open Casual stroll

[The Resident Brony 60]

@Blitz Boom

Invictus picked up the sword and sheathed it

"Celestia save me, I'm a complete idiot. What was I thinking?"

He turned to Vivid, tears welling up in his eyes over his stupidity

"Shall we be off, Vivid?"

 

 

 

[EQ_Theta 459]

@Blitz Boom @Storm Shine

"And you suppose the promise of immortality had something to do with the pony with the strange crystal horn or was it the bauble's magic that could do that? I'm tempted to believe if the bauble's magic could grant immortality, then whoever you met in there won't hold up her end of the bargain and keep it for herself instead of giving it to brother. That is the kind of thing some will strive to obtain but not knowing the consequences."

Lin walked off a little more confused but she wished to think about she learned and to see if any of it can be pieced together to form a more complete picture. As for Sen, what he heard earlier about wanting to be given immortality left him quiet shocked and a little terrified. He knew he had his issues to work on but hearing about how the solution to those was something he was disturbed about. Perhaps he was the one to blame for driving Omen to this conclusion? He might have given her the wrong impression. 

"Omen, about what you did," Sen sat next to Omen and started with a worried tone in his voice. "It's not that I don't appreciate what you tried to do but... immortality? I'm not sure that's what I need. Or want."

He let out a sigh and paused for a moment to figure out how to word what he wants to say without coming off as offensive or derisive of what Omen wanted to do. He knows her intentions were pure but it may not have been a well-thought out one.

"Granting someone immortality is a big change and well, not everyone likes the idea of being able to live forever. Let me put it like this: suppose someone could live forever, makes friends, and grows fond of them. Then they realize they can't be with them because their friends aren't immortal and one day, they'll grow old and pass away. They'll be sad about their friends being a reminder of what they'll lose because one day, they'll go away and the one left behind can't follow them."

Sen's voice wavered and grew heavy as he spoke the last line. He hopes he wouldn't have to experience that at all, immortality or no. 

"I guess what I'm trying to say is immortality might sound good at first but if I live forever and everyone I love won't be there with me, then being immortal isn't such a good thing."

Edited December 7, 2017 by EQ_Theta

[FanOfManyShows 396]

@Blitz Boom

Astral got the message and chuckled and walked into the kitchen. "Well I forgot, been a stressful day." She looked at the floor. "Although knowing that, I also forgot the pattern that was required for opening the door." She said, turning around to Chow. "Do you remember?"

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

Warlock snickered at the voice. "I wouldn't really call it an illusion if I can see past it, but good try." He closed his eyes as his ethereal form left his body, as he flew to the direction of the voice, hoping to find the source. Hoping this creature would not be able to achieve ethereal form and fight him. But if he did find the creature, he could blast a hole straight to it, but in the meantime time slowed almost to a crawl around him, as the ethereal plane had slower time, which gave Warlock way more time there.

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

He nodded before heading back to the room for the Princesses, his time as a guard made it much easier to forget his comrades in battle, but now he was general, so it was more important as he was ordering around these guards himself. Once he arrived he'd make sure they were okay, even if they already awoke.

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

Misty giggled a little as she apologized. "It is alright I would have confused them for a couple myself, and I do believe they may take a while, they tend to."

[BloodDrops 762]

22 hours ago, Blitz Boom said:

Nerzhei narrowed her eyes even from the first response the zombiefied pony gave.

"My wings were a birth right, not a result of magic and choice.

Furthermore, me eating prey to survive is not the same as mindless death. I only take what I need to survive, and that is barely anything to begin with."

Much as she had eaten an entire fish on Dragon land, there were a few factor that made it differently from then now. One being that she haden't eaten in a few days by that time, and the other that non-magical crystals were more abundant in Equestria, so she had the option of feasting on those. Not all of them, as certain groups were rare and held act5ual value, but some of them could be taken literally out of the ground or a cliff side and eaten, already cut. It was strange, but she didn't complain over semi-free food, and the less she had to hunt the better for her relations with Lyriel. Her Dryad associate wouldn't like too much hunting, even if she understood the natural order of predator and prey.

"And you know as well as I do that handing you over to the authorities wouldn't work. Either they wouldn't believe me, or they'd take you in, and you'd infect the whole town one way or another. It is regrettably better to let you wander, even if I'd rather have you in a leash, tied to a rock and just keep you fed enough to survive. An unsustainable option unfortunately."

Hearing the comment about socks made the Dragoness take another swig from the bottle from the headache that comment were trying to give her. Wearing clothes when you didn't have to wasn't something she could judge on since she did the same, even if her were far more practical than socks. The part about the exact number for some reason just struck a nerve in her that made the mental image of her face palming stir in her head.

The comment about Blood being intelligent always made her give out small snort of smoke though, and brought her mind further away from the migraine that was trying to settle.

"I saw you breaking into a house of explosives and trying to lit everything in there on fire several times. Unless you're suicidal, you can't convince me that you are always intelligent when I've seen that, and several other things that would categorize you as an impulse-driven sloth. I doubt your acting is that good when several of those things could have decimated you.

But that's besides the point. You're dangerous, and I frankly don't think letting you within fifteen miles of civilization is good. If I could safely touch you, I would..."

An idea popped into her head. It was rather low brow, but since she didn't have any other ideas, perhaps she did have something she could do to make things more safely. Though as forcing Blood could end up disastrous for her and everyone else in the end, she had to try and be *nice* to the mare. Dreadful.

"Have you thought about armor? Touching someone is dangerous, but what if you're clad in metal? Will that get infectious as well?

And the guard is going to have some adjustment issues. Mind magic is tricky, and I don't want to leave him a vegetable, so he better hope the guard have great psychologists."

Frankly she didn't want to help Blood in any capacity, but she had to try something. if not this, then what, report it to the princess that apparently had a great knowledge of magic?

...She needed another sip of elixir...

 

Blood frowned as she listened to the dragon rumble on, she rolled her eyes at the mention of the fireworks. "I had a lapse of concentration, it happens every now and again and i make a bad decision" I remarked frowning at the dragon. I frowned and blinked as she continued one of her ramblings. I blinked as she mumbled about wearing armour and started thinking. "Well i can't see how it can be infectious, though where am I going to get armour from? I can't exactly walk into the royal guard post and just pick myself some up, I would end up being stopped and probably have to physically force my way in" I remarked to her.

I frown and blink at Slappy, he was wearing his suit of armour, she frowned and blinked before smiling. "Well I suppose Slappy could give me his armour for me to wear or try to steal a second set. Though if hes caught doing that he will probably be kicked of the guards, so it might be better if he lost it, thats not a kick-able offence" I add blinking at Slappy and Nerzhei. "Though what do guard ponies do all day? Just patrol around and talk? Seems easy enough I suppose" I remarked with a snort.

"It's also better then me walking around naked, and risk infecting ponies by bumping into them by mistake. So I'm happy to wear armour as long as it fits ok" I remarked blinking at Slappy and sizing him up. "yeah that armour should fit, so it seems there is just one thing to be done"

"Slappy, Strip"  

[Victoria Sponge 1,017]

Victoria looked down at her front left hoof and pushed it back and forth on the paving slab, creating little clouds of dust.

"Hmm, I guess helping you wouldn't hurt... and... I suppose I don't dislike you two... as much as I used to."

She continued to avoid their gaze and casually flicked her mane so it covered her left eye instead of her right, gently neatening it with her hoof.

"Your directions weren't terrible, for someone who doesn't know the area... You just need to go right at Cloudstriker... not left. Now let's go before I actually say something nice to you, and before that little brat shows up with her constantly flitting about..."

Though she seemed to know the way she was confident that her directions would suffice and so waited patiently for Benny to move, rather than taking the lead herself.

[Foxy Socks 2,599]

@Blitz Boom  @Widdershins @~Phoenix~

"Would your kind be more plant than pony, more pony than plant, or just equal? It seems fascinating to me how your kind behave, and how close to nature you are. I guess my interest is because I love nature too, and try to learn as much as possible. Also, how many Evergrown are there? Are there enough to have a sustainable population, or are they a dying race? It seems strange I've never heard of you guys before, even if you like to live in other areas."

