open Casual stroll

[Blitz Boom 4,428]

@@Brianna Changeling,

 

Happy grinned. Like always, a way to a changelings interest went through their stomachs. A bit of an oversimplification of things, sure, but it was true in the base form often enough so that he could glance over it.

 

"Well, there's the alcoholic at the edge of town that's only out once in a while. She isn't saying booze is his master, and plays it off as just a loner, but I know the look. An easy target if there ever was one, though you'd need to wring her a bit for love that isn't connected to the bottle.

 

The next pair is actual loners. Took them a while to get near enough, but I made them spill a little tidbits here and there and apparently they're on the run from somepony, and afraid to make close contact with others. Lovers on the run from the amount of love they ooze off I'm guessing, and a plentiful meal if handled the right way, as well as easy spots to fill out for a reconnaissance team.

 

The last one's a trickier sort. A vendor that sells pet food, and from what he claims, he hunts down the animals he uses in that himself, with a spear, so he's not useless in a fight. Still, he's an outsider, even after living here for some years. Something about him spending a lot of his young days around griffins, but he was a bit vague on that. Important part still is that he's alone, and a gullible sort who would be easy to slip something to in a drink to make him more manageable for transport. Adequate drone material if you'd want that after the meal I'd reckon.

 

A few less customers in the long run, but eh, I'll manage easily enough, and it's not like these are the first I've gathered info on along with the recon just to have bargaining chips or lunch. They can think I'm their friend all they want, but in the end, they're all sheep being drawn around the nose 'til it's time for dinner."

 

A bit cruel to think like that, and more so to say it without the shadow of remorse in your voice and a smile on your face, but what did others really expect? They were changelings, not clowns. They hunted, they manipulated, and in the end, they'd consume and convert. Whatever else happened were all fake, unless you were a weak-willed little thing that thought their food was actually worth treating like equals.

 

"Have your pick, or take the lot. My treat."

 

________________________________________________________________________

 

 

@@Frosty Frost,

@@Summer Breeze,

 

"We're not crossing the ocean, we're making a pit stop so Frosty here can see if he can earn himself some of the gems he want the hard way. Besides, I could use more of them before going on myself, until I find an adequate source to get them from in Equestria.

 

We can set up camp there and be out of dragon country tomorrow if we get up early, and the porters are still where I remember them."

 

Nerzhei concerned herself with just the base of things and answering the question at hand. Considering what they were going to do there, the point about setting up camp was a fair thing to have going, and it would give her further time to harvest samples for her research. Might be that every sliver she could get would end up more precious than gold, depending on how the area where around this forest she had to settle down into now.

 

*sigh* living in pony country. What wouldn't her parents think if they heard this? Or well, her father at least. She knew well what her mother thought about everything she did, and frankly, she didn't care much for her opinion.

 

"So don't drink the ocean? Got it."

 

Blitz didn't know what rummaged in Nerzehei's head, and likely wouldn't care too much if she did hear it right now, she just giggled at the further thoughts about how the beach might be from what Summer told her and bounced a little more in place, thinking about all the potential in a beach. New experiences were fantastic, and even more so, were trying to find new things to make explode! She loved that part.

 

Giggling about that kept her going as they walked onwards, and would eventually see the outskirts of an ocean in front of them, though still some way to go still.

 

The water were vast and stormy from the looks of things, though appeared calmer the further towards the shore it came. From this angle it were hard to tell what the shore was like, but as they'd get closer, the streaks of black would come through clearer as the volcanic ash mixed with the sand got into view.

 

It was desolate down there, even if it were looking somewhat inviting. Apparently, not a lot around here cared for beach trips, or it was just an off-day of sorts. Regardless, they'd have a lot of space to themselves.

 

______________________________________________________________________

 

 

@@EQ_Theta,

 

"Sometimes, ponies never get used to you. I tried to show myself to them for many years, and it was usually the same as back when master vanished. with them hiding and screaming. Still, this place seemed more inclusive yesterday though, but I think we had to wait for a day for things to change. The first time went much like this."

 

It wasn't too far off at least. Ponies seemed to hide faster, granted, but they were three outsiders now too, and one of them they hadn't seen before.

 

The ones looking for guards of some kind wouldn't have much luck with them currently though. Ponyville didn't have any real guards of their own, and were mostly reliant on a small police force for regular stuff, and the former bearers of harmony/the princess of friendship near them to handle the worse things. Sure, there were some Solar Guards that were dispatched here to help Twilight Sparkle for the time being, but they were all gathered in a camp outside of town and it would take some time to get to them.

 

This just left the sole Night Guard of this town really, that were likely to be getting a lot of ponies at his door in an endless row trying to make him come out and do something, and him having to explain to them that these weren't trouble-makers.

 

Perhaps the guard were right. Ponyville might really be a test to see if he could be overworked to death, intentionally or not.

 

Regardless, unless somepony would get in their way, they'd get to Fluttershy's cabin soon and when there, Omen would knock with a hesitant hoof on the door, not sure what to say when the door was opened yet. Depended on how the timid, yellow mare would react she supposed. If she were even home that was. She might be away for some time and had forgotten to turn off the candle.

[Brianna Changeling 131]

@Blitz Boom

 

Brianna pondered on the choices. "The first one you talked about. I think I might choose her. Just teleport me a scroll or something in the morning when you're ready. I'm really tired, and I tend to screw up when I'm groggy. I live in Chrysalis's Hive." Brianna, feeling quite satisfied with her encounter today, took off into the air and toward her Hive. She COULD teleport, but she preferred flying.

 

When she arrived at the Hive, she began to prepare a Cocoon for the new pony. It would be VERY comfy.

[EQ_Theta 415]

@@Blitz Boom

 

"That's good to know. Maybe things will start to look up and I'm certain the princess would do her best to promote positive values in her fellow ponies." 

From the corner of her eye, Lin noticed several birds flocking around the top of a street lamp before some flew in every direction. This wouldn't be out of place if it weren't for a small number of them flying towards Fluttershy's cottage in a strange manner. It is as if they flew just far enough ahead to see if Lin and the group would follow them. And why would birds suddenly behave in such a way?

 

"Keep alert everyone," Lin's voice quickly shifted to a more serious tone as her eyes kept watch on the birds, notably a pair of bluejays. They were smart enough to get the brightly colored ones to lead, especially with the color of their feathers being a giveaway to their location. "Seems like the birds are on to something."

Sen followed closely behind until they reached a cottage along the outskirts of town. The bluejays were nowhere to be found but Lin's suspicions say they were inside. Sen approached the door and knocked gently in an attempt to make them seem less threatening. The door creaked open and though no one was visible, there was a quiet greeting at the door.

"Um... hello? Who goes there? The birds tell me three scary... things were coming. A-are you them?"

[FanOfManyShows 396]

@@Blitz Boom, Astral got off the bed. "Yeah, I'm alright." She walked over to Misty. "Sorry for fainting Misty, that guy was really injured. He used up more of my life force than I expected."

 

Misty looked confused about that statement. "So you weren't trying to show me you cared?"

 

She chuckled a bit. "I do care, I cared enough to try to heal him. It's also he was to injured and consumed a lot of my life force."

 

"Oh, I figured it was one of the two." She said with a shrug. "But apparently it was both." Astral snickered. "But couldn't you have told me to go and fetch our physalis so you could make a health potion?"

 

Astral face hoofed. "Oh right! I forgot." She said finishing what she was saying with a shrug.

 

"Well, now that you're okay; Are you going to fight that weird flying hippo thing?"

 

Astral looked to Chow. "No, not really. I saw that there were creatures already dealing with it. No reason to get in the mess of things." She said turning her head to Misty. "I wouldn't do it unless really necessary. Or if everypony in ponyville started saying that only I could kill it, but I doubt that's that case."

