Sekel

@Blitz Boom KARMIC FATE & ATZY "Wh-what? When did this suddenly become about rearing children!?" Atzy spluttered in surprise and shock despite Mind Reaper having already flown down to Karmic. She didn't think there was a need for that yet the subject had come up anyway. "Enzo, is this all royals do? Just continue having children!? No matter what!?" "Yes, I'm Atzy's sister, Karmic Fate and it's more like the other way around. My family adopted Atzy into it," Karmic nodded, taking a step back from the changeling drone. She wasn't sure what Atzy and this one were talking about but she'd go along with it for now. That is, until she heard the changeling introduce herself. She gained a worried expression and was now cautiously watching her. "Mind Reaper, huh? Don't ... don't go into my mind. You wouldn't like it," she warned her. TWILIGHT SPARKLE "I don't intend on keeping Cherish chained down. I'm going with what she wants and she is a very helpful ghost from what I've seen of her," Twilight said firmly, stepping up to be beside Madame Macabre. It was slightly intimidating to be next to the mare but she wasn't going to let this stop her. "Mourner Lilies certainly sound like the last ingredient for this ritual. So hopefully, everything works out well," she told her before lighting her horn up with a pale purple glow. She stepped into the room and spread its light to all corners. The room was circular and was clearly the only one in the entire tower. Dust and cobwebs were over every surface, covering the mothballed sheets of a bed, an old rotting desk, and most importantly, what appeared to be the mare they had all been seeking. She was in the bed and she wasn't moving an inch, not even breathing. The mare's hair was falling away in the breeze from the open window and her mane and tail were withering away to nothing. Twilight winced and sucked in a breath before coughing, trying not to breathe in the decay. "Geh," she coughed some more before rubbing her nose with the back of a foreleg. "She's here but ... definitely dead." AURORA LIGHTS "Damsel in distress isn't exactly wrong," Aurora muttered, not exactly liking the term, and followed them at a sedate pace. She wasn't sure what was happening in the forest but she thought she could feel something oh so very wrong with their location. She took a breath and walked closer to the group, ending up just behind Lulu. "Whatever that darkness was, it wasn't normal. Maybe keep an eye out for anything ... bad?" @Widdershins DAWN STREAK "Oh, you're calling yourself a combatant now?" Dawn grinned at him, scooting closer. "If you were such a combatant, why would you let a pony such as myself take you in and feed you? Hm? If anything it would mean you're fine with letting ponies help you but your attitude seems to say otherwise."

@Blitz Boom KARMIC & ATZY "So many questions," Atzy said with a quick shake of her head to get her thoughts right. She stared at Mind Reaper and appeared to study the filly before breathing out slowly. This might take a bit more thought than she was willing to put in. "I don't know how to start my own hive. I'm mainly out and about to see what's what with the world," she told Mind Reaper and mostly ignored Karmic coming back upon hearing Enzo's voice. Until she remembered Mind Reaper had asked about Karmic. "Karmic Fate's my adopted sister," Atzy replied and now looked to find Karmic walking up with the general. "She may be black and white but her yin yang cutie mark definitely makes her stand out in my eyes." "What the? It looks like you've made a friend, Atzy. Or maybe that's just a figment of my imagination and you're talking to a tree branch," Karmic said as she looked up to Atzy resting on Enzo's shoulder. She walked around him and then looked up properly. "Oh, not a branch. Sorry, little one." @Blitz Boom TWILIGHT SPARKLE "I thought ... the spell isn't what I thought it was? But I read it over multiple times," Twilight said in absolute shock and confusion. She stayed where she was, mulling over the mare's words, her tail flicking in agitation. "The ingredients call for Tatzlwurm juice, Marepunzel's hair, and something else I can't put my hoof on." @Blitz Boom AURORA LIGHTS "Y-Yeah, sure," Aurora mumbled and laid down so Happy could hop off. "I ... guess this entire Forest has me frazzled. Sorry about this everyone. I'm not much of a Queen if I can't will myself to fight, huh?" She breathed and regarded what they had talked about before shaking her head. "I don't know what pair of bombmakers you three are talking about but they sound really dangerous." @Widdershins DAWN STREAK "Hot!?" Dawn gasped, fluttering her wings. She looked away and stepped back as her face turned an even darker shade of red. "I ... gah, I'm not hot! I'm a Pegasus with bad wings who can barely fly!" she yelled in an attempt to throw him off how much she liked the roundabout compliment.

@Blitz Boom KARMIC FATE & ATZY KARMIC "I don't exactly know where I am so help would be appreciated, thank you," Karmic told the general with a nod. "Although, I'm surprised the ambassador can move around at all base on what I've seen." Atzy "Never heard of King Thorax," Atzy shrugged. She didn't move much from her place on Enzo's shoulder but regarded the changeling curiously. "I thought there were only two variants myself. Gemlings and Changelings. I'll have to tell Queen Dia'Thiz if we meet up again about this council thing. She wants to let all the changelings know we come in peace mainly because we mostly eat gemstones like dragons do. As for what we do ... find gems and eat them? I've never really thought about it beyond the daily ins and outs of it." She has never talked this much before, not even with Karmic. What was it about Mind Reaper that made her speak so much? Probably the inquisitive and innocent mind Atzy saw behind the changeling's eyes. @Blitz Boom TWILIGHT SPARKLE "I wish to gain some of Marepunzel's hair so I can perform a ritual that will get Cherish unbound from her stick and to the castle I reside in," Twilight told Madame Macabre without hesitation although she probably should have done so, considering this is a creepy pony within a creepy location. "We're just missing this and one other ingredient and then Cherish can switch where she is bound to. Hopefully." @Blitz Boom AURORA LIGHTS "Hide in a bush and wait for it to be over," Aurora told Happy, looking over her shoulder at him before facing the front and let out a shaky breath. She shook her head and regarded both Lulu and Flaaxy. "A-Anyway, where are we even going to find the thing that threw the glitterbomb at us?" @Widdershins DAWN STREAK "That's all well and good but when you say match, you mean, match as in 'friendship' match or match as in 'something more' match?" Dawn smirked, her tail swishing from side to side. She intended it as a joke but it could very well go either way. She's not used to how Kaltrops thinks yet and was honestly liking the thought of him staying by her side. "You put it out there, so it's either one or the other. How am I meant to take it?"

