open [RP] The Blackwater Quarry

[cwhip9 1,078]

@@Randimaxis, @@Blitz Boom, As the batpony was hugged by ziggy cresent relaxed a bit more with how the day had been going. From the charts, to the finding of clues in the cave; to the flim flam brothers down to the freak flood out of nowhere cresent had to admit. Today is going in the books for most hey hitting the fan in one day, or at least at work life wise.

 

"that's our ziggy" he said patting the mare with his wing "now then, we got a blackwater to talk to and more pony's to help out, c'mon doc" cresent said helping Ziggy out of the whole.

 

Once topside he realized scarlet was gone and made a mantel note to catch up with her once the adulating once done and over with his tummy began to growl for food as he realized he hadn't even eatin much, or he didn't remember eating. He then looked at Slapper as he got top side as well before saying "As much as I pride myself on knowing the mines layout, I honestly don't know where the boss's office is, you" the bat pony asked.

 

It was an odd question from him which probably surprised those around him not knowing the mine too well.

[Randimaxis 8,633]

@Blitz Boom - @cwhip9

 

 

Slapper gave Crescent a look for a moment before the realization kicked in.

 

"Waaaaaaait a minute - you've never BEEN in trouble before, have ya?  So of COURSE you don't know where the office is!  No worries, Cress... well, ALMOST no worries... it's, uh... it's in the Blackwater Manor.  It's his study."

 

Knee turned quickly to Ziggy.  "But it's okay!  Really!  I mean, I've been in there plenty, and I'M still working here, right?"  He chuckled.  "No need to worry so much, Zigs - Luther?  He KNOWS, I tell you.  If you didn't do ANYTHING wrong, he'll know."

 

He shrugged.  "Of course, if any of us DID do it, he'll know THAT, too.  He just... he just tends to KNOW.  I mean, his wife has her own little spy network and all, but Luther can just stare at you for a bit and K N O W."  He gave the tiniest of shivers.

 

"He's scary... but you don't have to worry one whit if you haven't done anything wrong."

 

 

@Mentis Soliloquy

 

 

Grill paused as he swept, hearing Scarlet grumbling.

 

"Actually, I'm only retiring 'cause I'm gettin' too achey in the knees to keep comin' all the way up here each 'n' every mornin'... y'want me to be honest?  I don't really wanna quit; the miners here're one heckuva bunch - one ya get to know 'em, that is - and they're kinda like a second family to me.  Feels kinda like I'm leavin' home, to be honest..."

 

He looked around the place again, then went back to sweeping the water towards the back doorway.

 

"But, I got a LOT o' bits saved up from workin' here; the wife wants a home in Manehattan, and we got enough bits to do exactly that.  So, Saddle Row for her... and plenty o' cider bars for me!"

 

He gave a slightly rusty laugh at that, then sighed and went back to his work.

 

"If you're takin' over, maybe you'd like ta know some o' the quirks this old trailer's got in her - 'course, that depends on if you feel like hearin' an old fry cook yammer on."

 

 

@DwhitetheGamer

 

 

Luther had been heading back to the manor when Copper stopped him and gave his report.  As the blue pony ran down the tally of damages, Luther's cold stare got angrier and angrier.  By the time Strikes had reached the end of his list, he could see the massive muscles in the stallion's hind legs flexing; Luther wanted to KICK something, and chances were whatever those hooves connected with would be absolutely PULVERIZED.

 

Then, Copper mentioned the races.

 

There had been a good reason why Copper had been told to keep mum about them... as he now discovered for himself.  Luther's eyes nearly bugged out of his skull when he heard Copper's question.

 

"WHAT!?  The miners have been TOLD - DO NOT RACE THE MINECARTS!"

 

He visibly ground his teeth... and Copper wasn't sure, but he thought he smelled smoke.  Luther stepped directly up to Copper, coming eye-to-eye with the racing pony before speaking in a very soft, very low, and VERY serious voice.

 

"Whomever has told you such will never set hoof in this quarry again - take me to them.  This ends NOW."

 

... oops...

[DwhitetheGamer 867]

@@Randimaxis, 

 

There were no regrets from Copper.  There was a reason why the miner said to not mention it to the fore-ponies, 

 

He knew from the start that the miner shouldn't be believed, but now that he knew that there were races, and Luther didn't know about it, made this day worse than before.  He knew it would take time before he had a contract he had to sign, but for now, he had to work to get it.

 

He met Luther's eyes with his own when he spoke softly and angrily to him, and after his words, he spoke in his own calm, but very serious voice.  "Yes.  Sir!"

 

He led Luther the way to the barracks, to which he knew the miner might still be in that area.  He had a feeling that the miner who told him about the races would tell the other ponies involved that he was going to be in, and that his friends might be excited about it.

 

It would be a BAD day for them all around once they met Luther.

 

He searched frantically around for the miner, flashing angry looks when he did, showing Luther that he was angry himself.  When they eventually found him, Copper let loose a roar at the stallion.

 

"DO YOU NOT LISTEN TO YOUR BOSS?!"

[Mentis Soliloquy 3,024]

@@Randimaxis,

 

The Quarry- outside the mine

 

"Oh sorry to hear that you have to retire from this place if you like it so much that's nothing worse stop doing somthing you love, I can see how it would pain you cooking is a passion after my own heart only second to my mark for selling things that is but I love to cook." By now Scarlet has some of the cupboards completely clean by then she was always a quick worker. "Oh of course I'll take heed of your wisdom one thing I've learned is that my betters or elders are all wise in their own ways and I should listen to them when they wish to pass on the wisdom to me or my family or friends."

 

She stopped her cleaning to open an ear see what information he would pass to her about this place maybe it will be nothing? Possibly somthing vital to her goals here who was to know but she was going to see what the old boy had to say and and take heed of it regardless of it's value to her as it may have some use in the future. "Also don't diminish yourself like that old cook yammering on can be quite fun, talked to a older mare about her cooking career for seven hours straight was a blast."  

Edited June 9, 2016 by Mentis Soliloquy

[Blitz Boom 4,429]

@@Randimaxis,

@@cwhip9,

 

"Oooh, perhaps Mr. Blackwater is a mind mage? All going in your head, scrambling around? Bet you think it's Crazy, but perhaps that's just what he Made you to believe?"

