Illiad Easle

@Catpone Cerberus Spike and Magnolia took another step back when the dragoness exited the bush, but their apprehension quickly turned to curiosity, especially in the case of the pink pony who would attempt to approach if the dragoness allowed it, but would back off if she opposed. "Whoa! They don't look anything like the other dragons! This one's all long and short." Spike would be quick to pick up on the fact that the dragoness didn't understand what they were saying around her, "Does she not speak Equish? I thought all of us could at least understand it..." Ætheron shrugged, "Don't know much about dragons, but she's picked up on it pretty fast from what little I taught her since I found her in a landslide on the way here. I was wondering if you knew her, but I guess not." Magnolia giggled, "Just because Spike's a dragon doesn't mean he knows all the dragons, do you know all the centaurs?" She seemed to realize what she said and tried to backtrack before Ætheron smiled, "Of the two of us? I'd say I know enough." Nonetheless he sighed, but Spike would try to take a closer look, "Well, she looks similar to other dragons I've met, but also a bit different, maybe she's from a different group? Like from the deep firelands or another continent? Could explain why she looks different and didn't know Equish." The dragoness would likely get a good look at Spike as well. Ætheron would address the dragoness directly at this point, trying to get her attention before speaking, "We" he gestured to the two of them, "want to Go?" he pointed back into the forest, but indicated it was a question. He wondered if she would get the concept of want in the statement.

@Lazy Ferret Blu shrugged, "It's not the place I would come often, but they look like they have a decent selection." When she invited me to get a drink with her... I anticipated something different, something more adult? This is just the sort of thing I did with Dinky before. "I think I'll have a butterscotch float, but I'm not sure. You've been here before I take it? What would you reccomend?"

@Blitz Boom Branch was surprised by Null's outburst, and stepped back in revulsion at the remains of and on her bat, "Alright, point made, stars..." Arcade looked appreciative of her vouching for him, and Branch and Dove seemed to agree with her sentiment, "Alright, you can come along then, try not to get yourself killed." Arcade nodded, "Always." Nine shook his head, "That sounds reasonable, I'll point one out to you once it's clear." She was able to pull him a short distance from the others, which wasn't hard as he was already distancing himself without prompting. He nodded with a bit of hope at her explanation, "Will do Miss." Nine spoke up, "That guard there, the thestral, she'll take care of him, she's suffered from vampirism too." If Null asked how Nine could tell, given she bore no obvious signs of vampirism, "It's something I retained from Luna called 'The List'. I can see what they've done before, things that have already been repaid." Before she could go over to the thestral guard Arcade would come over to bid farewell to the foals, who would each embrace him before letting him leave, "I've got to help this mare who helped us now, you'll be safe with these guards. Make a spot for me wherever you end up, I'll be back with you before you know it." Once he had farewelled the foals he came over to Null, a bit of a nervous but apologetic look on his face, "Look, I really appreciate what you did back there, if it weren't for you we'd likely have all died down there eventually. I'm sorry for blowing up on you back there, but anyone willing to come to the aid of the defenseless is someone worth dying for." [Troy] There would be a knock on the door of wherever Void was, opening it would reveal Selena who would immediately hold up a hoof, "No, I'm not here about Mercy, this is a wholly tangential affair!" Provided Void allowed her to continue, "Your sister found a bunch of young ponies in an abandoned facility and they're being sent here. I was hoping that you'd be willing to help with them? Vale and Pen would be there to help as well, but I thought having someone who'd gone through similar experiences would be helpful to them."

@Randimaxis They both smiled at the compliment, Bird speaking up, "Thank you, it was certainly a different experience from what I was used to. I'm sure everyone noticed how nervous I was starting out." Wheepy chuckled, "You were about as nervous as I was when I told you." Bird rolled her eyes, "And don't even get me started on that! I mean, don't get me wrong, I do appreciate you telling me, I'm just surprised you waited so long. You know how much I love you. But I suppose now I understand why you were so hesitant to talk about us having foals. Nonetheless," she gestured around them, "I'd say this more than makes up for it." They shared an affectionate nuzzle before turning their attention back to Dax and Oracle, Wheepy speaking up, "So, something we can do for you two? an autograph maybe?"

