open Casual stroll

[Victoria Sponge 1,014]

@Blitz Boom

She smiled awkwardly, as if her modesty was preventing her from giving an accurate price.

"It really wasn't too much work, I-I think I'll charge you 5 bits per cake. Though as I said I want to give you a good deal so it'll be 10 bits, 5 for each of the Blackberry cakes and I'll throw in the Battenberg for free."

She hoped this was an acceptable price as she awaited their response. However their response was to be delayed by an unexpected arrival.

The door slammed open behind the two customers, knocking the little bell above it almost off it's hook as it rang wildly. The door seemed to stick on a slightly raised portion of the floor keeping it wide open. A mare stood outside, facing away from the door she looked back at her handiwork before turning round and strutting in nose raised and eyes closed. She looked a lot like the shy pony behind the counter but had a rich brown coat and white and red coloured mane, very well brushed and groomed. 

"Battenberg... I thought I told you to clean that filthy door."

Battenberg looked shocked and scared at the same time.

"Vicky... You d-didn't have to kick it down."

Victoria opened her deep purple eyes and stared at her sister.

"I told you not to call me that. I am a very regal pony and I have a very regal name, shortening it is degrading, demeaning and disrespectful. And as for the door, how else am I supposed to open it without touching it for more than a fraction of a second?"

Battenberg had now managed to bring out a frown and gave her sister a deadly look.

"Victoria, it's not even that dirty and I should be the one complaining, you were meant to be here helping me hours ago. And on top of all of that, I have customers, you can't just come in like that... like you're the only one that matters."

Victoria turned and looked at the pair of shoppers who stood in shock nearby. She looked them up and down with a frown on her face and a look of disgust.

"Yes, just like you to associate with their kind, filthy both of them, covered in some kind of sticky substance that I'm not even going to try to identify. You two stay away from me you hear? I just spent the morning brushing my mane, I'd rather not have it gummed up by peasants like you."

Battenberg was furious, her fur was practically turning red and a whole new personality emerged. She lept over the counter and trotted right up to Victoria pushing her face right into that of her sister.

"How dare you speak to them like that, I think you're forgetting who is the older sister here! Peasants indeed! Get behind that counter and start making some cakes this instant."

Victoria seemed a little shocked, she'd never seen her sister this angry before despite acting this way on a daily basis.

"B-but. Hmmph. Fine... But I need a hairnet a hair band and some goggles. And we better not be working on any extravagant cakes, you know baking is the only thing I'll let my hooves get dirty for but if the mess goes more than 2cm up them I'm not doing it."

Battenberg seemed ready to hit her sister but she sighed and stepped out of her way.

"Just go... do something useful."

She didn't stop frowning at Victoria until she was out of sight. She then walked sheepishly over to her customers, quickly turning back to her previous more gentle nature.

"S-sorry about that, I only let her work here because she's my little sister and nobody else will employ her. She's such a good baker too, just wish she wasn't so prissy. I-I can give you a discount for the insults, i-if you'd like that." 

[Foxy Socks 2,596]

@Blitz Boom

Foxy wasn't sure what to think. Did she really think she could convince someone like him out of it? He seemed set on his ways and believed it was the right thing to do, which normally she would be okay with. However, manipulating the fate of others seemed like too much to her. He was trying to help, though she didn't feel like he was doing it the right way.

 

He wasn't even made to do it either it seemed. He said he had done it to atone for somepony, but it seemed too much for her to understand. There wasn't much she could do, however. Perhaps she was the one who didn't understand the situation.

 

"..."

"I don't hate you, but I do wish you would change your ways. Either way, is there a reason you are here? Did you want to see Anomaly?" Foxy asked Zhu.

[Storm Shine 1,195]

@Blitz Boom

Pinkie saw her opening and immediately pouned (Gently) onto the sugarmole and began to happily lick at the sugary sweet layers of fur, Storm following shortly after rubbing his head where the net had hit him. "Yum! It's absolutively adoralicious!"

[cwhip9 1,078]

7 hours ago, Blitz Boom said:

"I think it's a mix of... Raspberries and blackberries? Strange taste. Wanna try? I swear, it's totally safe."

Cresent being the curious driven bat he was shrugged if the youngster can eat the cloud jelly and not fall through it, it should not harm him, this brought up another question tho he didn't know many bat pony's let alone youngster bats. Flying up and taking some jelly from the cloud then closed his eyes tasting it as the mix was similar to the how the youngster said it was.

"ive had cloud cake before maybe this is a new type of cloud perhaps" he said once swallowing the jelly

As he herd about what she said about her parents he smiled after feeling a very distend unpleasant feeling hit his gut, must have been the jelly.

"Night guard, well its a tuff but good life from what I remembered from awhile ago and its a good goal to have don't let anypony say other wise" he said "thought of going active night guard or more close to home?" he asked the youngster knowing she like him would be hit with that question a lot growing up might as well prep her for it.

[EQ_Theta 415]

@Blitz Boom

Lin remembers the wellspring, a memory still fresh no matter how much time has passed. It was brought to her attention in desperation but what she had to go through was something even she wouldn't wish for her brother. The tests she and Omen endured were too much for her to imagine again but she knows she barely made it. Omen probably fared better if she had to come in and help her through her own trial. These already gave her a firm answer in her head. 

"The wellspring isn't an option, Mother. Whatever effects the waters of that place has on Sen, the golem guarding that place made itself clear that no one is allowed to enter it more than once. I almost didn't make it since the wellspring tests those who wish to bathe in its waters and even if Sen succeeds, he might not be able to leave the place. I gave Omen my lustrous scale because I was scared, I didn't know if I was coming back. That is not a place where we should gamble with Sen's life." 

"No."

Sen stepped forward and while looking dejected, understanding that maybe there isn't a solution. Not one that involves magic. He placed one claw on Lin's shoulder and the other at Mother's leg and simply smiled at them. He wasn't going to let this one problem become bigger than it needs to be. Although he suspects there are possible cures written in the codex, it wouldn't be worth it if everyone was concerned about it and forgot about living. Each cure Mother suggested sounded good, bad, or somewhere in between but they likely had catches he wouldn't accept. It's not a decision to be made lightly and it might be smarter to not decide on anything and eventually nudge himself into his choice but what it ultimately boils down to is what he believes is the right decision for him. It still doesn't feel any better for Sen knowing the trip to the dream realm was for nothing. 

"There's no need to do this. No extending life spans and no more cures for nightmares. I...I'll live with it and just let each day matter like it is my last. It wouldn't be right for us to obsess over this and forget there's still a world and life out there to experience. Maybe that's what matters."

Edited August 22, 2017 by EQ_Theta

[Moonlit 593]

@Blitz Boom @Seamore Sandwich @Widdershins Serenade looks over at Ziggy, "Ok, let's take the advice of the voice. I don't know who HE is, but I'd rather not anger him...plus I'm not sure how this potion would react if I let loose." Serenade offers Ziggy a wing. 