 

Foxy continued to pet Agni after she spoke, hoping to calm her down to potentially fall asleep, so she wouldn't notice Opal. So far she was succeeding.

 

 

Edited December 8, 2017 by Foxy Socks

[Moonlit 593]

@Blitz Boom @Seamore Sandwich @Dji Serenade froze, "♪Luna is gonna be so pissed...♪" She slowly turned to face the newcomer, and rose out of the water until half of her is out. "♪♪Extinct...neigh..♪♪" Her voice takes on a bit more echo "♪♪despite the efforts of some... ♪♪ Serenade collapses back into the water and turns away. 

[Blitz Boom 4,627]

@MiragetheChangeling

"All in a days work . The Timberwolves can get feisty around here for the unprepared."

Stargazer got a good chance to exime them for a few seconds as he stood here, and troublemakers wasn't the first thing that came to mind.

Mirage were cautious of him, and stood ready like she expected the bat pony to suddenly launch towards her friend, or Princess, as the mare had called her. It seemed that whilst she were thankful for the help, she wasn't easing up on her role as a protector, and honestly that was just a good thing. As a guard himself, he knew well that when you protected a princess, you had to anticipate an attack at basically all times. It made you paranoid, and he knew several guards who were a little more obvious about that, like Mirage currently were.

Looking to Amanita though, it wasn't hard to see why she would want to be protective either. The look in the mare's cloudy eyes, and how they weren't focused on him, but a point next to him, sadly told him a rather important part about this mare: She was blind.

The cloudy look were often a give-away, though he had seen some ponies who just had that strange pigment in their eyes, so it wasn't enough. But with the wrong look, what had been said as he arrived, and a few other things here, it seemed by far the most likely explanation, though he wasn't sure if it was real. He wanted to think that nopony would pose as being blind, but changelings did have a history of posing as what they needed to, in order to feed, so there wasn't any certainty.

Still, he shouldn't meet them with hostility before he knew more, and considering the two of them had seemed unable to handle a mid-sized Timberwolf, he had doubts that they were big issues. Quite a risk to take to fake a scene this far from town, and then hope that somepony would stumble over them.

"Do you need any further assistance? I'd hate to just leave you stranded here in the forest if you're lost. It ain't safe for civilians."

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@genessee

Berry shrugged. She'd find her answer another time. Perhaps once he had started to throw out some trash that she could rummage through? They'd see soon enough, but for now, they were back at work, and she had but one desire: Coffee.

They barely entered the restaurant before she gave Lance a friendly pat on the cheek and sped up towards  the register, where she'd take over from Straw, and start working with the customers there currently whilst brewing something to herself.

As for Lance, he'd be approached by another familiar pony soon after, who'd greet him with a big grin and a soot-covered hoof.

"Ah, he have returned to us again. Do tell, how was your first delivery round Lance? Alonsus aches to hear it."

Alonsus had just been done fixing a clogged pipe in the kitchen and had been on his way to clean his hoof - Nopony with any sanity tried to do that in the kitchen when Chop was there - when he had spotted the dashing duo returning from their trip. Surely the tales they could tell would be of some interest, though he'd attempt to hear from Lance first. Berry tended to say things along her stories which he were not sure had any truth to it, but made him somewhat curious about what may or may not be true among her conspiratorial rantings, and if he asked her one thing it just got worse until he had dug himself in deep and were hearing the truly strange things.

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@The Resident Brony

Vivid looked at the almost weeping Alicorn, though she couldn't muster to feel that sorry for him right now.

"Yes, we should be on our way."

She would open up a portal and lead them back into the Veil-tainted world once more, and start to wander in a seemingly random direction once more. SHe knew her way though, so it were not as random as one may think. This was going to be a long trip though, as they weren't exactly close tot he coast, but at least in Equestria, time would have passed slowly by when they did arrive. Effective in saving time, but it was of course not as good as actual teleportation. One still had to walk here after all, but she just couldn't grasp teleportation magic enough to offer an alternative. It was a strange concept, and she hadn't exactly been allowed to research into things when she had been the slave to demons, so she hadn't anything to go by other than what she had learned herself, or found out when she was a normal pony, and she hadn't exactly been well liked back then either.

Still, she had time enough to learn. She were allowed more places now, if for nothing else because of her association to Cadence and Shining, and perhaps one day she would be bored and find herself checking in on things such as that. Or she might just ask Twilight when one day she would have a meeting arranged with the princess. She were apparently very knowledgeable, which were one of the reasons she wanted to meet her int he first place. The Princess of Friendship was her best bet so far as to find a spell to help her regulate her body temperature, so she did not need these heavy clothes to not freeze near solid.

Thinking on this, she had gone silent for a time without addressing Invictus, or even thinking much about what she'd say if it were. Uncomfortable for some, but she liked a bit of silence sometimes, and unless he had started to bawl his eyes out, not much made her think that it were important to talk to him as soon as possible.

"I know that I am the famed pot calling the kettle black, but you should learn to control your emotions and impulses better, Invictus. It's easy to use them against you if you're against a crafty opponent."

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@EQ_Theta @Storm Shine

Omen tilted her head to the right, and looked at Sen with even more confusion in her eyes than she had previously.

"I don't understand. You were afraid of dying early, so I look. Now you say too long?"

You could almost see the metaphorical gears grinding inside her head, but it just didn't leave anywhere. Omen had a hard time understanding the concept of death and age as it were, and now she had to try and think of what was essentially some kind of balance between having more years, but not being immortal, and she was failing to get a grasp on it.

"W-What?! That c-can't be true."

A myriad of voices came behind her all of a sudden, from the miners who had jumped a little back and looked to be shocked, despairing, crying, and so forth, whilst one of the more audible among them had risen his voice to respond to whatever had been told them.

Clayton had his neck bowed in shame and looked miserable too, after he had been confronted enough to answer exactly how long they had been away from everything. He hadn't expected them to just take it easy, but actually being in the situation and seeing the looks in their eyes, was far harder than anything he had been able to imagine. And then came the fact that he wasn't even done yet.

It was hard to tell who had it worse when he with shaking voice explained to them that Rose had gotten away, and by all accounts, had gotten what she had came for in the first place. He did not tell them afterwards that their sacrifice had only managed to buy them time, but he could see on the ones of them that wasn't too deeply worried about those they had left behind, that they knew, and it just made it worse.

Omen didn't take notice of anything regarding them. She were using all of her mental prowess to try and figure out this issue that Sen presented her with, but she were still barely getting anywhere.

"Too little, Sister and I stay. Too much, you stay?"

Mother might have been able to explain this to her more thoroughly, but in the situation, Sen and Lin would have to, and no matter how well they seemed to know Omen at this point, she wasn't possible to explain things to like you would with normal ponies, which presented some issues. Her brain was too scrambled and lacking in information from being left behind when Discord got turned to stone, and sometimes, you had to think of her as essentially an immortal foal. Long lived and full of experiences stretching a span of generations, but lacking the grasp to understand it all in the ways most would expect an adult to do.

There was a reason that the most successful way to teach her things for the few that had tried, had been to use books meant for very young foals. The pictures and simple words tended to help, and they didn't include complex things like death, which were hard to understand for somepony who had lived for this long without experiencing it.

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@Lloyd

"Well ain't that a pickle? Well, option number two I suppose. We find some crowbars and... Wait a darn second, didn't you and Misty yap up about it just being easier to pull the lever under the floor? If you can remember where it is exactly, that might be the easy way instead of us trying to stand and play drums."

Chow facehoofed as the realization came to him, about how they might as well just pull the lever. It was so easy and straight forward that he really thought about kicking himself for missing it. Honestly, it was akin to pushing a wagon, rather than put it on your shoulders and drag it along. Embarrassing, ineffective, and a real pain in the flank when you got to a hurdle.

