open Casual stroll

[Lucid_Nightlight 923]

@EQ_Theta @Storm Shine @Blitz Boom

Lucid looked over as Fluttershy looked at them covered in baby powder. She didn't look happy. While Fluttershy gave them an angry look, Lucid laughed, this was hilarious!

"Now this is just rich! You look like Pinkie after babysitting the cake twins!"

Despite this being an amazing prank, it wasn't even close to his bigger pranks such as replacing all the spears used by the royal guards with bags of dog food. He almost got charged with various offenses for that one. Best day of his life.

"Just be glad I didn't use itching powder... wait... that would've been glorious!"

[Victoria Sponge 1,017]

@Blitz Boom

Lemon thought about the question a moment, she wasn't entirely sure why it was just that they seemed big and scary, though she had noticed the way she seemed to differ from her family.

"I-I'm not exactly sure why. It's not just Victoria and Felix, my sister Raspberry isn't scared at all, she loves showing off her amazing aerial manoeuvres and I suppose she respects her fellow winged creatures. My father also wasn't scared, Raspberry looked up to him. I suppose it would be my mother's fault I am how I am. She was very soft and sensitive, scared of everything, w-what else could you expect from a pony called Cotton Bud?"

She looked at her daughter proudly.

"Luckily for me, Victoria didn't take after me how I took after my mother, and even Battenberg, who did take after me, isn't that scared of dragons. I've got Felix to thank for that, telling them such fantastic tales of the dragon lands and even taking tough old Vicky out there to see it for real. He gave them no reason to fear the scaled ones, reasons I was never given. I spent ages listening to my mother telling me never to go out without my older sister for fear that she would lose me, made me soft."

Victoria scowled at her mum a little, a reflection of her former self leaking back through.

"Maybe you should have listened in on all those stories, rather than making excuses to leave the room. Being scared of dragons is one thing, I mean they're bigger and stronger than us, they eat meat, they have big claws, fair enough, but not even wanting to hear them spoken of, especially in such a positive light? I think I see why you never truly understood me, why we didn't get along for so many years."

She suddenly looked sad and her ears went back as she realised she was becoming her old self again. She stopped suddenly to give her mother a hug.

"It doesn't matter now though, I realise that we are all different and behave in different ways and that it's still possible to love and understand one another despite those differences. You were a good mother and always tried your best to work with me, no matter how difficult I was, and I appreciate that. I love you. I want to help you be less scared of dragons but if you really can't bare the thought of them, even after meeting Toxen, then I suppose that's just who you are."

"Thanks sweetie."

Lemon smiled a warm smile, she was so happy she had her kind and gentle filly back, breaking free of the demon she had become.

[Lil' Lovebug 1,041]

Satin was shocked, to say the least. They could go anywhere? She shook her head before she became lost in thought. This would require planning and multiple outfits."I guess we should head back then. Oh, the possibilities." She was visibly giddy, a slight hop in her step and a large smile on her face. Here eyes were practically sparkling, even. She started off back to the inn, turning back to make sure Vivid was following her. "What did you used to do for fun back in the day, Vivid? Plays? Musicals? Reading?"

Satin hoped she was helping the mare, though she was worried she was overstepping her bounds or going to fast for Vivid. She just wanted to restore some hope and happiness to the mare.That's why she had to plan as best as she could to make sure they both had fun and enjoyed themselves.

[EQ_Theta 459]

 @Blitz Boom @Storm Shine @Lucid_Nightlight

Of course… she just had to be curious. Just being the subject of a prank still didn’t sit well with her but Fluttershy didn’t react to it by making a fuss of things. It really says something when she would normally cry and run away; the last Nightmare Night festivities really changed her when she knew she could pull of pranks of her own and definitely changed her way of going about being on the receiving end of a prank. She’s still pretty mad about it though. 

“Any other hidden pranks I should know about?” The pegasus asked through gritted teeth, restraining herself from letting her anger loose. 

@Blitz Boom @Storm Shine 

“Alright, I’m still an unknown element to Rose. It should make things less complicated for now. When I’m ready, I’ll take a swipe at her chest to see if I can get the beast heart exposed.”

It all sounded good but without Lin, it could likely end up messing with their plan. She wouldn’t know if he’s genuinely walking up to the enemy for a chat or using himself as bait to lure Rose to dropping her guard. This is especially worse if Sen’s penchant for reckless risk-taking was any indication. 

As for things on Lin’s end, the split in the paths ahead did not sit well with her. On one hand, she could let everyone go through one path each and cover more ground. This presented the likelihood of Rose getting to any of them and the others wouldn’t be able to respond. The alternative would be to go through each path at together but they’d be slowed. She doesn’t know how far each path goes, only compounding the weight of her choice even more.

The longma hybrid rubbed her head and darted her eyes across each of the three paths back and forth until she looked at the ground below and marked it with a large X with her claws.

“I don’t want to risk it. We take each path one at a time; we’ll stand a better chance against Rose if there are more of us for her to go through. If there’s nothing left in the path to explore, I can easily take us back here.”

With that, Lin walked to the leftmost path and marked the ground with an arrow pointing to the X she made on the ground a few steps away. At least everyone will be aware of where they have and haven’t been, and her gate-opening powers will let her go back to this point when they’ve cleared a section.

Edited February 27, 2018 by EQ_Theta

[Blitz Boom 4,627]

@Battenberg

"What, you're saying I'm not big tough and scary to you Vicky?"

Toxen put her hands in front of her and let out a teasing *WoOoOoOoOoO* sound.

Heh. Anyway, that's a tough one to crack Lemon. Parents setting you up for being scared can be the monkey on your back for ages, so I ain't surprised you got a little shaken up then. Perhaps it'll help if you get exposed to some sorta of dragon info and stuff? I'm game if you need a rundown and stuff.

Lemme start by saying that it really ain't that many dragons that eat meat. It's kinda more like ponies that hate apples. It's an anomaly in the big picture, but we don't look down on 'em for that.

Most of us goes mainly for some veggies and crystals. We all need some degree of crystals in our diet for nutrients and stuff, but it's a choice if you wanna go full on, with most that doesn't seemingly choosing not to because they like different textures. That's my deal at least.

Meat eaters are just going on from that. They like textures, and their predatory gene is a little stronger innit than most. Gives you the urges to munch on something that have drawn breath before.

Then there's some who just think it makes them all cool and tough. Sorta like... Ponies who participate in chili contests. Always trying to seem tougher than the competition.

Those who live mostly by meat tend to get off the island quickly though. We don't have that much wildlife to sustain ourselves on it in Dragon Land, so if they want game, they need to migrate. Except fish, we got that in spades 'round the shores.

Oh, and for the record, I have no idea how we live off crystals. Eating rock to survive sounds strange, and yet here we are. Sometimes the world is just one big crazy place, eh?"

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@EQ_Theta @Storm Shine

With that sorted, Rosa walked out with the others. He would have just flown normally, but it seemed fine enough to walk, as they seemed to be in no big hurry.

At the same time though, something was stirring at eight points around the mine. Rosa couldn't see what at first, but as they were reaching for an exit from the place, the form of some kind of large pole with baubles and circles around it got easier to see. Though what it was for he hadn't the faintest idea. Something that seemed to take three earth ponies and a unicorn to operate on this end at least, which likely were much the same the other locations too then.

The forepony got into view again as he wandered towards them, looking ten years older from the stress he had gotten by the message that the mine might be under attack soon, but less angry at least. For the time being he just glared at them somewhat suspiciously, still unsure on whatever or not this was a prank, but being aware that it was too great a risk to not take the precautions regardless.

"What are there for?"

"Something which cost me enough to either work or be the worst investment I have done in my life."