@Blitz Boom KARMIC FATE & ATZY KARMIC "I feel like I'm intruding," Karmic admitted after a few minutes of thought and staring at the Ambassador. "But, from the meeting you had with my sister, Enzo, and myself, it looked like you were doing fine, Ambassador," she didn't exactly know what to do or say in this situation at the moment. Nothing was coming to her and no visions were happening either. Maybe that was for the best. She had no inclination of seeing a death in one of her random visions. ATZY Atzy leaned backwards a small bit, only enough to look at the buzzing changeling properly, and lightly pushed the reformed changeling back with a hoof. "I have a thing about personal space with strangers but ... yes, I'm a third variant of changeling. A gemling princess, in fact. Um, Mind Reaper? Maybe it's best to change that name to get into the ponies' good graces. I don't actually what a 'Council of Queens' is. Is it where different changeling queens sit around a table and bicker? I do believe I'm an outsider, however. " Atzy honestly had no idea what this changeling was talking about but it seemed like it was in her best interest to go along with it. @Blitz Boom TWILIGHT SPARKLE "How did you know I came here for a bit of Marepunzel's hair?" Twilight couldn't stop herself from asking and rubbed her nose; she placed her hoof in front of her muzzle and sneezed from the amount of dust that had been kicked up from all their walking. "Excuse me," she blushed lightly in embarrassment as they made their way up and looked at either side to Last and the Manetid. "It's ... strange. We all happen to run into each other just to get at this tower. Maybe something drew us all to it for a reason?" @Blitz Boom AURORA LIGHTS "No, those are terrifying things! Are you mad!?" Aurora couldn't stop herself from shouting at Flaxx in a terrified tone. She was standing in place and shaking like a leaf from the brief encounter. She didn't like violence one bit and even though she only witnessed it, it still made her scared and frankly, sick to her stomach. @Blitz Boom DAZZLE GLEAM "Basically, I'm hanging in there," Dazzle admitted. Now that they were away from that crowded place, she can breathe a bit easier. She plodded along with Scarcity, Long Stare, and Chop Chop, warily looking around them for signs of any danger. "I'm in no way used to ponies and just how crowded everything is. I, uh, I lived on my own for a long time. Before the Everfree I lived with my parents and the three of us basically lived on the edge of the Everfree and the desert that contains Appleloosa. But ... as for questions ... I ... want to know if I can even live here after all my time in the Everfree. I think i may have gotten a bit paranoid." @Widdershins DAWN STREAK "Eccentric? You? Puh-lease, that's not you!" Dawn laughed in a sarcastic manner he would understand she was joking. She placed her hoof back on the floor and even cracked a smile at him. "You are a really fascinating dragon, Kaltrops."

@Blitz Boom KARMIC FATE & ATZY KARMIC Karmic was listening while she stuffed the papers back in her satchel. Her ears flicked in response and when she looked back up, the general was gone. She blinked a couple of times and quickly looked around before turning to run and catch up to the general. "Sorry, I'll come with. I feel like you'll need more than yourself to get the ambassador back under suitable care." ATZY "I was not expecting the Ambassador to speak so highly of us. I guess Karmic made it to the correct pony relatively quickly," Atzy told Enzo in a stunned tone. Not only wasn't she expecting the Ambassador to speak out for them, but for herself and Enzo to be cheered at the same time. "Maybe there's some merit to this friendship thing the ponies go on about?" @Blitz Boom TWILIGHT SPARKLE "This tower is suprisingly tall," Twilight commented. She was satisfied the Manetid and Last had made up for the time being. However, when it came to Madame Macabre when they caught up, she was no less scared of her. She did not show fear though. It could possibly harm her judgement along with causing Last some paranoia as well. However, she did clear her throat to try and speak to the tall mare. "Why are you here for Marepunzel, Madame Macabre? She's meant to be an old mare's tale about dangerous stepmothers." @Blitz Boom AURORA LIGHTS "All this is going over my head, Lulu," Aurora admitted in complete confusion. "All I wanted to do was some sightseeing and then head back home. Now I discover I'm a royal changeling and we're off to discover whoever threw that glitter bomb," she added, looking around them. She was searching for some kind of danger to rear its head. It usually does at some point and in a dark forest with only a few companions? Definitely a recipe for some disaster to strike. @Widdershins DAWN STREAK Dawn was blushing furiously despite all Kaltrops did was talk about her hoof and what it was all about. Maybe it was the sudden close proximity to the dragon? Who knows but what she did figure out, was that he truly cared about hooves. "Maybe," Dawn said before coughing to clear her throat and kept her leg within Kaltrops' grip. "Maybe you should go into hooficure yourself. You certainly have a mind for this sort of thing," she ended up mumbling, unsure of what to say in this situation.

@Blitz Boom KARMIC FATE & ATZY KARMIC "Um, General Dew, was it?" Karmic asked in slight confusion, having not heard his name properly when she walked in. Upon him turning if he registered her voice, she quikly bowed and chuckled. She hoped he wasn't one of the generals who may have possibly discovered her escape with Zhu. If so, things would get awkward fast. "Um, Ambassador Golden .. he uh, he gave me this to give to you to let me and my companions wander around Canterlot at our leisure," she said quickly while turning her head to fumble with the messenger back around her barrel. ATZY The gemling quickly followed Enzo and landed on top of his back almost out of instinct before trotting up to his shoulder. "All that memory stuff? I'll figure it all out eventually. But. You're chatting with an ex-parsitic Changeling turned Princess Gemling. I think you're well past the point of madness," Atzy smirked at him, looking across to view his face. "Unless I'm an apparition and all this is inside your head and your stuck back in that mine. Alone. With your thoughts. And everything in between to do with loneliness and isolation." @Blitz Boom TWILIGHT SPARKLE "I once read something long ago that might have mentioned this Madame Macabre," Twilight said nervously, the Manetid's fear and Last's sudden pushiness affecting her mood. Not to mention Cherish's sudden reappearance. "I don't remember much but I do believe she is a part of a family of guards out in Somber Heights. Twilight then shook her head and swallowed thickly. She gazed at the open door before looking at both Last and the Manetid. She spoke to them while checking on the stick within her saddlebags to make sure Cherish was still around. "You two ... please, please play nice until we are away from this place. We need to hopefully find Marepunzel before Madame Macabre does. Is that clear?" @Blitz Boom AURORA LIGHTS "Um ... it might be? I just don't like fighting. I want no part of it. I saw too much of it back home," Aurora said in complete confusion, staring at Lulu. She had no idea what Lulu was going on about and attempted to understand some more. "Traits ...? Hives have those? Hives are like ponies and griffins with personalities?" @Widdershins DAWN STREAK "... hooves?" Dawn blinked at this, not really sure why Kaltrops would ask for hooves in payment for crossing a bridge. Her excitement did dwindle a bit at the mention of it and she leaned forward to better hear him, not really thinking about it when she asked, "Why their hooves? All the metal in them? The studs? The horseshoes? The bone marrow?"

@Blitz Boom KARMIC FATE & ATZY KARMIC "I don't know about the slave-keeping, honestly. The one we're travelling with is ... different as far as he tells us anyway," Karmic told the bat pony. She had no idea that sphinxes kept ponies as slaves. Now she was glad Enzo wasn't like that. Although, now she has to think of something to sate the guard's curiosity. Here's hoping Atzy can stick to this story when Karmic gets back. "My sister and I were exploring one of those abandoned mines. We stumbled across a large pile of fur and feathers which turned out to be Enzo down one of the many passageways. We all came to an agreement and decided to explore places together. But settling in Canterlot for a bit wasn't something my sister and I had planned," she explained to the bat pony. Hopefully that would be enough to sate her curiosity for a while. ATZY "Never would have picked you for a philosopher," Atzy giggled, stepping out from behind Enzo once the foal had gone back down. Upon reflex she had hid behind him so the foal wouldn't get too scared but now she was back and looking down at the gardens with him. "But I think I get what you're saying. Try to do things your own way, I guess. I ... want to know why I have a memory blocker, why my memories aren't there, what actually happened but, forcing them ... that will only hurt me more, I think." @Blitz Boom TWILIGHT SPARKLE Twilight's own eyes darted between the strange mare, the skulls over her body, and the tower behind her itself before settling on the mare. It was strange to look at a pony with odd decorations, despite being used to seeing it with Zecora. The manetid's screech and Last's decoration got her out of her thinking though and she shook her head a bit. She observed the barrier and figured the four of them were safe for the moment dsespite the terrifying forest directly behind them. "Yes, Madame Macabre, we are looking for Marepunzel. We figured her tower would be here with hopes of her still being alive if she proved real. How do you know about that though? Not even this flying friend of ours knew about it," she spoke loud and clearly to be heard, gesturing to the manetid beside her. @Blitz Boom AURORA LIGHTS "O-Oh, you fight," Aurora said nervously, her feathers turning paler than they already were. "U-Um ... I-I d-don't think I n-n-need to hear more of that," she stammered, looking away from Flaxx and Lulu to stare at the forest they were walking towards. She knew that lots of creatures fought. She didn't think to meet two of them who did it so lovingly and carefree. It made her feel slightly queasy but not enough to show any sort of visual feedback for it. @Blitz Boom, @Widdershins DAZZLE GLEAM "Sunny is the big mare isn't she?" Dazzle guessed as she looked towards the sun-yellow giant of a mare. "Okay, if I get squished I'm blaming you," she told Stare with a couple of chuckles before wandering up to the giant mare. "Hey, uh, Sunny, right? You helped stop the fight between Shorty and I, remember?"