 

Ziggy responded to the things that were said by Slapper about Luther, raising her hooves and waving them around whilst saying spooky sounds.

 

"Ehehehe. Luther, the Mind Sculptor. Haves a nice ring to it."

 

Her mood seemed to have swung up a bit more on their way out of the cave if she felt like goofing around again, so by the time that Mr. Blackwater wanted them in she should be completely off to her old ways. Depending on how it would go with the patients that she likely had to deal with right now at the office that were.

 

Those ponies had gotten into her mind more as they had started to get out of the cave and the thought that there might be a line at her door, wondering why she wasn't opening up and helping them, were starting to pull in her the more she thought about it. She really Hoped there weren't a long line, but considering how it had been with Scarlet earlier... She couldn't rule anything out.

 

Which reminded her: she had to find Taps later too and ask about the panacea she used on Scarlet. It were some rather powerful stuff, and she'd really want to at least know What it was, and hopefully be told where she could find some herself. It would really be helpful to have some of that ready for the bad cases.

 

Though, with all of these things on her mind... Well, it wasn't Likely that she wee gonna miss the meeting with Mr. Blackwater as he got his way of burning what he said into your skull, but after the way she had forgotten about poor Dax - a situation she also had to handle at some point - perhaps she got so caught up in things that it simply got pushed back, if not forgotten entirely, before it was too late.

 

"Fun aside, I Really have to get back to the office and see if there's anypony there. Perhaps you can both come by later and we can follow to Mr. Blackwater's office? Been there once when a package got sent to my office instead of his, so I think I can find my way in there again - and hopefully not get lost for a half hour - but just thinking that perhaps you'd not want to get there on your own. Team power and all that, right?

 

Hehe. Anyway, I gotta go. Take care the both of you, and may the spirit of the floating potato kitten smile upon you."

 

With that she gave them a quick hug once more, then rose to the sky and set course for her office, praying every second that, by Celestia, it wouldn't be bad, and the worst of the injuries were over. Or at least that she had gotten there in time to avoid having to send anypony off to the hospital.

[Randimaxis 8,633]

@DwhitetheGamer

 

 

The old miner stared, goggle-eyed, at Copper as he tried to assess what had just occurred.  The look of shock was slowly replaced by one of betrayal... then worry, as he turned to meet his boss' iron gaze.

 

"Mister Blackwater, sir?  We just-"

 

"IT DOES NOT MATTER.  YOU ARE FIRED."

 

It went dead quiet.  Not a single pony spoke up, and they all took a step or two back.

 

The miner blinked, opened his mouth to speak... then simply hung his head and nodded, once.  With that, he stood up and made his way toward the front gates.  A number of ponies watched the old stallion leave... then they turned and glared at Copper.

 

No, this was NOT going to be good... but he did the right thing, right?

 

Luther scanned his view over the rest.  "Any other miner speaking of minecart racing shall follow suit; we will NOT have that here at MY quarry."

 

He then turned to face Copper.  

 

"There is a position open with the night crew; you will work under Redd Handid, directly.  You will be paid a fair wage, and you will have a bunk here if you should need one.  You have done well tonight, Copper Strikes.  KEEP doing so."

 

With that, Luther turned and walked out, a storm still brewing over his brow, but nowhere nearly as upset as he was before.  However, it must be said that the looks that the blue pony was now getting from the other workers meant that he might have a bit of a rocky time of it... at least for a while.

 

 

@Mentis Soliloquy

 

 

Grill Brick lifted an eyebrow, but gave a grin anyway.

 

"Well, the best advice I can give ya is to not take stuff so seriously from the other miners 'round here.  They're a tight bunch, an' they give each other guff outta respect and stuff... 'cept for Redd, but he's different."  Brick chuckled.  "Anyhoo, if ya wanna last here, I'd suggest makin' buddy-buddy like with five particular pones: Chuck, Knee, Silver, Taps and Ziggy; those five got the most respect 'round here, and they can help you outta just about anything that might come up while you're here."

 

"Chuck's the HEAD Forepony, and don't let nopony tell ya different.  Knee's another forepony; a practical joker, that one.  Silver's a sweetheart, and she keeps everything running here - anything in here breaks down, she's yer mare.  Taps is our Pony Express mailmare; she might not talk, but she hears a heckuva lot.  And Ziggy's the doctor; she's weird, but she's real kind and a lot smarter than she seems ta be.  Those five?  Priceless allies, all."

 

He went back to sweeping a bit as he spoke, then grabbed a rag and started wiping down the bottoms of the counters.

 

"As for the Blackwaters, I feel I gotta civic duty to tell you about 'em.  There's Luther... don't mess with Luther, if ya can help it.  He's harder than diamond, that one.  Be honest with him and do what he says - whatever it is - and you won't run afoul o' him."

 

"Vylia's a fop - she's all about bein' hoity-toity and stuff... but she ain't no fluffhead, don't be fooled.  SHE controls the flow of bits here; if you want to be sure you got everything you need, just butter her up a bit - she LOVES flattery."

 

"Dax... he's okay.  Some of the miners here call him 'Pink-Slip', but that's an old tale that circulates the grounds on occasion; the kid's okay, even though he's a little green - his folks don't let him leave the quarry much, so he's kinda naive.  Sweet, but naive."

 

"Then there's Oglevy..."  Brick sighed raggedly, then continued.  "He's a spoiled friggin' brat, and nothin' but trouble.  You see him?  Start lookin' for the problem - him and trouble ain't ever separate for long.  He's a genius, too - the tutors his folks get can't keep up with him.  So don't be fooled."

 

He stopped for a moment, pondering.

 

"Back when I first started here, Harcourt was runnin' around as well.  That's the oldest Blackwater colt; he left after a tiff with Luther, and he hasn't been back since.  Shame, too - he was kinda self-important, but still a stand-up stallion, nonetheless."

 

He stepped back from his work, grinned, then turned back to face Scarlet.

