private A Cultural Exchange 1x1 with DwhitetheGamer

[Illiad Easle 3,135]

@

 

Midnight nodded, "It certainly is a quaint little building, not too expensive either back when I bought it."

 

Midnight went up to the front door and let himself inside, beckoning for Copper to follow. The inside was quite clean for a printing room, the printing press was well cleaned, and not presently in operation. "They must have already printed today's issue, they'd likely be upstairs planning tomorrow's edition from today's foreign papers."

 

He moved to the stairs in the back, which lead to the upper floor, a hallway of many doors was at the top, one door at the end of which was open and discussion could be heard from it.

[DwhitetheGamer 867]

@@Illiad Easle, 

 

Copper followed Midnight inside the building.  He nodded at the cleanliness of the room, which was a nice touch.  

 

He didn't know whether to follow Midnight up the stairs or not, so he decided to follow him, once they reached the upper floor, because of the chatter, he said in a lower voice, "Is it okay if I went with you?  You should've told me whether or not to stay at the bottom floor."

[Illiad Easle 3,135]

@,

 

Midnight looked like he was listening intently, "It seems my timing is most opportune, we just arrived at a meeting of our local sponsors. and yes, I did expect you to follow me up here, I didn't tell you to stop following now did I?"

 

Midnight then continued to the open door, knocking before entering the room. The meeting room was small, with a large round table around which a few ponies were gathered, most notably was a certain unicorn mare.

 

"It's good to see you again Midnight, what's the occasion?"

 

"Oh nothing special Fleur, I just thought I'd come by the office today to show a new friend of mine about some of the things I've been involved with. He was especially interested in this so I thought I'd show him around personally."

 

The thin white unicorn nodded, "Certainly worthwhile, we were just about to plan tomorrow's issue if you'd like to join us. Take a seat you two and grab a paper, just call out any headlines you think are interesting and the writers will work them in."

 

Midnight gestured to Copper to enter the room. "This is Copper by the way, from Ponyville."

 

The room contained three ponies, Fleur De Lis, the wife of the well known Fancy pants. A brownish earth pony by the name of True Type, and a creamy white pegasus by the name of Juxtapose.

[DwhitetheGamer 867]

@@Illiad Easle, 

 

Copper looked intrigued by the three ponies here, most notably Fleur, who looked beautiful.  He bet that she was taken, though, so he didn't wanna mess with her.  He said as he entered, "A pleasure to meet you all."

 

He grabbed a paper and took his seat, looking at the recent happenings from the countries surrounding Equestria and the rest of the world.

[Illiad Easle 3,135]

@,

 

The newspaper that Copper picked up was printed on a reed based paper, likely papyrus which would indicate a desert area. Trojan Times was written across the top. The headliner was an article about an empathic unicorn by the name of Illiad Easle who was running for the position of Vice-Consul and had apparently been recently endorsed by Princess Luna for the position. The article questioned whether the public would be willing to elect a unicorn to said given their history, despite the princess' recommendation. It was especially probing into a recent excursion into Equestria where he was said to have participated in a cultural exchange. Illiad was quoted as saying that the exchange was to show his good faith towards more open relations with Equestria. These comments were in direct opposition to the current Consul's reelection platform that seemed centered on a more militaristic approach to strengthening the border between Troy and Equestria which Equestria had been steadily encroaching on for many years. Illiad's running mate, one Concilmember Midget Hooves, was not available for comment.

 

Another article in the paper talked of recent news from the Equus Global Council at Archback where a letter had been received from the Trojan delegate which talked of Princess Celestia herself initiating talks on the many grievances issued against her by other world leaders. She spoke of increased efforts of peace and openness to her own citizens, in a move many call uncharacteristic and oddly suspicious. If upheld, it would certainly destabilize Consul Iron Hoof's bid for reelection. Many fear this initiation could be a cover for continued imperialism as an assessment of the strength of neighboring nations.

