open Casual stroll

[Foxy Socks 2,599]

@Blitz Boom @Widdershins @~Phoenix~

"She's our friend. She may be a little troublesome, but I assure you she means no harm," Foxy told Rarity, referring to Anomaly. Foxy wondered what was going on in that room, as the noise seemed to persist even with Rarity out. 

Before Foxy could do anything Rainbow introduced herself, as she put her hoof around Foxy's shoulder, causing Foxy to freeze. "Oh, um, nice to meet you Rainbow... I'm Foxy S-socks."  Foxy wasn't used to meeting ponies like Rainbow, but she admired her still.

[BloodDrops 762]

2 hours ago, Blitz Boom said:

Slappy felt for a brief moment like he had to correct this mare, but what wouldn't happen if he got on her bad side? It was better for him to not correct her in how the garbage on the station were materials, and that the trio had gone in the opposite direction of where that hat been. Somepony could be heard giving out a low swear as something among said materials plopped down and gave him a bump on the head and the ground a dent as well, but it was outside of the restricted area, and from the sound of it, the pony had thankfully not died. He might have been trapped though, as Slappy could swear he heard some low prayers for help between the swearing, but there were other ponies to pick up things. Surely they could help without him having to lave his owner.

As for the drainy pipes... He had no idea about that. He had never been in Ponyville prior to this assignment, and didn't know how things were set up, though it sounded like something he should get slipped to the forepony at some point so she could send somepony to look at it. Just best to wait a little perhaps, when Blood would be resting and he would have the chance to dot his without having a stalker.

The sinkhole sounded unlikely somehow. With all the things being transported into town, and the amount of workers walking everywhere,w ouldn't it have collapsed under somepony already?  Urgh... Where was a Geologist when you needed them?

"B-But yes, we s-should go. F-Find a good place."

Those were thoughts for another time.  Right now, he picked up his prepared fishing rod, and began leading the way to a stream he had seen earlier. Hopefully that would work, and they didn't have to look through the forest for a lake.

Blood Drops followed him holding her fishing rod, when she finally got to the stream she put her rod into the water and waited for a fish to come and grab her bait. It didn't. She blinked at Slappy bored and snorted "I'm bored, there are no fish here" she grumbled before her rod twitched, she pulled up and blinked at the fish flopping around on the floor, with a smile she picked it up and put it in her bag. 

She continued to fish until her bag was rather full of fish. "It kind of works I suppose, and they are rather fresh" I remarked before sniffing at Slappy's catch "So, what you gonna do after this?" I ask blinking. I move closer to him "maybe we can go into ponyville and have a meal or something?" I add blinking, "That or we cook these fish in my house" I remark with a small yawn. 

I then blinked several times before closing my eyelids, accidentally falling asleep beside the Sloppy, my ears twitched several times before I started to snore. 

 

[The Resident Brony 60]

@Blitz Boom

"Im not normally one to despise ponies without meeting them, but this Bishop you speak of, sounds fascinating..."

Vic flies around in the air, thinking

"Hmm, the Bishop of Sin, huh? Sounds bad, even from what you said. I think i may want to look into that."

[Moonlit 593]

@Blitz Boom @Seamore Sandwich @Dji Serenade was mentally freaking out PONYFREATHERS! Not her, please not her. She slowed down, trying to keep the water from rippling at her passing. If she could just sneak past and get Ziggy to the hospital all would be good. She kept her eyes forward Avoid eye contact and they might ignore you, avoid eye contact and... she flicks her eyes to the side where the two ponies were. 

[EQ_Theta 460]

@Blitz Boom @Shineling

Disappointment once more rears its head leaving both siblings quiet and speechless. Here they thought they had all of the answers they needed but something else stopped them from getting their friend back. Sen picked up the orb and examined it, curious about its design. As for Lin, she just sat there quietly and pet the drake before directing it to the other crystalline formations. 

"Go on and help Clayton's friends. Some of them still need to get out of their crystalline prisons. We'll figure something out for Omen."

As for the glowing orb, Sen thought about it for some time before running one claw on its side, creating a small opening. If magic like this could be contained, it is likely it needed a way to escape this vessel in order to get Omen back. He took great care not to damage the orb too much, only making that one small cut as he dragged his digit along and the sound of glass being scratched accompanied his action. Lin caught on to this but merely observed, thinking of something similar to her brother's solution as he placed the orb right next to Omen's unresponsive face to see if that will change. 

While they would't admit it to each other, they both miss their friend and hoped this will work.

Edited November 21, 2017 by EQ_Theta

[Victoria Sponge 1,017]

@Blitz Boom

"Not a problem Benny, anypony who's ever felt love for another will know its not always simple and its not always cuddles and kisses. It's good to be curious about other ponies relationships because it helps us to learn from each other and work around issues so that it can go back to cuddles and kisses without causing serious problems."

 

Victoria shrugged at Pop's question, not eager to talk about what was going on in the kitchen.

"I'm not going anywhere near cakes again today, took forever to get that glitter out... I'm sure Battenberg will bring it out soon... probably."

"Probably? Why wouldn't I? Your cakes are done guys, and they came out great... if I do say so myself!"

Her yellow magic gently placed a delicious dark brown cake covered in a thick layer of red chilli powder decorated with the leaves of chilli peppers onto the counter in front of her. This was swiftly followed by plates containing the blackberry cakes and the battenberg cake.

"I kept these fresh for you too!"

[Blitz Boom 4,640]

@EQ_Theta @Shineling

The yet unnamed Refraction looked up at Lin with some kind of worry in its eyes when it was set down, and chirped a few sounds her way, before slithering through the air towards tge last three statues. Clayton would follow and keep things supervised, whilst still focusing mainly on his friends. It had been taxing to go through things with just two, but he had to brace himself, as he were not even halfway done.

Though, whatever it would take if it meant his friends were free again. He would manage to calm them, get through the gruelling task of telling them how much time had passed, and then... Well, then came integrating them back into life. Hopefully, at least some of them would be able to return home.

Meanwhile, the crack that Sen had made down the side of the bauble had some not-so-unexpected results.

