Blitz Boom
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I actually forgot about the package, sorry.
Had a real busy day so didn't get to writing until the end and it slipped my mind. I'll include it in the next part.
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Void joined in to the family embrace as well. Shaken and barely keeping it together, because she knew more than the rest what this were perhaps going to mean, but she wouldn't let her sister feel like she wasn't there for her. Not in this moment, when she stood vulnerable and fearful of what she felt like she needed to do, despite the consequences being potentially grave. She needed her family there for her in that moment, and she had them all there. Including the little new one, who apparently wanted to give her oldest sister a kick in the head. Almost as if the unborn foal wanted to tell Null to man up and get on with it. Or perhaps it were an attempt at a comforting gesture, like a highhoof, or hug. It were hard to tell, though it did make a small, sobbing laugh escape Null when she felt this. There were something special about this kick to the face that she just couldn't explain.
On 3/17/2020 at 3:51 AM, Illiad Easle said:"I wish we could say we didn't need your protection. I wish the world were in a state where we didn't need this fear. But it isn't there yet."
Their mother spoke up to continue, "If this is what will make you happy, give you the peace you need, we won't stop you. We just ask that, as soon as you can, you come back. Tell us you're okay. We need to know that you're safe just as much as you need to know that we are."
"I don't know what's going to happen, or how often I can come back here. The Consul's words on that wasn't encouraging... But I'll try."
It were like her father had said. It were nice to think of a world where something like this wasn't needed, but it wasn't that safe. It needed beings out there to do the dirty work, and despite how miserable of a life that would be to live, it were a sacrifice that had to happen. At least if she were the one to go down this path, it might spare someone else who weren't already broken from having to make the choice. There were some solace in that, though not as much as knowing that she had her family's support on this. In the coming months and years, that were going to mean more than anything else, in keeping herself sane.
Especially Void seemed to want to keep supporting her, as whilst their parents let go of her - and her unborn sibling stopped bashing her in the face - Void just tightened her grip, and leaned over her in a tight embrace, as if she were desperately trying to cling on to her. What could be expected though, right? The two had been all they had for so long, and now Null were throwing herself right back into the battlefield, but this time on her own. There were a lot of reason for her to be scared and nervous, just like her big sister were.
"Lil' sis, you gotta let me go. I know you're scared that everything's gonna go wrong, but I have to do this. For all of us."
"It's n-not fair..."
Tears ran down Null's back, as she did hers to embrace her larger sister, with her own tears mixing into the soft fur on Void's neck.
"It's not. I'm probably not gonna get better out there either. But I'll know that you're all safe. You know I've always been happiest when you were okay, lil' sis."
"...M-Mercy..."
A hollow laugh escaped Null for a brief moment at that word, shakingly escaping Void's muzzle.
"Don't think there's gonna be a whole lot of that for me."
"Not y-you. Selena... T-They want me too..."
And with that, both the hollow laugh and tears ended for Null, who's eyes went wide, as a look between pain and anger started to flourish on her face. Partially due to what she had just heard, and partially due to Void's embrace tightening, and stance getting into more of a foster position with Null as her teddy, as she said this, which were starting to make it hard for her smaller sister to breath. And move? Yeah, not really in the cards either. She were trapped as the news that balance apparently wanted to even itself out, by using both of the sisters as the two sides of the scale out in the grand open world. Though at least, their parents should be happier about Void's potential position, right? Mercy had to be a better path than vengeance. Surely it couldn't be worse at least.
...Right?
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"A bodyguard you say? As a professional in that line of work, might I ask what credentials you might have?"
Just being there and look grumpy did not make you a bodyguard. It took effort, and keen senses. Oftentimes a course or two as well. To think that this dragoness believed it to be that simple as just saying this strange, lanky new friend of hers were one, felt a little hurtful to him, who had actually worked hard for the title.
Granted, it were just a cover, so he didn't make a fuss about it beyond just making a verbal stab with a smirk on his beak, but still. It were the principle of it.
The response he got? A roll of the eyes by Leviathan, before she took a deep breath, and exhaled frozen air into his face until a small layer of ice had started to frost over some of his feathers.
"I'm good at keeping a cool head."
Marley wrinkled his frosty face and brushed the icy flakes from it. He honestly did not know if he should be annoyed at her for doing this, or applauding the way she mixed in a pun to her response to his remark. Perhaps something to judge on future actions, as it sounded like this one would be there for a while.
"My name, is Leviathan. And like she said, I'm not leaving her anytime soon."
"Duly noted. I'd ask questions, but I doubt I'd get any answers in a crowded room like this."
"Pretty much. Now then, what're your plans here?"
"I just came to direct our shared companion towards a new playing field. That task have been completed, and my dear, potential mate, will be spending time with the rest of the guests for the time being. As such, I am done here, and the decision lies with Ruby."
They'd both turn their heads to look down on Ruby at that point, awaiting words from who were currently the shortest among them, even if behind the false hide she were draping herself in, she were the largest.
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"Never say never. Anyway, I guess we sorta strayed away from things, huh?"
"Just a smidgen. Here, take these, and the two of us will talk for a little, okay honey?"
Pop pulled a small, see-through box of something that looked like orange gelatine cubes, with a sugary coating and dark spots of what were likely chocolate inside of them, and pushed it towards him on the desk. A gift which Benny happily accepted, and opened up to have a good, solid sniff of the treat within. Seemed to send a shiver of joy down his spine before he slowly started to chew through the couple of dozen small cubes by himself, as an odd, flowery smell spread around him. Must be something in the candy.
"Works every time. *giggles* I promise that he isn't always this noisy. He just likes to get to know others.
You want to go back to talk about milkshakes, perhaps? You sounded like you're well versed in that sort of work."
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Smell wasn't beyond Hammond, as were shown when he leaned towards the three of them and sniffed the air. Much like with Omen, he were imprinting on their *scent*, which they were likely not going to be fussed about. Well, almost all of them, as a certain refraction started to wake up from his nap, and looked down on the strange creature smelling them with annoyance. These were His caretakers, not its!
He'd slither down and hiss slightly at Hammond, who seemed about as threatened by Shrimp as anyone else had been so far. In fact, he even moved closer to get a better look and smell of the strange, floating noodle.
If Sen or Lin tried to stop it, Rosa would speak up and ask them to wait, and see how this played out, as he observed with interest that Shrimp's demeanor started to change into that of confusion as he got close enough to get a sense of scent himself, and found that the small creature smelled like Lin and Omen. Something which would make him start to look between Hammond - who were beginning to make limited sign language at the reptile - and the longma siblings, chirping in confusion and trying to understand what were going on. He weren't used to this sort of smell being on another small creature, and it were making him unsure what were going on.
Things sorta took a turn though, once he felt Hammond's paws on his head. The mimic had been patted himself when it seemed like something were going on, and since he wanted to try and interact with others, he had begun to do this on the refraction. Honestly, all things considered, it went pretty well there. Sure Shrimp tried a half-effort bite in the direction of Hammond, but the later's webbed paw were rather good at this, and it seemed to make the refraction tolerate the motion for the time being. Even letting out a few purring sounds.
"Riveting play-date aside, it seems time for us to leave. Soon as you're ready, we'll just go back the way we came."
Once Sen and Lin had control over Shrimp again, and got him placed up on themselves - he'd only be slightly wimpy and reluctant to it this time - they could wander out of the office, down the hall, past Brick into the store, and then from there, go into the streets.
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Nada would indeed be able to keep ahead of the matriarch, and when she were far enough away, also have the option to double back without being spotted, leaving the matriarch to stand around and look at the water, waiting somewhat patiently for her prey to emerge.
The thing to push her back would likely be that the river in question started to run into a mountainside. there were still a stream going beneath it, but the matriarch were completely unable to follow any further, and if Nada dove deep enough, she wouldn't be possible to sense for the large timberwolf. After about five minutes waiting, the matriarch would growl slightly and start to wander back to where she had been when she ran into this group, thinking that she had chased the other predator out of her territory for good.
If Nada had gone back then, combined with the slower pace the matriarch wandered back with, now that she were no longer hunting, the siren would have a good 7-8 minutes to work with once she got back to the others to convince them to get out of there.
She'd only find Nerzhei and Lotus there though, sitting on the ground with their back against an oak tree. Next to said tree, were a smaller bush that looked like it had seen better days, but as for the dryad, there were no sign of her. Just the dragoness, bunny, and a lot of wooden parts from the split up timberwolves that had been assaulting them. Seeing how Nerzhei were clutching the top of her bad arm, and a coppery smell were lingering in the air, they might have gotten a good hit in on her before she took care of them though.
As for Agni, he would show soon after, and take a piece of timberwolf, to fly away and dump further from the other parts. He had tried to burn them, and failed, so he'd do this to be somewhat vindictive and petty instead. Until he'd see Nada at least, at which point he'd fly down and land in front of her with a spinal twig in his beak.
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"I were just out on a walk. The forest path is usually safe to walk on, long as you keep your eyes with you.
Then all of a sudden, the timberwolf matriarch suddenly shows up in a bad mood, and I'm chased off, at which point I fell in there. Not the best outcome, but it beats getting eaten."
A weird day to say the least, but when you lived in or near Ponyville, weirdness were bound to happen. At least this time it hadn't resulted in anypony getting hurt, so he'd count his blessing there and just move on.
"So, you've been living out here for a while, Scarecrow? I can't say I've ever heard of anypony like you before, and there's plenty enough stories of what lurks in the Everfree Forest. Are you a newer resident?"
Might as well try and learn some more about Scarecrow too. Didn't seem like he usually had anypony to talk to out here, seeing how he were surprised that Straw hadn't run, and there were just a right shame. Sure he looked... Unusual, but he were so far seemingly a rather good-willed creature. Wasn't right that a few cosmetic issues meant he should linger out here all alone.
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"It bit through solid steel! Fillies are softer than steel."
Somewhere, her old science teacher were surely going to be very proud to know that Jelly had caught up on this much during her class.
"I'm not gonna see my friend get bitten in half by a badger."
The drag were slow, but she were doing what she could. She hadn't inherited her daddy's buff frame, but more her mothers slender build, which left her more nimble, rather than a bulldozer. Great when she had to fly through a narrow path, but not good when trying to drag her friend away from a pony-eating badger. Though hopefully, right now it were a granola bar eating badger, and that'd give them some time to get away from it.
Their main goal here had been done anyway, right? The badger wasn't chasing the weird pony anymore - wherever he had run off to - though unfortunately now, the badger was on them. And were a lot more dangerous than it had looked like. She were really gonna have to remember this for another time.
In case the badger would lounge forward and try something, there'd be a surprise: That being Gary, who would jump out of Jelly's hair, hissing away, before spitting a glob of spider silk in the eye area of the badger. Usually he only did this to catch his prey, but protecting his owner/friend were important too. He liked her, and she kept him fed and safe. No one was going to eat her.
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"I have spent most of my life, having nothing else to cling to than a promise to keep my family safe. It's all that pushed me on and kept me sane.
Now out of the blue, you're back, life's calming down, and there's no more reason to fight. I'm even getting back to flying, after being denied it for so long. I should be happy, but I... I'm not. I can't be, long as I know there's still somepony out there who could hurt you."
Null looked up at her parents, trying her best to look tough, but they should be able to see that for all her bravado, she wasn't as solid as she wanted to be. She were scared of what this could mean. Not just for herself, but for them, once she wasn't here to keep them safe anymore. Even if she went out there to handle threats that would eventually come for them - which were a good, preemptive strike in her book - it still left them vulnerable to those things nearer, and it would always be a worry she'd carry around.
"I'm not... I don't Want to leave you behind. I just want to protect my family. It's a-all I have, and I don't know what to d-do if you... *sob*"
Try as she might, she wasn't able to get through the sentence without breaking down and start crying straight into her empty bowl, with her head hung in shame.
Much as Void for example wanted to think otherwise, Null were a broken pony, to an extend where it were likely impossible to remake her into a well functioning, happy pony. Much as she had tried to fit in, and had gotten a few more smiles and less anger in her life, she kept feeling a need to fight a battle that should be over. As if something drew her towards the very thing which she had been scarred mentally and physically by, and wished to be away from for several years, to the point where she were willing to kill herself soon as her task of finding Void a safe home were over with.
Deep down, it were likely that it mostly stemmed from her feeling like she did not deserve this life, and only had the role as her family's guardian, instead of a full fledged member. Combine it with the ingrained emotional baggage that came from decades of rejection by society, and clinging to her protective role as the only thing she ever felt she were any good at, and it left her in a torn state that made her feel as if she might never be happy, following Vengeance, but perhaps they would be. All that were needed to be sacrificed were her, and that boat had sailed a long, long time ago.
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"It actually depends on the region. Ponies in Equestria I doubt could deal with more than three grams of meat in a large meal, before they got ill. In Neighpon, they can deal with ten to twelve grams, since their stomachs are more accustomed to it, due to their local cuisine. I've traveled a lot for ingredients, so I've seen all sorts of weird foods around the world. Neighpon have a healthy fishing industry that have affected even the equine foods at times, which is kind of weird, but with all the good things one can get from there, I've been there enough to get used to it. Believe me, Neighponeese Lotus Sugar is a treat well worth the time and cost to get shipped.
Besides, it's not the worst place for meat eating, long as you don't run into kitsune. I don't think I've met one yet, but you hear stories. Strange creatures."
"I dunno about that, but I do about siblings, and they can be a real hassle. I still know she cares about me though, just a sibling rivalry sort of thing. Perhaps it's a bit late for you to have one yourself Icy, but ponies can have lots of foals, right? Maybe one day you'll see this sort of thing from your own foals. Fair warning: Age matters. Whoever is oldest is gonna try and take control.
Doesn't always work though. Heh, the last time my oldest brother tried that, my sister left him in a real state, for all to see too. It was before I were born, but she says he haven t tried anything since, and I can't say I've seen anything either. He barely speaks ill of her before looking around to make sure she isn't listening in on him either."
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"I've made sure to have a few chefs instruct him in what is, and what isn't, supposed to be food. For the time being, he seems able to judge it on smell, and I doubt that his glasses have a distinct aroma of edibility."
"If he's like Omen, I assume he can practically eat anything."
"She is however, also a creation of Discord, from what you've told me in a previous exchange. I do not wish to test if that is his work, or another of their kinds peculiar quirks, on my dear little companion.
Now be that as it may, I need to prepare the forthcoming trip, as well as return to my other guests beforehoof. Unless there are other things, might we cut this meeting short?"
"I got nothing more to say. Sen? Lin? You have anything?"
Rosa rose up and slowly, carefully, picked Hammond from his face and put him on the table. He squirmed a little at first as he were lifted up, but quickly went limb up until being placed down again. A complacent little creature, very unlike the mimics he were shaped after, but they'd see in due time. Might be that once he started to become more knowledgeable and self reliant, he wouldn't be as okay being lifted around like a kitten anymore.
Regardless of that, both Rosa and Scarcity looked upon the longma siblings at this point, with Hammond following troupe, as he assumed this to be some sort of group activity he were supposed to take part in.
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"Perish the thought. Things went beyond my expectations, with this delightful little huntress accepting both my advances and contact information. This is but ground work of course, yet I could see her make for a good mate, provided things keeps going well. It depends on whatever or not she accepts the romantic manticore hunt I had in mind, yet judging from her impressive tooth collection and predatory glance when the idea were brought up, I have no doubts that she will soon enough make contact. One can only hope for the best to happen afterwards, yes?"
Marley took a hand up and gently slicked back his head feathers in yet another display of vanity. A time he also used to bite note in the fairly sized dragoness that were following Ruby around.
"Ah, and what do we have here? A friendly companion of yours by chance? If so, a delight to meet you madamme. You may call me Marley, a personal bodyguard for one of the more prominent pokers players of the land, as well as a travel companion of Ruby here. How fare you on this fine day?"
Leviathan just looked at him, cooked her head to the side a little, and then addressed not him, but Ruby.
"Your bird sure talks a lot."
"How delightful. There's two of them now."
Marley's smile said that he found this amusing. Yet the sarcastic tone accompanying it, spoke of a want to roll his eyes and let out a large sigh at potentially having to now having to deal with twice the amount of dragon speaking to him in this manner.
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Agni wasn't lingering around when he were told to get away by Nada. He took to the air, yet he wasn't flying off and leaving them to their own. The forest's guardian had been hurt, and this large timberwolf threatened both her and his friend. He were furious, and as a creature of fire, he did what his kind did best: He pelted them with embers from above.
Thankfully it had recently rained so the forest wasn't gonna be caught ablaze, and his flames were still too weak to be more than an annoyance to the timberwolves. Barely registering with the matriarch, and doing little more than irk her children. A con of being a mature hatchling that had barely left his nest, though there seemed to be some sort of action taken from this, as the smaller ones seemingly *talked* to the matriarch, whose eyes were focused entirely on Nada. A low growl in another tone than what she had used against the siren were their response, and quickly afterwards, all of the smaller timberwolves would split off and focus their attention on Agni, as well as the *pony* and dragoness.
The first two who would aim for Nerzhei would get a bad surprise, as she'd hammer her good fist into the ground, and caused two separate spikes of rock to emerge and completely smash the two of them to pieces.
"You want to fight? Then bring it on, rejects."
She'd reach into the ground as an earthly spark danced on her claws, and withdrew a rock spear from the dirt. Placing herself in front of the unconscious dryad, she'd then take up a battle stance and start to fight off the assailants. There were more or them, but the dragoness had been around for centuries, and despite her scholar status, knew how to fight. As were evident when she smashed the next one that came close apart as well, with a hard hit directly to its head. A good thing these creatures were just made of wood, or this could've gotten really ugly.
Agni would keep swooping around and pelting small embers towards the creatures, which caused him to work an an unintentional distraction to make the fight easier for the injured dragoness.
