open Casual stroll

[Catpone Cerberus 23,601]

@Moonlit @Blitz Boom
Nada just nodded in understanding when Serenade answered her question, and nodded yet again when she explained what she had told the princess, this could go better than she had hoped. Nada gave a short laugh when Serenade joked about her running around the Castle, it was funny because she was self-aware enough to understand that it could actually happen.
When Cherish mentioned about the conspiracies, Nada looked at her "You and me both, and it doesn't help that she uses new words like machine that I have no idea what they mean." 

At Cherish's question, Nada stayed quiet and waited for the answer, she was curious about this Pinkie too, but she also got curious why Cherish was so worried about her possibly being unicorn, sure she too was cautious of unicorns, but she was curious of Cherish's exact reasoning.

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@Blitz Boom

Yet again Ruby listened patiently, and again she summarized what she understood "So very capable, antique selling mare who likes to ask lot of questions." "That will suffice, thank you." The questioning part could be a problem, because though Ruby had prepared to lot of stuff, she knew that if somepony was good enough with words, they could cause her to talk herself into a corner, but at the same time, she liked the idea of capable pony, they seemed to be rare. But ultimately Ruby didn't worry, she was good at avoiding questions, and there was no worries about the mare finding anything about her she didn't want to be found by herself, because due the way Ruby had arrived to Equestria, there wasn't any information about her anywhere, technically speaking she didn't exist, and those who had got too close to her had always disappeared without a trace, not that anypony seemed to miss those ponies that much anyways. "And I now understand why Spicy didn't want to tell me at first..." she looked at Spicy "...you're worried still that I'll rat you out, and you fear that I would talk about her too, which could lead her to know that you told me, which in turn would cause...consequences." she looked forward again and smirked "But don't worry my dear, that's not in my interests to do."

[Moonlit 593]

@Blitz Boom @Catpone Cerberus "No, Pinkie is MUCH worse then a Unicorn. She's an Earth Pony. I think she knew I was a Siren when I first moved to Ponyville and was disguised as a Pegasi, she knows EXACTLY what food you want, and she'll throw you a Pinkie Pie party so you can meet friends. She's actually a really fun pony, once you get to know her." Serenade walks over to the fridge, and puts the bag back in. "She's friends with Princess Luna, so I trust her" 

[Sekel 694]

@FanOfManyShows

WATTS MECHANO

"It's ... uh ..." Watts hesitated, stepping back a small bit to get some breathing space. She didn't expect to be questioned about her goggles but after casually blurting out that she has no idea who Francis is, she may have to own up to what was going on. "I ... um ... I have a deal with the archivist at the Canterlot Archives ... they placed a spell on my goggles ... it's inside a magic gem fit into the nose clips and sends me information whenever I look at somepony with them."

@Blitz Boom

AURORA LIGHTS

"I believe I can access the hivemind but I have a feeling Queen Onache will have to help with that one," Aurora chuckled. "I never really tried because I've been a griffin most of my life. As far as I know, the only abilities I really have are changing my form and feeding on love. That's pretty much it for me."

@Blitz Boom

KARMIC FATE

"yes please," Karmic whispered in pain, cowering on the ground from some unseen force. "As quickly as possible please. A separation into two entities. Please."

@EQ_Theta, @Blitz Boom

TWILIGHT SPARKLE

"Magic?" Twilight asked with widened eyes. She got a big grin at hearing the word, especially when it was associated with dragons. A culture barely anypony knew about. She eventually did nod along to Nerzhei's words and scribbled down hasty notes on a spare bit of parchment to keep up with what she was saying. She had summoned it from a pile of blank scrolls near the door to the library with the quill and ink having been brought in from a nearby desk. "Only elder dragons have access to books about general magic, dragons specialise in either earth, water, fire, and air, but that's only if they have the magical potential. Otherwise it's just strength contests with them. Chemical reactions would explain why no thaumatic energy could be felt from dragon fire whenever it is breathed. This could also explain why Spike is seemingly the only dragon we know of to breathe a green fire to send messages wherever he pleased," the scientific pony had devolved into rambling by this point but she managed to get her point across of 'learning new magic is very much good.'

[EQ_Theta 459]

@Blitz Boom

Well, the discussion just took a sudden turn for the morbid, though perhaps Lin may have set it up subtly. But Omen's response was touching nonetheless. It was a heartwarming thing that got the longma feeling all fuzzy. She placed her claw on Omen's back, a gentle pat that conveyed gratefulness. 

"That's nice, Omen. Thank you. As much as I am reminded of mortality, I hope we get to make good memories for many more years to come. Speaking of which, I've had some time to mull over Sen's magic. It seems like he's able to quickly heal his injuries and for the most part, he doesn't seem likely to get sick. If I suspect the magic he's been given does more than heal injuries, maybe his lifespan will be much longer than a regular longma's. It's as if magic is continuously keeping him healthy, but maybe we'll need more time to study it."

It was a sound assessment. If magic maintained Sen's health by making sure he wouldn't be afflicted by disease, then his body would be much healthier. Combine that with a fairly fit physique and a balanced diet, and maybe the average 150-year lifespan might not be applicable to him. It could be longer. He wouldn't need to worry too much about his fear of mortality as he's got plenty of years left in him.

And as for the sentiment of spending years making good memories, there was a flyer for a festival coming to Ponyville. The details now evaded Lin but the certainty of the event happening was more or less absolute. Okay, so maybe she didn't get the dates and for all she knew, that festival might be over already and somepony decided to throw out the poster or forgot to take it down. Either way, there might be a chance she could find more of them. They'd be following up on one lead with regards to Rosa's brother Stargazer and Ponyville is their destination. 

"Anyway, maybe we should head back and see how Sen and Rosa are doing. Shall we go?"

As for Sen, it was a little disappointing to see nothing much is happening on their end. Though one could argue that it was a good thing they were unlikely to get jumped. Now that the certainty is made apparent, he could rest up some more.

"Would be nice if I could get those makeshift tools right about now. I just hope Lin and Omen have finished looking around back home so we could prepare for the temple. You think we'd need Omen to move ahead of us, Rosa? Doesn't seem like the tides have changed much." 

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@Blitz Boom @Dji

It was settled then: back to the castle it is. Angel gestured to Lotus and hopped onward and away from the sanctuary. Most of the animals didn't catch on to this, paying attention to their own business. Lola, on the other hand, continued to stare back at the two bunnies; still creepy despite what Fluttershy says about her being a cute creature. To the sloth's credit, it had a look that suggested a more curious outlook. That and it had the kind of attitude of a kindly grandmother who was always looking forward to seeing visitors again. In that short time spent in the animal sanctuary, it was always a treat to see new faces come. The trip back wouldn't take too long and for the most part, there wasn't much in the way of distractions on the way home, or to Twilight's castle to be exact.

As for Fluttershy, Nerzhei's explanation was a fascinating one. Though this one might be more up Twilight's expertise, the two might be more than willing to converse on a scholarly manner. Truth be told, Fluttershy normally didn't dabble too much into the study of magic. It was simply an esoteric area of study that she didn't really think somepony like her could learn and use it. Then she learned about, and met, Mage Meadowbrook. That was an anomalous case. An earth pony who, through years of rigorous study, learned more about the intricacies of healing magic. More than the best unicorn magic-users of her day and even up to the modern period. Healing magic was reportedly one of the most difficult to learn and yet Meadowbrook trumped any unicorn known to have tried to understand with little luck. Maybe she and Nerzhei might be able to hit it off pretty well. 

"I see dragons have magic tied to the elements," the pegasus replied, intrigued at the bits of knowledge she had picked up from the dragon. Though the pegasus had an idea that could enrich Nerzhei's learning a little more, and provide an avenue of discussion. It might be nice to pick up more from a dragon's perspective. Frankly, Fluttershy's curiosity was just piqued, but would leave the more technical knowledge to Twilight. If need be, she might just bring up Meadowbrook to keep the ball rolling. 

"How would a dragon know they could use magic? And how would they show it? Unicorn horns glow when they use their magic; do dragons have something like it?"

Edited December 3, 2018 by EQ_Theta

[Blitz Boom 4,629]

@Rising Dusk

3 hours ago, Rising Dusk said:

"Would this require any magic or is this completely mechanical?"

"The point is to make it completely mechanical, with no reliance on magic at all, but the battery designs I can do right now are mostly flawed. If we're talking the solar powered route, a small bit of it is needed to keep the energy contained, or you could only fly when the sun was out, and then plummet the second it got dragged down from the sky.

I could in theory try to use something like what Felicia and Carmen are running on, but there's some hurdles there. Especially since I need to use magic to stabilize it, but then it needs to be filtered out completely before it can be used in a construction like this. The gals have programs and files dedicated completely to filtering that out and ensure that it doesn't build up again, but if it were on a prosthetic wing like this, I'd have to find some way of filtering that down to a program that doesn't include an AI, and I dunno if I can do that yet.

Of course, if I had one of them anti-magic rings from the royal armory I might be able to do something neat, but those are more heavily regulated than high explosives. A right pain in the flank to get anything anti-magical going for a private citizen, and I don't think this neat little trick we're trying to work with the cages are gonna do any good. The design of the wings are sturdy, but too flimsy to withstand the sort of pressure we're trying to get done. It'd crumble up in a second or two.

So yeah, unless you know a trick to get anti-magic going here, it'd have to be the somewhat flawed solar route. Shouldn't be an issue though, right? I mean what, you're gonna tell me that the pegasus in question just eats up magic? Hah! That'd be the tallest tale I've ever heard."

Splitting the pancakes up on three plates, Molotov would swing upon a cabinet to get out the good bottle of syrup, then pour it over the stacks. Sure he went in for not spending too much if you could help it, but he wouldn't skim out on syrup. You got used to the real thing, and the cheap knock-offs started to taste like a punishment from above, and he wouldn't let any of 'em go through that on his watch. A stallion had to have at least some standards, right?

"Here ya go you little rascal. Try not to get stuck to anything."

Molotov floated one plate over towards Blitz, who'd jump on it right away and really get into it. He were having a hard time getting her to eat civilized, but at least she wasn't scooping them up with her hooves, so it were as much a win as could be. Wasn't like he didn't just chomp down from the top and worked his way down really.

He'd float another plate towards Dusky, encouraging him to take at least a bite out of the maple syrupy goodness.

"Come on Dusky, have a bite. You look like it's been a long day and you sure could use some sugar to get over that hill now, eh? Eh? Am I right, or am I right?"

[Lucid_Nightlight 923]

@Blitz Boom

"Alright, and Novia can throw eggs at the customers if they refuse."

"This plan can't possibly fail!"

Lucid walked over to a nearby house and knocked on the door.

"Hey! Open up!"

