/vx/ - Videogames and Paranormal

>>145964
"Iron? Do you think you can be... my partner? In all of my business ventures? Debt collecting, money lending, leg breaking, potion making... All those things?"

>>145962
"Well of course. I can invite them too."

>>145963
"Well yes. Report crime and suspicious activity when you see it."

>>145965
She isn't budging now. "How will I know it when I see it? I'm not a detective, nor am I a legal expert."

>>145965
"I may take a while to properly settle," Iron softly replied, his voice becoming more determined as he briefly ignored the stimulation down below "but we have come so far together for me to say no, Cauldron."
He soon put on a confident smile her way, staring with burning passion. "Count on me," he succinctly summarized.

>>145965
"Ehhhhh...Jubilosa may be interested, and Mala might agree to go, but Khoi..."

>>145966
"Somehow... I suspect you know." She says

>>145968
"What about her?" He asks

>>145967
"I can count on you?" She says

"To be there? To rely upon? To come back after your little ventures?"

>>145969
"Yes," Iron's final reply bravely exited through his confident lips, staring intently at Cauldron with utmost dedication. "I will give you my all."

>>145969
"That's not an answer!" she sputters. "I know it's a crime if a pony hurts another pony, or if he takes something that ain't his...or he breaks something that ain't his. But what else am I supposed to be searchin' fer?"

>>145969
"She is rather staunch traditionalist, and was medic during civil war in her country. I get feeling she would not like meeting very much."

>>145970
"Iron... I want to be like this forever with you, but... if you'll count on me to return... I think I'll be leaving for ten or twenty minutes, or a half hour or so." She says to him

>>145971
"You've got a decent little list right there, don't you, country girl?"

>>145972
He twists his lips

"Well why in Tartarus not?"

>>145973
"I suppose so...wait, what do you mean?" she asks with genuine confusion.

>>145973
"It is alright," Iron smoothly replied before boldly stealing a kiss from Cauldron's lips, with tongue and all, for about five seconds before disentangling himself from her and standing up, exposing his weapon to the air once again and allowing her to slip away with ease. "I will have the feeling of your lips to keep me happy while you are away."

>>145974
"At least not at current moment. You have no idea just how traditionalist she is, and it may take some time and patience to get her to open up about other ideas. She still holds onto many beliefs her parents, religion, and culture taught her about things such as sex."

>>145976
"Ah!" Iron plants the kiss, and Cauldron has a slightly disgusted expression, and then a playful one, as she smiles and looks down.

She gets up, off of the bed, looks back, and then takes a bag off her dresser, fully opening the door after the scurrying of hooves, and leaves the room

>>145975
"Don't you know right and wrong?" She asks

>>145977
"I see... well, maybe there's something that can be done with her" He says

"Uh, how bad is it?"

>>145978
"She knew nothing of sex until very recently. At most she was told that entire purpose was for procreation, and that only other acceptable reason for it is for relieving of husband's urges."

>>145978
Realizing his wet mouth, Iron couldn't help but chuckle softly as a sheepish smile soon formed, waving her goodbye in the meantime. "Sorry!" he called out in a mix of slight amusement and somewhat extreme embarrassment, relieved to see her playful smile soon after her disgusted one. "I will wait for you here until you return."

>>145981
She smiles back to him, "I'll be back," and turns and leaves the room. Her tail is raised, and Iron gets a respectable view before she forces it down as she turns the hallway.

Iron is left alone in the room soon enough.

>>145979
She nods
"Do you think it won't?"

>>145980
"Heh" He shakes his head at the last portion

"Yeah, it's like that many places."

The short, young mare rubs a fetlock with a hoof. "Well, I don't know. A lot of things have surprised me after I came here. It's hard to trust your heart here, and it seems like a lot of po—creatures—don't do that."

>>145982
Predictably, Iron ogled as much as she allowed him before finally letting her leave and sitting down on the bed. His weapon twitched longingly not too long after, eager for a far more stimulating experience that he wasn't able to go for, causing him to grunt softly in need.

>>145983
"If you yourself can't tell right from wrong, then why are you surprised this city makes you feel unsafe?"

>>145984
The front door closes, and the apartment returns to relative silence

>>145982
"Well, it is certainly something...it was little bit like that in Severyana, but some colts I grew up with did not agree with what old conservative stallions said. It was slowly growing idea. Maybe it is part of why Stalliongrad came to be."

>>145985
She looks quite offended at this. "I never said I couldn't tell right from wrong! I was raised right according to the principles of Harmony. Seems to me though that a lot of ponies weren't, so they don't live rightly very well."

