Legendary Emerald

"This part should interest you." Twilight continued to go on about the book, though Serah would have much rather preferred to read it quietly on her own time. "23 years ago, the famous explorer Indy Drake went in search of the Stone of Destiny. He claimed to his traveling partner one day that he'd stumbled across its resting place, as well as the first trial. But then next day when he went out to actually claim the stone, he never returned." Twilight closed the book, and handed it to Serah. "Indy was one of the most respected explorers of all time; he even inspired a book series that a friend of mine loves. It may just be conjecture, but I don't have any reason to believe he would have lied about something like finding the Stone of Destiny's resting place when everyone already thought he was the greatest." Twilight concluded. It was an interesting story. But Serah wondered if Twilight had ever stopped to consider that Indy might have been ashamed that he was unable to find the stone, lied to his partner, and then faked his own death to keep his own dignity. Suddenly, a bell tolled from outside. Twilight seemed to suddenly remember something. "Oh, the talent show must be almost ready to start!" Twilight exclaimed, before pointing a question at Serah. "Are you going to see it, or participate in it maybe?" Serah shook her head. "Okay then. You're from out of town, aren't you? Just make sure you return the book before you leave Ponyville. Thanks." Twilight smiled, and then left the library. Serah followed her outside so as not to seem suspicious, but as soon as the unicorn was out of sight, she went back inside. Now she had the entire library to herself.

Serah heard a loud 'thud' from outside, but didn't pay it much attention. Twilight had found the book she was looking for, titled 'Contemporary Research on the Nature of Magical Items'. It's was a mouthful, and the title was a bit out-dated too, the book having been released many years ago. "I know there's a chapter on the Stone of Destiny in here..." Twilight flipped through the page at breakneck speed, and Serah wondered how the librarian could ever see what she was skipping past. "Ah, here we go!" The page contained a drawn diagram of what the Stone of Destiny supposedly looked like, and a couple pages of description. "You probably know most of the stuff in here already, if you already have the book dedicated to it." Twilight reasoned. "But there has been some research into the matter in the past 20 years, and its now considered more likely than ever that the Stone actually exists." Serah raised her eyebrows, but didn't verbally respond. If anything, she had expected the myth to be debunked, not bolstered.

There's no time limit, and thanks!

Helloooooooooh my god I am tired. Sorry, I've spent the entire day writing. I just sent the rough draft of my first MLP: FiM fanfiction to the best editor in the world, Hal 9000, and now that story is his problem. After he's made the necessary edits and given his thoughts, all I'll need to do is make some last minute changes if I deem them necessary and then begin uploading it to the usual round of fanfiction sites. But before that, I need a cover image, especially if I'm going to suck up the courage necessary to send it in to Equestria Daily. Story Summary: "It's the day of the mysterious Glowmelon Festival and all of Ponyville is excited. But Twilight Sparkle is confused by the strange fruit that the forest animals bring in, and hearing that somepony or something named Glowmelina is behind the event only makes her more curious. Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy decide to seek out the truth behind the festival, but not all mysteries are meant to be solved." I'm not looking for much, just a simple image that could represent the story. The drawing I came up with was this (excuse the fact that prior to drawing this, I'd never drawn a pony before): Basically, if you can draw something better than that (and preferably in color), then you have what I'm looking for. You don't have to follow the concept I came up with though; you can be original. If you want to read the fanfic to get inspiration, that's fine as well; I'll send it to you. I thank all of you talented artists in advance for your consideration. PS: If you are interested, but require a commission fee, I will try to scrounge up the money. But I'm a very poor college student, so if your artwork is truly amazing, I doubt I can afford it.