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@Lloyd

The further Warlock passed in, the more things there seemed to be to avoid. Spike traps, stones that seemed to trigger something when you stepped on them , holes int he walls that might be for either gas or darts, and so forth. The whole place seemed to be focused on keeping beings from the main chamber, though when the pony entered, he might understand why.

Sitting in the large chamber in the middle of the temple, on a pedestal adorned with silver, sat a Sphinx, with a paw on a large orb. The orb usually had swirling patterns in it, but with time slowed as it were now for Warlock, it would likely seem like it barely moved.

As for the Sphinx itself, it seemed to be a rather effeminate male, around the size of  the one in the well known tale of Somnambula, but with far less golden ornaments. Instead he seemed to carry bracers, a necklace, an earring in both ear, and a tail ring made from old, polished bone from some sort of large creature.

A comb of the same sort of large bone could be seen next to him, which appeared to be in a chain, mean to have around the neck. A vain one of his kind apparently, and not one who liked special markings, as he had none of the sort on either his being, or his accessories. Nice hair though, if you licked the slicked back style with a few spiky strands in the front.

The necklace he had on might catch Warlock's attention though, as in the middle of the piece, around the Sphinx's throat, there was a large section of oval glass, and inside it, a gem sat, surrounded by strange symbols. A simple trinket for some, but Warlock would likely be able to recognize the piece as an Element, even if it wasn't discernible which one it might be currently.

He might also bite notice in how the Sphinx were slowly moving his head towards the direction he came in, and if Warlock would stick in this form enough, the partly feline creature would clearly be looking at him, and smiled in a large, toothy grin, whilst his eyes seemed to flicker with amusement.. It wasn't clear if the Sphinx could interact, and not just see, so if Warlock were still there at that point, he should have to consider if he wanted to take the chance.

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@Lloyd

Thw two guards were thankfully getting back on their hooves as he returned, holding their heads and mumbling something about feeling like somepony had gone to town on them with a pot and a spoon.

"Urgh... What just happened?"

"I don't know. Last thing I remember was that weird robed pony and then light's out."

"You think he knocked us out?"

"I hope not. The generals won't like hearing that somepony could just wander into the princess' chamber, without giving up much of a fight."

The two of them finally noticed the approaching pony, and rose their hooves in a small wave. They weren't part of the few who knew that Wing had taken over as the new general of the Solar Guard, so the two ponies of the same regiment just figured it was that soldier with the weird wings they had run into now and again.

"Hey there. You wouldn't happen to have seen some weird pony in a robe, would you? He was just here and... Well, y'know how it can go, right?"

"You can keep a secret too, right? We don't want the Captain or somepony else higher up hearing that some unknown pony got the jump on us. C'mon, you're a pal, ain't you Wing? No need to get your fellow soldiers in trouble unless it haves to come out, and if we can just scrounge up where he is or what he might've done, it's all cool."

"Well, if we don't find the colt, it's not like he needs to say anything. We'll have to ourselves so they can search everywhere. Urgh, this is going to be a nightmare..."

Neither of them were thinking that they should check the princess room, which were currently sealed off with Zhu's little lock spell, but to be fair, they were still pretty rattled in the heads. Perfectly fine, but a headache didn't really help when it came to keeping your concentration.

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@Lloyd

Lieutenant Shimmer seemed a little more happy when she heard that it wasn't just her who could see the two ponies looking like more than friends, though she was still somewhat embarrassed about the whole thing. She shouldn't jump to conclusions like that.

"Well, if there is anything I could do for any of you, just let me know. You two seem to have been through a lot already."

"This one is over the worst now."

One of the doctors around Iron wandered over towards the Lieutenant and the foal, but focused more on the later.

"You companion is done with his treatment, but he's going to need some time to rest. Both of you do in fact. They're just making sure his bandages are set right, and you can discuss if you want to stay here at the hospital for the three days you both need to let the treatment finish the healing, or if you have somepony who can watch over you at home, and you prefer it there."

Would be told the same thing about ten seconds alter, when the doctors were definitively done with his treatment, though their estimate might not fit him at all. Witht he magic he ran with, it was possible that he would be healed up some time before, but they weren't aware of that. To them, this was just ordinary ponies, and they would advise them just like they would any others in the same situation.

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@BloodDrops

Slappy had just about opened his eyes as the two started to argue. Partly because the sound made it impossible to rest.

He felt a great deal of dread as he once again held his breath to listen to the silence that had gone over his chest... And then his eyes went wide.

"M-My heart. It's beating again? I'm alive!"

He had never felt as relieved as he did right there. All of the pain and suffering from before must have just been a dream then. Oh glorious day, he would still be able to have a life. A second chance to experience everything, instead of going through the nightmare that had suddenly befallen him.  Thank Celestia in all her glory that it had not been true.

Sadly, not all of it seemed to be a dream, as he looked over and saw the Dragoness and Blood, of which the later than ordered him in simple terms to strip down. This time, he didn't pause, and just began to frantically rip every part off. Including the helmet that had been hooked at the side of said armor that he hadn't been wearing before. Dumb move on his side really.

"Y-Yes, take it all! I quit! By everything that is good and pure in this world, I can't take this horrible job anymore. Mom was right, I was never meant to be like this."

Tossing off the shoes and then the breastplate (he had been rather well armored all things considered) his cutie mark was more visible, which were a banana peel on top of a pie.

"I want go back to tossing pies and falling into buckets of water. And never, ever, return to this miserable life."

The last tossed off, Slappy started to look more happy than he actually had been so far. His relief were that great over being free of this burden, that he almost burst into song whilst messing up his mane and tail again to get his old, goofy look back.

Meanwhile, Nerzhei examined this shedding of skin, if you would. Not just the armor being tossed, but also the responsibility of what he had signed up for thrown tot he wind, and how it seemed to reinvigorate the previously sullen and nervous colt. Fascinating, but frankly also slightly annoying. Pony joy was something she would need time to adjust to.

"The armor won't fit everything Blood, it's going to need additional plating if you want to be more contained, and some kind of filter in front of your muzzle so you don't sneeze somepony to an early grave."

Sadly, she had run out of metal at the other forge. Or at least the sort that would be good for this. Blitz weren't exactly a collector of prime materials, and the amulet ont he ground had taken what good things the dragoness had found and used it up. If she wanted to get something done here, she needed to get to the Blacksmith in Ponyville... With Blood.

"We're going to have to sneak you into the forge in Ponyville, and convince the blacksmith to let us use it, without hurting anyone. Can you do that without getting distracted, Blood? If you want to think on this for yourself, remember that full armor means that nopony can hit you either. It's security for everyone."

Hopefully the zombiefied mare would be reasonable, and also let Slappy go, though she had the suspicion that perhaps the colt would just run off once his flip had ended. A second chance likely didn't mean that he wanted to be made a servant again, unless Blood somehow managed to keep him there regardless.

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@Battenberg

Whilst Pop quietly seemed thankful that Victoria would help, even if she didn't seem to enjoy it too much (or had issues expressing it) Benny instead met her with a giant grin and clapped his hands.

"Perfect! Nothing like a local to really get us going. Thanks a ton Victoria, you're a life-saver."

He'd wait a bit for her to take the lead, which would cause a standstill between them until he finally understood that she had given him directions, and then wanted him to go first. She'd likely fill him in later on then with the rest to make it more bite sized, and let him try and wander a route he'd need to follow another time without having to ask for help. What a nice mare when she wanted to be.

So he went on his way, whistling slightly as they passed the semi-busy streets and wandered somewhat quickly towards the statue, where they'd then take a right. There was a small pause when Pop had to push him past a stand selling caramelized apples, since he had already stopped here twice today, but otherwise it had been without issues.

"Alright, first hurdle down to a T. Where are we going next Victoria?"

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@Foxy Socks @Widdershins @~Phoenix~

"That is a fairly interesting question, but I am afraid that I do not know. If I should venture a guess however, I would assume we were more plant than anything else.

Personally, my thoughts are that it seems that we mostly just retains our form by whatever beings our ancestors once were, and then we are build up by a mixture of nature and... Chaos."

