open Casual stroll

[Blitz Boom 4,620]

@Foxy Socks

The sun rose, and with it... Well, Anomaly didn't follow suit. She really wasn't a morning sort of being, though she were awakened regardless when a pony waltzed into their tent, looking like she had been halfway droned and halfway fallen into a pyre. Potentially she had also just been rolling in water after falling into a camp fire. Considering that it was the other half of Anomaly's avatar, that were a distinct possibility.

"Hey, wake up! It's all light and stuff. Ponies are waking up now."

"We're not ponies... I wanna sleep..."

The one in the ball pit seemed like she'd prefer to just have this conversation later on, but the other half wasn't having any of it and just moved over there with a big grin on her face, and seemingly hiding something behind her back that she dragged in with her.

"Oh stop being like that. I brought gifts!"

The one in the ball pit slowly emerged and looked at the grinning other half of her, almost feeling blinded by the angle of the sun hitting her metallic body, but curious as to what she had brought.

There wasn't a time for introductions in the burned one's mind though, and so she didn't even try to wait before dragging fully into view a small box, and within that one, a hoodful of feathers, some dirt, a log, and an apple that had gotten a bite chewed out of it. Trash essentially, but something which made the two of them instead just look at one another, let out an excited squeak, and then bopped heads as they started to melt together. Or well, the one who had slept here more or less absorbed her, but still.

When that were done, the completed avatar stuck her head into the crate and melted out into it like ice cream on a hot day, filling it up with a liquid mass of the things that had been in there, metals, and for some reason, a candy corn. It would rummage around like it were stirred in for a few seconds more before the box would implode to a small, pinprick dot in the air, before it expanded and Anomaly stood there in a new shape once more.

Her appearance were more feline in it this time, though still the height of a pony. Her base body looked like hardened mud with a bark *skin* covering it here and there. A tail emerged behind her made from feathers, and which were a pattern that follow up over her spine and head like a mohawk.

The face were more wooden than the other parts of her, though the teeth in the yawning mouth were pure metal, and her eyes seemed to be made of candy corns, though an iris could be seen there if you looked enough. Around her neck grew a *mane* of bushes, carrying a variety of berries all around, and as for the metal that had been there before, it had gotten to some use in flexible plates on her joints like armor, as well as a small shield that were seemingly growing out of her forehead, with just a few holes there for her eyes and the bottom part being just over her nose.

"Oh man that felt soooo much better. Being stuck in pony form is boring."

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@Dji

Pop laughed with Dawn, but more nervously. It was pretty clear that the prospect of passing out from smoke inhalation wasn't exactly her idea of a fun time.

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that, but perhaps that was a bit too grim of a thought to start up with. To be honest, I'm just trying to find something to talk about since I don't know what to say right now. It's hard to know how to connect to new ponies sometimes, you know? Usually it'd happen at the store when I meet new ones, and I could speak about candy, but that didn't sound like it would interest you considering you didn't eat it.

Could you uhm... Right, tell me what your hobbies are perhaps?"

It was awkward to talk with somepony you had little in common with in her mind, and sadly, when it came to Dawn, the only things she did knew they had in common she couldn't speak about. Namely dragons and having those around you leave.

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@Moonlit @Seamore Sandwich

Ziggy tapped her chin, trying to figure out what sort of thing she might wanna do.

Usually she'd go for tackle-hugging or trying to find somepony to help, but that wasn't really much of an option this late, or not needed because of the hospital being so close.

Flying around to look at things was a little pointless too since it was dark and from above the tree crowns, they'd mainly just end up seeing leaves in pale light.

They could play with Fah'lina a bit perhaps, but she were still showering in the lake, and after how she had helped them before, potentially annoying her like that didn't feel right for tonight.

It would be a bit longer before a pear finally flashed above her head, and she'd raise the hoof from her chin and finally exclaim an idea.

"Adventuring! I bet there's somewhere we can explore nearby."

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@EQ_Theta

"When times are uncertain, knowledge can lead better than any king.

As for your request, I will not force you to the afterlife. As long as you are not going insane, you're not lost, and so it is not my place to reap your souls."

It had not always been this way, but the times when she had to travel far and wide to collect all but the most stubborn of souls were long gone. These days, she just took in the hopeless and the pained. Those who were left behind and languished in their torment, begging for someone to help them, but nearly always finding their pleas to fall on deaf ears.

To help them had sealed her fate, much as it had theirs, but this were not the time to think on that. She needed to focus on who were here now, and in particular the questioning that now were of Salosan. Whatever he had to say might prove useful for them. Beyond the countless taunts that were.

"Even Master Discord told me that controlling every move isn't right. Change around, make them strange, that okay he said. Blanking a mind wasn't. Said it was like killing them, and I'm not killing Sen to stop nightmares. Sounds too far.

Besides, I don't really know how I controlled them before. Something with concentrating, but I can't remember if there were more."

"That explains that part."

Omen looked up at Mother as she half-mumbled something in response to the last thing Omen had said.

"Something wrong, Mother?"

"No no dear, just your memory loss. I'll tell you and your siblings about it later.

And as for you, amalgamation. Your selfish reasons to do such horrible things to both them, their family, and your creator's town, is despicable. What in the name of death itself would make your foolish creator think this a good idea?"

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@genessee

"Salvaged debris and borrowed sleeping bags aren't furniture or a house. It's a half-broken shed at best, and a swimming pool if it starts to rain."

Null couldn't see how an actual home with just no furniture in it yet, were worse than this Frankenstein of a *house* that they had managed to put together earlier, so they'd at least have some roof over their heads and a small amount of privacy. If it wasn't because t he two of them were used to rather poor living arrangements and having to make things up with what they found, they might have not even made this and just snuck some tents off, rather than make a space where they'd have a bit more freedom to walk in, and the option to light a fire if the night got cold.

"W-When we get it done, we'll try to m-make the decorations ourselves. Some glass, some w-wooden furniture. T-Things like that."

"Unless they hose us and chase us out of town instead of keeping their word."

"Well... I-I think if they wanted to c-chase us out, they would have done it already though. R-Right? Especially a-after the uhm... W-What happened before."

"Perhaps, but that doesn't mean I trust them out of nowhere."

Void couldn't argue against her sister much on this. Might be that she wanted to trust the locals and be neighborly, but the last twenty years hadn't exactly shown them much reason to trust strangers, so the paranoid talk from Null made a good deal of sense for the two of them. They'd likely end up looking over their shoulders in this place for months before they could really try to attempt to trust that some might not come over and set fire to their house when they weren't there, or something like that. Wouldn't be the first time.

"Anyway, like you said, cursed items. Void and I don't get affected by them, so when we stumbled over some during the years, we've taken them with us to keep them out of the hooves of others. Some of these stuff could really cause havoc if in the possession of a villain, or a weak-minded civilian. We're thinking about handing them over to Princess Celestia for cleansing or destruction when we have the chance. Might work as a sign of good faith."

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@~Phoenix~

"Unfortunately, I was asleep too when this happened, though I might have some idea about who did this.

When you woke up last night and I checked in, Widdershins had returned from his coal state, but he wasn't the only one. Out of nowhere this strange mare showed up, and she didn't appear to be too happy to see a draconequus.

I can't be sure if she was the culprit but these purple lines match in color to some of the thick clothes she wore, and something tells me that a mare appearing out of a puff of purple smoke, with a spiked tail, and ears that were constantly burning, might not be too good news. Though fortunately it seems like no tent were hit, so there's that at least."

To be honest, he wasn't even sure if whom he saw were a mare. Not of a regular, pony kind at least. For her size, her horn were too long - unless she had an absurd amount of magic perhaps - the flaming ears weren't normal to any sort of pony, and neither were the tail, or the glowing runes he had seen the edges off. Thick clothes during a moderately warm autumn night did happen, so that wasn't too weird, but the rest made him doubtful.

"I believe it will be best if we don't touch the colored patches in that crater, just to be on the safe side. How about we just leave this be, tell one of the guards in town, and then I take you out for breakfast? My treat, of course."

Smokey hoped she would take him up on his offer, since quite frankly, it was too early to deal with things like this. Partially glowing craters were more of a noon thing if any.

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@Midnight_Aurora

The train ride would go on in silence from Belladonna's part. Some were heard when she grinded, a bit of clanging of glass now and then as well, but nothing too loud, and the methodical rhythm there were in it could be oddly soothing for some. At least that is what her boss told her, though she suspected he simply wanted to keep an eye on her at that point in time because he was still pretty uneasy about the poisons she carried with her.

When the horn blew and Canterlot got close, she had just finished mixing up around four different small bags for dust, and emptying a half vial of pale-green liquid into a dozen of the needle-like containers she had in her bag, and used for application of her concoctions. It wasn't much liquid in each, but it didn't need to be either in the concentrations she worked with.

"Right on schedule. The train will stop at the station in 1 minute and 42 seconds."