[Seamore Sandwich 471]

@Blitz Boom  

 

(Continued from page 278)

After a while of searching, Gaea eventually found something.  “There it is,” she said to Zhu, pointing at a particularly pointy protrusion in the path.  The stone was more jagged than the others nearby, and the edge of a metal cylinder could just barely be seen by someone who knew to look.  “If somepony springs the trap, I’ll ask to join their group for the night, ‘safety in numbers’ and all that, so we can keep a close eye on things,”  she said, then mumbled to herself, “though I’d rather keep my distance.”  She then added, “I can disguise myself in a cloak so the thieves won’t recognize me, and you can hide in the trees.  We can take shifts keeping watch through the night, and I can have the raccoons wake us when it’s time to switch.  Sound like a plan?”  Gaea really didn’t want to be around other ponies, which is why she lived out here to begin with.  She didn’t like the way they would cut down trees excessively without a care for what lived in them, and so she couldn’t stand even being near them.

 

@Blitz Boom  

 

(Continued from page 291)  

“Do you want to play a game of word chain to pass the time?  Since we’re both doctors we can choose medical terms as the category,” Dr.Xeno asked Ziggy.  He’d be at a disadvantage with his head injury, but at least it was better than laying quietly in bed all day.

 

@Blitz Boom  

 

(Continued from page 315)  

When Sugar Lime found the elders, they would be planning out routes for each mission that was mentioned earlier, two paths for each mission, one being the safest route, and one route that would bring them through areas known to have bandits.  This was by Marcus’s instruction of course, as he had previously stated, “Even a foe as lowly as bandits must be dealt with, so if there are any such nuisances along the way, I should like to cross paths with them that they may taste my blade and learn the error of their ways.”

 

@Blitz Boom  

 

(Continued from page 301)  

As they continued along their way toward Tock’s shop, Penny added, “I might be able to make the frosting more if I had an extra unicorn or two to help me pour some magic into it.  I would be able to make the effects of some of the chocolates more powerful that way, and in some cases they could even last longer.  Normally this frosting would be very expensive because it’s just me and Blossom, so we really can’t make that much, but with some extra help we could double up on production.  Of course, if I use any of it in making the chocolates you asked for, it would make the final product more expensive, which could mean a higher return on your investment.  So I must ask, when we’re done with this investigation, would you like to help me make some frosting?  I also want you to know, I’ve already begun working on your chocolates.  I’ve gotten as far as hardening the muzzle into a beaklike material within a couple hours of work, the next step being reshaping it and removing the fur.  I’ve already made chocolates before that can make a pony grow wings, so I’ll just have to modify that to a different wing type if possible.  Changing the structure of the hooves to claws and paws will probably be the hardest part and will take the most time.”  It would be easy to tell that Penny loved her work, especially when it came to creating something new like this. It could easily distract her from what she was doing at the time, as evidenced by the fact that she just made a turn down the wrong street, leading in a direction opposite the direction they had taken to get to Tock’s shop before.

 

@Blitz Boom

 

(Continued from page 301)

Charlie couldn’t be any more excited, literally since Vivid’s magic was keeping their excitement in check.  “It’s not my last words that will matter, but rather my first.  I’m ready whenever you are.”  Little did they know how different things would be from what they expected.

Edited December 4, 2018 by Seamore Sandwich

[Rising Dusk 27,766]

@Blitz Boom

If only Molotov knew half the story of what he went through today, heck, even just this morning.  Rising Dusk wasn't sure how good of an idea it would be though to share information about the dangerous artifacts he'd just dispelled, seeing as how many probably wouldn't want to know things that deadly were in the city right now.  It was true though, a little sugar rush would probably do the detective some good and the extra energy from just food in general would make his day easier.  He'd just ate though, even if it was a small quick meal.  Taking the offered plate of pancakes with his hooves, rather than risking the use of magic with the feather still in his pouch, he nodded his thanks.  "Right..." came is simple reply with the weak smile.  Putting the plate on a nearby table to take a bite of the stack.

The stack was good, but Rising Dusk could easily tell it was mostly in part of the more high end syrup used rather than the pancake itself.  Not bad though.  His mind worked to filter at the previous ramble for the bits and pieces he could understand out of it.  The detective himself couldn't produce what would in the true sense be considered anti-magic.  No, what most thought was anti-magic was actually just very good counter-magic.  So helping out Molotov on that end wasn't something he could do directly to help with the development of the wings.  Not that he really needed to.  Now, while Null's ability Rising Dusk wouldn't call 'eating magic' it was rather surprising how on the point the other stallion was, but he could still down play singling out the sisters.

Swallowing his mouth full of pancake, he turned toward Molotov and reached into his pouch to remove the feather he came here with.  "You underestimate my resources," the detective chuckled, showing him the black feather.  "This feather contains magic nullifying properties.  It should be what you need," he concluded based on what he understood from the technical side Molotov just ranted about.

[Blitz Boom 4,629]

@Seamore Sandwich

On 12/3/2018 at 7:54 PM, Seamore Sandwich said:

“I can disguise myself in a cloak so the thieves won’t recognize me, and you can hide in the trees.  We can take shifts keeping watch through the night, and I can have the raccoons wake us when it’s time to switch.  Sound like a plan?”

"Very well, allow me to take the first shift then. If I see something, the wind shall carry my words to you."

Using his wind magic, Zhu jumped into seemingly empty air and disappeared up the crown of a nearby tree, where he'd find the spot where he could blend in the best and continue to listen to what the wind might bring of news, and watch the animals around them for potential dangers. There were no guarantee that either would give him news, and if so, none would be assured information, but what truly had been for him in the past 980 or so years? The future could change in the blink of an eye, and the only true certainty he had found had been the emergence of the creature of pure order. Everything else were a gamble, and at the best of time, he could but influence the odds of what he wanted to be the most likely of options.

As for his goal now, it were to simply gain his sisters egg, and then to find out where it would do best. A tougher task than one may at first think, as Gaea's future were impossible to read due to the blinding fate of her alicornification, and what might come via the felines were uncertain currently. Yet that were a hurdle that would have to be dealt with as they got to it. For the time being, he would sit motionless and keep guard, as per Gaea's instructions. Hopefully what were to come would not be too far away.

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@Seamore Sandwich

"Oh, that'd be fun! I haven't played that since medical school. Though i warn you, I tend to lose, hehe."

Ziggy pulled her tongue playfully at the changeling doctor, as she grumbled over what the first word to pick were. Always where to start with things, that were the toughest step, or at least until obscure fields of medicine got into things and her brain shut off.

"Okay, I got one. Hypotension."

It was perhaps a little easy, but that was the point of these games, right? Start easy, work your way up. Plus, it was the only thing she could think of at the time, beyond poking Fah'lina to see if the irate mimic were okay. She seemed calmer now, but she had become awfully protective of the mare before. It was kinda nice really, since usually Ziggy just saw the critter as being around her to nick snacks and act as a cute little pet to trick random ponies out of their treats.

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@Seamore Sandwich

Sugar gulped as he saw the elders, not knowing what to think of everything anymore. Had they truly deceived him and his entire family? Isolated and tormented his sister for telling a trust that none of them - himself included - had wanted to believe? Or were this all just a big mistake, and even the elders had been misled by manipulators of previous generations of their post? He didn't know what to think about them, himself, or the life he had been dedicated to his whole life, and it made him feel as if he were in a free-fall, just waiting to finally impact the jagged rocks beneath.

"E-Esteemed elders, Marcus... He wants..."

"Your hero have beef with you. Get up and follow us to him now, or I will make you."

Brute stomped into the ground, making the rock crack beneath her hoof. She were not as subtle or in doubt as Sugar were, and saw only deplorable monsters here, who had manipulated ponies through who knew how long, likely for their own gain, and if it were not because there were still some doubt about what were going on, she wouldn't have given them the option to follow along. She would simply heave forced them, one way or another.

Though, if they tried to delay, or if they - Celestia have mercy on them - attempted to attack her, they would regret their decision. Especially the last one, as then she were going to do more than flex her muscles, and actually beat their scrawny flanks up before piling them on her back and taking them to Marcus.

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@Seamore Sandwich

Scarcity let out a small, pearly laughter at hearing of the progress that Penny had already made. What a delightfully resourceful little mare she were.

"It's splendid to hear that you have already gotten so far with your project. Marvelous speed and efficiency Penny, though I'm afraid that I would not be of much help to you in a kitchen. It isn't my forte to do well in such a setting sadly, yet if you desire it, I can come and do what I can for a time, though it sounds more as if you are short-hoofed in general, yes? I can provide some helpers for you if you need it. I know a few here and there who could be of assistance to me, or those I chose to help, and who will not attempt to steal any of your recipes. They know that I detest disloyalty in my contacts, and they prefer to do what they can to not disappoint me, seeing as how helpful I have been to many of them. That will of course include signing NDA's, so that they will not share any details of your work to anypony, or attempt to replicate it of their own.

Though i must ask. Will it be only unicorns you'd prefer for this, or are ponies and other beings of comparable sizes good enough? The less restrictions, the more I can suggest."

Scarcity were not a pony that carried conventional weapons or got her hooves dirty. Quite honestly, if it came to a fight, her usefulness were rather limited, which were why she had Brick with her more often than not. Yet what made her dangerous were her information and her network. A vast amount of varied beings in every area of Equestria, and quite a few branches beyond, which she had made quite a handsome living connecting around to the right beings, and using to gain various bits of information that she could use to aid or hurt others with. It made her a reliable problem solver, and the more time she spent in the shadier parts of this world, the more vast her influence became, to a point where she were even technically untouchable now, as even if by some miracle there were found a shred of evidence against her - which were unlikely as she were very careful - the Equestrian government wouldn't touch her, and she could make evidence vanish with as little as a few words to a prison guard, or a seemingly random stranger on the streets. Perhaps not even that, as her arrest would trigger a response in her network that would automate a sizable, well-paid effort to clean her name as quickly as could be.

As for why she wouldn't be taken in by the government... Well, let it be said that certain highly dangerous or historically important items were acquired by her on the black and grey markets and passed along to the Equestrian government, along with information of certain criminals that were not protected for whatever reason that they wished to get their hooves on and she had ended up becoming more valuable to them when she remained part of this world, rather than taking her away.

Regardless, in a matter such as this, the main part were that she had among her many contacts, several in the sort of business that Penny were, who could be persuaded to lend some help as needed, and keep their varied mouths shut about it. They knew well enough what might happen to those who crossed Scarcity to not risk it.

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@Seamore Sandwich

"Then let us seal the pact."

Vivid's horn glowed with deep purple and pale whiteness as soul and demonic magic mingled, lifting Charlie above the stationary body that stood ready and empty in the middle of the room.

From the corner, the glowing box of harmonic magic shook and began to crack, as Vivid assaulted it and prepared herself for the worst part of this task: Personally having to handle harmony energy, which were an actual threat to demonic or semi-demonic beings like herself. Feeling it twirl and twist even on her magic felt like thorns grating against her very being, and even as she poured more magic into the process - to a point where her eyes began to glow and the air seemed to carry the faint sound of screams near her - it did not make her feel better. And this was even the nice part of it.

It just began to feel worse as she removed Charlie's spirit from the stick, and placed it within the empty vessel. Not a thing that would do much in general, as he were simply sitting in it, but it were as if a pony sat in water. They were embraced, but it did not stick. No, for that, she would have to more or less sew the two of them together, which were quite a bit more demanding that it sounded.

