[sleepysheep7]

Nickel Shine:

Even though the Sun began to touch the small town of Hoofton the town was alive and active with ponies from all walks of life preparing for the day. Shop keepers were dusting off shelves and putting up fresh goods, Ore workers were heading up towards the cosmic mountain range to begin another day of mining for gems, and mares were making sure that they had the lunches ready for the young foals that would be heading off to school. Nickel was already wide awake before Celestia had made the sun rise getting the last few of his goods into his pack. He took a look at himself in the mirror in his bedroom making a mild attempt to make his fire brick mane was somewhat cleaned up before he left. Once he was finished, he went down to the main living area of his home where he saw his father and mother waiting for him.
"Good Mornin Pa. Mornin Ma."
He said with a bit of yawn as he moved towards them adjusting the bag to not hitting anything. Upon seeing Nickel Shine, his mother got up from where she was sitting and moved towards the young stallion and nuzzled his cheek With a bit of worry and happiness.
"Good morning my little Nickle. Would you like some breakfast?"
She said in a sweet tone.
" No thanks Ma. I have to get down to the Devilry cart."
He said as he looked at her with a smile. Nickels mother looked like she wanted to pout but took a step back.
" I suppose you're right. After all, we did work so very hard to get those gems out of the range. Is there anything you want to say dear?"
She said as she looked towards her husband who was sipping a cup of black coffee. The older stallion though simple looked at his youngest son and simple gave him a nod of approval at what his son had said before going back to his coffee.
"Don't worry Ma. I'll be fine. I promise."
Nickel said as he nuzzled her slightly on her cheek before he took a step back and began to head towards the door.
"Okay I'm off. I'll bring you back something nice when I get back from Canterlot."
He said as he opened the door and began to head towards the heart of Hoofton. Nickels Mother walked over towards the door watching her youngest son begin his new journey.
Dear Princess Celestia keep him safe."
She said with a bit of a sad and happy tone in her mix.

[Sena]

"But mothe-!" Tinsel insisted as her mother hurried her out of the door, literally seconds after Tinsel wolfed down her breakfast.
"Now, Now Dear: No time for chit chat, we're running late!" Her mother took Tinsel by the hoof and made her hop down the cobble path way.
'But we're not are we?' Tinsel thought, her mind saying the thought with a tone of sarcasm. Her mother was impatient, but Ms. Sparkle had to be, this was a business opportunity for her daughter. Well not really, it was a delivery job, but Ms. Sparkle saw it as a chance for her daughter to find her own brand of clothing, using the wonderful ideas outside of Hoofton.

"Now what do you do if you get an idea?" Her mother asked inquisitively, a look of excitement appearing on her face.
"I write it down, mother, we discussed this last night!" Tinsel snapped back, her wings a flutter. Her mother gave a slightly sad face at her daughters reply. All she wanted was the best for her daughter, and now...well now she had a chance of making some money out of her. Every Mothers dream.

The walked in silence for about 10 minutes, Tinsel reassuring herself nothing bad would come of her as long as she wasn't alone. Her stomach filled with butterflies as they approached the center of Hoofton. There seemed to be a crowd. Eugh, commoners.
"Please make way!" Ms. Sparkle insisted to the crowd, making herself known. Tinsel stopped and looked up at her mother.
"Mother, please, I'll be fine from here, you just go back home and look after Dad." Her voice was lowered as she stared round at the other older ponies gazing at her from the crowd.

"She seems to be the first to arrive!" A pony called out from the crowd, you could see him jumping at the back. How could he even see Tinsel from over there?! It wasn't a big matter though.
"Second thoughts...I'll wait for another pony...I'm to scared to go up their alone!" Tinsel said, her eyes nearly in tears as she faced her mother.

[Ria]

Rocky walked through the busy streets of Hoofton with her eyes fixated firmly on the ground. Some grunts could be coming from her, probably from frustation. She bumped into a few ponies and disturbed some animals, but she was to focused to care about anything else. "The gravel here seems to be different than in the southern part of Hoofton. Very interesting. I wonder if they come from other parts of Equestria and happen to end up here..." She muttered to herself as she picked up some samples and put them in her bag. She continued walking until she noticed that the crowd got a bit more concentrated up ahead.

"Right, the thing." She sighed as she approached the crowd. "I could've sworn it was on Sunday...what's wrong with me?" She murmured to herself when she got in between two earth ponies. She avoided eye contact to avoid staring an awkward conversation. She started looking down and kicking some small pebbles around to pass the time.

[Kangaroo]

Sea Breeze dug his hoof into the soil below him as he looked over the hill at where the other ponies were gathering. There was a huge crowd of ponies already there. He expected there to be a lot, but he could never have imagined this many. He wondered how many of them were actually signed up to make the delivery.

