open Casual stroll

[Sphinx-Ara 3,569]

@Blitz Boom

Skittles would smile as she saw the interaction between Honey Dew and the wolf pup, "you're not bad with animals, you know" she'd say "But wolves are pretty instinctual" she'd say, stretching a little "We can stay here a bit more if you'd like...or we can maybe, go out to eat somewhere? Meditation, it sometimes makes me hungry, you know" she would say, somewhat sheepishly.

[EQ_Theta 459]

@Blitz Boom

On 2022-08-28 at 5:47 PM, Blitz Boom said:

"I will try and remember, and I will not pick a side then. When you have found some middle ground, and agreed, please tell me then, okay? It will make it easier. Something tells me, it will be some time. Seen many ponies, say they had differences, with others. I hear many say, it took time to get past it.

Lin, you, and rosa. You say many things. Many big words, confusing things... I do not understand all, but I think I am getting closer, by listening to what you all have to say. I hope Lin will listen to you, and you her. Maybe it help you too."

“I hope so. I wouldn’t want all of us to go our separate ways because of a disagreement.”

Sen placed one claw over Omen’s shoulder to reassure her, though how much that helped could only be known by the Ki’Nathar. I still felt right that the longma would do something to assuage her fears, even by just a little. After that, he’d returned to his meditations, sitting on the floor and thinking about what he discussed with Rosa and Omen. There were still some fears about how Lin would take the discussion when they would meet next, but he had to stay firm to what he believed was right. No matter how much his false exile was unjust, getting angry at everyone isn’t going to help. There was once a time when Sen didn’t like any elder simply on the hunch that they could be corrupt, and his first interactions with Elder Ghilan were testament to that. Things would’ve gone differently if he continued to be hostile to someone who sympathized with him. 

But Lin was better a containing her emotions, allowing them to seethe just below the surface. She could look fine in a moment, but deep down, she could be plotting something nasty, something that could go off if her impulses got the better of her. Even her current state was a reminder of what could happen if she was harboring too much negativity that it might override rational thought. A tad ironic considering she was the more intellectually-inclined of the sibling duo. 

After about a few hours, the longma would fall asleep sitting upright, then he’d come crashing down with a thud on the floor. It wasn’t loud enough to wake Rosa up, but it also wasn’t bothersome enough for Sen to pick himself up and sleep on the bed. He’d spend the rest of the evening on the cold floor. It wasn’t quite experiencing a soft and relaxing evening of rest, but the feeling was familiar enough that it didn’t really warrant him waking up again for a while. He’d wake up the next morning feeling a little better, ready to greet Omen, Rosa, and hopefully, Lin would be there so they could talk.

On 2022-08-28 at 5:47 PM, Blitz Boom said:

Hammond were not sure for a brief moment, who he should follow, but he would listen to what sister told him. She wanted to be alone, and thus, he'd leave her be. His last action, being to wave at her, before she left.

After that, would come him following Munchkin, jumping after her, like a regular squirrel would rush over a grassy field. Munchkin might eventually end up learning, that there were some benefits, to having Hammond around, due to two things. The first being his portals, which she had not yet seen, but might end up noticing, and could offer her access to some better food, than what she could scrounge up on the streets.

The other one, were his master. As a wealthy mare, who had employees of all kinds of races, she had food prepared in the kitchen, for various sorts of guests. Played right, Munchkin could likely lure Hammond, into letting her inside said kitchen, and give her some of the food. Probably more than once too, and quite frankly, Scarcity would more than likely, not mind, unless he suddenly started to bring a whole flock of cats. A single stray though, that he had made friends with? Not an issue. More than likely, she'd be intrigued, by him having made a friend, all by himself.

Lin didn’t want to leave Hammond confused with a cat that could probably spend the whole night getting petted on the head or possibly licking him. She walked up to both the cat and the mimic, placed one claw on each of their backs to give them some kind of reassurance, and parted with some words to hopefully give them some direction. 

“Munchkin, if you understand me, could you take Hammond to some interesting places around town? Maybe you two could go exploring for a bit? He’s a curious one, and he might like to see more of the town. I hear places like Old Canterlot are a lot different when night falls.”

“And both of you, stay safe, all right?” 

Munchkin meowed in return, though to Lin, it wasn’t really indicative of a proper response when she couldn’t understand what that meowing meant. However, she still had some things bothering her and wanted to be alone for the rest of the night. And so, she took it as a good enough answer that she could leave Hammond and her for now before opening a gate and heading off, though she stuck around for a little while to see the two off. If Hammond were to follow her scent out of curiosity, he’d find himself in a cave out of sight just outside Canterlot. For a town built along the side of a mountain, there was just enough unpaved road out of town to hide a cave, and Lin would be sitting by a fire, contemplating on her pent up anger and confusion.

It was a shame that she left shortly after, because it seemed like Munchkin understood enough of what the longma said that the cat gently nudged Hammond and began walking in the direction of the town square, then veering off to the side streets to get to the bakery. By now, it was definitely closed, but this was about right for Lin’s description of an “interesting place.” After that, she led the little creature right to Uddo’s workshop and furniture store. Hammond could very well pick up the scent of the siblings and Omen all over this place, and while the cat wouldn’t be able to pick up on it, following this group of new and interesting creatures was enough for leave an impression on her. Where Hammond chooses to go next after these places, the cat would follow. Perhaps there was more to see from her new friend.

[Rising Dusk 27,686]

@Blitz Boom

Le Pourri wasn't all that too far in her assumption, she had pretty good instincts.  Not the first time she'd been mistake for a socialite, well in part she was that as well, in this dark land.  A mare that pulled strings was quite on the money, as Dawn works behind the scenes to benefit Equestria in her own way.  "A Broker, to be more precise," the mare corrected, "I mediate between two or more parties to reach a mutual benefit for all.  Be they individuals, large companies or governments.  I do not deal in trade directly myself, but make sure it runs smoothly nonetheless."  A flowery way to put it in the presence of her parents at least.  For now it'd be best to leave the spirits and body harvesting in Harrowmark.

"An inquisitive notion to be sure, ho ho ho.  Long have scholars in our land thought of the experiences one might have stretching their life span over a thousand years like our beloved Princesses," Star added in before t he conversation shifted to the soon to be resident of Equestria.  Less informed were the parents in the room, but Rising and Dawn had enough information to know the presentation Minty had given in court at Canterlot.  Rising's report had listed as much that a hoof full of refugees from the incident at Manehatten in large could be in order.  The green light was given and Will-O would hopefully find the transition more smooth than expected.  Leaving home was never an easy thing.  Even just living on the other side of Manehatten, Dawn's room reflected her childhood room closely as to not lose all attachment to home.  Lily put it best though and Rising only added a smile and nod to the witch's sentiment.

"Alchemists of Bash's expertise are indeed quite rare, making it a prime reason he's the only Earth Pony at the O.M.I. as of yet.  You'll find Equestria has a rather budding population of up and coming alchemists though," the detective commented.  Granted they might have a different definition of alchemist.  Anypony in Equestria that could cook up even a basic healthy tonic might be considered an alchemist, but they become more uncommon beyond that.  Not too dissimilar to the number of Unicorns in Equestria just capable of levitation magic vs those with a breath of spells to be considered mages.  A slowly changing thing in Equestria to call to services the O.M.I.

The High Priestess had broken up the conversation to keep the guests on schedule it would seem.  Rising turned to his family, who all nodded in kind.  The family bid their farewells to Le Pourri and Will-O.  "We'll see you two soon," the family bowed.  "We are prepared, my friend," Rising informed the High Priestess.

[Blitz Boom 4,626]

@Rising Dusk

On 2022-08-31 at 3:39 AM, Rising Dusk said:

"A Broker, to be more precise," the mare corrected, "I mediate between two or more parties to reach a mutual benefit for all.  Be they individuals, large companies or governments.  I do not deal in trade directly myself, but make sure it runs smoothly nonetheless."

"One does wonder though, what would happen, were the vendors you brokered with, to have some difficulties getting along. Or did not agree on what you would think, were a lucrative offer. Among other things."

The look that Caramel's face, as she said this, and looked at Dawn, should tell the mare well, that she were certain there were more than just being a simple broker, to what the mare were doing. And furthermore, that she seemed to be approving of it. Intrigued even. She should likely expect to see Caramel, trying to mingle with her, as time went on.

On 2022-08-31 at 3:39 AM, Rising Dusk said:

"An inquisitive notion to be sure, ho ho ho.  Long have scholars in our land thought of the experiences one might have stretching their life span over a thousand years like our beloved Princesses,"

"Just remember, that there is always a price to pay, for living so long. At least, I have not found one, that does not require some sacrifice. For Twisted and his favored, they stole years, to add to their own. For me... Well now, I can't give off all of my secrets, but as a curtsey, I will share that I had to give my name. It might sound benign to you, but there's more to a name, than a mere word, to some creatures. To some, it is power, and losing it... Aaah, let's just say, it's not only the Harrowish records, that couldn't tell who I were anymore."

She knew her profession, and what it were, that had lead her down this path, but Caramel herself, did not know who she even were, before she ended up like this. For in a name, were power, and certain creatures could trade ones name, in exchange for some boons. Yet giving up your name, meant giving up your life, and your identity. The name, Le Perinne? It were what she had heard others call her, and had adopted it. before that, she had just called herself various names, without much consistency.

On 2022-08-31 at 3:39 AM, Rising Dusk said:

"Alchemists of Bash's expertise are indeed quite rare, making it a prime reason he's the only Earth Pony at the O.M.I. as of yet.  You'll find Equestria has a rather budding population of up and coming alchemists though,"

"I'm sure your delightfully talented alchemist and I, will have much to discuss. I'd be fascinated to see his prowess in person, and see what we might learn from one another. Clashing countries, clashing mixtures. It will lead to interesting concoctions, I'm sure."

On 2022-08-31 at 3:39 AM, Rising Dusk said:

The High Priestess had broken up the conversation to keep the guests on schedule it would seem.  Rising turned to his family, who all nodded in kind.  The family bid their farewells to Le Pourri and Will-O.  "We'll see you two soon," the family bowed.  "We are prepared, my friend," Rising informed the High Priestess.

Alas, things needed to proceed, and thus, Caramel, Chirpy, and Will-O, would wander off, to prepare for things a little, as they went on, and took a right, at the end of this path. The others, taking a left.

It would not be long, before they stood in front of a door, with a faded carving of Viz'nay upon it. Rising should already have some idea what would be behind it though, before it were even opened, as a certain scrying spell, were locked within.

And rightly so, as the door unlocked, they'd find themselves in a large room, lit by dim baubles spread around the room, and the large moths, whom had been spoken of with such revery, situated around them, fluttering peacefully.

A fair few seemed to acknowledge them entering, by buzzing their wings, and turning towards them, but thus far, none seemed eager to fly towards them. Not that they had much reason to either. Dawn might not like moths, because of what they did to clothes, but these had no interest, in eating hers. At worst, they'd prod it, unsure what this soft fabric were. Or land on it.

"𝕀 𝕠𝕗𝕗𝕖𝕣 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕣𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟, 𝕒𝕤 𝕡𝕣𝕠𝕞𝕚𝕤𝕖𝕕. 𝔹𝕖𝕙𝕠𝕝𝕕 𝕟𝕠𝕨, 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕤𝕒𝕔𝕣𝕖𝕕 𝕘𝕚𝕒𝕟𝕥 𝕞𝕠𝕥𝕙𝕤 𝕠𝕗 ℍ𝕒𝕣𝕣𝕠𝕨𝕞𝕒𝕣𝕜. ℍ𝕚𝕕𝕕𝕖𝕟 𝕕𝕖𝕖𝕡 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕔𝕒𝕤𝕥𝕝𝕖, 𝕕𝕠𝕣𝕞𝕒𝕟𝕥, 𝕦𝕟𝕥𝕚𝕝 𝕋𝕨𝕚𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕕 𝕨𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕕𝕖𝕗𝕖𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕕. 𝔽𝕖𝕨 𝕚𝕟 𝕟𝕦𝕞𝕓𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝕟𝕠𝕨, 𝕓𝕦𝕥 𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕚𝕞𝕖, 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕪 𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕓𝕖 𝕞𝕠𝕣𝕖, 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕚𝕣 𝕟𝕖𝕤𝕥𝕤 𝕔𝕒𝕟 𝕓𝕖 𝕤𝕡𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕕 𝕒𝕔𝕣𝕠𝕤𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕥𝕖𝕞𝕡𝕝𝕖𝕤, 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕓𝕖 𝕣𝕖𝕓𝕦𝕚𝕝𝕕, 𝕚𝕟 𝕙𝕠𝕟𝕠𝕣 𝕠𝕗 𝕍𝕚𝕫'𝕟𝕒𝕪. 𝕋𝕙𝕖𝕪 𝕞𝕦𝕤𝕥, 𝕠𝕣 𝕀 𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕨𝕒𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕣 𝕝𝕠𝕟𝕖𝕝𝕪, 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕞𝕦𝕔𝕙 𝕝𝕠𝕟𝕘𝕖𝕣."

She'd wander forward, and her light being what it were, it would cause several moths to fly up from their baubles, and flutter over to her, to land upon her form. One landing on her head, even letting out a guttural, yet low scree, before nuzzling in comfortably on her mane. All the while, Thistle would move forward, and run her hoof across what seemed like an old altar.

"𝕀 𝕥𝕠𝕝𝕕 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕠𝕟𝕔𝕖: 𝕎𝕖 𝕘𝕚𝕧𝕖 𝕠𝕦𝕣𝕤𝕖𝕝𝕧𝕖𝕤 𝕥𝕠 𝕙𝕖𝕣 𝕤𝕖𝕣𝕧𝕚𝕔𝕖, 𝕓𝕠𝕕𝕪 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕤𝕠𝕦𝕝. 𝕋𝕙𝕦𝕤 𝕒 𝕡𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕤𝕤 𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕪 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕤𝕖𝕣𝕧𝕚𝕔𝕖, 𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕓𝕒𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕡𝕣𝕖𝕡𝕒𝕣𝕖𝕕 𝕠𝕚𝕝𝕤, 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕝𝕒𝕪 𝕦𝕡𝕠𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕒𝕝𝕥𝕒𝕣. 𝕌𝕡𝕠𝕟 𝕚𝕥, 𝕨𝕖 𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕝𝕪 𝕘𝕚𝕧𝕖 𝕠𝕦𝕣𝕤𝕖𝕝𝕧𝕖𝕤 𝕥𝕠 𝕙𝕖𝕣 𝕗𝕒𝕧𝕠𝕣𝕖𝕕 𝕔𝕙𝕚𝕝𝕕𝕣𝕖𝕟, 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕪 𝕞𝕒𝕪 𝕗𝕣𝕖𝕖 𝕦𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕞𝕠𝕣𝕥𝕒𝕝 𝕧𝕖𝕤𝕤𝕖𝕝𝕤, 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕒𝕤𝕔𝕖𝕟𝕕 𝕦𝕤.

𝕋𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕚𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕥𝕖𝕤𝕥 𝕠𝕗 𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕗𝕒𝕚𝕥𝕙. 𝕆𝕟𝕖 𝕀 𝕡𝕒𝕚𝕕 𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕝𝕪, 𝕔𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕤 𝕒𝕘𝕠, 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕨𝕙𝕚𝕔𝕙 𝕠𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝕨𝕙𝕠 𝕨𝕚𝕤𝕙 𝕥𝕠 𝕓𝕖𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕖 𝕡𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕤𝕥𝕤 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕡𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕤𝕤𝕖𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝕍𝕚𝕫'𝕟𝕒𝕪, 𝕞𝕦𝕤𝕥 𝕕𝕠 𝕒𝕤 𝕨𝕖𝕝𝕝. 𝕋𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕚𝕤 𝕨𝕙𝕪 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕪 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕤𝕠 𝕚𝕞𝕡𝕠𝕣𝕥𝕒𝕟𝕥, 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕨𝕙𝕪 𝕙𝕖 𝕒𝕚𝕞𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕠 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕞 𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕖𝕩𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕞𝕚𝕟𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕕. 𝔼𝕒𝕤𝕚𝕖𝕣 𝕥𝕠 𝕜𝕖𝕖𝕡 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕗𝕒𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕚𝕟 𝕍𝕚𝕫'𝕟𝕒𝕪 𝕘𝕠𝕟𝕖, 𝕚𝕗 𝕙𝕖 𝕣𝕖𝕞𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕥𝕠𝕠𝕝𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝕒𝕤𝕔𝕖𝕟𝕤𝕚𝕠𝕟."

They may have suspected it already, but this were the truth, which so few had been privy to know, even back then. That these moths were important, as to get to  be what Thistle were, one had to let them eat you. Not sedated, nor dead already. You had to use the oils, which made them go into a feeding frenzy, and lay willingly upon the altar, fully conscious. The final test of your faith.

Perhaps now, Dawn would understand clearer, why Thistle had said, that the mare should not want to have what she had. The Equestrian, would likely not enjoy the experience. Thistle hadn't either, but it were her choice, and she stood by it.

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

 

@AuroraGlimmer

"Ah, I can ah, understand that. I don't know how much of an animal pony I am though. I never had an ah, companion. I just judge how it seems my smell affects them, on how I see when others have theirs go near me. A fair few ah, uses their nose, so to speak."

This were likely the closest he had ever been, to having a pet, though he wouldn't try and treat this pup as one. It had its own life, out in the wilds, and he shouldn't be trying to steal it away from that. That weren't proper.

"Anyway, if you ah, are looking for something to eat, we can do that. Is there a place in particular, that you have in mind?"

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

 

@Catpone Cerberus

On 2022-08-28 at 1:39 PM, Catpone Cerberus said:

"Yes, I did need to save him after he had gotten here, but he still made the travel alone and survived that." "Making it out of the homelands is by itself a feat when you're not strong enough to fight well, but it's also a long flight here without any real options for rest." It may have been slightly surprising to hear Ruby seemingly praise someone, but for her it was no praise, and rather a factual acknowledgement, if someone beat her to edge of death, she could acknowledge her loss without praising the opponent, this was kinda a similar thing, she could mention someone's achievement without praising the individual.

"He's a tough little cookie, alright. But he were well spent when you found him. If you hadn't... I fear his trials would've ended there, but thankfully, that wasn't the case. Plenty of more for him to do, as he grows and blooms into a strapping young dragon."

It were awfully nice to hear when Ruby started to compliment others. And really, it seemed to be happening  more and more, in recent times. Maybe she were finally starting to warm up, and be a little more open about things? To those closest to her only though, of course. But that were understandable enough. Was a big difference between being open to others that were close to you, and just random folks. Took Leviathan a long time to openly express admiration for random folks, and she had tried hard to integrate. And had a more mellow background. Ruby were understandably, not like her, in many of these regards, and thus, shouldn't be held to the same standards.