A short while after it were drawn, it would crack on further, following up and down to connect with the ends of the gap already in the bauble, and causing a good fourth or fifth of it to chip off.

Inside, a pale-grey smog would be revealed, swirling slowly in an uneven sphere shape. That is, until the chip fell away, and it would start to float out and down towards the ground.

It rose and sank, seemingly unsure of where to go, before slowly rolling towards Omen. The oddly behaving smog would slide in through her nostrils and mouth for several minutes after that, though nothing else appeared to happen.

With minutes passing, it seemed like this had been another failure, leaving them with having to think of something else, yet again.

That is if course, if they missed how five minutes after, one of her legs would be twitching.

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

 

@The Resident Brony

"Are you really that arrogant that you think you can face off against an arch demon? You will stay away from her, do you hear me! I have enough innocent blood on my hooves without having you add to it."

Vivid snapped at the Alicorn, after hearing his statement about wanting to look into it. Even after all she had told, he thought that he would stand a chance against her, and what, bring her to justice? She wore a cloak with the feathers of Angels she she done unspeakable things too, and cloth made from fearsome demons that had mocked her. She was not somepony who could be brought to justice, and getting her attention would lead only to ruin.

Alicorns might be strong, but there were forces that mortals and semi-immortals like them couldn't hope to face against, and the Bishop was one of them. It would take something like an actual demi-god to have a chance, and even then, she wasn't sure how that would fare. Arch demons were terrifying beings that had stayed in power through untold years for a reason.

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@BloodDrops

Okay, so... This had gone better than he expected, before turning to becoming one of the most terrifying things he could imagine.

On the plus side, the fishing had gone pretty well. Blood were apparently one of the lucky fishers who got something on the hook often, and even he managed to catch some and slide towards her. It felt horrible to be part of ending a life like this, but he had to chose between these and his fellow ponies, and even without being a guard, he couldn't choose an animal.

Then on the bad part... He wasn't entirely sure, but it had sounded like the monster mare was hitting on him, and quite honestly, he'd rather tongue a cactus than so much as touch her. She was an evil creature who sounded like she had lives on her consciousness, and he wasn't even sure if she had one of those, considering how little life seemed to matter to her.

Then for some reason, she had fallen asleep pretty much next to him, though he moved several steps away. As mentioned, he did not want to touch her, and have her infect him with whatever he were sure she carried. Or gnawing on him in her sleep for that matter. He needed his legs, not a stump with bite marks.

So now he were here, with an evil creature, bound to serve in whatever was he were ordered to, and no idea what to do with himself.

So he just stood there, silently, and waited until something happened, even if that took hours.

*sigh* He missed the good old times where he only had to worry about the forepony killing him... Life seemed much kinder then.

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

 

@Foxy Socks @Widdershins @~Phoenix~

As it seemed that Rainbow Dash were communicating with the more audible of his companions, Briar would instead direct his focus unto Rarity for the time being. He were sure that the pegasus had her own stories and fascinating insights that he could learn from, but it would be so terribly rude of him to ruin a chance of communication between what seemed like a well known mare, and Foxy. It may be an idolizing thing after all, and then it would hardly be fair for him to stop things.

So leaving them be for the time being, he adjusted one of the colored rings that were bolted into his legs to make him sit more comfortably, and waited until he were sure that Rarity did not have a snap response for Rainbow. A few seconds, but it should suffice.

"It is good to be in the presence of one with the foresight to be prepared, Miss Rarity. It is a scarce, but valuable trait which too many sadly lacks. It pleases me to hear that you do not fall under the category, though i will say that my offer stands, should you ever have a usage for my assistance. I like to be helpful.

If I may be allowed to ask though, who are Sweetie Bell? I apologize profoundly if this comes off as insulting in any way, but you sound too young to have gotten a foal of your own at this age. A little sister perhaps?"

The conversation thus far were actually quite pleasant. Rarity reminded him somewhat of the pony that had taken him in after his exile, and the familiarity were comforting in a way.

Like him, she were kind, open-minded, and spoke like a Canterlot higher-up apparently would. He had never been to the capitol himself, but he had been told that was how they spoke from his dearly departed mentor, and Briar had been taught to express himself in much the same way. Though, with more humbleness than the stereotypical ones. He had wanted the exile to be able to live among others, not make them hate him for being pompous and acting high above everypony else.

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

 

@~Phoenix~

A bit of awkward silence came after that, with Smokey trying to figure out how to carry the conversation onward.

Honestly, he cared not that Phoenix were once a colt. Who she were then, did not mean she were not a highly attractive mare now, and he saw little point in finding it weird that she had once been so profoundly different in body. After all, that was then, this were now.

Yet, he couldn't just outright say that, surely. She seemed to not like to go through speaking about this, and had seemingly withdrawn after the subject had been brought up, so that was off the table for conversations until she had further trust in him, or were at a better mental state herself. Perhaps it was even a third thing that he hadn't considered that had to occur before this could be brought up again, but regardless of the cause, it had to be laid to rest for now, which left him trying to find out what he could bring up. Should he ask her something else, or perhaps share more of his own life with her? And what should he then bring up, if about himself?

Grim saw the quiet ponies look at one another and subtly shook his head. All of those sparks he saw floating through the air, and neither of them had the guts to take the step forward. They might both have secrets and issues, but when you got a chance in life, you should take it, rather than just sit and let it pass by, and then wonder what might have been later on.

So to push things along, he took the spread of fruits he had been working on, placed the tastiest bits of each of them on two plates, and went over to serve it to the two. There were several fruits not native to the area, of which perhaps a certain young lady could use a course. It this didn't work, he might have to *accidentally* drop some wine on either of them, and they could start that way. Anything to get the two of them to let go of the tension and speak again.

"Until the warm food is done, please enjoy a sample platter of the greens Rose have helped grow. I'd recommend beginning with the coconut."

"Coconut? That' s a finisher, not a starter. Here Phoenix, try the strawberry banana to ease your palate instead, and then go onward to the passion fruit. It will provide the best rise of tastes before going on to the more exotic variants."

