open Free-Time in Fillydelphia

[qqq 217]

@@Gloomfury

 

Glacier shook her head. "This isn't about skill or talent,"  Glacier said. "When I get hit and attacked, something happens that I don't have control over. My survival instincts kick and I just go completely berserk. I become completely engrossed in the violence that I don't stop untill either the opponents die or I do. I don't want to fight you because that instinct will come out and I won't be concerned with the rules of boxing, my instincts will leave me tearing flesh from the bone and puncturing organs to ensure I'm the last pony standing. And that's not something I need to put you through."

[Gloomfury 243]

@,

"I see. That's a pity. But It kinda makes me glad that you care enough about me that you don't want to risk killing me. I guess I'm making some progress." She said without her smile fading once. About that time Shamrock saw the Ice-cream shop. "Looks like we made it. Pick any favor you want."

[qqq 217]

@@Gloomfury

 

Glacier's eyes scanned the menu at the ice cream stand. There were certain flavours that she recognised from things she'd previously eaten like strawberrt, vanilla and mint.. Also, there were wonderous flavours that Glacier had never heard of like cookie, fudge and cheesecake. "Why would anypony want a dessert that tastes of cheese?"  Glacier asked. "You must have to really love cheese to have it as a dessert. In terms of what I'd like, I don't see blueberry on there so I'll just have a vanilla flavour, if I may."

[Gloomfury 243]

@,

Shamrock raised an eyebrow at her. "You've never had cheesecake either, have you?  It is made with cheese but it's light and sweet and it's made with eggs and sugar. It's really good. I wonder how many other things you've never had." She takes their orders and hoofs Glacier's to her. "Here ya go." 

[qqq 217]

@@Gloomfury

 

Glacier took the ice cream to her mouth and took a large bite out the top. As she chewed it, her face puckered and she shook her head rapidly. "Gah!"  she exclaimed once she had swallowed her mouthful of ice cream. "It's so sweet! It's like biting into a lemon dipped in honey! I'll try and finish it though. It would be wrong if I didn't."  Glacier took another bite of ice cream and again her lips puckered.

[Gloomfury 243]

@,

 Shammy chuckles at Glacier's reaction. "You don't bite it, you lick it. Like this." She licks her ice-cream a few times." If you eat it like that you'll give yourself brain freeze. So eat it slow." She licks her Ice-cream a bit more and starts walking again while leading.

[qqq 217]

Glacier stared intently as Shamrock gave her guidance. She followed behind whilst licking her ice cream. Despite her new approach, Glacier still shook at the sweetness of the food. "I can't really say that iced cream has been a particularly enjoyable experience,"  she said. "Are all of the iced creams like this? If so, I don't think they're for me. What are we going to do after we've finished?"

[Gloomfury 243]

@, 

"Well that's a shame. But we all have our likes and dislikes."She eats the rest of her ice-cream cone."And I was hoping to stop off at the local pub to get a pint or two. But I'm pretty sure you won't like the taste of alcohol very much. Most don't. So you can pick what you want to do."

[qqq 217]

@@Gloomfury

 

Following Shamrock's example, Glacier put the ice cream cone into her mouth, chewed it and swallowed. "No, I have had alcohol before,"  Glacier replied. "It wasn't bad but it wasn't that great either. Besides, I don't particularly like the idea of it. If I get violent when I have alcohol, then it's not going to be a pretty sight. I don't mind going to the pub with you but I won't be drinking anything. There's probably a clean stream somewhere I can drink from."

[Gloomfury 243]

@,

 "You've never had Ice-cream but you have had alcohol. Strange. But you night not get violent when you're plastered. There's different kinds of drunk. Like the fool, the life of the party, the flirt, the melancholy, the fury, the mood swinger and the Juggernaut. Which is the worst. I've been it at least once. But I'm mostly the flirt."She says with a smile.

[qqq 217]

@@Gloomfury

 

"I've always known I've never been a fan of sweet things,"  Glacier explained. "Even as a young filly, I was never of fan of sugary things. The only reason I've tried alcohol is because my father gave me a small bit of cider when I turned 18. And whilst, as you said, there are different things that can happen when drunk, I'd rather not take the chance. As much as death is an inevitability, it is not my job to bring it to ponies I've never met."

[Gloomfury 243]

@, 

"Alright, I understand. I like a good deal of things. But some I like more then others. For example: I like sweet and salty things. But I like salty things better. If I were to chooses between a bag of chips or a candybar, I would pick the chips. I also like somethings that not a lot of ponies like as much. Like, I love onions. I can eat them on almost anything."

