Sekel

@Starforce & @Blitz Boom Would Twilight already know about Magnolia and Alluria?

@Starforce Oh, sure, I don't mind that.

@Starforce More of a thing? In what way do you mean that?

@Starforce & @Blitz Boom Hey, yeah, sorry. Twilight meeting up Magnolia in the thicket. I don't have a problem with that. And I'm sorry about being so infrequent. My work schedule has me all over the place because I'm a casual worker and they haven't exactly given me a permanent X number of days work with a couple days off yet.

@Widdershins & @Blitz Boom DAWN STREAK & DAZZLE GLEAM Dawn could only shut herself up, choosing instead to merely grumble and try to hide behind Kaltrops even further to hide her embarrassment. She didn't want to know how Pop and Benny were reacting to Kaltrops' double entendres but Dawn herself was not having a good day of it. "You know, I don't think you're good for a fig-" Dazzle managed to tell Kaltrops before scrunching her nose cutely at Long Stare poking her muzzle. She had never felt that before and was unsure of what to do so she ended up stammering and looked at her new friend with the same cute scrunched up expression. "Wh-what was that for?" @Blitz Boom AURORA LIGHTS "No, thank you," Aurora sighed heavily. "I can already transform into different creatures. I don't need to actually be them too." While it had enticed her at one point or another, Aurora had indeed settled into being a griffin and then being changeling, and then being a new changeling queen so for the moment, it was hard to say if she actually wanted one of the mutations the draconequus was offering. "Lulu, do you want anything from this dimension? Happy would probably want more of that weird happy juice he likes slinging and Flaxx ... well ... as far as I can tell Flaxx is being normal." @Blitz Boom KARMIC FATE & ATZY "Whoa, this place looks like a bomb hit it," Karmic said in complete surprise, her eyes widening at their new surroundings. "Wait. We're talking with a filly that can explode things. Of course a bomb hit it." "You got that right," Atzy chittered her laughter, sounding like a cricket rubbing it's legs together, and decided to pick the filly up and fly down towards her workshop. "Why not give us the grand tour?" @Blitz Boom TWILIGHT SPARKLE "Well, since the four of us are going on another adventure, it's probably best to stock up on food, water, and various supplies to help us along the way. The Moonlit Thicket, which I think is the closest one to us, is still a fairly long hike," Twilight told the group after studying the map with a quizzical expression. It kept her mind off the present situation with Cherish and she hoped she wouldn't have to think of it unless she absolutely had to. Like when talking with Madame Macabre or one of her clan but that bridge will get crossed when they get to it.

@Widdershins & @Blitz Boom DAWN STREAK & DAZZLE GLEAM "I'm not that great at flying," Dawn grumbled. She didn't like that Kaltrops was acting all hoity-toity in front of the other dragons. WHile the hybrid mare did intrigue her, it wasn't enough to make her disdain fade away from Kaltrops' actions. "You, Kaltrops, are the one that banged me in the air." "Oh, look at the egotistic one," Dazzle giggled as she took in what Kaltrops was talking about it. All she got from him was a fancy air that made him think he was better than everyone else and she had no trouble in going telling him so. She glanced at Long Stare to make sure she was still with them and then went back to taunting the big bad fire dragon. "Did mama drop ya out of the cave you lived in when you were a baby or are you just a mama's drake?" @Blitz Boom AURORA LIGHTS "What are those for?" Aurora asked the draconequus curiously, pointing up at the lights in the rocks and dodged a beam that came across her back. "Are they going to do something weird to us or is it just for show?" @Blitz Boom KARMIC FATE & ATZY "A ba-bump ba-bump? Like a beating heart? Is that even possible?" Atzy asked in complete shock after swallowing the gem. Maybe it had somethign to do with magic being trapped inside it or something of that nature. "That sounds like a very interesting piece of rock you found, my new friend. Maybe we could see what it's like up close if we ever get to your workshop," she added with a giggle. "I don't think I've heard of a pulsating gem like that," Karmic said out of curiosity. "Where did you find it, little one?" @Blitz Boom TWILIGHT SPARKLE "Oh wow, this Macabre mare is something else. She has a mansion in the middle of three different towns that gather leaders to discuss problems. We've got nothing like that here in Ponyville so I guess we should pay Willow Heart a visit. That's if we can find it on a map," Twilight said in pure interest after reading over the information. She had calmed down after managing to find the book and had pored over the contents about Macabre, hoping for something to stick out at her. But then she looked at Cherish on the far corner of the room and felt bad for her. "I'm sorry this has happened to you, Cherish. But here. You can read on Madamme Macabre. Maybe there's something I missed," she told the ghost and levitated the book over to her, before letting it hover in front of her eyes.

