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Post by wanderingmagus on Jan 18, 2018 0:01:30 GMT
After giving her midday farewells to the Queen and others, Candycane sat back and contemplated her next activity. She considered her current inventory... The candies she was bringing to Ponyville had been destroyed by time when she was turned to stone, but thankfully, the Pie family at the farm had otherwise taken great care of her saddle bags. They didn't have much other than the candy and a few pages of notebook paper, but she had some bits to keep her going on the road... 100 bits weren't much, but maybe if the shops still accepted old currency, she could buy Sandstone something nice. Even if she couldn't pay for anything, a walk around the city would be nice. She didn't actually know just how much was left of the old world, and this would be an educational experience. "I'm going to have a walk around town," she told Sandstone. "Would you like to stay here with Abigail and Guru Fido, or would you like to come with me? I'd enjoy the company, but going alone would also give me some time to think." Sandstone grinned. "Kin Ah come with you, Candycane? Ah've never been t' Avalon b'fore! Guru Fido an' Auntie Abby visit th' Farm all th' time, but Ah've only ever heard stories 'bout this place." |
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Post by Wavelength on Jan 18, 2018 0:19:21 GMT
Candycane giggled and pulled Sandstone in for a little hug with one arm. "Sure thing, kiddo," she agreed with a smile, remembering that--in spite of her experiences and wisdom--Sandstone was still a filly, and friendly time together was important for her. "Let's go see what there is to see!"
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Post by wanderingmagus on Jan 18, 2018 0:46:49 GMT
Candycane giggled and pulled Sandstone in for a little hug with one arm. "Sure thing, kiddo," she agreed with a smile, remembering that--in spite of her experiences and wisdom--Sandstone was still a filly, and friendly time together was important for her. "Let's go see what there is to see!" Being the last bastion of equine civilization in the world, the Hidden Land of Avalon was understandably packed and diverse, and its streets filled with delights which never failed to amaze young fillies who'd never left their farm. There were marketplaces filled with Old Equestrian food and treats such as cupcakes and flower sandwiches, alleys lined with shops which sold all sorts of wonderfully comfortable clothes woven from Changeling silk and jewelry wrought from Avalonian crystal, and even dancers and performers playing beautiful music on instruments Sandstone had never even heard of - cellos being her favorite. Chaos Storms occasionally would drop the ear-piercing screeches of purposely discordant violins, bone-shattering bagpipes, foalnapping flutes, or everypony's worst nightmare, blaring trumpets signalling the arrival of the Big Banana Himself, but never beauty, never Harmony. Never this symphony of sounds and melodies working together rather than against each other, for the enjoyment of ponies rather than their suffering. Sandstone laughed, ran about excitedly, broke down crying, then started all over again with joyous laughter as she explored a foalhood that had been robbed of her and her family in the outside world. |
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Post by Wavelength on Jan 18, 2018 21:19:45 GMT
Candycane felt outclassed by the magnitude of Sandstone's reactions... That cute fluffy hat a few kiosks back would look adorable on her, but she might not like it, and it was horribly impractical because it would block her line of sight. There were bubble wands with soap bottles, there were toys of various sorts... all fleeting things. Nothing she got the filly could compare to this experience, could it? All the same, she kept looking, kept checking shops and kiosks, keeping the brave little filly in her line of sight. There had to be something...
She paused and thought for a moment, watching Sandstone enjoy the life that had been denied from her for all this time. The life Candycane already got to live, but Sandstone might... not...
Queen Cadence had offered free provision of anything they might need, hadn't she? Perhaps she would be able to help with a light, enchanted armor set. It wouldn't be much of a gift from Candycane herself, but she just wanted to be as sure as possible that this little filly got to see her Grandpa Stone Pie again. If Avalon's resources weren't particularly limited, she might as well ask for protection for the rest of the group, too... She heard there were supernatural storms out there!
With the peace of mind afforded by the Queen's offer, the mare settled down and kept close to Sandstone, pointing out and describing familiar sights from Old Equestria and how they had changed with time. It wasn't long before Candycane found her eyes drawn to a candy shop. "Oh! I wonder if they still have treats from my era?" she mused, pointing the shop out to Sandstone. "Would you mind if we checked what's in there?"
