open Casual stroll

EQ_Theta · June 18, 2020

“If it were simple for the exiles to return home to talk about their experiences, the longma back home would’ve done something about the practice. An exile is an exile no matter what they did to get themselves booted, and no one would take their word because of that label; I’d know. But you’ve given me something to think about and I hope I could stop this from further hurting anyone else.”

The conversation got Sen wondering if he could have a chance to meet another exile, living or otherwise, to understand how it was for them. As much as he was a victim of exile, his experiences were his own and he might have been luckier than others. Finding Omen was the first, and a lot of things started falling into place. Even finding friends among ponies lightened his burdens. That might just be what the folks back home needed to hear.

Although there was more for the longma to say, he would be interrupted by the arrival of a wyvern coming to greet them. That, and the unexpected sight of a floating carriage. Lin thought the wyvern would be the one hauling the carriage with them in it; the creature looked strong enough to support the combined weight and then some.

Lin stepped forward first, slowly approaching the creature with an outstretched claw. As cute and docile as Abacus looked, this was a wyvern and could still be agitated from someone unfamiliar getting a little too comfortable.

“Easy there, Abacus. How are you doing? It’s, uh… nice to meet you.”

Catpone Cerberus · June 19, 2020

@Widdershins

Cerberus mostly ignored the comments, now remembering why he felt the need to hit something with a flyswatter, it was because he somehow knew that it was popular somewhere to dislike this floating thing that was following him, he didn't know where, just that he would most likely never end up there.

"No, I don't have claws, though I would probably be worse climber if I did." "I mean, these hooves are amazing, I still have no idea how they work, even though I have them, all I know is that they kinda just stick to anything I want, and it's not just me, it's everypony in Equestria who have hooves." He explained while holding one of his front hooves up, and even though he was now walking on three legs only, it didn't seem to affect his balance in any way.
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@Blitz Boom
Ruby was bit puzzled by Leviathan's first comment because she had assumed it had been obvious that she wasn't talking about that anymore, but she didn't correct her for obvious reasons.

"Since I can't see inside myself, I can't be fully sure, but based on the amount of pain, it's healing the speed I expected it to." she informed, she didn't add anything regarding the books because it was clear that Leviathan tried to get away the previous topic and most likely connected the books to it, even though the only relation between it and the books were that the events lead Ruby to find said books.

She then suddenly got up "I think I'll take a walk, you going to join me?" she asked, but didn't wait for the answer as she started walking the moment she started the sentence.

If Leviathan was to look at Ruby's resting place now that Ruby wasn't laying there, she would be able to see the scratches on the stone that Ruby had made while talking earlier, they were surprisingly deep for being in a stone, and if she looked at Ruby's claws, it didn't seem like they had been damaged much by the stone, not that they were undamaged either, but lot less than one would expect from someone scratching stone.

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After few seconds Nada followed Ziggy to the kitchen, locating herself to a place where she wasn't in the way due to her size.

She looked through the book for a moment "Some kind of cupcake could be good, they are pretty basic right? I don't want to go too special before I know the basics after all." she didn't really have opinions on what looked good and what didn't since she hadn't eaten enough things to make such judgment.
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"I know I'm one to talk but Princess? not really the name I would give it" was the first thing Scarecrow said as things calmed down, maybe joking wasn't exactly the right reaction to two creatures almost being eaten, but there was a terrified pony still around and he wanted to make sure he didn't seem like a threat. He kept on digging himself out as he spoke "Besides isn't the prince usually the one who's the frog." sure his knowledge on fairy tails may have been outdated since he didn't know when he had learned that, but he was trying to relax the mood, even though based on appearances he was probably the one causing the most dread.

When he would eventually get out a way or another, he would proceed to clean any left over goo off himself before getting near anyone.

Blitz Boom · June 19, 2020

@EQ_Theta

Abacus would lean into Lin's claw, and rub against it with her spectral feathers, whilst letting out a somewhat pleased chirp. Wyverns were as prideful as their more evolved cousins, yet if you managed to work with that, and reign in their temper, they could be surprisingly gentle creatures.

"Isn't she simply adorable? Abacus have been in our family for generations, ever since our great grandfather once tamed her. She wasn't ready to move on with him though, when he passed, so we take care of her until she is ready to rejoin him. He's going to be so proud of all the good work you've done when he sees you again, Abacus. Yes he will."

"There is a little more to the story than that, like how nopony else can make him listen, but those are meaningless semantics. If everypony is ready, we should board, and get ready to fly."

Tomb had somewhat gotten the answer she had had hoped for before, from Sen, but time would show what would happen from that end, as sadly, it seemed to be out of his claws. Maybe this would do a little something though, which is what hope she'd cling to, and pray to the ancestors that things would eventually work out for the better.

She'd wander over and once she were near enough to the carriage, a small ramp would be pulled over from the stables, by Banshee's magic, and hooked up so that there were easier access for non flyers. As such, Tomb could take a position in the back, as the tourists needed the more front'faced seats, far as she were concerned.

With her a little further away, Shrimp dared to slither out of his hiding spot again, and would go up to Lin's head to get a better look at the large, spectral, dragon-like creature that were interacting with his caretaker.

He'd start letting out a few curious chirps, which for once, actually seemed to get a response that appeared as if they were understood fully, when Abacus suddenly rose her head and looked at him. Then she too began her own series of sounds, which were somewhat more hoarse and at times, hiss based, but considering Shrimp kept answering back with his own sounds, and neither seemed to harbor animosity for the other, it appeared as if they were having a friendly chat.

Trying to show off a little to her, Shrimp would rise up a little, and utter the name of the one he were currently situated on, as best he now could.

"Lihm!"

n response, Abacus would raise her head, puff out her chest, and slowly let out a haunting tone of her own.

"Roooo!"

The closest she could come to saying Boo, as the B sound weren't fit for her vocal cords, nor general intelligence. Shrimp seemed impressed none the less though, making his little noodle dance and chirping away in a pleased manner, like there were no tomorrow.

"Awh, isn't that precious? They're making friends. Who is this little bunde of joy, Lin?"

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@Handsome Changeling

"Is everything ready?"

"I triple checked, so it should be. Imagine what might happen if we were wrong?"

Two gasps were heard in the otherwise quiet theater. The building had seen better days, but it were near decommissioned when the Cheshire hive had been allocated the living space, and frankly, they had done a great job at fixing up the place. Reinforcing the walls, replacing the roof, cleaning it from top to bottom, etc. There were still a a lot of work to do repainting the outside, replacing some of the wiring so that all the chandeliers and projectors would function, a bit of piping, etc. But overall, the place were functional, comfy, and on track to return to its former glory. Just with a bit of changeling aesthetic added, such as their general bile-based way of reinforcing the walls being the primary way they had ensured it wouldn't collapse. Long as one didn't scrape the paint too much on the inside, that shouldn't be possible to see, but the outside had its clear marks. At least until they had gotten the painting done, which they hoped to do within the next week. Just had to wait for the right shade of burgundy to be back in stock in enough quantities, which had to be special ordered, but it would all be worth it in due time.

"A changelings life can be hard. All from the start. We're unwanted by everyone."

A somber, saddened, feminine voice were heard singing through the theater, moments before a projector turned on, and lighted down on the large, circular stage, surrounded by the four rows of elongated benches, that made up for the seating in the Cheshire Theater. Perhaps not the most original name, but she had wanted to be blunt and honest about who they were, and what they were, to make sure it did not seem as if they were hiding things for the locals. The more open and agreeable they were, the better for their cause.

"Always seeking our place. Too scared to show our face."

More projectors lit up, showing the setup on stage, which looked like a small replica of the public general idea of a changeling hive. Yet still with no one on stage.

"But now-"

"Yes now-"

"Let us show you hoooooow-"

Two heads poked up from small lids in the replica. A male and a female changeling with light green eyes, a big smile on their shiny, onyx faces, and an increasing voice from them both as they started what were beginning to sound like a more cheerful musical number than what had been presented such far.

"We came to belooooooooong!"

As the unknown voice uttered the last word, the hive had several more lids that suddenly popped open, and a half dozen changelings - including the first two - would jump out on stage and land on different angles, facing the currently non-existent audience, with a swirl and a hoof on their chest, whilst the originator of the unknown voice from before suddenly just appeared to blink into existence on top of the replica, just as her last word were sung throughout the room.

Her voice were impossible to miss, as it almost roared throughout the room, betraying her - for a changeling queen - somewhat small body. Yet the tone were what would really grip the audience most of the time. She had a wide range, going from the more saddened, somber tone from before, to others, such as this more cheerful, upbeat tone, all with a strong pitch that didn't waver. One of Cheshire's best talents, along with most of her changelings, though the few who didn't have a strong singing voice were not forced to sing either, or got joined in on a chorus, to better hide things, in case they still wished to take part.

As for the look of the changeling queen, she stood in shiny red shoes, with glittering specks of gold on them. A long dress in varied red colors stood firmly upon her, which hid the orange belly that her other changelings could proudly be seen sporting.

The other changelings one by one, clockwise from the first female that had set hooves upon the stage before, would begin to have a rather subtle, orange flare engulf them briefly, as varied costumes began to show themselves on their person, representing an exaggerated look of some of the local performances they had taken part in, before their kind suddenly got accepted into the general lands of Equestria, provided they did not cause harm and followed the law.

Once the last had transformed, still stood bowing to the audience that were not there, the queen up top would let out a squeal of joy and start clapping profusely.

"Oh yes yes yes! That was Perfect everyone. We finally got the first scene down to a T."

Widespread cheering were heard among the ten other changelings on stage, whilst they started to bounce around, and let go of their costumes once again. After a month of rehearsals, they were finally over the most tricky part of their grand performance, which would explain to anyone showing up how the Cheshire Hive had come to be where they now were. The whole show were not done of course, but they had the lyrics mostly done, the set props completed, and just needed to make sure they got everything done correctly before attempting to show it to the mayor, who would have to vouch for it's legality and credibility, as they were using some faces and events that they needed permission slips for. Which they had so far, but he still wished to check off on things personally.

In all honesty, he probably just wanted to be there at the first showing of this massive undertaking of theirs, but Cheshire would gladly indulge him. He had been as kind as his position allowed, so she had no issue working with him, and giving a treat such as this if he so wished for it.

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@Windy Breeze

On 6/18/2020 at 1:08 AM, Windy Breeze said:

“Sure ma'am” Sandy said “What do you want to ask about Autumn?”

"Well, it's kinda more about things that happened here. I think we've been seeing some memories played out, and they make it look like Autumn's really mad at Razor, and there's something about some foalnappings? Do you know anything about either of those?"

Then came the wife, and Sorrow's attention went elsewhere, as she started to wander towards the injured mare with worry in her eyes. Not only at the large amount of wounds, but also, she were using ectoplasm as a wound closer? That stuff could be real dangerous! Sure there were ways it could be done, and if it had gone inert, it were more or less harmless, but still. How bad were things that this were an acceptable option?

She opened her muzzle, about to ask if the mare were okay, when suddenly, she started to blurt out something that none of them had apparently been expecting.

On 6/18/2020 at 1:08 AM, Windy Breeze said:

“W-Wait a minute” she started as she approach them “Why is a Wonderbolt accompanying a pegasus whose grandmother is one of the most popular ponies here in Fillydelphia?”

"You know grandma?"

Sorrow were as surprised as anypony. Sure she had thought that her grandmother had been memorable to the others in the town, but her? She had been a little foal, happily bopping along with her cousins to hear grandmother talk, with a smaller skull around her neck at the time, as she couldn't carry a big one back then. She hadn't even had her growth spurt back then, but apparently, she had stuck out somehow in the flock. How strange. She always assumed Banshee would've been more noticeable than her.

"A-Anyway, that means you know what she does too, right? Grandma sadly isn't here, but I came in hoping I could. Things are just... Way outta hoof here though. I can probably still help, but I need to know what've happened here, or I can't get through to Autumn.

I'm more concerned about you right now though. You're not looking good, and ectoplasm to cover wounds... That stuff's dangerous. Did Autumn do this to you, Wine? Is she keeping you trapped here?"

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@Catpone Cerberus

Seeing as he conversation were thankfully moving away from the incident of Ruby's past, Leviathan would slowly start to calm further down too. Having a subject just glossed over were usually something that would annoy her, but due to the current situation, where she thought the two things were connected, she were honestly fine with it. Made it seem as if Ruby wanted as little to do with the subject as she did. Likely more, right?

Instead they went on to something more relevant and important for the present: That being Ruby's health, which seemed to be steadily improving it sounded like. A rather vague description given though. Yet if it were proceeding at expected speeds, that were probably as good of a prospect as any, as Leviathan for example, thought that tomorrow might be the day it had healed up almost, or fully.

"That's good. Means there's no sorta infections messing it all up.

And yeah, ai'll join you. Just lemme put down the usable part of the hide on your pile, and I'm coming."

It wasn't perfectly handled, the hide, but it just had to last for a day or two more, so it should be prefectly fine as it were. Just had to add it in there, tben follow Ruby as she... Huh, those were some deep claw marks.

It had been hard to ignore those, as she got in and put the hide down on the moss. Seemed to be pretty clean, though yet again, deep cuts. Not a whole lot of dragons she knew of that did this. Most just tended to crush stone, snd those clawing in it, usually couldn't go this deep nor would try unless they had something happening that made them want to do so. Generally, a distraction from pain, or an aggression outlet.

Laying down the hide, Leviathan would turn around and take flight, to catch up to Ruby as soon as she could. When she did, she'd land next to the dragoness, and unless something more distracting were going on, would ask her a question.

"Are your branch of dragons perchance more tough-boned than normal? Saw the stone in there when I were putting the hide in, and that sorta damage on the stone should've left a broken claw tip somewhere.

