open Casual stroll

[Krystalalchemist 5]

Krystal smiled widely as he jumped up sending goop all over once again. He looked around him for a few minutes, to see if he had dropped it when he fell.

 

"I had it not to long ago... Oh man... I just got it to... it was a present."

 

He began to walk off the direction he had come from leaving a trail behind him. He was looking around frantically as the tiara had been from a special pony.

Edited December 2, 2016 by Krystalalchemist

[Blitz Boom 4,621]

@,

 

"Yes, let us get this over with so that we can go on to less mundane things with some luck."

 

The rest of the work would go uninterrupted, and with the next shipment not along for at least a few hours more, things very pretty much done after about an hour more of going over these things in depth. It could have gone a little faster, but Rarity used the chance to tell a little something about town, as Gordan wasn't a local. It wouldn't be all, by far, but it did cover a lot of the mundane, day to day things, and the original attack by Discord. And a good deal about her shop as well. Advertisement were important even in days like this after all.

 

"Splendid then. Now, perhaps it is time for-"

 

"Three hours and forty minutes more."

 

Rarity practically jumped from the shock of Last speaking about a meter behind her. Not something that she had expected at all, notr were the othr pony she had shown up with that also seemed to be the quiet type. That, or she had been to focused on talking again. One or the other, though she'd likely not admit the second option.

 

"My goodness! Have you considered wearing a bell of some kind?"

 

It was pointless for her to mention what else she thought the mare could use when it came to makeover a gain. She had done so the first time the mare approached her, and Last had spent the exact amount of time to tell her - in vivid details- what she were going to do to any cloth the fashion pony attempted to get near her with. It had been a... Sobering moment, so to speak.

 

"If I did, I wouldn't be able to catch slackers effectively. Now, this here is Checkers, he's come visiting and volunteered to help, so I'm having you teach him the robes so he can take over your shift when the time comes. As for you, Gordan, we need to fill out your time someplace else until the shift ends too, so I have a choice for you: Help the blacksmith gather and reforge some of the ruined metal, assist the vendors in setting up their market properly again so the ones who's on a shift right now can buy some goods when this is over, or go to the forest and look for the ponies who were sent to scout out the piece of the clock for the tower. If you can't find them, finding the clock pieces itself also works, because we need it back so it an be reassembled."

 

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

 

 

@@asdfmovienerd39,

 

Florence were puzzled to say the least when she were yanked away from the item that were taking hold in her uncle, but upon seeing the whip slowly lay down the tail it had sent to wrap around her, and the words Zen had yelled finally filtering through properly, it started to make a little more sense, though not in a way that she wanted it to.

 

"W-What? It were going to... You saved me? I... What is this?"

 

At that point, the door flew open, and a small pegasi with one wing, a coat of near-shiny onyx, and silvery eyes with a matching, waving mane and tail in a glittery silver as well. Her cutie mark would be a bit hard to see at first on her dark coat, but if you focused, you could see a swirling, dark hole.

 

"What's going on? Somepony hurt?"

 

Null looked around at the messed up scene - what with the griffins and all that - but didn't focus much on it. She had met griffons before, and int he room, one were chained, and the other looked like a bit of a whimp frankly, so she wasn't concerned about them. She didn't expect answers from her though, and had turned towards Zen when she asked her question.

 

Really couldn't have anypony yelling in a hospital and not have anypony hear it it seemed.

 

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

 

 

@@asdfmovienerd39,

 

Sea Breeze went over next to the guy, and on a whim, gave the little one a small grin.

 

"Let's have a go then, before we both end up a little salty."

 

The amount of puns he had heard about his name were staggering, though the breeze part wasn't used as often as you might think. Most tried to do something with the sea part, which at times had ended up with him, for some reason, dressed up as a pirate. Bit of fun, sure, but how it ended there from bad puns were at times staggering to him.

 

"Think we should start where she lived? Would be the best place to check first, right?"

 

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

 

 

@@Moonlit,

 

"Gee grandma, you sure got some big teeth."

 

She whispered it, which were still talking, granted, but... How could she not take the chance to do this? It was a golden opportunity that you just couldn't let pass unless you were one of them always-serious, boring ponies. And she wasn't like that.

 

Besides, it had been this comment, or attempt something she had heard lion tamers did before, and Serenade would likely like words over getting a pony's head inside her mouth. Seemed less dangerous too. Not that she thought that Serenade would ever do her anything bad on purpose, nuhuh, but accidents could happen after all.

 

The examination of the rest of her mouth and area around it were pretty fast. Nothing completely nuts here, but some things to take notice of just in case, which eventually led her to - with a gleeful expression - finally move away from Serenade's head and towards her body. In particular, the back where she wanted to see the curvature of her spine better, press slightly a few places to see if she had some weak points that might need help, and to examine the backfin. Last one should be pretty standard, but still, she had been allowed to examine, and so she would.

 

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

 

 

@@dragon4111,

 

Sweat started to fall down from Clayton's forehead at the question he were dreading would come. That being, of his participation in this... Unconventional way of travel.

 

"If there is any way I can avoid it, I would much prefer not to. I might be more scared of delaying what needs to be picked up in case the forepony comes at me again, but having to be thrown by this is a close second on the list of things that makes me uncomfortably nervous and close to a panic attack."

 

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

 

 

@@cwhip9,

 

"...Nothing you would understand."

 

Zinthar's tails flickered when Crescent had first approached, but calmed as the feline heard who it were that got closer to him.

 

"I did everything do that I could get answers, and I though that even if I were away for century, there'd still be something left to find. Some snippet of information, a memory fresh in somepony's mind I could get out of their heads. But it have been too long. Starswirl is long gone, his memory faded and twisted by stories passed down and spun wrong, and any trace have decayed and turned to dust ages ago. Only one know, and she might even have forgotten now. And even if she haven't, my powers can't break through there anymore. Even if I refill them, Celestia will have gotten too strong..."

 

He spat a feather into the water before looking over at Crescent, now with a light burning in each of the three eye sockets, but his face didn't betray any information, just like his voice hadn't sounded sad or angry anymore. It sounded more like he were... Contemplating things.

 

"I need to think on this more before I can say what happens now. Or what happened then. Let's just be on our way already."

 

A promise had been made to tell Crescent what happened, but it didn't seem the time for it. Zinthar had to get his mind in check first, before he could say what was the real thing and what were things he just messed up in his head, and when that time happened... He'd see what the thestral would say about it. For now though, he just wanted to keep moving, and think on this in private.

 

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

 

 

@@Lloyd,

 

"I better, before you two bookworms start to devour the A section. Let's scram."