>>145985
Iron breathed out as he fell back first towards the bed with a satisfied smile as his rifle flopped on top of him to face the ceiling. "I-I cannot believe I did it," he breathed out in absolute wonder, just thinking about everything they've done together for the last week. "I figured it would have taken longer than this. More gifts to give, more help to provide. All without those lovely lips touching mine."
His heart beat grew in rate just thinking about that final plunge, lightly fantasizing how their first time would be with her in the middle of a Zebrican rainforest as his rifle twitched in anticipation.

>>145987
"So why don't you know crime when you see it?"

>>145988
"Feels like ages to me"
A familiar white head, with long, straight desire-red mane and a subtly pinkish white horn leans through the door way of the bedroom

>>145986
"Oh well yes, certainly. Angel's application of the history of the family that we know from new hippological research to his studies on the development of talents helped form a part of the movement."

>>145989
Iron's ears perked up before quickly lifting his head upwards to properly face the white and red mare he knew... somewhat. "Hey Sands," he called out, still on the bed with an overall happy mood and a painfully tough and unholstered weapon "I hope we did not disturb you."

>>145989
Silver whispers to the colt.

"Did they have much to say about homosexual proclivities?"

>>145990
She moves into the room, her hooves barely making a "clop" on the wooden floors, and her gait almost like that of a stalking cat.

"I've slept through worse," She answers

>>145991
"No. It isn't. And yet all the same I think you know."

>>145992
He pauses for a moment, his eyes widened

"Anthropologically? Very little. But uh, that it shouldn't be criminalized."

>>145993
Iron follows her stalking about curiously as he smiles with joy. "Maybe with some more effort," he half-jokingly offered "all three of us could sleep on this bed."

>>145995
She looks at the bed, and Iron's more naked than normal body, and seems unimpressed. She tilts her head

"Does she agree with that?"

>>145994
"Well, I am just curious. I must admit, early was not my first type of encounter, like that."

>>145993
Amber is getting annoyed to herself. Why can't she give me a straight answer?
"I can tell the difference. I should, anyway. Please don't blame me for feeling unsafe in this city when there's so much crime about."

>>145998
"Then don't blame us for doing the best we can under hard circumstances." She answers

>>145997
"Early? What?"

>>145996
Iron chuckled softly at her reply before shaking his head in the negative. "I am not that bold," he casually disregarded before lifting himself up a bit "but I am sure after some time we can do so with an even better bed."
He soon started to sit up with a determined grin. "All we need to do is establish your bond with Cauldron's," he offered optimistically "and help her out in her venture like I promised."

>>146000
"Her venture?" She says almost skeptically

"Is this that mass potion making thing?"

>>146001
"Yes," Iron confirmed with a nod. "Did I not tell you back when we sent that letter towards... that somepony you did not specify?"
He paused a bit, trying to see if he could remember who was it meant for.

>>146002
She blinks

"Yes. And that's what you need the waterways open for? What you need to fight griffins for? And what exactly do you think all of this will accomplish? What it will get you?"

>>146003
"Sigh. Why don't you go ask them? Leave me alone here."

>>146004
"Ensure a trade route of items Cauldron needs to jumpstart her venture comes to us," Iron succinctly replied with another nod. "At least, that is what I gathered from the mademare."

>>146006
"If she's a mademare then she must surely have some other racket going, or at least one. What do you need the new venture for? More money?"

>>146005
"Just go already" The mare says

>>146007
"It allows Cauldron to live a better life," Iron replied without hesitation "which will no doubt incur more favors when she is well established."
After a small pause, he couldn't help but grin softly. "The extra money is also nice," the native followed up with a coy grin.

>>146009
“Money is nice.” But she turns her head.

“So is this whole thing based on your devotion to this mare?”

>>146008
“We did! They insisted it was their case. Almost forced their way in”

>>146010
"She is being kind enough to let me get my bearings for a week now," Iron pointed out with a nod "so I was not planning on leaving such a diligent, strong diamond in the rough in this predicament if I can help it."

>>146012
“Did you intend to take a knife in doing this for her?” She asks

>>146013
"I was born to battle," Iron plainly stated. "From birth to now, all I ever did was fight with my hooves. It is what I excel at."
He proceeded to sit up properly. "That is also how I stumbled into you, Sands," he followed with great trepidation "and if I need to take even more stabs to make you both live at your best, that is what I will pay."

>>146014
She comes in closer to him
“I can respect that. You have a role you were born to play, and you do it.”

She looks down at Iron’s presumably at least partly visible frustration.
“I suppose you didn’t get as far with her as you had hoped?”

>>146015
Iron looked down at his loaded weapon, itching to fire in between his four legs before letting out a small sigh. "Knowing the work ahead of her," he soon explained "I cannot satiate myself like I hoped I would without considerable setbacks."
He soon tried to give Sands a little peck on her cheek. "However," he followed up, regardless that his sly move worked "you may not suffer the same predicament."