[qqq 217]

@@Gloomfury

 

Glacier nodded. "Onions are good,"  Glacier replied. "But I'm usually not too fussy over what I eat. It's only really swee things that I can eat and I prefer to keep things simple. If you gave me a potato, I'd quite happily take a bite out of it, even if it's raw. Heck, I've eaten things that are poisonous on countless occasions."

[Gloomfury 243]

@,

"That's not very healthy. You need to learn how to prepare you food so you can get everything out of it. If you just go about eating anything you find you might kill yourself accidentally. That's what my da use to say. He use to take me camping a lot when I was a filly. If you want I can teach you how to cook."

[qqq 217]

@@Gloomfury

 

"I know it's not healthy," Glacier replied with a blunt tone. "But neither is starvation. I only eat poisonous berries when there is no other alternative. And I know that I can't go around eating any thing I find. Before I started living in the Everfree, I spent a long time reading up on the uses of plants, how to identify a safe and unsafe fruits and mushrooms and about the creatures I was likely to face. And there's no need to worry about teaching me how to cook. I enjoy living wild."

[Gloomfury 243]

@, ((Sorry it took me a while to say anything back.))

"I'm sure you do. But you're my friend. So of course I'm gonna worry about you. But you should take your heath into consideration. But I know what it like trying to survive. I was starving to death when my da found me. I almost bit his hoof of when he gave me a plate of spaghetti he made me." She giggles at the memory.

[qqq 217]

@@Gloomfury

 

(No worries.)

 

Glacier smiled as Shamrock recalled the story of how she met her father. "That's a little bit odd," Glacier said. "Your father helped you get away from starvation whereas I helped my father by going ​into starvation. And thanks for being concerned for me."  Glacier looked into Shamrock's eyes. "It's nice to have more than one pony who's alive care about my wellbeing."

[Gloomfury 243]

@,

 Glacier's smile made Shamrock blush a little. "Hehe, it's alright. You must care about your da a great deal to go into starving for him. My da would give me his famous haymaker if I even thought of doing that." She giggles again. "He was always protective of me."

[qqq 217]

@@Gloomfury

 

Glacier and Shamrock continued walking. The residential district had ended and they were now in one full of shops and cafés. A strong aroma of coffee wafted around the streets. They were a few ponies on the streets here and they were walking around at a hurried pace.

 

As she looked at the buildings, she saw one with a large sign that said "The Royal Oak". On closer inspection, it turned out to be one of the pubs that Shamrock was interested in. "Are you going in?"  she asked.

[Gloomfury 243]

@,

Shamrock thought about it for a sec. "Hmmmm, sure. It's been a while sens I had a pint.  But if you don't want to we can just skip it and do whatever you want to do. Plus I might get a bit rowdy cause Filly has a good deal Irish folk in it. And when you get a bunch of us together you're looking at blow out just waiting to happen." 

[qqq 217]

@@Gloomfury

 

"You can go in if you want,"  Glacier replied. "It looks far too crowded in there for me to feel comfortable and if the ponies within are as rowdy as you say, I'd rather not take the chance on getting hit. I'll find something else I can do if you choose to go in. After all, you're strong enough to look after yourself; you don't need me to protect you."

[Gloomfury 243]

@,

 "That is true. But I'd like to spend more time with you. Plus I can get a pint anytime." She walks passed the pub. "So what do you want to do anyway? Head back to the park? Get your sap and fruit so you can practice your aim? Or we could just sit under s tree and hold each other close." She says with a joking but hopeful smile.

[qqq 217]

@@Gloomfury

 

"I don't have anything that needs doing,"  Glacier replied. "It doesn't seem fair to make the accuracy board as it'll be me that has all the fun and if you're really that desperate to spend time with me, I doubt you'd go and find your own entertainment. There's nothing particularly interesting about going back to the park."

 

With a sigh, Glacier continued. "It would be nice to find somewhere I can relax though. If I'm relax, I may feel more comfortable with physical contact. Anywhere you want to go?"

[Gloomfury 243]

@,

The last thing Glacier said made Shamrock grin from ear to ear. "A mate of mine who lives here has a rooftop garden. It's got grass, trees and flowers. It's something to see. While I'm here she asked me to house sit for her while she's away. I think it's this way." She starts leading the way to her friends house, with a slight skip in her step.

[qqq 217]

Glacier sighed and kept up her pace. 'What's she grinning over?'  Glacier pondered. 'She better not think that by physical contact, I meant love-making. I'm not some cheap courtesan.' 

 

After a very brief dash, Glacier was back next to Shamrock. She was further from her side than before Shamrock bounced ahead. "I suppose this garden may be something to do. They may even be something there that I could use later."