She began packing down, being careful, but still moving with an acceptable amount of haste. Unless Cosmic did something, she should be done packing this 19 seconds before the train would stop, which would be plenty enough time to walk to the door and be ready to enter Canterlot.

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@Lloyd

"The logical choice would be to start with my element, though where exactly that is is anyone's guess. I do have a lead for the next element in general though. We find that, and if it's not mine, you can find who the intended owner is."

Athriel made sure that the chains that were tossed to her were secured properly with Chow. She had been in his head for a while and knew some of his tricks to get out of these things, but this time around, he wouldn't be able to if it were up to her. He had done plenty of damage enough as it were.

"Awh, why aren't you smiling Chow? I thought you wished to be able to find someone that wouldn't run away when they got near you?"

"Big words coming from somepony who betrays their own niece. Bet your parents would be real proud."

The comment earned Chow a hard punch in his face from Athriel. She didn't enjoy having idiots like this bring up her family, no matter how little she cared for the collective bunch of them, and that last bit had been him just begging for it in her mind.

"As for Iron, we'll get to him in time, but again, we need to be prepared. You're not the physically strongest Warlock, and this borrowed body of mine isn't enough against military-trained guard. We need muscle to make a hit on him, unless the idiot actually walks far enough away from the amulet to allow a quick snatch, but we should play smarter than walk into a trap. We get some muscle first, or we prepare the pieces of the ritual and give him an ultimatum about his wife and daughter. That should draw him in."

After making sure Chow were secured and properly chained together with Astral - face to face, for her own amusement as well as a few security reasons - she took to the sky and picked up the book she had stolen from Canterlot, and then secured. She would be back with it shortly after and started to flip through the first few pages, looking for an index that would point towards what she were looking for.

"...Ah, here we go. *The popular assumption is that dragons originated from Dragon Land, but tests, as well as the account of the longest living dragon know about, Ancalagon, put the origin closer to one of several abandoned islands, south of Neighpon.*"

The book gets slammed close, and Athriel grins triumphantly as she shows the open page to Warlock.

"And what do you know, they even included a map of which ones of the seven islands it likely is. We'll find something there."

Meanwhile, Chow grits his teeth, still feeling the punch from before, but refusing the give Athriel the pleasure of letting her know it hurt.

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@Lloyd

After all that had happened, and how the amulet had shown to gorge on magical attacks and objects near it already, the stream of magic that faintly flowed ever so slowly towards the amulet from Iron Star were not something that anypony remarked about. Nor were they saying anything about Nectar's disguise failing, though Benny did seem like he were about to say something before deciding to keep it to himself. It didn't seem the right time to ask about why there were changelings in the palace considering the other things going on.

"If Warlock is looking for you in particular, that's just another reason why I can't leave your side. Might be it rains your magic and cuts off our link to see what is going on, but so would it if they teleported in and got hold of you, then just hauled you off. We can't risk that, since you seem important to them for some reason. Something tells me there's something you haven't been telling us about them."

"Be that as it may, we still need to get to work to prevent this from getting worse, and perhaps device a plan if we can find some of the objects they are looking for, though who in their right mind would know where there are Elements of Disharmony is beyond me."

"Wait, you're looking for those things? Any of them in particular?"

"I beg your pardon? You know of those things?"

"Sort of. I mean, I don't personally know where they are, but my grandfather kept talking about a few of these when I were a whelpling, and far as I know, my cousin's following his weird footsteps. I don't know where exactly though. Grandpa were a paranoid sort and he used magic to hide himself from any sort of watchful eye, even omnipotence, if you can believe his words. He'd have done to same to my cousin if it were, though I do know a few places they'd go. I could send a letter and see if they could help I guess?"

"Yes. General Screecher and General Wings, take him with you as you send letters out via the teleportation device. If anypony says they need it written, force your way past them if needed, and tell them to come to me. We don't have the time to waste."

Whilst Warlock might be able to see what were going on from a distance, the amulet should be eating magic enough around so that he could not hear what were being discussed currently. Perhaps both teams still had a chance to surprise the other after all.

"Understood. General Wings, Benny, are you ready?"

The dragon simple nodded, and hoped that things wouldn't go wrong here. Like say, somepony getting in here within the two and a half minute it would be before the entire castle were warded off from teleportation magic outside of the scrolls. Something which could be interrupted by draining some of the barrier that would be, or knocking out any of the seven casters it took to maintain this properly, but it would give them a small amount of breathing air to react to things.

 

[EQ_Theta 457]

@Blitz Boom

"I grew aware, became an entity separate from the original. I was meant to be a perfect copy who had the hopes and dreams of the real Solasan so I could continue his work. None of it was his doing because his last words were to simply 'make them better.' Vague words but I took it upon myself to read on their village's history to know what those words meant. The longma of old wanted a united kingdom to call their own but failed and became isolated tribes. I thought that was what Solasan wanted but no one was keen to see that dream come true. I created Legion so that could come to fruition even if it has to come by force." 

Sen got up as he heard this and slowly approached Solasan, seething with rage. "I don't believe you. What I saw there wasn't you trying to relive those dreams. All of that was just some fantasy. My family is gone because of you, all because of your selfishness and greed."

"I still stayed true to Solasan's ambitions; I only made it mine and with Legion to take over the villagers, I had my subjects. None of you here would say this is was a good idea and with nothing else to justify my actions, I concede. It was a bad idea to all but me."

The orb's curators floated to Omen after hearing what she had to say about controlling the siblings and how she did it once before. "Concentrating and speaking to them like you are a voice in their heads will suppress their ability to think and compel them to act without question. We offer to take this power away if you wish."

[Moonlit 593]

@Blitz Boom @Seamore Sandwich "Sure, why not. We've got time to spend. Where too Daring Doo?" Serenade fluffs her wings and strikes a dramatic pose, something you'd see on those bit-piece comics, like Amazing Batmare or Captain Equestria. 

[FanOfManyShows 396]

@Blitz Boom

Warlock turned away when Athriel hit Chow, a little thought popped into his head. "Who are your parents anyway..." He looked to Astral, asking the question he thought.

"You never met your grandparents? must have not been wizards then..." He pet the sharp edge of his sword. "Oh..." He stopped, dripping a tiny bit of blood from breaking his warding. He looked at it curiously. "If you two have such power, the parents who brought you forth must have been way more powerful." Astral tilted her head wondering how he cut himself. "Who are they, The Dark Lord, Mistress death?" He chuckled. "No, you would've resurrected your mother if that was the case." He said glancing behind him to Astral, who growled deeply. "Well whoever they are,  it's a shame they aren't around to see how far you have come, good or not." He put down his bleeding hoof, putting a mark of blood on the floor. which splashed out with a glow of yellow, Warlock wincing in pain, putting a blood magic ward on his home, lifting his hoof up to show a small mark, similar to one use for Misty's warding. "Should ensure he doesn't try to burn my house down again." He gripped his sword, shattering it, just grazing both Astral and Chow with shards, Warlock having made sure to redirect them to not injure either. "I will find your home Chow, and I will burn it, if you burn mine." He said pointing at him. "Of course I will do it anyways, but it's still a valid threat." He said chuckling a little.

"You are a monster."

He looked to her. "Says you." Astral tugged at her chains a little, Warlock stepping back, looking at her, slightly shocked she resisted his magic for a bit. "No way could you be..." He was a little terrified at the idea she could be a bearer, but that was unlikely since she didn't qualify for any of them... But remembered Sapphire's strange ability to resist his magic, and that she wore the element of cruelty during their fight... He turned around looking down at Sapphire's eye. Starting to formulate a little theory. If it was true, Astral could soon overpower him if he encountered the wrong element. "Let's look at that location then, to make sure the element is still there." He seemed less collected, looking at Astral, still appearing surprised, more so as the resistance became more clear. He assembled another sword, creating a portal to the location by slicing it through the air. He looked through the portal, then back to Athriel, sighing. "We better hurry before Iron Star finds out we left this place." He walked through, leaving it open for Athriel.

"Good luck forgetting her on t-" She was flung away, the chain tugging against Chow. "GAH!" She screamed in pain as her leg was dislocated from the force Astral sitting down and holding it, now not being held still along with Chow, Warlock looking to her, rather angry.

"Starting to wish you weren't part of our plan, cause then I could kill you." He walked through the portal, looking back to Athriel, letting his mane flow as if there was a lack of gravity, for added intimidation in case she wanted to hurt him for doing that. "Come on."

Astral screamed out again when her leg was relocated suddenly by Warlock, looking to Chow. "I really wonder why does half of this stuff."

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"I can see what they can do, they need to get rid of me to prevent me from telling people when they will attack." 

"Yes Screecher, I'm ready."

"I could stay in safety though! I don't think they are looking for me too."

"Dew is our safety, even though we don't know how the amulet would react near the element of greed." 

