Raven Rawne

@@Orange Sparks, "Scrambled eggs and hashbrowns, got it." Crys nodded and reached for the aforementioned foodstuffs, then passed them to Celeste. The crystal mare seemed content with stuffing herself as fast as decency allowed, and kept quiet as the sisters talked. She chipped in to reinforce Clare's statement about Dusty: "He sure did seem like a good type to me. Besides, keep in mind it's not one of those arranged marrriages where you have nothing to say - either you'd like him and decide to try, or not and come home. Take it at your pace and it'll be fine."

@@Orange Sparks, The crystal mare giggled at her fiance's remark: "Not sure about you, but I feel like a wolf after some harsh winter, so I'm not complaining on the full table." She took a moment to decide on what to start with and filled her plate with a few sausages with a scoop os scrambled eggs. "How about you too? Celeste? Would you like me to reach for something for you?

@@Nightmare Season, Crystal wasn't sure whether Nightmare wasn't in the mood or saw something, when he ignored her proposition and walked towards the end of the ridhe they were standing on. Things became apparent when he pointed a hoof in the distance and announced that their goal lies that way. the mare squinted her eyes, but it was just so far away... She brought ahoof over her eyes to see better - yeah, there was a valley snaking out of the glacier, and it seemed to be leading North. Suddenly, she felt a bump into her side andlost traction, since she was standing on three legs. Crystal shouted something as the treacherous layer of snow was suddenly replaced by ice and she began sliding downhill. The red mare took a glimpse of the stallion as she fell on her rump and slid down flank-first. He was... smiling? The mare found herself at the bottom of the slope, covered in snow as her sudden descent made her flank an impromptu snow plough. She was cold, and mostly in areas that didn't like this particular sensation, but she dug herself out and shook off the worst of the white cover, laughing as she did so. The mare looked at the top and saw the sneaky stallion waving at her. She returned the wave, still laughing maniacally, and and shouted his way in between her laughing fits: "Come on! Your turn!"

@@Orange Sparks, Crystal let go of her fiance and nodded enthusiastically: "That's the spirit!" She followed Clarissa out of the room. "Just keep an eye on me in the dining hall, lest I eat as much as the city garrison again!" The mare giggled as they walked the corridors fowards their destination. When they walked into the dining hall, Celeste was already waiting for them. Crystal offered her a reassuring smile: "it's okay, we took our sweet time to get here anyway." She sat next to her marefriend and scanned the table. "So.... what do we have here, huh?"

@@Orange Sparks, Crys let go of her conflicted thoughts "Heh, the little one sure is a heartbreaker, isn't she? Kinda hard not to love her from the start." She looked at her fiance - it seemed she really wanted to take this settlement under her gorgeous wings... "Aww, don't be sad, we still have time to figure where we want to live." The crystal mare walked towards the pegasus and gently hugged her midsection and purred into her ear. "We'll have a beautiful house, and I don't care where it'll be as long as you're there with me, okay? You said so yourself - we'll cross this bridge when we get there, right? C'mon, let's go get something to eat and borrow a carriage to the Cove. Betsy could use a break and we both could use a good feast, hmm?"

@@Nightmare Season, The mare smiled at the stallion as he proposed sliding down: "Heh, I'm sliding even if I won't have to get down fast! It was my favourite winter activity when I was little, after all. Snowball fights never really speaked to me..." She looked down under her hooves so she wouldn't trip, and continued the ascent. Nightmare was first to reach the top, and Crystal followed soon after. She led an audible gasp when she took in the view. "For the Love of Cadence, this place is just... If it wasn't in the middle of the Frozen North, I'd build a house here. The view is just so worth it!" The mare seemed really happy for once - the view on her hometown was just beautiful, and there was something really alluring in the snowy wasteland around them. She hopped from one place to another as she took a peek at different parts of the scenery, marvelling at some ice formation or the way sunlight reflected off the glacier, or some other natural phenomena. At some point she pounced and attack hugged the stallion, wrapping her forelegs around his neck and annoucing: "This place is just great! Really, really thanks for bringing me here! Makes me wish I was a painter so I could try and capture this beauty... She didn't have to take a look at herself to know that she crystallised from happiness - every crystal pony knows how it feels inside. The mare hugged the stallion one more time and let him go, then said in a joyful tone: "I'm so glad to have a friend like you in this mess." Crystal glanced at the slope, then at Nightmare, and made a sly grin. "So... wanna slide down?"

