open Casual stroll

Storm Shine · March 25, 2018

Discord rolled in the air slightly, chewing on a bite of tea-pot. "You know.." He mentioned, feeling himself to be in a helping mood, "There's a loop-hole there you should watch for." The chaos spirit swallowed his bite of tea-cup before tossing the rest to the side, where it exploded into butterflies and flew off, "It's made of chaos energy and while generally energy cannot be destroyed (Conventionally at least, and trust me when I say it can be rather easily created with the right knowledge) it can still be absorbed." The mismatched being held up a stick resembling Lucid's which began to disappear into his paw, leaving nothing but empty space "Meaning any chaos being of sufficient power could probably drain your little stick for all it's worth." He chuckled as he floated upside-down above Fluttershy, idly playing with her mane a bit, "Just something to keep an eye on."

BloodDrops · March 25, 2018

On 23/03/2018 at 12:10 AM, Blitz Boom said:

@BloodDrops

Nerzhei snarled at Blood, as she started to whine over the slot her hooves had to go into were too small.

"Kick something to slide them on then. And if they still don't fit, live with it until tomorrow. I can't work on your body suit right now."

She were in pain and frankly not in the mood to deal with the negativity. If it wasn't because touching the mare were dangerous, and her hands were busy right now, she would have slapped Blood too. The tone had made her deserve it.

"And you're not gonna find him. He escaped on the train when he had the chance."

At this point, Nerzhei wasn't even sure if Blood were still listening, since the scatterbrained disease factory had started to play with a box like she was some sort of cat. Perhaps she should close the lid and send the mare off to some frozen thundra while she had the chane and just get this headache out of her life...

Several other things that she could do went through her head as she kept applying the creme and wrap her arm in, but it sadly wasn't as relaxing as she had hoped it would be. It was hard to get past the pain right now.

Blood blinked and kicked the side of the crate knocking the armour of her hoof getting freed. she smiled at her cleverness before getting out of the crate. She stared at Nerzhei with a blank expression processing the information about Slappy. He was her food bringer after all, she would ask Nerzhei to get her food when she wasn't as grumpy. Till then she would get something to eat herself.

She blinked at the bunny and licked her teeth and lips, that would be a good snack. Though Nerzhei wouldn't approve such a action. She glanced at the paste the dragon was using to heal herself and trotted over giving it a sniff, she decided to give it ago and placed her head in the gap licking the paste. It was sour but not bad so she continued to eat it. Hopefully there are not any side effects though not many that could affect her anyway. Though Nerzhei wouldn't be too impressed having to babysit Blood if she got stomachache or anything of that nature.

Victoria Sponge · March 25, 2018

@Blitz Boom

"A mare and a dragon? Interesting... You know dragons are known to-"

"Ok! Thanks Caramel, we don't need your advice right now! Haha. I personally thinks that's a great idea! Not that it's an idea, it's love right? Love who you want! It's probably more interesting than my relationship, all me and Evergreen do is...garden.... but a dragon, think of the posibilities!"

"I was just going to say that dragons are very sharp in places, be careful. I'm sure you are though, but better to be safe than sorry."

"That's true! It didn't really need saying though, if someone loves you they're not going to go around scratching you. Evergreen never sliced me with his shears, and I'm sure Paperback hasn't ever thrown one of her books at you."

Heather laughed and Caramel smiled, not quite a laugh but close enough, especially for such a monotonous pony.

"She has actually."

Heather laughed harder

"I stand corrected. Oh well, if the books were sharp and could actually do real damage to you then she wouldn't, I think you get my point."

"Of course."

"Anyway, it's nice that you are with a dragon, it's probably a whole different experience to dating a pony. I'm sad to hear that he's not sleeping properly, hopefully my foxgloves will help."

Heather looked sadly in Victoria's direction, thinking about the past they shared, about all the nights she'd gone to bed in tears, worried about what Victoria would say to her next, worried what words she'd use to break her. She looked towards Caramel and smiled, her unexpressive sister might not be big on smiles and hugs and gooey lovey stuff like that but she really made it clear that she loved Heather and would always protect her. Those nights Caramel had always climbed into Heathers bed and curled herself around her, warming her not just physically but emotionally. She had helped Heather to learn to always look on the bright side of things.

"Victoria was a bully, but like all bullies it was only because she wanted to hide the fact that she was hurting too. She's already learned she doesn't need to hide, it's clear she's still hurting, she's not sure of her current situation, all we need to do now is stop that hurt. I know I can turn her into the sweet pony she wants to be, the sweet pony that she really is inside."

"If anybody can do it, it's Heather."

"Thanks Cara."

Heather's eyes were wet, because of the sad memories or because of the hope for Victoria it wasn't clear but she was clearly very passionate about her family and wanted to do anything to help, even though Victoria had been nothing but evil to her in their late childhood. Caramel gave her a hug.

"Maybe you should stick with her for a while, if you want to go with her I can look after things here for a while. I'm not great at flowers but I'll try."

"Thank you Caramel, I might just take you up on that offer, I'm sure Evergreen is available to help you if you need him, he owes me one anyway. Um... I-is it ok if I come with you Pop? I don't have to but I really think I can help Vicky."

Lucid_Nightlight · March 25, 2018

@EQ_Theta @Storm Shine @Blitz Boom

Hearing about the little loophole scared Lucid even more. The thought of losing his reality warping just bothered him. He needed that power, due to many dangers he constantly faces.

He was about to bolt out of there and hide so no one can find him and take is power when suddenly a lightbulb appeared above his head.

"According to the manual, there is no rule against me making a transfer of that power out of that stick and into myself, so techniclly I could easily just have the abilities intertwine into my genetics."

Of course, the same rules and limitations of the stick would still apply, but at least his power wouldn't be absorbed.

"I need this power to protect my universe. Your Equestria has the Mane 6 to protect it, mine does not. My power is the only thing that can protect my world."

Lucid was serious, although he knew that Discord and Anomaly had no intention on taking his power, but what if something else just as powerful or even more powerful did? His world could be destroyed and he wouldn't be able to stop it.

"I know transferring the power into myself is possible considering I can do anything that isn't against the rules, which in this case it isn't. The problem is, I'll need either another reality warper or someone REALLY good with magic to do the transfer."

Lucid may have a powerful stick, but of course he's still just a pony. He didn't know if what he had to say got through to the two natural reality warpers, he didn't even know whether or not they had a conscience. Maybe they do, maybe they don't, he has no clue.

As for Discord, Lucid thought he may be willing to do it, considering how he knew Fluttershy would likely be pretty compassionate about his world and it's inhabitants and everyone knows Discord wants to be within good terms with Fluttershy.

And then there's Anomaly. Lucid didn't know what to think. Really after what he' seen... he found himself afraid her and what she might do to him and that definitely was easy to see.

Edited March 25, 2018 by Lucid_Nightlight

EQ_Theta · March 25, 2018

@Blitz Boom @Storm Shine

Perfect! Convenient for Lin to make quick work of the situation. Pouring down the liquid where Spelt's head likely was should get him out and breathing again. The rest of his body should be removed from the crystalline casing after some time but it's nothing to be too worried about. It makes the incoming freak-out and barrage of questions a little more intimidating that expected but at this point, Lin should have some experience to make it work. Or maybe the shock of waking up long after the threat has been dealt with will make things easier on her part. Relief works in many ways, after all, and Spelt could use some when he is free.

Meanwhile, Sen is waiting. Nothing on him could help remove the crystals along the rocks and Shrimp is too full to eat anymore of them. All that's left is to just sit around until Omen and Rosa returned. Amethyst might need a new batch of liquids after their work here is over.

"So, I take it you have some experience with this. Do you work with gems frequently or is it something you picked up in your line of work?" Sen asked Belladonna, still unsure what to make of the words she spoke to the forepony. Big words like those quickly lost their meaning on him but seeing that the forepony left without further questioning, this must be common in Equestria, or at least from the more learned population.

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@Blitz Boom @Storm Shine @Lucid_Nightlight

Now things were getting really confusing. Big words about a topic she knew nothing about left Fluttershy silent and clueless. It makes her wish she knew was everyone was on about but at the same time, it might be better not to know about it. It might keep her up at night. But, Discord playing with her mane kept her thoughts off it almost immediately, quietly chuckling while still playing with the lizard in her vicinity.

That said, the discussion did present some opportunity to pass on something to think about. Lucid is right about Fluttershy and her friends being Equestria's protectors but over time, it extended. They have gained allies along the way and while they aren't exactly in agreement to a whole host of things, they'd be ready to protect their home when evil forces come around.

"You know, Lucid, maybe your responsibility to protect your world doesn't have to be yours alone. I... I mean, maybe it doesn't have to involve giving up your powers to somebody else but you could find others who share that sentiment to protect the world, maybe friends? Or... I guess I'm not understanding this so well and you can forget what I just said."

