DAY ONE OPEN POST

[ino]

[Welcome to the beautiful village of Konoha!



How about you spend some time looking around?]

[ ACADEMY | 44TH TRAINING GROUND | HOKAGE MONUMENT | ICHIRAKU RAMEN | KONOHA HOT SPRINGS | YAMANAKA FLOWER SHOP

For more information on the village and its locations, check out Narutopedia, or feel free to PM/IM (terraqueous orb)/Plurk (chomesuke) me for questions! There will be no plot NPCs in this post (other than Ino, I guess, but she's not really an NPC), but feel free to NPC any town people you want/need, civilian or ninja. ]

Comments

[doublethefun]

[she likes kids! She's just sort of stern and kind of scary.

Thankfully, the kids crowd around Cadence, ooh-ing and aah-ing at the flip. Luna, on the other hoof, hangs out a few paces behind the pink princess.]

It is not an entirely new thing, but foals on the whole tend to avoid me.

[loveisabattlefield]

(But she's not so scary! Human kids like ponies! And it's not like there's been need for the Royal Canterlot Voice.)

Maybe they're just curious. Humans aren't very used to ponies. Or maybe they like you.

(Even though they're currently around Cadence, it doesn't matter too much. Kids like cool things. And Luna's pretty darn cool.)

[doublethefun]

[true. The complete lack of fear in the humans threw her off a bit at the beginning.

Earflick.] They seem to have accepted our presences rather easily. Thou dost seem rather accustomed to them, however.

[a couple are edging towards Luna again, however]

[loveisabattlefield]

(Seems like no one told them about Nightmare Moon. That's probably for the best.)

Well, I've always loved taking care of young ones. I took take care of Twilight when she was a foal.

But even at that, this place feels so second nature. Don't you think it's strange that we're somehow used to this place?

[doublethefun]

[huh. She didn't know that.]

Perhaps thou wilt enjoy May than many of the others did.

[there's a slight grimace] I would hate to think that the castle hath altered our minds as well.

[going crazy sucks]

[loveisabattlefield]

It might be something more than just minds because I'm definitely not this athletic. I don't know what it is at all, but it's very strange.

(And most ponies can't be ninjas. Or this acrobatic. Except Daring Do. It's still hard to tell exactly what's going on.)

...May? Who's May?

[doublethefun]

[oooh. So that's what you meant.]

From the general reactions, an annual event doth occur in the month of May, wherein residents may or may not be paired up and given a child to care for.

[loveisabattlefield]

(Oh, so it's not a person. The real answer is stranger than that, but Cadence actually seems pretty receptive of it.)

Oh, that sounds wonderful! I would love to help raise a child!

[doublethefun]

[there's just an impassive look]

They are here for nary a week and then are gone.

[also Shining Armor sort of had two foals with Fluttershy, but she's not going to mention that]

[loveisabattlefield]

(Good call. Considering she still doesn't know Shining was here, that'd be a little too much to handle.)

Where do they go afterwards?

[doublethefun]

[...yup. She's totally delegating that task to Twilight.]

To their homes, presumably. I can only hope 'tis an...alternate reality of some sort, rather than a simple deceit of the castle.

[loveisabattlefield]

...I hope so, too. Otherwise, it wouldn't be fair to those who take care of them and to the children themselves.

(Then again, fairness isn't usually a thing here. She smiles a bit.)

I think I'll worry more about that when the time comes. In the mean time, we have enough children to handle.

(Because there's still that group and one of them was playing with Cadence's tail. Silly kids.)

[doublethefun]

[a sigh. Well, whatever. Just don't get too attached, niece.

And here, one of the downfalls of having extremely interesting, gravity defying, hair presents itself. Emboldened by the other kid's success, one of the kids reaches forward to tug on Luna's tail.

She takes a step back, smiling awkwardly. If her royal dignity allowed for it, one might say she's attempting to hide behind the smaller mare.

To the kids:] Do you not have lessons or some such activities?

[there's a hearty chorus of 'no's.]

[loveisabattlefield]

(No promises, auntie.

...sadly, this is what happened when you stick something (or in this case, somepony) interesting in a middle of a group of kids. Kids with grabby hands. Foals tend to do that, too.

But at the very least, it does remind Cadence of why she jumped down towards Luna and her entourage.)

That's okay; I know something that'll be fun! Why don't we go over there and try it out!

(To Luna:)I can take over if you want to sneak away.

[doublethefun]

[yup. Her esteem of you just went up. There's a grateful smile before she manages to escape the circle, turns the corner at a quick trot, and...disappears into the shadows.]