 

Misty sighed. "Well, What should we do now?"

 

Astral stared at Misty. "I don't know." She started rubbing the back of her head. "I had planned to just go home, but with Ponyville under attack-" She paused, eyes widening."We'll need to pack up and move, maybe to Canterlot."

 

"So despite we already helped Null and Void, we're still going there?"

 

"We have to, I don't want to live near a war zone."

 

Misty pumped her hoof. "Yes!"

 

Astral rolled her eyes with a chuckle before she turned her head to Chow. "Once we pack up our stuff, we'll need a way to Canterlot and we'll also need to be able to take our stuff as well, and we can't carry it all on our backs. You got any ideas?"

Edited September 21, 2016 by Frannis

[Blitz Boom 4,428]

@@EQ_Theta,

 

She were about to comment on what Lin had said, regarding the tolerance and princess, when the door creaked open, and the voice of Fluttershy escaped from the darkness.

"Yes."

Omen hadn't seen somepony that could speak with animals before, but anypony master had contact with were bound to be special, so she could believe what this mare said. The birds had seemed to act strange too before they got here, so it wasn't without evidence either really. Not that she had really looked at the birds, but the way that Lin spoke about them had told enough to mark them as *being up to something*, as her part-longma friend had put it.

What the yellow mare said too pretty much confirmed it, though thinking about it, perhaps it wasn't words as such that they spoke to her with. Perhaps she just understood the behavior and tweets? Seemed less strange than being literally able to understand the words they said, but was it probable, considering how directly things had been described?

 

She had heard some animals made different noises depending on things somewhere before, and some showed the ability to count, so might be possible? It was hard to tell with these sort of things, especially as her own experience with animals were limited to the ones she looked at now and again - whom she rarely understood the behavior of, and had a tendency to run away when they felt watched - and the drake sleeping in her mane.

Why were she thinking about this now though? She wanted to know things and find reason in what happened around her, but this didn't seem the time, nor the place to do so. Not far as she could tell at least, now that she thought about it.

 

If Fluttershy hadn't creeped away from the confirmation that yes, they were the three that her birds had warned her about, or the whispering voice in her head when Omen spoke, the later would shake her head slightly, then speak again.

 

"Yellow mare, we seek the lord of chaos. They say you speak with him, yes?"

 

Discord tended to like being referred to his title back in her days when you asked for him, and though he had apparently changed over several millennia, she still didn't know in what ways, so she only had what she did know about him to work with. Granted, he used to be fine with her referring to him as Master Discord, but it had been a long time, and he might have forgotten about her, so she thought it easier to go with this.

 

It wasn't good to think that he might not remember her anymore, and it would perhaps make it harder to introduce her friends in a way, so that he played around with them less for the time being. Yet, he were chaos, and his attention could be as sporadic as the very element he controlled, so she couldn't rule it out.

________________________________________________________________________

@@Brianna Changeling,

Happy just shook his head where he stood and mumbled to himself as the other drone got out of sight.

"Impatient youth that one, but I suppose that's no surprise."

The first clue really should have been how quick she had dropped her disguise and the temper. Sure, some changelings just had a bigger temper than others, but it was also a pretty solid arrow, leading towards the younger crowd, when you included the entitlement it sounded like she had. Or snobbishness in general, if you'd prefer that term.

He wasn't sure if this was a common thing with Chrysalis' drones around here - hopefully not, as he'd be too tempted spending his time pegging them down a notch or two - but if it were, he were amazed she even got a hive up running in the first place.

Really, having an entire hive that wouldn't understand how the best reconnaissance happened when you got your hooves dirty and learned to fit in, would leave them starving, or on the fast track to some kind of prison. Perhaps both. At least that was what he had understood of changelings through his years as being one of them, and he was just a convert. Natural born ones should know better. Though to be fair, he didn't know if this one were born or made.

 

Perhaps something he'd learn the next day. For now, it was time to have a seat and get some rest. Well, after setting up a few defensive wards here and there that was.

 

(the next day, just as the sun rises)

 

The morning went as usual for him after he woke up. Putting down his wards, stretching, having a drink of water and siphoning some love from the crystal he had hidden inside his wagon - it stored excess love when he harvested more directly at times. Well worth the price he had to pay for it - and of course, checking to see if anypony were around before he did any of these things.

 

Being alone like this, were one of the only times he let his true form loose for a bit so he could truly get stretched through. A rare pleasure, as he couldn't do that if he suspected some where near, but one he savored when it were there.

 

Pretty much all beings would likely be scared if they saw it, save for a few, hardened souls, though it wasn't like he looked that bad. At least by human standards, his main features were calm and beautiful, and the long, flowing hair were worthy of a commercial for hair product. Sure, the long tail in the same, flowing manner behind here were strange, as well as the horn on his forehead, but it wasn't something scarring, and though he had an exoskeleton, it looked much like regular skin until you got really close, so that wasn't horrifying in any way either really.

 

The really off things were mostly with his arms and legs he supposed. The holes there, that were also characterized in other changelings, were off-putting for his own kind, as were the claws his fingers ended in, and the sharp equivalent on his toes. Talons in a way you could say.

 

The wings might be a little strange too, but this were for changelings and humans alike, as he sported black, feathered wings, and his ears were somewhat fluffy and long. Usually not something that happened after becoming one of the insectoid ponies, but then again, being a human beforehand wasn't regular either, so considering potential side effects, this was really rather minor.

 

The sun danced off his slightly glistening, black skin for a bit more, before he closed his ice-blue eyes and with a sigh transformed back into his disguise.

 

How he missed being amongst his own hive again and wander freely, without having to care how much of a freak he actually were in both this world and his own. There were still judgement in the hive, certainly, but there wasn't anything keeping him from being himself, and he really missed that. Something about being your own form outside of training sessions in remote areas were rather appealing to him, even if it did include a lot of other drone work.

 

But enough dreaming. It was time to shut down the last ward and then get himself and his wagon on the road. He had a long day ahead of him in these forests as it stood now, and little time to waste here if he were to have a chance to find the changeling from last night.

 

Could he have just teleported a spell like she said he should, and not waste all the time? Actually, no, he couldn't.

 

See, while it made sense for the changeling herself to say that he should just send it to Chrysalis' hive, she had neglected to tell him the important part: Where that hive actually were. Seemed plausible that it were in this forest somewhere, considering the time it would have taken for the other changeling to get back home, and get some some sleep before it were morning, but beyond that, he only had the direction to work with that he saw her fly in.

 

It wasn't like Chrysalis had a giant road sign anywhere going *Changeling hive, three miles* or anything similar - only suicidal changelings made their homes That obvious - so finding it were likely going to be a pain in his flank.

 

Oh well, every journey starts with the first step right? Let's see what happened if he followed the same route he had seen her fly in, and then kept an eye out for anything suspicious.

 

___________________________________________________________________________

 

 

@,

 

Chow was giving the both of them a really funny look, not knowing what to think anymore from all that he had just heard them speak about. Not the moving thing, that seemed perfectly acceptable, but the draining of life energy routine on the other hoof...

 

Frankly, it sounded like something dangerous, and doubly so if it were done by an earth pony. Their kind weren't supposed to be dealing with magic, and he knew first hoof what could go on if you tinkered with magical objects for too long to try and change that. If this one were mucking about with things the same way, and it cost life energy, this were the sort of thing that he should likely go to the authorities about.

 

But then again... What bad had they done? Astral had used the magic to give some of herself to another to help there, and nothing else. She hadn't drained anything from others to feel better, she hadn't harmed anypony in general, and she seemed more concerned for her little friends - she were too young to make Chow think it was a mother and daughter thing - safety than anything else.

