open Casual stroll

Blitz Boom · August 3, 2017

Benny let out a small sigh of relief. He had really not wanted there to be any kind of trouble between either the law, the law-abiding changelings, or this place, and hearing that the editor were willing to listen was a huge relief. Sure, it'd come at a cost to himself, but as he heard what that cost would be he just met it with a smile, though he turned to Printrose first.

"Thank you for that ma'am. It's always nice when everything can be sorted out by a chat, and of course I'll stick around and answer any question that you or your staff might have about the situation.

You don't need to worry about the time spent on this either. I'm using a few vacation days from my station in Canterlot to come pick up an engagement ring and a wedding pendant I ordered at Twinkle Dee's, and since I've already gotten hold of them, I'm set for time for a good while longer before I have to go on to the next part of my preparations. Expensive shop, but I'll say it's worth the year's salary it cost."

He reached down under the armor on his right front leg and pulled up the box he had been there to pick up earlier. Just a bit to show that the logo was there, to prove that he wasn't just fibbing, and... Okay, perhaps a teensy bit of pride swelled up in him too over it, and he was dying to share it with anypony. Not everypony that could say they were ready to propose with a piece of jewelry from a renowned shop that made custom orders, and that he had finally gotten to do this after the last three years of thinking hard on every bit he spent were not exactly the sort of thing that was easy to keep a secret from everypony for that long. It nagged at him to share, and since these didn't know him and it was just a bit instead of blurting it all out, it'd likely be fine. Took the edge off it too.

Without his knowledge, it might also work to calm down Light Rain, who might be able to tell now that the wall of love wasn't a defensive thing, but just what it appeared to be. A swelling amount of love, brought on by his movement towards proposing to somepony special to him, not to try and defend against having his other emotions read.

But again, he wouldn't know what was going on there, as he hadn't the faintest clue that the mare was a changeling. If he saw her lighten up, he'd just think it was because she were worried about the spreading of misinformation too. Either way, he'd for now turn to Striking Detail, with a grin so happy on his face that it was almost slap-able. Not a good idea to actually slap him though. Both because he was a guard, and because the armor on his face would make it a painful exercise in futility.

"Anyway, if you need me for the writing, I'm all yours sir. And uhm... I'm sorry about calling you ma'am a few times before. My head was other places and when both you and your companion started to talk, I got a little confused. I didn't mean to imply that you were a lady, sir."

His grin turned a bit sheepish and a slight pink hue spread on his cheeks. It was a bit of an embarrassing episode for him to mess this up.

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@EQ_Theta

Omen tilted her head and looked back at Lin, uncertain about why she were looking at her the way she did. Were it something to do with the conversation the other ones had just before, about the dreams? She didn't think it was something else, but it sounded strange. Something which only those who could sleep would have to deal with normally, and now she might want her there? Guess there was only one way to really be sure about this.

"You... Want me to come to the dream world?"

The words were hesitant, but she pressed on a little more, in case it were this. If it wasn't, she were going to appear as a fool, but she supposed that didn't really mean anything. She were already given strange looks, how could her saying things make it worse?

"If you do, I'll go. If you can find out how."

Omen remembered well the situation before Lin and her had went to the well, as well as how much turmoil Sen looked to be in when he slept, compared to others she had examined when they rested. Much told that Sen needed help, and if she had guessed right in what were going to happen here, she could be there to help him too. Something she wasn't going to back down from, but she needed to be sure about it first. Might be that Lin were looking at her in a way to plead Omen to stay and keep a look over/fetch something, whilst she went into his mind.

She felt a claw just above her head, and the slithering form of the small drake in her mane climb it eagerly.

"I'll watch over this while you are gone, as well as a general watch over your unconscious or resting forms. Unless this requires them to be in a specific location Scholars? I can bring you there if need be, otherwise, my realm is secure and at your disposal."

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@Dji @Widdershins

Spicy chuckled at the notion that this were the standards she had spoken about. It was almost endearingly naive, but that seemed to be a theme with this griffon. Bit blind to some of the things beneath the surface, though this time around, it wasn't like Spicy could blame her. After all, even though Spicy were wearing some relatively fancy clothes and talked about being a loan shark, not much about her really said she were more than somewhat above general wages. It was an honest mistake to think that was all to her.

"What you see ain't all you get, but tell you what, if we're still running along when the road leads to Baltimare or if we have a run in there in general one time, I'll give you a tour of my mansion. Pretty nifty place I'd say, though to be fair, loan sharking doesn't buy most of that. That's were being a good poker player comes into hoof. Though to be completely frank, the was handed down from my grandmother. I just made sure to pay off all the debt and then make it more personalized after that.

Anyway, little point in flaunted my at times ill-gotten gains. Tell me more about your trip. Might as well have a chat on this trip to pass the time until we hit something worth looking at, right?

Bit of a sidenote first though, loan sharks in Equestria is also subject to prison if they get too violent with others and try to beat the bits out of their clients. Sub-contractors are the key to success in this business, lemme tell ya. But I'm rambling on. Come on, let's hear more about your trip."

She neglected to mention something about the parents since the only response she could think about were a bit too... Vulgar for polite conversation so to speak, and though she were for just yapping off, a few things should be kept to yourself at times.

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@Foxy Socks

"Raised by a pony, but never one of you."

His tongue slithered out and felt the air again. It tasted of worry and nervousness. Not that he were an emotion-reader, but bodies gave off some signature smells when certain feelings rose up. Like nervous perspiration, of the clangy smell of fearful sweat.

"I take it you wish to know why I subjected other beings to change, even if they could have grown eventually on their own? Appeasement of a being prepared to war, and the beginning of bloodlines that eventually will matter. A small sacrifice in the grand scheme of time."

He rose his head and for once looked at the equines of various backgrounds. The face were still darkened, though details could be seen better, and would show a serpentine face, covered in raised scales in white and orange, appearing as stripes.

What would draw most attention though, would be the eyes. Clearly that of a snake of some kind, and highly visible considering they glowed in a golden color.

His eyes landed on each of them, but paused at Foxy before returning to Briar, who stood defensively in front of a surprisingly calm Brittle.

"Just one more generation it seems, if handled correctly."

Zhu returned his sight to Foxy once more, whilst Briar stood cautiously in front of the - for once - calm mare who were looking surprised around her.

It was a bit eerie actually. Usually she'd stutter, lay low to the ground, or at least look at you like you were a danger, but right now, nothing. Briar would likely have said something about it if his back wasn't turned to her, so he didn't notice.

"Curious ways you are going to tread, especially with the feathered companion you have with you. One bound for another, yet following you... It seems plans must be corrected later."

Zhu looked at Foxy with slight interest, seemingly waiting for her to say or do something, whilst mumbling slightly to himself. What he were saying wasn't clear though, like with basically everything about him. Perhaps he were awaiting her next accusation?

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

@Moonlit @Seamore Sandwich

Serenade's attempt would work to a point. She were smaller, so her wingspan could fit here, however, Ziggy were still larger and already had momentum, so she'd just slow the fall, not stop it as they hit down into a half-rotten mess of wood that once held up the food in storage for the princesses, though the racks would crack easily now, after all the years of neglect.

The good news for Serenade would be that Ziggy would take the brunt of things, which would knock the air out of the Zegasus and cause her to twitch and swim between being conscious and unconscious a little beneath the pile of wood. From the sound of her groaning, she were alive though, and with no smell of blood wafting through the air, it seemed like they had gotten lucky.

The bad state of the wood had apparently helped, along with Serenade's intervention. Now it was just to hope that the half-unconscious Ziggy didn't break anything in the process, and that Serenade hadn't landed in a way that would still end up hurting her.

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

@Radience

"Greetings madam, and welcome to our establishment."

A greeter of sorts had passed by as she had entered, and had stopped up to look at the somewhat stern, but rather pretty mare.

"We are pleased to see that you have chosen the Palace Diego on your travel to our fair town. Is there any way I can be of assistance?"

There were much more he could say, but he knew not to bother ponies who had just arrived with too many questions. Greet them with a smile, style, and a basic introduction of the place before going to an offer of help. If there would be a need for his services, then he could tell more, but for the time being that were up to their guest.

