The RP Itself

The official site for the migration of the RP.

Cogs of Magic

Character List

Prologue:

After Twilight Sparkle’s coronation, life in Equestria had never seen a stronger period of peace and growth.  While the eternal princesses Luna and Celestia maintained their political vigil over the land, Twilight has dedicated her intelligence and affinity with magic in service to her new subjects.  She established an outpost that came to be called Twilight University, gathering the best and brightest around her.  From a small series of temporary shelters to a mini-city all on its own, TU became the birthplace for a magitechnological advance like never seen before.

While magitech had been seen on small scale, personal levels, Twilight and her assistants sought to allow every tribe of ponykind to benefit from the magic that unicorns had harnessed for so long.  After three long years of experimentation, she succeeded: the world’s first magical battery--a device able to store unicorn magic indefinitely--was created.  

Steam and pony-drawn vehicles begin to give way to electrically powered devices.  The first radio stations are built to entertain and inform Equestra.  Home electricity and climate control are now handled by machines, not flame or pegasi weather teams.  Small, personal devices are developed for any pony to use, regardless of tribe.

Seeing the great success of her team’s development, Twilight began construction on, after six years of hard and ingenious work, what would become Equestria’s new jewel: the floating city of Ravaalon.  It was her gift back to a people who had given her so much; a haven for equality, built by the very magitechnology that truly united the three tribes of ponykind.  With her own Element of Magic at the heart of the city, it became a beacon of equality, learning, and magitechnological development.

At first.

Twilight, while intelligent, relied upon ponies of means to fund her research.  As well, Ravaalon had been designed to be self-sufficient, with an entire portion of the city dedicated to agricultural pursuits.  Eventually, those with the bits and those that controlled the food began directing the day-to-day affairs of the city, eventually placing themselves on the highest rungs of society.  This was hastened as Twilight withdrew from the city’s running more and more as the years passed, eventually seeming to disappear altogether.

The dream of true equality was tarnished, with pegasi seemingly unneeded on the lowest rung, unicorns only slightly better due to the need of their magical energies, and earth ponies--the suppliers of foodstuffs--taking on the role of the upper crust.  Despite the continued technological advances, harsh exportation controls mean little since has left the city’s edge, and even within the city it’s only the rich that can truly afford a blossoming high tech lifestyle.

The city began to fill with tension, resentment and anger coming to a boil just below the surface.

In the present day you find yourself in this once great city.  New arrivals or long term residents, rich or poor, you are now a citizen of Ravaalon.  Despite the high hopes when the city was founded, the jewel of Equestria has lost its shine--and increasingly violent factors threaten to take even more.  The pegasi of the slums, having long attempted peaceful resolutions to their suffering, are beginning to think a stronger course of action should be taken against the tyrannical rule of the rich.  The rich themselves, somewhat bored and decadent, are beginning to manage the city poorly, letting repairs and maintenance go unfulfilled.  Beyond even the powerful technology keeping the city afloat, rumors abound that the magic itself is beginning to fade.

It is here, on a powder keg of day-to-day survival, that you find yourself.  Live, explore, and interact.  Save the city, or at least improve your stake.  Fight oppression or struggle to keep order.  The story is in your hooves now.

This RP is slow and serious, with a focus on storytelling.  Posts should be descriptive, with some scene building, setting explanation, and thought out dialogue and emotions.  Players should work together, using their characters as tools to assist in telling the story, creating and reacting to conflict, and progressing the time while building the world.  When writing keep in character; this means show, don't tell, and while you can express inner thoughts and emotions, other characters don't know anything that is not said.

As well, it must be believable and in tune with the show itself.  Keep that in mind when making your characters.  While yes, we're opening it up some and maturing it a fair bit, everything must still make sense as the show has established it.

To join the RP...

You must send a private message to DarkPhoenix or Tricondon.

It must include:

The Name of the character.

The tribe or race, their approximate age category, and appearance (which should include: coat, mane, and eye colour; magic colour if applicable; and cutie mark.)

A short but detailed summary of their background and personality, including their special talent.

Any important relationships to canon characters, though be careful here.

Character Creation Restrictions
+ No alicorns, period
+ No humans
+ No non-Equestrian species (special leeway can be granted upon discussion)
+ No villainous species (changelings, draconequui and the like)
+ No Villainous characters (examples: Discord, Chrysalis, and Sombra); antagonists, however, are fine (examples: Trixie, Flim and Flam)
+ No sci-fi backgrounds, such as being from an AU or different timeline
+ No supernatural or unrealistic powers (from the standard Equestrian viewpoint)
+ Keep useful skills and hobbies to a realistic minimum, and allow your character(s) to truly excel in only one area--their talent, as related to their cutie mark

Playing Rules and Guidelines
+ No creating any situations worse than a clean mature rating, most anything goes but we draw the line at clop and excessive gore.
+ No grievously injuring or, heaven forbid, murdering another RPers characters, although feel free to send danger their way and give them the option to either get hit or dodge it.  Work together--it’s OK to take on injury or be threatened!
+ No directly insulting or defacing other RPers or their characters. Your characters can insult whoever they want though in the game, feel free to play a jerk character to their full potential.
+ No guns, automobiles, or other advanced technology that doesn’t fit within the show’s universe. If you want to add in some piece of magitech that hasn’t already been mentioned, you may message Tricondon or DarkPhoenix about it.
+ You may have up to two characters, only one of which can be canon.  Please make sure you use both relatively evenly.
+ You are allowed to insert temporary, minor NPCs if needed, but utilize this with some discretion.  Do not NPC canon characters without requesting permission first.
+ If you want to play a canon character, you must include a few paragraphs of said character interacting with either your OC or another character, in the style of the RP itself.
+ You are allowed to talk to other players about the story, even brainstorm ideas of things to do and execute them, but be reasonable.  No threatening the world or causing massive death, or anything that would affect players on a wide scale.  The GMs will be in charge of those.
+ Don't be a glory hog; remember you're playing this with other people, so learn to assist and share the spotlight.  Everyone will get their chances.
+ Avoid double posting if at all possible, please.  This includes larger, combined posts.
+ If you find your character isn't working, or you wish to change characters, you must find a way to write your current character out, and to write your new character in--but only after messaging DarkPhoenix or Tricondon

Punishments
Both Tricondon and Peregrine Caged and DarkPhoenix will be monitoring--likely even playing--this RP for rule violations.  It is up to our discretion on what we deem to be rulebreaking and how to punish it.  If you see or suffer something that we miss, you may PM either of us--but bring evidence (screenshots are your best bet).  I don’t think we’ll have any issues, so I won’t write out exactly what will happen.  But restrictions and bans will happen if you cause trouble.

Timestamp (Please add these wherever possible to keep a relative track of time and place between players.  For simplicity's sake, we'll just use real life dates.  Players: you will advance time as the story goes, not as real life goes.  

Play nice and be courteous in your timestamps.  Also--if you're not currently swapping posts with another player, always refresh before posting your latest go.)

Timestamp
-- 12:07 pm, July 11th; Two Days before Ravaalon's 15th annual Founding Day

It was another comfortable day in Ravaalon, city of magic, beacon of equality, and jewel of Equestria.  Most days were comfortable--the sun blocked just enough by pleasant cloud cover, the breeze strong enough to be noticed but not disturbing.  The next scheduled rain was in a week; it would be a doozy as all summer storms were, but until then the weather was enjoyable for all.

It was all to prepare for Ravaalon's fifteenth annual Founding Day, the anniversary of when the city was officially opened to the general public.  Working hours had been cut citywide, the sale of fireworks and party supplies at a record high, and the Admin-hex had been decorated in the founder's colors of mulberry and sapphire in preparation for the massive parade that would take place.

The Central Market was a-bustle with the growing excitement of everypony, with gifts and celebratory prizes going for a variety of carnival games.  The Industry-hex was shut down for repairs, upgrades, and other necessary work.  Everyone was looking forward to what was predicted to be the best and biggest Founding Day celebration yet.

And yet...

A subtle undercurrent of whisper and worry followed the celebratory attitude.  There were rumors--silly and ignored, yet passed along all the same--of some trouble expected at the parade, or perhaps the even bigger fair that would be going on at the time.  But as the day approached, more and more ponies were wondering the same question between their preparations: Would Twilight Sparkle, Princess and Founder of Ravaalon, make her once-usual appearance?

For two years she hadn't been available to make her typical speech.  Old recordings had been used instead.  For three she hadn't been seen, except in rumored private visits at her palace.  Even before then she had become increasingly reclusive.
But still, these darker thoughts were there and gone in an instant, replaced by anticipation or the worry of preparing everything anypony could need, want, or dream for the celebration.

It truly was going to be a day for the ages.

12:30 pm,  July 11th, Two days before Ravaalon's 15th Annual Founding Day

Cloudbuilder gazed around at the market. There were ponies all around him, going about their business. Merchants were shouting, offering their wares, trying to draw in customers. Ponies always said the Industrial hex was the loudest, but Cloudbuilder thought it was the markets. At least the machines could be turned off, and even when they were going, they were calm. These merchants were loud and obnoxious.

Scuffing a hoof, he kicked a loose pebble, watching it vanish amongst the hooves of the other ponies. Why was he even here? It's not like he had bits to spend on anything. Working as a laborer in the Industrial hex didn't exactly provide one the bits for anything other than necessities, and sometimes not even that. Rations had been scarce lately, probably those better-than-thou earth ponies holding back again.

He wandered the market, not stopping too long to gaze at any one stall. Mostly, he was just wanting to get out of the Industrial hex. There wasn't any work today, which was a blessing. His talents were wasted on slaving away over machinery. He was born to work with clouds, it said so right on his flank. Who knew that a city in the clouds would shun that which was all around them.

Not that there was much use in complaining. The only pegasi work he could get was weather duty, and that was an even bigger waste of his talents than machine duty. Sure he'd be working with clouds, but only pushing them away. All the weather inside the city was controlled through machines. Fortunately, he didn't work on those particular machines.

Founding Day was drawing near. Two days from now, to be precise. The fifteenth anniversary of the day the city opened to the general public. And fifteen years since he'd been living and working in this rat-hole of a city. There's been whispers amongst the pegasi in the slums where he lived. Mostly he'd ignored them. What was the point in listening? It was all talk, he'd yet to hear about anything actually happening.

Lately, though, the whispers had been getting louder, more insistent. Several times he'd even listened. There were some good ideas being tossed around, but no one yet had the brains to execute them. The earth ponies had the slums in an iron grip, controlling the food. Sure they could all just go on strike, not work the machines, but then the entire city would suffer. No, there had to be a way to break free without causing a calamity.

Spying an empty bench, he sat down, just watching the chaos that was the market. Two more days off work, and he was already bored. Work may suck, but at least it gave him something to do. Hopefully something exciting would happen soon.

Timestamp:
-- 8:23 am, July 12th; One day before Ravaalon's 15th annual Founding Day

Spitfire paced her office within the Administrative District police station. It was larger than most, given her status as captain, but it was still barely eight steps from one end to the other. Various trophies from her Wonderbolt days lined the walls. A desk sat opposite the door, and behind it was a window. Spitfire ignored the chair there however, and the trophies, they weren't that important anymore.

There was a lot on her mind, most of it revolved around Founding Day. Rumors were spreading like wildfire and many of her force had been receiving ‘tips’ on possible disruptions, or disruptors, that could reveal themselves in the next two days. Most of them, she knew, were just ponies being scared that something would ruin their holiday. But, that did not mean precautions shouldn't, and wouldn't, be taken to make sure the event ran smoothly.

Currently, she was waiting on her district lieutenants to turn up. Briefing needed to be given, officers needed to be prepared and patrol routes had to be finalized for the big day. Normally she had the orders wired to each district’s little police hub, but tomorrow was anything but normal. Things were going to go smoothly, Spitfire was making sure of that.
Finally somepony knocked on the door and opened it. It was her secretary, her go to pony for anything and everything that required a schedule.

