Blitz Boom

@@EQ_Theta,

Now it was twice in a row that they had gotten directly to a place... Once already were improbable, but two times back to back? That shouldn't be possible. Not unless Lin wasn't actually opening gates, and instead just made direct rips in time and space, but was that even possible? Perhaps it was better that after all were said and done, that she took Lin to Mother and she could tell, just in case, because this seemed strange.

Strange it also were that this seemed to be where they were supposed to be, but not actually anyway, and then all of  sudden it was about them looking in a different direction and Lin having stolen a tome etc. ...It began to become pretty complicated already, and they hadn't even met another longma yet. Unless you counted Xin that were, but they already knew his name, and he were outside their home, so that didn't count.

"So, look around, or walk to another place?"

It rummaged her brain around too much to try and get everything happening at the same time to make sense right now, so she just resigned herself to waiting until she got instructions on what to do, and then take it from there instead. At least with an order or suggestion, she'd know more directly what to do instead of stumbling around and messing things up because she didn't know better.

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@@Hazard Time,

Ziggy returned the hug when it was given,but didn't say something this time around as Succulent spoke. Not that she had to either, the smaller mare said everything that really had to be said, and the only thing the zegasus would've been able to really add to that would've been either a medical opinion on how smells worked - which would've totally ruined the mood - or just blatantly agree, which seemed pointless.

So she had just enjoyed the moment instead until Succulent had gone out towards her cart to get another bottle of Tea Time, at which point she did a bit of 'damage control*. That being wiping the tears out of her eyes a bit more, and return her thoughts to far more happy ones than the ones that had come around the end before. Her great grandmother had always wanted her to see the good side in things and smile, and the zegasus knew that she would want for Ziggy to remember all the good tmes instead of the end. To make that her legacy, instead of mourning.

Usually she did this too. Ziggy kept thinking on how to make the best of situations and do things that made her smile, even if it made her seem foalish, and the memories of the old mare tended to stay on those happy notes as well. Back when she had come around to the hospital for visits, when they took some of the rare trips outside that Ziggy were allowed to take, the old stories of her long and rich life, etc. Rarely did it went to the last part, but the smell before had taken her by surprise and unfortunately brought on that last bit, though she kept a smile on her face. Just like they all did at her funeral, because they knew that she would want them to send of her off knowing that they were still happy.

The thoughts had basically cleared out when Succulent returned with the second bottle and began to explain the prices, along with some details about the perfumes depth. It was a little beyond her how the depth in these things were calculated, but she trusted Succulent didn't make up jargon to make the Tea Time's seem worth more for no reason, and considering her reaction before, she could attest that the smell was rather deep in it for sure. Besides, she had seen some of the prices in the established perfume stores in Las Pegasus. Succulent's prices had nothing on those. Holy Celestia a few of them... Jeez.

"55? Sure thing."

Instead of focusing on that, she instead did on her frog purse that she opened and started to harvest coins from at a blurry speed, piling them up in stacks of two on the table to keep track of them. A couple fell to the ground though, as she slid them slightly, but she picked them up and went on with things without much of a hassle beyond that, and soon there's be a more empty frog in her hooves, and a good pile of gold on the table for Succulent.

"Okay, lemme see. 2, 4, 6, 8-"

The counting would go on until she were either through them, or Succulent interrupted, in case the perfume seller had already counted and seen it amounted to 56. So Ziggy was a bit of the total, but at least she wasn't short, puns intended.

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@@cwhip9,

Zinthar wasn't entirely sure what was going on, but if he had to guess, Crescent were fighting with his inner demon, as some called it. Others went for referring to it as their evil side, but that always seemed off by Zinthar as he didn't believe there to be as polarizing parts of you as a good and an evil. Oftentimes, it seemed more like it were a blurry grey that defined your character than pure white or black, at least in his experience, and the few he had seen that was literally nothing but evil, or nothing but good, he considered crazy, as that meant they were woefully unbalanced, and bound to snap.

An inner demon however, were more something he considered fitting, as it were a manifestation of your darkest thoughts and desires, but it wasn't something that would wipe the board clean if you defeated it. It would just be reduced to the small parts needed to keep you in some kind of balance.

Case in point: He also had an inner demon of sorts, that looked back at him from the mirrors around them. It was a part of him that he had embraced a long time ago, and had since then just blended in during the untold years that he had to think here in the dream world. He were balanced in a way, thouh comparing this to Crescent wasn't right he felt. There was something more malicious and ingrained about their interactions than he had encountered before he'd think.

As for his own counterpart in the mirrors, it didn't amount to much. Like him, it were far more interested in seeing what would come of the other two's fighting rather than bicker amongst themselves and miss the show, so they just shrugged, laid down, and watched as the other two began their fight, blade first.

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@@Wolves,

Jeez, what an earful.

When he had asked to hear some things about the town that was from Golden's perspective, Happy hadn't expected the guy to go into full tour guide mode and explain about things like it was his only true passion. He had expected some minor details and perhaps a few hidden gems worth taking note of and instead had gotten into an explanation like somepony was reading from a holy tome.

And he had to just stand there and smile through it, that was the worst! He had several times of wanting to just go over and put his hoof on Golden's mouth before asking him to get to the gritty details or stuff a cork in it, but he couldn't without letting the *nice guy* slip out the door and potentially expose his true nature a little too much. No, he had had to stand, and pretend that he cared, which for the most part he really didn't. There was too much *Good things are awesome, please visit our city* and not enough *Don't poke around this place* for his taste.

"Well, it sure sounds like a heck of a place if a local without his head buried in the sky haves some good things to say."

He still found it somewhat phony, considering what he had heard otherwise, but to each their own perspective he guessed. He'd potentially see for himself when time came, if he could even get into town now that was. Wouldn't surprise him the slightest if the whole place was plastered in changeling detectors at this point, and he was going to ring a lot of bells if that were.

There was something else he had bitten notice in, besides the wall of words that had toppled over him, and that were a small twitch and a spot of silence near the start of it, as if Golden were thinking on something. Might be he were just preparing for what angle to start with when it came to Canterlot and the twitch was a reflex to something - the amount of times when his paranoia had told him to panic, only to have it be an itch, were astounding at this point - but it might as well be that he tried to chose his words as to not say something about the structural issues that might be, too much on specific locals that would be easy to overtake, or details in general that would make for a helpful guide when/if a second invasion would occur.

It might just not have been important, he didn't know, or it wasn't anything compared to talking about his store - though, Happy did that himself, so he couldn't really judge on that last part - but something just always told him to be on guard in case he were compromised, even the slightest, and this did tick of a few check marks. Though, to be sure of it, he'd have to poke a few places and see how the water would ripple. Perhaps if he brought up the somewhat recent event with his brethren it would work as a tester.

"Gotta admit though, I'm surprised there's nothing on you folks getting all paranoid and stuff up there these days. Heard that a swarm of changelings had tried to bust a wedding there or something and got pretty close to wrecking things before they got the boot. Figured the nobles would all have guards hanging 'round 'em now, and you lot being a bit paranoid about others, but it sounds like you made it out normal when it ain't even a mention.

Back east they tend to get all suspicious about this sort of thing, and you can really see it when new ones get to the towns. They're almost shoving a light into your muzzle just to check if you're hollow or something, and it makes it a bit strained to visit at times. Sounds like Canterlot's a whole lot more hospitable."

Now, it was just to see how they'd react when the subjects of changelings came in over things, and then he could take it from there, though he sorta hoped he didn't have to knock these two out and run for the hills. It had been a bad enough day already without him having to clock a few locals out and leave behind potential profit.