Nectar looked to Golden. "Shall I call in more changelings? I could have them pretend to be guards, could prevent panic or suspicion if I did." Iron Wing looked up to her, Nectar coughing. "Right, that's something my sister would do." He opened his mouth about to ask if Chrysalis was her sister, Nectar shutting him or anyone else who wanted to ask down by continuing to talk. "But anyways, I should probably only do that in the case he attacks, yes?"

[Sekel 692]

17 hours ago, Blitz Boom said:

Pop laughed with Dawn, but more nervously. It was pretty clear that the prospect of passing out from smoke inhalation wasn't exactly her idea of a fun time.

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that, but perhaps that was a bit too grim of a thought to start up with. To be honest, I'm just trying to find something to talk about since I don't know what to say right now. It's hard to know how to connect to new ponies sometimes, you know? Usually it'd happen at the store when I meet new ones, and I could speak about candy, but that didn't sound like it would interest you considering you didn't eat it.

Could you uhm... Right, tell me what your hobbies are perhaps?"

It was awkward to talk with somepony you had little in common with in her mind, and sadly, when it came to Dawn, the only things she did knew they had in common she couldn't speak about. Namely dragons and having those around you leave.

@Blitz Boom

"My hobbies?" Dawn asked in surprise. "Um, reading," she gestured with her wing to the bookshelves that surrounded the room. "Looking into the fireplace. Flying. Freerunning by hopping between building roofs. The best place to do that is Manehattan because of all the high-rises and skyscrapers. What about you?"

[Midnight_Aurora 571]

21 hours ago, Blitz Boom said:

@Midnight_Aurora

The train ride would go on in silence from Belladonna's part. Some were heard when she grinded, a bit of clanging of glass now and then as well, but nothing too loud, and the methodical rhythm there were in it could be oddly soothing for some. At least that is what her boss told her, though she suspected he simply wanted to keep an eye on her at that point in time because he was still pretty uneasy about the poisons she carried with her.

When the horn blew and Canterlot got close, she had just finished mixing up around four different small bags for dust, and emptying a half vial of pale-green liquid into a dozen of the needle-like containers she had in her bag, and used for application of her concoctions. It wasn't much liquid in each, but it didn't need to be either in the concentrations she worked with.

"Right on schedule. The train will stop at the station in 1 minute and 42 seconds."

She began packing down, being careful, but still moving with an acceptable amount of haste. Unless Cosmic did something, she should be done packing this 19 seconds before the train would stop, which would be plenty enough time to walk to the door and be ready to enter Canterlot.

@Blitz Boom,

*Cosmic smiles,* "Alchemical in nature, natural in origin. I am gonna hazard a guess that some of that would potentially be for me, if I did something against what you protect."

*As she got close to finishing her packing, Cosmic is done packing and getting ready to disembark from the train. The feeling of being called, Cosmic has been getting, gets stronger as Canterlot station gets closer.* "Yup. Something or someone is calling me. The feeling is getting stronger."

 

@Everyone,

(Cacora is open for anyone who feels they need somepony to interact with and are in or very close to the Everfree Forest.)

[~Phoenix~ 196]

On 7/7/2017 at 2:19 PM, Blitz Boom said:

"Unfortunately, I was asleep too when this happened, though I might have some idea about who did this.

When you woke up last night and I checked in, Widdershins had returned from his coal state, but he wasn't the only one. Out of nowhere this strange mare showed up, and she didn't appear to be too happy to see a draconequus.

I can't be sure if she was the culprit but these purple lines match in color to some of the thick clothes she wore, and something tells me that a mare appearing out of a puff of purple smoke, with a spiked tail, and ears that were constantly burning, might not be too good news. Though fortunately it seems like no tent were hit, so there's that at least."

To be honest, he wasn't even sure if whom he saw were a mare. Not of a regular, pony kind at least. For her size, her horn were too long - unless she had an absurd amount of magic perhaps - the flaming ears weren't normal to any sort of pony, and neither were the tail, or the glowing runes he had seen the edges off. Thick clothes during a moderately warm autumn night did happen, so that wasn't too weird, but the rest made him doubtful.

"I believe it will be best if we don't touch the colored patches in that crater, just to be on the safe side. How about we just leave this be, tell one of the guards in town, and then I take you out for breakfast? My treat, of course."

Smokey hoped she would take him up on his offer, since quite frankly, it was too early to deal with things like this. Partially glowing craters were more of a noon thing if any.

"hmm..." she hummed, as she pondered the situation. then, she let out a soft chuckle "maybe i should meet this mare. we may have something in common" she remarked, jokingly. although she normally wasn't the one for meeting other ponies, she could hardly pass up the opportunity to make quick quips like that. she turned and walked out away from the tent, where she might expect to find a fire pit. although the sun had risen, the air was still a tad chilly. 

 

after wandering around a bit, certainly within earshot of smokey, his offer had found it's way into her ears. her head perked up a bit, and her ears stood straight up as she turned to smokey. clearly, it had caught her attention. "take me to breakfast?" she asked as if she didn't hear it. of course, she did hear it, but she was struggling to think of why he would offer something like that. as far as Phoenix was concerned, logically, they were still mostly strangers. however, some illogical part of her was telling her that all of this was perfectly fine. and then, another question arose. "where?" she asked him, a couple of seconds later, as she looked around the tree-lines. as far as she could tell, there wasn't a town nearby. 

[Foxy Socks 2,599]

@Blitz Boom @Twilight-Shimmer

Foxy didn't wake up for a while after the other "Anomaly" half returned. Foxy awakened quite surprised with her form, but knew that was probably normal for her. Foxy then realized that she had been sleeping on the floor the entire night. While sleeping on the ground wasn't an unfamiliar experience, she would gladly sleep in a bed if she could. She figured she was too tired and didn't mind it that night. Still, it wasn't the most comfortable position to wake up in.

 

Stretching her legs, Foxy looked toward Anomaly, in wonder. How she could change forms so quickly and flawlessly was beyond Foxy's imagination, but it was certainly interesting to see. Unfortunately, Foxy missed the transformation due to sleeping in. "Good morning Anomaly. I am guessing your other half returned as you are normal again, or at least normal for you." Was the word "normal" even in a Draconequus's vocabulary?

 

Foxy had a sudden realization. Quickly, she asked, "Have you seen a plant-like pony and a changeling anywhere near? I remember telling them I'd meet with them again, but I did come back late." She had planned to meet Briar and Brittle when she came back, but the thought was not in mind when she returned, likely due to her tired state. Foxy did not know if they were still in town, or where they were planning to go, but she hoped she didn't seem too rude for not returning.

Edited July 9, 2017 by Foxy Socks

[Blitz Boom 4,620]

@Foxy Socks

"Plant-like pony and a changeling... Hold on."

Anomaly pulled a sheet of paper out from under her head-shield, and started to read through it, looking for something that she shouldn't be able to, but since she were a draconequus, cheating was the norm she were awesome.

"Here, found something. Says in the author page note thingies, that he were visited last night by a sort of demon pony and another draconequus , and he started to sob uncontrollably? Man, I missed all the good stuff. Doesn't say anything else, but I'm guessing he might be in a tent. Doesn't say which one, so we might have to try a few. But first, breakfast."

The draconequus looked towards the ball pit and drew in breath like a vacuum cleaner, absorbing the balls, the frame, and eventually the pillar that were holding up Agni for now, and gulped them all into her mouth, before exhaling and letting out a small burp.

One thing that were left however, were a metal bowl over a tray, where she had kept the food in they hadn't eaten last night. And judging from how steam rose from the assorted food stuff as she took it off, it had kept warm the entire time. Also, it seemed like it had been multiplying, with each of the things on the tray having split into two or more for quite a bountiful feast.

"There you go, warm food! Let's have a bite to e-Aaaah!"

Now that they mentioned Agni, the bird hit her in the head like a rocket, talons first, and aiming for the bark parts of her body, rather than the plate. It seems as if getting woken up by having everything beneath you suddenly blow away, leaving you in free fall, did not make her happy, and she were sure who she had to blame for this, as the attacks proved, though it were just the start, as the phoenix were starting to inhale and preparing to let loose quite the inferno.

Only to have it come out as green soap bubbles, which made Anomaly grin in triumph.

"How'd you like *ouch* that, you over- *ouch* -sized chicken? Hey, let go of my *ouch* feathers!"

The two were going at it with Anomaly only half-fighting to make it fair, and the more and more irritated Agni going at her with as much fury as she could muster. Having her in free fall was one thing, but taking her fire like this? Things were not going to end well, which were even more clear as the bird took hold in the plate on Anomaly's head and pulled, which made the draconequus stumble forward in surprise and towards the exit of the room.

"Heywhydon'tyoujusteatandI'llberightbaaaa-"

The hasty words were stopped by Anomaly falling into the crater outside of their tent, face first, and going over the ground like some sort of farming equipment. All the whilst Agni cooed triumphantly at the unconscious draconequus, whose head she then landed on and with a triumphant screech towards the sky, let out another stream of bubbles, that was intended to be flames.

These two really had a... Complicated relationship, to put it mildly.

