open Casual stroll

Catpone Cerberus · March 17, 2019

@Blitz Boom
Ruby didn't show other reaction to the stone than giving the dragon a cold stare to remind him to not say anything he'll regret. She wasn't sure if the dragon was telling the truth when he said that the necklace was the cause for the reaction, or if it was her or something in her box, so she made a mental note to watch out for those stones just in case and to study about them later.

She shook her head at the question about weapons, since she didn't have any, not that the young dragon would have dared to do anything about it regardless. Seeing the dragon wrote something more down, Ruby again shot him a deadly stare, if she would find out that someone...most likely Scarcity, heard from him what she was, she would make sure to hunt him down and make sure he wished that he would have never hatched, though based on how he acted and the scent of fear still floating in the air, she guessed he knew that she would do that.

Ruby just nodded at Spicy's suggestion and would follow her and Marley when they would move. She decided to ask them about the stone "Do either of you happen to know what that stone was?" "I'm just curious because i have never seen one used like that before."

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Nada again listened patiently everything Lyriel, she looked curiously when the creature did the thing with the roots, she had seen lot of weird things in the forest during her time, but this one was a new. "I appreciate your words and offer highly Lyriel." she started when Lyrier had finished "But with help of my new friends I have gotten contact to one of the leaders of ponies, and they have promised me a place to stay." "And until then I have been given permission by other siren that I can only assume Fah'lina told you about to live in her home." she was quiet for a second and looked at the water, she then continued with slightly lower tone "But is there a way to contact you later again, because if things go wrong with the ponies again, then I will need help again, as I would have nowhere to go anymore."

Moonlit · March 17, 2019

@Blitz Boom @Zephyr / Karou Serenade nods her head then looks toward Brittle "I am sorry for scaring you, that was not my intention. I hope one day to meet in a better setting...as for the rest of you, let me drop something off with Princess Sparkle, then I will answer any questions you might have....in a less...Chaotic setting"

Early Sunsets · March 18, 2019

@Blitz Boom @Moonlit

Sun Fire shook her head, tearing her attention from the tree. Normally she wasn't so scatterbrained, but the melodies forming in her head was too interesting to ignore. The garden, while chaotic, came together in an unexpected way and made for great inspiration.

Sun Fire turned to Serenade, her thoughts coming back to their present situation. She could easily understand why the siren would want to wear a disguise, especially in a place that feared the like so much. "Your secret is safe with me. I can empathize with wanting to keep your true identity hidden. To a small degree, anyway." Sun Fire scratched the back of her head. It seemed like a bit of a stretch, comparing her own circumstances to Serenade's, but it gave her some idea of what the siren was feeling.

Zephyr nodded. "I won't tell anypony, either." Truthfully, while he got why she didn't want anypony to know what she truly was, he didn't think a secret like that should be kept hidden. Even so, he despised ponies who spread rumors, so there was no way he would tell anypony else. He shuffled his hooves, unintentionally disturbing the bubble creatures that had nestled themselves comfortably underneath him. He somehow still hadn't noticed them, but that was likely to change once he started walking.

Sun Fire shook her head at Briar. "I wouldn't want to feel like extra baggage for Serenade. We've bothered her enough, and I wouldn't want to trouble her or her friend." She turned back towards Serenade and smiled kindly. While she was at least a little afraid of sirens, Serenade certainly didn't seem like a bad one. "It was nice meeting you. Sorry that we kind of got off on the wrong hoof at first."

"Me too. Maybe we'll see you around Ponyville at some point," Zephyr said, nodding to Serenade. For now he was still wary of her, but maybe some more time to think or some words from Sun Fire would change his mind. His anxiety made it difficult for him to entirely trust someone he was afraid of.

Moonlit · March 18, 2019

@Blitz Boom @Zephyr / Karou Serenade smiles, "Thank you all." She turns to head toward the front of Twilight's Castle, "I'm usually a night-'pony' as my job requires me to look at the Heavens, if your ever up and want to talk, just look for the house with the giant telescope". She nods again and heads toward the front door of the Castle of Friendship. Who designed that thing, I'm glad I sleep during the day, one wrong sunbeam and everypony is blind.

FanOfManyShows · March 18, 2019

@Blitz Boom

Astral chuckled, sitting down on the couch
"That was accidental Chow, you know that."
She looked to him, with a smile. "Are you still interested in magic or no?"

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"I'm uncertain. She may mistake me for a illusion too. it'll need to be her decision."

Sapphire glanced about, her gem continuing to charge in the present of the crystals "Well, let's discuss that after we get our bodies back."
She turns her head to Emerald. "What is our next thing to do?"

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"Call me Chariot, Warlock is too, evil sounding."
He said with a chuckle, though not sounding too on board with being called that despite suggesting it.
"and about Shrill Burst, I worked beside him. Momentarily."
He put his hoof back down. "It was just one mission so I never knew him well."

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

"We'll see how I do with speeches."
He listened closely as they talked about Chariot for a moment. "Well Interesting to know, might ask about it later."

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@Dji

"I don't have anything to do here. Not now anyway." He said this truthfully, having partially forgotten why he was there,
but it didn't bother him now, getting a new horn was more important. "I'll just tag along if you do need to do anything though."

Rising Dusk · March 18, 2019

@Blitz Boom

Rising Dusk felt confident that if Null was going to learn tolerance in her lift, Molotov was going to be the standard to beat. The idea made him smirk a little as he walked away from the workshop with the younger sister in tow. Leaving the two alone though shouldn't be too big of an issue with Felicia on watch. Sure, she'd probably let her creator take a beating for a bit, but his life shouldn't be in danger and the pair might be returning to find Null and/or Molotov stuck in a web. Problems for a future Rising Dusk and Void to worry about. "Worry not. Think of it as a learning experience for the both of them," he suggested to her. The coast was clear, for now, but he'd keep his senses on alert for now. Twisted Gears wasn't suppose to show up till tomorrow, but with the wrench the detective threw into his initial plan, the time table could have changed.

Taking the mare through the quickest route from the East side of the city to the inn he'd recommended to them. The fear of being parted from her sister was understandable, considering what background he knew of them. At least she wasn't out here alone though and it was up to the detective to keep her company, distracted from her anxiety. Easily doable by the conversation shifting to his own family while she worked through her own. The unicorn nodding to her inquiry, "I do. They all live here in Manehattan." Rounding a corner into a busier part of the city, it would take too long to go through back alleys right now. "My father is a professor at Manehattan University. My mother is an instructor of Aerial Ballet after her retirement from performance. And I have my own older sister, Setting Dawn," he explained. Being apart from his family wasn't all that weird for Rising Dusk. Not just based on the fact that he can recall every moment he's spent with them at any time, but he also saw them on a pretty regular basis. His parents even lived in his neighborhood, still in the house he grew up in. Setting Dawn had moved on and now lived in the upper part of the city, who he sees less.

"Not really that weird, but that could be a difference of culture. In Equestria it's pretty normal for when a pony grows up to move out, unless they are taking over or joining in a family business. I see my parents quite regularly though," he continued. The detective had always been quite independent even when growing up, so it wasn't too hard to believe he lived on his own, to him anyways.

Blitz Boom · March 18, 2019

@Rising Dusk

"That s-sound nice... Having your p-parents and s-sister this near..."

Void trailed off and didn't really say anything else for a few more minutes. She just stared into the ground and tried to imagine what it must be like to have the setup in life that Rising had. It sounded like a good life. Not having to be around them constantly, but still having them near if you wanted to see them for whatever reason, or just to have nice talks about how things were going.

It wasn't something she'd like to admit, but she were a little jealous about his life. Having this somewhat stable existence with a close family like that, even if they didn't live together, sounded perfect to her. Only thing missing were that Rising had a wife and some foals of his own, but he still had time to do that. Unless something went horribly wrong, he'd likely have years and years ahead of him to settle down.

That were the only thing Void ever hoped for herself. A small house somewhere, with a stallion who cared for her, and offspring of her own. No more getting chased and living a life on the run, stealing cursed artifacts, having to fend for her life, hunger, etc. Nothing grand, but just a nice, calm existence free of additional hardships, where perhaps she'd be able to start to forget and move past things.

For the longest time, she wished the same for Null, but that ideal had long since withered and diminished as time had gone by. From her sister having her own family and making a living off her woodwork, to at this point just praying that when everything were said and done, she'd be able to find peace within herself, and with whatever life she would've managed to build at that point. Void were not casting her aside of course. Never. Null had sacrificed everything she could to try and take care of her, and Void would do everything she could to help her, but there was just so much anger and bitterness festering within Null that she honestly didn't know if she could even save her older sister anymore. A horrible thought, but one that had been impossible to avoid as time had gone on, and Null had gotten periodically worse.

