Illiad Easle

@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."

@Randimaxis When Agent Steel Wheels had first received the stone it was only a fragment, the piece left behind with just enough power to maintain a tentative balance supplementary to coordinated weather management efforts, back then there was no soul within, no direction beyond the wielder to direct its power. Celestia had entrusted it to a number of head weather pegasi before proximity to Nightmare Moon's return encouraged her to put it in more secure storage, and as such in the care of the Closet. When it had been scanned on induction it was wholly benign, no security required except to ensure it was not used inappropriately. Celestia's requirements seemed quite extra at the time. When the stone was first reunited soon after Nightmare Moon's return, it finally possessed the levels of power to warrant the protection that Celestia had required, the amount of energy within was similar in scale to the full output of Cloudsdale in a year, ready to be released in an instant however, and wherever, the wielder directed. Nonetheless, the spirit within was drained from its journey, and did not manifest itself when the stone was first discovered. While Celestia had been aware of its power, she had never known of the bearers designs to imprint their souls in the stones, and as such had not thought to prepare nor forewarn Taps against the spirit within. Once assembled the scanner was overloaded by the stone's vast power, and as such did not warn them of the spirit within. Now, Impundulu had begun to manifest, it was visible even on the surface that the storm within was gaining direction, momentum. When Taps would scan it with the improved scanner she'd see that the power level had not so much grown as it had coalesced. Before it was simply a massive amount of energy contained, like a billowing electrical storm, but now the energy was being organized, directed within itself like a super-tornado. The best description one could have of the readings before the scanner was, almost maliciously, overwhelmed by the stone's power (Which caused a small cloud to form and rain to fall in whatever room she performed the scan in) was that the energy within was discontent. It was abundantly clear that Illiad was right, some entity lay within, and it was beginning to manifest itself.

@Lazy Ferret Blu was slightly startled and no small amount surprised by Mint's invitation, "A drink? I uh..." he smiled a bit sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his neck, "I mean, I've never done something like that before, but..." he seemed to think about it for a moment before shrugging, "Sure, I'd love to. I've got a day off the day after tomorrow, would tomorrow evening work? Or if you'd rather during the day, then the day after tomorrow?"

@Catpone Cerberus Ætheron wasn't surprised at the dragon's hesitation towards the town, he himself still had a bit of hesitation due to what had happened the first time he had exited the forest to find the town and subsequently was attacked by the town's defenders. Nonetheless, he pulled a sash out of one of his bags to put on, indicating that he was a postal worker, which would hopefully prevent a repeat incident. He turned back towards the dragon, he didn't want to leave her where she could get attacked, especially considering her wounded state, but also didn't want to force her to approach the town. He didn't know if she knew how to use weapons like the ones he had, and assumed she simply used her natural advantages anyway. He sighed, it wasn't ideal but there wasn't much option, he'd just have to be quick. He pointed to himself, "I", then pointed to one of the buildings near the edge of town, "Go there." He pointed to her, "You", he gestured to their immediate area, "Stay here," He pointed to himself, then motioned walking, then pointed to their vicinity again, "I come back here." He would wait to see if the dragon understood before departing, at a full gallop, for the building he indicated.

@Catpone Cerberus Honestly I'm not too experienced with character centric stories, which is why I've just gotten into a few of them to branch out and see what they're like, so I'll defer to you on action/adventure elements and focus myself on character interaction. I can't say I'm too good at canon character interaction either, which is why I was so quick to drop them, but I suppose we don't need to concern ourselves too much with canon. Speaking of: I usually set my RPs around season four as that's as far as I watched or some alternate version branching off at some point during said season. For Ætheron's story the only condition is that it happened after Tirek, but while the mane six all still live in Ponyville. What that means for Spike I have no clue, I'm not partial about how long after Ætheron's first encounter this takes place, so it could be post finale or any other point after Tirek, I'd just need an idea of how you think Spike should look/act and I'll do my best.

@Randimaxis Oracle seemed pleased, glad that Dax was happy to be with her. Oracle nodded, "Rather, this is what you might call the unflavored form. It's common to all the gels and ambers made by the hive, like soda water before the syrup is added." She motioned towards the end of the hive where the cooled gel was being put in barrels, "The gel gets barreled for transport outside for the harvesters to charge up, then once they're filled they go to the warehouse to feed those who live in the hive." Oracle led the way back out of the pits as she thought about the third part of Dax's question, "Well, what makes the best gel depends on the hive, while we can eat any type of gel each hive has one or two primary emotions that they prefer, being the ones that formed the majority of their nutrients in the cocoon. This hive is primarily associated with craft and innovation, so Interest and simple Wonder are popular here." She chuckled as she looked over at Dax, "Two that you seem to give off in abundance." She turned her attention back to their path, "As to myself, I'm partial to Camaraderie and Satisfaction, as well as a bit of Love here and there, but who doesn't?" Soon enough they reached one of the main hallways and followed it slightly upward, "So, from here we'll go to the warehouse, then the nursery and the school, and then" she suddenly stopped as an excited look came over her face as she waved, "Weepy! Over here!" Across the hall was the duo from the concert, the changeling and light grey pegasus mare. The mare herself looked just as new to the place as Dax did, and from what little he could overhear it seemed she was being toured around as well. The changeling Oracle had called Weepy came over to them when called, giving Dax a polite nod as they approached before bowing a bit more formally to Oracle, who took advantage of the bow to hug his neck, "It's good to see you too princess, did you enjoy the show?" he turned back to the mare, gesturing to Oracle, "This is Princess Delphi, and Princess," he gestured back to the mare, "This is Little Bird, my wife." Oracle smiled, nodding at the introduction as the mare looked confused at to whether she should bow or how she ought to be greeted, looking to Dax as the only other pony in the hallway for guidance. Oracle then spoke, "I absolutely loved your performance! You even surprised Aunt Sleipnir! And Dax here loved it too!" Wheepy looked over at Dax with a surprised smile, "So You're Dax? The one we have to thank for our princess' safe return? I've heard good things about you."