As for Nada, she'd find that the matriarch were still well focused on her, and lounged forward, clearly falling for her attempt at leading the large creature away. She couldn't distract her children, but Nerzhei seemed able to deal with those. Long as she could keep up the matriarch following her like this, she'd do the best thing she could for them at the current point in time.
She'd better keep up the pace though. Long legs on an already fast runner, meant that the matriarch were no slouch. At best, she'd be slowed down by trees and undergrowth, but even then, this were her home. She knew how to navigate it effectively. It just remained to be seen if Nada did it better than her, or had some sort of plan.
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"I believe in judging actions and giving second chances, not start screaming at the first sight of somepony."
Getting a closer look certainly made this the weirdest creature that Straw had ever seen, no context. A skull without skin, a body seemingly made of Celestia knew what combination of nature and decay, and just an overall look of a... Zombie, maybe? It'd ft the descriptions all the stories went with, just with more twists. Perhaps one of Discord's unfortunate victims, or attempts at rebirth? It would not surprise him. The draconequus made all sorts of weird mutations happen at times, and quite honestly, Straw wasn't sure if it were always intentional. He sometimes assumed that it were more a case of things just automatically changing around the draconequus at times, due to his essence being that of pure chaos. Seemed like the sort of thing that'd be impossible to fully control.
That aside, this.... He'd assume male, were seemingly friendly, as well as helpful. Strange looks aside, that were the important part to judge he'd say.
"And I personally think that monster is a little harsh of a thing to call yourself. Monsters tend to be the creature that're just out to hurt others, and you just helped me out of a fairly annoying pit trap. I'd say you're more of an oddity, Mr. ...Scarecrow? Would it be okay to call you that?"
Scarecrow seemed to fit this creature well in his opinion. Reminded him some of those things you stuck on corn fields to scare off the birds. No, not the regular hay ones. Those never worked. He meant the creative, scarier variants made of animal parts, swamp mucks, etc. Not the most widely used ones, but very effective among the farmers he knew of. Of which none were in or near Ponyville, or Fluttershy would've gotten an aneurysm. She might from this one too actually. She scared far too easily, though that might count for several others when it came to this somewhat zombiefied looking creature. Not everypony were as quick to accept new sights such as this one, sadly.
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"Nono, please feel free to speak your mind here, Mr. Monolith, I'm most curious to hear what it were you wanted to say there. In fact, could you elaborate further on the comment about being a magical being too, while you were at it?"
Most unicorns did not call themselves that. At worst, they'd call themselves magical ponies, but being? And not in plurals, to describe them all differently? She might have been initially shaken by the appearance of this more formal brother of Blither's, but now that he had laid further breadcrumbs out about their family seemingly not being what they looked like, she'd returned to being suspicious and wanting some answers. And this one seemed to have been very close to giving her some concrete ones, before Blither interrupted them. She'd separate them if it were an option, but it appeared as if Monolith did as he were told by his smaller brother currently, and it were unlikely that they could physically restrain him with the tool at hoof. Alonsus might be strong, but there were a size difference one had to just accept here, plus the pony seemed carved out of granite. If he wanted to go somewhere, it were doubtful that anything short of a magical blast of some kind were going to stop him.
Whilst this went on, the *kitchen staff* of Alonsus and Chop kept on preparing the meals, with the later being somewhat annoying that his friendly greeting had been more or less ignored and dismissed as if it were nothing. Such a brutish, high-strung Individual this one were.
Stare on the other hoof, wandered silently over to Blither, and looked between him and Monolith a few times, before settling back on the smaller of the brothers.
"Are they all like him? It must be hard for you to lead your family if it is."
Stare had a sister that she had some tough times with as well, even though her issues were pretty different from that of Monolith. Her point were more that she understood some sibling friction, and were starting to get an idea of why Blither were as he were. Couldn't be easy having to deal with that kind of thing, and from a large family at that? Poor thing must be barely keeping it together at times.
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"I appreciate the offer, but I'd prefer my personal space. Regardless, you have your hooves full with your new friend and your brother. I'm sure they'd enjoy your undivided attention whilst we walk."
Scarcity would direct the way to ensure that Sunny went in the right direction, and make use of short range teleports in case Sunny tried to scoop her up. The mare seemed kind, and Scarcity truly doubted that there were much, if any, maliciousness behind her actions. She just weren't big on thinking of herself being picked up and held like a house cat.
The building were a two minutes walk from them, considering Sunny's leg span and Scarcity's ability to catch up by essentially cheating via magic, which would get them there a solid few minutes before the officer's six minute limit. A good development, as it saved them an annoying legal case which would likely just end in a warning, and maybe a small fine. However, there were no need to poke this hornets nest if they could avoid it, surely.
Unless Sunny just went over and opened the door, or knocked herself, Scarcity would go and knock three times herself. If no response had come within five seconds from that on the inside, or Sunny hadn't handled things in her own way, she would simply open up and see what might lie behind it. They had been invited after all, so it were not as if they were breaking in.
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Sweet Celestia, how lucky could they be? First the timberwolf had split - literally - and now this weird creature had seemingly just lost interest and wandered off. Did... Did this mean they had won?!
Jelly just about rose up on her hooves and let out a victory yelp, but then came the last contender. This one seemed easier to deal with though. It were just a badger, right? About their size. It would probably be fine. Maybe this one would actually be scared away even?
Aaaand then out came the claws and teeth, so that idea went right out the window.
Jelly wandered back, trying to get away from this creature, just to Pastel jump forth again. Did she have no sense of self preservation or what? Seemingly not, as she even taunted the badger, just for it to lounge forth and somehow bite through solid metal. What was this creature made of exactly? Normal creatures shouldn't be able to do this!
This were an emergency situation, and they had to think of something to do against this creepy one, as this didn't seem willing to just leave. Maybe... Maybe if they fed it, it'd go away?
Jelly pulled out a granola bar from her belt, removed the wrapping, and threw it towards the badger. No idea if that were gonna work, but her emergency snack had to work as at least a distraction, whilst she grabbed hold of Pastel's tail and tried to drag the filly away. Sadly, as an earth pony, she were probably stronger than Jelly were, but she had to try.
"Common! It's dangerous."
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So he were more word than action then, since he didn't even try to lift her? Hmm... Might be this lanky lad wasn't that physically strong. So if she could actually get hold of him, so he couldn't get away, that idea about bonking him over the head cavepony style, wasn't that far out anyway.
Granted, in that analogy she'd then drag him back to her home and make him her property, but that were more of a third date sort of thing in this modern age, and she wasn't sure it'd ever get that far.
"I think you've done enough legal trouble here mate, so let's try and veer waaaay off stealing. Just follow me, and I'll handle it. I know just the place."
She'd take charge and wander out into the alleyway again. Then when she were sure he were still there, she'd start to make her way towards her place of work. Should be a safe space for her to get some help sorting him out. As well as being a place she knew had some heavy things to swing, just in case.
The way there would get them pretty close to the path where Sunny were wandering too though, and with her towering pretty high up there, it might be that she'd see him, or he'd see her. One could only hope, though if not, they'd be off towards Sloppy Joe's. A nice, simple coffee shop focused on a comfy calm setting, rather than going all fancy, which gave it more the vibe of a family restaurant than say, a proper restaurant.
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"Unless you believe in an antiquated idea like destiny, it's either blood, or extreme chance. Potentially a blood curse. Those things can skip generations at a time and then suddenly flare up, causing some sort of affect. Usually something horrendous, but blood curses are not for beginners. An inexperienced caster might try, and just end up leaving a boon instead."
She hadn't personally taken that sort of thing in use in her lifetime, but seeing as she came from Harrowmark, the practice were not exactly unheard of. Merely rare, as the backlash and potential risks from meddling with magic like that were rather severe. Most saw it more as a last ditch gamble than anything else.
But such were the nature of sacrificial magic of any kind. Incredibly powerful, yet horrendous in nature, and carried so many risks for the casters themselves that it just wasn't worth it for a lot to make use of it for anything but minor applications. Such as draining life energy and infuse it into another object or being, which were one of the safer things to do, provided you had a proper vessel the siphon the magic through and leave the energy in until later usage. Taking it into yourself raw tended to carry consequences, of which she refused to even dwindle on. Some things made even an older mind from Harrowmark queasy.
"I've seen it happen. There are many an inexperienced caster in Harrowmark, so good or bad, I have seen much in my years alive.
If you are to remember anything about my country, let it be this: The land we live upon are so infected with magic, that it seeps into our very being, and flows in our blood. You could not find a higher sentience being with Harrowish blood in their veins, that does not hold the potential for magic, even if they weren't unicorns. The rest of us just have to work harder to harness the potential that we are given.
Your bloodline might well be infested in its own way. Even if not by a curse, and it have just by chance started from you, I would be hesitant to think that it would stop there. Strong magic is a tough stain to cleanse, and one would be wise to consider that, when it comes to their descendants. We do so in Harrowmark, as we have seen what can come from an exceptional strong bloodline, and it is one of the reason why as I told you, I have to get Her our of Harrowmark, before that perception becomes her undoing."
Sigh* She could probably give hour long lectures of what one could learn from studying your bloodline to determine what to look out for, when it came to your potential. There'd also be plenty she could say of the effects of generations upon generations of magic seeping out of the ground and affecting the residents too, but they had to eventually get back to the case at hoof. Unless of course, the siblings had something to say of their bloodline, or something else of importance. Potentially something ridiculous, on how they might believe in destiny. A foolish concept that you only hid behind if you didn't have the galls to rise up and try to change things. The cowardly and complacent loved to do things like that, yet these two did not strike her as either of those. Quite the opposite in fact, considering what she had experienced herself so far.
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"Big sis inherited that from you, dad."
Void smiled a little as she took part in the banter that seemed to be a lighter, playful tone than what had seemed to hang in the air when she had wandered into the room before.
"Hmph. Cooking is overrated."
Null got a pat on the head for that by Void, who saw how it irked her sister to be reminded of her less than stellar kitchen skills like this. She had always fancied herself the provider and caretaker of them both, ever since they left Troy, and being unable to cook to save her life had been a sizable irritation. Regardless of the fact that Void were more than happy to take care of that for them.
"The last time I saw her try to cook something, she set the abandoned house we were staying in ablaze."
"Sometimes a kitchen goes up in flames."
"You were trying to churn butter..."
They have a bit of a friendly, sisterly back and forth on this for a little while, and Void would get a few laughs in between speaking and eating. Yet eventually, the topic had to change, and as this were likely the high point of the evening, it seemed appropriate for Null to be the one to ruin it.
"So... sis? You should probably know that the consul found out where our supposed *father* is hiding."
Void dropped her spoon and looked fearful towards Null. Seemed like this were indeed not gonna be easy, and this were just the foreplay... *sigh* This were gonna be a long evening.
"He offered to hide me in a group going there for diplomatic stuff. I'm gonna take it, and then go for his head."
"A-Alone? No! You can't f-face that monster on your o-own."
"I can, and I will."
Void were getting riled up, whilst Null were giving her her best *I am your big sister and I am telling you to do what I say* look. Usually didn't work all that well sadly, and now it were doing little more than make her little sister look as if she were about to choke on something. At least she were quiet though, which made it possible for Null to keep on.
"But you're right on one thing. Probably gonna be tough like this, but... The Consul weren't the only one approaching me about this.
Back when we first heard that he were alive, and I swore that I'd get his head on a pike, I caught the attention of something calling itself Vengeance. It offered me a deal that'd make me able to go settle the score for us, long as I'd also go and do the same for others. And I... I'm gonna accept it."
There, she said it. Had pressed on her mind for weeks now, and only gotten more prevalent recently, and now it were finally out in the open. Her parents were probably not gonna be happy about this, and Void? By the gods, she looked as if she had just seen something getting flayed right in front of her, and the depraved nature of it all were slowly starting to sink in. She'd definitely have some choice words in the long run.
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1
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Hey, sorta wondering if you two have fallen completely off the face of the earth? Haven't seen either of you in a while.
.png ":)")
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Same with you actually, @Moonlit. You alright?
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"Manticore... Meat dust?"
Icy got quite a weird look from that comment. Not the one you'd expect though, of disgust or horror, as a lot of ponies did not like the idea of eating meat in any fashion. And in this town? One of the few pony hunter they used to have before his recent departure to Canterlot, had been looked down upon rather heavily. In parts because as much as Fluttershy were a kind pony, she did not have any favorable looks on her when she were in the same area as him. Even if he hunted to make pet food, which she should enjoy, she were one of those who thought that pets could do with the synthetic stuff that didn't include meat, whilst he believed that the poor things should have some natural proteins. It caused friction. Kinda the same thing with Chop Chop over at Sloppy Joe's, but it were more a case of them just ignoring one another, and a bit of understanding in that he had to cater to the griffons and ponies they got in the area these days, so it were easier to not take much notice off. Chop also couldn't care less what looks he got.
Anyway, point being that usually the response for meat eaters weren't great, and hearing ponies do it wouldn't help either, since they usually couldn't deal with that.
Pop however, just looked confused, and a little curious. She had been in Neighpon and whilst she didn't like it, their sushi rolls having a small amount of meat that didn't hurt them were interesting, and had been something she had on the back burner for a potential taste at some later point, were she to go and try and make a sort of sea/beach focused candy set. It were more the mention of dusting it that were sounding weird to her.
"You eat your stuff frozen? Heh, that's cool. My sister have a friend that's sorta like that. Puts everything he eats in the fridge for a while. Something about liking his things more solid and with a bit of chew? I've never met him, but she talks about him a lot, and I could've sworn that's what she mentioned before flying around with my tail in her mouth. Big sisters, right?
Personally I like things covered in caramel, at all sorta of temperatures. Especially caramelized crystals. Deeeelicious."
Pop rolled her eyes a little as he started to lick around his mouth, happy as could be. She had some of those in store just in case she wanted to give him a treat, but that'd be for later. Preferably when it were just the two of them, so that they could perhaps have a nice, quiet night in and just have a good talk. Been weeks since they last had a chance to do that.
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21 hours ago, EQ_Theta said:“Interesting… What do you call this object?”
"Mostly I merely refer to it as a beacon. Not as glamorous as you might have hoped for, yet I find it suitably explanatory for those who needs to know.
Though you could also refer to it as *The ferryman's toll*. A coin in payment, to be transported to where you need to be. No need to worry though, it is not dangerous, and nor are those who will be called to it. The material within are rare, yet to us, completely worthless. They however have a great craving for them, and I have painstakingly ensured that I hold a large quantity of it, that I then give to them in payment for a little help transporting beings now and again, among other things. A convenient arrangement for all."
She wouldn't divulge who the beings she were talking about were though. They had a good working relationship, but certain boundaries had been set when their deal were struck some years ago, with one being that she wouldn't put them in unnecessary danger by exposing too many details about them to just about anypony. Their numbers were dwindling before she met them, and even with all the work she had put into doing what she could to ensure their survival, their numbers were only slowly starting to creep up again a half year or so ago. Perhaps a decade or so more would change things, and they'd be more open about their existence, yet for the time being, they wanted discretion. Something which Scarcity thought only reasonable, and would comply with.
Perhaps their arrangement were one that from the outside might seem like she just took advantage of them, and made sure that no others had access to this sort of transportation option, yet she saw that merely as a bonus, and one which she paid them for, as she would anypony else who worked for her. What efforts she put into their conservation were the main gesture that made them friendly towards her, and she would have done that regardless. Much as she were flawed and morally bankrupt in several areas, Scarcity were not one who would accept extinction of any species, no matter how dangerous they might be. Individuals might not deserve to live at times, yet a species as a whole deserved a chance.
21 hours ago, EQ_Theta said:“Are… are you alright, Rosa? You seem awfully quiet all of a sudden. Is something the matter?”
"I'm just observing him."
Might be that he could do more than that, or act all worried about this, but he really didn't see the point. Seemed apparent that Hammond were just curious and approaching a reflective surface much like a cat did, and it wouldn't get better if he started to get all riled up or something. Best to just stay calm, neutral, and let him go through this until he'd eventually be done with. Including just as he opened his massive maw and started to slowly turn from side to side, potentially understanding to some degree that he were watching himself now, and were testing the theory.
"It's like dealing with a kitten, or small foal. They are curious of the world around them, and are trying to understand it. I believe that the less additional distractions I provide, the simpler it gets for them to focus on what is at hoof, and learn from it. Although I will object to him attempting to eat me."
Perhaps not something that were going to happen, but seeing the three rows of small, yet razorsharp, backwards teeth, were giving him certain insights to whatever creature this were. One being that what got into their mouths, were not meant to get out of it again, and he did not wish for that thing to be him. Not that it seemed to be an interest of Hammond so far, who quickly closed his mouth again after Rosa stopped talking, and just stood looking quietly into the glasses, yet one should never rule out the possibility.
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Zhu jumped quietly down when he took notice of Gaea arriving. Not too far behind, and she were doing a good job of not making herself easy to track, so the thieves should hopefully not have bit notice in her, lest they had some sort of magical warning wards somewhere. In which case, they likely knew that he were there too, and there had been no indication of that.
"They're in there. I haven't been able to see or hear what they are doing though. I did not wish to risk it by directing their words or approach on my own."
He spoke lowly when he were close enough, and used a little magic to keep the wind from passing from them and directly to the cave, to ensure that their words were not carried there, long as they spoke lowly enough. They were going to need some degree of stealth to get this done right, and with less risks to themselves and his sister's egg. The less got hurt through this the better, which would include the thieves in all honesty, as he could not say for sure if they were not important.
"I will want them alive though. I still need to know of their place in the grander picture, and what might be, were the egg to hatch in their care instead."
Gaea seemed the better choice, but that were just an assumption. Her future were blinding, and impossible for him to discern, so the best he could do were to weigh the risk by seeing how his sisters life would be, were she to be risen by these thieves. Not just for her own well being, but in case, there would be a significant event that required her to wander this path. His burden then would be to potentially accept the pain his own flesh and blood would go through, judging by the significance of what he saw. Such were his role in the larger picture, if he liked it to be so or not.