@Blitz Boom & @Widdershins DAZZLE GLEAM & DAWN STREAK "My dad?" Dazzle stopped her breath attack and licked her lips. Some latent electricity sparked between her teeth and scales beneath her skin lost their glow. "He ... I'm pretty sure he's an aloof, easy going dragon. It's been a long time since I've seen him so I could be wrong," she sighed softly in remembrance and looked at Benny before her attention was dragged away to Kaltrops. "Another ... you want to fight me?" Dazzle asked Kaltrops in confusion, tilting her head with an ear pinned against her head. "Why? i just showed my lightning breath. I could have other attacks up my scales that you don't know about." "Kaltrops, why did you ask the very mean looking electric to a fight?" Dawn said flatly, her embarrassment having gotten over with when the drake began talking to the hybrid. She was unsure on how to feel about everything but at least he wasn't spouting innuendos. @Blitz Boom AURORA LIGHTS "I wouldn't know a thing about it. I grew up with the griffins," Aurora told Anomaly with a light shrug of her wings. It was true, and by this point, she was merely going along with things instead of being scared by every unknown thing that moved. "But having said that, stones are fun to sit on and sunbake." @Blitz Boom KARMIC FATE & ATZY "I don't really eat emotions, little Blitzy," Atzy giggled, finally letting out some emotion with the filly. "What I do eat though, are gemstones," she told her and magicked out a gem from the bag hanging around her neck. She levitated the rock up to her mouth and promptly ate it. "See?" she grinned with bits of the gem stuck in her teeth. "Don't go scaring the one friend you've made," Karmic sighed, sitting nearby on top of Enzo. @Blitz Boom TWILIGHT SPARKLE Twilight was feverishly looking through the book for some kind of answer before slamming it shut with a huff of frustration. "There's no way of knowing why Cherish and I are like this now," she told the three of them beginning to pace around the Cutie Map table. "Obviously something went wrong with the spell so from what you two have said, we have to find that strange Madame Macabre, right? The one from Marepunzel's tower? Where would we even find her? It's not like she'll just randomly wander the graveyards of the world and somehow end up in Ponyville Cemetery."

@Widdershins & @Blitz Boom DAZZLE GLEAM & DAWN STREAK Dawn simply groaned in response to Pop explaining to Kaltrops the minutiae of innuendos and looked on as he interacted with this new pony that shot off lightning. The pony in question, Dazzle, merely gave Kaltrops a weird look. She had noted how often he said the word fight and couldn't help but chuckle at this. "Do ... do you not know what lightning is? You're talking about the sound. Thunder is the noise that comes after a lightning strike. Typically. Most of the time there's thunder and no lightning. As for the fighting, I could lay you out right here and now. I've fought much more dangerous and bigger things than you," Dazzle grinned at the dragon before turning back to Benny. "For your question ... I think it's a bit of both. Magical and natural. My mother's a unicorn but my father's a dragon with an affinity for the air so maybe that explains a bit?" @Blitz Boom AURORA LIGHTS "So two kids ... and they're both very crazy," Aurora couldn't help but think out loud, looking between the siblings and then looked back at Anomaly. She had no idea what was going on and was simply along for the ride at this point. "Waaaiiit. This is meant to be a bedroom in the old Castle in the Everfree. Shouldn't we have hit a wall or stepped out a window by now?" @Blitz Boom ATZY "A giant beetle," Atzy giggled in response, letting the filly hug her and felt the raw emotions wash over her. She breathed in a short gasp at the rush and then chuckled some more. "I feel a lot better just from being near you, little one. I don't know what it is you give off but it's ... something," she told Boom with a slight nervous tone purely because she had no idea how the filly would react if she told her the truth. It felt easy to do since who would listen to a rowdy filly that got expelled from school anyway but Atzy was erring on the side of caution for the moment. @Blitz Boom TWILIGHT SPARKLE "Not panicking is kinda hard to do at this point, Last!" Twilight practically shouted at her but it was clear she didn't mean anything by it. Her stance was wobbly and she had begun to hyperventilate. "What am I gonna do? The spell went wrong so that much is obvious. Cherish is no longer bound to her stick but now she is somehow bound to my caslte and my body ..." she began to rant in a quick rush, not wasting any breath with her words and tried to pore over the book in front of her for some answers.

@Blitz Boom & @Widdershins DAWN STREAK & DAZZLE GLEAM "KALTROPS! SHUSH!" Dawn cried in embarrassment for the dragon as well as herself, her face turning much redder than her fur was coloured. She had no idea if he was doing it on purpose or not but the way he said made it seem like he was toying with them. "W-W-WE NEVER HAVE UH ...." she trailed off and simply hid behind Kaltrops as best she could. Meanwhile, Dazzle stared at the shop when she heard the cries and merely shrugged to herself. She looked at Benny and nodded. "We're outside, so I can show you but I don't think you want to stand too close to me," she smiled at him. When she was certain the dragon had taken some steps away, a blue light traced the scales under her fur. Electricity built up in the air and Dazzle tilted her head up to let out her lightning breath, zapping the air all the way up into the clouds before shutting her jaws to stop any more lightning from escaping her. @Blitz Boom AURORA LIGHTS "What is even going on here anymore?" Aurora asked at large, simply staring at everything that moved and not really taking anything in. @Blitz Boom & @Zoom Jetstream ATZY & KARMIC FATE "It sounds like you've been through a lot of adventures, Blitz," Atzy giggled at her. She loved hearing the filly talk about her explosions and appeared to be gaining a fascination for the explosives. She gasped when she realised she could ask something. "Could you teach me about explosives!?" "Oh no, this won't end well," Karmic groaned to herself, looking between Atzy and Blitz from Enzo's other shoulder. @Blitz Boom TWILIGHT SPARKLE "We ... have to find ..." Twilight began before faltering, clearly still reeling from the effects of Cherish's near-possession of her. "Alright ... uh ... I know I did the spell right ... but ... maybe I didn't just concentrate enough? We need to figure out what went wrong I doubt two souls sharing the same body is common so it can't be that hard to find right?" she added in a quick rush, her words spilling over each other as she began to panic in spite of Last's authoritative voice.

