>>43071152
>special IOU token
Ah yes, royalty and printing money.
>despite the language barrier
I don't think gesturing works either.
>would pick it up quickly
What they need to pick up quickly is personal hygiene.
>chase and tackle
Do the ponies let nomads tackle them while wearing dead animal skins around themselves?
>wait until Thistle had gotten Rainy Day the help she needed
Somehow the previous sentences read like a few days already passed. But I doubt that, because Rainy Day would age 3 years every day they delay the rescue mission.
>She had to tell them what to look out for
Why in Equestria? The area around the portal seemed safe enough. Just go through and do the training there. Every hour counts. While Thistle slept, Rainy Day aged a year.
>forbidden her to join the expedition
Odd choice. She would be back in less than 4 hours from Equestria's perspective.
>she'd kept her eyes on the inappropriate place for way longer than needed
I hope it was a stallion.
>naked man in her face
Oh, so it was not a stallion! Thistle is corrupted! Also why do they need illusions? Only one thing comes into my mind is to not get mistaken as a pray.
>little doubt about the mission's success
I have a hunch that after this many years, Rainy Day will choose not to come back. Maybe she will visit the portal to say goodbye to her relatives or something.
>watch Fen-Ko and Ning while I am away
So a total of 4 to 8 hours.
>The night was already well advanced
By the time Thistle wakes up the next morning, they will be back. >You do not need to watch.
Heh.
>Luna and her Thestrals were on the other side
Did they test that magic works on the other side?
>Her friends simply vanished.
Something must have gone wrong. Why did it take more than 6 months? Hopefully there is no need for a rescue mission to rescue the previous rescue mission members.
>Water. You water.
Well, she is like 80+% water.

>Any bets on how Lulu will do over there?
She will have no trouble skinning animals when she comes back!

Thanks for the update!

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rise up against the hoomin oppressors

I guess no Meymer today.

>>43100914
ded pone
F

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>>43100596
uh oh

>>43101983
That's a big ball!

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snugglefloofer

>>43104211
>pega pet
>peg a pet

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I want a Scootapet!

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Very needy poner

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Do all pet ponies share a single braincell like orange cats?

>>43108688
Wanna cuddle with that one.

Bump

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>>43110225

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>>43110828

>>43110225
Pony distribution system at work.

>>43100159
Sex with slave pones

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80% cat

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poner bedtime

10

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Pony with a job!

>>43101263

Meyermer lives! Family needed a lot of care, so I've been out of commission for two weeks. I'm back in the saddle now, update incoming tomorrow! Keep this thread alive until then

>>43114238
Horray! More Meyermer!

> "[Thistle, wake up!]"
> A hand shook her rather needlessly, since the whispered words were enough to dispel the uneasy, dreamless slumber. She shot bolt upright, blinking at the early morning light shining in her eyes through the open tent flap.
"[I'm up! I'm up! What's wrong?]"
> The dim blur resolved itself into Willow, who pointed out through the tent opening. "[They are back!]"
> Thistle didn't need to look at the sky to guess the night was over. Eight hours had passed since Luna and her escort had left for the nomad world. At least eight hours. A full year in the other world.
> It was probably good news!
> She jumped to her hooves and nearly darted out of the tent, but remembered just in time. Her spare set of spectacles were by the cot, leaning against her pack. She put them on with practiced, unthinking ease, then pushed past Willow's legs into the green, sunlit clearing, abuzz with ponies.
> The company looked rather worse for wear. The thestral guard, once so pristine, looked scruffy. Manes were long, and there were a few beards. She saw chipped and ragged hooves, and uneven, shaggy coats. One mare seemed to have a rip in her wing, noticeable even when it was folded up against her side! It made Thistle wince. That must have hurt.
> All of them had had spears strapped to their saddle bags when they left, but that was no longer true.
> One stallion had an eyepatch, and just looking at it made Thistle shudder in sympathy. Perhaps the only consolation was that no one seemed to be missing.
> Her breath caught at the thought and she scanned the crowd. Hisein was there, still on the gelding. He had a beard, too, and his clothes looked like they'd seen better days. His face was darker, and she thought she saw a few gray hairs in there.
> Luna was completely unchanged, of course, but both her peytral and her crown were absent. If anything, she looked relieved to be back, and her eyes widened when she saw Thistle.
> "[It is good to see you again!]" she said in perfect nomad.
> Temir and Willow exchanged glances, and for a moment it was profoundly strange to hear the Princess speak the rough, guttural dialect so perfectly, but Thistle reminded herself that it had been a year for the away party.
> There was only one thing missing. She hadn't noticed it until now, maybe because she didn't want to admit it to herself. Didn't want to give in to despair.
"W-Where is Rainy Day? On no, is she d- d-"
> She couldn't say the word.
> At the sound of her Equestrian words, Luna switched languages smoothly and shook her head. "No. She is well."
"Then where?"
> Hisein's gelding walked closer and he said: "The little pony decided to stay."

