open Casual stroll

[Lucid_Nightlight 923]

@Blitz Boom

Lucid was totally ready to get his revenge, but just like himself, Discord was very unpredictable. He had no idea where to look.

"I don't know what will be more difficult, fighting him or finding him?"

Lucid lifted his stick, summoning a giant picture of the pony version of Bill Gates. He hopped on and began to use it as a hoverboard.

"I just can't figure out where someone like Discord would g-"

A lightbulb appeared above Lucid's head

"Maybe he's having one of his tea parties with Fluttershy!"

The yellow pegasus proceeded to throw the lightbulb as it grew wings flew away

"Alright, we are off to Fluttershy's cottage!"

[EQ_Theta 452]

@Blitz Boom @Storm Shine

"Not like I could speed up travel by changing time since Rose already had a head start. Four days ahead to be exact. Clayton's with us but that other pony, Spelt, we were going to deliver the same message after coming here" The longma stayed close to the Refraction, crouching down near the crystals growing around the shop.

"And Sub Rosa? He's not with us. How'd you know about the Refractions? This one here is very young and I'd like to know more about them."

As for Sen, he watched as the Rosa set to work on the door and getting him out of it. There was enough to be embarrassed about at the moment. Even the sight of the shop's interior deflected his worries, seeing something fairly familiar from his travels though everyone back then used to shoo him away from even looking at the displays. One more thing to add to his time as a vagrant. Most of the time, he was given a stern warning but on the rare occasion, he was angrily chased away by guards, sometimes armed with a weapon. He didn't understand why. The latter reaction scared him so much he ran back to the slums to hide his face for days, sometimes even forgetting to look for food. Now here he was, unsure whether to be relieve to see what the inside looked like or scared he'd be asked to leave again. For the most part, he had Sub Rosa to thank. 
 

"Thanks," Sen quietly said. "You seem to know about these changeling emeralds since you have that vial on you. How did you know about them in the first place?"

[genessee 535]

@Blitz Boom

Lance trotted over to the nearest seat and sat down, just to go over mentally what just happened. 

It looked like Alonsus was about to rob me out of nowhere, but had second thoughts.

Lance glanced around the diner as he thought.

Wait...

He noticed the Pegasus.

After we ran into that guy, Alonsus started acting weird. Why is that? And didn't he say something about 'parolees together'? Why would Alonsus be on parole?..

It felt like a big puzzle to Lance,  and he had just found a piece-- not that it was useful right now, but still! 

Huh. Maybe it was more than I thought. I'll have to talk to Berry about this, I'm certain she'd know more about this than I would.

 

 

 

Edited January 28, 2018 by genessee

[Seamore Sandwich 471]

@Blitz Boom 

@Moonlit 

@Dji 

 

“This is very strange.  It doesn’t seem to be night time anymore.  What hour is it, Twilight?”  Luna asked.  “I believe the more important question here is, ‘What day is it?’  I believe I may know who was involved with this, though I have not seen him around for a very long time.”  Celestia had her suspicions of the Traveller, as she had seen him before, but not since she had banished her sister to the moon.  The two of them seemed not to care that there was a ghost and a siren in the room.  They trusted Twilight, and believed that she would have a situation like this well under control.  Besides, if either was a threat, why wouldn’t a guard such as Last be trying to fight them off?  Clearly these two were friendly.

Edited January 29, 2018 by Seamore Sandwich

[Moonlit 593]

@Blitz Boom @Seamore Sandwich @Dji Serenade was confused, Day? What was Dawnbringer talking about? At least she wasn't being imprisoned in the Moon or banished to Tartarus or turned to Stone and used as a birdbath in the Castle Gardens. Deep breath, don't panic. Just let the Alicorns talk amongst themselves. Serenade took a few deep breaths, trying to calm herself. She was a predator in the presence of three more powerful 'prey'. 

[Blitz Boom 4,598]

@Battenberg

"Yeah, that makes more sense too I guess. Still a bit odd, but weirder things have happened, eh?"

Toxen shrugged, thinking that this was one of those times where she had to try and trust that she wasn't getting yanked by her chain until she knew better. Some ponies did come to Dragon Land after all, despite how hostile most of the locals tended to be, so it wasn't impossible if the ponies in question had guts and could stand the heat. Perhaps her dad would know the answer, but they'd find out soon.

Meanwhile, Benny lowered his hand again, but kept his grin going whilst replying to Felix. A strange pony, but in a good sense he'd say.

"If you're ever in Canterlot, you can usually find me at the forge near where the guards train. I'll let the others know to look out for you if you come around someday."

"Same goes for Ponyville, though I travel more than Benny does, so I might meet you elsewhere.

And Sprinkles? You don't need to worry, we understand. Meeting a whole bunch of dragons, including Jade, sounds pretty intimidating when you're afraid of them. We'll see you around for sure though, right?"

"Well, duh. First time we're stumbling over Fillydelphia, we'll be there. Unless you come to Canterlot or Ponyville first. The offer stands for all our friends.

It's been a pleasure to meet you both, and I look forward to seeing you again.

Oh, whoops, almost forgot."

A slight tint of red went over his cheeks as he looked at Victoria.

"If you wanna come along you're welcome. I think Pop could use the moral support of another pony honestly."

"I uhm... Wouldn't say no to that. One of two so far have been intimidating, and there's still his dad to go."

"Hey, you don't find me intimidating?"

Toxen hissed and clawed the air, though it might've carried more weight if she didn't chuckle afterwards.

"...No."

"Hah, that's more like it. Now let's get a move on, alright? I don't wanna grow roots here."

The dragoness took to the air and slowly flew off towards their destination. She figured it'd be easy for them to follow her if she just snailed down a little.

"Yeah, we might as well get this over with. It's been nice meeting you all. May our paths cross again."

Pop included Victoria in this for now, just in case she wouldn't go with them. She sorta hoped the mare would, since like Benny said, she could use a friendly face around for this that wasn't covered in scales. She might not be frightened like Sprinkles were, but there were a good deal of nervousness regardless, especially after meeting the disapproving Jade.

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

 

@Lucid_Nightlight

"Alright, let's go see if she's home. Onwards my steed!"

The long-legged beanbag beneath her gave off a gurgling sound and started to run, following after Lucid. Anomaly could've flown too if she wanted to, but she liked the comfy thing she had now, and didn't want to make it weird with awkward air wobbling. Better as a ground mount in her opinion, and she had made it, so she decided.