 

Chow chuckled slightly at the mental image of Astral and Misty literally munching on books like they were cupcakes, but lead them out instead of bursting out into a good old fashioned belly laugh. He'd likely get smacked with a large book if he started on that.

 

When they got out, he took a deep breath and wandered back to the wagon that were only a few seconds from them. had been a good place to park it, and since he hadn't been long, it was within the allowed time. So score for not starting this off by being a pest to the local law again.

 

"Alright, we're going to the east of town. The guards told me there's some housing options there that ain't too pricey for Canterlot, and have a more calm neighborhood. It's as good as any place to start, especially if I need to get my business up and running again. I'll need someplace where I can keep the smell of blood down. From the animals that is. It takes a good deal of chopping to make them into good pet food you know."

Most he had met since leaving Griffinstone were pretty much hypocrites in his mind when it came to this, as they all tended to look down on him or be horrified if they found him preparing things, but then would be back the next day to get the best chow for their cats, dogs, or other carnivores. Astral and Misty might be of stronger stuff when it came to this, but he'd still need to find a place away from them too when it came to this, just in case. It could get pretty... Grizzly.

Moving towards the eastern side of town, they'd be able to see some ponies turning their heads now and again when seeing him, and whispering out of earshot.

"Hm, seems like they haven't all forgotten this sack of bones yet. Might be easier to reestablish a presence here than I figured. But, all in due time, right gals? Gonna make sure you two got a roof over your head before I start making plans."

 

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

 

 

@@EQ_Theta,

 

Before Sen returned, Omen tilted her head to the side, looking after Li, Mu and Shu leaving with several questions springing to mind about the curious little ones, and how they seemed to be open enough for the things she had said. They hadn't run off when seeing them, and Li hadn't either when Omen told of how her family could be. Usually the few that listened to her enough gave her at least a funny look when she mentioned that, but what then did it mean when she hadn't?

 

Could be it meant this town had some more open-minded than she believed, but it could be other things too... Perhaps she'd find the answer by examining the place more.

 

Before she had much more chance to think on this, Sen returned with a lot of rolled of paper in his grasp. Seemed an odd thing to carry around at first, but as him and Lin started to speak out what sort of thing it were, it became clearer that these were reading materials, and as the last few bits came in, it seemed it was meant for her.

 

"Why do we have time to spare? Are we waiting for something?"

 

It might have been the wrong part she had focused on as she moved forward and took a curious sniff of the scrolls, wondering if it had some weird aura on it, since she had seen some magic users use scrolls like this before, but it didn't seem like it. Didn't do anything either when she raised a hoof and slightly poked a few of them.

 

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

 

 

@@Krystalalchemist,

 

"Don't worry, we'll find it."

 

Jelly shook her head a little to get a blob of goo off her ear, but she didn't linger much beyond that. Sure, she went over and sealed the cloud up again, but that was the only other thing before she spread er wings and flew the direction Krystal had wandered. Might be a forest, but she was just a foal, so she could maneuver around the trees easily enough, and as they'd wander along, she'd check the side of the way they went where Krystal didn't, doing what she could to find the tiara he had lost. Couldn't have a gift like that just left out here in the woods without it eventually being taken by somepony else. Likely by accident, but still.

[Moonlit 593]

@@Blitz Boom, Serenade rolls her eyes,  her old doctor had said the same exact thing every time. For a brief second she thought of rapidly snapping her jaws shut, but decided against it. Only in her darkest nightmares, the ones even Princess Luna had trouble with, did she dare wonder what Pony tasted like. 

 

The rest of the examination goes just like Serenade remembers, but COLD! she yips when Ziggy places a hoof just under where her backfin started. She shivers in response. 

[asdfmovienerd39 55]

stuff

 

"Of course I saved you! That thing is what's keeping your uncle like that!" Zen explained, visually panicking. "We have to break the curse now! Oh, if only I hadn't fallen asleep when learning how to break curses like this..." Zen frowned, her tone sounding regretful.

 

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

 

"Well, she lived in Cloudsdale. She was just in Ponyville to visit her parents. They didn't make it either, I'm guessing." Deadpan frowned, before starting to walk somewhere. "Well, water ​we waiting for? Let's go!"

[dragon4111 914]

@Blitz Boom

"Too bad your really missing out Clayton," Draco said as he checked everything over again. Then he got flung by the trebuchet with hims yelling out "YEEEHAAAAW!" He then spread his wings and off his shot towards Canterlot and his destination he was a fast pony but not as fast as rainbow dash. But he had a trick for that. He flew higher than what normal pegasi would do.  Where the winds were wild and faster than the ones tamed by pegasi.

Edited December 2, 2016 by dragon4111

[redaxted 1,765]

@@Blitz Boom Cyan Flare hovered just above the treetops and watched the drama unfold on Ponyville, peering through the leaves and past damaged buildings.

"I still can't see much..." she said. "But it looks like a lot of the monsters are gone..."

"Good, good," Golden Spell remarked, entirely unsure of what exactly was going on but just happy to hear that it probably would not have to involve him or Cyan. "As long as we are here... should it take long for the town to be taken back?"

[Seamore Sandwich 471]

@@P-Jay

@@Blitz Boom

@@Denim&Venom

 

"I believe we became linked when the Princess of the Night blasted you with my magic. Wait, when did that happen? How can I remember something that I wasn't there for? I'm confused. Oh! I think maybe it's the memory of my limb! I did get attached to it again." Charlie's response was delayed, and Charlie seemed to be talking a little slower than normal, at least to Queen Allure. To the others it would sound normal however. "It seems this dream is running a bit slow. To answer your other questions: Yes, you are awake; I was used as sort of a vessel by the demonic creature you freed me from; I don't know how I got back to the Realm of Dreams; and your dream door should work just fine." This time, Charlie would sound normal to Queen Allure, and faster to Vivid and her guest.

[FanOfManyShows 396]

@@Blitz Boom, Astral turned to Chow confused, trying to figure out the sentence he had just spoken. Letting out a stratified: "Ahh..." When she figured it out. "So you sell pet food?" She asked it as if it wasn't a question, but it still came out as one.

 

"I don't think Chow was referring to that."

 

She looked to Misty. "Well, why else would you want to keep animals away?" She looked to Chow. "Anyways, I don't think it actually matters that much."

 

"You were the one that brought it up!" Misty wasn't trying to yell, or sound angry.

 

Astral looked at Misty, surprised. "Geez, no need to freak out over it." Astral hopped onto the wagon, causing it to sway a bit. "I wonder if ponies will notice us more with me sitting up here, and not you." Astral wondered aloud, gesturing a hoof to Misty.