Meanwhile, Twilight leading Serah through the aisles. Serah wasn't showing much interested, and Twilight caught on fairly quickly. "Umm, is there anything specific you were looking for?" she tentatively asked, probably trying to be helpful. Serah supposed that while she was there, she might as well pick out something of interest. She reached into one of apple bags, and took out the book Six String had given her earlier. "Something on this subject would be good." Serah answered, indicating the cover. Twilights eyes went wide when she read the title. "Oh wow, that book is practically ancient! Where did you find it?" Twilight gushed, taking it in her hooves without asking permission. "Someone must have dropped it." Serah explained, telling only half of the truth. For some reason, she just didn't want anyone to know she was traveling with another pony. "You're so lucky! The only time I've ever seen a copy was back at the Canterlot archives." Twilight remarked, and then seemed to realize that she wasn't a museum curator and in fact, was supposed to be playing librarian at the moment. "Oh, right. So you're looking for more information on the Stone of Destiny. I think I can find you something more current than that book." Twilight began to levitate various books from various shelves, checking the titles. Serah began to wonder if this wasn't a good turn of events after all.

Serah calmed down. Okay, so maybe Six wasn't trying to ruin her plan. But even if he was, he'd been distracted by some commotion outside now. She didn't know what it was, and she didn't particularly care, as long as it kept Six out of her business until the morning. "Twilight." Serah got the purple unicorn's attention. "The books." "Oh, that's right! Sorry." Twilight apologized, and nodded goodbye to Six before letting the door close. She began to lead Serah towards the bookshelves. "You're a pretty eager reader, aren't you?" "Yes. I f*cking love reading." Sera deadpanned. (Yes, I remember them. It doesn't seem like my character wants to involve herself, though. XD)

No sooner had Twilight led Serah into the library when a knock came at the door. "Wow, we sure are busy today." Twilight remarked, and excused herself to open the door. When she did, Six String was on the other side. "Hello there!" "No, no, no, no, no!" Serah was mentally shouting. She was sure now that Six was out to make things difficult for her. All she was trying to do was find a nice people place to sleep, and now...

"Shit." How long had this pony been watching her? Did she know what Serah had been planning? Wait, had she called it a library? "Uh, yes, I am." Serah turned around unnaturally quickly and answered, thinking on her hooves. "I wasn't sure if this was a library though. It looks very... lived in." "Oh, well, that's because it is." the mare who had confronted her was a purple unicorn, and she giggled before finishing her answer. "I live here. My name's Twilight Sparkle." Twilight extended a hoof, and Serah shook it awkwardly. "What's your name?" the purple mare asked curiously when Serah didn't give her name as well. "Serah. Anastos." Serah calmed herself. This mare didn't seem to suspect anything, so she figured giving her name would be of no harm. "Huh, that's a funny sounding name. Oh, no offense though." Twilight apologized for her faux pas with a repentant smile. "But um, yeah, this is my home, but its still a library first and foremost. I'd be happy to help you find anything you're looking for." Serah desperately wanted to decline the invitation; this mare was being far too cheerful and nice towards someone she had just met. But on the other hand, it was a way of getting into the treehouse. Perhaps she'd be able to escape out one of the windows and hide in the branches like she'd planned. Make the best out of the situation without drawing any more suspicion to herself. "Alright." she eventually replied, forming the plan in her mind. "Okay then, come on in." Twilight responded, opening the unlocked door and leading Serah in. Serah looked behind her before she entered, and saw Six watching her with a bemused expression on his face. She wasn't sure why, but she cursed him where he stood. Somehow, this was all his fault. (OOC: How does this thead have over 200 views, and only 45 posts? My viewing the thread doesn't count each time, so where are all these views coming from?)

Somehow, without even reading Strong Hooves character bio, I guessed that he would use some sort of hammer weapon, lol.

Serah hoped that the cart puller would distract Six String long enough so that that she could get away. She hated repeating herself, and didn't want to expend the effort to refuse his request to get a room for her again. It would take some searching before she found herself a suitable hiding and sleeping spot, though. Usually she would just pick out a tree in whatever field or meadow she passed through, but that wasn't as easy in a packed village like this, and she didn't want to go too far out of town or she might not find Six again in the morning. She continued to wander around town until she spotted something that would work perfectly. A large tree, near the center of town, full of thick leaves that would hide anyone from curious eyes. The only problem was that a house already seemed to be built into the tree, but she doubted its owner spent much time in the branches. The tree got bigger the closer she came to it. It would be very difficult to climb, not only because of its size, but its unnatural smoothness. Serah was pretty confident she'd be able to manage, but there were an awful lot of ponies around. She'd have to wait until it was later in the day if she were to have any chance at being inconspicuous.