Edited March 25, 2018 by EQ_Theta

FanOfManyShows · March 26, 2018

@Blitz Boom

The general smirked at them. "Well you would've been quite useful earlier when we fought Warlock." He looked at Null for a moment, seeing a tinge of the jealousy she looked at him with. "If there's anything you need I'll try to ensure you're provided with it." He looked to Screecher when she spoke. "Well then we should make our way to the meeting hall, Will they be following us?" He asked, pointing to Astral and Sapphire with his hoof.

Sekel · March 26, 2018

@Blitz Boom

KARMIC FATE

Karmic stepped away from the wall and gingerly rubbed her head with a pained expression. She groaned and winced and stepped backwards until her rump hit the wall opposite. The wall she did headbutt though crumbled away into hoof-sized stones, revealing yet another passageway that looked straight as an arrow.

”Can I go home?” Karmic murmured in a great amount of pain. She slowly opened her eyes and sniffled, looking into the void beyond. “No torches. Anypony got a light?”

Blitz Boom · March 27, 2018

@Dji

"If you can steady yourself with patience, I can light your path."

It would take Zhu about four minutes of chanting some kind of spell to conjure up a small sphere of light. During this, he would sound quite a bit more like the snake you would expect him to, as he couldn't cast magic effectively when he had to half-growl the words out.

While he tended to have some spells pre-cast for certain situations ready on his person, he didn't normally use light like this, so he had to go from scratch with that. Between him tasting the air and what he could learn from listening and using the wind, he tended to work well enough in areas with little to no light to not consider it a real hindrance. He would honestly have relied on this further and just led Karmic on if needed normally, but she seemed distressed, and he needed her somewhat aware, instead of headed towards panic, or they could end up being trapped here for longer. Nopony said that just because one wall had gone down, that they were free.

If she had wandered on in the meantime, he would find her, otherwise he would simply look down the path she had uncovered, with the dim light casting a pale shade over the bricks.

"Nothing good comes from lingering here, Let us seek an exit."

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@Lloyd

Null didn't answer, but just narrowed her eyes further while keeping the harsh things she had to say in her own head. It was normally something she would be more than happy to share, but Void were right. They needed to try and gain some favor here, and her cursing out this pony for being able to enjoy the sky that had been taken away from her wasn't going to help. Though if he tried to spit this in her face, so help her Celestia...

The rest of the trip to the meeting went on in silence from the sibling's side, while Screecher had a few guards come to her that needed to be directed, so she were occupied on the walk towards the throne room.

Upon arriving, they'd find Dew standing on one side, shaking his head, while Scorn had his right hand planted on his head, and looked like he were trying to do his best to not destroy something.

"This could prove to be a problem."

"That doesn't even begin to describe it."

The dragon stomped on a nearby pillow in frustration. Whatever they had walked into, it didn't seem to bode too well for what should have been a meeting to discuss the aftermath of the fight they had all ended up winning.

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@EQ_Theta @Storm Shine

"Amethyst? How long have i-"

Spelt had a surprisingly light voice considering his overall demeanor and appearance, and from the sound of things, had expected to be released from this sooner or later. However, as his eyes focused and saw who it were that he were faced with, it became apparent that it was not by whom he had expected. It wasn't even a pony.

"...How long was in there for?"

A small amount of fear was rising in his voice, as he contemplated that it had been so long that Amethyst and the others were dead. perhaps even so long that there wasn't ponies around anymore, ad Equestria had been taken over by whoever and whatever this was? Did Filigree get her will after all?

His eyes darted from side to side while his heart raced on, looking for some kind of indicator that could tell him what had gone on. That's when his eyes settled on a few mining picks and hard hats that had been left after he had told his workers to run when she approached. Exactly where he had seen them drop, and just ads dirty as you would expect, leaning up against the coal of the walls. Surely this meant that it could n't have been that long, right? It couldn't have stayed pristine for years upon years... Could it?

Meanwhile, at the mine, Belladonna shook her head slightly and pointed towards the clusters of gems around the area.

"I observed them after Filigree were taken down, and you can see the slow growth of them if you focus. Considering how consistent it have been thus far, I merely made a preliminary conclusion that it would have a slow, stable growth rate until it was affect by an outside force, such as a living being.

It is merely a hypothesis, as I have not gotten enough time to research them, but it sufficed as a tentative conclusion, and satisfied the forepony to a degree where he stopped begin against us, and instead worked with us. It served the purpose better."

Though she still considered it a good guess, it were true that it were merely that: A guess. She needed more data to be able to say something for certain, but sometimes the situation required a snap judgement, and this had been the most efficient in her mind.

A few seconds after she replied to Sen, a gate opened, and Rosa wandered out, followed by Omen. The former were carrying a small box on his back, which would be full of vials they could use to clean this mess up, which he put down on the ground when they were fully through.

"Amethyst were willing to spare some flasks for our usage, long as we promised to ensure that Spelt got safely loose. Try not to use the entire box though. We will need to return to the other locations Filigree were in after this so we can clear them out as well."

He'd start off by popping the lid and taking one vial out, then go to the first cluster he saw and slowly pour it out, a few drops at a time. All the while, Belladonna stared at him unblinkingly, looking for the way to do this correctly.

Omen in the meantime just went over towards Discord, and looked up at him with curiosity in her eyes, wondering what he was thinking about now that things were more calm in it. She had been asked to not handle the vials, so it was the only thing she could think about doing now, until she managed to think of a question to ask somepony, or got an order/asked for help.

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@EQ_Theta @Storm Shine @Lucid_Nightlight

Anomaly grinned when she saw that Lucid seemed to be in awe of her might.

"Yup, I'm all powerful and strong."

She's lying, she cheated.

Hey shush, I did no such thing.

You mutated a patch of your leg to be like Lucid. it was the only way you could lift the stick.

Awh come on. It's not fair. I just made him think I was strong and stuff!

Yeah well, I can't have the other characters get all riled up over nothing. Besides, you'd use this against him for little reason, and things are already a little tense.

Anomaly rolled her eyes and looked at the others after her little *off panel* discussion with the author.

"Fine fine, I cheated, sue me. Here, lemme show you."

She tried to do it again, yet this time, nothing happened. A few more attempts were going on until she gave up ad went on to pouting.

"Boo, it doesn't fall for it anymore.

Meh, nevermind, it was a stupid stick anyway. It'd be way better if you took in its power and just tossed it away. Oooh, perhaps you'd turn into a draconequus then? Can that happen? Does it say in the guide book?"

What had started off with her in a smaller bad mood for not being able to dupe the stick anymore, turned to her with a glimmer in her eye and a gleeful tone as she went on to talk about a potential magical overload mutating Lucid. Mutations was her her favorite thing ever, and it sounded more fun than Fluttershy's idea about getting friends to help with it. Her plan was better, obviously, but it wasn't as fun, and what was the point of it all if it wasn't going to be entertaining?

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@Battenberg

Heather wasn't the only one who had misunderstood things at the start. Pop had too, and the blooming blush that had spread on her cheeks had made it hard for her to cover that up.

"I-I know, scales, claws and all that... Really, it's not so bad as you think. His scales are pretty tough, but they're not spiky unless he's shedding, and that's not something that happens a lot."

Well, he could also have cut himself at work and gotten a few uneven spaces then, but he didn't do that so often, and the conversation was already veering away anyway, so the window to say this were fading. It was odd how many varied responses she got to this in their family though. They seemed to be okay with it, but it had gone through a lot of *be careful* to *that sounds lovely* with the varied ones. Of course, acceptance were still the most important thing, but as she listened on to what Heather told of her past with Victoria, the thought just struck her for some reason.

"I'm sure that Victoria will stay a lovely pony, and keep shining through, long as she has her family and friends to keep her chin up.

I'm uhm... Actually trying to get her a date too. She said she wouldn't mind the help and I know a stallion that reminds me a lot about her. Quite stubborn and direct too, and kind of a neat freak, but it's not so bad once you get used to it and don't touch his shears."

She had done that once, and that was plenty enough. Snip Snap hadn't assaulted her or cursed her out, but the way he had reacted had left a damper on things for the rest of her appointment.

As it were mentioned that Heather would like for them to go and see how things were with Toxen and their cousin, Pop nodded and wandered over towards where she had seen the go off to, though she turned to Caramel before they'd really get away. She was a strange mare. Seemingly melancholic and gloomy, yet still smiled and hugged her cousin when the time had come for that. A fascinating mare, she were sure, but they had to get on their way.

"We should properly go. See you soon Caramel."

She assumed that they would, once they went to pay for the foxglove, so she didn't say goodbye yet as she turned and began to actually wander towards her friends. In case they were leaving and only dealing with Heather again however, she had to remember to send her best back with the clumsy mare.Wouldn't feel right to just leave Caramel hanging.