A coppery taste were felt in her muzzle as suddenly, the strands of demonic, soul, and harmony, all at once mingled together and tore through the body, leaving not a mark on it, but on the metaphysical plane, began its grizzly work. Then it went through again, and again, and so forth for what felt like hours of near-blinding pain for Vivid, yet were a measly 30 seconds in reality, at which point she felt something residing within the body, and the last part began. Being in a body was all nice and good after all, and there were the basis for life sown into the very being with invisible strands, but there still needed that spark that started it all. The rush of life, that would begin this unnatural beings heart.

With a force that shook the wall, the remaining magic imploded into the formerly empty body, coalesced into the heart of the the vessel, and then... Silence.

*ba-dum*

The light and darkness vanished from the vessel, the energy extinguished as the singular, low sound broke the eerie silence.

*ba-dum*

Vivid fell to her knees, weakened and in pain. Working with harmony were the reason why she had wanted that other draconequus to stay, to guide this accursed magic so that she may not need to interact with it, and cause herself to end in this state.

*ba-dum* *ba-dum* *ba-dum*

Weak as she felt, a grin still spread on her face, as she glanced up at the vessel, hearing it's heartbeat thunder in these first few seconds, as life emerged in the amalgamation of parts where it had once been taken.

"Is it everything you hoped for, Charlie?"

She knew there were somepony in there, and it could be nopony but him. She knew that the pain of this procedure would cause her focus to not be perfect enough to keep track of what soul were used, so it had really been for the best in many ways that it were here they worked their magic. This too had been a good reason for her to clear this place of wayward spirits, though she didn't think of this before the job were done. It were merely a happy coincidence.

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@Lucid_Nightlight

Whilst Lucid hammered on the door, but seemingly not getting much of a response. Anomaly looked behind to check up on what Henry were doing. By the looks of things, he were beginning to absorb the flames into his fur, making it more shiny and healthy-looking in the process, but still remained docile and content for the time being. Perhaps she needed to set up a furnace back home to make sure he were doing okay when it were, and then tell Frizzle to add some fuel now and again? Eh, guess they'd see.

And speaking of guessing, she were getting tired of guessing why the door wasn't being open, so she just somehow pulled out a piece of soap with her table leg, and started to see if there were an opening in the house she could throw this in through. Make it a little clingy with a bit of magic, and they'd be sorted, whilst whoever were in there would have this thing follow them and jump straight into their muzzles. Depended on whatever or not somepony would open soon.

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@Moonlit @Catpone Cerberus

"Earth ponies aren't so bad, but Unicorns...

I don't remember much of being alive anymore, but I still know of some of the stories and warnings I were told about them back then, when unicorns, earth ponies and pegasi didn't live together. Earth ponies were only dangerous to us pegasi if we got close to them, but the unicorns were monsters, who could be using their magic to do dangerous things. It's hard enough looking at how for some reason, everypony lives together in this town and doesn't fight constantly, but if what you were saying fitted a unicorn, I don't know if I could feel safe anywhere. I still don't, if she can see through disguises. What if she could see me, even though I go invisible? what would she do then? Would she call somepony to remove me? Scorn you for harboring me? Send me away to the afterlife by force?"

Her tone grew worried and a few things around her began to stir, with the lightest things beginning to slowly move across the floor.

"I'm sorry, I just... Don't know what to think of anything these days. It's been a long time since I've even been around ponies, and the little I still know just doesn't fit with how things look now. P-Please forgive me."

Things settled down as Cherishes's mind did, taking away from what may have evolved into a full on poltergeist episode if she hadn't stopped herself from going too far down her paranoid line of thought, which were fueled by not only biased fear for what may happen to her, but also to Serenade, and to an extend, Nada. They had been nothing but kind to her, and having either of them scrutinized and mocked because of her weren't something she wished to happen for either of them. Just the thought alone had made her feel sick to her ethereal stomach.

"P-Perhaps it is  for the best if I get to meet Pinkie at some point, and just face all of this head on, but that's not too important. I'm more worried that if... W-What if she knows Nada is here and tries to push a surprise on her? Would that go well? Or do I just worry too much about all of this?"

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@EQ_Theta @Dji

On 12/3/2018 at 2:40 PM, Dji said:

"Only elder dragons have access to books about general magic, dragons specialise in either earth, water, fire, and air, but that's only if they have the magical potential. Otherwise it's just strength contests with them. Chemical reactions would explain why no thaumatic energy could be felt from dragon fire whenever it is breathed. This could also explain why Spike is seemingly the only dragon we know of to breathe a green fire to send messages wherever he pleased,"

"Essentially. I have some notes scribbled down in one of my books regarding how our physiology works in more details when it comes to things such as our ability to breathe fire, but I'll have to pick them up from my cave later, depending on if the sphinx ruined the place in retaliation before or not. Perhaps you would be able to find it useful, which is more than I can say for the deaf ears I've been trying to educate for most my life.

As for your friend, I haven't heard of magic of that kind before, but if it involves a change in color with his flames, he's likely a fire dragon with some hidden potential poking its head forth. Some proper education into draconic magic use and whatever potential he possesses can be allowed to bloom. Who knows, perhaps he carries some traces of dragons outside of the Dragon Isle's? I have a few pages from old tomes speaking of strange magic harnesses by dragons from distant lands. It's unconfirmed scribbles that none of the elders I met have cared to speak of, but if he have green fire, it's possible. If you don't mind me being near your library to conduct my own research, I could share what I know of with him, and see what would come of it. Magical potential is a fools act to simply waste in my opinion."

Urgh, finally! 400 years and a move from her own country, but she finally found someone who were willing to listen to research, data, and find interest in what magic and physiology actually means for dragons. Usually Nerzhei spoke to deaf ears when it came to this, with the only ones who even had a passing interest being idiots who thought that she could teach just any lizard how to use magic in a few minutes, and a few elders who cared little for what she actually researched, but more into what her findings in other areas might do for them. The rest were basically just ignored.

On 12/3/2018 at 2:50 PM, EQ_Theta said:

"How would a dragon know they could use magic? And how would they show it? Unicorn horns glow when they use their magic; do dragons have something like it?"

"It starts to show with minor anomalies, but it varies. In my case, I found that in a fit of anger, I threw a rock at someone without being near it, but others may find out through things like being able to stand on water, lava reacting with their anger, or wind currents change around you to make your flight easier. Varied degrees of it really, but the base idea is mostly that it manifests through emotional and/or stressful events.

And yes, there are signs to see when dragons use magic, though yet again it varies with the sub-species. Fire dragons tend to show it in their horns glowing at the tip, or from odd-colored smoke pouring from their nostrils. Water dragons tend to have glowing eyes, whilst wind dragons - as far as I've observed - have the protrusions on the top middle of their wings glow. And as for earth dragons like myself, it's mostly situated on the claws. I don't have much energy left, but let me see if I can prove my point."

Nerzhei pulled her good hand towards Fluttershy, the turned it palm upwards and concentrated until a faint glow showed at the tip of each of her claws, and a pebble that had been dragged in here by somepony, began to float up and around her hand. It wouldn't last more than a few seconds, considering her weakened state, but hopefully it would suffice.

"I have seen a few dragons who used magic without it being too obvious, but those are rarities, and more often that not will involve some kind of highly powerful magical artifact instead, such as the dragon lord's scepter. Be careful if you see cloves or hats that cover horns though. It may be a less then impressive attempt at hiding their magic usage."

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

 

@EQ_Theta

On 12/3/2018 at 2:50 PM, EQ_Theta said:

"That's nice, Omen. Thank you. As much as I am reminded of mortality, I hope we get to make good memories for many more years to come. Speaking of which, I've had some time to mull over Sen's magic. It seems like he's able to quickly heal his injuries and for the most part, he doesn't seem likely to get sick. If I suspect the magic he's been given does more than heal injuries, maybe his lifespan will be much longer than a regular longma's. It's as if magic is continuously keeping him healthy, but maybe we'll need more time to study it."

"Magic is strange. Good if it helps Sen though. I don't want him to go away soon, like many others have."

Even though Omen had no real concept of death, she knew that many of those she had once seen were never getting back, and she didn't want that to happen with Sen and Lin. At least not anytime soon, as with them, waiting for them to return like Discord eventually had wasn't going to work, and what would the world look like if Omen went away for a long, long time again to wait? What strange state would Equestria then be in? It was hard to tell, but hopefully that wouldn't be a question she would have to ask for a very long time. Lin would perhaps be around for longer because she were a little like Omen, and Sen sounded as if his life would go on, and who knew? Perhaps they could make it longer? Omen had done something wrong with the crystal thing she went to check up on, and bad stuff had apparently happened, but she had known of many things buried or hidden away, even before Discord were turned to stone. It might be that some of them still worked.

On 12/3/2018 at 2:50 PM, EQ_Theta said:

"Anyway, maybe we should head back and see how Sen and Rosa are doing. Shall we go?"

But thankfully Lin were quick to mention it were time for them to go back and see how the others were doing before more thoughts could fester in her mind, and add to the already large pile of unfiltered chaos that had gone through the last day or so.

"Okay. Shrimp?"

Shrimp lifted his head as he heard the voice say his name whisper through his mind. His mouth were sticky with berry mush and juices from after he had stopped fighting the branch, and went on to taste the fruit. He had only taken two so far, but as he were called for, he snapped another in his mouth and slithered over to the pair, where he'd then climb up on Omen to his usual spot and begin eating the juicy fruit, with not a care in the world. Including the fact that he were dripping on Omen, but she didn't care in the slightest about that. She just looked at Lin with her usual pale-eyed curiosity and expectantly awaited for them to move on.

"We're ready."

On 12/3/2018 at 2:50 PM, EQ_Theta said:

"Would be nice if I could get those makeshift tools right about now. I just hope Lin and Omen have finished looking around back home so we could prepare for the temple. You think we'd need Omen to move ahead of us, Rosa? Doesn't seem like the tides have changed much." 

"Without more time to test the tides, then yes, we would have a need for Omen to go through with this. Her lack of breathing might be far more helpful than we at first think, and if she can find a way inside, she can guide Lin in, and we can drain the room. Yet we need the both of them back before we can really do much. With some luck, it will not be much longer."

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@Rising Dusk

10 hours ago, Rising Dusk said:

 "This feather contains magic nullifying properties.  It should be what you need,"

"Yeah right, and I'm the prince of Lollipop Land. A feather can't jus- What the?"

Molotov had reached a hoof out to touch the feather, aiming to just throw it around and keep making sarcastic comments to it. In a friendly manner of course, but the plans had been dashed when he got close enough to the feather, and felt like a part of him had suddenly vanished. It wasn't too bad or painful, but it were definitely noticeable, and he withdrew his hoof as if he had been shocked.

Trying a few more times though, he found that this became more tolerable to do, though as he finally picked up the feather and tried to cast a spell to satisfy his curiosity, his face filled with equal parts wonder and horror.

"A complete blockage of any magic... T-This is amazing and troubling all the same. If this feather is real, that must mean the pegasus this comes from is also... Great Celestia, the implications of this..."

He sat with his head in his hooves, grumbling over the pros and cons of what this meant, scientifically as well as generally for Equestria at large. To have somepony on the loose who actually had anti-magical feathers were one thing, but having them fly? What if the feathers dropped off and hit somewhere it shouldn't, like through a hospital window and near some of the magically infused medicine? What disasters couldn't that cause?

