open Casual stroll

[Lucid_Nightlight 923]

"Poquus... I like it! You know, you should've been the one to name alicorns. What does ali even mean? Personally, I think they should be called pegacorns!"

The name suited him.

"The best part is that it sounds like bogus, and that's why I warp reality. Because I cheated during a bet! A certain draconequus must be pretty salty about that."

"Sometimes I wonder how cool it would be if I could fight evil reality warpers to the death! I once visited the hairless monkey world and saw this show with a yellow triangle dude! OH! I bet I could demolish him! Too bad he isn't real."

[Sekel 693]

@Blitz Boom

KARMIC FATE

The goo that assaulted Karmic practically clawed it’s way into her, heading directly to her brain along the optic nerves behind her eyes. As for Karmic, she was sitting in front of the empty metal box, her mouth open in a silent scream. She didn’t know what to do about this symbiote, she didn’t know what to do about anything anymore. When the goo had seemingly finished attaching itself to her, her eyes and fur pulsed a bright toxic green three times before they returned to their normal colours. Karmic slowly closed her mouth and gently rubbed her eyes before closing the lid of the box.

”Maybe we should get out of here,” Karmic said nervously, unsure of what will set off the creature until she heard it speak in her head and only say a ward.

’Karmic,’ the goo spoke in her head, sounding female and seductive. The mare shook her head rapidly and slowly trotted over to Zhu, making sure she ignored the new voice in her mind which was no doubt caused by that goo thing that infected her.

[FanOfManyShows 396]

@Blitz Boom

Astral's eyes glanced around the room rapidly, looking to Null and Void. "I'm not a very good expert with the Elements of Disharmony." She said. "But I do know where one of the elements are." She said while raising her hoof, then pointing it to Null and Void. "They should have the Element of Greed."

Sapphire looked to Astral. "Well that depends if they haven't given it away to be protected, but from what I can recall she did give it away to you two." She said as she looked over to Null and Void. She then looked to Iron Wing. "Oh, and just in case, we all need a way to determine if any of us aren't an illusion, if we're going to work together." She looked to Tidal Wave as she spoke. 

"Like a secret code?"

"Yes, because you can make an illusion, but only out of stuff that you are knowledgeable of, but of course this makes Zhu more dangerous since he is able to see alternate futures, it's possible he even saw this future." She said, looking down at the floor.

"Sapphire, as far as I could tell, Zhu was very vague with his tells of the future, I'm unsure if he can actually see the future that well." He glanced at the other generals as he spoke, hoping they might say if he could or not.

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

Warlock let out a chuckle. "Down at Ponyville, taken by a mare named Astral, but she gave it away to another, But I forgot their name." He glanced to the side. "They travel with another wherever they go though, and both can prevent magic from being used around them. But of course I do not know their current location"

[EQ_Theta 459]

@Blitz Boom

It wasn’t exactly an answer they had hoped to hear, but then there wasn’t much of an answer to Lin’s question. It’s not too great a concern though; she can ask her again just before they leave. The mention of food does bring up something of interest, especially for Sen, as he remembered living off the stuff ponies wouldn’t eat anymore. A waste when he observed them paying exorbitant amounts for tiny portions. Why that is the case, he will never know. Or maybe he could ask but that may come off as rude. Then again, there might be some seedy undertones he wouldn’t want to know about with something as strange as the arrangements Scarcity could make.

“Meat? I… don’t know what that is,” Sen quizzically tilted his head as he took a bite off a second sandwich. “Longma diet mostly consists of fruit and plants grown in our forest home. I guess what ponies usually eat will do but… I hope it’s more than the tiny portions I’ve noticed some ponies eat in some of those fancy restaurants. No offense.” 

As for Lin, she didn’t seem to mind, having mostly relied on scavenging and occasionally “appropriating” food unattended while living away from home. Nobody seemed to miss their meals when small portions of it went missing. Still, it sounded good to have something other than dried fruits and plants to fill her belly. 

What concerned her more was the mental checklist she was building in her head. They need to recover a granite statue comprised of three figures found in a temple near a fishing village called Salty Breeze. Inside was a gold statue and a box in the middle of the chamber they should avoid. There is a swamp on the way and they could make good time if they went through it but should be aware of… something that may lead them astray. They could go around it but it will take half a day longer to travel. 

That said, Scarcity’s projected two day travel time might not take into account the tide changing and with a deadline looming over them when they begin, they might barely make it back. Who knows? Maybe they might get lucky; in and out without a fuss. 

“Three Sisters Symphony… thee sirens. Huh, what kinds of creatures were these?”  That last question came about as a genuine area of curiosity for Lin. From a practical standpoint, she’d know what to look for in the temple since the statue would depict them. For personal reasons, she was just really curious about them and their abilities. What could make them quite the danger to Equestria? 

[Moonlit 593]

@Blitz Boom @Dji @Seamore Sandwich Serenade nods, "♪It's a long and very bloody history, we vie for the same....'prey'. Where as Sirens feed off a pony's negative emotions, Changlings feed off love. And we are both Apex Predators. I've been told that Sirens may share a common ancestor with another one of your myth's♪" Serenade looks straight into Princess Celestia's eyes, "♪Windigoes♪"

[BloodDrops 762]

15 hours ago, Blitz Boom said:

Two personalities, talking with one another in third person... There were not enough elixir in this reality to cover the headache this was going to be.

"I hunt to eat more than I eat crystals, because I need crystals for my research. Which is a bonus for you, since I doubt I could stuff you with crystals for any benefit than it being satisfying."

Nerzhei had to take a swig of elixir more as the gravitas of things that Droppy said went through her head once more. Murder, relieving one self, endless, pointless talking about inane stuff... It was like having a talking... What were those things called again? Chihuahuas? Yapping little creatures that had no evolutionary reason to exist, and also got on the nerves of every sane being around them. It was like that, but bigger, more talkative, and riddled with pandemic level disease.

Were she in a better situation, she might have considered bringing up the point about murder, and her own capabilities in an actual fight, along with the seething rage that always laid under the dragoness's surface, but any of those subjects would just make her have to down half a bottle of elixir to stop herself from falling to her knees over the likely bad excuses, or foolish comments there would come from it. Especially around the murders, which she did not condone, but couldn't exactly do anything about either. It was in the past, and she hadn't been anywhere near the area. The rational side of her brain would easily see that she had no reason to care, but her emotional side, mingled with Droppy's antics at that talk, were going to be a different thing entirely.

"Let's just get on our way. It's a fourteen hour trip at least, and I want to make headway before the more aggressive predators comes out of hiding."

They had to get back to her cave first though, as she needed some things like her spear, but they would get there on the way regardless. It was only a small detour, and she needed to make sure the area was secure, and her books intact. Plus she needed to decide if she wanted to take the important book with her. The smart side of her said that it was unwise to have anywhere near Droppy, but the chance that the biologist they were going to visit had some knowledge of - or knew someone who had it at least - the books content were also something she needed to take into consideration.

Though at least she knew she needed her spear. She didn't want to meddle with trees every time she needed to be able to poke something.

Droppy blinked at the dragon and snorted, "I don't want to be a crystal pony. Thank you very much, green is not a very good color for that. As I've been told before. (kills rarity slowly) She then moved forward, she hated eating anything not tasty as well. "I can walk for fourteen hours without stopping, or you could fly there and I meet up with you, unless you want to wrap me up in something then carry me there, would be quicker" she added with a smile. "Promise not to eat you" she added giggling at the mention of predators. "You know your a dragon right? no predators will bother with you or me, because well if they do they will become a snack" I add flicking my tail. 

She stared at the dragon and blinked wondering which direction she could go "So lead the way, i'm sure i can keep up. Though if you get tired just say so and we can rest for awhile. I don't need to rest just eat now and then" she added with a small smile. She flicked her tail again and sniffed at the pouch in the tree "Don't forget that otherwise i will have nothing to eat" she added.