 

Honestly, it had the ring of perhaps being something that he should keep to himself for now, but keep an eye out for, just in case. Besides, he still had to ask about the health potions, so getting into bad ground by accusing her of things that thus far hadn't hurt anypony, were not going to be helpful in that.

 

"Well... Best bet would be to get to a train station. The one in Ponyville's perha-"

 

Just then, the looming shade of the large battle ship heading for town above them went over them, and he felt a little pale. Thankfully, it just went past them and towards town instead, but that really cut off the option of using Ponyville station for this.

 

"Scratch that. I know the way to a nearby town where it stops before getting here that's a safer option, and they need to get a warning about this place before they try to run through now."

 

Looking as the ponies in the camp all suddenly were very busy packing the essentials and heading for the secure rooms with whatever crates they could lift, along with a few stretchers for the still injured refugees, Chow knew that there wasn't going to be anything else to do for him here right now. Everypony would hope that the last had gotten out of town, and then head for the safe rooms to wait this out, leaving him with nothing binding him here essentially, except heading for safety himself.

 

He let out a small sigh and looked back at the two forest dwellers.

 

"I think there's a wagon 'round here somewhere I can take, then we'll see on relocating you folks. Just gimme a minute."

 

Much as safety sounded like a good option, he weren't one for covering, and if he could do something good by sticking 'round these two for the time being, then that was what he were gonna do instead.

 

It would take him a litrle under a minute to find a wagon, but there were rightfully one of the two that had been used to get supplies out here. So much had been sent along as it was, that they had only needed the other one, so they had left the larger one behind, which would likely end up being a help if things were to be moved. Hopefully though, the two others didn't have a mountain of stuff to move. He was an earth pony after all, not Super pony.

 

Meanwhile, back in Ponyville, Null and Void were still scouting for others who hadn't gotten out of town yet, but hadn't found any for a few minutes now. Hopefully that meant others weren't there anymore - especially with the monstrous construction above them - but they had to make sure before they could get on to doing something else. As it looked now, that might end up being escaping after all, but they'd see what would happen.

[Brianna Changeling 131]

@Blitz Boom

 

Brianna woke up in her upside-down cocoon, and opened it. In Chrysalis's Hive, each Changeling's cocoon was only opened by magic specific to them. The Queen could open it, of course, but at least they had protection and a bit of privacy. Brianna then remembered the discussion she had with the other Changeling. "Happy Hour". She crawled out groggily, and walked over to the feeding area. It had ponies, each unconscious and in cocoons, and easy to feed on. She walked over to one of them and her horn glowed green, greedily sapping energy and love from it.She had no need to stealth feed, the Hive was safe.That was enough to restore her energy. She just decided he would be there in a few minutes. Then, she remembered something else. Outsider Changelings were usually captured. She sighed, and flew out of the Hive and into the forest, searching for Happy Hour. "Where in Chrysalis's name is he?"

Edited September 21, 2016 by Brianna Changeling

[Blitz Boom 4,428]

@@Brianna Changeling,

 

"Is that all?"

 

Happy kicked slightly to the unconscious timberwolf alpha in front of him, before looking over towards her flock with a look in his eyes that made them take a few steps back.

 

"I thought so. Now scram you little pests."

 

There really wasn't anything he had to say to get the point across here technically, but you could consider it a force of habit. He knew beasts like this enough to know that when an alpha fell, the others either abandoned them, fought over dominance on the spot, or attempted to protect their leader. These were hesitant to leave, so they'd likely protect their leader, but frankly, they could do that as long as they wanted to. He were done with her, and if any of these got in his way, they would know what happened to them.

 

He hadn't a want or need to finish the large timberwolf that had led the little attack on him before, so they could keep her for all he cared. Weaklings like that were barely capable to be counted as battle training, and he had to resort to using no magic to try and give this large thing a chance, but it had been for nothing. It were weak, unfocused, and had soon after attacking him, fallen alongside two others.

 

So he got his wagon back on his back, and started walking in the direction he had went once more. A single timberwolf tried to take a step forward when he passed, but a deep growl from the changeling in disguise made it loose whatever bravery it had build up. The rest knew better than to pester him any further, so they moved out of the way to let him walk, and circled around their alpha as he went away.

 

At least he knew that there were still some way until he reached a hive. Smart changelings wouldn't let uncontrolled vermin like these linger around their entrance, in case they braved up and began being trouble, unless they were training them, and these were definitely not.

 

Hopefully, the next time he were going to stop, it would be because he had found something, or somepony, that were going to be more worth his time. One way or another. Optimally, the drone from yesterday, but he could always beat the position out of another drone if worst came to worst. Not the most optimal way to go at things, sure, but contact between members from opposing hives didn't always go that well, so he knew it was one of those things that might just happen, regardless of if he wanted to or not.

 

And yes, he knew that technically, amongst changelings you didn't really say everypony, but everyling, yet he wasn't really in a hive most of the time. He were reconnaissance, and spent most of his time outside the hive, so he spoke mostly in ways relating to the outside world than at his home. Not something he really thought about, but there it was regardless.

[cwhip9 1,078]

 

 

"That was lucky. The dream... Could have collapsed. Now, do... You feel something is strange... Here too?"

As Cresent was glad to have it all end for the philly but then with it fading his calmness was quickly swept away when his friend did say how strange the surroundings were.

 

"your right, it dose feel off" the batpony said looking around at the trees. It felt too familiar for the bat pony then came the smell of smock in the air. His eyes widened seeing the trail of the smoke

 

"please tell me" he began to trot forward

 

"zinthar, these tests....how often did...they tap into your memory's?" it didn't take a blind pony to see the distress on the batponys face.

[EQ_Theta 415]

@@Blitz Boom

 

"L-lord of Chaos? You must mean Discord. Are you here because he hurt you and your friends?" Fluttershy's voice began to stammer less though she is scared of the group outside. It was understandable but her animal friends may have exaggerated the details a bit too much given she's still talking from behind the door with a hushed tone of voice.

 

Lin chimed in, reassuring her there is no malicious intent on their end. "We're simply looking for him so we can get some answers. Our friend here wants to see him. Is he in there with you? Seems like you're hiding something."

Fluttershy peeked around the door and finally gave herself a good view of the group outside. They're not the usual types found wandering Ponyville and they seemed like the types Twilight would show some hospitality to. It was better to tell them the truth on the matter and be hospitable to the guests.

"No, I'm not hiding anyone in here! In fact, Discord hasn't been around for some time now. It's unusual but I normally wouldn't mind since he lets me know when he'll be back. Now that I think about it, he didn't tell me he would be gone; really odd of him. Would you like to come in and wait? It's better that being stuck wandering around for a long time before he gets back."

[Summer Breeze 2,522]

@@Blitz Boom,

@@Frosty Frost, 

 

summer nodded when nerzhei told them that they didn't need to cross the ocean, that made things a lot easyer. and setting up a camp sounded really inviting, she was quite tired too and could use a nap. 

 

then she looked at frosty "you're gonna get magical chrystal thingies? cool!" she said to him, she was genuenly happy for him since she had already noticed how magical and cool they were, event hough she didn't care for magic and would rather stay away from it, she could imagine why frosty would like it.

 

but when the ocean came in view summer's tiredness suddenly dissapeared and made way for exitement. her eyes got big at the spectacular view that appeared in front of her eyes. "Whoa! look at that!" she said enthausiastic, pointing at the ocean. "That looks sooooo cool!" she said happily and flew a bit into the air. 

 

"I'm gonna check it out!" she said and then flew away from the others, not waiting for their answers or any objections they could make. the ocean just pulled on her like there was a string attached to her. she couldn't wait a second longer to check it out, it was so cool, so big, so quiet. and it had been a while since she had really stretched her wings, she needed a bit of exercise otherwise she would get out of shape. 