He nodded to the technical team, and they began to activate what turned out to be a Tesla coil of some kind. Electricity pulsated upwards towards the top bauble, then began to zap out until it met up with a beam from another of the beacons, then another, and so forth until all of them were connected and covering the mine top with a large, somewhat moving net of electricity.

"I bought it from Center Zero, after we started to have too many dragon freeloaders just group up and fly in. It cost two months of profits and took a year to set up, but so far it have worked. Here hoping it will do something against the attacker. Which you better hope there are. It takes a long time to get the electricity for these set up, and I'm billing you if this turns out to be a prank."

"It's not. What happens when something hits this?"

Gem took up a rock and tossed it out in the open, which then connected to the electricity and got zapped before it was forced away like somepony had slammed it with a bat.

"Impressive. What then if it goes into disrepair? I take it you know what happened to the town?"

The forepony growled vaguely and lowered his head.

"Everypony who've dealt with them knows what went on. Tragic for them, and so for us. This thing have been leaking recently and can't stay up for more than eight hours in a row anymore. Used to last a day, and it just gets worse."

"You should have a talk with the one who got away. He's one of the Boom's, holding up in a temporary repair shop in Baltimare."

Gem Stud looked surprised and slightly hopeful at the words said, but it was clear that he didn't fully trust this bat pony. Depending on things went here though, he might send a worker to check it out. He could honestly use all the help he could get as none of his own worker, or the technicians he had brought in from outside the mine, really knew how these things worked in their entirety. He even tried to bring in those Flim and Flam brothers who should be oh so inventive, but that just made things worse. Both for his wallet and the equipment.

"In any case, we can only wait now to either see her, or have the others join us in this vigil. Does anypony have something they need to do to be prepared? The likelyhood is that this will be a challenging fight and-"

Zap!

The sound of something hitting the field came closely by before something was tossed back several meters, and slid across the ground before hitting a tree.

Omen didn't say anything as she laid there, crackling slightly with after effects and feeling somewhat toasted. The refraction were next to her, sliding over from the position on the ground she had put it in and towards her, but as it touched her it got a small zap on its claw and coiled back whilst hissing.

"You are lucky that this isn't actually lethal force young lady. What in the world made you think you should even do that?"

"Nopony said I couldn't. Were curious."

Omen was resilient, but hopefully this would roughly be the same result on any being still. Just a zap, then thrown off and crackling slightly. It'd hurt like a monster for normal beings, but Omen was a special case. Evident by the fact that she had even thought touching this in the first place was a good idea.

Meanwhile, in Baltimare, Belladonna nodded in agreement to the suggestion brought forth by Lin.

"I agree. There is strength in numbers, and the assailant sounds like an unknown case. It would be better to not take unnecessary risks. Lead the way."

The first way that they'd follow wouldn't have much going for it. Mining equipment were strewn around, with the sound of bats fluttering aroung heard the further they got in, until they'd eventually reach a dead end where several off them seemed to be nesting. About six dozen or so in fact, which had become an issue for the mine recently, as they weren't allowed to harm them, bit when caught and released, they eventually came back. The current plan were to simply mine around the chamber instead and just let them have it for now, but regardless of that, this were not their destination.

If they returned and picked another route, they'd have a chance more at this, but which one was the right one? The middle path, or the one to the right? If they picked the right one they could finish this right here and now perhaps, instead of the team at the mine getting involved at all. It would be rather nice, yet... Could they do it without the refraction? Only one way to find out. Depending on if they picked the right path. Literally the right one)

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@EQ_Theta @Lucid_Nightlight @Storm Shine

"If there's more pranks? Hellooooo?!"

Anomaly spread her hooves out to indicate the growing pile of saran wrap, containers full of baking soda, squirting flowers and so on that the little faeries were bringing her.

"It's almost packed! Why do you think I sent the tiny ones out to gather them up?"

And peaking of the mischievous little fliers, three of them were currently holding a bucket of water that they promptly tipped over Anomaly, who looked up semi-annoyed just as a few others put down a small balloon of pepper that she had hid in the bathroom too, making the small cloud stick to her. But joke was on them! Her head didn't have a nose that the pepper could do something to. It just spiced her up.

"Hey! If you have an issue, form a union."

They didn't care about that in the slightest as much as tormenting her a little as well. She guessed that her last meeting with pure iron hadn't lingered away yet, and left her with some degree of her powers working against her. In this case, the small simpletons she made were starting to have fun on her behalf.

That or they were just like that. Giving something somewhat free will made things like this hard to give any guarantees, but it was still better than mindless peons. So boring!

The lot of them were taking to wave at Fluttershy too as they passed. Unbeknownst to Anomaly, the yellow mare's flair with smaller minds like animals were also starting to work with these things, and her being annoyed at the one who spawned them made them more prone to subject the draconequus to the pranks, rather than just letting her take them away like she wanted to.

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@Lil' Lovebug

Vivid let out a sigh and remembered seeing others having the kind of fun that Satin described. Such simple joys they had, and how she despised them for leaving her behind in most of it.

"I was a pariah wherever I walked. I rarely had the luxury of having more fun than speaking with the departed, unless I snuck in somewhere unseen, or they needed me for a nasty poltergeist.

I sometimes managed to enjoy sailing, but the breeze is not my friend anymore, and after my husband..."

She froze as a tear formed in the corner of her right eye, and she lowered her head to avoid the gaze of the changeling. She may think of Satin as a friend so far, but it was new, and her husband was an old wound that laid within the deeper ones involving her foals. Both subjects that hurt to talk about.

Not that he had been bad to her. He had been one of the only ponies she had met that loved her for who she was, no matter what she saw or could do, and he even uprooted his normal lifestyle to come with her on her migratory path. He had been a loving husband, a great father to her oldest, as well as his own, and she wished that she had been able to save him.

The only thing that consoled her were that she knew that he were at peace. He didn't linger, like some others did.

Even if she might be able to save him with what she could do now, the thought that he would have spend all these years stuck here... It would have been too much to bear. He had given her some of the best years of her life before the disease had taken him, and he deserved his rest.

She raised a hoof as the thoughts of both better and worse times rotated through her head, and wiped the tear from her eye.

"...What you consider fun should be a priority, since you know more of this time. I'll try my best to share your enthusiasm about things as we try them."

She attempted to just go on, but it wasn't like Satin wouldn't know something were up.  She could sense emotions, and the waves of sorrow and regret that had come over her wouldn't be easy to miss, in case her crying after mentioning her husband wasn't sign enough that something was less than perfect.

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

 

@Dji

She'd find Zhu quickly, as he still wasn't moving faster than a short gallop would catch on to.

He were standing at the entrance to Princess Celestia's chamber, lingering and remembering better times, when the sun princess of Equestria had raised him. He missed her presence, but he couldn't stay here.

Picking up some pace again, he wandered towards the next room and looked back at his somewhat unwilling companion. Well, he faced in her direction. She seemed to have a bad reaction from his prodding, so he wouldn't lay an eye on her.

"If it eases your mind, my toxin is not destructive in nature. It infects the mind, and causes strong visual and auditory hallucinations for upwards of twelve hours. If they block his eyes and ears he will get through it with no issue. If not, his nightmares will test him."

Zhu had run tests of this before, and found that more often than not, what others would see tended to feed on their guilt, regrets or fear.  From the sound of it, the guard he had infected had been faced with some who wanted to harm him in some way, or that he had harmed himself. A sad turn of events, but the work had to continue, and he would live.

Getting to the room he had sought, he opened the door into what seemed like a minor guest room, and with a strong wind dragged the heavy bed to the side. Underneath it, a thick, soft carpet laid out to protect the floor. As well as a hatch that showed itself once Zhu pulled the carpet aside.