Phoenix might catch the greying earth pony give a satisfied smirk as Smokey took over the conversation and corrected his *mistake*. Smokey did not however, and just used his magic to pick up the bits that he had mentioned. Cubes more specifically, around the size of a sugar cube, as this were meant as a kind of starter, and not the actual meal. That were still being prepared in the pot.

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

 

@genessee

"Eh, might as well grab a small thing to take the worst. Our original goal ended up being a bust."

Berry gave a grin to the pony they had spoken to, before skipping over to the table with the easy dishes out. Her eyes specifically fell on a batch of apples, and a small bowl of whipped cream. She took an apple, cracked it in half, and then starred with narrow eyes around in there, looking to see if there was something in here, before dipping the insides in cream and putting them together like a sandwich. Surely though, she wouldn't- No, there went the first bite. Seemed like she was just weird about her food too.

"Mmmmmm... The cream's pretty good. Wanna try it?"

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

 

@Widdershins

"Well, I'd mend the fences if I were you. Family can be rough, but it's the only ones you can count on in the end."

He considered that the case with his own family. That being the hive, though it had been a long time since he had heard anything from them. Usually he would get updates on what he was supposed to do every few months, but since entering Equestria... Nothing. Perhaps it was just harder to get communication into the country than out, and they had to rethink things a lot. Might also be a crisis that needed the hivemothers to gather up for a meeting. Queen Onache was perhaps not the most liked one, but there were times when something affected all of them, and they had to put together a plan. Usually she would return stolen drones at that point, which were another reason she abhorred the meetings. She needed those to work for her, not waddle around the cutsie hives of the soft queens.

But, that wasn't neither here, nor there. In time he'd get news, and he could get the nagging feeling that something were horribly wrong out of his head. His queen were strong, and she wasn't just going to get herself into too big of a mess that she couldn't get herself out of again. She were fine... Hopefully.

"And I didn't mean literally put your eyes on sticks. It's an expression, you know? Don't you have that one here in Equestria?"

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

 

@Battenberg

Benny grinned at what Red said, and went over to Pop, where he'd place his hands on her shoulder.

"The kisses and the cuddles are definitely the best bits."

Pop smirked a little at him and nodded, though she didn't have a chance to say anything about it before Battenberg came through with the cakes. Pretty good timing too, as Victoria had been in a pretty dismissive mood about it just seconds before.

Vauw. They look amazing Battenb- Benny! You're drooling on my back."

"...Huh?"

The smell had wafted at Benny like it had been directed there, and the smell... Oh dear dragon lord, the smell was amazing. Spicy, warm, seasoned and fresh from the oven. He hadn't even noticed the dribble that went from his mouth before Pop had complained about it falling down on her.

Once he realized what he was doing, he stumbled backwards, almost hit where he last saw royal stood, and fell down on his rear.

"Oh gosh, oh dear, I-I uhm, I'm sorry Pop. I swear, I didn't mean to."

The mare came over and dried the remnants of th e dribble from his mouth with a cloth from one of the saddlebags, chuckling a little as she heard the dragon fumbling around with his words and apologies.

"I know you silly thing. Relax, and get back on your feet.You have our bits, and it's about time that we pay and get on our way. Your parents didn't sound like the kind who were all too happy about waiting."

Honestly, she could wait to meet them, but it might as well get done, now that they finally had some neutral ground to meet on, and they really should let the baker family get back to business, rather than overstay their welcome. Surely, regular customers were going to come in soon, and it wouldn't be nice to have them wait because the two of them were blabbering on for hours and hours.

"Yeah yeah, you're right... Heh, of course you're right Pop. Thanks for keeping the other cakes on the ready ma'am. What do we owe you?"

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

 

@Dji @Seamore Sandwich @Moonlit

Sadly for the Siren, last didn't miss the rippling int he water, even if it slowed down. Quite frankly, it just made her more suspicious.

Much as you might think it, her eyesight wasn't that bad from not having depth perception. She had spent years getting used to this, and could function roughly the same as others,a nd she were attentive to small details. At the shrine they basically had to, in case a spy lurked in the bushes, or one of their comrades turned out to be a changeling infiltrator. Both situations which required them to react swiftly, before they would end up knee-deep in trouble of one or the other kind.

"Stay behind me Princess Sparkle."

Though she wasn't in a fighting health, she still withdrew the sword burning in white flames, and stuck the handle in her muzzle, ready to strike. She had always been prepared to die for the throne, and in case this were some kind of monster, she would defend the princess with her life, even if it wasn't the one she had sworn allegiance too.

"Whoever is in the river, show yourself, or I will strike first and ask later."

There was a chance this was a creature who understood Equine, so she would speak first, then if that didn't work, approach. Hopefully she wouldn't have to actually strike, as she didn't want to risk her stitches going up, but they would see what this would end up being. Hopefully just a pony who were out practicing swimming, or some kind of weird otter.

She didn't believe it was what stuck its head up from the water though. The squirrel-like creature were too small to create the waves. Plus, even reared up like this and making some rude gestures towards the two of them, what was below were still moving.

Edited November 22, 2017 by Blitz Boom

[The Resident Brony 60]

@Blitz Boom

"Im not that arrogant. I know there are forces I cannot defeat, even with my abilities. I know that I cannot defeat the Bishop of Sin."

Vic sighed loudly and stopped moving

"I just like hearing everypony's arguments, hearing what they have to say."

[Moonlit 593]

@Dji @Blitz Boom @Seamore Sandwich Serenade swore in her head, she was running out of options. "♪I will not show myself but I assure you I mean neither you nor Princess Sparkle any harm♪.With your leave I will resume my swim♪" Serenade tenses her whole body, just in case. 

[genessee 535]

@Blitz Boom

"I'll just stick to an apple, thanks."

Lance took up one of the red fruits and bit down. He figured one apple won't cost too much, though what worried him was if Berry took too much and he couldn't pay for it all. That would be the worst.