Tough bones can be harder to heal. Might end up taking longer, if that's the case?"

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@Catpone Cerberus

"Let's make chocolate chip muffins then. They're real easy, and most ponies likes chocolate. I'm sure it's gonna be yummy fior sirens too.

Hmm... Making a few lemon zest ones on the side too though. Serenade likes those, so maybe you will too?

Okay, think you can cut up the chocolate to begin with, while I go find the flour and stuff?"

Ziggy would place a knife, a cutting board, and a big ol' slab of dark chocolate in front of Nada. Afterwards, she'd cut off a row, then chop them into smaller bits, whilst holding the knife with her right hoof. To some it were easier to hold it with their muzzle, but ut were more dexterous for her to do this when it came to do quick chopping, and other coocking things in general. Plus, less of a spit and drool chance. That were always good.

"Just try and do it like this, but probably slower and more careful, so you don't end up cutting yourself by accident, okay? And just try and make them these kinda sizes. If don't worry if you don't hit it exactly, it doesn't matter all that much how big they are, long as they're small enough to get into the cupcake forms."

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@Catpone Cerberus

"Well duh, that's why she's called Princess, and not Prince. Silly monster thingie, hehe."

The terrified adventurer were not feeling better about things as she saw the strange, pumpkin-headed creature first talk to the encapsulated skeleton creature, and then start wandering over towards her. In fact, she began to try and scurry further back, whilst waving her knife feebly towards the oncoming creature.

Considering Anomaly's response were just to giggle as she were cut into, seemingly no worse for the wear, despite the *wounds* leaking what were hopefully just pumpkin juice, it were safe to assume that this were way out of this mare's league.

"Hehe, it tickles. Here you go funny pony, have another pokey. You can use that the next time something bad happens."

Anomaly's tail end would split, and rub together to cause a snap. At which point, a grabber plant would rise from the dirt, wrap around the mare, and- Kiss her on the side of the head, before spitting out a machete with a hilt that'd quack whenever the blade impacted something. The plabt would go away right after that, and the mare would pass out. Seemed like things had just managed to be too much for her.

"Awh, that's no fun. I didn't even see her hit something and make her spooked about the quacking noises.

Oh well. You two are still awake. You wanna have fun? I'm Anomaly. Making nature fun one mutant at a time. Sometimes more than one. What fun is there in being predictable, right?"

"...I... Greet you, Anomaly? I am Lyriel and this is Scarecrow. It's... Interesting to meet you, and your princess.

...Please don't have your fun with us. I don't want to end up corrupted."

Edited June 19, 2020 by Blitz Boom

Windy Breeze · June 19, 2020

@Blitz Boom

“Are you asking about the Missing 36 Incident?” Sandy said “Yes, most of the ponies living in Fillydelphia know that incident. It was the worst case of Foalnapping that has ever occurred in the town Fillydelphia' history” his frown became deeper when Autumn and Razor are mentioned “Autumn and Razor? Wait a minute, Autumn is angry at Razor? Come on, Autumn doesn't have any reason to be mad of her husband, in fact, Razor was the reason why me and Wine met”

11 hours ago, Blitz Boom said:

"You know grandma?"

“N-No exactly, but I have heard stories about her” Wine said “heard stories about from friends and reading Fillydelphia's Most Famous Mares. I went asked some of the ponies living here to get further details about her and that's how I i found out your a granddaughter of Banshiee... is that correct?”

11 hours ago, Blitz Boom said:

"A-Anyway, that means you know what she does too, right? Grandma sadly isn't here, but I came in hoping I could. Things are just... Way outta hoof here though. I can probably still help, but I need to know what've happened here, or I can't get through to Autumn.

I'm more concerned about you right now though. You're not looking good, and ectoplasm to cover wounds... That stuff's dangerous. Did Autumn do this to you, Wine? Is she keeping you trapped here?"

“We... ran out of bandages. We gave most of our medical supplies to ponies who decided to stay, but we didn't hear anything about them since the fog came and the shadows.... Sandy decided its a good idea to use this... ectoplasms” she then frowned “Why are you talking lies about Autumn? Didn't you know most of ponies living and formely living here, including me and my husband respect her for her generosity and kindness?” her expression soften when Sorrow talked about helping “Really? thanks but-”

“Everypony, get inside the house!” Sandy suddenly yelled, pointing at fog behind Windy and Sorrow. Emerging out of the fog are ponies of all ages; filly and mare, colt and stallion. All of them are black which made them look like shadows, their eyes that has colors of a maple leaf during fall stared at the four ponies with hatred in their eyes as they yelled in unison in corrupted voices.

“You will feel my agony, my shame, my guilt, my regret, my anger, my sorrow!”

Windy gasped “What the hay!? before she was pulled inside the house by Sandy, who decided to clamp down on her tail and pull her along with Quill inside the house. He turn to Sorrow and said “Get inside, Ms. Ghostbuster!”

Edited June 19, 2020 by Windy Breeze

EQ_Theta · June 19, 2020

@Blitz Boom

“Aww… you’re a real softie despite your fierce looks. I guess that’s your charm.” Lin leaned in closer and gave the wyvern a good rubbing, now being a little more confident around the creature.

“That must have been quite the story when your grandfather first told it. I find that a little hard to believe but seeing Abacus here makes me want to hear about it.”

Sen moved in closer but wouldn’t delay the rest of the group before the tour started, even gesturing to Lin to join him in the carriage. More than anything, this would be one of those things that the siblings would want to share with the longma curious about the world outside the forest. Any more stories and they’d soon consider writing them down, but those wouldn’t be as fun to narrate. One of these day, they’d try to gather their fellow longma around the fire and regale them with memorable experiences, hoping to win them over with their tales. It might even get some to loosen their stance on isolation.

The tour would need to wait, however, for a little friend decided to meet the spectral creature. Lin was alerted to the sound of chirping, then a successive back-and-forth between the two creatures. The longma couldn’t help but feel proud of Shrimp making friends. Perhaps being wary of strangers wasn’t entirely true.

“This is Shrimp, a refraction and our little friend with a fiery spirit! He hatched from an egg while back and he’s been traveling with us ever since.”

Handsome Changeling · June 19, 2020

@Blitz Boom

Up in the highest beams toward the roof, avoiding sight through the darkness the roof gifted a single pink eyed Changeling donning magenta carapace armour was musing while staring at the work that had gone into the saving of this theatre, the slate grey bug admiring the bile, goo substance reinforcing done, giving it a small amount of Changeling charm that the insectoid clearly was appreciating as they listened in on the performance. The spiny ears of the bug twitching at specific lines in the song, the most prominent reaction coming from,
"Always seeking our place. Too scared to show our face."
The stark hot pink eyes of the Changeling looking confused as they now began to focus fully, taking in the performance, even if it was a rehearsal. The clear conflicting emotions on the pink bugs face kept creeping across from corner to corner of its dimgrey muzzles lips. Once the performance was finished and the cheering died down enough the almost crimson pink featured bug clapped its tough, chitin hooves riddled with holes, the hoof clapping at a pretty loud, audible level.

"Well well! That show was pretty damn good for a rehearsal I assume?" The male changeling uttered rather loudly from its high up perch, his coarse and strange voice matching that of most non royal Changelings but with a more goofy sounding undertone.
"So are you guys for real? I heard there was a hive going open and stuff but actually doing it. Crazy bugs, ponies probably still fear ya!" His words may have come across as taunting, but it seemed to be riddled with guilt more than anything as the neon pink bug lit a small pink flame alight on its curved horntip to make it easier to see him. Likely to avoid awkward confrontation and allowing vision.

Rising Dusk · June 20, 2020

@Blitz Boom

Dawn gave her most elegant of bows as if the begrudgingly clapping witch of the wilds was instead a whole theater of ponies. A practice skillfully learned by watching her mother train many a performer. Beaming and blowing kisses to an invisible crowd. "Thank you! Thank you! You're too kind," she thanked Lily even as she stared back must bemused. "Establishing portals before a meeting between our leaders? My my, how fast moving indeed..." how troublesome it would be if portals to a foreign suddenly started popping up all over Equestria without much warning. Using Lily or her brother as an anchor could be equally as troubling, if that sigil imprinted onto her daughter was how it was described, Dawn could only fear for Sickle should they try connecting to her mother. "Trying to connect to you while in my home will prove fruitless. Hopefully this Brighteye's portal is well enough practiced that the spell won't rebound and instead simply get a busy signal," only in her home or the O.M.I. would that be so in Equestria though, nowhere else would be so protected. Connecting to her brother though would be a much better outcome, being also the political link between their lands. A sudden thought occurred to her though, sitting down to tap her chin in thought. "Anchor to my brother? My brother cannot teleport... The only magics that would be present at his arrival point would be from my pocket watch and his departure point would be... Minty?" what else could they anchor to from her brother? Rising would need to see the spell to make more sense of where it would go. "Informing my brother might be a good idea though so we at least ensure he doesn't simply redirect the exit point to appear under the ocean," a bit extreme of a thought for her good natured brother, and maybe outside his actual power, but she gave up discounting such things long ago. Thirty six hours though may well be within the window for Rising to return to begin with and avoid such issues.

"Reminder to self, warn Minty too..." she mumbled to herself. Minty spent enough time in the O.M.I. behind its wards to keep her as safe as Lily was in Dawn's manor. A quick change in topic needed for Dawn to defend herself. "First, I had no idea what would be behind the door other than the location. Second, that was the spa the pony doing my hoofs on my throne is from. The stallion was simply preparing for a massage... not a mating ritual," Dawn might a bit of a perv, but that was besides the point. "Sweet Celestia's Rump, you know what a spa is, right?" she dramatically brought the back of her hoof to her forehead as if faint, quickly trying to change topic.

Rising could feel with Void's fidgeting that the attention Molotov was giving her stirred a new feeling she wasn't use to. Here in Equestria, Void would have to get use to good natured ponies hitting on her from time to time. Strange feelings he was sure to sisters previously hunted. Lulling his head to the side to direct his gaze back to the flash in question. "The flask is harmless," the detective concluded and gave Void a smile to assure it was safe from his dispelling. "The cage worked. It actually works like your aura to any pony inside of it. After a few days the cage failed, but no pony was harmed. Still a work in progress," he admitted and didn't need to lie, Lily wasn't harmed... physically.

Catpone Cerberus · June 20, 2020

@Blitz Boom
"No bones, just claws and horns." Ruby stated "Our scales are harder than steel, and are very hard to get through, and our claws and horns have evolved to break through them." "Stone still damages them of course, but only a bit, it's a good way to sharpen them." she explained "I'm more likely to break my finger than my claw if I scratch something they can't get through because our bones break more easily, not that they are weak either, but you get my point."

That was all she could say before she was interrupted by a distant sound, a sound that sounded like cries of distress, but Leviathan would most likely be unable to recognize what exactly was letting out those cries, as it didn't sound like any local animal. Ruby in other hand, if Leviathan was to look at her, looked serious, her face was still lacking any obvious emotion, but it was clear that she recognized it and didn't like it.

Before any words could be said, Ruby took flight towards the sound, and they would find themselves next to a small body of water, and in that body of water was the source of the distress, struggling to stay above the surface, seemingly entangled in something, though that couldn't be said for sure as only small part of the creature was above the water and even that only seconds at a time.

Ruby looked genuinely surprised when they got to the lake, before in surprising twist dove into the water to save the struggling creature. She dropped it on the shore and breathed fire at it.

When the smoke cleared, Leviathan would be able to see the whole picture, firstly the creature was a dragon, same species as Ruby, just smaller, a lot smaller, about half the size of a female pony, he was a male, if that was something Leviathan would be able to tell as it wasn't most obvious based on appearance, and he was red-ish purple in color. He seemed to be entangled...or at least it seemed he had been entangled to a some kind of net, but Ruby had burned it off him with her breath, leaving only small piece under him.

Ruby hit the small dragon's chest, causing him to caught up water, after which she started observing the area around them, clearly trying to find something with her senses, still wearing the same serious expression on her face.

After the rescued dragon got his lungs emptied from water, he passed out, most likely out of exhaustion.

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"I'll try." Nada simply replied, she wasn't really worried about cutting herself, but it took her a moment or two to figure out how it was best for her to hold the pony sized knife. She then proceeded with her task, the first row was the test row, and the result looked like it, as it was more mush than pieces but after that she managed with varying success, though all of them were most likely fine to use.

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"I'm glad to know I'm not the only one giving ponies life-long nightmares." Scarecrow commented "And I have to agree with Lyriel, I too have enough mutations as it is." when he was out of the goo and all cleaned up, he would go next to the unconscious mare and say to nobody in particular "Isn't it lucky my cave was just renovated." before turning back towards Anomaly "Oh, where's my manners...like Lyriel said, I'm Scarecrow, and it's hopefully nice to meet you."

Blitz Boom · June 21, 2020

@Handsome Changeling

On 6/19/2020 at 4:38 PM, Handsome Changeling said:

"Well well! That show was pretty damn good for a rehearsal I assume?"

Many an eye went towards the ceiling, to see if they could make out the voice from above. Not a shred of fear or worry on their little faces though, but rather pure curiosity, and a good deal of excitement still, seeing as whoever it were had also thought their efforts showed. That were spectacular, yes? An unbiased source, giving them a glowing review.

Cheshire at least thought so, as she looked up towards the ceiling too, beaming with excitement. She considered using her magic to light up the area a little to get a look at who were up there, but who were she to deny another their dramatic entrance? From one performer to another, there should be a little respect shown to these things. Doubly so as this one appeared to be a fan.

"Not just a rehearsal, but the opening scene to our masterwork. The first changeling musical in all of Equestria, that will enlighten and delight everyone. Ponies will come from near and far to witness our magnum opus, and you are a lucky one to get a sneak preview of it in advance.