“They are all here now, Spitfire. Everypony is in the conference room.” she said.

“Ah, about time!” Spitfire made for the door and out into the hall.

Her office was at the back, so she had to follow her secretary back up the hallway to the front where the conference room was located. It was set adjacent the lobby so that ponies walking in could often see police hard at work behind the glass walls.

Straightening her jacket, Spitfire proceeded inside. “Gentleponies,” she greeted.

There was a chorus of ‘hellos’ and ‘good mornings’, but none of them overly enthusiastic.

“Yea yea, I get it. You all had to be up early and take, for some, an hour long train ride to get here.” Spitfire walked to the head of the conference desk and turned to eye them critically.

“Well, you know it’s for good reason.” Spitfire paused as her secretary entered once again and began passing out folders. She continued once they each had one, “Alright, I’ve made some changes to the district forces and routes. We will be pulling off officers from the Agricultural district to help balance the workload for those working here in the Administrative tomorrow.

“I would prefer not to compromise the security of the other districts as they will be seeing plenty of traffic throughout the Event. I’ve also outlined the official parade path and assigned positions that need filled. I’m leaving it to you to decide which of your officers get which positions, but it needs to be figured out and sent back to me by this evening. Any questions?”

None of the ponies spoke, only the sound of shuffling papers was to be heard as they perused their assignments.
Spitfire let the silence linger a moment longer before speaking again. “I apologize for the lateness of this. But the council did not make a decision on these specifics until yesterday. It seems there are other things on their mind.”

Letting her officers have a few more minutes to look through their folders, Spitfire sat down and opened hers. At the top was a checklist, compliments of her secretary, which was nearly finished. She scratched out “meeting with lieutenants” and closed the folder.

“Alright, if there are no questions you guys had better get to work.” Spitfire’s tone left no room for argument and the office emptied immediately.

She sat for a few minutes longer. All she could do now was wait. Wait for results and the inevitable problems that would arise come tomorrow morning.

With a sigh, Spitfire pushed herself to her hooves and trotted out of the room, carry her folder under a wing. Moving out into the lobby, she dropped it at the front desk and clocked herself out.

Now seemed like a good time to mingle. Spitfire liked getting a personal feel for the city and what ponies were saying. It also seemed rather shortsighted to her to ignore the population in her job. The marketplace and Industrial Districts were always good places to pick up gossip or get a feel for the mood of the city; and that was just what she loved to do.

Without any more work to do currently, She took off towards the market, free to do as she pleased.

Timestamp:
-- 7:16 pm, July 12th, One day before Ravaalon's 15th annual Founding Day

Strolling down the market-street of the Commercial District, Crescent Sunrise looked around with mild interest. This window shopping has gotten to be a thing he did more and more, somewhat due to his visits to the bars, but also because there was barely any work to get for one of his craft. Apparently even though the place had some edgy business between the lower class, it wasn't enough to hire protection from a swordspony. Of course this place was so advanced that swords were a thing of the past.

Stopping by a showcase window displaying some of the new devices the town had produces, he was half-looking, half-thinking about his situation. Money was low, tower than he wanted and rent of the tiny apartment was way on overdo. The hope of finding something to help his father had faded quickly the last days, not that he had money to pay for a transport back to ground. As he stood there in his own troughs, someone bumped into him clearly on purpose.

"Sorry horny, didn't see you there," a young earth stallion said cocky. He had a small gang with other of his kind and around the same age.

"Sure, whatever." The response didn't seem to be the one the earth pony wanted.

"You don't seem to have your manners straight, you're suppose to say 'no, it was my fault, I'm sorry'." Great, a pompous prick with a rich father that though he owned the town. He really didn't want to stir up a fight so he tried to suit the snotty kid's demand while keeping his dignity.

"I believe I was standing still so-" The pony didn't seemed interested in his explanation  as he poked him hard in the chest.

"Listen magihead, the only thing you are good for is to power up batteries so you better pay better respect to the high-class. I will let this pass with a warning for now since you seem new here, but next time I expect an apology for you to be in my way. Your father must have done a poor job raising you." That was the drop that tipped the glass. A dangerous calmness comes over Crescent.

"Okay. You can spit in my face, you can call me whatever you want, you can even kick me to the ground and rub dirt in my face, but you do not, I repeat not, bring MY FATHER INTO THIS!" He yelled the last part as he pulled out his sword an inch from the suddenly scared pony.

The gang wasn't much support with their leader at the tip of a sword. They started backing off as the sword started to get a light yellow glow from the heating spell. Heat radiated from it, the cocky earth pony was now sweating bullets from either that or for other oblivious reasons. He clearly wanted to back off, but the glare in Crescent's eyes told him that would be a mistake.

"Now, I believe you owe me an apology for what you said about my father."

"I-I-I'm sorry for what I said!" the pony squeaked, clearly scared out of his wits.

"Good," the heated blade cools down with a hiss and he lowered it. "Now buzz before I burn your tail off." He didn't need to be told twice and the gang followed after their humiliated leader. before he turned the corner he yelled back, suddenly more confident without the blade in his face.

"You're in big trouble when I report you, no one humiliates the Casino family!" With that, he was gone.
Crescent sighted. great, as if money wasn't a problem already he was now on some high-class family wanting him behind bars, or worse. With moral lower than normal, he began making his way to the less wanted part of the district where the bars was. He felt he needed a drink, regardless of money problems and the newly arisen one.

-- 8:03 am, July 11th; Two Days before Ravaalon's 15th annual Founding Day

It was dark, cold and cramped, but at least it was somewhat comfortable. It had definitely been worth paying a few extra bits for a bed.

The overnight journey from Canterlot to Ravaalon’s Port District would have been hell if she hadn’t been able to sleep. It didn’t take as long as the near week long journey she had taken to get to Canterlot, but at least that ride was smooth and comfortable. The airship she was riding into Ravaalon felt like a boat on the ocean, being rocked and buffeted by the run off from the energy pillars keeping the city afloat. The ship’s built in stabilisers shook off the most of the energy, but it was still uncomfortable. She didn’t even suffer from motion sickness and the ride had left her a little queasy.

Camellia pulled off the pathetically thin blanket and sat up on the bed, yawning. The tiny window above her bed allowed a beam of light to penetrate the darkness in her room. “Morning has arrived, it seems.” She remembered something about getting to Ravaalon in the morning, but she wasn’t quite sure. The stallion who said it spoke fast and his accent was rather thick. It made understanding him quite difficult, especially as a non-native speaker.

Through the darkness, Camellia felt for the small suitcase that carried the majority of her life. Everything that she owned was in that suitcase and most were mementos of her time back home, serving the Lady of the house as a personal maid. She had learned everything from her late mistress, how to cook, how to clean, how to politely present oneself in social situations, but most of all, she learned about Ravaalon. Her late mistress was obsessed with the idea of living there one day, enjoying the modern life of industry and leisure. The Lord of the house was always against the idea, however.

When her mistress passed away, Camellia saw no reason to stay at her post and immediately resigned. She had no parents to return to, having lost them not too long before losing her mistress, so she felt that she had a duty to fulfill her mistress’ dearest wish. She would go to Ravaalon and find herself.

Step one of finding herself would be to stay true to herself. Camellia went to the small desk beside the bed and groped for her ruffled, white headband, using her magic to place it on her head, letting it rest on her ears. Next, she grabbed a neatly folded, black dress and unfolded it in mid-air, opening it up so she could slip into it with ease. Finally, she tied the large white ribbon around her waist, leaving a bow sitting neatly atop her back. She sighed and stared at her barely visible reflection in the mirror above the desk. She had been trained as a maid, she had even gotten her cutie mark in service, so she was going to continue as such. Surely her skills would come in handy somewhere in the vast, floating city. She just needed somepony to use them for.

She smiled happily and began tidying her things away, setting them neatly into her suitcase.  It wouldn’t be long now.

“Attention all passengers, this is your captain speaking. We will be arriving at Ravaalon’s Port Hex within minutes, so be ready to disembark. The time is eight ten in the morning, skies are sunny and clear. Have a nice day, folks.”

12:34 pm,  11th of July Two days before Ravaalon's 15th Annual Founding Day

Foxwhelp hummed to herself, smelling the sweet perfume of the brewing cider.  True, her starting funds were only large enough to pay for two vats but for the first time striking out on her own the two vats were more than enough to produce cider she could easily sell to the various bars and pubs.  Local brews, made uniquely in a way that no other pony quite could reproduce.

The dusty red pony trotted over to a vat, checking a few of the instruments.  The two vats were just about ready.  Her eyes sparkled, excitement fluttering in her stomach.  The 15th anniversary promised to be a great boon for her.  Bars and pubs selling her Cider, specially made for the occasion.  Not much more would need to be done other than just wait at this point, it should be ready for serving by tomorrow.

Foxwhelp's stomach growled, rudely reminding that she forgot breakfast, again.  A solid breakfast at least, as she didn't think that many ponies would consider a mug of cider to be the most hearty of breakfasts.  The Earth Pony sighed, heading up the stairs straight to her fridge.  A quick peek revealed.... nothing.  It would seem that she had already exhausted her food.

'Horseapples...' she muttered to herself, closing the fridge.  She sighed, trotting downstairs.  Her hunger would not wait, she'd find a quick bite to eat somewhere and try and buy something to fill her fridge with.  Sliding on her saddlebags the Earth Pony trotted through her home and business, out into the little lobby she had made to hide her two large vats so she could conduct business with those who wanted to purchase from her, and finally out her front door.  She fumbled a bit with the key, it had to be nice to be a Unicorn, even though magitek keys were meant to be easily used by anypony and never required a whole lot of dexterity it was still always a pain to her to try and fit the key into the lock.

Testing the door a bit to make sure that she didn't accidentally leave it unlocked again.  Everything seemed fine, now it was just up to her to find somewhere to eat.  Fortunately, living in the commercial district, never never seemed to be any shortage of restaurants.

As she trotted through the streets looking for a good place to eat the excitement of the upcoming anniversary seemed almost palpable.  Stores everywhere were holding special promotions, a unique item just for this occasion, sales, contests, it all seemed so fitting to her.  When she was growing up she had always heard of the mystical city of magic, that rose into the air merely because the Princess willed it to be.  It always seemed like such a magical place, one she always wanted to visit.

Foxwhelp headed into a smaller restaurant, catering more towards a simpler palette.  She may have been born and raised in and around Canterlot, but there was something about a simple meal that always appealed to the Cider Brewer.  Even here, a place she valued for it's simplicity, seemed to be decked out for the occasion.  Streamers, flags, and a special on the Dandelion and Daffodil sandwich, claiming that it was a favourite of their patron Princess.  The earth pony smiled, ordering one for herself while she took a seat.  It all just seemed so wonderful her heart was just glowing.  No pony, she thought to herself, could possibly be down this week.  There's just too much cheer everywhere.

12:39 pm July 11th, Two Days until Raavalon's 15th Annual Founding Day
 
Mirror Shine adjusted her cap again. She wasn't so much tired as unused to flying for so long in such heavy clothes. It was unavoidable, though. Things had to be perfect, in case the Princess appeared to make her speech on Founding Day, and that meant proper lighting. Since it was traditional for the Princess to speak at... twilight... there would be a number of magitech spotlights, floodlights, and whatever-the-hay-they-were-called lights, but to get just the right color on the colorful Princess Sparkle, sunlight was called for.

  Pausing for a moment the pale pegasus added more saltwater to her chamois, lowering her head to the level of the smoothly curving ice-cloud. A few years ago somepony'd come up with the idea of hauling a cloud-mirror up into the stratosphere to reflect light that would normally be shining on part of the land in a later time-zone – Mirror didn't understand that part, sure, Equestria was round, but didn't the sun and moon just go wherever the Princesses wanted them to? Why would the day be different for the Gryphons and Neighpon?

