open Casual stroll

[Victoria Sponge 1,017]

@Blitz Boom

"We'll just have to make sure little Angel is with Vicky when she meets this friend of yours, should make it a lot easier. Quite the little peace maker."

She smiled down at her sleeping foal.

"Hopefully everything will work out. Victoria can be so sweet when she's happy, believe it or not, it would be nice if ponies outside of our family could see that."

 

"It's unfortunate that ponies don't realise how easy it is to misinterpret someone; Victoria's a good girl, she has a very kind heart, its just hidden under layers of insecurity, if more people gave her a chance we might come to know a different Vicky."

It was clear Royal had integrated with his wife's family rather well in the few years they'd been together, he had the same parental fondness in his eyes for the two sisters that Red had.

"Every time she comes to visit Angel she becomes such a lovely pony, even more so when there's no strangers about, it's quite the phenomena. Anyway, you're right we should head back inside to our special ones, see where Battenberg and Victoria have disappeared off to."

[genessee 535]

@Blitz Boom

Lance peeped his head into the hospital room, food in tow. He addressed the female first.

"Hi there! Were you the customers that ordered the, uh... this?"

He held up a box containing the food he was supposed to deliver. He didn't really know what it was, but decided not to open it, just in case. Lance tried to stay further away from the mean-looking one. I never trusted mean-looking and buff stallions, what gives me reason to trust a mean-looking, buff griffon? 

[cwhip9 1,078]

@Blitz Boom Cresent chuckled at the felines response and checked the map he had. On it showed they would soon find a clearing out of the forreset down a path in a field. To the youngsters response Cresent nodded "like wise cover" he said with a smile 

[EQ_Theta 460]

@Blitz Boom 

As much as Sen didn't like the idea of staying behind to let Lin go back into the cave, he knew he had to stay put. He brought back the drake to the other encased ponies to let it continue its work while Lin approached Clayton's general direction. As the longma put the drake down, he gently stroked it along its head and neck, reassuring it that the way things are is only temporary. 

"We'll fix Omen," Sen said in a very calming tone, hiding his own worries. "You can count on us."

Meanwhile, Lin walked up to Clayton feeling a little less certain about her course of action. Still, she wouldn't waver from it knowing someone's life is on the line. 

"Clayton, I need to go back in the mines. Maybe Omen isn't responding because she isn't complete. A piece of her may have broken off when we pulled her out." 

[Storm Shine 1,196]

@Blitz Boom @EQ_Theta

Discord mumbled to himself as he snapped his paws several times, wreaking several odd changes around them in his attempts to try and magically stir a reaction from Omen. A sudden blizzard, followed by a steaming desert, and then actual desserts surrounded them before the area nearby returned to normal... If you ignored the banana-fish swimming in the air around them. "I don't understand enough about her species to really know what's wrong." He said in disappointment, looking at his own paws. Few times had the lord of chaos ever felt so helpless, but without enough direction he wasn't sure how much he could do without possibly hurting her. "But there must be something.." He settled down into a high-backed chair and blew on a bubble-pipe that began producing parasprite-shaped bubbles that flew into the air and occasionally 'ate' one another as he began to think, calling on his vast years of knowledge. "Hmmm"

Discord looked over thoughtfully at the news that a piece might have broken off. "That.. Could be the reason." Every little piece would likely count towards her continued existence in this realm after all, given the way her kind is. He didn't have enough knowledge of them to say for sure, but it was certainly possible at least.

[FanOfManyShows 396]

@Blitz Boom

Astral kept walking, thinking over their plan. If Chow knew magic they'd no longer have to protect him constantly. She could not worry so much over this, well not so innocent, pony. She'd finally be able to fight with Iron and Misty without also protecting him. Although ever since Athriel was freed, it did occur to her why Chow still stayed with them, could've been the fact she'd included him in the teleport each time, or the fact he may have had something to settle with Athriel. "So, have you ever considered staying behind before after Athriel escaped from you?" She asked, walking next to him. "Like, after she was gone you'd be fine staying behind, or is like, something else keeping you from doing that?"

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"We were fighting them, I was kind of distracted." He said with an bit of an angry look. "I had to leave it behind when the place flooded." He looked down, thinking he could use a omnipotence spell, but that'd waste magic, so he had to use his eyes to see something. "I suspect if this spire is overgrown, there will be a lot of mistaking branches for it." He looked down, looking for the spire still.

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Iron Wing looked to Zhu from outside, keeping his distance. half tempted to pull his razor sharp wings out after Zhu knocked the guards out, but he breathed, trying to remain calm. This dragon might be planning something to do with the egg, much like what he'd seen with Spike. "Hm." He stood his distance, hoping Celestia hadn't taken that egg from Zhu, as well as hoping he wasn't planning to take it even if that wasn't the case. Since he had no idea what the repercussions of either of those would be.

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"It would be of his variety, the color depends, or even the rank. But they tend to have a similar, design." She chuckled lightly as his not so subtle mention of Chrysalis. "Yes, her of all creatures you won't look past their old rivalries, not Discord or Nightmare Moon. Only her you won't do that with." She said with a smirk. "Little silly isn't it?"

"Little biased since you're related."

"Shush" She said with a giggle. "It's still odd, though since she is refusing to turn good, it's unlikely the rivalries will be forgiven."

[Moonlit 593]

@Blitz Boom @Seamore Sandwich "I'll ask her the next time I see her." She looks up at the apparition,  "Not sure, I have two types of songs. One that...well, I only know cause it's innate, I don't use cause it causes disharmony. The other I learned from listening to my father, that one...well, it's still not good cause it sends ponies into a stupor." A brief flash of anger crosses her face, "I am nothing like a Changling. I'm a carnivore, I don't eat emotions but I can draw power from the ponies that listen to my songs"

[Blitz Boom 4,640]

@Shineling @EQ_Theta

"Take your p-pet. It might h-help you through."

It was all Clayton said before he went back to try and keep his friends from breaking down too much.

But how could he understand enough to do that? He had gotten away,  whilst his friends had to go through what to them felt like the blink of an eye, but to the rest of the world amounted to ten years. He didn't have the heart to even tell them how long it had been yet, as they at least had some idea that it had been a while considering his own appearance, and that of the quarry around them.

The time would come when tears became questions - though with Discords antics around them, it might still take time for them to be calm enough for that. And when that time came, he had to tell them how long it had been, that he didn't know why they were glittering and their manes semi-transparent, and worse of all, that it had all been for nothing. Rose - or whatever she were actually called - were loose, and as long as she were, nopony would be safe.

LIn were going to need to use the Refraction too, if she were to have any hope of getting into the cave, as the magic used before had halfway sealed the entrance with the parasitic gems.

In fact, she would feel a tiny tug in her leg, where the small creature grabbed hold of her and looked up. Either it had heard that Lin needed help and wanted to come, or it had been sad after seeing it couldn't help Omen, and wanted to be picked up.

It had looked pretty sad when it were put towards the other statues again, and had gone kinda sluggish in that endeavor, but the look now were more neutral, and could be either really. Though whatever the reason, she'd have it to scare and drain the gems away, that were barring her from checking the place for potential missing parts of Omen.

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

 

 

@BloodDrops

To say that the guard were intimidated was an understatement, as he saw the sickly looking pony gobble up mice, rats, and assorted other critters she had been able to find, all the whilst keeping her eyes on him.

Truthfully, he was horrified, and frozen in place out of sheer fear, chanting silently to himself over and over *pleasedon'thurtme* in rapid succession. It didn't get easier when the pony then spoke to him, and the color straight up started to drain from his face.

"I-I-I... M-Meat? I... Y--Yes!"

He couldn't even formulate a sentence, as he was faced with something that he couldn't have been prepared for, and afterwards stumbled a few times over himself in his haste to get as quickly away from here as possible.

And now he was expected to bring meat to this terrifying mare? How would he ever get hold of that? This wasn't a griffon town, and he hadn't the faintest clue about hunting. Yet here he were, running away with his heart threatening to burst from the sound of it, and faced with knowing that he either got meat for her, or she would hurt somepony. And it had to be quick too. Even if he had been given until sunrise - quite some time, seeing as it was roughly 11 AM - how was he going to be sure that he really had that long? He couldn't take that chance.

A plan half-formulated in his head as he were almost at the forest, which didn't make him feel any better: The only hope he had, was to steal a prey from one of the Timberwolves.

He swore, if he actually managed to survive this, he was going to quit. His mother was right, guard duty was too much for him. He should've stayed a circus clown. At least there the worst that happened was when somepony put a shoe in the pies.

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

 

@~Phoenix~

"Follow me then."

Rose turned, and visibly sneered when she knew her back was completely turned away from the mare. Urgh, if only she could just toss her out...