[Pieburner 1,680]

@Blitz Boom @Seamore Sandwich @Widdershins

 

"I wouldn't release that potion." A mysterious pony says to Serenade and Ziggy. "It's left me with a scar that has ruined me." This pony then walks over to them and shows them her scar. "Do not release that potion." 

[Sekel 685]

@Blitz Boom & @Widdershins

AURORA

"Well, at least I'm not a dragon stuck on top of a cart," Aurora said, looking up at Kaltrops then flinched at the explosion. "What da heck are you using exploding cards for!? You could hurt something with that kinda power!"

@Jedishy

WATTS

"Oh, hi, welcome," Watts smiled, waving at the approaching pony with her wing. "Are you here to buy something or to trade?"

@Blitz Boom & @Lloyd

DAWN

Whatever that energy was, it wasn't enough to keep her from flinching and glaring at the dragon. "Dragon..." Dawn growled and took a few steps forward, but then stopped and looked at the other ponies nearby before grumbling to herself. "If any of you can answer? I felt something go through me when I came into proximity with that," she pointed at the amulet the pony in front of her was holding. "I'd like to know what that was."

[Widdershins 9,955]

@Dji & @Blitz Boom

   "Hmph. You have a fully-grown dragon with you & you need your own source of firepower?" Kaltrop grumpily speaks while peering over the front edge of the wagon's eaves. 

       "What am I, huh, some sort of a salamander?  Besides, I can't see how anything stupid enough to live in a stupid forest would be stupid enough to pick fights with anypony."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 Thrown @ The General Vicinity of Blitzer Von Booms:

           Nah-Nah~ Widdershins's voice wafts in from a corner of the room, half buried by the remaining wolverines and self-debris. You can just sweep my bits back together into a pile & I can likely reassemble myself from there! I do try not to explode into a fine mist too often & leave some larger chunks to stack together! The benefits of being a self-made man!

  Hoh! Does he ever! Says its a bad precedent or something what with the way I keep killing myself, but it gives emphasis, you know! Guess I could say I'm pretty lucky that he's fart too much of a major prick to ever, And I Quote!: "Interrupt the Narrative Flow." But clearly, he ain't all that bad to you, eh? He did just shower us in spiky fruits! Just imagine the pain we would be in if either of us had a working, continuous nervous system! Hah! 

  But that's the funny state of being mortal, ya know? They balk at too much change, despite the whole purpose of living to be in constant, unpredictable change! It's a beautiful irony ain't it, that sentience is a natural state of hypocrisy? 

 The Draconequus continues to babble on, his lilting baritone occasionally bouncing off the walls to sound as if its changing origin.

   I do try not to eat the living, or what once was anyway. For one, they tend to not like that & do a fair bit of damage if you don't swallow them whole and Two: that's a slippery slope into becoming a zombie! Well... "eat" being a comparative term here, of course. Favorite flavor being Concrete, under "Pancake" & Attention, of course. That's the fun part about eating Concrete or Asphalt after you get used to figuring out how to bite through it, is that actually does taste funninly enough like most British cooking! Quite filling! 

  Which reminds me, you'll probably find my tongues connected to my neck-section which likely rolled off with my body rings! 

  From his corner, V.I.A.B's drone defeatedly drifts in to add to the conversation.

             "Do do what you can to clean up this resulting mess. This does happen quite often here, but if we must, we can try contracting the walls a bit to push everything together to better facilitate disposal.            ...and aid the Master in reassembling himself."

                 We've been over this, Boxy. I'm not your "Master!"

                                        

***************************************************************************************************************

  To Boom It May Concern:

                     Looking across at Happy Hour and occasionally taking the odd swipe at his cheeks with with the front of one of his legs, likely both in an attempt to keep himself awake but also as an attempt to bashfully avoid eye contact, Ambie thanks the other stallion for his aid.

   "Oh, yeah... that would be nice if we can find something with some sort of wheels on it. As its getting kind of late, maybe we'll just leave it by his place with a note or something on it. Don't want to wake him up or keep you much longer.

  Thanks for... well, being there for me. Guess I'll, uh... I'll see what I can do to write a letter for my folks when I get back to the room tonight the Apples have set up for me. Maybe I'll tell them you want to meet them so you can meet them for m-... set up something so we can figure this all out then?"

#################################################################

@Moonlit, @Seamore Sandwich & Blitz Boom

     *Tok, Ticki-ticka-tick-tick*

 *Tok, Ticki-ticka-tick-tick*

   A repeating, rhythmic sound slowly advances towards the spot where Ziggy, Serenade & their invisible guest stand. Coming in slowly from around the corner and out of sight from the hallway perpendicular towards the one they stand in now a small, wooden form hops into view. Judging by its movement, the first loud clunk of each series of light ticking noises seems to emanate from the small object hopping another "step" forward along the hard, cold, stone floors. With one final thunk in front of them, the small device seems to turn to them and ask in a small, unintelligible voice:

     *Tick, Ticka-tick-tick?*

  *Tick, Tick.*

Without pausing any longer, and seemingly now determined with a destination in mind, the small, animated metronome hops on ahead of the two ponies further along the stone corridor and a turn towards the right towards a much larger indoor amphitheater.

    *Tok, Ticki-ticka-tick-tick*  ...*Tok, Ticki-ticka-tick-tick*   ...*Tok, Ticki-ticka-tick-tick*

Edited August 22, 2017 by Widdershins
Needed more, and screwy Mentions again...

[Jedishy 3,542]

@Dji

"Yes. Im looking to trade in these three books. I also need to patch my saddle bags, and maybe replace my blanket. I have about 45 bits and the trade in just so we know what I am able to work with. I dont want to be a pain but If you could also point out a location that I might be able to camp for the evening and pick up some food to cook for tonight? Winter Bolt was hoping that he would not be looked down upon for being a drifter here. Often towns looked at a wandering pony with distrust. But he felt the ponies here were different. There was a kindness that seemed to fill the air here. It almost seemed visible. 

[Blitz Boom 4,427]

@Moonlit @Widdershins @Seamore Sandwich

Ziggy got a few extra notches of nervousness when the ticking little thing showed up, and for some reason, she didn't feel too good about it just leaving them, even if that should be a good thing, right?

"That wasn't a good sign, was it?"

"He knows you're here now."

The voice were just behind them this time, and when Ziggy turned her head, she felt it like she had gotten a kick in the stomach. She had expected there to just be a voice and some wind again, but this time, the voice had a body to go with it.

The little mare that looked at them didn't seem like a ghost. She wasn't see-through, hovering or carrying chains around like Ziggy would have expected, but the haunting voice were pretty unmistakable. As were the fact that there hadn't been anypony with them before, and there was no way she could sneak after them without being noticed at some point.