"Y-Y'know, i-it's n-not just Equestria that's l-like that. In T-Troy, it's almost the s-same. Foals live h-home til they are old e-enough, then move out, b-but when their parents then g-get old, they move in w-with their adult children. T-The belief is - o-or at least were - that they c-cared for you throughout your life, so w-when they can't care for themselves a-anymore, it's your turn to help t-them in their twilight y-years.

I hope that y-you will cherish y-your parents, even if you don't have t-the same tradition. You n-never know when you might lose t-them, and it will n-never seem like enough t-time when y-you do..."

Void wiped a tear forming in her eye away and averted her gaze from Rising, and focused more on trying not to step too close to any sort of stand or street performer with any sort of magic going for them. She'd prefer to avoid any issue this time, though honestly, she couldn't do so entirely no matter how hard she tried, and it were mostly a flimsy excuse to not face Rising right now, as she were struggling a bit with her own memories. Might be that twenty years had passed, but some memories were never going to vanish, and as much pain as they could invoke, Void still wished that they never would either, seeing as that were all she had left of them.

"...Y-Your sister, what does s-she do? It's just th-that uhm... Y-You didn't mention it, b-but did with your p-parents. Just c-curious, if that's o-okay?"

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@EQ_Theta

On 3/17/2019 at 10:32 AM, EQ_Theta said:

"Heh heh, you might be on to something there, Omen!" Sen chuckled upon hearing Omen's suggestion, much to his current emotional state already making him glum.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves but I like the way you think! We'll hold off on deciding anything until after the trial tomorrow. We should at least see how things will pan out for Rosa and Stargazer once the matter with Filigree is settled. Maybe even ask Fluttershy to speak to Princess Twilight about it."

"Filigree first, princess later. Okay."

This she could understand at least. Nothing complex over it that she had to try and tackle, just a simple matter of seeing how one thing went, before going off to ask another about something. Sure there were a good deal of specifics and details that needed to be covered in this, but it seemed that she at least were to just ignore that, and focus on just observing what went on with Filigree. The complicated stuff afterwards would be tackled later.

It were a bit strange seeing how Sen suddenly went from being bitter to laughing though. Far as she understood, you didn't just become happy in an instant, so how did that work? And what did he find funny? Omen's sense of humor were vague and based off old Discord's sense of it, and she didn't see anything in this that would account for laughter. Must be something above her head.

On 3/17/2019 at 10:32 AM, EQ_Theta said:

"Being exiled unjustly is what made Sen angry. We both understood the reason behind exile, why some would be sentenced to it, but he wasn't happy about being exiled for a very flimsy reason. We all know things worked out in the end, so let's try to put the past behind us and look forward to a better future. Besides, if we weren't exiled, we wouldn't have met you. That's one good thing we wouldn't forget."

"Master Discord said you should get angry when somepony did something wrong or unfair to you. Sounds like what happened to Sen. Makes sense he is angry then."

Anger itself were a concept that were more or less impossible for her to get her head around, but Omen did get why some like Sen would be angry, by using what Discord had once told her, and then put things into that setting. The feeling in an off itself however, she couldn't grasp, as she had never felt something that were once explained to her as *Wanting something bad to happen to somepony else*. As Mother had made sure her siblings and her were raised to not be aggressors, they didn't have the baseline ability to be like this, though most tended to mature into it. Not Omen though, as Discord had not found it an important thing for her to learn, so she were still stuck on this baseline of general pacifism, which again made it hard for her to wrap her head around the want to hurt others, even if you didn't say or actually do anything.

On 3/17/2019 at 10:32 AM, EQ_Theta said:

"I haven't forgotten you asking about eating rocks. I admit it is strange but if you like it, who am I to judge? You enjoy what you like!"

"Rocks tastes good. Crunchy. With Belladonna, I tried to eat fire too. Strange thing to bite into.."

She took a rock and crunched down on it like it were a stick of celery. Tasted somewhat like mud or damp grass. Perhaps they were from a wet place? She didn't know right now, but it made for something interesting to think about whilst eating it, which since she didn't need sustenance from food like most did, tended to be the point more often than not for Omen. Sometimes it were also just about curiosity or boredom though.

"Why is eating rocks strange? I have seen ponies eat meat. Weird things with fish tails eat birds sometimes. Heard others say that is strange too, but is it more normal?"

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@Catpone Cerberus

"Yeah, it's a Snitch. That what we call 'em in the gambling circle anyway. Got some lame name like *Aura detectors* outside of that. Basically it reacts on any sorta magic that you have on you. Cards I got stuffed in my wings and pockets are custom made with some fire power spellwork, so they give off a hue, while the feather duster here doesn't have an inch of magic in his burly self. Seems like that eye you're lugging 'round have some heavy mojo on it, but eh, if they say it's fine and all that. Frankly I dunno what the hues means. I just know that they're used in gambling to ensure that nopony entering a high stakes game is packing themselves with some magical shadiness. Doesn't stop the sleigh of hoof and other physical things, but it does chomp down on cards suddenly changing into another, magic to distract your opponents somewhat, and all that sorta jazz. Makes it a bit more fair, but dang if it ain't a pain to deal with sometimes."

Wandering over and grabbing hold of the door, Spicy would open up to a setting that seemed almost unreal. A large area, properly furnished with carpets with varying degrees of disrepair here and there, which could likely be put down to the guests. There were everything from minotaur to pony, griffon, dragon, zebra, and even a reformed changeling that passed by, but didn't notice them. Like many others, he were looking over the exhibits set up beneath thick, shock-absorbent domes of glass, which would display the objects nicely, but allow them to remain untouched.

A few of said domes had air holes in them as living beings were inside, but long as you didn't care too much about who or what where in them, it wouldn't be so bad. Most had been put under a spell to ensure they wouldn't wake up and start to cause a ruckus either, so they could mostly be ignored.

"Looks like a good turnout today. It should help boost interest in the product."

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@Catpone Cerberus

"If you wish to get into contact with me, you can come here, and Fah'lina can likely find me. This lake is a safe area that are not easy to get to by other paths than the river itself, so you can hide out here for a time until I am informed that you are looking for me.

Yet, you speak of being in contact with one of their leaders, yes? Is it Princess Twilight? I know she lives near, and I have went to see her, along with my draconic friend. She seems a curious sort with a hungry mind, yet there is much kindness in her heart, even towards creatures that her kind are not familiar with, such as myself. If not her, then I hope that the princess you speak with have as open a mind as she, though it sounds as if so far, that is the case."

She had barely heard anything else of the princesses, beyond their apparent deity-like powers and talks of their manes flowing as if wind were always upon them, but so far she liked these monarchs or the ponies. Twilight seemed a kind soul, and whoever it were that Nada spoke with appeared to be another one with a mind open to outsiders, though she could understand that the siren were worried. One could never know what happened, and if you had once been scorned by ponies, it might be harder to try and trust them again. Hopefully this would go well ad she would learn that times had changed and become inclusive to other beings, including sirens.

"As for the other siren, Fah'lina speaks of there being one, yet not where she lives, or who she is, so you needn't worry about word being spread, or for me to interrupt anything. It seems she is protective of your kind, or at least of the two of you. It seems you are starting to form into quite a peculiar aquatic pack here, Nada. If you would indulge me a little, this makes me curious about something: Are siren's normally social beings, or more solitary, like spiders often tends to be?"

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@Zephyr / Karou @Moonlit

"In due time, perhaps there is hope for a calm meeting. Yet for the time being, I thank you for your understanding. May you have a pleasant night, and in due time, I hope to meet you once again. If you would excuse us then."

Briar made a deep bow towards the siren, before the two groups split apart, with Serenade going towards the castle, and Briar leading the others down towards the city once more.

"I know this were not an easy ask of either of you, but I thank you both for trying to remain weary, yet tentatively accepting of Serenade. Being an outsider attempting to fit into a society that have historically clashed with your own are not an easy thing to do on either side, though it can go to great places if it is achieved. Equestria have an overall great ideal about tolerance and acceptance, and though unfortunately not always present, I do like to think that it is a place where one have a chance to join in, if there are no malice guiding your actions. I hope that Serenade will show that she truly harbors no ill will, so that this outstretched olive branch from both her and us will prove warranted.

But that may be an issue or blessing for another time. I do wish to hear your opinions on tings though, if you'd please. I can take you towards the hospital in the meantime, so that you know where to go in case of emergency."