"And i'm not eating your doggy food either" she snorted, she then walked forward and into a tree. "Ouch"

Edited May 3, 2018 by BloodDrops

[Rising Dusk 27,713]

@Blitz Boom

Rising Dusk was glad to know that he could possibly offer Molotov a little bit of advice on the matter.  He was out of his element of course with this talk about AI, but that wouldn't stop him from trying in the least.

It was very subtle, but that inquisitive nature of him that had been developed by his work as a detective, could pick up on some minor details.  Molotov had his attention drawn to something that wasn't him or his sister.  The sounds around him didn't match anything that should draw such attention from the other stallion.  Extra evidence coming from the movement of those special lenses he was wearing to focus on something Rising Dusk couldn't see.  Molotov wasn't tell him anything though, so it should be fine.  Right?  Better to focus on the task at hoof.

"My specialty is in doing quite the opposite... Removing magical properties."

He admitted.

"However, working backwards, in theory, should be possible for me.  I also don't need to work from scratch.  Turntable did a descent job in at least providing a starting point."

 Sliding the folded paper across the bench toward Molotov.

"I fixed the errors in his formula with the knowledge of magic I do have.  More adjustments will need to be made, but I won't know what they are without experimenting.  As for the material..."

He started before igniting his horn anew and removing three objects from the other one of his bags.  Placing them on the table revealed them to the Boom brother.  One, a small gold disk about the size of a bit, but with a slightly more orange tint.  The second, a deep onyx metallic amulet in the shape of an alicorn.  The last one, a small gray chain link bracelet.

"From best to worse... Orichalcum, Black Steel and Deep Iron."

Granted, he might as well had listed them from expensive to cheap, which was the same order.  All three artifacts he had to dispel of harmful magic in the past.  Minor keep sakes that the agency let's him have.

[Storm Shine 1,196]

 

@Blitz Boom @Lucid_Nightlight @EQ_Theta

Discord chuckled slightly, "Well actually, while you can call yourself a poquss if you want, Draconequui are creatures that come from chaos" He started, "You really aren't a draconequss in any capacity Lucid - A chaos being or entity, sure, but not a Draconequess. You're a pony that has consumed a large quantity of Chaos Magic, making you a chaos entity of sorts - However, again, a Draconequess comes into existence from chaos itself with their own unique looks and abilities." Discord buffed his claws against his chest, "With myself being the first and most powerful, of course." The chaos spirit stroked his beard slightly, "Then again, perhaps you could be partially draconequui, if that stick had enough draconequess essence within it's magic."

"As for Alicorns, well... Luna and Celestia weren't too creative when they made the term, but it does fit. Alicorns have the magic of all three pony races, not just Pegasi and Unicorns, so Pegacorn would actually be innaccurate. Therefore they decided on the term All-i-corn, pronounced and spelled as Alicorn."

Edited May 5, 2018 by Storm Shine

[Lucid_Nightlight 923]

@Blitz Boom @EQ_Theta @Storm Shine

"Well, considering that stick thing does have power beyond multiverse level, which I gotta unlock that power because SOMEONE made it that way, it either has a lot of that essence or the essence of something more powerful, but I don't know what other being can warp reality."

Something clicked in Lucid. Did Discord really create the thing, or did he just find it? Afterall, it would take a lot of power to make that thing.

"So... on a scale from continent to beyond multiverse level, exactly how powerful are you?"

[Storm Shine 1,196]

@Lucid_Nightlight @EQ_Theta 

Discord chuckled, "More powerful than the Draconequess that made your stick little Lucy." He responded, booping Lucid lightly on the nose. "She decided to make it on a whim a few hundred centuries ago or so and I.. Eh... Borrowed it from her about two centuries ago, not that she really cares about it."

Edited May 6, 2018 by Storm Shine

[Lucid_Nightlight 923]

@EQ_Theta @Storm Shine @Blitz Boom

"Then you're probably more powerful than I am. Well, at my current level at least. So was it you who added the DLCs or was it that other draconequess?"

Lucid underestimated him completely earlier. It was a good thing Lucid's early aggression didn't lead to conflict, that would've been pretty bad.

"So... being immortal, what exactly do I have to look forward to?"

Lucid did have a bit of uncertainty about his immortality, sure he could die if beaten by someone more poweful than him, but the only one with that power he knows for sure is Discord, he probably didn't have and bad intentions. There was no aging for the yellow Poquus, so he was probably gonna live a long time, probably forever, which he was fine with, dying didn't exactly sound appealing anyways, living was way better for obvious reasons.

[Blitz Boom 4,627]

@Lucid_Nightlight @EQ_Theta @Storm Shine

Anomaly tilted her head as the poquus talked about some sort of yellow triangle from the human world.

"How can geometry be evil? It's just really boring."

It's a cartoon character who looks like a trinangle with an eye. Sort of like the Illuminati symbol.

"The wha-?"

*sigh* nevermind. Just focus on it being a cartoon character, though one far better than either of you to mess up things. We're talking universally, instead of just local.

"Author says the triangle is a fun creature, and that we'd get our flanks handed to us. Geometry is weird in the human world.

And I dunno why they're called allicorns either. Fun name, doesn't say anything. Just like the titles. Why're all female alicorns princesses, but there's no princes? Or kings and queens? All kinds of weird.

Dunno why they're not bulky too. They gots unicorn and pegasus parts, why not beefy earth pony too?"

Anomaly would've liked to show what she meant, but she weren't too good at stable transformation, and needed some kind of natural element in it to warp herself. Making another creature into what she thought wasn't really possible either, as that was far away from the mutations she actually worked with, and more akin to deliberate metamorphosis, mixed with changeling tendencies.

She could've tried to make a plant that looked like a beefy Celestia, flexing her muscles, but meh. She didn't feel like getting bitten by a small tree pony right now.

The question she had asked at the end seemed to be getting an answer pretty quickly though, as the otherwise silent Discord suddenly decided to talk again. Anomaly had frankly forgotten he were there, and she jolted into the air, whilst the flowers around her neck started to wave in different colors. A small scare reflex that sometimes happened, which might look somewhat silly, but were preferable to the other thing that could happen if she got spooked: A brief return to the self she couldn't remember. An action that tended to cause some degree of destruction and/or fear around her until she composed herself again, and Anomaly hated when it happened. She wanted to create things, not destroy them.

"Okay, Discord's right in the name fitting then. Still think it's wonky with no princess, kings or queens, or any beefy princesses, but meh. Could just be they're too lazy to exercise."

There was a plan if Twilight noticed them and came out to stop what they were doing: Distract her with a castle-warming gift, which in this case would be fitness gear. Worst case scenario, the princess would beat her with it, and Anomaly had been there, done that. Not as painful as she had anticipated really.

"And I know he's not a real draconequus, but calling Lucid a *chaos pony* sounds boring! What's the point in naming new things if it isn't fun, or sounds right?"

She licked her right ear clean of some dust after trying to defend her naming of Lucid as a poquus. If anypony would get that it were a matter of having some fun with it, it should be Disco-ooh, they were going to talk about his power level now? Yey!

"Discord's super powerful, duh! He's the lord of chaos. Eldest of all draconequui. The maestro of disharmony. A goliath who makes the perfect souffle in the middle of a hurricane! He's like, the upper reach of power in our world."

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

 

@Dji

"Not yet."

Zhu took a few steps back, and blocked the only safe passage there would be to get out of here. Namely the one they had entered through.

"Stories of the changeling goo are scarce and flawed, but they all speak of something with intent of overtaking its host. There are things that needs to be done, but I need to know that you are still yourself first, and not simply a puppet to the goo, or you cannot be allowed to leave this room."

It sounded ominous when he said it, but it were a truth regardless. The changeling goo had been trapped in here for a reason, and if it truly were now in control of Karmic, he would have to ensure that the mare could not leave the room, and if possible, extract the goo and return it to the container. What would happen to Karmic in the process of an ill prepared extraction like that were regrettable, but ultimately, the price that would have to be paid.