Thoughts kept running through her head about con after con when it came to Phoenix, ranging from petty things to downright made up stuff - like how she were likely a gold digger - until they reached a large door, that would lead to the shower Phoenix needed.

Ont he way there, she would likely still not think this a house of somepony special. The walls had a few artworks of some value, without being from the greatest that once were, and beautiful furniture, lamps, carpets and such lined things, giving off a rather opulent and high cost feel to things, and since nothing personal lined the walls out here either, a hotel seemed a fair assumption for the uninitiated. it was preposterous to Rose, but she focused on flaws right now, and had little in the way of redeeming or understanding thoughts in the midst of her jealousy.

"Just leave the towels in the basket when you're done with them."

With that, she opened the door, and moved away so that Phoenix could walk in.

The room was incredible for what amassed to basically a bathroom. The sinks were pristine, and almost sparkled along with the rest of the porcelain facilities in this room. The room was spacious, the lavatory the sort you were unlikely to see anything close to outside of a nobles house, and the large tub witht he golden handles should look delightfully enticing. It had a tray bolted into the wall with oils, salts, soaps of various kinds, and even what would turn out to be a small radio to play some soothing music, if you truly wished to enjoy your bath, rather than just get clean.

Everything was clean and spotless in the room, and if she would look behind the mirror, she would find a cabinet stocked full of perfumes. Mostly things meant for stallions, but a few usually only mares bought could be spotted between the relatively masculine smells.

There were two towels here, hung on bars near the tub for easy access, and it should go without saying that the thread-count and softness was going to fit the overall feel of this place. That being fresh, and top-to-near-top of the line.

"I have to get something done, so I'll be leaving. When you eventually get out of here, follow the corridor further until you reach the main hall. I will tell Smokey to expect you at some point there."

*leaving* *get out of here*, her words were chosen carefully to show her displeasure at having to service the harpy, without being directly rude. It was just phrasing after all, unless the mare could see into her head and knew of the pain her mere presence caused Rose's heart. Not that she'd care though. The only one who ever cared about her, beyond her her few friends and family, were the one pony that had never cared as much as her heart yearned him to.

And now she had to get to him, and wait for his shower to end, before she could tell him that this mare were waiting for him... He was probably going to get all giddy with joy from hearing that...

That was the thought that simmered around her head as she left, leaving Phoenix with a bath that she could go into for both cleaning purposes, and a very relaxing next step after the episode before she woke up in this estate.

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

 

@Battenberg

"I kinda feel bad for her , you know? She's putting herself in a shell and can't poke out unless Angel is helping her. Guess you got a point about having him there then, if I can get the two to meet. He loves foals, and an energetic bundle of joy like Angel should help mellow him out a little, as well as calming Victoria. Might be he'll even focus on the ponies and how they're doing before he starts to judge how their manes and tails are looking."

"Are you talking about Snip Snap?"

Benny had popped his head in, just as the last bit were said, and grinned at the gathered ponies whilst holding the door open for Royal.

"Yes. We've been talking while you were away, and we... Kinda wanna try and hook Victoria up."

"With Snippy? Oh man, I should stay around for that and bring some popcorn. That will be a glorious meltdown. Uhm I mean... I-It's nice that you can perhaps help two ponies who have some issues finding somepony else. Hehe... Heh..."

The glare he had gotten back from Pop as he tried to be funny, had made the gas go out of his balloon a little as he apologized for the admittedly bad comment. Sometimes, he really didn't know what went over him and his big ol' mouth.

"Yes, it is nice. So, what've you two been talking about then, whilst we were making matches?"

About now, would be a good time for Royal to give a description of something regular they had spoken off, like sports or how his family were, or something like that, because Benny was a horrible liar. She'd figure him out in seconds.

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@genessee

The larger griffon glared at the delivery colt, but didn't move. Instead he just waited , and kept an unblinking gaze on him, until Florence had gathered herself enough after her outburst to turn to Lance with an apologetic look.

"I'm sorry that you had to see that. My name is Florence, and this is my uncle, Pyhrus. I was the one who ordered the fish."

She had paid in advance, so that wuouldn't be an issue, but what might were was the pony that wandered straight past Florence and looked at Pyhrus with a slacked jaw.

"Wait, Pyhrus? Not the one from Sundown Valley?"

The narrow eyes of the large, intimidating griffon and the clutching of his regular talon made her certain that she had hit something, and she went into a giant grin.

"Haha, I knew it! All the clues said you weren't dead, and everypony in Baltimore just said I was crazy. Lance, come on in already. THis guy's a real, bona fide hero."

The room echoed wit the loud sound of the metallic talon hammering into one of the beds he laid on, causing one of the legs to bend slightly.

"I am not, a hero. And what makes you think you know anything about me, equine?"

Berry rolled her eyes.

"Duh, I rummaged through trash near your village. Do you have any idea how many secret documents they think are gone if they tear them up and throw them away? I learned all kinds of stuff."

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@cwhip9

Cover-up would have answered, but as they nearer the end of the trees, he saw something that caused the words to wither away like sand in his muzzle: A sign, saying Ormenthal.

It were a simple sign, carved out of a tree and placed on a pike, but at least it looked in somewhat good condition. What were beyond the sign however, were not.

The entirety of a town, where it seemed that once perhaps a few hundred had lived, laying in shambles.

There wasn't a building standing undamaged in the entire town, with varied degrees of damages from what would seemingly have to have been from the fire from the sky that had been shown in Cover-up's vision, though those were the only damages. There were no scorching anywhere, the ground looked undisturbed, and through the entirety of the once sprawling town, the only sound that could be heard, were the wind blowing through old buildings.

Zinthar jumped down, as the colt wandered towards a particularly destroyed house, with tears falling down his face, before his knees went weak, and he fell to the ground, crying and sobbing loudly. Even Zinthar, who had little love or pity for most, felt somewhat bad for the sulking colt as he saw him emotionally fall apart like this, though he didn't walk over to him. He didn't care that much.

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

 

@Lloyd

"I have. I mean, I'm an earth pony in a magic fight, how am I not dragging you down from having to keep my sorry flank intact? But the situation just haven't been for it, with all those surprise attacks happening all around wherever we've gone. Plus, you know, after all I've caused, I need to stand up to my responsibility in this. I can't leave you to handle that whilst I sit back and sip tea, constantly worried about whatever or not I'll see you again, and wondering if perhaps you'd be safer if I was there to take the hit instead.

Even if Athriel got nuked, and it was just Warlock out there, I'd still be worried about you when you got outta my sight.Just can't shake the feeling that I should be there to keep an eye out on you, no matter how much it's likely that I'd be more of a help if I didn't have to be a damsel in distress.

I know, I know, it's cheesy as all hay, but you wanted 'n honest answer, so there you have it."

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

 

@Lloyd

Athriel responded to his anger with a slight sneer,but nothing too large. She didn't want a fight with him currently.

"Keep hold of it when we take it back then. For now though... I think I might have something here..."

She flew down, and this time didn't pick up again, as she saw a weird protrusion in the trees, which brought a grin to her face the nearer she got. A part of the old stone were still poking out, and near the very tip, a symbol she had once carried herself stood clearly on the crumbling stone.

"We found it. Hold on, I'll get us through."

Using her magic and pouring it into her talons, an aura of blood magic seemed like it almost extended them threefold, before she flew down with substantial speed. With the talons first, she tore through vegetation of various kind with little more resistance than the feeling of punching eggs, and soon they'd be through to see the building beneath them.

It dwarfed the one they had been in before, but it was also well overgrown. Even if they had looked for it from the ground, they may actually have managed to miss it from how overgrown it were, near o many other trees that spouted massive growth. Whatever were with the vegetation on this isle, it had really done a number on the likely once easily accessible temple.

Landing on the cracked stone that made foe the main entrance, Warlock could let go now if he wanted to, whilst Athriel packed her wings in and looked with fascination at the place.

"A temple at the isle were dragons originated from... I wonder how much story this area holds, beyond just the element."

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

 

@Lloyd

Zhu had stopped talking before he finished the last time, interrupted by the first memory he had, so vividly burned into his head, of the first time he had opened his eyes, looked At the divine face of Celestia, and screamed, as her future began to unfold in front of him, and the first wave of incredible pain washed over his head..

It had taken days before she had attempted to put a blindfold on him and see if that helped, which did it until one day she finally understood why it was that he screamed whenever he had looked at her.

it was not something he blamed her for. How could she have known of the curse that befell him, when it was ans unique as it were? He had not even been able to express it well when he finally had been able to talk, and just said *Imahgssse, hurhtssss.".

How weird it were to think back on the time when he had spoken with that much pressure on his s'es, rather than the semi-growling he did now to get past that serpentine trait. A relic from the past, much like this egg were.