 

The remaining articles spoke of more local affairs within a city called Troy which sat within a nation of the same name, but which was also referred to as the Trojan empire. Things such as growth reports and weather plans for the upcoming week were present as well as a few advertisements for local businesses.

[DwhitetheGamer 867]

@@Illiad Easle, 

 

Copper read thoroughly on the topics of the paper he had picked up, seeing the meaning of the words behind it.  He read the first one with expressed interest.  So there was another cultural exchange between somepony from Equestria and this Illiad? he thought.  He looked interested at this article, so he said, "I think that the article about this Illiad Easle wanting to strengthen relationships between us and Troy would be a nice fit." he said, putting the paper down and showing the article to Fleur.

[Illiad Easle 3,135]

@,

 

Fleur glanced over from her own paper to the one Copper showed her. "Oh him? He's been in the news quite a bit recently with his bid for Vice Consulship. Iron's got quite a bit of supporters with his strong action campaign, but Illid might just have a chance despite him being a unicorn."

 

The others tossed in their papers as well, each calling out something of interest from the world. Including a deer mage having discovered a spell to increase wingspan, a buffalo shaman having perfected a way to communicate with the dead, locally someone published a guide on how to exploit the loopholes in the Equestrian tax code, and someone named 'The Incredible Frog-Colt' was apparently on the loose again.

 

Fleur gathered the papers as the topics were stated, "Yes, this seems to be about enough for our next issue, I'll get these down to the writers so we can start printing in time for tomorrow's deliveries." 

[DwhitetheGamer 867]

@@Illiad Easle, 

 

Copper nodded as his paper was gathered with the others, raising an eyebrow as the one named 'the incredible Frog-Colt' was being wanted.  "Anypony know who this 'Frog-Colt' is?  Does he jump around too much to be called that?  Sure as hay sounds like it to me, and a little funny as well, to be honest."

[Illiad Easle 3,135]

@,

 

The other's looked between each other before Juxtapose spoke, "We're not really sure about him, he could very well be entirely fictitious. The story goes that he can jump as proportionally powerfully as a frog, so a few dozen meters in a single bound among other things." 

 

Midnight turned to Copper as well. "That's pretty much how this place works, not really all that much interesting things to it. I'll be sure to set you up with a subscription so you get the new editions every week, if you still want that is."

[DwhitetheGamer 867]

@@Illiad Easle, 

 

Copper shrugged at the response.  It sounded too weird, but it wasn't for him to change what's going on in the world.

 

He nodded at Midnight after his statement.  "It may not be interesting to the regular pony, but I think it is.  And yeah, I still do want a subscription."  He smiled afterwards.

[Illiad Easle 3,135]

@,

 

Fleur nodded as she made her way out of the meeting room with the papers. "I'll be sure it's put through, you should see your first issue, this one actually, in a few days." 

 

Midnight stood from the table before facing Copper again, "So, is there anything else you'd like to see while we're here?"

[DwhitetheGamer 867]

@@Illiad Easle, 

 

Copper thought for a minute.  He contemplated on what to see here, but there was nothing that comes to mind, so he said, as he got up from his own seat, "Nah.  Nothing that comes to mind.  If you would like, though, we could visit with Ditzy over at Ponyville's hospital, just to check up on her.

[Illiad Easle 3,135]

@,

 

Midnight shrugged, "Alright then, we should probobly wait to visit with Ditzy again though, the doctors will likely want to keep her for overnight observation given the head injury. We can meet up with her tomorrow." 

 

With an exchange of farewells between him and the others, Midnight led Copper back out into the streets of Canterlot.

[DwhitetheGamer 867]

@@Illiad Easle, 

 

Copper nodded at Midnight's statement before leaving the building.

 

(And assuming we switch DM roles again...)

 

He and Midnight trotted down the streets of Canterlot, with idle comments, back to the train station heading back to Ponyville.  Copper paid for the tickets, again, and the two casually went inside Canterlot's train, which had some more room than that of Ponyville''s Friendship Express.  They boarded the train and took their seats, waiting patiently to go back to Ponyville.

