open Casual stroll

[Blitz Boom 4,426]

@Moonlit

"I was going to leverage her town, but I'll include the rest if she doesn't get convinced. If that still doesn't work, I'll hear your mothers advice on this. Regardless, hearing from a Night Stalker would be appreciated. I can imagine there's some things we'd both want to know about the others doings over the past thousand years."

Last kept wandering, but halted just before they were going to turn and shook her head slightly.

"Princess Sparkle's thoughts are too ideal. She doesn't see how dangerous it is to just rely on herself, and a flock of untrained mares. Any invader with an idea how tactics work, would split them apart, kill or trap her friends, and then distract the princess whilst taking the citizens hostage. Her majesty understood that you can't be everywhere at once, and if Princess Sparkle doesn't, her castle will end up being a crumbling monument to arrogance."

It were probably one of the harsher things she had said about a royal, but the fact remained that this were a highly difficult situation, and Twilight were making it harder for herself on every level by not taking the precautions the older alicorns did. That sort of arrogance/ignorance were only going to end up hurting somepony eventually, and something told last that the princess wasn't the only one who'd be impacted when it happened.

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@Catpone Cerberus

In the midst of wandering around and Ruby testing out the necklace's cloaking powers, Scarcity's voice would boom throughout the large showcase area, enhanced by some simplistic wind magic enchanted into a few baubles here and there.

"Esteemed guests and colleagues, now that you have had a chance to inspect the wares, I welcome you to join us on the main floor, so that we may begin tonight's auction. We start in ten minutes."

"About time. Come on, let's get there before it gets hard moving into place for us."

"I agree. Having middle seats are grueling when you arrive late."

The seats were an area of seats of varied sizes and shapes to accommodate the varied creatures here. Couches, perches, pillows, chairs, etc. etc. For the three of them, there would be a couch, with room for them all to sit in, along with three chained up, flat crystal pads that were around four inches long. On one side, were a red imprint reminiscent of a button.

"To cover it quickly, these are what you cast your offer with. Pushing it gives a light above you, and you can then speak out your bid. They used to use wooden boards and sticks, but there were a few too many jealous folks who sabotaged them to ensure others would get a bid heard, so the standards had to change."

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@Catpone Cerberus

Fah'lina squeaked a goodnight back at Nada, and flew up to the highest perch in the room, where a small bed had been placed by Ziggy at some point. Usually a flock of these mimics would sleep nearer or in the river, as there were always others awake to keep guard, but Fah'lina were on her own, so she went for high places for security. Plus it gave her a great advantage if something delicious were brought in, as she could sneakily swoop down and take something. An ongoing problem that none of them had so far been able to stop her from doing.

As the sun rose, so would the mimic. Stretching her small arms she yawned and started stretching herself out.

Rubbing sleep away from her eyes, she looked around to see if Nada were awake yet, and if not, she'd dive into the pool and swim down to see how she were doing, since it didn't seem like Serenade were here currently. Might be out doing something without them having noticed.

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@Lucid_Nightlight

"Well, ents don't normally have fruit, but this is kinda special, so I guess there might- Hey there, I see something looking like a giant pear hanging from it's crown. I bet there's tons of other food up there."

And the fact that it is currently picking up ponies and eating them?

"Peh, hollow trunk, no biggie."

You were going to set fire to it...

"Ooooh, right. We might wanna get folks out of there before we make it into a bonfire. Anypony have a giant axe, or like, a real good laxative?"

Are you trying to gross me out here?

"Kinda. But serious, we get that thing a big ol' laxative, and they's flush right out. Experience of a lifetime, and it won't even cost them anything. It's practically charity."

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@EQ_Theta

On 4/25/2019 at 4:40 PM, EQ_Theta said:

"Discord played hide and seek with you? That must've been something to see. Does Discord play tricks while he's hiding? Like hiding in other realms?"

"Sometimes. I can not find him there. I can walk this world and home only, not other places."

Mother was the only who knew why this limitation were there, and she didn't talk about it beyond saying that it were because they were bound to their masters and the shadowy realm they called home. How that made sense none of them knew, but they didn't question what Mother told them. Her word were their truth, except in some rare cases with siblings that had been away from home for many years. Some of those did not like to be home and interact with her, though they usually just stayed away if that were. Far as Omen knew anyway.

"One time, he said it took me five weeks to find him. He were hiding in a fuzzy dice."

It had been more or less accident that she had even found him then, as she had just been curiously pushing it around and into a lake of chocolate. Discord's pleased voice as the lake started to be drunk gave him away.

Helping out getting the rest of the camp cleared up, they'd soon enough have it all completed and could leave the place more or less as they had found it. Shrimp made it somewhat dificult by trying to hoard small stuff into a pile for his amusement, but eventually he'd give that up and go sit on Lin's back while the rest got finished up.

On 4/25/2019 at 4:40 PM, EQ_Theta said:

"I don't suppose there is much to go over. We head to the courthouse and the trial. Once that's done, I guess we'll be speaking with Stargazer again and maybe find out what he thought about the whole thing. Here's hoping everything goes well." 

Stargazer nodded. Here were hoping indeed...

Omen opened a portal leading to the shadowy realm, and then directly to the bat pony in question, as she knew his scent and could track him as well as any other whose scent had been registering with her.

Stargazer would be situated right outside the prison quarters, with five other guards who drew their weapons at the sight of the gate and the creatures that exited it.

"At ease, they've been expected."

"Sir, are you sure?"

Stargazer glared annoyed at the young guard who had spoken up, and watched him squirm a little under the large thestral's gaze.

"Yes. Now leave us be, and get back to the cells. We need all the eyes we can get on the remaining prisoners."

The guards shared a salute with Stargazer, before leaving to patrol the cell block again. He'd wait until they had left before he turned and faced them. His expression were one of frustration, and held back anger, yet Rosa got the impression that it wasn't because of his presence. As for what were going on though... Rosa had an idea about what it might be, yet the thought alone made him feel a little paler.

"Don't tell me that-"

"She's gone."

The comment stung like he had been hit in the face.

"This wasn't our doing. I want her to answer for her crimes."

"I want to blame you, but I know it isn't the case. The way she escaped doesn't fit the way your kind does their business."

Another hurtful comment, but Rosa understood well. To be so close to answers, and then find that the highly dangerous criminal of a mother you just found out you had, had managed to slip through your hooves before you could even see her, would be aggravating for anypony in his situation, and Rosa were an easy target for that anger.

"Diamond Dog gang from far up north calling themselves Diggers N'Thieves got through the floor, grabbed her, and dug down beyond the protective barrier. Then they collapsed the tunnel and teleported away somewhere.

We can't run a trace that far down, and it is completely shut off. Whatever made them run a heist on the prison so far away from their usual grounds, they're doing what they can to stay hidden.

And I swear, if I did not know your town and the Diamond Dogs would sooner feed eachother to sharks than ever work together, I'd have you thrown into a cell on the spot."

Edited April 26, 2019 by Blitz Boom

[Lucid_Nightlight 923]

@Blitz Boom

"Maybe we can make him throw up."

"Yeah! Let's make him eat a moldy half eaten hamburger!"

Novia picked up the burger.

"That's an interesting idea to make a tree throw up."

"I was talking about Anomaly's author, but sure we can do that for the tree too."

She was just about to open a portal.

[Catpone Cerberus 23,426]

@Blitz Boom
Again to her usual manner, Ruby just nodded at everything, not having anything to say to anything that Spicy or Marley said. When they arrived to where they would be sitting, she waited for Marley and Spicy to sit first, so that she could figure out the best spot to sit so that she would be as far as possible from both of them to maximize her own personal space. She looked the crystal pads a bit more closely, both because she had never seen such button things before, and because it was made of crystal, a shiny material.

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Nada was already awake when Fah'lina woke up, but she was still in the water. She hadn't slept as well as she usually did due to unfamiliar environment, so she had been woken up by overly curious fish, who hadn't realized the danger of swimming right by a Siren's mouth. But it was that fish's lucky day, because Nada found it to be way too amusing for her to eat the poor creature, so it lived to tell its friends how it had touched a siren and survived....if fish told stories...or had friends..

She had then went for a morning hunt, and was swimming up the pool when Fah'lina would dive in, holding a fish on both of her hoofs, she had brought those for Fah'lina.

[Moonlit 593]

@Blitz Boom "Well, I'm hoping to take Ziggy to meet my parents after I talk with Princess Sparkle, I'll let my mother know." Serenade nods "Harsh, but yeah. I see it as well. Perhaps...talking with her brother and see what he says might be an option. I want to see both her and Ponyville protected just as much as you."

[EQ_Theta 415]

@Blitz Boom

Shrimp was at it again with something cute and amusing for both Lin and Sen to watch. Such a nice, little gesture that always reminded them of childhood innocence, a fleeting aspect that deep down, they wouldn't want to stop seeing. Alas it was for nought but they wouldn't spend too much time in wishful thinking. Sen gathered the last of the things Shrimp moved and passed them along to Lin, who found a little corner for stash the items away. Once this matter was completely settled and they could go home, the two would try to find something fun to do for both Shrimp and Omen. All work and no play made for a dull life in the village.

When they were ready, the siblings stepped into the gate Omen opened and found themselves in a prison on the other side. For a moment, gathering there felt like something was off, all the effort to get them this far was for nought. Rosa conversing with Stargazer continued to bring in a feeling of dread with unfortunate news to follow. Filigree has escaped. Sen didn't like hearing this and saw the exit point, blocked by rubble. Lin wasn't at ease with this, pacing back and forth with only the vaguest hint that her anger was boiling below the surface. They were *this* close and now they were set back for who knows how long.

"You've got to be kidding me! She's gone?!"

Sen took his sister aside and tried to calm her down with no luck for now. Lin's anger was fuming, exploded with little warning. He turned to both Rosa and Stargazer, a question intended for both of them. 

"What now? Who are these Diamond Dogs and what do they want with Filigree?"

Edited April 27, 2019 by EQ_Theta

[Rising Dusk 26,056]

@Blitz Boom

The land of Harrowmark probably had its charm somewhere, or perhaps that really just came down to the pony observing said land.  This was not the best example in the detective's own opinion though.  While normally it would be considered rather shallow to condemn practices and cultural norms of another's home, what Twisted Gears was doing here did not seem to meet these standards.  His hopes to simply follow the cast butterfly to where the dark wizard was hiding were dampened by the sights of the swamp the duo traveled.  The new found energy in his trot from The Captain's message was quickly drained and he slowed as he cast his gaze about.  These were typically sights saved for horror stories and often time were too difficult for even the most practiced of word smiths to print in book.  And that hardly even covered everything extra Rising Dusk had to take in.  Smells and sights were not enough when he could preserve the vile, horrid magics that made up everything set before him.

For a land that saw death as a resource, its citizens now bound to experiments and curses, didn't seem all that accustom to such an existence.  If the whispers from the souls that had attacked themselves to the detective were anything to go off of, this was not what their beliefs envisioned.  Saving them all was impossible, just as Thistle had pointed out earlier.  Doing so would only tire the unicorn out and make himself easy pickings for the dark wizard.  "End.  This.  Now," The Captain's last orders rang out so clearly in his mind, but the tone seemed darker than he remembered.  Stop the source, repair later.