@@Orange Sparks, As the mares lips parted, Crystal smiled and replied in tone that left little for imagination: "Mhmm, I sure do love your fluffy flappers darling..." She stood for a moment, admiring her fiance as she fixed her mane and tail, then resumed her own preparations - she brushed her tail and donned her gorset and coat, then walked up to the mirror and styled her mane in her usual way. She was nearly done by the mirror when Clare walek up to her for a nuzzle, and she returned it with an extra kiss in the neck. "Oh I'm sure they'll let us drop in from time to time, even if just to take care of their foals for a bit. haha!" She giggled at the thought of these two getting to work - something about Celeste being a mother was so surreal. Crystal sat on the bed and tied her own boots while Clarissa relayed what her father said about the lord of Flounder Cove and their own intervention. Once she was done with the boots, she sighed and looked up at Clare. "Yeah... but they still paid the price of us merely being there. I asked my father to realocate some of my bits to buy building materials and pay the workers, should be enough to repair at least some of the damage... With luck, they'll start by theend of the week once they have the timber." She got up on her hooves and flexed them to make sure they're not tied too tightly. "All in all, I have mixed feelings about our time there."

@@Orange Sparks, Crystal Clear smiled at her fiance as she approached to her. The mare was halfway done with her preparations, having donned the pants and shirt. She sighed softly at the pleasant sensation the nuzzle gave her, and placed her hands on her fiance's hips, gently pulling her closer. Crys replied with a sly smile: "Oh don't worry about that, you're still hot as forge iron to me. Besides, all we need is good food and rest, and there's plenty of that around..." She moved in to return the nuzzle as Clare kept talking, and let her hands wonder to the base of the pegasus wings, caressing them. "Maybe Celeste would like to be the owner of the Cove? A wedding gift from us to them... Plenty of land to settle, after all. I doubt she'd be mad if we dropped in from time to time." As much as she wanted to contiune her ministrations towards a happy ending for them both, the crystal mare decided that they had other priorities for today, and slowly wound down her impromptu wing massage.

@@Nightmare Season, It took a few more minutes of flexing her aching legs, then a couple more of simply resting in place, but Crystal finally rolled on her belly and got up, then shook herself of any snow and dirt that might cling to her clothes, mane or tail. With a final sip of her water to drink it all, she announced: "I'm ready, let's take a look at the area." They walked out of their shelter and proceeded towards the landmark that Nightmare Season saw earlier. Finally free of the heavy burden, the mare picked up a speedy pace, considering the deep snow that is. She kept close to the stallion to benefit from the warmth of his flames. "If I recall correctly, we should follow the glacier until it takes a turn West, where we'll find a traversible path further North. Maybe we'll see it from here, the air is clear enough." Walking up the legge was a bit difficult - the snow was melting from the stallion's proximity and revealed the ice beneath, but the rise was gentle enough to let them ascend, slowly. The mare thought that sliding down could be actually pretty fun, once they reached the end of it.

@@Orange Sparks, Crys smirked at the young mare's reaction. "She sure is, but she's also my future wife. Guess we'll have to figure it out eventually." She didn't have much time to react as Celeste tackled her with an attack hug. The crystal mare just spread her arms, still laden with her choice of attire, and braced for it, laughing. Once she was off to her room, Crystal Clear dropped her clothes, along with the nightgown. on the bed and proceeded to brushing her coat. "She's just more spontanious and childlike. Don't worry, you're feminine enough for me anyway." The crystal mare gave herself a quick brush of the entire coat, and proceeded to dress up. She'll take care of her mane and tail once she's dressed.

@@Orange Sparks, The crystal mare was about to disappear in the adjacent roomto get brushed and changed, but she just had to "intervene" - She leaned on the door frame and cleared her throat, then said to Celeste in a playful tone. "Nope, mine! Now let go of my marefriend, snuggle fiend! You;ll have your own stallion to keep you warm soon enough..." She stayed to see if her fiance didn't need a rescue.