He silently ran a claw across it, remembering a time when Celestia had showed it to him, and said that if something went wrong, this was a way out. Somewhere he could escape unseen if the worst happened...

The more time he were spending in this castle, the more he recalled her, and the good days they had before everything became so complicated. A better time, with somepony who loved him like their own, and didn't care what he were burdened with.

*sigh* Even if he had done all of this mainly to save her, he still wondered how she would take it when she got his note. Would she want to see him? If ahe did, would she hate what he had done? Could she see the reason behind his actions, or would it be the end of the line for them? He had spend years preparing for rejection, but now that a potential meeting came closer, he were riddled with doubts. Conflicted with how she would see the small boy she once rose, grown up, and doing questionable things to maintain stability.

"...It will lead outside Canterlot. It should be safe from there, if you still wish to follow and learn what I needed to break out for."

As he opened the hatch and showed the dark path underneath it, he sincerely hoped that Karmic would follow. She might not understand or sympathize with his ways, but she were the closest thing he had to somepony who understood his curse, and a kindred would be good to converse with. It weren't as if he had any friends to speak with so he would welcome the chance for some company, even if it were brief.

Edited February 28, 2018 by Blitz Boom

[Victoria Sponge 1,017]

@Blitz Boom

Victoria looked bemused. She couldn't say for sure that no dragon could scare her but Toxen certainly didn't, she seemed softer than most other dragons, a lot like her brother, more likely to pull of a harmless prank than do any real damage.

"Not at all dear. I've seen scarier things than dragons."

Lemon listened intently to Toxen's descriptions, it was hard to change her view on things, views that had been pushed on her for nearly 2 decades were hard to let go, though this did open her mind to new ones that she could potentially adopt.

Victoria suddenly interrupted, her ears having pricked up at the mention of apples.

"Who in their right mind could hate apples? They must be lesser ponies for sure. Apples are perfect in every way, sweet, crunchy, healthy, I could eat apples all day."

Lemon laughed.

"Oh Vicky, all these years and all those changes you've been through and you haven't lost your obsession with the red fruit."

"Just proof that I'm the same pony you knew back then."

Victoria smiled, happy memories flooding back to her, how she would always fight with Battenberg over the biggest and most shiny apples in the fruit bowl, battles she would never lose.

 

The conversation continued and once again Victoria was the first to speak, eager to help her mother become more like her father, able to stand by her and his dragon friends without crying and running away. Perhaps losing her fear of dragons would make her a braver and more admiral pony in general.

"Meat eaters shouldn't bother you anyway mum, we're much too big and tough to be anybody's favourite food no matter how much they love meat. Bella's a meat eater, are you scared of my little kitty?"

"Don't be silly Victoria, there's a big difference between cats and dragons, a cat couldn't swallow you whole."

Victoria giggled.

"Bea's certainly tried to before, greedy thing, sometimes she can't tell the difference between the fish and the hoof that holds it. Besides if you got to know dragons you'd know they can be just as soft as cats, they're just big scaly kitties. Much more intelligent of course."

She added the last bit realising she may have been coming off as condescending, putting dragons down to mere felines.

[Storm Shine 1,196]

@Blitz Boom @Lucid_Nightlight @EQ_Theta

Discord hid his amusement at Fluttershy's powder-covered form, instead slithering over to coil slightly around her with a smile, "Oh, my dear dear Fluttershy.." He said, "Let me clean that up for you." And with a snap of his claws Fluttershy was clean and pristine, along with the rest of her house. Discord grimaced slightly after everything was put right, "Ugh... Order.. Not really my cup of tree, but I suppose that some ponies might prefer it this way." The things he did for his friends, the chaos spirit thought to himself as he sipped a miniature tree from a teacup. Only this butter-yellow pegasus could get him to start using his powers to make things more clean, let alone orderly.

 

@Blitz Boom @EQ_Theta

With Omen's group the discord stand-in chuckled at Omen's curiosity, the electricity dancing over his form pausing for a moment to form the shape of a duck before continuing to arc randomly over parts of his cloudy body. He pulled a large grapefruit from somewhere, throwing it at the field and eating it out of the air on the rebound.

 

With Lin's group the balloon discord floated along with the group, occasionally letting pieces of its balloon body break off to form playful balloon animals that would then run off before the missing pieces grew back.

[Lucid_Nightlight 923]

@EQ_Theta @Storm Shine @Blitz Boom

Fluttershy's anger and Anomaly's pet things, which ge called them rebelling was absolutely amazing to Lucid.

"They seem a little disgruntled."

He watched as Discord cleaned the place up, it wasn't something one would expect from such a chaotic being.

He didn't question it though, he did however have a question about Anonamly.

"So, iron is basically everywhere. It's in the frame of houses, worn by ponies, whatever you can name... it has iron. So if you're allergic to iron, how are you not dead?"

Edited March 1, 2018 by Lucid_Nightlight

[EQ_Theta 459]

@Blitz Boom @Storm Shine  @Lucid_Nightlight

“Thank you, Discord!” The pegasus replied with a jovial sing-song tone in her voice though she is still pretty miffed about the pranks, and falling for one of them.

She would admit that she did like the kind of chaos Discord brings but not quite right now in the current company of strangers still standing around in her home. Maybe it was just simply being used to it along with being able to know Discord better. The difference here is that with Anomaly and Lucid around, she wasn’t sure if her first impression should leave her with a sour taste in her mouth or if she would give them another chance. Even a lesson she learned back might not make sense here. Be cruel to be kind? It doesn’t seem right to use it in this context and she’d much rather see how things go for the moment. If not because of curiosity, it’s mostly because the little Anomalies are still wandering about putting things back to the way they were before their arrival. 

@Blitz Boom @Storm Shine

Sure hope brother got himself set-up, or at least out of trouble….

Lin opened a gate back to the very spot she marked with a cross but wanting to be thorough, drew a line just above the X pointing towards the middle route. From there, she walked forward without muttering another word. Her actions would indicate what she intends to do but she still doesn’t have an exit strategy in mind. Perhaps some of Sen would rub off on her and it would end with her making a quick decision to just move everyone elsewhere in the heat of the moment.

And as for Sen, he rushed over to Omen and checked for injuries, though he wouldn’t be one to admit he wasn’t sure exactly what he is supposed to be looking for. Were injuries going to look different on her? He wouldn’t know but his strong reaction to Omen being tossed back. The same was true for the refraction laying on the ground though now he was more assured about his confidence to approach the creature and talk to it. 

“Both of you alright?” Sen asked, the question intended for both Omen and Shrimp, while attempting to stroke the little creature to help it calm down. 

“Please be careful next time, Omen. We wouldn’t want to be at our worst when Rose comes.”

Edited March 1, 2018 by EQ_Theta

[Sekel 693]

@Blitz Boom

KARMIC FATE

"At least it doesn't leave them comatose," Karmic muttered darkly, hoping it was soft enough for him to not hear. She had a run of 'cutie mark ganeitis'. Meaning, when she first got her cutie mark, she was so excited at getting her cutie mark, Karmic irrevocably placed the village in a comatose state from having messed with their thoughts of reality too much. Now? At the most, she nudges ponies in a certain direction if she liked a particular future of theirs. Karmic kept her head down and almost missed the serpanther in the room she had passed. She heard him speak, noticed the trap door he was peering down, and immediately ran to it before diving down into the hole without any particular ceremony.

[Blitz Boom 4,627]

@Dji

Zhu didn't hear what she were saying as he had been busy preparing their escape route, which were likely for the better. If he knew that she had been able to do something of that magnitude, he would have only gotten more insistent on monitoring Karmic when this was all over,t o see where her path could lead. Mental manipulation of a severity like that would have an influence if she unlocked her full potential, for better or for worse.