On 2022-08-28 at 1:39 PM, Catpone Cerberus said:

"While you joke, there did seem to be someone going around trying to frame dragons, at one point when I was with Marley, we found a burned down house that at first glance seemed like a dragon had burned it down, but anyone who knows more about dragons than your average guard, could easily tell it wasn't, and rather was just made to seem like it." "He did explain something about having an idea what was going on with it, but I don't remember what he said, or more accurately, I didn't listen." "Point being, being blamed for a fire isn't unlikely, especially with Charir around, since someone less intelligent could try to claim him to be...feral, due to him not sharing a language and not following the same social norms."

"Always gonna be judgement towards our kin, relations with ponies or not. Can't say I know for sure who'd blame us for a house fire deliberately, but it could be a number of folks. Probably someone trying for insurance fraud. You'd be amazed how often that happens, and how often it works. Since you know, a lot of dragons would get offended by the accusation, and start smoldering, making it seem plausible. Combined with all the stereotypes too, it ain't helping things. Been some time since I last got accused, but it sticks out in my mind, all the same. Frankly rather annoying to go through, but at least it's lessened these days. Times are changing a bit by bit. For better or worse? Dunno, but it ain't like we don't have the time to experience it, and see for ourselves, yeah? And if it burns, it wouldn't be the first society I had to run from.

But let's hope it ain't going there so quickly. And as for Charir setting things on fire... Well, sometimes, things just need to burn. And other times, others are asking for it. I figure if we can teach him when and how much, we will have gotten far. Long as he doesn't burn down schools, or torches some pony to death, we should be okay. Personally, I'd suggest telling him how to just set a mane, or tail on fire, if needed. Can be dealt with before it reaches skin, and gets the point well across. Might be some minor assault charges, but it's nothing permanent, so it'd be less troubling.

Ideally he wouldn't have to set fire to anyone, but eh... Depending on how things goes, things might get hairy, and instinct takes over. Not been innocent of that myself either, so I'm not here to judge. Just trying to avoid potential murder charges, and the like.

Huh, I think I'm rambling here... Well, what else toc hat about on our trip? How about those reading materials, you said Charir could try and use, to learn the language? What sorta things are we talking? Might be some I've seen before. Or I could make some suggestions on some more things, if it was required. Just in case, you figure it could be good to have more than what it is that you have in stock, for his education."

She'd lean back in her seat, curious what might be said. Seemed like this were gonna be a trivial trip for once, and they'd just have to fill the time with chat for now, until they reached the end station. Wouldn't take all day, but they still had some time to kill.

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

 

@Catpone Cerberus

On 2022-08-28 at 1:39 PM, Catpone Cerberus said:

"Traitorous scum." "A snake" "Backstabber" "Betrayer of her kin" "A disgrace to her family.".... the insults went on

Definitely not someone the two of them had any sort of love for, and neither did most of their kind, if the words she heard were even remotely true. Traitor were not a word that one tossed about, with kindness in heart. And that were one of the kinder words. Some of the others were very... Flowery and descriptive, one might say. Harpoon heard her fair share of insults, working in at the sea, were sailors sometimes came about, chattering, but she hadn't heard all of these before. Whomever this were, had really made a bad impression on the kobolds. And might potentially be a great danger, if it were for some of the obvious reasons, one might be marked as a traitor.

On 2022-08-28 at 1:39 PM, Catpone Cerberus said:

Since there wasn't going to be a clear answer from the kobolds, Solar kinda just talked on top of them after few sets of insults, which eventually made them stop listing insults "A commander of especially brutal unit, known for leaving literal piles of bodies behind, I could show you, but I don't think you'd want to see it." "A kobold who, as you can probably tell, isn't very popular among her kind, she also happens to be related to these two..." "barely!" "...it has been so many generations that biologically the relation is minimal." "In short, they are not in direct danger from her if she is here, as she has never purposely harmed a kobold as far as I know, but she may still seek them out, due to the family relation." "In fact, from us, I am the one in most danger from her, because not only does she openly hate ponies, I'm also her enemy, having been a soldier of an opposing nation." he hoped that if she was around, she would have decided to leave her ways back to home like he had, because the unfortunate fact was that he was not able to deal with her, and he going against her would have been like local guard going against him. "If she is here, and she has not...calmed down, it is indeed a reason for alarm, as those like her are far beyond anything you have even imagined when it comes to death." 

This... This was worse than she had expected. And this creature were just roaming around now?

"I've seen various kinds of death, but I'm guessing you mean murder... We need to get this description out to all the guard branches, and the various local police departments. If this kobold is such a great threat, she needs to be apprehended. We can't just have someone like that free to roam around, if there's a danger to the civilians.

What happened here, could that be a result of her? These attacks. Do they fit her methods?"

Harpoon wasn't going to mention the familial connection to Throx and Sheska. Not here, and not in any report. You did not chose your family, and it sounded like this were a thing line as is. Like a distant cousin, or something of the sort. No need to have them questioned about this. Though the most important thing, were still that they needed to get hold of this one, and go at it with extreme precaution, it sounded like. Potentially with a non-equine unit, which would have to be made of various guards and officers. Most law enforcement in Equestria, were Equine after all, with only a few exceptions.

"Also, what would she be doing here? If she hates ponies, then why invade an equine society? Is it potentially because she's hunting you? And if she's not doing so, what might her motive then be? You seem to know her well enough, to have some idea."

The questions would be towards Solar, wondering if mayhap, he had a definitive answer. If not, it made it worse. Cause then they'd have a dangerous being, with an unknown goal. Nothing good, would come of that.

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

 

@EQ_Theta

On 2022-08-29 at 2:31 PM, EQ_Theta said:

After about a few hours, the longma would fall asleep sitting upright, then he’d come crashing down with a thud on the floor. It wasn’t loud enough to wake Rosa up, but it also wasn’t bothersome enough for Sen to pick himself up and sleep on the bed. He’d spend the rest of the evening on the cold floor. It wasn’t quite experiencing a soft and relaxing evening of rest, but the feeling was familiar enough that it didn’t really warrant him waking up again for a while. He’d wake up the next morning feeling a little better, ready to greet Omen, Rosa, and hopefully, Lin would be there so they could talk.

He'd find that while he were on the floor, Omen would have taken a blanket from the bed, and put it over him. She'd also be about five centimeters from his face, just looking at him. She had been doing so for about 2 hours by now, and in part, had done so, because of Shrimp. During one of his semi-awake moments, he had drowsily slithered off of Omen, and landed halfway upon Sen's face. Thus, he'd wake up to half off a sleeping refraction upon his face, with a small gap, where his back laid on air, and then Omen's forehead. As he moved, Shrimp would fall off of Sen's head, and would slide down on Omen's face fully, laying down the back of her nose. Somehow, this didn't wake him up, and he'd keep just sleeping, snoring ever so slightly, with his mouth halfway open.

"Goodmorning."

On 2022-08-29 at 2:31 PM, EQ_Theta said:

If Hammond were to follow her scent out of curiosity, he’d find himself in a cave out of sight just outside Canterlot. For a town built along the side of a mountain, there was just enough unpaved road out of town to hide a cave, and Lin would be sitting by a fire, contemplating on her pent up anger and confusion.

It was a shame that she left shortly after, because it seemed like Munchkin understood enough of what the longma said that the cat gently nudged Hammond and began walking in the direction of the town square, then veering off to the side streets to get to the bakery. By now, it was definitely closed, but this was about right for Lin’s description of an “interesting place.” After that, she led the little creature right to Uddo’s workshop and furniture store. Hammond could very well pick up the scent of the siblings and Omen all over this place, and while the cat wouldn’t be able to pick up on it, following this group of new and interesting creatures was enough for leave an impression on her. Where Hammond chooses to go next after these places, the cat would follow. Perhaps there was more to see from her new friend.

Hammond did not actively track Lin currently, and thus, had no idea where she had gone. If he needed to, he could focus on the *scent* he knew he left on her, and work from there, but he currently did not have much of a reason for doing so. She had said she needed time alone, and so, he'd give her that. It were the least he could do, yes?

So instead, he'd follow Munchkin through the streets of Canterlot. The first stop, seemingly being the bakery. He did not know what this were exactly, but it smelled nice. He'd rub his face on the walls, wanting to remember where this place were. Maybe his master would like it. She liked sweet smelling things. Just like the candy in her office, or that strange drink, that she had on her shelf, that she had stopped him from going into. He still wasn't sure why. The bottle looked pretty and shiny.

Yet soon enough, the trip went on. Maybe to somewhere that were open now?

The answer turned out to be no, yet this place, he did know. He had been there earlier, and seen the longma, and Shade. He remembered that one well. He did not go into Hammond's mouth, despite his attempts at putting Shade in there. He also wasn't a sibling, even though, he looked so very, very much like one.

Yet now, it seemed Munchkin looked at him instead. Perhaps, it were then his turn, to show her something? He could do that.

He would try first, to open a gate, big enough for the both of them to comfortably walk through. His unformed siblings seemed intrigued by the look of the cat, but the trip from there, and to where he wanted to go, would be short. About a meter only, between the portals, and on the other side, would be a kitchen. A luxurious looking one, bathed in a dim, soft light. This were one of the kitchens, that his master had. The one in her primary residence, in fact.

If Munchkin would follow, Hammond would scurry across the ground, then go up, and climb the table. Then he'd use his strong tail, and open the fridge, showing off the grand mixture of food stuff, and drinks, on offer. Then he'd sit aside, and wait for Munchkin to chose something. Which yes, included fish, if she wanted that. Steamed and ready for frying, or now, consumption.

If the portals did not interest her, he'd lead her to the house, and open a window. Same result.

[Sphinx-Ara 3,569]

@Blitz Boom

Skittles would smile with a nod "Yeah, a lot of wild animals use their noses to see if a pony or other animal is friendly or not" she'd say to him, giving Snowpaw a big hug, which she was rewarded by him giving a happy bark, wag of his tail and a lick to the face.

With a giggle, she hugs him once more and puts him on the ground "Food sounds great, and you know, if you're ever in the market for a pet, either I or Fluttershy could help with getting you one" she says, leading out of the forest and back into town, towards the small café from before.

[EQ_Theta 459]

@Blitz Boom

On 2022-09-01 at 10:24 PM, Blitz Boom said:

Yet now, it seemed Munchkin looked at him instead. Perhaps, it were then his turn, to show her something? He could do that.

He would try first, to open a gate, big enough for the both of them to comfortably walk through. His unformed siblings seemed intrigued by the look of the cat, but the trip from there, and to where he wanted to go, would be short. About a meter only, between the portals, and on the other side, would be a kitchen. A luxurious looking one, bathed in a dim, soft light. This were one of the kitchens, that his master had. The one in her primary residence, in fact.

If Munchkin would follow, Hammond would scurry across the ground, then go up, and climb the table. Then he'd use his strong tail, and open the fridge, showing off the grand mixture of food stuff, and drinks, on offer. Then he'd sit aside, and wait for Munchkin to chose something. Which yes, included fish, if she wanted that. Steamed and ready for frying, or now, consumption.

Munchkin didn’t seem to have anything else in mind after reaching the workshop, though she was caught off guard by the gate Hammond opened. She even jumped backwards in surprise. Once the initial shock was over, she started poking at the open gate with one paw, inching forward, then backing up until one paw went through unharmed. Where that went, she was unsure, until she decided to walk through, then sprint to the other side. 

Aside from the dark “tunnel” that she passed through, the other side was nowhere near as odd. The room was a lot more familiar and comfortable. It didn’t seem to bother the cat that this was somebody’s home because the refrigerator’s content was enticing. She sat by and looked, initially basking in the cold air before jumping up and grabbing something to eat. She’d go for a piece of bread, but if none were available, she’d settle for some fish. Once done, Munchkin hopped off and walked up to Hammond, offering some of what she grabbed to share with her new friend. 

This place was not where she expected to find herself in that evening, but it was a pretty good place to rest for now. Maybe it might not be so bad  after all.

Lin would spend the night in deep thought, expecting to be undisturbed, though the fire would keep her warm for some time. She’d ponder on her talk with Hammond, about what she could do when she would talk with her brother in the morning. It would reflect poorly on her if she held on to her anger, yet it was justified. That kind of anger was hard to let go, but didn’t do her any favors. Rash action led to her current state. Still, she didn’t let it stop her from remembering, but Sen seemed so quick to forget. Perhaps honesty and laying it bare when the time came would be the best course of action. Some part of her hoped her brother could come around to her way of thinking. Eventually, the fire would fade, and the longma, alone with her thoughts, would let the night pass without light or heat, awaiting the first signs of daybreak. 

As for Sen, he’d slowly be roused from slumber once he notices the sunlight seeping through the windows. He may not have been by the window, but enough light reached him that he could wake up. There was the warmth of the blanket on his hide, but the first sights to greet him were Shrimp, still possibly asleep, and Omen, staring right at him.

On 2022-09-01 at 10:24 PM, Blitz Boom said:

He'd find that while he were on the floor, Omen would have taken a blanket from the bed, and put it over him. She'd also be about five centimeters from his face, just looking at him. She had been doing so for about 2 hours by now, and in part, had done so, because of Shrimp. During one of his semi-awake moments, he had drowsily slithered off of Omen, and landed halfway upon Sen's face. Thus, he'd wake up to half off a sleeping refraction upon his face, with a small gap, where his back laid on air, and then Omen's forehead. As he moved, Shrimp would fall off of Sen's head, and would slide down on Omen's face fully, laying down the back of her nose. Somehow, this didn't wake him up, and he'd keep just sleeping, snoring ever so slightly, with his mouth halfway open.

"Goodmorning."

“Gah!” The longma jumped and pulled himself up backwards, landing on the bed. Once he had a moment to breathe and regain his composure, he looked to Omen and checked up on Shrimp, assuming he might have spooked him as well. “Oh… Hello, Omen. You scared me back there. Did you have a good rest?”

[Blitz Boom 4,626]

@AuroraGlimmer

"I think I'd worry how a ah, companion might get along, with the bees. Most I know that aren't affected by bee stings, are that way, due to hunting bees. It is not ideal, to ah, put it lightly. They were there first, and I've no intention of asking this generation of bees to leave, anymore, than those who came before them. Even if it ah, have cost me the chance to socialize, on more than a few occasions."

He knew it, and he frankly understood it. His house were often infested with bees, as the hive in his garden, were numerous in bees, and they were used to fly around, without much in the way of obstacles. Weren't even that many predators who got near enough to the garden, to chase after them, due to some specific flowers that he had planted, that let out an odor, that repulsed most local bird species. Didn't work on things like the phoenixes, but it weren't that often those got into town anyway, and he honestly weren't sure what they ate.

To return to the matter of the bees though, not many wanted to risk getting stung, just by visiting him, and thus, it had blocked off much, in the way of potential friendships, or other interactions. Most he still spoke with more casually, when he ran into them. A few he reluctantly did so with, due to them having told him that it were them, or the bees, and they had not been thrilled when he chose the bees. Nothing that'd cause argument, more just... Awkward interactions, with some he considered more petty, than were good. Not liking the bees were what that were. He could understand that. But telling him to just get rid of them, showed a level of cruelty, that he couldn't agree with.

*sigh* Well, perhaps they should focus on the here and now instead, and head towards the food place. It seemed they were headed to the cafe from before, although... Perhaps he might interject, as they were passing a place soon, that he knew were rather nice too. He had been there some times, and while the staff were... Unusual, it were still a good, quality place.

"If I can ah, interject something? Have you been to Sloppy Joe's before? The ah, diner, I would think is the right thing to call it, despite them being mostly coffee based. They have some ah, good options for meals, and drinks, that might be more fulfilling than the ah, delights at the cafe, I am assuming we're headed for?

It's ah, just a suggestion, o-of course. Far be it from me, to demand we go elsewhere. I merely thought that perhaps, it would ah, be a nice place to be as well, and more suitable, if you have grown hungry."

Honey didn't like conflict, so he'd prefer to just suggest, and debate, rather than saying he wanted something, and push for that to be the thing that were done. It sometimes lost him what he actually felt like doing, but it was okay. Others had fun, and that were rewarding to see too, right? Besides, it sometimes let him experience new things. Nothing wrong in that.

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

 

@EQ_Theta

On 2022-09-03 at 2:40 AM, EQ_Theta said:

Munchkin didn’t seem to have anything else in mind after reaching the workshop, though she was caught off guard by the gate Hammond opened. She even jumped backwards in surprise. Once the initial shock was over, she started poking at the open gate with one paw, inching forward, then backing up until one paw went through unharmed. Where that went, she was unsure, until she decided to walk through, then sprint to the other side. 

Aside from the dark “tunnel” that she passed through, the other side was nowhere near as odd. The room was a lot more familiar and comfortable. It didn’t seem to bother the cat that this was somebody’s home because the refrigerator’s content was enticing. She sat by and looked, initially basking in the cold air before jumping up and grabbing something to eat. She’d go for a piece of bread, but if none were available, she’d settle for some fish. Once done, Munchkin hopped off and walked up to Hammond, offering some of what she grabbed to share with her new friend. 

This place was not where she expected to find herself in that evening, but it was a pretty good place to rest for now. Maybe it might not be so bad  after all.

Before the gate closed, several siblings of Hammond, would be near the entry point, looking at things, and Munchkin as an example. Something were uttered by them, whispered in countless, twisting tongues, in a language unfathomable by the creatures in this realm. Something to which, Hammond would simply nod, from his position up on the fridge, before opening that door, and closing the other.

When it came to bread, the fridge had several kinds. Slices of packed up garlic bread, butter buns, both cut and uncut, cinnamon crust bread, pumpernickel bread, and a few more. The one closest to the ground, would be the cinnamon crust bread. A fragrant bread, with a light taste. The one closest to that, would then be a Las Pegasus Wonderbread. Not the healthiest thing, but Scarcity sometimes thought that she had earned herself a small treat, and would take a slice of that, with some mint tea, and a light scraping of honey.

When Munchkin had chosen what she wanted, Hammond would close the fridge again. A soundless effort, as this were not some two bit, cheap fridge. Scarcity did not want the noise from one that made a heavy thunk, nor creaked, and had paid accordingly.

Getting to the floor, to watch his friend eat, he'd look down on the offered part of bread. A gesture of shared food? That was a friendly act... Hmm...

He'd raise a paw, to signal *a moment*, then would spread his large ears, and flap his *wings*, getting him up to a bowl near the ceiling, hanging from a hook and some chains.

Flapping back down again, he'd be carrying two balls of fragrant, sweet scented candy, about the size of his fist. Beyond the thin shell, it would be moist, and build up of licorice, and a few layers of things he couldn't understand the names of properly, before getting to a caramelized center. Wasn't chocolate, but some other things like... He seemed to remember the words *gum* and *Jelly*, being part of the longer words, but he had been told it wasn't too important for him to understand. Just that this were animal friendly treats, and that she had gotten them for him. Hence, he'd pur one down in front of him, next to the bread, and place the other in front of Munchkin. That way, he'd be sharing his food too, so the friendly gesture was done both ways. That meant they were friends now, yes?