@@BloodDrops The "Red Menance", commonly known as Crystal Clear, was drumming her fingers on her console as the other Engineers completed the tests of "Luna's" warp drive. She kept her sights on the console before her, carefully observing as increasingly large portions of plasma were funnelled through the system. She was still mad at the ship for pulling that stunt with thruster temperature - it made her look bad before the captain. "Alright, the warp drive passed and we didn't blow up into space dust. So that's something..." She was about to signal bridge when one of the ensigns informed her that the Chef Medical wanted to speak with her. The mare rolled her eyes and said to her second: "Call the bridge, tell them the Warp Drive is ready. Theoretically at least. I'll entertain the butcher..." Crystal called to the ensign - "I'll take her to my console, you keep working. And prepare a repair order on those vents! Alpha team will have the honor of poking them with screwdrivers." A couple taps on the console and she saw the doc on the auxilliary screen - she wouldn't risk putting her on holo display, not with her personnel around. "What's up doc? Checking if we're on schedule?" - Crystal asked with just a hint of annoyance. She narrowed her eyes at the sudden request. "Hmm... once I make sure we won't blow up into spacedust, I'll send somepony to make the measurments and we'll see what can be done." There was something... off with the doctor. She couldn't put her finger on it quite yet though.The offer made her sigh and lean on the console. Serving 3 years on a hospital ship makes you lose all respect for medical personnel... "Thanks for the offer, but I'm still needed here. We need to slap this ship into shape before the big meeting with the captain. Maybe when I'm off duty though." The tactful approach seemed to bounce off the other mare like slingshot from armoured hull. Was she really so dense? Crystal gasped in shock as a bottle of wine appeared on screen - that hypocritical mare! Now everything made sense. Her throat felt dry, even though she wasn't really into wines. She bit her lower lip unconciously, then replied in a slow, even tone - Crystal didn't want to show she wouldn't mind a glass to wash off the stress. "I uhh... thank you for the offer, but really, I have to stay here and keep working. If you'll still have some when I'll end my shift, then why not, but not now, okay?" She sure hoped it would be enough to convince the mare.

@@Orange Sparks, Crys was still deciding what to wear when Clare mused about Celeste's future. She giggled as a peculiar thought crossed her mind. "Hey, wouldn't it be hilarious if we bought Flounder Cove and they decided to live there? Just think of the double dates! Not to mention once they have a handful of foals, that would be fun." She stepped into the room, showing her getup. "What do you think, love? Ah, knew you'd approve..." She tapped her chin in concentration and added. "Although a pair of fine gloves would make it even better..." Crys looked at the sleeping mare and sighed. "As much as I loathe waking up sleeping cuties, I guess she needs to get up. Could you give her a nudge while I go to the other room and get myself prepped? My coat needs some brushing, not to mention my bed mane." She blew her fiance a kiss and walked out to an adjacent room.

@@Nightmare Season, She nodded, flexing her tired hindlegs. "Well if you need to take a break at any time, just say the word. I sure won't complain." The mare sipped some more water, put the cup down and laid on her back, with all fours in the air, making some weird patterns with her legs in order to keep the blood flowing. She had no idea pulling that sleigh would be so hard, but then, her paid job was more about precision than raw strength. Crystal looked at Nightmare as he unfolded his plan. She scratched her nose and replied playfully: "Sure, if you'll carry me over there, I'm all in! Seriously though, it's a good idea, but I won't move anywhere until I can feel my hooves again. Damn heavy sleigh. Could you wait for me?" She finished with making her patented crystal puppy eyes.

@@Orange Sparks, The mare sat up in the bed and stretched, looking at sleeping Celeste, then replied: "Guess you're right, we used to sleep together when we were younger... Damn, the memory makes me feel so old." She slid oud of bed and stood on her hooves, stretching some more to get the sleepiness out of her system. Once she was finished, Crys combed her bed-mane straight back with her fingers. "Ahh, much better. Although I doubt she'll keep us company now that she's one step from getting a colt herself." An appraising look at Clare: "Well, you know how I like you most, but this getup is really, really nice." The red mare walked towards the wardrobe, opened it and thought about her ensemble for today. "Hmm... those charcoal pants and knee high hoofboots are a must. Then a white shirt... ah, what the hay, let's take that nice black underbust corset and this cherry red knee length light coat!" She pouted slightly. "Where's a bombastic feathered hat when you need one... No matter, this will do nicely."

@@Orange Sparks, Crystal Clear woke up, feeling movement in the bed. She had no idea if it's night or day, only that the mare next to her wasn't moving, and she still felt somepony moved in the bed. Weird. She laid still for a moment, but finally her curiosity won over the desider to sleep some more. The mare freed a hand and rubbed one eye to make it open. "Did I go out at night and bed some random mare?" - she thought to herself as her mind only started working, and alrady had a puzzle to solve - where she expected her finace, there was somepony else. She rubbed the other eye open and took a better look at her surroundings. So she was in her bed, at least that much was correct. It took a moment to registere that next to her was Celeste - been a while since she pulled a stunt like this. Crys took a mental note to sleep decently with Clare with her around... The crystal mare proped herself on her elbows and was greeted with a blinding ray of sunlight directly into her face. She goaned in protest and turned her head away from the light. Only then did she see Clare. "mmm, hello sweetie, seems like we had company this time round." She nodded at Celeste.