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@~Phoenix~

"I was thinking we simply turn around and wander into Ponyville from here, and we can find a place to feast there. Though if you prefer a higher ranking place, we could take the train to Manehattan and go for one of their bistro's. I know a few ones with food that will make you doubt if you're awake or in a dream."

Smokey wasn't sure why Phoenix had aimed at the tree line rather than the nearby town, but he were sure she had a purpose by doing so, so he had stayed quiet and waited to see what would happen. perhaps she just needed to have a walk away from everypony before  going into town? Some ponies preferred to start their day that way after all, so it were possible.

They weren't too far away from the camp however, so there were an other option as well, once a certain sound effect came into the picture. Namely, a loud screech that reached even them, though faintly, and made Smokey's face stiffen a little before shaking it off and chuckling a little.

"My apologies. I just thought that I heard one of your flaming namesakes, but it could also be a hawk, now that I have the chance to think on it, and that seems somewhat more likely really. Phoenixes are pretty rare compared to hawks, and with farming communities attracting rats and mice, this is likely just a hunting ground for a particular loud Hawk. Hard to tell though, since their shrieks are so closely related."

========================================================================

 

@Midnight_Aurora

Belladonna would be quiet until she had packed her things down, concentrating on that, rather than speaking, as she didn't want something to spill in her bag. Things ended poorly if it came to that.

"Your magical energy and race are not suitable for directed toxins, but I have several general ones that should work effectively enough, of which I have some of them with me currently. I prefer to be prepared for unforeseen situations."

What exactly that would lead her to injecting Cosmic with a toxin that either paralyzed him for a time, knocked him out, or caused his pain receptors to go into overload were anyponys guess, but as mentioned, she liked to be prepared for any situation, and sometimes said situation could be violent. Not by her que though, as she were a reactionary poisoner, and not the one who started a fight, but still.

"Let us not linger here further. Follow me out, then lead us to where you hear something."

With that, she would go to the door and stand ready as the train got into the station, came to a halt, and then opened the door for them.

======================================================================

 

@Midnight_Aurora

"Found her."

A hiss were heard above Cacora as a changeling buzzed down from the tree, with two following right after him. They seemed intent on getting to her, and from their approach, they weren't there for any good reason.

Before the first could reach her though, something happened. A flash of something dark purple went by, and the changeling fell limb towards the ground. The other two looked confused around them, distracted, before one more got knocked out. This one had taken a small pellet of something to the face that burst into a small amount of dust, taking him down.

The last one barely had a chance to think over something more to do before suddenly, a shadowy figure covered in clothes that seemed to meld into different dark shades stood in front of him, and hammered the changeling into a tree with just enough force to knock him unconscious, before falling down into a heap with the two other drones.

"As expected."

The bat pony landed in front of Cacora without making a sound, and looked at her through the glass covering his eyes like nothing had happened. Something which his somewhat gravely voice carried too, as the indifference to the fight came through quite directly.

"King Thorax wants to speak with you."

The pony's ears vibrated as he picked up a sound, and rose a hoof in time to grab another changeling that came down after him, and put the bug in a headlock until it passed out.

"Preferably before Chrysalis brainwashes you."

=================================================================================

 

@Lloyd

"I won't speak about our parents. Try Sapphire for that. She was always such a blabbermouth when she was alive."

Ugh, family. Hassle and pain were all they brought with them. Just look at Astral now. Her family ties had dragged her into this, and right now she were faced with her mother being evil, her father being lured into a death trap eventually, and currently being chained near her crush, with her leg getting mishandled no less. Such a pity, but whatever kept her docile.

Chow weren't docile right now though. He didn't seem too good after the chain had dragged in him mind you, but man was he furious.

"Don't you dare you patched up freak show! I will destroy you if you get near them. Do you hear me!? I will hang you up like a wild boar and grind you into paste!"

Few things really got to Chow as much as threatening his adoptive parents. Even if he were legally never allowed to see them again, he would sooner take a hail of arrows to the face than let either of them get hurt. They had been through enough because of him already.

"You'll lose this war. Both of you. You and your pathetic schemes and puppy love is fai-Ah!"

A pair of talons ran across his face, causing wounds that were going to leave more scars, but thankfully wasn't deep enough to do anything seriously damaging. Above him, Athriel stood with her claws bloodied by this action, and snorted at the chained maggot.

"That's plenty enough out of you."

He wasn't worth more of her time, so she left him where he laid, along with Astral, and passed through the gate.

On the other side, Warlock and her would find themselves in a jungle, which judging by the huge footprints and roars in the distance, wasn't as abandoned as were written. Perhaps the book had meant it was abandoned of civilized life, rather than what she had thought.

"Alright. The element is either hid on this isle, or the one next to it. Let's start looking around here for a temple or some other signs of ruined civilization. The birthplace must have been marked somehow at some point in time."

Meanwhile, back at the base, Chow felt the guilt roll over him about this. His parents, his friends, his whole town were going to burn because of him, and that was on top of how he had failed Astral. He couldn't protect her, and he couldn't save either of them, just like he couldn't help them. What good were he at all, when he couldn't even protect anypony when it mattered?

*Sssss*

A fizzling sound broke the relative silence, and made Chow look down on the bricks were his blood were starting to spill from his wounds.

*Sssss*

Another drop fell, and he starred in wonder as he saw the crimson liquid burn down into the stone like it were acid. Just like it had done earlier, at iron Star's place, when he had sneezed...

Wriggling, he rolled over closely to Astral, finally having an idea on how to make himself useful.

"Try and stay still."

He starined the muscles in his face, forcing more blood to fall, and made them drop on the chains holding Astral. perhaps if he could free her, they could begin to do something, which hopefully included them escaping. He didn't care if there were a steep fall and her leg were messed up. he'd carry her down there in his teeth if he had to, but they had to get going before Warlock and Athriel came back from their errand. Hopefully, Warlock would be too occupied with other things to check in on them.

===============================================================================

 

@Lloyd

Golden sat down with a sigh, thinking about how it had actually come to a point where he regrettably had to admit that it had come to this point where a particular idea went from ludicrous, to a forced necessity.

"I am loathe to say this, but yes, we could use more eyes in the city, so having your soldiers mingle with ours, disguised as guards, would be welcome your majesty. Better to have them here now than to wait until Warlock attacks, as it seems he does not waste his time when he does strike."

"With all due respect ambassador, that's a crazy idea. What if the changelings try to take over?"

"I know the risks General. I have thought about them every single day since the Changelings started more friendly negotiations with Equestria, but right now we have little choice but to run certain risks. Warlock and Athriel are just two bearers, and you have seen what they can do. Hay, Warlock is the only one with an active element thus far, and see where we have landed. We need all the advantages we can get, and besides, I doubt Queen Nectar would wish to go against us. If Warlock went against her hive without protection, it would likely be decimated. Something neither of us would wish for.

So yes, your majesty, if you could please call them in, I will make sure there is a path for them to enter without issue, an afterwards they can begin to mingle. We will have spare armor they can use in case it's needed, and make sure they watch out for anything suspicious. I hope that you can forgive this next comment, but if anypony would know how to spot something deceitful going on, it would be a changeling, and we could sorely use that right now."

Screecher did clearly not look happy about this, but she reluctantly bowed her head and wandered out instead of saying more to this crazy turn of events. Benny would wander with them as said, but not until General Wings had gone first. Benny thought it better that he protected the back side, just in case.

With them headed for the room where they could send scrolls around the country with some degree of speed - or well, get others to do it for them mostly - the rest were left in the throne room for the time being, trying to sort out what to do now.

"So until we know where to send ponies to collect, what is our plans? We need to have something ready and plans in place before we hear potential locations, as well as procedures in place for containing what elements we might be able to get hold of. Is there anything particular that would work well to contain them and make them harmless enough to have around for regular ponies, Iron Star?"

=============================================================================

 

@Dji

"Well, I like reading too, though mostly I try and stay active and travel around, seeing the world and trying to find new things to sell in the shop. For example, I tend to have two trips a month to Saddle Arabia to get hold of their butter milk. You have no idea how delicious it is in chocolate, but they can be a bit weird about selling it to small businesses. I practically have to be there physically to get a bit of it.

But again, I go all sorts of places. Though that's more of a weekend thing. Week days I have my shop to take care of, and usually then I stay entertained with a few books and either going to Canterlot to visit or write letters with Be- I mean, a friend. Sometimes I help with Pinkie Pie's schemes too, and that takes a lot of time once she started it. Good for business though. since she needs products and for some reason always seem to have bits somewhere. Plus it's fun to help her in general. Weird stuff happens around her."

Pop took another sip of tea and looked around, trying to get an idea of exactly how many books were here, but it was hard to say. Certainly was a bunch, that was for sure.

