private A Cultural Exchange 1x1 with DwhitetheGamer

[DwhitetheGamer 867]

@@Illiad Easle, 

 

The Mane Six was finished with their hug on Copper.  "I guess this is goodbye for now, Copper." Twilight said.  "Stay safe, here."

 

Copper grinned.  "You haven't seen the last of Midnight, yet.  I'm in a little exchange with him between our cultures, and tomorrow he's going to Ponyville for a few days.

 

Pinkie gasped, but before she could speak, Copper said, "But I don't think it's a good idea to throw him a Welcome to Ponyville party.  Experience tells him to strike when he feels threatened."

 

"Oh," Pinkie said, disappointed that she won't throw a welcoming party.  But she understood.

 

Celestia and Luna got up from where they sat and walked over to Midnight.  "Well done, Midnight." Celestia said.

 

"Yes.  Thou hath done well.  I guess I over-hyped Copper's Spin Dash technique." Luna agreed.  She had a blush of  embarrassment coming out of her.

[Illiad Easle 3,134]

@@DwhitetheGamer,

 

Midnight gave a slight smile, "Thank you," He turned to face Luna directly, "I don't think you ever got to see my lightning sprint in action, so you wouldn't have known better. You were still technically correct in that he was the fastest earth pony in Equestria, but I am the fastest earth pony in the world." 

[DwhitetheGamer 867]

@@Illiad Easle, 

 

Luna nodded.  "Agreed.  I did not see your Lightning Sprint in action until now, and now that I did I should think twice before assuming what could be."  

 

"I guess it is time we left to Equestria.  Goodbye, Midnight, Black Knight.  Take care of Nebula for us."

 

Celestia and Luna then walked over to where the Mane Six and Copper were and, having giving their goodbyes to Copper, teleported the Mane Six back to Ponyville.

 

Copper then trotted over to the platform, where Black Knight and Midnight were, and smiled at them.  "I can answer any more questions you may have about Ponyville, Midnight.   That is, if you have any."

[Illiad Easle 3,134]

@@DwhitetheGamer,

 

Midnight turned to Copper, "I suppose I know enough for now, I wouldn't want to arrive having already learned all there was to know now would I?" Sir stopped his motions and stood up. He made a gesture with his armored glove and walked away. Midnight stood up as well, "Well, there's still half the day left before we leave for Ponyville, is there anything you'd like to do here at Archback before we leave?" 

[DwhitetheGamer 867]

@@Illiad Easle, 

 

"You have a good point."

 

Copper thought for a moment, then shook his head.  "Nah.  I got nothing.  I'll be right back."

 

He then trotted over to where he dropped off his special saddlebag earlier before the race, put it on, and trotted back to Midnight.

 

"I'm ready if you are."

[Illiad Easle 3,134]

@@DwhitetheGamer,

 

Midnight rose from his seat, he shifted so his armor would slide off and down his neck, forming into a sort of chain and cloth puddle which he gathered up to put in the bundle behind the stage that a few of the zebra's were preparing to move back into the town.

"Let's head back up the mountain then, neither of us are in any condition to travel tonight, especially with that energy potion we drank. It would be best if we got a good night sleep and set out first thing in the morning. I still need to pack up a few things anyway."

 

(Ponyville is about 110 miles away, a pretty long walk.)

[DwhitetheGamer 867]

@@Illiad Easle, 

 

Copper nodded.  His body was still pretty tired after all the running and using his Spin Dash in a short amount of time.  To be honest, he wanted to sleep after today's events, but he was still ready to go if necessary.

 

"Alright, then."

 

He started to make his way up the mountain, saddlebag and all.

[Illiad Easle 3,134]

@@DwhitetheGamer,

 

Midnight set his bundle carefully on his back before making his way up after Copper. There was already little trace that the race had ever occurred remaining in the field, those present were quickly dispersing as the rain drew closer. Midnight pondered idly what he ought to pack for his first real trip back to Equestria in centuries. 

[DwhitetheGamer 867]

@@Illiad Easle, 

 

It was at this moment that Copper knew, he screwed up, Copper thought, smiling as he made his way back to the castle.  He was mentally making jokes about his own stumble when he saw Midnight catch up to him.  To think that he would make a mistake that cost him the race and making jokes about it would make the unguided pony think he was crazy, but it was like him to do so.

[Illiad Easle 3,134]

@@DwhitetheGamer,

 

Midnight wondered how much Equestria gad changed since he last visited. He knew his tabloid was still quite popular in Canterlot, meaning the nobles were just as susceptible to quick ways to get what they wanted without much effort on their part and that they still believed the news published within was fiction, betraying their lack of understanding of the world outside of Equestria. He hoped that Ponyville would be different, maybe none of them had heard the story of the tall black stallion that would steal them away for their misdeeds, though he also thought it would be funny to see some full grown ponies run in fear again. He knew it was likely that the town would not be initially welcoming of such a strange individual.

[DwhitetheGamer 867]

@@Illiad Easle, 

 

Copper thought to himself for a moment.  He would assume that Midnight would strike when he felt threatened, but he didn't know the colt well enough to be sure.

 

"Hey, Midnight.  I was wondering, if somepony threw a surprise welcoming party for you, does it count as you feeling threatened?  Because I told Pinkie not to throw a surprise welcoming party because I assume you would strike when threatened."

[Illiad Easle 3,134]

@@DwhitetheGamer,

 

Midnight looked surprised at the sudden question. "Well, I would definitely strike if I were threatened, so I suppose it would depend on the nature of the surprise. It is not often that I am surprised in a way that does not threaten me as my perception is particularly good at detecting well meaning surprises before they are sprung. But it is a good idea to stay on the safe side in that regard, I wouldn't want to accidentally hurt someone." 