Getting down into the hole beneath the hatch, it were rather dark, with light only entering from behind them for the time being, and that wouldn't last for long. Partially because the path were far longer than the angle would illuminate, and partially because he closed it after them. It wouldn't be perfect, with the bed still being moved to the side up there and the blanket folded around, but it might well have been guards or servants in the castle that had used this for escape with what were going on up there, so hopefully they wouldn't suspect they had been using it. Though even if they did, it wasn't as if they could do something about it when they did, as the two of them would be long gone by then.

It also helped navigating this place that Zhu knew this well enough to not need the light, nor should Karmic either really. It was a pretty easy to simply follow the walls, and there were nothing to stumble upon in here.

There had been once. He had hidden a few things down here to use if he had to escape, which had been covered in a small cloth pouch. He only ever really needed some extra bands to cover his eyes with and a first aid kit, so that had been enough to scrape by with. He recalled having added another thing,but what exactly eluded him for the time being. Didn't matter either he supposed. He had left this place nearly a millennia ago. Whatever had been in that pouch were long eaten by moth larvae or something by now.

"Are we wandering at a good pace for you? Not everypony does well in the dark."

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@EQ_Theta @Storm Shine @Lucid_Nightlight

Anomaly looked around with big, gleaming eyes as everything just suddenly returned to normal again. The prank stuff were gone, the house and Fluttershy were spotless, and the pond were cleared of both soap, weird plants and mutated fish. Just regular old, boring fishies now. Only weird things still around that had been made were the small pumpkin fae, and they were pretty disoriented right now, and unaware of what they were supposed to do. They had been in the middle of cleaning things, and now everything were fine again, as it were before. It confused them, and they huddled together on a shelf to talk to eachother about what to do. They kept it to a whisper to discuss things on their own for now, but they randomly send glances towards the gathered group of larger beings, indicating that their talk in some varied form included all of them.

"Awh that was so cool! I can create tons of stuff, but unmaking? Waaaaay nice."

She grinned, then faced Lucid and turned the smile into a grimace and rolling eyes.

"Pfff, it needs to be pure iron. That's not all that common, and it's not like it'd kill me anyway. I just get turned against myself and drained massively. Stupid ferie spare parts..."

She mumbled the last bit before a light went on over her head and she narrowed her eyes at Lucid, taking a step closer and not looking so thrilled anymore.

"Hey wait a minute, how did you know about that? Are you going into my headspace?"

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@EQ_Theta @Storm Shine

Unfortunately, picking the middle road did not lead to their target. It was by far a more worked path here, which the mining equipment and carts of coal richly told of, but it were not were Spelt had ended up.

"That leaves us with one option. We should proceed with haste before -"

A rumbling went through the mine, and a spike of multicolored crystal shot through the wall, connecting with the wall on the other side. It didn't seem to seek them out yet, but Belladonna still took a large step backwards to be on the safe side, whilst the faint echo of a maniacal laughter emanated from behind them. It seemed that they had been too late in stopping Filigree, who were gloatingly enjoying her vengeance on one more of the fools who had escaped her ten years ago.

Stopping her from hurting Spelt would be far too late, but perhaps if Lin reacted swiftly, they could manage to get back to the entrance before she escaped.

A quick action from Discord could also do the trick, though it were hard to say if he could focus on it over simply toying around in this situation. He was a fickle being sometimes, at least in Belladonna's perspective, though she reserved an open mind to be surprised. Who knew? Perhaps the two would combine their skill set, with Lin getting them there, and Discord ending it with his chaos magic? The crystals did interact with magic, but surely a demi-being would be familiar with ways around that sort of thing. Or perhaps, there would be other openings for an attack.

If they did go back, or straight up to the other shaft if that were possible, they would run into the escaping bat pony mare, who'd be a peculiar sight for certain.

Filigree were in her fifties, though with the ten years in crystal, she would have hit her sixties normally, with greying hair starting to show here and there on her dark coat, and her brown mane and tail. However, she weren't wrinkly or seemed like age was catching up to her. She were in good shape, and if she colored her mane and tail (which she likely had) she could pass for somepony in their thirties.

She were slightly sparkly, like the ponies that had been trapped with her had been, but the part that really should catch the eye were the crystals protruding from her, like they were growing from her coat and wings. Spikes, some plating, and a general look of her being slowly, but surely fused with a strong layer of parasitic gems. How she'd look int he end if this got to go the full duration would be hard to say, but the ragged horn of gems growing on her forehead could indicate that it'd still be somewhat recognizable as some kind of alicorn.

There were still several openings that showed how she were though. Only her right front and back legs, as well as half her face were going through the phase with seemingly no holes in the shell. Well, except for the eye of course, where a ice-blue, enlarged iris stared from. Her other eye were brown, but still no kinder above the half-frozen, sadistic smile.

Meanwhile, in the mine, Omen shook herself off and rose up. She had a surge go through her, along with a small cloud of smoke escape her muzzle afterwards, but other than that she didn't seem worse for the wear.

"I think I'm fine. Can I try again?"

"No. I don't know what your issue is lady, but I'm not having you waste the power for your play time. That counts for you too you... You... Graaargh! I'm surrounded by insane creatures!"

Gem were looking between Gem and Discord's thunder-cloud persona that were both treating his highly expensive security system like some kind of amusement park. It were making him pretty agitated to put it mildly. A sharp contrast to Rosa who were shaking his head at the shenanigans of the two.

At the same time, Shrimp had taken Sen's caress with some hesitation. He still had habit of biting Sen as he didn't smell exactly like Omen or Lin, but right now after his owner had given him a small jolt, he wanted to be cared for, so much like a cat the hesitation were short-lived, and he would coil up around Sen's claws quickly, chirping weakly to attempt to get even more of his attention.

"I hesitate to argue against them being special, but they are clearly sturdy. It is a good thing in the fight ahead."

"Then you deal with them, I'm out. But I warn you, I will keep an eye on you."

Gem, not wanting more of this insanity, turned and went back to his office. He could keep an eye on them from there without having to be sujeted to their foolish games and mockery of his workplace.

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

 

@Battenberg

"Urgh, cats."

Toxen rolled her eyes as those pesky little bundles of fur, claws and teeth were mentioned.

"I don't know what their deal is, but they keep constantly assaulting me. And I'm not meaning like, hiss. I mean straight up jump and claw like a bunch of loons."

She pointed to a window where a cat sat, and hissed out as its eyes followed the dragoness. The same were shown a few other places if they took notice, though it were only felines who seemed to have it like that with her. Dogs, reptiles, birds etc. didn't seem to care much at all.

"I dunno if it's something I use in my concoctions that gets them all riled up like ponies at an apple sale, or if they're being rallied against me but it's frankly annoying. Pesky little bundles of hate the lot of them."

Toxen growled back a little at a particular one, who stood on a trash can and glared at her with narrows eyes and teeth showing. A simple tabby with a nick in his right ear, and a red collar with a piece of metal dangling from it. Identification more than likely.

"Especially that one. Been the bane of my existence for years."

"Your arch-nemesis is a cat?"

Pop had been in her own mind for a time, but this was just getting bizarre, and she had been pulled back into things, and out of the romantic thoughts and worries she had pondered over up until now.

"Dang straight he is. Professor Pawton over there have been after me ever since he was a kitten. Worst reception in this town when I moved here, and it's just gotten worse. Call me crazy, but I swear I've seen him just about everywhere, meowing off to other cats about me. That's why they're after me."

"And here I thought Benny was crazy... So you have a pet cat? Sounds adorable."

"Evil I tell ya!"

