open [RP] The Blackwater Quarry

[JonasDarkmane 19,777]

@@cwhip9

 

The brothers seemed to take interest in what cwhip was saying, but this was the first time that somepony involved themselves with a competition, on their side. Flim looked to his brother. 

 

"This might be the opportunity we have been waiting for, dear brother of mine". 

 

However, Flam looked doubtful. 

 

"The minerals we are mining for are far more valuable than simple iron". 

 

Flim thought for a moment. "Of course, got to think of the marketing value. Wouldn't want to forget that?". 

 

"Wouldn't dream of it, dear brother of mine". 

 

They kept up with the course they were going with the machine, more and more valuable be collected as time passed. As the machine was starting to get full with minerals, a second storage started to fill up, however, that storage had a little tricky device stored in it. In a very "hard to notice" way, one and one diamond started to disappear, into a hidden storage that only the brothers knew about. 

 

In hushed tones they spoke with each other. "Our plan is working perfectly". 

 

"Our machine will make us rich". 

 

They both snickered as they resumed with focusing on the machine. 

[Randimaxis 8,633]

@@Blitz Boom

 

Sure enough, it was indeed Knee Slapper - she'd recognize his Jester's Cap cutie mark anywhere, and as soon as she got close enough, she could easily make it out.  She watched as the two of them stopped almost directly beneath her.

 

"Success?"

 

"Oh, yeah - and no problems either - everything as smooth as silk, and he's absolutely no worse for the wear."

 

"To be honest, I'd MUCH rather see a little harm come to-"

 

"NO, Redd!  I don't care WHAT gets said, NO HARM WILL COME TO OGLEVY BLACKWATER, DO YOU UNDERSTAND?"

 

Redd gave Slapper a look for a moment, yet his resolve crumpled after a few moments, and he pouted as he looked off to the side of the shed they were next to... and Ziggy was on top of.

 

"... yes, yes.  FINE.  Not like I wanted to do anything truly HARMFUL to him, anyway."

 

"Look, Redd - we're taking a risk here, okay?  I didn't just spend the last twenty minutes getting that colt back to the shed for you to go making it worse!"

 

"I'M ON YOUR SIDE HERE!"

 

"Redd, the only side you have EVER been on is your own - but right now, we have to try talking to him and trying to find out if HE was the one who almost killed Silver and Cress with that blast!"

 

"And if he isn't?"

 

There was no answer from Slapper, yet the two of them headed out at that point, making their way towards Shed #17.

 

 

@

 

In answer to Scarlet's first question, Taps just shrugged; it was all that could be gotten out of her.  When she asked about Taps seeing a missed spot, she shook her head no - but she smiled and nodded an affirmative when Scarlet asked if she'd done a good job.

 

When asked about why she didn't fly, Taps got a puzzled look on her face for a moment... then her eyes lit up as she saw something that might apparently help her out.  She moved over towards the side of the Lunch Trailer, where there were daisies growing.  Moving right up to them, she sniffed at them emphatically, then looked to Scarlet and raised an eyebrow.

 

Perhaps she was trying to convey that she liked to "stop and smell the flowers"?

 

 

@@cwhip9

 

Chuck couldn't hear Cress over the racket his team was making... but somepony did, as from nearby, a voice cut through the din and carried all the way to Crescent's sensitive ears.

 

"What?  An iron vein?  Seriously?"

 

It was Silver, and she wore a look of concern on her muzzle.  She came over to stand next to the bat-pony, her eyes scanning him for any clue as to what was going on.

 

"Show me where, Crescent; if you had to go looking for somepony, then I can at least mark-off the area, so nopony wanders into it by mistake.  How did it happen, with all the oth-... wait.  It's the vibrations, isn't it?  They're making the caverns unstable, aren't they?  Unsafe for the miners?"

[Mentis Soliloquy 3,024]

@@Randimaxis,

 

The Quarry- outside the mine

 

Scarlet got up from her bench and started walking to Taps, You are a funny pegasi, I do say that how interesting to stop and smell such mundane flowers Scarlet was now standing next to her looking at the daisies, she lowered her head a took a deep breath through her nose the daisies well smelt like daisies, not that they are not bad flowers nor a bad smell but why smell them there are nicer smelling flowers like roses, but such a simple a innocent way.

 

Scarlet lifted her head from the flowers and gave a smile, "It's nice to see world around you like that, I don't share you view well not while i'm working but I certainly don't find anything wrong with what you are doing." Scarlet lent over again and took another smell, then made her way inside the trailer, poking her head from out the servery. "would you like some lunch before I get run over by the miners?" Despite Taps answer she did have to get ready for serving lunch and put the cookers on, getting back on with preparing all the foodstuffs to go into the meal for this lunch she added "If you want anything take a seat i'll bring you somthing nicer than what I'm making for the others."

[cwhip9 1,078]

@@Randimaxis, Cresent nodded towards his crush glad to see her connect the dots, "And not only that, if it could melt through this" he pulled off the helm showing the burn mark

 

"I know these are not designed for hat rocks at that temperature but..."the bat pony looked at the brothers machine

 

"If boss is truly convinced about getting this machine, he's going to need a bigger medical staff for sure if it melts through that. I took a peek into the mine just to see how it deals with it and chucks team. Out of the two, I don't think the brothers truly put safety in mind for this competition really. They want one thing only regardless of cost...the diamonds." Cresent's calm exterior was almost breaking as Silver could hear how serious he was.

 

"I have half a mind to shut that bloody thing down, another to stand by and let the brothers hit the leak to show everypony how they are...but I have enough gunning for me with those maps some-" he paused eyes widening his thoughts finishing his sentence.

 

He looked back at where he saw his boss, surely this wasn't all one big distraction for the saboteur.....

[Blitz Boom 4,427]

@@Randimaxis,

 

W-What did he just say?

 

Ziggy stood on top and looked down on the foreponies wandering away with big eyes and her jaw hanging down.

 

She had thought that this was a prank. Even if it had crossed her mind to be something dangerous that could end up accidentally hurting somepony, a prank were still what she had expected when she had followed them and listened in on them. A fact that really were baffling in itself as they could have seen her more or less by lifting their heads and focusing, as she didn't blend in as well as one could have hoped.

 

But to get back to what was at stake here: The two of them - At least, with perhaps more helping - had kidnapped Oglevy Blackwater and held him for... questioning it sounded like? It didn't matter... or perhaps it did? Oooh, what was she gonna do?

