open By the Grace of Luna's Deep Pockets - A Saga

[DustyQuill 15]

As the sun starts to set far off to the west, the sky's blue hue begins to lose the battle with orange and purple shafts of light that blend and twist into what can only be described as a picture-book sunset. I turn my gaze back away from the dying influence of the sun and whirl around to the east, watching intently as the moon's ghostly glow breaks the horizon, shining brightly and leaving me without a moment of true darkness. As the moon finally rises fully over the hills to the east, I whistle in admiration, a low whistle that breaks the until-then silent majesty of the whole spectacle.

"Geez," I say to myself as I pull out my trusty scroll and with a flash of blue unicorn magic begin to write a description of what I just saw. "Those two sure know how to put on a show," I mutter as I finish writing minutes later. By now the sun has completely abandoned my field of view, and night's cool blue shade wraps the earth in nocturnal comfort. It was only at this time that I notice the sun was not the only source of fire's light in the area; a little ways to the north, up the trail, I notice a faint glow of a campfire off the side of the road.

I trot happily up the trail, pleased as punch with the writing I had accomplished that day. A few moments later, I reach the campsite and notice the canvas tent pitched near the welcoming and radiant fire. I look around for a moment, but see nopony so far.

"Hello there! Anypony here?" I ask to the air in front of me.

((OOC: wherein anyone can jump in))

Link to the OOC thread: http://mlpforums.com/topic/105492-slice-of-life-the-return-of-dusty-edition/

Edited July 29, 2014 by DustyQuill

[yeet 2,026]

As the last rays of sunlight fade away, I slowly walk through the dense forest. With a coffin strapped to my back, and my hat on. I pull my sunglasses down slightly, but then immediately push them back up. In the distance I see smoke in the air. Either a forest fire or campers. I say to myself. And begin trotting in that direction. The gentle wind blowing against my back. 

 

The trail begins to go uphill, but I continue to the slowly growing flames within the middle of a small section. As I get even closer to the now visible campsite, I begin to hear the slow crackles of the gleaming fire. When I finally arrive at the camp, I see what seem like empty tents. The camp seems deserted. When a pony comes from the other side and speaks, I jump up and climb into a tree, making only a cracking noise from a weak branch that breaks under my weight. The pony seems to be looking for the ponies that are camping here. The fire dies down slightly as the wind stops suddenly for a few minutes. The only sound that can be heard is the crackling fire, and the other ponies heavy heart beat.

 

(is that alright?)

[DustyQuill 15]

((That's fine))

As I hear the branch break, I start backwards a bit. I look around the campsite, looking intently for anypony that might be hiding just outside the fire's reach. The campfire creates strangely-shaped shadows that make it very difficult to tell if it's just plants or if there really is something out there. I start pacing around the fire in wide circles, looking in all directions for something to happen. While I am acutely aware that I could just light up my horn to get a much more satisfying light that would tell me plenty, the writer in me can't help but wait and see rather than ruin this suspenseful moment. After a moment, I sigh and pop a squat on one of the stumps around the fire ring that serves as a chair. I open my black leather saddlebag and pull out my scrolls that I had filled that day: ten full scrolls in all, an excellent day's haul. Eventually, I look up.

"Not to be cliche or anything, but is somepony out there?" I ask, looking up, down, and around the entire area, eyeing everything carefully.

[yeet 2,026]

I watch the pony slowly circle the camp, and eventually give up and sit on a stump. I jump to another tree to see what he is doing better. Scrolls? What are they for? I saw to myself, but then stop thinking for a moment as he calls out to see if anyone is here. Slowly I get down from the tree, and then walk towards the camp. Within a few steps I get into the range of light coming from the fire and walk closer. "Hi." I say to the mysterious pony, and walk closer towards him. Once I am next  to him, I carefully drop my coffin onto the floor and sit on the stump next to him. We sit in silence, hoping he will say something first. I pull my coffin closer and rest it on the side of the stump, and then take my sunglasses off, then stick them in a pocket. The sound of the fire cracking becomes loud as I watch it, wondering what the pony has the scrolls for, and why he has so many of them. To break the awkward silence I finally talk. "So, what brings you to this part of the forest?" I say to him, hoping for a decent response from him.