[BloodDrops 762]

2 hours ago, Blitz Boom said:

Okay, so... This had gone better than he expected, before turning to becoming one of the most terrifying things he could imagine.

On the plus side, the fishing had gone pretty well. Blood were apparently one of the lucky fishers who got something on the hook often, and even he managed to catch some and slide towards her. It felt horrible to be part of ending a life like this, but he had to chose between these and his fellow ponies, and even without being a guard, he couldn't choose an animal.

Then on the bad part... He wasn't entirely sure, but it had sounded like the monster mare was hitting on him, and quite honestly, he'd rather tongue a cactus than so much as touch her. She was an evil creature who sounded like she had lives on her consciousness, and he wasn't even sure if she had one of those, considering how little life seemed to matter to her.

Then for some reason, she had fallen asleep pretty much next to him, though he moved several steps away. As mentioned, he did not want to touch her, and have her infect him with whatever he were sure she carried. Or gnawing on him in her sleep for that matter. He needed his legs, not a stump with bite marks.

So now he were here, with an evil creature, bound to serve in whatever was he were ordered to, and no idea what to do with himself.

So he just stood there, silently, and waited until something happened, even if that took hours.

*sigh* He missed the good old times where he only had to worry about the forepony killing him... Life seemed much kinder then.

Blood Drops snorted and woke herself up after about half a hour of dozing, she blinked trying to remember the dream she had, though she couldn't quite remember it. She blinked and looked over at Sloppy "Sloppy get your mare-friend a snack, shes hungry" I remarked to my servant letting out a yawn. I then shook myself and rose up before going over to sloppy and trying to give him a kiss.

Blood had woken up in a flirting mood, no that there was anything wrong with that. 

[Sekel 694]

@Moonlit & @Blitz Boom & @Seamore Sandwich

TWILIGHT SPARKLE

Twilight took a couple steps back from the sudden protectiveness of Last Stand. While she could very well protect herself, it was a kind gesture from a pony she had just met. Twilight looked over Last’s shoulder and blinked at the smal creature with the rude gestures. She was about to say something but stopped and blinked at hearing a somewhat familiar melodic tone. “A Siren?” Twilight asked out loud as she tilted her head. “But that’s ... Sirens shouldn’t be around here.”

[~Phoenix~ 196]

@Blitz Boom 

although Phoenix didn't want to admit it, getting everything out like she had just done felt... good. it was almost as if a great pressure had been relieved. although she'd be hard pressed to talk about it more, doing so in the future might not be such a terrible idea. although half of her mind still wanted to deny it, she knew she felt something towards Smokey, or was beginning to at the very least. heck, she might have spoken up about it right then and there if Grim weren't around. although he seemed very trustworthy, she might prefer if it were just between Smokey and herself. for now, she would just go along with things. 

when the tray of various fruits was placed in front of her, she cocked her head a bit in curiosity. she were able to find some wild fruits in the woods, for sure, but never has she seen or even heard of many of the fruits that were currently in front of her. she was almost tempted to ditch whatever smokey was trying to tell her and just go at it like an animal, but she knew that these fruits were probably not easy to come by, and she should probably taste them one by one to get familiar with it, instead of a rude cacophony of flavors if she were to just shove half a dozen of them at once into her maw. 

she took them in the precise order that Smokey had instructed, making sure to begin with the right one. she really couldn't put any names on any of the small cubes of fruit, so she merely followed Smokey's lead. a royal blue aura surrounded the cubes of strawberry and banana, carrying them right to Phoenix's muzzle. she gently began to chew on them, letting the boldness of the strawberry and the subtlety of the banana dance around each other in her mouth. how dare she never have heard of these fruits before? they were simply divine! she only wished she could have had more. but then again, she did. her brief remorse over having no more strawberry and banana was quickly replaced by excitement with the fact that there were more unheard of fruits right in front of her! 

her mood appeared to brighten immediately as she moved on to the next bit of fruit. eventually, and without any care for consequence, Phoenix began to eat them in whichever order she desired, simply going towards whichever one caught her eye next. some of them appeared to please her, while others caused her to seem a tad confused, as if she were unsure whether or not she enjoyed it. 

 

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

@Blitz Boom @Widdershins @Foxy Socks

 

Rainbowdash released her arm from around Foxy, and stood in front of her "so i guess we're just hanging out here for a while, yeah?" she said casually as she found a nearby seat and made herself comfortable, stretching her wings a bit before she folded them back at her sides. she knew that Rarity was probably a bit busy, but she had no issues with waiting around a bit for her friend. after all, Foxy seemed like she would enjoy it a little if she stuck around. "So then, Foxy... tell me a bit about yourself" she said with an awkward smile, trying ever so vigilantly to begin a conversation. 

Edited November 23, 2017 by ~Phoenix~

[EQ_Theta 460]

@Blitz Boom @Shineling

Lin sighed once more in disappointment, this time making it more apparent. Sen walked toward Clayton and the Refraction to monitor their progress, hoping another solution would come to him at that instant. The former took this moment to reassess anything that could've interfered with this magic not working properly. She went into the mine, got Omen out minus a piece of her that was broken off and left behind, and she was released from her crystalline casing. This didn't seem to add up to what she's noticing right that moment. She was quiet, much more so now that she took a look further back to their first instance entering the mines, or the first time getting out. 

She looked to her brother and called out in a stern voice. "Sen, you told Discord to use his magic to get the rest of the ponies out of the mine, didn't you?"

"Yeah, I did." Sen firmly replied. 

"You knew no to do that! And you did it anyway?! What were you thinking?!" Lin marched up to her brother and looked at him straight in the eyes, confronting him over his previous actions. For a moment, she might have had something figured out but given how she might have come to that conclusion, she felt her anger building up. 

"What does this have to do with Omen?"

"You nearly got me and Clayton trapped in there! If we were, then getting Omen's body out of the mines would be the only thing left. You couldn't wake her up and we'd be stuck here trying to figure out how to solve a problem that didn't need to happen! You nearly jeopardized all of our efforts because of your short-sighted thinking!"