@Blitz Boom KARMIC FATE & ATZY KARMIC "Oh," Karmic said as she looked down at her satchel. She hadn't reaised Enzo had put a symbol on it but looking back, it's probably for the better. "I guess I kind of am? I'm travelling with him but we decided to get approval to actually be in the city and not get pursued by guards. I've actually got a certificate saying as such in here and Enzo and my sister, who is with him, have identical ones," she told the guard pony. Her ears flicked a bit and for a couple of seconds, thought on what she had just called Atzy. She supposed it's apt, considering what they've both been through, but to do it so quickly? It's strange to think of but it's also a comforting thought. She nudged open the saddle bag with her muzzle before pulling out the scroll of parchment with her teeth and showed it to the night guard. "Beer ib id." ATZY "I'm sure there's a reason I don't have them. Maybe I was simply born a parasitic goop thing but ... well. Maybe forcing it is a bad thing like you said," Atzy sighed softly. She stepped forward before sitting back down beside Enzo, looking over the banister and down to the gardens below. Her expression was unreadable and she liked to keep it that way for as long as possible. After having shared Karmic's head for a bit, she'd rather keep her thoughts to herself and not have anyone read them "Although ... I don't think I was. Karmic did see a young changeling nymph that I found very familiar in those mines. The one we followed through the different tunnels." @Blitz Boom TWILIGHT SPARKLE "We're out of the woods," Twilight huffed, not caring at the moment how Last and the manetid were bickering. She breathed in deeply and continued to wheeze for a bit but she looked from the forest and to the grassy fields. "Do ..." she trailed off. She noticed Cherish was gone and hoped that meant she had retreated to the stick that lay in her saddlebags, and judging by the ectoplasm that's been left behind, she most likely did. "Cherish is resting ... as much as a ghost can, I guess. But, do any of you know what this area is?" Twilight asked them both. She blinked a couple times when she looked between the creatures and narrowed her eyes slightly at a shimmer over the entire area in front of them. She recognised the shimmer as an illusion and hoping to be right, Twilight swallowed and lit her horn to cast a rudimentary illusion lifting spell to see if it was in fact an illusion. @Blitz Boom AURORA LIGHTS "I don't think you know what courting is," Aurora sighed at him before flying down to the ground. She laid down beside the pair and let Happy off of her back. "From what I can tell, Happy here has had something he calls 'happy juice'. Or, from the smell of it, alcohol. Griffins in the village back home tend to drink a lot," she told Flaxx and Lulu. "Where have you two come from anyway? And you in particular," she unfurled a wing and pointed it at Flaxx out of curiosity and looked excited at meeting the diamond dog. "I have never seen something like you before, its kinda cool!" @Blitz Boom, @Widdershins DAZZLE GLEAM "This dragon scholar sounds like someone I can actually talk with," Dazzle admitted, looking between both Stare and Scarcity before looking over to Shortstack. She didn't know why she kept getting drawn to him or complaining about something she obviously couldn't control but here it goes. "Despite what I've been yelling at Shorty he doesn't seem to answer. Or react." @Widdershins DAWN STREAK "You sounded pretty sketchy just then. I like it," Dawn grinned at him before remembering how he said his explanation of being a troll under a bridge. "I thought you would have gotten that reference however, what was it you actually stopped them for? Gold? Fame? Riddles?" Dawn the gasped dramatically and leaned towards him from across the table. "Was it for gem cupcakes!?"

@Blitz Boom KARMIC FATE & ATZY KARMIC "Oh, a bat pony? In the daylight?" Karmic asked in complete surprise. She had done a one-eighty and come face to face with the guard pony. Karmic's eyes had widened in surprise because she wasn't all that used to seeing bat ponies in the Royal Guard. She gulped and attempted not to imitate a fish and spoke after clearing her throat. "You ... why? Shouldn't bat ponies, you know, be guarding the night time with Princess Luna?" ATZY Atzy was content to sit slightly behind him, looking out through the gap his wing made between the left side of the doorframe. She took this time to look at her legs and idly poke at the gems that filled the holes regular changelings would otherwise have. "I don't remember much about why I was a parasitic goop. I hope to regain those memories but something tells me they were blocked off for a reason and I'm honestly a bit scared to find out why," she said with a quick shot of nervous laughter and looking, continued on while speaking to his back. "Although I'm sure they don't compare to what you must have gone through on that island." @Blitz Boom TWILIGHT SPARKLE "Okay, one more jump and then I really need to recharge," Twilight nodded firmly at the directions the flying, buzzing creature gave her. She didn't exactly trust it because Last didn't but what choice did they have to get out of this current situation alive? "Sorry, Cherish, but you'll need to hold it in for one more teleport," she told her ghostly assistant and breathed out while she lit up her horn. The magenta magic swirled around the manetid, Last, Twilight, and all their belongings. At the same moment her magic shield collapsed, there was a bright flash and they were all out of the forest, exactly where the Manetid said would be the edge. Twilight huffed, quickly shaking her head, and coughed a couple of times. "Did ... I hope ... I hope that's ... the last ... for now." @Blitz Boom AURORA LIGHTS "I need to get used to this 'Queen' business fast," Aurora sighed heavily. "I know I look like a griffin at the moment, but I am most definitely a Changeling Queen," she told Lulu and smiled at her. Her voice was confident than it normally and that could potentially be attributed to her mind settling into the fact that she was a queen and had an image to maintain, rather than continue to be the meek little changeling she always has been. "My name is Aurora Lights. Just ... Just call me Aurora though, please. I'm still not used to being Queen of anything. I never knew about Chrysalis doing all these evil things until I met King Thorax a little while ago. Far as I'm aware, there's only three hives I know of. Your former one, whichever hive Happy is from, and King Thorax's. You and your friend are definitely interesting but for the moment, Happy and I want to find out what threw the glitter bomb. Do you two want to join us?" @Blitz Boom & @Widdershins DAZZLE GLEAM "Guh, sorry," Dazzle groaned with a shake of her head. "I just don't like it when ponies assume you know what's happening and expect answers!" she shot off, an errant spark of electricity shooting off through the open door. Dazzle shook her head again and laid down on the floor. With a concerning amount of effort, the electricity ceased almost immediately and the blue lines under her fur disappeared. "It's ... maybe? I never really looked into dragon magic. It's always been a part of me so I didn't really think of it as 'magic' or something that can be used to help others."