 

Misty hopped up onto the wagon. "Why is that?"

 

"Well I'd think civilized ponies would expect a filly to sit up here." She explained. "Not a nearly full grown mare."

 

"Oh yeah, well it's not to weird for me." She turned to look at the ground below the wagon. "Since, well, I'm also sitting up here now."

 

Astral giggled looking around the two, spotting ponies giving a look their way. "Oh look, I was right." She said rather pridefully. Her pride vanished a bit when Chow spoke. "Wait, plans? What plans do you have?" She leaned over the edge of the wagon lying down her head right next to Chow's. She was smirking, hoping what he said next involved his business. So she had even more pride to swim in.

[EQ_Theta 458]

@@Blitz Boom

 

Sen had thought he mentioned something about having some time to spare earlier before leaving Lin and Omen for a while. Then again, he might have imagined it and recovered a false memory. He's been careful about those since he was younger but every so often one would slip through the cracks. He unfurled some of the manuscripts and looked for something interesting while Lin grabbed the rest of them and skimmed through the titles. 

"Elder Ghilan said he'd be talking to Xin about the instructions he received from the previous elder, which leaves us with time to look around or do something to pass the time. I thought about getting these in case you wanted to have a look a them."

Some of the manuscripts Lin noticed were rather inappropriate for reading material but not for the reasons she would normally expect. Several of those were on history and myths, a few were scholarly writings, and one of them was a codex, a really old one. She looked at it intently, noticing each tear, crease, and fold. It was a familiar sight but one she can't remember where. The contents were also familiar; reflections on the nature of power, the abstract concept of freedom, a few sketches of plants and their medicinal uses, several spells... It had a wide variety of topics to cover.  

"Hmm... where did you find this one, Sen?"

"It was in the communal hut's archive. Why do you ask?"

"I've seen it before. I thought there was only one such codex, and I destroyed the only one in existence." 

[Blitz Boom 4,621]

@@Lloyd,

 

Chow looked back with a small bit of nervousness in his eyes as the wagon swayed for a moment. Not because he'd fall over himself it it were, or the others would, but because the falling wagon might end up squishing somepony, and that wouldn't end well. Tkankfully though, it seemed to work out fine, so there were one weight off his shoulders.

 

"Well, I can't exactly leave you two alone, and if I wanna stay in town, I need to work to get some bits. So, I'm gonna find a spot and open up shop again, which, as you said, is to sell pet food. None of that synthetic mumbo jumbo most ponies like to make though. I only make the best, natural stuff for the lil' critters, which, when it comes to cats and dogs in particular, needs to involve some meat.

 

It's grizzly work, and a lot of ponies tend to think me some sort of monster for this and shun me from normal life, but the hypocrites like to come around and get their pets the chow they need anyway.

 

Back in Griffinstone, I had a combination pet food and butcher store actually, but that sort won't fly here in Canterlot. Especially not... With... Wait a sec, this can't be right."

 

Chow trailed off from what he had been saying and took a minor turn over towards a closed store they had been about to pass.

 

It didn't look of much currently, as whatever writing that had been had been wrapped up in thick cloth, along with a myriad of things on the inside that seemed to be there to preserve the place as best as it was possible. And the building showed it, as it looked clean, intact and frankly, less abandoned than just reserved for some sort of later use. None of the windows even had any damage, including the ones above the store, where the apartments were that he had once lived in. Or well, he used one part of it: He frankly didn't need much space and didn't feel comfortable with his things spread all around the place.

 

"My shop? How the hay haven't this place been redone to something else yet? I sold it over a year ago, and they said they were gonna turn it into some sort of fancy place as soon as they got the smell out of the basement."

 

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

 

 

@@Wolves,

 

Happy thought on it for a bit when Cyan returned to the ground. They had a few options to go by here, with waiting for the rest in town to fight it out, see if they had perhaps been banding together to ruin this thing and it were fine in town now, stay out here for a few days just to be sure, etc. Personally he'd rather leave the town in his rear-view mirror, but considering everything... Perhaps it were better to be cautiously curious, and have a small peek at things, then take it from there. Might be there were something in the chaos in town he could use to his advantage one way or another after all.

 

"I think there's only one way to be sure, though I don't like it too much. We need to get closer. Though, let's take it with a bit of caution here, alright? First sign of things still being bonkers, and we'll stray back before we're noticed. The edge of the forest should provide us with some cover, but also a point of view that would work, yes?"

 

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

 

 

 

@@EQ_Theta,

 

Omen looked around the manuscripts a little too. It all looked like gibberish to her, but a few of them had some things that stood out to her. Namely one, who had a sketch drawn on it that seemed to depict something with a bunch of longma, with the gibberish starting beneath it.

 

If she had been able to read it, she would have seen that this were some kind of history for the longma, though what kind wasn't clear until she had gotten it read to her, or it had been used to teach her how to read. Something which would likely take some time, but Sen might have an easy time with some of it, as Omen did recognize patterns, which were essentially what words were to her, and could repeat it like a parrot. She wouldn't necessarily know what it meant, but that were the harder part of the battle.

 

"This one. It is... Curious."

 

She pulled it out from the stack a little so that the two others could see which one she meant, though it seemed like Omen hadn't been the only one to find something in the stack that caught her eyes. Lin had too, but from the sound of her voice, this were in a totally other way than her. Especially considering she said she thought she had destroyed all there were of this one.

 

"Why would you want to have it destroyed, Lin? Is it a bad story? Some kind of spell?"

 

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

 

 

@@dragon4111,

 

"I hired a madpony... Dear Celestia, this is going to backfire on me."

 

Clayton hadn't anything else to say as he saw Draco fire himself off like he were a rock meant for enemy walls. It were utter madness to him, and he had hoped that Draco had simply been having a laugh on his behalf, but no, he had actually gone and... No. No, h-he couldn't focus on this right now. There were plenty more to deal with here, and at this point, eh couldn't exactly stop Draco anymore in any case, so he should get going, and try to push the madness of the situation behind him.

 

"Praised be I didn't send him to get something made of glass."

 

A shaky, hollow laughter escaped him for a few seconds before he took a deep breath and left towards town again, stopping only for a time again when he reached the market to see if he could get something from one of the stalls that were currently up. Just something to calm his nerves before the forepony would find him again.