Two continued to argue, their voices growing louder until they didn't notice anything else around and near them. At that moment, Clayton and his friends, Discord.... they didn't seem to be there. And certainly, they missed the twitching from Omen's leg. 

[Storm Shine 1,196]

@Blitz Boom @EQ_Theta

Discord, having been keeping an eye on Omen, did not miss the twitchy leg. "Hmm..." Discord hummed to himself and began keeping a closer eye on Omen with a pair of opera glasses made from milk chocolate. He was quickly forced to just keep a normal eye on her again, however, after eating said opera glasses.

[Foxy Socks 2,599]

@Blitz Boom @Widdershins @~Phoenix~

"Well... I love animals... You know Fluttershy right? It's the same thing. My favorite animals are foxes, and are my main focus. As you can see... I kind of resemble one myself..." Foxy started, her nervousness fading as she went on. "...I'm a simple pony. I study and help animals, it's my job, and I love it. Recently I met a few new ponies, Briar and Brittle, along with Anomaly, who isn't 'here' right now. I came here to have something repaired, and then while waiting we met you."

 

She continued, "They may not be ponies you see everyday, but they are kind. I am different myself of course, mostly in looks." Foxy hadn't ever worried about her looks, though she wondered what others think of her at times.
 

[Holiday Agnaktor 1,436]

@Windchime

Light Rain mentally face-hoofed when Avabella just kind of believed the lie without any suspicions. She had even mentioned the heavy weightlifting! That decided it. Whatever Light Rain did from now on, she wasn't ever going to get caught. Ponies were not looking out for lies, not even a little bit. If Avabella believed that she was a delivery pony, then she could lie her way out of anything.

When Avabella asked her if she wanted more tea, she accepted almost immediately with a quick "Oh! Yes please!". Maybe that came over as a little too eager for something as simple as a cup of tea, but it wasn't like Avabella was going to read too much into it. Plus, the tea was really good. It had hints of the taste of love in it, which was very nice, even though it didn't actually fill her up at all.

So now that she knew that there was 0 chance of getting caught, she could get a little riskier with her questions. Once she had gotten her next cup of tea, she asked "So, uh, what's the public opinion on changelings, and in what direction is it moving right now?". She noticed that talking was a lot easier when she didn't risk discovery if she chose one wrong word. Plus, Avabella didn't seem like the judging type. Maybe she was, but it was nicer to pretend she wasn't.

[Blitz Boom 4,640]

@Foxy Socks @~Phoenix~ @Widdershins

"In our band, she is considered the pretty one."

Briar chuckled a little to himself. He knew he had decided not to interfere, but him and Brittle - who seemed to be cautiously focused on Rainbow - had been mentioned, so he thought that perhaps it would be acceptable to jest a little about things. He had heard mentions of colt-bands before that had phrases about them similar to what he had said, and though he knew that they had no colts technically in their entourage, it had seemed like an appropriate comment for him in the moment. Hopefully it would be okay.

He didn't have time to say more though, as the door started to creak open, and a frustrated stallion's voice broke into things.

"Ouch, stop it, I- Auw, Opened up. Get in- Bloody hay! Get inside you monst- Ow ow ow!"

Whoever it were, seemed to be continuously hit by something that caused the outbursts of pain, including at the end, when something rapidly went at him as he were trying to call out his attacker. Whimpering and moans could be heard after, but it may well be drowned out by the sound of flapping wings, as Agni pushed herself in through the door opening and with a screech,announced to her company that she were here. Much to the dismay of Briar's sensitive ears, and Brittle's anxieties, that caused her to make a panicked transformation into something resembling a soaked pillow with teeth.

The young phoenix had left the lot of them for a short while to go rest without the noise of ponies around her constantly, and had woken up not too long ago, and went looking for Foxy. She had found her just as her and the others had gone into Rarity's shop, and had almost hit the door as her hurry to try to get in before the door locked.

She had attempted to just set fire to the door to pass through, but Zhu's spell had left her severely drained, and she couldn't must more than a few weak embers that did nothing against the door. She had then tried clawing, looking for open windows etc. - she had missed Rainbow's attempt to enter as she were behind the house at the time - and had eventually come back here, and saw a stallion standing around and looking for somepony.

She had not been too kind to him. She had clawed into his mane and pulled the surprised pony towards the door, then screeched and hacking him in the head with her beak to make him open it, which he had, though not before getting quite a battering to his scalp.

She didn't care though. She had found who she were looking for, and after her outburst, she would seek to land on the mare's head once more, and look around her with a general look of irritation. It had not been a fun day for the bird, and she might well end up pecking anypony who would get too close to her without caution.

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

 

@Storm Shine @EQ_Theta

Whilst Sen and Lin were arguing, Omen would slowly begin to twitch a few more times, whilst the light came back into her pale eyes.

After a few minutes, she would raise her head and look confused around herself, and at everything that went on, before settling on her master. Discord being here seemed really weird, but that wasn't why her focus was on him over the others. It was just that with everything that had happened, she weren't sure what to think or say, or what was going on right now, and her base instinct told her to question her master.

Her curious, confused glance was not followed by words, but just silence as she also started to rise up. It gave off a little sound, but so did the next miner who got freed from his crystal prison, and the Refraction's outburst of energy upwards. It was entirely possible that Sen and Lin didn't even notice she had gotten back on her hooves, just like the unnamed, scaled creature hadn't. It just went on to the next miner, whilst Clayton kept his focus on who had gotten loose. Another old friend from a time past, who had questions and worries about what was going on, just like the other two had had.

Back on her hooves, Omen would keep her unblinking gaze on Discord, and silently stare at him, looking for answers from the one who had given her form and taken her into this world all of those years ago. It might be that she had declined coming back into his service as a full time servant when they had found him not too long ago, but that did not mean that his opinion was nothing to her. He were still her master, and in a time of need, the second one she would seek answers from. The first being Mother, but Discord was here, and Mother wasn't,, so she went with him first.

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

 

@~Phoenix~

Now, that was more like it.