"I had a Maine Coon when I grew up. Loveliest little thing I've ever met, even if it had a thing for jumping at you from shelves. What kind of cat is it that you have? And Toxen, please don't say *an evil kind*. Hardly nice when you have so much in common."

The dragoness opened her mouth as Pop said that,t hen closed it again and pulled her tongue at the mare. No fun sometimes that one, although she'd give her that she played along well on the stab at dragons that Vicky had started up before. Well played both of them.

Edited March 4, 2018 by Blitz Boom

[Victoria Sponge 1,017]

@Blitz Boom

"To be fair Bella would probably hate you too, though that's nothing to do with this weird relationship you seem to have with the felines, she just hates everyone except me. I swear, old me didn't train her to be like that, it's just how she is."

She laughed, cats really were strange creatures.

"I suppose it's because cats remind me of myself that I love them so much. Elegant and regal, preferring to be left alone most of the time, love their beauty sleep. I think I'd do well as a cat."

She closed her eyes for a moment imagining how much easier life as a cat would have been, but then she remembered all the things she wouldn't have, a close family, friends, her love for all things sweet. Being a cat would be fun for a while but she was happy being a pony.

"My little furball is a Siamese cat, she has lovely blue eyes. When it's just me and her she's so lovely, purring almost constantly, playing with my mane, I don't remember the last time I went to sleep without her curled up next to me. It's a shame she's so mean to everyone else, nobody else gets to experience her loveliness, not even Battenberg or mum."

Lemon snickered.

"Yes, her not liking me is a real problem considering I'm the one who has to live with her most of the time. When Vicky and Battenberg head off to work it's just me and the wretched cat trying to scratch me when I'm trying to give her food. She has been nice to me once or twice at least."

"Sorry mother, I'll try and train that out of her. Maybe if you wore more makeup, or grew your mane out a little more, you'd remind her of me and then she'd like you. There's got to be something you can do. Anyway, your cat sounds adorable Pop, I love Maine Coons, so fluffy and soft! I love all kinds of cats, all kinds of animals really. I seem to have way with the small and cute, maybe I relate animals to foals, maybe it's the other way around. Who knows?"

There always seemed to be an element of sadness to Victoria whenever she mentioned foals, as if she still didn't believe she was capable of being a good pony, or that she hadn't changed enough to show real affection to anybody. She was still overall happy though, this was the positive change that had been made to her attitude, she wasn't letting things get to her as much now.

"We're almost at Ahadi's shop, the zebra, hopefully she's still open, she has odd opening hours."

Lemon looked down the street to the approaching store, it had a large wooden, hoofcarved front painted in reds, yellows and greens. The windows glowed a mysterious purple and flickered as if lit by magical purple flames. Strange smells were wafting around the group even from the ten or so metres away that they were.

[Storm Shine 1,196]

@EQ_Theta @Blitz Boom 

The balloon discord suddenly popped, revealing a very real Discord in it's place. The copy of Discord snapped his claws, rendering the nearest of the crystals magically inert and reducing them to dust. "Annoying crystals" He huffed. "Always love to ruin my fun."

 

 

[EQ_Theta 459]

@Blitz Boom @Storm Shine

It's time to get moving; with Discord having done his part, now Lin turns to open a gate on the spot, spitting out the group right back at the X in the mines. She wanted to get a good look at Filigree before leaving and some part of her had this weird urge to get to meet her, if only to satisfy her curiosity. Back at the beginning of the path, Lin opened a gate just behind her and turned to Belladonna partly based on what past experience with others who she have already met earlier. 

"That gate is going to take you back to Clayton. I don't want to put you at risk of being turned into a crystalline statue. Go, Discord and I will stay behind." 

The longma intends to wait just long enough to quickly study Filigree, maybe make a few mental notes here and there and pass along that info to Sen and the others when they meet. Unfortunately, that still doesn't leave her with a solid exit strategy, maybe making things more complicated in the process.

But on Sen's end, seeing the little creature wrap itself around his claw put a smile on his face. He sat down and cradled the refraction close to his chest and gently stroked its head. He probably shouldn't get too used to it though because it might end up making a habit of biting him. Then again, it might just be doing that for fun, whatever its definition of fun might be. 

"Omen, now may not be the best time to play with the equipment. Even little Shrimp here isn't too keen with electricity cackling all over you." 

Edited March 3, 2018 by EQ_Theta

[Sekel 693]

@Blitz Boom

KARMIC FATE

”Yeah, I’m good,” Karmic sounded out after a few minutes of silence. She did well with dake places. It was just confines of enclosed spaces that got her jimmies in a twist. She kept her eyes ahead, following Zhu through the passageway. She wanted to know what his future would be like badly but, she did not want to experience those colourless tendrils again. Against her better, nature she ignored the urge and radiated an aura of bitterness to mask her disappointment. She cleared her throat and figured a bit of taking wouldn’t hurt. “How do you know about this place?”

Edited March 4, 2018 by Dji

[Lucid_Nightlight 923]

@EQ_Theta @Storm Shine @Blitz Boom

Anomaly had quite a valid question for Lucid. It's pretty weird for someone to just know something, but Lucid did of course have a good answer.

"I could read your mind if I wanted, but no, I was reading the hairless monkey's mind."

Lucid couldn't really physically break the fourth wall, but he did have connections outside of it such as mind reading and portals. Actually physically breaking the fourth wall would require the mulitverse level of the stick. That level is beyond mulitverse, it's called that because it sounds cooler. If only Lucid had that power.

"I should also mention that my mind reading is still a bit limited, so there are things I don't know."

[Blitz Boom 4,627]

@Dji

"...A long time ago, this used to be my home."

Zhu were ot one who enjoyed speaking of his past with anypony. If others knew his connection to Princess Celestia, they might inform her of seeing him, or worse, attempt to hurt her because of that information. Either through accusing her of having some responsibility in what he did, or find a way to use either of them against the other.

For the past millennia roughly, he had only told five beings about his past. The elements that had given him the chance to save her originally, and one griffon that had neared the end of his days. The old crone had saved him from a particularly nasty situation, and she were a reclusive being, so he had found himself talking when she asked. The secrets he told her had gone away with her soon after that, through no interference of his own. Old age and illness had handled that by itself.

Karmic were not at the end, and she seemed the type to talk if it came down to it, but her case were special. She could already see the potential future, as well as the past, so there was a chance she would find this out herself eventually. If he gave her a little information now, he could see how she would react, and then know what to do if/when she eventually would learn something of the time he had lived here as a hatchling and until he had aged to 16, cared for by the princess of the sun. If she reacted badly, he might need to take action if she learned something. An unfortunate state of things, but certain chain of events needed to be sorted before information like that could be spread freely, if ever.

"I have not been back in nearly a millennia, but the castle have not changed. The paths are still there for those who knows them, and some things are hard to forget, even for those who have lived beyond their years."

He considered asking her if she had seen something that made her curious, or if this were simply questions, but he would wait. Patience had often gotten him far in this unnatural life, and he wished to hear what she would do with what she had been given.

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

 

@EQ_Theta @Storm Shine

"I protect him better by being here than to lead her to him."

The fact that Filigree was here already made it even more important that she did not leave here now. The mare looked to be in a crazed state, and at hearing the name of her employee, had focused her gaze on the unicorn.

"Clayton. Give him to me mortal. He will pay, just like the rest of them have."

The only response she got from that, were a look from Belladonna that spoke of how little she actually feared this mare, and her grandiose ideas about what she were.

"Common civilians will have to make an appointment. Are you available in six weeks?"

Filigree stepped forward and glared a the mare with fury in her eyes, ignoring the so far silent participants in the tunnel.