  Gliding out in an arc that kept her a regular distance from the cloud she whisked away a last few wisps of cloudstuff. Sometimes bits that weren't even visible to the equine eye, but she could feel them, and more importantly she could see the difference in the cloud's reflectivity. What mattered was that they had to have several of these Gargantuan disks ready and perfect, but the very ice-clouds that were needed set the time-limit on their own production: they wouldn't last more than three days without their optical quality changing.

  On top of that, the cloud-mirrors were far too big to be constructed indoors – where Mirror far preferred to work – she paused, adjusting her cap at the end of another circuit. Which meant even more exposure to sunlight, both for her and the ice-cloud. The mirrors would be ready for their job, and then they would melt away right afterward... Shine reflected that if they weren't such a pain in the plot to make it would be almost poetic. Hmm... tonight's Amateur Poetry Night at the Minerva, I should see who's going to be there... as much as she took pride in being able to polish mirrors by feel, this was probably not a good time to daydream. She shook her head, which meant having to fix her cap again.

  With the A3 looking as good as it could before the coating supplies – ultra-fine snowflakes imported from Cloudsdale, which were (of course) on back-order until the morning of the celebration – arrived, she moved on to check out the B6's. She had mixed feelings about the celebration, everyone was always dressed in their best and a lot of ponies were in a pretty good mood, but... ooh, if they just didn't have to ruin it by setting off explosives in the sky every few minutes. Loud, blinding, and Luna forbid you ended up getting a whiff of the smoke they left behind, it was probably just what having Tirek breathe on you would smell like.

  The white pegasus chuckled at herself. Of course she was going, the real question was who to go as...

Timestamp
-- 1:30 am, July 11th; Two Days before Ravaalon's 15th annual Founding Day

A crimson unicorn sat at a workbench, fiddling with wires, screws, and magitabs with only a magically-fueled lamp and his own horn's magic to light the otherwise dark room.  Strange shadows flickered on the walls behind him, dampening for the most fleeting of moment when the occasional spark was produced.

"Cog, don't you think you should get some sleep?" a deep, rustic, but friendly voice asked.

"Forge, Sir, I uh... what time is it?"  The pony at the workbench turned around to look at his Mentor, Forge Freeglow.  Despite the apprentice's vein-filled eyeballs, the unicorn known as Crimson Cog seemed to have no idea of the time.

"Don't you have your watch with you?  You always have that thing on."

"Well, it's what I'm working on now, actually.  I'm adding a new battery to it, the old one's a bit fried," Cog replied, chuckling as he levitated the old, nearly melted magitab into sight of his Mentor.

"I see...  well, try to hurry up, it's passed midnight, boy," he replied, laughing himself as he saw the burnt out battery.

"Really?  I had no idea, Sir...  I promise that this won't have any impact on my lessons tomorrow," Cog replied respectfully.

"Lessons?  Hah!" the elder pony exclaimed, bursting out into legitimate laughter.  "There's not much left for me to teach you, boy, you'll be a full craftsstallion before you know it.  I'd give it a week, maybe less even."  After calming himself a little, he continued, "I really 'ought to stop calling you 'boy,' you're, what?  Twenty?"

"Nearly twenty-one, Sir," Cog replied, chuckling softly.  "And, thank you, Sir.  I really can't wait to get my own shop."
"Don't thank me, it's been an honor teaching a student as gifted as you are, bo- Cog," he corrected.  "I caught myself that time," he said through a large smile.

"It's been an even greater honor learning under you, Mr. Freeglow, Sir."

"Ah, shucks, let's not get emotional, shall we?"

"Right, Sir," he said through a laugh which he was joined in by his mentor.  "Anyway, if I could just finish up a couple bits of wiring and fill the new magitab the rest of the way, I'll head right to bed, Sir."

"Alright, just don't go breaking your word on that, we do need sleep, us craftsponies, whether we like it or not.  Goodnight, Crimson Cog."

"Goodnight, Forge Freeglow, Sir."

As Cog finished up the last few things he told his mentor he would, he suddenly remembered that Founding Day was in just two days.  He wondered what he'd be doing on that day, and if he would even get out of the shop.  He didn't usually, but something made him want to this year, perhaps even make a few friends.

Shaking the thoughts from his head, Cog finished his work with a spark from his watch and a few revolutions of each screw on his reassembled watch.  Cog then turned off the magical light and headed for bed.

12:15 PM July 11th, Two Days before Ravaalon's 15th annual Founding Day

To say the day was anything other than beautiful would be lying. The sun shone down warmly and Gem basked in it, spreading her wings to their full extent and stretched out her hind legs in nothing less than bliss. She knew without looking that there were undoubtedly some of those snobbish Earth Ponies pointing and gawking at her, but on such a beautiful day she refused to let it bother her. Isn't as if gryphons are at all uncommon here, she thought bitterly before giving her head a shake and forcing her thoughts elsewhere.

After a few minutes of laying in the sun she returned to her lunch, making sure that anypony who happened to look at her meal saw the glistening pink. It gave Gem no end of satisfaction to watch yet another disgusted mare drag her awed child away. Last she checked, gryphons were meat-eaters. Why, then, would ponies find her food revolting? If Trinket were here, he'd probably say something about some rumours or myths or what-not, about gryphons of yore preying on ponies. Truth be told, Gem had only ever eaten two ponies, and one was little more than something else's carrion by that point. She found the meat to be stringy and tasteless, honestly, much preferring to dine on moose, or deer, or even cow if she felt like taking one of those beasts down. All the same, no need to tell complete strangers that her current dish was merely mice and rats; if they thought she would attack them, they left her alone, and that suited her just fine.

Gem fluttered her wings idly as she ate, glancing around the park. Ponies gave her a wide berth, both Unicorn and Earth Pony. The Pegasi were less afraid of her; she thought she recognized a few of them from nearby Trinket's house, or perhaps they passed while flying and simply didn't consider her a threat.

Swallowing the last of her mouse-and-rat sandwich, Gem allowed herself the luxury of relaxing and simply watching ponies walk around.

Timestamp
--9:15 PM July 12th, One day before Ravaalon's 15th annual Founding Day

Crescent was sitting at a table with a half empty glass of cider. He considered this a small upturn in his luck since this was the last the bar had due to the brewery had concealed the rest for some celebration the next day. He had managed to talk the bar keeper into leaving the bottle which now contained barely enough for one more glass. He was already feeling quite fuzzy and was debating on what to do with the last of the drink.

The place wasn’t very high class, but it had its charm and the serving was good. It was that kind of place you could find tired business ponies and maybe even a couple or two drinking. He didn’t see himself in any of those situations soon, though he had taken note of the quite term mare with a seemingly burning mane sitting alone by the counter. Another mare had joined her and they sounded to be old friends.

Something told him that it would be best to leave them alone, but his drunk side wanted to ask for their names.

Reminding himself of the bandage on his left hoof and what was underneath put a stop to it however as he downed the last of what was in his glass.

“Hey, keep your eyes off my girlfriend!” A deep voice came from behind him. It sounded like a real meat head and he got it confirmed when he turned.

It was a brute of a pony, very muscular Earth pony. It was at the point where it was almost too much. A small mare was sitting with him, an odd couple indeed. He hadn’t noticed them, but it seemed they had taken an interest in him.

“I’m facing the other way, how could I be looking at her?”

The Earth pony pointed at the blurry glass on the other side of the room. “Reflection, smart ass.” Even though there was no way he could see who was sitting behind him in the ridged glass.

“Well I’m not interested in her. Now if you would let me drink in peace.” He was about to pour the last bit, but the stallion put his hoof down with a hard clunk.

“Are you saying she’s ugly?!”

“Now you’re just twisting my words.” It didn’t calm the giant pony down, it rather seem to anger him more.

“The only twisting here will be your neck!” With that he grabbed the bottle and cracked it on the table. The remaining liquor spilled all over and soaked the floor in a small pools with the shards of deep green glass. For a second Crescent just stared at his drink that was now dripping onto the floor. He looks back up at the brute with a burning look.

“You just spilled out my last bits on the floor!” Crescent unsheathed his sword which the brute hadn’t seen. “You’ll pay for that.” He tried to hold the sword steady with his magic, but the influence of alcohol didn’t do him any favors.

“Please Hoofstomp, don’t bother yourself with this down drunk. Let’s just leave and find another place.”

Without really thinking, Crescent pointed, a bit wobbly, at her. “Okay, I’m not normally drunk, but she definitely has a good suggestion.”

The musclebound earth pony knocked the sword away from the mare. “Don’t point that thing at her. Who even fights with a sword nowadays?”

“Ponies who don't come with empty threats, that’s who!” This night was turning out great, first the pompous one from earlier and now a drunk fight. A week in Ravaalon had proven to be more than enough for him.

He was about to swing at the big guy, but suddenly someone grabbed the handle and broke his concentration on it. Looking up he saw it was the mare with the flaming mane.

“Hey kid, maybe you wanna step outside with me?” She seemed to be challenging him with his own weapon, but the brute didn’t like this mare breaking up their fight.

“Hey feather head, why don’t you go puke on a cloud or something? Let a real pony give this battery head a lesson.”

She seemed to be challenging him with his own weapon, which he really didn’t like, but her look told him she could be a real mean one so he stood silent for a second to decide how to respond without ending up with his own sword beneath his skin in any fashion.

She seemed to swallow the comment from the brute however, but Crescent knew words like that could make anyone fly into a rage. “Son, you really don’t want to be starting a fight, this late, in a bar. Everypony knows that never ends well.”

“You’re right, so why don’t you just buck off and leave me and this low-class to his one way ticket to the hospital? Honestly, you pegasi are nothing but worthless scum crawlers at this point, ten of you could barely count as a loss if you died.”

Even in his drunken state, Crescent thought that was way overboard, but he didn't get to word his feelings before she suddenly delivered a strong right to the stallion’s face. She quickly followed it with a kick beneath the ribs which sent him crashing into the tables. She walked over to the now terrified earth pony and grabbed him. He had a nosebleed as well, a broken muzzle at best.

“You watch your mouth, kid. You go around spouting crap like that and this is the least that is gonna happen to you,” she spat, furious, in his face before dropping the pony back into the heap of splintered wood.

She then proceeded to get a hold of Crescent and started dragging him with her as she left a few bits behind with a clinging sound. The air outside the bar was chill in comparison, but he barely noticed it. She shoved the sword back in his hooves with a angry tone.

“I don’t know what you’re trying to do in there. But I can tell you it wouldn't have accomplished anything,” she said. “I should probably write you both up for this, but it’s late and I want to get home. Don’t let me catch you causing trouble here again.”

He just stared at her before snapping back to reality and looking away, getting a faint blush in his cheeks. He wanted to blame the alcohol, but he just managed to stutter, “y-yes ma'am.”

She rolled her eyes at him and turned away.She was about to take off, but she paused for a second.

“Try to enjoy tomorrow kid. It might very well be the last official Founding Day we have in this city.” He wanted to ask why, but she had already turned and taken off into the air.

As he stood there and looked after the pegasus, the last she said kept going back in his head. It was a very worrying sentence, like something bad was going to happen, but then again, bigger empires had fallen before and hopefully it would still be a figure of speech. A lot of grunting and rumbling came from inside and he thought it best to continue his trail of thoughts someplace else. With only just enough to get back home, he hurried to the hex and took the trip up to the Industrial District and in to the slum part of town.

Timestamp
--8:45 PM July 12th, One day before Ravaalon's 15th annual Founding Day

Spitfire glanced blearily at the papers in front of her. She had been over everything her lieutenants had given her twice already, everything seemed to be in order. She glanced up at her office clock: almost nine.