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@Dji

"I'm sorry about that. I just get a little perky in it when I have gotten enough coffee. I'll try and keep myself more in check."

Pop started to clean up, taking unused bread and seal it up well so she could use it later, taking the jam and such back to their places, and pouring the last small bit of coffee out. They both had enough to get by with for now it seemed, so this should be fine to go through with.

Eventually as she were done, hopefully Dawn would be too so she could clean up her plate and the glass the sundae had been in.

"Soon as I get the last few things cleaned up, we can go and have a look at things. It'll be fun. It have been ages since I lead somepony though my storage, and I'm pretty curious what might end up luring you in."

Edited August 3, 2017 by Blitz Boom
Added colors.

Props Valroa · August 3, 2017

@Blitz Boom

Richie smiled at the greeter. "I'm here to have some fun doing some slot machines and making money. Where would that place be if I may ask?" she asks rather elegantly. For Richie, hopefully no guards were on her trail. She wants to get further into the casino to make searching for her harder.

Moonlit · August 3, 2017

@Blitz Boom @Seamore Sandwich "Oh BLOODY!...." Serenade follows her friend into the rotten wooden structures. Blinking she looks around, trying to see where the torch landed and where Fah'lina was. She then goes to check on Ziggy. "Who puts a trap door in...a...old...castle...." She smirks, "nevermind, stupid question" she grumps to herself.

Holiday Agnaktor · August 3, 2017

@Blitz Boom @Windchime

Light Rain responded to Printrose with a nod. Still a bit subdued from all that information that she had just gotten from Benny talking. So...they were trying to help changelings be more integrated into society...? But Chrysalis had always told everyone that ponies weren't... well now she felt stupid. She never really let go of what Chrysalis had told everyone, even though it was obviously all lies. Well, mostly lies. Ponies were still quick to judge, but they weren't the heartless monsters that Chrysalis had told everyone that they were.

While she realised this, Benny also told everyone that he had bought an engagement ring, which made Rain feel extra dumb. He hadn't put up defenses, he was just madly in love and she couldn't handle that much. Well then. She kind of owed everyone an apology, except for the fact that they probably didn't even know that she did anything in the first place. Fantastic.

As a result of all this, she looked a bit annoyed, yet happy at the same time. Mostly annoyed.

She was going to have to talk to Benny after all this interview stuff had ended. This cause that he had been talking about, to help changelings be more accepted, sounded like a good one, and maybe she could help in some way. She was going to talk a bit with him first to try to see how he thought about changelings before doing anything that could possibly get her in trouble.

But first, tea-time with ms. Printrose.

Foxy Socks · August 3, 2017

@Blitz Boom

Foxy had never felt this terrified in a long time. Zhu's presence made her feel helpless. While at that moment he did not seem to have reason to harm anypony, she still felt disgusted by him. Foxy heard his reasoning, but it only made her more angry, with her rage now overtaking her fear. She stood back up, still shaking from her strong emotions, yelling, "It isn't right to do that whatever the reason! You can't just interfere with our growth and change us! You caused much unneeded suffering for the Evergrown. I can't forgive you for that!"

She rarely becomes angry, but Foxy has a hard time controlling her anger when she is. Her voice becomes shaky and higher pitched, which annoyed her because whenever she did yell she sounded "cute" to others. Foxy's voice was incapable of becoming too low pitched.

EQ_Theta · August 3, 2017

@Blitz Boom

"This place will do. We will perform the procedure ourselves to minimize risk.

The orb the scholars are sealed in created three streams of light from themselves and enveloped Sen, Lin, and Omen. It felt warm and relaxing as each part of their body was being primed for the next step of the procedure. Sen was unsure about this given his dislike of magic and knowing about how Lin messed up the first time. Though he would be vehemently against this the first time she suggested trying it, him living with little bits of magic through the spectral guardians has eased him into using and having magic used on him. That feeling of warmth also felt like it was slowing down the siblings' vitals to a state normally associated with sleep but Lin knew she and Omen couldn't sleep. Before she and her brother could say anything more, a pulse radiated from the orb and knocked all three unconscious instantaneously, dropping their limp bodies to the ground.

Lin's vision grew dark for a second before waking up on a path made of stars and the sight of a midnight blue sky and doors of all types as far as her eyes could see. Each one had a distinct look on them, likely reflecting on the location where these memories were made. One had the distinct look of a Canterlot-style arch common in their architecture, another had a corrugated metal texture, likely one of the shanties Sen made while out searching for her. There was also one of the family hut back in the village. Omen was on the ground next to her. Lin propped her up and examined her to see if there were any side effects of bringing beings who didn't require sleep into the dream realm. So far, Omen looked fine. Back in Mother's realm, a visualization emerged right before her eyes, seeing the same landscape as Lin and Omen would see it, allowing her to communicate with them and monitor their progress.

Once more, the sound of the booming voices of the scholars echoed through the realm and spoke to the two visitors. "This is Sen's dream realm. Each door you see here contains a memory that you can view and interact with. However, be careful not to cause damage to them as these can permanently alter Sen's mind, likely damaging it beyond repair. The region you are in is where the anomalies are closest. This will not take long if you act fast and know what you are looking for."

Indeed, Lin may have already spotted the anomaly mentioned in the overview. There was a door on the distant end of a broken path. Floating platforms separate he fixed path and the door, which looked like metal bars tied together with chains and sealed shut.

FanOfManyShows · August 4, 2017

@Blitz Boom

He very well knew this was a trap, he waved a hoof behind himself, sending out a blast in hopes to knock the guards away. His head being knocked away as a wing clipped the horn on his helmet, Iron Wing playfully spun the helmet on his hoof. "A horn for decoration? Bit desperate for intimidation." He threw the helmet on the ground, Warlock staring at him with a grim look, but without the helmet, the bleeding on the side of his head would be easier to see. Iron Wing took his moment to strike, blasting at Warlock, who ducked beneath him, grabbing the metal wing as it passed over his head, ripping it off and sending Wing tumbling across the ground.

"Hypocrite." He said tossing the wing down, the blades in the wing separating apart and flying over to Iron Wing and reconstructing the wing. Wing grinned, spinning and throwing some feathers at Warlock, who dodged them, grabbing one but instead of heading towards Wing, he flew over to Dew, aiming the feather at Dew's chest, and another hoof at the amulet, although the feather flew back over to Wing, leaving Warlock to punch the amulet with his hoof and possibly break or crack it, and it was unlikely anypony knew what'd happen if it did that. Unless Dew reacted to prevent it.

dosey doe · August 4, 2017

@Blitz Boom

Dosey gasped. "Chocolate... fountain??" She made a strange gurgling noise and a small tuft of white foam escaped her mouth.

[HEAVY BREATHING]

After some moments, her faculties (such as they were) returned, and she continued down the street, every now and then muttering "chocolate fountain" to herself, as though in reverence to some god.

Merlin's loomed up ahead. Well, not really loomed, since the building wasn't particularly large or imposing or ominous, and was painted in soft pinks and yellows and creams, just like every other building in Ponyville. Anyway, they were approaching it.

Edited August 4, 2017 by dosey doe

Windchime · August 4, 2017

@Blitz Boom

Striking Detail got a glance of the box the dragon guard produced, and quickly grew impressed. The trademark glossy top of the box complete with a subtle silver elegant ridge to be able to lift the box open with one smooth movement of hoof as one would kneel down to propose (a move many a colt-becoming-stallion would practice before their proposals) with the Twinkle Dee "TD" logo in small yet excessively italic-curlicue letters cast in gold slightly above the ridge, the completely hidden hinges of the box, and the matte bottom of the box to serve as backdrop for the insides: presumably the classic red cushion with faint roses perfume as the wedding jewel is proudly located in the middle of the box: Striking Detail could confirm by the make and finish of the box that that was not a fake.

Avabella Printrose just assumed it was not a fake by the pride in the dragon's voice.

Some of the female writers grew starry-eyed at the sight of the box alone, until Printrose told them to keep working. Eventually, they put their heads down again. Not for long, though, as the dragon finished his sentence giving Striking Detail permission for the interview (and his apology, to which Striking Detail merely raised an eyebrow to), Most writers (curiously, except for the dragon again) immediately piped up with questions.