Several more such scenarios went through his head before finally, he let out a long, drawn-out sigh, and removed his hooves from his eyes, giving an uncertain glance towards Dusky.

"No, it doesn't matter what my own feelings are about this. I went into this line of work to help, and I'm not gonna stop because I'm concerned 'bout a few potential issues. I can work this feather into the design, though if I'm guessing right here, the one who're carrying this isn't gonna need that, since she'd already have plenty of anti-magic going 'round her being. Or nullifying magic like you say. Not the biggest difference to be frankly, but that's beyond the point.

You can bring the pony over whenever you think it'll work. In the meantime, I think I can use this feather to improve my own wings, if nothing else. Just gonna need to tweak around some things and make a new design."

He'd have to see if it only kept it down or actively removed it first of course, but the prospects of this at least seemed to lift his spirits up again after the (mostly) internal debate he had gone through.

"How'd you even run into somepony like this? Heck, how have they managed to stay unknown in general? I would've thought a pony with these sort of abilities would be well known."

As for Blitz, she either didn't listen in or was just too busy with her pancakes, because there weren't a peep out of her. Just the continued sound of her munching through the mediocre pancakes.

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

 

 

@Catpone Cerberus

Spicy let out a good, hearty laughter as Ruby gave her reasons for why the gambling mare may be worried about telling her much about Scarcity.

"I'm always thinking that folks might rat me out Ruby, but you're off your game on this one. I didn't wanna tell you too much, because I didn't wanna give you any illusions about having anything you can use against her.

Scarcity ain't small fry girlie, and considering the stories about what happens to those who tries to harm her, she clearly doesn't take it kindly when somepony even attempts to rat her out.

And attempts are all you're gonna get out of it. You think that nopony have tried to get her out of the picture before? Nothing ever sticks, and whoever accused her won't stay hidden enough for her to not retaliate. Pony like her can have you vanish, imprisoned, or just flat out ruin your life without much effort if you get on her bad side, and I value having your talents around too much for it to be all that grand that you get yourself in over your head like this.

The dark side of Equestria. Ain't it fun already?"

She let out another laugh whilst Marley simply shook his head at her antics. Though as the smirk on his beak proved, it were still amusing to him, even with what he knew.

"Much as we demonize her, you should not worry too much. She appears to take much in stride, long as nothing overtly threatens her or her business. Minor outbursts and sneering will likely do little more than amuse her, seeing as how Spicy did not exactly act the nicest of ways when we interacted with her."

"You try getting searched for contraband a few times and see how great you'll feel."

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

 

@Dji

"You cannot simply join a hivemind. Only those who are part of a queen's hive may do so, and unless you convert fully to my rule, it cannot be done. If that is even an option we still have in this shape."

Onache sat on her throne and gazed upon Aurora, thinking that on this matter, Happy would not be of much help, as he had never graced the hivemind himself. Not for a lack of trying, but something in his physiology made it impossible to connect, which were also why he could not be forced to listen to orders like the former members of her hive. Ruling a hive in a hive depended on the queen controlling their spawn properly through the hive mind, so it had been fortunate that Happy had decided to follow her on his own accord.

"Find it fortunate that you have not been driven mad by the isolation, as many other drones have before you. In another time, perhaps you would have made for an efficient long term scout."

Happy leaned in a bit and grinned.

"That's what I'm doing normally. Means you can stay outta the hive for more than a few weeks without going coo-coo, so you can really start figuring out what sorta places would be ready for an invasion, and where to strike first. Gritty job sometimes, but you have better access to feeding regularly than the normal hive workers."

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

 

@Dji

Enzo finally got on his paws as Karmic began painfully pleading, and leaned his head in close enough for his chin-beard to touch the mare

"If she perishes, then so will you, Atzy. Seize your assault, that we may then find a body for your wayward soul."

Regardless of whatever the internal force that were likely the cause of Karmic's pain stopped the assault or not, Enzo would lean even closer, and carefully bite into the loose neck skin of the pony so that he could carry the little creature like a kitten, then lifted her up and swung her to be on his back, whereupon he would summon some straps of parchment to keep her down, in case kept going/might happen again, so that she would be less likely to glide off. As for where to go... He didn't know for certain, but for now the important part had been to secure travel for the small pony. An undignified way this happened, yet Enzo would swallow his pride. Long as she did not proclaim him to be her steed, as that might be pressing her luck too much.

Edited December 5, 2018 by Blitz Boom

[Lucid_Nightlight 923]

@Blitz Boom

A pony opened the door he had a cowboy hat and a rifle.

"What now Lucid?"

"Hey, you're not allowed to be an important to character at the moment, so Imma make this quick."

Lucid grabbed the soap from Anomaly and threw it at the guy's head.

"Lucid! What the f-"

Lucid closed the door.

"Next house."

[Catpone Cerberus 23,601]

@Blitz Boom@Moonlit

Again Nada stayed silent, there was lot to take in, firstly, and least importantly, Cherish was older than her, since she was from the time before ponies had joined their forces, but then there was the more important, this, Pinkie pie. She had been looking at Cherish sympathetically as the poor ghost had had her outburst, she knew exactly what it felt like to fear things like that, sure being banished to afterlife was probably worse than other word, but it was banishment none the less. But she didn't say anything about that, what could have she even said, that everything is aright?..no, she didn't believe that even herself.

She was quiet for second more, and though it wasn't fully visible since she was mostly under water, she held her hoof on her chin thoughtfully, "I'm conflicted what to think." She looked towards Serenade "Because I trust my fellow siren if she says someone can be trusted, but at the same time, I don't know if I can trust over-knowing pony." she then looked at Cherish "Firstly, you're forgiven, worries like that are understandable" "And second your concern is also something to consider, because even putting aside the fact that I would most likely freak out due my current fear of ponies, what would happen if that pony did decide to surprise me with a party?" "Because even if she meant well, it would take only few disapproving ponies to ruin everything."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
@Blitz Boom

Again Ruby didn't interrupt, and waited for her turn to talk. "If I didn't know better, I would be insulted that you think that I would be stupid enough to make sompony of great influence my enemy." until necessary "As somepony who has more than enough experience in making problems disappear, I know our type is pain in a flank when you get on the bad side." she smirked "Besides, you know I'm in this for profit, so what would I do with all the stuff we collected if I made the source of profit mad?" And it's nice to meet a pony who isn't a total idiot. 

The parts about imprisonment and ruined life didn't really faze Ruby, imprisonment would be just unfortunate heartbeat in her life, and there wasn't life to destroy, sure it could make her life in this form harder, but she would just need bit of magic and time to recreate her disguise, it would be annoying, but not life destroying. And vanishing, good luck with that.

[EQ_Theta 459]

@Blitz Boom

You and me both, Omen....

Lin thought to herself as she opened a gate back to the others. Somehow, Omen's sentiments evoked a feeling of hope yet left her somewhat forlorn. It's what she wanted and after seeing Sen vulnerable in his nightmares, fearing that he'd be abandoned right up to his last breath, to have something good dashed away would crush him. That seems to have been made worse by the fact that they're getting themselves into dangerous situations every now and again, but his good nature just gets the better of him, even his sense of self-preservation. But for now, it was time to go and leave these thoughts be for now. There was work to be done.

With Rosa expressing his own thoughts on the situation, a gate opened right on cue just before him and Sen. Lin walked through and caught them at just the right moment, catching her brother off guard and him recoiling back in surprise.

"Hi everyone. Are we ready to go?"

"Lin! Perfect timing! We are going to need those tools now and if the tide isn't going down anytime soon, we might need Omen to move ahead of us."

Without further prompting, another gate opened to the side. Lin only put half her body across this one to pull out everything needed by the rest of the group before closing the gate behind her. She then proceeded to distribute the tools to everyone. A pair of sharpened spears for herself, Sen, and Rosa, and a rock for Omen. She still knows about the issue with strings and opted to avoid causing some problems for now. 

"Alright, remember the plan," Sen turned to Omen. There was still a groggy look on his face but it wasn't as bad as it was earlier in the morning. "If you suspect a trap is ahead of you, throw a rock and see if something goes off. If for some reason it is impossible to retrieve the rock you threw, I have more. We'll be right behind you."

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

@Blitz Boom @Dji

Fluttershy looked on at the display of power, captivated by the sight despite Nerzhei at a weakened state. It was a sight to behold, a dragon with magical prowess; it's not everyday one gets to meet a dragon who can wield magic, or one willing to show it. Even if it was a little spark, or in the current situation a faint glow and a floating pebble, it was an amusing thing to see. Well, just the idea of a dragon using magic is a novelty and just thinking of Spike and him being able to send letters via his breath, it's little wonder why the idea comes off a little too foreign. Now Ponyville might not be too open to the idea just yet but given enough time and awareness, and possibly a little more exposure to dragons in general, and they would be able to foster new relations together. Ember is already open to that, so there's a start. 

"That's amazing!" the pegasus clapped her hooves in amusement. If only the rest of her friends were here to witness this. At the very least, Spike should be able to see Nerzhei. The two would be able to get along well and there is another figure the little dragon could look up to as a positive influence.

There would be more quiet cheering from the pegasus if it weren't for the arrival of Angel bunny coming in from the hallway. The little creature hopped through the open door and waved to the group, though with Fluttershy's back turned to him, Nerzhei and maybe Twilight would be the only ones to see him. Except that wouldn't be the case. The bunny then hopped over to his owner and tapped her on the leg, drawing her attention to both him and Lotus. 

"Oh! You two are back. Did you enjoy your visit to the sanctuary?"

Angel's answer was obvious but the pegasus was equally interested in Lotus' answer.

[OptimisticNeighsayer 478]

@Blitz Boom

Ruins of the Castle of the Two Sisters

There was another set of hooves trotting around the old castle ruins, also looking for entertainment of a sort--not to play, but to study, and, more likely than not, to fix.

Ivory Starwind came to Ponyville surprised at how small and undeveloped the town was. It was home to Princess Twilight Sparkle and the new School of Friendship; why wasn't it as big as Las Pegasus or Manehattan, which had neither? He had lived and worked in those two cities his entire life; the change of pace from their bustle put him a tad off balance when he moved part of his inventory of pianos to a small thatched house in Ponyville's downtown earlier that day. He had brought only about a hundred or so keyboards to the village, but the village didn't look to even have a hundred households to purchase them. Only those residents in the towering castle just on the outside of town seemed to have the means to comfortably purchase a piano without needing a bank loan.

Fortunately, he had another reason to be there. Like many ponies in Equestria by now, Ivory had read the Friendship Journal. He was interested in how Twilight and her friends became the representatives of Equestria's most cherished values, but was even more interested in one of Pinkie Pie's side notes, describing how she played scary music on an organ even though she never touched one before in her life. Pinkie being Pinkie, she didn't describe much beyond that, so Ivory had to investigate for himself the properties of that organ. He had just an hour ago gone to Sugarcube Corner to ask Pinkie about where in the castle that organ was, and after downing eight of her cupcakes he got some vague idea of its location.