 

"Make those five friends, don't cross the Blackwaters, and keep yourself busy - you'll do fine here.  About a year's worth of wages is enough to buy a decent house - keep at it, and you'll be able to afford whatever ya want."

 

 

@Blitz Boom

 

 

At her office, there were only two ponies: Beck and Call, Vylia's personal butlers.  As she approached, they both stood regally, waiting patiently for her to arrive before speaking.

 

"Miss Zinger," one began, "we wished to-"

 

"utilize your services," the other continued, "as we do not wish to-"

 

"alarm Madam Blackwater with such a-"

 

"minor issue.  You see,"

 

"we have managed to make it through the fiasco earlier-"

 

"with few issues, yet my brother here-"

 

"still managed to find something."

 

Sheepishly, the stallion on the left raised his hoof, and displayed what appeared to be one of the minecart spikes, wedged between the butler's shoe and hoof - it looked like it was in there tightly, and Ziggy could tell they had tried to pull it out.

 

"We attempted to remove it, but-"

 

"to no avail."

 

They both looked at her earnestly, and spoke together in eerie harmony.  "Can you help us, Doc?"

 

 

@cwhip9

 

 

Knee waved as Ziggy flew off toward her office, then turned to face Crescent.

 

"So... I see you've been pretty sweet on Silver lately - word of advice, Cress... she's already got a Special Somepony in mind, and it ain't you.  I mean, she ain't pulling your leg or anything - she's not like that - but it's gonna be a LOT harder to sway her to your direction than you think, buddy."

 

Knee grinned, yet not unkindly.

[DwhitetheGamer 867]

@@Randimaxis, 

 

Copper simply nodded at Luther Blackwater.  He didn't care if he was an enemy now, and he really didn't care how his new boss knew his name, since they never met other than the moments of taking and giving notes.  All he cared about was getting a job here, and his unquestioned loyalty to his new boss meant he would get a good one.

 

He turned and met the glares of the others with a glare of his own.  "DON'T GIVE ME THOSE LOOKS!  He was going to know eventually, and knowing now would be better than when he realizes there's less workers here!  You'd be better off not doing such things if you want to keep a job here.  Now if you'll excuse me, I need sleep."

 

And with that, he trotted away from the group to get a bunker for him to sleep in, angrily muttering to himself.

 

To think that this day could turn from good to bad, and from bad to worse.  He wanted to race, honestly, and he expected Luther to be okay with it.  But oh no, Luther rejected the racing, not only that but he'd fire those who participate in it.  He realized he didn't tell his boss about the location of the race in question.  He would have to tell it to him sometime later.

[Blitz Boom 4,429]

@@Randimaxis,

 

Ziggy's jaw fell a little as she saw the spike stuck in Beck. Or Call, one of them.

 

"A spike there, even if it haven't hit flesh, should still hurt like... Especially if you have tried to... Holy guacamole, you're tougher than I thought."

 

She looked at the twin with an impressed shine in her eyes for a little before she recalled why they were here and shook her head.

 

"Right, help, I can do that. Lemme just open up."

 

She turned around and pulled the key out of her top left pocket in her vest, the unlocked it and went in fast, giving the twins room to get in. When they got in, she'd close to door behind them to give them some privacy from what sounded like a situation they'd rather prefer wasn't spread around.

 

"Okay, there's a few ways to get it out, but force doesn't seem to have helped considering how it looks, so we're going to go basic and slow for this."

 

They could go to her table whilst she found a bucket in a corner and went to get it filled with water from a small pump in the corner - not something that was here to begin with, but it was cheaper to wash your hooves than use disinfecting tissues all the time, so it had gotten here eventually - then left it and went rummaging through her drawers, looking for a small crystal she should have somewhere in there.

 

it was sort of like a Fire Opal, in that it was warm, however it were a lot less warm and essentially worthless for anything else than a few, niche spa's, so she had been able to get a few on her own time to use for this. Three to be exact, that she could pop into a small bucket of water like this and keep it in the warmer end, though nowhere near boiling. She had to get a fire underneath to get that done, though she wasn't out to boil things here, just soften things up a bit.

 

Finally she found the small box they were in and lifted her head with the three, small, red crystals in the see-through container between her teeth and put them over next to the bucket before opening and letting the lot of them in. It would be a few minutes for the water to get to the warmer end, but it would stop at the temperature of a general hoof-bath.

 

"Basically, I'm gonna have to soften up your hoof a little and then slowly wedge it out whilst applying new pressure slowly around the area. Likely gonna take like a half hour if it's as stuck as I think, but it will get out. However... Well, I'm not going to lie, it's gonna hurt. Like, more than it should now. I can give you some local anaesthesia that will help on it, but it will go on record then since I have to report in any medication used. I can do it without if you want it to be more low key, but I wouldn't recommend it. I doubt you can stay tough enough to not yelp out in pain at this, and I'd rather not have my patients in agony. Sorta the opposite of what my job is."

 

She looked at Beck... Or Call, waiting for her answer to what route he would prefer to go, as well as trying to figure out which one it was that was currently having issues. Or well, she knew which one, but not what the name were of the one in question.

 

"And could you please tell me who's Call and who's Becks? It would help knowing which one I'm dealing with and you guys are like, two sides of a mirror. Seriously, how does anypony Ever see the difference?"

[Mentis Soliloquy 3,024]

@@Randimaxis,

 

The Quarry- outside the mine

 

"I've met a few of them the workers I've not had the 'pleasure' of the Blackwater family as of yet though I have kinda met the brat you call him but I won't be here a year let's say there is a reason I am here in the quarry other than to make money, my family may very well be more richer than the Blackwaters anyway, but I must hold my tongue on that issue lest someone hears me..." She trailed off as she worked for some reason rather happy to open up to this old fella to a degree to why she was actually here in this filthy quarry running a kitchen and not working to better her own family by doing what she normally dose. But more time was needed, proof before she could call her cousins here to see her revenge served later...