 

As for Canterlot, the shop that Draco should be looking for shouldn't be too hard to fin. It was a sizeable store with Clayton's cutie mark as the sign, along with the title *Quartz Tool Shed* which wasn't that catchy of a title, but it did the trick he had found, so he kept it. Especially since it were his father's wish that this be the name, and he wouldn't go against that stallion. Not after all he had sacrificed during his upbringing to get him well educated.

 

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

 

 

@,

 

"Good. I have a few ponies ready to follow you out and look. Follow me."

 

They would have barely gotten away from the station before a greasy earth pony with a clock cutie mark, and a large, imposing Solar Guard that looked bored until his eyes fell on Last, met them. The later of the two had been reluctant to do as was asked of him, but the mare had frankly scared him, and still did a little, so he had just agreed to help with this little thing, then back on duty. It would be better that way.

 

"Gordan, this is Clockwise, and Meathead. Help them search, and if anything goes against you, let the big guy handle it. I'm sure he can take care of a little puppy on his own."

 

There were silence from the other two until she were out of earshot, at which point *Meathead* finally had the guts to talk.

 

"It's Golden Hammer, not Meathead."

 

"It could be worse. You saw what happened to the pony that went over and actually yelled in her face."

 

Golden shivered.

 

"Why do you think I just agreed to this, rather than take my chances?"

 

"Heh, yeah. You'd just end up on the sidewalk too. Can't be good in your line of work, even if you could bring her in afterwards."

 

Golden grunted a little and turned towards the forest, moving out to their goal whilst Clockwise went over and grinned at Gordan.

 

"He's a little grumpy, but it's okay. Stressful time and all that you know? Ready to go find some pieces of a clock?"

 

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

 

 

@@asdfmovienerd39,

 

"Well, let's hope we find they haven't been blown up. Wouldn't want to sea that."

 

The puns were horrid, he knew it, but it seemed to be something the strange pony liked, so whatever cheered him up a bit, right? Especially if they were gonna end up finding some corpses, which he really, rally hoped they weren't. THe town had enough bad things happening these days, and death shouldn't have to be part of that. Not for them, and certainly not for this pony, who had quite a vested interest too in these particular ponies.

 

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

 

 

@@asdfmovienerd39,

 

"A curse? Is that it? Jeez, guess it's good I came around then."

 

Florence were mortified as she saw Null quickly moving over to her uncle and grab hold in the whip, too fast for her to react, and then just yanked it away like it were nothing more than a simple item. Though from the look on her face, she didn't find this thing all that tasteful.

 

"Damn, what kind of nutter made this thing? I swear, cursed artifacts gets weirder and weirder every time I find one."

 

Zen might have tried her trick from before, with pulling this pony away with her magic, but she'd find it wouldn't work. Any magic that got anywhere near the strange pegasi would vanish like morning dew, leaving no trace it was ever even there, except for the lacking magic reserves of the caster, of course. Not something that would be common for Equestria, or really, any other places, but anti-magic was a rare thing to begin with. And somepony radiating it? Null had been on the road with her sister for twenty years now, and she hadn't seen anypony else like this. No stories about it either, which just made the mutation or whatever it were that much stranger in her eyes sometimes.

 

Far stranger than the looks she got from the others too, that were for sure. Especially the griffin, which seemed to be nearly frozen all of a sudden.

 

"What? He isn't gonna need it anymore."

 

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

 

 

@@Moonlit,

 

"Sorry, just have to check your spine."

 

It wasn't the most intrusive examination she could do, but she supposed that her hoof on a nerve-filled place like that could send shivers down your back a little. But, as she said, she had to check the spine a few places, which were just pushing lightly to see if it seemed fine, which thankfully it did. In fact, it seemed more than fine. Sturdy were perhaps a better word, but that would make sense she suppose, what with having to navigate in water that could add quite a bit of pressure if you took a wrong turn.

 

The backfin had been the only other thing there, but there hadn't been something special there, and since she had already seen Serenade's belly before, this left her with a part she were actually pretty curious about, even if she had seen it sorta up close a few times: The tail.

 

She pointed down towards it before moving as closely as she could to it, which included sticking her head in the water of Serenade were still there, and having a good long as the strong tail. Pretty fascinating stuff really, at least for her.

[Moonlit 593]

@@Blitz Boom, Serenade smiles and brings her tail fluke up and around so Ziggy can get a closer look. This is not the most intensive examination she's had, but she knows that it needs to be done. Besides watching Ziggy in "doctor mode" was actually kind of fun to watch. 

[asdfmovienerd39 55]

stuff

 

"Dude, I'm all about crackin' jokes and stuff, but let's not joke about the possibility of death. Okay?" Deadpan asked, giving Sea Breeze a look that was very clearly hurt.

 

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

 

"Oh, I wish I could remember how to fix this...I'm sorry, Florence." Zen held her head  low. "I failed...". Tears ran down her cheeks lightly. It was very clear she felt remorseful over all of this.

[cwhip9 1,078]

 

 

"I need to think on this more before I can say what happens now. Or what happened then. Let's just be on our way already."

Cresent nodded at his friends statement knowing not to push questions onto him. "good by me bud, this place will probably seem alien too you so ill try to make things easy for ya best I could."

 

The batpony waved cover up over to single the it was safe for the youngster to come forward and join them "so then you want a bite to eat before we go on your quest?" he said cheerfully

[dragon4111 914]

@Blitz Boom

Draco found the shop Quartz Tool Shed. He hummed as he reached into his saddlebags and pulled out the letter along with his note pad He walked into the shop. "I'm looking for Spelt Hacker," Draco said with a raised eyebrow. He hummed to himself as he walked to the counter.

[BloodDrops 762]

 

 

"A promise is a promise."   With that, Nerzhei handed the half pint of blood over to the pony. From what were said, she were going to need this, but even if she hadn't, a deal was a deal, even if it were a weird one like this.   It was well worth it for them both though. The pony got some of the liquid that unfortunate circumstances had required her to need, and Nerzhei learned something new that she hadn't expected to hear. Granted, it could be seen as a lie, but considering what else she had seen - the desperate attempt to get the scarlet drops she had sent downwards before for example - it seemed reasonable, though some things were still left unanswered. But, she hadn't said this blood were for hearing everything. It were for the story, and that she had gotten.   "It is rather fascinating to hear about though. Blood diseases aren't exactly rare, but to be of a kind that makes you require you to replenish your own reserves are not some I have ever heard about. An interesting mix of necrotic, parasitic and mutagenic it sounds like, though something tells me that examining it wouldn't be a good idea. If loose blood of this kind can infect you, I'd just endanger others by asking for a sample. Something which I doubt you'd agree to anyway."   Now that she didn't have to slightly threaten Blood, her voice and stare were a good deal softer, and somewhat excited. There were still a bit of hardness in things, but that were more or less impossible for her to put down outside of when she studied. It were more or less the only time she ever let her emotional shields completely down.   "The research aside, now that we have things sorted, perhaps we should sort something that were skipped."   The hand the vial had been in opened fully and reached out to a handshake. Not something the pony could do technically, but a hoofshake were more or less the same anyway.   "I am Nerzhei, scholar, and former citizen of Dragon Land. And this up here is Lotus."