>>146016
“I’m, well, I’m a little more able to take it.” She says, smiling

>>146017
"Indeed," Iron replied as a growing smile appeared on his face. "You do know how to please me like nopony else."
He soon scooted a bit closer so as to reduce the distance between her snout and his as he half-lidded his eyes. "The question is," he playfully suggested, "how are you going to do it this time."

>>146018
She moves in closer to Iron, and immediately closes the distance, kissing Iron on the lips. Iron feels his penis being grabbed, and then rubbed as Sand’s horn and eyes both seem to glow.

>>146019
Iron groaned into the kiss, now pressing himself needily yet gently at Sands' snout as he tried to stick his tongue in to sharpen up his making out skills some more.
His poor weapon is in dire need of some shooting at the practice range, twitching eagerly and leaking out a bit of lubricant out of the barrel at the mere touch alone.

>>146020
She opens her mouth slightly, and moves her tongue to meet his, and to let him roll on hers. Iron can feel the movement of a magic grip and down his shaft, steady and firm.

>>146021
Iron shivered lightly at the magical grip sliding up and down his weapon, grunting in a primal fashion as he continued to dance with Sands' tongue, experimenting on different ways to elicit pleasure for his mare.
His rifle, meanwhile, continued to twitch against the hold, leaking out an impressive stream of lubricant along his rock solid length for the unicorn to witness.

>>146022
She tries to match his tongue with his, as if in a dance. After some seconds, she looks down and pulls away from the kiss. She does not stop stroking him.
What do you want to do with that?” She asks, looking down

>>146023
Iron couldn't help but grin knowingly amidst the very much needed stimulation as his breathing became ever more heavy. "I want release," he replied before a soft grunt escaped his lips, glancing down at his continuously stroked weapon.

>>146024
“Any preference when and where?” She asks him slyly

>>146025
Despite how worked up Iron was, he could not help but keep his grin, staring back at the playful Sands as sporadic grunts and groans continued to leave his mouth. "Surprise me," he offered before closing his eyes as an erratic shiver of pleasure shook his core and his weapon actively shot out a small shot of lubricant from its barrel.

>>146026
She moves her head down and takes a look at Iron’s erect mass, still in her grip. Then she moves in, and licks her tongue up the whole length of his shaft. And then she gently opens her mouth, and placed as much as she can fit inside of it, with everything else remaining in her magic grip.

>>146027
At first, Iron was wondering was Sands was trying to do when she was approaching his leaking weapon, only for him to gasp out in surprise at the deliberate lick from base to shaft and promptly be replaced with a low growl when his rifle was engulfed at least half-way from his base.
His legs were actively twitching, his breathing started to become a bit erratic and a few instinctual yet soft thrusts tried to go deeper to no avail: He was close, there was no doubt about it. "Mmf~" he let out as he reached her peak, tightly closing his eyes yet holding steady for the cleanup that was about to happen.

>>146028
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWhcxs6aTr4

She moves her tongue around especially the tip, and presses her cheeks around his shaft with a sucking action, then bobbing up ad down. Yet it's her magic grip around the base of his shaft that provides perhaps the most stimulation, ramping up in speed and grip both, up and down.

>>146029
Sands got a big hint of the taste of Iron's weapon with her tongue swirling while Iron held on for dear life for just a little bit longer, wanting to give her his all as well.
Yet, with such sucking power, dexterous magic and being teased for who knows how long, the stallion tried his best to warn him verbally of the impending shooting inside her, but all he could manage is a guttural growl before round after round rapidly fired inside Sands' moisty mouth cavern.
His eyes immediately shut themselves as his head turned to face the ceiling as the torrent of white lead flowed vigorously where Sands allowed to. Meanwhile, he started to shake from the stimulation, leaning back and barely catching himself with his toned forelegs.

>>146030
Sand's eyes grow wide, her cheeks open a bit, and she gags slightly. Yet after a pause of a few seconds, Iron can feel the pumping action of her magic all the same for many seconds after Iron's release.

>>146031
Although the volume of shots were the same, as Sands continued to pump him dry, Iron's rapid fire speed soon turned into collected, controllable bullets, giving her some breathing room in order to continue collecting all that sweet yet spicy lead.
His body, meanwhile, had lost the shivers and was instead replaced with sagged legs and him gently laying his back against the comfortable mattress with a content sigh.

>>145999
"You know, earlier today, when we were drinking and I decided to..."

>>146036
“But, you said, ‘wasn’t the first’.”

>>146037
"Well, few days ago I was drinking with friend of mine and his marefriend at bar, we got little drunk, and..."

He looks from side to side, then whispers the final part.

"...I may have tried to suck on his ear like it was lollipop in backseat of cab."