@Randimaxis Rasputin's expression fell from jovial to aghast, then a cold fury. Now it's personal. "That simply won't do." As furious as he was, he wasn't about to lose a good disguise or risk revealing himself, he'd have to switch out. He stopped where they were, "That's wholly unacceptable! Tell you what, I can get the rest of the way from here, and there's a certain friend I need to meet with first who might be able to help ensure that your sister's performance goes off without a hitch and that this potential saboteur gets what he deserves." He started to walk off before quickly returning, "I, um, didn't catch where you're staying. Where should I have my friend meet you?"

@Randimaxis Now that I have your attention, Impundulu thought on how they could continue. Looking out from the gem he could see that the mare who called herself Taps was hesitant, she knew something about the gem, she was now aware of its power, she didn't want to use it. I'll just have to force your hoof then. As Taps looked deeply into the gem looking for the bird she'd briefly catch a glimpse of it sitting in the eye of the storm, staring back at her with its electric blue eyes, before the center shifted to show something else entirely: Taps could see a vast field of dead and dying crops as a farmer stared at the empty sky, then a treetop village ravaged by an intense tropical storm, houses and ponies torn from the trees by the intense wind. The image then shifted, she saw herself wielding the gem, then the storm stopped, in the dry plains the rain came, restoring life to the dying crops as the farmer rejoiced. You could do so much good. The image would fade, returning to the storm and the captive bird staring back at her.

@Sherem (Council) Nightshade was the one to respond, "The Council reports that the Trojan Empire is in good standing and currently in compliance with all applicable regulations imposed thereby. If Equestria feels other regulations ought to be imposed that can be discussed once Equestria is a full member and themselves in compliance with the Council's regulations. As it stands today, The Council hears that Equestria will formally recognize the Trojan Empire as an independent nation, the Trojan Empire will cease their smuggling operations in regards to Equestria, and both will open their borders to trade between the two nations." He would look up at the two of them, "Is that acceptable?" The grey unicorn would sigh, but nod, "As I proposed I do so accept." [Assuming Celestia agrees to it as well] Nightshade would nod, "That being settled, we'll move on to the next grievance. Zulu, you have the floor." A zebra mare stood, there was a bit of surpressed anger on her face as she steadied herself to speak, "As all gathered are well aware, Equestria's treatment of zebra is far from fair. Over a thousand years ago it began, when Equestrian ponies came to our land." She took a deep breath, "They started by taking our prisoners and criminals, but their greed was not sated, within a decade any able bodied zebra was a candidate for enslavement. Their brutal oppression of our herds has resulted on the loss of millennia of our oral history, the near extinction of our soothsayers and witchdoctors, the near eradication of our culture. Were it not for the decisive action of The Black Knight, we would not be where we are today." She turned to Celestia, "The united tribes and herds of Zebrica require the following: " she help up a paper, "That Celestia formally apologize for the treatment of our ancestors. That Equestria contribute to the reconstruction and rediscovery of lost and destroyed cities in Zebrica. And that the practice of the following 'dark arts' be legalized for zebra in Equestria: Soothsaying, Prophecy, Communicating with the Dead, and Necromancy, so that we can recover the traditions and practices of our ancestors as well as our lost oral history." (Outside) The pegasus chuckled as he shook his head, "No no no, you're not invading anyone's place. I just wanted to see who you were! I heard Princess Celestia was visiting so I thought you might be her." he shrugged before extending a hoof in greeting, "I'm Wind Surfer, but most ponies here call me Tails. What's your name?"

@Sherem You don't need to worry so much, but I do appreciate the compliment. As I tell everyone else I prefer quality over quantity or quick replies.

@Lazy Ferret As Mint hummed Blu was reminded of Dinky, She used to hum like that, so full of mirth all the time. He was shaken from his reverie when Mint spoke, "Oh?" he nodded, "Ok, I'll find one for us." He'd look around the cafe to see what was available, looking for a free table with two seats, he'd prefer to find a booth or a wall table over one in the middle of the floor, but he'd take what he could get and wait for Mint to join him. He'd try to get a look at whatever sort of menu the cafe had as he waited, see if he couldn't figure out what he wanted to try.