@Blitz Boom & @Widdershins DAWN STREAK & DAZZLE GLEAM "She what!?" Dawn asked in complete shock, having pushed Kaltrops aside so they weren't blocking the entrance. When she got a proper look at the weird looking pony, she could only stare in a shock. "She's a hybrid!?" The blue furred earth pony with scales obvious under her skin, looked at both of the dragon/pony parties in the shop. "Uh ... um ... yeah? It's ... true? You four haven't tried uh," Dazzle coughed into her hoof and grinned awkwardly at them. "Ya know ... do it? With each other? It works a lot ninety percent of the time. That's like how all of everyone here came from, right? A mummy and daddy pony? But I don't think that's what you wanted to know so ..." Dazzle chuckled a fair bit and rubbed her hoof over the bac of her neck, paying particular attention to Pop and Benny. "My parents are most definitely a dragon and a mare. Just like you two. They didn't exactly mention how but ... yeah, it's true. Maybe a demonstration would help? I can fire electric breath!" @Blitz Boom AURORA GLEAM "I have had enough adventure for one day!" Aurora yelled in frustration. While the draconequus was no longer there, she sighed in relief after having done so. "Finding out I'm a queen, get turned into one, seeing draconequus or whatever ... it's a lot for one day," she grumbled and made sure to look at Happy before noticing how Flaxx and Lulu looked. "... but ... I do want to stay with our new friends a while longer, Happy," she told him, gesturing to the diamond dog and her companion. "Maybe ... maybe it could be fun sticking around for a bit." @Blitz Boom TWILIGHT SPARKLE "Hooo what was that?" Tiwlight shuddered, unsure of what was going on. She had sat down like Last had suggested and was on her haunches when Cherish tried to hug her. She felt a cold presence enter her body and her shoulder began to spasm and the leg attached to it twitched a bit. She ended up panting again when Cherish left her and looked at the ghost pony with wide eyes. "Did I do the spell wrong!?" she squeaked, fear and panic entering her expression. @Blitz Boom, @Zoom Jetstream ATZY & KARMIC FATE "Shiny lady?" Atzy giggled in response and smiled wrily at the filly. "You're a funny one, little foal." "Yeah, so funny she apparently ditched school safety and brought bombs there," Karmic commented, having heard what the other fillies were saying about Blitz. The wind carried a lot of noise and she happened to catch onto the voices before they were whisked away again. "What? Is that true? Because if so, that is so awesome you did that," Atzy told Blitz with a happy expression.

@Blitz Boom & @Widdershins DAZZLE GLEAM "A Sphinx?" Dazzled echoed with a breathy tone. She looked where Long Stare was staring and blinked a couple of times. She was unable to believe her eyes and her ears twitched at it laughing. "I don't think we should go anywhere near him. Maybe we could go in a different direction?" she asked as she turned away from the odd sight to look immediately around them. Looking at the different shops for some kind of distraction, her head tilted to the side like a curious dog when she spotted a sweet shop populated by a couple of dragons and ponies. However, Dazzle didn't recognise any of them. "Oh hey, why don't we get some sweets for Scarcity?" she asked Long Stare, pointing to the sweets shop, and moved to it before she gave the mare a chance to answer. @Blitz Boom AURORA LIGHTS "Ending up in Ponyville would have been great! We were going there anyway to get to Happy's hive with Queen Onache!" Aurora said in an irritated tone. She didn't exactly like being in this weird dimension the Draconequus had made. While it was very fun at first, it quickly became an annoyance and now it was downright frustration. "We were also going back to Ponyville to get Happy's stupid alcomoholic cart for him to cart around and make merriment with all the other little ponies!" @Blitz Boom TWILIGHT SPARKLE "Alright, I'm sure I can follow it," Twilight said, mostly to herself, and then nodded as she read the ritual over and over. "It's just a death ritual designed to transfer a spirit from one vessel to another. How hard could it be?" As she did, her magic went to work. Twilight whispered the spell under her breath, and as the ritual instructed, she poured the Tatzlwurm flower juice over the deathflower in its pot of gravedirt. The wispy golden hairs from Marepunzel floated into the mixture of dirt and Tatzlwurm juice and her horn flared brighter, concentrating on the spell. The light cast harsh shadows throughout the room and as they did, the stick Cherish was attached to was raised into the air. Upon reaching it's zenith, the stick broke in half and the runes were dispelled upon the ritual ending. The death flower wilted and the mixture of grave dirt, Tatzlwurm juice, and the hairs from Marepunzel vanished into the ether. Twilight's horn pulsed once, twice, thrice, and then lavender magic swept through the map room and out into the castle proper. When all was said and done, Twilight felt herself panting from exertion despite not having run anywhere. "That ... That should have been correct," she told Last and Drone with a wheezy chuckle. "Cherish should be out from her stick and free to roam this castle. Lucky I drew the runes on some parchment before the spell dispelled them." @Blitz Boom & @Zoom Jetstream KARMIC FATE & ATZY "Yes indeed, little Boom. I am certainly happy from seeing the fireworks show," Atzy giggled along with the foal. She was pleased by the little one's antics and wanted to see what else they could do. Karmic was calmly watching Atzy play along with the foal and having a grand old. She was happy Atzy had found something to be please with at last instead of fighting with her about the littlest things as they had been the past bit on their journey with Enzo. "So little foal, what else can you do besides fireworks? Can you make other things go boom? Like the little detective ones my friend here is chatting with?"