"I expected you to act, general. You don't follow the likely path for long it seems."

He lowered his paw from the glass, and rummaged around in his robes for something whilst he spoke to the general some way behind him.

After a time in silence, he would withdraw an envelope, and place it against the glass to his old egg, before slowly turning around to kinda face the general. Sort of at least, considering Zhu was still covered in the robes, and his head were lowered as to not face Iron Wing.

"Tell me, why did you not? I attacked your guards, and came into this room uninvited. Is that not something for somepony with a limited view to react upon? Or does the princess's safety mean nothing to you?"

Zhu was trying to rile a response out of the general now. Some clarity for himself, about how the general would approach his job now and in the future, especially if other creatures forced their way in here.

An ideal response would have something to do with him evaluating that the serpanther had not yet done something harmful, but he doubted that would be the case. Most beings had such a limited view on the grand picture that they focused on their own, small slice of reality, and their actions showed from that. In this case, the reality of this general should be that he were supposed to protect the royals at all costs, and his actions then would be predictable, even by those without his sight.

Still, nothing was guaranteed, and this pony may end up following a route that the serpanther had seen as unlikely, where he instead knew a balance between who to speak with, and who to attack. It would be fascinating in a way, but he doubted the general could stay that neutral. His job were after all, somewhat crafted around a certain bias.

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@Lloyd

The doctors stopped what they were doing when it was slipped that the wqueen they were now working on, were related to the one who had caused quite a few of their relatives or friends harm, and whilst most of them went silent, one of them started to grab towards a tray of medical instruments. He'd barely get anywhere before Lieutenant Shimmer was in his face, looked him dead in the eyes, and coldly said "Get, out".

He took off quickly, and her attention went to the others.

"The same goes for the rest of you, but do not leave this floor. There may still be use of your services, and keep in mind that this information is to be considered highly classified, and if I hear even a whisper about it somewhere in town, I will have the lot of you arrested for treason."

They looked rather scared of that as they scampered off, which were the point really. Hopefully the changelings would understand and not say anything before the doctors had left the room, but once they had - well, most of them anyway - she would turn towards the queen once more with a far more apologetic look on her face.

"I'm sorry for that. Legally I couldn't arrest them even if I would, but you have to understand, a relative of Chrysalis, weakened, and in Canterlot? There would be a sizeable mob here within minutes, and I don't want unrest."

One doctor remained in the room, who hadn't left with the others, and he didn't say anything to this. He just kept on with his work, and shook his head with a little smile on his greying muzzle.

"Don't worry about Needle Stack either. He's a good, neutral party, and he'll monitor the both of you until further notice.

And... I am sorry ma'am, but I cannot forgive Chrysalis. a lot of my closest friends and relatives got hurt or were abducted because of her, and it's a miracle that we even managed to get my brother back before he got converted. Her victims are too plentiful to be forgivable to me, but I know where the line is. She is the one I hold responsible, and who my animosity is with. It won't extend to the rest of your kind.

Now, excuse me for a moment, I need to check up to make sure they do keep themselves in check out there, and to find out if there is any news on volunteers. There should have been some news at least by now."

Shimmer seemed rather collected as she excited the room, but she had to admit that her resolve had been tested there. Somepony the same race as Chrysalis was one thing, a queen another, but a blood relative? It would likely be the closest she would ever get to avenge what happened to those near her, and the soldiers she had lost, but if she gave in, who was she then? No officer worthy of their badge would put their own pettiness before the law, and if she couldn't live by the law, even in the worst of situations, what choice would she have but resign? Keep on going like it was nothing? She would be no better than the changeling who had hurt those in her life if she went around in a false shell like that.

Unbeknownst to her, she had been promoted because of this attitude to begin with. Dew had said something else, but he had singled her out because she were dedicated to the law and would make sure it was upheld, even if it hurt her to do so. That kind of resolve impressed her, and he had actually put in papers for a new promotion for her before he resigned, without her knowledge, as he had seen it really be tested and held when she volunteered to join the Changeling Integration Program. It would now stand with iron Wings if he agreed, but there would be time for everything. And if not, it wasn't as if she had known of it anyway, so there would be no harm done.

As for the doctor in the room, he cleared his throat after Shimmer had left the room, and went over to the queen with a blood pressure band.

"Lift your left front leg please."

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

 

@Moonlit @Seamore Sandwich

Cherish looked interested, until Serenade started to get angry, at which point she took a step back and flickered a little.

I didn't mean anything bad about it. I swear, I'm just trying to understand. I've been gone from everything for so long, and changelings are the only non-ponies I know anything about that does anything with emotions, and the only non-ponies at all. Except griffons, but you don't look or act like those I've met."

Changelings had come to the castle a few times (recently, one had attempted to set up shop too) but they had all been scared away eventually. She still learned something about them though, like with the Griffons that once in a while would roost on the roof or in a tower when they were tired or needed the shelter from bad weather.

She didn't count Zebras, as they were kinda ponies in her mind, though she would admit that Ziggy here were the closest to any she had seen outside of a book. They weren't really around the area when she was alive.

"...DO you think you could make nice songs, instead of bad ones?"

It was a horrible segue, but she was curious, and it seemed like dwelling on changelings was a bad idea. Who knew? Perhaps Serenade would end up getting really angry, and use her songs, and who knew how that might work on Cherish? Of course, it would fall on dead ears, but her worries was all about the effect.

Edited November 10, 2017 by Blitz Boom

[BloodDrops 762]

3 hours ago, Blitz Boom said:

To say that the guard were intimidated was an understatement, as he saw the sickly looking pony gobble up mice, rats, and assorted other critters she had been able to find, all the whilst keeping her eyes on him.

Truthfully, he was horrified, and frozen in place out of sheer fear, chanting silently to himself over and over *pleasedon'thurtme* in rapid succession. It didn't get easier when the pony then spoke to him, and the color straight up started to drain from his face.

"I-I-I... M-Meat? I... Y--Yes!"

He couldn't even formulate a sentence, as he was faced with something that he couldn't have been prepared for, and afterwards stumbled a few times over himself in his haste to get as quickly away from here as possible.

And now he was expected to bring meat to this terrifying mare? How would he ever get hold of that? This wasn't a griffon town, and he hadn't the faintest clue about hunting. Yet here he were, running away with his heart threatening to burst from the sound of it, and faced with knowing that he either got meat for her, or she would hurt somepony. And it had to be quick too. Even if he had been given until sunrise - quite some time, seeing as it was roughly 11 AM - how was he going to be sure that he really had that long? He couldn't take that chance.

A plan half-formulated in his head as he were almost at the forest, which didn't make him feel any better: The only hope he had, was to steal a prey from one of the Timberwolves.

He swore, if he actually managed to survive this, he was going to quit. His mother was right, guard duty was too much for him. He should've stayed a circus clown. At least there the worst that happened was when somepony put a shoe in the pies.

Blood Drops snorted and woke herself up, she rolled over in her makeshift bed and began stretching. After her daily exercise she poked her head outside and blinked at the afternoon sun. In pony terms it was the afternoon, though in zombie terms it was early night. A zombie sunrise was generally when the moon came out, since it was perfect for hunting. She flicked her tail and tilted her ears while sniffing the air. No, nothing yet. She hoped the guard would bring back something filling, if he was good then she might make a habit of asking him for food. If not, then he would do as a snack.

She moved towards the station entrance and looked down at the ruined door, there was no meat on it as she had expected, though her servant had time yet, she judged a few hours at the most though. She returned back into her station and began investigating the room, wasn't exactly a palace but it would do, for now. She did a small bit of redecorating, moving all of the fittings and furniture to the back entrance, blocking it up. She only needed a single entrance into the building after all. She then moved all of her leftovers- bits of fur, bones, feathers, teeth. All inedible stuff in a pile towards the back.

She kept the storeroom as her sleeping and resting place, removing anything that wasn't suitable for sleeping or eating mind you. Filling up a small drawer of raw meat in case she really needed it. She then turned the larger space, into her larder. She had found several tins of red paint within the station storeroom and put it to good use, drawing sections where she could store food. more like many boxes drawn on the floor. She then moved to outside drawing a large circle on the knocked down door with the words 'FOOD HERE' above it. 

Blood Drops then simply tipped the paint on the barricade at the back entrance having no use for it. After doing these tasks she trotted to the entrance and sat on the door waiting for her food, it was almost sunrise by her reckoning. 

[Foxy Socks 2,599]

@~Phoenix~ @Widdershins @Blitz Boom

"Don't worry, I'll go tell her." Foxy was about to find Rarity, but a sudden appearance of a new pony interrupted her, causing her to jump back, squeaking audibly. 