 

She knew the stories that the other at the quarry said of the youngest Blackwater. That he was essentially a very bad foal and that his antics tended to sway between *Foal pranks* and *Hurtful actions*, and if there was a strong possibility that he had done something to almost blow up Crescent and Silver then yes, he Should be questioned, but... By Celestia, he was still just a foal, and they had him kidnapped! And likely not in a good way since they actually had to discuss whatever or not he were injured/if he was going to be.

 

It was good that Slapper made it clear that no harm was going to actually come to the foal, but still... This couldn't be right in any sort of way. Even if the little one was guilty of what was said, they had to have some sort of evidence to back up doing anything. And if they had those, why hadn't they taken it to Mr. Blackwater? Sure, he would keep his hoof over his youngest, but this was a workplace and stuff like that could either set the mine back a long time, or have authorities come around and potentially even close the mine. Death on site wasn't something that just blew over like that, and she was sure that he would tell Oglevy at least that there was a time and a place to play with explosives. Which, considering that he could have ended up blowing himself up too if it were, would be never.

 

Though she should perhaps have gone directly back and told Mr. Blackwater on the spot, she couldn't risk loosing the foreponies or be away if they moved the foal around for some reason, so at least until she knew where they were first she had to stay on track. So she did, following them over their heads, hiding behind things and trying her best not to be spotted by the duo whilst the worry grew in her mind over what was happening. And what was going to happen when it was all said and done.

[Randimaxis 8,633]

@@JonasDarkmane - @@cwhip9

 

"STOP!"  

 

Luther Blackwater's voice was powerful enough to rise above the work crew AND the device; the whole cavern seemed to boom with it.  He had his hoof up, looking at his watch - time was up.

 

Looking up, the elder Blackwater looked around for a moment, searching for something or somepony... and dark clouds seemed to move across his muzzle as he failed to find what he sought.  Chances are, whomever he'd been looking for would have a LOT of explaining to do when Luther caught up with them.  Regardless, the stallion walked out into the middle of the cave, the crowd parting for him as if he were royalty; in his own quarry, he might as well have been exactly that.

 

"The hour is up.  BECK!  CALL!  Weigh the two teams' results - tell me which weighs more."

 

The two butler ponies at Vylia's sides jumped as if they'd been bitten by horseflies, and both zipped over to begin preparing the cart scales that usually measured weight in each minecart to ensure they weren't too heavy for some of the bridges down here.  In this case, they would be the decider in this contest.  Vylia didn't seem very pleased about having her personal assistants bossed around by anyone but herself, but she took it with dignity and didn't make a fuss.

 

Chuck and his team of workers looked exhausted; two of them had fallen out during the match, and were sitting on the sidelines, looking sad, but not ashamed... they had done their best.  The rest of the team looked haggard and weary, but they all wore looks of confidence at a job well done - and nopony looked as confident (or exhausted) than Chuck List himself.  He looked every bit like he knew his team had outdone their metallic rival, and he wore a small grin as he waited to hear how much they had beaten the Flim Flam Brothers by.

 

Silver looked to Crescent.  "We can tell Chuck now, but I think he's waiting for the results; why don't we go seal it off by ourselves?  I can grab a few materials from storage down here, and at the very least, we can mark off the area.  That way, we'll give them time to sort things out, and it'll look good to Mr. Blackwater that we took care of business while the others were busy.  We'll be heroes - well, maybe not so much as heroes, but more like we'll be looked upon more favorably if we do it.  What do you think?"

 

 

@

 

Taps nodded at the offer of food, then smiled kindly in thanks as she went to the table.  She watched with interest as Scarlet began set-up for the crew she was sure would be here shortly.  Taps' mismatched eyes followed Scarlet's practiced movements, seeming to watch each minute detail; she was rapt on the Earth Pony's actions.

 

Farther down the way, Scarlet caught movement out of the corner of her vision - there was a purple pony walking with the unpleasant unicorn from earlier, the two of them looking like they were up to something.  They made their way down to a storage shed, a sign next to it claiming it to be Shed #17.  Reaching the door, they slipped in one at a time, and shut it QUICKLY behind them.  How strange.  

 

To top THAT off, it seemed as if they were being followed by... a winged zebra.  Really?  REALLY?  A WINGED zebra?

 

What in Equestria was going on at the Blackwater Quarry???  For a first day, this was shaping up to be ANYTHING but dull.

 

 

@@Blitz Boom

 

The two foreponies made their way down to Shed #17, where they both snuck inside, shutting the door behind their flanks.  With as sneaky as they were being getting into it, there was a chance that the shed is where they were keeping the poor colt.

 

This kind of behaviour, she could expect from Redd - he was always a sourpuss, NEVER accepted any of Ziggy's hugs, and was a smarmy, self-important and insufferable pain in the flank - but Knee Slapper was always such a nice stallion; he may have been an incurable practical jokester, but he'd never really HURT anypony... at least, not as far as Ziggy would know.

 

What to do, what to do, what to do...

[JonasDarkmane 19,777]

@@Randimaxis

 

The brothers powered down their machine, the sounds whirring down, as the head of the Blackwaters called out for the teams to stop. They both stood closely together, looking over at the miners, seeing how most of them were deadly tired. They snickered, looking at each other, their manes were in perfect conditions and they had not so much as gotten a smudge on their hooves and as if their clothes had been recently been cleaned. 

 

They had every confidence in their machine's progress. 

 

"Well well well, quite a long way gone just to prove our machine's effectiveness" Flam said with a cheeky smile, looking at Chuck. However, he caught his grin and his smile wavered a bit, before returning back to a cheeky one. 

 

His brother Flim noticed his brother's smile wavering, also not liking the other pony's confidence. He quickly reinforced his brother's statement. 

 

"Indeed, it has also proven to be very sturdy in dangerous situations. A miner would not be able to survive what this machine can go through". 

 

The brothers nodded to each other, deciding not to push it any further and then stood waiting for the results of the match, wearing calm looks on their faces. 

[Mentis Soliloquy 3,024]

@@Randimaxis, 

 

The Quarry- outside the mine

 

Scarlet looked out the servery at what the few ponies where doing in the distance shaking her head, ​This is a mine not a stage drama, I am not getting involved with any of that, what ever that well is? I need to keep my cover looking into things like that will not help my cause. She refocused on what she was cooking and resumed talking to Tap, "so how long have you been working here then? I need to rephrase that so you can answer without words, um I don't know tap the table for how many years yes? Then we go months after that, yep that would work."

 

Summer was making a lot of noise here and there after a few more minutes walked out with a dish and placed in front of her (you can choose the dish, something well made) she then returned to the kitchen and kept working. "you know I have never done anything official cooking wise before this is my first culinary job so to speak, don't get me wrong I cook at home all the time and cook for dinner parties and so on but this is certainly an experience for me, how is the food then? The workers are well getting a little more generic meal the supplies I have here are not really that good to be honest if you want good workers you pay them well and you feed them well, I mean are they even being paid well? Actually who do I actually speak to about the food supply would you know?" 