Now before him stood the creature Lily had mentioned her Master was preparing to unleash upon the city.  So dark and terrifying.  Well, sure it probably looked intimidating, a gross, but it wasn't anything compared to the foul tapestry that wrapped it like the most deprecated of cloaks.  The only thing that matched it was that stone goat head bust he dispelled for the sisters the other day.  Now aware of the source though, it was understandable.  His attention turned to the pillars feeding the abomination the dark magic it would need for animation.  Taking in the spell weaves that constructed them.  With the recent assault on Manehattan, the O.M.I. agents would likely still be recovering and not ready for something of this scale to attack so soon.  The Captain maybe, but the type of magic she'd need to wield against it would put the city at risk.  If he were there to help direct her magic it would go better, but he wasn't.  No, he needed to do what he could to keep it here.

Gazing upon the magics that made the pillars do their deed, he looked upon a very specific sigil not too far to the left of each weave.  A simple conduit, really common in spells designed to funnel power that helped control surges and make sure the amount of power was steady.  It looked enticing to the Spell Breaker, almost delicious even.  Some very purposeful tweaks and he could send all the pillars into a feedback loop that would level all of Harrowmark in a matter of seconds.  If they were so happy about death and what it brings, then why not bring it to them?  It'd be so easy.  He'd be the hero of two countries!

What was he thinking!?  Rising Dusk hadn't even noticed his horn had ignited with black wisps ready to devour the dark magics of the pillars.  Shaking his head as if the dark thoughts were a physical thing stuck to his mind.  Being extra sensitive to magic came with its flaw and the dark magic of these lands was already starting to affect him.  Looking up at the black wisps that swirled around his horn, they looked bigger, swollen as they gorged themselves of the dark magic around him.  Flattening his ears, he took a deep breath.  A quick steady breathing exercise to calm himself.  Each breath rewarding him with a hoof full of wisps deflating a bit.

Returning his attention to the pillars and the next weapon aimed at his beloved city.  He gave what his wisps hungered for.  The detective's snipping tools getting down and dirty to pretty up this ugly tapestry.

[Blitz Boom 4,426]

@EQ_Theta

"It's in their names. They dig into places and steal things. Diamond Dogs are not known for being subtle or clever about things."

"It's one of the reasons why this is problematic. They work in the north, just barely wandering into Equestrian territory as it's safer for them. This far away, with a tactical strike of this manner, to capture somepony, rather than just break into the vault, suggests that somepony else is directing them to strike."

"Whoever it is, will face charges of treason if I have any say in this. Breaking into Equestrian cells like this stinks of not being for just any random mare who've done nothing, and aiding criminals in their escape is a serious offence."

"She have done many, horrible things. Nothing with concrete evidence, but there's a few eye witnesses and I brought in what little I've been able to scrape together the past few years before she got stopped. What she's going to do now though... I don't know. There are more of these crystal creatures she got engulfed by, judging by what she said at the mine, and now she won't be as careless anymore. She knows that there are others looking specifically for her. Filigree won't make the same mistakes she have done before."

Rosa stomped a hoof hard into the stones beneath them, frustrated by what he were being told, and the implications that apparently, whatever had gone on, involved some sketchy creatures that were likely to be enemies of Equestria, working together with their mother. To think that he had thought for so many years that being abandoned at the orphanage was the worst thing he'd ever get to know about his family... It seemed almost laughable now.

"Filigree gone. Smell too. Is she dead?"

Omen had taken the hint that they were looking for the mare and had spent a bit of time whilst the others had been frustrated and angry to try and see if she could find were the mare were, as she had her scent after all. Yet somehow, it weren't anywhere. She even tried to poke her head into Mother's realm through a small gate to see if she could find something, yet still, nothing came of it. Either the mare had her energy hidden very well, she were dead, which meant there'd be no life energy to follow, or she had changed her life, like Lin had done. The smell would be different then.

Seemed like that for the time being, they were were and truly out of luck when it came to this matter.

"Then we have no clues to go by."

"I'll make sure arrest orders are spread through Equestria."

"I can try and make some visits, see if any of my old contacts are still willing to talk to me, and then get the word to King Thorax. Might be they can spot somepony hiding from the law."

"We will see about that after the hearing. There might not be a court case for Filigree, but I will have answers today, one way or another, and you're not off the hook for your work history."

"I am painfully aware of that, along with you not taking my every word for granted. Sen, would you mind reciting the history of what happened whilst the chase for Omen, and ultimately, Filigree, went on? I think you're the most level headed here right now."

He weren't just talking about himself here, who weren't all up top or in the eyes of the law, very trustworthy. It also included Lin, who were understandably angry that somepony who had done so much harm had just gotten away, without a valid way to find her. Rosa could never blame any of them for the feelings they had towards this whole thing, and the apparently fruitless endeavor it were to have gone through the whole thing with the statue after the hunt had concluded.

Long term it would still be valid evidence though, and if caught, would likely be judged better on behalf of the fact that Filigree had been part of a prison escape, which would bring her potential legal innocence into serious question. Yet short term, it were going to feel rather pointless and damaging towards them all for little to no apparent reason.

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@Catpone Cerberus

It was quite the show of different folks that trickled in to join the auction. Dragons, griffons, ponies, zebras, minotaurs and so on and so forth. Should prove to be quite an interesting bidding war, and a profitable endeavor for a certain mare who were hosting this, and took her cut of the proceeds.

A few meters over, a simple bear skin were placed on the floor, whereupon the minotaur they had spoken with earlier wandered over, yet beyond him, it were unlikely they'd see anyone they had interacted with, as the zebra from before were still working on her brew, and the dragon assistant were up on the scene, far to the corner, ready with a clipboard with a huge stack of paper attached. Likely tonight's auctions, so they could keep track of everything.

Once everypony were seated, a light would turn on up the wooden stage, and Scarcity would slowly wander in, and draw the attention of most of the attendees.

"It is as always delightful to see so many of you have chosen to come and join in on our little... Social gathering."

Scattered chuckling were heard at that minor inside joke, and the mare continued on with a delighted smile on her muzzle.

"I know that many of you are looking forward to bid on tonight's wares, but before those arrive, we have a late addition that I think will be a satisfying beginner. Brick?"

A gurgling sound were heard in the audience, where Scarcity's bodyguard had suddenly made himself noticed by clamping a set of glowing, pale chains around the arms and legs of a surprised, human-sized, yellow dragon. The chains tightened up and apparently had some sort of paralyzing effect to them, as the dragon in question did not move or speak as he were dragged to the stage, simply looking around panicky and letting out a hastened, scared breath.

Getting thrown on the stage, the audience kept fixating on this, unsure what to think of this.

"Mister Grant, whom you see here, have been a loyal member of our circle for many years. As such, you can imagine my surprise when I am informed that he is locked up in a maximum security holding cell within Germane, and yet he showed up here. Allow me to present who is actually here."

Unrest were starting to show here and there as Scarcity had mentioned that an apparent well known figure - a stunted dragon by the looks and sounds of things - were not the one they were looking on, and things did not get better as her draconic assistant fetched her a spear tip inscribed with runes, which she ran across the dragon, which seemed to just devour whatever spellwork were hiding his true identity.

Sitting there, clamped on stage, would be a salmon-colored unicorn stallion, with a golden mane and tail, and a cutiemark resembling a looking glass and a pair of cuffs. A look which seemed to rile up some of the attendees.

"Now, for those who consider him a friend, I can assure you that steps are being taken to ensure his escape, as he did sign up for my specialized services, in case of emergency. Yet in the meantime, I would like to present the first auction of tonight: Detective Narrow Look. One of the higher ups among the Germane International Police, and a pony who have personally overseen quite a few cases that have directly or indirectly hurt quite a bit of profitable endeavors from some of you in the area. The winner of this auction will be given a sound proof room, three medical attendees to ensure he doesn't perish, and a plethora of delightful tools that you can use to make him pay for past wrongdoings, or to force information out of him, for a full hour. Memory altering and delivery to an undisclosed location of the detective is of course provided free of charge, to ensure that neither our auction, nor your little *conversation* is reported back on.

The bid starts at fifty thousand bits. Any takers?"

There certainly were, as a bidding war began mostly focused between four separate beings, who all seemed to want a piece of this one, and the bets quickly ran up to over a hundred and fifty thousand. During that, Marley leaned in closer to Ruby to speak to her about what were happening here, in case she cared to know.

"It happens at times that some manages to sneak in. Sometimes they are humored, but sometimes the interloper is intriguing to others for questioning or the like, and as such, she will eye a business opportunity. No need to worry though, only those with ill intent towards the guests are taken up. I've yet to hear her trying to sell one that were given an invitation to show.

I assume that the real auction will start soon, once this have been settled."

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@Catpone Cerberus

The mimic would stop her dive and wave cheerfully at Nada when she saw her. Sure these creatures were predators far above her in the food chain, but the two she had met thus far were friends in her mind. Now, any  new siren however, would have to go through spouts of gazes and observations to know what to think of, just as had happened with her new friend here, and with Serenade, whom had mainly been able to lure her way into Fah'lina's heart through bribery and hanging out with Ziggy, whom the mimic liked to torment. Well, torment and ride around on whilst looking adorable to score treats from the townsfolk. They were pretty easy to entice with a few tricks, well placed squeaks and at times, physical contact from the mimic, so she got a few nips here and there. Long as she kept playing cute and didn't show her teeth off fully, it were going to be an easy stream of attention and treats, and that were something she certainly liked.

Seeing the fish and being offered one or both, she'd grab hold of the biggest one with her left hand, then go over to hug the side of Nada's head. Breakfast were a surefire way to get to her, and these looked pretty delicious. Only one though. She might have the metabolism of a black hole - quote from Ziggy a few weeks back - but she were still only the size she were, and couldn't contain that much. She'd hunt for something later if she needed it.

After the brief hug, she'd start to munch it down slowly, whilst swimming back towards the house. Even tough Serenade might not be there, it were pretty safe territory for them, so they could go there to speak if it were. Unless the siren could speak beneath water? Serenade had shown to be able to a few times (even though her voice got weird) but were that a magic thing or not, as Nada didn't have that by all accounts? Perhaps a question that'd be answered at some point, but for now, she'd slowly swim on her back, using her tail to propel herself towards the surface, and munch on her fishy for a bit longer.

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@Moonlit

"Captain Shining Armor? I've heard of him. Mostly good things."

Honestly, she weren't as big a fan from what she had been told. From the way Last had heard it, both him and Princess Cadence had acted erratically prior to their wedding, yet none of his other guards noticed and took action? A failure in their training in her opinion. Had it been up to her, the both would have been restrained and tested for anomalous effects for a while just to make sure, rather than just go along with it. A good guard followed their superior, that was true, but an excellent one would question if it were them in that situation, and then take action. Considering what had happened, she were sure they would have enjoyed to go through that, and not the hassle of Chrysalis's attack.

Besides that though, she had heard mostly good things of him, and how he treated his underlings, as well as those around him in general. It seemed a little too... Flawless, to be real in her mind, but she'd keep an open mind if she ever were to meet him. Perhaps if Twilight would not listen to her, then perhaps she would to him, and as a guard with a princess to protect of his own, surely he'd listen to reason. If not that, then perhaps whoever his superior were, unless for some reason the Crystal Guards did not have a general. When she had asked the locals here in Ponyville, there didn't seem to be an answer, so perhaps it were a no, and they just worked as a kind of squad for the Solar Guards? Or Shining had gotten promoted and just kept his former title? Something to keep in mind perhaps, just so she'd know.