Briar cringed a little as he said that last word, and remembered what Zhu and Anomaly had made clear to them earlier.

"My apologies, it's still a little hard to swallow to know our origins are the result of a Draconequus folding several layers of Chaos magic together. It will take some time for me to adapt to that thought, though it does explain several things I wondered about throughout the years. Like how it was possible to make our kind and several areas of fauna from a single seed, which also corrupted only some kinds of life, and not those like the Deer or Boars.

But I digress. You ask about our population? Well, I can assure you that we are not dying, at least not in the areas I have seen. The smallest settlement I have ever encountered were four dozen strong and growing, if you will excuse the pun. And that were mainly because they were from an area with a newly sprung Great Tree.

We do tend to live in pretty isolated areas however. Heavy forested areas, harsh terrain, semi-subterranean places, jungles, and some in the most frozen areas of the north, and the hottest deserts. Oases are a thing among my kind, as is the winter variety, though I have barely seen the last ones. Too cold for my variant to be in their areas.

Regardless, the point is that we tend to be in places Ponies cannot normally access like it were nothing, and the places where they might, the more magically inclined of us will mask our area, or cast illusive spells around that will turn around anyone who tries to get near, or teleport them away. After the ponies started to harvest us some centuries back, it were necessary unfortunately, and there are still plenty who have a hard time letting go of that past.

There are those who works with ponies here and there however, yet sadly, of the settlements I have encountered in Euqestria, only one of them really makes contact physically, and they're still pretty secretively about it. It was by chance alone that I stumbled upon the scene, and I have sworn to keep any details about it to myself. A promise I am afraid I will keep.

As for how you have never heard of us, I can imagine that perhaps historians does not feel comfortable to leave in the sections where we went from beneficial partners, to being hunted for our plant acceleration liquid. It is what we have instead of blood, but we need it to survive like you do. Sadly, a time when some got greedy, and... Well, let us just say that Applemoon Harvest is not a phrase that will get you happy looks around my people, and that I hope that the day will come when we are as able to put that behind us as the ponies were, when the princesses made them see the error in what they had done."

All the talking were rather informative, but to a certain young Phoenix, it was also quite boring, and combined with the petting and her still drained state, she eventually settled in on Foxy's back and nuzzled off to sleep with a drawn out coo. The talons boring into her skin might be uncomfortable however, but unless she got a kind of harness or pad Agni could hold on to, it would have to be a case of getting used to it.

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@Moonlit @Seamore Sandwich @Dji

Last rose an eyebrow as she saw more specifically how large the Siren were. Not quite the small fry that she had hoped, and a major issue if it came down To a fight. Better hope that would not have to be a concern, or they would be in big trouble.

"hey, watch your movements, or the doctor might fall off. And we need to keep moving. You wanna talk? Do it whilst we're trying to save her."

"Meanie..."

Last looked around, trying to find the originator of the voice that had just called her out.

"Grrr. I don't know who that were, but whoever you are, keep your complaints to yourself. I owe the doc , and I can't repay her if she gets to the hospital too late. Let's move."

[~Phoenix~ 196]

@Blitz Boom @Widdershins

Phoenix had used her magic to get a good grip on the body of the creature whose bottom half were currently inside of her mouth, although it didn't feel like it. her grip on his midsection was rather aggressive as she gave a very rough yank. if he weren't out in the first one, she would continue until he was, each yank getting more and more rough, as she had no real care for the well-being of the vermin.  

once he was out, she would cough, trying to get any sort of bad taste from her mouth. it wasn't going to be enough, however. after all, who knew what sort of diseases he was carrying. she happily accepted the bottle of mouthwash from Smokey, taking it into her own magical grip as she decided to pour a hefty swig of it into her muzzle. she followed suit with Smokey, swishing it around a few times before she eventually spat it out into the sink. she noted how powerful the stuff was. 

as if what he had done to her earlier wasn't enough, now he had to show himself when she was finally becoming comfortable? she wasn't too thrilled to see this creature being the next thing to torture her aside from herself. she stood up, from where she was practically hanging in the sink, and let out a very frustrated grunt as she trot out of the room. she best leave the room before she accidentally set the whole house ablaze in her rage. 

that train of thought led her to just outside of Smokey's mansion, funny enough. she hadn't planned on running away. no, she figured simply that if the creature did decide to follow her, outside would be a better place to cremate him. 

[EQ_Theta 459]

@Blitz Boom @Storm Shine

"Well, it's... this is a very complicated topic. I was afraid, that's true, but perhaps it was because I was afraid without knowing why. Losing mother and father so soon made me realize just how fast things can change. I thought everything I was accustomed would stay the same for a very long time but those were taken so quickly I started to believe that maybe I might end up just like them: having a life unfulfilled with so much left to do. I was afraid of dying because I thought I'd lose such good friends and family too soon."

"But I think I figured it out. I put too much thought into living in terms of how many years I got but not realizing how much I lived. I could go on living almost forever but if those were dull and unfulfilled years, then maybe living a short life might be better. It's not about how long I live but what I do with this life I have that counts. I've found Lin, met you and mother, helped you find Discord, and rediscovered the happiness I didn't know I needed to find."

In that moment of quiet contemplation Lin spent off to the side, she heard Sen's word and just stopped trying to piece together the information Omen provided her. It was a heartwarming thing to hear that for all Sen had to put himself through to see his family brought back together, he was beginning to turn that pain around and make something beautiful from it. From the nights spent back at the village before embarking on their search for Omen, he has been sleeping a lot more soundly, almost without catapulting awake from a sudden nightmare. Despite having to grow up by force and being robbed of the experiences that others had, Sen did what he thought impossible. She simply smiled upon hearing those words leave Sen's mouth, filling her with confidence. 

"I know you're concerned Omen but you don't need to worry." Sen looked to Omen, much more assured now than back in Mother's realm. "I might not be giving you the best explanation but if you are still confused, we can go to Mother and we can hopefully help you understand."

[Amanita 6,826]

“yes sir we do, we’ve just moved here. I heard it was safer then our old home was.” *Mirage replied, losing a bit of the edge off of her tone*

Amanita: *she smiles, somewhat friendly* “pardon me for asking, but I hear someone moving. Who is that?”

[BloodDrops 762]

10 hours ago, Blitz Boom said:

Slappy had just about opened his eyes as the two started to argue. Partly because the sound made it impossible to rest.

He felt a great deal of dread as he once again held his breath to listen to the silence that had gone over his chest... And then his eyes went wide.

"M-My heart. It's beating again? I'm alive!"

He had never felt as relieved as he did right there. All of the pain and suffering from before must have just been a dream then. Oh glorious day, he would still be able to have a life. A second chance to experience everything, instead of going through the nightmare that had suddenly befallen him.  Thank Celestia in all her glory that it had not been true.

Sadly, not all of it seemed to be a dream, as he looked over and saw the Dragoness and Blood, of which the later than ordered him in simple terms to strip down. This time, he didn't pause, and just began to frantically rip every part off. Including the helmet that had been hooked at the side of said armor that he hadn't been wearing before. Dumb move on his side really.

"Y-Yes, take it all! I quit! By everything that is good and pure in this world, I can't take this horrible job anymore. Mom was right, I was never meant to be like this."

Tossing off the shoes and then the breastplate (he had been rather well armored all things considered) his cutie mark was more visible, which were a banana peel on top of a pie.

"I want go back to tossing pies and falling into buckets of water. And never, ever, return to this miserable life."

The last tossed off, Slappy started to look more happy than he actually had been so far. His relief were that great over being free of this burden, that he almost burst into song whilst messing up his mane and tail again to get his old, goofy look back.

Meanwhile, Nerzhei examined this shedding of skin, if you would. Not just the armor being tossed, but also the responsibility of what he had signed up for thrown tot he wind, and how it seemed to reinvigorate the previously sullen and nervous colt. Fascinating, but frankly also slightly annoying. Pony joy was something she would need time to adjust to.