The review were nice too. It's always good to hear from an adorning fan."

She were teasing him a little at the end, and technically this were an intruder she supposed, but the high they were on from the performance were overriding any negative she might feel there at the start. Besides, she were less of a hateful, vengeful sort, and more of a... Vindictive and playful entity. One more reason their hive were never invited to the rare meetings between the more important hives, when something vital to their species came up. Not that she would accept anyway. She prefered them to not attract that sort of attention.

On 6/19/2020 at 4:38 PM, Handsome Changeling said:

"So are you guys for real? I heard there was a hive going open and stuff but actually doing it. Crazy bugs, ponies probably still fear ya!"

"King Thorax's ascension have opened the doors for our kind to be part of the equine society. We're perfectly in our rights to be here now, and we're not sotting on the sidelines. Hive Cheshire have been hidden in this town for years, and now, it is our time to step into the spotlight, and openly revel in the adoration and love showered upon us by countless, adoring fans.

What so if a few ourspoken, stubborn separists talks against us? The fans have already come to see us perform, and their adoring faces are all the opinion I care about. Trust me, you won't go anywhere in showbusiness if all you care about are the critics."

And about here ended the nice part, as their audience got lit up, and they saw who they were dealing with. Or well, they didn't know him personally, but the varied hives had distinct coloration, and this one were impossible for them to miss.

Vpid should be able to see that it weren't in a good way either, as the majority of the changelings let out a high pitched shriek, and rushed off the stage. A few hid in the replica on stage, some went for the rafters far away. Some for the actual hivegrounds in the basement. You'd think a few guards would stay, but their hive didn't really have any. They were performers and tricksters, not fighters.

Cheshire stayed though, and looked up at Void with a bit more of a strained smile on her face.

"Did Queen Argoniss send you to warn us? We aren't breaking our agreement here. None of us have breathed a word about where any members of Hive Geissler are, even if we can see it, and we're not touching your teritory. We're just trying to run a theater here. Your political games, and long reaching plans, are none of our business."

It were less of an agreement really, and more an acf of submission. With a small number of only thirteen members, including the queen, Hive Cheshire were an insignificant gnat in front of Hive Geissler. It were probably the only reason they had been allowed to stay in the area, long as they followed orders about not interfering, and backed down when they were told so. Keeping her hive tiny were also a provision of this, which were one reason the young queen kept having such a small number of changelings.

"And we're not going to go away, just because she doesn't like it that some of us are going open. This is our home. Our dream come true. You can tell her that she can send more rules if she wants, but we're not going back to the shadows now."

Cheshire knew their place in the food chain, but she had to try and put a hoof down somewhere, to at least let them have this little. Surely Queen Argoniss wiuldn't be so petty as to not spare them this little slice of life, just because she might not like what they were doing... Right?

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

@EQ_Theta

On 6/19/2020 at 3:54 PM, EQ_Theta said:

“That must have been quite the story when your grandfather first told it. I find that a little hard to believe but seeing Abacus here makes me want to hear about it.”

"Great grandfather, actually. He were an animal tamer, but Abacus was always his favorite. Grandmother tells us many a story of how the two of them went through harrowing adventures, coming home pretty messed up at times, but happy as could be.

Great Grandfather died happy, after a long life, and asked us to take care of Abacus. Poor girl had an accident not long after and ended up dying, but just couldn't move on. Been several trying their best to help her, since grandmother felt responsible for her, but... Well, she is a little wild."

"Banshee have the touch when it comes to animals, just like he did. Grandmother was very happy when she saw this."

"Yep, but it seems like there's others here too. Lin sure seems to have a good touch on this curious little thing. And such a strange name for his kin. A refraction? We're gonna have fun looking through the bestiary later, that's for sure.

We can talk more on that later though, yes? Come on, let's get everypony seated in and secured, so we can take to the skies and show you around the place."

It weren't hard to secure folks really, as there were some rope in there that functioned as seatbelts, once they were tied up properly. Lin were asked to keep hold of Shrimp during the flight, and sit up near the front, so that the two of them could get a good view. Not directly at the front though. That seat belonged to Banshee, as Abacuss needed this pony present to ensure her compliance throughout the tour.

Hopefully they'd all find some seats soon, and wouldn't try and tamper with the security measures. It could get ugly if they fell out.

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

@Windy Breeze

On 6/19/2020 at 2:20 PM, Windy Breeze said:

“Yes, most of the ponies living in Fillydelphia know that incident. It was the worst case of Foalnapping that has ever occurred in the town Fillydelphia' history” his frown became deeper when Autumn and Razor are mentioned “Autumn and Razor? Wait a minute, Autumn is angry at Razor? Come on, Autumn doesn't have any reason to be mad of her husband, in fact, Razor was the reason why me and Wine met”

"We've seen a lot of things out there, and Autumn keeps saying he did something to her.

Look, I'm not saying it's guaranteed. Spirits can be confused sometimes, just like all of us can, but I think there is something here that others didn't know, and it have something to do with Razor, and that foalnapping incident.

I'm not blaming Autumn for any of this either. A lot of good, kind creatures can turn in death, if they died with a lot of things hanging over their heads, and with some bad trauma. And anger. Oh boy, anger can really mess up even the best creature."

On 6/19/2020 at 2:20 PM, Windy Breeze said:

“N-No exactly, but I have heard stories about her” Wine said “heard stories about from friends and reading Fillydelphia's Most Famous Mares. I went asked some of the ponies living here to get further details about her and that's how I i found out your a granddaughter of Banshiee... is that correct?”

"Not really. Banshee is my cousin. Grandma is called Madamme Macabre. Maybe she didn't stick around enough for the details to get through though? Grandma is not big on dealing with press. Calls them *Scab-infested vultures*."

She also had some harsher words for them, but this were what she mostly went with, and were agood deal kinder than the phrases she at times could conjure up. Sorrow had no idea why her grandmother didn't like press all that much though, and her dad told her it were best not to ask about it. A sore spot apparently.

On 6/19/2020 at 2:20 PM, Windy Breeze said:

“You will feel my agony, my shame, my guilt, my regret, my anger, my sorrow!”

Windy gasped “What the hay!? before she was pulled inside the house by Sandy, who decided to clamp down on her tail and pull her along with Quill inside the house. He turn to Sorrow and said “Get inside, Ms. Ghostbuster!”

Sorrow would not go inside, but instead take a few steps towards the oncoming spirit, about to do what seemed like an attack on the few fool mortals still in this place.

The eyes of Legion flared up a lot now, covering the entirety of the sockets, with the top of the wispy flames licking harmlessly against the lower jaw of Sorrow. Whilst the others could not hear it, they were wailing wifh a deep, multitude of voices, telling Autumn to stop and listen to them. Pleading with her that they could help her, and give her the closure that she needed.

"What did he do to you, Autumn? Why are your hatred for Razor this deep? Please, tell us. We can help you make things right!"

Sorrow were taking a risk here, as she pleaded along with Legion for answers, and telling her thaf they were here to help her. There were no guarantee that this would work, but they had to know, and it seemed like Wine and her husband didn't know whatever were going on beneath the surface. The only ones who'd know were Autumn and Razor, and it didn't sound like they'd be allowed to leave to find Razor, and get some answers. If he's even still alive that is.

If he were, he had to be brought to Autumn, or the other way around. Something were going on, and it all seemed to revolve around him.

If Autumn ignored the words of Sorrow and Legion alike, and try attacking, Sorrow would scram le back as best she could. Might be she'd get hit, but surely it wouldn't be fatal.

...Hopefully...

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

@Rising Dusk

On 6/20/2020 at 2:06 PM, Rising Dusk said:

"Trying to connect to you while in my home will prove fruitless. Hopefully this Brighteye's portal is well enough practiced that the spell won't rebound and instead simply get a busy signal,"

"Blighteye is an annoyingly efficient little thing. Able to redirect magic to some extend, outright store it for later use, or as you can witness, seal it in other objects. He doesn't have the ability to learn and cast magic beyond his rudimentary abilities, but you would hardly know, with all the things he have stored, and how well he can essentially get rid of things.

And it appears that I need to be more specific about the portals. It won't literally pop inside one of the beacons. They use the magical signatures that have been collected - in this case Rising's and/or my daughter and myself - and find a suitable position near that to anchor the opening.

In Harrowmark, it will be in the portal room itself. In your home for example, I would say... Likely at the very edge of whatever blocks the connection. Might be opened on a tree, or spawn above a suitable sized rock, that sort of thing. It's likely that you would be able to move said portal from the position to one more suitable, by simply moving the inanimate object they actually anchor it to. It have been some centuries since this were last done properly, so it could take them a few tries to get it stable, and it could be flimsy for a few minutes while they're working on it.

As for your brother, it might indeed be vital to warn him of this. If he attempts to redirect the portal to somewhere dangerous, it would not paint a good first impression of Equestria, to Queen Magenta.

Who is this Minty though? If that is one who have come and used magic in Harrowmark too, he may have sealed a portion of that residue too, to function as a third possible anchor point. As a fixer of considerable merit yourself, the concept of not having a plan, if you do not have at least one backup plan, likely rings true for you. Blighteye is just less... Widespread and in the present about things."

Perhaps this would help clear things up a small bit, though there were questions raised too. Like who Minty were, what her presence could mean, how she'd react to an attempt to teleport to her, that sort of thing. And that was just about the mare. Then there were things about preparing things for the eventual connection, and informing Rising, etc. The day were honestly, far from over. Even if it were, the next day would be filled with things to do then, most certainly.

On 6/20/2020 at 2:06 PM, Rising Dusk said:

"First, I had no idea what would be behind the door other than the location. Second, that was the spa the pony doing my hoofs on my throne is from. The stallion was simply preparing for a massage... not a mating ritual," Dawn might a bit of a perv, but that was besides the point. "Sweet Celestia's Rump, you know what a spa is, right?"

"No. I would think that if I did, I would not assume what I saw were a mating ritual. Considering your comment about your regents flank, I am still not entirely convinces you are not simply pulling some kind of vulgar prank on me here."

Dawn should have some idea about the witch not having been in a spa before, in all fairness. If ahe had access to one, her hooves would not be as rough, nor would her hair or coat be, which were also not exactly the softest.

They had a few ways of doing things in Harrowmark for cleaning and keeping yourself somewhat soft, but it were not really comparable to a spa, and they had to do so sparringly, due to Twisted's rules about not wasting resources. That Lily were as clean she now were, were only because he thought it important that she presented herself well, to infiltrate them better.

Another thing they also wouldn't do in Harrowmark, were using the body parts of their regent as something to call out in surprise or worship. Hearing it from Dawn, in regards to Princess Celestia, were quite honestly throwing her off quite a bit, as it appeared close to sacriledge.

On 6/20/2020 at 2:06 PM, Rising Dusk said:

"The cage worked. It actually works like your aura to any pony inside of it. After a few days the cage failed, but no pony was harmed. Still a work in progress,"

"Well t-that's a relief. You n-never know with u-untested things. Some of t-them can be r-really dangerous."

It were good of Rising to not stir more worry in Void, by telling her the entirety of what had happened. There had been enough going on to poke at her anxiety lately, without the potential, accidental implosion of an outsider added into the mix.

Not knowing what else to do, Void would go over and gently shake her sister, which at firsf would just make Null bat her hoof away, as she tried to keep on sleeping. A bit of insistence stopped that though, and made the mare grumble as she turned her head to look up at her awakener.

"What? I told you not to wake me up unl- Oh, he's back. And looking perfectly fine too. Guess I- We, got worried over nothing then."

A brief look of genuine relief and surprise had gone over her face, as she had first feasted her eyes on the officer, but Null wrre a stubborn mare. It barely lasted more then a few seconds before she got right back into her usual, aggressive demeanor and attempts at acting like she hadn't been concerned about him all that much. In this case, by attempting to hide it behind a bit of annoyance, over him seemingly having nothing gone wrong, despite what he had plunged into.

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

@Catpone Cerberus

Leviathan had been about to ask more into exacrly how strong Ruby's claws and such actually were, to get some sorta idea what the limit were, when something had cried out.

It made her ears vibrate and she curiously looked in the direction. What had made that sound? She were pretty sure she had known about all of the local animal and higher ranked species, and this one didn't match any of them. It kinda sounded like a dragon'ish yell, but there were around seven or eight species she knew off who did that, and three of them did so to either lure prey in, or scare predators off.

Hence, there were no guarantee this was anything good, nor even something higher up tban a mutated pig for example. Still, she had been about to ask Ruby if they should take off, but surprisingly, she had already done so.

Did... Did Ruby just react on a potential distress call? This were baffling, yet made it very certain that Leviathan needed to see what this were about too.

She managed to get there just in time to see the head of something struggling in a lake, try desperately to stay above surface, before Ruby dove in after the creature. Something which just baffled Leviathan more. What in the world would make her do an actual rescue, as if there were not a second to waste? And then breathe fire on it?!

The answer were just about jaw dropping: It was a male dragon. And not one of their local kinds. No, this one had more similarities with Ruby, qnd at this size, it had to be either the most stunted dragon she had heard of in over eight hundred years - and that had just been a story - or this were a whelp far, far from home. And apparently, had been stuck in the lake before because of a net, judging by the remnants below the scared little thing.

"Dragon hunters."

Leviathan had a lot of questions right now, but more than anything, she felt a burning hatred flare in her chest that came out through her anger filled voice as well. Dragon hunters were the scum of the earth on the best of days, but a whelp? They would burn for this! Not even dragons who actually did hunt ponies, would try to make a meal out of foals. And if there were any out there, it were likely that they would be hunted down, and messed up by their own kind, for not even having the tiniest bit of decency.