[Blitz Boom 4,428]

@@EQ_Theta,

 

Omen looked at Lin as she did hers to comfort the mare a little in regards to their little group. The half-longma had the word in her power it seemed, as Fluttershy emerged from the house, which were interesting to Omen. The tone of voice had been much different from her own, but the last part had sounded like something that wouldn't ease a pony like this. Were hte tone of voice enough? Did that make a difference? It was potentially it... She should observe Lin more other times and see if that might be it, or if there were something else. It could end up being important in the future.

 

"She's telling the truth. He is not in there, but I can feel he were. Something... Lingers."

 

Taking her up on the offer to enter, Omen walked slowly past Fluttershy without making a sound, as if she were made of wind, without saying another word.

 

She had never been looking inside this house, not wanting to make Discord angry at her for snooping around where his potential friend lived, and yet she seemed to walk with purpose in here. Forgotten for a time were Lin, Sen, and even Fluttershy herself as Omen's path slowly made it to a dresser, where she finally stopped, and just looked at it.

 

The others would potentially have reached her when she finally did something else, as it took a few minutes before she did something else than stare. But it was unlikely that they would have guessed what, as she opened her mouth, let her long tongue out, and rolled it in under the dresser, then slowly up the somewhat dusty back.

 

"There is something... Here."

 

What came back, wrapped around her tongue, was an envelope. It looked crude in it, and had no sender, but Fluttershy should likely know as well as Omen did who had written it. The yellow mare by the usual envelope, and Omen by the lingering energy that still grazed the surface.

 

The message inside would be all written with cut out letters from newspapers, and smelled faintly of chocolate.

 

Dear Fluttershy.

 

I have to cancel our arrangement as I'm going off to have a little fun in Saddle Arabia. I'm back in about three days time.

 

P.S. If Celestia comes looking for me, don't believe what she tells you. I'm sure her mane have always looked like that and she just never noticed.

 

With regards: Discord. the lord of chaos.

 

A message that Omen for one didn't read, as she turned around to return the letter in the sealed envelope to whom it were meant to. It gave her a small bite of nostalgia to do so, as delivering letters for her master had been such a prominent thing in her days so long ago, but it didn't make her halt her movements as she would approach Fluttershy and her friends, wherever they turned out to be when it were.

 

The letter, if she looked, would be addressed three days ago, and sundown were only in a few hours. Though what she did with this information was up to her of course. Might be things changed and she'd prefer they didn't meet him for some reason, though hopefully it would not go so, even if she could get away with it.

 

"I think this is for you."

[Holiday Agnaktor 1,435]

@Summer Breeze

@Blitz Boom

 

 

Frosty sighed when he heard he was going to get the gems.

 

"Do we have to do it now? I'm tireeeeed..."

 

He frowned for a few seconds, and then stretched his back with a yawn.

 

"Oh well, I guess I can do some more things before taking a nice, long nap. When do we go? I guess after we set up our camp? If yes, then I suggest we start setting up as soon as possible."

 

Frosty looked at Summer and forced a smile on his face.

 

"Yep, I sure am. I'm not that excited now, but that's just because I'm pretty tired. I'll probably freak out when I get to play arou- I mean experiment with them. How do you ponies have this much energy all the time anyway? Wish I had that much energy, grumblegrumble"

 

Frosty got tired easily, and when he got tired he always became a bit grumpy. No exception this time.

 

He sighed again when the ocean came into view and Summer flew off to go to it.

 

"Don't drown! It looks pretty rough there!"

 

The waters further away from the coast looked pretty stormy, and diving there to get gems didn't seem like the easiest thing in the world. He really hoped that the gems would be close to the shore. Dealing with currents and waves weren't his specialty. He'd never really done anything with diving and swimming, so he had no idea how to go about this.

 

He decided that he would probably have to use magic for this, so he started "warming up". You don't really have to warm up your magic, but he felt like it anyway, so he levitated a bunch of pebbles, and started to rotate them around his body, like planets in some sort of weird, really fast solar-system.

[EQ_Theta 415]

@@Blitz Boom

 

Fluttershy was... unsure about what had happened. A letter for her delivered in a very strange way, a first for her in such a long time. Discord normally either left messages on the living room table with gold lace and penned like the archaic writers of the classics or had a mail pony send one to the cottage with a little surprise hidden in the envelope. The familiar scent of chocolate was there to remind her of who wrote it.

 

"Hmm... this was written three days ago, and if it says he'd be back in three day's time, he could be back any minute. You're in luck! Maybe I can arrange something to welcome him home. Do join us for a while, maybe you can ask Discord everything you want over cucumber sandwiches. Come in!"

Fluttershy led the group inside and Sen was the first to notice the animals residing in the cottage all looking quite at home. They've got birdhouses and beds indoors; it was an interesting sight for him to behold. Back home, animals would oftentimes stay away from the clan's huts but the occasional bird would fly in and make a nest somewhere. He wouldn't mind it; he even wanted to keep one for company. Lin's reaction was a little more overt. The moment she saw the animals, she'd run up to them and try to cuddle with them but they'd run away in terror at the sight of a strange creature looking like it was going to eat them. 

"Wait! I'm not going to eat you! I just wanted to play." Lin returned to the others after failing numerous attempts to bond with the animals. As much as she wanted to show she was harmless, her new form isn't going to make it easy. 

 

Fluttershy, feeling more confident now, decided to break the ice and go with the introductions while preparing sandwiches and tea. All fear had disappeared as she was more curious about the group. "So, I guess I should give you a proper introduction right now. I'm Fluttershy. Who are you?" 

Edited September 24, 2016 by EQ_Theta

[redaxted 1,765]

"Here's hoping it'll only go up from here on out then."   Raising his drink towards them, Happy took a last, good gulp of it before he put the cork back on and sat it down behind him. As he could feel the relaxation from it he had aimed for, there wasn't a point in keeping on drinking this, beyond just getting drunk, and as tempting as it seemed to be to drown this day a little, he had to keep himself in check around others, or end up exposing his true self.   Granted, he might not really be taken that serious as he were, by far, a lesser evil right now, but who were to say that the others wouldn't instinctively just pin him to a tree or something if they found out what he actually were? He wasn't entirely sure what civilians did to changelings around these parts - and he didn't want to know what the guards did - so it could be worse, or less severe with just some screaming, paranoia and wanting to know what was going on, but he'd rather not try to find out right now if he could help it either.   He were having doubts the two would panic really, considering how they took things currently though. Sure, they were shaken after their escape, but all in all, they were handling themselves pretty well, and were getting rapidly calmer looking. Perhaps he should test them a little and see how collected they actually were, just in case?   "So, what're we gonna do now? Running for the hills and calming the nerves were pretty much the extend of my plan, so if you have any ideas, I'm all ears. Long as it ain't to go back into town right now."

"Well, I do think your plan was certainly a good one," Golden Spell replied to Happy. "I haven't a clue as to what we should do now. I do think it may be best if we remain where we are presently, at least for a good while..."

"I wish I could help," Cyan Flare said, very nearly interrupting him. She had been muttering it half to herself, but when she noticed that everypony else had likely heard her, she spoke up. "I don't know how, though. I can't do anything except write mediocre stories and type away with these hoofs..."

Realizing how negative she was suddenly being, Cyan altered her tone slightly before she continued: "at least everypony seems to have escaped, right? But somebody's going to have to do something... I just hope there's somepony on the case.

Edited September 23, 2016 by Wolves

[Brianna Changeling 131]

@@Blitz Boom,

 

Brianna was feeling relatively lazy that day, not tired, but she just felt like not doing anything. She REALLY didn't feel like hunting down some pony, either. She wanted to cancel the plan, but she thought he might just get aggressive  and go on about things like, "I worked hard to find these ponies!". She sighed and kept flying. She would fight if it came to that, but just didn't want to right now. He had gotten all riled up when she just told him to come with her, but she thought he was a pony, it wasn't her fault! He would most likely pick a fight with her. 