About five minutes of walking through the halls and missing a few corners, Ivory finally found the organ room. It was a dark and dusty room, but the brass of the pipes was clean enough to reflect the sunlight to clearly reveal the entire organ. There must still be a maintenance charm on that thing, he thought. Hopefully it hasn't distorted the sound too much. He approached the great instrument, noting its eclecticism: A Foundation Era-style base and console, as he expected, and Late Equestrian Baroque-style pipes, which he didn’t. He then looked closer at the stops: The number and types were typical for a Foundation Era organ, except for two labelled ‘Vox Celestiae” and “Vox Lunae.’ “Huh,” he said to himself. “Celestiae wasn’t supposed to have developed until the Expansionary Period.”

He had to try it out. He pulled out the stop with his magic, made sure all the others were closed, and played the middle C on the lower manual. The pitch was just slightly flat, but only a trained ear like Ivory would notice. More remarkably, the Vox Celestiae didn’t quite sound like the Vox Celestiae he was familiar with, but more like a Hammare organ—the timbre sharper and a little less ‘heavenly.’ It was almost as if Princess Celestia or the builder foresaw the future of organs and decided to create a joke for future generations.

He had just played one note, and he was already more fascinated than ever by the old machine. He needed to play even more to fully understand. So he took a seat on the stool and played a jazzy, syncopated arpeggiated riff he had heard many times at his parents’ resort in Las Pegasus. If an old organ could still sound great playing a style it was never intended to play, it was truly a great instrument.

The higher notes were, as the first, slightly flat, but not enough to ruin the chord. Soon he found himself playing the full 12-bar progression, and the instrument only seemed to get better as he played. He played the theme several times, fiddling and experimenting with different stops and bass patterns.

At one point he thought he heard a trap door going off, but didn’t make too much of it. A couple minutes later he suddenly paused, heard some nearby hoofsteps, and continued playing.

School of Friendship

With Princess Twilight back at the castle, Starlight Glimmer, the School of Friendship’s guidance counselor, was in charge. This time, with Cozy Glow imprisoned in Tartarus and Discord hanging out in the Chaos Realm, she had little reason to fear for the safety of the School, much less anycreature usurping her position. Still, the responsibility made her a bit nervous.

She was coming back from the storeroom to replenish her supply of her famous “empathy cocoa” she offered to every visitor to her office when she heard the knock at the front door. It was a rather unusual sound, since most everycreature knew that the School of Friendship was an open, public place—visitors didn’t even have to sign in with the receptionist. She cautiously turned and opened the door for this visitor. In front of her stood a teenage unicorn carrying a saddlebag with an inkwell and a brush across his back. More striking was his coat—he was so heavily tattooed it was difficult for Starlight to tell where the tattoos ended and the cutie marks began. He was just as nervous and cautious, but more guarded, than Starlight was, as if he were taught from birth to fear danger from every corner at all times.

“Hello there,” Starlight said as warmly as she could. “May I help you?”

Edited December 8, 2018 by OptimisticNeighsayer
Minor detail

[FanOfManyShows 396]

@Blitz Boom
She looked to him, confused as to why he didn't bring this up earlier, but he was correct about them needing a rest after all of this. Iron looked to Chow as well, with a similar look to Astral. "Alright Chow, where should we go to rest?" She asked, approaching him. "And feel free to say stuff like this to us, I don't exactly notice when I need rest, especially without that gem to indicate how much magic I have."

===============
@Blitz Boom
Sapphire's gem glowed with magic as she grabbed onto Emerald, the world seemingly shattering like glass around them as they entered the astral plane, both of them entering it. Emerald would centeraly notice this before Sapphire did as it turned out that moment, that only those she touched would be taken, causing Emeralds form to be ripped from her host, as the host was taken to the astral plane instead. "Alright, there we go." She said, to the now empty vessel, not realizing she left Emerald back in the physical realm. "We can still use spells from here I believe." She looked around the plane, floating around.

=========
@Dji
With a weird grin, he could now make something up since it was only the canterlot archives. "Well I am just a visitor from Ponyville." He lied of course, but being a changeling made that easy, but there was *still* a chance the others had a way of seeing if that was true. He just had to hope there wasn't another way they could.

"Really?" For a first, Zealous sounded genuinely surprised by that. Which did crack his previous emotionless sounding tone. "I've not met many travelers from there to here, nor any who stayed."

"Just, passing through is all."

[Moonlit 593]

@Blitz Boom @Catpone Cerberus Serenade nods, "Tell you what, I'll head Pinkie off at the pass and explain to her that..." She has to pick the right words here..."her energy might overwhelm you both and I'd rather have a happy...Ghost Pony, a Happy Siren and a Happy Pinkie." She turns to Cherish, "I keep forgetting I drag you everywhere, is there a specific place you'd like to reside?"

[Rising Dusk 27,766]

@Blitz Boom

The reaction to the feather was pretty much what he'd expect one would have when encountering such an oddity.  A similar reaction given from criminal unicorns trying to resist being arrested by the detective and having their spells actively countered at every turn.  His own reaction was a bit more muted when he encountered the sisters, but that just came with his personality.  Molotov was also much smarter than the average pony, so it wasn't too big of a surprise when he needed to take a moment to run his mind through what this new discovery could imply.  For Rising Dusk, it was just another day at the office.  Granted, he'd never before received a letter from Princess Celestia personally, nor was the interesting nullifying magic properties from a pair of ponies instead of an artifact.  Okay, maybe not the most normal day at the office after all.  Couldn't live in fear though.  At any moment a meteor could strike Equestria and kill them all, but he doesn't let that keep him up at night.

"Well your majesty, Prince of Lollipop Land.  While I'll neither confirm nor deny that this feather came from a pegasus... I theorize they could remain unnoticed by keeping to themselves and being nomads," he concluded.  Coming here was more to be proof of concept than to really achieve any results.  He still had to run all of this by the sisters to see if it was something they even wanted.  Or if they'd view Rising Dusk of budding too much into their business and just have him finish off their artifacts and dust their hooves of him.  Princess Luna as his witness though, he was at least going to try and help.

Taking another bit of his pancake stack, it was nice to feel more energy fill his body with the bit of sugar rush from the syrup.  "I'll keep this information in mind and see how we'll press forward.  But fare warning, I have no idea how long the properties of that feather will remain," he added, raising a hoof to point at the feather Molotov had.

[Blitz Boom 4,629]

@Rising Dusk

9 hours ago, Rising Dusk said:

"Well your majesty, Prince of Lollipop Land.  While I'll neither confirm nor deny that this feather came from a pegasus... I theorize they could remain unnoticed by keeping to themselves and being nomads,"

Dusky shook his head at the officer with a grin on his face. Being a real wise guy right now, weren't he? Well, two could play that game.

"Dusky my boy, do you really think of me as that dense? You came here looking for help for a pegasus, then start showing me this feather, and thinking that I can't put two and two together? I weren't born yesterday. And really, you know I come from a town of scientists, and that I work on wings. You really think I dunno what a pegasus feather looks like? Come on soldier, I know there's something rummaging in there."

He poked Dusky on the noggin a couple of times before letting out a laugh.

9 hours ago, Rising Dusk said:

"I'll keep this information in mind and see how we'll press forward.  But fare warning, I have no idea how long the properties of that feather will remain,"

"Noted. I'll work with what I got as long as it's there, and with some luck, I can put together and test a few batteries before it goes bad, and if it ain't working, move them to a safe location for destruction. I ain't risking that in here."

Granted, that had much to do with the fact that this entire building would likely be pulverized if he tried, but that were one of them things that Dusky didn't need to know about. Everything went better if the law weren't breathing down his neck about potentially unstable power sources that could level parts of the town. Heck, Felicia would've never been allowed outside if he knew what she were dragging around.

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

 

@FanOfManyShows

Hey, wadda ya know? He finally got through to them. With this pace, he'd have them house trained and eating off his hoof in just a few months.

"I'm thinking we should either go to the tree hut, your crib, or Astral's new place in Canterlot. I'm thinking that each got their own pros and cons, so it depends on what sorta thing you folks have been doing in either place.

I can imagine that your place is all protected Iron, but it's also isolated and Sapphire knows her way 'round your traps, eh?

I dunno how the tree house is for spells, but again, it's pretty isolated, so it's easier to ambush.

The place in Canterlot got guard on high alert, which means you'd have to keep yer yaps shut or get followed. Even if some of the higher-ups approves, the common guard haven't had time to hear that sorta thing yet, and it's just gonna be a hassle. But the pro is that there's plenty of folks, Emerald at least might not be willing to take another stab at this, and perhaps if we go play nice, Scarcity would still be willing to give a hoof in keeping 'em away. I dunno how loaded your new place is with protection though Astral. Can you give us the low down on that?"

What? He might be a brute, but that didn't mean he was as dense as mud. Once in a while his brain started making a few turns and presto: Ideas came a'flowing.

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

 

@FanOfManyShows

The vessel weren't empty per se, but the real inhabitant were still in a deep state of coma-like sleep. A little precautionary tactic by Zhu, before he had tied her up to be used as a vessel for Emerald, as he didn't want issues arising. Plus, it had seemed the kindest for the mare, who had no idea what had happened. Far as she were aware, she were still on a camping trip, with her dreams working well in enforcing that idea, though depending on where she'd eventually wake up, that might start to get confusing for her.

Sapphire should be able to get a clue that the body were no longer housing Emerald by the fact that the eyes seemed empty and blue, rather than red, and that the red coloring on the bottom of the legs that usually indicated that Emerald were in possession of somepony, weren't present.

Emerald for once weren't all that happy about the situation though, as now she weren't only without a vessel and just floating in the air like a persistent puff of red smoke, but also, she couldn't repossess the mare once she got back, as there were a limit to these things. It would have to be at least 10 hours before she could retake it, and before that, she'd need to have another vessel, as she couldn't keep using the same one in a row. Annoying limitations, but it were what it were.

Sadly, the basement didn't have any living creatures in it, so she were going to have to need to float around and look outside for a rat, possum, or something else like that. Urgh, how she hated those critter bodies...

"Well then, this saves me some time."

The gruff voice came seemingly out of nowhere behind where Emerald were currently looking.

When/if Sapphire would eventually watch, she'd find that there were somepony holding up an engraved Maw Sit Sit gem, and channeling a beam between it and Emerald, who were finding herself being dragged towards the gem with increasing speed by the strange looking stallion who looked triumphantly towards the cloud of red.

"Struggle as you might, this have been a long time coming. You are mine now, sacrifice."

Behind him, a large, dark-green rip in the air seemed to have been his entry point, and through it could be seen a twisted forest with creaking, leafless trees, whilst the sound of howling winds blew coldly by somewhere in the background. Whoever this were, and where he came from, nothing good were gonna come from it, and if Sapphire did not notice Emerald being out of the vessel soon, she might end up losing her to the strange bat pony who had invaded their home.