She rubbed her eyes and sighed before cleaning up her desk and heading out to the lobby. Leaving a few things for her secretary to handle in the morning, Spitfire made for the door. A mug of cider, or something stronger, sounded quite appealing right about now.

Stepping outside she took a deep breath of the night air. It revitalized her, fresh air always did; it reminded her of years long gone. Spitfire grinned and spread her wings, years long gone her flabby flank, she was could still set the sky on fire if she wanted.

With a certain little bar in mind Spitfire took off and flew over the rooftops towards the commercial district. One of the perks as captain of security allowed her free access to the air in Ravaalon, which was something she was very thankful for and took advantage of it whenever she could. What would have been easily a thirty minute trip turned into ten, although she was sure it could have been done in six if she pushed a bit harder.

She landed spectacularly outside a small bar. Okay, so it wasn’t that awe inducing, but back in her wonderbolt days everything she did was spectacular. Barely pausing to glance at the outside, which wasn’t much anyway, she headed inside and made for the bar.

“A mug of cider, please.” She asked, tapping the counter.

“Hello there Spitfire. Sorry, but the cider’s locked till tomorrow evening.” A voice said.

Glancing up, Spitfire looked at the bartender, a mare with a rose red mane and vanilla coat, who was giving her an apologetic look. This was Heart Blossom, Spitfire remembered, having frequented this particular drinking hole before.

She sighed. “Really? Well, you got anything else?”

“Well we always have water, but I could mix you up something or--”

“Oy!” Spitfire turned to see an Earth pony trotting up to the bar.

The mare was stockily built, sporting a pink bandana and a barrel cutie mark with three apples on the band. If Spitfire had to hazard a guess, this Earth pony was the proprietor of this little establishment.

“Evening,” Spitfire greeted. “Can I help you, miss?” She left her question open, prompting for a name as she offered her hoof.

“Name’s Foixwhelp.” The mare had a moderate Clovenshire accent, but still easy enough to understand. “I hear you’re lookin’ foir a drink.  Whell I just happen to have a few bottles of the special cider that is under lockdown if you’re lookin’ for a taste before the big day.”

“Now you’re talking! You got it here?” Spitfire asked.

“Sure do, Used my Last last stock of Apples I brought with me to Brew it.  A Woinderful Mix of Royal Apple Orchard and Sweet Apple Orchard apples,” Foxwhelp stated proudly.  “Supposed ter be a noice mix of where the Princess grew up and learned herself.”

“Well damn,” Spitfire chuckled. “If you’re so inclined I certainly wouldn’t mind sampling a glass or two.”

Foxwhelp grinned and stepped behind the counter with Heart Blossom and opened a cabinet. After a moment of shuffling she pulled a bottle out with her teeth and placed it on the bar. Just looking at the perfect auburn color of the liquor made Spitfire’s mouth water.

Before they could open the bottle there was a loud crash from one of the tables behind them. Turning, Spitfire observed a large Earth pony holding a broken cider bottle up to a rather tipsy looking unicorn sitting at one of them. It seemed the, ridiculously large, Earth pony had just cracked the bottom of a bottle open and was looking to cause trouble.

“You just spilled out my last bits on the floor,” the unicorn said irately, pulling a sword out from under the table. “You’ll pay for that!”

Spitfire frowned and watched the unicorn totter to his hooves, clearly having a hard time holding the sword steady.

“Excuse me,” she said, not looking at Foxwhelp. She got up and quickly made her way through the bar towards the tense situation.

The mare said something Spitfire didn’t catch, but the unicorn responded loudly, if rather slurred. “Okay, I’m not normally drunk, but she definitely has a good suggestion.”

The musclebound earth pony knocked the sword away from the mare. “Don’t point that thing at her. Who even fights with a sword nowadays?”

“Ponies who don't come with empty threats, that’s who!” The unicorn growled. He raised his sword unsteadily to swing it but Spitfire grabbed the handle out of his telekinetic grasp and held it back.

After a moment of off-balance tugging, and confusion at the smirk on Hoofstomp’s face, the unicorn turned to see Spitfire standing there.

“Hey kid, maybe you wanna step outside with me?” It was not a suggestion and Spitfire watched for his reaction carefully. You could never be too careful with drunks.

However, before the unicorn could respond the brute of an Earth pony butted in. “Hey featherbrain,” he spat. “Why don’t you go puke on a cloud or something? Let a real pony give this battery head a lesson.”

Spitfire pursed her lips, but remained calm. “Son, you really don’t want to be starting a fight, this late, in a bar. Everypony knows that never ends well.”

She turned to begin hauling the unicorn outside but the Earth pony spoke again.

“You’re right, so why don’t you just buck off and leave me and this low-class to his one way ticket to the hospital? Honestly, you pegasi are nothing but worthless scum crawlers at this point, ten of you could barely count as a loss if you died.”

The comment hung on the air like stale breakfast, the only sound was a gasp from the mare next to the idiot stallion. Spitfire counted to ten.

“Nope. Still pissed,” she thought.

Turning around in a blur she planted a right hoof into his nose. When he fell back she delivered a healthy buck to his midsection and sent him flying into a table.

Walking over, she grabbed the now battered and terrified stallion and pulled him up.

“You watch your mouth, kid. You go around spouting crap like that and this is the least that is gonna happen to you.” Spitfire threw him back on the ground in disgust as he blubbered and bled over himself.

She turned and grabbed the unicorn and walked him brusquely outside before she decided to grind that Earth pony into bread, dropping a few bits on the bar as she did so.

Once outside, she returned the unicorn’s sword and spoke, “I don’t know what you’re trying to do in there. But I can tell you it wouldn’t have accomplished anything,” she said. “I should probably write you both up for this, but it’s late and I want to get home. Don’t let me catch you causing trouble here again.”

He stared at her for a moment before coming to his senses and looking away, blushing as he did so. “y-yes ma’am,” he stuttered.

Spitfire rolled her eyes and turned away. It was time to go home, but she hesitated in taking off.

“Try to enjoy tomorrow kid. It might very well be the last official Founding Day we have in this city.” With that, she turned and took to the air.

Timestamp:
--12:40PM, 11th July, two days before Raavalon's 15th annual Founding Day

Pinkie twisted the last screw into the wooden toy train, sticking out her tongue in concentration as it slowly went in. Once it was done, she took a few moments to examine her work. Satisfied with the small model, she put it on her workshop table for later; it'd need painting yet. But for now, she needed lunch.

Trotting up the stairs, she went through her shop, The Clockwork Cupcake and out onto the streets, remembering to switch the sign on her door from 'open' to 'closed'. Then she trotted out onto the cobblestone paths, towards the more busy part of the city.

A lot of ponies were moving about today, which meant only one thing: Founding Day was near. In two days time, actually. Pinkie knew so because that was the first thing she checked after she woke up.

It was going to be a huge party. The biggest party. And Pinkie would be right in the action.

Except... she lacked any sort of enthusiasm whatsoever. Sure, she probably would have lotsa fun, but she knew she could have even more fun; she hadn't seen Twilight in years and the princess hadn't even made public appearances for the last two Founding Days. Ever since, Founding Day was something of a concern to her.

But she held out the hope that Twilight would return because this would be the 15th anniversary! That was a huge milestone and needed to be appreciated as such. Having Twilight reappear in a burst of super cool and fun fireworks would be amazing!

Something hard slammed into her, interrupting her thoughts.

"Hey, watch it!" a big, dark blue stallion scolded her, grunting and moving past her with a scowl on his face.

"Sorry! Sorry!" Pinkie cried out after him, then sighed. Her stomach rumbled, so she moved on. Heading into a sandwich shop, she bought three lettuce sandwiches and gobbled them down in one bite, much to the shock of nearby patrons. Blissfully aware of their surprise, she went back out, her tummy content.

She needed to do something fun. Otherwise, her whole day would be work. And work could be fun, but that was a different kinda fun to fun. Seeing a child's smile once they bought one of her products did always brighten up her day though.

She set off at a slow pace, peering about to look for any interesting ponies to talk to. You could never have enough friends, after all.

Timestamp:
--9:33 PM July 12th, One day before Ravaalon's 15th annual Founding Day

Cloudbuilder was flying through the air over the commercial district. The last two days had been boring, and worthless. Work may suck, and it was a waste of his talents, but at least it was something to do.

As he flew, he saw a fiery contrail breaking through the sky.

“Hey! Spitfire!” Cloudbuilder called out, recognizing that fiery mane anywhere.

Spitfire pulled up and turned to the voice, it was a pegasus. Judging by the goggles on his forehead he probably was one of the industrial workers. She debated on leaving the pegasus flying towards her. It wasn’t so unusual, even these days, for fans coming and wanting autographs.

“Spitfire, wait up a moment!” He surged forward, trying to catch up to her.

She sighed and waited, it was too late to run now. Not unless she wanted to be really rude and leave him in a trail of fire.  “Hey there,” she said as he approached.

He caught up to her. “I wanted to speak with you, but getting an appointment with you is difficult.” He paused for a moment.

“Yea, well, it’s not like I take many appointments anyway. Busy job, you know?”

That would be true. As the head of Security for Ravaalon, she would most likely be busy out on the streets. Or filling out paperwork. He briefly wondered which took up more of her time, before getting back to the task at hand. He had several questions for the pegasus, questions that needed answers.

“Well, would you mind if I asked you something? It won’t take very long, I promise.”

Spitfire snorted. Really? Reporters out this late? “Isn’t it a little late to be filling your quota, kid?”

“I’m not a reporter, just a concerned citizen.” She really thought he was a reporter? Perhaps the ambush tactics leaned towards that conclusion, but he didn’t have a notepad or a tape recorder. “Anyway, all I really want is your opinion on some things, off the official record, or whatever it is reporters say.”

“Really... And your name is?” Spitfire prompted, rather skeptical.

“Cloudbuilder,” he held out a hoof to her. “I came to Ravaalon in the beginning, right after it opened to the public.”
Spitfire took his hoof. “Nice to meet you Cloudbuilder. I guess you already know me.”

He chuckled. “I guess I do.” Shaking the hoof of one of his childhood idols, there was something he could cross off his bucket list. But as much as he wanted to fangasm, there was a time and a place for that. He only had her attention for a short while.

Spitfire glanced towards her house where her bed waited. “What’s on your mind? Realize I might not give you answers to just anything.”

“Spitfire, you’re the head of security for Ravaalon. I know that you know about the whispers in the slums, amongst the pegasi. Ravaalon has yet to release any sort of official statement about... Anything.” He paused, drawing in a breath. “When you were in the Wonderbolts, I looked up to you. And now, I suppose I still do. Unofficially, what do you think about the rumors? Both as the head of security, and as a pegasus.” Perhaps it was blunt of him to ask, but he’d always been the blunt sort of pony.

She regarded him for a long moment. “Well, you’re right about them not being just rumours. There is certainly a racial tension building between the pegasi and the other ponies.”

Spitfire took a deep breath. “Cloudbuilder, when Twilight Sparkle offered me the job to be captain here, I thought hard on it. I had just retired from the Wonderbolts. Hell, I’ve got enough money to live high class in Las Pegasus for the rest of my life. But, the reason I took the job was because I wasn’t ready to sit down and do nothing.

“I am a pegasus, true. But ponies have forgotten what this place originally stood for. I signed up because Twilight Sparkle had a vision; a vision that she shared with everypony and did her best to see it realized.

“I can’t choose a side in this, Cloudbuilder. I’m a security officer. My loyalty lies with all the ponies and keeping the peace. But, if I was forced to choose a side? I would stand with Sparkle, or at least her ideals and dreams. When I signed up for this, I swore an oath to Sparkle and to the city. It’s my job to keep this city running and that’s what I’m going to do.