As said, he would guide them towards the hospital, which were not per se hard to see, yet knowing the route were still of importance. As the evening were falling and the shops began to close, it would be easier to navigate there as well, since ponies would begin wandering home and preparing for a long night of rest. Most of them at least, as there would always end up being some night owls here and there, even in relatively small places, such as Ponyville.

Meanwhile, up at the castle, Nada would find the door unlocked, and as she were to enter, could hear a gruff, yet feminine voice from further inside discussing something with the princess out of hearing range. That being Nerzhei and Twilight, though a third player would soon arrive at the scene as Last Stand rounded a corner and locked eye with Serenade.

She had spent a good deal of time keeping watch over Celestia, but after her departure, had been asked to stay and keep this castle secure for the time being. It went against the check there should be on the buildings about now, but an order were an order when it came from the princesses, and as such, that had been pushed to the morning instead for the time being.

"If you're seeking the princesses Celestia and Luna, they're gone. Are you here for Princess Twilight?"

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@Lucid_Nightlight

"Lucid is totally gonna be a bridesmaid! I already have the perfect costu- I mean, dress for him. Ehehehehehe."

It was basically just a gorilla outfit with a top hat and a tutu, but for some reason that just looked so right on Lucid! Though perhaps add a giant mustache actually. Why? Well, why not? Poor guy could do with some facial hair. Plus you could hide stuff in there, like a piano. Always practical.

"Novia's gonna be the best draconequui, and get the biggest hat of them all. With sparkles all over it! ooooh, this sounds like such fun! Come on,let's go and get this silly reforming thingie dingie done."

Harry - who had been standing patiently outside and looking at the holes made in the bakery - would follow them as they took off, and if he had the chance, he'd jump up and sit on top of the tank. It could likely survive it though. Draconequui made were a dubious quality mark, but there were always the chance of it being semi-indestructible, and that was about as good as it'd get.

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@FanOfManyShows

"Sure, might as well give my ego another beating. What's next on the reading list teach?"

Seemed like Astral were in a better mood, so that was a plus going forward, but there still weren't a peep about Iron. Perhaps he were lurking in a corner somewhere, though this whole thing might also just be one of those situations where she needed to be distracted from that. Say, with teaching some hick magic to see him mess it up.

He reallys should've just said no at that point and then gone to take a nap at the very least, but nope, on the wagon to make himself even more tired it were. Best just to get it over with he supposed.

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@FanOfManyShows

"The gems needs to be charged. We are going to need some of our old books for the curse magic, as well as some expendable critter, and proper restraints. I never threw away what we once used, so we should have it all at our house."

It were something that she wished to make remarks about when others could hear it: That Sapphire and her had a very dark past, and that it wouldn't stay buried, no matter how much her sister wished to distance herself from it. That perfect new image wouldn't be allowed to remain untainted, and Emerald did not lie. She had kept everything from back then that her sister had not taken or destroyed. Some pretty unsavory things could still be found there, though whatever or not these items mentioned had been shared between them, or from something Emerald or Sapphire did separately, wasn't completely guaranteed. The memories of the past were hazy in certain areas, though she were sure this had been the sort used for group projects.

"I don't have a body, so you will need to cast the spells, sister. We will go over the changes to it when everything is ready."

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@FanOfManyShows

"It does have a nicer ring to it than your uhm... Descriptive moniker."

So this were the disgraced general then... She honestly didn't know what to feel about that. It certainly would make it harder to sell this to the current generals, as having the only member of their rank who had ever been removed from their records would most likely make it hard to not be biased against him. The worst there would likely be Screecher, as her code of honor and strict adherence to the law would potentially make her see Chariot as a disgrace that needed to feel the full extent of the law. The other two were impossible to say.

Iron were new, and Tidal Wave hadn't been in enough of these sorts of high profile trials to give a good sense of how to deal with things. Normally the Night and Solar guard handled things in the capitol on their own after all.

*sigh* They'd have to see, though this were going to be a tough sell. All the whilst Hogweed had to ask herself how she were going to take it when she had to champion the cause of a traitor, with a story that weren't as black and white as one might have expected.

"I was just uhm, y'know, asking about Shrill because there is a hole in the history of generals along him. A brief entry, but... I guess that's you then.

It might make the trial harder, but we will likely see soon enough. The coronation should likely end within the hour, and then the first order of business will probably be your case, soon as General Iron is settled in. We should know more before the day is done."

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@FanOfManyShows

"Old history, ain't a hurry to rummage through that. Now let's get on to some actual business talk so we can get the boring stuff outta the way, eh? I hear ya have yourself some wonky guy calling himself Warlock locked up in here? He's the one that went whammy on the town?"

"Yes, and an important order of business will be to deal with it with some haste. I would suggest that we set up a trial tomorrow morning to give us time to gather up the necessary judges, juries, and so forth."

"Bah, slow and pointless. This lad mainly went in and messed with our military and national security, we don't need an open court for that. Get 'im dragged in in chains and let us handle it tonight, then pass along the word once we're done with it. Better sooner than later."

The two of them locked gaze for a moment before turning their eyes to Iron, waiting to hear his suggestions and/or input on the two currently proposed ideas. He were a general too after all, so his word on this had to be heard and taken into consideration before they made a decision.

Edited March 18, 2019 by Blitz Boom

Lucid_Nightlight · March 18, 2019

@Blitz Boom

"I'll wear a frog costume with antlers. Take it or leave it."

"Lucid hates dresses and tutus. He thinks they are ruining the water supply."

"Yeah! Tutus and dresses ruin the water suppl- wait did you read her mind again?"

"What? No! I read the author's mind."

Moonlit · March 19, 2019

@Blitz Boom Serenade nods, "If she isn't too busy, I only need a few moments of her time, but I can wait" Serenade finds a seat and sits down, closing her eyes and trying to calm herself. It's been a chaotic night.

EQ_Theta · March 19, 2019

@Blitz Boom

"Omen, I don't think any of us are the authorities on what normal is. I've never heard of ponies consuming anything that isn't plants and they likely don't see anyone ever eating rocks and liking it. It's all relative, I guess. For example, I say it is strange to eat rocks is because from my perspective, longma don't have teeth strong enough to crush rocks and expects others to know that. But when I see you eating rocks, it defies my expectation. Eating rocks is strange because I grew up eating the things everyone else did but for you, a rock is just another thing to munch on."

"Eh... I hope I'm not confusing you. To be honest, I think I'm beginning to understand what goes through your mind when you have a lot of information to process."

The locking up and staying still part not withstanding, getting all confused and having to make heads or tails about anything difficult to understand is beginning to get the better of Lin. More often than not, her mind could pick up on the important details and make do with them. Unfortunately, those were only true with skills she could pick up and use in a practical setting, mostly anything Sen taught her years earlier. When it came to more abstract topics like this one, she'd struggle every now and then. That was just the beginning; if she were to take a peek in the longma codex, skim through the section on ruminations, she'd get nowhere. And Sen read those before and he could understand them. What does that say about her?

As for Sen, he listened intently, just quietly pondering on the explanation Lin provided. A fair assessment and observation that his sister can provide an answer that could probably be satisfactory to someone who can follow. Perhaps Omen might need a shorter answer, another thing he picked up from her response earlier. She seemed to reach the main idea when it is concise. Worth a try?

"In short, what isn't normal to someone is strange, and not everyone has the same understanding of what normal is."

Catpone Cerberus · March 19, 2019

@Blitz Boom
Ruby made a mental note about 'Aura detector', she needed to study them a bit and most importantly figure out if they reacted to her kind's magic. She just nodded at Spicy's explanation, there was again a lot of stuff she couldn't care less about, but it was something she had come to expect from ponies, as they tended to add lot of meaningless stuff when they spoke, probably just wanted to hear their own voice.

She scanned the area when they entered what she assumed was the auction room, she looked through every thing and creature she could see, making mental notes about possible threats and risks, the locations of anything interesting, the layout.. things like that. Naturally other dragons were the first on the list of risks, but she hoped her necklace would make them think twice before trying to cause problems, but then there were the minotaurs, she didn't know much about them, so she wasn't sure if they would be capable of 'seeing the truth' so to speak. After a quick assessment of the situation, she came to conclusion that best course of action was to try and keep at least on creature between her and those who can or may be able to sense her, as based on her own senses it was rather challenging to make out a one specific creature from the crowd until you were right next to them.

She would follow Spicy and Marley where ever they went, and as planned would do her best to put them between her and other dragons or minotaurs.