They got some funny looks on the way there, but this town really had been jaded by draconequui before it seemed, since they didn't go into a panic or try to attack. Some foals were moved away and nopony approached them at all, but duh, one of them.were hovering on a large picture, and the other had a skittering beanbag underneath them. If they hadn't been cautious, they'd frankly be crazy.

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

 

@EQ_Theta @Storm Shine

"Clayton is here?"

Amethyst seemed to lighten up at this message, and rose her hoof to check her mane. It was not perfect, but with the current situation, surely he'd forgive her for that. The dear colt were always so considerate.

"Such a mess for him to see, but alas, what is a mare to do? Hopefully the door breaks down soon so he can come in.

And I know the refractions well. I stumbled upon one of them when I were a teenager, and he taught me greatly about gems. It's because of him that I could make the Changeling Emeralds stable and wearable, rather than consuming. The elixir that softened me up again is just a concentrated dosage of that.

I've never seen a small one before though, but I always figured it was because they had gotten diluted by mingling with the regular dragons. Have to be a reason they haven't been seen by most beings for a while. Beyond them being insanely reclusive."

She deliberately did not mention if the one she had met were still alive, or if she still saw him, as she did not trust these enough to share much information currently. They might be hunting Filigree, and that was nice and all, but they were also running around with Discord. It took away some points, considering the stories she had heard.

"Now I want to he-"

"I came here looking for information about Filigree. The information I gathered stopped ten years ago, and I needed a fresher lead."

Rosa interrupted before Amethyst asked him her full question, just as he cracked the third small hole around Sen.

"And what is your interest in her? You're another one of her victims?"

"In a sense."

It was frustrating for Amethyst to hear so little being given back from him. They just had a name and a purpose, and quite frankly she were getting tempted to go over and beat more information out of him. But first off her leg was still softening up, and secondly, she did not wish to be seen as hitting somepony when Clayton came in. What would he not think of her?

Rosa largely ignored her, but kept his ears straight to hear what was going on around him. As a bat pony, hia increased hearing were well suited for this, though he wouldn't have to go at this much longer. A minute or two more, and he should have damaged the door around Sen's right side enough to make a hole and either get him loose, or make it easier to apply some sort of soap to slip him out.

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

 

@genessee

"Hey, you're back. How did the delivery go?"

Berry bounced over to Lance and put down a small cup of coffee in front of him. She figured that serving him what he got the last time was okay, just in a smaller amount, so she had brought him a little cup to get his energy boosted up again.

She looked over at the pony that Lance seemed to be glancing at. She didn't know who this were, but with all the tourists, newcomers and workers outside right now, that wasn't a big surprise. There were tons of new faces, and for all she knew, this could be one of them. Or somepony the conspiracy sent to monitor her, and see if she found the brain control robots in their sugar. So far she hadn't, so they wouldn't get a result, but she weren't stopping just because Chop called her crazy. If that was the sort of thing that would hold her back, she would've never went to the loonie bin in the first place whilst they tried to have *therapists* get her over her *delusional fixation*.

"Berry, Alonsus wishes for a moment of your time."

She jumped a little as the hulking mass of stallion suddenly stood behind her and attempted to get her attention.

"Sheesh man, you're out to scare my mane off? I'm gonna have to retaliate from this."

"Not right now Berry, today have been testing."

She were surprised at hearing - and seeing now too, as she leaned her had backwards and starred up at him - how down he seemed to be. She had never seen him like this before. Not at work, not in town, not at home when he thought that nopony were looking in through his window, nowhere. He had always seemed either happy, grandiose, or relaxed about everything.

"We'll just let that one slide then. What's up?"

"Could you inform Straw that I will be back in about an hour? A personal issue have arisen that cannot be avoided by this stallion."

"Yeah sure, count on me."

"Thank you."

Berry's eyes followed closely as he went directly over to the lanky pegasus' table and started speaking with him in too low a tone for her to hear it, before they both left. It seemed like the pegasus had left a tip on the desk though, so even if this seemed off, she'd give him the benefit of the doubt. Tipping the waitress tended to be a thing good ponies did.

"So... That was weird. Did something happen, or have the mind-controlling substances in his drinking water finally made him loco?"

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

 

@Moonlit @Seamore Sandwich @Dji

"It's Thursday your highness, and roughly 16:35 in the evening."

Last had spend a lot of time glancing at the clock as she had wandered around Ponyville for the last 30 hours or so, to estimate by the speed things went at how long it would be before they were done, or to see when the next shift of somepony would be there, how long travel routes for materials were, etc. It had become a necessity for her, and on her way here from the hospital, she had looked up again out of habit.

"The Siren an the Specter in the room have been invited here by Princess Twilight after we discovered them at the river near town. They have both arrived without being noticed to avoid panic, and so far  appear to be friendly."

She heard a sound behind her and turned to see a crystal looking like it was about to break off, and the unnamed ghost looking like something was bothering her. Enough ghosts had been there in Last's life for her to know roughly what was going on, and she couldn't have that.

"Hey! Snap out of it. The royal princesses are not your enemies."

The crystals started to vibrate slightly less, as Cherish heard the words and found some small amount of comfort in them, but she still wasn't talking. She had always been a very emotional being, and being dead did not mean that it was easier to just calm down or relax when told to. In fact, she had found it to be worse now, since it was ever present that things could escalate and she'd be engulfed in emotions, leading her to lash out rather than just look confused or act irrationally.

Edited January 29, 2018 by Blitz Boom

[Sekel 692]

@Blitz Boom

KARMIC FATE

”No no no, I got it wrong. Your future is all over the place,” Karmic tutted to herself. She shook her head from side to side and levelled her gaze at him, now slightly fourth step away than before. She saw that he had done a lot of things in his life, and will continue to do them. “Then again .... maybe not. I do not know of what storm you speak of,” she murmured and seemingly had her gaze driven towards the ceiling. “Shapes ... sizes ... fogs ... destruction .... all these things I see,” she breathed in a whimsical way, laughing airily. “You don’t know the half of what I ssssee, Sssserpanther,” she added in a giggle, hissing in imitation of a snake.

@Blitz Boom & @Moonlit & @Seamore Sandwich

TWILIGHT SPARKLE

“Last is right on the time and day, but I thought you would know that, Princess,” Twilight said in confusion. She glanced at Cherish and the vibrating crystal. “Poltergeist. That is a new one,” she admitted but her gaze was drawn back to Celestia. “Are you sure you know who or what brought you here?”