The zegasus gasped, and dropped the torch, though she didn't notice that it kept floating in the air rather than fall to the floor and roll down the stairs. The likely work of the little one who were lookig on them with concern in her eyes.

"You have to be fast and get away before it tells him. Or you're never going to leave again."

The little mare looked at the horrified Zegasus, the - in her eyes - regular pegasus next to her, and the hissing mimic on top of the first one's head, before suddenly flicking out like the signal had been torn away from an old TV. Something which made the color seem to drain from Ziggy's face.

"Yes... Yes! Please Serenade, let's get out. We can't s-stay here with all of these things going on."

Ziggy would take whatever help she could now. A wing to support her with, a kick in the flank, anything really, as long as it didn't involve ghosts.

Which were sadly easier said than done, since the floating torch seemed to be solidly in spectral control, and moving slowly forward down the path. It seemed they had to chose between being guided by an invisible hoof, or stay here, and eventually be left in the dark. Barely seemed like it were a choice, did it?

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

 

@Widdershins

"Sounds like a plan. Let's get this junk dragged over and then you can settle in. I'll start looking around for some wheels somewhere tomorrow. Gotta be a place with a few spare parts 'round here."

Question though, would be what he'd have to do get hold of them. After all, getting some wood were easy, as there were a forest nearby and he could get to work there on some rough planks they could smooth out a bit, and for the few metal parts and nails, he knew he had seen a blacksmith and a carpenter, and raiding the trash there would likely get him a few bits and pieces he could use, long as he got the things sorted out properly afterwards. A good deal of work, but hey, long as it was free, right?

Wheels were going to be the issue there, since any he would be able to scavenge would likely be beyond repair for somepony like him, and all others were either in use or put ready for replacement parts, and in a farming community, those things could likely get up to a good chunk of bits.

Hmm.... Stealing a few seemed like a bad idea since he wasn't bailing town with them, but then again, he didn't want to waste his bits on curiosity, when the hive might well need them... Bleargh, nevermind. Who cared right now anyway? Might as well get some sleep, and then look at it when the sun rose. Who knew? Perhaps he'd get lucky and find a wheel somewhere.

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

 

@Widdershins

"I still got all my nerves, even in my usual pumpkin head. It's just that right now I'm kinda metallic, so the teeth didn't really do that much. Tickled a bit though, hehe."

A snap of her tail, and a large broom and dustbin popped out of nowhere and started to brush the scattered pieces of Widdershins up. Grizzly business sort of, but eh, it wasn't like he was dead or anything, so she didn't really see a problem. Honestly it was rather cool. She split up too at times, but not like this,and it seemed like her brethren didn't mind int he slightest. Perhaps something to do with him apparently not feeling anything, but logic had nothing to do in this conversation, or in this room in general really, which were why she didn't feel the slightest bit off when she found his mouth to hold it in front of her own and mimic Widdershins voice.

"I am the almighty explodaquus! Tremble before my face-bits."

She laughed loudly before tossing it in the pile and gathering up the last bits. It wouldn't be far until all of him should be gathered up again.

"It's kind- *clears throat* Kinda fun to hear your human is whiny in it too. It's like they don't have any appreciation of chaos at all, and just want to stop us from having fun. I mean, just look at the breezie. It was supposed to be a nice gift, and then he gets all prissy about it and lets it escape. What's next, he'll steal my sandwich?

You say you eat... Pancakes? What're those? Is it like a rock of some kind, since you mentioned concrete? Not my kind of food really. I prefer to change rocks into something new for fun, not eat them. That's what fruits, sweets and breezies are for. Yummy, crunchy and delicious.

Not sure why he doesn't like the small ones being lunch. Like you say, they don't like all of this fun change, and this is a part of their boring, rigid food chain. It should be fine.

You ever try to mess with the food chain by the way? It's pretty funny. Imagine a rabbit suddenly starting to hunt and eat wolves, or a fish jumping up to drag down the hawk coming for it. It's pretty funny, though not as good as making the plants suddenly go for the animals. That really confuses them, though of course, nopony appreciates evolution. I don't even make most of them able to eat ponies. I mean, sheesh, what's the big deal? It's just a little chaos tossed into the old machine."

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

 

@Widdershins @Dji

Spicy grinned at Aurora and spread her right wing a little, showing several more cards ready to be flung if needed.

"I know, that's the point.

It's cute if you want to think that the world is all safe and sound, but the truth is, sooner or later, you're gonna have to fight to survive. And me? I ain't gonna be taken into that situation without being prepared sugar. Be it wild beasts or overly violent looters, nothing is going to get the jump on me if I can help it."

Truth be told, she used these cards mostly for intimidation, and scaring off annoyances like wolves who got a bit too frisky for her taste. The point of hurling these at others with the intent to hurt them were still present, obviously, but so far she rarely had to get to that. Her bodyguard usually handled issues for her if things seemed to be going south, so that wasn't much of an issue.

*sigh* She missed the dumbflank right now frankly. Might've lightened up things a little.

"And speaking of that, you don't need to be worried about the ponies and such that live in the forest Mr. Salamander. It's the wildlife that might get testy. Also, think a bit before you speak up about not needing firepower. I just ran into you after all. Usually I don't have what is best described as a mouthy lighter with thorns, but hey, if you wanna prove you're more than enough firepower, torch a timberwolf. I'm guessing it won't be long before at least a few of those tries to circle us."

With that mouthful, they took the last steps towards the edge of the forest, and would soon be insidethe wilderness. It'd be interesting to see if something bad was gonna happen in here considering she had a grumpy dragon and a pacifist griffon with her, though why take the sorrows in advance? Better just run with it and see if the local life were perhaps smart enough to stay clear of them with Kaltrops around. Small minds like those usually got the point in fire being bad.

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

 

@Dji @Lloyd

Hearing the hostile response to his presence, Benny turned around and looked at the pony who sure enough looked like she'd wish he were somewhere else, far away. Inside a volcano perhaps, which - now that he thought about it - wouldn't be too bad. It'd be nice with a scorching bath like that one of these days.

Nevermind that though. Considering how he were greeted, he should try and do a little damage control instead for now and attempt to smooth things out. Not fantasize about where she might wish he were instead of here. Something which would be easier if he didn't have his *helmet* on, so that went off.

Technically it was more of a faceplate really, but those were semantics that really didn't mean that much right now.

"Ma'am, I can assure you that I'm not an enemy. I'm with the Royal Guards, see?"

He pointed at the marks of the Solar and Night Guards on his upper leg plates and smiles innocently at the mare. Without his faceplate on and with this smile on his face, she might actually be able to recognize him easily now, as the very same dragon had been shown in pictures in Circle Pop's house, often with this smile on his face. Her very special somedragon, Benny.