"Do you know if the Crystal Guards have a general, or is he the main authority in their forces?"

They were at Princess Sparkles door now, and with three knocks on the door, Last stood and waited, until the door would open about a minute later. Time for Serenade to answer the question in case she wanted to, unless she didn't know the answer of course. It was pretty much a wild shot anyway.

@Dji (Taking over Twilight for a teensie bit)

"Spike? I thought you were- Oh, sorry, I thought it was somepony else. Anything wrong? Like, at all? I can fix it really quick- Right after I find the spell for it, obviously."

Last saluted the princess, who seemed to take little notice of that, and kept most of her focus on Serenade.

"She would like a moment of your time, Princess Sparkle."

Now the princess most certainly had her focus on the siren in disguise. The stage were set for Serenade to take charge of the situation.

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@Rising Dusk

The specter were not sure how the detective's magic worked, but seeing his horn glow the way it had, the wisps acting pretty differently and the look that had gone over him, she would venture a guess and say that the land were having an effect on him. A sad state of affair that tended to happen to those who lived outside communities and didn't take their precautions. Usually why a good deal of loners and eccentrics that lived out by themselves, tended to either become wilderness witches, crazy, or both.

Rising seemed to get his senses back though, and avoid going that route for the time being, but it were something that'd have to be watched closely. Viz'nay would not want to have another feed sacrifices to Suusha, and speed up her currently inevitable loss. Harrowmark would not be able to make it if that happened, and unfortunately, that sort of thing might spread, if the corruption began infesting Germane and then move from there to more far reaching places. Something to be avoided at all costs.

2 hours ago, Rising Dusk said:

Returning his attention to the pillars and the next weapon aimed at his beloved city.  He gave what his wisps hungered for.  The detective's snipping tools getting down and dirty to pretty up this ugly tapestry.

Meddling with anything had their consequences, though in this case, it would appear at first as if there were nothing wrong. The wisps would do their work and the pillars would start to not just lose their power to feed the abomination, but actively began to siphon it back out, and dissipate it into the ground. If Rising were smart, he'd take note of the few threads of silvery light and weave them into this spell too, that they may purify the darkness returning to down below at least some, to strengthen the goddess a little, or at least not cause her greater harm. A win-win that would eventually be noticed, yet for the time being, it seemed to be going well.

Even when the threading were done, Rising would find that nothing would change. There would be no bombastic message from neither god nor disciple, and no tentacles popping up anywhere. There wouldn't even be a visual change. For all intents and purposes, the pillars weren't doing anything different unless you actively bit notice in it, and currently, Twisted seemed to not be that. Perhaps he were busy taking care of the pixie, or use it for something nefarious and vile that were going to spell doom for them.

Thistle noticed though, as the ground absorbing the magic would be hard to miss for one who knew what to look for. Something which actually caused her to gain a little smile on her spectral face.

"𝕐𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕞𝕖𝕕𝕕𝕝𝕖 𝕜𝕟𝕠𝕨 𝕟𝕠 𝕓𝕠𝕦𝕟𝕕𝕒𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕤. ℍ𝕒𝕕 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕛𝕦𝕤𝕥 𝕓𝕖𝕖𝕟 𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕗𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕔𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕤 𝕒𝕘𝕠, 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕞𝕒𝕪 𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕖𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕕 𝕕𝕚𝕗𝕗𝕖𝕣𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕝𝕪. ℙ𝕖𝕣𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕘𝕣𝕠𝕦𝕟𝕕 𝕨𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 𝕟𝕠𝕥 𝕓𝕖 𝕤𝕠 𝕕𝕒𝕣𝕜𝕖𝕟𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕞𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕗𝕖𝕖𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕚𝕟𝕧𝕠𝕜𝕖𝕤 𝕞𝕒𝕕𝕟𝕖𝕤𝕤 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕧𝕚𝕝𝕖𝕟𝕖𝕤𝕤 𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕤𝕖 𝕨𝕙𝕠 𝕨𝕒𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕞𝕤𝕖𝕝𝕧𝕖𝕤.

𝕀𝕥 𝕨𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕟𝕠𝕥 𝕒𝕝𝕨𝕒𝕪𝕤 𝕝𝕚𝕜𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤. 𝕆𝕟𝕔𝕖, 𝕨𝕙𝕖𝕟 𝕀 𝕤𝕥𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕕𝕣𝕖𝕨 𝕓𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕥𝕙, 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕨𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕞𝕠𝕣𝕖 𝕓𝕒𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕔𝕖𝕕, 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕕𝕒𝕣𝕜𝕟𝕖𝕤𝕤 𝕥𝕒𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕣𝕠𝕠𝕥, 𝕓𝕦𝕥 𝕞𝕪 𝕘𝕠𝕕𝕕𝕖𝕤𝕤𝕖𝕤 𝕤𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕝𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕥𝕠 𝕘𝕦𝕚𝕕𝕖 𝕦𝕤 𝕒𝕝𝕝. 𝕊𝕦𝕦𝕤𝕙𝕒 𝕨𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕓𝕦𝕥 𝕒𝕟 𝕠𝕡𝕡𝕠𝕣𝕥𝕦𝕟𝕚𝕤𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕟, 𝕨𝕙𝕠 𝕕𝕣𝕖𝕨 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕤𝕙𝕚𝕡 𝕗𝕣𝕠𝕞 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕞𝕒𝕕 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕕𝕖𝕔𝕖𝕒𝕤𝕖𝕕. 𝔸 𝕤𝕪𝕞𝕓𝕠𝕝 𝕠𝕗 𝕨𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕞𝕒𝕪 𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕖 𝕠𝕗 𝕦𝕤, 𝕝𝕖𝕤𝕥 𝕨𝕖 𝕥𝕣𝕦𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕕 𝕚𝕟 𝕙𝕖𝕣 𝕝𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥, 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕓𝕦𝕣𝕟𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕤𝕖 𝕨𝕙𝕠 𝕡𝕖𝕣𝕚𝕤𝕙𝕖𝕕.

𝕋𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕘𝕖𝕕 𝕠𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕙𝕖 𝕘𝕠𝕥 𝕋𝕨𝕚𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕕... 𝔸 𝕥𝕣𝕒𝕚𝕥𝕠𝕣 𝕥𝕠 𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕔𝕠𝕦𝕟𝕥𝕣𝕪 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕗𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕟𝕕𝕤, 𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕒𝕝𝕕𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕒 𝕔𝕠𝕟𝕔𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕣𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕕 𝕕𝕒𝕣𝕜𝕟𝕖𝕤𝕤 𝕨𝕖 𝕚𝕘𝕟𝕠𝕣𝕖𝕕 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕥𝕠𝕠 𝕝𝕠𝕟𝕘, 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕔𝕠𝕦𝕟𝕥𝕣𝕪 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕖 𝕥𝕠 𝕡𝕒𝕪 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕚𝕘𝕟𝕠𝕣𝕒𝕟𝕔𝕖.

𝕚𝕥 𝕚𝕤 𝕒𝕓𝕠𝕦𝕥 𝕥𝕚𝕞𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕘𝕖𝕕. 𝕀 𝕡𝕣𝕒𝕪 𝕠𝕟𝕝𝕪 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕨𝕖 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕟𝕠𝕥 𝕥𝕠𝕠 𝕝𝕒𝕥𝕖."

There were little more they could do here to deal with the worst of things, so she floated onward, looking for traps, but finding only a minor physical one, combined with a spell. A crude one at that even, with just a minor rot spell included on a rusty bear trap. She simply rose a hoof to make it float, and threw it away. It should not be the end of Rising. Quite honestly, it would be a pathetic end, to one who had proven himself so resourceful.

Resourceful enough in fact, that he may take notice of a secondary spell under the physical trap, who were powering up to explode with an infectious spell. Still rather minor stuff compared to this, which did make one wonder if perhaps Twisted had gotten complacent about others coming to his home enough to need protection that much anymore.

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

 

@Lucid_Nightlight

It's times like this, I wonder why I even narrate for you folks...

"Hey! Do your job, hairless monkey man!"

...As the portal opened and the half-rotten burger would fall into the maw of the tree, and the only thing that would come from it, were the sound of ponies inside who started to complain about pony right violations regarding prisoners. If there were to have worked, the tree would have to digest what it ate, which would have included the ponies. A bunch of draconequui and associate were apparently not able to figure that out.

"Okay, rude. So... Ah! Of course! We forgot the special sauce."

Anomaly burped up a small leather pouch with something smelling like rusty nails, old, burned tires, and some kind of monster goo, then dropped it into the portal and down the gullet of the tree and ponies. That seemed to do the trick, as the tree would soon after keel over and start barfing up ponies- Who were also barfing. Fine print and all that, but eh, they were getting out. Soon it were blazing time!

[Lucid_Nightlight 923]

@Blitz Boom

Novia opened the portal and threw a burger at the author before closing it.

"We shall release the pumpkin headed draconequus from the author's narration powers."

"Yeah! Pumpkin ladybugs are people too!"

"Yeah! Give pumpkin ladybugs their rights!"

When the tree finished throwing up ponies, Pringle would breathe a color change fire on it.

"Anyone have marshallows?"

[Moonlit 593]

@Blitz Boom "Not that I am aware of, but my current position has taken up most of my time." Serenade turns to the door, and waits for Twilight to finish speaking. 

@Dji "Actually I may be the one to help you Princess Sparkle, if I may enter?"

[EQ_Theta 415]

@Blitz Boom

"I... alright. Where do I start?" Sen mumbled a little bit, though his attention is firmly on Stargazer. 

"Well, our first encounter with Filigree started with a piece of a changeling emerald ended up in my village. She sent one through a fake Omen and that gem led us to a pony name Clayton Quartz, an earth pony who dabbles with gems and the very same one you helped me look for back when this search started. He helped us trace the origin of the changeling emerald to a mine west of Fillydelphia. I think the name 'Jade Eyes' is attached to it. Once there, we discovered the mines had ponies encased in crystal and that was tied to a ritual conducted by a mare named Silky Rose."

"But that's just the start. Once the miners were freed, we went to Las Pegasus to find someone in the same situation as the miners: encased in gems. A pony by then name of File Fiddler who had met Silky Rose for help with a dig. That's when we were told Silky Rose was a name Filigree went by, or one of them, I guess. That, and she was going after other ponies she worked with in the past, very likely tying up loose ends. Clayton was warned about who Rose is and we did just the same for two other ponies named Spelt and Amethyst."

Sen needed a breather after the first part of his explanation. He may have covered most of the details but he couldn't help but feel a thing or two went missing in the retelling. A lot has happened and he encountered plenty of ponies in the time he had to cover with the talk. It was about as accurate as he could get, though. Perhaps this might count for something in or away from court. 

"Anyway, our stop at Amethyst's shop was when we first met Rosa and learned about the Sparkling Array Mine. That was where Filigree was going to use the emeralds and an object called a beast heart to take over Equestria, covering it with gems. We set up our traps and fought Filigree until we wore her down, caught her. We had hoped a prison would be able to hold her but it seems we're back to looking for the escaped prisoner. That's the story. Filigree's left plenty of victims in her wake, all in the name of conquering Equestria."