Grim smiled to himself as he looked at the two youngsters, going through the fruits in their own order and tempo, but at least doing it together, whilst SMokey tried to tell her what the different things she was eating was. He was getting slow in it, as she were going through the plate quickly, though he still had the time to pick up if he kept talking. Plus, this gave Grim the time he needed to finish the dish.

He could smell it just as it were done. It might not be the fancy feasts that Smokey sometimes enjoyed, but Grim was his butler, not his regular cook. That one had to be called in and given some prep time for something extraordinary. Him on the other hoof, would make a good, homely meal instead. Originally he had made a double ration so that he could sit with and have a talk with Smokey on how his latest escapades had gone, but with Phoenix joining in, he would wait. It were better to get these two fed, especially when you looked how ravenous she were right now.

Picking some bowls in the nearby cabinet, Grim turned off the stove and poured the rich stew into the two, before cracking some garlic bread into two, large pieces, and add gently to the top of the bowl. It rested well against the edge, without a current look of tipping over, so that was good. Doubly so if Phoenix did not have any nut allergies. If so, this meal could end up becoming a nightmare rather than a boon.

"If I may interrupt, here you go."

He put down the bowls and a couple of spoons just as Smokey were starting to try and explain why they had passion fruit in the garden - basically, Rose were good at what she did. He then took the plated of the two of them, and slowly slid them away, just in case the young lady wished to take something more from it before he got it completely out of sight.

After depositing them near the sink, he would go back and pull out the Cherry Wine from before, top the two's glasses off, and then give them both a bow before leaving the room. The last thing he would utter were "Hope you enjoy" before he were out and had closed the door, finally leaving both of them alone.

"Huh, and here I thought he would stay in case we needed him. Perhaps he wanted us to have a moment for ourselves, hmm?"

Smokey looked at Phoenix with a somewhat entranced look in his eyes. It was clear that he certainly didn't mind having some alone time with Phoenix. It were not the romantic dinner he had thought about inviting her to when he were in the shower, but every journey of a thousand miles, would start with a single step. Perhaps in due time, he would reach the goal, and have her join him at an extravagant restaurant wearing a stunning dress. Candle light would illuminate her face, making her yes sparkle even more as they met eachother's stare...

A dreamy look went over Smokey's eyes, as he thought further on the dream night that he had imagined earlier. He'd look a little stupid doing this honestly, but the only one here who could wipe the goofy grin off his face were currently in front of him, and who knew what - if anything - she would do to interfere with his little dream scenario.

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

 

@Moonlit @Dji @Seamore Sandwich

Siren.

It would be a joke to say that where she came from, they were highly educated. With having to spend most of their life fighting, many generations of Last's family, and every other one at the shrine, they mostly only had basics. Math helped with calculating their supplies, shots fired versus remained, etc. Reading and writing was good for marking maps, finding weapons int he right areas, and so on and so forth. They knew basically what they could include to survive, with little to no time for stories and foal-friendly entertainment.

However, they did get read goodnight stories at the early ages, and among those, a good deal tended to be about strife, fighting, and the glory of the throne. One of those tales so happened to be about the Siren sisters, which were one of the more popular stories actually. parents usually found it a good tale to teach their young ones about a need to control their anger, and not fight with one another if it wasn't friendly, and the foals liked it because of the pictures and giant monsters.

Eventually, they wouldn't be near a book again unless they ended up reading it for their own foals, and the memories would be all they had to go by. Which unfortunately for Serenade, were still fresh enough in last's mind to know what to think of the melodic creature.

"I will not let you leave, monster. Ponyville have suffered enough without having to face the likes of you."

Adrenaline pumped through her veins, making it hard to try and calm herself, but she had to try the hardest she could. If she had to face the creature, she couldn't be allowed to use her own emotions against her, and then feed on the rubble as she did something stupid. She had to focus here if she were to keep the princess safe, and regardless of how little this seemed to affect Twilight Sparkle, she would take this deadly serious.

It might be that the attack on town had forced Last to rethink some things that she had thought about Changelings, considering how helpful they had been, but Sirens were another deal, and if Serenade would try and swim away, Last would throw caution to the wind and strike first. She would not be allowed near Ponyville unless the princess approved of it, and what would the odds be of that?

Serenade might want to get to the surface soon though, regardless. It might be that having them see the injured Zegasus on her back would be bad, but then again, so would it be to have Ziggy drown. It might be that the Mimic and Siren were able to breathe underwater, but she certainly couldn't.

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

 

@BloodDrops

Nonononono, not in a million years, no.

That was the thoughts going through Slappy's head as he backed down from her approach and scrambled to keep on his hooves.

"I-I-I will get you a snack, r-right away. There's still s-some fish and... I-I saw different f-fruit earlier. I will be b-back in a few minutes. i s-swear."

With that stammering excuse, he ran off towards Ponyville as quickly as he could, feeling almost as pale as he had when he thought that the sickly mare had killed the shop keeper. Quite the sight for the citizens, but nothing they would remark about to his face so far, as he sped past them, went over to the food stand and bumped into a mare in his haste of grabbing two apples and a banana.

He didn't think of apologizing as he sped off again, back towards Blood before she would follow him into town again. This place was packed about now, and if she went in here, she might end up eating somepony. That was a horrible thought, though a second one about her cannibalistic lips touching him started to come in as a close second. Brrr, just the thought alone made him shiver down to his bones.

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

 

@genessee

"Geez, what got his chains rattling?"

Berry had dropped her apple sandwich when the young guard had hit her with quite the bit of speed behind him, and then run off again, looking like he had seen a ghost. She still picked up her sandwich and just brushed it off a little before continuing to eat it, so it wasn't that big of a deal, but still, rude.

"He's lucky the food's free at the parlor during the rebuilding, or he'd be in a world of trouble with his captain."

Getting a bit of earth in her muzzle stopped her chewing for a moment, before she shrugged and went back to it. It still tasted good, and a bi of dirt didn't hurt you. Not from around here anyway. Now, fourteen point 3 meters down though? Oh boy, what one was different.