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

 

@Catpone Cerberus @Moonlit

Cherish could certainly understand Nada's fears about what might happen. it were much the same ones that she had, every time somepony had gotten into the old castle and she hid from them, only to pop out and try to warn them away from the evil ghost within. She couldn't remember how long she had done this, but she knew that most times she had been thinking the same thing: What if they thought that She was the evil ghost instead? All it would take were a few scared ponies before all of a sudden, a bunch would come out to chase after her, and then what? She were bound to the castle at this point, so she couldn't try to find another place to stay in for a time instead, and she didn't want to pass on yet. She had... Something to do, even though it were hard for her to remember much of what it were that made her stay behind in the first place.

Still, it were the same as what Nada feared. A few who disproved, who would make their lives miserable, and potentially no escape from it all. Just a chase, and any hopes of being part of a group shattered into tiny fragments.

Cherish desperately wanted to rejoin society at least. Her friend had helped her cope through the years, but she needed to be around others, and see life go on as it once did again. It was as much to get a feeling of worth and joy in her life again, as it were a want to try and find a new purpose in her unlife, to make it worth it that she were bound tot his world. Her fear of unicorns would make this difficult, but if ponykin as a whole had learned to adapt, perhaps she could too? Though again, that depended on if ponies really had done so, or if they would shun everypony who were not like them, like sirens or ghosts.

"I don't think we'd mind all that much with a party, but... I know that I at least just can't do it before I know that everypony is okay with me being there. I've seen how ponies react to the diseased in the castle for a while and it's not all too well. And what if one of those who are here now is still alive, and living in town? I don't want to be the cause of fear.

And I'm fine enough following you Serenade. At least I get around that way, instead of being stuck in the castle. Perhaps one day, I will have been away long enough to not need to be bound to it, and could end up more free, but it just isn't happening now, and the best I can do is being with this piece of scrap. I kind of like that I'm near enough to help you too, if something goes wrong.

I guess uhm... Nada? It's... What we mean is that I'm bound to the old castle, so  can't go too far away from it. Kind of like this."

She weren't sure if it had been really explained to Nada yet, so to prove her point, Cherish went to the end of her metaphorical leash, and as she tried to push forward, it were like there were an invisible wall she were trying to push against, but not getting through. It should hopefully either prove her point about her limit, or make Nada think that the ghost were an amazing mime artist.

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@Catpone Cerberus

"Known you for less than a day sugar, and you have a habit about going silent. Until I know better, I assume all sorts of things. Plus you know, some folks don't do well with ponies who just oozes of being some kinda wise guy. I've known some ponies for years who'd try to clock her one, and get their legs broken by her bodyguard. Don't worry none about Brick though, he ain't saying a peep and just stands on the ready. Wish I could trade him for this blabbermouth frankly."

"I hardly find that possible. However would you attract anyone without having someone with charisma, charm, and dashing looks? My dear pony, you'd be homeless in a matter of days."

"Somepony's leaning up against having their feathers waxed off."

"Oh, I'd do like to see you try, considering you can clearly not even work a brush through your mane."

They'd be at it for a while, but when they were done, at least Canterlot would start to get into sight. Had to give them that they didn't make the roads boring, and you could make a betting game on how many times in a given hour they would try to strike towards the other in (potential) jest. In this case, the current average seemed to be about three, and one *accidental* account of a fallen tree almost rolling into Spicy. A mighty big coincidence, but nothing more, surely.

"- And that is what comes of simpletons such as yourself. Ah look, we're nearing. Hardly seemed as if any time have passed, does it?"

"Not with a brain your size at least. You doing alright there Ruby? Need to wander off for a spell before we get near the civilized folks?"

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

 

@EQ_Theta

On 12/6/2018 at 2:11 PM, EQ_Theta said:

"Hi everyone. Are we ready to go?"

"Lin! Perfect timing! We are going to need those tools now and if the tide isn't going down anytime soon, we might need Omen to move ahead of us."

What an eerily perfect timing for Lin and the others to return. Rosa weren't complaining, but it just seemed like a strange little coincidence at the time. Well, time to stop wasting effort thinking about a coincidence, and get on to the job at hoof.

Lin thankfully seemed to deal with Omen first and foremost, which for the time being meant that Rosa were mostly there to accept the primitive weapon that Sen had made earlier. It should prove efficient in trying to feel out traps in the room once they got there, but first they needed an overview of the situation, which right now basically meant that Omen had to take stage and lead the charge. Not the one he wanted to think of doing so the most, but considering the situation, it were what they had to do.

On 12/6/2018 at 2:11 PM, EQ_Theta said:

"Alright, remember the plan," Sen turned to Omen. There was still a groggy look on his face but it wasn't as bad as it was earlier in the morning. "If you suspect a trap is ahead of you, throw a rock and see if something goes off. If for some reason it is impossible to retrieve the rock you threw, I have more. We'll be right behind you."

"Okay. Stay here Shrimp."

The small refraction gave out a yelp and nearly dropped his half-eaten berry when Omen picked him up from his position and placed him on Sen. Something which made Shrimp whimper and look at Omen, not sure why she had put her on Sen's head.

"Bad water. Can't take you."

Shrimp didn't like this, or sitting on Sen, but he understood enough of what were going on and just sat there, slowly eating his berry and keeping his eyes on Omen as she wandered directly into the water and down towards the temple.

"Now it's just to wait and see."

The ocean wasn't the calmest right now, so it didn't make it easy to see much of what Omen did the further she went ahead, and soon, they'd more or less just had to look and wait, and the seconds ticked by, became minutes, and th-

The water suddenly rose up with the sound of something exploding deep down there, out of sight of them, but clearly over near or in the temple.

Shrimp were panicking at this point, rising towards the heavens and whimpering "Ohme!" over and over again. Rosa too felt his heart skip some beats and his pulse raise as he saw what happened, and were stretching his wings out to go and fly over closer before taking a dive, when a gate suddenly opened behind them, and a dripping wet, but otherwise perfectly fine Omen looked at them, wondering what seemed to get them all so riled up. Behind her, the look of both Mother's realm, and another nearby gate that led into a damp, darkened room were shown. Potentially the inside of the temple.

The refraction quickly threw away what was left of his meal, and slithered over, where he'd climb Omen and wrap himself as tightly as he could around her shoulders and neck, not wanting to let her go again, and whimpering like he had been hurt. Something which the mare in question didn't really get.

"Did something happen?"

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

 

@EQ_Theta @Dji

On 12/6/2018 at 2:11 PM, EQ_Theta said:

"That's amazing!"

"This is but child's play. If I weren't this drained, and if I were given some preparation time, I could potentially move the very bedrock this castle stood on. It depends on how far down the crystals are. Much as it may seem so, crystals are not part of what a geomancer can work well with. Rocks and dirt are the prime things, along with some metals, and for some reason, diamonds. I have yet to find an explanation as to why that gem alone is movable, but it can be useful in a pinch."

Nerzhei tried to not show herself as being impacted by the mare's praise, but a small smile did manage to vaguely cling to her face for a short time as she spoke. despite her best efforts to keep it down. It was just nice to finally hear someone being impressed about her magic, even as meager as this, rather than most responses she got in Dragon Land, which ranged from it being cheating in a fight, to *Eh, fine* at best, from the shortsighted buffoons that found it cool, but didn't care. That being the vast majority, sadly. She would consider this another plus to Equestria over her home island, as minor as it may seem. It gave some hope about finally being somewhere that listened.

About then, the two bunnies came back into the room, looking and smelling like they had been in water recently. They didn't seem to be dripping on the floor, as they had more than likely gotten dry by running back, but as Nerzhei's flaring nostrils proved, the smell of wet fur were still there. It seemed as if they had enjoyed the waterfall, and without getting injured as well. Blessed be that.

On 12/6/2018 at 2:11 PM, EQ_Theta said:

"Oh! You two are back. Did you enjoy your visit to the sanctuary?"

"Yeah, it was pretty fun. Gonna have to remember that place for another time."

"Did you get into any trouble?"

"Only almost. Weird creature called a... Sloth, I think? Anyway, I thought she looked funny at me, but apparently she just does that, so I didn't end up fighting her."

"A sloth? I must remember to find a book later on the local animal life it sounds like, but it's good that you had a pleasant time."

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@OptimisticNeighsayer

"Back in my day, music on these things were far more calm and subtle in it. Don't know if I care for this new tone, but it was played well."

Vivid stepped out of the shadows near a door opening, aware that she had been heard, as otherwise, it seemed as if the pony would not have stopped playing.

What he were doing here though, were a mystery to her. Had he broken in simply to find the piano? Or were he one of these *ghost hunters* she had heard about a few times? Thrill seekers who thought that it were a great kick to find haunted houses and try to communicate with the diseased. An admirable goal in a way, but also something that could aggravate her, as their intend seemed just to experience something interesting, and not to help the poor departed who needed help to move on. Not to speak of the dangers in potentially getting yourself in the same room as a deranged poltergeist who were lost in their own pain, and prone to lashing out.

Spirits were not something for the uninitiated or egoistical to face. It were a path that should be treated with caution, respect, and a want to help. Anything else were simply mocking those who needed to move on, but for whatever reason, were stuck on this plane. And she cared not for that.

Though perhaps she should not go to conclusions. He might simply be some kind of musical wonder who were fascinated by the large organ. It certainly seemed like he knew how to play on it, which would surely have had to have taken some practice, and despite her somewhat mellow comment to the miniature concert, she had found the music to be mostly enjoyable. Getting used to this new worlds music were tough at times, as often she considered it little more than pointless noise, but this at least had effort in it, and nopony who simply screamed, or kept overusing a drum. Oh how she loathed that kind of pointless noise most of them all. Song were supposed to be beautiful, not something that you tainted by sounding as if you were introduced to the second layer of Hell, or hid behind a singular instrument that could only make the same repetitive sound.

She wondered how he might react to her actually. Her appearance were generally still equine, despite her burning ears - which yes, she could hear perfectly fine from, despite how it might look - tattoos that pulsated with a purple glow, and long, reptilian tail, but she found that it tended to be off-putting or disturbing to more normal ponies. Plus, she had been wandering around in this place where he'd likely think he were alone, which might not put her in the greatest of light to begin with, if this pony were one of the more distrustful ones that were.

"Hello there, little colt. I am Vivid Loss. Who are you, and what brings you to this darkened castle this time of day?"

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

 

@OptimisticNeighsayer

"..."

Cover-up opened his muzzle to say something as the door opened, and the mare greeted him, but he found that the only thing he could press out of there were air.preparing himself mentally for this place were one thing. it was all in his mind, and he could think of how to do things, and consider himself as suddenly having a spine, but now, being in the real situation, he found himself pausing, and the fact that he likely just stood there and looked like a huge idiot were starting to make him feel embarrassed. To a point where he lowered his head and got a blush on his cheeks, and tried to speak again, though while this time averting his eyes. He were making enough of a fool out of himself right now with having to see potential judgement right now. He had enough of that sort in the hospital before he painted over his scars, and sometimes after that too, as not that many were big on excessive tattoos, and especially not in the face, where he also had some, with the most prominent one going straight over his right eye. Still just the same *extending tendrils* kind of pattern, though it varied, depending on the severity of the scars he were trying to hide.

(Something like this. Found on google)

"Uhm... H-Hello? My name is Cover-up, and I heard that this was a school for... Friendship, r-right? I'm not local, but I was hoping that p-perhaps I could still come by and try to see if I could learn something? P-Please?"