@Blitz Boom KARMIC FATE & ATZY "Right, sorry," Karmic replied and gave the bag to Atzy before taking the scrolls and placing them in the bag Enzo had fashioned for her. She was taken aback though by how well-made the bag was despite being made entirely out of parchment. "The bag is lovely, Enzo. It feels amazingly silky smooth to the touch. I'll go and see what's what and try to find you two later," she told them both, deciding to leave out Atzy's and Enzo's scrolls for them. She left them on the table and walked out the way she saw the Ambassador go. She took it upon herself to keep calm, and remind herself that she was not a fugitive having broken out with Zio, she was a 'sister' to a Gemling Princess and hopefully she can act as such if she finds a general along the way. "So why are you looking all gargoyle like, Enzy?" Atzy asked in a slightly disinterested tone, wrapping her hoof around the pouch while placing the gems within her magic inside it. Her blue glow of her magic pulled out a string from the bag and had it wrap around her neck so it was sitting against her torso. She shook her head so her mane flopped about and then sat down on her haunches beside the doorway leading onto the balcony. She peeked out around the wooden frame and looked at the world past Enzo's wings. @Blitz Boom TWILIGHT SPARKLE Twilight sucked in a deep breath and forcibly erected a shield around all four of them, her magic either blasting away or through the tendrils, making the ground they stood upon the only thing not to be engulfed by the fungi. "We need to get out of here. I can tell we're close but I need a direction if any of you bickering idiots would care to help," Twilight said in an angered and tired tone while glaring at the Manetid and Last. "I am tired, scared, and all I want to do is get what we came for and leave. Is that too much to ask!?" @Blitz Boom AURORA LIGHTS "Like Happy said, I'm a new changeling Queen. Happened earlier on today, actually," Aurora admitted with a slight shake of her head. She was interested in the changeling that flew up to her, especially with the relationship between her and the Diamond Dog. She did largely ignore Flaxxy in favour of explaining herself to the new changeling. "I don't have a hive at all, actually. I was never in a hive, well, I was taken away from my hive when I was a nymph which was," she obviously hesitated before sighing heavily and looked the other changeling directly into her eyes. "Chrysalis' hive. I was taken away from Chrysalis when I was a nymph." @Blitz Boom & @Widdershins DAZZLE GLEAM "I only got here today, how would I know what's local or not here!?" Dazzle asked, promptly exploding and adding to the chaos as she stared at Blither. She didn't even think today was going to end up as chaotic as her time in the Everfree but hey, here she is, in the middle of some more chaos. "All I know is these toads are not normal and need to be dealt with immediately!" she cried, blue electricity sparking all over her body - sending some static into the air to send everypony's hairs on end that were near her - as she prepared for a fight, be it magical or physical. @Widdershins DAWN STREAK "You never mentioned a bridge. Only caves and dragons doing this and that," Dawn said, poking her hooves into the air before smirking. A hilarious thought occurred to her and doesn't exactly care if Kaltrops found it offensive or not. "You must be the troll under the bridge foals are told about."

@Blitz Boom KARMIC FATE & ATZY "I take it this is for the scrolls?" Karmic asked Enzo as she grabbed the cloth bag with her hoof and looked within it. "Or did you do something else to this?" "I don't know what the things was, but it rubbed me the wrong way and I'd much rather be out there than stuck in here with it," Atzy mumbled with a violent shiver and looked from where the shadow disappeared and over to the balcony. @Blitz Boom TWILIGHT SPARKLE "Whatever is happening is at the heart of this forest," Twilight muttered as she looked at each of the taken creatures with sadness but a determined expression. She knew Last didn't care for working with her enemy but at the moment, no one had a choice but to fight together. Or that would be the case if she hadn't spotted a clearing up ahead that didn't have any trees within it. "If I can get us from clearing to clearing, we should be able to get out of this," she told them. "Cherish, you may want to prepare yourself," she warned as she lit up her horn in a bright purple light. There was a white flash and the Manetid, Last, Cherish, and herself all got teleported down the way into the clearing she had spotted. Looking even further ahead, she grinned and teleported them again and again, hopping through the many clearings in the forest that appeared to permeate its structure, acting like holes they could dip and jump out of. Her stamina and endurance did run short before she could hop them to the last clearing where a tower could be seen through the trees. "I ... I can do this once more. Just ... just need a breath. I don't ... don't think we lost anyone but ... I don't hear anything from whatever those creatures are." @Blitz Boom AURORA LIGHTS "Those boars look happy," Aurora smiled, largely ignoring Happy. She purely thought of his babble as him having drunk too much of his own 'happy juice' and shook her head a small. She did hear running hooves along with a what sounded like a large boulder coming from their left. She turned her head and her eyes widened before taking flight to hover within the treetops. "What the heck is happening here!?" @Blitz Boom, @Widdershins DAZZLE GLEAM "These aren't normal," Dazzle said cautiously as she eyed the frog-like creature still standing. She flicked her gaze between the frog and Shortstack and inwardly groaned at the possibility of actually saving him. The kind of frogs she was used to dealing with staying in Boggy Bottom Swamp and like to stay within the murky depths. Maybe some yelling would work? "Oi Froggy, I'm talking to you! That pony you're eyeing up tastes like spoiled meat and rotten wood! Come and get me instead!" Or maybe some taunting, throw that in too as well. @Widdershins DAWN STREAK "Fighting ... banging ... sounds pretty much the same to me," Dawn hummed in thought, swaying her head from side to side as she weighed up the words in her mind. A sentence he spoke did resonate with her, bringing her outo f them. "A wanted man? This is the first I've heard of it. Please do tell more," she gasped dramatically. Maybe that was a bit much but she was interested in why he was on the run. Or maybe this was a ruse? Something to get her to sympathise with him? "Scaring travelling merchants sounds fun but I at least know it's against the law."

@Blitz Boom KARMIC FATE & ATZY "I don't know what that shadow pony was," Karmic said, staring at the place the onlooker had vanished too. It didn't sit right with her and she shuddered in thought at what it may have overheard. "I can go look for the guards to let them know about our new status." "I'll stay with Enzo then to see if I can get some more fresh air. Being stuck in a tightly confined space for who knows how long kinda got old very fast," Atzy admitted as she summoned her magic and then realised the food was still around. "I suppose ... well. At the very least we can take some things with us when leave, I think," she added in confusion, her horn powering down as she studied the different items. @Blitz Boom TWILIGHT SPARKLE "Gah!" Twilight cried out at the sudden psychokinetic push. She performed a quick shield spell and had it cover herself and Last before the latter could get too far away. Once she was sure she wasn't going anywhere, Twilight looked up and out of the shield, quickly surveying the situation. She ignored the ragdoll-like bodies of the manetid, the fungal creature, and Last's mother in favour of spying Cherish. Twilight gritted her teeth and looked at Last before back at Cherish. "Last, get behind me," she said firmly and trusting the guard would do the right thing, shrunk the shield into a more portable shape. It extended a foot out of either side of her front and above and curved around to stop most, if not all, of the debris and branches from cutting her and Last. The psychokinetic push from Cherish was basically non-existent when it encountered the bright purple shield, so using this to her advantage, Twilight stepped forward. She breathed slowly through keeping up the spell and had to even strengthen it a couple of times the closer she got to Cherish, however, upon getting in close proximity, she threw her shield around Last at the same time she leaped forward and attempted to hug the ghost pony. @Blitz Boom AURORA LIGHTS "Somehow, I don't believe you," Aurora giggled as she successfully stood up. Keeping her balance, slightly kept her wings extended, and began to walk towards the location where the ball had been thrown from, and went out of the ruined area. She wasn't sure what they were going to find, and it was probably a better idea to at least grab Happy's cart from the hive before investigating further, but the glitterbomb was a bit of a priority at the moment. Maybe there were more lying in wait, ready to get thrown at the pair at a moment's notice! "You are very soft for a hoomin, Happy." @Blitz Boom, @Widdershins DAZZLE GLEAM "Someone is sounding defensive," Dazzle commented as she looked up at Sunny and Shortstack, nodding in time with Stare's words. "So Alonsus is who I spoke to. I don't think I see him around here, although with so many ponies around, he probably is still here and I just haven't noticed." She was thoughtful as she perused the crowded area and then her gaze landed back on Sunny when a phrase caught her attention. Or at the very least a word of that phrase. "Friends ... I don't think I even know what the word means." @Widdershins DAWN STREAK "And now someone is sounding prideful about banging ponies," Dawn smirked across the table and smirked with a fake high laughter; her next few words obviously dripping with sarcasm. "I never thought you would have had it in you, Kaltrops. Banging ponies as a pasttime, I mean really! I thought you were a gentledrake after all we've talked about!"

