#silverglade reimagined

[ginnyzero]

Completely Harmless Ch. 63

Completely Harmless An SSO SilverGlade Re-imagining Story (Or Fix it Fan Salt fic) By Ginny O.

When Lily and her friends wanted to buy horses and were directed to the Silverglade Manor and its myriad of problems, they didn’t expect to start a revolution. They were just a bunch a stable girls. Completely harmless. Right?

A/N: Things are only canon if I say they’re canon. Pre-Saving the Moorland Stables compliant for the most part. Posted in its entirety on my website. Posted in 2000 to 4000 word bits here. Rated T for Swearing Word Count 177,577

Chapter Sixty-Three Rescue Time (but First Needling Mr. Sands)

Lily took another slice of lasagna. “This is actually decent lasagna.”

Mr. Sands’ brow twitched.

“Did you get the recipe from Catherine?” Lily asked.

Alex and Justin left. Justin giving a tour guide type of spiel. Lily figured he wouldn’t s how Alex anyplace sensitive. Which was fine. They didn’t need to see anything sensitive.

Mr. Sands stared at Lily.

She continued to eat. “When are you going to tell that poor boy that you killed his mother’s friends?”

“He wouldn’t exist if I hadn’t.” Mr. Sands frowned. “His father hid his heritage from him.”

“Hmm, I’m not sure how telling anyone that your grandmother is the Baroness of your district but we can’t associate with her because your grandfather, her ex-husband is an immortal alien who wants to take over the world is going to go over well.” Lily licked the fork suggestively. “I mean, there are May December romances, and then there’s you.”

Sabine and Jessica snickered.

“You know quite a bit more than you should.”

“What can I say? I have a face that people trust.” Lily shrugged and continued to eat. “You smile. You nod. You let them talk. People love to talk about themselves. The Baroness though, she was a tougher nut to crack. She doesn’t do talk. She does actions. Deeds. So, was it something you did or didn’t do that tore you two apart?”

Mr. Sands snorted. “Don’t be foolish enough to think I had any feelings towards her. She was a means to an end, no more. She didn’t have what I needed.”

“Hmm, it’s interesting to me that you were able to contain Anne, but not Lisa.” Lily stuck the fork into the lasagna.

“Oh, they fought,” Jessica said.

Sabine smirked. “But not enough.”

“You don’t need a Dark Rider,” Lily mused. “So, why keep Anne imprisoned?”

“Elise is not my recruit.”

“Oh, contingency plans.” Lily nodded. The name Elise sounded familiar but she couldn’t place it off the top of her head. “Clever enough.” She finished her slice and set down her plate. “I’ll go catch up with Justin and Alex. They might need minding. And I’m the one they think is the flirt.” Lily pushed her hair back over her shoulder strutting from the room.

She found Alex and Justin pretty easily.

“Hanging out here all day sounds like a bore,” Alex said as they wandered around a large room.

“There are plans to be set in motion,” Justin said. “And it’s not that bad.”

“No place to ride. No elbow room. Everyone on top of each other.”

“Sounds kinky,” Lily spoke up.

Alex jumped. “Don’t do that, Lils.”

Lily checked her phone.

Alex strode away from Justin. “Wait, wait, wait. At least you know what you’re waiting for I suppose.” She jerked her head to one side.

Lily waited to make sure Justin had his eyes on Alex before looking where Alex had indicated. A book rested on a book stand.

“The day is important. All the generals agree that to do it early would only bring disaster. The Keepers are too fixated on their prophecy to be paying attention. And without the other Soul Riders, they can’t stop us even if they wanted to.”

Lily walked towards the book slowly.

“They’re down to one now,” Alex said and shifted her weight. She moved towards Justin. “We’re going to be together, no matter what, baby.”

“You and me against the world,” Justin said.

Alex rested her hands on his chest. “That’s right.”

Justin frowned and turned his head to look for Lily.

Alex put a hand on his cheek and turned his head back to look at her. “Justin, look at me. I’d burn the world for you. You used to feel the same. It’s still in her.” She rubbed a circle on his chest.

Lily snagged the book and stuck it in the back of her pants under her trench coat. “Do I need to tell you two to get a room?” She leaned against the stand.

Alex flushed. “Are any of these generals hot so we can get Lily her own May December romance?”

“Only one person can rule the world, Alex,” Lily said. “And it’s going to be me.”

“Yes, yes, all hail the Queen.”

“I keep moving up in the world,” Lily murmured.

“Empress even. We can be the Empress’ advisors.” Alex grinned. “Ruling sounds so tedious anyways. You need a champion. I take champion.”

Lily snorted.

Justin rolled his eyes. “Garnok is going to rule. Not us.”

“I guess I better figure out a way to kill Garnok,” Lily said dryly.

“Come on, you have to be here for one reason or another. Show me.” Alex took Justin’s hand and tugged him away.

“Fine, there’s a control room. I can show you that,” Justin said. “It’s just a bunch of screens and drones though. There probably isn’t anything very interesting going on.”

“But it will kill time,” Alex said.

“Ugh, don’t talk about killing time,” Lily groaned. “You want the entire world to fall out of whack.”

Alex winked at her and urged Justin forward.

--

Evergray polished the keystone with a rag. “Keystones truly are a thing of wonder. You wouldn’t think a thing of such humble origins would be able to part the veil of space and time.”

Linda double checked the tuning of the harp like Lily had shown her. It was mostly nerves. She turned her head.

Horse hooves clopped against the stone of the path echoing into the Dale.

But not one set of hooves, multiple.

Elizabeth Sunbeam, Rhiannon, Avalon and a host of druids in robes and hoods swept into the Dale on horses of all colors.

“What is going on here?” Elizabeth asked.

Avalon cleared his throat. “I told you to leave, brother.”

“Tsk, as if I listen very well,” Evergray said and coughed.

“Linda,” Elizabeth scolded. “I thought better of you. Evergray isn’t to be trusted. He’s a thief.”

Linda stood up holding the harp in her arms. “He’s been more honest than you have been.” She lifted her chin.

“What is that?” Rhiannon nodded at the stone in Evergray’s arms.

“You don’t know.” Evergray shook his head. “Twenty years and all the new recruits are base ignorant. This never would have happened while I was chief archivist.”

“Evergray, you have violated the terms of your exile,” Elizabeth said. “You were warned what would happen if you ever returned. We have come to take you into custody.”

“I see how you are, Elizabeth.” Evergray turned his head and coughed. He looked back at her. “You’ve come full circle then.”

Elizabeth flushed. “I don’t know what you mean.” She straightened on her horse.

“If you didn’t, you wouldn’t be so mad. Come, now, we haven’t actually answered your questions.”

More horse hooves echoed in the Dale, this time, they were alone.

A grey dapple horse with a white mane appeared at the end of the Dale.

The druids murmured and moved aside.

“Concorde,” they whispered and murmured to each other.

Concorde trotted between them. He lowered his head to Linda. “Soul Rider,” he murmured.

Linda pressed her forehead against his. “You’re safe and alive.”

“What do you need me to do?” Concorde asked.

“Make room, make room,” Evergray said. “I believe this is our cue.”

Linda quietly explained to Concorde the plan.

--

Alex had managed to wheedle Justin back to the horses.

“It’s time,” Lily said.

“Justin, baby, your lips look super chapped.” Alex grabbed his chin.

Justin tried to move his head. “They’re fine.”

“No. They’re definitely chapped. Can’t kiss you with chapped lips,” she said. She took out the chap stick and popped the lid off with one hand. “Hold still.”

Justin’s eyes widened and he leaned back. “Alex.”

She smeared it onto his lips before he could say anything else or get away.

Justin stilled and stared ahead barely blinking.

Lily reached into her saddlebag. “Catch,” she said and tossed potions at her.

Alex caught them and opened the first one over Saga’s rump. “There, there, boy, you’ll be yourself in no time.” She hurried over to the other horses.

Lily juggled the other three potions. She poured them over the backs.

“Last one,” Alex said.

Lily tossed it to her.

Alex poured it over the back of the horse.

Lily went for the halters. “Ten minutes, and counting,” she said.

Justin blinked and rubbed his eyes. “What happened? Where am I?” He looked around. “What’s wrong with Saga?”

“Saga’s going to be all right, give her a few minutes,” Alex darted over to him.

He stared at her. “Are you wearing lip stick?”

She flung her arms around his neck. “That’s my Justin,” she said tears in her eyes. “You aren’t going to do this to me ever again. No more mind control from evil grandfathers. You hear me Justin Moorland. I can’t go through this again.”

He wrapped his arms around her. “It’s all so fuzzy. Except there was lots of lasagna.”

Alex laughed and hiccupped. “Of course you remember the lasagna.”

“Tasted like mom’s,” Justin mumbled.

“Justin, I need you to help Lily get the horses to the gate.” Alex cupped his face. “Can you do that?”

“Sure,” Justin said. He rubbed his face. “I’m just, there’s this fog.”

Alex handed him the chap stick. “Apply if you think you need more.”

Justin looked at it. “For the record, my lips aren’t chapped.” His hand closed over it.

“Sure they aren’t.” Alex kissed his cheek. She went to Lily’s saddlebags and grabbed her tools and the keystone.

“Five minutes,” Lily said.

“On it.” Alex jogged off.

“Help me get them saddled. They probably won’t fight you.”

Justin nodded.

Together they saddled the horses who tried to move away, but the further time went, the less they fought.

Justin tightened the last girth as the first spell broke over the horses.

They tossed their heads and locked their legs.

“Easy, easy,” Lily said. “We’re going to get all of you out of here. Come on.” She grabbed the reins of Nimbus and two of the others.

Nimbus took charge.

Justin took the other horses including Saga.

Alex had the gate mechanism ripped open and was fitting the keystone inside fitting the wires to it.

Lily took the book out of her pants back and put it in her saddlebag.

Alex flipped switches.

Justin’s brow furrowed.

Alex pushed the lever up. The entire rig hummed. Purple energy swirled around.

“Stop!” Jessica shouted. “They’ve opened the gate!”

Lily got on her horse.

Alex selected a horse at random and mounted.

Justin got on Saga.

“Run!” Lily shouted and Nimbus vaulted forward jumping through the portal and running flat out, the two horses behind him.

Justin urged Saga forward. The other horse followed him.

Alex gave the running Dark Riders the finger and her horse, not willing to be left behind even if the way ahead was pink energy ran after the others.

They ran as fast as they could down the winding floating stone road, jumping the gaps and through the other portal.

Alex jumped through the portal into Pandoria. It fizzled and snapped shut behind her almost taking her horse’s tail.

Justin stared around. “Where are we?”

Lily moved into view, Nimbus’ wings pressed tight over her legs. His horn gleamed in the odd light. “Welcome to Pandoria.”

--

The Soul Horses moved into their positions at the bases of the statues. They looked upwards. Magic swirled around them and they became more than what they were. Starshine’s grey mane and tail turned electric blue, a crystal horn jutted from his head. The end of it gleamed with pink light.

At the base of his statue, magenta light filled the carvings making them grow brighter.

Meteor was no longer just red. He was the red of the Harvest Moon and scattered with crater markings with moving clouds. His mane and tail white gold and glowing. His beard curled under his chin.

The magenta light swelled in the carvings of the Moon Soul Horse Statue and lit up the Dale.

Tin Can stomped his hooves. They turned cloven, like a deer rather than a horse. Lightning swirled around his bronze body and crackled in his golden mane and tail jumping off in jagged sparks and spears.

The lightning jumped from him to his statue. It turned pink and crept up every leg and around the body lighting up the carvings.

Concorde spread his glowing white wings. His coat had turned silver with lighter white gold spots. A feather fell from his wings, drifted down and fell at the base of the statue. A rainbow flared around it and then it turned pink and disappeared. The carvings glowed pink.

Linda carefully shifted the keystone into place.

Magenta light swelled at the base of the broken statue and raced up the carvings of the stairs to the gate. Pink light swirled around like a galaxy, small at first but growing until it stabilized into a door.

Elizabeth’s voice sharpened. “Is that the Harp of Aideen?”

Linda cradled the harp in her arms. She moved to the base of the stairs and plucked the strings. And with the music, she sent her heart after it.

FOR THE ACCOMPANYING IMAGES PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE MY WATERMARK AND CONTACT INFORMATION. THANK YOU. I get it. Some of you might get excited and want to see this stuff in the game, especially the clothes, tack, and pets. However, the only way I want to see this in the game is if I get paid for it. If I see it in the game and I’m not paid for it, there will be hell to pay. You think I’m salty. I’d be angry. Personally, I’m not going to send this info to SSO. If you do, leave my contact information there! Don’t give them any excuses to steal.

Now, I’ll know you haven’t read this note if you leave me comments about how ‘salty’ I am about the game and if I hate it so much I should do something else. I am doing something else. It’s called Mystic Riders MMORPG Project. Mystic Riders however is a very baby phase game. You can check out our plans on the game dev blog. (Skills, Factions, Professions, Crafting, Mini-Games, 25+ horse breeds!) If you know anyone who would be interested and has money or contacts about game making, direct them to the blog.

[ginnyzero]

Completely Harmless Ch. 62

Completely Harmless An SSO SilverGlade Re-imagining Story (Or Fix it Fan Salt fic) By Ginny O.

When Lily and her friends wanted to buy horses and were directed to the Silverglade Manor and its myriad of problems, they didn’t expect to start a revolution. They were just a bunch a stable girls. Completely harmless. Right?

A/N: Things are only canon if I say they’re canon. Pre-Saving the Moorland Stables compliant for the most part. Posted in its entirety on my website. Posted in 2000 to 4000 word bits here. Rated T for Swearing Word Count 177,577

Chapter Sixty-Two Commence Rescue!

Pi tugged her hat low over her eyes. “Do I look evil?” She’d smeared green makeup on her face and hands. Her hair powdered with green chalk.

“Good enough for government work,” Lily said blandly.

Alex leaned into Tin Can’s nose. “We’ll be back in hours. I promise.”

Tin Can huffed and pawed the ground.

“No. You can’t come with us. That’s too many to get back off.”

Tin Can neighed.

“I don’t care if he’s going. You can’t. Lily needs him.”

Tin Can trumpeted now.

“Of course I need you. I don’t like it either.” Alex flung her arms around his neck. “I have to rescue them. I have to. I can’t leave them there, any of them. And you have to do your part.”

Tin Can lowered his head.

Lily took the harp case strapped to Nimbus’ side off. She handed it to Linda. “Keep it safe and remember, once you have the gate open.”

“Don’t stop playing,” Linda nodded. “Be careful.”

“That’s not exactly what this mission is about.” Lily smiled at her.

“Okay, don’t die,” Linda amended.

They hugged.

Linda let her go and touched Alex’s shoulder.

Alex turned and they hugged tightly.

“You’ve got this,” Linda whispered.

Pi cleared her throat. “It’s time.”

Linda and Alex parted and Linda grabbed Tin Can’s reins.

“Follow me, but not too closely,” Pi said. She tugged Saga’s reins and walked on. “Come on, Saga. Let’s get you to Justin.”

Alex patted her pockets. “Okay, I’ve got my chap stick.”

“He’s lucky it isn’t lipstick.”

Alex groaned. “Don’t start, Lily, please.”

They followed Pi taking care to hang back enough it didn’t look like they were following her. Pi led Saga straight to the site manager.

“Is this the horse?” he asked.

“Is this the horse? Of course this is the horse. Would I be bringing any other horse?” Pi glared at him.

The site manager held out his hand.

Saga reared slightly.

Pi sneered at him. “You think he’s going to trust a peon. Show me the container and I’ll get him settled. You must be new.”

The site manager scowled, but led the way to a container.

Pi let him open it. “I can take it from here. Tell Mr. Sands I kept my side of the bargain. I expect payment promptly.”

The site manager did more than grunt as he stomped off.

Lily and Alex waited until he was gone and slipped around the container. Lily backed Nimbus in beside Saga and they stepped inside.

Pi lowered her voice. “I’m going to shut and lock you in. The Baroness will be here soon. Hold tight. You’ll get there one way or the other.”

The doors shut.

They assumed Pi left.

A few minutes later, truck engines roared and halted nearby. Doors slammed.

“This is the Jorvik Rangers. Nobody move,” the Master Ranger yelled. “Who is in charge here?”

They waited holding onto Saga and Nimbus as they heard people running about and within fifteen minutes the chopping blades of a helicopter.

Mr. Sands spoke once it was quiet. “What is this, Annabella?”

“This is an eviction notice, John, effective immediately.”

Mr. Sands was silent for a few minutes as he read the papers. “This is a bold move for you.”

The Baroness’ voice turned dark and furious. “You have our grandson. You really believed that I would sit back and do nothing. I told you I was coming for you.”

“He came of his own free will.”

“I would believe that when the sun starts rising in the west. You may think he’s out of my reach and power, and you’d be wrong.”

“You have no power over me. I’ve always been the stronger of the two of us.”

“And you never understood that I don’t need magic to wield power. I will drive you off of Jorvik. You can live in your little oil rigs. Your games here in my county are over. I think you’ll find my arm is long enough to haunt you wherever you go.”

“There’s still time to change your mind.”

“We both chose our paths years ago. Get off my beach.”

The helicopter started again. And soon enough, the container moved. Lily and Alex didn’t dare say anything to one another. They didn’t know if they’d be overheard. The container swayed and settled with a clunk onto metal decking.

From the inside of the container it was difficult to know if they were moving or not. Engines faintly throbbed when they pressed their ears to the walls.

It didn’t take as long as the rowboat. In fact, the barges were about as fast as the ferry. Soon enough, they bumped up against something that rattled. The container lifted upwards, swung through the air and landed again.

Lily and Alex looked at each other. Show time.

The doors swung open.

Lily sniffed. “Why thank you, how magnaminous of you,” she said as she tugged Nimbus’ reins and sashayed out of the container.

Alex grabbed Saga’s reins. She smirked at them.

“Who the hell are you?” one of the men demanded.

“What? Pi didn’t say.” Lily widened her eyes. “Alex, I swore Pi was going to say something. She told me that she was going to send a message ahead.”

“Filthy witches.”

“We’re the new recruits. Pi trusts us to deliver Saga to--” Lily turned her head. “What was his name?”

“Jay, Jay,” Alex trailed off.

“Justin,” one of the men said.

“Justin, that’s the name.” Lily smiled. “So, if you’ll point the way.”

“First I’ve heard of new recruits,” the man said and glowered.

“Witches.” Alex curled her lip. “You can’t trust them. You just can’t.”

“Easy, Alex, I’m sure this is a little misunderstanding. Something must have gone wrong in all the commotion.” Lily waved her hand. She turned a dazzling smile on the man and bared her teeth. “Well?”

“Let the boss sort it out,” one of the men said to the other.

“Fine. I’ll only tell you once. Justin’s waiting at the helicopter pad for Mr. Sands to return.” He gave them directions.

Lily simpered. “Thank you ever so much. I’ll be sure to tell Mr. Sands and Justin that it was,” she paused.

“Number 47,” he growled.

“Number 47 that sent us. I’m sure he’ll give you your just reward,” Lily fluttered her lashes and led Nimbus away. “Glorious revolution awaits.” She sauntered off leading Nimbus.

Alex sniffed and followed Lily. She had a hard time keeping a straight face once they were out of earshot and given the noise it was relatively quickly. “Glorious revolution,” she drawled. “Laying it on a bit thick.”

Lily stuck her tongue out at her.

“Can’t believe they bought it,” Alex cracked her neck.

They already knew the way. Lily nodded at the guards who weren’t quite sure what to do with two young women brazenly leading horses and looking like they knew where they were going. “Hello, hello, good evening,” Lily said to each of them as they passed.

Alex glowered and kept her shoulders stiff. Her boots made a racket as she stomped down the metal walkways. She thought one word, murder. The men scrambled to get out of her way.

Mr. Sands disembarked from the helicopter. His face clouded with anger. “This is merely a setback. We weren’t acquiring what we needed from there anyways. Not with those meddling stable girls.”

Lily smirked.

The helicopter rose in the air, hovered, and flew away to the north.

Lily and Alex led the horses up the final stairs to the platform. “Mr. Sands,” Lily said boldly. “Just the gentleman I was looking for. Witch Pi sends her regards. And,” she stepped to the side, “the Dark Horse, as agreed.”

Alex tugged Saga forward and tossed her head. Her eyes landed on Justin.

“Wait,” the red hooded girl said. “I think I know the two of you.” She pushed her hood back revealing the face of Sabine.

Lily knew she’d recognized the voice.

“You’re,” Sabine pointed at Alex, “you’re the Soul Rider, Alex Cloudmill.”

“Was a Soul Rider, past tense, sweetheart,” Alex drawled.

“And you, you’re that stable girl from the Winery, Ell, something or other.”

“To be so insignificant you can’t even remember the name of the one who stole it out from under you.” Lily sniffed. “A stroke of genius on my part.” She stroked Nimbus’ mane. “My name is Lily and the Baroness trusts me completely. The same can’t be said about you, Dark Rider.”

Jessica pushed her hood back. “She has a point. You had one job.”

“Oh, like you were able to get the deed for Moorland Stables? That was your job and you bungled it.”

“Princess,” Mr. Sands said in a soothing voice. “Sabine.”

The girls turned away from each other and crossed their arms.

“You expect to win with help like this,” Alex gestured dismissively.

“Like we should trust you,” Jessica said sneering.

“You shouldn’t,” Lily said.

“We got here, didn’t we,” Alex pointed out.

That shut the two up.

“Take care of your horses with the rest, and we’ll discuss your change of heart,” Mr. Sands said. “Over lasagna.”

“I love lasagna,” Justin said with a grin.

Alex handed him Saga’s reins.

Saga snorted and rolled her eyes.

“What, you didn’t miss me?” Justin said. “I missed you.”

Saga turned her head to Alex.

“Wait,” Jessica said. “Where’s your horse, Cloudmill? That ugly one.”

“He repudiated me. The nag. He wasn’t about to turn against the Keepers.”

“My horse does what I tell him to do,” Sabine smirked.

“Maybe your horse doesn’t have opinions. Or maybe he does and you don’t know how to hear them,” Alex retorted. “I can always get a new horse, a better one.”

“A dark one,” Lily said in a sultry voice as she patted Nimbus’ side.

“Yes, a dark one,” Jessica hissed.

“This way,” Justin said and led the way with Saga reluctantly following him. He led them to a stable.

Alex counted the horses, six, including Saga.

“Who are the other horses for?” she asked.

“Katya and Elise, they’re in Pandoria chasing down Lisa,” Justin said as he backed Saga into a stall.

Lily chose a free one and put Nimbus into it.

“I know you two are up to something.” Justin frowned at them and took Saga’s tack off.

Alex leaned against the door. “Ohhh, we’re up to something.”

“Grandfather won’t keep you around. We already have four Dark Riders.”

“I never said we were angling to become Dark Riders,” Lily pointed out.

Justin blinked slowly. He snorted. “Generals? Are you crazy?”

Alex laughed. “We’re more competent than the other lot.”

“You need leaders,” Lily said.

Alex gestured under her chin hand flat. “Us.”

Justin snorted. “Come on, before they eat all the lasagna.”

Alex hooked her arm around his. “This is going to be amazing. You’ll see.” She turned her head. “Lily?”

“I need to check his hooves. He’s been fussy of late.”

Alex nodded. “Hurry it up then.”

“How will you know where to go?” Justin twisted his body to look at her.

“I’ll follow my nose.” Lily tapped it.

Justin shrugged. “We won’t wait.”

They left the stable. Not that it was a great stable.

Lily walked over to Concorde. “They didn’t even search us. Can you believe it?”

Concorde snorted.

“Okay, the Helmsman and Captain Brus should be in place,” Lily said. “Ready to get out of here?”

He nodded his head.

Lily found a halter and put it on him. She snapped a lead rope to it. Opening the door she let him walk out. “We have to hurry,” she said and ran out of the stable.

Concorde kept up at a trot. His shoes sparking on the metal.

Lily didn’t look to the left or the right as she jogged Concorde back the way they came, but not completely. The barge had docked on a different section of the rig than where the Helmsman could sidle up to the huge oil rig.

“Hey!” One of the men shouted.

“Oh, Number 47, the boss told me to move this horse,” Lily said. “You know how it is, you show up and they give you drudge work.”

He frowned at her. “The boss?”

“Mr. Sands,” Lily sighed. “You can take it up with him. I don’t want to be doing it.” She held out the rope. “Unless you want to?”

He backed up and held up his hands. “Carry on then.”

Lily nodded and continued. She slowed to a walk and they went down the stairs out of sight of the men.

The helmsman was waiting for them. “Don’t dally long,” he said.

“We won’t,” Lily said.

Concorde stepped into the boat.

The helmsman rowed away. Lily took out binoculars and looked over the sea. She could see Mr. Brus’ ship in the distance. She nodded to herself and headed back up avoiding all the guards.

She did follow her nose to the lasagna.

Alex sat in a chair with her combat boots up on the table. “I want to be on the winning side,” she said. “It’s that simple. Elizabeth won’t tell us anything. She orders us around as if we’re her servants to do her drudge work. She can’t even pick a simple bunch of herbs by herself. Every time you want to do something, she runs off and has to ask Fripp. You’d think a grown woman would be able to make up her own mind without the aid of a blue squirell. I tell you, Linda’s almost as fed up as I am.” She cut off a corner of lasagna and ate it.

Justin ate looking like he was actually enjoying the food.

Lily would have been more worried except Alex had told her lasagna was Justin’s favorite food and no matter how bad things were, he’d eat lasagna. She dished herself a large helping and leaned against the table crossing her ankles. “It’s simple tactics,” she said.

Jessica frowned. “Cloudmill, I can understand, but not you.” She turned her gaze to Lily.

Lily shrugged. “I go where I smell power. I don’t care who rules anywhere, as long as I get my piece of the pie.”

“You have a riding club.” Sabine sneered.

“You think far too small.” Lily raised a brow. “Of course, I have a riding club, sweetie. That’s part of the power here on Jorvik. If I was anywhere else, it’d be Girl Scouts, or cheerleading, or a sorority.” She waved her fork before cutting off another bite. “Here, it’s riding clubs. They get you close to the people in power and once you have their trust. You can get them to do anything you want. Stepping stones across a river.”

Jessica frowned. “We don’t need them,” she said to Mr. Sands.

Mr. Sands rubbed his chin. “Now, now, we might need them more than you think. My darling Annabella has kicked us out of her county.”

“She can’t enforce it.” Jessica sneered.

“Of course she can’t,” Alex drawled. “Not if we’re your agents in South New Jorvik County. They don’t have to know I’ve switched sides. Tin Can has gone somewhere to sulk. He’s not about to tell the Keepers of Aideen that he lost his rider anytime soon. We have a window of opportunity.”

“One that we can take advantage of,” Lily said.

“Strike while the iron is hot, so to speak.” Alex shrugged a shoulder.

“This must be considered carefully, but swiftly,” Mr. Sands said in agreement.

“Preferably before we’re missed.” Lily looked at her nails. She looked around. “I’m not sure this place meets my cleanliness standards.”

Jessica scoffed. “Don’t be a rube. We don’t actually stay here. We have palatial rooms at,” she yelped as Sabine elbowed her.

“It’s not a state secret that Mr. Sands has a mansion on Pine Hill,” Alex said raising her brow. “Linda’s been there, remember?”

“If she decides to defect, she’ll know where to join us,” Lily said and continued to eat.

Alex swung her legs down. “So, do we get a tour, or do I get to explore on my own.”

Justin stood up. “I’ll show you around,” he said with a look at his grandfather.

Mr. Sands nodded.