There was still some matter to cover, namely Scarcity and her knack for finding useful information that could lead to a longer sentence for Filigree but the longma didn't want to cover that part of the story. Mostly it was because it was a separate matter, more to getting Scarcity's favor and have them all working together to bring Filigree to justice. That was the goal, and he remembered Rosa's words well. No need to say anything more when he's got a story that could very well be a witness account and some names to corroborate the contents of the recounting. 

[Catpone Cerberus 23,426]

@Blitz Boom
Ruby seemed almost bored when Scarcity, and even when the yellow dragon got chained, there wasn't any visible reactions from her, but that didn't mean she didn't care, as she found something odd about the situation, or more specifically, everything wasn't right with the dragon, because though she was too far to sense the usual signs of a dragon, something was missing, that something being certain details of a scared dragon that only another dragon who has driven other dragons into fear would know about, and then there was the fact that it got scared so easily, very...interesting reaction for a dragon working in business like this.

It of course didn't take long for her to know what caused such oddness, but her reaction was nothing else than a short curious look, she could understand why he would change form, with that cutiemark it was rather hard to hide, but dragon from all things? Did he really think nobody would notice.

she just nodded to Marley's explanation.

 

------------------------------------------------
Nada chuckled when Fah'lina hugged her, but it wasn't chuckle of amusement, but more the 'you're so adorable'-type of a chuckle.  Fah'lina's question didn't take long to be answered, as Nada spoke to her while still in the water, after all, it wasn't magic that allowed it, but the fact that she could breathe underwater, though due to how water worked, the distance her voice could be heard from was shorter than for those that still had the magic "Only one? Aright, I'll eat this one then." she waited for a moment after saying it in case Fah'lina wanted the other fish too, and if she didn't, she would eat it in one bite.

 

[Seamore Sandwich 470]

@Blitz Boom

 

Marcus just sat there, seemingly in shock.  He had nothing to say until after Brute Force had chimed in.  “You’re right,” he said in the soft voice of someone who had just suffered a great loss, but his strength was returning to him as could be seen through the changing expressions on his face.  The look of defeat left his eyes to gradually be replaced by fury, but it wasn’t an uncontrolled rage, rather a determination to correct this wrong that had been done. “We leave in two days from the coming dawn.  Who will join us?”  The first to speak would be Hunter, “I am prepared to leave as early as tomorrow, if the need arises.”  Then Keg spoke up, “I’ll need a full day myself to prepare my explosives.  If we’re looking for a fight, I reckon we’ll need something we can light and throw, as well as wired explosives we can use to time a blast perfectly, maybe with some pre-measured pieces so we can scale the blast to our needs.”  He seemed to enjoy the idea of a well timed explosion from the way he was saying it, like a connoisseur describing the preparation of the most delicious dish they had ever eaten.  

 

@Blitz Boom

 

As Charlie’s soul was returned to the stick, it created a surge of healing magic to burst from it, which would hit both Vivid and the body that she had pieced together for Charlie.  Wether or not this magic would have much effect on Vivid was to be seen, but it certainly affected the changeling body.  Any scars or seams between the parts disappeared entirely as if they had originally been one to begin with.  The pained writhing had stopped.  It’s eyes stayed shut for the time being, while a tiny sliver of Charlie’s soul started to grow inside it.  Somehow, what once was a part of Charlie was becoming its own soul, much like a child beginning to develop within its mother’s womb, although this had been much more sudden and violent than that would have been.  Charlie was so weak from what happened, including the burst of magic, that they couldn’t speak.  The stick was barely even glowing, but they would be okay after some rest.  The body twitched a bit as if it was having a bad dream.

 

@Blitz Boom

 

“Well, all I would really need is some magic.  A lot of magic, actually.  I figured you might have some fun making it with me, and maybe you could learn a new way to store some magic for later in case of an emergency.  At the very least, I always have a few choice pieces of magic chocolates with me in case I run into any trouble.  The ‘breathe underwater’ chocolate was particularly useful this one time when Robert accidentally knocked a foal’s toy off a boat we were on,”  Penny said, while still leading the group in the wrong direction.  A few distorted ribbits came from her bag, to which she responded, “No, that was definitely you.”  The bag ribbited back, and she just rolled her eyes.  The path that Penny took soon had them looping back around and heading back toward her own shop by mistake.  She was definitely distracted.

Edited May 28, 2019 by Seamore Sandwich

[FanOfManyShows 396]

@Blitz Boom

Not even reading the first entry, she skipped to the end, and grumbling a bit. "Okay so there's no gossip on you." She chuckled and read over it. "Because she hasn't written since even before our whole adventure began, but that makes sense since she's not really good at keeping track of time." She closed it, throwing it onto the table. "Guess it won't be as-" She was cut off as the book had slid across the table and fell on the floor. "Whoops." She leant back, looking to Chow. "Ahem, it won't be that entertaining to read."

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

Iron rolled his eyes as he thought over it. "Fine fine." He sighed which turned into a yawn. He'd been expending a lot of magic today, and it was getting to him.

"Time for the extraction I suppose." Sapphire looked to Emerald, asking for a proceeding with her expression, seeing how they'd misunderstood a lot of the magic involved.
The element sparked, Sapphire straining soon after. "Agh, this is sudden." She held it with a hoof, gritting her teeth.

Iron looked at her curiously, before shrugging it off. "Might be strained from using magic repeatedly. Just a thought."
========================

"Warlock!?" She was excited, intrigued and also, questioning all with one word. "I'd not really be the best choice for such a thing, that guy- All the things I heard about him-" she turned away and chuckled under her breath, it'd be barely audible even if it was heard. "I wouldn't be the best choice."

The General narrowed his brows, sighing. "Well at least you know the danger here. So you can be careful."

She looked to them and grinned. "My talent is luck, there is no way I'd be in danger-"

"Then is this really a problem?"

She paused, glancing a bout. "I suppose not." She shrugged and turned around. "I'll go out and let them know then!"

General Wing watched as she went off to tell them, looking to Tidal Wave. "She is an odd one."

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

Opal made her way down there, weirdly cheerful about meeting Warlock, pausing in front of his cell as she wore a expression of fear, a false one.
Chariot sat there, looking up to her. "Deceit."

Opal looked confused at him, glancing about but dropping her false fear. "Sorry what?"

He chuckled and moved closer to the bars. "What are you here for?"

"You need to be prepped for transport."

He frowned as she said that, he was able to read her lying appearance, but the words expressed truth. "Disappointing, I was getting accustomed to this cell."

Opal smirked "Well good, chances are you'll be put back in here after."

=======================
@Dji

"Both. I care and I don't care that I do. It's going to sound complicated that way but that is how it is."
Engima looked to the alley, walking ahead of her, seeing what she intended.
"So why are we here?

[Sekel 685]

@Blitz Boom

KARMIC FATE

"I am just frustrated that this parasite decided to take root in my mind," Karmic muttered, doing her best to keep calm but the insistent prodding and niggling from Atzy was making it hard for her to even do that. "I would take a break but I don't know what would happen if I did," she added, slamming the last Equestrian book onto her pile with a short growl.

@Blitz Boom

AURORA LIGHTS

"I don't know, Happy. Is there anything special to talk about? Give me some options here, I can't exactly talk about anything on command. I need guidance," Aurora told him with a tilted head. She did keep pace with the wagon but tried to at least keep an ear out for anything that could harm them.

@Blitz Boom, @Moonlit

TWILIGHT SPARKLE

"Oh, sure, of course, come on in," Twilight smiled at the disguised Siren and let her inside. "Do you want to come in as well, Miss Stand?"

@FanOfManyShows

WATTS MECHANO

"That really does sound complicated," Watts commented before shaking her head and moving on towards the alleyway. "There's a store I vaguely remember being here, at the end of the alleyway, that may have the part I needed to come here for in the first place."

 

[Rising Dusk 26,056]

@Blitz Boom

Like a conductor at a symphony, the detective led the wisps at his command in a flurry of flashes to turn this vile creations into something more presentable.  Well, not that anypony else would be able to actually see the new tapestry he creator, but it was the thought that counts.  Audience of one he supposed.  Needing to conserve energy for more to come, completely undoing all the magic that created and held this abomination together was out of the question.  But, turning the magical switch from 'Feed' to 'Purge' was a bit better for his purposes.  It even looked like he was getting a little assistance from this Goddess Thistle had been talking about.  Indeed Rising Dusk could see the silver threads mixing in with the dark magic that was being returned to Harrowmark and even feeding on it.  Or at least using it to weaken the dark god, he wasn't completely sure yet, but at least it wasn't benefiting Twisted Gears from what he would tell.

Satisfied with his work, he recalled his wisps and let his horn extinguish.  In just a matter of seconds, he figured he'd just undone about three years of work, give or take by his calculations.  Turning his attention back to his companion while she explained a bit more history of Harrowmark.  It sounded like at one time it could have been a great place, maybe even have become good friends with Equestria as a whole.  Sometimes it just takes one pony to bring doom though.  Something similar happening in the Crystal Empire long ago.  "Meddling is kinda harsh, but also fairly true," the detective admitted.  Having one's magic tampered with isn't too rare in the world, evident by how The Captain managed to close the rift at the school.  But the degree of doing so for a unicorn was quite the struggle.   It also helped that the lack of counter wizards in world made one less practiced and prepared for dealing with them.  Even among them though, Rising Dusk was still a different story.

When the two started to continue their hunt anew, the butterfly fluttering about patiently for him, he discovered something rather interesting.  The specter pony could actually impart a force upon the living world.  Lifting away a bear trap, not all that hidden from the detective who could see the magic weave sticking out of it.  Hoofy nonetheless though that she could deal with physical issues with no harm to come to her.  He'd just have to keep an eye out for the magical ones that could still use her like all the other poor souls still trapped here in this horror show.  The extra hidden magical trap hidden under the first felt quite half hearted and rather amateurish.  How long ago had this trap been placed without being found?  It simply took a flick of his horn to end the charging rot spell with a soft fizzle pop of a countered spell.

"It seems Mr. Gears hasn't met much opposition in a long time," the detective observed as he continued on to follow the butterfly to the pixie it wished to return the hair to.

[Blitz Boom 4,426]

@Rising Dusk

"ℍ𝕖 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕚𝕞𝕚𝕕𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕕 𝕘𝕖𝕟𝕖𝕣𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕤. 𝕆𝕟𝕝𝕪 𝕒 𝕗𝕖𝕨 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕗𝕠𝕠𝕝𝕚𝕤𝕙 𝕖𝕟𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙 𝕥𝕠 𝕘𝕖𝕥 𝕒𝕟𝕪𝕨𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕟𝕖𝕒𝕣 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕡𝕝𝕒𝕔𝕖 𝕒𝕟𝕪𝕞𝕠𝕣𝕖, 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕤𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕕𝕠, 𝕙𝕖 𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕕𝕝𝕖𝕤 𝕡𝕖𝕣𝕤𝕠𝕟𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕪. 𝕆𝕟𝕝𝕪 𝕤𝕒𝕗𝕖 𝕡𝕒𝕤𝕤𝕒𝕘𝕖 𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕗𝕖𝕨 𝕨𝕙𝕠 𝕙𝕖 𝕞𝕒𝕜𝕖𝕤 𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕒𝕡𝕡𝕣𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕚𝕔𝕖𝕤. 𝔸 𝕗𝕒𝕥𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕚𝕤 𝕣𝕒𝕣𝕖𝕝𝕪 𝕓𝕖𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕟 𝕨𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕙𝕖 𝕓𝕖𝕤𝕥𝕠𝕨𝕤 𝕦𝕡𝕠𝕟 𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕖𝕟𝕖𝕞𝕚𝕖𝕤."