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Nada again just listened before speaking. "The princess I spoke with was Luna, the princess of the night, she's the one who helped the other siren and I have met her before....when she was about thousand years younger." her expression showed she hadn't still gotten fully used to the fact of it being so long "I have never met Twilight, since she came to power during my time in hiding." she then thought about the question for a second "And when it comes to our sociability....I guess it depends on siren, I mean, the few sirens I used to know and the one I know now were and is rather social, but after the incident that trove us hiding, I wouldn't be surprise if most of my kind prefers living alone in solitary." she looked bit down for a second "That of course assuming there is anyone left besides us two....though there has to be considering how young the other one is, her parents must be somewhere out there." she turned thoughtful before adding the part about the younger siren.

Rising Dusk · March 20, 2019

@Blitz Boom

Rising Dusk never considered himself lucky in regard to still living in the same city as his family, for him it was just normal. Not all that much of an unheard story really for families to still live nearby. The culture was slowly shifting though as more and more ponies found themselves leaving the towns they grew up in to live elsewhere in Equestria. Either for work, or just a different change in their lives. His parents who grew up in Canterlot even eventually moved here to Manehattan where they raised their recently born twins. Rising Dusk still remembered the movers packing their house and the train ride over, and he couldn't even walk yet.

That wasn't the case for everypony though. Void could try and hide the sadness from the detective while she followed a little behind him as he took her back to the inn. But being on high alter, he caught glimpses her in the windows of the shops. Her expressions were easy to read and paint a story of what was going through her head. Null and Void were still together, which let her sadness dwelling on their parents. Lucky he was indeed. At least it didn't last long through before he found out how much Equestria and Troy actually have in common, in the terms of family dynamics anyways. "Equestria and Troy have a lot in common. A pity we never saw eye to eye in our history," the detective brought up, but it wasn't that big an issue. The two sisters seemed to be fitting in just fine, not that more trails had to be overcome in the future of course. Rising Dusk cherished his parents alright, they gave him life after all. They were also great parents at that, even if his father thought referencing help guides were the best way to solve problems. He cherished his older sister as well, which is where the topic was going.

Dusk raised a hoof to tap his chin in thought. How best to explain what his sister did. "Let's see... My sister's official title is Consultant. Really though, she's a Fixer," a term more commonly used in city speak. Lowering his hoof back down as they walked on. "She lives the high society life now, working for the rich and powerful in solving their problems. She has dirt on anypony who's anypony and can get them to do pretty much whatever she wants. Setting Dawn even often brags she has some 'juice' on Princess Luna and an incident that happened in Las Pegasus shortly after her return. While not ethical, it isn't technically illegal either. In the grand scheme of things, she maintains the balance of businesses and the powerful," he sighed. She wasn't a bad pony by any means, but she'd definitely changed. "My sister is a very powerful unicorn, having graduated top of her class from Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. Particularly gifted in Charms and Enchantments. The opposite of me," he chuckled as the two finally approached the inn the sisters had been staying at.

Early Sunsets · March 20, 2019

@Blitz Boom

Zephyr waited until his sister had walked past and turned to follow the others, casting one last glance at Serenade. His movement displaced the bubble creatures hiding underneath him, and they all scattered, floating away in all different directions. He stumbled and blinked at the creatures, which had begun to resume their terrified flights from the larger ones. "What the..?" He shook his head and trotted after the group, completely unaware of the bubble creature that was still hiding in his mane. "The sooner this garden gets put back to normal, the better."

Sun Fire shook her head. "Serenade didn't seem hostile at all, so I don't think she's going to cause any trouble." She scratched the back of her head. "Although, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't afraid of her. Sirens have quite the terrifying reputation here." She glanced at Zephyr as he caught up to them and giggled. "You've got a little something in your hair." She reached up and gently nudged the bubble creature from its hiding place. It shook itself, annoyed, and floated off to do whatever it is bubble creatures did.

Zephyr shot a look at the departing creature. "This isn't as normal of a town as I thought. Strange accidents, Draconequui making unnatural gardens, sirens popping up out of nowhere... Did I miss anything?"

"At least everyone we've met is nice. It's a lot better here than Manehattan."

"Almost everyone. I'm still not sure about that siren," he grumbled. "You remember Satou's stories about them, right? They can't be trusted."

Sun Fire sighed and shook her head. "Give her a chance. She hasn't hurt anypony yet." She turned back to Briar. "You'll have to excuse my brother. He tends to overthink everything."

"Don't explain me," Zephyr huffed. He turned and glowered unintentionally at a random passing pony, who yelped and walked faster. "Nice one, Zephyr. Oh well."

Blitz Boom · March 20, 2019

@Zephyr / Karou

"No need to excuse for him. Zephyr is only expressing a rather fair and understandable spout of paranoia towards a member of a species with a rather... Colorful history, especially in regards to ponies. As one with personal experiences towards some of the worst one of their kind can offer, I can assure you that trusting her without having any thoughts of what might happen are quite difficult. Considering the historical issues you ponies seem to have with sirens, I can assume the worry that something may happen is just as warranted for your kind.

Personally, I still attempt to think the best, yet I do agree with Zephyr to some degree. Trusting her completely would not be the wisest choice of action before we see more, yet I do believe that we should give her a chance, rather than dismiss her outright. Who knows, one may be amazed to find a good, kindhearted creature that would then lead on to having a better relation with a race, rather than spending time being at one another throats. Something akin to the somewhat recent changeling situation, if you would."

Whilst he had been talking, Brittle had eyed the various bubble creatures that had hidden beneath Zephyr for a short time, before they dispersed, leaving only a stubborn one in his mane, before it were sadly and seemingly reluctantly chased away. Such strange creatures that were living in this chaos-filled garden, but that was kind of the point then, right? Making everything weird and potentially dangerous, though it did seem like the small ones weren't dangerous, just looking for beings to interact with and potentially hide behind/under, to escape the bubbly predators flowing through the air, chasing them. A whole lot of weirdness to soak in here, yet it were pretty. That were hard for her to deny.

"Ah, I can also say that you have not mentioned everypony, yet I won't spoil the fun of most of the quirky characters you will eventually have encounters with. I find them charming in their own way,especially Zecora. A zebra mystic who resides in the Everfree Forest. If answers you seek, she can likely guide you well. A lovely mare to be around, I can assure you.

Have you had encounters with zebras before, if I may ask? if not, the first time may be somewhat of a culture shock, if you were to one day meet one. Especially the more rural ones, though they tend to keep to themselves and wait for others to seek them out. So unless you looked, those would be hard to come across accidentally."

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@Lucid_Nightlight

"Only if the antlers are orange, or you're dipped in chocolate. It's a wedding, you gotta look fancy."

Anomaly hand't a clue of what would go into the water supply, but then again, she only really tended to interact with that when she were cleaning up a lake, or throwing something in and seeing how ponies would react to it. She figured that long as she undid the things, she had basically done nothing wrong, so it wasn't a big deal.

What were however were the brain reading, which were still unfair and totally lame! Though it did set up a good joke just waiting for a punchline that she'd have to take a pop at.

"How can you read the author's mind, when he's never thinking?"

A drum riff came just after, along with a clonk from the outside, where a mysterious anvil had suddenly failed from the sky and aimed for Anomaly.

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@Catpone Cerberus

Spicy didn't think much of how Ruby reacted. Frankly it was a smart move to try and stay close to ones who were known here to have a bit more credibility. And lets not be kidding ourselves here, the folks in this place weren't innocent folks. Weapon traffickers, smugglers, robbers, kidnappers, poachers, etc. etc. If you could think of a shady profession - barring a few utterly repulsive ones - there'd be at least one being here directly or indirectly connected to it. Generally not folks you wanted to get on the bad side off.

Marley however, took more notice of what Ruby were doing, and would do what he could to accommodate being a barrier of sorts for the time being, though he'd have to examine the situation for a while to figure out what beings she were specifically trying to avoid. Dragons made sense, but there were other times where it became less obvious, considering how many beings actually wandered around here.

Dragons weren't plentiful though, and those who were there tended to be around the size of Morrow, or just a little larger, as the closed off area they were in weren't big enough for properly sized dragons. Most of the ones seen weren't socializing, or had much time to spare reacting to some feeling of Ruby's necklace or disguise though. They were wandering around and looked at the exhibited wares, taking notes or just retaining it to memory in preparations for the eventual auction itself. The ones doing so had patches of leather with different symbols painted on, strapped to their shoulders, to show who they were working for. Generally dragons too big to be at this particular event.