[Storm Shine 1,196]

@Blitz Boom

Storm chuckled at Blitz's cute attempts to play along as he checked over his new lasso, making sure that the rope was sturdy and pliable. "This is a pretty well made lasso! Much better than that muffin-lasso I made out of string when I was feeling a little bored"

Pinkie giggled and swung the net around randomly as she began hopping about on her hind-legs, "Yay, I got a net!" she exclaimed happily, just before she slipped "Woah!"

"Oof!" Storm exclaimed as Pinkie accidentally barreled into him, sending them rolling for a bit. When they stopped, the two were tangled up in the lasso with Pinkie's miraculously intact net over Storm's head. "A little help? Pinkie seems to have... heh... roped me into a little mess here." The two goofballs began laughing at the pun even as they tried to untangle themselves.

[Midnight_Aurora 571]

39 minutes ago, Blitz Boom said:

@Midnight_Aurora

Belladonna would be quiet until she had packed her things down, concentrating on that, rather than speaking, as she didn't want something to spill in her bag. Things ended poorly if it came to that.

"Your magical energy and race are not suitable for directed toxins, but I have several general ones that should work effectively enough, of which I have some of them with me currently. I prefer to be prepared for unforeseen situations."

What exactly that would lead her to injecting Cosmic with a toxin that either paralyzed him for a time, knocked him out, or caused his pain receptors to go into overload were anyponys guess, but as mentioned, she liked to be prepared for any situation, and sometimes said situation could be violent. Not by her que though, as she were a reactionary poisoner, and not the one who started a fight, but still.

"Let us not linger here further. Follow me out, then lead us to where you hear something."

With that, she would go to the door and stand ready as the train got into the station, came to a halt, and then opened the door for them.

======================================================================

 

@Midnight_Aurora

"Found her."

A hiss were heard above Cacora as a changeling buzzed down from the tree, with two following right after him. They seemed intent on getting to her, and from their approach, they weren't there for any good reason.

Before the first could reach her though, something happened. A flash of something dark purple went by, and the changeling fell limb towards the ground. The other two looked confused around them, distracted, before one more got knocked out. This one had taken a small pellet of something to the face that burst into a small amount of dust, taking him down.

The last one barely had a chance to think over something more to do before suddenly, a shadowy figure covered in clothes that seemed to meld into different dark shades stood in front of him, and hammered the changeling into a tree with just enough force to knock him unconscious, before falling down into a heap with the two other drones.

"As expected."

The bat pony landed in front of Cacora without making a sound, and looked at her through the glass covering his eyes like nothing had happened. Something which his somewhat gravely voice carried too, as the indifference to the fight came through quite directly.

"King Thorax wants to speak with you."

The pony's ears vibrated as he picked up a sound, and rose a hoof in time to grab another changeling that came down after him, and put the bug in a headlock until it passed out.

"Preferably before Chrysalis brainwashes you."

@Blitz Boom (Belladonna)

*Cosmic nods and follows. Once off the train, however, he starts to follow his instincts. They guide him through town towards the castle. Surprisingly, when he steps upto the gate he stops and looks around.* "Whatever or whoever is calling me, they reside somewhere inside this gate." *He recalled that he normally couldn't just enter the castle. That may have changed with time, but he wanted to be sure first. He looks around for any guards posted at the main castle gate. He hopes that his old ways understanding will hopefully get him access to his objective.*

@Blitz Boom (Cacora's PoV),

*Cacora sensed the lings just before they could pounce on her. She stands ready to defend herself.* "I will not be a breeder." *However, she is confused when what looks to be a pony crossed with a bat takes them out. She does seem relieved that he didn't kill them. She goes over to one and picks him up. When the bat pony speaks to her, she replies.* "Oh don't worry about that. I am of no hive. I gave up my hive bond to Chrysalis nearly 10 years ago. I have no intentions of returning to her fold. However....." *Something clicks within her as she drops her guise and assumes her true form. She stands almost one and a half times bigger then these drones. Her wings buzz, releasing a powdery like pollen, her pheromones. The target is the held ling.* "Wake up you pathetic drone. I have no time for your words. However, you will take a message back to your Queen. Comply or die. It's that simple."

[genessee 535]

@Blitz Boom (( Totally went over my head that I was late, sorry :| ))

Lance stood thoughtfully a moment, before offering;

"I could get some building stuff and patch this up a bit if you'd like."

He didn't know where he would get said building stuff, but he was sure he'd find it. And then he'd go sleep so he could help fix Ponyville.

 

 

[Blitz Boom 4,620]

@Moonlit @Seamore Sandwich

Ziggy didn't answer right off as the pose - and the accompanying images it brought to her mind - made her crack up too much to really answer for about a minute before she had her breath under control again.

"He... Hehe... Sorry, it's just, that pose. Priceless.

And I dunno exactly where we can go, but there is t he castle we were at around a month ago. We never had much of a chance to check that out back then, and I seem to recall there still being some torches so we can get some light going. Unless you're a chicken?"

Cards on the table, she were not too sure she had the stomach for this herself, but she couldn't seem scared right now or it'd just look kind of bad, since she had suggested they went and checked out something.

Hopefully the castle wasn't as haunted as some kept telling her it were. Ghosts sounded scary.

=============================================================================

 

@EQ_Theta

"Take it. I don't want them like they were again."

THe vivid memory of Sen and Lin a little while ago, following her every words with the motions and expressions of puppets being clumsily controlled by an unseen, unpracticed puppeteer, came to mind, and if she had the sort of power to do things like that again, she wanted it taken away, even if that just meant she'd be even more drained than she already were.

Omen attempted to move her hoof a little, and got it shaking slightly, but nothing more. It'd likely be hours before she could even try to walk again, which were an unusual and quite unwelcome state of being for her, but it seemed to have something to do with the orb, and the orb had helped her siblings, so even if she couldn't remember the details, it seemed like a good price to pay regardless.

"So either you ran your creators words in your own, twisted way, or he had shown you a path you just went further on. Neither is acceptable, nor forgivable. Not when your *mistake* took innocent lives with it and you can't even feign remorse."

Mother were proud to hear Omen speak clearly and quickly about not wanting any sort of power to keep control over her siblings, but currently she were focused on Salosan, and would get back to her about that later, as well as the matter she had brought up about knowing what were behind Omen's memory issues.

"Unity is not forced through making others into mindless puppets. It's made by diplomacy, or in worst case, invasion. Not something I condone, but at least living under an iron fist means you could still think for yourself.

And what makes you think Legion would even be a help to this? I saw that amalgamation earlier. it had no interest in making your kind united. It just wanted hosts, and when there were no more of you, it would take the rest, then go for other worlds and forcing the hand of beings far above your own standing to stop it."

She waved her hand dismissively at the magical being, tired of hearing his excuses, and with a flicker of her hand rose several seating places from the ground. Including a simplistic throne which she sat upon, wanting to rest her body somewhat. She were still not close to being at her fullest after what had happened earlier with Sen and Lin, and hadn't had enough time to really rest.

For the rest, there'd be a selection of chairs and couches they could place themselves on, and as much as she despised him, she rose a bench under Salosan as well. He did not deserve her hospitality, but it were more or less a reflex at this point, and she didn't want to spend the energy to remove it again once it first were there.

"He is tiresome to listen to. Does any of you - Sen, Lin, and Ghilan - have any reason to believe him, or find meaning in his treachery? Or are there others questions that presses on more than this?"

[Moonlit 593]

@Blitz Boom @Seamore Sandwich Smirking, Serenade coughs then winking looks directly at Ziggy and quotes Daring Doo and the Lost Ark.  "Dr. Doo. Again, we see there is nothing you can possess which I cannot take away. And you thought I'd given up. You chose the wrong friends. This time it will cost you." Complete with the fake Prance accent. She then turns, and head held high prances toward the castle. 

[EQ_Theta 457]

@Blitz Boom

"No, there's nothing more to ask," Ghilan said. "Maybe when this is over, the siblings' parents can finally rest in peace."

Sen and Lin nodded in agreement. It was almost time to render judgment on Solasan and while the two could come up with some ways of paying him back, they wouldn't lose themselves to violence in order to see justice. No matter what they thought, they were better than him. This was especially true of Sen, who thought he could exact his revenge but would only find emptiness. Ghilan and the siblings took their places on the chairs closest to Mother and waited for her verdict, though what the result would be wasn't difficult to surmise. 

The orb heard Omen's answer and dropped to the floor in front of her. "Preparations will begin but we need Sen and Lin to proceed. We will wait until the proceedings are finished before we start. This process will not put a lot of strain on your body unlike the last time. Explanations on how this magic works and how it can be undone will be provided when the time is appropriate."

Lin overheard the conversation between the curators Omen, quietly overjoyed to hear the last of Solasan and Legion's magic will be undone. There was still a lingering question in her mind but for now, she is content to know their most apparent problems will be solved. Sen would be just as glad to know this but for now, Solasan's tyranny will end. Perhaps Mother can have a moment's peace to celebrate; Sen did say he had something in mind.

