open Casual stroll

Hogweed brightened up as she heard Warlock that he would try. Taking the first step and accepting help were a big hurdle, and if they could get past that now, it would save them greatly on time to get towards the actual programs that could truly help him.

"Celestia no, I have a lot of things we can go through. Self help courses, therapy, group meetings, social interaction courses, and so on. Of course, we'll have to start with your prosthetics first, along with physical therapy to make sure they set with you right. It will be my first priority."

Hogweed glanced towards the door, wondering where Hailstorm were after all this time, before looking back at the guard next to Warlock, whom she couldn't remember what was called right now.

"Excuse me, do you think that you could go look for Captain Hailstorm? He was heading for the archives, but if you can't find him there, he might have already went to the generals. I'd like to know when it's planned to have Warlock on a proper trial."

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

@Dji

Alright, so he wasn't getting the tar beaten out of him, so that was pretty great. Beyond that though, Chow were frankly not feeling too good about what were going on with Astral right now. She were acting understandably crazy, up to the point where she were almost making a pin cushion out of Zhu, who were currently in cuffs and not moving all that much. Likely the worst point for him to come 'round but when had his survival instincts listened when it came to Astral so far? He would've been in Neighpoon by now if he valued his hide after she came 'round.

"Hey, that's enough Astral. I know you're two ticks off exploding here, but killing somepony ain't gonna solve it. If you want answers, then we'll find Emerald and beat the answers out of her, and that illusion. If you start killing others instead, you'll end up no better than Emerald, or this sorry sack of bones."

He'd gesture towards Zhu, who would have added a complaint to the things being said about him, but he were a bit tied down and unwilling to bring more attention to himself in his current state. He might be okay with being caught, but not dying. Not before he had the chance to speak with Celestia again.

"We found her once, so we can find her again, but we have to stay level-headed about this, and not start to make pop sickles outta other folks heads, even if they probably deserve it. You're better than them, try and keep that in mind you big dolt, alright?"

Chow would grab hold in Astral once he had gotten into a position to do that, whilst talking, and would face her given the chance too. Chances were rising that he'd get slammed into a wall, but eh, Brick had broken his leg and he could still consider the usually quiet stallion a friend, so a little trip through a wall wasn't gonna be the big end-all. Could be he'd get turned into a frog too though. Witches, right? Had to love 'em and their antics.

Meanwhile, Tidal sent a pretty mean stink-eye towards Astral, whom she hadn't thought would try to kill her prisoner like that. Clearly a bad judgement call.

"Hey! Next time you try that, I'll lock you up for attempted murder. I don't care how miffed you are, ain't nopony committing murder on my watch and gets away with it.

And you, girlie? They ran off like scared hares, that's what happened. They'll get what's coming to 'em soon enough though, but first off, I'm booking this guy. One bird in the hoof and all that old school stuff."

Not everypony were all that aggressive right now, but it were pretty clear that the tensions had returned, and everypony had the chance at expressing their more straight-forward expressions. One of them being a thrown sword might've been a tad aggressive though, but eh, semantics.

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

@Seamore Sandwich @Moonlit @Dji

Emerald had been thrown across the floor of wherever they had landed, as she had thrown herself at Sapphire before, so she were on her stomach until Sapphire began talking, about the same time as she rose up, back turned to the illusion of her sister.

"Do you think me an idiot?"

Her voice were cold as ice, as she turned around to face Sapphire, and glanced at her with anger flourishing in her mind once again, now that they were finally away from the pacifist wave.

"Don't you think I would know, and preserve you? I have been trapped like this for centuries, nothing more than a parasite, painfully aware of my own condition. Even before I overtook the greedy pony who sought to use my powers, I knew how to work with this curse, and do you know what that entails? Finding another presence, and if need be, suppress them into submission.

No matter how much I hate you Sapphire, I could never let you die. If I found even a sliver, I would've preserved it. You made me promise to do that when we went over how to resurrect you, and then you have the guts to make them think that I would go against that?!"

Emerald's eyes went deeper and deeper red, and her horn periodically pulsed with magic. This unicorn form were far more effective than the earthen ones she had held before, so this time, she would be able to use magic to back up her words. Not her best work, but that were locked down currently too, by both sapphire, and the gem she had given herself to.

"I am not the monster that left her family, you are! You are every bit as egocentric and deceitful as I ever were, and I don't even know how much of what you say right now is your own words, and what's just twisted by the element. It's not meant to be possessed. Not even a wearer are supposed to trust it, or give themselves into it, and yet here you are.

What in creation would make you do something so reckless and stupid?! Answer me!"

She stomped, and made the ground crack beneath her hoof. Emerald had always been a highly emotional one if you knew how to push her buttons, and Sapphire, plus the element being this near, without being able to take back either? It ticked off all the red lights at once.

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

@Rising Dusk

Hopefully Dusky could work regardless of noise, because as Molotov were granted some good, solid metal pieces to work with by Felicia, he had to get to work reforging them.

Now, the way he had set up his forge wasn't as bad as the regular kinds. It was mostly strong flames directed towards the same point, and he could spread it out over a larger surface depending on how far up or down he kept the chunk with his horn. Using hoof power in this way would be madness.

The smog and most of the extra heat would be sucked out the duel-piped chimney, not making much of a change in the temperature in the room, but when it came to forming metal, you still had to go old school. Which meant hammering on it with the right tools until it fit the need.

He'd need 12 pieces for a cube, and that was without a dedicated holding place in the design for any magic. If it came in gem form, he'd have to work on that afterwards, but for the time being that was a dozen pieces of metal that needed to be up glowing and then battered around until it fitted the design he had in mind to a T. It was going to get noisy for a bit, though Dusky would likely be allowed to go for the residential part of this place if he needed some peace.

Molotov for one, loved the sound. It was a familiar, comfortable melody that he were more than happy to whistle along with. Literally. He were whistling as it went on, though it were barely possible to hear.

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

@Victoria Sponge

Benny were grinning widely as Vicky went on with metaphorically shoving her own hoof down her throat. He wasn't gonna laugh in her face about this, but come on, it did look pretty funny.

Another family member got into the picture shortly after though and this one was a berry related one. Lots of delicious names in that family huh? Almost made a dragon all hungry, heh.

Though honestly, it just made it seem weirder and weirder about how ponies got their names. Pop had tried to explain it to him some times now, but it were still kinda goofy and- Oh hey, it was an option to get fancied up now? Better give his two cents on this.

"I think it's true that makeup can show you how much you really care about your presentation, but it's just never been my style. I didn't even go to a mane saloon for ages before stumbling over Snip Snap's place, and he more or less dragged me in there, whilst talking about an *affront against style that needed to be corrected right away.*. I get that done there now, but I think somepony like Victoria does far better with makeup than me, and pulls it off beautifully.

And before he starts, don't put makeup on Benny, please. I think he'd enjoy it far too much."

"What, I'm not allowed to show off my feminine glow?"

"First time you were left you with makeup, you thought it was candy and ate it, so the nurses had to pump your stomach. Second time you got dolled up like a clown and knocked on my window to scare the tail off me. I'm afraid what would happen a third time."

"Heh, fair enough. Honestly I'd love to just join in on things here. Everypony always gets so strange when we come to anything, but none of you folks have been weird about it. You're really some of the best ponies I've ever met, delicious names family.

I can't wait to meet more of you. Especially that Raspberry mare, she sounds interesting.

Oh, and what does Strawberry look like? It's probably best that I know who to look for when it comes to toning down the antics. I wouldn't want an elderly pony to feel riled up because of me."

Benny looked at the varied friends in front of him, with curious, anticipating eyes, and his ears on stilts. He couldn't wait to hear more about their fascinating family members, and who he should and shouldn't mess with. Strawberry was a big nono, but perhaps Raspberry were okay? Better cake than sorry.

No wait, not cake. Safe. He meant safe!

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

"A what?!"

Last's eye opened wide, and she wandered over to the window to see it herself.

Sure enough, a huge pillar of sand were whirling a good deal of the way inside the forest, though it didn't seem to be moving their way right now for some reason.

A string of rather expressive vulgarities escaped Last's muzzle as she saw this, before she turned to the two... Students.

"The town is just about rebuild, and now this happens... I swear, Ponyville is build on insanity. We'll have to warn the princesses about this at once."

They would be there in the next room, though it would likely not really surprise anypony when they got there that neither of the princesses were actually there, and that a lot of noise came from the outside. If they wanted answers, it was going to be there.

Edited July 22, 2018 by Blitz Boom

Lucid_Nightlight · July 22, 2018

@Blitz Boom @EQ_Theta @Storm Shine @BloodDrops @Dji @Seamore Sandwich

"Turning it into a kitty seems like an alright idea, but try to make it really interesting. Maybe it will go great on your island!"

Did thought for a moment.

"Y'know, I know this guy from Manehatten named Arrow, well it's a nickname that stuck, but that's besides the point. He's currently a Solar Royal Guard stationed in Canterlot and the only idea he would come up with is just killing the thing. I'd bring him, but he's probably guarding something."

He looked over to Twilight.