Soon as Gaea were ready, he'd either follow her, or lead the charge in, depending on what she seemed to want to prefer doing. It would likely be better if she took charge though. This were supposed to be her time, and her actions, not his, even if he had already played a grander part in all of this so far than what were likely ideal.
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"You mean Railroad, right?"
Brute weren't a widely traveled mare. Adventure, going out into the wilderness, or climbing mountains seeking treasure, were not something she did much in. What she focused her time on, were things that could make her stronger, which meant that if she for example went to the mountains, it were to climb it for training, or smash rocks. That sorta thing. On occasion, helping the old adventurer out in town who had retired and sent her his invitation to this, which mostly required some help beating up the wildlife, gathering large amounts of wood, or some fetch quests in the nearby forest.
Yet even she were aware of what a railroad were, and the way that it were said by Marcus, as well as the description of it going through a mountain, made her think that he had misspoken a bit there, and pronounced the railroad wrong. Which one exactly, or where it were meant to go? She hadn't a clue, but whatever. These folks had a map and an idea it sounded like. She'd just follow them, and get ready to beat up things. Something told her that they wouldn't get too far into the area around their goal before that were needed.
"As for your tales, we can trade a few on the road, but I'm more looking forward to seeing what you can do myself. Bolstering and riling up the audience is a big thing with what I do, so I can respect that. Doesn't mean I won't stay skeptic until I see your meddle personally. At this point, the hype is making me curious if you can live up to it.
Anything you want to get done, before we start to recharging for tomorrow?"
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"You weren't supposed to be drenched in mouth water."
Enzo took a paw up and dried around his mouth. This had been an... Unfortunate turn of events, which now had a certain gemling looking a little wetter than before. Perhaps more than a little, if they were to be honest.
"Eating bugs as long as I have, your carapace set some automated responses in motion."
"I knew not that sphinx ate such things."
Enzo looked annoyed as he sat down, filling one side of the table more or less by himself.
"Being chained in an abandoned temple, you eat what you can find, or die. As you see, I did not perish, regardless of how often it felt as if I would."
The ambassador looked at the sphinx with pity in his eyes. To think that a creature such as he, were forced to such extremes... No wonder he seemed to hold apprehension to others when he arrived in town the first few times, from what he had been told.
"Thank the guiding stars that you are trapped no longer then. Before we begin talks more properly, might I ask if any of you hold a special wish for the table? Perhaps some fish for you, sir?"
Unless Atzy had moved some away from him, she would feel some drool landing on her back from the sphinx having a minor episode at the prospect of proper food. He might try to play it off afterwards out of pride, yet it were hard to fight the evidence.
"That would be acceptable."
"Very well. Might either of you have some wishes for this, ladies? I would not wish for either of you to not feel as if your needs were not taken into consideration."
Golden smiled at the two as he talked, awaiting their answers. He had yet to ask their names, but he were still not feeling his best, and it had so far slipped his mind to ask. It would come eventually, unless they brought it up themselves.
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"I'm sure that you could hear me. And I can maybe get a bird or something close enough to help? Maybe use some rocks to push it? I uhm... Can't control the stick itself, but other things should work if something bad were to happen."
The princess's worry were understandable, but it weren't a hopeless situation, and Cherish didn't want her to think that everything were going to end up in disaster, just because she threw the stick aside. There were options to deal with it, and well, unless the graveyard site were also on a mountainside, it'd probably be okay to just throw her to the side and come back later to pick her up. They'd see, though hopefully nothing bad were gonna happen.
As for Last, she stayed quiet until they reached the point where they could gaze over the valley. An at times narrow, harsh looking environment, hidden in the mountains away from prying eyes.
Last glanced over fields of grass and untouched fields. Of the large, barren site that even from here were clear as day, since nothing grew on the grey dirt, which were in stark contract to the surrounding grass in the area.
Yet what really caught her eye, were the shrine itself. A large building, which seemed to still be standing, despite being abandoned by the Shrine Maidens. Looked like a right fortress, carved mostly out of the same rocks this mountain were build on, just with one addition that were not there when last she were here: An enormous, insectoid creature lounging over the building on its stomach. It weren't sleeping though. The spire through said stomach, told that this creature weren't much more than a decoration anymore.
"That size... It can't be."
Last stumbled a few steps forward, teeth clenched in a mixture of anger and bafflement at the sight of the see-through wings laying sloppily down the side of the creature, whose six arms - the two in front having large blades upon them, rather than the hands of the other two pairs - flatly lingered on either spires, parts of the wall, or dangling down the slim trunk, that lead down to the four segmented legs, and elongated abdomen. This large, green/gray creature, were a manetid, in all it's once glimmering glory. Yet again, it were no longer. There were no glimmer of light in the open eyes, nor anything leaking from the back and sides, where seemingly parts had been removed at some point.
"The eternal queen. How is this possible?"
She kept walking onward on the path, barely registering what went on around her, as she were fixated on the lumbering form of the eternal queen of the manetids. A creature they had no hope of ever defeating fairly, and never seen in her lifetime, yet knew enough about to be certain that this could only be her. No other manetid had this size. Thankfully, as Equestria could be in serious trouble, were a swarm of creatures about as large than the princesses castle to attack the country.
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The crystal would open up soon after Aurora stopped talking, and out of it, would wander Queen Dia'thiz. The sunlight striking the pale-blue diamond casing formed like an antelope, encasing the changeling queen within, as they moved as if the diamonds were little more than a suit of armor, even if you could tell by looking at the eyes of them both, that there were most certainly sentience in both parts of the creature.
They gazed upwards first, rather than address the group however. Just starring into the light for a few seconds before eventually, their mouths would open, and the unified voice of the entity would escape them.
"It have been a long time since last we saw a bright star shining down ourselves... How we missed this long forgotten light."
Thorax and Happy reacted as one could expect from seeing the odd queen. With Thorax looking increasingly nervous, and gulping whilst he tried to mentally accept what it were that he were seeing. And Happy? Well...
"Alright, world's gone crazy again."
This were pretty weird, even for him, so he took out a small flask he had taken from the cart and took a healthy swig before even attempting to address this more directly. What? Give him a break, this creature were a messed up sight, and he wasn't perfect. Sometimes he needed a little spike of courage, so to speak.
"...Queen Dia'thiz, I assume?"
Thorax took a few steps forward, trying to show himself as the supposed regent here, and managed to get their attention at least. No words yet, but it seemed as if they were busy looking over the three of them, which would give them some time to respond with more if they were somewhat quick.
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"The Everfree you say? What a peculiar place to be. Though i suppose, quite fitting for a most peculiar being."
Scarcity wandered a little to the side to get a better view of Dazzle Gleam, and noticed some rather interesting things. Subtle ones of course, yet in her professions, one were wise to be attentive to the little things, or it could end up dreadfully, and there were a couple of small things that stood out with this supposed pony. Most noticeably, that seeing how her coat had gotten a little ruffled from the manhandling from the two siblings, it showed a brief sort of leathery glaze that were not found on regular skin. Scales on the other hoof though... Now, that were another matter entirely, and she could've sworn that is indeed what she saw for the briefest of moments.
More things of her physiology seemed slightly odd too, though ponies were in many shapes and sizes, so that really said nothing. Yet it seemed as if this one might potentially have an amount of dragon's blood in her veins, highly unusual as it might seem. Or perhaps she were affected by a peculiar poison from a creature that were rare, and spread a poison through its feathers that whilst not contagious or fatal, were rather uncomfortable in later stages, and had a tendency to spread on the victim rather fast all of a sudden. If that were the case, they should likely get this one to the hospital and order some specialized salve, which were going to make this day a fair bit more annoying for this one. Best address it she supposed.
"If you do not mind me asking, have you been in contact with a Twin-Tailed Brittlescale in recent days? I notice you have at least a small patch of skin usually associated with more reptilian creatures, or those infected with Gargoyle's Disease. It might be prudent for you to get checked before it expands too far."
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Okay, that where way easier than she had expected. Weren't timberwolves supposed to be like, really dangerous? This one fell apart like a bundle of twigs, just from tripping. Perhaps it were defekt or something? She really had to ask in school about that one of these days. Though hey, at least they won this fight! A great victo- Oooh right, there were still the stone thingie. And the badger. Pretty sure the stone thing were the bigger issue though. Didn't look like that one were made outta small pebbles at all. More like pure rock, and pain.
Trip wire were probably not gonna work on the big one, so they had to find some way to maybe distract it, and get it out of here? That might work.
Jelly spread her wings and prepared herself to flutter about and try to take the focus for this one, since she could always just rush up into a tree or something if it got too close for her. Yet sadly, Pastel seemed to have other ideas, as she drew the attention and stood still, apparently ready to face off in a close combat fight she had 0% chance of winning.
There wasn't time to think on this, or make any sort of plan. She had to do something Now, or her friend were gonna become a filly toothpick soon!
Swooping over, Jelly would get herself in front of Pastel, and hunker down into as threatening a stance as she could. Her wings would extend, her fangs get barred, and she'd hiss directly at the large creature, which were likely not going to do any thing than perhaps annoy it. A flicker of a plan got into mind, where she'd still drag this one off, but it were fractured as she had just gotten into this out of nowhere, to do her best to protect her friend.
"You're not gonna hurt her you big bully!"
Yeah... About as threatening as a playful kitten. This were gonna end badly.
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What the- how quick were this guy? He got up into the air and were like lightning. Even more than that weird, pink and white striped, lanky doctor that she had seen swoop around. Jeez, no wonder this guy needed that much sugar. No way these two things weren't combined in some way.
...And man would it be useful for the sort of snooping she wished she could do to get more evidence against The Conspiracy, but weren't able to, as she'd get caught too fast. Why did this crook have to keep getting plus points? She were supposed to hate him! He had broken into the bakery, smashed the doughnuts, and overall been a real naughty colt.
So, since bashing him in the head were apparently gonna be a no go,she had to think of something else. Perhaps if she could lure him out somewhere, she could see a good opportunity and run with it? Worst case scenario, she'd have a spicy date, and a description to the cops. Best case, she'd still get a date, and get this guy to clean up his mess. Would be a mighty shame if a cuti- Criminal, like this, weren't given what he were due. She just had to lure him along to more familiar waters... Aaaah, that might work, yes.
So she looked up at the creeper and gave him a nice, teasing smile.
"If you actually can carry me outta here, I know a place we could go grab something to eat, drink, and see where the night takes us, handsome. Unless you're all talk and no action?"
Seemed like she'd have to take one for the team and go on a date with this guy then. Oh well, what could a mare do? No choice in the matter anymore.
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"You're that big? I didn't get much of a sense of scale before. Makes more sense then I suppose."
That were actually somewhat surprising. From the looks of things, she sorta figured this were a rather young dragon, or like her, stunted in growth for one reason or another. The size issue made far more sense then when it came to Ruby's situation.
Although... If she could change shape, why not change into a smaller dragon? That might have been a good thing to ask, yet sadly, too late now, as they were out in the open and she had given her word to zip it about stuff like this in public.
As for Marley, he were seemingly having a good time. From the looks of things, a good deal of the ladies had spread out to other parts of the party, with the lone one still standing from earlier, being the somewhat scruffy griffon with the necklace of teeth. It seemed they were hitting it off well, really. He were holding her talons, talking about something that did not escape the area, as there were too much noise around them to be able to get through it. but whatever it were, it seemed to work. She were smiling, had a slight blush on her face, and a gaze that were not leaving his person. Might be one truly infatuated. Might be a crazy stalker. Who knew, and who cared? Their own issue.
Soon as Ruby were in sight, they'd find that he would also slip her a piece of paper, which she immediately stuffed into one of her pockets before reaching up, and ruffling the side of his face with her beak. A rather intimate gesture for their kind, and one he seemed to be thrilled about. She'd wander off soon after that however. Potentially to see someone else? Maybe to freshen up? It were hard to tell, with so little seen.
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"I do not know for sure. I have never personally met the matriarch before, and she seem agitated. It might make this harder."
She approached the large timberwolf slowly, which seemed to only get the attention on her from the flock, who started to surround her specifically, whilst the matriarch took a step forward and lowered down to be more at her head height. Once she had gotten right in front of Lyriel's face, she'd open her maw wide and roar loudly at the dryad, who actually fell backwards from the sheer force in this.
"Honored matriarch, please be calm. I am not here to dispute your territory."
You didn't have to understand animal to get that when the large one got closer and growled right into Lyriel's face, it meant *You better not*. Though from the looks of things, as the growling kept on, Lyriel got a look on her face that made it clear that something else were said too. Something that were draining the color from her face, and caused her voice to shake as she tried to speak to the others.
"Run... Ru-"
The large matriarch bashed the dryad aside like a twig, where she'd be caught by Nerzhei, who'd let out an audible yelp of pain from Lyriel's unconscious body hitting her injured arm. Still, she managed to stay on her feet, despite the added weight hammering down on her, and causing her to slide back a few feet.
As for the matriarch? She seemed to have a target in mind. A predator who had moved into what she saw her as territory, and judging by the stance and look on her face as she walked towards Nada, she did not overly care for that. Seemed like they had to make a run for it, or fight, though they were two - four if you counted Lotus and Agni - which meant they were vastly outnumbered. It wouldn't be a fight that'd go to their advantage.
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Red eyes? So now he were about to be assaulted by another predator. *sigh* This were just about to become harder than it needed to be.
Straw got his hooves planted solidly in the dirt beneath him, and stood looking up, awaiting the assailant to come down any minute now. Might be he didn't look like it, but back in his younger years, Straw had been known to ruffle a few feather every so often, and push come to show, he still knew how to make a fight out of it. Sure he wasn't as good as say, a full fledged guide, hunter, or guard, but he knew his way around a few good kicks, and he wasn't going down without a fight. Being eaten wouldn't be a good enough excuse to miss dinner in his wife's opinion.
Surprise though, he wasn't getting assaulted. Instead, it seemed like he were actually getting rescued, as vines fell down, and provided him with a way up. Seemed like he'd make it back home early on after all then.
Climbing up, Straw would brush the worst dirt from the front of his clothes, and look around to see if he could find whoever had given him a helping hoof in his time of need.
"Thank you for the rescue, sonny. Really helped in a pi-"
His words stopped as he finally got as look of his savior, and... Well, a sight it were, that were for sure. Something like he'd never seen before, and if he didn't know better, would consider some sort of swamp monster, or a toy of Discord's that had gotten loose. Not that one excluded the other being true, sadly.
Still... This one had saved him in his time of need, and wasn't currently attacking him. So far the evidence also pointed to whoever and whatever this were, to be a friendly sort, with the only thing working against him being the optics. Well, probably good that it were him that ran into this one then, since he had a principle of not just looking at one layer of a being. You had to look at how they were actually like, and then evaluate that instead of a flaw that were easy to focus on too much. It were like this with Chop's dishonorable discharge and former drinking problems, Alonsus's criminal record, Berry's mental record, etc. A lot that were easy to focus on, yet he'd looked beyond that, and found some ponies that he trusted fully. Not everypony had turned out to be this reliable, but as he usually said: He'd give everypony a second chance. Didn't say anything about third ones.
"*clears throat* Hmm, yes. As I were trying to say, you helped me out of a bad situation there. It's highly appreciated."
He'd reach a hoof forward, offering a hoofshake to the odd creature, even if he weren't sure how sentient this might actually be. Could be it didn't get words, but he'd try to start off with the thought that it had some higher sentience than that.
"The name's Straw Hat. Who're you?"
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On 3/11/2020 at 4:01 AM, Illiad Easle said:
Their mother sighed, "There'll be no convincing you otherwise I think. We already lost the two of you once, so be careful. We'd be devastated to lose you again."
"She is not coming with me. I'm supposed to protect our family, not bring it in more danger. So I'm going to do what's best for us, and take his head. Alone."
Technically she wouldn't be entirely alone, due to her *mental buddies* but y'know, small details. What mattered were that her parents, and her sister, would stay behind in safety, whilst she went and did the gritty work required to ensure they'd stay safe.
"Besides, he might start sending someone after you before it. I need Void to stay here to keep you safe."
And not just this one time... *sigh* She were honestly starting to both dread and look forward to laying this out to them all about the same amount. It'd be good to get done, even if the discussion afterwards were gonna get awkward.
Void kept on cooking, unaware of what went on, until about an hour later, when she'd come in and set the table, before pulling in the pot of steaming stew she had been working on. It were a bit of a longer cooking time than most stuff she went with, but Blackroot were a tough one to get anything out of, so it had been required to make sure that it'd end up as the fragrant, hearty meal that were. A little on the earthy side in tastes, but that were how it were supposed to be, and it should be complimented well by the spices, if she had gotten it done right. She were pretty sure she had, though potentially a small amount of curry had gotten in. She had fumbled some and almost dropped it, so there might have escaped a little more than there should have been.
"Dinner's ready. I'm pretty sure it's like it should be. I uhm... Never really forgot the meals we had when we were small, and I helped in the kitchen. It were some good memories."
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Had to cover a double shift at work today, and still not done for tonight, so I apologize for the post tonight not being more than a minor setup. I'm just drained.
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"I'm fine. Just been a long time since I had to focus on two spells at once like this. Usually, my duties were just to keep scrying, and maintaining multiples of that is not as difficult. It's splitting ff into another sort of magic that caused an issue."
She'd take the offered water and slowly take a few sips. Even if the sparkling cider she had used before were likely still fine to drink, it wasn't much her style. Only thing she tended to drink beyond water and tea were some of her village's homebrew, and this weren't it. it smelled wrong, and bubbly drinks in general just wasn't something she had fancied since she were around thirteen. Might also have something to do with bubbly drinks in Harrowmark being both hard to make and tending to be rather sub par though. Perhaps another time, she'd be willing to try, yet for the time being, the water were a more pleasant, welcome taste.