Wandering around, they'd eventually be able to find the jars they had brought along, featured well in a dome with a plague showing what were within them, as well as their sellers, Spicy, Marley, and Ruby in that order. A few eyes were drawn here now and again, but the only one lingering for now were a tall, bulky, greying minotaur dressed in semi-adventurer garments made of varied leather, scales and decorative feathers, taken from seemingly many different beings. Ruby would likely be able to see quite a few dragon scales here and there too, in particular on the shoulder pads, and down the back of his chest armor, which seemed to be a single scale from a rather large dragon.

He were eyes were drawn to the jars, as well as a rather ugly painting of various shapes and spatters of random paint next to it.

"When did ya start looking at art, Ludvig? Finally starting to go soft?"

Spicy had sped up to intercept the minotaur first, who turned his head to look down upon the pony with hard, green eyes sitting in a face that seemed almost carved out of granite, though not in a literal sense.

"Join me on a hunt and see for yourself."

"Aah, chill out big guy, I'm just messing with ya. Looking at the price, yeah? Honestly I don't get how that ugly thing's worth 150 grand either, but the artist's apparently some big name these days."

"Worthless filler for weaklings with more bits than sense."

The minotaurs eyes were drawn away from the pony and towards Marley, who were greeted with a snort, which wasn't showing whatever or not he approved of the griffon, and then on to the one behind him. In particular, towards the necklace she were carrying, which from his high vantage point were hard not to see, unless she were pressed up against Marley. Something which seemed unlikely.

"Did you hunt your own trophy, little creature?"

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@Catpone Cerberus

"One whom I recently spoke with had claims of sirens in the ocean deep, so surely there must be more. Perhaps they have simple chosen to steer clear of ponies, in fear of what may befall them, were they to gain on the shores once more."

So much pointless fear and violence... Lyriel couldn't understand what exactly happened those many, many moons ago, as she had not heard much of the story, but she felt sorry for those who had suffered regardless. Whatever ponies might have been hurt, as well as the sirens that had not joined in the fight, who had felt forced to flee from the world to not suffer retaliation. Hopefully having a siren and one of the princesses speaking would finally begin to make things better, though it may be a bridge that were going to take a long time to mend.

"Perhaps if the princesses show acceptance of you and the younger siren, the word will eventually reach your kind and bring them out of hiding? One can only hope so at least, as surely after all these years, it must be time to move on and if not forget, then make amends those who had no part in their conflict.

You mention meeting the princess a thousand years past. Have she changed much in the time since then? It sounds as if she is accepting of a chance to fix what were once broken, though is that how she is now, or did she seek a peaceful end to the hostilities even then?"

Knowing so little of the princess, she really couldn't say, but what had so far crossed the lips of their subjects spoke well of the two rulers, so she could imagine that Luna had once tries being a voice for peace. Yet, there were always the chance that they had both once sought war to end the conflict swiftly, and in the times since then had finally managed to realize their errors and tried to correct the wrongs.

Perhaps Nada had some of the answers to this, as she had peaceful contact with one, and if so, Lyriel would appreciate hearing of it. It may well be important in the times to come.

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

@Moonlit

"Her majesty is speaking with the dragon, and should not be disturbed. You can wait here until she have the time."

That seemed to be Serenade's idea too, as the mare took a seat and presumably just waited until word would come from the princess that she were ready for an interview.

Last stayed and stoically stood guard over Serenade. Were this earlier, she might have taken a seat too, but after the pumpkin-headed draconequus for some reason had fixed her up, she felt fine enough to do this, though her energy level were certainly not on the high side anymore. She felt like she had been on a three day guard shift and had been told to wait for a replacement before she could rest. But at least her insides weren't hurting anymore, and her wound were healed, so there were some good to be said for all of this she supposed.

"Do you know if there have been accidents after the rebuilding? Any collapsed buildings? Rooftops falling down? Anything?"

Seeing as the princess were still busy, Last might as well take the chance and ask the siren if she had seen anything out there going wrong, since she hadn't had the chance to go and inspects things herself yet. Hopefully there wouldn't be anything yet, and she could have a good checkup in the morning so that everypony in the telt camp could move back home, but she didn't put much faith in hoping for the best. Hard work made good things happen, and she needed to know if the Courier's Guild had done an honest day of work, or skipped out with shoddy work left behind. Anything collapsed would give her a pretty clear answer.

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@EQ_Theta

On 3/19/2019 at 7:00 AM, EQ_Theta said:

"Omen, I don't think any of us are the authorities on what normal is. I've never heard of ponies consuming anything that isn't plants and they likely don't see anyone ever eating rocks and liking it. It's all relative, I guess. For example, I say it is strange to eat rocks is because from my perspective, longma don't have teeth strong enough to crush rocks and expects others to know that. But when I see you eating rocks, it defies my expectation. Eating rocks is strange because I grew up eating the things everyone else did but for you, a rock is just another thing to munch on."

"Eh... I hope I'm not confusing you. To be honest, I think I'm beginning to understand what goes through your mind when you have a lot of information to process."

Omen stood and tilted her head slowly from side to side as Lin spoke about normality, weirdness, and the utterly confusing mess it were to even somewhat clarifying what were and weren't normal.

Honestly, it didn't really help clarify things for Omen as much as just confusing her vague sense of what normal sometimes meant to begin with, and began to crowd her head with information that she tried to toss and turn in an already crowded arena of undigested thoughts.

Who decided what normal were? Did it include what somepony were able to do? Like, a pegasus was weird to an earth pony because it couldn't fly? Did that mean that everpony was weird? But that wasn't what Lin said, among all the big words she couldn't understand. She had said that there were some things that were normal. Or had she? Did the big words cover it? Had she missed the point somewhere?

It kept circling around, trying to find reason in things that Omen didn't have the mental capacity to understand, yet constantly tried to, and it wouldn't be long before she'd have to shut down again to have some time to turn this around very slowly, without distractions.

On 3/19/2019 at 7:00 AM, EQ_Theta said:

"In short, what isn't normal to someone is strange, and not everyone has the same understanding of what normal is."

"Normal to me, is not the same for you? Strange different too?

...Sen sleeping is normal to him, I can not sleep, so strange to me. Yes?"

It was the only example she could think of at the moment, but from what Sen's more simplistic answer had given her, this also were the only thing that kind of made sense to her, and that she could then apply onward to other situations in the future, and perhaps to some things she recalled from her past too.

Were this rightly understood, she would appreciate it a good deal. Discord's teachings barely got her anywhere in this world, and while she knew that Lin had been trying, her explanation gave her more questions, but little to nothing in the way of answers, as it were too complicated for her mind to wrap itself around.

Both of them tried to teach her things, and were she able to feel it, she would have been thrilled to once again see them both attempt what seemed to mot even be an easy question for regular beings. As it were though, she simply stood with her head tilted to the left, and kept her questioning, unblinking gaze upon Sen, awaiting his answer.

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@Rising Dusk

"Y-Your sister sounds i-interesting. I uhm... D-Didn't think this sort of t-thing would be legal in E-Equestria though."

Void had run into her fair share of fixers, problem solvers, cleansers, specialists, and whatever else name they ran under. Each country tended to have several, and considering the annoyance Null and her could be to deal with, or be sought after to be used, it wasn't uncommon for them to be targeted by them personally, or by somepony who had employed them to do so, generally with capture in mind.

Avoiding that had not been easy sometimes, and had been the cause of them having to use the cursed items they had gotten over the years quite a few times, as otherwise they would've not made it. Equestria had been different though. Here, there weren't anypony sent to get them or anything like that. They were just sent a letter.

The two of them had been in Equestria for all but 3 days at that point, and only had an address for about an hour, before the post office had been able to open up again and delivered a message to the two of them. A beautiful envelope really, that they had thought were from Princess Celestia, so they had accepted it.

Turned out to instead be from a mare saying that her name were Scarcity, that she heard about their interesting ability, and that if they ever were in need of something to do, she were able to pay them handsomely in either information or bits, if they were to assist her in some tasks involving said ability.

It ended with an address in Canterlot for some antique store, and a message about it being best that they added that to memory. Weren't long after that it caught fire from some kind of chemical reaction that apparently started once the envelope had been opened, and soon after they had been standing with nothing more than a couple of small piles of ash.

Still, even if they had been able to keep them, there weren't much evidence of anything. They were just offered a job that didn't specify anything illegal. Technically there were nothing wrong with that.

Yet, being found before they even had a letter box, by somepony who knew of what they could do? They had met fixers before, but this one were the fastest one Void could recall, yet so far also the most reasonable, as no communication had been sent since. Whoever this Scarcity were, she seemed content waiting somewhere, assured that they would make contact. Nothing that had so far of course, but they wouldn't out that eventually they might get curious or desperate enough for bits to give it a try.