"Has anyone ever told you that you REALLY need more guards?"

FanOfManyShows · July 23, 2018

Barely a sign of a recoil came from her when Emerald stomped her hoof, Sapphire only chuckling a little. "This crystal allows me to sustain a body I would've lost. After retrieving my soul with this fragment, the element was activated upon being broken. Creating a body for me to use, one that couldn't be harmed, an effectively immortal form." She created a sword construct, instead it was burning with green magic, illusionary magic as sparks came off of it, also green. She lifted her leg up, and effortlessly drove it through her leg, no blood came off it, the illusion just burned like the sword around the area. "This illusion that you see before you, is the solution to what I once failed to achieve for you! If I create another, we can both have bodies, immortal forms." Her appearance seemed a bit crazed now, her body then glitched out after, misplacing parts and discolouring them. "Gah!" She recoiled backwards, puring to much magic into the illusion was failing to pay off. Surely a wielder of the element, would recognize she was doing this for too long, even just turning the elements color for as long as Sapphire would've been, would take a toll. "S-S-So what's your plan? If you really want the element, you'll need t- AAhhh... you'll need to, B-break it." Every word stuttered, even her speech struggled to stay intact.

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

@Dji @Blitz Boom

Astral knew full well that Iron would stop the sword, but she knew the excuse wouldn't help. So she stayed quiet. The anger of the situation boiled through her to a degree that made her attempt to kill, Iron could've stopped her sooner for sure. Maybe the importance of the generals words were needed to be said. "There's no words to fix this." Iron said, looking to Chow. "Especially since I can't read the mind of a pony who lacks a brain, literally. So whatever the two are doing now, I can't tell what their thoughts are" He sighed as he sat down in front of Astral. "The general can look after Zhu from here at the least. We can go deal with Emerald and Sapphire, but we need a way to contain their souls. Not permanently, just so we can imprison them for their crimes." He stood up, looking to the general. "Since I've recovered, I can ensure to attempts are made to end either of their lives. So if we're provided with a method to contain them..." he glanced to Zhu, to the bad that the element was previously contained in. "Yeah, that works." he pointed to it, with a bit of a face expressing his minor satisfaction in noticing it.

"Let's just stay here, clearly they can't do anything unless one of them sacrifices the other." Astral said, breaking the silence earned from her. "So either way, it'll be sorted with by themselves."

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

"Sure mam'." He said, walking out of his post and out of the cell. the guard sighed to himself with relief that he'd not have to stand there. Now off to the archives to find Hailstorm, but he'd have to walk out of the dungeon, down the hall, and then remember where the archives were.

Warlock chuckled as she listed things off, this would take years! There would be no room to finish his goal anywhere in there. Unless the idea was to rid of his goal that caused his villainy. "You must have a starting point there, at the least. Aside from getting me out of these chains, which I find unlikely to occur even after all that's been done."

Pr0m4NV14 · July 23, 2018

"Oh, alright. Let's go back to see If my sister is in there." Said Mike, calming down slightly. He had been on the verge of crying, which was unusual for him. He usually kept his negative feelings bottled away. He walked back to the counter.

"C-can I please see whoever was in that room?" Mike asked the disapproving Receptionist.

Mike looked up Sorrow and gave her a look that he hoped said 'sorry.'

EQ_Theta · July 23, 2018

@Blitz Boom @Storm Shine @Lucid_Nightlight @Dji @BloodDrops @Seamore Sandwich @Moonlit

Angel saw the kick coming and dodged it albeit barely. He was certain about fighting but not actually fighting Lotus. He let out some confused squeaks while flailing his tiny arms about, a little angry about the sudden change. Maybe he didn't get his message out carefully. The bunny then pointed at the sphinx to let Lotus know he assumed her question was about fighting the sphinx.

It wouldn't really matter now since Angel managed to hear and understand something coming from the ponies talking. Their issue would be solving the riddle issued to them, not a matter of physical combat. Regardless, the bunny had calmed down and and squeaked some more, letting Lotus know he misunderstood her question and just wanted to wait in case Fluttershy needed his assistance. It'll probably come off as a disappointment to the pink bunny but Angel knows it is not the time to be distracted by something else.

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

@Blitz Boom

Sen took the smoke pellets and kept them wrapped up in a small pouch, emptying the ones that had the jagged stones and keeping them bound tight. Simple enough to manage. Rosa had just turned in for the evening and while there is some time to themselves, Sen ran off to grab some spare materials to make another set of bolas to replace the one Rosa took. It was simple enough to make with some spare materials on him along with common stones.

Lin, meanwhile, plucked one of Sen's scales without him knowing. "Ow! What was that for?"

"I thought about making a small change to that little gift I had for Omen. I just needed your scale for it."

"And you could have just asked. So, what's the plan?"

"The room should be done by the time we get back. I'll leave this gift on her bed next to our message for her. I think she'll like our surprise."

The whole conversation was whispered, out of consideration for Rosa. Who knows what he might be like if he was disturbed. Once the two were done, Sen returned to the tent to turn in for the night. Lin sat by the fire and worked on the necklace she ever so wanted to give to Omen. A thank you gift for everything. It was mostly taking the whole thing apart and redoing it until she got both her lustrous scale and Sen's dull brown one right next to each other as the centerpiece. She was satisfied with her work and waited by the fire till the first sign of dawn.

BloodDrops · July 23, 2018

The Sphinx blinked and listened to Onache words regarding the draconequui and there pony pets. She came to the same conclusion as the Queen. It was likely that they would all come to her temple and try to make her leave. She was prepared for that and had plans in place for that eventuality. She flicked her tail and smiled at the question regarding there fates. "How I will bring them to ruin? Well quite easily really, I will wait until they come into my temple to meet me and ask them a riddle. That is how I normally defeat my opponents, though if they result in brute force to try to remove myself, well then I've planned for that eventuality as well" she explained.

She planned for many different scenarios though she had prepared many great speeches and theatrics regardless of what the fools might attempt to get rid of her. All paths led to one eventual outcome which was her sitting exactly where she wanted to be sat. She waited and heard out what Onache asked for, she didn't ask for riches, nor glory or even a battle where she could emerge victorious or unharmed. She instead wanted a safe home for herself and her subjects, how quaint. She flicked her tail dismissively, "Fine, you can reside within my realm. If I need anymore of your services then I will send one of your slaves you have promised me, the only right I reserve is that you leave me in peace, I will not tolerate war within my realm either" she agreed.

She blinked and stared at Onache, "What I need from you?" she questioned flicking her tail once again, causing a seat to appear behind the Queen, several more appeared for the rest of the group that was with Onache, "Why I need you to take a seat and observe, of course. I couldn't have you ruining my theatrics and fun now. Not everyday I get a large group inside my temple at once" she said with a sly smile. "its not like you could use magic against them or vice-versa since my temple prohibits such actions similarly to your changeling thrones, though my temple is just larger and more decorated. Though its possible they can use magic outside the temple but that would revoke there guest privileges since they are guests, I will not harm them. I showed you the same courtesy so they also get this protection unless they are reckless enough to throw away my hospitality" she explained.

She let out a yawn at Onache's impatience. "patience, patience. We can deal with them accordingly. For now however, I'm hungry and prefer something to eat. I suppose you might be hungry as well along with our guests that will be arriving shortly. Though I can only offer yourself physical food rather then your preferred love food that you changelings like so much" she remarked flicking her tail for one last time causing a large table to appear filled with all sorts of meats, vegetables and fishes that would suit everyone's appetite. The Sphinx made her way to the fishier side of the table and sat down.

She couldn't fight on a empty stomach after all.

Sekel · July 24, 2018

@Blitz Boom, @Moonlit, @Storm Shine, @Seamore Sandwich, @Lucid_Nightlight, @BloodDrops

TWILIGHT SPARKLE

Twilight was too busy thinking about how to approach the sandstorm without getting lost along the way to real pay attention to everypony else. Her ears did perk up at the mention of some crystals and her attention got focused on Nerzhei. “Sorry, you were saying something about crystals?” Twilight asked curiously. “I’m afraid I don’t really know what you’re talking about.”

WATTS MECHANO

“Sorry, I have a habit of making bad jokes,” Watts chuckled. She titled her head at the option and looked at the origami pony. “I could probably make something like that given enough time. Although I doubt I can make living origami like what that pony looks like,” she added with a hum. She then looked between Enigma and the pony the origami shape was talking to and gained a thoughtful expression. “It looks like you and that mare have some history, though. The one next to the origami.”

@Blitz Boom, @Moonlit, @Seamore Sandwich

KARMIC FATE

“Now she’s going crazy,” Karmic muttered. She stepped forward to enter a conversation she had no business knowing about but Zhu dragged her into this with the promise of freedom! She walked past Zhu and pointed an accusing hoof at the mare brandishing her sword st him. “Sword mare! What do you think you’re doing, waving that thing around!? Somepony can get seriously hurt!”

AURORA LIGHTS

“Maybe the princesses already know about this?” ‘Gretchen’ asked nervously and walked away from the window to poke her head into the main hall. “The princesses are gone and the front door is wide open.”