 

 

A few minutes later in her flight, she saw him rough up a couple of Timberwolves. Yup, he was definitely in the mood for fighting. She landed and said, "So, about those ponies you informed me on...I want to cancel that plan. I'm really not feeling up to it and I prefer to pick out my own hunts. Now, I'm not looking for a fight,and I appreciate the effort to help me but...I don't think this is gonna work out." She eyed him seriously and waited for his reaction.

[Seamore Sandwich 470]

@@Lonk Chase

@@GingerLightning

@@Melke

@@Blitz Boom

@@Mentis Soliloquy

@@Denim&Venom

@@Quinch

 

"Aaahhh!" Penny screamed as she fired several blasts of magic everywhere. She had enough of being held against her will and did not know Briar was trying to help. One blast cleared away four of the incoming shells, and another blast headed directly toward the airship. As the remaining shells sped toward The Forgotten One, with a swipe of his claws he tore another hole to the spirit plane, just as the other was closing. Five of the remaining shells disappeared into the void, one of the three remaining split as it passed the edge of the portal, exploding as it did, and the two remaining shells were triggered by the explosion. The concussive force of three detonating shells knocked the demonic creature back, the shrapnel causing several small wounds which bled the creature's poisoned blood. The rift opened up right on schedule, bringing Miststalker and Carl back into the fight, along with Priestess' arrow. The Ananasi fell to the ground disoriented. The arrow flew and hit The Forgotten One's curled horn, imbedding the tip deep into the bone. Just then, a white version of The Forgotten One appeared with feathered, almost angelic wings, holding the original in place with a chokehold. The Forgotten One struggled. It seemed this opposite copy would not be able to hold it long. It was time for the finishing blows. It would take much more than one hit, but if everyone worked together, hopefully this would be over soon. The blade that Priestess had tried to carve the stick with glowed brightly on the ground beside her. ((No holding back, it's time for The Forgotten One to die))

 

Sissilia followed closely behind Ginger as she chased the butterfly. She was a bit confused by Ginger's erratic behavior.

 

@@Blitz Boom

@@Mentis Soliloquy

@@Denim&Venom

 

Miles squirmed a bit before suddenly getting to his hoves and running horn first into one of the regular trees, knocking himself out before anyone could even react. "Well, that's a new one! I guess we're still going to have to wait here for a doctor," Seamore said, trying to fight back a laugh. It was a bit funny, but now wasn't the time to laugh about it.

 

 

@@Blitz Boom

@@Moonlit

@@Hazard Time

 

"I'm here for personal business regarding Serenade," Luna responded. "Serenade, may we speak in private?"

[Moonlit 593]

@@Seamore Sandwich, "Of course Your Majesty, this way" Serenade will lead Princess Luna up to the second floor, her personal observatory. It's walls are plastered with depictions of the night sky going back to just after the end of the Discordian Era. A bookshelf lines one wall, filled with astronomy texts and scrolls. The room is dominated by the massive telescope at the end of the room. "I presume this is regarding my request for an audience with Princess Sparkle regarding....myself"

Edited September 24, 2016 by Moonlit

[FanOfManyShows 396]

@@Blitz Boom, Astral spotted the airship as well. "Oh ####." Astral mumbled, Misty glanced at her curiously wondering what Astral said, luckily she didn't hear it although Chow might have. "Yeah, ponyville isn't much of an option. Unless their exporting survivors to a safe place, I wouldn't go there. so the town sounds like a good idea." Misty raised her hoof. "Yes misty?"

 

"What is the town called?" She asked turning around to Chow, starting to follow him.

 

Astral started to follow Chow as he looked for the wagon. "Yeah, and are we sure nopony is attacking that town as well?"

Edited September 24, 2016 by Frannis

[Blitz Boom 4,428]

@@EQ_Theta,

"I am Omen."

Though she answered Fluttershy, it did not mean that she looked at her whilst doing so. Instead, her eyes were drawn towards Lin, and her attempts to connect witht he animals in this home.

It was rather strange for her to think that there were this many all around, with places prepared for them, as beyond a few pets, she didn't think most liked having animals being as present as this. And these didn't look like pets as much as wild animals that had been allowed to make this place part of their own. No cages for the birds, no leashed on the dog she had passed, nor fences to attempt to keep any bunnies at bay, or anything like it.

They seemed oddly tame though, even if they did cover and run from Lin like a wolf were after them. A curious situation all in all, but it was likely not doing wonders for Lin. The ponies in town acting this way had made her sound down already, and now having animals do the same, would perhaps just make her more sad. Not something that should overcome her new sister, but what should she do? Grab a bunny and pull it closer perhaps?

She were about to do so, when a dim light flickered over her head, and she instead grabbed up with hr hoof to rustle through her mane. As she pulled it away, the white drake with the golden features had bit down into her hoof and wriggled around it, apparently not haven been too happy about being woken up, and still not understanding that this were, essentially, not doing anything.

"Trying something."

Omen put her hoof forth towards Lin and watched as the small thing uncurled from her a bit, sniffed the leg that it were put towards, then slithered over there and upwards, slowly headed for the shoulder if not stopped. Before, this would have likely not work, but it associated the smell of Omen and her kin to safety, and Lin smelled of them too. Enough to make the small creature think her a spot to place itself for the time being.

It was a little odd, but hey, at least there was one animal in here that didn't mind her at all. Though she might want to watch her claws a little around it's head, as it had seemed perfectly fine with biting even those it didn't mind. Then again, Omen had disturbed it whilst it was sleeping, so it might just be her right now.

"Careful. It bites."

There was no telling if this actually did something, but she wanted to try and help her new sister in what ways she could, and currently, this seemed like a reasonable help to lend. Though as always, she could always end up being wrong.

_____________________________________________________________________________

@@cwhip9,

Zinhar rose an eyebrow when he heard what Crescent were saying.

"You never mentioned... Any mind-reading. Never had it... Far as I know. Not when... Awake at least."

He utterly loathed mind-readers of any kind, so to think that he had perhaps been under the influence of one of those... Parasites, were irking him greatly. Granted, that he called somepony a parasite was rather ironic, everything considered, but at least his ways didn't involve scouring into the one bastion of privacy that everypony should have the right to keep. Even at his height - or low, depending on who looked at things - he wouldn't have done that.

"You better hope it... Is not my memory though. Only... One forest I remember with... Something burning, and I don't... Think you'd want to see that."

If it did turn out to be his memory, they would be able to see it if they went nearer to the smoke, and ended up seeing a crudely made temple. And if that turned out to be it, Crescent had good reason to be distressed. He had too, in a sense, but mostly because it would illuminate certain parts of his past he had hoped he could wait revealing until he got out of here. Namely, the exact answer to one of the first things Crescent asked him when they met: How long, were he willing to go?

Still, if it wasn't connected to him, it would likely still end up being a bad sign that smoke was rising. Nothing good tended to happen when that were part of the scenario. Though, Crescent did seem unusually on edge about this, compared to how he had reacted to things prior to this. More dread, you might say.

Perhaps, the questions wasn't related to the situation at hoof at much as he thought, and this would turn out to be one of the bat pony's memories instead? Intriguing, yet he'd have to see what happened next to be sure.

________________________________________________________________________________

@@Wolves,

"Well, there seemed to be all sots on the case. Question really seems to be if the ones on the case is some of the good guys, though considering the changeling queen I am going to remain tentatively worried."

It was a little vague, but you could hear the distaste that went over his tongue when he said *changeling queen*, as if the mere mention of that were something vile.