@Widdershins DAWN STREAK "Ultimately?" Dawn sighed softly and cast her gaze down at the kitchen table. "I just want to see if she's even alive or not. Me actually wanting her here is another story entirely. I don't think I want her back. I've been on my own for so long I've forgotten what it's like to even have her around." @Blitz Boom KARMIC FATE & ATZY "Fine, whatever," Atzy muttered and huffed with a glare towards the scroll in front of her. "At least I can walk around freely now and not really on a host." "We'll keep it to ourselves. Sorry, Enzo. Is there a plan for what we do now?" Karmic asked quietly, looking away from her own scroll and up at Enzo to look for a response. @Blitz Boom TWILIGHT SPARKLE Twilight was unsure of what to feel. Horror? Disgust? Compassion? All these emotions felt like they had a right for her to feel but slipping off of Last to stand on her own two feet, she looked between the fungal pony and Last herself. Pity is what she settled on and slowly turned her gaze to what appeared to be Last's mother. "I ..." Twilight tried to speak but shook her head to get the words right. "I wish to help everypony I can, ma'am," she eventually said and coughed a couple of times as she looked to Last and spoke softly. "As far as I can tell, whatever is left of her, wants help. I'm sure I'll be able to at least make it so she's not feeling any pain." @Blitz Boom AURORA LIGHTS Aurora sighed and wasn't able to believe she was about to say this. "Happy, get on my back. We're walking in that direction the glitterbomb was thrown," she told him in a commanding voice. She hoped it wasn't too harsh or demanding of him but with the way he looked and swayed, she wasn't exactly taking any chances in leaving him alone. So she laid and spread her wings out to either side so Happy could comfortably lie on her back. @Blitz Boom & @Widdershins DAZZLE GLEAM "I don't want to alarm you, but I'm pretty sure everypony that saw you two in this room knows," Dazzle said quietly, leaning in so she wasn't overheard. "But still, I'll keep my lips zipped as best as I can." Dazzle did notice Shortstack's awkward stance and couldn't help but laugh. "You were successful in making Shortstack look awkward though!" she looked away from Shortstack and over at the other members of the family that were currently around. "The other members look really interesting though. Did I speak with one earlier or was that somepony else? It wasn't Scarcity, it was a stallion that acted like a gentlestallion."

@Blitz Boom KARMIC FATE & ATZY "In two weeks ... an audience with Princess Celestia and Queen Dia'Thiz?" Atzy asked in surprise. She picked up the scroll with her name on it and looked from it to Enzo. "It will most likely be fine but I get the feeling things won't be quite as ... smooth as things went today." "That is most likely because of what we did in those caverns," Karmic muttered under her breath, loud enough for both Enzo and Atzy to hear but still quiet enough in case the ambassador and his assistant were still in ear shot. "You've still got the sense of unease and frightened idioticness about you." "Idioticness!?" Atzy exclaimed in shock. "It was idioticness that may have saved me from a fate worse than death but idioticness all the same," Karmic replied in the same quiet tone as she grabbed her own scroll and nudged it open with her muzzle to unfurl to have a proper look at its contents. @Blitz Boom TWILIGHT SPARKLE "Sorry!" Was all Twilight could squeak out and immediately stopped her magic laser firing. She kept an eye on Cherish and let Last carry her into the forest. She immediately ducked despite nothing having come past them and she shivered. "This forest feels awful." @Blitz Boom AURORA LIGHTS Aurora stared at the lines of text and managed to commit them to memory before they faded completely. She shook her head to get the light flashes out of her eyes and raised a claw to press against the bump on Happy's head. "I'm fine, Happy. That bump looks nasty though. Maybe we should go get your cart first after all and get you patched or," she gulped and looked to where she remembered the object being thrown. She sounded a lot more confident than she did in her mind and that may have been in part to her newly recognised status as queen. "Maybe we can go investigate the direction of wherever the object was thrown from." @Blitz Boom & @Widdershins DAZZLE GLEAM "Aww, that's cute, you being having a pony. With the way you've come across to me, I thought you would've been single," Dazzle said with a smile. It may have been a bit harsh, considering what she's seen Long Stare act like, but she didn't exactly have a filter of her own. "All shy and talking quietly. Maybe you should announce it to the whole world."

@Blitz Boom KARMIC FATE & ATZY "No, nothing else at all," Atzy replied with a quick shake of her head. "At least for now. If we do have anything else, I think we can find you here at the castle?" Karmic wasn't sure what to think and only nodded dumbly, stirring at her empty tea cup. "For what it's worth," Karmic said quietly, swallowing a bit. "The scorpion tea was nice, Ambassador." @Blitz Boom TWILIGHT SPARKLE "Wh- Manetids!? Those things you've been trying to find!?" Twilight yelped in a panic, unable to stop Last from running with her on her back. She looked behind them and seeing the bug creatures, she lit her horn up and attempted to zap a couple of them with purple beams of pure magic to try and get them to stop following. "What does magic do to the Manetids!? Wait, is Cherish following us!?" @Blitz Boom AURORA LIGHTS Aurora jumped to the side and flared her wings, hovering a bit with a couple of flaps before touching back down. She squawked in fear and her first instinct was to hide under her wings but she couldn't exactly do that when a friend was in trouble. She took a breath and let it out slowly, doing her absolute best to keep fear from clouding her mind. Aurora took stock and looked from Happy and to where the ball had been thrown from. Not seeing anything left behind, she quickly ran to Happy. "Are you alright? Did you see what threw that?" Aurora asked quickly in concern. @Blitz Boom & @Widdershins DAZZLE GLEAM "You'd think I would have retained that information," Dazzle smirked at Long Stare and chuckled. "Nobles sound boring enough to not even give them the time of day, honestly. But hopefully whatever is happening here will happen soon. It's really really strange to me to stand around and do nothing." She added and shifted her stance from hoof to hoof before sitting down and wrapped her tail around her hooves. Looking at the strange assortment of ponies, she wasn't sure what to make of them other than that Shortstack was related to them in some fashion or other. "Shortstack! Why in Tartarus do you have so many siblings here!?" @Widdershins DAWN STREAK "That sounds very specific," Dawn said quietly. "I .. well. I don't have anything better to do with my life. I think I can help you find the filly ... or well mare now. Yeah. She'd be a mare now if she's still around here somewhere," Dawn told him with a quick nod. She was confident she could help him and if not, then well, at the very least they'll have each other, right? "I don't know any of my family other than my mum and that turned out to be a flop because she left as soon as I could fend for myself. I don't know if I have siblings, or even if my parents are still alive. So we could help each other find our family. What do you say?"