>>146038
He looks at Silver, almost in disbelief for one, two, three seconds. Then,

“Bahahaha!” He busts out laughing, and slumps back in his seat

>>146039
The large, fluffy stallion in the seat next to Clip blushes profusely, while scrunching his snout up considerably.

>>146040
He tilts his head
"How'd it taste?"

Then he fails to hold back a smile
"Taste like sweet dandelions?"

Then he fails to hold back a laugh with a "ha ha ha"

>>146041
The silver pony lets out a low, forlorn groan at his embarassment.

>>146042
Paper Clipping reaches out a hoof to sort of pat Silver
“Oh, you’re doing alright, old warhorse.”

>>146043
He groans a little more, but the pat seems to calm him a little.

"So, that was pretty bad, yes?"

>>146044
“You can always do worse.” He says

After sometime, the taxi arrives back at the beach house

>>146045
Silver pays the driver, and gets out of the cab.

"I suppose so. Still, I wonder if there is anything behind that incident and earlier today."

>>146047
“You’ll have time to find out.” He says. He slides out of the cab through Silver’s door.

>>146048
Silver's widen slightly at the suggestion...but he doesn't object.

"I suppose I do."

>>146049
The two ponies, presumably, enter the house

>>146050
That they do. Silver smiles at Clip.

"If you will just head into living room and sit down, I will prepare potion for you."

>>146051
Silver can see through the large glass windows and doors that Jubilosa is on the wooden front porch, looking out and down over the bay. The living room and dining area are unoccupied.

>>146052
Silver goes into the kitchen to prepare Clip's potion, accoring to the instructions given to him by the zebra.

>>146053
A dram or so of the potion, cut with water. Did what it’s worth, the potion is very thick, and almost glows, looking sort of like a fluorescent blue-green sludge.

>>146054
"Huh, looks almost like changeling slime. Weird."

He brings the prepared dram to Clip once it's finished.

>>146055
The substance does not dissolve when the water is poured, but shaking the glass, or especially stirring the mixture causes it to dissolve into an opaque blue-greenish liquid. Paper clipping takes the glass and inspects it.

“Huh. Looks a little thick.”
Then, he puts it up to his mouth and scrunches at the first sip.
“Bit strong.” Then he takes the whole glass and attempts to chug it, coughing repeatedly, stopping, and then continuing to drink it.

“Ugh, fuck me that’s strong.” He says, and coughs again

>>146056
Silver pats his back.

"Just try to keep it all down, it is supposed to heal you."

>>146057
He coughs again, snd places a hoof on his bandaged chest,
“Ugh, it’s doing something, alright.”

>>146058
He sits down next to him.

"Feel like it is healing you?"

>>146059
“Well I’m feeling it do something alright. Damn, it’s like it’s putting pressure from inside my chest.”

>>146060
"Sounds little bit like healing potion to me. It is good!"

>>146061
"I hope so, certainly. You can't imagine how painful it was when I came to late that morning a few days ago. It's a little better after what they did later that day but it still hurts to move in some ways."

>>146062
"You came to, with your chest still torn open?"

>>146063
“Well, it was sewn up, but it’s not exactly east to piece together bone that been cut like that.”

>>146064
"It is still easy to imagine how painful that was."

>>146064
>>146065
"You really are strong pony."

>>146066
>>146065
"You think so, heheh. Haven't been called that much."

>>146067
Silver nods.

"Definitely! I am not sure I would have dealt with that kind of pain as well as you."

>>146068
"Oh, it was miserable, in a section up and down the center, and at each rib. you know I fell off a rock, a large rocky outcropping up on the trail, when I was a foal and I broke a bone and that was terrible, but this was something else all together. Course they gave me drugs and potions and all sorts of things before I even woke up but they had to try to keep me under most of that day. It's been a dull pain nearly continuously since then. These pills help a bit but it's when my chest moves in the wrong way that it becomes near unbearable."

>>146070
"Hopefully this potion fixes you right up. How are you feeling now?"

>>146071
"Some..." He grits his teeth "Some pain. That potion is doing something right now. Putting pressure on the wounds."

>>146072
"Considering what state your chest was in, I imagine it is normal feeling for healing."

>>146073
He grits his teeth
"I hope. I think I'll... I think I'll lay down for the moment." He attempts to lay on his back on the living room's main couch.

>>146074
Are there any throw pillows on the couch?

>>146075
Yes. Four pillows in total, two square red pillows with geometric shaping and green frills, and two slightly larger rectangular white pillows.

>>146076
Silver takes one of the white pillows, fluffs it, and places it under Clip's head.

"Please do. Get some rest, let potion do it's work, heal up."

