Randimaxis

Again, Redd couldn't shake the feeling he was just another pawn in someone else's chess game, and he HATED the thought of it. All his life, he'd either purposely sidestepped the spotlight in favor of his sister, or been relegated to the villain role he'd been practising for so many years; this resulted in a very disharmonious mental picture of himself as someone who never deserved anything good out of life. His parent's disapproval of his refusal to outshine his dear sister, his brothers' duping of him and theft of his savings, and the acting practice he'd been taking up in the quarry causing him to be seen as nothing more than a pest... Well, Redd simply felt that he didn't deserve success. It was perhaps a bit of a dark raincloud that had followed him around for quite some time, but it was one he was sadly used to. It caused him to only see the worst of things in association with himself. True, he could break character at the quarry, actually make a few friends, maybe even become the amazing actor that he had bottled up inside himself... but after so many times where he'd come up on the short end of the proverbial stick, he felt there was no point in it. It'd take too much effort to reverse the way the quarry workers saw him, or it might be wishful thinking to believe he could ever land the part of Lord Stalliongrad on his own, or he shouldn't even get his hopes up for anything resembling friendship or - HA! - love. These thoughts brooding in the back of his mind, the unicorn stallion began to make his way back towards his room at the hotel; if nothing else, maybe a hot shower and a quick skimming of the director's take on the play might help him forget his collective woes for a while... then, onto the theatre, and what would inevitably be a meeting with nobles who were leagues above him... and, if his luck went as it usually did, they would lord that fact over his head for the entirety of this fiasco.

"OCH! Tha' tickles a wee mite! A twee bit o' warnin' would be noice, y'know?" But Cappy didn't resist the use of his magic - in fact, he gave a bit of a grin as he once again felt the draw from his vast power well... THIS was one of the reasons the bowler hat had been put into The Closet in the first place... and he knew his curse rather well. The hat wouldn't say a single word about it, of course, and the magical effect was insidiously hidden from detection. It was THE reason why Taps, in her years of service, had only donned him AFTER so many other spells and rituals to prepare herself before she even considered using his power in any way. The hat held the ability to give the wielder the ultimate power that one would find within an alicorn natrually, but the PRICE was the slow and steady corruption of the wearer's mind. Impndulu had no idea of the peril, and would feel nothing but a growing desire to use the hat's abilities more and more to fuel his own... until Cappy grew powerful enough to switch places with it's bearer, leaving them trapped inside the bowler hat while HE took whatever body the poor soul had. Taps herself had experienced this only secondhoof - but it had cost her one of the only friends she had ever really had. She'd learned her lesson well, and had never used his power well without the proper precautions. Precautions that Impundulu had NO CLUE of. Cappy simply allowed the entity to use whatever it needed; he always enjoyed the part where the victim learned far too late that they were duped... and he could hardly wait to try out those wings himself. The quarry below didn't seem to notice... at first. However, as the clouds rolled in, Chuck List - the Blackwater's Head Forepony - tilted his head skyward and looked at the clouds with a suspicious stare. It hadn't rained at the Blackwater Quarry in over a decade, and even though he had no idea why it had stopped, the middle-aged earth pony stallion HAD been here the last time it had rained... Seeing the clouds coming on with a vengeance, his look went from suspicious to slowly alarmed; he began to make his way towards the mine proper - a huge hole in the side of the mountain - while looking over his roster sheets to see who was on duty at the time. By this point, a few of the random workers began to take notice as well; they simply figured it was about time for the rain to come, and had not a clue what it would mean for the quarry itself.

Dax looked with awe at all the... well, 'pupae'? 'Larva'? He wasn't sure what to call them - but it was sort-of a half and half of both fascinating and creepy... however, he fascination won out over the creepiness, and his natural curiosity took over. Those are lives in there; changeling lives. They could grow up to be LITERALLY anything they wanted to... and I'm somewhat relieved that they will be a part of a hive that doesn't wish to prey on others for sustenence. These might be spies and infiltrators, yes... but they won't be enemies. At least he hoped not. Dax smiled. "Well... it'll take a lot of time to fill a chamber like this. Not to mention crafting a chamber of this size; you'd have to have a HUGE cavern to do something like another hive - and I kinda get the feeling there's not too many of those type of places here in Troy... though I could be wrong." The quarry mines might be a good locale... IF they weren't constantly being mined, of course. "How many eggs at a time does a queen lay?" he asked curiously.

I had a wonderful, problem-free school life, and was never bullied.

I have been roleplaying in some capacity since I was 9 years old... for reference, that was in 1987.

