private Another Cultural Exchange (1x1 with Skylight Scintillate)

[Skylight Scintillate 2,053]

@Illiad Easle 

On 2025-01-13 at 4:42 PM, Illiad Easle said:

Indigo's answer, "Mostly just more forest, but that's also where the larger animals like bears and timberwolves live."

Nova's answer, "Since there aren't thestrals living there, there's all the cool hidden places that no one's found yet, like exploring for real! I've found tons of little caves and clearings."

"Ooh that sounds really cool! You'll have to tell me what things you have found! Wait... timberwolves? Aren't they like dangerous?" Speckle asked. Initially, she was quite excited at the idea, but she became more hesitant when she heard what Indigo mentioned. 

On 2025-01-13 at 4:42 PM, Illiad Easle said:

He smiled a bit at that, "Well, we'll be able to go tomorrow with the hunting teacher, then you can learn to hunt too, if you want?"

"I'd like to do that," Speckle replied.

On 2025-01-13 at 4:42 PM, Illiad Easle said:

Nova crouched down to look at the ground and motioned for Speckle to be quiet, perking his ears up to hear better.

It was quiet for a few moments, then they could start to hear some sounds, distant hooting of owls, some rustling in the leaves, the occasional chirp of a bird.

Speckle would quiet down, matching Nova's energy as she tried to see what Nova could see. As she focused her attention, she started hearing the noises of some animals in the distance. Speckle found it fascinating how, once she quieted down, there were many different things that could be heard in the forest. It felt so different compared to the bustling energy of to the bustling energy of the city.

On 2025-01-13 at 4:42 PM, Illiad Easle said:

He motioned for her to come up where he was and pointed to some tracks in the dirt, speaking softly, "I think these are rabbit tracks, and maybe a mouse over here. I don't think they're nearby though."

He stood up, speaking normally, "You have to be quiet when you're hunting, or they'll hear you and run away. There's also a lot of different birds around here, and squirls, but those are fast and not much food even if you catch them, so we mostly leave them alone. We mostly hunt rabbits and fish around here."

 

He'd give her a chance to ask a question or two before crouching down again, speaking softly, "We can try to follow the rabbit tracks, maybe it will lead to a burrow?"

Speckle would crouch down next to Nova and glance at the tracks he pointed out. Unless the tracks were in soft dirt or there was something else that made them immediately stand out, Speckle would take a few moments before she saw them. "Ooh, that's cool," she whispered. "Yeah let's follow them," she replied.

[Illiad Easle 3,166]

@Skylight Scintillate

On 2025-01-16 at 9:05 AM, Skylight Scintillate said:

"Ooh that sounds really cool! You'll have to tell me what things you have found! Wait... timberwolves? Aren't they like dangerous?" Speckle asked. Initially, she was quite excited at the idea, but she became more hesitant when she heard what Indigo mentioned. 

Nova shook his head, "Not really, not unless there's a bunch of them, they can't fly and the foliage isn't that thick so you can almost always escape. Plus they eat sticks and sap and stuff, not ponies, so long as you leave them alone, and don't look like you're trying to take their food, they'll leave you alone."

The timber wolves in the Shimmerwood forest were similar to the ones found in the Everfree, but less aggressive as the magic in the Shimmerwood wasn't as chaotic as the magic in the Everfree.

As to what he had found, he commented, "Well, I've found a few caves, a few clearings like this one, sometimes I'll find an old sword or dagger or something, I have to give those to the guards though, since they're dangerous."

 

On 2025-01-16 at 9:05 AM, Skylight Scintillate said:

"I'd like to do that," Speckle replied.

He seemed quite happy about that.

 

On 2025-01-16 at 9:05 AM, Skylight Scintillate said:

Speckle would crouch down next to Nova and glance at the tracks he pointed out. Unless the tracks were in soft dirt or there was something else that made them immediately stand out, Speckle would take a few moments before she saw them. "Ooh, that's cool," she whispered. "Yeah let's follow them," she replied.

Nova took the lead, creeping along the faint trail until it reached the river, the tracks were a bit jumbled there, "I think it stopped to drink some water here, maybe swam a bit? See, the tracks are a bit wetter afterwards."