Rising Dusk · July 24, 2018

Being in Workshop 05 had its own type of melody. Really, everyplace had its own melody. Different sounds, smells, temperatures, everyplace was unique. As Molotov started up his mighty forge and filled the workshop with the music of its purpose, Dusk was forced to take it all in. Searing itself into a memory that already had a hard time letting go of things as it was. The hot temperatures produced by the forge took him a bit to get use to, sure the summer in the city could get pretty intense, but this was a unique hot that even made him sweat a little.

The pounding of a heavy hammer easily drowned out the simple sounds of his chalk scratching on the wood of the bench space he was provided. Being the type of listener he was though, he didn't have the fun advantage of being able to go off into his own 'little world'. Everything around him was taken in, even as he focused on the delicate work of his magic circle. Which wasn't too bad, if he sad so himself. The tricky part was infusing the magic necessary to make the thing work, but he felt that the suppression spell should stick to the Deep Iron without issue. He hoped.

Putting the chalk down, he extinguished his horn and let the hum it produced die out. His part was done. Hopefully all that needed to do now was move the cage into the circle and he'd attach the spell.

FanOfManyShows · July 24, 2018

@Blitz Boom @Dji

She looked behind herself as the sphinx spoke. His speech clued her into the fact others were looking on, which didn't surprise her considering the massive sphinx was around. But it seemed one of their focuses was directed to her... "Uh, hi?" She waved a bit, Zealous sighing to himself and looking away. "Are you a fan or something?"

He smirked a bit with a light chuckle. "We haven't exactly met before. I was just simply enjoying the show."

The odd way he worded that set off some signals 'He's totally interested' She thought, having heard enough ponies state some form of, attraction. Although a part of him did seem somewhat familiar, though at the moment she failed to recall what.

"Let's keep going to find your medication Watts, since that's what we were looking for." He looked off, the plan didn't involve Crystal yet, so he could continue with this Watts pony.

After a moment she looked back to Enzo, with a bit of a realization. "Does that apply if you are the one answering the riddle?" She asked, tilting her head, hoping he'd realize what she was referring to.

Blitz Boom · July 24, 2018

Emerald would have shown worry at what were happening with Sapphire, if her anger hadn't risen so much as it had. Yet with how things were, she just managed to stop herself from yelling, and go into a cold, snarky tone when addressing her flimsily constructed illusion of a sister. Not the best way of dealing with things, but it were the only way she could keep herself under control right now, from either being too emotionally distressed about what she saw, or so angry that she'd attempt to kick the element into pieces.

"Your solution is no better than my curse. The difference is that I still have a substance, if merely by blood. You though, *dearest sister* are just possessing a piece of rock, and think that fixes everything. How pathetic.

This is not life. It's not a way out of the shortcomings of our mortality. We're parasites, though I at least have something resembling a form. What are you? A sad spirit chained in a rock, who can't even keep herself intact, because she forgets that magic is the only thing making her seem real. Magic that you have been all too happy to spend without care for the consequences."

Sapphire were not off as easily as Emerald had thought for the longest time, that seemed to be painfully obvious, but she could stabilize her form if she focused on it, and stopped throwing magic around like it were candy at the end of the school year. Concentration, conservation, preservation. That were the key for Sapphire to not revert to a more inert state for a time.

"I want a real body, just as you should, and the only way we are going to get that by now, is by doing it my way. So are you going to get it together and think about your own life, like you usually do, or would you prefer to be hiding from now on? Because I don't see your new family welcome you back with open hooves, now that they know what you are.

If I recall the spell correct, we need raw magic of the seven schools, a bag of dusted bone, a flower from the forbidden orchard, and twenty liters of fresh blood. Also, I'm going to need a better body than this. That of a great witch, or one with the raw potential to be such."

A cruel smile spread on Emerald's face as the candidates came into mind of her.

"Perhaps your new family is going to be more useful than I first gave them credit for."

There were only four that came to mind. Warlock were one, but she wouldn't take his. His will and centuries of training had made it difficult to cling to his mind, unless he were comatose for some reason, so he were undesirable. She didn't like his handicaps, nor the fact that the guards had him either, if she were to be honest. He had his moments, but... It wouldn't work. The two of them were united for vengeance, and if that were not an option - because of Sapphire taking possession of the element she sought - then they had nothing to connect over.

Iron and Astral were the main options, and those she wanted Sapphire to think of as this all came into place. Iron had experience, and could likely provide a strong carcass for the task, regardless of how little she'd be able to cling on to somepony who likely had some defenses against possession by now, and Astral... The potential were there, that were obvious as could be, yet she lacked any kind of real experience. Far too young to have experienced the depths of what she could do, though with a guiding hoof, her body could be useful. That it would hurt Sapphire to have to chose between her husband and her daughter, were nothing but a delightful bonus.

The option that were less obvious to Sapphire more than likely, would be Chow. Strange to think that a simplistic brute like him had anything to offer the world of magic, but Emerald had been there. She knew the truth, and had been working on unlocking said potential before she had been locked in, and then when she had next taken hold of him, she had been forced out too soon, and had quite a bit of other things on her mind, so her influence were meager, or nonexistent on him. Given enough time however, she could unlock it, though the price would be high, as she would not leave him again until she got a body of her own. No matter if she had to switch bodies now and again, she would just trap him somewhere, and then wait until he was ready to be her meatsuit once more. She considered it payback, for all the years she had to be stuck in his blighted head.

But one thing at a time. First, she had to see if Sapphire would take this last olive branch from Emerald, and work with her to gather materials and victims.

Unbeknownst to Emerald, there were blood banks around now, that could provide the fresh blood needed without hurting anypony, but she'd have to be told that. She had been away for a long time, and Chow had never been near any of those places, just in case Emerald tried to do something, so the mare didn't have any information to work with on this matter.

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

@Dji @FanOfManyShows

Chow rolled his eyes and turned from Astral - who hadn't reacted badly to him going for a placed hoof on her shoulder to show some solidarity - to glance directly at Iron.

"No offense one timer, but blow it out your beak. You've both given up hope from one little setback, and frankly I'm not jumping on that bandwagon now. There's a way to sort this that doesn't involve spearing the both of them in their non-existing heads, so there'll be no destroying here. We'll just trap them, and then beat some information outta Emerald 'bout this. She had a plan to bring Sapphire back before all of this illusion mumbo jumbo went on, and that might still be valid.

I ain't gonna sit by and let either of you just go through with losing your wife and mom all over again. Family's worth more than that, and you're working under the assumption that Emerald didn't lie 'bout how much of Sapphire were actually there, or if it were just a load of trickery."

Granted, he wasn't the biggest on the positive scale right now, but he were frankly getting sick of these folks sometimes. Not like he wanted to ditch them - Celestia no - but more like they were all a bunch of overly emotional emo kids. And he were saying that, which frankly wasn't a good sign.

Afterwards, he'd turn around once more to face the mare that had gotten all up into Astral's face about the sword swinging.

"And I dunno who you are missy, but Astral's been through enough, and already had a talking to, so get off her case or I'll smack you silly."

"Hey! That's enough from all of you. There have been enough fighting here for now. Let's all get a little level-headed here."

Tidal were done cuffing Zhu up, and prepping him to be moved, so after snapping a little at the drama theater group that were apparently giving an impromptu show, she went over to a crack in the wall and kicked some more rocks loose to get a hole in the wall. She needed to get a view on where they were, so that she'd know if it was easier to go down the stairs, or find a way up to set off a signal flare. Didn't sound like she were getting a lift this time 'round, so it were option number two that she'd have to work with.

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

Okay, so she had somepony out there now to find Hailstorm, and get things in motion. So far so good, even if it did leave her alone with Warlock. Sure there were a lot of guards outside the cell, but this little room, it were just them now.

"I'm sorry, but you're right, the chains will be uhm... *Needed* for some time, until we're sure you're getting better. It's not something we always have to do, but you're not a normal prisoner either. Better than to be trapped in rock though, right?"

She attempted a small smile from the bad joke, though it felt like it were already dead on arrival before she had been done saying it.

"And well, I kind of want to start with the legs, to give you mobility again, but beyond that... I think it's best if we start with some kind of therapy? It could take some time before you got comfortable talking about what caused you to be a villain in the first place, and that would be important information to base more help from. It can be a little intrusive I suppose, but it can go a long way."

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

@Dji @Moonlit @Seamore Sandwich @EQ_Theta @Storm Shine @Lucid_Nightlight @BloodDrops

Letting out a sigh, Hailstorm raised his hoof and tried to known once more. The generals had to answer sooner or later.

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

@FanOfManyShows @Dji

Enzo rose his head from the ground and looked with narrowed eyes at the ponies who had less than respect for his presence it seemed.

"Do not view me as a simple street entertainer, begging for coins at the bazaar. It's *yawn* irritating."