FOR THE ACCOMPANYING IMAGES PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE MY WATERMARK AND CONTACT INFORMATION. THANK YOU. I get it. Some of you might get excited and want to see this stuff in the game, especially the clothes, tack, and pets. However, the only way I want to see this in the game is if I get paid for it. If I see it in the game and I’m not paid for it, there will be hell to pay. You think I’m salty. I’d be angry. Personally, I’m not going to send this info to SSO. If you do, leave my contact information there! Don’t give them any excuses to steal.

Now, I’ll know you haven’t read this note if you leave me comments about how ‘salty’ I am about the game and if I hate it so much I should do something else. I am doing something else. It’s called Mystic Riders MMORPG Project. Mystic Riders however is a very baby phase game. You can check out our plans on the game dev blog. (Skills, Factions, Professions, Crafting, Mini-Games, 25+ horse breeds!) If you know anyone who would be interested and has money or contacts about game making, direct them to the blog.

[ginnyzero]

Completely Harmless Appendix 5

The Silver Rose: Silverglade’s Fashion and Equestrian Boutique

The Fashion for the Sterling Rose was one of the biggest, and actually the first, things that I did for this project. I went to school for fashion design and part of my identity outside of “indie author” is “fashion designer.” My love of games and my love of fashion design kind of grew up side by side. So, a job where I could design fashion and have it be in a game is kind of one of my huge dreams. It’s also one of my “responsibilities” in Mystic Riders MMO is to make the different “brands” of the different areas.

I wanted to practice more to prove that I could do clothes on figures that aren’t 9 head fashion figures and have them look good. Star Stable Online’s figures are actually about five and a half heads high. They’re between preadolescent and older teen artistic biological proportions. (An adult being 8 heads and an older teen being 7.5 or so.) I found some concept art on Tumblr and used those figures to basically redress them. I believe (though I can’t be certain) that Star Stable provides blank figures for both horses, equipment, and clothes to their concept artists.

This would save time and is exactly what I would do if I was in charge of the game. This is part of what they call a game document. Game devs love the game document and some won’t work for you if you don’t have it.

So, the clothes and equipment I designed are based off of the Winery Set and Silverglade Clan Riding Outfit and anything that said “Baroness” on it. I selected the purples from the clothes (way too many purples) to be my color palette.

I used their basic blocks (what I call the different styles the texture artists paint the clothes on for the game) and tried to design details that would fit together to create a mix and match line of clothes.

This ended up being 20 total outfits from head to toe including the Baroness’ Riding outfit and the Silverglade Clan Riding Outfit. There needed to be pants, shorts, t-shirts, long sleeved shirts, dresses, hats, gloves, and I also made earrings and headbands because they added them to the game and I can.

I wanted the group to have a jockey outfit, a dressage outfit, a showjumping outfit, and at least one Western outfit (there ended up being two) and redesigned the outfits of a couple of the NPCs so they’d fit with the updated look of the area. Plus, Lin, Pauline, and Tyra are basically triplets and this needs to stop.

I tried my best not to make anything that wasn’t present somewhere in the game already. The details ended up being roses, the sporty racing stripe from the Silverglade Clan set, the dots from the Winery Set, ducks, pearls, and the Silverglade clan swirl like emblem.

I also did what we call in fashion, merchandising, of these items. When you merchandise an item, you take what you believe are going to be the biggest selling items in your collection and you make them in more than one color or material.

Because this is a game and we don’t really have to worry about store space, I merchandised every item to have at least two color swaps (the jockey outfit) to five color swaps. Any more than five and the images started looking confusing. I used the rose shape and filled it in with different colors to mimic the item being merchandised.

Hopefully with these clothes, the player could dress their character for everything from championships to a garden party. And these clothes could be expanded upon later to add more to the store if necessary.

For instance, I didn’t do any fall or winter clothes really because it’s eternal summer in Jorvik! They’ve also added a could new blocks since I did this, so we could do a handkerchief hem shirt and so on.

For the equipment, I merchandised by showing on the different saddles, and blankets of each style what the color combos could be. The clearest probably being the different leg wraps. Because they’re the same colors and to an extent they have the same type of decorations (the Silver Drakes Fancy Gear Set being the exception) you can still mix and match them together.

Merchandising is for the purpose of gaining more sales. Someone might like a style but want it in a different color. Having that color available means that they are more likely to purchase the item. (This is me, now, in Star Stable, going “where is that in black?”)

Then to complete a head to toe look, I researched makeup and hair options because I felt the Baroness would like old fashioned and elegant hairstyles for her ladies in the riding club. Then I tried to come up with makeup looks that were classic fifties or could be worn at night.

Jewelry is all about theme and variation. Take your theme and start mix and matching them together.

Then for fun, I took some of the details and gave them to the ducks. (Yes, I started with their Seagull in the game. It’s now a duck. Let’s not go into what I had to do to make it look like a duck.) Because who doesn’t want a cute fancy duck?

Whew... that is a LOT of images!

FOR THE ACCOMPANYING IMAGES PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE MY WATERMARK AND CONTACT INFORMATION. THANK YOU. I get it. Some of you might get excited and want to see this stuff in the game, especially the clothes, tack, and pets. However, the only way I want to see this in the game is if I get paid for it. If I see it in the game and I’m not paid for it, there will be hell to pay. You think I’m salty. I’d be angry. Personally, I’m not going to send this info to SSO. If you do, leave my contact information there! Don’t give them any excuses to steal.

Now, I’ll know you haven’t read this note if you leave me comments about how ‘salty’ I am about the game and if I hate it so much I should do something else. I am doing something else. It’s called Mystic Riders MMORPG Project. Mystic Riders however is a very baby phase game. You can check out our plans on the game dev blog. (Skills, Factions, Professions, Crafting, Mini-Games, 25+ horse breeds!) If you know anyone who would be interested and has money or contacts about game making, direct them to the blog.

[ginnyzero]

Completely Harmless Ch. 54

Completely Harmless An SSO SilverGlade Re-imagining Story (Or Fix it Fan Salt fic) By Ginny O.

When Lily and her friends wanted to buy horses and were directed to the Silverglade Manor and its myriad of problems, they didn’t expect to start a revolution. They were just a bunch a stable girls. Completely harmless. Right?

A/N: Things are only canon if I say they’re canon. Pre-Saving the Moorland Stables compliant for the most part. Posted in its entirety on my website. Posted in 2000 to 4000 word bits here. Rated T for Swearing Word Count 177,577

Chapter Fifty-Four CHILL-ax during Happy Horse Week!

The decorations were approved by other clubs while the few votes against them were roundly ignored. It helped that gave everyone a goodie bag and had a snack table set up with their treats and cups of apple cider mixed with ginger ale. The marble balloons had been turned into arches and pillars. She’d borrowed the flag banners from Jorvik Stable to show off what things would look like complete with hay bales.

The Councilman hadn’t been too happy about the hay bales, but Kate had promised to clean.

Everyone was relieved that Lily was okay. And they were more than willing to take shifts at the council house in order to help make the decorations they needed between breaks in training. Training that was more important than they realized.

In fact, it was Herman that clued Lily in as she waited her turn to run through the show jumping event set up in the Arena.

“Really looking forward to seeing all you girls at the County Fair this year,” he said with a big grin on his face. Leaning against the fence of the riding arena he looked almost lazy as he watched the girls.

Lily looked down at him and put a hand on her horse’s neck. “Herman, I think you’re forgetting that most of us have never lived here before. Or should I be asking Linda or Pauline?”

Herman glanced up, the grin didn’t fade. “Didn’t forget. Didn’t know you didn’t know.”

Lily rolled her eyes. Her stallion tossed his mane.

“There’s an eventing contest held at the County Fair every year. It’s the first qualifier for the Claymore Challenge. Every club comes and tries out. Course, last year, and the year before that, and the year before that, was just the Bobcats and the Bulldogz. Be nice to see them have a bit of competition.”

Lily’s brow furrowed. “But we’re collecting ribbons,” she said slowly drawing it out.

“Gotta train your horse and get it into condition so it knows what it’s doing. Practice is one thing, Lily girl, doing exhibition is another. The lights, the crowds, you don’t know how your horse is going to react. Depends on the crowd too.” Herman sucked his teeth. “Yep, some mighty fine riders in practice can’t make it through exhibitions.”

Lily pressed her tongue to her back teeth and looked off to the side as her brows furrowed. “Qualifiers,” she said after a few moments and not coming into any conclusions.

“Yep, helps me winnow it down. I know you’re all doing well in your ribbons. You can’t all go to the Claymore Challenge as much as I’d like to send you all. One Club per county. Thems the rules.”

Lily looked down at him. “I wasn’t given any rule list when I made the club. How many members are we allowed to have maximum anyways?”

“Fifty.”

Lily blinked. There went the plan to merge clubs to get around that pesky rule. “Well, we’re a bit beyond 100 people, Herman. I think we’re hitting closer to 200.”

Herman grinned. “And you wouldn’t believe how proud I am of that, all of you choosing to leave Moorland and form clubs to help out the district. Brings a tear to me old eyes, it does.”

Lily snorted. She shifted her attention. Tracey rode around the track keeping her posture upright as her stallion took the turns.

“You’re doing good things,” Herman rocked back and forth on his feet.

“If you say so,” Lily glanced back at him.

“You don’t think so?”

“I think I’m doing what needs to be done whether it’s good or bad, I can’t say.” Lily gripped the reins in her hands turning them over between her fingers. “I’m doing the best I can or we are, or I hope we are. One never knows. You have a lot of things you don’t tell newcomers, like, qualifiers being at the County Fair.”

Herman chuckled. “You’re revitalizing this county.”

“You didn’t need me for that, you just needed to act.”

“Mrs. X of CHILL wants to meet you,” Herman said.

“Fancy that,” Lily said in a dry voice. “I’m not surprised.”

“Alone.”

“Of course,” Lily murmured. “Because what other way do you meet the leader of a secret organization that,” she paused. “What does CHILL do?”

“Put nails in the road for G.E.D.,” Herman said.

“Your horse idioms are so lovely, Herman,” Lily said. “Where is she?”

“Observatory 12 in Epona.”

Lily backed her stallion away from the fence. “And let me guess, she wants to see me as soon as possible.”

“You know how this works.”

“Way too many crime shows, way, way too many.”

Herman laughed.

“How cliché can you get?” Lily muttered and nudged her horse into a trot. The nearest transport to the Observatory was in Crescent Moon Village she thought. Hillcrest and the Dews Farm in Epona were getting transports set up still. Hillcrest’s was in need of a major repair since someone had tried to use the truck to ram the wall. (It hadn’t worked.)

She took the transport to Crescent Moon Village and went directly down the road through the Marsh and up the side of the mountain to the Observatory perched on the edge of the Cauldron opposite of Hillcrest.

Dismounting, she opened the huge doors of the observatory a crack and slipped inside.

It wasn’t as dark as she’d thought it be. Sunlight streamed in through the small windows illuminating the place.

“I’m glad you came,” Mrs. X said from the middle of the room. She smoothed the skirt of her ankle length green dress, but a deep hood obscured her face.

Lily stepped closer. Mrs. X’s face was also covered with a mask. Crossing her arms, Lily stopped. “I don’t deal with people who hide their faces.”

“My identity is a closely guarded secret, one I’d like to keep that way.”

Lily pressed her lips together. “You’re either trying to recruit me. Or, you have a message for me. Spit it out one or the other.”

“You’ve impressed me.”

“Funny, you don’t sound impressed.”

“You’ve interfered with a major operation. Hillcrest is only a small part of the G.E.D.’s plans for the Harvest and Epona Districts. You’ve set me back months of work.”

“You, lady, are a vigilante.” Lily lifted a finger off of her arm. “You run around in the shadows not sharing information with the authorities, and causing more problems than you solve because you won’t work within the boundaries of the law.”

“The law has failed us.”

“So, Bernie Winterwell didn’t want to leave his house and was happy to be bribed. Was it a moral failing? Or is House of Winterwell in dire straits? Or is there another reason? I don’t know. I don’t care. If Baron Winterwell isn’t doing what you need to do, you go to Count Marchenghast.”

“He’s ill. The Countess is overwhelmed. They’re too young and inexperienced to handle the G.E.D.”

Lily’s lips parted. “Really? Because, Mrs. X., I’m what, sixteen, and I’ve handled them just fine by oh, seeing that they don’t have the proper paperwork or you know, put people in actual danger and taken this to the people in charge like the Rangers and the nobles who run this county and they’ve managed to take care of things with the information me and my girls have provided them. I do not feel that the people of Hillcrest are an acceptable sacrifice so you can try to stop the grander scheme and get the higher ups.”

“You are too young to understand.”

“I understand that right now you’re no better than the druids, most of whom, also wear hoods and also, who I will not have anything to do with unless they show their faces. Here’s my message to you, it’s the same one I gave to Elizabeth Sunbeam. You lead and take action instead of observing and waiting. You follow. Or you get the hell out of my way. The people of Hillcrest will not thank you for standing by and watching.”

“Jarlaheim is in great danger. You don’t understand how great.”

Lily rolled her eyes. “Yes. We know. You remember Mayor Elaine. She was in Hillcrest. She knew what Ms. Drake was up to. Ms. Drake has been arrested. Given her lawyers, she probably won’t be in there for long. But it’s a good way to stall them and give time for Mayor Elaine to recover and take control over Jarlaheim.” Lily turned on her toe and grabbed the door. Pulling it open, she looked over her shoulder. “Come out of the shadows, Mrs. X, and into the light.” She walked out shutting the door gently behind her.

“People,” she said to her stallion.

He whuffled.

Lily mounted and turned him around down the mountain. “Vigilantism, peh.”

He nodded his head.

“Jarlaheim is in great danger,” Lily mocked. “Gee, you think? I mean, there aren’t four dig sites around the place, probably illegal dig sites, run by the G.E.D. if it’s not in great danger. Like, I don’t have girls in every stable and town and farm in this county by now. And do you know what we teenage girls like to do?”

He knocked his ear back seemingly interested.

“Share information. People might call this gossip. Because they only hear about who is dating who and who is fighting and what embarrassing thing happened to so and so this week. But there is important information among the trivia.” She patted his neck. “Sometimes, if the mare is fat, it’s not that she’s actually fat, she’s pregnant.”

He whinnied.

“Exactly, you get it.” Lily let him trot down the road. “Diabolical corporations. Aliens. Witches. Ghosts. Aliens running diabolical corporations. Druids. Chipmunks and squirrels as spies. Magic horses. Now vigilantes.”

He nodded his head.

“Nahnahnahnahnahnahnah, Batman!”

Her horse whinnied again.

She quieted as she got out of the marsh and into the village. She hummed “Spider-man, spider-man, does whatever a spider can,” under her breath as they passed Hayden’s house.

She took the transport back to Jorvik Stables.

When Herman asked her how it went, she replied with, “It went.”

--

The decorations were ready in time for Happy Horse week, if barely. Barney had helped them by using the vinyl wall art to make plywood versions of the horse silhouettes with his wooden scroll saw. He’d also made them horse heads to vary up the horse shoes and hang their smaller horse garlands from. They weren’t allowed to touch his saw. They could lose fingers if they weren’t careful. Plus, he was making the silhouettes five or six at a time to save time. Each stable and town had at least one of each galloping, show jumping, and dressage silhouette. Carney Summers had been busy making race signs for everyone.

But everything was painted, glittered, glued together, whatever needed to be done in time to decorate for the week. Metal and plastic buckets had ribbons and bows on them. Plastic helmets also had bows and rhinestones and gold trim. They wrapped fancy striped ribbons in Jorvik national colors around every extra haybale they were strewing about for decorations. (And handy seating for the tired parents.)

So, the day before Happy Horse Week was also busy instead of training, they were decorating and making sure everything was out and just so. They’d put together plenty of snacks for the tables and had decided that mint candies went in predominantly blue favor cones, and granola went in predominantly green favor cones.

Putting together the selfie walls had been a bit easier now they were at the third time around. They used the triangular and horse shoe garlands to drape the circle. Put plenty of championship ribbons on the upper left hand side. Put together a pillar or arch out of marble balloons and made sure there were hobby horses and stuffed plushies (fresh from Fort Pinta) out for people to use as props.

Agnetha has pursed her lips at the arches of balloons in front of the rose archway and on each side of the bandstand, but she hadn’t said anything dire.

Thinking ahead, they set up the pavilion so people could decorate their own buckets and helmets if they wanted to do so. They even had championship ribbons for name badges.

They had to rearrange the jumps in the riding arena. (That gave them time to decorate it.) Though the Rose Arches remained firmly in place. And put together the special race tracks for the cross country races through the grape fields.

It was a good thing that they had extra decorations and banners, because just in time for Happy Horse Week, the Silverglade Oval Track was ready to open and it needed to be decorated as well.

Pia and Ingrid sent pictures of the Art Show and Flea Market respectively. Everything was horse themed! Pia had plenty of exclamation points. She never asked for it to be that way!

They had to help transport the cake from Ma Anna’s Pastry Shop in Firgrove all the way to Moorland. They transported it in separate tiers thank goodness, but they still wanted an escort for some reason. When it was put together, the bottom three tiers were sold colored, there was a blue tier, a green tier, and a white tier. Then the top two tiers, one had stripes, and the smallest was white with green and blue polka dots. They stuck a large golden harp in the top of it as a topper.

The tables for the Moorland feast were set out. And there were extra tables so they could set out the grab bags, horse masks, party hats, and horse ears for the kids. The Farmer’s Market bustled with happy people who were more than happy to put up another tent for the Carnival games of bobbing for apples, pig pen, horse shoes, hobby horse races, and pin the tail on the horse. They had a special spot for the pinatas (and plenty of them.) And a booth all set up so everyone could get their face painted.

Realizing they’d forgotten prizes for said games, Kate and her club ran to Jorvik City to get more of the prizes like they had in the grab bags. (Because why not try to collect them all, according to Regina. She was roundly reminded, again, that this wasn’t Pokemon!)

The Timber Wolves escorted Andy’s petting zoo down and helped him set it up at the same time they brought down the cake.

It was quite the whirl of activity.

No one was sure who exactly hid the Golden Horse Shoes, only, that they were hidden.

So, everyone was excited the first day of Happy Horse Week, despite the fact that they’d had to make a schedule so there were people minding the races, giving beginning riding lessons, doing the lunge informational event, the craft pavilion, and the snack booth.

“Where do we want to go first?” Was the biggest question. Firfall was having a jousting demonstration at their medieval fair. There was the County Fair to check out too with all the food, and booths, and games, and they had to keep an eye on the competition up there with the eventing qualifiers. Or, they could go to Moorland and get a slice of carrot cake or apple spice cake (or both) and go straight to the Farmer’s Market to do games there. Or, they go to Fort Pinta and grab Token Takes Jorvik, buy a horse plushy if they didn’t already have a stuffed lovie of their own and start on the different challenges, plushy vacation pictures, Andy’s Geocaching, and Hayden’s Spider Hunt.

More than a few of them though were bowing out of Hayden’s Spider Hunt.

“No thank you,” they said.

They knew they’d see all of it. It was a matter of did they want to watch a pie eating contest at the County Fair or not? There was going to be a demonstration of a flat track oval race too that sounded interesting. They all agreed that they wanted to see the horse rubber duck race. That sounded too funny not to see.

The last day was the Light Ride.

It was with light hearts that they made their schedule and took to explore the county during Happy Horse Week. (They had Golden Horseshoes to find!) The first place they had to go was the Silverglade Oval Track ribbon cutting ceremony!

--

Loretta shifted her weight on top of her white stallion, the pink of her showjumping jacket setting off her fair complexion. Lily cynically thought that was the reason why the Bobcats colors happened to be pink. Loretta looked good in it. Loretta glanced over at her. “What are you doing here?”

Lily tugged down the sleeves of her own showjumping jacket, light purple. (Thought she’d the option of a dark purple or mulberry color.) “Same as you, I suspect. Claymore Challenge qualifiers.”

Loretta’s eyes widened. “No. No. You can’t. Your clubs are too,” she trailed off.

“Too what? We’ve qualified. We’ve earned the ribbons.” Lily looked down her nose at her. Had Loretta forgotten about the fact that more clubs meant more competition?

“You haven’t been around long enough to train your horses to be competition ready,” Loretta curled her lip. “You’ve been too busy doing other things.”

Lily leaned forward a bit resting her weight on her folded hands. “Not for the last month, month and a half. You don’t want to train for more than a couple hours every day and risk hurting the horse.”

“But you couldn’t have earned enough ribbons.”

Lily smirked at her. “I did.”

“That’s not right.” Loretta frowned.

“Take it up with Herman.” Lily shrugged. She tilted her head.

The Announcer’s voice rang out. “President of the Bobcats, Loretta.”

“You’re up,” Lily told her.

Rattled, Loretta nudged her stallion into a trot to take the arena.

Lily narrowed her eyes and watched. Either Loretta wasn’t as good as she claimed to be or Lily’s appearance as the next competitor after her had truly rattled her. She missed several jumps knocking down the bars.

When Loretta came off the field she looked furious. She stopped her horse by Lily. “If someone like you who isn’t even from Jorvik keeps me from going to the Claymore Challenge again,” she started.

“Again?” Lily raised a brow. “Last I checked the rules, Jorvik citizenship wasn’t required to compete, only belonging to a Riding Club in Jorvik in good standing.”

Loretta sucked her cheeks in and trotted off. “I won’t be defeated.”

Lily watched her go and put a hand on her horse’s neck. “And President of the Silverglade Equestrian Center’s Silver Drakes, Lily,” The Announcer said.

Lily squared her shoulders. She had an event to do. She could wonder who had beat out Loretta last time. Lisa. Linda. Or Anne?

FOR THE ACCOMPANYING IMAGES PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE MY WATERMARK AND CONTACT INFORMATION. THANK YOU. I get it. Some of you might get excited and want to see this stuff in the game, especially the clothes, tack, and pets. However, the only way I want to see this in the game is if I get paid for it. If I see it in the game and I’m not paid for it, there will be hell to pay. You think I’m salty. I’d be angry. Personally, I’m not going to send this info to SSO. If you do, leave my contact information there! Don’t give them any excuses to steal.

Now, I’ll know you haven’t read this note if you leave me comments about how ‘salty’ I am about the game and if I hate it so much I should do something else. I am doing something else. It’s called Mystic Riders MMORPG Project. Mystic Riders however is a very baby phase game. You can check out our plans on the game dev blog. (Skills, Factions, Professions, Crafting, Mini-Games, 25+ horse breeds!) If you know anyone who would be interested and has money or contacts about game making, direct them to the blog.

[ginnyzero]

Completely Harmless Appendix 8

The Golden Hills Valley

Oh, the Golden Hills that aren’t really golden. Okay, so um, this is personal pet peeve and I know there are a lot of players that actually like the Golden Hills being an area of eternal autumn while the rest of the game is eternal summer except for the Valley of the Hidden Dinosaur. (Where nothing should be growing at all, so now it’s not growing anything except some super hardy magical thistles and lichen and that’s all I’m going to say about that.) And I get why they did it initially because they were using the old assets from the Seasonal games and it was a good way to recycle the Autumn Riders assets.

Completely unnecessary but I get it.

I simply don’t like that our Golden Hills are “red.”

So, I changed it. Instead of having maples, maples, everywhere. I know that birches grow fast and take over areas pretty quickly, so I decided that it didn’t make any sense for the birch forest not to continue into the part of Golden Hills that we see.

Then as you unlock more of the Golden Hills (that are only locked due to actual plot reasons) the trees change into beeches and aspens. And what birches, beeches, and aspens have in common is that they all turn yellow in the fall. I also included Golden Chain Trees. During the spring and summer they have trailing yellow flower clusters.

Apparently the Golden Chain tree turns orange and red a bit during the fall but bits of orange and red are better than all orange and red. Which is what Maple trees do. A lot of it also does have to do with soil composition, rainfall (and thus amount of sap) and light, but for the most part, maples turn red and orange. (If your maple leaves are turning yellow in the fall, there actually might be a problem with your maple tree.) While Apsens, Birches, and Beeches turn yellow.

So, thus, the Golden Hills would actually look Golden.

Then I researched for a bunch of yellow flowers and yellow-green foliage bushes to fill in the gaps during the spring and summer to make the Golden Hills yellow all year long.

The Northern Golden Hills, by the way, didn’t exist in the Star Stable Autumn and Winter games map. When you played Star Stable: Winter Rider, you could go up the mountain behind Meander Stable and look over Silverglade. It was really cool actually. However, when Star Stable Online added in the Valley of the Hidden Dinosaur, they created magic space and therefore pushed the Pine Hills area further north and created this area we now know nothing about.

So I made it up.

When I got to the point in the story where we needed to get past Castle Marchenghast, I asked my good friend, Becca, what she wanted to see in the Northern Golden Hills. And she pointed out that if we’re in a county, we don’t actually have anything that could be considered a County Seat. This was actually really helpful for me.

I grew up on the borders of what are two very rural counties with one huge town in them. So, I based the Northern Golden Hills on the one without a university and is slightly more rural.

So, I created a County Seat. The County Seat would have things like the Fair Grounds, a major station for the Jorvik Rangers, and the big courthouse, and even a jail. The Beeches Park is a green forested state park like area with playgrounds and a event pavilion and little pavilions you can rent for families to visit and throw little parties, let their kids play type of thing. There should also be a library, a school, a natural golf course, and so on. I decided that there should be a Baron for the Golden Hills District and the Count of the entire South New Jorvik County would also live in the Golden Hills at Castle Marchenghast.

Given Star Stable Online’s naming conventions it meant the Marchenghast Family was the highest ranking noble family in the area. I created another Baron, Baron Arthur Fairhaven, and he has his own castle, stable, and village. And lastly, I created Aspendell.

Yes, I know, a lot of A names to go with the A names already in the game, but I liked the name Arthur Fairhaven too much to let it go. It’s a fanfic. I can indulge in silliness.

The cool thing about Aspens is that they aren’t a bunch of individual genetically different trees. They aren’t siblings. Aspens send out roots under the soil laterally and from these roots grow more trunks. So, Aspens are actually one giant clone of each other. They are one complex organism communicating with each other via their roots. You know, like in James Cameron’s Avatar.

Due to drought and fires, there are several Aspen forests, one I know of in Britain, that are considered endangered. I thought it’d be neat to have an Aspen forest like that in Star Stable to bring attention or awareness to the area. Even if I wasn’t able to address directly in this “Chapter” of the story.

The other village in the North Golden Hills area is Eventide, a fishing village. Not a port, but a sea side fishing community that doesn’t have their own stable. I also added a privately owned vineyard to be competition or a new ally in the South New Jorvik County wine trail.