She'd start to look around, wings raised and ready to eletrocute whoever would show up trying to claim this whelp as their prey. If Ruby didn't get the one before her, since she seemed to be surprisingly protective of this little one.

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

@Catpone Cerberus

Whilst Nada cut away, Ziggy were busy pulling out flour, sugar, lemon essence, etc. from the cabinets, and were swirling two bowls of batter at once when Nada were done cutting.

It weren't too hard really. Just had to wrap your wings around the bowls the right way, a spoon in each hoof, and then for the love of Celestia, keep your balance! If you couldn't do the third step, this was about the worst idea ever, and you should definitely not try it. At all. The mess would be the stuff of nightmares, and the personal embarrassment - as well as sadness over not getting muffins - were soul crushing!

...Okay, a bit of hyperbole there, but it definitely weren't fun.

Luckily, Ziggy had a lot of trial and error wben it came to stirring bowls and cauldrons, so she knew what she were doing, though she stilled stopped stirring once she looked over and saw Nada were done. No need risking things due to attempting to focus on too many things at once.

"Ooooh, that's a good first attempt. And you didn't even eat half the plate, so that's a gold star. Mom always said she had to wack my siblings away with a spoon, because they tried snatching some chocolate before they got into the mixture. Ah, wish I could've been there...

Anyway, a few are mushy, but that's fine. Just mixes into the dough and making it a bit chocolatey in the base too. Just plum them in whilst I stir, and try to sorta even it out so both bowls gets enough. After that, we just need to put them into the forms and plunge them right into the o- Whoops, forgot to preheat the oven. One sec!"

She'd turn around, and start setting the oven in motion, though whilst doing so, also hit a cup of flour. Unless Nada stopped it from wriggling closer and closer to the edge, Ziggy were gonna end up with a big puff of white, right on her lower back and tail.

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

@Catpone Cerberus

"Why would I mutate you two? She's a living plant, and you? Oh, you're five layers of fun, Scarecrow.

Love the name by the way. Feels really thematic, hehe. Fits with goving others nigtmares too. My name doesn't make others think that, but why would I anyway? I'm not a menance. Just a draconequus, out to have some fun."

The top of her head lifted off, as a bunch of glittering spores sprayed out to give things a bit more of a festive tone. They even grew into dancing, glowing mushrooms where they landed. How wouldn't this be a welcome sight, right?

"I'll make sure that Princess learns what she can and can't eat too. Or well, what she shoudn't. She could totally eat a pony if she wanted to. You'd think a former pond frog would be less happy hunting ponies after his trabsformation, but evolution is funny like that sometimes.

Did evolutions do you too, Scarecrow, or was it something else? Like... Draconequus magic, or some sorta funky necromancing? Those magic users can be real-

- deadbeats."

Somewhere, a drum riff marked the cheesiness of the joke, before Anomaly went on to laugh at the whole thing.

"W-Why would you mutate a frog?"

Lyriel felt concerned and out of her debt, seeing the strange creature do her thing. Whatever Anomaly were, it were concerning to Lyriel, and she feared accidentally making her irate.

"She broke her leg, and I offered making her big and strong. Figured I might as well go all the way helping her. I think she might've gotten a tiny bit sadistic afterwards though, but no worries, I'll get her sorted. Don't want those shiny rocks the ponies use pointed at me. No sire. Being turned to rock's gonna suck big time.

Anyway, it's totally a pleasure to see you.want some help with the adventurer? I could help lift her, and maybe give her a pair of extra legs she could stand with? Hmmm... No wait, ponies wants to be asked first, right? Pretty sure that was the deal.

Oh well, pleasure to have fun with you two as well. Or are you doing super serious things right now? If you are, you need a break. How about *Find the antidote*? It's pretty fun. First we infect someone with a bad sneeze, and then they have to find right antidote vial, hidden somewhere nearby. It's totally harmless.

If you're worried about the pony getting hurt in the meantime, I could just send her off to the Ponyville hospital. She'd get there safe and sound, in no time at all."

It seemed Anomaly were intent on not leaving them alone right away, and for the time being, at least allowed them some choice in things. Lyriel however, got the distinct feeling that it wouldn't keep being voluntary forever. Something about this creature unnerved on her on several levels

Edited June 21, 2020 by Blitz Boom

EQ_Theta · June 21, 2020

@Blitz Boom

“Oh…” Lin paused and looked to Banshee and Tomb, then to Abacus. Was that why the wyvern looked rather… pale, almost ethereal-like? “I’m sorry to hear about your great grandfather, and to you, Abacus.”

“It’s… um, great that your wyvern friend developed a strong bond with you, Banshee. She’s lucky to have you.”

The longma didn’t have the words to articulate this new finding but offered what positivity he could. Frankly, learning about the wyvern’s fate was unexpected but it is fortunate for her to have someone looking out for her. Lin’s bond with Shrimp is growing day by day and Banshee’s comment got Sen a little jealous, not that it changes anything. It was just something for Sen to work on when there’s time to do so.

In the meantime, Lin would join her brother in the carriage and fiddle around with the ropes. Sen recalled Omen’s trouble with the things and offered to fasten her in place while Lin picked up Shrimp and held him close. Funnily enough, she’d use her claws as a makeshift seat and belt to keep the little one in place. They wouldn’t forget Rosa as well and scooted over to help him find a seat with a good view.

“Alright, everyone set? We’re just about ready to get the lay of the land.”

Windy Breeze · June 21, 2020

@Blitz Boom

“No, don't go near them!” Wine yelled as Sandy successfully dragged a reluctant Windy inside the house before going out to get Sorrow. The light of their houses started to flicker in the dark fog as the small crowd slowly came closer to them.

10 hours ago, Blitz Boom said:

What did he do to you, Autumn? Why are your hatred for Razor this deep? Please, tell us. We can help you make things right!"

“Your blasphemy will never ever convince me again, your lies will almost be remembered, griffon!” the crowd yelled. Wisp of Shadow become to come out of their mouth, eyes, ears, and nose in a excruciating detail and are coming towards Sorrow. The crowd was reduced to bowing as Autumn yelled “You want forgiveness, then FEEL THE PAIN I HAVE FELT, AND YOU WILL BE PART OF MY 'FAMILY' AGAIN!!” at this point, Sandy was a few meters away from Sorrow with a fake brave look on his face. In reality, he was scared but he had to save a mare who is about to attack by a evil-turned friend.

Catpone Cerberus · June 22, 2020

@Blitz Boom
Ruby wasn't checking for hunters, in fact, she didn't even think about them since it wasn't something she saw as a real threat, instead she was looking for others of her kind since she found it unlikely that this one was alone, and her kind finding Equestria would be bad news for everyone involved. But as unlikely as she thought it was, there was no sign of other dragons, and for hunters, Ruby wouldn't know since she didn't know what to look for, but if there was dragon hunter instead of him just happening to fly into animal trap of some kind, the idiot had used non-fireproof net to catch a dragon. (up to you if a hunter appears.)

After Ruby concluded there was no others of her kind around, she turned towards the male dragon and looked at him slightly puzzled,she wasn't only confused by how the small dragon had ended up here, but also bit surprised by her own reaction as it had been just that, a reaction, she hadn't planned to save anyone

If any dragon hunters appeared, Ruby would instinctively put herself between the hunter and the unconscious dragon, but depending on the situation, she wouldn't stay there long as her love of a fight would overcome it, though she would let Leviathan to handle it if it seemed like it would be an easy fight.

If no hunter came, or if it was quickly dealt with, Ruby would go examine the small male, more specifically, she would check his teeth, claws, and other details to see how old he was.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Assuming Nada had enough time to react, she would stop the cup of flour from dropping on Ziggy, but if she wasn't successful, she would chuckle at the amusing sight. Regardless of which happened, she would proceed to split the chocolate in two piles with the knife so that it would be easier to make sure both bowls get about the same amount. "I don't know which I find more weird, smacking with a spoon or stealing chocolate that is going to a thing you're gonna eat anyway." "But considering that I don't have offspring and that I don't eat much sweets, I find lot of things regarding them weird." she didn't comment on Ziggy not being there because she didn't know if it was a sensitive topic or not.

--------------------------------------------
Draconequus, that explained thing or do, Scarecrow wasn't sure exactly what it explained, as the details were bit hazy, but he had the general idea that this was something he should expect from them. For the question about his origin, Scarecrow just shrugged and said "No idea." .

The drums took him bit off guard, but he didn't really show it, if he even could have shown it, and he figured Anomaly had something to do with it so he ignored it.

"Would you actually do that?" Scarecrow asked, unlike Lyriel, he didn't fear Anomaly, and his tone was noticeably skeptical "It would be great to get the pony in hospital, but how would I know she really ends up there and not in some....whatever you consider a fun place?." "After she's safe you can do whatever you want with me, it's not like I have anything to lose."

Edited June 22, 2020 by Catpone Cerberus

Blitz Boom · June 23, 2020

@Catpone Cerberus

There would indeed pop someone out, and Ruby probably wouldn't get the chance to react before Leviathan had started to gather a large deal of electricity in her right hand, ready to fire off what were likely a thunderbolt.

"Whoa whoa! Calm down p-please."

The look of a rather young adult in a standard Solar Guard uniform would make her halt. As would the sudden panic and fear in his eyes as he staggered backwards, dropping a large stick with a hook on one side.

"What are you out hunting, child?"

Leviathan were not dismissing the electricity yet, but she didn't go further for the time being. Which were the best the youngling could hope for as she processed things.

"W-What? Are you c- Serious? We've been sent to deal with a poacher, no-Aah!"

Staggering back one more time would result in him stepping into a snare, and get pulled up into a tree, dangling like a pinata. She were pretty sure he wouldn't put himself in his own trap, so Leviathan relaxed some after that, and looked up at the dangling stallion, whose helmet and sword had fallen to the ground when he were dragged up. Just looked even younger and inexperienced like this. Must be a fresh face in the ranks, which should mean that he had an escort somewhere.

"Oh for the love of Celestia. Clarity! What did I tell you about feeling after with the hook?"

And there he were. An older stallion, looking a bit annoyed at what he were seeing, as he gazed upwards at the newbie he were trying to teach the ropes. He too had one of the hooks, along with three dragged down nets on his back, that had all been sliced through for good measure. Likely with the sword down his side.

"P-Please get me down sir!"

He let out a sigh, then grabbed for the sword, until he bit proper notice in the sort of company they had there. Not the relatively larger pony sized dragon, nor the runt. No, the big one, which made him hesitate some, and keep a wary eye on her.

"...We're not here to start a scene. There's been a poacher causing a lot of problems in the area, and we're just here to clear some of the trash out. We don't want any trouble."

Provided that Ruby wouldn't try anything, the youngling would be cut down, and the two would hastily get on their way, not wanting to end up in a fight with a large dragon.

At which point, Leviathan would then finally turn to face Ruby and the little guy, who at least seemed to be healthy and unharmed. That were a relief.

"Hey, is he alright?"

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

@Catpone Cerberus

Nada would have enough time to stop it, but Ziggy unfortunately did a little jump, that rustled the table a bit. Something which caused a fair puff to still end up on her coat, though barely anything, compared to what would have been, had the siren not interfered.

Ziggy turned around to look at her rump after she felt the powder give her a bit of a covering, but didn't seem all that bothered. In fact, she appeared to be smiling and laughing a little.

"Hehe, I'm like a pony-sized doughnut, with extra peppermint."

Unable to help herself, she wriggled around in a little dance as she hummed along to a tune. She had no idea what it were called though. She heard it from a hospital clown when she were much younger, and it had just kinda gotten stuck there. She sorta just assumed it kept rearing it's head up now and again, because it were a jolly, catchy little tune, and reminded her of some of the better times in the long years she spent in the hospital.

"Aah, that was fun.

Uhn, had something else to say... Oh, right. I dunno what's weird about the spoon smacking. You're in the kitchen, there's a big, wooden spoon right there, and flinging a knife at somepony would be crazy. A nice spoon swing at best just gives a little bump on the noggin. A simple, mostly harmless way to keep unruly foals from making a mess in the kitchen.

And as somepony who loves sweets, and used to be a foal herself, lemme tell you the secret of why they'd try taking something before it got into the baked goods: Chocolate is amazing, and foals are impatient. I mean, some adults are too, but point is that they see something yummy in front of them, and don't wanna wait until their mom or dad gets them baked into something, that they're probably gonna hide so you don't gorge yourself in sweets. Same thing with cookie dough, just a bit less gross.

I wish I could've seen it too sometimes, but oh well. At least they brought some of the cookies and stuff my siblings didn't gobble up to me sometimes. Always a nice surprise, on top of the visit, which just made it go from good days, to awesome days, hehe."

Whilst she talked, she got the chcolate Nada had prepped scraped in and swirled a few times, to make sure there were a fair layer in each bowl. Then she pulled up the line of muffin forms, and startes to spread them out on the two oven slabs. One were gonna be the lemon zest with chocolate, while another the classic chocolate chip variant. Yum yum.

"Wanna try filling them up? Just take the spoon like this, and just let out rooooughly this much in a form, before going on to the next."

Ziggy took the wooden spoon and scooped out a fair chunk of dough, then poured it into the first form, roughly filling it two thirds of the way. Should do the trick in making a reasonably good muffin, if she did say so herself.

After that, Ziggy would open a drawer, and reach another wooden spoon towards the siren, seeing if she'd take it, and give it a try with the other bowl.

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

@Catpone Cerberus

"I can do lots of things. Not as much as say, Discord, but he's the lord of chaos. Not fair to think we can all do the crazy crazy he can, hehe."