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@@Summer Breeze,

@@Frosty Frost,

Summer had gotten lucky and had managed to avoid Blitz entirely,by going in the complete opposite direction of where she were hidden right now. It was a pity, as the filly who sat in the sand hill with narrowed eyes had looked forward to getting a hold of her, but as the expression went: If the monk didn't want to come to the mountain, then the mountain had to come to the monk.

So she started to sneak very slowly through the sand and towards where Summer had gone. trying her hardest to just look like a pile of sand that you thought were getting nearer. Something which certainly didn't fool the onlooking Lyriel, who had sat down in the sand whilst spectating whatever was going on. Something that she hadn't really known until she had seen the pile of sand move like a ripple over water in slow motion and put two and two together.

It did seem like it would go a bit stale the way it was looking right now, but perhaps it would pick up eventually.

As for Summer, not long after she would have hidden and Blitz attempted to sneak up upon her, she would be interrupted by something poking her on the shoulder. It was a gentle touch, but still clearly deliberate, and not a piece of grass of something that had blown over her for a spell.

If she would turn around to face whoever had poked her though, she either wouldn't see anything, or, if she were quick, she'd notice the last few centimeters of a brown root that were retracting back into the ground, at which point the culprit would be pretty obvious. Though, would she say anything about it, as it would compromise her position? They'd see.

@@GingerLightning,

Ginger. Good to see you around. Is school becoming the never-ending monkey on your back, or is there light at the end of the tunnel, where they give you a bit less of a mountain of papers home?

@everypony

I'm sorry, but posts won't be until tomorrow. My bed broke and I'm using all the time and energy I have to repair it. Hopefully it'll work, but it does mean that I can't write tonight. Which is a bother, since there is a lot of good posts to respond to.

I'll try to get them written somewhat early tomorrow if I can, but for now, i have to go again. See you tomorrow.

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@@Techno Universal,

While I appreciate some enthusiasm, you can't just post something random in the thread mate. Like everyone else, you have to go through an initiation process here, and then we'll find some way to fit you in. As such, your post will be ignored for the time being, until we have sorted through things, and perhaps afterwards too, if the post isn't possible to respond to. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Hopefully, we can work something out.

To begin with, could you tell us something about your OC? Looks, race, some backstory, stuff like that?

@@Hazard Time,

Ziggy looked with big eyes as Succulent brought back four bottles, and started to explain what the smells and names of them were. She like the descriptions and the names really, as it sounded nice, but how would the smell be? Well, only one way to really find out.

The first one she reached for were the *Hearth's Warming Morning* curious as to what something that started with mint, but went over into cedar, would smell like, and gently tipped the lid a bit. Not much, but just enough to get the smell out she needed for a good whiff.

"Mmmm, smells nice. I don't really smell th- Oh, there were the cedar. Good after-smell, and not too candy-like. What about the other one?"

The lid was put back and she put the bottle down before reaching with gleeful eyes at the *Peppermint Patty* fragrance. The description of that had really caught her attention during the presentation, but the curious mix of mint and cedar had taken her on a detour before hitting this. And holy molly was it worth the wait as she took a small whiff of the bottle and felt her mouth watering from the delicious fragrance.

"Blaugragh, so good..."

For a brief second she contemplated drinking the concoction, forgetting in that short moment that it wasn't meant for that, before she got to her senses again and put the lid firmly back on it and shook her head to get her head back into the game. After doing that for a bit, she put it down on the table again, and nodded feverishly at Succulent.

"That one! It's perfect. Smells like I'd be worth eating. Or hang on a tree during the holidays, yey!"

She fluttered a little from the ground in glee, thinking about how nice it would be to smell like this more often. Not all of the time, sure, as it felt like a thing for special occasions, but still something that could be used fairly often. Or in case she just really wanted to confuse ponies, which were special in its own way.

As for the last two smells, it was easier to make a decision there. The last one had sounded okay, but the one just before that had really taken her interest, and were the one she went for straight after she had gotten the worst of her gleeful energy out of her system.

The reaction when she took a whiff of that one though, were pretty different. Instead of being all hyper and stuff about it, instead Ziggy just froze, and her eyes glazed over as she seemed to get lost to the world around her.

Inside her head, memories started to stir as the smell of lemon and vanilla drifted along, swirling in circles and carrying the familiar fragrance around her head until tears started to fall from her eyes. She didn't sob, and still looked happy, but she were crying noticeably during her trip down memory lane. About a minute this went on until she finally seemed to get away from it and back to her senses, though it still took her a bit of time to say something after that. And to dry the tears from her face too.

"I-I'm sorry. It's just... Reminding me of my great grandmother. She always carried tea leaves and a pinch of vanilla with her so she could always get her tea her favorite way. She actually carried it around so much that the smell stuck around, even when she had forgotten it."

Ziggy put the flask down and let her hoof wander to the pink pearl necklace around her neck, remembering her late relative a little again from the touch, though she kept herself from crying this time.

"I'd like to buy the Peppermint Patty ones from before, and two of these if you have that, please. I think mom's not the only one who can use this smell sometimes."

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@@cwhip9,

Zinthar didn't know if he should be impressed by Crescent finally stopping to play along with this test or whatever it were, or somewhat intrigued about what was going to happen to Crescent now that he challenged... Well, the sky, essentially. Sure, they had both said they wanted to get out, and honestly the feline didn't think that whoever was talking above was going to be able to do much, and seemed like the kind who were more talk than action, but regardless, Crescent had still presented a more challenging reply to it, and it might attempt something in retaliation.

At least, it seemed like the bat pony had done more from his perspective, but they'd see. It all depended on who were hit as the most prominent target if some kind of fury were the rain from the sky, though again, he doubted that whatever pulled them around by the nose had the gals to really do something. Or at least something effective.

"Heh, what he said."

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@@EQ_Theta,

"Good, for a first try."

Omen looked at the gate as the others went through it and into what was most definitely not any forest on the other side. The gates of her kind - and to that extend then, Lin - didn't work like that. They transported between the shadowy home and a destination, but home were always the only place you could open a gate to from other worlds. To get to another place beyond that, you'd have to open a gate from there to your destination, which were the harder step, and the next Lin would have to do when they got in there.

For some like Omen that had a long time with this, she were actually able to open one to the home, and from there too nearby without traveling, but even the best amongst them couldn't beyond a few meters without going there. Except Mother perhaps, as she were the first there, but they didn't know for certain, as she never left their home.

Then again, there were... Mishaps, now and again. On occasion, one of them could open a gate and have it somehow fizzle away from the shadowy realm and directly into a second gate that brought you somewhere, though the odds of you getting to the right place there were slim.

It generally happened only rarely, and only with ones not sure how to work the gates that over-focused on the process, which made it a one in a million sort of thing, but she had seen it happen a few times before, and heard of one or two more beyond that.

Before passing through herself though, and see where they now ended, Omen turned around to face Fluttershy and Master Discord.

"Until we meet again, take care of Master Discord, Fluttershy. I can see he needs it."

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

"You changed because of her, and you held back for the same reason, master. I can see it, even if others can't, and I know what it means. I just wonder if you realise it yet, or if you don't want to believe it."

Discord didn't say anything, but instead just grumbled and went back to the couch, unwilling to say anything, but thinking well about how preposterous it were to think that there was something that he didn't know about. Or well, something about himself at least.

"I will se you when you next need me master. And Fluttershy... Thank you for saving him."

With that, she stepped through the gate and rejoined the others through the hole in the world. It was likely not going to last for much longer beyond this if it really were a *flickering* sort of gate, but they'd see. Just as much as they'd see about where exactly they were now, which seemed like nothing but a barren field.