"Where have you heard this from?" "Have you seen one of these hives for yourself?" "How long has these new hives been operating?" "Have you met any changelings yourself?" "Who do you think their new queen is?" "What do you think this new queen will do with the love they harvest?" "Is Canterlot in danger again?" "Is the royal guard doing something about this already?" "How successful have these integration programs been?" "Can I expect that program in Manehattan?" "Can changelings even do anything except harvest love and be menacing?" .... All the writers tried to get a word in at the same time, waving to the dragon, ready to type any answer that comes their way.

Striking Detail looked to the dragon and shrugged: "Seems like they want to go first."

Avabella Printrose let out a "Pah. Typical" and gestured to the young green mare to come along as she trod away.

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@Holiday Agnaktor

Walking down a hallway away from the squabble of writers, Printrose, a smaller-than-normal (smaller than Light Rain) unicorn with a constant professional look on her face to make up for it, with a purple coat and neatly combed long, curly dark-blue mane contrasting Striking Detail's short ragged, quickly done mane, and a cutie mark of an article with a big rose overlaid, entered the considerably fancier looking lobby with marble tiles and wooden furniture.

A luxurious-looking couch and chair were situated next to a low coffee table, and on the coffee table was a small tea tray with a teapot only one cup, seemingly prepared in advance for Printrose alone. Printrose noticed that and quickly grabbed a second teacup from a cupboard before sitting down on the chair (On a side note, Detail often resented the fact that the break room/lobby of his work is fancier than his entire apartment).

Printrose made an effort to relax her otherwise professional look on her face to a more friendly and warm smile as she said: "Sit down, my girl, and have some tea. You don't have to be so on-edge. What is your name, young lady, and what did you come here for?" Printrose looked the green pegasus up and down. She, too, noticed the remarkable gradients with a slight bit of envy, but quickly brushed away the thought.
Printrose thought she looked... oddly out of place in this building for some reason, as if she supposed to be doing something else at this moment or something along those lines, but since the lass agreed to a nice cup of tea, Printrose assumed that wasn't the case.

Printrose levitated the teapot to fill the two teacups with hot water, and grabbed two valentine's day special blend cherry tea teabags with a small heart printed on it, feeling like it was quite topical for the whole changeling and dragon-in-love happenings. She gently put the teabags in the cups with hot water, patiently waiting for an answer.

Edited August 5, 2017 by Windchime
Jealousy -> Envy

Blitz Boom · August 5, 2017

@Holiday Agnaktor @Windchime

Benny might have picked up on the looks from some of the mares in the room, if it wasn't because he had been bombarded with questions soon after that and he had to try and focus on digging his way out of this avalanche of inquiries. Hopefully he would cover everything well enough for their liking, though something told him the snow were freshly fallen on Mount Newsponies, and talking would make a new wave rumble down toward him.

"Okay okay, I hear ya. Let's just try to take it one at a time, okay? From the top.

1. I heard it directly from the generals of the Night and Solar guards in Canterlot. They addressed us about it two days after the first negotiations began, with other branches of the guards being told through official scrolls over the next few weeks. The exception to that is the Coastal Guard, who as far as I know, have been addressed by General Tidal Wave at a mass gathering last week.

2. I have not been inside a hive, no, though others in the guard in Canterlot have. They've told some pretty interesting stories about how it looks, with the hardened bile making up the walls, crevices for the drones to rest in, feeding chambers and of course, nurseries for their young. Side note to that: Changeling young are called nymphs, and apparently they're pretty adorable.

3. I haven't met any changelings yet, sadly. I've written myself up to the integration program though, so I might soon.

4. I can combine two here and say that if you mean the main hive, there isn't a queen currently. I don't know what that says about the reproduction aspect of the main hive, but it is possible that King Thorax will eventually partner with a queen from one of the smaller hives. If they do, I assume their nymphs and hives in general, won't even harvest love, since it seems they don't need it at King Thorax's hive's state of evolution.

5. Canterlot is not in danger again, I can assure you of that. The new king are very determined to have a good, political relationship with Equestria, and the few hives who are less certain doesn't have the power to take over any of the larger towns. In case the deposed queen Chrysalis returns with a force again, I can also let you in on our security being far better prepared for a changeling assault now, though understandably, I can't tell you in what ways. The generals prefer to keep security measures a secret, just in case.

6. If you mean the attack in this time, I assume the Royal Guard is actively looking into it. I am stationed in Canterlot, so I don't know the extend of the branch in Manehattan, but any guard worth carrying their armor would know this was something to be on alert about. I'm sure they're simply not sharing information currently to make sure none of the troublemakers haves a change to run away, though you could ask them and see if there is a statement they're willing to make.

7. We have only run a small test of the integration system at this point, but the results seems mostly positive. It will of course take time to get used to for ponies, but we believe that if they see our new allies openly around Equestria and hanging out with regular ponies, it will help normalize their presence, rather than demonize it. So far, we have gotten around two dozen volunteers outside of the guards in Canterlot willing to give this a shot, and the number slowly rises, with additional support from the guard itself of course.

8. Yes, you can expect this program to come to Manehattan eventually as well. We still need to test it out fully in Canterlot, but if it goes well, you might start to see notices looking for volunteers within the next month or so. If you do, I will highly urge anypony to try and be open-minded and give this a chance. As journalists, it will also give you a chance to ask questions directly from them about the structures and inner workings of the hives, in case you wish to do more articles on changelings.

And the last one for now: 9. Changelings are more than capable of being less than menaces and love-thieves. You have to understand that the biggest issues in the past have been with the main hive when Queen Chrysalis were in power, and her control of the hivemind were strong enough to mostly render any drone her loyal slave. With her defeat, and her hive taken away from her, the drones are generally more free to think now, and show personality.

i can give as an example some of what I know about King Thorax. He ended up being away from the hive and the hivemind for a while, and it led him to try and seek ponies out in a friendly manner within the Crystal Kingdom. It had some... Expected results unfortunately, but through a dragon from Ponyville called Spike - the assistant to Princess Twilight Sparkle as far as I am aware - it became more tolerable for both parts, and until he took the throne, he did well in not making issues and actively trying to integrate.

A thing to keep in mind here too, is that the Crystal Kingdom are ruled by Princess Cadence and Shining Armor, two of the most affected by the changeling assaults in Canterlot, and they were willing to not rain judgemental fire down upon the wayward drone. If they can forgive and be open-minded about the changelings being able to be more than harbingers of evil, I'd like to think that anypony could."

Phew, that was a clawful. Hopefully this would answer at least the current questions, though Benny took a few deep breaths to prepare himself for round two, which may include follow-up questions to his current answers.

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@dosey doe

"I know, right? It sounds so delicious it's a wonder no place have thought about it. Well except for Las Pegasus, but let's be honest, they'll do anything to get tourists."

Sorrow licked her lips a little at the thought of that restaurant in the festive cloud city that had that fountain as part of their buffet menu. Man how she had been reluctant to get out of town after she found that, but Legion just wouldn't let her have fun in one place too long. She'd go back there though, no questions about it. Well, except for the date she'd go there, but that was a small detail.

Bouncing along the street a little more, she noticed a shop they got closer to, in some welcoming warm colors with a sign above the door. She couldn't read it to begin with, but as they got a little closer, a big grin spread on her face as she saw the name, and knew their destination - and more importantly, muffins - were near.

"Yey, we're almost there. I can almost taste the baked goods already."

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@Foxy Socks

Zhu looked utter unaffected by the yelling, and just kept on with his mumbling.

Who didn't back down however, were Agni, who had gotten the gist that this was an enemy considering how he Foxy were harping at him, which prompted her to jump up to Foxy's head and breath in, before unleashing a torrent of flame towards the robed being.

"*mumble* Kagera."

The last word in what seemed to be a long sentence were spoken loud, and the flames heading towards him turned to ash, and slammed harmlessly against him like a dustpan had been emptied into the wind.

The agitated phoenix would try to blast another wave, but she felt strangely weakened, and instead wobbled back to Foxy's back, where she'd lay down.

"Phoenixes. Aggressive, territorial, and predictable. It should be an hour before she can attempt to burn me again."

