open Casual stroll

[EQ_Theta 458]

@@Blitz Boom

 

"I-I am aware of that, yes. It's just that we've had a rough few days and I'm still feeling a little unsure about the stability of this new form. Maybe even food like this could leave me feeling weakened again, and spending a few years doing nothing but getting hostile magic cleansed from you isn't exactly my idea of downtime." 

She took a bite out of the cookie and let the flavor sit in her mouth for some time, taking it in and savoring it. A much needed surprise and frankly, a good one that needs no further explanation. Sen walked in after taking some time away from the group and found everyone getting along nicely with his sister enjoying her first piece of food that the clan never made. 

 

"This is amazing! The clan only ever made some variant of vegetable stew but if they ever found out about this sooner, they'd kick me the moment they see it!"

"You know, they wouldn't let you back in even if you didn't show them the cookie. We don't exist to them remember?" Sen joined the others and examined the muffins on the table with the same curiosity his sister had with the cookies and milk. Fluttershy, on the other hand, was just returning from tending to the animals and joined the others, picking out a sandwich in one hoof returning to her seat.

 

"Oh I know, and you can thank Discord for all of this! See? He isn't so bad this time around."

Sen thought about his sister's words, falling silent and reconsidering his stance. Fluttershy, meanwhile, joined in and hoped to ease the tension. She looked to Omen, curious about how she met the siblings.

"Omen, I've been wondering about your history with Lin and her brother. How'd you three meet? It looks a little odd seeing you three together, with Lin looking like a cross between you and Sen, no offense."   

[cwhip9 1,078]

 

 

"Crescent, don't trust... Everything you see."

Hearing that from his feline friend it did help him relax a bit but it seemed faint as the young colt facing away spoke again  

 

"I shouldn't have gone out, I should have just stayed like a good little bat"

 

Cresent carefully moved closer to the colt, he was unsure how the reaction would happen but this was a test on him. If the dragon was any indication from before hoof. Then maybe the testers were trying to make him crack.....

Cresent put a wing on the little pony "no, we cant blame ourselves"

What happened next cresent didn't expect as right then and their the young colt began to what looked like glitch along with the body of another colt in front of him as well

 

"LEAVE!" the colt exclaimed turning to see cresent "YOU CANT STAAAAAAA" and then like that the colt and the oddly in front of it disappeared.

 

Cresent stared confused at the spot then looked at zinthar "um....is that good or-" cresent was interrupted by the trees around them beginning to fall like dominos on their own accorded. The colts voice echoed and boomed from what sounded like above them,  

 

"LEAVE TRESPASORS! YOUR NOT WELCOME HERE!"

[Summer Breeze 2,528]

@@Blitz Boom,

 

Summer let out a little yell of panic as the filly chased her faster as she had anticipated. quickly she flew to the other side of the beach to create a little space inbetween her and blitz to explain her previous statement.

 

"I know you're an unicorn but I use the term earth pony rather loosely." she explained "I mean that having acces to magic doens't make you airborn, like pegasi, even if you have magic you're still earthbount and therfor you're an earth pony" she smiled as she explained the, what appeared to be logical, thought to blitz. most ponies didn't understand her when she said things like that and she had to explain them often but it was okay, she usually got pretty funny comments on it, sometimes ponies got offended and other times ponies agreed with her.  

 

Then again she had to fly up a bit higher to stay out of reach of the jumping filly, she felt kind of bad because she used her wings to stay out of reach, not only for blitz because this way summer was playing a bit unfair, but also for herself since it was against her pride to have to this to not get caught.

Edited October 4, 2016 by Summer Breeze

[Blitz Boom 4,622]

@@cwhip9,

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

___________________________________________________________________________

 

 

@@Summer Breeze,

@@Frosty Frost,

 

"Hey, no fair."

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

______________________________________________________________________________

 

 

@@Wolves,

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

__________________________________________________________________________________

 

 

@@EQ_Theta,

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

Edited October 5, 2016 by Blitz Boom

[FanOfManyShows 396]

@@Blitz Boom, Astral chuckled when he said 'lass'. "Wow, you're a pony of new things, you're doing all sorts of things nopony else I've met has done!" She said unfolding another box, putting some books in it. "Like saying lass, or whistling." She sat down as she put books in the box from the bottom shelf. "Not that that's bad or anything, I just find it funny actually." She said giving him a smile.  