 

"I've met the nice mailmare she helped me cook earlier, Chuck I had a chat to before this 'event' happened Ziggy tried to help me after I was injured in the water honestly I should not be working considering I was rather messed up before but I seem fine now I have to talk to Taps about what ever that stuff she's got, the army could use that to help defend the nation. I think I've meet the other two briefly I think I'm not sure first day still taking it all in. Good thing is a family friend is here the bat pony Crescent he's kinda a thing with my cousin but somthing happened I think and now he's here I do need to ask him about that." In this time she'd cleaned half the kitchen by then she was rather good a cleaning though not proud of it. 

Edited June 9, 2016 by Mentis Soliloquy

[cwhip9 1,078]

 

 

"So... I see you've been pretty sweet on Silver lately - word of advice, Cress... she's already got a Special Somepony in mind, and it ain't you. I mean, she ain't pulling your leg or anything - she's not like that - but it's gonna be a LOT harder to sway her to your direction than you think, buddy."

 

Cresent chuckeled somewhat friendly and yet challenging whether his body language showed it or not he couldn't tell.

 

"my direction, oh come now. " he said putting a wing on knees back friendly

 

"you think this bat is new to this kind of rodeo partner, I trust her and I don't trust many other pony's so thanks but I wouldn't worry about it." he finished taking his wing off the pony and leaving out him saving her life just to keep the tension low. He was too tired to fight an just kept following knee towards the boss's place.

 

He had a hunch the two might be locking horns but really wasn't in the mood for it, and weather silver had another stallion in mind he didn't see that happening with the track they've been making. Saving her life, helping the wounded, oh and one more thing.

 

"odd question knee you remember that whole sit down after I got blown up right. any luck on the map saboteur yet. And I'm wondering if we should let Big boss know" he paused looking around. seeing the damage of the mine her then thought otherwise.

 

"on second thought he has enough to deal with I think, telling him about the maps might have him....well you know him better then me so ill let you answer that question" he said glad he could deflect the topic   

[Randimaxis 8,633]

@DwhitetheGamer

 

 

Copper's sleep was uninterrupted and uneventful... but as he slept, there were others talking about him.  And there were any number of possibilities that came and went while the blue pony slept.

 

To be certain, he had indeed been in the right - Luther didn't sanction any kind of minecart racing here, and dealt immediately and severely with those who tried to do so under his muzzle.  Copper had followed the rules and proven himself loyal to the company itself; something that was certainly not lost on Luther Blackwater.

 

However, it was a safe bet that the other workers didn't quite think so highly of him anymore.  In the bleak bowels of the Blackwater Mines, there wasn't much to be cheerful about; the races had been their way of letting off some steam, of dealing with some of the stress at all the rock-kicking or pick swinging was one thing... but the races had been fun.  It had given the others something to look forward to... which was now, once again, out the proverbial window.

 

And you didn't just take away a miner's fun without some form of consequence... whatever (and WHENever) it may be.

 

 

@Blitz Boom

 

 

The one with the hoof problem smiled.

 

"Madam, I am Beck On, and this is my brother Call On; I would have thought you'd have figured us out by now-"

 

Call continued, "... but it isn't so bad, as there are many who can't tell us apart.  It's part of the fun."

 

Beck sighed and sat down, preparing himself for Ziggy's treatment.

 

"I do hope this won't take too terribly much of your time, Miss Zinger-"

 

"... we DO hate to be a bother, and we're certain that Madam Blackwater will miss us-"

 

"... if we're gone for too long; I trust myself in your hooves, Doctor - this will take no time at all."

 

They both smiled at her, kindly; it was charming, in its' own, strange way.

 

 

@Mentis Soliloquy

 

 

Grill Brick chuckled as he finished wiping up his side of the kitchen; it was as good as Scarlet's side.  The stallion could clean, that much was certain.

 

"Well, good ta know you're gettin' around a bit.  As for the rest, I wouldn't just go blathering all that stuff about revenge to just anypony... but lucky for you, I'm not just anypony.  Nothin' to worry about from me - heck, this IS my last day, remember?"

 

He laughed, a rusty yet hearty sound - the laugh of someone satisfied with their life.

 

"Hokay - now lemme show you how to keep the condiment cart clean; it's important, 'cause the miners'll only keep it as clean as YOU keep it - keep it tidy, and they don't make too big of a mess.  Keep it nasty, and they won't make it any easier for you.  In a lotta cases, if you do your part, they do theirs; they do it instinctively, like a real team should.  Trust 'em to do what they do, and they won't give ya any guff that ain't for fun."

 

He grinned.  "Oh, and do be prepared for some prodding - but it's how the workers get to know you around here.  Just treat 'em kind, and when one of 'em lets you have it, give it right back to 'em, then move along... that'll get you more respect than lettin' 'em 'get yer goat', so to speak."

 

He sighed and looked around on her side of the trailer.  "Well, no mistake - you're a good cleaner.  Let's hope your cooking's up to par, eh?  Matter of fact, mind if I ask for a taste of something?  I'm mostly curious to see how good your food is - if you're working here, you must have SOME talent; Luther doesn't hire slackers or underachievers.  I'd like ta know what flavors are gonna replace the ones I've been putting out there for the past twelve years!"

 

 

@cwhip9 

 

 

Knee gave Crescent a look, then his brow lightened as he had a thought.

 

"Whoa... look, don't go thinkin' I'M your rival - Silver's cute, but she's like my little sister and stuff; it'd be weird, y'know?  Naw, it's someone else.  One of Daxie's friends - and a pretty stand-up stallion, if I do say so myself.  He's a unicorn, and he and Silver were quite an item a while back."

 

Slapper nudged the Thestral playfully.  "Try all you like, but if he ever came back to the Blackwater Quarry... well, I promise she'd try to let you down as kindly as possible.  But hey, who knows?  Maybe she's been lonely for too long?  But still... just making you aware of the score here, before you start playin' the game."

 

He trotted up the path that led around the Refinery and up the hill to the Blackwater Manor.  It was beautiful, especially at night, when Crescent could see it from above.  They made their way to the front doors, where Knee knocked and waited.  After a bit, a random butler came to the door and let them in, leading them to a large foyer where they were directed to sit on a couch.

 

"Please wait here," the butler said, then he walked off.

 

Knee Slapper looked at Crescent, shrugged, then leaned back into the rich, deep upholstery on the expensive sofa.