"The armor won't fit everything Blood, it's going to need additional plating if you want to be more contained, and some kind of filter in front of your muzzle so you don't sneeze somepony to an early grave."

Sadly, she had run out of metal at the other forge. Or at least the sort that would be good for this. Blitz weren't exactly a collector of prime materials, and the amulet ont he ground had taken what good things the dragoness had found and used it up. If she wanted to get something done here, she needed to get to the Blacksmith in Ponyville... With Blood.

"We're going to have to sneak you into the forge in Ponyville, and convince the blacksmith to let us use it, without hurting anyone. Can you do that without getting distracted, Blood? If you want to think on this for yourself, remember that full armor means that nopony can hit you either. It's security for everyone."

Hopefully the zombiefied mare would be reasonable, and also let Slappy go, though she had the suspicion that perhaps the colt would just run off once his flip had ended. A second chance likely didn't mean that he wanted to be made a servant again, unless Blood somehow managed to keep him there regardless.

 

Blood smiled and slowly put on the armour and gave herself a small shake making sure it was all attached properly. It was, blinked at the patches in the armour where she was missing bits of plate or where it was meant to be removed for additional mobility. She put the helmet on her head and and glanced back at herself it was a start. Though she could still spread her disease though it would be much harder now. She blinked thoughtfully on where she could get more metal from though she wouldn't want to visit a blacksmith especially not in toe with a dragon that would just draw even more attention to herself. 

 "There is a train station in ponyville, we could take some metal from there and use it to patch up this armour. Or have Slappy steal some armour before he goes back to being a clown" I remarked to Nerzhei turning my attention back to her after frowning at Slappys lack of honour. "You couldn't sneak me into ponyville, its lock down since that dragon attack or whatever it was." she remarked and then frowned wondering what she could do.

"Yes I want full armour, though it might be best to forge it yourself, though we need metal for that" I remark frowning. "Taking it from ponyville would be the best idea" I add to the dragon.

[Widdershins 9,959]

@Blitz Boom and @~Phoenix~

   Woah now, woah there... sentient horse creatures. Take it easy now! I'm sure this looks bad now, from wherever it is you all are seeing it from, but I'm not fully through to your dimension or world, or whathaveyou yet. I realize this might have been uncomfortable to you now; heavens know it tends to be for me! I Just was in a rather irritable meeting with the orc clan cheiftains and they weren't very... well, maybe its for the best. My, uh, point is... if you'll work with me here from both ends, both literally & metaphorically then I do sincerely promise to atone for this trespass however much I can... if I can. I'm sure you can tell how awkward this situation is in all respects.

[Storm Shine 1,196]

@Blitz Boom @EQ_Theta

Discord gently patted Omen's head, "Well Omen, sometimes creatures who aren't immortal become afraid of dying, or of dying before they want to or have a chance to do something, and so they look for a way to become immortal. Some do it for more sinister reasons as well..." Discord made an easel with a large flipbook appear, "But what I believe Sen here realized, is that he really doesn't want immortality." He pointed at a small drawing of Sen, looking around happily at his friends, "Sure, the possibility of dying early and leaving behind good friends would be terrible.." The Sen drawing disappeared, leaving the other drawings with sad faces. "but then, outliving your friends, and just about any other friends you could make, would be even worse." The Sen drawing came back, but now the other drawings began disappearing one by one, leaving Sen alone with a sad face. Another drawing then appears, and they seem to interact happily, only for that to disappear as well, once again leaving Sen alone. "Many of the immortals that achieved such a state either shut themselves off from the world and social interaction, or attempted to find a way to end their immortality. So few can cope with such constant loss and that's one reason why there's really only a few immortals today.... Well, aside from Sombra, Tirek, and their ilk. Immortals that aren't evil." Discord finished his explanation, circling a drawing of himself, Celestia, Luna, Cadance, Flurry Heart, and Twilight Sparkle - a label above denoting the group as the 'good immortals club'.

Edited December 9, 2017 by Storm Shine

[Moonlit 593]

@Blitz Boom @Seamore Sandwich @Dji Serenade smiles a bit hearing the voice, then looks over Twilight "♪You would have a bleak outlook as well Princess if your entire race was judged by the actions of three. You Ponies are not judged by Sombra's or Nightmare Moon's actions, yet I am judged by Adagio, Sonata and Aria.♪" Swimming close to the shore, "♪Perhaps you are right, you and the Shrine Maiden♪" Serenade grins at Last, showing her teeth "♪would be the better choice taking the Pegasi into town, one must not scare the locals♪" Serenade turns her attention to Aurora, "♪♪What makes you believe Sirens are extinct?♪♪"

[Blitz Boom 4,627]

@~Phoenix~

Outside the mansion itself, things were no less impressive.

The ground around had some size to it, and it seemed as if a professional both had laid everything out, and maintained it as well.

The grass well well cut and lush, with paths if granite stones swirling around the area to make sure not to interfere with any of the vegetation beyond the grass.

And quite an array there were. Flowers stood vibrant and alive in clusters of their own, sectioned into parts where they would not interfere with one another, and yet managed to blend in well when you look at the overall picture.

A few bushes were cut like figures too, though thankfully not Smokey. There had been one with his likeness there once, but he found it a little over the top pretty quickly, so it had been cut down into the shape of a vase instead, with long stilted roses growing out in tge top, to give it a more personal feel.

Roses did seem to be a theme, even if they weren't the only ones. Several sorts of harmless fauna was present, but it was hard to look in a direction without finding some kind of Rose, and the directions she couldn't see it from, were likely just places ones hadn't been planted yet.

Near one of those bushes, a mare actually stood, who hadn't taken notice of Phoenix yet. She were too busy smelling the roses, which currently were a yellow variant.

She was about a half head taller than most grown Pegasi, but otherwise she seemed rather normal. Ear rings wasn't too unusual in the somewhat younger crowd these days, and you looked away from the skull around her neck, nothing noteworthy were really going on. Well beyond her being inside private property that was.

The skull were clearly (and thankfully) not from a pony, though what else could be hard to say. Some kind of somewhat large rodent, like a big ferret.

"Aaaah. How Rose does it I just don't know."

She rose her head and looked around for more flowers to sniff, when she spotted the newly arrived Phoenix, and gazed at her with curious eyes. After a little think, she figured the mare was likely okay, and that she should come over and say hi.

"Hi there, who're you? Are you one of Rose's friends? I've never met any of them before, so I have no idea."

As the pegasus got closer with the big grin on her face, something odd happened. Two orbs of pale light, around the size of marbles, flared up in the eye sockets of the skull. Nothing more happened, but it almost looked as if the two somewhat flaming orbs were focused on Phoenix. This was definitely not normal, though the pegasus didn't seem to even notice. She just kept approaching slowly, with a big happy smile on her face.

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

 

@Widdershins

Smokey looked towards Phoenix as she left the room, with a longing gaze. He didn't want to see her leave, even if Widdershins actions had been repulsive and almost made him puke. If he could have actually hurt the creature, he might hace done more than just get sick, but it was pointless, and not something he cared about compared to seeing the mare rush out.

Somepony else got into his vision as br kept starring at her though, and that was Grim, now with a hoof in front of his nose to try and stop from leaking blood unto the carpets.

"The young lady and I are going to have a word about doors when this is all over."

It was said somewhat as a joke, but this was the second time he had been hit in the nose, and this time it had gotten more bloody. Third time he'd perhaps loose a tooth or something.

He barely noticed anything as he pushed his way past Smokey, and stepped over whatever was laying on the floor (looked like some kind of tube) to get to the sink, and start to clean up the mess.

The distraction, plus seeing Grim with blood all over his muzzle, defused Smokey's anger somewhat, as worry came to mind for his friend and butler as well.

"Dearest me, that doesn't look good. Take care of it, okay? And... Thank you for ignoring the Draconequus."

Grim nearly his his head on the mirror when he heard the last word.

"The WHAT?!"

"Oh... Well, we have an unwelcome visitor, who seemed to find it fit to come between Phoenix and I an a... Compromised situation."