@@Nightmare Season, The mare was relieved that it was safe out there. Frankly, she didn't stand a chance against anything worse than harsh language while strapped to the sleigh. She smiled at Nightmare and nodded. "Alright! I'll pull this thing right nezt to the entrance. N-ghhhhh!" She dug her hooves in the snow and pulled the heavy burden with all her strength until it started moving again. The mare parked her supplies so that they would block the view at them from the distance, then felt the harness gently unstrap off her. "Uff, thanks Nightmare, I really needed to get out of this thing..." She flexed her back, feeling where the straps dug into her. "O-oww, that kinda hurts. Blasted harness, it's a torture device or what? 'If not for my thick clothes, I'd have bruises for sure..." She saw a reasonably clean place in the floor and walked towards it, then tried to get rid of the snow that drifted inside with a foreleg. Finally, deciding it's all for naught, she layed down on her side with a deep sigh and absentmindedly smoothed out the grooves in her clothes with a hoof. Crystal's ears perked up once she heard Nightmare taling to her. She didn't lift hr head, but replied all the same. "Honestly? I'm just as surprised as you. Maybe once my business is bankrupt I'll switch over to woodworking..." SHe saw a cup levitating in front of her and took it in her hooves, smiling at the stallion. "Thanks. I could use something to drink." She propped herself against the wall and took a sip of the water, eyeing him from beneath her warm cap. "How are you holding up? Does it hurt a lot? I need some rest anyway so we can try and make some painkillers for you or something."

@@Orange Sparks, Crystal turned to face Clarissa, with a wide grin on her face. "I know right! Told You Master Vice Grip knows his trade. And this set will be that much ligher than my Academy one too!" She looked a bit puzzled as Clare mentioned her gift, until it dawned upon her when she mentioned the ring. Crys brought her hand up and lookd at it, oblivious to the fact that Clare was already drifting off to sleep. "Heh, I can't argue with that now can I? Although if you put it tnat way, your gift is way better than my dad's, and I mean waaaay better!" She looked at the pegasus and noticed she fell asleep. "Already? Well guess I'll be joining you soon enough then." A big yawn and the overall fleeling of tiredness after an eventful day, and a huge meal, were enough evidence that it was high time to catch some Z's. Crystal stripped off her dress and hung it in a wardrobe, then took her nightgown out of it and put it on. She walked to the bed and snuggled to Clare, then fell asleep.

Crystal sensed tha captain's displeasure, and nodded as he paraphrased her advice. After Helm's been notified, she tried to save her face: "I'm sorry sir but the vessel has been towed in here all the way from the shipyard... There was no way to test the thrusters or warp drive before." Her shoulders sagged a bit as Mentis left the Engineering. The mare rested her hands on the console, leaning on it. After a moment, she let out a low growl and kicked the base of her console, adding a spiteful announcement for the ship: "Mean bitch of a ship! You had to start breaking apart right now?!" She saw concerned engineers looking at her and snapped at them. "What?! You wan't to volounteer to fix that impulse bank? Start pumping plasma to the nacelles, test run, 5% capacity." She balled her hand into a fist and tapped the main screen on her console. The crystal mare said quietly: "Break down and I'll blow your warp core into confetti, hear me?"

@@Nightmare Season, The mare was relieved - it seemed he didn't notice she skipped this and that. Although the near encounter with his sister was troubling her... She nodded eagerly at the promise of cleaning up the blood from her dreams, and listened to the rest of his lecture. Him mentioning that she'll see his memories till he dies was met with a stern look - it wasn't funny! Crystal was fighting her own insrtincts whether to tell Nightmare abut her sister nearly seeing her. But then, what's the guarantee he won't recall the unicorn mentioning the other gift? That would do South really quick. So she kept it shut and pulled the sleigh with all her strength - it was easy to say she'll do it when she didn't know how bucking heavy this thing is... Nightmare broke the silence and Crystal blinked in surprise, torn away from her train of thought. "What?" He pointed a hoof at the direction of the cave. "O-oh! Right! A cave. I sure could use a break you know. You scout ahead and see if it's safe, and I'll pull this thing inside. Or something along these lines." She smiled somewhat and braced to pull the heavy sleigh in a new direction. She was nearly at the entrance when Nightmare emerged from his scouting trip. Crystal pointed at him with her snout and asked in aresonably quiet tone. "All clear?"