 

(No one else is here yet)

[DustyQuill 15]

As the pony with the coffin on his back emerges, I brighten up considerably. "What brings me to this part of these woods? Why, the same thing that brings me to any part of any woods!" I explain. "I am a travelling writer, an author whose sole passion is to travel all this land and write about all that I see, and as I travel, to share that writing with others. I will see the world, and when I am finished I will have become a household name! In case you were wondering, that name is Dusty Quill. Most ponies just stick with Dusty though." I pause, then gather up all my scrolls and replace them in my bag. I turn back to the strange pony, and notice his broken horn.

"Hey there, you may wanna get that looked at. Kinda looks painful, to be honest." I then see the coffin and recognize it for what it is. "By the way, if you don't mind my asking, why are you carrying such, uh, uncommon cargo with you? Not here to ditch the body of your latest in a series of heinous crimes, are you?" I say with a smirk. "Although if that's the case, I imagine that'd make for some killer writing material."

[yeet 2,026]

I listen to him explain himself about being a traveling writer, and being in the woods. "I see, Dusty. Well you seem to have a lot of, uh, work to do then. And the horn, it's fine." I use the broken horn to light the area up. "It broke. But for some reason still works." I turn the light off, and then chuckle at your questions about the coffin. "Nope, no body in here. Only body that ever goes in here is mine. It's my home." I attempt to explain. "See, i've been living in here for years, I sleep in here." I open it to reveal a set of clothes, and a cushioned inside to the coffin. "See. Years I tell you." I close the coffin and then put it down again. "There was no body in there. So no story for you." I tilt my hat forward so it is mainly covering my face. "This is why I carry it. It is my resting place." I tilt the hat backwards so I can see again, and then get up and walk towards the fire. "It's pretty warm here. Do you know these ponies? The ones that are supposed to be here?" I ask Dusty. Hoping to find out why he was at this specific spot.

 

(Wow, what a block of text.) 

 

[DustyQuill 15]

I listen intently as my company explains his bizarre living quarters. Once he is finished explaining, I am just about beaming. "You carry your entire living space on your back?? That's so cool! As is the fact that you work with half a horn as if it were whole. You think I couldn't glean a story out of that? Good sir, I'm afraid you couldn't be more wrong. Unique ponies like yourself are what keep writers like me in business."

I stand up and stretch, then once more begin pacing, my striped scarf fluttering lazily behind me. "To tell the truth, I have no idea who lives here. I only got here just a bit ago, hoping to find somepony here, but the camp appears empty. What's suspicious to me is that there's no way that's true. You see," I say, pointing at the fire, "the fire here is still burning bright, freshly fueled. Whoever set this fire was also tending to it not long ago at all. In addition," I point to the tent, "the tent is completely free of dirt or any other sign of having been here long. The fact is, whether this camp is abandoned or not, it hasn't been for long."

[Spacey 748]

Being the spontaneous one I am. I came trotting down the road with a bag of marshmallows and chocolate to make the scrumptious chocolate marshmallow sandwiches I love so much. It has been awhile since I let to get food and wondered if any pony arrived while I was gone. The night was definitely a good one to have a campfire. I was sure to put a couple more pieces of wood on the flame before I left. The thought of the campfire burning down the forest it was in kind of made my pace quicken so insure nothing had gone wrong.

 

Coming up onto the lit camp area I seen two other figures sitting by the fire. I finish eating a marshmallow I popped into my mouth and swallow before trotting up to them with a smile. "Hello you two, my names Spacer. I seen you found the campsite. marshmallow or chocolate anyone?" I said in a polite manner before sitting on a log near the fire in search of a stick to cook a mellow. I couldn't see the faces of the ones who were already around the fire. My eyes had not adjusted to the light of the fire yet I was determined to make some snacks for my hungry belly.