"Do you know this place? Doesn't look like anything special. Not a home for anything either. Perhaps you missed? These sort of gates tend to do. Unreliable, and low odds."

@@PonyOfWar,

War! *tacklehugs and nearly squeezes him to death*.

I can have a bit of a better look tomorrow, then we can take it from there. ^^ If you want to rejoin the group he were part of before, we can have that arranged, with him being separated in the chaos going on outside before scrambling over and finding them? We'd have to ask @@Wolves, of course, but I ere gonna try and take a hold in him/her one of these days regardless as I'm wondering if the last response was noticed. Guess this is an opportune time as any. ^^

There are a few things to bite note in if that is though, but we can go over that when we got everything sorted. ^^ Tomorrow that is. Right now, time for bed. :3

@@Frosty Frost,

@@Summer Breeze,

Lyriel had wandered with Frosty towards the beach in silence, enjoying the fresh breeze that came from the ocean. It was very different from what sort of winds she were used to in the valley, though it wasn't really in an unpleasant way. It was refreshing, and smelled like life, compared to the gentle breeze she were used to, that at times felt stale and heavy.

Much like Blitz, she had never been to a beach before and didn't really know what to expect as they had gotten down there, though the sand wasn't exactly it, and left her in an unfortunate situation. That being her, almost tripping over the first pile that gave way under her step. She managed to keep up on two legs, but it didn't look very gracefully as she tumbled around with panic on her face for a hot second before getting control over herself again.

She was used to ground being simple and firm, or at times give somewhat in if it was muddy from rain, but this was both dry, and gave way more than the earth she were used to step upon, and it had taken her by an abrupt surprise. Not wanting it to happen again, she stepped slowly and carefully over the sand beneath her after that, learning step by step how she should wander in this, though not finding herself to be a great fan of it. Perhaps another time, after trying this more that would change, but for the time being, she just stepped over to Frosty and looked over the scene in front of them, with the mare and the filly playing in the dunes.

Lyriel was about to say something to Frosty about how they seemed to have great fun when she looked down and noticed that he had nodded off, and she felt silent, though with a great smile spreading on her face at the peaceful visage.

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@@EQ_Theta,

"Getting to our home is easy. To go from there and to somewhere specific isn't as easy. But we can try."

Omen took a step to the side and looked around her, finally settling on a small space where there not rally anything in the way. That being the doorway more or less, regardless of it being closed. They weren't going to need that door either, if they did this.

"If you can open gates, the air should feel thin when you focus on it. Like paper. Find a place you want to make a hole, then focus on poking a dot through the paper with your mind. Then expand it, until it looks like this."

Through the last parts of the brief explanation, Omen opened the pinprick-sized hole in the middle of the air as she usually did when opening a gate, before rapidly, and quickly, expanded it, until a gate was standing in front of them, almost filling the doorway and reaching a few inches away from the floor.

"Mother said it was how to explain it. And that when you wanted to make it smaller, or close the gate, it was the same, but in reverse. To mend the air."

As she said it, so was it too, down to the last blip of the pinprick closing and leaving no trace that she had ever done this.

"Try it. and see if it works. Let us see how your gate would look, and perhaps we try to make you track something you know."

There was no guarantee that the gate would look like the circle that Omen tended to go with if Lin could make her own. It was just how she tended to make it form, though for Lin it might be a triangle, a rectangle, an irregular shape, or something else. It was hard to say before seeing it, but she didn't think it would be looking all that smooth the first time around. It hardly ever did with anty any of them that were born like this, and Lin likely wasn't better off. Though they'd see. Might be that she would surprise them.

"And don't worry if it gets too big. Gates can't break through anything, it just grown on it. Like paint, but tasting less strange, and going away faster."

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@,

Huh, so Astral did have some family still. That was a relief at least. For a while now he had been thinking that she had been left all by her lonesome. If you excluded Misty, which the lil' one made sure they didn't soon after the issue of family getting taken up.

He couldn't gauge if sh e were on good terms with him though. Yeah, she had gotten some pretty dark stuff from him, so they had to have been pretty close at least at some point, as you didn't just show anypony that sort of thing, but if he lived in town, then why were she relegated to living in the woods? Might be by choice, or because he were better at keeping a low key than the magical earth pony mare he'd raised, but it still sounded a bit iffy to him.

"Perhaps something to ask him 'bout some other time, yep, but let's wait 'n see. Ain't gonna be good with a stranger showing up at your door, asking 'bout black magic like that, even if I help you folks out a bit.None of you know me well enough to say if I'm gonna use the intel for something wrong. I mean, I ain't, but if I were in your hooves, I wouldn't believe me yet with something as serious as this.

It'll likely be some time until I see him though, even if I've met him before, since the ponies 'round here ain't gonna be taken to Canterlot. After all the disasters in recent years, some bunkers were build and buried for emergency shelter, in case stuff went down, and that's likely where the town's right now, or headed to at least. Except for the sick ones who's at the hospital. I think there were some security measure there there too, with some of the local unicorns being trained in putting up a barrier to help protect the place for a time, but I wasn't involved with that part of things, so I wouldn't know. I just helped them haul bricks for the bunkers along with Big Mac. Nice guy really, but damn is he a shy lad. Barely spoke a word through the whole thing."

That wasn't completely true. He did speak one word through most of it, but it didn't really count in Chow's mind when it sounded more like a parrot giving a trained response to things. It was okay though. Poor lad had to try and look tougher than he could really be at times since he was the head of the family farm, far as he knew. Him or Applejack, though Big Mac just stroked him as the type that was the one truly keeping it running. At least with the sort of work ethics he had going, jeez. The lad worked like a... Well, you know.

@@Seamore Sandwich,

Good to hear you got the job. Sucks that you're ill though. :/ Hopefully, your health will get better rather than worse soon, and we can all get back to enjoying the merry days. Now get to bed and eat some soup. Nom nom. :3

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@@Lonk Chase,

Wel, if that is your choice, I will respect it. I thank you for informing us of this, and if you ever change your mind, remember that we'll still be here. Or well, I will. I don't intend to let this thread die until we're number 1 on the site. ^^ Muahaha!!! *twirls mustache*

@@Captain Whirlwind,

There doesn't have to be anything you need to know per se if it is. As mentioned, I can have one of my characters fly to Cloudsdale to give a warning about the attack, and it can be taken from there, with me describing things as we get there. The battle is almost over as it is right now, and we just need a post from @@Seamore Sandwich, to have the monster gone, but there'll be an interesting aftermath more than likely, and plenty to watch.

I think you just popping into town right now is gonna confuse you and make for a poor transition honestly. Nothing against you that is, but there's just so many things that have happened that it can be quite a thing to explain it all, and I will likely miss something that'll end up making it somewhat awkward. Better to get you towards the place, and make for a smoother transition.

Does it sound okay to you, or?

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@@P-Jay,

Will you be interested in starting yourself then, or shall I set up the dream and you can come along the scene is set?

@@EQ_Theta,

"Ohoho, that does sound like fun."

Discord felt his mind returning to a plotting mood when the idea of returning to the longma's clan came about. It wasn't specifically said that he could come, but technically they hadn't said he couldn't either. And really, even if they did, who amongst them were going to stop him, the lord of all things chaos, from going?

"I will come."

Omen knew what he was thinking, but she ignored him for now. From what she had seen, the yellow mare could control her master well, and would likely not like the idea of him having the sort of fun that he had in mind. At least, that's what she thought from what she had seen thus far, but she wasn't correct in her short term assumptions about others that often. It might be she were more open minded to Discords schemes and ploys than she gave off, but they'd see in time.