BEHOLD A HANDY LIST

Golden Hills Valley Past North Link/Castle Marchenghast

It’s the County Seat - Goldcroft

1.     Court House

2.     Jail

3.    Ranger Station

4.     Fire House

5.    Count Marchenghast Manor

6.    Goldcroft Stables

7.     Library

8.    Big Recreational Park (The Beeches)

9.    Camping Area/Natural Golf Course

10.  Event Concert Area/Oval Race Track/Rodeo Event Space near Fair Grounds

11.    Golden Hills School

12.   Goldcroft Riding Arena

13.   County Fair Grounds

14.   Large Town including Shopping Street Area (Goldcroft)

15.   Town Square Shopping (Goldcroft)

16.   Large Regional Post Office

17.   Castle Marchenghast Stable

18.   A Medium Sized Stable of Golden Hills Baron Fairhaven

19.   A Smaller Stable (Aspendell)

20.  Protected Quivering Aspen Forest (Shimmering Woods)

21.   Aurora Breeze Winery (Privately owned, no stable.)

22.  Farm 1 (county seat Goldcroft)

23.  Farm 2 (county seat Goldcroft)

24.   Farm 3 (village Fairhaven)

25.  Farm 4 (village Fairhaven)

26.  Farm 5 (village Fairhaven)

27.   Village Fairhaven(3 of 5 farms, Medium Stable, home of Golden Hills Baron)

28.  Village Aspendell (Small Stable)

29.  Fairhaven Riding Arena

30. Eventide Fishing Village

FOR THE ACCOMPANYING IMAGES PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE MY WATERMARK AND CONTACT INFORMATION. THANK YOU. I get it. Some of you might get excited and want to see this stuff in the game, especially the clothes, tack, and pets. However, the only way I want to see this in the game is if I get paid for it. If I see it in the game and I’m not paid for it, there will be hell to pay. You think I’m salty. I’d be angry. Personally, I’m not going to send this info to SSO. If you do, leave my contact information there! Don’t give them any excuses to steal.

Now, I’ll know you haven’t read this note if you leave me comments about how ‘salty’ I am about the game and if I hate it so much I should do something else. I am doing something else. It’s called Mystic Riders MMORPG Project. Mystic Riders however is a very baby phase game. You can check out our plans on the game dev blog. (Skills, Factions, Professions, Crafting, Mini-Games, 25+ horse breeds!) If you know anyone who would be interested and has money or contacts about game making, direct them to the blog.

[ginnyzero]

Completely Harmless Ch. 49

Completely Harmless An SSO SilverGlade Re-imagining Story (Or Fix it Fan Salt fic) By Ginny O.

When Lily and her friends wanted to buy horses and were directed to the Silverglade Manor and its myriad of problems, they didn’t expect to start a revolution. They were just a bunch a stable girls. Completely harmless. Right?

A/N: Things are only canon if I say they’re canon. Pre-Saving the Moorland Stables compliant for the most part. Posted in its entirety on my website. Posted in 2000 to 4000 word bits here. Rated T for Swearing Word Count 177,577

Chapter Forty-Nine The Lull Before The Storm

The food was proving to be very popular. (As were the floating lanterns, Kylie had to set up more stands at each beach party and recruit her friends to man them. She was making a killing.) So popular, that they had to get more supplies as the days went on. Loretta complained about having to go to Jorvik City to shop, but Lily just gave her a look. Loretta had volunteered for that part of the food.

That wasn’t all Loretta complained about. Justin and Alex also happened to be her next complaint. Loretta was trying to be the better person. Alex was just a phase. Justin would get over and come back to Loretta. Loretta loved him and always had.

Lily exploded. “You two were never together for him to come back to you.”

Loretta looked taken aback.

Lily took a deep breath. “Loretta, you’ve known Justin for a long time now. If anything was going to happen, it would have happened already.”

“You’re saying I don’t have a chance against Alex.”

“I’m saying that if you love him, truly love him, you’ll want him to be happy. Even if him being happy takes him away from you and to Alex.” Lily raised a brow at Loretta.

Loretta frowned. “But I want him to be happy with me?”

“Loretta, are you really in love with Justin? Or are you in love with the idea of Justin? Or even the idea of love?”

“We’re perfect for each other!”

“How?”

Loretta sputtered and rattled off a few superficial things about their riding capabilities, their looks, how they could be the Moorland riding power couple and win the Claymore Challenge and so on and so forth. Plus, Catherine Moorland had done the books like Loretta was doing now.

“That says nothing about Justin as a person.”

Loretta blinked. “What does that have to do with it?”

“Ohkay, your character is severely deficient. You aren’t bad, Loretta. You’re shallow. You don’t love Justin. You love the idea of being popular and being on top. You can be popular and on top by yourself. You don’t need Justin for that. You just need to be nice.”

Loretta looked at her blankly.

“You need to stand for something. Because right now, you don’t stand for anything at all. You don’t have any substance. You don’t care about Moorland Stables for more than it can give you, which is a tiny amount of power. The same goes for Justin, because he’s a symbol of the stables.”

“I don’t like you.”

“Mutual.”

The last day of the party came far too quick. A huge crowd gathered on the beach at the Dews Farm in Epona.

Maya had managed to drag her family from the Forgotten Fields for the event. Everyone was there, all the corporate sponsors, the Baroness. Even the Winterwell family and the Buttergoods had deigned to show up. The Li Family was hugging the Dews and chiding them for running off without explaining the situation to anyone.

Luciana had invited Ms. Drake of G.E.D. to come to Epona. She didn’t want Amelia’s cover blown.

Amelia and her club were making sure to not stick out in the crowd by wearing hats, sunglasses, and civilian style clothing they’d picked up over the week.

The atmosphere was jubilant.

Ms. Drake was brought up to the stage to join Luciania (proudly decked out in her Flying Fox Dressage Uniform), the Dew Family, Baroness Silverglade, and Baron Winterwell. The blonde woman in her sharp blue suit didn’t look pleased.

Not that the Baroness cared. She smiled sweetly at the younger woman. “Ms. Drake, on behalf of the Dew Family Race Challenge Sponsors and Event staff, we wish to present to you this money on the behalf of the Dew Family to cover their loans including interest towards the G.E.D. with the understanding that in taking this money that their debt to you is clear and their land is their own again.”

The crowd waited with bated breath as Luciana stepped forward with huge check to her.

Ms. Drake surveyed those on the stands and the crowd. She had no choice and been outmaneuvered. “I accept it gladly on behalf of the G.E.D.” she said her tone conveying that she wasn’t glad at all.

“This is the woman who sent a Rainbow Week card to herself,” Lily muttered.

Regina elbowed her.

Luciana handed the check over.

The crowd cheered.

Mrs. Dew burst into tears as her husband wrapped his arms around her to rock her back and forth.

Luciana grabbed another check.

“Mr. Dew,” the Baroness said kindly. “Not only were we able to raise enough money to cover your debts. We have enough to help you re-establish you in your rightful home.”

Luciana held the check out to them.

Mr. Dew took it with shaking hands. “I, I, don’t know what to say. You,” he gulped. “You didn’t have to do any of this. This is beyond any helped we cared to dream for our foolish actions.”

The Baroness sniffed.

“Thank you,” Mrs. Dew said hoarsely slapping her husband’s arm. “What he means is thank you.”

A group of girls ran up the stage. “Mr. Dew, Mrs. Dew,” they said together.

“We can help you. We want to be the riding club at your lovely farm,” they said. “Please?”

Mr. Dew looked overwhelmed.

Another group bounced up and down. “And we know animals, Mr. Dew. We can help at the other farm!”

The Baroness’ lips twitched. “What do you say, Matthew? I can tell you from experience these girls once they get the bit in their teeth give it their all and will do more than you ever thought possible. They also aren’t going to take no for an answer.”

Mrs. Dew beamed.

Mr. Dew swallowed hard. “We’d be honored to have help.”

The girls cheered jumping up and down. They smacked hands and hugged.

“Astro Monkeys!”

“Snoop Dogz!”

“Go!”

The Baroness leaned over. “I think the phrase is, roll with it.”

Mrs. Dew burst into laughter.

“All right everybody,” DJ Kai said through her microphone. “It’s time to celebrate!” She turned up the music. “Everybody dance now!”

It was an auspicious end to an auspicious week.

--

It didn’t take quite as long to take the decorations down as it had the last time during Rainbow Week. They were figuring out the routine. Everyone had so much fun with the Dew Family Race Challenge that there was talk of making it a permanent part of the Midsummer Beach Party.

Mr. Dew and Mrs. Dew were all right with that, but they were going to find some charities to give the money to instead of keeping it for themselves. The Astro Monkeys and the Snoop Dogz were working hard on cleaning up and opening up the two different farms.

“Not that they’re going to sell any horses,” Pauline said. “They don’t have the money to invest in stock like that right now.”

“I think we have enough options to choose from,” Lily rolled her eyes. She leaned against the fence and rubbed her neck. “Well, now what?”

Tyra leaned against the other side kicking her foot up lazily. “Agnetha says that we can’t put in the gardens for the race track until it’s done. And that looks like it won’t be done until after Happy Horse Week.”

“Which we need to plan for,” Lily said.

“Right. It’s a big event, but a completely different type of event,” Pauline nodded. “We celebrate Jorvik’s horses and Jorvik’s founding by Jon Jarl.”

Lily snorted. “As long as we aren’t celebrating that blowhard.”

Pauline’s brow furrowed. “How do you, no, never mind. I don’t want to know.”

“Jorvik Stables always has an open house.”

“Right, and we’re expanding that for every stable in the county.” Lily nodded.

“All the races are special races to show off the eventing capabilities of the county horses,” Pauline spun the shovel by the handle.

“Maybe we should do something educational? Like, do a lunging event while someone gives a talk about the history of the Jorvik Warmblood Sport,” Lily toed the ground with her boot.

“Ohhh, good idea,” Tyra nodded. She reached over and slapped Pauline’s shoulder. “Notes.”

“We’re going to need horse themed decorations,” Lily cracked her neck. “And we’ll need a cross country style event. Did we ever set up your races around Grape Mountain?”

“Nope,” Pauline popped her lips.

“Hmm, sorry.”

Pauline grinned. “We’ve been super busy, you know.”

“It’s important to you. So, thus, I’m sorry. Okay, a lunge event in the paddock to talk about the Jorvik Warmblood Sports, a dressage event and a showjumping event in the Riding Arena.”

“Since we have one.”

“And then we’ll set up some special cross country races around the Manor that won’t interfere with the Rose Garden Trail Ride too much, I hope.”

“At Jorvik Stables, they give beginning riding lessons.”

“We can use the Rose Garden Trail Ride for that then,” Lily waved her hands. “I take it this is going to be more hands on.”

“We can rotate shifts,” Pauline said her fingers flying over her phone as she leaned against the shovel.

“We’ll have to take pictures for Jorvikgram, and have a lost and found.”

Lily nodded.

“Moorland usually has another big feast and a huge cake,” Pauline said. “And we hide Golden Horse shoes all over the county.”

“And there’s the Light Ride over in Cape West.”

“We should do that together as a Club and include Linda and Alex,” Lily said.

They nodded.

“Okay, but this is in August and it’s June now.” Lily stretched her foot. “What are we going to do until then? I mean, we’re suddenly bereft of things to do and I don’t want to step on any toes by interfering with the other club’s domains.”

Tyra and Pauline just gave her looks down their noses.

“I like keeping busy.”

Tyra snorted.

Pauline raised a brow. “We could, I don’t know, train our green horses for the Claymore Challenge.”

Lily blinked. “Oh, right,” she blushed. “Um, how does one go about that?”

“Well,” Tyra drawled. “We have to earn ribbons.”

“There are three areas to the county,” Pauline said. “And every area has their events. In order to qualify for the Claymore Challenge, you need to beat a certain number of events in what they call the gold medal time.”

“I mean, for faults for showjumping it’s by not making any mistakes and under a certain time.”

Lily licked her lips. “So, we travel around the county earning ribbons and training our horses and if we have enough we make it to the Claymore Challenge?”

“Herman keeps track of it.”

“Or he’s supposed to,” Tyra muttered.

“We should um, make a route,” Lily scratched her head. “And a schedule so we don’t over extend the horses. Does that make sense?”

Pauline laughed. “Total sense,” she nudged Lily.

“Then let’s adjourn to the library and figure this out,” Lily rubbed her hands together.

They laughed and sent a text about a club meeting to the rest of the girls.

--

They were spending their time training around Jorvik for a couple hours each day and that meant they could check in with the other clubs, ask if they needed anything, or pitch in if the others seemed overwhelmed. Most the other clubs were doing the same. It was the Northern Golden Hills Valley, Firfall, and the Dews Farms that were rushing around trying to get things ready to show by Happy Horse Week.

They were grateful for the help.

It felt like a lull though before, something. No one was sure what. A shoe to drop, a storm. Something was coming.

Lily rode about with Alex to check the rune stones sometimes. Alex’s mother wasn’t doing so hot. She needed therapy and probably meds. Both of which were hard to get her.

“It’s why we all try so hard,” Alex sighed. “But she doesn’t want to accept the help.”

“You can’t force her. She has to want to do it. That’s the difficult thing. All you can do is love her and be there for her when she needs it,” Lily said.

“Are you speaking from personal experience?”

Lily shrugged. “I’ve seen it a lot growing up.”

“You don’t like to talk about it.”

“You don’t like talking about your childhood either.”

“Growing up poor on the wrong side of Jorvik City,” Alex snorted. “You don’t need to hear about that.”

Lily glanced over. “Alex, I’m a military brat. I’m lucky if I stay in a school two years. Stable doesn’t exactly describe my life and the towns that grow up around military bases aren’t known to be the safest.”

Alex’s eyes widened. “Woah. I mean, I guess I should have guessed or, I dunno.”

“By what? My love of legalism. My tendency to take charge, have schedules, or the love of mystery books and bad cop shows?” Lily laced her voice with sarcasm. “Dad’s an MP. Mom’s a nurse and works the military hospitals so that she’ll at least always have employment wherever dad is deployed. I’m lucky. They’re still together and don’t cheat. At least, as far as I know, they don’t.”

“The book thing?”

“You never know what you’re going to find drifting around a military base,” Lily shrugged a shoulder.

Alex turned back to the rune stone and concentrated taking the energy into herself. “Sorry, I assumed too much.”

“Because we don’t like to talk about it and most my clothes I’ve picked up here,” Lily rolled her eyes. “No offense taken, Alex.”

Alex finished with the stone. “I wish she’d get help.”

“She’s an adult,” Lily said. “And we teenagers aren’t supposed to be the ones with all the common sense.”

“Since when were we ever teenagers,” Alex drawled.

Lily nodded.

They rode in companionable silence.

“Thanks for listening, it helps.”

“Hey, if you can’t rant at me about Elizabeth, your crazy siblings, and your mother, who can you rant to? Linda? Maya? Justin?”

Alex huffed. “All right. All right. I get it.”

“Thanks for trusting me,” Lily nodded at her. “That means a lot. I mean, we weren’t predisposed to liking each other back when we first met.��

“I was worried you might be a stuck up like Loretta,” she paused. “Or Anne.”

“And I thought you were being a bit too hard and dismissive of your brother,” Lily sighed.

“As long as you didn’t think I was as conniving as he was!” Alex widened her eyes.

They both laughed.

“He’s a little shit,” Lily said. “But, he’s getting better.”

“Having his own horse that doesn’t take any excuses, helps a lot,” Alex grinned. “He adores that horse.”

“You think that they’re going to have all the hunting stuff ready for Happy Horse Week.”

“Definitely,” Alex nodded. “He’s even got these cute horse and dragon plushies on order.”

“I think the girls that like spiders have found most the babies,” Lily shuddered. “And tagged them with a GPS chip and IFRD chip tag, or whatever that acronym is. Just, no thank you.”

“The three of them are pretty driven about all these hunts,” Alex stretched out her legs. “All for the good, I think. It will give people who love exploring the area something to do and search for.”

Lily nodded.

Alex’ phone buzzed. She lit up in a huge grin. “Justin’s off work. See yah!”

Lily laughed. “Later alligator,” she called after Alex. She rolled her eyes. At least that seemed to be working out.

FOR THE ACCOMPANYING IMAGES PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE MY WATERMARK AND CONTACT INFORMATION. THANK YOU. I get it. Some of you might get excited and want to see this stuff in the game, especially the clothes, tack, and pets. However, the only way I want to see this in the game is if I get paid for it. If I see it in the game and I’m not paid for it, there will be hell to pay. You think I’m salty. I’d be angry. Personally, I’m not going to send this info to SSO. If you do, leave my contact information there! Don’t give them any excuses to steal.

Now, I’ll know you haven’t read this note if you leave me comments about how ‘salty’ I am about the game and if I hate it so much I should do something else. I am doing something else. It’s called Mystic Riders MMORPG Project. Mystic Riders however is a very baby phase game. You can check out our plans on the game dev blog. (Skills, Factions, Professions, Crafting, Mini-Games, 25+ horse breeds!) If you know anyone who would be interested and has money or contacts about game making, direct them to the blog.

[ginnyzero]

Completely Harmless Ch. 50

Completely Harmless An SSO SilverGlade Re-imagining Story (Or Fix it Fan Salt fic) By Ginny O.

When Lily and her friends wanted to buy horses and were directed to the Silverglade Manor and its myriad of problems, they didn’t expect to start a revolution. They were just a bunch a stable girls. Completely harmless. Right?

A/N: Things are only canon if I say they’re canon. Pre-Saving the Moorland Stables compliant for the most part. Posted in its entirety on my website. Posted in 2000 to 4000 word bits here. Rated T for Swearing Word Count 177,577

Chapter Fifty The State of Hillcrest

Ginny frantically called Lily. “Pick up, pick up,” she hissed.

“I have picked up,” Lily said. “What’s the matter, Ginny?”

“Mr. Kemball has let slip some crucial information about Hillcrest. We’ve been, like, okay, hounding his ass to build our Arena properly out of materials that will match the older buildings of Crescent Moon Village rather than trying to emulate his favored modern styles because yuck, but anyways, he gave information and I recorded and I don’t know if it’s legal or not.”

“Email the recording to Linda, she can send it to the Baroness.”

“We have to move quickly. People are either hurt or dying in there and Mr. Kemball doesn’t care.” Ginny’s voice hitched.

“Send it to Linda,” Lily urged. She waved her hands at the girls. “We’re headed back to the Manor as fast as we can, Ginny. I will keep you updated.”

Ginny hung up.

The club gathered around on their horses.

“Mr. Kemball has spilled the beans to the Bulldogz about Hillcrest,” Lily said grimly. “Ginny is sending the recording to Linda who will no doubt take it to the Baroness. Time to get back home.”

The girls all nodded and they found a transport to get them to the manor. Once there, they untacked the horses, gave them a quick brush down, and stabled them up. They ran to the library.

The doors between the library and the dining room were already open.

“Come in here girls,” the Baroness said. “Bernie, you can’t turn a blind eye to this. You simply can’t. There are people in that town. They’re behind a wall. G.E.D. didn’t evacuate anyone.”

“It was a mining accident,” Bernard Winterwell’s voice came through the speaker phone.

“And why did you give them permission to mine there anyways, right under the town, possibly destabilizing the entire mountain?” the Baroness snapped.

Bernie didn’t say anything.

Another voice drawled. “I take it by your silence, you didn’t give them permission. How big was that bribe, Bernie?”

“I wasn’t bribed, Arthur,” Baron Winterwell said.

“There’s only one thing we can do,” the Master Ranger said. “We have to get them out and shut this down for good.”

“I agree,” another woman’s voice said.

Lily raised an eyebrow at Linda.

“Countess Marchenghast,” Linda mouthed.

“This will have to be a well coordinated attack,” The Baroness stabbed the table with her finger. “Lily, what do your girls know of the site?”

Lily cleared her throat. “According to the Stormgarden Red Pandas and the New Hillcrest Bulldogz, the G.E.D. have a building site between the Stormgarden and the wall. The building site is surrounded with chain link, wood, and barb wire fences that are taller than our horses can jump. Inside the site, they can see buildings going up and excavation equipment. There’s a radio tower on site too. They had to use a zoom lens to see the wall. Now, according to Amelia of the Singing Swans, Herman says, and yes, I’m getting this third hand, sorry, that the Sunfields and the Goldspurs used to have a secret back way through the Grey Mountains to get to Hillcrest.”

“So, they’d have a way out.”

“Right. For themselves at least. I don’t think it’s a way they could get out any of the equipment,” Lily grimaced. “Getting the secret out of the farming families may be a challenge.”

“Not if they know their duty to Jorvik,” the Countess said.

Lily cleared her throat. “I can approach Herman and have him approach the Goldspurs and try to do a scouting run up the mountain to see if it is possible for more than horses or not. Though, keeping Herman from wanting to do more than scouting the trail may be difficult.”

“I can call the stables and have a chat with Herman, you show up,” the Countess said briskly. “He’ll have his orders and know what it will mean to go against them.”

Linda spoke up. “I know Herman, and so does Alex. We’ll go with Lily. I can fill her in on what Mr. Kemball said on the way.”

“Do so,” the Baroness said. “You two are dismissed.”

Linda got up from the table. “Thank you, Baroness,” she murmured. “Barons, Countess,” she said at the phone.

She and Lily headed quickly towards the stables.

“Mr. Kemball confessed that while they were digging in the mountain they came across a mysterious crack. As soon as they unearthed it, it started pouring out noxious smoke,” Linda explained. “Then these black balls of shadow burst out of it in a blast of pink light. Mr. Kemball thinks its nonsense but the workers won’t go back.”

“Why does this crack sound so familiar, gee,” Lily said her voice laced with sarcasm. They tacked up their horses and mounted.

“The black balls of shadow are definitely from Pandoria,” Linda pushed up her glasses. “They take your life for food.”

Lily shuddered. “Lovely.”

They took a transport to Jorvik Stables and left their horses in the stable. With a nod at Johanna they went and knocked on Herman’s door.

Herman shoved it open and looked around. “I was waiting for you two girls. Linda,” he grinned.

“Herman,” Linda nodded.

“Good to see you. How is Meteor?”

“Hungry, as usual.”

Herman chuckled. “Countess Marchenghast has briefed me on the situation.”

Amelia spoke up from the kitchen table. “And I’m here to help. Angus and Idun are good friends. They might help if it’s Herman and I asking.”

Lily nodded and blew out a quick breath. “This is just a scouting mission. We aren’t to go in yet until the Rangers and whoever else the Countess and the Barons want are ready.”

Ginny shifted on her feet by the stove. “CHILL is going to be plenty upset at us ruining their slow and careful plans.”

“Has CHILL actually gotten any useful information?” Lily’s voice turned cold.

Ginny shook her head.

“I don’t want anyone getting hurt or captured,” Lily narrowed her eyes and let them rest on Herman. “We’re scouting the lay of the land and that’s it. Take pictures. Get out.”

Ginny nodded. “If we have enough Rangers to cut off their avenues of escape, they’ll be trapped.”

Linda cleared her throat. “It’s a rift, Herman, from Pandoria.”

Herman sat down quickly. “That would explain much.”

“We’re going to have to close it.” Lily looked at Linda. “The people will have to come first. The rift last time though was already closed by the time I used the Star Fragment on it to heal the land.”

“Alex knows how to draw the energy out of the rifts,” Linda nodded. “She can get it drained enough that we can close it, I think.”

“All right, we’ll work out a plan of attack from there,” Lily said. “But the people have to come first.”

“Let’s go talk to the Goldspurs,” Herman said.

A loud thunk came at the door.

Herman ran over and pulled it open.

Starshine huffed at him.

Linda giggled. “Starshine is here to carry you around during the rescue.”

Herman’s face lit up. “Starshine!” he bellowed and wrapped his arms around the stallion’s neck. “I missed you. Where were you? Where’s Lisa?”

Starshine neighed and nuzzled his back.

“Lisa’s in Pandoria, as is Anne and Concorde,” Linda said gravely.

Herman let Starshine go. He paled. “No. They’ve been captured.”

Starshine pounded his hoof on the concrete pad that served as Herman’s porch.

“Elizabeth doesn’t want to do anything. She says we must wait and be careful and have patience,” Linda crossed her arms. “But we’re going to get them back.”

Herman hmmed. “Elizabeth says, huh,” he murmured. “She must be forgetting her own youth once she got her legs under her.”

Starshine neighed again.

Lily didn’t need to understand him. “She says she’s grown up. I have video.”

Herman eyed her. “You have video huh. You must be Lily. You look like a Lily.”

“I have no idea what that’s supposed to mean.” Lily rolled her eyes. “I look like myself, Herman and that’s enough.”

“Well, once bitten, twice shy, is the term. But one thing at a time, Hillcrest.” Herman slapped his thighs. “Let me find you some tack, Starshine, and we’ll be on our way.”

They mounted up and together and rode through Jarlaheim to the Goldspur farm.

Angus didn’t know anything. So they went to talk to the family patriarch, Jakob.

“Now why would I know anything about that?” Jakob scratched his head and settled his cap back onto his tightly curled hair. “I’m just an old man.”

“Jakob, this is on the orders of Baron Winterwell, and Countess Marchenghast,” Herman said gravely. “The path might lead straight into the G.E.D. camp up there on the mountain. And we don’t want any of them to get away when we go to free Hillcrest.”

Jakob sucked his teeth. “Orders of the nobles.”

“Please, Grandpere Jakob,” Amelia said.

Jakob flushed and muttered. “All right. All right. Since you asked nicely.” He took off his hat and turned it in his hands. “We Goldspurs do know the way to get over the mountain, and for years, my family kept the secret written in an old journal. But my grandfather didn’t think it was good enough see, so instead, he created a path, a compass with milestones to show you how to get to the path.”

“And the journal?” Linda asked.

“He tore that bit out and burned it,” Jakob shrugged. “The point is, I don’t have the compass.”

They all restrained sighs.

“The twins wanted to look at it and then they done hid it on me, and well, then Idun was crying out it was dinner time and it wasn’t so big of a priority.” He coughed. “Maybe you can get it out of the Amelia.”

Amelia pursed her lips. “Little monsters, oui?” She turned her horse and trotted off up the hill.

They followed her. She avoided the road and instead went through the G.E.D. worksite waving at the workers who nodded at her.

“They know that I work for Ms. Drake,” Amelia said off handedly.

“Does she trust you yet?” Lily asked in a low voice.

“She’s getting there. She didn’t see me in Epona.”

“That’s good.” Lily nodded. “We don’t want her to think you’re part of the trouble surrounding me.”

“If Ms. Drake pays attention to rumors outside of having to do with herself, I’d be surprised. She’s upset about Luciana and Rania, of course. But your name hasn’t crossed your lips. Boys! Hannibal!”

Hannibal ran over. “Amelia!” He grinned at her cheekily. “Have you come to play?”

“Oui, I’ve come to play a little game called hide and seek the compass,” Amelia mock scowled at him. “Where did you hide it on your granpere, Hannibal?”

“We hid it so well, you’ll never find it!” Hannibal giggled. “It will be secret forever!”

“You forgot,” Lily said blandly.

Hannibal’s face fell. “That’s no fair.”

“What do you remember, sweetie?” Lily asked.

Hannibal chewed his lip.

“We won’t tell on you,” Lily promised. “All we want is the compass.”

“It was somewhere high up,” Hannibal confessed.

“Somewhere you aren’t supposed to be going, petite?” Amelia rolled her eyes.

Hannibal giggled.

Amelia rummaged in her saddlebag. “Here,” she held out a couple balls of bright red candy.

Hannibal grabbed them and cheered. He took off giving one to his brother.

“Those are fireballs,” Lily said in a low voice.

Amelia smirked. “Ouias.”

Lily laughed as the boys began to run about shouting about how the fireballs were hot!

Amelia rolled her eyes.

“Get some milk, you little twerps!” Lily shouted at them.

“High up,” Amelia looked around. “What do you want to guess?”

“The silos,” Lily sighed. “That’s where I would go if I was little and not supposed to be getting into the things.”

“Because it can kill you.”

“Yep,” Lily said slowly. “But, you know, little kids.” She waved at the twins still running around waving their arms.

They went up the silos together. It was the last one they checked, because of course it was. They returned to Jakob carefully holding the precious compass.

“Where was it?” Jakob asked.

“Where little kids aren’t supposed to go and the first place you should always check,” Lily said dryly. “Don’t punish them, Jakob. They’re just being little kids and we’ve got the compass.”

Jakob grumbled.