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

 

@The Resident Brony

"Her words are madness, and her sermons will make your very being scream as it grows darker. And that is if she doesn't just kill you, which she may well do, considering her distaste for regular mortals.

I've known demons that could not bear the evil she could infect with words alone, and you? You are too pure, even with a little blood on your hooves.If death won't be your fate, she may just take enjoyment in making you as vile as could be, and force you to join her flock."

Vivid clutched her chest and gnashed her teeth, before looking at him with a more pleading, heartfelt look mixing in with the anger and worry.

"You have no idea what it's like to have a dark soul, or to feel it be twisted and burned in unholy fire. I do. I was... One of my former masters were the former ruler of the Veil. He imbued me with power from there, and I know how it can corrupt, and tear you into pieces, until evil starts to become enjoyable to you. The Bishop is far worse than he is, and her mastery greater. Your core will drown in madness, and you will kill indiscriminately with joy in your heart.

So please, for the love of everything, learn from somepony who knows at least a little of the process, and the one behind it. Don't seek her out, and don't think she can be brought to justice. The only justice in Hell, have been sleeping for a long, long time."

She would move again after that, wanting to get out of here, and if the Alicorn were smart, he would heed her warning this time, and toss away the idea of speaking with the Bishop.

Instead, perhaps he might bite notice in something she said. Specifically, how she knew what it was like to go through the corruption, and feel joy in being evil. What might she have done, that she knew that, and seemed to be so distraught over the thought of another pony going through it?

[genessee 535]

@Blitz Boom

"Whoa! You okay?... Oh, uh."

Lance watched as Berry munched down on her whipped-apple-cream-sandwich without even thoroughly brushing off the dirt while saying something about-- 

"Wait, free? Really?"

 

[Moonlit 593]

@Dji @Blitz Boom @Seamore Sandwich "♪Oh Ponyfeathers♪" Serenade looks at the pair, before quickly looking around. She sighs, "♪Luna forgive me♪" With all her strength she leaps onto the far bank. Both Last and Princess Twilight see an adult Siren with the creature and an injured Pegasi on her back, the area bathed in the blue glow of her bio-luminescent scales. "♪as I said earlier, I mean neither you nor Princess Sparkle any harm, allow me to take Zi..this Pegasi to the hospital and I will be on my way♪". She really hoped she didn't have to fight, especially against the Princess of Friendship. 

[The Resident Brony 60]

@Blitz Boom

Invictus began to cry

"Such evil....such cruelty....such corruption. If the Bishop is that powerful, I would try to avoid that as much as possible. Vivid Loss, I thank you...for keeping me away from that THING."

Invictus is bawling his eyes out now

[FanOfManyShows 396]

@Blitz Boom

Astral nodded as she walked with Chow. "Might be able to get more things seen if we walk slower." She said with a smile. Seeming more cheerful as the worry of Sapphire slipped away.  "Or we can just book it if things get dire, again."

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

Warlocked closed his eyes, standing still as Athriel sliced at the vines, he sighed, despite how close he was, being able to sense the element was still impossible. He could only sense his own element, along with depression. His temptation to draw magic out of the temple grew. He lifted a hoof and tried to extract magic from the temple, hopefully magic that might be holding the element away. Or even the near limitless magic from the element itself. Digging deep for the magic, any magic he could find, any tiny miniscule spells, he'd take. "Whichever element it is, we'll need it."

===================================================================================================
Iron Wing paused his steps at Zhu's talking. "There's many times I've hurt innocent ponies for the greater good." He continued walking, the feather never getting closer to Zhu, but just lingering there. "Something a guard or general does often." As he guided Zhu with his feather, he spent his time walking, recalling the times he hurt ponies when Chrysalis was banished the first time, fearing a changeling managed to survive the force field that banished them. But that fear was long gone now, just a worry that he may need to do it again with Nectar, or Chrysalis.

Eventually guiding Zhu to a guard at the dungeon, who seemed to wear armor, of a different enchantment, seeming to be an attempt to recreate nullification magic, although wouldn't do any good against large amounts of magic. His helmet seeming very Viking like in its design, except the horns went downwards, moving close to the helmet at the end. He held a trident in his hoof, lifting his armored head to look at Zhu. "An unlikely prisoner." He said, glancing at Iron Wing. "What brings him here?"

"He assaulted two guards."

He lowered his head and shook it. "Shame, hope they can recover." He opened the door, guiding the two towards a cell, with border of the cell having the same nullification enchantment as his own armor. "So you're a general now?" He asked, opening the cell and guiding Zhu in with his trident. "Was this recent?" Iron Wing nodded. "I see. Guards must've been to busy to notify me." He said, closing the cell once Zhu got inside, making sure to lock it. "Such a position being put on you so soon would weigh anypony down with the need to keep that position in a positive light." He said, looking to Wing. "Hopefully you will do good in the position."

He smiled a little, looking to the cell, seeing his feather still near Zhu. "Oh almost forgot about that." His feather flew through the bars of the jail cell, going back into his wing. "Well got to go and notify Dew about this guy."

The guard nodded, looking to Zhu briefly. With knowing eyes, He'd seen Zhu before, perhaps even spoke to him. But he didn't dwell on that too long before he walked to his position at the dungeon entrance.
===================================================================================================
Francis looked to her and giggled at her little joke, while Nectar nodded. "Glad to hear we were able to help." Scars on her body started to heal more, along with some small cuts, a process certainly visible to the two ponies.

Francis wasn't sure about feeding on a pony, it was still going to just be him opening his mouth and sucking out the love, which would drain the mare, and of course, transforming into a reformed changeling wouldn't go well in his condition. He'd likely float up with the broken legs and everything, but he'd come out completely healed as a plus. Although he would have a very odd color scheme. On of his wings fluttered as a tear down them pulled together, healing completely, repairing his wing with no scars, another cut on his leg pulled together and healed in a similar manner. But the bandage over it would cover the process up. He wasn't feeding like usual this time, he was sharing the love much like the other changelings would. "Well I wouldn't mind a pie later." He said with a smile.  "Do you make pie?" He asked, tilting his head.