Grim cursed in some kind of old dialect Smokey couldn't understand, but Widders might know as being a few variant of *This is bad*, just in cruder terms.

"And speaking of which, your excuses are not acceptable Widdershins. I finally had a moment where I was happy, and she seemed to be as wll, and your appearing that way may well have scared her away from giving it further chances.

I swear, if this have ended things, I don't care what it will take. I will find some way to get my revenge on you for taking away the best chance of happiness I have encountered."

It was not normal for Smokey to be angry at anypony, but it was just hard not to feel like that with what had happened. Hopefully, this would not have ruined things beyond repair.

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

 

@EQ_Theta @Storm Shine

Omen listened intently to what both parts said.

Sen's explanation had more meaning in what was being said. It sounded personal, and she got some idea of what he meant by what life being lived meant in a more metaphorical sense. Not much, but enough to get the thought that life wasn't about how long you had, but how you used it.

Discord's visuals however, helped her understand the concept of immortality a little more effectively. Time and death itself were still foreign to her, but she got the base about the longer you stayed, the more others would go away until you were alone.

Combining a little after little, she slowly nodded her head and looked at them all three.

"Stay too long, everypony vanish, and you don't use the time, you don't live? So short life is okay, if time is good?"

The thoughts rummaged through her head as she felt the little creature gnawing on her mane again. Nothing she really cared about though, as she turned to Sen specifically with her follow-up.

"Living long, not using time. Is that like me?"

She had spoken to Sen before about her time after Discord had vanished, mainly just sitting in Mother's realm and waiting to hear something. Even after Mother had made her go back, she had spend most time in this static vacuum, looking for him and only learning little about the confuaingly stable world around her.

It had not been discussed when she had heard it, far as she remembered, but she had really only lived the little time she had known Sen and Lin, after Discord was made into stone. Even if she were the next-oldest being here, she was the closest to an infant as far as time actually spent living were concerned.

Thinking on something else for a moment, Omen looked back on the *good immortals* visual, and then up on her master.

"Master Discord, where am I? One of the bad ones? Not immortal? When do I vanish?"

Omen's best idea were that she were immortal herself from something Mother had told her, though she didn't know, and unbeknownst to her, neither did Mother.

The Reaper's best bet had been that since she had lived as long as she had without looking a day above the point Discord made her, that her daughter shared in her master's life, and would likely last as long as he did. Though honestly, only Discord might know, and even then it could just be a guess.

They were getting through to her in any case, so that was a start, though they shouldn't think she had gotten all of it currently. It were much to tackle for her limited understanding, and especially will all the other stuff going on as well.

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

 

@BloodDrops

"It's not optimal, but I can improvise."

In a lunch, her own flames could work in helping her with a makeshift forge, but she would have to be focused then. One slip, and she'd have to start over, and she needed to work fast as well in general. Flames weren't unlimited, and she wouldn't have to time to really set something lasting when the got there.

"Slappy, is there any metal on the station. "

Slappy turned around and looked at the two, with dread in his eyes and wondering if he should answer at all.

"I'll make sure you're not kept here, long as you don't tell anyone about Blood. I don't want to deal with pitchforks and torches."

"...I saw some, but t-there's not much. I can get something and take it to the s-station. I'll uhm... M-Meet you there."

Slappy reluctantly agreed to do a final act of service, and then took off. Perhaps he could get the container with scrapped metal and push it there? He just had to think of some kind of excuse. Also as to why his uniform was gone. Hopefully he wouldn't be drilled too much about that.

Seeing him leave, Nerzhei let out a sigh and looked between the somewhat armored Blood and the lake of dead fish.

"Urgh, luckily forgot about that for a moment. Okay, let me think..."

After a time, the best she coukd think off was what she did: Stuck her hands in the ground to get a better grip on the magic, and then covered it with an uneven pattern of stone slabs. If something wanted to go in there, it likely still could, but it was the best she could think of doing that she still had the energy to. She wasn't going to admit it, but using as much magic as she had today was draining, especially when she didn't eat too many gem stones. Gorging in that might have given her more, but she had rationed what she had found thus far, in case the supplies went low all of a sudden.

"Alright, we have a plan. Let's go and fix this then, and I'll... Figure something out about this place later. Must be some way to clean it up."

Unless something were said by Blood, Nerzhei would then flap up into the tree she had planted Lotus in, and get her along on her shoulders before walking towards Ponyville.

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

 

@MiragetheChangeling

"I take it you mean Ponyville, surely? The forest is a dangerous place to live, especially if you have... Special needs to consider."

When the princess changeling spoke about hearing somepony, a clear look of worry went over the guard's eyes. He might know that these were likely not issues, but even the smallest chance made him worried about his daughter.

A small, low frequency screech piqued his ears, and after a few seconds he slowly did the same towards the tree she was in. It wasn't words really, but more of a signal thing he had trained with Jelly in case she was told to hide, and would help letting her know when she could come out.

Reacting to the signal, the colorful bat pony filly hung from her tail down from the tree and then spread her wings, flapping down in front of the changelings.

"Hello bug ponies!"

Jelly saluted the two of them with a big smile on her face, showing off the fangs she had from her father, though the color scheme should make it somewhat obvious to at least the guard changeling that bat pony couldn't be the only thing in her heritage. They were almost always dark colors after all.

"I'm Jelly Drop, and this is Gary. Please be nice to him."

Hearing his name, the large, fuzzy spider crawled out from Jelly's mane and looked on Amanita and co. with disinterested eyes, once he figured out they were too big to eat. Nothing for him, so he'd skitter back again soon after, and get lost in Jelly's tall mane.

"Did daddy say you lived in Ponyville? Do you need getting there? My daddy is the bestest guard there is. He can get you there all safely."

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

 

@Moonlit @Seamore Sandwich @Dji

"If I try and carry anypony, you will have two ponies needing to be taken in. Straining enough as it is."

Last spits out a glob of blood on the ground, trying to clean her muzzle of the coppery taste that had started to collect around her teeth.

It wasn't enough though, so she went to the river and took in a muzzleful of water, swirled around, and spat out a rather big patch of pink on the ground next to her, before running a hoof in front of her muzzle and get back to moving.

She hated having to do this, and show weakness in front if the princess, but it was this, or she would attempt to carry Ziggy with the mere notion of an order from the princess, and then she might just burst, though they wouldn't need the hospital then. They'd need a mortician.

Getting close to town, Ziggy still hadn't woken up, and thankfully, Charlie and the stick was still helping her, so it wasn't getting worse. Last still wondered what were with the lagging nature of his current state, but it didn't seem anypony had an answer, and she didn't have time to look into it. Hopefully he'd answer it himself sooner or later.

Edited December 9, 2017 by Blitz Boom
Added color

[BloodDrops 762]

4 hours ago, Blitz Boom said:

"It's not optimal, but I can improvise."

In a lunch, her own flames could work in helping her with a makeshift forge, but she would have to be focused then. One slip, and she'd have to start over, and she needed to work fast as well in general. Flames weren't unlimited, and she wouldn't have to time to really set something lasting when the got there.

"Slappy, is there any metal on the station. "

Slappy turned around and looked at the two, with dread in his eyes and wondering if he should answer at all.

"I'll make sure you're not kept here, long as you don't tell anyone about Blood. I don't want to deal with pitchforks and torches."

"...I saw some, but t-there's not much. I can get something and take it to the s-station. I'll uhm... M-Meet you there."

Slappy reluctantly agreed to do a final act of service, and then took off. Perhaps he could get the container with scrapped metal and push it there? He just had to think of some kind of excuse. Also as to why his uniform was gone. Hopefully he wouldn't be drilled too much about that.

Seeing him leave, Nerzhei let out a sigh and looked between the somewhat armored Blood and the lake of dead fish.

"Urgh, luckily forgot about that for a moment. Okay, let me think..."