Speckle wouldn't be able to really tell the difference, it wasn't too noticeable. If she asked Nova might be able to explain how he could tell?

 

He would follow the trail until it led to a small clearing, about two lengths in diameter, surrounded by the special glowing trees. They had a clear sight up to the stars above and a glimpse of the moon just over the treetops. Nova stopped at the middle of the clearing, disappointed, The tracks stop there, I think a bird caught them by surprise."

He stood up fully, noticing the clearing, "Wow, I don't think I've seen this one before! It's such a small clearing."

[Skylight Scintillate 2,053]

@Illiad Easle 

On 2025-01-18 at 2:34 PM, Illiad Easle said:

Nova shook his head, "Not really, not unless there's a bunch of them, they can't fly and the foliage isn't that thick so you can almost always escape. Plus they eat sticks and sap and stuff, not ponies, so long as you leave them alone, and don't look like you're trying to take their food, they'll leave you alone."

 

The timber wolves in the Shimmerwood forest were similar to the ones found in the Everfree, but less aggressive as the magic in the Shimmerwood wasn't as chaotic as the magic in the Everfree.

"Oh, yeah, wings," Speckle replied. She would glance at her wings before turning back to Nova. "The only thing I knew about timberwolves was what Twilight wrote about in her friendship journal. I guess the Everfree Forest is quite different from other forests. I heard that the timberwolves used to cause some problems for Twilight back when she was a unicorn, but now that she is an alicorn and is super powerful at magic, they no longer bother her," Speckle rambled.

On 2025-01-18 at 2:34 PM, Illiad Easle said:

As to what he had found, he commented, "Well, I've found a few caves, a few clearings like this one, sometimes I'll find an old sword or dagger or something, I have to give those to the guards though, since they're dangerous."

"Oh wow, is there anything interesting in the caves? Where do you think the swords come from?" Speckle asked curiously.

On 2025-01-18 at 2:34 PM, Illiad Easle said:

Nova took the lead, creeping along the faint trail until it reached the river, the tracks were a bit jumbled there, "I think it stopped to drink some water here, maybe swam a bit? See, the tracks are a bit wetter afterwards."

Speckle wouldn't be able to really tell the difference, it wasn't too noticeable. If she asked Nova might be able to explain how he could tell?

Speckle would stare intensely at the seemingly jumbled mess of tracks before turning to Nova. "How can you tell all of this from just the tracks? I just see a jumbled mess," Speckle asked.

On 2025-01-18 at 2:34 PM, Illiad Easle said:

He would follow the trail until it led to a small clearing, about two lengths in diameter, surrounded by the special glowing trees. They had a clear sight up to the stars above and a glimpse of the moon just over the treetops. Nova stopped at the middle of the clearing, disappointed, The tracks stop there, I think a bird caught them by surprise."

He stood up fully, noticing the clearing, "Wow, I don't think I've seen this one before! It's such a small clearing."

"Woah," Speckle said, glancing around. She was a little disappointed that they wouldn't be able to find the rabbit that left this trail. She would glance around as though they would see the bird carrying said rabbit away before quickly realizing how absurd that would have to be. With that, she would turn her focus to the clearing that they were in. "Wow, this is kind of pretty," she remarked, admiring the clearing. She would take particular interest in the glowing trees. She would stare at the trees closely unless Nova wanted to focus on something else.

[Illiad Easle 3,166]

@Skylight Scintillate

On 2025-01-20 at 11:54 AM, Skylight Scintillate said:

"Oh wow, is there anything interesting in the caves? Where do you think the swords come from?" Speckle asked curiously.

Nova got a bit more excited about that, "I haven't gone in any of the caves, that's where big animals can be living so it's dangerous. The swords though, I'm told that way back when, like a thousand years ago, ponies and zebra would fight each other, so the swords were probably left behind from that, got lost in the forest. Most of the ones I find are really old, all brown and powdery, I think it's called rust?"

 

On 2025-01-20 at 11:54 AM, Skylight Scintillate said:

Speckle would stare intensely at the seemingly jumbled mess of tracks before turning to Nova. "How can you tell all of this from just the tracks? I just see a jumbled mess," Speckle asked.