Rising's sister sounded like she might be somepony like that. Knew more than she should, and used it to hers and others advantage, yet not violent. At least she doubted it, since the officer wouldn't claim that she weren't doing something illegal in that case, right? Still, he didn't sound too proud of what she were doing regardless of that, considering the sigh he let out and the subsequent wording, but were it any wonder? He were a law official, and his sister essentially sounded like she ran blackmailing schemes for whoever paid her the most.

"I-I mean no d-disrespect to her officer, I j-just thought that m-maybe this sort of t-thing wouldn't be okay h-here. And having d-dirt on a princess? I d-don't understand why t-they'd allow that. I g-guess this is a l-little over my head... B-But still, she's f-family. I can u-understand not wanting to f-feel too bad about them.

You uhm... S-Say that she's good at c-charms and enchantments? W-What kind of them? The h-helpful ones, or?..."

It was hanging in the air as they finally got to the inn, with thankfully no incidents happening on route, and they could enter and head for the room provided to the sisters without any interruptions, unless they wished to draw such from the inn keeper.

The rooms the two had gotten were not the best one of course, but it were functional, and had the space they needed, so the siblings didn't complain. Doubly so since it were essentially free for the time being.

There wouldn't be obvious signs of cursed items, but then again, they were likely in the large wall closet that had its handles locked up tight with a chain and pad lock. Not really something to do if there was nothing in it.

Besides that, nothing out of the ordinary were here. A few bags to show where most of the cursed items had been prior to the closet but that were more or less it. Weren't even any obvious, personal effects.

Edited March 20, 2019 by Blitz Boom

Lucid_Nightlight · March 20, 2019

@Blitz Boom

"I also want to be called the bride's frog."

Novia heard the anvil and had an idea. She opened a portal and turned the author's fridge into a snake and then closed the portal.

"He's gonna need a new fridge."

"And new food too."

Moonlit · March 20, 2019

@Blitz Boom Serenade shook her head, "No, with the exception of a few buildings that need a good painting, everything seems just as it was before....except for the garden." Serenade looked over at Last, "It seems Discord or something of his ilk has left behind some of their magic. I ended up flickering between this and my Siren forum."

EQ_Theta · March 21, 2019

@Blitz Boom

"Well... I suppose that's a simple way of looking at it."

"Maybe you should disregard what I said earlier. It wasn't a good explanation and I think you are getting the idea. Let me add something to it: to say something is normal is describing what is natural and what isn't natural is strange. In your example, Sen being able to sleep is normal because it is natural for him to do so, just like how you don't sleep is normal to you. The opposite is true; not being able to sleep is strange for Sen and sleeping is strange to you. Is that a better explanation?"

It was about as simple as Lin could get given how difficult and abstract the subject of normality is. In reality, it is a much more complex topic that really delves in to the concepts of conformity and group consensus, the things Lin would need several scraps of paper to draw up some charts and diagrams to break down her explanation. Even then, it might not even be the right answer to Omen's question or the right way to explain the answer to her. Neither she nor Sen received the kind of education the more learned ponies have in higher educational institutions. There was some genuine concern that they might not be teaching her correctly and Omen would notice the two of them winging it, not the very image of a teacher or teacher-figure she would expect.

To Omen's credit, however, she did get the gist of Sen's oversimplified explanation. Normal is subjective; because it is defined by a group who share similar ideas on what counts as normal, anything that deviates from that definition would be considered strange. Sure, Sen omitted the part about who chooses the definition of normal and anything could be considered normal if enough agree that it is, but the two wouldn't want to burden their sister with even deeper and messier explanations that will get them even more confused.

Honestly, both Sen and Lin wouldn't mind if Omen will call them out on how clueless the two were. The way they circle around and fumble at trying to come up with a satisfactory answer was one big giveaway that shows how ill-educated they truly are.

Edited March 21, 2019 by EQ_Theta

Catpone Cerberus · March 21, 2019

@Blitz Boom
Ruby just looked at the minotaur before they got close to him, the scales and such on him didn't really have an effect on her, because though she didn't know much about minotaurs, she knew them to be rather proud creatures when it came to killing other creatures. She again didn't say anything until the minotaur addressed her, and she decided not to lie, as she hated anyone who claimed kills they never made, and guessed the minotaur didn't like that either, and the last thing she needed was to cause a scene with a minotaur...she wasn't scared of him, but she would have been stupid to not acknowledge the dragons he had killed, even if they had been the weaker kind. "Unfortunately I have to admit that this dragon's demise wasn't by my hoof..." she pointed at the eye "...and I would like to not be carrying it, but to my misfortune, it is cursed, forcing me to keep it with me." she then continued "But" "I do have few trophies of my own that I have indeed earned with my own hooves, and would be more than glad to show them if you so wish." "And I have some others that I can't show because they are not with me." This was actually good thing to happen, this confirmed that minotaurs, or at least this one didn't see through her pony form, and this was a good diversion regarding her secret from Spicy, and possibly Scarcity, since it wouldn't have surprised her for her to hear about this interaction.

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

Nada looked thoughtful about the sirens in the ocean, it wasn't that unlikely, it could be that there was lot more sirens she originally thought, not that it helped her really, since getting to the sea wasn't necessarily that easy, since she didn't really know how far inland she was. She nodded at Lyriel's suggestion that the other sirens could some day stop hiding, that was what she wished for too.

"I didn't know her too closely, just enough that she knew my name." "But she did seem lot less.....superior?" "What I mean is that she was lot more relaxed and acted more like a pony rather than royalty." "It's hard to explain, but yes, she had changed." "Oh, and she had gotten taller."

Rising Dusk · March 22, 2019

@Blitz Boom

This was generally why it was best to just leave his sister's occupation as just 'Consultant'. It was understandable for ponies to have such reactions to her true job, and rarely would be bring it up, let alone to a stranger. The detective trusted Void enough though, call it a gut feeling, plus she seemed like a very observant mare that could tell that even he might be hiding the trust a little. Not a big deal though, what Dawn did wasn't as bad as it sounded really. For all the boast she herself tells and the image such a position has, her heart is always in the right place. She's a big softy even if she won't admit it. There was never any ill intent in her spell work, or any malicious. The twins were raised very well, so when she walked the path she did, he wasn't all that fearful. Disappointed? Maybe a little, but that was most likely the law enforcement in him speaking.

It was all a political game. Everypony used Fixers in the world of business and politics. Even the Royal Guard and Royalty when things needed something quietly swept under the rug and couldn't have their hoofs dirty. The case that shines the brightest in his memory of his sister's work was a couple of years ago when a large company was trying to devour a smaller one. Dawn was hired for her assistance in making it smooth, but what ended up happening was she pulled the right strings to have all the funds that would have been used in the corporate takeover, directed to building the new hospital wing in Manehattan that was struggling to keep up with the increasing population. Also preventing hundreds of ponies from being laid off as a result of the smaller business not being devoured. Today, the two companies now work hoof in hoof and actually created more jobs and an increase in economy for Equestria as a whole. Sure, the big business that hired her wasn't very happy at first with her manipulation, but in the end she made them more money and great PR for funding the hospital.

"Her heart is always in the right place. Dawn might be manipulative and egotistical, but she's also generous and kind. She's done more good for Equestria as a whole than bad," he tried to assure the mare. While it might indeed be hard to understand, he can't blame her. She knew very well the line of the law and how not to cross it. Their mother always mused how it wasn't so much out of fear that doing so would bring him as the law down on her, but out of fear of disappointing him. "Good ones. While she is more than capable, she finds casting Hexes or Curses to feel disgusting. Which if you could see magic like I can, is very true, they are quite disgusting," he replied as the pair entered the inn and made their way to the room the sisters had been staying in. Granted the Charms she used were more to her benefit, but they weren't directly harmful.

The room was very empty, but he knew he couldn't quite say they traveled light, considering what they traveled with. Hopefully a burden the detective could soon rid them of. It'd be nice if they could decorate their home in Ponyville one day in a way that they don't feel the need to be on the run all the time. Waiting for Void to enter and closing the door, hopefully to keep the maid from walking in on some possibly dangerous artifacts they were going to pick through. "Anything stick out as something Twisted Gears might need to maintain a connection with to function?" he inquired. He could just look over the bunch of artifacts and pick it out, but he thought it'd be better to narrow it down rather than risk something dangerous unleashing on the inn.

Early Sunsets · March 22, 2019

@Blitz Boom

Zephyr stuck his tongue out at Sun Fire, and she shot him a look. As much as he admired his her willingness to trust others, she almost seemed naïve at times. Who knows what sort of trouble his sister would get into here if he weren't around. "The opposite goes for me, too. I'd be a mess without her," he thought, smiling slightly to himself.