@Blitz Boom KARMIC FATE & ATZY "Well ..." Karmic hesitated and decided to drink the rest of her tea to stop from answering for a while. "Zhu sounds like a pony. A pony can't be centuries old unless they're one of the Princesses," Atzy commented as she looked between Karmic and Golden. @Blitz Boom TWILIGHT SPARKLE "It all feels horrible. So much death ... I think I need a bit," Twilight said as she climbed onto the tree stump and sat down on her haunches. She was visibly shaking despite simply teleporting across the field so obviously something from it had affected her. "Maybe five minutes but ... Marepunzel's tower should be here, right?" @Blitz Boom AURORA LIGHTS Aurora visibly relaxed once she realised they were both alone and she smield at Happy. "Of course a wander ... where to, exactly? The only destinations I know of are King THorax's hive, your cart thingy, and Queen Onache. So it'll either be one of those three or Queen Onache will send some changelings after you." @Blitz Boom & @Widdershins DAZZLE GLEAM "That all depends on if I'm needed here for whatever is happening," Dazzle said as she glanced around at the crowded room. "It looks like everything is fine though .... I don't know ... maybe - wait. What in Tartarus are nobles?" she questioned in abject confusion and swivelled around to face Scarcity and Long Stare. She may have forgotten some things her parents had told her but at the very least she would remember what nobles were if her parents had told her about them. @Blitz Boom & @Widdershins DAWN STREAK "Yet you were raised by both so some of those pony values had to get ingrained into you," Dawn said haughtily, scrunching up her muzzle in a cute glare as she stared up at Kaltrops. "Go on, say what we prissy Princess ponies taught you!"

@Blitz Boom ATZY & KARMIC FATE "Then is it possible to explain this to us, Enzo?" Atzy wondered, trying to get away from the train of thought she had in potentially revealing herself. "Did you hear anything about a breakout sometime ago?" Karmic asked, leaning over to the Ambassador. "Something to do with a cloaked pony?" @Blitz Boom TWILIGHT SPARKLE Twilight swallowed and nodded. After she had given Cherish's stick to Last, she went off to the left and began climbing up the spiral staircase. It was falling in places and was a bit too tight for her to spread her wings far enough to get decent lift. She avoided looking out through the gaps in the barricades and kept focus on every step she was taking. It was hard, and slow, and half an hour had passed when she finally arrived at the rooftop. She looked out at the battlefield to orient herself and her face went white. She couldn't help it. She was frozen and everything about the battlefield, all that had happened and everypony that had died, assaulted her mind when she picked up on the latent magical energy in the air. A quick flash of a white light snapped her out of things and she immediately teleported to Last's location, arriving with a gasp and her eyes screwed shut. @Blitz Boom AURORA LIGHTS "Mmm, more than ready," Aurora sighed softly and nodded at Happy. She ignored his inebriated state and rolled her neck before using a claw to rub the back of it. "Are we going to retrieve your cart before heading back to Onache with Thorax's answer?" @Blitz Boom, @Widdershins DAZZLE GLEAM "That's what it looks like," Dazzle smiled and humemd in thought. It did strike her odd that Scarcity thought up of a solution to her living situation on the spot rather than asking around for help. "Either way, Scarcity is a wonderful pony to help out a nobody like me. As for the rest of everypony here, are we all waiting for some other ponies to join?"

@Blitz Boom KARMIC FATE & ATZY "Cursed items? Like what, if you don't mind me asking?" Atzy asked. She was still nervous but for the moment her voice was clear and steady. It was a bit of a shock to hear the guards searching through her previous but at the very least, she's going to keep quiet about her true origins for the moment. "By element wearers you mean the Elements of Harmony?" Karmic guessed, looking between both Enzo and Golden. However, she didn't think they meant the Harmony Elements. She sighed softly and shut her eyes for a quick second. "You don't. You mean a different set of Elements. Alright. If it's fine, then hit us with what you two know." @Blitz Boom TWILIGHT SPARKLE Twilight stepped back a bit from Last's sudden face appear in hers. She felt her backside bump against the shrine and she breathed out slowly. "I don't want to look at that battlefield again, much less walk through it. I can place a beacon on you and I'll teleport after you," Twilight told Last with a quick shake of her head. She was still fairly shaken from what she experienced and didn't plan on going through it again. As much as she wanted to study the runes in the shrine, she knew she had to get away from this place even quicker. "The sooner we leave and get some of Marepunzel's hair, the sooner we can get Cherish planted at my castle." Having said this, she checked on the ghost pony with a small smile. "Now Cherish, do you want to have Last take you with her through the battlefield, or will you be prepared to teleport with me?" @Blitz Boom AURORA LIGHTS Aurora coughed into her claw. "I don't know where that came from," Aurora mumbled. "I didn't even think about using an authoritative tone. It slipped. Oh Celestia, I didn't want you to cower, King Thorax," she added in a hurt tone while she stared at the changeling king. It came out. It's not like she exactly had control over that yet. She stepped from side to side and then shook her head before bowing it. "I would like to visit again, King Thorax." @Blitz Boom & @Widdershins DAZZLE GLEAM "I don't even remember why I wanted to come to Ponyville in the first place, I'd rather simply meet up with my parents again. If this pony you know agrees to it, it'd be a big help," Dazzle smiled at Scarcity and looked back to Long Stare, ignoring Shortstack and his fiery anger. She tilted her head in curiosity and gently tapped Long Stare's shoulder with her hoof, although with how much strength she was used to exerting, it was more like a small shove. Dazzle smiled nervously and looked away and out at the rest of the crowd while she talked to her. "Sorry. You looked like you wanted to say something. Is there anything I can help with?"

@Blitz Boom KARMIC FATE & ATZY "Chariot?" Karmic echoed in confusion. The name kind of sounded familiar to her but she couldn't place it at all. It was lost to her memory so she had opted to ask outright. "Who would Chariot be?" "Um, I want to know about Chariot too but are you talking about the armory the royal guards have when you mentioned a locker?" Atzy asked the Ambassador in slight nervousness. @Blitz Boom TWILIGHT SPARKLE Twilight gulped and stepped up to the shrine itself to study the inscriptions. She did recognise most of them being negation spells and sealing charms but what caught her eye was the inscription on the door. She'd seen it before in old spell books and looked over at Last, keeping an eye on Cherish out of the corner of her eye. She was confident when she talked about spells. It helped to quell her sickness of seeing the intense battlefield by a fair bit after all. "All of these are negation spells and sealing charms," Twilight pointed to the words and pictograms scrawled on the walls of the shrine. "However, on the door, I believe it to be the symbol of Nightmare Moon however I'm not completely sure. I only saw it once before in an old spellbook." @Blitz Boom AURORA LIGHTS "Other than Onache, the only other royal member I've met is you, King Thorax and I think Onache has more experience in ruling than you do," Aurora told Thorax quietly as she looked at the changeling king. Without meaning to, her voice had gained an authoritative edge to it and she was completely oblivious of the fact. "I'm completely new to being royal. You don't have a lot of experience from what I've seen in the time Happy and I have spent with you. I'd rather go to a changeling with experience, even if that changeling has done bad things in the past. Do you understand me?" @Blitz Boom & @Widdershins DAZZLE GLEAM "You're calming. I like that. It's a far cry from what I've been getting up," Dazzle told Long Stare happily. She gazed around the room and noticed how cramped it was with so many ponies in it at once. She snorted a giggle at seeing Shortstack comforted like a pet from Sunny's giant hoof and smiled warmly. "At least, far more calming than my first encounter upon arriving. You know, I highly doubt we'll be able to fit any more ponies in this place. It's a bit too cramped for my liking. As for finding my parents ... they're most likely still living on the edge of the Everfree on where it meets up with Bone Dry Desert in the south. I thought going through the forest would be the quickest way to get to Ponyville." @Widdershins DAWN STREAK "You make it sound like you don't belong with the dragons either," Dawn said, looking up at him with a tentative stare and snorted. "Ever heard of Spike the Dragon? He's Princess Twilight's assistant and is very much a 'ponified' dragon. Maybe you can learn a thing or two from him about fitting in."