[Mentis Soliloquy 3,024]

@@Randimaxis, 

 

The Quarry- outside the mine

 

Scarlet was going to sit down and rest for a little after the cleaning but the question about her cooking always filled her with passion. Giving the old stallion a cocky grin. "I've got my soup done for the workers I took it off the heat so might be a little cold..." Walking to it getting a ladle and getting some out for the old cook, passing it to him. "Taps liked it a lot, in fact she ate the whole bowl in...no wait I made her special food. Anyway if you don't like that I'll eat my tail." She saw him looking and smelling over the contents, she turned away.

 

Walking to the fridge to get more things out for prep work she waited for the sound, that magical sound when someone tasted her food best cook in her family without question and she was proud of that fact. The sound and taste was all that mattered to her, food was to be eaten and sometimes smelled aswell but looks, meh. Looks are for art and pretty ponies not food her soup would reflect that colour rather an off dark green, but the smell the taste she always put her soul into her cooking and the vast pot of soup was no exception despite the sub par produce she had to work with.

[cwhip9 1,078]

@@Randimaxis, Cresent relaxed himself on the sofa's the softness of the seat was making him drowsy from all the activity today. It was good hearing Slapper clarify his statement on the whole him and silver bit. It must have been the stress of the day getting to him and besides Slapper and him never had an argument, cresent planned on keeping it that way.

 

"I probably read that wrong so sorry bout that. been a hey of a day. The brothers showing up, fire oppals, what ever caused that bloody flood, pulling the minors out, and calming down ziggy" he said following a yawn the battle to stay awake was soon to be a loosing one for the thestral. Which was odd it being before sunset, than again it was why he was mostly worked in the mine itself more then outside the mine in the daytime.

 

He looked around the room all the more seeing the luxury of it, he felt so out of place in it. Like showing up to prom only to realize your vest that your grandpony (grandparents are called that right?)  gave you really is the last of its kind as everypony else had the freshest vest. He blinked a bit on that last thought trying to work out how this had anything to do with high school growing up, he shook his head getting annoyed at his drowsyness.

 

"just glad nopony got too hurt today" he said scratching his mane.

[DwhitetheGamer 867]

@@Randimaxis, 

 

It was near quitting time when Copper woke up in his new bunker.  He stretched himself to get ready for his night shift, and for whatever may come out of tonight.

 

He thought about what he did, and shook his head, disliking it.  He may have been in the right, but he knew enemies were made, and he thought they're gonna do everything they can to make him look bad.  But his unquestioned loyalty to the Blackwater family would probably ensure that he would get out of said trouble, right?  He wasn't sure, but what he knew was that being truthful is the best course of action.

 

Of course, he's thinking too much of it right now.  He shook the thought out of him.  He needed to work anyways, just to clear his mind of it for a while.  He trotted out of his bunker, and greeted the night this time, like he normally does the day.  He WAS more fond of the night than the day, and he was excited to be in his first day on the Blackwater job.  He now gained a serious expression as he trotted to meet his fore pony, who if he remembered right, was Redd Handid.  He trotted to the fore-pony and said, "This is Copper.  What do you want me to do, sir?"

[Blitz Boom 4,429]

@@Randimaxis,

 

"You even Smile the same. Are you sure you're not clones?"

 

You could hear on the teasing, halfway giggling tone that she was just fooling around, though honestly, she had no idea how to see the two of them apart. She had only seen them a few times thus far and hadn't noticed anything that really separated them, and considering the hiveminded dual responses and such they went with, she couldn't even go with any mental or personality difference. Perhaps she should try to hang around them a bit more later on, and see if she could learn some things that way? They weren't bad ponies after all, and considering how tough Beck were looking... Well, she liked tough ponies. A lot.

 

That being said, it were time to get started and helping him like they'd want her to do. As Beck didn't seem to mind the notion of it being in the books - which really, why would they? They were workers like any others here and had the same right for medical attention - she pulled out a drawer and pulled out a small syringe filled with a clear liquid, then gently pushed to make sure the flow were right and no air were caught in there before taking it over to the twins.

 

"You're gonna feel a little prick, then a lot of numb. Just try to relax your hoof for now, okay?"

 

She wouldn't wait in lifting the damaged hoof and pricking him with the needle right at the affected area, slowly pushing in the anaesthesia until it was empty. Afterwards, she pulled it back out and looked Becks in the eyes with her sorta serious face on.

 

"Alright then. Just sit tight, and we'll get this done in no... Or okay, it will take some time, but hopefully, not too much."

 

The bucket was picked up afterwards and his hoof put into the warm water, at which time, Ziggy lost focus on other things around her and put her mind solely to gently and slowly massage Beck's hoof. A little push here, a small adjustment there, then a little... Well, you get the idea.

 

It would take a little over a half hour, but slowly, the spike would make its way out and finally, it'd hit the bottom of the bucket and she'd let out a triumphant "Boyah! Spike: 0, Ziggy: 1.". However, this didn't mean that they were done yet. He still had a small hole going now down there, and there had been a spike in that, for all she knew, had all sorts of bacteria on it. As such, she asked him to not move yet, and zapped over to get some disinfectant, a roll of gauze, and a small patch of cotton to put on the wound when it were.

 

She went over and begun to clear the wound first, putting the other things next to her to be used afterwards, and for the first time in the half'ish hour this had gone on, talked to him again.

 

"Time to go over a small thing you need to know: Your hoof is still a bit asleep. Usually I'd say to relax a bit to give it time to wear off, but you can walk with it fine enough, though it's likely gonna feel a bit strange.

 

Also, I'll want you to come in here tomorrow as well. I need to make sure things are not infected in any sort of way, and since I don't want you to change the gauze yourself, it'll give me time to get that done too. No worries though, not gonna be a thick layer so you won't be walking around looking like you have a boxing glove glued to you.

 

Any questions?"

[Randimaxis 8,633]

@Mentis Soliloquy

 

 

There was a slight slurping sound as Brick tasted the soup... then he blinked, put the spoon down carefully, came over to Scarlet and put a hoof on her shoulder.