Thistle had been a spirit for a long time, and old spirits had a tendency to develop telekinetic abilities to move things around, even though one would think that she shouldn't be able to. With some focus, she could also interact with things physically, yet that were an aspect she had no need for right now, nor had the desire to use the energy on, in case one of said physical objects wanted to try and harm her.

"ℍ𝕖 𝕠𝕟𝕝𝕪 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕠𝕟𝕖 𝕟𝕠𝕨. 𝕋𝕣𝕒𝕕𝕖𝕕 𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕠 𝕤𝕖𝕣𝕧𝕚𝕥𝕦𝕕𝕖 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕤𝕦𝕓𝕛𝕖𝕔𝕥𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕠 𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕨𝕙𝕚𝕞𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝕘𝕚𝕧𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕥𝕒𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕙𝕖𝕣 𝕥𝕚𝕞𝕖, 𝕒𝕤 𝕨𝕖𝕝𝕝 𝕒𝕤 𝕨𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕠𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣 𝕡𝕦𝕟𝕚𝕤𝕙𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕤 𝕙𝕖 𝕔𝕒𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕜 𝕠𝕗 𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕔𝕒𝕤𝕖𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝕙𝕖𝕣 𝕕𝕚𝕤𝕒𝕡𝕡𝕠𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕙𝕚𝕞. ℍ𝕠𝕨 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕤 𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕘𝕖."

The spirit kept moving on, and removing a few more old, rusty physical objects in their way, as they kept moving towards a large, somewhat well preserved barn. The butterfly would show the pixie to either be inside or past it, if they kept following it. Still they would find no threatening presence by the wicked witch out here, which might start to unnerve them a little eventually. Why would he just let them move around freely, if not to set a trap? Perhaps something else had happened that needed to be dealt with, but they'd see soon enough.

If they chose to go inside, they'd find the door were unlocked, and only barred by a large, wooden pole. Inside there'd be a musty smell of old and wet hay, but with no lights and no sound, it were hard to say what else were there. First order of business were likely to light their paths a bit.

Meanwhile, in Manehattan, Molotov would have taken to be left with Scarlet and the siblings as a pretty sweet deal, and joyful as he were, he figured he'd start talking and see what'd happen, whilst wandering slowly through the door to his workshop, with Felicia and potentially Scarlet (if she were still on her abdomen) in tow.

"- and that's basically how this goo works. Pretty easy to make too, if you have a few degree's in high end biology, with a specialty in germination. Actually, you folks have any use for this sorta thing? The recipe's a family secret, but I trust Dusky, and if you're his crew, then hey, I see no issue in sharing some secrets if there'd be a good use for it somewhere. Also, you gotta come see what Felicia did to the little one. It's hilarious."

Null certainly wouldn't think so, as she were currently stuck to a wall with a layer of Felicia's specially made spider silk around her legs and muzzle keeping her there, no matter how much she wriggled. Void trying to get her loose wasn't helping right now either, as the outside had started to harden, which made it more or less impossible for her to break through it, without a really good sharp object. Hitting it as she were trying now, were basically as effective as stopping the ocean from crashing into you, using only a small, plastic cup.

"See? Ain't this a laugh? And don't get your mane in a twist here. It ain't toxic or restricting her breathing or anything. I'm an engineer, not a monster after all. Though perhaps we should add artist to the list, and put a frame around this one? We could call it *Fly in a spiderweb* heh."

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@Dji

"Atzy would take over, and likely attempt what you are now, as it is in her best interest to do so."

He saw the aggressive display and with his right paw raised, put the tip of a sharp claw on her forehead to get the attention of both the current owner of the body and the parasite.

"Yet stressing you so will just leave you more likely to seek for ways to purge her instead. Your interests would be best served if she let you function in peace for now, and waited for it to be her turn. The less distractions, the sooner she will have a form of her own."

With that being said, he went back to looking through some books, whilst looking over to see that the archivist had put two books aside from the others. Potentially something of value in those? They would see soon enough, but for now, there were still some books to sort through before they would be done.

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@Dji

"One of them folks, eh? Alright then, I'll give you some options.

1.We'll talk about how you did growing up 'round griffons, and how that might've affected you.

2. Where I came from, before turning into this, and/or what I've been doing since arriving in your world.

3. The merits and fun of running a portable distillery.

4. What your plan is in the long run, after this trip.

5. What we're gonna do if we find Thorax.

6... I dunno, dance through flowers or something? Ponies seem to like that sorta stuff."

It were what came off the top of his head, and since nothing were still attacking them, it seemed like talking were the only action they were gonna have for the time being, though he wouldn't mind having the chance to smack something around a bit. Something about beating up a predator thinking it got some easy prey just brought a smile to his face.

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@Dji @Moonlit

Last nodded at the response she got. Made sense enough that one working closely with Princess Luna would be busy more often than not, and didn't have the time to hear something like this. Hadn't seemed like a bad idea to ask though.

11 hours ago, Dji said:

"Do you want to come in as well, Miss Stand?"

"I'll secure the room, Princess Sparkle."

Last saluted the princess, then when allowed entrance, would go in and look out for any weak spots in this particular room, and if one were seen, such as windows that weren't protected, she'd keep watch on that, as well as stand at the door to ensure that nopony came in for the princess without getting through her first. Perhaps when these two were done, she could start talking a proper guard out here with the princess, yet for now, she'd keep silent and let these two speak.

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@FanOfManyShows

Chow chuckled as the book slid across the table and landed pretty much in front of him. It had looked right funny, though his eye did get drawn to something on the page it had folded up on. He didn't want to, but there was a bit about Misty in it that seemed to be from back in the day. A snippet in time, that he didn't read too much of before just slamming the book together again, with a weird look on his face. Frankly he didn't know what other reaction to have when reading a few lines of what had looked like the first time Astral had met Misty, other than some awkward sweating, and he wasn't good at doing that on command.

"She sure seemed to have poured a lot of her past into this. Including when you two met up that first time by the looks of things.

I ain't one to snoop too much, but... You mind me asking 'bout that? I just got the slim version, and If it's alright, I'd like to hear more. Don't sweat it if ya can't or won't though. Again, some things 'n privacy. Ain't my thing to snoop if I'm given the stop sign. Well, most of the times. Sometimes I'm thinking it can be important."

Whilst talking, he put the diary back on the table, and pushed it a bit towards Misty, just to make sure it didn't slide and she'd end up having to deal with it too. It'd be the weirdest game he'd been part of for a while.

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@FanOfManyShows

"Just let the soul stay. It won't make much of a difference."

It seemed Sapphire couldn't keep straining herself for much longer if she kept trying to use her magic. Interesting little limitation, which might be useful to remember for another time.

"Long as the body have been burned, things should work well enough. But not without strength. You need to replenish your magic sister, and you, return to your spawn. If you stay away forever, she will come looking, and it is too early for any involvement from her. Try and regain some of your own strength too. You're going to need it."

It wasn't that she cared about Iron all that much. Frankly he could vanish and she wouldn't shed a tear, even if she were able to. Still, Sapphire would care, and she wanted her sister to be on her side for now. It may be hard to do if he messed up something from having too low magic reserves and ended up an ingredient himself, or if he remained here, and Astral tracked them down to break up the party. Emerald were too weak right now to really do anything against her niece, and at this point in time, who knew how she'd take the news that her mother was being resurrected. Poorly she would imagine, as the Element of Deceit were involved. That tended to rightfully cause distrust.

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@FanOfManyShows

Tidal wave shrugged her shoulders.

"Eh, I've seen worse. I'm just thinking she's a little off her head right now considering everything that's been going on with Warlock and the guards being bashed around. Heard some of them are still in the hospital, and the guards get pretty tight when they're working together for so long. It's bound to rattle 'em up.

Oh right, speaking of that, I got some news from there when I were delivering that serpanther guy there under bolts and chains. Apparently, the ambassador is doing fine, and might get back on his hooves sooner than we think. I'm still thinking he's off the job for a bit until he's proper settled inside. Seen enough gut damages to know you don't just walk away from that, even with magic.

I'm sure Screecher's gonna be thrilled to hear that. You don't have it from me, but I've always suspected she might have a thing for him. She always gets real protective when he's involved, y'know?"

Tidal had a mischievous grin on her face as she said this. Hopefully this guy would be more fun to gossip with than Dew had been. The dude were an awesome general, don't get her wrong, but by the princesses could he be a bore sometimes, with his focus on *rules* *regulations* *proper behavior* and yada yada. How was a mare supposed to have any fun when it was two against one, battering her with how it was supposed to run all the time. You had to be able to just unwind a little, or everything was gonna get boring.

"Anyway, back on topic. We're in motion now in regards to Warlock's trial. You got a bucket list of charges you need us to go through, or are you just gonna wing it when court's set?"

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@FanOfManyShows

Down at the cell, before Opal showed up, Hogweed had excused herself and left once a previous guard had come to inform her that a medical transport needed to be set in motion. She didn't even see Opal show up, just barely missing her.

They should have around ten minutes before somepony else would be there and help Opal prep Warlock up fully. Until then, they basically had privacy, provided they didn't shout out something that the other guards patrolling the area or guarding the hallways leading to this cell would hear.

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@Seamore Sandwich

"I came here to get something done now, but I can stay and keep up for a few days. Seems to be enough heavy lifting to be done here to get some work done, and these scrawny ponies doesn't look like they have the strength to carry much of anything."

A good deal might want to refute that, but especially the ones carrying the sigil and weakened by the life they were sacrificing for the spells they weaved. could hardly argue that she weren't physically superior to them in basically every conceivable way, and the help would be appreciated in some areas where they could get some repairs or something done like this.

"Two days seems like an adequate time for me to contribute something of my own, after I have located what I need in the archives. I may be able to provide you with some trinkets of interest if that is to your liking, though perhaps some information would be better? You have been away for a long time Marcus, and the world have changed. There may be things you would have need to know, yes?"

Belladonna had some resources to work with, and if this could replenish the life that her brother had lost, there were all the more reason for her to assist in what way she could. Cold as she may seem, she did care deeply for him, and would do anything if it meant she could give him another chance, and this time, one where he would have a long and fulfilling life. If given a bit of time, she would gladly provide what assistance away from the battlefield that she could offer, and she were certain she could convince Quartz to assist her in this endeavor if needed be. He were a soft pony when it came to family matters.

Meanwhile, whilst all this important stuff went on, Omen just observed over in the corner, not sure what were going on, and chewing on something which made a loud crunchy sound every time she chomped down. What weren't obvious until she had chewed through this, and stuck her hoof in one of the open fires, where she'd withdraw a burning piece of coal and put it in her muzzle to chew on, whilst showing no visible signs of pain. Since she didn't register pain that well, or knew what it were supposed to feel like, the flames and burning sensation were to her more like a spicy meatball would be for others. An intriguing taste more than anything, and likely something that got her some weird looks if anypony actually cared to look.