>>146077
He smiles and lays his head on the pillow, looking up towards the high ceiling. He coughs, and moves his chest in various ways, placing his forelegs beside him, moving over further away from the back of the couch, then moving closer back after his other foreleg falls off, then placing his hoof on his belly.

>>146078
"Do you need anything?"

>>146079
“Well, uh, a drink, maybe.” He says

“And a blanket....”

>>146080
"That I can do! What drink would you like? Water? Milk? Alcohol?"

>>146081
“Uh, sure, yeah. I’d love alcohol right now but... does that go well with the painkillers and whatever this potion is? I don’t know, something with water in it.”

>>146082
"Hmm, that is true. Let us stick with water for now, avoid any possible complications."

>>146082
>>146083
Silver goes to fetch and bring Clip a glass of water and a warm blanket.

>>146083
>>146084
D’awww
There’s an extra blanket inside of a wooden chest in the living room, and water is to be had simply enough from tap (there are no bottles... unless Silver brought the cans of water he bought a week or so ago). The glass can be placed on the table next to the couch. Paper Clipping quickly takes a long drink, and then tries to spread the blanket over him, keeping much of it high on him around his neck.

“Thank you. I had to get that taste out of my mouth.”

>>146085
Silver smiles down at him.

"You are welcome. Rest now, and remember if you need anything, do not be afraid to ask."

>>146086
“Sure. I’ll remember” he says, trying to adjust the pillow under his head

>>146087
Silver smiles down at his form once more, before leaving him to go to Jubilosa.

>>146088
Jubilosa is leaning over the side of the railing, and is speaking
“And so then the manticore-“
She stops when silver opens the door, and turns back to him.

“Silver! You’re back!”
She comes up to him to hug him.

>>146089
Silver hugs his griffon back gladly, enjoying her soft fur and feathers.

"I am back. What are you up to?"

>>146090
She smiles, and wraps her claws around him. Then the smile fades.

“Oh. So... I kind of maybe told Khoi that you had said it was okay to do, uh, improvements to the yard and property. She was bored and homesick and she gets anxious when the gnoll is idle so I thought I would keep her occupied by telling her that you said you wanted a garden and she missed some kind of garden thing she had in the Kirin land. I don’t really know what it is, I wasn’t paying attention when she was talking about it, but, uh, there isn’t really any soil in the backyard so... that’s why there is construction in the backyard. I just thought I would tell you before you saw it.”

>>146011
"We've tried. They want to impose, saying it's 'urgent' and not trusting us. But it's none of their business in the first place. This isn't just about 'who can do the job better.' It's about who has the right to administer justice in the first place. After the creatures of Baltimare rose against the central government twenty years ago, Princess Celestia made the Baltimare region a semi-autonomous region, with the right to, among other things, make and administer it's own criminal laws. This, new administration, agreed to the same delegation of power as the old Monarchy. This is something very important. We are dealing with matters of justice, public safety, and the freedom of individuals. We've been free as a city and a region to make our own laws and administer our own laws for twenty years now, and this is a right we ought to protect. So now these ponies, many of whom themselves come from across the Ocean in the Dominion or across the gulf in Manehattan, want to try to claim that these crimes are ones of 'terrorism' or 'immigration' or that they involve local leaders so we are biased. But really it's a power grab. They want to put their foot in the door so they can burst in. We can't sit idly while they do that."

>>146093
Amber came here to start an argument and probably was close to succeeding. However, her mind addled by a need for sleep cannot very well come back with a counterargument. "...You're right. They gave their word and they ought to be held to it. But what can you do to protest?"

>>146094
She blinks
"I don't know..."

>>146096
"I know, but they are in the evidence room right now."

>>146032
She keeps going, though she slows down.

>>146098
"Trying to take evidence and what they think is relevant."

>>146099
She thinks to herself. "But what if the evidence wasn't there? There would be nothing for them to take."

>>146100
"That... would be true. But they'd accuse of of hiding it."

>>146102
“That... well... that would be risky because they may find out and there may not be a good enough excuse, but.... I can see why a pony might be motivated to do that. But that has to be done ahead of time, and they haven’t given us much time. They came at 1:30 in the morning for a reason.”

>>146099
After three last potent shots more for Sands' efforts, Iron's weapon of war stopped providing anything more as he grunts softly.

>>146105
She nods, simply

>>146104
She opens her mouth and pulls up, letting it fall out. Her magic ceases. She moves her eyes upwards and towards Iron, saying nothing. Iron doubtless feels more tired, and perhaps a little sad, maybe for only getting so far with Cauldron.

>>146106
Amber just stands there.

>>146106
Iron could only huff softly at having been spent in such an unorthodox yet effective manner, groggily pushing himself back up into a sitting position with a dumb grin on his face. "You know... your ways, seductress..." he breathed out, his satisfaction temporarily taking over his small bout of sadness.
He looked down at his now soft yet unsheathed rifle, wondering how much of a mess it looked after that.