 

"...Where did you come from? I didn't... wait, are you, Rainbow Dash?" Foxy asked the pony stuck in a dress. Rarity would definitely notice the commotion now, as she was nearby. "I'm s-sorry, I didn't n-notice you..." Foxy stuttered, though she was excited to meet such a well known pony. Even better since Rainbow knew Fluttershy.

(Ignore this post as there was confusion involved. Foxy is currently back with Briar, Brittle, and Opal. I apologize for the confusion.)

Edited November 11, 2017 by Foxy Socks

[genessee 535]

@Blitz Boom

Lance handed the griffon the meal.

"Here you go--"

When Berry called for him, he quickly glanced over.

"He's a what? Hold on."

Lance trotted over to where Berry and this 'Phyrus' fellow were. He looks mad. I probably should just finish up here and leave... but whatever, this looks interesting enough. 

"So what's the big deal about this guy?"

He quickly realized he came off sounding rude, so he added a stiff smile afterwards.

Edited November 11, 2017 by genessee

[cwhip9 1,078]

@Blitz Boom seeing the damaged houses made the bat pony sigh as sure enough as the colt found what looked like his home in shambles the familer right didn't sit well with him. As the colt broke down he himself bit back a tear trotting over to the colt to place an comforting wing on him. There seemed to be no sign,of life to which Cresent hugged the crying colt not saying anything. The gesture would be enough as he hugged the colt hoaping it would have the tears go away faster for the youngster. Sending a thought to zinthar saying 'keep alert just in case' 

[Widdershins 9,960]

@Foxy Socks, @Blitz Boom

 Opalescence was unequivocally a grumpy cat. In this small country town she was the nearest thing to the largest predator around and she sure reveled in what was pretty much a self-given title.  True, ponies were loads harder to intimidate; the fine grooming, training and doting that Rarity forced of her didn't exactly make her come across as all that ferocious with her fluffy pedigree coat, but Opal loved the attention. Rarity loved her, perhaps a bit too much. She could get away with alot having the focus of the seamstress's attentions, but that was a finely toned line that Opal walked. The Persian had taken many a swipe at the newer filly in the house before they had reached the truce that they had now, but Opalescence liked having her own terms in relating to others. Like her owner, the cat demanded excellence but in its case, that usually meant intimidation. Not much in her domesticated life had dared challenge that so far anyway.

   Opalescence didn't take kindly to newcomers. Often, she'd be fine glaring at customers silently from where she perched, but this was where the nice sunbeam in the house came from and besides, snacktime schedule was off today for some reason. Surely these newcomers were to blame for it. Since the cat couldn't find its owner as of yet, impressing these intruders would have to do.

   Opalescence met Briar's growl with one of her own, but notably more dismissive in tone. Rather befitting the princess title Rarity used to call her by. Turning to Foxy Socks as the mare leaned down in her attempt to communicate, the cat caught tell of something instinctual. Some sort of inner awareness of certain aspects of the fox-like pony that told her that this was something slightly higher up on the food chain. Defenses up, but not wanting to back down and equally curious, Opalescence backs up an inch her fur bristling just a bit. With a low, but less sneering tone as she had given Briar before, she addresses Foxy with a cautious:

"Mowhr..."

  In another part of Carousel Boutique with @~Phoenix~:

  Rarity had looked up when the drifting pair of scissors had bumped into the side of her muzzle. Though, by the time she had her wits poised to take in the free-floating sprites and their scattered attempts the convulsing had begun. 

  Letting out a sharp squeak of alarm, as it fully appeared like the whole room was having some sort of allergic reaction, Rarity topples over her stool and tries her best to hide herself under her own workdesk.

   "Aaugh! Eep! Whatever could-... what in-... was that a unicorn fish? How truly, truly outrageous! I could have done better with m-...

  I do say, you don't see this every-..."

  The chaos condensing into a point, leaving the room in a whirlwind of debris and depositing her friend, Rainbow Dash in the center of it like the likely culprit, once more interrupts what thoughts the white unicorn could string together in the booming blitz having enveloped the room only moments prior. After a minute or two of everything quieting down, Rarity leaves her hiding spot to approach Raininator-*cough* Rainbow Dash.

  "...are you quite alright, Darling? That was quite a... well...

...   I don't suppose this was another one of your mail order pranks again? My business can only take so much, you do know?

        Either way, do get up, Dear. I was somewhat in the middle of something and... oh, do hope my customers are quite alright through all that ruckus! 

                  ...Oh, and I did tell you a good ballgown clashed with your coat tone. I still have the designs around for the skirt & tiara set if you're so set on finding a dress to slip into."

*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

@Dji & B.B.

   While one could argue how much impact can be cushioned with a face covering of scales, needless to say it likely isn't enough to prevent pain. Especially if you're one given to exclaiming about it often. Reeling back from the blow, Kaltrop is knocked sidelong to his feet up in the air. Again his wimpering can be heard, albeit with it carrying a notable change in tone. Rather odd how often a drake nearly twice as long as a mare spends belly up when confronting new ponies.

  " h'oowww... This is why I hate ponytowns. This is why I hate ponies. 

                                                                ... they talk so much about "Friendship" yet land the first blow, stab you whenever they get an open chance.

                                                                                                                    Friendship is Nothing..."

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

@Shineling and Blitzle Bluk again!

      The llama-like snout coming out of the center of the daisy turns to the new audience, pinching its own cheeks with the two large leaf "hands" on either side of its stem, clearly playing up the squeaky voice it's badly attempting.

  Howdy, howdy! You must be new to this whole "Friendship" thing! Golly, you must be SO Confused! Guess little ol' me will have to do! Here's how we play!

All you have to do, is sit still while I hit you with these little, white bullets!

    With a quick shimmy, an array rises up behind the flower to levitate a swarm of small, white... sticky... globs of...   

                                            You.... DIDN'T!...

            Hey now! Grant me a little respect and individuality! ...It's pancake batter. I'm not going to be that strict to the original source material!

   ....           ......        ...The flower openly responds with a shrug to its newfound playmates.

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

To Whit, The Boom it doth Concern:

   His ivory-pale coat warming slowly back up to a more regular color of a pony's coat of white fur as he stands up, Ambie looks toward Happy Hour with his rather large, green, pupil-less eyes over his rounded cheeks, the more usual pink blush coming back into his coat from them.

  " Oh, ok, that's the only proper thing to do after all. You've helped me out a great deal already. Since you've been helping me out with my whole parents-thing..."

 Ambie's eyes linger perhaps a bit longer on Happy as he intones this last part nervously while he turns around to start walking. Perhaps the pudgy pony's gaze would be easier to track if he had actual pupils.

   "Guess I'll lead the way there.      ....                         ..... Uh... which direction is the Everfree again?..."

&

   @Blitz Boom

      Somewhere, a good ways away on the railways:

   A rather dowdy and prim mare rides alone in a mostly empty traincar; her luggage, piled high near her is nonetheless miserly guarded. Somewhere indeterminately past middle-age, a mass of hay-golden mane lies atop a grassy green coat decorated with a face that one could almost argue came into affect around the disapproving scowl it housed. Quiet except for the usual rumblings of trains, a few minutes slowly pass as a train attendant slowly trots by to check on the few passengers. As he nears her booth, the older mare's voice rings out despite her not looking up from the newspaper she's reading; somewhere between the business and obituaries sections.   

     " How much longer until our destination, Porter?"

 The attendant stumbles for a moment. There just seemed to be something motherly, but forceful and pointed to this passenger's tone. Something that immediately sent you back to those days the teacher dragged you out front of the rest of the class to give a speech you knew that she knew you hadn't prepared anything for. Something that made you want to immediately avert your eyes and look for excuses even if you didn't know what she was on about. Besides, she had somehow correctly guessed part of his name without having met at all before.

  "Uhh... it'll be quite a few hours yet, Ma'am."

 "And I trust the proper Officials are on hoof to belay any crime & murder that might happen?"

   "M-Ma'am... that murder only happened once, well over a decade ago... there's no need to-"

"Still. If such a severe lapse in judgement happened once; It can happen again. Trains are a business and as such, they need to hold responsibility for everything that happens within their premises. That's the only proper thing to do after all."

"Well, I can assure you tha-"

 The older mare snaps her newspaper shut. Somehow. Interrupting the attendant mid-sentence to let out a quiet sigh and finally turn her head to the young stallion.

   "Straighten your uniform & posture, please. You're disgracing the position like that, and you'll get a hunch on your back in your old age if you keep that up. I keep up with the news, you know. We may live in more peaceful times, but there was that cake theft on this very line not long ago. Do what you can.