@Zoom Jetstream & @Blitz Boom I finally started working after being unemployed for a while and now I'm completely lost, heh heh. What's happening at the moment with the characters?

@Blitz Boom KARMIC FATE & ATZY "Thanks, I guess, for calling me shiny," Atzy said nervously as she beheld the filly. She could talk to Karmic and Enzo comfortably enough without worry but talking to this filly? For whatever reason, she couldn't contain her nervousness. "Fireworks? Fireworks. Fireworks is a funny word, isn't it?" she asked Blitz with a small chuckle. @Blitz Boom TWILIGHT SPARKLE "This should simply remove Cherish from her magic stick and let her inhabit my castle. Are you saying there's something I'm overlooking, Miss Manetid? Like a footnote or a warning or something?" Twilight questioned as she began looking the spell over properly in the spell book, leaning in close to make sure she didn't miss a word on the page. @Blitz Boom AURORA LIGHTS "Maybe we should've just taken the path away from this castle," Aurora grumbled, having seen too much chaos today to really react to the Draconequus shifting forms out of will. @Blitz Boom DAZZLE GLEAM Dazzle was unsure of what came over her but when the shiny bit was put away, she shook her head a bit violently with some electricity arcing through the scales under her hair. "I have .... that was a very new feeling," Dazzle told Long Stare and quickly followed her out of the home. "I have never experienced that .. what did you say it was? Hoarding? I've never exactly experienced that before. But as for my parents, they're in that desert on the other side of the Everfree from here. I don't know if that's another country or what but it's where I remember them being. Hopefully Scarcity has some answers for me about them." @Widdershins& @Blitz Boom DAWN STREAK "Y-Y-You think we, uh, th-th-that is ... there's just ... we crashed into each other and I took him home for a bit! That d-d-d-doesn't mean we're t-t-together, does it!?" Dawn questioned, unable to stop from being flustered despite actually nuzzling into Kaltrops. While it was nice to do that to the dragon, his outburst made her quietly think things through and had been thinking them while Pop and Benny talked with her dragon. "If um ... dragon and ... a pony ... it works well for you two ... that is. I d-d-don't think ... uh .... m-m-maybe it could work for us?"

@Blitz Boom KARMIC FATE & ATZY Atzy took a couple of steps back from the filly suddenly being up in face and stared incredulously at her. "You think I'm pretty?" Atzy asked in complete confusion. She wasn't sure how to take this. A step forward and she was closer to the filly, staring at her curiously now that the initial confusion had worn off. "Why do you think I'm pretty, little one?" Karmic, meanwhile, was busy trying not to hold in her giggles at how cute the filly was being in regards to Atzy's appearance. @Blitz Boom TWILIGHT SPARKLE "You two actually got the graveyard lotus," Twilight said in astonishment. She trotted up to the flower and carefully examined it. "From what I read, it doesn't exactly need it's original graveyard dirt but it would go a long way in making it compatible with the Tatzlwurm syrup and the lock of Marepunzel's hair. I just need that book that contains the ritual and the other two ingredients ... doing it here might interfere with the Cutie Map table so it would probably best to do it in the library," she rattled off, seemingly talking to herself but her volume was loud enough for the Manetid, Last, and Cherish to hear. She carefully wrapped her magic around the potted graveyard lotus and gently levitated it. She was happy at gathering all three ingredients, even if Last and the Manetid got the last one. But she had been asleep so it wasn't like she could help them with it. At least now, Twilight could perform the ritual that would let Cherish be free of her stick and roam around as she pleased. "Okay, off to the library we go," Twilight smiled at all three of them before trotting out with the potted flower levitating just ahead of her. @Blitz Boom AURORA LIGHTS Aurora wasn't sure how to handle the sudden 'logic being thrown out of the window' spiel given to her by the draconequui. It took her a couple of minutes to process what Anomaly had asked and shook her head to clear it. "You asked for my name? It's Aurora Lights. I'm not exactly used to being a Changeling Queen yet. With me are Happy, Lulu, and Flaxx. We were simply trying to get back Ponyville when we stumbled across ... well, I think it was the draconequus that patted me?" Aurora asked curiously, her innate curiosity taking over pretty much every other emotion for the moment. She had pointed to each respective name owner when she called them so Anomaly wouldn't get confused by who was who. @Blitz Boom DAZZLE GLEAM "I'd rather stick with what we have here in Equestria," Dazzle giggled, pausing in her eating to look at the bits. They weren't all that special to her but the shine did make a twinge of an instinct activate in her. Her eye twitched a bit before she shrugged it off and attempted to ignore the feeling. "Huh, these really are just pieces of gold. I overheard my parents once saying that gold was rare ... maybe it's rare where they live?" @Blitz Boom, @Widdershins DAWN STREAK "Found ... bumped into ... crashed, really," Dawn admitted, rubbing the back of her neck and thankful for her red fur to hide her blush. "I crashed into him as he was flying through the town, didn't I, Kaltrops?" she questioned him and stepped closer as well. His warmth felt safe and nice to her, not that she'd outright admit it or anything.

