private A Cultural Exchange 1x1 with DwhitetheGamer

[Illiad Easle 3,164]

@@DwhitetheGamer,

 

Midnight turned and saw the gesture before he turned back and retrieved the shake and spoon. He was a bit apprehensive to try it, but he steeled himself to the fact that he would have to immerse himself in Copper's culture if this were truly to be an exchange.

 

He quickly took a seat at Copper's table, waiting for him to start before he did.

[DwhitetheGamer 867]

@@Illiad Easle, 

 

Copper smile when Midnight took a seat with him.  There was a few seconds pause, with him smiling nervously.  Then he snapped back into reality.  "Oh!  You want me to start?  Really, you can start if you like."  He then proceeded to use his spoon to eat the shake with the cashews.

[Illiad Easle 3,164]

@@DwhitetheGamer,

 

Midnight seemed a it surprised, but he shook it off. "You did pay after all, it's only proper that you be the first to enjoy it." Midnight, hesitant at first, decided to try some of the shake.

 

To be honest, it wasn't as bad as he had anticipated, though it wasn't really his favorite. It was decent, he could see how those around town could enjoy it, he had simply never been a huge fan of strawberries. The cashews on the other hand were a perfect compliment to the shake.

[DwhitetheGamer 867]

@@Illiad Easle, 

 

Copper took a bite from the shake when he saw Midnight try his.  He wiped the little bit of shake on his mouth off with a napkin and said, "So how is it?"  He didn't sound like he wanted to desperately know, he was curious as to what his friend thought of the taste.

[Illiad Easle 3,164]

@@DwhitetheGamer,

 

Midnight shrugged as he kept eating, "It's decent I guess, not quite as good as the one Sugar Swirl made for me that one time. But this is the best one I've had in a few decades. While strawberry is not a favorite of mine the cashews are a nice touch and go well with the fruit." 

[DwhitetheGamer 867]

@@Illiad Easle, 

 

Copper nodded as he kept eating his shake.  "Good to hear.  Glad you like it somewhat, especially with the cashews."

 

He continued eating for a bit when two questions came to his mind.  "Who is Sugar Swirl?  And how exactly did he or she make a Strawberry shake to your liking?"

[Illiad Easle 3,164]

@@DwhitetheGamer,

 

Midnight looked contemplative for a moment, "Let's see... Sugar Swirl was Cookie Pie's twice great grandmother if I remember correctly. And it wasn't a strawberry shake, it was chocolate with, as may seem obvious, a swirl of sugar. It was back when the cows sent their first delegate to the mountain, they sent along a vast quantity of milk with them as an initial celebratory offering so we were able to have ice cream for a few days."

 

He sighed as he ate another spoonful, "Those were some good times, just a few decades after we discovered the thestrals in the Shimmerwood forest actually." 

[DwhitetheGamer 867]

@@Illiad Easle, 

 

Copper smiled as Midnight stated the old time of his last shake.  He was pleasantly surprised to know that the cows had sent delegates to the Archback at the time.  He continued eating when another question popped in.  "How were the cows back then compared to now, if they still have delegates in the Archback?"

[Illiad Easle 3,164]

@@DwhitetheGamer,

 

Midnight gave a slight shrug, "Oh they're still pretty much the same. They have a little area of land they own independent of Celestia though it's a bit smaller now. They still have their delegate, they just don't really have much to participate in as their little nation doesn't do much in the way of foreign affairs, not even really trade." 

[DwhitetheGamer 867]

@@Illiad Easle, 

 

Copper nodded in understanding.  "I see.  It's a shame that they have less to do than what I assume they did when they first had delegates.  Anyways, I'm finished with my shake now."

 

His shake was completely finished as he said the last words before taking his glass to the dish return, which was surprisingly the same as the one in Archback.

[Illiad Easle 3,164]

@@DwhitetheGamer,

 

Midnight too returned his shake glass, following after Copper. He was surprised that they had this level of return mechanism, he didn't think they had quite the volume of patrons that Archback did to warrant it, but he digressed. "So, what would you like to show me next?"

[DwhitetheGamer 867]

@@Illiad Easle, 

 

Copper thought for a second before responding.  "Let's go to the building where Mayor Mare is.  I bet she would enjoy meeting you there."

 

He led Midnight out of Sugarcube Corner and to the building where Mayor Mare works.  He first knocked on the door, where after which he said, "It's recommended to knock on the door of this building before one of her employees opens the door.  A neighborly thing, as she calls it.  She wants to be sure everypony is friendly and that there are no thieves lurking around, though there hasn't been any in the town for years, even before I moved here."

[Illiad Easle 3,164]

@@DwhitetheGamer, 

 

Midnight gave a slight nod, "I suppose that makes some sense, though I think the bigger deterrent is that the community is small enough that everyone knows everyone else. So if you were to steal it would be from someone you know and more importantly someone who knows you. Though I am glad to hear that this town hasn't had trouble with thieves."

[DwhitetheGamer 867]

@@Illiad Easle, 

 

Copper nodded.  "That's exactly what I thought."

 

The door opened to reveal not an employee, but the mayor herself.  "Oh, hello, Copper!  What a nice surprise to see you here with Midnight."

 

Copper looked surprised.  "I thought that only the employees could open the door."

 

"They can, but that doesn't mean I can't, silly." was the mayor's reply.  She turned to Midnight.  "Hey Midnight.  I saw that race the other day, which is why I know you.  You both did well, though I did have my bits on Copper.  Please come in."