He'd nibble the offered bread piece down, slowly and methodically, whilst waiting to see if Munchkin wanted more. If she did, he'd open up again. If she did not, but seemed to want to rest, he could help with that. He might not sleep, but he had still been provided with a bed, just in case he wanted to relax. He didn't mind offering that to his guest, if she seemed tired. She probably wouldn't be noticed before the morning regardless, and realistically, what were anyone going to do? Hammond could keep them away, using his gates, or let munchkin out in a heartbeat. They wouldn't be able to capture the cat, even if they wanted to.

On 2022-09-03 at 2:40 AM, EQ_Theta said:

“Gah!” The longma jumped and pulled himself up backwards, landing on the bed. Once he had a moment to breathe and regain his composure, he looked to Omen and checked up on Shrimp, assuming he might have spooked him as well. “Oh… Hello, Omen. You scared me back there. Did you have a good rest?”

Shrimp were still sleeping, just slumping down across Omen's face. Might have ended up rousing him, if she blinked or breathed wrong, but seeing as she did neither, it really weren't much of a concern.

"I do not sleep."

Omen would calmly rise up again, and look at Sen, as he seemed to compose himself. Interesting to watch. Not something she had seen before, and this weren't the first time she had seen him sleep. Had something changed?

"I have watched you sleep, many times. You react differently now. Something changed?"

Profoundly creepy thing of her to say, but as per usual, she weren't aware how doing something like this, came off to others. She were just thinking she were learning, while others wondered who the creepy, telepathic mare were, that were starring at them, unblinkingly, when they woke up.

"Shrimp fell asleep on you. I did not want to wake him up. Is that what changed?"

She tilted her her head to the left, as she awaited answers. She had room for some now, as the night had helped her clear some things up, in her mind.

[Sphinx-Ara 3,569]

@Blitz Boom

Skittles would nod as she listened to Honey Dew's remarks about having a pet "Well, I can see your point there, but if you do decide to get a pet, I can maybe ask them to avoid stinging the pet" she'd say to him "as I can attest that having a pet for a companion can be very rewarding, especially if you do not get to socialise much" she would smile to him "But of course, the choice is yours, far be it for me to try and force a pet onto you" she says, listening to his suggestion. "ooh yes, I love going there, The burgers are to die for!"

[Catpone Cerberus 23,598]

@Blitz Boom
"Before I answer the question, I'd like to point out that his instinct is not to kill right away, and rather, it is to warn first." She of course meant herself too when speaking about instinct, but since this was a public place, she decided to avoid rising any questions and spoke only about Charir. "You may have noticed that annoyance is often shown with puff of smoke towards the source of the annoyance, this is because hot smoke irritates most creatures, and thus it is done to give them a chance to understand their mistake." "The more....violent approach, is not instinct, but rather, it is nurture, a learned reflex." "When you grow up in an environment where 'kill or be killed' is a true rule, you learn that it is better to kill the harmless than leave a potential threat alive." "With your insistence about teaching Charir to not harm the innocent, you show that you have slightly fallen for the pony narrative of dragons, Charir is young, he is not yet reached the age where all he knows is violence, rather, he's just scared." she lowered her voice to avoid eavesdropping for her next words "My point being, do not judge him based on me, he has not lived through the violence I have, and one could argue he is in certain aspects smarter than myself, as he understood in 20 years what took me almost 200 years to realize, there is no future in the Homelands." 

Ruby weren't sure why she was so defensive of Charir, but she felt this needed to be said, was it because implication that they would burn down schools for no reason offended her? or was she unknowingly projecting something about herself into him and was through him trying to defend herself? she didn't know, but she did know it was unusual for her, the company she was keeping was clearly doing something to her, but she didn't yet know if it was a good or a bad thing. 

"But for the books..." she then said changing the topic without giving time for direct response "....Firstly, I can assure you, you have never seen them before, as they are not some mass printed material you can find from nearby library, while I did copy some of the text into new materials due to the fragility of the originals, and to make them more convenient to read, they are the only copies in existence." "In short. as I think I slightly mentioned when talking about my time in the ravine, they are some kind of journals and research logs about the homelands, the creatures living there, history, and things like that, written by unknown individual, and based on the condition of some of them, the oldest material is easily millennia or more old." "For the material that is relevant, there's few specific ones, and while I've called them books, not all of them are books. First is a set of scrolls explaining the written alphabet and rules of what for simplicity we shall call the Local Draconic, and rest are books translating that to this language, both written and spoken." "I dare to claim that it is enough for his studies, as it was enough for me to teach myself, and I had never even heard of this language, I also didn't know how to read." 

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

"War crimes would be more accurate term." Solar said in almost unnervingly casual manner, his world didn't actually consider war crimes to be a thing, but if they were a thing, Sheez would be one of the most wanted for certain. "Murder is putting it lightly." "And while I have told Celestia to spread the description around just in case, you, along all other guard branches, including the Royal guard just in case you think I'm underplaying coastal guard, are underequipped to deal with her." "But in short, you are looking for an orange kobold with four arms, or if she drops her disguise, a kobold with most of her body made of metal." Trox cut in "She also wears that ugly snake hood everywhere." 

"For the attacks, no, it's not her, if the mention of literal piles of bodies didn't make it clear, she prefers the less subtle approach, she wants you to know it was her, she want ponies to fear her, to see nightmares about her." 

"And why she would be here...that requires bit of an explanation, since I could tell from your earlier reaction that you aren't well informed in the matters of different realities." "In short, as this is not the time or place to go to details of such complicated topic, you know how in your own history, before the elements of harmony, ponies liked to banish their foes into different worlds using portals? like the sirens?" "Well, that can go both ways, those other worlds can also portal things in here, myself, these two, and now potentially Sheez, ended up here like that, we are not from this Equestria, and rather from similar, but quite different place." "If you don't believe me, just ask them about their life after I'm gone." "This change of worlds however, was not intentional for us."

"So  answer to why would she be here? is, against her will, in fact, it seems that if she did end up here, she came with Sheska and Trox." "And why take part in Equine society, well, again, she didn't really have a choice, you see, where we come from, kobolds were forced to become part of us, we destroyed their homes and enslaved them, so she isn't invading equine society despite hating us, but rather, she hates us because we forced her to be part of equine society." "Though it is contradictory that she is in service of pony empire so that she can kill ponies, and that is the reason why she is so despised by her own kind, betrayal is the worst crime towards a kobold you can do, and if you anger one of them with such act, you anger all of them, forever." this got a nod from all three kobolds, now that Chega had learned of Sheez, she would tell it forward, and eventually, all kobolds in this Equestria too would despise the traitor, kobolds were a tolerant bunch, but traitor of the kobold kind got no mercy. 

"If she is hunting me, I do not know for sure, I don't even know if she will be a threat to ponies here, or if she can understand you have nothing to do with her vendetta." "I have not had the displeasure of meeting her face to face, and rather know only what I have gathered from aftermath's for her attacks, the intel we had of her, and anything that her infamy has brought to my ears, so I cannot guess her motives for any certainty, she is also no doubt unhinged, as she has lived several times her natural lifespan, and that can't be healthy for one's mind, so that makes her even more unpredictable." "But for now I see three options, first, and the most preferable one, is that she decides to retire, living rest of her life in peace, or at least using her thirst for blood for good rather than harm, second, she takes some kind of similar path to myself, and starts hunting down those like her and I, or third, and the worst option, she'll bring death and destruction with her." 

 

 

[EQ_Theta 459]

@Blitz Boom

On 2022-09-04 at 6:00 PM, Blitz Boom said:

Getting to the floor, to watch his friend eat, he'd look down on the offered part of bread. A gesture of shared food? That was a friendly act... Hmm...

He'd raise a paw, to signal *a moment*, then would spread his large ears, and flap his *wings*, getting him up to a bowl near the ceiling, hanging from a hook and some chains.

Flapping back down again, he'd be carrying two balls of fragrant, sweet scented candy, about the size of his fist. Beyond the thin shell, it would be moist, and build up of licorice, and a few layers of things he couldn't understand the names of properly, before getting to a caramelized center. Wasn't chocolate, but some other things like... He seemed to remember the words *gum* and *Jelly*, being part of the longer words, but he had been told it wasn't too important for him to understand. Just that this were animal friendly treats, and that she had gotten them for him. Hence, he'd pur one down in front of him, next to the bread, and place the other in front of Munchkin. That way, he'd be sharing his food too, so the friendly gesture was done both ways. That meant they were friends now, yes?

The cat once had a habit of stealing any kind of bread from the bakery back then. She didn’t seem to mind the flavors, though she knew she had to stay away from the ones that looked like it had colorful toppings like sprinkles. Those didn’t taste good to her and left her with the runs for a while. A bad feeling in her stomach left her know which ones to avoid. That said, the assortment of bread in the refrigerator meant she had to go for plain bread as a safe choice, or the Wonderbread. That was a strange option, but the rest weren’t really too enticing, if only because past experience dictated something adverse might happen if she tried them. Once slice of about the most average-looking bread was the way to go for Munchkin, and so she took one piece to share with Hammond. 

There was a moment of hesitation with the offer of an odd, unknown kind of food from the little creature. Munchkin didn’t know what to make of it, but she took a bite, and the taste was something that ponies might call “acquired.” It wasn’t bad per se, but the cat wasn’t familiar with it. She would soon return to eating her slice of bread before finishing the rest of the treats Hammond offered her. By then, the flavor was just about familiar enough that she wouldn’t mind having another one if offered, though she isn’t going to go out of her way to ask for more. 

Once she was done with her meal, she’d wait to see what Hammond would do after finishing his meal, but this was an opportunity to explore this new place. The cat would disappear into different places in the evening in Old Canterlot, but the bakery was about as close to a home as she could get. The baker was nice enough to leave a pet bed and bowl around for her during most of the day, but nighttime was a different story. That was when she’d look around for a secluded spot in an alley or under a dumpster to sleep. Here? As soon as she saw the bed, she immediately took that as a sign to return to Hammond, gently bite into his paw, and pull him over to the general direction of the bed. 

This home still felt somewhat uneasy, possibly hostile to a certain degree. For now, the cat would just sit in the bed and see if Hammond might make more weird gestures. This was a new place to her, and she’d latch on to something that could comfort her before she’d go to sleep, or if not, a sign that would tell her to go back to Old Canterlot and await the next morning. After all, she still had a routine that involved waiting for the baker to open the shop and have something to eat come daybreak.

On 2022-09-04 at 6:00 PM, Blitz Boom said:

"I have watched you sleep, many times. You react differently now. Something changed?"

Profoundly creepy thing of her to say, but as per usual, she weren't aware how doing something like this, came off to others. She were just thinking she were learning, while others wondered who the creepy, telepathic mare were, that were starring at them, unblinkingly, when they woke up.

"Shrimp fell asleep on you. I did not want to wake him up. Is that what changed?"

She tilted her her head to the left, as she awaited answers. She had room for some now, as the night had helped her clear some things up, in her mind.

The longma had already forgotten what that feeling was like, having Omen stare at him while he slept. The last time he dozed off, Omen was sitting elsewhere in the cave while thinking about something Lin might have mentioned. Or she just wanted to process the new things she learned from earlier in the day. This time was an eye-opening experience, with seeing this odd pair of eyes staring right at him the moment he woke up. All that was sudden and unexpected, a little creepy, and just a bit terrifying in one combination. 

Shrimp falling asleep on him, or his face, was not quite as odd, but it was possibly a sign that the little creature was warming up to him some more. Just imagining that kind of imagery was more comforting than surprising. With respect to her question, it was true that Shrimp falling asleep on Sen was different, though it wasn’t really the answer the longma had in mind.

“I… It’s just… I didn’t think you’d be watching me so… closely this time. Opening my eyes to you staring at me was unexpected, and that scared me good. Don’t take it the wrong way; everything happened so suddenly there was little time to think, but there’s no harm done. I’m all right now.”

Sen had regained his composure by then, and upon looking around the room and seeing its condition, he’d hate to leave it in its current state. He was Rosa’s guest, and he’d opt to do some cleaning up for this room, like the blanket Omen draped over him the night before.

“How about we do a bit of cleaning in this room? Or at least make the bed look as good as new? It doesn’t seem right that we leave this room the way it is right now, and Rosa might appreciate us being considerate.”

Edited September 6, 2022 by EQ_Theta

[Sekel 693]

@Blitz Boom & @Props

TWILIGHT SPARKLE

"There's so much death around here," Twilight breathed in amazement. While she knew what necromancy was and how it was frowned upon in equine society, she saw it as more of a curiosity and something to be careful of than anything else. She wasn't sure what to think or say beyond those words as she gazed at the locale and ponies around them. "Who's in charge of keeping all these creatures here? Who is in charge of the necromancy spells keeping them here? Is it necromancy? Maybe it's something else and they've risen from the dead of their own accord?"

@Blitz Boom & @Widdershins

DAWN STREAK & DAZZLE GLEAM

"It's been years. They most likely have thought me as dead and moved on," Dazzle told Stare in a grumpy manner. She was sure her parents were still in fact home and just waiting for a sign that she's alive but putting up a front kept her from thinking too hard on what her parents might be doing right at this moment. "It's fine if she can't find anything. Really. Scarcity will probably come to an empty house and then make up some lie about them being there."

"That's right, go get dragged off by your marefriend!" Dawn yelled after Benny. She was unsure of how to actually feel so she simply defaulted to being angry, hot, and bothered by the entire situation she found herself in thanks to Kaltrops' words.

@Blitz Boom

AURORA LIGHTS

"All of this is too new for me, Queen Onache. I only just became this and now I have to go start a hive!?" Aurora replied, staring at Onache like she had grown a second head. "It sounds like changelings are an infestation more than another species!"

@Blitz Boom

KARMIC FATE & ATZY

"No- don't- Blitz stay~" Karmic tried to keep Blitz close to her by wrapping her legs around the filly but she was proving difficult to keep ahold of.

"My hide?" Atzy asked in surprise, pointing a hoof to herself. "Um ... my name's Atzy. I ..." she looked at Blitz and Karmic struggling to keep a hold of her and decided to go for it. "I uh ... well ... I used to be stuck inside a jar as a pile of experimental changeling goo. I latched onto Karmic and we both eventually found the big kitty hiding behind the trees.  He took us to his old place floating thing where he came from and we followed this ghost of a changeling down into some mines. There, a Gemling queen fused with a mare gave me this body to move around in and such. Uh ... oh dear. I probably shouldn't have said the first bit. You just seem so easy to talk to. I don't even know what gemlings do besides eat gems to keep living."

[Evil Pink One 13,506]

@Blitz Boom

Light would observe his mate as she got curious at what the effects of alcohol would affect him and others.... Seeing that Shark sees the other drunk ponies unfit to walk and wobble a lot. Light stopped drinking and wouldn't like to give shark a wrong impression of him in anyway.

He stares at the pool of liquor on his cup reflecting his image.

" I guess I don't need your help anymore old friend."

He said to his reflection as he puts it down at the table and walked up to Shark, who is now entranced at the pinata.

"You wanna give it a go?" He asked Shark. 

[Blitz Boom 4,626]

@AuroraGlimmer

"Yes, they are quite ah, good. I find myself fond of a good stew at times."

Their cook were talented, albeit rather intimidating. The scars, that looked like something large had bit into him rather hard, on both his face and stomach, combined with his militaristic atmosphere, tended to make others worried around him. But Chop Chop were undeniably, a good cook. He were also one of the few ponies you'd find, perfectly fine with not just cooking meat, but preparing it from scratch. Which made this a good place for travelling griffons, and other meat eaters.

Sloppy Joe's were just a place of good workers, with their own issues, that made them hard to have employed elsewhere. Chop Chop scared folks, Long Stare tended to spook others, as she were so silent, Berry Swirl were a conspiracy nut, Frizzle were a nervous wreck, and Alonsus... Well, he were not bad, but it tended to tire folks, to be too near him, for too long.

A special bunch, but all had their employment here, and all of 'em, were generally doing well. The place had good profits, so it just showed that their boss, Straw Hat, were right, when he argued to critics, that it didn't matter how quirky the staff might be. Long as they did their work well, and didn't hurt anypony.

"As for the ah, pet situation, I will think of it. Thank you for the offer of assistance."

Entering the premise, they'd see there were a fair bit of customers already, but most were at their tables, or about to exit. Sloppy Joe's were primarily a coffee shop, this time of day, so this were fairly standard. Though the kitchen were still hot and going, with a few dishes being prepared.

THe look were fairly standard, for a cafe. Small tables and optional chairs, a large menu behind the desk, presented on the wall, and the clerk there, merrily humming away, as she blended another cup, of freshly ground coffee. A pumpkin mixture, it smelled like, as they got closer. They could chose to sit at a table, and wait, or go to the desk. If they went to the desk, Berry Swirl would be the one to greet them.

"Hey, I remember you! The honey guy. Double caramel latte, with a cinnamon stick, yeah?"

"Y-Yes, that's ah, correct. And a bowl of uh... Today's special, perhaps?"

"Uuuh, feeling risky, eh? Hehe. Nah, it's just Spicy Thornwood Stew. Ease up. And what of your friend here? What's your choice, hon? We got loads, and I brew a mean coffee."

Berry were... Special, as she for instance, tended to rummage through trash at night at times, looking for clues about her *grand conspiracy*, but she were a good barista. That couldn't be denied.

And if they sat at the table, then within a minute, a low voice would suddenly, without warning, be behind Skittles.

"Hello. Are you ready to order?"

Long Stare were the waitress in this place. She didn't have to per se, as she were set well enough, but it were a good way for her to socialize, so she liked showing up at work. She still tended to spook 80%+ of the customers though, as she were just too quiet. Always ended up suddenly being behind one, asking one something, and that tended to spook others.

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

 

@Catpone Cerberus

On 2022-09-04 at 1:05 PM, Catpone Cerberus said:

"Before I answer the question, I'd like to point out that his instinct is not to kill right away, and rather, it is to warn first." She of course meant herself too when speaking about instinct, but since this was a public place, she decided to avoid rising any questions and spoke only about Charir. "You may have noticed that annoyance is often shown with puff of smoke towards the source of the annoyance, this is because hot smoke irritates most creatures, and thus it is done to give them a chance to understand their mistake." "The more....violent approach, is not instinct, but rather, it is nurture, a learned reflex." "When you grow up in an environment where 'kill or be killed' is a true rule, you learn that it is better to kill the harmless than leave a potential threat alive." "With your insistence about teaching Charir to not harm the innocent, you show that you have slightly fallen for the pony narrative of dragons, Charir is young, he is not yet reached the age where all he knows is violence, rather, he's just scared." she lowered her voice to avoid eavesdropping for her next words "My point being, do not judge him based on me, he has not lived through the violence I have, and one could argue he is in certain aspects smarter than myself, as he understood in 20 years what took me almost 200 years to realize, there is no future in the Homelands." 