@Blitz Boom & @Widdershins

DAWN STREAK

”Hey! Don’t you dare place bets on this relationship!” Dawn yelled out to Spicy and Marley and was uncaring for the most part about admitting what was happening. “Wind carries voices you know!”

[Lucid_Nightlight 923]

@Blitz Boom

While Lucid was floating on a picture of Bill Gates on the way the to the cottage, he had a question.

"Is Billy Neighs still making those cleaning product commercials or did something change while I was gone?"

Edited January 29, 2018 by Lucid_Nightlight

[Moonlit 593]

@Blitz Boom @Seamore Sandwich @Dji "♪ THURSDAY!? ♪" Serenade shouted before clamping her forelegs against her muzzle. But it was....oh no. Her eyes contracted to pinpricks as she rapidly looked between Luna, Celestia and Twilight. 

[EQ_Theta 452]

@Blitz Boom @Storm Shine

“Seems we all have some interest in Rose, or Filigree if you’re insistent on specific names.” 

Lin didn’t expect this, seeing how many others would cross paths with Silky Rose one way or another. The same could be said about the refractions being able to talk. If Shrimp could have lengthy conversations with her, that would be a very interesting thing to experience. Now that they’re all on the forefront and racing to stop her, it may be wise to get some perspective. On that note, she decided get everyone else in, if they could fit inside the store without tripping on the changeling emeralds, that is. A gate opened next to her but just out of reach from the parasitic crystals. Lin walked over an stuck her head through to the other side just where she last saw Omen, Clayton, and Discord outside.

“Come on in. Watch your feet though; there are plenty of those crystals on the floor.”

“Back to what we came here for,” Sen added, seeing what Lin was up to and not wishing to leave the conversation just stuck there. “Other than Filigree and Rose being one and the same, she’s also looking to use a jeweled beast heart with the changeling emeralds to take over Equestria. Fiddler told us those things but that was when Rose came for him. Did she say something to you that could help us, or at least point us to another lead?”

With Sen just standing at the door, he figured he could also try to learn about how Rose would likely fight with magically charged crystals. He would need to remain on the move and hit fast just to make sure he wouldn’t be encased and trapped. It was worrying but he wouldn’t know how to really put that thought into practice until the real battle commenced. Whatever plan he came up with relied on hypothetical scenarios he shared with Lin back home and they didn’t have time to test it. Perhaps he wouldn’t need to use it but if it ever became necessary, he would have let Omen know about it too, lest their movements become sluggish and uncoordinated. Maybe he’ll let her know later or if she asks about it. 

[Victoria Sponge 1,016]

@Blitz Boom

"Until we meet again my fine fellows!"

Felix tipped his hat once again and began to trot the other way beckoning for Sprinkles to follow.

"Come on Sprinkles, I'm sure you intended to drop in on Lemon if you haven't already, she'll be glad to see you."

Sprinkles nodded and gestured to him to wait a second.

"We'll meet again for sure, this little family is spread all across Equestria."

She patted Victoria's head playfully to which Victoria responded with a smile and a roll of her eyes as she adjusted her mane again.

"You'll definitely see me if you are in Fillydelphia but don't be surprised to see me in Canterlot either, that's where my colfriend is from, Sky Scraper. If I'm not there and he is, look out for him, he'll probably be working on one of his buildings, making sure every detail is built just as he planned it. And as for Ponyville, Battenberg's aunt Raspberry Drizzle works in Cloudsdale so she's often around that area, lovely mare, a pegasus like me, super competitive. I'm sure she'd be happy to chat to you. Anyway I guess I'll see you guys around, good luck with the dragons!"

She gave Pop and Benny a tight squeeze each and Toxen a gentle and slightly shaky hug before whizzing off to join Felix. Victoria did not follow suit, instead she skipped around to face Benny.

"You're letting me come! Thank you. Maybe I can help keep your mother calm in the presence of ponies!"

[Amanita 6,826]

@Blitz Boom

Mirage thought a bit, then answered Stargazer’s question. (I swear I almost put Blitz Boom instead of Stargazer. Wow me.) “Maybe the tents first? So we could get settled a bit? If we aren’t disturbing anypony of course. As to you’re question (I don’t remember whether or not they introduced themselves to each other or not) Jelly, I’m not completely sure.“

Amanita thought on Jelly’s question now, she had never really thought of eating anything else... “I don’t know the answer to that honestly. Maybe? It would be interesting to find out!“ She looked happy with being able to start a new, and hopefully better life here. 

@Dji

“That sure sounds interesting! Must take a lot of practice though, even if it is a special talent. I bet a lot of ponies, and others, are interested in your inventions!“ Mistletoe smiled a goofy grin at Watts, and then just followed her as she led the way to her stall. At times tripping over his own hooves, but thankfully never falling. (Clumsy child o’ mine)

[Seamore Sandwich 471]

@Blitz Boom 

@Moonlit 

@Dji 

 

“For us it was Saturday night.  This must be the Traveller, but why would he bring us here?”  Celestia paced back and forth as she tried to figure it out.  Meanwhile, Luna turned her attention toward the siren, “Surely you must still have the necklace I gave you.  For you, that should have been two nights ago.  Why then do you not wear it?”

 

@Blitz Boom

 

“It’s very bold of you to speak out in such a way.  I like that.  It shows me that you have a brave heart and will likely stand strong in the face of danger.  Also, your skepticism is welcomed, as it tells me you won’t be easily fooled, another good trait for a hero.  What tales have you?  Surely your accomplishments must be many?” Marcus seemed genuine and sincere in his questions.  He did however shift the attention of the room toward Brute Force. The question now would be how she would react under pressure.  This was a test, and if she passed, she would definitely become a part of the team.

 

@Blitz Boom 

 

“Wait, am I the only one here who’s not a doctor?”  Charlie didn’t manifest a form while speaking, just simply glowed with each word.  “Charlie?  How can that be you?  It’s not possible.  Aagh,” Dr. Xeno said, grabbing his head in pain.  This confusing situation wasn’t helping him recover at all.  “I’ll be fine, it’ll pass.”

 

 

@Blitz Boom 

 

Penny quickly pulled out another coin, unwrapped it, then reshaped it around a ball of frosting just like the others and rewrapped it. She put the chocolates into her saddlebag that was sitting on the floor, and put on the saddlebags.  “Do you want anything specific for the trip?” she asked as she began to fill up a bag with various candies.

