Blitz Boom

@Illiad Easle Null nodded at the reply. "Alright. When we're done at the embassy, we'll go straight there, but after that you'll be on your own for a while. Arcade and I need some time to talk, before we turn our gaze home." Home... It were still weird to her, to think of Troy that way, yet it were now, wasn't it? Or at least, her base, whilst her travels in service of Vengeance, would take her far and wide. Perhaps she'd even lose the sense of having a home again like this, who knew? Though, she doubted it. Even if she couldn't settle down that easily, most of her family would be in Troy. That made it home to her, no matter how far off she'd wander. At least she hoped it would, as she didn't want to have that feeling of not belonging anywhere again. As for her and Arcade, she would have them do these things. They shouldn't take too long, and after that, they'd have time to talk. She'd trust that Ranger kept herself safe until then. "Hey, if you want, I could show you around town a bit while they talk. It's got its nice sides too, and I don't have any shows until late tonight. Setup only takes like half an hour, so I got some time to kill if it is." Kozue were more than happy to step in if it were. He'd enjoy hanging out with someone again, which sadly weren't something he had done for a bit. Hizu didn't much roam around, and his griffon friend were a bit intense for him, so he didn't know how to approach Florence yet. And the two con artists... He knew what they'd use him for, and he weren't having any of that. He wasn't getting kicked out of town because they used him to nick some wallets or whatever other scheme they'd lure him into. Null weren't thinking about it, as her mind were occupied with other things right now, but she assumed at the time that he left, that Nine would know how to find her, and would come back of his own accord. Weren't like she could track him down after all, so he had to find her, and since he hadn't given her a time or meetup space, it seemed like he were planning to do so, yes? It might come into her head later, but it were likely that Nine would just look over her recent memory when time were, and remind her off it, before it came up from her side again. When Ranger agreed to let him have a third of a feather, Kozue would light up, and a high pitched, joyful yip would escape his mouth, as he made a jump in place. He'd then instantly hold his right front paws up in front of his mouth when he landed, before clearing his throat. His fur didn't allow it to be seen that he were embarrassed, but his ears did flop a little, and his tone said as much, when he spoke up. "Oh I'm uh... Sorry about that. I just got thrilled and it burst out of me. I'll try not to do that again here, Ambassador." The casino was one thing, but come on, this was an embassy! He should be a better example of his kind than that in here. Even if he had become really happy with what he had been told. He hadn't more to say in there, except an apology more if needed, though hopefully his little... Surprise outburst, wouldn't need to result in that. or guards getting involved. It were just joy, not an attack. Provided nothing had happened, Null would have given her goodbyes to Dove, and wishing her good luck. Once they were outside all of them, and the question were put out into the air, Kozue would be the first to respond, though she'd come in with a reply straight after. "I can sort this on my own, no worries. Just gimme like... An hour at most. It'll give me enough time to find the right paper too." "We'll go to the other casino in the meantime. Dunno how long it'll be, but I guess you'll be in the theater?" "My room, but it's pretty close to, and if you'll take longer, It's the floor beneath where you had yours. Room 12. Come on you little rascal. Let's get you shined up so you can show off to your friend." The paper fox would jump over and jump up and down on his head, clearly looking forward to this. All Kozue needed now, were the two feathers, and he'd go get to work.

"I do not know everything, but I will answer what they ask me. Maybe that will be enough? If it is not, how will I convince them? I can tell them of me. Of what we have done. Things they want to know, so they know I am not a danger to them. But if it does not matter, or is not enough, what is left to say then? Perhaps I should just wait and see. The things I hear, makes it sound like they will not believe things, when it comes from outsiders. And that they are against new things. I am not sure how to convince some like that, to change their mind. It is not something I try to make others do that often." Rosa would be better in cases like this. He were well spoken, and seemed well able to hold a back and forth talk going. Some with many words, that made others listen to him, and sometimes change their minds on things. She were not like that, even if she were better at speaking longer words and sentences, by listening in closely to Sen, Lin, and Rosa primarily, but also those they spoke with, like Scarcity. Yet that didn't mean she were good at arguing. It were not in her nature, to be confrontational enough for that sort of thing. She were more likely to agree with someone in the long run. Especially if it got complicated, and it became easier to simply go along with it, or do as she were told. "I will get the box then, before we meet the elders. Maybe do that when you sleep? Rosa can tell me what the things are too then. Let me know how to say things, so it will make sense to them. And I will not give them gold, if you think it is bad. Though if you say that they only wanted things that they could use... That goes for all longma then, yes? So never give gold as presents, but only something they can use? Like when we brought tools, to thank for the carvings?" That might not mean something for the elders, as she understood she were not supposed to give them things, but it were good to know about the longma in general, in case she were invited to a birthday party or something. That were a time when you brought presents, she knew that much at least. Well, not if it applied to longma, but she would assume so at least, until she were told otherwise. And if the nights were not going to be dangerous, or needing her there, she could well just go and talk to Rosa when it were. She did not sleep anyway, and she knew bat ponies were around a lot during the night time. It would be as good a time as any to go and simply talk to him about this, if she weren't needed around anyway, yes? Otherwise, she would likely just wander around, looking at the guards all night. The idea of practicing hadn't crossed her mind, but if it were there, then maybe she should try? Yet what would she say here... Omen would tilt her head, thinking for seconds on end, trying to come up with something. The gears in her head creaking so much that you could hear them move for a brief moment, before she finally evened up, having settled on something she could start with. "I can try something then, yes? If a longma gets sick, and you do not know what they have, or do not know how to help them, what do you do? Would it not be smart to ask for help? Or do you think it is better to let them die? And what if it then hit other longma?" She might not understand the concept of death entirely, but she knew enough to make somewhat of an argument here, in that she knew that generally speaking, wanting someone to die, made you bad. if there were help to get, why would you not ask then, instead of letting someone die? Would that not mean you were bad, for not trying to prevent something that you had the power to prevent? Rosa could still make this argument a lot better, but Omen would do her best to try at least. Even if she might have to ponder her own questions at some point, to grasp fully what she had said. Some of the things, being more or less copies from what she had heard Rosa speak of, when he made examples of why it were bad for the longma to stand alone. "We have them mostly as old tales too, as it were. but ours have basis in history, as the siren sisters were well known villains, that caused quite the ruckus in their time. They even had a cult devoted to their following, though after generations, it have all but vanished, far as is known at least. We do have some fascinating relics that they were granted though. One of them donated recently by Scarcity. I think it best I leave it to her to show that off at a later point, hm?" "That is appreciated professor. It is delightful to speak a little at times, of the things that comes into my possession." He'd nod slightly, agreeing with her on the subject. He didn't know more than what the public knew of how she had gotten that, and had no reason to think otherwise, so he only saw this in terms of Scarcity likely being delighted at the chance to speak something of her own donation to the museum. If only he knew... He'd likely not care really. This had been gotten in curious ways, but completely legally. Not so much the case with some other things she had donated to the museum, but he didn't need to be privy to that. "Of course, of course. Ah, and for sirens, there are also known ones out there, beyond Equestria's border. We hear little of most of them, so it is assumed the local areas handle them best they can. There is of course the brothers, but ah... Best to go nowhere near their waters. They have overtaken a small country, and turned it into their personal fighting pit, using whomever they can get hold of in the area, as the stories goes. Utterly revolting, and a recent example for most, that sirens are untrustworthy and evil. I personally do not subscribe to such generalizations, but you tend to only hear of the big and bad of their kin, so it colors the public perception. I suppose that same attitude could go for the sphinx too, as they generally live just as secretively, away from prying eyes. But I deal mostly in the past, not so much the present. There's others who'd know more, I'm sure." "I can't say I know in regards to sirens, but I do know there were a sphinx in town yesterday, and judging by the announcement, he did not come with harm in mind." "Ah yes, that. The one who seemingly joined Equestria. It is a rather.... Peculiar thing, and I have heard many a less than flattering opinion on that, but I think it best to let time tell. Mighty strange though, yes." Scarcity would be the first to respond to this, giving off a short, pearly laugh. "Dear, you should hardly apologize for speaking your mind about this. This is a museum after all, and this one of their professors. I can almost assure you that he very much welcome this sort of talk, of the far past." "Quite so, in fact. There is ah, other things to focus on now, of course, but I assure you that if you want to talk of your civilization, I would be more than happy to listen. You wouldn't mind if I brought somepony along to write things down though, would you?" This were the sort of eye witness account that they generally speaking would never get hold off, barring some weird anomaly. So a chance like this, he'd really want for their words to be committed to paper, so that they could expand their ancient history. What things might they not learn, if presented with the perspective of some who had actually lived through it, rather than having to guess based on what were left behind? "Any context or stories, would be greatly appreciated, yes. Especially by our historians. One in particular, might well trap me in a display case if he hears of this, and were not invited along to hear more. Or perhaps his sister. They're both very committed to their field of work. But now I am the one who rambles. Please, do follow me." He would lead the short way from the entrance, to behind the help desk, and to a rather large door, that were locked and marked as personnel only. opening that, they would enter a large, dark room. Pushing a button on the wall next to him, would light up at least this section, from a series of lamps emitting soft light, and show rows upon rows of crates of various sizes. They all seemed to be sorted into sections, with thick folders laying on podiums near them. Detailed reports of everything there, when to have them out, the condition they were in, relevant stories, if they were meant for elsewhere, etc. The more things were categorized, the better. Passing row after row like this, and wandering a bit zig-zagged, to get past certain sections, and collections, in a somewhat confusing matter, they would eventually reach beyond where the soft light were shown. But another, closer to the ground light source, were seen further in, vaguely lighting around a corner. The professor followed that, and soon after, they would pass past a bundle of 20 carefully stacked boxes, and see the source of said light, which came from four hovering balls emitting soft light, dancing around in the air. focused around a griffon with long, rainbow-colored tail feathers that didn't seem to notice them, but would speak up as she heard the professor step closer. "Hello Rusty. Have you more items to categorize from this? I were about to look over the new stuff we got sent in. And yes, I have permission from Director Gravel. He wants more eyes on this, and I were available." The griffon were otherwise pale white, with grey flicks on her feather, and wearing an open vest, with several filled pockets on it. She seemed a little larger than your average griffon, but not any more beefy, so she were a leaner sort, with odd tail feathers, Hard to say any more, before she turned around though. "Well, he is not technically wrong. But I do have some here who I think would be useful in going through things. They are ah, eye witnesses of that age, as it were." That would make her turn around, which would also reveal some things laid out on a table behind her, that the golems might recognize. Might be rather mundane things, yet they, and other things in the five crates nearby - of which one were open - would be what they had come to see. If this were not of their known bastions, there were at the least references in them, but it were likely to be from one of their kins homesteads. It would be for them to verify either way. As for the griffon, she seemed confused, though her eyes would fall upon the golems soon after. Scarcity would walk behind them, wanting to observe for now, and not be noticed, and she weren't either. The griffon hadn't the foggiest idea of her presence. "...Golems?" Her eyes were light blue and her beak a bright yellow, showing her to not be an old griffon. Likely in her mid twenties, maybe early thirties, and beyond her chest feathers fluffing up as she appeared to look concerned at the golems, she were startled. "Ensouled, as it were, and not programmed units. There's nothing to be worried about, I assure you." She didn't seem completely convinced, but she'd ease up a little, having seemingly heard enough of golems before to think of the negative versions, that you tended to hear about. "...Okay then. Well, welcome then, to the storage. I'm Mystril. I work inventory, but the director believed I could help doing some preliminary notes on things. I uhm... Sorry, I just haven't encountered golems before that weren't... Unstable. It is hard not to think of past experiences right now. But if the professor vouch for you, then please, by all means. Go ahead and look over things." She'd move out of the way, though she would grab hold of the lights above her, and push them further over, so they stayed hovering over the table. "I know the lighting isn't as direct as out in the museum, but not everything can handle sharp light. So it is safer for us to use more soft light, out here in out inventory, until we can say for sure. It is dreadful to try and read a parchment that starts to crumble under bright light. Rather harsh on the eyes too, so this is the ideal setting, we believe." They were free to wander past Mystril, and have a look if they so wanted to. (I'll leave it up you what the see, and if it is related to them)