"You two might not have issues such as this, but I am not as powerful as either of you. All I have on you are seniority, and that holds little value when it comes to these sorts of things. At least with how rusty I have gotten in this department."
It'd take a few minutes, but eventually the worst of the migraine would be gone, and she could ease up as she looked at the two, curious pairs of siblings. Each powerful in their own rights, and clearly her superiors, which were a little annoying considering how young they both were. She spent several times their lifetimes dealing with magic, and yet they could both make her seem as the amateur. Perhaps if she trained hard in this new life of hers she could get within distance of them, yet as had been proven with Twisted, this were a bloodline you would rather not mess with. It seemed to include talent that made them that little bit better than mere effort alone could ever become.
"I envy what power lays in your bloodline. It cannot be mere coincidence at least, when both brother and sister are capable like this. Where I'm from, that sort of thing doesn't just happen by accident."
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Hammond kept starring into Sen's eyes, unblinkingly, up until Rosa were introduced. Not even the third, slit eye on his forehead were doing anything but stare at him until then, as if he were trying to stare directly through the larger creature.
His paws had gone further than his nose too, with both of his webbed paws slowly getting placed on top of Sen's nose, as if he were readying to rise up and climb Sen.
Much as he might look the way the other mimics Sen had met did, Hammond di not act like it, with him being far more curious and less mischievous and intent on messing with Sen, nor as willing to share his over-sized maw as they had. It might make him more calm towards them, or potentially more. Hay, he might even start to focus on how it could be that Scarcity had picked this form out of any she could for her own little companion, rather than perhaps a full fledged pony shape, such as with Omen. The possibilities were endless, yet Hammond's focus were not, as the thestral's introduction would make him take a step back, and let go of Sen for the time being.
The thestral in question would get closer to let the odd creature greet him the way that he seemed to want to do with Sen before, and just as then, he'd get a small paw pressed to his nose.
However, he would also experience Hammond crawling up and leaning in faster, as he saw a most strange reflection in Rosa's glasses: Himself. Something which he didn't know, as he started to slowly make signs and press on with a paw, hesitating once he saw the reflection do the same. A little non-interactive game that the small one would continue with, whilst Rosa looked on somewhat disinterested. He had seen much the same with with kittens, and he had about as much ability to make himself force one of those aside, as he had with Hammond, though for mostly unrelated reasons.
"Ah, here they were."
Scarcity would suddenly rise from her desk, and withdrawing a small box that appeared to have at some point been used as a jewelry case.
"My contact is called Marble Wonder. A most curious, yet skilled practitioner in what you seek help with. Yet he is also fairly reluctant to make deals or speak with strangers, which means that I will have to accompany you on this journey, and personally handle business with him. I will merely have to prepare transport first, which is where these comes in mind."
She would open the box, to show an array of small slivers of silver, with a pale-pink sliver of some kind of unknown gem, stuck in the middle of it.
"Do please take one each, and keep it on your person. Within the next hour or so, they will be needed for my associates to locate you, and transport us all to where we have to be. I would have it done earlier, yet a certain filly requires my attention for a time, and my associates have to prepare the extraction. No need to worry though, I assure you that the process will not hurt in the slightest."
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"Like I've said, it matters on the situation. In his domain, you'd be at a disadvantage. Outside in the open, he'd be charcoal. Just how it is right now, though it doesn't mean that you have to blend in so much that you always look like them. You should show yourself with pride, but it is your decision. I'm not going to force you to do it, nor will I tell anyone about what you're hiding, until you're ready to be open about it yourself. You don't deserve the be ousted."
Personally, Leviathan wanted Ruby to be honest with herself, and the world around her, yet it weren't her decision to make. Her role were going to be as a supportive dragon, who'd be there to help Ruby, and show her that she had a friend in the midst of all of these, who mostly just judged her as this frail little pony. The bird probably saw her as little more than that too, even if he knew that Ruby were a dragon.
Be that as it may, it appeared it were time to leave, and so, she reached out to get ready to open the door, and stand aside to let Ruby wander out first. Yet she did pause to fire off one more comment, before they entered the now more filled and hectic bar.
"And fr the record, even if thunder doesn't work, I wonder if the same thing's true for a hurricane? A hailstorm? Perhaps a thick cover of fog, and some well placed strike with a blade? I bring more bad weather than mere thunder and lightning, and I don't fight fair. Honor is worthless if you're dead."
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The silence would not last long, as a loud, thunderous roar bellowed throughout the nearby area, and the ground suddenly started to shake, as massive, bark-covered paws stomped down on the dirt near them.
The matriarch of the local timberwolves were an impressive sight. Tall as an Ursa Minor, and covered with moss and vines, she were not one you could just mistake for a newly formed, amalgamation of small ones, as had at times happened, which were mostly bad news for them. It made it so that she wouldn't be as easy to disassemble. The fact that most of the wood she were made off weren't measured in sticks, but rather trunks, were a fair indicator too though.
Mostly this one resided far, far into the forest, hiding among the taller trees and impassable wilderness, but the recent issues with the desert and animals running amok, had caused her to get in quite a mood, and a want to go out and make sure that the local population knew who the top predator were. Even ponies, regardless of her normally thinking that they were more hassle than they were worth.
And were there were a momma, there'd be kids. Several dozen eyes started to light up from the bushes, as the stealthy predators began to move in closer,flanking their matriarch as she took another step forward, and growled down at the toothpicks in front of her.
This were probably not good.
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"Hmm, this doesn't seem good."
Straw stood in the large pit he had fallen into, and looked up at the sides of his current prison. No vines seemed to grow there, there were a good, three meters or so up, and as an earth pony, he could neither fly, nor use magic to get out easily. He also didn't have any tools or a shovel on him, which would make digging a path through the side, or climb out like a rock climber, harder as well.
*sigh* Guess his wife were right, he should have brought his tool belt after all when he went on his midday stroll. Turned out she had been right about the animals getting all riled up by the sandstorm and subsequent desert that had arrived yesterday, though she probably wouldn't believe that it had been enough to get the timberwolf matriarch out. Yet he'd swear up and down that he had seen her here, relatively close to Ponyville of all places, and she had been in a bad, bad mood. Chased him right off the path, as he had to run into an area of thick bushes and gnarled trees, in an attempt to get somewhere that she couldn't reach. Go figure that he'd then end up in an old hunting trap. Probably one of Chop's that he had forgotten about. *sigh* He needed to have a word with his chef about that when he eventually got home.
"Let's see, how do I get out of here... I don't suppose there's anypony out there who'd be willing to lend a hoof?"
A fairly long shot, but it were that, or try to think of another way, like digging into the wall and see if he couldn't get a dirt pile down that he could climb up. He certainly had better things to do than to sit here and wait for help all day, that were for sure. There were bills to sort, and the kids were coming for a visit tonight. Couldn't have him go and miss that now, could they? Nope. Just had to find a way out of here, which started by keeping his head straight on, and think through this. Panic were his enemy.
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"It is my hope that I will not be the last to show you kindness."
The ambassador were not at the top of his game, yet he tried his best to be open and welcoming to these strange, yet seemingly overall kind creatures. It pleased him to see that it were helping after the disastrous beginning their arrival had before.
"As for where to go, there is a large balcony, further up the castle. I believe all present would fit well there. I will handle my own transport, though I am afraid that I must ask if you could please make your way up there yourself? My strength are not so that I can easily take many with me right now, and I require my own companion to remain with me, in case something happens."
"I will get us up there."
Enzo sounded somewhat distracted, which weren't exactly wrong either. The announcement that Karmic made about seeing Atzy as her sister had thrown him for a surprise, and made him look down at her curiously. To think that less than an hour ago, these two were attempting to fight one another, and now they were family... What peculiar roads these two went down.
"It is greatly appreciated."
With that, he'd use his horn, and in a flash of light, both him and his medical attendee would have been teleported up to the balcony. It would not be long after that before Enzo were up there too, with Karmic on his back and Atzy in his mouth. Weren't any soft fur he could pull her up in, but he had a gentle bite that wouldn't hurt her. Unless she could fly on her own accord of course, in which case he'd simply land with Karmic on his back.
It were evident that a lot of furniture had been hastily moved aside to make room for him, yet the table and some seating for the rest of them were present, so they had something to gather around as they talked, and had some refreshments.
As for the room in general, it were casually luxurious in a way. Some artwork were there, yet mostly, it were clear that it were meant for others to gather and relax there. The large piles of soft pillows, the table with sugar, tea leaves, etc. The whole atmosphere seemed to almost ooze relaxation.
"Welcome to our little sanctuary. Please, have a seat. I have asked the kitchen staff to prepare a few things and warm some water for tea. It should arrive soon."
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"Only reciting a prayer while we go through. My ancestors and friends fought and died here, and I refuse to dishonor their memory by not giving them their proper due."
There were a lot of loss in this area for Last. Be it family or friends, she knew some of either that were either scattered over these grounds, or had ceremonially been laid to rest, since their bodies could not be recovered. To not pray for them, and remember them as they had been, were unthinkable to her. Even if the memories sometimes hurt, they deserved better than to be cast aside and forgotten, after all they had given for her majesty.
Hopefully, those who had followed into the Night Guard would bring their ledgers, and make sure that the princess would not forget those who gave their life for her cause. Even if they'd never get statues or great stories told of them, as the Shrine Maidens had been isolated here for so long, and were a dirty secret of sorts before that, those lost deserved to at least be remembered by the one who mattered the most to them.
She looked over the path they were taking, which still did not seem patrolled or trapped. Wouldn't be more than a few minutes now until they could get to the high point where they could look into the valley now. Down at the only home Last had ever known, provided that it were still standing. Who could tell what had happened in the weeks since their departure.
"Hopefully there won't be anypony there to hear it, even if it's a nice sentiment.
A-Anyway, if something happen, just throw the stick away and come back later, okay Princess Twilight? I'm sure I'd just need time to get whatever went on out of my system."
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"I uh... Honestly don't know. Twilight mostly took care of it when we started these talks with the ponies, and other changeling queens tend to react aggressively when we have talks, or at least reluctant to talk too much.
Sort of thinking we're just going to go into the conversation hearing what she wants, then see if we can find some mutual ground and discuss details about how we can help one another. Bigger things like trade routes and the like I'd have to wait with until my adviser comes back. He's better at this than me."
Truth be told, Thorax likely could do fairly okay with that, but he didn't have the confidence in himself to keep it going. Especially against those who were far more proficient at this than him, which were why he needed Rosa. The bat pony were steeled to deal with these sorts of things,, and had the patience to go through with it methodically. Something he tried to learn Thorax, but such things took time.
Happy were about to add a sarcastic comment to this, along the line of *The king needs his nanny*, but managed to hold it back at the last second. Snarky comments had their time and place, but this one felt a little badly placed, even for his taste. So instead he'd focus his attention on-
Yeah okay, that was a lie. He were actually cut off because a diamond spike rammed up through the ground and end up ruining the mood, much like it had with the little one earlier. Just, y'know, this one were larger. Didn't open right away though, so he had a shot at giving a comment out here, just not to whom he had originally intended.
"Y'know, thinking about it, I'm pretty sure it'd be alright if you went griffon, long as the queen saw you first. Just keep it going for that first impression and you're probably golden."
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"You're mistaken darling, I am not a member of their family. I merely arrived to meet somepony, and soon after encountered Sunny. It seemed the dear mare needed some help to find her lost kin. Dreadful situation really so why not offer to help her? And it appears to have been a wise choice, seeing how your fight seemed to be escalating before our arrival.
Ah, but where are my manners? My name is Scarcity, and I am the owner of a delightful, high end antiques store in Canterlot. Whom may you be, and might you consider not egging him on in your current manner? It hardly seems wise to do so, considering he is rather powerful, and there appears to be no reasonable reason for another fight to occur."
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On 3/10/2020 at 5:48 AM, Midnight said:"That is quite good, though not as good as the ones my dad makes. Though, then again, never found any that are as good as the ones he makes,"
"It is hard to beat a home cooked meal, that's certain. Though I will say that this is just a tester, so hopefully it will get better once I refine things a little more. Not my usual kind of thing, but I like the challenge."
Pop were happy about any kind of feedback she'd get on this, and the first one had been pretty positive, considering this were one of her first few experiments with adding flavour to the milkshakes. If the reception to that were good or bad, she'd learn from it all the same, and could use it to make things better. Not a lot of specifics here, but... Perhaps she should take it as having to be more generous with the applied caramel? Home cooked meals had a lot of heart in it, and more often than not, a generous helping of things. Might be that this were the way to go.
She'd have to think about that later, as now, the turn came for the hardened sweets, and she almost held her breath in anticipation.
On 3/10/2020 at 5:48 AM, Midnight said:"You know, the best way to make something milkshake flavored is to put some of the milkshake at the center of whatever you are trying to put the flavor into, and then c- oh, right, no horn. Hmmm... Maybe I could make something for that too? Please? I mean, if you want to do it by hoof, I'd be completely fine with that, but I'm still going to make it anyway, now that I have the idea for it, and I'd never use it, so, please?"
So not as positive this time around, as it were evident that the taste weren't completely there. Probably spread too thin since the advice were to put a sort of creamy center into it, which were a fair one to try later. Just wasn't easy to make that without it just spilling all over the place soon as it started to get used, and the milky substance just wasn't as good to have as a creamy center as caramel. Then again, Icy were giving her some ideas, with how she were doing things.
"I'd be curious what sort of contraption you had in mind, so sure, I'd love to see what you're talking about. Though looking at what you just did, perhaps I could start to freeze these before creating them? A right amount of milkshake mixture in the midst, then wait for just the perfect time when it still got a bit of chew, but are malleable, and then begin to mix in the rest of the ingredients. Might make for the more even taste I've been looking for... Worth trying for sure.
It's easier with toffee. I personally think those went better."
She'd go under the desk and pull out a small box of cream-swirl patterned blocks of milkshake-flavored toffee. Rather pretty colors, yet the taste were the question, and she weren't lying when she said that these had gone better. The taste were evenly in it, rich, and complimented by a freshness that made it taste cooled. A trick with a certain kind of mint that she had learned some years ago, yet rarely got to use. In this thought, it had felt right to try and implement it.
"I pull my own toffee, and I think this is one of the more interesting ones I've made recently. It's fun to work in some new tastes and then just really get to work pulling away at the mixture for hours. I tried inviting Benny a few times, but it didn't go too well."
"In my defense, claws aren't good for that."
"Yeah, surely had nothing to do with how much went into your mouth, did it?"
The two of them would share an amused look, as they recalled an amusing event in their past that whilst it ended in a messy cleanup from toffee bits just being everywhere, were still pretty fun to look back at.
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Oh, that's easy. Recent desert in the forest means that some animal life is still all over the place, trying to get used to new areas to settle in. Some of them could make a ruckus, forcing him off the path and plunge right into a deep hole. Sure he could get out of there in time, but him muttering out loud to himself about how he'd go about it might well draw the attention of your char. Or the animals going bonkers could pique his curiosity. Heck, maybe he were watching the whole thing from the sidelines. I dunno.
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Sorrow's part of a long family line, where all the females can interact with spirits to varying degrees. In her case, she can see and hear them, and the large rodent skull she's wearing around her neck can collect them, and add them to Legion. The hivemind of spirits within that helps each other, and experiences the world through their shared tales and what Sorrow shows them on her trips. It helps soothe them, so that they can eventually pass on. That's why the skull have a varied amount of inhabitants at any given time. Currently, it is about sixteen.
She cannot interact with the spirits physically, and have no special powers related to death, though other members of her family cannot say the same. As an example, her grandmother, who are the current head of their clan, and the one who made the necromantic focus that the skull around her neck technically is.
And for the record, when I say it's an old clan, I mean it. Their family goes back to the time before Discord, when their bloodline got accidentally cursed by Vivid Loss, due to her increased power and soul magic buildup. She does not know that the clan sprung up from an unknown granddaughter of hers, though the records of the clan does have mentions of her son, as well as some descriptions of her, though her name have been lost to their records. Gonna be a pretty weird situation once some day, the two parts eventually meet up and learns the truth.
As for how she scours, she basically just travels the lands, and listens. The language of the dead are a distinct thing that those who can hear them, cannot mistake for anything else. Think of it a very distinct accent of sorts.
Moving on: Belladonna. SHe is friendly in her own way, but as said, she is a highly analytical mare, and can come across as cold as she rarely smiles, laughs, makes jokes, etc. She isn't an unhappy or cruel mare, rather she's just focused, which can be a plus and a minus. A plus since she judges unfairly less often, and a minus as she isn't going to join in on any hugging seminars, but rather stand and explain the inefficiency of that sort of action compared to a hoofshake, as an example. She's a valuable friend and coworker, but an acquired taste, so to speak.
Anomaly might be busy elsewhere at any time, but she have a habit of splitting herself up and then either the parts eventually rejoins her, or they evolve into their own thing. Her *daughter* and *son* are parts of her that evolved on their own, after they split from her, though mostly they just rejoin, or turn into mundane creatures like squirrels, or toasters. Could easily have a part of her meet up with you at some point if it were, or potentially her *children* out on a stroll, after escaping the isle they're usually on. Just... No plastic around the female. She's a right doll, but if she sees plastic, she goes mental and things starts to get destroyed. One of the reasons why she's usually isolated until she can learn to control her more destructive nature.
I can explain more about her *offspring* if you wish, later on.
As for Straw Hat, it'd be a strange journey, but he'd stand by your char's side, provided that he doesn't attack others. As mentioned, Star is open-minded, and long as he doesn't see one he's trying to help be the aggressor, he'll openly scold the other party if need be, if they're the one objectively wrong. Fair warning though, he's likely to try and get you to his place of work if it is, and offer some coffee.