He had seen what the bird would do as Foxy would start to to yell, so a little in advance of said outburst, he started to cast a spell that would take care of this problem in case this line of actions turned out to happen, and predictably, it had. A pity really, as he had no beef with the bird, but he couldn't have it burn his robes. He needed them.

"And I well know that I don't deserve yours, or any others forgiveness. I can explain my actions in far more details than I ever cared to, but that doesn't mean I expect others to forgive or understand, and in the end, that short-sighted view of justice is what will kill me.

Eventually I will be judged a final time by somepony like you. My body will be put in a shallow grave and forgotten, and that will be it. At least until the elements finds a new harbinger to replace me, and the cycle begins anew, rendering my forgotten death a pointless action. Just another sacrifice for a greater cause."

Zhu considered making Foxy see a snippet of what he had, about what would have happened if the Evergrown had not been planted where they had, and mutated the beings they had as the trees rose. Normally not a thought he entertained, but he were... Conflicted now. The Forgotten that had attacked Ponyville had blocked his view from going any further, and now he had to try and find what to correct and do from scratch in what were essentially a new time. It lead his thought towards places they normally weren't allowed to by him. Like giving direct information, or returning to see his mother, rather than protect her from the shadows.

His *masters* had not given him new directions for now either, so he had some degree of choice in things for the first time in nearly a millennia, and the freedom and possibilities were daunting, so to speak.

His thoughts on how to perhaps proceed here, and gaze at Foxy to see what her responses might be in case she attempted violence next, were interrupted however, as Brittle came over and yanked in Foxy's leg a little.

"Please don't fight Foxy. I don't want to see anypony get hurt."

Briar moved closer, more and more confused about everything going on right now. And cautious too. If something started to happen, he'd have to be ready to interfere. Especially with Brittle now so close to this stranger, though he were getting nervous about how an attack might end with his vine turning to dust too, which would be horrible. It would essentially leave him without his hunting tools, which in turn either meant somepony would help learn him how to fish with regular tools for the job, or he'd start to starve.

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@Radience

The stallion smiled at the mare, then in a smooth motion bowed with his hat in hoof like a gentlecolt.

"It would be my pleasure to show you towards our slot machines madam. Please, follow me."

Straightening up right after bowing, he urged Spoiled Rich to follow him with a nod of his head before wandering deeper inside the casino in calm steps.

Diego were not per se a pony of that much importance here, if you ignored his name. He wandered around the casino, keeping check on things, and made some public excuses as for why his grandfather - Diego Pennyworth the First - were not here to attend things himself. The truth about how the old stallion didn't want to wander around the lower ranks unless he absolutely had to were not acceptable, and since his grandson had been having some issues finding a job, he had figured that he might as well make usage of him as a public face in the casino, unless it were a special event where he were required to attend.

"Shall I give you a tour of every area of slot machines we have, or shall I direct you towards our best? A mare of refined taste such as yourself must not want to linger with the common-folk, no?"

The way she wandered around, the look in her eyes, the beautiful pendant she wore and so forth. Plenty of signs that she were not a farmer, like a good deal of the tourists tended to be, and she should be addressed accordingly. Unless he were told otherwise of course.

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

@Moonlit @Seamore Sandwich

Being smaller and lighter than either of the two others, Fah'Lina had just spread her ears and floated easily down in the dark towards the singular source of light, and the two that had tumbled down like sacks of potatoes.

As for Ziggy, she were still not decided between unconsciousness or getting back to her senses in the pile of wood, though that wouldn't be as much an important factor as getting the torch before it set fire to something. The wood down here were pretty dry after all these years, and it wouldn't be good to have it get hold of something, though right now it was thankfully not touching wood. Long as Serenade didn't drop it after getting hold of it, everything should be fine. If she did however, no promise.

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

@EQ_Theta

Omen slowly rose up and shook her head, confused at what had just happened.

One minute they were getting some kind of magic cast on them, then the next... Another spell? Whatever it had been, it had hit pretty hard, and then all of a sudden there had been nothing. Was this sleeping? If it were, then she didn't mind not being able to. Seemed pretty uncomfortable.

"...What is this place?"

There were stars and sky all around them, as if they were flying in the heavens, but she felt something like ground beneath her hooves, so it couldn't be that, right? No, it had to be something else, otherwise that wouldn't make sense. And now she had a closer look around her, that wasn't the only thing that wouldn't fit.

There were doors everywhere. They varied in designs, colors, and even shapes, but they were doors nonetheless. What exactly was this place? Was this Sen's dream or-

A voice broke in and settled her mind on that subject. This really were Sen's dream, and for some reason, his memories were shown as these doors. Strange, but the booming voice knew better than her, so she'd believe them. Lin seemed to as well, and she weren't stupid. She would know who they were to trust.

It seemed she also knew where they were going, considering she looked at a pretty unusual door. Sealed and chained up from the look of it, and the path there were shattered and broken. Something were very off about that one, and as it seemed, they had to go there and handle it. Nothing a gate couldn't handle.

A minute or so passed of Omen trying - and failing - to open even the tiniest of gates, before she had to give up. Apparently she couldn't do that in this dream world, but then how were they going to get over there? Jump on the shards of the path?

"Yes, guess that's it."

Not thinking more on it, Omen started to wander over towards the edge headed for the nearest shard to jump on to. Seemed like the only way as far as she could see, so jumping and hoping not to fall appeared to be the way forward. If it wasn't... Well, Lin would have to be somewhat fast in it to stop her then, before she took the leap.

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

@Lloyd

Dew stood still as rock until Warlock were almost close enough to touch him, then in a fluid motion spun out of the way, and used the momentum to swing the flail on his tail down upon the witch.

The former general were not in his prime anymore, that was a fact, but he were still plenty tough in a physical fight, and this pony had leaped in like a rookie with a predictable attack. Frankly, if he hadn't tried to go for him personally, Dew would have just left Iron Wing to take care of him himself. The new general seemed to be rather capable against the invader.

Considering Screecher followed up right after with a swift strike from her urumi though, he were going to let the youngsters have their fun and not follow through with a kick to the back of Warlock's head to debilitate him, and instead jumped backwards so he could keep near Iron Star, Astral and the whole gang of merry ponies around them. Make sure they were protected from further assaults and all that, while also making sure that no strike hit the amulet. He doubted a simple kick would destroy it, but the devious thing might retaliate in some fashion, and nopony wanted to try that.

Pity that the guards behind Warlock hadn't been as protected as them. The better part of the waver were drained by the amulet, but it still knocked back several guards into the door, blocking the entrance, and causing a brief pause from the assault behind Warlock. The offensive were for now focused on the front, but it wouldn't be long before the linebackers had gotten on top of things again, and he'd get a beating from there. And that was if Screecher and iron Wing didn't quickly move there to cut him off, just in case.

Five seconds after this, a vibe in the air would also tell that the teleportation guard in the castle would be up and running again, so unless Warlock had a truly great trick up his sleeve, he were now attacked from nearly all directions - Chow looked ready to pierce his head with his spear if he got half the chance - unable to really use magic, and soon out of the option to teleport away unless he got out to. It wasn't really looking good for him.

"In the name of the Royal Guard, you're under arrest. Surrender, or feel the consequences."

Perhaps a bit prematurely of Screecher, but it was a spur of the moment thing that got blurted out whilst the adrenaline pumped in her veins. This was going to get solved faster than she had first anticipated.

Edited August 6, 2017 by Blitz Boom

Props Valroa · August 5, 2017

@Blitz Boom

She thought for a second. "I'd like if you would direct me to the best of the best. Suited for me as I am the best of the best. Thank you." she said with a sly grin. Today was going to be the day of winnings for her, hopefully.

Moonlit · August 5, 2017

@Blitz Boom @Seamore Sandwich Serenade shakes her head, "stars belong in the sky, not before my eyes" she grumbles as she quickly scans the walls for a sconce or sometype of wall hanger for the torch. She quickly grabs the torch and keeps it away from the dry wood.