"Civilian?! I am a goddess you foolish little peon! The ruler of a nation of crystals, build on the ruins of your pathetic homest-Aargh!"

She staggered back a step and blasted a ray towards Belladonna, too quickly to intercept by the others. Her focus had been off somewhat, so it was only both of the assistants left legs that got covered in layers of leeching crystal, yet that were still enough to pin her to the ground.

As for what had taken the mare by surprise? A sliver of crystal, more like a needle, that she were now pulling out of a weak spot on her neck.

"You dare assault me with this? You will pay. You will all pay!"

She rose on her back hooves, agitated and charging up her horn to send more crystal blasts towards the group. As good a time as any to intervene, if not before she even got her horn charged. It would leave a small opening when she were distracted pulling out the needle - which appeared to no longer had the drop of liquid in it - for Discord or Lin to react. How she had so far not noticed that the lord of chaos was there spoke to her unhinged state of mind, though perhaps she'd notice soon. Potentially when she had a pair of nice crystal statues to join the focus of her ire.

Meanwhile, at the diamond mine, Shrimp were busy getting showered in affection and were starting to feel a little better. An interesting sight for Omen, who were used to only see Shrimp hiss at Sen, or try to bite him if he got near. A territorial thing she had been told by the others, but also something that could mean he was hostile or wanted to play. Animals were hard to understand, but they seemed to get along well now, whilst she had the last jolt shake out of her system.

Granted, Shrimp would soon start to claw into Sen when he got him closer and chomp vaguely at his fur, but hopefully this was just like when he bit Omen sometimes. Harmless stuff meant to show affection, which were now directed on the less zappy companion of the refraction. He would've picked Lin if she were here, but with her gone Sen had had been close by and usable instead.

"Okay. I won't touch it again."

"Good to have that sorted. Now then, since we're going to have to fight when it gets down to it, I want to know if either of you have actual combat experience? Martial arts training? Natural advantages?"

"Mother says we are not allowed to fight, just protect with gates."

"So you're on keeping us from getting hit then. Sen? What about you?"

Rosa had seen the way Omen had opened gates before, so he had no doubt that she could open them rapidly enough to be of help. What he wondered were if she would react on it fast enough, or if they could get showered with a surprise blast before the escape hatch opened up.

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

 

@Battenberg

"Yeah, I can't give tips on cat training, so whatever you think will work is gonna be the thing girlie. Little bundles of malice don't let me get close enough to learn anything else than what it feels like to have claws in my face. Guess as a pro tip, don't be a dragoness? Heh."

Pop shook her head and chuckled at Toxen.

"I have found that using a water bottle and treats does wonder. It won't be nice in the beginning, but once they get used to being nicer around others that feeds them rather than trying to scratch them, they'll get around. I also found small fish crackers to work well for my cat, but it might be something else for yours. Siamese can be pretty odd from what I hear, no offense."

And speaking of odd, it seemed that they were getting to their destination. Victoria barely had to point at it considering how much it just stuck out among the other shops.

It were somewhat different from the ones she usually sat, mainly because of the light, but the riddlers had many varied ways they liked to decorate, so she supposed this was just somepony with a hankering for colored lights. It followed the theme of a zebra place though, what with the carved wood and everything. For some reason she had never seen a zebra that lived in a brick house. Kinda strange now that she thought about it... Perhaps it helped with the potions or something? Might be something with more comfort and tradition too, but she weren't entirely sure. She had never been to an actual zebra village, so she could only speculate on some things. Or ask them, but some of the rhymes you got from that could be tricky to interpret.

"What a strange smell... I wonder what's brewing?"

"Whatever it is, that's one powerful odor. here's hoping it ain't boiled gym wear."

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

 

@Lucid_Nightlight @EQ_Theta @Storm Shine

"Reading the human's mind? How'd you do that? Everytime I try, the pages turns up blank."

A *bad-um-tsch* sound came out of nowhere as she said that, prior to her relaxing herself gain. Not getting her mind read was good, and the monkey man likely had it coming. He could be such a boring little meanie sometimes.

"If you want to really mind read, you'll need the tools for it and dig in. Like a really good magnifying glass in the ear. Or a fancy straw to just put in and sluuuuuurp it all away. I'd suggest a bone saw too, but somepony doesn't like mean jokes, and I don't wanna be unmade by Discord."

The somepony in question were Fluttershy, though who else would she talk about? The mare were basically the only sane, talking being in this room. You know, a buzzkill.

[FanOfManyShows 396]

@Blitz Boom

Sapphire let out a little bit of a chuckle. "Well, a talking to is nothing compared to what we've went through over the past few days. So It'll be fine for me." She said, following the guards who carried Warlock away as ordered.

Astral sighed as she followed suite. "Yeah, I just hope the others are okay."

Iron Wing followed more closely to Warlock than the other two, looking at him. "What did lead you down such a path of darkness?" He thought to himself. "Whatever it is, I hope nopony else has gone down a darker path prior. I'd hate to face another like you."

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

Things were wrapping up nicely, too nicely. Maybe things were approaching an end for once, instead of a scenario that'd be escaped from by Warlock instantaneously. But whatever it was, it was making Iron Star uneasy even from the distance in between him and Warlock. He looked to Misty, who looked at the ground with a slightly confused look. "What is it?"

"Do you think they can take down Warlock on their own?" She asked, looking to him.

"Oh, they already did. Surprisingly enough a changeling did it."

"Oh! That was, quick." Iron Star shrugged. "Well, I hope they come back to get us soon then."

[EQ_Theta 459]

@Blitz Boom @Storm Shine

Lin gathered a couple of stones before her and lobbed a few towards Filigree’s general direction, with a couple of them hitting her horn and about one or two grazing or snagging the crystalline needle as she screamed. The stones were of varying sizes, mostly pebbles but a few were about as large as her clenched claws. 

“Hey Filigree!” The longma hybrid yelled towards the insane mare, as if tossing stones towards her didn’t already grab her attention. “Didn’t you hear? A goddess shouldn’t have to prove her strength; anyone who does that is either mad or lying, and you are clearly both! Also pathetic if I may add. How about we settle this elsewhere?”

She grabbed a few more stones off the ground and inched herself closer to pour a little bit of the liquid she had in her own vials over Belladonna’s snagged hind leg. If she couldn’t get the rest of her out of the crystals, at least there was one free leg and Belladonna could grab her vial after and free herself while Lin provided a distraction, which she promptly began by running to the opposite side of the chamber they were in, hopefully with Discord following her lead.

As for the situation at Sen’s end, he began playing with Shrimp, even using his digits like little chew toys and occasionally letting the little creature bite it. Teething. That’s probably the right term for this period when the young creature would need time to develop it’s, well… teeth, maybe even its bite. The growing pains on his own claw didn’t seem to bother him too much because of his leathery exterior along the extremities. That and the numerous callouses that have grown over the years giving it an even hardier texture. Training for years has its perks.

“Combat experience? Not really straight up combat but I did train since I was young to be a hunter. It’s a rough term to refer to providers and protectors in longma villages. I was… exiled from the village while I was young and never got to finish. Most of what I can do is either using traps or improvising close combat using techniques I’ve seen in my travels.”

Just having to mention anything from his childhood stung him, feeling like he opened an old would he just wanted to leave be. It didn’t hurt as much as it used to, unlike bringing up the actual event surrounding said exile, but being unable to finish his training was a childhood dream unfulfilled. Perhaps it will always remain like that. 

[Victoria Sponge 1,017]

@Blitz Boom

Lemon gently pushed open the creaky wooden door, stepping inside the store. She looked a little unsure as she slowly entered, looking around for the zebra they sought. 

"She must be in the back."