Edited May 10, 2016 by Unstoppable Luck

[Illiad Easle 3,135]

@,

 

Midnight nodded appreciably at the slightly larger cabin space, clearly these were more likely to transport creatures larger then ponies, like griffons or cows. Still, it was never quite large enough for him to really sit comfortably, no wonder the princesses preferred their carriages to these trains. 

[DwhitetheGamer 867]

@@Illiad Easle, 

 

Copper saw the nod from Midnight.  Clearly there was something off about the seats in the train, then he figured it out.  He said to Midnight, "The seats aren't that big for you, huh?  Maybe we could ask Princess Celestia to order a train that can fit you in a couple of spots, if that's what you prefer."

[Illiad Easle 3,135]

@,

 

Midnight looked slightly incredulous, "Do you know how much a train car costs? I will hardly be riding this train often enough to justify that sort of expense. I can deal with the momentary discomfort for now, soon enough I'll be back at Archback and I won't have to deal with trains again for hopefully some time." 

[DwhitetheGamer 867]

@@Illiad Easle, 

 

Copper shrugged at Midnight's response.  "I know it's really rough on the money, which is why I don't buy things until I need them, and why I currently get paid a good amount of bits.  My boss cares about her employees, and she makes sure all of them get at least four bits above minimum wage at their start, depending on how much they love their work.  I get paid like nine bits above what's normally paid, mostly because I work around the entire town and not one area."

[Illiad Easle 3,135]

@,

 

"Assuming a bit is as valuable as I remember, that's either quite a bit over, or not so much over. Bits as a currency fluctuate in value quite a bit over the years, many a foreign investor has made quite a bit of money by following the trends the bit follows." 

[DwhitetheGamer 867]

@@Illiad Easle, 

 

Copper shrugged at Midnight.  "Eh, it's not that much, which is why I save the bits that I get.  I get paid weekly."

 

He looked out the window, as there was the Everfree Forest zooming by at the moment.  He looked back at Midnight.  "There was a time when I got paid to haul minecarts for wages.  The Blackwaters-that's what the name is-pay good bits, but they have some BAD attitudes.  I learned about them some time ago by a pony who used to work there."

[Illiad Easle 3,135]

@,

 

Midnight looked intrigued, "The Blackwaters you say? As in, The Blackwater Quarry? I heard they were vying for independent protectorate-hood, which reminds me, I really should send someone out there to invite them to be part of the global council. Anyway, you don't seem to be the sort who would do heavy labor. You seem much more suited to your current position." 

[DwhitetheGamer 867]

@@Illiad Easle, 

 

Copper raised an eyebrow.  "I actually heard that from Mr. Blackwater himself.  He seemed pretty determined for that.  Anyways, I'm stronger than you think.  I can pull a full load of emeralds out of the mines with little trouble."  He winked at Midnight, cementing his case for being a strong pony.

[Illiad Easle 3,135]

@,

 

Midnight looked a little skeptical, "Really strong And really fast? Usually those two are mutually exclusive, though I suppose you may be like me in that regard, though I doubt in the same way as I am. I am in no wise the strongest earth pony, but I do consider myself pretty strong." 

[DwhitetheGamer 867]

@@Illiad Easle, 

 

Copper chuckled.  "I'm strong, but I don't call myself the strongest.  I'm fast, but I'm only the fastest Earth Pony in Equestria because of my Spin Dash.  In a fair game, meaning no Spin Dash, I'm just about as fast as any Earth Pony out there in the world, and really, I don't need fame and glory in my life.  I'm good the way I am."

[Illiad Easle 3,135]

@,

 

Midnight looked skeptical, yet with a good natured smile. "Of course you are, that's why you wanted a race that everyone would see instead of one that would be just the two of us, but I digress." He turned to the window to watch the passing scenery. "How long is this train ride going to be again?"