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On 3/9/2020 at 5:27 AM, Illiad Easle said:
"Nothing out of the ordinary at the hospital, but this foal's certainly got some legs on them, might even be as strong as their sisters."
"I guess we'll see if he or she starts lifting everything, right? Just good to hear that things are still going okay with both you and the foal."
Void did hers to try and joke about this, though the thought of something even smaller than Null wandering around and lifting stuff were sorta distracting. Like those circus acts with the strong stallions, just in a miniature format.
On 3/9/2020 at 5:27 AM, Illiad Easle said:"How about you two? Everything go well at training and the forge?"
"Yeah, works getting done, and I'm starting to get some wind under the wings again. Tough training, but nothing good comes easy, y'know? Just gotta keep putting in the effort."
She wouldn't say anything else until Void wandered into the kitchen to begin prepping dinner. Soon as she were out of the hearing distance though, Null would start talking again, and if their father had picked up o the mood before, her silent, awkward glances towards Void until she saw the mare leave the room, should have kept him on pretty high alert.
"Actually, there's something I need to talk to you all about. The Consul, he... Found out where our supposed *father* have been hiding out, and I got offered a chance to go and confront him sometime soon.
When it happens, I'm going to take it. He's got a lot to answer for, and long as he's breathing, we ain't safe."
She were clearly holding something back, from how her gaze shifted away from them, which you'd more or less have to be blind to miss. Whilst lying wasn't something she were against, Null had some issues doing so in front of her parents. Especially her mother.
But what were she going to do here? Just flat out say *Gonna kill our dad, then out there to kill some more for the Consul. Oh right, he offered me to be part of Vengeance, and that's why I'll be gone and out slaughtering soon. Slipped my mind*? Wasn't an easy thing to get this out, and especially not since there were still one more here that needed to hear this, yet were the one she were feeling would be the hardest to tell it to: That being Void. The two of them hadn't been separated willingly for long periods in their lives, and now Null' were gonna say that she were going to go out there, and traverse down a dark path that her little sister couldn't join her on? It were going to be hard.
To think that a few weeks ago, when they ended up in Troy and she got lost in her own mind, she felt as if she couldn't keep fighting anymore... And yet here she were, trying to find a way to tell them that she were going right back into the fray, yet this time, without backup. It were going to be tough to stay steadfast on this with triple opposition, but she had to. This were her part in the puzzle, and she knew it. It were just tough to tell them.
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"For a start, I rarely sing. My symphony is the roar of a thunderstorm, following in my wake. Songs like what the equines are taking part in constantly, are not comparable.
Beyond that, we both have our opinion on what is weak and what is strong. To me, neither are wrong, but it depends on the setting. In the one we are in now, my way is the stronger, as you showing up and trying to force your dominance, would have you engulfed in a dense cloud and shipped off to the Coastal Guard or something. The ponies are weak one on one, but they have made systems and possess magic they can use to alter things in their favor, especially when they have the upper hand in numbers. They are lesser beings than us, yes. But it isn't wise to ignore what they can do in a flock."
Leviathan took a few steps back and unlocked the door to the bathroom again, as she talked about her point of view on ponies and such, just sharing a sentiment that had gone out a few times from her side by now, yet again.
"As for how I intend to show you that I care, it will be by doing what I assume you'd want the least: I'm going to follow you, and do what I do until it gets through to you. Even if it takes going to where you came from. From the sound of things, I don't think I'd have a hard time adjusting to that place. I have yet to meet or hear of a dragon that is immune to getting a lighting bolt to the face."
Sounded like it'd be all about assessing dominance there, so Leviathan would do well. Size and physical strength meant nothing compared to the sort of magic she could work with, even if she would prefer not to go to extremes like that, and just chase her more primal siblings away. It didn't sit right with her to hurt another dragon.
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"Us dryads have a calming aura over us, that helps to soothe the animals around us. Yet I will admit, it does not force a creature out of a rampage by itself, nor solve an issue such as a fight over territory, and when it comes to creatures such as these majestic birds, I mostly keep my distance until they have calmed down some on their own. After that, I approach with open ar- Hooves, and talk calmly with them, until they have calmed and are willing to speak of things what happened, and see if I can help resolve the issue.
As you surmised, I am highly flammable, so it is a matter of knowing how to limit my risks when dealing with creatures related to flames, lest I burn to the core, or find myself forced to shed a few layers before the flame goes so deep. Both shedding and regrowing are painful experiences, when it comes to situations like that.
It is not ideal, I must admit, and perhaps one might wonder why I do not simply stay clear of those creatures entirely. Yet, I am the protector of these woods. The animals depend on me helping them, as be they dangerous to me or not, I intent to do my best to fulfill that responsibility. Something which would sound hollow, were I to turn my back on those who needs my presence, simply because they presented a threat."
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Hammond would quietly wander to the edge of the table, to get nearer Sen and Lin, and would look up at the former with three, pale eyes, carrying much the same curiosity that he would have seen countless times before in Omen's eyes. Just closer to when he had first met her, than how it were now, where she had started to understand a good deal of things about him, and as such, didn't find him as perplexing.
Once closer to them, he'd raise his paws, and with closed fists, start to make some signs at them, just as the filly had at him. Difference here being that Rosa were likely the closest one of the three who knew what this might mean, and he seemed to struggle, judging by the furrow in his eyebrows.
"I'm afraid I don't know this one."
The filly would be over mere seconds after that, and pat Hammond on the head a few times as she saw how well he were doing the signs she had been showing him for a bit before they got guests. A few more signs would come from her towards him that she wanted him to try, before she turned and gave a happy, innocent little smile to the strange group before walking out of the office, and into a room on the right.
"I do apologize for that. She is a gentle, sweet filly, and expressed a wish to visit me today. When I had to go outside to deal with work, she had started to try and communicate with Hammond, which appeared to have continued after my departure. It appears that it is something he finds interesting, or perhaps it were merely her? It is hard to say, yet I think the two of them will be best off getting to know one another some more, over the coming months."
"Is he deaf like her?"
"No. Rather, he appears to simply being unable, or unwilling to speak for some reason. I cannot tell which it is, but it is fortunate to have found a way of communication that he might be more inclined towards. And for the record, what he is trying to say to you currently is *Nice to meet*. I have some doubts that he grasps the context of this presently, yet the effort is there. I will commend him on that."
"And the filly?"
"Off limits. I will not divulge my connection with her, and would ask that you kindly respect that, lest you think our working relationship are better off being soured?"
"...I retract my question."
"A wise choice, dear. Now let's see where I have the correct transportation needs... Ah, and Hammond, dearie? They do not understand you. Perhaps try and connect with them via touch instead? Like I showed you earlier."
Whilst Scarcity went through her desk, looking for something, Hammond would get closer to sen, and raise a paw up, which if he did not move away, he'd pat against the longma's nose. If he seemed to respond negatively to that, Hammond would instead try the same on Lin. They had to think of him like Omen, just quite a bit more inexperienced, and silent as the grave.
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On 3/6/2020 at 3:10 AM, Midnight said:"But I was using my levitation for the mi- I mean, nothing. Nothing at all was said. Please. As for your question, Circ,"
"Please, just call me Pop. Most others do."
She weren't hating nicknames or anything, but Circ sounded a little weird to her ears. Like some sort of gear for a machine she wouldn't have the faintest idea how to work, or somepony saying *circus* whilst yawning. Might be she could get used to it if it kept being used, but she'd prefer not to, even though she wouldn't outright say it. It'd likely come off as rude.
On 3/6/2020 at 3:10 AM, Midnight said:"Happily. Inventing something like this would be a lot of fun for me, not often I get to make something so different from anything else I've seen. And, if you were thinking it might cost something, it won't. Though if you do want to pay me, I would accept a milkshake as payment. Always interesting to see how someone else makes a milkshake."
"I've actually been trying to synthesize the taste of milkshake into some sweets I've been working on, but I do still have the machine up and running, ready for a few tests. Come on in, I'll try and see if I can make something interesting, and you can tell me if they're any good."
Pop didn't like not paying for things, so if this were the name of the game, she'd rather this *exchange* than just more or less taking advantage of a helping hoof like this. Plus, it'd give her a taste tester to give some hopefully good tastes to. If something worked well, she'd make sure that at the very minimum, Icy would get a nice, big bag of those.
Entering the shop, there's be candy of all kinds, in many, varied colors all over the place. Some of them seemingly being made of some rather fanciful stuff, according to the signs. Things like Saddle Arabian Buttermilk, and Neighponeese Lotus Sugar, which were not ingredients you came around often in Equestria. Especially the former, as Saddle Arabia were very selective who they were willing to trade this with.
Wandering through the colorful displays and gift baskets galore, they'd eventually get to the counter, where a milkshake machine indeed stood running, next to a small plate of varied colors of hardened sweets, formed into small cups of milkshake, to keep a fun shape.
"Let me just try here and see if this one isn't okay first..."
She'd pour a half glass out, then pour in a golden liquid from a nearby bottle, that would fill a half inch or so, before she filled the rest of the milkshake up, and gave it a stir with a tall straw. The result being that the milkshake got a distinct, caramelized look to it, which at least visually, made Pop nod approvingly.
"Trying to mix up the formula some. This seems to be the right balance for a milkshake with Ponian Caramel. It should add a nice flavor, without taking away from the regular flavor too much. Please, feel free to try it. Along with the sweets. So far just trying to get a pure milkshake flavor in those, before I try to add variants. I think this batch might be getting there."
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A shame she had to do this honestly. Much as this one were about as discreet and charming as a bar drunk, Berry were used to dealing with so many who had secrets and agendas hidden constantly. It were tiresome, and made her think that most who got near her were just spies for Them. Yet here were one that were about as deep as a flat plate, and as direct as an arrow, and y'know... It was refreshing, even if he were a bit rough around the edges, to put it mildly. Given another setup, she had the feeling that the two of them might have hit off well enough, though as it stood right now, he had broken in and messed with Pinkie's place. He were gonna need to learn that you just didn't do that sorta thing, and since Pinkie weren't here to do that herself, Berry had to take the charge on that.
A real help that the big lad stepped closer to her to try and... Eh, maybe a macho thing. Seemed like it fit his style, and there were probably not a whole lot of layers to his behavior, so why not go by this assumption for now? Whatever the case, he had gotten closer, and just needed a little more to be in a real good spot to get himself a shelf of pots and pans smack down on his noggin. Hmm... Actually, perhaps she just needed a little *misstep* to sort this out herself.
"Ain't often you see an honest stallion these days. Mighty tempting offer you got there too, buuuut, I figure I should get to know you a lil' bit better before trying t- Woah!"
She looked up at him with a small grin almost shining through her eyes as she talked to him, right up until she took a step backwards, then pretended to stumble and *fell* right into the shelf she had in mind, sending quite a big shelf on the path downwards. Might not have been an easy one to get down usually, but the lad had made a mess of this place, and it cleared some area to make the hit mean something. Plus, she had seen Pinkie make it fall down by doing this before too, so it gave her a point of reference on how to get it done.
Worst case from this, he'd be able to not get too harmed by all the stuff about to fall on him, and her to some lesser extend, and she could grab a frying pan to give him a right smacking across the face. Best case, this would knock him out on it's own, and she could drag him outside.
If it came to the smacking part, she would put her hoof on the nearest pan or heavy object she could get her hoof on, and be ready, though trying to play it off.
"Urgh, must've slipped on something there. You alright, big guy?"
If he were, and he didn't seem like an easy one to smash out, she'd have to think of something else. Maybe annoy him to lure him outside, where she could get some help subduing him. Might be she could pack a punch, but he were larger than her. A fair fight wasn't gonna go in her favor.
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An aggressive response. Not a large surprise for Scarcity, and one whom she did not get fazed by in the slightest. She had far more scary creatures than him that had yelled at her before, and whilst he may be strong, compared to those, he were somewhat... Plain, and nonthreatening. Especially as he seemed to need blunt force and were dealt with when he did not have contact with the ground, which her magic could well ensure, were the worst to happen.
"My apologies if it sounded as if I tried to offend you. I merely spoke the name which Sunny told me you had. Attacking others for their visual representation is not something a civilized mare does, and I truly see no reason why one should do such a thing. If anything, one should focus on the important things, such as your impressive strength, rather than unimportant aspects that hardly seems like it should be brought up in polite conversation. If it is, then those opposing you rightfully gets what they deserve for their ignorance."
He seemed the sort to respond best to others agreeing that he were in the right, when he attacked others for mentioning his height. A minor issue which Scarcity mostly joked around with in a civilized manner with a few of her friends who had height issues themselves, but there were a time and a place for those such things. In Shortstack's case, likely when he were in the other end of town, and couldn't hear you.
"As for the situation with Stargazer, I saw no reason why there should be made a bigger scene out of this than there had been. Things happened before we arrived which seemed to have an unfortunate outcome, but there hardly is a reason to make this worse than it is. Especially since your family members are seemingly waiting for you. No need to cloud such a joyous occasion with talks about prison time, or fighting with the law, no?
Ah, and to what you mentioned Sunny, I can tell you that our dear officer is divorced, which means that the only female he shares a household with, is his daughter. Do with this information as you please."
A small smirk o her face told that she had some idea what Sunny might be thinking of, but she saw no reason to say it out loud. especially as it might anger her brother, whom seemed to have a fuse shorter than his stature, which were a comparison that aptly fell under the category of smartest to keep to herself. He'd likely not see the funny part in that comment.
"Perhaps we should wander to his domicile, and meet up with more members of your delightful family? It is far less complicated if we arrive first too, rather than having to deal with arrest orders and the like. I'm sure you would rather deal with many other things than that, would you not sir?"
As he didn't seem to like his name, referring to him as sir might do better. They'd see, though she mentally readied herself to cast a levitation spell, just in case. One were best to be careful around those with a short fuse like this.
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Alonsus had a... Varied response to meeting Monmolith.
On one hoof, the physical aspects made him see the stallion as a like-minded individual of sorts. One whom knew that you should make sure to keep yourself looking your best, even if their styles were varied as he seemed to draw inspiration from some other place. He were not familiar with Saddle Arabia, so this were sadly lost on him, yet there were a sort of kindred spirit he had with the stallion from the boisterous way he presented himself at least. The detail of his mane moving when hardly a wind seemed to otherwise move, were a grandiose touch too. perhaps a hidden wind gem somewhere on his being, causing this? Alonsus had thought of getting one for just this sort of thing himself a few times, but his mane style were not as focused on flowing majestically in the wind like this, so it were a constant back and forth. Also, it weren't possible to get those here in Ponyville, and he were too busy to take a trip to Canterlot to get some, sadly.
Then he started to speak, and things became a little more strained.
As a former mobster, Alonsus had not been too keen on dealing with law ponies, yet that weren't the big gripe he had. No, that came from Monolith speaking much like the lawyer he were forced to deal with, after he got arrested, and were offered a plea bargain, were he to rat out the rest of the gang. One that he took, yet which still lasted for several months, and included some undercover work as an informant. Hearing talk like this again reminded him of that grizzled old stallion, and those he had once thought of as friends, whom he had stabbed in the back to save his own hide. A lot of bad history being brought up hearing this stallion speak, which made the smile on his face falter some as he tried to get the worst of those things to just leave him alone. Something which were easier said than done, though thankfully, somepony else too charge in speaking with the stallion.
"Please calm down, everything's okay. Mayor Mare is just worried the town is gonna get damaged again, and somepony getting hurt from it. She's not taking him to court."
Long Stare just approached him like she would Alonsus, as though his features were strange, it felt something she could relate him to in some ways. Something which might make a mare's heart flutter, yet she wasn't interested. Her tastes wasn't for this kind of stallion, though she could see why it would be for others, such as Mayor Mare, who seemed to get a short, flustered blush on her cheeks at the sight of the stallion. After the shock of the door smashing open were done with at anyway. Might be the mayor had her sights elsewhere normally, but it were hard not to get her eyes drawn towards such an impressive, outlandish figure suddenly standing in their midst.
"Defense? I'm... N-No, certainly not. We were just talking, and I expressed my worries of what might happen. I certainly didn't intent to put him behind bars or the like when he hadn't done anything."
"Of course. Ponyville is a fair town, and we give those within our borders a chance to prove themselves, even if there are always worries when seeing a peculiar new thing. A great delight to meet you regardless, Monolith. This here is Mayor Mare, my co-workers Long Stare and Chop Chop, and of course, there is I: The great Alonsus Merrywind. Splendid to see we did not need to search long for you."
He were about ready to speak up once the main conversation seemed handled by the mayor, giving Monolith a greeting from all essentially. Except for Chop, who gave him half a look, then returned to his bowls. He wasn't interested in this lawyer type and his yapping.
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Okay, this were so not good.
The prey were a pony, which she had guessed before, but had confirmed as he zoomed by them again, clearly far faster than the things chasing him, which seemed to be one of those timberwolves Jelly had heard so much about, a confident badger, and a... She had no idea. But it looked tough. Not very fast though, and even if the timberwolf did its best, it seemed like it too couldn't keep up with the speedy pony.
However, there were an issue here in that the pony were really not calm, and more or less ran in circles. Jelly were ten, and she knew that were a really bad thing to do. It just made it easier to catch you soon as the predator started to think of your path, rather than chase you. Hay, for some predators, the added life in the prey just got them even more riled up, far as she could recall from class. Sooner or later, this would get nasty, if he didn't start to outrun them in one direction, or the creatures lost interest in him.
They had to be smart about this to get something done without getting hu-
31 minutes ago, Pastel-chan said:"Jelly, I'm going in! Don't do anything to get yourself hurt okay? I got this~"
Pastel ran in a horizontal line, a pink blur racing past the predators vision and the pony they were chasing- and yelled loudly for every creature present to hear...
"HEY! Betcha can't catch me~!"