As a gesture of good faith, Anomaly would do the act of getting the pony back to where she came from. She considered a giant slingshot, but somepony would likely get iffy about that, so instead she drew in a deep breath, and held it as her head grew in size, eventually getting big enough to engulf a pony. Which were what it'd do, after growing spider legs and jumping off Anomaly's shoulders, to quickly wander over and squash over the pony. Said pony would then be draw in as the underside of the large pumpkin would open up, and several tendrils would come out, wrap up her extremities, and then drag her up, before the hole closed again, and it sped off towards town.

As for the original, now headless Anomaly? She just jumped in place about four times, until a new head suddenly grew out from her neck. This time, a melon head, though the eyes, ears, and mouth seemed similar to her previous head.

"See? She's gonna be sped off nice and quickly to the hospital, and then my old head's gonna plant itself in the pretty garden I made for the princess. I bet it'll grow up to be a pretty tree. Or maybe an Ent? I dunno. Evolution is funnier if it's not controlled all that much.

Now, what to play, what to play... Okay, I'll think about that, and then you decide what you wanna get if you win the game. Games are supposed to have prizes, right? Right. So, you say you don't have anything to lose, Scarecrow, but what about something to win? Totally different and really enticing right? Eh,? Eh? I bet I could do something you'd like. Like hmm... I dunno. You try and think of something, and I'll say if I can do it. Right?"

"Could you move a number of creatures from one place to another? Like with the pony, yet from much farther away, and in greater numbers?"

Lyriel were still uneasy of the creature, but she were eyeing a sliver of hope, which she wanted to try and grab towards, if at all possible.

"Sure Yeah, that'd be pretty easy. That's gonna be your prize then if you win the game then, hehe. I haven't done mass scale transportation in like... Weeks. Hehe, those tourists got really puzzled, but I did tell them I'd get them to where they needed to be in a hurry. Not my fault they didn't specify exactly where in the water land they wanted to go.

Now come on, there gotta be something you want Scarecrow? Don't be booooring. Like... A pet? Some clothes? Oh oh, maybe an item to make you look different? I haven't done those in ages, but they're really fun, and confuses a lot of folks.

Plenty of other things too. Like pie. You like pie? Peh, who am I kidding, Everyone loves pie! Barbed wire and rusty nails are my favorite. All yummy and crunchy."

She'd chomp the air a few times, followed by giggling. At least she were having some degree of fun, even though she hadn't started an actual game yet. Considering her kind's penance for weirdness and toying with others, there were an equal chance of it being fun, or insanely dangerous. Likely both.

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

@EQ_Theta

On 6/21/2020 at 4:23 PM, EQ_Theta said:

“Oh…” Lin paused and looked to Banshee and Tomb, then to Abacus. Was that why the wyvern looked rather… pale, almost ethereal-like? “I’m sorry to hear about your great grandfather, and to you, Abacus.”

“It’s… um, great that your wyvern friend developed a strong bond with you, Banshee. She’s lucky to have you.”

"Death awaits us all in the end, and great grandfather died of old age. Not a lot that can be claim to be that lucky..."

Banshree trailed off a little after that somber sentence, seemingly lost in thought, as Tomb gave a concerned look. She were a bit unsure if this had shaken the stallion up too much, but Banshee seemed to get back to them soon enough, and just give a slight shake of the head.

"Anyway, Abacus might've not gotten that lucky either, but she's a happy girl. We make sure of that, and if ever she feels like its her time to move on, every member of the family that's in the area, is gonna wish her the best on the other side. With some luck, she'll meet great grandpa again."

Yet that were for somewhere (hopefully) far into the future, as Banshee would very much miss Abacus if she passed on properly, and liked to think that the wyvern were thinking a similar thing. With all the time they had spend together, the thought that the wyvern did not care about her handler, were frankly ludicrous, and Banshee openly laughed at anypony who said that she were just a beast, unable to feel compassion for anyone. Abacus usually made a point of telling the offender off in such a case, in as directly, and relatively safe a way as possible.

On 6/21/2020 at 4:23 PM, EQ_Theta said:

In the meantime, Lin would join her brother in the carriage and fiddle around with the ropes. Sen recalled Omen’s trouble with the things and offered to fasten her in place while Lin picked up Shrimp and held him close. Funnily enough, she’d use her claws as a makeshift seat and belt to keep the little one in place. They wouldn’t forget Rosa as well and scooted over to help him find a seat with a good view.

“Alright, everyone set? We’re just about ready to get the lay of the land.”

Rosa had already gotten himself seated and strapped in when the others went up there, so he didn't need any help getting ready. As for Omen, she did get secured, yet the manner in which she had managed to get herself wrapped up seemed to baffle even Banshee, who had to spend a solid three minutes just to get her head lose, so that they could start undoing the knots. Afterwards, Banshee would personally secure the mare, whilst asking her to sit still, and not touch anything. Not the first time that had been said on this ride, but that were usually to kids. Not beings who only didn't end up strangling themselves because they didn't breathe. That were a whole nother ballgame of weird.

"Alright, everypony seems secure. Come on then Abacus, let's show off a little."

With a smirk on Banshee's face, and a happy shriek from Abacus, they took to the skies with surprising ease and smoothness. The passengers would hardly be able to tell they were even flying, were it not for the height, and slight movement of going up and down, which had a lot to do with the flight pattern of the wyvern. It seemed as if the metal were indeed both magically run, and magically infused, to ensure as good an experience as possible.

The start might not be, as Abacus indeed showed off, by flying at the largest tree there were near them, and begin to fly around it in an upward twist, that were slowed down compared to how fast they had gotten there. On the way, they'd see several families and individuals of thestrals looking out on them, most of them surprised and smiling, as if they had been expecting this, just later on. Which they had, as this were a rapid occurrence every time Banshee had her first flight with Abacus during one of these nights. It were honestly surprisingly easy to get used to, even for the room at the very top, which were smaller than the others, and seemed to house a gathering of seven breezies, all in different colors, who flew out and began to fly along with the wyvern and her passengers, all the while singing a little welcome tune.

A bit cheesy and staged maybe, but well, it were staged. It gave a lower rent if they just went along with it, and to be fair, their acting weren't bad. It were just somewhat obvious that the music and song weren't improv. After all, what kinda crazy place just had a single being break into song, and then with everyone else just perfectly following both song and doing complex dance routines, all at random? That'd be a silly thought.

Whilst singing, they also buzzed around the passengers as part of their routine, and somewhat interact by flying close to them, yet reacting quickly if they saw any sign of aggression. Which meant getting out of the way fast. Breezies (at least in this area) were not much for fighting, and were so small that they well knew what it were like to be prey. Hence they got out of the way fast when it were. Though if the passengers acted calmly, so would they. One even got close to Omen and touched her wriggling hair, fascinated by what she saw. Another would - again, if Lin did not make sudden movements or anything like that - get a bit closer to try and touch her wings, yet halted once he saw the looks in Shrimp's eyes, and instead went over to Sen to try the same. If he were complacent, the small *Ooo* sound coming from the somewhat insectoid equine, would tell of how fascinated he were of the longma. Even got him out of his song for a moment there, though he'd get back to it shortly thereafter.

Once the breezies were done, they'd return to their little house in the tree, with waves and smiles from both them, Banshee and Tomb. Omen and Rosa would join in, as it seemed like the polite thing to do for the latter, and the former simply imitated what she thought were supposed to be done.

Afterwards, they'd be floating up high, with a good section of the town sprawled down underneath their hooves, giving them a great overview of what were a surprisingly large city, with at least a third of all the space they could see from here, buzzing with activity, as the locals prepared for the tourists.

"Welcome everypony, to the Moonlit Thicket. Are you ready for your tour to begin?"

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

@Windy Breeze

Sorrow more or less bolted backwards, scrambling to make sure she had adequate hoofing as she did, to not end up splayed on the ground, ready to be beset upon by the mob. The absolute horror on her face should tell about how bad all of this were getting in her mind, as were the fact that she'd more or less drag Sandy inside - by his head if she had to - if he didn't move on his own.

Whilst the living were trying to get away in fear, Legion would attempt to communicate stronger. It would still only be in a tongue the dead could hear, but as these were all clearly possessed by the malevolent spirit of Autumn, she should easily be able to hear them through these vessels. If she even cared enough to try, that were.

"Listen to us! We are here to help you. Can you not understand that? Or are you too lost, little soul? If you are, but something of you is still left in there that can hear us, know that when we find you, we will make you see the way again. We won't leave you like this, sister."

There wouldn't be much point in saying more for them, unless they got a response from Autumn that wasn't seething in hatred. Which seemed unlikely, judging by her current mental state.

As for the living, Sorrow were more focused on spurting out as much as she could about what were going on, whilst trying to avoid a massive freak out.

"M-Mass possession! She have complete control, and there's no reasoning with her. We... We're doomed if we don't get out of this town! This is too far above my abilities. to handle."

Ever among the weaker of her family, Sorrow mostly didn't much care about that, nor did many else, but times like this, she sure wish she had more of the potential. Perhaps then, she could've fought back somehow, when facing an insanely strong spirit like this, rather than trying to barricade herself with the others, and hoping the possessed ones didn't come through. Unless they'd actually try to attack these ponies, in which case she'd try even harder to get them back inside, as there were no way they'd win that.

Edited June 23, 2020 by Blitz Boom

FanOfManyShows · June 23, 2020

@Blitz Boom

Her words would cause a silence across them aside from Chariot who was following Emerald, which took several minutes before th decided to resume a conversation-
Iron Star couldn't deny that Sapphire had made bad decisions, but now that she was trying to make up for it, did that make her evil?
He still had to consider that, he barely knew her given her previously immortal status.

Chariot would follow her down, as she asked.
"What have you learned so far, about the spirit inside her gem?"

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

"This whole day is a strange development of villainy right now. It doesn't really make sense given what I heard of Chariot's reform."
The General started pacing back and forth.
"What if he was just, kidnapped?"

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

Skall looked to his element with an elongated smile of endearment,
"Are you sure he'll work?"

Steal Beak turned to look
"Only if he still lives."

"That would be foolish to rely on an uncertain variable."

They walked through a forest, the cracking of leaves under them.
"Listen, Tirek is able to consume magic, he is perfect, if he doesn't live, I can just resurrect him like that"
He said, snapping his claw. "Now, who must we ask about him?"

"Maybe a civilian? or a guard?"

"Ah yes, asking an authority figure who might know about our past villainy.Isn't it likely with how many myths turn true, they are taught as if they are all true?"

"So civilian then, shall we ask those in Ponyville?"

"No, it will be under more guard after Opal's display, one of the places where they were attacked but aren't going to know of us."

"Information travels slow, maybe Appaloosa?"

"Let's try that then."
They teleported away again, as Astral looked upwards towards the forest, hearing their teleportation nearby as
their disappearance left a sudden dip of magic in the area.

Windy Breeze · June 23, 2020

@Blitz Boom

The crowd stopped for a few minutes as Legion attempted to talk to their master, yet either they or Autumn listened to them. They let out feral growls at Sorrow and Sandy, who stood behind her looking at the crowd of possessed ponies with the look of realization and horror.

As for Wine, she began to feel anger, she couldn't understand why, but hide it as she stood by the doorway.

“W-W-We have to go now, Miss!” Sandy said.

A possessed pony, a pegasus lunged at them.

Widdershins · June 24, 2020

@Catpone Cerberus

I would question that. The little bobbing sprite toned flatly. But i'm not not one to talk. I don't know if I even have a body under this light.

A pause for breath in the talking later and the as yet unnamed companion would sparkle in surprise and go ahead of Cerberus around the lip of the cliff face the catpony was climbing.

Oh! What's this! A secret cave only a few steps away from where you will alight upon the top of the bluffs! What secrets may lie in store inside? We must explore inside to see whatever treasure might be had!

The little light creature tinkled its way back to Cerberus with the news, having once more teetered back to Joyful Excitement from Cynic Flatness. As if this being didn't have that stable of a personality to go with in the first place.

EQ_Theta · June 24, 2020

@Blitz Boom

“Whoa! So this is what it’s like to fly? Kinda makes me wish the longma could still fly!”

Sen may be fastened to his seat but he was already tempted to stand up and get the wind on his face. If this was what the longma were missing out on, it probably might get them to consider taking flight lessons again. Their wings don’t look like they shriveled into little stubs just yet and they already use them for gliding anyway. Of course, the longma had to temper his own enthusiasm to get their hosts to worry about him less.

Then there were the little ponies with big wings flying near them again, this time singing to them. A bizarre thing, breaking into song, but it was reasonable to assume they’d be the welcoming committee. Lin certainly found herself enjoying their performance and Sen was just as interested in their rather strange looks. He found himself just as fascinated as the little one flying close to take a gander at his appearance.

But this wouldn’t last and the breezies’ performance came to an end. The longma gladly waved back though they were both silently hoping for an encore. In the meantime, they were just about ready to get the tour started and they couldn’t wait!

“We’re ready! Although I couldn’t help but be curious about the little pony-like creatures flying around us earlier. What are they called?”

Catpone Cerberus · June 25, 2020

@Blitz Boom
Ruby had no reason to attack the guards, or well, technically she had since they knowing about her could bite her backside at some point, but she didn't want to take the risk of getting the attention of the princesses, as that would mean that she would surely be found out sooner or later due to the princesses' power over the lands. She didn't even wait until end of the interaction before starting with the examination, but she did keep an eye on the guards to signal to them that they weren't wanted here.

"Alive" Ruby replied to Leviathan's question "His wings seem to be strained and he's bit skinny so he probably just arrived to Equestria, it's a long flight for someone so small." "He seems to be between 20 to 30 years old based on the development of his body, though his size is more along a 10 year old, so you have something in common..." the last remark was more in humorous that insulting tone, which was probably a surprise of its own "....so though he's old enough to be thrown out by his mother, he's still a hatchling, as we don't reach full maturity until the age 50." "I can also see some signs of healed wounds so he has most likely been in a fight at some point during the last few days."