"I'm not judging him overly harshly, I'm just concerned, y'know? I get where you're coming from, about it better to be safe, than sorry, but around here, it more often than not, would lead to problems. Call it the pony narrative if you'd like, but in my opinion, it's better to be able to traverse, and exploit society freely, rather than being hunted by it. That requires some degree of conforming to the norms, I guess you could say, but it's the lesser of two evils.

And I get the smoke part. That's one thing we all got in common. It's the preferred way of showing annoyance for the local dragons too. Not me. I prefer a bit of ice, but you know, not every dragon is magical."

Leviathan were well aware, that to some degree, she were a conformist. She preferred to think that she were just adaptable, but fact were that she had to give up some overly violent tendencies at times, to be able to move freely in society. But that were a good thing, in her mind, regardless of how it might seem to others. Cause in society, were all the cool stuff, and if you went full on stereotype, with fire, murder, and theft, that wouldn't last long. Bit of theft, and some fire though, could work fine. Ruby seemed fine after all. Not hunted down or anything. Would be different, if she left a slew of desiccated corpses everywhere. At least here in Equestria.

"He feels the way he feels, and there's good reason for it. And really, I'm still mostly just proud of him, for doing as well as he is doing. Doesn't understand the language, the culture, or the customs, and he's handling it pretty gracefully. First time I went to equine society, I ended up in a jail cell for three weeks, wrapped up tightly in chains, and with four anti-magic rings stuck to me. I don't remember the details myself, but the report the guards presented me with, talked of some fires, frozen ponies, and foal juggling. I were pretty hammered, so I dunno for sure.

That's also why I ain't drinking Voltage Wine anymore. That stuff tastes like nothing to worry about, and then suddenly, it kicks your brain out, and moves in. So I dunno if the charges were right, but the foal juggling sounds true. Juggling the pups were pretty popular in the flock, cause the little ones got a massive kick out of it."

Drunk in public, could be rather disastrous, when it came to dragons. All things considered, she had gotten off easy. She still hadn't been welcome in Deltrot though, for fifty years, after that.

On 2022-09-04 at 1:05 PM, Catpone Cerberus said:

"But for the books..." she then said changing the topic without giving time for direct response "....Firstly, I can assure you, you have never seen them before, as they are not some mass printed material you can find from nearby library, while I did copy some of the text into new materials due to the fragility of the originals, and to make them more convenient to read, they are the only copies in existence." "In short. as I think I slightly mentioned when talking about my time in the ravine, they are some kind of journals and research logs about the homelands, the creatures living there, history, and things like that, written by unknown individual, and based on the condition of some of them, the oldest material is easily millennia or more old." "For the material that is relevant, there's few specific ones, and while I've called them books, not all of them are books. First is a set of scrolls explaining the written alphabet and rules of what for simplicity we shall call the Local Draconic, and rest are books translating that to this language, both written and spoken." "I dare to claim that it is enough for his studies, as it was enough for me to teach myself, and I had never even heard of this language, I also didn't know how to read." 

"Huh, well ain't that something? I just figured it were local books, and not something more impressive like that.

Y'know, once he's done learning from them, have you ever considered selling that sort of literature? Even if you just let folks make copies, based of off of what is in your originals, that stuff can sell for a high price. New information is always the sort that'll find a market. Not pushing anything, just wondering, since it'd increase your hoard, and I'd like to help you. Presenting options are a help, yeah?

Regardless of that though, this is still mighty interesting. Mind if I read along with him, when it is? If I could learn your tongue, we'd have some way to chatter, that others couldn't just easily understand in turn. And if I did follow you back sometimes, I'd be able to understand a bit better, what were being said to me. Though I get the feeling mostly it's rather obvious. Not a lot of misinterpretation possible, in someone trying to tear off your face. Most of the time.

Gonna be mighty interesting, that's for sure. How long did it take for you to learn it, actually? Must've been a few years at least, I'd imagine, if you had to learn to read first. Which ain't easy to do on your own, I'd wager."

Wouldn't be too long after this, that they'd roll into Ponyville. The train were a nice time to just talk things out, but it were sure gonna be good to just get some dirt under their claws again.

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

 

@Catpone Cerberus

Harpoon rose a hoof, and pressed it against her forehead. Felt like she were getting a migraine, from what she had just been told. Quite frankly, she'd think it ludicrous, but with everything else she were seeing with these three, she couldn't really get far, without having an open mind about things, so she had to try and believe it, to a certain extend. Were rather clear they weren't local at least, and banishments working both ways, made sense, but... Jeez, was this just one messy pile of stuff, that'd end up causing more grief than good, from the sound of it.

"So let me see if I got this right... All three of you, are from another world, and Sheez are from there too. In that world, ponies made kobolds slaves, and that's made it so that some like Sheez, have a burning hatred for Equines, and kills them. Messily and bodies in plain sight, to leave a message. She is also a traitor, because she did as said slavers told her, and caused untold amounts of deaths everywhere.

She is now here. Beyond her years, and somehow augmented to do that, and still be an efficient killing machine. Who now have no masters, unknown goals, are somewhere none of you have any idea about, and are apparently dangerous enough, that regular means will not work. Is that about right?"

She'd wait to receive confirmation, or corrections, in this manner, before she'd continue. Cause... Man, this was a mess.

"Assuming it's all correct, what measures will work on her then? No one is impervious to everything. There's always some manner, magical or natural, to deal with something. General Tidal Wave needs to be aware of what it may be, in case she reaches our shores. Also so that if she does decide to live out her days away from others, on say, one of the minor islands, or one of the abandoned coastal towns, we'll know to mark the area as dangerous, and have tourists diverted from the area. We don't need blood spilled, if it can be avoided."

"Seems you have plenty to focus on, so I will return to my patient. Let me know, if you find the one who poisoned her."

The doctor had remained silent, and just listened in for a while now, but it seemed like her involvement with things, were no longer needed. She were cut off from hearing things proper (if the shield were still up), yet even if she wasn't, it didn't seem to involve her patient, or the local assault anymore. And if it were, not in a way she could do a lot against anyway. She may be spry for her age, but she were not keen on the idea, of chasing after killers. That sorta thing, were best left to the youthful, who knew how to swing a blade, whilst doctors like her, should stay and treat the wounded.

Onache wouldn't wake up for likely several days, and she'd remain observation until then, so it were unlikely that the assassin would come back for her. Doubly so, as unless they went around telling everyone otherwise, the assassin would likely think the queen were dead, and her body in quarantine. The kobold siblings however, were another matter entirely.

"Is there any good news you can tell me? Anything at all, or is it all simply some variation, of the fact that - with all due respect - evil spills from your realm? And how big of a chance is there, that more is gonna come along too?"

General Tidal Wave were gonna be alarmed, when eventually the news were gonna come her way. Sure they were used to things just coming out of seemingly nowhere, as the ocean had many creatures, and some sought only the shore, to hunt, or cause trouble. Yet a seemingly powerful kobold, augmented, and difficult to deal with, without a placement, or motivation set... This were an unknown entity, of a disturbing magnitude, she'd say.

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

 

@EQ_Theta

On 2022-09-06 at 1:34 PM, EQ_Theta said:

Once she was done with her meal, she’d wait to see what Hammond would do after finishing his meal, but this was an opportunity to explore this new place. The cat would disappear into different places in the evening in Old Canterlot, but the bakery was about as close to a home as she could get. The baker was nice enough to leave a pet bed and bowl around for her during most of the day, but nighttime was a different story. That was when she’d look around for a secluded spot in an alley or under a dumpster to sleep. Here? As soon as she saw the bed, she immediately took that as a sign to return to Hammond, gently bite into his paw, and pull him over to the general direction of the bed. 

This home still felt somewhat uneasy, possibly hostile to a certain degree. For now, the cat would just sit in the bed and see if Hammond might make more weird gestures. This was a new place to her, and she’d latch on to something that could comfort her before she’d go to sleep, or if not, a sign that would tell her to go back to Old Canterlot and await the next morning. After all, she still had a routine that involved waiting for the baker to open the shop and have something to eat come daybreak.

As they had stopped eating, Hammond would assume that the cat might want to rest, and thus, had led Munchkin out of the kitchen. They'd pass down a hall with a lustrous, velvet carpet, and some artwork on the walls, before making a left down a similar looking hallway, and then passing three doors. After passing the third, they'd get to one, that had a catflap in it. Recently installed, with the word *Hammond* engraved upon the pure silver, in a decorative font. There were also a small window further up, in the same door, in case he preferred to fly. Scarcity had though it best, that he had both options.

Inside, were a storage room, with boxes upon boxes, of well sealed things, though a section had been cleaned to the right, wherein Hammond's quarters were. A bed large enough for them both to fit in easily, if they wished to, were stationed in the middle of a solid, oaken cat tower, with scratch poles, and several ways one could rest. Including a small *cave*, the fluffy bed on the flat surface, and some dangling beds further up. All of it, in exquisite details, and high quality. Perhaps not what one would think, seeing how Hammond weren't a pet, per se, but she had found he had seemingly enjoyed it, when they had been out and shopping around for things, and the mimic's he were molded after, did tend to have a tendency, for liking resting places, at various heights. She had also pretty much bought it on the spot, as he had spend a half hour in the wheel, getting to terms with his new body, and how it were meant to be moved. It seemed well fitting for him.

(something like this, but with a couple of hammocks strung up, etc. on an extra section above this. All resting places, would be covered on the inside, with soft fluff, for a better resting area)

There were some food there too. Some snacks like in the kitchen, as well as high quality vegetarian food, and sparkling water. The water were replaced three times per day, if he needed it, or not. Just in case.

Whenever Munchkin decided on a space to rest in, Hammond would scurry over, and pull out a small blanket, from one of the bottom compartments, and come back with it, offering it to Munchkin. He saw most creatures that slept, seemed to like this, so he'd give that, if she wished for it. After that, he'd bounce closer, and pet the cat on the head again, if she seemed to be okay with it. Then either continue, if she seemed she'd like that, or stop, jump back, and just look, then wave, and roll down himself nearby, where he could see her. His tail were rather fluffy, and made for a good pillow. He wouldn't rest, but he'd as happily observe Munchkin as she did, as he'd pet her throughout the night, if that were her preference.

Regardless, he wouldn't lead her out, or toss her out. And if she slept there, then eventually, it would be morning. Being marked by the distinct sound of somepony outside the door, moving about. Just a bit, before there were a knock at the door, and it opened, to reveal: A filly. Chipper and looking like she needed to run a comb through her mane and tail, but she didn't much care about that, as much as looking for Hammond, who'd meet her not long after, and engage in some hoofsigns with her. And if Munchkin would show after, she'd look with big eyes, and an even bigger smile, whilst waving at the cat. She did not know who this were, but it were nice seeing Hammond make friends. Unless Munchkin hid, in which case, she'd just eventually move out, and to the right, headed towards the bathroom.

If Munchkin wanted to get out, during the night, before dawn broke, Hammond would follow her there, and see where she tried to get to. If she seemed like she wanted to get out, she could probably make him understand that, in some way.

On 2022-09-06 at 1:34 PM, EQ_Theta said:

“I… It’s just… I didn’t think you’d be watching me so… closely this time. Opening my eyes to you staring at me was unexpected, and that scared me good. Don’t take it the wrong way; everything happened so suddenly there was little time to think, but there’s no harm done. I’m all right now.”

Sen had regained his composure by then, and upon looking around the room and seeing its condition, he’d hate to leave it in its current state. He was Rosa’s guest, and he’d opt to do some cleaning up for this room, like the blanket Omen draped over him the night before.

“How about we do a bit of cleaning in this room? Or at least make the bed look as good as new? It doesn’t seem right that we leave this room the way it is right now, and Rosa might appreciate us being considerate.”

"So I should not stand that close? Okay. I understand."

It sounded to her at least, like the issue were that she had been right in his face, and thus, the first thing he saw, were her eyes. Apparently, that startled him? Was this something related to sleep, or something else? Probably sleep, yes? She had seen others, react odd, right ass they woke up. Maybe they did not register things as simply, when they first woke up? It were possible. Or they reset in some way, like she did, when she shut down. Sometimes when she regained her senses then, she'd look confused at the things around her, as they had at times changed, from when she had gone unconscious. Perhaps since he had last seen her far from him, seeing her this close, were what had startled him? Yes... That made sense to her. She had to try and remember to stay exactly where she had been, when he last saw her, next time he were going to sleep, and she were watching him.

"I know how to clean. Master Discord showed me."

She wouldn't do it exactly like he had. It would involve the bed having to float on the ceiling, and she couldn't do that. But she'd put the blanket back on the bed, and then go and lick the surfaces, that they had touched, to clean it of dust and stuff. She had a three meter tongue. She had a bit of reach to work with, and no qualms about eating dust. Rosa would not come down, to find them doing so. He were either still sleeping, or elsewhere, so they could do this in peace, for the time being. Likely best he didn't see this sort of thing right now anyway. Might be a little too early for him, to see that.

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

 

@Sekel @Props

On 2022-09-07 at 5:49 AM, Sekel said:

"There's so much death around here," Twilight breathed in amazement. While she knew what necromancy was and how it was frowned upon in equine society, she saw it as more of a curiosity and something to be careful of than anything else. She wasn't sure what to think or say beyond those words as she gazed at the locale and ponies around them. "Who's in charge of keeping all these creatures here? Who is in charge of the necromancy spells keeping them here? Is it necromancy? Maybe it's something else and they've risen from the dead of their own accord?"

"Natural necromancy is more of a Harrowmark thing. We're doing it the old fashioned way. Though some do chose to stay as spirits, when they die. The reapers doesn't always just force you along. Dunno why some are given choices, or left though. They're still beyond our understanding.

And they don't need constant magic at them, to keep them around. That's only shoddy necromancers who need that. Same with barriers, you know? A good spell, stays consistent. Though sometimes they get a boost. That's mostly by Madamme Macabre, but me and a few others, help at times.

If you wanna know more, you should visit the library sometimes. We have around two thousand years worth of tomes, on this sorta stuff."

On 2022-09-08 at 9:27 PM, Magnolia said:

"Ah, so it seems you finally read your mail, Twilight. My real name is Moonlight Sparkle, I am your older sister by around 10 years if my memory serves me correctly. For all of your travels, journeys and lessons you find yourself here, in the realm of death, so rarely understood by others. I have spent years trying to contact you. I don't know why I didn't just come to on my own." she said as she stepped forward, her eyes looking deeply into Twilight's own.

"For all the lessons you claim to teach and learn, you've always ignored me. You never even know I existed! Because our parents lied to you, and Shining Armor. They cast me out, because I was unwanted. I was a mistake by them! I was never meant to be born, but here I am! Do you not know how it feels, to know you are born as a mistake by your own parents, then to be treated as if you don't even exist by your own family! Well, now you know!" she said, stomping a hoof in sudden rage, but then seemingly collecting herself. One should likely understand why she had that reaction - because it was true, after all.

"Now it's time for you to learn a lesson of your own. A lesson in family." her eyes would soften slightly, but remaining unwavering as she looked within Twilight's own.

Last and the manetid, got in front, cutting of this mare from getting too close, until they got a confirmation, that it were okay, for the mare spouting ludicrous stuff, to get closer. Drone lowering her regular arms, and raising the blades ones in front, prepared for things to go wrong, and Last glaring with her hard, ice-blue eyes, firmly on Moonlight.

"Your majesty? Your order?"

She wouldn't attack outright, but she'd keep this mare from the princess, if Twilight indicated, that she had no interest in getting closer to this one.

Cherish would materialize, as Zeehva got closer. The two of them exchanging awkward glances, before going on to try and calm their respective friends.

"M-Magnolia please, a little at a time. It's g-gonna have to be a lot to take in, all at once."

"I uhm... Dunno what exactly is going on here, but it uhm... S-Sounds like maybe we should hear them out, Princess Sparkle. The letter did say something about family, r-right?"

(Last Stand top, Zeehva bottom.)

(Cherish Sky)

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

 

@Sekel @Widdershins

On 2022-09-07 at 5:49 AM, Sekel said:

"It's been years. They most likely have thought me as dead and moved on," Dazzle told Stare in a grumpy manner. She was sure her parents were still in fact home and just waiting for a sign that she's alive but putting up a front kept her from thinking too hard on what her parents might be doing right at this moment. "It's fine if she can't find anything. Really. Scarcity will probably come to an empty house and then make up some lie about them being there."

"I doubt she'd do that. If there's anything to find, she'll bring proof of it. Hopefully your parents, alive and well, but if there is just an empty house, then maybe some pictures."

If the house were empty, the house would be scoured for clues, then documented, marked on a map, and as mentioned, pictures would be taken. If they were there however, the pony who'd wander there, and be there in about... 12-14 hours from now, would knock on the door, and respectfully inform them that he had come, on behalf of their daughter, who had lost her way back, and wished to be reunited with them. He'd then give them more details on where she were, and offer to either bring them to her, or her to them. Either way, there'd be something happening. Probably somewhat early the dy after this.

Stare would make sure to keep her company until then, as she had promised. And if she wanted her along for moral support afterwards, she'd work something out with her job. It'd be fine.

On 2022-09-07 at 5:49 AM, Sekel said:

"That's right, go get dragged off by your marefriend!" Dawn yelled after Benny. She was unsure of how to actually feel so she simply defaulted to being angry, hot, and bothered by the entire situation she found herself in thanks to Kaltrops' words.

Benny were now shaking so hard, it almost seemed like he were having a seizure, and tears were falling from his eyes, as his hands desperately clamped around his mouth, keeping it shut. It were just getting funnier and funnier by the second.

Soon as he had been dragged inside proper, Pop would come back out, and close the door. No sooner had she done so, before she heard the start of laughter, and opened the door, looking down on Benny.

"Keep it in."

He'd listen to her, and just relatively silently get it out of his system, while Pop got back out there, and faced Dawn.

"He's a sweet dragon. He really is. But sometimes, I feel like smacking him with a rolled up newspaper. He'll be fine once he gets this out of his system.

Are you okay though? Seems like you're a little flustered. Their words get to you a little? I'm sure they don't mean anything bad by them. Benny's just being silly, and Kaltrops... Well, I think he's just having a bit of a delay, between his brain and mouth sometimes. It's nothing serious."

Pop would smile at Dawn, trying to be reassuring and kind. Things had not gone easy for her thus far, so maybe, a short breather right now, were what she needed. Or a chat with another mare, before going back to dealing with dragons.

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

 

@Sekel

Onache openly glared at Aurora, once she said that last part. The sort of look, that tended to make those lesser than her, cower in fear, worried what she might do. Though she'd keep things at words, not actions. For now at least.