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Post by wanderingmagus on Jan 18, 2018 21:45:50 GMT
Candycane felt outclassed by the magnitude of Sandstone's reactions... That cute fluffy hat a few kiosks back would look adorable on her, but she might not like it, and it was horribly impractical because it would block her line of sight. There were bubble wands with soap bottles, there were toys of various sorts... all fleeting things. Nothing she got the filly could compare to this experience, could it? All the same, she kept looking, kept checking shops and kiosks, keeping the brave little filly in her line of sight. There had to be something... She paused and thought for a moment, watching Sandstone enjoy the life that had been denied from her for all this time. The life Candycane already got to live, but Sandstone might... not... Queen Cadence had offered free provision of anything they might need, hadn't she? Perhaps she would be able to help with a light, enchanted armor set. It wouldn't be much of a gift from Candycane herself, but she just wanted to be as sure as possible that this little filly got to see her Grandpa Stone Pie again. If Avalon's resources weren't particularly limited, she might as well ask for protection for the rest of the group, too... She heard there were supernatural storms out there! With the peace of mind afforded by the Queen's offer, the mare settled down and kept close to Sandstone, pointing out and describing familiar sights from Old Equestria and how they had changed with time. It wasn't long before Candycane found her eyes drawn to a candy shop. "Oh! I wonder if they still have treats from my era?" she mused, pointing the shop out to Sandstone. "Would you mind if we checked what's in there?" The filly's grin got even wider as she looked in the direction Candycane was pointing. "Is that... is that th' candy ya told us 'bout? Let's go!" Looks like she was going to be doing the leading, then. Upon entering the store, the scents and odors hit Candycane like a brick wall. This was home. That's what her nose told her, at least, even if she knew in her mind that this wasn't her shop. She could smell the marshmallows, the chocolates, the caramel apples and hoof-pulled taffy, the gumdrops and mints... and... Somehow, even though it should've been obvious she'd find them here, it was still something else entirely to see them, just sitting on the shelf, in this alien time period, so far from home. Candy Canes. |
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Post by Wavelength on Jan 19, 2018 2:05:24 GMT
Candycane stepped inside, took a deep breath, and sighed, closing her eyes. "I gotta be careful I don't forget everything that just happened... Feels like I just got home from my trip to Ponyville," she told Sandstone. She looked toward the counter and spoke to the owner. "I'm amazed, it's really been a thousand years... And you've kept the classic recipes this perfectly?"
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Post by wanderingmagus on Jan 19, 2018 20:00:35 GMT
Candycane stepped inside, took a deep breath, and sighed, closing her eyes. "I gotta be careful I don't forget everything that just happened... Feels like I just got home from my trip to Ponyville," she told Sandstone. She looked toward the counter and spoke to the owner. "I'm amazed, it's really been a thousand years... And you've kept the classic recipes this perfectly?" The hippogriff (a few of the little ones back at the Farm were hippogriffs, and proudly told her what they were) grinned. " Helps to have ponies like you who remember the old recipes, and especially our Queen. You're Candycane, right? Rumor has it you're destined to help save us all, make things like they were back in the Golden Age of Equestria. I'm Silver Lining. Pleasure to meet you!" She held out a claw to shake the mare's hoof. " There's not too many folks still around from the Golden Age. Dragons, I suppose, but they're a bit difficult to get into contact with, considering the distance. There's a few living statues, some of the Diamond Dogs, but other than that, it's mostly thanks to hearsay and some recipe books passed down from ancient times. Thanks to magic, we've managed to preserve them before age could get to them too much." She pointed at a few old books on a shelf, with the symbol of three balloons on them. Odd. |
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Post by Wavelength on Jan 19, 2018 23:33:19 GMT
"Amazing...," Candycane sighed, dreamily browsing the shop's goods. "And here I thought I was about to be useful and show you how to make something that had been lost in time," she giggled, "but you haven't lost a single thing!"