Meanwhile, Screecher looked down at everything and scowled. She had hoped for an arrest, and instead there had been panic. She had to deal with this before it spread further and... What was that?

her eyes focused on something happening just beyond the burning house. Not the fire fighters no, those she expected, but the sight of a Night Guard without the armor having his back to her and addressing a mass of ponies weren't.

Her sensitive ears could hear his somewhat gravelly voice speaking reassuringly to them to calm them down, which seemed to help, especially after the fire fighters passed and showed that the fire was about to be taken care of.

It seemed she wasn't the only one taking notice however, as the guard suddenly took flight and flew over towards her, after a final talk about *everything was under control*.

When he got close enough, he'd stop and land on the ground where Screecher pointed him towards, and saluted her as she made her own landing.

"General Screecher. Officer-"

"I remember you. Olden Moon's golden colt."

The words were not said mockingly, but Stargazer did get a slightly red tint on his face when he heard the nickname that a few had called him now and again. Something which Screecher found were a fitting nickname to use currently, as it both showed that she knew who he were, and the story behind the previous criminal.

Quite honestly, she found him an interesting character, and definitely a good example that her predecessor knew what she were doing when she spoke of redemption, rather than incarceration. She also knew that Olden Moon had considered him for promotion several times as she found his service unquestionable, but for some reason had never gone through with it. Rumors had it that whilst she believed in redemption, letting former criminals rise high wasn't something she wished for, but Screecher found it far more likely that though he did make somewhat of a mark for himself, she had to look at overall presentation, and there were usually some that were more remarkable than him. Left him with a good deal of medals, but no rank to speak of.

"Yes ma'am."

"is the civilians calmed sufficiently?"

"Yes general. The presence of yourself, along with the attackers disappearance made it easy for them to trust in the Royal Guards ability to have successfully handled the situation."

"Good. Now inform me, where are your armor Stargazer?"

"On the line for being reforged general. Standard issue armor got too small."

"Acceptable excuse. I will make sure our blacksmith will have it ready when you arrive at Canterlot for a debriefing tomorrow evening. 9 PM sharp."

Stargazer had to work hard not to grimace at this. He hated having so little time to prepare for a meeting, but alas, the general set a meeting, he had to show. She were likely curious about what had happened in this town since he were stationed there, and wanted to be informed. Potentially in case she felt it was prudent to send more troops.

"Understood general."

She gazed at him as she picked up the chakram that had gotten lodged in the ground a little from them, and placed it back with the others. She'd have to clean and sharpen it again later.

"Good. Now return to your post. We have things under control here."

He didn't say anymore, but just nodded, and turned around to fly back to town. Might be there were still somepony panicking that he had to talk with, and if not that, then some builders he had to direct to this house. A clean-up crew seemed like it was going to be needed.

Screecher then wandered overt towards Astral, with her sight on the seemingly innocent thing in her hoof, and half a mind to try and cleave it in half and see if that would make this angle of their problems go away, even if she knew that she couldn't, as it were likely to either do nothing, or cause more issues than it would solve.

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

 

@EQ_Theta

"...Mother, can you open a gate to their village. I want to do something."

Mother looked at Omen with curiosity, mixed with her worry over what Sen had just said. Not a good decision in her mind, as trying to live with nightmares would not end well, and would just cause more pain. His decision to make, but not one she overly approved off. Despite how she wished that he would just accept his mortality, the way was not to simply just think that they would live with it, and the sentiment seemed a little hollow to her in general too.

She had been debating whatever or not to voice her concerns for Sen, and perhaps explain that she didn't mean to sound like nothing good would come from it before, when Omen had interrupted the line of thought with a request she hadn't expected.

"Of course. Here you go dear."

A poke in the air, and a swirling gate opened to near the longma village. It gave a good view of it, as Mother were thinking that likely, Omen were going to make a point that would include their old home. Perhaps something about accepting change and realizing that nothing could ever be as simple as it once were? It seemed rather intelligent for Omen to make a point like that, but Sen and Lin had been a good influence on her thus far. Perhaps to a point where she had picked up some thoughts about life along the way? It would be delightful if that were the case.

"Now then, Sen, before she starts, I would like to say that I support whatever decision that you make, but it would perhaps be smart to think of this further one day. I know it is not an easy choice, but trying to ignore problems could end up causing ser-"

"I'll find something."

Second time in a row, Mother turned her gaze to Omen as she saw the child had jumped through, and opened a gate back to another part of their realm. It seemed that perhaps her intentions hadn't been so much to show something as just getting out of the throne room so she could use her gates again.

"Omen?"

Omen didn't say anything, but just looked at Sen a last time before wandering through the other gate and closing it behind her.

Somewhere else in the realm, Mother felt Omen passing through and shortly after, open a new one. Faster than Mother would be able to stop her from doing so. At least in her current mind, when she didn't know if she even should try to stop her, as she were just trying to help her brother after all.

However, she could do something, and with a flickering light in her eyes, she went through with it, before returning her gaze to the others with further concern over her face.

"It would seem she seeks to help you regardless of what you're thinking right now Sen. I cannot in a good mind stop her, as I am not certain if she does not have a point in doing so, but I have forced the gate she opened to remain so, so you can follow her. I think that what happens after this is between you three, first and foremost."

She waved her right arm, and a section of the wall opened, revealing the darkness behind it, and in the distance, what might be a gate. Though it were some way from them, so it was hard to be completely certain for anyone else than Mother.

Another thing that remained a certainty, were that this gate would be needed, in case they wanted to follow Omen. Since Lin did not have the ability to simply track others down like her full-*blooded* children did, it were unlikely that they could find her without this.

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

 

@Shineling

At first, the mole squeaked and tried to get away, but after a few licks where it became obvious to it that the ponies only wanted to take some layers off it, the creature calmed down a good deal. It even started to giggle a little, whilst Anomaly rolled of it into a fine paste and molded herself together from it again. Being a net was fun and all, but the lack of limbs got irritating fast.

"See? I said they loved it. They're just really shy and scared of creatures actually munching them down. Guess I scared them with the trees or something."

An elongated tongue stretched from her mouth and took a good lick of the mole, reducing it by a few inches before the sugar-coated limb returned. Yummy as always, and totally harmless.

"Creating life can be delicious sometimes."

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

 

@Foxy Socks

"I only came here to get something from Anomaly. This sharing session were not a planned event."

As if on que, another explosion seemed to happen in Anomaly, rapidly followed by a third that sent the metal plate on her head flying into the sky whilst it scattered into ash, and the bark on her skin cracked.

Having enough of it, she coughed up the thing she had swallowed before, and looked at it with curious wonder as the bauble had gone from nearly dimmed out, to bursting with energy in rapidly changing colors. It didn't seem like something stable to carry around, but as Zhu took it from the ground and put it back in his robes, it seemed to be his responsibility now, and there weren't any explosions right now so... It was likely okay.