@Blitz Boom KARMIC FATE & ATZY Karmic sighed in relief when Enzo began laughing at the filly. She knew nothing bad would actually happen considering her and Atzy were still sitting on his shoulders but at least there were other ponies who would not mind having a companion like Enzo. "See, Enzo?" Karmic prompted, pointing a hoof at the filly in his claws. "There's more to life than just moping around and being depressed all day. You can help make foals laugh because they're curious things and don't bother with safety from a big animal like you." "I get the feeling ponies here won't like me," Atzy said simply, having gone around to Karmic and sandwiching herself between Karmic's left side and the right side of Enzo's head. "I'm too similar looking to a Changeling and I don't know how these ponies will go about when they spot me." @Blitz Boom TWILIGHT SPARKLE "I've had to do my fair share of battles so I'm no stranger to fighting. Just don't kill each other. You're both here, I'm not going to send either of you away just because you're mortal enemies to one another," Twilight told them firmly, resting a hoof on her eyes to rub them with a small groan. She didn't like that they fought so hard like this, even if it was sparring and practicining fighting skills. She took a breath and let out her anger with it in a calming fashion and moved on to the next bit of business. "Regardless, did you two find the final ingredient for this ritual for Cherish?" @Blitz Boom AURORA LIGHTS Aurora was unsure if it was the atmosphere or the fact they were in a completely different dimension than the one they're used to. The new changeling queen decided to go along with it. It seemed to fit the rest of the place they had wandered into and nodded to herself. "This is simply a quirk of this place. You're not real. If you are, it would hurt to sip out your own brains through a straw," Aurora told the draconequus, and drank at the pumpkin soup in her bowl. It was nice and nutritious and delicious. She put the bowl down after a couple more sips and then looked at the others in her group when she realised something asked them about it. "Weren't we trying to get away from a ... draconequus?" @Blitz Boom DAZZLE GLEAM "Have fun with your day, Mister Chop," Dazzle told the chef with a smile, making sure to keep her sharper-than-normal teeth hidden. While only having known the two of them for a day, it probably wouldn't do well to just bare her teeth at them. She did turn her attention back to Stare if Chop didn't do anything in return. "I kinda know what bits are. They're little pieces of gold circles, right?" Dazzle questioned curiously. While she was raised to know about pony society and where she'd get the most welcome but most of that knowledge had gone out of her head thanks to all her time spent lost in the Everfree Forest. @Widdershins & @Blitz Boom DAWN STREAK "I didn't charge him on purpose. We banged into each other on complete accident!" Dawn protested mildly in spite of feeling her face grow hot. She felt hot under her collar and shook her head quickly. "R-Regardless, Kaltrops is sweet. He's good to be with," she added. Upon seeing the mare Benny called his marefriend, she tilted her head and then gasped. She recognised the mare from a little bit before she had first bumped into Kaltrops. "Circle Pop's your marefriend!? Although thinking about it, she did mention having a dragon for a coltfriend ..."