 

"Miss?  If that's what you're serving... they are gonna LOVE you; heck, you might get a marriage proposal or two!  That hadta be the BEST soup I've ever poured down my gullet - and I've had a LOT of soup in my day.  You serve that to 'em, and tell 'em to keep their yaps shut about how it looks, and you'll do just fine here."

 

Grill Brick turned and made his way to the back of the kitchen.  Once there, he reached behind a counter and pulled out a diagram of the kitchen itself - with a number of red and blue marks here and there.

 

"Okay, I did this two nights ago, so I wouldn't have to waste your time TELLIN' you all this stuff.  The stuff colored in RED are the problem areas in the kitchen; follow the key on the back o' this chart, and it'll tell you what goes wrong with that part... and how ta fix it.  The BLUE marks are where I've hidden supplies and other stuff to get through the day with - move 'em if you wanna, but these are the most effective places I've found for stuff; having these things at hoof WILL be useful, trust me."

 

He was rather proud of his chart... in fact, he seemed pretty proud of this whole kitchen.

 

 

@cwhip9 

 

 

Knee looked over at Crescent and nodded.

 

"Yeah, me too - come to think of it, HOW DID all that stuff happen?  I mean, it wouldn't surprise me to find out it was Oggie... but he's smart enough to know not to mess with the big stuff; I'm just racking my brain trying to figure out WHO did this?"

 

He gestured to the bat-pony.  "I'm pretty sure it wasn't you - you spend pretty much all of your quarry time underground... Chuck wouldn't do it... Redd was with ME, so I KNOW it wasn't him..."

 

His face suddenly lit up... then fell again as he spoke.

 

"Oh!  Yeah, we actually DID find out what happened with the blasting!  There are... uhm... I mean..."

 

Knee put a hoof behind his head and scratched there.

 

"Uhhhhhhhhh... look, I can tell you about the saboteur, but you gotta promise me ya won't actually DO anything nuts, okay..?"

 

 

@DwhitetheGamer

 

 

{Allow me to catch the others up to Day 2, then we'll move on from where you are HERE; if this isn't ideal, PM me - maybe we can make it a dream sequence while the other do their thing?}

 

 

@Blitz Boom

 

 

Beck watched with interest as Ziggy tended to his wounded hoof, and never once did he even flinch from pain; he was indeed tough.  He watched as she worked... and gave a sigh and moan of relief as she massaged his hoof.

 

Call wasn't frantic with worry, but he did hover about a bit and wore a concerned look for his twin.  Once the spike dropped into the bucket, he let out a whoosh of a relieved sigh, then turned to the pegazebra.

 

"Oh, WONDERFUL!  You've done it!"

 

Beck lifted his hoof and examined it closely.  "Indeed she has - and I must say that your massage is... is... ohhhh, it felt SO good!"

 

Beck stood up carefully at first, gauging his hoof for a moment before nodding.

 

"Yes, yes... quite a good job!  Of course, we've both heard about your skills in medicine, so naturally-"

 

"... we made our way here.  And we most certainly will admit-"

 

"... you did NOT disappoint."

 

The two of them smiled at her broadly; smiles in stereo.  One of them (she already lost track!) gave her a quizzical look.  "I DID have a question, if I may?"

 

The other one looked over at his twin, then his eyes widened.  "Oh, you can't POSSIBLY mean...?"

 

The other smiled.  "I do."  He turned back to face her.  "Madam, may we possibly ask what you may know about the subject of..."

 

He looked at his twin, who stared back at him for a moment, then sighed.

 

"... tranquilizers."  He said with what was obviously no relish at the idea.

[Mentis Soliloquy 3,024]

@Randimaxis

 

The Quarry- outside the mine

 

Scarlet was not surprised by what she heard, she'd heard it many times before. If she was not a sales pony she'd be a famous cook for sure, however coming from who she saw as a peer? Well that meant a lot more to her than some other pony, if they'd said the same thing to her but a stallion that been cooking longer than she'd been alive well that was special, then he hoofs her a map of his kitchen she could see that spark in his eyes.

 

She looked him in the eyes. "Brick I may not have this kitchen, your kitchen for long but I promise I will leave her in good hooves with your departure that I promise to you. Your compliment of my soup means a great deal, I see you as more than a peer with all your experience. To have my soup talked about like that fills me with pride." She puts the map down on the counter. "I will study that later." Turning back to him. "Please do me the honor of staying and haveing some of my soup with the others." She gave him a large honest smile. Then turned to the map again starting to note where he'd mark and looking to the points around his kitchen.

 

(Tablet post)

Edited June 12, 2016 by Mentis Soliloquy

[cwhip9 1,078]

@@Randimaxis, Cresent raised an eyebrow on the request, "nuts, my job evolves guiding pony's into a very dangerous mine full of cave animals, the explosive those minors carry, gas changes that are never expected to the point of one moment your mining the next your running from the leak of lava. and that's just a typical Tuesdays not counting everything that happened today." cresent said then laughed.  

 

"so my question is when you find nuts on the train back to manehatten save a seat for me next to sense because I still cant find any of those two here at the mine" he said followed by another laugh.    

 

He looked at the coaling losing his smile now "I need to know who's messing with my maps knee, no pony blows my guys, silver, or me without some sort of karma hitting them." he said still not amused sounding more cranky then anything else. He didn't want to fight over it as he was too tired but he still needed answers at least to help silver calm down...or himself he still couldn't figer that one out.  

 

"tell you what if its a coworker of ours I can make no promise's if its out of both of our hoofs then I wont do anything haws that?" he said looking at knee now.  

[Blitz Boom 4,429]

@@Randimaxis,

 

"Depends, what sort? Natural, magical or artificial? And are we talking darts or injection?"

 

The treatment had gone well, and though she had made sure that he were somewhat numb in his hoof when she had started working on him, she were still impressed by Beck not even wincing a tiny bit, even though he could still feel enough to get the sensation of the massage she had to apply there.

 

She were not a professional masseuse or anything, but it came with being a bone doctor specialist really as it taught how to ease muscles, which helped in setting bones right, and finding if there were any torn muscle around bones as well that without going too rough on the patient. Had been a while since she had to do that though, but she were happy that it seemed to still work right, and that Becks reaped the benefit of it for his poor hoof.

