>The pizza parlor floor, previously pristine and clean enough to eat on, is now a cheese covered mess. The warm remains of the goo stick to everyone's fur and royal guard armors. Except your own body, the blast of your hoof gun polite enough to deflect all incoming drops. Wew.
"I did it!" You jump in the air. "We did it lads! Is everypony okay?" You ask out loud, already walking towards Lorie. The poor mare is totally covered in slowly hardening cheese. "Hey Lorie, hang in there, mate" You try to give her a hug, but somehow you don't believe it would be in her benefit right now.
>"G-Grape... It hurts..." the mare tries to speak, her small eyes squinting in all directions. You shush her with a hoof and go grab her glasses, putting them on her face with a tender wing.
"We'll get you assistance immediately, don't move" you're about to glide out of the place, when suddenly three griffons, no more, no less, enter in order of size, almost causing you to chuckle.
>"I just got here in time to grab that last shot! Well done, Grape!" Garrett Silverwing, the journalist, smiles with his camera held up high. "I'd offer you another interview, but I think I need to talk budgets with the crown again, heh..."
>"Step aside! Oh my...!" The middle sized griffon, a chick with a nurse uniform, approaches Lorie. "Grace, bring the stretcher, quick! Don't worry" she lays on the floor, next to the mare's face. "We'll clean all that in a jiffy, and I'll make sure you don't lose a single hair in your coat."

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>>25599991
>"Yeah yeah, whatever" the smaller griffon approaches with the stretcher. He's so ridiculously tiny, even shorter than Sweet. However, his wings are full size, adding to the comical effect. "Hurry up already. More assistance is coming this way!" He yells at the rest of the present ponies. "Those of you without serious injuries, please move to the Trottingham Medical Center and we'll treat you in order of gravity."
"Well, at least you're doing your job on time" you point out. You remember these two, from the times you've been to the clinic. "Graceful and Graceless Flight, am I right?"
>"Please, just Grace and Grace" Graceless, the tiny male, raises a claw in objection, looking at you from down below.
"Whatever. Can we stick with our friend until we know she's fine?"
>"Negative."
>"Hey now, at least let us follow up to the hospital" Sweet approaches with a steady trot.
>"Hmmmmm..." Graceless looks at him, then at you, then at everyone else in the room, then back at Sweet. "Okay, you can come."
>"Oi!" Sunny raises her voice, but the little griffon snaps his claws, and he along with his sister move Lorie into the stretcher with great care and take her out of the parlor.
>"Well, I guess I'll go make sure they leave her in good care" Sweet explains while you all walk out of the restaurant. "Do you think you could take care of dinner? I mean, unless you'd rather wait and let me do it..."

Welcome back! There are additions to the character sheet. Voting is open as always.

>>25600011
We'll take care of dinner. It'll be the most delicious thing you've ever eaten sweet! Wanna come to dinner Sunny?

>>25600011
Dinner will be a good time to take stock. What should we focus our efforts on tomorrow? The other two constructs aren't exactly far along, we could afford to look into the missing gears or even try to find Tess again, though Lorie might not be able to come with us if she was hurt badly.

>>25600011
Don't worry about it Sweet. You almost always make dinner, it wouldn't hurt for me to do it once. Promise not to burn the house down.

I'm guessing maybe there's a reason Sweet always cooks, Grape is probably a terrible cook. I'm thinking we make anything that includes wine. Or whatever is in the fridge and drink wine with it.

>>25600232
Remember not to get too drunk~ pony hangovers are the worst, plus we want to have our wits about us for the investigation.

>>25600149
>>25600194
>>25600232
>>25600267
"Don't worry about it, Sweet!" You tap your fluffless chest with a hoof. "You always make dinner, but I'm sure nothing wrong will happen if I take over for one night. What's the worst that could happen?" You shoot a big smile your friend's way.
>"Yeah... heh..." Sweet scratches his neck. Behind him, Sunny Care trots out of the restaurant, cleaning some of her fur with a cloth. Seems like she's taken the cheese out of her already, somehow. She didn't have much, lucky her.
"Oh, hey Sunny!" You have an idea. "Want to come for dinner? Sweet will go with Lorie to the hospital, so we could eat together!"
>"Yes! Please Sunny, eat with us!" Sweet suddenly bursts. "And would it be too much of a bother to lend Grape a tiny little hoofsie making dinner?"
>"Dinner? Sure! I don't know anything too elaborate, though..."
"Eh, that's fine. I'm not a genius either. That's why I keep Sweet locked in" you wink and show the brown colt your tongue. He rolls his eyes and gets moving along with the nurses, while other ponies in white coats arrive with stretchers and toolkits, to help the guards and owners.