 

@Blitz Boom 

 

“What we’re looking for is made to look like a stone, but it’s slightly darker and much more jagged than most of the stones you’ll see on this road.  I’ll worry about the traps, you just focus on making sure we’re not discovered as I search,” Gaea said as she began to follow along the road, doing her best to keep herself hidden behind the bushes.  She would poke her head out of the bushes every few yards to look at the road.  Each time she poked her head out, she ran the risk of being seen, but it was necessary if she wanted to see the road well enough to find the traps, hence asking Zhu to keep a lookout.

[FanOfManyShows 396]

@Blitz Boom

She looked down as the griffon spoke, taking the time they had to consider the words, she already knew that Chow probably crushed on her, although hadn't really considered it considering their age gap. But then there was the gap in the floor that was in front of them, exchanging a glance at Blackbeak, letting out a soft chuckle. Her legs lifting off the ground as she floated slightly, not going far up before she fell back down, kicking dust up from the floor. "That should've made me float over." She looked to her hooves, glancing at Brick, then to the Screaming Path. "Oh, right." She said to herself, realizing the magic for it was sucked up by the Path. "Yeah I'll wait here for you to pick me up."

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

A smirk crossed the mare's face as Scarcity acknowledged the situation. "I had interest in magical artifacts for quite some time." She stood up and walked over to Iron, stumbling slightly on her fixed leg. "Although, quite a few I discovered long after I could use them." She said, taking hold of the horn from Iron and placing it back on the stand. "Such as the horn, I tried to sound it to draw my sister to me, but she never came. Not even to just chat."

"I know a few who can resist the call of the horn, but it only postpones their arrival." Iron Star added, Sapphire nodding. "But at least you came to its call on the first sound."

She smiled slightly. "Well, Scarcity, do you have a plan? Because both Warlock and Athriel are still free, and all of us are too weak to fight them. Your Screaming Path is even preventing us magic users from fighting them too."

"We have the element of hatred to help us."

Sapphire looked to the element that remained in the corner. "We shouldn't use it, it only causes what it embodies, we'd end up with hatred towards the enemy without reason for it."

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

He nodded as he landed next to Enzo, hearing the echoing sounds of his speech as they went throughout the castle, birds flying off from the castle, and even some rats running out of the castle as well. "Well, at least they know where here." He drew out his wings and trotted forward. 

With several minutes to recover, and the lack of a threat to hold him back, Warlock blasted out of the castle at high speeds, looking up to Enzo with surprise as he flew straight up into the sky. "Why do I trust anypony?" He mumbled to himself, putting his hooves together and charging up a ball of magic, and while it wouldn't seem as powerful, it'd be something that Enzo may recognize from last time his traps were obliterated by it.

[Moonlit 593]

@Seamore Sandwich @Dji @Blitz Boom "♪It failed, Ziggy and I were exploring the Castle of the Two Sisters and it overloaded. I....♪" She bows her head, "♪I may have also used my full powers against a group of Timber-Wolves. I will accept any punishment you believe I merit♪

[genessee 535]

@Blitz Boom

Lance didn't speak up until he was sure Alonsus had left the diner, and even then, he spoke in a low tone. Just in case.

"Something happened... I'm not quite sure what it is, though. Hey, quick question; was Alonsus ever on parole?"

He felt a bit bad for talking about this behind Alonsus's back, but his curiosity outweighed the guilt. 

[Lil' Lovebug 1,041]

Satin didn't know what to say, so she just got up and brushed the dirt off her lavender fur. She slowly walked over to Vivid, and leaned against her, sitting there for a few moments, just trying to think.

"I guess we both overreacted," she finally whispered, thinking of the emotions she'd sensed. "An explanation would have been nice, but I'm glad I at least know now." Satin pulled back, assuming the demon mare was probably getting a little uncomfortable by now. "So what happens now?" 

Edited January 31, 2018 by Lil' Lovebug

[Blitz Boom 4,598]

@Dji

"You shouldn't be so sure, watcher."

Zhu rose up and pulled the hood back from his robe, revealing the scaled, tiger-striped head that he mostly kept hidden.

(imagine the right colors)

"I have been cursed with sight since before I was hatched. Every life I gaze upon unfolds in front of me, if I want it to or not. Your time is scattered, affected by the future of others, but you seem aware of it. So I wonder, are you just a speck of dust aware of what is ahead, or are you of the storm that is directing them?"

Zhu's forked tongue slithered back and forth a few times while he looked at Karmic. This time, he did not avert straight away, but began to filter through what he saw, looking for the perspective of this pony, and not of what she saw. A surprisingly testing task, but then again, it were not often he had met others with open eyes.

"...I have been of the storm for a long time. A guiding wind, chained to the duty of balancing what others perceive to be good and evil. Tell me, if you direct, what reason do you do it for? Personal gain? To better the lives of everypony? Or perhaps you understand that neither good nor evil can be allowed to reign?"

They way he spoke whilst attempting to learn more about the mare, were not how Karmic might have assumed he would speak. His words did not slither or hiss, and the S'es did not draw out. He had learned to instead growl a little whilst speaking to combat this, which to some made his otherwise neutral voice have a small sense of aggression going over it.

He mostly only hissed now if he was in pain, if he cast a spell, or if he had to speak quickly, instead of calmly and controlled.

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

 

@Dji @Seamore Sandwich @Moonlit

"A siren with the princess' favor?"

Last looked surprised at the siren, even opening her closed eye ever so slightly without thinking about it, then jamming it shut nearly instantly whilst clamping her teeth shut. Accursed light-sensitive eye sometimes...

"Those... Who stand with her majesty, are no enemy of mine."

She wanted to say a little more, but she started to taste copper again, and had to stop before she drooled blood on the floor. Biting down this hard were not a smart thing in the long run, but she couldn't show weakness when three of the four princesses of Equestria were in front of her. She'd have to be fuming at the muzzle or unconscious for that to happen.

Meanwhile, Cherish stepped a little closer, still trying to pace her mind a little again after her small elapse. You could see that she weren't all there yet though, as she flickered every now and again when her focus was elsewhere.

"I'm not a poltergeist. It's just... I got worried that the princesses would banish me or something, and I got a little carried away. I-I'm sorry."

She could have specified a little more, like how she had been starting to worry that if she had gotten banished, she'd be sent straight to Tartarus, but she'd rather not think about that again, much less speak about it.

"The doctor she speaks off is in the hospital now after some injuries. She should be okay."

Last were feeling somewhat better after she had taken a few deep breaths and swallowed the blood in her muzzle, and took to talking again, this time directly to Princess Celestia.