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@Seamore Sandwich

Healing magic tended to have pretty strange effects on demons. Sometimes it healed them, other times it would actively hurt them, and sometimes, it might even cause unforeseen mutations for some bizarre reason. It tended to depend on a few factors, yet the most important one were what school of magic the healing spell were, and what sort of demon it were dealing with. Holy tended to just be bad overall, yet fortunately for Vivid, this were a nature-based spell, and whilst she were somewhat of a fire demon, the veil were more of a neutral sort of pure demonic magic, and would have only small side effects from any other schools than harmony and holy. That being that she felt like somepony had just been attacking her with a rake for a solid minute or so, but hey, her wounds got healed, and it wasn't like she weren't in pain before, so she could barely feel it as it were.

Once the spasms had stopped and her tattoos were glowing less intensely, she would slowly be able to get up on her hooves. With her wounds healed, she just had to deal with her lack of energy now, rather than continued blood loss or erratic magic bursts, so she were about as fine as one could be in her situation.

The same however, she didn't know if she could say about Charlie, whom she could see were back in his stick. Yet... Something were wrong. She sensed him in two places, as if his soul had split to some degree, and when she tried to locate the source, grim realization settled in. Some of what had been Charlie, had latched on to the changeling body and were trying to fill the void with either a copy, or a mostly new soul. Considering how things had just gone before, she were worried that this might result in a pained, insane being who would aimlessly just wander around and attack, yet with her lack of energy, all she could do were hope that she were wrong, and go over to pick up Charlie's stick.

"Charlie? Can you hear me?"

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@Seamore Sandwich

"Well I do enjoy learning new things dearie. Though if you require a lot of magic, I can ask a few friends of mine to offer some in some pre-charged gems. It's a rather convenient little tool for certain spell casters, and I'm certain they wouldn't mind lending me some of them, and we can be prepared for a rather intriguing little session."

So she did not need to cook it sounds like. That were a rather good thing, as she were a rather poor cook to put it mildly. Brick were better at it, and his idea of cooking were basically military ration packs, and that stuff were simply dreadful at the best of times.

So she had her own chefs, or went out to dinner more often than not, or simply prepared a sandwich or small salad of some kind. Long as it did not require heat, she could make something perfectly edible, but who knows? Perhaps she would learn something whilst watching this intriguing little candy maker? She hoped so, though of course, the most important thing here were to see her capabilities, and see if the investment were a wise move. Currently it certainly seemed so, but it hardly ever hurt having a close encounter to the process and then see how things went. One could never have too much information after all.

The ribbiting bag were one of those things were more information were certainly prudent, as Scarcity did not know of much of a reason why said bag would do so, except it being the case that there were some sort of toad or frog within it. Which would then beg the question of how Penny understood it. Rather peculiar skill to have, and considering it appeared they had been wandering in circles, it were not as if Scarcity did not have the time to ask some questions.

"Oh? I did not take you for one to bring her companions with her, Penny. May I ask whom this is? And I assume you can understand him, because of one of the sweets that you produce, yes? Animal translation would be a remarkably resourceful skill to be able to sell to certain areas."

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@Catpone Cerberus

The bidding would end at 158.00 bits, and were won by a burly, grey griffon whose eyes seemed to glimmer with a cruel kind of pleasure in things that he hadn't even started doing yet. Something which made the detective up on stage look as afraid as if he were about to be sent directly to Tartarus.

"Sold then, to Mr. Steelclaw. If you would please pay the offered amount at the office, we will have your prize ready for inspection within the next six minutes."

The griffon triumphantly rose a claw where two of the talons were replaced with metal replicas, and went on his way towards the required area for the transaction to take place, whilst the detective got dragged off by a few burly ponies who were about to prepare him for what would amount to the worst hour of his life.

"Now then, let us continue with the items that you have all seen. Starting with this painting, which truly needs no introduction."

The next seven items were art that had somehow gotten into the hands of the worst from the grey market, and now made its way here for some private collector to hoard for the rest of their natural lives. The amounts were obscene, with one particular, rather ugly painting selling for a little above a half million bits, but that were art. Far too expensive for something which could mostly be replicated by a sleepwalking foal covered in paint rags.

"And now, for our next item, we have something will will be making the rounds several times during tonight. A jar filled to the brim with authentic, well preserved Bad Dragon."

This caused a surprising amount of beings to stand ready with their pads, as some had eyed the chance to get something like this, as it had some applications that were somewhat in their interests. Depending on the price, they would bid on this.

"There are twenty jars in total, but we will start with this one, and begin the auction at 500 bits."

Presses and voices started to rise and the price just kept going up. After they reached around 1600, it seemed like this first one were sold, until a press from somewhere in the midst of the room were registered, and a cloaked griffon who had little more than her darkened beak showing, would rise up. On the side of her robes, the well known mark of La Perrine's griffon disciples were shown in deep red, slashing across the fabric as if it were carved on by a wild animal.

"10.000 bits for each jar, and we will take them all."

This got Scarcity to raise an eyebrow. This were unusual, and for lackey's of La Perrine? What usage would an elder dragon have for these things, that were important enough to pay so much over asking price? Peculiar... Yet, a sale were a sale, and she would hardly say no to an increased cut.

"As per protocol, the sellers will have to agree on this as it goes against their original intent of separate auctions. Please all three rise up and deliver your verdict."

Both Marley and Spicy were looking with big eyes on Ruby here, and especially the pony had a hard time avoiding looking giddy as all hay.

"Oh, I'm So game for that. This is easily at least three times more than I figured we'd get for 'em."

"Indeed. We are unlikely to get more bits from this overall. Ruby, if you really wish for max profit, please stand with us and voice your agreement on this. We'd make a figurative killing."

The two would be ready to rise up with Ruby if she were with them on this, which she likely would be. This would net her around 60.000 bits without having to do anything. For somepony who liked jingling, shiny pieces of gold, this should be an easy choice.

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@Catpone Cerberus

Fah'lina liked keeping food and hiding it in places where she could grab it for another time, but fish had to be fresh, or well preserved, and she didn't need an extra snack enough to argue for having one of these around who'd start to stink somewhat soon. Better to just go and catch a fresh one when needed, so she'd stick with this singular fish as they made their way towards the surface. The mimic couldn't speak underwater, but it wasn't as if Nada could understand her outside of it either, so the response of her eating and smiling should do well enough in her mind.

Once they got up, she'd down the rest of the fish, bone and everything, then let out a loud belch and skitter over towards the table. There were something she'd want to ask now, and until the mimic were able to write well enough - so far, her writing were horrible and her vocabulary limited - she'd have to go and play with signals again, and hope that Nada got it.

So she got the note from Berry, then pointed at it with both her hands, then herself, before pointing one hand towards the door. Then - with one hand still on her chest - she'd point towards the paper, take some steps in a circle, and then both hands towards Nada.

She were trying to ask if she should go and get Berry, though what else it might look like, where in the eyes of the beholder. Hopefully the siren got the message.

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@EQ_Theta

Stargazer listened without a sound as Sen spoke about what had gone on. It were quite the adventure from the sounds of things, yet all the names there would be easy enough to verify from, starting with Clayton Quartz, whom Stargazer knew where to find. It lend some credibility to things, as it were a pretty massive gamble to just claim this out of nowhere.

"This covers essentially what they know off. Before this, I spent the better parts of two years tracking her down via flimsy evidence and rumors. I have handed over everything I have collected to the court as evidence, and you should be able to easily verify this."

"I will, as well as sending word out to hear of the diamond mine. Considering how vast it is, having it corrupted could be a serious threat to the country. However, I still demand a proper debriefing of you."

The large bat pony took his hoof towards Rosa, with intent of poking him on the chest, but found his hoof passing through a small gate from Omen, which were than quickly retracted again as he had no idea what were on the other side of this.

"It's okay Omen. He just wants to talk, and wanted my attention. You don't need to do this."

Omen nodded, and dispelled the gate, though Stargazer were not trying to touch his half brother again regardless, as he were not in the mood to test if this would happen again. It may well be some sort of trick, or Omen wouldn't actually hold back, regardless of what she had said, though why she would protect the spy he hadn't the faintest idea about. Hardly seemed like a wise move.

"Regardless, I still want a debriefing. As well as go over the evidence, so I can decide what to do about you for the time being. If what all of you say are true, Filigree's freedom presents us with a dangerous threat to Equestria that will have to be sought after, and your actions - again, if true - will have saved the country for the time being. That would count for quite a bit in your hearing, Rosa.

Please everypony, walk with me. Private Starling?"

Stargazer called out to a scrawny pegasus that were passing by on patrol, and waved him closer.

"I have need of Clayton Quartz at the castle for some assistance in a case. Tell him that it is in regards to a mare called Filigree, and report back to me with his response to the name afterwards."

The pegasus nodded and immediately flew on his way with quite the amount of agility and speed. He wasn't worth much in a fight, and he had no leader qualities, but the guy was fast, and were quite often used as a messenger, or somepony to raise alert in case something happened. It made him useful to the guards in his own way.

With this, Stargazer would lead the way towards the barracks, aiming to go for their interrogation rooms, and as they wandered on, he'd start to just look deflated, as the anger started to seep out of him, and got replaced with a general feeling of being down, over how things had proceeded today.

"Unless something happens to cast doubt on things, you three don't need to worry. It's him I want to speak with right now, so you're free to go when you please, unless something comes up to cast doubt on any of you, in which case you will be found and questioned as needed be. *sigh* We're in quite a mess here, and I get the distinct feeling that it's neither going to be easy, nor pretty, to get through it."

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@Lucid_Nightlight

Oh come on, I just cleaned my table!

"Now you get to do it again Mr. Grumpy."

Don't give me that. Busy already trying to narrate all of you, and deal with the disgusting visual in the background.

"Excuses excuses. Just narrate this already so we can get on with the roasting!"

The others already did. Whilst protesting my apparent treatment of you, even though it's the lot of you that are tormenting me.

"Wait, they already- Oh darn it! I missed it? What a load... Well, at least it's burning prettily, in rainbow flames. Let's roast some s'mores, but none to the author. He is being very mean again for no reason to us poor, innocent beings."

...The lot of them would find a big bag of what they needed for s'mores over near the ent, who were now more or less just a pile of immobile burning wood leaning dangerously close up to the hospital.

There, you happy? Make your snacks and leave me alone. I swear, I can't work under these conditions!

[Lucid_Nightlight 923]

@Blitz Boom

"Hey Anomaly's author, is it okay if I start a revolution and claim your house as my own?"

Stop trying to get me in trouble.

"Hey! We didn't you could speak!"

"We do what we want! Now start narrating!"

I would, but Lucid already made the smores while you and Novia were talking to me.

Lucid looked over to Anomaly.

"My author really needs to keep up."

[Moonlit 593]

@Blitz Boom @Dji Serenade nods and enters, picking a chair and sitting down. "Princess Sparkle...I mean Twilight. I'm off to collect Ziggy from the Hospital and take her to meet my parents. I was wondering if I could leave a new friend here for you to talk too. A Warning, she's kinda shy but I think the pair of you would get alone..." She whispers under her breath "like a house on fire". Serenade pulls a piece of wood out of her saddlebags then puts it down on the table. "Cherish, I'd like to introduce you to Princess Twilight Sparkle, The Princess of Friendship. Twilight Sparkle, I'd like you to meet Cherish...a....pony from the Everfree Castle"

[EQ_Theta 415]

@Blitz Boom

A satisfactory recounting, as Sen was quite unsure if he was going to be pressed for more information. Maybe it might still happen. Rosa and Stargazer having a talk for now in private probably means they might be called in even if the latter let them off the hook for now. Wouldn't want to not count that possibility out and if anything, Starzgazer will likely want a more complete picture. 