Nova got a bit closer to the tracks, using his wing to point, "My hunting teacher taught me. You can tell what type of animal it is by the shape, and you see how these tracks are slightly different from those tracks, plus there's little spots in the dirt, so I guessed it had gotten wet. wet paws will lift more dirt, and waster dripping off of the fur leaves spots on the ground."

He shrugged, "I think that's what he said, we'd have to find the rabbit to be sure though."

 

On 2025-01-20 at 11:54 AM, Skylight Scintillate said:

With that, she would turn her focus to the clearing that they were in. "Wow, this is kind of pretty," she remarked, admiring the clearing. She would take particular interest in the glowing trees. She would stare at the trees closely unless Nova wanted to focus on something else.

Nova nodded. "Yeah, I like clearings like these since you can see more of the glowing trees."

He came over to where she was, finding a loose piece of bark where some animal had scratched at it to pull it away, reveling more of the glowing wood underneath. "Here, you can even charge it a bit with your hooves, it isn't as much as if a unicorn did it, but there's still a bit of magic in your hooves."

He held a hoof against the bare wood, and when he pulled it away there was a slightly brighter glow in the shape of a hoofprint that slowly faded.

[Skylight Scintillate 2,053]

@Illiad Easle 

On 2025-01-21 at 5:03 PM, Illiad Easle said:

Nova got a bit more excited about that, "I haven't gone in any of the caves, that's where big animals can be living so it's dangerous. The swords though, I'm told that way back when, like a thousand years ago, ponies and zebra would fight each other, so the swords were probably left behind from that, got lost in the forest. Most of the ones I find are really old, all brown and powdery, I think it's called rust?"

"...Yeah I suppose that is where the large aminals would live..." Speckle thought out loud. "Though finding swords is so cool."

On 2025-01-21 at 5:03 PM, Illiad Easle said:

Nova got a bit closer to the tracks, using his wing to point, "My hunting teacher taught me. You can tell what type of animal it is by the shape, and you see how these tracks are slightly different from those tracks, plus there's little spots in the dirt, so I guessed it had gotten wet. wet paws will lift more dirt, and waster dripping off of the fur leaves spots on the ground."

Speckle stared at the tracks again, trying to see what Nova saw. She was able to make a bit more sense of the tracks once she saw the pattern. "Oh, so the rabbit... oh, ok..." Speckle whispered to herself as she traced over the tracks with her wing.

On 2025-01-21 at 5:03 PM, Illiad Easle said:

He came over to where she was, finding a loose piece of bark where some animal had scratched at it to pull it away, reveling more of the glowing wood underneath. "Here, you can even charge it a bit with your hooves, it isn't as much as if a unicorn did it, but there's still a bit of magic in your hooves."

He held a hoof against the bare wood, and when he pulled it away there was a slightly brighter glow in the shape of a hoofprint that slowly faded.

 Speckle raised both eyebrows, fascinated by what Nova was able to do. She would do the same with her hooves once the hoofprint faded. "Cool! So you guys make stuff with this wood? Like lamps? What makes them glow? Is it magic?" Speckle asked.

[Illiad Easle 3,166]

@Skylight Scintillate

16 hours ago, Skylight Scintillate said:

 Speckle raised both eyebrows, fascinated by what Nova was able to do. She would do the same with her hooves once the hoofprint faded. "Cool! So you guys make stuff with this wood? Like lamps? What makes them glow? Is it magic?" Speckle asked.

It was interesting to see that Speckle was actually able to illuminate the wood just a bit brighter than Nova did. Not enough to be super noticeable, even to them, but interesting nonetheless.

Nova nodded at her question, "Yeah! Well, we mostly just cut it here, then we send it up to the central village where they turn it into things that we can trade or sell. They make good lamps where fire would be dangerous, like indoors or mining, plus they last longer than normal lamps because they just need to be magically recharged."

He seemed pleased in his clan's trade good.

"Maybe tomorrow I could show you where we cut the wood, would you want to see that?"

In either case, Nova would be content to continue wandering about the forest finding and following tracks until Speckle indicated that she was tired or wanted to go back to the colony, at which point Nova would suggest one last thing, "Let's climb up one of the trees, then we can fly back to the colony."