He rose fully and stretched his limbs before laying down again. He really should go ahead and make an example out of the two that disturbed him and his guest, but he just didn't feel like there were a point to it. What wouldn't his father think if he saw him now? likely *We fought you were dead* but beyond that, some degree of shame in seeing a sphinx let this just swing him by, would likely be part of it. Always had been a proud one his father, even by their kinds standards, but he were still a good parent. Perhaps Enzo should send him and his mother a card at some point to let them know he wasn't actually dead? In time, but there were no rush. A few days more wouldn't matter much.

"And to answer what you seek, little one, it varies by the sphinx. Some will demand an item in return, yet I hold little to no desire for much of what you ponies have. What I want will be given by these generals of yours, or they will regret asking for my presence. They cannot expect servitude, however minute, for nothing. Such is not the sphinx's way."

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

@Pr0m4NV14

"Of course. Just go down to your right, and it should be the third door on the right."

"Thank you miss."

The nurse went on with her business after that, busy as the rest of them were with the patients still needing care after the last attack on the town, and the paperwork that needed to be filled accordingly.

Sorrow on the other hoof, grinned and started to skip towards the direction they had been given, excited about what might happen now.

"This is gonna be great! But remember Mike, even if it's not her, it's okay. We'll just go on and keep looking elsewhere, promise."

The room would have three options when they eventually reached it, and Sorrow would go to the side to allow for Mike to open it.

1. It were indeed his sister in there, though in what state were hard to say. It wasn't the intensive ward though, so it couldn't be all bad. She'd likely even be awake.

2.It was somepony else who just looked like Mike's sister, who'd get kinda confused by the visitors as she would've never seen them, but not angry.

3. The room would be empty, and Mike's sister had left without the nurse noticing. Something which would mean they'd be close at least though, as the patient had been here for only a day and a half at most.

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

@EQ_Theta

As the sun gleamed up above the trees and the first rays hit Rosa, he unfurled his wings and stretched out, well aware that he looked like a cheap vampire dummy in an old B-movie.

Letting go of the branch and fluttering down to the ground, he looked over at Lin who seemed to have had worked on something. A crafty being it seemed, or just one with plenty of time on her claws and little to no idea what to do with it. Could be a concentration thing too, though the list could go on if you went to these lengths. The list of things that some beings did to calm their nerves were vast.

"Goodmorning. You seem to have kept yourself busy."

Even if Lin had hidden the item again, you could still see that something had been done, though it would be barely possible to see what had happened.

"What I was told yesterday, about Omen not sleeping... It affects you too, yes? Sen spoke briefly of you going through some trouble that required aid of your friend's mother, but didn't feel it a good place to share more, and I didn't want to pry further on it as the night went on.

I won't do it now either, though I wish to ask if you have the energy to keep our walk then? With no rest, your energy must be severely depleted."

He were curious, that were a given, but he didn't think being that direct was the right thing to do right now. If Lin had indeed had to be patched up by Omen's mother, and had gotten some side effect from that, such as looking somewhat like the strange mare in certain regards, she likely had a difficult enough time to adjust as it were. She wouldn't need him poking at her to reveal important, personal things like that out of nowhere. He'd need to gain a higher trust level, so to speak, before it would feel appropriate.

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

@BloodDrops

"I need no sustenance. The mare you relieved of my service, were an adequate food source, and I fed shortly before this travel."

Some changelings could ingest pony food, Onache were well aware of that, but why would she ever try to eat something that filth like that had made? They should feel honored if she even dignified their food with a glance, so to expect her to sully her taste glands with the food made of prey? Inconceivable and preposterous.

Of her hivelings, the only one she knew of who did ingest pony foods, were Happy Hour, but he were a special case. Not only because he were not converted from a pony, and instead had come from a captured human that had shown near her hive out of the blue, but also because he were a scout, and had to blend in. She could tolerate his needs for non-love based food and making attempts to blend in with the regular filth as well as possible. Didn't mean that she had to.

Of course, the point were somewhat moot since this were not pony food, but sphinx based sustenance, yet that came with risks and the potential of the sphinx to think of a meal as enough to have satisfied the queen's trade-off with the information she had brought. There was also the chance that the food were poisonous. Both in general, and to changelings specifically. The sphinx were unlikely to want the queen gone, but begging for an antidote? Now, that were something different entirely.

Still, she would follow the sphinx and take a seat. Rudeness had already been a factor, and it would be foolish to tempt the sphinx on that point too many times. If nothing else, Onache could consume some water eventually, though for the time being, she would simply stare out into the desert.

"Many of my kind wonders why I willingly seek a desert to reside in. Blind fools look for places that flourish and grows, not thinking about the complacent nature it will breed into the drones. Drones are as much tools as ponies are, and thinking them higher have been the downfall of many a queen.

No, they need to be bred into harsh land, isolated and unable to seek help with any ease. The weak will perish, as they are supposed to, and the strong will rise as warriors. That is what makes a hive, and when your empire rises, I will show Equestria what a true queen can do, instead of that weak-minded bedbug Chrysalis. There will be no weakness in my swarm. No escape. No mercy. They will all be brought to their knees and made to serve. Especially those princesses of theirs. Oh how I look forward to seeing them broken on the floor, while their minds start to slip away."

A disturbing chuckle escaped her muzzle, as she pictured the princesses under two giant paws, struggling against both their physical strains, and the attacks on their psyche that she would personally provide.

Onache had imagined something like that since the failed attack on the capitol, but had waited for the right opportunity to present itself. To think that it would be a sphinx of all things... Hah! If somepony had told her this merely a day ago, she would have slapped them for the impudence and idiocy. Of course, this did include Onache's hive being under control too in a sense, but it did provide a certain level of protection to have as well. A trade-off that she could live with, depending on how things would work out.

"But there is a time for all of that in due time. I don't see you being an easy one to stop for them, especially if their magic is being repressed. Though I wonder about the draconequui. Does this work on their chaos? I have heard of precautions taken to deal with their kind before, and they have always surpassed them. Loopholes in the rules I take it.

Though of course, history do mention some instances of harmony magic working wonders, no? Do tell, is some of that within your grasp, as a contingency plan?"

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

Lotus got all excited once Angel dodged her attack, even if it were close, and were ready for more when the bunny made gestures to stop her from going on, then towards the sandstorm to show that he meant he were going to fight out there. Something which made Lotus frown and slump down, disappointed that they weren't gonna have even a teensie little brawl.

She looked towards her dragon for help on this, but found Nerzhei were currently taking another slurp from a vial of elixir, that she withdrew from her shoulder bag. Twilight should be able to see the contents of which seemed mostly to contain books of varying sizes, and a few small devices like a looking glass, plus a rather large ruby. Many things, but it were a huge bag too. A pony could easily be put in and covered up all nice and cozy, or at least a pony Twilight's size.

When the dragoness were done taking the zip of the elixir that were meant to combat her migraine attacks, she moved over, took up the pouch with the gems in that she had put down before, and began to say the things about the crystals she had before to the princess one more time, though this time with less of a nice introduction. She hated repeating herself.

While this went on, Anomaly looked over at the princess in question just like Lucid, though she didn't stay silent. Not that Lucid had either, but some of the others had.

"Oh, she totally needs just A guard. if she had any of them, we wouldn't have been able to make her this pretty garden without anypony telling her."

She spread her front appendages, indicating the large field of grass around Twilight's castle, the small fence, the grassing benches, fountain with singing fish, flower bushes, her tree of many weird fruits, the paths of stone going through the garden - deep breath - the stone bow going over the main path with the hanging flowers and sporadic, small bubble creatures in the air, that didn't seem to care much about what were going on currently.

Phew, that was a hoofful.

"Surprise by the way. It's a gift. Anyway, yeah, you need some guards. Doesn't this town have any royalists who would do the trick?"

"Your majesties, are these creatures guests of yours?"

Last Stand wandered out of the open door, as indicated by the griffin as they entered the empty main room. It had not been a long way after that, but it had been enough time for Last to draw her sword, held firmly by the hilt between her teeth, and with the white flames around it harmlessly flaring coldly around the blade.

"Yes, they are on our side Last. They will help us with the storm rising within the Everfree Forest. You can be at ease."

The shrine maiden glared towards them all, with a particularly long one for Anomaly, before slowly sheathing her sword once more, and saluting the princesses.

"Very well your highness. I have brought to you the students of Princess Twilight, as requested. I present Moonlight Serenade, and Gretchen Swipefeather."

"Hey, couldn't you use this one? She doesn't seem taken, and I mean come on, she has a shiny poker, and does as she's told. She might as well come with a tag, hehe."

A comment from Anomaly that earned her yet another glare.

"Yeah yeah spooky eye, jeez. What's your issue? Is it because you're all torn up? I need to have fun with aaaall of these fun weird friends, but I can snap you right back to it after that. Or before? What do you think Lucid? Patchwork? Ooooh, or you could try it. Wait no, you don't know how to heal, right? I forgot what you can do."

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

@Rising Dusk

It would take around a half hour, but eventually, the hammering would stop, and the forge would get shut off.

"Ah, nothing like smashing some iron into shape. Really gets the blood pumping."

Besides him, twelve bars in a neat few piles were dripping from the water used to cool it down afterwards, and otherwise ready for usage. A few screws and a torch, and these should fit 'round one another like a glove.