 

Few hours later

 

She stood up a box in her grasp, it was practically filled with books, and walked it out to the wagon before carefully dropping it inside. "I think there may be at least one trip left." She said walking back inside, coincidentally; She say Misty carrying out the last box. "Never mind, it's all in the wagon now."

 

Misty dropped the box in, which had their blankets and pillows. And more importantly, Astral's Twilight plushie. Which misty spotted. "Why do you have this Astral?" She asked holding it up.

 

Astral turned to Misty, blushing as she ran to take it from Misty and hid it in the box. "Oh that? It's nothing."

 

Misty looked at Astral with a smug look. "You sure?"

 

Astral sighed and dragged her hoof down her muzzle. "Fine, I had a thing for magic back then just like I do now, and Twilight was able to use magic, and had saved Equestria with it. My mother gave me it, reminds me of my goal to one day save Equestria with my magic." She said pulling out a magical construct that looked like a sword. "But," She let go of the sword as it instantly vanished. "I never have been given the opportunity to. Even right now I'm running away from the an opportunity." She said gesturing her hoof towards the disaster that is ponyville. "Only because I want to protect you." She picked up Misty and placed her in the wagon.

 

Misty smiled. "That's cute."

 

Astral placed a hoof against the back of Misty's head. "No," She per Misty's head before drawing her hoof back. "You are." Misty blushed. "Actually, do you have any secret plushies I don't know about?" Misty shook her head. "Good, well Chow," She turned around to him. "As soon as you're done, we can get going."

[EQ_Theta 458]

@@Blitz Boom

 

Sen was hard-pressed for a response given the nature of what had transpired before. There were some unsavory parts to the story and Lin wouldn't be able to provide input on the matter but Fluttershy was the host, and she was gracious enough to invite them over and show them hospitality. Maybe she could be trusted. Besides, there was also the fact that Discord may be safe to be around now that his sister seems to be enjoying herself as she munched down a muffin followed by a large gulp of milk.

"I guess," Sen hesitantly replied. "I'll probably cut in if something needs some clarification and sorry in advance. Being interrupted is rude but there are elements of the story that I'm still having a hard time coping with, which is what the apology was for. Please continue."

 

Fluttershy waited in earnest for what came next.

[Blitz Boom 4,622]

@,

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

______________________________________________________________________________________

 

 

@@EQ_Theta,

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

[FanOfManyShows 396]

@@Blitz Boom, Astral chuckled as she walked back in the house. "I'll double check." She looked around, remembering something. "Oh right." She knelt down and looked under her bed, and pulled out two books. which read;

 

"Astral Star's Journal of Magic"  and the other; "Misty's diary, don't touch" The difference being Astral etched in the text with gold and Misty used foam letters.

 

Astral carried out the two books, taking a peek into Misty's diary. chuckling at the way the first page started out. She placed them in the wagon after closing them.  "Okay, I believe the only thing left after these that aren't books are my-" She paused tapping the bottom of her muzzle with her hoof trying to remember, before placing her hoof back down and yelling out; "Boots of flight!" She ran back inside and looked under her bed again, she pulled out a pair of metal boots with strange writing etched into it. "Aha!" She walked over to the wagon and placed them in it. "I use these to fly. but I don't use them often." She explained to Chow, since Misty already knew what they were.

 

"Did we bring the first aid kit?" Misty asked.

 

Astral lifted up her hoof, and then put it back down. "No." She went back in the house and opened up the closet, she went inside to get a better look. "There it is." She left the closet with the first aid kit in her grasp.  She walked over to the wagon, throwing the kit inside. She sat on the wagon exhausted. "Whew! I hope that's it." She wipped the sweat off her brow. "I'm exhausted." She said letting herself fall back onto the boxes that were in the wagon. practically falling asleep instantly.
 

"Astral?" Misty asked leaning over Astra's head.

 

"Yeah?" Astral asked opening her eyes.