Cloudbuilder thought over what she said. “You say you stand with Twilight Sparkle and her vision, yet don’t you think that vision has been lost? I came here on one of the first airships, thinking that as a pegasus I could find a new life in a new city in the clouds.

“Instead, all I got was a job taking care of machines. Machines, Spitfire.” His eyes narrowed. “I used to create art with clouds. We pegasi are getting the short end of the stick, from everypony.” He gestured around him with a hoof. “How is this fair and equal for all tribes? Earth ponies control everything, while the pegasi are starving in the slums.

“How can you say that you stand by Twilight Sparkle and her vision, when nothing is being done?”

Spitfire closed in on his face. “You think I don’t know that? Last I checked I was a pegasus too.”

Shaking her head, Spitfire turned away and glided down to one of the rooftops. Landing, she walked to the edge and gazed out over the city. “I don’t know where Twilight Sparkle is. Every day I watch this city fall just a little bit more but I can’t do a thing about it. Sometimes I wonder if the princesses have all just given this city up as a lost cause.

“But, then I think of the kind of pony Twilight is.” She turned to Cloudbuilder. “I’ve had the fortunate privilege of meeting and getting to know the Elements of Harmony, Cloudbuilder. And Twilight isn’t the kind of pony to just up and leave, especially now.

“She’ll be back, and when she is, I plan on there being something left for her to return to. You can mark my words, pegasi will never be truly replaced. While I’m captain here the segregation of pegasi will only remain a social stigma.

“But I cannot jeopardize the position I hold as a pegasi to join any insurrection by them. If you think about it, a mass takeover by pegasi cannot work. We require the other two pony races to keep this city floating and I will not stand by and let pegasi turn others into slaves. My image means more than you know, Cloudbuilder; within the government I hold more sway that most are willing to admit. I have to put my personal feelings aside and try to work through this situation, because me approving of any hostile endeavour is sure to put pegasi as a whole on the back hoof when I am usurped.

“Twilight’s personal promotions be damned, I won’t be able to remain as captain unless I keep fairness at the front. But if I do, then I can keep a lot of ponies from getting hurt, either it be rash pegasi, dumb unicorns or stuck up Earth ponies. Think about it, wouldn’t a pegasus as captain be so much more helpful than not?”

Spitfire stopped ranting, she wasn’t sure if she had continued to make sense. There were so many thoughts running through her head at the moment. She had thought long and hard about choices she might have to make. There were so many scenarios, reasons, situations and ponies she had to think about and factor into her thinking. Ravaalon needed more pegasi in governmental roles, but they just weren’t cut out for it. So what was she to do? Leaving her position to stand with her kinsman was what she wanted to do, because she had seen the unfair treatments and it made her blood boil.

But, if she stayed, put on a good face and dealt calmly with the Earth ponies and unicorns, then she could use her position to do so much good for, not just pegasi, but everypony in Ravaalon. It did mean she would be walking the line every day, but it was worth it if she could save lives.

She turned to Cloudbuilder, he was still silent even though she had stopped speaking a minute or two ago. Maybe she hadn’t been that clear? She watched him as thoughts were clearly working their way through his head.
___________________________
So, the great Spitfire was a coward. Cloudbuilder knew that she was the most prominent pegasus in Ravaalon, but rather than use her power to make a change, she was content to just sit back and let those mud-dwelling earth ponies walk all over the pegasi.

He walked up to Spitfire, slowly, calmly. With a single hoof, he poked her in the chest. “When I was a colt, I looked up to you. You were the Captain of the Wonderbolts. I had a poster of you in my bedroom, and I went to every show you put on in Cloudsdale.

Lowering his hoof, his gaze upon her turned sad. “I guess it’s true what they say about meeting your idols, that you should never do it.” Instantly, his features hardened. “You, Spitfire, are a coward. You say that you’re powerful in Ravaalon, but you sit in your office and do nothing.

“Where I live, pegasi work endless hours, for nothing. We toil away for scraps of food and a place to live that’s not much bigger than the cells that you throw us into.” He poked her again. “You can change that, but you don’t.

“I’ve been in this city for fifteen years. That’s fifteen years of putting up with all the crap that mud-dwellers, and even battery heads dish out to us.  I spent almost everything I had just moving to this city, and now I can never leave because I don’t make enough bits to afford it.”

He was angry, but not just at Spitfire. She was standing in front of him, making her a convenient target. He was angry at the earth ponies for controlling all the food, at the unicorns for taking all the work away from good, honest pegasi. The cities leaders were either part of the problem, or they did nothing to help, like Spitfire. She was turning her back on her own tribe.

“What do you expect us to do, huh? Just roll over and let anypony who wants to walk all over us? You and I both know that’s not going to happen, not anymore. Something needs to change around here.”

“You are as bad as every other pony in this city if you think that, Cloudbuilder.” Spitfire accused darkly. “You’ve forgotten what harmony truly means.

“Look beyond your own pain and petty problems. This city is rotten and it’s not just those Earth ponies, those mud-dwellers, who are making it that way. With every rash hothead like you who goes and tries to make a ‘big difference’ and gets themselves locked up, it lowers the reputation of pegasi just that much more. With every pegasi who turned their nose up at a unicorn’s hospitality, it has been returned ten-fold.

“You call me a coward when you don’t even understand what it is I am afraid of. You really think I, the most daring Wonderbolt to have lived, would be afraid to walk in and tell some ponies to get off their plots and change?

“Damn it kid. Do you even know what you are saying? What you want me to do? Have you ever looked another pony in the eye with the intent to kill, or even injure?” Spitfire got in his face. “Have you?”

She searched his eyes for a moment before continuing. “I don’t deny that something has to change to break this city out of its death spiral. But violence isn’t the answer, not this time.

“Harmony isn’t just a word, it is a way of life. It’s not just a way of life, it is the force that gives a pony the strength to exist. With harmony, we built this city, and with its absence, not only will this city fall, but the rest of Equestria as well.

“Don’t mistake my inaction for apathy or cowardice. I know what pegasi are left with doing in this city. Goddess I know. Every day I am reminded of what goes on in the slums. It makes my blood boil to see what is happening to the equality that was envisioned for Ravaalon.

“But I can’t just let my anger control my actions. If it did, this city would already be in ruins. If I stooped to revenge against the slights shown my race, what am I but a discorded fool? Ponies in this city have lost sight of who they truly are because of its technology.”

Spitfire turned away with a scowl. “Pegasi are certainly being wronged here, Perhaps an insurrection is the only way for pegasi to have their status realized and returned. But I cannot condone the use of violence in any shape or form. It’s not how ponies have advanced or ever resolved disputes. We have to approach this situation rationally and voices need to be heard.”

She turned back to Cloudbuilder. “But answer me this, Cloudbuilder. What chance would pegasi have at all of having their voices heard if there was an Earth pony captain of the guard? He would silence any attempts at free speech and squash any protesting of pegasi treatment.

“However, with me here, in this position, I can force the other races to listen to pegasi. I can keep the physical abuse to a minimum and deal with situations fairly.” Spitfire got in Cloudbuilder’s face again. “Don’t call me a coward for trying to look ahead and protect the interests of our race. Instead you should be thinking of what you can do with the golden opportunity I’m making possible and thanking your lucky stars it’s me you’re talking to.”

Cloudbuilder refused to back down from her, standing his ground and staying right in her face. “So I should kneel down and kiss your hooves, tell you ‘Gee, thanks Spitfire for doing nothing?’ I don’t think so. You may be famous, you may have power in this city, but all that’s gone to your head. You’ve lost touch with what’s really going on.

“Why don’t you get out of your fancy office over in the Admin hex, spend some time in the Industrial hex, see where we live, where we work. I bet then that reality would slap you in the face.”

He backed up from her, putting some distance between them. “But you won’t. You love your cushy little job, and your office. How much are the earth ponies paying you, huh? How much did it take for you to sell out your own tribe? What’s the going rate on the pegasi pride these days?”

“You shut your mouth, Cloudbuilder,” Spitfire snarled. “That is a short sighted dangerously naive thing to say. I could have lived the rest of my days living like a Queen wherever I pleased after retiring from the Wonderbolts. It wasn’t for money I came here and it wasn’t for fun I signed on.

“If you don’t remember what a promise meant to a pegasus from my time then it is you who are selling out your own tribe.” Spitfire looked him up and down. “You disgust me, before Ravaalon came along, honor and trust were what a pony lived by and there are still those who do. If this is what ponies are made of these days no wonder this city is trash.”

Spitfire turned away and almost took off, but she stopped. “I am here to make sure ponies like you don’t have a chance to take action in this city. I refuse to let what little face the pegasi have left be tarnished beyond repair by some brash action you want to take.

“I am in the Industrial district every week, Cloudbuilder. You can disagree with my choice of action all you want. But never,
never, insinuate I don’t know what is going on, or that I don’t care.” Spitfire glared at Cloudbuilder as she chewed on her next words. “The world doesn’t revolve around you, or I. That kind of thinking gets the ponies dear to you hurt.” Spitfire stopped suddenly and turned away.

Cloudbuilder stared at her back. “You speak of honor, and trust. But where are they? You can’t honor and trust when all around you are lies and false promises.”

“You know nothing,” Spitfire growled, swinging around. “If you don’t see what I’ve poured into this city and it’s pegasi then you are nobody, I repeat, nobody to judge my actions and promises.”

Cloudbuilder shook his head. “There’s still time. It doesn’t have to be the way it is. We pegasi can build a better life. But they way things are, that’s not going to happen.”

Spitfire walked up to Cloudbuilder and searched his face before responding. “Things are changing, Cloudbuilder,” she said quietly. “Tomorrow is Founding Day, if anything is going to happen, it will be then. And believe me, it will, don’t think I’ve not heard the word.”

Spitfire stepped a little closer, and spoke quieter. “My question is, what are you going to do? Hmm?” she paused. “Are you going to do something to help this city? Or am I going to have to lock you up because you went and tried to commit arson in the name of freedom?”

Cloudbuilder stepped away from the fiery mare. His eyes grew sad for a moment. “I don’t know what happened to you, Spitfire. This city’s gotten it’s hold on you and you’ve forgotten what it means to be a pegasus. You stand there and tell me that you can talk to ponies, get them to listen. Well I’ve got some news for you.”

He gestured around him with a hoof. “Nopony has listened to the pegasi for a decade. I don’t care how much you shout, nopony’s gonna listen. You have wings, and that automatically makes you an inferior citizen in this city. It doesn’t matter what office you hold, you have not a single ear to talk to, not amongst the earth ponies, nor the unicorns. The only one’s who will listen are the pegasi. But you keep making all these promises, and nothing changes.”

“Haven’t you been listening to what I’m saying, Cloudbuilder?” Spitfire yelled. “Are you so blind in wanting me to agree with you that you can’t see there are ways other than violence to make change?” Spitfire lowered her voice, but was still insistent. “Who is the one being naive here? Have you so lost faith in the core beliefs of your elders that you can no longer understand what made Equestria great?”

“Our elders have abandoned us,” he shouted right back. “Where’s the Princess? Any of them, for that matter, not just Twilight.”

Cloudbuilder shut his mouth. He breathed in deeply, watching Spitfire do the same. Now was not the time to be shouting at her. She’d made her position clear.

Taking in one final, calming breath, he spoke. “Maybe you’re right, maybe things will change. But maybe isn’t good enough, not anymore. You’re wrong, Spitfire, the time for words is over. Words no longer have meaning, not in this city. And when words fail, the only thing that’s left, is actions. And if you won’t act, then others will.”

Cloudbuilder stared at Spitfire; she said nothing. “Spitfire, I hope to Celestia that when the day comes, you prove to the pegasi with your actions, just who you really are, and whose side you’re on.”

Spreading his wings, he took off into the night sky. He’d hoped that talking to Spitfire would clear things up, and it had. Determination on his face, he flew for the nearest rail station. It was time to make his choice.