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>>25600449
>The sun is still up, but checking the clock in the bell tower, you can see that it will be night pretty soon. It still gives you and Sunny time to prepare something, though. You arrive home and ask the mare to get comfortable while you take a shower. However, Sunny insists on helping you and showing you a little of tricks to keep your, in her words, 'messy' mane in better conditions.
"Neigh" is your more repeated response as the yellow mare scrubs your mane clean. When she's done, it literally sparkles, like the princesses. "Wow! You really weren't lying, were you?"
>"Oh, please, who do you think I am, a unicorn?" The earh pony looks deep into your eyes. After a few seconds of silence, both of you burst into laughter. "Come on, let's make dinner!"
"Yeah!" You happily lead your friend towards the kitchen and show her what you have. There's a lot of fruit, some carrots, onions, garlic, cucumbers, eggs (which Sweet hates, but you love) plenty of bread and cheese, a lot of grape related products like jam and juice, oats (both natural and in paste, goes great with the jam), a bit of pasta, and there's the wine cellar, of course. Now you need to choose what to cook for three tonight...

>>25600466
Let's make some cucumber sandwiches?

>>25600466
I... Know nothing about cooking. Maybe make some oatcakes and eat them with jam and slices of fruit?

>>25600466
Let's strike up convo with Sunny.

"So... Sunny, where you from? Guessing you're not from Trottingham."

>>25600511
>>25600524
>>25600607
>Your genius mind starts calculating hundreds, neigh, thousands! of recipes, combining all the ingredients for a full horse meal.
>"Grape?" Sunny, seeing your distressed face, puts a hoof in your side. "Let's just make some sandwiches, maybe? Remember, nothing too complicated."
"Uh, ah? Oh, alright..." you nod. "Yeah, that's the best idea. Thanks Sunny."
>Immediately, the earth mare and you get to work in a simple dinner, some sandwiches, some oatcakes and a nice wine to improve it all. There's fruit and jam and other things to accompany the meal, so you will definitely not starve. Even then, you almost burn the cucumber sandwiches. Damn hooves, how do they even work?
"So, Sunny..." you strike conversation with your friend in the meantime. "How about you tell me a bit about yourself? We've known each other for a few days, but we only meet when we have to banish monsters out of this dimension."
>"That's true, I don't really know that much about you" she replies. "What do you want to know?"
"Weeeell..." you conjure up a smile. "I don't suppose you would tell me where you are from? I mean... I have the strange sensation that you weren't born in Trottingham."
>As soon as you pose the question, Sunny freezes in place. She turns around with a frown.
>"I... I'm not one to boast of heritage, that's for certain..."
"Oh, come on, what's the worst that could happen?" You make a few poses while working. "I promise I won't laugh or judge."
>"Is that so..." she gives you short glances out of the corners of her eyes. "Well, okay, I'll take your word. I was born at the... s..." her voice becomes an infinite whisper.
"Beg your pardon?"

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>>25600985
>"The Hay... S..."
"I'm sorry Sunny, I can't really hear you" you get closer to her, and then she simply yells in your ear.
>"The Haysead Swamps, corn dangit!" The moment these words leave her muzzle, the pony immediately covers them with her hooves, soon calming down. "However, that was a long time ago..." she gets back to work without looking.
"Oh, I see..." you have to really make some mental effort not to laugh and marvel at the situation. Sunny must have really worked to get rid of all her mannerisms, even if they show up sometimes.
>To calm things down, you tell her a bit of your life, which really isn't too interesting. You've lived in Trottingham all your life, and your parents left to live somewhere on the other side of Equestria many moons ago. You still keep in touch with them, but each time the letters take longer to arrive. During your tale, night arrives, dinner is made and served, and Sweet arrives from the hospital.
>"Looks like Lorie will be fine tomorrow" he explains. "Wow, nice dinner, you two! I honestly expected something much more convoluted, and somehow failing."
"Thanks for the trust" you boop Sweet. "Anyway, Lorie asked me to go investigate the whereabouts of Tess with her, but I don't know if I should ask her tomorrow... There's also the problem with the missing clockwork" you take a look at your Construct Tracker, resting by the side of the table. 15% and 48% "These two aren't really going anywhere just yet."
>"I'll most definitely visit Lorie tomorrow" Sunny comments. "Maybe we can arrange something then?"
>After dinner and idle chat is done, Sunny prepares to leave. Sweet offers her to stay.
>"I wouldn't want to impose. Besides..." she looks past the door of your house, where darkness reigns. "So far we didn't get any problems at night, and the tracker doesn't show anything bad happening, so it should be fine, right?" She smiles at you.

>>25601009
She is right about nothing happening at night. We can also walk her halfway home and then go back ourselves.

>>25601009
Truely such fluff would have been wasted in a swamp.

If you feel like you want to risk it.

After she leaves let's cuddle Sweet unconsentually.