For now, she wandered a few steppes closer to Sen, though her eyes remained on Xin for the time being as she examined the seemingly nervous longma. At least she thought he were nervous. It could be hard to tell if he were simply warm, afraid, or something else instead, when he sweated like he did, and it was harder to identify without any stuttering words or something like it, but it seemed like a nervous thing at least. It didn't really matter that much, but still, it helped in the long run to be able to see the signs.

"If you want to bring it to them Sen, I don't want you, or Lin, to be alone. Not with what I have heard."

There was nothing specifically she had heard about imprisoning others or something like that, but with the exile and other things that she had heard from Sen had befallen him and Lin, she didn't think it made sense for them not to do more harsh things, and if that was to happen, they needed somepony there that could get them away again. Something which Lin hadn't the training to do, far as she knew. At least not regarding the gates, though who knew what else could end up being brought to light after her long stay in the well.

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@,

"I haven't got the faintest idea 'bout what *gryffindor* is, but regardless, I'm sure you meant Canterlot sugar. Griffinstone is a whole 'nother kind of place to try and fit in, and I think it'll be best if you didn't have to go through that. Trust me, I was there since I was a tiny little thing, and it makes you strange to grow up there."

He could add some more things about it eternally made you feel like an outsider to be away from the place, and alienated you to pony society if you ever got back to the equine territory, but he'd rather not talk about this sort of thing. It felt wrong badmouthing his home, and he'd have a hard time telling how hard it were to try and fit in amongst the feathered folks without doing that, one way or another.

Then again, she might get more damaged by the magic that she'd be allowed to mess with when they got to a destination and settled down. It was hard to tell as Astral knew much more about magic than he did - heck, Misty might too, just from being around her - but perhaps he should try and stay positive about it instead of thinking it'd harm her. Sure, Astral had mentioned that you had to learn from your mistakes, but she sounded like she'd want the little rugrat to play it somewhat safe at least, so he really should give them both the benefit of the doubt here, and think it safe'ish enough.

"Regarding the dark magic, I'm going on a limb here and say that yeah, it'll be better to hide 'em and hide 'em good. If the guards knows even a whiff of magic, they'll know that sort tend to have some bad mojo associated with it.

Some of 'em can be a bit dense in it though. Friend of mine - well, sort of friend - managed to smuggle some cursed artifacts out of the city once, and didn't get caught because the guards just thought it was dolls he had with him. Closest call I've ever heard Giddon talk about, but I'm sure he'd have gotten out regardless. I think you would... Well, tolerate him if it were. He's not a social lad, and can be a bit of a nuisance to be 'round if you're not used to him, but he's pretty knowledgeable about cursed objects, magical goods and such, which can be helpful at times. As can his connections in the trades of all sorts of things. He tends to help me get connections to sellers willing to sell prime salmon and such for example. Excellent for pet food.

Which kinda reminds me of something I've been wondering. How'd you get all these dark magic books? I mean, I know you said you did so with a purpose, but I can't imagine these sort of things just lies 'round, ripe for the taking.

I ain't gonna ask details if you don't wanna say though. It's your business, and I ain't got a right to dig into places where I shouldn't if it is. Just wondered."

@@P-Jay,

I have one that is dreaming, if you want to interact with her. Her dreams are peaceful, and it's one you know. That is, Vivid Loss. She is currently out of commission, so to speak, and in deep sleep, so you could start there and see what happened from there? Who knows, perhaps a little demonic intervention can help you go to the waking world.

And I like your ideas for him. Seems workable. ^^ Do you have a visual of him perhaps?

@@Randimaxis,

The Interloper watched closely as a pony in a strange outfit came out of Silver's workshop and threw a piece of paper on the ground, curious about what was going on. Something that didn't lessen when suddenly another pony popped forth from the paper and started to talk about some sort of attacks, something called a *reindeer* and that thy had to go. And then to add up on that, a... Pony perhaps? Some sort of quadruped at least in a ton of armor. Anyway, he/she showed up too, started to talk - okay, definitely a he - and then stepped over to the other two and vanished into thin air.

...Nopony was going to believe this if she told them about this. It was simply too weird, even for her, and she were involved in a good chunk of weird stuff to begin with.

*sigh* Perhaps it was better to just try and forget about this for now, and then go look for... Dax...

The Interloper barely had a chance to think the thought to an end before the pony in question came around, mere seconds after the armored one had arrived and what, a second or so after the strange ponies went *poof*? Sounded about right, but it didn't matter. She had found her target now. Or well, technically he had found her - although she didn't think he saw her hidden in the box, so perhaps she still would be the one to find him if you wanted to be really technical - but that was details that didn't matter as she prepared to ambush the Blackwater heir and complete her m- Holy guacamole!

She had missed the first few seconds of Dax getting tears in his eyes, and wasn't really listening either as she prepared herself for the ambush, but when he started to yell at the top of his lungs it really got noticed by her. In fact, it almost made her jump out of the box in shock, though it thankfully didn't get so far.

As for Dax though, things got far. Further than him crying - as she now took notice of - and yelling, as he kicked a shed hard enough to make the thing crash and ran off, with a trail of small droplets on the ground.

There wasn't much choice in what to do now. There'd soon be others here to check up on what had happened, and she really needed to get to Dax now, so amidst the dust settling, she popped out of the box and took off running, tossing another lit smoke bomb behind her as a further distraction as she made her way towards Dax Blackwater. Wherever his trail were gonna lead, she were going to find him, and when she did, she'd make sure that he got what he had coming.

____________________________________________________________________________

Meanwhile, Ziggy hadn't heard a thing outside. She had closed the door after the others had left and filled out some more paperwork, which kept her well distracted for a good ten minutes before she felt a rumbling in her tummy and decided that yes, she had to try and get to the food wagon after all and see if there were still something. It was a bit late in it, she knew, but the morning had been really busy thus far, so it really was the earliest she could get there. Hopefully, the cook would have some mercy with her, whoever it might be. It wasn't Grill Brick anymore, as he had said that he were going away - or was it retired? One of the things, but same result - but who the new chef was she wasn't sure about.

Hopefully somepony who were reasonable though, and could live up to some of the same standards as Grill had. That pony could cook well, and she'd miss seeing him around for both that, and just being him in general. He was a nice pony after all.

Exiting her office, she locked the door, put the sign up that said she were gonna be back soon and to press to button if it was important, then checked to see if said buzzer still worked - it did - before taking off towards the kitchen, thinking about how a sandwich would do well right now. Especially as the alternative was to sustain herself with candy until lunch came around, and that wasn't healthy. Candy was for snacks, and sick patients that needed something sweet, not breakfast.

@@P-Jay,

Well, you could just go with him being able to go from one place to another through dreamers (AKA, invading their dreams as a door between the dream realm and the waking world). You could put as an argument that he have taken to absorbing the residual magic from when Luna wanders around to be able to do this, amongst potential other things, and have it work as a *sleigh of hand* explanation there. Might be better options really, just the first thing that came to mind.

For a bit of fun, you could have in that Luna actively does not want him to be able to get through dreamers like this, and he'd find a sleeping pony to escape to or from the dream world to get away from her if she runs into him. I don't think she'd hunt him per se, unless he have done something bad, but she might try and restrain his ways of moving around if it were. For example by trying to put wards on the dream doors, or something similar. Might be he could *pick* some of the lesser ones if it were.

But, this is your OC, and you will decide how he turns out. Just figured I'd help with some suggestions tot he last part and then I gt a few more ideas to write down that came along. Tends to happen. ^^

*breaks door with axe*

guess who's baaaaack...~?

 

I'm concepting an oc I'd like to enter in here. XD

P-Jay. It's been a long time my friend. Hope you've been doing good.