Tomorrow was Founding Day. Somepony, somewhere had to be planning something, and he wanted in on it. If the one pegasi who could actually do something wasn’t going to help, then it was up to the pegasi to help themselves.
_____________________________
Spitfire stood on the roof for a while after Cloudbuilder left, trying to calm her erratic breathing. Having this conversation had certainly cleared her mind of any alcohol, but she wasn’t sure it had been the best time as she had just come out of a bar fight.

She shook her head. “Foolish, I shouldn’t have gotten worked up,” she thought.

But she had, and if she was honest with herself, she probably would have gotten mad no matter how good of a mood she had been in. That pegasus was trouble and his ideals clouded with immaturity. She couldn’t believe some of the things he said with such conviction and how readily he disregarded what she had to say.

“I can’t just think about myself, damn it!” she growled.

There were thousands of ponies depending on her for safety. There were also many earth ponies and unicorns eyeing her position with, she knew, less than favorable intents. This was her city, and she was damned if she wasn’t going to keep ponies like Cloudbuilder from tearing down what little she had managed to hold in trust for Twilight.

With a grimace she took back to the air. But her flight was slow and it was late before she finally got home. Before she made it to bed though, she made a mental note to put a tail on that Cloudbuilder first thing in the morning.

Co-written with Sasha Nein.

[Brackets will indicate non-play text.  More or less when I or Tri need to deliver information to you.

The first Event will occur now!  Ravaalon's fifteenth annual Founder's Day is commencing.

Your timestamps can take place from anywhere between 6 am to 12 pm on July 13th.

Why so short?  At noon, the Founder's Day speech will given, traditionally by Princess Twilight.  Then the parade begins.  Up to that point there is general merrymaking all over, as all work not-celebration relating is paused.

A true carnival takes place in the Administration/Educational districts, whose wide streets allow for stalls of all kinds: food, drinks, cider and stronger, games and competitions, dances, singing, live musicians... All sorts of those things!  Feel free to be creative, have your ponies play some games, win some prizes, meet up, talk with friends, etc., etc.

But this all comes to a pause for the city-wide broadcast of the speech.  So do whatever you like in those six hours, then set up to the line that will close this section.

From there, certain plotline thread introduction/instructions will be given to players who seem to be in a good position for them.  And the action will begin in earnest.  That will be on Wednesday, so you've got a few days to play around.]

[ End your posts at 12 Noon, July 13th, with this: ]
There was a noticeable but not-unpleasant whistle, brought to attention not through volume but magnification via echo as it was broadcast all over the city.  Typically unnoticed, but located everywhere, the city's universal announcement system consisted of precisely placed--and typically hidden--speakers all across the districts.

As such, no matter where anypony was, indoors or out, they could all clearly here this message repeat, calmly, three times:

"Attention, attention.  The time is now ten minutes to noon--the Founding speech, to be given at Town Hall, will commence in ten minutes!"

Timestamp:
--9:07 AM July 13th, Ravaalon's 15th Annual Founding Day

Cloudbuilder wandered around the fair in the Administrative district. There were so many overlapping sights and smells and sounds. Vendors were selling special Founding Day items, while others were selling delicious snacks. Already the temptation was too much and he’d bought a funnel cake, munching on it as he walked.

Last night had been... productive. After leaving Spitfire on the rooftop, he’d taken the CityLine back to the Industrial hex. From there, it wasn’t all that hard to talk to a few pegasi, and the next thing he knew, he was sitting in a meeting with several dozen other pegasi, listening as the leader described the plan for today.

Biting off another bit of his funnel cake, he browsed over the wares of a merchant. This particular unicorn was selling hats that, when worn, looked like Princess Twilight’s mane. The idea of being a Princess was appealing to some ponies, he supposed. Though personally, he didn’t see the big attraction. After all, why would you want to become a disappointment?

He couldn’t help but think about what Spitfire had said last night. He hadn’t even meant to talk to her, not like that. As soon as he saw her flying away, he knew that he’d been presented with an opportunity, and he had to take it. Flagging her down, asking those questions, that was a spur of the moment thing.

Her answers, though... He had truly not expected her to say those things. How could the mare he looked up to for most of his life be such a coward and cling to a system that was so obviously broken? Pegasi would never be able to get the respect they deserve, not the way things are now. Words had failed, and now was the time for action.

He smiled. Actions would be coming. Plans were in motion, and soon everypony would have to acknowledge the pegasi as equals. There’d be no other choice.

The merchant must have mistaken his smile, because she spoke to him. “Ah, are you interested in buying a hat, sir? They’re modeled on our Princess herself.”

“They are truly marvelous, a near perfect representation of her.” He picked up a hat, pretending to examine it closely. “But I’m afraid that I simply cannot condone buying such a thing.” Dropping the hat on the ground, he made sure to step on it as he walked away.

The unicorn flung insults at him, but they just rolled off his back. Honestly, even after the argument with Spitfire last night, even after seeing her true colors, he was still in a good mood. Today was going to be a good day. Today was the start of something new.

Checking the clock on the side of a building, he still had just under three hours to waste until the parade started. Humming to himself, he continued to wander the area. Soon, change would start happening, and it was going to be wonderful.

Timestamp:
--6:03 AM July 13th, Ravaalon's 15th Annual Founding Day

BEEP!

Silence.

BEEP! BEEP!

A muffled groan.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Spitfire rolled over, her hoof groping frantically the nightstand next to her bed; more specifically, the offending device playing havoc with her ears.

She found it and pushed the glorious snooze button before it could remind her again what time it was: too early. Rolling back over, Spitfire lay half conscious as she willed herself to wake up. There were things she needed to do, places she needed to be. She had a job after all.

But surely they could live without her for a few more hours? There were standard schedules and protocols that would be followed in her absence. It wasn’t like the world would stop spinning if she didn’t show up. Spitfire smiled slightly at the thought.

It was short lived, however. Realization that today was Founding Day kicked in. She needed to be up, it was the most important day of the year. There were all kinds of plans and things that needed to be--

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Spitfire fell of the bed and crashed into her nightstand.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

With her ears pinned back and a frustrated growl, she pulled the plug on the alarm clock. Reveling in the silence, she sat back on her bed and sighed, rubbing her forearm that had taken the brunt of her fall. Some days it just didn’t pay to get out of bed, or own an alarm clock.

Dragging herself to the bathroom, she cleaned herself up in the sink. Showering in the morning was gross, cold and unsatisfying, she did it as little as she could. But, she eyed the shower as she contemplated her options.

Not even bothering with brushing her teeth she had crashed into bed barely four hours ago. But, with today being Founding Day, she really needed to be presentable. She might have been able to get away with it normally, but she might have to be in the spotlight today and possibly give a speech.

Grumbling, she turned on the facet and left it to run while she prepared the rest of her things. A fresh uniform, her sunglasses, ID, a granola bar for breakfast. Meandering around her apartment for a few more minutes she finally headed back to the bathroom. Thankfully it was getting quite warm and steamy, maybe the shower wouldn’t be so bad.

Thirty minutes later, Spitfire was flying in to work. She needed to help deal with the extra guards she had requested, mostly just brief them on the ins and outs of the district while her lieutenants handled the actual assignments.

But, there were other things on her agenda as well. She wanted to be out on the streets as much as possible, keeping an eye out for the inevitable squabbles or gatherings of pegasi. If she could break up a situation before it even began it would be much better than having to fight them out, just like last night at the bar.

Spitfire scowled as she recalled what else had happened after her departure for home. Pegasi like that were what she was going to have to deal with throughout the rest of the day. Erratic, hard headed and sorely misguided individuals who were unwilling to deal rationally with the real problems because of the injustices they were served. Unable to see the forest for the trees, was what her mother would have said.

Walking into the station in the Administrative District, she proceeded towards the barracks where there her additional officers should be waiting. Thankfully, they were there, filling the locker rooms and small conference area with chatter.

“Alright everypony! Listen up!” she shouted. “We are meeting in the main conference hall in ten minutes. I need everypony geared up and ready to go!”

She exited as the chatter was replaced by a thunder of hurried shuffling as they grabbed their equipment. Now, to get her next task out of the way.

Moving back to the front of the station she snagged her secretary. “I need information on a pegasus. Name is Cloudbuilder, male, pegasus, dark blue, cutie mark is a cloud formed into a pillar. I need you to have everypony keep an eye out for him and inform me when he’s found. Please have someone ready to tail him. I would imagine he is either here in the Administrative or the Commercial district.”

Marking that task off her list, she quickly trotted back into the amphitheater styled conference room that was quickly filling with officers. She glanced at the clock, seven forty, plenty of time to get them out before things got too busy. She marched to the desk at the front of the room and waited. Five more minutes and the noise in the large room subsided. Spitfire cleared her throat, silencing any whispers.

“Alright, we’ve got our work cut out for us today. You all have received your assignments already but you all know I generally like to speak with you before we begin a large event.” Spitfire paused, debating on what to say. “Everypony knows what is likely to happen today. I just want to remind you why we are here, why you signed up to be an officer, why you take orders from me and not anypony else.

“It is because we are here to protect ponies. We aren’t going to go out there today with the intent to antagonize pegasi. Or,” she emphasized, “allow them to get away with any number of slights to their fellows. We are here to deal fairly with all make make sure nopony gets hurt.

“If things go south, you are going to have to make a choice. join with your kinsman or stand for your princess.” Spitfire stopped again, her argument from the night before fresh in her mind. “I mean this to each of you, unicorns, pegasi and Earth ponies alike. I’ve done my best to make sure you all work together and for good reasons, but if you have intents other that what I’ve stated you had better leave now.”

Nopony moved. Spitfire smiled proudly. “Good! Be sure to pick up any final information changes at the desk before you head out. May Celestia keep everypony safe today. Dismissed!”

Timestamp:
8:30 am July 13th, Ravaalon's 15th Annual Founding Day

>> JaketheGinger

"This is an outrage!" Rarity shouted while she stomped her hoof at the stoic attendant, "I've been holed up in this glorified flying bucket for more than ten hours, and you have the gall of telling me that there will be even more delays?!"

"Ma'am, I'm sure you understand that today is an especially busy time of the year, with the celebration and all.  We cannot control the air traffic here, some delays are to be expected. We should be docking in half an hour."

"You have been telling me that for the last three hours!  If this mess of a-"

"Oh, would you just look at the time.  I'm needed up in the bridge for landing preparations.  We hope you will enjoy the rest of the flight with us, thank you."

Then, in one swift motion, the attendant disappeared behind the hatch behind him.  The 'Authorized Personnel Only' sign upon it bore down onto her forehead as if it's daring her break a hoof.

"Why, I- nnng-" Rarity ground her teeth in anger for a moment before expelling her pent up frustrations. "Guh! Okay. Okay. That's enough. That's enough," She said to to herself as she stumbled her way to a porthole, "Just... look out the window at the happy little trees and clouds and... relax."

With a final breath Rarity collapsed into the seat beside the window and proceeded to gaze out to the open sky.  After some time, her mood abated somewhat.  It was a marvelous day out after all, and Rarity was going to attend a celebration with her oldest and, dare she say it, best friends. One of which she haven't seen in years.

Rarity humphed to herself. Yes, I am not going to let some obstructive brute ruin that.  If he couldn't get this airship in on time, then... then...  She suddenly saw the swarm multicolored dots in the distance.  After squinting her eyes, she realized that they were airships.  Airships of every shape, color, and size, all trying to vie for what ever port space that is left of the docks.

With a growing lump in her throat, Rarity covered her face with hooves with a groan. "Maybe I was too harsh on that young one, it's not his fault this horrid traffic exists."  She sighed.  "What has become of me?  For this entire trip, I keep thinking of myself..."