@@Orange Sparks, Crys chuckled humorlesly: "Like I'd allow THAT to happen..." She slowly rose to her hooves. That drape over her armor bugged her. "I'd like to wear something nice, but casual enough not to stand out too much... Maybe just shirts with jackets for warmth? With pants of course. We could take a blade each just in case too. I just don't feel like visiting Flounder Cove with enough gold on me to buy the village tenfold, and neither am I thrilled with wearing plate for nothing. What do you think?" The mare slowly walked over to the armor stand and pulled the fabric out of it. She announced with a whistle: "Well well... seems he didn't lie, it is a fine graduation present." Her eyes saw a new set of armour - a mix of plate and sturdy jack, jet black metal with red cloth and gold accents. It had a visored helmet, much like the previous one, but with added protection for the back of the neck. The breastplate was a unique design, based on the old set she found in the ruins. Segmented midsection allowed movement with her waist without compromising protection. The gaps between shoulderpads, elbow guards and long gauntlets weren't secured with mail, but the gambeson underneath had leather straps for added protection. The legs weren't as covered either - only plate sabatons and greaves, leaving the thighs unprotected if not for the ankle long, padded coat reinforced with leather strips and sewn mail up to the knees. This time there was no wolf cloak. Crystal stood in front of her graduation gift, speechless.

@@Nightmare Season, Crystal Clear considered Nightmare Season's reply, studying him for any hint of lying. She found none, and it improved her mood somewhat. "Thank you. For everything." - the mare replied in a serious tone and resumed the trek. The sudden question abut the stallion's memories made her jolt a bit. Since it was an obvious cue, she decided to tell the truth, at east as much of it as reasonably possible. "Well, yes. I saw more of your memories... I don't know if you choose what I see but it wasn't a nice one. Basically, I saw you running from some big city, until you lost your strength. You looked really malnourished back there. Some blind unicorn picked you up and gave those cards. Tar-root, they're called? Strange name..." She shot a glance at the stallion to check if he's suspecting she ommitted anything.

@@Mentis Soliloquy, The mare checked her console and replied: "Since we're in the clear from the station, we can start funnelling warp plasma to the nacelles and see how the whole assembly reacts. Twenty minutes for tests, give or take, and if I get greens all across the board, we can warp out of here." She looked at the captain with the corner of her artificial eye. "Just one thing sir... May I ask for a reasonable warp speed for the first hour? Somewhere aroung Warp 4. I'd like to see how the vessel reacts to it. If nothing's overheating and such. Once I'm sure the nacelles won't blow up, we can go as fast as necessary." She was about to adress the second issue brought by the captain when a faint buzz was heard from her earpiece. Crystal brought her hand up and said quietly: "Apologies captain, it's my repair crew." She flickered her ear and replied to the unseen engineers: "I hear you, what's the status of our busted thruster?" A buzz, this time longer. "Fried circuitry? Nasty business. But you're sure it will work now, right? Another buzz. "Hmm, okay, get out of there and give me a heads up once you're in the corridor, then stay put. I'll power it up and see if it works. Crystal Clear out." Crystal Clear allowed herself a small smile as she turned to face the captain. "Sir, I am pleased to report that my team has fixed the thruster. Once they're out of the red zone, I'll power it up and make sure it works as intended, then we'll have 100% impulse power." Her smile faded into a deadpan mask once she changed the topic. "As for the doctor... She contacted me earlier over the comms. Asked about the vents and whether we have any medical issues to attend. I said we don't have any and asked if she doesn't have anything for us to do but..." The mare shrugged. "She terminated the link. Although we could cobble up something for her, yeah. Unless she doesn't change her mind, I could send a team once we're done with the esentials." Another buzz from the earpiece. "Ah, time to test that thruster." Crystal turned to her console and cycled through the screens until she found the Starboard Impulse Bank controls. One dot was red. She typed the commands, unconciously sticking her tongue out while working. The dot flashed yellow, then solid green. Crystal announced triumphantly: "Aaaand done! Everything's working just as intended." She cycled to the overview for all impulse thrusters and signalled her team: "Good job, it's working like brand new! Get back and have something cool to drink. Thruster banks are hot like ovens..." A yellow light lit up on the port bank, making the mare groan. "Aww what now?! Stupid bank is overheating now that it's on 100%. I advise cutting impulse thrust to 50% until we warp, and once it cools down I'll have it checked. It's too hot to work there right now." She turned to the captain with a raised eyebrow, awaiting his reaction.