 

"Nothing I was just checking if you had fainted again." Astral started chuckling.

[Blitz Boom 4,622]

@,

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

[Seamore Sandwich 471]

@@Blitz Boom

@@Moonlit

@@Hazard Time

 

"Please, do not belittle yourself. Your work is very important. The charts help keep track of the movements of the stars. You do know that I do not control them all? As for the ones I do control, occasionally I'll find that I've misplaced one or two, and the charts are a key resource in finding them," Luna said reassuringly. "Also, make no mistake: if I had any objections to informing Princess Twilight about you, I would never have arranged the meeting, and I would have forbade you from informing her. I decided some time ago that she should know, but it had to be your decision. I'm glad you contacted me first, as this might have ended badly otherwise."

[FanOfManyShows 396]

@@Blitz Boom, Misty was already sitting on the wagon. she figured maybe Chow didn't notice because of how light she was. She climbed down from the wagon causing it to sag on one side as she attempted to get as close to the ground before jumping. "I would definitely enjoy walking for once." She said dusting herself off and ran ahead so she was next to Chow. She then took a deep breath of the forest air letting out a relieved smell. "I would say the smell of nature is something I'm used to, but it's always nice to smell it."

 

"Yeah." Astral mumbled.

 

"Hey Astral, maybe you would want to enjoy a nature walk?" 

 

Astral turned over, the wagon shifting as she did, and poked her head over the side of the wagon. "Well these boxes are quite uncomfortable." She sat up on the wagon, taking her time to put on her boots of flight. She then casually floated down from the wagon right next to Chow, incidentally allowing him to see the boots at work. "Maybe I can sleep once we get there." She said with a sigh as she started walking. "On something other than boxes and books." She said with a light chuckle.

[Moonlit 593]

@@Seamore Sandwich, Serenade smiles, ​"I kinda figured that was the case..in which, you may want to read the report I sent. One of the stars in Boötes is showing signs of going supernova, so probably within the next year or so" Her ears flatten a bit, "night will become day for a few nights." Serenade lets out a breath she didn't realize she was holding,  "As for the Princess, just being in the same town as her is making me nervous. Her aura reeks of the three." She shivers, "and those three weren't the best Ambassadors for my species. But that being said..." Serenade looks out the window, "Ponyville is soo much better then Canterlot"

Edited October 8, 2016 by Moonlit

[EQ_Theta 458]

@@Blitz Boom

 

"It was a moment when I was ready to give up and settle in the Everfree Forest as a new home. Between moving around and living in cardboard boxes, it was close to a home that felt familiar. I met Omen there, but I was hoping for a miracle. Looking back at that moment, she really was a blessing in disguise."

Fluttershy leaned onwards and began to inspect the images before her, maybe wondering just how similar this looked to a very personal experience. The castle of the two sisters was a very special place to her and by extension, to her friends. If she knew any better, that castle had a life of its own, bringing together ponies, or longma, or whoever together for whatever reason. It astounded her and she was happy to know there was a happy ending to the matter, at least by inference. 

"Sounds like things worked out for you, Sen. Seeing this reminds me of the time when I helped Twilight defeat Nightmare Moon long ago. But that still doesn't explain how your sister looks the way she is right now, and I'm sure she doesn't just grow up looking like you at first before gaining Omen's apperance."

 

[Blitz Boom 4,622]

@@EQ_Theta,

 

"I remember walking in circles..."

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

______________________________________________________________________

 

 

@,

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

[FanOfManyShows 396]

@@Blitz Boom, Astral looked at him with some sympathy, what she saw in him was her past; where she too tried to do something impossible, and it still haunted her. It was a weird correlation considering Chow only wanted to fly and not resurrect a pony. "I see some similarities in between you and me;" She said gesturing to her and Chow. "We've both tried to do something impossible, and failed. and it haunts us." She said turning to Chow. "But I am probably reaching for threads here."

 

Misty scoffed. "Pretty sure you are." She mumbled do Astral Wouldn't hear, but Astral's giggling showed that she did hear.

 

Out of nowhere, and with a whisk of wind through Misty's mane, Astral teleported next to Misty. With little to no surprise from Misty. "I heard you."