Aaaand there went that plan. It'd probably work to get some heat off the pony, but what about Pastel? She couldn't run as fast as him! She needed to get help too.
Taking a quick decision too, Jelly, grabbed some steel wire in her belt, and flew over towards the group as fast as she could. Just before getting there, she'd then tie one end of the ends of the wire to a bush at the right of the path the timberwolf had been in, and then she'd throw some pebbles she found on the ground towards it, to get it's attention. She'd try hissing, waving, and shouting names too, long as she got this one on her tail. She were a faster flier than Pastel could run likely, and she had a plan. It involved tripping up the wolf and then see if she could wrangle it's paws together when it were on the ground. Just like her daddy had shown her to do, in case she needed to deal with a four legged, non-equine troublemaker.
In fairness, he didn't intent it to be something like this, but more like a loose pig, or annoyed goat, on one of the farm trip the school took them on, just so that she could show off a little. At worst, he expected her to face like, a wild boar piglet, as she should be smart enough to run away from the big ones. It'd be interesting to see if this would still translate well on what were likely a pretty healthy timberwolf in its best age.Maybe not, but then they'd try something else. Either way, she could just sit down when two ponies were in danger now, and one of them were her new friend.
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I used the things said about Anomaly to explain why she wouldn't be able to change something fundamental about your character. She'd honestly be totally into whatever he were currently.
Though fair warning, she might try to put a leash on him.
As for Lyriel, the communication was more meant with approaching without running away. I figured your char could still speak regularly. And no worries, she can be hidden to another time. She's more or less constantly in the forest.
And regarding the poison, it would be defensively. Seeing as it seemingly wouldn't have an effect, Belladonna would just get more curious. She'd also be fairly honest about trying to poison him, and thinking it odd why it did not work. She's one of those blunt characters.
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You want Lyriel for this. Shes working her way through being the guardian of the forest, and have done well in dealing with the varied issues she have been faced with so far, as best she can. Including dealing with what the animals tells her, such as things they are afraid of, like they were with Nada. With the siren handled in a way, they may well come to ask her to face another (for them) legend of the forest. They could easily come and get her where Nada, Nerzhei and her are currently, and then lead her towards the area, in hopes that she would help them get rid of, or understand whatever were out there.
I mention Lyriel as being the obvious one here, as the setting fit, her role fits, the monster you speak off would be seen as an oddity at the very least by the animals I can imagine, and she is a very open-minded creature. She will not start a meeting with hostility in mind.
If not her, perhaps Sorrow here?
She deals with spirits, so she's closely familiar with death, and doesn't get bothered by it. She is also highly friendly and wants to help others out, even if they aren't dead. I could have her out scouring for spirits, and run into your char.
Belladonna might also work. SHe wanders forests at times to collect herbs for her elixirs and poisons, and whilst she doesn't have any close relations with monsters and/or the undead, she is a highly analytical mare who values facts and faces most things with a cool head. If she ran into your char, it is likely that she will just stand still, watch him/her, and comment on the curious state of the creature she just met, as well as attempting to communicate. She will use poison though, if she observes a threat.
Then there's my resident draconequui, Anomaly. Big fan of mutations and oddities, so any sort of monster living in the forest would be incredibly fun for her to meet, and she is ultimately a benevolent creature. Just a little... Fried in the pumpkin. She isn't using as much chaos as very highly concentrated nature magic, mixed with a tinge of chaos at times, so creating, mutating, and evolving life of all kinds are a passion of hers. She might be able to help your char out, in case he have some issue with continued deterioration. Might be possible for her to halt it, though as he doesn't know what he used to be according to you, it will be impossible for her to remake him into his old self, even if she somehow reconfigured his mind. Seeing how your chars system might have changed, the brain will likely be too different to remake. Besides, she likes them odd too. If you're seeking romance of any sorts, this one's likely the only one crazy enough to go for it.
Straw Hat here's an option for a weirder angle though, if it were. Owner of the Ponyville coffee shop Sloppy Joe's, he does well enough for himself on a day to day basis, and have a strict policy of thinking that everyone deserves a second chance.This is why he have hired Alonsus (former mob member) Long Stare (creepy mare who used to have social issues) Berry Swirl (conspiracy nut who spent time in an actual loonie bin before escaping it) and a few others. Basically, he thinks that there's no need to judge someone, who wanna show that they're not as bad as others might think. If he went through the forest on a stroll, he could cross paths with your char, and whilst the initial meetup might be a little awkward, he'd be fair, and try to work your char towards wandering into town, and get to know their fellow neighbors. Provided he/she/i doesn't eat ponies. Only Anomaly might find that sort funny.
As for the hat and head garment, he has a bald spot, so his wife made it for him. Looks a bit silly, but she's proud of the work, and he have gotten used to it.
These are those I think I could throw at you. Pick or ask more as you see fit.
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Eventually, night time would come for the sisters, and they would close up shop for the day. They had both been doing some hard work, despite the awkward silence that seemed to have dropped over the room for the majority of it, which tended to decrease their productivity, as usually, their banter helped keep them focused at the task at hoof.
Tonight had been different, yet not without some issues, as Null had to re-carve a piece of wood to replace a section of what she had been working on, which broke after she thought more on the deal with Vengeance, and the Consul's honestly soothing promise of a quick end, if worst came to worst. And as for Void, she needed to redo an eye from scratch, as her attention being elsewhere had caused her to make it flawed, to a point where it might take some time, but it would inevitably get chipped, and potentially cause severe damage inside the recipient's skull. A future risk which she refused to take, so it were thrown into a pile of other glass parts that she might find some use for another time.
They needed to take a short trip to the market afterwards, to pick up some veggies for tonight's dinner. Void had promised that she'd cook, and show their mother that she still knew how to make Trojan Blackroot Stew. Despite what else were going on, she were still determined to make sure that it would be done, and that their family would be getting a good, traditional meal. Void considered making a variant that had the Blackroot as the main taster, but decided against it, to go for the one with more varied flavors. Worst came to worst, it were easier to hide the bitterness of a badly-cooked Blackroot among other root vegetables, than it were to try and play it off as anything besides inedible, and she didn't feel like her mind were in the right place to be focused 100% on getting this done right. A small bit of leeway were preferable in her mind.
Soon enough after that, they'd be at their parents house and knock on the door, about five minutes later than they had said they were likely going to be, when the dinner were agreed upon by them a few days ago. Not too bad, considering the first night they had been half an hour late, due to some complications at the shop, so this wasn't too bad. And since Void were cooking, no chance of the food growing cold tonight.
Provided nothing were wrong and they'd eventually be let in, Void would wander first with a somewhat nervous smile on her face, whilst Null would bow her neck and give them a short, more energized bow than she had been able to the last few days, when she had been utterly exhausted after both the training and work.
"Hey, didn't mean to be late. Figures that the herbs we needed got mixed up in a big pile, and ended up at the bottom."
"But we still got everything, so... That's good. Are you doing okay? Nothing happening at the hospital? Or with the foal?"
Void had gotten a little focused on the subject of the foal in recent days, as the day got closer and she started to worry if their mom were still okay. Null were concerned too, but she didn't show it as openly as her little sister, who were more or less at the stage where if she saw their mother looking like she were going to get up to grab something, she would do it herself if possible. A little overbearing perhaps, but what could she say? She were both worried and excited for the new little member of their family.
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"Tomorrow."
Null had been looking over the town that Illiad had directed her attention to, whilst the thoughts wandered through her head. About Vengeance, the warnings she had been given, and what it would all mean not just for her, but for those down there. Thoughts that had been there a lot recently, though they had halted some as she had been going through flight training.
"I thought I had more time, but I don't trust he will stay there, and I'm not letting him get away, nor have a chance at getting the upper hoof. If he does, he'll just end up hurting them again, and I refuse to let that happen. Not to them, and not to anyone else.
Tonight I'll tell my family what's going to happen. Then tomorrow after training, I'll show up to your office, and you'll have your deal."
She turned around to look up at the Consul again, a little bitter, yet determined and seemingly without having much in the way of doubts when it came to her words. Not a surprise to him likely. The thing holding Null back had long been that she didn't know how to bring it up to her parents and her sister, not whatever or not she would do this. That part were inevitable, since despite how much she did get done now and again in town, and how welcome her family and neighbors tried to make her feel, she didn't feel like she belonged there. This peaceful, settled life just felt wrong somehow.
Yet out there, where she could actually set things right, and protect her family the way she did best? There was something about the thought that appealed to her. Likely that she'd be able to do more for them out there than she ever could sitting on her hooves, in a place where she wasn't needed. There were others who could go on with making false legs for those in need, and the few notes she might have could be given to some of those to help things along. She herself wasn't needed, nor meant to be in this sort of life.
"Just promise me that you'll keep something in mind, Consul. That if I ever lose myself to Vengeance, and end up as a threat to my family... Please, try and kill me. If I hadn't gone insane before that, I would after, and then it would just be a matter of time before I became one of the monsters I tried to protect them from. It would be the best for everyone if it didn't get that far."
If he gave his word or not on this, Null would still let it be said, so that he could at least think about it if the situation arose. Something which Null feared more than anything, when she embraced Vengeance, and set out of a path likely covered in blood. She could live with herself if she knew what she did were right, but not if she ended up coming back to smite her own family. She'd sooner die.
As for the note on Las Pegasus, she stuffed it inside her beret after she got it. She'd need it later, as she explained to her family partially why she were going to do what she were preparing for. Hopefully they'd be able to understand her, even if she knew that Void wouldn't. Blessed be her little sister, but she just didn't understand that the dream of her big sister being able to just live a normal, carefree life, wasn't realistic. It were far, far too late for that.
He'd likely leave soon, as would she. In her case, to return to the workshop to get some notes scribbled down, and finish up a side project of sorts, whilst Void did her own thing at the forge. Usually they'd banter some to keep the time going, but for once, it would be a rather silent, pressured atmosphere, as both parts tried to grasp how they were going to bring up their respective offers to their parents, come evening.
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Uuuh... I dunno? You can fire off monsters if you think it'll be funny for sure. Just know that you aren't the only one causing trouble, and I might randomly pop up with something else to make things weird. Won't divulge more yet, but let's just say that the laughing flower that sent them on a quest is not as innocent as it claimed.
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This here's more for everyone: I will be gone this weekend, so I won't be posting again until Monday. Just so folks don't wonder when nothing happens Saturday.
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21 hours ago, EQ_Theta said:
“I’m still not entirely sure about this.”
“Consider that while there are things about this world you know, there is plenty more that isn’t known to the general public. Some would even sleep better if the more unsavory matters are kept hidden, matters that are resolved long before their true extent is revealed. It is a thankless task that is better kept hidden, knowing that the world can keep on going with no one the wiser. A necessary evil but one that does more good if understood from a certain perspective.”
"It's delightful to hear that you understand, dearest orb. As you say, there is indeed parts of the world that is best not seen or known about, and if the general public knew of the things that traversed right under their snouts... Well, to say that there would be a wide-spread state of panic and paranoia would be an understatement. It is better if only those who needs to, are aware of the dark sides of what many considers a near-idyllic kingdom.
And before you might ask why not everything is stopped, it is a matter of balance. Were I to try and interfere with everything, I would become too much of a liability to where I need to traverse, and shunned, if not outright removed. I have to be selective, and more often than you might think cater to a certain morality of the underground, wherein I can gain certain high ranking support on particular things, such as trafficking certain beings. Le Perinne's somewhat hypocritical, yet firm stance against that, have proven most fortunate in giving me quite a lot of leeway in regards to this subject, as a readily available example."
"Considering her cult, that doesn't make much sense."
"She sees it more as a volunteer group of gullible, yet useful servants. Technically they are free to leave or think for themselves, and aren't in chains. The indoctrination just makes it highly unlikely, as is the lofty prize she dangles just out of their reach. For now at least, though I would be amiss to discuss this further for the time being. We have other, more important matters at hoof."
A halfway code for *I am not inclined to divulge too much information on her* which were mostly understandable. The overgrown lizard were a powerful enemy, and best kept on if not friendly, then at least neutral terms. Sharing too much of the inner workings and plans of her might compromise that. At least, that is what Rosa thought on it. Might just be that she enjoyed teasing them with information that were interesting, but not in too many details, so that they were left speculating, whilst she held all the answers. Scarcity were certainly not above that.
21 hours ago, EQ_Theta said:“Very well. We agree with your terms, Scarcity.”
“So the goal is to provide enhancements to your magical abilities and efficiency to your body’s repair functions. Aging will be considerably slowed and your magic will be strengthened as if you’ve been given a surge of power. It is about as close as we can get to mimicking specific alicorn features without inducing an ascension. Essentially, you’d be an alicorn without looking like one. All that energy you said you have? We can filter it, only channel what is necessary and lessen any unintended consequences. Is this acceptable?’
The mare got a larger, pleased smile on her face that made the small hairs on Rosa's neck stand. He were too paranoid about her to not think something were amiss when she were happy about something, even if she didn't show off any sort of malice currently.
"That would be utterly delightful! Whilst I do have several cover stories ready to explain certain unintended side effects - such as wings, or other random mutations - it would be beneficial if I did not need that, and could maintain my current looks as well as possible. It puts less of a spotlight on me. At least for the next... Shall we say twenty to thirty years, until my apparent lack of aging will begin to raise questions. Quite a lot of time to make for a proper cover story I would say.
You have yourself a deal, and as a token of my gratitude towards your willingness to assist me, I shall fulfill my end of the bargain first."
At this point they'd reach her office, after having talked and wandered through the long hall. Within it, they'd find a small filly with a puffed up mane and tail - as if she had gotten her head and flank stuck in a cloud - sitting on a tall chair in front of Hammond, who were currently standing on the table and watching her closely, as her hooves went through a few varied movements over and over, which he repeated with clenched paws. Everything going on were in complete silence, only interrupted when the filly on occasion took a sip from a large cup of grape soda, or took some candy from a nearby bowl.
As she saw the door open and the two longma enter, she got a curious look in her eyes and stopped what she were doing, yet as she saw Scarcity, would refocus completely on her and raise a hoof to wave at her with a big smile on her happy little face.
The mare in question did not say anything, but started to make signs herself, making it clear that what were going on were that the small filly and Hammond were going over sign language. Rosa understood what were going and would look over towards the longma's, not bothering to whisper since clearly, it wouldn't matter.
"The filly seems to be asking who you two are, and Scarcity is seemingly replying to her about you being guests, and some longer explanation which I'm not getting all of. I'm not the best at reading sign language, and especially not from an angle like this."
"Quite correct. Just please give me a moment here, and I shall proceed towards getting the information and transport that you require."
It would be a minute or two before they were done, seeing as the filly were curious herself about what were going on, and Scarcity wished to give her a kind lie, as to not make her worry, nor feel the urge to share this encounter. If they wished to, they could try and speak with Hammond whilst waiting, as he had taken to turn around and look at Lin, whom he recognized from earlier, and rose a small paw to wave towards.
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A cold hoof? How odd. Sure it were autumn by now, but it weren't cold enough for something like this.
"Uhm, are you okay, Icy? Your hoof feels a little cold to it."
"We just had some milkshakes. Might be the cold cups have something to do with it, right?"
"Ah, okay then. That makes sense. I were sorta worried if something health-related were awry."
Sure the hoof had also felt sorta weird, but they had a pretty good spa in town. Feeling somepony's hoof as kinda spongy weren't all that unusual. Unusual were more the fact that this one had wings, but well... This wasn't the first unicorn with wings she had seen in recent days, even though these were far less metallic. Guess she just sorta figured that it wasn't all that strange anymore, or at least not enough to snoop too much into it, unless the mare brought it up herself.
"So, what can I help you with?"
"Nono, she can help you, honey. You know how you're always taking about inventory space, right? Well I've seen Icy here open up a big space with room for tons of stuff, and she says that she might be able to make some sorta button thing to make a space like that for somepony else too."
Now Pop seemed to get rather intrigued as she looked at Icy, wondering what sorta thing he were going on about when it came to this. He wasn't the most familiar with pony magic, so perhaps he had just seen a gate perhaps? A fairly tough spell for most unicorns, but it weren't unheard of. Could be something more though. Sometimes, a unicorn would come along with a brand new spell, and this one might have something in store she hadn't seen before. If that then also could help with inventory, she'd be all ears that were for sure.
"Really? I mean, it would help immensely on stocking up things like the pumpkin crunch and the new milkshake machine I got last week when it's not in season, or used for something else. I'd be happy to hear more about this, if that's okay?"
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7 hours ago, Rising Dusk said:"I'll be sure to remember that Ms. Monkshade."
"Good. I intent to repay my debts."
It were a manner of pride for Lily to not have her debt being unpaid, unless the one it were owed to had faced their final death. Something told her that this one wouldn't get that fate before they met again, and in fact, that it would be all that long before she heard something from her. There was something about that look in her eyes that made Lily see someone before her that were already making plans, and were she to guess, it would be a matter of months, not years, before they began to include the stray from Harrowmark. Perhaps it would include a want for dark items or knowledge that she would not openly voice a want for in front of her brother? Potentially. Might be worth hiding a few tomes when she returned, before they were all found and burned. Malicious as Twisted had been, he were a strong unicorn, who had been the inventor of quite a few intricate spells. Especially the ones that included primordial energy, and how to siphon it. It seemed a shame to let it go to waste, when perhaps another might one day come along that could use this in a more positive way than he had elected to do.
Quite honestly, that were likely what she were going to have to be in some capacity. A keeper of forbidden knowledge, waiting for the right *owner* to come along. Not the worst line of work she supposed, though they'd see what were left to work with when she eventually got back. Wouldn't matter much if they had already burned everything after all, which she were somewhat sure would be the priestesses ultimate plan for everything within Twisted's property.