Think you can tell me something about the concept OC, or do you want to keep the cards close until you have a product you're satisfied with? ^^

@@EQ_Theta,

"It won't happen."

You'd think that the whispering voice of Omen in the heads of all nearby would sound more concerned, or alarmed, by the possibility that Sen could turn his back on everything and return home, but it wasn't. It was as neutral as most things she said, because she didn't find a reason to think it would end that way.

"Even if he leave, or you take him, I can, and will, find him. And you can't keep me away."

The opinion of Sen was secondary in that regard far as she were concerned. She wouldn't let him turn his back on everything and leave them behind, and she had his *scent*. He would be found. Though it hardly seemed like something to worry about. He wouldn't leave her behind, and especially not Lin. Not for a life that he had talked badly about at times, right? Why would he return to that, especially when they had already shunned him once, and now expected him to turn his back on the very reason he left - that being Lin - without a second care? That didn't speak well of them. Though regardless, it all came down to the same thing that she considered a guarantee.

"But you know he won't come anyway, right? He wouldn't leave Lin. Not after looking for this long. It wouldn't make sense."

Discord didn't say something right now, but he seemed oddly satisfied with the situation as it stood right now. The awkwardness of Xin after delivering the harsh message, the stunned siblings, Omen standing up and acting different from what he remembered, and so many other, small things that just set this to the sort of scene that was in front of him. Something which he found amusing, though not something that would keep him silent forever as he floated over to the side of Xin and poked the side of his head with a finger on his paw.

"And what do you think, Xin? How does your elder's words sit with you, hmmm?"

He chuckled slightly, wondering what would come from poking - in several meanings of the word - to Xin, but interested to see what regardless. It could end up so wonderfully chaotic, if helped along the right way.

@@EQ_Theta,

Discord exhaled a good chunk of air in displeasure over seeing the messenger got invited inside. It was already a little too crowded for his taste, and now there'd be one more? And one that he didnt think that could be trusted on top of that. How did the little creature know how to find them here? Were the other two wearing a giant neon sign saying *Longma be here* without him noticing? Why, he should get the little whelping to tell his way... But then again, that would not fall in good earth with Fluttershy...

He got an idea and with a small snap of his fingers had a small version of himself stand on Omen's shoulder and whisper into her ear. He would've just put the words in there, but it had not gone well the last time he tried it, so he had to resort to a little shoulder devil of sorts instead. Though, to keep up appearance, he had it dressed up as an angel instead. He was one of the good guys now after all, so he couldn't exactly have a devil now, could he?

After listening to what the smaller version of her master had to say fr for a little, Omen stepped forward, towards the messenger Xin, and *talked* to him. Xin might find it a little troubling to see the unblinking mare with the strange fur pattern going towards him before the whispering voice would be projected around to - amongst others - his mind. But then again, he hadn't seemed fazed by Discord at the door, so he might be made of hardier stuff than some others.

"How did you know to find them here?"

Without input from the smaller Discord she also turned towards Lin, confused as to why this messenger even came here to speak with them in the first place.

"And you both said, once they remove your name, you don't exist anymore. Why do one come now then? I don't understand."

It was one of the few things she had gathered about the longma society through her time with the siblings, and now that was just taken back like it was nothing? How? Why? And as the manifestation of her master added, what were the cost of this even? Would it mean that they would be isolated again? That she were to stay away?

There were so many questions, and she barely knew where to start with them. Beyond what little she had asked them directly thus far, of course, but what answers would come from that? And more importantly, how much would the two of them know themselves of this? Would it even make sense to them, when it had been stated that the rulings meant they were gone for good, and now it was taken back like everything was fine? Had that even happened before?

___________________________________________________________________________

@,

"Well, from what you ran past us earlier, you wanted to go to Canterlot, which is why we're headed for a train station of sorts. Where to go from there might be a tricky one, but I spent a few months there after Griffinstone, so perhaps I can help you out finding someplace sort of low key there. Away from the snobbish ones at least, cause let me tell you, those pompous types gets on your nerves to be around real quick.

I don't think I can recommend where I used to hang around there though. Thinking that after the attack, there's more guards running 'round the borders of the capitol, so if you don't want any guards to poke to yer stuff, I'd suggest a little further in, but still distances. A side road would likely be for the better.

Minor suggestion though? Say you're a book collector when we get there. It'll explain the weird reading material you got going, and the magical mumbo jumbo... Well, they'll have a look over it for sure, but perhaps if you tell that its Misty's it'll be less of a bother. They know zebras there too, even though I can't recall any living there. Guess they were smarter than me."

He mumbled something about *entitled yo-ho's* they passed over a small hill, though what exactly wasn't entirely obvious. Nothing good likely.

"I might still be able to find a few I knew there that can help you find a more specific place, but I can't guarantee anything. Been a few years now, and though I had a good thing going, I try to forget the place as much as possible as the ponies there wasn't exactly a good transition from where I came from. But that's what I get from thinking that going to the capitol would be the fast answer to my way back home.

Anyway, my point is that I didn't exactly leave after a great big party and such. I was just gone, one day to the next, and I can't say how they'll react seeing me again after all this time. Depends on if anypony else have taken up my mantle since I left I suppose, but I have my doubts. They likely just went back to that synthetic trash instead."

He didn't explain what that last part was about at this point, and just returned to mumbling a bit to himself. Seemed like the capital wasn't his favorite hangout though, but it wasn't keeping him from going there now, so it was workable at least. And hey, unwilling or not, they'd have a guide of sorts.

@everypony

Will have to wait with responses until tomorrow. Battling the flu and something with my eye, so not in a writing mood. Sorry. Hopefully my immune system and a trip to the doctor will win the day and It'll be better tomorrow.

And I hope to see your writing soon @@Seamore Sandwich, the suspense is killing me. :3

@,

Chow was able to keep his composure for most of what he heard from the two ponies. Especially Astral, and her attempts to connect to him was something he worked hard not to ruin by acting like a fool by hearing that - despite what Misty might mean - somepony understood a little of what Astral went through.

Then she mentioned that she could teach him a spell that could give him wings, and he seemed to flare up with an injection of pure happiness to a point where the only thing keeping him from loosing composure and swing his hooves around her saying prayers, were that he were crewing the wagon. He quite literally couldn't turn in the way he needed for massive hugs or anything without turning over the wagon, and frankly, he wasn't strong enough to do such a thing.

"You can let me... I never.."

He tried to scramble for words for a bit longer than that, but the sentences never got to an end, and eventually he just stopped up and let out a hearty laughter instead, feeling a tear running down his right that he didn't wipe away until he were finally done getting the worst of this emotional high through the outlet.

"I think you can guess I'll accept wholeheartedly? Not now, of course. We're busy here getting you relocated, and that's the most important thing to get done, but in time? You can count me in for however long it's needed. Ah, I swear, this sort of thing just made this day go from my fifth worst day ever to one of the best I can remember."

Considering he had been very close to getting trapped inside the dome earlier, and had been close to the monster attacking town, as he helped getting others out from the place, one could wonder what other four days were actually worse, but perhaps it wasn't the time for it, considering the nice atmosphere currently.

"Oh, and Misty ain't completely right y'know. I can relate to what you're saying somewhat. Not in trying to ressurect dead parents, as I never wanted to try that with my real ones, but I did reaslly set out for something impossible. I had my own idol amongst the griffins I wanted to grow up to be like, and I named my plushie after him too, not to speak of thing haunting me.

Remember when I talked about the magic going wrong? Well, long story short, cursed items aren't something that leaves you without any scars, physical or mental. For the longest time I was caught in a perpetual nightmare that I couldn't wake up from, and had to be strapped down as some sort of dark presence tried to move me around. If it wasn't because of a traveler with a lot more knowledge on this sort of thing, I would likely still be chained down and caught in my own head. And it literally haunts me still, trapped up in here."