Sekel · August 6, 2017

@Blitz Boom

DAWN

"Coffee does weird things to my brain. Don't know why I have that stuff to begin with," Dawn muttered and finished up the sundae, sighing at having a cool mouth once more. "I'm just glad my mouth feels normal now. But, going through your storage and store should prove fruitful," she said slowly, thinking on it a bit. Dragon or not, she's determined to keep her new friend. Even if it means going through her days, forcing that one little, well big, fact to the back of her mind if she ever visited in the near future.

@Widdershins & @Blitz Boom

AURORA

"Poker ... poker ..." Aurora mumbled, tapping a claw against her beak. "Is that a game where you continuously poke a pony until they say 'stop'?" she asked curiously, placing her talon back on the ground and continued after the cart. "Although, if we're talking about different things, I will gladly tell you about my trip. So far, I've explored Manehattan, which is really high and fantastic for practicing a flying race course in. What with all the towering buildings and such. The tight alleyways really make a difference in that regard. The shopping prices are overly expensive, a lot more so than Canterlot, thankfully, but I'm doing my best to stretch my funds by fluing everywhere. It's a lot better than taking the train, even if it's slower."

FanOfManyShows · August 6, 2017

@Blitz Boom

Warlock grimaced as if in pain, and he really was, the element was pushing him to let it lash out, and absorb all the magic inside the amulet of gluttony, a level of power Warlock could sense. He wasn't a fighter though, and as much as he could give up and fly away he was in a bad situation to do so, letting them take him in would be a bad idea too, since he'd likely lose his armor and the element, even though it was in his chest. He started chuckling. "What a wonderful act here you all got, but I'm not going to give you a surrender." He attempted to stand up, struggling to as the element ended up eating at the magic Warlock himself had in store. "You'll have to stop the element first." His face went cold, now emotionless, sparks flying off him now letting the element take over, the sparks would lash out at the amulet and around Dew. as well as everyone else with magic in the room. Warlock hadn't exactly planned for what would happen next and he doubted himself that anypony else had either, of course he realized it was a stupid idea very quickly when the magic from both the amulet and the element of greed formed a pool of magic in between Dew and Warlock. Imploding inwards.

Misty leaped back out of range of the amulet, and created a shield then being blasted backwards into a wall, cracking it, along with everypony else being thrown back, as the implosion of magic ruptured outwards. flinging sparks outwards as if tearing at the ground as the ball of magic hit Dew and Warlock throwing both of them a far distance. Warlock was thrown out the room and far down the hallway, tumbling with his armor suddenly gone as it faded into the air the spell that had held it together now gone. Misty fell down on the floor, gasping for air. "You're all idiots." She stood up, sparks of magic coming off of her. "There's no safe haven here if we have THAT protecting us!" She yelled pointing to Dew, who if he was fortunate, would not be unconscious due to being so close to the blast. "How the heck do we expect to use it on Warlock with a result like that!?"

"Enough!" Iron Wing stood up, although he lacked wings now, as they blades laid thrown about on the ground, and without allow his wings to reconstruct, he ran out the door and went after Warlock.

"Oh no you don't!" Warlock blasted through the ceiling and far up into the air creating a sonic boom blasting outwards across the ground, looking behind himself to see Iron Wing on the ground without his wings, slowing down about to teleport as he attempted to regain lost magic, realizing he needed to go to a town if he desired to leave, looking to Ponyville.

"Warlock is heading to Ponyville!" Astral yelled pointing out the window to what would seem to be Warlock flying towards Ponyville at incredible speeds.

EQ_Theta · August 6, 2017

@Blitz Boom

Seeing Omen about to jump to each broken platform, Lin mustered some confidence as she picked up Omen and placed her on her back. She remembered accidentally leaving her behind and being told about how light she is. Without Sen present, now would be her time to step up and take up his role. She admired him for his strength and athletic ability; now that she was in the dream realm, maybe some of that would rub off on her and give her some of Sen's more positive traits.

"Hold on tight and don't look down!"

Lin jump left then right, skipping along each path. It felt like the old days when she'd find the other children in the village playing hopscotch. The only difference was there were bigger gaps between each step and missing one might spell the end of her romp through the dream realm. She didn't mind, though. It brought her some semblance of joy while she happily glided her way over gaps and feeling lighter than air as she made her way to the chained door.

"Nothing to it!" Lin put Omen down while walking to the door and examined the chains hanging on the steel bars. There was lock but strangely enough, none of the links reached it and the door is slightly ajar. Either something broke it or something already escaped but had the decency to close the door. She slowly made her way in and on the other side is a hilltop with a single tree flanked by two mounds of dirt and an empty, stormy landscape beyond it. Lin opened the door wider to let Omen and before approaching the tree and noticed the hollow at its base with a chain nailed to the ground.

"Hello? Anyone in there?" She gestured to Omen to come closer and take a look but before she could explore further, the sound of a young child answered her query.

"Please go away. They'll come from the ground again and they won't leave me alone. Not with you here."

There wasn't a chance to react fast enough to see the mounds shaking vigorously before a claw pushed the dirt away. Two creatures are climbing their way out of the ground while behind the tree are two shadowy figures emerging from thin air. Both were formless first but they quickly shaped themselves into two familiar figures. Lin switched her focus between the ground and the shadows before noticing the latter two are becoming more and more real.

Lin was paralyzed but her wide eyes and open mouth captured the perfect expression of speechlessness and horror as the realization dawned on her.

"They're... us."

Edited August 7, 2017 by EQ_Theta

Widdershins · August 6, 2017

@Dji & @Blitz Boom

With an elitist air, the young drake sneers at the cart-puller.

"Fuh. Fancy Pony says most ponies is fine, then goes onto say how their leaders use the threat of imprisonment to bully their populace into submission. Humph. You know how Dragons, deal with their problems?" Without pausing for any heed from his listeners, Kaltrop carries on unhindered.

"You have a beef with another dragon, you fight them! If you can't win, then leave while you're still alive and get on with your life already! That's the natural way! None of that manipulative subterfuge of pony society. Life is all about the taking. You can at least be honest about it..."

The drakling gives off a somewhat sad, but mostly peeved & dismissive snort.

"I have no wish to see the pony's world of corruption. I merely wanted you to pay me back for trotting into my life and ruining it with all your questions and insistence on doing things the wrong way round! ... and... well, the griffon can do whatever she wants. Flap off for all I care... least she's not a pony anyhow."

Kaltrop refers to Aurora without ever turning his head to address her himself.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

@Blitz Boom

"Well, in one given case it seems your coming was expected fully. While I cannot speak of too many alternate dimensions from the few I hath personally experienced since being affixed to my position as such; it does indeed seem like some places may have their own protectors who would indeed raise issue with you straying too far out of your own... story, I suppose. That latter example you mentioned does seem to sufficiently fit the description of my own creator and if that should be knowledge you wish to pursue..."

The small, crafted being presses Anomaly for a course of action in a voice somewhat reminiscent of fatigue and an urging will to get her out on her own way so it can have some moderate amount of peace to itself while its "owner" is away.

An emotion put to a sudden, sighing halt as a form slowly fades into existence in the middle of the room. Sitting draped over the center, petrified tree trunk in a sitting manner over himself is the fuzzy-headed, long, wiirm-like form of-

BE-WARE DAH POOPACABRA!!! Gad, stop that. So annoying.

It gets funnier, each & every time! Repetition makes humor!

After appearing in the middle of the room, in a middle of nonsensical, hysteric, gibbering laughter at his own weird earworm of a joke, every tiiime!, the Draconequus leans his head far back behind him to address the little, semi-mechanical being without noticing Anomaly's presence yet and talks to its corner with his head upside-down, ears dangling loosely below him.

Howdy Do, Vabby! We totally just saw a guy talking about making homunculi from chicken eggs! Totes gotta fannonize that into the character bio backstory too! We'll neever get done editing that hot mess if I have anything to say about it!

dosey doe · August 6, 2017

@Blitz Boom

All the muffineers at Merlin's Muffins are dressed like wizards. It's super cute.

"Top of the muffin to you, young apprentices!" said the pony behind the counter when they came in. Ultra cringey, but they were required to say it by their contracts.

"Hiiiii!" said Dosey, as she skipped up to the counter.