>>43115980

> Once again Thistle had to do a double take. She would *never* get used to people switching languages like that! Hisein had had the basics of Equestrian when he'd left, but it looked like he'd picked up a lot more, and practiced, too! There was an accent, of course, but his speech was very understandable.
> Before she could ask her next question, Luna laid a wingtip against her lips. "Later," she said softly. "I must first take care of my ponies. I will explain when we meet Twilight again."
> All Thistle could do was nod, the primary feather tickling her nose and threatening to make her sneeze. She pulled back and inclined her head.
> "Good!" Luna said. If anything, her voice was snappier and more confident than before. She'd grown more used to command and being obeyed in the time away. "Lieutenant Star! Get your squad to Canterlot. You are to shave and wash. Anypony who needs a doctor is to be seen at Canterlot Medical right away. The others eat, rest, and wait for me, and then we shall discuss rewards. You've made me proud! You've made Equestria proud!"
> There was an enthusiastic cheer from the entire guard. One of the batponies threw a smart salute. He was perhaps the most tidy of the lot, with his mane and beard precisely clipped and his tail exquisitely groomed, at least compared to the others. He started barking orders at his squad, who formed a wedge formation and headed off into the distance.
> There was very little ceremony, except for one particular thestral mare who broke away from the others to fly past Hisein. He caught her out of the air and she gave his face a long, friendly lick. The two murmured something, then she pulled free and hurried after the others.
> The little scene made Thistle frown in confusion, and the sad, yet stoic look Hisein directed after her was doubly weird. Luna didn't seem to notice, or care, about this breach of discipline, and neither did the Lieutenant.
> Perhaps some leniency was to be expected after a year-long mission away from their homes, Thistle figured. She determined to ask Hisein about it later, though. Something had obviously happened between the two, or maybe it was still happening. It had looked like a good thing, but with her luck, it was bound to complicate matters.
> The most pressing concern was figuring out what had happened to Rainy Day. She'd decided to *stay*?!
> That didn't make any sense! She opened her mouth to ask Luna again, but the Princess gave her a sharp, almost annoyed glare, and her muzzle snapped shut. It would have to wait.
> Luckily, Temir was already tearing the tent down and, lacking anything better to do, she ran over to help him. The sooner they could be away, the sooner she'd hear what had happened.

> ~~~~

>>43115987

> At least this time the meeting was called out in the open, or nearly so. Twilight had arranged a canopy, like a gazebo made of wood and cloth, to protect them from the worst of Equestria's summer sun. Darga and Intor had been skeptical about the spell against eavesdropping, but after having tested it personally, several times, they grudgingly accepted the arrangement.
> Even among those two, daily use of magic was becoming commonplace. For Thistle, this meant they would no longer have to sit in sweltering heat and - perhaps more importantly - smell stale nomad sweat. Everyone won, really.
> Thoughts of comfort or discomfort flew right out of her mind when Luna began to speak. She picked Equestrian, for Twilight's sake, but Hisein was there to translate for the nomads. It meant Thistle didn't have to do it herself, which was just as well. She had to actively repress the urge to pace.
> Why had Rainy Day remained behind on the nomad world!?
> "So, we found Rainy Day. We needed to learn the language, but luckily Hisein knew a traders' dialect which the people in the Eastern cities understood. It took us almost two months to find the first town and learn how to get to their capitol," Luna began, "and that was after the snow melted and allowed travel on hoof."
> She'd barely finished when Twilight, wielding a parchment and a quill in her magic, burst in: "Were the people similar to nomads? Somepon- someone in the camp said there are people with black skin, and some have yellow skin. Are there any other colors? Did you see them? Are there as many colors as there are for ponies?"
> Thistle ground her teeth and just barely refrained from growling. That wasn't important! Rainy Day was! However, one did not interrupt a Princess, even if one glared daggers at her.
> "They were similar to these nomads. I did not see any differences. They wore different clothes and lived in houses made of stone, and mud, and wood."
> "What kind of wood?" Twilight burst out, even as she scribbled hastily.
> The question gave Luna a pause and she had to consider. Ultimately, she shrugged in defeat. "Just- wood. Similar to what we have. Oh, except that some of them were made from round poles, segmented into about three hoofs-breadths. I think it grows like that."
"Can we focus on Rainy Day, please?" Thistle said, voice creaking with the effort to remain polite.
> "Oh!" Luna exclaimed. "Of course! Where was I?"
> In the short silence, Thistle caught a few murmured words as Hisein faithfully translated all of their discussion. She glanced at the nomads and saw that Intor looked positively disgusted with the questions and the diversions, but Darga had a faint, amused smile on her lips. Curious, but not important right now.