He hit his forehead a few times, indicating his brain.

"Don't worry though, it can't take me over anymore, and I've learned to fight back in the occasional nightmare when the slithering bugger pops in. Long as nopony removed the plate from my skull, he's trapped deep in the subconsciousness at best, and he ain't ever getting out.

Not in the same ballpark as trying to bring back dead loved ones, but you can say that we both have some things to battle internally, and no way to truly make everything completely right. Plus the other stuff mentioned along the way."

Usually he didn't seem so up-beat when he spoke about this, but there had to happen a lot to get him out of his good mood right now. More than him retelling some of the details about his encounter with magic in back in the days. Not all though, as he didn't want to scare 'em, and frankly the finer details were just between him and Giddon. Others didn't need to know much more.

He kept walking on when he spoke, doing his to not loose daylight here as they had some way to go still, though he frankly still felt like stopping up and dancing a bit on the spot. Just another urge of his that he couldn't abide to right now, but all in due time.

__________________________________________________________________________

@@Seamore Sandwich,

@@Moonlit,

@@Hazard Time,

"I want them to think they've been attacked by a giant candy cane both when they see me and smell me. The confusion would be fun. And smelling like candy would be awesome."

She were a simple mare with a few simple wants. Among them, a chance to play around and obey her inner foal that just wanted to have some innocent fun now and again, were pretty firmly in place. Honestly, unless she had to do something serious, like tend to a wounded pony, she could always feel that foalish influence on her. Some ponies thought she were crazy because of it, but eh, their loss if they couldn't just relax and have some fun.

"The sour one is kinda harder to explain, but... Well, ever had some tea before, with a squirt of lemon in to give it a subtle, yet noticeable, bit extra to smooth it out? Like that, but in smell. Not the tea part I mean, but- Oh, you know what I mean. I think. Mom prefers to not stand out too much."

_______________________________________________________________________

@@EQ_Theta,

"Awh, phoey. looked like we were getting to the good part."

THis was one of the problems with giving a lucid vision to others instead of just teleporting them back through time with him and have them look along. Outside influence, such as a door getting hammered on with some strong pounds, could pull them out of it, and when one was out, the whole thing would just fall apart. Which it did, as Fluttershy went out to meet the one at the door and the rest were just back to sitting and standing where they had been when the vision began before.

"I'll hear more of it later Omen. Something tells me it'll be riveting."

He said it before he snapped his fingers and teleported over to Fluttershy, towering behind her and looking at the one at the door with suspicious eyes. He hadn't seen Longma around this place before, and now suddenly there was another? And how did he even know to look for the two others here?

He stood in a Sherlock outfit and looked at the messenger through an oversized lense as these questions went on in his head. Normally he'd have just magicked around with things, but Fluttershy was so adamant about him doing something potentially harmful to others, and especially when they came to her door. Especially after the whole incident with Tree Hugger. It was taken way out of proportion by everypony else he thought, but he still had to hear from it if he stepped a little out of line or acted jealous again.

As For Omen, she didn't say anything and just stood next to her friends as they stood and awaited the messenger to say something. Though perhaps, from what he had said, she had to say something that wasn't clarified. Something that she could have used some times when she were mainly a messenger.

"Sen is here."

She pointed at her friend, but kept her eyes on the messenger and what he would do. Well, that and wondering why a longma came looking for Sen to begin with. From what he had said, they had written him out of their story. He shouldn't exist to them, so why were there now one of them here looking for him? very strange.

_____________________________________________________________________

@@Summer Breeze,

Blitz didn't wait as Summer got down to thr ground. She sped up as much as she could in the sand, and ran towards the pegasi, aiming to catch her. Though, as it was a little hard to run in still, she tried to go for the strike whilst jumping, which would be rather easy to dodge, and would leave her deeply into a pile of sand. A pile that would start to move around, as the filly would try to sneak up on Summer, forgetting briefly that she would be able to see both the pile of sand moving, and the tip of her muzzle that stuck out so she could breathe.

When she eventually popped out and resumed her catching attempts, Summer kicking up a lot of sand affected her too, and she would miss, over and over again, as she tried to find anything in what felt like a localized sandstorm. Something which forced her to try something else, so after one of the times when Summer tried to run away and got sand in her eyes, the attempts would stop, and Blitz would be gone. This time, without there being any obvious signs amongst the piles of sands where she were.

It appeared it was time for a sneak attack now, but could Summer find out where she were before the ambush? That would be interesting.

@@EQ_Theta,

"I remember walking in circles..."

Omen seemed somewhat hesitant as she spoke, remembering what had happened at this point, what went on before it, and what would transpire later. A confusing mess of things that were hard to keep completely track of frankly, but all of it part of how she they all got here today, grouped up with the ones they had sought out.

"Long hunt with no answers, and a master that were silenced kept bringing me back to the same places. This more than any, thinking that perhaps if I kept walking around it, he would be there, buried or sleeping."

She gazed towards the castle, thinking of the creatures that had led her here that time.

"There was others in there. Ponies, changelings,  and strange beings. It didn't go well, but at least a few needed help. Just not for long. Nopony ever did, not until I went outside to look around the garden again and met Sen.

He were somepony strange then, but one that could use help, and didn't shun me when he heard my master's name. He even welcomed the help, and acted nice instead of superior like others. He were... No, is, special."

Silence befell her as she looked at the point where the two of them began to slowly move away from the well occupied castle. Not something that could be seen from the outside, but she remembered what it had been like inside. As well as the promise/order she were to follow about not mentioning Luna, or the siren Serenade.

"Like Sen said, a meeting that was a blessing in disguise, but I think he was a blessing more than me. Sen was more driven than I had been in a long time, and he kept us going. If not for him, we would not be here now, and Lin would be gone... Something I don't want to think about. It feels wrong."

Slowly she began to follow the past selves as they moved towards Ponyville, and the first interaction they would eventually have with the ponies in the village. There were a few things discussed on the road there though between the past selves, but if it were interesting to others were anypony's guess.

She figured it might be to Discord though, as thus far he had just observed things without saying anything. A little strange, as he were usually hard to make quiet, but she did not focus on it. Nothing good would come of such a line of thought, and she wanted to believe that master really had changed, at least some.

______________________________________________________________________

@,

Chow actually hadn't noticed the little zebra foal already being in the cart when he started talking. Last he had seen she had been near where he stood, but it seemed like the lil' one had gotten one up on him there and sneaked off for higher ground. Pretty good of somepony he wasn't sure could get up there without help.

"Well I'll be a monkey's uncle, hadn't seen you went along up there already. My bad Misty."

He grinned as she, and then Astral went down from the cart, speaking about how a little walk wasn't so bad and how the boxes wasn't all to comfortable lying in. Not a huge surprise on that last one, as they hadn't exactly packed so there'd be a pillow fort in the middle of it, but eh, some ponies did better with sleeping on hard surfaces than others, so it could still have been acceptable all things considered, depending on the pony. Turned out Astral wasn't that type of pony, but she were another type: One that flew without wings, which really drew his eyes as she floated down.

"That's uhm... I-I mean.."

It had gone through his mind that him gawking like that could potentially look a bit bonkers, and though he himself thought he had a good excuse, his inner voices were doing a great job playing on insecurities and making him fall flat on the floor, unable to find his words again. At least for a while until he closed his eyes, took a deep breath, then opened again and walked with the others whilst looking apologetic on Astral.