@Illiad Easle The fox jumped around in a circle, chittering excitedly as it heard that there wasn't any issue against it getting bigger, from Ranger's side. A sight that made Kozue chuckle, and light up a bit further. Seeing things like this, reminded him of different times. Better and calmer days, now long gone. "Alright alright. I can see I'm outvoted. I'll get some size sorted for this properly, when were done with everything else here. You just say the word, and I'll go get some paper, and get to work." "The embassy? Sounds as good a place as any. I'm game." "I'm guessing they'll know this better than Bling anyway. I don't think she's used to dealing with rare valuables. Means we can get your paperwork sorted at the same time too, so I don't see a better option." She didn't want to go and pester her sister over this, as they were just done with one thing regarding her, though she guessed that either her, or her shadow, would know something about this. And the dragons... They had to go see them, but she'd have this sorted first, then ask Ardee if she wanted to go. Even if the two knew something, they might end up being too busy fawning to really pay attention. "There's a couple others who might know, but I think that might get complicated. They have an aura of influence, that gets others to worship them. Seems okay, all things considered, and did ask for me to come around at some point, after my protection ran out. Might be they are curious, or something else, I dunno. But they are important dragons, and gave me some hints in my hunts before. Maybe once we're done with this, you'd like to come along too, and see for yourself? They own another of the big casinos." She'd talk directly to Ardee as she said this. If the mare wanted to go were up to her of course, but she had the option to decide for herself now. Null was not surprised that Ardee had picked a name, but she hadn't expected this. Though as she'd say to the young mare, she did think it suited her rather well. Had a nice ring to it as well. Made her wonder internally, about her and Void. Always felt funny to her, that born apart, they were yet given names that matched thematically to one another. She had assumed it was just coincidence for a long time, but these days, she just assumed that their father had named them, having some sort of premonition about it. She'd ask, but... No, best to think of something else. This wasn't important anyway. Ard- Ranger, were. Kozue would let out an impressed whistle, hearing the price on these, then grabbed himself in it and put a paw up in front of his mouth. This wasn't some regular folks. This was an embassy. He had to be a bit more serious in this place. "Sorry about that, I was just surprised. You stumbled into a real gold mine here, Ranger. Pretty nice. Let's see, you had three feathers. If the lil' ones gonna need size, and the strength to do something, you'd probably want two for it, so it have some oomph. The last... I dunno, I think I could do with a third of a feather? maybe a fourth? Should be enough to make a mark over a trinket of my own, that'd still be meaningful. Up to you, but definitely not more than a third of a feather. I don't think even with us getting to some agreement on what me helping with your friend here have of value, I could afford more than that. It's up to you. If you wanna keep a full feather, I'll respect that, and I won't back out of helping the lil' one. We'll just think of something else." He didn't mind helping, but he would be honest, that he would get a little sad, getting through with none of this, as he'd like to at the least show something the size of an apple slice, that had a symbol written on it, in this metal. It would hold some significance for his kin, if he ran into them, and might help to more easily get them to talk with him. Though he was no thief. If she wasn't game, after hearing the value, and/or wanted to keep it all for herself, and her new friend, that sucked, but it were her choice, and he wasn't gonna try and skim off the top. He might be a trickster, but that didn't mean he stole stuff. He had some semblance of honor and integrity, that he liked to hold to. Null in the meantime, had become truly surprised as she heard the value of this. She had two coins of this stuff. That were a notable amount, yes? Maybe she knew what to do with them after all, in that case... Provided she could find a buyer anyway, and had this evaluated specifically, in case of impurities. Not something for herself though. No, she figured it'd be helpful for Void's store. Might mean she could get a few upgrades done, or fix the place up a bit more. Perhaps get it all fixed up in a way so she could easier use it fora residential area too, rather than live with their parents? That'd be good for when she'd eventually start dating. Which she might already have, when she returned to Troy. ...That reminded her, that she had to go and threaten Molotov when they got back. Had to be a proper big sister here, and let him know what'd happen, if he tried anything funny.

@Illiad Easle (Sorrow) "Oh. Okay, I don't want to be shot. Maybe it's safer to try the woods then." That cloud city seemed closer than several hours of flight away to her. Must mean that it was even more massive than she had thought then, right? And heavily armed too, by the sounds of things. And while she wanted to help send a signal of some sort, her own corpse, falling down from the skies like a sack of potatoes, were not the sort of thing that she had in mind. The forest were not exactly safe either, but at least there she had a chance of getting through. But now she had to wait for some sign that they were making a ground post available then? *sigh* She hated feeling this useless, after what Plein and her team had done. She wanted to do something, but it kept feeling like every avenue were shut off. At least it sounded like there were the right blood for Crank, so they could keep him stable, and hopefully alive for a good deal longer. Perhaps even keep him fine here, long as nothing more happened to him? They'd see, but she prayed that he would be safe. Not to any gods per se. She tended to just pray that she hoped their ancestors would watch over them. She believed fully in an afterlife, but for some reason, she just didn't feel like there were any gods, neither here nor back in the human world, that had ever felt right to pray to. This felt more natural, though as with several other things, she didn't know why. She had a suspicion that maybe it had to do with her pony history, but that weren't coming back as fast as she'd like it to. Might take months, or years to know what she once had, and she did have the patience to do other things, but she just felt kinda... Incomplete, she supposed? "The woods are close yes, but it's overrun by wild animals and maybe other stuff. I haven't gone there, so I can't say for sure, but maybe we could try to pop off a signal over the forest, and see if that helped? Right now it's probably unsafe to go in there. Then again, I guess you do have a gun... That's useful if you did want to try." Seemed Applejack had much the same thought, about the woods. Less warnings though, but then again, she might know what were in there? Sorrow just knew that she had heard murmurs, that it were overgrown, and some rumors about things lurking about. Could just be tall tales really, but then, so were magic and talking ponies at some point, and look at her now. You never knew what kind of weird fantasy tale might suddenly be reality. Sorrow were surprised when she had been told that she could stay, as she were about to bow out, and give Plein the time and space that she wanted, but as she were told that she could stay, she halted again, and turned to face her again, with a nod. "If it's not any trouble, then I'd like to, yes." Once they were alone though... She had nothing else to speak of right now, did she? Delta were being taken care of. Applejack were off to handle things of her own, and now it were mostly just Plein and her. Waiting for something... But were it a good time? Maybe she should wait, and just tell her, once they got towards the woods? She still hadn't found the other letter after all. Maybe it were best to be quiet? "Honest..." Her eyes would open a bit more, and she'd look around her, trying to figure out where that voice had come from. It had sounded vague feminine, so probably a mare? An old one at that. But she didn't see anyone close enough for that weak voice to have come from, and she could've sworn that it were close by. Maybe... maybe she were just imagining that, and it had been a whisper on the wind? Could be all the stress too. Ancestors knowing, all of that couldn't be good for anyone. She considered asking if Plein had heard anything, but she didn't want the mare to worry about her mental state right now. Wouldn't be good for Plein to think that they were crazy or anything. Even if she had asked though, Plein wouldn't have heard the voice. "Actually, can I ask you something, Plein? Your last name... Do you know someone named Silver Easle, by chance? Or Silver Studs maybe? I know it sounds weird, but I had a note, when I woke up as a pony, that told me to look for someone called that, and hearing your last name before... It might be a coincidence, but maybe you know who I was supposed to find?" She had the note on her. Well put down in the bag down her side, under something that would keep it safely in place, as she had been worried she might drop that too. If the name meant anything to Plein, and she wanted to see the note, Sorrow would pull it forth, and give it to the mare. Maybe she'd know what to make of it, and who IE were, though she didn't look forward to saying that she did not have the other note. She knew it were somewhere in the area, but there were still so much unexplored, and the fighting had been chaotic. She couldn't pinpoint it if she tried, and she had tried. ============================================================================ (Blitz) "Oh, right. Sorry. The airdrop sounds like a good idea, and we can probably convince the council of that. If they want to make contact, and be on good terms, a small sign of good will like this, would be useful. We can sneak some things in to help you into that. Good thinking Euclid." She really should have thought of this herself, but with how things were right now, she would admit to have skipped over some information in her head. Among them being, how it were with Power, the distance, what the Council would think, etc. Thankfully Euclid knew how to deal with them, and thus had some good ideas on how to do this. A reasonable one too, that would be a good way to open up for communication with whom might be allies, down on the ground. Maybe they could even convince them to have a two way communication device down there in the crate too, so the two sides could begin talks prior to meeting in person? Sure would be a safer start than to simply meet up, and find out too late that the others were cannibals, or something else less ludicrous. "You still know more about these things than I do, Euclid. I'm just a lab rat. Outside of speaking with Spiral sometimes, I never really did have much to do with them. I'll try and see if maybe I can get her to sign off on this, by saying that it will be an early sign of good will, like you said. If she doesn't like the idea of Power being in the role of a diplomat, then maybe also say he could bring a two way communication device, so she or the council as a whole, could make first contact, on their own terms. I could probably also say it'd be safer that we get acquainted with them, as whoever is down there, would likely know better what kind of troubles are on the surface. Preparation would make our own descent less risky for whomever leads the charge... I'll try and think of it. You prep things here, and I'll do what I can. If this doesn't help, I'll try to call on Occam to help. He's on good terms with a few council members, so maybe he can succeed if I fail. I'll let you know how it goes." And as such, she'd be on her way, to meet up with Consul Spiral. A mare that she had met some times, but it were often in relations to her connection to Last Stand. A mare whom she had a longer, more close story with, and were the more connected link between them. Thinking on that, she would go and speed up, headed to where she assumed Last would be, and as such would be able to show up with her in tow, when eventually she'd be able to get in contact with the leadership. Though they might have to talk to another council member instead, in case Spiral was busy. Which she very likely would be, but Last's influence could still be helpful. She were likely to be one of the first to volunteer, to go down on the surface, along with her team. She could well argue for wanting to know something up to date on the area, in advance, if it were possible. That was the argument she used to convince Last at least, and the older mare seemed to accept that as reasonable, and went along with it. ================================================================================ (Archback) Jelly weren't unaware that Gary wasn't the most liked. Big spider and all that, meant that some just didn't get along with his presence, and she did at times have to put herself in the way of a shoe, or something being tossed by someone, who tried to squash him. Not that he needed much help to avoid it most of the time. He were a fast little critter, but he were her friend, so she would protect him, even when it gave her some marks every now and again. But she still didn't think that could be as many as were avoiding her, right? Not that she knew what might be the reason then. She felt somewhat avoided, but though she stood out, it were not in a way that made her think that she were an outcast, or shunned. They had plenty of odd ones, and her father were a respected guard. But some were judgmental, and others had their own things to deal with. Just how things were sometimes, yeah? Best to just move on, and try talking to whom might be willing to chatter up, and be friendly. In this case, she'd try Spectral. Janet also wandered alone, but... She were mean. Jelly didn't really want to have anything to do with her, long as she kept thinking herself so much better than everyone else. So she'd wander closer, whilst Gary skittered up and down her back a little, to get some exercise, and momentum, in case he saw prey. She'd giggle a little, as it frankly tickled her, but she wouldn't try and stop him. He wasn't hurting anyone, and just enjoying himself. Why shouldn't he be allowed to do that, right? "Hi Spectral. Reading something good?" She'd speak to him like, a half meter away. Sneaking up on folks with a heavy book, wasn't exactly the smartest idea in the world, regardless of the usual temper of folks. Instincts could take over and all that, especially if one were tense, and things were pretty weird these days. It'd make some grow a bit more on edge, like her father were. He didn't say it, but she could feel it. Something were weighing on his mind, and it didn't take a lot to guess what it were.

@Illiad Easle I edited in something, for some base information.