 

Everything was coming together lunch would be ready for when the miners came up to eat, Scarlet was not happy with the quality of the food that came in she was good but she can only do so much to make the food taste as nice as possible, she was worried that ponies may not like her cooking just because she had bad supplies more than her cooking skills.

[Blitz Boom 4,427]

@@Randimaxis,

 

Okay, so shed #17, so she knew where they were at least. Well, for Now anyway.

 

The problem with getting help right now were if they moved, she were really in the deep end by showing an empty shed where the Blackwater colt might have been before. Both because she would seem like a paranoid lunie, and because the colt in question would then be someplace she literally had No idea about, along with the foreponies who did.

 

She couldn't count on them leaving some sort of trace in the shed she could follow, and there were too many hoofprints on the ground at the mine to even take a wild stab at where somepony in particular might have been going right now, so if she lost them, she'd likely loose them for good.

 

But if she went at this without backup... She might be fast, but she were still a Pegasus by blood, which meant her light physique couldn't hold much of a punch, and she was shoddy at fighting at the best of times as it were. Furthermore, she needed space to be able to avoid things for long, and the sheds here wasn't enough space. She'd tire too fast without having the space to move in, and then she could end up getting caught herself.

 

It took a minute or so of internally debating what to do before she swooped down and landed in front of the shed, having something of a plan for the time being. Which in this case was basically to hold her head to the wall and listen if she heard any screams or the like. If it came to that, she would take the chance and try to get the colt free before she was done thinking this over, yet it might still end like that as it began to sound like the only option she had that wouldn't at least make it seem like she tried.

[cwhip9 1,078]

@@Randimaxis, Cresent blinked a bit working bout to see any negatives for it, he couldn't really think up any. Pluse if they timed it right they would have proof to the crowd what the machine could also do maybe saving some jobs here "all right lets get to work then"  

 

Once Silver and cresent got the supplies needed they made there way cresent leading "an old hole that was never covered up, I made sure they wouldn't touch it in case of emergency" cresent said worming his way in the whole "its a bit tight buuut"...there was a pause and with a pop he was in. He helped Silver squeeze through and soon the two ponies were in the mine

 

"its over here, sorry for the tight squeeze that's the cave more then anything" he said holding out his wing for the mare to hang onto to keep the balance as the two ponies made there way through 2 walls almost squished together. After the tight pass the two came out to an open area in the mine with a very foamier glow above them. The agama leaking from the crack about the size of cresent was rather mean looking

 

"I don't remember it getting bigger" cresent said looking up cocking his head to the side "if there machine could do that it might be a bigger problem then I thought" he said  

[Randimaxis 8,633]

@

 

Taps grinned as Scarlet kept her speechlessness in mind, and carefully tapped on the table a total of eleven times.  After a moment, she gave four little taps to follow them.  She watched as Scarlet got right to work, and sat there listening attentively as she spoke; even if Scarlet had been talking to herself, Taps would have still paid her the utmost attention.

 

When the food was set in front of her, Taps' eyes widened, and she licked her lips before she started eating.  Her manners were neither fancy nor odious; she simply ate her food at a decent pace, taking the time to savor each bite before swallowing.

 

At the question of pay, Taps' nodded emphatically - apparently, working for the Blackwaters DID pay well... of course, it had been a factor of working here in the first place.  At the question of whom was in charge of the foodstuffs here, Taps looked thoughtful for a moment before she removed a quill and scroll from her satchel, wrote a quick bit, then replaced the quill before placing the paper on the order counter.  It said:

 

FOODSTUFFS = Chuck List, head forepony  -  gray stallion/black mane/scroll and check CutieMark

 

Finishing her meal, Taps sighed happily.  She then carried her empty tray and dumped it into the bin meant to hold dirty dishes and other tableware.  She then came back to the window and lingered a bit, watching Scarlet work and offering her a kind smile every time Scar looked at her.

 

 

@@Blitz Boom

 

From inside the shed, Ziggy could hear talking as things happened inside...

 

"... and left us soaking wet?  I caught a cold that lasted for DAYS, thanks to you!"

 

"HA, HA, HA!  Serves you right, you prissy jackass!"

 

"Oh, really?  What about the time you thought it would be funny to glue the elevator into the down position?  Every miner who reported in that week had to take the PATH down - and that's a LONG way to walk, fella."

 

"SO?  I didn't have to walk it!"

 

"You CONFOUNDING LITTLE BRAT!  What about when you switched the conveyor belt feeds?  Ore and gems going to the opposite cleaning machines?  Do you have ANY idea how long it took Silver to get those working again?"

 

"Yeah, and?  It's called 'job security', you lurking oaf!"

 

There was the sound of shuffling, punctuated by "no, NO, he's not WORTH it!" coming from inside for a moment before...

 

"Well then... I suppose there's no other choice, is there?"  Redd let out a sound that might have been a sigh.  "You're TRULY serious about this?"  "You'd be surprised how well it works, Reddy-Steady."  "DO.  NOT..."  "Yeah, yeah - I know."

 

"What are you doing, you stupid rutting morons?"

 

"Such LANG-uage!"  Slapper's chuckle came through the door, and Ziggy could make out the sounds of slow hoofsteps.

 

"Wait... wait, what is tha-... NO!  NONONONONONONONONOOOOO!"

 

"Oh, but YES, Oglevy... you know SOMEthing about what happened down there - and you're on the spot.  Crescent and Silver almost DIED, do you realize that?"  A pause.  "... s-so?"

 

"So, I'm not just gonna sit idly by while my friends and fellow co-workers are threatened... even if it's by the likes of YOU.  So, Oggie-"

 

"DON'T CALL ME THAAAAT!  DON'T CALL ME THAAAAT!"

 

"... this is for YOU."

 

"No!  NO!  NOOOOOOOOO..!"

 

 

@@cwhip9

 

Silver gulped as she saw the runnel of magma dripping from the once-benign hole.

 

"Oh, THAT'S not good!  That looks like lava... but this isn't a volcano!  How in the wide, wide world of Equestria did it get here?  Wait, it doesn't matter - it needs to be sealed up, THAT'S what matters!  And WE are the corks!  Well, not insomuch as we're actual CORKS, but more like we're the ones who'll have to plug this up..."

 

Silver got a grin on her face as she slid her tool belt around for better access.

 

"Now, if I can just get a good lock on the angles in here... Cress, do you think you could take my tape measure and get the dimensions of the ceiling near the hole?  Don't get burned - just measure how big so I can gather some materials; if we hurry, we might be able to fix this without anything worse happening."