"I'm sorry for the look Astral. It's just seeing somepony fly without wings... Well, I tried to be able to do something like that for a while, or even getting some wings by toying with some sealed magic before, because I wanted to be able to blend in better with the griffins. Heck, getting the chance, I wanted to just be able to change into one.

The magic thing went... Well, horribly, and I eventually stopped trying to find a way as it looked impossible, but it's still rummaging 'round my head at times, and seeing you fluttering about, even a little... It made the old flame flare up a bit again.

Just want to clear the air before you think I'm some sort of crazy. Heh, though I guess I still sound a bit nuts.in it. Aaand I'm just making it worse by yapping on and on like this."

Chow started to look a bit awkward as he finally stopped talking and kept walking towards the place he had talked about before. He really wasn't as good at talking with others at times as he would've liked.

@@cwhip9,

Well that's a shame, but I'll look forward to the posts that you can make then until things have settled. ^^ See you in the posts.

@,

Chow nearly spun his head all the way around to follow the apparent flying boots with big, awe-struck eyes.

That Astral had magic was already something that had made him think that she got a lot of things going for her, but now he learned that she could also fly? The - in his mind - most important of the gifts ponies could have? Yet this wasn't through some sort of cursed artifacts or magic books, but just from boots... Something that everypony could wear if only...

He forced his eyes away from them as he scorned himself for what he had been thinking in his moment of weakness. It was something he understood, because he knew well how much he wished for the ability to fly, but it didn't make it okay to think like some sort of petty thief that was trying to rationalize things. He were better than this. He had to be.

Memories of past mistakes made by a fool of a foal ran through his head before Astral falling back on the wagon snapped him out of his minor trance.

"You're really wanting to test whatever or not I can move this thing, eh lass? But okay, you'll see that it's gonna take more than a teaspoon of mare to make ol' Double Chow keel over."

The words were said with a cheeky voice befitting of the look on his face, but internally he were praying that he wasn't going to make a huge fool out of himself now and actually not be able to get a move on this.

Well, there was only one way to find out, right? Take a deep breath, relax a bit, and... Houston, they had take-off. It wasn't going to win a race, but he had it moving at roughly the speed of somepony passing through town, and that were good enough for now until he could get some momentum going for this thing. And more importantly, he didn't end up proving his big ol' mouth wrong this time.

"Alright, seems like we got the wheels turning. 'bout time we got out of here then, before the peace ends up gettin' disturbed too much. Wanna jump up and enjoy the view too, Misty, or are you thinking that the dragon got her hoard secured and it's fine to walk for a bit?"

@@Illiad Easle,

Awh, that's a pity. :/ But Mark my word Illiad: I will take you on your word. In two years, I will either see you here, or I will drag you back myself. :3 Hehe.

You take care, okay mate?

@,

Chow had laughed a little when Astral pointed out the weird ways he spoke and did things. He knew that it wasn't the way ponies did around here, and even back in Griffinstone his way of speaking in particular had raised some eyebrows, but he didn't really get fussed about it. Most seemed to get what he were on about regardless, and his quirks had their explanations in where he were raised up, as being a pony in Griffinstone made him adapt as much as possible for that, instead of pony society.

In regards to his speech and some of the stranger quirks that hadn't really shown yet, that came from his foster parents. They had moved to Griffinstone from some other town far away years ago, but they still carried trace of the way they spoke where they were from, along with some seemingly odd customs and books written in their former home's dialect. The sort of books that he had grown up listening to and reading.

The memories of his home and his foster parents kept him going along smiling through the next few hours of work until finally, the last boxes got into the cart and he could stop up to take a few deep breaths for a job well done. Or well, part of the job at least, but it all counted.

He were about to ask if they were to get cracking along right away, when Misty had found the plushie of Twilight and things derailed a bit. Frankly, he thought it was kinda adorable to have something like this, but it was att he same time quite funny to see how embarrassed Astral were about the find. Not enough to make him start laughing - which likely was a good thing - but it did keep the smile on his face for the duration it went along until finally, it got packed away with the rest of stuff and secured on the wagon, before Astral then turned to him and let him know that it was go time.

"Right on Astral. Let's have a swing at the wheelie here and see if it'll stick to the ground or get moving."

Chow went over and got the cart secured to himself before taking a deep breath and try a few steppes. Considering the amount of stuff on this thing, it had been a slight worry when he had the chance to gaze over the final work, that they wouldn't be able to move it at all, but as he got it moving a little it turned out to not be as bad as he had suddenly feared. It was still a bit of a strain, granted, but it seemed workable all things considered.

"Well I'll be a diamond dog's uncle, we're good to go. Just have to avoid strong elevation though, or this thing's going to drag me down with it. You two ready for us to make a move though? I can wait a bit if you wanna check out your home for more stuff that wasn't meant to bring along, or if you need to hide your fan plushie a bit more in the mix?"

There was a bit chuckling, but he swore, he wasn't judging here, just having a bit of a laugh. That wouldn't be too much of a bother, right? Wasn't like he were laughing in her face, which would've been one heck of a rude thing to go through, and deserving of a punch to the noggin. It was just a harmless poke to her.

______________________________________________________________________________________

@@EQ_Theta,

"Then let's have a little history lesson."

Discord stood in a tacky teacher's outfit for a second before snapping his fingers and bringing them back into a vision, though this time, it'd be slightly different. Nothing major, they'd just be able to hear the memory-Omen, which they wouldn't have been able to in the last vision as her, and her kind, spoke strangely and it needed to be attuned to get the subtleties of this channel. like a radio where you had to move the dial from side to side and looking for that sweet spot, which were also the visual that Discord showed whilst the memory stood frozen.

"No, a little more to the right... Ah, there we go."

The button vanished and Discord settled himself on a rock to enjoy the show, which started as he snapped his fingers and let the tape roll, so to speak.

"This is the start. The first time I saw him."

She didn't really need to say, but Omen did regardless as the scene they were placed in began to go away from just having the area around the old castle in the Everfree Forest by itself, and started to include Sen, that stepped into the clearing near the castle, and Omen, who wandered out from behind a large rock.

They'd be able to wander around the place like it was normal, but they wouldn't be able to touch the two past selves, and if they tried would have their hooves or claws pass right through. It was like they were placed in a... Hologram, so to speak. Though it was likely only Discord that knew what that sort were. A pro from being able to pop into the future and look around sometimes, though that wasn't important right now. What were, was the show in front of them, as Omen and Senlin, as she knew him as then, locked eyes.´for the first time.

Things would move along at normal speed, which should give plenty of time to explain things by the ones involved or ask questions, and to keep up with the memory, the lot of them would have to move along with the two it was focused on, but nopony got hurt from a little walking.

@@cwhip9,

"Oh, give it a rest, will you?"

Perhaps not the smartest thing that Zinthar could say in response to the booming voice from above that was apparently redecorating the area around them, but he had far since reached the point of not caring about trying to play nice. Eially not when this voice was making his head hurt even more, and he had enough pains to go around without some loud-mouth making it worse.

"You don't think we're... Trying to get out of here? You think that... We want to be stuck in this hole? No... We don't. So if you want to... Get rid of us, point out the exit and... We're leaving."

The feline shook his head at the sky where seemingly, the voice came from now after having left the... Was vessel a valid description when it came to the error of a form from before? Potentially not, as it wasn't a solid body or object to have taken over like a general possession would, but he wasn't in the mood to ponder of the workings and definitions of dream made objects right now. Frankly, he just wanted to get out of the dream worlds, collapse somewhere, and then see if he could sleep off some of the pain.