7 hours ago, Rising Dusk said:"Will you be departing soon?" the twin inquired as she made her way over to the buffet table to collected herself a crystal glass of sparkling cider. The glass floating up on its own accord to let her take an dainty sip. "When the correct time presents itself,"
"Much as I'd like to be back with her soon, now is indeed not the time. They have to be wary in the swamps, and will react instinctively. We need to wait until they reach another point, depending on what route they take. May I?"
Unless there were any objections, she would wander over to the buffet table and take a glass of the cider that she had just seen te mare drink, though her intent were not to drink it. Instead, she would put the glass down on the floor, and start casting a spell to raise the liquid up into the air, where it would spread out and make for a floating, narrowed map of Harrowmark. It wasn't perfect, and it were somewhat bubbly due to the liquid in question she had to work with, but it should suffice to show the road from where the group currently were, to where they were headed.
"After the swamp, they're going to pass the old farmstead I warned of earlier, and then they will get to the shore. Since the bridge were destroyed long ago, they will have to rely on a ferry, which they will likely take from here, to here."
She'd poke at the shore on the left half of the map, then ran it through the waving liquid towards the other shore, on the north-western side, where a semi-large village were seen.
"Far as I'm aware, it usually does not sail there, but with the High Priestess in tow, they won't complain, even if Twisted made the ferrymen. If they do... I imagine it will take a little longer, as they'd be steering themselves, but they'd probably still pick this village. It's one of the safest ports close to Copperhagen, and unless something have changed since I last heard about the place, it's likely still a literral ghost town. That close to the Howling Meadows, it's the only fate you will find once your days are numbered. Used to be you'd hear stories of some bringing family there who wished to control what happened to their afterlife, but I can't say how true they are. Never went there myself.
Regardless, it's fairly close to the Howling Meadows, and the energy spills into town. Normally I would suggest to not have you near that place, seeing how you spoke of the swamp, but the place have a... Curious reputation for being very serene, despite the inevitable end. If you can handle a more calming darkness, we might be able to intercept them there. If not, I wouldn't get close until Copperhagen itself.
Of course, they could also take another port even closer, but..."
Her hoof would linger over one a fair bit further up on the map, where there seemed to just be mist and no details of a town or anything else.
"It would bring them to one of the places I warned you off before. Only the mad ventures towards that place."
Copperhagen were also marked on the map shown, which were a fairly large town, especially compared to the rest that were shown on the narrowed map, and would depict a faint outline of a large castle. The final destination for their group.
Not long after speaking like this, she would led the drink back in it's cup, and take a seat. A hoof were brought up to hold on her head, where a minor migraine worked it's way across her forehead from the dual usage of magic. She had not done this sort of thing in years, and as she had proceeded, she could most certainly feel that she were rusty in this multi-focus, stable spell department. Keeping up two weaves at once were a strain she needed to get used to again.
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Oh come on! She were supposed to pick up those doughnuts, and now they were all smashed to bits on the floor!
Okay, this were most definitely not Pinkie's work. Not only because she wouldn't do something against a product that others had paid for - at least not without preparing a fresh new batch - but the mess left everywhere, and how she could most definitely not smell the oven were on further in? Yeah, this weren't right.
Were this... Were The Conspiracy here to plant bugs? *gasp* She might be able to catch them in the act then! Whilst also catching a burglar. Hah, she'd be the town hero who saved their bakery, and exposed the global treachery that those sheep at the loonie bin said she were just imagining. Well weren't They going to look stupid once she stood with that final bit of evidence to tie it all together? Yes they would.
Okay, best be ready then. There were likely a full team in there, and she were going to need her smarts to get this done right, lest they'd just make her disappear again. Sadly for them, she knew this place well, after a few times she had lend Pinkie a hoof on the occasional slow day at the cafe. Nothing that'd make her learn their secrets, but y'know, some inventory and cleaning help, that sorta thing. Weren't too bad really, and the place smelled real good all the time, so the work environment were top notch.
12 hours ago, Widdershins said:Tall and lanky, the bright green stallion stood higher than he was wide with a wide, playful grin framed by the long mane of brightly, obviously dyed red hair that fell to either side of his neck. Flit greets her with a lyrical, fishing Irish lilt, clearly unconcerned with being caught wrecking the place and decidedly now concerned with something he cares far more for than sugar.
"Oh, aye~ A MARE~
What a right Treat like yew doin' here, Lassie?"
Awh man, This was it? She were going to become famous for stopping a global conspiracy for crying out loud! And what, she just found a sugar glutton with worse pickup lines than Alonsus? What a ripoff...
*sigh* Guess she had to settle with knocking out a creep. Might be worth a few brownie points, or y'know, actual brownies. Soon as the bakery got some more sugar. Seriously, how was this guy not currently having a seizure on the floor with all that pure sugar he had seemingly just shoved right into his face?
"Oh, I'm just here to pick up a box of doughnuts, but seems like there's been a little accident with that. Mighty shame that is really. Now, you wouldn't have to know anything about that, would you sugar?"
Admittedly, she should probably be more harsh against the break in, but she hated to admit that he were kind of cute, even if he were pushy and were bound to get a frying ban or something right in his face, first chance she got. Why did the lanky ones who knew how to work a bottle of dye in the right way always get taken, or turned out to be some sort of creep? She'd blame that on The Conspiracy too, but that seemed a bit too far out there, even for them. They had far better things to do with their clones and general genetic manipulation than this, such as replacing high ranking officials, or controlling the way the next generation would look and behave.
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13 hours ago, Widdershins said:Like he had before several times during his attack of the female dragonpony, he worked his head & strong neck muscles under the batpony officer... and sent him flying right back. Repelling him against the other side of the circular square they stood in against the wall like Dazzle was a ninety degrees away from Stargazer.
Oh for the love of Luna, he just couldn't catch a break in this town, could he?
Here he were, thinking that he could have a nice, simple arrest, and instead he now had to deal with a pony that were built small, yet stout, as were clearly evident by him being able to throw Stargazer like he had. How he missed the good old days when he were in a town were ponies stayed down when he tackled them, rather than here, where every day became a new lesson in madness and mockery of normality...
The throw wouldn't leave the officer without means to fight back, or smashing into a wall. As a trained guard, he more or less instinctively turned around and got dirt under his hooves again, before he met the tall end of a wall. He were about to remove his medal belt, and get ready to give this one a proper beating that should leave him unconscious on the ground - which seemed needed after the violent outburst he had just uttered - when a surprise came around the corner and interfered with the process.
13 hours ago, Widdershins said:A big yellow hoof scoops under Shortstack, and in the same motion she plops down in the square and squeezes her little, older brother tight to her chest. With all feet fully off the ground, Shortstack can't grab for anything to push against and can't reach anything but the enveloping fluff of his bigger, younger sister. The one thing to defeat any rage monster, is being forced to sit still and actually address your issues.
As any pony would, especially at his small stature, Sunny's hugs are near inescapable. He dangles in her arm for all the world like a little filly's toy being hugged by its oppressively cheery owner. Shortstack had long since learned there wasn't a thing he could do in this position and stood glaring silent and grumpy now
"Aha, what a delightful spectacle! A most impressive display of strength and fortitude."
Scarcity would be there at around this point too, and smile at Shortstack. A rather minute size for a pony, yet clearly far stronger than he looked. And what a temper he had. In parts because of his small stature making him overcompensate and lash out from what she had heard via his shouting before. A strong indicator that one were best off not addressing his stature whilst talking to him, but rather treat him as a regular pony. Perchance with more respect than per usual, just to avoid him flaring up again.
She watched as Sunny went over to pick up whom she would assume were his previous target, as well as the officer, whom as he stood tall and proud on his own, refused, and actively backed away from her to avoid getting into an embrace. If need be, by flying out of her reach. A little antisocial she'd say, but she supposed he did not wish to risk what might happen, were he to get closer to this family.
The bell rang above them, just as Sunny stood and openly hugged her prisoners, which presented an opportunity to deescalate this further, were she to have a say in this, as she saw the officer approach them with a pair of cuffs in hoof.
"Shortstack? You are under arrest fo-"
"Arrest? Must we really go that far dear? He is apprehended quite handily currently, and appeared to have calmed down quite a bit. Surely we can skip the cuffs and merely ask him politely to meet the rest of his family at the station first, before we go this route? You could have a simple talk there and decide on whatever or not he might warrant a warning, rather than an arrest. Messy business to go through that last option, what with what I can assume is already a lot of paperwork backing up for you, and this time a day? Would it not be prudent for you to perhaps go and pick up your daughter from school, whilst Sunny and I escort Mr. Shortstack towards the station?"
It were mostly the time of day that hit him, as he had promised Jelly to pick her up after school and with everything going on, he'd prefer not to have her in the house right now, as a safety precaution. Still, leaving this one with them, even if Sunny had him under control, and he could attest to her strength...
"...I will be back at the office in six minutes. If he is not there, I will send out an arrest order."
"Oh, I'm sure that he do not wish for this to escalate further. Besides. Now come on dear, go and ensure that your daughter does not wander aimlessly, wondering where you might be."
She'd get closer to Sunny, well aware of the risk that she might be dragged into this group hug, but feeling it were best that she went and addressed this new member of Sunny's strange family, whilst Stargazer just slumped his shoulders and put the cuffs back in his helmet, clearly just resigning to let them follow her plan. Not something he'd normally do, but with everything else going on over the last few days since he moved here, his lack of sleep, having to deal with Jelly suddenly arriving at his door, dealing with everything needed to get her set up properly in the local system, and now this... Everypony had their limit.
So he would fly off, briefly arrive at the office to pick up the large, fuzzy spider whom would have hidden in a corner, then be on his way again, without a word to the ones inside, beyond *Found two*.
At the group, Scarcity would as mentioned have approached, and were she not dragged into a hug, would give an elegant bow towards the minute pony. Otherwise, she would just speak from her unfortunate position.
"A delight to meet you, Mr. Shortstack. That were quite an impressive display before. it takes quite the muscle mass and skill to throw somepony of his weight class the way that you did."
(This is covering for when he went off to pick her up at school)
Meanwhile, in said office, Alonsus would blink a little at the brief, yet blunt exchange, and eventually just let out a small chuckle.
"It appears as if the officer are quick at doing his work, to have already found two of your fledgling family, Blither. What a joyous day this will soon become, yes?"
"Depends on whatever or not have have caused trouble in town. If he have, it might not be such a friendly meetup after all. I hope, Mr. Blither, that things are not as dire as you have alluded to it potentially getting."
He were right in not being able to sway the mind of the mayor in this. She would prefer to see some evidence first, since what she had heard so far, made her think the worst. Seeing as they had only just gotten the houses fixed, it would be disastrous if they already had another situation brewing.
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On 3/4/2020 at 3:12 AM, Pastel-chan said:"Hmm... We have entered the forest. There may be monsters around every corner, so keep your wits about you, my princess!"
"I think I heard one howling before. How lucky I am to have my brave knight here to vanquish the beast."
Okay, all seriousness? If there came a timberwolf, she'd drag Pastel away by force if need be. It wasn't smart to fight large forest predators at their size. Now an irate badger for example? Might be a fairer fight, that they could get out of with some loud noises and show of power, rather than actually hit anything. Jelly loved this game, but hurting animals wasn't a fun game. It were just cruel. So best to hope that they wouldn't find that, but just the flowers instead so they could get their prize from the odd flower.
She'd take a few steps forward, sniffing the air to see if anything stood out to her, with her ears kept up tall too to listen for any bad sounds, like growling or something.
On 3/4/2020 at 3:12 AM, Pastel-chan said:"Well... Something that important would be deeper in, right? It's like that in games and stuff. Just be careful and tell me if you see anything scary or weird!"
Pastel marched forward to lead the way. Surely nothing would mess with them; she hasn't seen all of Jellys pet Gary, but creatures are scared of spiders a lot right? It's good to have some muscle!
"Yeppers. I mean, of course, brave knight. I'll listen for danger."
Heh, almost broke character there, that wouldn't do. They had a system here, and right now, that meant following Pastel as she took the lead forward to adventure! What splendid things were they not going to see? How far had they to thread to find the flowers? What would the prize be? There were so many ques-
14 hours ago, Widdershins said:"AaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAaaaaaaa!"
Jelly just about flew into a tree as the cry and strange sight came bursting by. A flurry of feathers, moving incredibly fast, and... A scream! *gasp* An equine scream! Somepony were in trouble!
She poked her head out of the tree and looked towards the brush where the weird sight had scrambled towards at lightning speed.
"I t-think somepony's in trouble! We gotta help them!"
She'd flutter down to the ground and start running. She were a little scared to be honest, about what were going on, but this wasn't a game anymore. There were real trouble, and they might be able to help. They could be heroes! Real ones, not just ones in roleplaying. How cool were that going to be?
Though of course, the main thing would be to help the one(s) in trouble. Hopefully they didn't need to be carried anywhere. Pastel and her were tiny. They wouldn't be able to drag an adult anywhere.
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On 3/3/2020 at 6:20 AM, Illiad Easle said:
"Perhaps I wasn't clear, though I understand that I gave you quite a bit to take in there. First off, your sister will be fine, at least where it comes to Nine. Nine no longer bears the mantle of Vengeance, it was passed to Nemesis, who currently serves the Consul. All those who bear Vengeance have had a Shadow Specter to assist them since the beginning."
This was a great weight off her shoulders. Void didn't know what she would have done if Null had gone down the same route as Nightmare Moon had. Supposedly fight her, and repeat history, like it had between Celestia and Luna? Might be she would have, but she wasn't sure that she could win like Celestia had. Even though she had been in some tussles with her big sister, a flat out fight with intent to harm had never happened, and quite honestly, unless Null were threatening their parents, there were a big chance that Void wouldn't be able to put her all into it, as she couldn't bring herself to harm her elder sister.
Thankfully she wouldn't have to worry about this, and thank the gods for that. That would be a nightmare with no positive outcome that she could think of.
That there were another creature that were the current specter of vengeance that were under command of the Consul were an... Interesting extra fact, but if it were under control, that were likely okay. She weren't one to judge others for using dark powers to get good things done. Null and her had done so at times, and it would be hypocritical for her to be against it because of that. Plus, the Consul seemed like a good pony. She were sure he had the best intentions, and were able to deal with things without going too far. Of those she knew, he were one of those whom she would trust the most with this sort of thing at least. Might be they had not known him for long, but he had given her no reason to not think he were trustworthy.
On 3/3/2020 at 6:20 AM, Illiad Easle said:"As it pertains to Luna and I... The original plan was for me to be reintegrated into Luna when she returned from the moon, but the Elements got to her first, restoring the missing part of her soul and as such there was no room for me to return, nor did I reunite with her for more than a few moments on sparse occasions. Nine had been her companion for the short while after she had been returned the mantle from one Midnight Star who we had entrusted it to. The Luna you knew was real and whole I assure you, and if recent reports are to be believed she is still whole even now."
Selena would stand from her desk and motion for Void to leave, "Worry not, your sister will be fine. Bound as they are Nine has every reason to keep her safe and sane."
"Thank you for clarifying things S-Selena. It's uhm... It's a lot to digest, but I p-promise I won't share it with anyone. Not even Null. I'll come back after I have an answer to you. Have a g-good day, and thank you for your time."
Void turned around and started to walk out, yet halted before she passed the treshold and sent a glance back at the crystalline pony.
"What you've been through has got to be a lot to c-carry with you sometimes. If you ever need to talk about it, I'll be h-happy to lend an ear."
It wasn't much, but she knew that sometimes, what a being really needed were to be heard, and just get things off their chest. Perhaps she could be that being for Selena at some point, if she ever felt like talking about things. Considering the little snippet Void had heard were already quite heavy, she imagined the crystalline mare had quite a lot to carry around with her. Might be she needed help with more than to carry the burden of Mercy.
As she wandered off and back towards the forge though, head full of thoughts, things were happening at a certain training area.
On 3/3/2020 at 6:20 AM, Illiad Easle said:"I see your training is going well, I'm glad to hear that you've regained so much of your flight already." His shadowy wings ruffled impatiently under his natural ones and he sighed, turning to the brothers: "Leave us please? I need to speak to Null privately."
Null felt a bit spent at the time when the Consul showed up, so she just gave him a bow, as to not look like a sleeping recruit. Also, saluting weren't something she did in much. It felt more like a soldier or guard thing, and she were at best, a crazed vigilante. Could be said better she supposed, but might as well call a spade a spade.
"Putting in the effort gives results. Teachers ain't bad either."
There were actually a small smile on her face as she gave off this compliment to the brothers, as well as a Nine, whom she considered to also be one of them at this point. She would probably have gotten ahead and done something dumb now if he hadn't nudged things a bit now and again, and at this point, she were slowly starting to accept that fact.
Seemed odd that Illiad wanted to talk to her in private, but she supposed, there were a good reason for that, and so far, she hadn't really a reason to think it were so that he could shank her in silence or the like. Too much effort put in by now, if that were the end goal. Seriously, first lesson he could've done that if that were his plan, or got the brothers to teach her wrong, and cause her to fall to her death. Why put in the extra effort and time when he had those, and countless other ways to do her in before that, which would also make it seem like not his fault? More logical that he actually had something important to say.
"So... What's going on, Consul?"
On 3/3/2020 at 6:20 AM, Illiad Easle said:The Consul took a seat on the cloud, and motioned for Null to do the same. His shadowy wings ruffled again and he sighed in irritation, "Go then."
Before Null could question his words the shadowy wings pulled away from the Consul, first taking the form of a silhouette of the Consul, before reducing to a ball of tendrils not unlike Nine, then it dipped into the Consul's shadow and out of sight
Null rose a hoof and opened her muzzle as she saw this, then lowered it and just shook her head. She didn't want to know what this were about right now- At all. She were for once in a good mood, and shadowy tendril monsters that reminded her of Nine, weren't going to ruin it.