------------------------------------------------------------
Nada again just listened as Ziggy talked, she believed it was the best way to handle conversations where you didn't know what you should ask and what not, as the other would most likely tell everything they were willing to tell as long as the conversation didn't cut short for reason or another. "What is it like to have siblings?" she asked, nodding to Ziggy's instructions about what to do next "I grew up alone and if I have younger siblings I don't know about them because I haven't been in contact with my family in a long long time." she again took a moment to figure out the best way to hold the spoon and then proceeded to help Ziggy, this time she didn't have any real problems with what she was doing other than figuring out a spot in which she wasn't in Ziggy's way.

-------------------------------------------------

What Anomaly did didn't necessarily prove Scarecrow that the pony would end up in hospital, but it wasn't like he could do anything about it at this point anymore, though the head had started heading towards where the town was so he was hopeful. "With all due respect, I don't believe you'd be powerful enough to give me what I truly want..." he said, Lyriel could probably guess what he was talking about, a bit sad thought probably, but most likely understandable "...but something to make myself...less terrifying at will could be useful in getting ponies to safety."
--------------

@Widdershins
"How convenient it would be if in this explored place would be an unexplored cave with a treasure that will have use for me." Cerberus said as he headed to the opening of the cave, and if nothing too special happened, he would make his way inside. Being part cat, Cerberus was able to see relatively well in the dark cave, but if it went deep enough, the light of the...light..following him would get more useful as even cats couldn't see in total darkness.

Blitz Boom · June 25, 2020

@EQ_Theta

"What' you've never seen a breezie before? Or okay, I can believe that, but not hearing about them either? That's a first."

"If I may interject: Breezies are a somewhat insectoid race in appearance for some, though they best thought of as a mixture of ponies, and pixies. They maintain the pixies minute stature, extremely light weight frame, and oversized, insect-like wings, yet generally speaking, none of the pixies tendencies for trickery and mischief. Instead having the more kind nature of ponies, along with the natural equine tendency to feel uneasy and scared around beings larger than them, that appears threatening. Comparing it to something similar... Yes, imagine if you will, a dragon, about thirty times your size. Now pretend said dragon looks at you with smoke billowing out of his nose, and narrowed eyes. That is somewhat equivalent to what breezies reportedly feels around creatures that for us seems regular, or even on the slightly smaller side, that appears in a bad mood.

Combine that with several individuals and races hunting them as food, or exotic pets, and you may also begin to understand why they generally speaking, stays away from others. Even when they migrate, which far as I am aware, are a yearly event for them."

"A good enough rundown. Here in the area, we have a collection of towns, surrounding our main hub, wherein the Council of Three Wings make the general decisions. We're still part of Equestrian law, but it's sorta like a... Local government, including our own protectors. That's where our family comes into the picture. The Macabre clan have been settled down here for generations, and though we're not on the council, whoever runs our family tends to still have their voice heard. These days, that's grandmother: Madamme Macabre. Our matriarch if you will, and a mare with quite a reputation."

"I am... Well aware of her. There are quite the number of stories out there of her activities."

Rosa seemed reluctant to elaborate further for the time being, though neither Tomb, nor Banshee, seemed to address it.

"Anyway, the breezies in this area are usually more friendly and curious that most you'll meet out there in the world, because they know they're kept safe here. They're our equals, and come on, you gotta admit they're utterly adorable, right?

Aaah, but anyway, the tour. I think we should start with a general overview of the important buildings. Let's start with the town leader's home."

Abacus would fly them towards the large tree they had passed earlier, which seemed to be housing less beings within than some others.

"Soda Stream have his office in there. He doesn't really do a whole lot of official work, outside of arranging these sorta festivities, and dealing with minor local issues and troublemakers, but he's very popular. You're probably gonna see him later, when the whole thing begins. Don't let the name fool you though, he's a pretty intense sight, and that tree ain't just full of wood. A whole bunch of cells above and below his office, in case we need to have somepony dragged away from things before they end up hurtig themselves or others. Usually it's just the drunk tanks above that's used, but... Ergh, even the best places have some nasty folks now and again, that needs more proper imprisonment, until they can be dragged off to court."

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

@FanOfManyShows

On 6/23/2020 at 8:51 PM, FanOfManyShows said:

"What have you learned so far, about the spirit inside her gem?"

Emerald were still fuming some as they wandered down, and had to take a minute to clear her head before responding to Chariot. She didn't imagine things would proceed with much more calm, once her sister got back to life properly. A lot of things they had to sort between themselves, to put it mildly.

"Much as I needed to know how to keep him at bay. Irritating thing were a pain to balance dealing with when I held the element, and with Sapphire possessing it, the interaction is gonna end up being more direct than I, or you, even tried with their kind. Another reason why it is imperative to get them separated.

I have no actual information though. There's nothing written down about them anywhere, which is why I tentatively tried followign the guesswork, that they were the first carriers, trapped inside the gems for some reason. Since that have been shot down, I have no idea. Still, I know enough about sacrificial magic and soul control at this point, to feel rather confident in saying that I can separate them, long as nothing interferes with the ritual.

...I wonder if Sapphire have told them that the general will attend it, or send a representative now that I think of it? She seemed insistent to wanting to make sure everything were done without any shady business going on. Hmph, guess that is their problem, not mine. And yours, since I doubt you were released on good behavior.

Now then, what do you know of the spirits? Perhaps you know something not written down anywhere."

Below ground, the room were much as it used to, just now with a silvery concoction bubbling in the small cauldron, giving off a smell best described as somepony having thrown a piece of stale cheese right on your nose. A pungent one at that. Rather nasty, but alchemy were not always pretty, nor smelled like flowers.

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

@FanOfManyShows

On 6/23/2020 at 8:51 PM, FanOfManyShows said:

"What if he was just, kidnapped?"

"There were a witness that claims that's the case. Lieutenant Hogweed, his carer, sounded the alarm and claims that he were abducted against his will. I can't verify is she is an unbiased source, considering her position."

And by that, Shade did not mean her position as a lieutenant, but as Chariot's caretaker. As the one who spent a lot of time around the disgraced general, and had pushed hard for his reform, it were hard to say if she were genuine in what she said, or had somehow been swayed to take his side, regardless of facts. Perhaps if she were interrogated properly, they could get some answers?

"I can send somepony to retrieve her for interrogation. Interested?"

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

@FanOfManyShows

"We could make a guard talk. Make him see what he wants, and he'll tell us everything he knows."

This were why they did not need these other carriers. What usage had they, when Skall and her could make reality what they wanted to? No one would know what to trust, every truth would be hoarded, whilst lies would flourish. No creature would be able to withstand them. They only had to reach out and find some feeble little guard, who would bend to their will, and tell them everything they needed to know. And in return, he would be fed only lies, and return to his peers with falsehoods. Such were the power of the Element of Lies, Something the others could not claim, as they were weak, and little more than flair and showmanship.

Yet, she were greatly weakened now, and could not word this to these servants yet. She needed to gather her strength first. Yet, with her back in the clutch of the true bearer, it would come. She knew he would be able to make her strong, and in turn, she would elevate him to greatness. Such were their bond. At least for now.

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

@Catpone Cerberus

"Your branch matures slowly. In the Dragon Isle, we have matured when we are between twenty and twenty five. I were twenty-three when I reached full maturity, and I were larger than this one."

She didn't say it in a snooty, or annoyed way. It were just a fact that she'd counter the surprising little tease with. Considering the situation, and Ruby's behavior in general, she did not expect the dragoness to respond in such a way, without having malice behind it. More and more layers just seemed to peel from her, with every waking moment Leviathan spent around her, yet she could not say if she personally, had something to do with that. Potentially, but she needed more evidence to support that.

"It is good to hear that he seems well, though why have he come here? It sounded as if it takes a lot for your branch to leave their country, and this one is hardly fit to be on his own. It seems strange that he have come here. And in this area specifically... I wonder if perhaps he came here, looking for you. Do you know any relation you may have to him? Are he of your blood, perhaps? A small sibling, or cousin? I have trouble seeing why he would show up in an area you were staying in otherwise. It would be quite the coincidence to think that flying deep into this country on his own for some unknown reason, he still just so happens to be in the same area as the singular known dragon of your branch, to wander Equestria.

*sigh* Regardless though, we need to watch out. Might be it were just a poacher in this area, but whoever he have been fighting with, might have followed him. Some creatures can be rather vindictive."

Ruby were among those whom Leviathan considered to likely be so petty, that they would hunt down someone just because they got away, or annoyed them. Though honestly, she weren't exactly innocent in that either. It were a behavior issue to varying degrees with all dragons, which certain beings tended to use against them. Smart dragon hunters for example, attempting to lure you into a trap. Unlikely to have anything to do with this, but the example were right at her claws. Seemed wasteful to not use it.

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

@Catpone Cerberus

"Well, it's kinda hard to describe, since it's different for everypony. Some can't get enough of each others company, and some can't stand the sight of one another.

Me? I'm the oldest of triplets by a tiny margin, and I've always gotten along well with them. Hehe, cutesy little thing, can't help but love 'em, even though I'm really towering over them. Though I do that with most ponies, so heh, that's nothing new.

Anyway, I guess it'd kinda like having a best friend, that you've known since you were little. It's somepony you know you can rely on, who you've had your ups and downs with, and who you sometimes get a little sic of watching constantly. That's what they tel me anyway, and my siblings have always been real close. Even they said it sometimes got a bit much always being under the same roof, and especially when they got into their teenage years and began being all rebellious. Wish I could've seen it, but I couldn't be back home from I were an infant, to around age fifteen. I loved when they visited though, and I still get along real well with them.

Sour Skies works in an animals preservation, and Lemon Drop is working to become an accountant, just like mom. They're identical, except for the droplet pattern below their eyes. Don't look anything like me though, no sire. They took after mom, while I've gotten a big ol' smashing of the zebra genes. Great grandma and dad were really happy to see that I took after them."

While talking, the two of them had managed to get the worst done. namely pouring into the forms, and putting them into the oven, before setting an egg timer. It were a pretty cute one that Serenade owned too. It looked like a fish very slowly wagging its tail, and when it were done, it were gonna blow bubbles. Ziggy were honestly kinda jealous about it, but she were sure she'd find another one eventually. Weird stuff like this always ended up in somepony's thrift store, sooner or later..

Hehe, there we go, just waiting for them to be done now.

Real sorry to hear you haven't talked to your family in a long time, Nada. I can't imagine what it would be like to not be in contact with mine for a while, and you've been away for a reeeeeeeally long time. Don't you miss them? Maybe want to go and find them? I dunno how sirens families work, but maybe they'd be really happy to see you, and hear that you're helping to make life better for all of your kind. That's kind of a big deal, right? Something they should be proud off. I know I'd be at least."

She beamed up towards the siren, trying to keep the happy face on, as to see if she could sound less less of a downer, if that made sense. She didn't know what the deal were with Nada's family after all. They might be dead. Or really mean. That'd make things awkward, but a smile almost always helped, right?

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

@Catpone Cerberus

"Not powerful enough? That's just being silly. I'm a draconequus. Okay, not like The strongest one, but definitely still real strong in magic stuff."

To prove her point, she'd snap her tail, and then suddenly, a bunch of lose twigs, leaves, and varied other vegetation, would start to get sucked towards a singular point between them. They would gather up into a small pile, then suddenly start to rustle around, and gather up in odd ways, with the varied things seemingly fusing together into joints, and a pair of wings. Leaves acted as feathers, a couple of lose rocks were shaven and made into each their own part of a beak, vines and moss came together to make a fitting torso, hiding the skeleton made of varied thicker branch pieces and twigs. It were all finished up with small flower pieces spreading out and fusing together to make the flight feathers for the wings and tail, and for eyes, a pair of shiny rocks. One looking like amber, and the other some kind of pyrite-infused pebble.

In the end, would be a rather interesting looking replica, of a common hawk. Just made out of obvious plant material instead.

It'd turn its head and look at them, somehow actually seeing through those stand in eyes of its, before starting to stretch its body, wings spread afar.

"See? Making life from nothing. That's the big league."

Lyriel looked concerned at what she had just witnessed. Not the natural animal being created, nor how it invoked memories of her old home, when the animals started to turn into plants. No, it were rather at Scarecrow, as she knew some of the deeper meaning in what he had said, and could as such, understand what might be going through his head when he heard what Anomaly offered. Poor soul were clearly not as okay with his situation as he pretended to be at times...

"Now check this out. Hey, bird thing, go play with Scarecrow."

The *bird* just looked up at her, somehow getting through rather well that it were utterly disinterested in what she were saying. For all her muster, she apparently couldn't make creations that at the same time respected what she telling them. Though in this case, it were just a bit slow in it, since in fairness, it were less than a minute old, and despite the base knowledge imprinted into its brain, things took a bit of time to sort out properly.

So it eventually got to work and flapped over to the zombie'ish creature. Once it got there, it's peck at him, and something strange would go on every time it made contact. Almost like a ripple, Scarecrow would find that for a brief moment, whilst contact were there, he'd be able to look down and see his legs had the look of normal, non-rotting legs. Or well, not entirely normal. They carried some resemblance to how Lyriel looked, with bark skin, grass making for his coat, and hardened roots making his hooves. A sort of more controlled natural creature than Lyriel.

"Cool, right? I mean, I could've made something simple, but then I thought *Hey, what if I made a friend to him that made him look like something else when they touched?*. I sorta thought pony, but they're so booooring, so, you'll look like an evergrown. Sorta like this mare, but better, because I made them, hehe. Longest lasting creations I've had a hoof in.