@Blitz Boom KARMIC FATE & ATZY "It's Ponyville. We're flying over Ponyville," Karmic said in surprise, distracted from Enzo's melancholy. She did allow herself a peek into Enzo's future and didn't like what she saw one bit. The loneliness, the mountain, the isolation, it scared her that it lay in wait for Enzo. So she brushed it off and tried not to dwell on it. "We could touch down here and find something to do. A lot of these ponies scream at anything and everything." "Would they be screaming and running away from me too?" Atzy asked, poking one of the gems in her leg with a hoof. She had no idea how regular ponies would even react to her. All she had to go off of was what happened in Canterlot and how Karmic talked to her. It wasn't much, admittedly, but maybe the ponies in Ponyville would be different? @Blitz Boom TWILIGHT SPARKLE "You fought for what? Something unknown? A reason lost to generations?" Twilight asked in pure disbelief, unable to comprehend what she was hearing. What kind of creature does this to another species!? Twilight was going to find out but after a moment's reflection, she figured it was best not to ask questions she didn't want to know the answer to. So she sighed and shook her her head. "Regardless of all that. While you are both here with me, I want you two to not duel each other to the death. We've already got one ghost here and I'd rather not add more!" @Blitz Boom AURORA LIGHTS "If Happy is happy about the food then I guess we could join him," Aurora said to Lulu and Flaxx, a bit of her nervousness coming back when the draconequus flew in. Her ears flicked at all the different sounds as she approached the picnic table and using her magic, ladled some of the soup into one of the cups. "I'm never one for risks," she chuckled as she looked at the others. "But ... I don't think this will kill us," she added in a slow fashion and after blowing on it, sipped at the pumpkin soup in her cup. @Blitz Boom DAZZLE GLEAM "Weeeaalth?" Dazzle asked in a drawn out tone, clearly confused by the word let alone the concept despite understanding everything else Dazzle had told her. She sat with Long Stare at the table in front of her stew. "I have never heard of that term-" she began before smelling the stew and blinking a couple of times. It smelled of the forest, the meat smelled great, and the vegetables added their fragrance too. She gazed at the bowl and turned it to Chef. "This smells really good," she told him and after taking a bite, she chuckled a bit. "It tastes as great as it smells." @Widdershins & @Blitz Boom DAWN STREAK "He isn't against dragon pony couples," Dawn said without thinking about it, poking her head out from behind Kaltrops. She didn't expect the dragon to shield her from him, even after she said boo, but there it was. She was being saved by a loveable dragon. "What would your marefriend even say about you judging other dragons without having actually talked to them first? Hm? Ponies too for that matter! ... but where is your marefriend? It ... might be nice to see how an actual dragon pony couple is."

@Blitz Boom KARMIC FATE & ATZY The Gemling and the Earth pony looked at each other as they took in what Enzo told them. They didn't expect him to get so melancholy while flying away from the big city and weren't sure of how to deal with it. Karmic took a breath and shuddered in an effort to quell her future sight from activating. She didn't want to know what lay ahead if Enzo was feeling this dear. "Wha ... uh ... how about we turn that frown upside down? We could do something you want. What is it you've always wanted to do?" Karmic asked with a quick shake of her head. Atzy simply watched and patted the shoulder she was sitting on with a hoof. @Blitz Boom TWILIGHT SPARKLE Twilight looked between them both as they answered her questions. She flicked her ears a couple of times as she pondered it and coughed a bit to clear her throat. "What was it you were trying to get from the Shrine Maidens?" Twilight asked before wincing and blushing in embarrassment. "Sorry, Last, it's probably restricted information you don't give to outsiders." @Blitz Boom AURORA LIGHTS "Whaaaat is going on here?" Aurora asked in complete surprise, staring with a slackjaw at the wonderment around them. She couldn't believe what was she was seeing and all her scared feelings were blown away. She simply looked happy and turned around on the spot to stare at all the things going on around them. "Ooo, maybe we could just stay here for a while? This looks so cool!" @Blitz Boom DAZZLE GLEAM "The last time I saw them?" Dazzle repeated in shock. She was taken aback by the question but supposed it made sense, given how she wanted to see them again after being away for so long. "Well ... from what I remember, they were both sad at me leaving. But they were happy too because I was, well, coming here to Ponyvill and the three of us thought it wouldn't take long. Like a few days, maybe a week. Not years," she said after thinking it over. "... seeing Scarcity to see if she has anything about my parents would mean a lot. You're pretty silent though. You didn't make a sound when you set the table. You don't have to be shy around me but ... I guess trusting a hybrid you just met is a bit too much to ask." @Blitz Boom & @Widdershins DAWN STREAK "Ha," Dawn laughed at his reaction and chuckled a bit. She did blink at the flowers and ducked her head a bit. She didn't expect the dragon to have flowers in saddlebags. She didn't expect dragons to have saddlebags and opened and closed her mouth a couple of times. "Who are the flowers for?"