 

She moved aside to let them both in, which they did.

Edited April 22, 2016 by DwhitetheGamer

[Illiad Easle 3,164]

@@DwhitetheGamer,

 

Midnight looked around the interior as he entered. "I would suppose the policy is that an employee would open the door if ever the mayor is too busy to open it herself, thus someone answers the door in every case. But when the mayor can open the door she would open it herself."

 

He turned to the Mayor, "Now that you mention it you do look slightly familiar, though I wasn't paying much attention to the crowd. I hope you didn't loose too much in your bet against me." 

[DwhitetheGamer 867]

@@Illiad Easle, 

 

Mayor Mare nodded.  "I didn't lose too much.  About fifteen bits is all.  I never did get to congratulate you on your victory, though.  You've lived for over a thousand years, right?  One of the ponies in the Archback had told me some about you and how long you lived."

 

As she was saying this, she was leading both Copper and Midnight to her office for a private session.

[Illiad Easle 3,164]

@@DwhitetheGamer,

 

Midnight looked skeptical, "You were only fifteen bits confident in Copper's victory? I guess the expectations were closer than I had realized. It's good you didn't loose that much though. And yes, I am presently 1016 years old as Sir tells me I was eight when we arrived. And I don't look much older than 13 when Luna applied the longevity spell, so I've remained just at the peak of my prime till now."

 

He noticed where they were going, "It would seem you were expecting us weren't you?"

[DwhitetheGamer 867]

@@Illiad Easle, 

 

Mayor Mare nodded again.  "Yes, I was, that is after being told by Princess Twilight that you would be coming... well, the day before you two came here.

 

They went inside the mayor's office.  Mayor Mare took a seat behind her desk and motioned for them to take a seat.  "Have a seat.  I plan to know more about the Archback Mountains from what little I know."

[Illiad Easle 3,164]

@@DwhitetheGamer,

 

Midnight was surprised, "That's a bit forward of you, but I suppose I could answer a few of your questions."

 

Midnight looked at the seats and it was clear they were not designed for someone of his stature, so he pushed the chair to the side and sat on the floor, still sitting taller than the other two given his size.

[DwhitetheGamer 867]

@@Illiad Easle, 

 

Mayor Mare raised an eyebrow at Midnight's choice of sitting on the floor, but then nodded as soon as she realized why he did it.  "Right.  So my first question for you is, what are the places in the Archback?  You don't have to go into detail, just a brief description of each area."

[Illiad Easle 3,164]

@@DwhitetheGamer,

 

Midnight was initially confused as to what the mayor meant by places, "I guess Archback could be divided into four distinct areas, the castle, the mountain, the valley, and the forest. Each place houses a distinct group, well... each area is predominantly one group, but all of the groups can be found throughout. The castle is home to the delegates and the order, and thus has the highest diversity, the mountain houses the descendants of the children of the moon, the valley houses the descendants of the zebra slaves I helped to liberate, and the forest houses the Fastar clan of thestrals. They are topographically just what you would expect by their names. I could go into more detail if you want, though generally specific questions are the best way to get meaningful answers. In return, why do you want to know about Archback? If I know what you're after I can provide answers that would be more useful to you." 

[DwhitetheGamer 867]

@@Illiad Easle, 

 

Mayor Mare smiled at Midnight's response of the areas about Archback, then nodded as she was asked why she wanted to know about Archback.  "Before I went to Archback, I've only heard about the place about a week ago, by Copper's fellow workers at the Mail Service.  I had no idea about the place before I looked it up on a map, so this is a perfect opportunity to know more about Archback, since Copper brought you here.  I guess you can say I'm after more knowledge, and that I want to allow anypony from other places to come here for a little peace, though Ponyville may not be the best place for said peace, after all that has been happening."

[Illiad Easle 3,164]

@@DwhitetheGamer,

 

Midnight looked a bit confused, but shrugged. "I suppose the search for knowledge is as good a reason as any to want to know about Archback, and I would be happy to enlighten you as to your questions in that regard. As to peace, I think Archback is rather peaceful, I don't think I've heard of anyone leaving other than the occasional vacation or the changing of delegates every so often, but at the end of this exchange I'll think about recommending this town as a possible vacation spot. So, do you have any other questions?" 

[DwhitetheGamer 867]

@@Illiad Easle, 

 

The Mayor smiled at Midnight for saying her town would be a vacation spot.  "Thank you, Midnight.  I am truly honored to have this town as a vacation spot.  And yes, I do have some more questions.  If I had heard correctly, Black Knight is the ruler of Archback.  Is that correct?  What is he like?"

[Illiad Easle 3,164]

@@DwhitetheGamer,

 

Midnight looked a bit skeptical, but shook it off. "Sir is only technically ruler in that the individual communities of the colony come to him for advice, yet each of them have their own administrative bodies. He is the chair of the world council, which is where all the delegates we host come together, but it is my castle. I suppose then if anyone were to be designated ruler it would be me. To answer your other question, Sir is a caring and kind individual, except to those that threaten the well-being of others, most especially those he cares about. He doesn't talk much despite being the figurehead of the mountain, but he is fiercely intelligent when it comes to strategy, combat, and ruling a nation, which is why I let him make the decisions while I do the official paperwork. He was trained to be a king after all."