 

 

Blood Drops glanced at the bunny, then at the hoof, she didn't touch it. "Don't do any sort of contact either, don't want to set off any sort of mutation, Last thing we need is a mutated dragon walking around. That would be a disaster. She instead took the vial when Nerzhel put it on the floor.

 

She then glanced at the bunny and then back at Nerzhei. "Well, I'm Blood Drops, Clenser of La Horde" she remarked. She let a yawn, "you see why i ran away then? I any of the guards attacked me or attempted to arrest me, even one cut would cause them to become like me, which is a very bad idea, since it could cause them to be infected." she remarked.

 

She sat down, "I did have some pony get some off my blood on them once, it didn't end well for them. Your too big for me to kill as well, It would be hard to hide your body" she remarked. She took a sip from the vial of blood, that helped alot. Kept her under control, "Though when i'm out of blood there might be trouble anyway, I will probably have to build a cage for myself or something, that would be a good idea" she muttered.

 

"So you're a scholar? you know anything about my condition at all? any cures you might be carrying around" she added.

[FanOfManyShows 396]

@@Blitz Boom, Astral smiled, she was right, again. It was his business. Also, the fact where he had the business set up was still around, and his mention of a smell, she had to say it... "Maybe they just couldn't get rid of it." She joked rather causally. "Well either way, you should be glad the shop still there, you could probably buy it back." She sat up, started searching for those bits earlier, failing to remember if she had already handed them to Chow.

 

While Astral searched the wagon, Misty realized where Chow's name came from. "So, you sell pet food? That explains your name. Although both Astral and me don't know the reason for either of our names."

 

"I still think it's because I have control over the Astral plane or something." She chuckled. "But that'd be ridiculous." It could be mistaken for a lie that was created because civilization was around them, since magic was banned Astral may have said it to hide that she could. but Astral really thought it was a crazy idea.

 

Astral looked to Misty, expecting her to say something, possibly about her own name. "Zebras don't usually give meaning to their names."

 

Astral turned her head to Chow. "Did I give you the bag of bits? I can't seem to find it on the wagon."

[Hazard Time 1,127]

@@Blitz Boom

 

The two crystal ponies quickly put their cloaks back on and followed behind the filly, the mare leading the way while her brother trailed behind.  They said nothing and were simply content to let Blitz lead the way.  The mare, however, continued scanning her surroundings, her paranoia still on edge.

[Blitz Boom 4,621]

@@Lloyd,

 

"You'd be amazed about what sorta things a professional can get out of the brickwork. A little smell like this shouldn't be a bother... Strange, but I suppose it's a good thing. As you said, it'll be possible to get it back perhaps. And if they haven't been able to do anything with it, it shouldn't be all that expensive with a little haggling."

 

It seemed very odd, but he shrugged it off for now and turned over to help Astral and Misty with the search. Not the search for their name meaning mind you, as that were a bit beyond his field of understanding, but the bits they were talking about.

 

"There's guards looking on from most places and I were gone for two and a half minutes to drag you two out. The odds that somepony have been able to nick something from the cart is near nil. Might be you just missed it."

 

With that, he went over and helped looking. Whatever the result of the search would end up being,he would be focused on that entirely, and not the mare that were walking over towards them after having exited from the neighboring antiques store. She were a unicorn with a base coat of green with yellow swirls in a pretty pattern, a long tail and elegantly styled mane that went down one side of her head - both a two-toned mixture of pink - and green eyes, looking at the three of them amused. Not as in laughing at them, but more in a *finding them funny to see here* sort of way.

 

Her cutie mark resembled an old pony figurine with dust falling off it, signalling well why she were in an antique store, but not much else as she approached them slowly, though silently for now. It seemed she were interested in seeing how their search went before making any waves.

 

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

 

 

@@Hazard Time,

 

They would get to the edge of the forest pretty fast, with not really anypony giving them more of a funny look than could be expected, considering the cloaks and all, but they didn't approach so that were something at least.

 

"Alright, we need to go... This way, right. Not gonna be too long. Oh, and don't step in the blue flowers if you see them. Bad things happen if you don't know what you're doing with poison joke."

 

She lead them around a small patch of exactly that kind of flower not long after that, pointing at it briefly and telling it again before moving on, excited to see what the two of them would think when they saw the house. Something which they would about ten minutes after they started if they kept a good speed, and would look... pretty good actually, all things considered. From the outside at least, the paint had peeled some, but there didn't seem to be any holes in the roof, the windows seemed somewhat blurry at times, but whole, and the front door... Could use a replacement, but that were what that were. And frankly not the biggest issue there could be.

 

But, they still had ten minutes. Might be something the pair wanted to talk about before they reached their strangely abandoned destination.

 

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

 

 

@@BloodDrops,

 

"Your case sounds too unique for me to know of a cure currently, especially when it is includes a mutagen, but... I could try a few things. I have some materials I use for testing purposes that could prove useful in at least containing it better, though they're still experimental, even in the way I intended for them to be made. But still, a pinch of holy magic and some degree of stabilizing effects through a few other, balancing energies... Perhaps if it got focused in a medallion to direct the flow more precisely? It's a theory, but it could work.

 

I'd need you to follow me then to the forest if you'd want to have it tested. I make my home out there, away from ponies for the time being. Gives me some peace for my research, so it is preferable for now too."

 

She seemed to be speaking mostly to herself as she went on about this, but it was a habit she had gained through years upon years of having basically only herself to speak with. It helped on the feeling of loneliness at times, and hearing herself speak on a thing could also do wonders for her focus when she felt stuck, so it was all good. Except for how others found her weird, but that were unlikely to change anyway, so that didn't matter all that much.

 

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

 

 

@@dragon4111,

 

A pony in his late forties turned around as he heard the name being called out. He was a pretty plain pony to look at, having a varying grey color scheme going from his coat, mane and tail to his eyes, with a greying, black beard to follow troop. He was about the height you could expect from a pegasi and were recognizable as the shop manager by the logo on his work shirt. On the sleeve to be exact.

 

"That's me."