Amelia held out the compass.

“All right, this here is a magic compass. And to make it work, you have to say the magic words.”

Lily and Amelia groaned.

Jakob glared at them. “Yes, yes, I agree. It’s a bit over the top. But nobody asked me. Listen closely, Oh Golden Compass, hear our plea, Goldspur’s Guardians beg of thee, tell us where the path may be.”

“Not exactly Shakespeare,” Linda said.

The needle on the compass started spinning.

“Now, when you get up there, you have to say, Oh, Golden Compass, the way you’ve shown, led Goldspur’s guardians to this magic stone. Wash. Rinse. Repeat. He was always a bit theatrical, my grandfather.” Jakob held out the compass.

Lily took it. “Well, it’s pointing that way,” she pointed upwards.

Linda finished scratching out the words onto her clipboard. “Do I have it right, Grandfather Goldspur?” She held it out for him to read.

“Exactly right!” Jakob beamed at her. “Dunno know the compass can’t show you the beginning of the path the first time and instead makes you jump through hoops like this. But he was pretty special like that.”

They thanked him and followed the guidance of the compass to the pass behind the upper mill.

Lily said the magic words once they found the stone, which was indicated by the needle spinning about rapidly in circles.

“More like a pain in the arse,” she said as the needle moved in a different direction.

The compass took them around the base of the Greydew Mountains, under a bridge of the Eastern Trail, up the hill a ways towards the Wolf Hall Inn, and finally just outside the Hollow Woods on the opposite side from where they started, was the last stone and the beginning of the path.

No one was particularly impressed.

FOR THE ACCOMPANYING IMAGES PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE MY WATERMARK AND CONTACT INFORMATION. THANK YOU. I get it. Some of you might get excited and want to see this stuff in the game, especially the clothes, tack, and pets. However, the only way I want to see this in the game is if I get paid for it. If I see it in the game and I’m not paid for it, there will be hell to pay. You think I’m salty. I’d be angry. Personally, I’m not going to send this info to SSO. If you do, leave my contact information there! Don’t give them any excuses to steal.

Now, I’ll know you haven’t read this note if you leave me comments about how ‘salty’ I am about the game and if I hate it so much I should do something else. I am doing something else. It’s called Mystic Riders MMORPG Project. Mystic Riders however is a very baby phase game. You can check out our plans on the game dev blog. (Skills, Factions, Professions, Crafting, Mini-Games, 25+ horse breeds!) If you know anyone who would be interested and has money or contacts about game making, direct them to the blog.

[ginnyzero]

Completely Harmless Ch. 45

Completely Harmless An SSO SilverGlade Re-imagining Story (Or Fix it Fan Salt fic) By Ginny O.

When Lily and her friends wanted to buy horses and were directed to the Silverglade Manor and its myriad of problems, they didn’t expect to start a revolution. They were just a bunch a stable girls. Completely harmless. Right?

A/N: Things are only canon if I say they’re canon. Pre-Saving the Moorland Stables compliant for the most part. Posted in its entirety on my website. Posted in 2000 to 4000 word bits here. Rated T for Swearing Word Count 177,577

Chapter Forty-Five She sells sea shells by the ... river shore?

Lily tried to regain control of the meeting. “Pauline, where do we stand on the decorations?”

“Okay, here is the ideas I’ve had with everyone talking. Okay, we take flower wreathes and put them on the lamps and then wrap them with more flowers like the ones in the wreathes and our artificial palm leaves, and the sea shell garlands and sea shell lights. Then, if you have an arm to hang things off of, put a paper lantern with more flowers if you want. Um, don’t choose any flowers that are protected ladies. Then we can use the bubble garlands and the jelly fish lights like we did with the clouds and rainbow hearts from the trees. You can mix them up with the regular paper lanterns too if you want. Put the flower lights, sea shell garlands, and paper lanterns in all the stables. You can make the paper lanterns look like bubbles if you do it right.”

“Like with the clouds.”

“Exactly!”

“Then we can use the beach scene lanterns the exact same way we used the heart lanterns. But you can add the decorated anchors or ship wheels in with them. Or use the shell buckets instead. We put up the boats with the selfie walls, boats have nets decorated with shells, the round white circles have flowers and greenery like they’re a big wreathe. Put up some of the round lanterns, throw in an anchor and a wheel for props if they want. Um,” Pauline scrolled through the pictures. “We can create cabanas for the bar and the dance floor using frames, sheets, the flower lights, the artificial palm leaves, and inside have the jelly fish lanterns and more bubble garlands. The bar can have a net on it and be strewn with the decorated shea shells and the shea shell lights.” Pauline stopped at the giggles.

“Sea shells,” Lily said dryly.

“Sea shells,” Pauline repeated. “We can have more bucket, anchor, wheel decorations on that. And the pineapples, because Lily wants the pineapples. We can put more of the artificial palm leaves there too. Above the bar can go the jelly fish lights and the bubble garlands.” She paused. “And these lace sailboats are cute. We can have them as a prop too at the selfie wall. I mean, I think we’re actually set for decorations. I mean, I know it sounds more than what we had for Rainbow Week, but we’re mixing them in more interesting ways?”

“There are more bigger pieces.”

“And no balloons.”

“Right, I mean, we could use the lantern lights instead of balloons to fill up space or use the jelly fish lights and white lanterns to make little scenes.” Pauline shrugged. “We’ll have to experiment.”

“Food,” Lily moved on.

“Jorvik Crawfish Boil,” Pauline checked her notes. “Crabwiches, fruit salad in a carved watermelon bucket, Vegetable and mushroom skewers, popsicles, watermelon on a stick?”

“One sounds too many.”

Pauline crossed out the watermelons on a stick. It seemed redundant.

“I saw mermaid tail favors. We could put candy in them?”

“We should have cookies, like citrus ones.”

“That means they’d be orange.”

“Orange cookies.”

“I also saw plastic seashell favors, we could put something in those too.”

“I think we better put out some things like pretzels and Cheetos for people like Alex,” Lily said.

“Okay, now we need some drinks because I think we’ve covered food pretty well. And I mean, we can all buy snacks to put in the buckets. That’s not difficult.”

“Pretzels, popcorn, Cheetos, and crisps.”

“Wait, can we really have a bonfire without s’mores, sausages, and potatoes?”

“Yeah, and bread for the sausages or to eat with the crawfish.”

“Cheese, we might need cheese.”

Lily rubbed her forehead. “Fine. But we’ll have to figure out how to split it out. Drinks.”

“I make some really chillax awesome drinks.” Tim spoke up. The first time he’d spoken up in a while. Maybe he was overwhelmed with the eager teenage girls. Or maybe he didn’t care that much about the food or the decorations.

Lily turned her head. “Yeah, I think we might want to test your drinks first.”

“Shibby!”

“Why don’t you tell us the ingredients?” One of the girls asked sweetly.

Tim rattled off his ingredients. They included kidney beans. Kelp. Corn water. Fermented potato juice.

Lily held up a hand. “Fermented potato juice is vodka and corn water is basically moonshine. Are you trying kill us and get us drunk?”

“You don’t think people will like them.”

“I think maybe we should stick to things like banana and strawberry smoothies. Orange juice. And grape and seltzer punch.”

“Apple juice. Watermelon and blueberry spritzers.”

Tim slumped in his seat.

“Those will bring the tourists back for more.” Lily patted his arm.

He sighed. “They sound boring to me.”

“We can try to make them exciting. Package them in fun ways! Mermaid, err, okay without lemons this is not as easy as you’d think.”

“Grape comes in clear.”

“Ohhh, that works. Look we did this at home, just color up some different ice cubes, put edible rainbow glitter around the edge of the glass. Put it in some grape juice with soda if you want, and let the ice cubes melt. Mermaid Cocktail. Or as it was described early grape and seltzer punch.”

“Mock up a white grape sangria too, strawberries, blueberries, apple or orange slices in white grape juice, apple juice, and soda.”

“They can be fun, we promise,” Lily patted his arm again.

Tim sighed. “All right, I’ll have to trust you.”

“Put the orange and soda in hurricane glasses, drizzle strawberry juice into it, garnish in a fun way, sunset hurricane drink.”

“See,” Lily smiled at him.

Tim didn’t look convinced.

“Watermelon and grape go with a lot of things. And we can get you the cucumbers too.”

“Okay, I think we’re good to go.”

“We’ll come up with a recipe list.”

“All right, then we’re doing the different wreathes at the different parties,” Lily said. “Let them have the sand souvenirs. We can do necklace garlands and bracelets to I guess for the luau theme.”

“And hide decorated Conch Shells, because they’re big, and colorful,” Pauline said. “Like, I think these are plastic or vinyl. I hope they are. Real conch shells might be too expensive.”

“Okay,” Lily nodded. “Hedgehogs, you’re the source of the crawfish for the crawfish boil. I’m leaving that to you.”

Riley groaned.

“I know you’d rather have the mermaid favors. Kelsey that sounds like something Madison would enjoy doing.”

“She would. So, we’ll take it.”

“You’re going to have to make a lot of them so, yeah.” Lily wrinkled her nose. She didn’t feel bad about giving that to them and only that. “Bulldogz, I know how you feel about Jamie cooking.”

“Someone is trying to hire her for the Midsummer Feast and thank goodness she’s easily distracted.”

“So, you can have the shell party favors.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

Josefina spoke up. “We’re the source of the strawberries and the blueberries. Do you want us on drinks or on the fruit salad?”

“We’re going to have to buy watermelons in bulk from the food stalls.”

“Okay, question,” Lily put her chin on her hand. “Who among is a competent melon or pumpkin carver? Because they should be the ones doing the fruit salad. I mean, I don’t think the carved bucket idea was a plain bucket?”

The girls got on their phones and started texting people in their clubs.

Loretta shook her head. “None of mine.”

“Loretta, since you have the Midsummer Festival grounds in your area, are you going to do a beach party too?” Lily asked, genuinely curious.

Tan leapt in. “Of course we are, and we’ll decorate those Dark Core containers and chase off the goons if we have to.”

Loretta made a face. “They’ve been stealing. Can you believe it?”

“You don’t say.” Lily’s voice was bland. “Do you have any records of it?” Lily asked. She wasn’t at all surprised that a company with a name like Dark Core hired a thief.

Tan tossed her head. “I recorded everything.”

“Could you send it to Linda?” Lily asked slowly and raised her brow.

“Linda? Why would she want to know? I mean, she’s one of those weird druid riders,” Tan flicked her wrist.

“Because the Baroness will want to know,” Lily said. Frustrated she had to spell it out. “And Linda is her personal assistant and monitors her emails.”

“Oh, in that case, sure,” Tan said and dug out her phone. “As long as the Bobcats get the credit for catching them.”

“I’m sure Linda will tell her.”

Loretta sniffed. “I had them all file reports with Thomas.”

Lily nodded and texted that information to Linda as well.

Linda texted back she was going to ride over to Moorland to get it. She needed to see Alex anyways and she was probably at Maya’s.

“Or with Justin,” Lily murmured. Had Justin gotten up the nerve to say anything to Alex yet? Lily shook her head.

“I’ve got a carver,” Amelia said. “She sent pictures of her work. She can carve buckets and flowers.”

“Then you’re on for the fruit salad,” Lily said. “Do you mind another club coming and picking fruit for the cocktails and the popsicles?”

“Not at all.”

“Chipmunks,” Lily turned to them. “I know you’ve got the farmers, but you also have Harold.”

“Orange slice cookies. On it, Lady Captain Lily.” Kate saluted and then fluttered her hand and bowed.

Lily restrained a sigh. Of course Kate would choose both.

Pauline spoke up. “I think we should take the popsicles, Lady Captain President, we’ve got the big freezers in the Wine Cellar to keep them in.”

“Right, good plan.”

Pia spoke up. “I’ll take one of cocktail slots. That way I can work closely with Tim to make sure they’re fun and fizzy.”

Sonja spoke up. “We also have the other fruits in our forest. So, we’ll take a cocktail slot too. And help everyone harvest fruit.”

Ingrid was next to volunteer. “Ma Anna knows pastry, and croissants like those crabwiches are pastry. We’ll take the crabwiches and make different meat salads for them.”

“Fish salad, chicken salad, egg salad, ham salad,” Violet muttered.

Pauline checked her list, “That leaves the Pandas, the Bulls, and the Cats.”

“What do we have left?”

“Veggie skewers.” Pauline checked. “Snacks, bread and cheese, etc., and more cocktails.”

Loretta spoke quickly. “We can do the Snacks, bread, and cheese and so on. That’s all shopping. We are power shoppers. And none of the stinky stuff from Will’s Mill either.”

Ami wrinkled her nose. “We have a spa. We know cocktails. We’ll help out there and see what we can do with our grapes.”

“That leaves us the Veggie Skewers, and we can get most the produce from the Farmer’s Market and do assembly in Valedale.” Melissa nodded.

Lily spoke up. “This is going to sound crazy, but maybe we should have Courtney Summers do the Midsummer Feast. She’s a local and maybe she knows the local dishes.”

“Barney, Marley, and Carney can cook too,” Kate said. “Or, so says Barney. They have all the traditional recipes.”

“Kate, can you do the invitation thing? I’m sure the Baroness will refuse to invite her personally. But notice, she showed up last time.”

“I’ll invite all of them to do it. Make it a family affair. It’s a week and if we have too much food, well better than none at all.” Kate nodded.

“All right, well, here is hoping that the budget can take this,” Lily said.

“I bet we can get the farmers to donate lots of the supplies,” Kate waved her hands. “It’s for the Midsummer Festival after all.”

“That would be good.”

“We can approach them individually and get back to the group,” Amelie said with a nod.

Luciana spoke up. “I’d like to put a cabana up on the beach near the Dews Farm to be the gathering spot for everyone finishing up their charity events.”

“Splendid plan, Luciana,” Lily nodded. “We can set up one there, and a dance floor and it can be a celebration. At the end of the week, we’ll have all the money. Where are we keeping the money?”

“Silverglade Manor’s safe.”

“Right, we’ll have all the money and can present Maya with a big fake check. And I hope that will be enough to get them out of their debts and back on their farm.”

“They’re in foreclosure,” Loretta sighed. “Not bankruptcy. I had to go over it with her three times.”

“If they’re in foreclosure, that’s easier than bankruptcy to an extent. Though what did they do? Take a loan out on their farm?”

“From G.E.D. instead of a bank.” Loretta pushed her hair back behind her neck.

“Well, Ms. Drake is going to take the cash or else I’ll shove it where the sun don’t shine,” Lily muttered.

“Make it super public,” one of the girls said. “She can’t be a monster in front of a lot of people.”

“Ms. Drake?” Amelia asked.

Josefina snorted.

“It’s worth a try.”

“We’re going to have to do the same thing for the stables once it happens.” Ginny said.

“Have they tried anything but threats?”

“No. But the stable is in debt. To the bank, not to them, praise Aideen. But if the bank forecloses on the property, we’ll all be kicked out. Though your plans with the Friesians have been working. And Mr. Kemball has started on the Riding Arena. We’ve been having to keep him honest.”

“That must be a job and a half.”

“Like keeping James honest,” Pia said.

There was some nervous laughter.

“All right, Mares, Frogs, Squirrels, Terriers, and Kittens,” Lily said. “Get your areas in order. Your job is to focus on your section of South New Jorvik County and come enjoy the Midsummer Beach Party when it’s on. If you have problems with G.E.D. or Dark Core, report to me or to Linda.”

Pauline interrupted. “Music, Lily. Music!”

“Well, Fort Pinta will have DJ Kai. And I know New Hillcrest will have Syntax.”

“We’ve got a pretty big beach with a lot of islands all picked out.”

“I think asking Mr. Wetton for thirteen acts again is a bit too soon. Plus, it would make Rainbow Week less special.”

“Radio the different music the DJs are doing.” One of the girls suggested. “Set up a transmitter. Jack it through that tower in the Grey Mountains that G.E.D. has set up and it should get the entire county. Or stream it online.”

“That’s devious, and I like it.” Lily grinned.

“They shouldn’t have an obnoxious radio tower that big up there anyways. Radio towers can be much more discreet. I mean, put one on the observatory and it won’t be a blight to the landscape.” There was a sniff.

Lily turned to Pauline. “Happy?”

“Syntax can hack the tower,” Ginny said.

“Yes, keep them hacking for the greater good.” Lily smirked.

Kate shouted. “Okay, pizza time!”

They were all hungry. And there were new people to meet. So, they had pizza and wings and loaded potatoes and talked to each other and Tim. Though they all agreed Tim was quite strange and was it college or something else?

They split up.

FOR THE ACCOMPANYING IMAGES PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE MY WATERMARK AND CONTACT INFORMATION. THANK YOU. I get it. Some of you might get excited and want to see this stuff in the game, especially the clothes, tack, and pets. However, the only way I want to see this in the game is if I get paid for it. If I see it in the game and I’m not paid for it, there will be hell to pay. You think I’m salty. I’d be angry. Personally, I’m not going to send this info to SSO. If you do, leave my contact information there! Don’t give them any excuses to steal.

Now, I’ll know you haven’t read this note if you leave me comments about how ‘salty’ I am about the game and if I hate it so much I should do something else. I am doing something else. It’s called Mystic Riders MMORPG Project. Mystic Riders however is a very baby phase game. You can check out our plans on the game dev blog. (Skills, Factions, Professions, Crafting, Mini-Games, 25+ horse breeds!) If you know anyone who would be interested and has money or contacts about game making, direct them to the blog.

[ginnyzero]

Completely Harmless Ch. 40

Completely Harmless An SSO SilverGlade Re-imagining Story (Or Fix it Fan Salt fic) By Ginny O.

When Lily and her friends wanted to buy horses and were directed to the Silverglade Manor and its myriad of problems, they didn’t expect to start a revolution. They were just a bunch a stable girls. Completely harmless. Right?

A/N: Things are only canon if I say they’re canon. Pre-Saving the Moorland Stables compliant for the most part. Posted in its entirety on my website. Posted in 2000 to 4000 word bits here. Rated T for Swearing Word Count 177,577

Chapter Forty Onward to Firfall!

Lily nodded at the foreman of the North Link site and looked curiously past him at what they were doing in the hills. It looked like a tunnel. Hadn’t there been a perfectly fine road around here? She pursed her lips and shrugged. There was too many boxes and debris for her to really tell what was going on.

“What do you want now?”

“To give you payment for work with actual permits,” Lily said. “And cookies.”

The foreman’s brow furrowed. “Are you trying to bribe me?”

“Fresh baked cardamom cookies,” Lily opened the box and waved them towards him. “I mean, I can eat them all myself.” She reached into the box.

“No!” The foreman shouted and then flushed catching himself. “What do you need?” His eyes strayed to the cookie box with longing.

“Bulldozers and excavators. We’ve got skips on route from Jorvik City. We need equipment.”

The foreman rubbed the back of his neck. “I can’t keep loaning you our equipment.”

“Then no cookies,” Lily pouted and shut the box getting ready to tuck it back in her saddlebag.

“Where?” The foreman barked.

“North of Dundull,” Lily smirked. She had him now. “The road to Firfall has had an avalanche. We want you to help dig it out for shillings and cookies.”

He plucked at his lip and eyed the box of cookies. “That is more than one box of cookies type of job.”

“How many boxes?” Lily asked.

“Ten,” the foreman said firmly.

“Done,” Lily grinned. She handed over the box in her hands. “We’ll lead your men there. Linda, come give this guy half his payment!”

Linda was on the phone with the Baroness. She handed over a sack of shillings to the foreman. “Other half on completion of the work,” she said as she nodded to whatever the Baroness was saying.

The foreman took the shillings, juggling the box of cookies into his other arm.

“Do you want your cookies now, or would you like to wait until we stop for lunch?” Lily asked. “Ten boxes of cookies is quite a bit.”

The foreman bit his lip. “I’ll wait,” he said as he rummaged in the box and ate half a cookie in one bite. His eyes rolled upwards. “I’ll go get the men together,” he said around the cookie and jogged off.

They made quite a parade as they left North Link, turned east at Silverglade Village, and crossed the bridge to get to the Fire Path to head towards Mistfall. The Silver Drakes on their horses were in front and to the sides of the machines. The Baroness’ car and Bjorn’s truck followed in the rear.

Meeting the Flying Foxes near Dundull, they turned North up what was little more than a logging road. At the site, there were several Rangers. They weren’t happy to see the G.E.D. uniforms. But there were several skips already in place for the debris.

Agnetha got out of her truck and revved her chainsaw. “Girls, latch onto the bushes and drag them away as I cut,” she said.

The girls took ropes out of their bags and the work began. The bulldozers treads were able to get up and over the broken stones and dirt and pushed it towards southern Mistfall. From there, the excavators picked it up to dump it into the skips. If there were bushes or brambles, Agnetha and Bjorn took them with their chainsaws, while the girls dragged them to the skips and dumped them in.

They broke for lunch. The Silver Drakes brought out the promised cookies for the G.E.D. workers.

After lunch, they went back to work. By evening, the Baroness was able to drive through Rovar’s Gap. The lights of the car hitting the forest trees on the other side.

Linda paid them and it was another odd parade back to North Link.

The Baroness insisted on inspecting the North Link work site herself. After being given cookies, and being paid a fair amount for a day’s labor, the foreman couldn’t refuse her. Not that it was wise to refuse Baroness Silverglade. They were right next to her lands and if she cared to not look the other way, they’d be gone like the oil field was gone. And they well knew it.

The road continued northwards as it should while G.E.D. were digging into the mountain towards the west. Their equipment and the debris from the tunnel blocked the road more than their excavations did.

The Baroness gave the foreman a look and ordered him to keep his workings to one side of the road so people could pass and put one of the trainees on directing the traffic. She would send someone back to make sure her orders were being obeyed.

The foreman didn’t bother trying to bluster. He hung his head, nodded, and that was that.

It had been an interesting day. Maybe they’d get some answers tomorrow about what had happened by the Weeping Widow. But no one was betting on it.

--

Pauline made a schedule about who was to take care of Techno each day. It was another addition to their daily chores. Not that any of them minded. Techno was a friendly dog who enjoyed the horses’ company.

The contractors were setting the walls up onto the footings they’d put into the concrete floor when they’d poured it. This apparently required a small crane. Things were moving right along and the Riding Arena hadn’t been vandalized for the second day in a row.

The grapes took priority over Firfall though. They spent the morning helping Agnetha spray the moldy grape vines (masks on, safety first) and planting roses at the end of each row of grapes. Like Agnetha had explained to the Baroness, the roses were more sensitive to fungus and rot and the like, so they’d be affected by any blight before the grapes. They’d just have to be inspected.

“Like everything else,” Elsa drawled.

Once the grapes, the Manor’s livelihood, were done. They took the transport to Dundull so they could ride up to Firfall with the Flying Foxes.

The road was long and littered with logs.

“We’ll have to clear those,” Sonja said. “If we want traffic between the towns.”

Lily nodded.

The road went between two lakes and between those lakes and another one to the north, they found the town of Firfall nestled in a fir forest. It had stone houses with large logs as bracers. In fact, it reminded Lily of a mix between Valedale and Firgrove architecture. Though it had a Tudor flair to it that those two villages lacked.

There was a stable of course.

The stable master waved at them and introduced herself as Genevieve Goldtooth. “Welcome to Firfall! You’re the first visitors we’ve had in an age.”

“That’s what happens when Rovar’s Gap has an avalanche over the winter,” Sonja said. “I’m Sonja, this is Luciana and Rania. We’re of the Dundell Flying Foxes Riding Club.” She gestured at the rest of them. “And these are our friends the Silver Drakes Riding Club.”

“Lily,” Lily said and held out her hand. “I’ll let the others make their own introductions.”

“My, there are a lot of you,” Genevieve murmured looking at them all dazed.

“Well, we’ve never been to Firfall,” Lily said cheerfully. She sobered. “Actually, as much as we’d love to explore your village. I’m here on a job from the Baroness. Dark Core has an illegal mine site to the mountains north of here. We’re worried that their dumping is putting toxins into the water. I’m here to take samples for Professor Hayden.”

“Oh, you must see our Medieval Faire first and we’ve got a pub with great food and a bunch of little shops and even a medieval market. We also have Irish Draught horses if you’re interested.”

“That sounds great,” Pauline said.

Genevieve was happy to show them around. Lily slipped away and took her samples and the north and southern sides of each lake. She capped them and labelled them for Hayden and snuck back in time for chips and burgers at the pub.

There were a couple of farmers around, Gary Goldtooth was the biggest and he kept pigs.

There wasn’t a lot of arable land around Firfall. So they relied on keeping animals like sheep, pigs, cattle, and chicken, for which they traded for grains. They kept vegetable plots of course and there were berries in the woods. Along with truffles, that’s why Gary kept pigs.

They all nodded.

“Central Jorvik is Jorvik’s breadbasket,” Genevieve dropped the information casually.

“That makes sense,” Lily said.

They thanked her for her time and rode back to Dundull.

“Well,” Luciana said. “That’s all very interesting.”

“I bet it won’t take long for word to spread that there’s a stable open in Firfall.” Pauline grinned.

“And I’m not going to take that bet.” Lily rolled her eyes.

“Why not?” Pauline pouted.

“You’re emailing pictures to Linda. I’m off to Valedale.” Lily smirked at Pauline and caught the first transport to Valedale.

Linda and Alex were talking with Professor Hayden as she approached. Starshine, the white and grey stallion, huffed alerting every one of her presence.

Linda smiled up at her. “Lily!”

Lily leaned down and passed her water and soil sample vials to Hayden. “Samples from Firfall, Professor.”

He grumbled but took them. He set to work checking them both for contaminants. All the while he muttered that he loved bugs and this wasn’t his job.

“Yes it is,” Lily said. “I’ve watched Bones.” She paused and tilted her head. “Okay, maybe he had more than one degree, but he was a bug and dirt guy and you have to know whats in the water and dirt because that’s where your bugs live. Healthy water and soil, healthy bugs.”

Hayden glared at her. “Young whippersnapper, don’t tell me how to do my job.”

“I wasn’t telling you how to do it. I was merely pointing out contrary to you whining which is very unbecoming, that it is in fact your job.”

“No respect these days, none.”

Lily sighed dramatically. “You have a valid coping mechanism in place for it. Who am I to stop you from complaining?”

Linda and Alex restrained laughter.

Hayden finished and slapped the new reports onto Linda’s clipboard. “These are for the Baroness. Not that she’ll know how to read them.”

“Then write notes in proper English so everyone can understand,” Lily looked up at the sky as if she could read the future in the clouds.

Hayden grabbed a butterfly net and stomped off.

“You shouldn’t be so mean to him,” Linda scolded.

“I’m barely being mean. He rants about youth all the time and wants us to respect him.” Lily snorted. “He’s a grouch. If he was nicer, I wouldn’t poke at him so much.”

Alex glanced about for Avalon and lowered her voice. “Is there a place that’s secure where we can all meet?”

“All?”

“I guess, we want to talk to all the riding clubs.”

“You do know that’s close to 150 girls at the moment. I’m not sure even the Council house in Silverglade can hold that many. Let me get on the phone.” Lily pulled her phone out and sent a President wide text about places to hold a meeting that was secure and could hold everyone.

Ingrid volunteered the Flea Market building in Firgrove. No one was using it at the moment and it was big enough to hold over two hundred people.

“Okay, when?” Lily asked.

“Is now all right?”

Lily sent out more texts. “Now seems good. Though Loretta says she’s got an argument in Moorland about which thirteen girls are forming a club in Firfall.” Lily muttered. “Handle it, Loretta. No. This isn’t my fault.”