He looked at her from beneath the hood as he spoke, knowing full well how his gaze did not sit well with her. In fact, he expected her to react on it.

Who she were gained the response to his gazing that she had mentioned a few times before, and not memories of some kind that could simply be extracted by another invading being. It would be unlikely to have the same response, as the process would work differently for them, and Karmic's tendril response were unique enough to be used in this context. Unless of course, she repeated what she had said before word for word, which would be less of a description, and more along the lines of simply reciting what had been said a few times prior.

Perhaps it were still not good enough, but this theory were what he had to work with currently, with the information he had access to.

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

 

@Lloyd

Void seemed to pale as she were told that she were carrying one of the things that had caused so much trouble.

Turning to the side, she began to rummage through the bag on her right, before moving down to the ones that Null had left as she had gone towards the cells, and eventually pulled up a gem that made Scorn instinctively growl.

"I-I didn't know what it w-was. I thought it was j-just another cursed item "

Void had been nearly catatonic for a while as the battle earlier had rung on, after Warlock had nearly hit her int he face with a thrown sword, so she had not been in a stable mind at the time. When Null had put it in her bag for safekeeping, Void had only really bit note in it going there, but not what it had been for. She had thought it was just a cursed item that Warlock had thrown at them for the heck of it now that she thought back on it. Or had she responded with knowledge back then? It all seemed such a blur.

"Keep it. it's safer inert."

Tidal Wave glanced at the little chunk and let out a drawn out whistle.

"To think that such a small thing can be such a great pain in the flank. Fancy that.

Alright, you're coming with us then too girly."

"W-W-What?"

Void looked like she were going to crawl out of her good skin as Tidal Wave said this. To which the small mare just went over and patted her on her shoulder. It was about as high she could reach on this one without starting to lean on her, and that seemed a bit too far when it came to the timid mare.

"Relax, we'll keep you safe. Just thinking that as these two says, the illusions are strong. Imagine how much easier it'd be if we had somepony there who could dispel them by being near enough, right? You don't even need to worry about your stuff here. The castle have a room for those sorta things, and we can swing by there to store it quickly before going on our way."

"It sounds like a workable plan. Though we still need to address the danger and capabilities of Zhu himself. I did not see enough of what he could do to assess more than his apparent usage of wind magic."

Screecher said nothing here, as she had no interaction whatsoever with Zhu, as she had been focused on getting to Ponyville and back. She also had no idea who he were by name, so frankly, this was a situation were she needed to listen, not talk.

"I know enough to say that his sight is real, but flawed. He needs to look at others to see what can be, and talks to give himself the time. Don't let him have that. React quick and unpredictably, and oerhaps you can get the jump on him."

"It doesn't address the danger he could be though, just his reaction and capabilities to predict what we'd do."

"He's a fanatic. Have you ever known one of those who weren't dangerous?"

Dew went silent and thought over things for a few moments, remembering a few situations in this job where he had dealt with fanatics in the past, before grimly replying. "No."

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

 

@Lloyd

"A mare who can prevent magic? You have to make a more believable story than th-"

The door opened behind him, and he turned around, annoyed at who were interrupting his interrogation, and ready to put them on kitchen duty for the next three months.

What he were met with though, were a small pegasus mare who was missing her right wing, and were looking up at him like she was edging for a fight. No uniform, no official seal or documents to deliver on her from the looks of things, which meant that this were what, a civilian? How had she come through the guards stationed outside?

"I'm afraid this room is taken. If she have done something, take her to a normal cell."

"Bite me, bird brain."

Hailstorm narrowed his eyes and leaned in really close to the mare, almost touching her with his snout.

"What did you just say?"

Null happily closed the distance and stepped right into his face, almost touching eyes with the captain.

"You heard me, you entitled p-"

"Enough! P-Please?"

The guard that had followed Null here had blurted the half-order out without thinking, and now stood squeamish as the two ponies disengaged and stared him down.

"Captain Hailstorm, by order of Advisor Dew, General Screecher, and General Tidal Wave, this mare is to stay in the room, to ensure the prisoner doesn't attempt to use magic to escape."

Hailstorm looked around at the unicorns nearest to Null, and saw how they looked confused and poked their horns, not knowing what to do with their magic suddenly stopped.

"...Very well, but you will respect my authority, or I will personally kick you out."

"Whatever,"

Null squeezed past the annoyed captain and soon after stood face to face with Warlock once again, though this time, the tables certainly had turned on the witch.

"I see you're finally rotting in a cell like you deserve, monster."

She really wished she had brought a knife right now. She owed Warlock an attempted stabbing.

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

 

@EQ_Theta

"A vegetarian diet will be easy to provide for darling. Meat is harder, as the clientele who wishes to eat other formerly living creatures, tend to be only griffons and dragons. Ponies cannot consume meat under normal circumstances after all.

As for the size of your meals, you needn't worry yourself. The petite portions are meant for high end restaurants with peculiar taste, and not rations. What I can provide have quite a bit more substance in it, in amounts that you find suitable for the journey."

Scarcity would lie if she said that she did not dine at the finer places in Equestria at times, but she could understand the aversion to the places that seemed to hardly serve any food for the bits provided. It hardly covered ones appetite for a price that ranged in the ludicrous, and she would admit that the times when she indulged in such a thing, were mainly because it had been an extraordinary day, and needed to celebrate. On normal days, she would agree that it was a shameful sight for somepony, especially if they were hungry after a long day of travel.

"In regards to your last question, the siren sisters were creatures who roamed Equestria generations ago, and caused havoc throughout the land. Much like changelings, they feast upon emotions, though as anger is their diet, they caused wars, unrest, and outright brawls through the land to be able to sustain themselves and grow powerful. The story goes that Princess Celestia managed to banish them from out world, though their memory remains among pony kind, and they are seen as some of the great threats to the country. Much like King Sombra, or Lord Tirek.

Sirens as a race does still exist, but they are not as emboldened to seek land or waters near ponies anymore. You should not have to worry of them unless you are out on a boat someday."

She neglected to mention how it was theorized that the calamity that caused the coastal town to be beaten down and ruined, were suspected to be from sirens, though for what reasons were unknown. They had not been spotted in the area by the coast guard before, during or since, so she considered it to be more of a fairy tale for scared ponies, but it were something to keep in mind. Not for these though. They had enough on their plate without needing to worry about a danger that wasn't present.

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

 

@Moonlit @Seamore Sandwich @Dji

Cherish had read a little about those creatures that Serenade talked about, in her years in the old castle. Nasty things by all accounts, and not something that you would like to be anywhere near. That Serenade had a racial link with that were kinda disturbing, but... Wait, did she hear growling?

T he spirit turned around, and saw Last, whose lips were about to cover her teeth again after her instinctual response to the conversation: A low, but firm, growl.

"Uhm, w-why did you do that?"

"...Windigoes drive the sane to harsh actions..."

Last had lost a lot because of Windigo attacks, and it could be heard in the barely held back anger and melancholy in her voice. A thing that could be said by many that were stationed at the temple she grew up in, and several generations before them. Every time the things had come, their camps had been left weakened and nearly ripe for the picking when they had finally managed to chase the things off, and not even once had they gotten any of the creatures slain. They could only resist them as best they could until the creatures left for one reason or another, up until unusually heightened periods of fighting and unrest fell over their grounds, and the things would return to torment that generation. The life span in their home were short, so a generation tended to be forty years at best, in which time several foals were spawned and made aware that one day, they were likely to have to face the Windigoes as well.

Sometimes they came several times in the same generation, rarely they skipped one or two, but they would eventually always be back. Something that did not matter now, but had all the way until fifteen years ago, when they had last been there. Like many other things, something attracted them to the place, though they were sure that the Windigo's were the only ones who had not cared for what they protected. They only wanted to feast on the hatred and fighting that were most of the lives of Last, and many, many other generations before her.

As for Cherish, she did not understand this, but seemed to get the hint that she would be better off not poking to this. Perhaps it was just her cowardly side speaking there, but she would listen to it when it came to this. It wasn't her place to poke at old wounds.