@Catpone Cerberus When he had given her his order, Magma had stood stunned for a moment. Sure she had expected that she were meant to stop him, but this? It were beyond what she had expected, and what anyone had ever asked of her before. As such, it took a moment before she were able to formulate a response. A moment where many a thought would go through her head, about how to even say something back about such a request. "I... Am not a murderer, sir. My first instinct have never been to kill, and I certainly would like trying to end the life of you, or any other potential team mate. But if it comes to the point, where you can't be salvaged then, I... Will follow your order, sir. I see your logic in wanting to die free, over living as a puppet. Though I hope that it never comes to such extremes." It were clear that while she were understanding of the task at hoof, and would do what were best, if she had to, she would not do so, with any degree of joy. Nor would she simply be able to get over it, yet she'd do as asked, in the miniscule, unlikely case that it would ever come to that. What would happen with the task force after that? She didn't know, and hopefully she'd never have to be confronted by such a bleak reality. "On to other topics, I will keep in mind what you said of the unknowns, and the political aspects, and note it down. I trust that things will go as well as can be expected, when it comes to politics. If I may though? If you want information on changelings, you can simply go to Las Pegasus. Queen Cheshire is not only open about what her and her hive is about from my understanding, but also gives lectures, to educate others on her kin. I were considering one day going to see one actually, as the knowledge on changelings tend to be spotty, and hearing things directly from a queen seemed interesting. Wise too honestly. I had that conversation with several of my colleagues back in the day, and while some of them thought it were strange to be so publicly open, I can see it being good for their image, and survivability. After the attack on Canterlot, changelings were more or less completely demonized. They went from tales you tell your foals to keep them in check, to tangible monsters that everypony became afraid of. I believe she's doing the smart move, by being open, so that the public will know what they are about, and as such changelings can be more understood, and normalized. If there's some book regarding them too, it could have connections to her. If you put in the request, you can try and include her name. King Thorax is also technically a friendly changeling, but his variants are different, and the regular changelings have a certain degree of animosity towards them. Possibly related to them being afraid they'll all be made to change, regardless of their want to. Speculation regardless. Now then, with more... Grim subjects handled, as well as things seemingly being set in regards to all current creatures of interest, what is next, sir?" ================================================================== @Catpone Cerberus Ruby's voice had woken her up, just in time to avoid getting smacked int he face by a cold lobster. So that was a nice start to the day. Whilst stretching, she would listen to what Ruby had to say, about eating, and other things. It seemed she were up late to the party then. Guess she needed the rest, huh? Ah well, time enough in the day, and every day were best started off with some breakfast. So she'd use her fire breath to unthaw the rest of the lobsters, and then cook a few in the fire. It didn't use magic, as this were a biological reaction that most dragons could handle, so it didn't count as her wasting magic in any way. She'd offer the first to Charir, and then grill the second, before chomping that down. It left a few still, but maybe it were best to save those for the trip. Who knew when they'd next find a good place to find prey? Well, or as tasty prey as this anyway. Besides there were only two left, so she could just keep one in each hand. It'd probably look funny, but eh, like she cared what someone else thought of her, as she flew along. She'd outlive any of the naysayers. Least she usually thought that, but with where they were going... She'd shake her head, to get those thoughts out. She'd have plenty of time to mull over horrible things later, or preferably never, but right now, she didn't want to start her day of poorly like that. So she'd settle down, finish her lobster, and when the last of the delicious, crunchy goodness were down, she'd look up towards Ruby, with a big grin on her face. "Ready when you are then." It were about then that she'd notice something odd about Ruby. Something she hadn't expected to see: Her tail were moving. Usually she'd sit and be akin to a statue, but not here. And... Were she imagining things, or were she digging into the ground a bit with her claws? Were she projecting her own nervousness? Very possibly, but it could also be that maybe she wasn't the only one who were feeling a little queasy about this. Well, only one way to figure it out, yeah? "Say, you nervous, Ruby? You seem a bit off center today. Or is it after the whole... Well, everything, yesterday? Can't say I'd blame you. What a mess it turned into. Frankly surprised I didn't dream of my flesh melting off after all that." Her dreams had thankfully been a lot nicer than that. A welcome surprise frankly, and one she hoped would continue. ============================================================= @Catpone Cerberus "I think you'll like her. She can be a bit eccentric at times, but she means well, and is a lot more approachable for newcomers than Pinkie. Not saying anything bad about her, but she can be quite a shock if you don't know about her in advance. Rarity is calmer, more high class in general, but not in a way where she looks down on others. I guess I better just let you see when time comes. You'll understand what I meant about her, fairly quickly." Rarity was a very approachable mare, so she doubted they'd have any issues. She tended to only have issues when it came to brutes, and these kobolds were nothing like it. And in fact, the mare tended to like a new challenge, when it came to wardrobes. A chance to make clothes suitable for kobolds, should prove enticing to her, compared to the quadruped physique of ponies. And might prove good training for her to get some hooves on experience with bipedal creatures. Which considering some of the odd tourists they were getting this day, might be a boon to her store, as nopony else in town could make clothes like that. But they'd see what happened. Neon felt fairly sure this is how things would go, but you just never really knew when it came to things such as this. It could go in strange directions, when it came to Ponyville. Even among those who tended to be more stable and predictable in nature. "I've had married couples in the hospital, where we needed to treat some minor wounds, because they got into an argument over dinner, and somepony got bonked with a frying pan, or something similar within reach. Nothing major, but in the heat of the moment, some folks aren't thinking proper, and some just gets up there when they're disagreeing on something. Though there's mostly something else adding to it, like a bad day, getting fired, lack of sleep- Creatures are infinitely complex beings, to a degree. I'm just happy things doesn't evolve to stabbings or the like. Ponyville's a bit off at times, but we're at least not a violent town. Barring the monsters, but I don't really think it counts when it's outside forces. Anyway, your language, it's fascinating to learn that you have basically regional specific variations. I'm used to ponish being pretty much universal, so that's easier to handle, but it still sounds like your language would be possible to learn. Probably start with how it would be communicated in one community, then perfect that before trying to go on and learn some of the variations, yeah? And I get having the same word, with different meanings. It's like sick meaning both ill, or something being awesome. I'll probably end up mixing them up several times, but sometimes you gotta learn from your errors, to really get somewhere. Where would be the best place to start? Do you think there's maybe a book, or scroll to go from? Or is it like, I need to learn from an actual kobold? That might become a little too problematic to sort. There's not really a lot of kobolds that comes through here, far as I know anyway. I've heard about... Well, you three. I'd like to try and learn something new, but I don't wanna pester you folks too much, y'know?" It would be an interesting way to try and connect, but the way to learn, might mean that it were best to just communicate in ponish, and then accept that they had their own way of talking, that she wasn't meant to partake in. At the very least, she learned something of their culture. That was pretty interesting too. ================================================================================= @EQ_Theta "They want to change things, so us other ones can help them. Rosa have spoken many words about it, but some of them are long, and hard to understand. I remember he had a long list of reasons why it would be smart to have allies outside, because a lot of bad things can happen. Monsters, illness, and other things. And what happened to Lin, just proves it, yes? You could not have helped her. It needed strange magic, and the kitsune have that. What if someone else got sick here, and the longma does not now how to cure it? It makes sense to me, to ask for help somewhere else. It helped Lin. And there things that others can get you too. We came here with tools and other stuff, that should be helpful. It can be good, yes?" Rosa said such things far more eloquently, but Omen did her best to say so in a simplified form. She could just quote some of the things he had said, but she got the feeling like some of the stuff he said, were mostly meant to have context, and she were not asked one of the same things as he had, when he started to talk about such things. Someday, he'd be here and say them himself., He was a smart one, and could speak with other smart ones about important things. But first the elders had to accept outsiders here, which it sounded like they would be very against. Maybe that would change soon? She got the feeling that she would learn something from meeting them, and the meeting they were bound to have. What had happened, seemed like it could be a good example of how helpful outsiders could be, but she wasn't sure if she were meant to talk about that right now. She would ask Sen and Lin later, when there were time to do so, but it were maybe one of the things she were meant to keep for herself. Though Elder Ghilan were the one to make the rules, so maybe it were more him to ask? That made some sense, but she wanted to hear from them too. So maybe wait until they were all gathered, and then ask. "You could be there if you wanted to. Lin's gates are not like mine. They are more direct. She can put one from here to there, and then you just step through, yes? Or is that a bad idea?" She were not meant to open gates around the other elders, unless they specifically asked her to, but this were not with the elders themselves, but before that, when they were at the village? Was that allowed then? Also it would be Lin, not her. She did not make that promise, like she had. So she could make her own choice on the matter. Perhaps Zo wasn't meant to be there, and he could wait here, for one of them to come back and give him news, but if he wanted to be there, and they said it were okay, either Lin or her, could help him there. It were just that Lin had less restrictions on this than her, and the direct gate were maybe better, as it didn't show Omen's home on the way. That sounded like it might be an issue for some, even if the longma they had showed things to yesterday, had seemed okay with things. It were simpler when she did not think about things, but just did it. Discord were wise in his own way, when he told her things like that. Even if she got the impression that thinking over things, is what would get her closer to being normal in the long run. Though she might be wrong, and it would never happen. She supposed she would just have to live with that then, yes? "What kind of things, would the elders like? And what are we meant to show them? ...Ifs this was Rosa's bag were supposed to be used for? The one where he showed fangs and poisons and stuff? He talked about the many threats out here, that the longma wouldn't be prepared for on their own. He also talked about nature creatures, that he thought longma would like and get along with. Dryads. Evergrown. Druids. He thought their love of nature, would make you understand each other. Or are we meant to bring a gift? I do not know what is normal for longma to do here, or what to say. But if you have ideas, I will listen, and get things, if it is needed. I can go many places." Omen tilted her head for a second, then asked a follow up question, that she had gotten in mind. "I see many creatures like gold. Would that be a good gift?" "Mekhanites... Why is that word so familiar? Perhaps it will come to me later, but it does ring a bell. Perhaps I saw it scribbled on something somewhere, or it is close association? It can be terrible, terribly hard to keep track of everything sometimes. I will mull it over, and tell you if I recall something. I am certain it will just suddenly come, out of nowhere. It's always like that, with such thoughts." It honestly irked him to not be able to recall it. It were like a mention of that word, were at the tip of his tongue. Floating just outside of his grasp, despite how tangible it felt like it should be. An utterly frustrating feeling, and somewhat embarrassing too, as he should have had an answer for them, better than *I may have forgotten*. Hopefully that would not repeat itself, or he would become quite disappointed in himself. "As for underwater civilizations, they aren't as savage as some keep thinking. The mermaids especially, have a thriving community, though they prefer to keep to themselves, most of the time. And the sirens... Well, considering what your average pony things when hearing their name, you can understand a level of trepidation from their side. It would be like if the sphinx would suddenly come around and try to talk nicely. It would cause distrust, due to past history. Personally I think we could move past that. We did with the changelings after all. For the most part at least. I don't see the harm in trying to mend old, burned down bridges again. And I assure you, that there is plenty to see in this museum, but you needn't fret. Entrance is free, and you can visit at most hours of night and day. Though we do ask not to bring flashlights at night. Some of the bat ponies have rather sensitive eyes you see, so we have to ask for some restraint and understanding, towards our nocturnal brethren." This certainly seemed to perk up Rusty further. Tangible history, of ancient beings, and now he were talking with creatures from that age? Perhaps in stone shells yes, but that were still a marvelous opportunity. And this time, he could actually provide an answer that wouldn't simply be him offering more speculative questions than resolutions. "Oho, that so? I had wondered what age you might be from, but it seemed rude to ask outright. And what fortune for us all. A recent dig found some ruins that bears mention to Hyracotherias. We havn't any depictions to go by, at least not at the time, but that you know the word alone is making me hopeful that there might be something here for you, and a chance for us to learn some context around things too. Ah, but it were very recently. We haven't had a time to sort through most of it. I'm afraid we do need to go and examine the storage for this then, rather than the unknown section. It doesn't appear well, if we just sit things out right away, as we receive them you see. We do want to make sure that things are safe and secure, then see if there is anything that we can write down about the objects in question. At the least the general area of where it were found, or our own, temporary observations. Which in this case, we didn't even have. The boxes were sent by Hawk Fawkes. Which provides us with an occasional conundrum, regardless of how thankful we are for her donations." "Ah yes, the famed adventurer. A most peculiar individual that one. Often not heard of for years on end, then randomly sending something of historical value to a museum that she thinks it fitting in. But she can sometimes be rather vague on where she found things, from what I hear. Likely to avoid an area being overrun, if she herself were already there in a limited capacity. Or the area is quite notably dangerous. Potentially simply to hide her identity further, to preserve her privacy. It's a shame really, that she is more secretive than Daring Do, to the point where her identity isn't generally known, but I dare say that she enjoys the added mystique it provides her, even if it also limits her exposure, and the potential for book sale." "I find those she does write enjoyable all the same, but yes, you are not mistaken. Ah, but I doubt our guests would want us to yap on for days on end. Would you like for us to go and see what we have in storage? We can always discuss our mysterious, occasional benefactor some other time." Truth be told, Scarcity knew who Hawk Fawkes really were, but she couldn't tell anypony. Quite literally, as a matter of fact. She were bound by a pixie agreement, which made it impossible for her to remember specifics about Fawkes. Though she knew that the lady in question had saved her life, and thus why Scarcity would agree to something that she normally would scoff at, as she didn't like having her memory clouded. They met at times, as she knew how to get hold of her, but any memory needed to grasp details were erased from her mind. Fawkes were as a silhouette, with a distorted voice to her. Something that would continue, util the day that Fawkes decided she were bored of this, and stepped into the limelight. She probably could find a way around it, but if there were one thing that Scarcity prided herself in, it were her integrity. And it wouldn't allow for her to do such a thing, to someone who had helped her. She'd sooner wait and see, and perhaps never learn, over breaking a deal without good reason.

@Illiad Easle I'll edit in something about Jelly later, or tomorrow. Too annoyed to deal with it right now. I had a lot more written than you see there, but then suddenly, half of what I had written were gone, and Control-Z did nothing. I don't have the time right now to try and scramble my brain on what I wrote for an hour more than this, so I'll just have to wait until later, and put what there is right now, before more goes away.