[~Phoenix~ 196]

@Blitz Boom

as Phoenix continued eating all of the fruits, the thoughts were still swirling around in her mind. it wasn't something that was easy to come to terms with, but after spending a lot of time with him, she was most definitely growing attached. she could see herself traveling with him more, and joining him on his adventures. it would be a lot more interesting than her dinky little camp in the woods. in fact, although she had called it home for years, she already wasn't missing it. she had no personal possessions to leave behind, besides what she had gathered to survive. and it looks like she didn't need it here. but then she began to ponder more. how long was she going to live here? she couldn't simply live here for free. although she was sure Smokey could support it, she wouldn't want to disrespect him like that. 

her train of thought was put to an abrupt halt as the plate of fruits, which was now empty, was removed from in front of her, and replaced with a delicious looking bowl of vegetable stew. as the scent wafted into her nasal cavities, she couldn't help but lick her lips. it was absolutely the object of her attention for the time being. her horn began to glow with it's normal royal blue aura, and the spoon began to levitate from the bowl, surrounded by the same aura. she had gotten on it a hefty scoop, and shoveled it right into her maw. it very much contrasted the fruits, in that it was so savory as opposed to sweet. Phoenix seemed to really like it. in fact, she had almost never had anything this good in her entire life. if she weren't the pony that she were, she might have gotten a little emotional over the fact. 

after the thoughts of the stew had a chance to simmer in her mind, the thoughts from earlier began to resurface. and she couldn't go much longer without asking. it was a dumb question, or at least Phoenix thought it was, but it was one she had no answer for herself "so... how long am i going to stay here with you?" she asked as she looked up into Smokey's eyes, realizing that he seemed to be off in a distant world of his own. she could definitely get used to living in a place like this. what kind of pony wouldn't? but, she absolutely didn't want to be a burden. "i would hate to outlast my welcome..." she added. perhaps she would talk to Smokey about her feelings another time. 

[Storm Shine 1,196]

@Blitz Boom @EQ_Theta

Discord smirked slightly as he hovered upside down, looking towards Omen. "Welcome back Omen." He greeted her, "You had us all a bit worried there." The master of chaos righted himself in the air as he continued, "I'm not certain exactly what sort of mishap you've managed to find yourself in, but you were encased in Changeling Emeralds and some of your essence managed to get stuck inside of a Runic Orb. Your little Refraction over there helped find and retrieve both the Orb and yourself." He explained briefly, giving a nod towards the draconian creature. "While your friends managed to figure out where you were and free your essence." He pointed at the two arguing (or formerly arguing, depending on whether or not they stopped by now) siblings.

[Windchime 184]

@Blitz Boom

"Come on, Benny. Your metaphorical oasis in a wide, dry desert that is my complete and utter lack of something to write about has been drained by my co-workers, unless you still have something to say that you haven't said so far" Striking Detail said downtrodden as he walked away from the typewriters. He opened the door with his hoof, but didn't bother to push it open. Instead, he left it ajar and simply kept walking. What then happened is that the horns that slightly protruded from Detail's face pushed the door open neatly and he could pass in one smooth-ish movement. He beckoned the dragon to follow, and thought about the office's lobby, where he, if there was no need for sleep, would spend more time in living than his own home. "I know a room in this building that's more luxurious than the best apartment I can afford working here. And if I lose this job, I will lose both of these places to stay in, so we better think of something." 

If there's one thing that his horns aren't good for, is thinking of something. For some reason, they're only good for gut instincts. Come think, Detail now is pretty sure that, other than hunger, he does in fact not feel any gut instincts in his gut anymore, as if his horns communicated that they would take over that job. Why, oh why would it then be replaced by headaches? Detail did not look in front of him as he walked to the lobby in an almost automated fashion, ignoring the helper ponies struggling with transporting coffee, ink and paper. Sunken deep in thoughts as to what he could write about, he hoped that the dragon could come up with a story that would place him in the papers. But if there was something he needed right now, it was an oatmeal biscuit. "Benny, do you have any ideas?" he asked, as he might as well. It's not like he could ask the changelings themselves.

A headache built.

@Holiday Agnaktor

Avabella smiled at the young mare in front of her enjoying tea as much as she did, and poured with respect, ending the pouring with a little flourish letting a last droplet of tea create ripples on the surface.

Ripples. She heard the question, and started thinking how to bring this diplomatically. In an effort to buy time, she decided to levitate a biscuit and inspect that first. Being slightly opinionated, and definitely aware of that, she now had to make a decision based on professionalism. In a business influencing public image on a large scale, you can't help but start to worry about your own.

Would this mousy, tea-loving delivery mare tell on her if she went for the honest truth? Or would she not have to worry about word coming out? She briefly thought about the dragon in this very building that would command her to tell this mare otherwise, but went against her gut to tell her the truth anyway.

She started pouring her own second cup as she formulated her answer. "Unlike what the guard would like you to believe, integration into our society which is based on trust and friendship is going more rigidly than projected. We, the paper, as public influencers, are obviously obligated by the guard's programs to tell a good story. Truth be told, me and most of the writers recently got bitter leads lately. One that tells of misdeeds in the city, yet again rumors of changeling attacks popping up around the city. I considered what to do. Lie to the ponies, and say everything is all-right with every changeling they meet, in the hopes of bettering their public image? Or expose dirty deeds, and that nobody's fully safe from them?

But that's our side. I'm still tasked with improving their image regardless of these attacks. And surprise, surprise. Asking the entire population to trust a species especially known for their malicious usage of near-perfect shape-shifting is a very high standard". Finishing her story, Avabella then noticed she almost over-poured her cup of tea and quickly tilted the pot upright again, lacking any subtlety or flourish. Sheepishly, she then put down the pot.

She bit into the oatmeal biscuit and gazed into the distance in reflection. "I don't know how I would react if I saw a changeling. I'd like to say I never have, but you don't know anymore nowadays. For all I know, you could be one!" Avabella chuckled. "As delivery mare, you must have gone to all sorts of places. Do you have any changeling stories? You could get them featured in the papers, if you want".