After a time, the best she coukd think off was what she did: Stuck her hands in the ground to get a better grip on the magic, and then covered it with an uneven pattern of stone slabs. If something wanted to go in there, it likely still could, but it was the best she could think of doing that she still had the energy to. She wasn't going to admit it, but using as much magic as she had today was draining, especially when she didn't eat too many gem stones. Gorging in that might have given her more, but she had rationed what she had found thus far, in case the supplies went low all of a sudden.

"Alright, we have a plan. Let's go and fix this then, and I'll... Figure something out about this place later. Must be some way to clean it up."

Unless something were said by Blood, Nerzhei would then flap up into the tree she had planted Lotus in, and get her along on her shoulders before walking towards Ponyville.

Blood blinked and turned as Slappy went to get some metal. She smiled hopefully he would bring back enough though if it wasn't then she had a suggestion. She would tell Nerzhei "I could start ripping up some of the tracks the train uses, then we got more metal to work with and can make a better armour for myself" she remarked before glancing at the lake, she frowned. "it shouldn't be contagious, just dead, coz i didn't directly infect it. Just used magic to drain its life energy" i remarked to the dragon.

I snorted and then sneezed onto the ground, killing off some grass. I then blinked again "Yeah a sneeze guard wound be good, I end up killing tons of things each day by just sneezing, just wait till i get hay fever in the spring." I remarked smirking at the dragon, "You got a tissue or something, or i could wipe it on a leaf but then that leaf will die" I add blinking at the dragon. 

"do you want me to come with you to ponyville, or just wait here? Me going around in heavy mail might draw attention to myself, plus its not my mail so they might think i stole it from Slappy" I add to the dragon sitting down. 

[~Phoenix~ 196]

@Blitz Boom

as Phoenix got outside, she felt as though she had to reconsider her previous intentions. after all, setting a fire out here looked as though it wouldn't be any better than setting one in the house. after all, some pony looked as though they spent a lot of time trimming these hedges and making this garden look as extravagant as it did. was all of this part of Smokey's estate? it was certainly a bit bigger than she had previously imagined.

she began to look around in wonder, momentarily forgetting her unpleasant encounter with Widdershins. she walked down one of the paths, looking at how well placed all of the roses were, as well as noting the sheer number of them. whoever made this garden must have an obsession. "hold on a moment" she thought to herself as her mind traced back a bit. "that would explain her cutie mark". she thought back to when she had encountered Rose, and how she appeared to be one with nature. this garden must have been done by her. she certainly did a spectacular job. there definitely wasn't anything wrong with roses in her eyes. she stood over a whole bunch of them and inhaled deeply through her nose, smiling as the pleasant scent reaches her. 

she turned and saw the other mare there. she was a Pegasus. she had never really talked to any Pegasi before. then again, that wasn't anything surprising considering her mannerisms. before she could even consider approaching, the Pegasus was already approaching her. Phoenix took a step back a bit, not quite being used to others coming up to her like this. 

Phoenix at least owed the Pegasus mare an answer to her questions. she shyly lowered her head and avoided eye contact as she gave them "i'm Phoenix... and actually, i was brought here by Smokey" she replied rather quietly. 

all of a sudden, Phoenix noticed the strange skull hung around the strange mare's neck, and it had alarmed her quite a bit. even more so when the eyes began to glow. she leapt back, and immediately put herself into a defensive stance. it wasn't at all like Phoenix wanted to hurt the mare. rather, odd things like this simply triggered her survivalist instincts. 

[EQ_Theta 459]

@Blitz Boom @Storm Shine

Something about Omen's words struck a chord with Sen. He noticed some similarities with what she had gone through prior to them meeting but what she thought of those moments searching for Discord, he can't say. There's no way for him to say something that gives a direct and concrete answer without inadvertently invalidating her own experiences. Just saying something along the lines of a direct yes or no would likely leave the wrong impression so this response would need to have some tact and caution. 

"Omen, I don't know everything you did before we met. All I know is you wanted to find Discord but I can't really say more without overstepping my boundaries and imposing what I believe on to you. The best way to put it is only you can say whether or not it was time well spent. If you still want to speak about this, maybe we can continue this at a later time."

It was a difficult thing to consider when Sen thought maybe he could be wrong. He'd be open to this conversation when there was time but at the moment, there was a mad bat-pony with plans of revenge on her mind. Lin left to meet with Clayton without turning to Sen, Discord, or Omen and approached the former with some findings. 

"Clayton, we haven't gotten much from our friend," Lin said though the sight of his friends freed was a relief, that moment passed without her acknowledging their presence. "She said the pony in the mines looked glittery, had a crystalline horn, and was shouting the words 'Fancy Filligree.' Repeatedly, that is. Do you know if that is a name we should look into?"

Meanwhile, Sen had run out of things to say that could keep his conversation with Omen going but seems to have a few words for the draconequus. A few words that he wouldn't expect to say many years ago. 

"You know, Discord, have you ever considered teaching professions? The way you explained your piece showed you have some talent at it."

[Storm Shine 1,196]

@Blitz Boom @EQ_Theta

Discord patted Omen's head once more, "Don't worry Omen, you're one of the good immortals - in about the same sense as Flurry Heart is." He said with a smile, "You'll likely live forever, or at the very least for as long as I exist..." He smiled gently at her, "And~ you're a bit too naive and innocent to consider as anything but good." The spirit gave her a slight hug as a picture of Omen appeared in the 'good immortals club' drawing, "You have plenty of time to live and make your own experiences."

Discord then turned to look at Sen, floating upside down once again, "I've thought about it, but classrooms are much to orderly for me." He rolled his eyes, swishing a claw as a bag of chocolate covered raindrops appeared, "I doubt many would appreciate my teaching environment, should I ever pursue the profession."

Edited December 10, 2017 by Storm Shine

[Blitz Boom 4,627]

@~Phoenix~

The mare noticed how the mare g9t all defensively and jumped away from her, at which point she stopped and scratched her head. What would make a... Ooooh, she got it.

"Hehe, you don't have to be a worry-bird. They're not gonna do anything to you. They just get curious when we meet new people, ain't that right everypony?"

She scratched the top of tye skull, and the *eyes* focused more towards her. Phoenix wouldn't be able to see more in it, but the mare giggled.

"It's a shame you didn't hear that one. It was pretty funny.

Anyway, where was I... Oh right, introductions. My name's Sorrow. I'm Puff Puff's friend too, and my dad works here. And these curious ones are Legion. They'd wave if they could, but, you know. Getting a-head of things there."

Sorrow frowned and rolled her eyes a little 

"I swear, they never laugh at that one. No humor any of you."

Sorrow had kept her distance whilst talking, and kept a big happy smile on her face for most of it, since Phoenix looked a biiiiiit on edge, and she didn't want to fight her. She didn't want to fight anypony honestly, and especially not here. Rose would never forgive her if she ruined her beautiful garden for no good reason.

One time she had accidentally crushed a particular arrangement by stumbling, and Rose had her doing work for hours to repair it. Way more than was necesary, but the mare wanted her to learn from it, and not do so again.

Funny how a pretty mare like that was as tough as she were, but you couldn't judge the cover by the book sometimes she supposed.

"Is he awake by the way? I came to make a round, but if he's not sleeping, it'd be fun to talk to him. See what's new and all."

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

 

@EQ_Theta @Storm Shine

"I waited, until Mother told me to leave. Said I had to go back."

Omen remembered the moment, when Motger had calmly, but sternly, told her that she had to leave after spending so much time waiting in vain. She had veen patient enough according to her, and it was time to attempt to make contact with Equestria again.

"World was still strange. Looked different, but not with chaos, and nopony talked about Master Discord anymore.

I looked for him, until I found you. Sometimes, ponies asked me to deliver things, but they didn't want to talk, and many ran away when I tried. Never understood why."

It might be that nopony had any knowledge of her work relation to Discord, unless she told them (which she did if they tried to listen to her for a little) but she was still not trusted. What she did, how she spoke, and the curious, unblinking gaze made quite a bit think she was creepy, or some kind of monster.