@Illiad Easle (Sorrow) "We weren't prepared or equipped for something like that to attack us. I'm sad that your friend met the end that he did, but I think if you hadn't intervened, a lot more ponies would be dead. Crank died a hero. I know that doesn't magically make everything okay. Dying so far before your time, is tragic, and I truly wish that it could have been different. But I hope that knowing he didn't die in vain, will in some small way, help his friends and family through their grief." She knew well that there were nothing that she could say, that would make things better here. Crank likely had some that he left behind, who'd mourn his fate, and this mare were likely to blame herself for his death. Potentially for years on end. But Sorrow couldn't just say nothing, and let it stew. She wanted to give her condolences, and speak of him, rather than try and ignore him. It were disrespectful to Crank, to just stay silent on him, after what had happened, and she wouldn't have that. He deserved to be remembered., By his friends and family, as well as those who lived, because he died. And she would do her part, in making sure that he was remembered fondly here. As for those he left behind... It would be a hard time, and she had nothing but sympathy for them. Hopefully they would be able to carry their grief together, and help another through it, to where they could begin to celebrate the good memories they had of him, rather than mourn his passing. And if he had loved ones beyond the veil, as most tended to have, she hoped they were there to welcome him with open arms, as he'd wander into the light. "We have to at least try to do what we can for her, until they come looking for them." Sorrow assumed that whatever place they came from, they had good medical teams that could do a lot more for her, but they needed to at the very least, keep her stable until then. Hopefully they wouldn't take long to send a rescue team. "If we don't, I can ask around. I don't know what my blood type is, but someone here has to, and can maybe offer a blood transfusion, right?" It wouldn't be much probably, but there had to be something that they could do to help, and if she had to rush around, poking anyone in sight, and ask them about their blood type, she'd do that, if it had a chance of being helpful. It were hard to say if it did, but it were better than doing nothing, right? As for her not knowing her blood type, it had just never come up. She had never needed a transfusion, and she didn't much care for what her tests at the doctor said in the details, beyond if she were okay. A decision that were now starting to bite her in the a- Flank. This was a surprise. Applejack was known to Plein, and she had apparently been thought dead? Well... They had been thrown out of this world right, so it kinda made sense, but it were a surprise that she were apparently famous enough to be remembered 25 years later. And elements... Maybe she meant her friends? Sorrow wasn't sure, but she assumed it were the other ponies who were more leading, like Applejack were. Maybe she should go and hear more stories about them at some point, because whilst she knew that Applejack and some of her friends were known in the area, she wasn't sure what this notion of elements were. Maybe some kind of group nickname? It didn't escape her what Plein's name were though. Not only her first name, but her last too. Easle. Something that had been written to her, from this mysterious I.E. that had apparently saved her in some fashion, when she turned pony again. She wanted to bring that up, but she needed to think of her friend first. And that meant the cloud city. "Plein? Is there any way that we can get the attention of the Æther? A signal or something? I know Nurse Redheart will try, but that place have to have more things they can do, and ways they can help her, right? Is there something you or we can do, that would maybe draw them in faster? Should I fly up there, perhaps?" It were a bit higher than she had done before, but she probably could. She just never had much of a need to fly that high before, but she had the grasp of flight. Like riding a bike, to a certain extend. Just that if you fell whilst flying, it'd hurt a lot more. Though they might have defenses, and shoot her down if she approached? Gaaah, there were so many unknowns here, but there had to be something she could do to help here. Anything else than just standing still, and hoping that things would get better. And who knew? If she could fly up there somehow safely, and get their attention, she might even be able to find Silver, whom she would currently assume were a relative of Plein's. Maybe her mother? ============================================================================ (Blitz) "I swear that I won't breathe a word of it." It was fair, that he didn't want to worry his wife with hearing this, and Blitz would do like the others, and keep her in the dark. Just go through all of this, and pretend like nothing ever happened. Perhaps not the most honest, but she had learned over time, that sometimes, a lie were the kindest thing you could offer someone. A sentiment she could see fitting here, but right now, she'd much rather get focus on getting something done here, so that they could get this problem solved, and Plein returned safely to them. The more time they wasted, the worse things might get down there. "If you need to keep at range, you need a weapon. Take the gun, but make every shot counts. It's more intense than the regular rifles, but it comes at a cost of capacity right now. You'll get four shots, before it runs out of battery, and it'll be little more than a paperweight by then. There's a small sub-charge in it that is meant to help it be rechargeable, but if you're out of options, flip the safety switch, and fire once more. It'll give you a half energy shot, and then start to overheat. There's a chance of it going critical and exploding a few seconds after that starts. You will see that if the battery pack changes from red to purple. If it does, the heat won't be the issue, the explosion will. So toss it, and run." It wasn't ideal, and they were meant to try and improve it, but this is where they had gone to at this point. Lack of resources to work with, meant that these things just didn't have much of a priority, and as such, they had to just accept it, and work within limitations. She'd show him how to flip the switch, which were less a switch, and more a number of sensors that had to be activated precisely to do this, as this were not an option that were meant to actively be used. Quite frankly, it were only there, because there were a risk of it going critical due to excess, or volatile energy in the design originally, and this were a way to purge some overflow. It hadn't been seen as a priority to fix that, after they got past that, as it were more of a design change they had to work with, that could be solved as one of the last possible things when refined. Plus she liked the idea of an emergency explosive, in case of need, so she were arguing for a variation to stay in the final design, that were not easily triggered. For now, it might be helpful, though hopefully the shots themselves would be enough. And if he returned with it, and it hadn't exploded... Well, it would be harder to recharge, but they could do it. Though likely it'd just be repurposed and used for parts. It were cheaper if it got to that point, especially as the risks after the strain it would put on the gun, would only increase potential issues later on. "And take the med kit too. I know you're going down there to fight, but Plein is still down there, and she might be hurt. Take one shield too, they don't weigh a lot, but it might come in handy, in case there's a directional charge of some kind. Possibly of an anomalous nature." She would go over how the various things would work briefly, so that he knew what he were doing, before going on. "Euclid? Do you know if there is being more done, to address things down there? Might be that Panic is just an issue for them right now, but if he wants you, sooner or later he'll come up here, and the Æther isn't in the best shape it's ever been. Especially if it has some sort of anomalous object, we might end up in real trouble." =========================================================== (Archback) Another set of wings would flap towards the recreational area, and land softly upon the rocky surface. The sight of a filly joining in, after a little flight around to stretch her wings out, were not exactly something unusual, yet she liked to think that she stood out some, even if she didn't aim for that to be the case. Jelly were rather odd in some ways. Most thestrals were dark in coloration, including her father, yet she stood out brightly comparably. A result of her mother's blood, not being that of a bat pony in any capacity, which had given birth to a filly with all the characteristics of a bat pony, yet with none of the usual coloring. Jelly were in all regards more thestral than pony though. Even down to her being afflicted with something that tended to happen to thestrals at times: Light-sensitive eyes. Places like this, were the sun shone, that were an issue, as it would hurt her eyes to be in contact with the sun, but that were why she had these shades on. A nice pair, that had been bent a few times already in the middle, to widen them as she grew, but they still held well. Her mother had made these well, and it were one of the last gifts that she had given her beloved foal, before she had been taken from them. She missed her mother, but her dad were still there, and they helped each other make the dim days brighter. A harder working stallion you'd be hard pressed to find though, so sometimes, it could be a while between she saw him. But he made sure that she knew how to handle herself, if needed. He were giving her combat training, taking advantage of his many years as a guard previous to the war, to make sure she were prepared, if anything happened, as well as general survival and utility practise. Some said that he did all of this, because he were worried that he would some day not be there for her anymore either, and he wanted her to be able to handle herself, if it came to that, but she didn't care what they said. He was her dad, and she loved every moment they were able to spend together. When he wasn't there, she didn't have a lot to talk to. Not everyone liked those who were different, and others... Well, they didn't like Gary, and she would never cast him aside, for the sake of someone else she might be able to befriend. As if he were summoned by her thoughts, eight furry legs would poke out from her mane, before the somewhat large spider would poke his head out. Gary was part of the local wildlife. A race of spiders with a scientific name that no one ever used, as they were more popularly called Kiwi Spiders, due to their circular bodies, and notable fluff. Had been more than once, that one of them had been sitting in a fruit casket, and were confused for a kiwi for a time, until it started to move. Hence their nickname. His kin were venomous too, but not for anything larger than the lizards, rats, and other critters that they tended to hunt for food. You got bit by one of them, it would sting, and you'd get a swollen, itchy area around the bite for a few days, but that were about it, for greater races with better immune systems, such as equines, gryphons, etc. It were not much different from being stung by a mosquito, except a far lesser chance of some debilitating illness to be passed along to you. The abdomen of these spiders were short and stubby, as they didn't have web glands in their back, so combined with the fur, they looked rather round, but shave it all off, and you could still see the segment. But since they were wandering, jumping spiders, that part of them had evolved differently. They sacrificed webs and trickery, for the speed and physical power to chase down and hunt things bigger than simply insects, though he were perfectly happy munching on some of those too. Food were food after all. She had stumbled over a clutch of spider eggs a years or so ago, and been fascinated by them. he had hatched right in front of her, and instinctively thought that her hair were a secure place to hide, so he had scurried up there. She saw it as a sign, and kept him around, feeding him, keeping him safe, and generally just loving her arachnid friend. Some told her that their kind weren't capable of love, or caring for others, but they said the same thing about snakes, and she knew they could. Spiders just took more effort, and showed their affection in other ways, than like a cat, or owl would. He were getting big too, but he wasn't even a full adult yet. Fully grown, he could end up to be around the size of a volleyball, not including the legs, and hunt for some of the larger nuisance animals in the mountains. But it were more or less impossible to say if that would be the case right now. He still needed several more molds before he had reached enough maturity, to where you could differentiate which of the three variants of his kind he were: Kiwi, Ball, or Leggy. The naming convention wasn't impressive, but it decribed them well. The smaller ones, that stayed around his current size. The larger ones that he might be. or the leggy ones, which were essentially a middle ground, with larger, hairier legs, that were about the most unwanted. That being because they were by far the fastest, and ran across surfaces with enough speed to get their prey without much effort, and escape from predators the same way. The fact they were near impossible to capture and liked to hide in crates, waiting for a good prey target to come around, made them rather unliked, compared to the other two, who tended to be a bit more shy from wandering in sight.

@Illiad Easle Sorry for the long delay. Had to deal with some family matters for a bit. I'll get responses out tomorrow, and add in an opener for Jelly into things. I'll wait with the others until there's a setting for me to put them in. Unless you want me to just try and toss something out there, and see how it goes?

@Illiad Easle I found a fun picture of an origami fox. I'm thinking regardless of size, it would look like this, after it were altered. Just y'know, with wings.

@Illiad Easle (Everyone) "Changelings are as varied as ponies can be, but not taking race into things, I think she's got her heart in the right place at the least. That's something I can respect. Especially these days." Might be he hadn't been there for a lot of the worst things, but he still knew that many of the kind beings, hadn't made it through the war years. The selfish and ruthless, tended to survive better, than those trying to think of others. Not saying there weren't any, but the margin between selfish and selfless, were definitely more slim than before. Seeing one like Bling, were a nice sight for him, since as far as he knew at least, she weren't manipulating everyone for some grand scheme. Could be she were just really good at hiding it, but surely there were a straighter way if she had no scruples, right? She were basically in charge of the vast majority of changelings in town. She could get some assassinations sorted, if she had the want. Seemed the peace were over, as the paper fox came rushing, ponies in tow, and went straight for its creator. Kozue grinning, would hold out a paw, as he had some inkling what it wanted. And true to his guess, it would jump up his leg, scale him, and then jump straight over from his back to Ranger. There, it would finally halt, and rub its head against her, whilst letting out a low, *kekeke* sound. The color it had when she last saw it, were beginning to fade, showing the effect were somewhat temporary, but it were perfectly fine beyond that. No visible damage or anything. "Awh, that's cute. Just look at how attached its getting to you already." "Fast little bugger too. But yeah, we got the feathers, and got it back unscathed too. So... Mission successful." He would've waited to answer until now, as he wanted to see how things were gonna go, once they approached, and he certainly hadn't been disappointed. It was a nice little show, and a fair bit of affection on display, which he thoroughly enjoyed. It were good seeing his little creation growing affectionate. "Heh. But you asked what I can do? I was thinking to use more paper, add some mass to this one, and most focus of that would be with some wings. A thin layer in the right places, mixed in with the paper, should give a solid foundation for a pair of strong flappers. But to make it good enough, it will end up being roughly the size of a regular fox kit. So... Yeah, about one and a half times its current size, but that's mostly in the wings. Unless you want it to be bigger in general? I could work with that, but that's your call." The fox itself definitely had a preference, as it would jump up and down, at the thought of getting bigger. Yet Ranger should remember, that with a bigger fox, tended to come bigger mischief, even if it were also then more capable of handling things, like carrying stuff, or fight proper. He'd understand whatever she picked, and roll with that. As for the excess... Well, you know my plan, if I end up being able to afford them, so we'll see what happens there. But this little bundle of joy should be possible to get sorted in like... Fifteen minutes? Oh, and I'd suggest getting some pamphlets ready for when I'm done. It's a taxing process to be altered, so I reckon it would appreciate the energy boost."

@Rising Dusk

@Illiad Easle (Hah! I saw your reply early for once. xD) Sounds good to me on all accounts. As said, I brought up Zeehva because she entered my mind as I were writing. It happens at times. There's no rush, and we'd have something to work with in the future, when we get to the Himallama bastion. I don't think Blitz would fit the bill of one drawn in by the statue. Her alt version here is paranoid and controlling. Giving herself in to worship a statue doesn't seem her style. Trying to blow it up for thinking it some sort of loyalist weapon seems more likely her thing. But it could have fallen into the hooves of some of her enemies, and they seen it as a useable weapon to try and finally get her down, before she blows up their base too. And if it worked to keep her from doing that even once, they might be willing to keep feeding it, as they saw it being efficient. And at the time when they finally noticed what it were taking from them, it would likely be too late, and they'd be addicted to the power. Or if you want an individual that could be corrupted... How heavy is that statue? In case for instance, Blitz got hold of it, wanted to blow it up, but someone then stole it, and the necklace.