"I've uhm, r-read a little about these W-Windigoes. They seem kind of... Mindless and cruel, i-if it's okay that I say that? The book k-kinda implied that at least...

If you met one of those, do you t-think that it would lead to f-fighting too, or is it just c-changelings, because you have a lot of h-history with them?"

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

 

@BloodDrops

"Flying with you isn't an option right now. I do not have enough magic lefty to waste it on a cover, I don't have spare cloth to use, and with the... Surgical measures I have been subjected too at the hospital, along with the pain killers, my flying isn't stable enough for a several hour flight."

Nerzhei took a claw to the back of her neck and felt on the gauze, where the doctor had taken a sample to run some tests regarding her migraines, being a possible illness. A slow process by his own account, but depending on her genes, Nerzhei had centuries to millennia to use before her time was naturally over. Though of course,s he would appreciate not having to wait for several pony generations for at least some degree of an answer.

Regardless of how long it would take, it were a necessary measure in her mind, as she did not wish to spend the rest of her life dealing with an issue like this, and only have something to relieve the symptoms of it to help with the issue. It were not sustainable, and she knew that. And much as she wished that she could sometimes just ignore the rational side of her, she prided herself in having a brain and using it, and logic dictated that she were best off agreeing to have some samples taken after the usual talk and examination.

It had some downsides though, in the form of her wings having the potential to briefly spasm if she were unlucky.- which if she were carrying Blood, could end up with her essentially, accidentally dropping a dirty bomb on a small community - and the painkillers making her a little slower to react on things such as that weren't helping. It helped relieve the pain in her arm, which she were grateful for, but it came with limitations that she needed to face.

"If I were you, I would not underestimate what would try to lounge out after you in these woods. Not everything is afraid of dragons, and until it's too late for them to know better, you're just a pony to them, and they're certainly not afraid of those."

Blitz were an exception to that, but lob enough explosions after creatures, and they started to get the hint. Though as far as she understood it, she had left with her brother yesterday, so if the creatures would keep up that memory were hard to say. Depended on how long she were gone she supposed, though it would hopefully not be too long. Much as the dragoness hated to admit it, she were somewhat fond of the optimistic little filly, and had done her part in keeping an eye out after her when she had inevitably collapsed due to exhaustion. You barely took notice of the filly when she slept, so it were hardly an issue, but Nerzhei still felt that she needed to keep an eye out for the little one, at least somewhat.

*sigh* Perhaps when this *adventure* were over, she could try and ask around, and see if anyone knew where the two of them were. Molotov was a weird one that Nerzhei didn't fully trust either right now, so checking up seemed like it would be a good idea. If for nothing else, then from principle.

"As for rest, I will sleep when it's needed. or now, picking some things from my home, then be on our way is a better usage of our time. And I already said that I was going to use the dog food for bait. Calm your nerves."

The dragoness rolled her eyes as Droppy wandered into a tree, and turned around to cut the fish bag down from the tree. She doubted it would last long, but if it could eventually buy her a few hours of somewhat safe sleep, she'd take it, though she would have to keep track of how long something like this lasted for Blood. Knowing how much of a meal were needed, and how long they could go on in less than ideal hunting grounds, were going to be crucial for this. And speaking of crucial elements, they should be on their way. They were loosing the last time of sun they had to work with standing around here.

Fish bag well set, and after checking that Lotus were securely asleep in the hood of her clothes, Nerzhei began wandering towards the cave that she called home. Another situation she would have to remedy someday after Blood and her were done.

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

 

@Rising Dusk

Molotov were actually surprised at the metals that were presented to him by Rising. Seeing things like this wasn't normally how it went in these kinds of exchanges, and materials like these in particular... He had to adjust his lenses two dozen times to check if he were seeing this right, but there were not doubt about it.

"Orichalcum? I've only ever seen this stuff in the alchemy labs. Nearly impossible to recreate, and far too valuable to be used on anything my family could even dream about. That you have any of it at all... Jeez, even if that thing had been the center of a massacre, that little piece is still worth more than my entire shop."

The alchemy labs had been obsessed with making things like this more available, but they had little luck with this particular metal. Gold, tin, and silver? Not the biggest issue there. Higher grade metal, crystals, and pearls? Hard, and a slow process. Oichalcum? They had only ever managed to make that once, and they had tried for four years to recreate the process with no luck.

"Black Steel I've never even heard about. Is it draconic by chance? You hear stories about what they store in that volcano of theirs."

Myths and fairy tales were all he had ever attributed that to, but seeing this were making him hold some degree of doubt, as his family had known about and/or worked with just about every metal you could find in Equestria. That there was something like this in their country, without him seeing any of it in any of his family's designs, or hearing off it among the crazier evenings where the lot of them just flung ideas around at random until they could agree on a group project - their version of a family holiday - made him think that it wasn't from their country. Could be from Troy, Saddle Arabia, or several other places of course, but black steel sounded like it might have some kind of draconic and/or volcanic connection. That or a link to Tartarus, but that was a ludicrous idea. This stuff would be dangerous and nearly impossible to come around if it came from there, surely.

As for the last metal that were presented him...

"Now here's something I know by heart. Never thought it was good holding in magic, but that could explain a few things about the engines back home, heh."

Using his horn, Molotov would attempt to life the chain and rotate it in the air a little, unless of course Mr. Counter-magic felt like showing off, in which case he'd have to just chuckle and shake his head at the show. Neat trick if it were.

"Back home, we had a few mines ready to get the metal we went through from. Lot's of good stuff in there, including a few veins of Deep Iron. It's good material that can handle a lot of pressure and doesn't erode in water, so we saved the storage we got off it for engines, life support units, that sorta thing. I don't know how much of it we had left, but if this is the sort of thing you think will do the trick, it sounds like we gotta find a way to get it back here.

Alright, I'm thinking a simple, steam-based unit that can work with a pulley system to gain traction for a specially reinforced cart of some kind, can help move it from Center Zero and back here. Gotta have to work on a properly sized unit though. And the shape! Bull? Deer? Nono, bull sounds fine. Oh, or a hippo! I never got that design used properly."

Moltov trailed off in his thoughts, looking around him and using his horn to get several tools down from the wall so that he could get to work making something that could transport the metal to them.

It was a flaw of the Boom family: if they saw a problem, they would try to invest a solution, and sometimes that meant overseeing the fairly obvious way to fix things. In this case, get some wagons, some earth ponies/minotaurs, and have them transport it the old fashioned way. It would take some time to set up that sort of help, but it was highly unlikely that it would take as long as it would for Molotov to create a stable unit that could do this sort of thing for them. And that wouldn't even include a proper testing phase.

[Sekel 693]

@Blitz Boom

KARMIC FATE

The second Zhu leveled his gaze at her, Karmic winced in pain before covering her ears with her hooves. The weird tentacle things Zhu has was assaulting her mind once more and she didn’t like it just as much as the last time. “Stop it! It hurts!” Karmic shouted in pain.

Edited May 7, 2018 by Dji

[FanOfManyShows 396]

@Blitz Boom

General Wing looked to Void. "Is there a way we can test if that is the gem? Just to be sure" He said, looking to the others.

Sapphire looked to Iron Wing and shook her head. "It gives ponies the need to use it no matter what. And Warlock is drawn to it's magic, It's power needs to be negated." She sighed a bit. "In fact, we'll have to give any element to her, they all force you to act like the element they represent, as soon as we get the element of deceit we'd start acting deceitful."

His ears perked up a bit as she talked. "Well then." He looked to Void. "Would you be willing to hold the element until we can get it to safety? Assuming we can stop Zhu."

"It should be easy, Zhu can't be that powerful if all he can do is wind magic, even with the element." Astral said, probably going to regret it later, or really soon.