[Phony 10]

Jeez I picked the wrong day to go hiking. I thought as I struggled to keep my hoofing on the rough patch of terrain. Then as I proceeded forward, I was distracted by a light in the distance and consequently, I tripped on a branch. My face went first into the dirt and the heavy weight from my saddlebag made it even even more uncomfortable. A lady bug crawled into my view and started staring at me as I did the same.

"Oh you have it easy," I said to the ladybug, before I hoisted myself up from a nearby tree branch. After that I wiped the dirt from my face and started moving towards the light. I bet somepony there may be kind enough to give me a towel or cloth. And some directions from a map would be nice.

 

I took off my saddlebag and looked through it. It was all the clothing and items I had packed, as I couldn't no longer pay rent for my previous home. Though no food was left, but a good amount of bits were present. Of course, there were no vendors of any kind in sight. I looked to the light again. And maybe some food and water.

Pretty soon the camp was in view and I grinned as I saw 3 ponies conversing. "Hi uh... Mind if I crash here for a while?" I asked as I set down my saddlebags.

[Courageous Thunder Dash 7,822]

The griffon pony came flying through the skies and landed on a dirt path. "I wonder who's out tonight..." She thought to herself as she continued to walk the dirt path. Chelsea kept walking until she saw a faint light up ahead. "I wonder what that could be." She said as she continued to walk towards it. When she came to a certain distance of it, she noted it to be a campfire. "Ooh! A campfire. I bet some ponies are cooking up some smores there!" She said to herself with a giggle as she continued to walk towards the campfire, licking her chops with a happy smile. 

 

As she arrived at the fire, she saw several ponies including a blue pegasus mare and two other ponies who appeared to be in deep conversation. She stopped. "Uhh...hi everypony...I'm Chelsea..." She said with a smile as she sat down on her rump by the fire, and waited for one of the ponies to turn and acknowledge her. She didn't want to ruin the fire, but really wanted to show her abilities. However, she managed to keep this impulse under control, and continued to wait for a pony to answer her. 

[DustyQuill 15]

Upon seeing Spacer return, I point a hoof at her dramatically. "And this must be the pony in question! I suspect that this is your campsite, is it not??" I then promptly lower my hoof and smile amiably. "Whether or not that's true, nice to meet ya! Name's Dusty Quill, and this is...uh..." I turned my head to look at my seated companion, then turned back, "a friend of mine. Nice place you got here, and," I smell your cooking supplies, "nice goods you seem to have brought back. I don't suppose you have enough to share?"

 

As if on cue, after the word 'share' two others appear almost at the same time. "Well I hope the answer is yes, because apparently this is the place to be on this lonely autumn night!" I extend a white hoof to the new additions to the night's company. "Hi there! If this were my campsite, I'd say make yourselves at home, but as it is, I'll stick with it's nice to meet you all!" I magic my small, roundish glasses off and polish them with my scarf, then put them back on. "Ah, so your name is Chelsea," I say with a smile as the griffin introduces herself. "And who might you be?" I ask the remaining denizen.

[Courageous Thunder Dash 7,822]

@@DustyQuill,

 

"Yep! That's me! As you can see, I'm a griffon-pony! I have pony ears, half eagle, and a lion tail and back paws!" Chelsea said with a giggle as she shook the stallion's hoof. She was very happy meeting a new friend, and couldn't wait to tell him her story. "So...what brings you out here tonight? Did you stumble upon this camp while walking?" Chelsea asked curiously as she looked around the place. It looked rather small, but the surroundings all around them were quite large. It looked like an open space from Chelsea's point of view. 

 

She then glanced at the other two ponies who were sitting by the campfire. She then noticed some marshmallows. Her griffon side told her to take one and they wouldn't mind, but her pony side said to ask. She then turned back to Dusty. "Uhm...Dusty...do you mind if I take one of those marshmallows?" Chelsea asked pointing to the bag of marshmallows that were near the campfire. She was a bit hungry, since she had not eaten anything since she had left her home in Ponyville to go exploring for the night.