@EQ_Theta Omen would tilt her head for a moment, imagining herself being in a situation where she had to make decisions for everyone, in one of the many strange adventures they had the last few weeks. To see herself as the one looked at for leadership, in a tough spot. ...No, I do not think you want that. I do not understand your position fully, or how you balance it, but I know that I could not do what you do. I do not know enough to be in charge, and if I tried, I think some would be hurt. Perhaps many? It is best to let those who want and can do it, like you. I do best, doing what I was made for: To serve and obey, as long as it does not hurt anyone. Mother forbids that, more than anything else, and most of us will not." It were rare, but not unheard of, that one of them would turn violent. Might be that they listened and were good children for a long time, but as they grew and learned, they started to develop their own selves, and on rare occasions, that would include a willingness to cause harm. It were not often though, as doing so, would make Mother lock them out of their home, so their bad influence wouldn't spread. Except for the one who went to the realm of screams and teeth. Mother could not keep her out, or her master might break through themselves, and that thing were far more dangerous, than her daughter ever could be, as she at least had familial attachments. Her master were indifferent to what their mere presence could end up causing. "Just let me know when you want to, and I will bring them here. Or you to them. I will see you, when the sun goes up again. Goodbye." This seemed the right time to wave goodbye, and so she would, as normal ponies would. Though they might also hug, but she still weren't sure when the right situation were to do something like that. A few times seemed obvious enough to where she would try, but it were not easy. And that was just for ponies. Other races did not always seem to want to hug that much. It were strange, but maybe that were just the way they were. One of many ways they were different from one another. "Yes, we should go. Family is important." She'd have a good look around her as they walked, halting only briefly, as she felt Shrimp move around up on her head, and thought he were about to wake up, which usually meant he'd be either thirsty or hungry. But the refraction merely coiled up to stretch, then laid down again, this time down her spine, rather than just the top of her head, so he could stretch out proper. Meant she would have to not move her head too much, but she could walk again. It wouldn't be long before they were where they were supposed to be. At Sen and Lin's grandfather, whom it had been a few sundowns since they last saw, yes? He seemed to still be doing okay, though the way their meeting went at the start, made her curious, as to whatever or not something were wrong. He would speak like someone who were not okay with things, at least at first, but then switch. It were a strange shift in nature. Reminded her somewhat of her master at times actually. As did the cluttering of things around, though it wasn't exactly the same. Things did not shift, or change around, and it seemed there might be some meaning to where everything were. But it were more than for instance, how most homes looked in Equestria, where ponies liked to have their things orderly and put in place. When she were questioned what they had been up to, Omen would answer, whilst looking closer at some of the clutter. He were family to her friends after all, yes? So she should answer him, as she would Sen and Lin. "We went somewhere we were not supposed to, and something went into Lin's head, and made her forget things, so it could be her master. We went to the kitsune to get it out of there, and saw strange things in her mind, but she is all better now. I were a ball of yarn, and it was strange. Everyone looked very tall." He'd probably have a lot more questions now, but hopefully they would get inside, before things would happen there. Of course, this might be the sort of thing, were it would have been best if she hadn't said anything, but how would she know, if she wasn't told? It hadn't been said to her, that this was a secret. Might be it were best if they did actually, lest she'd start to mouth on about this, when they met the elders. unless she were supposed to talk to them about that? Either way, she would just assume it were okay to talk to some about, if they asked, but she had been cautious here. She did not say where they had gone Just that they were not supposed to be there. There were many places in the world like that, in her own experience, but it were really mostly because she did not have a real name for the place. It were just ruins, and that did not say much either, because there were lots of those too. Some of them, Omen even remembered seeing when they were freshly built. It were really strange to Rusty, to see statues up and going like this. Sure he had heard of golems, and even seen a few, but nothing as accurate in details as these, and with Scarcity of all ponies? He usually only saw her here, when she were bringing in donations, or came to talk about it. Of course he probably simply missed her going here at times too. He were often a busy pony after all, and it could be hard to keep track of everything. This time would certainly stand out though. Ancient beings, in living stone, here to get a look on history. What a peculiar, somewhat marvelous experience that were. A chance to show history, to history. And their questions were already rather good. Well deserving of an answer, yes. "Long extinct civilizations? Ah yes, we have some, but ah... Not all as recorded as we would like. Arcadia and the downfall thereof, is well documented, and we have several objects from that time. Then there are rumored ones, like those that predated the first pony-dragon war. The dragon's oldest supposedly knows something, but have elected to remain silent on the subject. And since this is at least forty thousand years ago, you can imagine that there is not many others to draw from, or much evidence to discover left. Some we know even less about. Remnants from times that we can't pinpoint, yet fascinates us. Some machine parts for instance, from times far before any technology we know of that could make them, would have existed, but though they are interesting... No, not my favorite. I think that would be Serfeehra. Before the siren sisters, there were a time when there were a place were the aquatic lived rather peacefully. The city beneath the waves as it were. Supposedly a very sprawling metropolis in the waves, that were ruled by the Children of the Depths. A council of a the five most prominent, higher sentience races. It were at least ten thousand years in the past, though it is hard to pinpoint where exactly, but story goes that something attacked it, and afterwards, the city have been in the midst of what is considered unholy sea. A place that's seen as taboo to even try and enter, much less settle in again, though the reason for that, seems to be either closely guarded, or forgotten long ago. Though the Coastal Guard are trying theirs to come on good terms with the aquatic races, and perhaps allow us a chance to go and excavate more directly some day. What we do know and have seen, are very fascinating though. You should really see the halberds for instance. Made of some strange coral, that's still as sharp as ever. Though we have to keep them in separate vases. You will understand when you see them. Ah, but what of you? Any particular age you are curious about? Centuries old? Millennia? Perhaps tens of them? Barring the unknown section, we have things in order, so the more recent things are first, and then we traverse back in time, as it were. The unknown section is at the end. It is very speculative, but the tourists enjoy it." If they just wanted the full tour, he'd start them off simplt then, by the first section, which showed some story and visuals of some of the more notable towns they had in Equestria, up until some centuries ago. Including the fishing village near Shark Bay, that were engulfed by the sea, but houses a prominent astrology tower, once upon a time. And The Bronze Yard, which would likely have expanded and been the envy of everyone to this day, had the Rust Beetle plague not devastated the community beyond repair. To the point where the whole area had to be torched, and the earth salted, to stop the infestation from spreading. A notice would also be there, of examples of the rust beetles, which looked around halfway to pony size, with some nasty looking pinchers, spikes, and sharp teeth. Their example had been caught in tree sap at the time, so it had been preserved well, yet as were noted, the species were far as they knew, fully extinct, with no sighting in at least 70 years. ================================================================== @Catpone Cerberus That were quite the number of worrisome individuals already, including her new boss. A troubling thought, to maybe have to fight him, but she admired his willingness to admit that he himself, could be a threat, and as such, provide details where it were needed, of how to combat him. Considering his potential, it were likely good to have an eye out for him that way. The rest were varying degrees of worrisome, though she honestly found the last ones to be the most troubling, because there were so little known of them. The unknown were generally not something she believed one should fear, as it were their role as scientists, to explore the unknown, and understand it. Yet individuals who were seemingly experiments from a more war-focused dimension, did not immediately make her simply curious, but also worried. Might be they weren't all here, but if they were, their state of mind, and where they would try and settle down, could cause quite the trouble, and with little really known, that also included how to deal with them. Not the the known ones were notably better. This Sheez for instance, seemed like a problem that were bound to become relevant again at some point, but she would trust his judgement, that she were under observation, from beings that could make a stand, with better goals than herself. "A few yes. You say that Sheez, Myrkr and Scorch, are traversing together, and potentially out of Equestria, or headed that way? Have the neighboring nations been informed, or is that up to us to do, once it is determined where they went? The response could wary, depending on the nation in question, if we did not. Caneighdia would likely simply appreciate a notice, whereas Troy for instance, would be suspicious, and get their own trail on them, to make sure it's not a hit squad from Equestria. I know the princesses remain on good hoofing with Princess Arabian Nights, and Princess Twilight, have done well in establishing connections in recent times, but I worry what could happen, if say for instance, Sheez suddenly began to cause problem, in the midst of the country of one of our allies. Without warning, the repercussions could become diplomatically severe." This concerned her, as there were a delicate balance to deal with, if things moved out of country. Unless of course, there were no indication that they would have come from Equestria, but then what would happen to a country with no idea of what to do? Apparently Equestria had some ideas yes, and several on their side - albeit tentatively in some cases, it sounded like - yet that surely didn't cover outside. And information getting to them about something happening, and any response back, could take quite a while. That were worrisome to her, though she might just be overthinking things here. It were known to happen. "You also say that Myrkr's weapon are sentient? I haven't heard of that before, outside of cursed weaponry, and those worn by the Gate Guardians in Chroshna. I hope his is better aligned that them, if it is something similar." Chroshna, the town build around the sealed gates of Tartarus. Unwelcome to outsiders, only did whatever trading they had to, to get by, and only begrudgingly let Equestrian officials wander there at times. The town were not technically closed to outsiders, but it were rare to get a warm welcome there, so it were not exactly a tourist hot spot. And they preferred it like that, as history had shown some being much too eager to try and meddle with the gate. Something the Gate Guardians were there to deal with, if anyone tried. An unknown amount of various creatures, each carrying weaponry, and sometimes armor, that were allegedly forged over a flame from Tartarus, and infused with malicious souls. Stories were most of what anyone got, because they were not interacted with. They dealt with the locals in silence, in case they needed something, and only showed when there were outsiders, if they had to deal with an issue. Yet they were pariahs in their own town, and being chosen for that role, were widely regarded as a punishment. In the eyes of some, potentially even their last chance of atoning for something, before they would belong to Tartarus fully. They were fairly easily avoidable though. The town were large, but remote, and Equestria had no reason to encourage tourism. They also couldn't cut it off from rations as such, as the gates being unguarded could be disastrous, so they worked out a system, that so far had kept things are tolerable for all involved as could be. "I suppose that were a tangent, not a question. My apologies. Project UNA, sounds like an unstable changeling. Not saying that it is the case, but changelings that would stumble upon her, or those in the known about them, might well assume that is the case, and either hunt her, or in the case of changelings, return them to the hive to see if they could help them. As we are on good terms with at least some of the hives here in Equestria, perhaps sending word out asking for an unusual mare, that seems like an unstable changeling, could yielded some results, if brought to them? King Thorax have the largest hive in Equestria, and as such have somewhat authority within our borders. And as I understand it, Hive Cheshire in Las Pegasus are known to be well established changeling samaritans. They might have heard something, or even harbor her themselves. Perhaps it could be prudent to give them a minor description to go by, just in case? Mercy might also be spotted in this case, though it sounds as if it would be harder to find, since it is more stable. Project Viper sounds troubling too, but it might be one of those cases where the dragons will try and handle it themselves, if he is spotted. Even if spreading toxins could be an ecological disaster... Hopefully we will get a lead soon, in case he is here. Might be worth sending word to the dragon lord though, to make contact in case of something unusual? It is possible that he might try to seek a place among his own kin, if he made it here. Regarding you then, sir. You speak of what would happen, were you to be controlled. In case something happens here, I would like to ask what your temperature tolerance are, and if I am given no options, it is allowed to melt part of you, like a leg, to halt your advancing? I would hope it never comes to pass, but if you have foresight to set up your own defenses, then it sounds prudent to ask." In fact... She would rummage and take one thing forth. A pouch made from smaller dragonscales it seemed, which made it nice and flame resistant, whilst the size of the scales, made it fairly likely that these were shed scales, rather than torn ones. It were safer to have with her, but could be melted, with enough temperatures, as sadly they were not fire aligned dragon scales, and thus couldn't handle a full volcanic eruption. From it, she would pull a few pale looking cubes. Almost seemed like they were made of pale, solidified smoke, and were cut into chewing size. "Perhaps it is prudent to add my own. I have no name for these, but they were made by Bash, the alchemist for the O.M.I. When I chew on them, the chemical with react, and lower my temperature by several hundred degrees in a few seconds. I could chew five times before I passed out from it last time, and I have these, in case an unstable reaction would begin to occur. So far, that have not been the case, but it is my safety net. And I ask that if something happens with me, that it is employed, or that you take direct contact to the O.M.I. at some point, to have him provide you with a version that can be used offensively, in case I have to be subdued. It is uncomfortable, but it is a far better alternative than melting others, even unintentionally." She would offer these few to him, if he wanted to keep them himself, in case he had to administer them for whatever reason, though she would still keep most, as they had been made for her. A little safety net, for a worst case scenario. ======================================================================================== @Catpone Cerberus Had she thought on it, and didn't know she had to conserve magic, Levithan might try and use that to make it so he could feel her presence more, in some way. Yet the day had been long, and as such, she didn't even think of it, nor would she if she had, as they needed every ounce of strength they could muster, for what was ahead. As for the next day, she were not the first to wake up. Not even close. When Ruby rose, she were still laying on the ground, hold in Charir as she had when she had fallen asleep. Added though, were that her mouth were halfway open, and she were slightly drooling. Looked like she had a good dream though, judging by the grin on her face, and the occasional *heh* sound that weakly left her mouth. If they did not wake her up, after Ruby returned - which would result in her clawing weakly out into thin air, looking like she didn't want to get up, before begrudgingly opening her eyes - one of the lobsters would after a few minutes, eventually thaw from the ice block she had put them in, and slid down, smacking her in the face. It caused much the same reaction as being woken up would, but with the added spectacle of her face wrinkling, before her nostrils flared, smelling her breakfast. "*yawn* ...Is it morning already? Urgh, could've done with a few more hours..." She'd rise up, and stretch out, from tail tip, to wingtip, all the way to her mouth. Times like this, she missed having a fluffy cloud to sleep on, but maybe another time. She wanted to be down here with them this time. It were nice and comfy too, in its own way, and there were less of a chance of some pegasi suddenly crashing her bed, or pushing her somewhere else for a laugh. Which had happened. Some of those weather ponies were acting like little tricksters. In fairness, she had done the same, so who were she to judge? "Alright, I'm up I'm up. You been out eating yet? I got some leftovers, If you want a go. Or did I sleep through you going out hunting, and then returning? I slept really good, so I can't rule out that I were a bit away there, heh." She'd give a goofy grin, while her wings folded in again. Today were starting off well. It'd last for about as long as it took, for them to get to the country were hope died. Okay, that was unfair. The land where hope went, and got beaten up, tormented, and then killed in a violent fashion. Then eaten. Seriously, that place were either gonna be worse than she were worried about, and it would break her on a basic level, or it would be less dangerous, and she'd be left in a heightened state for days after, without an outlet for it all. Or they'd get fighting, and she'd hit hard, then run away. Better be a coward, than a kin-killer, in her mind. ========================================================================= @Catpone Cerberus "Ah, most stuff I have is bright colors with black... Hmm... Have you considered some big hats? Like, for a start at least. There's some who can cast a pretty big shade, that might do the trick for you, in a pinch. I think those sort of oversized novelty hats are in the tourist trap. It's not an actual trap, that's not what I mean. It's trinket shop, lots of stuff made for sale for tourists who comes to Ponyville because of its reputation, or to see the princess. I think Princess Twilight gets a cut, since she's not complained about her likeness on things, but I can't say for sure. Never really had a reason to ask. But if you want custom stuff, you're probably best off saving up, then going to Rarity's shop. She's the best seamstress we have, and she could probably get you just what you needed. I hope you'll adjust soon if you're waiting though. It can't imagine it's easy to feel comfortable when outside right now." She'd give them all the shadow space they wanted, and she'd stick around in the sunlight instead. Neon didn't mind it in the slightest, and she didn't want her new potential friends to be feeling worse than they already were, by having them fight for their spot in the shade. That stuff just wasn't right in her mind, even if she didn't want to try and be friends. "As far as arguments goes, I think that's pretty nice. Not any vitriol, or anger, but just a polite back and forth over where to go with the level of help that's on offer. It's pretty admirable really, that it's that level of banter that comes of this, and not something that ends up with narrowed eyes and petty grievances. That's usually how I see it go at least. Can't understand a single word though, so I'm taking your word for it, that it's like that. You have a fairly unique language honestly, compared to most others I've heard. Most others tend to still be a variation of ponish, but this here's something else. Is it hard to learn?" Would she learn kobold if she could? Perhaps. It could be nice speaking with them in their native tongue, to give them a bit of nod of respect towards who and what they were, as well as be a good sign that she were determined to put in the effort to connect with them. It could also be useful if she ran into other kobolds eventually. Who knew, yeah? After all, there were three of them right here, right now. ============================================================================ @Lawyer Slip It made Ziggy grin wider, to see him zoom off, then return shortly after. This must be what it were like for others to see her take off, at least judging by the way that they talked about it after, and their facial expressions too at times, when she returned. He was faster though, but maybe if she just went in a straight line, she could be too. But she liked her way of doing it. It took a lot more energy, that she needed to burn off, and it felt like a nice, unique thing for her to have. Her very own little sliver of weirdness, that they couldn't take from her. Heh, she kinda doubted they could do it anyway. It required some strong wings, more than being nimble, as well as having a good internal system to not get disoriented. Cause if you did, you could move much as you wanted like this, but there'd be no direction to it, and you'd probably end up hurling after a few jumps. But this were no competition. She had just seen the competition, and it had been a close one. Hers were more... No, she lost her train of thought. Probably wasn't important. "Hehe, I could see the afterimage when you took off. It's funny being on the other side of that. Oh, and the dryad? I hear she'd plenty nice, and speak with all the forests animals. I dunno what she's aiming to do here, but maybe it's just where she thinks is the best home? Outta be hard with the new draconequui changing things out here every now and again though. But I hope she can talk to her tool, and maybe have less mutant frog attacks on Ponyville again. That was not a fun time, though it did give us Shark. Shark's pretty funny. Uh, what else... Oh right, your christmas! That sounds like Hearths Warming Eve to me. Maybe that's just what it's called where you're from then, and it's the same thing? That'd be funny, though I like our name for it more. I'm probably biased though, hehe. Had some good times like that, when I was younger. Had fun with all the other youngsters in the hospital, and my parents and siblings came around to take me on a nice, long walk through Las Pegasus, so I can see all the holiday stuff going on. Even the few years when I couldn't move from the pain, they made sure to gear me up in a wheelchair, and take me for a spin. Aaah, I remember the first year like that, when I was seven. My sister was allowed to push me around a little in the wheelchair, and I convinced her that we should race down the street. Mom almost jumped out of her good skin, when my wheelchair slipped from her grasp, and they had to see me just roll down the street at high speed. A nice unicorn stopped me, but mom refused to let anypony else push my wheelchair after that. including my dad, because she saw him smirking at it. You got any fun *Christmas* stories then, hmm?" She'd lay down on her stomach, which got her in head height of regular ponies, though that wasn't why she had set down. Not this time. No, she wanted to hear stories, and this seemed the right sort of way to sit when hearing tales. Even if they might be tall ones, she were mighty curious what it might involve.