“Are there any campers left?” Linda asked and cocked her hip.

“I’m not sure,” Lily rubbed her forehead. “I mean. Mr. Moorland could be replacing them as fast as they go.”

Alex chuckled. “Maybe.”

Lily’s phone kept buzzing and presidents checked in with saying they’d bring chairs or snacks or drinks.

“There isn’t room for almost two hundred horse at Firgrove,” Lily muttered as she texted exactly that.

The Timber Wolves were already on it setting up a temporary paddock out near the Fire Trail past the mine. They had rolls and rolls of fencing and poles.

“Usually we only convene the Presidents,” Lily explained. “And Vice Presidents.”

“We want to clear the air all at once.”

“Then if you want to get there first, we better go now.” Lily tucked her phone away.

They took a transport over to Firgrove and got their horses settled with Felicity at the stables. She looked baffled. “Are we having a convention?”

“Yep,” Lily said.

“Huh. Well, I’ll have Ma Anna send pastries and a bunch of hot drinks.” Felicity smiled at them.

“Thanks,” Alex said. “You think anyone will bring Cheetos.”

Linda rolled her eyes. “You and your Cheetos.”

The Firgrove Flea Market was a huge log building among all the different cottages. Ingrid waved them inside. “The others are walking up. We’ve got more chairs coming and we put up some tables for refreshments.”

It took a bit for everyone to arrive and actually get settled. Most of them goodnaturedly help set out chairs and made sure there were enough cups for beverages.

Ginny apologized to Lily that Elise Kemball couldn’t make it. She hadn’t yet moved to New Hillcrest to join the Club.

“You can fill her in later if you need to,” Lily said. “I’m not sure what Linda wants to talk about anyways.”

Alex did get a bag of Cheetos. Maya had sent them with Tan.

Linda clutched her clipboard looking slightly nervous.

“Okay ladies,” Lily spoke up. “Welcome to Firgrove. Thank you Ingrid and the Timber Wolves for hosting all of us. And there are a lot of us. Horse girl power!” Lily shook her fist.

The girls cheered at that and laughed.

“Now, I understand that there are going to be more of us soon as the road to Firfall has opened up and more girls from Moorland Summer Camp want to form a club near its pristine lake and quaint medieval style town complete with it’s own medieval fair and tourney! Which all sounds very exciting to me.”

The girls clapped and cheered more.

“More girls to join our horse army!” Lily gestured. “But, we all know that were stable girls, completely, perfectly, prettily, eh, mostly harmless. We’re a sisterhood that while we compete with each other, when push comes to shove, we ride together. Now, this isn’t my meeting. May I introduce to you, the lovely Silverglade Equestrian Center Manager, Linda Chanda and her friend Alex,” Lily paused.

“Cloudmill,” Alex supplied in a low voice.

“Alex Cloudmill, whose little brother James is part owner of Fort Pinta stables. But she’s the better sibling.”

More laughter.

“Linda, Alex,” Lily gestured and stepped to the side.

Linda cleared her throat again and shuffled her clipboard and book holding them to her stomach. “When Lily said almost 150 of you, I didn’t expect it to look like so many.” She shifted up her glasses. “Um, I should have prepared notecards. I guess we need to start at the beginning and there are a lot of different groups you’ve noticed on Jorvik. You’ve no doubt run into G.E.D. or Dark Core or the Keepers of Aideen as you’ve been working or riding about. They aren’t hard to miss.”

The girls settled in and nodded.

“So, um, you might not know that G.E.D. stands for Global Energy Domination. Not very subtle, pretty much what they say on the tin. They’re trying to take over Jorvik and the rest of the world’s energy resources. So, they’ve been mining and searching for things around the county and probably all around the island.” Linda fiddled with her clipboard.

“Like in Hillcrest,” Ginny spoke up. “They’ve got the entire town barricaded off.”

“They’re searching for things around Jarlaheim too, crystals,” Josefina said.

“And we chased them out of Moorland and the Silver Fields,” Lily nodded.

“They have dump sites all over too,” Ingrid added.

“They’re currently digging west into a mountain by North Link,” Lily said. She crossed her arms. “They barricaded of the West Jorvik Highway northwards. The Baroness has ordered them to keep one lane free going forward to restore traffic to the North Golden Hills Valley area.”

Loretta spoke up. “So, I’m going to have more girls fighting over making clubs up there next?”

“Probably,” Lily said dryly.

“G.E.D. are easy to spot. They’re as unsubtle as their name. The other group that has been causing trouble is Dark Core. Especially on the Moorland South Beach and South Hoof Peninsula North Beach, and in Valedale. Their motives are murkier than G.E.D.,” Linda said and shifted again. “Before I explain more about Dark Core, I need to explain the Keepers of Aideen.”

“The druids,” Melissa said sourly.

“The Keepers of Aideen aren’t druids in the way that other cultures understand druids. They don’t worship nature in that fashion though they are supposed to be fiercely protective of it and the horses of Jorvik.” Linda bit her lip.

Alex snorted. “Supposed to be.”

“What the Keepers are, are the protectors of the knowledge of Aideen, the Goddess of Jorvik. I’m sure you’ve seen her statue in Aideen’s Plaza if you’ve gone to Jorvik City. The Keepers of Aideen believe that Aideen gave life to Jorvik and that she bestowed magical powers upon her chosen ones and they are her Soul Riders.”

FOR THE ACCOMPANYING IMAGES PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE MY WATERMARK AND CONTACT INFORMATION. THANK YOU. I get it. Some of you might get excited and want to see this stuff in the game, especially the clothes, tack, and pets. However, the only way I want to see this in the game is if I get paid for it. If I see it in the game and I’m not paid for it, there will be hell to pay. You think I’m salty. I’d be angry. Personally, I’m not going to send this info to SSO. If you do, leave my contact information there! Don’t give them any excuses to steal.

Now, I’ll know you haven’t read this note if you leave me comments about how ‘salty’ I am about the game and if I hate it so much I should do something else. I am doing something else. It’s called Mystic Riders MMORPG Project. Mystic Riders however is a very baby phase game. You can check out our plans on the game dev blog. (Skills, Factions, Professions, Crafting, Mini-Games, 25+ horse breeds!) If you know anyone who would be interested and has money or contacts about game making, direct them to the blog.

[ginnyzero]

Completely Harmless Ch. 38

Completely Harmless An SSO SilverGlade Re-imagining Story (Or Fix it Fan Salt fic) By Ginny O.

When Lily and her friends wanted to buy horses and were directed to the Silverglade Manor and its myriad of problems, they didn’t expect to start a revolution. They were just a bunch a stable girls. Completely harmless. Right?

A/N: Things are only canon if I say they’re canon. Pre-Saving the Moorland Stables compliant for the most part. Posted in its entirety on my website. Posted in 2000 to 4000 word bits here. Rated T for Swearing Word Count 177,577

Chapter Thirty-Eight A Big Mechanic for A Big Elevator

Kate texted back. “Big Bonnie?”

“Can she fix elevators? Old ones? Pre-1912.”

“She fixed the Silverglade Village Clock. Can’t be too much different.”

Melissa bit her lip. “She might know what we need to fix it.”

“I’d rather have some idea of what we’re getting into before we go down there.” Lily said. She texted Linda about it.

Linda said she’d meet them in Silverglade Village with the blueprints of the elevator and the payment for Big Bonnie.

“Let’s go,” Lily said to Melissa.

“Yeah, it’s freezing. We can plan better in the warmth.” Melissa shivered.

They headed out to the pass, down the mountain, shedding clothes as they went and got into the transport. It took them to Steve’s Farm.

Kate waved at them as they stabled up their horses. “Big Bonnie is a bit strange.”

“This is Jorvik, is anyone normal? Or all we all insane and not realize it?” Lily asked.

Kate giggled. “So, I’ll come along to introduce you. She was hiding in Barney’s silo for a long time. Barney knew she was there the whole time too.” Kate rolled her eyes. “No one even noticed the clock was broken until we came along. It’s fixed now and ticks and tocks and we help her keep it going properly.”

They strode into the village and found Linda tying up Meteor. She waved a roll of papers at them.

“The cars are at the bottom of the cliff,” Lily said as they met her. “There seems to be a way down.”

“But a way down, doesn’t mean it’s a way up,” Melissa said.

Linda nodded. “And we want you two to be safe. It seems that the Silverglades were the ones who sponsored the expedition that put in the elevator.”

“Big Bonnie lives up here,” Kate said. “She’s a clock master?”

“Clocks are pretty complicated.” Linda said and shoved her glasses up her nose.

“Bonnie!” Kate waved at an old woman with goggles perched on her head. “The Baroness has a job for you.”

“The Baroness?” Bonnie asked and rubbed her hands together.

“Yeah, we need to fix an elevator,” Lily smiled at her. “The cars are stuck at the bottom and it looks like the operating equipment is down there too.” She held out her phone to show Bonnie the pictures.

“I have blueprints and your fee,” Linda said.

“Well, now,” Bonnie actually blushed. “It’s definitely nice to be recognized girls. Sure, I’ll help you with your elevator. The cars are at the bottom.”

“There’s a path down, but we don’t want to go down until we’re sure we can fix it for a way back up.”

“Sensible, sensible, let me see these blueprints. It might have just frozen solid and need some juice.”

“If we’re lucky.”

“Are we ever that lucky?”

Bonnie gave them a list of things to get. She had her tools, but she thought they might need some gears and definitely some fuel. They also had to get a blowtorch on her insistence.

Once they had everything, and made sure Bonnie had winter clothes on, only then did they return to the pass and the elevator.

“Hmm, I see what you mean,” Bonnie observed. “Well, time waits for no woman. Come on, down we go to see if we can get this marvel of turn of the century engineering back to life.”

They carefully navigated the cliffs downwards, having to jump in several spots.

Melissa looked up once they were at the bottom. “I’m not going back up that,” she said flatly.

Lily helped Bonnie down.

“Brrr, cold,” Bonnie shivered. “All right, let’s get a good look at this engine.” She tugged her goggles down. “Looks like it exploded. Look around girls for the missing parts. It’ll be a faster fix if we can see what we’ve got matches what was lost.”

Lily and Melissa slid off their horses and tied them to the bottom of the elevator shaft. They tramped around the snow while Bonnie muttered about rust and how terrible it was they’d left the engine out in the snow like this and where were the controls?

Lily came across a shack, her feet hit a thick pipe that went into it. She walked around it searching for the door. It was locked but a quick look at the padlock made her snort. She reached up and jerked.

It broke right off.

Lily opened the door and looked inside. “Bonnie, I found the control room.”

“Right. Right. Now we can spread out the blueprints,” Bonnie said. “Oh, it’s much nicer in here out of the wind.” She bustled into the shack and spread the blueprints out.

Melissa entered with an armful of broken parts. “It really must have exploded. Didn’t they turn it off?”

“Hmm, not if the controls were down here and they were leaving up here. Probably thought it’d run out of fuel and stop on its own.” Bonne examined the parts and declared them all ‘rubbish.’

“I think I see the issues,” Bonnie said.

“It exploded,” Lily said blandly.

“Precisely,” Bonnie waved her hands. “And it exposed the insides to all the damp, thus the rust. We can get it going again, girls, never fear. Big Bonnie is on the job.” She marched back out.

Melissa and Lily looked at each other and raced after her.

Under her direction, they retrieved parts from their saddlebags and helped her replace rusted gears and springs and tighten everything to her satisfaction.

“I’ll have to get a cover for it, but for now this will do,” Bonnie said. “Dump the fuel in, and we’ll get her going.”

They poured the fuel into the tank.

“I think I saw a tank on the other side of the shed,” Melissa told Bonnie. “It might have more fuel in it.”

“Good. Good.” Bonnie nodded. “Let’s get it going.” They returned to the control room and Bonnie let them dramatically shove a lever and push some buttons.

The engine coughed once and didn’t go.

They turned everything off.

“I was afraid of this. It’s frozen,” Bonnie said. “Come on, time to heat it up.” She marched back out and took a blow torch to the parts that were frozen solid. “It’s good the engine is full or this would go kablooey!” Bonnie laughed.

They returned to the shed and this time the engine started. The chains creaked and groaned but one of the cars went upwards.

“There, that should do yah,” Bonnie nodded. “Now, I can make my own way back to Valedale without you girls. You have a nice day and stop by tomorrow for a cover for the engine. Maybe some wood to build it a nice shed.”

“Sure thing, Bonnie,” Lily said, not sure how to tell the woman they only needed to be here for a couple of days.

Bonnie waved at them and took the elevator up.

Without Bonnie around they were able to look around. There was nothing but snow, snow, rocks, snow covered rocks, and sheets and pillars of ice everywhere.

Lily rubbed her arms. “Talk about a snow desert.”

“I think deserts have more life than this.”

“I mean, Antarctica?”

“Has more life than this,” Melissa made a face. “Even if it’s bacterial.”

“Why would anyone want to come here?” Lily asked as they mounted their horses and rode down what looked to be a road. Thought it was hard to tell there was so much snow around them. The wind picking it up and blowing it around in swirls and sheets. The further away they got from the mountains, the more mist grew up.

“There has to be something warm here to have all of this mist,” Melissa said.

Off in the distance, they heard a roar.

“Geysers?”

They came across a snow drift that the horses stopped and refused to move.

They got down and shoveled it out. It was work, but not as much work as cleaning the stable.

“Hey, at least this keeps us warm.”

“And we’re wearing wool,” Lily said.

“Right. Cotton kills,” Melissa wiped her forehead. “Country wisdom.”

“I think we’re in bufu nowhere,” Lily said.

Melissa pounced. “You’re a military brat.”

Lily flushed. “Damn it.”

Melissa giggled. “I won’t tell anyone. I promise.”

“How do you know bufu then?”

“I’ve got family in the service,” Melissa shrugged.

They rode onwards, they couldn’t see much, but thought there might be a lake nearby. The water lapped up on the pepple and snow covered shore.

They turned a corner between a pass of tall rocks and had to stop.

Melissa leaned over. “Isn’t this place supposed to be empty?”

A man in a poncho stood in a clearing stomping his feet and rubbing his arms and marching in a circle.

“It is,” Lily whispered. She raised her voice. “Um, sir! May we help you?”

The man whirled around. “Oh my word. People!” He slogged over to the snow towards them. He touched the horses’ sides. “You’re real. You’re real! I haven’t seen a person in ages. And, and, do I know you?”

“I don’t think so,” Lily said.

“I, I met some girls. They helped me with my balloon in the Everwind Fields. That wasn’t you? I, I was trying to get to Jor Crater. I thought I saw it, it looked warm and inviting. But maybe it was a fever dream from the altitude. I lost control of my balloon and crashed here. I, I didn’t dare leave the crash site. There are some thistles I’ve been eating. But, but, I’m so hungry.”

Lily’s eyes widened. “Why didn’t you say so?” She pulled a wrapped gyro out of her bag. “Here, eat this. And, look, hot chocolate. Careful now.” She handed him a thermos.

Nic Stoneground introduced himself, and explained more about how he’d dumped all his things over the side of his balloon and slashed the sandbags to try and get to the green valley he’d spotted. But he’d still crashed here due to the violent winds in the upper atmosphere.

“We’ll see if we can find them. Say Nic, what exactly is it that you do?”

“I’m an explorer with the Astrological and Archeological Society of Jorvik. I suppose I can research this place. Surely, no one has been here in an age.”

“Not since 1912,” Lily said. “Look, we’ve fixed an elevator up to Valedale Village if you want to get back to civilization.”

Nic’s brow furrowed. “Maybe. Maybe. What brings you here?” He sounded much better now that he had his hands wrapped around her hot cocoa thermos and some food in him.

Lily shifted on her saddle. “Dark Core is drilling into the mountain and releasing toxins into the Silversong River and Valedale Lake. We’re here to make sure that the lake on this side of the mountains isn’t contaminated as well. We’ll have to get some water samples and look around to see if there is a waterfall on this side of the mountain.”

“We can look for your things as we do that,” Melissa said.

“Yes, yes, I have a tent, and an adventure kit, and my balloon is shredded.”

“You say there are thistles in the area.”

“Some, they’re very hardy types. Tough to chew. The horses like them. A small herd wandered up here and that’s how I knew they were safe to eat. They live off that and the lichen, but the lichen is so dry. Tough to chew unless you can get water safely. I’ve been eating snow instead.”

“The horses are alive!” Melissa squealed.

“We were worried we’d find nothing but bones.”

“There are supposed to be a lot of bones in this place.” Nic scratched his chin.

Melissa took out her phone. “Are you sure you want to stay in this place?”

“I might as well.”

Melissa nodded and her fingers flew. “All right, I’ll have some of my club mates bring you supplies, food, fire, and we’ll see if we can find your tent and things. They’ll bring some hay for the horses too.”

Once they were certain that Nic was going to be fine, they rode off looking for the edge of the lake and keeping their eyes peeled for Nic’s things. If there was a trail, it wasn’t always obvious in the fact that there was little but snow and rocks and ice. They found thistles hiding in crevasses of the rocks and lichen growing on them.

Lily took samples of each.

Melissa made a noise.

“Agnetha might want to look at them. And the vet, we should get the vet up here to check on the horses.”

“Once we find them.”

They found some of Nic’s things and settled them onto the back of their horses. The trail wandered down to the lake edge.

“That looks thick enough to walk on.”

“I’m surprised it’s not frozen solid all the way down,” Lily said and carefully urged her horse onto the lake. The horse tested each step first before snorting and walking normally.

“So, any idea where we are?”

“North,” Lily said.

They jumped over gaps in the ice and stopped.

“Um, that’s not very hidden,” Melissa gestured at the huge aquatic dinosaur skeleton.

Lily took out her phone. They rode around it snapping pictures.

On the other side of the skeleton was a huge upthrusting peak and when they looked up, they could see a rope and wooden bridge connecting it to what had to be a trail. They rode under the bridge to another section of the lake.

“That looks like a mouth,” Melissa said.

They took more pictures.

The air felt colder. There was a soft hum to the place, an eerie hum.

“Do you think that’s where the Ice Witch is imprisoned?”

“Ice Witch? What Ice Witch?”

“I really don’t know,” Lily said. “But the locals say there used to be an ice witch and she’s imprisoned here in the Valley.”

“Whatever it is, let’s get away from it.”

They found a way back up onto the land and followed the noise of gushing water up the side of another mountain to an area filled with geysers that bubbled black.

“There must be something in the water,” Melissa shook her head.

“I’m not getting close enough to look. Let Nic,” Lily rolled her eyes.

Riding back, they went up another trail that looked like it might lead over the mountain. Instead, they found a huge door.

“I am now thoroughly creeped out. Like, I have the heebie jeebies.” Melissa said. “There’s not supposed to be anyone here!”

“Let’s get back to Nic and explore the south side. That’s where we need to look anyways.”

Melissa agreed fervently. “Big door. Where no one is supposed to be!”

They found Nic where they’d left him with a couple of the Running Bulls chatting cheerfully as they unloaded hay for the horses and bags of food for him. One had started a fire and Nic stood over it with his arms outstretched trying to get warm.

“We found your kit, I hope,” Lily said as they returned.

“My tent! My adventure kit.”

“And some of the stuff for the balloon,” Lily said.

“We can work on getting it patched together if you find the rest,” one of the girls said.

Lily nodded. “We’re going to take the south side. We could be a while.”

“We’ve got lunch,” Melissa joked.

“Take more food!” One of the girls thrust food at them. “You never know in a place like this.”

They thanked her and found a track down to the lake nearby. It took a few false starts to find a way towards the southern part of the lake where they’d heard the geysers before. They ate as they rode, trying to keep the bread warm so it wouldn’t get too chewy in the cold.

“No horses yet,” Melissa observed. They found bits of the balloon and more of the sandbags.

“I’m not seeing any green water either.”

“It’d be easier to tell where we should be looking if we had a map.” Melissa made a face.

“We know the waterfall is close to where the elevator is,” Lily said.

“There could be a lot of mountain between us and the Dark Core camp.”

Lily found a break in the ice, got off her horse and using tongs, she dipped several glass tubes in the water. “I suppose we should get them from several spots.” She checked her GPS and after drying the tubes labelled them with the coordinates.

They rode along the edge of the southern part of the valley, taking samples in the breaks in the ice.

There was a long slope upwards and that’s where they saw the first hoof prints.

“The horses,” Melissa pointed.

Tucking the samples away, they trotted off after the hoof prints. They went up the mountain and turned sharply to the east into another pass.

“There’s more?” Melissa asked as they entered another huge area of ice and rocks. Among the ice and rocks, the icenthistles grew out of the snow and short horses with shaggy coats wandered around.

“The Icelandics,” Lily said.

The two stopped their horses to watch them. Their breath turning into clouds of fog in front of them.

“You know, if everything is cold here, nothing would rot. There should be horse bodies around.”

“Maybe a carnivore moved in,” Lily said. “I mean, free and easy food, no competition.”

“Then, we better be careful.”

“Or the big stone door folk come and get the dead bodies.”

“Horse isn’t something I’d choose to eat first if I had to.”

Lily shrugged.

They turned around and headed back down the mountain and tried to aim for the path to Nic’s camp as best they could across the lake. They weren’t too far off and were happy to see the fire again.

“We found the horses!” Melissa cried out.

“And the rest of your things, I hope,” Lily said as they unloaded the horses.

Soon between bringing in supplies from Valedale and what Nic had had with him, Nic had a cozy camp, and his balloon was back in one piece.

“I should send a report to the A.A.E.,” Nic fretted.

“You write it and we’ll see that it gets sent,” Melissa said.

“Are you sure you want to take on this place on top of Valedale?” Lily asked.

“Might as well,” Melissa shrugged. “There’s truthfully not that much to do in Valedale. Mario isn’t that demanding either.”

“The Stoneground Expedition!” Nic shouted cheerfully.

Lily leaned over. “Just make sure he does most the work.”

Melissa giggled.

Lily left the Running Bulls and Nic getting the last things settled. She grumbled about the way the elevator swayed and used a transport to get back to Steve’s Farm. She needed to talk to the Vet to see about going to check on the Icelandic Horse herd.

The Vet nodded, took her feed samples, and promised she’d go see to it as soon as she could. She’d get in touch with Melissa for an escort.

“Yeah. Don’t go anywhere up there alone. It’s too cold for that,” Lily said. She let her horse stretch his legs on the way back to the Manor but slowed down before she entered the gates.

She met Linda in the library. “The elevator is working again. I have samples of the water for Hayden. And samples of the flora for Agnetha. I didn’t see anything untowards. We took a lot of pictures though. We also found Nic Stoneground. He’s with the A.A.E. and got stranded up there. The Running Bulls are helping him set up a camp. He wants to explore the Valley since he’s there and all.”

Linda nodded. “I’ll tell the Baroness. Good work.”

“I’m going to take a hot shower. I’m cold to my bones!” Lily said.

Linda laughed.

“Oh, and the dinosaur, not that hidden!” Lily waved at her and on the way to the shower emailed her all the pictures.

Linda texted her back. “No. It’s not!” With several shocked faces.

Lily giggled.

FOR THE ACCOMPANYING IMAGES PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE MY WATERMARK AND CONTACT INFORMATION. THANK YOU. I get it. Some of you might get excited and want to see this stuff in the game, especially the clothes, tack, and pets. However, the only way I want to see this in the game is if I get paid for it. If I see it in the game and I’m not paid for it, there will be hell to pay. You think I’m salty. I’d be angry. Personally, I’m not going to send this info to SSO. If you do, leave my contact information there! Don’t give them any excuses to steal.

Now, I’ll know you haven’t read this note if you leave me comments about how ‘salty’ I am about the game and if I hate it so much I should do something else. I am doing something else. It’s called Mystic Riders MMORPG Project. Mystic Riders however is a very baby phase game. You can check out our plans on the game dev blog. (Skills, Factions, Professions, Crafting, Mini-Games, 25+ horse breeds!) If you know anyone who would be interested and has money or contacts about game making, direct them to the blog.

[ginnyzero]

Completely Harmless Ch. 37

Completely Harmless An SSO SilverGlade Re-imagining Story (Or Fix it Fan Salt fic) By Ginny O.

When Lily and her friends wanted to buy horses and were directed to the Silverglade Manor and its myriad of problems, they didn’t expect to start a revolution. They were just a bunch a stable girls. Completely harmless. Right?

A/N: Things are only canon if I say they’re canon. Pre-Saving the Moorland Stables compliant for the most part. Posted in its entirety on my website. Posted in 2000 to 4000 word bits here. Rated T for Swearing Word Count 177,577

Chapter Thirty-Seven Vandalism and The Valley of the Hidden Dinosaur

Rainbow Week it appeared had invigorated Baroness Silverglade. For the very next morning she called an employee meeting over breakfast. Everyone from her children, to the people who worked the shops and restaurants, and the stable help were all in attendance.

Over waffles with vanilla ice cream and piled high with mixed berries and served with duck egg omelets, the Baroness sipped her coffee before she said without any preamble. “We have several projects that need to be handled in the upcoming weeks before Midsummer. While most of our house has been put in order, and we have received high marks on our recent inspection.” The Baroness’ lips tightened since it had been anonymous and she’d only received the results after it’d been completed. “There are still things left to finish and the rest of our domain hasn’t been so lucky.”

No one quite dared to say anything.

“As for the Winterwell family, I have sent a strongly worded admonishment to Baron Winterwell about paying more attention outside of that mockery of what he calls a town and to the rest of his part of the county. If I have to step in, I will be informing Count Marchenghast.” The baroness swiftly buttered her toast. “Fortunately, you ladies are a credit to your various upbringings and are an asset to this county.”

Not even Linda knew what to say to that. A simple thank you didn’t seem sufficient. Not that the Baroness seemed to require any responses. This was her meeting and interruptions weren’t on the agenda.

The Baroness’ knife went on the side of her plate. “Ms. Lily, please arrange for me to meet with Ms. Melissa of the Valedale Running Bulls? Anytime today will be preferable.”

“Yes, Baroness,” Lily made a mental note to text Melissa after the meal was over.

“The contractors will be starting our permanent event pavilion over the next week. Something about having to build the proper molds to have a level floor. It involves a big pipe and honestly, as long as they get it done and its level, I don’t care how they manage it. After the pavilion has been finished, we will be moving onto to the race track.”

Godfrey appeared with several boards filled with pictures and architectural sketches. He placed them on easels so everyone could see them properly.

“The racetrack will reflect the pride of the Silverglade family and honor the prior Moon Riders and Aideen,” the Baroness said. “Those who come to compete and to watch the races will see the care and grandeur of the place, and give our family the respect it deserves.”

There was a very large entrance arch over what would be the main entrance and it was perpendicular to the rest of the building. To either side of it were banks of columns and then each side had a porch with statues of women dressed in Greek clothes. Those must be the former Moon Riders of the Silverglade family and Aideen.

The inside stands had more columns holding up the roofs. The roofs curved inwards where there were stairs. The stands curved around both ends of the track.

“Antonia, the Silver Glade will be providing food for an outdoor café at the entrance,” the Baroness said. “There will be stables for the competitors on the first floor of the stands, while the atrium will be the ticketing area. I won’t expect you ladies to take care of the stables at the race track as well. We will be hiring specifically for the times the race track is in use. I won’t ask you to put up with a rival club so nearby. Nor will I stand for another club near my manor.”

“Thank you, Baroness,” Lily murmured. It was the only appropriate thing to say.

“While the contractors are working on that, we shall be dealing with the shameful prospect that is Valedale,” the Baroness took a bite and wiped at her lips. “And for that we’re going to have to find out how bad things are and how far this has spread.”