Taking his paw out again, he withdrew a small green figurine and held it towards Anomaly, who connected to it with her tongue,a nd seemingly pumped something into it like it was a gasoline pump. More than likely, raw chaos, though what anypony sane would use hat for were anyponys guess.

"My business here is done. Farewell."

"Wait!"

Brittle rose her voice and moved closer to Zhu, who turned his head and looked at her.

"You said you would tell me something."

"A city falls, a city rises, with the sound of falling trees in the woods. Find the truth surrounded by lies, and search among the remnants of sated lives for the bed of thorns. This is where the shattered mirror rests."

Brittle opened her muzzle to ask what it was that he meant, but it was too late. With a strong gust of wind, Zhu jumped to a nearby roof,a nd with agile movements would jump from building to building until he'd hit the forest. It seemed he had said everything he wanted to for the time being.

"Hehe, he's fun. So, anypony wanna eat? I'm so hungry I could eat a horse."

Anomaly eyes Foxy and licked herself around her mouth. Hopefully she didn't mean she could eat a horse literally...

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

 

@Battenberg

Benny gave a nervous grin towards Battenberg and shook his head, whilst scratching the back of said head as well. A nervous compulsion he had when things got a little awkward, and the rude mare sure had laid a thick blanket of that all over the room with her performance.

"Nono, i-it's okay. Stuff like that can happen you know? I'm sure it's fine. Right Po- Oh no..."

Whilst Benny had been taught to not go after ponies just because they insulted him - a surprisingly big part of the Royal Guard training it turned out - Circle Pop had not been vetted like this, and had more normal responses to it.

If it were just her being insulted that wasn't an issue that much. She'd get sad, walk away and feel down for a while until she found something or somepony that could make her smile again. The issue came when the insults struck her friends or loved ones. Benny in particular, as she were sick and tired of hearing comments now and again about the two of them being *delinquent freaks*, among the more nice comments. It wasn't so bad anymore, but it were a soft spot for his marefriend, which she responded with in the way you'd expect.

"Get back out here and say that to my face you second-rate cookie cutter!"

Pop had moved forward and looked past Battenberg whilst her angry voice rose in her attempt to get the attention of the insufferable gnat that had had a go at them before. At her own sister too, and for what? because she felt she were special? She acted like a noble, and no real noble would work in a bakery. They'd sit on their fancy flanks and sip champagne or some other frivolous nonsense, whilst belittling working ponies.

Yes yes, she knew, that was not how all of them were, but right now she were angry and irrational, so excuse her for focusing on the dark side of things right now to make a point to herself that would feed the fire.

Meanwhile, Benny got closer and took a grip in Pop before she tried to do something stupid, like jump the counter and run after her for example. Which would be pretty bad as he were a guard, and that meant he'd have to take her to the local station and try to clear things from what would hopefully just be an emotional response, rather than an assault charge. Quite honestly he didn't know if she were capable of beating somepony like that, but... Why take the chance, right? Everypony could get irrational when they got angry, and whilst he didn't think she'd intentionally hurt anypony, everypony had their limits, and it was best not to test those.

"I'm so sorry about this. She's a sweet mare normally, really, she just doesn't like insults. I'll uhm, get the bits ready in a sec, once she have calmed down."

Hopefully the brat who had gone to the kitchen wouldn't come out and face Pop from her own, not so subtle insult about Victoria not only being nothing more than somepony who'd use somepony else's premade dough and just shove it in the oven, but also being so bad at her job that all she could do were cookies. Something which were likely not true, but to be fair, the two of them weren't filth either, so he'd just call this even and hope it would stop there. That was a nice hope, right? Surely there'd be no reason to just like, stomp all over that hope now, was there?

...Why did nice thoughts like this never seem to hold up in reality?

[Foxy Socks 2,596]

@Blitz Boom

Foxy wondered if she'd ever cross paths with Zhu again, but perhaps it was better she didn't. She liked Anomaly more, considering her a friend. Even if she isn't the original form of her.

 

"I'm not really hungry, but I'll go with you. I wonder what Zhu meant right before he left." If it were from any normal Draconequus (Foxy did not know he was a different being), she'd think it would have just been nonsense, but Zhu was quite serious with his tone.

 

Nopony was around to witness what had taken place besides them, so at least there didn't have to be an explanation. Of course, they all stood out in some way, especially Anomaly and Brittle. They both of course could change forms to be more fitting, though it was up to them. Foxy looked pony enough even if she had different features, while with Briar another pony would have to observe closely to see the difference. Foxy then remembered his eyes being elliptical. Briar would surely stand out, but Foxy hoped he had his own way of avoiding attention. Despite the odd looking group Foxy couldn't imagine being in a more comfortable place: with friends.

 

Edited August 23, 2017 by Foxy Socks

[Moonlit 593]

@Blitz Boom @Seamore Sandwich @Widdershins Serenade nods, "Come on Ziggy, I'd rather not deal with this, besides" She ruffles her wings, "I can...feel the potion start to slip, not sure why though". Her eyes briefly flash red as she says that. 

[EQ_Theta 415]

@Blitz Boom

"But I..." Sen sighed and simply let things continue as they are. "And there was a reason why telling everyone about my problems is frowned upon. I'll think about it some more, Mother, but I can handle them. Maybe I'm just going about this the wrong way and-"

"Sen, stop it," Lin interjected, raising her voice but stopping herself from yelling straight into her brother's ear. She could sense the desperation in his voice but knowing her words of support from before didn't seem to work now is causing her some distress. Even her tone is starting to show her tiring of this, not knowing how to help but understanding that something has to be done. "I don't know if this helps but whatever you believe you did or didn't do, whatever will happen in the near or distant future, you made it to this point. You're stronger than you know and simply being here already proves that. Being left on your own is tough but you aren't alone any more; you've got me, Mother, Omen, elder Ghilan. We'll weather the storm no matter what it takes. Here, this should cheer you up."

Lin grabbed the box of donuts Sen had earlier, still more than half of the baker's dozen still untouched, and handed one donut to Sen. It was meant to be a token of appreciation but perhaps her brother needed it more than everyone else did and it would be a shame if all of those delicious treats went to waste. In the meantime, Sen ate the donut given to him but that feeling of gusto that once filled him with enthusiasm wasn't on his face. Seeing the gate Omen walked through made following her tempting but Lin opted to stay and place her confidence in Omen. She is a lot smarter than what she lets on and Lin is certain she'll come back with something interesting. And speaking of interesting, there was something else that piqued her interest. 

"Mother, who is this Mortimer you mentioned? What would he not approve of?"