@Illiad Easle Style choice, but I can work with your suggestion to make things easier, no problem. I could see the mother's death being something that's still unsolved, being part of why he is more zealous. Because he can't say if it was related to who she were, and thus if her killer might come for him, or worse yet, his daughter. He will be around when he can, but he would definitely want to follow whatever clues he could, or catch whomever did break rules, to ask questions, in case someone had heard something. Both for the sake of giving his wife's memory some peace, and to make sure Jelly isn't in danger. Also to give himself some peace of mind, but he would consider that to coincide with his wife being given justice. I think Jelly would just be told that her mother had died, and attend what funeral they could give her body, but he wouldn't tell her details. He'd want to protect her from that sort. This also works well into one of Stargazer's most notable traits in the RP I have used him in: He's sleep deprived, due to needing to use a lot of energy to both do his job, and to be as good of a single father as he is able to. Different circumstances here, but the baseline idea remains the same. I could see the more erratic Blitz finding Omen to be an amusing trophy to keep, as well as having part of her feel some pity for the young mare, for the position she were in. So she'd be kept around, and be one of the few she *liberates* over time, who doesn't have a bomb strapped around their neck, to prevent them from trying to run away from her stronghold. Not that there's many other places to go, but it would fit her paranoia to not trusting those who worked for her enemies before, or might have. Even if they were prisoners. But Omen not showing any sign of disobedience over time, would allow her some modicum of freedom, in the bomb being removed, with the threat of it being put back on, if she tries something. She will not, and thinking over it further, I have another thing that she could be doing, but I will keep that to myself for now., Some things I wanna keep hidden for when this alternative Blitz gets into things. Alt Blitz is maybe crazed and could kill you if you did something you really shouldn't have, but she's still a better option for many survivors, than trying to live out there, and long as you don't do something stupid, things will be mostly good for you. She still got a good heart, even if it's shattered and tainted by now, so she can feel empathy and pity. But it can also quickly turn to scorn, so best to not stir the hive. I could do whatever with him really. But if you want to explore the zebra side of things proper, he'd likely be a good way to do that. Depends if you want a younger, or older perspective on that, since I do have one other, though she'd be more of a mixed race entrance into things here. Zeehva. She's a fun one, as she can use her magic to pick up residual magic and liquify it. She can't cast a spell with it, but can use in her potions. When I made her, I had it that most spells would leave some residue, leaving to a droplet or two most times, when you were talking low ranked spells, or when she were late to an area where a stronger spell had been cast. Residue disappears after a time I'd argue, so she had a fair few small vials on her, that she would collect the various types of magic in, then use as were needed. I also had her as being not a zebra herself, but having married one, and gotten her stripes by proving herself a good enough alchemist, to earn her spot in the traditionalist village he came from. The stripes being added with dye, as a symbol. She's also nicknamed The Weeping Widow though, so you can imagine how the marriage went. But that's more for the OG story. A lot of leeway with her if she'd be useful here. She's a better alchemist, and can add her own spin on things, but she doesn't have the innocence of a youngster who haven't seen most of the darker side of things to her. She's marred by fighting, with scars that won't ever heal fully. And having unicorn blood, might make some look down on her, as I can imagine some more traditional ones, would not be keen on those not pure-blooded, though you'd know better than me, of course. Doesn't have to be a direct descendant. Could be from a grandmother or something. Yazid is more the carefree and calm one, that would have to be confronted by the more harsh reality, as things progressed, and have more of an excited, hopeful attitude. The sort who sees things being wretched at some point, but find hope that things will improve. Potentially via something that he might be able to do. Anyway, wasn't meant to add another one here. Just since you didn't need the more young one for that angle, I remembered this one. Also yes, the two of them share the same creator program. The others are split between two others. One of which doesn't even work anymore. I can't draw, so these programs are excellent for me.

@Illiad Easle One of them could be assigned, yes. Probably not Mongoose, as he's not the best for this kind of thing, but Craven could work well. He doesn't have any intention of working off his debt and then leaving The Grey. He's there for the long haul, as he can see the good they're doing, and want to do more than just atone for what deaths he caused. He could well be assigned while the others work on Mongoose getting more specific training to make him less prone to cracking under pressure, or just had something else to do, that only required two. Maybe when they go to collect their reward, he would be informed that he were assigned to Basher for the time being? He's the sort who'd try to connect with others if he could, barring Mongoose at first, due to him having a distaste for the other changeling's *artwork*. Now this is interesting. So splitting them up essentially? That would be... Difficult again, with Mongoose. I have him written fully as needing oversight for the time being, lest he goes back to old habits, even if he is improving. Yannit, are a calculating sort, but she did provide mercy in the past. Mercy kills, but that is still part of their duties, as it were. Maybe Craven honestly? He's the least bloodthirsty of the lot, and would suit well in being the voice of mercy in their group. Mongoose have been shown as being somewhat petty, and holding grudges. More stable in his mind eventually, I could see him enjoying the aspect of them serving vengeance more, as someone has to pay when bad stuff happens. (hypocrisy, considering his history, but that's how it can go), and then Yannit could be the equalizer. Directing and making decisions on mercy or vengeance, as they approach things, unless they are given specific orders on what to do. It could add some more nuance to how she sees things too, when she is able to be told both how much mercy and vengeance certain beings would have. If they need to split off from the group, it would likely have to be Craven, as he can function on his own, and would follow the ideals of mercy over vengeance in many cases. But Yannit could also be it, depending on how nuanced you want mercy to be. Craven is the more kind, forgiving and warm sort, whereas Yannit can embody both the helpful and forgiving aspect, as well as the one who needs to give the sort of mercy that takes life. She have done both, and can keep doing so. But she would direct her group with that in mind too. It sorta depends on if they need to split or not, and what kind of Mercy you want to be followed. Ah, you said something about that here too. xD They can work as a functional trio well enough, with Mongoose being vengeance, Craven mercy, and Yannit impartial enough to balance the scale as required. She'd a leader sort, so she would do well in being the balance between them. Looks fine to me, and the title sounds cool. I'm aware some minor differences have to be there, when it comes to stories such as this (and that I have been inconsistent in a few things) so minor changes like you mentioned here, isn't an issue in my eyes. In many ways, it would clarify things, and them having more time doing tests, would just make their escape plan make more sense. They'd be desperate, as time went on, and the coin is something that they know would cause widespread destruction in this place, and maybe even beyond. Given some more days, they would know they had no other option, if they wanted to get out of there alive, and Null would rationalize it as her being able to retrieve it again some other time, if she had to. Especially after Void would almost lose her last eye, she'd be less caring about the loss of life that might occur. Yeah, it's been going for a time, so lots of story there. A thousand pages sounds about right. Seems like it'd smoothen things out a lot to have the timeline like that, yes. Seems good to me. Looking forward to how things will go. Again, sorry for not responding before. I really outta check manually if I missed something here, every now and again, rather than just see if I notice a notification.

@Illiad Easle Sorry for not responding to things here. I don't always see the notifications. I will look it over tomorrow probably. A bit of insomnia draining my mind right now, but I'll get to it.

@Illiad Easle (Sorrow) "Crank is your friend, that didn't make it?" She briefly looked towards this pyre that were made, flames engulfing the craft, and the one who had been in it. It were oddly comforting in a way, seeing this happen. A funeral pyre, for a fallen hero, seemed the right way to lay one to rest, that had died to defend others. "May this funeral pyre, lead his soul to better places." She did not spend time just standing as she talked, getting ready to help on, and ensure that the yet living, would be given a chance to come back to their base, for help. The wing would unfortunately be gone now, with it being burned up, but better lose a wing, than your life. Least she hoped that it would be seen that way. She would return here later though, just in case the fire hadn't been enough, to burn the bones. She'd have them gathered up if that were the case, so they could be buried in the fields, like that of the others. Thankfully they knew the name of this one, which were more than they could say for everyone right now, though... *sigh* She hoped that through all the scavenging, they would be able to put names on all the dead, so they wouldn't be forgotten. "I'm okay, Applejack. It got distracted when they shot at it, but they were hit too then. I went to try and help, and her friend here needs help. Can we talk after Delta have gotten some medical attention? Please?" The weak light in the skull around her neck, stood steady. Flickering like small candlelight in the sockets. It seemed as as if it were looking at Applejack, yet the lights were small. Barely the size of a coin, if you included the top of the flame, of the pale light. They didn't fill the sockets proper, but it were a notable change from the empty holes it had always just been. And while Sorrow didn't notice anything, there were a small, odd feeling of comfort, that she were too focused on these others things to really pinpoint, that had its origin in this macabre accessory, that were helping her to not panic, and keep somewhat of a level head in this. (following only happens if Delta gets some medical attention) Provided they could get Delta to a doctor, Sorrow would explain what she could. That she had gone to the craft, had seen Silver - though she just referred to her as *This mare*, as the two had not exchanged names - and helped her to transport Delta this far. She would also say that there had been another, called Crank, and that he had been in the ship, as it were torched, making for a fitting funeral pyre. "That's basically all I know. There weren't time to ask questions, but maybe she can answer some herself? I guess... Introductions first, yes? As you probably heard, my name is Sorrow, and this here is Applejack. She leads our group, as we try and fix Ponyville up. Can you tell us something about yourself?" ================================================================================ (Briar) The EVergrown would go and ensure that he knew where his kin were, and discuss with them what Queen Permu and him had discussed. It would be simpler if they were all gathered, but they all had their own area to be currently, to help as best they could, so he would have to go it over individually. Starting with Oakley, then Lily, then finally Thorn Weaver. They all had their thoughts on what were asked of them, but they would mull things over, and when they eventually gathered again, they could discuss things further. Briar might lead them, but he did not give orders. He believed they all should be heard, and come to a consensus about things. They would be focused on this, and their various work on The Æther, until they would eventually land. =============================================================================== (Blitz) "I don't need to be out there, to help. I'm a scientist, Silver. Have to be something that I've worked on that can be helpful here. One of the drones perhaps, to get a better view on things? One charged with an explosive potentially? A dozen? We've had success with those before." It were useful to do with what they had, to avoid casualties. Drones with explosives of varying power, to be used in combat when it were needed, were an efficient way to handle enemies that did not deserve pity or restraint, with as little in the way of lost life as possible. Not that it could always be used, but this one? A proper charge, controlled right, might get rid of this Colonel Panic. Perhaps they'd need more than one, but that could be arranged. "We can also provide weaponry, send medical supplies, emergency defensive wards- I'll throw the darn sink in if I must, but I have to do something. I won't sit idle while she's in danger, even if I can't leave The Æther." They both knew that she couldn't leave here. Blitz were many things, but a fighter were not one of them. Beyond self defense that Last had demanded that she went through, she did her battle via her mind, and it would be the asset she would bring to this. Going into this physically, she would only get in the way, or get killed. Even if it weren't irrational and would lead only to more complications, she couldn't risk going into this. Not when she had a little one to care for, and countless others who relied on the work that she did. Blitz had no time or want to just sit there and watch them bicker, so while they were arguing, she were working. Opening up to some of the projects that had been recently finished, and took out a few things, then began to handle some settings on them, adding in charges, ensuring they seemed stable- At the point when she could interject, she would, by going over and glaring harshly at all three of them. "Stop arguing. Power is a grown stallion, Euclid. He's old enough to make his own choices, but that doesn't mean we can't help." She'd point to the nearby table, where a gun with a long barrel, a three pack of some metallic disk, and one of their emergency med kits stood. The gun humming slightly, as the battery pack showed it to be fully charged. It would get four shots of high concentration plasma, before it had to recharge. The sort that would shoot through practically anything, and then had to recharge. Ideally they would want more shots, but this high of a concentration, there were a limit to what the weapon in question could handle, before it would simply melt down, or explode. Same with the battery, which were essentially the inside of the handle, to save on being cumbersome. Any larger, with their current technology, and it would be too heavy, and could potentially go critical. This were the most compact, safe version she at least, could currently make at this size. And it were rather accurate, long as you could aim. They had bigger, but those were usually mounted, and required a stronger power outlet. This were a variation of the gun that Plein had with her, but the concentration were higher, and the shots fewer. It weren't generally distributed, because the limit of only four shots, were simply not good enough for the general fighter. But against a single enemy, perhaps it would be enough. He could take one more, if he wanted, or just a standard issue, but she sure hoped he were wise enough to bring weapons. The disks could provide defensive shields. They would only guard in one direction, in a wide bubble when activated, and folded out, and they weren't unbreakable. But they provided cover, and a chance to fall back at the least, though for all she knew, Panic might just be able to crumble it straight away. But she had to try at least. The kit was simply. You pressed the button, and it would unfold into a med kit, ready to be used to treat most common wounds. Including emergency cauterization, if such a thing became a necessity. You never hoped it would, but things were not always as simple and kind as one could hope, out on the battlefield. "This, or other things- Take whatever you need from the weaponry, and other assorted things we worked on. Even if your core stays here, your body can use what help it can get. I'll try and get some drones armed and online, to provide cover fire. Provided they didn't all get destroyed on the last landing, or have all been used for something else. I'll think of something, if that's the case. Silver? You have any suggestions? Maybe something from the Deep Vault, can be useful?" It were a lot less fancy than it sounded, she just nicknamed it that. Essentially a place with stuff that were deemed too dangerous, or currently experimental to be distributed willingly among others. Generally it were where a lot of Blitz more ingenious, yet controversial things were stored, though she couldn't claim sole ownership of everything there. Still, she didn't have access to it. Protocol were what it were and all that, after all. Far as she knew, only Silver did have access. And she still couldn't 100% say for sure, that it wasn't just a tale she had been told, and everything had just been decommissioned. She sure hoped not right now though. Something there might be useful. "I'd also like to offer that we can help keep watch over your core, just to make sure you're getting through this, Power. I want to see you both get out of this alive." She were being somewhat stern, but the worry did shine through, and her gaze were softening slowly. She did not want to take a tone, but they had to act, not argue. If Power could do this, and keep the core of him safe in the process, then they should try this. Illiad might have been right. And if not, then it at least gave them time to prepare some additional firepower, for another assault.