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

Warlock smirked at them as they argued. "You remind me of myself, when I was a guard here." He said with a chuckle as Null stepped closer. "So violent and unstable. Willing to hurt others, just to help yourself." His eyes glowed with just a hint of magic escaping them as she got closer. "You even collect magical objects! We're so alike." He stated, making it clear he used that magic, just to read her mind. But on his face there was a hint of him bracing for a hit, knowing well she'd hurt him for saying all that.

[Lucid_Nightlight 923]

@EQ_Theta @Storm Shine @Blitz Boom

"He may be the most powerful for now, but once I reach my highest level, which I haven't cause of my poor credit score and spending habits, I'll have the power to destroy many multiverses."

Of course Lucid wasn't evil

"Not that I'd do it though, that would be kinda mean. But imagine doing pranks across space and time!"

Edited May 7, 2018 by Lucid_Nightlight

[Victoria Sponge 1,017]

@Blitz Boom

"Thank you guys."

Victoria felt all warm inside, she wasn't entirely sure if she liked it yet but she was happy her friends were there for her.

"Caramel is more fun that she acts... not sure if that makes sense."

Heather giggled, the other's probably wouldn't be able to make sense of that, but as Caramel's sister she knew that the pessimistic mare had her own special way of having fun, Heather was happy to have her as her twin, even if others couldn't quite understand her.

"Yeah... I wouldn't actually eat her, she'd probably be quite sour to be honest, unless you like sour."

"A sour pony, making sweet treats, makes about as much sense as half the things you say Heather."

This comment from Victoria sounded a little more hostile than it was perhaps intended, Victoria was really just trying to calm herself down with a little bit of meanness, she meant well though, she wasn't trying to hurt Heather's feelings.

I was interesting to see the three mare's different responses to Benny's playful actions with Pop, Heather just smiled, this kind of behaviour was very relatable, though obviously in her relationship she was the playful one and Evergreen was her unfortunate victim. Victoria smiled too, a little bit, though again there was a great sadness in her eyes, this was something that she wanted but didn't yet have. Lemon just ran and hid behind Heather this time, she knew Benny was just playing but seeing a dragon even pretending to eat a pony was not an image she wanted to see.

"You know, you'd think it was just dragons that could pick a pony up like that but being a pegasus has some advantages."

Heather wasn't as strong as a dragon but she could just about manage to get Evergreen  a couple of feet of the ground, watch him squirm as his legs left the ground. Being scared of heights he did not enjoy having anything less than two hooves on the ground but he enjoyed Heather's perky and playful nature and put up with it for her.

[Rising Dusk 27,713]

@Blitz Boom

Rising Dusk was in general, just a very prepared pony.  Having brought most of whatever he thought would help the project along.  The materials, files and a book or two from his own library collection.  Really all he had on the subject of suppression magic.  Not really the most studied topic in Equestria right now.  The blue stallion listening as Molotov analyzed and broke down the materials.  It was true, bringing Oichalcum might have been a little over top, but the option had to remain.  If the project went well, using this little piece of Oichalcum could go a long way in making something for an extremely powerful threat.  Luckily, the curse put upon this small piece had never been recorded in history.  As far as Rising Dusk knew, he was the only pony that knew what horror was put upon it.  He blinked in a quick thought, hoping it remained that way.

"Black Steel is Draconic in original.  Forged in volcanoes to give it that appearance and extra strength.  I've seen it commonly used in magical artifacts.  Really just as rare as it is, for ponies, considering where it comes from."

 He confirmed Molotov's theory on Black Steel.  Sadly, he would have to disappoint Molotov when it came to his actions in regards to the bracelet he lifted with magic.  Rising Dusk wasn't all that big on showing off.  More often than not, showing off is what tends to lead to magical mishaps.

"Deep Iron should work as a cheap method to test a few prototypes.  I don't see why it wouldn't be able to hold up to the basic formulas."

Igniting his horn again, he picked up the Oichalcum and Black Steel materials, pulling them back into his bag.  Looking to Molotov to offer an alternative.

"I know a pony who owns a scrap yard in the city that keeps a nice stock Deep Iron.  Should you not wish to return to Center Zero."

[Moonlit 593]

@Dji @Blitz Boom @Seamore Sandwich Serenade nods, "♪Another race Sirens compete with.♪" Serenade looks back up at Celestia "♪I have a feeling I will be repeating all this when Princess Sparkle returns...her reputation back in Canterlot proceeds her♪"

[EQ_Theta 459]

@Blitz Boom

Sen froze up upon hearing what Scarcity had to say. Eating formerly living creatures, possibly of their own kind didn’t sit well with him. Being brought up to believe every creature be given respect… just hearing about this flew right in the face of what he learned. It is unsettling, perhaps more than he had expected. He excused himself, gesturing about looking for some place to relieve himself without saying a word, rushing out of the area before he did something that would leave a mess on the floor. 

Not to say he wasn't relieved when he heard about the portions. It’s different from what he was used to but it’s a welcome change. This is true for Lin as well, whose curiosity was sated. Emotion-eaters… something new for her to hear about and they might not seem to pose an immediate problem to her when they are off traveling. 

“I guess that sounds good if I’m not taking a trip by boat, whatever that is. All this about the sea creatures… it’s interesting to know about. Maybe a half-dragon, half-pony creature doesn’t sound so farfetched after all.” 

Of course, there was still the occasional oddity she encountered on her travels. Strange creatures taking on different sizes, shapes, body parts… all alien to her. Some sentient, others not so much. It left her wondering about the longma origins at times. 

“Back to my earlier question, though,” Lin quickly added. “Where exactly did you plan to have the statue in? I’d like to have a look at the place before we set off to find the statue. It will make the return trip much faster.” 

[BloodDrops 762]

15 hours ago, Blitz Boom said:

"Flying with you isn't an option right now. I do not have enough magic lefty to waste it on a cover, I don't have spare cloth to use, and with the... Surgical measures I have been subjected too at the hospital, along with the pain killers, my flying isn't stable enough for a several hour flight."

Nerzhei took a claw to the back of her neck and felt on the gauze, where the doctor had taken a sample to run some tests regarding her migraines, being a possible illness. A slow process by his own account, but depending on her genes, Nerzhei had centuries to millennia to use before her time was naturally over. Though of course,s he would appreciate not having to wait for several pony generations for at least some degree of an answer.

Regardless of how long it would take, it were a necessary measure in her mind, as she did not wish to spend the rest of her life dealing with an issue like this, and only have something to relieve the symptoms of it to help with the issue. It were not sustainable, and she knew that. And much as she wished that she could sometimes just ignore the rational side of her, she prided herself in having a brain and using it, and logic dictated that she were best off agreeing to have some samples taken after the usual talk and examination.

It had some downsides though, in the form of her wings having the potential to briefly spasm if she were unlucky.- which if she were carrying Blood, could end up with her essentially, accidentally dropping a dirty bomb on a small community - and the painkillers making her a little slower to react on things such as that weren't helping. It helped relieve the pain in her arm, which she were grateful for, but it came with limitations that she needed to face.

"If I were you, I would not underestimate what would try to lounge out after you in these woods. Not everything is afraid of dragons, and until it's too late for them to know better, you're just a pony to them, and they're certainly not afraid of those."

Blitz were an exception to that, but lob enough explosions after creatures, and they started to get the hint. Though as far as she understood it, she had left with her brother yesterday, so if the creatures would keep up that memory were hard to say. Depended on how long she were gone she supposed, though it would hopefully not be too long. Much as the dragoness hated to admit it, she were somewhat fond of the optimistic little filly, and had done her part in keeping an eye out after her when she had inevitably collapsed due to exhaustion. You barely took notice of the filly when she slept, so it were hardly an issue, but Nerzhei still felt that she needed to keep an eye out for the little one, at least somewhat.

*sigh* Perhaps when this *adventure* were over, she could try and ask around, and see if anyone knew where the two of them were. Molotov was a weird one that Nerzhei didn't fully trust either right now, so checking up seemed like it would be a good idea. If for nothing else, then from principle.

"As for rest, I will sleep when it's needed. or now, picking some things from my home, then be on our way is a better usage of our time. And I already said that I was going to use the dog food for bait. Calm your nerves."