"We are not an infestation. We are a dominant species.

And I am not saying you need to start a hive now. Most queens do not begin one, until at least twenty years, from they first start learning of their responsibilities. You may begin sooner, as you also do not need to wait for maturity, yet time is not of the essence. When you are prepared, and have found a spot, then you may start it. I am merely offering some advise on how you then do things from that, so that when time comes, you will know what to do.

You barely know the lay of the land, when it comes to hives as it is anyway. You would have to either take over another hive, or find an area that is yet unoccupied, to not cause territory disputes too. Not that time is important. You will have hundreds, if not thousands of years to work with yet. Though most of us do not live that long. The natural life span is one thing, but infighting, and presumptuous *Heroes*, tend to cut it shorter, quicker than that. Lead your hive different than I, if you want to avoid that outcome. Ancestors know you may have a chance at it, with how times are changing.

Still, be it natural, or expedited, rarely does one of us die by old age. I'd suggest you do not think about it however. Nothing good comes, from worrying about your own mortality too much. Those who do, have tended to go down dark paths."

She'd leave the horror stories for another time though. Such sobering tales, were best used to discourage that kind of behavior, and Aurora did not seem even close, to going down a path such as that.

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

 

@Sekel

"So Diamantha is free again, and have fused with a changeling. Long has it been since she were trapped. Too long it seems, if she's so forgotten, she were let lose again...

I were not there, when they roamed, long, long ago. Only Alagarn is alive from back then. But we all heard the stories, about the crystal beasts, and I were there, when the gem got rediscovered. That's why the isles were abandoned, and the mines collapsed. Seems some snuck in. Hmm...

Diamatha were rumored to be more tempered than her brethren, so perhaps it will not be as big an issue, as the refractions told us. Yet I will need to find her it sounds, so I can hear for myself. Worry not, young one. I won't come for you, nor judge you, for what you were. I'm mostly just surprised. I never heard of changelings in a jar. How very primordial."

Gretha chuckled, and brought a claw over, to poke the wriggling Blitz on the snout, with the blunt side of her claw. Which seemed to make Blitz just wriggle more, reaching out towards the claw.

"Energetic little thing, isn't she? Much like her brother. Peculiar sorts, always stick out to me more. I think you will too, Atzy. Along with your fearful friend over there."

Anzu were watching them, not shaking anymore, but watching them tentatively, and moving slowly closer, prepared to rush off, if there were any sort of bad act from Gretha. Big dragons like this, were dangerous in his mind. Maybe not as much, if he had been a proper sphinx, homegrown, and given a few millennia more, but with how things were now, she could definitely trounce him. Even if it did not seem as if she wanted to, as she pushed up her large glasses again. Not even dragons, were immune to losing eyesight over the years.

"I'm afraid I don't know what to say, of your new kind, little one. Time alone will likely tell, but you will likely be watched closely, and judged by others, on your own actions. I know the feeling. Simply try and be well behaved, and you should be fine.

You were headed to Deltrot, were you? Need a lift?"

She'd point up towards her saddle, which could comfortably have them all on it. Including Enzo, which he'd refuse, as that seemed wrong by him. They could all just go back on Enzo, and follow, though the sphinx were still tentative about things. This dragon might seem kind and calm, but still... It were an elder dragon. How could he not be worried?

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

 

@Kujamih

"Yes!"

Shark would launch forward, licking herself around the mouth, as the last one were done bashing it. Still not enough to make it break, so the bat would go to another. Though there'd be a delay, as she were fluttering around it, sniffing it, and poking it with her nose.

"Well that ain't something you see every day."

One of the local farmers rose his hat, and looked really curious at the peculiar mare, fluttering around the pinata, yet he'd soon be overshadowed - in several aspect - by the stallion who now had the bat, that stepped forward.

"A peculiar sight, yet welcome to the party. One remembered, from the recent incident. Alonsus welcomes you to the festivities, fair mare."

Alonsus Merrywind, were a... Taxing one to be around, for many. Boastful, and having a habit of talking in third person, his personality, tended to shun prolonged periods of communication, though none would come and say that he did so, with harm in mind. Nor were he egocentric. He were just... Best described, as one who had read far too many self help books, and had taken some degree of damage from it. Which were pretty much the case.

He were hard not to take notice of though. Well groomed, large, and muscular, he worked hard to keep his body in peak performance, and if push came to shove, he could deal out the hurt. Mostly he used his strength though, to do good around town, or at his work, as the handistallion, at the Sloppy Joe's cafe. Well enough liked, but just not one, that many kept around for long.

Seeing him though, sure got Shark's attention. Her ears would perk, and eyes grow wide, before fluttering over to him, and around, poking at him a few times. Something which resulted in him giving off a burly laughter, and flexing one leg, to properly show some muscle.

"The fair maiden finds me intriguing? Take in what you will, of me. Alonsus does not mind."

"Biiiiiiiiig friend. Shiny. *sniff sniff* Hair smell funny. Good? Maybe?"

She had gone close, and taken a whiff. He smelled like some sort of fruity shampoo. Very strange, but he were certainly fun to watch. and her words, seemed to give him cause for laughter.

"Alonsus are a friend of many. Here, as one frend to another, I offer you the next strike. Show well what you can do, against this feeble pinata."

He offered her the stick, which she'd grab hold of with her teeth. At first, shaking it a bit, gauging weight, then go up to the pinata, and do as she had seen the others do. Give it a bash.

It did not break it, but it were a reasonably well done hit, and caused some of the fuzzy hair to fall off. Afterwards, she'd look right at Light, with a big grin on her face.

"Funny! Mate try too? Hit hard?"

"The fair maiden's mate? A long line you must go behind first... Pah! Perish the thought. Alonsus offer you his place, and I return to the back. Strike with conviction, my friend."

Shark would let him have the stick, if he were ready for it, and Alonsus would draw nearer, and offer the cloth, one needed to have around one's eyes, when doing this. He'd look down upon Light, a great big smile on his bearded face, encouraging him to give it a try.

[Sphinx-Ara 3,569]

@Blitz Boom

Skittles would smile as they sat at the table and listened to Honey's order, then looked to the waitress, "Long stare, right?" she would ask with a smile "I think I'll have the same drink as Honey here, that truly sounds delicious" she would say and then thinks for a moment "I'll have a veggie burger with the lot and some seasons fries, thanks" she smiles to her, her tail slightly swaying as she would continue to look around and take in the atmosphere.

She then smiles over at Honey "You're welcome, until then, you're always welcome to come my place, I usually have at least one or two furry critters that enjoy attention, then there's Snowpaw in the Woods, he seemed to have taken quite a liking to you"

[Evil Pink One 13,506]

@Blitz Boom

As Light went near them and cautious at the giant stallion.

He took his offer to go first, as not to be rude at him.

" Thank you very much good sir..."

He puts on the blindfold and readied himself.

He focused and remembered his training and experience from the past.

He's been in many situations already that he didn't need his eyes to function properly in the world.

As he needs in his target, he swings at the portion of the pinata where it has damage already. And before the bat hits it's target, Light amplifies the weight of the bat to give it more umpf. 

( Up to you what comes next.)

[Rising Dusk 27,686]

@Blitz Boom

There was much to reflect upon leaving their visit with the last members of the traveling band.  The pegasus that had severed treats to the children at Rising's first banquet after the battle with Twisted was much greater than she seemed.  Her amulet had drawn the detective's attention for a brief moment, but to reach as far as a long lived begin that jumped body to body throughout who knows how long.  Well versed in magics to be so easily prepared to swat aside an attack from Lily.  Judging books by their cover and all that.  Harrowmark was complicated, or at least to the extent from the outside look in Equestria.  A bemusing thought on how well the soon to be residents would think upon Equestria's own customs and culture.

Reaching their next stop on the tour before long, Rising already had a feeling what laid beyond the door.  A ritual room Lily's scry spell had been place in after the traveling party arrived at the capital.  Caramel, Le Pourri, had already dropped the hint the party knew the scry was cast upon them, even before Rising made the long distant call.  Not too shocking it could be easily dumped where they wanted it.  Revelation was what Thistle offered.  And a test for Dawn and Grace to be in the presence of creatures so the bane of the fashion community.

The family entered after Thistle.  Shivers quickly ran down the spines of the two mares in tow.  The sight of such giant insects did set well with the two.  Star was much more enamored in the scholarly glee that so easily befell upon the professor.  "Ho ho ho.  Would you look at that," the stallion admired.  Like stepping into ancient times of such far away times and places.  Stories of ritual chambers, alters and sacrifices.  Things so far lost upon the land of light in Equestria and cast into fantasy.

Thistle's revelation did not sit well with Dawn and Grace.  It was morbid and gruesome.  The ability to wrap their minds around the willingness of such an act was beyond them.  The closest amount of worship and devotion was just to the Alicorns that ruled them.  But even then, they were more often and not just as down to earth as the rest of Equestria's ponies.  The mares looked at the alter with fear and disgust, far in contrast to the interest Star had in the whole process.  Rising was mixed in his emotion.  He knew the boundaries held between their two cultures and having met the goddess herself in his dream, along with the grotesque vistas of Twisted's swamp, this all leaned on par for the course in his experience of Harrowmark.  At his core though, he admired their deep devotion, but was equally revolted by the act.  Having limited experience in necromancy magics, souls and spirits, this was even a lot for the detective.

Dawn and Grace had already scooted closer to the exit.  "You have the deepest of devotions, my friend.  And it sounds like you have much to rebuild," Rising maintained a neutral expression, as best he could.  "But I think the occasional dream visit from Viz'nay will be plenty for me."  Not that he expected such an act be laid upon him in this revelation, but it didn't hurt to set that boundary at least.  Dawn was already regretting she had to even find out how one gains access to such shoes.  She'll stick to performing such things with her own magics.

[EQ_Theta 459]

@Blitz Boom

On 2022-09-13 at 4:52 AM, Blitz Boom said:

Whenever Munchkin decided on a space to rest in, Hammond would scurry over, and pull out a small blanket, from one of the bottom compartments, and come back with it, offering it to Munchkin. He saw most creatures that slept, seemed to like this, so he'd give that, if she wished for it. After that, he'd bounce closer, and pet the cat on the head again, if she seemed to be okay with it. Then either continue, if she seemed she'd like that, or stop, jump back, and just look, then wave, and roll down himself nearby, where he could see her. His tail were rather fluffy, and made for a good pillow. He wouldn't rest, but he'd as happily observe Munchkin as she did, as he'd pet her throughout the night, if that were her preference.

Regardless, he wouldn't lead her out, or toss her out. And if she slept there, then eventually, it would be morning. Being marked by the distinct sound of somepony outside the door, moving about. Just a bit, before there were a knock at the door, and it opened, to reveal: A filly. Chipper and looking like she needed to run a comb through her mane and tail, but she didn't much care about that, as much as looking for Hammond, who'd meet her not long after, and engage in some hoofsigns with her. And if Munchkin would show after, she'd look with big eyes, and an even bigger smile, whilst waving at the cat. She did not know who this were, but it were nice seeing Hammond make friends. Unless Munchkin hid, in which case, she'd just eventually move out, and to the right, headed towards the bathroom.

Munchkin was more than happy to be with the odd creature showing her around, though she was still unsure about her environment. Past some hallways and doors were an odd-looking structure, a tower and some hammocks, a wooden wheel and posts. All of this were strange yet familiar to the cat, though the exact object was still new to her. She didn't get anything quite this elaborate, and the most she was content to use on most days was a small, comfortable pet bed by the bakery's front door. Today had been a long day, but she was content to spend the night with her new friend instead of indulging in the scratching post or wheel. 

It was odd for this creature to behave closer to ponies, doing things like ensuring she was cared for like a pet. It was similar to what the mare running the bakery did for her, though she didn’t invite the cat to stay with her. This time was different, and Munchkin had grown rather attached to Hammond. Once she got comfortable, she spent a bit of time snuggling up to her new friend and started licking him. She’d be at it for several minutes until one could hear more purring before she went to bed. Perhaps there was more to this odd creature, but a good night’s rest would be good for now.

Come morning, Munchkin looked around to find her new friend, likely to try finding her way back to Old Canterlot’s streets. This time, she’d see a filly greeting her. A new face, one that was not familiar amongst those who regularly visited the bakery. For now, the cat inched closer to see this pony, gauging her demeanor and willing to see how she’d act up close. Unlike other instances when she'd meow at strangers, she stayed quiet, and if something was wrong, she'd bolt back to Hammond’s safety.

On 2022-09-13 at 4:52 AM, Blitz Boom said:

"I know how to clean. Master Discord showed me."

She wouldn't do it exactly like he had. It would involve the bed having to float on the ceiling, and she couldn't do that. But she'd put the blanket back on the bed, and then go and lick the surfaces, that they had touched, to clean it of dust and stuff. She had a three meter tongue. She had a bit of reach to work with, and no qualms about eating dust. Rosa would not come down, to find them doing so. He were either still sleeping, or elsewhere, so they could do this in peace, for the time being. Likely best he didn't see this sort of thing right now anyway. Might be a little too early for him, to see that.

The longma would help with getting the blanket folded and placed neatly on the bed, even getting the corners of the bed sheet back looking nice and flat. All this may not be necessary, but Sen wanted to be a good guest, and leaving things looking messy wasn’t going to help. Though what Omen did was also a lot more odd than he thought when he mentioned cleaning. Never a dull moment with Omen, but at this point, it was a normal occurrence. It was something to be thankful for, having good mornings that were fairly out of the ordinary.

“That’s... not what I expected with cleaning the bed, but maybe Rosa wouldn’t need to know about that part. I’ll be heading to the living room to eat a little and maybe meditate some more. We’re probably just going to wait until Rosa wakes up, but I don’t think we should be disturbing him for now.”

Sen headed out to the living room and sit on the floor right next to the couch to get some of his supply of dried berries from his saddle bag. There was still enough for about a meal or two, and he could give some to Shrimp, Omen, and Rosa if they asked, though the box he had was starting to run out. He would need to head back home and grab some more at some point. The supply would drain faster if Lin also joined in, though he still wondered if Lin would stop by. She didn’t seem to come back the night before.

Before he could take a bite, there was a knock at the front door. Three taps, then silence, followed by three more taps. 

"Hmm... now who could that be?"

[Blitz Boom 4,626]

@Rising Dusk

On 2022-09-14 at 3:44 AM, Rising Dusk said:

The family entered after Thistle.  Shivers quickly ran down the spines of the two mares in tow.  The sight of such giant insects did set well with the two.  Star was much more enamored in the scholarly glee that so easily befell upon the professor.  "Ho ho ho.  Would you look at that," the stallion admired.  Like stepping into ancient times of such far away times and places.  Stories of ritual chambers, alters and sacrifices.  Things so far lost upon the land of light in Equestria and cast into fantasy.

One of the smaller moths - still around the size of his head - would look curiously at Star, as he started to speak, and would flutter over towards him. If he did not complain, or try and waft it away, it would land on his head, and feel him around a little. Using its antenna even, to poke at his glasses, curious about what that were. It wouldn't bite, wouldn't show any interest in his clothes, and wouldn't be on him, for more than a minute tops. Though if he seemed disinterested, it would let out a small, low toned screech, and flutter away, to join others of its brethren, in inspecting the shining priestess.

On 2022-09-14 at 3:44 AM, Rising Dusk said:

Dawn and Grace had already scooted closer to the exit.  "You have the deepest of devotions, my friend.  And it sounds like you have much to rebuild," Rising maintained a neutral expression, as best he could.  "But I think the occasional dream visit from Viz'nay will be plenty for me."  Not that he expected such an act be laid upon him in this revelation, but it didn't hurt to set that boundary at least.  Dawn was already regretting she had to even find out how one gains access to such shoes.  She'll stick to performing such things with her own magics.

"𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕗𝕖𝕒𝕣 𝕀 𝕓𝕣𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙𝕥 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖, 𝕥𝕠 𝕔𝕠𝕟𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕥 𝕪𝕠𝕦? 𝕀𝕥 𝕚𝕤 𝕞𝕦𝕔𝕙 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕠𝕡𝕡𝕠𝕤𝕚𝕥𝕖. ℍ𝕒𝕕 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕤𝕙𝕠𝕨𝕟 𝕒𝕟𝕪 𝕤𝕖𝕞𝕓𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕠𝕗 𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕥 𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕡𝕣𝕠𝕔𝕖𝕤𝕤, 𝕀 𝕨𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 𝕕𝕖𝕟𝕪 𝕪𝕠𝕦. 𝔹𝕠𝕥𝕙 𝕟𝕠𝕨, 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕚𝕞𝕖𝕤 𝕥𝕠 𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕖. 𝕋𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕚𝕤 𝕒 𝕡𝕒𝕥𝕙 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕤𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 𝕟𝕠𝕥 𝕓𝕖 𝕖𝕟𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕕, 𝕟𝕠𝕣 𝕥𝕒𝕜𝕖𝕟 𝕝𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥𝕝𝕪, 𝕠𝕣 𝕓𝕪 𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕤𝕖, 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕓𝕖𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕝𝕚𝕧𝕖𝕤 𝕒𝕙𝕖𝕒𝕕. 𝕄𝕪 𝕤𝕠𝕝𝕖 𝕡𝕦𝕣𝕡𝕠𝕤𝕖 𝕚𝕟 𝕓𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖, 𝕨𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕣𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟. 𝕋𝕠 𝕤𝕙𝕠𝕨 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕨𝕙𝕪 𝕚𝕥 𝕚𝕤, 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕦𝕤, 𝕨𝕙𝕠 𝕗𝕠𝕝𝕝𝕠𝕨 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕘𝕠𝕕𝕕𝕖𝕤𝕤, 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕣𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕖𝕕, 𝕒𝕤 𝕨𝕖 𝕒𝕣𝕖, 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕥𝕠 𝕤𝕙𝕠𝕨 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕒 𝕕𝕒𝕣𝕜𝕖𝕣 𝕤𝕚𝕕𝕖, 𝕨𝕙𝕚𝕔𝕙 𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕟 𝕞𝕠𝕤𝕥 𝕔𝕚𝕧𝕚𝕝𝕚𝕒𝕟𝕤 𝕚𝕟 𝕞𝕪 𝕥𝕚𝕞𝕖, 𝕨𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕟𝕠𝕥 𝕒𝕨𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕠𝕗.