[Spacey 748]

I giggled at the dramatic effect and nodded. "You would be correct. It took me most of the day to set this up." I said acting like I worked for a week straight. "Nice to meet you Dusty. I assure you I was expecting more ponies soooo if anyone wants a marshmallow or chocolate I got your hook up right here." I said waving the bag of goodies over my head before placing it on a tree stump near me. I was interested to know about the other ponies that arrived but my quest for a stick was bugging me. I got up and squinted at the ground hoofing it at times to only find too small of a stick or accidentally break it in half by stepping on it. I should have done this during the day I thought turning my ears to listen in on who every pony else was.

 

I probably looked silly scanning the ground randomly but I heard that one pony was half griffon and decided to look up a quick second to make out an outline of Chelsea. Before I could get a clear view of her face my head lightly grazed the side of a tree which made me tense up. Ugh if there is a bug on me I am going to flip out I thought before noticing it was a tree. Breathing a sigh of relief I continued my search.

[DustyQuill 15]

I laugh a bit as Chelsea asks me if she can have some of the food. "Haha, not mine to give I'm afraid. You'll have no choice but to take it up with Miss Spacer over here," I say with a smile and a friendly wink. "So, not all pony but not all griffin, either, huh? Interesting combo, and if my writer's sense is correct, and it always is, there must be one hay of a story behind that. Am I close?" I say, eyes gleaming behind my glasses. In the meantime, I get out my scrolls once more, but as I try to pull out a blank one, a couple others fall out. One in particular loses its lavender ribbon binding and comes unfurled. In a fraction of a second, my eyes widen and I scramble to pick it up and roll it back into shape with my magic, while the others are placed back in my bag. With my mini-crisis averted, I laugh off my nerves and once again turn to Chelsea, horn glowing, ready to begin writing. "Would you mind giving me a short synopsis of how something like that comes about? It could be an excellent supplement to an idea I've been playing around with."

[Phony 10]

I smiled. "Oreo at your service," I replied as I tipped my cap and bowed in respect, to all that were present in my view. "I have been traveling in search of work. It would be nice if one of you could point me to the nearest work for hire?" I continued.

 

Suddenly I was awakened by the sweet smell of marshmallows and chocolate and my stomach growled. My nose pointed towards the pony holding the sugary treats. "May I have one?" I asked before putting my front hooves together. Pretty soon I found myself munching down on one of the s'mores. I thanked the pony and sat down with the rest of the group. "So... Why is everypony out here?" I asked, looking through my things and organizing them. A bunch of ponies and a griffon-esque pony out in the middle of the forest. Not sure what I should assume here. I thought, rubbing my forehead. I moved and laid my back onto the stump of a tree. Then I sneezed. It was a bit foolish to move away from the fire as it began to become chillier for me. I pulled a jacket out of my bag and donned it without hesitation.

 

((forgive my poor reaction time))

[DustyQuill 15]

I find myself increasingly elated by the wave of new arrivals. The one downside up to this point in my travels has been the solitude, but I see now that there may be a chance for companionship after all.

"Everypony?" I summon the group's attention despite the equally-enthralling s'mores. "I have an offer, no, a request, that I think you all would like to hear."

[Spacey 748]

Successfully finding my stick and grab it in my mouth and trot back to where dusty was about to make his request. I slowly put a marshmallow at the end of the stick and set it in the fire.

 

After hearing Oreo's story I looked over every pony that was now huddli g around the fire. I was now feeling the chill of night on my back and shivered and huddled close yo the crackling fire.

[DustyQuill 15]

I clear my throat and stand up tall. When I speak, my voice is a bit lower than normal, and more serious. "It is my duty and my quest to travels these lands and inscribe all that I survey, gaining knowledge, wisdom, following, and yes, money, for the purposes of both my personal glory and the glory of the princess of the night, our own Luna." My voice returns to normal. "Y'see, I am a recent graduate of the Manehatten University School of Scholars, and when I graduated I was given a stellar opportunity. There's this new program that all the top tier schools in Equestria are participating in called Luna's Travelling Writers. It's basically a program wherein a new writer like me is given funds from the royal treasury to finance the writer's travels around Equestria in order to sell and spread his or her work. In other words, I get to go wherever I please, and the condition is that I give a percentage of all my profits back to the treasury for the rest of my life. It's a tough bargain, but I plan to make the most of it by seeing the world!