 

"I know." Misty mumbled as she rolled her eyes. "You really can't expect every stallion you meet to relate to you, you know."

 

Astral sighed. "Alright, I just want somepony else to relate to. Since I'm the only pony I know who tried to resurrect their dead mother!" She lowered her head. "But, I guess you're right."

 

Misty smirked a bit. "Thanks." Misty looked ahead.

 

Astral turned her head to Chow. "Hey, if you ever wanted to learn magic, I can teach you." She walked up next to his ear. "I know a spell that gives you wings!" She whispered.

[Seamore Sandwich 471]

@@Blitz Boom

@@Moonlit

@@Hazard Time

 

"Actually, if you would, please keep that star a secret. I have that planned as a surprise for Celestia as a way to balance off for the periods of Solar Eclipse. A very important birthday is coming up and I thought this might be a great gift." Only Celestia and Luna knew their true ages, and everypony knew how impolite it was to ask. The most that could be assumed based on what Luna said would be that it was most likely an age that ended in a zero.

[Moonlit 593]

@@Seamore Sandwich,  "Princess, my reports are labelled FOR YOU EYES ONLY, the only other pony who could read my reports is the current Head Astronomer Royale, and I highly doubt that flank-face would look" Serenade stiffens her back, holds her head back and in the poshest Canterlot accent, "Why would I look upon the work of a mere Pegasus, and are a Mare at that". 

 

She ruffles her wings and flips her hair, "So don't worry, I'm sure your sister will love the gift." Serenade walks over to a bookshelf and grabs two very ancient looking books, bound in cracking leather. "So yeah, I'm ready for this meeting". She smiles at Alicorn. 

[Hazard Time 1,127]

@@Blitz Boom

"That's such an adorable story," Succulent sniffed.  "That stallion just sounds so sweet, and I want to meet and hug him!"  The mare wrapped her forelegs about her self and swayed back and forth happily, as if cuddling with herself.
 
Just as quickly, she remembered that she was trying to make a sale.  She gently cleared her throat and resumed her neutral posture.  "Anyway, I've actually got quite a few lemon and peppermint scents.  Less than half a dozen of each, I think.  A good way to narrow down your choice is to ask yourself what you want your scent to say about you.  Just like fashion, an individual's fragrance speaks volumes about their personality, so what do you want everypony's first impression of you to be?"

[EQ_Theta 458]

@@Blitz Boom

 

There was an odd silence in the air just as Omen finished, one that Lin and Fluttershy picked up on as Sen fell quiet on the spot. One look on his face and they knew this memory must've been special. Whatever it was that brought them together didn't seem like a mere coincidence, maybe pointing to some higher power that could've been watching over them, if there was one. Lin thought about the spectral guardians and their magic but it was a long shot and a highly unlikely one.

 

"That's when you met the guardspony, right? The same one who we approached earlier today?"

"Right," Sen replied. "Stargazer was kind enough to accommodate a request he didn't need; sometimes I wished more ponies were like him." 

 

The images before the group flickered and set the scene when the two were just entering the town, and just as expected, the locals were hiding in fear of the newcomers. It was a funny sight after seeing it one too many times in his experience; Sen attempted to keep his composure, wrestling between chuckling and keeping a grim facade. It's all he knew ever since things went downhill, doing the latter and expecting himself to keep a straight face in the midst of every adversity. No more than the images taking a few steps forward did the sound of three loud knocks on the front door interrupt the trip down memory lane. 

"Who could that be? Please excuse me for a moment," Fluttershy walked to the front door and opened it to find a scrawny-looking longma waiting for her. "Oh, uh... can I help you?"

The longma at the door replied: "I'm here to deliver an urgent message to Sen. I do not wish to intrude but I must have a reply soon." The urgency of his tone and the his voice's volume was loud, reaching the interior of the house. Sen and Lin were confused but stood their ground awaiting who this messenger is and what is so important about his message."

[Summer Breeze 2,528]

@@Blitz Boom, 

 

summer started to get tired, this was more intense as she had anticipated. and blitz was right, it wasn't fair if she kept in the air all the time, this way she couldn't get caught. quickly she flew a little further away and landed on the beach. 