 

Silver began mentally trying to settle on a fair design to fix the magma; where it came from would have to wait.

 

 

@@JonasDarkmane

 

The two scales, side by side, were daunting in their size... but they were needed as safety measures - there were bridges down here that spanned deep gaps, and those bridges could only hold so much weight.  Hence, the scales.

 

The carts full of the gemstones mined by Chuck's crew stood on the left one, while the Flim Flam Brothers' gatherings were on the right.  The piles looked about dead even; nopony could tell by sight who was the victor.  The butler pony, a bit disheveled and dirty, was making the final adjustments to the scales.  He looked a bit harried, but he still composed himself with dignity as he checked over the instruments for the left-hoof pile.

 

"Scale readings are complete... and the result is... two-hundred-and-eighty-eight pounds!  Even!"

 

A cheer went up from the crowd as the audience roared over the result of Chuck's crew; they had really slammed it out, pushing themselves to get the job done.  Chuck smiled, but he let the other crew members do the waving.

 

The butler pony then moved over to the scale on the right, and stared closely at the readout.  You could hear a pin drop as he cleared his throat to relay the news.

 

"Scale readings are complete... and THIS result is... two-hundred-and-eighty-eight pounds..."

 

He looked at the scale again.

 

"... and nine ounces."

[cwhip9 1,078]

@@Randimaxis, cresent nodded at his crush pulled out the measuring tape and flew close up towards the leaking vain, getting near it was hard enough with the heat. he placed one end locked onto a stalactite and then tried to pull back on the cord with his teeth. As he measured the length a few drips got close to him making him focus harder on how he was flying, do to this bit it seemed longer then it was. Finely he flew back down with the tape. "4 ft across and 1 foot wide" he said looking back up side stepping one of the dripping magma

 

"actually for the volcanoes bit....there is a possibility but we can only find that out by digging deeper or just bringing in smarter ponys. I do kind wonder if its a under ground volcanoes...or that's the case the brothers will have a bit of a burn out finding it" cresent said looking up at the vein  

 

"seriously though, this whole competition why do I have a feeling the saboteur wanted this to happen. to clean up his clue's it would make sense but I still don't know why target me of all pony's, sorry the vein any idea's?" he asked silver

[JonasDarkmane 19,777]

@@Randimaxis

 

The smug face on the brothers returned, closing their eyes. They opened them again and looked at Chuck. 

 

"Well well well, it appears we won--"

 

"--and also proved our machine's effectiveness. They tried though, they did try". 

 

"Indeed, but by trying harder than they usually work, they only proved our machine's worth considerably". 

 

"How you might be asking? Why, machines can always be bettered, upgraded and enhanced!". 

 

"But ponies can sadly not do so, and therefore, it is too dangerous for them to try and deal with the deep corners of the earth". 

 

"But that does not mean there is no use of them". 

 

"Correct! There is still at least some use of them" Flam said, managing to sneak in a passive aggressive, yet also an aimed-to-humiliate, comment over to Chuck. 

 

They both turned towards Luther Blackwater and approached him. 

 

"While this was indeed a nice way to observe and oversee the machine's effectiveness--" 

 

"--we still had fun as it was a nice little challenge". 

 

Especially since they managed to prove their challengers wrong, both of the brothers thought. 

[Blitz Boom 4,427]

@@Randimaxis,

 

Oglevy's no wasn't the sound heard as the door suddenly slammed wide open and Ziggy stood in the doorway, looking horrified at whatever were going on in there.

 

Several images ran through her head as she had listened in to what things were like in there. Most of them included Oglevy tied to a chair whilst the others stood around him, trying to get something out of hi but instead had the whole thing devolve into a sort of back and forth between disgruntled workers and what admittedly really Did sound like a mean-spirited colt.

 

That were just talk though. Then all of a sudden, Oglevy had started to scream and things had changed dramatically. Suddenly she could see them getting ready to waterboard him, shave him bald, cover him in ants or some other kind of horrible thing she had seen in movies back in Las Pegasus. At which point she couldn't sit idle by anymore.

 

"Don't hurt him!"

 

What the reality were of what was truly going on behind the door she had technically seen, but with the panic and worry going through her right now it would take a few seconds before it would register in her brain. If the ones inside wanted to detain her so she didn't ruin things. Those seconds of processing would likely be their best bet as she was hard to catch otherwise.

[Mentis Soliloquy 3,024]

@@Randimaxis,

 

The Quarry- outside the mine

 

"Ha like watching me cook then hey? Not to worry had that effect on my family back home always was asked to cook always accepted, love it too much the whole thing from start to not cleaning the plates because i'm the cook." she stopped and looked at her. Then the note, "Hmm you are the first pegasus that I've seen actually use a quill and not one of their feathers, but then I've not meet a mute before so day of firsts I guess." She shook her head. "Not seen anyone answering that description, but ill keep the note if you don't mind so I can recognize him to ask for better food this stuff is not good."

 

She started up again, "So you've been here going one eleven and a half years? Wow how old are you? I mean really you've been working here since I was what?" Scarlet raised a hoof to her chin for a moment before continuing. "Um eleven wow, I was bucking trees back then a life time ago." She shook her head and moved to another pot putting in a load of veggies into the pot then stirring it, there was still much prep to be done before lunch. "You need anything else quiet feathers? Just a joke lass." 

Edited February 13, 2016 by Emerald Bolt

[Randimaxis 8,633]

@@cwhip9

 

Silver groaned.

 

"Look, forget about your saboteur for a minute!  That lava flow CAN'T be coming from the mountain itself - this place has been surveyed regularly for over 200 years!  There IS no lava here - so THAT has to be something else!"

 

She suddenly stopped and stared up at the lava hole.

 

"That's... actually underneath very close to where we were when we got caught in the blast.  Maybe this has something to do with it?  Well, regardless - we have work to do.  We need to go grab some materials from my shed, then we can put the kibosh on this leak before it causes any trouble."

 

She nodded her head matter-of-factly, then began back up the path to fetch the materials.

 

"C'mon, Cress - it's time to be workhorses!  Well, not so much as this specific time, but more like during our work hours, we should get this done... oh, YOU know what I'm saying!"

 

 

 

@@JonasDarkmane

 

A slight cheer went up for the robot's victory, but there were more disappointed faces than anything else.  And not a one of those muzzles held more disappointment than Chuck List.

 

He sat there at first when the measurements came back, jaw hanging open and wide-eyed... but when the actuality of the contest struck him, it was almost like he'd been told his entire family line had just gone over a cliff.  He was visibly devastated; he had just about broken his rear legs, rock-kicking like he'd been a decade younger... but it had all been for nothing.