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@BloodDrops

Nerzhei glared at Blood, irritated that she would contaminate the last of the remedy that she had used to try and get her arm at least a little better. She still had her hand and half the lower part of her arm to cover, but at it looked now, the box it had come from would be too dangerous to take anything from.

The irritation was barely noticed however, against the fury that were starting to rise after the zombie had dared to look towards her bunny like she were some kind of prey animal.

"If you so much as try to touch Lotus, I will send you to Tartarus myself."

Her voice were cold and dripped with poison as she leaned down so her furry friend could jump up on her shoulder. Lotus did not seem all too happy being within reach of the zombie mare either, so she happily went uo and then pulled her tongue at Blood, when she were safely out of reach.

The dragoness wished she could actually touch this one without it causing trouble for herself, as she reaally wanted to punish Blood for what she had done just in the last few minutes. Taking her remedy and threatening her friend were things that separately already made her hostile, but combining them while she were in pain? If it had been anypony else, she would have retaliated.

As it stood now, best she could do were to set fire to her, but she had morals that made her reluctant to go down that route, even now. Plus, considering how riddled with disease Blood were, who were to say that the ashes wouldn't just spread and cause a massive pandemic event? It was perhaps a foolish idea, but she didn't know enough to say for sure that it wouldn't happen, so she wouldn't want to take the chance. Being known as the one who destroyed Equestria were not a legacy she would want to her name.

Lucid_Nightlight · March 27, 2018

@Blitz Boom @EQ_Theta @Storm Shine

Lucid's fear was gone, honestly... he wasn't even mad. That was a clever trick!

He looked at the stick and asked himself something.

"What if I simply ate it?"

The stick glowed and a sticky note appeared. He began to read.

"Eating the stick can cause one of two results, intertwining the power into the DNA or death, it's 50/50 chance."

He thought for a moment... death? That's not very fun.

"Well, wish me luck!"

Lucid then proceeded to consume the stick. His whole body began to glow as be screamed in immense pain. He fell to the ground, it looked as if he was dead.

He then sprung right up and started spawning a whole bunch of chickens.

"Well, it seems I'm not dead."

Lucid then began to test something. He ripped himself in half only for there to be two of him. Sure, something above continent level could do damage to him since the same rules still apply, but still!

"It feels as if another species is a part of me, but I can't confirm that, but n- wow... any potential children I have will probably be pretty difficult to take care of in their early stages... but who cares!?"

Lucid was 16, so that issue was many years down the road.

"So... What now?"

BloodDrops · March 27, 2018

5 hours ago, Blitz Boom said:

Nerzhei glared at Blood, irritated that she would contaminate the last of the remedy that she had used to try and get her arm at least a little better. She still had her hand and half the lower part of her arm to cover, but at it looked now, the box it had come from would be too dangerous to take anything from.

The irritation was barely noticed however, against the fury that were starting to rise after the zombie had dared to look towards her bunny like she were some kind of prey animal.

"If you so much as try to touch Lotus, I will send you to Tartarus myself."

Her voice were cold and dripped with poison as she leaned down so her furry friend could jump up on her shoulder. Lotus did not seem all too happy being within reach of the zombie mare either, so she happily went uo and then pulled her tongue at Blood, when she were safely out of reach.

The dragoness wished she could actually touch this one without it causing trouble for herself, as she reaally wanted to punish Blood for what she had done just in the last few minutes. Taking her remedy and threatening her friend were things that separately already made her hostile, but combining them while she were in pain? If it had been anypony else, she would have retaliated.

As it stood now, best she could do were to set fire to her, but she had morals that made her reluctant to go down that route, even now. Plus, considering how riddled with disease Blood were, who were to say that the ashes wouldn't just spread and cause a massive pandemic event? It was perhaps a foolish idea, but she didn't know enough to say for sure that it wouldn't happen, so she wouldn't want to take the chance. Being known as the one who destroyed Equestria were not a legacy she would want to her name.

Blood blinked swallowing the healing paste, she would much prefer the bunny but that was definitely off-limits, same rule applied for Nerzhei as well. She snorted and blew air though her nostrils grumpily as Nerzhei presumed she would do something like eat the bunny, they were too hard to catch at any rate. "No i'm eating this paste for my own amusement" she grumbled into the barrel taking another mouthful of the stuff, she noted the bunny getting up on Nerzhei and the more hostile approach coming from the dragon, like she had the right to judge her after all she was a predator which made Blood chuckle at the hypocritical stance Nerzhei was taking. Was like a sheep moaning about grass giving it indigestion.

After she had finished her laugh or her throaty cough whatever you thought it sounded like. She tilted her head and stared at Nerzhei licking the paste off her teeth, "Have you seen me chasing the bunny? Am I currently trying to eat her? Hmmm? Indeed she would be much a better meal then whatever this paste is, its simply horrid. Though I'm eating it so I don't get hungry and try to eat something you would get very angry at. After all yourself and Lotus would be my first targets if I suddenly went feral." I snorted sitting down and wiping my face, that paste got everywhere.

"Unfortunately I don't have the luxury of simply opening my wings, flying around some before burning a deer or something that wont go missed. Or be able to miss a meal here and there. I miss a meal and I turn feral and eat whatever is nearest, or more accurately eat everything thats around. That's not even the worst part, how would you like waking up one morning, in a burnt out village because you burnt it all the night before coz you got hungry? You wouldn't remember doing the deed or at the very least get some hazy flashbacks of the event. " I explained blinking at the dragon, she wouldn't probably understand.

I sat down and let out a yawn, "I don't judge you for not liking me, I don't like me. If I had the option of being locked away without contaminating everyone then sure, I would take that. But that option isn't on the table is it? If you put me in a box even a metal one it would eventually rot or rust and I get out feral as anything. Drop me off in the furthest part of Equestria, and I would eventually come across somepony eventually, oh while im feral. Even banishing me to Tartarus or the Moon for that matter would eventually cause me to spread this disease, Would you want a plague ridden Nightmare Moon? Cerberus? I wouldn't. Even burying me or burning me would spread the disease" I smirked staring at her, I glanced at the armour "You even think that might solve all my problems while you try and work on a cure?" I snorted at the notion, nothing ever worked.

"Though if you think i'm being unreasonable or irresponsible, then how about you eat me and you can be the guardian of this disease whatever it is" I remarked. "saves me waking up worrying if i ate anything of importance. I'm tired of it Nerzhei" I blinked up at her, "Your not the first creature that's tried to help me, or come up with a solution to my problem" I grunted. "I've done that whole thing before, got my hopes up on being cured, being promised you will be safe and wont spread my contagion" I growled. "I've done many things before, tried many things before with creatures like yourself dating back eons; you want the end result of all these schemes and ideas?" I whispered moving closer to the crate, my eyes getting more watery. I didn't want to cry in-front of the dragon, so I turned my back on her.

"First idea, think of a lovely coastal town, ponies there thought covering me in shells would work. Though one of them touched me and ended up gong feral. 5 dead before that was safely contained. Second idea was from a couple, they decided keeping me in a box was safe, oh that worked until one of them forgot to lock the box, I ended up feeding on them both while they slept, then waking up in time to realise I was a murderer. Now the third idea, got handed into the village elder from a tribe of Zebra, he did many healing rituals and all that happened was one of the rituals backfired and turned them all into walking skeletons. You know what happened on the last attempt to cure me, that's why I don't believe in a cure, there isn't one." I kicked the crate so the lid shut ontop of me.

"The best thing you can ever do is lock me deep underground and hope that nothing gets infected. Should take a few hundred years for this crate to rot at any rate, Put me behind a solid steel door and give yourself another thousand. Least I wouldn't have caused any problems for a few generations. Shame i'm immortal though" I sighed it was probably my birthday soon or death day though I'd lost count.

Victoria Sponge · March 28, 2018

@Blitz Boom

“Hi guys, found what you were looking for? If you have we should head over to that zebra.”

Victoria seemed surprised.

“You’re coming with us?”

“Heehee, yes! I think it would do you good.”

Heather seemed more pleased than Vicky who was now looking past her.

“Are you sure you want to come with us? I know how much you care about this shop... A-and Is that Caramel? I feel like I should say something to her, maybe on the way out.”

Heather pushed Victoria playfully, giggling.

”Oh there’s plenty of time to make things up with her Vicky! But if you want to say something to her quickly on the way out I’m sure she’d greatly appreciate that. And don’t worry about my shop... it can just close for a while I’m sure nobody will mind too much... no... wait... no, it’s fine because caramel is going to stay and look after it.”

She hit herself gently in the head with her hoof and huffed.

“Curse this scatterbrain... She’ll get Greenie... Evergreen, to help her so things will be...”

She trailed off, looking at a line of small potted topiaries, one of which was slightly further forward than the rest. She went to correct it but continued talking backward to the others.

“Anyway, we need to spend time together, both so you can become more optimistic and so I can learn to love you again... not that I don’t love you... of course I do, I just meant... hmm...”

she wasn’t sure how to continue, feeling she had upset Victoria, but the cake mare did not seem phased.