"How long have you gotten Dusky? All scribbled down and ready to go?"

Molotov went over and looked at what were on the bench, but it barely made any sense to him.

"Well, can't say from this. Looks like a bundle of gibberish in my eyes. Heh, gotta be how you felt when looking over my work, ain't that so? Anyway, let's get to wo-"

A loud, metallic screech were emitted by Felicia, who looked towards the two with a surprisingly efficient impatient look for somepony without pupils or facial muscles.

"Oh right, right, the battery thing. Think you could help me with it Dusky? The less chance of it rattling around the better, and you can help shut it down if something bad happens. Now worries though, there's only a .73% chance of it happening and leveling this building plus the outskirts of town so why be concerned about that, right?"

Edited July 24, 2018 by Blitz Boom

Lucid_Nightlight · July 24, 2018

@Blitz Boom @EQ_Theta @Storm Shine @Dji @BloodDrops @Seamore Sandwich

"Healing for me is a bit inconsistant since I have yet to fully master it. What I can't at all do is cure poisons quite yet. Sure I could conjure the ingredients, but how would I know what they are."

He continued.

"Poisoning me with things that make me deathly ill is not possible since a fatal illness is a natural cause of death, which my immortality prevents. As for traditional means of killing, my reality warping kinda makes that hard to do. Of course, I could be killed if someone is way more powerful than I am."

He points at Discord.

"Take Discord for example, I haven't reached his level of power yet, his power does not come from an object I can take away from him, so basically he could kill me very easily."

EQ_Theta · July 25, 2018

@Blitz Boom

Lin didn't appear to be any worse for wear, though her eyes did seem to wander a bit. More of a matter regarding getting herself used to setting a watch in the evenings. The boredom also had something to do with it. She should've hopped back to her home and grabbed some reading material to pass the time but she knew she couldn't leave Sen and Rosa unguarded for even a second. The night was calm and peaceful, all things considered, so that was a plus. By then, Sen was crawling out of the tent as well.

"Good morning, Rosa. Did you sleep well? I didn't have much to do last night so I am about as well rested as I could get. I'm still not sure how I could recover energy without sleep but ever since I didn't need it, it just happens. I should probably ask about that when I get the chance. Don't worry about me, I can keep up."

"Early day, we should get ready if we are going to make good time." Sen said as he began packing up the tent. It was a lot easier doing it the other way around instead of putting up but the next few times should be faster now. Lin opened a gate and grabbed some rations, some to eat now and some to keep for later. Sen passed one to Rosa and quickly munched on his fill. It was mostly just an apple he found in the store and wanted to try for himself.

From there, it was a simple matter of cleaning up and dismantling the fire pit, and waiting for everyone to finish getting set.

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

@Blitz Boom @Storm Shine @Lucid_Nightlight @Moonlit @Dji @BloodDrops @Seamore Sandwich

Angel kind of felt bad for the moment, perhaps he was a little too tense with meeting the Dracolisk and thinking about how he's going to get the rest of the animals at Fluttershy's cottage to calm down when meeting the new housemate. He hopped towards the pink bunny and tapped her on the back. He noticed that there wasn't much in the way of anything important happening for now and thought he could slip off to the side for a moment.

So began Angel squeaking and making some more gestures, asking if she still wanted do a little play fight. No injuries, just a little roughhousing. Wouldn't want to get either of their caretakers angrier and more worried than they need to be.

FanOfManyShows · July 25, 2018

The stare she gave was hollow, no life showed in it. As smoke returned to her eye, her soul losing its hold on the form she made. "You hold your grip from them, if I see them get hurt. The things I can do with this element, will all be done to you." She said, surely not a empty statement, Sapphire knew Emerald could be brought to good, but to harm Astral, Iron, her own family. That'd only prove she was worthless to save. "Whatever other option there is, it can not involve hurting anypony else either." Shocks flew off her gem, arching and contacting the illusionary skin and fur. The idea was terrifying, disturbing even, but the expression and how far Sapphire had gone after only a few moments, showed her desperation. "W-wait, there is one option." The smile that arose was just as disturbing as the idea of digging up a body... Yet sinister as well. "We're, great witches. If we wanted our bodies back, they'd be the way... Wouldn't it?"

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

@Blitz Boom @Dji

Iron's ears perked, as if hearing something, they tilted around. "That was the idea, Chow. But it's either leave them to their own, or trap them for questioning." His eyes turned white, having an unheard connection to Sapphire, locating her soul but as he looked to Emerald... He turned, looking to the general and smirked a little. "The pony Emerald resides in is conscious, I can track them through their eyes, if we wanted to face them, that's how I can locate them."

===================================
@Blitz Boom

"It's the most movement I've ever had while imprisoned." The smile that came to him was odd at best, as he was more focused on if she wanted him to talk about his past or not. She insisted that it'd be a topic later on, but as logical as he was, she was more vague with it. Which ever it was, he'd not bring up his true past anyway. "Well if we didn't start we'd just be running around the topic." Part of him was eager to be good again, another part didn't want to let go of his goal.

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

@BloodDrops @Moonlit @Dji @Seamore Sandwich @EQ_Theta @Lucid_Nightlight @Storm Shine

He might've spaced out for a moment, or many. He was new to this general stuff, so standing around like he was now wasn't anything strange so he did it out of habit. But he snapped out of it when Hailstorm knocked again, and opened the door. "Hailstorm! I apologise for us holding you up so long."

Storm Shine · July 25, 2018

Discord chuckled slightly, "Now Lucid, what fun would there be in killing anything?" He questioned, "There's no chaos in that, no joy! If I really wanted to be rid of you, I could just as easily strip your powers away and have you dancing the tango with a with a passion fruit you'd suddenly found yourself married to for the rest of your life." The spirit of Chaos shook his mismatched head with a chuckle, "Not that I see a need to do so.. But the point would be that I much prefer pranks and props." A talon snap brought a bag-pipe playing panther into the preposterously perilous mix. The panther was dyed with multi-colored polka-dots and wore an afro as he tap-danced past the group while playing his instrument.

A few moments later a wooden hook snuck into the picture from somewhere off to the side and snagged the panther, quickly yanking it out of sight. The panther dropped its bagpipe in the process, which suddenly grew into a tree with plaid-patterned bark and dropped a bounty of paper-towels as if they were fruit before slowly vanishing on the wind as it fell to ash, leaving nothing but the paper towels.. Which then grew spidery limbs and scuttled away.

Lucid_Nightlight · July 25, 2018

@EQ_Theta @Storm Shine @Blitz Boom @Dji @BloodDrops @Seamore Sandwich

Discord's comment didn't really bother Lucid since he knew that Discord wouldn't do anything like that to him. Though there was one thing that Lucid needed to remind Discord.

"If I'm putting the clues together right, which I am, I recall that although you knew SOMEONE was gonna get the stick, you didn't know exactly who. Whoever could trick you out of it would be the one who was supposed to do have it."

Lucid had this mischievous look has he continued.

"Now who was the pony who tricked the spirit of chaos and beat him at his own game? That's rights, yours truly!"

Of course, it was obvious that Lucid was just playing around and throwing a bit of friendly banter. Despite this, there was a grain of truth to this.

"I should ask though in all seriousness, why were these details involving the truth about my friend, the note about some prophecy that will happen in maybe a few months or years being revealed to me today? Why not just tell me when I received the stick? Is this some *you weren't ready* bull, or was it because even you didn't have all the details?"

The prophecy thing was a long ways away, as said, either a few months or a few years. He had ideas on why this was, but he couldn't know for sure.

Edited July 25, 2018 by Lucid_Nightlight

BloodDrops · July 25, 2018

@Blitz Boom @EQ_Theta @Storm Shine @Dji @Seamore Sandwich @Lucid_Nightlight

The Sphinx blinked at the Queen, before chewing on a large morsel of fish she had set for herself. "Suit yourself, eat or don't eat. It matters not" she snorted while finishing up the mouthful she had just eaten. She flicked her tail and the mare came in and started to eat, choosing the vegetable and fruit section of the table, though she gave a nervous glance towards the Queen, after all she was no longer under her control but instead free, well freer then what she had been. The Sphinx smiled at the Queen, "So do tell me, where did you find this pony? She had potential till you used her like a larder" she tutted. She dismissed the pony quickly enough since she wasn't that entertaining, bit of a boring conversational pony, though she went back to sweeping the outside of the temple.

The Sphinx nibbled on some caviar while she listened to Onache and her story. "Drones are Drones, they serve. That is there purpose, though it interests me that these new changelings are more colorful and are somewhat more entertaining. I wonder if you would change form though i'm doubtful that you would" she chuckled. She drank some water from a bowl and listened more before licking her lips. "Empires rise and fall all of the time dear. Mine will rise, then fall as the sun rises and sets. Though the only thing that matters is the duration, i'm thinking of a long time unless I get a better offer that is" she remarked.

The Sphinx frowned, "Why would I want slaves that had no minds of there own? How will that keep me entertained with them drooling over the floor? Besides its not like your planning on waging war within my realm, that would be very foolish especially since you don't have my permission to do such a action. Or a hive to bring about such a change. You think that I'm going to fight them when they arrive?" she asked being rather amused at the idea. "Oh and I thought you were dryer then this desert but you do have a sense of humor after all" she praised.

