- Aethergem -

Country, because a country is bigger than a rock.

@Literally Snails , @Unicorncob Flash took steps out of the light before standing in front of Feather Weave, or, at least, where she thought he was. She glared at where she thought Feather was. "Alright, Feath. One on one. You think you can even stand a chance against Flash 'n' Dazzle?" She was about to finish her thought, but she realized she was talking to a wall. Dazzle trotted back to where she should've been standing a while ago, feeling rather embarrassed. She hoped her senses wouldn't fail her.

"Heh. Nice match... probably." Dazzle had another match to wait through until she could fight Feather. Her first fight against a pony was going to be great, as the next match better be just as epic as the last, even if she slept through it. She was pumped to try to watch a fight in the dark, and she began humming a short song as the battle began. She stared back at Tricis. "Of course we should!" She stood up, her tail swaying. Her first fight, and it was beginning in Celestia knows how long!

@Literally Snails, @Unicorncob Dazzle jolted awake when Cumulus spoke. "Whaaaat? The assassin is winning?" She sat up groggily. "The colt has this!Take him down!" Dazzle obviously couldn't see what was going on, but it seemed like Cumulus was actually right. She stamped her front left hoof on the ground,still wanting kid to win, even if she was asleep at the time."

I hear that is a kooky woodpecker who sings one too many lullabies. Not really sure about this one, whoever told me this.

Dazzle listened from a distance. She thought about a pegasus fighting a unicorn, and she tried thinking about the results. The factor of darkness was a major difference in who would win. She kicked back against the wall of the cave and she slowly began to drift off into a dream. Of course, she hoped to wake up when her match started. "Yeah, I bet one Jade. She clearly has the upper hoof..." Dazzle mumbled.

@Literally Snails Flash caught up with the ponies, staring between Cumulus and Ember. While listening to the instructions, she swore that if she had to fight like this again, maybe she'd pass out. She wanted to win to learn knowledge of battle, and that would be the best. Fighting in the dark was going to be where she lost, she knew it.

@Literally Snails, @Unicorncob Dazzle looked over at Jade before introducing herself, taking a eat next to Jade. "The name's Flash 'n' Dazzle, rock guitarist." Even though she was tired, she knew something was off with somepony, but she wasn't sure whom it could possibly be, or what was wrong. She convinced herself that it was most definitely nothing.

@@Literally Snails Flash looked up wearily as she came closer. "If by imps, you mean talking, sharp-clawed bats, then of course! But, suddenly, I caused an explosion with my magic..." She shook her head, glancing at Jade. Dazzle shook her head before joining the group. "It's weird, I know."

@@Literally Snails Dazzle couldn't take the force of the magic, all she could do was stand, but even standing began to hurt. She began cursing to herself and Celestia's sun as she dragged herself forward. Why would that happen at that time? All she needed was a small blast, not a dragon-sized explosion! Dazzle kept coming back to that thought every hoofstep. Why, why, why? She kept on trudging on, feeling as though she'd collapse at any second. Oh well, she reminded herself, at least I can try to get some rest after this. Her mane was charred, her vision was blurred, and she couldn't catch her breath so easily.

@Akari of Duskshire "Sure! What are we waiting for?" Dazzle trotted out, trying to look fancy. Muzzle high in the air, eyes almost closed, and a slow walk. She entered the castle, seeing a line for Celestia in a doorway. All Dazzle found were... tables. The mare wasn't sure if the food was actually here or what. "What's the big deal about the gala?" She queried Hearth. She was still on the lookout for any signs of food carts.

@Literally Snails Flash glared at the imps. Her attack was beyond ready now, but she felt some strange on her coat. Probably the thorns, she ignored the strange glowing. She felt like she would make it out to the tree in time. A sudden sense of determination flickered in her eyes. She shook out her mane, which seemed to be getting somewhat singed. "Sorry, fellas, but you gotta go." That's when Flash noticed the glowing. Green magic around her body. Something was clearly wrong with her. Dazzle doesn't glow; she never has. What in Equestria was happening? Her eyes narrowed as she accidentally fired her magic through the darkness, lighting up the trees. "Aw, buck..."

@@Literally Snails @@Unicorncob Dazzle felt the scratch pierced her jacket, and she slowed down, crying out for help. The only way she could fight off these beasts was with a charged blast, which she didn't have time for, but she was willing to risk this attack. She didn't care about the race, she had to save herself. The unicorn skidded to a halt and backed up as her horn glowed, not having much of a choice

@Literally Snails @Unicorncob The claws slashed through her jacket and her back, and Dazzle fell to the ground. With a large wound like that, she could barely stand the pain. She cried out, but hushed herself. She had to use a spell that needed a relatively long charge time. She didn't care about the race. She had to survive this one attack before she could even think about the challenge. Her horn flashed a lime green as she scooted away from the imps. She had her hooves ready, even if they weren't that strong enough to defend herself with alone, just in case there was an attack during the charge, and she rolled onto her back.

@Akari of Duskshire She looked over her shoulder. "You wanna go?" She seemed not to focus on one thing at a time. The pettiness was not her thing. She then stopped thinking about the orchestra and looked at the bland colors around her. Ponies in suits, and the decor... she zoned out. "I'll do what you want to do!" Dazzle came back to her original thoughts. Ponies stared at her strangely.