"Might I ask though, who is this Traveler? Another enemy? Say the word your highness, and I will gather what fighters this town still have on their hooves, and prepare them for a potential attack."

Last might not be a guard in the actual sense, but she had her duties much like one, which for now were to get the town fixed safely. If an attacker would come, making sure that the town and those in it were safe however, would be a higher priority, and she would have to evacuate the place. She could also ask the large dragon, but if this Traveler could send those like the princesses through time with little issue, she had doubts that he would be of much help.

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

 

@Dji @Widdershins

"I'm a gambler sugar, I bet on anything. And with how you two are storming ahead with your relationship, it's simply rife for a few bets.

But hey, you can prove us both wrong and make your own bet on how it goes. Nopony have put bits on either of you pinning the other to a wall right now and really start smooching. I'd wager 20 bits against it if you're interested."

Marley moved a little closer to Spicy, and started to roll his eyes as she spoke. In this case, poking to the emotional couple didn't seem like the best option, and he were starting to prep himself to having to defend the teasing mare again from a potential assault. Sometimes though, he wished that he could *slip up* and let her be roughed up a bit. Might do her good when the line got drawn and she jumped over it.

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

 

@EQ_Theta @Storm Shine

Luckily for Lin, the crystals did not seem to react on the portal, either because they were too busy being eaten right now, or the influence from Mother's realm that mainly had part in these things, were not registering for them. Curious, but potentially useful in the long run.

Amethyst looked at the portal with narrowed eyes, unsure how bad this might end up being, yet kept it to herself for now.

"Filigree just blabbered on about getting her revenge on those who had stalled her from getting her price, and how now that she had the heart, Equestria would bow before her as soon as she had mastered it. I think she is using her attacks to test the boundaries."

Looking over at the gate, Omen was the first to wander through, with Clayton cautiously following afterwards. He did not like this all too much, but he had to try and get inside, and a mysterious hole like this opening up had taken the others before, and they had returned. It had to be safe... R-Right?

"Clayton! Oh my dear stallion, it have been far too long."

He somehow wished he had stayed outside after all when Amethyst had walked straight over to him after his passage, and embraced him with a big smile on her face a cheery tone.

"It's good to see you too Amethyst. You uhm... Look well."

"Always the charmer, aren't you? I barely had the chance to freshen up when I heard you were showing up."

She let go off him again, and frowned briefly as she looked at the dirt stains she had gotten on her coat.

"Have you meddled around in the mine again Clayton? Never able to stand on the sidelines, are we?"

"I had to when it came to that mine. With her in there, I couldn't let them walk in alone. It's dangerous."

"Years go by, but you're still the thoughtful colt I remember, aren't you?"

He smiled awkwardly with a blush on his cheeks and averted his eyes. Amethyst had always been very... Outspoken about how she felt about him back when they worked at the mine, and he had never known what to say or do about her advances. After the episode ten years ago, they had barely seen one another for a few years before it got relegated to the occasional letter and the yearly meet-up they had to remember their friends, and in that time, they had not had the strength of mind to think on flirtations and things like that.

Fiddler had taken it the worst, blaming himself for everything and stopping to contact them quickly afterwards. They tried to keep in touch with him, but there were only so many times that you could send missives without answer before it got pointless.

Spelt, Amethyst and Clayton all got past things their own way and lived life again as well as could be expected, though they had eventually toned the yearly gathering out, as it kept cutting into old wounds, and now... Well, it had been four years since he had last seen Amethyst, and now he were back to not knowing what to do about her advances. She were pretty, it wasn't that, but he just didn't know. He weren't exactly good with mares. Only his assistant worked well there, but Belladonna were a special case too. Not romantically, as he frankly couldn't see it happen, but he felt more safe around her than others.

A head poked through the portal, as one of their previously petrified co-workers tried to see if it was safe to go to the other side. Almost immediately, he locked eyes with amethyst who looked horrified, then shocked.

"Y-You're... Oh dear Celestia!"

She jumped at the startled stallion with tears going down her face, stumbling through the portal to the outside in the process. From the sounds of things, she appeared to be sobbing whilst attempting to talk with those she had thought lost.

Meanwhile, Sub Rosa finally got done with what he were working on, and with a slight kick, a piece of the door fell off, leaving some wriggling room for Sen.

"Shrimp is making faces."

Omen had just observed things when she entered, but right now her focus were on her pet, who seemed to be a little woozy. Lin would likely recognize this as the sated look she tended to get the other times before the refraction let off a stream of glittery white fire, but it seemed unlikely that she'd be able to stop it before it burst out towards the door, narrowly missing Sub Rosa, who had been walking to the side to give Sen some room. Sen however... Well, it depended on how fast he might have been to get loose from the door. Otherwise, he'd have a special moment much like his sister had earlier.

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

 

@Battenberg

"I don't know, but it can't hurt to try. We better catch up with Toxen before something bad happens though."

"What kind of bad?"

Benny grinned.

"She might come back."

Pop gave him a playful tap on the shoulder as the dragon moved on, heading for the nearby temp home of his parents.

They would barely move two minutes before it came into sight too. A large building, more in width then height, with a smoking chimney showing that somepony were home. They should also be able to see by the fact that Toxen were hanging out one of the two windows and waving at them to get nearer.

"Here goes..."

Pop went nervously over and pushed herself past Benny to knock on the door, and waited for the judgement to come.

Slowly it crept open, and she saw the most... Most... Apathetic dragon she had ever laid her eyes upon.

He were of the same size as Benny, with flaming red colors and bright green eyes, and adorning a dark-brown, knuckle-height beard that covered most of his jaw and went into an increasingly slimming neck beard, stopping in a point just before his chest.

He seemed muscular in it compared to Benny, though despite what could likely have been an intimidating sight if he worked for it a little, he just looked between the ponies and Benny like he were a bunch of cabbages on the street. Mildly interested in seeing them there, but not enough to stop up.

"Hey son. Glad you could make it."

Benny went over and hugged his old man, who mainly just stood there and took it as he glanced between the two others, not knowing who was who.

"It's great to see you dad. This here's P-"

"I honestly don't care right now. Come on in."

He moved back into the house after Benny had let go of him, leaving hte door open for them to walk inside.

If they looked in past the slowly-walking dragon, they'd be able to see a pretty standard living room, minus a few pictures. It was also pretty hot in there, so hopefully the two mares wouldn't have an issue with what felt like summer heat indoors.

"That was... Unexpected."

"Something's not right... You two uhm, might wanna stay alert. Could be that there's a problem."

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@MiragetheChangeling

"We should try later then. It'll be fun."