She rolled her eyes at the questions, "Chaos magic is just that, Chaotic. Though i'm doubtful they would play magic against myself, we would just go in circles for eternity and they have limits they can go to, wouldn't think the Princesses would approve of everything made of a silicon compound. Besides they do stuff for fun, if there was no fun out of doing it then they wouldn't do it." she remarked. She flicked her tail, "If I felt that my temple or existence was threatened, then I could do something drastic, though unless that occurs then well, I play by the rules" she stated.

"They don't have to play by the rules, but if they break them there are consequences, and if they don't want them, then they will be civilized in treating with myself. After all they are here to negotiate. I don't plan on leaving this patch of my land which was acquired fairly, unless suitably compensated for the loss. I want at least one thousand hectares of land for myself. If they don't give me such then I won't leave here" she finished.

She then went back to her meal and watched the desert, the guests should be here soon.

The Sandstorm that had been raging slowly stopped before becoming clear again. Though the statues were still outside the temple they were now covered in a neat layer of sand, and the path was covered however cracks of it were still present. If you did leave the path it would be hard to ever find it again, though the Temple looked near enough within the desert the eye did like playing tricks on you.

Edited July 25, 2018 by BloodDrops

Storm Shine · July 26, 2018

@BloodDrops @Moonlit @Dji @Seamore Sandwich @EQ_Theta @Lucid_Nightlight @Storm Shine

Discord shrugged, "I don't really know.." he tapped a talon to his chin, "Or perhaps I simply don't remember? Keep in mind, I am as old as Chaos itself. Occasionally I make sure things happen that even I don't know all of the details of to keep things interesting. Perhaps I made myself forget. Perhaps these are things I truly didn't know. Or perhaps I've yet to even give you a stick and it was a future version of myself that traveled to the past." He shrugged again, "Even as old and powerful as I am Lucid - even with as much as I do know - I don't know everything.. At least, not all at once. Oh, the headache that would give you..."

Rising Dusk · July 26, 2018

Rising Dusk waited patiently for his counter part in this project to finish up his own task. Half an hour was indeed rather impressive work when working with a forge like that. He shouldn't be all that surprised though, one such as Molotov so skilled in his profession after many years of work, something as simple as a cage could probably be done in his sleep. Deep Iron was nice enough to be pretty easy to work with. One of the reasons it serves as the most common metal used in conjunction with magic. Well, simple magic anyways. Putting the small bars together to make a small cage shouldn't take the two very long at all.

"The spell circle is ready."

Of course though, that would have to wait, as the pair we reminded by a very anxious mechanical spider that they had promised to do something else. And Molotov did seem to be in a less wet state. Now the pair were out of excuses to delay working for the warden of Workshop 05. Dusk couldn't help but chuckle. Although, he could feel his jaw clench a bit when the idea of a the city outskirts being destroyed being destroyed came up. Rising is a great listener, which comes with the gift of being able to gear well. The chances were low, very low, so it shouldn't be that big a problem. Mathematically, there was a better chance for an evil force to threaten Equestria, again. Oh well.

"Yeah, let me lend you a hoof."

He replied, following Molotov wherever he was needing to be for this side project.

Blitz Boom · July 26, 2018

@BloodDrops

Onache's eyes narrowed at the mention of the more colorful, so-called changelings. Had this been any other creature, she would have shown her displeasure of the notion that she might turn into one of those... Things.

However, the situation being as it were, she had to chose her words and actions more carefully than that, so she would address this later on in the conversation. It would give her time to evaluate her phrasing some more.

As to what she should start replying to... She may as well begin with the one at hoof, which were the brief appearance of the mare she had dragged along and feasted upon for the last two days now. One who rightfully so looked at the queen with worry in her eyes, which were only met with a dignified snort. The mare were another's tool now, and meant nothing to Onache. What happened to her, and how she felt, were as pointless as asking how a fish felt before you cooked it.

"This thing fell upon me as I approached town, so I manipulated her mind and made her think of me as an old, dear friend. The mind of ponies are pathetically easy to rewrite, or even control if needed be.

Others, lesser queens go to those lengths. Slowly tapping them of power and eventually overtakes their mind to make them little more than empty husks. They don't master the trick in true manipulation. You don't force a mind down, or aim just to break. Uprisings can come from that, when they gain the will to fight the oppression, and it can become more of a hassle than it's worth.

I specialize in altering their minds instead. To those under my spell, they are not slaves, forced to work back-breaking jobs for seemingly unending days. They will see themselves as doing everything willingly, and with a smile upon their annoying little faces. A skilled manipulator can make a lesser being convinced of many things like that. The stronger the manipulator, the greater the range of powers, from making your victims see things which are not there, or make them believe they are something else. It is easier than you might think to rewrite their minds enough to even make them convinced they are changelings, and that they are to serve the queen unquestionably. The weaklings can't even see their own bodies waste away.

As I told you, I am the Slaver Queen. Twisting the minds of those unworthy to be in my hive, is what gave me that title. Among other things."

They could go to the point of her also making slaves out of changelings from other hives who had the audacity to near her hive, but it seemed pointless for the time being. All in due time though, if needed be.

"You might remember that I told you, that I could get a horde of lesser beings like ponies to willingly come and give you everything for basically nothing? All it takes, is a little restructuring of their heads, and they'll be happy to serve, without being anywhere close to drooling on the floor. But if you want them completely lucid, just remove it as you did on her, or wait for my influence to wane. If they stay away from my presence for too long, the alterations will vanish, and everything will become clear to them again. Sadly, at that point, they'd still be serving you. There wouldn't be an escape for that, though you could entertain yourself with their meager attempts at escaping. There is a certain degree of entertainment in letting one of them think they got away, just to hunt them down as they run away for help.

As for your empire, it might fall, but your kind live long and holds power well, from what I have heard. The chances are favorable that I will have died from old age long before you find other shores."

Onache starred out over the desert, but saw no signs of anypony nearing. They were likely all still at the castle, though they should get a move on soon enough. The sandstorm that had been shown would be impossible for them to ignore, and meddling creatures as they all were, they would be drawn here.

"We'll see how things will go when they arrive, but i can assure you that I will follow your rules. I might as well get accustomed to that early on, yes?"

A somewhat bitter tone where in that. She did not like taking orders and be bossed around, but as she had thought on before, it was the smartest option available. The protection it could provide working for a sphinx could be good as Onache began to rebuild her hive, and to keep the hive growing and flourishing. She just had to hope that the rules set to ensure things going well wouldn't be too demeaning. There were limits as to what she would consent to.

"And if you do see me change like Thorax did, then you have my full permission to end me on the spot. Him and the traitors that followed suit, are abominations that should never be. They may no longer have the hunger that drives us of true blood, but what price is that to pay for considering yourself equal to ponies and their ilk, and looking as they now do? They are all disgraces."

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

@Rising Dusk

Felicia and Carmen would stay behind as Molotov lead Dusky through the residential area of the workshop. Nothing really interesting were happening there currently, though they would find Blitz taking a rare nap in the laundry basket she had played around in earlier. She had covered herself in several layers of dusty, soot-stained cloth, leaving only her large tail and her muzzle to be shown, as she needed air and couldn't fit the bulbous tail into a basket this size. She had tried getting it combed down a few times before, but it never lasted long before it just kind of *exploded* out again, so to speak.

Molotov signaled for Dusky to keep quiet as they moved past her, and lead them into the hallways of sorts, with the tightly locked vaults and other containers stacked high. Mostly this were papers from Center Zero, but Molotov had seen it important to keep a few other things here, including Felicia's power supply. It were safer that way for everypony.

"Alright, it should be the bottom one here. Let's see, the code were the same I used for Carmen far as I recall. Now what were that again..."

He tapped his chin a few times, before finally going on to push in a string of twelve numbers into the box, before a red light showed. A few more attempts were made after that, before the light finally went green, and a small click were heard in the large door.

Opening it from there took no time, which revealed- Mostly wasted space. There were a sack covering something rectangular around the size of a pony, but beyond that, nothing.

"Alright, pulling it out now. If you feel anything magically about to burst, either help containing it, or run for your life, alright? This thing can be a little unpredictable outside of it's containment, or when in usage. It shouldn't happen, but you know, always a risk."

The rectangular object were floated carefully out towards them, and placed softly on the ground, before Molotov took the cloth off it, and revealing what could best be described as a see-through holding tank, with a sphere the size of a pony's eye held suspended in wires in the middle. Said sphere seemed less than impressive visually, even if it were metallic and had several connection holes in it for cables inside Felicia's chassis. Dusky might be able to feel an energy similar to what came off of Molotov's gem when he used his wings, though on a larger scale. It did help contain the electricity in this thing, but it also gave a higher odds of instability. At least when it wasn't utilized properly, and could cause some of the power in it to just burst out of one of the holes uncontrollably.