Okay, then... you asked for it: Part One: (L to R): Ingles shoppers card, 99X Card (a local defunct radio station), COG coin, The Network ID card (Illuminati), GameStop Power Up card, Books A Million card, barber's business card, UFOs card (Illuminati), Blockbuster Rewards card (I'm OLD), handmade business card for my LARP character, tow truck card, YOU MATTER (found at DragonCon), Denny's hiring card, Maurice's BBQ order card (delicious mustard-based BBQ sauce), VORTEX International (LARP business card), Morty Adventure Card (one more stamp!), TITAN games & comics card (defunct comic store VIP card), Heavy Metal The Movie promo card, fake check for a million bucks (from a long gone friend), American Pizzaria frequent pier card... oh, and a toothpick. Part Two: (L to R): My lil' precious ones as behbehz, my son's first pic w/Santa, small note from my father about when I was born (for my birthday one year), actual Two-Face coin (other side is scarred), my son Jack as a wee thing, my wife's senior HS pic, my Mom's handwriting [God will make a way] (RIP 2004), my old license (2003) w/little love note from my daughter Bitty, my Mom's last license Part Three: [Movie ticket stubs from a number of years] (L to R): South Park BL&U (x 2), Spider Man (Tobey McG), Shallow Hal, X-Men (Singer), Bicentennial Man, Batman Forever, Small Soldiers, Mission Impossible 2, Battlefield Earth, Titanic, Star Wars: AotC, Man Of Steel 3D, Big Momma's House, Zootopia, Sixth Sense, Scary Movie 2, Godzilla: KotM, The Animal, How High, Star Wars: TPM, Titan A.E., Dogma, Blade 2, Waterboy, Evolution, My Little Pony The Movie, Star Trek (2009), Powerpuff Girls Movie, House On Haunted Hill, Toy Story, Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, ticket stub from KoRn-Kid Rock-Metallica concert I have a BIG wallet, y'all... and many memories inside it. <3

March 28th, here. I share that day with Nick Frost & Lady Gaga.

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@Illiad Easle "I'm, um, heading back to the manor now, before anything else happens." As she stepped away towards the front gates, Mystic could still feel eyes watching her... though whether a good or bad thing, she had no way of knowing. Maybe if she came across Dax - or perhaps one of the other Blackwaters - she might be able to ask about the stallions in her drawing; Dax would probably know best, but there was always a chance she'd be able to get some information from someone else as well. Still, it was most certainly getting late, and after such an experience, some rest might be just what the doctor ordered? The statue was... taller than she expected. It looked to be almost a story tall, and depicted... somepony... with wings outstretched. What's more, it wasn't the only one here; there seemed to be another one, situated across from this one, and it too was covered in vines and growth. With a bit of clearing, Bloom began to notice little details about the statue, such as how the marble it was made from was so very smooth, and parts of it almost looked alive. Of course, with the encounter she'd had earlier, it was a bit unnerving to say the least. But as the rest of the foliage began to join the pile she was making, she made out what appeared to be a long and flowing mane, a very regal pose, and... a horn? Now she was beginning to see it; this wasn't a Blackwater - this was Princess Luna! It was a simply marvellous sculpture; it captured her essence exceedingly well, and was quite breathtaking to behold. Not only that, but it was quite well-preserved, for having been outside for... well, from the vines, perhaps a very, very long time? The ghost smiled sweetly, then motioned towards the direction of the quarry, an excited look growing on his own muzzle. He grinned and waved to her as she ran off, his visage slowly fading as she left his company. As soon as the graveyard was empty of living souls, the fog faded from view; tonight's mysteries here were done, but they were only the first in what was to be a rather interesting set of events to come... as the ponies of the Blackwater Quarry would soon discover. Pansy looked at him with pity in her eyes. "Well, if you will pardon me for saying, I believe you should use whatever Life gives you, and cherish who you are - regardless of what others say. Of course," she added with a sheepish expression, "I'm not one with much room to talk, I suppose; working for Mister Cragg isn't exactly my best choice, but..." She sighed. "... it's the only one he'll give me." Pansy looked somewhat pleased at her padding work, and spoke softly to him. "Right - now that we've worked around the issue, let's get this harness settled." She worked the straps carefully, and secured it tightly enough to hold, but loose enough not to hurt Clod. Once that was done, she used a pulley and rope to lift the crate, then gently brought it down onto him and secured the harness. "There. Now you should have no issues with your delivery. Thank you for your help, Mister Hopper... and thank you for trusting me with your secret - I promise, I won't tell a soul." Vylia steepled her hooves and looked at him for quite a moment... then, with a smooth smile, she gestured with a hoof out from the balcony, towards the quarry itself. "THIS, Mister Golddust, is a legacy - one that others can be very critical and jealous of. I wouldn't put it past some out there who might be inclined to try to make a side-profit from all the hard work my husband and his miners do; your words have some merit to them, I'll admit... and frankly, I would say it's quite the time to maybe investigate such a thing." She then took up her cup of tea and daintily sipped at it. "Very well - if you''re so very invested in the idea of such an embezzlement, then by all means, I invite you to stay with us while you bring the culprit forward; you seem practically convinced that such shenanigans are going on, so I'll hold you to that." NOW, her smile grew wide. "I shall give you ONE WEEK to discover whom is stealing from us, and expose their activities - with proper proof, of course. Do this, and I shall personally guarantee you a place here at the quarry..." She then sat back on her chaise. "HOWEVER... if a week passes, and you should FAIL to find this 'embezzler', then I shall take it as a PERSONAL offense to my husband's company, and not only will I have you removed from this place... but I shall make certain you never work with numbers again within the borders of Equestria." She sipped at her tea again. "But since you're so convinced, it shouldn't be an issue, yes?" Dax nodded. "Yeah, Silver - what was stolen?" The mare was practcally hysterical AND on the verge of tears. "My blueprints! They took my blueprints, and... and they stole Blitz's wings!" Silver began to shed tears as she sat down in her doorway and shuddered. "All my hard work... all HER hard work... gone... just g-gone..." Dax was in shock for a moment... then, his muzzle grew as stern as his father's was. "Ziggy, would you be so kind as to stay with Silver while I go tell Chuck about this?"