Holiday Agnaktor · August 6, 2017

@Windchime

Light Rain followed the editor...manager, maybe? She wasn't sure. She entered what looked like a fancy interview room of some sort. It looked really fancy, marble and wood all over the place.

She sat down on the couch, letting herself relax a bit after all this stress. Apparently everything was still fine, and she wasn't about to get thrown in jail.

The manager (still not sure on that one) looked friendly, which calmed Rain down a bit more.

She took one of the cups of tea, and gently blew on it to cool it down.

"Well, I've calmed down a lot now, since the situation wasn't as bad as I thought," Light Rain said, "My name is Light Rain, and I came here to find out how the situation with all those changelings works. I got most of my answers, so that's nice."

She took a small sip of her tea, which was cool enough for her now. It tasted nice, a bit like some fruit...? She reminded herself to go buy some more pony-food some time, because she didn't know all of the flavours yet. In the Hive she never actually ate. They fed on love, and that was it. They didn't actually need physical food, so there was no purpose to eating other than entertainment, which wasn't a thing in the Hive. In her short time in Equestria, she didn't actually have money or a home, so she just didn't eat.

Light Rain needed to get a job somewhere. Maybe Benny had something with that changeling program? She'd have to ask him.

Oh yeah, she was talking to somepony. She should pay more attention to that.

Windchime · August 6, 2017

@Blitz Boom

A short verbal silence occurred while typewriters raved as answers flowed from the dragon. Hooves moving with proficiency hitting the buttons on the typewriters as if by second nature keeping up with the dragon's answers in remarkable fashion. Striking Detail allowed himself a moment of rest as his eyelids rested over half of his eyes as he watched the spectacle. Soon, he will work like this too, but for now his work is done as the dragon will want an inevitable break too before his interview began. Detail listened to the questions and the dragon's rapid answers as a new group comes into play in the spectacle that played before him: the assistants. Some running around with paper and ink ribbons in their muzzles and others who are more careful with fresh mugs of coffee in their mugs and moving away again with dirty mugs to presumably an overloaded dishwasher. The well-oiled machine of the efficient emporium belonging to the Equestrian Enquirer. Ink ribbons and paper loaded in empty typewriters as if they were a car in a pit-stop as sheets full of verbatim quotes and notes for future articles are being produced for the sake of articles; as an entire week's worth of work has to be rewritten before the deadline of one-and-a-half days.

Soon the half-silence was broken up writers piped up with more questions, hungry for content and answers for their articles as their careers depend on it: various questions regarding kings, queens, and changeling culture and integration policies. An image of how informed each individual writers are becomes clear as questions range between "What do changelings look like?" "Do they get to choose how colorful they are?" "Do changeling looks depend on the king or queen?" to "Will changelings forever be happy with the self-sustaining power of love they seem to be able to produce nowadays? Will they eventually have to ask nicely to mooch love off of us again? Is this a temporary solution?" to questions even laced with malice such as "If a changeling ever takes my lover's spot, do I at least legally get the opportunity to beat them up for it?" for jealousy still is an important factor in the entire changeling drama.

Detail turned to the dragon next to him taking a breather and said: "Take it easy, buddy. You have more time to think about and answer these questions than the writers make you think you do. It's an old journalism trick to squeeze as many answers out of somepony as possible in a short period of time."

Detail then fully closed his eyes, casually listening to the questions and answers as he rubs his temples. Seems like another headache is building. He wonders why...

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

@Holiday Agnaktor

Avabella Printrose closed her eyes as she levitated the cup of tea in front of her muzzle, briefly taking in the aroma before taking a sip of the tea herself. Eventually, she put the tea down again after thoroughly enjoying the cherry flavor of today. To put it simply: Printrose valued her tea and teatime. It's the only breaks she gets nowadays; stupid management making her do specials all year round. Makes them no longer special, if you asked her. And a break on the writing team to just produce a normal issue again would probably be appreciated. Though Printrose had to credit them: they sure are hard workers.

Printrose opened her eyes to the pegasus in front of her, completely unaware that she did the exact same thing as she did: drift off in her own thoughts before paying attention to the conversation again. Light Rain, she calls herself. Common name for a Pegasus, therefore easy to remember. You tend to notice those things if you're in charge of a team specifically working on detailing what people say about things.

"Glad to hear that", Printrose remarked, nodding as she said that. "Light Rain, it is nice to meet you. My name is Avabella Printrose, and I am in charge of those nosy ponies and their typewriters. I'm the executive editor of the paper, meaning that any articles that are written by them first pass through me to see if it's first of all worthy or not to be in the paper in the first place, and to point them to their errors. Given the fact that we just learned that all our work has to be revised before printing, and rather late at that, I won't have anything to do for a short time. So I took a break".

Printrose took another tea-pause before continuing, repeating the same savoring behavior as before.

"So perhaps, if you have any questions still, I guess I could provide some answers, although they might be outdated. Maybe you will have to ask the dragon instead." Printrose made a friendly gesture towards the biscuits as she finished that sentence.

Printrose looked at the pegasus in front of her again, and got the same thoughts. She seems fidgety for no real reason, so she decided to ask some questions about her in an attempt to make her feel more at home: "Say, my dear. I grow curious as this break goes on. What do you do? Another one of those weather drones working in cloud factories, or something more noble than that? Tell me more about yourself." Printrose actively tries to keep the smile on her muzzle. She didn't have to do that often, but she ought to be nice enough to do that when she isn't doing something professional related. She needs to calm down, too.

Widdershins · August 6, 2017

@Blitz Boom

The pudgier, pink stallion answers alertly back at the other despite the fading light of the evening and through a few quick, worried glances shot at his log pile load.

"Oh, yeah! Maybe if we can find a dollie or some sort nearby we can just leave it near his place with a note! ...wherever that is.

And... well... I suppose I could write them a letter or something... if its that important. Mother & Father are probably worried about me by now since I left without much warning... hopefully they are, I guess."

Storm Shine · August 6, 2017

@Blitz Boom

Storm and Pinkie immediately fell backwards, collapsing in a heap. They both groaned a little before standing back up, though on the way up Stormy noticed the note on Pinkie's forehead and booped her, causing her to giggle. "Silly Stormy!"

Storm chuckled and looked away from the note, both of them looking towards to rest of the group, "So are we small, or is everything else just big?"

Pinkie's eye's widened, "Now the sugarmoles are gonna be bigger!!" She squealed happily, "More Sugar!" She took off down the hole.

"Pinkie, wait up!" Storm called, quickly running after her.

Blitz Boom · August 7, 2017

@Radience

"An excellent choice madame."

Diego would lead the way past the usual blackjack and poker tables, the roulette, etc. before passing a door to a more high end area of the casino, which would contain essentially the same as before, but fancier, and containing mainly nobles and businessponies that seemed well off.

In the corner, the slot machines they were looked for stood, looming over whoever would go and play on them, and enticing some here and there, though it seemed the roulette were the most popular thing in this area.

"Here you go madame. Is there anything else you need?"

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

@Moonlit @Seamore Sandwich

There was a wall hanger for a torch near the entrance to this room, in case Serenade would wish to use it. The room wasn't too large all things considered, so it shouldn't be too dificult to see.

Meanwhile, Ziggy slowly seemed to stir back to herself again, and began to dig herself out of the pile of wood, whilst loudly mumbling to herself.

"Bones intact... Right wing swollen... Left hoof dislocated..."

A cracking noise and a yelp indicated that Ziggy had handled the third one, by setting the bone back again. Painful in the moment, but effective and quick. Plus it helped wake her up a little more, so there was a little more good to it.

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

@Dji

"Well, let's not linger any further then. Come on, I'll show you the way."

Pop would lead Dawn out of the living room and toward the store section of her house, which included passing more pictures on the walls and the occasional piece of furniture. Luckily for Dawn, nothing with Benny in them currently, but instead just random shots of places she had gone to as a tourist, and some including other ponies that she seemed pretty friendly with. Some were obviously family, but Pop didn't spend time explaining who or in what way. She just kept leading the way until they reached a locked door leading into the store.

Unlocking it showed the store to the right of them that were a little... Broken in it, because of the attack recently, but it would hopefully look good and glorious again soon. Besides, they were going left, which presented them with another door to unlock.