Jelly bounced so much in place that Greg started to skitter around on her head, annoyed by having his nap disturbed.

"All in due time. You wished to get to the tent area, then I will show you the way. Please follow me."

Stargazer lead the way towards the tent area not too far from them, making sure that he were in front so that the citizens could see who was leading who around. it might be that changelings had been a help when the monster attacked, but it did not mean that the locals felt all that safe around them currently, and he did not want some of the other guards to stop and-

"Halt!"

- question them. *sigh* this was going to be a long day...

"Can I help you?"

"Just need to check if everything is alright here."

Stargazer looked the young Solar Guard that had stopped them into the eyes and shook his head. Barely more than a colt this one. Likely eager to prove himself in the eyes of his superiors.

"They are newcomers, and harmless. On behalf of the Night Guard, I vouch for them. Not that you could do anything regardless. You do know the laws that have been put into place to protect changelings with no outstanding warrants, yes?"

The guard seemed to stagger for a moment by this information, then smiled slightly.

"Really? And who do we have warrants out for? Only Chrysalis?"

"Yes. Now do you mind?"

The guard would move out of the way, whilst Stargazer shook his head over the weird line of questions from this guard. Were he more awake, he might've gotten paranoid and had this one checked, but as it were right now, he simply didn't think that much about it.

Either of the changelings however, might be able to tell something was off by the faint smell of changeling magic on this pony. Not enough to call him out as being one, but influenced on the other hoof...

But they might miss it as well, at which point they would simply move on to the tent area and have whatever were happening here stay where it were.

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

 

@Seamore Sandwich

"I'm the first unicorn in Las Pegasus' history to be crowned the Western Equestrian Fighting Champion."

Some murmur were around when she did not say more, and some laughter, as if this were not an achievement in itself, which frankly finally did get on her nerves. It were hard work for a unicorn to get to this, especially in a tournament were wings and brawn were allowed, but magic were forbidden. It was a fight against the natural order to do what she had done, and these little sword-swingers were not more impressive for swirling metal around.

"The invitation came to Merc Assault in my town, but he have mostly retired, so he asked me to come in his stead since it was the off season for me, and he wanted to have Las Pegasus well represented.

I might not have adventures to my name, or whatever tales you expect, but I've never had a need for it either. I've gotten to where I am through hard work that requires focus, determination, and not listening to negative types that tells me that something is impossible, no matter how many times I was beaten down.

I've come here to help because I was asked to by somepony that I respect, but I don't stand on his legacy. I stand on my own accomplishments and frankly, if you don't want me here? Then fine, I'll go back and tell him that it was a bust, It isn't a dent in my life to be prematurely judged by a bunch of creatures who thinks that you're not tough unless you've hunted giant rats out of gardens for pocket change."

That last comment hit some beings a little too close to home, which were kind of the point too.

Merc Assault was a well known name in the adventurer circles these days, though he hadn't been that active in the last few years. Most assumed he had just not found a challenge worth it, but truth were that he simply wanted to spend some time with his family now, and kept his actions close to home to not worry them too much.

That being said, Brute stood on her own pedestal, not his. She had accomplished something which had been seen as impossible, and she would not stop until she went from Western, to National, to International champion. if that sort wasn't good enough for Marcus? Then fine, she could get on with her life and make an impact on her own. It would be his loss, not hers.

"If you don't think I have what it takes, then try and set me up against one of your adventurers to prove my point. Some of the tougher competitors in here look like they might last ten or fifteen seconds."

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

 

@Seamore Sandwich

"Aaarg, ghostghostghost!!!"

Ziggy flailed when the stick started to talk and knocked it right into the air, where the mimic would catch it, bring it back down, and then go up to slap the zegasus.

"Hey, what was that for?"

It was a little hard to tell from her charades, but it was either *Your leg need the stick* or *Pony fly fly wooden leg*. Honestly it seemed more accurate to guess the first option.

"Lively little creature it seems. And you should calm down there young lady. You're not ready to make movements like that yet, and whoever is in that stick is not a ghost, it's a forest spirit. It's not the same.

Would you care to back me up Xeno?"

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

 

@Seamore Sandwich

Scarcity made a dismissive hoof movement.

"Thank you for the concern, but I have what I need. Shall we go and retrieve our package then? Or does these not allow transporting items with you? It is a wondrous new venue, and I hardly know what limitations might be in these little things."

Knowing what exactly they could do might prove useful in the long run. get a batch more fine tuned with her storage locker for example, and she could have her wares in her shop quite a big quicker, or to a restaurateur of her choosing. Some of the items that she legally acquired were in hot demand,a nd could barely get to her fast enough currently.

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

 

@Seamore Sandwich

Zhu would do as was asked of him for now, and started to whip the wind up around him, and throughout the forest. He might have some objects in his robe that could be of use to track things better, but they required setup, and this were something he had to get done now. So for the time being, he would let the wind carry word with it if it were spoken, and glance at the animals they got near to see if there were secrets hidden in their futures. If they were to run into the thieves, either of those should inform him of their potential involvement in things before they arrived. It might also tell him of somepony heading towards them that would end up being the victims of mentioned scoundrels.

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@Lloyd

It wasn't long until Blackbeak was back, after having slumped off Chow on the other side with Brick.

"Don't squirm unless you want to be dropped."

With that being said, she fluttered above Astral, and took a grip around the stomach of the mare with both her paws and her hands. It would keep her stable as they flew through the air and over on the other side of the ruined floor, where the griffon would set her down as easily as she had picked her up. provided that said mare did not do something foolish like wriggle around a lot in flight so she'd get dropped and Blackbeak would have to dive for her, but here was hoping that a near-crash was not part of things.

"There, you're-"

The bellowing voice roaming through the entrance caught her off guard, and she went into a defensive stance, with Brick down the same right... Wait, where were Brick? He had been here less than a minute ago when she had flown over to the other side to pick up Astral. He weren't... Oh that foolish pegasus sometimes! Scarcity was going to pluck her if she returned and Brick wasn't safely with her. Accursed guard training must have caused him to wander ahead when he heard some commotion outside to keep a potential danger away from their wounded. A good distraction, but right now were not the time for this.

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

 

@Lloyd

"All of the elements carries risks, but hatred do seem a poor choice. It will simply cloud your mind dear, and you'll need your focus.