Linda cleared her throat. “There’s a scientist in Crescent Moon Village that knows who to test soil and water samples, Dr. Hayden.”

“He’s a bit of a grouch,” Lily warned.

“I can deal with grouches as long as they can do the work,” the Baroness nodded.

“He’s an entomologist,” Linda added tentatively.

“Then he would have to keep an eye on the water and the soil to see if it is effecting the bugs,” the Baroness’ lips twitched. “Or at least, he should be instead of capturing them and pinning them to boards.”

“I don’t know if that’s his type of entomology,” Lily murmured. “I don’t think Ginny and Susan have much to do with him.”

“Or want to,” Pauline added.

“Lily,” the Baroness turned her attention to her. “I want you and Melissa to go to the Valley of the Hidden Dinosaur and check the source of the water there. The Great Tank drains off into the lake under the ice and from there it trickles down through springs and the Silversong River throughout the Valedale, Firgove, and Mistfall areas. Dress warmly.”

“What about Firfall?” Lily asked.

“What about Firfall?” the Baroness voice turned tart.

“They’ve been cut off through an avalanche of rocks and brambles,” Lily said.

The Baroness closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. “And what were the rangers going to do, shovel them out?” She asked, voice vicious. “Well, I guess we’re borrowing the bulldozer again. Though we might need the excavators as well and several skips from Jorvik City. Aaron, get the permits and papers ready to clear the road to Firfall. Hire some skips. Lily, you managed to get G.E.D. to bend last time.”

“Cookies and shillings,” Lily said.

“Have Harold bake them a month’s worth of cookies and I’ll pay them. We can get to it as soon as the papers and permits are ready.”

“I’ll get that started today, mother,” Aaron said quickly.

“It’s probably former Councilman Skoll who didn’t say anything. He was working with G.E.D. to get money to the town. Maybe he thought he could get them to clear the road for him.” Lily explained. “I don’t know if Rania’s mother knows about it yet. She’s got a large mess to sort out with the town as it is. They really need a ferry.”

“Aaron, add that to the list.”

“New Hillcrest needs a ferry,” Tyra murmured.

“That’s up to Baron Winterwell,” the Baroness shook her head. “Now, who is the new leader of Dundull?”

“Sigry Varanger,” Linda said. “Rania Varanger is her daughter.”

“Good woman. I like her,” the Baroness nodded. “We all know what we need to be doing,” she said and applied to her food.

They all finished breakfast and scattered to do chores and take up their posts at their jobs. Aaron was muttering about getting back to Jorvik City right away. Anastasia had designers to check on in order for all the other girls to have their own new outfits.

Linn came back to the stable, riding fast. “Lily! Linda! Judy! Someone’s spray painted rude messages on the riding hall, and there’s trash all over, and egg on the windows!”

“What?” Linda gaped at her.

They mounted their horses and rode down to the stables to assess the damage.

“Who would do this?” Linn waved her arms. “We worked so hard to clean it.”

“It’s a good thing that marble is protected.” Linda sucked her cheeks in.

“We’ll get it cleaned up,” Lily promised Linda.

“You shouldn’t have to do stuff like this. Take pictures. Document everything before you clean it.” Linda said. “And I’m not unlocking it until it’s clean.”

“It’s lucky you locked it then.”

Linda shook her head. “Not luck, precaution. I don’t want people to sneak in the arena at night to try the course and hurt themselves.”

They went back to the stable for cleaning supplies and returned.

Sabine stood outside the door with a nasty smile on her face, but she was also checking her watch. “What’s the hold up? The arena should be open by now.” Her timer stood behind her wringing her hands.

“If you used your eyes, you’d see why it isn’t open yet,” Lily told her. “The Arena will be open once it’s ready.”

“If you want it open sooner, you can help,” Linn smirked. “There are plenty of supplies.”

Sabine glared at them and marched off with her horse.

Linn shuddered. “Her and her horse give me the creeps.”

“Then why did you time for her so long?”

“My job?”

Lily shrugged. Point.

All the girls hurried up their chores to help out as soon as possible as they had to scrub off paint and eggs, and pick up trash.

By the time they were done, the contractors had arrived and were locking together molds to make the floor of the pavilion. It was a kit so it should go up fairly quickly once they had the floor poured and they could set the walls onto it.

They saw what the Baroness meant by a big pipe. They had a big pipe it looked like that they were going to use to roll across the top of the molds to make the floor level.

But it looked like the contractors were digging some of the dirt out. Bjorn and Agnetha were taking it away in wheelbarrows. They knew better than to ask.

Lily texted Melissa about seeing the Baroness.

Melissa texted back she’d be down right away.

Lily headed back up to the Manor as Agnetha drafted a couple of the girls to help them shift the dirt.

Melissa had a new outfit on with a stylized charging bull in green and deep maroon.

“Nice,” Lily said.

“Anastasia came through. I’m so happy not to be wearing druid symbols anymore. Elizabeth kept giving us the stink eye.” Melissa rubbed her hands on her breeches.

The Baroness was in her office. “Someone vandalized my arena,” was the first thing out of her mouth.

Lily passed her phone over with the pictures.

“Send these to Aaron,” the Baroness said after she looked through them. “If we can catch them, we’ll press charges.”

Lily took her phone back and did just that. Poor Aaron was going to have a busy day.

“Tell me what you have,” the Baroness ordered Melissa.

Melissa got out her own phone. “We’ve taken as many pictures as we could. One of my members is an amateur photographer. So, we rented a zoom lens to take pictures of what they’re doing above the mountains. We can’t see much since they’ve penetrated the mountain now. There’s one way in and one way out. The path curls around the mountain from the lake to over the village. Both waterfalls are being affected. But they’ve posted no bills. We think there isn’t any more than three or four of them.”

The Baroness looked through it. “Can you send these to my son? We can see what we can do about trespassing and not having the proper permits.”

Melissa took her phone back and Lily showed her Aaron’s information. Lily sent him an email to expect Melissa’s email.

“Has Elizabeth been giving you any trouble?”

“Not Elizabeth.”

“Someone is?”

“Rhiannon has gone through our horses and insists that several of them are Starbreeds. We paid for those horses fairly. We have papers,” Melissa turned red in anger. “We aren’t giving them up.”

“Nor should you,” the Baroness said. “The druids have long overstepped in trying to acquire what they call starbreeds. Whether or not Starbreeds exist is none of my concern. My concern is the welfare of the horses that are under my care and that I sell. And I don’t know what the druids do with my horses, thus I refuse to sell to them.” In her mind, it was as simple as that.

“Baroness Silverglade,” Lily said it tentatively. “You, don’t seem to have a good relationship with the Keepers of Aideen.”

“I have my faults. One of them is the firm belief that the Keepers of Aideen do very little for Jorvik and instead lure young women in with false promises of sisterhood and then refuse to impart anything useful to them before putting them into danger.” The Baroness laced her fingers together and appraised them. “Keeping their secrets hasn’t rid Jorvik of John Sands and his like. Have they ever won against them? Or are we in an eternal stalemate.”

Lily inhaled sharply.

The Baroness changed the subject. “As I told Lily earlier, I would like the two of you to go to the Valley of the Hidden Dinosaur. Dress warmly and do whatever you need to do to get into it. Linda may have some information for you about it.”

Lily stood. “Then we better get going so we can return quickly.”

Melissa stood as well. “Thank you, Baroness Silverglade.”

They left her and went to the library.

“Anything we should know about the Valley of the Hidden Dinosaur?”

Linda chewed her lip and gestured for them to sit. “The Valley of the Hidden Dinosaur is an ecological anomaly. It’s believed that is where a meteor crashed and hit Jorvik before Aideen came. The meteor’s magical and scientific properties such as having its own magnetic field, have created an area of eternal winter. The meteor crater originally completely filled with water. The water drained out and created an ice cap over it. Researchers were able to explore under the ice cap until it collapsed in 1912. No one has been there since.”

“So, dress warm? Have lots of rope?”

“Your horses might not move as fast in the Valley. There are references to the pack animals being slow until they brought in the Icelandic Horses. Those horses got left behind when they left and that’s why there is most likely a herd of them there today. Assuming they survived.”

“Take a shovel,” Melissa said.

“Sunglasses,” Lily murmured.

“The notes say there was an elevator down into the crater. I have no idea if it works or not.”

“After a hundred years of abandonment?” Lily raised her brows. “There is this thing called entropy.”

Linda smiled. “I don’t know, thus, I say so.”

“All right. We’ll check that first.” Lily said. “Good thing, Anastasia included a winter coat in all of this. And New Hillcrest had mittens.”

The two agreed to meet at the base of the mountain in Valedale with supplies. Not sure how cold, cold, really was, Lily grabbed a purple sweater she’d bought and put it in her saddlebag along with her winter coat. There wasn’t any reason not to layer. She put on wool pants instead of cotton and tugged on the winter boots.

She raided the tack room for a shovel and a bunch of rope. Then asked Antonia for food. She didn’t know how long she was going to be gone. How big was this area anyways?

Satisfied she was as ready as she was going to be, Lily put on a beanie and took the transport to Valedale.

Melissa waited on her horse at the base of the mountain as agreed, also wearing warm clothes on the bottom. She and Elizabeth were exchanging glares. Lily inserted herself between them.

They urged their horses up the mountain towards the snow covered pass. At the top, they were able to look over across the waterfall and see Dark Core’s camp. Black smoke streamed out of the machines as green water flowed out of their cave and into the waterfall.

“What a mess,” Lily murmured.

Wind hit the snow and them making them shiver.

They pulled on sweaters and shrugged into winter coats buttoning them up and tugged on mittens.

“The pass must have opened recently. I’ve been checking it since we got here,” Melissa said. “We sent some lemmings up this way.”

“Can anything really live there if it’s been covered in snow?” Lily asked.

“I hope we don’t find a pile of horse bones,” Melissa whispered. “That’d be sad.”

“We might find horse bones and living horses,” Lily said and urged her horse forward.

Her stallion’s nostrils flared in distaste but he went.

The pass turned and opened out to a cliff on the edge of the mountain. Right in front of them was a huge wooden structure with a snow covered wooden walkway; the elevator.

They walked up the ramp and got off to look at the elevator. There weren’t any boxes, only thick chains hanging down. Lily knelt by the edge and looked down.

“Oh, that makes me dizzy, Lily. Stop.” Melissa groaned.

Lily took several pictures using the zoom function on her phone. “The cars are both down there, but I don’t see any of the mechanics up top, do you?”

Melissa looked around. “Not at all.”

“So, the controls are down there,” Lily backed up and stood.

Leading the horses, they searched the cliff area.

Melissa pointed. “That could be a way down.” She said gesturing at the cliffs.

“But I’m not going to call it a way back up, and I’m not going down unless we can get out,” Lily bit her lip. She pulled out her phone and sent a president wide group text. They needed a mechanic.

FOR THE ACCOMPANYING IMAGES PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE MY WATERMARK AND CONTACT INFORMATION. THANK YOU. I get it. Some of you might get excited and want to see this stuff in the game, especially the clothes, tack, and pets. However, the only way I want to see this in the game is if I get paid for it. If I see it in the game and I’m not paid for it, there will be hell to pay. You think I’m salty. I’d be angry. Personally, I’m not going to send this info to SSO. If you do, leave my contact information there! Don’t give them any excuses to steal.

Now, I’ll know you haven’t read this note if you leave me comments about how ‘salty’ I am about the game and if I hate it so much I should do something else. I am doing something else. It’s called Mystic Riders MMORPG Project. Mystic Riders however is a very baby phase game. You can check out our plans on the game dev blog. (Skills, Factions, Professions, Crafting, Mini-Games, 25+ horse breeds!) If you know anyone who would be interested and has money or contacts about game making, direct them to the blog.

[ginnyzero]

Completely Harmless Ch. 26

Completely Harmless An SSO SilverGlade Re-imagining Story (Or Fix it Fan Salt fic) By Ginny O.

When Lily and her friends wanted to buy horses and were directed to the Silverglade Manor and its myriad of problems, they didn’t expect to start a revolution. They were just a bunch a stable girls. Completely harmless. Right?

A/N: Things are only canon if I say they’re canon. Pre-Saving the Moorland Stables compliant for the most part. Posted in its entirety on my website. Posted in 2000 to 4000 word bits here. Rated T for Swearing Word Count 177,577

Chapter Twenty-Six Planning Rainbow Week Part One

After conferring with Linda, Lily requested a meeting with the Baroness and invited Antonia, Aaron, Anastasia, Agnetha and Judy to join too. She laid out what they knew about Dark Core and G.E.D. being in the Silverglade Area. “We all want to deal with this in the safest and most legal way possible, Baroness. We want you to know what we’ve uncovered as we uncover it,” Lily said. Then she explained about wanting to expand Rainbow Week all over South New Jorvik County and how they hoped to have everything here at the Winery, outside of the big pavilion, ready before then.

“If that’s not ready, mother, we can put up a temporary fair one until after the festival,” Anastasia suggested brightly.

“We can have a special friendship dessert,” Aaron looked pleased with the idea.

Antonia leaned back. “I don’t see why we can’t have our Grand Opening this Rainbow Festival. Maybe the Stormgarden will be ready to do the same and we can exchange tourists.”

“Rainbow sherbet,” Aaron mused, “with a heart sugar cookie.”

The Baroness smiled fondly at her son. “That sounds delicious.”

“We can tint the heart red of course,” Aaron wiggled in his seat.

“Or, well, there’s a way to freeze and layer cookie dough to make rainbows,” Stacy said. “I can find a video on J-Tube, I’m sure. There might be several different variations.”

“I think that this calls for fireworks at the castle,” The Baroness said. “We can find fireworks that fit the theme of course.”

“There are three events this summer. You don’t want to wait for Midsummer or Happy Horse Week?”

The Baroness waved a hand. “Surely we can do fireworks for every occasion.”

Lily nodded.

Linda scribbled down notes.

“Well, Jorvik Stables has a friendship race, and Firgrove is doing the Red String Trail Ride,” Lily said.

Linda cleared her throat and it sounded like she was saying ‘appropriation.’

“Moorland is hosting the festival as usual. And they invited JoJo Siwa, though I’m not sure exactly where she’s performing. Was there something special that we can do?” Lily asked. “Other than the fireworks at the Castle?”

“Hmm,” the Baroness tilted her head. “We don’t want to encroach on Jorvik Stables or the Li Family tradition that got translated into a trail ride.” Her lips twitched indicating she knew the origins of the trail.

“Yellow roses are a sign of friendship,” Linda said and pushed up her glasses.

“As are friendship bands,” Regina said. “We want everyone to go to every stable right? Why not have special charms they can get at each stable to go on their friendship bands. The more stables you visit with a friend, the more charms you get. We can use the yellow rose for ours.”

“I can add a rose decoration to the dessert,” Aaron said.

“Why not make it a craft thing in our pavilion? Like a rose on a headband or a rose wreathe?” Linda asked. “Topaz is another friendship stone. We can get topaz beads and make old fashioned headbands with them. It’s not a race or a trail ride, but put it in the middle of the Rose Garden Trail Ride, they can stop, rest, make a headband, and move on.”

“Then we definitely should hire people play in all the places we’ve got for them to be playing,” Anastasia said. “We must have music and I know several classical quartets.” A look at them told them that there was no way that the Baroness would allow a pop star like JoJo Siwa into her venues.

“I believe that will cover a ‘special’ event,” the Baroness nodded. “Judy, I think you should be the one handing out the charms.”

“Yes, Baroness,” Judy nodded. “That does make sense.”

“Then, we need to get working,” Agnetha said. “And not lazing around here. Especially if we’ve got a grand opening to make spectacular.”

Stacy stayed behind to help Aaron come up with the best cookie, yellow rose out of white chocolate, and ice cream combo looks wise while the rest went to help with the garden. Agnetha wasn’t going to hold back now!

--

The next week was extremely busy! Given that they were going to be doing their grand opening during Rainbow Week, Agnetha drove them harder than ever. She even conceded to let Bjorn go to Jorvik City and pick up the masses and masses of flowers and turf they were going to need to finish everything up properly.

Trucks arrived hauling in everything from a new Romanesque style bandstand, rustic furniture for the Wine Cellar, the lights and benches for the gardens, and even the statues that had been on order.

Why, Agnetha conceded to renting another composter and buying a gas tank to put behind her house to fill it up. That was how much debris there was and how fast they were moving to get rid of it.

Though, the new bandstand inspired Agnetha to train roses on it. Then when the sitting area for the Baroness came in, she did the exact same thing. So, the club decided that it was simply Agnetha being Agnetha. The sitting area being a curved rectangular style gazebo with nice cushioned seats in it where the Baroness could get the best afternoon light.

But by the end of the week and the next meeting, they had most of the important work done for the Moon and Folly Terrace gardens including putting out the lights and benches, and having most of the flowers planted. The Temporary Pavilion had arrived for the event and so they had a checklist for the next week, finish planting the Folly Terrace Gardens, clean up and plant around the pavilion and the Riding Arena, install a duck coop behind the Arena, and clean, install furniture, and decorate the Wine Cellar.

Through the week Lily received texts about ideas from each Riding Club about what they should do for their special events. Ingrid kept sending exclamation points and heart emojis as this revealed new artists and ideas for the Flea Market. However, Loretta had been suspiciously silent and that worried Lily.

They convened for a meeting.

Loretta laid out the pictures of everything she had.

They all stared at her. “What’s this?”

“The decorations for rainbow week,” Loretta sniffed.

Lily rubbed her forehead. “Where are the rainbows?”

Loretta pressed her lips together.

“Loretta, this is all Bobcat pink,” Kate said and crossed her arms.

“And are these arches trailing Ivy?” Pia poked at them.

“I’ve had Catherine running my club ragged trying to make the perfect Friendship cake all week and this is not going to cut it for decorations to go with the chocolate cake topped with local strawberries and blueberries and sprinkled with powdered sugar.” Amelia said.

“Or all the rainbow colored teddy bears that I’ve been busting my ass all week to get the dye for Daxton!”

Pia poked at it. “And where are the bows. I’ve got the Siwanators camped out in Fort Pinta gushing about the bows.”

“Siwanators?” Lily asked, her eyes wide. She tried not to sound too appalled.

“Super fans. They’re real names of Saffi and Selma.”

“Oh thank the dear and fluffy Lord,” Lily murmured.

“They’ve been making rainbow sequin covered bows to hand out and are insisting they need to be on the arches too.” Pia rubbed her forehead. “And, and you know, everywhere as decorations.”

“Pushy,” Lily observed. “Loretta, this isn’t going to do.”

Loretta crossed her arms. “Those are what we always use.”

“And they aren’t appropriate for a county wide celebration,” Lily’s voice turned sharp. She had beyond had it with Loretta’s attitude.

Loretta smacked her hands on the table. “You’re just a jumped up stable girl, and a foreigner at that.”

Someone, Lily wasn’t sure who since she was locked in a staring contest of wills with Loretta, made a whinnying bray.

Loretta turned deep red and broke Lily’s gaze.

Lily inhaled deeply. It was tempting to bitch the girl out. She let it out slowly. “Loretta,” she tried for as patient as possible. “Our competition needs to end outside of the eventing circuits. It doesn’t matter which Club ends up at the Claymore Challenge, it matters that the best one does. When we walk through these doors to convene as Presidents, we’re doing things for the good of the entire county. We can’t keep doing things the old way and expect it to advance the county. We aren’t trying to put one Club ahead here in the public eye, but all of them, us, in our rainbow of colors. This week is about Friendship and Love.”

Loretta scowled.

“And about coming together as Clubs,” Pia nodded.

“You’ve had a stranglehold on this area for how long?” Amelia raised her brow.

Ginny mumbled, “Too long.”

“Were you even going to buy new things?” Ingrid asked. “Or were we supposed to match you?”

Loretta chewed her lip.

Lily held up her hands. “All right, let’s each of us get on our phones and have our best party girls meet up at Fort Pinta and go to the city for decorations. We’re going to be here a while, so they might as well do that, and this way, they can forward us pictures and we can approve before any money is spent.”

The Presidents pulled out their phones and made the calls, even Loretta.

“Okay, let’s start from the top,” Lily said. “Regina suggested doing a friendship bracelet, and then making it so that every stable they go to with their friends, they get a charm when they talk to the Stable Master.”

“They can make their bracelets at the festival site in Moorland, and choose whatever order they want to go in from there,” Pauline said with a glance at Loretta. “That could count as the Moorland craft?”

“I was thinking, maybe a photo booth?”

“Like different ones, or one?”

“Different ones so they can make an album. Definitely one with Jojo Siwa at Moorland, we’ve got more Clubs than we do the colors of the rainbow but maybe the photo booths are in Club colors for simplicity sake?”

Lily texted Regina. “Photo booths or photo walls, just something they can take pictures together.”

“It should probably be something fairly simple,” Riley said.

“And something that we can just switch out some decorations for the next festival,” Another girl nodded.

“So, colored sheets?” Lily asked cynical.

“That sounds about right.”

The girls stifled giggles.

Lily’s phone buzzed. “Regina wants to know since rainbow week is about friendship if she should be getting yellow rose decorations to go with these photo walls? Not canary, she says because canary is obnoxious but more champagne?” Lily raised a brow. “And she’s asking about beads.”

“As long as it’s not too wedding like,” one girl wrinkled her nose.

“Wouldn’t that be funny if there ended up being some weddings,” another giggled.

“Well, Regina thinks that most the decorations we’re going to find are going to be wedding or wedding adjacent for the photo booth, walls, whatever,” Lily rolled her eyes and set down her phone. “Okay, Loretta, Jojo Siwa is performing at the fairgrounds, you have the parade, and that’s where the friendship bracelets are going to be.”

Loretta nodded.

Lily turned to Pia. “Pia, you have Siwanators in Fort Pinta with sequin bows.”

“Yes, and they want bunting, lots and lots of swag bunting.”

Lily picked up her phone again to text Regina.

“Isn’t there bunting on the Championships?” One of the girls asked. “We should change it out for appropriately themed rainbows.”

“This is going to be so gay pride.”

“All types of love, all types,” came the reminder.

“What else is going on,” Lily asked Pia trying to stay on topic.

“Well, the horse Linda sold James,” Pia started.

“Fussywithers?” Lily asked.

“Wait, that’s who Fussy went to?” Pauline gaped. She burst into giggles.

“Fussywithers,” Pia sniggered. “I’m not calling him anything else now, Fussywithers is giving James fits by living up to his name of being fussy and wanting everything perfect. Fussy and Mayor Peanut have bonded, so we’ve been sending James and Fussy out with Mayor Peanut to get exercise every day.”

“That’s perfect,” Ami giggled.

“And he’s seen the disrepair of some of the places and has decided that right now he’s going to take photographs himself as an awareness campaign as he searches for spots to take pictures of Token.” Pia wrinkled her nose. “All according to plan. They have a warm up run they do around Fort Pinta area, and then they go off into the unknown. Or, as unknown as James gets. He met up with Andy and just as we wanted, they’re conspiring to well, explore together, and coordinate their geocaching and Token Takes Jorvik book.”

“Now, all they have to do is meet Hayden,” Pauline said.

“Oh, I made a nudge about visiting the Mirror Marshes,” Penny smirked. “I think it is on the to-do list.”

Pia nodded. “We’re going to use a pony head for our charm on the bracelets. The Swinators are going to have their bows ready to hand out when the week starts and open a shop in the Moorland festival grounds. So, that’s not really on us. They’ll also be the turn in points for the bow hunt.”

“I think you need something more,” Lily said.

Pia bit her lip. “We have the dance club kind of sitting there being empty. I mean, you have to get to the clothing shop in through there now.”

“What did you do?” Lily widened her eyes.

Pia groaned. “Okay, so there were so many shops and carts cluttering things up. You haven’t been since?”

“Agnetha,” Pauline said and it explained everything.

“The gardener,” Lily tacked on.

Pia looked back and forth. “Ohkay,” she murmured. “Well, one of the beauty salons closed down. Not enough business, so their stylists all moved over to the one next to the dance floor with the café outside of it, Beauty on the Beach. Then next door to that, we put in a Tack shop, Mayor Peanut’s Sunshine Saddlery. And on the inside of the dance club, you can access the clothing shop, Disco Daze Fashions.”

“And that leaves you with what?”

“A clear courtyard with a fountain in the middle,” Pia said. “And a beach, but I’m not sure if the beach party guy is willing to come out early to set up a dance floor down there or not.”

“Okay, who else is there music wise in Jorvik that could play at Fort Pinta,” Lily said.

“Lisa,” one girl said.

“Missing,” Penny interrupted.

“Lisa’s missing,” another gasped.

“Okay, find Lisa,” Lily added to her list. “Um, who is Lisa?”

Penny lit up. “Lisa Peterson, she’s a country rock singer and guitar player.”

“She’s Jorvik homebrew,” Polly added. “Sort of.”

One girl made a face. “Well, there’s Raptor.”

“Oh good luck getting him out of Jorvik City.”

“The Miscreants?”

“Not really their type of venue, way too disco. They’re more rock.”

Lily drummed her fingers on the table.

“DJ Kai, I mean, she’s not huge, but she’s techno, the disco ball would be her jam and she needs the exposure,” another girl said.

“Isn’t Herman’s brother in the music business,” someone propped their chin on their hand.

“Okay, so,” Amelia made a face. “We’ve got this heavy metal style shop and a hair salon in Jarlaheim. How about we host these Miscreants there?”

Lily was digging through her contacts. She found Herman’s brother’s number and dialed it. She relayed to him what was going on since he was the one who had their contracts with Black Light Records. “If you could be any help at all, Mr. Wetton.”

Lily gave the other girl’s a thumbs up. “Lance and Lilith you say, too? And The Flaming Trio? I’m sure the Baroness wants the Silversong String Quartet for the Manor. That would be so great. Syntax is moonlighting as a DJ? I have no idea who DJ Wetfloor is. There are 12 riding clubs and 12 venues Mr. Wetton. Your people along with JoJo Siwa makes 10 performers though I’m not sure all them fit the venues. That is 10 if someone knew where Lisa was. Do you have anyone who does folk music?”

Lily rolled her eyes at the girls. “Thanks, Mr. Wetton. You’ve been beyond helpful. It’s next week. I know it’s short notice and all. I’m sure you’ll find great talent.” She shut her phone off. “He wants to hold a talent show at one of the locations to scout for new people.”

“Do any of us really have the venue for that?” Melissa sounded baffled.

“Probably not,” Ingrid grimaced.

“But we can definitely put DJ Kai down for the Fort Pinta disco,” Lily said and Pauline scratched out a note.

“Art show,” Pia said. “We can do an art show, rainbow and friendship themed.”

“All right, that covers Fort Pinta then,” Lily said. “That sounds special enough. Okay, Summer Chipmunks, you’re up.”

“Okay, Daxton is going to be doing special rainbow teddy bears. Harold is the town baker and he’s trying to come up with a treat that’s suitably rainbow to have as a special. I think he’s going to do a cardamom rainbow sugar cookie. He was muttering about freezing dough and layering and cutting it into circles for least amount of waste. I think Lance actually lives in Silverglade Village, if it’s the same Lance.”

“Are you okay then with taking them?”

“I swear,” Kate murmured. “Lilith runs Cool Cutz.”

“Maybe they’ll be southern rock and not embarrass you,” Lily smirked.

“We’ll take them,” Kate tucked hair behind her ears. “If they’re locals, I don’t want to piss them off or humiliate them by asking other people to step in. I mean, otherwise, we’re coordinating with Landon to do a rainbow sheep race. Catch the rainbow colored sheep? It’s one of his more feisty ones.”