[DwhitetheGamer 867]

@@Illiad Easle, 

 

Copper nodded.  He kind of figured that it would depend, but he didn't know how big the surprise would be.

 

"Yeah, so what if I told you that said surprise party would have EVERYPONY in a village yelling 'Surprise' at you?  Wouls that set you off as feeling threatened?"

[Illiad Easle 3,134]

@@DwhitetheGamer,

 

Midnight looked towards Copper with a slightly skeptical expression. "That seems like the sort of thing that I could notice from a good distance. It would be unlikely that I could be surprised by it, but yes. Were I to be surprised by a large group of ponies I would likely strike before I could fully understand the situation. The best idea that would be to not surprise, or make it obvious so that I notice before it happens."

[DwhitetheGamer 867]

@@Illiad Easle, 

 

Copper nodded.  It kinda surprised him that Midnight would see the surprise from a distance, but it didn't surprise him that he would strike the large group of ponies.

 

"Hmm.  Then I don't know if it was a good idea for me to stop Pinkie from throwing you a Welcome party.  But keep it in mind just in case I didn't."

[Illiad Easle 3,134]

@@DwhitetheGamer,

 

Midnight gave a slight nod. "Alright then, I'll keep an eye and ear out for any secret surprises then." Midnight kept walking at a leisurely pace up the mountain, the sun was still high in the sky so he was slightly disappointed that Copper was disinterested in anything the colony had to offer. 

[DwhitetheGamer 867]

@@Illiad Easle, 

 

Copper thought for a second.  He hadn't seen the full colony village yesterday as he was only interested in the warm-ups, but now wouldn't be a good idea because of the tour around Ponyville tomorrow, but he asked anyway.

 

"I haven't been given a proper tour of the colony, well, at least all of it.  I know I'm asking at a bad time, but I'd like to have a real tour around the colony, if you'd like."

[Illiad Easle 3,134]

@@DwhitetheGamer,

 

It's like he reads my mind. Midnight considered thinking about other things when he wanted them to see if something similar would happen, but decided it could wait. He turned towards Copper, "Certainly, it actually forms a nice detour to the castle anyway." He turned off the main path about midway through the colony as they had been walking through it when he asked. He led Copper through a large-ish doorway which led to a corridor deeper into the mountain. After only a few minutes of walking the torch lit path it opened up to a large empty area. The walls were covered with rooms and houses built into the mountain with walkways and rope bridges stretching all over the many storied construction. They had exited onto a side walkway from which they could see that they were about six layers from the top, and eight from the bottom where more excavation was taking place. "This is one of the main residential areas for the Children, the exterior of the mountain is mostly for shops and such while inside is where they all live." Despite the immense size of the area it was well lit enough that copper could see the far side.

[DwhitetheGamer 867]

@@Illiad Easle, 

(I'm full of surprises, aren't I?)

 

Copper followed Midnight with a detour from the path to the castle to a corridor deeper into the mountain.  He put a hoof to his chin as he looked around the colony.  The place was certainly interesting for him, and he smiled during Midnight's explanation.

 

"Cool.  I suppose they like to play around here when they're not in meetings?  Or is all that for the outside?"

[Illiad Easle 3,134]

@@DwhitetheGamer,

 

Midnight looked slightly confused. "I think you have the Children mixed up with the Order, The children are all the descendants of the original 12, and all four thousand of them live in these residential areas. It's like any other fully functioning town, ponies of all types and ages. The Order are the 12 we met back in the garden, they're in their twenties now, soon enough they'll find partners and have children of their own." He sighed. "The cycle happens so fast these years." 

[DwhitetheGamer 867]

@@Illiad Easle, 

 

Copper tilted his head in confusion, then realized his mistake on his words.  He blushed with embarrassment, then sighed.

 

"Whoops.  My mistake.  I just thought the Order would still play around even in their twenties.  I know I do, because of weekends and days off where I have nothing else to do.  Anyways, shall we continue?"

[Illiad Easle 3,134]

@@DwhitetheGamer,

 

Midnight nodded, stepping onto a nearby rope bridge that stretched to the far end of the area. "Do watch your step, while a pegasus will likely catch you should you fall, they might miss." As they walked out on the bridge it was clear that it was quite sturdy and stable. On the bridge one could see that the area was somewhat circular, an inverted column of houses and homes. It was almost like a beehive how busy it was, yet there was a certain order to it all.

 

On the far side Midnight opened another large set of doors leading to a staircase. "This leads up to the back hallway, there's not much to see inside but it is faster than walking up the side of the mountain."

[DwhitetheGamer 867]

@@Illiad Easle, 

 

Copper looked down, shaking his head in disbelief, before making his way across the bridge.  He saw a circular type area which was an ordered beehive of activity after going through the bridge.  He smiled, looking at the scenery.

 

"It is a great colony, Midnight.  And a peaceful one, compared to Ponyville and Canterlot."

[Illiad Easle 3,134]

@@DwhitetheGamer,

 

Midnight looked over the residential area again. "I'm glad you like it, I put quite a bit of effort into it over the centuries." He turned back towards the stairs, taking a few steps before turning back towards Copper, "Shall we ascend into the castle? I remember you mentioning earlier that you might have more questions for Interchange." 

[DwhitetheGamer 867]

@@Illiad Easle, 

 

Copper was glad that he got to see the Colony.  Getting to expand his horizons was something that he doesn't get to do, and he was happy that he finally got his chance.

 

He turned to Midnight.  "Oh, yeah.  I almost forgot about that.  Yes we can.  After you, Midnight."