Anyway, you win the game, you get Mr. Birdie, and long as you stay connected, he'll disguise you. Common, who's the master of nature? Is it me?"

A large sign fell down from a tree directly above her, with a simple message imprinted upon. The word *No.*.

"Hey, that's not nice."

Opening hew maw wide, she'd reach up, and chomp down on the sign, and start to munch it down as if it were a pork rind. Crunchy noises and everything.

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

@Windy Breeze 🥧

Sorrow jumped back, not wanting to take part in this physical altercation. She wasn't good at fighting either, which made her doubly so, a weakling. Quite honestly, she mostly had Legion help her when things came to blows, which they'd do here too, if they judged that somepony came too close.

Whilst they could not do much to extract the one controlling these bodies, and Autumn were not literally possessing the vessels, they could still let out a loud screech in the damned tongue, which should with some luck, make the attacker stagger back.

However, it took a good deal of energy to do this, and as such, they could only do it three times in a twenty-four hour period. If they had to do it once here, that would be what that were, but twice and it'd leave them limited. Three times and they'd be defenseless. Hence, they'd be liberal with the first, but afterwards, only react of somepony posed an actual, life-threatening danger to Sorrow.

Not that she planned to stay outside. As were evident by her previous movements, she intended fully well to get right back into the house, along with the others, and shut the door. Hopefully in a way that meant they would be able to get through the assault and figure out a way to get out of this part of town, before it were too late, and get reinforcements from the more powerful members of her family. Because this job seemed to be so far above her level at this point, that she couldn't see the top.

Windy Breeze · June 25, 2020

@Blitz Boom

Another pony, jumped at Sorrow, this time, she didn't have time to react, but Sandy quickly pushed her to the doorway. He let out groan when he fell on the ground along with the possessed “Ms. Ghostbusters, I think I know how to defend ourselves from these things!” he told him as he desperately tried to pry the possessed off him. Black liquid began to flow into his body “I-I-it should be in the kitchen, I put it in a jar, I know this is hard to believe but I think the o ly way to combat this things is to throw maaaaaaphleeesyriiiiiuuuuuuuup.....” his face was soon covered in black, and his eyes turned into red. Sandy has just joined the herd.

“Sandy!” Wine yelled and tried to run outside to save her husband, But Windy keep her from doing so.

“Sorrow, get inside!”

EQ_Theta · June 27, 2020

@Blitz Boom

“Breezies are caught as food? What?!”

“Or caught as pets? Ugh, this all makes me dislike the implications… In any case, the breezes are here are fortunate to have a home among you.”

The longma didn’t stay too preoccupied with the morbid thoughts of sentient beings being hunted for food. It makes them wonder if what they’re doing back home might be any different, especially if they stayed carnivores. A diet of berries and dried vegetation might seem normal but when it comes to hunting fish by the various rivers and streams cutting through their forest, that is a whole different story. And one that leaves some questions better off unanswered for now.

For now, the siblings took in the scenery, admiring the view from the sky. It wasn’t quite like home yet it still feels familiar. Treetops thick with activity yet there is more to see with the lights brightening up their view. Not so much like their forest where only fires guide the way in the night and only the rays of the sun shining forth to give them any indication of the time of day. Then there was the sight of a large tree. As unassuming as it was, what came next was all manner of unexpected surprise.

“A prison? Or some ponies call them jailhouses elsewhere. Your town’s… uh, leader? Is that the proper term? He works in a place where troublemakers are locked up?”

“Must be a strange feeling working in a place that does that. Are troublemakers a common enough sight that the thicket needs cells?”

Catpone Cerberus · June 27, 2020

@Blitz Boom
Ruby just nodded to the first comment, she knew her kind matured slowly compared to others, in fact, the whole process of continuing one's bloodline took quite a while, and when you added the fact that they had only one offspring at a time and that you couldn't exactly do it right after the other, one could see why their numbers stayed relatively low.

"You ask lot of questions I can't answer without asking him, but I have few guesses." "Reason for leaving the homelands is the easiest guess, he's smaller than he should be, so he most likely realized he wouldn't survive there, or he was forced to leave for some other reason." as she explained, she took the small dragon and put it on her back "His face reminds me of my mother a bit, so it is possible he shares blood with me, but that's something I need to ask when he wakes up." she started walking towards where the cave was "For the rest I don't know, but it is possible that he just happened to end up here, as this forest is a straight fly from our homelands if you took flight from the same area as I did." "But I want to know the answers as much as you do, because if my kind has learned of Equestria's existence, I need to prepare for some brutal competition."

------------------------------------------------
Nada just listened as Ziggy explained, she didn't really have anything to say after the explanation, so she just nodded in understanding, she did feel a bit bad for Ziggy not having been able to be home for a long time, or well, long for a pony, but she decided against commenting on it as she didn't know how to word it right.
"Don't be sorry, time works bit differently when you have a long lifespan, so though it has been well over millennia since I last saw them, it hasn't welt nearly as long, in fact, before I learned how long it had been, I thought I had been in isolation only for few centuries at longest." "Though now that you mention it, I probably should try to contact them that I'm aright in case they know about the sister's banishment." "Not that we necessarily were that close, but I'm sure they would like to know, we kinda drifted away when I decided to stop feeding on negativity, not that I really blame them."

---------------------------------------
Scarecrow didn't comment anything on Anomaly's show of powers, he knew her kind could make life, but wasn't so sure about the opposite, though even if they could, he believed only someone like Discord would be powerful enough to break whatever was holding him in this body. He was bit surprised by what Anomaly created though, but in hindsight he should have expected no less, since expecting something normal from her kind was probably a foolish thing to do.

What came for his reaction to his momentary changes, it was positive, not that it was really visible in any way since even if the effect included his face, he would have a blank expression on since he no longer knew how to make expressions due lacking a face for unknown but most likely a long time. He thought for a second before speaking, "Okay, deal, though it really depends on the game, because there's certain things I won't too regardless of what you may offer."

Rising Dusk · June 27, 2020

@Blitz Boom

The thought of a random portal now just appearing on her front lawn and foreign ponies walking through her flower garden filled her mind. How annoying that would be, the Moon Gazer Lilies were just in bloom. Based on how behind Harrowmark sounded in magical development, it might be a little too much for Dawn to ask for at least the politeness in aiming one's portal connection better. She will send a message to her brother when Lily and her were finished, enough to give him a heads up so that rather putting the portal somewhere dangerous, he can at least redirect any to a safer part of the city. "Minty Lice Snow Delice, Captain of the O.M.I. My brother's boss. A unicorn whose theatrics eclipse my own... ten fold, sigh... She was the one that went to retrieve Rising from Harrowmark when he set off his beacon. With how much power it takes to teleport that long of a distance, I wouldn't be surprised if a good amount of this residue you speak of could be left behind," she explained. Now having to debate though if sending a message to Minty would be beneficial or just get the large unicorn picking through her dresses to prepare for an unnecessary battle. No no no, this message would need to go to Tussle, crisis averted. "This may just speed up the need to give Rising a little nudge to return to Harrowmark before portals start appearing without preparation," Dawn concluded, moving pieces around the board to adjust.

It was this point Dawn knew she dug herself into a hole she couldn't climb out of. Using such terms to a foreigner was a terrible idea without any context. A common enough term used, or other such terms that give praise to their ruler in how similar another land might a deity. The term wasn't aimed at the Princess's butt as a butt, but that her rump, or flank, had a Sun on it. She is the Sun in their eyes, and now that Dawn has met a pony that questioned such a term, it was now occurring to her how silly it might sound. "Is just a saying~ Oh never mind," if a pony can't climb out of the hole then by Celestia as her witness, HA!, she was going to teleport out!

"It's settled then, I'm going to make a spa appointment for you come the marrow. Prepare to be pampered!" Dawn expressed very matter of factly. Prancing over to the door they entered with her rainbow rippled steps, looking over her shoulder. "Rest well Ms. Monkshade. Should you need anything, just knock on this here door three times," she bide farewell and pranced forward, walking right through the wooden door as if a ghost. Should she chose to open the door without knocking as instructed, the door would open to the void they walked through to get to the room.

Rising looked over himself, "Sore shoulder, otherwise none the worse for ware," he nodded. Fuller details not something the sisters of Troy needed to be burdened with in his opinion. The cracks in Null's gruff demeanor easy for the detective to pick up on. A weight appeared to lift from her shoulders and she even tripped up on first pointing out her worry than a combined worry. "I'm happy to find you two both unharmed as well," Null appeared to have survived round one with Manehatten's eccentric inventor and Void made her journey to her sister under the care of the O.M.I. just fine. More weights to life from said sore shoulder.

Sekel · June 27, 2020

@Blitz Boom

KARMIC FATE & ATZY

"Well ..." Karmic hesitated and decided to drink the rest of her tea to stop from answering for a while.

"Zhu sounds like a pony. A pony can't be centuries old unless they're one of the Princesses," Atzy commented as she looked between Karmic and Golden.

@Blitz Boom

TWILIGHT SPARKLE

"It all feels horrible. So much death ... I think I need a bit," Twilight said as she climbed onto the tree stump and sat down on her haunches. She was visibly shaking despite simply teleporting across the field so obviously something from it had affected her. "Maybe five minutes but ... Marepunzel's tower should be here, right?"

@Blitz Boom

AURORA LIGHTS

Aurora visibly relaxed once she realised they were both alone and she smield at Happy. "Of course a wander ... where to, exactly? The only destinations I know of are King THorax's hive, your cart thingy, and Queen Onache. So it'll either be one of those three or Queen Onache will send some changelings after you."

@Blitz Boom & @Widdershins

DAZZLE GLEAM

"That all depends on if I'm needed here for whatever is happening," Dazzle said as she glanced around at the crowded room. "It looks like everything is fine though .... I don't know ... maybe - wait. What in Tartarus are nobles?" she questioned in abject confusion and swivelled around to face Scarcity and Long Stare. She may have forgotten some things her parents had told her but at the very least she would remember what nobles were if her parents had told her about them.

@Blitz Boom & @Widdershins

DAWN STREAK

"Yet you were raised by both so some of those pony values had to get ingrained into you," Dawn said haughtily, scrunching up her muzzle in a cute glare as she stared up at Kaltrops. "Go on, say what we prissy Princess ponies taught you!"

Blitz Boom · June 27, 2020

@Catpone Cerberus

"Hadn't noticed the little one were unconscious. I figured he were just being silent."

In fairness, Ruby were acting rather protective of her potential half brother, and as such, it weren't like she were given an unobstructed look at the small dragon. Though really, Leviathan being rather angry and unfocused before, likely had a lot to do with this as well. Hard to believe as it were, not even she were perfect.

"But you're right. Whatever we can think of asking, we won't get any answers until he's awake. Let's make sure he's tuck in safely back at the cave, and I'll go find a rabbit for him or something. He'll probably be hungry when he wakes up.

I wouldn't worry too much if others of your branch found Equestria though. You're going at it with some degree of stealth, so you're not being taken notice of, but from what you've said, stealth approaching like you have, is not a forte of where you're from. Not to the same degree at least, and an obviously hostile invasion is going to be met in force. Something you shouldn't underestimate. It's not just ponies trying to keep this country running as it is, though even if it were, I have seen what happens to hostile forces in this country. It never ends well for them, and some of them have been a good deal stronger than our kind. Also, they have a demigod on their side. It complicates things significantly."

Discord had shown betrayal before, but she doubted he'd do so again at this point, and really, he were not one to trifle with. Unless you wanted to be turned into a mouse, or have your entire country turned into molten chocolate, or something else that were even worse. The inventiveness of that draconequus were not to be underestimated, nor should his power.

"Anyway, if this little one is your half brother or something, what happens then? You've told me how it is between parents and whelps in your country, but not siblings. Is it better or worse?"

Something told her the answer were going to be worse, but it were really hard to say. Ruby's branch of dragons were abnormal, in varied ways, making it hard to guess exactly how their society worked regarding this. Likely bet from her side? Blood meant nothing, and were he older and challenging her territory, Ruby would curb stomp the kid without a second thought.

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

@Catpone Cerberus

"Well, it's a good thing though, right? I dunno how sirens feed on emotions, but if it's like changelings, that's what made a lot of folks scared of them. Well that, and the bad stories about them dragging you off, and making you into one of them. But the feeding were the one that'd happen most of the time, and when Canterlot were attacked, it really showed. It really didn't help things.

The nice changeling doctor at the hospital say they Have to feed though, or they starve and go mindless. Sirens apparently doesn't need to, so that'd make it way easier to get along with ponies then if it were, right? King Thorax's hive doesn't feed on others, and most likes seeing them around. Still maaaaany of the old ones left, like Dr. Xeno, so I guess it can still work though? Huh... Guess I didn't think of that. Oh well, still thinking it'll be easier without needing to munch on others. Oh! Or if you do it constructively. Lots of places with some real sour creatures around. If you munched on their negativity, it'll help them, and keep you fed at the same time! I dunno though, do you think sirens would do well in customer service? Or wander around a bank, I guess? Some nasty words and such being flung around there.

Anyway, just saying that even if they still wanted to feed on negativity, there's probably some sorta way it can be done in a good way. Like, I heard about a changeling hive right? They've opened a Theater in Las Pegasus, and feed on the love that's just flung at them during their shows. Crazy stuff, but I can sorta see how it works. Hoping I can catch one of the shows someday, when I visit home. I bet when you visit home, you'll find that you're missed too. Maybe you'll even have gotten some new siblings, or little nieces and nephews over the years? Awh, that'd be cute.

Oh right, the muffins are ready in like... Twenty minutes time. Kinda curious if Agni's gonna attack the egg timer, but that's the fun part to look forward to. Now that he's not using fire anyway. Less fun with fire."