Lily coughed. “Okay then.”

“We’ve decided on a rainbow charm with a cloud.” Kate gave Loretta a tiny glare. “I never heard your charm, Loretta?”

“Jojo Siwa’s bow,” Loretta sniffed.

“Duh,” Tan muttered.

FOR THE ACCOMPANYING IMAGES PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE MY WATERMARK AND CONTACT INFORMATION. THANK YOU. I get it. Some of you might get excited and want to see this stuff in the game, especially the clothes, tack, and pets. However, the only way I want to see this in the game is if I get paid for it. If I see it in the game and I’m not paid for it, there will be hell to pay. You think I’m salty. I’d be angry. Personally, I’m not going to send this info to SSO. If you do, leave my contact information there! Don’t give them any excuses to steal.

Now, I’ll know you haven’t read this note if you leave me comments about how ‘salty’ I am about the game and if I hate it so much I should do something else. I am doing something else. It’s called Mystic Riders MMORPG Project. Mystic Riders however is a very baby phase game. You can check out our plans on the game dev blog. (Skills, Factions, Professions, Crafting, Mini-Games, 25+ horse breeds!) If you know anyone who would be interested and has money or contacts about game making, direct them to the blog.

[ginnyzero]

Completely Harmless Ch. 32

Completely Harmless An SSO SilverGlade Re-imagining Story (Or Fix it Fan Salt fic) By Ginny O.

When Lily and her friends wanted to buy horses and were directed to the Silverglade Manor and its myriad of problems, they didn’t expect to start a revolution. They were just a bunch a stable girls. Completely harmless. Right?

A/N: Things are only canon if I say they’re canon. Pre-Saving the Moorland Stables compliant for the most part. Posted in its entirety on my website. Posted in 2000 to 4000 word bits here. Rated T for Swearing Word Count 177,577

Chapter Thirty-Two Meeting JoJo Siwa! Rainbow-adical!

At lunch, the Baroness approached Lily. “Who is Jojo Siwa?” She asked after complimenting them on the cloud display in the stable. (She found it elegant and impactful.)

“She’s a pop singer who’s headlining the festivities in Moorland. She’s from the United States,” Lily told her. “Her songs are on J-Tube.”

The baroness tilted her head and slightly pursed her lips. “I would like to meet her. Invite her to dine with me tonight. I doubt she’ll have time once the festivities start. All of you are invited.”

Lily blinked. “I, yes, I’ll do that. Thank you, Baroness Silverglade.”

The Baroness smiled softly and left.

“I, um,” Lily looked at all the other girls. “Is she even in Jorvik yet?”

“She’s staying at Fort Pinta Inn,” one of the girl’s said. “She had the choice between that and Silverglade. The festival stand is halfway between pretty much. I think she’s hanging out at the Disco?” She checked her phone and Jorvikgram. “Yeah, she’s at the disco.”

“Then, um,” Lily finished her lunch and looked at her outfit. She didn’t think she wanted to see Jojo looking like this, not to invite her to see the Baroness over dinner! “I better change.”

“Right. You want to make a good impression.”

“I’m the Baroness’ lady,” Lily said mock seriously.

They giggled.

“And we’ll start on the balloons.”

“And get the bunting on the paddock.”

“And we’re going to put the little clouds and hearts through the Silver Glade track and all the trees on the side of the road across the bridge and towards Silverglade Village.”

“And the ones in the grape fields. Balloons too.”

“Get the fences. Can’t forget the fences.”

“Because you never know who is going to take a ride through the fields during the festivities.”

Lily just nodded.

“We’ve got this under control, boss.” Pauline grinned at her.

“You represent our stable!” Regina shook her fist in front of her face.

“This isn’t pokemon!” Several of them yelled at her.

Lily retreated as Regina started arguing that the stable was like a gym. She looked over her clothes and decided on the midriff baring Baroness bow blouse in lavender and grape with her pair of white baroness capri pants and silverglade clan sneakers in lavender with the mulberry stripe. It was a good balance between showing appreciation for Jojo Siwa (bow blouse) and pride in her club. On a whim, she kept the sparkly bow in her hair.

She took the transport to Fort Pinta and left her horse at the stable. She had to smile because the farmer’s cart near the stable had changed their awning for one with rainbow stripes. And well, the girls in Fort Pinta had the same ideas they had had on how to use the decorations around the stable area and in the huge courtyard with the fountain.

Saffi and Selma mobbed her before she got halfway across the courtyard to gush at her about wearing the bow and how great it looked.

Lily grinned. “Thanks. I think it’s fetching.” She touched it briefly. “We have a lot of girls interested in supporting Jojo over the next week.”

Saffi and Selma squealed. “Girl power!”

“Girl power,” Lily agreed with a grin and bumped their knuckles.

Her outfit changed was all for the good. Jojo was on the disco balcony, not quite looking bored. “Oh, you’re awesome!” She shouted and pointed at Lily.

Lily posed and pointed back. “No! You’re awesome!”

Jojo laughed.

Lily sauntered over to her. She held out her hand. “Lily, President of the Silver Drakes Riding Club.”

Jojo smacked it. “Jojo Siwa! But, err, you probably know that.” She tugged Lily closer. “Selfie!” She said holding up her phone and snapping a pic of both of them. She let Lily go after.

Lily grinned. “I do. I follow Jorvikgram like everyone else.”

Jojo waved her phone. “You’re part of my jorvikgram story now!” She said as she posted the picture.

“I’ll be sure to download it,” Lily promised. “My Club is looking forward to coming to watch the show.”

“Radical!” Jojo looked excited. Her eyes darted back and forth. “You want a dance lesson first. Just so you can be on the edge of coolness.”

“Sure,” Lily agreed.

Jojo led her through some of her signature moves. “You’ve got it!”

Lily laughed. “I’ll teach the other girls and we’ll do a show.”

“Maybe if you’re good enough you can get up behind me and be my, like, back up dancers.”

“That’d be great.” Lily wrinkled her nose. To her, Jojo seemed a bit lonely. It had to be tough being alone on Jorvik. “Say, I have an invite for you. Actually, it’s not an invite. It’s more like an order to appear. Baroness Silverglade wants you to join her for dinner. It’s kind of like,” Lily paused. “Okay, not the mayor, since the mayor of this town is a pony, but more like the President of the area asking. She owns a lot of land around here and she wants to know more about you.” Lily made finger guns at Jojo.

Jojo’s eyes widened. “Really. Um, wow.”

“I don’t think you’re really getting the option to refuse.”

“What should I wear?”

“Well, the Baroness likes roses and purple. If you have a nice dress, tonight would be the time.”

“I have, like, the perfect thing! This is going to be so cool. What is she like?”

“Ice queen, but she does have a soft heart. She cares a lot about this area and her people. I hope you like Greek food. If you don’t, um, Antonia, her chef, makes this apple smothered pork chop that’s to die for, not literally, but it’s delicious.”

“I am down with the Greek food.” Jojo fiddled with her sequin dress. “Um, Lily, I’m supposed to go meet someone named Loretta at this festival site. But the only transportation they have around here is horses.”

“Haven’t been on them much?”

“Not really. Come with.”

“Absolutely,” Lily agreed without reservation. She should check on what the Bobcat girls were doing for decorating the area anyways. One never knew with Loretta. “I think Tan is a mega Siwa fan. She’s Loretta’s right hand girl. If it’s not right, Tan will get it fixed. Come on, you can meet my horse, and we’ll find you a nice pony.”

“A pony?”

“They aren’t so far from the ground,” Lily winked. She actually liked Jojo. She didn’t want to intimidate her like she’d intimidated James.

Jojo relaxed slightly. “Sweet.”

They went to the stable and after making sure Jojo met Mayor Peanut, who through James, had greetings for her. She took selfies with him. Lily introduced Jojo to her horse. More pictures of Lily and the horse together mostly. And then, they found her a nice steady Jorvik Starter Pony to ride. Jojo took a self of her and the horse together.

On the ride, Jojo was full of questions about how long Lily had been in Jorvik and was it all so rural and did she like it and so on and so forth. Lily answered freely enough. She didn’t mind telling Jojo about herself. She made it a point to point out special things about the parade route. The Bobcat Girls and the Ponies had worked the rainbow and sequin streamers into the ivy, and put rainbow sequin swag bunting and the big bows both inside and outside of the archways. There were huge bunches of ombre rainbow balloons too.

On the fences, they’d put more bows, and swags of sequin bunting, and bracketed the places where they ended with balloons. At the base of the fence post, they’d put the lanterns. Lily took a picture and texted it to one of the girls.

Jojo bounced in the seat of her saddle and took pictures. Her fingers flew over the keys as she captioned them.

“On it!” She got a response to her text from Regina.

Tan met them as they entered the site, jumping up and down and waving. She was ecstatic to point out the decorations.

At the festival site, there was more of the same, lots of sequin swag bunting, lots of bows, tons of balloons. One of the carts with a rainbow awning had set up to sell merchandise. They had set up a photo wall with both pastel and bright color rainbow curtains behind it but they were all sequins. There were bows and gold beads too.

Jojo insisted on doing several selfies and included both of them.

Tan gestured at a tent with a rainbow awning.

“For the friendship bracelets and to make the bows,” Tan explained.

They’d left a large empty area in front of the stands.

“So everyone can dance,” Tan said as to why all the benches were further back. “We’re having our rainbow swirl sugar cookies and milk. The Farmer’s Market is just over the fence so we thought it’d be too much to have food.”

Jojo’s eyes widened. “There’s a farmer’s market.”

“Sure, it’s free for anyone to go to,” Lily said. “If you want to check it out.”

“Do I ever!”

Tan jumped in. “I can take you if you want! Linda sent over these program flyers for the craft tent with a map so everyone knows where to go.” She jogged off and came back. “Here. I hope you get some time to go to all the festivities between sets.”

Jojo read it over. “This is so awesome. I can’t believe you’re doing this much stuff. I’ll definitely have to get around. I don’t know if I’ll have time to see the other performers though. Bummer.”

“There’s a charm bracelet in it for you if you do,” Tan said. “I’ll come with you and we can collect the charms together.”

Jojo grinned. “I’m sure Selma and Saffi would like to come too. This will be great.”

Lily nodded at Jojo. “Well, I need to check in with Loretta then. You two have fun at the Farmer’s Market and I’ll see you tonight at dinner. I’ll make sure Godfrey comes to pick you up.”

“Godfrey?”

“The butler.”

“Butler. Got it.” Jojo nodded. She grinned at Lily. “Thanks for taking the time to come with me.”

“She’s renting a pony from Fort Pinta stables,” Lily said to Tan.

“I thought it looked like one of theirs. I mean, though, why would you be out to see the Welshies on South Hoof yet. Though you really got to do it. Have you ever ridden with a wild horse herd? It’s so totes amazing!” Tan beamed at Jojo.

Jojo looked a bit leery. “I’m down,” she said trying to be game.

Lily took off. “Dinner’s at six,” she called over her shoulder.

Lily rode down to Moorland Stable proper. There were tons of camper wearing Jojo bows and they grinned at hers pointing at their heads. Lily gave them a thumbs up.

They gave her thumbs up back.

Lily was quite relieved to see that the Bobcat girls had managed to use the rainbow decorations instead of the pink ones. She stopped by Julie next to one of the entrance gates. “Any problems?”

“Conrad won’t let us decorate the forge. We’re going to do it anyways,” Julie eyed her nails. “Do you think I should do a rainbow manicure? That’s the thing right?”

“If you want, maybe one gold nail, to be hip,” Lily advised. It wasn’t that the Bobcat Girls were bad people. They were just a bit vapid and shallow.

“I better wait until I don’t have any chores left to do.” Julie sighed. “We haven’t been able to recruit anyone else. They all want to run off and form new clubs.” She glowered at Lily.

“Viva la revolution.” Lily said blandly. She tipped an imaginary hat to Julie and trotted around the stable to check on Loretta.

Loretta widened her eyes at her. “You will not believe all the trouble putting up these decorations has caused. Josh is refusing to talk to me after I put hearts on his poles.”

“Poor baby,” Lily said. “It looks nice.”

She looked towards the Pole Bending track. Josh knelt next to his poles with his hat knocked back and a roll of tape meticulously taping down each heart. She wasn’t getting involved. Nope. Let Josh and Loretta sort it out between them.

“And I told him that it’s Rainbow Week. Unless the skulls were painted like rainbows, they had to go. Now he’s threatening to leave Moorland. I don’t know what his problem is? This is Rainbow Week and it has to go off perfectly. Tan’s so busy setting up the festival site making sure it’s perfect for Jojo that I’m not sure she’s going to get the parade outfits done in time.”

“Jojo seems pleased with the site.”

“Something’s going right then,” Loretta huffed. “I don’t know why she decided to come up with new parade outfits, last years were fine. I mean, they’re black with black.”

“I thought they were nice. They had the black vest with the black capris, right?”

“Yeah, but no, ‘the power of friendship compels me’ or something. I told her that it better not be anything like Daxton’s rainbow vest. It had better be fashionable or I’m not wearing it.”

“It can get rather loud very quickly,” Lily agreed. “That was the danger in the decorations too.”

Loretta wrinkled her nose. “That might be the first thing we’ve ever agreed on.”

“Well, as long as Tan hasn’t taken them apart, you still have last years if hers turn out to be not fashionable.”

“True,” Loretta chewed her lip.

Things looked under control enough. Lily rode through the stable area to check out all the different decorations. She breathed a sigh of relief. No one had tried to sneak the pink things in at all. A quick tour through the other courtyard revealed their photo wall set up in front of Moorland’s distinctive camp office.

Lily took the transport back to the winery and directly into some teasing about her adventures with Jojo.

“As Tan says, don’t be jelly,” Lily rolled her eyes. “Jojo’s an enthusiastic and sweet girl.”

They all giggled.

“You’ll meet her soon enough for dinner,” Lily sighed. “And you can get your selfies with her then.”

“I think we’re about done,” Pauline said.

“It looks great,” Lily said. There were bunches of balloons everywhere to fill up space. It really made the whole thing come together and not look tacked on. “Where is everyone else?”

“Decorating the pavilion and setting up our photo wall,” Pauline said. “We’ve got the supplies for the crafts locked up in the tack room right now. I think we can lock them up in the arena overnight.”

“That sounds like a good plan.”

“Make it so,” Pauline said and texted it out.

Lily rolled her eyes. “While you’re making me out like Captain Picard, Number One. Tell everyone to dress nicely for dinner. Dresses.”

Pauline nodded. “We better rotate shower time.”

Lily decided she better inspect everything. She wanted to have a good report for the Baroness.

--

Jojo Siwa slid out of the car in front of the huge Greek style manor and looked around, her eyes huge in her face. She smoothed her skirt.

Lily darted forward to greet her. “Jojo, glad you came.”

“You didn’t say it was so fancy,” Jojo whispered.

“Baroness implies fancy,” Lily implied. “You look great.” And Jojo did. She’d put an ombre purple sequin bow in her hair which was thankfully down instead of her signature ponytail. The top of her dress had a huge blown out rose done in smaller sequins on it. It covered her entire chest. The skirt was a darker purple large sequins and the sleeves matched the skirt. Her ballerina flats had bows on them too. Fortunately, only the bows had sequins.

Lily didn’t know what the Baroness felt about sequins. It didn’t matter. Jojo looked decent.

“You look nice too.”

Lily glanced down at her Winery Rose Evening dress. She didn’t think the white color made it any less formal but it matched Pauline’s lace dress she’d bought at the Jorvik Shopping mall color wise. “Francezka Ironsaddle, big Jorvik designer. She did all our outfits. The Silver Rose opens tomorrow,” Lily gestured at the building almost hidden now behind the trees in the reflecting pool. “Well, not all of our dresses, Francezka only designed three and it is difficult to find nice dresses here on Jorvik.” Lily tucked her arm around Jojo’s and led her up the stairs. “Try not to let her intimidate you.”

“Too late,” Jojo said.

The girls were waiting inside beaming brightly. Lily made introductions and Jojo kindly did pictures with all of them.

“Okay, phones away,” Lily said once they were done. “And on silent!”

They all tucked phones away.

Godfrey opened the doors of the dining room promptly at six. The Baroness stood up to greet them at the head of the table. There was gleaming crystal glasses, elegant china, and more silver flatware than most of them had ever seen.

Lily introduced Jojo to the Baroness.

“Ms. Siwa, please, take a seat on my right.” And a glance at Lily had Lily seated at her left. Linda sat next to Lily. In fact, everyone who worked at the Manor and even Anastasia and Aaron were in attendance. The girls took up the middle of the long table while Aaron ruled the other end with his sister. (Anastasia’s dog had its own chair.)

The Baroness asked Jojo about herself as the soup course came out, the lemon chicken soup Lily noted. Jojo was happy to talk about herself, her music and the messages she tried to sing about friendship, being kind, and supporting each other, and her v-log. Though Linda had to interrupt to tell the Baroness what a V-Log was.

“A visual diary for the public, how, interesting,” the Baroness said politely.

Pauline sat next to Jojo and with low voice prompts managed to get her to talk about Jorvik and meeting the Jorvik Starter Ponies and since Jojo phrased everything enthusiastically (like they figured she would) the Baroness didn’t get offended over anything. Jojo loved Silverglade Castle and raved about the food she’d had at the Farmer’s Market.

Anastasia managed to slip in a question about Jojo’s fashion style.

Lily had no idea what the Baroness was hoping to learn or Anastasia for that matter.

After one of Aaron’s sundaes, it was time for Jojo to leave.

The Baroness walked her out to Godfrey’s car. “Ms. Siwa, it’s a pleasure to see young people in this day with such passion and enthusiasm for what they do. You appear quite genuine rather than being an act. You’re always welcome to back to my part of Jorvik.”

Jojo brightened. “Thank you!” She gasped and got in the car.

Godfrey smiled at his employer nodding in approval before he got in the driver’s seat and took Jojo back to Fort Pinta.

Lily concluded that probably couldn’t have gone any better.

FOR THE ACCOMPANYING IMAGES PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE MY WATERMARK AND CONTACT INFORMATION. THANK YOU. I get it. Some of you might get excited and want to see this stuff in the game, especially the clothes, tack, and pets. However, the only way I want to see this in the game is if I get paid for it. If I see it in the game and I’m not paid for it, there will be hell to pay. You think I’m salty. I’d be angry. Personally, I’m not going to send this info to SSO. If you do, leave my contact information there! Don’t give them any excuses to steal.

Now, I’ll know you haven’t read this note if you leave me comments about how ‘salty’ I am about the game and if I hate it so much I should do something else. I am doing something else. It’s called Mystic Riders MMORPG Project. Mystic Riders however is a very baby phase game. You can check out our plans on the game dev blog. (Skills, Factions, Professions, Crafting, Mini-Games, 25+ horse breeds!) If you know anyone who would be interested and has money or contacts about game making, direct them to the blog.

[ginnyzero]

Completely Harmless Ch. 31

Completely Harmless An SSO SilverGlade Re-imagining Story (Or Fix it Fan Salt fic) By Ginny O.

When Lily and her friends wanted to buy horses and were directed to the Silverglade Manor and its myriad of problems, they didn’t expect to start a revolution. They were just a bunch a stable girls. Completely harmless. Right?

A/N: Things are only canon if I say they’re canon. Pre-Saving the Moorland Stables compliant for the most part. Posted in its entirety on my website. Posted in 2000 to 4000 word bits here. Rated T for Swearing Word Count 177,577

Chapter Thirty-One Last Minute Rainbow Week Preparations

Even though Linda had posted that the Riding Arena was going to be closed, Sabine still had an argument with Lily that morning over the affair. Lily had stood firm. The Riding Arena was closed. Sabine’s obsessive need to practice was going to have to go to someplace else.

She saw them lining up their horses and insisted that they were just hogging the show jumping ring for themselves. Lily told her to stick around.

They led their horses inside and first they took the poles off the racks of the jumps and then took the racks apart and laid the pieces out before stacking them on the horses’ rumps.

They rode out of the riding arena with the equipment on their horse’s backs.

The look on Sabine’s face and the way she turned red was priceless in Lily’s opinion. The girl stomped over to her horse and rode off looking like she was going to yell at someone.

If she went to yell at the Baroness, Lily would have paid to be a fly on that wall. As it was, she sent a text warning Judy and Linda that Sabine was coming and she was pissed about the closed Riding Arena.

Once they had everything cleared out, including a table with what looked like an old cd player in the back, they stared around the empty room. The table and cd player went to the tack room. The showjumping equipment went to Thomas Moorland who had come to pick it up at the Manor in his truck.

Then they returned to the Riding Arena to face what was left.

“When do you think the last time this was cleaned?” Brittany asked.

They all looked at her.

“Valid question!” she protested.

They broke into groups.

Bjorn helped hook up the pressure washer to the faucet so they could wash the outside of the building getting the walls and the windows and washing down the parade ground outside the doors.

They were able to wave at the girls washing the inside windows on ladders with large amounts of ammonia and newspapers instead of paper towels. (Something about it doing a quick polish on the thick glass.) Another group of girls raked the dirt smooth.

After the back breaking work of putting in furniture in the wine cellar the day before it was almost relaxing. Though climbing up and down ladders to hang up the plants had been fun as two girls steadied the ladder and one girl climbed. There had been much giggling. The best part of doing the Wine Cellar had been putting in the neon sign over the back bar. Then the greatest part had been having an impromptu tasting party to give Aaron feedback on his menu. It had all been delicious including the rose and lavender ice creams. They weren’t soapy. That was always a big fear with rose and lavender. But Aaron wanted them to be specials for the grand opening!

They swept up the stands on the dressage side. Then they washed the stands down. Vacuumed the walls before washing them with sponges and buckets of soapy water. They took down the signs on the walls too. Because after that, they had to tape off the windows and cover parts of the floor near the walls and paint.

The walls were going from being white to a lovely light lavender color.

Outside, dirt and pollen and grit seemed to slide off the marble faced walls and they had to work extra hard to get it out of the seams where the columns met the walls between the windows and the border under the windows that was a series of Silverglade Clan swirls instead of a traditional Greek key or wave pattern. They cleaned out the eaves as well. Bjorn muttering about gutters. Once everything was clean, including the urns, they were able to paint the urns up. Bjorn had them help inspect the walls for any cracks.

A closer look and Bjorn pronounced that the marble had been treated with something to keep it looking pristine. That’s what made it easy to clean. Marble was notoriously porous stuff.

The girls muttered about how they wouldn’t want the place to fall apart or be defaced.

“Maybe a guard dog?”

“But do guard dogs get along with horses?”

It was a good question. The better question of course was, would the Baroness mind guard dogs?

“Ducks aren’t great guards. Geese are,” one girl observed. “But not necessarily ducks.”

“Corgis are cute and good with horses but not exactly guard dog material unless they are in swarms. I mean, they’re too cute and fuzzy to be intimidating. Plus, they’re super friendly.”

“Someone,” Bjorn reminded them, “is going to have to take care of this dog. Walk it. Feed it. Clean up the messes.”

The nearest pet show was in Fort Pinta and no one really had time at that moment to go and inquire.

“It might not be necessary,” Abigail said.

“Now that’s tempting fate,” Stacey warned her.

“Don’t say things like that, you’ll jinx it!” Brittany waved her arms. She had the hose so she sprayed water all over them.

They squealed and ducked getting wet anyways.

“Brittany!” Stacey shouted.

Abigail tried to wrestle hose from her and succeeded. Brittany yelped, let her have it and ran away. “It was an accident!” she shouted.

“Get back here!” Abigail shouted back.

Bjorn grinned and didn’t reprimand. Let the girls be girls.

After lunch from the Silver Glade courtesy of Tony with the doors fully open so the paint could dry, Agnetha appeared with new showjumping equipment. Thankfully, for everyone’s piece of mind, it wasn’t 100% purple. There was plenty of white in the jumps. Though the bars came in lavender (a light blue purple,) grape (dark blue purple,) lilac (the light red purple,) raspberry (medium red purple,) and mulberry (dark red purple.) Nothing was overly bright or garish, much to everyone’s relief.

“Now, the Baroness has declared she wants a garden style jumping ring,” Agnetha said. “And I wasn’t sure exactly what that meant but she had pictures.” Agnetha made a face.

“Oh dear,” Pauline murmured.

“What that meant, I suppose, was she wanted flowers under the jumps, shaped bushes as jumps, and either trained roses, or rose urns on the sides of the jumps. We’re compromising.”

The girls all looked at each other. They all wondered how much of an argument Agnetha and Anabella had had over this concept called compromise. Bjorn’s lips twitched and he surreptitiously sent them video he had covertly recorded for them to watch later. (There would be many gasps and a lot of giggles.)

Agnetha hefted a larger jump side out of her truck, It was a swirled design painted in raspberry. “We have two variations of these, this one, poor thing, is supposed to be a horse head.”

The girls giggled. The swirls were in the shape of a horse head. They did recognize it.

“And the other, I think for you girls, is lavender and in the shape of a duck’s head.” Agnetha rolled her eyes. “She special ordered these and we’re to train the roses on them.”

The girls nodded. That made sense and would be pretty.

“Now, we’ll be using some more standard configuration jumps and having smaller urns in them with miniature roses to keep them seated in place being heavy and all.” Agnetha continued. “Then there’s to be at least one or two jumps, I’m not sure how many jumps there actually are in this course that will be the big urns with the roses in them. I’m sure you’re sensing a theme.”

They grinned.

“Lastly, we’re going to be using some of the shrub roses to create ‘formed’ jumps. I argued for lavender, but you know how she is.” Agnetha rolled her eyes. “Now, some of the ground roses will be going under the jumps to, and I quote, tie everything together. Now, I think that if she wants a garden jumping course, she should leave the garden aspect to the experts, but no one asked me. There will also be two rose arches that are going to form the entrances and exits of the riding tracks. I guess so everyone knows where to start and where to end.”

They giggled and nodded.

“And you can bet dollars to donuts, that she will want a rose arch jump in the middle of the track once she sees it, so we’re going to get ahead of her and do it anyways.”

“Understood, Agnetha,” Lily said.

“I also have new signs, white with grape lettering and fancy roses and grape corners.” Agnetha rolled her eyes. “In about an hour, the contractors are going to be here to change out the seats for new Mulberry and Grape ones. So, we’re to stay out of their way and let them work.”

“That shouldn’t be a problem if we’re doing the jumps on the showjumping side.” Linn said.

“So, I hope you’re all finished eating because work starts now,” Agnetha announced, hand on one hip.

A couple of the girls took the signs and Bjorn’s favorite battery powered drill and went to put up the new signs where the old ones had been. The grapes and roses were embossed silver bits around the edges. They were really quite pretty and added a bit of flair to the place. They were long out of the way by the time the contractors arrived.

Inside, they had to mark everything out and set things up to see how they’d look aesthetically. Sure, the Baroness had given them a number of jumps and which jumps in each place were supposed to have so many bars, but she hadn’t said which jumps were to be what type of décor.

And Agnetha was fussy. So, they kept having to move things around until she was happy with it all. So, if the ones around the edges happened to be more shrubs and no fancy sides than the ones in the middle. (Though Agnetha had decided to turn a least one of the horse head or duck head jumps into shrub jumps instead of bars.) Then, it was only because the jumps were so close to the edge of the walls.

Or that’s what they’d tell the Baroness.

They were simply following Agnetha’s directions. They had no say in anything, nothing at all.

When they were finished, Linn tested it out.

She wasn’t in her showjumping uniform. They were all dressed for work in their pretty winery clothes that could take hard work. Linn thought it was a challenging set of jumps.

“It’s beautiful,” the Baroness said from the door.