𝕋𝕙𝕖𝕪 𝕜𝕟𝕠𝕨 𝕦𝕤, 𝕥𝕠 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕒𝕤𝕔𝕖𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕕. 𝕋𝕠 𝕓𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕡𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕤𝕥𝕤 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕡𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕤𝕤𝕖𝕤, 𝕨𝕙𝕠 𝕔𝕒𝕟 𝕓𝕖𝕤𝕥 𝕙𝕖𝕒𝕣 𝕙𝕖𝕣 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕕. 𝕋𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕚𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕥𝕣𝕦𝕥𝕙. 𝕋𝕙𝕣𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙 𝕤𝕒𝕔𝕣𝕚𝕗𝕚𝕔𝕖, 𝕨𝕖 𝕡𝕣𝕠𝕧𝕖 𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕔𝕠𝕟𝕧𝕚𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟, 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕟, 𝕤𝕙𝕖 𝕤𝕖𝕖𝕤 𝕦𝕤, 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕗𝕚𝕝𝕝𝕤 𝕦𝕤 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕝𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥, 𝕥𝕠 𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕕 𝕦𝕤 𝕠𝕟𝕨𝕒𝕣𝕕𝕤. 𝕎𝕖 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕓𝕦𝕥 𝕞𝕠𝕣𝕥𝕒𝕝𝕤, 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕘𝕠𝕕𝕤 𝕥𝕠 𝕟𝕠𝕥𝕚𝕔𝕖 𝕦𝕤, 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕓𝕝𝕖𝕤𝕤 𝕦𝕤, 𝕨𝕖 𝕞𝕦𝕤𝕥 𝕤𝕙𝕠𝕨 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕞 𝕞𝕦𝕔𝕙. 𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕟𝕖𝕕 𝕙𝕖𝕣 𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕡𝕖𝕔𝕥, 𝕓𝕪 𝕡𝕒𝕧𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕡𝕒𝕥𝕙 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕓𝕒𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕥𝕠 𝕣𝕖𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕟. 𝕀 𝕕𝕚𝕕 𝕤𝕠, 𝕓𝕪 𝕪𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝕤𝕖𝕣𝕧𝕚𝕔𝕖, 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕟 𝕘𝕚𝕧𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕞𝕪𝕤𝕖𝕝𝕗 𝕥𝕠 𝕙𝕖𝕣, 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕀 𝕞𝕒𝕪 𝕨𝕒𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕣 𝕚𝕟 𝕙𝕖𝕣 𝕓𝕝𝕖𝕤𝕤𝕖𝕕 𝕝𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥, 𝕥𝕚𝕝 𝕕𝕒𝕪𝕤 𝕖𝕟𝕕.

𝕋𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕚𝕤 𝕡𝕒𝕣𝕥 𝕠𝕗 𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕔𝕦𝕝𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕖, 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕀 𝕨𝕚𝕤𝕙𝕖𝕕 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕥𝕠 𝕜𝕟𝕠𝕨 𝕠𝕗 𝕚𝕥. 𝕀𝕟 𝕡𝕒𝕣𝕥 𝕥𝕠 𝕒𝕝𝕤𝕠 𝕤𝕖𝕖, 𝕨𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕠𝕟𝕖𝕤 𝕗𝕣𝕠𝕞 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕕𝕤, 𝕨𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕜 𝕠𝕗 𝕚𝕥. 𝕀 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕘𝕠𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕟 𝕞𝕪 𝕒𝕟𝕤𝕨𝕖𝕣, 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕚𝕥 𝕗𝕚𝕥𝕤 𝕨𝕖𝕝𝕝 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕨𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕀 𝕙𝕒𝕕 𝕒𝕤𝕤𝕦𝕞𝕖𝕕. 𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕞𝕒𝕪 𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕣𝕠𝕠𝕞, 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕀 𝕤𝕙𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕤𝕠𝕠𝕟 𝕗𝕠𝕝𝕝𝕠𝕨."

She said that to them all. There were nothing stopping them from exiting, and she had honestly assumed them to do so, soon as she had spoken in full. Were she honest, she had hoped them to be more inquisitive, and curious, albeit still disapproving of the practice. Which they certainly did, as their actions spoke louder than any word, they may have uttered. Yet she supposed, knowing their stance were enough, for her to make certain arrangements, for when potential travelers from the outside, would come to them. Some things which were best left hidden, just as it had been back then. Weren't like the masses as a whole, knew of this revelation. It were usually reserved for those, who sought their path, and wished to know how to ascend from attendant, to the priesthood. The majority of whom, chose to remain as an attendant, afterwards.

As for the moths? They were seen as sacred animals. That were all the reason there were, to have them fluttering around the temple. And without the correct oils, they were utterly harmless to creatures such as ponies, so there presented no immediate danger from them.

She'd be among them a few minutes more, before she'd exit, and have the door sealed behind her again.

"𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕞𝕒𝕪 𝕒𝕤𝕜 𝕞𝕠𝕣𝕖, 𝕠𝕣 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕞𝕒𝕪 𝕒𝕔𝕥 𝕒𝕤 𝕚𝕗 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕟𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕣 𝕨𝕚𝕤𝕙 𝕥𝕠 𝕓𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕦𝕡 𝕞𝕠𝕣𝕖. 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕔𝕙𝕠𝕚𝕔𝕖 𝕚𝕤 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣𝕤. 𝕀 𝕕𝕚𝕕 𝕞𝕪 𝕡𝕒𝕣𝕥, 𝕚𝕟 𝕤𝕙𝕠𝕨𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕘𝕣𝕒𝕧𝕚𝕥𝕪, 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕤𝕖𝕔𝕣𝕖𝕥, 𝕓𝕖𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕕 𝕨𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕀 𝕒𝕞, 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕙𝕠𝕨 𝕀 𝕒𝕞 𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕜𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕠 𝕙𝕖𝕣. 𝕄𝕒𝕜𝕖 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕥𝕣𝕦𝕥𝕙, 𝕨𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝.

ℕ𝕠𝕨 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕟, 𝕀 𝕓𝕖𝕝𝕚𝕖𝕧𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕚𝕤 𝕒 𝕔𝕖𝕣𝕥𝕒𝕚𝕟 𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕚𝕠𝕟, 𝕨𝕙𝕠𝕞 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕖𝕩𝕡𝕖𝕔𝕥𝕖𝕕 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕒 𝕤𝕔𝕒𝕟, 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕤𝕥𝕠𝕟𝕖 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕜𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝕞𝕒𝕪 𝕓𝕖𝕘𝕚𝕟 𝕚𝕟 𝕗𝕦𝕝𝕝, 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕚𝕣 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕜 𝕠𝕟 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕥𝕦𝕖. 𝔸𝕣𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕡𝕣𝕖𝕡𝕒𝕣𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕠 𝕗𝕒𝕔𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕞? 𝕀𝕥 𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕟𝕠𝕥 𝕓𝕖 𝕝𝕠𝕟𝕘 𝕒𝕗𝕥𝕖𝕣, 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕔𝕖𝕝𝕖𝕓𝕣𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕥𝕠 𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕣𝕥.

𝔸 𝕟𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕒𝕨𝕒𝕚𝕥𝕤 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕕𝕤, 𝕔𝕙𝕚𝕝𝕕 𝕠𝕗 𝔼𝕢𝕦𝕖𝕤𝕥𝕣𝕚𝕒."

If they were ready, she'd lead them on. Back down the path they had been, and towards the exit, of these hidden hallways.

"Lest you wonder, the royal family, are aware of the process. It were why my ancestor hid these, then sealed the castle, and had all who partook in it, forget what they had done. Only few clues remained, yet the high priestess herself, were the only one who could gain access.

My opinion on the process is neutral, as I can admire the conviction, though not understand the sheer dedication. Yet long as it remains a choice, I see no need to voice objections."

Crown Prince Necrotic had been eerily silent for some time, so they may have more or less forgotten he were there, but he had been following, and just allowing things to unfold naturally. Seemed they all had much to speak of after all, so it appeared rude of him, to interrupt. Yet now, it seemed as good a time as any, to add some perspective of his own.

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

 

@EQ_Theta

On 2022-09-14 at 4:20 PM, EQ_Theta said:

Come morning, Munchkin looked around to find her new friend, likely to try finding her way back to Old Canterlot’s streets. This time, she’d see a filly greeting her. A new face, one that was not familiar amongst those who regularly visited the bakery. For now, the cat inched closer to see this pony, gauging her demeanor and willing to see how she’d act up close. Unlike other instances when she'd meow at strangers, she stayed quiet, and if something was wrong, she'd bolt back to Hammond’s safety.

The closer Munchkin got, the happier the filly seemed. She did not normally hang out with many animals, yet now there were two here. And while yes, she could probably not teach hoof language to Munchkin, it were still nice to see her. Maybe even pet her if she were lucky? Maybe if she gave her a treat?

The filly would walk over to the cat tree, and open a hidden drawer, on the side of it. From there, she'd withdraw some small bags, of various animal treats. They hadn't been sure what Hammond might eat, and thus, Scarcity had retrieved a bunch of various stuff, including animal feed. Turned out, that long as it were vegetarian, he'd pretty much eat anything, so she had kept these as snacks, more or less, in case he felt peckish. He weren't like Omen, who could eat anything essentially, and he did require food for nourishment. He were *crafted* into being a more authentic creature, rather than her, who just looked like it. Same reason he needed to breathe, and drink. He were more or less a regular creature. He also just still weren't sure what were food, and what weren't.

She'd pull out some cat treats. They would smell like fish, and be formed like small fish crackers too. There'd also be the ball of water, in case she felt thirsty, down at the bottom of the cat tower. As for the treats, they were not fish really, but they were flavored like it, and had a good chunk of vitamins, associated with fish, for pets. High quality imitation, for  vegetarians, who didn't want to be too harsh on their little meat eaters diets. Though some like Double Chow, that sold pet food in town, refused to carry such things. Said it was a mockery, to not feed meat eating pets, with real meat.

To get back on track though, the filly would try and put the snacks down in front of her, and lay down, so that Munchkin could come over, and enjoy the snacks if she wished to. The filly would like to pet her too, but she'd be okay with first watching Munchkin, and then slowly take a hoof over, to see if it were okay. If the cat seemed to not want it, she'd pull her hoof back again.

As for Hammond? He'd just stare, and evaluate what were happening, as well as prepare, in case he had to do something. Something like letting Munchkin out, if she seemed like she wanted that.

On 2022-09-14 at 4:20 PM, EQ_Theta said:

“That’s... not what I expected with cleaning the bed, but maybe Rosa wouldn’t need to know about that part. I’ll be heading to the living room to eat a little and maybe meditate some more. We’re probably just going to wait until Rosa wakes up, but I don’t think we should be disturbing him for now.”

Sen headed out to the living room and sit on the floor right next to the couch to get some of his supply of dried berries from his saddle bag. There was still enough for about a meal or two, and he could give some to Shrimp, Omen, and Rosa if they asked, though the box he had was starting to run out. He would need to head back home and grab some more at some point. The supply would drain faster if Lin also joined in, though he still wondered if Lin would stop by. She didn’t seem to come back the night before.

Before he could take a bite, there was a knock at the front door. Three taps, then silence, followed by three more taps. 

"Hmm... now who could that be?"

Omen would finish cleaning up, before she'd join Sen in the living room. Wasn't too hard. She could pretty much over all the surfaces, though there were not much to go for. A few dead skin cells, but this place had been well clean, before they entered. Beyond mostly dust, and a bit of dirt from them, there were really nothing. Someone did well, in cleaning here normally, it seemed.

She'd be in the room soon after, chewing on some lint she had found, had dropped from the blanket, and were about to ask what were happening, when she heard the door. Was rather odd. Three taps, then silence, and three more... Very strange.

She'd do the first thing she thought off, and went over to the door, and copying the same knock pattern. Maybe this were some sort of important signal, after all, and she were not meant to open it yet. If the knocking came back, she'd copy that too, until either the door opened, or Sen opened it. Since it were unlocked (none of them had locked it last night, when they returned), it could go either way. It were just curious what sort of early day guest it were, that they had now.

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

 

@Kujamih

The bat would swing, and it'd hit hard. The pinata would not explode, but it would crack, and a drizzle of chocolate coins would make its way out, as it swung around wildly. Alonsus had to go and grab hold of it, to make it stand still even.

"A good hit, yet still it hangs. Long will it not be though. May the next step forward a-"

As he reached there, the crack in the pinata would widen, and it would split in the middle, causing the chocolate coins to pour out, and the crowd around it to life their hooves, and give a *Yey!* sound. They wouldn't rush for the coins though. They'd all take a shot, and the next pinata would be brought forth, ready to be filled with what coins wouldn't be eaten, and then hung up. Seemed like this were a silly drinking game. Fairly harmless, though Shark would go near the coins, and could use some help, to not do something that were harmful. Namely, trying to eat a coin, with the paper still on. She smelled it, and it smelled strange, yet appetizing, so she wanted to try. If he did not stop her, she'd crunch down on it, with paper, and then soon after spit it out. If he did help, she'd just get the coin, which she did like, and would pick up some more to nom down. These things tasted nice.

"Seems I underestimated you. Go forth, and take what of your price, that you desire. The rest goes into the next. A waste say some, yet I Alonsus, disagree. It makes for a fun game or merriment."

Speaking of merrimet, somepony would come over, and offer the three of them shots. Shark would take a step back, with possibly a chocolate coin in her mouth, and barred her teeth at the glass. She could smell it were more bad stuff. The pony with the shots, would move on to Alonsus after, who'd dismiss it, with a risen hoof.

"Harken not to me, temptress of the flask. Alonsus partake not in such things."

Alonsus had his reasons, for not wanting to drink. The top ones being a potential chance to lose his cool, and revert to old, regrettable actions. Or worse, start talking of the past. Neither of which he wished to do. He had a good life here now, away from all of that. He did not wish to even think of such dark times again. Much less share them with others, than his parole officer. Who's definitely not like it, if he heard he had gotten into a fight. It might end up getting his leash tightened. Or worse, get him to spend time in prison, rather than this life, and he had done too much to avoid such things. He were a good, law abiding citizen.

Regardless, the shot would next be offered to Light. It would be a middle-strong alcoholic beverage, with a blueberry smell. Yet not enough, to not have made Shark aware, that something were off. Though she might have to learn eventually, to just say *No thank you*. It would be more constructive, to do so, rather than make others spooked, as a deterrent.

Regardless if he took the shot or not, the line would get up and ready, and Light would be encouraged to give them the blind fold, and bat, that they may continue.

"A fun pair you two are, my friend. Might I ask, from where do you harken?"

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

 

@AuroraGlimmer

"Yes, that is me."

She would scribble down first, what it were that Honey had ordered, and next what Skittles had ordered. He had been slightly spooked, even though he expected her to show up soon, after they had sat down, but he did his to not stammer too much, and get on with his order. Which were a lot more straight forward, without the sass from Berry. As well as taking a bit longer, as he had to ponder his choice of drink, rather than Berry just remembering it.

"I'll tell Chop. I'll come back with your drinks soon."

As quietly as she had shown, as quietly did she leave. They had tried putting a bell on her before, but somehow, not even that helped. Squishy shoes had been another, but somehow, that managed to creep folks out even more, and convince themselves they were being haunted. Plus, she found it uncomfortable, and Straw did not want that for her. He accepted, and thanked her for trying, but that were it then. He wouldn't force her to conform. Only some few things, did he put his hoof down on. Like what berry was allowed to talk about, regarding The Conspiracy. It were fairly easy to control though. Just had to play on it, and tell her that they might be listening in, so it wouldn't be smart to let them know how close she were getting. Worked like a charm, barring a few high point, with those she were closest with.

"It ah, shouldn't be too long then. N-Not too little either though. They take their ah, time to make things properly.

And ah, Snowpaw. Seemed to be a rather ah, nice little one. If ever I were to get a pet though, it would have to be something that ah, weren't a threat to the bees, nor afflicted by them. Due to their heat, I had ah, considered a phoenix, a few times actually. I saw one, hanging around a ah, peculiar mare in town, and Princess Celestia have one, so they seem ah, willing to be around ponies, at times at least. Yet I don't know how enough of them, nor how they'd do in the garden, if they'd ah, prove a threat to the flowers, or the bees, since they might eat them. I ah, keep meaning to read up more on them, but it always seem, as if there are enough to do as is, and I forget when I then do have time."

Phoenixes were not a threat to bees, as a matter of fact. Their feathers were something the bees avoided, and the phoenixes themselves, were fully vegetarian. They tended to hunt for nuts to roast, or small forest fruit, or berries. A few of the berries, that were poisonous to many others, were harmless to them, so those were well valued. As were as mentioned, nuts. Trees with an abundance of nuts in or near them, tended to be a place were a cluster of them might reside, and share in the wealth. Come winter, they tended to fly to warmer climates, to find food, and more agreeable surroundings.

That said, one in a bad mood, did tend to spew embers, or straight up fire, so one had to be careful, if they were to have one, when in profession such as his. It were also a sort of animal, that were rarely sold as a pet. They were more wild creatures, and while they did seek companionship, it were selective who they'd find interesting enough, among creatures, not of their kind. They were still curious though, and at times made odd friends. That's why sometimes, you saw a young one flutter about, the outskirts of town, or riding along the back of a hog, and torching small insects that were pestering it in return.

"I've ah, thought of perhaps a reptile, or snake of some kind too. They're fairly immune to the bees too, but the reptiles at least, might prove a problem for the bees. The snake would likely care less. And the heaters during winter, could likely keep it warm and snug too. Though I ah, am not even sure where to begin, looking for a snake, big or small. I tend to just see regular, furry little creatures, turtles, and birds, when I pass the store. I think about ah, entering sometimes, but then I get nervous that I may make a rash decision, without thinking it through first, and I keep walking. It is ah, not the most constructive approach, I admit.

But uhm, I do not ah, mean to have everything focused around me. There is much more to you, to hear about. I-If you'd be willing to talk of it, of course. I do not mean to pry into things that ah, might not be something you'd wish to share with one, that you just met.

A topic uhm... You say you work well with Fluttershy, yes? How did you two meet, if I might ask? Through ah, mutual, four legged acquaintances, mayhap?"

[Sphinx-Ara 3,569]

@Blitz Boom

Skittles would listen to all of Honey's idea and smile "Thosre are all good ideas for a pet that isn't bothered by the bees" she would say "For the lizard or snake, you could have a special terarium for them, which is basically a glass cage for them to live in, but of course you may not need that what with the heat you have got going for the bees" she would smile to him "as for a Phoenix, well they are a lot more..cuddly than a snake or lizard" she smiles to him, scooting a bit closer "and I might be able to get a hold of one for you if you are serious about getting one"

As they waited for their orders, she'd smile a bit more "you're spot on actually, one of her animals were being..especialy stubborn, and I had just recently moved to Ponyville, and she had heard of me and my talents through Twilight, who had visited the School from time to time" she would smile a little "needless to say, I was able to get what was wrong with the little one and we begun talking and soon became good friends. I usually take my wild charges to her, and she takes her domestic to me"

[Evil Pink One 13,506]

@Blitz Boom

Light would show Shark the proper way to eat this coins. " Don't eat the wrapper sweetie." 

As the drink would be presented to him. He did not wish to be rude and decline an offer of drink.

" Usually... Cultures regarding offering of drinks is rude to reject... And I do not wish to ruin any merriment. A toast!... I guess?"