"Well... There's no way I can back out now," he said as he turned around to head down the hill. But as he began to walk away, something down there caught his eye. Was that a... a bull? No, wait, it was a moose. He was sure of it. What was it doing staring at the soil over there? Well, it's not like he would go ask anyway. He sighed as he slowly made his way down the hill and began walking in the direction of the crowd.

"Why do I even have to do this?" he wondered aloud, nearly tripping over a small rock. "Just 'cause mom says I need to... What kind of reason is that?" There was hardly any interaction between Breeze and his mother this morning, as usual, despite the fact that he was headed out on a huge journey all by himself. He thought about that, amongst other things as he slowly trotted along.

[sleepysheep7]

Nickel Shine:

Nickel began to walk toward the center of the town where the farewell for the delivery driver was being held.
"Wow, the crowd is much larger this year then last year."
Nickel thought to himself as he began to walk towards the center of the crowd where the delivery cart was it. It was filled to the top with precious gems that had either the color of the golden sun or the color of the pale full moon. Nickel looked around to see if any other pony had to come to be part of the delivery. So far it didn't look like it due to the large crowd obscuring his view.
"Well I guess it is just me at the moment."
He said with a bit of a nervous gulp. Still the young stallion went to the front and up to a Hoofton unicorn who was looking over a sheet to see who had signed up.
" Excuse me sir, I'm here to deliver the Sun and Moon Gems."
He said in trying to not draw to much attention to himself.
Still the pony looked up from the list with wide eyes and a large grin.
"WELL THANK CELESTIA!"
The pony said as he pushed Nickel in front of the cart.
"I thought all the ponies who had signed up had bailed out or something for a minute their. Now what's your name son?"
The unicorn continue as he used his magic to flip through the papers.
"Uh...Nickel Shine Sir."
He said a bit nervously taken back a bit by how forward the Unicorn.
"Nickel Shine,Nickel Shine, Nickel Shine. AH, here we go! Looks like your Pa signed you up! Trust your gonna love it!"
The Unicorn said as he checked off the name then walked over to a podium that viewed that crowd.
"Hello EverPony!"
The Unicorn said into a microphone getting the crowds attention.
"I Would like to happily introduce are first gem escort who has checked in Nickel Shine."
The Unicorn said as he pointed a hoof over at Nickel. Nickel simple stood there putting on a brave smile waving a hoof at the crowd not sure if he should say something or simple get ready to leave.
"I guess I'll wait until another checks in before I start getting ready to go."
Nickel Thought to himself as he shifted his weight from one hoof to another trying to show that he was a bit nervous.

[Sena]

Tinsel stood around waiting with her mother as she saw a fellow pony walk past her towards the unicorn, appearing to have the hold up papers. She took a deep breath and turned to her mother.
"Mother, I'll be going now, I'll see you when I get back, and I know, I know, bring some good designs home!" She wore a fake smile as she nodded at her mother, her insides churning out of nervousness. Her mother let a single tear fall down her face before thinking 'That's my girl...THAT'S MY GIRL!'

Just as Tinsel was about to head down to the unicorn, he suddenly got everyone's attention. 'Nickel Shine' She beamed a smile as she slowly pushed through the crowd. She brushed her small mane as she reached the unicorn. After giving an attention seeking cough she looked up at the unicorn, her cute eyes gazing at him.
"My name is Tinsel Sparkle, I'm here for the gem escort~" She gave another smile as the unicorn checked his list.
"Tinsel...Tinsel...Sparkle was it?" Tinsel nodded at the unicorn. "Ah! AHA! Found you!" He winked down at Tinsel, causing her to blush. The unicorn let out another announcement, announcing Tinsel as the second escort. She raised a hoof to wave to the crowd, shifting her mane around as she embraced a few cheers.

[Ria]

After a few minutes of receiving awkward stares and hearing some comments from some other ponies, Rocky decided she had had enough with standing between the two ponies. She glanced around the crowd looking for the other delivery ponies and spotted a unicorn that appeared to have the papers.
"Great, I have to make it through the crowd again, don't I?" She sighed. She often wondered why others crowded around places so much. Not even sheep did that where she lived. She figured it must be a cultural thing.

"Excuse me, pardon...could you please move?" She muttered as she passed through the crowd. She was a bit taller than the ponies, so obviously she was easily distinguished from else, sticking out like a sore thumb. When she finally reached the unicorn with the papers, she still had to wait a bit for the ponies in front of her, so she started humming a tune.

[Kangaroo]

Sea Breeze was very close the the cart now, surrounded by a crowd of other ponies. A few of them seemed to be getting restless, and with all the movement he was elbowed and kneed and pushed until he came out into a small opening in the center. There was the cart in all it's glory, nearly overflowing with sparkling gems. A unicorn stood near the cart, checking a scroll he was holding. Breeze assumed it was the list of those going on the voyage. He poked the unicorn once, then again, until he turned around."Excuse me, sir... I'm Sea Breeze... here to help deliver the gems,"

"Would 'ya look at that, another pony here to help!" the unicorn shouted, causing Breeze to flinch. All of the ponies in the crown stomped their hooves in unison. Breeze glanced around, taking in the sheer scale of it all. Then he noticed a figure among the crowd that didn't quite fit in... It was that moose from before. "Is she planning on delivering the gems, too?" He wondered.