  ... and have you chaps managed to track down my husband yet? I'm beginning to worry where he wandered off t-"

     With that, an extremely loud crash can be heard in the car behind them. Every other head within earshot whips around to try and see, except for the older mare. With a much more audible sigh from her, a loud shouting can be heard just out of sight.

  "Sir! Please stay within the confines of the train at all times! You can't leap out a speeding t-train like that!"

"What was that, Ol' Boy? I can't hear you on account of my having broken this bolly window just now! Glass everywhere! A jolly good show! Don't just stand there, my boy! I may have stopped its bale of a gale with my bolly hindquarters, but we'll need loads more things to throw into this window! Do fetch that cat I saw a while back! Mustn't dally there! ADVENTURE AWAITS, LADDY!"

Edited November 11, 2017 by Widdershins
Bloody Enter button stopped working again...

[~Phoenix~ 196]

@Blitz Boom

Phoenix gave a slight nod as she began to follow the mare. as she did so, her curious eyes couldn't help but peer up at all the artwork that lined the walls. she herself enjoyed the looks of some of them. as she continued to trot down the hall behind the mare, she pondered at how the place looked more like an art gallery than anything else. an art gallery with bedrooms? this place was sending out so many mixed signals that Phoenix was no longer positive if this place was a hotel or not. 

as she reached the door to the bathroom, her eyes widened in surprise. there was so much to take in that it was almost overwhelming. however, it was in a good way. she definitely wasn't going to faint unlike when she was overwhelmed by the crowd at the train station.  "Alright", Phoenix said in reply to the mare's conglomeration of sentences. after she was done in here, however long it took, she would make it a point to find Smokey right away. 

she trot into the large bathroom, and as she did so, a royal blue aura surrounded her horn. the door magically shut itself behind her. she took a look around the bathroom, noticing how pristine it was. she looked down at her own hooves and noticed how the dirt from them was leaving small spots on the beautifully polished tiles. she blushed a bit as this happened, not realizing how much work she was putting the staff through, or whoever would end up cleaning this place when she was done. 

she walked straight towards the large, luxurious bathtub, and stepped into it, one hoof at a time. even though they had bathing areas in her old village, she had never seen anything as modern or as high end as this. her horn began to glow again, with the familiar royal blue hue. as it did, the aura spread to multiple different parts of the knobs and valves, as she tried to figure out how to turn the thing on.

as she did, a torrent of water began flowing from the spout just in front of her. she could feel how cold the water was around her hooves, and she lifted them each up slightly, trying to escape how chilly it was, but to no avail. all the while, her magic touch continued to work the knobs, until eventually the water began running warm. now that was more like it. as it did so, she haphazardly pulled on another little valve on the top of the spout, causing the water to change directions as it began raining onto her from the shower head above.

as it did so, the water began to soak itself into her rather dirty, and somewhat matted mane. becoming heavy with the wetness, it began to fall down in front of her eyes, making it difficult to see. however, there was no need. Phoenix had decided to close her eyes anyway when she realized just how good the water felt as it hit her head. it was soothing, almost as if the water was massaging her scalp. perhaps she would end up spending more time in here than she had originally planned. 

she was able to feel her way to the wide selection of shampoos and oils. she used her magical grip to bring a few of them in front of her, as she sniffed each one. she finally found one that had a very pleasant floral scent, and decided she would go with that one, ignoring the rest for now as the wide selection seemed a bit overkill. 

after also finding a loofah, she decided to pour a bit of the shampoo onto it. after doing so, she gently brought the loofah around to her back, where it began to scrub her. that felt almost as nice as the water flowing over her head. she made her way around with the loofah to each of her separate limbs, and to her belly, making sure that every inch of her fur got a good dose of the stuff. 

eventually she made her way around to her rear, being a bit more gentle as she went over and around some of the more sensitive areas. in fact, she had always been a bit more cautious than most when it came to that. after all, she still wasn't used to it, and she had absolutely no resolve to go exploring. however, images in her mind of Smokey made it a bit easier

as she finished up, she turned the water off, simply repeating the combination of knobs and valves that she had used before, only in reverse. she stepped out of the tub, with bits of water dripping off of her and pooling onto the tile floor below. she rubbed some of the water away from her eyes with her forehoof, and looked around for some towels. once she had them in her crosshairs, she was able to levitate one of them over to herself. 

she rubbed the towel over her entire body, trying to get it as dry as possible, but to little avail. back in the wilderness, after bathing in the river, she would simply let herself air dry. sure, it wasn't all that pleasant on the cooler days, but it was simply the easiest thing to do. however, she felt it would be wrong to track water all over the nicely carpeted floors, so she at least made the effort. 

after all was said and done, she was mostly dry. there was just a small layer of dampness on her fur. surely if she left the steamy bathroom, she would be able to air dry in only a few minutes. 

on her way out, she noticed something a bit strange. she had passed by the mirror, and noticed that her mane seemed to be in a complete mess after the furious towel drying that just happened. after looking around a bit, she noticed that the mirror itself seemed to be protruding out of the wall quite awkwardly. after some further investigation, she found out that there was indeed some items stored in there, much like a cabinet. in it she was able to find some sort of brush. she also found a bottle of perfume in there, it was a beautiful crystal bottle full of some pink fluid. she decided to bring that out as well. 

she closed the cabinet, and looked into the mirror as she began to brush her mane. not to make it look fancy or anything, just to make it look presentable. as she looked herself in the mirror, she took note of her own features. she had never really looked in a mirror at her new self like this. as odd as it was to think, she really had no idea what she looked like. it was a bit of a shocking moment. she noticed how petite her snout was, how her eyelashes fluttered as she blinked. to someone else, she looked like a young pretty mare. "i don't need a damn mirror to tell me that" she said grudgingly, through grit teeth. even though she had been this way for more than half her life at this point, it was still a bit of an unwelcome wake-up call. but why was she so upset? was she upset at her situation, or upset at the fact she was beginning to enjoy it more, ever since she met Smokey?

she shook her head to snap herself out of that daze, and her mane returned to it's beautiful, naturally soft curls. those were questions for another day. as she pushed the thoughts to the back of her mind yet again, she quickly spritzed on a single squirt of the perfume, and exited the bathroom. 

she made her way down the hall, and to the main room just as the mare had instructed her. as she did so, she looked down at the floor, feeling the soft carpet beneath her hooves. she sorted out all of her thoughts into a metaphorical filing cabinet as she entered the main room, lifting her gaze only to see if Smokey was there or not. 

 

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

@Widdershins @Foxy Socks @Blitz Boom

 

Rainbowdash looked up at Rarity, who has inevitably noticed her. but her choice of words was a bit strange. one of HER pranks? oh, heck no. "what do you mean MY prank? i walked in here and you and a couple other ponies turned into these disgusting spider robots and attacked me!" she complained. if anything, this was Rarity playing the prank on her. 

with the dress still on her, she tried her best to get herself on all four of her hooves. it was a bit difficult, however, with the skirt of the dress getting in the way of her hind legs. she was sure that it wasn't impossible, and somepony who was used to wearing this things could probably do it without an issue. she looked down at herself to see the weird ball gown "yeah, i agree with you.. i don't think this suits me at all" she said as she dusted herself off

once she was alright, and on her hooves, she tried, but to no avail to pull the dress off of herself. it was apparent she would need an extra pair of hooves to assist her. or a horn, for that matter. she was almost amazed at how she ended up in the dress to begin with. 

Edited November 11, 2017 by ~Phoenix~

[Sekel 694]

@Blitz Boom & @Widdershins

DAWN & AURORA

Dawn landed beside the fallen dragon. She flared her wings as a stance of aggression and seemed too focused on hurting Kaltrops for what he said. How dare Kaltrops insult her by saying she’d run away! Pop’s words barely registered with Dawn, if at all, and she stomped her hoof on the ground, landing dangerously close to Kaltrop’s left eye. She leaned down and positively growled at Kaltrops. “I’m not a monster! You’re the monster! Dragons, as a species, are monsters! They should be dealt with, they should be cursed, and they should be driven out immediately!”

Aurora, though, sidled up near Spicy and Pop to tilt her head at the display. “Is she ... are they going to kiss?” Aurora asked out loud and looked at Pop and Spicy.

@Blitz Boom & @Seamore Sandwich

TWILIGHT SPARKLE

Before she even had a chance to answer, Last was already walking towards the school. Twilight flustered for a bit but quickly followed to see the damages for herself. She really didn’t expect the damage to be as bad as Last Stand said it was. While she had sounded rude and ... offstandish, Twilight understood where the mare was coming from. Bunkers sounded like an investment worth pursuing if Mayor Mare can agree to it. “Pipes, they’ll need replacing. I can see that. Although, do you have any suggestions for the bunkers to be placed around town?”