Edited July 10, 2017 by EQ_Theta

[FanOfManyShows 396]

@Blitz Boom

Warlock stepped forward, kneeling down, his cloak spreading across the ground, he pushed against the ground blasting upwards above the forest sending out some strong wind, looking for an empty area as he floated above the trees, where the temple would be, he floated down, landing gently next to Athriel. "Do you suppose the jungle is too dense to find it from down here?" He asked, smirking a little, walking forward, lifting his hoof upwards, swiping it to the left, forcing a row of trees to fall over, clearing a path to the temple, albeit a very long path "There are probably ruins of a city or village near by, and by the looks of it, I'd guess the other locations are dead and gone too"

===============================================================================

Astral grimaced a little, a little confused by Chow's little show. "You know what Warlock said, kinda risking our lives here." She moved the chain a little, letting the blood hit the sides of one of the chains. She grasped her leg a little, keeping it steady, still wincing a little. "And so far, his threats haven't been empty." She looked to the window. "How are we even going to get far enough for him not to find us? He could just use omnipotence."

===============================================================================

Nectar groaned a little. "We aren't the same as Chrysalis' hive, but spotting deceitful things has proved useful for me in the past." She walked to the door, following Screecher. "And we have a common enemy here, no reason to betray someone who is helping me." She said, looking to Golden. "I will have to leave the room to call them in, hopefully the sudden influx of guards doesn't draw attention." She said with a slight smile, exiting the room, leaving the doors open behind her, her horn glowing as she called her hive.

Iron Star looked to Dew, sighing. "Well, the Elements of Harmony were used last time, and was fought by a pony wearing the element of cruelty."

"Sapphire is cruelty?"

"Well yes but Warlock doesn't know that, probably will after they resurrect her." He tapped his hoof anxiously, becoming nervous from not being able to tell what they were doing. "Unless he asks or figures it out himself." He looked up at Dew.

[Foxy Socks 2,599]

@Blitz Boom

"How did you do that? Oh, never mind." If Foxy knew any better, she'd assume that someone else was at play to know all of that information. Either way she was just glad they didn't leave.

Foxy thanked Anomaly when the food appeared, which seemed to have been kept warm for the night, which was not a bad thing at all. As Foxy ate, she watched Agni attack Anomaly in a humorous fight, ending with Agni being the victor. Foxy didn't really worry about the two, as they didn't do any major harm to each other. Foxy wondered how she could have met such a bizarre group recently. She wasn't upset in the least, as she was enjoying finding new ponies to be friends with, even if she was generally shy.

As Agni was busy being proud of her victory, Foxy came up and stroked her feathers lightly, to establish a stronger bond between them. While she was able to get near her earlier, she did risk being turned onto, though she suddenly noticed that it was not flames being spat from the bird, but bubbles? "Um, Agni, are you okay?"

[Sekel 692]

@Blitz Boom

"Well," Dawn interrupted herself with a wide yawn after finishing the tea. "Oh, sorry. I didn't realise how late it was," she told Circle Pop with a sigh and looked at the books surrounding them. "Yes, it's a lot of books, and yes, I have read them all. My favourite would have to be Mao's Last Dancer. It's about a Chineighse colt who grows up and despite all gender beliefs, becomes one of the most excellent dancers of that time period. It's a really good one if you want 'the feels' and all that nonsense."

[Blitz Boom 4,620]

@Shineling

The pair wouldn't get far before a vine slung around them and dragged them into the air, and towards a crimson tree that seemed to have teeth in its crown, ready to munch on the unlucky couple that had gotten close enough to fall unto one of its trapwires.

"Hey! Stop that right now!"

The tree paused at Anomaly's words.

"I told you several times. You are only meant to eat the moles around my house, not guests! You know what? That's it, I'm not letting you eat more of my friends."

Anomaly snapped her tail, and several places over the isle, similar trees poofed out of existence, and were replaced with smaller plants that looked like venus fly-trappers, but had the base of fire hydrants and were colored like an explosion in a paint factory. These would certainly only be able to go for the intended targets she had in mind, even if there now were an annoying hole where a tree crown had been before. *sigh* She had to find something to replace that later, or the morning sun would get all annoying. You know, beyond it constantly singing. Sometimes that really got to her.

As for Pinkie and Storm, they'd be fine. As she had snapped her tail, she had made sure that they were on the ground again. Though as she had been focused on replacing a lot of places at once, they had gotten a little too long down. As in, they were burried up to their tails in dirt.

"Uh... Whoops. Dig them out doggy?"

"You're not roping my sister into this. Fix it yourse- I said no Blitz! It's a costume, not a reality."

Molotov were meant to deal with logic and reasonable assumptions, and instead he had landed in a place that at best were the product of a mad being. What had he done to deserve this stupid draconequus and her antics?

"You know I can hear you, right?"

Anomaly held up a sign with thethe sentence he had thought out before, and gave him a wonky look, trying to decide if she should let this get awkward, toss him around a bit to punish him for saying that about her, or just let it slide and get the couple out of the hole in the ground.

Honestly, it might take her some time to think this through, so they could have gotten loose on their own, or Blitz might have dug them out. Wasn't like they were in dense dirt tugged extremely tight around them after all, so there might be a bit of wriggle room to work with.

====================================================================

 

@Midnight_Aurora

"Halt!

A couple of Night Guards crossed their spears, shutting off access for the two mares towards the castle.

"The princesses are not taking visitors this time of night. We will need you to move along."

"Is the castle still open for visitors with non-royalty visits in mind from 45 minutes after sunrise? And I take it the usual 15 minutes wait then to have a guard guide us around? Unless you have followed my suggestions on how to reduce the waiting time to 8.23 minutes?"

The guards looked at Belladonna with a funny look on their faces, then one of them rolled his eyes and let out a sigh.

"Oh, it's you. Waiting time is still as per usual. Though the captain found your suggestions... Interesting, no plans on implementation are currently in the works. Will there be anything else?"

"No. We will meet Sergeant Clover at the assigned time. Cosmic, contain your curiosity until the morning. You will get nothing but a night in an uncomfortable cell that is not up to proper building standards for it."

The other guard suddenly had a light go of over his head and pointed at Belladonna whilst looking at his fellow guard.

"Oh jeez, That's the one who keeps putting those annoying plans in our suggestion box? Come on lady, get a hobby."

===========================================================================

 

@Midnight_Aurora

The bat pony stayed calm as the spores were released. He had no need to fear them, as his suit were well made to keep unknown substances like that out unless they entered through the ears, and most spores were airborne and meant to be ingested through the muzzle. With the filter between the cloth and his muzzle, that wasn't an issue.

Neither were Cacora's actual shape. it were unusual for a changeling to have spores and such a height, but he had been told that she may be somewhat different by his majesty, and this was less than he had expected. Considering King Thorax's new look, he had assumed something like them, but perhaps without antlers, or a regular bug pony with started conversion signs. Neither were his place to judge. He just had to get the job done, and bring her back safely.

"Interesting visage, but that one will not wake up for a while. This one will."

The changeling that Cacora had grabbed hold of were the one who had been hit with his pellet, and that would keep the changeling unconscious for a while. Instead, he grabbed hold and reached out the first one he had knocked out, before quickly striking a nerve bundle in his back, making him wake up with a yelp.

"What? Where? What's with.... Nononono."

The changeling were confused, but not so much that he couldn't see the majority of his minor party currently knocked out on the ground.

"T-This doesn't change anything. We're more, and we will get you. Queen Chrysalis will have what is hers!"

"Your group consisted of ten changelings, who have all been neutralized."

The changeling didn't want to believe what the disguised bat pony were saying, but there wasn't anything on the hivemind. he called out, but the others that had come with him were silent. Only one that wasn't, were the one who were always watching them, and who governed them with her words day in and day out, though they were so far from her that he couldn't hear her words.

"...What is it you want her to hear, traitor?"

============================================================================

 

@genessee

Null were dismissive of Lance's suggestion without thinking about it much.

"No point in that. If the villagers keeps their word, this will be torn down and we'll build a real place to live. If they scam us, we'll be run out of town and doesn't need it anyway. No point in fixing it up more unless it starts to rain."

It was a rather pessimistic view on things, but not exactly untrue either.

"Anyway, shall we get you home dso you can get some sleep? I just wanted to point this place out so you can visit Void again at some point. Seems like you two are hitting it off."

Void got a blush on her dark cheeks and turned to her sister.

"W-What are you saying big sis?"

"That you two talk well. Usually you don't speak with others comfortably, but you two seemed to get along, and he calmed you enough to stand and deliver food to others. Seems right to cultivate. But again, want to go home and sleep Lance? You seem worse for the wear. We can stop at the tents on the hill and nick another sleeping bag if you need it on the way."

Null knew well what it were that she had said, but she wanted to check something. Big sister protective gears were spinning at the thought, but she'd lie if it hadn't crossed her mind when she saw these two earlier, yet she'd deal with that later. It was late, and it was time to sleep rather than wander around until the sun rose up again.