He would then show her how to climb up the trees until they could poke through at the top and fly up. Seeing the trees from above was another sight, the faint glow shining through the leaves making it look like a second sky of stars below them.

[Skylight Scintillate 2,053]

@Illiad Easle 

On 2025-01-24 at 4:03 PM, Illiad Easle said:

It was interesting to see that Speckle was actually able to illuminate the wood just a bit brighter than Nova did. Not enough to be super noticeable, even to them, but interesting nonetheless.

Speckle was quite surprised by this result, especially given that she had never done something like this before. "Woah, that's wild," she noted.

On 2025-01-24 at 4:03 PM, Illiad Easle said:

"Maybe tomorrow I could show you where we cut the wood, would you want to see that?"

"I think that could be cool," Speckle replied.

On 2025-01-24 at 4:03 PM, Illiad Easle said:

In either case, Nova would be content to continue wandering about the forest finding and following tracks until Speckle indicated that she was tired or wanted to go back to the colony, at which point Nova would suggest one last thing, "Let's climb up one of the trees, then we can fly back to the colony."

Speckle continued exploring whatever caught her attention in the forest. While she wasn't nearly as observant of specific details as Nova was, she still found this exploration quite informative. Once she felt like she was ready to head back, she spoke up. "Oh fly back? Yeah we can try that."

On 2025-01-24 at 4:03 PM, Illiad Easle said:

He would then show her how to climb up the trees until they could poke through at the top and fly up. Seeing the trees from above was another sight, the faint glow shining through the leaves making it look like a second sky of stars below them.

Speckle found slight similarities between climbing trees and climbing buildings back in Canterlot. Once they were above the trees, Speckle would glance down in wonder. "Woah, they're so pretty..." She exclaimed as she flew next to Nova.

[Illiad Easle 3,166]

@Skylight Scintillate

23 hours ago, Skylight Scintillate said:

Speckle found slight similarities between climbing trees and climbing buildings back in Canterlot. Once they were above the trees, Speckle would glance down in wonder. "Woah, they're so pretty..." She exclaimed as she flew next to Nova.

Nova smiled at that, happy that his friend was having a good time.

 

The sun started to rise, hiding the faint glow of the trees from view just as the stars faded from the sky, "Looks like we picked the right time to head back, we should be just in time for dinner."

Nova would have them land on the path just before the entrance to the colony, they could already smell the food being prepared and the tables set up for everyone to eat at.

The morning meal passed almost exactly the same as the evening meal, with the same sort of food, and the same almost silent atmosphere. Nova's mom did her best to try and make Speckle comfortable despite it.

 

After the meal they'd be back in Nova's house preparing for bed, Indigo asking, "So, Speckle, how did you like enjoying the forest? Did you find anything exciting?"

[Skylight Scintillate 2,053]

@Illiad Easle 

On 2025-01-28 at 12:29 PM, Illiad Easle said:

The sun started to rise, hiding the faint glow of the trees from view just as the stars faded from the sky, "Looks like we picked the right time to head back, we should be just in time for dinner."

Speckle's stomach rumbled in response. "Heh heh, will you look at that..." Speckle replied.

On 2025-01-28 at 12:29 PM, Illiad Easle said:

The morning meal passed almost exactly the same as the evening meal, with the same sort of food, and the same almost silent atmosphere. Nova's mom did her best to try and make Speckle comfortable despite it.

Speckle seemed to remember Nova's mom saying something earlier in the evening about that meal. "Hey didn't you say they were cooking something special for this meal? What is it?" Speckle asked, whispering to Nova's mom. 

Speckle felt a little more comfortable eating in the quiet, given how things were a bit more familiar now. She still didn't prefer it, but at least she knew what she was expecting this time. 

On 2025-01-28 at 12:29 PM, Illiad Easle said:

After the meal they'd be back in Nova's house preparing for bed, Indigo asking, "So, Speckle, how did you like enjoying the forest? Did you find anything exciting?"

"Well um, the forest was pretty cool. I heard quite a few animals, but I didn't really see any. Nova showed me a lot of cool things though. Like he showed me what he knew about animal tracks. We followed them, and we also looked at the shimmerwood a bit. That was pretty fun..." Speckle rambled. 