He felt like he were about to bail, but it wasn't easy. Not just because he had finally gotten here and felt more or less frozen in place, but because if he tried to run away, the large quill strapped to one side of him would spill over, and leave a big mess everywhere. Potentially even on him, and the other pony. Sure he could reabsorb it again, long as he had the huge paint brush on his back, but it was still going to take time, and he'd just end up chickening out for good, thinking that he had made too big of a fool of himself to not just be laughed at the second he were spotted again. If not worse, if they thought of his special ability as some kind of bad witchcraft. Coming from Harrowmark roots, that were a real concern in his mind, as being chased off would then be the least of his worries.

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

 

@Lucid_Nightlight

Anomaly was giggling under her table at Lucid's approach. Strange, but effective, and this way they'd surely be remembered. That stuff were important for a good seller.

"Sure showed him. We're gonna do the same thing the next time, or are we gonna spice it up? And what house are we going to now?"

She had some idea about what could be done, which included popping one down from up top and spitting it into somepony's mouth - no spit of course - where it could dissolve like some kinda gross chocolate. Might be kinda fun, and introduce her to the towns folks her way.

Edited December 7, 2018 by Blitz Boom
Posted before I was done for some reason.

[Lucid_Nightlight 923]

@Blitz Boom

"Maybe we should shoot soap out of a cannon at the next one."

"Perfect idea!"

"Wait no! I have a better idea."

Lucid clapped his hooves and a tank appeared. It was probably going to be used for shooting soap at ponies.

"Everyone in the tank!"

[Catpone Cerberus 23,601]

@Blitz Boom @Moonlit

To her usual manner, Nada waited patiently to be directly addressed or otherwise be expected to say something, she nodded approvingly at Serenade's offer to talk to Pinkie. She curiously watched as Cherish demonstrated her limits, Nada had guessed there was something linking the ghost to Serenade, but she had expected it to be something more..unexpected than the castle. "I had figured there was something keeping you close to Serenade, though I didn't expect it to be a literal wall." "But that's lot more pleasant sounding than how I thought it worked." she had thought it was either that she would either disappear or be in great pain if she tried to leave.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

@Blitz Boom
Ruby stopped listening immediately when Spicy and Marley started going at it again, it had been amusing at first, but now she didn't really care anymore, it's only so much you can watch two creatures arguing before it gets boring, but fortunately boredom wasn't that big of a problem for Ruby, after all, she came from a life where the whole life was to lay on pile of treasure and to only get up for food, not the most exiting lifestyle out there.

There was one question she had wanted to ask, that being what species this bodyguard was, but after a while she forgot the whole thing and figured that it didn't matter since it wouldn't be any less of a problem if she knew it was a problem. When Spicy finally addressed her, Ruby was broken out of her thoughts "I'm fine thank you, we can keep going." the deer was good enough lunch to keep her going for a while, and she had her ways to get food in bigger cities without hunting any ponies, though that too was lot easier in cities.

[EQ_Theta 459]

@Blitz Boom 

Admittedly, it felt odd having a little creature ride atop his head. Sen wasn't quite sure what to feel about this, but Lin might have an idea. Perhaps another time to ask. Without further questions or concerns, the siblings watched as Omen left for the temple ahead. What Sen was sure of was that Shrimp is very much attached to his owner and thought about soothing the little creature's worries.

"Don't worry, Shrimp," Sen reached one claw up to stroke the Refraction on the head. "We've laid down the plan. She knows the rest."

At this point, he knew he was going into this situation with a good chance of being bitten but a scared animal knew something is up. It had to act this way for a reason but there was little in the way of stopping what has to happen. Seconds became minutes as there was little trace of Omen wading through the seabed with nothing to suggest a wrench thrown into their plan. For now, all seemed well until the undeniable sound of an explosion rocked by the direction of the temple. 

Lin's eyes widened, the sound of her screaming pierced the air. The sound of her wailing cries could echo long and far for anyone who cared to listen, but it was just herself, Rosa, and Sen at the seaside. She could feel herself grow heavy with fear and sorrow, knowing the possibility that the worst had happened. But it was Sen's reaction she didn't pick up on. He stood there, staring in shock, the sound of his breathing growing fast and heavy. He couldn't move and in the resulting chaos, Omen returned looking no worse for wear, he didn't notice. Not even Shrimp getting off of him got him to notice the chance.

But his sister's response was more pronounced, turning and running to Omen, then hugging her and crying tears of joy. 

"Y-you're okay! I'm glad you're alright! T-there was an explosion and we thought you were caught in it and.... We're just glad you made it out of there. Sen? Sen!"

The longma didn't answer, still staring out in the distance with a look of shock and hyperventilating, breathing faster and faster. Lin panicked upon hearing his breathing becoming more audible and rushed to calm him down before something worse happens. Hopefully they won't be burdened by him going unconscious but it seemed like nothing was working, and with it, her growing more desperate as she was running out of ideas." 

"Calm down, Sen. Omen's here; she's fine. Rosa! I need help! How can I get Sen to slow his breathing down?" 

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

@Blitz Boom @Dji

Seemed like what the bunnies were up to, they certainly liked the sanctuary. They also had a run-in with Lola and presumably some of the other inhabitants who were a little curious about Lotus. The color was a little extraordinary given the local varieties of rabbits sported more muted browns and pale whites, aside from Angel of course. And the stench... Strong with a tinge of a freshwater fish and going by Angel's fur coat, ruffled as if she had taken a bath but neglected to have her hair brushed. Gonna need to rectify that later but to return to one of Nerzhei's words, perhaps there may be more she can do to accommodate. 

"I can lend you some wildlife compendiums if you like. They offer lots of information on local wildlife and a few on mythical creatures... well, maybe not so mythical because they're so well-documented and studied."

Even though Angel understood his owner's desire to help the dragon, it would appear that they seem to have glossed over the possibility they might be getting carried away from helping the pegasus boost her confidence and assertiveness. No matter, even little bunnies know a thing or two about getting back on track. 

Angel hopped in between Nerzhei and Fluttershy and tapped his foot, crossing his forelegs and looking rather cross with the distraction the latter has put herself into. If anything, there was a crafty side to the pegasus that even she is seemingly unaware of. Putting himself in between the dragon was a bold choice but rather than looking at Nerzhei, there is an attempt to get the pegasus to remember what the whole purpose of the visit was. Or leading her into possibly showing a side of herself that could show a very assertive side that she rarely seems to use anymore.

"Angel, what are you doing?"

The bunny didn't budge one bit, nor answer the question, continuing to stare intently until it got what it wanted.

"Don't make me do it, Angel."

Still no answer. But even the pegasus wouldn't stoop so low knowing the bunny once tried this to get a salad made just the way he wanted. Without hesitation, the look of confusion turned into determination as Fluttershy performed her signature stare. It was the look that drove most animals, even dragons, to submission. And then that was followed by a more reassuring and kindly demeanor that soothed the sting. But here, it was just a staring contest as Angel had grown used to seeing that tactic against him at least once. Eventually, he smiled and relented, standing down and hoping Nerzhei might remember Fluttershy's little problem and showing a more assertive side to the pegasus.

[Moonlit 593]

@Blitz Boom @Catpone Cerberus Serenade nods, "Excuse me for a bit" She puts the piece holding Cherish's 'leash' down and heads out to do the one thing she dreaded and had promised she wouldn't do unless absolutely required....she needed to find Pinkie Pie and delay a forthcoming Pinkie Party for both Cherish and Nada. This is going to be an interesting conversation. 

[Rising Dusk 27,766]

@Blitz Boom

Oh, Rising Dusk had no belief that the inventor pony was dense in the least.  Regardless of how the other stallion put the pieces together though, there were some other subtle nuances that went with it.  A tactic the detective had to learn early on in his career.  Plausible deniability.  It was never a good idea to give out details about a case still in work.  No deadlines, no names and no personal beliefs.  Even if the press put the pieces together themselves, the officers were safe because they didn't say it in their own words.  While true, this wasn't an active case he was working or anything, it still wanted to respect the sisters from Troy's privacy as much as possible since he was going out of his way for this without them knowing.

Chuckling along with Molotov, he poked back with his hoof.  "Your words, not mine, your majesty." All in good fun though.  Molotov was smart enough to know he was talking about a specific pegasus that had a particularly unique ability to nullify magic near her.  Taking the last few bites of his pancake stack, he levitated the plate into the sink to join the rest.  "Thank you for the brunch, it was rather delicious," Rising Dusk added, not that his taste in food could be all the counted on with out plain he eats, and most of that coming from food carts.  When he was to meet up with the sisters for round two of dispelling, he'd bring up the idea of getting Null's wing replaced.  The sooner the better so not to waste too much of Molotov's time in trying to research something that might not be as appreciated for the subject.

Edited December 9, 2018 by Rising Dusk

[Blitz Boom 4,629]

@Rising Dusk

1 hour ago, Rising Dusk said:

"Thank you for the brunch, it was rather delicious,"

"Like mom used to say: *If you can't cook right, use better spices.* Pretty solid advice if a kitchen ain't your usual habitat."

Molotov knew that his cooking wasn't perfect, but he considered it to be at least pretty darn passable. It hadn't poisoned either of them yet at least, and they weren't malnourished, so a technical win in his book.

Kinda funny how it weren't that many in their family that were the best of cooks really. Their mom had pretty much done like Molotov did, and that sorta cooking had been passed down for many a short-lived generation of theirs. Only one he could recall were really any good were his aunt, and after that time she unfortunately mistook one of her brothers experiments for mayonnaise, she had refused to set hoof anywhere near the room again, and eventually went over to join the biology lab. She still came around with cookies every now and again, until she passed a few years back, due to a lab accident. Tended to happen more often than normal ponies would likely care for if they had ever visited Center Zero back when it was still active.

"Anyway, I'll start finding the blueprints for the wings, and work on whipping a new sort of battery up. Dunno how long it'll take, but let whoever know that I'm around 94% certain that this will work."

He had to leave a margin for error on this, since he'd have to work with a pegasus that had an effect he didn't know how would work on things, but it should be fine enough. Most of the stuff he went with were supposed to run without magic, so he were semi-confident about how this would go.

As for the pegasus in question, she were currently helping her sister getting her leg back on after the earth pony had gotten a shower. Had been a big workload getting it cleaned up properly, but it were as good as it now could look again, and after Null would have her shower, they'd get on with writing the stuff up they had on them to try and pass the time, by making a proper inventory list of the things in their possession. Should be a fun/disturbing read for the officer.

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

 

@Moonlit

She'd be able to find Pinkie Pie in the town square, which were starting to clear out of busy workers, as the town were mostly ready now. The forepony still needed to come around and have a final look, and a few issues/cleaning still had to be done, but the worst were over, and sure enough, even though she had been busy helping with the rebuilding, Pinkie were fresh, smiling and busy readying the square for a big *The town isn't broken anymore* party.