She backed up into the brambles, trying not to cry out for help. "It's not MY fault I'm on your territory!" Reasoning with imps was a terrible idea. Dazzle backed further into the thorns, getting stuck on a few. One imp alone would be hard enough, but a whole pack of them? That's way worse. She had to think of something, but she thought of a simple answer to her problem that would definitely fail. "Oh, you want a piece of this, hm?" she put the light out from her horn as she sprinted off. Okay, maybe it wasn't Dazzle at her finest, but she needed to know more about these imps before she could get them away. She was sure they would follow, but if they didn't, she had to be on high alert before focusing back on the plateau.

@Akari of Duskshire "Oh, come on, of course this is the right way!" She kept walking, but saw mice scramble away. "Oh." Dazzle turned around and headed the right direction this time. She noticed some adorable birds, but really, nothing else. "You know what, after this, I most definitely will go meet the orchestra here; I'm a bit too excited!" She bummed into a tree, but she shook it off like it was nothing. "What will you do here?" She turned right, her dress somewhat torn and her mane getting frizzy.

@@Akari of Duskshire SPOOKY SCARY WHITE TEXT Dazzle reared up excitedly. "Would I?" She went back down on the ground when she saw ponies awkwardly staring back at her, and why she had a hoof-sized amount of powder missing from her face. "Well, uh, why not, Hearth? We have all night, and that's, like, forever." She began to walk out between bushes into the garden. "C'mon!" She didn't really mind somepony adoring her, since a lot of fans did that all the time... ...Which was how she got the ticket.

@@Akari of Duskshire She bowed down. "Flash 'n' Dazzle, Blue Heart." She got back up as she heard some buzzing. Dazzle looked up to hear a few cicadas, annoyingly making noises. "How big even is this garden?" She stared back up at the castle, and she could see a line forming at the castle's entrance. Probably big Celestia fans. She poked her face with a hoof and noticed a severe amount of white powder on, which she wiped of in the grass.

@@Akari of Duskshire She turned around, looking shocked. "Um, yes, you see, this is my first gala," she paused, staring into Blue Heart's eyes. "And I'm looking for the snacks, and possibly a music group?" She paced around and looked at the flowers. Flash 'n' Dazzle couldn't stand fanciness. She was full-on heavy metal, and yet she attended a party with the most uptight ponies around, neatest decorations, and the softest music ever. She sighed. Why would she do this?

A unicorn mare approached the entrance, wearing a long white and black dress. She had large grey earrings and a huge amount of white powder on her face. Her blue mane and light green coat were brushed neatly. She made it over the bridge and looked around at the ponies. She didn't look comfortable in front of all of these ponies looking so strange. The unicorn began searching for snacks outside in the garden. "My first gala, and I can't find buck..." she sighed, "I hate dressing up like this..."

@@Literally Snails @@Unicorncob Flash was too busy running to notice the eyes at first, but she then stopped when she saw multiple eyes glare at her. She also then sniffed the air, only to find a sickening odor. "Uh..." She got back to running, when she suddenly met a wall of thorns. Flash sighed. It looks like she wouldn't be going in that direction, but when she faced the eyes, she used her horn to illuminate the creatures.

@@Literally Snails @@Unicorncob Flash had no sense of direction. It's true. She'd never really been under a dark blanket of shadows. She kept tripping, but then she had an idea. Keep the plateau in sight, if you can even see it through the trees. Sure, it was a bad plan, but she wanting to learn something new for once. She still tripped over rocks and roots of the towering trees. As Dazzle ran, she thought she would get attacked, but it seemed all fine from there. She focused on the long road.

@@Literally Snails @@Unicorncob Flash looked up at the assassin. Sure, just from looking at the daggers, she would feel threatened, but she felt disturbed by something else. It could be the forest around her, but she thought that it was the stallion. She didn't say anything to the stallion, since she was afraid of a possible stabbing. Once she heard the lore and objective, she thought about how all of this will play out. One Orthros with a shark's head and five blazing tails, and a half-pony, half Cerberus chasing her. Even when she got to the tree, there would be a skeleton coming to life of a chimera that would pounce... she tried clearing her head. "Ma'am," she stepped forward and looked at the group, but she seemed concerned about Feather,"I feel I am ready for the challenge." Okay, maybe her body language said she was nervous and lying, but she was determined to win the race.

@@Literally Snails @@Unicorncob Dazzle was daydreaming about a fight that she could have, but she was interrupted by the sudden thud of a griffin hitting the ground. Her attention was on Tricis, and, judging from her position, it looked like she caused a giant to tumble down on her porch. She began to back away, knowing that you shouldn't try to get on the mare's bad side. Once the crowd was leaving, she examined the hoof prints. So many different shapes and sizes - Oh! And Dazzle's was way up in the top left corner. She squinted to read her signature. "Huh. Who knew my print looks that strange from THAT far away. I wonder what's next..." If the first test was hoof-printing, there had to be something harder. A twist. Something like a challenge.