They all turned to her.

Everyone wanted to heave a great sigh of relief.

The Baroness smiled ever so slightly. It was better than she could have imagined. She nodded at them and left.

“Is it bad that I want to give her a hug?” Tyra asked. “Like, things around here have been bad so long and now, I don’t know, I want to give her a hug and tell her it’s going to be okay.”

They all laughed at that.

“It’s not bad.” Regina said.

“I doubt she’d accept.”

“Group hug!” Shouted Brittany.

They gathered around to hug each other. Because sometimes, you needed to get the hugs out.

--

They all woke up excited, grabbing toast and dashing around to do all the clean up chores (and protecting their toast from hungry horses who liked bread.) It was decoration day! Today was the day that they were going to turn their bit of South New Jorvik County into the most rainbow celebratory festival that anyone had ever seen.

Without being tacky.

They knew the baroness would make them tear it all down if it was tacky.

But they were excited. They felt they had the right to be excited. Prying open boxes of decorations with crow bars, they hoped they had enough. Because there were plenty of hearts, and rainbow hearts and big fluffy cloud lights, and bows. Specifically, there was a large box of rainbow sequin hair bows they were to hand out to the girls they met and tell them to go see Jojo Siwa over at Moorland.

And all the bows, sequin or not, had roses with light purple crystals in the middle of them.

Giggling, they helped each other put hair bows on and put an armful of each into their saddlebags. They broke into groups, grabbing decorations, because there were a lot of them and every place needed to be decorated from the Silver Glade Restaurant, to the stables, to the gardens.

They were lucky, the lamps of the manor had arms off of them. So each lamp got a bow at the junction of the arms, a pearl studded heart on the arm nearest to the road affixed in rainbow order from one lamp to the next, and a chain of hearts wrapped around the pole (hearts also in rainbow order instead of being rainbow striped.) There were a lot of lamps.

The birch trees got decorations of hanging small clouds with trails of hearts dangling from them like it they were raining hearts. They also had lanterns with heart shapes cut out of them to hang.

They decorated the bridges with bows and the heart streamers going from bow to bow.

They found a broad board and braced it against the columns in the fountain.

Lily eyed it. “I’m not sure it’s safe.”

“Then be careful not to fall in,” Pauline teased. “Or you’ll get wet.”

“Thanks,” Lily said.

She carefully walked over to get the clouds and hearts in the trees. Linda also gave her lanterns with heart cut outs to hang up.

More of these lanterns got placed into the flower beds and hidden in the urns.

They put the hearts on the doors and in the windows. The heart streamer swags went across doorways and were draped in the windows, across the stall tops on the interior of the stable. They put bows on the fences and bigger studded hearts in the middle of the fence with the heart streamers draped between them. And they put the bows on the lower half of the exterior stall doors of the horses, chiding them not to nibble on them.

They made a display of bigger studded hearts using fishing line in the archways to either side of the main doors of the Manor.

They put up the cloud lamps in the dome of the stables, two girls holding the ladder in place as another perched precariously near the top of it. There were big clouds and small clouds and they created a grouping of them. They turned on the lights after, the LEDs in the clouds a bright white, while the big ones had LED strands in rainbow colors that faded in and out.

They liked it so much they put some over the aisles in the stables and took them down to the riding arena to do as big of a display as they could by bunching big ones together in the dressage side. Using transports, they were able to go get sun catchers and stained glass decorations from Cape West and New Hillcrest to put in the windows of the Riding Arena. There wasn’t any hay in there after all.

Rainbow heart streamers got draped around the railing of the bandstand in the garden. Pearl studded hearts hung from the arches. And more clouds were put under the dome.

They added clouds to the dome in the rooftop restaurant and more studded hearts. They put the lanterns in the middle of every table rearranging the flower vases so they made more sense. Flower boxes got a studded heart in the middle of them, with rainbow hearts swags to each side. They put bows on every fence section.

Someone decided to hide the heart streamers in the rose arches of the long archway. Along the back of the benches, they put the heart streamers, bows, and one of the big studded hearts.

The entire time they were running around, they’d run into girls their age that were riding horses or leading horses or all in all wandering about. They passed out the hair bows. “Come see Jojo Siwa and stand together this Rainbow Week!”

Reactions were mixed but no one as quite willing to refuse a sparkly sequin rainbow hair bow. The hair decorations multiplied.

FOR THE ACCOMPANYING IMAGES PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE MY WATERMARK AND CONTACT INFORMATION. THANK YOU. I get it. Some of you might get excited and want to see this stuff in the game, especially the clothes, tack, and pets. However, the only way I want to see this in the game is if I get paid for it. If I see it in the game and I’m not paid for it, there will be hell to pay. You think I’m salty. I’d be angry. Personally, I’m not going to send this info to SSO. If you do, leave my contact information there! Don’t give them any excuses to steal.

Now, I’ll know you haven’t read this note if you leave me comments about how ‘salty’ I am about the game and if I hate it so much I should do something else. I am doing something else. It’s called Mystic Riders MMORPG Project. Mystic Riders however is a very baby phase game. You can check out our plans on the game dev blog. (Skills, Factions, Professions, Crafting, Mini-Games, 25+ horse breeds!) If you know anyone who would be interested and has money or contacts about game making, direct them to the blog.

[ginnyzero]

Completely Harmless Appendix 2

Appendix: The Horse Creation System

Please be aware that even as I was creating the graphics to explain my ideas, Star Stable was changing the graphics of the UI. (To be honest, I like the old ones better.)

I decided to use the second generation Friesian/Friesian Sport models to be the basis of the new Jorvik Warmblood Sport purely for the reason that I find them to be the most ‘fantasy’ looking horses in the game. They’re pretty. In my opinion, they aren’t Friesians. Friesians have a very dishy face that makes them look delicate from the front. But they have a very strong and handsome profile. These horses have a very delicate and pretty profile. The first generation Friesian and Friesian Sport were much more realistic than the second generation. But hey, they can be useful and for the purposes of my story be the new “starter” horse.

So, the idea is, in this version of the game, once you get to Silverglade Manor, you can buy a new horse that is absolutely green (untrained) for the standard 350 Shillings and you can customize your horse’s look from colors, to markings, to styling. I came up with this before they did Woodear and Pepita. They’re nice and all, but um, yeah. I didn’t put them into the customizer.

I wanted to try and use actual horse genetics to give more options and have them be ‘controlled’ at the same time. The player wouldn’t be able to choose more than one Gene 1 and one Gene 2 option at a time. Once they select 1 of the Gene options, the others grey out unless they select a different one. They can choose bay or dun or dapple or roan or cremello/perlino or fleabitten or crackle, but they can’t choose 2 of them. And they can add one Gene 2 on top of it but not 2 of them. (You can be a paint, but you can’t be an appaloosa or a zorse at the same time.) I know this isn’t 100% accurate to the real world, especially with the paints and appaloosa markings, but for the sake of ‘keeping it simple’ that is the option I chose.

Okay so looking here at figure 1. You’ve got a screen that looks eerily similar to the screen you use to change your starter horse in the stable. I didn’t realize at the time they’d changed the UI of the game opening customizer. On the other hand, other people have used that UI already and probably have done a better job than I am. The UI graphics don’t really matter here.

So, you’ve got on the left your horse that you can see from ears to hooves. You would be to move the camera around 360 degrees and zoom in and out using the mouse buttons and scroll button. And then on the right you have the section that looks similar to a shop screen. (Oh wait, it is a shop screen.) Page 1 of the UI is the basic styling of your horse and how it’d look in the normal world. You’d scroll down to reach the feet markings and hair styles.

In the dark blue section, there are the coat colors, mane colors, Gene 1, Gene 2, and Face Markings.

There are 22 Coat colors broken up into 5 families; 3 Cream, 4 Gold, 4 Red, 6 Brown, and 5 Black/Grey. (These coat colors should be used for all the horses in the game but hey, I just used a horse gene coat color guide.)

There are 11 Mane Colors.

Gene 1 are horse markings that aren’t, in general, white spots. There’s bay, dun, dapple, roan, cremello/perlino, fleabitten, and crackle.

Gene 2 are horse markings that do have white spots. There are 3 variations of paint; tobiano, sabino, overo. 3 variations of appaloosa; blanket, extended blanket and leopard. And lastly, the zorse, because why not?

Then under that you can choose your face markings, everything from a star to a full face of white.

In figure 2, having scrolled down to view them, you can choose your leg markings for each leg individually. You have the choice of a stocking, a boot, an ankle sock, or a pastern.

Then you have 7 mane styles and 9 tail styles to choose from. And then lastly, there are three fetlock styles, neatly trimmed, not so neatly trimmed, and braided.

On the light blue section with the five buttons, there are four buttons to represent the four circles of the soul riders and lastly in the middle the Jorvik Wild Button. If you select the “wild” button at the bottom of the blue customizer window, you can see what your horse would look like in the “wild” places of Pandoria without turning the store page as these starter horses would also replace the Jorvik Wild Horse.

When you select the Jorvik Wild button, you can then also select one (or more) of the four circles buttons so you can see what your horse looks like with a horn, beard, wings, or cloven hooves. (At least for this story.) The wings should match your mane color. Or you can flip to page 2 of the store interface and customize your horse as a ‘wild’ horse first.

Looking at Figure 3, you can now see your options for the wild side of your Jorvik Warmblood Sport Horse. As an example, I chose to make a nymph horse with a grass coat and markings of stonework.

Base Cream & Gold: Candy Color Easter Horse

Base Red: Grass Nymph Horse with flowers in the mane and tail.

Base Brown: Dirt or Sand Nymph Horse with flowers in the mane and tail.

Base Grey/Black: Is a black horse with a colored flame mane.

In Figure 4, we start to see the genes come into play.

Gene 1 Bay: Ombre Easter Egg Horse.

Gene 1 Bay + Gene 2 Zorse: Ombre Easter Egg with Easter Egg White Markings.

Gene 1 Dun: Rainbow Horse, a pastel horse with a rainbow mane and tail.

Gene 1 Bay + Gene 2 Zorse: A Crystal Horse in jewel tones with rainbow oil slick effect.

Gene 1 Dapple: A Water or Ice Horse

Gene 1 Dapple + Gene 2 Zorse: Fish Horse

Continuing onto Figure 5 the first Gene’s continue.

Gene 1 Roan: Cloud and Sky Horse with Butterflies or Dragonfly in the mane & tail

Gene 1 Roan + Gene 2 Zorse: Horse with Butterfly Markings Coat

Gene 1 Cremello/Perlino: Metallic Horse

Gene 1 Cremello/Perlino + Zorse: Tin Man Horse

Gene 1 Fleabitten: Star Horse with Stars in the mane & tail (Like Nightdust sort of)

Gene 1 Fleabitten + Zorse: Ghost Horse

Gene 1 Crackle: Lightning horse with Dark Tonal Coats and manes with lightning ‘streaks’ in them. Lightning crackle marks on the rump.

Gene 1 Crackle + Zorse: Snake Horse

Moving onto Figure 6, which the player would scroll down to see, we now get into Gene 2. There are more options now because Gene 2 shows what will happen if you mix Gene 1 and Gene 2 together.

Gene 2 Paint: Stone horse with ivy or moss markings. Flowers in the mane and tail.

Gene 2: Appaloosa: Tree bark horse with knots and holes for markings. Leaves and flowering trees mane and tail.

Gene 1 Bay + Gene 2 Paint/Appaloosa: Ombre Stone or Bark.

Gene 1 Dun + Gene 2 Paint/Appaloosa: Crystals in the mane/tail and in the markings

Gene 1 Dapple + Gene 2 Paint/Appaloosa: Season Change from spring to autumn.

Gene 1 Roan + Gene 2 Paint/Appaloosa: Butterflies in the mane & tail

Gene 1 Cremello/Perlino + Gene 2 Paint/Appaloosa: Nymph Horse Becomes Metal Sculpture

Gene 1 Flea Bitten + Gene 2 Paint/Appaloosa: Stars in the mane & tail

Gene 1 Crackle + Gene 2 Paint/Appaloosa: Pandoria Horse like Zee

Gene 2: Zorse: Crazy Undead horses like skeleton, mummy, zombie, and vampire.

The player would be able to flip back and forth using the Wild button again to see how each gene effects the look of their horse both as normal and as a ‘wild’ horse without having to turn the page back to the normal section.

They can also use the random button, cancel out of the transaction or once they decide on a horse they can’t live without, click ok. There should be enough variations here to keep all sorts of players happy. And of course, they’d be able to go into their stable and change the look of their horse at any time (though I’m sure SSO would charge them for it.)

[ginnyzero]

Completely Harmless Ch. 23

Completely Harmless An SSO SilverGlade Re-imagining Story (Or Fix it Fan Salt fic) By Ginny O.

When Lily and her friends wanted to buy horses and were directed to the Silverglade Manor and its myriad of problems, they didn’t expect to start a revolution. They were just a bunch a stable girls. Completely harmless. Right?

A/N: Things are only canon if I say they’re canon. Pre-Saving the Moorland Stables compliant for the most part. Posted in its entirety on my website. Posted in 2000 to 4000 word bits here. Rated T for Swearing Word Count 177,577

Chapter Twenty-Three Mr. Fussywithers

Bjorn was in charge of drilling the holes in the wall for the dynamite sticks to go into. Then they’d put the sticks in the holes when he was done, attach the wires, run the wires out towards the road or under the bridge towards the Moon Garden, wait until everyone was out of the way, and then detonate the charges.

So, first, this meant making sure that they had fences set up to keep people out. Good thing Bjorn had thought ahead and kept some of the fences that G.E.D. had been using.

“Waste not, want not,” he said in a matter of fact voice.

They set up the fences to his specifications. Then he gave them hard hats. “All right ladies, while I start drilling, what you’re going to need to do is get some wheelbarrows. I’ve got the truck parked. You’re going to load up the wheelbarrows, then load up the truck. When we’ve got a full load, I’ll take it off to the track site to make into concrete later.”

They all nodded as if this made perfect sense. They jogged off to get shovels and wheelbarrows that had ended up scattered around the garden from their efforts of clearing off the weeds.

“Better get the rakes too,” Pauline said.

“Brooms for the dust,” Stacy murmured.

They came back with barrows full of tools.

Bjorn wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. “Gotta put your back into this to do it right.” He told them with a grin. “Right, the first holes are drilled. Let’s see that dynamite.”

They pried open the boxes with a handy pry bar and some hammers retrieved from the stable.

Bjorn picked it up and examined. “Looks like the stuff. All right, what we’re going to do is cut it down so it doesn’t explode too much.” He brought out what could have been a cigar cutter and showed them how. “Mind your fingers. Wear your gloves.”

They blanched and nodded rapidly.

They cut the first sticks down at his direction and inserted them into the holes he’d drilled into the rock. He showed them how to attach the wires and then they wound the wire out towards the road where a couple other girls had been sent to set up the blast box.

Attaching the wires to the blast box, they were forced to find a hat and fill it with names to see who would press down on the handle and send the first electric spark. Brittany won.

Agnetha and Bjorn moved clear.

“Fire in the hole!” She shouted and gleefully shoved the handle down.

The spark went along the wires and at first there was a puff of smoke, then the dynamite exploded, shaking the ground and breaking up the rock in a great burst of dust, tiny shards of rock, and smoke.

They cheered. Even if they weren’t entirely sure what they were cheering for.

Bjorn chuckled. “Whelp, this would go faster if we had a better way to communicate.”

“James’ walkie talkies!” Lily said.

“James has walkie talkies?” Regina asked.

“Oh, long story,” Lily rubbed her forehead. “I’ll go over and borrow them with a bit of blackmail.” She rolled her eyes. “If he wants help with his photography project, he’ll loan us those walkie talkies. I’ll be back!”

“Photography project?” Elsa murmured.

“I’m not sure if I want to know if it’s James,” Stacy said in a soft voice.

They all had to agree on that, but Pauline having sat through the meeting regaled them in detail about James’ current antics. Bjorn supervised the filling of the wheelbarrows, stopping them before they were too full. “This is rock, not weeds and dirt, girls.” He reminded them.

The girls all reacted in various degrees of outrage and shock about James as they pushed wheelbarrows half full of rock. (Completely full could be too heavy and Bjorn didn’t want them making it too heavy.) They worked together to heft the barrows into the truck and dump them out before going back for more. This was definitely at least a five person job.

--

Lily crossed her arms and looked down at James. “I’m singularly unimpressed.”

“I need them,” James gestured with his hands.

Lily raised her brow. “To continue your scam with Mayor Peanut?”

James flushed. “You don’t understand. The tourists love him.”

Lily sighed. “James, did it occur to you, I don’t know, that entering a pony into the race for Mayor was a bad idea?”

James shifted on his feet. “I didn’t think anyone would vote for him.”

“Which says a lot about the lack of quality of candidates around here,” Lily looked around. Pia was in an argument with some of the vendors it looked like. Lily wasn’t sure if she cared to know.

Pia’s voice drifted over. “If we clear this area of shops and combine your goods, then we can attract tourists with an art fair or performers!”

“Right,” Lily muttered. “I’m going to stay out of that one. Look James, you seem bright.”

James blinked. “Seem?”

“Until you start trying to defraud people. Which, by the way, is a crime.”

James blinked rapidly.

“So, your schemes could get you in a lot of trouble one day after someone starts looking at you and doesn’t see kid.” Lily patted her horse’s neck. “Then, you’ll lose everything you’ve gained.”

James opened and shut his mouth.

“But you’ve got ideas, and some of them are pretty damn good ideas.” Lily met his eyes. “If you want them to succeed at being good ideas, you’re going to have to put the work into them.” She wrapped the reins around her hand. “We’re willing to help you. Not do 99% of the work for you.”

James flushed. “But I’m not a photographer.”

“Then, dear God in heaven, why did you think that taking photographs of Token was a good idea and not giving Pia the credit she deserves?” Lily’s voice turned tart. “If you think Pia is that great of a photographer. You have an idea, James. But Pia, by all rights, can take whatever plush she likes, run around South New Jorvik County herself, and publish a book so her name will be on the cover, and she gets the royalties if she’s going to be the one doing the work. Getting a publisher and an agent before you even had the photography is,” Lily trailed off. “Talk about putting your cart before your horse to use a Jorvik appropriate metaphor.”

“All right. All right. I get it. I messed up.”

“I think you owe Pia an apology about thinking her work and labor is worth so little.”

James gulped. “What do you mean? How hard it is to pose a stuffed animal and snap a picture.”

“Oh James,” Lily sighed. “For a professional quality picture, there are going to be hundreds of photos and thousands of shots and experimentation with the time of day and the shutter speed and what about the posing, hats, no hats, scarves?”

“Oh,” James pushed at his glasses. “I didn’t think of it like that.”

“And she’ll have to figure out a way to protect your plush, or else Token could get really dirty.”

James’ eyes widened. “Uh,” he bit his lip. “I don’t want him to get hurt!”

“And neither would she, so she’d have to take extra care that he doesn’t.” Lily raised her brows. “You’re getting a reputation as a user, James. And well, someone who’s dishonest. And that’s going to get around and run away business.”

James sputtered.

“So, I suggest you come up with a story like Mayor Peanut has laryngitis and let me borrow those walkie talkies and we’ll come up with a way to salvage your abysmal reputation. But it will take work on your part and some sincere apologies to your fellow business community members.”

“You don’t understand,” James whined.

“You grew up poor. Got it.” Lily snapped.

James jumped. “How?”

“You’re a grifter, James. That was the next tactic, some sob story to make me feel bad for you, so you wouldn’t have to change a bit.”

James flushed.

“Now, you can continue to play the small game, or you can play by our rules and see the bigger picture. That starts with being a good citizen helping out the representative of the Baroness.” Lily held out her hand and opened and closed her fingers.

James sighed. He pulled the walkie talking out of his back pocket and slapped it into her hand. He marched over to Peanut the pony, and dug the one out of his hat. “I already lost money from Ferdinand because of Pia’s meddling.”

“James,” Lily said in a low voice. “Honest, upstanding, member of the business community, that is your goal. Eyes on the goal.”

James handed her the second walkie talkie. “It was a good deal.”

“For you,” Lily looked down her nose at him.

“Ferdinand got what he wanted,” James whined.

“You weren’t exercising them. You were renting them out to tourists who may or may not know how to ride properly. That’s a recipe for disaster and it won’t come back to Ferdinand. It will come back to you. If people get seriously hurt riding horses that haven’t been trained or exercised properly before being taken out, then they could sue you for lots of money.”

James sputtered.

Lily lifted her chin and raised her brows. “You can’t have a stable and have it be empty.”

James shifted on his feet. “I don’t have money to buy horses.”

Lily crossed her arms. “Then perhaps you’re going to have to keep renting from Ferdinand until you do and not try to steal people’s money with ridiculous fines in order to buy said horses.” She pulled her phone out of her pocket and hit speed dial. “Linda, this is Lily.” She smiled. “Yeah, I know you have caller ID. Hey, I’m sitting here in front of James, and he doesn’t have the capital to buy horses from Ferdinand at full price. Are there any yearlings left that you sold to us?”

James stared at her.

“I’ll bring him along and you can help him pick out some nice, docile, good for beginners, easily trainable, trail riding horses,” Lily said. “Thanks Linda.” She turned off her phone. “Okay, Jamsie, here is the deal. The horses at the Silverglade Equestrian Center are 350 Shillings each since it was a really good or bad year depending for foals. The bad news is that they’re all three year olds and are still settling into their personalities. The good news is that with the right training they won’t have any bad habits to undo. You can rent ponies for the kids from Ferdinand until you start making money. You’ll have to pay someone like Pia and the girls to train them to be good trail riding horses, but you’ll have your own horses. They’ll need to be fed, exercised, the stable cleaned. Oh, wait, you have a club here. So, pay them to help you.” Lily waved a hand at Pia.

Pia ran over. “Hey, Lily.”

“Lily, I’m taking James to pick out some of the yearlings at the Winery to be trail riding horses here. Linda and the Baroness are willing to give him the same deal they gave to us. The caveat being that someone is going to need to look after them and make sure they’re being fed quality food and given clean water.”

“I’d never!” James yelped.

The two girls gave him a look.

Pia pushed her hair back. “I think that the girls and I are going to take up a collection and buy into your stable, James. Just to keep you honest.”

James sputtered.

“The more people, the more responsibility gets spread around,” Lily said lightly. “And the more hands to do the work.”

“And we’d have vested interest that way in training the horses,” Pia nodded. “We’d also have a place to board ours and the fees can come out of our salaries.”

James opened and shut his mouth as Lily glared at him.

“The fees will be standard market rates,” Pia said. “Which, we’ve been researching.”

Lily smiled. She held out her hand. “Up you come, James. I’ll give you a call, Pia, when he needs help herding them back.”

“Herding?” James said. He stared at her hand. “I, um, don’t really know how to ride.”

“Well, then we’ll have to teach you. Can’t have a stable owner not knowing how to ride,” Pia quipped. She smiled at Lily and it was rather evil.

“We’re taking a transport,” Lily said. “It is what, three hundred feet.”

James took her hand and she helped him swing up onto the back of her horse. “It won’t be long. I’m sure Linda is sorting the horses out now,” Lily told Pia. She nudged her horse into a walk.

“Why is it so far down?” James gulped.

Lily sighed.

“I’ll have the money ready and we can do our transaction at the bank when we get back,” Pia said sweetly.

“You trapped me,” James accused Lily as they rode past the stone wall and out of Pia’s hearing range.

“You trapped yourself,” Lily said. “If you’d been honest and above board from the get go, it wouldn’t have come to this.”

James frowned. “Then I wouldn’t be making any money.”

“No. You probably would have made more because people would have relied on you to be a good trader. You don’t know how much money you’ve lost because you’ve given people shoddy goods and they’ve gone to someone else,” Lily said. “I doubt you’ve had a lot of repeat customers.” She urged her horse into the horse trailer.

The engine started and the truck pulling the trailer drove slowly away. They could see the countryside passing outside the windows.

James didn’t say much. “Why are you doing this for me?” He asked quietly, in a very small voice. “I upset your friends. You called me a user and a fraud.”

“Because, I think with the right guidance and the right people around you, James, that you can be a good force for this county.” Lily glanced over her shoulder at him. “You want to succeed. You want Fort Pinta to succeed. You put in the best you’ve got and do the work. And we’ll be here helping every step of the way, because we’re stronger together than we are apart. Don’t view the Pony race as competition. Don’t view the Fort Pinta Beach Party as a rival. Those are opportunities to help Fort Pinta and Jorvik grow. If someone rents a pony from you and go and does the pony race with Penny and Polly, that’s not a loss, that’s a win for Fort Pinta and South New Jorvik County as a whole. The more money they spend, the more money goes into the County and the better everyone can live.”

James grumbled.

“Other peoples’ visions may be different than yours, it doesn’t make them wrong,” Lily said evenly. The transport pulled to a stop behind the S.E.C. stables. The door fell open slowly, the electronics whirring.

Lily backed her horse out and rode through the arch stopping under the dome.

Linda came out of the sell side. “I think I’ve got them sorted. Howdy James, I’m Linda. I’m friends with your sister, Alex.”

“I know,” James ducked his head.

“You first,” Lily said.

James slowly got down, not entirely sure how to do it. “So, about these horses.”

“You have a race and also rent for trail rides, right?” Linda said. “These are good racing horses, and also are trainable enough to be trail riding horses. I’d send someone out with them that has experience though.”

Lily cleared her throat. “Pia is the President of the Fort Pinta Pinto Ponies Club and they’re willing to buy in. They can lead the rides. I need to take these walkie talkies off to Bjorn and Agnetha for our tunneling project.”

Linda nodded. “I’ll show him the horses.”

Lily rode off quickly.

Linda put her arm around James’ shoulders. “How many scoldings have you had?”

“Three, so far,” James slouched.

Linda pursed her lips. “All right. Consider yourself scolded a fourth time. I’m doing this for Alex, James. Because she loves you and wants to see you succeed.”

James gulped.

Linda tugged him into the stable to look at the horses. She explained their finer points to James as they waited for Lily to return.

By the time she did, one of the stallions had taken to James, playfully grabbing his hat and running off with it. Linda laughed and said that James had made a friend, that the stallion was definitely his horse. Or he was the stallion’s human.

Lily leaned over. “Isn’t that Fussywithers?”

“Yep,” Linda chortled.

Fussywithers was only a nickname, because the young stallion as fussy and finicky. His water had to be absolutely fresh. His food just right. His stall perfectly clean and pristine. There was no margin of error with Mr. Fussy.

Lily giggled. He was the perfect horse for James. Funny, how the horses that everyone found were the ones they needed. She dialed up Pia and told her to come get James and his new best friend.

FOR THE ACCOMPANYING IMAGES PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE MY WATERMARK AND CONTACT INFORMATION. THANK YOU. I get it. Some of you might get excited and want to see this stuff in the game, especially the clothes, tack, and pets. However, the only way I want to see this in the game is if I get paid for it. If I see it in the game and I’m not paid for it, there will be hell to pay. You think I’m salty. I’d be angry. Personally, I’m not going to send this info to SSO. If you do, leave my contact information there! Don’t give them any excuses to steal.

Now, I’ll know you haven’t read this note if you leave me comments about how ‘salty’ I am about the game and if I hate it so much I should do something else. I am doing something else. It’s called Mystic Riders MMORPG Project. Mystic Riders however is a very baby phase game. You can check out our plans on the game dev blog. (Skills, Factions, Professions, Crafting, Mini-Games, 25+ horse breeds!) If you know anyone who would be interested and has money or contacts about game making, direct them to the blog.