=====================================================================

 

@Moonlit @Seamore Sandwich

The annoying sound of Ziggy going into a massive laughing fit irked Fah'lina, who had popped her head over the water, thinking she were clean enough, but with that noise going on, she took back under to wait it out. Much as she had stuck around these two ponies for a while now, that sound still got to her because it were as loud as it were, and she had pretty big ears. The combination wasn't ideal.

"Ehehe.. Hehe... Oh man, that was spot on. Just beautiful Serenade."

Ziggy clapped whilst giggling still escaped her.

"We better get going before you start that again, or I'll have to be rushed to the hospital for running out of air."

The mare wandered along, towards the castle whilst once in a while letting out more laughter. Serenade really hit the funny bone with her impression.

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@EQ_Theta

"Very well then. Salosan, for what you have done, I thought long and hard what to do about you, but I came to a fitting punishment. I'll gift you to another of my children, though I can assure you that is not as pleasant as it sounds."

Mother tapped at the floor beneath Salosan's bench, and a small hole opened up where you could see things through that seemed to defy logic, though thankfully for their sanity, the gate was not opened for more than a few seconds before a red tentacle with empty eyes slithered out and wrapped around Salosan, before dragging him in. The only sound that were heard before the gate closed - beyond perhaps a final yelp from Salosan - would be a gurgling noise that were best left without explanation.

"Naf'thralxx and it's master are not violent, but they do have their ways of handling the minds of resistant pets. Salosan will either learn to live as a subservient pet, or he'll experience a taste of why these creatures are usually not permitted in the physical realms. Trust me, you do not want to hear details. I'm an untold amount of years old, and even I feel queasy by just looking at that place."

To some this may seem a cruel fate, but Salosan had hurt a lot of beings and tried to enslave t hem to a singular will. It seemed fitting that he would now be a slave himself, and to beings that were so far above him in intellect, that he would have created a miracle to fool them, though that also required him to break the language barrier. But he had time enough to learn.

"He have gotten as he deserved. Hopefully those that were lost to his actions can find rest now."

Mother bowed her head and recited a small prayer to herself in silence. It were unlikely they could hear this, but it still seemed like the right time to honor the dead, and pray for their souls.

Meanwhile, Omen largely ignored what went on, though she did project a greeting to her sibling in their tongue before the gate closed. Seemed right, as that it was it did as well. Strange sibling that one, and not one Omen really got along with, but that wasn't a reason not to be civil.

"He's gone, and Lin seems ready. Sen, can you come over so we can stop me from taking control over your brain?"

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@Lloyd

"If we stay here, I'm gonna be gutted for a blood ritual, and your mom's gonna be forced to work for the evil ones when she returns because right now, it sounds like you're the thing that can sway her. So frankly, me and my weirdly acidic blood is going to make a run for it and hope for the best rather than stick around and be part of dominating Equestria."

Chow had just said that when the blood finally made its way through, and the chain around Astral lost a link. She should be able to just pull it from her now whilst he worked on a part of his. Wouldn't be too long before they both were free, though from there, she madew a good point: Where were they going?

"Y'know, it sounded like your dad had some sort of thing near him that protected him from being snatched by the doofus patrol. Perhaps if we can get back to Canterlot and him, we'll have a safe haven to work from?"

Ah, there they went. Another link gone and he were free now as well, so he could stop squeezing his face muscles like a crazy pony to make it bleed more. It'd likely be a bit before it'd stop bleeding totally though, so Astral should be careful to not touch his face right now.

"Alright, you still able to teleport, or did he stop that somehow? Also, I'm gonna have to take a look at that leg of yours. If it's just dislocated, I can set it back. You'd be surprised how often I have to do that to myself."

If she did trust him to do that, he'd grab hold, ask her to count to three and brace herself, then push it in place when he reached two. Usually ended better when it just happened and the pony in question didn't have the chance to try and weasel out of it. If she didn't trust him with her leg right now though, he wouldn't. Not yet anyway.

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@Lloyd

"Well then we're at a disadvantage, 'cause the Harmony elements ain't around anymore. Heard that they had to be put into that tree near Ponyville to save things, and then nothing since. They could end up being dormant for a long time.

So what we have left is Cruelty, and hoping that somepony who had it before will get back from the dead, still be able to use it, and then turn on them? I'm starting to think that the only option we really do have is luring them into a trap, though I do set questions why you would be around somepony who were the embodiment of cruelty. Was she a nemesis of yours turning rogue at the end or something?"

Meanwhile, Screecher lead the other ones towards the scroll room, not saying anything and thinking on how it would go with the swarm of changelings that would soon be around the town now. Might be it was logical enough, and she could understand why Golden did not say anything as the queen left the room to summon them, but it still didn't sit right with her. Not after Chrysalis.

But she stayed with her role as a dutiful soldier to the kingdom and kept her moaning about that to herself for now as they reached the room. Which were basically just an office with three ponies in there going through document. Only one of them lifted his head to look at them.

"Authorization papers?"

"There isn't time for that anymore. We've had a serious security breach and I need a message passed along to every law enforcement officer in the country fast. If that's an issue, take it up with the ambassador."

The paper pusher didn't make a motion to move for the door to check in with Golden, but instead just lowered his head and kept on reading his papers, thinking he could just ignore this group and they'd be on their way. In his world, no papers meant nothing would happen. No exceptions. A bad mistake as he suddenly got yanked up by the Night Guard general who dragged hi in closely, so he could hear the words she wanted to be written out on those papers one word at a time, in a rather icy tone.

"Do I make myself clear?"

"Y-Yes General. We'll get started right away."

Him being done and now working with the other three to make and send the papers around, Screecher turned to Benny and pointed him towards a scroll, a feather, and some ink.

"Get started on yours. Pronto."

"Right away General."

"Sigh* This day have barely gotten started and it's already a nightmare. Welcome to the glamorous life of being in charge Iron Wings."

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@Dji

Seeing Dawn yawn caused Pop to do so as well. Both because it was a sort of infectious thing to do, and because quite frankly, after a long day working to help the town, she were tired.

"Sometimes it's good with a book that can make you shed a tear, but I don't get to try often unless it's mingled into an adventure book, and it's usually not too good id it comes to that. Few stand outs like The Seven Trials of Azhulu that hits that, though that's a rare, underappreciated gem.

But perhaps we can talk more about books and things tomorrow? It's late and I'd like to get home and rest, just like it sounds like you'd like to."

============================

 

@Foxy Socks

Agni tweeted and stomped angrily on Anomaly's head, indicating the painfully obvious about it being her that was the reason for the bubbles.

Without her being awake though, and Agni not being able to be understood by Foxy though... Eh, better wake her up.

A watch fell from out of nowhere and landed in front of Anomaly, at which point it would start to ring with a loud, annoying sound. Something which seemed to stir the draconequus again, and Agni to strike over and destroy the watch with her talons. She were pretty direct with things she didn't like.

"Urgh... Stupid bird and stupid crater..."

Anomaly rose up and looked at Agni that were trying to bubble the pieces of the watch it seemed, to which she rolled her eyes and snapped with her tail, giving the phoenix her flame back. Something which just made Agni more insistent on torching the pieces of the watch.

"Meh, featherball and her things. Hey Foxy, how was the food? And don't touch the tainted ground! I mean, it's not dangerous, but it stains, and you'd look more fun stained with turquoise. "

Another snap, and a bucket of turquoise paint appeared next to Foxy with a sign going *Fall into me* accompanied by a mischievous look from the draconquus who were currently going against her own advice and rolling in the inert remnants of demonic soil until it had given her torso stripes, like a bee.

After that, she's start to wander up again. It wasn't too steep a crater to keep anypony in, so she didn't even need to use weird things to climb out. Just a steady pace and the conflicting thoughts about Foxy and that bucket of paint.

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@Lloyd

Athriel rolled her eyes as Warlock went to the skies. Give a pony incredible power and boy did it start to get shoved in everypony's face.

Honestly, she were just jealous because this were power that she longed for. Not Greed or Dark magic itself, but her element, so she could become whole like him, and far stronger than she were right now. She'd always play second fiddle to Warlock, that was a given, but it would be easier to tolerate if she wasn't this powerless and confined. Hopefully this place had her element.

When he.landed again, she had been checking the nearby trees for marks, or the sign of rocks, but she didn't see anything before Warlock cleared some of the trees and a few markers showed up in the near area, though they had been cut some as well.

"Seems like there is a trail to go with, though we'll see if the place they lead to is the real deal. I don't trust the ones who hid this.

Like you said though, all of these isles are abandoned by everything but old wildlife it seems. I get a feeling they weren't meant to be away from all though. Remember the siren temple had a town near it, that seemed destroyed by the sea? Something tells me it was meant to be guarding it, along with the statue, before it was demolished. And if security of some sort have been set at all the locations, we should watch out here."