Sen and Lin walked along with the others until they reached the interrogation rooms. As drab and uninteresting they may seem, they'd hate to imagine being on the wrong side of the law here. Those rooms have some kind of ominous feeling to it even without having to set foot in them, they can think about the yelling but that one was probably reserved for the uncooperative. That wasn't going to them though. Filigree going free is a threat they'd rather stop rather than make worse. 

"How about we make things easier for you, Stargazer?" Sen paused as the guard pony and Rosa were going to have a moment in privacy. "We'll wait for Rosa here and if you need to ask us anything, we won't be far away."

Meanwhile, Lin, calmed down in the moments that had passed, turned to Omen once she was certain only Sen was left in their vicinity. "You know we still have the jeweled beast heart, right? Maybe we can take it somewhere no one would find it. We'd be away for a little while and it gives us one less thing to worry about if we have to face Filigree again. Do you know a place where we could hide it?"

[Catpone Cerberus 23,426]

@Blitz Boom
Ruby was visibly bored at the point when their items finally came up, only thing she had paid attention was the fact that art seemed to be ridiculously overpriced here too, the pricing of art was something she would never understand, and for some reason she had figured it would be cheaper at black market, but obviously she was wrong. She wasn't familiar with the whole La Perrine, so she didn't see anything special about the griffon that had made an offer for the poison, other than the price of course, and naturally she had nothing against this offer, since she hadn't lost anything for them, so she got up and nodded, making sure it was big enough nod to be clearly seen. 

--------------------------------------------------------------------
Nada tilted her head when Fah'lina started gesturing, it was easy to figure out it was something to do with Berry, and she clear it included them too. "Berry, you, door. Berry again, walking, I." she said to confirm she had understood the gestures "Are you saying you could get Berry to me?" she came to that conclusion mostly due to the latter part. Berry, walking and her, Berry walking to her, and she knew that Fah'lina knew that Nada couldn't go, so she assumed the first part was just in wrong direction, since it would have made more sense if it was Fah'lina door Berry, since that would have said that Fah'lina would go through the door to Berry. "If yes, go ahead, I'd like that, because I need to apologize to her about earlier."

 

 

 

 

[Rising Dusk 26,056]

@Blitz Boom

It made a lot of sense that the lack of real thoughtful traps would be the way it is if for the longest time he didn't need to guard against anything.  They say with age comes wisdom, but when one lives too long, they can get too comfortable and complacent.  Following the butterfly through the swamp while the vigilant specter removed the useless physical traps that peppered the ground.  The detective dealing with any of the minor magical elements that attempted to pop up from this as well.  Bothersome, but they painted a rather interesting of a detail about Twisted Gear's early life here in Harrowmark while he was still gathering power from the dark god.  "We have his apprentice in custody," he informed his companion.  Locked in a cage with properties similar to the abilities of the sisters of Troy.  A spell of his design combined with the engineering powers of one Molotov Boom.  But he didn't need anycreature who might be spying knowing that.

Hooves now pretty well covered in mud and other various swamp matter by the time the butterfly lead the duo to an old barn that should probably been condemned by upkeep standards.  While it was eerie the two had encountered very little resistance besides a few annoying outdated traps, Rising Dusk remained focused.  Not wanting his thoughts to drift off again and suddenly get any ideas of just burning the barn down or anything.  Being aware that there was an influence being pressed upon him made it easier to keep it a bay, but he could never be too careful.   Putting his dirty hoof to the doors, he gave it a simple push.  Not that he was expecting it to open so easily.  Casting his levitation spell at the door until it engulfed the pole locking it closed and lifting it from its posts.  Entering into the dark musky barn, he lit the tip of his horn with the simplest of light spells to see what they could find.  At the ready for action.

In Molotov's workshop, the tired pegasus rested upon the nice, cool shinny bulb of the spider bot while the stallion rambled on about some sort of goo.  Only really half listened until they all entered the room where Null had been strung up and wrapped in Felicia's web.  "Hey!  Let her go!" the junior officer demanded.  Flutter off of the spider bot and going to join the larger sister in trying to free the fellow pegasus.  "If you want to frame some art, then put yourself on the wall," she informed the inventor.  "I thought you were helping her get her wing back?" she asked while she tugged at the sticky strands.

[Blitz Boom 4,426]

@Catpone Cerberus

"Excellent then. If you wish to complete the transaction now, feel free to go to the cashier and return when you are done. Now, let us move on to the next auction."

The gryphon sure seemed like she wanted to get this done, as she came directly over to them. Her face were mostly hidden in shadows beneath the hood, but a yellow right eye were visible, as she looked them all over with some degree of interest. Over the left, were a crystal monocle with a reptilian, translucent eye moving in front of it. It seemed as if this piece of crystal had been stuck on to her face somehow, though it weren't apparent in which way. Likely magic.

"I want to pay for them and move on."

"Now now, there's hardly a reason for such a rush. The auctions are still ongoing."

"La Perrine have other eyes on other prices, and she wants the jars now."

*sigh* It was a shame in Marley's eyes that a headstrong member of his own kin had cast in her lot with the dragon worshipers. He would have liked a chance to attempt a courting event, but alas, he knew enough about this cult, essentially, to know that it would not harbor great results.

"Very well. Everyone wants to go?"

"Nah, I'm staying. Saw something pretty sweet I wanna use some dough on. You can handle showing her the business side."

"I feel so trusted. Shall we?"

The dry sarcasm of the first half of his sentence rolled off his beak before he'd follow the cultist, on the way to the exchange. He were certain that Ruby would follow, considering her want for shiny coin, whilst Spicy sat back down and looked up on stage to wait for the stuff she'd looked out for.

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

 

@Catpone Cerberus

The mimic clapped her little paws at Nada, when she figured out what it were that she had tried to communicate. It weren't always too obvious for the creatures she tried to get through to what she meant, so this were pretty well done. Especially since Nada had known her for such a short amount of time compared to the other beings she hung around.

Before leaving however, Fah'lina opened her maw a little to gain access to the sharp rows of teeth. Not enough to allow visage to the digesting fish, as she had figured that it were revolting for others, and she still wanted to rely on the cute factor for stuff, but it were enough for her to gain a hand in and pull out a fish scale stuck in her teeth. She'd then grab that with one of her hands, and crawl up towards the window, where she'd crack it open enough for her to crawl out and fly away to find Berry.

(15 minutes later)

The mimic would come back through the window again, with some pink glaze and sprinkles around her mouth, then go over to open up the door. She had to do a little acrobatics there with using some momentum and her tail to get the knob turned right, but it'd work fine, and soon enough, they'd have some company.

"I swear, I'm gonna talk about some boundaries with your owners..."

Berry wandered through the door, looking like she hadn't had a maw full of mimic teeth around her head again, though that might change as Fah'lina heard what she were saying, and hissed loudly at the mare from a nearby shelf, with her maw fully opened. Certainly made Berry give off a bit of a jump and send some funny looks towards the little terror.

"Fine, yer friends then. Still gonna ask them to reign you in."

She'd wander in and lock the door behind her, then look around to see if she'd be able to find Nada. Siren gal might've dove under when she heard somepony arrive, or wanted to ambush her, so they'd see how long it'd take. When they met, Nada would be able to see that the mare would have also brought along some drinks and treats on a biodegradable, carton tray, where one small bag were open, and carried a doughnut with a lot of small bites taken out of it. Considering the glaze and color on it, it wouldn't be hard to figure out who had done that.

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

 

@Rising Dusk

1 hour ago, Rising Dusk said:

"We have his apprentice in custody,"

"𝔾𝕠𝕠𝕕. 𝕀𝕗 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕨𝕚𝕟 𝕒𝕘𝕒𝕚𝕟𝕤𝕥 𝕋𝕨𝕚𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕕, 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕞𝕒𝕪 𝕓𝕖 𝕒𝕓𝕝𝕖 𝕥𝕠 𝕦𝕤𝕖 𝕙𝕖𝕣 𝕥𝕠 𝕔𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕟𝕤𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕒𝕣𝕖𝕒 𝕡𝕣𝕠𝕡𝕖𝕣𝕝𝕪. 𝕊𝕙𝕖'𝕕 𝕜𝕟𝕠𝕨 𝕞𝕠𝕣𝕖 𝕠𝕗 𝕚𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕟 𝕞𝕠𝕤𝕥, 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕀 𝕔𝕒𝕟 𝕚𝕞𝕒𝕘𝕚𝕟𝕖 𝕤𝕙𝕖'𝕕 𝕖𝕟𝕛𝕠𝕪 𝕕𝕖𝕤𝕥𝕣𝕠𝕪𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕝𝕚𝕗𝕖𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕜 𝕠𝕗 𝕙𝕖𝕣 𝕗𝕠𝕣𝕔𝕖𝕕 𝕞𝕒𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣."

It were very rare that anypony came to practice for Twisted willingly, as stories of what happened with other students over the years had either been shared for long enough to become legends, or had manifested in one of several, horrifying creatures that had been used in varying locations throughout Harrowmark. Generally around places where the failures had family or loved ones, to make their punishment harsher, though it depended greatly on his mood.

His current apprentice had not been one that came willingly, nor had stayed because she liked it. She had been one of a few that Twisted had seen as having potential, and then ensured that she would come to him. Doing what she were told were the only way one could survive, and whilst she were certainly no angel, as she had come to take some degree of pleasure in fulfilling her masters work throughout the years, that had more to do with herself being forced to chose between trying to just embrace it, or end up as another failure, and she had seen too much to want to end up like that. Given the chance, she'd gladly release every soul, and erase this darkened stain on Harrowmark's shady history.

As for the barn, the light wouldn't shine on anything in particular right away, but the walls and roof should bear some interest, as they were covered in runes of varied sizes. An old array of spells that seemed focused on keeping something inside the place with as many spells as were possible to inscribe, though if they were also on the ceiling above where they were situated, were shrouded in darkness, as no matter how much Rising would direct his light to shine towards the ceiling, it would not get any brighter.

Following the butterfly, they'd find something in the barn though. A small table, with some bloodied cloth, a few old medical tools, and a sewing kit. By the looks of things, it had been left recently, and were likely where the pixie had been patched up. The butterfly had followed the trail rather nicely, yet it would still go on.

However, they wouldn't be able to locate the door anymore, if they tried to leave. The darkness from the ceiling had gotten thicker around the walls too, and seemed to be crawling slowly closer to Rising and Thistle.

Slowly from above, a large droplet of shadow would fall down, and dangle in the middle of the room. From it, an equine face with brownish eyes would bubble out from, and focus on the detective.

"He have kept us here for so long... Help us... Release us..."

The voice where a chorus, as more droplets fell, with multiple faces appearing in them all, opening their muzzles and wailing in pain.

Thistle though, met them with a sneer, and bashed one of the droplets that had gotten too near them away. It'd drop to the floor with a large hissing sound, and melt into the shadows, to rejoin the rest.