This wasn't an act like most other things though, he really didn't like opposing changeling queens. Far as he knew, it was not just him, but more of a broad thing for their kind to dislike other hives and in particular, their rulers, though the reasons tended to be mixed. Some didn't like them because they felt that one being near challenged the authority of their own queen, others - particular in his own hive - looked down on them and thought them as being unworthy to lead, and so on and so forth.

 

Him? Mainly paranoia about being caught and interrogated. He had been through that once, with his current hive, before he were converted, and he'd rather do anything else than go through that horrible experience again. Sure, it couldn't end like then, but it had shown him the creative ways a trained changeling interrogator could make you talk if they wanted to, and he had barely survived the first time around. A second time would likely spell a slow, painful end for him.

 

Granted, there were also some distaste in general because he thought opposing queens weak compared to his own, and in a hive where strength where the most important thing, that carried some weight on how he felt, but it wasn't the majority of the reason.

 

"But, like you said, we'd better wait it out and see what's what soon enough. Not thinking it'll be over in a jiffy, and especially not with the work that's gonna have to go into rebuilding whatever they're destroying right now, but hopefully the fighting is gonna end soon at least so it doesn't get worse.

 

Here's hoping they're too far from where you live at least, Cyan. Take it from one who've been there: Loosing your home is a pain in the flank, and I wouldn't wish that hassle on anypony."

 

_______________________________________________________________________________

 

 

@@Seamore Sandwich,
@@GingerLightning,
@@Quinch,
@@Lonk Chase,
@@Denim&Venom,
@@Mentis Soliloquy,

 

A piercing, pained scream were heard right before the explosions began, though thankfully they drowned out the majority of it.

 

There wasn't much the screamer felt thankful for right now though, as the waves of pain and the chaos around him battered his being equally. There was nothing but agony in many different ways, but how could you really blame him, considering what had happened?

 

There had been a moment when Briar had felt relieved, when he had been able to catch the falling pony with the vine wrapped more or less carefully around her, but as the mare had started to fire off her blasts all around in frustration and had blasted right through his vine, that had quickly turned.

 

While it were true that he could regrow this, if given enough time, it still had as many nerves in it as any other limb, and getting it exploded off were just as agonisingly painful as if it had happened to any other part of him. Hence the scream, as Penny would fall to the ground with the remnants of the vine twitching and ending still and lifeless on the ground around her.

 

Briar himself were close by as well, but even though he were also on the ground, he were very much alive, and clutching the remnant of his vine whilst letting out pained, sobbing sounds.

 

At least the vine had been cauterized in a sense, so his blood wouldn't start spilling everywhere and make the grass grow exponentially from either himself or the remnant of his vine near Penny and Lonk, but that was really a minor thing in his head compared to the pain that this unfortunate chain of events had led to.

 

______________________________________________________________

 

 

Meanwhile, over at the changeling queen and the kitsune, Zhu turned briefly to look at the scenario unfold as the ship in the air made its mark on the battlefield, leading the the final phase of the Forgotten One's impact on their world. At least, if things were taken advantage of before it was too late.

 

"The pah is once again walked with steady hooves. A great boon for the balance, and one I thank you for, yet there are still a step to take before the future returns."

 

With that, the winds around him started to blow once more and rush forward to grab the two pieces of his attack that he could see.

 

The first were Last, who had missed in the attack he had sent her in when the bombs started to fall and he had to quickly move her away from the action, but he would admit that she did not look in the best of states right now. The stitches were doing theirs to try and fall apart now as the shockwave from the explosions had hit her, and she were bleeding more than was safe from the wound. Even with the berserking stance he had put her in, it wouldn't be long before she'd collapse from this wound, along with the damage the shockwave had otherwise made, but for now she were still a workable piece, and as such, he forced her through the air once more, and towards a point not far from the Forgotten One.

 

The second piece were safer, as Ko had avoided the explosions, albeit loosing the webs he had just been starting to set up, because of the explosive shells. It irked him, but he had been in the process of getting past that and taking advantage of the overly weird, but open invitation that were presented in regards to the Ancient One, before the winds had suddenly picked him up and ent him - along with the poisoned clock hand - towards the same spot as Last.

 

As they hit the spot, he rose his voice slightly and uttered a spell in a rather old language. Not indecipherable, but it was a less circulated language, so to speak, and was likely not known by anypony near him. It was impossible to tell if the kitsune did though, as those beings were hard to predict and often had knowledge he didn't think they should. Still, even if she did, all it would tell her was that he had his roots in the older scrolls of magic instead of the more new age ones which tended to be less strained on the magic resources, but also limited from some beings or races.

 

And considering the bridge that rose out of the debris and such, leading upwards in a path towards the Forgotten One, the meaning of the spell would be easy to see too, regardless of whatever or not you knew what he were saying.

 

Ko and Last would end up there roughly at the same time, and without hesitation would move up the strange path that led towards the Forgotten one's chest. This were their - and others, if they wished to use this - chance to strike directly at the heart of the being, which they both did the second they got up to the end.

 

Thankfully for Ko, Last barely even took notice of him in the process, and kept her rage on Nemo/The Forgotten One as she plunged the flaming sword towards his heart, with Ko doing the same with the poisoned piece of metal in his hands.

 

If anything tried to stop them - be it more explosives or the ancient being trying to open another rift, Zhu would spend the extra energy and control them through the air towards the target again, or force the explosive rounds away in some capacity, though it would cost him a lot of energy, and would just redirect it, instead of outright remove it from the equation.

 

But the time to conserve had passed. Now, it was time to finish things, and in the final stretch one could spent that little more if needed, though he hoped that it would not be extremely taxing. He had use of some energy after this too so that he could right a few wrongs before he had to depart.

 

_________________________________________________________________________________

 

 

At the same time, over at Ginger, Meeko were... Well, he had gone back to the bucket. After the explosions it didn't feel safe out here anymore, so he had taken the little cover he had to work with there and now just kept under it, shivering and whimpering. So far, his impression of life outside the forest wasn't really a good one.

 

________________________________________________________________________________

 

 

@@Frosty Frost,

@@Summer Breeze,

 

"Oh, oh, wait for me!"

 

It hadn't taken more than Summer flying off towards the ocean before Blitz had wanted to do the same and had gone after her. Not flying, as she wasn't able to make her mechanical wings work, but she still had a bundle of energy to use to run.

 

Nerzhei considered stopping the little thing, but it was a straight road to the shore without any worthwhile places for potential attackers to hide, and the place looked - as usual - abandoned. Seemed safe enough to just let her run off and expend some energy. Plus, it left her with more peace to build a shelter for the evening. It wouldn't be overly impressive, but it should do the trick, if she got the peace to make it.

 

"Both of you can go on, I'll try to look about preparing some shelter for the time being. And I'd stay out of the water if I were you. The currents aren't that strong until you get far out, but I'm not taking chances."

 

"Are you certain you don't need help?

 

"You are helping, by going along and keeping an eye on those two before they do something stupid. Now shoo with you."

 

Lyriel didn't look all too comforting leaving the dragoness alone as she started to search the area before the beach to find a good spot for them she could work with, but she had a point in that someone really should keep an eye on the other ponies, so she simply nodded with no more protest and wandered along.

 

"We should give her a little peace then, if that is her want. Let us move along Frosty. Please."

 

On the beach itself, there wasn't any difference between what they could have seen from a distance and near, beyond the finer details of the sand, though for Blitz it was still all highly fascinating. She couldn't remember ever seeing a beach and yet only a few seconds had passed from her touching the sand until she acted much like you could expect from any foal that had been there before.

 

She ran around, picked up seashells and stacked them, started on digging holes briefly before forgetting about it and moving on, rolling in the sand and so forth. The water didn't draw her in right now, but perhaps in due time when she were done having fun on the abandoned piece of land, she might. Well, abandoned beyond Summer, who would have gotten there before her of course, but still.