 

Chuck listened to the Twins' jibes with closed eyes and a furrowed brow.

 

"But that does not mean there is no use of them". 

 

"Correct! There is still at least some use of them"

 

That did it.

 

As the brothers turned and went to Luther Blackwater to officially claim their victory, Chuck stood up and quietly made his way back up the path leading from the depths of the mine, headed for the surface.  Nopony even seemed to notice the hot tears carving tracks down Chuck's dusty muzzle.

 

The elder Blackwater watched the Twins approach, and his stern gaze was unsettling.  He listened to them talk, then cleared his throat before responding.

 

"This test was NOT little - but your machine passed the weight quota.  Good.  As we agreed, I shall keep this model here for working while you build the other nine for me.  You will receive payment for this one today; the rest, on delivery.  At the end of this week, you will both show up for routine maintenance, where you will ensure the machine has no issues.  When the rest are here and working, you two will CONTINUE to service these machines - exclusively, as you insisted - and you will receive wages for your efforts.  Blackwater Quarry wages."

 

Luther turned and looked at the machine as it sat there, majestic and victorious.

 

"ONE WEEK.  If this machine does not perform to par, then I withhold the right to refuse further payment and cancel my order."

 

He nodded.  "I agree to this."

 

Luther then turned and, without another word, began to leave the mine.  Vylia, Dax and the two butler ponies followed right behind him.  The rest of the workers began to disperse, the day's entertainment over with.

 

 

 

@@Blitz Boom

 

Ziggy was partially right.

 

This was what she saw:

 

Tied carefully to the chair was, indeed, Oglevy Blackwater.  He didn't look like a scared little foal, either - he looked like he was fit to split, he was so angry.  There were a number of towels wrapped around him, apparently not only to keep the rope from leaving marks, but also to keep his small yet powerful wings in check.  On the table was a number of rags tied into a knot, a puddle of drool beneath it; this must be what was being used for a gag.

 

Redd Handid was standing at the far side, tilting Oglevy's chair back from a standing position and keeping him suspended like such.  Redd's mane was tied back with a hank of rope; he almost looked like a mare, his mane was so long and fluffy - having it pulled back effectively gave him the appearance of a schoolmarm.

 

Knee Slapper was standing directly in front of Oglevy, and in the corner of his mouth was apparently the item with which he was planning on using on Oglevy to get him to talk.  The sinister instrument of Oglevy's terror was...

 

... a large blue feather.

 

The three of them were there, staring wide-eyed and slack-jawed at Ziggy's entrance.  Then, everything happened at once.

 

Oglevy's face made a rapid and drastic change, from haughty and angry, to fearful and panicky.  "NO!  PLEASE!  MISS ZIGGY!  THEY'RE HURTING ME!  PLEASE STOP THEM!  WAAAAAAAAAAAAH..."

 

Redd looked down at the now whiny colt... and let go of the back of the chair.  It slammed down back-first, which stopped Oglevy's whining.  "OWWW!!  You rutting IDIOT!  That HURT!"

 

Knee, however, moved swiftly and grabbed Ziggy by the hoof and quickly yanking her inside, slamming the door shut as he did.  When the momentum of his pull wore off, she was standing in the middle of the shed, with the scene described going on in front of her face.

 

Knee looked at her with a serious face.  "Okay, this is NOT what it looks like... well... maybe it is, but there's a GOOD REASON for all this, I swear!"

 

 

 

@

 

Taps smiled as Scarlet spoke of watching her cook, nodding yes in answer to the passing question.  When she said something about the dishes, however, Taps gave a thoughtful look for a moment, then made her way over to the dish-bin.  Yanking it open, she began to bring plates into the rear door of the cleaning area, stacking them in the sink in the back.  

 

When she'd gathered them all up, she went back to the stack and, using the sprayer attached to the sink, she gave the dishes a simple once-over, blasting off the excess grime and foody-bits.  Once done, she shuffled them over to a hopper with a conveyor belt, where she pulled a lever next to it that set the belt moving through a machine.

 

One by one, she set the dishes on the belt and they went through, coming out clean and steaming on the other end and neatly stacking themselves in a spring-loaded container that would pop-up the next available clean plate.  Taps stepped back from it grinning; she had wanted to help her new friend, and she thought she'd done a decent job of it.

 

She nodded when Scarlet mentioned keeping the note, as it was exactly what she'd intended.  To the quill statement, she looked over her shoulder at her wings for a moment, then simply shrugged.  When asked if there was anything else, Taps shook her head... then she gestured around the kitchen, then pointed to Scar with a questioning look on her face.  It was as if she were asking the Earth Pony if SHE wanted any assistance.

[Mentis Soliloquy 3,024]

@@Randimaxis,

 

The Quarry- outside the mine

 

Scarlet turned after a few minuets of solid cooking to find her washing the dishes, Scarlet was not actually expecting that. "Um that is my job your not being paid to help me I mean don't you have work to do?" She was not really complaining at Taps but she was confused that she was just working with her in the kitchen with out her asking for help that was things her family and close friends did not just a mare she met what ten to fifteen minuets ago, so they smelled some flowers together and she cooked her a special meal. Did not know it was that easy to make friends around here, but well I'm not going to complain. 

 

"Look it's nice that you want to help but I doubt that if our boss came by he's be happy you working here with me while your being payed to do anther job would he now?" Scarlet walked over and pushed her out the kitchen. "Look I'm grateful but I don't want you to lose your job or get in trouble for helping me, please understand." As she pushed her out of the trailer and then led her back to the open servery. She goes back around into the kitchen, then looks back through the window. "Sorry if I seem mean but you know I am thinking of you, anyway when are the miners coming for lunch? I don't want to burn the food should I turn the heat off for now?"

[Marxyhooves 73]

It had been a disappointing week for Ivan Durakovich Ponihuiplet...

 

A few days ago he had reported to the guard at Canterlot, only to discover that they'd received no notice that he was coming. This was okay, he'd only just arrived at the time after all. But a few days later, when Ivan found the guard still weren't prepared to take him in, Ivan began to become concerned, especially since he probably had only one or two days more worth of food squirrelled away in his uniform. By now he'd moved on to eating the really suspicious looking sandwiches, and for Ivan to consider a sandwich suspicious... well, there are reasons the use of such substances on the field of battle has long been considered criminal by civilized races...

 

Ivan's luck seemed to turn one evening, however, when not only did he find a hay-sandwich that had definitely not been in his pocket for more than a week or two at most, but came across a poster advertising hard, honest work, for honest pay at a place called Blackwater Quarry. What was more, it was only a few hours walk from where he was in Canterlot!