[Illiad Easle 3,166]

@Skylight Scintillate

(Shoot, I forgot! Good catch.)

On 2025-01-30 at 10:48 AM, Skylight Scintillate said:

Speckle seemed to remember Nova's mom saying something earlier in the evening about that meal. "Hey didn't you say they were cooking something special for this meal? What is it?" Speckle asked, whispering to Nova's mom. 

Indigo raised an eyebrow at the question, then another one as she looked around the table, before quietly whispering back, "Sorry, they caught an Ursa yesterday, that was supposed to be the surprise, but Ursa can take a really long time to cook right depending on the size, so I would guess it wasn't ready in time for this morning. They'll probably have it ready for the evening meal though."

If she had more questions about it, like how one goes about capturing and cooking a bear made of stars, she got the idea that she would have to wait until afterwards.

(I've got something really nice planned, hopefully I don't forget it again)

On 2025-01-30 at 10:48 AM, Skylight Scintillate said:

"Well um, the forest was pretty cool. I heard quite a few animals, but I didn't really see any. Nova showed me a lot of cool things though. Like he showed me what he knew about animal tracks. We followed them, and we also looked at the shimmerwood a bit. That was pretty fun..." Speckle rambled. 

Indigo smiled at her description, "Well I'm happy to hear you had a good time, and that Nova didn't just leave you to play catch-up, I know he can get pretty... excited... at times."

Nova was a bit embarrassed by the comment, but added, "Yeah, we saw a few rabbit tracks, a few mice, no wolves. I'm going to show her where we cut the wood tomorrow, and she'll get to see some animals during hunting class, right?"

Indigo smiled, "I'm sure it's a possibility, but that will depend on your teacher. Now, you two should get ready for bed, it sounds like you have a big day tomorrow, and you'll want your energy if you're going to join me at my market stall."

Nova nodded, and would remind Speckle to gather what she needed before going with her to the community bath house he had shown her earlier, where a number of other thestrals from the clan were already cleaning up and brushing their teeth at the many stalls and sinks. Unlike the meal, there was a decent amount of quiet chatter here as the older thestrals discussed plans for the next day.

[Skylight Scintillate 2,053]

@Illiad Easle 

On 2025-01-31 at 4:35 PM, Illiad Easle said:

Indigo raised an eyebrow at the question, then another one as she looked around the table, before quietly whispering back, "Sorry, they caught an Ursa yesterday, that was supposed to be the surprise, but Ursa can take a really long time to cook right depending on the size, so I would guess it wasn't ready in time for this morning. They'll probably have it ready for the evening meal though."

Speckle raised both her eyebrows as she realized what Indigo was saying. "Ooh..." She whispered back. This certainly raised quite a few questions, but it seemed that she would have to wait to ask about them later. 

On 2025-01-31 at 4:35 PM, Illiad Easle said:

Indigo smiled at her description, "Well I'm happy to hear you had a good time, and that Nova didn't just leave you to play catch-up, I know he can get pretty... excited... at times."

"Well, uum, we didn't really lose each other..." Speckle replied. It was kind of easy to lose sight of Nova when the trees were quite thick and a random thing would catch Speckle's attention. However, she was able to use her hearing to find Nova if they briefly lost visual sight of each other. 

On 2025-01-31 at 4:35 PM, Illiad Easle said:

Nova nodded, and would remind Speckle to gather what she needed before going with her to the community bath house he had shown her earlier, where a number of other thestrals from the clan were already cleaning up and brushing their teeth at the many stalls and sinks. Unlike the meal, there was a decent amount of quiet chatter here as the older thestrals discussed plans for the next day.

Speckle was a little surprised to see a decent amount of clan members at the bathrooms at the same time. She was even more surprised to hear them discussing with each other more openly than when they were eating earlier. Part of her was tempted to eavesdrop on what they were talking about. However, another part of her was starting to feel kind of tired and just wanted to complete her pre-bedtime routine. However, when she met up with Nova again, she would ask, "so your clan likes to talk to each other outside the bathroom?" She found this slightly puzzling.