@Blitz Boom KARMIC FATE & ATZY "Princess ... Twilight? I'm sorry, I was only aware of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna," Atzy said in confusion. This caused Karmic to inwardly groan and rubbed her temple. "Let me interrupt. Atzy did live with us but she didn't get out much. She was only exposed to what our parents knew and that wasn't exactly much," Karmic said immediately before either Enzo or Golden had a chance to respond. "I really should have paid more attention," Atzy sighed softly only for her reveries to be interrupted by the calling of pie and cake. "What the heck is this stuff?" "These are different cakes and pies by the looks of things," Karmic commented with wide eyes at the foodstuff. @Blitz Boom TWILIGHT SPARKLE Twilight felt herself tugged along by a coldness and realising it was coming from Cherish, let herself be sent back down to ground level. SHe had no words and the paleness on her face persisted while they rejoined up with Last. It took a few minutes to swallow and wet her lips but she eventually spoke out to her guard. "I ... you ... were right. T-This place is t-too much for me," Twilight told Last with a quick shake of her head. "I d-didn't ... wasn't prepared for the sheer weight of the battlefield when I saw it." @Blitz Boom AURORA LIGHTS "My parents mentioned a cult once and what they tend to do with ponies and griffins and yaks ... it sounded a bit like what Queen Dia'Thiz was saying," Aurora said with a violent shake of ruffled feathers. "I want to leave and talk with Onache. She'll give some insight on what I should possibly do as a new queen but ... I ... um. I'm leaning towards actually attempting to be Queen of the griffins?" she said with an extremely nervous expression and shook it off. "I can't do that! I'm too young for that!" @Blitz Boom, @Widdershins "Uh no, I don't need anything like that," Dazzle shook her head at the suggestion. She'd gotten by sleeping on rocks and leaves in the Everfree so it's not like she was complaining. "An actual bed would definitely be a nice change of pace, Miss. I'm sorry, I don't think I got your name and you're being so kind to me." She instinctively ducked though when Shortstack began and she sighed softly. "Shortstack is not to be trifled with. I know. I can't help it, it's how I've gone against some of the monsters in the Everfree simply because I was bored." @Widdershins DAWN STREAK "I definitely have," Dawn said in a dark tone and decided to sit down on the floor next to Kaltrops. "The pony I once called mother. She left when I was a filly and I haven't seen her since. No parents around and no family so I had to figure out how to take care of myself and not get this home taken away from me in the process."

@Blitz Boom KARMIC FATE & ATZY "A special notice to let me wander around Equestria? Freely?" Atzy asked with a glimmer of hope to her voice. She almost couldn't believe it. She was so close to tasting absolute freedom in fitting in with everyone else rather than being stuck inside an urn as a pile of goop hidden in some dusty corner of the castle. Karmic though, she was having conflicting thoughts. It was written plain on her face and she actually had no desire to return to that place. But if it meant she'd get paid ... and potentially protected ... then maybe it wasn't so bad. "I'm definitely going to need time to think on this, Ambassador," Karmic sighed softly, staring at the tea she was halfway through drinking. "It's a lot to think about. Especially since I just got Atzy back from that place." @Blitz Boom TWILIGHT SPARKLE "I ... I don't ..." Twilight trailed off. She was unable to think clearly and her face had gone as white as a sheet. It was unthinkable to think so much destruction could be held in one area and even feeling the aftereffects after all this time. "Something ... h-happened here. I ... maybe ... m-m-maybe Last is ... damaged but she is the b-b-best shot we have," Twilight told Cherish, knowing full well how her voice sounded. She was completely unused to seeing destruction on this scale. Yes, there was Tirek, but he was more localized and contained to one section. The battlefield that spread before her and Cherish was on a completely different level. @Blitz Boom AURORA LIGHTS "An island near the dragon lands," Aurora breathed, managing to tear her eyes away from Happy. She looked at Dia'Thiz and gave a curt nod. She did want to do something with her life and touring Equestria is something she didn't want to simply do anymore. She wants to see what she can get out of life and Aurora was leaning more towards ruling every second she stayed in Dia'Thiz's presence. "I'll seek you out if I want to ... rule," Aurora sighed. "If I want to try and rule the griffins. This is going to be one heck of a rule if a pacifist somehow got control of the entire griffin population." @Blitz Boom, @Widdershins DAZZLE GLEAM "Oh, I've already seen his temper flare up," Dazzle smiled at Scarcity and her sister, ruffling her wings as she got more comfortable in the presence of the entire group in the police station. "I think I'll be able to hand Shorty if he comes at me again. Thank you for letting me stay with you two while I get my bearings. I never thought this would happen to me. Although, why are there a lot of ponies in this one tiny space? It doesn't seem right."

@Blitz Boom KARMIC FATE & ATZY "Yes, Ambassador. I'll be able to agree to that," Atzy nodded a couple of times once she got all the words right in her head. "I was established very recently so having somepony help me with all this legalese will be helpful." "We don't know where Atzy's Queen is, honestly," Karmic admitted with a couple of coughs. "But she shouldn't be too hard to find if one looks among the gemstones." @Blitz Boom TWILIGHT SPARKLE "I would go up there to have a good look around Last, but that giant insect is in the way of it," Twilight said nervously, looking up to the parapets and then out behind them to the distant land. "Can't see much from down here," she mumbled and then looked at Cherish. "I'm going fo ra short flight. I hope you're used to heights," Twilight told Cherish before spreading her wings and soaring up to the level of the roof the shrine. She turned and the her eyes widened at the battlefield. Her face did turn white upon witnessing all the destruction but luckily, she didn't regurgitate her lunch. She was unsure of how to feel about all of this but she was unable to look away either. "Whoa. Last wasn't kidding." @Blitz Boom AURORA LIGHTS "I have never heard of 'humanity', Queen Dia'Thiz. Whatever Happy is, he's definitely not whatever humanity is," Aurora told Dia'Thiz, taking a deep breath to steel her nerves. "He's been nothing but kind and along the way to see King Thorax, he fought off Timberwolves that were going to attack us!" She had only met him a handful of hours ago, true, but he was one of the first creatures to take an interest in her as a friend and talk things out like how friends tend to do. @Blitz Boom, & @Widdershins DAZZLE GLEAM "Wh-what?" Dazzle asked in complete bewilderment. She'd only just met these two, yet here they were, offering to her help her out. Scarcity and who looked like her sister were waiting for an answer and she had to say something otherwise nothing would happen. "Um ... thanks? I'd take you up on the offer? Is that how ponies still agree to these terms?" she asked, her brain shorting out slightly as she tried to come up with a suitable response. She was startled by Shortstack commenting back and she turned to him, not entirely sure what drove her to keep pestering the short, round pony. "I don't have anything to prove! To me, it sounds like you're compensating for something!" @Widdershins DAWN STREAK "Well," Dawn hesitated, and then took a breath. She hadn't had company in so long and now that Kaltrops was a bit settled in within her home, she took a chance and spoke her mind, her entire face giving off heat in a full on blush all the while. "Live with me. We argue, yes, and you already agreed to be my bodyguard, but, if you live here with me, I can help you readjust to being with ponies."