 

Chewing over his options, and his sandwich, Ivan soon decided to head out in that direction to see about perhaps finding some work. A few hours of walking later, Ivan had ran into some ponies who looked to be on their way to the same place he was. That they all looked fairly well-fed, didn't seem to have many patches in their clothes, and had mining accoutrements on their person led Ivan to deduce that, perhaps, these ponies might be looking for a quarry as well.

 

Still, not wanting to leap to conclusions, Ivan had decided not to bother them until he could be more certain that they were in some way connected to the quarry operation, and for the mean time had continued on towards his destination giving an affirmative sounding grunt from time to time or the very occasional 'Da.' when one of these ponies asked him a question... soon Ivan found himself walking along in what he thought seemed a rather companionable silence,

 

They certainly seemed to like to talk a lot these ponies, mostly about some sort of explosion or a song or something; Ivan had stopped paying much attention before too long so he wasn't really sure. Occasionally somepony would mention some other pony called "Luther" or that "That miser Blackwater" or "that slave-driver Blackwater" or some such thing...

 

Ivan could not help but wonder if this pony was, perhaps, in some way related to the quarry as well, seeing as it was called Blackwater Quarry. Surely, these fast talking southern ponies were rubbing off on him, as Ivan found his mind was truly going a mile a minute these days, what with all these deductions and assumptions he'd been making about things...

 

Perhaps he ought try to reign it in a little bit...

 

Such far reaching ruminations, however, were quickly forgotten as Ivan came within sight of the quarry. It was rather big, what with the wall and the boulder and all, but what really took Ivan's breath away was the Manor. It was HUGE! Ivan would have thought it was the sort of place the Princesses would live in; his family's farmstead could probably fit inside the front parlour from the look of things. The whole place looked dead posh too... surely, thought Ivan, whoever lives in that house must have at least... well.. they must have a lot of family to have a house that big!

 

Slowly making his way through the wrought iron gates and up the path to the doors, Ivan took a moment to wipe the sweat off of his brow, or at least smear it around a little bit... It was so confoundedly hot this far south... Ivan found himself before the door and, with one last quick spit-polish of his small, brass, "Hero of Stalliongradi Baggage Train" medal, he slowly brought up his hoof and knocked once, twice, thrice on the large doors.

 

Ivan was quietly confident that he was going to make a good impression...

Edited February 15, 2016 by Marxyhooves

[Blitz Boom 4,427]

@@Randimaxis,

 

"A good reason?"

 

Ziggy looked dumbfounded at things around her for a few seconds after being yanked around, taking in the scene of the bound Blackwater colt and the... Well, Torture-chamber wasn't exactly right, and that were good, but it still wasn't right.

 

"How can there be a good reason for kidnapping a colt and yapping at him whilst you have him bound to a chair."

 

She towered over Knee and looked down upon him with a look on her face that she didn't adorn often, and not whilst she had been working here: Disappointment and slight anger.

 

"I know the stories, and I know that Oglevy is perhaps not a kind colt, but what you accuse him off is far beyond mean pranks. It's murder, and there's a big leap from trying to mess with somepony to trying to kill them.

 

If you have proof he have done anything wrong, then take it to Mr. Blackwater, and he will deal with things. He wouldn't want anything to happen to his workers that could get the mine shut down, or loose equipment that could be caught in a blast in the mine. It's lost money, and Oglevy should know that he doesn't like that. Hay, You should know that too.

 

Or do you have nothing and are trying to force evidence out of him? Because Mr. Blackwater will not care for anything you'd find as much as you taking his colt."

 

She didn't have it in her to get into a proper rage, but if she had she might have hit that now after seeing what was going on in here. Sure it Looked harmless enough, and by Celestia she could agree that the youngest Blackwater could use a lesson in action and consequence, but this wasn't the way it should happen. Not with foalnapping and tying him to a chair like he were a big criminal.

 

Some justice should come from Silver and Crescent almost getting blown up, of course, but when you tried to get it like this there wasn't any moral highground anymore, and unless they were going to tie her down as well she were going to put an end to it herself before it just got worse.

[Randimaxis 8,633]

@

 

Taps grinned as Scarlet pushed her out of the kitchen, and hid her silently giggling mouth behind a hoof.  She didn't seem very worried about her job, but she also didn't fight being shoved out the back.  Once outside, she simply walked around to the tables again and leaned in on the sill, watching Scar cook.

 

It was strange; Taps didn't seem to be in any hurry to get her own work accomplished, yet she was willing to help Scarlet - and there was no obvious reason why.  It was possible the mare was simply of an altruistic nature, of course... but Scarlet would have to decide for herself if Taps was being kind or otherwise.

 

At the question of the miners coming to lunch, Taps' smile grew wider as she began to tap on the countertop.

 

>tic<... >tic<... >tic<... >tic<...

 

WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

 

The delivery mare nodded as the Lunch Whistle went off, a loud shriek that echoed off the nearby mountainside and came back faintly.

 

With that, Taps pointed her hoof over at one of the bench tables.  Sitting there, head in his folded forelegs, was the exact pony Taps had described to her: it was the forepony, Chuck List.  Now she might be able to get his attention to ask about the food issues; he looked like he might be napping, which respectable and hard-working stallions shouldn't be doing on the job.

 

 

 

@@Marxyhooves 

 

It was quiet for a good moment.  A long good moment.  Was anypony home?

 

"You, there!  Helloooooo-ooooo?"  called out a melodious and very feminine voice.  

 

Coming up the pathway leading to the quarry were three ponies; a very lovely mare, resplendent in a large gold bow and various bangles and baubles... a young stallion who looked as if he was absolutely miserable... and a strong-looking, stern-faced stallion bringing up the rear.  The one in the back looked as if HE were in charge - everything in his very being seemed to exude confidence and dignity... it was almost as if he represented the ultimate worker.

 

The mare, on the other hoof, was almost oozing Kapitalist decadence.  She smelled of expensive perfumes and was accompanied on either side of her shapely flank by two twin butlers, complete with tuxedo coats and matching thin mustaches; they looked exactly alike.  They walked in step, with an air of sophistication.  The mare was stepping prim and prissily, yet slowed to a stop as she grew near Ivan.

 

"Might I help y-OH!  WHAT... IS... THAT... SMELL!?!?" 

 

She backpedaled from Ivan, crashing into the two butlers and sending them crashing onto the ground.

 

The large stallion stopped.  He raised an eyebrow at Ivan, then glanced over at the three tangled in a heap.  Then, he glanced back at Ivan.