As for your leeches, I have a container ready to imprison Athriel in once again, and in regards to Warlock, I don't see your fear. You may be without magic when the Screaming Path or the Amulet of Gluttony is around, but so is he, and he needs it to move with those damaged legs of his. In a purely magic-devoid fight, we carry the advantages, and you needn't worry. I have no interest in using either object to drain you of your magic. When everything is over, they will return to where they belong.

And do not try to stop that darlings. Those two I can use to handle magic, but I have more tools up my proverbial sleeve to deal with those who attempts to stab me in the back.

Hmhm, but all in due time. You ask for a plan, yes? Would a location and their goal suffice? You see, a few little birds have told me that a certain Serpanther have grazed Canterlot with his presence. His insight should prove useful to us.

Or we can skip ahead, and you can tell me something relevant that I can ask my sources to scour up. Perhaps if I knew who these two ponies actually were, I could track their history and find some places of relevance to them that they may hide in? Among other things."

Information were what made Scarcity dangerous. Much as she had artifacts of power and the will to use them if needed, the things that she knew, or could find out, tended to be the best weapons she had access to, and she wielded them effectively. Information on Warlock and Athriel's actual names could be enough for her to begin tracking them down, but it would also open the door for the mare to know something about them. It was a trade that carried risk, but it might be their only option.

Unless of course, they decided to go and see the serpanther known as the Stranger, or The one with open eyes, as she had heard it described somewhere else.

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

 

@Lloyd

Enzo looked up at Warlock whilst he prepared his spell, and the sphinx readied himself for it.

"Bring forth your attack, traitor. I will judge you like I should have done when first I laid eyes upon you."

He spread his large wings and the pegasi all fell confused to the ground. A little precaution from Enzo's side, as those flying right now would just end up as target practice, or collateral. Neither of which would likely reflect well on him.

The spell would not work on Warlock, so he did not even bother to attempt t. He just stood ready, prepared to dodge the attack, or if he were lucky, send it back. His cuffs and necklace were made from pretty solid bones of ancient dragons. There was a chance he might be able to reflect things slightly.

Out of the corner of her eye, a small movement caught his attention for a brief moment, but it returned within a second again. Whoever the pony he could see witht he mirror around his neck were, he were surely not of any problem to someone like him. Not compared to Warlock.

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

 

@genessee

Berry looked surprised at him, and almost jumped up on the table to point at him and yell *I knew you were here to spy on me, foul breeder of porcupines and spy rays!" but she had some luck keeping some of her physical outbursts in at times. The slight shock definitely helped though.

"I dunno how you heard that, but come on, not the place for it. Back room! Nopony goes tot he coffee beans except me."

With that she put on a big fake grin, and bounced out to the back. Hopefully Lance wouldn't lave her hanging since she kinda had to be busy here. They had customers today after all, and some of them were likely nice, innocent pawns in the great conspiracy.

The back room would not be impressive either. It was literally crates of coffee beans, a desk, and a pen. How joyful.

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

 

@Lil' Lovebug

"I don't know. It have been a long, long time since anypony have spoken to me long term without there being a contract between them and me. What do ponies of today do to bond?"

Back in her time, they had been more basic and would just basically hang out without much of a plan except spur of the moment things, or they'd work together on the fields. That was her idea of it anyway, since she were never invited to take part in things, but it had always seemed nice.

Times had changed however, and things were not as they once were. She might as well get used to that and follow the times. Just as long as it did not involve breaking into song... She had seen it a few times now, and it was frankly a little disturbing. Like a hive-mind who was into musicals.

"The only thing I know off which apparently are still a thing, are going to see a play. I was surprised to see that this were still a thing ponies went to after a few millennia. Though the stories are softened compared to those that I remember hearing when I was a small one."

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

 

@Lucid_Nightlight

Anomaly shrugged at the question from her comfortable seat.

"No idea who that even are. Some kind of celebrity pony? I only really follow the garden programs. It's fun to mess with them."

There had been a few times where she had caused a few things to react in the background of certain plant shows she had stumbled over, but it was all just in good fun. Nopony had so far gotten seriously hurt, and she were sure that the trauma she induced wouldn't be that bad. Surely everypony would eventually have a laugh at how their garden hoses got to life and tried to eat the fillies in the audience, or the plants started to spit fireballs. Just some good, wholesome fun for the whole family.

"Did the Billy one clean gardens by any chance? Because let me tell you, they really don't like that. Give the plants some arms and jaws and they'd be on you like a swarm of dinosaurs."

The fact that s he ended that sentence with a laughter was mildly disturbing completely awesome.

Edited February 1, 2018 by Blitz Boom
Forgot one

[genessee 535]

@Blitz Boom

Lance followed Berry to the back room (After taking the coffee she had given him), and looked around rather suspiciously.

This reminds me of that alleyway, all cut off from everything else.

"Uh... alrighty."

He spent a few seconds surveying the room before he would start to talk, so Berry would get a chance to speak before him.

 

[Widdershins 9,959]

@Dji & @Blitz Boom

"Because you are! That's why!"

 Kaltrop puffs out in indignation and frustration. Flexing upward under the mare (... the situations I have to narrate...) wings still against the ground as he archs his back upward, the drake continues his exclamations of surprise.

"I'm not a taxi service! I am a dragon! ...Get..."

 In one syllablic moment, Kaltrop's wings foomph upwards and down in a reflexive attempt to rebut Dawn's attack and provide enough lift under the dragon. In an instant, enough dust is blown away from them to temporarily avert the onlooking gaze of Spicy Rolls and Marley while still being quite apparent that the two had taken off by the sounds of things, the short flurry of action and sound almost drowning out the drake's final word of: "...Off!"

 In not much more time than she could likely catch on to, Dawn Streak is now about twice as high in the air as the nearby houses and on the back of the dragons she so fears. Depending on how strong her wing strength is, she'll likely have to cooperate with an equally uncooperative young dragon if she wants to get back down.

 

        Roll a D20 for an Ability Check.                  Hey! I'm not that predictable!  

Heh! And you said you weren't going to respond to me in the narration!

 I'm not! I mean... get back to your own part of the post! 

************************************************************************************************************************************************

@Blitz Boom again!

  Hah! HAH! HAH!!

 Widdershins cackles in what was likely intended to sound more like a conversational nervous chuckle before his last 'hah' seemed to have struck a nerve and gone far too deep in tone to a more panicked crack of insanity despite his expression remaining that of bemusement. 

 That's a good one there. I do thank you though for looking to me for this. Trouble is, I technically qualify as a "Spirit." A subtype, really, but enough to qualify for most spells. If I get anywhere near that device, it's sucking me in with it and I'll become a part of it too. Considering its current state, I'm sure we can all agree that would only make things markedly far worse.