>>25601090
>>25601176
"Well, you're right at nothing happening during night..." you tap your chin and observe the dark streets again. "Even then, let me at least walk you half way home."
>"Aww, such a sweetheart..." Sunny bobs up and down. "Alright then, let's go through downtown!"
>You and Sunny walk all the way to the beginning of the southern district, and lo and behold, nothing happens. The guards on patrol take short turns, for their bodies are not used to this little amount of naps, but they're doing their job nevertheless. That alone fills you with a great sense of pride. Sunny gives you one heck of a hug and heads home, while you fly above the buildings and return home.
>Inside, you find Sweet taking care of the dishes and stocking everything back where it belongs.
>"I'm proud of you, Grape" he comments while you help him. "You didn't even put a scratch in the kitchen, it's all pretty clean!"
"You flatterer, you..." you reply, waving a hoof. "Still, Sunny helped a lot. We need to do this kind of stuff more often!"
>"Heh, yeah. Maybe you'll forget your obsession with Nightmare Night then."
"I beg your pardon!?"
>"N-Nothing!" Sweet tries to cover his face, but the soaked kitchen cloth is already flying at full speed, impacting right on his muzzle. You scream with a horsey laugh, until the cloth goes right back to you, and then Tartarus breaks loose in your kitchen, Sweet and you throwing soap and cloths to each other.

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>>25601401
>You head off to bed, but a thought strikes you: when was the last time you shared a bed with Sweet? You used to do that all the time when you first became business partners, but at some point, he simply decided to give you a room and sleep separately. It fills your heart with bubbles, just thinking about those nights cuddling and talking about grapes. Dammit, you love grapes.
"Sweet...?" You tiptoe inside the colt's room and get up his bed.
>"Grape? What's the mat- hoh!" He tries to turn around, but you grip his body with all four legs. "G-Grape, let go, come on!"
"Nuh-uh" you whisper on his ear, and he seems to calm down. "It's been a long time since we had a night together, hasn't it?"
>"Uh... yeah, it has."
"Why would that be?"
>"Because!" He screams, suddenly calming down, squirming in your grasp. "I don't think two adult ponies should..."
"Horse bollocks" you spit out. "You like cuddling, I like cuddling, it's a perfectly healthy thing to do between friends" you hold him close until the shivering stops, then lay down and rest, satisfied. "Good night, Sweet."
>"Good night, Grape" he replies, and while you doze off, you believe to hear him talking to himself. "Between friends, yeah..."
>The next morning, you find out with great discomfort that the plushy pony has left you alone in the morning. Why how rude! However, he's making it up with breakfast, as always.
>"So, the plan for this morning?" He asks while eating. "Sunny and I will go visit Lorie as soon as possible, so you can come with us or do it at your own pace."

>>25601421
Let's check the construct meters but yeah let's go see Lorie.

>>25601421
Let's visit Lorie. We can make our decision after speaking with her and seeing if she's alright

>>25601421
After we see Lorie we should buckle down and really get to finding these constructs! We don't want another close call like last time. I'm thinking of checking with how cleaning up the clockwork is going offshore and see if anything is fishy there.

>>25601421
Check the progress and go to see Lorie as well.

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>>25601528
>>25601584
>>25601601
>>25601896
"Yep, I'm going with you alright!" You flex your legs and finish your breakfast. Mmm, eggs, murder feels so delicious in your tummy. After a quick clean with some fine morning wine, you grab your construct demolishing tools and get out on the streets with Sweet. The tracker gives you 17% and 55%. You'll have to watch for that second one.
>At the medical center, you find Sunny already waiting to see Lorie. Visiting hours start soon enough, and you're all allowed to enter. Lorie rests in a completely strapped bare bed, laying on her stomach and covered with some strange blue bandages all over her body.
>"These are some special covers that peel off the cheese and allow her fur to be restored without trouble" the nurse, Graceful Flight, explains while you stay in the room. "She should be ready to go later today, perhaps tomorrow."
"Really? Aw..."
>"Sorry, we underestimated just how deep the cheese was" the griffon puts her beak very close to your face. "It was very, very deep."
>You all shudder collectively, while Lorie covers her face in shame.

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>>25601966
"I guess that means no searching for Tess today" you nod. "But as soon as you're fine, we can do that, alright?"
>"Yes, please. We need to end this as soon as possible. I've already computed a few starting points, and I believe we'll get something in less than seven point twenty one hours after we start" the unicorn proudly proclaims.
>While Lorie is down, you decide to investigate the disappearance of some of that massive pile of clockwork left after the fight with the construct on shore. You start heading out of the clinic, but then you notice something: your most and least liked guards in town, Mercury Helm and Rainbow Way, are talking with Graceless Flight, who seems very agitated. The unicorn notices you and calls you over.
>"Grape, great luck having you here" he explains. "Apparently there's been some trouble in this center lately."
>"You tell her!" The small griffon chirps. "There's been noises, things missing, the patients aren't getting their sleep! I swear, if it's one of those damn monsters again..."
>"Since you're always ahead, I'd like you to know that we'll investigate this during the evening today" Mercury explains, while Rainbow keeps asking the nurse questions. "Are you up for it? This time we got guns" he raises his eyebrows and shows you his sparkling water gun, hanging off his side.

I'll be back tomorrow!

>>25601978
Let's agree to meet up with Merc later tonight at the health center. For now let's head to the coast where the gear cleanup is going down and see if we can find that mare, Angler Seas, we talked to. Maybe she'll have some new information or help she can provide.

>>25601978
by the way the boards moving rather fast, it's possible the thread could die

>>25602523
I agree with this.

Going to bed bump

>>25601421
Aww, Sweet wants us so bad. I want to see if he will ever make any advances.