She sat for a few more minuets in rumination before saying, "There's still time to fix this!  When I come out, I'm going to give mister random attendant an apology and a commendation, I'm going to enjoy this celebration, and I'm going to meet up with my old friends and then we will be together again."

And then we will be together again.  Rarity let her gaze drop as she wistfully pondered that statement, but then raised her head high up again.  "No time for self-doubt now.  First order of business, The Clockwork Cupcake.  I'm sure the dear would be delighted to-"

"Attention. Attention." The crackle of the telephone talkies came to life with a pitched squeal, "This is your captain speaking.  We have finally been given the clearance to land folks, so it won't be long now.  We do sincerely apologize for the delay, though we still hope that your travel with us has been an enjoyable one.  The local time is 9:00 am, and   today, we are scheduled sunny skies all day long.  Do return to your seats and check for all personal belongings.  We will be-"

"-docking in five minuets, so get your sorry flanks into gear and wings a-buzzing!"

On the blazing hot concrete of the Port District comes the deafening roar of the titanic airship, its engines heating up the already blistering surroundings like an oven.  Orders were barked at a near constant pace throughout the district. Once the metallic monster heaved itself onto the dock, a large team of pegasi sprang to work, carrying anchor lines, winches, and all manner of tools to bring in and secure the ship.

Among them was a curious little pegasus saddled with a heavy magitech radio device.  He carried one of the anchor lines while talking none stop into his headpiece.  "Bring her in Whalebird five.  Just keep your heading, no... steady... steady... there!  Maintain level and heading!"

With the grace in the envy of gastropods everywhere, Tinker set himself onto the ship and deftly secured his line, though not without a few collisions with the other pegasi.  Once he made sure of the others, he then called, "Okay, Whalebird five, you can now drop main anchor and be ready to board!"

He sighed, another one successfully docked, some hundred more to go.  He was about to take off again when he was met with a yank on his tail.  With a hard tumble back onto the deck, he shook his head out of a daze and said back, "Hey! What was that... for?"

Tinker suddenly found himself face to face with his boss. He let out a breath before saying, "Junior, you've been working for the entire night.  I know you want to do all you can to help out the crew in this hard time, but you gotta take some time to rest up.  We can't have you work with not all of you there, see?  Now, why don't you take some time off?  Enjoy the festival.  You've earned it."

"But, but... What about the other ships coming in?  I'll still need to direct-"

"I'll have Crash Landing take care of that, he's the best controller there is. I'm sure he won't mind a few extra ships.  Now, just run along, why don't you?"

7:21 AM July 13th, Ravaalon's 15th Annual Founding Day

Trinket slept soundly, oblivious to the world and all around him, entangled in his bedsheets like some half-finished mummy. Both ear and hoof twitched slightly as he dreamed, bringing to mind a slumbering dog. Complete with a silly grin on his face, Trinket was the picture of cuteness.

Which only made Gem's own smile larger as she silently lowered her beak to Trinket's ear.

"HEY TRINKET! RISE AND SHINE!"

In an instant the stallion was awake, giving a terrified whinny as he bolted upright, only to become further entrapped in his own blanket and tumble off the bed, hind-legs splayed in the air as he completed his impromptu headstand. For a moment he looked around wildly before calming down enough to recognize Gem's roaring laughter. Indignantly the stallion wrestled with his covers.

"Dammit, Gem, you know I hate it when you do that!" he grumbled, managing to work a hoof free.

"I know," the gryphon replied between giggling fits. "Why do you think I do it?" She grinned wildly, wiping a tear from her eye.

Trinket continued to mutter to himself angrily as he finally wormed free of his bedspread and tossed it aside, then snorted as he looked at his gryphon friend. "What are you doing up so early in the morning anyways? I don't open until nine."

Gem regarded the earth pony coolly for a moment, her laughter having finally died down. "Wait, you don't know what today is?"

"...is it Saturday? Did you wake me up on my day off?"

"No, it's Founding Day! You don't have to work at all." Gem paused for a moment. "Wait, you seriously didn't know?"

"Already? Wow, it snuck up fast this year." Trinket sighed in disgust. "Oh, perfect. That means I get to spend the next five hours babysitting you and constantly reassuring everyone that you're not a threat." Trinket trotted into the kitchen and began scrounging for what might charitably pass for a meal.

"Hey, I don't need a babysitter!" Gem scowled, following him around. "I was perfectly fine on my own last year."

"Yeah, sure you were," Trinket said sarcastically. "Remind me how much your bail was again? Disrupting the peace, destruction of public property, resisting arrest, attempting jailbreak," he rattled off the list of charges as he rummaged through the fridge. "Oh, sweet, I've still got some cheese!" Gem's record forgotten Trinket began making his breakfast.

"It was an ugly fountain anyways..." Gem muttered.

"It was the town fountain," Trinket shot back. "I don't care if it was ugly, just—" Trinket cut himself off as he bit into his grilled cheese sandwich, relishing the warmth that flowed through him as he did. Swallowing, he took a deep breath and turned to his friend. "Just promise me you'll stay off the hard cider this year, alright? You really can't handle your liquor."

Gem pouted, trying to look as shameful as she could. "Aw, but daaaaaaad, it's not a party without alcohol!" she whined.

"No means no, young lady," Trinket replied sternly. Finishing the last of his breakfast he grabbed his worn old pouch and headed for the door. "C'mon, let's get going. I'll buy ya a candy apple or something."

"And we have a winner! Here ya go, sweetheart!" The unicorn smiled dashingly as he passed a tiny doll made to look like Princess Twilight to Gem. The gryphon grinned like a foal as she plucked the toy from his magic and tossed it to Trinket, who was currently loaded down with Gem's other winnings.

"Times like this I wish I was a unicorn myself," Trinket grumbled, fumbling with the newest addition and stuffing it in a pack he had been forced to buy just to hold all the things.

"So how many does that make now?" Gem asked as she wandered away from the ring toss and towards some dart-tossing booth.

"Twenty-seven in a row."

"Darn, my record's thirty-eight."

"Gem, ever consider leaving some of the toys for the foals to win? You know, the intended winners?" Trinket heaved for breath as he set the pack down beside him and watched as Gem deftly held a few darts in her talons, taking careful aim.

"Naw, they've got plenty of the things. I'm not hurting no one, relax." She giggled as she tossed yet another Twilight Sparkle creation at Trinket, this one more of a non-moving figurine than a plush toy.

The stallion groaned as he picked up the pack again and trailed after the gryphon. "What do you do with all these things?"

"Collect 'em."

"...you're an odd gryphon, Gem."

"Yeah, yeah, sing me a different tune some day, Trinket." The rumble of her stomach was audible even over the din of the crowd and Gem veered away from the games towards the nearest food court, the earth pony lagging behind. "Say, any chance someone here'll sell me a chicken? Or a cow?"

"No. Just eat your oats and celery like a big pony." Despite the unwelcome weight on his back, Trinket had to admit he was enjoying the celebration so far this year. Probably because Gem is still sober, he wryly thought. The gryphon in question soon returned with a carton of nachos, cotton candy, popcorn, and funnel cake. "Do you plan to eat that, or should we just cut out that step and inject them right into your thighs?" Trinket quipped.

"Candy!" was all that Gem said in response.

Trinket stared at her for a long moment before taking an offered slice of cake. "You're a very odd gryphon, Gem."

>> Conicer
Timestamp
10:03 am July 13th, Ravaalon's 15th Annual Founding Day

Pinkie couldn't help but keep an eye on the speakers, despite the festivities going on around her. Would Twilight make an actual appearance today, or would it just be another boring old recording? Would she see any of her old friends today? It had been way too long...

"Try your luck, miss?"

The voice broke her from her thoughts. She turned, seeing a small stall with an yellow mare, along with a box shaped machine with lots of holes on the top.

"Whack a mole?" the pony asked. She gestured to the collection of big, fluffy toys behind her.

Pinkie slowly grinned. "Okay!" she said, throwing a few bits onto the counter and grabbing the hammer tethered to the machine. The yellow mare pressed a few buttons, then the machine came to life. Cutesy cartoon moles with goofy grins popped out of the holes for a few seconds at time. Pinkie squinted her eyes, then unleashed a fury of blows on all the moles. Even when the difficulty increased, she was still keeping up, being a practical blur by this point.

The owner of the stall stumbled back, aghast as such a display. When Pinkie was done, the end result was clear. The toymaker pointed to a pink, fluffy bear, which was given to her instantly with a word. It was the last one available too!
A little white filly besides Pinkie hung her head. "Aaaw..."

Pinkie looked between her and the bear. She figured out the solution pretty much straight away. "Here ya go!" she said cheerfully, giving the child the bear. "Happy Founder's Day!"

The filly's eyes brightened up and she let out a quiet gasp of surprise, hastily wrapping her forelegs around the toy. "Thank you, miss!"

Pinkie smiled warmly, then ruffled the filly's mane. "No problemo! Have a super day!" Her job done, she pranced away into the heart of the action, humming a merry little tune as she went.

Timestamp
8:00 am July 13th, Ravaalon's 15th Annual Founding Day

Yesterday, Cog had gotten off with doing literally nothing, and had even slept in until noon.  Today, though, he got up at a reasonable hour, ready to work.  However, he found not much left for him to do.  In fact, his own mentor, who would usually be up by 5:00 am, was still without his usual works stallion apron and with some coffee and breakfast.  

"Come, sit down and eat Cog!  I feel great, I haven't slept in this late in ages!" he exclaimed.

"It's only 9:00, sir," Cog yawned back.

"Only?  I'm usually up three or four hours earlier than this to start up the shop!"

"Right..." Cog said, still waking up.  "Well, breakfast does sound pretty good."

So the two began eating together in mostly silence, until Cog's mentor broke it.  "You're only an apprentice in title, ya know?  You've got everything I know, you just need to perfect it all past what good you have it at, and that's something that'll only come with time," he explained.

"You've been saying this all for a while, but I suppose that it's just kinda hitting me now..." Cog replied, looking downward in comprehension as he said it.

"Well, you've still got a few days for it to hit you in full," his mentor replied, laughing a bit.

"Yeah..."

The rest of breakfast went on relatively silent, until Cog spoke up.  

"I think I'm gonna try to go out for Founding Day this year.  Maybe make a few friends or something," he laughed.  

"Really?  Well, you'd best get ready.  The festivities are gonna be startin' soon!"

"Yeah, yeah," Cog replied as he went to go clean himself up.


[OOC: Okay, so I don't know if we're allowed to do this, if we're not, GMs, just tell me to edit this out.  But if anyone wants to do some interactions with my man, er... pony, Crimson Cog here, just lemme know.  I'd really appreciate it.  Maybe we could meet up at the fair or something.]

10:24 AM July 13th, Ravaalon's 15th Annual Founding Day

It seemed as though Camellia had chosen a bad time to come to Ravaalon.

She had hoped to find a place to stay and keep calm for a few days until she could find a job, but even finding a room to stay in was difficult. Everywhere seemed to have filled up because of some kind of celebration. When she had finally found a place with some vacancies, the mare at the check-in desk had started up a conversation about how busy it gets in the week leading up to Founder’s Day.

Camellia had no idea what that was, but she could guess judging by the name. From her observations (she spent a lot of her time looking out of her window and watching the ponies pass by) she could tell that ponies from all across Equestria and beyond were in town, even some non-ponies were walking around. Although the vast majority of passersby were Equestrian natives.

With all of the hubbub surrounding the festival, it had been impossible for to look for a job as well. So in short, she was slowly running out of bits and had no way of replenishing them, not to mention no way of finding a more permanent address.

It wasn’t the best of situations, but at least she had the chance to observe her new city at it’s most exciting.
rumble

Camellia’s stomach growled at her angrily, she had neglected the poor thing these past two days. She didn’t want to jump head first into Equestrian cuisine and so she had been as careful as possible in choosing things to eat. That combined with her limited budget had made her diet a little thinner than she would have liked.