He took the shot straight up.

" Ahhhhh...." He exhaled through the mouth. " Hmmm blue berry shots always taste so bitter..." 

He then passes the blindfold and the bat to the next pony and gave way.

The stallion would ask where they came from and soon he'd reply...

"Me and my love came from a distant land... Ummm through that direction." He point hoof the general direction of where Anomaly's domain is.

"We came here to learn the pony culture ruled by the alicorns, and what best place to learn but here in Ponyville. How about you good sir? You wouldn't mind sharing a bit about yourself?"

 

[EQ_Theta 459]

@Blitz Boom

On 2022-09-16 at 6:25 AM, Blitz Boom said:

She'd pull out some cat treats. They would smell like fish, and be formed like small fish crackers too. There'd also be the ball of water, in case she felt thirsty, down at the bottom of the cat tower. As for the treats, they were not fish really, but they were flavored like it, and had a good chunk of vitamins, associated with fish, for pets. High quality imitation, for  vegetarians, who didn't want to be too harsh on their little meat eaters diets. Though some like Double Chow, that sold pet food in town, refused to carry such things. Said it was a mockery, to not feed meat eating pets, with real meat.

To get back on track though, the filly would try and put the snacks down in front of her, and lay down, so that Munchkin could come over, and enjoy the snacks if she wished to. The filly would like to pet her too, but she'd be okay with first watching Munchkin, and then slowly take a hoof over, to see if it were okay. If the cat seemed to not want it, she'd pull her hoof back again.

There was something about Hammond that Munchkin didn’t think was possible. For the longest time, she saw the baker as the nicest pony in town, giving her a home and some food without minding that she was a stray. Others would tolerate her presence, sometimes follow her to the bakery where they’d have something to eat. Then, there were those who’d shoo her away; those, she didn’t like. With the Hammond, there was Omen, her friends, Shrimp, and now this young filly showering her with kindness. If this is what a good life felt like, maybe it would be worth sticking around with them, but not so soon. This may all just be an initial impression to win the cat over, but if it was, they were good at it.

Munchkin inched forward some more to try some of the treats the filly scattered on the ground. She’d have one bite, then another, and a third. Soon enough, she was eating all of the food laid out for her, retreating to the food bowl to cleanse her palette before going up to the filly and rubbing herself on her coat. Not quite like her usual serving of bread early in the morning, but the alternative was fairly delicious. This one may be trustworthy, and Munchkin would place her scent on the filly to mark her as such. 

Perhaps she could get used to this. There was still some more to do in Old Canterlot, but a few more moments with these nice creatures wouldn’t hurt. The cat would close her eyes and let out a low purring sound to signal her contentment as she laid down next to the filly. 

On 2022-09-16 at 6:25 AM, Blitz Boom said:

She'd be in the room soon after, chewing on some lint she had found, had dropped from the blanket, and were about to ask what were happening, when she heard the door. Was rather odd. Three taps, then silence, and three more... Very strange.

She'd do the first thing she thought off, and went over to the door, and copying the same knock pattern. Maybe this were some sort of important signal, after all, and she were not meant to open it yet. If the knocking came back, she'd copy that too, until either the door opened, or Sen opened it. Since it were unlocked (none of them had locked it last night, when they returned), it could go either way. It were just curious what sort of early day guest it were, that they had now.

Sen stood by the door for a moment to see if the knocking would start again. There weren’t many folks who would know of where Rosa lived, unless someone leaked the information. Then again, it might be the authorities or someone representing Ms. Scarcity, maybe even the mare herself. Still, for someone to come this early in the morning, not many would be likely choices, yet there was still some hesitation. After all, this wasn’t the longma’s home. It’ll be awkward if someone unfamiliar walked up looking for Rosa only to come face to face with someone unexpected. 

However, the knocking soon started again. Three knocks, a short pause, then three more, though Omen may be using this time to repeat the pattern on the door. Not quite the response anyone would expect, but the knocking just stopped after that. Sen would have to do something sooner or later, and so he went ahead and opened to door to see who it was on the other side.

“Hello, how can I- Lin? Hey.”

“Omen… Brother… Are you going to let me in?”

“Yes. I still go some dried berries, so just help yourself to those.”

“Sure. And how about you, Omen? How was your evening?”

Lin walked in and headed to the living room. She grabbed some of her brother’s dried berries and sat by the wall while eating her food. Sen didn’t think the morning would start like this, and he could sense some tension in the air. He closed the front door behind him before joining his sister, but the room had an uneasy silence, as if the two harbored animosity toward each other. Neither wanted to start their expected conversation. A loss of words, maybe? What could they say at that moment? It seemed like both had a rough idea on how they thought things would go, even knowing just what to say in response to the other, but not how they’d start.

[Sekel 693]

@Blitz Boom & @Props

TWILIGHT SPARKLE

Twilight was very taken aback by the revelation. She had no idea she had an older sister so to hear she even had one and the mare in question was confessing right in front of her? Twilight shook her head to get her thoughts straight, wiped off the shocked expression and replaced it with disbelief.

"Older sister? Since when do I have an older sister? There's no trace of there being one! The only point of contact I've had with you is this letter," Twilight told Magnolia and magicked the letter out from her saddlebags and levitated it over to Magnolia to see. "If you sent letters before, I never got them except somehow for this one. I've looked at my family history before and there's no mention of a Magnolia Sparkle or Alluria Sparkle. I've looked! There's no trace there! So try to explain that to me while explaining how I've got an older sister my parents never told me about."

@Blitz Boom & @Widdershins

DAWN STREAK & DAZZLE GLEAM

"I ... don't know what I'd do if ... if there's an empty house," Dazzle admitted with a heavy sigh. She rubbed her eyes with a hoof and looked at the others. She never considered the possibility and simply continued sitting next to Stare. "I really hope they're there, though. It's been a very long time." The house would be empty with a note taped on the door but it had been ruined by the constant sandblasting the house goes under each season. Due to being so close to the desert and all.

"Nothing serious, huh? He just belted out that we do it in public!" Dawn yelled at Pop, gesturing with a hoof at Kaltrops. She wasn't yelling at Pop specifically, just at the general nonsense of this situation. Pop just happened to be right there and listening when she spoke.

@Blitz Boom

AURORA LIGHTS

"How much of a dominant species can we be if we're in hiding?" Aurora asked while filing the information away for later. She knew it would be useful but at the moment she's just trying to get things straight in her head. She wasn't sure how Lulu, Flaxx, or Happy were reacting to this but it seemed like she was taking charge for the moment of their little group. "Anyway ... you asked us to go check on the hive. We did. We gave the queen her message, we ran into some shenanigans on the way back, and now we're here. What ... what can we do to help out if we can?"

@Blitz Boom

KARMIC FATE & ATZY

"That's a lot of information at once," Karmic muttered and decided to take the dragon's offer of hopping onto her back and settled into the saddle. She made sure to grab Blitz along the way and deposited her in front of her forehooves so Karmic could keep a hold of the filly.

"Yes, we're heading to Deltrot for a bomb show," Atzy nodded, unsure of what the dragon wanted. "You seem friendly enough and Karmic trusts you enough to get into your saddle. I just hope I can be a good representative of this Gemling species I'm now a part of and to be clear ... the ... the changeling parasitic goo I used to be was an experiment. I was made from scratch in a petri dish. For what purpose, I know not yet," Atzy added after giving it some thought and decided to join her sister and Blitz up in the saddle and settled down next to them.

[Catpone Cerberus 23,598]

@Blitz Boom
Ruby disagreed with the idea that lowering oneself to the standards of a society was a good thing, especially when the society was made by weaker creatures, but obviously it was a hypocritical belief when considering the fact that she had gone lot further to do that than someone like Leviathan. But in her defense, she still did lot of things not accepted by ponies, she just made sure nobody knew about it, and she had also learned their rules well enough to be able to stretch them as far as she could, thus actions like killing the bird earlier, she liked doing things that made ponies uncomfortable but weren't anything they could actually punish her for. 

She had also made it so that she got the last laugh, if ponies did at some point declare a war on her by trying to do something to her, she would make sure the destruction she left behind was enough to cause nightmares for generations to come.

Ruby didn't say any of this though, as it was such topic that speaking of it here would risk her cover, instead she addressed the latter point.

"He's an observer, like his sister, attacking a new threat outright is a foolish thing to do, rather it is better to observe them first, to see if they are a threat in the first place, and if they are, how to best deal with them." "Presence of older dragons helps too, when there's someone more experienced that he trusts around, he can just see how they react and base his reaction to that, while upbringing isn't that good in general, dragons still learn from each other." due to talking normal volume, she avoided using words that implied her direct connection to the topic, but obviously her thoughts were based on herself.

 

She started by responding to the last question "Year, maybe few, I don't actually know for sure, I spend lot of time in the cave so I didn't have a way to keep time, I just went out now and then to gather a stockpile of food." "But learning to read wasn't the most time consuming part of it, rather, it was the magic, to put it simply, I had to pretty much reinvent it, because the specifics of current day's magic is different from the one written about, that is why my arsenal is limited, to have a new spell, I have to make it myself." 

"For the idea of 'local books', there is no such thing, everything that has existed in plain sight is gone, the only reasons why it is known that there ever was a civilization, are verbal stories that have gone through generations, and signs of the past like unnatural formations, ruins of structures, and the treasure everyone hoards, while new treasure has made its way into the lands, it still mostly consists of ancient coins, pieces of ancient stuff, and cut gems." 

"And while it's fine with me if you read along with Charir, I have not, and will not consider selling any of it, it is true it could be profitable, but information is power, and sometimes being the only one with access to certain knowledge is far more valuable than any amount of currency." "It is also best for...the whole planet really, that the Homelands go unknown and unbothered, dragons leaving the Homelands in great numbers wouldn't be good for anyone." 

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

"Close enough." Solar simply responded to Harpoon's conclusion, some details were bit different, but she got the general point, so no need to nitpick "I'm sure they'll be willing to tell you things more in detail later if you are curious..." he said gesturing at the sibling "...or if we meet later somewhere where my presence isn't actively harming someone, I can tell you more too." 

 

"It is...complicated." He stated regarding the counter measures "There is always the chance that she was damaged in the arrival, since there was a collapse that killed two prison guards that arrived here too, but assuming she is at her top shape, she is not impervious to everything, but she is impervious to everything you currently have, all your weapons and magical capabilities are...obsolete, this is true for all branches of the guard here." "The elements of harmony could work, since we never had them used in their full potential and thus didn't create defense for them, though them needing very specific six ponies is a weakness to say the least." "I would suggest outsmarting her, but she has more years of military experience than the years we all have been alive combined." "So currently the only approach for you would be overwhelming force, and I don't mean armies, and rather things like powerful magic or natural disasters, you can't get through her defense, but you can wash her into the sea by redirecting a river at her, or force her to retreat by blasting her with enough magic to destroy a city, it is only a temporary solution of course, but that's what you need until we have something more effective, which is something I am working on." "Banishment is also an option, while she has powerful magical defenses, she's not magically skilled, so she wouldn't be able to escape magical imprisonment." 

For the doctor, the shield was still up, but she would still get a response, in form of Sear gesturing that what she said was heard and understood, because while the spell kept their conversation private, they could still hear and see everything from around them, after all, it would be a security risk to block your own ability to spot threats. 

"For good news, it really depends." "Firstly, no need for respect, I and no doubt they too agree that our home is a cesspool..." the kobolds nodded "...it is a foul and evil place, and nothing good comes out of it." "And while that does mean that most things that come from there are worse than most of your 'villains', the awfulness also brings a positive."

"To use myself for example, I do not take a moral high ground in front of someone like Sheez, as I too was a soldier, and I too have caused more death and suffering that this land has seen since the endless winter." "But like many, I did not do it out of personal enjoyment, in fact, I despise myself for what I've done, that just is the way of the land, if you wish to live a life of any comfort, you join the guard, and guards do terrible things." "Is it selfish? yes, cowardly? yes evil? yes, but that is what most ponies do, a decision between your own future and morals." "Even these two, while they are without argument victims of the evil and unfair world, they too have more blood in their hands than you can imagine, they are rebels, part of the few brave enough to fight the losing fight for better future, or like their prison file said, terrorists." 

The siblings clearly didn't appreciate the last part, but if it was because they were called terrorists, or because Solar had read their file, that could only be guessed.

"My point being, I am one of the foul creatures our world spews out, yet I am here dedicating my time to counter others like myself, why? because like many others, I did not do evil things out of pure evil, and rather out of necessity, and now that I have been give a chance of peace, I'll give my all to protect it, because our home is awful, full of suffering, and the last thing I want is for it to come here." "That is the positive I can think of, I believe that besides the minority of the most dedicated, when given the chance of peace, those like myself choose to embrace it." "That is why I say Sheez is only a potential threat, as even she may calm down when shown true peace, and considering that she has yet to do anything, it is very much possible she is at least considering it." 

"Lastly, the chances for further arrivals, very likely, in fact, besides those already mentioned, and whoever sent me that message, there most likely is several more that have arrived here before myself, some may even have lived a full life here and died of old age, maybe even had families." "The whole, things getting banished out of our world- thing, has been happening for millennia, and it gets worse every year, thus, even though it is obvious not all of that has ended up here, even if one thousandth of a percent of all things gone came here, that would still mean hundreds if not thousands of things coming here, that does not mean hundreds of individuals though, as it is totally random, and those things can be everything from entire buildings with creatures in them to small pile of dirt or a cube of empty air." 

 

[Blitz Boom 4,626]

 

 

@EQ_Theta

The filly were thrilled, as she saw how the cat reacted positively to her attention, and affection. Especially when she returned fromt he bowl, and laid down, at which point, the filly would definitely take the chance, and slowly, gently pet the cat.

Hammond would just watch this, absorbing information along with the view. For instance, now being completely sure, that the purring were a friendly sound, when it came from Munchkin. Probably a thing for other cats too, yes? It came up more than once now, so it seemed like it. The same with the rubbing against others. It reminded him somewhat of what he did, so that he could track things and beings, but a little different still, as she wasn't of his kin. She couldn't do the same.... Though maybe, it were still something with smell? He would have to watch her more closely, and find out.

Wouldn't be long after, when Hammond would suddenly perk his ears, and look to the left, seemingly through the wall, then back up at the filly. He'd make his gestures, communicating something to her, and she would in turn, do the same. They'd have a bit of a back and forth, and then Hammond would open a set of portals to the side. One to his realm, and a jump from that, to just outside the bakery. Hammond had gone with the first place he recalled, from the previous evening, though why, were not immediately apparent.

"Hammond? Are you present? If so, please find and send Floral to me. She's not in her room, and it is time for breakfast."

The voice of Scarcity would come nearer, and the filly - Floral it seemed - would nod, and get up. Deaf as she were, she could not hear her, but Hammond had sensed his masters presence, and communicated with her, that the mare were close. It appeared they figured the best course of action, were to allow Munchkin a way out, if she so pleased, yet she could also just stay, and meet the owner of this house, if she so pleased. If not though, the path were open, and Hammond would follow her, closing the gates behind them. He did not need to be there for breakfast. Scarcity mostly just wished for him, to help send Floral there, in case they were playing again. It were how some mornings went. Others, with just them communicating. She loved teaching him sign language, and have somepony genuinely show interest in learning, and *talking* with her.

On 2022-09-17 at 8:41 AM, EQ_Theta said:

“Hello, how can I- Lin? Hey.”

“Omen… Brother… Are you going to let me in?”

“Yes. I still go some dried berries, so just help yourself to those.”

“Sure. And how about you, Omen? How was your evening?”

"Hello."

"Liiihm!"

The knocking had finally woken Shrimp up properly, and through groggy eyes, he had been able to see two of his caretakers. Yet one had been missing. The bat pony too, but that wasn't the biggest issue right now. He wanted Lin.

She had shown up, from behind the door, soon after, and thus, he had let out a pleased calling of her name, and a little noodle dance.

Neither him, nor Omen, sensed something being wrong, per se. Omen didn't at least, though something in the room felt strange for Shrimp. He couldn't explain what it were, but it felt... Heavy, in a way? Very weird. Though if it kept going, he'd catch on soon enough.

"My evening was okay. I watched Sen when he slept. Scared him, by standing too close, but Shrimp fell asleep on him. I thought I should not move.

How was yours? Did you think too? Sen did a lot of that. You two did not agree on things, yes? Did it help to think?"

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

 

@Kujamih

"Shark is from ocean! Then special one take me, and make me like friends. Now I live in strange, dry world. Lots of fun things."

Shark did not grasp the concept, nor necessity, of subtlety, nor the need to conceal her origins. And in fairness, she were lumbering a large shark tail behind her, and about half the town, had seen her hunt and eat mutant frogs, when that invasion happened. It were pretty hard to pass her off as a pony, just from some distant land.

Least she didn't know anything about where Light were from, so she could not spoil that.

"Many come to Ponyville, seeking fortune far from home. Thus too were the tale of Alonsus, as I left the west behind, and sought new horizons. A fresh start, filled with new, exciting beings. I had not thought, that said path would see me being where I am, yet simple as it is, I find joy in this life. Barring the few monster attacks. Strange town this is, but Alonsus are not one, who backs down from a challenge."

He were not lying. he did come from the west. Yet specifically where, he only shared with his boss, and his parole officer. Anypony from back home, would know who he were, and specifically, why he were not there anymore.

"So what fortunes, dost thou seek then, friends? A place to settle down perchance? Exciting adventure? The allure of danger, hanging above our fair town? Alonsus asks much, yet it is all to be welcome, to new faces in our midst."

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

 

@AuroraGlimmer

On 2022-09-16 at 1:28 AM, AuroraGlimmer said:

"as for a Phoenix, well they are a lot more..cuddly than a snake or lizard" she smiles to him, scooting a bit closer "and I might be able to get a hold of one for you if you are serious about getting one"

"Oh, you... You c-could? That would be uhm... Y-Yes, thank you. I will think on it some more, and ah, read up on them, in not too long of a time. I still need to ah, know a few things in advance, if I decide to go that route."

He were bemused that she could do that. It were not to say he doubted her abilities. Far from it. It were more that it seemed a prospect that would forever be out of range. And the snake... Well, he knew a terrarium would be needed, but then, he also liked the more free roaming ones. Like the one at one of the tailors in town. There were that large snake slithering around, not harming a soul there. A delightful creature honestly, if a bit vain, according to the owner.

He uh, also got a bit flustered, as he noticed Skittles scoot closer to him. It were still a little odd, to find one so willing to approach him, int he way that she did, and had, for the time they had known one another. It were a pleasant experience honestly. Wasn't like he could claim, to have many friends who enjoyed his presence, to this same degree. Especially after knowing more about his ah, home situation, one might say.