“Rekindle the love? Bring it up to the level it was before I turned against you?”

Heather turned back from her topiaries beaming widely.

”Exactly! It will be a bonding experience for both of us as well as a learning experience. Obviously you need more than just me but Pop seems to have that in-hoof, she’ll aid you from a friendly perspective rather than a family one. I hear she’s looking for a stallion for you, that will definitely do you some good.”

Heather winked at her cousin who blushed slightly and looked down.

“Y-yep. I’m sure that it will.”

”So, which foxglove have you two selected, I’m sure you found the best of the bunch!”

Edited March 28, 2018 by Battenberg

EQ_Theta · March 28, 2018

@Blitz Boom @Storm Shine

Lin could use a vial or two if there were other crystals she needed to look out for but it wasn't too big a concern at the moment. Sen picked up a few of the flasks and stored some in his pack. He handed two of them to Belladonna; more of them could shorten the work even if Omen wasn't really doing some at the moment but he understood if she needed to get something off her mind.

"You really could learn that much from just looking at the crystals grow, huh? That's impressive. I wouldn't know much about gems when you put it in those terms but I guess we shouldn't be worrying too much now."

Sen quickly set off to work removing some of the visible gems clinging on to the rocks nearby. Wouldn't want to make the forepony angry even more.

And speaking of Lin, she tried to keep herself steady while she pours out the contents of her vial. One wrong move and she would have to leave the pony behind for a while to get some more or get Shrimp to help out despite him being already full from consuming too many crystals. Then there were the questions, which she was all too happy to answer.

"Let's see... there were screaming workers running for their lives when I got here and shortly after, Filigree found me. I'd say you were encased for several minutes; half an hour is already pushing it. That's pretty lucky considering there were several miners encased for a longer time, probably years if I remember the ones from Fillydelphia correctly. Don't worry about them though, they've been freed and are safe. My name is Lin, by the way, and if you're looking to interrogate Filigree, feel free to come with me. She's subdued at the moment."

FanOfManyShows · March 31, 2018

@Blitz Boom

Iron Wing looked to the door of the throne room as they walked in, walking over to them. "Did something happen?"

Sapphire held her hoof to her gem, thinking over Null and Void's ability. "Better keep this safe" She said to herself under her breath, turning around and walking further away from them all, but not too far before she turned to face them again. "Whatever it is, couldn't be worse than Warlock."

Sekel · April 2, 2018

@Blitz Boom

KARMIC FATE

”Exit?” Karmic asked hopefully, treading closely behind Zhu. She inspected the walls around them but they were the same slate grey the rest of the passageways were. “Um ... are we lost?”

Blitz Boom · April 2, 2018

@Lucid_Nightlight @Storm Shine @EQ_Theta

Anomaly looked with big eyes as Lucid ate the stick, waiting for something crazy to happen.

There was so many things Lucid could go through now. He could implode, get transported randomly to another dimension, or the house they were in could become the center of a vortex of chaos! And that wasn't even thinking on the mutations. Glorious, life-changing mutations.

There was so much gleeful hype in her mind, and then... Nothing. He didn't change, there was no random chaos, and now he could suddenly just do things.

"Boooo, boring."

It was perhaps not the response Lucid wanted, but with all she had hoped for, this was exactly that to her: Boring, and a huge dud.

Yeah, he screamed and glowed a little, but that was nothing. Playing with electric eels did the same. And chickens weren't really special.

Yet, amidst her disappointment and boredom, Lucid suddenly split up into two, and made her perk up a little. It wasn't much (in her mind) but it was something at least.

"Neat. Do your halves share the brain? Are you different? Can I eat the chickens?"

She snapped her tail, and a large jar of BBQ sauce and a closed grill appeared next to her. Yeah yeah, the pet happy mare was in here, but these were random chickens, potentially magical. Sure she could eat them at least, right?

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

@BloodDrops

Nerzhei stomped hard in the ground at Blood's lucid moment of responses, and snarled at the little mare.

"And what else do you expect me to do?! I can't leave you, I don't know the risks of trying to end or trap you, and I can't let your horrors continue. I am doing everything I can realistically be expected to do to keep everyone safe from you, bar carrying you around in a basket!"

The dragoness prided herself on letting her brain control her actions,a nd being above her seething anger and other destructive emotions, but in her current state, her fuse were short. Her arm felt like a balloon where air kept getting blown into and then let out afterwards, just with the inner part of said balloon lined with sharp rocks, and she felt deflated from using that much magic before. She were not meant to overuse herself like this, and the consequences of it were painful, and grinding on her mind and body alike. Not to mention her patience and tolerance of something as infuriating as her entire encounter with Blood from start to now.

"I'm a scholar. I study and I learn how to deal with problems. I'm not a babysitter, a blacksmith, or a darned Zebra. Problems are... Grrr... Trial and error is the only way to handle, and this is the best you can get until I'm-"

She held her healthy hand to her forehead, and pressed in as the migraine started to explode in her head again. Because of course, the pain she already were in weren't enough, was it? It always had to get worse.

Lotus jumped down and went into the bag next to her, as Nerzhei fell on her rear and leaned up against a wall. The unfinished work with the bandages unraveled on her harmed arm, to which she responded by growling and twitching as every fold of cloth ran down her currently sensitive scales.

The bunny returned with a half bottle full of purple liquid soon after, and bounced towards her scaled friend with it held above her head. She did what she could to avoid Blood during this, as she didn't want the mare to suddenly just drink this too, though the trip were only in a few inches, so she should not have the chance to anyway, before Nerzhei's shaking hand went from her head and clutched the bottle.

Three gulps were the most she had ever drunk of this, and likely more than the apothecary would have told her were acceptable, but she didn't care right now. The pain was making her erratic and unable to think straight, and three gulps were the time it took for the fog to lift a little from her head again. It didn't help on her arm though, but what were the chance of that being the case either? That would require luck she generally didn't have.

"...Studying will take time, and effort. Magic clearly can't solve it on its own, neither can detaining you. It needs something biological,.."

She spoke slowly, as she had an easier time to think, and analyze what she had been told by Blood before. of what had been tried, and the disaster that followed it.

"Biology is science. It changes and evolves, finds cures for things that weren't before. Someone have to have some theories to work from. Tests to do. Nothing is impossible. It just takes time, and you have enough of that."

It was hard to not fly off the rail and be aggressive right now, but she were trying hard to not blow up again. She needed to think on everything now, and her arm hurting were doing enough to mess with her head. It clouded her judgement and her empathy, of which she might have had some otherwise for the mare who were bound to end everyone around her sooner or later, and see attempts to save her fail.

"Didn't think much of it before, but I heard some pony in town yesterday, speaking about a town of scientists and researchers. If the zebra's traditional ways can't help you, perhaps someone in that place can."

Truth be told, she had thought on it, but she weren't sure if he were telling the truth, and even if he were, if she would be welcome to see that place for herself. Being a dragon in pony land had some boundaries that were hard to cross, and what research she mainly did were controversial. Not many she had met so far had been willing to think that the book she found were true, and scientists would be especially critical. Yet if what methods she had prepared to take into use were going to be pointless, what did she have to loose by trying this? It wasn't as if she had other ideas before this anyway.

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

@Lloyd

"An unexpected, and potentially dangerous turn of events."

The two faced towards Wing as he went inside and asked his questions, though Scorn's kept on Sapphire, rather than lingering on the new general. Even when he reached down into the sack he had been carrying in here to begin with, and withdrew a small, glass box. Heavily inscribed and meant to keep something secured within it, however, there were nothing in there, except a shard of glass.

Sapphire should be able to tell what had been in there with some ease, as she had experience with the Elements of Disharmony, and should be able to tell that there were traces of the Element of Deceit lingering on it, as well as something foreign. A trace that didn't seem to fit with the rest of the spells on the box.

"The serpanther stole the element."

"We haven't been able to determine that for sure, but it seems the most likely."

"Who else would take it, pony? All that talk about balance is as close to a confession as anything, and so is his escape from your prison."

The former general let out a small sigh as the dragon growled out his responses, frustrated with the duty that he had failed so soon after arriving in the pony capitol.

"As I said, it is the most likely scenario. We have Warlock now, so it will decrease the danger, but his associate is still out there somewhere.

I have informed Captain Hailstorm that he should try and find out where she is, when he interrogates Warlock, but for the time being, we have an uncontrolled, likely dangerous situation on our hooves. I hope you can provide us with a brighter outlook on the situation. General Wing, start by presenting us to these three, if you would."

Dew pointed towards Sapphire, Null and Void, as he didn't know these and had to be informed why they were there before they went on. They were also waiting for another of their generals, but her arrival could happen at any time. Better to just catch her up when she did, rather than wait.