@Blitz Boom KARMIC FATE & ATZY "Someone's sounding melancholy," Atzy commented, simply lying down on top of Enzo while Karmic studied his face. "I think it has to do with his past," Karmic said in thought and idly waved a hoof in front of his face. "Hmm ... Enzo, what is it you want to do? You're the one that's been carting us around everywhere, and thanks for letting Atzy and I separate by the way. You've always gone along with what Atzy or myself wanted. So what about you? Do you want to do anything? Like see what it's like beyond Canterlot? Look at Cloudsdale? Probably try to find others like you?" she suggested out of curiosity, mainly, but also as a way of cheering him up. @Blitz Boom TWILIGHT SPARKLE "Thanks for letting me know this, Cherish. I'll cherish the knowledge and write it down later," Twilight giggled a bit and then sighed softly, hearing the clanging of weapons from the mortal enemies. "I have multiple questions about what I just witnessed," Twilight told them, trotting into the room and stopping a few metres away from Last and Drone. She pointedly ignored Last's question in favour of asking for possible knowledge boons from her questions to them. "Why were you two fighting? Was it sparring? Are you finally getting along? How long has it been since you two fought each other? Did you know each other before we encountered Drone at the shrine? What's like ignoring wounds that you have? Are you worried they're hurting? Do Manetids and Shrine Maidens spar often? Or do they always fight to the death until one side wins?" @Blitz Boom AURORA LIGHTS "Why is it obvious that this dragon quest wants us to go through the pumpkin door?" Aurora asked the others when she caught up after carefully making her way upstairs. While Aurora did wince at what happened to Happy, she did giggle a bit when Lulu basically blasted him to kingdom come. She felt it was slightly deserved with how he was acting so she'd let it slide for the moment. Aurora then pointed to the door with the moon on it. "Why not go through that one? Or even the one with the sun? A trap like that non-combatant drink concoction could be behind the pumpkin one for all we know." @Blitz Boom DAZZLE GLEAM "You two are cute together and I eat a bit of everything," Dazzle chuckled. She knew sweet moments when she saw them and Chop Chop and Long Stare kissing? That was one of them in her mind. The big burly stallion holding a dainty mare is something she kinda fantasised from time to time when she was alone with her thoughts in the Everfree. She then simply smiled and nodded. "If you have ... misgivings?" Dazzle tried and then shook her head, not thinking it was the right word. "Well, I can't think of any other word so I'll go with that. Misgivings. If you have any of them about me, you can ask me anything you want to put your mind at ease." @Widdershins & @Blitz Boom DAWN STREAK "You're probably right about my mother not wanting me. Why would she go if she did want me, huh? But ... I still want to find her. If only for some closure," Dawn told Kaltrops as she trotted to get up to his head and walked beside it. She looked back down his length before snapping her gaze to the sky at hearing somepony cry out. She winced and stopped in place, seeing a cloud of dust settle where there wasn't anything before. "He's looking away," Dawn blinked a bit before grinning slightly. She quietly tiptoed up to the creature and leaned in close to to where she figured his ear would be. "Boo."

@Blitz Boom & @Widdershins If I interject with this idea, it could be pretty fun for Dazzle to meet up with both pairings of Benny and his mare (forgot her name) and Kaltrops and Dawn. She's basically proof that dragon/pony couples can succeed and be a thing. Even if she got lost and her parents are most definitely worried sick about her. Although getting Long Stare to go along with Dazzle could be a bit of a chore. Maybe a tour of the town could work and they bump into the couples talking?

@Widdershins Yeah, I believe it was me who posted between us last. I've completely forgotten what's been going on between our characters, honestly. Page 434 is when I last had Dawn react to whatever Kaltrops did but it's been so long I'm not sure what to even do anymore.

@Blitz Boom KARMIC FATE & ATZY "Are you alright, Enzo?" Karmic asked him, staying on top of his shoulders. She noticed he was down and wondered why. Was it whatever he and that mysterious mare talked about? It seemed like it because he was perfectly fine beforehand. "It doesn't seem like he is. Maybe he's depressed?" Atzy thought out loud as she leaned over to examine Enzo's features. @Blitz Boom TWILIGHT SPARKLE "Let's go find Last and Drone then and you get you out of that stick. That's if they got the final ingredient we need for the ritual," Twilight told Cherish with a nod and then smiled sheepishly at her. "I'm not used to having a ghost watch over me. It's definitely a first and I would like to learn more about you, Cherish. How you died, how you became a ghost, what's it actually like, that sort of thing," she said as she walked out of her bedroom and went in search of Last and the Manetid. @Blitz Boom AURORA LIGHTS "You got punched in the face!? Then why are you all wet!?" Aurora asked in a panic. She had no idea what sort of punch Happy was referring to, having only known of the actual hitting the face kind. She trotted over to Happy in concern and tried to find any kind of injury on his face. At least after a bit, she didn't find any bruising, swelling, or even blood. "There's nothing ... why are you wet? What kind of punch makes you wet?" @Blitz Boom DAZZLE GLEAM "I got into sleeping on cave floors and under trees," Dazzle told Stare with a shrug. "It's just more comfortable for me. But ... I will certainly try out the bed now that I know there's nothing weird about the plasteek on it," she chuckled. She did remember what a bed felt like, all soft, cozy, and comfortable but she'd developed the habit of sleeping on rocks and on top of leaves, falling where she stood from exhaustion in the Everfree. "There's a lot of ... are you and Chop Chop together?" Dazzle asked in surprise, recognising the breathing Chop Chop did when he was working from the gathering the day before. She didn't exactly see if Stare was with anypony, she was just grateful at having somepony else to talk to that wasn't a tree or a leaf.