Sun Fire nodded and scratched the side of her neck. "I guess that makes sense. I've always tried to see the best in others, and I guess I've started taking that trust too far in recent years." She frowned, her mind going to what happened during her previous job. She somehow didn't feel much resentment towards the ponies who drove her to the worst decision. They were just jealous somepony else suddenly cut in and stole their fame. They probably didn't mean to take things as far as they did. Sun Fire shook her head. This was where Zephyr would call her naïve, then tell her the world doesn't work like a fairytale. "It would be nice if we could somehow close the gap between our races, though. I didn't personally feel anything bad from her, but we can see where that train of thought has gotten me," she said wryly.

Zephyr glanced sympathetically at his sister. He wasn't much of a therapy counselor, so he never really knew how to react at times like these. He brushed her shoulder gently and turned towards Briar. "I can't say I've met a zebra before," he said, shaking his head.

"I have seen plenty of zebras on tour with Songbird, but I haven't talked with any. Songbird's concerts were always crowded, so we didn't have time to meet very many fans. We'll have to go see her sometime. She sounds interesting."

Edited March 22, 2019 by Zephyr / Karou

Blitz Boom · March 22, 2019

@Catpone Cerberus

The minotaur did not blink as he looked down upon Ruby, explaining the deal with the dragon's eye she carried with her.

Not surprisingly, she had not taken down the one it came from herself. Ponies were not often hunters, often due to them not needing meat, and being docile creatures that wanted to be friends with things, rather than revel in the glory of the hunt. That one of them had taken down a dragon were even rarer, as they assigned some kind of meaning to higher lifeforms that made them above being hunted. They also tended not to be strong enough to take one head on, so the few who tried often ended up as little more than a pile of ash

That being said, this one seemed serious when saying she held other trophies, and not all with her. He of course didn't either, as this were not a place to even try to lob around the countless trophies he had collected through the years, though the idea that this pony had a similar situation were more noteworthy as again, her kind didn't tend to be hunters. It might be intriguing.

"Good. Taking credit for another's kill is the action of a worthless coward.

If you have anything on you, present one of these trophies you speak off, and let's judge your meddle. I can't imagine it being anything too impressive."

Much like Ruby, Ludvig had basically no care for ponies. They were weak, and barring the most accomplished of their hunters, their kind didn't have what it took to prove themselves to beings like him. Their minds, instincts and physique made them too weak when it came time to actually hunt down a sizable prey without mercy, but he would humor this one, and see what she could present as proof of her own prowess, though he didn't expect much. Beyond Kin Slasher, he had hardly seen anyone worth even the most minor of his time.

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

@Catpone Cerberus

"Princess Luna sounds like a calming influence on Equestria. That could well be invaluable for you, as you try to speak on behalf of yourself, and potentially others of your kind. A great responsibility if it came to that, but I have faith that it would be something you could handle."

Truly, she didn't know whatever or not Nada would be able to be a good representative that would pave the way forth for her kind to perhaps get a treaty going between old enemies, but Lyriel liked to think that the siren could, and she wished to show encouragement, rather than preach concern. It wouldn't help things to point out potential negative sides, though Lyriel didn't know enough of the shared history to really be able to tell where the pitfalls may be, so it were not as if she could offer substantiated issues, even if she wished so.

"From the way you speak of Luna, it sounds as if Celestia is the more regal of the two? I have heard little of her, beyond her status and role in pulling your sun across the sky. Is she not as benevolent as I have been told?"

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

@Lucid_Nightlight

"Deal, but Novia's gonna get a bigger hat than you."

Seemed like they had reached a sort of agreement then, though the wedding where still gkdhdbekdhxbdk

"Hehe, lookit that, I think it bit him. Were it venomous? Oh, I bet it were. That should teach the hairless monkey.

Though... No narration, so uuuuuuh... *Anomaly and her gang of misfits ran their awesome tank towards the mayor's office to redeem Lumen, and arrest the ducks. Pringles sat in a corner and thought of lizard stuff like flies and the diamond trade.*

Hey, that was easy. Who needs that guy?"

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

@Moonlit

"Paint isn't important for the structure, so it sounds like everypony did what they should. We'll see when I check them in the morning. I will not have it on my head that a building I were put in charge of getting completed, collapsed on somepony."

She had already disappointed Princess Celestia once, and thinking that she would not only end up doing so again, but getting somepony hurt in the process, were a substantial concern to her. The rebuilding had to be a success, and though it were promising that nothing had collapsed, it would still gnaw at her before she had a chance to spend some hours along with a few of the workers from the last few days that she thought usable, and have a thorough look at things. Especially at the school.

"The garden outside? It's not Discord. Some pony with another draconequus were working on it earlier, claiming it was a gift. When there's time, it needs to be examined and if dangerous, eradicated instantly.

Did it do anything else than mess with your disguise?"

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

@Rising Dusk

4 hours ago, Rising Dusk said:

"Her heart is always in the right place. Dawn might be manipulative and egotistical, but she's also generous and kind. She's done more good for Equestria as a whole than bad," he tried to assure the mare. While it might indeed be hard to understand, he can't blame her. She knew very well the line of the law and how not to cross it. Their mother always mused how it wasn't so much out of fear that doing so would bring him as the law down on her, but out of fear of disappointing him. "Good ones. While she is more than capable, she finds casting Hexes or Curses to feel disgusting. Which if you could see magic like I can, is very true, they are quite disgusting,"

"I s-see what they do. That's d-disgusting enough for m-my taste."

That was the bad side of being able to cancel out things like that and essentially wanting to help out: You saw a lot of things that you'd really wish you never had. Horrible, disturbing aftermaths or ongoing things that tended to cause a huge degree of suffering for others, and mental scars for herself. Trying to imagine that she could then also see the magic like Rising could, and see the ugliness in as great of an amount of details as possible were hard to actually picture, yet it still sent a shiver down her spine, and made her think that if that had ever been the case, she wouldn't have made it as far as Equestria.

"A-And I'm happy that y-your sister is benevolent. F-Fixers in other countries i-isn't always like t-that."

That would end up being her final word on things before they entered the inn, and soon enough, they'd stand in the room with the locked cabinet, and the thoughts were lead away from one topic of horrible things, to a more immediate situation of needing to pick out some disturbing things from their collection that Rising might use, and a question to go along with it.

"I don't k-know. We c-cancel out magic, but that d-doesn't mean we understand h-how it works. S-Sorry..."

She didn't like having no answer to this, but it were the truth. Best she could do would be to get the items she knew had a connection to Harrowmark out of the closet and then let the officer decide for himself what might be what.

The key were hidden in a chain underneath the piece of cloth Void had slung around her neck, and as quickly as her somewhat shaking hoof allowed, she'd have it used to unlock the padlock, remove the chains, and open the closest to reveal a bountiful harvest of cursed items of varied sizes and shapes, with a single down from Null's wing sitting on each shelf to keep everything in check. Since Null's feathers lasted for a few days after they got plucked or preened, this were what they tended to do with them when they needed a rest from lugging these around. The downs grew quickly, so it weren't really an issue as long as they didn't do it constantly, and with Rising's help, they might soon not need to even use a single one, and they'd have to find something else to do with them. Sell them as temporary charms or cleansers for weird beings perhaps. They'd see what would be okay regarding this in due time.

Null pulled out four items from there that she kept close to her to not activate them. A bone dice, a shriveled deer eye in a see-through box, a pocket watch, and a scarecrow shaped glass container with something purple laying dormant inside.

"W-We picked up all of these in H-Harrowmark. I don't know w-which ones might be h-his though, but you could uhm... See it, r-right? I-It would have to be quick g-glances though, or s-some of these things could turn u-ugly. Especially the e-eye."

If he wished to, she could take forth an item at a time, then toss it up and down to give him small glances, unless he had a better idea, like preparing some protective wards or whatever it were that he might do. Perhaps he had just seen enough of Twisted's work to be able to counter things instantly? She didn't know, but she'd trust whatever he asked her to do with this, as Rising had yet to give her a reason to mistrust him.

Rising would find that only 2 of the items had a connection with Twisted, along with 1 thing forgotten about in the closest, though which were what remained to be seen. One of them would be just the connection that Rising were wishing for though, which could be used to get closer to Twisted than he cared to wish for.

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

@EQ_Theta

On 3/21/2019 at 2:12 AM, EQ_Theta said:

"Well... I suppose that's a simple way of looking at it."