Behind it was a somewhat chilly room, with shelves filled with all kinds of potentially delicious things in all sorts of colors and shapes. Chocolate bars, creme eggs, gummy bears, jelly beans, sour drops and the list went on. A pretty respectable stock she'd say.

Whistling as she looked through the stacks, Pop eventually pulled out three things. The first was a small bag of orange lollipops, the second another small bag, this time with sweets formed like little slices of oranges, and the third a chocolate bar, made of creamy milk and infused with enough orange to give a well balanced aftertaste. It wasn't Saddle Arabian Buttermilk it was made from, sadly for Dawn, but it was still good quality.

"Here, try these, and let me know what you think."

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

@Dji @Widdershins

Spicy chuckled at Kaltrops and his weird antics. Poor boy seemed so determined to be feared and hated by ponies, and she just wasn't giving him the satisfaction he needed. Perhaps she could be nice and play along, but the issue there were that she just didn't give a rats flank about just handing him what he wanted. Kaltrops had to work for it just like the rest of 'em, and until then, she'd keep teasing him. Like now, where she pointed to him, then looked at Aurora with a big, slapable grin.

"Is it just me, or does it sound like he's starting to like me?"

She well knew the answer, but she liked to poke at him, and see what sort of rant he'd then go on. It was a little too easy at times, but considering he were hitching a free ride, she deserved to at least be amused.

"Hehe. Kidding aside, you sound like you got it sorted right Aurora. Especially about travel expenses. That can end up really eating into the budget if you go 'round the country. Cheaper to just trabsport yourself, and tou'll get to see the sights the trains doesn't stop at. Plenty of places you'd end up missing that way, like the natural hot springs out west. Not a train near it, but dang its a pretty sight, and it really helps relaxing the muscles."

She recalled with a sigh the last time she had been there. Only a month roughly, but it felt like far longer after a few days in Manehattan. Been an excruciatingly annoying trip this time around, and she were really starting to miss a free bath in the springs right about now. Perhaps when this were all done she'd go there.

"And Kaltrops? Looking aside the feral *Law of the jungle* you're describing for a moment here, I ain't forcing you anywhere. You're hitching a ride on a trip set for Ponyville, and I ain't redirecting for nopony or dragon.

I don't see the big fuss really. You say there wasn't a price on you yet, so why're you such a wuss about going to a minor farming town?"

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

@Lloyd

The others were surprised to say the least about the reaction of the amulet and Warlock's attempt at eating it. The force between the two had been equally voracious, and trying to eat one another had ended up blasting everypony around, and unfortunately, allowing for Warlock to get away before they got their bearings back.

"Curses! We can't let him get away this easily."

"Cover the amulet..."

Golden were not in the best shape, as he had been slammed against the throne, but he still managed to cast the covering for the amulet over to Dew, who did as he were told without question.

The change should be felt basically immediately, with the casters feeling magic returning, instead of slowly drain away.

"Ponyville can't be *wheeze* taken over by him. We need to *cough* act."

"Sir, you should save your breath."

Golden dismissed Screecher's words with a wave of his hoof, before coughing up a bit of blood. A fact he hid from the others for the time being by keeping that part of his hoof behind him.

"I can get a *wheeze* few near there with a teleport. You need to pick *wheeze* them."

"Screecher, Benny and her."

Dew interrupted and pointed at the end to Astral, whose name escaped him right now.

"Two good fighters, natural fire to use if you keep at the safe range where the amulet and him counter eachother, and the mare in case magic is needed to keep the civilians safe from debris or the like."

"And you?"

"I'm not the stallion I once were. Chases is something more for you youngsters, whilst I help keep the base here going and get the ambassador to a doctor. General Wings here needs time to set his wings in too it seems, so he needs to stay as well.

Use the amulet. It might cause explosions if it gets close, but we have no other counters right now. Try to void his magic enough, and when you get the chance... Handle the problem. Permanently."

Taking off the amulet entirely, Dew tossed it to Benny who caught it as it flew towards him, though the color seemed to slowly drain from.hia face as he did. He had only gotten to the room a few seconds after the explosion happened, and now he were going to help chase somepony and potentially kill them? Dear ancestors and Celestia, what were he going to do?

"You have five seconds to make a counter argument. After that, you're going. I'm not risking civilian casualties."

Meanwhile, the guards that had been scattered around started to help their less fortunate comrades who had hit things badly. A few of them also went to tend to the changelings in the room if they needed it, unsure of what they were doing here, but thinking they were not in on the attack, or they would have been spared or run off by now.

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

@EQ_Theta

Jumping over had been easier than Omen expected. There had been once when she almost slipped, but since she didn't think of the consequences of falling down, she just kept going without feeling a thing about it, and soon thereafter stood in front of the barred door.

She wondered what kind of memory this might contain. Seemed important, and taken away from other things... Something with Lin perhaps? She were important to him, but then again, that wouldn't explain the nightmare she supposed.

His parents perhaps? She had a vague snippet of memory dangling in her head about the two talking about those, but it was intangible, and the words didn't fit together. It just felt like it were about them when it passed through.

She were about to ask when Lin just simply opened the door and wandered in, holding it enough for the shadowy mare to pass through. Omen had been sure that it was going to be harder than this considering the chains, but apparently, she must have missed something about the door. Perhaps it had been unlocked or something. Or were Lin really strong here in the dreams? New realities like this made her unable to guess what the laws of nature were in here.

The other side of the door were more of what ponies would call *normal* than the room they had just been in. Dirt, grass, a hill and a tree, plus a looming storm. Seemed to make a good deal more sense than the star room, though the contrast confused her. Seemed like a weird place to change from with just a door.

Still, Lin urged them on, leaving her little time to think more on it before she joined her sister at the hill. She wasn't the only one though it seemed, as a young voice came out of nowhere and answered Lin's question about them potentially being here alone.

A youngster didn't show however. Instead, something started to try and get up from the ground, and behind the tree, two figures wandered out that after a short while, started to look like copies of Lin and her. Not perfect ones, but they seemed like it were meant to be them.

Though Lin found it horrible, Omen just found it interesting, and without much thought to it would take a step forward and raise a hoof towards their counterparts.

"Hello not-Lin and not-me. Strange to see you."

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

@Widdershins

"Awh. Why must fun places always be guarded by boreholes?"

Anomaly was fresh in the making of pouting when out of nowhere, a strange, somewhat serpentine creature appeared a little by little from thin air.

Her eyes widened as she gazed upon the strange creature and the unusual shape it seemed to be. Nothing that would happen naturally for sure, which meant-

"Sibling!"

Anomaly yelled it out loud and with glee, whilst rainbows and flowers exploded behind her. She had been around places a lot, but she had thus far never met another draconequus. She had heard a voice before though, which- Hold on, is this the voice from earlier?

*sigh* And here I thought the fourth wall would get a chance to mend a little. Yes, this is the one you heard before, and this is his place. You should likely have some respe-

"Ehehe, poop jokes. You're a funny voice in my head sibling."

A snap of her tail, and Anomaly stood with a large pineapple in front of her. A present to new friend, if he liked it at least. It was full of goodies like candy-drink of varying tastes, a jar of *fur* from one of the sugarmoles she had made on her isle, fourteen types of bananas - she weren't sure of the taste of most of them herself - a few other odds and ends, and a specialty: A live breezie wrapped in a freshly baked waffle. Usually she'd use cream for waffles, but breezie's were a far better garnish in her mind.

...He better let the breezie go, or I swear I will drop live Honey Badgers on the both of you.

But it's so tasty!

I. Don't. Care! It'd be like me putting syrup on Tinkerbelle and taking out the knife and fork. It's not cool.

So... You want some syru- No!

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

@dosey doe

"Top of the muffin? This place is awesome!"

Sorrow liked this place already. The quirky outfits, the cringy greeting, the whole way it looked... This was how you got through distasteful, and dug out on the other side into brilliant. Just keep adding more until it works. She couldn't wait to see if the food was themed as well.

Getting to the counter, Sorrow looked at the cashier with a big grin on her face.