The dragoness rolled her eyes as Droppy wandered into a tree, and turned around to cut the fish bag down from the tree. She doubted it would last long, but if it could eventually buy her a few hours of somewhat safe sleep, she'd take it, though she would have to keep track of how long something like this lasted for Blood. Knowing how much of a meal were needed, and how long they could go on in less than ideal hunting grounds, were going to be crucial for this. And speaking of crucial elements, they should be on their way. They were loosing the last time of sun they had to work with standing around here.

Fish bag well set, and after checking that Lotus were securely asleep in the hood of her clothes, Nerzhei began wandering towards the cave that she called home. Another situation she would have to remedy someday after Blood and her were done.

 

Droppy nodded at her and smiled. "that's alright, if ya can't fly we can walk." she remarked giving the tree a nibble. Enjoying the taste of the bark. She turned around and walked back over to the dragon. She shrugged "anything dumb enough to attack us gives us more food. anything dumb enough to try to eat me will get a nasty surprise, I can make cellular composition on a cellular level after all. Though I will be hunting when time allows, unless something begs to be eaten on the way. Something large and squishy" she added with a nod.

 

"Fine, sleep when you need it, I do not need to sleep. I need to move though or i get bored" she added with a yawn, she shrugged at the mention of the dog food "yeah use it as bait fine, just don't feed me it" she added with a nod. She stood and waited for Nerzhei to collect the fish bag she tried to give it a sniff, though she didn't get that close to it. The dragon was too clever for that. She let out a snort and followed the dragon.

 

"So your going to your cave first? Then we going to this town where villagers that can cure me and not be eaten are?" she asked her letting out a yawn after walking for several minutes. "you wana play a game?" she asked smiling. She had really good games she liked to play. 

 

[Seamore Sandwich 471]

@Blitz Boom

@Moonlit

 

Celestia seemed really calm about the whole situation.  That is until she made a sudden realization.  “We must hurry to the library.  I should be here soon.  Last, you stay here, and not a word of any of this.  Cherish, Serenade, you stay with me.”  Celestia would then start toward the library at a hurried pace.   

 

@Dji 

 

“I’ll measure as I go.  We’ll also need sea salt, phoenix ash, and morning dew.”  Luna started hurriedly yet carefully mixing portions of the ingredients into one of the empty beakers taken from one of the shelves.  As she poured liquid ingredients, she measured some others in test tubes and ground the dry ingredients with a mortar and pestle.  It was really a sight to see.  Occasionally she would levitate something closer to her eye to inspect it, to see if the dry ingredients were ground well enough or to see if the liquid ingredients appeared to be the right color when mixed.

 

@Blitz Boom 

 

“I’ve been helping to heal Ziggy’s leg, so I don’t know if I can leave yet,” Charlie said, unsure and turning to the doctor, seemingly looking for an answer, but before she could respond, Dr.Xeno chimed in.  “After a whole night of healing with your help, I think her leg should be almost completely reconnected, though I believe some parts may still be a bit weak.  She’ll be able to heal the rest of the way on her own.  Honestly though, if you’re getting a new body for yourself, would you mind bringing the stick you’re in back to me?  It would be a great sample for my research.”  Everwood always fascinated Miles.  Even before he had found out about the magical uses of it, he was curious to find out why it had a tendency to short out changeling magic.  Over the years he had learned a great deal about it, but there were still many mysteries about the wood that he had yet to solve.

[Moonlit 593]

@Blitz Boom @Dji @Seamore Sandwich Serenade moved as quickly as she could, her adult Siren body keeping pace with the Sun Princess. When the Dawnbringer moved, you swiftly followed, regardless. Serenade shivered, just thinking about Changlings and Windigoes made her cringe.

[Sekel 693]

@Seamore Sandwich, @Blitz Boom, @Moonlit

TWILIGHT SPARKLE

Twilight helped the princess as best she could but soon found herself delegated to giving Luna the ingredients she needed and taking away the ones tat she didn't. If it meant everything being done quicker, she didn't have a problem with it. "How much longer is this potion going to take?" Twilight asked curiously amongst all the flurry of beaker checking and cross referencing other ingredients.

[Blitz Boom 4,627]

@Dji

Despite her complaints, Zhu kept his gaze on her for an additional five seconds, to see if the squirming and pained reaction would continue in a predictable pattern. Perhaps it was cruel to do to her, but it would be crueler to subject Equestria to the changeling goo, in full control of its vessel. The pain of a single pony meant very little in that grand scheme.

Still, when the time passed, Zhu would avert his gaze again and pull his hood a little further down.

"It seems you are at least somewhat in control. We can leave."

She would likely recover rapidly after he stopped watching her, as she had done previously, and find him wandering towards the hole in the wall they had entered through. Perhaps it were not the preferred way for her, but the main door were not an option. As Zhu had glanced at the generals earlier, the option that they would send somepony here had been present, following the timeline where he had let himself get imprisoned, and subsequently escaped. It had seemed insignificant at the time, since they were to simply leave, but seeing where they were now, it were a bit of information that guided his paws towards the road of least resistance.

Especially as he couldn't tell what were going to happen if the ones send met up with them. There was a familiar static that arose once it had gotten to the group sent towards here itself, and he couldn't get anything solid from it, no matter how many of the guards in the area he had *examined* earlier. The best he could do, were to track where things went static, and then know to avoid those places.

They wouldn't be able to keep away for much longer he would recon. Time were not as limited as it would have been if Karmic had needed to be freed from her misery, but it were likely still not too long. Potentially. Having no sunlight to judge from were problematic at times.

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

 

@Lloyd

Void's ears fell as Iron Wings looked at her, and she gulped down what felt like a spiked golf ball before slowly nodding.

"O-Okay, I'll try..."

This all seemed far more dangerous than she had any right being in the middle off, especially without Null here, but they needed help, and she could do something good with her curse this time. It would help their case when they sought asylum, right? And it wasn't like she were unprotected. There were magic ponies and that strange, Coastal Guard general that would be there too. They'd keep her safe.

...R-Right?

As the paranoid thoughts started to fester in her mind, Tidal Wave grinned from ear to ear and slapped the lot of the three that were with her on the shoulders,  one by one.

"That's the spirit. As for that Zhu fellah, long as we got Void here with us, it sounds like we'd have an easy time dealing with a powerless breeze and an element of hokus pokus. If he tries to get in for a brawl, I'll knock him out in a flash, Coast Guard style. Or you can try and magic him out of things I guess. Witches right? Who knows what you can do.

Now come on, let's get these things loaded off so we can go through the tunnels and have a look. Except for the element. Sounds like we're better off if you hang on to that one, Void."

With that, Tidal Wave would wave off towards the others, and guide Astral, Sapphire and Void towards the containment room, which would have the first entrance point about a minute away from this room. With three layers, it might take about five minutes to get in if they were slow, but nothing more.

"While they're doing that, I'd like to discuss the plans to follow in case we are unable to stop Zhu from leaving Canterlot. We can assume that we will be dealing with illusory works at some point, so we may need to have certain guards taken to less important areas, depending on how easily they could be swayed with tricks or simple distractions."

It was odd how none of them had mentioned the Element of Depression, which had been in the possession of Astral's protegee, but perhaps they had simply forgotten. Or they believed it to be safe enough at the hospital. Though of course, it wouldn't matter much, as the last known holder of said element had been Scarcity, who so far had not returned the little gem that she had hidden in the bag, formerly used to house the artifact she had brought to fight away Warlock at the hospital.

Said artifact would be within the town limits again soon, provided that the approaching Blackbeak, Brick Break, and the unconscious former vessel of Emerald could find a way to tie down the artifact so it wouldn't begin to try and eat the barrier around Canterlot. Considering what information the former vessel might hold, helping them eventually might be a good idea, though of course, only Astral currently knew of that group being with them and in possession of the former vessel. She had left them in the castle with no warning after all.