 

______________________________________________________________________________

 

 

@@Moonlit,

@@Seamore Sandwich,

@@Hazard Time,

 

"Roger that. have fun."

 

She had expected that it was something sort of private with the two, and had an idea about what the subject matter might be about, but she still felt a tiny bit disappointed when the two of them left and headed for the second floor. Not enough to let show that much, past her ears hanging slightly low for a bit, but not for long, as this made her realize that she had some alone time too with Succulent! And she still had the question about the perfume from the day before that had gotten sort of drowned out in the midst of everything going on.

 

"I almost forgot. Succulent, do you have a perfume that smells sort of like peppermint, or lemon? Oh, oh, or both? I can send one home then as a gift."

 

To prove she could pay for things she opened the largest of the pockets on her vest and drew forth her wallet. it was a little childish, looking like a frog whose mouth you filled with bits when it were, but it wasn't really surprising when it came to the doc anymore that this sort of thing were amongst her belongings. Frankly, would have been weirder if it were just a normal, boring pouch.

 

__________________________________________________________________________

 

 

@,

 

"Can't really remember the name. Somewhere over at the Rambling Rock Ridge. Honestly a little less of a town and more of a half-nomadic bunch going around the rural areas, but there is a point they can go for the train around there that leads to Canterlot. I think they call the place Travel Ridge or something like that. Only place I know to get there without it being through Ponyville anyway.

 

And I don't think anypony's going after them. Too small of a community to be worth it, and when it ain't stationary as such, it's hard to plan an attack. Though if it is, my best bet is just to try and wave down the train somewhere and hope it works, 'cause then word really needs to get to the castle."

 

Whilst talking, Chow got the wagon well placed on himself, though he had to toss his spear into it for the time being, as it couldn't sit on his back at the same time. It made him feel rather exposed, not to have his weapon after all these years of being able to fight back with it if something happened, but it wasn't like he had a choice. Couldn't exactly strap a wagon to a foal or somepony that had barely woken up now, could he? Especially not when the later seemed to have a tendency for cursing when stuff didn't go right. He were used to it from back in Griffon country, sure, but there were a foal here, so it were likely for the best not to trigger things when she were 'round to hear it.

 

"Alright, lead the way, and we'll see what we can do then."

 

_______________________________________________________________________________

 

 

@@Brianna Changeling,

 

"Eh, your choice, I just offered them. Most of those I find as easy targets never get picked off as I ain't exactly here with a hive in my back, so letting easy food go for another time ain't exactly anything unusual."

 

He would lie if he said he wasn't a little disappointed though. Sure, beating up the timberwolves had been a simple little distraction, and had helped get a few things out of his system, but it just wasn't the same as a good, old fashioned hunt, even if he'd likely have had to stand at the side and look at it instead of being that big of a part of it.

 

Oh well, there wasn't anything he could do about it now. He hadn't a hive here to take the victims to himself, and there wasn't a point in trying to make this one take in his targets. Like he said, they had been an offer, or a dinner reservation, if you wanted to look at it like that, and those could always be cancelled one way or another. Just no guarantee that there was a table to eat at if she changed her mind another time now.

 

"I really just tend to keep track of potential targets out of habit more than anything these days. It gives me some bargaining chips in case I need it, a meal if I get hungry or have company, weak spots to infiltrate, if I find it necessary, and so forth.

 

Might seem strange when I am by my lonesome, but to quote my queen: *If you don't have several plans, you are weak, unprepared, and useless.* and I have a hard time disproving that in this changeling-unfriendly world."

 

While it was a fond memory to him, it should have a very different ring for Brianna. or rather, it should carry a very familiar one, as that quote were one that would have rung several times through the training halls of Chrysalis' hive since their defeat at Canterlot.

 

It would be spoken by a former queen, and one who still acted as if she were one to anyling other than Chrysalis herself. In her training hall, there were no excuses, no back-talking, and no mercy as they were all put through harsh training to prepare them for future attacks. Her ways were brutal, and she were seen as a monster amongst some of the changelings, but they netted results, be it via physical and/or magical gains.

 

It was a pity that she had not been used prior to their attack on Canterlot, but the hall she were using were still being prepared, even though she were told that soon, Canterlot itself would be their new hive. She had never trusted that plan enough to rely on it completely though, and in the end, she had been proven right.

 

Not something she threw in Chrysalis face, though her silent treatment about the subject were perhaps just as stinging when they had dragged the fallen queen back to the hive.

 

Why she hadn't finished off Chrysalis and taken over the hive was confusing to some, but to those who understood the point of loyalty, she they would perhaps understand that she had given her word to serve under the stronger queen after she won, and assassinating her when she were defeated by others went against that. Didn't mean more trusted her for that reason really, but it was there regardless.

 

Still, the important part here would likely be that, since Happy had said that this was a quote from his queen, it would prove that he were from her former hive. And if that were the case, what were he doing out here?

[Lonk Chase 255]

Lonk guessed his "sacrifice" was no longer relevant.

Not only did he NOT collide with the peanut-butter pony, but in the grand scheme of things it didn't really matter, because HEY GUYS THE MONSTER YOU'RE ALL FIGHTING IS BEING CHOCKED TO DEATH BY... ITSELF... MAYBE AND YOU SHOULD DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.

Oh, and also a green pony is screaming at the top of his lungs about a vine sticking out his side being blown off by magic. Sadly there isn't a doctor around, and Lonk knows nothing about first-aid, let alone first-aid to a horse made out of chlorophyll or whatever plants are made out of.

 

...Lonk just stands there, wondering whether to attempt to tend to the green pony possibly made out of grass, or try to find that sword again and throw it at the beast or something.

[Denim&Venöm 16,515]

 

 

@Seamore Sandwich, @GingerLightning, @Quinch, @Lonk Chase,

 

"Hey look at that. Somehow, someway, the Bane's doppelganger, a spirit free from corruption, has now manifested. Freakin chaos venom dude."

 

"And look! We have a bridge straight to the beast's heart!"

 

"Oh yeah that too. Welp. Let's buck some shiznit up." she said as she pulled her yumi bow and shadow crystal arrows back out, before mounting atop her changeling. 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxpOP45zyLY

 

Allure hoofed at the ground, lowering her head, horn crackling, dual toned eyes leering at the bane before her. Priestess notched an arrow back. "On my mark..." 

 

She watched as the two others before them made their moves, stabbing at the creatures core.

 

(0:28 of the song)

 

"Charge!" 

 

Allure bounded into a gallop, hitting her stride only a few seconds in. A few after that she took to the air, adrenaline and focus putting the pain of her everwood damaged horn and hate drenched headache to the farthest thoughts. Priestess fired her volley of arrows, her tail pulling back on the string as one paw clutched the bow, the other reloading in rapid fire succession. The black crystal points flew to their target. It wouldn't take long at 500mph. The only thing going faster, would be the torrent of searing changeling magic being fired between them.

 

Faster and faster they flew. Priestess discarded her bow, in favor of her next weapon, the dual edged naginata. 

 

"Full speed ahead babe!" At that request, Allure kicked on the gas, and bolted at the speed of sound. The sonic boom reaching the creatures ears, but not before Allure buried her crackling horn into the beast, along with the rest of her body. Priestess dismounted a second before, spinning in the air to get the best cut. 

 

 

At the towns edge near the school house, Reverie and her forces looked on at the astonishing clash before them. "Send word to the Revocation to hold fire. Allure & Priestess are meeting the enemy head on. Now maybe the best time to-hmm?" Her eye caught something glowing in the wreckage of the clock tower. "Soldier, lens!" She was hoofed over a telescopic lens used for logn distance snipers. She saw the object glow brighter. "All of you wait here. That looks like it might be of some use. If our charge fails, order the Revocation to continue the attack. Even if we're stuck in the line of fire." 