@Blitz Boom KARMIC FATE & ATZY "How would we come to an agreement, Ambassador?" Atzy sighed softly, realising that now was the time for negotiations. At least she'll be able to stretch her brain muscles and attempt to negotiate for the gemlings. "Seeming we can't see any of the Princesses yet, how will we handle my situation?" "At least you're not shouting like you normally do," Karmic chuckled after sipping of her delicious tea. "I do not shout!" Atzy replied, shouting at Karmic. The mare merely laughed and pointed a hoof. "Case in point," Karmic grinned. @Blitz Boom TWILIGHT SPARKLE "I shouldn't pry, Last, but what happened here? This is a very gruesome remnant of a battlefield," Twilight asked quietly. Something in her gut told her to keep her voice low as they walked through the courtyard in front of the shrine. She figured she should listen to it for the moment unless Last had other ideas. @Blitz Boom AURORA LIGHTS "You ... what ... me!?" Aurora asked in shock and surprise. She had never heard of such a suggestion in her life! She may be royalty but at the same time she's never exactly spoken up with the other griffins, always remaining on the outskirts and looking in. "I am no Queen. I have no idea how to even be one! Wh-Wh-Why would I e-even attempt to become the leader of the griffins!? I-I mean, I can stay u-upon that throne, sure, and stay alive by f-feeding on how they l-l-love me but that takes time! Far too much time!" @Blitz Boom & @Widdershins DAZZLE GLEAM "HEY! YOU'RE THE ONE THAT BEGAN FIGHTING ME SHORTY! IT WAS SELF DEFENSE!" Dazzle shouted at Shortstack, her ears flicking at him nicknaming her. At least, that's how she remembered it. He did hit her noggin hard a couple of times after all. After a brief few moments, she composed herself slightly and returned to looking at the shy pony that had scared her scales off. "Sorry about that but to answer your question ..." she trailed off and coughed a couple of times before resuming to talk. "Parents," Dazzle sighed, her face falling. Her ears drooped ad she gazed at the floor. Not having seen her parents in years, they'd most likely think she was dead and moved on by now. Her voice was sullen when she spoke, remembering what her parents were like when she last saw them."The're on the other side of the Everfree Forest, ma'am. I don't think they'll be arriving here any time soon. I ... I tried to walk through the Everfree to visit Ponyville about ... I don't know. Ages ago. But I got lost and kinda lived there until I found my way here." @Widdershins DAWN STREAK "Wait, stolen?" Dawn asked in surprise. The argument was forgotten in light of this new information. This was news to her. She'd never heard of dragon eggs being stolen from the Dragon Lands before. "How? When? Why? What have you been doing all this time!? You should go and find your original parents!"

@Blitz Boom KARMIC FATE & ATZY "I'm truly sorry I can't be of more help, Ambassador," Atzy sighed. She thought she knew what she was talking but most of it was something that sounded right in her head at the time. She's no authority on crystal creatures! She became one herself not to long ago to save Karmic from a fate worse than death! She was broken out of her reveries by the Ambassador mentioned another crystal creature, causing her to focus entirely on him. "I ... I don't know what to say to a half-formed crystal bull creature, sir. It's probably somepony that's heeded the call of Queen Dia'Thiz now that she's out and about and looking for information." "Well, the tea is very lovely. I absolutely adore it," Karmic smiled at the Ambassador. @Blitz Boom TWILIGHT SPARKLE "That graveyard gave me the creeps," Twilight shivered, her feathers ruffling as she flared her wings. She flapped them a couple of times to settle her feathers and folded them against her back with short sigh. They made it to the shrine after ten minutes had passed and she had a worred expression on her muzzle. "At the very least, we're a bit away from there. Why is it so close to this shrine?" @Blitz Boom AURORA LIGHTS "I don't know the ins and outs of what made the griffins fall," Aurora admitted, speaking up now there was a bit of quiet in the negotations side of things. Her front talons clicked on the ground as she grew worried. "What I do remember from learning about the history is an old griffin king went mad with power. Whatever granted him that power has since been lost to time and now, because of it, the griffins don't have a ruler to keep everything nice and orderly. Everything's gone to chaos and now no griffin wants to be leader because they think it's too much work." @Blitz Boom, @Widdershins DAZZLE GLEAM Not having heard Long Stare approach, having been too busy being confused at everypony staring at her, Dazzle jumped and twirled, facing Long Stare when she spoke. It took a couple of seconds for the gears to tick in her brain but when they did, she coughed and had the decency to blush. "Sorry. I don't normally get sneaked up on. A dragon/pony couple? I would definitely love to meet them sometime."

@Widdershins DAWN STREAK "If you can take care of yourself then why are you so hesitant to eat!?" Dawn cried, lowering the plate back onto the table after she hopped off of it. She was furious because he yelled at her, not necessarily the contents of his words. She had a bright red face that marked her embarrassment as she began to engage Kaltrops in a shouting match. "Why are you so hesitant to do anything here!?" @Widdershins, @Blitz Boom DAZZLE GLEAM Dazzle tilted her head at Scarcity, completely at a loss as to what she was talking about. Her head then slowly tilted back into an upright position as she thought hard about the question the mare had asked of her before. When her head was fully upright, she smiled when she fully remembered it. "Oh, right. My scales. The ones you labelled as a disease. I'm fine in telling you the answer here. I don't care who knows or finds out. They are not a disease. They're a part of my biology, Miss Scarcity. I was born part dragon," Dazzle told her with a couple of nods. She's spent the better part of her life alone in a forest full of magical creatures. If they think of her as one, then so be it. @Blitz Boom AURORA LIGHTS "You don't want to see the rest of the griffins, Queen Dia'Thiz," Aurora sighed heavily. "Most of them are downtrodden and snarl and fight. I was lucky enough to live on the outskirts of the area to avoid most of the downfall of the kingdom some years back." Her voice sounded like it would crack from reliving partial memories. It didn't do well to dwell on these for too long. She was a Queen now, so she should try and at least act strong in the presence of this crystallized Queen. She'd let Thorax and Happy sort out Dia'Thiz's other request while she listened and tried to learn from this meeting. At the moment, it seemed like Happy had been drinking that same foul tasting juice she'd tried on their wway to Thorax's hive so she wasn't sure on how much help he'd actually be. @Blitz Boom TWILIGHT SPARKLE "You look and sound troubled, Cherish," Twilight said in slight concern, her ear flicking in response to Cherish's whispers. She wasn't sure was going on but the hairs on the back of her neck had started to straighten. She gave a small shiver as a cold swept through her. "This is a creepy, creepy place. I hope we don't spend too long here, Last." @Blitz Boom KARMC FATE & ATZY "The Queen of the Gemlings is called Dia'Thiz. She fused with a Changeling Queen long, long ago. Dia'Thiz is a crystal deer, to put it bluntly. The changeling she had fused with is suspended within the crystal deer but both of them speak in unison. I am unsure if the changeling still has a mind of its own but at the very least its body is always suspended inside the crystal in a perpetual state of suspended animation," Atzy explained. She couldn't get the image of Dia'Thiz out of her mind and it scared her somewhat if she was being honest with herself. She wasn't sure how far the Queen's power extended from the mines but at least she can provide some information to the ambassador. She munched on another gem within her magic and swallowed before speaking further. "She is very curious. We've been trapped within some far off mines for quite an exceptionally long time. So sooner or later, Dia'Thiz will definitely make an appearance here." "I've never been outside of Equestria. Can you remember what Saddle Arabia was like?" Karmic asked curiously before blowing on her cup of tea. A small sip later and she was grinning like mad. "I haven't had tea in a long time. Whatever these Red Scorpion Tea Leaves are, they are simply divine."