 

 

 

@@Blitz Boom

 

"WAIT!  NO!  YOU CAN'T TELL FATHER!!!"

 

Knee and Redd both turned and looked at the hogtied colt.

 

"If you tell him, Mother will find out, and then he'll..."

 

He went quiet, looking both guilty and worried.  After a very quick little puff of a sigh, he said, "Okay, fine.  Look, I'll tell you plebeians all about it - everything - if you just give me a minute."  

 

He looked up at Slapper.  "And promise to let me go."

 

Knee looked at the colt, then at Ziggy.  "Hey, that was the idea all along; we weren't gonna hurt ya, little guy... heck, I was gonna stop waaaaay before you peed yourself.  Just ask Redd; we discussed it!"

 

Redd muttered, "... softie..." under his breath.

 

"I... kinda knew that.  I just don't LIKE being trussed up like this; let me out, and I'll talk."

 

Knee nodded and looked over at Redd.  "Sounds legit; let 'im loose, Redd."

 

Redd, however, had a different thought.  "Oh, yes let's?  And while we're at it, why don't we open the shed door, hmmm?  After all, I'm certain he'll just zip through the skylight if we don't!  If we do this, his wings stay tied until this is completely and thoroughly talked out..."  He turned to look at Oglevy.  "Do you agree to these terms, you little parasprite?"

 

 

Oglevy thought for a moment, then nodded.  "Fair enough, jackass."

 

Redd began to undo the ropes and towels; in the back, his wings were bound to his body... with Ziggy's gauze.

[Marxyhooves 73]

@@Randimaxis Outside the Manor -

 

Ivan slowly turned and was surprised to see what looked like a screaming mare, a scowling stallion, and a large pile of baggage that seemed to occasionally attempt to shift itself somewhat half-heartedly while emitting a high-pitched sound that could be broadly described as a combination of emasculated despair and pain...

 

Still, seeing as the mare had asked him a question, Ivan set about formulating an appropriate response, sniffing the air experimentally for a few moments, thinking about how to best respond to this unexpected line on inquiry. 

 

"There is smell?"

 

Ivan asked in all earnestness, while looked around, as if perhaps he could see the source of this mysterious odour lurking somewhere nearby, when suddenly...

 

"Oh wait... Do you mean to say you smell my sandwich?"

 

Ivan asked, starting to rummage through his many pockets for the object in question. He was sure he had come across it that morning... there it was...

 

"Here," he proclaimed, producing the offending article in one hoof and regarding it with a somewhat perplexed expression.

 

"I think it is... turnip surprise sandwich... Not sure what the surprise is though..." he trailed off, before deciding to take a bite for himself. He chewed for a few more moments, his brow furrowed, a look of deep reflection on his face. Ivan started to speak again, words accompanied by pieces of what might have once been considered a vegetable,

 

"Da... Da, I remember now... Surprise is... sandwich is only turnips..."

 

Swallowing, he looked back down at the sandwich in question. What could this pony have wanted with it? Ivan looked back at the pony. Well, she certainly looked sort of skinny, maybe she could consider selling some of her knick-knacks to buy a good meal once in a while. Perhaps the mare was hungry? Yes, that was probably it,

 

"Would you like some? I'd been saving it for later, but if you are really that hungry I'm happy to share."

 

Ivan advanced, the abomination in the guise of a sandwich outstretched in one hoof as he proffered it to the green mare with gold stripes.

 

"My name is Ivan Durakovich; is good to meet you miss. I come to look for job, do you know where I should ask about one?"

 

[Randimaxis 8,633]

@@Marxyhooves

 

The mare rapidly turned several shades of green.  

 

"NononononononoNONONONONONONONONONONONONONONOOOO!!!"

 

She shrieked in horror as the horrific culinary fright was pointed towards her, and she backed over the two butlers on the ground behind her to get away from it, stepping on their legs, chests and one of their faces. From beneath the two of them, there was a muffled groan of pain.  The twins looked at each other, then jumped up quickly.  Beneath them was the young stallion, looking like he had just had the wind squooshed out of him.  They quickly picked him up and started fussing over him.

 

"Master Daxter!"

 

"Oh, sweet Celestia!"

 

"Sir, are you all right?"

 

"A million pardons, Master Daxter!"

 

The stallion shook his head to clear his vision, then gently waved the two back.

 

"No, I'm... I'm okay.  Thank you Beck... Call."

 

The two butlers nodded, yet they still looked a bit concerned.

 

"If my son is alright WILL YOU TWO COME OVER HERE AND DEAL WITH... WITH... THAT!?"

 

She pointed directly at poor Ivan.  However, before either Beck or Call could even make a move, another voice spoke up; this one, they snapped to attention for.

 

"No."

 

The large stallion stepped forward, gazing at Ivan as he walked towards him.

 

"I will handle it.  Go inside Vylia.  Take Daxter with you."

 

Vylia Blackwater couldn't seem to give Ivan and his sandwich a wide enough berth... but she certainly tried.  The butlers also skirted the pony, but Daxter looked over at Ivan in passing... and waved.  A moment later, the front doors slammed shut hard enough to rattle the ornate knocker on the front of it.

 

The stallion stepped forward, his eyes locked on Ivan.  A moment passed where it was hard to tell if he was waiting for the Stalliongradi to start talking or not.  His brow seemed quite at home in the angry position; he wore a look that seemed as if he was in a staring contest with the world - and he was winning.

 

"Explain yourself." 

[Marxyhooves 73]

@@Randimaxis

 

Ivan, somewhat taken aback by the strange mare's outburst, raised an eyebrow before taking another bite of his turnip sandwich and returning it to the clawing abyss of foul smells and despair otherwise known as his pocket. Taking a moment to finish chewing, Ivan could not help but think to himself that, if the mare was that much of a picky eater, then she should perhaps not have asked him to share his lunch with her...

 

There really was just no pleasing some ponies.

 

Still, it seemed like the scowling stallion was now talking directly to him, and after politely nodding to the stallion who had waved at him, Ivan turned his attention to the pony in question.

 

As Ivan regarded the mottled black and green earth pony, he came to the conclusion that this pony in particular might be the pony in charge, or at least know where Ivan ought to go as regards looking for a job. 

 

Deciding he had better make a good impression, Ivan took a moment to swallow what was in his mouth, stand up straight, and, almost without blinking, stare directly back at the stallion with the sort of expression a pony might have if they were taken to a modern art museum, had no idea of what they were looking at, but were fairly convinced that their guide would take it personally if they were to leave mid-way through the tour.

 

After a few more moments, Ivan finally spoke in answer to the stallion's question,

 

"No."

 

Said Ivan,

 

"I can't... Not just like that. I am... a complicated pony, da?"