  ...Oh huh. Remembered reprecussions this time. Neat.

... Well, though! I can tell you what I can offer for this situation, my diminutive equines, and that happens to be knowledge! Tis' the greatest gift, after all.

 Let's see then...

  The draconequus pauses in thought for a moment.

 To be honest with you, Spell Foci like this are incredibly unstable without the equivalent of an entire team of studied magi. Anything crafted to be smaller than the size of the beings that created it is almost never heard for anything other than its breaking. Especially for a case like this for Soul Entrapment.

  Disembodied Souls exist outside relation to Time. Carrying them about to experience the world pulls them further from the area they died at, and therefore their tether to the physical realm. In short, the further they are from what they know, the more unstable they are. Especially in large groups like this.

 Fortunately enough for you, while the nature of magic here might play by different rules, I do know of a realm where collectively trapping geists for applied use is a common practice! They had... yes, entire ghost-powered flamethrowers if I recall right.                        ...quite... beautiful a concept.

...Hmm?... Oh! My point being that there's some things spirits can't pass through! Typically pure, well-forged iron or silver. Truesilver or Mithril might help too, if you have that here.

 

    Now... if you happen to have any of that around here, we can scatter it into the room to stabilize their forms and settle them to a point where any mortal could be able to handle them like... like raw batter, for instance.

  ...avoid fire though. You don't want roving flame geists around. Or any elemental magic, I should say.

*****************************************************************************************************************************

B.B again

  Trotting back on to the grounds of the Sweet Apple Acres, Ambie still wasn't entirely sure what else had to be done to the wagon or what else the... changeling had had in mind at the time. Far as he knew, he had only taken the harness out to drag along the logs and make more work for himself. As usual. 

 Still, Ambie hadn't really paid all that much attention what very few times construction came up in the courses at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. Putting the thoughts aside for the time being, the pony headed into the Apple's barn to put the wagon roughly back where he had originally found it. Hopefully it being gone over night wasn't enough to cause issue with the ponies he was staying with under their good graces.

 

[Victoria Sponge 1,016]

@Blitz Boom

"A problem? Might it be their lack of manners? Even I never blanked anypony, I may not have been polite but at least I acknowledged their existence!"

Victoria looked mildly disgruntled and sighed, entering the establishment.

"Gosh it's hot in here, n-not that I can't take that. Battenberg's kitchen gets just as hot sometimes with all the ovens and the like. It ruins my mane though, dries it out, gives me split ends."

She looked around and frowned.

"Nice... place... I m-mean it's lovely. Lovely and... rustic."

She shook a little rock dust off her hoof.

"Well... if there is a problem here I'm sure I can handle it. I've dealt with grumpy dragons plenty of times even before that encounter with Jade earlier."

Though she talked herself up there was a hint of nervousness behind her eyes, this was the first time she'd been in a dragon habitat without her father. It was one thing dealing with one not so friendly dragon on the street, or standing by and letting Felix calm them down, but this was new for her.

 

[Lucid_Nightlight 923]

@Blitz Boom "I think he specialized more in kitchens, windows, and occasionally laundry. I once went to this place full of hairless monkey creatures and they had this guy named Billy MAYS, but I think he died of heart attack or something."

As Lucid finished his sentence, they have arrived at the cottage.

"I just realized that we could have just teleported... oh well, time to see if Discord is here!"

Lucid summoned a battering ram and knocked over the door.

Edited February 1, 2018 by Lucid_Nightlight

[Sekel 692]

@MiragetheChangeling

WATTS MECHANO

“A lot of ponies actually do come and get my inventions. Enough to keep the garage afloat anyway,” Watts told him. “Listen to me talk about myself. What about you? What do you do?” She chuckled.

@Blitz Boom

KARMIC FATE

If Karmic was taken aback by the sight of the striped snake head, she didn’t show it. Merely directed her gaze out towards the bars.

“Speck of dust, no. Storm? Not really. I’m more of a ... purveyor. I merely observe and nudge the ponies towards one of the multiple futures I see,” Karmic told him clearly, for once not acting like an airhead or as if she wasn’t all there. “Your future is not entwined with others like mine is. It’s more like a stepping stone between meeting others.”

@Blitz Boom & @Moonlit & @Seamore Sandwich

TWILIGHT SPARKLE

Twilight kept an ear on the conversation the Princesses were having with Last and glanced at Serenade. She had jumped at the outburst and walked forward slowly. “But it was...? What are you talking about?” Twilight asked gently, doing her best not to frighten the Siren even more than she already is. “What was the last thing remember?”

@Blitz Boom & @Widdershins

DAWN STREAK

“Aaaah!” Dawn squealed, clinging tightly onto the neck. Her wings flapped weakly So it was all she could do to hang on, lest she fall off and break a bone or something worse. “What are you doing!?”

[Widdershins 9,959]

@Dji & @B.B's gotta gun 

"What are YOU doing?!!? You're the one that's challenging a Dra-"

  Kaltrop gasps as he feels the weight of a mare tightly clinging to his neck. While coughing as if choked, there's not any amount of pressure enough for his neck to give in to as much as it sounds like. 

[EQ_Theta 452]

@Blitz Boom @Storm Shine

Sen didn’t pay much attention, having been distracted by the reunion happening before him. Only at the last moment when the burst of white flame appeared did the longma take notice and to back up and out the door he found himself stuck in. While mostly unharmed, so to speak, he fell on his back outside the shop while his senses were assaulted by a spray of light and heat. It was a surreal thing to see and feel; why would colors have different temperatures and why did it feel like that? He had no explanation for such and when he came to not five minutes later, he would feel his head still spinning with Lin sitting next to him inside the shop. 

“Seeing things normally now, brother?”

“My eyes are fine but thanks for asking.” Sen held his head a little higher off the ground while trying to keep the rest of him stable.” Little thing got me good but let’s try to avoid letting that happen again. I think I’m going to just stay down here for a while.” 

Reunions aside, there’s still Spelt to inform of the news and the crystals to remove, though with Shrimp’s hunger sated, it may be time to clear out the place of leftovers before moving on. Everything seems to be in place and if there isn’t much to do, it’s about high time to leave. Lin, however, wouldn’t say their time here is over just yet. She’d like to stay one step ahead. 

“I suppose if Rose is going to use the crystals to take over Equestria, you’d think she’d choose a central location to set the seeds and spread them outward. Anyone know where is she likely to strike first?"