>>146107
"What do you want now?"

>>146108
A bit wet, but otherwise not messy. Not messy at all.

>>146109
Iron puffed out some more air before looking back at Sands. "Are you alright?" he asked the unicorn seductress, offering some petting by extending a foreleg towards her head.

>>146110
She smiles, closes her eyes, and leans her head into the pets, though the horn gets somewhat in the way.

“Yes. Why wouldn’t I be?

>>146111
“What are you waiting for?” She asks

>>146112
"I did not get to warn you," Iron replied, gently caressing her smooth mane of hers. "I have drank water fast before."

>>146113
roll die

>>146114
“It was to be expected.” She answers simply

>>146115
Iron nodded before sighing in relief, opting to actively and lovingly pull Sands close for a big, amorous hug.

>>146116
She has to be pulled up, but it is done. Iron has Sands in his embrace. She's like a big, fluffy pillow. One with a heart beat that can move.

>>146117
Down the hall there is disruption within the evidence room, and it looks like the ponies (and diamond dog) inside are about to leave the room.

>>146118
With a small kiss on her snout, Iron opts to calmly stare into Sands' eyes, displaying his serene state as of right now. "I honestly expected you to sneak in here to watch it first-hoof," he softly suggested.

>>146119
“They want something, snd they are trying to get it.”

>>146120
Sabds is tss as ken by surprise at the kiss on the snout, snd quickly moves back. She almost makes a “squeak” sound.

When she recovers, she looks back into his eyes, snd smiles in a strange way. Her eyes almost seem to glow a light yellow-green.

“Who says I didn’t?”

>>146121
"Let's ask them to stop," she replies, and starts to walk determinedly down the hall.
Is this my chance? she thinks to herself.

>>146121
Iron couldn't help but chuckle softly as he shook his head. "You might have," he answered with complete frankness "but I do like to imagine you are studying ways to influence me and Cauldron's acts for next time."

>>146122
Amber walks down the hall, and for a few moments, she is alone. But then she can hear the clopping hoofsteps of the pink mare following behind her. The one-winged pegasus who calls himself "Swift Soul" is trying to exit the room. Trakyr is physically in the way, and is slowly moving aside.

>>146123
"Influence you?"
She looks up at him with a sly smile
"Now why would I do that?"

>>146124
She approaches the group. "Hello, what's going on here?"

>>146124
"You have certainly influenced my rocks below a lot today," Iron joked, lightly shaking his rump against the mattress "so I would not put it past you to... enhace the experience every once in a while."

>>146125
Swift Soul gets out of the room and looks at Amber
"Business" He answers

Stalwart, who is deeper inside, seems to catch a glimpse of Amber, as does Trakyr by the doorway.

>>146126
With her so close, he can smell her. The flowery smells applied this morning have been replaced the smell of cigarette smoke, topical anti-biotics, copper coins, and old cloth.

"I can do it better than her. You better believe it" She says, almost forcefully

>>146127
Iron simply chuckled at Sands' rather forceful play before nuzzling her, deciding to simply enjoy a moment of silence while he could before Cauldron got back.

>>146128
And yet, she seems to have Iron's own smell on her fur as well. She lays her head down on him, over his neck, and lets him nuzzle her. Then for a minute or so, it's silence. Just the two of them alone together.

>>146130
"We've been over this" Is all Swift Soul has to say. He moves out, and starts to move to his left (Amber's right) down the hallway that leads to Red Scabbard's office.

Trakyr, however, tries to take up the fight
"She's right. This is a Baltimare PD investigation."

Stalwart and the bat follow behind, starting to come out.

The mare moves up behind, and now besides Amber

>>146129
Thus, Iron allowed himself some cuddling with Sands, gently breathing on her fur as he enjoyed her soft, white coat.

>>146132
This doesn’t last very long - not long at all - before Iron hears the front door open and then close.

>>146133
Hearing this, Iron opted to quietly pat Sands on the back as he withdrew his embrace, allowing Sands to hide somewhere before Cauldron arrived... or not, really. He didn't really specify with how quiet he's being right now, and his small pout could be considered as both worry for being found out or having to break up his embrace just because the zebra mare would be offended at Sands for being on her bed without permission.

>>146134
Swift Soul ignores Amber. But Trakyr is much larger than Amber, snd much harder to ignore. He moves from the doorway to attempt to cut off Swift Soul. The latter says “we’re not here for crime,” and the mare starts to move in.

Swift Soul says
“We have jurisdiction over un-uniformed combatants, and we’ve told you how that’s involved.”

Then the mare says
“But does this specific lead have anything to do with that?”