Edited August 24, 2017 by EQ_Theta

[Victoria Sponge 1,014]

@Blitz Boom

Battenberg still looked very apologetic/ashamed. "It's ok. I'm half tempted to give you another cake for free and dock it from her wages. Wish my cousin Red Velvet wasn't so busy, she'd be able to deal with Victoria properly."

She looked at the angry pony in the arms of the dragon.

"I wouldn't bother trying to get in a fight with her, she's fragile but she's fast. If there was even the slightest threat of her mane getting messed up she'd be out of here in a flash. It's ridiculous but it's just how she is, how she's always been. Only time I can actually have a conversation with her that feels even remotely friendly is when we're baking together. Probably the only reason she wasn't disowned."

She chuckled then looked at the ground again.

"I shouldn't say that about her, she may be mean and heartless but she's still my little sister and so I love her more than anything. Can I get you anything to make up for this?"

[FanOfManyShows 396]

@Blitz Boom & @Dji

Something struck Astral deep about the gaze Screecher gave her, glancing over to the pony who questioned her. "Well right now it's harmless I presume." She said, creating a necklace out of the air, securing the element on it, and then on her neck. "Should keep it nice and sa-" She had a pause in her step, face hoofing. "Hang on, Null should wear this instead of me, that'd be safer." She said, unaware of the fact she used magic around an object that absorbed it. Taking it off, walking to Null and handing it over. "Here."

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

@Blitz Boom 

Iron Star sat by Misty off the bed, sighing heavily, his eyes scanning the roof for almost no reason, looking down. "I might actually need a little bit of a rest, from, this..." He trailed off, almost falling over.

Misty attempted to catch him, wincing as she bent her leg a bit. "A-are you okay?"

"I need a break, I haven't really needed to use omnipotence this much and the magic blast took a lot away from me." He laid down on his side, his head poking up. "So I'll be resting..." He closed his eyes, resting his head down.

"Well, probably should rest in a proper place though." By then he had already fell asleep, Misty sighing in frustration, and resting her body. "We probably should find some other omnipotent pony to help us along with him."

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

@Blitz Boom 

Warlock walked down the hall, looking around at every disarmed trap, and broken wall. limping as his magic started faltering. "Gah!" He hit a wall from his anger, cracking it, sighing heavily and keeping his hoof to the wall as he walked. "Really hope there's an element here, or some magical object." he followed the little trail of destruction Athriel left, eventually finding her, but staying a little away, looking to his chest, if she saw him without his element, she'd surely stop praising him. Backing away and keeping his distance, staying hidden.

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

@Blitz Boom 

Iron Star nodded. "We should exercise some caution, and let the other generals know when you can, so I can discuss with them about how to handle this." He looked to the lieutenant. "I'll be putting priority on this, so you may take the feathers to the forge, and make sure they know they are for the new general." He lifted the bag of feathers off his back, and handed it to the lieutenant. "be careful with them, don't want them to hurt anypony, and I'll need them back too."

Edited August 25, 2017 by Lloyd

[Blitz Boom 4,427]

@EQ_Theta

It pleased Mother that Lin knew how to handle Sen, even if it were with a forceful, firm hand. Sometimes that was a necessity though, and in the case of Sen, it seemed like that would often be the way to make him listen.

It was not a tactic she could employ herself, as she did not like to raise her voice at the children, but Lin were akilled enough at this to make any partition from her unneeded anyway.

A smile spread on her face as she thought on gow Lin woukd be, raising her own children one day. She imagined the longma would make an excellent mother, considering how protective she were, among other things. Though this did not seem the right time to press her about that. All in due time.

Considering the consensus that Omen were better left alone too, she considered closing the gate she had kept open, but paused. Perhaps it were better to.leave at is, at least for a little while longer. Just in case something went wrong or the two siblings here rethought their stance on things. It was unlikely that it woukd hurt anything to have it open now anyway, so she were not overly fussed.

Besides, and Lin asked who it were that Mother had mentioned before, her mind got occupied by other things.

Memories at first, about the times she had seen him before she made her choice, which inevitably also brought memories about her siblings, and caused a glistening tear to roll from her eyes.

"Mortimer is the second thing to ever be, and the last to ever exist. The creator of my entire race, and in the end, the most neutral being you could ever hope to meet. You have no need for a bias when you're the incarnation of the inevitable. 

I believe you would call him Death."

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

 

@Battenberg

"Oh, I'd mess her mane up alright..."

"Honey? Remember, deep, calm breaths. You told her off good."

It aometimes struck him as funny how he tended to be the level-headed one when most that looked at them would assume that he would be the first to flare up - literally in some ways - but it wasn't like much about the two were fitting stereotypes anyway.

"Again, it's no biggie ma'am, and I don't think something good comes from putting a fine on your sister like that. Seems better to just consider it done and move on, rather than step in it."

Pop took some deep breaths like she were asked to whilst Benny talked, and held her hoof over the clawed hand on her shoulder. It was comforting for her, and after a while, she'd be able to get calmed, though she'd likely be quick to have a go this time if Victoria came back around.

"Yes, of course. I'm... Sorry about that. I just get a little defensive sometimes when ponies insult us."

She looked at the mare with an apolegetic and shamed look going over her face, along with an increasingly red tint on her cheeks.

"...Oh right, I have the bits. Hold on."

Benny let go of his marefriend and started grabbing bits in the bag. One by one he'd stack the coins on the table until the price were consistent with the first offer they had gotten. Discounts because of a rude employee were cheap in his mind, and he wouldn't have that on his name.

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

 

@Foxy Socks

"Draconequus? Hehe. I like when you say silly things Foxy. He's a Serpanther. Fun mix of cat and snake, though his colors are too symmetrical to really be fun. I tried to make him some shades of purple here and there once, but noooo, he didn't want to play.

If you wanna see a draconequus, just look here."

Anomly drew in a deep breath that would draw wind in with such a force that it'd make Brittle slide on the ground towards her, and when she were so full it seemed like she'd burst, she closed her mouth, and started to float upward like a balloon.

A few meters up, and she snapped her tail, making a large dart appear and threw it towards herself, puncturing her and making her fly around with an unpleasant, deflating sound, before finally landing on Briar's head. She had been aiming for Brittle first, but she wouldn't freak out like he were starting to do currently, so it was worth the change.

"W-Wait, what's going on here? Is this a normal.thing for one of them?"

"Well, not all of us I think, but for me? Totally."

A hoof appeared out of Brittle's back and rummafed around her ear before pulling out random sfuff like coins, an umbrella, dog bisquits and the obligatory pidgeon. Eventually the hoof would pull out a copy of Anomaly and toss it on the pile of assorted trash, then make a gesture like a magician going *Tadaa!*. A voice even said that out of nowhere, though it didn't sound like Anomaly.

The copy this time wasn't metal or aomething like it, buf a mostly true copy of the original. Except the head, which for some reason wasn't a pumpkin, but a large, ripe cherry.