"𝔻𝕠𝕟'𝕥 𝕝𝕚𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕟 𝕥𝕠 𝕚𝕥𝕤 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕕𝕤. 𝕀𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕣𝕚𝕧𝕖𝕤 𝕠𝕟 𝕝𝕚𝕖𝕤 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕡𝕚𝕥𝕪 𝕥𝕠 𝕝𝕦𝕣𝕖 𝕚𝕟 𝕚𝕥𝕤 𝕡𝕣𝕖𝕪."

"She lies... She is with him... Wants us to suffer... Forces us to stay here..."

Thistle took a step forth and with her hoof held high shouted out a single word:

"𝕀𝕝𝕝𝕦𝕞𝕚𝕟𝕒𝕥𝕖!"

A bright light emerged from her ghostly hoof, and the faces all started to hiss as one, whilst closing their many eyes. Several opened their muzzles tall enough from the painful brightness to reveal several rows of needle-sharp teeth in their large maws. To their right, a half-covered door revealed itself that would lead outside the barn the way they had entered. It might be a small step back, but it were the only path left, and as Rising would have taken notice off so far, this were not a creature he could just dispel, as it were barely magical. A small bit of illusions and telekinesis were present, yet that seemed more to read others, and tailor the perception a little if need be.

"𝕆𝕦𝕥𝕤𝕚𝕕𝕖𝕣, 𝕣𝕦𝕟!"

Thistle would run through the air to get to the door, and Rising would be best doing the same, as in the next twenty seconds, he might find that the door would not be possible to budge, even as Thistle came over there and with her telekinesis, forced the door open. It wouldn't last long, and if he got out, shed close it again right after him. If he were too slow, she'd force him out with a violent tug and throw. He'd get muddy from it perhaps, but muddy were better than dead.

Meanwhile, in Manehattan, Molotov were raising an eyebrow over the sort of response he'd gotten from the mare, who didn't seem all that thrilled about this art installation. Although he did have a smile on his face, as she Did say that he could hang himself up as art. Gotta mean she thought he were pretty, right? Oh Molotov you sly pony, all the ladies were just throwing themselves at you right now.

That thought wouldn't go away for now as he saw the two mares try and fail hard to get Null free of the webbing, and started getting his own retort out.

"We already got the measures done, but then I started talking details, she got mad about something or other, then picked up something to throw at me. Go figure it was one of Blitz's pet explosive projects, right? Felicia ain't my biggest fan in this room, but she saw it as a security issue, so she detained the little fire cracker before she accidentally blew us all up. I was gonna have her cut down before all that ruckus started outside and we went on to try and deal with that. It ain't like this webbing is toxic or anything, so she weren't worse off from just keeping tight and out of danger for a few.

Also, you're not gonna be able to tear that stuff apart. Far be it from me to say that Spindle Weaver weren't a bit of a loon, but the pony were a genetic genius. Replicated the process to make and manufacture his own mutated variety of spider silk that were tougher, and would harden within minutes of being webbed around something, whilst still somehow allow for some breathing room. He always claimed he wanted it to work as a sort of harmless restraining tool, and I figured that hey, a few modifications of how to generate the liquid into smaller, separate tanks that were able to self-replicate would make for a great addition to Felicia. I'm sure he would've loved it, but sadly, one of his side projects ended up getting him eaten. Go figure that trying to create a spider who could create this stuff naturally, would end up with it thinking he was a fly once it hatched, but that's what happens when you don't listen to your colleagues about not making something larger than you before you know if it'd want to snack on a pegasi."

While he babbled on, Felicia had gone over, and used the tip of her sharp legs to cut through the silk slowly. She could really do it faster, but considering Null shouldn't be cut and seemed to like to wriggle when she could, a quick slash cutting through it all might end up in disaster. Better to go slow and methodically. She'd leave the one on her muzzle for last though. Null's angry outbursts were irritating her a little the last time, which were why she had gotten this added to the body cast in the first place.

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

 

@EQ_Theta

"Very well, but this is going to take some time, so I wouldn't stay if I were you. We have a lot to talk about."

"Yes, I can imagine. Hopefully I will see you all again in a few hours."

"I wouldn't count on it."

Rosa let out a sigh as he heard that last part from Stargazer, and followed his large half-brother into the interrogation room. This was going to be a long session...

On 5/1/2019 at 8:15 AM, EQ_Theta said:

"You know we still have the jeweled beast heart, right? Maybe we can take it somewhere no one would find it. We'd be away for a little while and it gives us one less thing to worry about if we have to face Filigree again. Do you know a place where we could hide it?"

Omen titled her head slowly from side to side, thinking of places she had seen before that would fit what Lin asked of her. There were no guarantee that any of the places were still like she remembered them, as for example the kitsune school she had gotten them to were not the hospital she remembered from olden days, but there were some suggestions she could make at least.

"Yes. I have been to strange places, looking for Master Discord. Temple in the desert had nopony near. Purple smoke place were silent. You want to see them?"

She'd lead them towards either of the places right away if asked.

The temple in the desert were little more than a large, crumbling ruin from times long past when there had been a flourishing oasis nearby, set in a desert that seemed to stretch on for longer than the eye could see, whilst the sun baked down upon them relentlessly. The only life they'd see among the dunes of sand were a few scorpions and other small critters, that seemed to mostly ignore them. If they'd enter what were left of the temple, they might be able to make for a good place where nopony could ever come, yet there would still be stone walls to grow on, so it were hard to say if the heart would stay isolated here, or if the small potential for growth would be enough to cause trouble.

The other area Sen and Lin would have to not even enter, as the fumes rising would make them gasp for air and feel as if something was trying to pull the oxygen out of their lungs. It were safest to just see it from the gate, which would show an inhospitable area with pools of bubbling liquid in darkened purple, no plant life, and no life at all within sight of the barren dirt and toxic air. This place might be good, yet again, if the ground took the heart in, it could perhaps do things that were not so good. Sadly, this would likely be an issue no matter where it went, unless they had a proper container for it. If they looked for a place devoid of life where no being could just grab it though, the second place were likely best, considering only beings who didn't breathe could go there. One of the reasons why Omen could, and actually found it a pretty interesting place, despite the toxicity and excessive warmth.

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

 

@Moonlit @Dji

Last gave Serenade a strange look as she saw the piece of wood. That fazed out when she heard the name of the ghost that had briefly been around earlier, and just after that, Cherish fizzled into view, looking rather awkwardly around. She had kept silent throughout a lot of things happening recently, but it seemed like Serenade wished for her to show, so... Here she were.

"Uhm... H-Hello, Princes Sparkle, I'm Cherish Heart. Please don't be scared, I'm not a poltergeist. Just a regular uhm... Well, ghost. I'm uh, possessing the old castle, so that's why Serenade have the wood with her. It's part of the castle.

And Serenade, I've seen the princess before. When she were just a unicorn, and went to the castle. I just... Didn't think it was smart to show myself when her and her friends wandered around. They seemed to have a good time, and the other one were being quiet, so I just... Watched. That uhm... Sounded a bit creepier than it were supposed to..."

She were squirming a bit in place, as this were something that she didn't know how to deal with. Cherish were used to isolation, not confrontation, and with a princess? Even when she saw the other princesses, it was still nerve wracking. What if Princess Sparkle wouldn't like her? Or tried to banish her back to the old castle? Or what if she trapped her, because the mare thought she were a danger? There were a lot of things that could go wrong here, and Cherish had honestly figured she'd have some more time before it came to this. Guess that wasn't true then... *gulp* Time to wait and see what she'd say now...

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

 

@Lucid_Nightlight

I wouldn't be surprised if he went hiding. And you, stay out of my home. I have enough trouble because of your shenanigans as it is.

"He already made the s'mores? Sweet, gimme some!"

Anomaly went over and would try to nab one of the treats, and when she got her hoof on it, she'd start to slowly munch it down. Something like this should be enjoyed , especially since her stingy narrator couldn't write in more materials.

Hey, stay out of my narration. And you are perfectly capable of making more materials for this if you want to, so can it.

I swear, how the other author haven't tried to just mush you all to save himself the hassle, I will never get...

Anomaly rolled her eyes and waved Harry over so that he could warm his hands in the fire.

"Silly hairless monkeys, thinking they are all powerful and stuff."

[Lucid_Nightlight 923]

@Blitz Boom

Lucid ate one of the s'mores. Pringle went back to his normal size and climbed on top of Lucid's head.

"So when is the marriage?"

"Yeah, when is the marriage? I picked out a frog costume and everything!"

"Lucid you forgot the antlers and chocolate!"

[Catpone Cerberus 23,426]

@Blitz Boom
Ruby thought for a second before she got up "Fine, but if I hear the coins coming up for auction, I'll come back here." she then said before following Marley "I'm not going to miss them if I can get them cheap." sure she wanted to see the price they got from the poisons, but these coins were more than just pieces of metal, and she knew that only she knew about it, because even her kind didn't actually remember everything about them, and she had made sure nobody else could find the missing part out...by burning the last records of it. 

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

Nada hadn't gone hiding when the mimic had returned, but she wasn't in the most visible place either, since she had started swimming circles just below the surface of the pool to kill time, and her blue body wasn't the easiest thing to see in water. She poked her head above the surface when she heard Fah'lina coming back in, her paranoia made her pay attention to the smallest of sounds. She stayed quiet and just stared at Berry until she would notice her, after which she would simply say "Hi Berry." with a smile.

 

[EQ_Theta 415]

@Blitz Boom

Those last words from Stargazer sent shivers down Sen's spine. He knows the guard pony can be reasonable, even nice and amicable, but he has his duties and that can't be set aside just for a brother he didn't know he had. That part is difficult to accept, where the line had to be drawn. Sen was obviously biased and wanted a happy outcome to this but that exchange between the bat ponies didn't sound good. Perhaps it will have to boil down to trust and that the two of them will work something out. That was what he'd prefer.

The longma turned to hear Lin and Omen making conversation, picking out a few words with 'jeweled beast heart' among them. It's been a long time coming but with some time to spare, it might be good to move it somewhere safe where no one will ever find it again. Just carrying it around elicits some concern as he isn't sure what it is, what it does, or where it came from. Though it might be just him, the idea that it likely came from some organism makes him squeamish at the thought. 

"What is this about the jeweled beast's heart?"

"Seeing as we have some time to spare, why don't we find some place to hide it? Better to know it is some place secure where no one will ever find it again. Omen's got some ideas."

"Sounds good. Omen, could you open a gate to each so we could take a peek?"

The two examined Omen's options and considered the what-ifs. The temple seemed like a fairly safe place to stash the heart away but there was always the hazard of somepony wandering in and exploring the place. Ruins like those seemed to attract those looking to unearth the past and that presented a problem. They had no way to account for every kind of visitor and while the odds of it happening seemed small, it's not something they'd leave up to chance. The other location, noxious and toxic as it is, was arguably more favorable in some respects. The siblings decided it might be a better choice simply because no one would dare go there unless they could safely traverse it. 

"Ugh! If that is enough to keep visitors from coming in, that might be a good thing," Lin remarked as Sen took out a wooden box, large enough to house the jeweled heart wrapped in cloth. Then wrapped around said box was two layers of roped tightly sealed. He was hesitating to go through with it before turning to Lin and Omen to voice his concern.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves. Anyone think this is enough to contain the heart? Like it won't just start spreading around like the changeling emeralds if it touches something? We have time to spare; maybe we should take extra precautions before we do this. And is it safe for you to go to that place, Omen?"

Edited May 3, 2019 by EQ_Theta