 

He put a hoof forth to give a shake to Draco, as were customary as far as he were concerned, and gave the pony a quick once over, just to see what sort he were dealing with here. He seemed like a fine kid thus far though, and he wasn't armed, so that were two points in his favor. Time to see if there'd be any minuses that would end up giving him reason to toss him from the store.

 

"Haven't seen you 'round here before, so since you're looking for me by name, I'm gonna take a wild stab and guess you've been asked to find me? Heard my son's been getting stuff from the warehouses a lot today, so gonna take another stab and guess that it's him that sent you?"

 

There were some similarities between this pony and Clayton, that were for sure, but it was easier to see when Clayton wasn't nervous. For example, he tended to have the jolly spark in his eyes like his father did, but also that analytical outlook, and attempts at trying to be open and welcome to those they met. In Clayton's case that would be easier without the suit, but nopony took him serious without it in Canterlot, so it were a lesser evil he had to live with. More things stuck out, but really, Clayton looked more like his mother when it came to it. He just took most of his ways of interacting with others and such from his dad, to the best of his abilities.

 

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

 

 

@@cwhip9,

 

The rumbling of Cover-up's tummy would answer that before he had the chance to himself, and make him blush enough from the embarrassment to almost make him look like a tattooed tomato.

 

"I-I uhm... Yes p-please."

 

Zinthar took the chance at the colts distracted nature right now and went closer to now have a proper look. Considering all his eyes worked this time around, he might see something he didn't before, though alas, what he had seen seemed to be what he got. The colt didn't look too out there, not even with the... Wait, what did they have here?

 

He raised a paw and nudged gently to the ink quill the colt carried on his side, which made a jolt go through him and look to his side where Zinthar had been, but the cat had in the meantime gotten to his other side and now looked at the brush with a chuckle. It didn't give him more than a few seconds to check things out, but it were all he needed right now before he went over and walked slowly past Crescent, rubbing against his side and purring a little for fun. It was slightly degrading if it happened on accident, but his views on it got a bit more flexible when it came to toying with others, such as now.

 

"Yes, perhaps we should have a small break to have you two fed. Wouldn't want you to be all weak and vulnerable out there, right?"

 

He specifically said it that way because he knew that it made the colt nervous, but the way he half-purred the last part of his sentence to Crescent as he walked past him was also a bit of a show for him. Zinthar might be thankful for his help in getting him back to the real world, ad for giving him a bit of space to think for now, but that didn't mean he couldn't have a bit of fun regardless, no?

 

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

 

 

@@asdfmovienerd39,

 

"Sorry, sorry. Sometimes I don't think before I open my big ol' mouth. I'll try and keep it toned down, alright?"

 

So then, this was embarrassing. Though what else could he really have expected? It were in poor taste what he had said, and especially when you considered the timing of things - seriously, joking about death? What the hay dude? - and frankly, there wasn't a good enough excuse for this. Yeah, he might have rambled off and not thought about it, but with things like this, he really should have.

 

Honestly, he were amazed that the other pony hadn't clocked him one for it. Would've been well deserved if he had.

 

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

 

 

@@Moonlit,

 

It wouldn't take all that long to examine the tail, but it were still a pretty exciting thing, and especially when she started to consider what sort of power Serenade would be able to swim through the water with, since her tail had looked and felt rather strong in it, which would help a lot with keeping some speed in the water, surely. Or perhaps just to make it in deeper waters with higher pressure? Could be either. Or a third. Were hard to tell really.

 

After she were done with the tail though, she went over again to the journal quickly and scribbled a few things down before returning to Serenade.

 

"Best examination I can do without a more sterile room and some prep time that isn't too intrusive, but i learned a ton. Thank you for letting me do this Serenade."

 

With that, she tossed her hooves around Serenade's neck as much as she could, and hugged her siren friend. The scales tickled her a little, but it was all just part of the hugging experience when it came to the siren, and besides, who didn't like a little tickling sometimes? Could be fun.

 

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

 

 

@,

 

"Oh, I wouldn't do that, but the forepony... Jeez, you should have been there to see it. She does not take it well when somepony challenges her authority. Not like she attacked him or anything like that, but she really seems to have a way to get her point across regardless, and when she were done she just kept referring to Golden as Meathead. She might've thought he were a bit stupid."

 

Golden didn't see much, as he led the way into the forest and tried to ignore the the talk about his unfortunate new nickname, but Clockwise did see Gordan's cutie mark. Seemed a bit strange in it, but considering his were a bunch of gears with the numbers of a clock around it, who were he really to judge?

 

"Mind me asking, what's the meaning of your cutie mark? Mine's simple enough, as I repair and make clocks, and Golden up there is pretty self explanatory, but what's your deal?"

 

The thing with Golden referred to what could be seen of the guard's mark, which were a shield with a hammer crossed over it. Even without it though, the hammer down his side would have given some clues, but some were just meant to be easy to understand.

[dragon4111 914]

@Blitz Boom

Draco looked at the pony and handed him the letter. "Lived in Canterlot when I was a foal but now," Draco said with a chuckle. He looked at the stallion gauging him. "Yeah I'm Draco O'Malley owner of O'Malley rare and exotic courier services," Draco stated as he introduced himself he looked at the stallion. "Since your the recipient of this letter I need you to sign here and here," Draco stated as he pulled out a ball point pen with his mouth. And by using ventriloquism he asked "He said you had a package for me to deliver back to him?"

[BloodDrops 762]

@@Blitz Boom,

 

Blood Drops blinked, that was ok with her. "Yeah i can do that, if you could help that would be great" she remarked. She got up and blinked at the dragon, waiting for her to lead her to her lab. "are we going to your research place now? Or later?" she asked blinking, she wasn't that clever after all. She still wanted to be cured though she didn't want to jump the gun and end up getting worse. "So if you can fix me, I will make sure you are welcomed here, since well. Most ponies don't like dragons" she added blinking, "They think your scary and smelly" she continued. 

 

She began to follow the dragon but bumped into her, since she wasn't moving. She blinked this following really didn't work if the leader didn't move. She waited for the dragon to move.

[asdfmovienerd39 55]

@@Lloyd,

 

"You'd be amazed about what sorta things a professional can get out of the brickwork. A little smell like this shouldn't be a bother... Strange, but I suppose it's a good thing. As you said, it'll be possible to get it back perhaps. And if they haven't been able to do anything with it, it shouldn't be all that expensive with a little haggling."

 

It seemed very odd, but he shrugged it off for now and turned over to help Astral and Misty with the search. Not the search for their name meaning mind you, as that were a bit beyond his field of understanding, but the bits they were talking about.