"I prefer to do the lifting on this, as I don't wanna risk the unit suddenly wobbling around and trigger something, but I could use a hoof on making sure that everything looks okay while I'm at it. Think you could lend that hoof, officer?"

If Dusky said yes, Molotov would start floating the case slowly back into the main room. If not... Well, he'd just stand there and look like an idiot he supposed. All them fun options, eh?

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

Emerald got a smirk on her face as Sapphire said that nopony could get hurt. Had she really gotten that naive to think that you could get something, without it having a price? Foolish mare.

"Fine, I won't touch them, but somepony needs to be a vessel to get this working. Somepony living mind you, as I don't know if the lock you caused on my powers can handle controlling someone who isn't alive. Besides, you might recall that I don't have a body to dig up, since you caused it to evaporate?

Though, if you're offering your own, then sure. We can try try to see if it works, though if it doesn't... You will help me regain the vessel that hangs around your offspring. I can unlock his potential if given time, and your secondary family will remain unscathed. Whatever or not I will return him afterwards, will depend on how things goes between us."

She began to cast a spell to help Sapphire gain more of a hold of herself, as Emerald tired of seeing the mare try to grasp on to her body by herself, with some mixed results. It wouldn't be perfect, but a helping hoof should be enough to make it easier for her sister to compose herself again.

"This is the last chance, sister. Turn your back on me again, and I will rain fire and brimstone upon you and your loved ones. What little love I still hold for you won't survive a third betrayal."

It were foolish to give Sapphire this chance again, or to help her. That was just logic, seeing how things had been so far.

But... Had she not started all of this because she wanted to be alongside Sapphire once again? All those years ago, that had been her goal, and now, the two of them had something they could work together on. A shared purpose, in getting back to life. This would either prove to be the way for them to reconnect, or for Sapphire to get the chance to put the last nail in the coffer of their relationship, and once and for all prove that she wanted nothing to do with Emerald. An attitude that were going to have her lose everything, if Emerald had anything to say about it.

"Also, we will end up hurting some. Unless you can tell me of how we will get twenty liters of pony blood? It isn't as if they just willingly give that to anypony. At least not in a fresh, usable state."

Sapphire should have been alive for long enough to see blood banks in concept, if nothing else, and the system had only been refined since then. Though of course, there were no guarantees.

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

@FanOfManyShows @Dji

"Good, then you keep track of them. Though right now, you all look like you need a weeks rest, and I want this guy booked. I might not be able to give you orders since you ain't soldiers, but I can strongly suggest to rest, and just keep an eye on the two for now. Something's going on, and I want to know what it is before anypony barges in. Perhaps there's even more conspirators in this than we know of.

Anyway, I don't know who you two lads are, but it looked like the mature one of you at least could do the teleporting thing. So, be a dear and give a general a lift to the capitol? And yeah, I am a general. Tidal Wave of the Coast Guard, to be exact."

"Coast Guard even got called in? Jeez, they must've really been low on guards."

"National security involves us all, smart guy. Now shut your muzzle and go back to keeping an eye out for Astral."

You could hear both Tidal and Chow were just joking about this, though Tidal wouldn't be beyond smacking somepony around if they looked down on the Coast Guard. Might be they didn't run around in big fancy cities like Canterlot or protected princesses, but they were vital to the nation, and had done great in keeping outside threats in control. Or *At bay* as they said. Coast related puns were pretty widespread among them.

As for Zhu, he had his opinion on everything, but seeing as he were slowly slipping into unconsciousness, he wouldn't be saying all that much. Or doing that much either, if he didn't get some kind of medical help soon. He might have a healing disk left in his robes, but his magic were currently cut off from the cuffs on him, so it wasn't possible to do on his own.

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

"Yes, I can imagine that being encased in stone for... However long you were, doesn't promote movement all that much. Or a good relationship with pigeons."

A weak chuckle escaped her at the bad joke she had made, though she did think there were something to it. There had been a few stories about Discord and pigeons around, and while she didn't know if any of them were factual, there might be a grain of truth in at least some of them. Hating pigeons made sense as being somewhat true, since the flying menaces didn't exactly treat such things well.

"A-Anyway, I'm not going to pry into things, and you don't need to tell everything to a therapist if it hurts to think about the past, but well... If uhm, if for example you lost somepony, that might be important, and could help with things. But as I said, you're not forced to say anything if you don't want to, and we'll take all of this in your own tempo. Might be weeks, might be years, but I'm sure that we'll get through it all."

It was going to be one hay of a rough ride, but as the wise ponies said: In for a silver, in for a bit. It didn't hold up so well since silver wasn't used in their bits anymore, but it still seemed fitting to her.

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

@Lucid_Nightlight @Dji @Storm Shine @Moonlit @BloodDrops @Seamore Sandwich @EQ_Theta

Hailstorm saluted the new general as the door was opened.

"General, I bring news to you and your colleagues about the prisoner currently known as Warlock. May I interrupt?"

"Let him in please. We can proceed talking about the formal steps later, General Wing."

The voice of Adviser Dew came behind Iron Wing, where the general had stood and tried to go over the steps required of him when he officially became the new Solar Guard general. It was simple enough, but it was always for the best to make him aware of this, as the ceremony would be held later tonight, barring any issues with their prisoners. Even if Emerald were still at large, her body switching shenanigans made it hard to do much else than keeping the guard up on Warlock and waiting for her to make a move, or for Tidal Wave and the witches to return with her, and the seer. As such, ordering the Solar Guards to return for the event had been a simple one to set in motion, and the last, official one that Dew were ever going to make.

It felt strange to think that really, after being a general for so long, but it was time. His reflexes weren't what they once were, and the guards wouldn't prosper from him not being able to admit his own limits. It was time for some new blood to take over, and he would still be around to give advice, so it wasn't as if they were left hanging. Plus, he knew he could trust Screecher to help Wing as much as possible. She were a dear friend, and a competent general, so he had complete faith in her supporting the new leader of the Solar Guards.

Speaking of whom, Screecher were here too, along with Scorn, but neither of them were talking. The dragon were grumbling in a corner, and Screecher simple stood near Dew and looked at Hailstorm, awaiting what would come.

"General Screecher, Adviser Dew. From information given from the prisoner thus far, I have found papers in our records that speaks of him. From his real name, to his role in our nation, and some of what happened back then. I find it pertinent that it comes forth in your discussions about what to do with him.

General Wing, if you would."

Hailstorm pulled the file from beneath his right wing and held it towards the general, so that he might tell the others what was in it. After the door behind him were closed after all.

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

@EQ_Theta

Whilst Sen went on to packing the tent, Rosa were busy disarming the traps he had set around their little camp site. It was a good deal faster to disarm them than it were to set them up, as it were mostly cutting wires and use a twig to trigger a few of the more... Unpleasant surprises. Nothing horrible like a bear trap, but it would give a good smack and leave the one tripping into it rather sore.

Tossing the remains of the twig away, Rosa went over and grabbed hold of the ration that he had been given, which he had previously packed and marked as being for breakfast. A meal he had frankly looked forward to, as it included his favorite: Watermelon. It could be a right mess if you weren't careful, but it were still the most delicious of the fruits he knew of, and as a bat pony, he could - and would - mostly bite down and suck the fluids out of it before chomping down the actual *meat* of the meal. Not the prettiest of sights, but he didn't care much.

"You should try some yourselves when next we stop to eat. The watermelon from Garlic is one of the better I have tasted.

But Sen is right, we should begin to make headway. The more time we have to work with the better, especially if we are to pass around the swamp. Considering the headway we are making, perhaps it would be wiser to do so as well. I wouldn't like risking any of us getting lost and taken out there, unless it was absolutely necessary."

Rosa had been contemplating it yesterday, but as he had somewhat of a bonding moment with the siblings yesterday, he had started to feel reluctant to take risks that could involve them. Frankly he didn't truly know how to feel about this anymore, but it were as if a voice against reason came into his mind regarding risk versus reward, as soon as the two of them came into mind now. He'd need time to think on this. What it meant, and the implications thereof, though for the time being, he would likely keep being against the swamp. Illogical emotions and logical assessments of the situation said that they could take the route of least problems, unless something happened that majorly slowed them down today.

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

Lotus perked up as she felt Angel poke her shoulder, and a small shiver went down her spine. She wasn't used to other bunnies making contact with her since she kinda scared them after a first encounter, but here were one who did! He might not want to fight right now, but... No way, he did? He seemed to indicate that it should be nothing too rough though, so... No kicks then. Lotus's legs and feet were her strongest, but she could do a normal wrestle too. Whatever was needed to get this show going a little.

So she replied to his gesture in critter speak - "Okay, play fight sounds fun." - and bounced over to the side. Nerzhei would probably be okay with her little friend just going over and play a little, so Lotus didn't squeak at the dragoness. Besides, seemed like she were still talking to Twilight.

Getting into position, Lotus rose her paws in a boxing stance and grinned at Angel.

(critter)"Bring it on, fluff-tail."

Anomaly in the meantime, nodded along to what Lucid and Discord were saying, but mostly focused on the panther, bagpipe, tree and so forth's chaotic little show.