 

[Widdershins 9,960]

@Dji & @Blitz Boom

 From his upside-down head, clutched as what he can manage with his front claws, Kaltrop mutters a low growl among his whimpers.

  "And yet, you landed the first blow. You might think yourself some knight in shining armor, but who's the one hurling labels and suggesting wholesale hunting down of an entire species? Stupid pony has stupidly missed the stupid point again..."

 With a low-throated rumble, Kaltrop whips his tail around to the other side of Dawn Streak and rolls over. Using his tail to unbalance her, and his neck pushing into her chest, he flips her over, sandwiching her with himself and covering her sides with her wings. Head just under hers, and being almost entirely all around her to the point of where she ought be able to feel the cold heat of his scaled body, he huffs up to her:

   "...You hurt Me."

[Sekel 694]

@Widdershins & @Blitz Boom

DAWN

Dawn eeped at the sudden change in direction and her eyes widened at seeing Kaltrops above her. She struggled and grunted within his body’s grip but was unable to get free. “So? Gah, one of your kind killed my family,” She grunted, glaring daggers and very nearly bumped her head into Kaltrops’s face with her movements. Both her forelegs pounded against his sides but it felt like she was hitting cement. Her back legs? They were pinned under his chest so they were rendered useless for the time being.

Edited November 11, 2017 by Dji

[Moonlit 593]

@Blitz Boom @Seamore Sandwich Serenade bows her head, "Sorry, but Sirens and Changlings are natural enemies, I shouldn't have gotten mad at you." The siren shakes her body gently, "I promised my father that I wouldn't use the old songs, ever. And I'm pretty sure if I did I would get Friendship laser'd by the Elements of Harmony."

[EQ_Theta 460]

@Blitz Boom @Shineling

Sen felt a little more assured with Discord's addition. That additional voice of confidence at a definite approach meant a lot more than what mere words could give him: direction. Lin smiled when the draconequus said his piece and she nodded back, knowing she's got something to look for. If only she knew exactly what it was... They really couldn't say more at that point but as Lin walked past Clayton and approached the entrance, she felt the tug of the Refraction at her foot and gave her this look that could melt a cold heart. 

She felt sorry for the little thing but she knelt down beside it and rubbed its cheek. "Wanna come? I could use your help in there."

As for Sen, he watched his sister walk away and only at that moment did a thought enter his mind. 

"What exactly is Omen missing?" He turned to Discord with an inquisitive tilt. "I can only imagine it must hurt a lot if a body part went missing; not being able to scream or say anything about it is difficult to imagine. Maybe not the pain but everything else."

That last part really made Sen shudder and squirm in place just thinking about what that could imply. 

[Foxy Socks 2,599]

@Blitz Boom @Widdershins @~Phoenix~

(Please ignore my previous post. Foxy is currently where she was before it, with Briar, Brittle, and Opal. At the moment she will not notice Rainbow's appearance.)

Foxy was a bit worried that Opal would try to attack or run away out of fear, as Foxy was a new sight to them, but instead Foxy observed her a cautious meow. Foxy wasn't as familiar with felines as other animals, but she did her best to try not to seem like a threat.

"Hey Opalescence..." Foxy knew her name as she had heard of Rarity before, and her pet's name came up a few times. While Foxy had never seen her, she was happy to meet such a beautiful animal. Foxy slowly moved her hoof forward to Opal, attempting to touch her, though it was a risk. Foxy had been scratched  and bitten often before, so it wasn't a big deal if she was. She could feel Opal's soft fur as she made contact, acting calm and ignoring everything around her to try to gain Opal's trust. "You're very pretty, Rarity takes wonderful care of you."

[Blitz Boom 4,640]

@BloodDrops

"Around here?"

"Y-Yes please. And thank you again ma'am."

A large thud could be heard outside, as something heavy got dropped amidst the voices on the other side of the wall.

"Another time, try to fish instead. It's easier, and you don't need to be saved."

"I'll keep that in mind."

If Blood would look out, she'd see the guard from earlier had returned with a boar. Rather pristine looking, save for the hole in its chest left by the spear the dragoness that followed him had on her back.

Nerzhei had found the guard as he were about to be attacked by half a pack of timberwolves. She found out it had something to do with him trying to take a prey they had hunted, which left her to scold him a little about danger versus rewards after saving his hide, but she had taken pity on him after that and helped him acquire something else. According to him, it were to some griffons they had gotten through town that were helping with the rebuilding, which needed meat over the veggies ponies usually ate, which seemed reasonable. She had seen the immense amount of random creatures that the Courier Guild had brought in, and among them, some griffon faces had stood out.

Why he wanted it dropped of here were a little weird, but she supposed that it was better to handle it out here, where the ponies couldn't see it, as they likely had some issues when it came to eating animals. Just a theory, but it was plausible, and he were a Royal Guard, so it seemed fine enough to try and trust him on that.

She sniffed the air as she was about to leave, and grimaced as she got the faint smell of Blood Drops in her nostrils. Persistent smell, and reminded her of how she had to work on sending some letters around to warn about that mare. Wherever she had gone, everyone could end up being in serious danger.

She didn't want to be around that pungent smell anymore, so she took to the sky and went off towards the forest again, leaving the guard with nothing but a small nod, whilst said youngster internally screamed that he should beg of her to come back and save him from the creature who had wanted this meal.

But he was too scared. Too worried that if he told, he would just end up getting into more trouble from the sickly-looking mare going on a rampage. Much as he wished that dragoness could stay and protect him, he didn't have the courage to risk things, nor the bravery to take a stand by himself.

He really was useless as a guard...

"H-Hello? I found... C-Celestia forgive me... I-I got you something."

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

 

@genessee

Pyhrus took the box from the pony's hoof, placed it in his other hand, and then cut the box in half with one of his metal talons.

The smell of steamed fish and some kind of meaty sauce wafted through the room as he cracked the two halved over and handed one towards Florence.

"Uncle, you need your strength. I'm fine."

"Eat."

Their eyes met, and for a brief moment, Florence saw a glimmer of concern in the otherwise hard eyes. A brief moment of the uncle she had once lost, and who she had thus far only seen in name, not spirit. It did not last long, but it gave her some hope that beneath what he had become, the griffon she had once looked up to still lived, and she tentatively reached out and took hold in her half.

"Thank you..."

The two of them started to eat their meal in silence, ignoring the ponies until Berry finally shrugged and looked towards Lance.

"Well somepony doesn't like bragging. Basically, this guy was a pretty big deal like, 15 years ago or so, in a griffon village not too far from Baltimare. Usual stuff like saving kittens, defeating monsters, etc. I heard he even lost his leg saving somepony."

You could see Pyhrus visibly tense up as that episode was brought up. Once something he had seen as his greatest achievement, which had filled him with prie and joy, instead made him hate his old home even further, for making him loose something as important as a limb for their grand illusion about his heroics. Even if he had saved someone, it still felt more and more pointless.

"10 years ago, he was all of a sudden gone, and the town was mocking his name. Story went he had died in an explosion, trying to save some kids but failing to save the most important one, yet-"

"Important? That snooty little brat was not worth the space he occupied!"

"U-Uncle, please..."

Florence seemed marked by this as well now, as she recalled the ridicule, mockery and abuse her and her mother had to go through after her uncles supposed death. And all because he hadn't saved that one griffon kid whose family had influence.

"Hey chill out, I totally agree with you. They made it out that saving fourteen kids - including your own family - was less important than some rich kid, even if he got returned later on. It was bogus.

Now, as I was trying to say, he obviously isn't dead. The influential parents of the one kid who got nicked made up the story to punish him for not saving their son, and exiled him, right after making him believe that he had failed, and the kids had all died in the explosion. There was something about his sister too, and false graves, but I couldn't find all pieces of the shredded paper. Looked pretty bad though.

I didn't think it was him when I saw the names though. I mean, not a well used name, but I figured it unlikely that he'd end up here of all places, 10 years after the fact. Funny how things goes, huh?"

"There is nothing funny about this, pony."

He kept eating, but Pyhrus were looking pretty on edge right now after having the past brought up. The event had caused him to adapt to the fact that being a hero was nothing more than an illusion that other let you keep until they got bored, or you made a small mistake. After that it was just ridicule, hatred, and knowledge that the difference between a hero and a villain in the eyes of the masses, were something as revolting as choosing the lives of the self-important, over the lives of the many. Including members of his own family.

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

 

@cwhip9

As the inconsolable colt kept crying, Zinthar began to move into town to get a better look at what had happened.