Smells of all kinds wafted across her nose as she walked the streets, vendors calling out from behind their stalls, tempting ponies over with a variety of foods and drinks that Camellia had never seen before and some that she actually recognised. Her face lit up as she saw a stand offering taiyaki cakes, a treat from her homeland. The batter was even shaped like a little fish, just as she remembered from her childhood.

“I would like one of your taiyaki cakes, mister salespony.” She could allow herself a treat this one time. She handed over a few bits for the food and thanked the pony behind the stand before levitating the treat before her, munching on it happily.

It tasted a little... differently from how she remembered them to be, but it was still tasty regardless, so she didn’t let it bother her.

The festival was getting into full swing as she walked around the stalls, looking at all the different kinds of food on offer, the games that ponies were playing and the ponies themselves who walked around, talked and played. There were benches scattered around the streets for ponies to rest on, though almost every single one of them was currently occupied.
A lot of the ponies had bags with them, stuffed full of winnings from the stalls.

As she wandered, clutching a particularly disappointing tray of yakisoba, a pony stumbled into her and made her momentarily lose her concentration, the yakisoba falling to the ground with a splat.


10:47 AM July 13th, Ravaalon's 15th Annual Founding Day

Wandering through the colorful and noisy streets of the Administration District, Crescent looked around as a group of foals ran around with wimples and other things one could buy from the stands around. The headache had started to wear off after last night endeavour at the bar, not to any hits or punches, but from the alcohol.

He had been woken up by a whistle marking a shift or break and not being able to go back to sleep, he had fought himself out of bed. He had taken a cramped Hexcart to the lower District to remember it was Founder’s Day as the mare last night had said.

This festival really seemed to bring ponies together, he had seen nothing of the sour faces he tend to see so far and the sound of joyful music and chat was all around. He had to smile himself as he looked at the booth games and fluffy prizes hanging for the lucky ponies to win and thought about maybe trying one for old time sakes.

He was too occupied with the thought that he didn’t look where he was going and barely managed to swing away from bumping into a rolling cotton candy wagon for instead to stumble someone else that lost something with a splat.

“I am very sorry, sir. Please excuse me.” He had bumped into a unicorn smaller than himself, a mare and judging by her clothes, a maid. He really hadn’t seen anypony wear it in public and it caught him by surprise.

“N-no sorry, it was my fault. I was a bit of an airhead so you have to excuse me.” The maid was glancing between Crescent and an upturned polystyrene tray on the floor, its contents splattered all over the ground. “I’m sorry for spilling the order, who was it for?”

“It was my yakisoba.” He wanted to slap himself for being so judgemental. Sure, it wasn’t often you saw a mares walk around in maid outfits, but he should have known better than to think she was a waitress.

“Well let me make it up for you, I’ll buy you a new yak soda.” He didn’t have many bits left himself, but be prized his reputation higher than a few bits and he had just spilled this nice mare’s lunch.

“Ya-ki-so-ba. It is a dish of fried noodles in sauce. I did not like it very much though, perhaps you could repay me with a soft drink?” Her voice was somewhat impatient, although still rather polite. She had a clear accent however, so she was most likely foreign.

“Sure, it’s the least I could do for you.” He was a bit relieved she only wanted a drink as repayment. “What drink can I offer you milady?” He let himself slip back on a formal tone for a second and hoped it didn’t sound sarcastic.

The maid looked somewhat taken aback as he said it. “I am not too familiar with this country’s food or drink, I will accept whatever you think is good.”

“In that case I would recommend the pear and apple juice, it’s at least my favorite. Just wait here a moment.” He hurried into the closest shop. “One pear and apple juice please.” The, surprisingly enough, gruffy pegasus gave him one from the cooling room behind the desk.

“That’ll be-” He puts a few bits on the counter before he can finish.

“Here, a few extra since I’m guessing it’s overpriced due to the festival.” It was also because he didn’t like the face of the salespony, but he didn’t say it and went back to the mare who was still there. “Here you go miss...”

“Thank you. You have been most kind.” Her voice was calm, sincere and she smiled happily. She had avoided giving her name which were just right, he had given his.

“It was the least I could do. Crescent Sunrise.” He held out his left hoof with the bandage on.

The maid stared at the unicorn who, to her, was just pointing a hoof at her. “Excuse me, I am not from Equestria, what does crescent sunrise mean?” He lowered his hoof when she didn’t take it and instead just smiled.

“Well I haven’t really thought about it, but I guess it would be like a sickle, curved in a slope like the moon gets some times.” He chuckled. “I don’t know why I’m called that, I’d much rather wield a sword than a sickle, but I do prefer fire spells.” As soon as he’d said that, he thought she might think of him as a pyromaniac, but she didn’t seem touched by it.

“I am afraid I still do not understand.” She sounded rather sad, but she soon smiled again. “My name is Camellia, what is your name?” He raised an eyebrow, he wasn’t quite sure what to say.

“No wait, my name is Crescent Sunrise, I just-” He stopped as he noticed someone who he didn’t want to meet.

It was the stuck-up earth pony from the day before accompanied by two others, a pair of bodyguards surely brought in after your session with him last night. Even worse, one of the big guys seemed to be the brute from the bar as well. Great, fate didn’t pity the poor, but then again, when did it? He debated on either staying and take up the fight or run away to spare any scene, but they hadn’t noticed him yet so he took the luxury of flipping his coin of fate.


11:05 AM July 13th, Ravaalon's 15th Annual Founding Day

The mango orange unicorn threw a look over at a pony being escorted by two other big earth ponies  which made him look a bit panicked. Camellia wasn’t sure why he seemed scared of them, but she guessed there was some backstory between them. The swords unicorn took out a golden bit, but it was different somehow.

“That is a rather strange coin, it doesn’t look like the ‘bits’ I have used.” Looking closer she saw it was somewhat larger than the coins she had seen so far.

“Yeah, it’s sorta my lucky coin though it gives me more trouble than luck often.” He then proceeded to send the coin spinning up in the air and  to catch it again as it came down. The coin was showing the other side which had a deep cut in the gold. “Tail, guess it means I’ll have to put my tail between my legs and run.” She looked from the coin to him confused.

“I do not believe it is wise to leave deciding your fate to a coin.” Camellia looked impassive. After all she had been through, she believed that fate was something you must decide for yourself.

“Wish I got time to choose between them, but now-”

“Hey, it’s him!” The pony accompanied by the bigger ones yelled across the market and the one on his right side got a really unfriendly look.

“Nice meeting you Camellia, again sorry about the food and enjoy the rest of the day, I’ve been told it might be this city’s last.” With that the unicorn set off into the crowd with the guards of the other pony following, but slower due to the thick line of ponies coming in both directions.

“This city’s last? Hmm...” Camellia turned to watch the unicorn running through the crowd. It surely sounded like an ominous pronouncement.


[written together with DrTechno. I wrote the first part and he wrote the second and third with my input for dialogue]

10:47 AM, July 13th, Annual Founding Day Commercial District

She had wanted to go as Trixie the Great and Powerful, but was convinced that both might be in poor taste, and that it was always possible the real pony would show up. The idea excited Mirror, but she found it about as likely as the Princess showing up to give her speech – awesome, but unlikely. The suit she usually wore to play Barbed Umbrella, Space Amarezon needed dry cleaning, seriously it seemed magnetically attracted to grape juice. So her third choice was to throw together a decent Starswirl the Bearded costume. It was blue, it had stars on it, but she hadn't been able to find little yellow things to hang from the brim, so she'd just stuck more stars off the edges of the hat.

The plus side to wearing a full body cloak along with a wide-brimmed hat was that all she needed was a dash of green fur dye, some purple contacts (because, they didn't know what color his eyes really were... probably, right?), and an old beard that smelled suspiciously of mothballs – which Mirror thought lent the whole thing a sense of verisimilitude. All she had to do was use an old person voice – the lisshp was her own invention – and throw in a few thees and thous along with calling everypony 'sonny' and 'young miss', complaining about rheumatism, and how much more expensive everything was nowadays.

Mostly, however, she was just enjoying watching all the ponies and other creatures have fun. Obviously she couldn't perform any real magic, and she was terrible at sleight of hoof, but pick a young enough audience and stretching cloudstuff into funny shapes and making it shine was enough to make them smile. You just had to know your audience. That, and this was one of the few socially acceptable times to eat a corn-dog (ear of corn dipped in batter and deep fried, what did you think it was?), so it was pretty much awesome. If only she could figure out why she sometimes heard snickering as she walked by, but who had time to worry about small stuff like that when everyone was out on display?

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11:35 AM, July 13th, Ravaalon's 15th annual Founding Day

Rushing through the crowd and making sure not to knock anyponies food again, Crescent threw a look over his shoulder to see the big earth ponies shuffling harsh forward after him.

“Get back here toothpick dweeb!” the closest one growled after him. He had a bandage on his muzzle he noticed now and he couldn’t help but smile.

“Fat chance macho brain!” he yelled back. It was probably not smart to anger him without a plan of escape.
He turned the corner sharp and almost crashed into wagon full of firework. A mad idea sparks up, but there was too many around and somepony else could get hurt. The big banners hanging above seemed like a much better solution.

His pursuers got caught up by the explosive wagon which he takes as an opportunity to throw them completely off. Unsheathing his broadsword, he quickly fired small, concentrated fire bursts at the connection points, making the colorful banner fall like a blanket over crowd.

Seeing how two higher tops fighting with the cloth, Crescent ran into a sideway while all were busy with the fallen banner. The alley was completely empty in comparison to the main street with trash cans standing by the outdoors in the thin path. He trotted quickly through it, not being able to hide a cocky smile with his deed.

“I should really stop making enemies around here” he thought to himself. “Hopefully that will be the last I see of the-” He was about to exit the sideway when he heard a familiar happy cheer that made him freeze. "No it couldn't be."

Peaking carefully around the corner, he saw a pink mare with a curly, pink mane jumping in place by a booth. She was very similar to... her. Crescent felt a sting in his left hoof or maybe he just imagined it. The mare could have been her sister from the looks and the sting moved from the hoof to his heart, a sting of sorrow and regret. He wanted to walk up to her and confront her in some way, but  he didn't. He knew it would be using her to re-live the lost time with her.

He instead went down the opposite way from her, halting a little from the re-awoken pain in his hoof. The encounter had put a damper on the joy of tricking the two earlier.

"Hey there mate, you look a little down. How about working out some frustration on the Heavy Weightier?" A very cherry pony with a straw hat gestured towards a hitting plate with a bell on top of a pole. He debated it for a second, but a look back made him decide.

"Sure, I need to blow out some emotion. How does this work?" The stallion gave him a mallet.

"Just hit that spot and the pole measures your strength. No magic though, it's a test of physical strength." Crescent raised an eyebrow.

"Hope I don't destroy the bell then," he said as he lifted the oversized hammer unsteady and the owner chuckled at him.
Before bringing it down, he straightened up and gave him a sly smile. He hit the bullseye square on with a thundering bang as a metal bit shoots up. It hit the bell with way too high speed than normal it seems as the bit leaves a dent in the shiny bell. The owner looks confused at his now ruined bell as Crescent puts the mallet down.

"Ooh, sorry about that, but I did warn you." With an apologizing look, he continued down the way with one last look over at where she had been, but she was lost in the crowd. It kinda felt he had lost her again, but he told himself she wasn't her and forced himself to forget about her, at least for now.

"Attention, attention,” a speaker somewhere echoed down the street. “The time is now ten minutes to noon--the Founding speech, to be given at Town Hall, will commence in ten minutes!" It repeated itself two more times before the loud announcement stopped. He wasn’t a big fan of speeches, but seeing how this might be the last founding day for this place, he felt he should attend it nonetheless.