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

 

@Lloyd

Null saw red and charged at him, ready to jump and smash her hoof into his stupid, self-righteous, mind-crawling little face.

She didn't think about how weird it were that he had somehow been able to cast magic in here, or how he had even gotten into her mind, as magic had so far had no effect on her through her entire life. What she focused on were his insulting, demeaning claims and accusations, coupled with the still vivid image in her head of him trying to put a pin in her sister like she were a butterfly!

If Hailstorm hadn't been quick and reacted, Null would have slammed his prisoner, and felt no kind of remorse for the beating, yet he had instinctively went for stopping a fight, and ended with Null in a headlock.

"Liar! Monster! You are nothing like me. I'm not a freak. I'm not a sadistic horror, hurting everypony around me!"

"Calm yourself mare, or you will force my hoof."

If Warlock really had found a way into Null's head, he would know how much his words hurt, in context of her experiences for the past twenty-seven years. First growing up negating the powers of others and being called everything from a bad foal to a freak that should never have existed, to having to run, after the unsubstantiated fear of the villagers she grew up around caused her sister and her to be physically damaged for life. They saw her like Warlock were now, and she were nothing like that. Refused to be like that.

Hailstorm were surprised how hard it actually were to keep hold of this mare, considering how a small pegasus seemed like she'd be easy to keep hold of, but this one were a tough sell on that idea it seemed like. She even managed to get closer to Warlock, which would have him two inches away from her negation field. Barely enough room to breathe, let alone make a resisting effort, though at least he should be happy about not needing to eat through a straw right now.

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

 

@Lucid_Nightlight @EQ_Theta @Storm Shine

"Pranks are fun, but don't destroy stuff. It's more fun to create, and you get terminated by other draconequui if you ruin their toys."

The only thing Anomaly really knew of her old self where that she had been killed, that it had involved other draconequui, and that the author was a buzzkill weirdo who wouldn't just tell her the details! Hey, stay out of my writing.

Now where were we... Eh, I think I covered it. Best to not dive into it either right now, or I'll have to drop metal on Anomaly again to keep her from doing something stupid give Anomaly a giant cake with crunchies on.

"What sorta power is it you gots anyway? Discord can like, rewrite history, travel in time, and lots of other cool stuff I heard. 'nother one I met had a thing with confusion and pancakes, and I mess with plants, animals and stuff. What's your sort of special gonna be? Hehe, I bet it's gonna be something with pies. Or hats. Oh! Pies on hats! There we have it. Lucid the Gentlestallion Poquus Pie-master. Available at birthday parties and mall openings."

A small sign grew next to Anomaly, showing off an extravagant picture of Lucid in a weirdly-colored suit, waving his hooves ominously, and pie-hats slinging towards something off the board. She still hadn't decided on the font, but considering who it were... Comic Sans?

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

 

@Victoria Sponge

"I got picked up by a pegasus once.

It was the weirdest thing. One moment I'm wandering in Las Pegasus to see all the fun stuffs, and the next thing I know there's a pink and white blur, and this tall, zebra-like pegasus suddenly got me in a grip and lifts me off the ground. In a hug."

Pop grimaced at that snippet of a story.

"I remember her. The surprise hug caused you to go off balance and fall down from the skies."

Benny's grin grew wide by that sentence, remembering things more fondly than Pop did.

"To be fair, I had only been away from Dragon land for two months then, and were still getting used to ponies. if I hadn't freaked out, it would've been fine. Besides, I got out of it perfectly."

"I had to borrow a ladder to pull you out of a tree. There were squirrels hitting you with acorns."

Benny went in close and put a finger in front of Pop's muzzle, looking sheepishly from side to side.

"Shh, I wanna see if they'll buy that I'm cool."

The two of them locked eyes, and burst into a short laughter. At the time it hadn't been as funny, and the mare that had assaulted Benny had gotten a bit of an earful from Pop, but they could look back at this and laugh today. It made for an interesting holiday story too, at least between them.

"Heh, seriously, some pegasi can be real strong. Seen one in Ponyville who got really huge muscles. I bet he could lift both Toxen and me at once with no worries."

"You should ask him at some point. Bulk Biceps would likely enjoy the extra weight training."

The pegasus in question had been around her shop a few times to get some chocolates a few times, though pop had doubts that he ate them himself. The sort he went with seemed to be more meant as gifts, and she had seen him glance towards the Hearts Warming boxes a few times last year, sos he had some suspicions. Nothing concrete though, as she didn't really socialize with that many in Ponyville, but it was fun to think on things.

"Going back to Caramel, I believe you that she must have a good side to her somewhere. I can tell that she really puts her heart into making her sweets, and if she were always down, they'd taste pretty differently. I've made sad candy before, and they're absolutely miserable. Nowhere like the stuff Caramel shoved off."

It really had been some good caramel that the mare had shown up with. Different than her own, and made from less special ingredients, but the taste had been impeccable, and the texture beautiful. She honestly couldn't tell which ones she preferred, if she took away the slight bias she had towards her own stuff.

"I have to try and find her at some point and try. For uhm... Research purposes."

"Big glutton."

She gave Benny a peck on his cheek and started to scatter out the plates that Benny had brought from the house, remembering suddenly that they had some cake that they had actually been supposed to enjoy.

"Anypony wanted some cake? I'm sorry I didn't ask before, but I got a little distracted. We got blueberry and... Oh dear, I can't remember what that one were. Victoria? Could you please tell us what this was again?"

It wasn't the chili cake, as that one had been left inside to the spicy-loving dragons, though which one it were beyond that she had totally forgotten by now. She could taste and find out of course, but it seemed just as easy to just ask Victoria. She had been there when it had been made, and likely had part in making it too, from what she could recall, so she'd likely know.

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

 

@Rising Dusk

"Huh?"

Molotov looked up from the parts he had already scattered on the table, and looked towards Rising as his brain caught up with him. Focused as he had been on the transportation methods, he had just sorta tuned the officer out for a bit there.

"I mean, I guess we could go to a scrapya-"

"Scrapyard? Yeeeeeeeeeeey!"

Blitz hadn't been sure she heard it right  the first time, but as it were repeated, she nearly bounced off her station and came over to the two adults, and looked up at them like a dog that had been told it was time for a walk.

She loved being in places with ruined stuff, since it had parts, things to repair, plenty of stuff that could give you ideas, and especially springs. Glorious, beautiful springs! She might have a lot of them now that she were here with her big brother, but that didn't mean that her scavenger instinct wasn't giddy at the thought.

"Fine fine, you little terror, no need to gang up on me. We can go to check out that place Dusky, but only for a bit of the stuff. Better to save the bits if I do have the stuff back in Center Zero, and then just run some tests on a few parts from your mate. I'll get a transport system done in no time."

Well, he were going to now at least. It would require some all nighters after sane ponies had gone to sleep, but this was a pride thing at this point, even if it did mean that he'd have to go back home sooner than he had expected. Which would have only been when he had run out of papers to send around, and he needed to check if the guards looking for clues had messed anything up inside town. It would suck to turn on power again, and then have half the place non-functional for months while he tried to figure out where the plugs and such had failed.

It'd give him the chance to hear if they had found anything he supposed, but if they had, why hadn't they contacted him? It had been five weeks by now. You'd think that if they had some leads, they'd come to him and update him on the situation.

"You two get out then, and I'll activate the security system. I don't want anypony snooping around here that doesn't belong, or set traps. I've lost enough family already."

Granted, some of them were to explosions and experiments going haywire, but those were kinds expected. The total disappearance of his town's inhabitants on the other hoof, were something else. It made him paranoid, and after finding Blitz again... Even if she did have amnesia, and she couldn't remember a sliver from her old life before the Everfree Forest, she were the only family he had left now, and he would arm this place to a point where adventurers would flock to his doors to raid the dungeon, if it meant he could keep the two of them safe.