"That was cool. I gotta remember that one when I get home.

And Discord's right, killing is no fun. Why end everything, when you can mess with it, and change it into something more fun instead? You gotta find an outlet for all that destruction talky talk Lucid. You gotta paint, write something, heal - *snap* write or something else. Create instead of taking it away. That's the fun way."

The snap in the middle of her sentence, were an actual snap from her tail, at which point Last stepped back and with her good eye wide open let out a gasp, so her sword fell to the ground.

Healing a major wound like that was a cakewalk, and frankly, if it were, Anomaly could have fixed her up fully. It was just that the mare's closed eye with the scar over it was really cool, so she didn't want to. Besides, it made Last distinct, more unique, and she seemed to get around with it fine. Wasn't like she were blind on the closed eye either anyway.

As for the reaction to the heal... Well, she were gonna venture that the mare had gotten to the point of holding back the constant pain the wound would cause, and it suddenly being gone were messing with her a little. She'd be fine. Look, she even picked up her sword and stuck it back in the scabbard again. All groovy.

"Are we gonna go handle the big kitty now then? Or are you two gonna throw on some shades and talk smack, yo?"

Was that phrase ever cool? Unlikely. Did she care about that, or her bad attempt at doing hip movements? Not even remotely.

Lucid_Nightlight · July 26, 2018

@Blitz Boom @EQ_Theta @Storm Shine @Dji @BloodDrops @Seamore Sandwich

"I never said killing was fun, but it could one day become the only option. There could come a day that one of us may have to take an evil life to save many good ones. In my case, I have someone to avenge. So, basically an eye for an eye."

Obviously, he was referring to the one who created the stick. He got off the topic quickly due to other important matters such as an evil cat.

"When we reach the cat, we could just turn it into a chicken and feed it to Anomaly! You eat live chickens, right? Sounds like something you'd do."

EQ_Theta · July 27, 2018

@Blitz Boom

A sensible approach. Unnecessary risks could be avoided and with a head start, it was a good thing to consider. Speeding their travels by a little bit by picking up speed while early is a positive. They are about as well rested as they could get, and the sun wasn't at its hottest yet. Timing their pace to match the time of day was something Sen learned growing up with the hunters' guild. There were days when they had to sleep away from their families, sometimes for several days, to learn about this lesson. Food gathering and security was the lesson, especially when they had to also watch the forest paths for caravans making their way around. After a certain point, they wouldn't have any form of security. It also has a nice benefit of getting first picks on food before the traders reached the village.

This watermelon, though, red and juicy. There was nothing like it back home; nothing that ever reached that size was known to the longma. Sen chowed down on the rest of his meal when he heard Rosa mention this and was just staring at it. An interesting thing, and wondered what it tasted like. Maybe like the apple he just munched on? Solid on contact with his teeth but succulent after each bite?

"I think I'll have some watermelon later in the day. It's still fairly cool and we could make good time. The tent's all packed up and ready to go." Sen replied.

Meanwhile, Lin was just finishing up the rest of the packed vegetables she grabbed from the gate, but opened a second one back home. Hopping in and out in about a minute, she returned with a bound ream of papers and tucked it away, a fairly thick one at that.

"Just needed this for the evening. I doubt we'll need to pass through the swamp but if needed, we'll follow your lead, Rosa."

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

@Blitz Boom @Storm Shine @Lucid_Nightlight @Dji @BloodDrops @Seamore Sandwich @Moonlit

Trash talk? Angel wasn't one for it but he gave Lotus an intimidating look, raising one of his paws and getting testy. A gesture that just screams "bring it on!" Angel walked around to the right, just curious about what Lotus will do next when he fakes right and moves left for a hook. Admittedly, he somewhat liked where this might go. The other bunnies back home were docile but being able to do this? So long as there weren't too many squeaks, he was okay with it.

But onto Fluttershy, who picked up on Lucid and Anomaly's conversation and approached them. Admittedly, the topic worried her, being the element of kindness and having to hear that she might be complicit in something that doesn't fit her methods. Even if it is just turning the sphinx into a harmless creature then feeding her to Anomaly.

"Um, Lucid, is taking a life really necessary? Aren't there other ways to go about it?"

Lucid_Nightlight · July 27, 2018

@EQ_Theta @Storm Shine @Blitz Boom @Dji @BloodDrops @Seamore Sandwich

Lucid looked at Fluttershy.

"I was joking about the sphinx, but I am serious about the other things on killing. It's not always necasarry and I usually try not to go towards that route if I don't need to. Although killing is not in my nature, it's the sad reality of life that sometimes it is necasarry. My friend Arrow knows this all too well."

This statement had truth to it. Lucid only had to kill someone once, and he did not have a choice.

"I only really had to take a life once so far. Someone of great evil almost taken the lives of many innocent ponies. There was no time for that *you can be reformed* kind of thing. It was either take one evil life or allow this evil entity to take many innocent lives. Which one would you choose?"

Edited July 27, 2018 by Lucid_Nightlight

FanOfManyShows · July 28, 2018

She felt rejuvenated after the magic flowed through her, Sapphire sighing in relief as her form solidified, with some flaws. "They can't be hurt, equestria might be able to provide us other options." she was steadfast with this, determined to leave her family untouched to gain her body back. She wasn't going to repeat what she had done before, to her own daughter, especially. "I've seen a system develop that can store blood more efficiently, though. So we can avoid extracting that from them." She groaned, pressing a hoof against her chest. "You can find them at a blood donation center, of course. They are located in Canterlot." She chuckled a little, as it seemed as her grip on her chest intensified. "The enchantment you gave me isn't enough..." Sighing, Sapphire stood straight as her eye sparked. "I'll need to retract my form, but you'll travel to the location faster without me anyway." With a green, her form burned into a deep red fire, which spiraled into the gem and dissipating into it, blue smoke appearing inside as Sapphire's soul retreated into it, the gem falling to the ground, displacing the sand around it.

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

@Dji @Blitz Boom

While they had long forgotten about the gem, the shards of the shattered fake element burned with red flames, revealing a green gem underneath, although shattered. Misty looking at it as it unfolded. "Huh."

"Yeah, I can teleport you to the capitol General." Looking down, he let out a sigh, walking over to the general, standing near her. "I could send us all to the capitol, If you need me to."

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

"I'll admit that I actually did befriend some pigeons, spending a hundred years with them around you gives you insight to their true intelligence." He chuckled at the thought, even after the experience of it, knowing it sounded ridiculous, even considering what these ponies have seen. "Surprised to figure out you could learn pigeon speak, since nopony had ever tried to." He said, absidmided to Fluttershy, or any pony who spoke to animals in the recent years. "And I will decide what I say to the therapists, whether or not it may be comfortable." There was unease as he said these words, almost unsure if he himself meant it.

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

Stepping out of the way, Iron let him pass inside as he turned to look over Hailstorm if he'd step inside as he also took hold of the files too, almost unsure what to do with them. "Warlock's imprisoned, and his accomplice has run off, if there's guards looking after him I can't imagine what new info would do to keep him where he is." While speaking he looked closer at the files, seeing if there was anything important. "But I won't neglect that knowing his past would be effective in knowing his fighting strategy if he escapes."

Sekel · July 28, 2018

WATTS MECHANO

"Coming," Watts said with a small nod. She continued looking at the papyrus pony for a few more minutes before realising she was left behind and galloped to catch up to Zealous. "It seems like my motion sickness has worn but I'll still need the medication," she sighed when she caught up.

KARMIC FATE

Before Karmic could interject or for Atzy to make her presence known, feeling the same kind of anger as Karmic at the mention of being slapped, her ears perked up at hearing something odd. She looked about them before trotting away to where the stone had dropped. She got there in time for it to burn away but tilted her head at the stone that was revealed. "Are those pieces of an emerald stone?" Karmic asked Misty, standing a bit behind the mare.

@Blitz Boom, @EQ_Theta, @Storm Shine, @BloodDrops, @Moonlit, @Seamore Sandwich, @Lucid_Nightlight

TWILIGHT SPARKLE & AURORA LIGHTS

"Alright, I remember what they do now," Twilight nodded. "Thank you, Nerzhei." Her ears flicked when there wasn't anymore white noise and she looked over to the Everfree Forest. "The sandstorm's gone. We should take advantage of this and move to the Sphinx," she told the group at large. A couple more ear flicks when she heard one of the Draconequii talk to her. She faced Anomaly and quickly glanced around the front yard of the castle. "Oh, I didn't even notice that you did all this and about the guard, I'm seriously considering it if these events keep up one after the other," she told them and finally glanced at Last and the two students. While she knew they didn't go to her school, she also knew when to keep up a pretense and nodded gratefully. "Thank you, Last. Since they're both here, they can come with us and learn what it's like to go on an adventure."

"Us both are coming along?" Aurora asked nervously, gesturing between herself and Serenade with a front claw.

"Yes, you both are," Twilight nodded. "With this many ponies and draconequii coming along, you'll both be safe," she added and finally headed out of the front yard and towards the Everfree. "Come on, we don't have any time to lose!"

Rising Dusk · July 28, 2018