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

@Catpone Cerberus

"Well yeah, there's things I wouldn't do either, like asking you to set fire to the forest and bring me a hundred hides. That sorta thing's in the past, before the others killed me. Hehe, guess I were a little nasty back then? I dunno, I can't remember. I'm just being told I were a real menace. Been raised right since I were ressurected though. All creation for me now, no more widespread, merciless destruction."

Anomaly were perhaps not the only draconequus to be killed off in history, but among the oldest draconequui, she were somewhat of a strange one, as they usually weren't the ones to end up killing one another. Usually they just chased others off or the like, but apparently, an exception had been made. Though one could wonder if a draconequus could actually die, or if it weren't more that her essence were locked away from her body, which were half-destroyed and scattered to the winds. You'd have to ask Discord more than likely, to get an answer. If he remembered, that were.

"Buuuut, I can send you out on a long, fun scavenger hunt. Worst thing you'd have to do there, were picking up plants, or take a bit of bark off a tree. Oh, or collect a bit of hair from a bear maybe. That sorta thing. Nothing with blood. It's icky.

So here's the game: You have to find ten items each in the forest, and I'll only tell you the first one. The rest is gonna show when you're saying out loud that you got the item, and then I'll give you another clue. Fun, right? Better make sure you got the right things though, hehe. So, here's some pouches, and I don't want cheating, sooo-"

Anomaly coughed up two cloth pouches, big enough to hold the items she had in mind, and snapped her tail. Nothing seemed to happen, except Lyriel appear a bit a little confused, and looking around her in disbelief.

"It's... W-Why can't I hear them anymore?"

"Because talking to the animals and making them give you stuff is cheating, so you're not able to talk with them until we're done, and they'll just see you as a regular pony. Work with it, okay? I bet you can do it real good, hehe.

So, first thing: Each one find a manticore scale. Fresh or shed, doesn't matter, both counts. Any questions?"

If not, Anomaly would implode, until she were the size of a pinball. At that point, she'd fire off a ball with multiple colors and sparkles into the sky, right through the current opening in the canopy, before rolling away with great speed to who knew where. It seemed the games had been *fired off* so the speak.

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

@EQ_Theta

"He should've been a bit more specific. Only animals eat breezies, and that's just because they're sorta the right size for some predators. Usually birds."

"While that is correct, illegal ownership is not related to animals, though one could rightfully use that as an insult, to the shady beings who were part of such trade. Something which are outlawed in every known country, and being found in possession of a breezie can lead to severe consequences. Yet still, some beings care not about that, and still consider them fun, exotic things to have around somewhere secret. Usually as pets for their insolent little offspring."

They all agreed to just stop talking about it there, as it made everypony involved feel uncomfortable. It were not a nice thing to ponder on, and especially not for the Macabre members, as they worked closely with breezies and considered a lot of them to be close friends.

12 hours ago, EQ_Theta said:

“A prison? Or some ponies call them jailhouses elsewhere. Your town’s… uh, leader? Is that the proper term? He works in a place where troublemakers are locked up?”

“Must be a strange feeling working in a place that does that. Are troublemakers a common enough sight that the thicket needs cells?”

"The main town have our consil, whilst the three side towns each have a leader. Soda is ours by popular demand, though he's also technically a prison guard. Used to work for the Night Guard, down in the cellars, back in the day. These days he just deals with temporary troublemakers. Usually it's just a few drunk tourists who needs a bit of time on their own to sober up, and he says they're surprisingly easy to tune out. The Root Cellars, as he calls them, are mostly empty. Only get like, three actual criminals to put down there a year, at worst. It's pretty peaceful around here."

Abacus would fly to the back of the tree, where there'd be a few cells on the upper level with windows out, making them able to look inside and see something which yes, had bars, were mostly just a bunk bed with a puke bucket and some bottles of water. They didn't want to be too harsh on the folks in the drunk tank, since the hangover were gonna do that for them, eventually.

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

@Windy Breeze 🥧

Much as she had scrambled to get away, one had almost gotten hold of her, yet Sandy had taken that hit instead.

What happened next were the sort of thing that only happened in nightmares, as the possessed pony started to leak ectoplasma into his face, which Sorrow sadly didn't react on quickly enough to stop. She had just managed to get back on her hooves and taken a deep breath to go charge in and push the possessed one away, when the ectoplasma took over, and Sandy became a forced member of the flock.

He managed to say something first though, which sounded ludicrous - come on, maple syrup against ectoplama? - but quite frankly, they didn't have a lot of options here, and were now down a member, whilst the enemy had another one. This were starting to go from unfair, to really, incredible, cheat-like levels of unfair.

On 6/26/2020 at 12:47 AM, Windy Breeze 🥧 said:

Sandy!” Wine yelled and tried to run outside to save her husband, But Windy keep her from doing so.

“Sorrow, get inside!”

As he couldn't be saved, Sorrow would rush over to Sandy and Windy, to help the latter bring the former inside. She'd dodge any other from the crowd trying to grasp at her at this point, and soon enough, they should be inside where it were hopefully safe. Y'know, after they shut the door, locked it, and potentially pushed something heavy in front of it.

"We'll save him, okay Wine? I promise we'll get him back. He's just possessed, not dead. We can try using the maple syrup like he said, but otherwise, he should be free soon as the one who generated this ectoplasma, have been subdued. Okay? We'll get him, and all the others back, one way or another."

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

@Sekel

"Zhu is actually a serpanther. A strange, reclusive race, who look mostly like a large feline, yet with a snake's head and tail. They're peculiar sights really, and not that often seen, outside of zebra settlements, whom they for some reason seem to get along with well.

Still, even their lifepsnas usually maxes out at around 150, from what they have told, so Zhu's prolonged life still makes him quite an abnormality. Potentially he's just one in a longer line of similar looking serpanthers, and Zhu is more of a title than a name, but I think it too much of a coincidence to be the case. Especially once you also consider his apparent *True sight*."

"True sight is valuable, but rare, even among my kind's seers. I wouldn't believe him without proof."

"I agree, yet I find it best to have an open mind, and think of the repercussions, just in case.

Regardless, I think our meeting have been productive so far. We have come to a peaceful treaty, offers have been made, and your demands, Enzo, will be worked on as soon as I can come in contact with out builders. I'm sure we will be able to accommodate you son enough. Are there other things, that anypony would like to bring up?"

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

@Sekel

"If it's here, it'll be in the area on the map you pointed at, so on the other side of the forest. I'd suggest we go around it. Gonna cost us time, but- Wait... Did you hear that?"

There would be a rather quiet, but continued buzzing, rising in volume every few seconds, as if whatever were making it were getting closer. Which were sadly the case, as they could see if they looked up in the air, towards the area next to the battlefield, headed in the exact opposite direction of the shrine.

A good forty or so of insectoid beings, carry a striking resemblance to the impaled queen left on the shrine, but more pony-sized than that abnormally large creature.

"Manetids."

Last's teeth gritted, and she felt the urge to go and carve up some of these things, but she had her orders, leaving her with only one option.

"Everypony, into the forest. Now! If they see us, we'll be swarmed."

If Twilight weren't able to walk on her own yet, Last would grab the princess, sling her up on her back, and rush into the forest, followed closely by an increasingly nervous Cherish, who felt like something wrong were gonna happen by them entering this dark, darkness-infested forest. Nothing good ever happened in these places in the story books she had read in the castle.

As for Last carrying the princess, it wouldn't really strain her. The princess were pretty small for an alicorn, and not exactly a heaving bunch of chub, nor muscle. For one with a good deal of muscle, like Last, carrying this one weren't an issue for a while. Cadance though? Yeah, then there'd have been issues.

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

@Sekel

"I figure we go straight back to my hive, and brief Onache on what happened then. She won't send any changelings after us, so for better or worse, we're on our own until we get back. Dunno the details all that much, but after Chrysalis came upon our hive, she must've taken the others, 'cause I'm the only changeling that Onache have left under her comma-"

Suddenly, something spherical and multicolored fell from the sky at great haste, and smashed into Happy's face, sending him rolling a half dozen times to the side before just sliding for another meter across the dirt. The thing that had hit him would shatter into an immeasurable amount of pieces once it hit the ground, and more or less vanished in a short, glittering spectacle whilst Happy laid o the ground. His day were not improving.

"...Aaaaaauw..."

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

@Sekel @Widdershins

"Nobles are ponies with royalty in their blood. Usually somepony who'd s a distant relative of one of Princess Celestia's offspring, far as they claim. Other think its's just relatives of the princesses before they became relatives, who thinks they're royalty, even if their predecessor didn't do anything like the princesses, or got removed from the family tree. usually nobles are some really snooty, snobby ponies that looks down on everypony else, since they think they're better, because they're slightly related to the princesses. I heard there's a few nice ones, but it's better to stay away from them. They're usually bad news."

Stare tried to explain this as kindly as possible, without including the varied things she wanted to say about nobles. Specifically, a lot of swear words whilst whimpering, clearly showing a less than stellar relationship with that sort of equine. It should cover it well enough, though they shouldn't be worried about running into them here anyway. Nobles usually didn't like small towns like Ponyville. Too dirty for their tastes.

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

@Rising Dusk

11 hours ago, Rising Dusk said:

"Minty Lice Snow Delice, Captain of the O.M.I. My brother's boss. A unicorn whose theatrics eclipse my own... ten fold, sigh... She was the one that went to retrieve Rising from Harrowmark when he set off his beacon. With how much power it takes to teleport that long of a distance, I wouldn't be surprised if a good amount of this residue you speak of could be left behind,"

"Another pony of exceptional potential? Is that a requirement to work for this O.M. I. by chance? Or does Equestria simply have extraordinary talent seemingly bloom every so often? There must be a reason for three of you with such power, and in some cases... Flair, to be within distance of one like this."

Sure it could just be a coincidence, but she did much stalk in that, when things overlayed like this. It were weird enough that a pair of siblings were this adept in complicated magic, but Rising's boss also being one like that? What were this, a gathering of extraordinary beings, per chance? A curious development if that were, and one she'd personally find fascinating. More beings together, to fight a common cause, with powers exceeding many others. It could work for a fantastic emergency team, in case something started to go haywire.

11 hours ago, Rising Dusk said:

"This may just speed up the need to give Rising a little nudge to return to Harrowmark before portals start appearing without preparation,"

"ANd regarding your assessment about the portals: They will be opened, if he returns or not. At best, he can help direct them where to place these, as they make first contact, but we have been cut off from the outside world for far too long now. It is time we go and make ourselves known to potential new allies, and since Germane, Hayden and Norhay will likely want time before they risk contact, we need who we can get to. Far away as it is, Equestria is a prime target for us to try and make bonds with, and soon. Who is to say what might happen the next day, or even hour in the future? Having others to speak with that might offer insight, or could potentially help, might be invaluable for us in the coming months.

Hopefully it will not be paid for, by the life of your garden. reputation, or wherever else they may try to make entry. You are a kind soul, who would not deserve such a thing."

Also, as a farmer of sorts herself, she could appreciate a good garden, and curse the skies whenever something went in and messed with the plants. There were scarcely anything more teeth grinding than that, in her opinion. Of minor issues that were. If you included proper threats and ways things could go, this would barely register on the scale.

She decided to merely ignore what came next though, as Dawn appeared to not want to address the usage of her words, regarding her own queen's posterior. Maybe without gods, and a more relaxed royalty, small, harmless quips like these had just stuck around long enough to become sayings, as it appeared the grandiose mare had been wanting to say? It were possible, and Dawn seemed wholly uninterested in speaking further about it, so she would simply drop the topic for the time being, and perhaps in due time, find out for herself.

12 hours ago, Rising Dusk said:

"It's settled then, I'm going to make a spa appointment for you come the marrow. Prepare to be pampered!" Dawn expressed very matter of factly. Prancing over to the door they entered with her rainbow rippled steps, looking over her shoulder. "Rest well Ms. Monkshade. Should you need anything, just knock on this here door three times," she bide farewell and pranced forward, walking right through the wooden door as if a ghost. Should she chose to open the door without knocking as instructed, the door would open to the void they walked through to get to the room.

"Something tells me that I will regret agreeing with your plan, but I suppose that I owe you at least to try, were the situation to present itself.

Regardless, if something happens of note, I will inform you of it. Rest well, and may you stay where you fall."

A traditional farewell, that spoke about one's well being, but wouldn't make much sense, unless you recalled the context about her country being one, where the dead usually didn't stay in the same place, like they did in Equestria. To them, wishing someone to stay where they fell, were akin to wishing an equestrian a fantastic life ahead of them.

When Dawn had left, Lily would let out a drawn out sight, before going towards the bed, and putting the bauble next to it. She'd make sure it were still locked on target, before dozing off, more or less just as she hit the pillow. It had been a long day, and with what were ahead, she'd need her strength.

12 hours ago, Rising Dusk said:

"I'm happy to find you two both unharmed as well,"

"Yeah well, we know how to survive. Didn't know if you could.

So if that's dealt with, why are you here, exactly? You look like you've been beaten up with an oar, and need to lay down to lick your wounds."

"That's n-not very n-nice, big sis..."

"What? I'm just saying he should go get some sleep before he ends up collapsing on the floor. You can put on a tough face all you want, officer, but I know the look of someone who's been dealing with a whole lot of things, and you're almost oozing it.

Something on your mind, keeping you fro sleeping? Or are you just that stubborn? I can respect that, but everyone got a limit. Ain't smart to ignore it."

It was said in a bit of a harsh way, but Null did care about Rising and his well being, in her own, sorta crude way. It just wasn't easy acting positive and throw around hugs or whatever, for a mare like her. Frankly if he tried hugging her now, she were likely to flip him down to the floor, just out of a mixture of principle, and reflexes. Something she might feel bad about afterwards.

Might, being the important word in that sentence.

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