Perhaps she was just unlucky with those she ran into, but eventually she guessed it meant she should just focus on looking for Discord, and just went between every bit of strong or Chaotic magic she found. Made her find quite a bit of things, such as the bauble, but they weren't interesting to her. They weren't him, so until a few days ago, she didn't think they were important.

"One talked. Strange snakecat with glowing eyes tgat found me. Told me things about Master Discord, Chaos and Order. Made sense when he said it, but never saw him again."

Sen had said they should talk another time, but Omen didn't see something bad happening right now, so she didn't think it was bad to say this.

Her story would make it pretty evident that she had been stuck in the past though. Discord had been her only focus, and with her continued alienation with most ponies, she hadn't had other things to do, or focus on. Might be she had learned a few things here and there, but honestly, Sen had granted her more knowledge in the first day, than what she had gotten the past twenty years in Equeatria.

Telling Omen her time had been spent without living wouln't hurt her though. It would just answer a question, like anything else, and she'd move along. It would take a good deal more to make her be aad about things, especially considering her initiate, dull emotions.

Hearing Discord talk and put her in the good club he had shown, would make her be more okay with it too. Long as she wasn't bad, everuthing should be okay, and in this picture. She was there with her master. It was something comforting in a sense.

"I remember you taught ponies things before, Master Discord. Is it like then? With the weird looks and crying?"

It had been more of a *teach them he didn't appreciate being mocked* thing, but it was the only teaching she remembered. Had looked a little like a school, but with less rulers and frantic writing of *We will never question our lord again* whilst weird things happened to them. Guess it worked, since she didn't see them try again.

Meanwhile, Clayton turned from the miners, who had started to talk together about how to cope with the years gone, and what it would mean for their families. A tough subject that he was thankful he did not have to answer right now, as he had no idea about most of that, and it would not be a good answer for his old friends.

The subject at hoof did not make him any more pleased though. It just served to drain him of even more color in his face and seem as if he had been given a bucketful of icewater down his back.

"Fancy Filigree w-was the owner of this mine. We never met him, and o-only heard from him through his lawyer. If h-he have been mentioned, she must be going after him f-first. We need to find File Fiddler. And q-quickly.

Last I heard, he was in L-Las Pegasus, setting up a new practise. There's a long way, but w-we have to find him."

Clayton looked to the workers once more, then lowered his head.

"No... Y-You need to go. I have to get my f-friends back to Canterlot first, and h-help them find answers, and a w-way forward. I can't abandon t-them again...

And, if the h-horn is true, you need to t-tell Mr. Filigree. Perhaps he knows w-what was in here, and what it d-did to her."

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

 

@BloodDrops

"We're trying to cause less death, not more. The train tracks stays. I'll go out and find something myself if I have to.

And you're coming with me. You got to and from the train station before without being seen, so you can get there again. Just keep down, and don't draw attention to your attire, or we're both going to have a lot to answer for."

Nerzhei were sure that now, that the mare had been near the station when she had been there before. It seemed her nose had been wrong about how fresh the tracks of Blood had been, but that was a mistake she would have to live with.

Besides, getting Blood to the station meant that Nerzhei could keep an eye on her, whilst they waited for Slappy. It wasn't good to leave the mare unsupervised, as had been proven a few times already.

Absentmindedly, Nerzhei took a piece of cloth from her pocker and dropped it unto Blood, to avoid getting touched. It was part of her robe that had been cutt off when she was messing around near some sharp rocks, and she didn't to sew it back on right now, so Blood could have it. She needed to replace the ratty old thing sooner or later anyway.

"Good that the lake isn't infectious, but it still can't be good for anything to drink off. I'll get someone to help me drain it or something later, when there's time.

I'm going to need to find some kind of garden shop in Ponyville for a sneeze mask before that though. Have to be something they use that will fit you, but it's the last part. The armor comes first. We shouldn't be too far out by now."

[Storm Shine 1,196]

@Blitz Boom @EQ_Theta

Discord gave a sheepish chuckle, rubbing the back of his neck. "That... Wasn't really how teaching is supposed work, Omen." He said, "That was a, ah.. wrong kind of teaching. Teaching is supposed to give knowledge, not impart fear as I had.." The spirit looked away, "That was just one of many.. mistakes.. I've made in the past, in terms of how I've treated others." Discord smiled with the next sentence, however. "Fluttershy really has helped me see things from a better perspective."

[Amanita 6,826]

@Blitz Boom

*Mirage slowly eased back to talk into Amanita’s ears* *sounds a bit like she’s describing Jelly* *when she’s down she looks back at them* no ma’am we don’t live in Ponyville. But we are planning to move there, if it is fine with the current residents that is.

*Amanita slightly bounces on her hooves grinning slightly, revealing her own hooves* hi Jelly! I’m Amanita! That’s Mirage! Like she said, we’re planning on moving there if everypony is alright with it! *she sounds rather happy and childish, for her age that is*

[Widdershins 9,959]

@Blitz Boom

   "Well, there it is still. Guess where I dropped it off." Ambie gestures at the wagon having been left out overnight on the edge of the forest some short few paces ahead of them. Nearby some few spare logs are still laying behind as extra from whoever had brought the logs down to begin with, likely Big Macintosh.

  "Think I... kind of took the harness with me when I dragged the load into town. And it's probably still with the load we dropped off, but Mr. Filthy ought send that back to the Apple family I figure so... there's nothing to worry about, right? It's good to drag back to the farm if you've got some string or something to tie it to me with? Suppose I could just head-push it back..."

@Blitz Boom and possibly still @~Phoenix~

   From where its body lies discarded on the bathroom floor, one end of it slowly wobbling a bit as if trying to find out where to direct its speech despite being without its ends, Widdershins talks clamly looking somewhat like a used sock or pink, wobbly log. 

   Well, you must have to beg my pardon, as I can't directly tell right now, but somehow I do doubt you are the ones lying here both headless, tailless and half-portaled in. I did say I would make my best amends, but, logically speaking I don't rightfully appear to be in any good shape to be of much use right now. Forgiveness, perhaps is something we can work on later with proper report, but before that I do feel I need to ask...

   How is it you know my name? Have we met before?  ...aaand... maybe when you two are up to it... we can see about recapitating my body here? If that's quite alright with you. This is quite uncomfortable. 

 

[BloodDrops 762]

9 hours ago, Blitz Boom said:

"We're trying to cause less death, not more. The train tracks stays. I'll go out and find something myself if I have to.

And you're coming with me. You got to and from the train station before without being seen, so you can get there again. Just keep down, and don't draw attention to your attire, or we're both going to have a lot to answer for."

Nerzhei were sure that now, that the mare had been near the station when she had been there before. It seemed her nose had been wrong about how fresh the tracks of Blood had been, but that was a mistake she would have to live with.

Besides, getting Blood to the station meant that Nerzhei could keep an eye on her, whilst they waited for Slappy. It wasn't good to leave the mare unsupervised, as had been proven a few times already.

Absentmindedly, Nerzhei took a piece of cloth from her pocker and dropped it unto Blood, to avoid getting touched. It was part of her robe that had been cutt off when she was messing around near some sharp rocks, and she didn't to sew it back on right now, so Blood could have it. She needed to replace the ratty old thing sooner or later anyway.

"Good that the lake isn't infectious, but it still can't be good for anything to drink off. I'll get someone to help me drain it or something later, when there's time.

I'm going to need to find some kind of garden shop in Ponyville for a sneeze mask before that though. Have to be something they use that will fit you, but it's the last part. The armor comes first. We shouldn't be too far out by now."

Blood blinked at the cloth and put it around her nose, to stop her sneezing at anything. She blinked and smiled at Nerzhei "now i can sneeze into this, useful" she remarked. Following Nerzhei and tried to hide under the dragon, so that she couldn't be seen by other ponies.

"when we get to the station you can wait outside, and i can go inside and clean it. I made some mess in there" I remarked. Before rethinking that statement "not like killed someone mess, just inhabited it slightly and caused some mess to be made from doing that" I finish.

Blood nods at the idea of going to find a garden shop, it did sound like a very good idea. She did need a sneeze mask along with her armour.