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

@Dji

"There is no guarantee that this will lead to an exit, but it is a road we had not wandered before. It seems the best bet that we have for now."

Perhaps it was all just another illusion, or they would wander into another layer of this trap, but they wouldn't know until they tried to traverse it.

Zhu helped to check the walls as they made their way, to see if perhaps there were other paths through like the ones that Karmic had discovered before, though he suspected that she would find them before him. She seemed to have a sense for getting visions on where they were, and he had not even known the first path existed before she showed it to him. By all accounts, this were going to be her great escape, and him simply being a supporting role in her adventure. Though granted, when you heard adventure, you thought of ruins and treasure. Hardly ever did it mean *wander aimlessly through the darkness in a featureless area*. At least not in the stories he had been told, when he were growing up.

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

@Battenberg

Toxen were chuckling through most of the exchange between Heather and Vicky. This family were interacting somewhat similar to Vicky every time, but there was just some nuances to it that still kept it fresh and funny to her. It was perhaps not the best reaction to what was likely a very touching moment - which were cemented in her mind from seeing Pop roll her eyes at her - but she couldn't help it. She were the sort who looked for the funny side in everything, and unfortunately, that sometimes made some really delicate situations rather entertaining to her. She believed the ponies called it *Shoving your hoof in your muzzle*, whereas at home, they had a more crude term for it, that likely weren't liked in polite company like this.

"Yup, found ourselves a fresh lil' thing I recon. Mind having a look to make sure though?"

She reached a foxglove towards the pony, held rather delicately between two claws. Vicky had been a good help looking for 'em, so they had some time to sort trough and find what she assumed were the freshest of the bunch. She dealt with plants now and again in her own concoctions, but truth be told, Toxen worked more with the natural poison of animals than actual plants, even when she were working on making antidotes, and in Dragon land, you couldn't be stingy about the quality of the stuff you found. Weren't any flower dealers like this mare anywhere that she had seen back there, so you had to go find things yourself most of the time. Usually they weren't the best, so her quality control were a bit skewed. Also by the fact that it was really only mushrooms and moss hat could grow where she had grown up, but anyway, they had a mare who could quality control it here and now, so this should be all gravy.

"Gotta say, you ponies sure let go of grudges easily. Us dragons can hang on to small things for years, or even centuries. You folks just hug it out and begin on moving past it right away. Don't tell mom I said this, but I kinda envy you ponies for that."

"Is that why you keep hugging others?"

"Works for ponies, figured it was worth a shot. Really, your kind are pretty soft, so it's kinda like hugging a lumpy pillow. Still good and fuzzy, but not something you'd want to sleep on."

Toxen chuckled a little louder as she recalled how she had figured that one out first handed. Strange day it had been, but kinda fun too, and she had meant to check out how the police station looked from the inside anyway... Honestly.

"Benny says you get used to it, but my baby brother's still small in it, and he ain't got the muscle to beat me. Might make it easier.

Anyway, if the flower here good enough? I'd like to pay and be on my way then, so I can pick up the coal the zebra asked for too. Gotta fly off after that straight after this, even though I know how hard it's gonna be for you to not have me around Vicky. Heh"

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

@EQ_Theta @Storm Shine

"Some ponies sing well, others find great humor or dancing to be their minor skill. I have instead gotten an analytical mind, and use it to observe and calculate the things around me."

She were a horrible singer and dancer though, and her humor fell flat more often than not. Yet this were something that were part of the *minor skills* as she called them. Not something that were your specialty, and would aid you in your cutie mark all that often, but something that were supporting your general lifestyle. Social skills were what could be thought of by most of them, but she considered herself lacking in that, so she had begun thinking of them as minor, or supporting skills, as to include her own lesser specialty.

"The gems are but a short observation and a theory however. I need more data to be certain, but it seems this particular subject is not something worth studying, as the thing one should learn mostly from these are how to get rid of them."

She poured slowly over a cluster, and saw it melt away like she had poured warm water on ice. Effective concoction really. Perhaps she could save a small sample and test whatever it would be useful on other gems, and perhaps if it could be replicated by herself? There may well be a time when such a thing could be useful.

"Correct. The faster we get rid of these things, the better. Then we can get Filigree to a guard station and finally get some real answers here. Like where she left my brother."

"If he was left at a young age in this country, information would have to have been stored at the Canterlot Orphanage. They have a catalogue of adoptions through Equestria, with records spanning back 50 years, or until an adopted foal returns as a legal adult and gets permission to have his or her file removed, for privacy reasons usually. I would advise you to go to the guards and present your case, make sure to bring proof of your family ties, then ask for a DF-8945-H form. If approved, the orphanage would be obliged to tell you of the name of your brother, and you can then track him down from there through one of several professionals in Canterlot."

The bat pony stopped what he were doing and turned to look at Belladonna with genuine surprise.

"I appreciate the information, but how do you know the exact form for that?"

"I have considered adoption once things have gotten secure enough financially, and they informed me of several forms that had connection to them. The before-mentioned one being among them, though again, you will need to bring some proof. A visual will not be enough, but if you can get your mother to give a written testament to her leaving him behind and play your cards well, it may well be possible. If needed be, I can assi-"

She were interrupted by the stallion suddenly being over at her and embracing her. It was short, and awkward looking as she stood motionless and he seemed uncertain how to do this, but it had simply felt right to him in the moment.

"I'll take the help I can get. Thank you."

"It is customary to help, as I am to understand. As to help you further, I would suggest you wash your clothes with a soap concentration of 7%. It has several foreign objects stuck to the inside, and I can imagine that after the current situation, your sweat levels must have risen enough to make imprints or leave it to stick substantially, making it less usable for its apparent purpose."

Rosa's only response to that were to simply chuckle for a second, then shake his head and take a few steps back, leaving Belladonna to resume her work on the crystals as if nothing had happened. Strange one that mare, but so seemed all of them.

Meanwhile, in the mine, Spelt had gotten a little more reassured at the words Lin gave him, and slowly started to calm down from his fears about what the state of the world and his friends were, as well as the amount of time he had spent in this mine.

"So the crazy mare is subdued, it's only been a little while, and now you're saying my friends are free too? Praise Celestia, I thought we had lost them."

He was somewhat emotional, but even so, Spelt weren't crying on this. He simply felt a great deal of relief, and a weight on his shoulders beginning to chip away a little at a time, which were a strange feeling after all these years where it had weighed him down.

As the one in charge of keeping the mine going, he had always blamed himself for not seeing what Filigree had done before it was too late, and then not being able to save his friends, that got stuck with her for seemingly eternity. Sure, he had managed to pull Clayton out of there before it was too late, but there had still been so many others that he could do nothing for. And now here was this weird creature called Lin, telling him that the wrongs had been righted? Perhaps things would finally start to get better, even if he knew that there was still miners that hadn't been able to be saved. Those who had been far too gone even before Filigree showed her hoof to them, where one of them had been crushed into blocks of gems by her...

His teeth gritted as he thought on this, and his eyes hardened. If he got his hooves on her, he would make her pay for what she had done back then. The suffering, the families that had been left behind, and the lives that were lost, all because she wanted those stupid crystals. It was not worth all that was taken, and if he got a chance, he'd sure as all hay make sure she'd got what was coming to her.

Lucid_Nightlight · April 2, 2018

@Blitz Boom @EQ_Theta @Storm Shine

The two Lucids merged back into one.

"Sure, you can have the chickens, I'm not sure what I'd do with them all anyway."

"Honestly, I was hoping something crazy would happen. Something like me exploding and you'd have to clean me off the wall!"

Lucid thought of how cool that would be, not taking in account that he'd probably be dead or something.

BloodDrops · April 2, 2018

28 minutes ago, Blitz Boom said:

@BloodDrops

Nerzhei stomped hard in the ground at Blood's lucid moment of responses, and snarled at the little mare.

"And what else do you expect me to do?! I can't leave you, I don't know the risks of trying to end or trap you, and I can't let your horrors continue. I am doing everything I can realistically be expected to do to keep everyone safe from you, bar carrying you around in a basket!"

The dragoness prided herself on letting her brain control her actions,a nd being above her seething anger and other destructive emotions, but in her current state, her fuse were short. Her arm felt like a balloon where air kept getting blown into and then let out afterwards, just with the inner part of said balloon lined with sharp rocks, and she felt deflated from using that much magic before. She were not meant to overuse herself like this, and the consequences of it were painful, and grinding on her mind and body alike. Not to mention her patience and tolerance of something as infuriating as her entire encounter with Blood from start to now.

"I'm a scholar. I study and I learn how to deal with problems. I'm not a babysitter, a blacksmith, or a darned Zebra. Problems are... Grrr... Trial and error is the only way to handle, and this is the best you can get until I'm-"

She held her healthy hand to her forehead, and pressed in as the migraine started to explode in her head again. Because of course, the pain she already were in weren't enough, was it? It always had to get worse.