@Blitz Boom KARMIC FATE & ATZY "The food was enough of a conquer," Karmic told Enzo with a small nod. "I'd much rather explore the rest of Equestria with Atzy rather than go around the city." "Um ... what? You don't want to explore the city? This is an awesome place!" Atzy said excitedly once she had finished her meal and drink. "There's so much here to do!" "Oh yeah? Like what?" Karmic questioned her, raising her eyebrow at Atzy. She didn't think there was enough things in Canterlot to warrant exploration, considering she has seen pretty much all she wanted to in Canterlot. "There's uh ... oh you know it's ... and then ... nothing," Atzy sighed heavily, her ears drooping with the final word of her sentence. She examined her hooves and poked a bit at the gems embedded within her legs. "I ... don't really know what to explore." @Blitz Boom TWILIGHT SPARKLE Twilight finally yawned herself awake and rubbed her eyes with her hooves. She rolled off of the beanbag and stood up, stretching out her hooves and legs to get rid of the kinks. In her sleepy state, she had forgotten Cherish was in fact a ghost and promptly jumped in place. Twilight stared at the ghost with wide eyes and shrunken pupils until she had gotten her senses about her and quickly shook her head. "I forgot you were there, Cherish," Twilight chuckled with a smile. "Are Last and that bug creature back yet?" @Blitz Boom AURORA LIGHTS "Who's Astral?" Aurora mumbled to herself. She thought she knew the names of their motley crew before realising Happy was talking about her. "It's Aurora, you drunk pony thing," she muttered before taking a breath to keep herself calm. It wouldn't do to lose her head and shriek like normal in the unfamiliar situation. Lulu, Flaxxy, Happy, and herself were all stuck in the castle for the time being and she looked down each passageway. "How about we go down this way?" she asked them, pointing down an unlit passageway that just screamed 'don't come down here. it's evil.' @Blitz Boom DAZZLE GLEAM "What was up with that party yesterday? There were way too many ponies and it was a lot to get into on my first day here," Dazzle asked Long Stare, joining her in the kitchen with a roll of her neck. "I've got to thank you again for letting me use your guest room for the time being. After sleeping on rocks and leaves for the past ten years in the Everfree, a floor felt a lot better."

@Blitz Boom I want to keep going with the story of Dazzle Gleam and Long Stare with Dazzle trying to figure out what happened to her parents. I know you said we can do it as a 'next day' kind of thing and set things back into place. I think Dazzle was going to stay with Long Stare at her home in Ponyville while Scarcity sent out other ponies to locate Dazzle's parents on the other side of the Everfree? I vaguely remember that being a thing.

@Blitz Boom KARMIC FATE & ATZY "Here goes nothing," Atzy said with her eyes narrowing at the food held in her magic grip. She was unsure if she could even consume it considering her diet went from channelling love to gnawing on gems. The Gemling took a breath and bit into the food. Chewed. Swallowed. Two minutes passed, then three, then four, and to her surprise she kept it down. "Haha, yes, I have conquered the food and I shall prepare to have more of it!" "Mmm, yes, yes, this is good," Karmic moaned cheerfully after swallowing down some of her food. She hadn't had a meal in a good long while, probably not since before she ended up in the dungeons of the palace and melded with Atzy. It tasted wonderful to her and sitting on the cobblestones next to Enzo, she eagerly enjoyed it. She did notice Scarcity leaving them though and tilted her head with her ears flicking at seeing her even leave her change. "She left the change ... why would she do that?" @Blitz Boom TWILIGHT SPARKLE "Sleep? Still?" Twilight managed to ask Cherish warily before sighing and flopping back onto her beanbag. She wasn't sure what Last and the manetid were doing but at least they weren't disturbing her anymore. "Okay, I sleep more. I'll cast a spell so I can wake up when I'm fully rested. It .." she paused her talking to yawn and then shut her eyes. "It shouldn't take too long," she mumbled. A dull pink light flashed from her horn and the spell was cast upon herself so she would wake up when the time was right. @Blitz Boom AURORA LIGHTS Aurora was too caught off-guard by the little Pixie's cuteness and couldn't stop looking at her. After a few seconds of not saying anything but taking everything the Pixie said in, she shook herself. "I think that Pixie cast a cute spell on me. I couldn't do anything except stare." her voice did sound stronger and more confident with practically no stutter. Maybe her body had gotten used to the change of suddenly becoming a Changeling Queen and was now forcing her mind to relax and take things in stride rather than be scared by everything. "... either way," Aurora sighed heavily, glancing over her shoulder at the bare wall behind the group. "We're trapped here now. I guess this is my fault for choosing this way."

@Blitz Boom & @Widdershins I've submitted after a lot of things have happened in the past month. I remember Dazzle Gleam being paired with Scarcity or one of her shy sisters when Widders did his whole pony-dragon attempt. Is there any way of reviving that without the pony-hydra mess? Because it seems like that little story has been abandoned. Widders, I didn't want to post with Dawn because I wasn't sure what you were having Kaltrops do for the moment other than both of them leaving Dawn's home in search of their mothers. Sunset for Kaltrops even though he doesn't know it, and Dawn's mother.