 

"There's guards looking on from most places and I were gone for two and a half minutes to drag you two out. The odds that somepony have been able to nick something from the cart is near nil. Might be you just missed it."

 

With that, he went over and helped looking. Whatever the result of the search would end up being,he would be focused on that entirely, and not the mare that were walking over towards them after having exited from the neighboring antiques store. She were a unicorn with a base coat of green with yellow swirls in a pretty pattern, a long tail and elegantly styled mane that went down one side of her head - both a two-toned mixture of pink - and green eyes, looking at the three of them amused. Not as in laughing at them, but more in a *finding them funny to see here* sort of way.

 

Her cutie mark resembled an old pony figurine with dust falling off it, signalling well why she were in an antique store, but not much else as she approached them slowly, though silently for now. It seemed she were interested in seeing how their search went before making any waves.

 

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

 

 

@@Hazard Time,

 

They would get to the edge of the forest pretty fast, with not really anypony giving them more of a funny look than could be expected, considering the cloaks and all, but they didn't approach so that were something at least.

 

"Alright, we need to go... This way, right. Not gonna be too long. Oh, and don't step in the blue flowers if you see them. Bad things happen if you don't know what you're doing with poison joke."

 

She lead them around a small patch of exactly that kind of flower not long after that, pointing at it briefly and telling it again before moving on, excited to see what the two of them would think when they saw the house. Something which they would about ten minutes after they started if they kept a good speed, and would look... pretty good actually, all things considered. From the outside at least, the paint had peeled some, but there didn't seem to be any holes in the roof, the windows seemed somewhat blurry at times, but whole, and the front door... Could use a replacement, but that were what that were. And frankly not the biggest issue there could be.

 

But, they still had ten minutes. Might be something the pair wanted to talk about before they reached their strangely abandoned destination.

 

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

 

 

@@BloodDrops,

 

"Your case sounds too unique for me to know of a cure currently, especially when it is includes a mutagen, but... I could try a few things. I have some materials I use for testing purposes that could prove useful in at least containing it better, though they're still experimental, even in the way I intended for them to be made. But still, a pinch of holy magic and some degree of stabilizing effects through a few other, balancing energies... Perhaps if it got focused in a medallion to direct the flow more precisely? It's a theory, but it could work.

 

I'd need you to follow me then to the forest if you'd want to have it tested. I make my home out there, away from ponies for the time being. Gives me some peace for my research, so it is preferable for now too."

 

She seemed to be speaking mostly to herself as she went on about this, but it was a habit she had gained through years upon years of having basically only herself to speak with. It helped on the feeling of loneliness at times, and hearing herself speak on a thing could also do wonders for her focus when she felt stuck, so it was all good. Except for how others found her weird, but that were unlikely to change anyway, so that didn't matter all that much.

 

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

 

 

@@dragon4111,

 

A pony in his late forties turned around as he heard the name being called out. He was a pretty plain pony to look at, having a varying grey color scheme going from his coat, mane and tail to his eyes, with a greying, black beard to follow troop. He was about the height you could expect from a pegasi and were recognizable as the shop manager by the logo on his work shirt. On the sleeve to be exact.

 

"That's me."

 

He put a hoof forth to give a shake to Draco, as were customary as far as he were concerned, and gave the pony a quick once over, just to see what sort he were dealing with here. He seemed like a fine kid thus far though, and he wasn't armed, so that were two points in his favor. Time to see if there'd be any minuses that would end up giving him reason to toss him from the store.

 

"Haven't seen you 'round here before, so since you're looking for me by name, I'm gonna take a wild stab and guess you've been asked to find me? Heard my son's been getting stuff from the warehouses a lot today, so gonna take another stab and guess that it's him that sent you?"

 

There were some similarities between this pony and Clayton, that were for sure, but it was easier to see when Clayton wasn't nervous. For example, he tended to have the jolly spark in his eyes like his father did, but also that analytical outlook, and attempts at trying to be open and welcome to those they met. In Clayton's case that would be easier without the suit, but nopony took him serious without it in Canterlot, so it were a lesser evil he had to live with. More things stuck out, but really, Clayton looked more like his mother when it came to it. He just took most of his ways of interacting with others and such from his dad, to the best of his abilities.

 

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

 

 

@@cwhip9,

 

The rumbling of Cover-up's tummy would answer that before he had the chance to himself, and make him blush enough from the embarrassment to almost make him look like a tattooed tomato.

 

"I-I uhm... Yes p-please."

 

Zinthar took the chance at the colts distracted nature right now and went closer to now have a proper look. Considering all his eyes worked this time around, he might see something he didn't before, though alas, what he had seen seemed to be what he got. The colt didn't look too out there, not even with the... Wait, what did they have here?

 

He raised a paw and nudged gently to the ink quill the colt carried on his side, which made a jolt go through him and look to his side where Zinthar had been, but the cat had in the meantime gotten to his other side and now looked at the brush with a chuckle. It didn't give him more than a few seconds to check things out, but it were all he needed right now before he went over and walked slowly past Crescent, rubbing against his side and purring a little for fun. It was slightly degrading if it happened on accident, but his views on it got a bit more flexible when it came to toying with others, such as now.

 

"Yes, perhaps we should have a small break to have you two fed. Wouldn't want you to be all weak and vulnerable out there, right?"

 

He specifically said it that way because he knew that it made the colt nervous, but the way he half-purred the last part of his sentence to Crescent as he walked past him was also a bit of a show for him. Zinthar might be thankful for his help in getting him back to the real world, ad for giving him a bit of space to think for now, but that didn't mean he couldn't have a bit of fun regardless, no?

 

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

 

 

@@asdfmovienerd39,

 

"Sorry, sorry. Sometimes I don't think before I open my big ol' mouth. I'll try and keep it toned down, alright?"

 

So then, this was embarrassing. Though what else could he really have expected? It were in poor taste what he had said, and especially when you considered the timing of things - seriously, joking about death? What the hay dude? - and frankly, there wasn't a good enough excuse for this. Yeah, he might have rambled off and not thought about it, but with things like this, he really should have.

 

Honestly, he were amazed that the other pony hadn't clocked him one for it. Would've been well deserved if he had.

 

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

 

 

@@Moonlit,

 

It wouldn't take all that long to examine the tail, but it were still a pretty exciting thing, and especially when she started to consider what sort of power Serenade would be able to swim through the water with, since her tail had looked and felt rather strong in it, which would help a lot with keeping some speed in the water, surely. Or perhaps just to make it in deeper waters with higher pressure? Could be either. Or a third. Were hard to tell really.