It wasn't exactly safe outside of course, but he had started to carry some methods of fixing that. Were they legal? Depended on your definition. To law enforcement he were pretty sure it was a big no, but he didn't have the time to think on small, insignificant things like that. In his mind, long as he didn't kill or cripple anypony, everything were on the table.

Blitz would be over at the door soon, and look expectantly on Rising to follow, whilst Carmen skittered down from some of the parts dangling from the ceiling and jumped on to her head. Carmen did not hate strangers per se, long as they didn't wore clown makeup, and Blitz had traces of much of the same things that covered Molotov, so she didn't mind catching a ride on her.

The two of them would be outside already, if it wasn't because they couldn't reach the button that would open the door. Molotov had considered putting up a few steps to make Blitz able to push it, but he preferred to not have her wander around on her own, so he did what he could to discourage her from just wandering outside.

Of course, he hadn't taken into account at the time that his sister could just drag a bucket over, but that was an embarrassment that didn't need to be said out loud.

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@Moonlit @Seamore Sandwich @Dji

Last perked up as she were addressed again by the princess. It wasn't much granted, and mostly meant she should stay here and not do anything stupid, or talk about what happened here with any being, but it was an order. Direction, by one of the alicorn sisters. From Princess Celestia even, who only minutes ago had scorned the shield maiden for her rash outbursts towards Serenade. Perhaps she could begin to redeem herself in the princesses eyes faster than she had anticipated? It was a small hope, but being addressed again were a step in the right direction to bring her out of her shame, and back into the glory of appreciated service to the rulers of Equestria.

Cherish did not look as good though, as the other two began wandering away, and she eventually were stopped, three meters from Last.

"Your majesty! The spirit needs this."

Last noticed it too, and withdrew the metal piece that came from the old castle, which Cherish was bound to. In the castle itself her limitations felt small and insignificant, but out here, where she only had a piece to cling to? The limits of her *cage* were getting tangible.

It would help as last threw the piece towards Celestia and Serenade, and she could wander with, and somewhat lift the thing more towards whoever was closest, but she couldn't lift this for long. Another limitation, to prevent her from just levitating this everywhere she wanted to go.

"Somepony p-please grab it. I can't go with you o-otherwise."

Cherish sounded somewhat frightened, and well pleading, as she wanted to follow, but didn't have many means to do so without a little help. Hopefully either one of them would answer the call, so she could join them towards what she would guess were wherever Luna and Twilight were.

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@EQ_Theta

Scarcity honestly hadn't expected as strong a response to the question about meat, as the one she got from Sen. For ponies, eating other creatures were bad and generally unpleasant, but it were still unusual to see others who needed to puke - or whatever it were he had gone off to do currently - as a result of it. She would need to keep this in mind, when building a profile of sorts for the two of them, in case she would need it for a future meeting.

"I am all ready and prepared to show you Lin. Simply set the course towards Canterlot, and I shall direct us from there."

"The faster the better. The quicker we begin to prepare rations the quicker we can move along and get our assignment completed."

From personal experience, the portals were pretty quick for Rosa, so getting to Canterlot did not seem the issue. Walking towards where they had to drop off the statue eventually though, as well as preparing for the trip? It could quickly add up in time, and he did not wish to waste what little of that precious resource they had to work with. Scarcity's help in regards to Filigree would likely be dependent on whatever or not they could get this done in time, and at this point, he were in too deep to want to see her get out of prison because they were too slow.

"And for the record, a boat is something you sit in or stand on to not fall into the water."

It was an incredibly simple way of looking at it, but feeling that he robbed Scarcity of another small chance to hear his voice pleased him, no matter how petty it actually were.

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@BloodDrops

"If an animal is stupid enough to attack, what happens to it is simply the natural order."

Nerzhei specifically said animal, as otherwise, a farmer with a plowshare might be seen as an attacker, and get munched on by her definition. Sure, ponies were still some kind of animal, but animal generally referred to creatures with low sentience and/or intelligence levels, such as wild beasts, Tatzelwurms, or ducks. And frankly, she hoped that the second of those examples would pop up, because she hated those creatures, and wanted to see at least one of them as a chew toy.

It might be petty, but any kind of creature that stole a book of hers were not on her friendly list, and even though she had managed to get it back eventually via Lyriel, it had been beyond repair. Thankfully it hadn't been one of the important books, but still, it were not a pleasant thought, and overall she just wasn't a fan of the earth-dwelling jaws mixed with a jack-in-the-box. Evolutionary sane, but that was about the only nice thing she could say about them.

Answering that, it seemed like they might finally get a spot of peace, which Nerzhei frankly wouldn't mind, as it would give her a little time to mentally breathe and gather herself.

And then Blood resumed talking once more...

"Why do I get the feeling your games will cause me to be horrified?"

She rubbed her temple with the index and long fingers on her free arm, trying to put down the rising want to just slam her head into a tree in frustration, and not stop until either her skull or the tree caved in.

"Fine, whatever. Just don't touch me, and don't wander off. We're near the cave."

Something told her that she were going to regret this, but it was either giving in and observing, trying to think of this as a teachable moment, or having a large swig of elixir again. They barely started, and she only had three bottles, so she had to try and conserve a little of it when she were able to. A lesser attack like this, she could manage, and she'd rather deal with that right now, than needing the drink later on when a major migraine attack began, and be fresh out.

Perhaps if this were not as bad as every fivber in her body told her it were, she could clear her head enough to start responding and correcting about the pony they were going to see, but they'd see if she could even keep focus on that being mentioned, when Blood would begin her games.

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@Seamore Sandwich

"If she can make it without the stick, then there's no need to stay here. He can decide to come back and finish what he started later, in case he is still able to."

With that, and not wanting to actually touch the mimic that were still hissing at her, with Charlie's stick in her small, webbed paws, Vivid would use her magic to separate the stick and the creature, then chain the later down to Ziggy's chest. It wouldn't last once she had left,  but it would do until they were gone. After that, whatever they decided to do with the thing were none of her business, nor interest.

"You better come back. I wanna see his new body, and my roomie have dibs on Charlie's stick. Plenty of reason to be back with strange, ancient mare."

Vivid were starting to wonder if perhaps the zegasus were in fact, less open-minded and more nuts, but there'd be a time and a place for that thought, and now wasn't it. For now, she would do better in nodding to the two doctors that were currently on bed rest, and then prepare to be on her way. The faster they could get this done, the better.

"Farewell, for now."

With that, she stepped back with Charlie in her muzzle, and vanished in a puff of purple smoke. Leaving the elderly doctors to snort disapprovingly at the vanishing remnants of her visit.

"Beyond the princess, hardly anything good comes from ancient beings. Something tells me that one will end up being a good deal of trouble."

Meanwhile, Charlie and Vivid would be in the *middle realm* as one could call it. The one where Vivid wandered when she were seemingly teleporting, which were in fact just going through a layer, into a small world where she could navigate, and time flowed differently. Made it seem almost as if she had teleported to ponies, but in reality, she had to walk as much as a regular pony. It was just the time difference.

The area was essentially just dead trees everywhere, towering towards the skies with weird, drained-looking creatures of varied origins starring from the side and whispering, trying to lure you away from the tendrils that made for the road in this place. Nothing had really changed since Charlie was in here the last time, except another branch being added further on to the right. Not anywhere near where they were going, but it did showcase that this place did show some capacity for change.

"Your new friends seemed interesting. What brought you to them, from the secrecy of the room I placed you in within the castle?"

She mainly wanted to know how in the world of Equestria, they managed to find a stick under some rubble, in a closed off section of the palace, but she would take a story with more mat on it now if it were. It might pass the time better.

[Lucid_Nightlight 923]

@EQ_Theta @Blitz Boom @Storm Shine

"What can I do? What I well please! Well, there are some things I can't do for one of two reasons: I'm not experienced enough, or I haven't reached a high enough level."

Lucid may have been powerful, but he was still young and inexperienced like any 16-17 year old pony... or Poquus in his case.

"You know, I've always wanted to make my own pocket dimension, but every time I try, it explodes. That's one of the things I can't do quite yet."