 

"Which brings me to my real point. I have been given an indefinite amount of money to spend, and I know full well that without interesting friends and companions my writing will suffer. So in the interest of preserving my career, and yes, in the name of fun, I would like to offer you all a chance to come with me and see the world! Whaddaya say?" I grin pleadingly.

[Courageous Thunder Dash 7,822]

@@DustyQuill,@,

 

"Wow! That's really cool!" Chelsea said with a giggle. Suddenly...her stomach growled. "Uhh...I guess it's time I get something to bite." Chelsea said blushing a bit. She then went near Spacer and waited for her. "Uhm...miss...could I have a few of those marshmallows?" Chelsea aske.d 

[Spacey 748]

My eyes felt the heat of the fire as I listened to dusty give a very tempting offer along with why he was here. It seemed to good to be true but seeing his scrolls and glasses made me beleive he was telling the truth.

 

"I wouldnt mind going with you at all dusty. I was going to travel a bit anyway hence the camp out here" I said with a smile.

 

@@DustyQuill,@,

 

"Wow! That's really cool!" Chelsea said with a giggle. Suddenly...her stomach growled. "Uhh...I guess it's time I get something to bite." Chelsea said blushing a bit. She then went near Spacer and waited for her. "Uhm...miss...could I have a few of those marshmallows?" Chelsea aske.d

 

I seen Chelsea come up to me and gave a friendly smile. "Of course you can" I said hoofing the bag of mellows to her "have as many as you want" I said pulling out a brownish mellow from my stick in the fire. I blow on it a couple times and smush it in between twopeices of chocolate and munch on it. "Mmm mmm" I say closing my eyes taking in the flavors.

[DustyQuill 15]

I grin. "Starting tomorrow, we all could set off on the greatest adventure than anypony ever adventured! It'll be magical, and what's more, I suspect we all will make some wonderful new friendships on the way. Sound good to anypony else, because it sure does to me."

[Gloomfury 243]

@@DustyQuill,((Sorry, I fell asleep.))

 

Bayonet was wondering though the woods, which she likes to do pretty often. She been walking for a while now and was starting to get a little tired. As she got deeper in the woods she could hear talking that sound like it was coming from a group of ponies. When she got to a clearing she saw a small group of ponies and one griffin. Then she heard one of them talking about going on a big adventure. She couldn't help but be interested. So got closer and rose a hoof. "Would you mind one more joining you?"

[yeet 2,026]

(Was sleeping when most of this happened, is on pc now)

 

I sit back down on the stump as more ponies emerge from the forest, and listen to them all chattering to each other. Dusty begins to tell us all about a journey he is going on, completely funded by a university or something. "Maybe. I guess I have nothing better to do." I pull a flask out of a pocket and take a sip from it, then put it back into the pocket. 

[Phony 10]

Hmmm... go on an adventure with a bunch of ponies I just met or find an underpaid, backbreaking job... I thought to myself, hoof on my chin. "Umm.. count me in!" I said. "But there's one thing I gotta ask. If you have almost infinite funding from the royal treasury, how do you, you know, get it while traveling? I mean does some pigeon carrying a bag of bits come to you?" I scratched my head as to how it would've been possible.

[DustyQuill 15]

I chucke a bit at the question, then pull from my bags a shiny metal card about three inches by two inches, on which is a silver rendition of Luna's cutie mark on a navy blue background. "For any shopkeeper in Equestria, this oughta be enough to cover it. See, this card allows the shopkeeper to take the amount of my purchase out of their taxes, plus a couple courtesy bits. Basically, I'm a walking tax break. So everypony wins!"