"Maybe you should disregard what I said earlier. It wasn't a good explanation and I think you are getting the idea. Let me add something to it: to say something is normal is describing what is natural and what isn't natural is strange. In your example, Sen being able to sleep is normal because it is natural for him to do so, just like how you don't sleep is normal to you. The opposite is true; not being able to sleep is strange for Sen and sleeping is strange to you. Is that a better explanation?"

Omen stared blankly at Lin as she spoke, her eyes almost seeming to glaze over as her sibling tried to explain it in further details than Sen had.

"You use a lot of big words."

She got the gist of it though, by going by what Sen had confirmed to her were a proper understanding of things. Normal depended on who were looking at it, and what was normal to them, might be strange to somepony else, as in the example with the sleeping Sen. Same with strange, which were why to the two others they could say that it were strange that she ate rocks, while it was normal for her. This could well be information that would be valuable later on, and could help explain some of the other things she had in mulling around her head currently, waiting for their turn to be digested properly.

"Think I understand. Normal for one, perhaps not the same for another. Thank you."

This seemed like one of those situations where she had gotten help, so she had to thank them for that. It had gone over well the other times she had done that recently, so she were getting some understanding of that, along with so many, many other things ever since she had started hanging out with Sen and Lin. Though she didn't know how to properly express it, they truly were the best friends she could ever ask for, and she valued them more than any other being, after Mother. Even her master couldn't keep the same reverence to his name that Sen and Lin had, which were somewhat apparent considering how Omen had chosen them over him, when he had offered her to come back and work for him. A strange situation, but he seemed to have taken it well. Before he got reformed, that wouldn't have been the case. He could be petty and childish when it came to sharing his *belongings*.

"You are teaching many things. I think you would have been good masters. Parents too? Mother says being a master and a parent are close. Both teaches. Takes care. You two do that."

Omen were silent for a few seconds, then looked questioningly towards Sen.

"Small Sen one day?"

Her gaze then fell upon Lin, who should likely know that something similar in nature were headed her way at that time.

"Another Lin?"

It were rare that she thought of offspring and that sort of thing, but the line of thoughts that had come after getting explained yet another thing by the siblings, had lead her to be curious about whatever or not they wished to have some one day. Could Lin even? Mother would know, but the lake had done strange things, so Omen couldn't. She looked close enough to a longma to make her think yes though.

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

@Zephyr / Karou

"Unfortunately, trust and a willingness to think the best of others can be used against one, as you have sadly had to experience Sun. A tragic situation that thankfully had a good ending."

Briar truly felt bad for Sun for what she had to go though, and for little more reason than sheer pettiness and jealousy on behalf of others. Thank the Earth Mother that Sun had managed to get through the bleak, miserable part of her recent years and been able to go away and try somewhere fresh. Ponyville were perhaps not the safest place to live from what he had heard and experienced, but it were a very welcoming place, filled with mostly kindhearted individuals. Long as they could stay out of danger, this town would be good for Sun's recovery He were certain of it.

"As for Zecora, she is a true delight to interact with. Helpful, kind, and wise beyond her years. Many come to her seeking guidance, and most are helped to see through the fog and gain some answers, however cryptic they may sometimes be. She are after all, still a zebra, and while their mystics can often see many things that were, and are yet to be, they do not always give direct answers. From what I understand, they wish to leave things somewhat open to interpretation, though I could not tell you why exactly. Even if I have made contact with their kind several times throughout my travels, I have yet to find one open about the need for this secrecy.

Other times, you may simply find them strange to understand, as they tend to speak mainly in rhyme. It is hardly an issue once you get used to it, but at least for a time, it will likely seem rather peculiar. I can inform you though, that more city-based ones can sometimes speak normally, yet their own villages, along with the rural ones that ventures out into the world and still practice their arts, the majority will retain this rhyming trait.

Regardless, when one day you wish to, I will try and guide you to her door. I think you will find it enlightening, as I did when she guided me here to gain the sight I had sought."

Briar neglected to mention his somewhat infatuated state with the zebra, but that hardly seemed important to share right now either. Plus, he were well aware that such a thing would never work regardless. Equines of any variant and his kind might look similar, but they were very biologically different, which excluded things such as offspring far as he were aware. Longevity were also an issue, as his kind tended to live for a long time as their natural end were only when they thought it time for them to return to the earth. A time which could vary wildly, depending on the evergrown in question.

Regardless, they would now be standing at the entrance to the hospital which sounded like it were still active, though the traffic had certainly slowed down since the day began.

"I know not all the paths that one are allowed to wander in this place, yet it is an important location to know well for the locals. Would you like to go and perhaps introduce yourself to the receptionist, and schedule a check up by chance? I have been told that it is important to get that done every so often for your kind."

Edited March 22, 2019 by Blitz Boom

Lucid_Nightlight · March 22, 2019

@Blitz Boom

"He'll probably wake up soon."

"Hey, you can't narrate Pringle, that's my author's job!"

Yeah, he was thing about crickets and strawberries!

Lucid gave Lumen a script and Lumen read it.

"It is I, the evil Lumen. I will uh..."

He looked at the script.

"I will use this golden seed! Evil laugh!"

"You weren't supposed to say 'evil laugh' you were suppised to do one! Oh well, close enough."

Catpone Cerberus · March 22, 2019

@Blitz Boom
Ruby smirked, usually she would have gotten angry by such words, but in this situation she didn't care, since she knew that this stupid creature didn't know what she really was. She took her box off her back and put it front of her, opening it. From his high watching point, the minotaur most likely could see all the stuff in the box, everything from plain glass to gems and such, but none of those where what Ruby was looking for, as she pulled out a tooth. A hunter like Ludvig would most likely be able to tell that it was a tooth of a dragon, and based on the size of it, it was a dragon about three times of Ruby's real form's size. She showed it to the minotaur "I know it's not as impressive as something like scales or a skull, but due to several reasons, I prefer taking things like teeth, horns, claws and bones rather than something bigger." This one hadn't really been that impressive opponent, in fact Ruby had almost decided against taking any kind of trophy, as though the dragon had been notably bigger than her, it was one of the local kind, and poor thing was utterly disadvantaged when it came to fighting skill, but she had eventually decided to take it, as she figured that as far as she knew, it was the strongest dragon around here, since it was the first one she saw. She had closed the box after taking the tooth out so nobody would try to steal from her.

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

"I don't know." Nada replied after Lyriel had finished "Neither of them were better or worse than each other thousand years ago, but I haven't met Celestia yet, so I don't know what she is like today." she explained "But nobody has told me about Celestia being worse than her sister, so I can only assume she isn't a tyrant at least."

(^Sorry, bit of an writer's block with that one ^)

Moonlit · March 22, 2019

@Blitz Boom Serenade blinks...."Yes...It..." She opens and closes her mouth several times, "It's....difficult to explain, as even I'm not 100% sure...but being around Discord and Chaotic magic seems to....." Serenade bows her head, "The faster that place is returned to normal, the better for everypony"

EQ_Theta · March 23, 2019

@Blitz Boom

Seemed like this attempt ended with a much more satisfying outcome, and both Sen and Lin now know how to approach these kinds of questions for Omen. Short and simple, maybe even add an example to reinforce the main idea behind their explanation. The two smiled wide, content that their efforts were paying off better than expected. Somehow, they began to feel like they were channeling a little bit of their parents with the way they taught Omen: patient and kind, understanding how her train of thought worked and adapting. They certainly were a little slow to pick up on this but every little bit is a learning experience.

When Omen mentioned being good parents and the possibility of offspring, they fell quiet. A sudden shift in their tone, or lack of it, though not because of anything malicious. It was just a little too soon a topic to bring up. To them, they hadn't really considered the possibility of starting a family when they are just reeling in from the loss of one. Besides, they haven't settled into a certain lifestyle that can afford them the luxury of looking for potential partners. For now, they were satisfied with looking after Omen and ensuring her needs are taken care of.

"I... well, there is a possibility that Lin and I could start new families in the future."

"We, uh, didn't really think too far ahead. Heh heh, now you mentioned it, maybe there is a chance of little Sens and Lins running about."

The prospect isn't out of the question, and they were certainly not going to pass up the chance to continue the lineage. That was something they feared back in the day; in exile, no one would want to associate with the outcast and there was no reason to hope the latter could start over with someone who didn't see them as a freak. If they learned why they were outcast, it was like passing on a badge of shame and word travels fast. Nowadays, perhaps there is a chance to start over, at least with small steps in the village.

"Tell you what," Sen placed his claw on Omen's back and patted her once. "If Lin or I decide to have children, you will be the first to know. You will be called an 'aunt,' a term I picked up while traveling. The longma have something like them but we don't really have a word for it. It is a title of respect and you will always be a friend to our children."

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