"Hehe, bet I freaked you out plantguy. Relax, I just shed some skin on you. I'm like, 46'1% sure it's not toxic."

It seemwd that wasn't comforting to Briar, who instantly shook the skin off him and kicked it away. It were headed towards Foxy when Anomaly intercepted it and chomped down, beginning to eat her old hide with seeming joy.

"Yummy. So, what do you wanna do if not eat?"

"If I may, I have something to add to the previous point that Foxy made."

Briar interrupted Anomaly with some hesitation, though she didn't seem to mind, as she were currently eating.

"I am not aware of most of what Zhu said, but I have heard an expression close to the last bit before. A broken mirror in that context were a reference to a shattered life where you could just see slivers and pieces, but not the whole picture.

I believe that with Brittle, it might instead refer to the pieces of herself that she can't fave or doean't have. Bits and pieces if you will, though the rest I haven't the faintest clue about. His riddle appears rather complicated "

Why the serpanther couldn't just say things directly he'd likely never understand, but it were drustrating when it came to something which affected his companion, who started to move closer to him again.

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

 

 

@Moonlit @Seamore Sandwich @Widdershins

"The potion is having issues? Oh dear, we need to figure something out when we get out of here then to get you back home unseen. Even at night it seems some of Ponyville is awake."

The prospect of having Serenade drop her disguise were not something that scared Ziggy, but it did worry her greatly, and the worry slowly started to take over her fear of the ghost(s?) in the castle.

She were still not thrilled about that part though, to say the least, but if there were one silver lining in the worrisome combo, it at least were that it took her mind slightly off the spectral happenings. A small light in the dark that one, but could you really fault her for looking for anything good right now?

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

 

@Lloyd @Dji

Null didn't know why the pony came over to her and handed her the weird gem, but conaidering she owed this group, it seemed like the least she could do, so she reaches over and took it.

The magical chain turned to ash as she got bear enough, and she ended up with the gem just sitring in her hoof. It felt like a regular chunk of stuff to her, but that were to be expected really.

"So... What is this? Some kind of cursed artifact to toss in with the rest or something?"

"I-I think it would l-look good on the c-crown."

Void started to chip in with something herself when the subject fell on their gathered stash in their shambles of a *home*.

"Meh, perhaps. Personally I don't care. Not like we're trying to make a museum of dangerous stuff here.

Which brings me to asking, what am I gonna do with this? Crush it or something?"

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

 

@Lloyd

"I'm having a hard time figuring out if there's anypony we could get hold of for that. No offence there short stuff, but i think we hafta wait until Gloomy Gus here wakes up again."

Briar took a good hold in his *found* spear and looked around whilst the medica worked tirelessly on stabilizing Golden Night, checking Iron Star and carefully getting Misty on the bed next to him, where they could use some pieces of wood and rope it tightly around the affected limb to force her broken leg to stand still so it wouldn't get worse. It would likely hurt a bit as the pressure came on, but these weren't doctors in a suitable hospital either. These were army medics, and as good as some of them were, they used the tools they had at hoof to be efficient.  It was the best they could do in an enviroment where usually, cuts and bruises wede the things they had to be working on.

"I just hope Astral comes back soon. The others seems well and all, but... I just don't like that I can't keep an eye on her right now, no matter how useless I've been in helping her so far."

Chow looked pretty nervous when it came to speaking about Astral, and a little depressed, but he at least tried to.keep a bit of a smile on his face. Though sadly, it looked about as fake as a plastic moustache.

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

 

@Lloyd

Athriel rose her head and looked around in the darkness. She didn't see anypony right now, but she were sure she had heard a voice before, along with a sort of thumping noise. As if somepony had hit the walls or something like that.

"...Warlock? Is it you skulking around in the shadows? Get out here if it is. I found something."

If it were him, the lack of a heavy aroma of blood likely meant something hadn't gone as planned for him, though they could solve that later id it were. They had something to find.

She turned to the wall and ran her claws over a specific section, whilst starring intently at it from the dim light of the small, red baubles in front of her.

"If I've translated this code correctly, the element is on the northen isle. I'm not entirely sure which one, but Dishonesty is mentioned a fair few times. Perhaps just guards or history there, but the babbling idiots haven't been very forth coming with the texts. Also talks about some sort of crazed judge guarding it. We ahould plan for that."

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

 

@Lloyd

The lieutenant saluted the general when he were done giving his order.

"Yes sir. I will make sure the twins knows this is a priority. I will return when they're done."

She took the bag, turned around, and went with haste towards the forge. Not a place she enjoyed being, but an order was an order, even if it brought her to the scorching building.

"They're mad, but their results are examplary. They should get your attachments fixed as soon as they find out how to replicate the sign on them efficiently."

The former general passed a corner, having gotten close enough before to hear the last bits of what had been discussed. It had taken him shorter time to get back here as he did not have ponies to drag along, which meant he could run and not waste time, but it seemed his replacement had managed to use the time away efficiently to solve his issue. At least for now.

"Now then, we have a kingdom on alert and two dangerous individuals on the loose, which means we need to send messages to the other parts of the kingsom. Did you manage to complete this task before the surprise attack by Warlock?"

[Foxy Socks 2,596]

@Blitz Boom

"Oh, a Serpanther? He did seem a bit, different I guess. He had a snake head so I guess it makes sense." Foxy wondered how many more beings like him there were. Were there more, or was he the only one of his kind left, or that ever existed? Such thoughts only served to confuse to vixen pony more, so she stopped thinking about it. It was about noon, so most ponies would be out right now. Foxy had no major plans, but she enjoyed Anomaly's display that she had just made, causing Foxy to laugh a little. 

 

"I hope whatever he said, Brittle will be okay. She has been through a lot before apparently. I'm not sure what though." Foxy tried to make sure Brittle didn't hear as it could cause her to become upset remembering her past.

[Seamore Sandwich 470]

@Blitz Boom 

 

"That seems likely," Gaea said sarcastically, clearly not believing Zhu.  She would then be pushed out of the way by Zhu's wind magic.  She got up quickly and shouted at him, "Are you trying to kill me?!  And what about Skippy here?!" pointing at the squirrel as she did.  She clearly knew the squirrel.  "You'd really put him in harm's way just to convince me you can see the future?!  Clearly you used that wind magic of yours to break the branch!  What's wrong with you?!"  The squirrel came back out of the bushes and chattered away to Gaea, and it was clear that she could understand him.  *chit chitter chit chit chitter*  "Yes." *chitter chit chitter chitter chit chitter*  "Oh... really?"  *chitter chit chit chitter chit chatter*  "I suppose you're right."  *chit chit*  "Bye Skippy," she said as the squirrel ran off.  "He told me he didn't feel any wind before the branch fell, and that it was already feeling a bit weak before it snapped.  He also pointed out that you saved me and said that I should give you a chance." 