@Illiad Easle Sorry for the late reply, Birthday madness, and then cooldown after. I can handle the Spiral parts then as she is faced out bit by bit. And as for Janet, might be simpler to go with a fresh one there. She can fade into the background, and the camera focus elsewhere, as it were. I see that it were getting to where Spectral were mentioned, and it appeared to be time for him to be approached. I could have another foal in that could then take over from that point, to make it as seamless as possible, and things just go from there? I still have a few characters left in the bank that's on the younger side. I have Jelly Drop for instance. Bat Pony father, pegasus mother. Light sensitive eyes, hence the shades, and what else you see in the picture, are her large, fuzzy pet spider, Gary. Why Gary you may ask? Well... Why not? Anyway, if she's here... One of her parents could theoretically be alive and there too. I never established much about her mother, but this is her father. His name is Stargazer. I originally have him as a Night Guard, but I can change it if need be, or both he and his wife would be dead. If he's alive, he'd probably be worked hard with guard duty of some sort, leaving Jelly to deal with several things on her own, for a lot of the day. Yet dead or alive, it's in the RP that she always adored him, and wanted to grow up to be a strong, resourceful guard just like him. So she likes to help, and keeps some things on her, that can help. Y'know, some bandages, a flashlight- Minor, easily accessible things, that can be nice in a pinch. Usually I have this one, as being a creation of Discord, from some plane between planes, where he picked her out, from other formless shadows, and gave her proper form. But Omen doesn't look too old here, so she can be repurposed for this RP, in some other capacity. Still... Perhaps something usable regardless? Earth pony filly, who were struck by some attack from Discord/other chaotic source not long before the gate closed. She'd have no power from it, but her grey pattern would slowly move around on her body, making it hard to ignore that something were off about her. A bit of a potential social pariah though, considering what the vision of her would remind others off, but would try and reach out every now and again. Not depressed, but more after everything, just... Numb to it all. She doesn't feel depressed, or sad about how she's treated, or viewed. She's run out of tears to shed for that, nor much joy of any sort. She keeps thinking maybe if she finds a proper purpose, or some friends, it will get easier, but at least when she is alone, there is a kind of cold comfort in the numbness, since she isn't hurting from things at least. As for what she'd be doing around... No powers, pariah, seems like she could be made to use doing menial labor normally, as she'd still be an earth pony, so she can at least drag/push/lift things. I have used him so little, I can't even remember his name. xD So uh... Yazid. And imagine him smaller. So Yazid is a zebra, plain and simple. He enjoys tinkering with elixirs and potions, though he's not much for following the regular recipe books, and instead started from a blank one, and learns through trial and error. Usually he just makes something that others before him have, but occasionally he mixes something that's special, and not in the regular books, if any at all. If they're any useful, is another question entirely, but he'd thrilled regardless, as it's a vector for learning. His cat is usually there to just hunt rodents and demand pets, not caring much for his various potions. Though he have given her a what he assumed safe and stable healing potion once, where she were hurt, that might have had some side effects. Which ones? I dunno, this is on the fly, as most stuff from me are, but you ever wondered what a cat would be like, if it could breath fire for instance? Yazid would be a loner, not much for making friends in general, though he'd reach out and talk with others every now and again. Especially if they seemed alone, and needed a chatter. Or in case someone needed a nice healing potion. He's gotten the hang of that one a while back now, and any word on what minor side effects there were before that, is surely just exaggerated. He assures you it's perfectly safe now. Anyway, those are my thoughts currently. But I can go from scratch, if nothing here works.

@Rising Dusk Beware the clown boop.

@Illiad Easle So Cherilee sent me some messages about Spiral, and the last part they wrote, were that they were not going to log into the forum again. Hence I have to pass the message along. So they essentially wanted me to take over their characters. Frankly, I dunno if it is a good idea, or if it best to simply have them somewhat int he background, and then take over as another character that could be in the same setting/have some relations to them? Like an advisor to Spiral, or a neighbor to Janet/someone else there, etc. Doesn't need to be someone actually connected. Just an example. So... Would you prefer to just leave those parts, have me take over the chars as best I can, or overtake the settings, but as other characters?