 

Whilst she had been applying the small bit of disinfectant and the gauze to his hoof though, the strange question had come along and per instinct, she just answered the first thing that came to mind, which were to ask for more specifics. Usually not an expertise that should come from anypony in a medical profession unless it were at a psych ward, but she had somepony in her life that had a use for those, and had filled her head with random titbits of information on those sort of things, which had made her go read a bit on it in her free time. She were nowhere as knowledgeable as him, but still, she had a few things in mind.

 

Looking up at the ponies afterwards she had already lost track of who was who again, only being sure because of the gauze - unless it got covered by something - and sheepishly let out a small giggle whilst scratching the back of her head.

 

"My brother works at a wildlife preservation and he likes to share a bit when I come around to visit. I'm not some sort of crazy that goes around shooting down ponies so they cannot run away from my hugs."

 

She leaned in a little closer and with a gleam in her eyes added "Far as you know, that is." before giggling like a filly again.

 

"Anyway, why do you ask? Somepony brought an angry bull to the quarry to see if Mr. Blackwater can physically explode from sheer rage?"

[Randimaxis 8,633]

@Mentis Soliloquy 

 

 

Grill Brick chuckled rustily.  "I'm always ready to enjoy some good food; I'm not a cook fer nothin'!"

 

He happily ladled a generous helping of Scarlet's soup into one of the bowls off the clean rack, wiped up the drips, then headed out to one of the benches that hadn't been washed away in the flood.  He eagerly went to town on his bowl, savoring each sip as if it was pure ambrosia.

 

The map itself was brilliant, but the organization of the 'secret stashes' was absolute genius; cleaning supplies where they were used most, spare napkins and cooking grease and sugar, and even two more broom-and-dustpan sets.  There were secret supplies everywhere around the lunch trailer!  It was set up to where it would only take a moment's effort to do nearly any of the necessary cleanup that had to be done each day - this job would be a breeze as long as she kept things pretty much as they were, supply-wise.

 

Menu-wise, it was ALL her call... and it seemed like her soup was a smashing success.

 

 

@Blitz Boom

 

 

"Aaaaaaactually, Miss Zinger, we have something a bit more delicate in mind."  Call said hesitantly.  It was obvious he wasn't very pleased about asking, but Beck seemed downright gung-ho over the idea.

 

"Yes, we do!  You see, we expect company rather soon, and we wish to prepare for this 'guest' of ours."  Beck was almost chirping, he seemed so excited.  "And we don't wish to do any permanent harm, of course - hence, the tranquilizers."

 

Call sighed.  "We believe a 'spy' for a rival mine will be coming to the quarry soon, and we want to be prepared to take them down if they try to do any harm to the mine or its' workers.  This was the alternative I came up with - Beck's original idea wouldn't have been very nice..."

 

Beck rolled his eyes.  "Oh COME now, Cally - it would hardly be enough explosive for flash paper!  You know I'd never hurt anypony intentionally... well, or in self-defense, of course, but..."

 

Call raised a hoof, silencing his brother mid-sentence.  "No, no - YOU I trust; explosives, I do NOT.  The good Doctor, however, I would MORE than trust with this request; obviously, you would know the safest dosages to put into tranq darts, correct?"

 

The two of them watched her, awaiting her reaction.

 

 

@cwhip9 

 

 

Knee sighed.  "It was Oglevy; he'd found some Fire Opals, an' wanted ta get 'em polished up for his Mama.  Imagine that - the colt actually was doin' somethin' nice, fer once.  The scheduling thing was him trying ta keep anypony from blastin' the tunnels closed; he didn't expect you two ta be there, an' he says HE was the one who yelled out the warning."

 

He shook his head.  "He wasn't tryin' ta hurt you; he was just trying to buy more time to get his mother a nice gift.  Y'know, Fire Opals... REAL Fire Opals... are pretty damn rare.  Good on the fella fer finding 'em.  Oh, and between Chuck, Redd and myself, he ain't gonna pull another stunt like that for a long time, my friend."

 

Slapper shifted around on the couch for a bit, before a maid in somber workclothes came down the flight of stairs and looked at them both, settling on Knee Slapper.

 

"Mr. Blackwater will see you first, Mr. Slapper."

 

Knee looked at Crescent, gave a weak smile, then followed the maid up the stairs, supposedly to Luther's office.

[cwhip9 1,078]

 

 

Knee looked at Crescent, gave a weak smile, then followed the maid up the stairs, supposedly to Luther's office.

Cresent nodded at knee with a silent 'good luck' then sat their leaning back looking up at the ornate ceiling above him taking what knee said in.  

 

The punk of a colt trying to do something for his mom, cute. Cresent let out a breath relaxing a bit, gusse silver was right in terms of him over thinking the whole thing in terms of events. Being around fire opals was dangerous if not handeld well and the fact the colt risked burning his hoofs off just trying to make his mother happy showed and said a lot about the kid. Letting his boss know about this could ring more trouble to the kid then its worth, still....

 

Cresent had a hunch the first questions black water would ask

what can you tell me about the flooding, who is hurt, what happened in there, and why did you go in the cave during the brothers and miners race?

And there would be know doubt he would have herd about the explosion but there was something that cresent realized he totally forgot about before the explosion silver and he was in.

 

The mercs....were they part of his men, a rival company or mine perhaps?

 

Cresent scratched his mane leaning back forward to not fall asleep, he hoped silver was doing better then him.

[Blitz Boom 4,429]

@@Randimaxis,

 

Ziggy tapped her head, thinking on the request and the reasoning behind it for a few minutes after being asked, trying to make sense of what would be the more responsible thing to do here. Obviously, she couldn't just leave them with no other option than explosives, but tranquillizer darts? On a pony? That was a sort of moral grey area at best, and certainly not a nice thing to do.

 

Then again... If there was a spy on the way that might want to hurt the miners to sabotage things, then she'd make sure even more got hurt by just dismissing them... Oooh, stupid moral dilemma.

 

"...Okay, I'll help. But you're not allowed to tell anypony about this, okay? I wanna help the quarry, but I'll get into soooo much trouble if it goes around I'm making those sort of things, nad I don't want Mr. Blackwater getting angry at me."