 

After she were done with the tail though, she went over again to the journal quickly and scribbled a few things down before returning to Serenade.

 

"Best examination I can do without a more sterile room and some prep time that isn't too intrusive, but i learned a ton. Thank you for letting me do this Serenade."

 

With that, she tossed her hooves around Serenade's neck as much as she could, and hugged her siren friend. The scales tickled her a little, but it was all just part of the hugging experience when it came to the siren, and besides, who didn't like a little tickling sometimes? Could be fun.

 

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

 

 

@,

 

"Oh, I wouldn't do that, but the forepony... Jeez, you should have been there to see it. She does not take it well when somepony challenges her authority. Not like she attacked him or anything like that, but she really seems to have a way to get her point across regardless, and when she were done she just kept referring to Golden as Meathead. She might've thought he were a bit stupid."

 

Golden didn't see much, as he led the way into the forest and tried to ignore the the talk about his unfortunate new nickname, but Clockwise did see Gordan's cutie mark. Seemed a bit strange in it, but considering his were a bunch of gears with the numbers of a clock around it, who were he really to judge?

 

"Mind me asking, what's the meaning of your cutie mark? Mine's simple enough, as I repair and make clocks, and Golden up there is pretty self explanatory, but what's your deal?"

 

The thing with Golden referred to what could be seen of the guard's mark, which were a shield with a hammer crossed over it. Even without it though, the hammer down his side would have given some clues, but some were just meant to be easy to understand.

 

"Ah, it's fine. We all do it sometimes. I made a joke about the Changeling invasion, right in front of one of the victims." Deadpan chuckled. "Boy, that was a bad idea. I was lucky she was a pacifist. She had these really weird psychic powers that gave her the same basic abilities as a unicorn, and the ability to read minds and speak telepathically, but strangely enough she was an Earth Pony. Can't remember her name though.." he mumbled, before taking out a large packet labeled 'Casual Stroll [OOC' and flipping through it.

 

"Ah! Says here her name is Zen Sunflower. That...is a stupid name." he laughed, before putting the packet away.

[EQ_Theta 458]

@@Blitz Boom

"It... wasn't because there was anything bad in it."

Lin stutteringly replied, feeling the heavy weight of confusion and guilt at the same time. The anger from years past returned to her, flooding her mind with thoughts of revenge and fantasies of exacting out every kind of punishment to elder and the council at the time. She relished those long ago and wished them all to be real; setting fires and trapping them in their homes, hearing their pained screams as they begged for forgiveness but their cries would fall on deaf ears. Eventually, she settled with stealing the tome that supposedly stood for everything they were and burning it, wanting to see if they really prized it. That was without taking a peek and learning of any secrets it contained.

"I was angry, not in my right mind. I sought to find something in there that I could use to get back at them, maybe a spell or two. I wanted to get back at them by destroying what they 'supposedly' stood for with that codex of theirs and using their hypocrisy against them."

"The codex was a text that was meant for everyone to read. What is in there wasn't for the feint of heart and when readers are confronted with what is in them, their world would shatter because everything they knew was called into question. You are aware of the proverb on revenge, yes? What do the authors say about it, Lin?"

Sen spoke up, raising a much more serious tone. Something in his voice also carried an air of authority, one with some knowledge to impart. He suspected Lin knew much more than she was letting on but she couldn't answer. She knew what her brother wanted her to say but whether she couldn't say it or was intentionally withdrawing it, he can't tell.

Edited December 4, 2016 by EQ_Theta

[Moonlit 593]

@@Blitz Boom, Serenade nods and is halfway through a shrug when Ziggy hugs her. Smirking, Serenade uses her forehooves to propel herself off the rock and onto the floor, and then wraps her entire body around the Zegasus-hooves, muzzle, tail, everything, it's a full body hug. 

[Storm Shine 1,196]

(I'm finally back~!   Blitz got me a little caught up with an outline of what happened for the most part, but if I mess something up, please let me know. )

 

"Woah, What happened here?" Storm wondered aloud, as he walked into Ponyville with Pinkie and Grey, "Did another Ursa pass through?"

 

"We were only gone a little while.." Grey added, sounding worried. "I hope Scootaloo is okay.."

 

"I'm sure everypony is fine!" Pinkie chirped optimistically, "Sure all the buildings are a little crumbly, but I'm sure everypony made it out of whatever happened okay!" Her eyes widened, "Now I can have a 'YAY, The town is okay!' Party!, well... Later, but still, PARTY!" She exclaimed happily, clapping her hooves together with glee.

Edited December 4, 2016 by Storm Shine

[Blitz Boom 4,621]

@,

 

"I swear, if I hear even a trumpet, I will personally tie you up and put you under guard."

 

Voice had headed for them to second she aw the pink ball of joy bounce into town along with her... Family? Something like that she supposed, but she hadn't spoken with the gang of them that much when they had met around a week ago, so she wasn't entirely sure.

 

What she were sure about though, were that she wasn't going to stand for Pinkie suddenly starting a party, and she knew from word of mouth as well as the bit she recalled personally, that the mare liked to throw parties around. Normally that would be fine, but far as she were concerned, the ponies in this town could wait. The ones who had to tend to their hurt families and those grieving were of course left alone, but the rest needed to run on a schedule if they wanted this town rebuilt, which a party would end up ruining.

 

She had hoped not to have to cover this sort of thing, as she had heard Pinkie was out of town for a bit, but as she had wandered back towards the north of town after sending a little troop out to reclaim the pieces of the machinery in the clocktower, ans had spotted the mare, she could see she didn't have much of a choice. Doubly so when she ggot near enough to hear what they were saying.

 

"The town have had a good deal of the structures damaged with a need to be rebuild, and her highness, Princess Celestia and her royal majesty, Princess Luna, have asked of me to stand for the rebuilding efforts. This means that I have every single pony I can convince or who volunteers to help on the efforts, running on eight hour schedules, and doing very precisely as they are told to speed up the process. Something which a party would interrupt.

 

Now, I get you might want to cheer others up, but I aim to have this town rebuild in less than three days, and I will handle anything that goes against that. I hope I make myself clear?"

 

She'd stare at Pinkie with a narrow eye for a time before easing up slightly.

 

"Beyond that, I hope your trip was fine?"

 

A few things were changed with last since last they saw her. One were that the old sword she had been carrying were gone, and the one in the scabbard seemed to glow with flickering, white flames, even when covered up as it were now, and the wound on her torso looked bigger, and more freshly cared for than the last. Might be a story in that, but it wasn't hard to tell that it involved what had happened to the town, one way or another.