@EQ_Theta "...Being in charge must be strange. Wanting something, but having to do something else, and thinking on how others sees things... It is confusing to me." It were much simpler to just follow orders, in her experience. And yet, she had gone against that at times. But that were mainly when things went against her prime basics, such as actions that would hurt others, or rules that would cause bad things to happen, if she did not go against them. Ghilan were in a much stranger position than her though. She were a follower. She had to think of only a few, and some core basics. Beyond that, she would obey best she could. But he were a leader. Perhaps not the highest one of them, bhut he still led this town, and had to think of many more. Give them orders, follow rules new and old, and by the sounds of it, he couldn't pick favorites. He had to think of the many, instead of the few. Try as she might, Omen couldn't grasp the weight that his station put him in. Yet she understood that it were not easy, because he had so many that relied on him now, and that meant that things were very different for him, than someone like her. "It is too complicated for me to understand, but I will listen, and do as I am told. It sounds like that is the best to do, yes?" She assumed so at least. As said, she were a follower, like most of her kin were. At least initially. Mother were a leader. So were their masters, when they would get picked. Ghilan sounded like he were somewhere between that. A master of some, who had to follow the orders of others, but still think of the many like they did. Which were a thought process that were starting to clutter her head, as she couldn't wrap her mind fully around it, yet clung to it, as it seemed important. Best to have that stored in the back of her mind for now, and maybe later, it would all start to make a lot more sense. "I will go there alone sometime then, elder. I remember where it is." Worst case, some rocks might get through to her home realm, and that really didn't do anything, except give her siblings something to play with for a time. It weren't like they would crush them. Or well it would, but that were just part of the game. They couldn't be hurt by such things. And she did means he would go alone. She wouldn't allow the others, or even Shrimp there. Shrimp were small, but his head were probably normal, so he might get hurt. She would not let that happen. "And I will let them know." Her head tilted to the side for a moment, as she remembered something about that actually. "The elders that helped Lin, said that they would like to meet you someday, and see this place. But they would not go here, until they were welcome. It sounded like they understood some of the ways the longma does things. But I think Sen understood more of it than I did." He would likely find it an enlightening experience, but the kitsune elders understood that this were the longma's home, and that to start off the best with them, required them to be respectful of their rules, and boundaries. So unless something forced their paw, they would respect their want for seclusion, until such a time as that might change. Would it ever? Impossible to say, but one could always hope for change. They would at least, as the longma had drawn their curiosity. "So we are not going yet? Okay then. We will see you soon." She wouls raise a hoof to slowly wave, if there were nothing else, and then quietly follow Sen and lin. She hadn't anyone here to really seek out, beyond maybe the one she showed the small ponies to yesterday, but she weren't sure if maybe it were best to stay away, since the mean one might be there. Probably best if she simply followed along. Scarcity would smirk ever so slightly, at the notion that they would stand out, then followed up by the reality that they were, and that they were bound to be looked at. It were simply the nature of ponies. They were curious sorts about others, and especially things they did not know, tended to draw the eye, if they noticed it. But the novelty would eventually go away, and they would blend in with the crowd, like so many others before them had. Best one could do, were simply to accept it, and then proceed as if everything were fine. The more natural one acted around others, the easier it were to be part of the collective, so to speak. At least in regards to Canterlot. Different places were not all the same after all, but it functioned rather well here. She would let them talk among one another, and wait for them to return with a decision. Gave her time to speak with a familiar figure around town, that had passed by briefly. That of Fleur De Lis. Not that she had much of a want for old things, regardless of the condition they were in, but as with most high standing socialites, their ways did cross every now and again, and Fleur did at times appreciate what Scarcity knew, that would come around some of the vendors in town. At times, it gave her a chance to go and get the newest fashion, barely before the store had a chance to present it in the first place. It was one of those win-win situations really. Fleur got a chance to get to something while it were fresh and be a trend setter, or one of the first in Canterlot to adopt the new style, or gain that new must-have item, and in return, Scarcity would benefit via good will from the stores. Fleur were a very notable figure after all. Having her adopt something early, tended to make others want to follow, and soon the sales would show it too. So a few words here, and few words there, and everyone were happy. Scarcity retained her good connections, that could benefit her via information she needed regarding other things, Fleur would get what she wanted, and the store owners would see profit. So a win-win-win situation in fact, if you wanted to be technical about things. In the brief time she spoke with her, Fleur were told what Scarcity had heard. That the new jewelry, that had been popularized in Saddle Arabia not too long before, were beginning to be sold to Equestria, and a certain jeweler had been so thrilled, that he simply had to tell somepony about it. Information that she now passed along, to somepony that she knew would appreciate it. A minor notion of meeting for tea someday, when neither were busy, and a farewell, and they would part ways. Gave her a bit more time to simply observe things around her, until the group were done, and seemed to have come to a consensus. Scarcity did not share in the concern that the others had. Certainly there were some kinds of morbid curiosity that were troublesome, but the context were important. And as were shown, there were a rational explanation to it. The want to see if your own, dead culture had somehow gotten into the hooves of others, and now stood on display somewhere. An understandable level of curiosity, though she would keep some ears out, in regards to Videntor. It might be nothing, but there were the chance that he were a darker soul, than his fellows were aware, and were simply trying to hide it now. Unlikely as it might be, it hurt not to just send word out to inform her of things happening, around sights of him in the future, just in case. Some issues could be handled, were they taken care of promptly, and it would be such a hassle, if he became a general liability. "A wise choice. As is so often said, one must remember the past, to reach the future. Mostly that is in regards to the mistakes of old, but there can be many interpretations. Follow me then, and we shall be there soon." It would not be a long trip, before they could see the museum. The place were very large, and the sign above the main entrance were near impossible to miss. The entrance were also second to only the palace, in regards to the size. It were for looks in some regard, but it served well these days, to allow for beings of larger species to have a look too. including some of the larger dragons, though they didn't usually come here. Too easy to squish someone by accident. "Here we are. I am certain that you will find this interesting, going through the various time periods,, areas, and of course, the unknown section. The place where things reside, whose origin are not understood. If I were to hesitate a guess, your best chance at finding something of your time, might well be in there." "Ah, new exhibits? Curious, yes. Quite curious." A pony would approach them, after having wandered out of the main entrance. He carried himself in a fading brown tweed jacket, with short, frazzled hair, and a tail that were so long that it were tied up into regular lengths, then curved back to be tied near the base, five separate times, making his tail seem as if it were made out of five large, muddy raindrops in a cluster. He also wore rather large glassess, seemed to be around his mid forties, and his hazel-brown eyes were focused fully on the statues as he spoke, before speaking to Scarcity. "Scarcity, hello. I see you have brought new statues? Can't say I were told, no. A surprise donation, I take it?" It was around there that he would notice they were moving. Potentially they even talked to him, which made him take a step back in surprise, with his eyebrows raising. Something that Scarcity would meet with a short, pearly laughter. "None of the sort, professor. I had intended so, but my charming new friends here are quite aware, and a little too lively for your exhibition. Though they are interested in seeing the museum, and witnessing the wealth of story on display. Perhaps a tour that would benefit from a more knowledgeable pony than I?" That seemed to perk him up a little, and he'd push his glasses a little further up his face, before nodding, and then turning his attention fully to the golems again. "Yes yes, of course. I would be delighted to. Ah, my apologies for before too. I am not used to statues being overly lively. You caught me quite of guards. I'm Professor Gears. But you can call me Rusty, if you so please. I work here as one of the Canterlot Museum's head of antiques. My department are mostly things from long dead civilizations, and depictions of ancient gods, creatures of note- So on, and so forth. Welcome to the museum." He didn't bow, but he did give a small smile, and tried to look as friendly as he could, though a slight nervousness were spotted. Perhaps because he worried he had offended them before, but who knew? He might just be a nervous sort, or way out of his depth, as his history didn't tend to be as animate as they were. ================================================================================ @Catpone Cerberus "That have helped clarify a few things. Thank you for that, sir. I will keep that in mind, and I will prepare some overviewing papers on the known draconequui in Equestria. After the important work is done first, of course. Though as a mention, two of them that I currently know of, are working with individuals in an area as is, so there are likely agreements put in place already. I will make sure to dig into that, and have it mentioned in the files if I find it." There weren't a lot of well known ones, but Equestria were home to a few of Discord's kin, that were probably lower ranked than him. He were considered the prime draconequui for a reason, and so having him on their side, were certainly a boon. But the rest were not exactly worthless, and could well come in hoof, if the situation required it. She'd have everything she needed to know dotted down, with her notes taking up several pages already. Just meant she listened, and wanted to be thorough, though in this regard, there were not much more she could ask, in regards to things. He had answered her inquires well, and thus she knew the answers to her questions. It would be for him to evaluate, when time were. She would first need to have everything done that were waiting, before she could come to that though, so it would be some time before she'd know that. With everything scribbled down, including answers, she would nod slightly, and sit ready, pen in hoof. "I am ready when you are, sir." ============================================================================== @Catpone Cerberus Leviathan winced at times, hearing more of the reality of where they were going. She appreciated the honesty, truly did, but it just sounded worse every time she heard about it. At this point she practically expected to be tackled and have her throat chewed out, as soon as she set a single claw in their land. A bit of an exaggeration, but not much of one, she'd argue. it were feeling like it were going that way, or at a minimum that it weren't a completely unrealistic chance for it to happen. Which were rather messed up, she'd say. Even from a different perspective and all, it sounded miserable, since even Ruby sounded more and more like she detested it. Yet at the same time, she were a product of the place. A battle-hardened dragoness, far Leviathan's junior in years, but with notable more combat expertise, and definitely more dangerous. Might be that she could summon a thunderstorm that could wreck havoc, but magic amplifying things were hardly fair, and yet Ruby could likely still do comparable damage, to what her magic could. Given enough time at the least, though she'd rather not think about her going on a widespread rampage. That sorta thing tended not to go well for the perpetrator in Equestria. As the notion of trust came up, Leviathan did not simply stand still and listen anymore. She actively wandered closer to Ruby, closer her eyes, and put her head on her leg. Or wing. Or whatever were right in front of her at this time. She said nothing, but she hoped her action spoke for itself. That she did truly trust Ruby with her life. And she could have let it be at that, but then, Ruby had to take it further, and ask for her word in return, as she laid down, and prepared to sleep. Once she had asked it, her eyes were already closed, though there had been a brief moment where Leviathan opened her own, where their gaze could meet. She could almost swear that she saw a small glimmer of tenderness in those large, reptilian eyes, as she spoke... And then it faded, her eyes closed, and the older dragoness were left to wonder if perhaps she had just imagined things. Yet that were a thought, that would follow her to her sleep, whilst right now, she would place a hand on the bridge of Ruby's nose. "I promise. Sleep well." An intrusive thought passed by, as she said this, but it were thankfully brief, and left her with room to yawn herself, and stretch, before going over to Charir. She'd put a hand on him, scratching his head as she had done a few times before, then lay down with her tail wrapped around him as much as it could, and laid down on the ground. It had been a horrible day, but they had gotten through it together. Hopefully for what were to come, they would be able to do the same. =============================================================================== @Catpone Cerberus The mayor had nothing more to say, and would simply wave at them with a smile on her face, as they got on their way. She still had plenty to do, as were often the case for her. The role of a mayor, were not one of idleness, much as some would believe it so. She did have actual work to complete, and places to be when it were done. Yet it were all done for the home that she loved, so she would most of the time, do it with her head held high, and a smile on her face. She did have times when she wanted more though. Some sound in her home, when the working day were done, but things were seemingly changing there. If nothing bad happened, perhaps her days would lighten up further soon enough. But daydreaming didn't get her far, it were time to work. Outside, Neon would at first take a deep breath with a smile on her face. But then as she looked at them, wanting to respond to their warning, she noticed the way they were acting, and the smile stiffened on her face. "Please do say if the sun gets too much, okay? We'll figure something out then. At the very least seek some shade, until it passes. And uhm... Yeah, bad news on that, for you anyway. It is mostly sunny here in Ponyville. The weather team tends to keep it that way. But there are days of rain, cloudy, etc. too. If it were always sunny, it would be bad for the plants. They need water after all, but they make sure that the weather don't go all chaotic and critical. Which a fair bit of time means going after budding storm clouds and such. You might need some sun glasses and... Actually, does sunscreen work for you? I don't wanna make assumptions, but I'm thinking... No? Moisturizer perhaps? I don't want to push something, but I don't want you to feel like you're cooking, every time you go outside." She were a doctor. She were focused a lot of on the health of others, and didn't enjoy seeing others in discomfort. And they were definitely not dealing with the sun well. Something she hoped that maybe, there were something for? A salve? Some lotion? Potentially some dark clothes? She knew where to get some good dark clothes for obvious reasons. "And don't worry about what happened to some others. I'm sure it were just misfortune that struck there. And it's not like they died. They're getting excellent care, and are on route to making full recoveries. I can imagine they'll track you down when they're up on their hooves again, to make sure you're okay, but they're still in recovery. You have some breathing room until then." She'd make sure not to take the spot closest to the street, so maybe they could go and seek shade when they wandered near buildings. The sun didn't bother her in the slightest, but for them... Well, thestrals who ventured out during the day, did sometimes have trouble too, and the shade helped. This might be worse though, but the same base idea might apply. There would be no issues reaching the inn, with no one even trying to stop them, or shoot at them.

@Illiad Easle (Null) "Aight, but stay safe. I think I'd actually go and miss you, if something were to happen to you." The sensation of him leaving, and the way that she felt after were... Strange. Not as strange as when she first had to suddenly feel the world around her, after the curse lifted, but it were certainly notable. Especially in how she seemed less alert, or whatever you might call it? like she were a bit more stiff, and her hearing were dampened some. And here she thought that she had just gotten better over the last month or so, but seemed like he did some enhancing to her, without her realizing it. It reminded her somewhat of the middle stage, between how alert she were just before, and how dampened she had felt throughout most of her life, due to the curse. She'd probably get used to it soon enough though. it wasn't an earthshattering change after all. Somewhat subtle really. Same couldn't be said for her wing, but he did say that he were artificially coloring that, so no surprise there. Did make her stand out a good bit though. Good luck to anyone wanting to go and try to steal it though. She'd pummel them down. Her mood were dampened by this. His response being luke-warm and... Resentful? Like he tried to distance himself from her? It made her smile stiffen a bit, and some worries begin to circle in her head. Perhaps not the best time for silence right now, as now she didn't have a voice in her head, that might help to steer the bad thoughts away. Sure she could do that herself, and she had plenty of practice, but she could still feel it. That nagging though in the back of her head, that this were going to be the end of it. That she had somehow done something, and their budding relationship, were about to shattered into a million pieces. It probably wasn't that bad, but... She had a bad habit of overthinking and assuming something bad would happen. It did her good growing up. Kept her and Void alive after all, but times like this, it were a metaphorical chain around her throat. "O-Okay, we'll talk tonight. Just the two of us. And uhm... Don't worry about the other thing. I got swept away, and just blurted it out. I'll tell you what it was later though. I promise. It's just... Not something to say in public." Null were not actually great at hiding her emotions, when she didn't have a fog of anger to hide behind, and were taken by surprise. If he looked, he could likely tell that she were getting a bit nervous now. Worried even, and probably would be on at least some level, until they had their talk. Hopefully it would go better, than that nagging thought of hers, were trying to make her think it would. "Sounds like a plan." She wanted to hug him. Whisper to him, that she would wait, but hoped that he weren't angry with her, but she weren't sure if this were something she should. Would it just make it worse, if she apologized, without knowing what she had done? Heck, she didn't even know if she had done something in the first place. Could be he were sullen for some other reason. Like hearing how she had considered suicide more times over time, because her blabbering mouth just couldn't shut it, when she got riled up. With this, and so much more in mind, she'd make her way towards the hotel again, and when they were near the entrance, the fox would jump down from her head, and jump/sprint across the floor, and past the various patrons, to go find Ardee. It found her far more fun, and it assumed that she were in her room again, so it would start by heading there. Seemed the safest bet, and if it were wrong, it'd go and look elsewhere. Either way, it wasn't too keen on waiting anymore, and it was fast enough to avoid getting caught. Or so it thought, as soon as it jumped, Null grabbed it by its tail, and it ended up dangling in front of her. "Oh no you don't. Ardee would kill me if I lost her new pet that easily." She'd the put it back on her head, where it angrily stomped on her scalp a bit as she moved. She could feel a few hairs fall down, from the paper cutting it, but she had plenty to go with, and as such, she just ignored it. Though when they reached the stairs up, it would jump again, this time avoiding her grasp, and making its way alone, to where it assumed Ardee were. She'd be grumbling and speeding up herself due to it, but the little thing were surprisingly fast and nimble. It'd get to the others before the two of them had a chance. Unless Arcade got hold of it first, with his magic. ================================================================== (Ardee) "Nope,. but your tone says it's one of those things where it's really bad, and I outta stay out of it. Which for the record, is not easy. I'm a curious sort you know. Buuut I'll try and keep focus on the task at paw here, and not let the intrusive thoughts win." It wasn't just him honestly. Kitsune were forest tricksters by their nature, and loved to meddle with things. particularly if they weren't wanted there, since to them, that meant there might be something juicy to learn, see, or some fun to be had by messing with others. They didn't always act on it, but the world at large, would probably be surprised by the amount of times a kitsune were hidden nearby, snooping on things. Not like everywhere mind you, but here and there, unseen by magic and good positioning, many a kitsune had been sat throughout the centuries, curious and tempted to do something. Mostly the younger adults. The older they got, the more selective they tended to be, over what they would do, and especially their elders, were well aware of the concept of there being a time and a place for such things, as well as privacy. But the young ones, that were old enough to go out, but still had that kit-like spark of mischief going strong? Heh, bets off there. And he weren't exactly innocent here. Truth be told, he had listened in to what... Five conversations he shouldn't have, and meddled in two. He also left a few that he sensed were not something he should partake in, but he could point out five easily, where he were an unwelcome, albeit unseen presence. Because of the unseen nature of the kitsune, and the fact that very few had the resources to afford something that could actively scan for traces of their magic near them, there were actually several superstitions and traditions they had, regarding them. one of the more prominent being, that if you wanted to wander free from the kitsune's trail, to leave a satchel in your wake, marked with the sign for fox. It usually had a snack in them, and were considered an offering, so besides wild animals, it were usually left alone by others initially. It totally worked too. Sure they checked for poison and such - some good snouts helped - but it were usually just something mundane that lasted well, like a couple of rice biscuits, and most kitsune would happily take a snack in exchange for leaving others alone. Mind you, a lot of the time, they weren't there, and some wild animal, or hungry teenager took it, but it were still sage advice. Ah how he missed things like that... And not just the rice biscuits, though now he were thinking about it, Kozue did feel peckish. Hard to find a good rice biscuit these days. Kozue jumped in and had a look and a sniff around. Weren't much he seemed to gleam from the room, but something in there did make him sneeze, and shake his head. "Urgh, Satchaka Root, right up the nostril. Gross. Either he figured another kitsune would come around to check, and wanted to cover his smell, or he's on some heavy numbing meds. Done right, this stuff will make your head feel numb. I see some stuff was moved out of here, so if there were clues, they're gone now, and I can't catch a smell proper with this stuff sprinkled here. I can at least say there's no ward in here, triggered or not. Your room seems to have been his only focus. Well, we learned something at least, so we didn't waste our time, and I'm sure Bling will appreciate the warning, when we come around. You met her, it sounds like? She tends to make an impression when you do. In my case, it was bafflement at first. I never figured I'd see a drone being treated like one of their queens, but I can't argue that she's doing what one should do. Well, not popping out eggs, but you know, leading and keeping them on track. After all the stuff that's happened the last few years, us that remains need our leader types. What'd you think? Might as well chatter, if we're passing the time, yeah? I promise I'll behave." He'd give a friendly grin, as he jumped back into their room, and sat down on the carpet, tail calmly wrapping around his paws.

@Illiad Easle I think @Cheerilee is working on leaving the forum for the time being, and had wafted with me to take over some of their story angles, but I didn't think it was happening yet. We'll see what they write about this. If nothing, we can try and sort out things. For now, we can keep a post with the two of us going, aye.

@Rising Dusk