And so Swift Soul is more impeded. The bat and Stalwart cone outside of the room. In particular, the bat is now rather close to Amber, snd is looking at her. She continues the disturbing trend of being perhaps the only uniformed officer besides Scabbard to whom Amber remains visible, still finding her a person of interest even after an argument breaks out.

>>146135
Sands doesn’t move. She doesn’t seem to want to.

>>146136
Iron couldn't help but wipe off his pout for a small smile, deciding that hugging Sands right at this instant isn't wrong in the slightest, so he quickly wraps Sands back in a happy, much friendlier hug.

>>146091
"Huh. Neat! That sounds like excellent idea! May I see construction?"

>>146136
Amber glances briefly at the bat but looks back to the argument breaking out. Her hair stands on end as she realizes she put herself in the spotlight by starting it, so she doesn't say anything more for now. She will stay in place though to make sure this goes right. Maybe this will all be worth it....

>>146138
She sighs in relief

"Oh. Good. It's right here."

She moves aside so that Silver can look down. Behind, and to the left of the house, there is a set of concrete bricks in a curved line. Mala has one in his mouth and is laying on on top of another. Khoi is standing on the other side of the line, in a patch of sand, grass, and damp and dug up holes of sand. She has a large stick that she places on the ground, and she seems to be giving orders to Mala.

>>146137
She smiles back, surprisingly warmly.

Black Cauldron enters the room quickly, damn near galloping in, and with a jovial expression. "Iron!"

She slows down significantly when she enters the room and sees the two.

>>146139
The bat looks to her, but then sees that she is comparatively free, and tries to move out on her own.

"It's established" Swift Soul says, and tries to move forward, though closely tailed

>>146140
"Hello Khoi, Mala! Anything I can do to help?"

>>146140
Iron's ears perked up, still hugging Sands with a happy smile before turning his head towards her. "Hey Cauldron," he cheerfully replied, beaming at her "you seem excited."

>>146140
"How can you say it's established, when an agreement of autonomy was 'established' but is disregarded anyway?" She turns to the bat before she can leave and speaks hurriedly so as not to choke. "What's your say in the matter?"

>>146141
Khoi looks up, smiling
"Oh. Silver. You're back already. You know how you wanted to spruce up the yard and put in a garden? Well I was going to make and plant a raised-earth garden here, kind of like the ones back home. It was supposed to be a surprise." She looks back to the set of concrete bricks. "And a bit more done."

>>146142
"Yes." She says, though not as excited. She slowly walks in, looking at White Sands.

>>146143
If it was Amber's wish to keep the bat from running away from the scene, then that finger on the monkey's paw has surely curled.

The bat addresses Amber
"Filly, do you understand any of what is going on?"

>>146144
"I think surprise is fair tradeoff for extra pair of hooves. Come on, tell me what you need done and I will do it!"

>>146144
Iron then released Sands from her hug for him to turn towards Cauldron, now with his own bout of eagerness to hear what's the news. "Well?" he suggested, opting to nudge her with one of his appendages. "You have some good news, right?"

>>146146
She takes a moment
"Well... I brought alcohol." She says

>>146145
"Well, if you look at the soil, you'll see that there is some clay and silt, but really it's all wrong for most things to grow. There's not enough organic matter, too many rocks. Grass will grow, but that is nearly it. So we must make a raised garden. We made many of those on a large scale in Ngua Nam. Further west, in Lllambet and the Empire, they would make terraces on rocky hillsides to plant orchards, rice and potatoes. In the lowlands of the coastal regions we didn't have as many terraced hills, but we had marshes, floodplains, and inundated fields that we too wet for anything other than rice. So we'd build walls, and build up soil in raised gardens and fields. We can't do quite that here, but we can make perhaps layers of raised beds and place soil in them. We can have vegetables, flowers, and maybe even trees if they can tolerate the deeper soil."

>>146148
"It sounds wonderful. As I said, however I can help, please, direct me."

>>146148
Iron tilted his head slightly, more puzzled than confused if he were being honest. Despite this, he smiled slightly since he trusted Cauldron's own eagerness to be complementary to his. "What kind, exactly?" he asked, quite curious as to what she brought.

>>146147
"Agreement? "Soveriegnty? Why do believe such things? It is our domain to deal with those who seek to undermine the State. And we have found the edges of a conspiracy to do exactly that."

>>146150
"Nothing.... especially fancy. A cheap whiskey."

>>146149
"Well, right now I am trying to make a wall on the south side. You can see the plot is slightly lower by the sea than where it begins, so this side will be higher than in the back. I, uh, got concrete bricks for this."

Mala is stacking bricks

>>146151
"Whiskey?" Iron uttered, once again showing his primitive knowledge on all things concrete jungle related with a small tilt of his head.
He soon tried sliding out of the bed proper to step over towards Cauldron with an enthusiastic smile. "Let us give it a shot, then," he happily declared, wondering where the zebra mare was going with this.