@Catpone Cerberus The creatures hadn't realized they had spotted the dragoness until she growled at them, which startled them backward. The spoke hesitantly, "Um... he- hello? D- Dragon? We j-just want to talk, we d-don't want to hurt you." They'd keep a short distance between themselves and the hidden dragon, waiting for some sort of response. If the dragoness waited long enough the creatures would start to look unsure, "Should we leave?" one would say to the other, "Maybe they don't want to talk?" Ætheron wouldn't take long after that to arrive himself, the dragoness would hear his galloping long before he arrived. The creatures would relax when he approached, "Spike, Magnolia, what are you two doing out here? I'd have thought, after last time, you'd avoid the forest." The pony looked sorrowful, "I know, but I saw you come out, and I saw you talking to some sort of dragon! So I went to get Spike so he could meet them," she gestured to where the dragoness was hiding, "But they don't seem to want to come out." Ætheron snorted at that, "I suppose that's reasonable, I was going to see about introducing her to Spike, but then I remembered that Princess Twilight doesn't like me." They all chuckled at that, "Regardless, now you're here, lets see if she'll come out now that I'm here. You two give her some space, I get the feeling she's a bit cautious." Once the creatures were far enough back Ætheron would crouch down not too near to where the dragoness was hidden and motioned for her to come out, speaking soothingly, "It's alright, they won't hurt you." (If she comes out earlier than this, then things will be different, just quote the line that precedes her exit and we'll go from there.)

@Catpone Cerberus Ætheron was not the first one to come by where the dragon was hiding, instead a small creature that looked like Ætheron's drawing of a pony along with a small dragon, somewhere between half and a quarter the size of the female dragon (Assuming I pictured their relative sizes right, feel free to correct) came near to where the female had secreted herself. "I'm tell'en ya' Spike, I saw Ætheron come out of the forest not long ago, and it looked like he was talking to some sort of dragon! A small one like you!" While to most Spike looked like a young dragon, the female could tell that age wasn't the only factor in his small size, he had some signs, like her, of being undernourished, stunted, not to mention his lack of wings. (I'm pretty sure he gets wings later, but your dragon might be a kind that's born with them?)

@Lazy Ferret Blu would follow dutifully, "It may take me a bit to choose, I haven't been to many cafes around here, much less this one, so I appreciate your patience." He idly wondered if this was some sort of date, it was quite similar to what he and Dinky had done in Ponyville, but he was equally unsure if those were dates either. He supposed the bigger question was whether Mint was interested in him as more than a friend, or if this was just the kind of thing friends did here. Nonetheless, he was happy to explore a new part of town. maybe he'd find something worth coming back for.

@Lazy Ferret Blu would arrive soon after Mint started waiting, his coat was similarly cleaned and his mane combed while his tail was passable at best. He had a grey sleeveless vest on, but it did little to distract from his obvious nerves as he approached, "Sorry, I've never done something like this so I didn't know how to present myself." he looked down at his best then back to Mint, "Given your attire I'd say I came pretty close?"

@Blitz Boom Arcade had an interesting expression throughout and a bit after Null's tirade, but didn't comment on it. Little looked pretty upset, likely in no small part to Null's tirade and its relation to Rare's missing body, but also simply remained quiet. Little nodded, "I heard them go by, I wanted to join them but you told me to stay." Assuming Null would take the lead for their path back Little would follow first with Arcade behind, once they had crossed the threshold of the T that Null had originally encountered, and once Null was far enough away, he restored the enchantment that she had unknowingly drained when she had first entered the tunnel, "They won't be able to follow us now, won't be able to find the hole, but I'll collapse the tunnel once we're out for good measure." Once they exited the tunnel they were greeted by the rising sun, the rest of the young ponies, and those Null had arrived with. Dove looked relieved when Null came out, while Branch and the other guards looked only slightly less annoyed. Branch and Dove came over to talk to Null and Arcade as Little rejoined the other young ones, Branch spoke first: "I called in to Troy what we found, since we're so close to New Pegas they authorized us to send back one of the walkers, some of the guards, and our leftover supplies back with these foals. They'll get a resupply group out to us shortly after we arrive in New Pegas." Branch sighed, "It's not optimal, but saving a bunch of foals isn't exactly something we thought we'd do on this trip." Arcade spoke up, "If it's all the same to you, I'd like to join you on your journey to New Pegas." Branch looked surprised, "A young pony like you? You're not much bigger than Event here and frankly I'm hesitant to not send her back with the foals." Dove interjected before Arcade could get riled up, "Ma'am, he's got dwarfism, just look at his hooves. Besides, having an extra to help us will reduce the strain on the remaining guards," she turned to Null, "If Event is willing to vouch for him that is? She'd be the best judge of any of us." The other guards were already getting the foals situated on the walker they had brought over, between the supplies they had left over and the supplies they had brought up they'd have plenty to get back to Troy provided they didn't run into issues on the way. Nine spoke up, "You should mention Little's vampirism to someone, wouldn't want it to become an issue later."