Speaking of the devil the zebra, Ahadi suddenly emerged from the dark hole at the back of the room, with long strands of beads hanging in its frame. She was an interesting creature, pure white with bands of dark stripes wrapping all around her body from hoof to muzzle. Her long, stripy tail, brushed the floor as she walked, sweeping side to side clearing the dust. Her mane was equally long and fell down one side of her head, covering part of one eye. The other eye, completely exposed shimmered in the candle light. They were brown in colour but in such lighting they almost appeared crimson in colour. 

She looked at the group for a second and smiled warmly, opening her mouth to speak.

"Ah, I have visitors I see! Whatever could they be wanting from me?"

She laughed and tipped a jar of what looked like some kind of herb into the large bubbling cauldron in the centre of the room.

"I jest of course, I do not have to speak in rhyme... Well, not all of the time."

She laughed again, a deep throaty laugh, it wasn't intended to be so but it sounded a tad sinister, just adding to the mystery of the mare.

"What is it you seek? It is not often I am visited by so many ponies at once."

 

[Sekel 693]

@Blitz Boom

KARMIC FATE

”If you lived here, then maybe you were a pet?” Karmic guessed uncertainly. She didn’t exactly want to to pry but who comes by a Serpanther in their everyday lives? Her hoof brushed against his cloak and she took a deep breath, watching him for any outbursts despite her now cloudy eyes. “I seriously need to get a handle on this,” she groused to herself after her eyes became cloudy. “Then again, maybe you were someone’s son,” she mused. As they walked, the vision materialised in the form of an opaque painting that moved with them as they walked. Karmic still saw the walls around them and where they were going, but the images sort of stuck themselves to her eyes wherever she looked. She watched an amber mare with yellow and red hair take care of a younger version of Zhu. When she realised what she was seeing, a vision of the past, she couldn’t take her eyes off of it. “This is so weird,” Karmic whispered, pawing at the air to see if she could at least get the visions to move. It did not work.

Edited March 6, 2018 by Dji

[Blitz Boom 4,627]

@Lloyd

Captain Hailstone looked after the two mares leaving the room with the guards. They were both an issue and a blessing currently, as their magic might go against them, but at the same time, they'd know best how to handle Warlock if he woke up.

As things stood, he would not personally have taken the chance of leaving them with the guards, just as a safety precaution, but the words from Advisor Dew were clear, and the former general did not take decisions like that without being certain.

He could have disobeyed if he wanted to, though even if he did not technically have any military power anymore, Dew hadn't been dethroned yet, so to speak, so going against his word would be looked at unfavorably by the others. Besides, Hailstorm trusted the old stallion's judgement, especially in a time of crisis. They'd been through that enough for him to have proven his worth in that regard.

The new general would need to prove his worth too, if he wanted the respect his new rank required, but Iron Wing had done surprisingly well for his first day. Not perfectly by any stretch, but he had sprung to action instead of freezing up. A good start, yet they'd see more eventually.

For the time being though, they had something to get sorted in the throne room, yet General Wing seemed to want to personally make certain that Warlock were secured in a cell, so they'd have to follow on a detour. Potentially for the better really. Meant he could keep an eye on the witches himself.

"I was informed he had an accomplish, yes? Is her location known to any of you?

 

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

@EQ_Theta @Storm Shine

The yelling and annoying pebbles drew the mare's attention, causing her beam to narrowly miss the group, and embedding a large chunk of crystal into the mine wall.

The words she were given though... If Belladonna hadn't made her angry before, then Lin certainly had now. Her eyes flared with rage, and she spoke through clenched teeth as more some more crystal moved across her body, apparently fueled by the seething hatred that were being ignited at the impudence of what she saw as lower life forms.

"You dare?!"

With how enraged Filigree were at her now, she didn't miss the vial that the mare were trying to use either however, and stomped hard in the ground with her front, right hoof, causing a smaller tremor whilst crystals grew up between the longma hybrid and Belladonna. A little late in it though, unless it startled Lin and caused her to stop pouring too early.

"Nopony will escape. You wi-Argh!"

Taking advantage of the distraction to act rather than attempt to escape, Belladonna had launched the last two needles of green liquid into the neck of the deranged, crystal bat pony. It was a far higher dosage than she would ever normally use, but the first hadn't seemed to do much, and she could wait to take one at a time. She would only get one shot, and with the small smirk she sent Lin, she knew well what would happen because of it too, mere seconds before she were blasted and turned into smooth, multi-colored crystal. The somewhat satisfied expression were frozen on her face, and would remain so until they would be able to free her, or if the liquid had hit her leg, if she were able to maneuver well enough to free herself. Depending on if they could make sure that she wasn't just smashed to bits by Filigree that were.

"Now it's your turn, you impudent welp!"

Filigree had no interest in taking this outside, unless she had to hunt for the longma, so unless Lin wanted to be on an easy home field for Filigree, she would do best in running and luring the mare outside right away, or use her portals to escape. Otherwise, the next beam might not miss her, and who then would get back to warn the others?

Meanwhile, at the others, Sen were getting to feel how Shrimp were feeling better.  Namely that his bites were getting more insistent as he struck at the claws like a snake would, and trying to wriggle the catch away. General playtime like he had with Lin, but with more body parts than toys basically. A good way in seemingly having the little creature accept him more, which could only be a good thing, considering how often the refraction would likely hang around with them too in the future. Not always because Omen were off doing something stupid, but the option were certainly there.

Rosa observed this, but mostly his gaze rested on Sen as he let out something that were seemingly a little touchy for him. An understandable feeling considering he subject matter he'd say. Getting exiled sounded absolutely horrid, depending on the village he lived in. Some smaller towns he had infiltrated back in the days were... Troubling, to put it mildly, and not places he'd suggest to anypony looking for a stable home. Yet Sen seemed to be less joyful about leaving his home, which likely meant it was one with some happy memories in, before his exile.

"I'm sorry for your loss. Can't have been easy for you."

Now, he knew what it was like to have lost home and never be welcome again. He had turned traitor to redeem himself somewhat, and there was an outstanding warrant for his arrest if he got anywhere near his former home, so that chapter was closed. It meant leaving his father behind, but the old stallion were barely there as it were now. His mind had been slipping in recent years, and it had gotten so bad that he could barely remember Rosa anymore unless he were taken through it for hours on end, and it just took longer every visit. It was painful to watch, but unfortunately, that was one of the things that could happen in the line of duty. It put a lot of stress on the mind to be a spy for that town, and his father had eventually cracked.

It had gotten easier for Rosa to simply think that his father was no more. He was just a husk of the stallion that had once been, unable to recollect a life that was already highly redacted in the first place. His real father would eventually pass on and find his peace when the husk couldn't anymore, and when it happened, Rosa would be able to stop grieving for him. It would be the first joyful time in a long while, and harsh at it might sound, it was likely for the best that he had the last memories of the stallion be of one of his rare, lucid moments, where the two of them had been able to enjoy things for about a half hour, rather than seeing him in his final stages. It would only make it hurt more.

The moment had been how his hunt had started off too originally. His father had remembered a box he had placed a few items in that his mother had left behind, which had intrigues Rosa as he had no memories off her. Only a single photo from when he were returned from the hospital, a few months before she left quietly. The details he had found out however, were less than pleasant. Things his father had chosen to hide rather than address, which made his original hopeful thoughts on how he could find her and perhaps reunite in joy, a thought that withered and died away the more he read.

The words on how they were simply pawns in her game, and the overall feeling of contempt for them both shone through wuite clearly, which he could imagined must have been hard to hear from his father originally. He had not deserved to hear that from the mare he thought loved her, and when Rosa had read them, he had begun to think that he did the right thing in keeping this from his son.