On 3/3/2020 at 6:20 AM, Illiad Easle said:The Consul turned to Null, "It concerns your potential deal with Vengeance. I've discovered where your, well. I've discovered where Grey Mane is."
Turns out that it didn't matter, as this certainly managed to get her right back on edge from her minor, pleasant mood. Nothing like talking about her future corpse of a father to really rile her up in the wrong way.
"Good. I wondered how long that nailbat I stole were gonna remain clean.
Lemme guess though, you're not gonna tell me before the contract's made, are you? My vengeance in exchange for the vengeance of countless others, just like it told me?"
She didn't blame him for this, even if her tone were more hostile than it had been in days, if not weeks at this point, after the gate closed. It were just something that seemed like the fact of the matter. The deal were for her to get her revenge on all who had made her and her family suffer, starting with the original source of their misery. And then in exchange, she would carry the mantle, and go out to deliver it to every other two-bit rat that tried to wriggle out of their just deserts. She figured she'd have more time to prepare for this, but it seemed like the timetable had been sped up more than she had anticipated.
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On 3/2/2020 at 7:52 AM, EQ_Theta said:
“I don’t know, Scarcity… You’re well connected, that much is true but if you are asking if you can be made an alicorn, or something close enough to it, that’s is concerning. Isn’t it true that only alicorns can grant that sort of transformation to other ponies who have proven their worth?”
“That is what common knowledge dictates. As far as we can recall, alicorn powers were needed back when the process of raising and lowering the celestial bodies would use up so much power that unicorns with sufficient skill will still be stripped of their magic for the rest of their lives. Alicorn magic can do that and even then, those powers have to be used for that specific purpose. The increased strength of their magic was a side effect.”
"Yes, this is indeed common knowledge. What is not however, is that alicornification does not require an already established alicorn. It merely does in case an alicorn is to be risen for a specific purpose, such as raising celestial bodies, or being the embodiment of friendship, which is an importnat part in Equestrian life.
That being said, there are several reports of alicorns simply happening around the world. The cause of them all have been troubling to narrow down, as most who goes through this process at random ends up overwhelmed by the energies, and goes insane. At which point, certain undisclosed individuals goes and ensures their demise or imprisonment are forthcoming, before they accidentally hurt a large portion of the populous.
What I have been able to learn through these reports though, and some literature that I have been able to carefully scavenge throughout the last few years, is that the main element in all of this, are a high influx of energy. Provided safely and directed properly - such as when one alicorns bestows it upon a readied subject - it is completely safe, whereas you can see the issue that springs from raw, uncontrolled magic. It tends to have severe side effects. And that is if the one in question survives in the first place.
I won't bore you with the details, but let it be said that I have the required energy for a process that might end in alicornification, as well as the required area and safety precautions in place which should ensure a safe transition. I merely require somepony to direct the energies, which so far have been the issue. The one sane alicorn whom I know of that is not affiliated with Equestria, or any other governing body, have suffered an unfortunate fate in recent years, and I have yet to find a way to reverse what happened to him. It is something I will continue to look into of course, as I do owe him that, and I always pay my debts. But it would perhaps be easier were I not restrained by mortality."
On 3/2/2020 at 7:52 AM, EQ_Theta said:“You mentioned a process. That suggests you have attempted to work on this matter before. If age is the issue, why specifically try to become like an alicorn? And if you don’t mind me asking, how would you use your newfound longevity to steer Equestria to prosperity?”
"I have never gone through this process, nor have I inflicted it upon others as if they were mere test subjects."
The notion alone actually offended her some, and she got a slight, brief look of hurt in her eyes. Whilst she might be willing to do many things, this sort were in her forbidden section. Certain things were just impossible to reasonably explain as morally grey in any way.
"What I know are based on studies into similar processes, the history of magical empowerment, recent literature describing a raw process of an older form of alicornification that I acquired, and tests done on inanimate objects. I could speak of the things I have gone through to ensure things would function well for hours upon hours, but I am quite certain that it would work, with only a small chance of potential mutation happening. As mentioned, this is not exactly alifornification. It is an empowerment of magic, which will cause the longevity and increased magical abilities that they enjoy, though it is not certain if the physical changes will follow. Ascension have many faces after all.
As for how I would use it... Very well, I will indulge this question and give you a small peek into my actual position in the grand scheme of things.
To put it simple, I am what most would consider a necessary evil. Whilst I am a prominent members of the black and grey markets, as well as a mare with a hoof in many shady businesses and actively supports the way the markets and its members works, I am also one who ensures that things are kept in check. That for example means that the most dangerous items are acquired and finds it's way to the correct Equestrian agencies to neutralize it, certain despicable individuals suddenly find themselves caught, despite being very careful normally, and priceless, historical artifacts *mysteriously* finds their way back to the proper museums, to mention but a few of the things that I do.
The Equestrian higher ups that needs to know, are well aware of what I do, as I were forthcoming about it to them when they started to ask too many questions, and I felt my position solid enough to argue my case. That being that whilst yes, I do help the shady side of this world quite a lot, it is impossible to destroy the markets, and as such, the best one can hope for is to have a friend within the system that keeps the worst in check.
These days, evil are getting wiser and more powerful. Left unchecked... Well, Equestria would suffer from it, which is something that I have no interest in happening. I quite prefer the kingdom stays intact, and that neither it, nor any of the creatures within, goes extinct. For that to happen though, the kingdom does require if not an operative, then one whom wishes it the best working in a high position, and I am the only one who have worked hard enough, to ensure her position within the black and grey markets are seen as essential enough for the biggest fish in the pond to tolerate her behavior. This is not a position that would be easy to replace, I can assure you. Now do tell, what then would happen when I inevitably die? What horrors might befall our lovely home, because there weren't somepony there to oversee what traversed in the darkness?"
On 3/2/2020 at 7:52 AM, EQ_Theta said:Meanwhile, Lin stopped beside Rosa and whispered: “Does something seem off about that second request? Is there anything we should be careful about?”
Rosa took a while to answer this, as he listened to what Scarcity had to say with an increasingly grim expression on his face as things started to fall more into place with him. How she had been able to ensure there weren't even any sort of investigation gone into her, why she would acquire things with no real beneficial value to her, plus a whole lot of other things, that had been left unanswered in the time he had looked into her.
"...I hate to agree with her, but I cannot argue against her points. The black market have existed since before Equestria came to be, and no kingdom have ever been able to do more than halt it momentarily, at best. And when you can't kill something, the best you can hope for is some degree of oversight. Without it, there's nothing to stop the worst from happening.
There's no doubt that she wants this for more than the sake of Equestria. The power and prestige that would come from ascension in any way, would be beneficial to someone like her in ways I doubt we could even fully fathom. Yet as she argues, it is matter of picking the lesser evil. Something which sadly, I would agree with her on in this case. She's worth more to Equestria alive than dead."
He'd whisper his response back to Lin, whilst internally cursing a little. This mare had proven troubling already, but now she wasn't just asking to become even more prominent in one way or another, but also making a good argument as for why it were necessary, whilst likely having far more ready in case there were asked further questions. Examples too he would imagine, just to cement her point further.
An annoying situation, yet not one he could argue against, and she well knew it, judging by the look she sent him. Honestly, at this point, he wasn't sure if she hadn't helped him and the others to make a bond that would make him a more efficient character witness for her, for a situation just like this. A paranoid thought? Maybe, but she had clearly been thinking many steps ahead for a long, long time by now, so he couldn't rule it out.
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"Even if he cared, the griffon wouldn't be able to understand you. He's not a dragon. He hasn't lived through what you have, nor will he live long enough to get the chance."
She wasn't saying that all the lower races were stupid or anything, but it were a fact that the short lived ones just couldn't understand what long lived beings like them went through. Their lives were far too short and sheltered for that, and their nature not even a little similar to that of dragons. They could not understand, no matter what they did.
"You've had to fight every day to be tough enough to stay alive, and grown tough by it, Ruby. It's commendable, but you're shackled to your narrow path, and reek of bitterness towards others who have what you weren't offered. I've seen others like this, and they all end up angry and alone, hobbled atop a mountain of gold, yet without anything of real worth to show for it, nor anyone to impress with their ill gotten gains. It's not a life worthy of a dragon.
Even if you don't want it, you Need someone to care about you, and come hell or high water, I will show you that someone does."
Leviathan were stubborn, and after what she had heard, she fully intended to show Ruby that someone who could understand her, would be there to show her some kind of care, even if she would be pushed away from proclaiming it. Likely literally, if not outright attacked, but she didn't care. Let the outlander push and roar all she wanted to. She weren't going to be intimidated by it, nor allow Ruby to fall into the same, bitter end that she had known so many others to fall into. More than any other dragon she knew of, this one deserved better, and by the Dragon Lord herself, she were going to have it. No matter how little Ruby would probably want it at first.
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"I am basing it on very little too. I have only seen these birds around and wondered about their behavior from time to time when I needed a break from my studies. Up until the little one here started to chirp in, I hadn't thought of anything relating to the whole concept of them having a hidden society, so I'm just attempting to make a theory based off that."
"I wish I could be more informative on this matter, but I have yet to see one of these elder phoenixes, and those who are here, have not said more on the matter than Agni have. Perhaps if one of the elder ones appear someday, and allows me to share, I can tell you more. For the time being though, I can unfortunately not add anything to the matter."
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Benny almost went over to hug the pony right on the spot, but he managed to contain himself for the time being. Much as ponies liked this sort of physical interaction, he had found that when a dragon did it, folks tended to think eh were trying to attack them, so more often than not, he had to only hug those whom knew him well enough to know better. It went mostly okay, with a few mishaps now and again. He wasn't perfect after all, and hugging a pony felt nice. Their fur was all soft and fuzzy compared to his scales. Even the soft ones on his underside.
"That fantastic! Okay, please follow me, it's pretty close."
He'd finish off his milkshake - and lick the cup clean, for good measure - before leading the way towards the shop. He'd balance the cup on top of his left saddlebag, in case Icy didn't want to take it back right away, which is what he'd offer at first. Might be she wanted it to get washed up first after all, which he'd totally understand. Not a big issue in his mind.
Soon enough, they'd be at the colorful storefront of Circle Pop, where a peppermint striped mare would be outside, cleaning the windows, up until she saw Benny's reflection in said window and turned around surprised.
"Benny?"
"Yep, the one and only."
He'd take some big steps, still wandering on all fours as he had thus far (rather rare that he wandered on his back feet alone, unless he had something to carry, since he felt too tall and awkward around the ponies like that) and give her a big kiss, right on the nose, which made the mare blush a little. It didn't seem to be unwelcome though, judging by the smile that came along with it, as well as her doing the same thing to him.
"What are you doing here? I didn't think you had vacation time for another month."
"Forced sick leave. Sorta got unlucky with a sword."
He's raise one of his hands and present the gauze, which made Circle suddenly change her look into more sorry than joy.
"Hey hey! Easy there, it's just a bit of a cut. Doc says I just have to clean it and keep out of the forge for a few days, and the general figured it was as good a time as any to have me use some of my time off. Everything's fine."
"It better be. You know I get worried when you hurt yourself like this."
Benny awkwardly scratched the back of his neck again as he looked down on the mare.
"Yeah, sorry about that. Stuff happens, you know?
Uhm.. *cough* Right, I brought somepony along I think you should speak with though. Just met her a few minutes ago, but she can do something real impressive that I think could help you out a lot."
He'd direct her attention towards Icy, who might have gotten a laugh or something out of seeing the odd couple go at it. Or potentially given off some weird stares, which wasn't unusual. At this point,t hey had frankly gotten used to it, and didn't really care. et others judge if that were what they wanted to. No reason to let that ruin their happiness.
"Oh I'm sorry, I didn't even see you there. My name's Circle Pop. Who might you be?"
She'd reach a hoof out to give a friendly shake if that were the sort of approach Icy might like. Hard to say really, but an offered hoof shake were easier to just get by if it wasn't appreciated, than a full on first meeting hug, and she liked to be on the safe side. Didn't want to have anypony think badly of her after all, right?
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And so, they would take off. The group assembled of the most essential members of a team like this, with the brave knight, the adventurous princess, and of course, the adorable animal sidekick. Now they just had to go on the adventure itself, which would soon be there, as they got to the forests edge and could begin to wander in.
This close to town, there wouldn't be anything really dangerous. A timberwolf howl in the distance were about it, unless you were scared of squirrels or rabbits wandering around, minding their own business. Since that were unlikely, they'd had to go further in to both find what they were looking for, and what they shouldn't be actively seeking out. That being danger. At least Jelly didn't want them to be in danger, but she didn't know enough about the area to know how to stay out of it. This were her first time in this forest after all, and as such, the leader role should be going to her peculiar new fried, who had been here for longer, right? Surely that were safe.
"Hmm... I dunno where to start looking for the weird flowers. You wanna take charge and lead us to the treasure?"
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This were a much more pleasant thing to have up for discussion, rather than the heavyhoofed topics that had arisen in their recent talks. A nice, joyous task of youthful pranks turned into an inspirational tale, were a market improvement.
"Being an inspiration is a great honor, Clever. And it sounds as if you have been quite a figure to these two youths, even if I am not sure what that expression of theirs means exactly. Regardless, it sounds positive, as does the influence you had on them, if they are now striving to be the best that they can, in fields which I am sure holds great relevance in this world of today. Perhaps one day, if all goes well, I could meet them, and see these skillful practitioners whom you are clearly proud of?"
It were honestly somewhat adorable, the way that he spoke of them. Especially as he were talking of how they were doing in school, and remarking on them being top of their class. It reminded her of how a father would brag about his kids, except not in the kind of way that made it seem as if he were throwing it in others faces. More unintentional bragging, whilst sharing their accomplishments in a way that made it clear that he were proud of them, and simply wanted to share.
She wondered if he realized this, but didn't think it prudent to bring it up. It might just be something she thought after all, and especially as talks of her husband had surfaced just before, it definitely seemed plausible to her. She tended to get into a somewhat parental mood whilst thinking of him, which could be good or bad. Good if she heard things such as this, and could gaze upon someone and judge that they were reminding her of a good father, who held proudly the accomplishments of his young.
Bad however, if she saw someone mistreat their foal. It had happened once, and despite her contract making her unable to harm the one who had done so, it had still gotten somewhat ugly. A lot of yelling and... Flaunting of magic, so to speak. Made her run away fast as she could once she got herself more under control again, and think it best that she did not approach Baltimare again anytime soon, just to let things cool off.
What irony it would be, were they here now, as she were honestly not entirely sure where they were, yet even then she would follow. Not as if there would not have been dirty looks given to her regardless.
"As for what town this is, I am afraid that I am not certain. I have spent most of my time in the Crystal Kingdom and Canterlot, with a few trips to Ponyville to see if I may accidentally run into the princess Twilight. Her brother have forbidden me to outright seek her out until further notice, yet if I wander around town and she approaches me, that would present a minor loophole. Not one I would be proud of taking advantage of, yet the princess might be able to help me with a most grave issue of mine, and Shining Armor's hesitation - whilst understandable and admirable - presents a road block I do not agree with.
Full disclosure though: I have also recently frequented Baltimare with a... Less than stellar result. No one got hurt, yet I had a moment which I am not proud of, which will mark me for a while in their eyes more than likely. I'd prefer not to divulge too much, but let it simply be said that I do not take kindly to those who mistreats their offspring in my presence.
To get back on topic though, provided this is not the suburbs of Baltimare in some fashion, or the other side of Ponyville, I can say with some confidence that I have likely not been here before. Still, I can imagine that it would not prove too problematic to wander around and see what we might be able to find. Personally, I find that what you call *thrift stores*, tend to have a lot of items with personality in them."
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Brute rose a heavy hoof up and joined in on the cheering from the crowd. This were more her kind of scene. Pumping up the crowd, fireworks firing off around them, and just the energy pouring back from a hyped up audience... How she longed for when the season started again, and she had to defend her newfound title. Provided she made it through all of this alive, but she intended fully to not only do that, but also to make herself a trophy out of whatever had taken that weird lake they were speaking about. Should make for a nice story.
As for Sugar, he wished to go and speak with his family, and would excuse himself if possible to go and have a long talk with them in private. There were a lot of catching up for him to do with his sister, and likely questions she would have regarding his foals. Were they older, they were likely to have some too, though for the time being, they'd likely just look at her curiously. And... Did she just smile? He had not seen her do that very often, yet it appeared as if she were wearing quite a warm one as she gazed upon her niece and nephew. Perhaps this conversation could be a heartwarming one, and not involve too much scolding of him, regarding how he had been set on going the route of their own parents, whom had both been squires, and as such, had left this world early on in their lives. Something which hit her quite a lot, as she did not have the faith in the system that he had. A bitter pill to swallow to know that she had been right to doubt and feel angered about the short time they had to know their parents before they had no more to give.
Meanwhile, after the worst oft he cheering were done, Brute would look down on Marcus with a small smile on her own, and a somewhat impressed look in her exposed eye.
"Still going to have to see how you do in a real fight, but I'll give you this: You know how to pump up your fans."
It were meant as a compliment, though time would tell if he saw it that way, seeing as she were still not singing him high praises. Might change sometime tomorrow though, once she saw his meddle in an actual fight. The better he'd do there, the more she'd respect his actual prowess, instead of judging on words alone.
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Casual Stroll - An Introductionary RP mainly around Equestria OOC [Open Entry For All]
in OOC & Discussion
@Azure Acrylic @AzureMoon
If Acrylic doesn't respond before Saturday, I think we'd likely need to head off and do something else in the RP, as it'd then seem like he/she isn't coming back. We'll figure something out..png ":)")
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@Sekel
For the record, just because they can see the shrine, doesn't mean they're anywhere near it. They have just gotten to a point on the mountain trail where they can see things in the valley. So just gonna work from the assumption that she teleported back and forth ..png ":)")