>>43115992

> "Yes, we learned how to get to their capitol. There were mud roads. They do not pave their roads over there. Some of the larger settlements had some streets with stones, but mostly it is mud. Endless mud."
> Her ears had lowered and her eyes nearly closed at the wretched memory. They would have been coming down the mountains right during the wet season, when rivers flooded out of their banks with all the snow runoff, and the rain was plentiful.
> "Anyway," Luna continued, just as Twilight had opened her mouth to ask something. Thistle nearly cheered. "The city is called 'Yin', and it was quite far to the North. Interestingly, it has no walls. I suppose the nation is strong enough and does not fear invasions?"
> A quick glance at the other Princess showed that Twilight was nearly vibrating with unspoken questions. Her eyes were nearly all white, and looked about ready to pop from her head. With a small, long-suffering sigh, Thistle said:
"One question."
> The words were barely out of her mouth before it came out, in a rush: "Youhavetotellmeallaboutitlater! Um, whatdidthepeopleeat?"
> Luna's expression darkened and she shared a quick glance with Hisein. "Similar to what these nomads eat, Twilight. Vegetables. Rice. Grain. Other tubers. Meat."
> "Meat?" Twilight repeated, her purple shade turning a tad greenish around the muzzle. "Oh. Right. Meat. I knew that."
> "The citizens kept livestock. The city did *not* smell nice," Luna added. "Well, except for the palace."
"You were allowed in?"
> "Yes," Luna inclined her head. "We were well-practiced with the disguises at that time. Most people did not understand our language, but a few traders did. We paid them some silver ornaments to translate for us. Everyone in the city was talking about the 'little winged horse'. We knew it could only mean Rainy Day. That is why I gave Night Star - my lieutenant - a disguise of a pegasus stallion. That got us invited into the palace. Perhaps it worked rather *too* well."
> The Princess looked a little uneasy at those words, which sent a shiver down Thistle's spine despite the heat.
"W-What happened?" she asked in a breathless whisper.
> "They wanted to grab him. The only reason they didn't was because myself and the others were heavily armed. My Thestral guard looks quite fierce, even in nomad guises. The ruler's advisors assumed - and rightly so - that there would have been significant bloodshed if they tried. They knew we came from a powerful nation, even if they didn't know which one, or where it is."
"Is that why you couldn't get Rainy Day out? Bloodshed? Was she guarded too well?"

>>43115995

> Luna shook her head. "Nay. We could have reached an agreement. We began to talk about the price. My Royal tiara, and the jewels we brought from Equestria would have been enough. They had never seen gems so large and flawless. I could see their king practically salivating when we presented only a few of them."
> "You were lucky they did not decide to attack and rob you," Hisein jumped in. He repeated the same in the nomad language for the others' benefit.
> Luna chuckled and waved a dismissive hoof at him. Her manner was a lot more familiar than the regal and distant mare she acted toward the others. Perhaps they had become friends?
> "There was no danger. We made it clear that Night Star was an important pony in our land. They knew there would be serious repercussions if we were harmed in any way. Looking at my Thestral guard, even in their human shapes, I knew they believed us."
> "Still..."
"Did you see Rainy Day?"
> "I was getting to that," Luna said curtly, sparing Thistle a quick, annoyed glance. "Rainy Day is a member of the court. She was bought and sold, and re-sold, from trader to trader. She told us her story. It took nearly a year for her to reach those lands, and as soon as the royal family heard of a pony who could speak - even a language they didn't understand - they decreed that such a thing could only belong to them, by divine right. They paid the last trader, but not as much as he'd paid for her, I think. That was what Rainy Day seemed to think. She found some amusement in the fact."
> "Fascinating! They think pegasi are divine beings?" Twilight asked.
> "Yes. That was why Rainy Day was safe. Since she'd lived with them, she had learned the language. She is fed the finest food, and clothed in pretty good silk dresses - made specially for her."
> It was a relief to have the rumors confirmed. The traders had told her that Rainy Day was being treated well, but to have a first-hand - or rather, first hoof - account was comforting. Thistle relaxed back onto her cot, muscles losing some of their tension and the dull ache which had started in the small of her back from the way she'd been sitting.
> "She lacks for nothing. Well, except one thing."
"What?"
> "Rainy Day can no longer fly," Luna said. "Her wings were injured when you and her were taken, and they did not heal right. I got her alone, and I was able to do a little. I have no great skill for medicinal magic, other than quick triage and the most basic spells to close wounds. I was able to align her bones a little, so the pain went away, but she will never fly again unless she goes to the Royal Canterlot Hospital. Maybe not even then. It has been too long."