 

@Blitz Boom with possibly @Moonlit and @Widdershins if temporal phenomena are involved.

 

"This should be fine," Charlie answered, then thought for a moment.  "I've never been alone before.  I wonder if I'll like it.  Anyway, goodbye!  See you later!"  

Once Vivid left, Charlie would start to grow bored.  At least in the forest there was a lot of life around to watch, or whatever you might call it when a tree sensed the things around it.  Thinking they heard a noise, Charlie called out, "Hello?" and it was echoed back, "Hello?"  "Nice to meet you."  "Nice to meet you."  "You seem friendly."  "You seem friendly."  "What's your name?"  "What's your name?"  "I asked first!  "I asked first!"  "No I did!"  "No I did!"  This kept on going for a while, with Charlie not understanding the concept of an echo.

[EQ_Theta 415]

@Blitz Boom

"Well, I... I have no idea how to respond to this. I mean, I've heard of other cultures making up an identity to a concept to make it easier to deal with but this..." 

Lin's flabbergasted speech somehow made Sen's fears more real and she could already begin grasping just what he feels. It's paralyzing; if she had hair on her hide, she'd feel them all standing up in unison and her muscles would lock in place and freeze her right then and there. The last bit was poignant because it's exactly what she felt, even more so for Sen who turned away from both her and Mother not wishing to hear any more. Between this and and how he was raised to understand this difficult topic, nothing was making it easier to swallow all of this. In his mind, he might as well start believing having that spell to enslave him back to Omen might be a merciful solution. It had the upside of being unable to think about these and he had no higher mental processes to control his actions. He'd be around someone he fully trusted to not abuse that power. Lin, on the other hand, still had some lingering insecurities. If she isn't like Omen, being a hybrid and all, she wouldn't have all of the things that made her who she is. What does that say about her fate?

"If I'm not truly like Omen..." Lin quietly whispered to herself and looked up at Mother once more. "Mother, would I... If I'm not completely like Omen, does that mean I won't be have a long lifespan? Would I be taken from you as well and meet this Mortimer when my time comes?"

It was a quiet, contemplative tone that convinced her that maybe she isn't so different from her brother after all. Maybe both of them will pass on and they won't remember Omen or Mother one day. Maybe they'll see their parents or maybe they won't and the infinite black void will be the only thing to greet them both, a fate that scares Lin so much she is too frightened to imagine it. Now that something about Mortimer is revealed to her, she fears what he is like. A hooded figure whose face is hidden, speaks with a harrowing voice, and holds some kind of curved blade on a stick?  She grows quiet and expects an answer that would keep her up for many nights to come. She wouldn't be able to sleep through it anyway now that she couldn't sleep at all. But with an image like that burned into her mind, she'll probably see some scary creature in her waking hours. Always at the corner of her eye, a grim reminder stalking her and never letting her out of sight. 

But there was more. If there was some sliver of hope that she or Sen could make sense of this revelation, it had to come from something that held wisdom. If there was something they could seek, if it was written by those who came before them. Lin still awaited a response but thought about finding some solace in the written words of her longma ancestors. They probably had the same fears Sen has and likely contemplated it at some point in their lives.

"Could we take a look at the codex? The one I brought a while back? There might be something there that can help."

Edited August 28, 2017 by EQ_Theta

[Victoria Sponge 1,014]

Victoria now stood behind the counter, watching the coins pile up with the same disgusted look on her face. Battenberg spoke up before Victoria had the chance.

"Victoria, I want you to put those coins away when he's done counting them and give the customers their cakes, be useful not abuseful."

Victoria stuck her nose up and huffed.

"Abuseful is not a real word Battenberg and do you know how many germs are on a single coin? Those coins go through a lot. I refuse to touch these discs of filth."

Battenberg walked behind the counter and pushed Victoria aside.

"Ok then, I'll do it myself."

Victoria looked at the little white floury hoofprint that stood out from her brown fur and gave a little shriek, rubbing herself against the counter frantically, trying to remove it. Battenberg rolled her eyes, "get back in the kitchen Victoria, do something for someone else please." 

Victoria turned sharply making sure her tail lightly hit Battenberg in the face then trotted out in a huff. Battenberg spluttered in surprise, not expecting to get a mouth full of her sister's hair. 

She took the bits and gave her customers what they had purchased. "Thank you so much, I'd love it if you could come back and tell me what you thought of my cakes next time your in town. I'll make sure to put Victoria on a leash next time though." She chuckled nervously.

[Sekel 685]

@Blitz Boom & @Widdershins

AURORA

"Yes, Mr. Meanie Dragon. You are, in fact, an overgrown slamander," Aurora giggled and after thinking on it, nodded at the cards Spicy showed her. "That looks like they can pack a punch."

@Blitz Boom & @Lloyd

DAWN

"You being with royal guards still doesn't make me think you're here for a nefarious purpose, dragon," Dawn growled, stepping closer to the group while keeping her eyes on the dragon. She kept her ear on the conversations they were having, and once there was a gap, decided on how best to inject herself into those talks to see if they would at least listen. She stopped her advanced and managed to ease her features though when she watched the exchange between a couple more ponies. "What is happening?" she asked in complete and utter confusion when she saw the ash form from what was once a necklace.

@Jedishy

WATTS

Watts hummed and looked at the books before smiling. "I only do this on the rare occasions, but, when I close up shop, come back to my garage. I can set you up with something if you prefer being hoofed out charity."

[Jedishy 3,542]

@Dji

 

Winter Bolt scuffed his hoof and thought about it. He was low on funds and needed a lot more than the few bits he had could cover and he knew it. To turn this down due to pride would be foolish. Not to mention rude. If somepony offers to help you and there is no reason to think that you are putting them out its just not polite to turn them away. Plus his belly was empty and getting to know somepony around town might be a useful exercise. " Ok. I really do appreciate it. I travel a lot so this really helps me out." His wings rustled as he spoke trying not to appear as nervous as he felt. 

[Props Valroa 26,038]

@Blitz Boom

After making sure nopony was watching her Spoiled Rich started to unscrew the slot machines and take a peek inside to see if theres any money she can steal, once spotted she casually grabs a hooffull of it. 

[Storm Shine 1,195]

@Blitz Boom

Pinkie giggled and hugged the sugary creature, continuing to lick at it's delicious coat, "And they're so adorable! I want one!" Pinkie squealed happily. "I'm sure they'd get along great with Gummy!"

Storm chuckled, "I don't know Pinkie, they might freak out a little when he decides to bite them, even if he doesn't have any teeth."

"Oh, I'm sure Gummy wouldn't bi-"

"Pinkie, we both know he bites everything."

"I'm sure they'd get used to it, Gummy wouldn't hurt them after all." Pinkie replied stubbornly, rubbing her face in the mole's sugar coating.