What he didn't want, was to deal with another one of those types who thought that speaking loudly and out of sight meant you were an effectively scary villain. He had seen far too many being amateurish like that in his time, and found the kind rather annoying. It likely worked for them, as the general types villains tended to go after were the cowardly populace that was easy to scare, but... Well, perhaps he was just a little elitist about how to instill fear, and jaded by attempts that didn't even have a proper malicious presence.

You could see how unfazed he were too, considering he looked towards the supposed origins of the voice like you would with a thing on a shelf. Somewhat interested in what was up there, but not thinking it was something that'd be a danger. Something he might be wrong in, but for the time being, he hadn't seen something that would disprove this at least.

___________________________________________________________________________

@@Summer Breeze,

@@Frosty Frost,

"Hey, no fair."

Blitz jumped after the flying pegasi as high as she could time and time again, but Summer was simply not that easy for her to get hold of as long as the wings kept giving her an advantage. Yet that didn't mean that she didn't keep trying, attempting to catch her in either an unaware moment, or by trying to jump higher. She could likely get higher up without the metal on her back, but honestly, she couldn't remove it. Not because of vanity, no, she just literally couldn't remove it without the key, which were back in her workshop in Equestria. Which they were quite some way from right now.

"You just wait. One day, I'm going to make my wings work, and I'll open the sky up for everypony. Then I'll catch yo-"

The pile of sand that she had hit when trying to jump this time interrupted her words, but didn't deter her as she got up again and looked at Summer with a strange glimmer in her eyes. Nothing bad, just more like a brief spark of inspiration that fluttered before the flame went away again and she returned to trying to catch Summer.

It was great fun for, even if she kinda thought the pegasi was cheating, plus she got a chance to analyze wing movements more in the process. It was one of the key points that'd have to work when she found a way to power and control the wings she had on, so every chance she could take some more of it in, she did. It wasn't overtly obvious, and frankly it was more of a side thing compared to her having fun, but things still got registered in the volatile little mind of Blitz.

______________________________________________________________________________

@@Wolves,

"Heh, good to hear. And you're right. Until things blows over the town's a no-go. Since you're interested in a talk though... Perhaps I could ask you something? See, I'm heading for Canterlot eventually, as mentioned earlier, but I only heard rumors about town. Things about some of the nobles, and then mostly how the princesses are part of it. Wondering if perhaps you could tell me something else about the capital, Golden? I'm thinking a resident's going to know all the actually important things and not just the tourist board info."

He sounded a bit embarrassed asking for things about the city, and got the faintest touch of pink on his cheeks over it, though really, he felt perfectly fine. He was just rather hungry for information about the city that broke the changeling race.

Okay, breaking the race was perhaps going a bit too far, but it had dealt a significant blow to things. Both in the forces that Chrysalis had gathered from several hives that had followed her - either willing or by force - and in the morale of changelings in general that now had to stop and realize that perhaps they weren't as high up the food chain as they'd like to think. And that wasn't even touching upon the sour, public opinion and increased persecution now spreading around, which had already been quite bad prior to this, but were now to a point where he were amazed that there wasn't a standing bounty out on their kind. Yet.

Before all of this, he had heard other changelings refer to Equestria as a shining beacon of hope for the hungry, where love flowed like honey and a few changelings here and there could eat well every day without even having to kidnap others and drain them dry. After the hive had tried to establish there and failed though... Well, he hadn't met a changeling that felt like talking since the fall , but he could imagine that the ones who had went there to seek shelter from a dead or cruel hive they couldn't handle anymore, wasn't going in with as little hesitation as they once had.

Personally, he didn't care much for those who fled from their hives, and he had done cruel enough things to others of his own kind so that claiming that he cared for others outside his own hive was really doubtful, but their loss stung all of them, and that ripple he cared for.

The so-called *protective measures* had led to dwindling numbers from the countless changelings that directly or indirectly got starved into mindlessness or worse by the sudden absence of previously easy attainable food, and the fighting over the territories left behind was taking more of them down whilst new borders were tested, and the pony populations outside of Equestria began to take inspiration from the insectoid's defeat to make their pushes against them too.

So many other things were also happening, such as the effects of the lack of a steady supply of love for the unhatched nymphs, of which the Equestrians responsible only saw but a fraction. It was escalating, and would go horrid unless a new queen to gather the scattered tribes emerged to get things sorted on at least the warring front. At least then they could begin negotiations rather than battles, and start on getting things back to a more stable environment for their kind.

Now, from the perspective of the Equines, the measures taken against the changelings were probably fair, yet to Happy at least, it felt like somepony had tried to break a door down with a bucket, just to have the door attack you back with a sledgehammer. It was horribly unbalanced, and frankly, he would find a good deal of joy in having the princesses punished for their acts, though that wasn't why he sked about Canterlot. He were but one changeling, from a hive far away, and an army, led by a queen no less, had failed an attack. He knew that he didn't stand a chance.

But he still wanted to learn about the town for when he did eventually get there himself, and saw the location where the beginning of the end took place. And Golden here would be a perfect way to get a commoners perspective rather than that of a fancy flyer about the place, which were much more effective when trying to infiltrate. Or in his case, stay under the radar.

__________________________________________________________________________________

@@EQ_Theta,

Discord wasn't hiding how well he liked the comments about his little spread of candy in the slightest. He liked the adoration, even for things as small as this, and seeing the face of Sen as he had reentered the house and been greeted by the sudden slightly-supporter of Discord, had almost made him burst out laughing again. It was simple priceless, even if he had wished that there was more shock and less contemplation on his face. But there'd be time enough for that later.

He did, figuratively, write behind his ear that he had to listen in more closely to things from now on when Lin began to talk, considering what she said about harmful magic being cleansed from her, It sounded like an interesting story, just like it might be to hear about the strange, elongated dragon curled up and sleeping on Lin's shoulder, or when Fluttershy asked Omen the question about how she had met the siblings.

"I met Sen at the castle in the forest. He was looking for his sister, and-"

Omen stopped her words when she tried to rise her head from her glass, only to find her face glued to the glass, and the glass itself glued to the table. At which point Discord burst out laughing for a bit before eventually snapping his fingers and making the glue disappear from the glass and the table, leaving Omen free again. She looked at him briefly, but it didn't seem like she were going to say anything to him about the little prank, and just let him have his fun.

"- and he asked for help, when I came around. He was the first in a long time that hadn't run away from me, and the first who really talked since Master Discord, so I followed him. The journey though were strange. Hard to explain. Perhaps..."

She looked over at Sen and Lin, with wondering eyes as her talking paused briefly.

"...Would it be okay for Master Discord to show us this, like he did the things before? It might be easier to see than say."

It was a little questionable as to how well that idea would be received, but she had to ask. At least she were pretty sure she did, as this involved a fair bit of personal things that they would all be witness to, though likely sped through a little here and there so not everything got too in depth. The interesting bits would for certain though, including the cave, the ancestors and the times before the siblings met, giving access for Lin to see how Sen had been in their search if it were. Among other things.

Personally, she didn't care much. The only thing Discord would likely learn from all of this from her side, were things about Mother, and she doubted Mother would care much. She had always just said that she didn't want to talk with him face to face, not that he had to be locked away from knowing how she looked, or how she behaved.

But, this was taking the sorrows in advance. First, she would have to see if the two would even allow it to begin with, and if not, she could try to give some description of things in word, though it might be a little lacking compared to a visual. But again, it were their choice, and she would follow what they said.

I think Randimaxis might have gone into hiding... Oh dear, sweet Celestia!

Heh. Kidding aside, @@Randimaxis, we miss you here. Come back soon. And bring cookies.

@Everyone

Been a long day and have to get up early for yet another one tomorrow, so I'll have to wait with posting until tomorrow. I'm sorry for this delay, but I should be able to get them written out tomorrow unless something goes really wrong.