When Serenade would approach, the mare would be busy firing off her party cannon to spread confetti over the gathered tables and various other places she could to make it look festive. Still were some things that needed to be set up, but some ponies had gone off to get her some more tables for that, and then obviously, she had to get some food on the tables. A party without food were just silly, and with how hard everypony had worked, it had to be a big meal, with lots of real food as well as candy and cupcakes. She had already picked up a large bag of varied stuff from Circle Pop's place earlier, and the kitchen team were in high gear, so now it were all down to her and her squad of shanghaied goons to get everything sorted in time.

Soon as the siren got close enough though, Pinkie would suddenly pop out to the right of her, standing on a pile of bricks and looking down with her usual giddy smile. Smart ponies in town had learned to not question how she did this, along with the randomly showing hooves out of thin air, generally just standing in said thin air like it were solid, and so forth. Pinkie were the sort of being that could drive bright ponies mad by how illogical she were.

" Hello! What brings you to my super-amazing party zone?"

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

 

@Catpone Cerberus @Moonlit

Cherish looked with worried eyes towards Serenade as she left. Were she going to face Pinkie Pie? Was that why she had set down the piece of the old castle that kept the spirit chained? Because she didn't want to risk Pinkie noticing and reacting poorly to it? She hadn't a clue, but Cherish still didn't think it was wise for the siren to go away on her own, regardless of how big and strong she looked in her regular form. Yet with her current limitations, there was little more she could do than to just stare, as the siren in disguise left Nada and her behind.

Guess... Guess she might as well talk to Nada then, and see if they could pass the time that way, as well as get to know one another a little better. Hopefully this would not end up going poorly.

"I hope she's going to be okay... And uhm... W-Well, the wall part, yes.

I don't really understand it, but for some reason, I can't go anywhere the castle is not. I hid a piece of it on Serenade and her friend to be able to follow them, though I don't know what would happen if it gets destroyed. Something tells me I really wouldn't like it though.

So... What is your plans for the future? I mean, if the other ponies ends up accepting you, what's next?"

A pretty poor segue, but it wasn't as if Cherish had that many to talk to in recent centuries, so it were the best she could come up with at the time.

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

 

@Catpone Cerberus

As they got close enough to town to start being able to see the entrance, Marley stopped in his tracks, and took himself off the wagon.

"Whaddaya think you're doing?"

"Is it not obvious? I'm leaving you here with the wagon, whilst Ruby and I enter Canterlot to speak our case to Scarcity."

The griffon quickly pressed a talon in front of Spicy's muzzle, as the mare opened it to voice her protests.

"Now now, I know what you're thinking. *I'm the boss, surely I should go*. But recall how things went between you the last time? I think it better to have a more eloquent voice to speak our case this time, rather than trying to salvage things. Also, remember that this wagon is in your name, and you can simply claim to be having a break, or looking for ponies to have a game with, should any guard approach you as you wait here, giving them no grounds to search it. If I were alone with it, they could hide behind thinking that I may have stolen it, and none of us would wish for it to be searched right now, no?"

"You know, I like it more when your beak is closed."

"Most certainly, but regardless, you can hardly argue against my logic on this. Now if you will excuse us, shall we be on our way, Ruby? I find it better to have you face things head on sooner, rather than later."

Honestly, it were more because he didn't want something to happen that may give the game away to Spicy about Ruby's true origin, so he thought it easier to take this separately, as Scarcity might somehow find out, and this way it would be contained to the few who needed to know at worst. Besides, if Ruby stayed here, she might get further bored and steal the cart away after eating Spicy, which were a really unfortunate outcome that he'd prefer didn't come to pass.

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

 

@EQ_Theta

On 12/8/2018 at 3:48 PM, EQ_Theta said:

"Don't worry, Shrimp," Sen reached one claw up to stroke the Refraction on the head. "We've laid down the plan. She knows the rest."

For once the refraction didn't try to bite him, but instead just kept looking worried at the ocean, munching and chirping weakly. Sure he had been left behind with the longma siblings before, but not for Omen to wander into the water, and this particular water were wrong for him. It tasted bad, and with what little he understood of what the others said, apparently it were dangerous down there too. It made him uneasy, until the explosion happened and he went mental.

On 12/8/2018 at 3:48 PM, EQ_Theta said:

"Y-you're okay! I'm glad you're alright! T-there was an explosion and we thought you were caught in it and.... We're just glad you made it out of there. Sen? Sen!"

"I dropped my rock."

Omen had found an entrance to the temple that were weirdly dry, and after shaking off the water inside, she had found that the rock she had carried had gotten out of the grip of her tongue. She didn't think much on it, even as she heard something go off outside, but just opened a gate to start to get out and look for the others. Apparently they thought she had been hurt, and the sound she heard were from an explosion. Strange, but at least she understood why they were all acting so weird right now.

All but Sen that were, who seemed to have an episode where he breathed quicker than normally. Omen weren't sure why this were a problem though, as far as she knew, normal beings needed to breathe to stay alive, so the more he breathed, the more alive he should be, right? Or were there bad ways to breathe now too? The world were a complex place where everything could happen, so maybe?

On 12/8/2018 at 3:48 PM, EQ_Theta said:

"Calm down, Sen. Omen's here; she's fine. Rosa! I need help! How can I get Sen to slow his breathing down?"

"I'll try something. if it doesn't work, get a paper bag."

Rosa were wanting to smack Omen honestly, for making tall of them nearly jump out of their skin in worry, but they had a case of somepony hyperventilating on their hooves now, and he had to try and help. He wasn't a medical doctor, so all he knew were a few home tips for helping with this. One were breathing into a paper bag, the other were to hold your breath for 10-15 seconds at a time. He had no bag though, and Sen didn't seem to listen, so in a desperate attempt to do something, he'd have to put the longma in a headlock and stop his breathing forcefully. It was the same thing he did when making somepony pass out from the lack of oxygen, by blocking the airways, but instead he'd have to try and not get too overboard, and stop before Sen actually passed out. This might end up with him getting beaten up for looking like he were hurting the longma, or for Sen to just pass out anyway, but he had no other ideas on what to do right now, and Lin sounded desperate and concerned, so he had to try something.

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

 

@EQ_Theta @Dji

On 12/8/2018 at 3:48 PM, EQ_Theta said:

"I can lend you some wildlife compendiums if you like. They offer lots of information on local wildlife and a few on mythical creatures... well, maybe not so mythical because they're so well-documented and studied."

"I appreciate the offer, but the library here seems vast and full of information. I'm certain I can find something there eventually. Provided that I'm allowed here other times that is, though I will speak my case until Twilight's ears falls off if I must. This place holds more books than I have ever seen in my life, and equine knowledge could be highly important for my work."

Be it complex magic formulas or ancient equine to make her translation job simpler, this place held things that could be vital in her speeding up her research substantially, as well as just gaining her knowledge in general, and Nerzhei would do what she could to not be denied access to the library. Twilight seemed like a collector that thirsted for knowledge, so if given the chance to see the book that the dragon carried with her, she might be convinced to let the two of them learn from one another. if not, the dragon would try to offer what else she could, including service in helping whoever Spike were as a part time magic teacher. She would like to do so still, as it could be a fascinating study to see how a dragon living among ponies would do, and just in general have someone actually listen to what she had to say, yet if she had to leverage this, then she regrettably would.

Her attention were drawn from these thoughts though, and towards Angel, who seemed to be doing something that made Fluttershy give a kind of a threat towards him by the sound of it. Seeing the mare and the bunny like this made the dragon furrow a brow and watch them in silence to find out what it were about. Lotus did the same, and looked up at Fluttershy, curious as to what she were going to do.

As Fluttershy began using her stare towards Angel, Nerzhei couldn't see what were going, on between them, other than it seemingly being a starring competition, but she could see what were going on with Lotus, and that actively confused her.

The pink bunny had looked frozen as she caught the look in the mare's eyes, and had taken a step back. Then her neck began bowing, followed by her body to, as she began taking a stance like a shameful dog. Around halfway down, she managed to stop herself and put her paws in front of her eyes whilst chirping about *The pony stare feels wrong!*. Nerzhei had never seen this reaction before in Lotus, which were actually worrying her greatly, and with a large step, she went over to scoop her friend off the floor and to safer, higher grounds.

When she were down there, she managed to catch a glimpse of Fluttershy's eyes, and while she weren't physically affected, she most certainly knew that Lotus were right in one thing: Something felt wrong when looking at those eyes. It were like it impacted the instinct that made her shameful of her actions, and wanting to beg for forgiveness for whatever it were that she were doing wrong. Not even her mother had done that, and she had a pretty mean glare when needed. What in the nine worlds were up with this mare?

When eventually it were over, the dragon looked with a small glare of wariness in her eyes, down upon the pegasus.

"What sorcery were that? A glance should not be able to make a dragon feel beaten down like that."

"Not bunnies either! It was scary."

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@Lucid_Nightlight

On 12/8/2018 at 1:17 AM, Lucid_Nightlight said:

"Everyone in the tank!"

"This is the best day ever..."

Even in her table form, Anomaly could see enough of the tank to be impressed at the sight, and as she had morphed back to her usual self, and got a better look, lights had started to glimmer in her eyes from pure glee. This was definitely going to be something fun.

Following the others and jumping down, she started to jump in place, giddy at what this strange thing was going to do. Shoot things it sounded like, with soap! How was this not going to be awe- Eh?

The sound of something violently hammering the top of the tank were heard, and if they looked outside, they'd see Henry, now away from his pyre, but still smoldering and giving off smoke, whilst punching the steel of the tank.

"Đ₳₦₲ɆⱤ! ⱠɆ₮ ØɄ₮! ₲łVɆ ฿₳₵₭!"

If a few punches wouldn't seem to do much, and none in the tank would pop open so that he could see the three of them were okay, his fists would start heating up substantially with each subsequent hit, and eventually begin carrying temperatures akin to molten magma. It seemed the poor thing didn't know that this was a machine they had gotten into, and not something that were trying to eat the lot of them.

Well, what could you expect from a being less than an hour old? Not incredibly warm fists or something of this size, that was for sure, but it were a draconequui evolution. It were bound to create something odd and potentially highly dangerous, whilst still being flawed as an individual. In this case, not knowing what a thing were, but seeing that it was huge and had his small friends in it, and therefor thinking it were an attacker that were trying to eat Novia, Lucid and Anomaly. They should probably get this sorted.

[Moonlit 593]

@Blitz Boom "Hey Pinkie. Actually you bring here Pinkie. I need to...well, I'm going to be blunt. There are a pair of ponies that are new to Ponyville" Serenade holds up a foreleg, "I know your going to throw them a Pinkie Party, is it possible to....postpone it for a bit. Both are a bit...skittish, and I want them to feel comfortable first before you throw them a huge party."
 

[Lucid_Nightlight 923]

@Blitz Boom

Lucid opened the hatch to show they were fine. Then Novia said something in a friendly tone.

"There's nothing to worry about, Henry. This is just a machine."

"Yeah, if it was a monster, Anomaly would've kept it as a pet or something."

"That or Lucid would throw it into another universe or the animal shelter."

Most ponies wouldn't open the hatch, but Lucid wasn't like most ponies, one reason being he's not a pony, he's a poquus. He looked to Anomaly.

"Hey, tell him you're not currently dead."