Lotus jumped down and went into the bag next to her, as Nerzhei fell on her rear and leaned up against a wall. The unfinished work with the bandages unraveled on her harmed arm, to which she responded by growling and twitching as every fold of cloth ran down her currently sensitive scales.

The bunny returned with a half bottle full of purple liquid soon after, and bounced towards her scaled friend with it held above her head. She did what she could to avoid Blood during this, as she didn't want the mare to suddenly just drink this too, though the trip were only in a few inches, so she should not have the chance to anyway, before Nerzhei's shaking hand went from her head and clutched the bottle.

Three gulps were the most she had ever drunk of this, and likely more than the apothecary would have told her were acceptable, but she didn't care right now. The pain was making her erratic and unable to think straight, and three gulps were the time it took for the fog to lift a little from her head again. It didn't help on her arm though, but what were the chance of that being the case either? That would require luck she generally didn't have.

"...Studying will take time, and effort. Magic clearly can't solve it on its own, neither can detaining you. It needs something biological,.."

She spoke slowly, as she had an easier time to think, and analyze what she had been told by Blood before. of what had been tried, and the disaster that followed it.

"Biology is science. It changes and evolves, finds cures for things that weren't before. Someone have to have some theories to work from. Tests to do. Nothing is impossible. It just takes time, and you have enough of that."

It was hard to not fly off the rail and be aggressive right now, but she were trying hard to not blow up again. She needed to think on everything now, and her arm hurting were doing enough to mess with her head. It clouded her judgement and her empathy, of which she might have had some otherwise for the mare who were bound to end everyone around her sooner or later, and see attempts to save her fail.

"Didn't think much of it before, but I heard some pony in town yesterday, speaking about a town of scientists and researchers. If the zebra's traditional ways can't help you, perhaps someone in that place can."

Truth be told, she had thought on it, but she weren't sure if he were telling the truth, and even if he were, if she would be welcome to see that place for herself. Being a dragon in pony land had some boundaries that were hard to cross, and what research she mainly did were controversial. Not many she had met so far had been willing to think that the book she found were true, and scientists would be especially critical. Yet if what methods she had prepared to take into use were going to be pointless, what did she have to loose by trying this? It wasn't as if she had other ideas before this anyway.

Blood frowned and snorted "Like to see you find a basket big enough to carry me" I said smirking at the dragon. "Though you would look rather funny it must be admitted" I added before getting out of the box. She watched Nerzhei as she put her hand to her head and watched quietly her eyes taking it in slowly. She began thinking about what she was seeing. She glanced as the Bunny hopped over to Nerzhei with some purple bottle. "Interesting, and I thought you were invincible, but apparently not" I commented with narrowed eyes moving closer to the dragon and the bunny, I watched as the dragons hand shakes and frowned more.

"Seems your weaker then you let on, Migraine perhaps? Or something more sinister entirely. Seems your hand is also affected, though your a scholar after all you should know that there is a positive and negative to every situation. Though your indeed correct, Biology does evolve and change though naturally the weaker perish and the strong survive, or the weaker evolves into something more stronger." she said blinking watching the dragon. "If you indeed want to go down the find a cure for me path there will be some rules, none of them are negotiable" Blood stated bluntly.

"Firstly you're not to over exert yourself, by doing so you make yourself weaker and put yourself in danger and others, you might not be too concerned about this since you probably think you can rest and whatnot, Though there is a flaw in this logic, my strength doesn't change it is a constant, so me at my strongest can beat you at your weakest, if that scenario ever occurs during one of my feral phases you won''t like the outcome. Fortunately your talking to me in my reasonable state unfortunately i'm as stable as Blitz fireworks next to a candle. You could be happily talking to me then find my teeth in your tail the next moment" I said with a frown.

"Second these tests, you can't take anything physical from me. No blood, no skin samples not even hair. Like you so nicely put it, i'm a walking disease factory. Though you can consult these scientist and research ponies that you were on about. They should be able to come up with some ideas, and if they refuse, well lets not go down that path. Though you being a dragon puts a spin on the thing, ponies being racist and all though they refuse on you being a dragon. I can persuade them its in there best interest, lose of limb is a great motivator" i giggled

I blinked at her "but firstly we both need to rest and heal, you because your hand and that migraine, me because I've been in this form for longer then I should have been, then we can find this town" I grumble sitting down.

EQ_Theta · April 3, 2018

@Blitz Boom @Storm Shine

"You were the last one on Filigree's list of ponies she wanted to exact her vengeance upon. Amethyst and Fiddler were encased just like you and... okay, so maybe Clayton was still walking around just fine when we first started investigating the crystals and my sister's disappearance. The way they all talked about the crystals made it sound like it was all found here in Equestria but believe it or not, Filigree might've started another outbreak in a remote village far outside Equestria's boundaries. My village, to be exact. Just about finished with this... and we're done! Good thing I didn't need to go back to Amethyst for another batch."

Thorough and careful with pouring the last of the liquids out from the vial, Lin was relieved to see it was enough to get all of Spelt out. A close one considering just how badly she could've messed up if she poured too much in one place. One vial, all done, a little nerve-wracking but there is now time to sigh and check up on the others. There was little left to see in the place they were in and before long, Lin opened a gate before them leading back to the others.

"Let me take you to the others so you can see Filigree and ask her any burning questions you might have. Also, I advise watching your step when we get there. She blasted crystals all over the place and we don't want you getting stuck in another crystalline prison. We can only go through so many vials before Amethyst suspects we were playing with the stuff."

As for Sen, hearing the good news from Belladonna and seeing Rosa in high spirits reminded him about his own experiences. He couldn't help but sympathize with him, that feeling of relief that there may be some hope for finding someone close to him. Well, it's better than what Sen was left with, hope dashed away as quickly as it came. It's still a little too soon to say for now but quietly hoped Rosa will have a happy ending to his search. He approached him as he emptied his vial on some gems.

"That's good news, Rosa! I hope you get to find your brother soon but about Filigree, how certain are we that she won't escape and go on another quest for vengeance?"

Victoria Sponge · April 3, 2018

@Blitz Boom

"Try not to generalise Toxen, you know not all of us are good at shrugging off a grudge."

Victoria was quick to bring up her fatal flaw once again, she didn't want to let it slide away in a matter of hugs, for fear that it would slide back again ever so easily. The more she punished herself for her mistakes the longer she could stay nice.

"Don't be too hard on yourself sweetie. I think as long as you're aware that what you did wasn't good you should be ok. No need to act like you're a bad pony."

Heather on the other hand was a big fan of hugging things out and letting the past lie, and made it clear by giving Victoria another squeeze. Victoria rested her head on Heather and smiled, closing her eyes and accepting the embrace.

"You should try sleeping on Vicky Toxen."

Heather giggled,

"She's incredibly soft, must be all that shampoo she goes through in a week."

Victoria laughed too, she knew she used too much of the stuff but that was the price of looking and feeling fabulous.

"That flower is perfect, a great choice. I won't take any payments for it, it's just one flower and it sounds like your family really needs it, so take it on me. If you want anything else you can have that on me too, as a thank you for turning Vicky into a teddy bear."

She headed towards the door, waving back at Caramel.

"Should we head off then? I'm excited to meet this Benny fellow!"

"That's a good idea, the sooner we get back on the road the better, your father needs this."

Victoria was beginning to get more eager to help the tired dragon, while she did not particularly like Benny and Toxen's parents, especially their mother, she'd been flooded with memories of family and her father and how she had mistreated them all. She loved her dad and she wanted to make sure that Toxen and Benny could continue to love theirs.

Heather opened the door and stepped out, walking straight into a unicorn who was on his way in.

"Oh... excuse me sir, don't worry I'm not shutting the shop so if you want to... oh... hi Greenie!"

She suddenly threw herself at him, pushing him onto his back as she frantically nuzzled his face with her own.

"Uh... hi Heather... could we not.. do this here?"

"You're too easily embarrassed dear."

She giggled and freed the stallion from her grip

"It's perfect you're here by the way, I was just helping these lovely people to help a dragon who's very tired and I need someone to look after the shop. You. I want you to look after it... with Caramel I'm not going to make you do it alone."

She smiled,

"Y-you can do that right, I'll be back in a bit and then you can do whatever it is you came here to do... why are you here? Not that I don't want you here, as I said it's perfect! I was going to get Caramel to get you here to help her."

"I-I was just here to see you... I guess I just missed you? That's ok though, I'll look after the store for you, as long as Caramel doesn't talk too much..."

"She'll behave, don't worry. And I'll be back you can spend the evening with me instead. I'd introduce you to my friends but we need to go."

"Ok. I look forward to it, I'll see you later beautiful. Hi Vicky."

He gave Heather one last nuzzle, patted Victoria on the back as he walked past her, and gave a nod to Pop and Toxen before heading over to see what Caramel was up to.