 

With that, she took off, bolting into the air and rocketing towards the wreckage at the speed of sound. Within moments, she arrived, and found what she was looking for. "Mom's tanto?" She picked up the glowing dagger, and felt the positive warmth from it. She looked towards the attack being led against the bane. She clutched it in her teeth and took back off, flying up and out of Ponyville in a wide arch, turning back down to the behemoth. She rocketed faster and faster, now going triple the speed of sound.

 

Faster than any bullet, the fox bat and her magic blade closed the distance.

 

The next half a second was gonna be crazy.  

[FanOfManyShows 396]

@@Blitz Boom, Astral scratched her head briefly. "Um, sounds far from here. We don't travel much so it'll be quite exciting."

 

Misty bounced slightly. "I saw it on our map of equestria, which is back at home. so maybe we can hurry up and go home to pack our stuff? So I can check the map""

 

Astral snickered. "You sound a bit impatent to go to somewhere neither of us have gone to." She shrugged. "But that doesn't matter, I'll show Chow to our house; Since I know where it is." Astral walked out to look around the forest, Misty followed. "Make sure you don't get left behind Chow! I have no idea how far my house is from here!" She yelled with her head turned to Chow. "Wait, Misty you were awake this entire time right?" Misty silently nodded. "Okay, you could technically guide us to my house."

 

Misty pumped her hoof in the air, with a loud: "Yes!" She ran off a short distance away before stopping, she pointed out a hoof to the right to a clearing, with a river running through it that lead to a short waterfall. "Somewhere over there, It's built inside a tree, so it might blend in until we find the door." She said starting to follow the river towards the waterfall.

 

Astral sighed lightly. "I know where the door is Misty." She said quietly as she followed Misty.

[EQ_Theta 415]

@@Blitz Boom

 

Sen stepped forward to answer Fluttershy's question. "I'm Sen and this is Lin. Don't be alarmed by her strange appearance. She's got a bit of me and Omen in her."

"Yes, dear brother but I'm perfectly capable of explaining my current state." Lin replied with some ire in her voice. "What my brother says is true but how this came to be is a lot more complicated than it looks." 

 

Lin and Fluttershy noticed the drake moving about before settling down with the former. Fluttershy had just returned with food and beverages for everyone before she sat down together with Lin. She was amazed with her new guests, what with having strange appearances and powers; she was at ease and before she knew it, the rest of the animals in the cottage soon flocked in to see what's going on.  

"I'm sure you can tell me all about it in time." Fluttershy replied, indifferent to the details of Lin's predicament but she didn't want to come off sounding rude. "If you'd like to stay after the meal, I'd like to hear about how it happened. If you don't mind, that is. But what is this creature? I've never seen anything like it! What is it called?"

Fluttershy assumed Sen and Lin knew what it was but the two were left dumbstruck. They both turned to Omen hoping she'd have an answer that could satisfy the mare. 

[Blitz Boom 4,428]

@@EQ_Theta,

 

Omen were about to say something about Lin as well, when she interrupted things and made it clear that if something were to be explained, she would do so herself. It sounded reasonable, partially because, after all, she were the only one who could tell the whole story. Sen and her could only tell fragments, as none of them had gone int o the well where most of what had happened to her went down. 8 years of it in fact, of which they barely knew anything. Or well, Omen didn't, Sen might have been told something in the time she had left them alone.

 

Mainly though, it was simply just her own choice to make. Omen would be the first to admit that she still didn't know fully how to approach having friends, even if she had learned something from the strange place her and Lin had been to. Yet, much as there were a lot of holes to be filled with time and experience, she were still somewhat certain that she were supposed to respect the decisions of them, and until proven wrong, she would operate under that.

 

It wasn't long after that that the subject of the strange drake came up and stopped that line of thought, diverting it as they all began to look at her for answers as to what this creature were.

 

"I don't know. Nephew from another place gave me a rock, turned out to be an egg.It looks like some sort of dragon, and spews fire like one, so perhaps a dragon? Would drake fit? I don't know, and neither did my sister..

 

Animal, sentient being, origin or name, I don't know any of them. Nor if it really understands things."

 

A tiny, roar came from the drake on Lin's shoulder, and it seemed to nod slightly before it moved a few inches further up to get a better hold so it wouldn't fall down. It might have just looked like a nod, and it was actually feeling like it was starting to glide down slightly, but it still drew the eye of Omen, who thought the first more than the second.

 

"Peculiar. But still, I don't know much. It likes to bite, and I've seen it likes berries. Might be it bites because it's hungry?"

 

Outside, the sun were soon to be drawn from the sky and give way to the night, but still there was no sign of Discord. Still, he were likely to show either on time, or later, and not before. Not unless he wanted to surprise Fluttershy, which to be fair, wasn't an impossibility. It really depended on his mood, though he tried to at least keep himself a little more in check these days.

 

______________________________________________________________________

 

 

@,

 

"Energetic little lass, ain't she?"

 

Chow chuckled a little as he saw the excited foal going through the motions and start to lead them towards where they were going. he hadn't thought that he'd get any reason to smile today, since the attack began, but the simple joy of Misty was... How could one say it... A spot of normality and calmness in all this turmoil.

 

It was calming in a way, and it gave him a chance to really take a breath, which were greatly appreciated, but he couldn't stand around and think over things like this. He had some grunt work ahead of him, and waiting around wouldn't diminish that.

 

"Mind me asking you something, Astral? And don't worry, it ain't about what sounds like you mucking about with magic stuff. That ain't none of my business to stick my nose in and I'll keep that to myself. Just wondering about something Misty there said, about you two being able to make health potions? Is that true? I'd like to believe the lil' one, but I gotta make sure, or me asking in about it more in depth are gonna make me sound like a right ol' nutter."

 

He waited until Misty was out of earshot, and said this low as to trying to avoid the zebra from hearing them. He'd rather not that she heard him disbelieving her words, even if it was just him making triply sure, or this was gonna become one long, awkward move. It'd likely become that at some point regardless, as he were bound to sooner or later shove his big hoof down his even bigger mouth, but there wasn't any reason to start it off on that sort already. Not if it could be helped at least.

[FanOfManyShows 396]

@@Blitz Boom, Astral's ears perked up, with a slight sense of worry. "S-she told you?" She stuttered, lifting up of of her hooves to rub the other leg. "I thought I told her not to tell anypony several times!" She quietly yelled now using her hoof to brush her hair back. she let out a sigh as she put her hoof down. "But, I guess she is just a filly." She turned to Chow ready to answer his question. "Yes we can make potions, of all sorts, even health potions, which are hard to find the ingredients for which is why you rarely ever hear of them. We can also use non unicorn magic as well." She lifted up her hoof and created a small red fire floating briefly above her hoof, she threw her hoof out at a rock, sending the flame towards it as a fireball, turning the rock into dust. "I know more spells than that one, but don't worry, I only ever use the good spells, I rarely have a reason to use the dark magic spells." She said before walking ahead to Misty. "Misty?" She said now standing next to Misty.

 

She turned to Astral. "Yeah?"

 

"I don't want you telling anypony else about our magic." She said with a sigh.

 

Misty lowered her head. "Sorry, I thought you were fine with it since you had no reason to keep it secret anymore."

 

Astral slowly nodded. "True, but still; we have to be careful. we don't want to tell somepony who will immediately tell the royal guards."

 

​Misty nodded. "Will do and sorry about Chow though."

 

Astral picked up Misty and wrapped her in a hug. "He's fine, but wait until I've already explained we can use magic before saying anything."

 

Misty nodded, rubbing her head against the side of Astrals, Misty looked at Chow. "Hey Chow, you won't tell the authorities right?"

Edited September 25, 2016 by Frannis