>>146151
Silver salutes the kirin mare with a "Yes ma'am!" before moving to help Mala.

>>146151
Amber looks a bit insulted. "How can you treat your word so flippantly? If you agreed to abide by terms of sovereignty you've got to stick by it. 'Conspiracy' or not. By breaking your word you're undermining yourself."

>>146153
"You don't understand. They are not keeping their word. The SDP's leadership are using their old contacts in the Unions to help Anarchist and especially Communist resistance fighters in the city and surrounding regions contract with organized crime to import and find old military stashes of arms to use in guerrilla fighting against the East Equestrian and New Mareland governments. That is what we are here to investigate."

>>146153
Mala is pretty straightforward in placing the bricks one on top of the other, though he is clearly having difficulty grasping them with his mouth.

>>146152
"Uh, yes. Come... into the kitchen."

>>146155
Iron was happy to oblige, sliding up next to her with an added, somewhat subtle coat rubbing just to give Cauldron a little twinge of excitement she previously had back when she came storming in. "Lead the way!" he cheerfully declared, eager to see the path she was taking him towards.

>>146155
Silver helps with the grabbing and placing of bricks with his magic.

"You cannot grab onto bricks with forelimbs?"

>>146158
"Because the person being investigated is one who approved their boss, and who approved their agency's funding. Even if there wasn't the possibility that this pony was providing material aid to non-uniformed combatants, they still couldn't be trusted to investigate him correctly because this guy used to pay their paychecks, their boss owes him, and other ponies who may be involved might also be in the city leadership. But there is the possibility that a member of SDP leadership was conspiring with foreign governments and organized crime to import weapons for guerrilla fighters. And if that's the case, you can't trust the whole rotten department."

>>146157
Mala looks up and answers
"Well... sort of, yes, but it's a bit harder to set them"

>>146156
She seems a bit zapped of energy at the moment. Nevertheless, she moves back to the kitchen, takes two glasses out from a cabinet, and pours brown liquid into them.

>>146159
"Well, together, we should be able to easily finish this, friend!"

Silver continues to help him.

>>146159
Iron made sure to keep himself as close to Cauldron as possible, now mostly to cheer her up a little rather than recapture her previous bout of enthusiasm, coupled with a small nuzzled as she finished serving one of the glasses before glancing down at the liquid in question. "Seems a little familiar," he mused softly, leaning in front of the glass to take a look at it.

>>146161
"They could sympathize with the rebels. They could be taking bribes from organized crime - I am sure many of them are. Or... Look, we are not here for the pony being investigated. We are here for the other ponies he committed these crimes with. Both the weird sex crimes and especially any arms trafficking he may have participated in, because he didn't do either of those things alone. We are here for ponies unknown - his co-conspirators. Ponies we don't have names and faces of. Given who he was, he was around all of the high society in Baltimare. Political leaders, captains of industry, heads of unions, bosses of organized crime. Many of them have money and connections. They have ways of corrupting investigations, and they have every motive to."

>>146162
Darker brown, but fully translucent. The smell is distinct.

>>146163
Iron now hovered his head above the glass before slipping down his tongue inside the drink and pulling back up once like a common animal drinking from a lake just to see the flavor he's dealing with.

>>146160
The wall is only two bricks high, arcing over a distance of probably not more than 15 feet. At least the first line is completed soon enough

>>146164
Strong, with a hint of corn and burnt oak. When swallowed, there is something like a burning sensation.

>>146165
Iron hummed softly, smacking his lips softly at the flavor. "Quite strong," he uttered, full of curiosity.
Without warning, he picks the glass with his mouth and quickly downs the entire beverage just to see how it hits.

>>146163
"You're making too many assumptions. I don't know if this is how citified ponies act but it's not right to claim the department is corrupt. Do any of the creatures here look like high society types to you? They probably value something more than money."
Still, something nags her at the back of her mind as she's reminded of why she's there in the first place.

>>146165
Silver continues to help the construction.

>>146167
"And what is it exactly that they value more than money? Could it be their communist sympathies that makes them want support an armed revolution? Or maybe it's friendship. Specifically, their friendship with a pony who is a pedophile, and who they are afraid will be found out and locked up if this investigation succeeds. This investigation shouldn't be handled by locals. It should be handled by those who have no motive to corrupt it."

Speaking of why-Amber-is-there, Amber can hear - or rather, would have heard earlier, the sound of hooves clopping behind her.

>>146166
Can a drink bite or sting? Because it just stung him.

>>146168
Now, it's onto the sides. Of course there is a question of what they want the final shape to look like, but... well, you can change it later if you don't like it. So a simple rectangle.