 

"okay, let's make it fair, I'll stay on the ground for now." she said, which was almost equal as saying that she gave up since she had absolutely no chance against blitz without her wings. but she wanted to play it fair, otherwise a game wasn't fun. "And about those wings, no doupt about it that you'll make them work, I'll give you flying lessons when they work." she added while she was still pretty far away from blitz. 

 

if the filly were to chase her now, she would run away but would get troubled by the sand and make a huge cloud of sand fly up which got everywhere, in her eyes, in her manes, everywhere, she would cough and try to ge the sand out of her eyes while also running away from blitz but struggeling because running in sand was hard. 

 

and if blitz would do something else summer would get into a strategical position to prepare but when blitz would come to chase her, she would run away and the same would happen. 

[Blitz Boom 4,622]

@,

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

__________________________________________________________________________

 

 

@@Seamore Sandwich,

@@Moonlit,

@@Hazard Time,

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

_______________________________________________________________________

 

 

@@EQ_Theta,

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

"Sen is here."

 

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

 

_____________________________________________________________________

 

 

@@Summer Breeze,

 

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

 

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

 

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

[Denim&Venöm 18,782]

@Seamore Sandwich, @GingerLightning, @Quinch, @Lonk Chase,

 

"We've left the creature vulnerable!  Withdraw for now! Let the berserker & the Ananasi finish the fight. Their stake in this is more personal. Besides, I know not what pumps through the beasts veins. But if it's anything like the last Bane of this kind that I killed then it won't be fun to clean up.  We withdraw and continue our attack. Should they fail, we'll let the Revocation feed it another round of lead."  

Edited October 10, 2016 by Denim&Venom

[FanOfManyShows 396]

@@Blitz Boom, Astral noticed his smile. She chuckled at his later comment rather loudly, disturbing a few birds. "I'll make sure to give you wings when this is dealt with."

 

Chow's next comment left Misty a tinsy bit shocked you could see it too, there was no way he could possibly relate to- oh wait, he just explained how. 

 

Curse items were something Astral was familiar with as well. "Oh." Her pupils shrunk. What he said reminded her of the side effects of dark magic, using it too much causes it to take control. "I understand that feeling." She said, with a tone that lacked any hint of happiness. "Way too much." She turned her head ahead. "So where are we going again? And once we get there, how am I going to get a house?" She asked in an attempt to change the topic.

 

"Astral, you can transmute gold." Misty quickly pointed out.

 

​Astral coughed. "Right, but still. Where are we going?"

Edited October 11, 2016 by Frannis

[EQ_Theta 458]

@@Blitz Boom

 

Sen gestured his sister to stay back with Omen, as pointless as it may be considering the presence of a mere messenger at the door. But something was off about the voice, and not simply because of the overtly hasty and urgent tone. He still knows the little quirks of his old friends' voices, the ways they would stand out from any other longma in a tightly-knit clan keeping to themselves in a dense forest. He knows the voice well, a familiar sound that returns from a seemingly forgotten past, or rather one he would prefer to leave behind. 

The elder brother approached the door where Fluttershy turned to him with a look of deference, unsure what to do. The messenger stood a head taller than Sen and was much thinner, almost to the point of being emaciated. But the sight of lean muscles beneath his scales showed signs of good health. "Xin. I remember you."

 

"We've never forgotten about you old friend, all of us in the clan. That is why I'm here to deliver this message. We're all ashamed of what the elders have done and it's much more unfortunate that it destroyed your family. The clan hopes you'll come home."

Sen turned around, a curious look on his face as he mouthed the word "home" from his lips. This all seemed fine, a setup for a grand reunion, but there were things in Xin's story that didn't quite add up. He knows the clan too well; the words of the elders were always final and if they ever thought about going back on them, there was always a catch. 

"Maybe we can continue this inside," Fluttershy jumped in and without second thoughts, Sen and Xin entered the house, greeted by the sight of new faces, the latter wondering what the reception will be like. 

[Blitz Boom 4,622]

@@EQ_Theta,

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

"How did you know to find them here?"

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

___________________________________________________________________________

 

 

@,

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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