staring like a basilisk. "...But I gave my word, and I won't risk your safety. I just..." - her voice trailed off, and she wiped a tear, finally not caring about her outfit as much - "I just wanted you to know, I will miss them so damn much. Come, these idiots are probably looking..."

She led the way, even though she haven't had a faintest clue where to go. The ponies gave them lots of breathing space as they walked, seemingly two upper class stuck ups, one looking like she broke her favourite quill while writing a love poem and blaming the entire world for it, Natural Order glanced at Peony and asked, as calm as she could: "Do you have the tickets with you? Or any bits? We still need to spend the night somewhere, and hopefully reach Canterlot on what we have left. Grr, Celestia hold me or I'll just go there and drown them in that dock, no matter how many!"