>>43116000

> "Oh, no," Twilight whispered. Her eyes closed and she hung her head in sorrow. "You should have brought her. We have to try!"
> "She would not leave," Luna repeated. "I told her we could trade for her. If it came to that, we could simply take her and fly away. Other than Hisein and his horse, we all had wings and I could easily carry her on my back. She has grown too used to the court life. Thoughts of Equestria caused her nothing but pain and misery. Even when I said no time has passed on our side, she refused."
"Why would she refuse?" Thistle asked, shaking her head in dismay.
> "She did not say any more. When I pressed the issue, she left and refused to speak to me again."
"You have to know *something*!"
> Luna gave a solemn nod. "I believe I do. My powers in that world were - strange. I could not touch the moon, or the stars of that place. My unicorn magic worked, but it was weaker. Most importantly, I could not really Dreamwalk. There is no Dreamscape in the nomad world, so there was nowhere for me to go. Yet, I could find the dreams of my ponies if they were close enough."
> Everyone was watching her raptly now, even the nomads, after Hisein hastily translated her words.
> "We stayed in the Royal Palace for two nights. On the first, there was nothing. I believe Rainy Day could not sleep after our discussion. She was exhausted enough to slumber in fits and snatches on the second night. I caught a few glimpses."
"And?"
> Luna closed her eyes and let her ears lower. "I believe Rainy Day is in love. There is a young nomad who tended to her with herbs and ointments when her wings hurt the most - early when she first came to the palace. Someone who sat with her and taught her the language, and writing, and their culture. Someone she couldn't help but become infatuated with, much like a captive does with her captor. I do not think this person returns her feelings, but they do hold her in high regard."
> She let out a forlorn sigh. "It's the worst kind of love. Unrequited. Perhaps, in time, it would bloom. Perhaps she would yearn for the rest of her life. She decided to take her chances, rather than leave."
> Twilight let out a soft sniff. "Love? She stayed behind for love?"
"I don't know whether that's beautiful, or idiotic. Surely she wasn't thinking straight! You said it yourself, it's like that symptom! The-"
> She couldn't recall the term, but Twilight helpfully supplied: "Stockcolt Syndrome."
"Yes! We have to go back and get her! We know where to go now. Let's bring some unicorns and take her home!"

>>43116008

> Luna shook her head. "I will speak with my Sister, but I am not sure she will allow it. Rainy Day is a citizen. She has made her choice. She was offered to come back, and decided, in no uncertain terms, that she wanted to stay. Even if traumatised, she was of sound mind. I'm afraid Sister will honor that decision, however painful it may be for us."
"No!" Thistle stood up, ears flat and tail swishing. "If we wait until you talk with Celestia, and she takes a few hours to think it over, another *decade* will pass for Rainy Day. She'll be an old mare before we get her home! We have to do it *now*!"
> "Worry not," Luna said, a little more cheerfully. "I have spent many moons studying the portal on the other side. We returned to it only two months too late to enter Equestria, so I had plenty of time. I believe I have devised a spell to control it. We can turn it back. If Sister agrees we need to bring Rainy Day home, we can go to the time six months from when we returned."
"Why not sooner? Why not go back to before she fell so foolishly in love?"
> Now Luna's smile slipped, and her expression grew serious. Thistle felt as if a cloud had covered the sun. "These are not matters to be trifled with. We cannot go back and change any events we already know. Us knowing what has happened, and then changing it, could be disastrous."
> Her solemn, ominous tone was like a physical force, pushing Thistle back down on her haunches. She swallowed a lump and managed a quick nod of agreement.
> Six more months, she thought. Just hold on six more months, Rainy Day! We'll come for you! I promised!

>>43116008

Who had a bet on "Stockholm Rainy Day"? You win the Internet today!

Don't worry, though, magic will surely come to the rescue, right?

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Bumping to read

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dumb pony streaking the glass, needs correction

>>43116805
Hooves are a debuff for cleaning.
Pony belongs in the bed.

>>43116798
That's a tiny pone