 

Deciding that, perhaps this hadn't been the answer the stallion was looking for, Ivan thought it best to elaborate, lest the pony come to the wrong conclusions.

 

"My name,"  he began, speaking at his usual speed approximating the gait of a pony lost in the desert about to die of exposure and dehydration, "Is Ivan Durakovich Ponihuiplet."

 

Pausing again, this time to use his tongue to dislodge a particularly recalcitrant bit of turnip from one of his molars, before smacking his lips and continuing,

 

"I am from Stalliongrad. Came south, to capital, to join Royal Guard. But Royal Guard did not have position available, so am looking for other work in meantime. I saw posters, and thought to come here for job."

 

Ivan stopped again to make sure he was not going too quickly when, all at once, he was struck by a wave of inspiration...

 

"This," he said, gesticulating to the small, shiny, brass star hanging from a red ribbon pinned to the front of his uniform,

 

"Is a medal."

 

A far-off look of vague pride slowly made its way across Ivan's features as he spoke of this,

 

"It is medal of 'Hero of Stalliongradi Baggage Train'. I won this medal when I was working for Stalliongradi guard at gem mine back home. There were diamond dogs. Wanted to steal wagon with gems. I did not let them; wagon made safe to town."

 

Not being a pony particularly prone to tooting his own horn, Ivan was somewhat uncomfortable with this extended monologue on his own abilities, but, seeing as it was either get a job here, or dig still deeper into his pockets and move on to eating things even Ivan was unsure of, he decided to press on.

 

"If you know boss-pony, let him know that, if he hires Ivan Durakovich, then he too will have wagons go places they are meant to go, and that Ivan always follows orders, no matter what. That... uh... that is all... I suppose."

 

Having come to the end of his job-pitch, Ivan trailed off and returned to his default blank expression as he continued staring back at the bespectacled pony in the black vest.

Edited February 16, 2016 by Marxyhooves

[Randimaxis 8,633]

@@Marxyhooves

 

The stallion had done a lot of travelling in his lifetime; mostly to set up gem trade contracts himself.  Because of this, he had come to learn a great deal about other dialects and even simple pieces of languages that weren't in use anymore.  In this case, he actually understood enough to comprehend what many others would overlook.  He blinked, then spoke to Ivan.

 

"Your name is Ivan Durakovich Ponihuiplet... which means your name is Son-Of-An-Idiot-Pony-Who-Talks-Too-Much?" 

 

He blinked again, staring at the fellow Earth Pony... and then...

 

"... heh-heh-heh-heh-heh..."

 

The eternal scowl actually shattered away for a moment, and the tall dark stallion gave a small chuckle as the corners of his mouth turned up at the sides.  Nopony was present to see what had just occurred, except the stallion in question and Ivan himself - and he hadn't been here long enough to know how exceedingly rare the moment truly was.

 

Luther Blackwater hadn't just smiled... HE HAD LAUGHED.

 

He looked at the Stalliongradi for a moment more, the tiny grin on his muzzle giving the usually stern-faced stallion a much softer countenance.  He stepped forward, and gave Ivan a pat on the shoulder.

 

"My name is Luther Blackwater... and I like you, Ivan Durakovich.  I can use you."

 

He looked him over, walking slow circles around Ivan as he spoke, yet making certain not to make his subject dizzy.

 

"You are strong - and your medal is respectable.  Tell me more about what do you expect to do here."

[Marxyhooves 73]

@@Randimaxis

 

'Ponyfeathers'

 

Thought Ivan, the poster had not mentioned that there was an interview process, and somepony should definitely have given him some warning that the questions were going to be this hard... Oh this was not good...

 

Slowly moving his head to track the stallion as he walked, Ivan took a few moments to think before attempting to answer the question,

 

"Uhh..."

 

Ivan then decided that he'd better take a few more moments to keep thinking. He was not entirely sure what to say at Luther Blackwater's strange outburst... But he had said that he liked Ivan, so that was a start. And he thought Ivan's name was funny. In all honestly, that he even knew what it meant had thrown Ivan through a bit of a loop. It wasn't often that one of these soft southerners knew the old mother tongue... Still, Ivan had been asked a question by his new employer, so he figured he had better set about answering it.

 

"I... Uhh... Well I expect to work, da? And also be paid..."

 

This was all going a little too fast for Ivan... But maybe the stallion had meant what Ivan was expecting to do specifically. Yes, that would make sense. In that case then, maybe, Ivan thought, he ought to elaborate a little more. Ivan was not normally a pony given to flights of fancy, but in this case, perhaps a little bit of speculation was in order. What this pony was looking for... what was it they called it? Oh, right, that was it, initiative...

 

"I used to be guard... So, maybe, I guard things?" he started again, somewhat hesitantly, "I can also pull wagon, so maybe do that too sometimes."

 

Ivan was beginning to get nervous at this point. In past experience, whenever his captain in the guard back in Stalliongrad had suggested that Ivan of all ponies take initiative, it usually meant that the captain was all out of ideas and that things were about to go pear-shaped. Not that things actually turned into pears, mind you, it's just that Ivan understood that ponies said that things were shaped like pears when they started to go wrong for some reason. Ivan was never really clear on that point,

 

"Uhh... umm... pears... da..."

 

Oh, right, Ivan had to answer the question. What was it Ivan expected to do? He had already said guarding things, and he mentioned pulling a wagon. Maybe pulling a wagon with gems in it this time? No, no, better not mention that bit, what else was there...

 

"Soup!" Ivan hastened to add, "I am also expecting to be making soup! For I am good at making it, da..."

 

It was at this point that the woefully underpowered locomotive of Ivan's intellectual processes finally stuttered and came to a halt after valiantly attempting to reach the summit of this mountain of far reaching intellectual speculation. Best put on the brakes now, before said locomotive began rolling backwards down said mountain.

 

"So, da..." Ivan concluded, "I am expecting to work, guard things, pull wagons, and sometimes make soup..."

 

This seemed something of a lacklustre finish to what had been, up till this point, by Ivan's standards anyway, a truly scintillating conversation... He just needed to think of one last thing... One last thing he expected to do to really prove that there was truly no other pony Luther Blackwater should look to besides Ivan Durakovich Ponihuiplet to get things he needed accomplished...

 

"One last thing is expecting!" he suddenly blurted out, "Most important expectation, is expecting to be following all of boss-pony's orders, follow all orders without question! That... uh... that is all, da, that is all."

 

'Nailed it,'

 

Ivan could not help but be inwardly proud of himself, his answers no doubt exceeded all expectations, this job was in the bag... definitely.

Edited February 16, 2016 by Marxyhooves