@Lazy Ferret Blu looked a bit relieved that Mint approved of the letter, "Given her mother, there's little chance she doesn't write me back. We can go on from there and see what happens." He folded the letter so it would fit in the box with the chocolates before passing over 30 bits with a smile, "You deserve the extra, I'll let you know how it goes." He turned as if to leave before turning back, "Actually, could I get a box of those white mints as well? For myself, not to mail." If Mint didn't have anything else to ask him he'd leave with his purchases, and return two days later, happier than before, but he still had a bit of an anxious air to him.

@Randimaxis Rasputin giggled in good humor as he waved him off, "Nonsense! It's the least I could do for someone so kind." He looked thoughtful as they walked, "Hmm, I can't say I know who they've cast for the part, but I could look into them. Though I doubt they could be any worse than the stallion they had last night." He shuddered, "He was so hollow! You could tell he wasn't speaking from the heart." He shook his head as he turned back to Redd, "But do tell, are you just worried for your sister? Or do you know something about this Co-star that worries you?"

@Catpone Cerberus Ætheron was hesitant to offer help when the dragon struggled over some of the more difficult terrain, but was pleasantly surprised when she accepted the help he did offer, leading to the first time he had physically touched her since they had met. He would leave the package inside a hidden hollowed stump that his directions had told him about before continuing down the much clearer path that led to Ponyville, he was reminded about the first time he had come across the town soon after he had first arrived to the world. While the populous appreciated him for saving some of their young, their leaders were less trusting of his appearance. Nonetheless, they left each other alone.

@Catpone Cerberus Noted, sorry about the timeshift, I must have missed where you determined what time it was, I'll keep a closer eye out in the future. I'll try to steer the direction so we can focus on the characters, I've found that often good character interaction stems from outside conflict or obstacles, but I'll let you come up with those unless you would like me to propose some? I'll also limit our exposure to canon characters, in full disclosure here's what I had planned: They go to Ponyville to the express office so Ætheron can drop off his current set and get another set to take back across the forest, he'll ask the worker to get him a book on basic and intermediate language learning so he can better teach the dragon how to speak common, and from there we can get more conversation and interaction. We could in this scenario avoid all canon characters if you like, and only reference them in the background, but I think an interaction with Spike would be interesting to consider? I'll let you decide on that though.

@Lazy Ferret Blu sighed as he approached the counter, but gave Mint a smile, "Sorry about the wait, I just couldn't decide on how to phrase what I wanted to say. I must have gone through half a ream of paper before getting to this one, and even now I'm not sure it's quite right." He gave a nervous smile as he turned the letter towards Mint, "I know I've asked quite a bit of you already, and I do hate to impose, but do you think you could read this over? See if it makes sense?" The letter read as follows: Dinky, I'm sorry I left without saying goodbye. Although I'm sure it wasn't wholly unexpected (given the stunt I pulled last spring), I can only imagine how much it must have hurt you to find out that I'd left. You and your mother are the nicest ponies I ever had the pleasure of meeting, you two took me in and loved me like no others ever have, and I suppose that had some part in why I left so suddenly. You already know how I was orphaned twice, I suppose I was worried that if I got too close to you two that you'd disappear like the rest of those I considered family. Nonetheless, it's high time I stopped making decisions out of fear, and started following my heart like your mom always told me. I included a gift for the both of you, I hope you like them, and I hope to hear back from you soon! ~Euclid Fastar

@Blitz Boom Arcade wouldn't try to escape her grip, but rather use it as leverage when he pushed back, his eyes glowing with his own fire, "No. I'm done letting others tell me How, When, Where, or Why I use MY ability. You think you have any say in the matter? Before Gemini came along they killed me for sport, used me in dangerous experiments because I was so easily expendable. I've been beaten to death, burned and buried alive, drowned, dissolved, mutilated, eaten whole and torn to shreds. And don't get me started on what they did to me during the experiments." He shuddered, letting go of Null's hoof so she could let him go, "I'll be the one who decides where and when I die now, no one else. As much as I appreciate your help don't think for a moment it gives you any sort of authority over me. I saw your scar," he pointed to a faint line at the base of her neck, just under her hairline, he lifted his mane to show he had the same, "You were in a facility once too, don't become them. Now," he sighed, the fire having gone out of him, "Can we get going? I've died here enough times already." (Feel free to continue their conversation, or simply move on.) Arcade looked a bit intrigued by the explanation, "Hmm, there might be something I'd like to try in regards to that, maybe later though." When they got to the cavern where Null had left Little they'd find that, while the blood was still on the ground, the body was nowhere to be seen, a thin trail of the blood led to one of the holes through which running water could be heard. In the meantime Arcade would look about, "I suppose it makes sense, Elef usually came here to catch rats and other creatures that come in occasionally." Little would wait for Null to call before poking out from behind one of the stalactites and gliding down.

@Catpone Cerberus They would be traveling together for a few hours through the forest before they reached their destination, Ætheron would take the opportunity every so often to point out something to the dragon and tell her its name in Common and repeat back the work in her language if she knew it. If by some stroke of luck they didn't encounter any hostile creatures or obstacles, they'd arrive at Zecora's tree house at about mid day, Ætheron had a package for her specifically. If they encountered something however, things would play out differently. (How much of the world do you want to control? I don't want to overstep my bounds.)