[sleepysheep7]

Nickel Shine:

As the crowds continued He heard the announcer mention another two ponies that were going to join him. The first was a very young filly who was probably at most no more then a grade school student.
"Well, that is mighty odd but then again parents do sign up kids for this stuff all the time. Heck, I'm livin proof."
Nickel thought as he watched the Filly get in front of the cart and the crowd. After her, another Pony appeared. This one was about Nickels age maybe a bit older. He had a blond mane and a light blue coat but what stuck out to Nickel was his cutie mark.
"A....Sail boat?"
Nickel thought with a bit of a confused look but he quickly wiped the confused look off of his face realizing that he was being a bit judgmental.
" Who are you to judge him? After all your technically still a blank flank."
Nickel thought putting emphasis on the last two words that the other ponies back in grade school would use to tease those with out a cutie mark yet. Still Nickel tried his best to put the thought out of his head as quickly as possible as he walked up to both ponies who were now in front of the cart along with him.
"So you two are also helping?"
He said with a smile as he looked from the stallion to the filly.
"Well that is mighty useful. I thought for a few minutes I was going to have to pull this cart all by myself to Canterlot. By the Way my name is Nickel Shine."
He said to see if he could spot the last member of the group.

[Kangaroo]

"Uhh, yeah. I'm Sea Breeze..." he replied, turning to face the colt. The way he stared at Breeze's cutie mark made him feel uncomfortable, but he tried not to show it. "Huge crowd here... huh? Sort of... Well, a LOT bigger than I thought it'd be. How many ponies are actually participating?" he asked.

[Ria]

Rocky finished the paperwork and turned over to the ponies near her. It seemed everypony was socializing already. She knew she would have to talk to them eventually, so she might as well introduce herself...but at the same time, they'd probably comment on her appearance and ask questions. "I guess I should at least say hi..." She thought to herself as she walked closer.

"Hey." She muttered quickly. She was sure she was interrupting something, but she didn't pay mind to it at all. Quietly she started asking herself how many ponies actually signed up and how many were just lingering around to disrupt her personal space.

[Kartoffel-Chan]

Mist Twist zoomed past the crowd before landing besides the cart, "Ah, am I late?!" she asked nervous, her forelegs pawing at the ground anxiously, and wings ruffled. She suddenly stopped, and straightened up slightly, trying to compose herself, "Ah, sorry. Hello, Mist Twister, reporting for duty!" she said her expression suddenly serious.

As she waited for the unicorn in charge of the list to check her in she looked around at the nearest ponies. Most seemed pretty young- And wasn't that the Shine boy with a 'blank flank'? She thought before the unicorn found her name on the list and said something folksy. Mist smiled at him before turning her attention to the others. Her eyes widened as she spotted the moose, "Oh my gosh! You're a moose!" she said zooming up to the creature. Suddenly as if remembering how rude that sounded she blushed slightly, "Um, er, I mean, nice to meet you my name is Mist Twister! I look forward with getting work with you~" she said and then raised her voice to say, "Actually, I'm lookin' forward to working with y'all!" she said smiling sweetly and shaking out her wings.

[Ria]

Rocky looked at the new arrival and sighed. "Gee, here I was thinking I was doing an awesome job at hiding my antlers." She murmured in a sarcastic monotone. "Nice to meet ya, Twister. I'm Rocky Range." She said with a small and forced smile. "Yeah. Looking forward to working with ya too." She added with an emphasis on working. She hoped that the others ponies were dedicated types, she didn't have much patience for others. Of course, she knew she's probably end up doing a lot of work anyways then sleep through the next day, so she couldn't really complain.

[sleepysheep7]

Nickel Shine:

"From what I remember I think two more are on their way."
Nickle responded to Sea Breeze. However as he finished his sentence a moose and a Pegasus appeared up on stage. It took Nickel a minute to stop staring at the moose to realize that the entire team had shown up.
"Oh uh...It's nice to meet both of you. Since we're all here I guess we should get going."
Nickel said to the group as he walked over to the Unicorn who was in charge.
"Is that everyone? If it is then you tell the crowd we will be going now."
Nickel asked the Unicorn who flipped through the pages.
"It looks so! If any last minute gem escorts show up I'll point at the trail! Good luck to all of you!"
The Unicorn said fairly loud so that each gem escort could hear him. As Nickel walked back over to the group he grabbed one of the straps in the front of the cart and put it around his waist waiting for the others to do the same.

[Kangaroo]

Breeze grabbed the second strap and put it on. "Well, I guess I don't have a choice. It might not even be that bad," he thought with a sigh.