The buildings damages were odd to him. It looked as if there had been fire, as they were scorched, but the marks seemed wrong. Granted, he wasn't the kind who played with fire a whole lot, but considering he saw some kinds of symbols in the dark patches that time and weather hadn't erased yet, it seemed odd if it had just been burning. it smelled weird too. He didn't know where he knew this smell from, but he could've sworn he had sniffed something like this before, and it wasn't charcoal. Perhaps it was just the weather and time though, this wasn't exactly yesterday after all, but several years ago.

Wandering further on, he looked through the town square, and scratched in the dirt a little, trying to find something, but whatever had been there had definitely been taken by the rain. Really, if he were to find anything, it would have to be in one of the collapsed buildings.

Looking for a somewhat accessible one, he settled on the one next to Cover-up's old house, as the rubble wasn't as intensely packed there, and started to rummage through it. The rocks scratching his fur were uncomfortable, but he managed to find a way that lead downwards, and slithered into the ruin without a word.

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

 

@Widdershins @Foxy Socks

Briar did not think better of the dismissive cat as things went on, but he kept it to himself for now, and simply continued cleaning up to the best of his abilities.

He found a table to put the shards on, then took hold of the small table the cat had knocked down before and moved it to a corner of the room, before feeling if he could find some sort of paper towel to potentially dry up some of the tea. There were plenty of cloth to chose fromm that was for sure, but it took him quite a while to find something that didn't feel like he'd be in trouble if he used. Paper towels were meant for this, but silk? He'd rather not get on Rarity's bad side by something he had actually done himself.

It took a bit of extra feeling and sniffing to it once he drew in what he had assumed to be papers towels before he was certaint hat this were indeed what he had been looking for, and began to dry the floor. Thankfully there had been a roll of this nearby, and the smell and texture of this were unmistakable. Though sadly, it could not do anything to salvage the carpet without an actual cleaner he supposed. Colors were not his strong side, to put it mildly, but he had heard that this sort of thing left stains, which apparently didn't look all that pretty.

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@Widdershins @Dji

"I-"

Spicy had been half a second from snapping and starting to yell at both of these idiots acting like kids, when Dawn had let it fly that dragons had killed her family, and the words withered away.

Sure, she could still yell at her for being an idiot, and it wasn't like she knew the gal's parents, so what did she care? But there were certain things you didn't do in public, and one of them were to belittle somepony from the loss of family members. The backlash from the public from her doing that could end up being enormous, and would ruin her reputation. She'd never be able to join a sanctioned poker tournament again, and what was the point of everything then? She loved to gamble, and sadly,t hat meant having to walk a fine line between eccentric, and outright crazy.

So as it stood now, she couldn't do anything but wait, and nod at Marley to get ready, in case this got worse and somepony were forced to intervene.

As for Pop... She looked absolutely helpless. Her friend wasn't listening to her, and now she were fighting this dragon who granted, were pretty obnoxious. But then again, Dawn had landed the first hit...

"W-What? No, why would they? Just look at them. They're trying to tear eachother apart."

She had no idea what made Aurora think the two of them were going to kiss, but it certainly didn't look like it to Pop. Frankly it was about the last thing she would expect, and so were it for the eyes who were starting to follow the fight unfolding. The town were full of guards after all, and fighting such as this were bound to eventually catch the attention of them, though they hadn't approached yet. If things escalated however... Well, at least the prison in town wasn't too bad.

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@Shineling @Widdershins

"So that's how you like to play, huh? Alright you devious little thing, but I should warn you, I'm gonna participate too."

The top of Anomaly's head cracked, and out of the pumpkin grew a small, red flower with white dots and a large maw full of sharp teeth. It yawned a few times, then looked around - as much as one could when you didn't have eyes - and spat out a small pellet of bubblegum on the ground, where it would splatter out to a sticky point about the diameter of a bottle cap.

"I made it fair. It can't see you, just go by where you are. So the more noise, the more times it hits you. Fun, right? Come on then, let's duel! Hehe."

How she hadn't found out something was wrong yet was amazing, but all in due time. Perhaps after having batter splattered over her noggin for a while and living under whatever weird effects that would have, she'd get an inkling. preferably before her guests would end up getting hurt.

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@Widdershins

Much as he had witnessed it before, seeing the pony's coat change color like that, without the green flames usually associated with changelings, were still plenty weird for Happy. Sort of uncanny valley now that he thought about it, but perhaps he shouldn't linger on this too much. There'd be plenty of time to think that was a weird trait later on, whereas now, he should take advantage of the short attention span of Ambie, and get him to move his flank before they'd end up with a day wasted on nothing.

"I really wonder if you're trying to confuse me on purpose or not. Come on, I'll get us to the forest, and you can try and scour your mind on where you left the cart then, alright?"

He had a dreadful feeling about the two of them ending up scouring the forest for the better part of the day because this dimvit couldn't keep his goose in a line, but he had gotten this far, and he wasn't going to back out now. Not after the morning he'd had.

Which reminded him, he had to try and get some breakfast somewhere... Or wait, actually.

Stopping and taking his wagon off his shoulders, he went inside and scoured around before exiting with two of the muffins Pinkie had handed him yesterday. There were no reason to let them go to waste, so he had taken the entire bunch. It wasn't as good as draining somepony, but it should take the worst at least.

"Love muffin, or are you trying to go by on diet love, pudgy?"

Happy chuckled and put the one of the muffins in his muzzle whilst he got the wagon on his shoulders again. Perhaps it was better to just leave it here, but he didn't leave this behind for anypony to look in, ever. There were too many incriminating evidences, plus the bits and booze that he didn't want stolen either.

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

 

@~Phoenix~

The foyer was quite the sight. Large, spacious, and filled with art - including statues - benches, cabinets, carpets, and everything else that she would have seen in the hallways. A theme seemed to have gone into decorating this place, though it were more spacious and with more variety in the items presented in here. The smaller chandeliers were also replaced by a much larger, fairly incredible one that so far hadn't any light in it, but it were still daytime, so that would have been a waste of energy.

In the middle of the room, whistling to himself and looking over one of several vases full of flowers, were Smokey. He so far hadn't taken notice of Phoenix, and instead stood and took a sniff from the various roses that were in the current arrangement.

His clothes seemed like the ones she had seen before, but far cleaner, just as he were, yet something was missing. In particular, his hat, though his mane this time were looking far better than the hat hair he had presented earlier in the day. It was rather damp, which were likely why he didn't have the hat on, but that were potentially irrelevant as he turned around to look at something else, at which point his eyes fell on Phoenix.

"Oh my, would you look at what were beneath all the dust? Perhaps you should be on display here rather than the statues."

He grinned and moved closer to her, then slowed down and sniffed the air.

"Turtledove Cove #14, yes? You have a good taste in perfume Phoenix. Expensive, but that mixture of ocean, lotus petals and spring breeze is certainly worth it."

As he got closer, she'd perhaps notice a smell coming from him too. Also somewhat flowery, but more spicy in it, as if he had been wandering through a herb garden and eaten honey. A strange combination, but it had a good deal of balance in it. Not for everypony though, granted, but he had been in the mood to try this on, rather than one of the usual colognes.

"When Rose told me she had guided you towards one of the bathrooms, I must admit I had thought you would take advantage of the tub and get a long, relaxing bath, leaving me some time to prepare for you. Were the salts perhaps an issue? They can be dreadfully horrid if you don't know how to use them sadly, but once you do. *sigh* You will feel as if your worries just melts away."

At that point, he had gotten pretty close to her - unless she had wandered backwards or away from from - and would go into a smaller smile and a more serious and worried expression.

"In all seriousness though, are you okay? You fell rather hard out there during your uhm... *Episode*."

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@Dji @Seamore Sandwich

"14 viable places to bury such in your town, that won't cause structural damage, placed throughout Ponyville. I have the places marked and workers surveying if there are problems, in case they need to be constructed. I also had others looking for the best placement of the walls, but their work sounds done."

Last was a thorough pony. Perhaps she forgot a few things like a feasting area yesterday, but when it came to the rebuilding, she were focussed and determined to have things done or prepared. As such, she had made sure to have others out and evaluate the best placement of protective features for the town, in case she could get it green-lighted by the princesses at some point. It seemed one of those teams were now pointless, but the bunkers could continue.

"Average speed of the townsponies with the materials needed, shovels in use, and placement of each, makes me certain they can all be constructed in less than 27 hours, by two teams of 7 ponies. Five Earth, two Unicorns in each. Pegasi are pointless for this task. Night work will solve the issue with having to close your main roads as it proceeds."

They kept walking,a nd would soon be at the school, where a dozen or so ponies were going between taking out bricks, setting in pipes, or fixing the hole done in the walls in the areas already done with. The old pipes had already been taken out, and laid in a heap in the courtyard, and if Twilight would inspect them closely, she would find that indeed, some of them had rust damages. Not all of them, but enough for a paranoid mare to not take chances. They were split into two piles though, with the rusty things in one, and the ones who might be usable again later in another. Last considered it important to have parts to fix things up later, and if they were cleared for usage, they would be stored somewhere on the property. In a basement likely.