With what he read as he went through, a thing had stood out though, beyond the horrid, snide comments, and that were that she had some degree of grander plan that she had worked on for a long time, and with the last piece from Darkenhold, she would finally have it. It caused him to follow some old leads and eventually find another, more private residence of hers, that contained more information. Most of which he had in the file he carried now, that had brought him to attempt to track her down and stop her mad plan.

He had also discovered however, that he had some other family. At least he had at some point, though so far it was hard for him to track him down. Filigree had never named the colt, and the papers in the Canterlot orphanage were gone, lost in a small fire some years prior to that. And as for them telling him... Well, that was of course out of the question according to their policy, regardless of the situation. It wasn't as if he could prove his heritage regardless, so he could understand them.

Things from there had been slow, what with looking for Filigree and getting exiled, but he at least knew that his brother were alive, and in some capacity worked in Canterlot. It were something to go by, once they were done with everything here. Whenever that would happen. Hopefully soon, as otherwise, they'd end up with an unprotected mine and an even more irritated forepony.

"Hunting techniques and traps could be useful here. Would you be able to do something effective with some blades, the materials in sight, and/or a length of robe? We might as well use the time productively."

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

 

@Battenberg

Toxen exhaled a drawn out, impressed whistle as she looked around.

"Daaaaang. Swanky cribs gal. Really got that mysterious vibe right on the money. I dig he laugh too. Gives me the heebie jeebies."

She had heard about places like this, but not surprisingly, zebra's didn't hang out in dragon land, so reading some stories and studying a few of their recipes were the best she had been able to do thus far. It had made her able to mix better for sure, but she were still a special class kid compared to the all stars of the equines.

"Anywho, we're here to get some help for a dragon actually. My dad's having a hard time sleeping here on his first time away from the main land, and it's getting dangerous. I tried giving him some things, but it haven't worked, and my mom's pretty against him trying pony meds. Side effects from improper use and all that, you know the drill.

My main girl though -"

Toxen grabbed hold in Pop's shoulder and dragged her a little closer.

"- thought that perhaps going for some zebra help could do the trick. I mean, I ain't here to generalize, but I haven't heard of one of you folks that ain't a master at mixing and matching a potion in times of need, and we figure it's less prone to side effects from being used on dragons.

Think you can help us champ?"

Toxen stuck a hand beneath her left wing and pulled out a tough leather pouch, slightly dangling with bits. Since she didn't wear pants or anything, she needed some place to hold some bits in case it was needed, so she just had it tied up at the thin start of her wing. Seemed to work fine soon as she had gotten used to it sometimes slapping into the membrane when it was windy.

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

 

@Dji

"I wasn't a pet. A heavy heart filled with concerns, found love in the midst of her guilt for a creature that was not to be. It means more than blood ever could."

After his trip with the Traveler, Zhu had learned the truth of how his egg had come to be damaged, and how Celestia had inadvertently been part of both that, and what else had happened. Some would have been angry about that being hidden from them, but to him, it just made him long for her presence that much more. To think how much love she could shower upon a cursed child, when she must have felt guilt over watching him, and knowing what had happened to leave him alone... It were a burden that he could not imagine bearing.

She hadn't done it completely alone though. There had been one other mare, that she had trusted more than anypony to look out for him when she needed to be elsewhere. Spring Breeze were a kind pony that did what she could to help, and she kept silent about him until the end of her days, even as she retired from the castle.

He had visited her grave a few times when he had the chance, and cleared it of debris. It were a small, sentimental thing, but he felt like he owed her at least that much, seeing as he had not always been an easy kid to deal with. Especially not when it came to trying to explain why he couldn't let others see him, even if he couldn't look at them. Solitude were a tough thing to convince a child about, and he sometimes regretted not having seen her again a last time whilst he had the chance. It was simply too risqué when it came to her perhaps telling Celestia.

"What's weird? Do you see something?"

If so, physical contact might have something to do with what could trigger her. She had just brushed against his robe, so it could be something to think of it if it were, though it could as easily be related to what he had said. Oracles were weird sometimes.

Edited March 6, 2018 by Blitz Boom

[FanOfManyShows 396]

@Blitz Boom

Sapphire lowered her head. "Yes he did have an accomplice. She can pass from body to body at will, so I do not know of her current location, but I last met her at the Castle in the Everfree forest." She pointed into the distance, towards the Everfree Forest. "But just know, she is my sister, so I'd like her to stay alive."

Astral started to slow down her pace, treading behind them. "Well if it's really needed we might need to kill her."

Sapphire stopped walking, turning her around to look to Astral. "I've already done that once, and then she found herself trapped in a statue. I'd rather not do it again." She said, turning around and continuing to walk, Astral following suite.

[Lucid_Nightlight 923]

@EQ_Theta @Storm Shine @Blitz Boom

"Yea, I'll keep that under consideration."

Lucid thought for a moment about the mind reading thing.

"It's weird, it's like a secret document with certain things blacked out. Especially in the secrets compartment about you, all I could find is something about a cult or something, so basically bits and pieces about boring backstory stuff."

It was plausible that Lucid simply wasn't powerful enough to fully read secrets quite yet, which is a bummer. What's the point of reading minds if you can't get all the juicy secrets?

Edited March 7, 2018 by Lucid_Nightlight

[Victoria Sponge 1,017]

@Blitz Boom

Ahadi thought for a moment before trotting over to a book shelf and pulling out a big dusty book. On it's cover a crimson dragon grinned slyly, a wisp of green smoke curling up from its mouth as it's gem eye shimmered in the candle light.

"Brewing potions is what I do, I'm sure I can find the right one for you."

She chuckled and flipped open the book flicking through hundreds of pages each detailing the complex instructions for crafting potions designed either to aid or hinder the scaly reptiles. She stopped suddenly on a page displaying a pencil sketched dragon curled up on a pile of treasure fast asleep.

"This one should do the trick, but I'll need a few more ingredients for I am short on supplies."

She stared at the list and read off the items she lacked, a dragon scale, a long pony hair and one foxglove.

"Only one of these items is not already in the room, I know not whether removing a scale will hurt you but I only require one. As for a long hair, you seem to have plenty of those."

She pointed at Victoria who brushed her mane out of her face and moved her tail behind her out of sight.

"I-I don't know... I do treasure my mane and tail."

"Of course you fret, my dear filly, but to defend one hair is just plain silly."

Victoria thought about it, her mane was a mess and she really didn't care that much about a single hair but she'd been looking around at all the items in the zebra's shop and had spotted something she rather liked the look of.

"I'll give you a hair if I can have that flower."

The flower in question was in a tall vase of blue glass, it was solitary but very pretty, a brilliant shade of pink. Victoria's eye for beauty was showing.

"I've seen the amazing things zebras can do and a flower that gorgeous is hard to come by, I think it would look great in my mane, in place of the missing hair."

Ahadi chuckled

"A strange request young mare, but I will grant it, such flowers can be grown with a very simple spell and I believe it will suit you. The flower does not require water and will never wilt, I'm sure you can make better use of it than I."

Victoria allowed her to pluck a long red hair from her head which was then placed in a small glass vile ready to meet with the other ingredients, the zebra then presented Victoria's payment to her. Victoria straightened her mane a little and slid it to the side so it no longer covered her eye entirely. She slipped the stiff stem of the immortal flower through her hair, holding it in place as if the flower were a hair pin. She smiled looking very satisfied with herself.

Ahadi looked now to Toxen

"Now for your contribution, I do not require one from you if you do not wish to remove one but that will be something else for you to find outside of my store, along with the foxglove of course. And as for your money, if you fetch me a bag of coals on your way to fetch the flower I will require no payment from you."