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Post by wanderingmagus on Jan 20, 2018 4:55:54 GMT
"Amazing...," Candycane sighed, dreamily browsing the shop's goods. "And here I thought I was about to be useful and show you how to make something that had been lost in time," she giggled, "but you haven't lost a single thing!" Silver Lining shuffled shyly. " Well... there ARE a few things I'd love to ask about candy in the Golden Age..." She blushed. " Most of the folks I've talked to from your era only retain vague memories of how things used to be, but from what I hear, you've practically experienced no time at all since this all started. I'd be curious what a professional candy maker would think about my family's work. We've tried to stick as close as possible to the instructions in the ancient recipe books, but either things were a lot more different back then than commonly believed, or the mare who wrote these books just had a completely different mindset than normal." She glanced around in slight paranoia, then whispered. " They say she appears if you ever actually say her name out loud, or ever break a promise made on such. It's part of why we've stuck so closely to the recipes." Three balloons? Wait, she'd heard of somepony of that description on her way to Ponyville... what were the Six Elements again? Loyalty, Laughter, Generosity... Laughter. Sweet Celestia, she needed to brush up on the history of this place sometime. |
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Post by Wavelength on Jan 20, 2018 7:00:11 GMT
"Well, you've nailed the candy shop smells just fine," Candycane laughed. "May we sample a few treats? I'd be happy to answer anything you want to ask! ...Or test anything, as long as you don't stuff me too full," she giggled. "I just had dinner." Out of the corner of her eye, she kept contemplating that mark on those books... Oh, yeah, it was the cutiemark of one of Ponyville's bakers. She'd read about them when considering the location for expansion. Pastries of all sorts were available in excellent quality for excellent prices at Sugarcube Corner, so Candycane had decided to try selling hard and chewy candies like saltwater taffy to avoid the embarrassment of being run out of business before she could get anywhere. She was looking forward to trying one of their cakes at the time. "I think I might know who you're talking about, too," she told Silver Lining, "but don't worry about me saying her name... I don't quite remember it. I do remember that she had a really high score in the records, though! I would have liked to run some of my recipes by her."
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Post by wanderingmagus on Jan 21, 2018 0:50:11 GMT
"Well, you've nailed the candy shop smells just fine," Candycane laughed. "May we sample a few treats? I'd be happy to answer anything you want to ask! ...Or test anything, as long as you don't stuff me too full," she giggled. "I just had dinner." Out of the corner of her eye, she kept contemplating that mark on those books... Oh, yeah, it was the cutiemark of one of Ponyville's bakers. She'd read about them when considering the location for expansion. Pastries of all sorts were available in excellent quality for excellent prices at Sugarcube Corner, so Candycane had decided to try selling hard and chewy candies like saltwater taffy to avoid the embarrassment of being run out of business before she could get anywhere. She was looking forward to trying one of their cakes at the time. "I think I might know who you're talking about, too," she told Silver Lining, "but don't worry about me saying her name... I don't quite remember it. I do remember that she had a really high score in the records, though! I would have liked to run some of my recipes by her." Silver Lining smiled awkwardly. " Maybe a thousand years ago. Now... well, let's not talk about that." She pulled out a tray of freshly-made samples, smiling at Sandstone as the filly raced forward for a taste. " Everyone I've met say the taste is excellent, but a firsthoof account from a Golden Age candymaker would be something else entirely. There's just... so much that we've lost from that time, even with the Queen's best efforts. There's not that many who survived the first few centuries, much less the next thousand years, and those that did don't exactly have perfect memory." |
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Post by Wavelength on Jan 21, 2018 2:28:05 GMT
"I don't understand...," Candycane said, puzzled as she took a chewy candy to try. "What did you lose? I haven't noticed anything lacking yet... But now that I know to look for it..." She thoughtfully chewed on the candy as she regarded the tray of samples and the shelves around her, actively trying to think of anything big missing. She paid careful attenttion to the flavor of everything she tried, too, attempting to determine if the recipes were incomplete.