Might be Warlock were all powerful right now, but she couldn't shake the feeling that there would be some kind of barrier to pass with some of these things that even he would struggle with.  Hopefully just paranoia, but the ones hiding these things knew he might be back eventually, and not being prepared for him getting one of his elements one way or another seemed foolish, even for them. Especially after she had gone through their ranks to get to her own element. That should have raised security.

Hopefully this would just be paranoia on her part, but she'd rather think the worst and be somewhat cautious, than go in head first and face failure.

Going over an look over one of the markers, she took the piece that had fallen down and put it on top just so she could see it all, at which point she got a smirk on her face and pointed in the opposite direction of the cleared trees.

"There were a village back that way. If the temple ends up fruitless, we have a location to go to."

Her face frowns a little as she goes back to the marker and runs her talon through a phrase that didn't sound too comforting to her paranoia.

"*Never remember, or all is lost.* Interesting... Let's get going. We have a temple to try and find."

With that, she spread her wings and flew forward, over the remnants of the trees and down the path Warlock had carved out.

Edited July 11, 2017 by Blitz Boom
Added colors.

[Moonlit 593]

@Blitz Boom @Seamore Sandwich "Thank you, thank you. I try my best" Serenade follows Ziggy, "I like Daring Doo, but honestly, not my favorite in the genre. My mother used to read the old adventure serial novels to me growing up, stories like The Masked Mare and The Shade." Serenade chuckles, and looks over at Ziggy, and in a deep scratchy almost male-like voice. "The weed of crime bears bitter fruit....who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of ponies? The Shade Knows..." 

She keeps walking, "How about you, what is your favorite?":

[genessee 535]

@Blitz Boom

Lance's eyebrows shot up in surprise and embarrassment for a second before he responded.

"Alright, suit yourself. Yeah, sleeping sounds like a good idea. I'll probably get a sleeping bag or cot or something tomorrow, I won't be sleeping fairly well tonight due to excitement. I'll probably pop into the diner at some point tomorrow when I'm on break, or after work, see you then. You too, Null."

He waved at the two before heading out. He wasn't lying when he said he wouldn't be sleeping well, but not due to excitement. Mainly just fear of the day to come.

 

[EQ_Theta 457]

@Blitz Boom

Solasan's sight caught the ground opening and before he could mutter a word, he yelled as he fell into the depths. As much as Lin and Ghilan liked the irony behind Solasan's sentence, there was this lingering feeling the two shared as they looked at Mother and wondered if it was the right call. The latter placed his trust in her but Lin wasn't too sure about how sound the decision was. They both accepted that they will learn to live with this decision though they both quietly admitted to themselves that it was a terrifying prospect. Sen's reaction was subtle and seemingly indifferent. There was contentment in his mind but something still bothered him and he couldn't articulate it. He turned to Omen and walked with Lin to meet her. The orb caught on to this and spoke to everyone present as light from Omen's hooves projected outward to Sen's and Lin's heads.

 "As you can see, the beams of gold light here is a visualization of how Legion's magic is tethered to anyone he casts it on. Solasan lied about this spell being permanent, we can sever this tether and undo this magic. Be warned, Sen and Lin will experience discomfort and there is a chance this process might fail due to Solasan hastily and improperly casting this spell."

"Then do it," Sen quietly said. "Take it away."

Lin readied herself as the projected light beams transferred to the orb, connecting herself and her brother to the artefact while the object placed itself in the center of all who have gathered. For a moment, there was no reaction from the two other than mild discomfort. There wasn't much happening but when the siblings least expected it, a sharp pain shot up to their heads followed by crackling electricity. The two dropped to the ground, clutching their heads in agony as they screamed and begged for it to stop. The curators knew this would happen but for the siblings' sakes, they ignored them. This went on for another two minutes before the electricity faded and the two went limp and silent. Magic flowed from the beams of light and reinvigorated the siblings, soothing them and repairing internal damage that may have resulted from the process.  

After some time, the siblings woke up feeling dazed and tingly on their heads. Sen checked on Lin before both of them looked to Omen and the orb. Instinctively, the orb floated up to the two longma and scanned them for anomalies and side effects. Having found none, it returned to Omen and addressed her.

"It is done; the vile magic is no more. You should no longer be able to assume direct control of your companions."

Edited July 12, 2017 by EQ_Theta

[Widdershins 9,959]

  @Blitz Boom

    So how they dooshy, Gary Bushy? Can't say I get the appeal of seeing things, haven't had fully functioning eyes myself in... some measurement of time!

Flopping over on his back to stare under his snout at Vivid Loss, he regards the magical mare.

   So where'd you get the parts, PoofyButt? Don't know too many cases where you can just plug in bits n' pieces to have 'em work! Well, in other examples other than yours truly. 'Sides, think most realms kinda have rules against stuff like necromancy. Ooh! Is it necromancy?! You give 'im deadeyes? Cool! I've dabbled a bit in necromancy myself too! Neato!

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 To B.B.

   "Feh..."

    Kaltrop snorts dismissively as a scowl spreads over his reptilian snout as he hunkers down ontop of the small caravan.

       "Like there's a difference. That's what you ponies are all about. You don't care who you hurt, so why should I?...

  ...Why do I hate ponies? Because they took my mother from me...

      ...Well, what counted as my mother anyhow. Took me from my nest, raised me in your stupid pony cities, then when things fell through they thought the best idea was to chuck me back to the wild without ever bothering to listen or care..."

   Kaltrop said in a clipped tone that brooked no argument for further talk on the matter. Flicking his tail in annoyance and snorting at Spicy Rolls without looking directly at her, he continues on.

   "I suppose that not all ponies are bad... but I feel that way towards the species as a whole." Kaltrop growls slightly in response to his own answer as the pegasus approaches the cart the young drake seems to be claiming as his perch. "Just... No, don't question me about why I hate ponies."

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  To B.B's H.H!

   "Well, I've never changed colors like THAT! Though... never have seen the Apples do anything like that... Big Mac does get a bit redder in the face sometimes but..."

  Ambie's face blushes a light shade of pink that pushes down the previous wave of greyish black as he contemplates his situation. Thinking things all the way through never has been much of his strong suit.

   "...but I would know if I was birthed by some giant, hideous, parasitic insect freak, right? ...Uhh, no offense?

    My Mother has always kept tabs on her side of the family, though... Dad's always been rather forgetful. Now that I think of it, his horn has always looked a bit off. Nopony ever questions that though. Still, I know my Dad's been forgetful enough to forget my birthdays but surely no one's memory is so bad that they up & leave their species, right?

    ...If Changerlinks are as organized as you say, shouldn't you lot know everypony who interbreeds like that then?  ....Wurgh... I don't want to turn out like some sort of half-fly... I make a point of not reading horror stories like that...                      Uhh, no offense, right?"

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 To B.B. again!

    "Fine. So be it then if you so wish to travel. Do walk this way then, Milady."

  Without much more of a warning, the small, talking device turns back around to retract along the mechanical trail he came in on, whizzing past Anomaly at a speed noticeably faster than a pony's sprint. Whirring along, its heavy-lidded, unimpressed eye staring back at her, V.I.A.B. rattles along not unlike that of a tin can being pulled by a string.

[Sekel 692]

@Blitz Boom

"You noticed me yawning?" Dawn asked softly before nodding. "Okay, tomorrow it is." She tried to not let herself get in the way of her new friend leaving. Mainly because it was exceedingly rare for her to have a friend come home at all. She let off a small sigh and hoped that Pop wouldn't notice it. She smiled a friendly smiled and stood up to watch her leave. It was an odd feeling, to say the least, to be able to let a new friend go back home. Especially when she craved pony contact and couldn't bring herself to get any otherwise. "Whereabouts do you live? I could ... maybe come over."

Edited July 12, 2017 by Dji

[Foxy Socks 2,599]

@Blitz Boom

Foxy looked at the paint, and her next move was instantly decided. Putting each of her black colored legs into the paint, she dyed each of her "socks" turquoise. Foxy smiled, saying, "Oh the food was great, thank you for doing what you, um, did." She helped Anomaly up, noticing her striped pattern. "Shall we go looking for them then? I don't think we should be damaging the area any more... Um, you can fix that, right?" Foxy pointed toward the shallow crater. It didn't seem that shallow to Foxy though, and she sure didn't want to explain why it was there.

Foxy then looked around. More than fifty tents it seemed were evenly laid out. She never found out where Briar was staying, so it would be difficult to search. Asking each and each and every tent definitely seemed too annoying and long. She could ask around, but even if they stood out, she couldn't be sure anypony paid any attention with all the commotion. And while the pony in charge likely had a list of who was in what tent, to give information like that might not be legal. 

Foxy wondered if they were even in their tent at that time. Even if they were, they'd very likely come out at some point, though where and when she could not know. Loitering around just to find a specific pony seemed quite rude, so her only option was to go into town and hope they'd come across her again. There were many ponies though, and she couldn't be sure if it would happen again. She didn't want to be rude and intrude on their privacy though, so she just decided she'd just have to hope and see them again.