"That was Evergreen, my boyfriend. He's such a gentlecolt but he's a little soft and sensitive, I'm sure you'll be able to meet him properly at some point. Anyway, onwards!"

She continued out, successfully this time.

Sekel · April 4, 2018

@Blitz Boom

KARMIC FATE

Karmic trotted alone behind the Serpanther, absently checking the walls that penned them into the corridor. She didn’t really expect to be walking down secret passages today. She expected to be let out the next day like usual once she had gotten a good night’s sleep. But meeting Zhu appeared to be a stroke of luck. If luck had a name and lead them down creepy, claustrophobic passageways.

“Please tell me there’s an end to this!” Karmic whined loudly, her voice echoing around the pathway despite them having been walking for only five minutes since discovering this second offshoot.

Blitz Boom · April 4, 2018

@Dji

"There is an end to everything, including this trap."

Zhu had seen enough futures and the inevitable ends to them, that he could say this with some degree of certainty. It were perhaps a little too final, compared to what Karmic had uttered about, but there was a reason he had added to his usual phrase about the general finality in everything.

Ponies tended to live blessed little lives, not seeing the many varied ways that Equestria could suddenly burn to the ground or otherwise perish. They saw the big things like the Sirens, Discord or Tirek as the only real dangers, but there were so many small things that could escalate to do the same, or even worse than them.

*sigh* But this was not the time to think of the inevitable, varied ways that everything would conclude. They needed to find a way out, and hopefully soon. Not long had passed, but he needed to go and find somepony before they moved along, or he would have to alter his plans to count for tracking her. Not an easy one to keep in check unfortunately, so it could further complicate an already tense situation, the longer it took for him to track her down.

"Focus on seeking the next path, and we will see the sun sooner, rather than later."

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

@Battenberg

Toxen shrugged.

"#Eh, fair point Vicky. Still seeing more forgiveness and ability to get along than I could shake a stick at though."

She frankly didn't know a dragon that didn't generalize at least a little about ponies, but the baker mare brought up something important, and she couldn't just hide behind this. Though, since the dragoness could just swing past it now then, she didn't have to go through that mine field again either. Not until the next time she opened up her big ol' mouth and spat out something stupid. So about ten minutes if she knew herself right.

"Anyway, thanks for the plant champ, but that's all I'm after. Think you lot could be sports and bring it to the zebra? I know I can count on you for that Pop."

The foxglove got handed towards the mare, who took it cautiously, thinking Toxen were playing a prank on her or something. Surprisingly, that wasn't the case it seemed, as she let go of it soon as the pony could grasp it herself, and made her way towards the door.

"Gonna go pick up the coal and meet the lot of you there. Better use the time ri- Eh?"

It was about then that Greenie came in and had a somewhat awkward conversation with Heather. She almost commented on it, but Pop gave her a small kick on the side of her leg when she opened her mouth, and shook her head at the dragoness once the scaled female looked down on her. It wasn't the time to go at it there.

It distracted Toxen enough, though before she went out, she still turned around and gave a bit of a wave and a big, sharp-toothed grin towards him. She'd try and get to him another time if their paths crossed, and from the sound of what Heather said, it might end up that way. At least if she kept around this family, and so far, she hadn't really a reason not to in the long run. Short run though, she had to take off, so after giving a farewell grin and saying to Heather that she got herself a catch, she took to the sky and flew off. She knew where to get a good bag of coal in town, so this shouldn't take too long.

"...So Heather, Evergreen seemed like a nice stallion. How did you two meet?"

She didn't know what else to say as they went on their way back to the zebra. It seemed like one of those times where the right actions were to just go with the flow, and try to take it like a normal conversation. Though she did have a slight pause as she had almost said *Good to have a little peace* after Toxen flew off.

It wasn't that she disliked her sister in law, it was just... She was a bit much to take in all at once, and getting a little time to breathe were honestly rather nice. It gave them to time to talk about other things on their way that she wasn't gonna make a weird comment or joke about. Such as Heather's relationship, which really didn't need inappropriate comments added to it.

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

@EQ_Theta @Storm Shine

"It's good to hear that the rest are safe, and that the little nervous guy wasn't hit, or he would've needed to start on therapy all over again. Though if she got to your village, you will need to go there with these vials fast. The gems are hard to get rid off once they really begin to infest a place, and leaving them behind tend to be a bad idea for others. Especially miners, who might fall over a vein at some point and not know what it is."

He sent a side stare to the remains of the gems that had taken him in. They were almost gone now, with just a few specks on the ground slowly diminishing in size, but he'd have to remember to get back here and inspect the place with a crew later on. He couldn't risk there being some in the walls, or their coal mine could end up either destroyed or quarantined, which he doubted the boss would like.

Meanwhile at the others, Rosa cleared his throat, giving him a few moments to think before addressing Sen.

"There is no guarantee, but as long as we can keep her secured and away from the beast heart, we should be able to keep her down at least. Though when it comes to the courts, it is anypony's guess. If it's like in the stories I dug up about her, there is a real possibility that she might end up walking mostly unscathed."

She was a manipulating, heartless creature. That was the gist of what he had found out, as he sought any information he could get about his mother. It made him prepared for not trusting her forked tongue when she eventually woke up and attempted to sway them, but the courts? She could easily say that the gems made her loose her mind, and that she wasn't in control. Something which she clearly hadn't either at the end, though what about all the times before that? He had documents and diaries, sure, but she could simply claim that to be slander. There were not much concrete evidence about her wrongdoings that couldn't be falsified to defame her.

He suspected that the fraud charges could stick, and that she would admit to them to get the focus on the prosecution to the one thing they could tangibly get her for, but that was basically a slap on the wrist too. Some community service and she could be on parole with ease.

About then, a random worker showed up with a reinforced steel box with a lock on, apologized for the forepony not being there, and just dropped it off before going towards the nearest lightning rod, with a group gathering nearby as well. It seemed like Gem were thinking it was time to stop wasting costly electricity on this, since the danger had been averted.

Rosa very carefully took the gem on the ground between two blades, and slowly plopped it down into the box. A twist of the key, and the thing were finally secure enough to move around.

"I believe I can find a place where nopony will find the key, but the box is another matter. Have to be somewhere that nopony can just get to out of nowhere. Are you aware of such a place, Sen?"

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

@BloodDrops

"I accept the terms, including the lack of samples, though I will add my own rules to this.

1. Under no circumstances are you to touch my books, or Lotus. I have a great need for both, and especially the later is more important to me than you can imagine.

2. If I see your feral stage, I will trap you in rocks. If you get to your senses with a half-eaten fish and granite around you, that's why. Stop panicking.

Also, try not to make servants of others while on the trip. I will pack rations as needed be during this... Mission. Slaves will make it complicated."

Nerzhei didn't answer about her head, but it didn't seem like she needed to either really. Blood were right that she had migraine attacks, and they could be something that caused her a substantial amount of pain on occasion. However, no doctor had any idea what it meant back in Dragon Land, and here in Equestria, she had barely gotten within the sight of a town before yesterday. She hadn't had the chance to go see one of them, and see if perhaps they had any ideas, or an expert they could lead her towards. She only had her remedy elixir for now, and that only treated the symptoms, not the cause.

"Grrr, but you're right, rest is needed. There will be a long travel ahead, but not before I catch something."

She slowly rose up, with Lotus jumping on her shoulder as she saw the motion take place, at which point she would grab hold in the last half of the gauze she had been working with to stop it from escaping. All the while, looking continuously annoyed and pained from the motions.

"If your feral stage take overhand now, I am limited in what I can do. I don't trust you're well fed enough for me to simply sleep anywhere near you either, not with how you talked about and looked at Lotus before. I'm going back to my spear to fish something up. You coming, or staying?"

It didn't seem safe to leave Blood either, but she had to make some degree of choice here. Either invest a little time with or without the mare, or potentially find her face being gnawed on in the middle of the night, or the mare going off to eat a villager. Not really a choice when you looked at it.

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

@Lucid_Nightlight @Storm Shine @EQ_Theta

"Awesome sauce."

Seeing as how she had gotten permission, Anomaly licked around her mouth slowly with a huge tongue, and looked towards the chickens. The look apparently told them everything they needed to know, as they began to scramble around, and do theirs to escape. What chaos-created chickens might do then depended on if they were just chickens, or if there were certain special properties tot hem. It would either be rather messy, or also messy, but at least including the spicy taste of home made hot wings. Not as good as a crunchy breezie, but still tasty.

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

@Moonlit @Seamore Sandwich @Dji

"He carried the form of a large hippo, adorning small wings. Please do not confront him with violence in mind, my little pony. His methods are crude, but his purpose benevolent, and I wouldn't wish for anything to happen to you."

Celestia answered Last's question about the Traveller as best she could. Truth be told, not much were known about him, so she had little else that she could truly say about this to Luna's follower.

"Very well your majesty."