 

She looked seriously between the twins. Or well, as seriously as she could, but it were still a difference so it should hopefully get the point through.

 

"Also, you're not allowed to hurt the pony you hit with it. Just... Drag him away or something. I think I don't really want to know what you're planning but... No, no, I think I don't. Or..."

 

The doctor got a funny look on her face as her curiosity conflicted with her want to not know bad things happening for a bit before she were able to shake it off. The face that were, not the curiosity, which still was just under the surface and jumped up and down whilst pleadingly saying "Please, tell me things!" over and over again like a little foal.

 

"Anyway, tranquillizers. I think I know how much to put in a dart, but I'm gonna know if this is like a... Normal, sized pony first. Oh,and I'm gonna need to take some time since I need to get a few things I don't have here. I got the small cauldron to brew a bit of soup or something strange in, but I need some herbs and such, since I can't use the inventory. Have to find out where I can gather stuff like Goldneedle around here... Should be possible that it's growing somewhere as it grows in rockey regions, but still..."

 

She seemed to space off for a bit, lost in her own thoughts about running through a field of plants and halfway harvesting plants, halfway dancing through the many-coloured, pretty place.

 

"What were we talking about again? ...Right! Tranquillizers. Snap out of it Ziggy."

 

She shook her head again, trying to get the image out of her head, before looking back at the twins, wondering what they'd tell her of the time she had to spend on this, general size of their target, and... No! Bad curiosity, no asking about more. No cookie!

 

...Okay, one cookie, but no more then.

[Mentis Soliloquy 3,024]

@Randimaxis

 

The Quarry- outside the mine

 

Scarlet watched her predecessor, fanky demolish her soup a grin ear to ear, that smile was really something for her to see filling her with an internal sense of warmth, a mix of pride and happiness it was an amazing feeling crawling up her legs comsumimg her whole body as he ate, waiting on each bite it was surreal how fixated she'd become just watching him.

 

She shook her head to stop watching, looking back to the map, it was quite a map very detailed information on it. She concluded that she would not alter the layout of the kitchen, why fix something not broken? She wondered if she should make more food for the miners was the soup enough? She believed that it was. Scarlet went back to seeing to her kitchen there was always a lot needing done not to mention that the cleaning was not totally done yet anyway.

 

Picking up a rag with a muffled sigh she went back to labouring in her kitchen. I wonder when I will get my chance to get into that bloody house? She worked away as before busy as ever...

[Randimaxis 8,633]

@cwhip9 

 

 

It was cool and quiet in the hall... so much so that, despite the situation and his efforts at such, Crescent could feel himself falling asleep in spite of the fact; it had been a long day for everyone - and not everyone had been within a hair's breadth of getting blown up.  However, before he could fully nod off, another maid came into the room and looked at the bat-pony with a mix of boredom and resignation.

 

"Mister Blackwater will see you now."

 

The antique grandfather clock showed Crescent that he, indeed, HAD fallen asleep for a moment; about twenty minutes had passed without so much as a wave to Crescent as they flew by.

 

"This way, please."

 

 

@Blitz Boom

 

 

Beck nodded and smiled.

 

"Oh, we have no actual want to HURT the bugger - but to wake up floating on a raft in the middle of a lake might give our little spy friend a second thought before trying to sneak into the quarry again."

 

Call nodded as well.

 

"As for your specifics, he is QUITE a hefty stallion - IF it is who I believe it to be.  About the size and build of Master Blackwater himself, I would gauge.  Though not nearly as imposing, as much as he wishes he was."

 

They both rolled their eyes at this, then Beck continued where his brother had left off.

 

"And if you would be so kind as to furnish me with a list, I will be more than happy to fetch the necessary ingredients for you; I know of a few places either here or in Canterlot that would have access to exotic herbs and roots, and would not mind one bit going to fetch them for you, Madam Zinger."

 

Madam Zinger, he'd said; how very flattering.

 

 

@Mentis Soliloquy

 

 

Grill Brick finished his bowl of soup, and went back for seconds.  AND thirds.  Then, cleaning his bowl and putting it with the rest of the clean dishware, he turned and went to the order window, leaning against the countertop for what might be the last time.

 

"Worked here a long time... gonna miss this place, though maybe not so much the shenanigans.  Or maybe I'll miss those more than anything."

 

He turned back to look at Scarlet, giving her a pained smile.

 

"Well, it's in your hooves, now - and from what my tongue and tummy tell me, it couldn't be in safer care.  So listen, make sure you get in here about a half an hour early each day, so's you can prep everything and get it ready.  Might mean getting here before dawn in a few cases, but it makes the job a LOT easier, I promise you that.  Don't forget to clean the grease trap every Friday; otherwise, the grease hardens and it's next to impossible to get it out without magic.  And don't forget to keep the condiment cart clean, 'cause a number of workers would pitch a fit if it got messy.  And make SURE you lock up at the end of the day - or some ponies might just slip in and start munching stuff that tomorrow's crew would miss.  OH!  And... and... and..."

 

Brick gave a watery sigh, then looked down at the floor.

 

"... sorry, this is just hard to do, y'know?"

[cwhip9 1,078]

 

 

"This way, please."

Cresent embarrassed by his sleeping he got up stretching his wings. Falling asleep in the boss's place will hopefully not be to much of a thing to worry about but at the same time....not the best way to wake up.  

 

As he was led to the boss's office he ran over what he was going to tell the boss.

-what happened from his POV
-how much damgie the cave got
-how many were pulled out of the flood......12?...15?....
-the fire opals....

 

what would he say about the opals? It wasn't the main cause of the freak flood but it was still a danger to the mine and potential money maker for everypony. It would also kind of ruin the surprise the colt.....

 

the colt...

 

Cresent was feeling even more squeezed, even tho the kid nearly killed him and silver he was still trying to get something pretty for his mom. Who given the decorations of the lavish place must be hard to find a gift for on mothers day alone. Knee did make a promise not to let the colt do that. He truly didn't know what to do about that whole thing, mulling it over some more maybe trying not to have it brought up would be best.