Looking through the windows, one would be able to see more workers inside, fixing it on that side, along with a guard overseeing them. The school might not think it was an issue with the locals, but she didn't have the same trust as them, and as such, she wanted to be sure when it came to rummaging around an area usually full of foals.

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@Moonlit @Seamore Sandwich

"That doesn't sound good. Probably best to listen to him then."

Cherish imagined the Siren being send to the moon or turned into stone, which was her only idea of how the elements worked, and frankly neither seemed like it would be a nice way to go. Sure, Princess Luna had apparently returned, but she was immortal, she could survive up there. Serenade were likely in very big trouble if it came to that.

Removing a few more rocks, the pale light of the moon shone through and Cherish looked with a small smile towards the opening in the old sewer system and floated forward. A rock fell and passed through her, but other than that, nothing occurred, and she was too focused on getting outside to really be bothered by the rock. Usually she never should be, as again, she was a ghost, but it wasn't always that easy to remember that in the heat of the moment.

"We made it. Where is a nearby town now? There wasn't any close by when I was alive."

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@EQ_Theta @Shineling

The Refraction didn't pause when Lin knelt down, and slithered straight up her arm as soon as it got within reach, and placed itself on her head again with a small, triumphant roar. It had grown some sizes by now, but she should barely be able to tell that it weighed more.

If they went for the cave entrance, it would latch on to a crystal as soon as it could get near enough, and whilst draining that one, the rest slithered back into the rocks to try and get away from it. Most of them made it, but the Refraction would manage to get hold of a few and drain them dry of whatever it were that made them into the parasitic creations they were.

It'd do the same with any of the gems that Lin put it towards, and would fire the excess energy out behind it, causing the mine to light up substantially, and the gems to slowly reach further into the rock to get away from the small creature. She'd follow with Lin if she were prompted to though. it wasn't always that the small creature wanted to listen to the Longma, but right now, it wanted to help, rather than hide, play or hunt. It might get more stubborn the further in they went though, where the gems were purer.

Edited November 13, 2017 by Blitz Boom

[genessee 535]

@Blitz Boom

Lance noticed Phyrus's anger growing, and didn't really listen to half of Berry's story. Instead, he was getting more and more nervous. Okay, I think blows are going to be exchanged soon if we don't leave.

"Right-- right, that's pretty neat. Say, uh, shouldn't we be heading back out? Won't Straw get mad if we're late?"

Lance gave his best shot at trying to convince Berry to leave without directly saying 'we should leave because I'm starting to fear for my well-being here'.

Edited November 12, 2017 by genessee

[BloodDrops 762]

1 hour ago, Blitz Boom said:

"Around here?"

"Y-Yes please. And thank you again ma'am."

A large thud could be heard outside, as something heavy got dropped amidst the voices on the other side of the wall.

"Another time, try to fish instead. It's easier, and you don't need to be saved."

"I'll keep that in mind."

If Blood would look out, she'd see the guard from earlier had returned with a deer. Rather pristine looking, save for the hole in its chest left by the spear the dragoness that followed him had on her back.

Nerzhei had found the guard as he were about to be attacked by half a pack of timberwolves. She found out it had something to do with him trying to take a prey they had hunted, which left her to scold him a little about danger versus rewards after saving his hide, but she had taken pity on him after that and helped him acquire something else. According to him, it were to some griffons they had gotten through town that were helping with the rebuilding, which needed meat over the veggies ponies usually ate, which seemed reasonable. She had seen the immense amount of random creatures that the Courier Guild had brought in, and among them, some griffon faces had stood out.

Why he wanted it dropped of here were a little weird, but she supposed that it was better to handle it out here, where the ponies couldn't see it, as they likely had some issues when it came to eating animals. Just a theory, but it was plausible, and he were a Royal Guard, so it seemed fine enough to try and trust him on that.

She sniffed the air as she was about to leave, and grimaced as she got the faint smell of Blood Drops in her nostrils. Persistent smell, and reminded her of how she had to work on sending some letters around to warn about that mare. Wherever she had gone, everyone could end up being in serious danger.

Ghe didn't want to be around that pungent smell anymore, so she took to the sky and went off towards the forest again, leaving the guard with nothing but a small nod, whilst said youngster internally screamed that he should beg of her to come back and save him from the creature who had wanted this meal.

But he was too scared. Too worried that if he told, he would just end up getting into more trouble from the sickly-looking mare going on a rampage. Much as he wished that dragoness could stay and protect him, he didn't have the courage to risk things, nor the bravery to take a stand by himself.

He really was useless as a guard...

"H-Hello? I found... C-Celestia forgive me... I-I got you something."

Blood Drops moved out from the shelter of indoors after hearing and smelling his arrival and blinked at the guard, glancing down at the Deer with a smile. "Good work, bring me some more tomorrow" she remarked giving the prey a nudge with her hoof, she blinked at the guard's hesitance. "Unless you want me to be hungry of course, now I don't want that and I expect you don't want me to start going around eating ponies now" she remarked with a smile. "also this building is too open, i want a blanket, a nice one" I added.

Blood Drops nudged a large gold coin towards him. "I suppose this might pay for the blanket and the food for awhile. Though I got lots of these coins, very valuable things they are as well, worth at least a thousand of your bits or whatever you call them. So return as quick as you can with the blanket, and at regular times with meat. Then I can give you a coin as a trade when I decide I want to move on. Until then you will be gathering food for me, and not telling anyone of my presence, also if i'm discovered I shall spread a plague that you're accountable for. Do i make myself clear?" I remarked.

I then gave the Deer a sniff and frowned finding not just one but two scents. I blinked trying to figure out who it was before realizing it was that dragon, Nerzhei. The dragon that wanted to cure me all that time ago. I narrow my eyes at the guard suspecting him of a trap. "You come back with that dragon again, your to tell her i'm not here and that the station is out of bounds, actually for that matter your going to set up a perimeter around this station and not allow anyone near the place. You can think of a reason to why, but if anything steps inside here, i''m not accountable for there fate. 

 

[Moonlit 593]

@Blitz Boom @Seamore Sandwich Serenade followed, making sure Ziggy stayed on her back as she swam through the water. Once outside, she breaths easier. "Ponyville, it's a town on the edge of the Everfree not far from here, this river should take us close." She turns to Cherish, "I'll let Princess Luna know that you are in the Castle, and perhaps Ziggy and I can return and speak more"

[~Phoenix~ 196]

@Blitz Boom 

as Phoenix walked out into the large foyer, she couldn't help but notice how lavish it was. it matched well with just about everything else in this building, whatever it was. among all the colorful pieces of art, her eyes eventually fell on Smokey, who she was admittedly quite happy to see. a warm smile involuntarily crept onto her face. 

she stood there, listening to him whistle, and watching him browse around the room, until he had noticed her. perhaps he was the type who appreciated this kind of art. she stepped towards him, meeting him in the middle of the room. she took on a rather bashful posture as he had compared her to the statues in the room, and saying that she should be on display as well. as flattering as it was, it was actually a rather frightening thought. after all, it was that very same feeling of being out in the open around so many ponies that caused her panic attack earlier that day.

she continued to listen to him as he went on about the perfume. "is that what that was..? i didn't know whether or not i was supposed to use it.." she said after listening to him describe it. she turned her head down to try and get a whiff of it herself, curiously seeing if she could pick out the separate scents that were listed off. 

she continued listening on rather tentatively as he talked about the bath salts. truth be told, she had no idea what they even were. "i didn't know how to use them" she answered. next time she had the chance, she likely would. by the way Smokey was describing them, it seemed worth it. 

as Smokey stepped closer to her, she took a step back herself, but she remained rather close. it most certainly looked like they were standing at a friendly distance rather than being so standoff-ish like before. 

she scrunched her nose a bit as she thought back to the scene at the platform. she knew she had fainted, but did her fall really look that bad? that would explain the spot on her head that felt rather sore. almost as if there was a bruise hidden under her now silky mane, which ended in soft curls. 

"now that you mention it, i do think there is a bit of a bruise on my head" she said rather casually as she brought a hoof up to it. using her hoof to put a little pressure on the area elicited a wince, confirming her suspicions. however, she didn't quite understand the concerned expression on Smokey's face. she knew it was probably normal for a friendly pony to show concern for someone that they considered to be their friend, but this type was a bit more deep than that.

she wasn't unfamiliar to sustaining small injuries out there in the wild. in fact, she would trip over unsuspecting roots and be scraped by low-hanging branches on a fairly regular basis.