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Post by wanderingmagus on Jan 21, 2018 2:47:35 GMT
"I don't understand...," Candycane said, puzzled as she took a chewy candy to try. "What did you lose? I haven't noticed anything lacking yet... But now that I know to look for it..." She thoughtfully chewed on the candy as she regarded the tray of samples and the shelves around her, actively trying to think of anything big missing. She paid careful attenttion to the flavor of everything she tried, too, attempting to determine if the recipes were incomplete. The hippogriff shrugged as she sat down on a bench. " That's the catch, isn't it? You can't know exactly what you've lost if you grew up never knowing it existed in the first place. I've heard tales of the sorts of things you had back in the Golden Age, like boxes on wheels that crossed the entire continent on metal rails, almost as fast as I could fly, but without stopping. They ran off of some sort of black rock, if the stories are true. There were big boxes that floated in the sky, held up by giant bags made of cloth, that you could use to fly without wings. I've never seen any of that, unless you count Chaos Storms, which I've only seen one of. Then again, Chaos Storms make all sorts of impossible things all the time. I'm sure your little friend knows more about it than me," she looked at Sandstone, who swallowed her chocolate and nodded. "Ya git used t' them, but while they're 'round, it's like all th' normal rules jes' go away. Even th' scavengers stay away when there's one goin' on, an' jes' go back when it's over." |
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Post by Wavelength on Jan 21, 2018 3:00:00 GMT
"Well, those things you've heard of are still as fresh as ever on my mind! I'm no engineer, but I understand the basic concepts of how those worked. The one that travels across continents is called a train," she explained, "and the black rocks that power it are coal. They burn really hot, and the train is built to use the heat from burning coals to boil water and fill pistons... It's a long story, but they're a lot of fun to watch. If you can get me some parchment, I'd be happy to draw one for you!" she chimed. "We've got the rest of the day free, and I'd be happy to help restore some long-lost memories." She turned to Sandstone. "Were you eager to keep going or is it okay if we stay and talk for a while?"
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Post by wanderingmagus on Jan 21, 2018 4:14:15 GMT
"Well, those things you've heard of are still as fresh as ever on my mind! I'm no engineer, but I understand the basic concepts of how those worked. The one that travels across continents is called a train," she explained, "and the black rocks that power it are coal. They burn really hot, and the train is built to use the heat from burning coals to boil water and fill pistons... It's a long story, but they're a lot of fun to watch. If you can get me some parchment, I'd be happy to draw one for you!" she chimed. "We've got the rest of the day free, and I'd be happy to help restore some long-lost memories." She turned to Sandstone. "Were you eager to keep going or is it okay if we stay and talk for a while?" "Whatever's fine!" chirped the filly, picking another gumdrop from the platter of sweets. At some point she was going to have a tummy ache, but right now she was as happy as, well, a filly in a candy store. " To be honest, I wouldn't know what to do with any diagrams," admitted the shopkeeper. " I know a few folks on the Maker's Alley that would love some firsthoof accounts of Golden Age marvels, however. The Royal Archives could also probably use some looking into; even the Queen could only save so many books before the rest were burned, transformed into birds, or eaten, sometimes by former librarians and book lovers under HIS control." Sandstone nodded. "We never blame anyone fer what they do while controlled. Happens all th' time, 'specially if ya leave th' Farm an' safe spaces like here. Sometimes, ya even hafta put 'em down, an' some brothers an' sisters ain't comin' back. But Ah'd bet they're happier that way, not havin' ta see their own bodies hurtin' the ponies they love or shoutin' things they hate, like that statue o' Mayor Mare, still shoutin' how much she hates Ponyville an' everythin' in it. An' Ponyville ain't been 'round fer a thousand years. Grandpa says she was th' kindest, most thoughtful mare th' Queen's sisters could'a put in charge back then. But that's th' Big Banana's 'humor' fer ya, takin' good things an' twistin' 'em inta their evil opposites." Silver Lining shook her head. " I'd say something like 'at least we're safe here', but that's a level beyond insensitive. We Avalonians sometimes have a hard time remembering that there's ponies out there too, and most of us came from them or their descendants. Every now and then there's a lull in the Chaos Storms outside, and we get a flood of refugees guided by the Queen's will through the spells and enchantments of confusion hiding this place in the Everfree, but between those lulls, we can get pretty isolated." |
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