"I'm fine." was Serah's only response to Six String's offer. She already had to rely on him for his map; she wasn't going use him any more than that. Not because she cared about the pony, but because she knew she was capable of taking care of herself. She'd no doubt been traveling longer than her new companion, and she'd gotten by just fine thus far. The wagon stopped; perhaps it was staying in Ponyville for the night as well. Serah hopped off the wagon, taking her apples with her, and prepared to walk off when an unfamiliar voice spoke to her. "Hey, uh, which one of you two was playin the music?" the voice came from the front of the cart, and Serah saw that they'd been being pulled by a large red stallion with an wooden horseshoe hung over his neck. A green apple marked his flank, causing Serah to remember a few other ponies she recently met with a relation to apples. She hid her surprise marginally well, and then pointed an accusatory hoof at Six Strings as he jumped off the wagon. She then headed off without a word. "It was purdy." the stallion complimented Six, and then Serah was out of of sight.

Serah's felt as if her body had been doused in ice water. He thought she was "fooling around"? Well, she thought walking into an ambush was foolish! She may have just been a private, but she knew she had more common sense than this supposed 'sergeant'. Well, there was no use arguing now. And even though she desperately wanted to defy her orders and enact her plan anyways, she knew that doing so would result in strict punishment, regardless of her good intentions. Instead, she decided to refocus her anger towards the sergeant to her enemies. She had joined the war efforts purely out of lust for battle, and one way or another, she would get her wish.

Posting this for Neikos to see, and anyone else as well: Since I don't know exactly what was used in the previous Civil War RP, here's what I'm going to tentatively suggest for weaponry in the Lunar Republic. There can be traditional melee weapons, such as swords, shields, axes, etc. But there can also be early guns, inaccurate and hard to reload, but powerful. I'd say grenades and molotovs are fair game as well. Role playing ponies can have access to more effective or outlandish weapons if they are able justify them within the context of the story. This is just my suggestion, though. And if anyone involved in the previous Civil War RP knows what was used there, that'd be useful to know.

New Lunar Republic - 74 Solaris Empire - 66 Crush the Solarian savages!

Serah was unsure what to think when Six String pulled out his guitar and started to play. She supposed it was inevitable that a pony with music as his special talent would play from time to time, but it still surprised her for some reason. The tune was melancholic, but fit the atmosphere perfectly. Serah hadn't listened to much music outside of the traditional fare that was played at religious events in Brousse, but those songs were played usually played on the aulos and kithara; the guitar, while another stringed instrument, had a very different sound to it. Serah was happy with that, because the less that reminded her of home, the better. Six String's song grew it complexity as it went on, and Serah found herself focusing on all the ins and outs of the song. At some point she began to think that the guitarist might actually be trying to impress her; that almost made her snort. It took more than fancy instruments to gain her respect. But the song was beautiful, and she was a little sad when it ended. Not that she let Six String know that.

Alrighty, I'm out for the night. I have a class early in the morning, and my roommate can't sleep with me clacking away at the keyboard. It's been a lot of fun.

Serah sighed at what she felt was a sudden bombardment of questions, though to most ponies, two questions was hardly a big deal. She'd decided to deal with queries efficiently and thoroughly, and hope no more popped up along the way. "I'm from New Brousse. Its foreign, and its far away. As for my name..." Serah blew a short puff of fire from her mouth, which took on the shape of a bird. "Serah, Anastos. Flame, resurrection. Cliqued." She swatted her creation out existence. "Apples are high in acid. Helps the flames. I don't care if they go bad, just as long as they do their job." Serah finished rushing through her explanation, having said more in the past hour than she had in the entire two weeks prior. She took an apple out of her bag took a bite, hoping Six String had the common courtesy not to talk to someone when they were eating.

"You're right. Your name is cliqued as hell. But so is mine. I'm Serah Anastos." she spoke the foreign sounding name with an accent she didn't usually have, and hoped 'Six String' hadn't notice it. "Stop eying my apples; you've got your own supplies."