On 2022-09-16 at 1:28 AM, AuroraGlimmer said:

As they waited for their orders, she'd smile a bit more "you're spot on actually, one of her animals were being..especialy stubborn, and I had just recently moved to Ponyville, and she had heard of me and my talents through Twilight, who had visited the School from time to time" she would smile a little "needless to say, I was able to get what was wrong with the little one and we begun talking and soon became good friends. I usually take my wild charges to her, and she takes her domestic to me"

"That is an ah, interesting way to help each other out. A fortunate turn of events too, that you could be of help, to one another. Not the ah, biggest surprise I suppose. Flutterhy is a shy one, but ah, very friendly, from what I have noticed."

"Your drinks are here."

He'd almost jump out of his chair, as the voice of Stare suddenly were there, behind him. She'd wander past, and put a tray with their drink on the table, then say their food would be there in about 4-6 minutes, before wandering off again, vanishing into the crowd. Said drinks were fragrant, and sweet smelling. Steaming hot from the cup.

"U-Uhm yes... D-Drinks are here. My regular, in fact. It's ah, not something I partake in often, but the times when I do, I always come for these. The ah, barista have long since taken note of that, so she usually prepares it, before I reach the desk. It is not often, that I sit down in here."

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

 

@Sekel @Props

On 2022-09-13 at 12:23 AM, Magnolia said:

"Nearly dying to a bear and being close to death has made me lose any and all fear of it. I do not fear death, for we are surrounded by it." she said, with a stance that would indicate she was proud of that. More so, proud of those who surrounded her. 

"I won't kill you, if you annoy the princess. I'll break your legs."

Last were not impressed with this mare. A bear had almost killed her, and she thought herself fearless? Don't make her laugh. She had grown up in a seemingly, neverending warzone. The landscape so torn by battle, that the very essence of the generations of beings that had died there, oozed from the ground. She herself, had seen friends, family, and monsters, die around her, since she could barely walk. And yet, she wouldn't claim herself fearless, because as an instructor of hers had said: Denying fear, made you a fool. There were always something that you would be afraid of. The trick were not then to deny it, but to conquer it, and control your fear. Make it fuel for the battles ahead.

Besides that though, she meant what she said. She had no interest in killing this mare, unless she proved a life-threatening presence for herself, or the princess. In that case, her fear of a pointless, honor-less death, or that of the princess being hurt, would spring her into action. But she'd probably just break the mare's leg. It'd heal in time, and made for a very direct warning.

On 2022-09-17 at 3:44 PM, Sekel said:

"Older sister? Since when do I have an older sister? There's no trace of there being one! The only point of contact I've had with you is this letter," Twilight told Magnolia and magicked the letter out from her saddlebags and levitated it over to Magnolia to see. "If you sent letters before, I never got them except somehow for this one. I've looked at my family history before and there's no mention of a Magnolia Sparkle or Alluria Sparkle. I've looked! There's no trace there! So try to explain that to me while explaining how I've got an older sister my parents never told me about."

 

On 2022-09-17 at 5:30 PM, Magnolia said:

"And, if you doubt me as much as you apparently do - I feel as if you should meet our great ancestor here. She's a ghost, but don't worry - she's been wanting to speak with you for a very long time." she smirked, and started to lead them towards where Alluria would usually be. "You'd be surprised at how hidden a lot of things are in this world - even your own family. But truth eventually finds a way." she spoke calmly.

"Three things cannot be hidden for long - the Sun, the Moon, and the Truth." 

Seems things were heating up, and the various ones present, seemed to have their own reactions to things. Last for one, got more in front of the princess, and glared at the mare.

Cherish seemed a little more pale, as she feared this would suddenly get into a confrontation.

Zeehva would speak up though, and move forth, trying to address Last, and the princess.

"P-Please don't fight. If uh... You want to get to the bottom of this, you'd best speak with Alluria. I h-hear you're a very t-taught mare, Princess Twilight, yes? So... Y-You'd want all the available clues, and information, b-before you dismiss everything out of hoof, y-yes?"

As for Drone... She were about to do something, but then a loud shout got her attention.

"Die, Manetid!"

The manetid barely managed to raise its arms up, and grab the hoof headed for it, as Hawk Eye jumped in, from seemingly out of nowhere, hoof first. The force of her kick, making it so that Drone slid back, several meters, and the mark int he ground, made it fairly obvious, that something had hit hard here.

"Krrrghtkkt. Shrine Maiden."

She'd raise her scythe arms, ready to retaliate, before they were both risen up in a telekinesis aura. A pale one, seemingly belonging to Stitch Wraith. They both still seemed to glare at one another though, and struggle against their binds.

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@Sekel @Widdershins

With the house empty, the pony sent there, would let out a sigh, and bag up evidence, such as the note. It seemed blank, but there were ways, that one could get text back from paper. Just nothing he could do where he stood. Afterwards, he'd look through the house, breaking in if he had to, to try and find some clues. After a bit of a search, he'd rummage through his pack, and then crack open a vial. After a bit, a small gate would open, with a dark rodent popping through. The gate would expand, and behind him, would come Scarcity. They'd then discuss things further, and she'd arrange for transport, for some actual investigators, while he kept going in the other direction, looking for clues. She were not one, who enjoyed not knowing answers, and one way or another, she were going to get them. There were always something left behind to go by.

Meanwhile, here with them however, Stare would pat her shoulder, showing comfort to her friend.

"If there's anything, we'll find it. Don't worry. You'll still have a home here, even if it takes a bit longer. I won't throw you out."

On 2022-09-17 at 3:44 PM, Sekel said:

"Nothing serious, huh? He just belted out that we do it in public!" Dawn yelled at Pop, gesturing with a hoof at Kaltrops. She wasn't yelling at Pop specifically, just at the general nonsense of this situation. Pop just happened to be right there and listening when she spoke.

"Now now, lower your voice. There's no need to yell."

She were starting to see what those two were seeing in each other... They were both explosively emotional, with anger flaring as an easy option. Those two were gonna have an... Interesting relationship. Either they'd have around ten kids, or one of them would end up strangling the other. That were gonna be her guess, at least.

"Also, you're just saying it too now, and pretty loudly, I might add. Along with some... Unfortunate phrasing. Maybe it's best if you came inside the store, and tried to breathe a little? I don't think it'd be good if you dug yourself further down this hole at least. The guard might get called upon."

It were likely best that they did not go that route, right? There were already enough looking, and smirking. She were not helping her situation, by screaming out questionable sentences. It were better to just get some distance to things, take some deep breaths, and something relaxing, and just, find her center again. Before things escalated to a guard visit.

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@Sekel

"You call it hiding. Most of the harsher queens, think of it more as not teasing the prey.

Now then, you say you spoke with Thorax? And how did it go, exactly?"

She'd wait, as Happy Hour would explain the details to her, nodding along now and again, as she took in the information.

"I had assumed some degree of threat of violence, not tentative acceptance. Things may proceed faster than I anticipated then. I will await word from him and the princess, when the venue is set. You will be required to attend, Happy."

"Of course, my queen."

"I can imagine you will be summoned, once they know you are in the area, Aurora. A character witness of sorts. Though you could in theory hide, if you8 make a convincing enough form.

Are you able to conceal yourself, from other changelings? Or are your transformation more basic? Ascension may have changed it, so I would advice you to attempt. It may save your life, to know for certain."

She were watching Aurora closely, as if scanning her through, microfiber by microfiber. Many things might eventually change, but Onache would likely never lose this, as she were used to seize up her opposition, or prey. Rather thoroughly, in fact. Best to not miss easy weaknesses, or potential worrisome strengths.

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@Sekel

The saddle were so ridiculously large, that they could easily have a walk around on it, as Gretha prepared to take wings. She waited to see if the sphinx would join them too, but Enzo were not going to do that, out of pride, as well as fear. No matter, he could follow. The young man had wings after all.

So she would spread her wings, and begin to fly towards Deltrot. Enzo would soon follow. He may not trust this dragon, but she were flying off, with his companions. His... Friends, if you wanted to put a tag on it. He couldn't simply leave them wit her. What might she do?

On 2022-09-17 at 3:44 PM, Sekel said:

"Yes, we're heading to Deltrot for a bomb show," Atzy nodded, unsure of what the dragon wanted. "You seem friendly enough and Karmic trusts you enough to get into your saddle. I just hope I can be a good representative of this Gemling species I'm now a part of and to be clear ... the ... the changeling parasitic goo I used to be was an experiment. I was made from scratch in a petri dish. For what purpose, I know not yet," Atzy added after giving it some thought and decided to join her sister and Blitz up in the saddle and settled down next to them.

"The older Boom then? I know where he resides. I can bring you there, before I return to the docks.

I won't judge you, for what you were, little one. But I am telling you, to thread with caution. Those who remember, or have read of the crystal beasts, will watch you with fear, waiting for you to do something, to prove them right. I hope you can instead show them, that things can change."

Gretha had lived through the rise and fall, of several empires, and species. She had seen much, which included how mortals could evolve, and change. So much as she did not put much faith int he beasts themselves, she would wait and see, if perhaps they too had changed. Or at least this one had. They better hope so. The refractions, who held them in check, and even defeated them once, had drastically fallen in numbers. A large number off eggs going missing, on top of a massacre, and illness, if she heard right. Troubling times, for old nemesi to rise again.

She'd observe things with some interest. It were a new age, where many bonds got mended, or crafted. It may well prove, to be the right time for an ancient influence, to rise their head again.

As for their trip, they'd soon fly over the large city of Deltrot, soaring towards houses, tall and small. All the while, Blitz ran in large circles, around on the saddle, enjoying herself immensely, whilst at times waving to Enzo, flying to their side.

A sphinx were not less a concerning sight here, but Gretha were well known to the locals, and they knew she would not lead an enemy in, to rain death upon them all, so they trusted there were meaning with this.

They did not get far into town though. They'd be at the outskirts, at the industrial area, and would land in front of one area, where there were only a few large storage facilities, and then this odd place. A fortress more or less, of metal, surrounded with gravel. Said fortress, would slide open the large, metallic door, and a pony would wander out, as Gretha made use of the space before his home, to land, though one foot were in his front yard.

"Big broooooooo!"

Blitz would jump out from Gretha's satchel, and would flutter her wings with magic a few time, not getting anywhere with it. In fact, she'd sink like a rock, falling towards solid ground beneath. Yet Molotov would easily grab hold of her with his magic, before she got in danger.

"Y'know sis, one of these days, you're gonna get in trouble."

He'd settle her on the ground, and ruffle her mane, then look upwards with a grin, and a risen hoof.

"Heyah Gretha. Always a pleasure. Who're your friends? And what did Blitz go and do now? Were she rummaging around the docks again?"

He'd grin up, whilst the elder dragon leaned down, making it easier for the others to get off, without taking the long dive.

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@Catpone Cerberus

19 hours ago, Catpone Cerberus said:

"He's an observer, like his sister, attacking a new threat outright is a foolish thing to do, rather it is better to observe them first, to see if they are a threat in the first place, and if they are, how to best deal with them." "Presence of older dragons helps too, when there's someone more experienced that he trusts around, he can just see how they react and base his reaction to that, while upbringing isn't that good in general, dragons still learn from each other." due to talking normal volume, she avoided using words that implied her direct connection to the topic, but obviously her thoughts were based on herself.

"Always a smart idea, to learn from your elders. A right smart cookie this one."

She'd send a big grin to Charir, beaming with joy. This really were one bright kid, and with a bit of a helping start, she were gonna bet that he could go far in this world. 

"It's different among regular dragons of our sort, since families tend to mostly stick together longer, but we all still tend to learn from watching, and experiencing. Pure water dragons for instance, learn a ton from their instinct, and the flock's collective knowledge. Sure they can be a bit feral in it, but they make sure their young gets into the world, knowing what to do, and where to go and look for answers. Or in case they're some of the more wander prone, where to return with information, so the flock can judge what its worth.

Wind based ones, more aloof, and just cruising through life, most of the time, not thinking too hard on consequences. Less bound by family, and more casual about everything. Pretty much what got my father eaten, but y'know, his own darn fault. He should've known better, than to treat a courtship with a water dragon, that casually. Mom and her sort, don't mess around."

She had never met her father. He were eaten, far before she returned to the Dragon Isles. But she still wouldn't have taken his side. Nor did most others. Folks who knew water aligned dragons, knew what kind they were, and though all had their own opinions of them, they knew their values, and ideals. So what he had done, were pretty much death by self inflicted stupidity. She'd even heard about an uncle of hers, who agreed with it, even though he still missed his brother. She'd never met him yet though. Never bothered looking either, honestly. Wasn't like he tried looking for her.

19 hours ago, Catpone Cerberus said:

She started by responding to the last question "Year, maybe few, I don't actually know for sure, I spend lot of time in the cave so I didn't have a way to keep time, I just went out now and then to gather a stockpile of food." "But learning to read wasn't the most time consuming part of it, rather, it was the magic, to put it simply, I had to pretty much reinvent it, because the specifics of current day's magic is different from the one written about, that is why my arsenal is limited, to have a new spell, I have to make it myself." 

"For the idea of 'local books', there is no such thing, everything that has existed in plain sight is gone, the only reasons why it is known that there ever was a civilization, are verbal stories that have gone through generations, and signs of the past like unnatural formations, ruins of structures, and the treasure everyone hoards, while new treasure has made its way into the lands, it still mostly consists of ancient coins, pieces of ancient stuff, and cut gems." 

"And while it's fine with me if you read along with Charir, I have not, and will not consider selling any of it, it is true it could be profitable, but information is power, and sometimes being the only one with access to certain knowledge is far more valuable than any amount of currency." "It is also best for...the whole planet really, that the Homelands go unknown and unbothered, dragons leaving the Homelands in great numbers wouldn't be good for anyone." 

"I understand. It was pretty much just an idea anyway, but your reasonings are solid. Better to let sleeping dragons rest, as they say. And I'm not trying to force you to do anything, so if you don't want to, then that's your choice. I just figured it couldn't hurt, to let you know what you could do with that sorta info. A fair bit of egg heads, who goes real hard into history, here in Equestria.

Probably best to not let folks know about ancient treasure there too then. Some dummies still think its worth going after a dragons hoard, and trying that where you're from, ain't gonna end well. Might even cause some retaliation strikes, just to let folks know that they're not welcome."

A bit of a pity, that they weren't gonna get a lot of story and such, when it came to this, but oh well. Just how things went sometimes, yeah? Had to account for the dangers too, and the chance of retaliation, etc. So Ruby were more than likely in the right here. Just still seemed like a shame, for the benefits there could be. But who cared, right? There were mounds of gold to find for the dragon elsewhere. And in the case of Leviathan herself, a mount of personal items, to add to her stash.

Still weird to her, how other dragons thought that was pointless. Treasure had many interpretations, but it went down to things of value. Well, cold coin and gold, were all fine and stuff, but it were still just value, because a system were set up to give it value. Personal items though? Now those had value, on a much more intriguing level, for her.

No wedding rings or bands though. There were limits.

"Seems like we're about ready, to enter Ponyville. But wanna finish, but saying I agree, war wouldn't be good. No matter who'd win, the tension between dragons and ponies in general, would end up majorly damaged, and I like traversing society. It's where all the valuable things are."

As they rolled into the station, and came to a halt, Leviathan would yawn, and stretch her arms. Would be good to come out, and move about again, instead of being in this here box of a train cart.

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

 

@Catpone Cerberus

"It isn't my place to judge past deeds, unless they were done here on Equestrian soil. That is for the generals, and the princesses. My sole responsibility, is to the citizens of Equestria, and unless I see something, or am given a wanted poster, with your names upon it, what happened before does not impact that.

Besides, the law is clear: Rehabilitation, over incarceration. Barring a few examples, or those who have proven it does not help. What I've seen of these two thus far, doesn't make me think there is trouble, and if you have been absorbed into the Equestrian Solar Guard, they see more value in giving you a chance too. I will trust they know what they are doing, pompous as they might sometimes be."

There were a lot for her to take in, about what she were hearing here, but she felt she needed to make her stance on things firm first. About Trox, Sheska, and Solar. It sounded like they had all done horrible things, but if the environment, and situations were different too, then like Solar said, there were choices one had to make. Even if you didn't like it, nor what it did to you. She'd lie if she claimed she weren't curious, but some things were best to just not dig into. This sounded like one of them.

"As for Sheez... I dunno how much I trust what you're saying about her, but even if a little is true, it would cause big trouble, to have her on the war path against us. The general should probably be informed it is best to have her distracted, and lead away from populated areas, if the situation requires it. We in th Coastal Guard, do not have huge, magical relics, like the royal branches do, so we make do with our own strength, and whatever's salvaged from the ocean, that's not send to the Royal Vault. I don't know if anything there, would fit something, that could be used against anyone, that's like how you describe her."

She didn't even know what they had really. The Coastal Guard had their own vault, enchanted, and hid deep in the ocean, but what were in it, were for those of a far higher rank than herself. She only knew the rumors, of things like siren-related artifacts, things that would decay, if kept out of the water, and of course, the old legend, of the Trident of Raz'Habuhl. Been a legend in the guard, since before they made stronger ties with Equestria, and became less independent, but had seemingly never been brought forth. If it was even real, which she sort of doubted honestly. A weapon to make the tide rise at your command, and the fiends from the deepest trenches, come forth in your defense, sounded too ludicrous to be true.

"Regarding what you said at the end... It sounds like your world is unravelling, and being sent here, piece by piece. And with all due respect, I'd prefer it, if you did not tell me more of that. I like my life simpler, without having to worry about a building suddenly materializing above my home, crushing me and my family. If not worse. Life have enough things to be concerned about as is, without this sort of thing being added to the proverbial pile. Like land sharks, or another deep sea serpent, rising up and testing the waters.

Is there anything else, that I should be made aware of, before you take your leave? Whatever you're saying, I assure you will be passed on to General Tidal Wave, when the time allows it, so whatever relevant information I can bring, will be good to have on hoof."

She knew, that the kobold siblings were not thrilled with his presence, but she needed to know if what she had to know, had been shared. She could apologize for that later, if required.

Edited September 19, 2022 by Blitz Boom

[Sphinx-Ara 3,569]

@Blitz Boom

Skittles would smile, "It will be a bit difficult as I would have to go to the Dragonlands, as that is where they are likely to be found" she smiles "Luckily for me though, Spike and Smolder are my friends, so I can get in and Spike's pet PeeWee, well he is a sweet little baby" she wuld say with a smile and a nod. "And you are right there, it is a interesting way to help each ohter out, but it works, as some pets can be rather stubborn and aloof, like Rarity's cat Opal" she would giggle "I swear, Opal is just as fussy as Rarity can be" she then jumps at the sound of Long Stare's quiet voice but soon regained her bearings "whew, Stare, you startled me there" she says before thanking her for the dirnk and beginning to sip on it "mm delicious"