Last were not sure she could simple meet a large creature without hostility being her beginning response, but she wouldn't attack without reason at least. The princesses seemed to not wish for that, and she wouldn't go against their wishes.

"Thank you. Now please, can we begin to discuss our unusual visitor then? Whatever reason we were brought here, I believe it is because of her."

"We concur, sister, yet ours is not the voice that needs to tell."

Luna looked towards Serenade, whom had not yet answered how the necklace had only lasted a few days, and looked at her with anticipation. This were about her meeting with the Princess Twilight, and thus, she should present herself, and her argument, before this went further. The others in the room would be asked to leave if needed, though she carried little doubt that Last would remain silent if told so. The Shrinemaiden and her family had stood steadfast and loyal through generations, and she could not see this one wishing to go against that. Even if they had been dismissed, the loyalty were still clear in the mare's actions and willingness to help this town as much as her injuries allowed. Admirably, but ultimately, that were not why they were here tonight. Neither were the specter that sent her strange glances when she believed the princess of the night were not watching, though she would address that once the current situation had been dealt with.

Hopefully Twilight would take it well when it came to Serenade. The princess were resourceful and had proven to be as great a pony as her sister had told her about, once she had returned from her state as Nightmare Moon, yet she were still young, and her experiences with sirens were not kind, from what she had been told. The worst part were over, with the princess not openly attacking or showing hostility to Serenade, but what would be the case when she learned how the siren had lived in her town for a while now, without being told about it, and with Luna knowing fully well what she did as she hid this information from her?

Lucid_Nightlight · April 4, 2018

@EQ_Theta @Blitz Boom @Storm Shine

"I should warn you, one of those chickens will explode, but I'm not sure which one."

He knew Anomaly wouldn't care, but there was still Fluttershy. She'd probably not be happy with her house being blown up and when Fluttershy is unhappy, so is Discord. Lucid was feeling a bit too lazy to face Discord.

"Also, if you're going for spicy, I'd suggest using rainbows as a sauce, they got a bit of a kick."

Victoria Sponge · April 5, 2018

@Blitz Boom

Victoria waved goodbye to the dragoness, confused by her sudden departure but not surprised. Toxen seemed to be quite the energetic character and she was probably just desperate to help her poor father.

"Shame she's leaving us so soon, seems like a nice dragon. Probably the nicest I've met... Actually I think she's the only one I've met... or did I meet that one before... doesn't matter, let's hurry to that Zebra, I don't think she wants a wilted flower."

Heather began to move, flapping her wings and floating gracefully above the ground... for a few seconds, then she flew straight into an open carriage door and fell to the floor looking dazed, attempting to take off again she managed to flip herself upside down and crash land in a pile of garbage bags in the alleyway next to her shop. She emerged from the alley and smiled sheepishly at Victoria and Pop, using a hoof to push rotten banana peels from her mane.

"I think I'd better keep my hooves on the ground, I was never a great flyer, not like my mother... great flyer wish I could be like her..."

She stuck out her tongue and made a face as she felt a particularly sticky part of her mane.

"I'll have to have a bath later, anyway more important things are at hoof."

She straightened up and walked more proudly now, at quite a pace, though Pop and Victoria were easily able to keep up. Victoria stood very close to the pegasus, monitoring her carefully, ready to reach out if she managed to trip over her own tail.

"The story of me and Evergreen is as disastrous as any other story one could tell about me. I prefer to keep my business in my shop, but sometimes ponies outside of Manehattan like to get their hooves on some of my rarer specimens. Evergreen is one of these ponies, he used to live in Ponyville, maintaining the beautiful gardens, parks and flower displays they have there. I think they were preparing for a visit from our wonderful Princess Celestia... beautiful, graceful pony, if she was a flower she'd be the pride and joy of my shop... if I owned said flower, but I digress. They'd got everything nice but Evergreen wanted to impress the princess and so ordered some of my rare Manehattan tulips, in red, orange and yellow, the colours of the sun of course. He couldn't come to me to get them because he had to continue his work or risk it not being ready for Celestia, so I of course had to go to him. I wasn't too impressed but I like to help my customers and I couldn't really complain about visiting a place as beautiful as Ponyville, plus I knew I could stay for all the wonderful food and activities after the royal visit and maybe I'd actually get to see the princess!"

She sighed dreamily, it was clear Heather really admired Equestria's esteemed leader, she seemed almost infatuated with the alicorn.

"I took my flowers there, he was happy, everything was great. I had time to kill so I just sort of followed Greenie around all day asking a bunch of questions much to his annoyance."

She giggled at the memory, it was not hard to wind Evergreen up, he was a polite and kindhearted pony but he was also a perfectionist who loved peace and quite, and any little distraction getting in the way of his work did not go down well.

"He didn't say anything for a while but he was becoming noticeably more agitated so I did leave him alone in the end... well for a few minutes, I'm not good at sitting quietly and the more I sat by and watched him creating this beautiful sun with my flowers the more questions popped into my head. So of course I decided he'd had enough of a break and moved up to bombard him with more, but being me I managed to trip over my mane, which was longer at the time, I'd have a hard time tripping over this, that's why I style it shorter these days"

She stuck a hoof in her hair and played with it a little, it wasn't short short but it wasn't that long either and if she wasn't Heather the idea of tripping over it would make you laugh, Victoria smirked as if suggesting she had actually tripper over it since she'd cut it shorter.

"I fell right into the flowers... left a great big heather shaped hole in the middle of it. He didn't have enough time or flowers to fix it, so he was not happy. And neither was I, I'd messed up again and ruined his work, and I'd killed those precious flowers. I didn't know what to do so I just burst into tears and started trying to revive the poor plants, apologising frantically through my tears. But do you know what that sweet stallion did? When he saw how upset I was he put down his tools, reached out and took my hoof and told me that it was ok. Then he took me to Ponyville's flowershop and let me choose some flowers to replace the ones I'd crushed. It meant the sun had a Heather shape in the middle but it actually looked kind of pretty and the princess didn't even notice... or maybe she did but she just didn't say anything... I'm sure it was fine. When Celestia got there she asked who'd created the lovely display and so he got to go up and shake her hoof and everything, I was super jealous, but only for a moment because Evergreen said the credit should go to all the contributors and brought me out of the crowd to meet the Princess too. We told her the story and she laughed, I was so happy so much joy and goodness came out of my mistake that day. I think Evergreen's actions that day are what made me so much of an optimist, even though everything was so badly ruined he still managed to salvage it and create something beautiful, and he made me feel good even though I felt so bad."

Victoria had a weird smile on her face, more of her soft core being revealed, she dreamed of one day having a story like Heather's, she longed for somepony to love as much as Heather loved Evergreen and to love her as much as Evergreen loved Heather.

"Greenie didn't want me to go away still feeling regret for my accident so he arranged to meet me in Manehattan some day and he did, and we met over and over again and just fell more and more in love. Then he moved in with me, here in Manehattan which made things a lot easier, long distance relationships are not the best. So how did you meet this dragon, Pop?"

EQ_Theta · April 5, 2018

@Blitz Boom @Storm Shine

Places like those... somewhere no one can easily get to. Sen's little sanctuary hidden away from the village is a prospective location; only he and Lin know where it is, it's secluded in a cave, there's a small body of water where he can bury the box. Should anyone stumble upon it, they might not think to look at the bottom of a pond. Even better, the village isn't marked on any map, only the longma villagers know them and those who know even more are the travelling provisioners who move between each of the villagers and intermediate outposts in between some of them. It's a prospective option and as long as the location isn't leaked, it's a good idea. If it won't do, there are other options, Mother or the scholars trapped in the focal orb could offer some suggestions.

"I've got one place in mind. There might be others but I have ask someone else about those. I sure hope Filigree would be kept away from anything that could let her get back at us. What we did today, it no doubt left an impression on her. She's unhinged but that may drive her to seek vengeance on all of us; it'll put many more innocents in danger. She tried to use Omen to get to me and that risked the village I live in."

And before he could continue, another gate opened just before them with Lin popping her head from the other side. "Hey! I don't suppose you could spare a few of those vials? We might need some for cleanup on this end."

"Step inside, Spelt. I can assure you nothing terrible will happen when you cross over to the other side." Lin pulled back to face Spelt and step aside, assuring him the gates were safe.

Moonlit · April 5, 2018

@Blitz Boom @Dji @Seamore Sandwich Serenade nodded, bowing her head to the three Princess. "♪ Thank you.♪" She turns to face Princess Twilight, "♪As I said earlier, my name is Moonlit Serenade, Assistant Astronomer Royale to the Crown and as you know, a Siren♪" She takes a deep breath, "♪I'm...not sure where to start your Majesties, but I guess from the way Princess Luna is looking at me I'm sure she wants to know why the jewel she provided me with failed after a few days.♪" She turns to face the Princess of Night, "♪As far as I can tell, it failed after Ziggy and I went to The Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters, it went inert♪"

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