Pitch clapped his hooves and pointed to the tip of his snout; she'd gotten it 'on the nose', apparently! He then threw his forelegs out to the sides, mimicking a big explosion, his muzzle nothing but a huge smile as his eyes looked extremely excited. He then pointed behind him at his tombstone, and patted the dirt right in front of it, as if telling her exactly where to put it. Then, his smile turning a bit less manic and a bit more gentle, he then pointed his hoof at Blitz, then motioned like pages turning... and nodded at her. The statue stopped, and ground its' head over its' shoulder to look at her again. It nodded slowly, then walked over to the pedestal it had come down from and climbed back onto it, taking the same pose as before... then, nothing more. The statuary garden in question was only a short trek from Blackwater Ridge, but the path there would either be back to the manor then out to the garden... or a return to the mountainside path they'd taken in getting here. Mystic wouldn't have liked it, no... but the statue had interacted with Love Bloom; maybe this was her particular mission? But should she go it alone? It was as good a guess as any... because the possibility that all three of them were experiencing ghostly phenomenon was highly unlikely... or it meant that something BIG was in the works, and involved ghosts. And if the drawing she'd made was any indicator... This may be something that could potentially be a bit dangerous, mayhaps? Pansy looked at them for a moment, then spoke in a soft and careful voice. "Mister Hopper... may I ask what happened, or... o-or would you prefer to not speak about it? Because these... these poor, poor wings..." She looked at him solidly. "You poor fellow. I have never seen wings so atroph-... umm, so very bad off. This..." She searched his muzzle for a moment, then asked quite honestly, "How can I help? I'd be happy to do whatever you think needs to be done here, but to see your poor wings in such a state... oh, it breaks my heart." She turned and went towards one of the other carts and began to pick and pull at the padding for the harness, until eventually she had a good, sizeable chunk of the soft lining. She then came to him and set it down beween them. "If you like, Mister Hopper, I would find it an honour to help you out, here - if you allow it, I could put this padding around them, which could certainly help keep them from hurting you as you haul things around...it would probably do them some good, honestly." She looked into his muzzle with a soft smile. "It seems like it was hard for you to tell me about that; thank you for sharing it with me - I'm glad you did." @Blitz Boom (Because Ziggy might be there.) The scream had definitely come from Shed #7... which was right across Shed Row from Doc Zinger's clinic. Silver's shed had the doorway open, and an utterly shocked, stunned and weeping Silver Studs stood at the threshhold, bawling her eyes out. As Dax came barrelling down the hill towards Shed Row, he doubled his pace as he saw the state she was in. "Silver!? What... what happened?" She looked up at him and, with a sob in her voice, she simply said, "I've been ROBBED!"

Okay - Life has had me a bit busy... but within the next day or two, I'm replying. @Loud Opinion, if you can't get to it, I can respond to you in the next round.

It was fairly decent... but that vest seems to be a Freddy Mercury fan, i.e. 'it wants to break free'. I know nothing about the actual process of digital animation, but I know that what I saw was pretty good.