"Hello. Do you have something sour like lemon muffins? Oh, or perhaps with chili? Something with a bite to it. And my friend here wants a-"

Sorrow stopped, allowing for Dosey to say her own want to the cashier. Hopefully he'd have something of the sort they both wanted.

===========================÷÷÷÷

@Windchime

Well, guess the second wave didn't want to give him much pause then. The first had barely passed and now he were going to have to talk his ears off again. At least as much as he could. Since most questions seemed to be about the changelings right now, and he wasn't the most knowledgeable about it.

He would answer as best he could, for example on how as far as he knew, each royal set their own kind of look to their drones, like the green parts of Chrysalis's drones compared to a more purplish one he had heard about, who also had a bit of mane.

He also had to admit that he wasn't sure how it were with kings and queens, but he shared what little he knew from what he had heard via the story of King Thorax, and pointed out that each hive only had one royal as far as he knew. How more got out he had no idea. Rare spawn from the eggs perhaps?

Going on, Benny would tell a general description of both normal changelings, and the new ones. Thankfully he had seen one of the new when they came to town, but he doubted they were part of the ones this town cared about. Most changelings were still the regular, love-eating kind, and he had to go on descriptions from paper and others on that one.

Ending off, he went over the different kind of drones - warrior, nursing, worker - that he knew of, and a minor comment to a particular writer that had asked if he could slap them around. Specifically, telling him that attacking one of them were the same as attacking any regular pony or ally of Equestria, and would be handled the same. He should just let the guard handle the particular changeling and his/her crimes in that case, and not get himself in unneeded trouble.

"- I think that was most of it. Sorry I can't answer everything about them, but I haven't had much of any sort of interaction with them yet.

There's one more thing I can answer though, in regards to feeding.

The evolved changelings won't need to harvest love more from what is known by both them and us. Their final stage if you will, doesn't require the influx to sustain them, and they make due on normal food at that point.

The vast majority of changelings however, are still regular. They will need love to survive, but with a better relation to Equestria, they don't need to steal in abundance to prepare for meager days anymore, and the more they get integrated and feel the love all around them from everupony, the less they will need individually, since a bit of passive feeding should cover it.

However, until that happens or in case of emergencies, we are helping them charge some emergency rations of it if you will. Donors helps with that by giving a small amount, much like with blood banks, and unless an individual goes crazed, the days of being drained nearly dry should be over.

I won't rule out that any potential changeling friend might ask for a bit from you if they're desperate, but we'll let that be between the individuals unless a violent problem arises."

Benny neglected to mention any and all references to ponies being turned, as the conversion was a horrible practice that changelings likely didn't want to be judged by. Another thing on the pile of horrible things Queen Chrysalis had done that would paint the entire race in a bad light.

But he didn't want to dwell on that. He had hopefully sated the eriyers curiosity for a minute or two and could get a breather, though he should answer Detail first.

"It's not that bad really. First time I came to Canterlot and went to the castle to seek a job, I went through three straight days of questioning. Apparently, a dragon seeking to work at the palace were a big surprise to them, and a source for worry. Almost made me give up under the constant scrutiny, but I got through it, and if i could do that, I can do this. I just hope it helps."

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

@Widdershins

"Well you know, if you want to cut all ties, then you shouldn't. But they're still your family, and if it's possible, I don't think it's a good idea to turn your back on them. Might be you can still work the quirks out with them, right."

And now they were back on perhaps getting the parents here for a minor fact check. This stallion were not one who seemed to keep a mindset and stick with it for too long considering what he had said earlier, which were both a minor blessing and a major irritation. Swinging minds could be hard to work with, though at least right now he seemed like he'd be workable. They would have to see what was what when the time came, but he'd try to stick around a bit more. For now.

"As for getting you some wheels and such, we're gonna have a look at it once we get the logs away. We'll have free hooves to work with then instead of you dragging a section of forest around with you like a troll. Heh."

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

@Shineling

Anomaly chuckled as the two of them went into the hole, and shortly after followed them. That just left the Boom siblings, which were an issue since they had been subjected to the same size change, but wasn't with the others, leaving them wandering around in a place that were now larger and likely more dangerous. Hopefully they'd be safe.

Meanwhile, in the hole, nothing much happened as the trio would wander it, until a sound at the end would catch at least Anomaly's attention, and she'd stop up whilst trying to shush the others.

Around a corner in the tunnel, a little by little, a sugarmole showed up. Not one of the big ones that made the tunnel, but it showed the sort of being they were dealing with well. From the sugar fur to the licorice nose and eyes, it were indeed a candy creature of some kind, though as it spotted the lot of them, it also seemed to be a fast one, as it began to rummage down the hall as fast as it could.

"Now we're talking! Let the hunt get a'going."

Edited August 7, 2017 by Blitz Boom
Added colors.

Props Valroa · August 7, 2017

@Blitz Boom

The mare shook her head. "Not at the moment. If I need anything I'll be sure to ask though." she said to him, and went on over to the slot machines and began doing slot machine stuff and hopes she is going to win some money. Far away from other ponies though.

Moonlit · August 7, 2017

@Blitz Boom @Seamore Sandwich Cringing at the sound, Serenade puts the torch in the wall hanging and looks around. "Our top priority now should be getting out of the castle, and getting you back to Ponyville." Serenade looks over at her friend, "We will probably still have an adventure getting out, but I think postponing any further exploration would be a good idea"

FanOfManyShows · August 7, 2017

@Blitz Boom

Astral felt her magic return, she stepped a hoof onto the ledge outside the window. "I'm starting to doubt we can void his magic."

"Void and Null though! They can nullify magic."

Her ears perked up as the names caught her attention. "We don't know how to contact them or where they are right now." A swirl of smove formed around her extended hoof, moving outwards as it created a sword. "For now, we deal with this. Or I do it myself" She fell backwards out the window.

"Wait!" Misty ran out, seeing Astral blasting off into the distance.

Iron Star fell down on the floor, caughing out blood. "I strongly hope I can recover from that." His eyes opened up. Scanning for Athriel star. "I know where Athriel is, she's looking for an element. We can stop her before she finds it."

"You're injured sir." Wing walked into the room, picking up the blades to his feathers. "We all are, we can't rush out and deal with another element of disharmony. It could end like what just happened." He looked at the feathers, seeing that the markings were damaged on several feathers. The ones left over formed very fragmented wings, with visible spaces in between the layers. "As much as stopping her before she can get it would be smart, we can't do that." Iron Wing walked over to the window, tilting his wings, the feathers shifting around to fill the spaces. "We already have one element to handle, so let's handle it." He flapped his wings a few times, more feathers falling out.

"Yeah you'll have to get that fixed first." Iron Star said with a smirk, putting a hoof to his eyes, black mist around them, he opened his eyes, his iris a deep red, his eyes appeared to be healed now, although with a scar across the eyelids and the surrounding skin. "Who made your wings? You could get them to fix the markings."

"I believe Benny did, but somepony else etched the markings on them." He looked to Benny. "Or was that also you?"

The Changelings got up, some flying to Ponyville. Francis watching the Changelings fly off. "Could Warlock absorb love magic?" He asked tilting his head, Nectar looking to him.

"I'd hope not, then my army would be a feast for him."

"Keep in mind something about Warlock, his range of magic increases the more the element has. So if that is the case, Equestria would end pretty quickly." With those words the Changelings who hadn't left, all looked at each other. "We shouldn't assume right now though, we need the help." The Changelings sighed in relief, flying off as well. "Same goes to the unicorn guards, even if you're a source of magic, you can still help without magic."

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

With a loud crash Warlock hit the ground, tumbling across and hitting into a food cart. "Gah!" He stood up, looking around, smirking as he noticed the owner of the cart was now having his magic absorbed. "What a nice start, right next to a unicorn." He grinned, the pony soon fainting at the sight of Warlock, he chuckled a little. Looking at the lack of his legs, without a cloak to hide them, he'd certainly stand out, ironically. Although now, Warlock would prefer attention, which would get him more magic.

Astral landed on a roof of one of the houses, breaking in the roof. "Warlock!"

"Come to take me prisoner?" He spotted a sword in her grasp. "Or do you desire to be worse than your mother?" He said, those words striking Astral deep, Astral frozen still by them.

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